Tuesday, August 6, 2019
Dove, the Brand to Beat Essay Example for Free
Dove, the Brand to Beat Essay Dove is a brand under the many products of Unilever. It was in the 1890s when William Hesketh Lever, founder of Lever Bros popularized cleanliness and hygiene with his introduction of the Sunlight Soap in Victorian England. The Sunlight Soap led the advocacy â€Å"to make cleanliness commonplace; to lessen work for women; to foster health and contribute to personal attractiveness, that life ay be more enjoyable and rewarding for the people who use our products†. (www.dove.com) For three centuries, Unilever has proven its success over economic booms, depressions, world wars and the changing lifestyle of its consumers as the world advanced through technology. Dove is the leading skin care product since 1957. It is clinically proven and has been noted to be good for dry sensitive skin which half the women in the world has. And since the 1980s, Dove has launched more supporting products to the soap bar such as moisturizing body wash, deodorants, body lotions, facial cleansers, shampoos and conditioners. All of these products are aimed to solve skin needs comprehensively bringing out the true inner beauty of women. Dove is boasts of its number one in the race of cleansing brands with double-digit growth data. Sales in over 80 countries are over â‚ ¬2.5 billion a year. They estimate that over 1 billion showers are done using Dove products each year in the US alone. The success is due to the brands keeping of its clinically proven promises and understanding of its real market. Studies show that only 12 % of women are very satisfied with their physical attractiveness. 2% of women articulate themselves as beautiful. 68% knows that media almost always sets unrealistic standards of beauty and the 75% hopes that media would better itself in portraying diversity in women’s physical attractiveness that includes size, shape and age. â€Å"Dove is actively trying to address the root of the problem of negative self-image. Dove has founded the Dove Self-Esteem Fund, which funds programs to raise self-esteem in girls and young women. In the US, it’s working through the Unilever Foundation to sponsor a partnership with Girl Scouts, called uniquely ME! It also supports the BodyTalk education program for schools in the UK and Canada.†(www.dove.com) The Dove Self-Esteem Fund has come along way since consumers saw that water alone was not enough to clean oneself. American consumers of the new millennium are more demanding than ever and value minded. Dove consumers pay a higher price for Dove due to its after sales value. The target market of Dove are the people who can afford to put a premium for added market values compared to cheaper alternatives such as Ivory. â€Å"According to Soap, Cosmetics, Chemical Specialties, aging baby-boomers were looking for milder, less irritating products. Soaps using vegetable-based fats, with no animal fats or animal testing, were also in demand. Other popular items included loofahs, oatmeal products, and chamomile leaves. In general, customers demanded performance and value in all their soap, shampoo, and detergent products, which were the driving factors behind the soap and detergents industry at the turn of the century.†(Thompsons, 2006) All these added value makes Dove cost more than the average bath product. Value leaders attempt to offer the best product at the cheapest price. These products cannot compare on quality and in the short term, competes for the value of each dollar. Ivory products advertise themselves on the price pitch that does not happen to Dove products. Each Dove product commercial does not mention price. this kind of advertising strategy may increase Ivory income by selling more quantity but soaps such as Dove and Dial remain successful as well by selling more expensive and keeping loyal customers at lesser volumes. â€Å"The bar soap market, which had grown at an average rate of about 4.1 percent annually in the early 1980s, entered the 1990s with a growth rate of about 4.9 percent. Beauty bars comprised the fastest growing segment of the bar soap market, with sales increasing at a rate of about 7 percent per year. Later in the decade, however, bar soap began to lose some ground to shower gels. In 1998, bar soap sales grew only 1.5 percent in value and slipped 4.5 percent in unit terms, while shower gel sales increased dramatically. However, even with their 18.1 sales gain in 1998, the shower gel market, with total sales of $450 million, remained slightly less than a third the size of the bar soap market, which totaled $1.4 billion in value in 1998.†(Thompsons, 2006) Dove has been successful in its campaign to increase and sustain loyal consumers due to its steadfast supporting of its timeless belief in their original product. Compared to the rest of the competition, Dove remained the soap that held on to its ‘added moisture’ selling point. From that, Dove has evolved and widened its strategies in cornering a wider and global market. For one, it’s campaign-promoting self-esteem in women cuts above the rest. The ‘campaign for real beauty’ ad that models larger than average smiling women in white underwear has sent advertisers of other soaps amok. The message of this ad is a statement against the usual advertisers that project the beautiful woman with impossibly physical proportions. This strategy of using controversy for advertising worked so much for Dove. â€Å"The women in these photos appear to love who they are and the way their bodies look. Sue Ontiveros of the Chicago Sun-Times says, Its the joy on their faces that I really like. Theres just so much happiness in their smiles that I feel as if these women are saying this is the real me and I like her. Boy, is that rare and just the message Id like females to get and embrace. Just because your booty cant fit into a size four doesnt mean youre not sexy. The joy and confidence of the Dove models allows them to look sexy without having to wear seductive facial expressions.†(www.campaignforealbeuty.com) The challenge that lies on the Dove self-esteem campaigns is to make sure that they do not get caught playing two sides. A teener realizes that the big women ad was sporting big tight thighs. Dove was getting the most of this because their thigh-tightening product was being launched. A critic also realized that letting women with underwear pose on camera was still diminishing respect for women even if they were all size large. The most significant challenge that advertisers faced was fueled by the growing global concern of consumers over environmental issues. Consumers demanded that products like Dove have to be manufactured and marketed using ‘earth-friendly’ products and processes without sacrificing quality. Dove’s dishwashing liquid leads their earth-friendly products. Using the dishwashing liquid leaves the hands moisturized, the plates squeaky clean and the rivers unpolluted Another important strategy for Dove products to stay in the lead is using technology to further their market reach. The website of Dove and its dealers are well-made and very user friendly. Buying online is very convenient. Using the internet as part of the marketing efforts, Dove can ensure the existence of its loyal customers who pays more to buy Dove soap. The prices below gathered from the websites show comparisons in prices of different common leading bath soaps. Dove fits in the middle of the price war as it is appreciated by the market as the soap that has more value compared to the usual everyday common soaps such as Dial and Coast but not too expensive like the signature and specialty soaps like Cetaphil or Neutrogena. Price Comparisons Dove              3.08 Dial                0.99 Ivory              1.89 Cetaphil         4.09 Neutrogena    3.95 Coast              1.20 Table 1. User ratings between Dove competitors Product name Pears Soap Imperial Leather Original Soap Palmolive Original Soap Bar Dove Extra Sensitive Cream Bar Lux Milk Honey Beauty Soap Oilatum Soap Bar Camay Classic- Toilet Soap Overall user rating: Recommended by 100% (13 Reviews) Recommended by 95% (19 Reviews) Recommended by 50% (6 Reviews) Recommended by 86% (28 Reviews) Recommended by 100% (1 Review) Recommended by 100% (2 Reviews) Recommended by 33% (3 Reviews) http://www.ciao.co.uk/product_comparison.php?Pid=1%2C10%2C10534%2C15372%2C5015455%2C5231365IDs%5B%5D=70462IDs%5B%5D=70445IDs%5B%5D=70457IDs%5B%5D=70440IDs%5B%5D=70450IDs%5B%5D=5628139IDs%5B%5D=70438Compare=Compare          The table above shows user ratings from the ciao website. Recommendations between Dove competitors are tabulated. Though Dove Extra Sensitive Cream Bar had an 86% recommendation ratings, it had the most number of reviews totaling 28 as compared to Imperial leather Original Soap that seconded the list with 18 reviews, a far ten reviews short of Dove. This short sampling will show that there are more Dove users who connect to the internet as compared to the other products.            Dove moves forward in its goal to build a strategic global ‘master’ brand. Backed by Unilever’s expertise in product branding, Dove with its good quality material for hygiene and beauty preservation will continue to focus on making their brand lead by promoting the value of their brand as against the price of the soap.            â€Å"Dove was an instant hit, generating $55 million in sales its first six months, per Information Resources Inc. This year, sales climbed to $79 million for the 52 weeks ended April 22. Doves current market share stands at 4.7%, equal that of Procter and Gambles Old Spice. PGs Secret brands still collectively dominate the $1.6 billion category, but have been losing share to Dove. Total Secret sales were $229 million as of April 22, down 8% from $248 million for the year ended Sept. 10, 2000, per IRI.†(Ward, 2003)            I have personally using Dove for the past ten years and have been more than twice tempted to try other brands. Though I did try out one or two other brands during such time, I always went back to using Dove because of its simplicity, truthfulness and mission to add social value to a common daily commodity. In a world where brand names are easily communicated with visuals only technology knows how far will go, Dove will remain as a trustworthy partner in my personal health care. References: U.S. Department of Commerce. U.S. Industry and Trade Out-look 99. Washington, D.C.: GPO, 1999. U.S. Department of Commerce. U.S. Census Bureau. 1997 Economic Census. Washington, D.C.: GPO, 1999. Van Arnum, Patricia. Consumer Product Majors Soak in a Renewed Outlook. Chemical Market Reporter, FR3-5. Ward, John. 2003. Does Market Share Really Apply to Apple? http://www.vectronicsappleworld.com/2003/opinion/0306.html www.ciao.com www.dove.com www.answers.com Doves extension into deodorant is a prime example of Unilevers long-term strategy to build a set of global master brands with new products and heavy marketing support. The launch was backed by more than $30 million in media spending, a level usually reserved for new brands. Dove marketers also wanted to develop a product specifically for women. While a number of existing brands are gender neutral (Ban, Sure) or targeted to men (Brut, Right Guard, Old Spice), not since PG introduced decades-old Secret has a manufacturer captured the collective attention of the female audience. Preferred language style: English(U.S.) †¨Ã¢â‚¬ ¨Dove Soap (brand I want researched on)†¨Ã¢â‚¬ ¨Think about a product you love, that you use all the time. In this first part of the assignment, your goal is to uncover as much research about the brand and it competitors as possible. †¨Ã¢â‚¬ ¨You`ll want to know the history of the brand, the characteristics of the people who buy/use the brand, and everything else possible about it. But don`t forget to look into the competition. What are they doing right? What are they doing wrong? 5 pages 4 sources History Characteristics of its market Competition status What they are doing right? What they are doing wrong?
