Monday, September 30, 2019

“Judgements about dialects are often essentially judgements about the speakers of those dialects

Language is primarily considered to perform two major functions in society. It is designed to convey information to those around us as well as establish and maintain relationships. However, linguistically (albeit from social stereotypes) certain paradigms relating to class, social and financial status are attributed to dialects – a consensus that has been perpetuated in recent times due to the diversity of today's society and the integration of many differing dialects and languages in cities and countryside alike. Indeed, a stereotype regarding a dialect usually derives from the views held on the characteristics of its speakers. Although a direct correlation between the aforemented stereotypes and linguistic fact has little scientific basis in reality it has not served to reduce the almost established dialect prejudice rife in the media, judiciary and education systems. In the early 20th Century, the ‘Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis' advanced the theory that the derivative of language we use is respective of our social, cultural and ideological background, and ever since various linguists and sociolinguists have studied dialectal differences and correlation between dialect and social judgments therein to determine the extent and implications of prevalent dialect prejudice. The size of the British Isles often leads people to discern that the languages predominant in England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland are homogenous and that one dialect (‘British English') is the most prevalent throughout, but even within a nation the size of England there is a great diversity of dialect both regionally and socially. Though these respective dialects can be categorised in vague groups such as ‘north' and ‘south' they do not adhere to any sharp boundaries or coincide with county/city lines. Instead, dialects are said to form a â€Å"dialect continuum†1 as they merge and alter near other cities or counties (i.e.: other dialects) so therefore one cannot define dialectal boundaries as they would be based on social fact, not linguistic. The most ubiquitous dialects within society (‘Geordie', ‘Cockney', Jock', etc.) often receive the most scrutiny for their variation to standardised English, and it is because of this that the speakers of r espective dialects are stereotyped with traits common to their culture. However, while it is true that some dialects represent certain social and political variants, this is predominantly due to geographical reasons and not because a dialect accurately represents one cohesive body of social genre. Also, the extent of Dialect Continuum means that dialects are often bandied together into broad categories (Geordie, Scot, etc.) meaning that certain dialects are often misinterpreted as others and therefore leads to people being attributed characteristics of a similar dialect. This reiterates the irrational social judgments by which dialects are often quantified as its speakers can be attributed to a dialectal collective that, while phonetically similar, may be wholly unrelated. An active example of this is in one particular study which showed â€Å"attitudinal responses were statistically significant between speakers of different dialectal groups in Great Britain in spite of the fact that respondents were inaccurate in the identification of the area from which the speakers came†. Indeed, the hypothesis that dialect is representative of one's background (which is linked intrinsically to social preconceptions) is accepted by the majority of sociolingustical commentators, the established view being that â€Å"accents and dialects have come to act as indicators not only of one's relationship to a locality but also of one's social class position† 3. The fundamental consensus of the ‘Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis' (formulated in the early 20th Century by prominent linguists Edward Sapir and Benjamin Whorf) highlighting the striking difference between both languages themselves and their subsequent dialect derivatives, and that the surroundings and ideologies of a community are prominent in its form of speech. Therefore, one could discern that, if dialectal content necessitates the input of social background, judgments of dialects could be verified as the respective social traits of the speaker are evident in what they say and how it is said. In Britain, â€Å"people are often able to make instant and unconscious judgements about someone's class affiliation on the basis of their accent†4. Indeed, phonetic factors assume a primary role in highlighting ones social background. A 1972 survey undertaken by National Opinion Polls in England provides an example of how significant speech differences are associated with social class variety. Subjects, randomly chosen from the British public, were asked which factor (from eleven provided) was most indicative of a person's class. The most popular answer was ‘the way they speak' followed by ‘where they live'. This evidence highlights, albeit only to a certain degree, that speech mannerisms (governed primarily by one's dialect) are considered to be more indicative of one's social class than education, occupation or income5. This is highlighted primarily through the paradigms of ‘Subjective Inequality', which details the origins of linguistic prejudice in the public domain. Societies throughout the world credit characteristics such as intelligence, friendliness and status according to the traits of respective dialects, though these views are based not on linguistic merit – rather its emulation of the ‘received' or ‘standardised' variety of the language (the most revered British dialect utilised by various official establishments such as Government and the BBC). Thus, language is shown to proliferate social stereotypes, as it is one of the qualities (albeit highly unreliable) by which one is initially judged by those in the public domain. Despite the judgements of dialects categorizing the speaker with various socio-political elements, one should note that, from a purely linguistical standpoint, no regional dialect displays any signs of deficiency in its ability to convey information – social predispositions are therefore centred wholly on the idiosyncrasies and eccentricities of each respective dialect. This is a consensus supported by the majority of linguistic research (â€Å"there is nothing at all inherent in non-standard variety dialects that make them linguistically inferior†6). People will invariably draw conclusions upon one's persona regarding the characteristics of speech, not on its content. Indeed, due to the lack of linguistic discrepancy between the respective British dialects it is discernable that, aside from social factors, they are arbitrarily stigmatised. However, many maintain that this linguistic superficiality is perpetuated by the media; characters on television or radio that repr esent non-standardised dialects are often simply manifestations of traits commonly associated with their respective culture. Furthermore, some Sociolinguists have propagated the theory that perceived linguistic inequality (namely those dialects that do not conform to standardised forms of pronunciation and syntax) is a consequence of social inequality as â€Å"language is one of the most important means by which social inequality is perpetuated from generation to generation†7.The language and style utilised within a society has an innate relationship with the geography, occupation and ideologies prevalent in the community – making dialectal prejudice easier to circulate as the social traits of a speaker are evident in his diction and style of conversation. This is again based upon the ‘Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis', maintaining that language (and thus dialect) structure is, to some extent, influenced by a society's surroundings which in turn affects the way the community perceives the world around it. In reality, dialect prejudice is apparent in every sector of society, from education to business, highlighted through the ‘matched-guise' experiments conducted by Strongman and Woozley in 1969. These experiments served to highlight the extent to which people are quantified on the basis of their dialect and consisted of groups of subjects listening to people reciting a passage to assess the perceived traits of prevalent ‘RP English', Yorkshire, Northern and Scottish dialects. The subjects were then asked to gauge certain attributes regarding each speaker (friendliness, intelligence, success, etc.). The results showed that several of the dialects emerged with stereotypical traits – despite the fact that linguistically, none of the speakers had recited the passage any better or worse than the others as each speaker had been the same person adopting a series of dialects. Table 1 – Results from W.P. Robinson ‘Language and Social Behaviour' (1972). RP English Intelligent, successful, not friendly. Yorkshire Dialects Perceived as†¦ Serious, kind-hearted, not intelligent. Scottish Dialects Friendly, good-natured. Northern Dialects Industrious, reliable, lower class. It is clear from this that society assumes characteristic inferences upon others