Fortune 500 Company Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Fortune 500 Company Analysis - Essay Example Fortune 500 Company Analysis Wal-Mart Corporation is the biggest global retailer and by the end of January 2010, the company had amassed more than $400 billion in revenues, $24 billion in operating income, and operate 8,500 stores with approximately 1 billion square feet of space (Datamonitor: Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. 2010). Through low prices and development, Wal-Mart grew from their Arkansas roots to a global market leader. Wal-Mart is the largest firm in the global general merchandise stores sector, creating a 31.5% share of the sector's worth. Despite considerable opposition in the retail setting, Wal-Mart became a global leader by providing discounted price products to their customers. Wal-Mart manages three business divisions in the general merchandise industry: Wal-Mart, Sam's Club, and the international segment. Internet revenues are also an essential input to Wal-Mart’s achievement and the company’s Internet activities will continue to be a part of the future syne rgies of their business plan. Wal-Mart’s huge merchandise offerings and the wide blend of goods make it possible to differentiate them from the competition. Wal-Mart supplies branded and private label merchandise in several categories including groceries, recreation, electronics, apparel, wellbeing, interior design, and monetary services.

Rising Income Does Not Necessarily Determine a Rise in Happiness Essay Example for Free

Rising Income Does Not Necessarily Determine a Rise in Happiness Essay Many people say that money can buy anything including happiness. If one possesses a huge sum of money then they will be able to acquire the necessities of life that brings great satisfaction and significantly increases the happiness in people. Happiness comes from within and is an intangible asset. Happiness is a common term with a vast concept. One of the most conventional definitions refers to happiness as an attitude towards ones own life, the degree to which a person judges the overall quality of his or her life as a whole in a favourable way (Bruni Stanca, 2007 ). Others believe that true happiness is not obtained through material possession but divine paths. They deem that the aim of human way of life is not restricted to money as it is regarded as only a kind of survival in this world and doesn’t have any relationship with happiness. Money versus happiness What is crucial in a human being’s existence? Money will, in all likelihood, be the answer in most people’s life. The current society endorses the objective of making as much money as one can without considering what the cost is. People lie, cheat, and steal to gain another dollar at the loss of others happiness, but do they acquire the happiness from others? Vice versa, there are people who take home more money in a day than others in a year but yet they are still contemplating suicides. According to Bruni and Stanca (2007), when a person income rises, they need to pursue a higher level of pleasure so as to achieve the same level of happiness. A very vital question often asked is Does money buy happiness? Money does buy happiness if it is a material need. According to Diener, Harter and Arora (2010), â€Å"the Gallup World Poll included measures of not having enough money for food and shelter and therefore allowed people to examine the path from income through basic needs to the various forms of subjective well-being† (p. 269. ). However, using money on a want more than a need, for example, a nicer car or fancier bag, is unlikely to buy happiness which is long lasting. Money is directly related to happiness only to a certain extent but after a certain amount, it does not necessarily determine a rise in happiness. These three various effects help to explain these paradoxes are different perspectives, comparison of incomes and the doubling effect of incomes. Different Perspectives of the Rich and Poor The impact of rising income depends on the different social status an individual holds. The two social statuses that will be discussed here are the rich and the poor. The poor is defined as having insufficient means to afford needs and many a time requires struggle to attain those means; while the rich is defined as having more than enough means to afford needs and luxury wants. These are the two extremes in a society. Those experiencing poverty view having an increase in income as being a luxury, allowing them to afford even more necessities to support themselves and their family which builds a perspective in them that having more money means having an increased level of happiness. However, the increase in income only brings happiness till it allows the individual to escape poverty and after which, the rise in income no longer contributes much to an individual’s happiness level (Martin, 2008; Myers and Diener, 1997). On the other hand, many rich individuals do not feel any happier with rising incomes. According to Martin (2008), the doubling of average incomes in the west for the past 50 years did not invoke any significant rise in the level of happiness. It is true that with higher incomes, an individual’s spending power will increase but that will also mean an increase in aspirations (Easterlin, 2001). With this consistent rise in income and aspirations, each factor is dependent on one another, the level of happiness will remain the same and in some cases when the aspirations are beyond what the income can fulfill, depression may follow. Many tend to spend their extra rise of income haphazardly which eventually creates a vicious cycle of getting and spending rather than using that sum to increase freedom and peace of mind (Martin, 2007). In addition, having more income means having a wider spectrum of options to choose from in life. However, with more options it will mean choices become more difficult (Binswanger, 2006). With more options, it means choosing any one will incur a larger opportunity cost when all options seem attractive but only one can be chosen, hence forgoing the remaining options. Therefore, the status of rich or poor determines the significance of increasing happiness. Comparison of Incomes Humans have a natural tendency to compare what they have with everyone around them, including the comparison of incomes (Binswanger, 2006) where people choose to earn more than others, hence resulting in happiness. This can be well explained by the saying â€Å"keeping up with the Joneses† where people tend to keep upgrading themselves and become better than others hence making them feel they are of a higher status. When this happens, people begin to desire for branded cars, larger houses, expensive clothes and luxury holiday trips. This raises the self-esteem together with their social status (Martin, 2007) where people begin to feel good about themselves and being seen as admirable in a society’s viewpoint. As stated in a research by Martin (2007), some people were asked if they prefer earning an income of $50,000 as opposed to others having $25,000, or an income of $100,000 while others get $200,000, they chose the former. This clearly shows that even if every individual has one’s income increased, the level of happiness will not increase because of the need to have high self-esteem with high social status. The rise of income of everyone in the society does not equate to the rise of relative income where relative income means having earned a certain amount of income as compared to others’. Having a higher status than others may bring happiness but for the status of an individual to rise, others will have to be in a lower status and to some extent this can only be achieved at the expense of others’ happiness. Furthermore, if an individual decides to pursue a higher relative income, one will have to do that on the expense of one’s personal leisure time, striving to advance in one’s career to earn more money. Assuming that this thirst for status remains unquenched, the individual will be giving up a lot of one’s leisure time just to reach that temporary moment of high status and eventually a ‘snowball’ effect is created where more time, which can be spent on being happy, is being eroded at the end of the day. The Doubling Effect of Incomes Due to the high tendency of people adapting to higher income with higher aspirations (Binswanger, 2006), the desire for more income will never stop. In addition, when an individual earns a certain level of income, one will easily get used to it and soon becomes dissatisfied again. To satisfy that individual again, it will mean having to increase one’s income with a significant percentage. A study was done to further explain how an individual can only be satisfied when one’s income is doubled instead of raising by a percentage smaller than 100%. People tend to be happier when their initial income of $10,000 is increased to $20,000 as opposed to those who earns an initial $80,000 and getting an increase to $90,000. For that to feel an equal impact, the initial income of $80,000 should rise to $160,000 instead (Diener, Ng, Harter and Arora, 2010). In terms of percentage, the increase is required to be at least 100% increase for the impact to be significant enough to make an individual happier. In other words, the doubling of an income will give rise to a higher satisfaction level as compared to a relatively smaller increase. Table 1 Percent Distribution of Population by Happiness at Various Levels of Income, United States, 1994 Table 1 depicts the various income groups and shows how the doubling of each income group rises the mean happiness rating. As shown, the mean happiness rating for those earning $10,000 is 2. 1 while those earning $20,000 has their rating rising by 0. 2 and as the earnings doubled each time, the rating increases steadily. Counter-argument: Money Bring More Opportunity to Happiness Money has a direct correlation to happiness to a certain extent. According to Tatzel (2003), happiness rises when we experience self-esteem, control and optimism, and it decreases when those factors fall. Rise of income increases these personalities, allowing one to attain a higher level of happiness. Self-esteem is the beliefs, thoughts and feelings people have about themselves. It motivates one’s attitude and behavior. People use their money to boost their ego while some use money on retail or food to mask pain or deal with emotional issues. These help them to feel better and contribute to their happiness. Research conduct by Becker (1965), stated quite a few examples of how money indirectly bring happiness through time-saving inventions. For example, shopping in supermarkets help to save shopping time, vehicles help to cut down time spend on traveling to our destination and communication deceive such as telephones help us to get our message across faster. The key focus here is monetary affluence resulted in more opportunity leading to happiness Being financially stable, one has control the nature of their daily activities. This brought about spiritual joy as one can go to the movies every weekend, or lavish on gifts for the people he/she love. For the rich, money helps them have pure happiness because they can help bring relief to the suffering millions and the victims of the disasters. Money can also give us experiences and opportunities that we would otherwise never be able to have Money not only provides a shelter over one’s head but also provides assurance, leading to optimism. For example, when faced with illness, stress and fear of death will be relieved due to the security that money promises. A man in fear of death ceases to be afraid when he has the needed money, even before he actually cures the illness. Thus, money took away the fear and helps one to be optimistic. There are so many more things that money could be used in exchange for our desires thus, it resulted in a raise in happiness index. Money is one of things that contribute in the process of being happy. Rebuttal: Money cannot buy happiness Money enables the opportunity for happiness, but people more often than not squander away on things that will make them happy but never does so. It only buys illusions of happiness. As such, people have a tendency to shift towards money and material pleasure. According to Binswanger (2006), all time-saving innovations mentioned by Becker (1965) did not result in time-savings. For instance, e-mails are more convenient than sending letters thus prompting individuals to send more messages through mail as compared to letter than they ever would. Instead of having to read only one letter, there will be an increase in the exchange of information resulting in failure of time-saving improvements. Very often, people mentioned that money can increase one’s sense of well-being as it does not restrain one from spending more time in leisurely pursuits. For example, watching a musical show or going for a vacation. However in reality, time was wasted on work and traveling, less time was engaged in experienced happiness. Psychologists of Harvard University concluded that wealth increases human happiness when it brings people out of poverty but it does little to increase happiness thereafter. There are people who are wealthy but lonely, while others are poor but happy because they have their close friends, good health and family. Happiness is not just set by one single factor but many others; it does not always increase in direct proportion to the amount of money. Conclusion In conclusion, money is necessary but not the obligatory prerequisite for happiness. Individuals may be more satisfied with their life if they have more money, but this does not necessarily mean they will be happier. Money does provide basic needs which leads to happiness as it satisfies one’s desire, however this feeling does not prolong when there are more money. In addition, there must be a balance between earning morning and leading a healthy lifestyle. Being absorbed in earning money can easily cause one to forget their actual meaningful tasks such as caring for their families, having time with their friends†¦etc. They trap themselves in the materialized ambition and lose what are important to their life. Happiness and contentment are simply poles apart. Being in the upper social status distribution will not ensure a placing in the upper rank of the happiness distribution. However being contented and getting involved in meaningful accomplishments such as help to pave a way to the top of happiness index.