Peace And Stability In Afghanistan Politics Essay
Peace And Stability In Afghanistan Politics Essay Even after almost eight years of international communitys efforts in Afghanistan the instability and turbulence has increased rather than abated. Not only has Afghanistan seen ever increasing levels of violence and loss of life the virus of instability and culture of violence has also spread across the Durand line with hardly any silver line on the horizon. A deadly insurgency, higher opium production, increasing civilian casualties, rampant corruption, an unstable neighbourhood and an uncertain political future remain the defining features of the complex and combustible situation that obtains in Afghanistan. Much of the initial euphoria generated after the fall of Taliban in 2001 has dissipated and those advances made in the fields of education and womens rights have been overshadowed. The prospects for preventing Afghanistan from being sucked into this whirlpool of chaos appear bleaker than ever. [1] 2. Americas Af-Pak policy which was announced in end of March 2009, needs to be scrutinised to gauge its progress and success or otherwise. The main pillars of this strategy were based on not only in increase of force levels but also on increase of the resources devoted to economic development and coordination among international donors building Afghan governing structures primarily at local level reforming the Afghan government expanding and reforming the Afghan security forces and trying to improve Pakistans efforts to curb militant activity on its soil. The strategy also included negotiations with Taliban figures that were willing to enter the political process. After the Presidential election there is a need to again review the security, governance and development and aid structures and delivery mechanisms. 3. Major factor impacting the situation in Afghanistan is the continued resurgence of Taliban due to a host of contextual factors. The Taliban is estimated to have a permanent presence in 72 per cent of Afghanistan; its hold being strang not only in its bastions of the South but also in the East, where it literally runs a parallel government. Moreover the insurgency is spreading in a manner in which it has begun to ring the capital city of Kabul, with three of the four main roads leading to Kabul being rendered ensafe for Afghan or International travel. Successes against the Taliban, whether military or of winning hearts and minds have been limited as the Taliban appear to be striking at will with lethal forcw and is increasingly successful in the propaganda war. 4. Governance is another area where the noramal populace has been disillusioned with current dispensation. Endemic corruption plaguing much of the government machinery, especially the police and judiciary, both of which effect the evreryday life of the common man, has undermined credibility of the elected government and helped build up a degree of local support which stems more out of the Talibans ability to fill in the governance vacuum as opposed to ideological support for their cause. 5. Developmental aid has been delivered to Afganisthan in vast quantities but it is not visible on the ground. Fruits of this aid have yet to be tasted by the common people. Bonn process was followed by London Compact and there is an Afghan National Development Strategy (ANDS) for 15 years ahead but the timelines and benchmarks outlined in the same have not been adhered to. And the economic aid promised to realize the ANDS has also not been delivered whereas there is a massive spending by the NATO and Coalition forces to the tune of about US $20 billion a month. 6. How can, therefore, the international community improve on the delivery mechanisms and implementation measures? This remains one of the key questions in the current conundrum of security and development complicated further by weak governance. Surge indevelopment and aid funds and personnel planned as part of the Af-Pak strategy may help but some of the contextual core issues would yet need to be addressed before a positive outcome could be expected. 7. Looking at a wider perspective, how do the regional stake holders view the Afghan imbroglio? How can their varying perceptions be reconciled for the cause of common good? 8. Further, the presence of safe havens in Pakistans lawless frontier regions have played a seminal role in sustaining the insurgency in Afghanistan and fuelling instability in Pakistan, thus making it impossible to visualize a solution to the Afghan quagmire in isolation. 9. Given the above background what could be alternative future scenarios in Afghanistan say in next 4 to 5 years time and 8 to 10 years time keeping in mind the trends and drivers and possible triggers? Based on the emerging scenarios what should be the international communitys policy and strategy choices to ensure a favourable outcome? A broad range of critical issues affecting the Afghan environment need to be examined before a determination as to how to proceed further can be made. 10. Broadly, therefore, the seminar on peace and stability in Afghanistan and the way ahead is built around four themes of security, governance and examination of likely future scenarios and offering recommendations for policy and strategy choices which can be made now so as to move towards a better and brighter future for Afghanistan and in effect for rest of the international community. METHODOLOGY Statement of Problem 11. To analyze the effects of likely political instability in Afghanistan post withdrawal of International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and its implications for India and policies that India needs to adopt to deal with this problem. Justification of Study 12. United States is increasing getting impatient in the affairs of Afghanistan wherein its policies are not delivering the desired results. It is likely to reduce its foot prints in that country and has accordingly set a deadline for withdrawal of ISAF. 13. The goal of US in Afghanistan is to defeat Al Qaeda and deny them the bases in that country, so as to improve its own homeland security. As per US, achievement of this goal is not dependent on creating an environment of political reconciliation in Afghanistan, which is difficult and time consuming. Rather its goal can be achieved by entering into an agreement with one entity: Taliban, who may agree to keep Al Qaeda out in exchange of returning back to power. Hypothesis 14. The return of Taliban or any civil war post de-induction of ISAF would hurt India dearly. India would prefer a sovereign, democratic secular Afghanistan which is not under the influence of powers inimical to our interests. 15. Therefore, India must ensure that the world community does not abandon Afghanistan at this crucial juncture and continue to provide for its political reconciliation and rehabilitation. In this regard, deployment of UN sponsored security forces with a much larger agenda than the ISAF is looked into, so as to allow the country to become strong both politically and economically. Methods of Data Collection 16. The study is primarily based on information gathered from books written by prominent Indian, foreign authors as well as information available on the internet. There has also been an attempt by me to analyse the events as they have unfolded and suggest possible options and own responses. Other sources of information are articles written in Indian, Pakistani, Western newspapers and news services such as the CNN and BBC as well as some defence journals. A bibliography of the sources is appended at the end of the text. Afghanistan being a very current topic has undergone a series of ups and downs during the course of my preparation of the dissertation. The Bonn Agreement is very relevant in todays context and is also attached as an appendix. Scope 17. The study will be covered under the following heads:- Chapter I Introduction Chapter II Geo strategic importance of Afghanistan to India Strategic location of Afghanistan Key to Energy Security Pakistans desire of achieving strategic depth by having control over Afghanistans polity Chapter III Brief history of Afghanistan post 9/11 Defeat of Taliban and set up of new Government Role of Pakistan in combating terrorism Chapter IV : Present imbroglio in Afghanistan. Failure of US policies in Afghanistan Growing frustration amongst US and NATO forces Poor governance by Karzai and growth of Taliban Chapter V : Likely Future Scenarios and Implications for India Withdrawal of US forces and re emergence of Taliban Depletion of US footprint and renewed violence Pakistan getting foothold in Afghanistan and involvement of Al Qaida in Kashmir Indian involvement reduced with a hostile government in Afghanistan Chapter VII Options Available To India Make efforts to ensure continuous presence of International security force in Afghanistan Involving UN in peace establishment in Afghanistan Continuing support to government in Afghanistan by undertaking rebuilding projects Chapter VIII : Conclusion. CHAPTER II BRIEF HISTORY OF AFGHANISTAN POST 9/11 OP Enduring Freedom On September 20, 2001, in the wake of the September 11 attacks, US President George W. Bush delivered an ultimatum to the Taliban government of Afghanistan to turn over Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda leaders operating in the country or face attack. The Taliban demanded evidence of Bin Ladens link to the September 11 attacks and, if such evidence warranted a trial, they offered to handle such a trial in an Islamic Court. The US refused to provide any evidence. Subsequently, in October 2001, US forces along with UK and coalition allies invaded Afghanistan to oust the Taliban regime. On October 7, 2001, the official invasion began with British and US forces conducting air strike campaigns. Kabul, the capital city of Afghanistan, fell by mid-November. The remaining al-Qaeda and Taliban remnants fell back to the rugged mountains of Eastern Afghanistan, mainly Tora Bora. In December, the US and her allies fought within that region. Its believed that Osama bin-Laden escaped into Pakistan duri ng the battle. In March 2002, the United States and other NATO and non-NATO forces launched Operation Anaconda in the hopes that theyll destroy any remaining al-Qaeda and Taliban forces in the Shahi-Kot Valley and Arma Mountains of Afghanistan. The Taliban suffered heavy casualties and evacuated the region. The Taliban regrouped in Western Pakistan and began to unleash an insurgent-style offensive against the United States and her allies in late 2002. Formation of Civialian Government After Operation Enduring Freedom, Mujahideen loyal to the Northern Alliance and many other groups mustered support for a new government in Afghanistan. In December 2001, political leaders gathered in Germany to agree on new leadership structures for Afghanistan. Under the Bonn Agreement, an interim Transitional Administration was formed and Hamid Karzai was named the Chairman of a 29-member governing committee. On 13 June 2002, the Loya Jirga, appointed Karzai as the Interim President of the Afghan Transitional Administration.