Monday, September 30, 2019

Best Place To Live

Where is the best place to grow up and why? We can easily become biased and unwaveringly think the U. S. , but what do we really know about different countries and their cultures, or how they affect us developmentally? There are many factors to take into consideration such as life expectancy, standard of living, and education. That is why Sweden is ranked number one on the Children’s Index ranking, making the country the best place to grow up! Children in Sweden are among the few in the world who are safe from abuse as they are well protected by the law from slapping, smacking, pinching, hair-pulling, whipping, or any form of abuse.It is considered a criminal offense to beat a child. By comparison, in the United States alone, by the time a child is 2 years old, nine in ten parents have engaged in some sort of abuse and more than half of parents have slapped or spanked their children and one-third of parents have pushed, grabbed or shoved their children (US Department of Health and Human Services, 2011). These forms of abuse have a great impact on children as abused children show a high incidence of personal and social problems, low performance levels in school and low self-esteem.Typically, abused children are less attached to their parents, less intimate with friends, tend to withdraw and have the tendencies to become more aggressive and angry (Moylan et al. , 2010). Later on, they are at a greater risk for delinquency, risky sexual behavior and substance abuse (Sousa et al. , 2011). Swedish law ensures that children are protected and their rights are defended. These laws help to minimize and decrease the number of abused children, protecting them not only physically, but mentally and developmentally. Sweden uses some of its tax money to make sure children are looked after properly.As with most families, both parents work and children are in day care. In Sweden, day care is free and each set of parents receive 480 days of paid parental leave per child t o stay home with their children until the age of 8! This offers a two- fold advantage for both parents and children. Studies have reported several positive aspects of day care. Some studies show that children in day care are more social, tend to share their toys, display self-confidence and are more outgoing. Results also conclude that children in day care score higher in cognitive skills than those who are at home.(Belsky et al. ,2007).There are some limitations within these case studies but the fact remains that many families need to place their children in day care which can be very costly. Providing paid parental leave also gives parents the opportunity to stay home with their children to continue the emotional bond while establishing secure attachment. Most parental leave is taken by mothers, but fathers are spending an increasing amount of time at home with their children. The more sensitive the father is to the child, the stronger the attachment. (Lucassen et al. , 2011).From preschool onwards, children are encouraged to think independently and the Swedish tradition of preschool emphasizes the importance of play in a child’s development and learning. At preschool the emphasis is on play. In many countries, including the US and the UK, there is a drive towards setting goals and assessing the progress of preschoolers but the Swedish system focuses more on basic values such as playing together and consideration for others. Play helps children develop motor skills and coordination. It also contributes to social development as children learn to share, take turns, and begin to engage in creative play.Piaget identified different kinds of play, characterized by cognitive complexity to include functional play, symbolic play, constructive play, and formal games (Rathus, 162). The preschool in Sweden not only holds to play in education but also to fantasy and creativity. The quality of pretend play is connected with preschoolers’ academic performance later on, and their social skills (Russ, 2006 Stagnitti st al. , 2000). Exercise is vital to a child’s development and reduces the risk of heart disease, stroke and diabetes.Physically active children have a better self- esteem and coping mechanisms yet most children in the U. S. are not physically fit. Keeping fit and enjoying the great outdoors are very much part of Swedish culture and schools shut for a week’s â€Å"sports vacation† in February each year, when many families head north to ski as children play outside at every opportunity, even in the depths of winter. Children being protect, enjoying good health, free education, and an active social life contribute to Sweden finishing first in The Children’s’ Well- Being Index and convince me that Sweden is the best place to grow up.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Advantages and Disadvantages of Artificial Intelligence Essay

Human intelligence involves many skills such as problem solving, decision making, learning understanding and reflex actions. Many experts in AI have dreamt of creating machines that can imitate our human intelligence. This has led to many possibilities; however, the field of AI has to be understood from both sides of the coin. On the one hand, artificial intelligence has allowed the design of applications that can explore every part of the world that the human cannot visit. For example, in the field of space exploration, artificial intelligence’s machines explore universe parts that are totally hostile to human beings. Intelligent robots are programmed to excavation mining of fuel. These machines can also measure the depth of the oceans. Some of these sophisticated machines have replaced human beings in many fields that require manpower, time and money. Often, these tasks are harmful to humans and therefore programmed robots save people’s health in a big way. On the other hand, the establishment of ethics, moral values and standards is difficult when humans are dominated by machines. Any amount of automation cannot create intelligence; it is only a human feature. No machine can show dedication or emotion s at work and we as human beings cannot live in a world that is only surrounded by machines. For example, in hospitality industry, robots cannot replace the care or concern shown by the hospital staff. Therefore, beyond a point, the capabilities of lateral thinking can probably get delayed if the daily tasks are just made for power cycle machines. Thanks to artificial intelligence, it is possible that a machine can develop areas of knowledge very specific and complicated; making the machine can simulate processes which man performs. But we can highlight that it is not achieved yet a machine that can thing like a human. Indeed, this limitation is the fact that human beings are irreplaceable because human beings have an  own feature: common sense.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Ophelia is very happy Essay

The Nunnery scene in the Gibson version occurs in a large open hallway or court, Claudius and Polonius observe from a balcony above, giving a slight suspenseful atmosphere with the thoughts of the crowd wondering if Hamlet will discover them or whether he knows they are there already. Ophelia is stood clutching some belongings and she tries to be very kind and considerate to Hamlet, and Hamlet seems to be acting strange towards her, but not nasty or violent at this stage, just a little preoccupied with his emotions and trying to demonstrate his antic disposition. Hamlet begins to speak with Ophelia quite strangely, with a very jumpy attitude, grabbing her and then pushing her away. Ophelia has obvious love for Hamlet yet she fears him because of his apparent madness. Hamlet sees the shadows of Claudius and Polonius, and suddenly has a more serious, less playful tone with her. He asks where her father is, and she replies with a lie, telling him he is at home. This is an obvious turning point for Hamlet as he suddenly becomes quite enraged, and is quite aggressive with Ophelia, pushing her and shouting loudly, as he makes his exit with an insult, declaring â€Å"I say, we will have no more marriages. Those that are married already, all but one, shall live; the rest shall keep as they are. † To me this scene is very successful in conveying all four of the characters thoughts, emotions and feelings for each other. Hamlet is busy plotting and scheming in his mind, yet becomes emotionally wounded by the fact Ophelia lies to him and betrays him to his enemy. Ophelia is torn between her father and her love for Hamlet, and when he tries to show his antic disposition to her, with the tense atmosphere increasing it becomes very apparent that she is doubting whether he loves her at all anymore. Claudius and Polonius both show slight emotion on their faces, seeming surprised at some of Hamlets strange and slightly insane reactions to Ophelia. In the Brannagh version, the scene takes place directly after the soliloquy as Shakespeare intended, and there are very high emotions between the two who obviously love each other strongly, with much hugging and kissing to start with. Also the atmosphere from the soliloquy scene is still in the air. Ophelia is very happy, and Claudius and Polonius observe from behind a mirror, quite inanimately. There is an obvious turn in Hamlets behaviour when she offers him the gifts back. He slaps them to the floor and begins to shout at her, then quite violently grabs her and drags her over to the mirrors in the hall where he one by one starts opening them looking for a spy, ranting and raving in quite an insane manner. He gets to the mirror where Claudius and Polonius are sat and presses Ophelia against it, and the audience are left unaware as to if Hamlet is aware of their presence or simply a suspicion or is completely oblivious, either way the mirror plays a role in this, Hamlet pressing her against it shows he is trying to make her look at herself and at her life, as he has been doing. He finishes his rant, then proceeds through the mirror to an empty room as Claudius and Polonius have already fled. This scene also has a lot of tension, with quick flying emotions and sudden changes of attitude toward one another. It is successful at showing Hamlets antic disposition to the audience, and makes Claudius and Polonius aware of his state. Also, it is apparent that Ophelia begins to doubt whether Hamlet really loves her or not, and allows the audience to really feel the raw emotions felt by each of the characters. In the Hawke version the scene takes place in Hamlets apartment, where Ophelia sits at a table with some gifts. They talk quite unemotionally in a laid back manner, Hamlet offers her a beer e. t. c. They begin to talk and they get quite emotional, or lustful, and begin kissing and groping in a sexual manner, and Hamlet opens her top and finds a wire which Ophelia seemed to have forgotten about in the heat and passion of the moment. Hamlet is angered and begins to shout, Ophelia is evidently distressed, Hamlet is quite aware that Claudius and Polonius are listening and shouts down the microphone, making it apparent to the audience that Hamlet feels distraught and betrayed. With his anger there is an obvious disappointment in his feelings as he believes that Ophelia loves him but she lied to him which saddens him greatly. The decision to play out this scene in a modern apartment is an innovative idea, and will appeal to a modern audience, but like the other scene it lacks the atmosphere, it leaves out a lot of the raw, heartfelt emotions which are conveyed much better by traditional settings and acting. Also, this version seems to focus on Hamlets depression, rather than on his humanity and contemplative states of mind, which again will relate to a modern audience more, but lacks a lot of his true character. Overall I think the three approaches were very well thought out and planned, and the use of language, settings and re-arranging the scenes worked well in all three versions, but overall I am more of a fan of the Zefferelli version, perhaps due to Gibson’s excellent portrayal of Hamlet as an unstable man with too much to deal with, but I felt he could get the emotional value the audience needs to really feel Hamlets character. Brannagh’s version also was very successful at conveying the emotional state of hamlet, but somewhat lacked the antic disposition part, which helps make Hamlet. The Hawke version was also very successful, but I feel it was trying to please the modern day audience rather than produce a really good Hamlet play, focusing on a depressing point, lacking the insane, raw emotional value the other versions succeeded in conveying.