Hip Hop and the Black Urban Experience Essay -- Music Essays

Hip Hop and the Black Urban Experience From its conception, hip hop has been branded as music for uneducated street hoods. But, the debut album of the obscure group, Midnight Voices, shatters this stereotype with its thought-provoking commentary on the Black experience in urban America. Featuring saxophone, keyboards, guitar, bass, and percussion, along with the scratches and cuts typically found in rap, Midnight Voices delivers its urgent message of racial injustice with its equally impressive music. The group merges the styles of hip hop and funk to create a refreshing alternative to mainstream rap, which is often characterized by the repetitive sample of beats. In doing so, the band effectively expresses the lyrical content of the songs through its music, and succeeds in creating a complementary blend of provocative lyrics and musical ingenuity. True to the mysterious character of their name, Midnight Voices opens the album with a curious chant titled â€Å"If You Knew Us.† Beginning with a gradual fade-in, the group chants the puzzling phrase â€Å"If you knew us, then uh . . .† repeatedly and without any musical accompaniment. A steady rhythm is maintained throughout, even when the Voices modify their chant by including their names. After the chant is repeated a few more times, the group throws in yet another mysterious line, which further heightens the listener’s curiosity. The line, â€Å"If you knew the voices, then uh . . . you would know the world and uh . . .† provides a hint to the listener of the social commentary to come. The chant then returns to its first verse, and slowly fades out. This short piece serves as an introduction to both the group and the general message of their music and album. The dr... ...n to the musical background. By not using any fancy accompaniment, the group shows that the power and effectiveness of their music need not necessarily be enhanced by any studio tricks commonly used in today’s hip hop and popular music in general. Wylie even comments on the effectiveness of this simplistic approach in raising issues to his listeners: â€Å"R you ready for the relevant rapper/rampaging never running/with knowledge I’m stunning/and gunning/down ridiculous rhymes/that rely on Romper Room beats/no knowledge? Why?† Throughout the album, Midnight Voices manages to dispel the popular belief that hip hop is not â€Å"real† or â€Å"respected† music. Through the group’s gripping lyrics and original music, Midnight Voices has succeeded in proving that rap should be recognized as a unique cultural expression, as worthy of respect as any other art form out there.

Life and Death :: essays research papers

Throughout history man has made many journeys, far and wide, Moses great march though the Red Sea and Columbus’ crossing of the Atlantic Ocean are only a few of mans greatest voyages. Even today great journeys are being made. In every instances people have had to rise above themselves and over come emence odds. The Joads did just that by traveling to California to find work. Steinbeck shows one aspect of this real life journey by displaying it by a turtle and it’s struggle to reach the other side of a road. As the turtle is about to reach his goal, it is returned to it’s original location, but it does not waver in it’s determination, and continues across the road until it reaches the other side. The Joad family and Casy identify with this the most because the undergo tremendous heartache, yet they stay true to their plans and never give up. They are faced with death and sickness, but they never give up. Steinbeck wrote â€Å"In the evening a strange thin g happened: twenty families became one family, the children were the children of all the loss of home became one loss, and the golden time in the West was one dream† This was what the Joads were searching for they wanted to feel like they belonged. Ma was the one who was mostly searching for this. This is her journey to keep the family together. Her belief that a broken-family will not be able to accomplish anything. This is displayed by her not allowing the two cars to split and arrive at California at different times, when one of the cars breaks down, as they are leaving Oklahoma. Ma says â€Å"I ain’t a-gonna go.† The only way she’ll let the family break up is if pa whips her and makes her go. Pa’s journey is displayed by his trying to fit in and make a difference. He does not handle this move very well, and throughout their journey, he is confused, and not as headstrong as Ma. He realizes this also, he knows that he can’t help the family the way he use to. So he searches for anyway he can help. When the rain was coming it was this idea to dig a ditch. It was a good idea but it failed and it reflected on him. Tom Joad is a very complicated individual, who is a tremendous asset and at the same time a tremendous burden.

Calls for Change in High School Mathematics Essay

Mathematic educators, parents and students are calling for proper changes in approaches to learning mathematics in high schools. The need to improve learning of mathematics in schools is highly recognized and underlined. Thus, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics published the Curriculum and Evaluation Standards for School Mathematics that offered recommendations for high school mathematics reform. In addition, the Conference Board of the Mathematical Sciences in their official report ‘The Mathematical Sciences Curriculum K–12: What Is Still Fundamental and What Is Not’ stresses the importance of new topics and techniques in the secondary schools. New approaches should develop new learning techniques that would be discrete from statistics, mathematics, and emphasis on algebra and geometry should be properly re-assessed according to different abilities and needs of students who are taking mathematics course in the secondary school and high school respectively. The need for change and innovation is generally driven by emergence of advanced computing technologies that offers excellent opportunities for school educators to replace manipulative traditional techniques with more complex realistic problem-solving techniques. In its turn, the National Science Board Commission issued a report ‘Educating Americans for the 21st Century’ challenging courses in algebra and pre-calculus and stressing the importance of developing integrated mathematical sciences curriculum in the secondary school. Researchers argue that new curriculum will positively affect students’ achievement outcomes in the secondary and high schools. To make changes more effective teachers are required to understand the advantage of curriculum’s full scope and its consequences; students are required to support the expectations of classroom environment. The Core-Plus Mathematic Project is newly developed curriculum for high school mathematics. Of course, the Core-Plus Mathematic Project or CPMP curriculum is a matter of debates and controversies as not everyone admits the need of high school mathematics reforms. Nonetheless, the CPMP curriculum is worked out with assistance of mathematics education researchers, instructional specialists and classroom teachers. Moreover, the curriculum is shaped by empirical evidence gathered from students and teachers who are willing to participate in field testing. In particular, organization of mathematics curriculum should be interpreted in terms of teaching and assessment recommendations and should follow the standards set in the above-mentioned reports. New mathematics curriculum is a three-year mathematics course for high-school students who are allowed to take the fourth year to prepare for college mathematics. Newly designed curriculum differs from more traditional approaches as new curriculum encourages students’ understanding of mathematics – statistics, probability, algebra, geometry, trigonometry and discrete mathematics. Learning mathematics is developed in focused units that combine fundamental ideas with mathematical habits of mind. It means that new curriculum stresses the need to connect function, data analysis and symmetry with recursive and visual thinking. In contrast to traditional approaches to mathematics, new curriculum emphasizes the role of mathematical modeling and problem-solving instead of simple calculus. Researchers say the primary goal of curriculum improvement is to enhance students’ understanding and comprehension of key mathematical processes and concepts, to enhance student’s ability to use mathematical concepts in real-world problem-solving. Graphic calculators should enhance students’ understanding and abilities to solve authentic problems. Improved instructional materials encourage active teaching and learning processes that will primarily focus on problem situations, abstraction and analysis. Oral and written communication, reasoning with ability to represent, and conceptual understanding are highly appreciated and encouraged. All courses centre on mathematical reasoning and thinking with abilities to develop formal proof. Additional fourth year course will allow to keep students, who prepare for college mathematics, despite whether their undergraduate program is based on calculus. Students interested in mathematics are encouraged to be accelerated into the fourth course year. Today, many researches are focus on identifying whether new curriculum meets its specific goals. In particular, they try to reveal whether the learning outcomes based on new patterns of mathematics learning process differ from outcomes based on more traditional curriculum. During the past eight years researchers conducted various studies to examine mathematical achievement in classroom with CPMP curricula. Research studies have revealed that performance of CPMP students is much better than that of students with traditional interpretation of mathematical representation. It means that problem-solving and recursive thinking appear to be more effective in learning mathematics than simple understanding of key concepts of processes. Further, CPMP students are characterized by higher grade results at the end of the years than students with traditional approach to mathematics. Summing up, recent researches have indicated that CPMP students perform better than students with traditional curriculum. CPMP students are characterized by better abilities to interpret mathematical representation and calculation, to measure conceptual understanding and to recognize the importance of problem-solving. CPMP students are better in probability and statistics, algebraic manipulative skills, etc. Nonetheless, researchers argue that student’s success in college mathematics doesn’t fully depend on CPMP curriculum. Other factors, as, for example, student’s attentiveness, readiness to participate in learning process, self-awareness, classroom environment, play their important role in student’s high school mathematics performance. With guidance from educators, researchers and teachers, curriculum developers will be able to build on stronger patters of student outcomes. References Schoen, H. L. , & Hirsch, Ch. R. (2003). Responding to Calls for Change in High School Mathematics: Implications for Collegiate Mathematics. The Mathematical Association of America Monthly, February, pp. 109-123. Available on-line from http://www. jstor. org/stable/3647770 .