[28] The former members of the Northern Alliance remained extremely influential in the new dispensation. Hamid Karzai won the 2004 presidential election, and became President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. He defeated 22 opponents and become the first democratically elected leader of Afghanistan. Although his campaigning was limited due to fears of violence, elections passed without any significant incident in spite of a surge of insurgent activity.] 6. After Karzai was installed into power, his actual authority outside the capital city of Kabul was said to be so limited that he was often derided as the Mayor of Kabul. The situation was particularly delicate since Karzai and his administration had not been equipped either financially or politically to influence reforms outside of the region around the capital city of Kabul. Other areas, particularly the more remote ones, were historically under the influence of various local leaders. Karzai started making attempts to negotiate and form amicable alliances with them for the benefit of Afghanistan as a whole, instead of aggressively fighting them and risking an uprising. CHAPTER III BEGINNING OF CHAOS Americas Miscalculation President Bush, speaking at the Virginia Military Institute in the spring of 2002, proposed a Marshall Plan for Afghanistan and its neighbours that added up to state-building on a regional scale. But the post 9-11 Pentagon long stuck with a narrow, or sharp focus on wiping out Al Qaeda and the Taliban, with a corresponding under-focus on long-term development. Other agencies of the US Government struggled to advance their programs with little coordination either with the Pentagon or with one other, and with much micro-managing by e-mail from offices in Washington. But even had the Pentagon gotten it right or the other agencies been better coordinated, the program would still not have worked, for US policy (and UN policy as well) suffered from a birth defect. When the US finally toppled the Taliban, Tajiks from the Northern Alliance took control of Kabul. In a winner-take-all move, they immediately packed the government with their own supporters and relatives, to the exclusion both of Pashtuns, the largest group in the population, and minority Shia Hazaras. Eager to sidestep all dissension, the UNs Bonn meetings in December, 2001, ratified this dangerous status quo, while the Emergency Loya Jirga, held in June, 2002, then ratified the Bonn conferences mistakes. While U.S. officials talked bravely of working the situation, Northern Alliance leaders in Kabul effectively consolidated their hold on power. Marshall Fahim, confirmed in Bonn as Afghanistans Minister of Defense, kept his own militia lodged in the capital and cut personal deals with like-minded warlords elsewhere, greatly complicating the task of building a national army. Worse, he and his family seized control of key markets and other assets to create their own income stream, independent of Karzai and the Americans. Many Pashtuns, as they watched this unfold and noted their fellow-Pashtun Karzais inability to counteract it, went into a sullen opposition. A few resorted to armed opposition. Since most Taliban leaders had been Pashtun, this gave the appearance of a Taliban revival. In fact, it was worse, a new movement of Pashtuns and other groups aggrieved over having been excluded from the post-Taliban order. Because the US backed Karzai, they blamed their own marginaliza tion on America. This bitter mood gave rise to a new opposition and new insecurity. Charged with rooting out remnants of Al Qaeda and the Taliban, the US worked with whatever forces were at hand, including warlords, postponing to a later phase the achievement of balance within the Kabul government and the consolidation of state institutions. Light Footprint. Afghanistan was the least resourced of any American led nation building operation. There are 1.5 international soldiers for every 1000 persons in Afghanistan compared to 20.5 per 1000 in Kosovo, 19 in Bosnia, 10 in Sierra Leone and nearly 4 in Haiti. Post conflict stabilization operations require more troops and longer time than to win the initial fight. In fighting, firepower and technology enable smaller, more agile forces to prevail. But in post conflict stabilization and reconstruction, there is a need for more ground troops, money and time. Low levels of investment in military power and economic assistance in post conflict reconstruction lead to a low level of security, ineffective governance and poor economic growth. From the outset, two contradictory concepts drove international intervention in Afghanistan. The country was described as the major front of a global war on terror, yet the intervention was light footprint engagement. This light footprint continued to impair every aspect of reconstruction of Afghanistan .Taliban was removed from power, but neither their potential to return nor their external support was addressed. The focus on accomplishing short term security goals undermined the efforts at establishing positive long term trends. Mis governance The general opinion in Afghanistan is that the insurgency is rising because the people have lost faith in government. The security forces have failed to protect local villages and the institutions struggle to deliver basic services. The patience of people with government is breaking down and it in turn is favouring the return of Taliban. The afghan government had difficulty providing essential services to the population, especially in rural areas of the country. As per a World Bank report, the main beneficiary of assistance was the urban elite. This triggered deep seated frustration and resentment among rural population. The government suffered a number of systematic problems and had difficulty attracting and retaining skilled professionals with management and administrative experience. Due to lack of investment and poor maintenance only 6% of the population received electricity. Most efforts were to supply electricity to the urban areas and not to the rural areas which were falling to Taliban. The Afghan government faced challenges providing security outside of the capital. A major reason was the poor state of the Afghan national police. The result was weak security apparatus that could not establish monopoly of the legitimate use of force within the country. The police was not an international priority after the overthrow of the Taliban regime and they received significantly less money and attention than the army. The Afghan police was needed to help establish order in urban and rural areas, but they were heavily out gunned by the insurgent. The police force was plagued with corruption and lacked semblance of a national police force. Pakistani Dimension Pakistan has played a very strong role in Afghanistan in the last three decades, unfortunately, it has been a very negative role. With the fall of Taliban in Afghanistan, Pakistan lost its political clout in that country but it retained its links with the Taliban and actively assisted insurgency in Afghanistan It was only due to intense pressure from America that Pakistan reluctantly agreed to stop aid to Taliban. However, as it became clear later that Pakistan was not committed to end terror. Pakistan decided to hold talks with the militant leaders in Swat and offered to stop all military actions against them. This further fuelled insurgency in Afghanistan and increased attacks on US and NATO forces. Revival of Taliban Almost five years after the defeat of Taliban regime, there was a resurgence of Taliban in 2006. Their return could be divided into three stages through which the group gradually gained momentum especially at the last stage that started in 2006. The first stage, from 2002 to 2003, had a relatively tangible lull. However, there were some small bombings from time to time. In 2003, the Mullah Mohamed Omar launched a new Jihad council comprising of ten military leaders of Taliban. The group could achieve this essential military restructuring cashing in on the US shift of focus towards Iraq. The second stage, from 2004 to 2005, witnessed a number of remarkable activities and developments in tactics of fighting, types of weapons, and the groups deployment in several areas.The Taliban started to carry out some military operations in daylight and managed to fully control some remote areas of south Afghanistan.The third stage, from 2006 to 2007, marked the overwhelming return of the Taliban. The year 2006 was the bloodiest one since the fall of the Taliban, as more than 4, 000 were killed, including one third of civilians. The British-American council for media security reported in a comparison between the years 2005 and 2006 that there was an increase in the attacks on the NATO forces from 900 in 2005 to 2500 attacks in 2006. One of the major achievements of the Taliban in this period of time was that they managed to run peoples affairs in some southern areas establishing a good network and friendly relationships with the residents of the south. Taliban Strategy. Analysts pointed out that Taliban had established a two pronged strategy in Afghanistan. First to re establish its authority over the southern provinces around its former headquarters in Kandahar and second to destabilize a ring of provinces around Kabul. CHAPTER IV US EXIT POLICY AND LIKELY FUTURE SECURITY