Contemporary Ethical Issues In Marketing Essays

Contemporary Ethical Issues In Marketing Essays Contemporary Ethical Issues In Marketing Paper Contemporary Ethical Issues In Marketing Paper Essay Topic: Marketing Ethics relate to moral evaluations of decisions and actions as right or wrong on the basis of commonly accepted principles of behaviour. Marketing ethics are moral principles that define right and wrong behaviour in marketing. The most basic ethical issues have been formalised through laws and regulations to provide conformity to the standards of society. At the very least, marketers are expected to conform to these laws and regulations. However, it is important to realise that marketing ethics go beyond legal issues, ethical marketing decisions, ethics foster mutual trust among individuals and in marketing relationships. Ethical issues typically arise because of conflicts among individuals personal moral philosophies and the marketing strategies, policies, and organisational environment in which they work, they may stem from conflicts between a marketers attempts to achieve organisational objectives and customers desire for safe and reliable products. There is little doubt that ethical considerations are a powerful influence on consumer purchasing decisions e. g. Nike with its cheap labour sourcing policies. If a brand gets its ethical stance wrong it can be very bad for business. Brands like the Body Shop have shown that showing you are ethical can do wonders for business. Whether its specific issues such as environmental impact, exploitation of child labour or a more general pressure on corporations to give something back to society through charitable donations, contributions to local communities or support for the sports and arts, every brands are needing to take a conscious decision as to what sort of ethical stance to take. For example: The Reliant Robin became highly controversial in the 1970s after consumer advocates (Thats Life on BBC television) Claimed that Reliant had saved money in the design of the cars steering system and that Relaints ran a greater risk of being involved in accidents. Similarly, organisation objectives that call for increased profits or market share may pressure marketers to steel competitors secrets, knowingly put an unsafe product on the market, or some other questionable activity. For example: In South Korea, Lucky Goldstar Group markets a detergent packaged in an orange box with a whirlpool design just like- Procter Gambles Tide brand. The product is called Tie, and Procter : Gamble does not make it or license it to Goldstar. Obviously, the attempt to develop a Tide look-alike without Procter Gambles permission creates an ethical issue. A number of recently publicised incidents in marketing, such as deceptive or objectionable advertising, misleading packaging, questionable selling practices, manipulation, corruption, and pollution, have raised, questions as to whether specific marketing practices are acceptable and beneficial to society. The issues of what is acceptable in marketing practices and what obligations marketers have to society are issues of marketing ethics and social responsibility. Although it is a very important concern in marketing decisions, ethics may be one of the most misunderstood and controversial concepts in marketing. No one has yet discovered a universally accepted approach to dealing with marketing ethics. However, this concept and its application need to be examined in order to foster marketing decisions that are acceptable and beneficial to society. To be a credible leader in wellbeing, we must demonstrate a responsible approach to the wellbeing of all our stakeholders including our people, suppliers, the communities we serve and the wider environment. Boots is about products and advice that enhance personal wellbeing. Were working to enhance our reputation as a well managed, ethical and socially responsible company. As leaders in wellbeing we intend to reinforce our key role in the UKs primary healthcare Boots approach to Corporate Social Responsibility The issue of Ethical Trading is extremely important. The Boots Company is working alongside other leading retailers and the British Retail Consortium to develop guidance and codes of practice. Boots is also a member of the Ethical Trading Initiative, an independent organisation involving government, non-governmental organisations and retailers working together to agree common standards and a common approach. Specifically, with regard to conditions of employment for the workers in the Far East who produce goods for sale in Boots stores, the company insists on only doing business with those manufacturers, which meet certain, predetermined standards. For example, pay scales are monitored to see that they are above average and facilities, which are increasingly being provided for workers who live on the premises dormitories, three nutritious meals a day, recreational amenities are all of a competitive standard. Importantly, systems have been put in place to check that employers are conforming to their local government labour laws and that their factories comply with the legal age of employment A strong sense of social responsibility is part of the Boots heritage. Today its reflected in their values and behaviors and made explicit in their statement of business purpose. Example of a recent marketing campaign is the re-launch of the companys No. 7 Brand of cosmetics. The product was perceived to be good quality but drab and old-fashioned. In 1995 it was decided to re-launch the No. 7 brand as a premium product. Recent developments had allowed a substantial range of ethical claims to be made for the products such as not tested on animals and hypoallergenic. Two thirds of the colour range was new and every possible innovation incorporated. There was extensive customer testing against competitors in the new market to ensure that products in the range out performed their rivals. New ways of marketing products are constantly emerging. Whilst Boots continues to use tried and tested methods such as TV press and advertising, new communication channels mean that there is a wider array of tools Boots can use to get messages across to their customers. Some examples include Internet and Direct Mail through the Boots Advantage Card (which is the biggest loyalty scheme in Europe). Boots prides it self on being an ethical business it demonstrates this in all its marketing. The Body Shop is well known for its ethical stances, The Body Shop believes fair trade can make a positive difference in peoples lives and Community Trade is the Body Shops fair trade principles in practice. The Community Trade programme is aimed at small producer communities around the world who supply the Body Shop with accessories and natural ingredients. Community Trade ensures a fair deal for the producers and their communities enabling them to work together to make a difference to their own lives and have more control over their futures. Fair prices help producers to feed, clothe and educate their families and allow money to go back into the community to supply basic needs such as water, health and education. Money earned through trade with The Body Shop has enabled producers to build wells in their villages, educate thousands of people about AIDS and HIV and provide schooling for hundreds of children. When you enter any of The Body Shop stores or attend a The Body Shop at Home party, the staff will be able to point out Community Traded products and accessories and products that have Community Traded ingredients in them. Through all The Body Shops marketing communications and promotional materials you will always find the Community Trade logo, which in their catalogue and on their products highlights those with Community Traded components in them. For a company like The Body Shop there is another important factor to consider; their high profile role as an advocate of social and environmental causes. If a company wants the license to campaign on public issues, it must demonstrate its own commitment to reflection and self-improvement on issues like environmental protection, animal protection and human rights. The Body Shop Mission Statement dedicates the Companys business to the pursuit of social and environmental change. Underpinning the Mission Statement is The Body Shop Trading Charter, which addresses the three principal concerns of social responsibility, environmental sustainability and animal protection. Both documents describe The Body Shops key aims regarding its relationships with stakeholders, as well as with the environment. They commit the Company to strive towards balancing the financial needs and human needs of stakeholders, and describe the key principles that the Company aims to integrate into its trading practices: respect for human and civil rights; creation and support of long-term, sustainable trading relationships with communities in need; reflection of environmental sustainability in the Companys purchasing; and the commitment not to purchase materials or products that transgress the Companys animal protection policies. The Body Shops ethics are rooted in the personal beliefs and agenda that Anita and Gordon Roddick brought with them into the business. They are fundamental to the way The Body Shop operates, our reason for being. The Body Shop is committed to maintaining high standards of social and ethical business performance. It is also committed to the principles of integrity, transparency and continuous improvement through an integrated framework of accountability and active engagement with stakeholders. Regardless of the reasons behind specific ethical issues, once the issues are identified, marketers and organisations must decide how to deal with them. This is essential to become familiar with many of the ethical issues that may arise in marketing so that they can be identified and resolved when they occur. Examination of a few issues that could develop in the different marketing mix elements, can provide some direction and lead to an understanding of the ethical problems that marketers must confront. When examining both of the organisations above in the marketing mix I found that both companies are very ethical in there own brand product lines, Boots have Botanicals made from only natural ingredients, and The Body Shop also use natural ingredients and are totally against testing on animals. The Boots company may be more expensive than other chemists own brands, this is because they pay people who work for them in the 3rd world a wage that they can live on and provide them with food shelter, Body Shop uses money raised from there sales to help provide for the people in poorer countries and they also use environmentally friendly light bulbs in there shops. Boots and The Body Shop have shops on the high street they are both recognizably more expensive than other chemists such as superdrug, but both The Body Shop Boots offer more ethical products. Boots advertises how ethical it is on TV, it also has an Advantage Card loyalty scheme, The Body Shop does not advertise on TV, most people already know the body shop stance on ethical issues, but if you go into a shop there are posters and leaflets explaining what they stand for.

