Religion and Human Experience Essay

Hinduism can be traced back to ancient Aryan civilizations about four thousand years ago and is based on polytheism with various forms of rituals. Upanishads are documented texts which came about after probing the religion and finding ways of attaining spiritual insight from within and for life in general. Brahman is one who sees the divine as being one in all aspects and the Atman which is the soul reflects the oneness amidst diversity and reveals the Brahman in his true self. Maya on the other hand camouflages the truth of unity in mythical and magical shroud. Karma which is related to rebirth is stressed while Moksha is seen as freedom from and beyond all human aspects. The Bhagvad Gita brings out the practical elements of the religion in everyday life through four paths which can be practised together or separately to achieve spiritual satisfaction. The Hindu religion revolves around temples, rituals, polytheism and numerous festivals. Though many may worship a particular god or goddess they believe in all gods as being one in different forms. Priests and gurus are revered and looked up to as spiritual leaders. Animals are given importance as they are believed to be in the image of god this reflects in several gods having animal features. Symbolism is the basis brought out through art and sculpture. This rich culture of India has appealed to many around the world especially the yoga and meditations which have influenced people from every background. Religion and Human Experience 4 Jainism This religion is as ancient as Buddhism with Mahavir as the central figure and whose teachings are similar to Buddha, preaching abstinence and meditation to attain peace and ultimate freedom. This religion does not believe in god’s creation or being blessed by a Divinity, instead they believe in an everlasting universe full of life and pain as in humans. Though humans are considered special and can attain spirituality through compassion and knowledge of the inner self. The basic of Jainism is Ahimsa of which non violence is the most important followed by other virtues. Like most religions Jains honour 24 saints otherwise known as Tirthankaras who are looked up to and followed for their great accomplishments. Purification is part of being a Jain and life is considered a step in the path to eternal liberation from the human body through a life of good virtue and selflessness. Jainism teaches that to gain spiritual fulfilment one has to follow the path of strict non violence. It has five branches Digambaras, Shvetambaras, Sthanakavasis and Terapanthis. Sikhism This is a fifteenth century Indian religion with a background of Hindu Muslim conflict. The founder is Guru Nanak who believed in monotheism and oneness of God. He professed that even though there may be many forms and perception God is one whom he called â€Å"True name â€Å". His teaching was that God had no image and that he was beyond human insight while being the ultimate source of love, wisdom and righteousness. He taught social Religion and Human Experience 5 conscientiousness as part of the religion and the Sikh temples which are called Gurudwaras were open to all. The Sikhs follow and honor ten gurus, the first of whom was Nanak and the last being Gobind Singh who is the permanent guru and is said to have the soul of Nanak himself. Guru Gobind Singh was the founder of the military group called the Khalsa which followed five basic practices religiously. Today these five practices is what distinguishes the Sikhs from the rest, these include uncut hair and beard, Kangha a wooden comb, Kirpan which is a sword, Kachhera the under short which represents the readiness for battle at all times and Kara which is a steel wrist band representing the unity of Sikhs. This community stands out for its independence and strong unity which is their strength. Adi Granth is the holy book of the Sikhs and has verses and hymns written by the gurus themselves. This community has several festivals marking important events in the history of the Sikh religion. Religion and Human Experience 6 References Molloy Michael. 2008. Experiencing the World’s Religions, 4th Edition. Retrieved on June 7th, 2009 from: http://highered. mcgraw-hill. com/sites/0073535648/student_view0/

