Group Leader Charateristics

Reflecting feelings: Reflecting feelings involves identifying client emotions and then paraphrasing this affective component back to the client. Group leaders use this skill to let members know that they are being heard and understood. 2. Confronting: Confrontation is used to assist clients to identify and consider discrepancies in their thoughts, behaviors, and feelings in order to resolve their problems and issues. Confrontation could be seen as an attack; therefore many leaders shy away from onfrontation because they fear its possible repercussions.Skilled group counselors only confront when they care about the person, and they do so in a way that gives the person ample opportunity to consider what is being said. 3. Interpreting: Interpreting is to provide clients with a broader understanding of their behaviors, attitudes, thoughts, and feelings. If a group leader is not sensitive to the client willingness or unwillingness to accept it the interpretation may be rejected.Interpreti ng too soon or in a dogmatic way or encouraging the members to become dependent on the leader to provide meanings and answers are common mistakes of interpreting. 4. Goal setting: Goal setting allows a client to have a long-term vision and short-term motivation. By setting goals one can achieve more, improve self- confidence, and increase motivation to achieve the set goal. In group counseling the productive goal is at the core, to help members select and clarify their own specific goals. 5.Active Listening: Active listening involves paraphrasing and summarizing the client's emotions back to them, asking questions to express what they feel or believe or asking questions to achieve a better understanding of what is being communicated. As a group leader the goal is to listen, many leaders focus to intently on the content and in doing so do not pay enough attention to the way in which group members express themselves. Reference Corey, G. (2012). Theory and practice of group counseling (8th ed. ) Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole ed. )

Methadone: government’s answer to heroine addiction

Methadone is a pain reliever similar to morphine that belongs to the group of drugs known as opioid. Opioids have chemical structures and actions similar to morphine. Methadone’s effects are longer lasting than that of heroine and are considered to be safe, well-tested medication for treatment of opioid addiction withdrawal and dependence state.Methadone as an opiate has something in common with Heroine. They occupy the same mu opioid receptors in the brain. Methadone is a synthetic drug, long-acting opioid whose effects last for 24 hours. It was proven to mimic heroine’s action in the brain without necessarily occupying all the mu opioid receptors. It therefore leaves enough of these receptors free to perform their specific roles and is the reason why methadone patients do not experience high. Methadone reduces the cravings with heroine and blocks the high from heroine use.Benefits of MethadoneMethadone has its own cost benefit by which a patient will only incur $13 pe r day because of its duration of action and very low cost (ONDCP 2000). This is taken a better and cost effective alternative to rehabilitation and incarceration. Withdrawal is much slower than that of heroine. The government finds it much possible to maintain an addict on methadone without undesirable harsh side effects. Methadone detox is only effective for addicts of heroine, morphine, and opioid drugs. Patients may require continuous treatment over a period of long years. Withdrawal symptoms may be regulated by gradual reduction of dosage medication.The truth about MethadoneMethadone is a synthetic drug which is habit forming. Methadone brings about a biochemical balance in the body but the patient remains physically dependent on the opioid. Regular usage develops certain tolerance. Methadones do not cure heroine addiction it only sustain addicts habit by its long-lasting effect characteristics. Methadone has this side effect that may impair thinking and reactions since it still is a form of opioid synthetic drug. The only success that can be attributed to Methadone is its ability to harm some mu opioid receptors while leaving others free to function. But what if the occupied receptors cannot accommodate Methadone anymore? Will it result to giving more harm by affecting the free receptors?The dos and don’ts of Methadone usageMethadone shall be used solely with no other drug combinations. The patient must avoid drugs that contain narcotics that may induce one to get drowsy or sleepy like cough, cold or pain relievers, muscle relaxants, medicine for seizures, depression or anxiety.Allergic reactions are known to be difficulty in breathing and swelling of the face, lips, tongue, or throat. Serious side effects are known to include hallucinations or confusions, swelling of ankles or feet, urinating less than usual, chest pains, and feeling light headed or fainting.Overdose symptoms were observed to be shallow or decreased breathing, slow heart rate, sma ll pupils, cold clammy skin and coma or even death.Methadone administrationThe drug can be taken as a liquid or as a tablet for oral administration. The correct dosage shall be measured with a marked liquid measuring spoon or medicine cup. It can be also administered through injections.ConclusionsI do not believe that government has been helping its people by the introduction of methadone. Tolerance means the possibility of a tolerant person to function normally with a dose that may prove fatal to a non tolerant person. It does not treat nor cure the addiction but only sustain the habit economically for 24 hours because of its long-lasting effect. Methadone can proved fatal when the patient is out on the streets and may not be known to be using it. When plagued with cough and colds, there is a very big possibility that his mind and control defenses will go lax and buy over the counter drugs to treat the illness which is a big NO for this kind of treatment.The way I see it, it is the highway to free addiction and free fall to individual fatality. The free fall may not be on its effect as a treatment but purely on its established harmful effects when combined with other drugs that may be bought over the counter for relief of mild ailments. The harm is laxity and ignorance of the person being held responsible for his own treatment. Methadone may increase the effects of these other drugs and make drowsiness and dizziness even worse. The danger is from the aspects of over dose and side effects.Methadone only reduces cost for treatment some aspects of drug addiction. It also reduces crime and violence but do not ultimately reduce the misuse of this drug and of the other drugs. We don’t hold the thoughts and the hearts of our patients. They have a different meaning for responsibility and laxity of control. Patients do not actually follow what you teach. It has been established that their sense of responsibility and control are not outstanding by the addiction that they were in. The treatment can serve as a freeway to the highway of unknown, uncontrollable, fearsome consequences.[1] What will become of this nation then?I do not mean harm with the theory that the government may find relief in the patient having to commit government assisted unwanted induced suicide. How will the government justify the danger of the treatment? How will they be able to justify giving aids to third world countries when they are limiting financial aids to their citizens themselves? I cannot see the reason of helping first other people then trying to limit own cost of rehabilitation of drug addiction centers and people with mental illness.How can a group of senators and scientist fail to underestimate and assess the relation between over dose and the patient’s sense of responsibility? I absolutely will not deregulate and increase methadone availability. There is already an array of harmful drugs over the counters that were regulated, we cannot add more t o these dangers. I see human sacrifice and cost effective governmental measures that were not helping to the health of these people. It is frantically pushing them to their ends. We cannot justify harm with cost effectiveness.We need to STOP methadone treatment and be back on the basics of rehabilitation strategy. Relapse and withdrawal will never be a problem if we continue to clean our body, our environment, and our policy. If we find it hard to change policies, then we need to push the change on the persons that made it to their seats so we can effect proper changes.ReferencesFinn, S. & Tuckwiller, T. (2006, June 4). The killer cure: Deaths tied to methadone escalate4across State, Nation. The Charlestone Gazette. Retrieved May 21, 2007 from thewebsite of Medical Assisted Treatment Website: http://www.medicalassistedtreatment.org/475719/486926.html?*session*id*key*=*session*id*val*ONDCP. (2000). Methadone April 2000. Retrieved May 21, 2007 from the website of ONDCP.Websites: http: //www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/publications/factsht/methadone/index.html[1]â€Å"Methadone, once given mostly to heroin addicts to ease their cravings is being prescribed now by more doctors to treat pain.  Ã‚  Insurance companies favor it because it is cheap and effective. But methadone helped to kill three times as many Americans in 2003 as it did in 1999, death certificates reveal, and medical examiners blame it for more overdose deaths than any other narcotic drug except cocaine. This previously unpublished information comes from an analysis of death certificates requested by the Gazette-Mail and conducted by the National Vital Statistics System, part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics. West Virginia led the nation in accidental overdose deaths blamed on methadone in 2003, with a death rate four times higher than the national average, the data shows. It was followed by Kentucky, North Carolina, Maine and New Hampsh ire. Methadone contributed to 2,992 deaths nationwide in 2003, up from 790 four years earlier, according to the data. That’s more deaths in one year than the U.S. military has suffered during the conflict in Iraq.   Medical examiners ruled 82 percent of those deaths accidental.† (Finn & Tuckwiller 2006)

Andy's Recipe in Leadership Theory and Practice Case Study

Andy's Recipe in Leadership Theory and Practice - Case Study Example This fact shows that Andy has an excellent relation with his customers. An ability to relate well with customers is indeed a proven factor that contributes to success in business; this point is supported by Boynlon and Zmud in their article â€Å"An Assessment of Critical Success Factors†. In this article, Boynlon and Zmud argue that without skills in relating with customers well, one cannot expect substantial success in business. Thirdly, Andy’s restaurant business is successful because of Andy’s competent leadership skills. One of Andy’s main leadership qualities is his ability to deal with his employees (managers), despite their various weaknesses. All the three managers of his restaurant business, i.e. Kelly, Danielle, and Patrick, have weaknesses that affect their performance in the business, but, despite these weaknesses, Andy is able to deal with them and to coach and to teach them to be better leaders. Andy’s strategy of management is that f ocusing on the strength, rather than the weaknesses of his employees. Focusing on the strengths, rather, than the weaknesses of employees in business management is actually one of the best management models and it helps to prevent crisis between the managers and their employees (Daniel &Ronald, 1961). In the case study that we have read, we learn that helping people to become the best that they can is the goal of Andy for his restaurant employees. Andy’s focus and commitment on improving the leadership skills of his employees, therefore, is one of the main reasons behind Andy’s successful restaurant business. Lastly, Andy’s restaurant business is successful because of honesty and good ethics in business. In the case study that we have read, we learn that Andy does not engage in any unethical practice like raising the prices of his items unfairly, with a view of raising the profits of the business. Andy says in the case study that you succeed in business by being what you should be.

