Do Student-Athletes in College Look At Their Coaches As Parent Figure Research Proposal

Do Student-Athletes in College Look At Their Coaches As Parent Figure - Research Proposal Example As the paper discusses with many of research studies in the theme of relationship between a coach and the athletic students in schools focusing on the leadership attributes and the moral and ethical relations, few studies have focused on the acceptable mode of handling the athletes by the coaches. With such perceptions as have been shown to hold in people’s views concerning the way that coach-student relationship should be, there lacks a standard tool on which the interactions and attitudes towards each other should be understood. There exists a gap in literature on whether students perceive their coaches as parent figures or not and what would be the factors that influence such perceptions. The lack of such literature from past studies and related academic materials shows the necessity to have a structured study into the theme in order to shape future studies and understanding of the theme. This study is aimed at establishing a qualitative justification through research study on whether the athletic students in colleges perceive their coaches as parents or not. This study is aimed at establishing whether student-athletes perceive their coaches as parents or otherwise through a qualitative analysis of the opinions by the athletes. The study is also focused on bridging the gap that currently exists between the literatures on student coach perceptions especially in the athletics and contribute towards shaping future research studies in the theme.

Scope of Liability for Negligent Misstatement by Professionals Assignment

Scope of Liability for Negligent Misstatement by Professionals - Assignment Example Scope of Liability for Negligent Misstatement Test of Negligence Generally, for a claim of negligence to stand, one has to prove three elements. These elements are: That there was a duty of care owed to the claimant by the defendant, That the duty of care owed was breached, That the breach caused reasonably foreseeable damage borne by the claimant These grounds have been applied for cases involving personal injury. But when it comes to negligent misstatement by professionals, this control test may not be appropriate, more so when it comes to the element of reasonable foreseeability. In Caparo Industries Plc V Dickman, Lord Oliver foresaw a situation whereby a professional would be open to a limitless scope of liability, if the test of reasonable foreseeability alone was applied, (Katter 2003, P. 1). ... A duty of care will only arise where the advice giver, expressly or impliedly, guaranteed the information user that he will exercise due care when making the required statement. The person giving advice must be in possession of special skills and judgement on which the claimant relied on. This will not suffice if according to the circumstances, it was unreasonable for the claimant to rely on such a statement. The information giver, at the time of giving the statement, must have known or reasonably expected to know, that the claimant was going to rely on the statement given. In the case of Hedley Byrne & Co. Ltd V Heller & Partners Ltd, the plaintiffs who were an advertising agency had suffered economic losses due to the negligent statement of the defendant bank about the financial standing of one of its clients. It was held that where there exists a special relationship and an individual gives inaccurate statements where it was reasonably foreseeable that that information was to be a cted on, liability could arise for losses sustained from that reliance. When it comes to the requirement of special relationship, liability restricted only to reasonable circumstances. This prevents a situation whereby multiple claims could be made against the same defendant who has made a negligent statement that turns out to affect many people. In order to restrict such multiple claims arising from the same misstatement, the court laid out the essential of special relationship in the case of Caparo Industries V Dickman (1990). These essential are: That the maker of the statement knew that it would be communicated to plaintiff, whether named or unnamed. That the advice given was in relation to a particular transaction or one that is ascertainable. That the maker of the statement

Major League Baseball Team Budgeting

Major League Baseball Team Budgeting Major League Baseball Team Budgeting and the Effects of Big Spending Organizations versus Small Spending Organizations Introduction/Background Major league baseball is Americas pastime and one of the greatest sports in the world. Major league teams are multi-million dollar organizations that must budget their revenues and expenses just like a hospital, law firm, or financial company. Different teams have different ways of budgeting with one common goal, winning. In todays society, everybody wants to win in some facet of life. For major league baseball owners, there are many different ways to win. With the annual revenues heavily outweighing the annual expenses, owners do not have to worry about winning financially, but they do have to worry about winning on the field. Success on the field puts more people in the stands, sells more merchandise, and attracts big time television deals. These factors demonstrate that as long as you are winning on the field, your annual profit will only increase. This is why owners must plan, implement, and control their teams budget to the best of their ability just like a mayor has to do for h is or her city. After each season, the owner must then measure results and make a report of the teams financial information. If the team has a successful year on the field, it is more likely that team is going to generate a larger profit. Another aspect of budgeting that relates to baseball is expenses or expenditures. There are teams in major league baseball that will spend outspend any other team in the league in hopes that their team will win the world series. Even playing in the World Series means bigger profits for the organization. This can be related to a hospital spending money on a high-tech MRI machine that will cost more, but the MRI machine might be the only one in the area and bring in more business for the hospital. I am going to analyze the team budgets for the two top spending teams in baseball versus two teams that spend substantially less. Next, I will compare the results on the field. I am going to demonstrate how important financial management is to the game of b aseball through the master budgets of four different major league teams, the New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers, Tampa Bay Rays, and Oakland Athletics. B. In Support of Big Spending Organizations In 2013, the two largest spending teams in Major League Baseball were the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers. Each of these teams spent over two hundred million dollars on their players alone. Owners of any major league baseball team have a lot more to budget than just the players. Every organization must budget not only the players salaries, but every member in the entire organization, the cost of running the stadium, and the farm systems or minor leagues. The Yankees and Dodgers set up their budget for the 2013 season for one goal, to win the World Series. The operating budgets for these two teams is much more than the two hundred million dollars they pay their players. The owners do not have to worry about this because according to Ozanian (2013) the Yankees bring in over a billion dollars from marketing deals. They are worth over two million dollars all together. According to Brown (2013) From 1999 to 2012, clubs have spent a total of $33,942,203,596 on final payrolls. The Yankees account for 7% of that. In 2009, the Yankees had to take another aspect of budgeting into consideration, the capital budget. They built a new stadium that cost 1.5 billion dollars to complete. They will use annuities to pay off the stadium over time. With the amount of money, they are spending in 2013, you would imagine that they are the best team in baseball by far. This, however, was not true. The one thing that the Yankee owner could not control was injuries. Their big-time spending may have looked good on paper, but the Yankees failed to make the playoffs. As for the Dodgers, they are worth 1.6 billion dollars. Their big money spending has paid off however, by making a trip to the post season. According to the Associated Press (2012) During the 2012 season, the Dodgers signed a player from Cuba named Yasiel Puig for 42 million dollars. This mid-season acquisition could be considered as part of the capital budget. They signed Puig to a seven-year contract. Just like a fire station investing in a new fire truck, the Dodgers invested in a new player. This new player was a vital part of their 2013 success. The Dodgers set up their budget to win immediately, and that is what they are doing. According to Nightengale (2013a) the Dodgers led the league in average attendance. Like I said earlier, success puts people in the stands, and that is exactly what the Dodgers have done. The Dodgers also have advanced to the National League Championship Series for the first time in nineteen years. (Nightengale, 2013a) What are the advantages of big money spending? For teams like the Yankees and Dodgers, they chose to spend more money to acquire better players. Both teams line ups and pitching staffs in 2013 were stacked with perennial all stars. The only difference between the two teams is that the Dodger players were able to stay healthy. This spending advantage on players such as Adrian Gonzales, Hanley Ramirez, and Carl Crawford gave them an advantage in their division over teams who could not afford these players. We could compare this to a city such as Mobile spending more money than say Montgomery to bring a corporation such as Airbus. Airbus would create more jobs and more revenue for the city of Mobile. The big money players created more wins for the Dodgers. More wins for the Dodgers means more profit for their organization. Airbus for Mobile means for profit for the city. Another effect of big spending is player motivation. Motivation is a vital component of an organizations success. Pla yers who are making more money and play each night in front of larger crowds often perform at a higher level than players playing in front of half empty stadiums. Overall, the effects of big spending teams in 2013 is that only one of two made the playoffs. The financial management of the Dodgers has played a key role in their recent success. Argument for Small Spending Organizations The two teams that I am going to analyze that spent far roughly half has much as the Yankees and Dodgers are the Oakland Athletics and the Tampa Bay Rays. Instead of spending the big bucks on perennial talent like the Yankees and the Dodgers, the As and Rays have different ways of producing wins on the field. The Tampa Bay Rays have a pay roll of 68 million dollars. (OBarr, 2013) They finished ahead of the Yankees in the American League East division and grabbed a wild card spot to make the playoffs. So how did they do it? According to OBarr (2013) Building talent throughout the minor league and watching it blossom on the big-league diamond is the system that has allowedJoe Maddons club to have this much success. Without homegrown players like Longoria and Price, the Rays are lucky to even win 90 games this year, let alone make the postseason. The Rays develop their own players in the minor leagues until they are ready to perform in the major leagues. Instead of spending a lot of mon ey on great players, they save money by producing them from within their organization. They save a ton of money by doing this, and they are able to bring in more revenue by doing so. This can be compared to the public administration field by looking at a police force in a city. If the city focuses more on training police officers and developing them into great cops, then they are going to be more effective. The Rays just like every baseball organization uses responsibility centers to budget their minor league systems. Each organization has five minor league franchises. Each organization has a president and CFO that set their individual budgets each year. This is another aspect of budgeting that plays a key role in their organizational success. The Oakland As also spend less than the Yankees and Dodgers, but they too made the playoffs. How did they do it? Their general manager, Billy Bean has become famous for his style of producing winning teams called moneyball. A book was published in 2003 about his success with no name, low paid players, and Brad Pitt made a movie about it. Barra (2013) states about the 2013 As, Billy Beanes As this year really are a moneyball team. They just clinched the American League West with a .596 win-loss percentage-second in the league only to the Red Sox. During September they are 16-5. And they are doing it with a payroll of $60,664,500-the fourth lowest in the major leagues. He also states, No team has gotten more return on less investment (Barra, 2013) The As are a small market team meaning they do not have much money for expenses. This is why they have to use the moneyball technique to win and produce revenue. The As can be compared to a hospital that does not have the money for the best e quipment or doctors, but they find the best affordable equipment and doctors and save as many lives as a hospital with a much larger budget and better known doctors. Going back to the quote about more return for less investment, that is an organizational dream. The As know they cannot spend as much as the Yankees and Dodgers, but they find players who will produce on the field for a cheaper cost. The effects of As and Rays style is winning on the field. They both produced better records than the Yankees who spent more than both of them combined. An advantage of the low spending teams is that they are almost always the underdogs who have something to prove. Both the Yankees and Dodgers have players that have already proven themselves in the major leagues. The As and Rays are built with players who are hungry and willing to do anything to win. The As proved this in the second half of the season by having the best record in baseball. The Rays also proved this by winning six straight games to finish the season and propel themselves into the playoffs. An Assessment of the Different Spending Organizations In my opinion, both of these styles of budgeting can be effective. Although the Yankees, did not make the playoffs in 2013, they won the World Series in 2011. I have to admit, I am a fan of the underdog, the team with something to prove, but making more money and playing in front of more people are a plus too. The New York Yankees are one of the most valuable sports organizations in the entire world. They feature some of the most well know players throughout the world such as Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, and Mariano Rivera. On the contrary, the Oakland As feature players such as Josh Donaldson, Coco Crisp, and Kurt Suzuki. Who knows who any of these guys are? Well, as a side note, Josh Donaldson played for Auburn. But back to the argument, which of these master budgets is the better way to go? Although, the As and Rays made the playoffs this year, their budgeting styles do not produce winning teams every year. The Rays have made the playoffs just three times in the last eight years, and the As have been just twice in the last eight years. The big money spenders such as the Yankees, have been competitive for the last decade and the Yankees failed to make the post season just twice in the last ten years. If I am going to run an organization, I would want to produce the most profit. Each of these four teams has their own specific way of doing so, but the Yankees are the team who produce most efficiently on the field year in and year out. If I had a choice of an organization to run, I would choose the organization who produces the most efficient product and that is exactly what the Yankees do. Krissoff (2013) stated in his journal article, We calculated the average salaries for 2007-11 and found that all of the World Series winning teams exceeded the league average salaries and the salaries of their World Series opponents. This statement alone proves that the team who has spent more has accomplished the organizations ultimate goal for five straight years. Winning t he World Series not only brings great attention to your organization, but a substantial amount of extra profit. Conclusion In conclusion, I have analyzed four different Major League baseball teams and broken down the different ways they budget their organizations to produce results on the field. I wanted to demonstrate that financial management plays a vital role not only in the public sector, but in Major League baseball as well. I have compared the four teams to public sector organizations and given examples of how similar they are. I used examples of how the teams had to incorporate capital budget into their operating budget. I discussed their annual revenues and expenses. I explained how the teams had to use the responsibility center to manage their farm systems. But the main argument in this essay was which organizations produced the best results. I broke down the facts about the big money spending organizations and the small money organizations. Overall, like most aspects of life, the person, company, or organization that spends the most money will often come out on top. Although the underdog might sneak under the radar in some cases, the big spender usually wins in the long run. Billy Beans Oakland As were under the radar most of the season until they fell to an organization that spent more money than they did in the playoffs. This statement is also true for the Tampa Bay Rays. The Dodgers made the playoffs but were eventually knocked out by the St. Louis Cardinals. The Boston Red Sox were crowned World Series champions in 2013 and to no surprise spent more than their opponent, the St. Louis Cardinals. All in all, the more money you spend, the better chance you have to win as a major league baseball organization. References Associated Press. (2012, June 29). Dodgers announce yasiel puigs deal. Retrieved from http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/mlb/story/_/id/8112841/los-angeles-dodgers-announce- signing-yasiel-puig Barra, A. (2013, September 24). forget 2002-this years oakland as are the real moneyball team. The Atlantic. Retrieved from http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2013/09/forget-2002-this-years-oakland-as-are-the-real-em-moneyball-em-team/279927/ Brown, M. (2013). Biz of baseball releases comprehensive mlb final player payroll figures for last 14 years. The Biz of Baseball, Retrieved from http://bi.galegroup.com/essentials/article/GALE|A313786892/df67a57e287280461f74267 696242118?u=naal_aub Krissoff, B. (2013). Society and baseball face rising income inequality . The Baseball Research Periodical, 42(1), Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE|A328281604v=2.1u=naal_aubit=rp=I TOFsw=wasid=6f1b6e9872b87b5f7a152c7cf233d52a Nightengale, B. (2013a, August 15). Nightengale: Dodgers take page from yankees. USA Today. Retrieved from http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/dodgers/2013/08/14/los- angeles-dodgers-new-york-yankees-stan-kasten-payroll-nl-west/2658245/ Nightengale, B. (2013b, March 13). Mlb salaries: Yankees, a-rod reign as cash changes hands. USA Today. Retrieved from http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/salaries/2013/03/31/2013-mlb-payrolls- salaries-yankees-dodgers/2041115/ OBarr, D. (2013, September 30). David price-led tampa bay rays reach mlb postseason with homegrown talent Retrieved from http://www.rantsports.com/mlb/2013/09/30/david-price-led-tampa-bay-rays-reach-mlb- postseason-with-homegrown-talent/?utm_source=twitterfeedutm_medium=twitter Ozanian, M. (2013, March 27). Baseball team valuations 2013: Yankees on top at $2.3 billion. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/mikeozanian/2013/03/27/baseball-team- valuations-2013-yankees-on-top-at-2-3-billion/

