Hobbit Essays (200 words) - The Hobbit, New Zealand Films

Hobbit The main conflict in this novel is ultimately the acquisition of the lost treasure of the dwarves hoarded by Smaug (the great dragon under the mountain). This treasure actually has great physical and sentimental value. The dwarves to which most of this horde belonged to loved gold and all fine physical things such as jewels and precious metals, but they also were very emotionally attached to this cache once kept by Thrain the great king under the mountain. It seems that as the author of the novel Tolkien is attempting to reveal that the dwarves are very fond of this treasure but also feel almost a since of need for this great legendary horde. As a whole the conflict is developed over a time period of a year or so. The main way that it is developed is by the ingenious use of small side quests and troubles dotted until the final conflict is over. In this novel Tolkien uses many smaller conflicts to add to the already heaping portions of adventure and intrigue contained within the covers. Some are very thrilling such as the time all of the dwarves and the hobbit are captured and taken down to the goblin's lair, or the time Bilbo comes in contact with that strange creature Gollum.

Dostoevskys Revolutionary Her essays

Dostoevsky's Revolutionary Her essays Dostoevskys Revolutionary Hero The fictional author of Dostoevskys Notes From Underground claims that he has all the traits of the anti-hero. He torments others out of spite; he is weak, petty, and spineless. His intelligence and self-proclaimed disease of hyperconsciousness have made him nihilistic; he is unable to believe in himself and has reasoned himself into inaction. Peterson states that nihilism is one logical evil consequence of heightened self-consciousness. This character had done what Buddha wanted to when he first faced the tragic awareness of mortality, and could no longer enjoy lifes pleasures, that is to withdraw himself from the world, suffer and do nothing. This character has retired to his underground, where he avoids reality and fantasizes about a life, all the while unable to do anything productive for himself. He describes himself as a hyperconscious mouse that has reasoned past his motivations and can no longer believe in his own actions. Embittered by inaction, the mouse then creates arou nd itself "a fatal brew, a stinking mess of doubts and unsettled questions. Then filled with half despair, half belief, he consciously buried himself alive for grief in the underworld for forty years, in hyperconsciousness and doubtful hopelessness, in the hell of his unsatisfied desires. With time, the self-generated swamp grows increasingly impenetrable as the consequences of long-term avoidance propagate. This man does seem to embody all things unheroic. But I would argue that parts of the revolutionary hero could also be seen in this character. Peterson, in his epic book entitled Maps of Meaning, explains that "voluntary movement toward the good would mean reintegration of cast-off material, voluntary incorporation of what is indigestible" (pg. 332). I think this is hat Dostoevskys character is attempting to do in the second half of this novel. He has decided to confront the memories that he was ...

Critique of Education Standard III Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Critique of Education Standard III - Essay Example One of the area in which libraries can  strengthen  their  dedication  to sustaining  student  education  is the reference services. Are students  being taught  by the librarians using  reference  orientation? This  study  recognizes eight instructional approaches that the librarians can  relate  in digital  orientation  operations and observes librarians’ use of these approaches in one  university’s instant message (IM)  orientation  service (Oakleaf & VanScoy, 380). Article Summary Since this study indicates a  fresh  method to the knowledge of  training  in digital orientation, the outcomes  anticipate  verification  by  potential  researchers. In order to  exploit  the  force  of digital  orientation  on  student  education, librarians can  implement  a  diversity  of instructional policies based in  educational  theory (Oakleaf & VanScoy, 380). At the start of this study, the inve stigators built up a list of instructional policies on the center of  educational  assumptions, incorporating metacognition, dynamic learning, and social constructivism, and working descriptions of each approach. Metacognition is the capacity to be  deliberate  and insightful about a person’s ideas. ... Librarians can  implement  dynamic  learning  methods in digital orientation operations to  employ  users in successful information looking for behavior.  According to  communal  constructivist  hypothesis, what people gain knowledge of,  is being socially built  via relations with  skilled  members of a particular community.  Elmborg  illustrates that librarians who  implement  a social constructivist  form  of  training  can  lead  users to  develop  into members of a  society  of knowledgeable people (Oakleaf & VanScoy, 381). For the instructional strategies; librarians should  reinforce  constructive  information-seeking actions. They should share breakdowns, successes and coping policies. They should  move  away from  recitation  to images and relations. Librarians should  split  transaction into separate, manageable chunks. They should as well  permit  users to  formulate  choices and take actions . They should  identify  the user’s  capability. Librarians should also refer to  supplementary  librarians with skilled expertise. Librarians should as well  explain  the scope of what they do (Oakleaf & VanScoy, 384). Critique of Article Several authors have emphasized the instructional  prospective  of  orientation  service in the modes of digital and face-to-face. For instance, Moyo recognizes the incorporation of training into  orientation  service as a growing need. Beck and Turner reveal that in-person  orientation  operations take place at the user’s  moment  of need, when they are  mainly  open  to  knowledge  (Oakleaf & VanScoy, 380).  Elmborg  illustrates training provided through  orientation  service as  reliable  in that the learner has a  particular  plan  in  progress  and

Leftside bias and Holistic effect in face recognition Lab Report

Leftside bias and Holistic effect in face recognition - Lab Report Example One hundred twenty trials were done for each orientation (Upright: Left or Right and Inverted: Left or Right), that is 120 upright images (60 adult and 60 baby images) and 120 inverted images (60 adult and 60 baby images) were shown to the participants. Group data was analyzed using T - test. Results showed a significant difference (p Participant's T-test (two tailed, independent sample) was performed to compare the mean probability of the study group with the null hypothesis (i.e. probability of the participants holding the left-left face as the original face whether the image is upright or inverted is 0.5). In this study, 120 trials were done. Therefore to analyze the group data N = 60 was considered and to analyze individual data N = 120 was considered. For statistical calculations probability of null hypothesis was taken as 0.05. To find out if there was any significant difference between the two groups in terms of chimeric face chosen (left-left or right-right) with respect to how the images are positioned (upright or inverted), an Independent T - test was done. Table 2 and 3 shows the results of the T - tests (also the Descriptive Analysis is shown). Table 2 Descriptive Analysis The Descriptive Analysis showed that greater than 50 percent of the participants chose a left-left chimeric face. This result is in resemblance of the 'left-side bias' observed by Hsiao and Cottrell (2009). Table 3 T-test Results The t-test results revealed a significant difference of participants choosing a left-left chimeric face on both upright and inverted images. Discussion This study was carried out to identify whether the orientation of images upon presentation has a significant effect on the decisions made participants of the facial likeness task. One hundred twenty trials were done for each orientation (Upright: Left or Right and Inverted: Left or Right), that is 120 upright images (60 adult and 60 baby images) and 120 inverted images (60 adult and 60 baby images) were shown to the participants. Group data was analyzed using T - test. To find out if there was