SCENARIOS Af-Pak Policy On 23 January,2009, American President Mr Obama announced his Af-Pak policy wherein he stressed that his administration was committed in refocusing attention and resources on Afghanistan. The salient features of his policy were: Appointment of special envoy Mr Richard Holbrooke to Pakistan and Afghanistan to help lead US effort to forge and implement strategic and sustainable approach to the region. Pakistan told to destroy the safe heavens for Al-Qaeda and Taliban in the tribal areas bordering Afghanistan. Deployment of 17,000 additional troops in Afghanistan to improve security situation. The American President had laid out a very bold and responsible policy to counter the resurgent Taliban insurgency in Af-Pak region. However, within a short span of one and half years the American policy has undergone a complete change with President himself laying down the withdrawal plan of ISAF( International Security Assistance Force) and the Secretary of State , Mrs Hillary Clinton stressing the need to reintegrate the insurgents in the political mainstream of Afghanistan. This dramatic turnabout of American plans regards Afghanistan is due to various factors, American Losses. The American or the NATO losses have been increasing and with every passing year the Taliban is becoming stronger and stronger. Even though more and more troops have been deployed and more money pumped in but still the attacks on the ISAF are only increasing. The Taliban tactics have now graduated to frontal attacks on US outposts. US Goals in Afghanistanà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.There is a profound confusion in America regarding what US goals in Afghanistan ought to be and what the means for resolving those goals should be? The debate is on whether US should focus narrowly on issues of counter terrorism or should they focus on counter terrorism and counter insurgency. It is also being debated whether US should really be engaged in business of state building or can workaround by negotiating with adversaries, the Taliban. These debates in domestic politics are turning against an extended and continuing commitment to Afghanistan. Crisis of Resolution The allies are tired of the Afghan commitment, because they do not understand how the struggle that is going on, in this far away land has an impact on their own security. The urgency that the world felt on 12 September 2001 has weakened with the passage of time. Afghanistan seems too hard, too complex, and too difficult and as the legend goes would continue to be the graveyard of empires. If this is true than why should we and the international community continue to make commitments to a war that by some iron laws of history is ultimately destined to end up in defeat? (d) Crisis of Resources. America is investing heavily in Afghanistan. There is no gainsaying the fact that the commitments to Afghanistan and Pakistan are costly to the US. In 2010, America has committed $65 billion to Afghanistan. If we take into account the aid to Pakistan, the total comes to $85 billion, these are not small commitments. If the lives of troops, wastage of equipment and wear and tear on forces that have been engaged in this theatre are taken into consideration especially at a time when America is in economic crisis itself and the entire world community is struggling with the global crisis, the cost is phenomenal. Many NATO countries are focused on these costs and argue that a way must be found for a quick exit from Afghanistan. This has made the job of US President more difficult. Choices for America The International community and especially America faces two choices for Afghanistan. The first is to invest and endure in Afghanistan and the second is to improve conditions, in order to exit. These are the two strategic choices that US has to contemplate as it talks about the way ahead, as each strategy has a different consequence. Invest and Endure. If US have to carry out this option, then they have to build consensus domestically and internationally on the enduring importance of Afghanistan. All members of international coalition have to commit to the resources required i.e. military, economic and diplomatic institution. This option of invest and endure cannot simply be a military campaign. It has to be an effort to re-constitute societies by changing the counter-insurgency strategy and focusing more on protecting population and minimising collateral damage. Improve and Exit. In case America and other NATO countries decide to improve the conditions in order to exit they will have to adopt a different strategy. The ideological adversaries will not have to be defeated but only kept at bay for sometime inorder to improve conditions. The investments in the institutions, social welfare and democracy would be minimum. Americans have started to realize that military solution is far difficult to achieve as compared to a political solution. They have started saying for quite some time that they want re-conciliation and talks with Taliban if they can lay down their arms. There have been covert contacts with certain Taliban elements, however, it has not produce any results till now. Even President Karzai has realized the precarious state of ISAF and have himself started wooing the Taliban so that his government can last even after the International forces withdraw. . So without clear success how long will American stay? NATO and Afghanistan have recently agreed to fix 2014 as the deadline for troops withdrawal from Afghanistan in a phased manner. They have also clarified that troops can stay in support role even beyond 2014. However, mounting coalition deaths, growing domestic pressure in NATO countries and the increasing differences between Karzai and the west may change the situation. Also, any major military debacle like, a US post being overrun by Taliban or an air crash with significant casualties may immediately catalyze opposition to war. Even the 2012 Presidential elections may require early troop withdrawal in the there is no clear sign of success. Likely Future Scenarios The debate on likely security scenarios emerging in the region post withdrawal of ISAF is gaining momentum in India. Many analysts have generated three plausible scenarios which are likely to emerge post withdrawal of ISAF from Afghanistan. (a) Scenario 1 US withdrawal or draw down of forces Return of the Taliban It is pointed out that in case of a complete US withdrawal, the probability of return of Taliban is not farfetched, thereby condemning Afghanistan to what US analysts describe as the worst case scenario. This would also lead to an emboldening of the Al Qaeda, instability spreading to Pakistan and Central Asia, thus reducing the region to become a base for Al Qaeda operations. (b) Scenario 2- US limited engagement-proxy warà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ The most probable scenario beyond 2014 is the reduced US presence in Afghanistan with troops limited to protecting key cities, a shift from overstretched counterinsurgency operations to internal defence. This would allow Pakistan to continue its hedging strategy whereby it will continue supporting the Afghan Taliban to destabilise Afghanistan with the eventual goal of reinstating a pliant regime. Scenario 3- US long term commitments -Building on Afghan state. According to the analysts, this is the best case scenario for Afghanistan, though such a state of affairs is highly unlikely given the reduced public support for the Afghan war in the United States. This would call for additional resources including troops to train and partner with Afghan forces and continuation of the institution building programmes. In this scenario, India could play a long term role in the training of the Afghan national institutions, institutional building political, and security and justice sector reforms. CHAPTER V GEO STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE OF AFGHANISTAN When Allah had made the rest of the world, He saw there was a lot of rubbish left over, bits and pieces and things that did not fit anywhere else. He collected them all together and threw them down on the earth. That was Afghanistan. An old Afghan Saying Geographical Location Afghanistan is a land locked country with Iran to its west, Pakistan to its south and east, China to its north east and the newly independent states of Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan to its north. Afghanistan covers an area of 245, 000 square miles and is surrounded by two nuclear states, China and Pakistan, a threshold nuclear state, Iran and having three other nuclear powers in its near vicinity, India, Kazakhstan and Russia. This places Afghanistan in a difficult situation with its neighbours as well other regional and non regional powers vying to get a foothold in the country to spread their influence in the region and the subcontinent. It is also the land bridge between South Asia and Central Asia and possibly to Iran as well. Safe Sanctuary for Islamic Fundamentalism Apart from being the land bridge to central Asia, Afghanistan has been a home to the fundamentalist of various hues and colours ranging from the Jihadis from Kashmir to the Uighur separatists. Afghanistan certainly provided a suitable launch pad for such activities in Central Asia, more so when the Taliban was at the helm of affairs. Taliban played host to Al Qaida and its leader Osama Bin Laden The strengthening of links between militant organisations like IMU (Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan), Al Qaida, the Chechen rebels, Uighur separatists and the Taliban, further compounded the security situation in the region. Energy Resources in Afghanistan In terms of natural resources, Soviets had estimated Afghanistans proven and probable gas reserves at up to five trillion cubic feet. However, the production has been affected by years of war, and new reserves are yet to be located due to lack of any serious exploration having been carried out for the last 30 yrs or so due to the prevailing situation. The northern areas adjoining Central Asia have proven reserves of natural gas estimated at 100 billion cubic meters, the Jar Quduk oil and gas complex being a case in point. Afghanistan also has an estimated coal reserve of up to 400 million tons located between Herat and Badakhshan. However, due to the situation in Afghanistan, the production has remained low and unless serious efforts are made in the near future, Afghanistan will continue to play its historical role of serving more as a transit route for others than as an exporter of its own resources. Oil and Gas Pipelinesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.The Central Asian republics hold the key to large resources of energy i.e oil and gas. The landlocked nature of these states imposes inherent constraints in unravell