How to Calculate Your ACT Composite Score, Plus 5 Strategies

How to Calculate Your ACT Composite Score, Plus 5 Strategies SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Your ACT Composite Score is an important part of your college applications. In this guide, we show you how exactly to calculate your ACT Composite Score from each of your section scores. More importantly, we give you custom strategies on how to use your Composite Score to adapt your ACT prep. Read on... Calculating Your ACT Composite Score The ACT has four core sections (English, Math, Reading, and Science), with one optional section (Writing). Each of the four sections has a score that ranges from 1 (lowest) to 36 (highest). The Writing score is a separate score, ranging from 2 (lowest) to 12 (highest). Your Composite Score is the average (the arithmetic mean) of your four core section scores, with these important points: The Composite is rounded to the nearest whole number. Scores ending in 0.5 or higher are rounded UP to the nearest whole number. Here are a few examples of ACT section and Composite scores: Test English Math Reading Science Average Final Composite Test 1 21 23 24 19 21.75 22 Test 2 23 23 22 25 23.25 23 Test 3 24 24 23 23 23.5 24 Get the hang of it? The ACT also uses a combined English/Reading/Writing score, called an ELA score. Honestly, this isn't used that often and isn't that important for college admissions, so I would suggest not worrying about it. Before diving too deep into your ACT prep, you should also know your target ACT Composite Score, which is largely based on which schools you'll be applying to. Calculating an ACT Composite Score is pretty simple. The more important part is knowing what ACT Composite Scoring means for your study strategy. 5 Strategies for Raising Your Composite Score Your goal on the ACT is to get the highest Composite Score possible. The Composite Score is by far the most important ACT score used in college admissions, beyond any individual section score. Colleges will use this score to compare you to the thousands of other applicants to that school. This means that raising your Composite Score can have a disproportionate effect on your admissions chances. We all know that raising your score overall by getting better at the test is the obvious way to improve your score. But let's dig into more specific strategies: Even just one extra point on a single section can increase your Composite Score. For example, in the Test 2 example above, if the student re-took the test but improved his English from a 23 to a 24, his average would increase from a 23.25 to a 23.5, and his final Composite would increase from 23 to 24. You can bet this increase makes a difference in college admissions. Therefore, if you've taken the ACT just once or twice, definitely retake the test because your Composite Score is likely to improve. Focus your initial prep on your weakest section,which will give you the most room to grow. For example, if you scored a 16 on Science but a 24 on all the other sections, your Science section is clearly dragging your Composite Score down. If you improve your Science section by four points, your Composite will increase by a point. Writing is less important than the four core sections. If you have limited time to study, concentrate that time on raising your Composite Score. Your target schools may emphasize either English/Reading or Math/Science. Given the same Composite Score, engineering schools will favor a higher Math/Science score over English/Reading. If you plan to major in the humanities, the opposite is true. Focus your time on the sections that are more important for your college goals. Some schools use the 'highest combined Composite Score', aka the 'superscore.' This basically means that the school will take your best section score across all your tests, then combine them into your best possible Composite Score.If you're applying mainly to schools that use the superscore, you can focus on improving one section at a time, then combine all your tests together into your maximum Composite Score. Now that you know the importance of the ACT Composite Score and understand targeted strategies to improve it, read more to get deeper into our philosophy of how to improve your ACT scores. What's Next? Which colleges superscore the ACT?Check out our list of every college that uses ACT superscoring. What’s a good ACT score? Read our article on good, bad, and excellent ACT scores so you can identify and prepare for your target score. Need help on a specific section of the ACT? Read our guides to getting a 36 on ACT English, ACT Math, and ACT Reading. I also highly recommend this free guide to picking up some extra points on the ACT:

Independent African American Film Producers Research Paper

Independent African American Film Producers - Research Paper Example Independent African American Film Producers Independent film producers are professional producers who make feature films that are mostly produced outside the confines of the system of major studios (Levy 29). In addition to production, as well as distribution, through independent companies, these producers can also distribute and/or produce their films via major studio subsidiaries. These films are also characterized by marketing them as a limited release, although there are times when the marketing campaigns can be done through wide release (Reid 48). Prior to distributing the films, independent film producers will screen their movies at film festivals. This paper will seek to give the biography of three independent African American film producers; Tyler Perry, Spike Lee, and Ivan Dixon. Biography of Tyler Perry Born in New Orleans on 13 September 1969, Tyler Perry had a difficult childhood. He has had to forge his career in the entertainment industry, in which he has made various successful plays, films, and even written books that have ended up on the best-sellers list. According to him, his childhood was difficult in a family with three other siblings where his early life was punctuated by corporal punishment by his father (Uschan 30). He once attempted to kill himself to escape what he fathomed to be a difficult life. In an attempt to forge a life away from his father, the man born Emmitt Perry Jr. changed his name to Tyler and dropped out of high school, although he did go on to earn a GED general equivalent later on in his life. He only discovered his passion after trying his hand at several unfulfilling employment opportunities. Watching Oprah Winfrey on television, he was inspired by an independent filmmaker’s comments on the show about how personal breakthroughs could be brought about by difficult experiences (Uschan 31). Starting by writing a series of letters that he addressed to himself, Perry used his experiences to create his first musical I Know I Have Been Changed. While touching on the subject of his abuse as a child, Perry also touched on forgiveness, an aspect of his films that has been ever-present, reflecting the seriousness he takes his faith as a Christian (Uschan 31). His first showing of the musical in 1992 only drew an audience of 30 people. Perry was disappointed but determined and took odd jobs to fund h is reworking of the project. Although he staged his show in various American cities, he was still not successful and had to live in his car for a while. Perry finally got his breakthrough in 1998 with the musical I Know I Have Been Changed, for which rented the Atlanta franchise of House of Blues. Soon he began to draw sell out crowds, forcing the musical to be moved to a theater with more sitting space (Uschan 36). He followed up this musical with an adaptation of Woman Thou Art Loosed, a book by Televangelist T.D. Jakes, which also proved popular with audiences, particularly African Americans. However, it was his next project, I Can Do Bad All By Myself that brought him the success he had been craving and introduced Madea, his most famous character. He based the character of Madea on mature women in his life, including his mother, choosing to play the character by wearing a drag and changing his voice. Madea made her screen debut in Diary of a Mad Black Woman in 2001 and making su bsequent popular appearances in Madea’s Class Reunion and Madea’s Family Reunion, for which Perry toured extensively around the country in support of his films (Uschan 36). Diary of a Mad Black Woman proved a hit at the box office, starring Steve Harris and Kimberly Elise as an adulterous husband, and scorned wife respectively. Perry himself made an

