Sunday, November 24, 2019

The Ideal Bureaucracy Essay Example

The Ideal Bureaucracy Essay Example The Ideal Bureaucracy Paper The Ideal Bureaucracy Paper Max Weber was a German sociologist who studied a variety of human interaction and developed a number of social theories. One of the highlights of his career work was his ideal bureaucracy theory, to which he defined bureaucracy as having certain characteristics that make up the bureaucratic entity. According to Max Weber, the authority in ideal bureaucracy revolves around legal competence and functions according to these criteria: 1) they are personally free and subject only to their impersonal official obligations; 2) they are organized in clearly defined hierarchy of offices; 3) each office has clearly defined competence; 4) there is free selection; 5) candidates are selected based on technical qualifications; 6) they are remunerated by fixed salaries; 7) the office is the primary occupation; 8) there is system of promotion; 9) the official works independently and without appropriation of his position; and 10) the official is subject to strict and systematic discipline and control in the conduct of the office. He also posited that, if given the chance, the monocratic variety of bureaucracy is capable of attaining the highest degree of efficiency and would be the most rational known means of carrying out the imperative control over human beings. The primary source of the superiority of bureaucratic administration lies in the role of technical knowledge. He also likened that bureaucratic apparatus should be independent and possess there own means of subsistence. Like in the case of war, if the bureaucratic machinery is technically efficient, it will continue to function normally just as it had for the previous legal government. This model of ideal bureaucratic organization can be summarized to possess the following characteristics: 1) Management by rules. A bureaucracy follows a consistent set of rules that control the functions of the organization. 2) Division of labor. Authority and responsibility are clearly defined and officially sanctioned. 3) Formal hierarchical structure. An organization is organized into a hierarchy of authority and follows a clear chain of command. 4) Personnel hired on grounds of technical competence. Appointment to a position within the organization is made on the grounds of technical competence. 5) Managers are salaried officials. 6) Written documents. Written documents ensure that there is continuity of the organization’s policies and procedures. Given the ideal picture of how a bureaucracy should function, this model offers a stable and hierarchical model for an organization. The term bureaucracy may have gained negative connotation but some of its criteria still applies in modern organization. Firstly, the employment based on technical qualifications should be upheld, both in public and private sectors, if efficiency is highly valued. If employees hired posses the specific characteristics demanded by the job, it is most likely that a function will be properly carried out. Aided with an evaluation based on particular performance standard, it will provide an objective goal to perform as much as possible. Currently, both private and private organizations used the performance-based incentives as a way of motivating employees to excel and give beyond the minimum requirements of their positions. Secondly, the characteristic of being purposely impersonal also has positive implication. By treating co-employees and customers equally, individual differences may be lessened, leading to rendering of services without the biases. If such action is demanded from each employee, equal treatment may be given to all regardless of social classes. Thirdly, the concept of written rules and decisions is still applicable even in a highly evolving business and organizational environment. Documentation is one of the requirements in quality management systems, such as ISO 9000 family of standards, to ensure that they meet the needs of customers and other stakeholders. Decisions are documented to serve as guide of actions, which can be used by the managers in initially assessing a problem. Though no two situations are the same, documentation is a way of tracing the different parts of an operation, which even a newly hired member of an organization can use to guide how a job should be done. Bureaucracy is often associated with delay and inefficiency. Some theorists argued that Weber’s model may have worked during his time but considered obsolete now. In the words of Dwight Waldo, â€Å"Why would an instrument (bureaucracy) designed to be impersonal and calculating be expected to be effective in delivery sympathy and compassion?† Indeed some points in the given model were criticized by many theorists. Firstly, the top-down and centralized authority is considered too slow and unresponsive to the world of rapid change, technological revolution, global competition and demanding customers. By strictly adhering to the hierarchy of authorities, timely resolution of conflicts or addressing a simple matter may be difficult. The employee may choose not to do anything to resolve a problem, on the basis that it is beyond his or her jurisdiction, to avoid conflict with the manager who may have different views. Secondly, the government sector is now venturing into entrepreneurism through its public-private partnership efforts. The spirit of flexibility is required which emphasizes â€Å"getting a job done†, by considering whatever is at hand rather than looking at the strict rules on â€Å"how a job should be done†. Aside from cost, time is another consideration of efficiency. The centralization of authorities and rigid hierarchy may make it difficult to attain time efficient decisions. Thirdly, most organizations in private and public sectors benchmark on teamwork in attaining its goal. Weber’s model of a knowledge-equipped yet isolated worker, whose primary concern should be confined within his/her explicit functions, would find it very difficult to adjust in multi-tasking environment. Managers who follow strict hierarchy in giving decisions may also find it difficult to accept or consider suggestions coming from the rank-in-file, however sharp those suggestions are. Bureaucracy is of great importance in carrying out the ideals of a government. Its people are one of the important factors of translating government programs to actual services. An efficient and well-disciplined bureaucracy may also translate to good governance. Max Weber’s ideal bureaucracy may be considered outdated in certain aspects but it still possessed some relevant considerations. Bureaucratic competence would assure the citizenry that only equipped individuals hold important positions, especially those that would be affecting a large number of people. Bureaucratic neutrality is still also highly valued. Neutrality does not necessarily depersonalize the government, rather, it values equal treatment and unbiased distribution of government services, regardless of social classes. Affected by various factors, our culture change and evolve. Our concept now of how our government should be may differ after a while. In the same way, our ideals of how our bureaucracy should be may also change in the future. Nevertheless, the Filipino bureaucracy, as partner of our government, must aspire competence and efficiency in carrying its tasks. Reforms may come in different names. Trials may beset our country, but a well-disciplined and competent bureaucracy will always be a plus-factor to any regime of government.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Gender Differences in Preschool Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Gender Differences in Preschool - Essay Example The third type of attention, non-specific positive interactions, refers to any miscellaneous attention given to a student that does not neatly fit into the other categories, which includes encouragement and compliments among other types on interactions. The fourth type of attention, praise, refers to when the teacher verbally points out when a student in engaged in a favorable behavior. The last type of attention, command, refers to any verbal interaction initiated by the teacher which directs the child's behavior in a certain way. Command does not include verbal interactions in the context of discipline. Child misbehavior was also observed and noted. Dobbs, Arnold, and Doctoroff found that teachers do treat boys and girls differently in regards to attention. They found that while there was no difference in the amount of physical warmth and praise that teachers gave to boys when compared to girls, there were differences in the other types of attention. Teachers tended to command boys more than girls, while they also tended to reward and engage in non-specific positive interactions with girls more than boys. There may be some explanation for these findings. First, while boys received more commands from teachers, they were also observed to misbehave more often than girls. It was observed that teachers gave more commands to students who typically misbehaved, even when they were not misbehaving. A possible explanation may be that the teacher is trying to prevent future misbehavior. If this is true, then behavior is in fact the mitigating factor in commands, and not gender. The difference noticed in the frequency of rewards given... This essay stresses that the difference noticed in the frequency of rewards given to boys in comparison to girls may also be contributed somewhat to misbehavior. It was found that while girls receive rewards more often than boys, girls who misbehaved received rewards more often than girls who did not misbehave. At the same time, boys who misbehaved received rewards more often than boys who did not misbehave, although this was still less than girls who did not misbehave. A possible explanation may be that teachers use rewards for acceptable behavior in order to wean children off of misbehaving. This explanation does not completely account for the observations, since non-misbehaving girls still received more rewards than misbehaving boys. At best, misbehavior can be used in conjunction with gender to explain this observation. This paper makes a conclusion that teachers tend to touch children of the same sex as themselves more often that different sex children. There may be many factors at play here, such as the teacher feels more comfortable touching children of the same sex, or that the teacher can relate to children of the same sex more readily. At the same time, it was found that male teachers tended to use a helpful touch far more often with girls than any of the other touching types, whereas female teachers did not favor one type of touch over another. A possible explanation for this may be that the male teachers are operating on the stereotype that females are dependent on males, and therefore need more help than males do.