Monday, August 5, 2019
Case Study of Management of Globalization at Ryanair
Case Study of Management of Globalization at Ryanair With increasing globalisation, numbers of companies are entering different foreign markets but some of them only attain success. This is because of their lack of knowledge about free markets advantages and limitations and role of enterprise within organisations (Brooke 1996). Firms that operate by assessing the impact of globalisation are much able to operate successfully rather than the firms that operate without analysing the impact of globalisation (Vittorio 2006). In this report all these aspects will be discussed with the help of a company, Ryan Air that is one of the oldest and most flourishing low-cost airlines of Europe (About Us 2011). This report will be completed by analyzing all previous researches or studies done in this field and its implications in real life. Different researchers and theorist have analysed free markets, globalisation and role of enterprise within organizations. With their analyses they have also given different theories and approaches that can be used in a workplace to maximise its opportunities. All these theories and approaches will be used to analyse that what extent free market conditions have allowed Ryan Air to grow and prosper (Iyer Masters 2000). As well it will also describe, at what extent the company had benefitted from free market conditions and to what extent it was constrained by limitations on this market. In addition to this, here it will also be analysed that how company and other markets are driven by enterprise led organisations. In the end, it will also be analysed that what extent the air travel market relies on globalisation and what is the importance of global expansion for Ryan Air. As well, in this report the importance of global markets in other industries will also be evaluated along with the analysis of importance of globalisation. Critical Evaluation of Ryan Airs Entry Ryan Air was established in the year 1985 and it entered low cost European air travel market as a low cost airline. The company attained huge success in Europe and it was all because of free market conditions (About Us 2011). The company success due to free market conditions can be understood effectively by critically evaluating it along with the discussion of its benefits and limitations. Significance of Free Market Conditions to Ryanair: Free market conditions refer to an economy or market in which buying and selling of products and services is done without any restriction related to price and valuation. European air travel market is also highly affected with free market conditions that in turn have also affected Ryan Air (Brooke 1996). The company is highly affected by free market conditions and it is an important reason of its growth and success. Due to the effect of free market conditions, the company along with its competitors has become able in allowing market forces to determine the price and values of air travel offered by them (Vittorio 2006). The free market concept was initially conceptualized throughout the First World War but in present it has become a reason of number of economies success. With the free market conditions of Europe, Ryan Air has derived various benefits like flexibility, freedom, and variety that in turn assist it in growing its business operations in Europe and in other foreign countries (Suneja 2000). With the free market conditions like deregulation and free market entry, Ryanair has been able to exploit the Irish and subsequently the European transport market (Brophy George 2003). With the free market conditions, the company has become able in switching its services on the basis of the widespread market conditions. For example, if there is demand on one route, the company is free to change its operations and other route so can take advantage of current profitable route or service (Iyer Masters 2000). The company is able to change its operations or process without undergoing the scrutiny of extreme government protocols. As well, the company management is also free to alter its services and their management according to their own suitability or accessibility for gaining a competitive edge (Rugman 2002). Benefits Limitations of Free Market Conditions to Ryanair: With the increasing free market conditions, Ryanair has attained several benefits in terms of increased freedom, flexibility and limited government controls or protocols. Free market conditions in Europe have allowed company to undertake activities that please them. Consequently, it can serve customers in a way it wants and sell services they think will help it in growing and prospering (Brophy George 2003). In this free market economy, the company also have freedom to change and alter their business operations. As well, government controls are very less to company operations that provide it with a benefit of increasing significantly at national as well as international level. Although there are some government guidelines to operate in air travel market that need to be followed by Ryanair but it has freedom to manage its operations in a way it feels appropriate or beneficial (Rugman 2002). The company have freedom to increase its number of flights and as well determine prices according to market forces or conditions. In condition of increased demand of air travels, the company is free to increase its number of flights so that more and more profits can be attained in comparison to existing competitors. The increased demand of customers can be satisfied significantly by undertaking diverse business decisions and increasing number of flights (Brophy George 2003). The free market conditions also present Ryanair with an advantage of serving its customers with innovative products and services. In regard to free market economy, the company have an advantage to determine what services it will render to its customers with diverse innovations so that they can be offered with best products and services (Vittorio 2006). In this way, it can be said that it is a tool through which Ryanair can easily attain competitive advantage and core competencies. In addition to significant extent of benefits, free market conditions have also presented Ryanair with several limitations like increased competition, high threat of new entrants, high bargaining power of customers etc (Iyer Masters 2000). In free market economy, there are number of low cost airline companies that operate in Europe and present customers with different innovative services. In this kind of environment, it becomes difficult to retain customers in long-run as well their bargaining power is also high as they have several choices available at a time (Rugman 2002). Threat of new entrants is also very high that several times have presented Ryanair with number of limitations. In starting, the company competitors were not as high as in present and due to this, it requires a more planned approach and business strategy (Ryan Air 2009). Free market conditions and economy have served company with number of benefits as well as with some limitations. Role of Enterprise in the Creation and Development of Ryanair In present the concept of an enterprise driven organization has emerged in which the whole organization is undertaken as an enterprise directed with continuous transformation and change. The emergence of this concept is due to uncertain market environment and rapid changes in consumers tastes. By creating and developing an enterprise driven organization, a businessman can significantly attain success (Box Byus 2007). Similar is the case with Ryanair that also made use of enterprise to become a successful low-cost European airline company. In the creation and development of Ryanair, enterprise played a substantial role that can be understood by critically reviewing its effect. Recognition of Ryanair as Enterprise Driven Organisation: Ryanair was started in the year 1985 with only 57 employees and with one 15 seater turboprop plane that used to carry 5000 passengers on one route. In subsequent year of its operations, the company employees increased along with the number of passengers it used to carry. In the year 1990-1991, the company passengers increased to 700,000 (Box Byus 2007). For attaining growth, the company made use of several marketing strategies. As well, the company also transformed its management team so that effective operations can be brought out in the company. The success attained by the company shows that from the time of company initiation, it was having potential of becoming market leader. It was all due to the effect of Michael OLeary as CEO who kept company recognised as enterprise driven organization (Wallace, Tiernan White 2006). Although, the company have confronted several troubles, but from starting its CEO assisted its entrepreneurs to establish and develop their company as an enterprise. This in turn assisted in the creation of an enterprise culture in Ryanair (Graham Nafukho 2007, p. 130). From beginning, the company and its managers have confronted number of problems mainly in concern to handling business operations, management and cost structures. All these troubles have been resolved by implementing different marketing strategies and transforming old strategies. It would not have been possible, if company CEO have not developed an enterprise culture (Mattila, Nandhakumar, Hallikainen Rossi 2009). By becoming an enterprise driven organization, Ryanair has become able in surviving in the present competitive market and growing in the marketplace (Box Byus 2007). Its enterprise-driven culture has facilitated it in implementing different