Global and Indian Fashion Houses

Global Fashion Giants: Gucci and Louis Vuitton In order to understand the key success factors required for any fashion powerhouse to succeed in the global scenario, we decided to look at two of the world’s largest fashion conglomerates – Gucci and Louis Vuitton. We looked at the evolution of these companies and also at the different strategies these companies have employed over time to achieve the position in the world fashion market they have today. This analysis helped us in figuring out the feasibility of a similar fashion powerhouse emerging from a country like India. The complete listing of our findings from these 2 companies from the cases we analyzed is given in Exhibit 1. Shanghai Tang – the Chinese lifestyle brand After looking at the cases of the 2 global giants, we figured that the context and market in which these companies have operated are completely different from what the same would be for a company emerging from India. In order to understand the aspects of establishing a fashion powerhouse in an Indian context, we took a look at Shanghai Tang, the leading Chinese lifestyle brand. Similar to India, the Chinese market also has a niche segment in the global fashion market, and hence the learning from this company helped us better understand the issues, challenges, key success factors, etc. , for a fashion powerhouse emerging from India. Our findings from analysis of the Shanghai Tang company are given in Exhibit 2. Names in Indian Fashion Although the Indian fashion industry is projected to grow at a high rate of close to 10%, the industry is still largely fragmented with no major fashion powerhouse that provides holistic fashion solutions to its customers. There is still no single fashion house to compete with companies like Gucci or Louis Vuitton. Though there are a lot of individual designers with famous international icons in their list of clientele, none of them seem to have the potential to emerge as a global fashion powerhouse in the near future. An important noticeable trend in Indian fashion houses so far is that most of them are limited to clothes, whereas in order to emerge as a global fashion powerhouse, one needs to have a wide range of fashion goods and brands in their portfolio. In this sense, only JJ Valaya’s â€Å"House of Valaya† omes close to being called an Indian fashion powerhouse, with four brands in their portfolio offering haute couture, footwear, cuisine, furniture, tapestries, stunning fabrics and home furnishings. Some of the leading names in fashion in India today are JJ Valaya, Ritu Kumar, Ritu Beri, Rohit Bal, Manish Malhotra, Manish Arora, Rina Dhaka, Tarun Tahiliani, Abu Jani and Sandeep Kh osla and Wendell Rodricks. A brief account of these names and list of notable clientele is given in Exhibit 3. ? Exhibit 1: Global Fashion Giants: Gucci and Louis Vuitton Case Study: Rise of Gucci Gucci or House of Gucci has a rich history. Founded way back in 1923 as a family run leather saddler shop, this company’s reputation soared high right from the start because of its high quality products. After 15 years, they established their first retail outlet in Rome outside Florence. From the modest beginnings of a small family owned shop, Gucci has come a long way to become a leading name in fashion today, with over 400 stores around the world in different countries. There are also several high-end department stores that house Gucci in their shelves today. Portfolio: Premium leather products such as wallets, bags, car upholstery, clothing and also other fashion items like jewelry, watches, eyewear, ties, perfume, etc. Winning strategy: In the early 1990s, Tom Ford, the CEO of Gucci then put a strategy in place that completely turned the company around and propelled it to the global market, making it the notable fashion label it is today. Elements of the employed strategy are briefly mentioned below: Pricing: Positioning themselves in the right segment ?Lowered prices of all items at an average rate of 30%, bringing their products closer to Prada and Louis Vuitton ? Lowering prices changed Gucci’s image as a more customer oriented company Brand makeover: Coming up with the â€Å"right† product mix ?Shifted focus of products from classic to fashion, thereby changing customer’s perception towards a more glamorous edge ? Completely got rid of low-end products and maintained standard portfolio across the globe Marketing: Changing the theme of advertising ?Greatly increased expenditure on advertising and also changed focus from product to brand ? Associated product with several international personalities, thereby gaining attention from the press Distribution: full-fledged integration ?Forward Integration: Greater control of the distribution process oRemoved distribution channel and setup Directly Operating Stores (DOS) in prime areas oTook over all franchisees in North America ?Backward Integration: Greater control over sourcing oTook over Di Modolo design studio and production facilities ? Acquisitions: More products/brands oBranching out to a multi brand group oAcquired Yves Saint Laurent, Sergio Rossi, YSL Beaute and Boucheron Star Designer Strategy: ?Tom Ford made an iconic symbol for Gucci Case Study: Louis Vuitton Louis Vuitton is one of the oldest French fashion houses. Established in 1854 by Louis Vuitton as a company making flat-bottom trunks with trianon canvas, LV has come a long way to build the iconic brand of Louis Vuitton that holds a huge share in the world fashion market today. Portfolio: Luggage bags, purses, wallets, jewelry, watches, footwear Winning Strategy: The Louis Vuitton strategy has more or less remained the same over the ages, with even their portfolio remaining quite similar since the days of its inception. Let us now look at the different elements of LV’s strategy that ave helped it become the global fashion powerhouse and international influencer of fashion that it is today. Pricing: Communicating high value through high price ?Pricing products very high ?Never offering any price cuts or discount sales Brand makeover: 29th most valuable brand in the world ?Showcasing at famous exhibitions ?Marketing campaigns with celebrities Product: Quality, Quality and Quali ty! ?Remarkable focus on even the smallest of details ?High focus on IPR ?No attempts at production of cheap goods ?Use of latest, state-of-the-art technology Service: ?Lets customers customize their orders ?Delivers to the doorstep Marketing: ?Publicity through word-of-mouth and PR through mass media, never uses television ? Associates brand with famous personalities ?Throws flamboyant parties to attract media attention Distribution: Limited Distribution ?Distribution channels entirely company owned, with products sold only in company owned boutiques or reputed department stores ? Maintains brand image and value through company owned channel ? Company places boutiques in prime locations, also helping in publicity Star Designer Strategy: Marc Jacobs – Face of Louis Vuitton ? Updated and refreshed the company’s image as a luggage maker to one of the most fashionable ready-to-wear and accessories. ?Recreated a brand targeted to younger customers with trendy and fashion-forward look. Exhibit 2: Learning from Shanghai Tang Background: Shanghai Tang is a leading Chinese lifestyle brand. The company was established by David Tang whose main objective was to revive the Chinese traditional fashion and introduce it to the national market, and later go on to become global. Shanghai Tang had a great advantage in the form of backing by a leading Swiss luxury fashion conglomerate – Compagnie Financiere Richemont SA. Since this conglomerate had several famous luxury fashion brands in its portfolio, it helped Shanghai Tang a lot in terms of best practices sharing. Problems faced: ?Went straight into the American/European market without gaining a foothold in the Chinese market, which saw their brand facing huge failure abroad ? Did not fare well in foreign community as brand was mostly traditional Chinese merchandize ? No proper standing in European and American markets High price not justified in the Chinese market due to lack of standing in foreign markets New Strategy: Conquer your home before going out ?Main strategy – Capture local market before going global ? Main goal – be the ambassador of the modern Chinese styles ? Main motive – Reintroduce traditional Chinese aesthetics to the new consumer audience Relevance to Indian f ashion scenario: ?Presence of a niche market for Indian fashion in global markets, similar to Chinese fashion ? Similar, much localized flavor which must be paid attention to while designing an international fashion brand Exhibit 3: An account of the Indian fashion houses JJ Valaya Often referred to as the ‘Monarch of Indian Fashion', Valaya’s house of fashion is possible the only Indian fashion house that comes close to being called a fashion powerhouse. His collection of hand embroideries and exquisite bridal trousseau are a rage in the fashion world globally. His label that was established almost three decades earlier still has strong grip of the market and excels in wedding attires and evening wears, for both men and women. Career and success: JJ Valaya was the first designer to host a solo fashion show in India. He was also the first Indian designer to showcase his collection along with prominent International Designer Todd Oldham. Hand in hand with brother, TJ Singh's entrepreneurial abilities, he launched his brand â€Å"JJ Valaya† in 1991. His brand consisted of Couture line of attire, which gained great accolades from the fashion fraternity. This was followed by â€Å"Valaya Home† in 1996 and a pret label â€Å"Studio Valaya† in 1999. In September 2006, House of Valaya entered into a licensing agreement with Genesis Color Private Ltd to design and manufacture its diffusion label â€Å"Valaya Quantum†. Valaya's novelty and his brother's entrepreneurial capabilities have made the House of Valaya a pioneer in the Indian fashion Industry. He is a founder member on the Board of Governors of the Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI) and the Official Brand Ambassador for Swarovski, India. Brand and Clientele: House of Valaya is one of India's most respected fashion houses. It not only caters to fashion lovers, but also provides a whole lot of luxury products, such as furniture, tapestries, stunning fabrics and home furnishings, haute couture and footwear, apart from cuisine. JJ Valaya has several successful solo fashion shows in his kitty, including the ones in New York, London, Paris, Dubai, Singapore, Hong Kong and Johannesburg as well as in most major Indian cities. He also made an entry into Bollywood, with the film Yaadein. Ritu Kumar An icon of the Indian Fashion industry and a frontrunner in establishing a position for India in the global forum, Ritu Kumar's contribution has been impeccable to the fashion fraternity, both nationally and internationally. With almost five decades of work for display, the designer excels in both traditional and western outfits, though ethnic attires are her specialty. She was the first women to bring the boutique culture to India, under the name â€Å"Ritu†. Career and success: Starting at a smaller scale, Ritu Kumar has diversified her works of art globally. Though she excels in contemporary and classic style, she has also evolved indo-western fusion to attract the gamut of European buyers. Some of her global achievements include the wardrobes for Miss India, for participation in the International beauty pageants like Miss Universe, Miss World & Miss Asia Pacific, respectively. Brand and Clientele: The brand â€Å"Ritu† has acquired great accolades internationally. The designer has not only restrained her work to the fashion industry, but has also dived into the other sectors that offer luxury to the people. The brand also launched a fragrance by the name â€Å"the tree of life†. In April 2002, Ritu Kumar launched her new sub brand, ‘LABEL'. She has twelve outlets in India, which offer a range of products from the conventional to the contemporary. Ritu Beri Ritu Beri is one of the top Indian fashion designers who have been continuously serving Indian fashion industry with her feminine and funky designer apparels. Career and success: Fashion designer Ritu Beri has made a consistent progress in her life. She started off by designing clothes for friends and relatives. Later on in 1990 she made her first move towards establishing her own fashion studio ‘Lavanya' from where she designed her maiden collection, a couple of which were instantly sold. Influenced by India's rich cultural heritage she has come up with the most splendid designs. She has also been given the challenge of designing for Indian counterpart in the curtain Raiser ceremony of Olympics at Atlanta. Apart from being a fabulous and top fashion designer she is a very good human being. She has got the heart of gold. She is highly compassionate for animals for which she has also started a project called ‘Caring means sharing'. The funds raised through this collection would go for animal care. This collection would exhibit a wide array of products. This charming woman has the fire to make a difference in the fashion world. Brand and Clientele: She started participating in International Fashion shows under the brand name of Ritu Beri since 1998. Her notable international clients are former US President Bill Clinton, Prince Charles, Moulin Rouge, Nicole Kidman, Hollywood actress Andy McDowell, Supermodel Laetitia Casta, famous Parisian Socialite Mrs. Lagerdere, Langes Swarovski & The Swarovski family, Elizabeth Jagger and Jerry Hall. Her notable Indian clients are Madhuri Dixit, Rani Mukherji, Preity Zinta, Parmeshwar Godrej & Shobha De. Manish Malhotra Fashion designer Manish Malhotra, a passionate fashion savvy has made his special position in the Indian film Industry. He has beautified the Indian film star celebrities with his impeccable designer outfits. Indian designer Manish Malhotra entered into the Bollywood parlance by designing wardrobe for Juhi Chawla. In the list of top young celebrity fashion designers, he is the most shining star who has been successful in earning both name and fame. Career and success: Manish Malhotra is truly a master of fashion and has achieved a tremendous appreciation. His work has been honored with various awards like Filmfare Award, Showtime Opinion Poll Award, Siemens’ Viewer's Choice Award, Bollywood Award and the Lux-Zee Cine Award. He is continuously delivering quality work for fashion boutique ‘Reverie' with which he is associated since 1998. This budding star of yesterday has truly become the pride of Bollywood. Brand