Harman Scorecard

Harman Scorecard Harman Scorecard Harman Scorecard According to the Securities and Exchange Commission a comprehensive annual report of a company detailing its public performance is prepared. This is known as Form 10-k annual report. The report clearly defines the history of the business, the products it offers, the organizational structure, equities, subsidiaries, audited financial statements, risk factors involved as well as the legal proceedings of the firm. This essay provides a detailed overview of Harman International industries. The company is a worldwide producer of high quality audio and electronic products. The internal strategic marketing plans adopted by the company provides a broad market under well know brand names. The company is also a leader in digitally integrated info entertainment systems in the automotive industry. The company is divided into various segments to help provision of satisfactory customer service. The segments are well structured ensuring that the professionalism of the company is not affected but the consumer segments are improved. Other segments include the compensation, corporate employees benefit and occupancy cost as well as the company brand identity campaign. The company results of operation depend on the sales of the audio products and electronic system. From here a 10-K report is generated and made public to the shareholders and the authorities. The report covers the sales made in major markets of the company which are situated in Germany and some states in the United States. Since the company has an operational cost of more than $10 million and above 500 shareholders, filing periodic reports is a requirement by the law. This must be done regardless of whether the company securities are traded privately or publicly. Harman International industries being a multinational company provides shareholders with the Form 10-K on demand. Â  The filed report includes the performance of the company across its different markets, future projections as well as a detailed account on how the company deals with market changes. The company’s aggressiveness in acquiring new markets is also shown.. The report also includes market information that is gathered from internal sources, market research as well as publicly available information in the public domain. The provision of a form 10-K based on an estimation is critically risk. This is because of the inherent nature of the uncertainty of the risks. Based on various different factors, the risks fluctuate without cont rol. The following illustrates the contents of Harman International industries 10-K report. The business section includes an outline of the company’s mission and vision, with well detailed information on what the company offers. After a definition of the company’s products, dealings and mission, a section that includes the segments and structure of the organization. The company also defines its strengths and why it is a world class portfolio. The technology it uses to provide quality and authentic software’s to the general public. The final phase in the report includes a projected growth in the company. This is especially useful to contain the current investors in the company while trying to lure new ones. Providing concrete information on ways to acquire production resources at a reduced cost is a key factor to consider in the provision of a Form 10-K. live CHAT

ramayana essays

ramayana essays The poetic author, Valmiki, does not calls Rama the perfect man in his well known tale of Ramayana for no reason. For this story has been a legendary epic that many generations of the Hindu culture have been modeling their society after, for over two thousand years. It has been an influential teaching for children and scholars of all ages because of its simplicity and exemplary concepts and virtues of the Hindu people. From childhood most Indians learn the characters and incidents of this epic and they furnish the morals, ideals and wisdom of common life. This epic helps to bind together the many peoples of India, transcending caste, distance and language by showing all the perfect way to practice dharma throughout one's life. As will be explored in this essay, one can derive many of the virtues of the Hindu culture and religion such as perfectionism, honesty, order, obedience and respect, and active asceticism through warfare. All these characteristics make a human being perfect and are achieved through the practice of dharma, as explicitly shown by the main character of Ramayana - Rama. Warfare is used in the Ramayana to express the ideas of dharma which is associated with Hinduism. In the Ramayana, warfare plays the role of religion and society. Rama lived his entire life in an exemplary manner - by the rules of dharma. When Rama was a young boy, he was the perfect son. Later he was an ideal husband to his faithful wife, Sita, and finally a responsible ruler of Aydohya. The first example of obedience and respect displayed by Rama is vivid when the news of his banishment, enforced by his own parents, are brought to him. He handles the situation with remarkably patient and wise attitude and says to his stepmother, "I gladly obey father's command ...Why, I would go even if you ordered it." By doing this and not fighting, he shows characteristics of great piety to his parents and the lack of desire to be a powerful and...

Free Essays on Evolution Of Computers

When mainframe and minicomputers provided the backbone of business computing, there were essentially networked environments in the sense that "dumb" terminals shared access to a single processor (the minicomputer or mainframe), printer (or printers) and other peripheral devices. Files could be shared among users because they were stored on the same machine. Electrical and operational connections were available in common and shared applications, and implementation of new hardware, software and users was a simple task so long as a single vendor was used. With the proliferation of microcomputers in the business environment, information became distributed, located on the various hard drives attached to personal computers in an office, and difficult for other users to access. Today, network systems which connect disparate hardware, software and peripherals are commonplace, but the communication program which makes using these systems has not kept up with the demand for such environments, although a number of companies are now participating in the field. This research considers two of the most popular network operating systems (NOS), NetWare by Novell and Windows NT by Microsoft, and considers which is appropriate for business applications. Network Operating Systems Operating systems are the interface between individual programs and the user. Through the operating system, the user is able to name files, move them and otherwise manipulate them, and issue commands to the computer as to what the user wants to do. Network operating systems are similar to this, but exist (as the name implies) in the network environment. Thus a network operating system is used to issue commands to shared devices, and to provide a background against which scarce resources are divided among competing users. Ideally, the network operating system is transparent to the user, who is only aware of the ability to share information and resources. An efficient NOS can make... Free Essays on Evolution Of Computers Free Essays on Evolution Of Computers When mainframe and minicomputers provided the backbone of business computing, there were essentially networked environments in the sense that "dumb" terminals shared access to a single processor (the minicomputer or mainframe), printer (or printers) and other peripheral devices. Files could be shared among users because they were stored on the same machine. Electrical and operational connections were available in common and shared applications, and implementation of new hardware, software and users was a simple task so long as a single vendor was used. With the proliferation of microcomputers in the business environment, information became distributed, located on the various hard drives attached to personal computers in an office, and difficult for other users to access. Today, network systems which connect disparate hardware, software and peripherals are commonplace, but the communication program which makes using these systems has not kept up with the demand for such environments, although a number of companies are now participating in the field. This research considers two of the most popular network operating systems (NOS), NetWare by Novell and Windows NT by Microsoft, and considers which is appropriate for business applications. Network Operating Systems Operating systems are the interface between individual programs and the user. Through the operating system, the user is able to name files, move them and otherwise manipulate them, and issue commands to the computer as to what the user wants to do. Network operating systems are similar to this, but exist (as the name implies) in the network environment. Thus a network operating system is used to issue commands to shared devices, and to provide a background against which scarce resources are divided among competing users. Ideally, the network operating system is transparent to the user, who is only aware of the ability to share information and resources. An efficient NOS can make...

Schools & Society Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Schools & Society - Research Paper Example Family is universally accepted as the basic unit of society. Hence in understanding culture, studying family life is important. Specifically, the study centres on family structure, roles, and ideals. Similarly, studying their holidays and festivals is also important, because this manifests their beliefs and values. In fact, holidays which could be religious, political, or cultural in nature are observed because people find some things important, memorable, or sacred on them. The primary interest of the study here is to understand the ‘what’ and the ‘why’ in order to know their beliefs. Lastly, studying their language is also important because this manifests the diversity of the culture and the origin of the people. Here, the study generally centres on the questions of ‘what’, ‘who’, and ‘from where’. B. Two Cultures Studied 1. South Asian Indian Culture India, as described in India’s official government portal, M y India My Pride (2012)– a secondary source for the study of the Indian culture – is among the world’s oldest civilizations with rich culture and heritage it has gained from its more than 4000 years of existence. Comprised of 28 states and seven territories, India, according to a secondary source for the study of the Indian culture, Zimmerman (2013), is unsurprisingly South Asia’s largest single nation. Its society is sharply hierarchical, known for its caste system. Hierarchy, as explained by Jacobson (2004) – the primary source for the study of the Indian culture, is determined mainly by gender and age. Hence, the male is higher than the female and the older male is higher than the younger male. Hierarchy is very evident not only in caste groups but even in family and kinship groups. It is based on this hierarchy that family members are accorded with respect. The high regard of Indian family in hierarchy makes family in India more fascinating. Fa mily life. Traditional Indian family structure is best described as closely knitted, extended, and patriarchal. Indians regard the family to mean not only the father, mother, and siblings as commonly understood, but also their grandparents with all of them living under the same roof, working, sharing common income, eating, celebrating, and worshipping together. As the family further expands they divide into smaller units and become joint families continuing the same patterns of family life. (Jacobson, 2004) The father heads the family. This does not simply mean that the father is the bread-winner of the family. Rather to Indians, this also means that the male family member sustains the extended family. Hence, a married Indian male brings home his wife to be part of his natal household. Thus, the wife has to live with her in-laws together with her children. This also means that the transition of leadership goes from the father to the eldest son, and not to the mother. While the eldes t male heads the family, his wife is in-charged to supervise their daughters-in-law and younger children. Thus, the older generation takes good care of the younger generation, which the latter repays in return. Such family roles put boys at higher esteem than girls. Besides, marriage in Indians is traditionally decided by the socio-economic status of the girl. (Jacobson,