Nutrition for Life Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Nutrition for Life - Essay Example Since man has lost touch with nature, he does not eat raw food available from it. The food that humans intake goes through a lot of processing, thus, they lose most of their nutrients. Another crucial field that is interconnected with human life is healthcare. Healthcare is one of the main reasons that death rates all around the world have decreased comparing to the ancient era. Humans have evolved a lot from the way they were during the primitive times. The advancements have made them reach new heights. However, along with such progress, comes their inability to live a healthy life. The fast paced lifestyle that everyone follows now lands them on the path of self-destruction. People nowadays are so busy with work that they do not have time to focus on their food or nutrition. They eat according to different food fads that they acknowledge in their day-to-day lives. People just read the nutritional information given behind different cartons and packets and buy according to what they assume to be healthy. They do not know what is best for them and producers take advantage of this situation sometimes giving false data about ingredients as well as nutirional qualities. Manufacturers have now come up with â€Å"functional foods, which provide a health benefit beyond what is provided by the same food in its traditional form† (Vitamins: Micronutrients with Macro Powers pg 186). These types of food products, also known as â€Å"nutraceuticals† are the new trend now. Various commercials and such other advertisements lure the people into buying these things, which have been transformed into something healthier, as per the commercial. People ponder upon the new terms related with these new products and undergo the dilemma of whether or not to buy it. In the end, that small voice inside their heads tells them that they really need â€Å"some extra vitamins, calcium fortified juices, soy milk, multivitamins† and various other â€Å"vitamin enhanced pr oducts† (Vitamins: Micronutrients with Macro Powers pg 186). When people come to know of water that has been filtered through reverse osmosis systems and undergone ozonization, they do not wait to think of another option. They think it better to drink this water than the one they get from their taps. It is only obvious how much the world is concerned with nutrition now, or else water would taste best when it comes out of a natural spring, not some UV sterilizing machine. There are various establishments and institutions that have devoted themselves to providing the best healthcare and medicine for the people. One such organization is the United States Pharmacopeial Convention (USP), â€Å"which sets standards for the identity, strength, quality, and purity of medicines, food ingredients, and dietary supplements manufactured, distributed and consumed worldwide† (About USP par.1). It is a non-profit institution, founded by an association of 11 physicians in 1820, who want ed to provide â€Å"a national lexicon of drug names and formulas† for the public (About USP par.1). During the time, medicines, drugs and such things were not closely administered by any authority. Patients bought medicine and consumed them according to what they thought would help. Wrong dosage and wrong intake of medicines and drugs also caused serious setbacks in the lives of people. It was not until the formation of USP that the essentiality and importance of this problem was recognized. People then were mostly illiterate and did not know how to read the information given about any product or medicine. Thus, USP played a very important role during the time and since has been catering to the needs of people regarding medicine, drugs and food. This organization follows the standards created and

