The Best Ways To Prepare For Final Exams Free Essay Example, 1750 words

Time management is the third and most important step in the preparations of final examinations. More time should be allocated to difficult subjects and less time should be allocated to easy subjects. The student should prepare a time schedule for his activities until the final examinations are over. He should divide his day time and night time into different time segments prior to the final examinations. Meanwhile, the student may find difficulties in learning a particular topic. Under such circumstances, group study may help him. So, he should allocate sufficient time for group study while preparing time schedules for the preparations of his final examinations. Lengthy activities should be reduced as much as possible during this period. Spending too much time on a difficult topic just before the examination is not advisable. Such habits will prevent the student from learning other topics. Difficult topics should be learned well before the commencement of examinations so that tensio ns and frustrations can be avoided later. Division of the contents into small capsules is the fourth step in the preparations of examinations. It is difficult for a student to understand complicated things if he tries to learn it at a stretch. We will write a custom essay sample on The Best Ways To Prepare For Final Exams or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/page Mazzullo) One more method which is successfully applied by students all around the world is the practice of past years papers. Many times the syllabi of the courses don t change and even if they change then that change isn t dramatic. It is very beneficial to contact senior students or even teachers to obtain past years question papers.

Social Services And Social Work - 1538 Words

Many people are driven to pursue a career in social work due to personal experiences that have led them to a desire to help others. Ben Carniol, author of Case Critical: Social Services and Social Justice in Canada, is no exception to this. He brings years of experience to a new perspective on where social work is headed for this country. He discusses why anti-oppressive and progressive social work practice is effective, and vital for future success, what systemic and societal barriers stand in the way of said practice, and what steps can and are being taken to overcome these obstacles. Carniol’s book brings readers on the journey that many social workers take throughout their careers, and is inspiring to those headed into this career†¦show more content†¦Many of these barriers stem from the fact that there are still systemic inequalities that benefit some and harm others (Carniol, 2010, p. 10). So even if one is working with a progressive mindset or agency, there ma y be times when the the systemic inequalities will still prove to be a problem. In some of these cases, it may be possible to work within the system, and have the social worker use their power to help their client, however this is unfortunately not doable all of the time. Some agencies may reflect these inequalities themselves, and social workers often feel fear to speak up on these issues, at risk that they may lose their employment (Carniol, 2010, p. 107). We have discussed this scenario multiple times in our Basic Interventions class, particularly when talking about ethics. While most of us students agree that we would like to believe we would stand up for such injustices, we also agreed that the risk of losing your job is a large and valid fear. Ultimately, the biggest barrier to progressive social work can be described in one simple word: money. Carniol (2010) discussed how the systemic inequalities, who in this case favour the wealthy over the lower classes, has allowed acts s uch as tax evasion, which in turn leads to less funding for social programs (p. 11). There were many parts in the book that, truth be told, made me weary about my choice to go into this field. In addition to the aforementioned systemic inequalities, andShow MoreRelatedSocial Services And The Social Work Field1365 Words   |  6 Pagesorganization that caters social services and contributes to the social work field. In addition, I will go in details where the organization is financed from and what is the mission of the organization. Moreover, I will discuss of the structure that the organizations conduct to accomplished their missions and explain the organization s different services provided under their organizations umbrella. Furthermore, I will discuss of the organization accountability to their services, overall impact, and theRead MoreMotivation For Social Service And / Or Social Change, Social Work Essay1188 Words   |  5 Pages Motivation for social service and/or social change, social work education, and a career in the profession. I am interested in the University of Tennessee, Knoxville MSSW program because the school offers a great online program for working students. As I read through the program layout and information I was impressed with their classes and the support from the staff. I feel all students will complete a program with support and guidance like the University of Tennessee has offered me. The peopleRead MoreSocial Work and Service User3957 Words   |  16 PagesIdentify The Different Reasons Why People Communicate: 1 To express our feelings: This is a way were service users who unable to talk can let us know how they feel. We can express our feelings in the way we move or the expression on our faces. The way we can express our feelings with the way we use expressions on our faces can let us know if the service user is the following: * Happy * Upset * If they are in pain * If they need anything * If there hungry So expressingRead MoreHow Social Work Affects The Social Services And Viewers Essay2257 Words   |  10 PagesSocial Work in the News The article I have selected is; ‘Baby P and Victoria Climbie tragedies synonymous with reforms to system’. The reason I have selected this article is because I found these two stories very interesting with the fact these two names have been reported about so many times across the media with the horrific child abuse they incurred. I also like the fact that after these two tragedies occurred there has been many reforms to the system to ensure fewer tragedies like these canRead MoreChild Welfare Services Is A Social Work1740 Words   |  7 Pagesneglect in 2011 (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2012). The social work profession is filled with numerous areas of practice that include areas such as gerontological social work, military social work, and child welfare services which is the second largest area of social work and an area that many consider to be a highly rewarding yet a heart wrenching practice area. Child welfare services is a social work practice area that will service some of society’s most vulnerable and oppressedRead MoreSocial Service Work Values And Ethics1464 Words   |  6 Pageswhere I wished I could have left with a different outcome. To allow for a more balanced and in-depth reflection, the two categories will be further broken down to address items such as, what social service work skills were used in the discussed situation, what skills could have been used, what social service work values and ethics were crucial to the discussed scenario, and how they could they be put to better use reflecting on the scenario where I analyze how I could have achieved a better outcomeRead MoreSocial Work : Child Welfare Services Essay1967 Words   |  8 PagesDziegielewski 216). Social work in general is such a broad field, one must be well informed about the varying areas encompassed within it. With each area there are certain aspects that makes each unique in its own way . Each works toward the same end goal which is bettering helpless individuals and providing them with correct resources to ensure continual growth within their lives. One of my favorite areas, that was also connected to the social worker I interviewed was child welfare services. Through theRead MoreSocial Policy And Its Application For Social Services Provision ( Work Exp )1837 Words   |  8 PagesSocial Policy and its Application to Social Services Provision (work exp) My Placement is with a charity called Home Start they offer support and friendship to young families living in the South side of Glasgow that are experiencing difficulties in their home life. The initial referral of a family can come from a number of places families can self-refer or it can be by a health professional, nurse, health visitor, social worker or doctor that has spent time with them and feels they would benefitRead MoreThe South-African Socio-Economic and Political Context: Implications and Challenges for Developmental Social Welfare and Social Work Services.2416 Words   |  10 Pagesanalyzing the broader national context and the impact and challenges for social welfare services and social work in South Africa. This assignment will include an analysis of 5 media clips, State of Nation Address by the President, Mr Jacob G. Zuma and the Budget Speech by the Minister of Finance, Mr Pravin J. Gordhan. This is the individual’s analysis of the articles, which will furt her guide and add towards the group work assignment. 2. State of Nation Address (RSA, State of Nation AddressRead MoreChanging Laws Policies And Economical Ideologies Impact On Social Work Practice And Service Users4394 Words   |  18 PagesIn this assignment I will be exploring ways in which changing laws, policies and economical ideologies impact on social work practice and service users. The tension this creates between public servants, service users, local authorities and government. I will be focusing on the effectiveness of child protection intervention, safeguarding and assessment between in the UK and comparing it with Sweden. The British Welfare State in 1948 was influenced by a number of policies and serious case reviews

Porter and Bogusky advertising Free Essays

The move to Crispin, Porter and Bogusky advertising was one of the wisest moves that Burger King CEO Brad Blum could have made. From previously declining sales, Crispin advertising was able to change all that through its out of the box advertising campaigns. Although ultimately Burger King sales went up, it did not necessarily mean that the market and the critics were impressed. We will write a custom essay sample on Porter and Bogusky advertising or any similar topic only for you Order Now The following is a short discussion on most and least helpful of these campaigns and their impact on the potential market of Burger King. Crispin used several consumer sales promotions items to help boost the sales of Burger King. Out of those discussed in the readings, the Coq Roq campaign was least helpful. Although sales of Chicken Fries were very strong, the use of a heavy metal band and too commercialized overly focused on the promotion of the band rather than the product it was trying to sell. Worse, shortened the reach of the company to only its current target market and isolated it from the rest of its potential market, by making their advertising too specific to a particular market. Unlike the Coq Roq campaign, the Have it your way campaign was the most helpful. It was able to address the underlying desire of consumers of being made to feel individual and special. It showed consumers that their needs and wants came first, and this was portrayed by a quirky television commercial of two men in an office racing to create their own burger. In addition, the online campaign â€Å"subservient chicken,† which was connected with the have it your way campaign drew in more customers by using word of mouth, or in this case by sharing it with friends through e-mail. By this kind of promotion, Crispin was able to expand Burger Kings target market by the use of a campaign that was friendly to a wider market. By this method of advertising it accomplished what the Coq Roq campaign was unable to, that is it allowed the image of Burger King to be more â€Å"market friendly,† attracting other segments of the market. How to cite Porter and Bogusky advertising, Papers