based primarily on their dialects. In short, speech characteristics of a social stereotype inherit the stereotypes evaluation. Further evidence of this is seen from an experiment conducted in America to highlight the prejudice between public reception of prominent ethnic and native dialects. A single speaker was recorded and played to listening subjects saying the word ‘hello' in three dialects: Standard American English (SAE), Chicano English (ChE), and African American Vernacular English (AAVE). Variation in the tenseness of the vowel and pitch prominence on the first syllable of ‘hello' was enough to elicit a significantly accurate identification of the dialects by listeners. When the stimulus was expanded to include ‘Hello, I'm calling about the apartment you have advertised in the paper', in actual calls to landlords (who were obviously unaware of the experiment), the SAE speaker guise was given an appointment to see housing at roughly the seventy percent level. Both the AAVE and ChE guises were given appointments only about thirty percent of the time8. This underlines the universal presence of dialect prejudice, the latter dialects are shown be regarded in certain sectors as less prestigious than the former. There is a great deal of evidence to underline lack of knowledge that institutes these social judgements of dialectal variety. Firstly, the prominent linguist Edward Sapir maintained that dialect and culture are not always intrinsically associated and that many unrelated cultures can share very similar dialectal derivatives of the same language. An active example of this was prevalent in aboriginal America – the Athabaskan varieties are clearly unified despite the wide distribution of its people, from the hunting communities of Western Canada to the ritualised Southwest. The illogical stigmatisation of dialects highlighted in the stigma towards the employment of double negatives in certain dialects (an action that is derided as a sign of low social standing or poor intelligence). Whilst being both widely considered a standard linguistical construction in other languages (e.g.: French and Arabic) and prevalent in such classical literary works as Shakespeare and Chaucer, modern English encourages the marginalisation of its usage. Thus, it is evident yet again that perceptions regarding dialects are not founded upon established linguistic principles, the case in point highlighting that syntactical and grammatical constructs are more figurative in a dialects perception. This has in turn lead sociolinguists to conclude that dialects cannot be adversely regarded on account of grammatical inconsistencies, as â€Å"these features have no intrinsic consequences for our capacity to communicate or restrict the range of meanings we can express†9. Furthermore, the illogical parameters by which dialects are linguistically quantified are reiterated in the cultural paradox of ‘American' and ‘British' English. In England, dialects without a non-prevolic /r/ are given prestige and constitute an integral part of the ‘RP' dialect; those that do not share this trait are stigmatised and portrayed as belonging to a rural and/or uneducated populace. Conversely, in New York those containing a non-prevolic /r/ are socially marginalized whilst non-prevolic /r/ usage is commonplace in upper class society. In English towns such as Reading and Bristol this pattern is again reversed – serving to reiterate that value judgements regarding dialect are completely random (at least from a linguistic standpoint). As well as this, another example of social perception strongly influencing the respective status' of dialects was conducted in New York by Labov, who examined shop assistant speech patterns in three differing department stores of high, medium and low repute. The procedure was then to ask several clerks a question regarding the department (e.g.: ‘where are the woman's shoes?') with two possible occurrences of non-prevolic /r/, to test the hypothesis that non-prevolic /r/ usage correlates with social class. Table 2 – Results of the Labov's Survey, taken from P. Trudgill (1983). High-ranking Store 38% used no non-prevolic /r/. Medium-ranking Store 49% used no non-prevolic /r/. Low-ranking Store 83% used no non-prevolic /r/. Thus Labov discerned that, to a certain extent, his hypothesis was verified: those dialects that do not frequently use non-prevolic /r/ are usually of a lower class. Also, this experiment demonstrated the paradigm that dialects are socially affected; the fact that this dialectal trait is marginalized is due to its affiliation with lower classes, reinforcing the fact that views on dialect are socially governed10. The communal view of certain dialects is not determined arbitrarily; they have as much to do with personal opinions regarding the dialect as the social and cultural values of the respective community. Certain dialects are given more prestige and status than others, which leads to some being more favourably evaluated than others (some are considered ‘good' or ‘attractive' whilst others are regarded as ‘slovenly' or ‘bad' in comparison). Dialects judgements are again propagated through the media, the frequent usage of ‘RP' English in official reports and programs responsible for the high level prestige attributed to those that utilise it. Judgements about dialects are therefore based on social connotations as opposed to any inherent linguistic properties. In short, it is the speaker that is judged, rather than the speech. This consensus is reiterated by Giles and Sassoon11, who cite consistent findings of subjects evaluating anonymous speakers with more standardised dialects more favourably for such characteristics as intelligence, success and confidence. In Britain the middle class is associated with not only its widespread representation of the standard dialect (‘RP' or ‘Estuary English') but also speaking with in a formal, articulate style than more common or marginal dialects (‘Cockney' and ‘Indian English' respectively). However, whilst many linguists conclude that social judgments are the parameter that separates dialects, the linguist Brown12 proposed the notion that perhaps there was a linguistic discrepancy between the standardised and stigmatised dialects in society. Brown contrasted the speech characteristics of upper and lower social class French Canadian speakers of varying dialects reading a pre-set passage and discovered, relative to the lower class dialects, the upper class subjects were considered as more articulate and had a better range of intonation and diction. From this, one could discern that there is an argument to support the idea that dialects are not wholly based on social judgment and that dialects utilised by the upper classes are generally more articulate and a more accurate representation of standardised diction (widely considered the quintessential form of a language). Nevertheless, there is a great deal that negates the validity of this information; firstly, as the subjects were reading prepared material and not speaking freely they could have been judged partly on their reading ability – not their dialectal traits. Secondly, it is difficult for subjects to not be affected by their personal views with respect to certain dialects, as neutrality can be hard to maintain in the artificial environment in which the is experiment was set (which could also be considered an adverse factor in itself). Though some experiments have shown that dialects are, in certain respects, revered on a purely phonetic level, analysis of large amounts of data seemed to group together paired opposites which pointed to competence, personal integrity, and social attractiveness constructs in the evaluation of speaker voices. A great deal of subsequent research in this field confirmed that these constructs were regularly at work, and, more interestingly, that standardised (or â€Å"RP English†) speakers were most often judged highest on the competence dimension while nonstandard (or regionally and/or ethically distinct speakers) were rated higher for the integrity and attractiveness dimensions13. Irrespective of social background, we can see that dialects can be judged (albeit very rarely) solely upon the speaker's representation of a particular dialect. In summary, the views surrounding many of today's modern dialects are primarily based upon out-moded stereotypes of the culture that said dialects represent. Though linguists have proved that language is influenced by predominant factors within a community (surroundings, ideologies, etc.) it does not justify dialectal prejudice as the information upon which these are founded are often erroneous and generalised. There is a great deal of evidence to suggest that no dialect is linguistically inferior to any other as they all possess the capacity to convey information effectively (if they did not, they would have been discarded or adapted by its community, making their very presence today confirmation enough of their abilities). Limiting the social and occupational possibilities of a certain group of people through dialect prejudice (albeit for many a machiavellian-esque social stigma), simply preserves social asymmetries and propagates tension between differing cultural factions.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