Journal opinion artical Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Journal opinion artical - Essay Example Taking security measures by posting additional police personnel will serve as a stop-gap arrangement and it is not going to solve the problems on a permanent footing. Take it that using gun for violent acts is the type of negativity like smoking, drinking, drug addiction etc. Are we able to control the drug mafia? They thrive and score a march over the law-enforcing authorities and the Nation spends a huge budget in preventing smuggling of drugs across the borders. So, it is not about drafting a good law and getting it passed. In the light of the recent tragedy of massacre of 26 people, including 20 children in the age group of 5-10 years in a Connecticut Elementary School, one of the worst mass shootings in U.S. history, getting the bill passed at the national level should be possible for the Obama administration. Good laws need noble individuals for implementation. So the issue of creating noble individuals attains top priority. The gun control measure, and the first flush of enthu siasm exhibited by the law enforcing authorities, may reduce the percentage of gun-ridden crimes and shootouts. I therefore, reiterate my support for it, for the simple reason that there is no other alternative. But what are the economic implications of introducing the law on gun control? According to the provisions in the intended law, each teacher will carry the gun in the class room environment. Police personnel will be posted in the campus, at a conspicuous place. This is a burden on the economy of the education system, which ultimately will be passed on to the taxpayer. When the law is implemented, will it lead to the permanent solution to the problem? Instead, it may create more problems. The attackers always have the advantage of surprise element and in a big campus if one or two police personnel are posted nothing tangible is going to happen from the security point of view. The attacker will obviously come with prior scouting of the premises and the teacher in the class, tho ugh possesses the gun, will be the sitting ducks, as she has no robotic devises with reflex actions to protect her. Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein says the bill is intended "to help end the mass-shootings that have devastated countless families and terrorized communities."(USA Law†¦) She is right. But she has not addressed to the root cause of the problem, as she will not be able to do anything about it. Senators are aware of their limitations, so are we! The issue is, those who are bent upon acquiring the guns, will get them through clandestine channels. Just look around and see how the terrorist organizations are amassing demonic weapons of their choice, including military-type assault rifles. When tempers on the issue gets cooled down, the related realities will come to the fore. Those supporting the gun ownership rights have taken a stand to oppose the bill. â€Å"Most Republican lawmakers, and even some Democratic proponents of gun ownership rights, are expected to o ppose the bill. America’s main gun rights lobby, the National Rifle Association, is already gearing up for a major legislative battle.† (USA Law†¦)Thus this law and order problem gives rise to serious economic implications as more security personnel will have to be employed at all levels. What happened at the school on the day of the shootout needs a careful and

MIcro and Macro Economic Analysis Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

MIcro and Macro Economic Analysis - Assignment Example Speculations in the prices of oil causes the demand to rise or fall in various times of the year. For example, oil products are greatly demanded in countries experiencing winter because they are used for heating purposes. On the other hand, the supply of petroleum products is mainly dependent on the prices of crude oil, technology and the availability of qualified personnel to extract the products. It is also highly dependent on the political instabilities prevailing in OPEC countries (Etro, 2009). These countries usually have control on the supply and pricing of the product around the globe thereby affecting the profitability’s of many petroleum companies. b) Explain The Market Structure In Which The Chosen Company Operates With Regards To The Chosen Product The British Petroleum Company is found in the oligopoly structure of the market. This is because there are fewer sellers of the products around the globe. They are also highly sensitive to the other companies pricing alon g with their strategies of marketing. In this market structure it becomes very difficult for new entrants to join the market. The sellers in this market structures are always aware of the strategies that their competitors are using. There are several competitors for the company who have branches all around the globe though there are many restrictions that have been placed to bar entrants into the industry. Dealing in petroleum products also requires very high capital and is also a very risky business due to the risks involved (Dunn & Mutti, 2004). c) Explain What The Company Can Do To Continue To Operate In This Profitable Market Structure Or Move Towards A More Profitable Or Sustainable Market Structure In order to continue operating profitably in this market structure, the British Petroleum Company needs to adopt more efficient technologies that aid in their exploration efforts for newer sources of oil. The company should further invest in the exploration of non-conventional raw m aterials since the current sources are in very high demand and are nearing depletion. For example, the company can invest in exploring more into the field of oil sans which could yield a lot of untapped resources. These measures will eventually assist the company in countering the uncertainties that fill the pricing of crude oil. For example, the recent civilian uprisings in the Middle East greatly affected the prices of oil around the globe leading some trading companies into encountering losses (Mankiw, 2011). d) Comment On The Different Elasticity Concepts That Can Influence The Pricing Strategy Or The Competitiveness Of The Chosen Product/Company. The product is affected by various elasticity factors of demand and supply. The elasticity of demand that usually affect the products are the price elasticity, income elasticity and cross elasticity between different companies. The price elasticity usually refers to the changes in the quantities of the products demanded in relation to the changes in the prices of the products. The income elasticity mainly refers to the changes that the company experiences in its income in relation to changes in the demand of petroleum products. The British Petroleum Company is also greatly affected by the cross elasticity that exists between different firms (Gwartney, Stroup, Sobel & MacPhearson, 2008). This type of elasticity is responsible for measuring the

Case Study of a Merger and Acquisition case Essay

Case Study of a Merger and Acquisition case - Essay Example cussed above that this acquisition was done through an RBS led bank consortium comprising of The Royal Bank of Scotland, Fortis Group NV of Belgium & Santander Central Hispano SA of Spain.(Forton,2007). However, during this whole process during which the efforts to acquire the bank were undertaken, Barclay’s- one of the oldest banks in UK- also remained active for the acquisition of the bank. It is also important to note that negotiations between Barclays and ABN Amro were almost finalized and Barclays was on its way to become the largest banking group in the world worth  £94 Billion however, due to certain legal complications and higher bid by RBS led consortium, the deal between Barclays and ABN Amro could not be materialized. The actual deal between both the firms was to be materialized through 70% of the cash and 30% of the RBS shares given to ABN Amro shareholders. Since this deal was brokered through a consortium therefore as per the mutual understanding of the consortium members, the operations of ABN Amro were to be divided. The Royal Bank of Scotland- as the main player in the deal- therefore planned to take over the Chicago operations of the bank, its wholesale operations while other two banks would take its Brazilian as well as Dutch operations. Barclays in its bid also agreed to shift its headquarters to Amsterdam and was even ready to cut most of its UK workforce as a part of the deal. However, RBS was able to attract the attention of investors because of high value of cash involved in the overall deal. RBS promised to pay  £16 Billion for the wholesales operations of ABN which was considered as 32 times higher than the profits of that segment of the business. At that time, it was considered as the bargain as RBS was banking on the possibility of cost saving through restructuring of the operations. Both ABN and RBS were working in the same industry at the time of acquisition and the industry as a whole was faring well. It is also however,

Leadership Accross Cultures Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Leadership Accross Cultures - Essay Example The importance of understanding culture in a workplace drew the attention of Hofstede; he decided to analyze the cultures across the world by means of large and quantitative research (Bing, 2004). Most hospitality and travel companies have realized the significance of international business. Despite this realization still, very few can offer training programs to prevent misunderstandings that occur as a result of intercultural interaction. Customer satisfaction for services offered depends on management and supervision of individual service encounter. Service providers that provide their employees with effective training achieve better results. Organizational culture needs to be managed through effective leadership. For this reason, it is important to properly define organizational culture. It is not an easy task to arrive to a definite description, but some basic questions need to be answered. These include: In a wider sense, culture serves to describe varied groups of people based on the extent to which each group is perceived and how a specific group relates to worldly features, which could be living or nonliving including spiritual divines. Historically, culture is said to develop slowly by slowly as each group creates certain patterns of behaviors and beliefs that tend to help them in a way, to effectively solve their day to day problems. As a community lives together, new behaviors crop up and are associated with certain values and beliefs. Furthermore, this is reinforced by rituals, myths and beliefs. It then forms a formidable culture. Apart from the fact that culture enables people to have a sense of belonging, it further provides a means of distinguishing between different groups with different behaviors (Willcoxson and Millett, 2000). Cultures can be dynamic; any changed circumstance leads to incorporation of new patterns or ideologies. As new systems are introduced into the environment, new patterns of behavior are adopted. When such times

Leading Innovation and Change Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 6000 words

Leading Innovation and Change - Research Paper Example We elaborate the role of leader to bring the change and innovation in the organization, its impact on the people working in the organization and other stakeholders, we also discuss the peoples' resistance towards the change and innovation and the leaders strategy to overcome these types of reactions. In other hand we discuss the successful and unsuccessful change and innovation to evaluate the change and innovation, as well as did an assessment of the performance of leader as a leader of innovation and change and also include an action plan to support the further development.This assignment discusses all the aspects related to the innovation and change, like in this study, we critically evaluate the theories of innovation and change and leadership of innovation and change, assess the performance of leader of innovation and change and develop further plans to support the future development related to the innovation and change. The innovation and change are interrelated with each other and the factors, which are affecting both of them are the same. The leadership is necessary for bringing in the innovation and change whether at the individual level or organizational level. The importance of the leadership to bring in the innovation is gradually increasing worldwide because a leader has the ability to give the understanding to others related to something new, ability to convince people towards the improvement and also a leader can replace old ideas and techniques with new ideas and techniques easily (Aitken and Higgs 2010). ... Leader analyzes the situation as where the change is needed and develop an action plan according to the change required in order to bring in and implement the change. Now, the question is how to bring in the change? Who brings in the change? Why to bring in the change? These are some questions, which normally arise while bringing in a change and in its implementation, there are many other questions related to the change and innovation can arise and the person who brings that change has to give the answer of all these questions that can be convincing for the people who have concerns in respect to the coming changes. (Aitken and Higgs 2010) With the passage of time, the world is getting advanced and new technologies are introduced, organizational structure and systems are introduced and new ways of doing diverse works are presented, organizations have to adopt these changes otherwise they will not be able to survive in the digital world. Manager of an organization doing work in any of the situation must face the situation of change, he has to analyze the nature of the change in the initial level of the implementation of change that is the most appropriate way of managing the changing situations. First of all, he should analyze the need of change whether the change is required to take place in the organization or not and then he should find out whether the change it is appropriate according to the organizational environment or not. Since introducing the change, first thing is to recognize the need for this change like if there is a problem in working with the present ways of doing work, the work is not more efficient with the present ways and there are some opportunities existent, which encourage to bring in a