Preety Vs Non Preety Thesis Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Preety Vs Non Preety - Thesis Example It will be argued that those who appear better always do relatively better in their lives – keeping all other factors aside. It will further be contended that people who are physically more attractive tend to get more opportunities in their lifetime as compared to their colleagues with unattractive personalities. Moreover, the idea that people with more attractive physical appearances comparatively achieve more in their lives, will be put forward with the help of observation of each and every stage of a human life. ‘Physical appearance’, for the purpose of this paper must not be misinterpreted as ‘beauty’, as the idea of beauty as mere physical appearance is subjective. The physical appearance indicated throughout this paper will relate to only physical attractiveness which may find its roots in different characteristics of a person like his/her intelligence, approach, personality, richness, way of communication and/or prettiness etc. The paper propos es that even though a person’s physical attractiveness may not usually determine his/her working capacity, it is a recurring phenomenon that a person’s physical appearance affects other people’s perception of him thus giving rise to unequal distribution of opportunities amongst the working class based on their physical attractiveness (Loh). ... to show its effects† (Jackson) It is further proposed that the phrase ‘deciding his/her life’ refers to one’s eventual success in life through different stages that every human has to live e.g. childhood, teenage, young adulthood, adulthood and finally old-age. It does not mean that one’s personal life decisions are based upon his physical appearance, however, it refers to the idea that other’s decision with respect to him/her will definitely depend upon his/her physical appearance. The human society revolves around interdependence and notions of social contract (Hampton) which require social interaction and such social interaction is undoubtedly influenced largely by each individual’s physical appearances. Throughout the paper, the main focus will be upon the influence of physical appearance in the social interactions (reflections and perceptions) in different frameworks of various institutions that one happens to come across in his ent ire life-time. â€Å"Democratic or not, physical attractiveness has an important influence in almost every realm of behavior in which its effects have been studied† (Jackson). Through following three subdivided stages of one’s life, this paper will discuss above mentioned contentions in the light of physical attractiveness – (a) Childhood (Kindergarten), (b) Teenage and young adulthood (Middle & High School), (c) Adulthood & Old-age (Job market and Retired life). 2. Effect of Physical Appearance in one’s Childhood life: The birth of a child is known to have been the most beautiful gift of nature. But is this beauty enough to blossom that child as beautifully as others who were born at the same time as him? The most logical answer that follows is – no. There will always be an unequal distribution of resources