Ethics of Cookies Essay -- Technology Computers Internet Essays

Ethics of Cookies eth ·ic 1 plural but singular or plural in construction : the discipline dealing with what is good and bad and with moral duty and obligation 2 a : a set of moral principles or values b : a theory or system of moral values <the present-day materialistic ethic> c plural but singular or plural in construction : the principles of conduct governing an individual or a group <professional ethics> d : a guiding philosophy HTTP cookie <World-Wide Web> A packet of information sent by an HTTP server to a World-Wide Web browser and then sent back by the browser each time it accesses that server. Cookies can contain any arbitrary information the server chooses and are used to maintain state between otherwise stateless HTTP transactions. Typically this is used to authenticate or identify a registered user of a web site without requiring them to sign in again every time they access that site. Other uses are, e.g. maintaining a "shopping basket" of goods you have selected to purchase during a session at a site, site personalisation (presenting different pages to different users), tracking a particular user's access to a site. This day and age, it is undisputed that computers are one of the greatest tools for a person to have, and a not having a connection to the internet is a dreadful; thought for others. The programs that are used by internet servers are a technology that advance so quickly, that it is difficult for a user to know with what he or she is exactly interacting. For example, if a user were to be browsing through a web site to buy a product, the web site (the server) could build a cookie for the user. The information that a cookie collects is claimed to be harmless by the w... ...may be one answer to this fear of privacy protection but, ultimately it is the responsibility of the internet users and servers to stay informed of the many different risks of the internet. Bibliography Glassberg, Richy. "Don't Fear the Cookie Monster." Mediaweek. 2 Oct. 2000: IQ38. Santa Clara University Expanded Academic Index. The Gale Group. 15 Nov. 2000. <http://w.../purl=rcl_EAIM_0_A66014940&dyn=5!xrn_4_0_A66014940?sw_aep=scuweb_cn> "How Web Servers' Cookies Threaten Your Privacy." Junk Busters. 14 Nov. 2000 <http://www.junkbusters.com/ht/en/cookies.html> Lawler, Barbera. "Hot button: online privacy." Silicon Valley News. 5 Nov. 2000. San Jose Mercury News. 15 Nov 2000 <http://www.mercuryce...news/viewpoints/docs/Soapbox05.htm> "Persistent Cookie FAQ." Cookie Central. 14 Nov 2000. <http://www.cookiecentral.com/faq.htm>

Coraline Essy Essay

In response to the school board’s request for student feedback, I am writing to express my opinion about which should be used to teach about the Fantasy genre, Coraline the book or Coraline the movie. In my opinion, I believe that Coraline the movie should be used in schools to teach the Fantasy genre. This is because the sounds, animations, and new characters all show more elements and examples of the Fantasy genre than in the book. By the time you finish reading this, you will surely end up being persuaded that Coraline the movie has more elements and examples of Fantasy than in the book. The first detail that makes Coraline the movie have more elements of Fantasy is animation. The animations in the movie were cartoon people, which means the characters don’t necessarily have to do things real people can do. Another element of animation that makes the movie more fantastical is that you can see exactly what the character is doing but in the book it is Just your imagination. Also, in the movie, special effects can be added to make the scenes look more fantastical. Overall, the animations from the movie show more elements of fantasy than in the book. Secondly, the new and different characters in the movie make Coraline the movie have more elements of fantasy than the book. In the movie, the â€Å"other mother† turns the â€Å"other dad† into a pumpkin instead of a blob. This is more fantastical because pumpkins are plants and the fact that a pumpkin is alive and speaks is very fantastical. The second example of new and different characters is Wybie Lovat. He is a new character that is in the movie but not the book. He adds more fantasy because he finds a doll that looks Just like Coraline and gives it to her. The new and different haracters is the second detail that makes Coraline the movie have more elements of Fantasy. The third detail that makes Coraline the movie have more elements of Fantasy is sound. The sound from the movie can let you hear the characters tone of voice while speaking which lets you know if what they are saying sounds fantastical. The second thing is that you can hear background sounds and noise. This adds to Fantasy because it lets you hear strange sounds in the background that make it more fantastical. The third thing is that in the movie you can hear how loud the character is speaking. This can let you know how the character feels which adds on to the fantastical elements. I have now expressed my opinion on which to use to teach the Fantasy genre. Coraline the movie has many elements and examples of Fantasy. Coraline the movie should be used in schools to teach the Fantasy genre because the sounds, animations, and new or different characters all show more elements and examples of the Fantasy genre than in the book. Now that you have taken a look at many examples and elements of Fantasy in the movie, I hope that you consider using Coraline the movie to teach Fantasy in schools.