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Educational Mission Statement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Educational Mission Statement - Essay Example Organizational mission statement is a very important statement because it represents: Therefore, the mission statement is very central to the organization's identity and it is augmented by other things such as philosophy statement, values, objectives etc. The heart of any organizational mission statement is not in the words but in the commitment to carry out what is spelt out in the statement. This paper seeks to highlight the mission statement and the philosophy of nursing of a healthcare organization in comparison with the mission statement and nursing philosophy statement of a nursing department of an educational institution. Situated inWorcester, Massachusetts, Saint Vincent Hospital, a 348 bed facility, offers a myriad of health care services including surgery, cancer medicine maternity and child care services, neurosurgery, orthopedics, psychiatry, ICU services etc. Dedicated to provision of quality patient care with unyielding concentration to clinical excellence, safety of the patients and an unmatched obsession and commitment to guarantee best healthcare for our clients Saint Vincent Hospital's philosophy of nursing and nursing practice is summed up in their values which are simply broken down into five pillars. These are: Trust, Teamwork, Dignity and Reverence, Cooperation and Integrity. Teamwork - acknowledges the input of all but needs sacrifice for the sake of the patient's benefit so as to improve the health of the community receiving the hospital's service. The hospital also works in collaboration with other organizations in a bid to look after vulnerable groups in the community Cooperation - Between the patient and the nursing staff and also between the various clinical professionals and specialists Integrity - Integrity is prioritized and is demonstrated mainly through fairness, sincerity and self-scrutiny in all services rendered as a perfect way to defend general safety, as well as guarantee discretion and privacy (Huber, 2006). 2.2University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics Department of Nursing Services and Patient Care University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics Department of Nursing provide health care to the entire university of Iowa community. 2.2.1 Mission Statement Provision of high quality care for patients through strong dedication to innovation, practice, research, education, and collaboration 2.2.2 Philosophy of Nursing and Nursing Practice Nursing as an art and science- nursing as an art and science is devoted to enhancing both psychological and physical welfare of