A Comparison of Nurses Essay

A Comparison of Nurses Educated at the Associate-Degree Level versus the Baccalaureate-Degree Level A career in nursing has many possibilities and depending on where one is employed there may be different educational requirements. There are many nurses in the workforce with only their associate’s degree in nursing, but as time passes it seems that the baccalaureate degree is becoming more of an expectation. This brings up the question- is there a difference in the competency of the associate-level nurse from the baccalaureate-level nurse? Studies are showing that there is a difference and patient outcomes are affected by this difference. Differences between the Associate Degree in Nursing and the Baccalaureate Degree in Nursing In order to compare the competencies between nurses prepared at the associate-degree level versus the baccalaureate-degree level, one must first compare the requirements to obtain these degrees. The Associate’s Degree in Nursing, abbreviated ADN, is a two-year degree usually earned through a community college. It requires 60 credit hours to complete and upon completion the graduate can apply for licensure through the state in which they will practice. The Bachelors of Science in Nursing, also called BSN, is a four-year degree obtained at a university. It includes the same areas of study and has the same license upon completion of the NCLEX as the ADN nurse, but delves further into nursing theory as well as pathophysiology and technical skills. Many employers require the bachelor’s degree for higher positions in nursing such as clinical managers and nurse specialists. Differences in competencies between nurses prepared at the associate-degree level versus the baccalaureate-degree level As explained above the bachelor’s degree in nursing requires two more years of education and a much deeper study of nursing theory and pathophysiology than the associate’s degree. The question is does this extra education and focus on nursing theory make a BSN nurse more competent than an ADN nurse. Research suggests there is a significant effect of nurse experience and a significant effect of the percentage of BSN nurses in each hospital (Kendall-Gallagher, Aiken, Sloane &Cimiotti, 2011) in regards to better patient outcomes. To understand the difference one must look at the basic nursing process and how knowledge of nursing theory and pathophysiology affects it. The basic process taught in nursing school in providing patient care is assessment, plan, intervention and evaluation. Assessment is one the first things a nursing student learns. The associate-level and bachelor-level nurse will both have learned this skill in the very first days of nursing school. Both nurses will also be competent with the last step, evaluation of the interventions. The advantage a BSN nurse will have lies in the middle two steps- plan and intervention. The plan and interventions a nurse provides is affected by their decision-making skills and this is based on their education. Plan and Intervention. To determine a patient’s plan of care, one looks at the abnormal assessments and then uses their knowledge of pathophysiology to determine the plan of care. While the BSN nurse will not necessarily have more clinical hours in assessing the patient, they will have taken more classes in pathophysiology than the ADN nurse and therefore may notice a disease process more readily than the ADN nurse. This is where the interventions will occur. Interventions are determined by the nurse based on their decision-making skills. Decision-Making Skills Nursing is a field in which one is given a great amount of autonomy. Therefore much of a patient’s care is affected by a nurse’s decision-making skills. One’s ability to make decisions is affected by many things including past experiences, environment and education. The focus here is education and how the additional study for the BSN affects nurses’ decision-making skills. The BSN nurse will have studied pathophysiology and nursing theory in greater depth than the ADN nurse. This extra knowledge is then applied to the decisions a nurse makes for their patient. These decisions have a great impact on patient outcomes and recent studies have indicated that there is decreased morbidity, mortality, and failure-to-rescue rates in hospitals that employ larger percentages of baccalaureate prepared nurses (Altman, 2011). Effect of baccalaureate-degree level nurses on patient outcomes In the acute situation the BSN nurse can use their knowledge of pathophysiology in addition to their decision-making skills to decrease morbidity and mortality. Taking into account the greater picture, a more holistic approach based on the BSN nurse’s familiarity with nursing theory, will improve patient outcomes. For example let’s look at a hospital admission for a congestive heart failure exacerbation. Both the ADN and BSN nurse will assess the patient and notice classic signs like shortness of breath and edema. Both nurses will plan on diuresis and paying close attention to respiratory status. The difference will come with the holistic approach that a BSN nurse is more likely to take. The emphasis on the nursing theories that a BSN nurse has studied will allow them to look at the patient as a whole, rather than dealing with only stabilization of symptoms. The knowledge of nursing theory the BSN nurse has will allow them to delve further into why this patient admitted and what they can do to prevent a readmission. The BSN nurse asks questions as to what caused the exacerbation. It may be that the patient needs more teaching on diet and medication compliance. They will ask the patient about their home situation. It’s possible the patient is having financial burdens that have kept them from filling their prescriptions. The BSN nurse is more likely to look at the home situation. The patient may have depression with the diagnosis and need some resources for social support. In regards to King’s theory, nursing’s central goal is to help individuals maintain their health so that they can function in their roles (Creasia, 180). By helping the patient function in their role, the nurse empowers the patient to lead a healthier life. The patient is sent home educated with the resources needed to lead a healthy life and therefore reduces unnecessary hospital admissions. This in turn allows the space available for hospital admissions that are necessary and leads to a healthier community. REFERENCES Altmann, Tanya K. (2011). Registered nurses returning to school for a  bachelors degree in nursing: Issues emerging from a meta-analysis of the research. Contemporary Nurse: A Journal for the Australian Nursing Profession, 39, (2): 256-72. Creasia, J; Friberg, E. (2011). Conceptual Foundations: The Bridge to Professional Nursing Practice. (5th Edition). St. Louis, Missouri: Mosby, Inc. , an affiliate of Elsevier Inc. Kendall-Gallagher, Deborah; Aiken, Linda H. ; Sloane, Douglas M. ; Cimiotti, Jeannie P. (2011). Nurse Specialty Certification, Inpatient Mortality, and Failure to Rescue. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 43, 188-94.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Should Cars Be Banned from City Centers?