Friday, September 27, 2019

End of Isolation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

End of Isolation - Essay Example Dorn and McClellan state in their work that society consisting of human beings has experienced numerous changes due to technology (McClellan, 1999, p.276). Changes in technology has even assisted America in several ways and has resulted in eliminating America’s social isolation, elevating economic growth, assisting in strategizing the military section and uniting the American people mentally and physically. Body The gap between the citizens of America has decreased due to increase in technological advancements since 1865. The new advancements have made various changes, these advancements have helped: in making research and development an easier task, sharing information and education, socializing with other and changed complex tasks into simple ones. These changes have assisted US in transferring and receiving information in both oral and written format. One of the major technological advancements experienced since 1875 was the creation of telephone by Alexander Graham Bell, t his advancement was made as Graham Bell was quite motivated by the providing education to the deaf (Keenan, 2001, p.51). Other advancements that came to the forefront were the introduction of machines used to increase productivity, vehicles used for transportation of mass quantity of resources, and the typewriter. These advancements led to the research and development of much sophisticated technologies. The people of the United States were divided and had a conflict with each other during the period of Reconstruction. The American citizens were focused on and were very concerned about the disastrous effects of the Civil and the political wars that were being experienced by the nation during that era. The difference of opinion among the citizens and the wish to learn new things resulted in higher desire for technological advancements. During this period, the citizens felt the need for technology that could help them in moving from one end to another and to communicate their views to others. These needs led to the development of railroads and telegram during the 19th century, railroads accomplished the need for traveling and telegram led to the accomplishment of the need for communication (Bowles, 2011, p.47). During the period of the 1900s technological advancements were slow in speed to happen as compared to the technological advancements experienced by the Americans today. Technological advancements have even aided the students of America in gaining diverse amount of information and learn things in a better manner. Before computers came into existence, people in America were restricted to their libraries and educators for information purpose. Today, American students use internet and online sources to obtain information and with the aid of this information they develop themselves and gain acceptability throughout the world in different organizations. Politicians and people representing political arena use the means of technology to gain popularity in order to get elected in the higher rankings of the political arena. These advancements are used by interest groups and political personalities to change the perception of the citizens of the citizens and to gain support for the enactment of new practices and regulations. The telegram has been replaced by digital technology such as the mobile phones. The digital technolo0gy has been used by the President Obama, he used email to obtain support for his plan of generating economic growth

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Merit Award Application Scholarship Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Merit Award Application - Scholarship Essay Example The National Society of Collegiate Scholars is the only honor’s society in the U.S. that recognizes outstanding academic achievement among first and second year students (Illinoisstate). The NSCS can serve as a launching point for a student’s future academic career by providing a wide array of opportunities for campus student involvement, community service and encouraging student members to become involved in their communities and become leaders in their communities. By becoming a member of the NSCS it demonstrates an individual’s drive for outstanding achievement and personal excellence. Being an active member provides the opportunity learn and grow professionally and personally by being able to share concepts, ideas and visions on how to improve our communities future through community involvement and developing our community and local economy. The scholarship opportunities are an additional benefit of joining the NSCS.

Operation Barbarossa Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Operation Barbarossa - Essay Example Role of HUMNIT in the Plan Bodyguard Through Plan Bodyguard, the Allied Forces had acquired a deception plan that could support their invasion of Normandy. The human intelligence was applied in execution of this plan in inducing the Germans to make planned and strategic faulty dispositions before the onset of Operation Anvil and Overload. The human intelligent was important in making the Germans confused, hence causing them to misallocate their resources into territories that encountered little threat of attacks form allied forces. Under the bodyguard, the operations were divided into three distinctive sub-groups, the Zeppelin, Fortitude North and South respectively. Application of Signal Intelligence in execution of Plan Bodyguard Signal intelligence in Plan Bodyguard was vital in masking the Operation Overload. Through signal intelligence, the Allies located strategic bombing sites that helped champion their strategic bombing campaign. The Allied used signal intelligence to acquire stories that they could sell through their acquired diplomatic leaks. In an instance of that magnitude, they announced about the planned Soviet attack backed by the Allied Forces. This intelligence confused the German forces, as this coincided with their dates of attack against the Allied Forces. Balancing secrecy and openness in a democracy In the United States, many challenges have been encountered in balancing secrecy and openness in line with democracy. According to the general US perception, deceit is detestable in all activities.

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

MPH502-Introduction to Public Health (Module 3 CBT) Essay

MPH502-Introduction to Public Health (Module 3 CBT) - Essay Example Right from the early days of industrial revolution, substantial portions of rural population together with migrants coming in search of work from other countries flocked to cities and towns that resulted in overcrowding, slum conditions and squalor with the associated problems of garbage, sewage, pollution and unclean drinking water that had negative impact on public health. Citizens quite rightly veered round to the opinion that control of diseases and maintenance of public health should fall in the public domain of governmental responsibility and there should be relevant laws and regulations that would ensure each citizen gets the chance to lead a healthy life with government being responsible to provide all the necessary amenities and maintain decent standards of public health. Governments of both industrialized and developing countries have since then passed numerous legislations in this regard and public health is quite rightly now firmly entrenched in the domain of public autho rity and public administration. Neither the governments nor the citizens deny that the primary responsibility of public health rests with the government of the country. Public health professionals quite obviously desire that there should be progressively larger allocation of funds towards prevention of diseases rather than fighting them when they threaten to go out of hand and become a matter of serious concern. Prevention, as the saying goes, is always better than cure. But in the political climate prevailing in late and middle 1990s it was becoming increasingly difficult for public health professionals to emphasize the importance of prevention as some of the law makers were of the opinion that the threat to public health was made to look more sinister than it actually was. Though there might be some instances of such overdrive, one agrees wholeheartedly with the author’s concern about prevention of a disease before it snowballs into a public health crisis. (Gostin L. O.,

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

The Practical and Legal Dangers of Involuntary Outpatient Commitment Research Paper

The Practical and Legal Dangers of Involuntary Outpatient Commitment for Patients with Mental Illness - Research Paper Example Such threats are practical and legal tough because they may be involuntary. In addition, outpatient commitment can hinder offering voluntary services and discourage people from using mental health care services. When people fear to acquire services from mental health care centers, stigma precedes. Therefore, it is necessary to develop legal ways of handling this issue other than the voluntary therapeutic models (Levkowitch, Weiser, Levy and Neumann, 2001). Objectives This paper aims at analyzing practical and legal dangers associated with involuntary outpatient commitment. This is important because of the dangers and stigma that are associated with individuals diagnosed with mental illness. Therefore, this paper will attempt to scrutinize this in details and identify the practical and legal actions to be done, so that these issues are dealt with completely. Literature review Outpatient commitment refers to employed strategy or mechanism of dealing with or compelling a mentally ill pe rson. This aims at encouraging this people to comply with the psychotropic drugs and the ordered treatment as a strategy of living in the community. In this case it is always important for diagnosed individuals undergo frequent blood and urine test, attend self-help group meetings, as well as enter psychotherapy with specific therapist. At times, condition demands orders are prolonged to enable the target issue to be met. Individuals currently considered to be dangerous, do not qualify to be our patients but rather in-patient. This is important because such people can be dangerous to the community. As a result, it is essential to restrict them so that their handling can be easy. Most of the outpatient supporters claim that this strategy is gentler and kind compared to alternative of inpatient commitment. They claim that this will help to reduce threats that arise from involuntary hospitalization. In this case, the targeted individuals are those who have mental illness. However, outp atient commitment will require an individual with pain of entering police custody to undergo re-hospitalization, comply with decisions for treatment and prove no danger to the community. These are compatible with the law, and at the same time help enhance safety to the community at large. The first law relating with outpatient was enacted during the early 1980s. As a result, over 40 states now have this law in books. About 20 states out of 40 invoke the law most infrequently because of the reluctance of the service providers’ participation and lack of the community-based service (Sinaiko and McGuire, 2008). According to many scholars, the main issue of concern is whether the outpatient commitment will be able to achieve its objectives. Existing claims say that this may not increase public safety enormously. They state that in our society most of the violence results in issues different from mental illness. They claim that only few people are dangerous to others and to themsel ves due to mental illness. In addition, most of them have gone to an extent of committing criminal offences. According to the law, it is important to seek involuntary hospitalization in emergency cases of violence from mentally ill individuals. There exist only few evidences supporting the fact that outpatient commitment will make the public and diagnosed individuals safer. According to the requirements of majority of scholars, it is necessary to incorporate innovative

Monday, September 23, 2019

Global Leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Global Leadership - Essay Example Further, the commentary proffered implications of the trend to Western countries and an identification for causes of concern. Reference was made to Ghemawat & Hout’s (2008) article entitled â€Å"Tomorrow’s Global Giants: Not the Usual Suspects† to infer the possible threats China and India could inflict in contemporary multinational companies. The need to be vigilant and to prepare to refocus global strategies is recommended to address impending global leadership of these giants in the future. â€Å"China and India: Contest of the Century† The article from The Economist entitled â€Å"China and India: Contest of the Century† initially made reference to global powers of the 19th century as centered on three distinct nations: America, Japan, and Germany, after the British Empire had its share of predominance in world power. The article thereby highlighted China and India at the center stage, as emerging global giants in the 21st century. The rational e for these two countries’ global prominence lies in various factors, to wit: the population and the geographic size, among others, categorizing them as continents.