Funding for Public Schools Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Funding for Public Schools - Case Study Example It will also analyze the impacts, recommendations and implementation of court opinions and decisions on the West Orange-Cove case of 2005. Finally, it will bring out my own reflections of the belief I have regarding the property tax systems of the State and how it will impact on the financials of the public schools in Texas State Public school funding in Texas was first defined by an Act 'Gilmer-Aikin Act' of 1949 which enabled the establishment of a minimum foundation program. The program was designed to create a funding system that will see the State and other local sources remit revenue to the education systems. However, the system got a setback when the law suit was filed by school districts sitting issues of substantial inequity and misappropriation. The Texas Supreme Court then ruled that the Texas school funding system was unconstitutional and need to be scrapped. This resulted to the current financial system 'Robin Hood's system' which is currently in place Property taxes are revenues collected via taxes on businesses and individuals l9ivin gin the State ton finance school programs. The taxes usually contribute to about 49% of all funds that the school districts require in addition to the State and federal funds which contributes 41 and 10% respectively. Every school district has adopted two tax rates every year i.e. debt service tax rate and operations and maintenance tax rate. Adequacy and equity of funds The hotly debated issue of public financing in schools in the State has been the equity and adequacy of the funds. People argue on whether the most important goal is equity or adequacy or there is any combination of the two issues2. Equity provides equal distribution while adequacy advocates for enough funding for each and every student. Texas legislators are striving to meet a compromising level that will see the revolution of systems in Texas to fair policies that will ensure equal funds for all students and schools Most experts in the education arena are for the idea that the current systems are almost exhausted due to changing political and economic climates. To sustain a strong economy, they argue, will need an equally strong educational financial system that will be very efficient in meeting the growing demand s of the sector. Their opinion is that, districts will be able to save more of their revenues by providing quality childhood education. This will imply that the amount of money used to meet challenges of these students when they are in heir 9th grade will be lower compared to what would be needed if they obtained poor childhood education. If the current trends of court cases regarding the systems are anything to go by, then, the education system in the State will be at stake. West Orange-Cove case Texas schools coalition members, west orange-cove and other interested parties had filed a case in the courts to question the constitutional credibility of the Texas schools financing system3. San Antonio Independent School being the plaintiff in the property poor and equally poorly funded Edgewood district was involved in the case together with the others. Their claims were; 1. The schools financial system had evolved into a property tax violator thereby violating the Texas constitution, Article VIII of section 1

I was thinking like the Theaters from greek to roman to william Essay

I was thinking like the Theaters from greek to roman to william shakespeare to tv now - Essay Example These plays might be tragedies or comedies, but in all they were incorporated into the Greek Culture. They told the stories of the Greek Gods and Goddesses, and were dominated by male actors. If a play required a female part, the playwright would have the male dress up as a female. Also, these plays were sometimes violent. If part of a play included someone being killed, the playwright may take a prisoner who was supposed to be killed, put him in the costume of the character that is to be killed, and surreptitiously sneak the prisoner out there instead of the real actor. Then, the prisoner would be killed and the crowd would have a realistic scene. This theme of violence would be largely outpaced with the next dominating Empire to emerge. The Romans, at the center of their world, lived at the head of the most powerful Empire of its era. Over a million people lived in Rome at one point, and, since the massive amount of slaves owned by the Roman Empire was able to do all the farm work, the Roman people themselves often did not have work. They were unemployed, and thus needed to be placated. Famously, Roman leaders placated the populace with bread and games. These games would become the dominating source of entertainment for the Roman people. There were a variety of games, from chariot races to naval battles to gladiatorial games. The gladiatorial matches are the most well known, renowned for their violence. But even the chariot races were lauded for their gore, as a mass of chariots racing around a tight course often lead to much bloodshed. Thus, the major entertainment of this ear was directly violent, not faked, just blood. Following the collapse of the Roman Empire, the segmentation of Western Civilization meant there was not a strong, multicultural entertainment movement. Yet one man, William Shakespeare, came about in the late 1500’s and revitalized the tradition of plays. He made a variety of plays, like Hamlet, Othello, Romeo and Juliet, and Henry V (Sayre). These plays often made plays on contemporary figures, and were attended by people from all social orders. They helped bring entertainment back to the masses. Previously, the poor mass of the population lived on farms or in squalor in the cities, had to work or beg, and had little access to entertainment. The upper classes had their private shows and were able to use their luxury of time and money to entertain themselves. Shakespeare transcended these boundaries by providing open plays with universal themes, and helped bring the love of entertainment back to the masses. While the tradition of plays continues to this day, the more common source of entertainment is movies. Cinema came about in the Great Depression, when people needed a cheap way to forget the horrible conditions they were living in. Movies began to offer this, an easy mental escape from reality. While books require reading and interpretation, movies allow a person to just absorb information, not necessarily t hinking unless they want to understand a complex plot of a complex movie. While originally outdoors and black and white, their popularity led to their further development. They were popular, so investors began to flock to them. Eventually color and sounds were added to movies, and then they were placed primarily indoors. Now, we have 3D movies and access

BHS 400 - Module 1 SLP (Stress Management) Essay

BHS 400 - Module 1 SLP (Stress Management) - Essay Example So effective management of stress, can make a person successful in all aspects of his life. Identification of stress is the most important thing one must learn. â€Å"Most people are exposed to much higher levels of stress than they realize. Brain cells, "talk to each other" by means of chemical messengers. When a person is exposed to too much stress, chemical communication in the brain begins to fail. When these messengers fail, a person suffers from sleep disturbance, aches and pains, depression and anxiety. This condition is called -- OVERSTRESS. Three brain messengers control your sleeping, your energy levels, and your feelings of pain and pleasure.†(Steve Burns MD). Stress is often related to some kind of worries. Identifying the root cause of such worries and rectifying it will result in reduction of stress. The effects of stress depend upon: the Individuals Appraisal of the event, person or situation. To some people, a job interview is a life or death crisis; to others it is an enjoyable challenge. So the reason for stress remains in your perception of incidents in your daily life. Some people like to take challenges in order to excel in their jobs and for getting promotion. Some others will be satisfied with what they are now and they won’t be ready to take challenges. Unnecessary Worries often lead to stress. For example, religious people are always worried about the sins they committed. They are afraid of the final judgment of God and will be lead a stressful life until their death. They must remember that even the Bible says â€Å"all the human beings are sinners and those who have regretted in their sins will be forgiven†. They will avoid the fact that even one of the thieves crucified along with Jesus Christ, has got salvation. We must remember that each and every problem in the universe has at least one solution. In some cases there will be more than

The National Security Agency and Cryptography Term Paper

The National Security Agency and Cryptography - Term Paper Example In the past, cryptography was primarily used for military and government intelligence, which is still very important to date. However, advancement in electronic communication systems especially the internet has fueled the use of cryptography in sending private messages and information such as medical records, banking data and credit card numbers among others via electronic channels. Cryptography ensures rapid, secure and confidential electronic communication between two or more people (Nsa.gov, 2). Garfinkel points out that mathematical cryptography involves the use of mathematical processes for sending secret information. It uses the method of encryption, which only the recipient can comprehend. Through this method, a plaintext message is converted into ciphertext, which is sent to the other party. The receiver of the message converts the ciphertext back to plaintext using decryption. The channels through which the messages are sent may be open or accessible to outside parties who i ntercept messages but these people cannot understand or interfere with the information. A Cryptographic system is a process, method or system that provides security in terms of integrity, non-reputation, authentication, access control and confidentiality. The system provides encryption and decryption, which may be software, hardware or even a manually performed process. A cryptographic system ensures confidentiality of information by preventing its disclosure to unauthorized persons either in a local network or across a network. Therefore, for a cryptographic system to be effective in preventing unauthorized decryption of messages, it should be strong, making it hard to crack and to break the system. However, a system is considered weak if it is easily decrypted, has defects in its designs or if it allows weak keys (Dulaney 326). The cryptographic system should also provide an assurance that the recipient receives the original message from the sender. It should not allow any kind of modification on the message during transmission because if this happens, the message is altered and it becomes unintelligible and inaccurate, which may have serious consequences on the recipient. For instance, if such alterations happened in medical records that involved drug prescriptions, the patient under medication may be in danger. Therefore, a cryptographic system should ensure integrity in its process by having mechanisms that will indicate that the message was altered or corrupted, hence allowing proper precautions (Dulaney 327). There are four fundamental principles behind cryptography. The first principle implies the use of a plaintext, which is the message that the sender wishes to encrypt. After the encryption, the message becomes a ciphertext, which is the second principle. The third principle involves a mathematical function known as encryption algorithm that encrypts the message and the fourth principle implies the type of key or keys used in cryptography. The key(s) can be a phrase, a number or a word that is used by the mathematical function for encryption. The main goal of cryptography is to ensure that the original plaintext cannot be reproduced from the ciphertext without using the corresponding key(s) (Garfinkel, 33). Cryptography requires both the sender and the receiver to have the knowledge of the procedures involved in encryption and de

BHS 400 - Module 1 SLP (Stress Management) Essay

BHS 400 - Module 1 SLP (Stress Management) - Essay Example So effective management of stress, can make a person successful in all aspects of his life. Identification of stress is the most important thing one must learn. â€Å"Most people are exposed to much higher levels of stress than they realize. Brain cells, "talk to each other" by means of chemical messengers. When a person is exposed to too much stress, chemical communication in the brain begins to fail. When these messengers fail, a person suffers from sleep disturbance, aches and pains, depression and anxiety. This condition is called -- OVERSTRESS. Three brain messengers control your sleeping, your energy levels, and your feelings of pain and pleasure.†(Steve Burns MD). Stress is often related to some kind of worries. Identifying the root cause of such worries and rectifying it will result in reduction of stress. The effects of stress depend upon: the Individuals Appraisal of the event, person or situation. To some people, a job interview is a life or death crisis; to others it is an enjoyable challenge. So the reason for stress remains in your perception of incidents in your daily life. Some people like to take challenges in order to excel in their jobs and for getting promotion. Some others will be satisfied with what they are now and they won’t be ready to take challenges. Unnecessary Worries often lead to stress. For example, religious people are always worried about the sins they committed. They are afraid of the final judgment of God and will be lead a stressful life until their death. They must remember that even the Bible says â€Å"all the human beings are sinners and those who have regretted in their sins will be forgiven†. They will avoid the fact that even one of the thieves crucified along with Jesus Christ, has got salvation. We must remember that each and every problem in the universe has at least one solution. In some cases there will be more than

Theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Theory - Essay Example Both aspects being significance to business; however, the real benefit lies in what is named as combination of both entitled the strategy (Porter, 1996). Strategy can be defined as the due combination of the above and other factors facilitating business to remain distinguished from the competitors. Core of the successful strategy is capability of doing things with unique distinctions. Moreover, strategies have to be guiding paths with strong unique features, locking systems that keep rivals off and forcing competitors to trade-off for imitation. Any strategy to generate success has to posses these features (Porter, 1996). Intense literature have been developed covering various theories for strategy making. Among aspects include theories that guide path to the successful strategy development as well as implementation. Hence, underlying discussion is assessment of the two widely used theories. GARBAGE CAN THEORY Cohen, March, and Olsen (1972) in 1972 established that decision making in an organization can also be organized anarchies as theory of Garbage Can. The theory of Garbage Can explores the decision making in an organization. As not all of the decisions made in the organizations are successful; therefore, the theory of Garbage Can model is an important contribution towards the anomalies affecting decision making. The Main Idea The core idea forming the garbage can theory states the reason for the uncertainties in organizational decision making. These uncertainties are referred as organized anarchies. Theory cites three reasons for organized anarchies in decision making of organization that are as follow (Padgett, 1980): Preferences considered for the decision making are problematic in themselves. Therefore, unclear preference does not allow firm to opt for the preference that may not possess rationale to generate best and most suited result for the organization in the given situation. Technology employed and used for decision making is not well understood c ausing inability to generate the due responses. Technological advancement and respective adaptability does not only refer to the technical adoption. Technological adaption requires understanding the due course of using technology in the best interest of the person in general and business in specific. Positions in the organizational hierarchy face higher level of turnover. Change in person is accompanied by the change in methodologies, perceptions as well as energy and effort contribution of similar person also varies. Therefore, consistently changing decision maker dilutes the type and level of participation from decision maker as well as those that will be affected by decisions. Hence, problems in the organization are solved in a manner that can be simply defined as the hap-hazard manner where each problem, choices and participants flow in and out of the garbage-can. Therefore such decision makings will though solve the problem but can be defined as the rationale solution. The Gene ral Strengths and Weaknesses Garbage can theory is important for its role in describing characteristics of organization decision making in any portion of time. Organizations even while solving a clearly defined problem with clear problem solving structure pass through various choices that would have been applied in case the situation of the problem had some other assumed characteristics. Hence, in selecting the strategic choice

Marketing Nike Essay Example for Free

Marketing Nike Essay Growing up there was one brand that all professional athletes used in my eyes, Nike. The Swoosh, was the icon that all kids had to have, and why not? All the big time players not only had it, but endorsed it. Ads, which had Michael â€Å"Air† Jordan, Bo Jackson, or Wayne Gretsky â€Å"The Great One† doing amazing physical feats, always, motivated the crowds. The Nike company new this, and blasted it marketing campaign through all sorts of media. In this essay I will break down this multi-billion dollar company’s marketing techniques in the areas of: customer value, promotional items, marketing’s four p’s of the marketing mix, the segmentation, targeting, and positioning (STP) approach to market the product, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), environmental trends, the largest customer base, its competitors, and ethical marketing for this corporation both stateside and overseas. Putting these athletes in the ads is just one way to build value for a company. From Ashford universities â€Å"Principle of Marketing† by â€Å"Sara White† We are introduced to marketing with the definition of marketing as â€Å"an activity designed to stimulate exchanges that have value for customers, partners, and society at large†. With this definition of marketing intact the question that still is out pondering is what is value? â€Å"Value was defined as the perceived trade-off between benefits and the sacrifice required to take possession of those benefits†. To break it down further we will look at customer value. Customer value is a title for the cost of a particular trade for the purchaser (buyer) instead of the company (seller). Looking into a selling Nike abroad, whatever a customer may pay in the United States may not be the same overseas. The first thing is to look at is how the current client group influences the market in the states. Nike had a humble start with creators Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight trying to improve on the track shoe of the day. The former â€Å"Blue Ribbon Sports Company† now known as Nike wanted to increase value into their product by having athletes endorses it. So they found the person that they thought would be the best at building future customer value, Steve Prefontaine. During his college time he never lost a race on his home track, and was exposed to national notoriety with is fourth place finish in Munich. This was one of their first successes in marketing. As popularity for their product rose the selected new sports models to display the shoes on the track. This really kicked of the sale of the shoes. Seeing how this success worked at their home setting, taking it to other countries should be no problem. Paving the way with athletes that had above average ability in their field was how Nike struck the marketing campaigned. Finding someone in another country that could spark the same influence over the masses would keep thing on track for Customer value overseas. This would all depend on what country we planned on taken our product to. The last thing that we are going to look at with customer value is the four utilities of customer value. The four utilities are: Form, Time, Place, and Ease of Possession. The form in the four utilities shows what effort Nike puts into their product that makes it desirable. Part of this desire is the quality and showmanship they place in every item. The other part is who they put in their invention. This was very clear in the mid-80 when Nike was the company that took on NBA rookie Michael Jordan, to represent their company’s goals. Being one of the leaders of in business, time is important. Nike put their product out when they need to. They also change it enough to keep things fresh. Time also goes along with place. Not only does the timing of releasing product play a huge role, the place does as well. Lastly, ease of possession is just that, how easy will it be to get the product. Included in this is can I get my item fixed or replaced easily also. With internet available in almost everyone’s pocket from smartphones to tablets getting Nike’s items have become very accessible. With ease of possession we have to look at what trends are working or not, so that we may fix them. Understanding these four utilities just scratches the surface of what we need to know. To be more in-depth with a strategy we must look at the targeting and market mix portion of promoting. In order to utilize the four utilities properly we must look at the STP approach of marketing. This Approach involves segmentation, targeting, and positioning looks at what a byer values. â€Å"Segmentation can be defined as the process of splitting a market into smaller groups with similar product needs or identifiable characteristics, for the purpose of selecting appropriate target markets. Targeting (or target market selection) refers to: An organization’s proactive selection of a suitable market segment (or segments) with the intention of heavily focusing the firm’s marketing offers and activities towards this group of related consumers. And positioning (which is sometimes referred to as product positioning) is: Positioning is the target market’s perception of the product’s key benefits and features, relative to the offerings of competitive products. † With the number of competitors only the rise it is important for an organization to forecast what the consumers buying trends are. Nike, although one of the largest establishments in their field, they still are not untouchable. They have to stay a success by continually improving on the products. Nike leads the way with new technology that innovate all sports. In the late 80’s the introduction of Nike air did this well. Again they launched a promotional campaign that introduced a series of ads by Bo Jackson one of the top athletes at the time. They saw the future of what their clients wanted, Air. It was the first shoe out on the market with air in the sole. Following the marketing targeting set at this point propelled them ahead of their competitors. To stay ahead of the game the implementation of the four P’s is the next tool to evolve business plan. The four P’s that come from the widely used â€Å"marketing mix† developed in the 60’s includes production, price, place and promotion. â€Å"Product: The combination of tangible goods, services, and beliefs offered at a specific price. † To stay on the breaking edge of athletic gear with rivals on your heels they have to produce a â€Å"product† that reaches the masses. The creations did just that, they made it tangible for all with a specific price. â€Å"Price: The amount of money or other consideration a customer must exchange for the offering. † Nikes merchandise because it was ahead of others cost a little more. At the same time they could justify their cost due to the fact the merchandise operated better than anyone else’s. â€Å"Place: The strategy by which a company gets the right goods in the right quantity to the right place. † Because Phil and Bill both had roots on the west coast mainly Oregon, this is where the perfect place to offer the product out of was. Now, a global sensation you can get it from any corner of the world. â€Å"Promotion: The advertising and selling activity a company undertakes to create demand for the offering . † The only real way to endorse this type of product is to show the benefits in different people that use it. This not only sums up the four P’s but gives examples of how it applies to this enterprise. While putting all of these aspects together there has to be a way to track certain trends to be more productive. This can be done by customer relationship management or CRM system. CRM is a good tool to utilize once your product has hit the market. This system tracks the companies’ relationship with the purchaser. The data collected will be from sale and overall marketing . Some items that might be pulled from this information are demographics of the individual buying an item. This is so important to direct and promote ads to those that will actually be utilizing them. When I got my first pair of Nike shoes I was stoked. They were everything that I wanted and more. I was fast to show them to my friends. At that point I would have done anything that Nike asked me to (I was a typical kid). Inside the box was a card and at the time I did not understand what it for. It had questions on it like race, age, sports that I played in at school level†¦etc. This was there way of finding out who is buying their goods. Some places will add in rewards or freebies to get their customer feedback. This information can also give feedback on when to promote certain items so that there will be a larger return. Now that all the information is being tracked and fixed, we can now see how it does abroad. In the 90’s Nike wanted to figure out how to reach an even larger fan base. Soccer was the ticket to gain that popularity not only in one country but almost every country in the world. At the point of taking production to another country the process of building customer value and marketing kind of starts over. Knowing this Nike took players from the World Cup-winning Brazilian National team. They redesigned the uniforms and pulled in some US teams as well . This organization could go a little farther by endorsing other sports as well. One of the most important things about going into other countries with this appeal line is to see what effects it has on the area. From â€Å"Principles of Marketing† by â€Å"White† there are a couple of things that affect the marketing environment. The acts that affect the environment are actors and forces . They both exist in two different categories Micro environment and Macro environment. In Micro-environment actors are individuals like: stockholders, board members, competitors, public, and customers . In this category there are also forces which include: Strategic moves by, competitors, Channel partners, Changes in consumer behavior . Macro- environment deals actors with leaders in Culture/society, Politic, Economics, Technology development, Finance and Law . Forces in Macro-environment are; globalization, Technology and media . Let’s see how this looks with Nike. If Nike is to be a success in other countries they have to know how they are going to affect the environment where they go. They also need to know how other countries can affect them. An example of this would be in the Middle East females are not treated as equals. Therefore it would not be a good idea to start up only female sporting lines there. Another example of how they could be affected by the environment is the culture is different that the US, some countries that would use their product cannot afford American prices. This would cause a new marketing scheme. A good place to start is checking the CRM to see what trends these cultures prefer. So currently who is Nike’s biggest byer? Nike hits such a wide range of sports, from their start in track, to sponsoring golfer Eldrick â€Å"Tiger† Woods. Almost every sport today has some kind of influence from Nike. The largest in today’s market is probably the NFL. The National football league has just signed up Nike to create some new gear for this 2012 – 2013 season. The great thing about Nike is it now has sister labels that produce more than just athletic products. â€Å"A significant event in Cole Haan’s timelines happened in 1988 when Nike acquired Cole Haan . Thence, international flagship stores and more outlets opened making the reach to influence the use of quality and fashionable footwear become broader and wider . † â€Å"Then the technology of Nike Air was incorporated in the design of women’s shoes which made a mark on Cole Haan’s emphasis on providing comfort and protection not only for men but also for women. This was the first at that time and the demand for Cole Haan shoes continued to rise . † Nike seems to be unstoppable but they are only a small percentage of the market. There are so many different shoe companies out there today. If an individual can get it in the States they can get overseas via the internet. A few brands that compete with Nike are: Reebok, Adidas, Asics, and New balance. But they are not close to the company that distributes to over 170 countries. Unfortunately although Nike from the stand point of business is a great company they have a dark side also. Ethics is gaining power in the business world. People are tired of seeing cooperation’s destroy morale of the world and marketing is no different. There is a responsibility to the public to give honest communications and things that are not going further corrupt children mind. A lot of marketers will play to children’s weaknesses. Rebecca Clay wrote an article on advertising to children. The article goes on to explain that children’s psyches are not to the level to decipher fact from fiction. This weakness is exploded and ads well over load kids with ideas of toys and games that they do not need nor should they have. One case of unethical marketing goes deeper than what we can see. It was what was going on behind the curtains. According to† Mail Online† that put out an article on Nike, about the treatment in the converse factory . They continue on to say that the employees are under paid, making around 50 cents an hour. Terminology such as; dog or pig from supervisors are thrown around in a derogatory way. This is a decade after Nike came under fire for their child labor seat shops in Indonesia. Should something be done to this marketing tycoon? Some kind of apology should come to the public not only in America but to the world. This is part of their obligation to the society has a whole. As kids we can be drawn into many different that catch our attention. Mine, like many juveniles was following the dream of growing up to become a professional athlete. It was the lifestyle at the time that seemed effort less. Nike open my eyes to this more than probably any other brand. The slogan† Just do It† was what I needed to pursue my goals. For a while it felt as though they were not just talking about sports but life who knows maybe they are. Whatever it may be there marketing plan from the start of the back of a trunk; to multibillion dollar cooperation is one of the best. Going through the marketing world with Nike we covered the following: customer value, promotional items, marketing’s four p’s of the marketing mix, the segmentation, targeting, and positioning (STP) approach to market the product, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), environmental trends, the largest customer base, its competitors, and ethical marketing for this corporation both stateside and overseas. References: (n. d. ). Clay, R. A. (2000, September). Advertising to children is it ehtical. Retrieved Jan 11, 2013, from American Phychological Association: http://www. apa. org/monitor/sep00/advertising. aspx Fripp, G. (2012). .segmentationstudyguide. Retrieved Jan 14, 2013, from www. segmentationstudyguide. com Reporter, D. M. (2011, July 13). Mail Online. Retrieved Jan 13, 2013, from daily mail: http://www. dailymail. co. uk/news/article-2014325/Nike-workers-kicked-slapped-verbally-abused-factories-making-Converse-line-Indonesia. html uknown. (2011). History Heritage . Retrieved 01 10, 2013, from Nike, inc : http://nikeinc. com/pages/history-heritage unknown. (2013). A History of Cole Haan. Retrieved jan 13, 2013, from Shoe metro delivering sole satisfaction: http://www. shoemetro. com/t-history-of-cole-haan. aspx unknown. (2013, jan 13). Forbes: profile and News. Retrieved Jan 2013, 2013, from Forbes. com: http://www. forbes. com/companies/nike/ White, S. (2012). Principles of Marketing. San Diego: Bridgepoint Education,inc.