marketing strategy and attaining different competitive advantages like online booking, one class travel, point-to-point flying, in house marketing, ticketless boarding, reduced turnaround times, corporate partnerships, bargaining power, new aircrafts etc (Ryanairs Competitive Advantage 2009). Due to its effective business operations that are directed with an enterprise culture, it is regarded as the most punctual airline between Dublin and London. It is also recognised as the second largest airline in United Kingdom and Europes largest low-fares airline. It operates with a network of more than 57 routes in 11 countries. It is also served by a fleet of 31 Boeing 737-200 and -800 aircraft with more than 1,400 employees. Its enterprise driven culture help it in constantly concentrating on driving its own costs and serve customers with lowest possible fares and as well as continuously remain profitable. Effect of Enterprise Driven Organizations on Other Markets: With the discussion of Ryanair and effect of enterprise driven organizations on its development and creation, it can be said that enterprise driven organisation does not only affect travel and tourism industry. Other markets and industries are also highly affected by enterprise driven organizations (Graham Nafukho 2007, p. 129). In present almost all industries are confronting significant competition and high market uncertainty. For resolving this type of market threats, it has become essential to adopt enterprise-driven organization as it assists marketers in managing their organizations in regard to emerging changes. By creating and developing an enterprise-driven organization, it becomes easy for different fields marketers to manage their survival as well as growth. They become able to manage changes related to market and customers trends (Mattila, Nandhakumar, Hallikainen Rossi 2009). As well, it also benefits companies with an advantage to create an all-inclusive culture in which everyone operates with coordination and collaboration so that business can be handled effectively (Kongol 2010). In modern era, numbers of markets are encountered with environmental uncertainty and they are trying to improve their organizational efficiency, and eventually performance. This problem can be resolved effectively by creating and developing an enterprise-driven organization as it will assist them in implementing standardized processes and practices throughout borders and their different divisions (Kongol 2010). A consistently enforced enterprise culture assists in the standardization of business processes. As well it also helps in fulfilling all needs of management control by managing all information into one system and making it available. Enterprise-driven organisation become able in a creating an integrated organisation structure that in turn assist managers in anticipating future trends and operate accordingly. In this way, it can be said that enterprise driven organizations does not only affect travel market as it make a positive effect on almost all markets (Mattila, Nandhakumar, Hallikainen Rossi 2009). By creating and developing an enterprise culture all organisations can attain different advantages according to their own success needs and requirements. Impact of Globalisation on Organisations Globalisation is a new concept that refers to processes through which different economies and societies of the world are integrating with the help of a global network. The practice of globalisation is increasing day-by-day as it serves companies with number of advantages like global expansion, significant growth and worldwide image. The significant advantages of globalisation are encouraging present organizations to globalise their business operations that in turn are affecting their overall business activities (Wallace, Tiernan White 2006). This can be understood effectively with the help of Ryanair and air travel market affect of globalisation on it. Reliance of Air Travel Market on Globalisation: Air travel market success basically depends upon the travelling needs of customers. In present almost all countries people like to travel other countries with some or other reason that imposes challenges for air travel marketers to globalise their operations (Hartungi 2006, p.730). Due to this increasing trend of travel and tourism, it has become essential for air travel marketers to globalise and this in turn also renders with several advantages related to high growth and worldwide success. This altering travel trend of people demonstrates that travel market substantially relies on globalisation. If, a travel company is not able to operate at international level it would not be able to tap international market opportunities. Travel industry connects two places that may be from a single nation or country or from different countries (Marquardt 2007). For success in travel market, it is essential to globalise and serve customers with different national as well as international routes. Significance of globalisation can also be understood by evaluating its affect on Ryanair and its business operations (Townsend, Yeniyurt Talay 2009, p. 540). In starting, the company used to operate at two routes, but subsequently, it focussed on increasing its routes to different European countries. With globalisation and the EU air transport deregulation, the company opened up new routes to Continental Europe and carried more than 3 million passengers to 18 different routes. As well, with the effect of globalisation, the company also tried to focus on global expansion and it also initiated services to Stockholm, Oslo, Paris and Brussels. In present, Ryanair operates on more than 1000 routes throughout Europe. As well, in the year 2008, the company also entered US market with an aim of global expansion. These different expansions done by the company and been planned evidences importance of global expansion for the company and its management. Importance of Global Markets in other Industries: In addition to travel industry, globalisation is also important for other industries like electronic equipments, pharmaceutical, agriculture, food beverage, oil and petroleum etc. In present almost all industries wants to operate with the help of global markets so that they can attain more profits and growth (Hartungi 2006, p.729). With increasing globalisation and free market economies different economies of the world are trying to integrate their industries so that they can take advantage of each others skills and practices (Ricks 2006). As well, it has also become a trend for companies to operate in global markets as with this they can attain a global recognition that in turn can be used to attract potential customers. In present customers prefer global brands rather than traditional brands as their lifestyles and way of living has changed and improved also (Cheng Mittelhammer 2008, p. 860). Consumers, whether they belong to low, medium or high income group prefers global brands as it gives them a sense of high living standard. This change in consumers taste and preferences encourages companies to operate at international level and serve different global markets (Townsend, Yeniyurt Talay 2009, p. 540). Almost all industries customers have similar trends towards global market. Food and beverage marketers are also affected by this and due to this different global food and beverage items are available in each country (Hartungi 2006, p.730). This is also the case with oil and petroleum industry as all countries does not have similar resources. Some of the countries have effective resources and this in turn is encouraging them to serve the need of different global markets and attain huge profit and growth (Puig, Marques Ghauri 2009, p. 693). In this environment of increased globalisation there are also some industries for whom it is critical to globalise as otherwise they would not be able to maintain their position and survival in the long run (Marquardt 2007). In this concern, one of the substantial industries is manufacturing industry. Manufacturing industry is an industry in which manufacturing is done and products are developed that almost all of us use in our daily life. If this industry has to survive it has to improve its production and operations strategies that cannot be done with traditional modes of manufacturing (Puig, Marques Ghauri 2009, p. 694). By globalizing this industry can take advantages of different means and advanced technologies. Previously, in India or other developing countries, manufacturing was done with the help of traditional methods but now as it has entered different global markets; it has also become able in making use of advanced manufacturing methods. In this way, it can be said that globalisation is critical for almost all industries to maintain their survival in the long-run. Conclusion and Recommendations With the help of above discussion, it can be said that free market conditions serve organizations with different advantages as well as limitations. Ryanair also attained different advantages with free market conditions like expansion to different European countries and continents and as well as limitation like increased competition, high threat of new entrants (Ryanairs Competitive Advantage 2009). All these threats can be handled effectively, if appropriate strategies like enterprise driven organisation is created and developed. By developing an enterprise-culture a firm can easily resolve its different operations and change management related issues as done by Ryanair (Graham Nafukho 2007, p. 129). In addition to an enterprise-driven organization, a firm can also attain advantages with the help of globalisation and entering different global markets. In present, it has become critical to attain success and long-term survival that can only be done with the help of globalisation (Cheng Mittelhammer 2008, p. 860). Ryanair has also attained several advantages by entering different global markets and due to this only; the company has become able in maintaining its leading position in industry and air travel market (Hartungi 2006, p.730). With the considerations of free market conditions, enterprise-driven organisation and globalisation a firm can easily attain assured success as attained by Ryanair.