Theater & Drama Essay Example for Free

Theater Drama Essay Art is an expression of emotion. As they say, art is everywhere. Perhaps everything in this world is driven by art. It is already part of our lives. In other words art itself is an element of life. There are many forms of art; visual art, theater, multimedia, and the like. All of these are common even during the early century times. In fact art exist and has life, it never die, for if it dies it will never be called art. Theater is one of the common medium of art. It is an art in which there is no permanent image for every performance; an artist may vary his/her expression of the art. Thus, this form is one of the most prestigious medium. Theater is one of the oldest and one of the most popular forms of entertainment (2007, Encarta. msn. com). In this form of art, an actor can perform on a space provided. Hence, a space for performance is called a theater. There are several elements of theater; text, space, and narrative. Text is one of the most common among them. In fact text is the main element of theater but even though it is the most common it is one of them most effective. Second is the space. This is to give dynamics on the scene. Third is the narrative. Narrative is used to connect a story. It is also used to relate the story to the audience. Sometimes when a story is very long the narrative element will make the delivery of the story short by narrating to the audience what happened. These elements when used together are a strong foundation of theater performance. In fact these elements do not come in single form. They are fused and forms many variation. This is to ensure that a performance will have a different taste from time to time. This is to eliminate the tendency of a boring performance. One time, I attended an acting workshop. It is on Rasa Box technique. The technique is to explore the emotion of the artist to come up with an acting that somewhat realistic. It is a technique where an artist will no longer use any subtext to be able to act a scene. Because often times the character’s experience wasn’t experienced by the actor, he/she sometimes recall his past experiences or borrow the experiences of other people to be able to feel or internalize the role. It is a hard job for the artist to recall or borrow experiences thus the technique offers a new style. During that workshop we were taught and experience or ourselves the importance of text, space, and narrative. Not all the time text is useful. Sometimes space gives a great impact when used. For example the character is angry on one of the characters. He/she will shout or scream loud to show or emphasize the anger. Now try to imagine if the artist will not give any words but will just look at the other character for a long moment and will just leave. Thus the other example is much better compared to the first. Why, it is because the first one is the most common expression of anger. In theater, the artist must be flexible to explore other expression of a particular emotion; but in reality emption is commonly mixed and this will give a better expression. I saw a performance last time. The title of the show was Uwahig but the Integrated Performing Arts Guild. It was also the show that was presented during the International Theater Festival. It is really amazing. Most of the artists did not use text but spaces and movement. The poet (narrator) relates the story in the form of a chant and song. The show started with the artist on the audience. They creep, crawl and contract as if they were undergoing suffering. Then suddenly the lights slowly fade out and the artists start to cry in agony. In that moment you will feel how important are the elements of theater and how important to know when to use those elements. Then the narrator came out. She started with a chant. It is a chant where you will feel the sufferings of the people in that story. The she slowly came to silent. Her eyes looked at the other character. Then she starts narrating again. Those spaces make the audience comprehend and feel the story of that performance. The performance ended with a narration: â€Å"And this is the start of the epic of mankind†. It is really effective. You will not feel boring when watching that show. Indeed it gives a true example on the right usage of the elements. In fact it is the right timing on the usage of those elements that makes the delivery of the story effective. One thing also that makes the text more effective is the addition of dynamics upon delivery. In theater or any performance, even in music, a loud sound is much appreciated when comes after a silence. In vice versa, a silence is much appreciated when comes after a loud sound. That’s dynamics; the rise and fall of sound of the tone of sound or movements. Another performance I saw was the legend of a falls in one country. On near-the-end scene the Raja ran to catch the woman. To emphasize the running scene, the artist act as if running by stamping their feet in a slowly rising momentum. Then when the time comes where the woman was almost caught by the Raja, the Raja jump for her and then suddenly they were in slow motion. There were times when the Raja almost hold the hand of the woman but unfortunately loose the grip. The audience that time really screams for the woman. They were as if the ones being caught. Well, that was an effective delivery. Dynamics makes the audience follow through the flow of the story. I have also an experience when I watch a theater performance where some of the usage of the text were ineffective due to the wrong timing and the often use of the style. In theater, when an image is already established, do not repeat the acting or the image. It will only give a boring performance and will ruin the impact of the show. It was a performance of a great novel and somewhat on one part of the story they improvise the delivery of the story. They make it a comedy by dancing with the new novelty songs which makes it more comedy. But they were able to leave hole on that scene. They repeated the style trice and that makes the whole scene corny and ineffective. In that experience I learn that due to the fact that there are only few elements of theater, the artist should be responsible in making choices in what to deliver. The elements of theater make the performance. It is like a textile that is made up of many fibers. It is threaded in different variations to come up with a different style. It is like eating that when you often eat the most delicious food it will no longer become delicious in someday. Variation makes the art alive; particularly the theater. Some of the artists who are concentrating on contemporary theater question the traditional use of the elements. Well, some of the traditional type of theater uses the elements ineffectively. Their delivery makes the performance boring. Before, traditional type of theater uses only single variation. When it’s a play, it’s only a play. The limited variation of the style makes it somewhat dead. We cannot deny the fact that we are living in the new generation. The people are developing and thus the likes of the people develop too. In this generation, a typical type of theater performance might be ineffective. It is more beautiful to explore more on theater. It is like an experiment. The audience needs from time to time new style of performance. One Artistic Director ones said when they were exploring on the possible images of a new production that they are planning: â€Å"Our work must be like of that effective commercial on television; it gives new performance and taste†. Well, I agree with him. Theater art is a growing art. Thus when you are stuck with your old style of art, someday your art will vanish. He was trying to imply that from time to time art must be updated. It does not mean that the performance will also be futuristic since we are now living in the future. What it means it that we will not rely on one form of style in theater arts. There is a theater arts group I knew that no longer exist. Their art die. One reason for that is they did not adopt or explore more on their art forms and rely only on the traditional ones. They also did not explore more on the variations of the elements of theater arts. One example of their art performance is the typical play where mainly their artist use the elements of theater but one thing is lacking, the timing of when to used those elements. Another element of theater is the technical aspect; the lights and sounds. They are useful because it gives life to the performance. The lights make the scene realistic and the sounds add more life to the scene. In one performance o Cirque de sole lights and sounds play a vital role in emphasizing the scenes. There were instances where the lights make the scene as if the scene is in the sky where the falling angel was seen. The angel looks as if it is really falling due to the enhancement made by the lights and the music makes gives more emotion on the scene. Many artists nowadays give emphasis on theater arts. Some feel it boring but many say that it is more difficult than film. I agree because in film an artist has several chances in revising his/her images and when the artist commits a mistake, there is a chance to correct it whereas in theater, there is no room for mistakes during performance. Once a mistake is committed, it will not be corrected anymore. It will be inculcated in the minds of the audience thus one director of a theater company says: â€Å"commit mistakes with confidence†. That means that when you commit a mistake; make it appear to the audience that it is part of the performance. In general the elements and the right timing of using them make a performance beautiful. Work cited: Theater (2007). msn Encarta. Retrieved April 30, 2007 from http://encarta. msn. com/encyclopedia_761553217/Theater. html Integrated Performing Arts Guild. Retrieved April 30, 2007 from http://www. msuiit. edu. ph/ipag/

Storage Media: DVD-RW :: Technology Computer Essays

Storage Media: DVD-RW The evolution of faster computers and larger computer programs has made it necessary to develop newer and faster ways to store large masses of data. Constant advances from 5 Â ¼ inch floppies, to 3 Â ½ inch floppies, to high capacity floppies, to zip drives, to CD-RW drives make it seem like by the time you upgrade, the technology is already obsolete. So what is the near future of storage media. The newest storage media that is rapidly advancing on the CD-RW is the DVD-RW. DVD-RW drives are decreasing in price, almost as fast as they’re increasing in speed. Over the last 18 months, their price has cut in half, and it’s easy to see that in the near future, DVD-RW drives will be the standard for storage media. According to J. B. Miles of Government Computer News, Rewritable DVD drives are on their way to becoming indispensable tools for PC users. It won't be long until they replace rewritable CD drives. DVD rewritables are hard to beat when it comes to capacity and versatility. They can read, write and rewrite up to 4.7G of information per disk side and will read both DVD-ROM disks and most CDs, so those music CDs you've collected won't be wasted. (Miles 2002) Currently there are two major formats competing to become the standard in DVD-R and RW. The formats are DVD+R and DVD-R. In the past it’s been hard to decide which to invest in when purchasing a new DVD-RW drive, however, recently released DVD-RW drives such as Sony’s DRU-500A are able to write in both formats. Not only does this new Sony drive write DVD+RW and +R at 2.4X, it also writes the competing DVD-R and DVD-RW formats at 4X and 2X, twice as fast as current dedicated DVD-R and DVD-RW drives. On top of that it is also able to burn CD-Rs at 24X and CD-RWs at 10X. This could be very beneficial considering the low cost of CD-Rs compared to DVD-Rs. The technology doesn’t stop with the DVD Drives. The actual DVDs will be experiencing upgrades as well. Faster and faster write speeds will cut down on the time it takes to write you 4.7 Gigabytes. Maxell has recently announced they are releasing their newest DVD line in February 2002.