H: today we need to discuss an interesting topic is â€Å"do you thginks cars should be banned from city centers. Do you agree or disagree? In my opinion, I think cars should not be banned because people might not be able to get to work. Its unfair that we can not use our cars in the city centre. People might not like going on buses to the city centre because teenagers might cause trouble. Or you might not be able to get a seat. Some people might not like going on buses because there sometimes dirty and they do not have seatbelts so you don’t feel safe on them. Where if you are in your car you feel safer. H . true, I afraid†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. because I think that cars should be banned from the city centre because if they were the world would be a safer place and I would be able to go there with my family without having to panic about people attacking us. I feel that if there wasn’t any cars in the city centre it would become a more child friendly area making kids like me welcome there. It would make me happy and no doubt safe. I think they are more then a good idea because of their help to stop pollution helping to cure our world. For a better chance in life P :yes†¦. But sometimes u can be late because use public transport and spent a lot of time for wait H : I †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦there is clearly an urgent need to cut pollution, this could be achieved by developing cleaner fuels and electrically powered cars, and encouraging people to use public transport where possible. P: yes,you win. easing our reliance on cars is a great idea

Friday, September 27, 2019

Plato Euthyphro, Aristotle, Hobbes, Hume, Kant Assignment

Plato Euthyphro, Aristotle, Hobbes, Hume, Kant - Assignment Example 3. Socrates explains that the reactions or effects of things are different, as an action loved is said to be loved because someone is loving it. When someone does not love the action then it is not an action loved anymore. 1. Aristotle claims that we gain virtues by adaptation, and this I believe is true. I believe that humans are not naturally good or evil, we just absorb whatever it is that we are socially exposed to. As we mature, we learn to question things so we begin to choose for ourselves which are virtuous deeds and which are not, in our own perception. 2. I agree that there is no fixity with matters concerned with conduct and what’s good for us. As we mature, we, as humans learn how to preserve ourselves by accepting and rejecting beliefs that are beneficial for us. 3. Aristotle explains that virtuous men are only the ones capable of doing virtuous acts. I believe that virtuous men are more important than performing virtuous acts since it is a given that virtuous men will do virtuous acts but those who do virtuous acts may also do non-virtuous acts. 4. I find the premise rather contradictory. Aristotle states that the mean is between extremes but he says that there are some things that are wrong in all circumstances, such as adultery or stealing. According to Aristotle himself, we only adapt to our social environment, that’s how we learn virtues. One’s wrong may be one’s right and the differences in the opinion clouds the premise that some actions is always wrong. So then, wrong actions become wrong only because the social environment rejects the behavior. 1. Hobbes claims that men can be equal when a weaker man conspires with other weaker men or use machineries or such to fight a stronger man, whether it is physical or mental strength. And I agree with this since there are instances, like in wars

Thursday, September 26, 2019

How to do good in school Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

How to do good in school - Essay Example First and foremost, a student needs discipline. This may seem difficult but what is really needed is for a person to decide to take all possible actions to plan and stick to his plans of action. It is then important to list activities and arrange them according to how they impact school performances. Allotting desired period of time is another important matter to consider in scheduling activities and sticking to the schedule regardless if the task is completed or not. This allows the student to adjust his pace in performing an activity rather than sacrificing other important tasks, allowing him to complete all that has been set for a day’s work. This could sometimes be discouraging during the first days however, once one has gotten into the habit of working in a timed manner, the body adjusts to the demands of discipline. Lectures are very helpful in improving a person’s school performances so it is also important to listen well and take notes. When a student takes notes while lectures are going on, he is strengthening his understanding of the topic and his retention of the information being discussed. In addition, during reviews, a person can always verify discussions with other resources based from what has been noted during lectures. Therefore, one has to learn how to take notes, study shorthand writing or make personal codes for an understandable outline, which will then be re-written if needed. Before every lecture, it is also most helpful for students to read in advance to have some idea what is to be discussed in class. This will enable an individual to grasp more details as compared to having no foreknowledge of the topic. Taking notes about important information that could possibly be discussed in class is also helpful, making note-taking during lectures easier and more complete. In taking personal notes during advance readings, a student should make an outline with special marks like asterisks, boxes,

BUY LOCAL FROM New Brunswick, Canada INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY FIRMS Research Paper

BUY LOCAL FROM New Brunswick, Canada INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY FIRMS - Research Paper Example By the early 1990s companies identified the problem and thereafter they have been working to solve the difficulties of associated with retaining the talented employees (Mitchell, Holtom, Lee, T, & Graske, 2001). Internal Policies It is also important to note that management and usage of ICT systems are two different fields because the former function lies with the technical staff that has the duty and responsibility of keep the infrastructure up and running. Yet, the second function lies with the managerial staff that should have the ability of extracting and using information from the ICT systems to make effective business decisions. The companies are offering flexible timing, paid leaves, casual dressing and regular increase in the pay for core employees in every department of the organization. The organizations are also known to encourage employees to identify the need of enhancement in the current technology level that will help them in keeping up with the technological level of the industry (Brady, Brookes, & Fellenz, 1986). According to many researchers the technological advancements will define the leaders in the industry. In the light of above argument, it can be established that employees who have the ability to manage ICT systems and those who can use them to make business decisions will define the competitive advantage of the companies in near future (Eriksson, Niitamo, & Kulkki, 2005). Economic Incentives The companies that are currently engaged in the practice of acquiring advanced ICT systems are suggested to offer well to excellent incentives to the staff so that their tendencies to leave the job can be minimized (Doran, et al., 2006). Moreover, it would not be a bad idea to evaluate and analyze the ability of new recruits to understand and comprehend routine technological tasks. Additionally the companies are suggested to buy those ICT systems that are well aligned with the current technological awareness of the employees. The companies should a lso make sure that they do not initiate company-wide technology change more often. It is better to bring system changes within operational level to increase the productivity. The companies should buy those technologies that will help them in driving down the cost because in latest organizational strategy cost control is one of the most important facets. Finally it is necessary for the organizations to hire technology experts as employees because in this form of employment they can resolve the issues more swiftly than in the capacity of consultants. Technology consultants are also notorious for delaying the process of repairs that causes productivity of the entire organization to diminish. External Challenges As mentioned earlier that companies are facing the challenge of retaining employees therefore they have to keep the jobs interesting and on the other hand companies are required to pay excellent wages and salaries to the employees. The intelligent companies always ensure that th ey are paying higher compensations in comparison to the competitors because money and financial well-being is a noted method of growing organizational commitment in the staff. Another modern technique to enhance organizational commitment is to develop a participative model of decision making in the company so that everyone can feel as a part of the organization (Vroom & Jago, 1978). The companies are also anticipated to establish strong personality-