New enterprise operation

Once firms understand the issues involved coming up with an effective strategy, they should therefore evaluate their internal strengths and weakness as well as opportunities in the environment.   This is summarized as SWOT analysis which refers to strength, weakness, opportunities and threats. Therefore good analysis of these key factors will put a company in a better position of healthy competition in a global business environment.Therefore, I have critically and categorically provided a detailed analysis of the following   papers: the paper on strategic planning in some empirical findings (SMEs) and a paper on growth, Entrepreneurship, structural change, time and Risk.   The first paper on strategic planning tries to bring some insight to entrepreneurs and business managers.This paper attempts to provide managers and entrepreneurs with a variety of knowledge on how to employ tools of strategic management and planning when operating a business or discovering business opportuni ties to create goods and services.   Mostly it provides some guidelines to small and medium sized business managers and entrepreneurs with strategies to evaluate their strength and weaknesses and opportunities.   Good planning for a business should form the basis part of experiencing high standards of quality results (Anita 2004, pp87-90)The second research paper on growth entrepreneurship, time and risk tries to provide entrepreneurs with some knowledge and guidelines as how to manage risk.   The perception of the entrepreneur on risk analysis and ways of overcoming the risks are also covered in this research paper.Again the paper has elaborately talked about different kinds of risks and the risk return relationships. In summary this research paper-points out how entrepreneurs and managers cope up with the risks that arise in their decisions making and what determines the way they view the risk of their decision.   Otherwise lack of entrepreneurship would create an environm ent where task are taken back to olden days where growth is not achieved or realized.The two research papers have been presented by the use of different research methods of collecting information.   For example, the research paper dealing with strategic planning in SMEs has been provided after a thorough research has been done.   Different methods of data collection have also been used to come up with this documented paper. Research Paper on strategic planning has showed the usefulness of questionnaires as a method of collecting data the so called primary data.   This has helped to provide first hand information on the topic to be researched on.   However, in most of the cases the questionnaires have proved to be misleading especially when it is posted.The person filling in the questionnaire or administering the questionnaire may just decide to provide wrong information or figures especially if quantitative analysis is to be provided.   All the same since oral interview co uld be the best, questionnaire has proved to be best since several questions can be researched and answered at researcher’s convenient time hence time saving.   The questionnaire has covered the whole topic areas and research finding figures have been provided to support or to give further explanations on the topics researched on.   For example table on page 856 of articles by George stone house and Jonathan Perberton.   But the findings ware found to be inaccurate or degree of accuracy was low because of the way in which the questionnaire was filled.The research method used in the second paper on growth entrepreneurship, structural change time and risks in just too theoretical.   Everything was done by extracting information from secondary sources, that is information was obtained either from books, journal or from periodicals.   Though this method seems to be good because a lot of books and other sources are researched on, the research method at times tends to pro vide information which may be outdated.Several books undergo review after every year so the validity of the information provided is questionable.   However, since the researcher has consulted a number of sources then I can say that the method is good.   Very many scholars have also been quoted in the paper showing that the research was detailed or thorough.   An example has been on the analysis of entrepreneur’s perception on risk management.   The weakness of this research paper is that technical meaning of some terms has not been explained elaborately for example where the researcher was talking about types of risks.The mode of presentation also differs in the two papers for example the paper on strategic planning in small and medium size enterprises presents the findings using both qualitative and quantitative thus a mixture of the two methods.   This has clearly come out when the questionnaire was completed and supported using some figures on a table form.The ta ble has shown us the number of those who were consulted and the results obtained.   The figures help in providing us with information on whether the sampled population of people who administered the questionnaire was a representative one that is not biased because sample size should be large enough to provide effective and efficient result.   The table has shown as the number of the companies in both services and manufacturing sectors that uses different kinds approaches of planning (mintzberg, 1990, p 184)On the other hand the paper on growth Entrepreneurship, structural change, time and risk is purely qualitative in nature.   It has been produced after several collections of different scholar’s views and thoughts have been put together.   Nobody was interviewed or consulted during the research so only books or secondary sources of information were researched on.Whether the information is outdated or current we cannot tell .We also realize that a survey has been used in the research paper on strategic planning where the companies researched on were divided into large, medium and small.   This breakdown could intensify the finding therefore making the research to be appropriate and applicable because of good representation.   The survey could also help to determine the type of strategic planning carried out by these companies so that when doing analysis pieces of advices could be given to bring improvement on the business.The research paper on strategic planning acknowledges that the choice of planning strategies defined by a business industry determines the profit the company is going to make.   This paper argues that strategic management involves careful planning; thinking and some frameworks designed which help the mangers of business firms or organizations to improve on the quality of work done.   This was done with restriction to Uks manufacturing and service industry.It has also talked about the differences about the three ambiguou s terminologies used in strategic management.   The three terms are mostly confused since they appear to be same but they are totally different in meaning.   They include strategic thinking, which means that a manager has to think and do brain storming beyond every days operations for him to develop long term vision for the business.   Without the vision then it implies that business would collapse or perform poorly. (Demarest 1997, pp374-384)Another terminology is strategic learning, which involves a system where organizations try to learn about themselves and environment by inventing method goals which are achievable in the long run.   This will rate the company in a global market where it is to compete with other competitors.   So strategic learning involves gathering useful information and skills which the company uses to improve its production.The other term is strategic management which means a combination of procedures managers employ to run the whole business plan for the business in future.   Lastly there is strategic planning which refers to the way a manager is going to implement the objectives in order to achieve his goals and objectives.The other paper on growth entrepreneurship, time and risk talks about the ways on how the entrepreneur manages the risk.   The idea behind this is to maximize the benefits and minimize threats in the environment inorder to improve the business.   The paper has also given us some strategies that can be used to minimize risks. For example the use of division of labor as a way of distributing risks around different levels.Role of entrepreneurship in social capital and growth has been discussed in the paper whereby we find out that entrepreneurship expands institutional development and social capital accumulation.     Social capital accumulation encourages them distribution.   Therefore in brief entrepreneurship has brought positive changes or growth in business and expansion of social capital.Thi s second paper also talks about how uncertainty affects growth and how entrepreneurs cope with risks.   The risk should be minimized to avoid unnecessary losses in business set up.   In short the paper has shown us the way the entrepreneurs should react to risks, social capital and uncertainties as a way of creating structural changes in a business environment. (Holcombe, 1998, pp 45-60).Even though the two papers have exhausted the ways entrepreneurs and managers can improve the business, I suggest there is one area they have not talked about.   This is in the area of strategy development and implementation.   This is where firms should come up with a means of evaluating their internal strength and weakness as well as the opportunities and threat in the environment.   This is what is called SWOT analysis which refers to strength, weakness, opportunities and threats.   They should also identify critical success factors like choosing on the task that can be done particula rly to achieve the stated operations strategy.   These are activities that make a company realize some success in a competitive business world.The two papers differ in analyzing the contents more significantly.   For example paper on strategic management shows how different procedures can be used by a company or industry to increase its production.   If the entrepreneurs follow the different strategies then fruitful results would be obtained.   Paper on risk management or entrepreneur’s perception on risk new touches about management strategies.   Instead it shows us how the perception or worldview of the entrepreneur on risk can enable him minimize the losses and maximize the profits.The argument and analysis made on paper dealing with strategic planning carries some weight and stronger findings as compared to the paper on entrepreneurship, structural charge, growth, time and risk.   The differences come because the research approach in the first one is more deta iled and a number of data collection methods have been used.   For example survey was done before the actual questionnaire was posted.   Research finding were also analyzed and supported with some figures unlike in the case of the other paper.   Introduction of the paper containing strategic planning is clear and understandable by almost to everybody, good English has also been used that everybody can capture.   Explanation and differentiation of different terminologies has also been expressed showing that the paper is just too good.In conclusion the research on new enterprise operations can bring tremendous changes in the business world.   If the entrepreneur’s use the findings obtained from the research effectively then the world will change very fast as far as business operation is concerned.   Improvement in production quality and managerial skills require strategies, which are properly laid down.   These strategies should work on environmental analysis, det ermination of corporate mission and building a competitive advantage such as low price, good quality, after sale services, broad product lines and high benefits.REFERENCEAnita, M. (2004). How Industries Change. Harvard Business Review, 82 (10) October, pp.87-94.Dernarest, M. (1997). Understanding Knowledge management: Long Range Planning, 30  (3) Pp.374-384Holcombe, R.G. (1998).   Entrepreneurship and Economic growth. Quarterly journal of AustrianEconomics, 1 (2), pp. 45-62.Mintzberg, H. (1990).   The design school: reconsidering the basic premises of strategicManagement journal, 1(3), pp. 171-195.