Hitler’s Rise To Power: An Inevitable Offshoot of the Great Depression in Germany

The Great Depression caused by the Stock Market's collapse in 1929 affected the American economy like no other economic crisis in its history (Samuelson, n. d. ). Being the most severe depression experienced by the industrialized Western world (Nelson, n. d. ), its effects rippled to other economies, especially to that of Germany. The German economy was notably vulnerable because it was built out of foreign capital and was dependent on foreign trade (Gavin, 1996). The Depression abruptly restructured German society and thus, led people to seek any solution to end the crisis. Hitler proved to be the solution that Germany was looking for. Although his views were unpopular among the public, he took advantage of the hopelessness which the people felt during the Depression. Moreover, other factors that were already present in the 1920s sped his rise to popularity. Some of these were: long term bitterness among the people brought about by the Treaty of Versailles and the First World War; ineffective constitution; money for Hitler's campaign and propaganda; the existence of propaganda and programmes; Stormtrooper attacks on other parties and on Hitler's detractors as well as his personal atributes. After 1929, two other influential factors aided Hitler and ensured his success politically: the Great Depression and Hitler's recruitment by Hindenburg (Clare, 2006). Hitler's rise to power was successful and yet avoidable. His success was largely due from external factors which he exploited using duress, brilliance and propaganda (Clare, 2006). Indeed, if the Depression had not happened; chances are, there would have been no Hitler. References Clare, John. (2006). How Was Hitler Able To Become Chancellor in January 1933?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Greenfield History Site.   Retrieved December 11, 2007 from    http://www.johndclare.net/Weimar7.htm Gavin, Philip. (1996). The Rise of Adolf Hitler: Great Depression Begins. History Place Site.   Ã‚  Ã‚   Retrieved December 11, 2007 from   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/riseofhitler/begins.htm Nelson, Cary. (n. d.). About the Great Depression. Modern American Poetry Site. Retrieved   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   December 11, 2007 from http://www.english.uiuc.edu/maps/depression/about.htm Samuelson, Robert. (n. d.). Great Depression. The Concise Encyclopedia of Economics. Library of Economics and Liberty Site. Retrieved December 11, 2007 from   Ã‚  Ã‚   http://econlib.org/library/Enc/GreatDepression.html

