Phenomenology and the sociology of knowledge Essay

Phenomenology can both be understood to be a discipline and a movement in the history of philosophy. As a discipline, Phenomology can be defined to be the study of structures of experience and consciousness. Ontology, epistemology, logic and ethics are other disciplines which are related to Phenomology though they are distinct (Schulz, Wagner, 1997). In a different perspective, Phenomology can be defined as a historical movement which was launched by great thinkers such as Edmund Husserl among others in the 20th century. Phenomenology and social science Common theories present in social science are based in the real world. This leads to my conviction that phenomenological research can be used in the future studies of some methods which are in use in social science. Phenomenology can further be used in social science to facilitate the understanding of some phenomenon’s which are often taken for granted. For instance, man is assumed to be social being and language and communication systems do exist. Methods in social science fail to address why there is mutual understanding and communication and why men are motivated by certain experiences. Moreover, the social science methods fail to describe the underlying assumption and their implications in the interpretation of social interrelationship (Collins, 1998). All these can only be addressed through philosophical analysis which Husserl referred to as phenomenological philosophy. Phenomenology can also be used to bring meaning and insights to the study of grief, anxiety and pain which are some social issues which affect the very existence of man. Through phenomenology, social scientists can account and analytically describe the acts of intentional consciousness. Finally, phenomenology creates a bridge for the phenomenological sociology which provides an understand ding of the formal structures common in everyday day life. Sociology of knowledge Sociology of knowledge refers to the study of the social sources of knowledge and its impact on the society. In the study, knowledge is assumed to be a cultural product which can only be understood in the social context of its origin. The study is important to Collins in that it provides an explanation to most of the philosophical ideas which exist. In his book, he asserts that great and philosophical ideas are only produced through interaction between humans whose construction relies on the social structure of the intellectual world. Through the sociology of knowledge, Collins is able to explain that the rationalization process of Western, Indian and Asian philosophies has only been achieved through conceptual framework and social knowledge. He uses the sociology of knowledge to explain that social processes have an explanation as to why what is said to whom which he calls the sociology of thinking (Geoffrey, 2003). He also asserts that through the sociology of knowledge one is in a capacity to predict the conversation between two individuals if only their characteristics and the emotional synergies are known. He further uses the sociology of knowledge to explain how it is possible to predict the thinking process of an individual. Though thinking is an internalized conversation, Collins asserts that what we think is often a reflection of what we write on paper or we talk with other people. Collins believes that emotional energy and what we anticipate for the future determines our thinking process (Collins, 1998). Finally, the sociology of knowledge has enable Collins to describe the philosophical transformations which have been achieved in modern Europe, Japan and china. References Collins, R. (1998). The Sociology of Philosophies: A Global Theory Of Intellectual Change Harvard University press, USA ISBN 0-674-00187-7 Geoffrey, L. (2003). Modern Philosophy. London: Routledge Schulz, A. & Wagner, H. (1997). On Phenomenology and Social Relations: Selected Writings. University of Chicago press. London ISBN 0-226-74153-2

Cosmic Creation Myths Across Cultures Essay

The two creation myths selected to compare and contrast centers on the Norse culture of Iceland Vikings and the Genesis creation of the Hebrew origin of Christian culture. Both creation myths originate with a hollow abyss where anarchy or war cultivates. The Norse myth relates a struggle in the middle of the blistering realm of Muspell and the murky, icy realm of Niflheim inside the hollowness named ginnungagap and where nothing could cultivate. The Genesis struggle was involving God and nothing, seclusion, and the craving to generate something wonderful. There are exactly nine categorizations of creation myths and numerous utilize more than one notion. Genesis cosmogonies utilizes both the deus faber and ex nihilo ideas. The account frequently deemed the ex nihilo myth, implying â€Å"out of nothing† is the story in the first book of the Old Testament, Genesis, of God’s creation in six days by communicating into existence light and blackness, moon and sun, animals and plants, birds and fish, stars and earth, God then creates Adam in His image from the dust and inhales life into him and Eve was molded from one of Adam’s ribs, consequently joining deus faber (the â€Å"maker-God†) with ex nihilo motifs. The Nordic creation myths incline to merge accretion/conjunction, exudation, and sacrifice ideas. It introduces the combining of fire and ice in an arbitrary linking of components. When the tepid breath of Muspell encounters the chill of glacial Nieflheim, ice dissolves and the subsequent water droplets come to life, generating the wicked gigantic Ymir. As the titan slumbers, perspiration from his armpits produces the first man and woman. These added titans mature to loathe Ymir and the creation story goes on with the slaughter and disfigurement of the dreadful giant. The Norse culture consist what we call Vikings. They had a pantheon of 14 main gods and conceived the cosmos as separated into three levels: Asgard, Aesir, is the higher level and land of the main gods, fertility gods, and where light elves also existed. Midgard is the middle  level where men, giants, dwarves, and dark elves lived. Niflheim is the lower level, better known as the underworld, where the evil dead died a second time in the fortress city of Hel. Running through and ultimately reaching above heaven is Yggdrasil, the enormous ash tree that apparently existed before the beginning. The Genesis creation myth is comparable in that the world was shapeless also emptiness, and obscurity laid in the deep. God soul was touching above the top of the seawaters when, he generated the skies and the planet. The scriptural writers considered the universe as a horizontal round formed planet in the axis, an illicit world for the lifeless underneath, and paradise overhead. Underneath the planet stood the â€Å"waters of chaos†, the intergalactic ocean, and nest to mythological ogres conquered and killed by means of God. In Genesis, â€Å"the earth was formless, empty, and dark, and God’s Spirit moved over the waters preparing to perform God’s creative Word† (Fairchild, 2013). God initiated speaking his creation into existence. The first day, he generated luminosity and parted it from the blackness, calling sunlit â€Å"day† and obscurity â€Å"night.† The second day, God made the â€Å"sky† to detached the seawaters. The third day, he formed the waterless earth, called â€Å"land†, and congregated the seawaters, naming them â€Å"seas†. The Divinity as well formed flowers and plants on this day. â€Å"God created the sun, moon, and the stars to give light to the earth and to govern and separate the day and the night† on the fourth diurnal (Fairchild, 2013). These elements would also serve to establish days, seasons, and years. On the fifth day, he formed each existing organism of the oceans and of the skies, sanctifying them to flourish. Also formed the creatures to saturate the world on the sixth diurnal. Adam and Eve, believed to be the first man and woman, were also created in his reflection on this day to communicate. â€Å"He blessed them and gave them every creature and the whole earth to rule over, care for, and cultivate† (Fairchild, 2013). Finally, on the seventh diurnal, he completed his labor of conception and relaxed, consecration it and formulating it consecrated. The Norse story did not have one maker of good, but multiple elements and events that emerged from one evil giant in this creation myth. The cattle stroked off whole Alps of rime, gradually licking rime of other two additional existences, the god Buri and his spouse. â€Å"They had a son named Bor, and his son was named Odin, who became the king of all  the gods† (Distant Train, Inc., 2011). Ymir was malicious and wicked and when Odin along with the divinities may well no more endure Ymir’s wicked deeds, they united to kill the giant. â€Å"Ymir’s huge body formed the earth, his blood became the sea, his flesh became the land, his bones the mountains and his hair the trees† (Distant Train, Inc., 2011). He and the additional deities shaped the heavens with his cranium, sustained up by four immense columns. He created the sun and moon from flashes from the blistering pits of Muspell and placed them in the sky. The ice began to melt in the new world of Ginnungagap from the illumination of the sun and moon and vegetation began to grow. The largest tree, called Yggdrasil, grew from the center of the world and became known as â€Å"The Tree of Life†. â€Å"Its roots penetrated into the bottom of creation and its leaves reached the very top of the sky† (Distant Train, Inc., 2011). To his satisfaction of the newborn earth, Odin baptized it Midgard, meaning ‘The Middle Land’. However, Midgard needed tending to while the gods ascend to Asgard. Odin discovered two collapsed trees, an elm and an ash, which Odin removed from the dirt and shaped the incipient male and female. â€Å"Odin breathed life into the beings, gave them reason and feelings, hearing and sight† (Distant Train, Inc., 2011). Similar to the Genesis story of Adam and Eve, Odin called the male Ask and the female Embla and from them, launched the whole humankind. In summary, the Genesis creation story identifies God as the writer of conception. â€Å"In Genesis 1 we are presented with the beginning of a divine drama that can only be examined and understood from the standpoint of faith. How long did it take? How did it happen, exactly?† (Fairchild, 2013). It is impossible to definitively answer these questions, but these inscrutabilities are not the emphasis of the conception account. The point, is for ethical and religious epiphany. Verse 26, God states, â€Å"Let us make man in our image, in our likeness †¦Ã¢â‚¬  The story goes that a serpent tricked Eve into eating the fruit from the forbidden tree and she offered it to Adam and he also ate from it. As a result, Eve and Adam were expelled from the Garden of Eden, men will labor over the earth, women will experience excruciating pain bearing children, and all humans will die. Readers from Western cultures tend to rank â€Å"metaphysical or spiritual† cosmogonies like the account of Elohim-God speaking the world into existence in Genesis higher than â€Å"physical, natural, or elemental accounts of creation by  accretion, excretion, copulation, division, dismemberment, or parturition† (Leonard & McClure, 2004). If, however, we are self-conscious about our culture’s assumptions about what is â€Å"normal,† we see that at least as many cosmogonic myths have presented creation as part of a natural process as have conceived it as an exercise of divine and creative will. Ranking one kind of myth as lower or more primitive and our own myths as higher or more cultured derives from a cultural bias. To study myth effectively, we need to free ourselves as much as possible from the prejudices we inherit from our cultural surroundings. References Distant Train, Inc. (2011). Norse Creation. Retrieved from http://bigmyth.com/download/NORSE_CREATION.pdf Fairchild, M. (2013, January 4). The Creation Story – Bible Story Summary. About.com Christianity. Retrieved from http://christianity.about.com/od/biblestorysummaries/p/ creationstory.htm Gill, N. S. (2012, April 13). Creation of the World – Norse Mythology on the Creation of the World. About.com Ancient / Classical History. Retrieved from http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/creationmyths/a/11083199Norse.htm Ginzberg, L. (2012, April 13). Legends of the Jews, By Louis Ginzberg. Legends of the Jews. Retrieved from http://ancienthistory.about.com/library/bl/bl_text_jewslegends1a.htm Leonard, S., & McClure, M. (2004). Myth & Knowing: An introduction to world mythology. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. Shmoop Editorial Team. (November 11, 2008).The Myth of Norse Creation Myth. Retrieved June 20, 2014, from http://www.shmoop.com/norse-creation-myth/