Speaking In Formal Academic Context English Language Essay

Speaking In Formal Academic Context English Language Essay Oral presentation is the speech or talks that being presented in front of people, for a particular topic interest. The basic component of oral presentation will be the speaker, audience, topic to be discussed, material, and time. Those combining factors will create a good presentation, but it depends on many other factors such as skills, preparation, and knowledge of the topic presenting. Nowadays, English become a global language which is extremely important. Any of the daily activities such as education, and business are using English as a medium of communication. Realizing this situation, thus Malaysian government announced that English is a second language after Bahasa Malaysia, which implies the importance of English. In academic purpose, can be said that all higher education in the Malaysia are using English in the learning process. Malaysian currently still have difficulties in learning English, thus many programs and efforts are being conducted in order to exposed more to people about English. There are some elements that we need to give an attention in preparing and organizing a successful oral presentation. Technically, oral presentation in any field consists of three mains part which is introduction, development of points, and conclusion. Introduction will always deal with preparation and planning on the topic being discussed. Development stage consists of climax of the presentation, where all the point needs to be stress in an appropriate manner. For last stage which is conclusion, it usually ends with the summary of the presentation, and question session from the audience. However, all these three main parts does not work on its own. All the elements need to be used and delivered by combination of skills, enthusiasm, efforts, and person involved. In academic purpose, oral presentation should be easily organized, and the presenter needs to have a deep knowledge about what they want to present. Presenter also should clear the purpose of the topic, and make sure that people can understand on what is being delivered. Many speakers are lack with the skills and confidence level to make an effective presentation. Feeling of stage fright, speech anxiety, or talking error is a common situation happened to the speakers especially for those who are not presenting regularly. In order to overcome the situation, all basic things in presentation also need to be carefully determined. The points like when is the presentation, how long, where is the place, what is the function, who is guest attend, and many more must be carried out before the presentation begins. All these can improve the quality of the presentation. SPEAKING IN A FORMAL ACADEMIC CONTACT A good and effective presentation definitely depend on how well it being structured. Presentation in academic purpose is actually same as other presentation, but different in certain aspect. As be mentioned before, presentation needs to have three important parts which is beginning, the middle, and the end. Beginning process always starts with an appropriate greeting to the audience. Example of greeting good morning ladies and gentlemen, is one of the greeting always being said. Beginning process also includes introducing of the speakers, to introduce who are you, from where, and the purpose of the presentation. The greeting part can be applied each time presentation, but if we are presenting to the same group of audience for many times, introducing part can be skipped. Currently, the most famous ways of presentation is by the aid of power point slide show. Thus it will be a good medium of delivery so that all points can be pointed out clearly. In academic purpose, the slide show will begin in what are the topic will covered, the objective of the subject, and also the brief outline on what the presentation will talk about. This is to make an understanding among audience and could remember certain important information. Purpose should be divided by two, which are general purpose and the specific purpose. General purpose only gives the overview, to present, to summarize, and to discuss the current topic. For specific purpose is the points that we want the audience to take away with them after listening or attending the presentation, or in other word something that really important which needs to be remember. 3.0 PREPARING AN ORAL PRESENTATION In order to have a good communication skills and effective oral presentation in academic purposes, there are some points that can be a guideline. The five key points of the successful oral presentation are as follow: Know your audience Use your voice Body language Presentation aids Practice what to be delivered. 3.1 Know Your Audience In oral communication, the most important thing is we know who our audience is. By knowing the audience, we can know what is the suitable and reasonable points should be put in our presentation. Audience in oral presentation can be a public people, students, employees, or professional team. Thus, in order to prepare this presentation, we need to suite the audience and the content of the presentation. For example, if our audience is a group of secondary student, then we can put some interactive diagram or use simple example which can attract them to listen on the presentation. This is because this type of audience is usually easy to get bored and lost their focus, which only stand for the first part of the presentation. But, if the audience is the professional group like teachers, lecturers, or government officers, the content of the presentation need to be more specific and details as they are the one who have an interest to the topic presented. The presentation need to be more academically, as they want to know details about the particular topic . Audience also consists of two types, which is active and passive audience. Active audience will always involve in the presentation, for example answering question that we ask and give their opinion or question in the middle of presentation. It will be lucky if we get active audience which makes the presentation more interesting and others will also get there information from the ask person. But in current situation for most cases of presentation, there will be hard to find audience in this type. For passive audience, they always keep silent although question or opinion being asked. However, we can change this passive audience to become an active audience. In handling passive audience, more attention need to be given, and if possible just pointed to someone and ask for their opinion about the topic being discussed. Another ways is by giving some rewards for those who standing and give their question or opinion. By this way, we encourage them be active and involved in the presentation. Other than that, we also need to know what the level of knowledge of the audience is. If we are presenting in front of people who are new in the topic, then the presentation needs to be more basic and a bit details. However, if the level of knowledge of the audience is the same or higher, then the presentation needs to be more complete and straight to the point. Thus, to know the audience before the presentation is one of the requirement and necessary. It will help a lot especially in the preparation of material for presentation to the target group. The presentation will be more effective and what we want to deliver can be presented in the most convenience way. 3.2 Use Your Voice In presentation, voice is the medium of communication between speaker and the audience. A good voice in presentation will have a variable intonation in their ways of delivery. Intonation will reflect on the points that being stress out. A loud intonation can be used in stressing on important points and fact, which is things that audience need to be carefully listen and understand. By saying loudly the points, it will attract audience and they will focus on the speakers words. Soft intonation then can be used for the points that are general, or less important. By applying soft intonation, calm condition can be created and this will give some opportunity to the audience in controlling their focus. Speaker also must know to control their voice, and make sure horizontal voice is not being used. While saying something important points, it is also encourage to stop talking for a seconds after the points. This is to create a situation to show that point stated are really important and the speaker show that by silence. However, there are a lot of technique of intonation can be used in order to catch attention, but for an academic purposes, right intonation must be correctly use to prevent lost focus by the audience. 3.3 Body Language Other than a good setup of content and voice tone, body language also plays an important role to the audience. It can communicate and deliver an important message between people which cannot be reached by other method. Body language can be seen in some ways which is: Facial expression Body posture Body gesture Eye contact Facial expression are varies according to the content of the talk. For academic purpose of presentation, the common expression by the speaker is serious expression. Actually, academic purpose is not always dealing with serious and straight expression. A good speaker knows when to apply several of facial expression in order to stress out the point. Expression like smiling, thinking, and confuse expression can create a good psychological effect to the audience. Eye contact to the audience also needs to be controlled. Speaker need to look at the audience from time to time and not looking at the presentation slide or notes in the hand. Any notes or book can be place on the table and can be use as reference, but not for most time. It is not allowed to speaker holding the notes as it shows that speaker are not ready or not sure on what being presented. It is really advisable to the speaker to move around in some radius in the stage. Speaker can move from one side to another slowly in between deliver one points to another. This is to indicate some changes on focus, and keep attention. The transition also can emphasize some points and to clear some points. Body language also is useful to overcome nervousness. While put some expression, we will not feel stress and just do like a normal speaking. In addition, body language can maintain the interest of audience, as they will see variable action and keep focusing. Body language should be natural and friendly, not pretending or force. Body posture can be setup to straight but relaxed, not too technical. Pointing by hand or pointer can be used to indicate part of explanation, in the diagram or table. Negative body language should be prevented. Action like yawning and leaning will indicate speaker is boring. Standing with hands on hips, or arm folded is defensive action and make the presentation not in the right pathway. Other than that, looking at the notes, keep looking at the screen, white board, or floor are also need to be avoided. Speaker also needs to remember to not back turned to the audience, or put a hand in the pocket. Some speaker or presenter also sometimes likes to sway like a pendulum, which is a bad habit. It becomes an annoying action to the audience. 