Sunday, August 4, 2019
Prohibition and the Birth of Organized Crime Essay examples -- America
Prohibition in the United States was a measure designed to reduce drinking by eliminating the businesses that manufactured, distributed, and sold alcoholic beverages. The Eighteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution took away license to do business from the brewers, distillers, vintners, and the wholesale and retail sellers of alcoholic beverages. The leaders of the prohibition movement were alarmed at the drinking behavior of Americans, and they were concerned that there was a culture of drink among some sectors of the population that, with continuing immigration from Europe, was spreading (â€Å"Why Prohibition†2). Between 1860 and 1880 America's urban population grew from 6 million to more than 14 million people. The mass of this huge increase found itself toiling in factories and sweatshops and living in horrible social conditions; getting drunk was there only highlight in life. Prohibition is the legal ban on the manufacture and sale of intoxicating drink (â€Å"Temperance, Prohibition, Alcoholism†1). The term also denotes those periods in history when such bans have been in force, as well as the political and social movements condoning them. This method of liquor control was most often aimed at preventing alcoholism and thus removing a social, physical, and economic harm from society. Many Americans, religious leaders, and political leaders saw alcohol as the key to all that was evil, a curse on the nation. Significant numbers of people believed that the consumption of alcoholic beverages presented a serious threat to the integrity of their most vital foundations, especially the family (â€Å"Prohibition†846). In the 1600's and 1700's, the American colonists drank large quantities of beer, rum, wine, and hard cider. These alcoholic beverages were often safer to drink than impure water or unpasteurized milk and also less expensive than coffee or tea. By the 1820's, people in the United States were drinking, on the average, the equivalent of 7 gallons of pure alcohol per person each year (â€Å"drinkingprohibition†1). As early as the seventeenth century, America was showing interest towards prohibition. Some people, including physicians and ministers, became concerned about the extent of alcohol use (â€Å"There was one...†1). They believed that drinking alcohol damaged people's health and moral behavior, and promoted poverty. People concerned about alcohol use u... ... begun in 1934, succeeded in helping alcoholics (â€Å"History†3).      Prohibition failed to improve health and virtue. Prohibition was supposed to be an economic and moral godsend. Prisons and poorhouses were to be emptied, taxes cut, and social problems eliminated. Prohibition did not achieve its goals. Instead, it added to the problems it was intended to solve and supplanted other ways of addressing problems. The only successors of Prohibition were bootleggers, crime bosses, and the forces of big government.      The Prohibition of alcohol was probably the most senseless Amendment in the history of the United States of America. Everyday people were forced to change their penchants of drinking alcoholic beverages. But only a minority really quit drinking, all the others became criminals. Any violator of the liquor law had the fear of getting caught. And some of them were arrested and convicted just for drinking alcohol. The illegal liquor business, caused by Prohibition, was the start of organized crime in the USA. Many politicians and other officials in all positions became corrupt and criminal. This state remained even after the repeal of the liquor law for a long time.
Saturday, August 3, 2019
Mc Donald’s Customer Service Essay -- Business Management Assignment E
McDonald’s Customer Service INTRODUCTION To complete this assignment I have to investigate customer service by writing a report on a chosen business. The business I have chosen for this is Mc Donald’s. In 1974, McDonald's opened its first restaurant in the UK. Today, more than 2.7 million people in this country place their trust in McDonald's every day - trusting the Company to provide them with food of a high standard, quick service and value for money. Customer service is very important to the McDonald's because it says that they care about their customers. Customer service very important and vital part of any organisation, which is selling goods, or service because it exists to satisfy customers... Good customer service will bring you new and keep old customers but if you have bad customer service this will make customers unhappy and they will stop visiting you and the business will not have new customers. McDonald's operates in a very competitive market. It generally keeps its prices within a compatible range to its competition. What McDonald's can do to is to makes its self-different from its competitors (in a better way) is to exceed customer service. The customer service and food preparation areas contain original equipment used in the days when fresh potatoes were peeled, sliced, blanched and fried; milkshake mix and syrup were whipped up on the Multi-mixers; Coca-Cola and root beer were drawn from a barrel, and orangeade from the orange bowl. The company employed just under 49 000 people and over 19 000 more were employed by the McDonald's franchise. (I copied this information from McDonalds fact file 2001). By the end of 2000 there was 1, 232 McDonalds restaurants operating in UK... ...very like pizza shops – this will benefit both consumer and the business people will buy more and business will gain more revenue. * They should have one of those club card this will also benefit both consumers will be getting discount and business will get repeated business. Overall I think that their customer service in head office is very good. On the January16th 2002 I phoned the customer service and requested a student pack next day I received it. But when I phoned Ford I had to wait over a week and this showed me how good the customer service in McDonalds is. Bibliography AVCE Business Studies Customer service book from college library. http://www.mcdonalds.co.uk/ McDonald's student pack 2001 UK head office of McDonalds: The corporate affairs department. McDonald’s restaurant limited Website: www. McDonald’s.co.uk Mc Donald’s Customer Service Essay -- Business Management Assignment E McDonald’s Customer Service INTRODUCTION To complete this assignment I have to investigate customer service by writing a report on a chosen business. The business I have chosen for this is Mc Donald’s. In 1974, McDonald's opened its first restaurant in the UK. Today, more than 2.7 million people in this country place their trust in McDonald's every day - trusting the Company to provide them with food of a high standard, quick service and value for money. Customer service is very important to the McDonald's because it says that they care about their customers. Customer service very important and vital part of any organisation, which is selling goods, or service because it exists to satisfy customers... Good customer service will bring you new and keep old customers but if you have bad customer service this will make customers unhappy and they will stop visiting you and the business will not have new customers. McDonald's operates in a very competitive market. It generally keeps its prices within a compatible range to its competition. What McDonald's can do to is to makes its self-different from its competitors (in a better way) is to exceed customer service. The customer service and food preparation areas contain original equipment used in the days when fresh potatoes were peeled, sliced, blanched and fried; milkshake mix and syrup were whipped up on the Multi-mixers; Coca-Cola and root beer were drawn from a barrel, and orangeade from the orange bowl. The company employed just under 49 000 people and over 19 000 more were employed by the McDonald's franchise. (I copied this information from McDonalds fact file 2001). By the end of 2000 there was 1, 232 McDonalds restaurants operating in UK... ...very like pizza shops – this will benefit both consumer and the business people will buy more and business will gain more revenue. * They should have one of those club card this will also benefit both consumers will be getting discount and business will get repeated business. Overall I think that their customer service in head office is very good. On the January16th 2002 I phoned the customer service and requested a student pack next day I received it. But when I phoned Ford I had to wait over a week and this showed me how good the customer service in McDonalds is. Bibliography AVCE Business Studies Customer service book from college library. http://www.mcdonalds.co.uk/ McDonald's student pack 2001 UK head office of McDonalds: The corporate affairs department. McDonald’s restaurant limited Website: www. McDonald’s.co.uk
Friday, August 2, 2019
The Death of the Moth by Virginia Woolf Essay -- Virginia Woolf Death
‘The Death of the Moth†by Virginia Woolf      Death is a difficult subject for anyone to speak of, although it is a part of everyday life. In Virginia Woolf’s â€Å"The Death of the Moth†, she writes about a moth flying about a windowpane, its world constrained by the boundaries of the wood holding the glass. The moth flew, first from one side, to the other, and then back as the rest of life continued ignorant of its movements. At first indifferent, Woolf was eventually moved to pity the moth. This story shows that life is as strange and familiar as death to us all. I believe this story was well written and will critique the symbolism, characters, and the setting.      Woolf uses symbolism in her essay when she speaks of the moth and its journey towards death. Eventually the moth settles on the windowsill and Woolf forgets it until she notices it trying to move again, but this time its movements are slow and awkward. It attempts to fly but fails, and falls back down to the sill, landing on its back, tiny feet clawing at the air as it tries to right itself. Woolf reaches out to help when she realizes that it is dying stating â€Å"the helplessness of his attitude roused me. It flashed upon me that he was in difficulties; he could no longer raise himself; his legs struggled vainly. But, as I stretched out a pencil, meaning to help him to right himself, it came over me that the failure and awkwardness were the approach of death†and she was reluctant to interfere with this natura... The Death of the Moth by Virginia Woolf Essay -- Virginia Woolf Death ‘The Death of the Moth†by Virginia Woolf      Death is a difficult subject for anyone to speak of, although it is a part of everyday life. In Virginia Woolf’s â€Å"The Death of the Moth†, she writes about a moth flying about a windowpane, its world constrained by the boundaries of the wood holding the glass. The moth flew, first from one side, to the other, and then back as the rest of life continued ignorant of its movements. At first indifferent, Woolf was eventually moved to pity the moth. This story shows that life is as strange and familiar as death to us all. I believe this story was well written and will critique the symbolism, characters, and the setting.      Woolf uses symbolism in her essay when she speaks of the moth and its journey towards death. Eventually the moth settles on the windowsill and Woolf forgets it until she notices it trying to move again, but this time its movements are slow and awkward. It attempts to fly but fails, and falls back down to the sill, landing on its back, tiny feet clawing at the air as it tries to right itself. Woolf reaches out to help when she realizes that it is dying stating â€Å"the helplessness of his attitude roused me. It flashed upon me that he was in difficulties; he could no longer raise himself; his legs struggled vainly. But, as I stretched out a pencil, meaning to help him to right himself, it came over me that the failure and awkwardness were the approach of death†and she was reluctant to interfere with this natura...