The Bean Trees

In the book The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver, there is a young girl named Taylor who did not want to be like the typical girls from Kentucky. She wanted to go and get out of the small town. She got in her old beat up car and traveled throughout the United States, until she landed in Arizona. When she was there she not only had to deal with herself, but she now had a little girl who she named Turtle. This was not her daughter; instead someone she barely knew handed her off to Taylor. Turtle was not your average toddler, she was what some people call retarded or slow, but Taylor did not even notice that, all she saw was a little girl in need of help. Even though Taylor could not give Turtle a life of riches, she knew she could at least do better than before. Throughout the rest of the book Taylor experiences many events that portray evil. â€Å"Turtle's main goal in life, other than hanging on to things, seemed to be to pass unnoticed† (81). Turtle was a mentally slow child. When she was given to Taylor the woman said that her mother had died and that the little girl had no home. Taylor was just being a good person and taking Turtle, so that she could live in a better place. Once she had Turtle she took her back to the hotel and gave her a bath. When she did she realized that the black and blue marks on her body was not just dirt, but bruises. Taylor had grown up in a loving house with a loving mother who taught her the necessities of life. Seeing Turtle and beat up and scared broke Taylor’s heart. There was a cactus with bushy arms and a coat of yellow spines as thick as fur. A bird had built her nest in it. In and out she flew among the horrible spiny branches, never once hesitating. You just couldn't imagine how she'd made a home in there† (130). Which makes Turtle’s new life, not glamorous, but a lot better than it could have been. Turtle was not the only person in Taylor’s life. There were two immigrants that were friends of hers they were Esperanza and Esteven. She knew that they were in the country illegally, but Taylor did not care. They were nice people who had been tortured in their life as well. The government had been trying to get them and everyone seemed to be very rude to them. â€Å"You can go and visit heaven. What? You see a room just like the first one, the same table, the same pot of stew, the same spoons as long as a sponge mop. But these people are all happy and fat† (113). Esteven meant that there is people will help you in heaven, but no one will help you in hell. He was influencing that he was in hell because someone had kidnapped his very own kid, and the government is out to get rid of them. This shows how their whole life they have been trying to run away from evil. Turtle was a very unlucky and lucky girl. She was unlucky in the sense that she had been abused and almost lost and kidnapped. She was in the park one day playing with Lou Ann’s child, when this scary man came up and was going to take her. Her babysitter put up her cane and scared the man away. Turtle did not just forget about it though. She went on not talking to anyone about anything, even Taylor. Taylor had always been very strong when hard or scary situations came upon them. In this case she was not, she was going crazy worried that Turtle would never talk again. She also started feeling sorry for herself, like she wasn’t good enough to be a mother to Turtle. She soon came to realize that she was the best life that Turtle could have right now. Eventually Turtle talked again but it she felt most comfortable with Taylor. Throughout this book there were many bad experiences that happened to Taylor. She found a sad little girl that was abandoned and bruised, friends that were in trouble with the government, and a new daughter that was almost kidnapped. Even throughout all of those hard times Taylor managed to not â€Å"freak out† she always looked at life in the positive eye. Taylor is a strong woman, and even though people have their weaknesses she was a great mother to Turtle. Out of all the evil in her life she made it look so simple to deal with. â€Å"†¦I was not the smartest or even particularly outstanding but I was there and staying out of trouble and I intended to finish† (3). Taylor was not the perfect mother or a perfect person, but she had a great heart and a great passion to do the right thing, and that she was amazing at. The Bean Trees In the book The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver, there is a young girl named Taylor who did not want to be like the typical girls from Kentucky. She wanted to go and get out of the small town. She got in her old beat up car and traveled throughout the United States, until she landed in Arizona. When she was there she not only had to deal with herself, but she now had a little girl who she named Turtle. This was not her daughter; instead someone she barely knew handed her off to Taylor. Turtle was not your average toddler, she was what some people call retarded or slow, but Taylor did not even notice that, all she saw was a little girl in need of help. Even though Taylor could not give Turtle a life of riches, she knew she could at least do better than before. Throughout the rest of the book Taylor experiences many events that portray evil. â€Å"Turtle's main goal in life, other than hanging on to things, seemed to be to pass unnoticed† (81). Turtle was a mentally slow child. When she was given to Taylor the woman said that her mother had died and that the little girl had no home. Taylor was just being a good person and taking Turtle, so that she could live in a better place. Once she had Turtle she took her back to the hotel and gave her a bath. When she did she realized that the black and blue marks on her body was not just dirt, but bruises. Taylor had grown up in a loving house with a loving mother who taught her the necessities of life. Seeing Turtle and beat up and scared broke Taylor’s heart. There was a cactus with bushy arms and a coat of yellow spines as thick as fur. A bird had built her nest in it. In and out she flew among the horrible spiny branches, never once hesitating. You just couldn't imagine how she'd made a home in there† (130). Which makes Turtle’s new life, not glamorous, but a lot better than it could have been. Turtle was not the only person in Taylor’s life. There were two immigrants that were friends of hers they were Esperanza and Esteven. She knew that they were in the country illegally, but Taylor did not care. They were nice people who had been tortured in their life as well. The government had been trying to get them and everyone seemed to be very rude to them. â€Å"You can go and visit heaven. What? You see a room just like the first one, the same table, the same pot of stew, the same spoons as long as a sponge mop. But these people are all happy and fat† (113). Esteven meant that there is people will help you in heaven, but no one will help you in hell. He was influencing that he was in hell because someone had kidnapped his very own kid, and the government is out to get rid of them. This shows how their whole life they have been trying to run away from evil. Turtle was a very unlucky and lucky girl. She was unlucky in the sense that she had been abused and almost lost and kidnapped. She was in the park one day playing with Lou Ann’s child, when this scary man came up and was going to take her. Her babysitter put up her cane and scared the man away. Turtle did not just forget about it though. She went on not talking to anyone about anything, even Taylor. Taylor had always been very strong when hard or scary situations came upon them. In this case she was not, she was going crazy worried that Turtle would never talk again. She also started feeling sorry for herself, like she wasn’t good enough to be a mother to Turtle. She soon came to realize that she was the best life that Turtle could have right now. Eventually Turtle talked again but it she felt most comfortable with Taylor. Throughout this book there were many bad experiences that happened to Taylor. She found a sad little girl that was abandoned and bruised, friends that were in trouble with the government, and a new daughter that was almost kidnapped. Even throughout all of those hard times Taylor managed to not â€Å"freak out† she always looked at life in the positive eye. Taylor is a strong woman, and even though people have their weaknesses she was a great mother to Turtle. Out of all the evil in her life she made it look so simple to deal with. â€Å"†¦I was not the smartest or even particularly outstanding but I was there and staying out of trouble and I intended to finish† (3). Taylor was not the perfect mother or a perfect person, but she had a great heart and a great passion to do the right thing, and that she was amazing at.

The study of the theme of revenge in great expectations essays

The study of the theme of revenge in great expectations essays In the novel great expectations by Charles Dickens the seeking of revenge is considered a worthless pursuit. It is shown that revenge not only harms the life of the individual seeking it but also the lives of those who have not harmed the revenge seeker in any way. The main character of the story pip, a naive boy who wishes to become a gentleman suffers the most pain of all due to the quest of others for revenge. In the novel the characters wanting vengeance not only do not recieve it but their lives are adversely affected and take a turn for the worse in most cases resulting in the characters death. The characters who seek revenge are Miss Havisham an eccentric old woman , Dolge Orlick a jealous adversary of pip, and Magwitch a reformed criminal that still ends up paying the price for his pursuit of vengeance. The character who seeks vengeance the most intensely is Miss Havisham. She is a wealthy old woman who lives in a rotting mansion and wears an old rotting wedding dress. Her life centers around one event , the jilting of her on her wedding day by compeyson a gentlemenly criminal and the adversary of another major character, magwitch. She adopts and raises a orphaned child named estella to use as a weapon to do one thing break mens hearts so more can feel like she does and her first target is pip a very young child at the time of their introduction. Miss Havishams quest for revenge does only one thing causes pain to a great deal of people including herself. She causes other peoples hearts to be broken in the same manner as hers. Miss Havisham is redeemed when she begs pip for his forgiveness which he accepts, Take the pencil and write under my name I for give her (p.405). Someone who tries to take the life of another to achieve his revenge is a day laborer named Dolge Orlick. He is a day laborer in the iron forge that is owned by the brother in law of pip. He is an evil ignorant man who take...