The case study is about a project to open a new Tesco Super Store

The is about a project to open a new Tesco Super Store - Case Study Example E. Stockwell (Simms, 26). The company expanded rapidly opening several stores from 1929 and eventually went public in 1947 when it was listed on the London Stock Exchange as Tesco Stores (Holdings) Limited. The company continued to grow through various acquisitions during the 1950s and 60s such as the acquisition of 70 Williamson's stores, 97 Charles Phillips stores, 212 Irwins stores, and 200 Harrow Stores outlets. At present, the company has continued to experience growth and success making a market leader within the grocery and general products retail market. The company’s stores are branded differently based on the location, size, and mode of acquisition. The main store brands are Tesco Extra, Tesco Metro, Tesco Express, Tesco Superstores, Tesco Homeplus, Dobbies, And One Stop. This paper aims to present the key elements involved in managing a successful project involving the opening of a new Tesco Superstore. It will discuss the key stages and associated tasks that will b e required in order to ensure overall success of the entire project, the project management processes and techniques that should be applied during the life of the project, and the important skills and competencies required by the project manager and team to achieve a successful project. Key stages and associated tasks required to ensure overall success of the project A project is usually described as a temporary group activity that is intended to produce a unique result, product, or service (Project Management Institute, 5). As such, a project is a plan of work that is aimed at bringing a beneficial change and is therefore expected to have a defined beginning and an end, and bears a scope of work that usually is unique and entails a lot of uncertainty (Prabhakar, 4). In addition, a project has several times, cost, and quality constraints and requires a multi-disciplinary team to carry out the project to its end. In order for a project to be successful, it must: Deliver the required benefits and outcomes expected by the organization, major stakeholders, delivery partners, and any other stakeholders involved in the project. Stay within the set out time targets and financial budgets; Engage the correct people and utilize the resources available within the organization and elsewhere appropriately (Cleland and Roland 176). Produce and realize deliverables that adhere to the agreed requirements; Have the necessary risk management skills and techniques required to manage adequately any risks that may arise and could jeopardize its success; Take into consideration of any changes that could occur in the manner in which the organization operates and all the diverse needs of the employees and other key stakeholders who shall be impacted by the various changes that may arise from the project. Five main stages of a project that must be undertaken in order to achieve success, namely: Initiating Under this stage, the management within an organization identifies a key busines s problem facing the organization or a unique opportunity that the organization could pursue and a possible business case that could provide a possible solution is identified. One needs to understand the environment within which the business operates in to be able to identify the scope of the project and the

Care Plan A Nursing Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Care Plan A Nursing - Assignment Example The method of prioritization has also been clarified in the beginning of the discussion part. The paper stresses the importance of sincere nursing practices and steady and prompt intervention coupled with preventive measures and advanced examinations. Discussion Method of Prioritization The diagnoses have been prioritized as per the emergency assessment of each. The fear of risk along with lack of mobility is most serious since there can be sudden accident due to the patient’s low confidence and body balance problems. The diagnosis of bruising and skin tear can be indicative for more serious conditions like pressure ulcer. Polypharmacy is a relatively less severe condition since it can be gradually addressed. Bowel irregularities are the most chronic and common condition, so this problem is at the end of the priority list. Diagnosis 1 Mrs. Blackwell, aged in her 80, fell at home and subsequently underwent a right total hip anthroplasty. Now she has restricted mobility due to p revious falls and recent surgery. She expresses fear of falling again and she finds it hard to use the walking frame. All these facts prove that she has fear of fall along with restricted mobility. Goal: To help Mrs. Blackwell improve her Get Up and Go Test rating by 75% in the next 5 weeks. Also, Falls Risk for Older People in the Community rating for her should be bettered by 80% in this timeframe. Rationale: I will plan low intensity and low impact exercise schedule for Mrs. Blackwell to initiate effective nursing intervention in this case. Exercises like Tai Chi (Harling and Simpson, 2008) can help her regain her body balance and confidence. This exercise also helps in minimizing depression. This sort of intervention has been widely supported by modern research. Instead of medication and psychiatric treatment it is wise to emphasize the importance of light physical exercise. Physical therapy approach can help in reducing fracture and fall risk among the older adults to a conside rable extent (Karinkanta et al, 2010). Physical exercise and therapy should be such that they help in restoring body balance. Restoration of body balance can be effectively achieved by the means of individual adaptive and specialized programmes. Group training is a significant initiative in this direction (Halvarsson et al, 2011). Therefore I will try to better Mrs. Blackwell’s social network and involve her in the community efforts for the elderly. Last but not least, I will examine her improvement and response to the intervention techniques by using Get Up and Go Test (Brown and Edwards, 2008) to assess the body balance and confidence levels. The Falls Risk for Older People in the Community rating (Russell et al, 2009) is also important in this context. Diagnosis 2 Mrs. Blackwell has the problem of bruising and a skin tear on her left knee. This can be an indication for a serious underlying problem like pressure ulcer. At this stage, skin integrity risk is already evident. Goal: To help the patient to decrease her skin integrity risk. The aim is to reduce the risk by at least 60% as per the Skin Integrity Risk Assessment Tool in the next 5 weeks. Rationale: I will categorize Mrs. Blackwell as a â€Å"frail elder† (White, Karam and Cowell, 1994, p. 95) as she is showing signs of skin integrity complications. Skin integrity can be adversely affected due to epithelial tissue breakage. In the case of an

Coca Cola and their Marketing techniques Case Study

Coca Cola and their Marketing techniques - Case Study Example In recent years due to increased competition the company has involved itself in ownership of franchises all over the world. The coca-cola company produces a wide range of products, including: soft drinks (Coke, Fanta, and Sprite), Mineral water (Dasani), non-carbonated beverages (PowerAde sports beverage, flavored tea Nestea). In general the Coca-Cola Company (TCCC) only produces syrup concentrate which is then sold to various bottlers throughout the world who hold a Coca-Cola franchise. Coca-Cola bottlers, who hold territorially exclusive contracts with the company, produce finished product in cans and bottles from the concentrate in combination with filtered water and sweeteners. The bottlers then sell, distribute and merchandise the resulting Coca-Cola product to retail stores, vending machines, restaurants and food service distributors. The Coca-Cola Company offers nearly 400 brands in over 200 countries, besides its namesake Coca-Cola beverage. Diet Coke was introduced in 1982 to offer an alternative to dieters worried about the high number of calories present in Classic Coke.2 The Company also introduced new soft drinks to satisfy a widening spectrum of tastes. Born in Germany, Fanta was introduced in the United States in 1960; today the Fanta family of flavored soft drinks has become one of the best-selling brands in the world. Sprite, a lemon-lime drink, followed in 1961, and in 1963 the Company introduced TAB, its first low-calorie beverage. In 1960 the Minute Maid Corporation merged with the Company, adding frozen citrus juice concentrates and ades under the trademarks Minute Maid and Hi-C to the Company's array of beverages. The Coca-Cola Company offers nearly 400 brands in over 200 countries, besides its namesake Coca-Cola beverage. This includes other varieties of Coca-Cola such as Diet Coke (introduced in 1982 ), which uses aspartame , a synthetic phenylalanine -based sweetener , to eliminate the sugar content of the drink; Caffeine-free Coke ; Cherry Coke (1985); Diet Cherry Coke (1986 ); Coke with Lemon (2001 ); Diet Coke with Lemon (2001); Vanil la Coke (2002 ); Diet Vanilla Coke (2002); Coca-Cola C2 (2004 ); Coke with Lime (2004 ); Diet Coke with Lime (2004 ); Diet Coke with Splenda (2005 ), Coca-Cola Zero (2005), Coca-Cola Black Cherry Vanilla (2006) , Diet Coca-Cola Black Cherry Vanilla (2006), and Coca-Cola Black Tab was Coca-Cola's first attempt to develop a diet soft drink, using saccharin as a sugar substitute. Introduced in 1963, the product is still sold today, however its sales have dwindled since the introduction of Diet Coke. The Coca-Cola Company also produces a number of other soft drinks including Fanta (introduced circa 1942 or 1943) and Sprite. Fanta's origins date back to World War II

Dance Class Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Dance Class - Article Example I remember that in the last letter that I sent to you, I had explained to you why you should not fear or hesitate to take a course in dancing. This time round, I want to share with you my concrete experiences in this course, so that you can be can be convinced that this course is indeed quite important. First of all, let me share with you the expectations that I had before taken this course, and how I have been able to realize my expectations after taking the course. One of the major expectations that I had before taken this course was that the course would enable me to know the history of dance and the important people who have had great influence in the history of dance. Through this course, I have really been able to realize this expectation. This is because we have studied extensively about the history of dance and the important personalities like Gus Giordano, Jack Cole, and Agnes DeMille, who have had the great impact in the world of dance, especially dance in the Jazz music. For this reason, therefore, I am now conversant with the history of dance. The second major expectation that I had when I started this course was that the course would enable me to know different dancing styles, both modern traditional styles. Through the training that we undergo in this course, I have be en able to realize this expectation. Although of course, I don’t claim to have become an expert in dancing overnight, I have learned different dancing styles in this course and I am able to dance to different types of music like Jazz songs.