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Tate Modern Art Gallery Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Tate Modern Art Gallery - Essay Example The researcher of the essay "Tate Modern Art Gallery" gives a review of Tate Modern, London modern art gallery. In the year 1930, the responsibility was given to Sir Giles Gilber Scott. The power station got completed in two phases, with a 200m long brick clad steel structure having a 99m high central chimney. The height was kept a bit lower than the dome of St. Paul’s cathedral, situated on the other side of the river. The power station was made to order due to a power shortage back in 1947; but as the power pant was an oil-based one, it had huge emission of polluted gas in surrounding air. Apart from this, dumping of noxious chemicals in nearby grounds was a part and parcel of the plant operation. Due to gradually rising oil prices it seemed to be uneconomical to carry on with the power station. Finally in 1982, the power station was shut down. After that for several years, this power station was at jeopardy of being knocked down by the developers. A number of people campaig ned for the new usage of the unused building. In 1993, the knocking down process started with digging up a hole on the station wall. Then only BBC came up with a program called â€Å"One foot in the past† focusing on the imminent danger of the old building; a passionate appeal was given by Dan Cruikshank, the reporter in there. Later on in the year 1994, Tate Gallery announced that they are going to develop new house of Tate Modern in the Bankside Power station. At present this is one of the successful art galleries. ... In the eighteen century it was an important trade and industry sector. It was destroyed heavily during Second World War, but construction of Bankside bought a major change. Being an oil based power generating station, it resulted in different pollution related factors. The power station dumped harmful chemicals in the nearby ground that polluted the underground water and surrounding water bodies. The station had emitted different gases directly into the atmosphere without treating them properly for purification and filtration. These gases contain high concentration of carbon dioxide and several other toxic exhausts which deteriorated the environment around. When an international survey was conducted in 1962 by National Survey on Air Pollution, a high volume of smoke and sulphur dioxide was found to be present. The reasons behind such changes were pointed towards a decline in the consumption of coal and a growth in use of oil as a fuel. It was also found that the black smoke emitted b y diesel engines contain carbon mono oxide which is highly poisonous for the health of living being (The British Medical Journal, 1967). The oil based power generation station neglected many legal factors to keep the pollution level low and all these had resulted high pollution of land, water and air. It caused harm to both vegetation and animals of the nearby locality and turned to a major threat to the environment. Health and safety issues related to Tate Modern Bankside power station was in a closed state for many years, so when Tate Gallery decided to convert it in an art gallery there were many safety and health related issues that required to be handled with due importance. The air

Friday, November 15, 2019

Stakeholder Management And Its Contribution To Project Success Construction Essay