and Clientele: Manish has designed costumes for almost all top actresses from sensuous Sridevi, Urmila Matondkar, Shilpa Shetty, and Manisha Koirala to elegant and graceful Aishwarya Rai, Rani Mukherjee and Preity Zinta. Manish has made an incredible contribution to various Blockbuster light comedy films like Rangeela to romantic movies like Dil To Pagal Hai, Kaho Na Pyar Hai and Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge. The highlights of Manish's career also include designs for Michael Jackson and British super model Naomi Campbell. The high-profile couture store ‘Reverie – Manish Malhotra' launched by him in 1998 was set up in association with industrialists Yash and Avati Birla which further received a tremendous response and the cream of Mumbai high society and rich non-resident Indians become his clients. Tarun Tahiliani Tarun Tahiliani is a Bollywood celebrity costume designer who is extremely inspired by ethnic styles. Tarun Tahiliani started off as a fashion retailer by establishing his own fashion boutique in Mumbai and later went on to start his own brand label called ‘Ahilian'. Career and success: Tarun Tahiliani is a Bollywood celebrity costume designer who has always been in the limelight. Extremely inspired by ethnic styles, fashion designer Tarun Tahiliani is of the opinion that Sari is the most elegant dress that has a great dazzling effect. He thinks it is the most apt apparel for sensuous look and brings out the beauty of India women in the most attractive manner. He experiments with colors and fabrics and comes up with his own unique classy designs. According to him Sari has the capability of arousing sensation. He is simply fascinated by Chikan embroidery of Lucknow and is often incorporated in his designs. He also makes use of beads and semi precious stones to embellish the ensemble. He strongly believes that fashion is all about your comfort level with a particular attire. Brand and Clientele: He has designed apparels for the Indian celebrities like Simi Garewal, Katrina Kaif, Deepika Padukone, Minisha Lamba, and Shilpa Shetty. The highlights of his designs are: block printing, bandhini styles, beautiful color combination and rich silhouettes. His bridal collection for both men and women is highly sought after by the rich Indian and the NRI clients. He also designs bags and also does event and interior designing for marriages Rohit Bal Style is the mantra for Rohit Bal, the fashion designer from the enduring valley of Kashmir. The â€Å"Bad Boy† of the fashion world, as Rohit Bal is popularly called, is known for his sophisticated cuts and breathing fabrics. He weaves in the best for both men and women. His creations are a reflection of his own personality- not restrained by any norms. Rohit Bal's creative mind gives a true bent of spirit in his work as well. Being christened by the Times magazine as the â€Å"Master of Fabric and Fantasy†, he purely live up to the expectations of being among the bandwagon of the Indian fashion industry leaders. Subtle in his choice of colors, Rohit prefers to use pastels and earthy tones to dress up his men and women. However, there is no one-signature style that the designer sticks to. Career and success: It was Rohit Bal's first collection which brought success to this talented designer and since then, there has been no looking back. He has made a name globally. Rohit Bal has designed outfits using almost all fabrics. Even Khadi (Indian handloom textile) has been used by the immensely talented designer, to create exclusivity for the raw product and a demand in the market. Rohit has held shows in New York, London, Dubai, Singapore and Paris, including Paris Fashion Week. Rohit Bal was also chosen by the Khadi Gram Udyog, the largest handloom textile operation in India, to work with them. Rohit bagged the ‘Designer of the Year' award at the Indian Fashion Awards in 2006. He was also made ‘Designer of the Year' at the Kingfisher Fashion Achievement Awards in 2001. His line of designer clothes has been sold at even 15000 USD. His style is innovative and inventive and he does not shy away from having popular legends, history, fantasy or folklore on the outfits. Brand and Clientele: The brand â€Å"Rohit Bal† created by the designer has been doing wonders in the fashion scenario. He has opened up a flagship store in Delhi and positioning stores at other places like Mumbai, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Kolkata and Chennai as well. He also plans to open up stores in Middle East and Europe. After making a name for himself in the fashion fraternity, Rohit has also ventured into the designing jewellery for Kirtilals. He also plans to design and launch men's fashion accessories like cufflinks. The clientele list of this ace designer is a long one, some being celebrities like Uma Thurman, Cindy Crawford, Pamela Anderson, Naomi Campbell and Anna Kournikova. Most of his fashion shows in India, New York, Paris and Singapore are sponsored by The Swatch Group and he is also the brand ambassador for their Omega Watches, since 2001. Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla Contemporary styles and the revival of bygone works of art molded neatly into modern fashion brocade! This is what Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla are all about. The duo has made it to the fashion circuit with their sheer talent and inventive potentials of a designer. â€Å"The boys†, as the duo are famously known, have made ethnic apparels with a fresh flavor of trends that comes on year after year. To bring in a resurgence of traditional works of art, the duo has traveled to the remotest area, grasped the art and beautifully executed it in their finest of collections. Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla are among the few people who have made it big globally. The duo was the first to bring out its collection at Harrods. Career and success: Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla started with a humble beginning and launched their creative line ‘Mata Hari'. Soon, the magic of traditional and modern art captivated the interest of all and they launched themselves into the international forum. Their launch into the global forum was with a range of shawls, under the brand name of ‘Shakira Caine' mark at Harvey Nichols, Neiman Marcus and Harrods in London, along with Bergdof Goodman in New York and Knightsbridge in UK. Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla's designer label â€Å"Jashan†, launched in 1989, was previewed at the ‘Save the Children' Charity fundraising ball in London. In December 2003, they won the national award for designing some of the fabulous attires for the movie Devdas, which they had designed for Madhuri Dixit, Shahrukh Khan and Jackie Shroff. Brand and Clientele: Their clientele list includes the who's who of the film fraternity, of both Bollywood and Hollywood. Besides British Prime Minister Gordon Brown's wife, the designer duo also has dressed celebrities like Dame Judi Dench, Dame Maggie Smith, Darcey Bussell, and Sophie Marceau, as its international clients. Apart from creating apparels, Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla have also ventured into the platform of interior designing, making a mark in this aspect as well. They have designed homes of celebrities like Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan, Dimple Kapadia and Nikhil and Shewta Nanda. The duo has its retail flagship stores at Mumbai, Bangalore and Delhi. The beautiful and stunning designs of Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla bring in a feel of traditionalism, within the realms of modernity. Wendell Roderick Wendell Roderick is among the few designers who are obsessed with Indian fashion with his art designs drawing inspiration from ancient India. One can be sure that his clothes would have no heavy embroideries and no stiff clothes. They would be easy to carry, yet give that elegant look that one aspires to have. Wendell Roderick's clothes could be worn at society at large. His aim, to create a place for Goa in the world map of fashion, has been triumphant only because of his sheer hard work and successful fashion shows. Career and success: It was in 1990 that the designer launched his own label ‘Wendell Roderick'. Three years later after launching his own label, Wendell Roderick shifted base to Goa, creating splendid collections every time, mostly inspired by Tibetan Monasteries, Tribal symbols of Shiva and Vishnu, the Harem at Istanbul, Tattoos of the Lambadi tribe and Clothing the Soul. Wendell Roderick was the first Indian who had got an opportunity to display his collection at the world's largest garment fair at IGEDO, Dusseldorf. Apart from designing, he is also concerned with other sectors of the industry, like addressing on World Costume History, lettering for the country's leading women's magazine, Chairman of the courses committee at the Board of Technical Education, appointed by the Government of Goa, and member Advisory Board of Fashion Institutes and Lakme Fashion Week. He is also a Patron of the Kasturba Gandhi Memorial Trust, Goa that promotes handspun Khadi. Wendell retails at country's best stores, including the celebrated Wendell Rodricks Design Space in Panjim. Brand and Clientele: Wendell Roderick has done a lot of work state of Goa. He has designed uniforms for the Goa State Traffic Police, the Four Seasons, the Goa Marriott Resort, the Vasco Sports Club football team and the staff of the Goa Tourism Development Corporation. Internationally, he was involved with designing advertisements for Wellspun, Delsey, SWATCH Bijoux, Breguet and Raymond Weil. He has earned a lot of recognition in the fashion circuit and has amused people with the simplicity projected in his designs. ELLE's Nirja Shah, models like Achla Sachdev and Nina Manuel keep raving at his designs. The designer has also worked with renowned Kathak dancer Daksha Sheth. Right now, he plans to launch a book on Goa's clothing tradition. Rina Dhaka he ‘Goddess of Oomph' of Indian fashion, designer Rina Dhaka styles clothes with a lot of fun. Being in the industry for quite some time, Rina feels that globalization has opened up avenues for young and dynamic women and with it, the options of women designers as well. To be in sync with demand for comfortable, yet stylish outfits for offices, designers are trying out all possibilities of being creative. Rina Dhaka emphasizes silhouette and is willing to take risks. In one collection, she mixed fur and boots with her Indian outfits, to create a unique look. Every time, Dhaka tries to give four to five looks to in her collection. Career and success: It was very early in her career when Rina got accolades for one of her design for the Miss India event from Rohit Khosla, the only ingenious designer of that time. The encouragement acted as a booster for Rina, who was all the more excited to bring out the best in her. Her first show in Singapore â€Å"The Best of Indian Haute Couture† met with a thumping success. Rina has also won a Yuva Rattan award in career, which is spread over almost three decades now. She is best known for her theme collections – sheer trousers, crochet, stretch jersey, woolens and spider web motifs. Western wear still remains an area of dominance, though she also designs ethnic and conventional attires. She prides on the fact that her pieces can be worn as separates. Attaining a lot of success nationally, Dhaka has also achieved accredits internationally. Her works were featured in magazines, such as Vogue and Elle. Brand and Clientele: Rina Dhaka has her collections, under the label ‘Rina Dhaka', in stores like Carma-Delhi, Design Studio-Mumbai, Kimaya-Mumbai, Selfridges-London, Coin-Italy and Lord and Taylor-New York. She has also opened a studio in Hauz Khaz village for Lycra in Delhi. The clientele list of this bold designer includes eminent personalities such as Naomi Campbell, Uma Thruman, Susan Fales Hill, Molly Simns, Tara Palmen Tomkison, Lara Dutta, and Diana Hayden. Her work has been featured in publications such as Marie Claire Paris, Madame Figaro Paris, Vogue London, New York Post, Vanity Fair, etc. Manish Arora Manish Arora is an Indian fashion designer based in New Delhi. In early 2011, he was appointed as creative director of the womenswear collection of the French fashion house Paco Rabanne. Born and brought up in Bombay (now Mumbai), Manish was studying to graduate in Commerce, when he decided to change his career path and applied for the National Institute of Fashion Technology in New Delhi. He graduated in 1994 after winning the Best Student Award. Career and success: In 1997 Manish Arora launched his own label â€Å"Manish Arora† and started retailing in India. Three years later, Manish participated in the first-ever India Fashion Week held in New Delhi and represented India at the Hong Kong Fashion Week. Arora launched his second label, â€Å"Fish Fry†, in 2001. This colorful, sportswear-styled line was created in association with the athletic apparel manufacturer Reebok. During 2002 Manish opened his first flagship store, Manish Arora Fish Fry, in New Delhi and in the following year opened a second store in Mumbai. Another successful showing at India Fashion Week (2003) led to a stocking deal with the fashion house Maria Luisa (Paris) and the beginning of a successful export business. He had a successful debut at the London Fashion Week in September 2005 and received an overwhelming response from the press as well as the buyers. Manish opened his first Manish Arora franchise store in Villa Moda, Kuwait and another Manish Arora Fish Fry store at Crescent, New Delhi in 2006. In 2007 the first Fish Fry for Reebok concept store opened at the Garden of Five Senses, New Delhi, and Arora teamed up with make-up and cosmetics giant MAC for designing a signature collection. He has also collaborated with Swatch for a limited edition of watches. In 2008, once again, Reebok launched the ‘RBK Fish Fry Collection 2008', an exclusive lifestyle range designed by Manish Arora. Indian by Manish Arora†, a brand designed for the growing Indian market for women's wear, is licensed to another fashion company. Manish was invited to show his collection at the â€Å"Fashion in Motion† exhibition held at Victoria and Albert Museum, London in September 2007. By 2009 Manish owned four stores in India and sold his collections to more than 80 retailers worldwide. Brand and Clientele: The three famous brands of Manish Ar ora are – Manish Arora, Fish Fry and Paco Rabanne. In terms of clientele, Manish Arora is mostly associated with pop divas like Katy Perry, Rihanna and Lady Gaga and other international A list celeb clients