Hitler's Germany Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Hitler's Germany - Essay Example This essay will assess whether Hitler’s ability to appeal to the German people was the source of his power or whether his personality traits and psychological abnormalities were more significant. Hitler’s ability to appeal to the German people lay in his skills at oratory. With his words, Hitler was able to mould public opinion in his favour. As a member of the lower class strata, Hitler had the added advantage of winning over the masses who felt themselves wronged by the German authorities. He claimed himself to be one of them which created an aura of trust and respect for the man who had risen from amongst the lower class. His style appealed greatly to the working class of Germany who felt understood by this leader. Hitler’s speeches were outspoken which helped create an image of courage and bravado to his personality. The Germans needed someone to blame for their disastrous defeat and this was provided to them by Hitler. Hitler’s singular appeal through his skills as an orator also lay in the message he conveyed. He was able to define a scapegoat upon which the German people could vent their wrath for the shame they felt at their defeat in the First World War and the terms of the Versailles Treaty – namely, the Jews. Waite contends that the Fuhrer was himself a man who suffered from deep rooted feelings of inferiority and guilt; he felt that Hitler could have been suffering from a fear that his own blood was impure and that his sexuality was warped. This led him to try and over compensate by directing those feelings outwards on to other elements of society – the Jews and Communists (Mitchell, 1973:41). His views were derived from H.S. Chamberlian whose interpretation of history stated that of the three major strains that comprised mankind, two of them had been Aryan, namely the Greeks and the Aryans who created culture, while the third strain, i.e., the Semetic one, was culture destroying.

Greek history, using Plutarch's biography Essay

Greek history, using Plutarch's biography - Essay Example Solon was able to strike a following among the rich as well as the poor, which would have been difficult for anyone else for his hardline position against unfair distribution of wealth1. This was only possible because justice to the conflicting groups meant that they were all winners in the reforms introduced by his proposed laws. A preview of his laws shows that Solon had preference for freedom and justice for all men in an equitable society, unlike supporters of tyranny. Lycurgus of Sparta is perhaps one of the greatest lawmaking figures in the Ancient Greece history for his firm stand on observing the law. Unlike many other lawmakers of his time, he had a deep conviction of the supremacy of the law and almost always made complete devotion to deliver. His contributions in law captured the needs of the society at the day in form of distribution of land, justice in leadership, military and social development. The tradition of Sparta as a military powerhouse had its foundations established during the times of Lycurgus. He was a strict enforcer of the guidance given by the Delphic Oracle of Apollo, who gave him assurances and encouragement of flawless implementation of social reform. While militarism and power were deeply rooted in the cultural traditions of the Spartans, Lycurgus’ contribution towards communal governance with militarism elements cannot be assumed2. Equitable allocation of resources among the poor and the rich was equally followe d in Sparta during the time of Lycurgus. Solon’s contributions to the society were popular across the social divide mainly due to his strength as a popular figure among the conflicting sides of the divided Athens society. While the poor had a strong case against the rich, it was difficult for a rich person to freely be accepted pose as a mediator. Likewise, it would have been difficult for the rich to accept a poor person to represent them in social reforms. Solon however was able to defy these

Poem Assignment Analysis or Character Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Poem Analysis or Character - Assignment Example He yearns for the freedom of his earlier life. His lust for wandering is not yet over and he wants to roam the world with his old mariners. Although he is now back in his own kingdom with his wife and son he is still feeling restless and depressed. The poem brings out the agony of his heart as well as his indomitable spirit.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The contentment of domestic life is not for a man like Ulysses who is a traveler at heart and by soul. He misses his eventful past life and regrets that he has to now â€Å"mete and dole/Unequal laws unto a savage race,† (Tennyson, 1090, line3). Ulysses’ age is not a barrier to him. His soul still yearns for fresh adventures -â€Å"Come, my friends,/  Tis not too late to seek a newer world.† (Tennyson, 1091, line56) Some of the lines in this poem are enjambed. This means that the sentences often end in the middle rather than the end of the lines. Also the thought expressed in the line does not end with the li ne break-up -  Ã¢â‚¬Å"I cannot rest from travel: I will drink  / Life to the lees: all times I have enjoyed† (Tennyson, 1090, line6) Here the poet expresses different thoughts in different sections of the poem. Initially we see legendary warrior who has returned home and finds the daily routine of life boring and mundane. His yearning for fresh adventures comes through in nearly every line. His aged wife gets mentioned only in two lines of the poem. Likewise he does not seem to have any attachment towards the subjects he governs. His attention is focused only on traveling with his old companions in search of fresh adventures.     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ulysses thinks his son Telemachus shall be a prudent king. Telemachus will inherit the throne from his father and govern Ithaca. As for himself Ulysses only wants to venture out in search of a new world- â€Å"Come, my friends/Tis not too late to seek a newer world.† (Tennyson, 1091, line57) Ulysses is we ll aware of the risks involved but this does not deter him. Neither old age nor the fear of death frightens this old warrior. Instead he exhorts his mariners to come with him on one last voyage. This poem also makes a statement about defying death and old age. Although death is inevitable we should not allow the fear of death to stop us from reaching our goal. A man should have the courage to live for the moment. Thus we might say this poem is an allegory about mortality. This idea is expressed vividly in the following lines:-   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   â€Å" We are not now that strength which in the old days     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Moved earth and heaven; that which we are, we are,     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One equal-temper of heroic he arts,     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.† (Tennyson, 1091, line66) Thus the feelings of the poet are similar to the sentiments expressed by Ulysses when he tells his men â€Å"To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.† (Tennyson, 1091, line70) It is the indomitable courage of Ulysses that appeals to the poet and which finds expression in this poem. It is this fearlessness, which is an integral part of Ulysses’s character. The Ulysses we find in this poem cannot be called a perfect hero. There are several flaws in his character. Perhaps these imperfections make him more

Antiaging technologies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Antiaging technologies - Essay Example The administrator believes that almost every normal person wishes to live long and remain youthful to a given level. In respect of this, the administrator believes that increasing people’s life expectancies is one of the major duties of a health facility. In his view, those who are opposed to anti-aging technologies are â€Å"new puritans† in that they are ready to oppose medical advancements on every single ground. The administrator claims that humans have doubled their lifespan from time immemorial. In respect of the same, using anti-aging technologies should be embraced worldwide without having to find new sources of stem cells. The hospital administrator interviewed is for the idea of using anti-aging technologies. According to him, human life ought to be prolonged to the greatest extent possible in spite of the associated dilemmas. He believes that humans have always sought to increase their life expectancy from time immemorial and therefore anti-aging technologies should be equally