Stakeholder Management And Its Contribution To Project Success Construction Essay Project management is an evolving discipline which is relatively new in both practice and academics hence knowledge is drawn from other disciplines to further advance both theory and practice in managing projects. Consequently this research will draw from different academic disciplines for its theory and the construction industry for its practice. To this end a project could be described as a strategy used by organisations to achieve its strategic goal, the strategy could be suggested to have a start and an end date (Turner 2009 p.20; Holton 2002 p.10-2). It could also be suggested that the word organisation in the above definition by Turner 2009 could be called the project stakeholder. Olanda and Landin (2005 p.321) defined project stakeholders as a: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦group of people who have a vested interest in the success of a project and the environment within which the project operatesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ This research is focused on investigating the impact of stakeholder management and its contribution to project success in the construction industry. It could be suggested that the use of PMIs life cycle phases be adopted for the entire project plan as seen in figure 1 below. Figure -Project Lifecycle The project initiation phase of this report will include proposing a project research topic, assigning a project supervisor or project sponsor and proposing a research plan. While the project planning phase will include reviewing of the available project materials and the execution phase will involve writing up the literature review and project methodology. Handover and closeout will involve submitting the final report to supervisor and award of Msc degree in Project Management. Lessons learnt could be suggested to be the feedback and experience gained in during the research. 1.2 Project Context Project Context could be suggested to be the setting in which a project is carried out (ApmBok 2009). In relation to the above description, the aim of this research is in agreement with the above suggestion (Achterkamp and Vis 2008 pg 749). 1.3 Project Rationale 1.3.1 Academic Rationale The academic research into project stakeholders has been attractive and extensive to researchers and professionals. Evidence shows that the construction industry accounts directly for 10% GDP growth in the UK (Cridland and Wates 2009 p.5),this goes to justify the need to investigate the impact of stakeholder management and its contribution to project success in the construction industry and also fulfil the academic requirement of the award of Masters Degree. 1.3.2 Business Rationale The economic implications for any organisation if projects fail will be devastating considering the above report by Wates and Cridland (2009 p5), this report shows that the construction industry account for 10% GDP growth. Project failure of any kind in the current economic climate will cost the organization its finance and jobs e.g. BP deep horizon in the US Gulf Coast where the collapse of a well led to fatalities which in-turn increased BPs financial burden. 1.3.3 Personal Rationale It could be suggested that as a project management professional, embarking on this research will help one better understand the principles of stakeholder management. The knowledge gained from this research will clarify any unanswered questions at the end of this research. 1.4 Aim and Objectives This research is aimed at: Investigating the impact of stakeholder management and its contribution to project success in the construction industry Objectives To explore the principles of stakeholder management and project success. To assess the benefits and challenges of stakeholder management. To correlate a relationship between stakeholder management and project success. To propose a strategy for measuring the impact of stakeholder management thereby assessing its impact on project success. To make recommendations for improved stakeholder management practices. 1.4.2 Project Scope According to Burke (2003 p. 104) project scope identifies when a project has been successfully completed within specified requirement. The scope for this project will involve activities such as writing the literature review, research methodology and drawing on the findings of the above mentioned activities to come up with a conclusion and recommendation. The scope of this research excludes the execution of the primary research. 1.4.3 Project Deliverables Project deliverables for this research is suggested to be the outcome of the report at every stage of the lifecycle (ApmBok 2009 p.135). The deliverables as shown in Table 1 are generalised and subject to being revised at the end of this report. Table Project deliverables Deliverables Description Project Research Plan Introduction/ Background Project Context and Project Rationale Project Definition Project Approach Research Project Schedule Resource Requirements Ethical Considerations Literature Review Research of theory and practice within the construction industry Project Approach or Methodology It involves the description of the process in the collection and evaluation of data that will be used to achieve the overall aim and objectives of this report. Project Proposal This involves outlining a research proposal from the finding and the analysis done in the project approach section. Conclusion and Recommendation This section involves the final summation of all the data used and presenting recommendation(s) where necessary. 1.4.4 Assumption, Constraints and Considerations Assumptions The project will be delivered on time, quality and within budget. The literature / materials needed to complete the project will be readily available. That the project aim and objectives will be met at the end of the project. Constraints The time required by the sponsor to complete the report. Combining three live projects at the same period. i.e. CPD, Group placement and dissertation. Considerations That the report will inspire its readers to proceed towards a primary research. That there will be more research into the impact of project stakeholders and its contribution to project success within the construction industry. 1.5 Initial Literature Review 1.5.1 Stakeholder Management Project stakeholders have been widely discussed in various project management literatures. Fewings (2005 p.34) described project stakeholders as people that their interest could affect the outcome of the project while Olanda and Landin (2005 p.321) agues that although project stakeholders are group of people with different interest in a particular project, they are also interested in a successful outcome no matter the level of interest. Since this research will be focusing on stakeholder management, McElroy and Mills (2007 p.270) suggested that stakeholder management deals with the relationships between stakeholders within projects. This relationship must be developed and structured so as to achieve a successful outcome. McElroy and Mills (2007 p.270) description of stakeholder management is convincing because different bodies of knowledge are yet to agree on a particular description for stakeholder management. Fewings (2005) and Olanda Landin (2005) perspectives on project stakeholders in relation to stakeholder management is valid in that all agreed that stakeholders are made up of more than one individual, so managing this relationship as described by McElroy and Mills (2007 p.270) will determine if a project is a success or a failure . 1.5.2 Project Success Yu et al. (2005) suggested that a: Project  is a success if its created product adds value to the client, considering the cost to the client at the point of acceptance While there is no definite definition to what project success is or what will be the best way to define success, this report would look into critical success criteria used in the construction industry to determine when a project is successful. The ApmBok (2009) defined project success as: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦the satisfaction of stakeholder needs measured by the success criteria as identified and agreed at the start of the projectà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ 1.6 Project Research Approach In this section it could be suggested that a proposed research approach be developed, this approach would be aligned with the project aim and objectives. To achieve the above this report has identified two methods or type of research, this are the Primary and Secondary research. A primary research entails the collection of new data or expansion of existing theories in project management body of knowledge. This could be achieved by using the following methods: the use of questionnaires, sampling and survey. Data for this research would be collected though documentary research. This involves analysing various literatures relating to the research; given that this research is a secondary research, a qualitative method will be employed. 1.6.1 Ethical Consideration Sekaran (2000, p17) defined ethics as a code of conduct or expected societal norm of behaviour while conducting a research or project . Below in table 2 are the ethical considerations used to compile this research. Table -Ethical Consideration This research was carefully structured to avoid any misrepresentation or distortion of data collected. All information used for this research was adequately referenced to avoid plagiarism. This report was written with due respect for the subject and authors All information used for this report is in line with universities academic guidelines. Sekaran ( 2000, p.261) 1.7 Project Planning / Report Schedule Burke (2003, p.94) defined project schedule as à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦a process required to ensure that various elements of the project are properly managed and controlledà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ The project schedule will be used to assign expected start date and expected finish date. The schedule is in a Gantt chart, this could be suggested to be in agreement with (Burke 2003) definition. See Appendix 1 for more details. 1.8 Project Resource Requirements and Budget The resources required for a successful completion of this project is listed in Table 2 and the cost estimate that would apply to both primary and secondary research is in Table 3 Figure -Resources Requirement Human Resources Description Hours Researcher Researcher would carry out a secondary research and prepare a primary research plan to be used to further analyse the project aim 600 Academic supervisor The academic supervisor would give guidance, review and monitor project to ascertain if the project is within scope. 60 Project sponsor The project sponsor and management would be need during an actual primary research. 100 Table Project Budget Activity Budget Source Cost for Researcher and supervisor  £3000 RGU and Sponsor Printing of dissertation and buying of CD drives ( hard and soft copies)  £200 Researcher and Sponsor (in the case of a primary Research) Transport is Dependent on the location of the organisation and RGU library Not Determined at present Researcher and Sponsor 1.8.1 Risk Matrix Risk management is a key area in APM and PMI bodies of knowledge; projects are often associated with one form of risk or another (Raz Michael 2000), controlling this risk is an important task for any researcher. To this end, this report will take a proactive role in controlling risks associated to this project by developing a risk plan which can be seen in Table 4 Table Risk Matrix RISK Probability Impact Rating Mitigating Measure New Rating Difficulty in accessing data for literature review 3 5 15 An early start would be suggested, so as to either change research topic or source for resources 5 The aim of the research becomes to wide to handle 3 4 12 Ensure research topic is specific not too wide 4 Too many information 2 4 8 Start gathering and arranging information on time 2 Technological Difficulty 3 5 15 Back up all files and attend classes on software training 4 Respondents for the primary research are not co-operative 2 5 10 Ascertain at an early stage the willingness of respondent 5 Delays leading up to dead line 3 5 15 Early start ensures an early finish 5 The key describing the colour coding is in Appendix 2 1.9 Report Layout Figure Report Layout