Market research about Porsch Essay Example for Free

Market research about Porsch Essay Porsche Market Research Report RMIT University | Market Research | Sem C 2012 3 I. Executive Summary Currently, a number of people in Vietnam can afford luxury brand name cars such as Audi and BMW. Despite the fact that car outlay in Vietnam are three-times higher than its original price, demand seems not have any deduction. The research objective of this research is tounderstand about the Vietnamese target segment of Cayenne Porsche, their buying motives and usage, which require both the qualitative and quantitative information. The three research objectives we follow including: Customer’s? perceptions? create? a? relation? between? their? needs? and? the? cars, some factors customers consider before purchasing a car including? the? image? of? car? related? to? customer’s? image? of? success,? their? characteristics? and? the? current? trend? in? the? market and the occasions customers can use the car affect and the way they take care of it can affect their buying decision. Thus we used the combination of the online focus group discussion, the experiment survey, the secondary data analysis and the depth interview in order to get the needed information. Firstly, some introductory information and backgroundof Porsche Company are presented. Then the secondary research and literature review which include the Industry overview as well as Company overview, the Sale and market and the Customer trend would provide the greater understanding interrelated components about the auto market. Next, the Qualitative research is taken place with the use of Online Focus Group Discussion (getting the responses from luxury car’s? users? on? the? website? Otofun),? the? Secondary? Data analysis and In-depth? interview? which? together? give? the? group? a?greater? understanding? about? the? luxury? car’s? target? market,? their? purchase decisions and usage. Besides that, the Quantitative research is activated with the conduction of the experiment survey, dealing? with? the? statistic? in? order? to? generalize? our? findings? and? understand? more? about? the? luxury? car? brands’? consumer? trend and experiences. After collecting data, the group works with the SPSS software to transfer the information found from the survey and interview and then? export? chart,? graph? and? data? tables? in? order? to? get? the? result? (the? output)? and?interpret? them.? Finally,? the? group’s? members will appraise data collected and formulate the conclusion for the information researched and evaluated in each stage of the research, in order to answer the research questions as well as provide short-term and long-term recommendations for the Cayenne product line to get the competitive advantage in the market. Porsche Market Research Report RMIT University | Market Research | Sem C 2012 4 II. Introduction and background Over the last 60 years, the Porsche Holding Salzburg is the largest and most successful specialty automaker business company in Europe. Today, Porsches roster is quite wide-ranging and now even contains a luxury sport car, the Cayenne. Porsche Cayenne was elected? by? MotorTrend? to? be? the? â€Å"SUV? of? 2011†.? Absorbed? by? latest? Porsche’s? design,? Cayenne? attracts? attentions? by? the? look? of Safety, Elegance and Gentlemen. According to AutoVina, experts said that Cayenne, with high class, appropriate internal forces and latest? engine? V6,? is? a? SUV? that? best? suit? with? Vietnam’s? transportation? circumstances,? while? still? serve? the? needs? of? class? clients. The research study is conducted to find more opportunity in Vietnamese luxury car market, specifically understanding deeply Vietnamese customer as the key to ensure further growth in Vietnam. III. Secondary research and literature review 1. Industry Overview Vietnam is considered as one the countries that has the fastest developing economy. Since 1986, Viet Nam moved from planning economy to free trade and this policy brought the fastest development in Vietnam economy, ranking in the Asia area. In 2007, Vietnam had also joined the World Trade Organization and this milestone opened the new era for Vietnam economy and trade. Since then, many importers appeared and put a step onto the automobile market which was just in the initial stage. Despite the high rate of trade deficit, decreasing purchasing power and rocketing inflation, the luxury car sales has still risen. Besides, limiting the loan rate and increasing interest policy from Central Bank would not actually influence the Vietnam luxury automobile market. According to Mr. Laurent Genet, the CEO of Automotive Asia – official? Audi? importer? in? Vietnam:? â€Å"Our? target? customers? are? the? ones? who? do? not? have? financial? concerns†.? For? them,? a? car? is? the? reputation,? social? position? and? investment. †? Following this sustainable tendency, many luxury automobile importers are extremely optimistic about this fresh but potential market. 2. Sales Market Developing economy, increasing population and improving standard of living are main factors which help rocketing Vietnam Car sales in? recent? years.? According? to? the? latest? report? of? the? Vietnam? Automobile? Manufacturers’? Association? (VAMA),? sales? in? September/ 2012 increased by 9%, reaching 7660 vehicles nationally. However, the majority of businesses, forecast that by the end of the year, the market will only consume less than 95,000 vehicles. At the same time, VAMA statistics has just announced that in the first nine months, sales were down 38% compared to the same period last year. One of the biggest recognizable reasons is due to the? government’s? contradictory? policies,? which? is? rises? in? fees? and? taxes? policies.? According to VietnamNet, at least nine types of taxes and fees have been imposed on car owners which narrows the automobile sales. Do Huu Hao, Chair of the Vietnam Automobile Engineering? Association,? former? Deputy? of? Industry? has? recently? stated? that? â€Å"If? Vietnam? does? not? make? a? breakthrough? in? its? policies,? its? automobile? industry? will? never? be? able? to? develop†. Porsche Market Research Report RMIT University | Market Research | Sem C 2012 5 3. Customer Trend Referring? to? â€Å"Personal? Finance? Monitor†? of? Nielsen in 2011, Hanoi people adore luxury product such as sport car or mobile phone†¦? and? easily? got? attracted? by? them.? They? willing? to? pay? high? price? for? lavish? products? and? believed? that? purchasing? and? consuming them are economic investment. As studied in the International Marketing Review written by Lien Le Monkhouse, Bradley R.? Barnes,? Ute? Stephan,? (2012),? Hanoi? people? can? be? reflected? as? the? kind? of? person? who? highly? appraise? â€Å"saving? face†,? and? consequently? have? high? insights? of? the? â€Å"extended? self-component†? as? well? as? â€Å"the? conspicuousness? dimension†? of? luxury.? Dissimilarly, the Saigonese only bought things when needed. They think high-class? goods? are? for? boasters,? and? they’d? just? spend? on? necessary instead of boasting purposes. Accordingly, Vietnamese consumers? are? aware? of? the? financial? crisis? yet? it’s? easier? for? high- end name brands to attract northern clients; and for southern clients, enterprises should differentiate business strategies and products to meet all demands. Nowadays, a numberofpeople in Vietnam can afford luxurybrand name cars such as Lexus and BMW. Despite the fact that car outlay in Vietnam are three-times higher than its original price, demand seems not have any deduction. In? their? journal? â€Å"Business? Strategy? Series†? (2009),? the? authors stated? that,? for? Trends,? â€Å"there are differences in trends these days. People want safety, fast, sexy, but economical cars†.? Therefore,? â€Å"Efficiency†? becomes? one? of? the? newest? major? trends. The second run-up? is? â€Å"to? personalize? your? style†.? For? example,? men?who love speed and sport conventionally dream about a top-gun car at least once in their life. The third run-up? is? â€Å"Safety†,? and? â€Å"making? cars? more? safety†? is? a? permanent? trend? (like? Lexus’s? pre-collision). Last but? not? least? is? â€Å"Entertainment†,? because? everybody would be so pleased as they have a bottle of wine chilled in the mobile refrigerator inside their luxury car. IV. Problem statement Marketing problem Research Question Research Objectives Hypothesis What Vietnamese market segment should be targeted? (Target segments) Will customers choose the Cayenne? How do the answers to above questions differ depending on demographic group (age, income), psychological (social class, lifestyle and spending on household) and behavioral (benefits and usage rate)? Who are the best prospects? To measure purchase intentions, their lifestyle and perception in order to find out is there a relation between their needs and the car HO: Having Luxury cars is independent from monthly income over 36 millions. H1: Having luxury cars is associated with monthly income over 36 million VND. HO: The people with high social class do not feel the luxury car fulfills the need to enjoy life. H1: The people with high social class feel the luxury car fulfills the need to enjoy life and make the enjoyable life more completed. Porsche Market Research Report RMIT University | Market Research | Sem C 2012 6 How and Why do they purchase a luxury car? (Buying motives) How the performances of Porsche Cayanne affect people? Which factors will customers consider most when choosing a type of car except the budget (the interest or family benefits)? What extent do customers think a luxury car is a status symbol for successful Vietnamese people? What can be the channels they get information? What can be the proper time in their life they consider to buy a luxury car? Will the opinions of their friends/colleagues affect them? To measure the purchase intentions. Understand what factors affect the purchase decision, the reasons and time a customer will buy a car. Also to determine how and what a customer consider before making the purchase. Ho: Different age groups have the same opinion about the statement that? â€Å"luxury? cars? create? good? impressions? on? others† H1: Different age groups have different opinions about the statement that? â€Å"luxury? cars? create? good? impressions? on? others† Ho: On? average,? people? do? not? agree? with? the? statement? that? â€Å"Luxury car is a symbol for successful of most Vietnamese customer. † H1: On average? people? agree? with? the? statement? that? â€Å"Luxury car is a symbol? for? successful? of? most? Vietnamese? customer†? Ho: Customers still buy a luxury car irrelevant with the characteristics with which they describe themselves. H1: Customers do not buy a luxury car irrelevant with the characteristics with which they describe themselves Ho: It is not important to have my car the newest car in the market that few people owns it. H1: It is important to have my car the newest car in the market that few people owns it Ho: Family? members’? opinions? do? not? affect? the? decision? making? of? choosing a car H1: Family? members’? opinions? affect? the? decision? making? of? choosing? a car How do customers use a luxury car? (Usage) What can be the perceived benefits they like when using the car in terms of speed, upgraded safe systems? In what kind of occasion they prefer having a luxury car (business and travelling? ) To determine customers’? lifestyle and usage. Understand the ways customers use the car about. Measure Ho: Consumers do not think that it is important to upgrade the new technical developments. H1: Consumers think that it is important to upgrade the new technical developments. Ho: The job requirement is not the purpose for buying the car (mean =3) H1: The job requirement is the purpose for buying the car Porsche Market Research Report RMIT University | Market Research | Sem C 2012 7 the relationship between the car which helps to reflect their prestige. H0: Customers do not like to travel by their luxury car H1: Customers like to travel by their luxury car V. Methodology 1. Qualitative 1. 1 Online Focus Group Discussion (OFGD) We raised online focus group on Otofun. net forum because we can easily find people who have ability to own a car or have knowledge about car from the famous car forum. In Online focus group, respondents can feel free to express any their opinions without embarrassing or awkwardness due to undirected discussion. Many current users of luxury car brands in the forum were happy and willing to respond clearly to our topic after only some hours since we have posted it. We received nearly 120 comments from nearly 15 members of this forum. So, we got many detail and clear information from that sharing. Some respondents in the forum that even actively give us their mobile number for discussing their deeper information since they think their opinions, ideas cannot be completely reflected through the online comments. However, some people merely answer what was asked by us (the topic owner), so it is quite difficult to expand the information and ask more questions and? because? they? are? seem? â€Å"lazy†? to follow the topic. One more problem with OFGD is besides some members who are willing to help us, some them do not answer the questions and just joke around about the topic. Question Similarities Differences Evaluation Q. 1: Why do you want to choose a luxury car brand? Their? image’s? improvement when choosing luxury car brand. Belief? in? car’s? safety? and? quality? based? on? the brand reputation and long-term business establishment. Most respondents believe that consuming a luxury? car? is? a? way? for? them? to? â€Å"highlight†? their social position to surrounding people and show their success. So, if they have enough money, they actually choose a luxury car brand to purchase, especially business people. Q. 2: How do the family factors affect your car purchase? Not concentrate much on the family factors. When choosing a luxury car brand, people tend to focus on the Some respondents who are married and have children see family factors as a small or medium concentrated factor because they can have more than a car which can be separately used for family factor and. Briefly, most respondents do not think the family factors affect completely their luxury car brand consuming. Most of them tend to be affected by other individual factors. Porsche Market Research Report RMIT University | Market Research | Sem C 2012 8 individual image or personal factors individual factors. Q. 3: What do you think about â€Å"Cayenne†? Porsche brand? Cayenne style and design is more appropriate to elder people, who are more than 40 years. Most young wealthy people may not choose Cayenne although it is a luxury and unique car? brand.? They? think? Cayenne’s? design? is? not fashionable and sporty for young drivers. So when people purchase a luxury car, they do not only focus on the image of car brand, but also the design, style and performance of specific car to fit to their style. 1. 2 Secondary Data Analysis Secondary? data? is? used? for? â€Å"Fact? finding†? purpose? to? understand? clearly? about? the? reason explaining the behavior of consumers who owns a car, explain the outcome of quantitative resources and estimate the market potential or target segment for Cayenne car line of Porsche. TNS, AC Nielsen and International Marketing Review are high authority, as these three legal market research agencies.? These? companies’? major function is to provide the research about the market. We will also use famous online newspaper such as Vnexpress and Vietnamnet for searching the updated news. Moreover, it must be accurate, objective, right time and cost benefit. 1. 