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Introduction to the Rajputs Essay Example for Free

Introduction to the Rajputs Essay A Rajput is a member of one of the landowning patrilineal clans of central and northern India. Rajputs consider themselves descendants of one of the major ruling warrior groups of the Hindu Kshatriya varna ( social order ) in the Indian subcontinent, particularly North India. The Rajputs rose to prominence during the 6th to 12th centuries, and until the 20th century Rajputs ruled in the â€Å"overwhelming majority† of the princely states of Rajasthan and Saurashtra, where the largest number of princely states were found. They are divided into three major lineages. The Rajput empire spread in many countries: Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, India, Southeast Asia and some parts of Tibet. The four Agnivanshi clans namely the Pariharas (Pratihara), Solankis (Chalukya dynasty) Paramaras and Chahamanas rose to prominence first, establishing territories and creating kingdoms. The Rajputs were mainly feudal lords under the over-lordship of the rulers belonging to Pratiharas – a dynasty that ruled until the 10th century. Gradually, they attained the status of independent rulers. Their dominion spread over most parts of north India. In the north-west region known as Rajputana, which comprises the present day Rajasthan and parts of Pakistan. The Rajput community comprised of the Chauhans of East Punjab, Northern Rajasthan and Delhi, the Rathores of Uttar Pradesh, the Paramaras of Central India and the Tomars of Gwalior and later, Delhi. Of these the Chauhans and the Rathores were dominant clans. The Rajput though brave and chivalrous often succumbed to inter-clan rivalries, which proved advantageous for the Muslim rulers during the medieval period. The Rajputs being a dominant Hindu clan offered heavy resistance to the Muslim rulers who spread their rule over India during the medieval period. The Rajput princes maintained their own independent princely kingdoms. Some of the brave Rajput rulers who have been made their names eternal in Indian history are Prithviraj Chauhan, Rana Kumbha, Rana Sangram Singh, Rana Udai Singh and Maharana Pratap. Prithviraj Chauhan proved to be the last Rajput ruler of Delhi. The Chauhans, led by Govinda, grandson of Prithviraj, later established a small state centered around Rathambore in present-day Rajasthan. The Rajput lifestyle was designed to foster a martial spirit, with men even forging a bond with their sword. The double-edged scimitar known as the khanda was a popular weapon among the Rajputs of that era. On special occasions, primary chief would break up a meeting of his vassal chiefs with khanda nariyal, the distribution of daggers and coconuts. Many Rajputs are nostalgic about their past and keenly conscious of their genealogy, emphasizing a Rajput ethos that is martial in spirit, with a fierce pride in lineage and tradition. The Rajput rulers had a keen sense of beauty in art and architecture which is seen in the artistic excellence of their temples, forts and palaces. The Indo-Aryan style of architecture developed in North India and Upper Deccan and the Dravidian style in South India during the Rajput period. Both sculpture and architecture attained a high degree of excellence. e.g. The Rathas of Mahabalipuram or Mammallapuram, the Kailash temple at Ellora and the sculpture of Elephanta belonging to the early Rajput period ( 600 Ad to 900 AD ) The temple architecture of Orissa, Khajuraho, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and the Pallava, Chola and Hoysala temples in the South belong to the later Rajput period. ( 900 AD to 1200 AD )

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Toyota: SWOT Analysis, BCG Matrix and Porters Five

Toyota: SWOT Analysis, BCG Matrix and Porters Five Toyota is a Japan based company which was established in 1937 by Sakichi Toyoda and is the world biggest automobile manufacturers, Toyota has achieved a record sale of 9 million cars in five continents. Toyota is also ranked in the top ten 500 ² companies. Toyota is one the worlds most renowned auto manufacturers and they are proud of this accomplishment and they believe it is only because that their customers are satisfied by them. http://www.toyota.com.cy/experience/the_company/index.aspx Strategy of Toyota Different strategies of Toyota are explained as under Growth Strategy In order to achieve an outstanding growth strategy, company must find, evaluate and select a strategy to enter and to capture a market. Toyota entered in American market in 1967 along with a range of cars and after that Toyota launched other brands such as lexus and scion. Toyota became a successful car manufacturer company mainly because of an effective and diverse marketing process which has enabled them to attract customers and enlarge its product range to other market segments. One of the other main reason why Toyota managed to do very well in America is because of 1973 oil crisis. When Toyota entered in American market it was not considered a threat because everyone use to say that Toyota cars do not appeal American people. But due to the oil crisis people realized that Toyota cars are highly fuel efficient and much more reliable. Marketing Strategy of Toyota Toyota is a global brand and the economic crisis which started in 2009 has hit Toyota. Therefore, Toyota is now marketing and making fuel efficient cars such as the new Auris hybrid and others. On top of that Toyota is very heavily marketing there 1 litre cars such as Toyota iq and aygo and this happened due to the the economic crunch that now people dont have much spending power. http://ayushveda.com/blogs/business/toyotas-marketing-strategy/ Environmental strategy In modern era, all the developed and under developed countries are more concern with the environment and are trying their best to promote cars which are more environment friendly and throw less co2 emission out. As a global car manufacturer Toyota is playing its role in minimising the co2 effect on the environment of the world. This is the reason Toyota has launched hybrid cars, the ultimate eco car, electric vehicles, plug in hybrid, fuel cell vehicle cars which consume less fuel and also discharge less co2 emission. So basically, Toyota is making cars which are user friendly and also environment friendly.www.toyota.com To critically evaluate the strategy of Toyota, some analysis of internal and external analysis required to be done and they are explained as under. SWOT analysis This analysis is a great tool for doing an audit of an organisation and its environment. It is the first step for marketers to take to focus on key issues. Swot stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Strengths and weaknesses examine the internal factors of a company whereas the opportunities and threats are the analysis of external factors. SWOT analysis of Toyota Strengths of Toyota Toyota is global organisation, which enjoys great repute among its customers and possesses a very strong international position in 170 countries. Financial side of this company is extremely strong in 1997 company managed a sales turnover of  £131,511 million and growth of the company was 29.3%. Due to its high quality, an environment friendly product Toyota has a very strong brand recognition. Toyota has managed successfully penetrate into the main markets of the world which includes USA, China and Middle east countries. http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_swot_analysis_of_Toyota Weakness of Toyota The production plants of Toyota are located in US and Japan due to which they are not in a very favourable position to take advantage from global efficiency gains. The company has suffered a lot of criticism due to the re-call made in 2005 and 2010. http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_swot_analysis_of_Toyota Opportunities for Toyota Toyota was the first company to develop a hybrid car (hybrid- vehicle runs on gas and electric) which was the Prius model. At that time oil prices were at their extreme so at that time Toyota has given something to the market. Toyota is looking forward to expand belligerently into new segments of existing markets for example by the launch of Toyota Aygo the company is targeting the youth of the world. Another opportunity for Toyota is to produce small city cars which will be more fuel efficient and also easy to drive plus will produce less c02 emission because now a day governments of all under developed and developed countries are showing great concern about the environment. Toyota enjoys good market share in Europe, UK and America the company should target developing countries such as Pakistan, India and Srilanka where demand is very high for great fuel efficient cars. http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_swot_analysis_of_Toyota Threats to Toyota Toyota faces very high competition by Honda and by other German car manufacturers. Especially in todays global market the trend of intense marketing campaign is increasing which will simply increase pressure on Toyota. The position of US dollar is very consistent so the exchange rates are playing a major role in the profit and loss of the company. The recession that has hit the world almost a couple of years ago have caused major issues for Toyota because car sales have declined rapidly ever since the recession started. Market trend is changing for example the trend of large families coming to an end and with it the need of large cars. Consistent increase in fuel prices has also bought a significant decline the car sales of Toyota Company. http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_swot_analysis_of_Toyota BCG Matrix The Boston consultancy group matrix is a chat which was created by Peter Henderson in 1970. The purpose of this design is to help companies with the manufacturing units and product lines. The base of this tool in the product life cycle theory and it helps companies to decide on which areas they should prioritize. BCG Matrix for Toyota Prius This tool can also be used to analyze the launch of a product in the market. In this matrix two factors determine the success of a product. Market share and market growth are explained individually in the diagram. With the help of this tool an outstanding marketing strategy can easily be determined. Market Growth of Prius The Toyota prius was launched in Japan in 1997 and it was made available to the world in 2001. By the end of 2003, a new model of the car was launched and due to its modern hybrid technology it was sold 160,000 times throughout the world. It was mainly because at that time the prius was the only hybrid car and Toyota made maximum profit out of that. Up till now Toyota has managed to sell around 1 million hybrid cars and most of them are prius. To analyze the market growth of this product, given below is the monthly sales figure of U.S from 2000 to 2007. From the table above, we can clearly see that prius sales have increased dramatically over thye years. In 2000 number of cars sold was just 5,562 whereas the cars sold in 2007 excluding the month of December were 167,010 which is almost 30 times more the number of cars sold in 2000. The table given above, we can clearly view that Toyota prius was the best selling car in US with a great margin. Toyota has just 5.3% more sales than September 2007 but it has overall 50.7% more sales then the last year October. We can also see an outstanding growth in the market of hybrid cars which is almost 30% which means that it is a very fast growing market. Market Share of Toyota Prius If we look at the market share of Prius, it comes on top of the hybrid car market share. The prius has a massive 53.7% market share and this is because Toyota has sold three times more cars than the runner up. This is the reason why prius was the market leader in 2007. The prius has sold approximately 190,000 cars which comes up to a market share of 57% and this is a clear proof that prius is a market leader even on yearly basis. Conclusion After this detailed bcg analysis it is concluded that prius is a star product. It has a booming market share in the high demand market of hybrid cars. All this makes prius a star product and a product which has a lot of potential in the future years. In the BCG matrix chart the prius have its position in the top left because it has an outstanding market share in a dynamic and fast growing market. Therefore, prius is a star product. This information can be used by Toyota to set up a plan for business and thus the investment the company make in the product can also turn into a cash cow. Porters five forces analysis This is the most successful tool in analyzing the strategy of an industry. According to wiki this is a framework for the industry analysis and business strategy development developed by Michael E Porter of Harvard business school in 1979.it uses concepts developing industrial organisations economics to derive five forces that determine the competitive intensity and therefore attractiveness of a market. http://www.themarketers.in/?p=446 Porters five forces analysis includes critical analysis of five aspects which are as follows Threat of new entrants. Bargaining power of customers/ buyers. Threat of substitute products. Bargaining power of suppliers. The amount of rivalry between competitors. Five forces analysis on Toyota Detailed analysis of porters five forces. Threat of new entrants In auto industry all the big companies face threat of new entrants who enter into market to take their place. Toyota also faces same problems and the recent launch of TATA nano is a big threat for Toyota and for other auto companies. Because TATA nano is the cheapest car in the world which will definitely dominate in the under developed countries of the world and also TATA nanao and Peugeot has worked together to make that car so Toyota needs to come up with a strategy which will help them target the medium to lower medium class of the world. (Jhonson,s scholes and wittington.2008) Bargaining power of customers Bargaining power of customers vary from place to place. In European countries customers have outstanding bargaining power which is mainly due to the competition and because of their purchasing power. On the other hand in countries like Pakistan people dont have much choice and manufacturers charge reasonably high prices. (Jhonson,s scholes and wittington.2008) Threat of Substitute product In developed countries such as America or other European countries this threat is high for Toyota because there are a lot of other car manufacturers in these countries who sell their products with different deals such as now a day Citroen is selling most of their cars with 0 deposit and on no interest basis for up to three years which is a big threat for Toyota in UK. Because due to the economic crisis the world is facing people are more interested in saving money. (Jhonson,s scholes and wittington.2008) Bargaining power of suppliers Because Toyota is a strong brand therefore, this threat is comparatively low to them in comparison with other manufacturers because brand confirms suppliers a higher value to their product. (Jhonson,s scholes and wittington.2008) Rivalry among competitors This element also varies for area to area. As mentioned earlier in European countries there are a lot of manufacturers available so the rivalry among competitors is very high. For example in Pakistan Toyota has one main rival which is Honda but in UK Toyota has Honda, Peugeot, Nissan, ford, rover and also other companies which makes rivalry extremely intense. (Jhonson,s scholes and wittington.2008) Problems with Toyota Even though Toyota is one of the best car manufacturer company in the world but they have faced many problems over the years in different parts of the world. Some of them are related with products and some are even with the brand itself. A few of these problems are summarised in detail Toyota brand problem Toyota is a major brand and its sub-brands are Lexus and Scion but Toyota sells and manufacture most of its cars under the name of Toyota which is not a very healthy marketing strategy. For example, the problem Audi had in 1990 with its 5000 range (problem was acceleration which resulted in fatal acceleration accidents) which resulted a significant decline not just in the sale figure of Audi 5000 but due to that problem sales figure of Audi 4000 and Quattro were also declined to a great extent just because these too vehicles were manufactured by the same company. Despite of all the promotional and marketing activities held by Audi in between 1990-2000 the company has still not fully recovered and has not find its proper place in the market. Unfortunately, Toyota has not learned anything from this mistake and they keep on launching all cars under the same brand without paying much attention to sub-brands. Due to the recent problem of rapid acceleration in Toyota cars customers are beginning to show less interest in the brand and now it is believed that nest decade will be very tough for Toyota. So, Toyota really needs to promote its sub brands and to pump marketing investments in them. Toyotas Brand Problems Begin At Its Core Brake problems in Toyota Prius In 2010, braking problems were reported with Toyota prius in America by manay customers, four of them were involved in crash. The problem was that customers were finding it difficult to brake on un even surface. Which resulted in major accidents and as a result Toyota had to do a major recall in America which resulted in a significant decline in sale and due to which Toyota has launched its market share throughout the world. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8497471.stm Rapid acceleration problem of Toyota Toyota had to do a major recall in 2004 which was basically companies biggest in which company had to recall 3.8 million vehicles. In the beginning Toyota said that the problem is with the floor matt but after few crashes the company actually decided to go for the recall decision. http://www.leftlanenews.com/a-closer-look-at-toyotas-sudden-acceleration-problem.html Acceleration stuck In the last decade Toyota has given us quality products such as Camry, corolla and Tercel. But then in 2010 a problem came in Toyota a vehicle which was reported as the acceleration gets stuck which is causing difficulty in stopping the vehicle and could result in major accidents. As a result, Toyota has not just recall the selected models on a national model but also stopped production for these vehicles. This decision of Toyota is really admired by Dr. Edward Deming who is called the undisputed father of quality management and he said that quality is better than quantity and by doing a recall national level Toyota has proved that they care about their customers and are willing to give them something extra. Some say that this incident will hurt Toyota and result in a decline of sales Toyota over the years but some say that this will benefit Toyota in coming years because once the problem is rectified than people will be more eager in buying Toyota vehicles especially over American c ars because they know that they will be getting quality. http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2656835/toyota_is_facing_a_major_problem.html?cat=27 Recommendations By looking at the problems Toyota had over the years it is concluded that Toyota should take its business more seriously as they are the market leaders. The company should properly test every product several times before launching it in the market. Invest in sub brands Toyota should now invest heavily in its sub brands. This will bring stability in the sales of Toyota as if anything goes wrong with Toyota car customers will not stop buying the sub brands products and this will result in keeping the market share stable. Make hybrid technology cheaper Toyota is investing in hybrid vehicles which cause less co2 emission and also environment friendly but these vehicles are extremely expensive and not in the range of majority of people. The future main threat for auto mobile manufacturer is TATA nano which is the worlds cheapest car so if Toyota does not want to lose its market share than Toyota really needs to look ahead and come up with something which is a lot better than quality than TATA nano and the best way to beat nano is to come up with cheap and small hybrid car. Identify market trends and target markets The market trend is changing very quickly, now people dont travel in groups everyone prefer to keep their own cars so Toyota needs to make more small cars. At the moment there are just three small cars from Toyota which are Toyota aygo, iq and yaris which is a pretty small number from the worlds biggest auto manufacturer. On top of that these cars are not fun to drive they dont offer good road grip and comfort and on top of that they are pretty expensive. So, if Toyota wants to do well in future they really need to re think their strategy and they should make hybrid cars much cheaper and make small cars more reliable and fun to drive. Toyota is very well located it has plants in Japan, Europe and America so they can manage to produce cheap quality cars. From Japan, they can target asian countries which include Pakistan, India and Sri lanka because these countries are showing rapid growth and people has high purchasing power. From European production plant, Toyota can target European countries which are a very big market and Toyota enjoys great market share in these countries. American production plant can be used to target America and Canada and other small countries in that region. In this way Toyota can easily produce cheap quality cars and supply them to these countries as they are very well located.