Artificial Intelligence in Today’s Society

Artificial Intelligence in Today’s Society Larry Anderson INF103 Instructor Geathers November 21, 2011 â€Å"The goal of many computer scientists since the mid-20th century has been to create a computer that could perform logical operations. †(Bowles, 2010, 9. 2). The journey to achieving this is called Artificial Intelligence, which is considered to be the branch of computer science that is focused on creating machines that engage in human behavior, and intelligence. â€Å"The term Artificial Intelligence was first coined at the Dartmouth Conference in 1956 by John McCarthy. † (McCorduck, 2004, 2. ). â€Å"The Dartmouth conference paved the way for examining the use of computers to process symbols, the need for new languages and the role of computers for theorem proving instead of focusing on hardware that simulated intelligence. †(Krishnamoorthy & Rajeev, 1996, 9. 1). Even though this name was coined in 1956, we saw artificial intelligence 15 years earli er when the electronic computer was created in 1941. Artificial Intelligence is an exciting subject that will only get better with time, allowing humans to do things that were never thought to be reality, until the last few decades. In this paper, I will be telling you about the four main studies of artificial intelligence and their importance to our society, as well as how they are affecting our everyday lives. These four studies are expert systems, natural language, neural networks, and robotics. Mostly all artificial intelligences can be categorized under these four studies. Not only are these technologies making life easier, they are making life more enjoyable for all societies. The first study of artificial intelligence I will talk about is expert systems. Expert systems are computer programs that contain large amounts of information in a certain field. These programs use this large amount of information to solve problems that normally would require human intelligence. The great thing about expert systems is that they can process information, in seconds, which would take humans days. Every expert system is made up of two parts: knowledge, and reasoning. â€Å"The knowledge base of the expert systems contains both factual and heuristic knowledge. †(Engelmore & Feigenbaum, 1993, 1. 2). The knowledge is the information, while the reasoning is the problem solving aspect of the expert system. One common, but powerful paradigm involves chaining of if-then rules to form a line of reasoning. †(Engelmore & Feigenbaum, 1993, 1. 2). For example, if you have these symptoms, then you must have a head cold. Expert systems are affecting our everyday lives by diagnosing illnesses, and predicting the weather. â€Å"One of the first systems was a computer that could perform a medical diagnosis. † (Bowles, 2010, 9. 2). A doctor can enter symptoms into a computer, and then process a few questions for the doctor; after answering the questions the computer will make a diagnosis of the patient. This is very useful to doctors because now they can see more patients, and give promising diagnosis efficiently. The second way expert systems are affecting our lives is by predicting the weather. Meteorologists are using these systems to help predict hurricanes and tornadoes. This is very helpful to society, giving people more evacuation time during major storms. The second study of artificial intelligence is Natural Language, which is considered human language. â€Å"Natural language processing programs use artificial intelligence to allow a user to communicate with a computer in the user’s natural language. (Poole & Mackworth, 2010, 12. 6). The computer can both understand and respond to commands given in human language. The two biggest hurdles in this study are phonetic knowledge, and pragmatic knowledge. Phonetic knowledge concerns how words are realized, and how words are realized as sounds. Pragmatic Knowledge has to do with how sentences are used in different contexts and how that affects sentence interpretation. Even with the tough barriers of language, and the meaning of words computer specialists are producing helpful natural language processing programs to better society. When was the last time you made a customer service call? Natural language is affecting you when you call a customer service number, and an automated voice tells you to say a command. â€Å"Voice-recognition systems are now handling night and weekend toll-free directory assistance calls for big corporations. † (Poole & Mackworth, 2010, 12. 6). For example if you need to check your balance for a cell phone bill, a voice-recognition system can assist, without the need of a human. This allows the human customer service representatives to help customers with more complex questions. Another way natural language is being used is with Google’s real time translation application. With this application you can take snapshots of things in a different language with your phone and it will translate the words into your language in seconds. This can be useful when you are traveling in different countries, needing directions, or when you are selecting from a menu in a different language. â€Å"A neural network is, in essence, an attempt to simulate the brain. Neural network theory revolves around the idea that certain key properties of biological neurons can be extracted and applied to simulations, thus creating a simulated, and very much simplified brain. †(Reingold & Nightingale, 4. 1). The first important thing to understand is that artificial neural networks are an attempt to recreate the computing potential of the brain. However, no one has ever simulated anything as complex as an actual brain which makes it very difficult to finish the whole project. Credit card fraud is very big in the present day, because many people are not using cash; instead they are using credit cards and debit cards to make transactions. â€Å"Nearly 400,000 transactions per day are of fraudulent charges. † (Brause & Langsdorf, 1). Neural Networks are being used to detect fraud transactions with the principal of pattern recognition. Every time a credit card user uses their card there is a pattern of transaction. Neural network software uses information such as how much money a person makes, type of transactions made, and how frequent certain transactions are made to predict fraud. â€Å"Neural network based fraud detection is based totally on the human brain working principal. As the human brain learns through past experience and uses its knowledge or experience in making the decision in daily life problem the same technique is applied with the credit card fraud detection technology. † (Patidar & Sharma 2. ). The last study of artificial intelligence I will be talking about is robotics. Robots are physical agents that perform tasks by manipulating the physical world. â€Å"They perform tasks which are idealizations or extensions of human capabilities. †(Selig, 1992, 1. 1). Robots have four characteristics; sensing, movement, energy, and intelligence. First off, a robot must sense its surroundings u sing light, touch, and pressure sensors. Secondly a robot must have movement; a robot needs to move around in its in environment, whether or not the whole robot moves, or just parts. Thirdly, a robot needs power to function properly, this energy could be solar, electrical, or battery powered. Last, it must have some kind of intelligence, such as software from a programmer in order to operate. Actual robots might seem like far off science fiction, but that is not the case robots have been affecting our everyday life for years. One of the biggest uses for robots today is in the automotive industry. Over the past few decades robots have completely changed the automobile industry in many ways. Even though the use of robots has also led to many workers losing their jobs, it is very cost effective. The robots are used for welding, painting, drilling, sanding, cutting, and moving tasks in manufacturing plants. The robots have improved this industry with a job efficiency that couldn’t be duplicated by humans. These robots have made assembly lines and factories safer by handling jobs that are too dangerous and too difficult for workers to perform. Another great way that robots are working in society’s favor is by cleaning up toxic and contaminated areas that would otherwise be harmful to humans. The biggest reason that robots are able to do these jobs is that they can be easily shielded against hazardous environments and are easily replaceable, unlike humans. Robots are used to clean up nuclear waste or clean ammunition, and landmines all over the world. Robots are also an asset to the military because they can detect and diffuse bombs in a combat zone. These robots are saving lives every day because they are able to go into situations that are life threating to humans and get the job done. The studies of expert systems, natural language, neural networks, and robotics are just in their early stages of advancements, but are already showing important promising characteristics for the future of mankind. We already see these advancements being put to the test by making medical diagnosis, predicting weather, voice automated services, catching transaction fraud, building automobiles, and cleaning up hazardous wastes. There is no doubt that Artificial Intelligence is already affecting society in ways that were never imagined decades ago. Technology will continue to explode into the next few decades, excelling in Artificial Intelligence, how we embrace the advances, will define us as a society. Resources: Bowles, Mark, D. (2010). Introduction to Computer Literacy. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education. McCorduck, P. (2004). Machines Who Think. Natick, MA. AK Peters, Ltd. Krishnamoorthy, C. , Rajeev, S. (1996). Artificial Intelligence and Expert Systems for Engineers. CRC Press. Englemore, R. & Feigenbaum, E. (1993). Expert Systems and Artificial Intelligence. WTEC Hyper-Librarian. Poole, D. & Mackworth, A. 2010). Artificial Intelligence Foundations of Computational Agents. Cambridge University Press. Reingold, E. & Nightingale, J. Artificial Intelligence Tutorial Review. http://www. psych. utoronto. ca/users/reingold/courses/ai/ai. html Brause, R. & Langsdorf. Neural Data Mining for Credit Card Fraud Detection. J. W. Goethe-University. Frankfurt, Germany. Patidar, R. & Sharma, L. (2011). International Journal of Soft C omputing and Engineering. Jaipur, India. Selig, J. (1992). Introductory Robotics. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall International.

The impact that a piece of literature has on me Essay

The impact that a piece of literature has on me - Essay Example The story for To Kill a Mockingbird is set in 1930s Alabama, during the Great Depression and is told by six-year old Scout. She and her brother, Jem, deal with the issue of racism in their little town of Maycomb and it is with this backdrop that Scout learns a lot about herself and dealing with others. She is taught by her father to treat everyone equally and fairly but witnesses the unfair treatment of blacks in her town. Her father decides to take a case defending a black man accused of raping and beating a white lower class or "white trash" girl. When the town opposes Atticus for taking the case, Scout and Jem react negatively to the taunts from neighbors and family. As could be predicted, Atticus loses the case despite the evidence in the defendant's favor, but succeeded in challenging the jury to face their preconceived ideas. It takes courage to resist societal or peer pressure. Atticus goes against the grain and chooses to defend a black man. He also risks his health and maybe his life by standing out in front of the jail to protect the accused from being lynched. Facing danger squarely and yet standing your It is hard enough to be courageous in life and it isn't always easy to put emotions aside to look at the world from another's point of view. Atticus taught Scout that by learning this one trick, she would learn how to deal with others.

Marketing Management case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Marketing Management - Case Study Example Considering the investigation, Tom Jackson who is the president and the holder of Executive Training Inc (ETI), is concerned in regards to the upward cost that is proportional to $ 400, 000 preceding getting his first client. ETI is an organization that gives showcasing and deals preparing to agrarian organizations, however monetary investigation is pondered respects to the predominating current degree. This proportion constitute of both current stakes and current liabilities. Be that as it may, the degree reflects the amount of times fleeting stakes blanket transient liabilities and is a reasonably correct evidence of an organizations capability to administration its current commitments. A higher number is favored on the grounds that it shows a solid capacity to administration transient commitments. The organization of current possessions is a key element in the assessment of this proportion. Contingent upon the kind of business or industry, current holdings may incorporate moderate moving inventories that could conceivably influence investigation of an organizations liquidity (Keller & Kotler, 2011). In light of how Executive Training Inc business evaluating and also its aggregate deals disclosed, we find that in excess of 17 year the organization had been doing business and its incomes developed from simply $ 100,000 in the first year to $1, 200, 000 at the end of the year 2003. All the more in this way, the issue of preventive interim days ready to go assumes a greater part the extent that monetary part of business is of concern. This degree gages the risk of indebtedness for gurus by figuring the amount of days an organization can work without any money returns while reaching its essential operational expenses. By and large, this number ought to be between 30 to 90 days. ETI on this support have used their assets, deals explanations and calendars

Sleeping-Deprivation for College Students Research Paper

Sleeping-Deprivation for College Students - Research Paper Example As per the same study, almost 20 percent of the college students admitted to remaining awake at night, at least once a week (Medical News Today 1). It was also reported that more than 60 percent of the college students do tend to have disturbed awake-sleep cycles, and some of the college students resort to alcohol and substance abuse to combat the fatigue and stress caused by sleep deprivation (Medical News Today 1). Though the average sleep requirement for the young adults stands to be eight hours, it is merely thirty percent of the college students that manage to muster 8 hours of quality sleep at night (Medical News Today 1). When it comes to weeknights, 20 percent of the college students remain awake all night, at least once a month, while almost 35 percent of the college students tend to remain awake till 3:00am in the morning (Medical News Today 1). Surprisingly, it was observed in some studies that Asian and African American students tend to suffer less from poor sleep habits as compared to the Latino and White college students (Medical News Today 1). Considering their young age, many a times, college students tend to underestimate the relevance and importance of sleep in their academic and personal life. Students have been noted to compromise sleep during high stress periods without understanding that by doing so they tend to sabotage their physical and mental health. So, considering the available data, there is no denying the fact that the college students tend to be the most sleep deprived pool in the regular population. Importance of Proper Sleep in a College Student’s Life Sleep deprivation not only impacts a college student’s ability to remain awake in the class, but also has a direct impact on a college student’s academic performance. Sufficient and adequate sleep is vital for a college student who intends to remain alert and awake (American Academy of Sleep Medicine 1).