The European Union As A Military Power Politics Essay

The European Union As A Military Power Politics Essay Matter of security in Europe and security of Europe has always been at stake. According to Hanspeter Neuhold security is the preservation or protection of essential values overtime, now and in the future He stresses that no total security is possible, but rather what matters is an effectiveness of protection of values. Systems established in Europe so far are serving to the aim of effectiveness for now and in the future  [2]  . Yet, varying conceptualization of EU as a power can be met in ongoing discussions among scholars and experts. Besides defining EU as a normative and civilian power, in conceptualization of the EUs role in the international arena certain experts also argue that the EU is a military power.  [3]  For instance Hedley Bull referring to the debate on civilian vs. military power dismissed the idea of civilian power, naming it as a contradiction in terms. He argues that the capabilities of powers in the international system are rather defined by their military resources. His vision of the Community is that to become more self-sufficient in defense and security, among other things, it needs to improve its conventional forces.  [4]  However, others believe that although the military capabilities of the EU are increasing, the role of the EU in the international arena can hardly be identified as a military power. The formulation of norms and objectives of a civilian power are accompanied by cooperation in the military area and a step-by-step strengthening of the military (defense) capabilities o f the EU.  [5]  Yet, whether and to what extent the Union will use its military capacities to defend and promote its civilian and normative objectives need to be discussed in the light of the provision of the respective framework and institutions. This paper attempts to add a point of view in the discussion of the definition EU as a military power. It has an aim to look at the development of the EUs military capabilities and their functional purpose in order to present authors standpoint on the issue at stake. The author believes that in order to define the presence of military power in EU one has to analyze the nature of its military capabilities and their applications. It is also believed that up-to-date conceptualization of the term military power has not been well developed by scholars of the field and hence suggests theoretical vagueness in the definition itself. First section of the paper will look at the origins of formation of the EUs military capabilities in order to define the original nature of the EU military capabilities. Second chapter scrutinizes the political path of development of CFSP in the light of formation of the EUs military forces. Going beyond analysis of historical and political developments, third section of the paper tries to define current features of the EU that largely influence the security and defense policies lead and accordingly the use of military forces by the EU. In the conclusion the author proposes a conditional response to the main questions of the paper is EU a military power? Section I Political path of development of European Defense Policy One of the websites providing the viewpoint of scholars and politicians on the EUs role in the world provided that the Union has been called an emerging superpower by many academics. Scholars and academics like T.R. Reid, Andrew Reding, Mark Leonard, Jeremy Rifkin, John McCormick, and some politicians like Romano Prodi and Tony Blair either believe that the EU is, or will become, a superpower in the 21st century. According to David Miliband, UK Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, however, the EU is not and never will be a superpower according to David Miliband.  [6]  Lacking a unified foreign policy and with an inability to project military power worldwide, the EU lacks the substance of superpower, who by definition have first of all military reach and possess the capacity to arrive quickly anywhere with troops that can impose their governments will.  [7]   Theoretical conceptualization of the EUs role in the international arena offered by scholars proposes three main dimensions: EU as normative power, EU as civilian power and EU is military power. From the first glance of debates and argument suggested one can assume that EU is largely defined as a normative power the force that is able to promote transformation of norms in the international system. Second popular definition in the debates is EU as civilian power the power that has rather civilian means and economic weight in the international arena and may influence the course of development by this means. This way EU as a military power stands on the third place in row of these three definitions, though it should to be recognized that in the debate of recent years this third definition was placed more often in the centre of discussions. Hedley Bull, Franà §ois Duchà ªne, Kenneth Twitchett, Hanns Maull, Karen Smith and Ian Manners are some of prominent authors involved in this deb ate. Although the end of Cold War was defined by some scholars as the end of hard power politics in international arena and the end of militarization of the international relations, the reality was different. Militarization of the international relations did not stop after the Cold War and the conflicts emerged in post-Soviet world did not reduce in number. The US, Russia, China had the same level of military budget and increased involvement in conflict zones worldwide. First and second Gulf wars, War in Yugoslavia and brutal conflicts in Africa demanded the same level of military capabilities from the international community. So was the reality in terms of militarization in Europe. The continent, that became stronger and survived from self-destruction after the WW II thanks to the economic integration and strengthening of its potential as a civilian power, had another additional focus in its development in post-Cold War period. Since TEU and Maastricht the course of development of defens e and security policies became one of the main priorities. After the war in Yugoslavia that proved inability of Europe to respond to crisis in its territory, this dimension of the EUs potential building was further strengthened. And this is the reason why today scholars question the civilian nature of the EU and bring a notion on military power in the person of the EU. From the perspective of theories of international relations the notions of military power are often defined in the realist and neo-realist accounts that were explaining the world of power politics and post WW II realities. However, as Ian Manners mentioned, traditions of just war and humanitarian intervention may alter these theoretical foundations in the post-Cold War international system. The same way, the notions of military power may need amendments to their conventional frames. In the scope of understanding of EUs role in the international arena we would like to refer for the purpose of this paper to the notion of military power that is given by Ian Manners. He argues that normative power should be differentiated from military power by the extent to which conflict conciliation processes are at work, i.e. whether these are through military actions or through changing the structures of conflict. Empirically, these two approaches can be differentiated in terms of whether conflict i s resolved through longer-term conciliation of the parties (i.e. changing the norm of conflict), or through shorter-term intervention in the conflict (i.e. changing the conflict itself).  [8]  Hence, given the nature of emergence and currents of EU military capabilities, we assume that defining the military power of the EU in terms of application of is military forces in the conflict reconciliation processes is one of possible ways of looking at the EUs nature as a possible military power. For developing this understanding it is crucial to see how EUs military capabilities have been developed and to what end they are aimed to be applied. Today the political cooperation in the framework of the EU is reflected in Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), which covers two main fields of cooperation foreign policy and security. However, the history of political union in Europe brought to formation of CFSP is much broader. To understand the development of CFSP one can divide the path of European political cooperation into two stages: 1. Stage of initial Political Union: European Defense Community and European Political Community; 2. Stage of foundation of CFSP and its functional mechanism 1. Stage of initial Political Union: European Defense Community and European Political Community The history of political unification of the community goes back to 50th, when immediately after initiation of the integration process in the framework of ECCS the idea of establishment of European Defense Community (EDC) came to the agenda (1952). In 1952 the Treaty on EDC was concluded. According to number of authors, most interesting part of the EDC was the consent of states to create European army under the control of supranational organization, which meant reducing of sovereignty and independence of the Community members. According to the Treaty EDC were to be subdivided into homogeneous national units with Community status  [9]  . Nevertheless, the role of NATO in this consideration was not excluded and was thought to have key role in providing security and defense in the continent. Yet, the Treaty failed because of the French parliaments position in 1954. At the same time, this Treaty also entitled the Assembly of ECSC to investigate possibilities for European Political Com munity. Draft treaty for the foundation of European Political Community (EPC) was elaborated, with the invitation of Council of Ministers by Consultative Assembly, after the Luxemburg decision of September 10, 1952.  [10]  EPC, designed in the manner of todays European Union, provided the process of integration with quasi-constitutional basis  [11]  . Art.5 of the Draft Treaty embodying the Statute of the European Community with strict language set that existing institutions shall constitute a single legal entity.  [12]  Being a legal entity means possession of personality. This part of the Statute differentiated EPC from the EU which lacks the legal personality today.  [13]  The community to be established would deepen the process of integration and meant that the founding idea has been reached. Yet, formal achievement of the goal failed again, due to resistance of France. Nonetheless, since then the idea of political integration was reconsidered for several times. Although in 1960 reconsideration by Fouchet Plan was unsuccessful and had no vivid results, in 1970 as the consequence of the suggestions made by Davignon Committee the idea was revived in the form of the institutionalized procedure  [14]  . These suggestions promoted intensification of cooperation in one of the key fields of political integration, namely f oreign affairs. This was the beginning of next stage European Political Cooperation (EPC). Formalization of EPC was realized by signature of Single European Act in 1986 in Luxembourg, art. 30 of which obliges states to inform and consult each other on foreign policy matters.  [15]  This was the first serious step towards the formalization of the EPC. In general, the Single European Act made EPC part of the integration, resulting in revival of political integration in very soft manner and including it at later stages into the Treaty of Maastricht under the title of Common Foreign and Security Policy. This way political cooperation was broadened with security issues and hence majority of decisions were possible in this field as well. To sum up this brief account, we can conclude that that the ancestors of CFSP were EDC, EPC and political cooperation. Two draft Treaties, respectively, on EDC and EPC, contained the part of legal history of CFSP. In the field of legalization a breakthrough took place in July 1987 with Single European Act entering into force. One interesting point in this process is that EDC was talking about the army and putting the Treaty itself under the jurisdiction of ECJ. Yet, it could not be done 40 years later by CFSP. Section II CFSP ERRF a new phase towards political union or a path of being a military power? 2. Stage of foundation of CFSP and its functional mechanism Second phase started with making special emphasis on foreign policy development and closer cooperation in this field during the Maastricht Treaty negotiations. Consequently, in the Treaty of European Union (TEU) the CFSP was included as the second pillar of the EU. TEU called for member states to consult on any matter of foreign and security policy of general interest in order to determine a common approach and provided that Member states shall ensure, through the convergence of their actions, that the Union is able to assert its interests and values on the international scene.  [16]  Moreover, the Maastricht Treaty made provisions for using the Western European Union (WEU) as the military arm of the EUs new Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), and declared that the CFSP would include the eventual framing of a common defence policy, which might in time lead to a common defense (Article J.4.1).  [17]  However, after the inclusion of CFSP into the TEU for some time there was a period of silence and no actions in practice were taken, though Europe was witnessing conflicts in its territories and its neighborhood. The main message was that the CFSP was established to address the issues of security on the whole continent. Yet, in the period of silence the general goals set in Petersberg in 1992 were not much realized in practice. During the time from 1992 to 1998 the whole process was characterized with inaction. Then the central question of debates suggested that though the name given to it was common security and foreign policy, the issue causing problems was defense. But, in this light there was and still is an existing guarantor of defense in Europe NATO. Article 24 (ex article 11 of TEU) of the consolidated version of TEU addressing defense implications of CFSP mentions that CFSP shall include the progressive framing of defense policy, which might led to common defense.  [18]  . Yet the TEU in another paragraph provides that the policy of the Union in accordance with this Article shall not prejudice the specific character of the security and defense policy of certain Member States and shall respect the obligations of certain Member States, which see their common defense realized in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), under the North Atlantic Treaty and be compatible with the common security and defense policy established within that framework.  [19]  This paragraph of the TEU illustrates that the document recognizes and to the extent states priority of NATO over CFSP in providing defense and security in Europe. Nonetheless, it was believed that to defend Europe through CFSP required formation of military forces. At the same time, although (1) humanitarian and rescue tasks; (2) peacekeeping tasks; (3) tasks of combat forces in crisis management, including peacemaking were defined as the tasks for military troops by Petersberg Tasks  [20]  , TEU did not have a specific provision on formation of possible armed forces of the Union. Hence, the only instrument was summits of heads of states that could be concluded with decisive and concrete declaration on this matter and so provide steps forward in this direction. In the result of lengthy debates on granting Europe autonomy in the military and defense matters, in 1998 heads of states of Britain and France met in St-Malo. This summit can be outlined as one of those that played a decisive role in drawing the principles of future activities under Title V of TEU. As the result of the British-French Summit, well known St-Malo declaration was adopted. This declaration recognized .the capacity of autonomous action, backed up by credible military forces and stated that military forces should be supported by a strong and competitive European defense industry and technology.  [21]  But this proposed autonomy was rather restricted by the power of NATO. Declaration also provided: Europe can make its voice heard in world affairs, while acting in conformity with our respective obligations in NATO   [22]  This became another statement providing that NATO would have priority in maintaining security and leading defense policy in the continent. On the other hand, circumstantial factors have been significantly influencing the path of development of the EUs own military capabilities. Particularly the war in Yugoslavia became one of the key influencing factors. After the so called humanitarian intervention was realized in Yugoslavia by NATO forces, Europe, facing its own inability to take action for conflict prevention in its territory, started elaborations on possible implementation of Petersberg tasks and particularly principles of St-Malo Declaration. We may assume that in this elaborations NATO was perceived by the EU as a competitor, although its role in providing European security has been central for more then 50 years. Nonetheless, it was definitive that CSFP could not take the place of NATO in the matters on its competence. One of the first steps forward in this path was Cologne Summit in June of 1999. Cologne European Council in its Declaration on strengthening the common European policy on security and defense decided that to this end, the Union must have the capacity for autonomous action, backed up by credible military forces, the means to decide to use them, and a readiness to do so, in order to respond to international crises.  [23]  Moreover, decision of the Summit gave a mandate to European Council to strengthen the CFSP. In its Declaration on strengthening the common European policy on security and defense, the Cologne European Council agreed to transfer from Western European Union (WEU) to the European Union (EU) the responsibility of decision-making and the capacity for action in the area of the Petersberg tasks.  [24]  Underlying the need for military forces, Cologne Declaration also identified main features of future activities as deployability, sustainability, interoperability, fle xibility and mobility  [25]  . Yet two aspects of the overall message of the Declaration were particularly significant for the issue of our discussion. Firstly, it did not necessarily specify military forces as a common army of the Union as it is conventionally understood. Secondly, it determined that the Atlantic Alliance remains as a foundation of the collective defense of its members, thus excluding determination of NATO as a foundation of collective defense of Europe. By this point the EU has shaped its attitude to NATO in terms of using its military capabilities, declaring that communities defense is not provided by NATO, which ensures rather defense of its members. Cologne in the result became one of the key EU council meetings that according to Bono Giovanno was an expression of desire of the EU to develop military and civilian capabilities to project its power regionally and globally, potentially autonomous from NATO  [26]  . Next important shaping Summit was the Helsinki Council of 10-11 December 1999. By its declaration the Helsinki Council agreed that the objective for the Union was to have an autonomous capacity to take decisions, and where NATO as a whole is not engaged to launch EU-led military operations in response to international crisis.  [27]  It introduced Political and Security Committee as an institution. Moreover, it created Military Committee as a supporting unit for Political and Security Council. Also it was in Helsinki that the post of High Representative for CFSP had been introduced. Furthermore, if in St-Malo and Cologne the intention of capable military forces were resolved with final documents, Helsinki meeting drew schema for the military forces including contingent, size and minimum period of sustainability naming it European Rapid Reaction Forces.  [28]  Generally, it was concluded that the formation of forces will need to be accomplished in 2003. This way, Cologne and He lsinki Conclusions laid first stones to the foundation of ESDP and to the formation of European Military Forces. Yet, although commitment on establishment of ERRF and ESDP was clearly made in the results of St-Malo, Cologne and Helsinki, the autonomy of the EU military capability could not be fully established. Already in one of the next meetings in Feira in June 2000 it was again declared that Council should establish a framework of cooperation with NATO. Feira Declaration mentioned that, Council has identified the principles on the basis which consultation and cooperation with NATO should be developed  [29]  . This was certainly connected to the fact that EU members had already military commitments as NATO members with the organization that is supposed to provide European defense. However, in general, the processes outlined above through the row of summits illustrate that EU was determined to take measures for implementation of Petersberg tasks and to form the autonomous military forces to respond to emergency and crisis situations in its territory and neighborhood. So, at later stages in the framework of Capabilities Commitment Conference (CCC) the EU identified details of functional mechanism of its military forces, where the clear picture of ERRF had been drawn. On 20-21 November at CCC in Brussels, states agreed to 100 000 persons and approximately 400 combat aircraft and 100 vessels, though the question was still whether this was a real army of the Union.  [30]   Interestingly enough answer to this question was given in European Council in Nice in December 2000. Declaration of this meeting declared that the European Union will be able to carry out the full range of Petersberg tasks which does not involve the establishment of European army.  [31]  Thus, it was announced that the EU military forces are not an army, but rather an ad hoc forces that are aimed to address concrete missions and respond to crisis situations. Firstly ad hoc forces were established and brought in action in 2003, when NATO forces were replaced by ERRF in Macedonia, which became the first military deployment of EU forces.  [32]   Further development in establishment of EU military forces was formation of Battle Groups based on the adopted headline goals 2010 in 2004. The decision taken created the EU Battle Groups whose duty was to provide rapid reaction in emergency situations within 5 days and to complete missions of at least 30 days with a maximum number of 1,500 men.  [33]  It is argued that the need is defined by Unions willingness to lead more than one crisis management operation simultaneously. In the result Battle Groups became an additional part of the EU military forces, but did not still transfer the EU military capabilities into EUs army. Nonetheless, following the establishment of ERRF and Battle groups the ESDP missions deployed after 2004 became illustration of the EUs ability to accommodate the goals defined in the TEU (under Petersberg Tasks) and take quick actions in response to emergency situation in the high military level. As former EU HR for the Common Security and Foreign Policy Javier Solana underlined in one of his remarks by above-mentioned actions the EU has proved the credibility of its military capability on the ground in Africa, in Congo and Chad and now is proving it everyday in the difficult waters off Somalia.  [34]   Thus, we can assume that, all in all crisis management operations, originally described as one of the areas covered by the Petersberg Tasks, have been identified in the result of dynamic and stable cooperation since 1998 as the area in which the EU military forces found their main occupation and effective usage. Originally described in Amsterdam Treaty in 1997, crisis management mandate was confirmed in the Treaty of Nice (2000), elaborated later in rather wider detail in the European Strategy Security (ESS) in 2003 and, finally, recognized in the Lisbon Treaty (2007).  [35]   Two general conclusions can be drawn based on the above outlined process of formation of the EUs military capabilities. Firstly, formation of EU CFSP and its own military forces (ERRF and Battle Groups) have been successful due to stable and structured cooperation intensified in 1998 that, at the same time, have had influence of certain circumstantial factors triggered by the realities of post-Cold War international system. Secondly, in the process of establishment of EU military capabilities NATO has still been viewed as a strong competitor that made the Union to form its own potential taking always into account the presence of already existing military alliance. This way, the process of formation of EUs military capabilities has been accompanied by certain institutional and political restrictions that have shaped the CFSP and its up-to-date functional mechanism (ESDP). Section III Purpose, unanimity and global dimension of the EU security policies If the above brought paragraphs demonstrate that in the result of stabile and structure cooperation the path towards strengthening political union ended in the direction of establishing own military forces of the Union, thus making the EU stronger in terms of common policy in security and defense dimensions, the question that occurs is whether this development sufficient for defining the EU as a military power. There is no doubt that the emergence of ERRF as a functional mechanism of EU common security and defense policy significantly extended the political competence of the EU as a Union of states. Yet it could not provide the EU with full capacity of being unitary actor in terms of its defense policy and military capacities. Several aspects deserve particular attention in developing further discussion about the role of military capabilities of the EU in the conceptualization of the Union as military power. Firstly, the purpose of established military forces, namely ERRF should be scrutinized in order to define the EUs competence as an actor both internal and external, as in theoretical terms military power is and instrument for internal and external policies. European Security Strategy identifies the general reason for establishment of ERRF and Battle groups. It declares: Our traditional concept of self- defense up to and including the Cold War was based on the threat of invasion. With the new threats, the first line of defense will often be abroad. The new threats are dynamic.  [36]  Furthermore, the field of application of ERRF and Battle Groups was defined in the framework of Petersberg Tasks that include humanitarian and rescue tasks, peacekeeping and combat forces in crisis management. Moreover, if we look at the overview of ESDP missions we can see that objectives of the military forces are formed on a case by case basis depending on an operations and missions abroad. For i nstance, the EU military missions (apart from civilian ESDP missions) have largely peace-enforcement and peacekeeping mandates and are used most of the time as an instrument of quick response to humanitarian emergencies. Majority of missions in Africa for instance aimed at peace building and peace enforcement by use of military capabilities of the EU. Secondly, the EU in becoming power and launching missions depends on member-states willingness and policy priorities. It has been not once mentioned by various authors that CFSP and defense policy has a distinctive feature in comparison to Unions policies in economic and social field that have greater unanimity. It is largely argued that another fact that, for now, impedes the effectiveness of the CFSP is the unwillingness of the me