Friday, September 20, 2019

hitler :: essays research papers

1918 Germany looses the war Newspaper: Germany looses war. Hi I’m Peter and I am 4 years old. Germany lost World War 1 and Germany was forced to take all blame for the war, and had to pay reparations to the Allies. Germany was also forced to have free trade that made our economy crash. 1920 The rise of the Nazis Mom: Peter guess what there is a new political group named the Nazis. They believe that Germany needs to overturn the treaty of Versailles and combat communism. And people like us in the middle class and lower class support them. 1922 wheel barrow economy I’m at the store with my parents and you are witnessing the wheel barrow economy. To pay the expenses of the war, Germany simply printed money. The paper money steadily lost its value. In 1918 a Berlin a loaf of bread cost less than a mark in 1918 and now it cost more than 160 marks. 1923 Hitler arrested at the dinner table: Mom- Peter Hitler was arrested, because he attempted to seize power and failed. They tried to get him for treason and they sentenced him for five years in jail. Peter: That’s horrible now how are ever going to get out of the treaty Versailles. 1933 Hitler named chancellor Hitler being named I am now 19 years old and have been watching Hitler quite a bit. The Nazis Has become the largest political party. Hitler has been named chancellor, once in office he acted quickly to strengthen his position. He called for new elections and the majority voted for him, so he demanded dictatorial power for 4 years. 1934 Hitler takes control of economy Dad- son we aren’t poor anymore, and I now have a job it’s all because of Hitler. Thanks to him making new laws like the banning of strikes, dissolved independent labor unions and giving the government authority over business and labor our economy is going to stabilize again. Peter: Wow dad that is really great I’m so happy. 1934 Peter Joins the Nazis Peter in his uniform or diary I joined the Nazis and so has pretty much everyone. Hitler has convinced all of the Germans that Jews are evil and has used them as scapegoat for all the troubled we have had since the war. This led to anti-Semitism across the whole country. 1935 Hitler breaking treaty of Versailles Newspaper: Hitler breaks treaty Oh my god I can’t believe it! Hitler had always wanted to undo the treaty of Versailles. The treaty of Versailles limited the size of the his army and in

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Activity and Impact Training Essay -- essays research papers

I.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  ACTIVITY TRAINING TO IMPACT TRAINING A.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Training for Activity 1. The HRD dept. is held accountable for its activity, not for its results  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There is no formal output of results so managers are left to decide weather it is beneficial or not. 2. The HRD staff is held accountable for design and delivery of training programs.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In training for activity, trainers are held accountable for the number of programs they deliver or design.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  80% of their time is activity so there’s little time left to do needs assessment or research.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Organizations that operate with the training for activity approach are looked at being non-productive or not working if not present in the classroom. 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Skill Transfer from the classroom to the job is unknown or absent.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  With an evaluation the skills and knowledge regarding the job cannot be determined.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  HRD professionals using this method rarely consider strategies that would guarantee a high degree of skill transfer.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On-the-job application is viewed as the responsibility for providing the participant and his or her boss. The HRD dept. is responsible for providing the participants with skills and knowledge. (where little to no transfer occurs) 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There is a lack of clear alignment with business needs.  · A lot of the courses are out of date.  · Without a clear business need managers are sometimes reluctant   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   and against training programs.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   5.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There is a lack of identified management responsibility for results.  · No one person or group of people has accepted accountability for ensuring that the skills taught will be used on the job. BUSINESS NEEDS FOR AN ALTERNATIVE TRAINING APPORACH One of the criticisms most commonly leveled and HRD professionals today is that they lack business savvy and do not speak the language of business. Business language requires HRD professionals to consider the return to the organization for dollars spend on training. Billions of dollars are spent on training and dev... ...in or lose from this effort. 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  While he client can involve others, someone in the client group must be in the chain of command of the learners. 5.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The client receives all reports regarding the project. METHODS FOR IDENTIFY THUE CLIENTS DIRECT METHODS: 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ask client to have all involved in project present. 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ask about key individuals. 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Indicate concern at not including the necessary individuals in the meeting. 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Listen carefully to names being mentioned. 5.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Always ask questions for involvement. INDIRECT METHODS: 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ask questions that will determine if your contact is reporting to someone else. 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Encourage through a meeting that contact invite the client. 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  If your contact needs permission from someone else ask that they invite that person. 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After each meeting write a memo summarizing all that took place as well as the outcomes. Send a copy to the client.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