Change management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Change management - Assignment Example People develop new initiatives, new projects, and new technologies, which are all meant for improvement, or for solving problems. Change is experienced at various levels, including the personal and the group level. Therefore, in this case, companies are places where change will be experienced in form of organizational change. Although change is a good concept, this might result in detrimental effects, if it is not well managed. Therefore, the skills and knowledge about change management are important for individuals and organizations today in order to experience a successful transition. This semester, through different class activities, I have learnt and gathered great and diverse knowledge about the concepts of change and change management. I have learnt about these concepts in greater depths, including the different theories of change management. In addition, I have practiced reflections on change and organizational change, based on my personal experiences. All these have been help ed to shape my perspective on change and change management, thus built my personal philosophy of managing change. This essay is a reflection of important insights and knowledge about change management, which I have acquired during this semester. ... Companies today are faced with high competition in the market, thus they have to compete favorably, in order to remain productive. For favorable competition, these have to adopt new strategies, which will make them have a competitive advantage in the market. The new strategies might involve the employees in the company or the business processes, including technology, employee roles, among others, and this will call for the employees to adjust to the new processes. Today, there are cases of employees, who have showed reluctance in adopting changes in their companies, while others have shown adherence. This means that employees will respond to change in a company differently (Hiatt & Creasey 2003). On the other hand, Beerel (2009) notes that some professionals lack sufficient knowledge on change management, thus, have failed to effect change in their companies successfully. People hold different views and perspectives about the academic knowledge and theories of change management. Howe ver, during this I have come to appreciate the importance of the insightful views of various scholars about change and change management. This includes different models and theories, which scholars have developed to help explain the process of change and change management. With regard to the current theories on change and change management, I have taken special interest in the scholarly work of Dr. John Kotter. Being a professor at the Harvard Business School, I consider this to prove that he has diverse knowledge on issues in business, including change management. Among his 18 books about leadership, I find â€Å"Leading Change† (1995) and â€Å"The Heart of Change† (2002) to be more relevant to the topic of change management, as these

Is Interstellar Space Travel Feasible Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Is Interstellar Space Travel Feasible - Essay Example ose Interstellar space travel has been developed with the help of which the scientists are able to explore the world beyond the realm of the planet Earth. However several questions are now being raised regarding the feasibility of interstellar space travel. In my view interstellar space travel is not a feasible option but on the other hand it is the only option through which the scientists can explore the world. Thus with further development of interstellar space travel the scientists will be able to achieve a feasible way to explore this world. This paper would explain all the aspects of the interstellar space travel and it would come to a conclusion as to if interstellar space is feasible or not. Interstellar space travel can be said to be the use of resources and transports to travel between stars. It can be seen that with the help of several way of transports involved in interstellar space travel one can be able to travel outside the earth and explore the universe. One important way of travelling to the space is by the use of rockets which has proved to be successful in the modern world. It is seen that scientists have been able to discover a lot about the planets and that is not with the help of interstellar space travel but interplanetary travel. In my view interstellar space travel is feasible only with a few changes otherwise it might put risk to several individuals involved in the process of interstellar space travel. It can be seen that travelling through stars is a much more complicated task than to travel from planet to planet. The main problem of travelling between planet to planet and planet to star is the comparative amount of distance between these two. The dis tances of the space are measured in a way through which the speed of a light is first measured. The speed of the light is measured as per the criteria of time so that one can know how much a beam of light can travel for a given set of time. Vacuum can be said to be a space which is devoid of

Fiji Water Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Fiji Water - Research Paper Example en though, in 2008, the company forced to stop its operations for a while because of some disputes with the Fiji government over export duties, it settled all the issues and restarted the business again. Currently, FIJI Water Company is growing rapidly not only in America, but also in other parts of the world because of the excellent management practices implemented in the company. The success and growth of FIJI Water Company is a talking point in the business circle at present. The company succeeded in changing their business practices strictly in accordance with the requirements of the current globalized world which brought them enormous success. This paper briefly analyses the managerial success and excellence of FIJI Water Company. One of the major success factors of FIJI Water is their sustainable business strategies. No company can survive long if they look for their selfish goals alone. Even at the beginning itself, FIJI water gives more priority to their social responsibilities. FIJI water is a socially committed company which gives more preferences to the community needs than their business needs. FIJI water realized the fact that it is impossible for them to operate in a community if they fail to give something in return to the community resources they are exploiting. The following mission statements give us a rough idea about their social commitment policies. We strive to operate as a truly sustainable business and look continuously for opportunities to do a little better by our planet and our communities. That means that we are making investments in major environmental projects, changing the lives of tens of thousands of people through our philanthropic work and contributions, and advancing the growth and economic opportunities of the developing nation of Fiji by enabling its much needed participation in our global economy. FIJI Water is committed to advancing social welfare and economic opportunities of some of the most underprivileged communities

Video game and internet cafes Essay Example for Free

Video game and internet cafes Essay Over the years, there had been a growing concern in the effect of study habits of the college students where they get addicted and drown themselves into the game itself. The youth of today no longer seem to spend their leisure activities like in the olden days; outdoor games or playing sports, instead, they spend their free time in their homes, internet cafes or computer shops simply to satisfy their hunger; and that hunger is Online Gaming. Online gaming has such a profound impact on not only the young, but dynamically every age group as well. So far, virtually anyone is able to go on a computer and punch through the keys and mouse in order to get a high score, chat with players, get the rarest items, and level up as fast as possible. Yes, there seems to be no restriction as to whom, how or what online gaming can extend to. As in any situation where new technology is introduced, the social impact of the Internet is being looked at. One social problem that has been observed is that the Internet cafe has become mainly game centres. About one-half to two-thirds of the computers in a typical Internet cafe, according to one study, are devoted to games like violent and gory games. The use of the remaining computers was roughly split between browsing, email, online chat, word processing and research. The Internet cafes have become not just game centres. They are becoming centres of addiction among the youth, mostly boys. Objective -The Positive Effects of Online Gaming -The Negative Effects of Online Gaming -Is there a cure for Online Gaming addiction? Significance of the Study The intention of this topic is to give awareness to my fellow students on how Online Gaming will affect our study habit and also our performances in academics , job and actions towards family and friends , and ourselves. Scope of limitation Because some places here in the Philippines does not yet have any computers and internet yet and not all Filipinos use computer or does not have and not knowledgeable on computer, My scope of limitation is within Metro Manila only.

Class Inequalities in Health

Class Inequalities in Health The Black Report (Black et al, 1980) was commissioned in 1977 by the Labour Secretary of State. Though there had always been a public concern about social class difference and mortality, it was the first ever review of the Health of Britains working age population. The initial purpose of the report was to measure the impact of ill health within the workforce (Macintyre, 1997). However, the report shocked the government by revealing a clear correlation between ill heath and lower social class. Conversely these inequalities have been widening rather than diminishing since the establishment of the National Health Service (NHS) (Gray, 1982). This essay is going to focus on the main factors behind class inequalities that the Black Report identified and how relevant this report is today. The Black Report identified a relationship between social class and ill health, life expectancy and infant mortality rates. The persistence of these inequalities has become the subject of continuing debate. The Black report identified four different possible explanations; artefact, social selection, cultural and material. The artefact explanation considers the existence of health inequalities as simply an artefact of the measurement system used. According to this theory any variance in health within social classes will depend on how both health and class are measured (McIntyre, 1997). However, these inequalities are often still present even when different techniques are employed when measuring social class. It is thought, if anything, that the statistics may in fact under report the extent of class and health inequalities (Kirby et al. 1997). The second explanation for these health inequalities is social selection. This theory speculates that people with ill health will generally decrease in social status while a fit and healthy person would be more likely to advance social class (Maguire, 2010). This combined effect contributes to the evident health inequalities. Within this idea a distinction between direct and indirect health selection has been made. Direct is where health alone is attributed to social mobility whereas indirect is where another quality is involved with the mobility process (Wilkinson, 1987, Platt, 2006) Few supporters of this extreme view can be found. Though ill health may have an effect on social mobility, it is often too small to account for any significant health difference (Wilkinson, 1996). Townsend and Davison (1990) also found that relatively few sick professionals experience downward occupational changes. However, as regards the social selections importance as an explanation of health inequali ties it appears to play a small but yet still significant role (Platt, 2006). The two remaining (cultural and material) explanations of health inequalities have received considerable attention. The cultural explanation proposes that members of lower social classes often choose less healthy lifestyles (smoking, eating larger quantities of fatty foods and participating in less exercise) compared to members of middle or upper class groups, thus resulting in comparatively ill health. However, similar patterns in ill health can also be found within people who follow a relatively healthy lifestyle. Though it cant be disputed that there is a correlation between a less healthy lifestyle choice and ill health, it cannot be considered the full explanation for the presence of health inequalities (Townsend and Davison, 1990, Pratt 2006) The final factor behind inequalities in health identified by the Black Report is material. This explanation highlights the role of economic factors in the distribution of ill health. Within this it is thought that members of lower social groups face material constraints and poor living conditions which prevent them from living a healthy lifestyle. These material constraints include poverty, bad housing, low income and a lack of health and educational resources. This theory coincides with Wilkinsons (1997) argument that Poverty is the most important determinant of health. The material explanation does account for a significant amount of the inequality between social classes, possibly more so than the other explanations, but once again it cannot account for all. The Black Report clearly identified many shortcomings within healthcare. It is also apparent that each of the four factors previously identified play a role in explaining the presence of these health inequalities, though some play a more significant role than others. Due to the change to a Conservative government at the time the report was published it was released quietly (only 450 copies available) with the hope it would go unnoticed (Abercrombie and Ward, 2000). This meant that it was many years until any action was taken. In 1987 the Health Education Council (HEC) commissioned the Health Divide. This report was concerned with measuring the current health inequalities and to determine what progress had been made since the Black Report was published 7 years previously. Like the Black Report the findings emphasized the link between ill health and social class and identified that the gap between social classes had widened. More recently in 1997 Labour commissioned the Acheson report (Acheson, 1998) which was an independent inquiry into health inequalities (Abercrombie and Ward, 2000). Similar to the Health Divide, the Acheson Reports findings mirrored those of the Black report. These included rates of long term illness (e.g heart disease and strokes) in 45-64 year olds being 17% in members of upper class groups compared to 48% in lower socioeconomic groups. These results once again indicate a considerable social class health inequality that is still widening (Davey et al, 1990). Also these results agreed with the fourth explanation within the Black report (material) as poverty was identified as the main cause of social inequality. It is clear that over the last thirty years social inequalities within health has been a major issue. Since these reports were issued reversing this trend of health inequalities has been a high priority on the government agenda (Abercrombie Ward, 2000). Who are committed to lower these inequalities (Department of Health, 2004). Unfortunately, even with all the actions that have been taken the gap between social groups is thought to have worsened (Sim and Mackie, 2006, Davey, 1990).