3 In-depth Interview Depth interview is an effective interview that allows researchers to discover high amount of information needed about customer behavior. Here, the team conducted depth- interviews with 6 people who own Luxury cars to know more about their consumption and usage. These people are full-time manager positions, around more than 35 years old, already married and working at different areas such as Airlines, Baking, Medical science and Auditing Logistics. On average, their estimated gross income is above 30,000USD. The exact numbers are not revealed. These people are open-minded to share their thoughts during interviews. Some of them have more than 2 luxury cars. One team member has a close relationship with these people, hence they are very willing to help us. In fact, all respondents use car to drive to work every day because they believe it can create a good image in front of their customers and business partners. In other hand, when asking about the perceived benefits they like most when using a luxury car, every respondents agree that the personal convenience and comfortably they received from their luxury car are much more valuable than just for showing off. Furthermore, most interviewees think Cayenne product category is suitable for their age. However, respondents said the style of Cayenne is classical and powerful, it may suit with someone in high-class but classic in style. These Porsche Market Research Report RMIT University | Market Research | Sem C 2012 9 opinions help researchers in discovering the potential targeted Vietnamese customers for Cayenne product line. Finally, most respondents shared that they would like to try a new brand for the next time purchasing car. Thus, researchers need to focus and catch opportunities from those potential customers in order to make them become their customer. It is undeniable that thanks to the interviews, our team had more knowledge to modify the survey questionnaires and provide proper explanation for the outcome of quantitative research. 2. Quantitative research 2. 1 Survey This project utilized survey as data collection tool, and chose cross sectional study as survey method. To generalize unknown problem and relevant data, survey is considered as the most sufficient due to its? â€Å"quick,? inexpensive,? efficient,? and? accurate? means†? (Zikmund Babin 2011). In addition, cross sectional study helps to find out the in-need representational information about the chosen market- car? industry? in? general? and? Porsche’s? market? in? particular? (respondents’? attitude? and? behaviors)? at? a? single? point? in? time.? Data? collection consisted of personal interview and self-administered questionnaires (mail survey). Collecting information via conducting survey is indisputably to have several forms of errors. To preserve the quality of the survey, before starting to launch the actual interview, the team had gone through the pretesting process with classmates and asking for lecturer’s? advices.? The? corrected? final? interview questionnaire contains 11 structured and 1 unstructured questions (see Appendix 1), which are happened to be all straightforward (undisguised questions). Since each team member individually contacts every participant, we could explain them any confusing questions hence it ensures that the survey has been done by the right target segment and since we individually contact them, they realize the seriousness of our work and more willing to put effort in answering the questions. Therefore it significantly helps us eliminate respondent error. 2. 2 Sampling The interview process was administered to a broad range of potential target segment (n=104). Compound interviews were planned with respondents in order to produce more in-depth data collection and opportunities for complement. It took us one week to complete? the? survey? process,? as? each? member? contacts? with? their? parents’? friends? who? already? own? a? car? or? request? our? RMIT? friends’? parents to complete the survey. For the purpose of diminishing random sampling error, we mostly focused only on people who already have car, high income and have credible social status. For example questionnaires had been sent to qualified and high-positioned employees of Vietsov Petro Ltd, Trustbank and Indo China airlines. 2. 3 Instrument: Data collection consisted of personal interview and self-administered questionnaires (mail survey). As it provides many advantages such as geography flexibility, low cost, standardized questions and time-consuming, we can collect the relevant data from targeted respondents. Generally, there are 7 sections containing 12 small questions in this questionnaire. All the questions are diverse, spreading from simple-dichotomy, determinant-choice questions to filter questions and likert scale. Section Iis filter questions in order to identify respondents who meet sample criteria. This section collects data? about? respondent’s? situation? whether? they? own? or? Porsche Market Research Report RMIT University | Market Research | Sem C 2012 10 desire to have a car. Section II and III apply simple dichotomy and determinant choice to collect information about respondents’? demographics such as gender, age, kids and income. This can be seen as using Funnel Technique which requiring general information before leading to more specific questions. In Section IV, semantic differential scale is used to help illustrating the comparison of respondent’s? attitude? towards? Porsche? and? one? other? brand.? Based? on? this? part,? a? further? image? profile? made? from? the? comparison between Porsche and another brand will be built up. From section V, Likert Scale is applied. These questions are vital to the survey as they gather information about purchase motivations from different perceptions, usage purposes and personal image. These questions help figure out what really? drives? respondent’s? attitude? and? behavior. Moreover, understanding exactly their lifestyle, desire, and purpose? may? help? the? researcher? take? a? closer? step? towards? respondent’s? mind? then? form? a? better? strategy.? The questions are standardized, short and simple with specified structure that would avoid complexity and ambiguity. Besides, there are also multitude of? options? which? may? avoid? ‘leading’? questions? and? making? assumptions. VI. Survey Result 1. Actual Sampling The sample size of survey questionnaire is 104 people. However, since we only want to choose the people who already own a car, there are 100 people reach this standard since other 4 people merely intends to buy a car. As aforementioned, our team aims at individuals who have a high possibility to possess a car, therefore the percentage of respondents owing a car counts for 96% of sample size. The survey result also reveals that the proportion of people has the income from 36 million VND to above 63million VND counts for65 %of total respondents and only 14. 56 % of them earns lower than 16 million VND per year. Since it can be unreasonable that people earning 16 million VND cannot own a car, but the reason could be they are RMIT students who cannot purchase a car by themselves, but their families have strong financial power so they already drive cars as a main vehicle. 2. Resul t analysis Research objective 1: Customer’s? perceptions? create? a? relation? between? their? needs? and? the? cars Question 1: Do the monthly salary affect the need of having luxury cars? HO: Having Luxury cars is independent from monthly income over 36 millions. H1: Having luxury cars is associated with monthly income over 36 million VND. Porsche Market Research Report RMIT University |. Market Research | Sem C 2012 11 Results Firstly, the bar graph shows that most of the respondents have a car ownership. These cars are mainly from many popular car brands, namely Audi, Acura, Toyota, Mercedes, Ford, BMW, Chrysler, Lexus, Chervolet, Nissan, etc. In contrast, there is a small percentage of 4. 81 not available, presenting for those did not answer the filter question. However, in overall, the study has met the quota of 100 respondents, having cars, as it shows a wide range of the car brands. Toyota seems to bethe most preferable brand since ittakes themost proportion sincethe graphs represents the highest percentage of 27. 88 is gained by those, owning Toyota cars. The runner up is Ford with 10. 58%. The line chart represents the respondents, having monthly income above 36 million VND mostly have an ownership every kinds of cars, from middle cars such as Subaru or Kia to high-class cars such as BMW and Audi. For example, based on the chart, respondents, owning either BMW or Lexus or Mercedes or Honda that have the income above 63 million have lesser respondents, compared to those driving Toyota. Furthermore, those using either Audi or Acura have an income under 16 million. Thus, it strongly supports for the statement that luxury cars independent from monthly income over 36 million. Secondly, based on this Chi-square test, even though there were more rich people own luxury cars than low income level people (21/67= 31% rich people own luxury cars; 7/36=20% average low income level people own luxury cars); this difference is not statistically significant according to the chi square test (test statistics = 1,675, degree of freedom= 1, p-value=0. 196 0. 05). Therefore, it can be concluded that it do not reject H0. On the other words, having luxury cars is independent from monthly income over 36 million. Explanations. Porsche Market Research Report RMIT University | Market Research | Sem C 2012 12 It can be explained that the desire to own a car can be affected by many other factors, such as whether it is relevant to the customers’? characteristics or fit with job requirement (referred to the next objective) therefore even people who have high income still do not choose a luxury car. In addition, there is a noticeable problem here, which is about the respondent error since the income is a sensitive question so some of them have the tendency to choose a higher range than the actual income or vice versa. Question 2: How do the people with high social class feel the luxury car fulfills the need to enjoy life? Ho: The people with high social class do not feel the luxury car fulfills the need to enjoy life. H1: The people with high social class feel the luxury car fulfills the need to enjoy life and make the enjoyable life more completed. Results The bar chart indicates that the group of people with high social class also mostly disagrees with that idea, counting for more than 12. 5% even though the amount of people who agree also counts a certainly high rate which is around 8%. Based on the Car-fulfill-life. Crosstabulation, most of the high social class respondents agree that luxury car could not help fulfill their need to enjoy the life. This difference is not statistically significant according to the chi square test (test statistics = 1,771, degree of freedom= 1, p-value=0,183 0,05). Therefore, we do not reject H0. It can be said that the people with high social class do not feel the luxury car fulfills the need to enjoy life. Explanations From the data collected, the car purchased is compatible with the owner’s? living? standard.? From? the? bar? chart? in? Q1,? successful? businessman with high monthly income above 36 million tends to own a luxury car brand. However, on the other hand, a luxury car somehow does not really take high position in their perception of life fulfillment. This can be explained that the Vietnammese high-class? people’s? perception? is? quite? different? to? the? general? materialism? tendency among Vietnam society. According to ThanhnienOnline article, the real global billionaires do not really stick with materialism containing luxury car, house.. as common thinking of many Vietnamese people. To those people, car is only a mean of transportation, not a demonstration of their richness and success. This tendency also affects a part of VietNam high-class people and gradually forms a different perception among those successful and wealthy people. Recommendations As what have been proved, there is a gradual changing in Vietnam high-class customers which may put luxury car sales at risk. Taking this in consideration, Porsche should launch campaigns focusing on different aspects of luxury car image such as quality, durability, Porsche Market Research Report RMIT University | Market Research | Sem C 2012 13 service and loyal customer incentives. A luxury car does not only bring a high-class outlook and position but also provides the best quality and many other beneficial incentives. Porsche must demonstrate that it deeply understands this insight, that it knows the car is not just a vehicle, it sticks with successful moments in their career and with happy moments with their families. By recognizing and conducting? strategic? plans? on? time,? Porsche? may? affect? targeted? customer’s? perception? and? change? their? behaviour? in? more? positive ways. Research Objective 2: Some factors customers consider before purchasing a car including the image of car related to their image of success, their characteristics and the current trend in the market. Question 1: How customers evaluate Porsche compared to other three competitors (BMW, Audi Mercedes Benz)? Results To clarify, the study has been conducted through the use of ranking Porsche, presented by the red line in the graph and other brands, including BMW, Audi and Mercedes, presented by the blue line, for each of 9 attributes, namely performance, safety, luxury brand image,? driver’s? image,? prestige,? elegance,? desire? of? the? updated? edition? of? car? model? (desirable),? uniqueness? of? car? accessories and level of equipment. The value in the graph has been calculated to the mean for each attribute. Overall,? the? graph? figures? out? Porsche? is? believed? that? the? car? can? be? raised? the? car? driver’s? social? status? which? is? representative of luxury? brand? image,? driver’s? image,? prestige? and? elegance.? To? illustrate,? the? attribute, gaining the highest mean is the image of the driver with the mean around 4. 8, compared to other brands with the mean around 4. Thus, there is a significant gap between Porsche 3. 6 3. 8 4 4. 2 4. 4 4. 6 4. 8 Other luxury brands Porsche Porsche Market Research Report RMIT University | Market Research | Sem C 2012 14 and one of the other car brands, which is 0. 8. Moreover, in the comparison of prestige, there is a magnificent gap between these car brands which is 0. 2. This is because the red line gains around 4. 4, while the blue one is approximately 4. 6. However, in the comparison of desirable, Porsche is underestimated with the mean near 4. 1, whereas, the other one is approximately 4. 6. This can be explained that there is not much updated version of Porsche Cayenne in recent years. Besides that, most Vietnamese customers are a bit interested in SUV market, not quite much as other foreign market. This can be proven that not much Cayenne models are available in Vietnam much, for example, Cayenne S, Cayenne S Diesel and even Cayenne Turbo S. Explanations: In the social image comparison, all the participants of OFGD agree that current Cayenne models raise the image of the driver.? This? also? supported? for? the? question? no.? 2? that? different? age? groups? have? same? opinion? about? the? statement? â€Å"luxury? cars make good? impressions? on? others†. The graph shows there is no much difference between Porsche and the other brands towards performance, safety, uniqueness of car accessories and level of equipment. This can be explained that the cars chosen for the comparison are premium cars. Based on both OFGD and in-depth interviews, most of the participants acknowledge that premium cars have to meet the certain requirements about safety, performance, its uniqueness of the accessories and the high level of equipment. Recommendations: It is recommended that press releases for the updated version of Cayenne should be widely introduced to be launched. This is because this is the opportunity that can enhance the brand awareness of Porsche, especially Cayenne model. Question 2: Do the customers in different age groups similarly care about the impression they have from other people while driving a luxury car? Ho:? Different? age? groups? have? the? same? opinion? about? the? statement? that? â€Å"luxury? cars? create? good? impressions? on? others† H1:? Different? age? groups? have? different? opinions? about? the? statement? that? â€Å"luxury? cars? create? good? impressions? on? others† Results Firstly, based on the graph, the age groups that have been surveyed includes under 24, 24-under 34, 34-44, 44-under 54, 54-under 64, and 64 and above.