The Christ of Velázquez †Poetry Visits Art Essay Example for Free

The Christ of Velà ¡zquez – Poetry Visits Art Essay Leonardo da Vinci is quoted as saying, â€Å"Painting is poetry that is seen rather than felt, and poetry is painting that is felt rather than seen. † There is no better illustration of this than the inspirational painting of Diego Rodriquez de Silva y Velazquez –The Christ of San Placido, more commonly known as The Christ of Velazquez and the equally moving poetic meditation on Velazquez’s painting by Miguel de Unamuno centuries later. Painting and poetry, as da Vinci suggested, join together in a unique way – the artist painting what he feels in his soul and the poet feeling in his soul what is painted. The Painting Diego Velazquez was one of the foremost Spanish painters of the 17th century. And one of his greatest paintings was The Christ of San Placido which was painted in 1638 for the convent of San Placido, but now resides in the Museo de Prado in Madrid. This stirring depiction of Christ just after His death offers an open invitation for the viewer to meditate on this epic moment. The body of Christ on the cross stands alone on the backdrop of a black sky. The crucifix has no flourishes or embellishments. Velazquez chose to portray this solitary Christ with His head hanging and the right side of his face covered by his hair. (â€Å"Diego†) This veil of hair has prompted many explanations. The Museo de Prado’s explanation is that Velazquez could not copy Christ’s expression on that side of His face and so he â€Å"opted to cover the left [right] side with His falling hair instead. † Another analysis assumes that this disruption of the composure of the body was done to recall the torture and the cruelty that Christ suffered. Yet another attributes this half-hidden face to the artist’s intention to lead the viewer of the painting into the spiritual world. (â€Å"The Painted†) Whatever the artist’s purpose might have been, it cannot be denied that this purposely simple representation of the dead Christ, dripping blood can inspire deep spiritual reflection. Its Inspirational Connection to Poetry Ekphrasis Ekphrasis, purely defined, is: â€Å"a literary description of or commentary on a visual work of art. † (â€Å"Ekphrasis-Merriam†) This is, of course, a sterile definition that cannot begin to convey the true connection that art and poetry can enjoy. The term goes back as far as Homer’s The Iliad, in which he vividly describes how the blacksmith god forged the Shield of Achilles. Modern ekphrasis tends to focus only on works of art; and not so much by extraordinary description as in the case of the Shield of Achilles as by how the art inspires or moves the poet. (â€Å"Ekphrasis: Poetry†) This is what Miguel de Unamuno undertook to do with his book-length poem El Cristo de Velazquez. Unamuno expressed his spiritual doubts through his poetry. With El Cristo de Velazquez he confronts the painting of Velazquez to â€Å"define a uniquely Spanish Christ. † (â€Å"Miguel†) The stark figure of Christ on the cross elicited deep feelings from Unamuno, some mystical, some perplexing. He put these thoughts into lyrical form over the course of seven years producing a piece that is considered by some to be a most important religious poem. Its 2,538 lines are divided into four parts. They relate to Christ as a symbol of sacrifice and redemption, as a reflection of His many names, as God painted with the brush of Velazquez and they end with an invocation to the Holy Spirit to guide Unamuno as He guided Velazquez. (Nozick 178) The Personalization of The Christ of Velazquez by Unamuno In his book on Unamuno, Martin Nozick speculates on why Unamuno would have chosen this painting by Velazquez rather than any of the myriad of others he could have chosen as the subject of his poem. He notes that Unamuno thought that the representation of Christ that was adopted by the king of Spain as his official symbol was â€Å"bland† as compared with the image of Christ painted by Velazquez and that the Christ of Cabrera was â€Å"granitic† and the Christ of Santa Clara more like a wooden mannequin. (179) It seems that the Christ of Velazquez was ordained to be his choice. The posture of Christ in Velazquez’s painting is somewhat unique in that it suggests that death has already occurred. His head is hanging limply while His face, now as lifeless as His body, is veiled by his mangled locks of hair. Undoubtedly this moved Unamuno to comment on Christ in Part One as the white Lamb of God whose death took away the sins of the world. (Section XVI) He continues with expressive commentary on Christ as the host of wheat ground under the millstone, an apt expression for one who had gone through so much suffering for mankind. (Section XVII) The symbolic use of the colors of white and red to contrast the magnificence of Christ as the Son of God with the human suffering of the Son of Man run throughout this part of the poem especially. Unamuno stops to reflect on the white linen in which Christ’s body is so meagerly wrapped; and refers to Him as the white lion of the desert, among other references to the color white (white cloud, white light, white bull, etc. ). These references are juxtaposed against the stark images of the red blood that runs from the wounds of Christ. Unamuno â€Å"paints† this in one line as he describes Christ’s â€Å"whiteness dotted with bloody riddles. † (Section XXIV) However he does not merely explain the vividness of the white dotted with red. It is evident through his verse that he is also deeply affected by these aspects of the painting. The exhausting effort that is manifest in this first part may have prompted a weaker, less driven man to end the poem there. But Unamuno forges on. In Part II the painting inspires a recounting of earthly forces such as fire and water and storm intertwined with deep insights into the soul of Unamuno. This second part also reflects the biblical aspects of Christ and His mission of salvation. It evokes an historical aspect often citing events from the Bible as well as some of the many titles of Christ such as â€Å"Lion of Judah†, â€Å"King of the Desert,† â€Å"Light of Life† and more. From the powerful imagery of Unamuno in this part emerges the soul of a man who is trying to grasp the full meaning of salvation, seeing it as something that mankind was given as a gift but did not deserve. God the Father is seen by Unamuno as the sun; Christ is seen as the moon and the earth is the Virgin Mother. As Cannon puts it, â€Å"It is a mythic triad in accord with ancient beliefs in the magic and perfection of three-ness and in the family organization of the cosmos. † (28) Cannon tells us that Unamuno even made a full-page drawing which he attached to the final manuscript representing this cosmological triad. This seems to infer that Unamuno saw in Velazquez’s painting more than what was physically there. The painting evidently inspired a much greater vision in the mind of Unamuno – one that portrays him as â€Å"an intoxicated evangelist† (Nozick 180) Unamuno does come back to earth however in Part III by concentrating on the visible features of Christ in the actual painting – His head, face, eyes, ears, arms, hands, etc. Consider this translation in the section dealing with the eyes of Christ. Shivering russet which dew on your eyelashes, Pearls of fire shudder liquid And going through the closure of the eyelids Viewed with dark eyes . . . . The imagery is magnificent and throughout this imagery are woven references, once again, to the Bible, both Old and New Testaments. Unamuno himself calls this â€Å"a sort of rhythmoid, dense prose. † (180) This third part of the poem is probably the most descriptive of the painting itself whereas the prior two parts were more illustrative of the feelings that the painting evoked. As Unamuno leaves the more descriptive portion of his poetry behind, he approaches what Cannon considers the most famous part of the poem. (Cannon 28) It begins and ends in darkness, but in between Unamuno presents the â€Å"luminous white body of the glorified Christ. † (28) Here again, Unamuno pulls hope out of despair, joy out of sorrow, expectation out of apathy. The images that the painting of Christ by Velazquez inspires in Unamuno are powerful ones that make a lasting impression on the reader. It may be that Unamuno has personalized Christ in a way that may not occur to the casual observer of this or any other painting of Christ on the cross and in this intense personalization Unamuno vitalizes the depiction of Christ with hope – a way out of the darkness. Velazquez painted his Christ on the cross to be a stark and solitary figure devoid of the sympathetic eye of the observers present at the crucifixion. Unamuno supplements the darkness of the artist’s work with a renewed sense of anticipation of his own death and rebirth in Christ. He ends his poem with a plea that he may enter â€Å"the clear day that has no end, my eyes fixed on Thy white body, Son of Man, complete Humanity . . . my eyes fixed on Thine eyes, oh Christ, my gaze submerged in Thee, oh Lord! † His life was admittedly full of theological uncertainties, but the spiritual doubts that may have manifested themselves in the life of Unamuno are put to rest in this profusion of imagery inspired by The Christ of Velazquez that was written and rewritten over seven years by Unamuno. The sweeping dynamic of the painter’s brush met the commanding inspiration of the poet’s pen so that together they make an impact that neither of them alone could manage. Works Cited Cannon, Calvin. â€Å"The Mythic Cosmology of Unamuno’s El Cristo de Velà ¡zquez.† Hispanic   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Review 28 (1960): 28 – 39. Complete Works of Miguel de Unamuno. Ed. Ricardo Senabre. Vol. 4., Madrid: Jose   Ã‚  Ã‚   Antonio Castro Foundation, 2006. Madrid: Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes 20 Oct. 2008    http://www.cervantesvirtual.com.

Security and Privacy Essay Example for Free

Security and Privacy Essay Introduction Identity theft is becoming very easy due to technological advancements. Protecting patient information must include all efforts from medical facilities, employees, and consumers. Society has the right to be protected from any misuse of personal data. An effective protective program starts with front-end preventive safeguards and ends with follow-through that reaches wherever incorrect information has flowed Identity theft has become a very popular topic for the past decade or so, the number of complaints has increased and is costing more than anyone wants to be spending on that issue. The Federal Trade commission estimates that as many as nine million Americans have their identity stolen each year, resulting in over 50 billion dollars of financial loss (Mercuri, 2006). Very common on Television to hear news and commercials warning about identity theft or some company trying to sell their services, helping in the fight to prevent it. In this paper, there will be discussions on the disadvantages of the break in privacy dealing with identity theft and on possible action plan to prevent the incident. What are your Reactions? Identity theft is a fraud that occurs when one identity is taken away and used in order to gain services or something usually of financial nature. Criminal identity theft occurs when a victim’s name, address, and mostly social security number is used by a different individual other than the actual owner. Oftentimes, the imposter would obtain that information from someone with access to a data bank where personal information is stored; it may be a hospital, social security department, company that collects data for the purpose of providing financial services. The information may be sold and used to open accounts, gain access to services fraudulently, which the actual owner, a victim of the theft will be charged for. Though many have tried to find ways to prevent and fight that kind of invasion of privacy, it  remains an issue and a very expensive one. Identity theft is the fastest growing crime in United States; it affects 13 persons per minute, 799 per hour, or 19,178 per da y (Mercuri, 2006). When it comes to personal identity theft, elaborate steps must be taken to repair identity, all creditors and banks must be contacted in order to freeze accounts and limit the damages. Any financial activities that were not approved should be reversed and investigated and any opened accounts closed. New identification cards should be provided, depending on the extent of the situation legal counseling may be necessary. Whichever way it happens, identity theft remains a burden for all not only individuals, but also for companies who carry the burden of screening employees in order to protect their customers from such occurrence. No one would welcome such calamity, not only the loss of privacy, the financial burden, but more so the trauma of not being able to prevent it completely. What are the Disadvantages of the Break in Privacy? The disadvantages of the break in privacy are for the hospital as well as the victims. Big corporations are kept accountable for all data collected from their clients and are liable for any misuse of that information no matter the use. Personal information are trusted to be used for an individual benefits in the process securing a service; it should not be sold or used without consent for others benefits. Once information has been compromised, it is the duty of the corporation which allows the break to occur to remedy the problem. Remediation can be very costly, the company is liable for the break, cause analysis is necessary to find the leak and establish preventive measures. Which involves retraining personnel and maybe adding more doing the hiring, better screening process; make every one accountable for work involvement. It is a costly process but necessary. It is a federal offense and as an HIPAA violation all perpetrators will be fined, it is a mandate. Victims of identity fra ud bear the burden of regaining their identity and find any measure to prevent future occurrence. Such fraud creates a financial burden, all major federal instutions such as social security department, internal revenue services, banks and creditors must be informed of the fraudulent act before identity can be restored. All activities under the victim name must be verified and investigated, that will require to work with the fraud departments of all banks where accounts  was opened or compromised. It can be very costly not only to restore identity, but also mostly once the damages are discovered it will take a lot of time and money to correct the wrong done. The federal trade commission must be contacted; they collect information that is shared with law enforcement agency investigating identity fraud. Consumer Credit reporting agencies must be informed and a credit reports requested to investigate whether the victim history has been compromised. The motor vehicle and passport agency must be contacted as well, in such a case all possible areas must investigated for possible damages. It takes time and resources to correct break in privacy. Medical identity theft may be very difficult to discover, an individual my not have any idea that he or she has been the victim until late and the damages result in a mounts of debts and loss of revenue for providers and insurers. One victim hired an attorney to sort out the damage to her records. She avoided the hospital where the identity thief was treated, because of the inaccuracies in her health record as a result of the medical identity theft (AHIMA, 2008). What are the Possible Actions Plans to prevent the Incident? Preventing any incident requires individuals as well as corporations to be very diligent in safeguarding personal data. It requires a team effort on the part of all parties, corporations must be willing to put in place the necessary resources in the respect, although the first line of defense rest with the individuals seeking services. Some of the preventive measures include, but not limited to: Share personal and health insurance information only with trusted providers. * Monitor the explanation of benefits received from insurers and obtaining a summary of all the benefits paid in the patient’s or guarantor’s name. * Question â€Å"free† medical services or treatments. Individuals should always question what is being offered and who is paying the cost. If not satisfied with the answers, they should decline the offer. * Protect health insurance information. Individuals should safeguard insurance cards, explanation of benefits, and health plan correspondence in th e same way they would safeguard credit cards. * Obtain and maintaining personal health records that include copies of significant health information from each healthcare provider (O’Brien, 2008). Furthermore it is very important that every hospitals or any  corporations having access to individuals personal data, to empower every consumer to be very diligent about personal data. It is necessary educate the public about the threat of identity theft. Increase awareness of the consequences and prevention measures. Institute sophisticated security monitoring measures and implement a broadly accepted, executive-supported information security charter for effective security policy and governance (American Health Management Association, [AHIMA], 2008). HIPAA rules require that a risk analysis of any system be conducted that would address administrative, technical and physical safeguards. HIPAA security rule does not focus on technology but administration (American Health Management Association, [AHIMA], AHIMA, 2008). It requires that any data collected of consumers be protected according to its security rule. Corporations must develop guidelines that protect consumers, but also that would minimize employee’s incidents of mismanagement of data. The process should start from hiring, to training and setting up steps that would raise red flags with any questionable occurrence. Conclusion Medical identity theft is becoming very complex and must involve the effort of all consumers, providers and insurers to battle and prevent occurrences. Consumer involvement is very important and necessary, they must be made aware of the threat to their privacy and educate on ways to prevent any occurrence. The public deserves to be protected from any mismanagement of personal data, it incumbents on every corporation to put in place process that safeguards all data collected. An effective protective program starts with front-end preventive safeguards and ends with follow-through that reaches wherever incorrect information has flowed (American Health Management Association, [AHIMA], 2008). References American Health Management Association, [AHIMA]. â€Å"Online, On Message, On Duty: Privacy Experts Share Their Challenges.† April 2008. Available online in the FORE Library: HIM Body of Knowledge at www.ahima.org. American Health Management Association, [AHIMA] e-HIM Work Group on Regional Health Information Organizations (RHIOs). â€Å"Using the SSN as a Patient Identifier.† Journal of AHIMA 77, no. 3 (Mar. 2006): 56A–D. Retrieved from www.ahima.org Mercuri, R. T. (2006, June). Security Watch: Scoping identity theft. Communications of the ACM, Retrieved from: www.citeseerx.ist.psu.edu O’Brien, Jenny. â€Å"Responding to Identity Theft: One Organization’s Effort to Turn a Negative Event into a Positive Result.† Journal of AHIMA 79, no. 4 (Apr. 2008): 40–41. Retrieved from www.ahima.org