Journal of International Marketing Marketing Intelligence

Question: Task: You are required to use IKEA as a basis for discussing the following relative global marketing issues. In this regard, you should begin by preparing a brief profile of IKEAPrepare a global strategic marketing report to support the entry and expansion of the IKEA brand in INDIA. The report should include a consideration and discussion of the following issues:1: Using appropriate and relevant analytical techniques conduct a comprehensive micro and macro-environmental analysis of the Indian market environment and their implications for IKEA?2: Develop appropriate global marketing objectives and critically analyse the supporting corporate and business strategies to support the launch of the IKEA brand in India.?3: State and evaluate the appropriate market entry method in India, with business case justification as well as the marketing tactics that will support the selected entry mode in the Indian market.?4: Develop and discuss of the implementation of planned marketing activities in the new market with time lines? Answer: Introduction In this cotemporary and competitive business world, each and every organization after operating in its own countries successfully wants to grow big and therefore aims in marketing globally. From this concept of marketing globally, the companies adopt various strategies that are suitable for the organization in order to gain success, profit and reputation on marketing successfully all around the world. Becker-Olsen et al. (2011) commented on the fact that global marketing refers to the process that involves adopting, adjusting and implementing the marketing strategies as per the various conditions of different countries. Moreover, for ensuring consistency of the organization along with the aim of elimination of duplication of attempts and effort, the strategies are therefore made for successful promotion and business transaction across the global market. In this assignment the researcher has taken into account IKEA furniture retailer that wants to make an entry around May, 2015 in Indian market. For this, the researcher has well explained about the macro and micro analysis of the Indian market environment and the objectives along with business and corporate strategies. In addition to this, the evaluation of market entry methods is well explained along with development and discussion of the marketing activities in the Indian markets by the researcher. IKEA is an international company that focuses on the designing and selling of the assembled furniture, motor vehicles, appliances and home accessories. The company came into existence in 1943 and around 2008 it became one of the global largest retailers in furniture (Guercini, 2012). IKEA is headquartered in Netherlands and mainly focuses in the self assembling of the furnitures. The main areas of operation are Asia, Europe, Oceania, Africa and North America and currently around May, 2015, it is planning to have a grand market entry in India (Lee et al. 2014). Task 1: Macro and Micro environmental analysis of the Indian market environment for IKEA According to the outlook and opinion of Nwielaghi Michael and Ogwo (2013) when an organization plans to operate strategically outside the country and expand its market globally, both micro and macro environmental analysis need to be done. This is because; it helps in understanding the global market situation, market trends, needs, wants and requirements of the global customers. Moreover, the macro and micro environmental analysis helps in understanding the benefits as well as disadvantages of expanding the market globally by IKEA. The researcher has well explained the macro as well as micro environmental factors that are vividly explained below- Macro Environmental Analysis From the view point of Rahman (2013) the macro environmental analysis consists of factors that are generally uncontrollable factors that influence the performance and decision making of the organization. The researcher has discussed about the macro environmental analysis that includes Pestle Analysis and Porters 5 Force Analyses. PESTEL Analysis: According to the outlook of Waelder (2013) PESTLE analysis is the acronym of Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal and Environmental factors that helps the organization to analyze these factors for making a breakthrough in a new environment. This analysis helps in better and in-depth understanding of the market that helps in accomplishment of the goals and strategies of the organization while marketing successfully globally. Political- From the viewpoint of Steenkamp and Geyskens (2014) the political factors refers to the level and degree of the interference of the Government into the business of IKEA while it will be operating in Indian market. The instable Government, the tax policies, labor laws, environmental laws, tariffs, restrictions of trade etc. have a huge affect on the business of IKEA in India. Other than this, the introduction of new laws and tax imposing into the foreign companies for trading in India also need special attention. According to the outlook of Ziakas (2014) previously while trading in India by any foreign investor, only 51% of the stake can be hold by the foreign investor. But now days, late 2011 laws were made for allowing 100% ownership to the foreign investors. The foreign investors having more than 12 billion rupees need to have approval of the committee. Economic- Persaud and Azhar (2012) commented on the essential fact that the performance of the economy of India have a good impact on the organization and have long term effects. This is because; it includes the inflation rates that affect the price of their products as well as services. The inflation rate of the country also affects in fixing the prices of the furniture of IKEA in India. Other than this, according to the outlook of Rana (2012) the economic factors also include the rate of interests of the country, the foreign exchange rate as well as the economic growth patterns. So, analyzing these factors also help in understand the performance of the organization in the competitive market in India in presence of the local as well as national competitors like Godrej, ERGO etc. Social- As per mentioned by Steenkamp and Geyskens (2014) the social factors also include the demographics, culture population and living style and standard of the people. These factors need to be analyzed because, based on these factors IKEA will be able to know about the taste, preference, needs, requirements and wants of the people. Based on these factors, IKEA will be able to position the furnitures in the Indian market. Technological- According to the opinion of Prajapati et al. (2013) with the introduction of modern technology and innovations, the operations of the market of IKEA is dependent. With the introduction of assembling the furnitures in the most innovative and new ways helped IKEA in gaining prestigious and respectable position in the world. In India too, the people are now becoming modernized and they tend to use self assembled furniture that not only provide them with excellence but also helps them in getting modern and trendy too. Legal- Yaksel (2012) commented on the essential fact that the legal factors also need to be taken care of while operating in the Indian market. These take into account the various angles and policies of the company as well as the country where it is operating. Previously when the foreign organizations wanted to do business in India, at that time there were certain laws for preventing such foreign investments. But later, these laws were reformed and hence the Government has given permission to the foreign countries for getting the full hold of the companys stakes. Environmental- There lays many factors that are not at all included to climate, geographical, global, climate as well as environmental factors. This is because, while manufacturing these products in India, the waste materials need to be processed in the most innovative and scientific way for adding less waste materials to the country. As commented by Persaud and Azhar (2012) the waste materials that need to be processed before disposal makes the organization important in terms of social responsibility. This results in the increase in reputation of the organization that helps in increase in environmental friendliness and customer database of the organization. Porters 5 Force Analysis: As commented by Djordjevic and Djordjevic (2012) the Porter 5 Force analysis is a strategic framework that helps in analyzing the completion of the organization within as well as outside the organization. This includes 5 parts- bargaining power of buyers, bargaining power of suppliers, threat of substitute products, threat of new entrants and rivalry. The researcher has well explained the different parts vividly in the following context. Bargaining Power of Buyers: As commented by O'Cass et al. (2012) when IKEA will be marketing in India, then it will be targeting the Indian buyers. It is a tendency of the Indian buyers that they love bargaining as well as they also want superior quality goods and products at nominal prices. The buyers tend to stay biased towards the organizations that are generally Indian based and on those organizations that are literally present in the country for number of years. Bargaining Power of Suppliers: Issa et al. (2010) commented strategically that the suppliers on seeing the foreign organizations tend to increase the price of raw materials to some considerable extent. So, IKEA have to bargain with a lot number of suppliers to some considerable extent so that they get superior quality products at considerable prices. On the other hand, due to the global presence of the organization and global reputation, the suppliers will also tend to be the marketing partner of international companies for increasing their profit as well as reputation. Threat of Substitute products: Mackert (2012) also commented strategically that the threat of the substitute products such as furniture from Godrej, ERGO etc are always a threat to the organization. Indians will generally tend towards the Indian companies provide g them the same product at considerable low prices. So, IKEA need to analyze the market extensively and vividly for understanding the whole market scenario and also need to be biased towards new and innovative technologies for preventing the substitute products. Threat of New Entrants: As per mentioned by Payaud (2013) the threat of new entrants is always a fear to the organization. This is because, in the market when the new entrants will be entering, then the prices can be low and those organizations may be providing same quality of products and goods but at low prices. Competitive Rivalry: Al-Mohammad et al. (2014) also commented on the fact that the rivalries such as ERGO, Godrej etc. are the rivalries of the organization. IKEA need to be competitive enough as well as also need to analyze the market vividly before fixing the prices. The products also need to innovative and more technological that can automatically attract the Indians to great extent. Micro Environmental Analysis According to the outlook and opinion of Della Corte et al. (2012) the micro environmental analysis of the organization helps in understanding the internal situation of the market. In this context, the researcher has vividly discussed about the SWOT Analysis that helps in understanding the market scenario. SWOT Analysis: Firdaus and Kanyan (2014) commented on the fact that SWOT analysis helps in understanding the Strength, Weakness, Opportunity and Threat of the organization while operating in India. This depicts the internal factors of operation of IKEA. SWOT analysis is the acronym of Strengths, Weakness, Opportunity and Threat. Strength: From the viewpoint of Hooper-Greenhill (2012) the strength of the IKEA is its global reputation and position. Moreover the organizations innovation idea of automatic assembling of furniture was a major strength. In addition to this, the strength of the organization is its global