Thursday, August 1, 2019
Is There a Purpose of Life? Essay
Introduction Between ages, humans have metamorphosed to a different level with plethora of inventions and individual realizations, yet a universally acceptable answer to a prime question like ‘whether there is a purpose of life’ still remains as elusive as it had always been. Even the scientists too evade this question by saying â€Å"science can only answer ‘how’ rather than ‘why'†(Meaning, 2008). This state of affairs has divided three schools of thought – one, who says there is no purpose of life, two, who refutes the claims of the former and the third, who stays away from this debate. Thus this essay explores the views of the first and second schools of thought before coming to its own conclusion. There is No purpose of life. People who believe there is no purpose of life stress on objective evidence to build their premise. Since there is no concrete evidence of why life manifests in so many forms or procreates, it usually generates the inference that there is no purpose of life. There is no point in underestimating the collective intellect of the majority who find themselves clueless about what it could be the meaning and purpose of life mostly because they don’t find any. Even the in-depth analysis of life could only determine the processes, but not a valid reason behind it. After an exhaustive analysis of the question, NASA came to the conclusion that â€Å"life, all life, is the attribute of any system that is a) capable of replication, b) capable of every conversion in order to offset entropy and c) subject to the process of evolution†(Requadt, 2006) The prey-predator cycle ultimately turns to a level playing field where each living component shows its purpose as if either to utilize others or to be utilized by others. This cannot serve any clue as to why this game is going on, as the entire game is based on molecular activity at various levels, involving uncountable elements and processes under various time frames. Thus this enormity of the process itself defies any set principle to hint about any purpose behind all these. There is no tangible or universally acceptable proof that life stems from a single condensed form of power (as God or any superpower) that exists on and on even after the death of a living being. Thus the concepts like God creates living beings with a specific purpose or purposes are mere hypotheses backed by belief. Belief cannot be cited as evidence and therefore theories involving God as the creator of life also gets eliminated. The arguments placed by this school of thought clearly show that it does not allow any room to the individual human realizations regarding the purpose of life, as all humans do not certify such realization as commonplace experience substantiating the purpose of life on earth. This brings up one point to the fore – that the difference among humans in cognitive plane prevents them to achieve or align same kind of realization or understanding about life or its purpose and thus this school of thought indemnifies only the findings on the objective level. However, this seems too one-sided, because the significance of subjectivity in this issue is extremely important. There is Purpose of Life The other school of thought that admits about life having some purpose chooses to define it as something beyond ordinary comprehension and is â€Å"far greater than personal fulfillment†(Warren, 2004). This school relies on the model of superpower having its own purpose running behind creation and maintenance of the flow of life on earth. This school of thought recognizes individual experiences on cognitive plane and uses that to substantiate their claim while arguing about the limitation of humans or other living beings to capture the ‘big picture’ from objective angle. It is true that there is no dearth of instances that defies earthly logic, as for example, some accurate predictions done by individuals or someone claiming to receive some idea in dream or experiencing strange feelings that indicates the existence of a superpower. Discussion Since it is admitted that there are evidences regarding human inability to explain all the happenings on earth, it would be fair to say that if an issue (purpose of life) remains unresolved for so long, then it definitely hints at the inadequacy of knowledge that tries to define it. There is a distinct difference in analyzing a subject with limited range of knowledge (which is usually considered as rationality) and discovering or realizing something on cognitive plane. As for example, the purpose of life from the biological perspective is explicit; that it wants to maintain the identity of the form it takes (Luisi, 2008), though gradually metamorphosing to the tune of evolution. While this trait also takes place on the temporal plane of humans it cannot be explicit like its counterpart, as this development is intangible, where an individual reaches a new plane of realization on his/her own. While it is true that the individual account of any realization cannot be taken as a proof of the idea it presents, it cannot be ignored either. Then that would defy the process of development, which is evidenced by numerous human inventions that were initially considered as wild imagination of the individuals. However, individual account of any new experience on the cognitive plane is hard to inject into another individual to get the same result, mostly because of the difference in cognitive ability and consequently the great divide among individual perception on anything persists all along. Therefore, sporadic individual accounts of certain realization about the possible purpose of life, such as the accounts of some acknowledged great human beings who repeatedly told about a unique of discovery of our life’s connection with one supreme power, cannot settle the issue for once and all. As for example if someone says â€Å"the purpose of life is to recreate yourself anew in the highest version of the grandest vision you ever had about yourself†(Walsch, 1996), some will believe it, some will refute it and some will refrain from commenting on it. However, â€Å"not believing that there is a purpose of life will not prevent one from discovering it†(How to, 2008). Conclusion Primarily the question of whether there is any purpose of life commands the answer from the depth of perception about life. The above discussion clearly shows that the difference in cognitive abilities prevents humans to align their ideas about the purpose of life. While that seems disappointing, the increasing trend of overall temporal refinement among humans shows promise to settle this issue someday, as imagination and realization both command higher processing ability of all possible inputs including he ones that even defy the reference frame of the living beings of the earth – that is, the reference frame of light. Over all it seems the discovery of the purpose of life depends on further manifestation of consciousness among humans or among the major part of them to establish it as a proven conclusion. References â€Å"Is there a real meaning and purpose to life?†Web document. Retrieved 2 April 2008,   from http://guide.gospelcom.net/resources/meaning.php â€Å"How to discover your life purpose in about 20 minutes†. Web document. Retrieved 2 April 2008, from http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2005/01/how-to-discover-your-life-purpose-in-about-20-minutes/ Luisi, L. P. (2008). â€Å"Does Science See A Purpose In Life?†Web article. Retrieved 2      April 2008, from http://www.cts.cuni.cz/conf98/luisi.htm Requadt, W.E. 2006. â€Å"The Meaning of Life†. Book excerpt. Retrieved 2 April,            2008, from http://www.rationality.net/meaning.htm Walsch, N. D. (1996). Conversations with God: An Uncommon Dialogue. Putnam Adult,         1st edition. Warren, R. (2004). â€Å"Purpose Driven Life†. Zondervan Michigan, USA. Book excerpt.  Retrieved 2 April 2008, from     http://pddocs.purposedriven.com:8088/docs/pdl/samplechapters/woeaihf.pdf Â
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