Case The Coffee Shop Market Starbucks Marketing Essay

Case The Coffee Shop Market Starbucks Marketing Essay Starbucks Corporation is an international coffeehouse chain, founded in 1971 in Seattle, Washington. Starbucks serves a variety of beverages including brewed coffee, tea, hot chocolate, espresso and a selection of bottled drinks. Starbucks also sells whole bean coffee and a variety of ready-to-eat snacks. The first Starbucks location to open outside of North America was in Tokyo in 1996; and from then on Starbucks became an international brand, expanding both nationally and globally. This report will attempt to examine the situation of Starbucks in Japan. It will bring out the marketing strategy to be adopted for a rise in profitability of Starbucks Japan in the next two years. In addition, it will attempt to explain the use of marketing mix to aid the chosen strategy. SWOT ANALYSIS: 1.1 STRENGTHS: 1.1.1 Strong brand image: Starbucks brand name, quality customer service and store ambience are its key strengths. It has maintained its international operations to ensure consumer recognition. Starbucks is renowned for its high quality products and has maintained a consistently positive consumer experience that has helped Starbucks build a strong brand image. Starbucks spends less than 1% of revenue on advertising and promotion each year which indicates they rely on an established company image (P. Ghauri, International marketing case study: Starbucks-Going Global Fast). Starbucks key competitor in Japan-Doutor coffee, had taken advantage of Starbucks brand image and copied its logo, while replicating the experience rendered to customers in its retail outlets. (Ono, 2003). This shows that the Starbucks image is a strength worth mimicking. With a well-established brand image in America, it was sure to expect recognition in the Japanese market, because the consumers there have a fondness for everything western . (http://azjatycka.wordpress.com/2009/11/05/international-marketing-strategy-of-starbucks-in-japan-success-or-a-failure/) 1.1.2 Commitment to community: Starbucks contributes a considerable amount of its resources to corporate social responsibility programs (Kotabe Helsen, 2004). According to Butler (2006)-CSR programs influence 70% of all consumer purchasing decisions, with many investors and employees also being swayed in their choice of companies. As a result, Starbucks involvement in the CSR programs helps its competitiveness in the business world. 1.1.3 Widespread Presence in International Markets: Starbucks has ventured into foreign markets with astonishing pace opening its outlets in 40 countries with 2068 stores worldwide. This widespread expansion has allowed its presence to be felt across the globe. 1.1.4 Retail outlets present at convenient and accessible locations: Starbucks has opened a number of coffee shops at convenient locations like shopping malls, libraries, university campuses, office buildings etc. They are typically located in high traffic, high visibility locations.(Starbucks annual report, 2008) 1.1.5 Presence of a variety of food items Beverages in addition to Coffee: Starbucks stores offer a choice of regular and decaffeinated coffee beverages, a broad selection of Italian-style espresso beverages, cold blended beverages, iced shaken refreshment beverages and a selection of premium teas. Starbucks stores also offer a variety of fresh food items, including healthier choice selections focussing on high-quality ingredients, nutritional value and great flavour. 1.1.6 Well Developed Corporate Strategy and Good Marketing skills. Weaknesses: 1.2.1 Lack of internal focus: Starbucks focuses too much on over-expansion, at times tending to ignore the problems arising withinconsistent employer dissatisfaction. The number of competitors: There are an ever increasing number of competitors that either mimic the Starbucks concept or try to get on par with its growth by providing the same line of products at a lesser price. Examples: Dotour Coffee, Tullys Japan, Mac Donalds. Self- cannibalisation: The strategy of over expansion has resulted in stores opened very close to each other, thus eating into the others sales. Product Pricing: Starbucks perceives itself as a premium gourmet coffee brand and bases its price on the quality of its beverages and in-store customer experience. Unfortunately, many competitors while offering a similar type of environment and lesser priced beverages are eating into Starbucks market share. 1.3 Opportunities: Flexible Tastes: Japanese consumers are influenced by western brands and have a fondness for them. They are open to new products and tastes and hence Japan is a viable market to test new products. New concepts can be concocted and brought out in the market at a faster pace, when compared to US or Europe. Thus those products that turn out to be popular and gain acceptance in the Japanese market can be introduced in the US market with positive expectations. For example, the Green Tea Frappuccino which was first introduced in Japan turned out to be a sensation and was thus launched in the United States too. (http://www.qsrmagazine.com/articles/news/story.phtml?id=4589). Thus, the flexible tastes of Japanese consumers give Starbucks an opportunity to develop new products and gain profits. Instant products: Starbucks recently launched its first premium soluble coffee stick product in Japan. About 60% of the total coffee sold in Japan is soluble. Hence Starbucks can capitalise on this aspect of Japans coffee market to enhance its sales through a variety of soluble ready to make coffee products. (http://news.starbucks.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=416) Diversifying its beverages: Starbucks is looking to sell regional wine and beer at its outlets in Seattle. It could introduce this concept in some of the Japanese stores as consuming western alcoholic brands is a trend among the Japanese clientele. (http://www.thestreet.com/story/10891284/starbucks-tests-alcohol-cheese-offerings.html . Growth opportunities: Though the overall market in Japan is nearing saturation, and Starbucks overexpansion in big cities has given it a lesser change at a steep growth, it could still expand to the less-saturated regions allowing it to exceed its growth potential. 1.4 Threats: 1.4.1 Cannibalisation: Starbucks extravagant growth and over expansion involves a risk of customer fatigue. Starbucks has introduced an array of new products and an increased product innovation lowers the sale of current products. Also with many stores opened close to one other, there is a risk of some stores facing loss. Thus, cannibalisation is a major threat as the coffee chain is reaching saturation in most of the big cities. 1.4.2 Dependency on raw materials The fluctuations in coffee and dairy prices are a potential threat for Starbucks. Starbucks is reliant on dairy and a rise in prices of the raw material could affect its profit margins. (Wikinvest, 2008). 1.4.3 Cultural differences: In USA, about 80% of Starbucks sales are takeout orders. In Japan 80% of consumers prefer to drink in the store outlets. Thus consumers preference to use the store atmosphere might turn out to be a threat to Starbucks plans of building a number of drive through outlets in Japan. (Chozick,2006). 1.4.4 Shrinking Disposable incomes. 1.4.5 Competition: Immediate competition from fast-food restaurants catching on the specialty coffee wave and developing products that competes with Starbucks. Tim Hortons -Nestle Dunkin Donuts McDonalds PESTLE ANALYSIS: Political Factors: Despite being far apart geographically, Japan USA have similar political structures. The Emperor is the head of the state, but the real power resides in the parliament and is mainly held by the Prime Minister.( House of Councillors, 2008). In USA, different states have the power to regulate businesses; whereas in Japan, regulations are laid down by the Diet and enforced throughout the country. This indicates that there are less complicated and less conflicting regulations to be concerned about when International businesses seek entry into the Japanese market. ( House of councillors, The constitution of Japan, as promulgated on November 3, 1946). (http://www.sangiin.go.jp/eng/law/index.htm) Economic Factors: Measured on a purchasing power parity basis, Japan is the 3rd largest economy in the world. But going by the official exchange rates, Japan would emerge as the 2nd largest economy, behind USA. Japan had a spectacular economical growth in the 1980s, however, growth slowed down considerably in the 1990s. Japan entered into recession in 2008, with 2009 marking a return to near 0% interest rates( CIA, as accessed on 24th oct,2010) with its GDP rising to 5.3%, when compared to 1.2% in 2008. Socio-cultural: Individuals from varied backgrounds are exposed to different traditions, rituals, customs and religions. All these factors provide human beings with various learning environments, which cause significant variations in standards, behaviour, attitudes and beliefs (David,1998). A comparison of the subsidiary parent countries is important for the success of a business seeking to expand in the foreign market, as this would lead to a better understanding of the local market. The Japanese as opposed to the Americans act more collectively and tend to be loyal to their respective groups. The Japanese often sacrifice their personal goals and ambitions to promote group interests. A low context society in USA shows that Americans are more direct in their communications and their messages are explicit. Whereas the Japanese use indirect ways to communicate and their voice intonation, timing and expressions play important roles in conveying information. (David, 1998) Technological: Technological factors greatly influence business strategies as they provide an opportunity to exploit innovations and inventions. Japan is one of the most technologically advanced countries in the world and ranks 18th on the list.(http://gpmgroup.info/2007/04/27/the-most-technologically-advanced-countries). Thus it is more convenient to introduce technologically driven customer service into the Japanese market. There is scope for incorporating the American system of internet ordering in to Japan with the intension of faster service. Starbucks is continuously searching for ways to better a customers experience. With the introduction of the Starbucks Card for example, the Company has created the opportunity to improve customer service, shorten lines and make a customers visit at Starbucks quicker and more convenient. Also, most stores are equipped with WI-FI. Legal: There are no significant legal factors to consider while entering the Japanese market. Though, Starbucks has chosen to enter through a joint venture with SAZABY Inc., a Japanese retailer and restaurateur, because of the peculiarities of the local market. By doing so, Starbucks has given itself a better chance of exploiting the market as SAZABY would have a better understanding of how the Japanese consumers viewed food and coffee.