Essay --

Asa Philip Randolph was a multi-dimensional man that fit into the categorizes of veteran, civil rights activist, and a intrepid leader that fought for overall labor equality for African American men. Although he was strong in his political stance he also faced the challenges of other prominent figures undermining his proactive methods which in turn deferred his results of acceptance in America. However this did not affect his advocacy for the mistreated and ignored masses. Throughout his adult life he achieved great changes in respect to unionization, work forces and was a voice of the people. Randolph believed in integration and as a result disagreed with the separated beliefs of Black Power advocates and considered violence an unethical and immoral strategy. He also did not see the problem of African American people in America as one that could be solved through isolation because it was seen as the symptom of a social illness, which in a conflict theorist perspective, is caused by an unfairly distributed amount of resources, wealth and power. As a result Randolph's views were shared in a magazine called the MESSENGER, which was founded in 1917, and according to the book A. Philip Randolph and the Struggle for Civil RIghts by Cornelius Bynum, it was considered "the only magazine of scientific radicalism published by Negroes." He co-edited the magazine with Chandler Owen, a fellow socialist who came to be Randolph's closest friend. Each were aware that many did not support their partnership but they disregarded these discriminations because they were confident that society would change with the organization of worker unions. Randolph and Owen outlined the purpose of their socialist publication in an early editorial that d... ...n the Vanguard by Andrew Edmund Kersten, this budget resorted to have the government spend $185 billion over 10 years to fight against poverty, because according to Randolph at the convention floor of the AFL-CIO the labor movement had been the only safe place for ignored, burdened and poor people. It was this ideal that kept his spirit strong through the enduring years when he was the voice for this issue. Asa Philip Randolph’s accomplishments show the immovable strength during his battle for full human rights of African Americans and other people of the nation. Since 1911 Randolph has led the movement for equal human rights within his political advances, was a role model who made something out of nothing and made a name for himself by using his struggle as motivation. He did not take no for an answer but took the initiative to change and make things better.

Case Study on Euthanasia: Elderly cancer patient

In most evangelical Christian opinions, in cases where patients are terminally ill, death appears imminent and treatment offers no medical hope for a cure, it could be argued that it is morally appropriate to request the withdrawal of life-support systems, allowing natural death to occur. In such cases, every effort should be made to keep the patient free of pain and suffering, with emotional and spiritual support being provided until the patient dies.But in this case where the cancer patient seems to still have a chance, although quite small, it is critical that we not only understand what is going on in the world around us but that we also understand what the Bible clearly teaches about, life, death, pain, suffering, and the value of each human life. First, the Bible teaches that we are made in the image of God and therefore, every human life is sacred (Genesis 1:26). In Psalm 139:13-16 we learn that each of us is fearfully and wonderfully made. God himself has knit us together in our mother's womb.We must be very important to Him if He has taken such care to bring us into existence. Second, the Bible is very clear that God is sovereign over life, death and judgement. In Deuteronomy 32:39 The Lord says, â€Å"See now that I myself am He! There is no god besides me, I put to death and I bring to life, I have wounded and I will heal, and no one can deliver out of my hand. † Psalm 139:16 says that it is God who has ordained all of our days before there is even one of them. Paul says essentially the same thing in Ephesians 1:11. Third, God's purposes are beyond our understanding.We often appeal to God as to why some tragedy has happened to us or someone we know. Yet listen to Job's reply to the Lord in Job 42:1-3: I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted. [You asked,] ‘Who is this that obscures My counsel without knowledge? ‘ Surely I spoke of things I did not understand,things too wonderful for me to know. We forget that our minds are finite and His is infinite. We cannot always expect to understand all of what God is about. To think that we can step in and declare that someone's life is no longer worth living is simply not our decision to make.Only God knows when it is time. In Isaiah 55:8-9 the Lord declares, â€Å"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts. † Fourth, our bodies belong to God anyway. Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 6:15,19 that we are members of Christ's body and that we have been bought with a price. Therefore we should glorify God with our bodies. Lastly, suffering draws us closer to God.In light of the euthanasia controversy, listen to Paul's words from 2 Corinthians 1:8 We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. Joni Earickson Tada's book ‘When is it Right to Die? ’ (Zondervan, 1992) shows her testimony and clear thinking is in stark contrast to the conventional wisdom of the world today. Being a Christian and having pro-life sympathies, I believe this Christian daughter should take the same wisdom and proceed with dialysis.

Things You Should Know When Writing a Personal Statement

Things You Should Know When Writing a Personal Statement Personal Statement Writing Secrets The role of personal statement is hard to overestimate because the future of your educations depends on its quality. Writing a personal statement requires not just good writing skills but also creativity and certain level of mental sharpness. Writing skills are useful for every person who wants to become a good professional, but writing skills alone cant guarantee that you will write a decent personal statement. Creativity, ability to think out of the box and a sharp mind are the necessary elements which in combination with good writing skills can help you to craft an excellent personal statement. It means that you need to understand well what youre writing and how exactly youre planning to do this. These two things are the key to writing a good personal statement. Personal Statement Writing Guide Before we proceed to giving you more tips on writing a personal statement, lets clarify the terminology which people still find confusing: Personal statement is a type of essay that is written in order to demonstrate a college admissions committee why you are a good fit for their college and what is your motivation to enter this particular college. Personal statement term is also used for graduate school. College essay means the same thing as a personal statement so I will use both of these terms in this article interchangeably. Essay prompt this is the main question that your college essay is supposed to address. Supplemental essay additional essay beyond personal statement that some educational institutions may require. Now, as we know the terminology lets look at the structure of a personal statement: What is the angle that you want to use to tell the story? What key points do you want to focus on in your story? In case you begin your college essay with a thesis statement, you should reinforce it throughout the whole essay and return to it in the end. Conclusion should restate your focus in a way that lets the college admission committee know why youre an excellent fit for their educational institution. Lets assume that you have selected the college or university where you want to study. Before you start working on a personal statement you need to learn as much as possible about the requirements to the personal statement in this particular educational institution. Also, it is advisable to do a research on prospective college or university to understand its values and see if they correspond to yours. Knowing a background of the educational institution that you want to apply to will be great for your personal statement because if you mention how your life and your values are related to the life and values of the university it will definitely show the admission committee that you have done your research and youre a passionate candidate that should be considered very seriously. When writing a personal statement carefully think what you should and what you shouldnt mention there. For instance, you shouldnt mention facts that dont correlate with your achievements, traits of character and further education. On the other hand, you should mention achievements which are relevant to the spirit of an educational institution that youre applying for. Never forget that there are hundreds of others who are applying with you. This notion should make you understand that you need to focus on something that makes you special. College Personal Statement Prompts: The Process of Writing a Personal Statement Analyze questions mentioned in the application Make a research of the educational institution that youre applying for Write your college essay Revise it and make sure that its devoid of grammatical and logical errors Ask a faculty member in your area to read your essay and give recommendations Make another revision and proofread it one final time Help Writing Personal Statement: Things to Avoid Controversial or too flowery language Mentioning your desire to become a part of this particular educational institution since the young age Being too proud or too modest When writing a personal statement be sincere and use a neutral tone. List all your virtues, values and achievements that are relevant to the definition of a good student for this educational institution. Try to think about what you can achieve as a student and where these achievements may take you in your adult life. Think how they can benefit your educational institution, your community, your city, state, country or even the whole world. Use your creativity and write your college essay interestingly so that the members of admission committee dont get bored while reading it. You may even include a joke or two if appropriate, but be very careful with it, because inappropriate jokes only do harm. Of course, students dont write personal statements often, that is why it seems like a difficult task. While its certainly not easy, calling it difficult would be an exaggeration because if you follow the tips on writing a personal essay offered in this article, writing this essay ceases to be a difficult task. Feel a deep sense of your being within yourself and try to write out of this sense. Be very sincere and project your authenticity from your heart right onto the paper. Admission committee will definitely notice personal statements written in that manner.

Strategic Management The Case of Nike, Inc.

