Portfolio Management of Research Projects Essay

1 Introduction More and more, organizations rely on research projects in order to stay updated on new technologies, processes and practices on their fields. Through them, they remain ahead in the competition and sustain their competitive advantages. This is specially the case for organizations that are on the top of their industry and which other organizations follow closely to benchmark their strategic moves. This seems applicable for private organizations, however research and development also plays a big role in public organizations. In the last few decades there has been an increased belief that organized research and development could stimulate economic growth and contribute to improving economic welfare. Given this, governments provide research and development (R&D) funding in order to promote scientific and technological development. With the increased need for production of scientific and technological knowledge in the public sector, there has been an increase in R&D activities performed by private organizations in order to match these production needs. Whether they are of a public or private nature, organizations rely on projects as means to deliver results. This derives in the tendency to engage in several projects simultaneously. Organizations group these projects in portfolios which should be managed in order to decide its composition and strategic moves. This managerial task is known as Portfolio Management which applied to R&D projects is defined as:  Ã¢â‚¬Å"a dynamic decision process, whereby a business’s list of active new product (and R&D) projects is constantly updated and revised. In this process, new projects are evaluated, selected, and prioritized; existing projects may be accelerated, killed, or deprioritized,; and resources are allocated an reallocated to the active projects. The portfolio decision process is characterized by uncertain and changing information, dynamic opportunities, multiple goals and strategic considerations, interdependence among projects, and multiple decision-makers and locations† (Cooper, Edgett, & Kleinschmidt, 2001). Portfolio Management of Research Projects in the Public and Private Sectors The aim of the present thesis is to gain a better understanding on how this process is applied in both a public and a private setting. The thesis work focuses on the analysis of one public organization and two private organizations. While the sample may not be representative to completely understand the behaviour of organizations and their portfolio management, it provides an opportunity to model the process in these settings. The project is lead through a series of iterative literature review supported by interviews and document analysis. The research questions represent the point of reference to start the research. This project is approached with an open mind, which allows re-evaluating the initial assumptions of the thesis and gives flexibility to the researcher. A more in-depth description of the  methodology followed in this report can be found in the fourth chapter of this project. The motivation behind this master thesis developed from previous studies on project management of research projects. During these studies a less known topic came up: portfolio management of research projects. It appeared that, while it was a less known topic, it was not of less importance. Through discussions with professionals from both research institutions and industrial organizations, it became evident the relevance of the topic. I was motivated by this relevancy which is present in both the public and private sectors. 2 Trondheim, NTNU MSc in Project Management, Thesis 2 Problem Formulation This master thesis aims to present a description and comparison of the process of portfolio management of research projects undertaken in a public and a private organization. The major focus in this regard is to identify the commonalities and differences of the organizations’ practices with respect to portfolio management and obtain a better understanding on how the process works in both organizations. This understanding and thesis will hopefully be helpful for organizations that seriously consider R&D and for researches who will work on this topic in the future. There may be several research questions that can be studied in connection with portfolio management of research projects. I choose to consider some important research questions within the scope of this master thesis. The research questions are presented and explained below. 2.1 Research Questions The focus of the investigation behind this project is based on the following  questions: How do organizations perform the portfolio management process? How do organizations select which research projects should make up their company’s project portfolio? How do public and private organizations define success in research projects? What drives the difference across firms, if any? 3 Portfolio Management of Research Projects in the Public and Private Sectors The model is based on my assumption that organizational strategy plays a major role in the way an organization proceeds to lead the activities associated with managing its portfolio of research projects, which in turn have the main purpose of generating knowledge and possibly bring competitive advantages to the organization. Based on this understanding the research approach, as will be explained in a later section, was developed in order to study to what extent the model reflects reality. Though the terms strategy and knowledge are not explicitly mentioned in the research questions, both terms are underlying aspects that reflect on the research questions and hence this study. The research questions and research model are connected to each other and complement each other in such a way to highlight the topic this thesis. 