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Total Institutions Essay -- essays research papers

Total Institutions   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the year 1961, the author, Erving Goffman, published a book consisting of text and studies on mental patients and inmates, in what he has called â€Å"total institutions†. There is a large focus on the life of mental patients, due to his year long study in an American institution. However, the center of my reading was based on the institutions and the lifestyles that are reached when placed in such establishments.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When describing these institutions the author referred to them as segregated communities. This is exactly what they are. One is cut off from the outside society, with little or no contact at all until the inmates stay is over. The character of these institutions is one that is an intimidating barrier to the outside world. One who’s barriers could be as simple as a fence or a locked door, but as distinct and scary as the high walls, thick bars and razor wire topped, electrically protected fences of today’s top penitentiaries. Every institution provides a new world to its members, in most successful cases, changing the perception and reality of the inmate.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Through the years of research conducted by the author, Goffman concluded that the total institutions in our societies breakdown into five rough groupings. There is room to expand on each one of these groupings as these findings are not precise, interpretation is the key when classifying the establishments. His first conclusion was to classify all institutions that were established to care for people who were incapable and harmless to themselves and one another. One may relate to these institutions as the may be part of our lives on a daily basis. This may be the nursing home where the elderly, widow/widowed grandmother/father is living out his last fine days on this earth. It could be one of the less than desirable child rearing homes, such as an orphanage. Or this category may also include where the unfortunate, the wanderer, and the vagrant all congregate, our nations homeless shelters. Whatever the institution may be, it is defined by a place where one may go to receive treatment, nourishment and attention when there may be no other opportunity afforded them.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The second of these groupings, encompasses all of the institutions that care for people who are inca... ...s schedules are all imposed by the officials that run the institution. The goals of the institution are fulfilled by these schedules and the tasks that are completed by the inmates, whether it may be a work service crew maintaining the grounds or by a janitorial staff maintaining the interior. Even though these institutions are similar in many instances to others, the do however have more contact with the outside world and rely on that contact to enhance its abilities to rehabilitate.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Total institutions are ones that will take away and identity and not ask questions. One where inmates are moved as managed group and looked down upon as secretive and bitter. Treating one like they are inferior and, guilty and weak is no way to re-establish someone’s life and return them to the world. Total institutions are incompatible with family , which is one of the strongest values that we need to maintain in this disintegrating world environment. We need to embrace family and do what we can to maintain our natural family values all throughout our travels and daily life. 1961 erving goffman asylums; essays on the social situation of mental patients and other inmates