Fiscal Policy of the United St essays

Fiscal Policy of the United St essays The Fiscal Policy of the United States over the decades has changed back and forth between classic and Keynesian principles. This paper examines the effect of both on the economy and how classic is a better approach to fiscal responsibility then Keynesian. Fiscal Policy of the United States: A Classic View The Fiscal Policy of the United States (US) is well known to operate using the Keynesian principles. By the government manipulating the availability of money and thereby interest rates, they have not necessarily helped the economy. What has happened is that the younger workforce has become accustomed to wealth, that is their parents wealth. This is not the percentage of the workforce that makes over $100k a year, but the $40 to $80k range, middle income America that is making manual labor jobs and the under $40k jobs difficult to fill. Today, those coming into the workforce for the first time dont wish for the $60k a year job, they EXPECT it, and if they dont get it they tend to stay at home and never leave the nest living off their parents income. This of course hurts the economy by not freeing up more disposable income of the parents. The 1980s and `90s technology boom was a leap forward for middle income families, new businesses were being built, which meant more employmen t, more demand for supplies and more money to spend. Children no longer for the most part had to earn money, they just asked their parents for it and they gave it to them, and this also meant an increase in personal debt as more Americans began using credit cards more freely. So what happened? nobody growing up learned the value of money, they didnt cut grass in the summer, or baby-sit after school, and nobody learned how to pump gas. (I mention it as meaning, with the self-service gas stations the gas jockey was no longer needed, which was at the time a rite of passage ...

Why the Water in a Nuclear Reactor Glows Blue

Why the Water in a Nuclear Reactor Glows Blue In science fiction movies, nuclear reactors and nuclear materials always glow. While movies use special effects, the glow is based on scientific fact. For example, the water surrounding nuclear reactors actually does glow bright blue! How does it work? Its due to the phenomenon called Cherenkov Radiation. Cherenkov Radiation Definition What is Cherenkov radiation? Essentially, its like a sonic boom, except with light instead of sound. Cherenkov radiation is defined as the electromagnetic radiation emitted when a charged particle moves through a dielectric medium faster than the velocity of light in the medium. The effect is also called Vavilov-Cherenkov radiation or Cerenkov radiation. Its named after Soviet physicist Pavel Alekseyevich Cherenkov, who received the 1958 Nobel Prize in Physics, together with Ilya Frank and Igor Tamm, for experimental confirmation of the effect. Cherenkov had first noticed the effect in 1934, when a bottle of water exposed to radiation glowed with blue light. Although not observed until the 20th century and not explained until Einstein proposed his theory of special relativity, Cherenkov radiation had been predicted by English polymath Oliver Heaviside as theoretically possible in 1888. How Cherenkov Radiation Works The speed of light in a vacuum in a constant (c), yet the speed at which light travels through a medium is less than c, so its possible for particles to travel through the medium faster than light, yet still slower than the speed of light. Usually, the particle in question is an electron. When an energetic electron passes through a dielectric medium, the electromagnetic field is disrupted and electrically polarized. The medium can only react so quickly, though, so there is a disturbance or coherent shockwave left in the wake of the particle. One interesting feature of Cherenkov radiation is that its mostly in the ultraviolet spectrum, not bright blue, yet it forms a continuous spectrum (unlike emission spectra, which have spectral peaks). Why Water in a Nuclear Reactor Is Blue As Cherenkov radiation passes through the water, the charged particles travel faster than light can through that medium. So, the light you see has a higher frequency (or shorter wavelength) than the usual wavelength. Because there is more light with a short wavelength, the light appears blue. But, why is there any light at all? Its because the fast-moving charged particle excites the electrons of the water molecules. These electrons absorb energy and release it as photons (light) as they return to equilibrium. Ordinarily, some of these photons would cancel each other out (destructive interference), so you wouldnt see a glow. But, when the particle travels faster than light can travel through the water, the shock wave produces constructive interference that you see as a glow. Use of Cherenkov Radiation Cherenkov radiation is good for more than just making your water glow blue in a nuclear lab. In a pool-type reactor, the amount of blue glow can be used to gauge the radioactivity of spent fuel rods. The radiation is used in particle physics experiments to help identify the nature of the particles being examined. It is used in medical imaging and to label and trace biological molecules to better understand chemical pathways. Cherenkov radiation is produced when cosmic rays and charged particles interact with the Earths atmosphere, so detectors are used to measure these phenomena, to detect neutrinos, and to study gamma-ray-emitting astronomical objects, such as supernova remnants. Fun Facts About Cherenkov Radiation Cherenkov radiation can occur in a vacuum, not just in a medium like water. In a vacuum, the phase velocity of a wave decreases, yet the charged particle velocity remains closer to (yet less than) the speed of light. This has a practical application, as it is used to produce high power microwaves.If relativistic charged particles strike the vitreous humor of the human eye, flashes of Cherenkov radiation may be seen. This can occur from exposure to cosmic rays or in a nuclear criticality accident.

7 Things You Should Be Doing For Every Image On Your WordPress Site

7 Things You Should Be Doing For Every Image On Your WordPress Site Adding an image to your website is not as simple as just uploading and clicking the publish button. Of course, that is an option – you can do it the lazy way – but if you want a perfectly optimized website and favored search results, there are a few things you need to do to make sure that the images are optimized before you publish them. You may find it tedious and annoying, and time consuming, but taking the time to do this right will be worth it when you see your A+ grade on Google and Bing Webmaster Tools and are rewarded with stellar search rankings. Editing Your Images: If you don’t own an Adobe Photoshop license, don’t worry, there are plenty of free online photo editing tools that can help you get the job done. Using high quality photos on your website is as important as using proper grammar.  These websites offer free tools that make it easy to crop, resize, and edit your images:  Ã‚  PicMonkey https://www.picmonkey.comFotor http://www.fotor.comPixlr https://pixlr.com Optimise and Compress Your Images: Large image files take up a lot of valuable space on your website and will slow down your site speed and hinder its performance considerably. Before you upload any image to your site, compress it or at as a minimum, make sure you have the Ewww Image Optimizer Plugin installed as advised by Kyle in the lessons.  In Adobe Photoshop, select â€Å"compress for web† before saving the file. You can also achieve similar results using some of the free image compression tools available online. Site speed is a ranking factor so the faster the better.  TinyPNG -https://tinypng.comPNGGaunlet http://pnggauntlet.comPunyPNG http://www.punypng.comResults vary, but in one test, Adobe Photoshop reduced a 236 KB image to 108.1KB, while TinyPNG reduced the same file from 236KB to 110.4KB. So, Adobe Photoshop does perform slightly better, but you can get pretty close using other programs. Consider Your File Names:  Once you have readied the image for uploading, make sure to name it properly. Search engines use file names to identify and index results so this is a really important step. If you name a file with a bunch of letters and numbers that doesn’t give search engines any information about what the image portrays. However, if the file has a specific name such as, â€Å"New York at Dawn† then it can be categorized and indexed, whereas naming the file something like, â€Å"New York† doesn’t describe the image very well. Use keywords in the file name to boost your search results. Be sure to use hyphens in the file name to separate words.    Image URLs: When you upload your edited, compressed, properly named image to your website, WordPress will show the attachment details in a box on the right side of the Insert Media page showing the automatically generated permalink URL based on the file name, this is essentially the web address of the image. You can’t change this once it’s uploaded so if you forgot to change the file name before uploading your file, you’ll have to delete the image and re-upload the newly named image. Image Title Attributes:  The image title box is right below the URL box. Here, you can name the image whatever you like. This title should complement the Alt Text Attribute, but not repeat it. Though, Google primarily uses the Alt Text Attribute to determine information about an image file, it’s helpful to add additional relevant information about the image in the Title box. Something short and specific will do. Your Image Captions:  Ã‚  Adding a caption is not necessary for SEO purposes, but may be helpful for user experience. The content in this box will display on the front end of the site while the Alt and Title Attributes will not.  The Alt Text Attribute  The â€Å"Alt† is short for alternative. Search engines refer to the alt text when trying to determine information about the image – a textual representation of the image content. The best use of an Alt Text box is to provide a word pairing for the image. Specificity helps here, too. This is a very important element for SEO because it provides a description that lends to search results. Don’t use the same content for the Alt Text and Title Text or Description fields. They each need to be unique. This is the content that will appear if a browser is unable to display the image. Your Image Descriptions:  The description information will be displayed on the attachment page of your image. In this field, you can be as descriptive as you like, such as telling the story behind the image or what kind of camera you used to take the photograph. You can add links in the description field. Again, don’t just copy and paste the information from the Title or Alt Attributes. Hopefully this gives you an idea of best practice when adding images to your website.