prestigious position and global reputation of the organization. Weakness: Kavle et al. (2012) mentioned that in India the political conditions of India is unstable that is a major weakness of India. Moreover, the products are also costly and that is a major issue with Indians who prefer quality goods at low prices. Opportunity: According to the outlook of Makgosa (2012) the opportunity of IKEA is to have a market entry in India where the Indians already have used its products and every year, the company outsources its products to India. Threats: As commented by Mackert (2012) the presence of Indian organizations like Godrej, Ergo etc in the market are the major threats. This is because; Indians will refer Indian global organizations than foreign companies in India. Task 2: Global market objectives and corporate as well as business strategies for launching IKEA brand in India Nakahara (2014) commented on the essential fact that the global market objectives are essential for each and every organization that helps them in understanding the strategies that need to be taken that helps in conducting successful global business. The global market objectives of IKEA are that it aims in focusing to the maximum profits made by the organization. The company also focuses on the increase in sales and volume of the products that helps in providing better profits to the organization. Other than this, as commented by O'Cass et al. (2012) allocation of resources for the maximum output also helps in increasing its opportunities that help in making the global business successful to the maximum extent. This not only increases the profit of the organizations but also increases the international prestige of the organization. According to the opinion of Nwielaghi Michael and Ogwo (2013) the business strategies of IKEA for launching successfully in India is to penetrate through low pricing strategy as well as providing the Indians with innovative and new products. It is a common mentality of Indians to buy those products that are of low prices but are of superior quality. Other than this keeping in mind the economic, social and political condition of Indians IKEA need to launch its products for the middle class Indian families. This is because, as commented by Payaud (2013) keeping in mind the disparity in mentality and incomes of the Indians, the strategies of penetration need to made for Indian business. Other than this, the corporate strategies that are made keeping in mind the marketing strategies, HR management strategies, financial strategies and operational strategies. According to the viewpoint of Becker-Olsen et al. (2011) IKEA should have excellent marketing strategies that focus on increasing the market sales and profits of the organization. The HR department makes the strategies for maximum recruiting the Indians in the organization and retaining them to the maximum extent. From the financial point of view, the organization doing business in the India also focuses on the contribution of revenues in the Indian economy that should have an effect on the Indian GDP. Again, as commented by Rahman (2013) the operational strategy also needs to focus on production of quality goods at reasonable prices that can be afforded easily by the organization. Task 3: Evaluation of market entry methods in India Rahman (2013) also commented that for successful marketing in India, IKEA initially have to understand the Indian mentality as well as the Indian market scenario for making a successful market entry. A vivid research need to be done initially that will help in in-depth understanding of the market scenario along with the understanding of what products the Indians want and the potentiality of the Indian market. According to the opinion of Nwielaghi Michael and Ogwo (2013) the in order to market successfully in India, the distribution channels also need to be effective enough for successful marketing of IKEA. It is also need to be remembered that the Indians have a snob appeal for the furniture and hence the organization also need to focus on the requirement and wants of the Indians. In addition to this, Mackert (2012) also commented that IKEA also need to understand the target market in India and its potential customers initially and hence the products need to be manufactured as per their requirements. Promotional activities need to be done keeping in mind the Indian sentiment and thinking and also should focus on not hurting the sentiments of the Indians. Other than this, according to the outlook of Yaksel (2012) the agents and distributors and suppliers also need to be contacted for the fair distribution services. Apart from this, IKEA also need to understand and analyze the Indian economy, the political and the social conditions of the country. Analyzing these factors will help IKEA in making a sound marketing strategy that helps in sound marketing strategy. Task 4: Development and discussion of planned marketing activities in Indian market with time lines Prajapati et al. (2013) commented on the essential fact that the marketing strategies for the market entry in Indian market need both planning and successful implementation. The marketing activities in Indian marketing activities are therefore discussed below with the timeline. Options of marketing activities Development of the activities Implementation of the activities Time taken Market Survey It is done through cold calling, primary and secondary data collection methods This activity is done to understand the Indian market as well as the trend in the Indian market. Other than this, Nakahara (2014) also commented that the to understand the needs and wants of the Indians, through market survey is done either through cold calling the Indian customers, as well as through collection of data through online and offline sources. 3 months Promotional Activities The promotional activities are done through Newspaper, articles, Search Engine Optimizer as well as through trade shows The promotional activities also need to be strong as well as attractive enough so that it will be attracting the potential customers to the maximum extent. It is therefore need to be remembered that these promotional activities need to be strong enough that it need to attract the customers to the maximum extent. Other than this, according to the outlook of Djordjevic and Djordjevic (2012) the promotional activities also need to be strong enough that helps in attracting the potential customers to the maximum extent. 4 months Providing products and services activities Through low price strategy as well as market entry prices, the organization needs to provide the products at discounted prices and low prices. The promotional activities used in order to provide the customers with maximum profits and reaching the customers to the maximum extent. Moreover, according to the viewpoint of Payaud (2013) the products also need to be good looking and attractive so that the customers will be attracted automatically towards the products of the organization. Other than this, the products also need to make such that it fits bests with the Indian families as well as with Indian mentality. 2 months Getting feedback It is done through online feedback questionnaire and offline questionnaires to the customers Becker-Olsen et al. (2011) commented on the fact that as per the feedback received from the customers, improvements can be easily made as well as the basic changes are also made accordingly. This is done to fit in best with the Indian market and make a successful market entry into the market. 1 month Conclusion This assignment deals with the global marketing issues that IKEA need to undertake while marketing successfully in Indian market. The researcher has well explained about the macro environmental factors with the help of Porters 5 Force analysis and PESTEL analysis. Other than this, the micro environmental analysis is also done through SWOT analysis along with the global marketing objectives is also discussed. The corporate and business strategies for supporting the launch of IKEA in India along with the methods of entering the market of India are also discussed vividly. The timeline that consist of planned marketing activities is also well explained that showed the implementation of successful marketing activities. References Al-Mohammad, S., Akroush, M. and Lutfi Odetallah, A. (2014). Marketing culture and business performance. Mrkting Intelligence Plan, 32(7), pp.794-822. Becker-Olsen, K., Taylor, C., Hill, R. and Yalcinkaya, G. (2011). A Cross-Cultural Examination of Corporate Social Responsibility Marketing Communications in Mexico and the United States: Strategies for Global Brands. Journal of International Marketing, 19(2), pp.30-44. Della Corte, V., Cascella, C. and Savastano, I. (2012). Resource-based Theory and Service-dominant Logic: A New Combined Approach to Revisit the Strategies of Cultural Firms in the Global Era. IJMS, 4(6). Djordjevic, M. and Djordjevic, A. (2012). The indirect strategies of internationalization of companies. Marketing, 43(1), pp.33-40. Firdaus, A. and Kanyan, A. (2014). Managing relationship marketing in the food service industry. Mrkting Intelligence Plan, 32(3), pp.293-310. Guercini, S. (2012). Integrating Design and Fashion Marketing. Journal of Global Fashion Marketing, 3(1), pp.1-4. Hooper-Greenhill, O. (2012). Big and little planning (planning of both local and global marketing and advertising strategies). Strategic Direction, 28(8). Issa, D., Chang, A. and Issa, D. (2010). Sustainable Business Strategies and PESTEL Framework. GSTF INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL ON COMPUTING, 1(1). Kavle, J., Eber, M. and Lundgren, R. (2012). The Potential for Social Marketing a Knowledge-Based Family Planning Method. Social Marketing Quarterly, 18(2), pp.152-166. Lee, H., Chen, T. and Guy, B. (2014). How the Country-of-Origin Image and Brand Name Redeployment Strategies Affect Acquirers Brand Equity After a Merger and Acquisition. Journal of Global Marketing, 27(3), pp.191-206. Mackert, M. (2012). Account Planning: Applying an Advertising Discipline to Health Communication and Social Marketing. Health Marketing Quarterly, 29(3), pp.270-282. Makgosa, R. (2012). Ethnic diversity in Britain: a stimulus for multicultural marketing. Mrkting Intelligence Plan, 30(3), pp.358-378. Nakahara, R. (2014). Partnership marketing for prevention. Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science, 24(2), pp.160-171. Nwielaghi Michael, B. and Ogwo, E. (2013). Trade Sales Promotion Strategies and Marketing Performance in the Soft Drink Industries in Nigeria. IJMS, 5(4). O'Cass, A., Ngo, L. and Siahtiri, V. (2012). Examining the marketing planningmarketing capability interface and customer-centric performance in SMEs. Journal of Strategic Marketing, 20(6), pp.463-481. Payaud, M. (2013). Marketing Strategies at the Bottom of the Pyramid: Examples From Nestl, Danone, and Procter Gamble. Glob. Bus. Org. Exc., 33(2), pp.51-63. Persaud, A. and Azhar, I. (2012). Innovative mobile marketing via smartphones. Mrkting Intelligence Plan, 30(4), pp.418-443. Prajapati, V., Tripathy, S. and Dureja, H. (2013). Product lifecycle management through patents and regulatory strategies. Journal of Medical Marketing: Device, Diagnostic and Pharmaceutical Marketing, 13(3), pp.171-180. Rahman, K. (2013). Wow! It's cool : the meaning of coolness in marketing. Mrkting Intelligence Plan, 31(6), pp.620-638. Rana, P. (2012). Reform strategies in South Asian countries: a comparative analysis. S Asian Jnl of Global Bus Res, 1(1), pp.96-107. Steenkamp, J. and Geyskens, I. (2014). Manufacturer and Retailer Strategies to Impact Store Brand Share: Global Integration, Local Adaptation, and Worldwide Learning. Marketing Science, 33(1), pp.6-26. Waelder, P. (2013). Collecting Intangibles: Marketing Strategies for Net art Works. Artn., 0(13). Yaksel, I. (2012). Developing a Multi-Criteria Decision Making Model for PESTEL Analysis. IJBM, 7(24). Ziakas, V. (2014). Planning and Leveraging Event Portfolios: Towards a Holistic Theory. Journal of Hospitality Marketing Management, 23(3), pp.327-356.