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Psychology Anthropology Analysis Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Psychology Anthropology Analysis - Term Paper Example Consequently, this action is undertaken as a means combating the temptation of unfulfilled wishes which need to be attained through the selection of a particular path, whether negative or positive (Freud 11). Analyzing, the selection made by Aphex Twin one can comprehend that the individual’s desire for the realization of pleasure was attained by the means of a positive outlet in the diverse form of art such as music. This notion is termed as Substitutive escapism where an individual may choose to explore the services that are provided by the mode of expression that is art (â€Å"Overview of Freud’s Civilization and its Discourse†). Within this context, Freud’s description of Aphex Twin’s life can viewed through the lens of the pleasure principle and the coping mechanisms that are favored by an individual to escape these pleasures. 1.2 According to the abundant literature which has aimed to unravel the mysteries of madness and its vivid association with the minds of poets, artists and musicians, the whims of such creations are understood to be the products of deranged souls whose yearnings often mask under the temperance of art (Foucault 29). Foucault’s theories on discourse, knowledge and power examine the evolution of mankind from the middle ages to modernity, the ramification of which has been a comprehensive understanding of madness and what the concept essentially implies. Within the context of western modernity, Aphex Twin’s life and career are marked by significant progress during the course of which the artist has been able to redefine music, represent a generation and utilize his capabilities to create an illusion that emerges from profound reflection (â€Å"Historical And Sociocultural Contexts For Foucault’s Madness And Civilization†). If Foucault’s views on madness and its gradual development with the progress of humanity are to be applied, then Aphex Twin’s artistic creati on can be viewed from the concept of creativity which is characterized by social transgression and a transcendence of socially accepted boundaries (â€Å"Foucault on Art and Madness†). This observation postulates that art and its forms can be comprehended as a means of liberation where an individual can only seek solace through expression that may appear abstract to those who have not dared to cross the borders of sanity. This notion essentially assesses the work of Aphex Twin in the light of madness, ingenuity and audacity. 1.3 An example of the dimensions of the pleasure principle that has been provided by Freud in his work encompasses the notion of pleasure in the form of intellectual effort and the role of the external environment in fulfilling an individual’s desires. Freud asserts that the pleasure derived by a human being is a notion which is dependent upon several factors, therefore, if an individual’s external environment is not able to assist the attai nment of his/her desires then it is likely that such a person would resort to the selection of substitute-gratifications and fall in the trap of a mental illness (11). For Foucault, the foundations of madness reside in the special bond that is shared by an artist and his work. In this context, Foucault refers to personalities such as Van Gogh and Nietzsche in describing their relentless commitment to the

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

My Philosophy of Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

My Philosophy of Management - Essay Example They range from reduced costs, improved quality of products and services, increased employee involvement, higher employee retention, reduced conflict, reduced absenteeism, enhanced creativity and innovation, and better adaptability and flexibility. In fact, a team can be defined as a group of people who enjoy autonomy in decision-making and creativity. In the absence of bureaucracy, this team is able to function without friction and develop a common vision. Realization of teamwork is followed by the elimination of ‘us vs. them’ attitude. Thus, my opinion is that an organization should be flat. Another important point that supports this assumption is that all people love to feel useful, important, successful, proud and respected. In an organization with high degree of bureaucracy and hierarchy, it is highly possible that many employees feel unused, disrespected and anonymous. However, as the organization becomes flat, employees are more likely to feel equal and important. The Means of Motivating Employees My efforts to motivate employees are based on the understanding that everyone has the desire to be justly and fairly acknowledged and appreciated in public. Thus, my philosophy will be to ‘applaud in public and reproach in private’. First of all, when employees achieve something, recognition and appreciation will be ensured in public. As studies show, motivation and positive feedback are positively correlated to work performance and various other factors like employee retention. Another important point is that this reward and recognition will be as fair and open as possible. This is so because if employees feel that certain employees are given a more favorable treatment, there will be further decline in their morale. So, when there is reward or recognition, it will be ensured that the reward system is fair and transparent. There are various studies which support this opinion. To illustrate, Wayne, Shore, Bommer &Tetrick (2002) proved t hat perceived organizational support is influenced by various factors including leader-member exchange, procedural and distributive justice, and feelings of inclusion and recognition. Also, the scholars point out that reward and punishment systems are important factors in deciding perceived organizational support. The next important point is punishment. It is highly necessary to be careful about using punishments because punishment has less positive and more negative effects, according to scholars. According to Milbourn (1996), punishment only curbs an undesirable behavior; and it does not make an employee demonstrate a desirable behavior. The mere fact is that punishment leads to fear, psychological distress and the feeling of humiliation, especially when it happens in public. So, my assumption is to replace punishment with positive reinforcement and one-to-one guidance. First of all, there will be clear guidelines regarding every aspect of the workplace and employee conduct. Adher ence to the same will be appreciated and applauded in public. When it is found that an employee errs, the same will be immediately brought to his notice. However, when it is found that the mistake is even more serious, the employee will be met in private and the details discussed without the fear of punishment. Thus, by using positive reinforcement instead of punishment, an organization can increase the possibility of developing desirable behavior in employees. The most Suitable Organizational Structure There are various organizational structures

Monday, September 23, 2019

Direct Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Direct Marketing - Essay Example Segmentation allows Sports Gear Incorporated to divide up its market into customer groups or segments. Customers within a segment are similar to each other and dissimilar to other groups of customers in other segments (Evans, et al. 2004). Segmentation will be used to understand individual customers in the sports memorabilia market place and to group them together to form distinct segments which are identifiable, accessible and substantial. At its simplest, a consumer segmentation may be: In business markets, segmentation is often used to make selling more cost effective by prioritising the companies that require regular face-to-face salespeople and that can be served better by telesales and direct distribution. Market segmentation involves finding out the key drivers that distinguish one group of customers from another. The key drivers of consumer market segmentation in sports memorabilia will be: Statistical modelling techniques can be used to isolate the key drivers and to identify customer clusters or groups. Alternatively, Sports Gear Incorporated can use off-the-shelf segmentation classification systems. There are two types of data: primary and secondary data collection. Methods of primary data collection can be thought of as the means by which information is obtained from the selected subjects of an investigation (Robertson, 1992). A sampling technique will dictate which method is used and in other cases there will be a choice, depending on how much time and manpower (and inevitably money) is available. The following methods can be used by Sports Gear Incorporated in order to collect primary data: Individual interview of sport club members and fans. This method is probably the most expensive, but has the advantage of completeness and accuracy. Normally questionnaires will be used. Street (informal) interview. This method of data collection is normally used in conjunction with quota sampling, where the interviewer is often just one of a team. Some factors involved are: possible differences in interviewer approach to the respondents and the way replies are recorded, non-response is not a problem normally, since refusals are ignored and another subject selected; convenient and cheap. Telephone interview. This method is sometimes used in conjunction with a systematic sample (from the telephone book). It would generally be used within a local area and is often connected with selling a product like sports memorabilia. It has an in-built bias if private homes are being telephoned (rather than businesses), since only those people with phones can be contacted and interviewed. It can cause aggravation and the interviewer needs to be very skilled (Dillman et al. 1996). Secondary data are generally used when: the time, manpower and resources necessary for its own survey are not available (and, of course, the relevant secondary data exists in a usable form), or it already exists and provides most, if not all, of the information required (Berry 1998). The