Strategic Management The Case of Nike, Inc. Introduction Nike Inc. is an international company based in the United States, which deals with sportswear and other apparels. The company is ranked as the top seller of sports shoe and clothing. Nike was started in 1964 by Bill Bowerman and was originally called Blue Ribbon Sports, but was later changed to Nike in 1978. During that time, its main goal was to produce low cost, high quality shoes for Americans to break Germans control over domestic trade (Nike, Inc., 2009).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Strategic Management: The Case of Nike, Inc. specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Today, Nike not only distributes its products domestically, but also all around the globe. It has market regions in continents such as Asia, Europe, and United States. Besides, Nike has produced many brands such as Nike Skateboarding and Nike Pro. This paper focuses on the Nike Company and the strategic methods and tools that have led to it s superior performance. Products According to Peters (2009), Nike produces a wide range of products, which are categorized according to their relevant sports. Nike’s first products were track shoes, which were meant for running: the company has managed to design and produce shoes for different games such as baseball, hockey, football, basketball and Cricket. This is due to the ever-increasing number of customers favoring the company’s products. The latest product that has been produced is the Cricket shoe named as air zoom Yorker (Nike, Inc., 2009). Air Zoom Yorker is better because it is 30% lighter as compared to the one designed by Reebok. Another new product is air Jordan XX3, which is meant for basketball. Additionally, as a company that relies on collaborative marketing, Nike together with Apple Inc. has designed a product that is able to check runner’s performance through a radio device, which is placed inside the shoe and is connected with the iPod nano. Nike has also produced shoes that contain flywire and lunarlite foam meant to make the shoe lighter. The Nike+sports brand records the mileage, lost calories, and time used. According to Mintzberg, Ahlstrand, and Lampel (2005), product differentiation and market segmentation form the basis for strategic management in marketing. In this light, meeting customers’ demands has been the strategic objective in Nike’s plan. Marketing Environment and Success Strategy Dess and Alan (2006) affirm that the marketing strategy used by Nike is an essential element for its success. It has enticed its customers through advertising with a slogan ‘Just Do It’. Nike has also teamed up with athlete celebrities through sponsorship agreements. It has many elements of advertising such as advertising through television.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The first advert was created by Wieden and Kennedy at New York marathons. Similarly, Nike has also won Emmy Awards for commercial advert. The advert that won the award was based on what an athlete could face if there was Y2K realization on 1 January 2000. The second commercial advert was called ‘move’, which marked the famous athletes. In product promotions, Nike pays players to wear their products such as t-shirts, shoes and shorts in order to advertise them. Such players include Michael Jordan, and through him, the promotion has boosted Nike’s publicity and sales. It also sponsors many football clubs in Brazil, Netherlands and United States. Golf players like Tiger Woods and Michelle Wie have also benefited from the sponsorships. Nike also sponsors high school basketball and has developed websites for various sports such as nikerunning.com (Johnson Scholes, 2008). However, Nike has faced a tough competition in the market with companies such as Reebok and Adidas, which sell the same products as it does. Reebok has many female consumers, but has a weakness of poor marketing as compared to Nike. It does not always advertise its products on Televisions as compared to other Companies. Nike has tried to capture a big market share of female customers by sponsoring Women’s world cup football, which was held in 1999. Nike has used the five forces model of competition that determines the industry structure. This model has helped it to deal with external forces such as, new entrants in the market, alternative products or services, bargaining influence of suppliers and buyers and competition and enmity among other competitors (Berman Evans, 2006). Onkvisit and Shaw (2004) argues that the risk of new entrants has been a threat to Nike since there are other firms in the clothing and shoe industry that have a potential to produce sportswear shoes and clothes if given a choice. Entry of new entrants has affected the prices because Nike has lowered some o f its product costs. However, the threat has been minimized by government regulations and brand loyalty. Further, Nike avoids extreme rivalry among other competitors because it is a risk to profitability rates. Nike, Inc. considers the bargaining power of the buyers as a threat because strong buyers have the power to lower the products prices and hence raise costs. The buyers are capable of buying in huge quantities and therefore getting a lot of profit while the firm suffers loss (Lynch, 2006).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Strategic Management: The Case of Nike, Inc. specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The company has balanced its products productions and costs to minimize the bargaining power of buyers. Nike has also been able to cope with the bargaining power of suppliers, which poses a threat because the suppliers have power to increase the prices on raw materials. Nike has reliable suppliers who inform the mana gement first upon the increase of costs of raw materials. Drivers to Superior Performance Nike has common drivers that produce superior performance. These drivers include people management, which entails realization of the potential of the employees either in groups or in an individual level. The company has come up with a strategy of upholding fairness among the employees, communication and caring for employees (Nike, Inc. 2009). Through communication, the company ensures that there is a flow of information between the top, middle and higher levels to ensure that every employee’s contribution is taken into consideration. Nike, Inc. also motivates the employees by giving them incentives and rewards to build commitment to promote the organization. People development enables employees to utilize their potentials and fully contribute to the organization’s goal realization. Rewards and recognitions motivate employees to give their best performance and strive to excel throu gh continuous improvement (Berman Evans, 2006). Furthermore, Nike has authorized the customer liaison manager to replace customer’s products in case of a complaint. The manager can make decisions without consulting the management. Johnson and Scholes (2008) assert that leadership is another driver to superior performance, and it entails transforming the organizations direction and instigating others to follow. Leadership is paramount in Nike’s strategic management. Leaders have a stake in realization of the vision, mission and objectives of an organization because they ensure that other employees follow the organizations values. Leadership is developed at top, middle and lower levels in the organization. Continuous improvement is another driver, which is activated by both customers and employees. In this case, there is feedback from the customers and from the employees and hence customer’s needs are met. Organizations’ processes are improved because cust omers provide their needs and the employees act and produce products according to customer’s specifications all the stakeholders gain improvement benefits (Joshi, 2005). Similarly, customer focus is a driver where a relationship with customers is an important issue. This entails assessing customer’s perceptions about products and acting on their response as soon as they raise an issue of concern about a product. Close relationships with customers benefits all the stakeholders involved. Nike has also employed process focus as a driver for performance improvement. The system performance has to meet the set objectives since it is a key technique (Nike, Inc., 2009).Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Another important driver to performance is collaborating with suppliers. This entails relationships between the organization and the suppliers (Lynch, 2006). Nike has recognized suppliers as key for the organization to achieve shared goals while also sharing expertise and knowledge. Improving on processes allows working with suppliers to share resources and improve performance. Nike applies various communication strategies within all its stakeholders to encourage openness and reliance. When communication flows through all the levels in the organization, it makes it easy for the employee’s ideas to be taken into consideration. Stimulating innovation and creativity is another driver that has supported Nike to build up competitive products and services. This has been achieved by modifying the organization structure and being involved with product improvement activities. Nike has also managed its assets and resources to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the organization . Protection of its properties maximizes customer’s value (Mark, 2000). Onkvisit and Shaw (2004) concurs that measuring performance and benchmarking is another driver that Nike uses for superior performance. By utilizing a balanced score card, it has been able to measure process improvements alongside with the organizations objectives. The company also monitors performance in other organizations and collect information from existing and future stakeholders. It uses the information to plan for the future, set targets to be achieved within a certain period, and get unique ideas on improvements from other organizations. Furthermore, Nike employs corporate social responsibility as a driver to superior performance as well as interacting with the society representative. A good example of this is boosting children’s games in the community by sponsoring their sports and provision of uniforms that has Nike’s logo (Nike, Inc., 2009). Strategic Management Tools Strategic m anagement is a technique that Nike, Inc. has been able to apply to determine how it is performing in its current position and how its future should be. This has greatly helped the managers to lay a plan for the organization and take it where they want it to be. The management employs strategic management components such as vision, environmental analysis, strategy creation, strategy implementation, and strategy assessment (Nike, Inc., 2009). Nike has set business plans through strategic management in order to assess its business areas. It is a process which managers build strategies to get better results in performance. This involves studying the competitors’ techniques, both in the current and future. The Company has utilized strategic management tools which have supported it to examine itself in the present and perceive how its future will be. Strategic management acts as a road map to show managers the best direction to follow for the organization to be where it is supposed to be (Lynch, 2006). The tools employed for strategic management include mission statement, SWOT analysis, SMART goals and benchmarking. Mission statements help to make clear how the organization is observed and how it will be perceived in the future. The organization reflects on how it will be different from other competitors like Reebok in the market place. SWOT analysis has been applied to find out the organizations strengths, weaknesses, prospects and risks. Berman and Evans (2006) affirm that this has supported the organization to take advantage of its strengths and reduce the impact of its weaknesses. SWOT analysis has assisted the management to consider other external factors such as new openings and risks to be avoided. SMART goals ensure that the goals and objectives laid down are specific, assessable, achievable, appropriate, and timely. SMART goals are essential for Nike’s management because they have enabled the company to get rid of frustrations due to unrealist ic goals. The management has been specific to establish whether the set goals have been met. Measuring enables the management team to gauge whether they are about to reach their goals and if not close to the goals, how much time and work is remaining in order to get there (Mintzberg, Ahlstrand, Lampel, 2005). Benchmarking is another tool that is employed to scrutinize and adapt to the best processes from other organizations around the globe. As explained earlier, managers have been able to improve the organizations performance to meet its goals and to be at the competitive edge over its competitors. Other techniques that have been used in project management include program evaluations; this helps the company to evaluate a project from start to end. This has supported the management to ascertain the time left to for the completion of the projects. Nike utilizes these projects and programs to reach its goals and achieve its objectives. The Company uses break even analysis technique t o decide on the number of products to sell to break even and grow to be profitable. Lynch (2006) says that game theory is applied in the market to conclude how the customers will react and it does this either through increase in prices or introduction of new products. Financial