Sunday, November 10, 2019

The Fashion Channel HBS Case Notes

Introduction The protagonist of this case is Dana Wheeler who is the senior vice president of marketing for TFH She was looking into preparing a new Segmentation and Positioning Strategy If her boss liked what he heard then they would move forward with a 60 million dollar MIMIC campaign utilizing national advertising, promotion, and public relations.This was an increase of 15 million dollars from last year. Background TFH was a successful cable network that was the only one who broadcasted up-to- date news about fashion 24 hours a day, 7 days a week It was founded in 1996 It has had consistent and constant growth since the beginning, revenue was projected to grow to 310 million dollars in 2006 marking another steady year of growth.The channel was one of the most widely available niche networks reaching 80 million US households (this number represents the number of people who had TFH in their package not those watching it) Women between 34 and 54 years were its most avid viewer accord ing to its annual demographic survey Beyond basic demographics the network had no other information on its viewers Nor did it attempt to market to any viewer segments in particular Early on the network had chosen a something for everyone† type of strategy in its programming and advertising TFH has clearly grown quickly despite it lack of targeted marketing, however at the beginning of 2006 TFH had realized that other networks were taking note of its success Some of its biggest competitors became Lifetime and CNN who had added fashion programming to their lineup This is what prompted Tech's CEO to want to change up TFH marketing and be more strategic with their marketing, this is why they hired Dana who extensive experience with marketing packaged consumer goods as well as broad experience in advertising.Tech's CEO and other executives felt some urge to resist change and didn't want to â€Å"fix what wasn't broken† Wheeler's Plans Frazier (senior up of ad sales) had warn ed that TFH would need to drop the price of a unit of advertising by 10 % if changes weren't made in Tech's performance He mentioned that CNN and Lifetime's fashion shows were achieving notable ratings (EXHIBIT 1) Frazier was a great salesman and was Justifiably worried about sales Wheeler knew that in order to hold or increase the price it would be crucial to attract a critical mass of viewers who were interested in the network's content and were attractive to advertisers The key would be targeting the right viewers and offering advertiser an attractive mix of viewers when compared to their competitors BUT if she changed the network's offering in a way that disappointed too many consumers it could risk losing its distribution support Her plan was to build a strategy for segmentation and use it as a base to employ all marketing tools at her disposal, traditional/internet ads, PR and promotions to reach targeted consumers Everyone felt that advertising was TFH primary growth opportun ity. Tiff's Advertising Revenue Model TFH was on target to generate 230. Million dollars in 2006 from advertising The advertising business model was built on attracting a mix of male and female viewers on a regular basis – think â€Å"something for everyone† strategy Tuft average rating was 1. 0 with 110 million households or 1. 1 million people people watching at any given time.The ad sales team sold access to viewers through 30 to 60 second spots to a variety of advertisers which included automobile manufacturers, clothes companies, and cosmetic companies There were usually 6 minutes of advertising per 30 minutes of programming (20 percent); 24 hours per day; for a total of 2016 minutes per week In 2006 industry data showed that advertisers spent 20 billion dollars on advertising in cable industry, however there were over a hundred networks competing for these dollars which made competition fierce. TFH was the only dedicated fashion network If CNN and Lifetime are su ccessful more channels may copy them creating more competition for TFH The network based ad unit prices on several factors The number of viewers (ratings) The audience characteristics (demographics and lifestyle)Both of the are hurting ad sales and hurting Tech's CPM TFH was facing additional competitive challenges in its attractiveness to cable affiliates. On a scale of 1 to 5 TFH achieved a 3. 8 whereas fashion programming on CNN scored a 4. 3 while Lifetime scored a 4. 5 On awareness TFH scored 4. 1; CNN 4. 6; and Lifetime 4. 5 On perceived value TFH scored 3. 7; CNN 4. 1; and Lifetime 4. Memo's use the aforementioned data to determine Affiliate Fees and which package to offer TFH in. If TFH continues to underperformed it may be offered in less appealing packages making it seen in even fewer households, ruining its prospects of revenue growth or even survival.The Data strongly indicates that change in programming need to happen so that TFH can increase consumer interest, awarenes s, and perceived value This change could result in upsetting some of the existing loyal viewers The Management team had been with TFH for years and experienced large amount of their growth arguing safe marketing strategies where Wheeler is asking them to take a risk. Attitudinal Research Findings The Following Data can be found in Exhibit 2 and Exhibit 3 There are four unique groups of viewers Factionists Planners & Shoppers Sustainability Basics While the segments varied in size, Wheeler quickly noticed that the smallest -The Factionists- had a high degree of interest in fashion Most of the male interest occurred in the Basics cluster- the least likely to be engaged with TFH content. Factionists, Planners, and Sustainability all had cluster of women between the ages 18 to 34, the premium demographic.By investing in a major marketing/advertising campaign it would be reasonable to expect that awareness and viewing of the channel would go up This could deliver a ratings boost of 20% a nd would take the rating from 1. 0 to 1. 2 If the current audience mix stayed the same, ad sales were predicting a ten percent drop to $1. 80 Wheelers Preferred Strategy Targeting Factionist's, Shoppers/Planners, and Situational All segments mentioned have clusters of the desired age group but both Planners and Situational are made up of older women their existing audience and they would all be targeted It is likely to assume that ratings would increase from 1. 0 to 1. No clear data is given about CPM No clear data is given about the increase in cost of programming Alternative Strategies Focusing on Factionists This segment was strong in the highly valued 18-34 female demographic It was smaller that other segments representPrimarily targeting Men Pursue a desirable demographic as men of all ages are a premium demographic No data on ratings No data on CPM No data on Programming costs, however it would be likely to assume that costs would pike as all current programming is geared to s lightly older women (their current primary demographic) They would likely and very quickly lose all of their current audience due to shift in programming for a demographic that they are unsure they can even secure. High short-term risk as all current audience will be lost and could result in ratings loss and being taken off the basic cable package Long-term if this strategy is successful, men could be a larger audience than women as more age groups are desired by advertisers. This could result in greater affiliate fees and ad sales.