Seminar Papers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Seminar Papers - Essay Example Its cost effectiveness, leads to employee retention, increased market share, more access to customers and reduced risks. Example, in a fashion market, one requires to keep on updating the product in order to retain the current customers. â€Å"Just in time† is a term used to describe result of a process of manufacturing which finished its work just at the scheduled time. It reduces set up time, lessens storage space needed, assumes an extent of input stability cost and insists on precision. It however leads to time wastage in traffic jams, a supplier can depend too much on one manufacturer (Arjan J, 2009, p.295). Example, in Japan Toyota is vulnerable to this disadvantage, therefore it uses a strong long-term connection with few suppliers and can use its own stuff to assist the suppliers improve their processes. Advertising is simply informing potential customers of the existence of your service or products. It is very effective in that one targets his/her audience and controls the entire advertisement process (Tuten, T. L. A, 2008, p. 55). Advertising in social network provides a platform where a producer can interact with the customers and know their response towards a product. In addition, it enables the marketer to identify any changes in the consumer behavior therefore, making it to be an effective mode of communication with the market. These includes advertising, personal selling, public relations and promotional sales (Twedt & Wolfe 2011, p.8). The main aim of promotion mix includes market positioning, segmenting and targeting. In an example, Coca-Cola Company has been able to manipulate different promotion mixes on different market segments to become one of the best performing multinational company in the world. Lans, T. W., H., Hulsink, H., Baert, and M. Mulder, 2008, Entrepreneurship education and training in the small business context: Insights from

The Day Education Came to Life Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Day Education Came to Life - Essay Example The experience which impacted my education was the graduation ceremony of my older sister from Texas A & M University. I got an opportunity to spend week on the university campus along with my sister, prior to the graduation ceremony. I was studying in a high school during that period and was not much interested in education. Like many of my friends, I took education lightly and gave more importance to other curriculum activities like playing, singing, dancing etc during that period. I spent lengthy hours in front of the computers, chatting with my friends with the help of social networks such as Facebook at that time. Majority of the home assignments provided by the teachers rested in my study table as unattended. The deadlines of many of those assignments were passed and I showed fewer interests in completing those things because of my lack of interests in education. I did consider education as a burden during my school studies. I thought that the society and family are trying to i mpose an unnecessary burden upon the children in the form of education. Since, I never felt any financial problems in my home, I failed to realise the importance of education in shaping the career of a person, at that time. A & M is the oldest institution in Texas for higher education. More than 50000 students from different parts of the world are studying at present in this university campus. The university campus spreads across 5200 acres of land at present even though it was started in humble manner in 1871. In 1960’s it underwent huge expansion programs and the present infrastructure of this university is developed as a result of that expansion programs. â€Å"The George Bush Presidential Library and Museum opened in 1997 on West Campus, making Texas A&M one of only a few universities to host a presidential library on their campus† (Texas A&M). In short, Texas A & M has huge tradition, better infrastructure and a beautiful landscape which attracted me very much. It should be noted that I never came across with a college campus until that time and this experience made huge changes in my way of thinking about education. The preparations and the enthusiasms displayed by the campus authorities and the college students for the graduation ceremony attracted me very much during my stay at Texas A & M. The University campus was decorated beautifully for the ceremony. One could clearly realize the importance given to the graduation ceremony by the authorities from these decorations and the special clothing provided to the students who successfully completed their graduation. I have witnessed many of the successful graduates including my sister receiving their graduation certificate from a dignitary. Before the presenting the certificates, some of the dignitaries present on the occasion, delivered some concise lectures to make the students aware of the importance of education and graduation certificates. One of the dignitaries has told the audience tha t the most precious thing in this universe is education rather than anything else. He has pointed out that the basic necessities of human include education also along with food, air, shelter and clothing. He has pointed out that education helps people to attain majority of the basic necessities of human life. He has also mentioned that education leads a person from the darker sides of the world to the brighter sides of the wo

Leadership and Organizational Behavior Assignment

Leadership and Organizational Behavior - Assignment Example As such, national labor policies are often translated in corporate policies that regulate human capital with sensitivity to these personal and professional goals of each worker. Business managers must make it as a corporate policy to uphold diversity to recognize the different capacities, competences and skills of these employees. Through that, management can systematize performance to attune these all to corporate goals and objectives. If all workers are nurtured by management to be goal-oriented and to be proficient in their tasks, albeit personal and motivational differences, it is perceived that the corporation would likely earn high achievement level (Hellriegel & Slocum, 2010). This is possible if the company was able to harness the participation of the employees in decision-making and in sharing them incentives as reward for great performance. It’s also helpful for the company if its sensitive to business ethics. This calls for management leadership that can help provid e direction to workers on what is relevant; regulate to boost their efforts and motivation; offering reward to the nature of persistence illustrated by employees; and ability to formulate strategic business plans that is contributory to the goals of the company. AllState Insurance Company, for instance, demonstrated their competence to understand and maximize diversity as how they made it as a policy to maximize it for corporate competitiveness (p. 215). This strategy is helpful for organizational internal development and for external relations with its diverse customers. AllState Company with 36,000 employees, have undertaken the following steps to cultivate competitive advantage using diversity: a. Succession Programming – the company accommodated employees with diverse motivation for professional development and enthusiasm for opportunities. As such, they employed women employees and those which came from other nations, including those who came from ethic communities but w ith high educational attainment. b. Development—All employees of AllState underwent career development training o improve their skills and competence. They can opt for more education or through mentoring, coaching or training (p. 215). c. Measurement- The company also enforce Diversity Index assessment which contain quarterly Leadership Measurement System (QLMS) to ascertain their quality service to their diverse customers; to determine their ethical behaviors at work albeit diverse personalities; and about how they gravitate in the workplace with mutual trust among co-employees and managers (p. 216); d. Accountability and Reward—AllState used the Diversity Index as one of the bases to determine compensation to encourage employees to maintain commitment and their responsibilities to contribute to corporate goals (p. 216). It also affords benefits to proficient workers and incentives through free services (p. 216). 2. Discuss how organizational policies and procedures c an impact organizational ethics. Organizational policies and procedures are essential in the upholding and promotion of organizational ethics of a corporation. Policies are internal regulations made by the company in consonance to corporate codes and labor laws that are imperative in strategically directing the goals and performance

Probation and Parole vs. Incarceration - Cost Comparison Essay

Probation and Parole vs. Incarceration - Cost Comparison - Essay Example This may be due to some reasons which, for instance, may include some probationers may have committed a minimal offense which is not severe (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2015). Parole on the other hand, refers to law offenders who are conditionally released from prison to serve the remaining term of their sentence in the community. The offenders may be released by a parole board decision (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2015). According to the research done in 2008, the mean cost of incarceration was over $23,000 per inmate in the United States. The correctional spending by local and state governments was approximated to have been 52 billion dollars. These costs arose upon conviction and subsequent imprisonment for parole prisoners. 35 percent of the 1.4 million convicts imprisoned in the jails and state prisons are imprisoned for parole violations. This was according to the department of justice in the United States (Criminal Justice Section, 2012). Increase in prison population has grown enormously leading to sanction of state budgets. Therefore the state needs more effective correction policies. For instance, individuals who pose the greatest threat to the community should be sentenced to imprisonment but alternatives such as early freedom should be given to the individuals who pose minimal risks. They can greatly benefit from outside rehabilitation efforts posted in correctional institution. Individuals who post low-risks to the community should not be put in incarceration. When this is done, the individual is separated from family life; work and offenly fail to address the issues that caused initial violations (Criminal Justice Section, 2012). So, the individuals who face parole and probation benefit from transitional sanction such as fines, home detention, and community service or increased reporting. The state of Maryland, for instance, had to deal with considerable budget

Course work Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 6

Course work - Coursework Example The same actions that might be considered right in one single society may be unacceptable in another. Ethical deliberations helps to identify and try to understand any ethical obstacles. It is a person’s method of processing what is right or wrong in order to make a decision in order to take an action. A person will take into account their own values and beliefs, their emotions, and also ideas and principles. An individual will then undergo deliberation in which they process that information in a certain situation and even consider any other points of view. A person must use maturity and reasonable when coming to a conclusion during this process. A person must identify an ethical dilemma, consider their own emotions and beliefs, and then determine an action that the individual believes to be ethical. 2. Moral development is a way that a person’s morals and principles on how to treat one another and react to certain situations based on their growth. It is a process that occurs from infancy and throughout adulthood. Lawrence Kohlberg had a set of six stages to define moral development. The first two stages are under the label of preconventional morality and stage one is obedience and punishment. It is the first stage in moral development and applies to young children though some adults also may use this type of reasoning. It is at this stage that a child sees rules as something that is fixed and they follow the rules in order to avoid being punished. In stage 2, individualism and exchange, it is when a child considers their individual ideas and make a decision based on how it will benefit themselves. In the second level considered conventional morality, stage 3, interpersonal relationships refers to being a good boy or good girl. At this stage, a person wants to be nice and their actions are based on how it may affect relationships. A person is also concerned with expectations and roles of their peers. In stage 4, maintaining