Dancing Skeltons Essay Example

Dancing Skeltons Essay Dancing Skeletons In the ethnography, â€Å"Dancing Skeletons, the author Katherine Dettwyler describes many reasons for her research in Mali. The main focus of her research was too attack the problem of malnourished children and to figure out what diseases they were struggling with. This ethnography detailed Dettwyler’s second trip to Mali, and she wanted to relocate many of the children she had previously measured, as well as add more children to her study. Throughout the ethnography, Dettwyler makes it very clear that the malnutrition of these children is a major problem in Mali. She describes many of the children she measures and the picture she paints in one’s mind is horrifying. One of the many diseases she comes across is Kwashiorkor, or funu bana (which means â€Å"swelling sickness†). Dettwyler allows you to feel the pain of this disease by detailing a young girl, â€Å" Her face was round and puffy, almost as though she had been beaten†¦ but the defining characteristic was her enormously swollen abdomen†¦her expression was one of sadness and apathy, her eyes sunken and dull†(Dettwyler 1994:71,72). This description allows the reader to feel for these children and understand the immense hardships that they have to deal with every day. The problem of malnourished children stems from the lack of education within the community. The children all the way up to the adults do not know, or in some cases do not have the resources to drink and eat correctly, or clean themselves. There are a tremendous amount of examples in this ethnography that support this but one of the most troubling is when the teenaged boy tells Dettwyler that his red urine was, â€Å"part of growing up†(Dettwyler 1994:46). We will write a custom essay sample on Dancing Skeltons specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Dancing Skeltons specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Dancing Skeltons specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer She later realized that many cultures believe that the red urine is a sign of being sexually mature and when in reality this was an example of a person with schistosomiasis. This disease is caused by parasites that burrow through the skin ending up in the urinary tract and can be fatal. My reaction to this book was that it was good first hand feedback to the hardships of cultures in Mali. Reading this, many questions arose about different ways Dettwyler went about her research, and how she acted in Mali. First of all Mrs. Dettwyler, why would you ever subject your young daughter, twice, to a place where the malaria and immense amounts of other diseases are widespread and where fully developed healthy adults have died because of it? This is probably the most selfish thing she could have done. She herself explains how many anthropologists have died in areas of Mali from malaria. She provides an example of one American who died, her name was Kay. She died from cerebral malaria, and there were many others in the past just like her who died. Dettwyler experienced this the first time and yet still brought back her daughter, Miranda. I understand that she did this for company but part of being an anthropologist is excepting the fact that at some point you may experience culture shock. This argument was fueled by common sense and also what I learned in class and in the readings. When an anthropologist decides to do fieldwork they are agreeing to deal with many things, one of them being culture shock. Another topic I would have liked to hear about is the healthy children. The entire ethnography is based on the malnourished children. This is the major issue, but is every child in Mali malnourished? If not then what are the healthy children and parents doing differently to keep from succumbing to the ample diseases. The only time Dettwyler really expresses the healthy children is explaining that the ones who were breastfeed are relatively healthier than the others. She says this is the case because, â€Å"mother’s milk provides all the nutrients and calories they need, as well as living cells that grant immunological protection from disease† (Dettwyler 1994:79). This provided good insight into how these children should be nourished and more facts like that would have helped the overall effect of the ethnography. The final thing I wish Dettwyler looked more into was the male/female relationship and how the males felt about the female gender. I do not know if she didn’t address this because she had limited interaction with the males because of her gender, or whether it was simply of no interest to her. If she could have explained further why she didn’t take much account to this it would have added a more well-rounded ethnography. What roles did the fathers play in the child raising? Were they passive like it appeared or was it just not discussed? Dettwyler displayed tremendous anthropological skills as well as some not so good skills. A good thing she did was build a high amount rapport with the Malians. This was important so they would allow her to measure them, and also so they would trust her when she taught them how to properly nourish their children. In the text she almost always displays a calm and intellectual demeanor when she is speaking to parents about their badly diseased or injured child. She has seen so many things that she is not surprised as too what she will see next and it helps her keep her composure. One time she didn’t follow this was when she ran away from the dance because she was so upset about the â€Å"dancing skeletons†. Dettwyler ended up breaking down at a ceremonial dance that they were doing for her. The reason she became so upset was because she saw all the terrible malnourished children dancing, and she said they looked like â€Å"dancing skeletons† Dettwyler who seemingly never seems phased by what she sees, said, â€Å"I fled, in anger and horror†¦hot tears coursed down my cheeks†(Dettwyller 1994:143). This helps reinforce the fact that being an anthropologist is not easy and the things they experience are life changing. One anthropological issue I think she is displaying is ethnocentrism. There are many instances where she does not respect the values of the people and she can be disrespectful towards them. One of the instances is when she refuses to eat the goat they prepared, and Macan replies saying, â€Å"But they killed this goat especially for you† (Dettwyller 1994:82). After Macon says that, she still refuses to eat the meat and is even rude about it. There is also another instance where she refuses to eat the food in the Famabougou village after a day of measuring. She doesn’t care that what she is doing is offending them, because she said the food was filled with bacteria from being out all day, and she didn’t want to eat it. Although I would not want to eat bacteria either, I have learned in class that it is very important to show the utmost respect to the cultural people especially when they go out of their way to provide food.

The Scarlet Letter Essays (1394 words) - English-language Films

The Scarlet Letter Essays (1394 words) - English-language Films The Scarlet Letter The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is considered to be one of the greatest examples of true American literature. Its excellency of topic, characterization, and description has made it a permanent part of our history. Set in Salem, Massachusetts in the 1600s, it describes the life of Hester Prynne, a Puritan woman whose existence is marred by sin. The real genius of the book is found in its description. Hawthorne makes allusion, symbolism, and romanticism work toward one effect, making the reader feel as if she was there, watching it all happen, living through Hester's struggle. The story opens as a woman, Hester Prynne, is leaving a jail and heading toward a large scaffold in the middle of Salem town, where she, along with her newborn child, Pearl, is put on display as an example to all the people, to discourage them from committing such a sin as adultery. The sentence is given by a number of priests who feel compassion for her because her husband had been thought dead for so many years. She is ordered to wear a scarlet letter, A for adultery, on her breast for the duration of her stay in Salem. She is perversely unwilling to leave the place of her shame and outcast when she could easily have sailed away to England or to anywhere else on earth and been rid of her mark of Cain. At the scaffold, she sees her husband, just arrived from Indian imprisonment, standing in the crowd. He, naturally, is enraged by news of her unfaithfulness to him and to his memory, but carries it too far when he renames himself Roger Chillingworth and begins slowly to dismantle the sanity of her lover, the Reverend Mr. Arthur Dimmesdale. Disguised as an apothecary, Chillingworth dwells with Dimmesdale, supposedly to maintain his health, but really to sap his strength and to serve as a reminder of the young reverend's sin. During the seven-year duration of the book, Hester becomes steadily stronger because of her mark, while Dimmesdale, forced to bear his brand internally, becomes very much incapacitated, both mentally and physically. The face he puts on for public approval and the one he wears while he is alone are so completely different that they nearly drive him insane. He is harder on himself for committing the sin than many a court of the time would have been, and it tears him apart. One day, he meets Hester and Pearl while walking through the woods and, after talking for a short while, they decide to leave Salem, to find a new life in the more cultured, less ridged society of the Old World. The day before they are to leave, Dimmesdale makes his last speech to his congregation. After the speech, as the people are walking away from the meeting house in a parade, Arthur turns to look at the scaffold, where he sees Hester and Pearl standing. He beckons them toward him and then he asks her to assist him up to the scaffold. She does so and there he announces his sin to all the town, there he rips off his shirt front so they can see imagination's and emotion's brand on his chest, there he collapses into Hester's arms, and there he dies. Hawthorne goes on to tell, in short, the story of the rest of Hester's life, tough most of it appears to be based on rumor. Chillingworth dies within a year of Dimmesdale, the object of his hatred and his motivation for living being gone, leaving his fortune to Pearl. She and Hester travel to Europe, where Pearl marries a member of the nobility, but then returns to her old house to live and counsel others in their times of pressing sorrow, and to bear the mark of the scarlet letter until she dies. She is laid to rest in death where she had been kept for the first seven years of Pearl's life, next to Arthur, yet unable to touch him, kept at a distance so their dusts wouldn't mingle. One of the best aspects of this book is its lack of superfluous events. Rather than tell the reader about every chance meeting between Hester and Arthur, he chooses only a few, well-spaced events to portray their entire relationship. The most vivid description in the book is one of these chance meetings. Hester and Pearl chance to meet Arthur at the scaffold late

Epidemly and biostats Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Epidemly and biostats - Assignment Example To do this, they have to contact hospitals and physicians. This activity requires a vast amount of resources and staff in order to accomplish its objectives and goals. a) The conclusion reached may be incorrect because proportional mortality was used when cause-specific mortality rates were needed. Cause specific rates are applied when calculating deaths from a specific disease (Polit, 2010). Proportionate mortality is applied when calculating the number of deaths in relation to the total deaths or all deaths (100%) a) The number of deaths from lung cancer in carpenters in 1949–1960 was greater than the number of deaths from lung cancer in bricklayers during the same period. SMR is often used to study the mortality in a specific occupation. From the data, carpenters have a higher mortality than brick layers during the same period. a)Reduce selection bias in the allocation of treatment. Treatment differences which are identified from nonrandomized trial designs possess methodological weaknesses. For example, cohort effects, selection bias and confounding. As such, the major purpose of a random assignment is to counter this methodological weakness. a)Avoid observer and subject bias. A double blind experiment design tests a drug or treatment’s effect by using groups of control and experimental subjects whereby neither the investigators nor the subjects know which drug is being used on which group (Grove, 2007). Therefore, this design eliminates the issue of prejudgment which can distort the