John Gardners Grendel and the Greater Power :: Grendel Essays

John Gardner's Grendel and the Greater Power Many of the characters in Grendel have direction and purpose in their lives. Wealtheow is self- sacrificing, and Hrothgar is out for personal glory. Unferth and Beowulf spend their lives trying to become great heroes so that their names may outlast their flesh. The dragon believed in nihilism, and the Shaper used his imagination to create something to believe in. Some of the characters’ philosophies may not have been commendable, but Grendel could not find any direction or purpose for his life whatsoever. Grendel looked for the intervention of a power higher than himself to lay the truths of the world upon him, an experience that the Romantics would characterize as an experience of the sublime. John Gardner portrays Grendel as someone who wants to find a philosophy, whether his own or someone else’s, that fits him and gives him an identity or a reason to live. By looking at the text from this perspective we can see how Gardner believes people should pursue, or rather, e mbrace a power greater than themselves. Grendel started his search for meaning with solipsistic beliefs, thinking himself the creator of the world he lived in. â€Å"I understood that the world was nothing: a mechanical chaos of casual, brute enmity on which we stupidly impose our hopes and fears. I understood that, finally and absolutely, I alone exist. All the rest, I saw, is merely what pushes me, or what I push against, blindly—as blindly as all that is not myself pushes back. I create the whole universe, blink by blink† (21-22). However, after speaking to the existentialist Fire Dragon, Grendel realized that aspects of his first theory didn’t make sense and that even after his death things will continue to exist. â€Å"Every rock, every tree, every crystal of snow cries out cold-blooded objectness† (172). When Grendel notices that events occur before he can think them into existence, his theory that he creates the world â€Å"blink by blink† is undermined. â€Å"†¦I think, trying to suck in breath, and all that I do not see is useless, void. I observe myself observing what I observe. It startles me. ‘Then I am not that which observes!’ I am lack. Alack! No thread, no frailest hair between myself and the universal clutter! I listen to the underground river. I have never seen it† (29). Because Grendel realizes his solipsistic theory does not hold true, he searches for a new theory, discovering one where he is nothing to the world but an object taking up space.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Advertising & Sales Promotion on Cement Industry

ASSIGNMENT ADVERTISING & SALES PROMOTION CEMENT INDUSTRY PROF. ANAND DESAI SATISHKUMAR BIRADAR Roll no 07 (MMM IV) The cement industry has come a long way since 1914 when the first cement plant was set up at Porbandar. In the past, the government's regulation restricted the growth of the Indian cement industry. The removal of these controls resulted in rapid progress in terms of new capacity creation and higher production. As of March 2012, the country had an installed cement capacity of around 325-330 million tonnes with most of the capacities being added only during the last decade. | Evolution of the cement industry The cement industry is one of India's core sectors. The country's first cement plant was set up in Porbandar, Gujarat in 1914. Earlier, the government regulated the industry with licensing, price and distribution controls. A gradual removal of these controls resulted in rapid capacity creation. Following this, the country moved from a cement scarcity situation to a sur plus position. As of March 2012, the pan India total installed cement capacity stood at around  325-330 million tonnes. Currently, India is the second-largest producer of cement in the world.The evolution of the cement industry in India can be broadly divided into three periods – the period of total government control (up to 1982), the period of partial decontrol (1982 to 1989) and the period of total decontrol (after 1989). Period of total government control Events during the period of government control This period marked the beginning of cement industry where government, with an intention to promote the sector, exercised strict control over the industry. It set out production limits, price as well as the distribution channels that should be employed to sell cement.This was aimed at ensuring fair prices to producers and consumers across the country, thus reducing regional imbalances. The fixed price at which producers would sell cement was based on the cost of production of cement throughout the country plus a marginal profit. This price contained a freight component that was averaged over the country as a whole. If the actual freight component of a manufacturer was lower than that included in the uniform price, producers had to pass on the amount to the pool sum, representing the difference between the uniform price freight component and the freight costs incurred by them.On the other hand, if the actual freight incidence was higher than the freight element accounted for in the uniform price, producers were reimbursed the difference. This freight pooling system encouraged producers to set up manufacturing plants across the country. Before this system, the industry was concentrated in the eastern part of the country where accesses to raw materials were readily available. However, a drawback of this system was the lack of incentive to producers to minimise costs since they would be reimbursed by the uniform pricing system.As a result, the average cos t of production as well as demand for scarce railway capacity increased. Period of partial government decontrol Events during the period of partial decontrol On account of inefficiencies of the uniform price system, the government introduced a system of partial decontrol in 1982. A levy quota of 66. 6 per cent for sales to the government was imposed on existing units while for new and sick units the quota was lowered to 50 per cent. The balance 33. 4 per cent could be sold in the open market to general consumers.A ceiling price was set for sales in the open market to protect consumers from unreasonable high pricing. During this period, cement producers were able to earn profits from the levy sale to government at fixed prices. But for the non-levy sales, profits decreased as there was a sudden increase in cement supply in the open market which led to greater competition among the manufacturers. During this period, the government gradually reduced the levy quota and increased retenti on prices  in order to  increase the profitability on sales in the open market.Period of total decontrol Events post decontrol In 1989, the government removed all price and distribution controls. The system of freight pooling was scrapped and a subsidy scheme, to ensure availability of cement at reasonable prices in remote and hilly regions, was implemented. This opened up opportunities in the industry and was marked by huge investments in the coming years. Industry structure As of March 2012, the total installed cement capacity  Ã‚  in India stood at approximately  325-330 million tonnes.The industry can be broadly classified into pan-India, regional and standalone players. Pan-India players include large players like Holcim group companies- ACC and Ambuja   and Aditya Birla group company- UltraTech Cement (including Samruddhi Cement)  . Companies of both these groups are adding capacities through either greenfield or brownfield expansions. Players whose presence is res tricted to one or two regions, with a stronghold in the markets of their respective operations are included in the category of regional players.Key examples of players included in this segment are Jaiprakash Associates (North and Central), Lafarge (concentrated in the East), India Cement (South), Shree Cement (North), Binani Cement (North), Kesoram Industries (South),  Chettinad Cement (South), Dalmia Cement (South), Madras Cement (South) etc. Players like Panyam Cement, Penna Cement, etc, are concentrated  and operational  in few states within a region. Owing to their largely local reach, these players are classified as standalone players. Industry structure as of March 2012Industry status There’s something about walls and advertising. It’s ironic, really. On the one hand, you have telecom brand Airtel talking of breaking down walls (‘Deewarein Gir Jaati Hain’), while on the other, you have Ambuja Cement talking of unbreakable walls (‘Yeh Deew aar Nahin Tootegi’). Obviously, the context is vastly different in the two cases, but one can’t help but notice the strikingly opposite thoughts, executed along similar lines. | The demolition talks in progress| | Boy, interrupted| | Bulldozer fails| |The stumped builder| | Rejoicing children| | ‘Ambuja Cement. Yeh Deewaar nahin tootegi'| A new television commercial (TVC) for Ambuja Cement, created by Grey Worldwide, revolves around the story of a wall that doesn’t break, seasoned with an emotional (almost humanitarian) twist. The TVC opens on a shot of the caretaker of an orphanage introducing the children to a Mr Choksi. She tells them that Choksi is going to build a hotel on the site of the orphanage. At this point, a little boy says to Choksi, â€Å"Sir, par last time†¦ † but he is shushed by an older boy. The following morning, the heartless Choksi arrives with bulldozer in tow. At his signal, the bulldozer delivers a powerful blow on the building, but is unable to bring it down. The little boy tries to explain again, but is stopped midway again by the elder one. Choksi tries his best, but is not able to demolish the orphanage. As he wonders about the strength of the building, the little boy says, â€Å"Arre sir, last time bhi yeh deewar nahin tooti thi (Sir, even last time, this wall could not be broken down). As a disappointed Choksi leaves with his men, the children and their caretaker start dancing in joy, and the voiceover concludes, â€Å"Ambuja Cement. Yeh Deewaar Nahin Tootegi. † For the longest time ever, Ambuja has been harping on its ‘giant compressive strength’ proposition; the brand even created the visual of a ‘giant’ and then a broken hammer. Perhaps its most memorable ad was the one involving two estranged brothers trying to break down the wall that runs between their houses (Bhai Bhai, featuring Boman Irani, which was released six years ago).After that humorous attem pt, came some ads which presented the brand in a sentimental vein (the Dadi ad), a move that Vivek Deshpande, Ambuja Cement’s vice-president for brand and promotions, agrees was rather disastrous, so much so that the Bhai Bhai ad was recalled. â€Å"Our new ad is a correction of this,† he says, adding that the brand will now strike a balance between emotion and humour. The new film clearly explores a situation where a wall should not break for the right reasons.Priti Nair, national creative director, Grey Worldwide, says that the strength of the wall was juxtaposed with the strength of character of the orphanage caretaker and the children. â€Å"Cement is a low involving category,† says Nair. So, the children element and the often used Bollywood type plot (victory of good over evil) were added to make the ad more entertaining. Nair and her team wanted to stay away from the stereotypical ‘milavat (adulteration)’ type ads for cement, or even those inv olving big buildings and pride of ownership. â€Å"We wanted to show the victory of the underdogs,† she explains.The ad has been directed by Abhinay Deo of Ramesh Deo Productions, who says that the film had to strike a perfect pathos-humour balance. Interestingly, the initial idea was to show that the kids are also surprised when the wall doesn’t crack. â€Å"But we ruled that out,† Deo says, because the innocence of a small boy trying desperately to make the big, bad builder understand what his predecessors couldn’t do, would add to the fun element. â€Å"Another older child warning him to stay quiet in a rather knowing fashion builds the suspense,† he grins.

Monday, September 16, 2019

Reflections on the Course Counter Terrorism

During these troubled times, I do believe that it is important for students to be well aware of the things which can create fear within and pose a threat to the whole community. For the past few years, the threats in the international as well as local communities have created a great change in the perspective of the people regarding security. Many have been threatened and manipulated by the fear and paranoia that they could be victims of terrorist attacks. Because of this, counter terrorism policies and measures must be implemented to uphold national security and lessen the fear of the public.While serving the country as part of the U. S. Army, I have been a witness to and became directly involved in the actions taken by our government against the prevailing violence in the United States. Reflecting upon the things I learned and encountered, I came to realize the importance of counter terrorism in establishing security and upholding peace. Thus, upon taking this course, I do expect t hat I will considerably learn about counter terrorism in the perspective of the current and past governments, study the various counter terrorism policies and measures, and understand the reason why some of them work while others have been rendered ineffective.Learning about these things will certainly aid me in fulfilling my duty to fight terrorism not only as a member of the U. S. Army but as a citizen of this country. I also expect that a portion of this subject will be dedicated to peace studies which I hope will include the ideologies of Martin Luther King Jr. , Mahatma Gandhi, and other peace advocates. Exploring this topic would be beneficial for the students taking this course, especially for someone like me who is part of the Army, as learning about peace would help me to further grasp the depth and weight of my duty to my country.