2.3 Importance of Thesis As part of a previous project for the Specialization Course of the Master in Project Management at NTNU, I got acquainted with the challenges and  uncertainties associated with research projects. During the research phase and in discussions with interviewees from research institutions and industrial organizations, peers and professors it became evident that one area of interest in R&D for those developing in the R&D environment is the one related to portfolio management of such projects. While portfolio management is an important topic in the literature of Project Management, there are fewer investigations that link this topic with specifically research projects. This may be because only recently the interest in research projects has been growing and this discipline is now seen as a potential tool for business success and competitive advantage. It became clear that organizations rely more on projects as a means to deliver results. Organizations arrange projects in portfolios according to their goals and strategy. Research projects, which may be among the projects in the portfolio or be the sole elements of the portfolio as will be explained later, help organizations keep updated in new technologies, methodologies, processes, etc. However, in private organizations investing in Research projects, whether internally or externally obtained, may seem as an unnecessary expenditure given the focus on day to day processes. On the other hand, there are public 4 Trondheim, NTNU MSc in Project Management, Thesis  organizations specifically dedicated to generate or fund research projects in order to generate knowledge and development of public interest.  Either way, both private and public organizations that wish to remain competitive have a tendency to undertake research projects. The nature of both organizations may lead to different approaches on how to manage their portfolios. This could develop into managerial activities that while work on one setting may not be useful on the other and vice versa. Getting to understand how these managerial activities are performed in the public and  private settings can give future researchers and organizations interested in R&D projects an insight on some of the current practices in these settings. 2.4 Research Approach Once the importance of the topic was clarified the topic was better delimited through literature review and brief discussions with academics and professionals knowledgeable in the area. Literature review includes basic theory of portfolio management, research projects, portfolio management of research projects. Furthermore I used theories on portfolio evaluation and selection and tools and techniques for portfolio management. This general literature provides a framework within which I could look at and describe portfolio management of research projects. Portfolio management of research projects can be seen in two ways. One is when a company has a portfolio that includes all types of projects (IT, construction, R&D, etc.) and makes selection, resource allocation or termination decisions considering all of these projects. I will call this a Mixed Project Portfolio (Figure 2: Project portfolio), where Project (P) 1, 2†¦ N, coexist with Research Project (RP) 1, 2†¦ N. Figure 2: Project portfolio consisting of mixed projects The other way of looking at portfolio management of research projects can be when a company either undertakes only research projects or they simply manage them Yolanda Yebra Aguado 5 Portfolio Management of Research Projects in the Public and Private Sectors  independently of the projects which support day to day activities (IT, procurement, etc.) In this case, it is possible to talk about a Portfolio of Research Projects (Figure 3: Portfolio of research projects), in which activities of portfolio management are done only considering the interdependencies of research projects within the portfolio. Figure 3: Portfolio of research projects For purposes of this project, the focus is on this second way of looking at portfolio management, where the organizations’ portfolio consists only of research projects; hence the context of this study. This research study is based on an iterative process – a learning cycle – which helped refine the course of the study and further investigation. Based on this an interview guide was created; this interview represents the basis for the qualitative approach in this paper. The interview, as it will be explained later, is a semi-structured interview allowing the researcher to address the issue with an open mind as well as giving the opportunity to direct the interview in the desired direction or adding relevant topics. In addition to the interviews, document analysis is also used to support the topic. The analysis of the document is done adhering to the same premises and perspective of the interviews with the aim of finding important and relevant information. This process helped create a framework within which it was possible to operate in a flexible manner. Through this, the research questions were refined and fine-tuned in order to emphasise the main elements of the research topic. To complete the research, I present an analysis of the findings. Whenever comparisons are possible, they will be presented. Finally conclusions that resulted from the analysis will be drawn. Further information on the methodology followed for this project is explained in the following chapters. 6 Trondheim, NTNU MSc in Project Management, Thesis 2.5 Scope and Limitations The major limitation associated with this project comes from the amount of time dedicated to the investigation. The project is developed during the spring semester of 2011 as a master thesis for the Project Management program. Due to this time limitation, the number of cases to be analysed will be limited to three organizations. Though the sample may not be representative to fully understand the behaviour of organizations and their portfolio management, it provides an opportunity to look at some kind of pattern in organizations’ practices with respect to portfolio management of research projects. Furthermore, this thesis can be used as a base for further research in the matter; a stepping stone to go further. In the cases where specific literature regarding research and development projects was hard to find or of no access, general literature on portfolio management and project management is used as a source to discuss relevant issues. The same applies to models and tools consulted on the matter. Regardless of these limitations, I believe that a better understanding on the topic will be possible through this study to reach conclusions and provide a base or reference for academics, practitioners as well as general public who are interested in the topic. 