Analyzing Change - Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Analyzing Change - Business - Essay Example their environment; climate change; enemies; changes in friendly trading partners; and the societys political, economic and social responses to these shifts. (Diamond, 2005) The collapse of the Yucatan Empire included decline in economic and political aspects of the nation. Initially this empire was considered as New World’s most advanced civilization before Columbus discovery of America. The government organization of rulers and kings were overthrown, masses of lands became unused and barren while an estimated ninety percent of the citizens vanished. This occurred around 2,500 years ago. The main reason attributed to this failure of the Yucatan Empire was the environmental degradation caused by the activities of the people in the tribes. They overused and abused the forests which led to land erosion and lack of water supply. Scarcity of food during their time was a result of their harshness to the environment. Since there was little food and water, men fought over the remaining amounts of resources which even caused wars for survival. Japan, Tonga, Tikopia, the New Guinea Highlands and Central and Northwest Europe were among the countries that were able to preserve the richness of their culture throughout the years. This time, the environment was used to their advantage unlike the fate of the Yucatan Empire which was destroyed due to the adverse effects of their abuse of their natural resources. The reason for their survival is due to their ability to adapt to the needs of their environment. Japan, during the 1600s, also experienced deforestation but they were able to address the problem by reducing their consumption of wood and by planting more trees that the future generations can use. Japan was able to stand on its own for they had the capacity to sustain the basic needs of their people such as the peasants without the help of other nations since they had closed- door policy then. Iceland had to experience the same environmental concerns with the Yucatan

Banking law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Banking law - Essay Example Thus Alice clearly intended to rely on Beatrice’s expertise as a financial advisor. In a typical case, where a fiduciary relationship is created such as the one between Alice and Beatrice, the fiduciary’s (Beatrice) discretion to manage the funds is limited by contract.2 The terms of the contract are not revealed by the facts of the case for discussion. The only know term is stated in broad terms: to build an investment portfolio. Regardless, fiduciary duties are typically provided for in standard contract forms. These duties usually include the no conflict rule, a duty of loyalty, the rule against personal profits and confidentiality rules.3 Despite the fact that the fiduciary duties are typically detailed in the standard form of contract, the fiduciary remains bound by the principle fiduciary duty of good faith.4 Frase advises however, that financial institutions such as banks are not typically regarded as fiduciaries in the ordinary course of their duties. In such a case, the relationship between the banker and the client is regulated by contract, leaving the client limited to remedies for negligence or breach of contract.5 However, financial advisors like all other members of the banking and investment market can be held to a fiduciary duty which operates outside of the contract with the client. According to Frase, in this regard, the fiduciary duty is â€Å"fact-based†.6 In other words, whether or not Beatrice, as a financial advisor is a fiduciary will turn on the particular facts of the case. As Lord Upjohn stated, it is necessary to evaluate all of the â€Å"facts and circumstances† to ascertain whether or not the agent in question is a fiduciary.7 Lord Upjohn went on to state that: The relationship must then be examined to see what duties are thereby imposed on the agent to see what is the scope and ambit of the duties.8 Lord Wilberforce also stated that the exact nature of the fiduciary’s duties â€Å"must be moulde d according to the nature of the relationship†.9 Frase explains that where a bank provides the ordinary services of receiving deposits or extending loans, it would not typically have a fiduciary relationship with its clients. However, the moment the bank goes beyond those contracted services, a fiduciary relationship will most often arise. For example in the event the bank or one of its agents, uses confidential information for its own use, a fiduciary duty arises.10 A fiduciary duty will also arise where the bank has a conflict of interest.11 It can be argued that Beatrice made personal use of confidential information connected to Alice’s account. Beatrice knew the details of Alice’s account and while she did not pass their information on to others, she used that information to access Alice’s account. Moreover, there is no doubt that a conflict of interest arose since Beatrice was concerned about her own financial difficulties and desires and put those ah ead of her client’s interest: to build an investment portfolio. The definition of a fiduciary as provided by Asquith LJ clearly captures the essence of Beatrice’s relationship with Alice. As Asquith LJ stated, a fiduciary duty