Assessment Philosophy Essay Example for Free

Assessment Philosophy Essay In my opinion, assessment is what teachers do in order to better understand where their students are on the cognitive learning level of a subject matter. Assessment is a continuous process that takes time and understanding. As a teacher I will constantly assess my students by getting feedback from them in class. I feel that it is important for me to do this as a teacher, so I know which students need more attention on certain areas of the subject. By assessing my students, I will gain knowledge on how to use types of differentiated instruction where necessary. I believe assessment is a tool used to evaluate both the teaching and learning of  content of the student. A variety of assessment tools should be utilized to effectively reach students strengths. I realize that children learn differently and at their own pace. The types of assessment I will use to determine if my students have gotten where I want them to go will vary. Samples of my formative assessment tools I would use in the classroom would include informal and formal questioning, oral presentations, peer evaluations, variety of projects, quizzes, test, demonstrations, drawings, and web quest observations. We all have strengths and weaknesses and we all have different means of  demonstrating each. If I use a lot of assessments, and vary the types I use, it gives my students the best opportunity to show me what they have. I will allow students the opportunity to pick from various projects that will enhance their learning ability, so I can see what they are able to accomplish. As a teacher I will need to use assessments in my classroom to determine how to act upon the assessment to improve the students’ learning. I think assessments are an important part of being a successful teacher and I hope to encourage my students and show that I care about each one of them.