Sunday, September 15, 2019

Faulkner’s and Morrison’s Notions of Parenting

In literature of fictional realism, the difficulty of storytelling often lies in creating a believable atmosphere, in order for the reader to identify with the characters and surroundings. The theme and plot may well be stylish and inspirational, but without plausible characters or a practical setting, the atmosphere of suspended belief the author is striving for can be marred by the simple obscurity of the key elements of character development, functional setting, and writing style appropriate to the story itself. If an author is skilled enough to successfully employ these crucial elements, and have a solid story to boot, then great writing is created. Such is the case with William Faulkner and Toni Morrison. Faulkner’s novel As I Lay Dying and Morrison’s Pulitzer- and Nobel-prize winning novel Beloved express the damage that can be caused through either excess of devotion or indifferent neglect of the respective parent. Both writers maintain focus on the development of the characters, create an active and believable setting, and employ appropriate writing styles to successfully convey their social commentaries. In As I Lay Dying, Faulkner introduces his characters, the Bundren family, as simple country folk faced with grave circumstances. Addie, the mother of the family, is on her deathbed, and not much longer for the world. The household is in a state of despair, performing their perfunctory duties, but with a pronounced lack of enthusiasm. Anse, worrying himself on the front porch, puts it simply after telling his son Vardaman to wash his hands: â€Å"But I just cant seem to get no heart in it,† (Faulkner, 38). Neither Anse nor any other members of the household seem to have any clue as to how to react to the forthcoming tragedy, outside of dispensing their feeble grasp of pathos. Even Tull, the Bundrens’ nearby neighbor, comments on Anse in pity: â€Å"†¦the only burden Anse Bundren’s ever had is himself†¦I think to myself he aint that less of a man or he couldn’t a bore himself this long. † (Faulkner, 73). This simple statement by Tull is a testimony to Anse’s burden as a father and husband. Anse recognizes his failings as both patraiarch and devoted husband; it is that weight that ignites a sudden surge of faithfulness to his wife and urges him upon the journey to respect her last wishes of a burial in Jefferson. Faulkner further establishes the Bundrens as incapable of grasping appropriateness as Cash stands outside of his mother’s window, in her full view, nailing and sawing together the coffin in which she will be laid to rest. The irony is that Addie wants to see it being constructed: â€Å"[Addie was] Lying there with her head propped up so she could watch Cash building the coffin,† (Faulkner, 23). Faulkner is commenting not only on the family’s dim grasp of appropriateness, but on the mother’s part as well, and the reader is left to wonder the reasoning behind Addie’s decision to watch her son build her coffin. In this light, Addie can seem cold towards her children, in that she is looming over Cash’s shoulder as he goes about the grim task of constructing his dying mother’s coffin. In actuality, Addie holds her son in reverence and is transmitting that care using the only method she was taught, by merely paying attention to him. Looking at the characters individually in order to circumscribe a mediocre upbringing, Faulkner’s careful construction of the characters implies the damage the parents have inflicted by their relative indifference. Vardaman remains in a state of reluctance and confusion, simply because no one in the family, least of all the parents, takes the time to fully explain the circumstances. He cannot grasp death’s finality and begins to panic when his mother is placed into the coffin post-mortem: â€Å"Are you going to nail it shut, Cash? Nail it? Nail it? † (Faulkner, 65). His incredulity incites him to action, and the episode spins into Vardaman’s notion to drill holes into the coffin so that she might breathe. Unfortunately, Vardaman misjudges the body’s position and â€Å"When they taken the lid off they found that two of [the drill-holes] had bored on into her face,† (73). The whole of the scene focuses on the fact that Vardaman was acting out of concern and love for his mother, but with disastrous results. This is a vehicle Faulkner employs throughout the novel, that bad ideas are often accompanied by good intentions, which re-emphasizes the tacit misunderstanding of a sound family dynamic. There is an abject, obscure devotion, but the family, including Addie, has had an impossible time of setting that devotion in concrete terms. But it is Faulkner’s use of language to skillfully transition into Addie’s sole monologue that explicates his willingness to peg complex irony into an otherwise straightforward novel. Faulkner utilizes the family’s inability to communicate as a launching point for Addie’s monologue, which centers on the idea that words are often lacking in function. Addie represents Faulkner’s commendable language skills by evoking great sorrow in a single stroke. While previous monologues of other characters create a mosaic of separate sadnesses, it is through Addie that the reader is pulled into pointed and exacted depths of human misery. Moreover, her frank manner of speech serves Faulkner’s purpose of cold accuracy as Addie despairs in her position of responsibility she never wanted nor feel she deserves: â€Å"I knew that that word [love] was like the others; just a shape to fill a lack; that when the right time came, you wouldn’t need a word for that anymore than for pride or fear†, (Faulkner, 172). Devin Mckernan, in his article Conflict of the Feminine in As I Lay Dying, comments on this move by Faulkner: â€Å"That this would be Faulkner’s take on language is obviously ironic, as he depends on his words to not only live but perpetuate his own concepts and beliefs,† (9). Addie’s statement of words being insufficient to fill a particular void is Faulkner’s method of projecting his own frustration at the feebleness and insubstantiality of words. Addie summarizes the futility of spoken words in situations where speech is neither necessary nor fulfilling of any definitive purpose. So automatically her lack of faith in the communication of words is relayed to her children, whom she neglects to communicate effectively with, and Vardaman’s vacancy, Jewel’s bitterness, and Dewey Dell’s airiness reflect Addie’s poor maternal instincts. Too, she is objecting her husband Anse’s reference to ‘love’. For Addie, as for Faulkner, the conveyance of deep-felt emotions or thoughts or ideas or beliefs cannot be hammered down in such abstract terminology; words such as ‘love’ and ‘pride’ are both ambiguous and subjective, hence meaningless. This outlook proves Addie a failed mother and a bitter wife, which is transmuted upon the family and reflects in their dim sense of family. Faulkner’s tact lies in the brevity of Addie’s monologue to express Addie’s resentment of words of feeling: â€Å"†¦sin and love and fear are just sounds that people who have never sinned nor loved nor feared have for what they never had and cannot have until they forget the words,† (174). Clearly, the language is disparaging of the abstract nature of words, but subtly Faulkner is urging the reader to think for himself and what those abstract words mean to each individual, or if they should have a meaning attached to them in the first place. There still remains the implied love that Anse has for his family. After Cash breaks his leg, Anse comes up with the idea of setting the leg into cement as a remedy. This episode is the most profound example of Anse’s poor fathering yet, and the fact that he does not realize the damage being done until a neighbor points out the worsening injury is further evidence of Faulkner desiring his audience to grasp the absoluteness of parental failing: â€Å"Cash’s leg and foot turned black†¦ ‘Didn’t none of you have more sense than that? ’ Mr. Gillespie said,† (Faulkner, 224). Here is the penultimate example of Anse impacting his children out of ignorance, but not for lack of caring. It must be noted that Faulkner still implies a general air of tenderness warmth as Anse â€Å"just aimed to help [Cash],† (ibid), but without the common sense to do anything but the first hare-brained idea he could muster. This scene is also an example of Faulkner’s use of a dynamic setting to deliver the theme of the husband finally finding devotion enough for his wife, but, like Addie, viewing the children as burdensome. For Faulkner, Yoknapatawpha county and its rural Mississippi surroundings provide the requisite set of trials and misfortunes the Bundrens must overcome to deliver Addie safely to Jefferson. On the way they encounter a fierce river that drowns their mule team, providing the first example of the roughness of the terrain as a force to be reckoned with: â€Å"†¦I see the mules come rolling up slow up out of the water, their legs spraddled stiff like they had balked upside down†¦,† (Faulkner, 154). This episode still outlines a familial love between the characters, because it was Anse’s bull-headed devotion to Addie’s dying wish of burial in Jefferson that made the sojourn necessary in the first place, and come what may he would deliver her no matter how rough the road gets, and in spite of his bitterness towards his family. Faulkner weaves the setting further into his tale by making the novel one of necessary travel. As stated earlier, the primary goal of the Bundrens is to deliver Addie to her final resting place in Jefferson. The gathering rain, the swollen, mule-drowning river, and the instance of Cash’s broken leg all provide Faulkner with ample opportunity to make the setting as threatening as Anse’s stubborn devotion. The risks run by the family are outweighed by Anse’s final attempt to do right by Addie, a fact to which Anse is either oblivious or indifferent. Faulkner succeeds in his goal to incorporate as much of the setting to drive his novel and further express the mishaps of Anse’s bumbling paternal figure. As I Lay Dying is regarded as a giant of literary fiction, encompassing stout and functional characters, a dynamic and threatening setting, and a style of versification as subtle as it is simple to relay the message of parental ignorance and neglect. And Toni Morrison, in her novel Beloved, is equally successful in her characterizations, her setting, and her expressive language, but to deliver a message of hope from the most down-trodden, the ex-slaves of post-Civil war society. Morrison rides the road opposite Faulkner, ensuring the proper level of complexity in her characters, taming her setting to nurture as well as inflict tragedy, and designing her language on a more intricate level. Morrison’s characters are not permitted the lack of intimacy like the Bundren family. Sethe, the matriarchal central figure of the story, operates on a far deeper and more complex level than the sum total of the Bundrens combined. She is strong-willed yet vulnerable, fierce yet devoted, at times simple and straightforward in thought, and at other times profound and insightful. In the opening scene, Paul D comments to himself