3 Theoretical Background This chapter presents the theoretical background of the report. To begin  with, the concepts associated with the main topic Portfolio Management of Research Projects (PMRP) are presented. The objective of this is to get acquainted with them, to have a better understanding of what is discussed by different authors and to choose specific definitions to work with. Once the main topics and definitions are introduced, three main concepts related to PMRP are presented. The first one is the influence of Strategy in PMRP and why organizations choose to rely on strategy to support it. The next section deals with the Selection process and presents some methods and criteria for project evaluation and selection suggested by the literature available. The third concept is project Success, which is explored from an overall project management perspective and more particularly from a public and private organization perspective. The concept of success is looked at in order to understand what organizations perceive as successful and how it impacts their business in future strategy, project selection and other areas. 9 Portfolio Management of Research Projects in the Public and Private Sectors 3.1 Basic concepts of the Portfolio Management of Research Projects This section presents the definitions of the basic concepts associated with the report. First, I begin by briefly introducing the evolution of research and development projects and their nature. Next, the definition of portfolio management is presented. After these two presentations, other relevant topics are described. Finally the main topic of the research, portfolio management of Research projects, is introduced. 3.1.1 Research and Development Projects: a Private and Public Approach David et al. (2000) present a very comprehensive analysis of the development of R&D research in the US. According to the authors the end of the 19th century marked the beginning of organized research and development activities upon  the productive resources for societies. Since then, the percentage of national gross product directed by both private and public organizations towards increasing the scientific and technological knowledge has increased. The same study claims that during the 1930s, the  Ã¢â‚¬Å"total R&D expenditures in countries such as the US, the UK and Japan remained in the range between two-thirds and one-quarter of one percentage point of their respective national product figures.† (David, Hall, & Toole, 2000). Since then there was an increased belief that organized research and development could stimulate economic growth and contribute to improving economic welfare, which led governments to create public institutions supporting civilian science and engineering. This gave way to an expansion of government agency research programs in non-defence as well as military technologies, and established models for the performance of governmentfunded R&D by private sector contractors. With the increased need for public production of scientific and technological knowledge, there was an increase in R&D activities performed by private organizations in order to match this production needs. This is given that technology is the most crucial factor for the progress of a nation’s economic development and living standards (Chang & Hsu, 1997). In order to promote scientific and technological development, governments provide R&D funding. As a result, support for selective development of specific industries is provided through direct, project-oriented subsidies. Government policy concentrates resources on long-term R&D problems and on expensive basic research that could not be undertaken by industry. Whether they are of a public or private nature, organizations rely on projects as means to deliver results; this tends organizations to engage in several projects at a time. The nature of these projects varies from  marketing to IT, environmental issues, procurement, new product development and research and development (R&D). More and more, organizations rely on research projects (R&D, new product development, innovation) in order to stay updated on new technologies, processes and practices on their fields. This is how they remain ahead in the competition and sustain their competitive advantages. This is specially the case for organizations that are on the top of their industry and that influence other organizations to follow them closely to benchmark their strategic moves. In order to maintain competitive advantage, organizations need to develop successful product and process innovation (Archer & Ghasemzadeh, 1999; Mikkola, 2001) for what they turn to R&D projects to achieve this. However R&D projects have a very particular nature. Research projects are characterized for being associated with a high degree of uncertainty and unpredictability (Balachandra, K, & Pearson, 1996). Therefore, large scale R&D projects require large budgets and high risk and long term programs (Chang & Hsu, 1997). This is mostly due to the fact that the outcome of a research project, such as knowledge generation, is intangible and hard to measure through standard project evaluation. 