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Measurements of physical characteristics Essay Example for Free

Measurements of physical characteristics Essay Measurements of physical characteristics are used widely in everyday human life, whether in household or industrial processes, in service or in scientific researches. Some of the main categories of regularly measured parameters are weight, length, area, volume, temperature, density, concentration, voltage, amperage and power. Measurement units historically differed from nation to nation, but over time there is a straight tendency for unification of units. Metric system is recognized as universal in ever-growing number of countries and this allows to minimize differences and errors in international scientific, trade and other types of communications. In metric system, meter, its multiples and fractionals are used for the measurements of length, square meter and its derivates are for measurements of area, cubic meter – for measurements of volume. For measuring temperature there are Celsius or Fahrenheit degrees used, for measuring density – kilogram per cubic meter. Voltage in international metric system is measured in volts, amperage – in amperes, and watts are used for measuring power. To perform measurements one needs to have appropriate instruments. These instruments should have accuracy grade acceptable for the type and purpose of measurements that will be performed. When measurement of length is performed, the only kind of instruments needed is tape-measure or straight scale, if size of measured object is relatively small. If distance that has to be measured is large, and surface between starting and finishing points is not smooth, more sophisticated instruments will be needed to perform required measurements. Measurements of area and volume will sometimes require certain calculations in addition to direct measurements. If measurement of an area of regular shape is performed, it is enough to measure length of the sides of that area and then apply relatively simple formulas for calculation of that area. But if the area measured has irregular shape with edges of bizarre form, calculations will be far more complex and may require solution of integral equations to determine approximate size of an area in question. When it is necessary to measure volume of a liquid, volumetric glassware is enough. But when the volume of a body with complex form shall be calculated, procedure of measurement may become much more complicated. If the body with unknown volume is available for direct measurement, it may be submerged into the water or any other liquid and volume of displaced liquid that is equal to the volume of that body, could be measured. But if that body is not available for direct measurement and is given in form of a scheme with known parameters measured or set beforehand, then rather complicated calculations may be required to estimate the volume of a said body. Density of a liquid may be measured using special instrument called densitometer, which is based on displacement of a certain amount of liquid by the weight of the instrument. The higher density of examined liquid, the smaller will be volume of liquid displaced. For estimation of the density of gases or solid bodies another methods shall be applied, because displacement-based densitometry cannot be applied to non-liquid substances. Measurements of mass and volume are usually performed, and density then is calculated using the simple formula of mass divided by volume. Temperature can be measured using thermometers of different types – liquid-filled, electric, etc. Electric parameters like amperage, voltage and power, could be measured either directly using specific measuring devices, or indirectly by measuring related parameters and later calculating values of parameters required. For a list of physical parameters there are specific units in the system of measurements. Some of the examples were given above. For another example, unit for measuring force is newton, and unit for pressure is pascal. Certain parameters can be formulated indirectly through other units. Speed, for example, is defined as unit of distance passed per unit of time, and acceleration – as rate of change of speed per unit of time. Consequently, force that influences a body, may be calculated through known mass of the body, its beginning speed and rate of change of its speed under the influence of the force studied. Unfortunately, measurements can never provide us with absolute values of parameter we are interested in. Due to imperfection of both human perception, instruments for measurements and because of influence of unstable environmental conditions upon the instrument, body that is subjected to measurements and the person performing measurements, some imprecision will always be present. Additionally, when performing measurements, observer sometimes has to use estimated data because more or less precious values can not be obtained under current conditions. Or maybe high precision values of a given parameter are not important for the current task. Either way, estimation of measured data sometimes takes place, as well as certain ever-present

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Primary internal and external influences to LOreal