(http://www.docshare.com/doc/155323/Starbucks-global-expansion-strategy2) Porters Five Forces Competition Tullys Coffee, Gloria Jeans, Caribou Coffee etc. Competitors selling similar products, incl. specialty coffees high quality food. Competition nowhere in terms of volume of operations. Threat of new entrants Controlled access of distribution channels Innovation product differentiation Bargaining power of buyers More options due to no. of competitors. Large variety of products. Bargaining power of suppliers Overcrowding of market. Rise in prices of coffee beans. Choose suppliers based on quality, social, environmental economic issues Threat from substitutes Tea Soft drinks Juices Marketing Strategy to Enhance Profitability in the next 2 years: Segmentation: Segmentation is dividing the consumer market into distinct groups based on each individual groups wants, needs, preferences and behaviour. Starbucks is a company that embraces diversity, not limiting themselves to one specific demographic, behavioral, or geographic segment. Individuals appreciate how, regardless of any little difference, at Starbucks they are always treated as equals. (starbucks.com) Taking the demographic factor as the desired basis for segmentation: Gender: Sixty percent of Starbucks Japan market are woman customers in their 20s and 30s. (http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=20020819slug=starbucks19). Hence Starbucks should further penetrate the market by retaining the woman customer base and increasing its appeal amongst them by providing incentives in terms of products, ambience and experience. Age: Most of Starbucks customers are educated, working personnel who can afford the high prices of the products offered. Starbucks has a limited consumer base with females in the age group of 25-39 forming their major share of consumers.(http://www.euromonitor.com/Japan_a_nation_of_coffee_lovers). It should reach out to the younger and much older groups by introducing a line of nutritional beverages. Education Income: Starbucks genius was to redefine the meaning of affordability regarding coffee. Target consumers were identified with regards to their living environment, level of income and education. They were convinced to pay premium prices for the experience, service and quality they were getting. The company was able to capture the changing consumer behaviour since the 1980s: more out-of-home entertainment, more self- gratification from consumers towards a good movie, a good glass of wine and a good cup of coffee. By raising the perceived value of the product for the consumer, Starbucks was able to raise its prices while keeping the product affordable. Creating brand loyalty through quality and innovation was also an important factor in decreasing the price elasticity of this commodity product. Thus, Starbucks should maintain this strategy and look less towards price reduction and more towards quality enhancement, a characteristic that has helped it build its brand. Targeting: Starbucks should practice differentiated targeting as it should try and capture a more wider section of the society. As it has identified the female gender to be its major consumers, Starbucks should retain this market and further expand it by targeting the woman clientele and coming out with more products that appeal to them. Also in order that it recieves a larger share of the male consumers, it should try and blend with the Japanese culture and accept their preference for smoking in some stores. Starbucks has already established its image amongst the educated and high income society. But, it should go one step further by seperately targeting the younger generation who are bound to follow in the footsteps of their peers and elders. In order that it recieves more number of teenagers, it should try and develop an atmosphere within its stores in terms of products and store experience that would appeal to the teens. Product Positioning: Starbucks is listening to the needs of the educated by devoting its business and research to developing ways to cater to this groups wants and needs. In addition to further building on its product quality and in-store customer experience, Starbucks should make itself more accessible to a wide variety of people by opening several quick stop services that would cater to the new generation of coffee drinkers because college-age students and the general population are always in a rush with little time to spare. The quick stop services and kiosks will make the process of buying coffee easier by eliminating long lines and creating alternative ways to buy coffee faster and will avoid the prospect of impatient customers. Starbucks should position itself as a brand not reserved only for the premium, high income society, but as a quality store that reflects on the needs and wants of all. As most Japanese are health conscious, it should try and build an image which does not discourage the teens and older people from visiting its stores. By bringing out more food items that match the Japanese palate, it should position its brand image as An American taste induced with Japanese flavors. Using the Marketing Mix to assist the chosen growth strategy: 1. Product: Diversify the product line: The tradition of tea drinking in Japan has been prevalent from the early beginning. There are many varieties of tea, and some of them, especially Green tea can be bought anywhere. Tea has proved to be a popular drink for most Japanese because of its wide variety of tastes. Thus, by introducing a few select varieties of tea in its store outlets, it would touch at the roots of the consumers. It would directly be percieved as a renowned American brand that cares to accomodate the Japanese tastes. (http://azjatycka.wordpress.com/2009/11/05/international-marketing-strategy-of-starbucks-in-japan-success-or-a-failure/). The presence of soybean in Japanese dishes is indispensable. Its not only widely accepted as the staple ingredient in Japanese dishes,be it rice, curd or soup, but also has great nutritional value. It finds its place in Japanese breakfast, lunch and dinner. It contains a chemical, soy isoflavones, which when accumulated in the body, functions like the female sex hormone(estrogen), which in turn promotes bone formation. Hence it is considered useful for post-menopausal women whose estrogen levels are low. Also soy isoflavones has been found to reduce the risk of breast cancer by 40%.( http://www.mindfully.org/GE/2003/Kikkoman-Non-GM-Soy22jun03.htm). Since Starbucks has found its presence to be more popular among woman, it will only increase its appeal to them by introducing a variety of beverages and food items that contain soybean in its diet. It should also bring about innovations in its product line, making them more nutritious to consume, thus forwarding its appeal to the health c onscious society. Introduce a line of health drinks, fruit juices that would attract teenagers who percieve Starbucks as a high end store selling speciality coffee. The presence of flavored non-caffeine drinks would help capture the teen market. 2. Place: Diversify its stores: Many critics had expected Starbucks to fail because of its strict no-smoking policy within its stores. The general Japanese customer prefers to smoke with food and drinks. But this strategy attracted many young health concious women who then accounted for Starbucks majority sales.(http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=20020819slug=starbucks19). Although starbucks has so far managed to sustain its growth, competitors with a tolerance to smoking are providing good reason for its drop in sales in recent years. Hence,in order to attract a more varied clientele and improve profitability, Starbucks should make an exception in the case of Japan and introduce some stores that accept smoking; adapt to its culture. They could still stick to their rationality behind no-smoking environment to preserve the aromas flavors of the coffee beans(Starbucks website) by not allowing in-store smoking. Certain stores with a wider space facility could bring in open-air seating arrangemen ts. This way, those who wish to smoke can take a seat outside and enjoy a starbuck coffee. Another way would be to introduce balconies in some stores that have 2 or 3 storeys. Build on its in-store experience: Starbucks should build more in its store atmosphere rather focus on building drive-through outlets. In Japan 80% of the coffee consumers like to drink inside the store, while relishing the ambience.(chozick,2006). Although starbucks has an untarnished brand image, it should further build on its superior quality of store atmosphere in order to remain competitive and keep up sales. The hygiene of the stores, book readings, baby changing stations, sleek furniture and posh interiors are the key to its ability to provide a quality customer experience. Given that the majority of its customers are women and the Japanese love for the English language, it should transform certain sections of the store to accomodate a reading section that would comprise more of women oriented magazines and books that teach english. Choose a larger number of distribution units: Starbucks should improvise on its plan to introduce its instant coffee-starbucks VIA across convenience stores in Japan. It had announced the launch of its instant products in 11000 convenience and grocery stores in september. (http://www.finchannel.com/Main_News/Business/70201_Starbucks_VIA_Ready_Brew_Hits_Grocery_Aisles_Around_the_World/). By doing so, it has exposed its brand to the worlds largest instant coffee market. (http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE63C1NG20100413). Now the availabity of starbucks instant products is not limited only to its retail outlets. However, the presence of its competitors( Nestle and Kraft) in the instant coffee segment is more widespread and well established. Thus, it should try to capitalise on Japans $5 billion instant coffee market by providing its instant products to more number of distribution units and seal its presence. 3. Price: Prices of instant products: Starbucks should consider reducing the price of its instant products to enable higher sales. Starbucks is to sell a box of 3 VIA instant soluble sticks for 300 yen, which amounts to 100 yen per cup, and a box of 12 sticks for 1000 yen. When compared, its competitor Nescafe has a rival offering of 15 sticks for 300 yen. (http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE63C1NG20100413?pageNumber=2). Thus, there exists a wide price gap for its instant products and since Starbucks VIA will be occupying the same shelf space as Nescafe, Kraft etc., it would find it difficult to gain acceptance in the market. A customer would go up to the racks and find the rival offerings more viable. Hence, Starbucks should look to cut down its prices on instant products. It can afford to do so without the risk of diluting the brand image built on high end coffee, as the instant coffee would come without the experience of physically being in the store. Prices of in-store products: Starbucks prices of in-store products are higher when compared to its competitors. It is looking to further raise the prices of some 20 beverages and 5 coffee bean products. (http://www.japantoday.com/category/business/view/starbucks-japan-to-raise-coffee-prices). It should retain this pricing strategy as it differentiates itself from its competitors by providing an excellent quality customer experience. Also most of its outlets are located on expensive pieces of real estate in centralized, busy areas of Japan. 4. Promotion: Cultural Entertainment campaigns: Starbucks should come out with various cultural and entertainment campaigns to attract the Japanese youth, a segment of the society it has still not managed to woo successfully. Conclusion Starbucks is ahead of the rest in the Japanese coffee market, but there is still room for improvement. A decentralised structure accompanied with a mixed global strategy has helped the company to find a balance between reaching economies of scales and responding to the local market. By establishing a joint venture with local retail chain Sazaby Inc., it has reduced their risks of being unfamiliar with the market; and Starbucks has successfully gained the knowledge and channels of distribution from its partner. Starbucks strong brand image and customer loyalty has contributed to their maintaining a leading position in this market. By diversifying its target consumers and innovating its product line, it should be able to further strengthen its market share.