on the nature of Sethe â€Å"†¦the one with iron eyes and backbone to match,† (Morrison, 9). In Sethe, the reader is given a strong character who is also burdened with her charges, Denver and Beloved. But Sethe differs from Anse in her willingness to accept that burden, accept her children and try to raise them up correctly, insofar as her past and her present will allow her. Morrison takes care to create Sethe as a proper mother figure, weaving into her narrative the harrowing story of Sethe’s escape from Sweet Home, integrating Denver’s birth on a grounded rowboat, and illustrating the automatic response of maternal care for Beloved upon Beloved’s entrance into the novel. These two very human flaws are central for Sethe’s internal struggles. She holds her head high in pride, as an escaped ex-slave who has (mostly) succeeded in putting her grim past behind her: â€Å"No more running-from nothing. I will never run from another thing on this earth,† (Morrison, 15). This early declaration from Sethe provides the context for the reader to understand her position; that as a mother escaping from slavery’s treachery caused her to duck and run, but as a woman having overcome that trial she is in firm refusal to let any further hardships force her to turn tail and bail. So it is the shame of having to run, as necessary as that escape was, coupled with the pride of having survived the grisly cruelty of slavery that constitutes much of Sethe’s psychological makeup. This past, however, will lead Sethe down a road of what can be viewed as either temporary psychosis or the pinnacle of devoted motherhood. In one of the most crucial scenes of the novel, the slavehunters have discovered Sethe and her children hiding out in a shed at the back of 124. Sethe, well aware of the inhumanity of the men surrounding her, slays her child, cutting its throat. When the men enter, they find Sethe â€Å"holding a blood-soaked child to her chest with one hand and an infant by the heels in the other,† (Morrison, 149). The other infant is Denver, whom Stamp Paid saves from â€Å"the arch of its mother’s swing,† (ibid). At first glance, this scenario seems strikingly cruel, but Sethe’s personal history as a slave, and therefore her knowledge of its terrors, drives her to commit the unspeakable infanticide: in Sethe’s mind, she had no choice but to save her children from the horrendous fate of slavery by murdering them. This episode portrays the duality of Sethe’s unfortunate past as always having an effect on her well-being and that of her children; she is devoted as a mother, but so much so that she assumes her child’s immediate death is preferable to the inhumanities of slavery. For Morrison, Paul D represents an odd secondary paternal figure, that of the bedraggled former slave male willing to sacrifice his own pride and paset at the chance of a content â€Å"normal† life with Sethe. But this life includes Denver, and from the outset Paul D is aware of Denver’s resentment towards him, not necessarily as a father figure, but as a stranger and a threat to the relationship between Denver and Sethe. Paul D is Morrison’s definintion of an aloof father, aware of his conspicuousness to Denver, and Denver believing that he has no intention of attempting the role of father. Midway through the novel, the reader encounters a crucial moment, as Paul D has been seduced and taken by Beloved, but he is willing to tell Sethe the truth. Paul D finally musters the courage to tell her of his infidelity, and Morrison is sure to highlight Sethe’s courage: â€Å"†¦already ready to accept, release or excuse an in-need-or-trouble man†¦because she didn’t believe any of them†¦ could measure up,† (Morrison, 128). In this statement, Morrison portrays Sethe as she has been from the outset of the story, iron-willed and accustomed well enough to disappointment than to let some wild man from her distant past ruin her by shucking off and discarding her. This outlook is due to Morrison’s extensive development of her character, making Sethe that much more plausible, in the sense that her disturbing past bears down so heavily on her present decision. The established mindset of overcoming any difficulty sets her jaw before she even knows what the issue is that Paul D is referring to. Too, there is an expectant despair in the statement, since Sethe’s past is so loaded with tragedy that she is reluctant to believe anything else is possible. This theme, the inability to completely conquer one’s own past demons, will further define Morrison’s complexity in regard to Sethe and Paul D’s incompatibility as a functional parental pair. Sethe and Paul D are strong central characters but are reluctant to revisit the mutual history that has so bound them, even in the light of a functional and content relationship. As stated by Arlene R. Keizer, â€Å"†¦the knowledge [from Sethe’s and Paul D’s slavery history] that might sustain them spiritually is consigned to the same forbidden area as the knowledge that might destroy them,† (Keizer, 2). Keizer touches on two main points that prove Sethe and Paul D inaccessible as parental figures: one, their shared history is too violent to revisit, hence any former knowledge of upbringing is null and void; and two, this forbidden area constitutes a large portion of their personalities, so any parenting they might attempt would only be a partial reflection of the whole person. Morrison ensures that the past setting of her characters binds them as strong as the present setting. The span of years passed in degradation and submission still wound and hinder both Sethe’s and Paul D’s further attempts to encompass a functional family life. Here a key difference arises between Morrison and Faulkner. Faulkner’s setting is present-focused, concentrating on the immediate actions and linear motion of the story to carry his failed parent theme. His characters can’t see but the road ahead of them, and plod along with a dim view of what is and what still might be, with little to no reference to any previous tragedy. The Bundrens’ past is reflected upon briefly, but merely in passing and without the gravity and great triumph intermingled with tragedy that Morrison employs. Morrison establishes the past as vital to the characters’ growth or retardation, where the strengths and weaknesses are exposed fully in their profound self-reflections, and their past will ultimately haunt them, especially Sethe and Paul D crippling their abilities as parental figures. Often enough, the characters have found methods and means to dissuade the past from surfacing too much, as when Sethe rubs Paul D’s knee, likening the soothing repetitive action to kneading flour into dough: â€Å"Working, working dough. Nothing better than that to start the day’s serious work of beating back the past,† (Morrison, 73). Here, the reader is drawn back to the fact that a collective past such as Sethe’s and Paul D’s must be confronted daily and fiercely, lest the despair it might breed ruin their lives and all that they have worked for. But it is the physical manifestation of Beloved and her move into 124 that wreaks the most havoc, and attempts to crush the semblance of a family Sethe and Paul D were attempting to find. Beloved’s entrance into the novel signifies dual emotions for Sethe, particularly since the longer Beloved lingers, the more willing Sethe is to please and obey her. Beloved completed Sethe in a way that neither Denver nor Paul D could. Sethe becomes doting, gradually sacrificing herself as Beloved grows fatter while â€Å"Sethe pleaded for forgiveness, counting, listing again and again her reasons,† (Morrison, 242). Convinced that Beloved is actually the spirit of her murdered daughter, Sethe is driven to madness by outpouring the devotion she robbed herself of with Beloved’s murder. it is unclear whether or not Beloved is truly the spirit of the child she has slain, but the representation of Sethe’s morbid past is definitely represented. As Jean Wyatt comments, â€Å"Beloved [is] able to articulate infantile feelings that ordinarily remain unspoken,† (Wyatt, 231). Wyatt’s statement encompasses the fullness of the problem. In the literal sense, the reader is drawn to the fact that adult Beloved can speak fully of the murder and articulate her resentment, her bitterness, and demand reasoning from Sethe, which gradually breaks Sethe down into madness. Figuratively, Beloved’s communication serve as a continous reminder of Sethe’s most profound and secret mistake of murdering her daughter. Beloved is a cruel and vindictive spirit, prying Sethe from the care of Denver without Sethe’s full awareness, and capitalizing on Sethe’s regret to the point of Sethe being driven mad. At this point in the novel, a drastic change occurs in Denver. Sethe now dotes upon Beloved incessantly, to the point that Sethe’s health begins to fail and she is driven further into a harmful obsession for Beloved’s well-being. This incites Denver to action, and through her despairing over her mother, Denver dives headlong into maturity, going about town asking for help in the exorcising of Beloved’s malignant spirit. The town gathers and amidst Sethe’s mistaking Mr. Bodwin for Schoolteacher and Sethe’s subsequent attempt to kill him, Beloved vanishes. This episode is Morrison’s most profound irony regarding Sethe as the maternal figure; that by neglecting Denver in favor of Beloved, Denver blooms into a fully grown woman, and succeeds in saving her mother from the terrible spirit of Beloved. The metaphor of the past as a force that requires â€Å"beating back† is crucial also to understanding Morrison’s method of incorporating figurative speech into her novel; the text is rife with similes, metaphors, and euphemisms: â€Å"†¦when trouble rode bareback among them.. or when Amy refers to the whip scars on Sethe’s back as â€Å" a chokecherry tree† (Morrison, 249, 79). These metaphors are Morrison’s most powerful vehicle in delivering her message of hope, where trouble becomes a beast to be tamed and the cruel scars of Sethe’s past are likened to the pleasing image of a tree. It is this language that separates Morrison from Faulkner the most, since Faulkner maintains simple language for a simple people, while Morrison enriches her characters with complex metaphors to fully grasp the potency of those insubstantial words that ever fail to convey a complete meaning. Both Beloved and As I Lay Dying incorporate the three elements of character development, realistic setting, and a sound approach to language use in order to convey their separate messages. Faulkner proves Anse’s and Addie’s failed parenting through his simple-minded but plausible country folks, the fierce and dynamic setting they work within, and the unsophisticated language and writing that epitomizes the questionable decisions and motivations of the parents. Morrison achieves a similar end as her parental characters operate on a more complex thought level, with all the restraints and reassurances of the past. Too, her setting revolves around both the present and the past to create an expansive environment to learn and grow from, and her use of the higher language of metaphor and her final ironic twist implies a mental and spiritual depth that Faulkner’s Bundren family never attains.