Primary internal and external influences to LOreal These influences as in internal and external can be determined by analysing the Strengths of organisation in terms of available resources like skilled staffs, financial capability,core competent of organisations, innovation, people say your strengths today mighty be your weakness tomorrow in the global business environment, Weakness of organisation can be poor technology and systems in use, lack of market orientation, lack of research and development, uncompetent personnel, poor type and range of products, which will lead the orgainisation in to poor peformance not achieving companys goals. The opportunities in social and cultural aspects example Loreal in United States, economic advantage example new emerging market like Africa, Asia, Europe, New techology . Threats of organisation is changes in business environment where a firm is running its business, the competion from other competitors, political issues, change in customers life style,supplies shortage. According to casestudy shows number of influences to LOreal as subjected. In internal and external influences were about to build the organisation structure which can be global administration and cope with the external global environment by stabilising their resources so they can be competent to gain the capability to compete against other competitors. They been able to build up the organisation strengths through carefully plans strategy of acquring other cosmetics companies so they can spread up their wings in the international markets by using strong and potential brands in their new and existing global markets ,which some of the brands were Loreal origin brands like lancome and other adopted brands like matrix, Maybelline, Kiehls, soft sheen and carson. Also moving business strategy from domestic strategy to international strategy that will enable the company to compete in global environment, The marketing failure during 1953 after entering U.S market through the company formed li censee Cosmair Inc. to distribute LOreal products(pg3 on the case study) this made the corporate management of LOreal to structure their corporate plans from failure to success, But management did able to consider company redisign to gain key success through designing good distribution channels, flaxible management development of internal structure and culture so they can cope with outside business environment to maintain stability, example LOreal managent under Dalle able to take the company to public(1963), sold off the companys soap unit and also did able to respond in political issues of state control of frances top companies(pg3 on case study). The current organisational structure were doing well in terms of achieving goals in case study it shows they had good reputation and market share in france and also in europe even though they were selling their products to customers in premium price and later they manage expand organisation structure through acquiring other cosmetics company in europe so they can enter in U.S market . Organisation were recruiting skilled and talented staffs can able to run up the company to successful point in future time without looking location of individual, example Lindsay Owen Jones who was CEO british born(case study pg 4). Good allocation of resources to invest in foreign markets enables LOreal to gain other oppotunities apart from U.S market. Example Loreal management after bought the brand of Helena Rubinstein was best opportunity to go extra miles to gain other markets which are outside of U.S like Europe,Japan and Asia and brand has very good market awereness to its customers. Through acqu isation Loreal company were able to access available resources from other company like distribution channels, skilled staffs. Because of global marketing environment Lindsay Owen Jones the CEO of LOreal he started to redisgn the corporate strategy so the company can able to cope with the international geographical environment of where will operates, below here shows the Strategic Choices of certain company can use four basic strategies to enter and compete when decide to operate in international market like follows:- Pressure for Local GLOBAL STRATEGY TRANSNATIONAL STRATEGY INTERNATIONAL STRATEGY MULTI-DOMESTIC STRATEGY High Cost pressure Low Low Pressure for local High Transnational Strategy. This strategy firms must exploit experience curve cost economies and location economies, transfer distinctive competencies within the firm and pay attention for pressures for localisation. To do this their need to be flows of knowledge from the parent to subsidiaries, flow from foreign subsidiaries to the home country, and from foreign subsidiaries to foreign subsidiaries, a process that known as global learning. The approach of transnationals is not appropriate in all situations, nor is it without costs. Where demands for local responsiveness are low, a global strategy may still be the most appropriate . The coordination and management challenges of a transnational also create higher cost and benifits than with one of the more traditional strategies. A transinational strategy makes sense when a firm faces high pressure for cost reductions, high pressures for local responsiveness, and where there are significant opportunities for leveraging valuable skills within a multinationals glo bal network of operation. In some ways companys that pursue a transnational strategy are trying to simultaneously achieve cost and differentiation advantages. As attractive as this may sound, the strategy is not easy to pursue. Pressure for local responsiveness and cost reductions place conflicting demand on a firm, being locally responsive raises costs. Global Strategy. Firms that pursue a global strategy focus on increasing profitability by reaping the cost reductions that come from experience curves effects and location economies. That can be called a company pursuing low cost strategy. The production, marketing and research and development activities of firms pursuing a global strategy are concentrated in a few favorable locations. Global firms tend not to customise their product offering and marketing strategy to local conditions because customisation raises cost, it involves shorter production runs and the duplications of functions. Multidomestic Strategy Compay pursue this strategy orient themselves toward achieving maximum local responsiveness. The key distinguish feature of multidomestic firms is that they extensively customise both their product offering and their marketing strategy to match different national conditions. Consistent with this they also tend to establish a complete set of value creation activities. International Strategy In this strategy company try to create value by transferring valuable skills and products to foreign markets where indigenous competitors lack those skills and products. Most international firms have created value by transferring differentiated product offerings developed at home to new markets overseas. Analysis of how globalisation influences policies and decision making in LOreal. LOreal able to increase acquisation to maintain market share against other competitors so the company can stay into its business. Value creation were made into LOreal products by renovate those brands they were so strong in the market and had very good perception to its customers because if there is more value in the product that means there is value and trust between two parties, firm and customer. Because of globalisation LOreal did able to design the Organisation structure which will fit on the global environment the firm is facing. Barlett and Goshal outline a range of organisation structures developed by multinationals to meet these global challenges, Like as follows below. Global Co-ordination Low High International Divisions Global Products Companies International Subsidiaries Transinational Corporational Low Local Independence And Responsiveness High International Divisions The structure is appropriate where there is little requirement for global coordination and little need to tailor products to local requirements. Global Product Companies The need for greater global integration has seen many multinationals moving towards global product structures with product divisions integrating activities on a world wide basis from component supply, through manufacturing to research and development. This structure creates many opportunities to achieve cost efficiencies and transfer resources that are dependent upon sophisticated planning and control systems. However the pressures to respond to local needs seem to be increasing in many global markets. In case study page 10, CEO Owen Jones said that Loreal to be truly global company they need to promote around the world American brands because that was other great alternative in the beauty industry and also they didnt accept only local brands, by trying to put all LOreal brand everywhere by selling United states to Americans, Japanese, Chinese and Italian elegance to the Japanese, French beauty to Africans, and also Japanese chic to Brazillians. International Subsidiaries Many organisations are structured around international subsidiaries that respond more closely to the needs of the local market, often at the expense of control from the centre and a uniform organisational structure. However, whilst this structure has been appropriate in the past, as global competition becomes more intense, there may now be a need to look at greater global integration. Transnational Corporations The increasing pressures of global competition upon companies to both globally co-ordinate activities and respond to local needs has led to the emergence of the transnational organisation . The traditional multinational structures are seen to be converging upon a new organisational structure that depends upon an integrated network of interdependent resources. Also LOreal company according to case studies shows the numbers of responds to change the products offering to its customers through understanding their customers and the life styles they have. By using Ansoff four strategic options, he claimed that in marketing we can only ever be talking about products and markets, and that these can only be old, or existing, and new, or potential. Below is a figure shows Ansoff Matrix model in strategic choice. Products Present New Market Penetration LOW RISK Product Development MEDIUM RISK Market Development MEDIUM RISK Diversification HIGH RISK Exist Markets New Market penetration On this strategy present product and present market will be appropriate when a market is growing and not yet saturated, example Loreal company when was marketing in France market before decide to go abroad market. By attracting non users of the product, or purchasing rate of existing customers. The strategy can be implemented through