Definition Of Motivation In Sport

Definition Of Motivation In Sport This reviewed research is on motivation in sport. A variety of definitions and approaches to the study motivation will be discussed. One of the forms of motivation being discussed will be intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivations are very important for promoting satisfaction and long term participation in sport. There are three academic approaches to the study of intrinsic motivation: behavioral, cognitive, and motivational. Researchers have found that the intrinsic motivation of athletes seems very important for continuing participation, and elite performance in sport. Extrinsic motivation refers to motivation that an individual has that comes from outside sources. The motivating forces are external or exterior rewards such as money or awards. These rewards supply fulfillment and satisfaction that the mission itself may not supply. Another form of motivation has to do with gender. Researches have determined that there are motivational differences among male and femal e sports. Its also been determined that male and female athletes possess different strengths and weaknesses within the motivational climate. Some detailed differences stated were that men had higher levels of motivation in competition, social acknowledgment, strength and endurance, where women had stronger motivation to control weight. The last factor I will cover is cultural effect on motivation. Introduction to your Research Topic Intrinsic and extrinsic motivations are both adaptable and adjust in reaction to specific situations. While not easy to define, intrinsic motivation can be explained as an internal drive to perform an activity. While extrinsic motivation is known as an external motivating source that drives action. It is said that people attribute their behavior either to an internal or external source. Intrinsic motivation correlates positively when people attribute their motivation to internal sources, while extrinsic motivation is correlated to belief in an external source for their behavior (Wiersma, U. J., 1992). Extrinsic motivation, by definition, is changeable since it is an external motivator one can change the reward or external. Meta-analysis of intrinsic and extrinsic motivational research by Deci, Koestner and Ryan (1999) found that intrinsic motivation is negatively affected when tangible extrinsic motivation is attached to the behavior. This undermining of intrinsic motivation is post ulated to be the result of a perceived decrease in autonomy and competency by the individual receiving the extrinsic reward. Self-determination Theory states that humans have three innate needs: autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Of these, autonomy and competence are the key drivers of intrinsic motivation (Franken, 2002). As a result we see that intrinsic motivation can be changed by adding an extrinsic motivating component. Background of the Research Topic When you start discussing the nature of motivation of sport through gender, you have to ask yourself a question. Has the perceptions of sports progressed in ways that reflect participation in sport? Additional contribution in media exposure of high action sports has increased considerably since the earlier studies had examined attitudes toward gender-appropriate sports. Motivation in sports and exercise has been studied over the last century but only in recent decades has motivation by gender been analyzed. Studies in the area of motivation by gender in these sports and exercise fields: individual and team sports and exercise, martial arts, basketball, volleyball, track and field, and general sports participation and exercise (Kilpatrick, Hebert, Bartholomew, 2005). These results were the most consistent throughout the reports with other similarities and differences noted with each study. Deci, et al. (1999) stated that intrinsic motivation can also be improved by increasing an individuals perceptions of autonomy and ability. Deci, et al. (1999) also showed that research supported the notion that extrinsic motivations impact on intrinsic motivation was influenced by the controlling nature of those extrinsic rewards. For example, positive feedback that is not measured as controlling would likely add to a persons perceived ability to have a positive effect on their intrinsic motivation. Vallerand (2000) looks at motivation in a multidimensional approach that changes more than the differences in intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. He states that motivation for both is on a scale that ranges from a high to low level of willpower and that operates on three distinctive levels: global which is an individuals overall general motivation in a specific domain or field such as education or sports. Situational or the here and now. For each of these levels individuals can have dive rse motivation levels both intrinsic and extrinsic way. For instance, a person can be greatly intrinsically motivated to participate in sports, but less intrinsically motivated concerning education (global). However, if a person is feeling sick or tired, they may not have the equal intrinsic motivation to participate in sports activities that day (situational). Extrinsic rewards can be useful to both and impact situational motivation in both the short and long term. For example, that individual might be highly motivated to do well on a test and receive a good grade (extrinsic motivation) so that they can be eligible to play on their sports team (intrinsic motivation). Vallerand (2000) postulates that repeated levels of low levels of situational intrinsic motivation will likely have a diminishing effect on the larger contextual intrinsic motivation. He highlights research done on motivation to play basketball where intrinsic motivational levels were affected by situational motivation al levels during tournament games. This research has many implications for organizations and educational situations. While understanding that extrinsic motivation is one of the main drivers of the business world, compensation and other incentive packages need to address their impact on intrinsic motivation and be developed in ways that will reduce the adverse affects or possibly even add to the intrinsic motivational levels. More research on real life situations would be beneficial. Impact on sports Gender: Even though the experiences of many girls and women in the United States point to the opposite, research demonstrates that media always present sports as the a male dominated field (Duncan Sayaovong, 1990; Hardin, Lynn, Walsdoff, Hardin, 2002; Pedersen, 2002). Several studies have established that female athletes have been greatly underrepresented in the media (Bernstein, 2002; Pedersen, 2002). The rationale for this may possibly be that the mainly accepted sports in the country are those looked upon to be masculine sports (Messner, 2002). However, since Title IX, the progress of women into various sports that are not considered feminine has been extraordinary. Women participate in practically all types of sport, including those used to display the ultimate masculinity. Even though gender-role differences are natural in accepted perception, research has extensively demonstrated that, as an alternative, most are publicly constructed (Bandura, 1986; Messner, 2002). Gender stereotypin g is everywhere, unseen regulators of relationships and opportunities. Banduras social cognitive theory is a key in understanding the factors in socialization. The theory argues that behavior, environmental actions, and cognitive factors work to form attitudes and action. Individuals consider action and its result, projecting cost and adjusting accordingly. Therefore, action is not a result of imprinted histories as much as it is a result of cognized futures (Bandura, 1986, p. 19). Bandura emphasizes the role of the media in social learning so much that, he argues; television persuade has dethroned the primacy of interpersonal experience. As a result, life models the media (Bandura, 1986, p. 20). Findings of previous research Gender Motivation is a crucial factor within the sport and exercise field. Understanding what and how motivation works is equally important. Based on these reviews gender also plays a role within the motivational climate. Studies have revealed variations in motivational factors within each gender. In Chie-der, Chen, Hung-yu, and Li-Kangs journal 87 male and 87 female basketball players from the HBL were selected for the research. Four research questionnaires were used to measure four phenomena: participants goal orientation, the motivational climate they perceived, perceived personal athletic ability, perceived personal sport-related confidence (Chie-der, Chen, Hung-yu, Li-Kang,2003). Using a t test gender differences were detected. Males tended to record higher scores than females for sports related confidence variables. Males scored higher within ego orientation, perceived ability, and in physical performance. Females tended to score higher in task orientation, perceived task climate, and leadership styles (Chie-der, Chen, Hung-yu, Li-Kang,2003). In Kilpatrick, Hebert, Bartholomews study 233 students were studied, 132 women, 101 men. The purpose behind this study was to compare sports participation and exercise motivation through a highly differentiated scale of physical activity. The second objective was to investigate the impact of gender on motivation. This study determined that men were more highly motivated then women when it came to endurance and strength, social recognition, challenge, and most notably competition, where women were more motivated by weight management (Kilpatrick, Hebert, Bartholomew, 2005). It was further suggested in this analysis that motivations to engage in sports differed from motivators to engage in exercise. It was also noted that more of the health related motives were linked to exercise opposed to sports participation thus indicating that sports participation are more closely related to intrinsic motives. It was suggested that based on these findings that men leaned more closely to intrinsic motivation then women. This study further implied that men viewed exercise and fitness opportunities as a means to achieve ego related goals that support their sports participation where as women seemed to enjoy exercise and sports participation equally (Kilpatrick, Hebert, Bartholomew, 2005). Conclusions section It is concluded that it is important for coaches, teachers and parents to stress to young athletes the need to improve skills, teamwork and sportsmanship over the win at all costs attitude. Terms/concepts Self-determination Goal orientations Motivational climate Perceived competence Behavioral Cognitive Motivational Global motivation Situational motivation Perceptions References page JAM Murcia,(2008) Relationships among Goal Orientations, Motivational Climate and Flow in Adolescent Athletes: Difference by Gender,The Spanish Journal of Psychology, volume 11, number 1, 181-191. Kilpatrick, Hebert, and Bartholomew, (2005) College Students Motivation for Physical Activity: Differentiating Mens and Womens Motives for Sport Participation and Exercise, Journal of American College Health, volume 54, number2 Gareth W. Jones, Ken S. Mackay, and Derek M. Peters, (2006) Participation Motivation in Martial Artists in the West Midlands Region of England, Journal of Sports Science and Medicine CSSI, 28-34 Dongfang Chie-der, Steve Chen, Chou Hung-yu, and Chi Li-Kang, (2003), Gender Differential in the Goal Setting, Motivation, Perceived Ability, and Confidence Sources of Basketball Players, The Sport Journal ISSN 1543-9518 Gillison, Standage, Skevington, (2006), Relationships among adolescents weight perceptions, exercise goals, exercise motivation, quality of life and leisure-time exercise behavior: a self-determination theory approach, Oxford Journals, Vol. 21, no. 6 Deci, E. L., Koestner, R., and Ryan, R. M., (1999). Meta-analytic review of experiments examining the effects of extrinsic reward and intrinsic motivation. Psychological Bulletin (125). Retrieved on November 13, 2010 from EBSCOhost. Franken, R. E., (2002). Human Motivation. Wadsworth, Belmont, CA. Vallerand, R. J., (2000). Deci and Ryans Self-Determination Theory: A view from the Hierarchical Model of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Wiersma, U. J., (1992). The effects of extrinsic rewards in intrinsic motivation: A meta-analysis. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology (65). Retrieved on November 13, 2010 from EBSCOhost.