Mathematics of Telescopes :: Math

Missing Figures A Brief History of Telescopes Although telescopes has been around for several hundreds of years, there has been great discrepancy as to who invented it first. Here is one authors opinion. Lippershey was a Dutch spectacle marker during the early 17th century (approximately 1600). He was one of the first who created the "looker" (now called telescope) by placing two pieces of lenses together. The discovery that placing lenses together can magnify images were made by children who took Lippershey's spectacles and looked at a distant church tower. One of the most influential scientist associated with the telescope has to be Galileo. He took the design and reinvented the telescope into one of the first refractive telescopes we use to this day. Galileo used this great invention to report astronomical facts such as the moon is cover with craters instead of being smooth, the Milky Way is composed of millions of stars, and Jupiter have four moons. Perhaps the most famous discovery is the Earth revolves around the Sun and the Earth is not the center of the universe (even though he was discredited at the time). Newton was also involved with telescopes. After his growing interest with light bending, he applied his knowledge of the reflecting and refracting properties of light and invented the first reflective telescopes. Newton's reflective telescopes vastly improve the clarity of images as well as escaping from chromatic abberration. In order to fully understand the concepts and ideas of how a telescopes work, some knowledge of simple optics are required. Some Simple Optics Refraction Refraction occurs when light travels from one medium crosses a boundary and enters another medium of different properties. For example, light traveling from air to water. The amount of refraction (or bending) can be calculated using Snell's Law. Refractor How Refractor Telescopes Work The principle behind the refractive telescopes is the use of two glass lenses (objective lens and eyepiece lens) to gather and bend parallel light rays in a certain way so that the image fits the size of the eye's pupil. Light rays is gather through the opening of the telescope called the aperture and passes through the objective lens and refracts onto a single point called the focal point. From there the light rays continue the same direction until it hits the eyepiece lens which also refract the light back into parallel rays. During the process, the image that enters our eyes is actually reverse of the original image and magnified because the size in which we preceive the image. Mathematics of Telescopes :: Math Missing Figures A Brief History of Telescopes Although telescopes has been around for several hundreds of years, there has been great discrepancy as to who invented it first. Here is one authors opinion. Lippershey was a Dutch spectacle marker during the early 17th century (approximately 1600). He was one of the first who created the "looker" (now called telescope) by placing two pieces of lenses together. The discovery that placing lenses together can magnify images were made by children who took Lippershey's spectacles and looked at a distant church tower. One of the most influential scientist associated with the telescope has to be Galileo. He took the design and reinvented the telescope into one of the first refractive telescopes we use to this day. Galileo used this great invention to report astronomical facts such as the moon is cover with craters instead of being smooth, the Milky Way is composed of millions of stars, and Jupiter have four moons. Perhaps the most famous discovery is the Earth revolves around the Sun and the Earth is not the center of the universe (even though he was discredited at the time). Newton was also involved with telescopes. After his growing interest with light bending, he applied his knowledge of the reflecting and refracting properties of light and invented the first reflective telescopes. Newton's reflective telescopes vastly improve the clarity of images as well as escaping from chromatic abberration. In order to fully understand the concepts and ideas of how a telescopes work, some knowledge of simple optics are required. Some Simple Optics Refraction Refraction occurs when light travels from one medium crosses a boundary and enters another medium of different properties. For example, light traveling from air to water. The amount of refraction (or bending) can be calculated using Snell's Law. Refractor How Refractor Telescopes Work The principle behind the refractive telescopes is the use of two glass lenses (objective lens and eyepiece lens) to gather and bend parallel light rays in a certain way so that the image fits the size of the eye's pupil. Light rays is gather through the opening of the telescope called the aperture and passes through the objective lens and refracts onto a single point called the focal point. From there the light rays continue the same direction until it hits the eyepiece lens which also refract the light back into parallel rays. During the process, the image that enters our eyes is actually reverse of the original image and magnified because the size in which we preceive the image.

Enhancing Parental Participation within the NICU :: Health, Family Center Care

Family centred care (FCC) encompasses the concept of parental participation in their infants care (Franck and Callery 2004). It aims to place the needs of the infant in the context of the family (Saunders et al 2003). FCC is adopted within many neonatal units and is considered the gold standard of care aiming to underpin and guide neonatal care towards the partnership between health professionals and parents (Hutchfield 1999). Subsequent to the interruption of the bonding process between infant and family when a baby is admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) it is suggested that the NICU provides an ideal opportunity for FCC practice (Allerman Beck et al 2009) as nurses and parents are compelled to develop an effective relationship in order to satisfy the infants care needs (Reis et al 2009). However a study by Higman & Shaw (2008) found that it appears to be more difficult to achieve on the neonatal unit as FCC is reliant on the family’s relationship with the chi ld. In order to deliver effective FCC neonatal nurses need an understanding of parents needs and how to address them. Mundy (2010) in a study researching the assessment of family needs in neonatal Intensive Care Units found that assumptions of parent’s needs were often made by healthcare professional’s resulting in unfounded and inappropriate conclusions. The importance of treating each family as individual is paramount when assessing how best to involve parents in the care of their infants (Higman & Shaw 2008). Review of the literature shows a lack of research into these assessments and highlights that enhancing family centred care requires appropriate assessments of family needs and the incorporation of this into individualised plans of care. A study into nurse’s perceptions about the delivery of FCC by Higman and Shaw (2010) supports this view, throughout the study it is apparent that although nurses realise the importance of FCC it is not always consistent within their own practice. Peterson et al (2004) suggests reasons for these inconsistencies could be the deficiency of adequate training and, the stress implementing FCC can impose on nursing staff due to an already demanding workload, potentially creating negative attitudes towards the relevance and practicalities of its delivery. The consensus view of FCC is positive although limitations to its execution are manifested throughout the literature. Staff shortages are suggested to hinder the performance of FCC within the clinical area, creating time constraints with nurses having very little opportunity to build good relationships with the families (Higman and Shaw 2008).

Louisbourg Report :: essays research papers

The Fortress Of Louisbourg   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In all of North America, you will not find a more power fortress than Louisbourg. It was said to be indestructible, but was proven otherwise on a number of occasions. Established in 1713 and located on Northern Cape Breton Island, Louisbourg was not only a fortress but a major commercial center as well. Louisbourg was originally known as Port St. Louis, and its main purpose was protecting Quebec and Montreal by guarding the entrance to the St. Lawrence River against hostile ships. The other main job for Louisbourg was serving as a base for the cod fishing industry. French fishing ships could come to Louisbourg to unload their catch instead of taking it all the way back to France. This arrangement saved time and money and allowed the ships to catch more fish in a season, since they didn’t have to make the long trip back to France with each load. However, Louisbourg was also sending out raiding parties to attack New England villages along the coast. The New Englanders soon heard of the mutiny at Louisbourg, so the villages decided to fight back against this threat. In 1745, 4000 New Englanders, along with the Royal Navy, launched an attack against the fortress, but Louisbourg didn’t think them of as a threat. Louisbourg thought that the New Englanders wou ld not be able to launch a serious attack with any kind of heavy artillery, since they attacked the weak rear side, travelling over marshy, wooded areas to reach the fort. The people of Louisbourg were wrong, however, as the New Englanders did indeed manage to bring in artillery over the marshy terrain. Had Louisbourg attacked the New Englanders now with their entire garrison, the English may very well have turned and ran, but they chose to attack from within their walls with only muskets. This allowed the English to pound the fort with their cannons, as well as exchange musket fire with the French. Since the Royal Navy prevented the bringing in of supplies and reinforcements, Louisbourg was soon forced to surrender to the New Englanders, who banished the French back to France.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The War of the Austrian Succession, which began in 1940 in Europe, ended in 1948 with the signing of the Treaty of Aix-La-Chapelle. As part of this treaty, Cape Breton Island, along with Louisbourg, is returned to France, outraging the New Englanders who fought so hard to take it just 3 years earlier.

What Is Your Definition of Leadership?