control techniques like budgets, audits, and financial breakdown are efficient in controlling and balancing the cost of business. Budgets are employed to manage the organizations income and expenditure as well as allocation of resources to different activities and projects. Marketing Strategy and International Markets Nike has many strategic management techniques organized in steps to achieve the laid down goals and objectives. First, environmental scanning is a process that the company employs to collect information from both internal and external environments that has power to influence the organization. This is meant for improving the processes through analyzing competitors, employees, products, and suppli ers (Mark, 2000). After analyzing the environment, strategy formulation is the next step where Nike management takes the best plan among many to accomplish organizational goals and objectives. Through this stage the managers set strategies for business and functional policies. Strategy implementation is taking the best plan and implementing it (Berman Evans, 2006). Organization structure is devised in this step together with the allocation of resources, hiring of human resource and coming up with a clear decision making process. Strategy evaluation is the last step where the strategy implemented is assessed to determine whether it is performing well and if it has deviated, and that the best corrective actions are taken. The purpose for the evaluation is to make sure that that the organization goals are met. In light of this, Nike has been on the global market and has gained competitive advantage on the market. Its marketing managers keep on analyzing the global industries and how c ompetition keeps changing. Trade is increasingly becoming global because of improvement in transport and communication. Nike’s consumers have been able to have access to a wide range of products in their countries. Nike started exporting its products in small amounts, but later increased and reached the export stage. It got more and more foreign orders until it was able to export its products all over the world (Nike, Inc., 2009). Nike has stayed at international market for a long time and it applies many techniques such as adding new brands. Nike keeps on adding new products such as sports shoe and clothes. The information about the new product is posted on the website (nike.com) where consumers can read. Joshi (2005) asserts that through advertising of the new product, Nike gains an increase in sales because this has brought in new customers who have never bought the current products. The existing customers have had a variety of the products to choose. Nike combines the new brand and the old ones into an exceptional package as an offer. Nike has also become a valuable resource to its customers by giving them free information about the products. They have assisted their customers to easily get services, fast deliveries, and at low costs. The company is unique since it produces exclusive and best quality products. They have also promoted the end result of products by telling the consumers about the benefits they will get when they choose to use the products. Nike keeps on changing its marketing strategies due to other aggressive and innovative rivals like Puma, Reebok, and Adidas (Peters, 2009). Competitive Advantage and Value Creation Nike’s brands have turn out to be to be very strong as compared to others such as Reebok and Puma. Their secret is brand management because despite selling their products at a higher price, consumers are still willing to pay more money for its brands which are believed to be of high quality with different styles. D ue to the strong brand competitive advantage, Nike has been able to increase its market share all over the globe. Its prices are a bit high as compared to other competitors but it has made many sales than those of its competitors. Nike, Inc. has gained a competitive advantage over its rivals. This is achieved through giving consumers a greater value and offering high quality products. The company has devised superior value over other competitors. Nike, Inc. uses Michael Porters strategies for competitive advantage such as cost leadership, focus, and differentiation (Johnson Scholes, 2008). The reason why Nike, Inc. has gained a competitive advantage over other companies is that it undertakes an evaluation process, which involves evaluation of resources, clarification of goals, defining customers and examining competitors. In evaluation of resources, the company relies on the resources available and plans on how to use them through product offering and resources. In goals clarificat ion, Nike plans on how to achieve its goals and objectives. Defining customer’s strategy entails looking at the products and services that the plans to develop, and is not provided by the other competitors. This assists Nike, Inc. to determine and communicate to its customers in order to understand their needs and get additional suggestions from them. Examination of competitors helps to identify other ventures targeting a particular market. Through this, Nike compares its strengths and weaknesses with the other competitors (Nike, Inc., 2009). In this regard, there are many techniques used to achieve a competitive advantage. These techniques include product differentiation, service differentiation, people differentiation, image differentiation, quality differentiation, and innovation differentiation (Lynch, 2006). Product differentiation implies that Nike has a wide range of products. Other competitors have tried to imitate its products but it remains upfront due to its qualit y and the products are different in styles and consistency. Peters (2009) argues that in service differentiation, Nike, Inc. offers additional services such as delivery and product return services. This extra service is the one that consumers are after. Information and other instructions about the products are also extra services that attract customers. People differentiation entails hiring result oriented employees who are better than those in other rival companies. Because employees are intangibles, it is difficult to imitate them as in the case of tangibles. Training employees and paying attention to their needs gives Nike Inc. a competitive advantage. Employees such as production staff produce quality products, and it is hard for the competitor to know that the competitive advantage is due to employees’ improvement. The competitor may think that the competitive advantage is due to equipments and materials. People differentiation is essential when customers are directly se rved by the employees. The way employees handle a customer at first time determines whether he will return another time (Berman Evans, 2006). Image differentiation is another technique that has been applied by Nike to differentiate its brand image from other competitors. A negative image can destroy the company’s image within a short time. As Nike undertakes many activities, it supports its image because the â€Å"Nike† mark symbolizes good, and it is easy to identify. In quality differentiation, Nike sells high quality products to its customers. Innovation differentiation entails process innovation. Process innovations reduce the costs of production and the competitors may take time to discover what the company is doing to gain competitive advantage (Nike, Inc., 2009). Nike strives to sustain its competitive advantage because it is not long lasting. This sustainability is achieved through giving value to customers, creation of non-imitable products, which may not be copied by its rivals, and production of products that cannot customers cannot substitute easily. In selecting a competitive advantage, Nike, Inc. selects ways of making products that competitors cannot imitate easily because the management understands what its customers needs are. The company has realized that variety is totally different from differentiation. Nike has strived to stay at the competitive edge because of its efforts and strategies. It has faced many challenges since other competitors have tried to copy it through successful advantages for their business in the dynamic market place. Thus, establishing the market edge is important as well as maintaining it (Mark, 2000). There are many ways that Nike has attracted its customers for value creation. Customer incentive programs are one of the successful programs within the organisation (Nike, Inc., 2009). Nike offers give away to customers, tickets, sales, sponsorships and discounts. Nike sponsors many players in different sports. Such players who have benefited from sponsorships include; James Blake and Roger Federer. It also sponsored Indian cricket team for a period of five years and national soccer clubs in countries like India, Netherlands and Malaysia. Top golfers like Tiger woods and Lucas Glover has also benefited from Nike’s sponsorships. Moreover, Nike has retained both traditional and non-traditional methods of distribution in over 100 companies, but it focuses more on its primary market regions. Apart from product diversification, Nike has diversified supply chain and manufacturing due to international economic crises and other risks. It has many contracted suppliers outside the United States, including Vietnam and Thailand. There are other contractors who manufacture its products in over 35 countries. In the year 2003, China manufactured 38%, Indonesia 27%, Vietnam 18% and Thailand 16%, while the rest was manufactured by other countries. This has enabled Nike to make large amount o f sales. Supplier diversity has also increased its competitiveness in the market and it continues to contract more suppliers in many countries because it believes that supplier relationship is vital. Nike Inc has also employed value creation as a management goal. Creating value for consumers has increased sales as well as the shareholders through the increase in stock price. Value creation is characterized by brands, people and innovation (Mintzberg, Ahlstrand, Lampel, 2005). Nike, Inc. has prioritized value creation in its decision-making. This has helped the managers to know where and how to build the companies capability to attain profitable and lasting growth. Mark (2000) agrees that through value creation, the company has been able to understand the basis and drivers of value creation in the business and market place. They have realized that the consumers value high quality and timely delivery of products and so the processes that lead to the delivery of high quality products are greatly valued. Some of the customers have valued innovation and so the processes involved in creation of new products are also highly valued. Value creation also entails product and process innovation as well as knowing the consumers needs. Nike, Inc. has also realized that value for employees is essential since they feel motivated and work hard to produce better results. Therefore, proper treatment of the employees and involving them in decision-making creates value. Nike has awarded and promoted managers who have defeated the other competitors like Puma in value creation. In this case the managers have positioned capital better than the other competitors. Nike has gained an advantage in developing the organizations ability to get more profits and future growth. Other companies that have achieved the benefits of value creation are Coca-Cola and the Lloyds banks. These companies applied value creation as a technique and have realized growth and increase in their profitability. In acquisitions, Nike has acquired Upscale Footwear Company, surf apparel company, Hurley international and converse Inc. It has sold some of its subsidiaries such as Bauer Hockey and Starter (Nike, Inc., 2009). Conclusion Nike, Inc. has achieved its superior performance, mostly through competitive positioning and value creation. This has been achieved through advertising, brand name recognition, product innovation, and striving to be at the competitive edge despite having a stiff competition. Nike employs many strategies and techniques such as strategic management tools and models, product differentiation, and proper distribution channels. Many consumers have realized the uniqueness of their products and recognize them through the trade name ‘Just Do it’ and Swoosh Logo. They have maintained customers because of their high quality products and unique marketing strategies. References Berman, B. and Evans, J. (2006), Retail Management, A strategic Approach, London: Prent ice Hall. Dess, G. L. and Alan, B. E. (2006), Strategic Management: Text and Cases. Boston: McGraw-Hill Irwin. Johnson, G. and Scholes, K, (2008), Exploring Corporate Strategy, (8th edn), London: Prentice Hall. Joshi, R. M. (2005), International Marketing, New York: Oxford University Press Lynch, R. (2006), Corporate Strategy, (4th edn) London: Prentice Hall. Mark, M. H. (2000), Creating Public Value: Strategic Management in Government, Cambridge: Harvard University Press. Mintzberg, H., Ahlstrand, B. and Lampel, J. (2005), Strategy Safari: A Guided Tour Through the Wilds of Strategic Management, London: Prentice Hall 11. Nike, Inc. (2009), Annual Report on Form 10-K, [pdf]. Available at: http://media.corporate-ir.net/media_files/irol/10/100529/AnnualReport/nike-sh09-rev2/docs/Nike_2009_10-K.pdf . Onkvisit, S. and Shaw, J. (2004), Process International Marketing. International Marketing: analysis and strategy, (4th edn), OH: South-Western College Publishing. Peters, J.W. (2009), The Birth of Just Do It and Other Magic Words. August 19. The New York Times.