Potential Impact Of Online Sales To The Company Marketing Essay

Potential Impact Of Online Sales To The Company Marketing Essay Our Company, Houston Incorporated has decided to expand into online sales. The goal is to continue to sell our products in the retail stores located throughout the United States but also establish a presence on the World Wide Web. Your company has recently decided to expand into online sales. The company wishes to continue to sell its products in the retail stores located throughout the United States opportunities available for retail sales and provide a report to your manager which includes the advantages and disadvantages if marketing online, As Marketing Manager, I was tasked to research online marketing opportunities available for retail sales. This report outlines the advantages and disadvantages of internet marketing, the potential impact of online sales to the company, and the requirements for a successful online marketing campaign. Marketing and selling goods online electronically is made possible by software programs that execute the main functions of an e-commerce application. This soft enables product display, online ordering, and online processing. Online marketing encompasses both e-business and e-commerce. E-commerce typical refers to transactions involving the exchange of money such as selling products to customers. E-business is a broader term that includes providing customers with descriptions and specifications for a given product. Online marketing offer many advantages as this report shall show. Having a presence on the World Wide Web offers the opportunity to reach customers not only on a national level but globally. Doing business 7 day a week and 24 hours a day is a reality with online marketing. The gathering and analysis of information gather via online marketing is possible. This information can be used to improve marketing strategies both online and in traditional retail segment. The advantages far outweigh the disadvantages. Increase sales, increased brand recognition coupled with the low cost of operating online leads to increase revenue. These are only a few of the overall impact of online marketing. Executing a comprehensive online marketing plan encompasses virtually the same processes and procedures as traditional marketing. It also requires the establishment of a web site for product display, online ordering, and online payment systems to process payments. The decision to expand into online sales is justified by this research. Expansion into online sales is a much more cost effective mean of growing the company. The recommended model is integration of the traditional retail segment with the new online arm. This is in opposition to establishing a purely online business. The current marketing strategies can be modified to include the online segment and used to promote the website. Introduction The internet is becoming the town square for the global village of tomorrow. That quote was attributed to Bill Gates, Cofounder of Microsoft. Tomorrow has come and according to an article on Reuters website, Online retail sales in the United States could reach $248.7 billion by 2014, growing 60 percent from 2009. As Marketing Manager, my job is to do market research and develop market strategies. This report will outline the advantages and disadvantages if marketing online, the advantages and disadvantages if marketing online, the potential impact of online sales to the company, and the requirements for a successful online marketing campaign. The goal of online marketing, similar to traditional marketing, is to communicate and provide value to the customer and manage relationships with customers that benefit the company and stakeholders. Online marketing encompasses both e-business and e-commerce. E-commerces typical refers to transactions involving the exchange of money such as selling products to customers. E-business is a broader term that includes providing customers with descriptions and specifications for a given product. Marketing and selling goods online electronically is made possible by software programs that execute the main functions of an e-commerce application. This soft enables product display, online ordering, and online payment processing. The advantages of online marketing, including the ability to reach a larger market, far outweigh the disadvantages. Online selling tends to be very competitive and may necessitate lower pricing. This is one of the few disadvantages. Establishment of a globally presence and increased sales are ways that the company can be impacted. However, having an internet presence does not guarantee success. It requires a comprehensive marketing strategy aimed at attracting new customers to our website. Online marketing has its own process and tools that contribute to the achievement of marketing goals and objectives. . Research Findings Advantages: Similar to traditional business, online marketing presents many advantages and disadvantages. However, the advantages of online marketing significantly outweigh its disadvantages. Online marketing can expand the geographic reach of the company by accessing customers in markets where the company does not have a physical presence. In the ecommerce world, doing business around the globe, 7 days a week, 24 hours a day is a reality. (Hossein Bidgoli, 2002) Online Marketing or e-commerce creates the ability to sell virtually any product that can be sold in a traditional retail environment. Nights, weekends, holidays, and time zones are no barriers to e-commerce. Online marketing can also reach customers that for various reasons can not personally visit a traditional retail store. Another advantage of e-commerce is the ability to gather additional information about the customer via tools such as cookies, email, and online surveys. This information can be used to personalize marketing effort s in a way that can lead to higher trade volumes. E-commerce also provides increased flexibility for customers. Customers can make purchases without having to leave the comfort of their homes. The customer does not have to deal with the hassle of parking or the worry of losing contact with their small children presented by traditional retail methods. Shopping tasks can be accomplished from the safety of their homes with a few clicks of a mouse. Of course, increased sales are the first thing people thing about when they consider online market. Market research shows that online sales are trending up despite the current depressed retail market. . Revenue generated by online businesses and the online part of traditional retail businesses exceed $96 billion in 2006, up from $86 billion in 2004, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. An added advantage of online marketing is decreased cost. Traditional retail businesses have overhead costs that associated with online marketing. These includ e utilities, insurance, store lease, and labor. Lower overhead cost generally result in lower overall cost and increased revenue. Therefore, online expansion will give the company a globally presence at a relative low cost. Disadvantages: Online shopping is not attractive to all consumers. They cite the loss of social contact experienced when shopping with others. While many researchers do not see any fundamental differences between the traditional and online buying behavior, it is often argued that a new step has been added to the online buying process: the step of building trust or confidence. (Constantinides, 2004) Many consumers are concerned with the privacy and security issues associated with doing business online. Almost 95% of Web users have declined to provide personal information to Web sites at one time or another when asked. (Otto Chung, 2000) Credit card fraud, unwanted solicitations, and use of their information for other than its intended purpose are a few of the reasons cited. The difficulty in attracting customers is another disadvantage to online marketing. That, coupled with increased competition due to the ease of comparative shopping greatly decreases the attractiveness of online marketing. Onlin e consumers can quickly access information from other online businesses and make better decisions. In fact, some websites are designed solely for that purpose. Therefore, online pricing is very competitive. Additionally, online marketing does not afford the consumers the luxury of examining and getting a feel for the quality and fit of merchandise sold online and generally require the seller to have liberal return and refund policies. The lack of after sales service is another concern of online shoppers. Time also is a problem with online marketing in that consumers are not able to take immediate possession of their purchases and are faced with added expense for faster delivery. Potential impact of online sales to the company: The greatest impact to the company may be the establishment of a globally presence. This means company growth at relative low cost. . Online marketing does not require the overhead cost associated with maintaining a brick and mortar store. This results in lower cost, increased efficiency and greater profit margin. Another potential impact, online sales increases in-store sales. Having an online presence leads to increased brand recognition and consequently leads to increased in-store sales. Conversely, not having an online presence means loss of potential valuable customers. Online marketing creates the opportunity to interact with customers. Exchange of information facilitates product and process improvement and can lead to greater customer satisfaction. It also allows for greater flexibility in that website information such as price, product availability, and promotion can be readily adjusted in response to market conditions. Information gathered via online sales information can be used when considering future expansion of the traditional retail operations. Requirements for a successful online marketing campaign Developing a successful online marketing campaign comprises most of the same processes and procedures used in traditional marketing. The company will need to establish goals, objectives, strategies and tactics much like traditional marketing. Likewise, market research is required. When formulating objectives, strategies, and tactics for online marketing product display it is imperative that such customers requirements as ease of use, quick access to product information, and effective distribution networks including order tracking for transparency is addressed. Understanding consumers motivations and limitations to shop online are major consideration in making adequate strategic, technological, and marketing decisions. (Monsuwe, Dellaert, De Ruyter, 2004) This is part of identifying your target audience and determining how to reach it, a very critical step. To attract customers, firms need to offer dynamic content, keep their sites fresh, and to install security devices to protect th eir customers privacy and interests. (Wei, Moreau, Jennings, 2005) Customer retention should also be included in any successful online marketing strategy. Retaining online customers depends on the overall experience when visiting a website, which includes factors such as perceived value and trust (Pitta, Franzak, Fowler, 2006; Wang Head, 2007). In addition, every online business must be able to accept online payment. Customers need a level of confidence with your website and business when making on line payment. Integration between the e-business arm and the traditional business segments helps to promote confidence. (Gay, Charlesworth, Esen, 2007) The reputation of the tradition retail environment can be extended to e-commerce. Likewise, an online presence enhanced the marketability of the traditional business. Traditional firms can adopt a range of strategies to combine offline and online market channels to derive synergies. For example Barnes and Nobles e-business model overla ps its traditional brick and mortal business model. Regardless of whether the merchandise is sold online or in a physical retail outlet, the warehousing operation is the same. (Rich, 2008) Retail companies should also integrate offline and online operations such as allowing customers to order online for pickup at stores. (Steinfield, Adelaar, Liu, 2005) Lastly, print and word of mouth advertisement will be needed to attract customers to the web site. Recommendations Based on research data, the company should expand into the online sales arena by creating an ecommerce arm of our traditional retail operation. Expansion into online sales is a much more cost effective mean of growing the company. The recommended model is integration of the traditional retail segment with the new online arm. This is in opposition to establishing a purely online business. Analysis suggests that firms should tailor their e-commerce approaches to improve service to existing customers in addition to pursuing new customers and markets. (Adelaar, Bouwman, Steinfield, 2004) Integration is advantageous in that perceived shopping risks are lower when a company also provides a physical location. Integrating online and offline operations adds additional cost saving measures such as such as ordering online for pick-up at physical location. . The current marketing strategies should be modified to include the online segment and used to promote the website Conclusion There are advantages and disadvantages to online marketing. While online marketing presents an opportunity for the company to expand its market nationally, even globally, online shopping is very competitive, as consumers have access to comparison shopping. In addition to reaching new markets, online marketing can also improve relationships with existing customers. To be successful, ecommerce websites must be properly designed so that it is easy to use, engages the customer, and provides a pleasant and trusting shopping experience. It must negate all perceived shopping risks such as concerns about giving financial or personal information, and after sale concerns such as refunds and after-sale service. Marketing strategy formulation for ecommerce businesses are very much like traditional marketing. Market research, goals, objectives, strategies and tactics are the making of a successful online marketing campaign. Analysis of the research data indicates that integration of the tradition al brick and mortar operation with an ecommerce business segment is the best method of creating an online presence. Annotated Bibliography Adelaar, T., Bouwman, H., Steinfield, C. (2004). Enhancing customer value through click-and-mortar customer experience. Telematics and Informatics, 21, 167-182. This article explains how traditional retail stores can combine online marketing to increase geographic reach and to improve relationships with existing customers of physical stores. Dr. Thomas Adelaar, Assistant Professor, University of Amsterdam Business School. Ph.D. in Media and Information Studies, Michigan State University. Awards and Honors include; Winner of the Graduate Office Scholarship Best Ph.D. Research Paper in the Dept. of Telecommunications, Information Studies, and Media, MSU (2004). Dr. Adelaar currently has 7 publications in Academic Journals. Charles Steinfield is a professor and chair in the Department of Telecommunication, Information Studies, and Media at Michigan State University. In addition to his faculty position, Steinfield participates with the MSU Eli Broad College of Business Information Tech. Management Program. His research focuses on the organizational and social impacts of new communication technologies. Constantinides, E. (2004). Influencing online consumers behavior: The web experience. Internet Research, 14(2), 111-126. Dr. E. Constantinides conducted research showing that online marketing can increase business for companies at their physical retail locations. Dr. E. Constantinides is and Assistant Professor of Marketing, Netherlands. His research activities focus on strategic and commercial aspects of Ecommerce and E-media, and he is a member of the Scientific Committee of the Social Media Research Center. Gay, R., Charlesworth, A., Esen, R. (2007). Online marketing. New York: Oxford University Press. This book provides an overview of the advantages and disadvantages of online marketing as well as the techniques that can maximize revenues. Richard Gay is a professor at the Newcastle Business School, North Umbria University. Alan Charlesworth is a Senior Lecturer in marketing and emarketing at the University of Sunderland. Rita Esen is a Law Consultant and Visiting Lecturer at Durham University. Hossein, B. (2002). Electronic commerce: principles and practice. Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Academic Press. This book is a four-part overview of electronic commerce. The book provides a balance of theories, applications, and hands-on material. Dr Hossein Bidgoli is a Professor of Management Information Systems. School of Business and Public Administration                California State University, Bakersfield, California Monsuwe (2004). , P., Dellaert, B., De Ruyter, K. (2004). What drives consumers to shop online? A literature review. International Journal of Service Industry Management. Using the technology acceptance model framework, the authors conducted a review of literature and identified website characteristics such as ease of use and usefulness as well as personal consumer traits as critical factors for online shopping. P. Monsuwe is a professor at Maastricht University, The Netherlands. His research focuses on the effects of media on strategy and decision-making processes, such as corporate environmental management. Otto, J., Chung, Q. (2000). A framework for cyber-enhanced retailing. Electronic Markets, 10(3), 185-191. This article describes the advantages and disadvantages of online retailing for companies with existing brick and mortar retail locations, and provides a framework for analyzing whether the company should engage in online retailing. Q.B. Chung is an Associate Professor at Villanova University. He earned a PhD in Management from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, as well as an M.B.A. in Management Information Systems. He has over twenty two published journal articles, numerous published books and is a seminar speaker. J. Otto is an Assistant Professor with many publications involving Management Information Systems and Operations Research and Management Science. Pitta, E., Franzak, F., Fowler, D. (2006). A strategic approach to building online customer loyalty. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 23(7), 421-429. The article integrates previous research to draw the conclusion that customer loyalty to online websites depends on the perception of value as well as emotional factors such as trust. Danielle Fowler, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor at the University of Baltimore. She has many awards and grants including The John and Margaret Thompson Professorship in Management Information Systems, and the Presidents Teaching and Learning Initiative Competition. Frank Franzak is a professor with Monash University and Director of Information Systems Honors Program. Steinfield, C., Adelaar, T., Liu, F. (2005). Click and mortar strategies viewed from the web. Electronic Markets, 15(3), 199-212. The authors analyzed retail store websites and found that few engaged in online and offline integration such as allowing customers to order products online for pickup at physical store locations. Dr. Adelaar currently has 7 publications in Academic Journals. Charles Steinfield is a professor and chair in the Department of Telecommunication, Information Studies and Media at Michigan State University. In addition to his faculty position, Steinfield participates with the MSU Eli Broad College of Business Information Tech. Management Program. His research focuses on the organizational and social impacts of new communication technologies. Wang, F., Head, M. (2007). How can the web help build customer relationships? Information Management, 44(2), 115-129. The authors conducted empirical research to identify the factors critical for building customer relationships online and found that satisfaction, trust, and switching costs determined whether a customer would continue using a website. Dr. Milena Head is an Associate Professor of Information Systems and the Associate Dean at the DeGroote School of Business, McMaster University, Canada. Specializing in eBusiness and Human Computer Interaction, she has published over 50 papers in academic journals, books and conferences. Her research interests include trust and adoption in electronic commerce, interface design, mobile commerce, identity theft, cross-cultural issues in electronic commerce and human computer interaction, e-retailing, and web navigation. Dr. Fang Wang is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at the School of Business Economics, Wilfrid Laurier University, Canada. Her research interests include e-commerce, e-marketing and marketing strategy. She has published in journals such as Journal of Consumer Marketing, Journal of Comparative International Management, Internet Research, and Journal of Business Strategies. Wei, Y., Moreau, L., Jennings N. (2005). A market-based approach to recommender systems. ACM Transactions on Information Systems, 25(3), 227-266. The research described in the article uses simulations to demonstrate the effectiveness of recommender systems for personalizing customer experiences and customer retention. Yan Zheng Wei is Director of The Department of Broadband Wireless Management, Shenzhen, China. Dr. Nicholas Jennings is an Assistant Professor at The School of Electronics and Computer Science, University of Southampton, UK.