The Joy of Hate :: Example Personal Narratives

The Joy of Hate About ten years ago my dad was pastor in a church near Charleston. Two centuries ago, this was a prominent area in the slave industry, and after the Civil War, many harbored hateful attitudes toward blacks. Many families passed down this legacy of prejudice to the present day. After my father had been at this church for six months, one of the deacons asked him for a favor. Every year the town, mainly the church, held a youth baseball league and the deacon wanted my dad to announce the beginning of the season to the congregation and have my older brother play on a team. My father initially accepted the invitation but wanted to know more. He asked the deacon how the church had advertised the league and was told that the church did nothing else to publicize the program. Dad thought this a bit strange. Didn't the congregation want as many kids as possible to show up? When my dad investigated this puzzling question, he didn't like what he found. They weren't advertising because they didn't want the whole town to participate, especially the black families. This made my dad reconsider making the announcement to the church. He talked to my mom and prayed very hard for many days. Finally my father decided he would make the announcement and allow my brother to play. Although he didn't want to do this, my father knew that if he didn't, someone else would, and they'd twist it so he would look like a bad guy. There was one condition, though: If my father found out any black family who signed up their child to play was rejected, my brother would not play. Although he never found any proof of this, my father had a feeling it had happened. Daddy knew he couldn't change the league, so he decided instead to start a soccer team and advertise it clearly as a "for-everyone" event. He invited many families, black and white, to sign up their kids, and his hard work paid off. About 80 kids showed up for the first practice, half black and half white. Our entire family rejoiced at the large turnout, but soon something strange began to happen. Week by week the number of players declined. By the fourth practice, not enough showed up to even resemble a team.

Julius Caesar :: essays research papers

William Shakespeare is one of the greatest play writers ever born, And this is shown by how popular his plays are still today even after thousands of years. One of his famous plays still in use today is Julius Caesar. Julius Caesar is one of the greatest plays ever written and has been read or seen by many generations. There are many topics that can be chosen to talk about in Julius Caesar and one of those topics is the presents of the supernatural Caesar or Caesar’s ghost and what affect he has on the living.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  For my first main idea I chose the impact of Julius Caesar when he was alive and the impact of his ghost. Caesar had a big impact when he was alive and when he was dead with return of his ghost. This shows that Caesar had allot of impact on other peoples lives and even after death has an impact on people close to him and those who deceived him.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The second main idea was the affect on Brutus and how he experienced Caesars return a few years after Caesars death. Also how Caesars ghost was not mad at Brutus and Brutus acted like nothing had happen and he had not killed him but now worshipped him. This shows that Brutus had killed Caesar for the good of Rome in his mind and still had the up most respect for him.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Third idea was what he had done for Rome and how he gave all his money to the people of Rome and also how he had a perception that if it was his time to die then he would die. This shows that Caesar believes in what is meant to happen should happen and that you can’t change was is meant to happen. But also Caesar could have prevented his death and could have more time to contribute to the history of Rome.

Payless ShoeSource case study

1. Which of the different product mix pricing strategies applies best to Payless’s new strategy? To my view they are using mix of different strategies. Firstly, skimming pricing. This is about selling a product at a high price, sacrificing high sales to gain a high profit, therefore ‘skimming’ the market. I see that they have invested a lot of money to hire top notch designers, rebranding effort like remodeling stores etc. There needs to be some mechanism (read, strategy) to recover this cost. For some items they have even employed premium pricing. Interestingly, Payless came up with some really good product like Lela Rose, Abaete etc. On the other hand, they have products which are low as $12. As best strategy that they are employing; I would say that they are going for Product Line Pricing. They want their customers to get attracted by the big brands in their portfolio. In that way, other products will gain due importance too. So to customers, overall portfolio will look very attractive. 2. How do concepts such as psychological pricing and reference pricing apply to the Payless strategy? In what ways does Payless’s strategy deviate from these concepts? By definition, psychological pricing on the theory that certain prices has a psychological impact. The retail prices are often expressed as â€Å"odd prices†: a little less than a round number, e.g. $19.99 or  £2.98. There is no explicit reference given in the case where we see that they are using this strategy. As a matter of fact, we see that though Payless is increasing the price of their products. So, sudden upward movement of price may come as a shock to customers. This strategy of Psychological pricing can be employed in this scenario. Payless actually did not pay a heed to that and did not come up with any proper plan towards psychological pricing. As for Reference pricing, it is a strategy in which a product is sold at a price just below its main competing brand. Now, in the case of Payless, they did not stress on setting the price at competitor price level. Instead they just increased the price to a bare optimum level so that customers can afford luxury and trendy items at much lower price. This price is well below the market price. 3. Discuss the benefits and risks of the new Payless strategy for both Payless and the designers. Which of these two stands to lose the most? There are benefits as well as risks involved in the new strategy of Payless. Benefit is customers can afford the luxurious and trendy items at much lower costs. They will be able to buy the designer product and a range of shoes and other related products at ease. In the process Payless will get a large volume of customers. Risk is historically designer luxury items and low cost does not gel together. Low cost has two connotations. One, the product is cheap. Second, the product is of inferior quality. Now consumers may be totally confused as to what will be the product quality when they see the cost price is so low than others in the market. If this is the case, sale will dip instead of increase. 4. Consider the scale on which Payless operates. How much of a price increase does Payless need to achieve in order to make this venture worthwhile? Payless undoubtedly operates at a mass volume of customers. The CEO, Rubel said, in many cases the price increases may be as little as 50 cents per pair of shoes. Payless has a large base of value conscious customers. In that segment a small price increase can sustain profitability. Basically that segment needs to be sustained so that they do not go for other company’s products. That is the key for assured return in terms of margin. They are banking on the fact that â€Å"making everyone happy will ring up the sales and profits it needs†. I think, some of the products which are really of very good quality and come from top designer houses can be priced at a bit lower than the markets. It is necessary to recover the huge volume of money spent on remodeling of the business and distribution system.

Break-Even Point of Industry Essay

1. Airbus’ Interests & Objectives First of all, the large and cost-efficient A3XX would be popular with significant growth in the air transportation industry. Worldwide passenger traffic would almost triple in volume by 2019, with fuel price rising in the future. Creating large and cost-efficient aircrafts, rather than increasing frequencies and building new routes, would be the long-term solutions to the problem of growing demand. Therefore, this project will be strategically significant. Secondly, Airbus wants to gain market shares in the VLA market and break up the monopoly of the 747, but it didn’t have a product to compete with Boeing’s 747. Compared to the 747, the A3XX provides more advantageous features which would attract passengers especially on the longer routes, such as more space per seat, four-engine plane, etc. The combination of increased capacity and reduced costs would provide superior economics. Airbus felt confident that capacity increases would eventually prevail. As we stated above , Airbus’s objectives are to break up the monopoly of the 747, to increase its market share in the VLA market, to gain enormous financial success and to be an industry leader. 2. Break-Even Point & Market Demand Production will be able to reach full capacity from 2008, with order and delivery assumed on a stable level. During this period, the capital expenditure will be offset by depreciation in calculation of free cash flow, and R&D will be included in the operating margin. The company, as assumed, will produce and deliver 22 aircrafts for the airlines which have ordered, with 6 in 2006 and 16 in 2007. Since $700 million would have already been spent before the decision, this amount of investment should be treated as sunk cost, therefore irrelevant to the NPV analysis. To break even, with assumed operating margin of 18%, Airbus should produce and sell about 40 VLAs every year since 2008, or 495 in total before 2019. Taking the estimated margin from Lehman Brothers and CS First Boston into consideration, total orders needed for break-even can range from 306 to 509 in 20 years. From the view of Airbus, the market demand for VLA, 1550 in years, is large enough to take this project. And it is pretty safe to launch the development since, even with lowest estimated margin, 38% of total market share will guarantee a break-even. However, Boeing gives a totally different perspective and a much lower forecast on potential market demand. Under this estimation, A3XX development will have little chance to make a profit. Airbus should take at least half a market on VLA to make that project fruitful. 3. Boeing’s Response Based on the analysis before, the VLA market is so promising that Airbus is very likely to launch the A3XX. Facing with this threat, the most important move for Boeing is to prevent Airbus from dominating the VLA market. Therefore, Boeing can cut the price of existing 747 product lines and produce 747 stretch as response to Airbus. Producing 747 stretch which may contain 550+ passengers won’t be too costly for Boeing since is a modification over the current model, and that can powerfully compete with A3XX in the VLA market. Before the stretch version is market available, Boeing can offer a price cutting of the existing 747 which can not only divert sales away from A3XX, but also make A3XX project less attractive. Other alternatives might not fit. Firstly, fighting the A3XX on legal grounds (improper subsidies) will probably induce the revenge complain from Airbus, making Boeing itself to pay a large penalty. Secondly, to develop its own super jumbo jet is costly and maybe not profitable. What’s worse, in 1997 Boeing faced the first loss in more than 50 years, it’s better for Boeing to have a prudent stable strategy than an aggressive investing. 4. The Threshold To Launch We think Airbus should commit to build A3XX. The Annual Sales and Orders as of 1999 show that Airbus currently faces a disadvantage in competition with Boeing on almost every size of passenger aircraft. Worse is that, while Boeing pockets the market for VLA, Airbus even has no product to compete. Breaking the monopoly on this market becomes critical for Airbus, which is aiming to lead the industry. Strategic significance of A3XX makes this project worth an effort. Compared with the situation when Boeing launched its 747 development with 25 initial orders, the current 22 orders, with other 34 probable, is not a negative sign to commit the project. However, there would also be great risk in the new aircraft development. The possible poor market demand will make the project unprofitable. More important is that new A3XX should be sold quickly in early years to exploit learning curve effect on manufactory and seize market before Boeing reacts.