3.4 Presentation Aids In oral presentation the delivery of our idea is one of the most important criteria during the presentation. This is because we want to make sure the audience gets what we want to say and get the basic concepts of our presentation. To make the audience and the spectator pay concentration and follow along the presentation, few different types of presentation aid should be used during the presentation. These aids will increase and gain the audience interest towards the presentation. From help of the presentation aid we are able to make sure that the audience clearly understood what we are going to deliver during the presentation. There are few different types of aid that can be used during the presentation. This aid can be in many different form and types. This is because to make sure that the audience will not get bored with our oral presentation. Among the different types of aid in presentation are the visual aid, video aid, white board and pointer. The uses of the visual aid can enhance the focus of the audiences attention, thus this will make sure that the audience will stay focus during the presentation time. Plus this will help to make our presentation more attractive. Furthermore the visual aid can be used to illustrate points in a easier manner this is because it is easier to understand in visual form but difficult in a verbal form. The visual aid also can be used to reinforce of our ideas during the some part of the presentation. Visual aid also can be used to change focus from aural that the changing the focus of the audience from the oral form into visual form. The visual aid can be very helpful in the oral presentation that involves the motivation; this is because we are able to deliver the idea more easily with the visual aid. Next visual aid also saves time this is because with the visual aid we are able to implement graphics during the presentation. Thus this will reduce the time needed for the explanation for the c ertain points during the oral presentation. This will also reduce the usage of the white board and information to be put on a board. Different types of visual that can be used to convey our ideas are the graphs, maps charts, drawings, images and objects. Avoid putting the full sentences during the presentation with using the visual aid. Next is the video aid in the oral in the oral presentation, video usually contain all the graphics and the image that can stimulate the understanding and gain the interest of the audience. Usually video will come together with the audio which can be very helpful in the brief of the presentation. Sometimes the usage of the video aid can be very helpful, because with the video we are able to understand what are being conveyed easily. Plus there are many different types of graphics that can be used to generate the interest and can make sure the audience stay tuned with the presentation. The video aid can be used for the help of speaker; this is because with the video aid we can reduce the time that is spend during the explanation of the certain points in the presentation. Furthermore the content in the presentation can be very brief and contain a lot of information that can be delivered easily to the audience and the spectators. But avoid using the heavy animation and graphics during th e video aid this is because it will cause the audience to lose the interest in the presentation and can lead to confusion. During a presentation the white boards are used to convey the idea in the simplest form. In addition the white board also is used to give some additional points that are not included in the presentation. The white board are also is used to draw the mind maps and show formulation about something. This will give time to the audience to grasp what are being presented during the oral presentation. Different color marker pens can used to convey the idea by drawing the maps and shortcuts. The usage of different color marker will enhance the memory power the audience, thus this will make sure the audience can remember the each points that are being presented. By using white board also will give extra time for the audience to jot down the important points that are being presented. But the writing of the presenter should be neat and clean this is because neat hand writing will make the audience understand what the points that is being delivered. Another important point is that avoid turning b ack to the audience when about writing on the board. The pointer is one of the important tools that is used as aid during the oral presentation. There are few different types of pointer that can be used such as the laser pointer, stick and even pen. With the usage of pointer we are able to show clearly what are the important point that are being showed in the presentation. This will enable the audience to know about the important point. The pointer also will reduce the movement of the presenter and this makes sure the presenter can present well the presentation. Thus this will also ensure they will not waste energy on walking and can make sure the presenter is comfortable during the presentation period. Apart from that this will reduce the presentation during. 3.5 Practice Points to be Delivered. Practice makes perfect. That phrase should be used in order to have a perfect presentation. For those who are use to give a speech will do not have a problem, but people who are going to present for the first time need to practice a lot. In the presentation, we need to organize and practice especially time frame, fluency of speaking English, any aids to be used, and expected question on particular topic that may be asked. Practicing in front of the mirror or friends can manage to handle with the time frame. Time management is very important in order to deliver points and know where to give more explanation. Practicing also could increase self confidence level as we are prepared on the condition and for the whole presentation. Fluency in English also needs to be alert. There are some words which have difficulties to pronouns, and jargon must be us in limited. This is because some audience will not familiar with the jargon being use, unless the jargon is commonly use and we highly confidence audience understand the phrase or jargon that we use. Question and ask session also need to be practice. The expected question need to be focus on as speaker will dont have any difficulties to answer in the real situation. Some question also need to be asked to the audience to know level of understanding on the topic presented. But do not force audience to give an answer. If possible, find any volunteer to answer the question, and this will create more convenience ways in this session. In explaining some points, rhetorical question can be asked. Rhetoric question is the question being asked without expecting it to be answer. For example, Have you ever heard about†¦, or What does this phenomena imply to us... These questions are asked just to show the problem and need self interpretation about the question. 4.0 CONCLUSION As a conclusion, making an effective oral presentation in English in academic context is not something that too heavy to done. By combining all the factors and points given, a successful presentation can be made. What needs to be focus on is the choice of topic, the way of the presentation, skills in presenting, and the content of the presentation. All this may required certain period to prepare and practice, but as efforts be given in the presentation, there will be easy on the real situation and condition. A good presentation should consist of story line, which determined what should be put in introduction, problem definition, an approach to the problem, findings of the solution, and also recommendation or suggestion to the particular topic. In addition, storyboard also could be used as it consist the same things as storyline, but all points are under the same theme. Presentation in English must be always implemented in the daily life, not only for academic purposes, but also for the other context. This is to ensure that English language can be practiced more often and increase the level of English knowledge. Before going to present, it necessary to double check all the information in the slides, finalize the data, clarity of the visual or diagram use, logical aspect of the information, and also correct English grammar being used.

Questions To Ask Before Hiring A North Carolina Private Investigator :: North Carolina, Private Investigator, hiring,

There are many reasons why an individual may have to hire a North Carolina private investigator. There are a vast majority of investigators that have previously been police officers or some that served in the military. They wanted to continue working in this type of field so they chose to become investigators. Most states require an investigator be licensed. When it comes to doing an investigation it is a lot of hard detailed work and most individuals would not be able to begin doing the detailed search involved in finding out the information needed. Investigators have to spend a great deal of time doing boring research or going through records to find some of the information needed. Most people think of cheating spouses when the term private investigator comes up, however, they do a lot more than just spy on spouses. An investigator is perfect for finding someone who is missing such as runaway children or long seen family members. Many times an investigator will be hired by a corporation to do a background check on possible employees. They also may be hired to investigate possible fraud cases by the government for individuals receiving state or government money they may not deserve to get. For example, if an individual is receiving money for workers compensation yet there have been reports of them working in physical work. An investigator can be used as a witness in certain court cases when they can provide relevant information. They are also bound to confidentiality for any information unless they are aware of information that could do harm to someone. Should you have the reasons to consider hiring an investigator you should check to verify if they are currently licensed as an investigator. You can request references, however, most of the time an investigator will not be able to provide personal case references as they have a duty to their previous client to keep them and their information confidential. You could and should inquire about any experience they have and the amount of time they have been an investigator. You must ask what the fee will be and exactly what the fee covers. Often if an investigator needs to travel for your case there will be additional fees for hotels and other travel expenses. Let the investigator know you would like a plan of action, in other words you want to know what they intend to do in regards to your case.