Thomas Hobbes Philosophy Essay -- Thomas Hobbes Philosophy

Thomas Hobbes Thomas Hobbes was an English philosopher who lived from 1588-1679. He attended Oxford University where he studied classics. His occupation was a tutor, but he also traveled around Europe to meet with scientists and to study different forms of government. He became interested in why people allowed themselves to be ruled, and what would be the best form of government for England. Thomas Hobbes was the first great figure in modern moral philosophy. Hobbes had a pessimistic view of people; he believed humans were selfish creatures who would do anything to better their positions. He also thought that people could not be trusted to make decisions on their own, and a country needed an authority figure to provide direction and leadership. Therefore, Hobbes believed in an absolute monarchy - a government that gave all power to a king or queen. He also thought that people should obey their king, even if he is a tyrant. He said that because people were only interested in promoting their own self-interests, democracy would never work. In fact, he thought democracy was very dangerous. But even though he distrusted democracy, he believed that a diverse group of representatives presenting the problems of the common person would prevent a king from being unfair and cruel. Hobbes coined the phrase, "Voice of the people," meaning one person could be chosen to represent a group with similar views. In 1651, Thomas Hobbes wrote his famous work, "Leviathan" which put into...

How does Edgar Allan Poe create atmosphere in “The Tell Tale Heart” Essay

This essay is about how Edgar Allan Poe created tension and atmosphere in his short story â€Å"the tell tale heart†. The Tell Tale Heart was written in the year 1843 by Edgar Allan Poe. Edgar Allan Poe was born to a Scots-Irish family in Boston, Massachusetts, on January 19, 1809, the son of actress Elizabeth Arnold Hopkins Poe and actor David Poe. His later life was over-shadowed by financial and mental problems and periodic drunkenness, and he was temporarily disinherited by his foster father, but this could have influenced many of his short stories and poems, some of the short stories and poems he is most famous for are: â€Å"The Tell-Tale Heart,† â€Å"The Pit and the Pendulum,† â€Å"The Fall of the House of Usher,† â€Å"The Gold Bug,† â€Å"The Black Cat,† â€Å"The Raven† and â€Å"Annabel Lee.†. On October 3, 1849, Poe was found on the streets of Baltimore, delirious and â€Å"in great distress, and†¦ in need of immediate assistance,† according to the man who found him. He was taken to the Washington College Hospital, where he died early on the morning of October 7. This was most distressing for people who were a fan of his work, but they knew that his work would still be read over a long time past his death. There was never a certain cause for his death but some of the suggestions to why he died were: alcohol, drugs, and other agents. Poe’s Tell Tale Heart is of the gothic and horror fiction genre; this means it is a story that is wrote to induce a pleasing terror on the reader. Gothic is a genre that many people enjoy to read, because people like the suspense and shock that is involved in a gothic story, it gives the reader a sense of insecurity, making sure that they think about what could happen. Its stories like this that class as a gothic genre. The Tell Tale Heart is most definitely of this genre because the suspense in the story is immense and there is much tension, in this essay I will try my very best to describe how Edgar Allan Poe does this. Tension plays a pivotal role in the short story, so Poe used all the techniques available to create this tension. These techniques are stylistic. He uses things like characterisation, setting and plot. In the following paragraphs I will explain all of these techniques. Poe’s â€Å"Tell Tale Heart† is set at night time in a house that sounds like an old gothic manor. At night the house is sealed off from light. This creates a dark, eerie feel to the story. Night time sybolises danger and evil; it sybolises this because vicious things like dangerous animals (e.g. wolves) strike at night and kill their prey, also mythical creatures such as vampires are more active at night, this creates a scary atmosphere to night time. A descriptions in â€Å"The Tell Tale Heart† that show its night time is: â€Å"His room was as black as pitch with the thick darkness.† This shows how dark it really was. It’s also as if the narrator can feel the dark, and has to push through it. This description of the dark paints a picture in your mind and it gives the effect of being in a silent room with no light and no escape. The effect of no escape is important because it’s as if the old man cannot escape. The main thing that triggers the narrators murderous tendency is the old mans eye. The old mans eye is described as the â€Å"Vulture Eye†. We do not know the relationship of the narrator to the old man; this adds tension because we do not know how the narrator knows this man and why he would want to kill him. There are some ideas of what the relationship is; my view on the relationship is that the narrator is a person who cares for the old man, due to poor vision. I get this impression because it says: â€Å"with a film over it†. It’s difficult to see through a film, so this denotes an impression of poor vision. He may have gone not expecting this â€Å"vulture eye† to begin haunting him. This eye is basically sending the narrator insane. The narrator’s obsession with the old man’s eye culminates in his own undoing as he is engulfed with internal conflict and his own transformation from confidence to guilt. The fixation on the old man’s vulture-like eye forces the narrator to concoct a plan to eliminate the old man. The narrator confesses the sole reason for killing the old man is his eye: â€Å"Whenever it fell upon me, my blood ran cold; and so by degrees – very gradually – I made up my mind to rid myself of the eye for ever†. The narrator begins his tale of betrayal by trying to convince us (the reader) he is not insane, but we quickly surmise the narrator indeed is out of control. The fact that the old man’s eye is the only motivation to murder proves the narrator is so mentally unstable that he must search for justification to kill. In his mind, he rationalises murder with his own unreasonable fear of the eye. Another reason this adds tension is because the narrator wrestles with conflicting feelings of responsibility to the old man and feelings of ridding his life of the man’s â€Å"Evil Eye†. Although afflicted with overriding fear and derangement, the narrator still acts with quasi-allegiance toward the old man; however, his kindness may stem more from protecting himself from suspicion of watching the old man every night than from genuine compassion for the old man. The narrator shows his contrariety when he confesses he loves the old man, but he is still too overwhelmed by the pale blue eye to restrain himself from the all-consuming desire to eliminate the eye. His struggle is evident as he waits to kill the old man in his sleep so that he won’t have to face the old man when he kills him; but on the other hand, the narrator can’t justify the killing unless the vulture eye was open. The narrator is finally able to kill the man because â€Å"I saw it with perfect distinctness – all a dull blue, with a hideous veil over it that chilled the very marrow in my bones; but I could see nothing else of the old man’s face or person: for I had directed the ray as if by instinct, precisely upon the damned spot†. This creates tension because all of the conflicting emotions make us think â€Å"will he do it†. It really keeps us in suspense and we are desperate to find out what he does. The story hooks us in and makes us read the whole thing. We know that the man is insane but we do not know if he regains his mental stability until he actually kills the man nearing the end of the story. But still then we cannot be certain he is insane until the very end, I will explain this further in the next paragraph. It is said that a neighbour had heard a shriek and that â€Å"suspicion of foul play had been aroused†. The narrator is very confident and does not seem to be vexed by the murder he had just acted out. The narrator’s language show his confidence and audacity, even pride, in his kill: â€Å"Never before that night had I felt the extent of my own powers – of my sagacity. I could scarcely contain my feelings of triumph†. The narrator’s assurance in his dark deed continued even when the police came to check on the old man and investigate the loud noises neighbours heard the night; â€Å"I smiled,-for what had I to fear? I bade the gentlemen welcome†. He is very polite and confident. He is also very persuading, it’s almost as if he is sound of mind. He manages to persuade the men that the old man is somewhere else in the country. He invited them around and even showed them his treasures to show that nothing had been disturbed. He even had the audacity to get some chairs and tell the men to rest in the old mans chamber whilst the whole time the old man was dismembered beneath the floor boards. However, the narrator’s mind is quickly consumed with guilt, which creates his delusion of hearing the old man’s heartbeat taunting him from under the flooring. His paranoia makes the heart beat â€Å"louder – louder – louder!† and in his state of delirium he confesses to killing the old man in hopes of ridding his life of the menacing heartbeat: â€Å"I felt that I must scream or die!†. His guilt reached his imagination which then went on to make him hear things that wasn’t real, his conscience was putting an image into his head that this old man who he had no quarrel with was going to haunt him because he killed the man for no justifiable reason. He ends up driving himself even more insane and confesses. The story ends with his shrieking â€Å"I admit the deed! – tear up the planks! – hear, hear – it is the beating of the hideous heart† The most dramatic way of which tension is created is through plot and character. As shown already the plot is very sinister. But the characterisation is very good. The plot evolves around the killing of someone who is obviously vulnerable. With the poor vision, old age and treasures he is obviously a very vulnerable man, he has no safety apart from the narrator who is going to kill him, so he has no safety. This adds tension to the story because we want to know if the narrator will show this compassion he has for the old man, or murder him regardless. We know the narrator loves the old man because he says: â€Å"I loved the old man. He had never wronged me. He had never given me insult.† The narrator loved the old man, the narrator even admitted it, but he still had plans to kill him. The fact that the narrator chuckled at the fact that the old man was oblivious to his plans also showed the old mans vulnerability. The narrator also said that he did not have any problem with the old man, who he saw himself as vulnerable. But it was the eye that vexed him: â€Å"it was not the old man who vexed me but his evil eye†. It is the characterisation that leads to the biggest tension in the story. This is because the story is a confession, told in a first person narrative. The reader feels what the narrator feels. The punctuation and tone that Poe used in the story shows us that the narrator is hysterical and mad. But the schizophrenic tendency he shows at the end confirms his insanity. This adds a lot of tension because we see how evil he can be but how calm and friendly he can be a short time later. It makes us wonder what he will do next, his actions are very unpredictable, which also tells us he is insane. With this conflict within himself it really makes us wonder, this also makes the story exciting. In this section I will focus on the stylistic devices used by Edgar Allan Poe. Poe creates tension with the use of short, choppy sentences with active verbs signal tension. In a way mirroring the narrators racing heart. Long, meandering sentences filled with adjectives and adverbs imply a relaxed pace, so Poe rarely used long sentences in â€Å"The Tell Tale Heart†. Short sentences are vital whist writing a story with tension. An example of short sentences in â€Å"The Tell Tale Heart†: â€Å"There was no pulsation. He was stone dead.† This shows an urgency to make sure he was dead He could not risk the old man to be alive It adds tension because we do not know what he will do. Will he stab him more to make sure he is dead or will he just finish the deed and hide the body It leave us open to guessing. Poe also adds tension through the use of his punctuation. Poe heavily relies on the exclamation mark to show the narrators growing discomfort. The use of this exclamation mark shows us the tone that the narrator must be using. For example: â€Å"But the beating grew louder! I thought the heart must have burst. And now a new anxiety seized me – the sound would be heard by a neighbour! The old mans hour had come!† This shows how panicked he was becoming. You could practically hear the panic. As of he is saying it in a high voice. It has a sense of upset to it, the panic was upsetting him and he was worried that other people could hear it. It is clear that the narrator is becoming hysterical. As he does so, tension is added because his actions become even more unpredictable, will he panic and leave or will he dismiss it and kill the man anyway. Edgar Allan Poe uses a lot of repetition in this piece â€Å"Louder – louder – louder†. He does this a lot in this story; it adds tension, because it can add a variety of things. It can mean sinister planning â€Å"I proceeded – with what caution – with what foresight – with what dissimulation† There is a sinister planning I this, how should he proceed with his plan, with what caution, with what foresight etc. Repetition can also show panic â€Å"Louder – louder – louder† he is beginning to panic about the beating of the â€Å"hideous heart† He can hear it and he is worried that the police can also hear it so he begins to panic, this leads to his confession. In the last paragraph it was probably noticed that I used dashes (-) in the repetition. This is because Edgar Allan Poe used them at two very important scenes. The first time he consistently used them was when he was stalking the old man: â€Å"I proceeded – with what caution – with what foresight – with what dissimulation† He is stalking the old man and is planning how to kill him, he is trying to figure out how he should follow the old man as he is doing it, the dashes indicate a pause as he plans his next step. The second time he uses them is just before he confesses the murder, and can hear the heart beating â€Å"Louder – louder – louder†. The man is obviously panicked. This adds tension because we don’t know what he will do because he is so unpredictable. It adds a lot of tension, because we want to know what happens and we are waiting to fid out. Finally I will conclude with if I think the story was effective or not. I have described in the essay numerous techniques to why it is effective. I must say that I agree with all of them. I think the plot is engrossing and it really hooks you and you want to know what happens. The characterisation is excellent and the mystery of the sex of the narrator (who I have referred to as a he) adds tension because it’s hard to think of a woman committing such an act, but it is possible because the narrator confessed to loving the old man. The old mans eye, it is possible to picture it and I find it chilling to think about, but I find it even more chilling to think that someone would kill over it. The setting is marvellous, an old house, sealed off from all light, its chilling and scary making me feel lucky to live where I do, in the light. I also think that all the punctuation that Edgar Allen Poe used was used at an appropriate time and was an asset to the piece as a whole. The punctuation shows how clever the killer is and how cunning and sinister he is. But it also shows how panicked he can get. The start of the piece was also very good, because it began in the end, when he is where I can only assume, a mental institution. Where he is telling his story. In all it is a very good and very effective piece of writing.