increasing activity on one or more of the mix elements. Example aggressive promotion, pricing, using more intensive distribution. Product development. The strategy deals with New product at existing market, an organisation develops a new product to sell at its existing market. Sometimes can be simply the product refinement, could be change of taste or packaging. Product development is most prevalent when branding exists. Promotional aspects will be emphasise the added qualities of the new product and link it specifically to the security of and confidence in the brand. This strategy builds up customer loyalty and the benefits to be gained by purchase and other mix elements like distribution may remain unchanged. Market Development On this strategy is about the company sells the existing product at new market, is often found when a regional business wishes to expand or if new markets are emerging because of changes in consumer habits. It can also occur when a new use has been discovered for an existing product. Implentention of this strategy involves appealing to markets sectors not currently catered for and many mean a repositioning of products, new distribution methods or channels. Diversification This strategy is where new product will be sold in the new markets sometimes introduced so that the firm will not become too dependent on its existing strategic business units (SBUs), this is kind of insurance for future of the company incase of any disaster that would happen due to drastic environmental changes in future where the company is operating it business. This can be considered as means of growth and expansion of power to against competitors. The new product can me totally innovated which has never been seen in the marketplace, or the product is new to the firm but has already been the in the marketplace. Diversification can be Horizontal integration acquisation of another organisation which has a desired features, the firm that is acquired mighty use similar production methods, its distribution channels may highly effective and prove advantageous or has got great capacity. Or Vertical Integration where involves acquisition of some other enterprises in the chain of distribu tion between manufacturer and customer,can be forward towards customer or backwards towards the source of materials. Other diversification also can be Conglomeration where moves a company away from the its existing product market situation into an entirely new area in order to satisfy a primary objective. Critical evaluation of the effectiveness of LOreal response to globalisation. Due to global environment has its complexity and uncertainties, LOreal did able to respond through building organsation which will cope with changes in business environment by competing with other firms operating in the same beauty industry, LOreal was selling a products (e.g Lancome in cosmetics and LOreal professional in hair care) which targeting in high income customers by selling their products in high price, which limited the company to expand into international markets. Also their brands where only potential in Europe and not USA and the price strategy they were using were not accessible. This made LOreal management to review their marketing strategies into global level. LOreal had market entry strategy in USA market, first was licensee to cosmair to supply Loreal products after the strategy didnt perfom better, then Loreal management did apply another strategy which was acquisition strategy. There are different entry strategy to foreign markets a business company can use, ent ry strategy can be Turnkey project, Exporting, Franchising, Licensing or Joint ventures. Licensing agreement is at arrangement where by a licensor grants the rights intangible properry to another entity (the licensee) for a specified period, and in return the licensor receives a royalty fee from the licensee. Intangible property includes patents, inventions, formulas, Trademarks, processes and designs. Acquisation is about one firm buys another firm. Hamills model, Motives for acquisation are economic motives, strategic motives, finance motive and behavioral and managerial motive. Economic motives can be synergy in value chain,economies of scale, improved efficiency, purchase of managerial skills and unique resources. Strategic motives this can aslo be diversification,competitive by gaining market control or remove competitors or both, buy rather than build market share, or instant growth. Behavioral and managerial motives also this can be increasing management utility and sales growth, personal goals of senior managers, separation of ownership from control. Financial motives is about Financial engineering,Valuation gap theory and increasing shareholder value. In Addition of popular American brands such as Maybelline, Redken, Matrix, SoftSheen-Carson, and Ralph Lauren Fragrances to its portfolio of french brands, LOreal had created an international brand portfolio for consumers with a wide range of incomes and tastes in 140 countries. Because the market in France and part of Europe maybe were seems to be saturated, and LOreal perhaps was facing a bit competition from rival companies in france and other part of Europe made it to seek other new attractive market which was USA market to extend its market share and increase the revenue. By using Boston Consultancy Group Matrix(BCG) theory based on Market share and Market growth rate of the Small Business Units(SBUs). Boston Consultancy Group Matrix. STARS QUESTION MARKS CASH COWS DOGS High Market growth Low Relative Market Share Question Mark Are products which have low market share and are in high growth markets. The product has not yet reached a dominant position in the market. Although it may be generating funds, it still requires a lot of investment for development and the company must decide if they to keep investing. Star If Question marks succeed they become stars, leaders in high growth markets. Stars are the providers of tomorrow and the company with no stars should worry. On the figure above shows two star products, one which has the leading share in its market and one which has only slightly more share than its leading competitor. Efforts should be made to increase the share of the second product in order to secure its future profitability, particularly as the market has a very high growth rate this could be where future earnings lie. Also this stage may involve investment in promotion and distribution incase of competition, and Star can also produce revenue and use resources which may lead to break even. Cash Cow When market growth reaches a stable level, Stars become cash cows providing they hold a leading share of the market. If they lose any market share to the competition they will slip into either being a marginal Question Mark or at very worse,a Dog or sometimes if a firm continued to support other categories and neglegeted its cash cow then its could eventually become a dog. Cash Cows produce good revenue, do not require high investment and often mean the economies of scale can be gained. The money earned from cash cows should be used to invest into other products. Dog Dogs have a weak market share in low growth or stable markets. These products can often take up more time than they are worth. They usually produce low profits and very often incur losses. They will always consume cash, even if it is just in the time taken to manage them. Can be dropped by firm but is not wise to do immediately because they might still poduce profit and can also be used retention to customers. LOreal responded by creating competitive advantage against other competitors in beauty industry. Michael Porter Generic Strategy explained how the company can gain competitive advantage through differentiation, differentiation focus, cost leadership, and cost focus. LOreal management were able to differentiate their products through product divisions ( Consumer, Professional and Luxury products division). Also Loreal used cost leadership and cost focus, by created products range according to consumer classes, by selling them with different range of price, based on ethinic life styles from white to black people. Also Value Chain Analysis can be useful here to determine the response of Loreal beauty company to globalisation, Value Chain Diagram Planning model Computer Electronic Customer Aided Design Marketing Profiling research Online Procurements Automated Flexible Automated order Tele marketing After sales services, Warehouse manufacturing Processing Computerised delivery schedule Firm infrastructure HR Management Technology Management Procurement Inbound Operations Outbound Marketing and Services logistics logistics Sales Primary activities. Inbound logistics, dealing with storing, receiving and distributing the inputs to the product or service. Material handling, controlling stock and transport. Operations, concern of transform different inputs into final products or service, assembly and testing. Research and development, concerning about gathering useful information from the market like competitors in that market,customers, developing new product or lowering the cost of production ( LOreal, Research and development activities allowed the firm to reduce production costs). In the case study (pg11), Its says LOreal had strong commitment to research and development that many insiders considered to be among the firms most distinctive values and a comparative advantage over competitors. Through research and development they did able to discover the new hair Fructis shampoo product made from fruit sugar called fructose. Production can be creation of goods or services, example Fructis shampoo. Out bound logistics through local distribution channels which the company had control with it, acquisation enabled LOreal management to gain competence in distributing products to consumers. The Marketing and sales provide the means whereby consumers/users are made aware of the product or service and are able to purchase, Loreal provided product mix, enough advertising to their customers so the can be aware of their products offering to the market. Service, service includes all those activities which enhance or maintain the value product or service, such as training, installation, repair and spares. Support Activities in the value chain give inputs that allow the primary activities to occur, can materials management, human resource management by dealing with recruiting, training, development and rewarding people within the organisation, example in the case study Loreal hire people early in their careers and educate them so that they can become the future leaders of the company (i.e LOreal CEO, Lindsay Owen Jones and Kiehls president, Philip Clough). Information systems, and company infrastructure this can be the structure of organisation, control stystems and culture of the firm.