Critical Thinking And Reflective Thinking

Critical Thinking And Reflective Thinking Critical thinking is the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skilfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action. In its exemplary form, it is based on universal intellectual values that transcend subject matter divisions: clarity, accuracy, precision, consistency, relevance, sound evidence, good reasons, depth, breadth, and fairness. It entails the examination of those structures or elements of thought implicit in all reasoning: purpose, problem, or question-at-issue; assumptions; concepts; empirical grounding; reasoning leading to conclusions; implications and consequences; objections from alternative viewpoints; and frame of reference. Critical thinking   in being responsive to variable subject matter, issues, and purposes   is incorporated in a family of interwoven modes of thinking, among them: scientific thinking, mathematical thinking, historical thinking, anthropological thinking, economic thinking, moral thinking, and philosophical thinking. Critical thinking can be seen as having two components: 1) a set of information and belief generating and processing skills, and 2) the habit, based on intellectual commitment, of using those skills to guide behaviour. It is thus to be contrasted with: 1) the mere acquisition and retention of information alone, because it involves a particular way in which information is sought and treated; 2) the mere possession of a set of skills, because it involves the continual use of them; and 3) the mere use of those skills (as an exercise) without acceptance of their results. Critical thinking varies according to the motivation underlying it. When grounded in selfish motives, it is often manifested in the skilful manipulation of ideas in service of ones own, or ones groups, vested interest. As such it is typically intellectually flawed, however pragmatically successful it might be. When grounded in fair-mindedness and intellectual integrity, it is typically of a higher order intellectually, though subject to the charge of idealism by those habituated to its selfish use. Critical thinking of any kind is never universal in any individual; everyone is subject to episodes of undisciplined or irrational thought. Its quality is therefore typically a matter of degree and dependent on , among other things, the quality and depth of experience in a given domain of thinking or with respect to a particular class of questions. No one is a critical thinker through-and-through, but only to such-and-such a degree, with such-and-such insights and blind spots, subject to such-and-such tendencies towards self-delusion. For this reason, the development of critical thinking skills and dispositions is a life-long endeavour. Another Brief Conceptualization of Critical Thinking Critical thinking is self-guided, self-disciplined thinking which attempts to reason at the highest level of quality in a fair-minded way.   People who think critically consistently attempt to live rationally, reasonably, empathically.  Ã‚   They are keenly aware of the inherently flawed nature of human thinking when left unchecked.   They strive to diminish the power of their egocentric and sociocentric tendencies.   They use the intellectual tools that critical thinking offers concepts and principles that enable them to analyze, assess, and improve thinking.   They work diligently to develop the intellectual virtues of intellectual integrity, intellectual humility, intellectual civility, intellectual empathy, intellectual sense of justice and confidence in reason.   They realize that no matter how skilled they are as thinkers, they can always improve their reasoning abilities and they will at times fall prey to mistakes in reasoning, human irrationality, prejudices, bi ases, distortions, uncritically accepted social rules and taboos, self-interest, and vested interest.   They strive to improve the world in whatever ways they can and contribute to a more rational, civilized society.  Ã‚   At the same time, they recognize the complexities often inherent in doing so.   They avoid thinking simplistically about complicated issues and strive to appropriately consider the rights and needs of relevant others.   They recognize the complexities in developing as thinkers, and commit themselves to life-long practice toward self-improvement.   They embody the Socratic principle:   The unexamined life is not worth living, because they realize that many unexamined lives together result in an uncritical, unjust, dangerous world. ~ Linda Elder, September, 2007 Why Critical Thinking? The Problem Everyone thinks; it is our nature to do so. But much of our thinking, left to itself, is biased, distorted, partial, uninformed or down-right prejudiced. Yet the quality of our life and that of what we produce, make, or build depends precisely on the quality of our thought. Shoddy thinking is costly, both in money and in quality of life. Excellence in thought, however, must be systematically cultivated. A Definition Critical thinking is that mode of thinking about any subject, content, or problem in which the thinker improves the quality of his or her thinking by skilfully taking charge of the structures inherent in thinking and imposing intellectual standards upon them. The Result A well cultivated critical thinker: raises vital questions and problems, formulating them clearly and precisely; gathers and assesses relevant information, using abstract ideas to interpret it effectively comes to well-reasoned conclusions and solutions, testing them against relevant criteria and standards; thinks open-mindedly within alternative systems of thought, recognizing and assessing, as need be, their assumptions, implications, and practical consequences; and communicates effectively with others in figuring out solutions to complex problems. Critical thinking is, in short, self-directed, self-disciplined, self-monitored, and self-corrective thinking. It presupposes assent to rigorous standards of excellence and mindful command of their use. It entails effective communication and problem solving abilities and a commitment to overcome our native egocentrism and sociocentrism.   (Taken from Richard Paul and Linda Elder, The Miniature Guide to Critical Thinking Concepts and Tools, Foundation for Critical Thinking Press, 2008). Available from : www.criticalthinking.org/aboutct/define_critical_thinking.cfm Both Critical Thinking and Reflective Thinking Critical thinking and reflective thinking are often used synonymously.   Critical thinking is used to describe: the use of those cognitive skills or strategies that increase the probability of a desirable outcomethinking that is purposeful, reasoned and goal directed the kind of thinking involved in solving problems, formulating inferences, calculating likelihoods, and making decisions when the thinker is using skills that are thoughtful and effective for the particular context and type of thinking task. Critical thinking is sometimes called directed thinking because it focuses on a desired outcome. Halpern (1996). Reflective thinking, on the other hand, is a part of the critical thinking process referring specifically to the processes of analyzing and making judgments about what has happened. Dewey (1933) suggests that reflective thinking is an active, persistent, and careful consideration of a belief or supposed form of knowledge, of the grounds that support that knowledge, and the further conclusions to which that knowledge leads. Learners are aware of and control their learning by actively participating in reflective thinking assessing what they know, what they need to know, and how they bridge that gap during learning situations. In summary, critical thinking involves a wide range of thinking skills leading toward desirable outcomes and reflective thinking focuses on the process of making judgments about what has happened. However, reflective thinking is most important in prompting learning during complex problem-solving situations because it provides students with an opportunity to step back and think about how they actually solve problems and how a particular set of problem solving strategies is appropriated for achieving their goal. Characteristics of environments and activities that prompt and support reflective thinking: Provide enough wait-time for students to reflect when responding to inquiries. Provide emotionally supportive environments in the classroom encouraging re-evaluation of conclusions. Prompt reviews of the learning situation, what is known, what is not yet known, and what has been learned. Provide authentic tasks involving ill-structured data to encourage reflective thinking during learning activities. Prompt students reflection by asking questions that seek reasons and evidence. Provide some explanations to guide students thought processes during explorations. Provide a less-structured learning environment that prompts students to explore what they think is important. Provide social-learning environments such as those inherent in peer-group works and small group activities to allow students to see other points of view. Provide reflective journal to write down students positions, give reasons to support what they think, show awareness of opposing positions and the weaknesses of their own positions. Reflective Thinking Reflective thinking involves personal consideration of ones own learning. It considers personal achievements and failures and asks what worked, what didnt, and what needs improvement (Given, 2002). It asks the learner to think about her own thinking. Reflection is the key that opens the door to understanding ourselves in relation to core ethical values (Beland, 2003, p.15). Similarly, Lickona states that moral reflection is necessary to develop the cognitive side of character -the important part of our moral selves that enables us to make moral judgments about our own behaviour and that of others (Lickona, 1991, p.229).   This type of reflection enables learners to gain self-knowledge, to demonstrate their understanding of worthwhile moral values, take on the perspective of others, to reflect on why some actions are morally better than others, and to consider alternatives and consequences of actions. Whether reflection is verbal, written, or drawn it is a key strategy for learning and a major tool for character education.   Brain research suggests that brief periods of downtime aid in association, consolidate learning, and imprint memory (Jenson, 1998 as cited in Beland, 2003, p.38).   Reflection can be done through journal writing, keeping a daily diary, essay writing, drawing, and talking in pairs. Reflection can follow a peer discussion. Reflection can be in response to a journal prompt about a character in literature. Reflection on compelling literature and narratives help us bridge the struggle to gain an understanding of the ideas and reasoning of others. Reflection aids the learner in making connections between the moral and social issues in the story, the struggle of the stories characters, and their own struggles to lead a moral life. Reflection can occur in response to academic work and as a follow-up to a cooperative activity when students are asked to reflect upon how well their group did or did not work together. It can be used to review the day, as a follow-up for class meetings, as part of goal setting, and as part of a service learning activity. Students can reflect upon an authentic issue faced by students and the school community such as the impact of cliques, academic honesty or improving sportsmanship.   Reflection can be used in a number of ways that ask students to think about and respond to the learning. Teachers can model reflection by sharing their own learning regarding a moral issue.   This shows students that character development is a life-long journey and that, in this pursuit, it is the effort and the striving toward an ethical life that is important. (Beland, 2003, p.16)

Machiavelli’s The Prince :: Machiavelli The Prince Essays

Niccolo Machiavelli lived in Florence, Italy in the 1400’s. The country of Italy was divided into city-states that had their own leaders, but all pledged alliance to their king. In time in which great leaders were needed in order to help the development of a city-state and country, Machiavelli had a theory that man needed a leader to control them. In his book The Prince, he speaks of the perfect leader. I believe that man, by nature, is neither good nor evil. When a child comes out of its mother, one cannot tell whether or not that child will be a serial killer or win the Nobel Peace prize. A child’s environment is what forms it to be the adult that it will be one day. I believe that it also what one believes that makes him or her what that person will be one day. Machiavelli believed however that man was naturally an evil being, one that needed control (Prince). The idea of man being an evil being, by nature, is expressed in Machiavelli’s book The Prince. He has written that a Prince should break his promises to his subjects because man is evil and will break their promises to their prince (Prince). I do not agree with this theory because I think that man will make his own decision based on whether or not he is good in character. I believe that a leader should tell the truth and win the support of the public by being known as doing this. Machiavelli seems to have the idea of preparing for the worst and thinking in terms of the worst. This is a preventative measure that will benefit anybody who has evil intentions. Only a person who thinks that man is evil would think of such ways to run a government in the way that Machiavelli thought a government should be operated. Machiavelli felt that â€Å"crafty and deceitful princes have historically defeated the faithful princes†(Prince). What happened to the idea of a caring leader, one who could be trusted to make decisions that the majority of the people agreed with? I do not agree with Machiavelli that a leader should be deceitful in order to for his country to succeed or grow. I think that what a leader is depends on what type of man you are good or evil. The leader that Machiavelli describes as being the ideal one is evil.

Pojmans View on Merit Essay -- Philosophy, ethics

In this paper, I will attempt to elaborate on situations where actions have a fitting response to deeds performed. It is my understanding of Pojman's view of which I agree, that "Every action in the universe has a fitting response" (Pojman, 1999, p. 96). I also agree that "Evil deeds must be followed by evil outcomes and good deeds by good outcomes" (Pojman, 1999, p. 96). Take for instance if you commit murder, I feel that you should be put to death. Yes, I know some people may argue this fact but just think about the grieving family of the person who is no longer alive, they are in pain and they suffer while the person who committed murder is still alive. This is why I feel the one who committed the crime should be harshly punished, That person did not think of the hurt that it would cause there family or loved ones so in turn the one who did the crime should be put to death as well. Now I know this will now make two grieving families but again think of the main family at hand. I feel just putting the person in jail is not good enough because they are still living, mean while the other person did not have a chance and is now dead. I also feel why should we as citizens pay for a murderer to be alive in jail and able to stay alive watching TV when the other person is not able to do anything. Yes this is cruel punishment but again it is also just as cruel to commit murder with out legal and just cause. Here are a few more examples of Evil and Punishment: Rape: If a person rapes another person, say it is a male doing the act then I feel it should be a severe punishment. The punishment should be castration of the penis. This form of punishment would prevent the person from doing such act again and not allow then to have... ...hey did serve for us and our/their country and they did their best. It should not matter if they were hurt or not and it should not matter if they only served 4 years or less, No matter what they should receive benefits. I feel a good way of showing our men and woman appreciation is to help them say a marriage happens I feel the military should help out with at least half, and if the person dies they should pay for the entire funeral. To me that really would show appreciation to them for what hey did. Any person who serves should be recognized and rewarded as for what they did they did for us and their country and they did not have to do it at all. So in conclusion yes, I would agree with Pojman we do deserve what get rather it be good or evil/bad. Works Cited Pojman, Louis P. Ethics: Discovering Right and Wrong. 5th edition. Thomson Nelson. Toronto: 2005.

Accounting theory Essay

Accounting theory and its application is very fundamental to students and professional in accountancy. It equips people in the accountancy profession with financial accounting theory and associated research. Relevance of this theory is that it provides accountants with knowledge to critically investigate and analyze contemporary accounting issues. Research enables students to have broad thinking of current accounting issues such as environmental aspects and social responsibility aspects. The study of popular culture lead to research concerning all the emerging issues in the Accounting profession. It brought about the question as to whether students or other stakeholders in the profession should engage the attention of people in the field of research. Deegan,C. (2009) in his book stated that there is little attention given to issues that impact to aspects of the accounting profession. Relevant issues for study in accounting and auditing concern accounting principles and standards, auditing ,professional behavior and general professional matters, such as scope of services, maintenance of quality control and strategies. Study of popular culture has provided researchers with the following arguments to justify implication of the Accounting profession. a. Accounting is a dynamic line of specialization where participants/accountants should be in a position to respond to changes in the business society and come up with revised accounting principles and standards. This will enhance understanding of the financial statements to stakeholders and society in general. b. Public accounting like other profession in United States should provide high level of motivation for evaluating what the actual events. It further anticipates any additional changes in future to improve and provide information on value creation by entity from different dimensions from profit. From research this has lead development international public sector accounting standards The study of popular culture will enable researchers to determine emerging issues such as, unexpected business failure, legal liability of an independent auditor and effectiveness and appropriateness of audit evidence gathered from the society. Besides, it will factor the complex nature of business transactions which normally affect the position of an independent auditor. Studying the popular culture also provides researchers with knowledge to evaluate the value added to the financial statements by various entities. This helps to determine effects of social and environmental accounting; highlights the role of culture in explaining international differences and disclosures in accounting. Popular culture enables society in understanding the reaction of capital markets to financial reporting. By understanding popular culture, it lead to research on fundamental issues such as corporate governance, social and environmental reporting which enables companies in their Annual Operating Plan set aside some amount to used in promoting things like sporting activities. Culture has exceptionally attracted voluntary reporting by allowing research on institutional theory, legitimacy theory, stakeholder’s theory and positive accounting theory. Nevertheless the study popular culture has significantly analyzed normative theories of accounting as well as development of accounting for price level changes. It involves critical appraisal of Historical cost accounting approach, general purchasing power approach and current cost accounting approach. Culture study highlights efforts towards international harmonization of accounting in terms of disclosure and reporting. Application of accounting research has influenced extension of financial reports such employment statements which analyzes the benefits which employees get from employment which in turn its cost to the employer. Earnings per share analyze both basic earnings per share and diluted earnings per share in determining worthiness of company. Research of popular culture is very significance in understanding economic actions to a particular interest of groups within society and to the entire society; it involves extending the accountability of organization beyond the Traditional role providing financial account to the owners of the capital, in particular, the shareholders. Such an extension is predicated upon the assumption that companies do have wider responsibilities than simply to make money for their respective shareholders.