Leadership and Organizational Behavior Assignment

Leadership and Organizational Behavior - Assignment Example As such, national labor policies are often translated in corporate policies that regulate human capital with sensitivity to these personal and professional goals of each worker. Business managers must make it as a corporate policy to uphold diversity to recognize the different capacities, competences and skills of these employees. Through that, management can systematize performance to attune these all to corporate goals and objectives. If all workers are nurtured by management to be goal-oriented and to be proficient in their tasks, albeit personal and motivational differences, it is perceived that the corporation would likely earn high achievement level (Hellriegel & Slocum, 2010). This is possible if the company was able to harness the participation of the employees in decision-making and in sharing them incentives as reward for great performance. It’s also helpful for the company if its sensitive to business ethics. This calls for management leadership that can help provid e direction to workers on what is relevant; regulate to boost their efforts and motivation; offering reward to the nature of persistence illustrated by employees; and ability to formulate strategic business plans that is contributory to the goals of the company. AllState Insurance Company, for instance, demonstrated their competence to understand and maximize diversity as how they made it as a policy to maximize it for corporate competitiveness (p. 215). This strategy is helpful for organizational internal development and for external relations with its diverse customers. AllState Company with 36,000 employees, have undertaken the following steps to cultivate competitive advantage using diversity: a. Succession Programming – the company accommodated employees with diverse motivation for professional development and enthusiasm for opportunities. As such, they employed women employees and those which came from other nations, including those who came from ethic communities but w ith high educational attainment. b. Development—All employees of AllState underwent career development training o improve their skills and competence. They can opt for more education or through mentoring, coaching or training (p. 215). c. Measurement- The company also enforce Diversity Index assessment which contain quarterly Leadership Measurement System (QLMS) to ascertain their quality service to their diverse customers; to determine their ethical behaviors at work albeit diverse personalities; and about how they gravitate in the workplace with mutual trust among co-employees and managers (p. 216); d. Accountability and Reward—AllState used the Diversity Index as one of the bases to determine compensation to encourage employees to maintain commitment and their responsibilities to contribute to corporate goals (p. 216). It also affords benefits to proficient workers and incentives through free services (p. 216). 2. Discuss how organizational policies and procedures c an impact organizational ethics. Organizational policies and procedures are essential in the upholding and promotion of organizational ethics of a corporation. Policies are internal regulations made by the company in consonance to corporate codes and labor laws that are imperative in strategically directing the goals and performance

Course work Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 6

Course work - Coursework Example The same actions that might be considered right in one single society may be unacceptable in another. Ethical deliberations helps to identify and try to understand any ethical obstacles. It is a person’s method of processing what is right or wrong in order to make a decision in order to take an action. A person will take into account their own values and beliefs, their emotions, and also ideas and principles. An individual will then undergo deliberation in which they process that information in a certain situation and even consider any other points of view. A person must use maturity and reasonable when coming to a conclusion during this process. A person must identify an ethical dilemma, consider their own emotions and beliefs, and then determine an action that the individual believes to be ethical. 2. Moral development is a way that a person’s morals and principles on how to treat one another and react to certain situations based on their growth. It is a process that occurs from infancy and throughout adulthood. Lawrence Kohlberg had a set of six stages to define moral development. The first two stages are under the label of preconventional morality and stage one is obedience and punishment. It is the first stage in moral development and applies to young children though some adults also may use this type of reasoning. It is at this stage that a child sees rules as something that is fixed and they follow the rules in order to avoid being punished. In stage 2, individualism and exchange, it is when a child considers their individual ideas and make a decision based on how it will benefit themselves. In the second level considered conventional morality, stage 3, interpersonal relationships refers to being a good boy or good girl. At this stage, a person wants to be nice and their actions are based on how it may affect relationships. A person is also concerned with expectations and roles of their peers. In stage 4, maintaining

Scholarship Essay Essay Example for Free

Scholarship Essay Essay I graduated from the University of Kansas exactly five years ago this month and thoughts of going back to school to get my MBA have filled my head every day since. It has been a dream of mine to follow in my mothers footsteps and get an MBA with a focus on entrepreneurship. Now that I have been accepted into the MBA program at Loyola Marymount University my dreams are coming true, I am pursuing my MBA with a focus not only on entrepreneurship but also on marketing, I couldnt ask for anything more. Well that is I almost couldnt ask for anything more. See more: how to write a scholarship essay for study abroad I am applying for the selected scholarships and grants in hopes of getting some help in paying for this expensive venture. I am not currently employed, not because I do not want to work, but because the family that owns the event marketing company where I had been working for over two and a half years did not think it was a good idea for me to go back to school and get my MBA. Basically they saw no benefit to their company and therefore rather than work around my class schedule, they instead let me go. I plan to get a part time job, hopefully as a Graduate Assistant on campus to help foot some of the tuition bill. My husband is a Beverly Hills police officer in-training, which means that he puts in many hours, both in classes and on the street, with high hopes of someday making a good living, the emphasis here on the someday. All in all we make enough to pay our expenses, but with both of us facing costly tuition bills this fall, loans are going to have to cover what scholarships and grants do not. I work hard at what I do and I have been rewarded for my efforts along the way. While in high school, through DECA, a non-profit educational marketing foundation, I wrote an extensive business plan for the ground floor construction and successful operation of a community-based teen center. My efforts were rewarded with an academic college scholarship for entrepreneurship from the American Womens Business Association. Professionally I am proud to say that I have advanced quickly through the ranks at both a nationally recognized advertising agency and an established event marketing company. I was promoted from Controller to Account Manager to Regional Supervisor within a year while at the advertising agency. When I worked at the event company I was hired as an Assistant Event Manager, with  no prior event experience, and I was promoted within two months to Event Manager, with management tasks including leading a new business initiative and planning and producing large-scale corporate events. I am excited to be going back to school and I plan on working as hard at this venture as I have at all of the rest along the way. Every little bit helps and I hope that I am awarded a scholarship not only based on financial need but also based on merit. I look forward to a year of challenging classes, international study (through the CMS course offered through the MBA program) and academic achievement. Please help me be able to take full advantage of everything that this university has to offer by financially making it feasible. Thank you, I truly appreciate your time and effort.