Katie And Joe Play

Is she the reason your grades are so low? Katie: NO it isn't about her. [Joey's phone beeps. ] Joe: Did you go to Dry. Phil yesterday by any chance? [Joe walks over to the other side of the room picks up a charger and walks towards the small round table where there was an outlet and plugs in the charger and puts his phone on the table. ] Katie: Yeah.. ; [Pause] Joe: What did you guys talk about? Katie: Doesn't matter. [Joe frowns] Joe: You know you can tell me anything, right? Katie: That's Beethoven me and Dry. Phil. [Long pause] We just talked about mom, again.Joe: Oh, I see. [Joe walks over and sits beside Katie] Katie: Mom is coming back, right? Joe: Sweetie, Janice†¦ I mean your mother, she's gone†¦ She's not coming back. [Katie starts tearing] Joe: Katie [Long Pause] are you- Katie: I'm fine! [Joe walks to the stand across the room that held napkins and walks back with the napkin at hand] Joe: Oh my god, Kate! [Katie is sobbing and takes the cushion from the sofa and buries her face in it. Joe runs to the sofa and sits down] Joe: It's going to be okay, you don't have to cry anymore. Katie cries harder.Joe lets Katie cry for a while and let it all out] Joe: It's going to be alright sweetie. Here wipe your face with this. [Joe held his hand out with the napkin still at his hand] Katie: Just leave me alone! [Katie pushes his hand out the way, the napkin flies across the room] Joe: Katie! [Katie gets up, the cushion falls. Katie tries to run out the room, Katie trips over the cushion and tries to get up, Joe tries to help. ] Katie: I said, leave me alone! [Small pause] I said I'm fine. [Joe stands back and watches Katie limp UT the room.Joe walks over to the other side of the room where his cellophane lied on the table. Joe takes out the plug and picks his phone up and dials a number. The phone rings, no one picks up. Joe walks to the bookshelf still holding onto his phone and picks up a photo album and sits down on the sofa. Joe flips through pages , slowly feeling depressed. Joe receives a phone call, he picks it up. ] Joe: Hello. Mike: Hey, you called earlier? Joe: Yeah, you busy? Mike: No why? Joe: Can you come over? Really need to talk to you.

Man Utd – Swot and Pest

Manchester united Manchester United (ManU) is one of the leading football clubs in the world. ManU has won many titles in the football competition making the club to be the most successful football club in the world. The success of this club is contributed by the good management of Sir Alex Ferguson who has been the manager since 1986 when Ron Atkinson left (Official website, ManU). Introduction The football industry in UK has become popular because of the first successes in the industry, an attribute that made it a viable business. The main aim of this report is to analyze the SWOT and PEST analysis of Manchester United.From this analysis, it will be possible to identify both the internal and external strengths of the company. SWOT analysis SWOT analysis can be used to know the success factors of ManU as well as to identify the strategies to be overcome the club's weaknesses. Moreover, SWOT analyses will enable the company to identify the opportunities to improve performance. SWOT a nalysis of Manchester United is presented below: Strengths The key strength of Manchester United is its well recognized brand all over the world. ManU has achieved such good brand name by heavy advertisement through the internet, TV and magazines (Andrews, 2004).This massive advertisement has made the club to get various sponsors. This means that whenever the company raises any merchandise in the market, indicating their name and symbol, it will be identified by its funs all over the world. Strength of the club is the presence of a big fan base which has improved the financial stability of the club. This big fan base has made a very high purchase figure whenever the tickets are being sold. Furthermore, Manchester United has various distribution channels which enable it to deliver new products introduced into the market.Furthermore, these channels can be used by the Manchester United to obtained feedback from the market concerning their products and performances. Weaknesses From the website of the company, it shows that the major weakness is the products and product variety. It is evident that the company has been introducing many diverse products at different occasions. All these diverse products have been introduced from the jersey to credit cards indicating that the company has exploited the available sources of income within the company.This action needs to be researched as soon as possible so as to help the company to situate and analyze it products, adopt the use of effective instruments such as the Boston Matrix which will help the company to identify that the products are doing well in the market. Lastly, the club has been so affluent, and it is still operating on such a high level, there is a worrying within the management of the company that it will loose its origin, which has a diverse concentration of the club from football to the proceeds.Such moves might have a great effect to its fans because the fans come from all over the world. Opportunities P enetration of the Manchester United to the American market has been one of the major opportunities to the company. The company will in future structure its club by entering into coalition with the New York Yankees. The New York Yankees is one of the well-off teams in the world. This will assist the company by ensuring that exclusive distribution channels are established in the United States of America. Through this the company will be in a position to enter and present their products in a new market.Furthermore, the Manchester United will be in a position to lead all the football clubs in the America, though there will be superior height of risks concerned. The managers believe that by entering a coalition with the Yankees, this threat will be reduced (CNN, 2010). Threats Manchester United operates under a great threat in this field because other big teams like Manchester City and Arsenal which are currently improving in their performances. These and other teams have become very big competitors to the club. Furthermore, the Manchester United FC has been facing internal threats to the team.There is a frequent change of leadership in the company making the club to be disunited. Nonetheless, this will affect the sale of merchandise. Lastly, the club is lacking enough finances for financing academies and junior football, so that they can train the best footballers to ensure smooth succession in the future. PEST Analysis of the Manchester United The club's decision has been affected by macro-environmental factors such as the changes in taxes, new laws, demographic changes and the changes in government policy. The managers of Manchester United can classify these as the political, economical, social and technological factors.Political factors This comprises of the laws which govern the issues affecting the activities of the club. Currently the team is undergoing a problem of paying out its debts which amount to $1. 5 billion, a figure which was misappropriated by the greedy owners. The fans of Manchester United from England are preparing to join their efforts to force legislators to consider pro-football legislation in parliament which will aim at fighting the total arrears which has not being paid because of corrupt owners who misuse the funds of the club. Such an action has exploited the loyalties of fans of Manchester United.Economical factors The club has boosted the economy through employment opportunities which have been created to the players and the officials. The positive effect of Manchester United FC is felt globally because they employ the best players globally. Secondly, this soccer club has been a catalyst in the regional development because of the positive financial flows which are generated by the supporters of the team across the world. Lastly, the club has a positive influence on the economy because its officials are thrown from all over the world.These officials spend an average of 15 ? on basic needs such as food, drinks etc . in a single match. If the supporters are from foreign countries they bring in foreign currencies which will eventually boosts the Balance of Payments in the country Technology Technology has contributed positively to the foot ball games since the players are capable of playing at night due to the availability of electricity. Furthermore, technology has facilitated various people from different parts of the world to watch football irregardless of there locations.Technology has facilitated fans of the club to obtain information from the internet concerning the performances of the company. This has benefited those Manchester United fans to get updates incase they had missed to watch the game. Social Manchester United just like any other football team has united many people especially the funs of football. People have interacted all over the world because of football. People from different age groups normally watch football because it is either their favorite game or because they want to watch just for leisure.Football has become part of the society in the current world, everybody in the world talks of football, either English Premier League or the world cup championships. This is very important since it has affected the society in a positive way i. e. it can create employment in the region. For example, the world cup will be in South Africa this year. The South African government will collect a lot of revue in terms of taxation, sales of tickets and any other taxable stuff. This will have close relationship with the social cultural factors though indirectly (Masterman, 2009).Manchester United has contributed a lot in the context of the social cultural factors as it employs players from different parts of the world. They normal select stars from different leagues and employ them. From a research done by Masterman, Manchester is the leading club in the payment package they offer to its employees. Business strategy The team has carried research concerning their pr oduct development in the market. This is very important as it will help the team to improve their performance in their product in the present market before strategizing on how to enter the new market.Conclusion Manchester United is the leading team in the football industry and to maintain this position, they have to focus on the market and the needs of its clients and followers. The company has further improved on their product through carrying research; these improvements have brought success in the club and improve the support of the team. The board of directors has also done their best by employing the best players to represent the club. This will make the team to perform well in the field whenever they have a game. Furthermore, these directors ensure that the discipline is well maintained n the company because the fans and its competitors are closely watching what is going on in the company. Bibliography ? Andrews, D. L. (2004) Manchester United: a thematic study. Routledge: UK. Barthold, D. 2009. The Business of European Football. GRIN Verlag, (3). Pp 36-38 Masterman, G. 2009. Strategic Sports Event Management: Olympic Edition Hospitality, Leisureand Tourism Series. Butterworth-Heinemann, (2). Pp 65-67 Manchester United. 2008. The Official Manchester United Annual 2009 Official Manchester Read more: http://www. ukessays. com/essays/business/manchester-united. php#ixzz2O7qrNL7L