In my opinion, leadership is the ability to inspire and motivate people enough for them to be willing to participate and get involved towards the achievement of a common goal. I see leadership as a process which can be improved over time and experience, but only by someone who has some innate leadership competences. In determining what leadership means to me, I decided to analyse two different leadership cases. I will firstly discuss and analyse Nelson Mandela’s leadership style, which appeared to be mainly transformational.I will try to demonstrate how Nelson Mandela proved that leadership was a two-way process between the leader and his followers, and how crucial it is for a leader to be respected and admired by his followers in order for him to be effective. In addition, a leader needs to be trustworthy, passionate and devoted to achieving a shared objective. More importantly, a good leader will abandon his subordinates once he achieved a personal goal. Throughout this essa y, I will try to support my opinion being that, efficient leadership lies somewhere in between the trait and the style approaches whilst taking into account the situational approach.In my opinion, not everyone can be a leader, but if someone is meant to be one, leadership skills need to be learned and improved over time and adapted according to different situations. If not born a leader, one can only become one to a certain and limited extent, as we will see in Barack Obama’s case. President Obama first started as an acknowledged inspirational and passionate leader, who people admired, respected and wanted to join. However, a few years after his election, it seems like his glory days are behind him, and that he isn’t the leader he used to be anymore.It might appear that once he was elected president, and his personal goal has been achieved, Obama didn’t fight as hard for his subordinates as he did for his personal satisfaction. His lack of communication and insp irational speeches seem to have considerably damaged his reputation as a leader. It appears that Obama gave Americans too high hopes that he wasn’t able to keep up with and fulfil, creating a wave of disappointment among his supporters. It seems to me that Barack Obama was a great leader throughout his campaign, but that once elected, he was lacking some crucial leadership skills required as a President.In fact, one could argue that he wasn’t born a leader. In contrast to Nelson Mandela, he was only able to be a leader to a certain extent, his apogee being during his presidential campaign. By fighting vigorously against apartheid, Nelson Mandela rapidly became an iconic figure of resistance in South Africa, and was thereafter acknowledged as the most significant black leader South Africa had ever known. He devoted his life to fighting against racism and apartheid in South Africa and for peace.However his life objectives were not personal satisfactions, but satisfaction s of his supporters. He fought for their freedom and well-being before fighting for his own. In fact, he never compromised his political position even to regain his freedom. He could have backed down after being released from the Robben Island prison in 1990 (after 27 years of cruel imprisonment), after being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 or even after becoming president in 1994. Yet he didn’t, and continued to fight for his people’s freedom and rights.Nelson Mandela has always demonstrated some legendary listening skills which are essential to being an efficient democratic leader. Indeed, he learned at a very young age from his guardian how listening to others was a vital skill in effective leadership. In fact, his guardian used to listen to everyone’s opinions first while remaining silent, before guiding the group to reach a consensus (Stengel, 1994). Therefore, one could argue that Mandela’s effective democratic or participative leadership styl e was greatly inspired by his childhood experience.Throughout his life as a leader, Nelson Mandela always encouraged people to share their ideas and opinions, to which he carefully listened before making the final decision. This way, he managed to get people to be more engaged and devoted to a particular cause, leading to higher productivity towards their goals’ achievement (Lewin, K. , Liippit, R. and White, R. K. 1939). Moreover, by entering the debate and being the last one to speak, he also gains a considerable advantage, as he is the one to close the argument.He also cultivated other leadership skills through his personal experience of being a cattle herder: â€Å"When you want to get a herd to move in a certain direction, you stand at the back with a stick. Then a few of the more energetic cattle move to the front and the rest of the cattle follow. You are really guiding them from behind. That is how a leader should do his work† (Stengel, 1994, Nelson Mandela: Th e making of a leader, Time Magazine, May 9th 1994). Thus, even before being in any position of leadership, Nelson Mandela revealed himself as a born leader.We can consequently assume that the Traits approach is relevant to efficient leadership. Indeed, Mandela seems to have been â€Å"born† with some essential traits that characterize a leader. Known as the â€Å"main-man† in South Africa, he was charismatic, influential, sociable, intelligent, alert, persistent, responsible, self-confident, and ready to assume the consequences of his decisions, as he did by going to jail. Thus Mandela innate leadership style clearly corresponds to Stogdill’s characteristics of the Traits approach (Stogdill, 1948).Moreover, Nelson Mandela was also widely accepted as a transformational leader, as he was able to inspire and motivate his supporters to work towards a common goal through the power and persuasiveness of his vision and personality. He strongly engaged with his follower s, and made them aware of what achieving a particular goal meant (Barbuto, 2005; Barnett, McCormick & Conners, 2001; Gellis, 2001). As James MacGregor Burns (1978) firstly introduced it, transformational leadership is when â€Å"leaders and followers maker each other to advance to a higher level of moral and motivation. † In addition, according to Bernard M.Bass’s Transformational Leadership Theory (1985), transformational leaders are trusted, respected and admired by their followers. Thus, as Nelson Mandela clearly gathered trust, respect and admiration among his supporters, we can say that his leadership style also corresponded to the transformational one. In fact, Nelson Mandela didn’t sharpen his leadership skills from anywhere, he was a natural leader and his skills came intuitively. He was born a leader and refined his skills with the personal experiences he gained over the years, which enabled him to effectively adapt to various situations.He strongly bel ieved in consensus and knew how to empower his subordinates and motivate them to achieving a common objective. His legendary success as a leader was also mainly due to the fact that he was seen as approachable compassionate and honest. Yet, he was undeniably respected and admired for his courage, his wisdom and his determination. On the other hand, Barack Obama, whose presidential campaign aroused unrecorded enthusiasm, hope and inspiration, seems to have unexpectedly disappointed his followers once elected President of the United States of America.Indeed, during his campaign, Barack Obama astonished everyone with his unpredicted inspirational, passionate and enthusiastic speeches. Who doesn’t remember his â€Å"Yes we can† speech given in New Hampshire in 2008? At the time, it seemed like Obama had all it took to be a great leader, he had a strong charisma, was motivated, inspired and seeking to achieve a common goal, thus showing many aspects of a Transformational as well as Charismatic leader. However, soon after his election, his supporters found themselves disillusioned by their President’s leadership skills.They felt like his motivation and enthusiasm had faded away, and that he wasn’t the inspirational leader he used to be. Obama was effective as a leader during his campaign, at one place and time, but became unsuccessful as soon as the situation and the factors around him changed, due to his rigidity and inability to adapt to contextual changes. Thus, Obama can clearly be related to Fiedler’s Contingency theory, as he became ineffective as soon as the factors around him changed.Unlike Nelson Mandela, Barack Obama seems to be more of an educated leader, who cultivated most of his leadership skills from Columbia and Harvard universities, therefore embracing the style approach which suggests that his behaviour of leader is distinct from his personality. In fact, Obama never appeared as a â€Å"born† leader, with i nnate leadership skills, and had no particular leadership experience, when he became President. Critics of Barack Obama emphasize the fact that his lack of leadership has already been demonstrated in various scenarios.Most of his supporters criticize his lack of communication and his â€Å"invisibility†. They feel somehow deserted and let down by the man who not long ago, aroused their highest hopes. Even the Democrats now acknowledge his lack of presence â€Å"Dems say privately Obama is invisible, not a leader. † (Joe Scarborough, 2011). One would have thought that Barack Obama’s leadership skills would have had improved as he gained in experience as a President, yet it looks like his apogee as a leader what during his campaign and that since then the leadership part of him is disappearing.In fact, Barack Obama brought only a few, if any, leadership skills into his presidency, and has deceivingly developed none after almost 3 years of experience (Kelly OConnel l, 2011). As a President, Obama has espoused a delegating and passive leadership style, which wasn’t the best style to adopt in a period of deep crisis, when perseverance and prompt decision-making skills were required, thus clearly lacking some situational leadership skills (David Brooks, 2011). Barack Obama consequently appeared as the wrong man for the situation, and not the erson America needed, due to his lack of toughness, imagination and determination. The Presidential candidate who was known for his grand enthusiasm and his passion seems to have vanished to make room to a President who got overwhelmed by his job and ran out of ideas shortly after taking office (David Frum, 2011; David Brooks, 2011). It became vague in Obama’s supporters’ minds whether he was the â€Å"turnaround leader† America needed or not (Michael Watkins, Thursday January 22, 2009, â€Å"Can Obama lead the Great American Turnaround? Harvard business review). According to Mich ael Watkins, Obama demonstrated more Steward Attributes than Hero Attributes, which were vital considering the depth of the crisis. Undoubtedly, President Obama was more conservative, diplomatic and supportive than visionary, directive and charismatic. To conclude, we can say that the difference between Nelson Mandela’s and Barack Obama’s leadership style is striking.Nelson Mandela, can be acknowledged as a â€Å"born† leader who improved his leadership skills throughout his experience as a country’s leader, whereas Barack Obama tends to be more of an â€Å"educated† leader, who couldn’t keep up with his status’ expectations. One was able to adapt to situational changes and prove himself as a true leader fighting for his people when the other disappointed his followers by suddenly disappearing through a lack of communication and perseverance to achieve the set common goals, thus generating a common feeling of abandonment.In my opinion , these two cases reinforce my proposition of a leader’s definition, as we clearly saw that leadership skills should be innate and improved through time to make an effective leader. Moreover, by observing Mandela’s and Obama’s leadership cases, we saw how an efficient leader must constantly motivate and inspire his followers to achieving a common objective that should be kept in mind and should remain the main focus of the leader as well as the followers.Clearly, without the support of his followers, a leader cannot achieve anything. Thus, as I suggested it, leadership is a two-way process in which the nurture of relationships between the two parties is essential, as recognized by Peter Northouse (2010). References: Barbuto, 2005; Barnett, McCormick & Conners, 2001; Gellis, 2001 Bass,B. M,(1985). Leadership and Performance. N. Y,: Free Press Brooks, David (June 28, 2011), Convener in Chief, The New York Times, N. Y edition pA23. Burns, J. M. (1978). Leadership. N. Y: Harper and Raw.Fiedler, F. E. (1967) A Theory of Leadership Effectiveness, New York: McGraw-Hill Frum, David (June 28th 2011), Obama is his own worst Enemy, http://www. frumforum. com/obama-is-his-own-worst-enemy, accessed the 07/01/12 Lewin, K. , Liippit, R. and White, R. K. (1939). Patterns of aggressive behavior in experimentally created social climates. Journal of Social Psychology, 10, 271-301 Northouse, P. G. (2010), Leadership: theory and practice (5th edition) Thousand Oaks, Sage. OConnell, Kelly, Sunday, July 31, 2011 , www. canadafreepress. om â€Å"obama’s leadership style is classic liberalism: no vision+ utter incompetence = total failure† accessed the 05/01/12 Stengel, 1994, Nelson Mandela: The making of a leader, Time Magazine, May 9th 1994 Stogdill, R. M. , 1948. â€Å"Personal factors associated with leadership: A survey of the literature. † Journal of Psychology. 25: 35-71. Watkins, Michael (Thursday January 22nd, 2009), â€Å"Can Obama lead the Great American Turnaround? † Harvard business review, http://blogs. hbr. org/watkins/2009/01/the_great_american_turnaround. html, accessed the 07/02/12