Customer satisfaction and loyalty in convenient stores

Customer satisfaction and loyalty in convenient stores Abstract: In this article we look at the customers expectation from the convenience stores and the factors which drive the customers in the selection of a convenience store. The article further looks into the types of products that drive customers into convenience stores in Sri Lanka and also analyses their billing patterns to identify the demographics of customers working into the outlet and the type of products purchased. Even though the study looks at customers who are regular at the convenience stores their basket value is relatively very low which means their purchases are carried out at various other stores also. The study further identifies that even customers who are satisfied with the levels of services delivered by the convenience stores, it does not drive loyalty as customers look at shopping at different stores as per their needs. Based on our findings, further research should focus on identifying how customer satisfaction should be used to convert satisfied customers int o loyal customers. INTRODUCTION Rhee and Bell (2002) states that even though shoppers often visit and purchase from many different stores, most of them have a primary association to a main store where most of the purchases are made. This main stores are where the shoppers visit often to purchase when a large shopping basket is necessary. It is important for a new chain of convenience stores to be the preferred main store as when shoppers are converted into loyal shoppers they tend to spend double the amount in their first choice store as per Knox and Denison (2000). This is because most shoppers perceive the primary store as a safe bet according to Roselius(1971) as the primary store is a trusted place with the lowest level of perceived risk of disappointment when shopping. Yet Taher et al. (1996) argues that being at ease with a store is not sufficient to ensure repeat patronage. They go on to state further that with more information being available to consumers about value/cost alternatives Taher et al. (1996) be lieves that the number of customers who are willing to take the perceived risks are growing. This is good news for a small chain of convenience stores, which is relatively new as it means that by providing more information it is possible to attract new customers but the challenge is raised in converting these customers into loyal customers. It is therefore important according to Taher et al. (1996) and Sirohi et al. (1998) that retailers continuously collect information of the consumers who frequent the stores in a structured manner in order to understand areas for development of augmented services to develop loyalty to the stores. The strength of loyalty of customers to a store is one of the most important indicators of the stores strength according to Rhee and Bell (2002). Reichheld and Sasser (1990) reassure that profitability can be increased by increasing the levels of loyalty. Knox and Denison (2000) in their study of the retail sector in UK goes on to state that it is important for a corporate retail strategy to maximize consumer loyalty and minimize consumers from opting for switching. According to Solgaard and Hansen (2003) assortment of products at the outlet is one of the most important factors that drive the choice between the different stores customers patronize in. MODERN RETAIL LANDSCAPE AND CONVENIENCE STORES Retail comprises of all activities which directly relate to the sale of goods and services to the consumer for personal, non business use. (Retail glossary, 2009) The retail sector in Sri Lanka can be categorized into two as modern trade retailers and traditional trade retailers (grocery shops). The modern retail trade in Sri Lanka is expected to grow rapidly with the post war economic development and increase in household income. The penetration levels are expected to increase from 15% currently to 30% over the next 5 years. Modern retail format can be categorized into five formats as BIRO (2001) defines; they are convenience store, mini market, super market, departmental store and hypermarket. Convenience store is small in nature, offer few products. Its concentrated in convenience goods with limited brands. Mini market is bigger than convenience store in size, but still limited in product brands. Same with convenience store, mini market product offers focus on convenience goods. Department store is bigger in nature than minimarket, with varied products. Departmental store is a large retail store offering a variety of merchandise and services and organized in separate departments. Consumer can find shopping goods along with convenience goods in a department store. Supermarket is a large self-service food store selling groceries, meats, household goods, and so on, usually on cash-and-carry basis. Hypermarket is a variation of a supermarket that offers a variety of non food items, such as appliances, clot hing, and services, along with food items, in a vast space much larger than a regular supermarket, sometimes in excess of 200,000 square feet; also called superstore. The grocery items are often priced below market to draw traffic into the store; however, the grocery selection is also more limited than in a regular supermarket. The Sri Lankan modern retail market is dominated by the Cargills chain of supermarkets which has over 50% of the market share. There is only one hyper market in Sri Lanka to fit into BIROs classification of hypermarkets, but it has relatively low floor size. The modern retail market consists of five large players who are subsidiary business units of large conglomerates in the country. With high focus on large volumes and low margins, the customers in the modern retail segment are benefited by having a wider range of products, including groceries and general merchandise under one roof at relatively low prices. Convenience stores are a relatively new concept to the Sri Lankan market, and many consumers are still associating the convenient shops with mini supermarkets. The understanding of the convenience concept with limited range of products is still not clear in the local market. In Sri Lanka one of the growing convenience stores is Go Getter which was launched two years ago and currently it has 25 outlets. For this dossier the customers who visit Go Getter are studied to have an understanding of what drives these customers to the Go Getter outlet and which of these factors can be used to drive loyalty amongst the customers. In most of the Asian region the convenience stores are plenty and available in almost all locations. The growth of the convenience stores is mainly attributed to increased car ownership, increase number of households with refrigerators and freezers, and the growth in the number of working wives. (Jeannet and Hennessey, 1988) In other words the increase in mobility, growing purchasing power and the time constrains bring customers from shopping at supermarkets to convenience stores as customers are on the run and need to purchase products on the go. The wider choice of products and more competition was expected to bring higher quality and safety as well as to counter balance to rising price levels (Lipman 2003). According to Calvin B. Lee (2002) higher customer service levels lead to greater revenue and net income. The above stated research finding elaborates the extent to which customer service can lead to the company development. In every business, the customer service is very important. Without the help of customer convenience stores will find it difficult to attract customers and retention for repeat purchase. LITERATURE RIVEW According to Magi, 1995 and Corstens and Corstens, 1995 most of the consumers shop at more than one outlet. Most consumers patronage two or more outlets regularly because they arrange their shopping trips from different geographical locations (Solgaard and Hansen 2003) (e.g.,on way home from work, or other non-domestic activities). Similarly different stores may be selected as the purchasing requirement may vary by the amount of goods required (e.g., monthly purchases, topping up when necessary) or it can vary by the range of goods required (e.g., vegetables, meat, frozen foods, discount, etc.). Some consumers may even be looking for the products they prefer most or different individuals of the household may have preferences for different outlets. Therefore, to create loyal consumers one needs to understand what driver the customers to the store, however Mitchell et al. (1998) in their number of studies on store image had not identified a link between store attributes and loyalty. Garton (1995) and Bloemer et al. (1998) states that the consumers experience of the stores quality and service had relatively low level of influence in converting the consumer into a loyal repeat customer. Available literature has recognized several factors which influence satisfaction of outlet whilst shopping: Store attributes such as location of store (Woodside and Trappey, 1992) Range and quality of assortment stocked (Claxton and Brent-Ritchie, 1979; Sirohi et al., 1998) The pricing strategy used (Williams et al., 1978) Promotions carried in-store (Urbany et al., 2000; Kumar and Leone, 1988) Assistance provided by floor staff (Macintosh and Lockshin, 1997; MÃ ¤gi, 2003) Atmospherics of store ( Crawley, 1993;Yalch and Spangenberg, 199; Babin and Darden, 1996) Volume of purchase (MÃ ¤gi 2003); Garton (1995) goes on to suggests that to gain store loyalty it is important that the consumers image of the store be in line with the consumers self image. Sivadas and Baker-Prewitt (2000) concluded that the attitudes of consumers which drive the similarity between self image and store image are linked to store satisfaction. Still there is no evidence to suggest that this satisfaction necessarily has a direct effect on store loyalty. According to (Solgaard and Hansen 2003) a consumers preferred store is based on the perceived utility that they derives from the store. Consumers perceive the utility according to what they get for what they give. What consumers get is the output from the store which include service, products, price and other attributes in the consumer experience (Bucklin, 1966; Bucklin et al., 1996). To receive this output from the store the consumer also has to spend his resources in terms of time and money (Blackwell et al., 2001). As resources are scarce, resource maximization will be the key concern of the consumer and he will opt for the store where he perceives he will get the best store output for the resources he spend according to his perception of the services he receive. The available literature has pointed down a few significant drivers which effect consumers perception of store output these include the range of products and its assortment, quality of products available, overall service levels, store assistance personnel, store lay-out, convenience, cleanliness and atmosphere (Blackwell et al., 2001; Levy and Weitz, 2001; Bucklin et al., 1996, Finn and Louviere, 1996). Whilst the cost to the customer goes beyond the monitory value associated with the product prices themselves, and include the resource values of the time and money spend on transportation to and from the outlet. Individual determinants such as shopping intension, attitude towards retail outlets and shopping habits plays an important role on consumer shopping decision. Attitude towards retail outlet and shopping habits tend to influence shopping intension. This implies that retailers should concentrate on strategies in building consumers positive attitude towards their retail so that consumers visit their retail in order to make their visits regular (Siringoringo 2009) DESIGNING OF THE RESEARCH The factors that drive customer satisfaction identified by literature review were used amongst convenience store customers to understand if these factors hold true in the Sri Lankan context. And if they hold true to what extend are the levels of satisfaction they get from the existing convenience stores and their level of loyalty with the existing convenience stores. Further regular customers of 15 convenience stores were identified and their purchase habits were recorded using specially designed software at the point of sale to understand the relationship between customer demographics and purchase patterns. The objective of the second phase was to identify the types of products purchased and the basket value as literature reveals that consumers spend more at the primary stores than at any other outlet. 4.1.1 Objectives Of The Potential Consumer Survey The first phase of the study is carried out amongst the potential/current customers of convenience stores to understand their if the satisfaction drivers of the consumers hold true as per literature review and to understand further if they are loyal to one outlet or if the customers regularly switch between outlets. 4.1.2 Convenience Store Customer Sample The convenience store users sample size depends on resources available as well as on methodological considerations. Based on these, the study objectives will initially entail a review of approximately 390 convenience store potential customers. For the selection of the sample, a number of options for selecting the sample will be considered, with identification of purposive sampling as the most appropriate approach of those considered. Purposive sampling will allow for information-rich cases to be selected, which will generate insights into key issues and into effectiveness of interventions, rather than generalization to a population (Patton 2002). Sampling would entail surveying convenience store consumers and well as potential consumers who will be future buyers of Go Getter. Of the total population of convenience store potential consumers are undefined therefore a sample size of 390 is identified in the following areas: Main City limits and suburban area where convenience stores are popular and consumers are more adaptable to the concept of convenience stores. These constitute 5 of the 10 main cities where the convenience stores are currently functioning will be selected as the survey centers. Data capturing will be based on a structured questionnaire. A purposive sampling procedure will be used and the respondents will be selected based on income, profession, family size, gender and place of dwelling. The questions cover information areas such as current purchasing power, goods and services requirement and assessment of assortments and opinion on the services provided by the convenience stores. The SPSS package with an adapted code-book was used to process and analyses the data. Mainly descriptive statistics mean, mode and percentages will be used. The reason is to select sample is number of population is bigger than the 1 million. According to the Anderson sample chart fewer than 5 % error rate 390 is the best sample size if population is bigger. Hence, they will be selected from the people who work for FMCG sector (suppliers of Go Getter, potential customers, who would like to purchase goods from convenience stores and who live in apartments, who are receiving a salary above 1000US$, who are earning less than 150 US$, which compel them not to stock up their basic needs as well as young executives in the age range of 20 to 40 years who are living mostly in rented apartments or boarding houses. 