Saturday, September 14, 2019

Cost Accounting Essay

Questions arise as to why ABC implementation is successful in certain companies and fails in others. Based on the contingency theory, researchers have argued that the reasons for different degrees of ABC success could be due to the different contextual factors faced by each firm. These have led researchers to recognize assessing factors that influence ABC success implementation as an important research area. The following are among the research that have been carried out to examine factors that influence ABC success: Anderson [18]; Shield [3]; McGowan and Klammer [19]; Krumwiede [20]; and Anderson and Young [21] This article has two main objectives; the first objective is to identify research gaps based on the revision of previous research and the second objective is to propose theoretical research framework for current research. This article is organized as follows: Section II presents a discussion of selected articles related to factors influencing ABC implementation and gaps or limitations of previous studies and suggestions for current research are stated in the section III and IV. The framework for current research is provided in section V, Section VI defines each research variable and the final section presents the conclusion. II. PREVIOUS RESEARCH In this section, selected ABC implementation empirical 144 Abstract—In today’s advanced manufacturing and competitive environment, accurate costing information is crucial for all the kinds of businesses, such as manufacturing firms, merchandizing firms, and service firms. Argued to be superior to the traditional volume-based costing system, Activity-Based Costing system (ABC) has increasingly attracted the attention of practitioners and researchers alike as one of the strategic tools to aid managers for better decision making. The benefits of ABC system and its impacts on companies’ performance have motivated numerous empirical studies on ABC system and it is considered as one of the most-researched management accounting areas in developed countries. Previous research on ABC have examined pertinent issues related to ABC implementation such as the levels of ABC adoption in various countries, the reasons for implementing ABC, the problems related to ABC and the critical success factors influencing ABC. This paper reviews the research on ABC carried out within the last decade, from 1995-2008, and from the review research gaps are identified. Specifically, this paper examines the selection of factors influencing successful ABC implementation, variables used by previous research and the definitions and operationalization of the variables. The review reveals that past research concentrated mainly on behavioral, organizational, and technical variables as the main determinants of ABC success but very little research have been done to examine the roles of organizational culture and structure. Based on the research gaps identified, a research framework for future research is provided. Index Terms—Advanced Manufacturing Activity-Based Costing, ABC Success Environment, I. INTRODUCTION In today’s competitive and continually changing business environment, firms need to be vigilant of the impacts of the changes in the business environment and devise appropriate strategies to survive and prosper. Advancements in manufacturing and communication technologies have drastically changed the ways businesses conduct their activities. Adoption of advanced manufacturing technologies such as robotics and computerized manufacturing have resulted in significant changes in the manufacturing cost structure which have led academics and practitioners to argue that the traditional costing methods are no longer sufficient within this new manufacturing environment [1] (Johnson and Kaplan, 1987). This had resulted in the change from the traditional volume-based cost model to new costing methods such as Activity Based Costing (ABC) [2]. Due to its ability in providing more accurate costing information and enhancing firms’ performance, ABC is International Journal of Trade, Economics and Finance, Vol. 1, No. 2, August, 2010 2010-023X studies, which spanned 1995-2008 periods, were collected from four prominent refereed accounting research journals, in management accounting field: Journal of Management Accounting Research, Accounting, Organizations and Society, Management Accounting Research and British Accounting Review. Factors used by previous research to investigate the effect on ABC success implementation are summarized, and stage of ABC implementation also is outlined. A. Technical Variables Early studies of ABC adoption and implementation undertaken by previous researchers concentrated on technical factors, such as identification of main activities, selection of cost drivers, problem in accumulating cost data. Example of these research are Cooper [9], Morrow and Connelly [22]. However, technical factors alone may not be adequate to explain the factors influencing ABC success implementation. Cooper et al. [23] argued that the key problem during ABC implementation stage is that companies only focus on technical factors. They suggested that to make ABC implementation more effective, non-technical factors such as involvement of non-accounting in ABC implementation process, top management championship, adequate training program to employees about the objectives and benefits of ABC should be emphasized as well. Similar opinions were expressed by Shield [3] and Shields and McEwen [14]. Shield (1995) found no significant relationship between technical factors and ABC success. Shields and McEwen [14] also highlighted that sole emphasis on the architectural and software design of ABC systems leads to the failure of ABC implementation. Therefore many researchers have suggested that new variables should be considered to investigate factors influencing ABC success. B. Contextual, Behavioral and Organizational Variables Recognizing the research gaps in identifying factors that may affect ABC success, academicians shifted their focuses from technical factors to other variables, such as contextual, behavioral and organizational, culture, as well as organizational structure. Anderson [18] conducted a longitudinal investigation of ABC process in General Motor (GM) from a period of 1986 to 1993. In his research, he examined the effects of organizational variables and contextual variables, and segmented ABC implementation into four major stages, initiation, adoption, adaptation and acceptance. He found that organizational factors, such as top management support and training for the ABC system affected various stages of ABC significantly, while contextual variables, such as competition, relevance to managers’ decisions and compatibility with existing systems produced different degree of impact on different stages of ABC. Shield [3] examined the relationships between diversity of behavioral, organizational and technical factors and the success of ABC implementation. She employed Shield and Young’s [24] framework and summarized behavioral and organizational variables as top management support, adequate resources, training, link ABC system to performance evaluation and compensation, non-accounting ownership, link ABC to competitive strategies as well as clarity of ABC objectives. She found that top management support, linkage to quality initiatives and to personal performance measure (pay/appraisal), implementation of training and resource adequacy were the significant predictors in explaining ABC success. She also found that technical variables were not associated with ABC success. Shield’s findings are supported by other researchers, such as Shield and McEwen [14], who argued that a significant cause for unsuccessful implementations of ABC of several companies could be due to the emphasis of architectural and software design of the ABC system and less attention given to behavioral and organizational issues, which were identified by Shield [3]. Krumwiede and Roth [25] also stated that barriers of ABC implementation can be overcome if firms could give importance to behavioral and rganizational variables identified by Shield [3]. Similarly, Norris [26] agreed with Shield’s [3] findings that the association between ABC success and behavioral and organizational variables is stronger than with technical variables. She further highlighted that the impact of behavioral, organizational and technical should be focused at individual level. McGowan and Klammer [19] conducted a survey of 53 employees from 4 targeted sites in the U. S. o examine whether employees’ satisfaction levels are associated with ABC implementation by They also measured their perceptions of the factors associated with the degree of satisfaction, such as top management support; the degree of involvement in the implementation process; objectives clearly stated; objectives shared; training; linkage to performance evaluation system; adequate resources; information quality and preparer over user. Their results indicated that employees’ satisfaction with ABC implementation was positively related with clarity of objectives and quality of ABC information. Gosselin [15] carried out a survey of 161 Canadian manufacturing companies to examine the effects of strategic posture and organizational structure on adoption and implementation of general forms of Activity-based costing. He segmented the ABC implementation stage into adoption and implementation. The research findings showed that a prospector strategy was associated with manager decision to adopt ABC, while centralization and formalization were significantly associated with ABC success implementation. Krumwiede [20] surveyed U. S manufacturing firms to study how contextual factors, such as the potential for cost distortion or size of firms; organizational factors, such as top management support, training or non-accounting ownership, affect each stage of ABC implementation process. His findings showed that the different factors affected the various stages of implementation of ABC and the degree of importance of each factor varies according to the stage of implementation. Contextual factors, such as usefulness of cost information, IT existence, less task uncertainty and large organizations were related to ABC adoption. Moreover, organizational factors, such as top management support, non-accounting ownership, and implementation training affect ABC success implementation. 145 International Journal of Trade, Economics and Finance, Vol. 1, No. 2, August, 2010 2010-023X In another study by Anderson and Young [21], the relationship between organizational and contextual variables, such as organizational structures, task characteristics, management support, information technology and ABC success was examined. The result confirmed the importance of organizational factors (top management support and adequacy resources) during the ABC implementation stage. In South Africa, Sartorius et al. [27] carried out a mail survey to investigate the effect of organizational factors such as top management, adequate resources, coherence with organizational goals and strategy on ABC success. They found top management support and resources were the crucial factors in explaining ABC success. In the UK, Innes and Mitchell [4] and [12] surveyed the extent of ABC adoption among largest firms. The study aimed to find out factors influencing ABC success by using behavioral and organizational variables, and it was found that top management influenced ABC success significantly. In another study conducted by Khalid [28] using a questionnaire survey among the largest 100 firms in Saudi Arabia, ABC adoption was found to be positively related to diversity of products. In Malaysia, Ruhanita et al. [29] conducted a mail survey and a case study to examine that factors influencing ABC success, especially at adoption stage. They found the significant factors were cost distortion, decision usefulness, information technology and organizational factors. In addition, the findings showed that decision usefulness, top management support, link ABC to performance measure and compensation influenced the ABC success adoption significantly. A case study of one Chinese manufacturing firm was carried by Lana and Fei [30] in China. Their research aimed to examine some key success factors pertinent to ABC implementation within Chinese organizational and cultural setting. The research findings showed that top management support, hierarchical and communication structure and high proportion of dedicated professionals were the significant factors in determining ABC success implementation. Majid et al. [7] used a case study approach to describe the process of ABC implementation in a Malaysian service company and a Malaysian manufacturing company. In this research, they categorized ABC implementation into initiation and adoption, design, implementation and use of information. The purpose of the research was to find out the problems faced during ABC implementation, He found that the factors determining ABC success were top management support, suitable ABC software, and finally, ensuring that all affected employees understand and participate in the ABC implementation stage. And they also found that at different stages of ABC, the dominant factors influencing ABC success were also different. Colin et al. [31] adopted behavioral and organizational factors summarized by Shield (1995) to examine factors influencing the adoption and degree of success of ABC systems and determinants of that success. In their research, the targeted research population was manufacturing and service firms in the UK. They found that top management support, non-accounting ownership, adequate training provided to ABC determined the ABC success. Besides behavioral, organizational and technical variable, some researchers also indicated that the dimensions of national cultures could affect the level of ABC success [32, 33]. Brewer [32] used Hofstede’s taxonomy of work-related cultural values to examine the relationship between national culture and Activity-Based Costing system. In the study, Hofstede [34]’s work was applied to the case of Harris Semiconductor (HS), which has implemented ABC at plants in Malaysia and the USA. The results showed that the level of ABC success in Malaysia was higher than that of U. S due to high-power-distance and collectivist cultures in Malaysia. In addition, Supitcha and Frederick [33] also included national culture’s dimension into framework in a case study of one Thai state-owned enterprise’s budgeting system. They found that due to cultural differences, modifications were required when the organizations in Thailand tried to implement ABC system in Thai environment. Apart from national culture, corporate culture factors were also tested by prior research. Baird, Harrison and Reeve [17] conducted a study to investigate the relationship between the extent of ABC adoption and the organizational variables of size and decision usefulness of cost information and business unit culture. In their research, data were collected by a mail survey questionnaire and samples were randomly selected from business units in Australia. The research finding showed significant relationships between ABC adoption and decision usefulness, cultural dimensions of outcome orientation and tight verse loose control. Baird, Harrison and Reeve [16] examined the relationship between success of activity management practices and organizational factors (top management support, training, link to performance evaluation and compensation, and link to quality initiatives), and organizational culture (outcome orientation, team orientation, attention to detail, as well as innovation). They adopted a survey questionnaire method on randomly chosen business units in Australia. The findings showed that two organizational factors (top management support, link to quality initiatives) explained the variations in success of activity management practices, such as ABC, and outcome orientation and attention to detail of organizational culture were associated with ABC success. They also stressed that compared with organizational culture, organizational factors had stronger associations with the ABC.