Your checklist for establishing salary ranges

Your checklist for establishing salary ranges Outwardly, your company probably has a standard line when it comes to describing employee salaries- something along the lines of â€Å"salary commensurate with performance and experience,† perhaps. Internally, it’s essential to have a close eye on what you’re paying particular employees, whether this aligns with industry standards, and what a particular position is worth to your company. Establishing pay ranges or set salary boundaries is essential to getting a handle on this information and managing salary moving forward. Let’s look at how you can approach the task for your company.Determine the value of each position within your organization.It would be nice to think that you can’t put a dollar number on an employee’s worth, but†¦the accountants beg to differ. This isn’t personal to whomever holds the job. Each position within your company has, realistically, a minimum and maximum value. Figuring out that value depends first on determining what the market value is for a given position. Your jobs may not match other companies’ jobs 1:1, but matching approximate job duties and levels of seniority can give you a pretty good idea of what others are paying for similar work. Sites like PayScale offer glimpses into position salaries, but the U.S. Department of Labor Statistics can really be your gold standard of salary data.Re-evaluate current employees.This is likely the most painful part of the process because it could uncover some uncomfortable realities. Are your current employees making salaries in line with their market value? If they’re making less, this is a relatively easy fix- you can increase base salary until it’s aligned. If they’re making more, it’s tougher. Cutting someone’s pay is going to negatively affect morale and employee engagement. What you can do is determine that a particular employee won’t be eligible for base pay increases, but rather bon uses or other compensation.Review and rank all the jobs in your organization.By figuring out the most essential jobs in your organization and assigning value based on seniority, job complexity, education required, training necessary, and other aspects, you can start establishing a hierarchy of salary ranges.Review your job descriptions.Once you start considering the relative value of each position, it’s important to make sure that your recruitment materials are realistic. Are your job descriptions reflective of the actual job? If you’re going to assign a specific value range to a position based on the job tasks, experience and skills necessary, etc., then you’ll be able to manage the salary process better, and earlier in the process.hbspt.cta.load(2785852, '9e52c197-5b5b-45e6-af34-d56403f973c5', {});Determine the specific ranges.Once you’ve gone through the work of assigning relative value to each position in your company, it’s time to start attach ing real numbers to each position. A salary range should have a minimum, a midpoint, and a maximum. Most salary ranges are 30-40% apart, from minimum to maximum.Communicate your salary philosophy.Then, after you’ve established ranges throughout your company, it’s important to be clear about what the salary expectations are for each role. This doesn’t mean publishing the specific dollar ranges (given the confidentiality of individual employees’ salary information), but employees should know if you’re planning to compensate them with bonuses instead of base pay increases, or how you determine base bay raises. If employees are totally in the dark about how salaries are determined and why, it leaves the door open for negativity and speculation. It can also help you in disputes over employee pay, if the salary philosophy and methodology is at least somewhat transparent.Don’t get complacent.Keep monitoring your ranges, perhaps auditing them annual ly, to make sure that your salary ranges are keeping pace with the market standards.Setting salary ranges makes your organization run more efficiently when it comes to hiring, developing existing talent, and adhering to financial best practices. It’s also a way to make sure you have a strong handle on what’s going on at every level your organization, and to inform how you can continue to meet organizational goals while supporting employees in a data-driven way.

Issues in Gumdrop Northern Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Issues in Gumdrop Northern - Essay Example In the later stages, the US military began to understand the different problems from the gumdrop northern and the department of justice and the lawyers came involved in the issue and the leaders were going down the barrels of the prosecution.The authorities of the management became aware of the fact and as the judiciary duties have to be fulfilled. The company had to face certain legal issues regarding the employees as they were at the edge of bankruptcy, In order to maintain the stand in the market the company had fired out the employees for no reasons and the people had to suffer a lot because of the issue. As the company was bankrupted and as they have build rapport with the countries like Argentina and Columbia where the company assets had been transferred to banks in Argentina and which assured customers with good finance which can make them free from creditors.   Exporting of landmines to Afghanistan and Iran in contradiction to the international law and treaty. The supply of the defective land mines to Afganistan and the defective switches of them caused the death of soldiers and children. Ethics engage in the area of interpersonal, group, and community policy at the different levels in the organization and the outcome of the achievement of the result. The ethics is the complex process in the organization. There are different ethical issues in the organization gumdrop, the gumdrop is the organization with the annual revenue of about $500 billion and as the revenue and the outcome are considered they are found to be good performing company, but unlike to the ethical practices the company had  a problems in the product even though they had a good payment been done for its body armor and armored vehicles, the company also uses various substandard products for its manufacturing.