3.1.2 Portfolio Management Given the importance of developing research projects, organizations are faced with the task of conforming portfolios of projects. For practical purposes, this report considers project portfolio as: â€Å"a group of projects that are carried out under the sponsorship and /or management of a particular organization† (Archer & Ghasemzadeh, 1999). The task of selecting which projects should be a part of the company’s project portfolio is an important activity in many organizations. It is presented in the following definition. Portfolio Management is defined as the strategic choices, resource allocation, project selection and balance of the pool of projects available for organizations to undertake (Cooper, Edgett, & Kleinschmidt, 2001; Linton D. & Walsh T., 2002; Wang & Hwang, 2005). However this activity is not an easy one to do. Managers find challenges in deciding which projects to undertake, how to allocate resources to them through their whole life cycle and how to balance the portfolio once projects are completed or have to be terminated. Project Portfolio Management (PPM) is a critical task in company performance. Some key questions to be considered before deciding to do project portfolio management are known as â€Å"Five Ws and One H† (The Enterprise Portfolio Management Council, 2009): Who can use the PPM process? Everyone from Chief executives, heads of department, managers, supervisors, portfolio, project and program managers, to systems engineers. What should PPM be used for? To manage multiple projects, programs, assets, software applications, resource allocation, products.  When should PPM be used? When there is more than one project or program or decisions must be taken when it comes to proposal ideas competing for a slot in the portfolio, whether projects or programs should go forward or terminated, resource allocation, strategic changes, mergers, acquisitions or joint ventures to mention some. Where is PPM used? In both profit and non-profit organizations, government agencies, universities, investment firms.  Why should PPM be used? To ensure that projects and programs are aligned with strategies, goals and business objectives, to communicate project and program details, to manage projects and programs as a whole. PPM is a holistic, systems approach to business projects. How to decide whether to use PPM or not? Conversations and discussions between executives, managers, project and program managers and experts are encouraged in order to assess the situation and define the business case. Screening, Selecting and Prioritization Reprioritiza tion of projects Allocation and reallocation of resources according to priority Figure 5 Managerial activities related to PPM, based on (Blichfeldt & Eskerod, 2007) p. 358. Literature on PPM has widely focused on these managerial activities of project screening, selection, prioritization, balancing and resource allocation, while most recently focus has shifted to actual day to day management of the portfolio. Theories and literature have gone from focusing on tools, techniques and methods to a more managerial approach of how the activity is actually done. Thus, this thesis studies documented techniques and methods PPM, but keeps in sight the importance of the actual activities undertaken by the institutions. 3.1.3 Portfolio Management of Research Projects Global market changes and the interest of business organizations to remain ahead of their industry, tend organizations to rethink their competitive  strategy more often than before. Firms that cannot supply innovative products faster than competitor, lose competitiveness. R&D projects are used as a source of strategy, because they help target the increasing complexity demanded by shorter life cycles of products and services that wish to remain ahead and up to date (Mikkola, 2001). Most importantly, organizations have an increasing interest in evaluating their R&D projects from a portfolio’s perspective; in which project selection, resource allocation and balancing remain the main activities to be performed. According to McNally (2007), managing R&D is considered as one of the three core business processes.  Perhaps the most comprehensive definition of Portfolio Management of Research Projects, and the one to be considered for this thesis, is given by Cooper, et al. (2001). The authors describe the term as: â€Å"a dynamic decision process, whereby a business’s list of active new product (and R&D) projects is constantly updated and revised. In this process, new projects are evaluated, selected, and prioritized; existing projects may be accelerated, killed, or deprioritized,; and resources are allocated and reallocated to the active projects. The portfolio decision process is characterized by uncertain and changing information, dynamic opportunities, multiple goals and strategic considerations, interdependence among projects, and multiple decision-makers and locations.† This is an important and critical task to be undertaken because it requires a considerable amount of human resources and opportunity costs incurred as projects go from the selection phase to the implementation. At the same time this is a difficult task because decision makers have to work relatively fast with little reliable and highly changing information. Therefore the selection and development of successful innovations has a high degree of risk associated with it (Nesse & Velde, 2010). In order to manage portfolios of research projects, organizations rely on different tools or techniques. Literature (Wang & Hwang, 2005) points that R&D portfolio decisions are hard to take given the nature of R&D projects and environment. On the one hand, R&D projects have long lead times, and on the other hand, market and technology are so dynamic that it makes information for portfolio management seem unavailable and unreliable. All organizations that wish to engage in R&D are faced with the problem of managing the portfolio of research projects, where projects have to fight for a limited pool of resources. At the same time project selection becomes a complicated task because the decision maker has to determine which new proposals should be funded, which existing projects should be continued and to what extent a resource should be involved in the selected project of the portfolio (Chien, 2002).