4.1.3 Information Captured In Phase 1 The questions will be formulated to reveal the information listed below to understand the level of satisfaction customers are currently getting from the outlets they currently shop at. Table 1: understanding the convenient store landscape Objectives Descriptions 1. Knowledge of convenience stores Since the concept of convenience stores is new for the Sri Lankan consumers, identifying the consumers knowledge levels is important if they are to comment on the satisfaction they get from the convenience stores. 2. Product categories In the CVS/retail industry products are categories into different groups such as groceries, personal care, tobacco, perishable, impulse purchase etc. Different retail formats such as supermarkets, CVS, meat shops carry only selected categories of products. The products are categories tested are as follows Snack and confectionary Bakery Colas Mobile Credit Tobacco Groceries Baby care products Dairy products Others 3. Convenience offered/Expected/needed Identifying factors that customers associate as factors that drive convenience at the outlets they currently shop at and the levels of satisfaction they are getting from these outlets. 4. Customer retention/loyalty How loyal are the customers to the outlets that they shop at the moment. Are they switching amongst the outlets or are they shopping only at one selected outlet. 5. Expected retail format What other factors do they look from the convenience stores. These include factors other than convenience such as price/quality/atmosphere/relationship as literature review suggest these factors also drive the customer satisfaction levels There is a dearth of literature on the use of an appropriate scale to specifically measure the level of store satisfaction and store loyalty. Knox and Walker (2001) in their study of measuring and managing (brand) loyalty, stated that there is limitations in practically measuring of customer satisfaction as well as customer loyalty. Since there is no assured measuring instrument, the Likert five-point itemized rating scale is used in this instance to measure the level of attributions which drive store attributes. 4.2.1 Objectives Of The Online Survey The main objective of the online survey is to identify if the products which are purchase by the customers who have been identified as regular customers to the convenience stores are similar to the products stated by the respondents in phase one. This will help understand gaps if any amongst the actual customers at the store and the respondents to the first phase of the survey. The second set of information concerns on the basket value to understand if these regular customers are actually loyal customers as the basket value of loyal customers should be higher than or in par with the basket value in phase one. 4.2.2 Online Sample This data collection is planned to be done from customers who visited the convenience stores using a Convenience card which was given to the shoppers who visited the outlet regularly. This study is planned to be done at 15 outlets of the Go Getter convenience stores. Computerised data is collected from January 2008. The sample comprise of 15 outlets in order of the highest number of customer visited from 1st January 2008. There are 200-300 convenience card holder who visit each outlet on a daily basis. Hence, an average of 250 customers per outlet for 15 outlets will result, 3750 customers per day for a month and the same could be taken as respondents. Therefore it can be considered as an adequate representation. Data will be collected monthly. A special modification was done to the point of sales software application where the specially trained cashiers enter profile data of customers prior to the billing process. 4.2.3 Information Captured In Phase 2 Data which will be collected at the time of checkout is age group, gender, and product availability (were the products that they wanted available or were they out of stock). This data will be automatically correlated with items that they have purchased which will result in the identification and analysis of patterns and trends. 5.0 DISCUSSION OF DATA ANALYSIS 5.1.1 Understanding The Product Range And Pricing Concern From the respondents selected for the data collection 77% of the respondents were in executive or managerial grades. Almost 63% of the respondents earn > $ 150 are in the executive grades whist 70.97 % of those who earn As expected more than half the population (57.63%) stated that they buy other products, followed by 35.59% stating CSD/colas whilst milk products were stated by 32.2%. This clearly reflects that customers visiting convenience stores look beyond the major product groups identified. Regarding the value for money received at competitors, 61.2% of those who earn >$ 150 agreed that that value for money is received whilst 48.4% of those Given what was discussed above regarding the range, it is important to assess whether consumers have any concerns about the range on offer. However, a more than two third of the sample >$150 and 5.1.2 Level of Satisfaction drivers Service is a key dimension that needs to evaluate in the retail industry is customer service, as the entire concept revolves around service delivery. Nearly half the sample 82.8% stated that the check out is quick whilst a majority (90.7%) stated that the sales staff can be identified most of the time. Furthermore, 92.6% of the overall sample stated that the outlets maintained cleanliness with 58.2% stated that outlets maintained cleanliness most of the time. Nearly equal number of persons surveyed commented on the price consistency with 164 persons stating that price consistency is maintained sometime while 181 persons out of 390 interviewees stating that price consistency is seen most of the time. The staff assistance was commented positively with near universally 93.1% stating that the staff provides assistance most of the time or sometimes. On receiving goods promptly, 55.9% of those earning above The respondents earning above $ 150 category felt that the service was good sometimes. Almost universally the respondents were satisfied with the overall level of service (92.6%). Furthermore, a cross analysis between those who shop at the outlets, the facilities they look for and the times of the day and the product range highlights the following findings: Given this levels of satisfaction, it is important to look deeper in to data and see what aspects are valued by the customers at convenience store outlets. In order, a cross analysis was carried out between those who shop at these outlets and what they value most. As the literature suggested almost half the population in both income levels stated that it is location followed by range and service at an overall level. These findings when analyzed by the respective income brackets come in the order of priority where 48.4% state location, 32.3% stating offering a range and fast service being stated by 25.8% of those below $ 150. The order of importance changes when looking at the data of those above $ 1000. To them it is the location that matters most, followed by fast service and the product range. 5.1.3 Tendency To Shop At Multiple Outlets (Low Loyalty) From the total base of 390 respondents, a little less than half the population (40.51%) visit competitor outlets at least once a week and the next frequency was irregular (21.79%) with a similar amount (21.54%) claiming to visit competitor outlets less than once a week. None of the respondents do their shopping at one selected outlet. 40% shift from outlet to outlet more often than not on a regular basis even though there is high level of satisfaction, whilst the balance on a irregular basis shops from different stores. This clearly shows that even though most of the customers are satisfied with the offerings of the convenience stores they still are not loyal to one outlet. Discussion On Data Collected At Selected Outlets The information which was captured through the POS data collection system was analysed to find similarities in the profile of customers visiting the outlets and the type of products mainly purchased. The literature review highlighted that it is important to identify the main products that are looked for by the consumers need to be merchandised properly to achieve customer satisfaction. When analyzing the Go Getter customer profile it is evident that customers of all ages have patronized the outlets. The regular repeat customers were divided into 4 main segments: teenagers, youth, the middle aged and the elderly. Table 1 illustrates the summary of the analysis of data collected from the survey of Go Getter customers for a period of two months. Table 4: Profile of customers at Go Getter outlets Profile information Response Average age segment Dependent upon each outlet. However, a notably high number of customers belong to the middle age seem to frequent. Gender More skewed towards the males, conforming the basic fact that top up is less frequent as a household level in Sri Lanka. Purchase tendency Except for a few variations that were dependent upon the outlet location, most demand was generated to beverages, snacks/confectionary and frozen food. Basket Value Purchases are very small in quantity, bought either on the go or for topping out at homes. Most people (25% 33%) of the customers spend less than Rs 50. Source: Author One of the most striking findings is the fact that seemingly lesser number of teens and youth has visited the outlets, especially teens. This is mainly owing to the fact that in Sri Lanka children are dependent on their parents till their secondary education is completed. Culturally, children leaving home takes place only after marriage and till such time parents and grown up children live under the same roof which is quite opposite to the Western countries. Within this backdrop, teens and youth often do not have an income for themselves and depend on their parents to give them cash for their education and other needs. A higher number of the visitors to the outlet were middle aged and elderly, dominated by the males. This coined with the main products purchased beverages/snacks and confectionary shows that most of the purchases were low value products bought on impulse rather than for household topping up. The outlets in residential areas were doing better than the outlets in commercial areas, still the product range commonly sold shows that beverages/snacks are bought more than household products, which shows that consumers still dont buy products for household topping up from Go Getter. What is very discouraging about the information gathered from the online research is the average basket value of the regular customers. From the data analysis is the basket value spent by the consumers per visit with almost a third of the customers spending less than Rs 50 (less than USD 0.5) on an average visit. This is in line with the first phase of the study that most customers prefer to buy from different outlets. Therefore the basket value of even the regular customers who visit the selected convenience stores remain low as they come into purchase products of low value as and when necessary. 5.3 Limitations of Results This study was done as a part of the doctorate thesis on understanding the consumers and the challenges in the retail trade for the entrance of a new chain of convenience stores in a market where the concept of convenience stores is limited. Therefore the data was collected on understanding the customer satisfaction drivers and to understand what need to be done to increase the revenue of the Go Getter outlets and not to understand how to grow loyalty as the business is currently at the beginning phase. Therefore further research needs to be done on the regular customers of the outlets to understand their levels of loyalty as the factors used in the research to identify the relationship between satisfaction and loyalty are limited. 6.0 CONCLUSION Previous studies carried out by Woodside and Trappeys (1992) states when specific attributes such as low overall prices or most convenient are suggested customers respond with a top of the mind association for each of the values. These associations are the strong drivers of satisfaction are what customers associate with the main store where they make most of their purchases. Bloemer et al. (1998) states the store satisfaction is the mediator of the perception of the store and store loyalty. Still even in reason studies though this connection is seen a solid link between store satisfaction and loyalty has not been established. In a recent study, it was identified that customers are loyal to outlets with an image which match their own self image. Through the levels of satisfaction customers get from the convenience stores, they look for a parallel with the self image and the store image, which according to Sivadas and Baker-Prewitt (2000) does not necessarily translate into store loyalty as there is no clear connection. This lack of clear connection between store satisfaction and loyalty, the relationship between these two attributes remain speculative according to Mitchell et al. (1998). When analyzing the information collected from the Sri Lankan chain of convenience stores and their potential stores it shows high level of customer satisfaction amongst customers who use convenience stores. The study further goes on to show that even though most customers are highly satisfied with the stores they patronize they still are not loyal to any of the outlets they shop at. The customers have a limited loyalty to outlets and prefer to shop at outlets as and when necessary to purchase products as and when necessary. The purchasing habits suggest that even the customers who visit the convenience stores regularly purchase products only for a small basket value suggesting that the main outlet of purchase is different to this outlet even though they regularly visit these selected outlets. This suggests that the customers who visit these outlets regularly are looking for top up products whenever the need occurs and the outlets need to work on cross selling to these customers and increase impulse purchases to increase basket value. The relationship between loyalty and satisfaction is still not clear but as customers are satisfied with selected attributes they continue to patronize the outlets. Therefore in creating loyalty satisfaction is a basic need. It is not clear how satisfaction can be converted into loyalty or if that transformation can be achieved. Therefore further studies need to be carried out to understand the drivers of loyalty in the local retail sphere to understand better on the development of loyalty amongst customers.