A Book Review of Native Son by Richard Wright

Strong interest in Wright's life, his work, and his influence continues in the 1980s and 1990s, although with not quite the same emphasis as in the preceding four decades. The focus of attention has shifted somewhat, with studies of Wright's political vision diminishing and analyses of his craftsmanship and literary sources increasing.The great majority of scholars and critics during this period are in general agreement about the centrality of Wright's position in African-American letters and his great importance in American and modern traditions, although some reappraisal of a negative sort has also developed, especially among those expressing dissatisfaction with Wright's portrayal of female characters.And with the publication in 1991 of the Library of America editions of Wright's major work, the critical response to Wright has entered an important new phase in which fundamental questions are now being raised about which texts are the most authentic representations of Wright's actu al intentions and which texts are highest in literary quality.Wright's achievement in Native Son was not only to project the experience of American black people, in all its raw brutality but also to form it into a rich, coherent, balanced vision of life. Wright attracted in some ways to Western culture because of its tradition of Enlightenment rationalism that promises political freedom to oppressed people. Wright was deeply suspicious of other aspects of the West, especially its history of racism.Although characters like Bigger Thomas are initially described as alienated from both self and community, they experience genuine selfhood and become a participant in the life of the spirit by establishing kinship with others. I envision Bigger Thomas as caught between these two opposite qualities of Western culture, for he is both victimized by Western racism and also achieves selfhood in a very Western way through â€Å"revolutionary will, individualism and self consciousness† (p. 311).The slum conditions of the South Side so vividly portrayed in Native Son had been the daily reality of a decade in Wright life ( 1927- 1937). He had lived in a cramped and dirty flat with his aunt, mother, and brother. He had visited hundreds of similar dwellings while working as an insurance agent.The details of the Chicago environment in the novel have a verisimilitude that is almost photographic. The â€Å"Ernie's Kitchen Shack† of the novel, located at Forty-Seventh Street and Indiana Avenue, for example, is a slight disguise for an actual restaurant called â€Å"The Chicken Shack,† 4647 Indiana Avenue, of which one Ernie Henderson was owner. Similar documentary accuracy is observed throughout the book.Wright drives his story forward at a furious yet skillfully controlled pace. The full drama is unfolded in just about two weeks. There is first of all the prophetic killing of a rat in the room where Bigger, his mother, his sister and his brother live in quarre ling, desperate squalor.Then Bigger, who has a bad name as a braggart living by shady devices, goes out to meet the poolroom gang environment provides. He plans a hold-up he is afraid to carry out. To hide his cowardice he terrorizes one of his friends.You see his character. That is the point. Wright is champion of a race, not defender of an individual wrongdoer. Bigger gets a job as chauffeur in the house of Mr. Dalton, who is a philanthropist toward Negroes and owner of many Negro tenements. Mary Dalton, the daughter of the house, and her friend Jan, a supernally noble radical, make him drink with them. Through an accident, Bigger kills Mary Dalton.That is the first murder. There is a gruesome dismemberment to hide the crime. Bigger thinks of demanding money, and makes his girl, Bessie, help him. His crime is discovered. After that there is the flight, the second murder, deliberate and brutal, the manhunt spreading terror over the whole South Side, then the spectacular capture and the day of reckoning in court for all concerned.Apart from the ideas that give it volume, force and scope, Native Son has some magnificently realized scenes: in the early part, where Bigger, a stranger and afraid, as Houseman said, in a world he never made, gropes for freedom from the walls that hold him; in the flight across the roofs and the stand high over the world, in the jail where processions of people come to see him, at the inquest and in the howling mob outside the court.The measure in which it shakes a community is the measure of its effectiveness.

Effect of Socioeconomic Status to Education Essay

I. Introduction Thesis Statement The learning of Lasallian students are affected by the inflexible relationship between education and socioeconomic status. A. Background of the Study 1. The Socioeconomic Classes in the Philippines According to National Center for Economic Statistics (2008), when analyzing a family’s SES, the household income, earners’ education, and occupation are examined, as well as combined income, versus with an individual, when their own attributes are assessed. Family Income and Expenditure Survey of the National Statistical Coordination Board (2010) shows the statistics hierarchal socioeconomic classes of differences in the Philippines that the Higher Class Family or A class are the top 5% (5 million people) – P25,000 to, millions of dollars, and billions of pesos those are Filipinos that are Senior Politicians, Land owners, Large Business Owners and Middle Class Family or B class which comprises 10-15% population which estimated 10-15 million Filipino people with wages of P15,000 – 25,000 a month that consists of Mid-Level Politicians, Professionals – doctors, engineers, superv isors and lastly Low Class Family that composes of 20%, equivalent to 20million Filipino people with a salary of P5,000 -15,000 a month they are the skilled craftsman, teachers and nurses as well as bank clerks and retail shop assistants. 2. Education in the Philippines Dr. Romulo Virola of Philippine Education (2009) has shown that Philippine spend only 3.3% of GDP (Gender Disparity ) on public educational institutions for all levels of education ;this is lower than 7.4% for Malaysia , 4.0% for Thailand, 4.0% for all WEI (World Education Indicators) and 5.2 % average for OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries. (Morgan, Farkas, Hillemier, &Maczuga, 2009). Education is the best legacy a nation can give to her citizens especially the youth; this is because the development of any nation or community depends largely on the quality of education of such a nation. It is generally believed that the basis for any true development must commence with the development of human resources if our government continue to develop this kind of education. The famous quotation (Dr. Jose P. Rizal, 1898) â€Å"The youth is the hope of our future† will only be just a collection of poetry from Rizal’s books. In the Philippines there is a two kind of schools the public schools which is under the supervision of DepEd (Department of Education)while the private schools which under the administration of CHED (Commission on Higher Education), and according to Willy Blackwell (2010) Private schools tend to have better funding than public schools. The additional funding from the private schools means more access to resources which could result to enhance better academic performance but hence most private schools in the Philippines have higher tuition fee than in public schools with 95 percent of all elementary students attending public schools, the educational crisis in the Philippines is basically a crisis of public education. The wealthy can easily send their offspring to private schools, many of which offer first-class education t o the privileged class of pupils. 3. The La Salle University in Ozamiz City La Salle University (LSU), formerly known as Immaculate Conception College-La Salle, is a member school of De La Salle Philippines located in Ozamiz City, Misamis Occidental, Philippines. Its quality in Education and the best approaches had joined efforts of the school administration, faculty and staff in catering to the needs of their learners, provided the students the use of technology in instruction, and the system that the university is using in almost all of its tasks is computer-based. The campus is also equipped with Wi-Fi hotspots, computer terminals are also present inside, and to better facilitate learning, four audio-visual rooms are available for students’ and faculty use, each equipped with a high-end LCD/DLP projector and a laptop or a PC, these technologies equipped the students and the teachers with the skills and the knowledge in integrating technology for instruction. (www.lsu.edu.ph). While, For the past 2 years the socioeconomic profile of the students enrolled in LSU according to Mrs. Tagaylo that the number of students is approximately six thousand nine hundred forty-seven (6,947), whereas the number of working students according to Mrs. Prosadas and Mr. Saplad is nearly five hundred fifty-two (552), and as we subtract the number of working students to the total number of students enrolled it resulted that the regular students are approximately six thousand three hundred ninety-five (6,395), and it shows that the working students comprise only 1/3 of the total number of population in LSU, as a result the socioeconomic profile of the students in La Salle University, highly belong in upper level in the socioeconomic classes in the Philippines. A. Statement of Purpose The researchers want to learn the impact of the correlationship between socioeconomic status and education to the learning of the Lasallian students. Specifically this study aims to answer the following questions: 1. How do socioeconomic statuses of the students affect their academic performance? 2. How does socioeconomic status affect to the psychological aspect of the students? 3. How socioeconomic status and education correlate each other? B. Definition of Terms Socioeconomic Status (SES) – an economic and sociological combined total measures of a person’s work experiences (www.thesaurus.com). Quality of Education –degree of excellence in developing knowledge and skills (www.nb.edu.ph). Occupation – an employment of a person under service performed for payment (www.dictionary.com). Academic Achievements – the outcome of the education of the school extent that has attained an educational goal (www.nb.edu.ph). School – an institution for instruction of being educated formally to develop knowledge and skills (www.thesaurus.com). Socioeconomic Classes- social standing of an individual or group (www.journalclass.com). II. METHODOLOGY A. Research design This study used descriptive method where in the researchers gathered information about the target respondents. This study is investigative in nature the researchers made questionnaires. B. Respondents and Locale The respondents were randomly selected 15 male and 15 female working students and 15 male and 15 female regular students here in La Salle University Ozamiz City, enrolled in different colleges. C. Materials The researchers use questionnaires in order to conduct survey to the respondents. D. Test taking Procedure The researchers conducted surveys that were randomly given to selected 15 male and 15 female working students and 15 male and 15 female regular students in La Salle University, Ozamiz City. In addition, observation was constituted in order to determine the effect of socioeconomic status of the students here at La Salle University, Ozamiz City. E. Data Collection The researchers collected data from references that were found in books, internet sources and compress the ideas in the result from the survey they had conducted.