Culture Appropriate Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Culture Appropriate - Essay Example The story showed the fusion of the American and Mexican culture as the characters, who were of Mexican heritage tried to integrate themselves into the American society. The fact that story focuses on the issue of gender equality from a feminist perspective, the role of women in the society and cultural integration justifies the work as a culturally appropriate one and underlines its importance as a good cultural source for the American literature. It could be seen that Cisneros tried to draw reference from the American society that has women withdrawing themselves from the role that culture assigned to them and make attempt to attain a certain degree of independence. It also shows the extent at which women struggled against stereotypes and taboos that have a cultural undertone (Perkin & Perkins 2038-2042). What you Pawn I will Redeem by Sherman Alexie shows the journey of the protagonist, Jackson, a Spokane Indian to repossess the powwow regalia of his grandmother. The cultural appro priateness of the Alexie’s work is evident from Jackson’s description of the oppression and violence which is common with indigenous America.

Self Assessment Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Self Assessment - Term Paper Example ) says that merchandise budget planning accounts for inventory shrinkage by indicating deviation between budgeted loses and loses causes by stock theft. Every merchandise budget factors in inventory loses expected as a result of conventional damages during stock handling, losses from discounts and those from general sales activities. In this context, any substantial divergence between the planned loss and actual losses after sales will account for inventory shrinkage. Sales = $26,000, stock 1 = $100,000 and stock 2 = $88,000. Difference in stock value = $12,000. This value represents inventory shrinkage within a single sales period of $26,000. Additions to stock is given by; (value of stock 1/sales) Ãâ€" (sales - inventory shrinkage). Additions = (100,000/26,000) Ãâ€" 14000 = $53,846. Based on the formula GMROI = Gross Margin Ãâ€" (Sales/Average Inventory Cost). Gross margin = 46/100. This means 1.3 = 0.46 Ãâ€" sales-to-stock ratio. Therefore, sales to stock ratio = 2.8:1. In this case, the stock-to-sales ratio for 6 months = 2.8 : 1. In retail marketing, the concept of stock-to-sales ratio shows the relationship between the quantity of inventory in stock and the amount of sales. In August, there will be a high stock-to-sales ratio as compared to that of September. According to Toomey (2010), a high ratio in August means that substantial value of capital is tied up in inventory with little sales. On the contrary, September comes with significant sales; hence the ratio reduces as inventory value melts away due to increasing sales. This rule helps retail managers to acknowledge the fact that approximately 80% of sales will come from 20% of the entire stock. On the contrary, 20% of the stock levels will cause 80% of the losses incurred during sales. According to Toomey (2010), the Pareto rule helps retail managers to focus on only 20% of the inventory levels. This rule should serve as a reminder that managers should focus on controlling inventory levels of fast-selling