Friday, November 8, 2019

Free Essays on The Darker Side Of Beauty

The Darker Side of Beauty George Byron’s poem titled, â€Å"She Walks in Beauty,† is a love poem about a beautiful woman and all of her features. The poem follows a basic iambic tetrameter with an unaccented syllable followed by an accented syllable. This pattern can be clearly seen when one looks at a line: She walks / in beau / ty like / the night. Within this rhythm the reader can look deeper into the contents of Byron’s poem and discover a battle of two forces. The two forces involved in Byron’s poem are the darkness and light- at work in the woman’s beauty, and also the two areas of her beauty- the internal and the external. The poem appears to be about a lover, but in fact was written about Byron’s cousin, Anne Wilmot, who he met at a party. She was wearing a mourning dress of spangled black. This fact, the black dress that was brightened with spangles, helps the reader to understand the origin of the poem. Byron portrays this, the mixing of the darkness and the light, not by describing the dress or the woman’s actions, but by describing her physical beauty as well as her interior strengths. In the beginning of the poem, the reader is given the image of darkness: â€Å"She walks in beauty, like the night / Of cloudless climes and starry skies†. Immediately the poem brings together its two opposing forces that are at work, darkness and light. In lines three and four Byron emphasizes that the unique features of the woman is her ability to contain opposites within her by stating, â€Å"And all that’s best of dark and bright / Meet in her aspect and her eyes†. The joining together of the darkness and the light can be seen in her â€Å"aspect,† or appearance, but also in her â€Å"eyes.† In this case, the woman’s eyes aren’t used as a physical feature, but more as a window into her inner self, revealing what’s in her heart. Beginning with line five, the word â€Å"meet’ is emphasized again as Byron writ... Free Essays on The Darker Side Of Beauty Free Essays on The Darker Side Of Beauty The Darker Side of Beauty George Byron’s poem titled, â€Å"She Walks in Beauty,† is a love poem about a beautiful woman and all of her features. The poem follows a basic iambic tetrameter with an unaccented syllable followed by an accented syllable. This pattern can be clearly seen when one looks at a line: She walks / in beau / ty like / the night. Within this rhythm the reader can look deeper into the contents of Byron’s poem and discover a battle of two forces. The two forces involved in Byron’s poem are the darkness and light- at work in the woman’s beauty, and also the two areas of her beauty- the internal and the external. The poem appears to be about a lover, but in fact was written about Byron’s cousin, Anne Wilmot, who he met at a party. She was wearing a mourning dress of spangled black. This fact, the black dress that was brightened with spangles, helps the reader to understand the origin of the poem. Byron portrays this, the mixing of the darkness and the light, not by describing the dress or the woman’s actions, but by describing her physical beauty as well as her interior strengths. In the beginning of the poem, the reader is given the image of darkness: â€Å"She walks in beauty, like the night / Of cloudless climes and starry skies†. Immediately the poem brings together its two opposing forces that are at work, darkness and light. In lines three and four Byron emphasizes that the unique features of the woman is her ability to contain opposites within her by stating, â€Å"And all that’s best of dark and bright / Meet in her aspect and her eyes†. The joining together of the darkness and the light can be seen in her â€Å"aspect,† or appearance, but also in her â€Å"eyes.† In this case, the woman’s eyes aren’t used as a physical feature, but more as a window into her inner self, revealing what’s in her heart. Beginning with line five, the word â€Å"meet’ is emphasized again as Byron writ...

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

Rhetorical Analysis of the Declaration of Independence Essays

Rhetorical Analysis of the Declaration of Independence Essays Rhetorical Analysis of the Declaration of Independence Paper Rhetorical Analysis of the Declaration of Independence Paper Thomas Jefferson, Founding Father and the third president of the United States of America, in his letter â€Å"The Declaration of Independence† (1776) argues that the thirteen colonies must demand freedom from Great Britain. To support his conclusion, Jefferson makes changes in between his rough draft and final draft in punctuation, grammar, and the overall connotation of his words. Jefferson’s purpose is to establish America’s Independence from Great Britain in order to earn their Rights of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. Jefferson’s audience is not only King George the Third, but also the people of America. In Thomas Jefferson’s letter â€Å"The Declaration of Independence†, he uses the changes from his rough draft to his final draft to formalize and to make the document more professional, while keeping it simple. The changes that made the document formal included: punctuation, grammar, connotation, and the capitalization of words. The punctuation and grammar made the document proper. The connotations, or an idea or meaning suggested by or associated with a word or thing, improves the sentences. The capitalizations of words emphasized how important the words were. One significant change is the capitalization of words. The rough draft does not capitalize words like â€Å"Nature†, â€Å"Laws†, and â€Å"Systems of Government†. The final draft capitalizes these words because they need to be emphasized and noticeable because they are very important. The rough draft does not make the words look significant. Another significant change was the connotation. The rough draft had the phrase, â€Å"We hold these truths to be sacred and undeniable†, and while the final draft states â€Å"We hold these truths to be self-evident and undeniable†. The word â€Å"sacred† transformed to â€Å"self-evident†, this is one form of connotation. Connotation is an idea or meaning suggested by or associated with a word or thing. The connotations in the final draft improve the sentences in â€Å"The Declaration of Independence†. The grammar and punctuation (improves the final draft) by making it more formal. Punctuation and grammar makes the document easier to understand. There are many run-on sentences. â€Å"We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men are created equal and independent†¦their safety and happiness† is a long run-on sentence. In the rough draft it states â€Å"he has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns and destroyed the lives of our people†, but in the final draft it adds the comma after â€Å"towns† to emphasize and make the sentences proper. These additions made this document become professional. In conclusion, the changes that took place in between the rough and final draft made the letter look advanced and well qualified. The punctuation and grammar improves and makes the letter proper. The capitalizations emphasize that the words are important. The connotations improved the letter, but overall the changes were a positive thing towards â€Å"The Declaration of Independence†. The document affected everyone, all over the United States then, and now, with the addition of the British.