Analyst Apple 4ps

Analysis, segmentation and marketing mix of Apple Introduction The aim of this report is to analyse the current position of the company which includes the products, current strategic position, and current financial strength. Different types of marketing tools are used in this report. PEST analysis and Porter’s five force model for looking into the external environment. SWOT analysis for looking into the internal environment of the organization.This report also looks into market segmentation and the marketing mix of the product. Apple was first introduced by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne on April 1, 1976 to market and sell the Apple personal computer kit. The first computer kits were hand built and was kept for a public display first at the homebrew computer lab. This computer kit consisted of Motherboard with RAM, CPU, and some video chips.Since then apple have come a long way in the market all over the world and they are one of the leading companies in electroni c products. This can be known with the information given below: Current Strategic Position Apple believes in continuous improvement and they look into all the key sectors like environment, health and safety management systems and the quality of our products, processes and services.Looking into the Principle and goals of Apple, Apple has set out their own principles where they look to meet all the health and safety requirements, promote energy efficiency, and their main goals are; innovation is the most important thing for apple, to increase the number of sales of the product in the education field, providing new and user friendly software for the customers, and last but not the least providing high quality products to the customers.Looking into the current strategic position of Apple, with the introduction of its own operating system, hardware, software application, and with a completely new design, Apple looks to meet all the customer requirements like new products, ease of use, an d an innovative design of the product. Apple is currently focusing on, brand awareness and improving the product by increasing the financial investment on marketing and advertisement, they are looking at expanding the retail segment by opening more number of stores all over the world, they are looking at keeping it up with the competition by mplementing a cost leadership strategy, and they are looking to continue the reputation of being the leader in innovation for new technology by implementing product differentiation strategy. Looking into the current finance position of Apple, on October 19, 2009 Apple announced the financial results for the year 2009. The company posted revenue of $9. 87 billion and a net quarterly profit of $1. 67 billion. These results can be compared to the revenue of $7. 9 billion and net quarterly profit of $1. 14 billion in the previous year quarter. International sales also helped 46% of the quarter’s revenue.Gross margin is 36. 6% when compared to the previous year quarter which was 34. 7%. Apple reached 17% increase when compared to the previous year quarter by successfully selling 3. 05 million Mac computers during the quarter. PEST analysis and Porter’s five forces are very important tools to establish the external environment of Apple: PEST Analysis Political Factors Different countries have different rules and regulations which can act as a positive or a negative barrier which can result in restricting the companies or lend opportunities to the company.Good thing for Apple is NAFTA, European Union and other regional trade open doors so that the company can have a wider market in Europe, Asia, Latin, and America which can offer enormous potential to the company. Beatles lawsuit against Apple can affect the reputation of the company in a negative way. There is a direct impact on the overall business of the company (Apple) due to the political uncertainties caused by terrorism. Apple relies on the government to give a grant and intellectual property obtained from third parties. Economic FactorsApple has been affected in the last year by the slow economic and that resulted in low consumer spending. However the current economy shows consumer spending, some amount of improvement, and investment might increase as well. In US due to the weak economic condition the educational segment is encountering a large loss in many states. Hence this has caused a negative impact over the Apple’s sales in the educational segment. With respect to sales of product Apple having a worldwide market can be affected by currency exchange rate and by international trade regulations as they obtain the components of the product from foreign suppliers.Social Factors Apple have designed their own computers and their own software’s which will help this generation as the computer and internet usage is rapidly growing worldwide. With the introduction of Mac people have more information, gain more knowledge about different types of computers and becomes a good source of opportunities for the Apple computer industry. Education has become the primary issue for the new generation which is a key factor for the company’s business. Social factors also include internet revolution, shopping online, Brand awareness of the company. Technological FactorsTechnology is experiencing a rapid boom in this generation, and people appreciate more and more innovative changes in their systems and are switching over to the new information appliances and Apple have been successful in providing new appliances. There is a rapid growth in the usage of the internet which is also a good opportunity for the company. The traditional desktop is becoming outdated with new products coming into the market like Mac laptops. This new technology can be used in schools, collages, and by professionals as they will be able to gain the more knowledge and this in turn increases the demand of the product.Porter’s five f orces Porter’s five forces model is an excellent model to use to analyze a particular environment of an industry. In this report we are entering the PC industry and hence Porter’s model will help us to find out about: Competitive Rivalry Competitive rivalry for Apple is very high as it is a competition among the big companies and it is fierce as everyone is aiming at a larger market share, intensive price cuts and changes. PCs are differentiated as hardware / software configurations. Competition is mainly based one cost. The main competitor for Apple is Microsoft.Microsoft also has their own operating system but is providing it to the customers in a very cheap price when compared to Apple. Hence I can say that there is a fierce price competition. Bargaining Power of suppliers. (Low) Looking into Apple, the company is highly dependent on component suppliers. If the supplier wants to increase his profits he can put pressure on the market by supplying the components at a higher price. Apple is running at a higher risk than other as they are working with only few selected suppliers. Bargaining Power of customers. Low) In the PC world there is high number of suppliers in the industry and Apple being a part of it, has its product price higher than the other company products. Hence there will be lot of options for the customers to buy the cheapest and the best product. Threats of substitutes. (Low) In the present generation PCs represent 90% of the market share as they have multiple configurations, performance and price ranges. Looking into Apple they have their own operating system called as Mac and there is no product competing in the market. Threat of new entry.In the world of PCs any company that has a new technology that is efficient in terms of price and performance is considered as a threat to the industry. Looking into Apple there is no threats from any new entrants as there is no product competing in the market. Apple has a very good brand imag e and it will be very difficult for the new entrants to pose a threat to the company. SWOT analysis is also a very important tool which will help in establishing the internal environment of Apple: SWOT Analysis SWOT analysis is a market tool which helps to understand the strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats in a business.During the strategic planning process the most commonly used tool is SWOT. STRENGTHS: Corporate reputation is high. Apple manufactures have their own product and their own operating system hence they have a good control over the product. Leader in innovation and product differentiation. Apple has a very good strategic alliance with HP. Creativity style. WEAKNESSES: Apple has set high prices on their products. Apple has high inventory in their products. Apple has problems in distribution of their products. Apple has too many product lines. OPPORTUNITIES: Demand for innovation. Internet. Growing industry.Employee benefit programme. Opportunity to create a ne w software markets and selling the hardware in those markets. THREATS: There is fierce competition among the PC industry. Loss of market share. Price competition. Increase in supply’s costs. Market Segmentation The market segmentation includes: Demographical bases. Geographical bases. Behavior bases. Psychographic bases. 2. 1 Demographical bases (age, family size, life cycle, occupation) Looking into Apple, the Demographical market segment is successful because they are developing products on the age, life cycle, occupation of the people.They are distributing their products into various places and the PCs are categorized on age, family size, for example they would have more games and entertainment in the PCs for the kids and a professional PC with all the latest software’s. 2. 2 Geographical bases (states, regions, countries) Looking into the geographical bases of Apple they have established their business all over the world like U. S. , South America, Europe, Japan, a nd Australia. Recently Apple chose to implement a vertical growth strategy and began expanding their own retail stores.The company also sells its product via third-parties dealers, or via internet through their own website or through the iTunes online music stores. 2. 3 Behavior bases (product knowledge, usage, attitudes, and responses) In this market segment Apple providing good product knowledge to the customers by advertizing on search engines, T. V. as they have a very good brand image. Using this brand image they are continuously coming up with new ideas and products and attracting the customers. Apple has got a very good response rate as many of the customers are looking for new designs and innovative products which Apple is successfully delivering. . 4 Psychographic bases (lifestyle, values, personality) Looking into Apple the psychographic market segment is successful because they are developing products on the lifestyle of the people such as Mac book for the younger generat ion. Apple having a very good brand image has very good value for its products as they are different and innovative. Looking into the personality (style) sector Apple is providing their products with different colors for the people who like fancy colors. MARKETING MIX Marketing mix is the combination of the product, the price, place and promotion. These are popularly known as Four Ps.When the marketing condition like political, social, economic, and technological factors change even the marketing mix has to be changed. The four Ps are listed as below: 3. 1 Product: Apple is committed to sell original, good looking products that have an easy-to-use interface. The company offers a range of personal computing products, related devices and various third party hardware-products. In addition, the company offers software products (Mac OS X), server software and related solution; professional application software; and consumer, education and business oriented application software.Apple has been very innovative by finding new usages for its Mac computer, such as desktop publishing and strong graphics/animation capabilities. The Mac functionality for managing multimedia files from cameras, DV recorder and MP3 devices has been very popular and successful. 3. 2 Price: Apple price is known to be above average in the industry. The company is using a differentiation strategy and focuses more on innovation, and quality. This strategy is justifying their premium prices.Lately, however, their new technology and their high cash flow allowed them to lower their price and to offer more discount to certain markets such as the education market. This new pricing strategy may help Apple to compete better with the non-Mac user market but might cause some issue with the brand image/recognition. 3. 3 Place: Apple’s operating segments are comprised of: U. S. South America Europe Japan Australia. Recently Apple chose to implement a vertical growth strategy and began expanding their own retail stores.The company also sells its product via third-parties dealers, or via internet through their own website or through the iTunes online music stores. 3. 4 Promotions: The best in the Apple Mac is that songs can be played only from iTunes and hence Apple In 2003, formed a strategic alliance with PepsiCo. The Pepsi iTunes music promotion calls for people to use the winning code found under the Pepsi’s bottle caps products to redeem songs from Apple’s iTunes music Store. This promotion has already been successful for both companies and increased the awareness of the iTunes presence in the market.In 2003, Apple also announced marketing partnerships With America Online that are aimed at driving iTunes use deeply into the mainstream. Apple computers could play a song only from the iTunes. Apple and America Online have agreed to put iTunes â€Å"buy this song† buttons next to every song that’s listed in AOL’s music service, which its 25 mil lion subscribers can access. Clicking the button will automatically launch the iTunes music jukebox and begin downloading the song; billing will be handled through the customer’s existing arrangement with AOL.Apple has a joint venture with Hewlett Packard. Apple has produced an iPod for PC users and the success of this product was a good way for the company to capture non-MAC users. The company’ also drew on endorsements from music stars. In 2005, Apple Computer has initiated a partnership with Wal-Mart that saw the iPod shuffle featured at Wal-Mart discount locations around the country. Read more: http://www. ukessays. com/essays/marketing/analysis-segmentation-and-marketing-mix-of-apple-marketing-essay. php#ixzz2QZbbQKIn