Essay --

Child beauty pageants have changed so much since the 1960’s. Children beauty pageants used to be about the children and having fun. Now, it seems like most children are being forced in these pageants by their parents, looking unnoticeable from all the heavy makeup they wear, fake hair, teeth and nails they use. Children being abuse, sexualize, having self-esteem problems etc in these pageants. Many people have questioned this sport and wonder if it should be ban? In this paper, I have augured and provided facts and information on why children beauty pageants should be ban.  Children Beauty Pageants Should Be Ban Seeing children as small as 0-month old to 12 years old in beautiful dresses, showing off their talents and competing to win cash and tiaras may seem cute. Today many mothers are taking the pageants to a completely different level. Do you think dressing a three year old as a prostitute for a movie theme pageant is appropriate? No, it is completely inappropriate and that is exactly what Wendy Dickey did to her three-year-old daughter Paisley Dickey in a film theme beauty pageant on TLC’s â€Å"Toddlers and Tiaras†. Wendy thought by dressing her daughter as a prostitute like Julia Roberts character in Pretty Woman was going to â€Å"wow† the judges but just created controversy all over. Children beauty pageants may seem to be cute, but today it is a concern among many people on whether children beauty pageants should be ban because of what goes on in the pageant world that we do not see and the outcome and future of these children. When beauty pageants became a part of the American society in 1920, it also became a marketing tool. In 1921, in the state of New Jersey, in Atlantic City beauty pageants were used to make tourist stay... ...beauty pageants is that their parents wants fame. On one of TLC’s hit show â€Å"Toddlers and Tiaras†, there was an episode about a girl name Alan Thompson. Alan was new to the beauty pageant world, from being on that show and competed in a beauty pageant on the show the network gave Alan and her family a spin-off show which we all know â€Å"Here Comes Honey Boo Boo†. Here comes Honey Boo Boo is the top rated show on TLC as of right now. Alan and her family is famous now and since getting her own reality show and recognition she have not compete in any more beauty pageants. When you think about it if she really loved doing beauty pageants and was passionate about it she would still be doing it. I think her mother exploited her daughter in the beauty pageant world so she can get fame and money. I personally find that disgusting because I see it as selling your child for money.

History of Pinkerton Detectives Essay

Allan Pinkerton was born in Glasgow, Scotland, on August 25, 1819. He was born into poverty to a police man who could no longer work due to injuries he had sustained from the job. To support his family Allan worked as a cooper or barrel maker in his native land. Allan ran afoul of local authorities over the membership in a chartist movement. This was a political movement that was dedicated to universal suffrage and better working conditions for the poor. A price was laid on his head and Allan and his young bride Joan fled for their lives. This landed them in the United States and settled near Chicago in 1842. He was a very hard working man who had realized working for himself would be the best thing for him and his family. After some time he move to Dundee a town he realized it was in need of cooper. There he quickly gained control of the market due to his good quality of barrels and low prices. The desire he had to expand his business is what led him to the path of being a detective. Allan Pinkerton realized that good quality raw materials for his barrel were easily obtained on Small Island close to town. Through a business mind he decided instead of paying others to provide him with the materials he should instead travel to the place to get the materials. Pinkerton was an abolitionist and soon his shop acted as a station for escaping slaves to freedom to the north through the Underground Railroad (John, 2005). When Pinkerton got to the island, there were signs of habitation. Having in mind that there were some counterfeiters in the area, he concluded that could be their hiding place. He teamed up with the local sheriff to venture out the camp and this led to the arrest of the band. His superiority began in detective and the local townspeople turned to him to help them in arresting the ringleader of the band. The natural abilities in Allan Pinkerton eventually allowed him to track and bring down the counterfeiters to justice. One day while Pinkerton was gathering wood he discovered a gang that was making coins in the area. Allan assisted in arresting these men. This discovery and arrest of the counterfeiters led to his appointment as a country sheriff in 1846. In 1850 Allan was appointed as the first city detective in Chicago police force and in the same year he established a private detective agency. In 1850 by Pinkerton Allan along with Chicago attorney general Edward Rucker founded the north western police agency. In 1843, Allan’s brother Robert had formed his own business called Pinkerton & company which was originally established as railroad contractors, but along the line he began to work as a railroad detective. This business was growing very rapidly that he hired several men as detectives and guards. When Allan and Rucker’s business dissolved a year after its formation; Allan joined his brother in the already established company and the name changed to Pinkerton National Detective Agency (John, 2005). The Pinkerton detective agency It is believed to be founded by Allan Pinkerton in the 1850s. He selected a logo of an open eye with the tagline â€Å"we never sleep†. This is what led the Pinkerton men and later to private eyes. Pinkerton provided a wide range of private detective services and specialized in the capture of train robbers and counterfeiters. Their clients included banks, railroads, and government and they provided stable business for the firm. They were hired by railroad companies to investigate crimes against them and the activities of labor movements. Pinkerton was a solution to the growing labor unrest. Many businesses wanted muscular enforcers available at the factories and mines to watch their employees closely (Geringer, 2008). In 1861, when he was investigating a railway case he discovered an assassination plot against Abraham Lincoln. The conspirators were intended to kill Lincoln during a stop at Baltimore on the way to his inauguration. Pinkerton warned Lincoln of the threat and he passed through that city at night secretly. Lincoln soon hired Pinkerton to organize a secret service to gather military information during the civil war in the southern states. During this time he hired escaped slaves as spies to the confederates. During the time of the civil war Pinkerton headed a group that was aiding the government with information about their rivals. He also at times acted as Lincoln’s body guard. During the years between 1867 and 1875 he was the head of American secret service during the civil war and he led to the pursuit for frank and Jessie James American outlaws in the state of Missouri (John, 2005). After the civil war Pinkerton went back to the management of his detective agency. When Robert Pinkerton died in 1868 Allan Pinkerton took over the whole management of the detective agency. However a year later he suffered a paralyzing stroke which nearly killed him. He recovered later and went on with the management of the Pinkerton detective agency. Between the year 1873 and 1876, one of his agents managed to obtain the secured evidences that had led to the breaking up of the coal miners’ organization in Pennsylvania who were thought to engage in terrorism. This led to the execution of twenty people members by the court. In 1877 they went on strikes that led to much criticism of the Pinkerton detective agency harsh policies towards the labor unions. The criticism was done in circles though Pinkerton was assertive that he was helping workers by opposing the labor unions. Allan Pinkerton died in 1884, and the agency was taken over by his sons William and Robert who continued the agency’s movement from detective work to security and protection. Improved police departments and other private agencies at this time had begun to impinge on Pinkerton’s business. Allan’s sons continued with the company’s expansion, investigations of mafia activities, unions, robberies and insurance claims. They also provided protection to various public events. During the labor unrests he hired guards to keep strikers and their unionists away from the factories. Most noted was the 1892 homestead strike where the Pinkerton agents ended up killing several people. The Pinkerton Detective agency often supplied men to break strikes. During this year 1892, the amalgamated iron and steel workers union invited its members at a homestead plant owned by Andrew and Henry. The strikers were waiting for them and they had a battle all the day long which resulted to the death of seven Pinkerton’s agents and nine workers. This gave the agency a bad publicity (Gale, 2000). Allan Pinkerton II gained control of the company in 1923. He continued with the expansion of the business due to increasing bank robberies which was facilitated by automobile. In 1930 he also died and Robert Pinkerton II took control of the agency. In 1937 when the Wagner Act by the congress was passed it made the investigation of the labor activities illegal. To make up for this loss of the business the Pinkerton Agency focused more on investigation of gambling, especially the horse racing circuit. The 1940s through to 1960s was a time for change for the Pinkerton National detective agency. Their primary service changed to guarding of property. This can be linked partly to the services they offered during the World War II; guarding the war supply plants. In 1965 it was renamed Pinkerton’s incorporated to reflect this shift away from investigation services. In 1967 Edward J. Bednarz became the first non- family member to be a president of the agency. In 1983 Americans Brands purchased the Pinkerton for $162 million. The chairman who took over Robert McGuire had the objective to improve the agency service and increases revenue. His efforts resulted to $11 million loss in sales by 1987. This loss could be partly blamed on the competition by other over 1000 security agencies that had sprung up over the years (Gale, 2000). Thomas Wathen purchased the company from the American Brands in 1988 for $95 million. His goal was to revitalize this firm having revitalized the California Plant Protection to gain its former position of a multi purpose investigation firm. He actively sought the company’s growth through acquisitions. After duration of two years, Pinkerton’s inc. had combined revenue of $605 million. Wathen also expanded the agency reach to other countries including Mexico, Canada and Portugal. In 1991, Pinkerton acquired Business Risk International, a respected investigation, a respected investigation, consulting and business agency. This move brought Pinkerton back into business as a full service security provider. The firm continued to expand throughout the late 1990s, and solidified its position as the world’s biggest security solutions firm (Gale, 2000). In conclusion the Pinkerton detective agency may not have been founded to run this far but the ambitions of the people who ran the company contributed to this sustainability of the company. The good work offered by the company was also needed by many and the target groups who received the services were also well chosen. The natural abilities of Pinkerton were also a great and important aspect of his mission. The choosy way of recruiting the agents contributed a great deal to the success of the company. All these reasons combined with the excellent services they offered made them more successful. Pinkerton was a great man in searching for up coming opportunity which helped him in expanding his businesses and also gain superiority. References Gale Group, (2000): Pinkerton National Detective Agency. Retrieved on 16th Jan, 2009 from: http://www. accessmylibrary. com/coms2/summary_0193-13350_ITM Geringer J. , (2008): Allan Pinkerton and His Detective Agency: We Never Sleep. Retrieved on 16th Jan, 2009 from: http://www. trutv. com/library/crime/gangsters_outlaws/cops_others/pinkerton/1. html John L. Hoh, Jr. (2005): Allan Pinkerton and his Secret Role in the Underground Railroad. Retrieved on 16th Jan, 2009 from: http://www. suite101. com/article. cfm/the_underground_railroad/114256