Conformity Essay

A nonconformist is a person whose behavior or views do not conform to prevailing ideas or practices of the society. In the book Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury the main character Guy Montag was a nonconformist to his society, and in the movie Cool Hand Luke directed by Stuart Rosenberg, Luke Jackson was the nonconformist. Guy Montag was considered a nonconformist because in his society you weren’t allowed to read books, and he did. In Luke’s society he was considered a nonconformist because he went against the jail and ran away repeatedly. Luke is more of a nonconformist compared to Guy Montag because Luke was a man who refused to be nailed down or conform to the rules and regulations of a society. Luke from the movie Cool Hand Luke was sent to jail after he cut the heads off of parking meters. He was sent to prison where he later didn’t conform to the rules. Luke is a nonconformist for opposite reasons than Montag. Luke wasn’t liked by the people in the prison at first, and kept to himself. After later having a boxing match with one of his inmates Dragline, and was repeatedly knocked down but kept getting up was respected by the inmates. Luke never cared about what people thought of him, and never had anyone influence his actions or opinions. Luke did what he wanted to, when he wanted to. Luke wasn’t scared to go against the law several times after he already knew the consequences, and received them before. Guy Montag from the book Fahrenheit 451 was a local firefighter for his town and was suppose to burn books but instead he read them, and had to be fugitive and flee his town. Montag is different than Luke by many reasons. Montag was always respected by society for his job until he was caught reading books and was labeled dangerous by the news when he was on the run. Montag fought with the society as a whole and the government, where as Luke fought with individuals. Montag was influenced by one of his neighbors, a little girl named Clarisse. She opened his mind and made him think about things. For example she asked Montag if he was simply happy, and then Montag was left puzzled thinking â€Å"Of course I’m happy. What does she think? I’m not?† (pg10). Montag also blames other for his actions. For example when he blamed his hand for taking the book and putting it into his coat, â€Å"Montag had done nothing. His hand had done it all, his hand†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (pg 37) . Luke and Guy Montag are both similar because they both impacted their societies, Luke’s being in the prison and Montag’s being the town. Both had societies with an ultimate tool of conformity, the box and the mechanical hound. Both characters fought for what they believed was right. Montag wanted to rebuild the society after it was bombed, and Luke wanted to prove that he did know wrong from right before he was put in the box. Both Montag and Luke took major risks and both knew the consequences before they made their actions making them nonconformists. Montag used a little ear piece called the green bullet that allowed him to talk to Faber for his great escape. Luke was severely beaten multiple times by the prison warden, and he still ran away. Luke is more of a nonconformist than Guy Montag. Luke went against the most important thing in a conformist society, the law. Luke became the leader after people followed him, and wanted him to be the leader. Luke had a less of a need to be affiliated with anyone, like when he first got to the prison and just ignored what Dragline had to say about him or any other inmates. Most importantly Luke was more of a nonconformist because he went against the conformist’s rules and values, having to go in the box accepting the punishment and not running away.

How to Get a Recommendation Letter for Graduate School

How to Get a Recommendation Letter for Graduate School The letter of recommendation is the part of the graduate school application that students stress most over. As with all elements of the application process, your first step is to be sure that you understand what you’re asking for. Learn about letters of recommendation early, well before it is time to apply to graduate school. What Is a Recommendation Letter? A letter of recommendation is a letter written on your behalf, typically from an undergrad faculty member, that recommends you as a good candidate for graduate study. All graduate admissions committees require that letters of recommendation accompany students’ applications. Most require three. How do you do about getting a letter of recommendation, specifically a good letter of recommendation? Prep Work: Develop Relationships with Faculty Begin thinking about letters of recommendation as soon as you think youd like to apply to graduate school because developing the relationships that are the foundation of good letters takes time. In all honesty, the best students seek to get to know professors and get involved regardless of whether they are interested in graduate study simply because its a good learning experience. Also, graduates will always need recommendations for jobs, even if they dont go to graduate school. Seek experiences that will help you develop relationships with faculty that will get you excellent letters and help you learn about your field. Choose Faculty to Write on Your Behalf Carefully choose your letter writers, keeping in mind that admissions committees seek letters from specific types of professionals.  Learn about what qualities to look for in referees and dont fret if youre a nontraditional student or one who seeks entry to graduate school several years after graduating from college. How to Ask Ask for letters appropriately. Be respectful and remember what not to do. Your professor does not have to write you a letter, so do not demand one. Demonstrate respect for your letter writers time by providing him or her with plenty of advance notice. At least a month is preferable (more is better). Less than two weeks is unacceptable (and may be met with a No). Provide referees with the info they need to write a stellar letter, including info about the programs, your interests, and goals. Waive Your Rights to See the Letter Most recommendation forms include a box to check and sign to indicate whether you waive or retain your rights to see the letter. Always waive your rights. Many referees will not write a non-confidential letter. Also, admissions committees will give letters more weight when they are confidential under the assumption that faculty will be more candid when the student cannot read the letter. Its OK to Follow-Up Professors are busy. There are many classes, many students, many meetings, and many letters. Check in a week or two before its due to see if the recommendation has been sent or if they need anything else from you. Follow-up but don’t make a pest out of yourself. Check with the grad program and contact the prof again if it hasnt been received. Give referees lots of time but also check in. Be friendly and dont nag. Afterwards Thank your referees. Writing a letter of recommendation takes careful thought and hard work. Show that you appreciate it with a thank you note. Also, report back to your referees. Tell them about the status of your application and definitely tell them when you are accepted to graduate school. Theyll want to know, trust me!