Sunday, November 3, 2019

Consumer behaviour Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 2

Consumer behaviour - Essay Example The essay below discusses the role of marketing in enhancing consumer motivation through application of consumer behaviour models. Marketing links the societal product requirements to the economic responsive strategies. Marketing can be viewed as an organisational function that creates, delivers and communicates value to consumers while managing customer relationships in strategies that are beneficial to the organisation. Most marketing strategies are geared towards understanding the consumer behaviour and providing superior customer value. Consumer behaviour is defined as the buying culture of consumers. Consumer behaviour is affected both intrinsic and extrinsic factors such as perception, the self, motivation, learning and memory, attitudes, group influence and culture. According to Solomon et al (2006: 6), consumer behaviour involves focus on the processes involved when individuals choose, buy, use and dispose products, or services to satisfy their needs or desires. Marketing is a chain of various market components that are interconnected. The components supplements and overlap with each other. Effective marketing entails taking into account the consumer opinion and behaviour that enables manufacturing of goods that suits their needs. Marketers should be able to discern what prompts a consumer to act and what stops them from purchasing products. The aim of studying consumer behaviour is to understand the buyer and make a customer out of them. The study focuses on the processes used to choose, secure, apply and dispose products, experiences, services and ideas in a bid to satisfy consumer needs. The problem remains pertinent even with the modern efforts geared towards improving the motivating aspect of marketing strategies. The buyer is a highly complex entity in the discussions involving consumer behaviour and motivation; their needs are innumerable. Some of the needs are latent, manifest or highly dominant. The marketer should understand that consumers hav e their own ideas on the mechanisms applied in realising needs and desires. Understanding the need-structure and priorities of the buyer will require the marketer to develop a market relationship with the consumer. Consumer behaviour is applied in the formulation of the marketing strategy, public regulations and social marketing. Focus on consumer behaviour leads to the establishment of improved marketing strategies aimed at improving the worth of marketing campaigns and attracting new consumers (Biernat and Sesko, 2012: 138-143). Marketing managers should take into account the psychological aspects of the consumers in identifying the most perfect time for conducting marketing operations in relation to their perceptions on time. Few consumers accept products when newly introduced in the market but they later embrace their use as they penetrate deeper into the markets. This implies that organisations should be well financed to ensure that their products stay afloat when newly introdu ced in the markets. Focus on few numbers of consumers enables them to understand consumer behaviour which they can harness in influencing high numbers of consumers. Marketing strategies such as social marketing does not only aim at promoting products but also enables the companies become acquainted with consumer behavioural peculiarities and apply them in production. Motivation compels individuals to action. It can be defined as the stimulation of any desire or emotion that occurs in response to a consumer’

Friday, November 1, 2019

Remote sensing project Annotated Bibliography Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Remote sensing project - Annotated Bibliography Example ment and social acceptance of the American people; since an estimated 30000 drones will be expected to be across the US airspace by 2020 (Hiltner, 2013, p 398). Hiltner proposes the advantages and ease of execution of police roles with the integration of the UAss, as highlighted by their manufacturer and mandated by the constitution of the United States. Koppel’s â€Å"Warranting a warrant† discuses the use of the Fourth Amendment in enhancing privacy and the use of modern technological gadget that may intrude the essence of privacy without a warrant. He uses the concept of a search warrant to emphasize the application of the fourth Amendment in providing rights to protection against the violation of private property. The document provides relevance in the use of police drones as a violation of the Fourth Amendment. However, the action is significant in the provision of security in the US. In this case, Koppel concludes that the Fourth Amendment should be reconstructed in a manner that conserves general public interest as well as individual rights. Kyllo vs United States explores the use of legal approaches by law enforces in the aim of attaining peace and security. The use of a device that is not in public utility to conduct private search can be classified under violation of the Fourth Amendment. In this case the use of drones in surveillance activities by the police force can be viewed as an act of trespass which is against the rights of individual privacy. The fact that drones are not silent portrays violation of privacy as people tend to feel they are under surveillance when drones pass by their homes. Katina Michael, MG Michael discusses how modern technology has influenced the invasion of people’s privacy. The use of â€Å"embedded sensors on wearers† is one of the modern technology inventions which are aimed at acquiring information on a person’s nature. The article is relevant to the topic of discussion as it explains the pros and cons of privacy