An Analysis of Othello by William Shakespeare Essay

In the play â€Å"Othello† by William Shakespeare Iago plays the master manipulator and manages to deceive many of the other characters especially Othello and Cassio. It can be said that his motives are based solely on his insecurities due to the fact his goal in the play was to ruin Othello’s life. He does this by using psychological manipulation on Othello’s thoughts and makes him believe that Cassio and Desdemona are fond of each other. Which basically means that he targets anyone that brings out his insecurities, which gives him a reason to lash out and  kill or harm these people, to make himself feel better. In the beginning of the play Iago makes it seem as if his hatred towards Othello is because he has made Cassio his lieutenant. As the play goes on you later realize that Iago’s hatred extends even more. â€Å"I hate the Moor, and it is thought abroad that ‘twixt my sheets, he has done my office: I know not if’t be true, but I, for mere suspicion in that kind, will do as if for surety. †. There seems to be some rumors about Othello and Iago’s wife Emilia, the rumors are that Othello and Emilia have slept together. In the quote above he states that he doesn’t care if the rumors are true and that he is going to proceed with his plan as if they are true. Throughout the play Iago constantly reminds himself of why he’s targeting Othello. â€Å"I do suspect the lusty Moor, Hath leap’d into my seat: the thought whereof, Doth, like a poisonous mineral, gnaw my inwards; And nothing can or shall content my soul, till I am even’d with him, wife for wife. † His hatred towards Cassio is more directed. Iago hates Cassio because he has gotten the position of  lieutenant even with his lack of experience in the field as he is a more tactical creating strategies person. â€Å"More than a spinster, unless the bookish theoric†. Iago basically states that Cassio’s lack of manliness add to his hatred towards him. Each person in the play get manipulated in a way that only suits them. For example Roderigo is â€Å"blinded by his love for Desdemona, and is prepared to do anything to win her heat† this give Iago the advantage to take his weakness and use it against him. As innocent as Iago’s words seem Othello lets Iago’s manipulative words counteract with his thinking and this is where  you could say he has officially planted the seed making sure he has Othello’s ear. As Othello asks for proof Iago is once again able to manipulate Othello by making him hide and hear a conversation Iago has with Cassio. â€Å"Now will I question Cassio of Bianca, A housewife that by selling her desires, Buys herself bread and clothes. It is a creature, that dotes on Cassio, as ’tis the strumpet’s plague, To beguile many and be beguiled by one. He, when he hears of her, cannot refrain, From the excess of laughter. Here he comes. † Iago says this once Othello withdraws and  once Cassio corners him starts discussing Bianca but allows Othello to believe they are discussing Desdemona. He whispers so Othello would not hear him and by doing that he agitates Othello and that causes him to be delusional. As mentioned before Cassio is also manipulated by Iago. The first way in which Cassio is deceived is when he get pressured into drinking and then starting a fight which consequently ruins Cassio’s reputation. † If I can fasten but one cup upon him, with that which he hath drunk tonight already, He’ll be as full of quarrel and offense, as my  young mistress’ dog. Now my sick fool Roderigo, Whom love hath turned almost the wrong side 1 out, To Desdemona hath tonight caroused, Potations pottle-deep, and he’s to watch. Three lads of Cyprus, noble swelling spirits, That hold their honors in a wary distance, The very elements of this warlike isle, Have I tonight flustered with flowing cups, And they watch too. Now ’mongst this flock of drunkards, Am I to put our Cassio in some action, That may offend the isle. † This is Iago’s soliloquy where he actually reveals his manipulative side. At first, Iago told Cassio he  should drink on behalf of Othello although he knew that he did not want to and was not capable of it. Iago has manipulated Cassio to do something unethical. Othello and Cassio both get exploited by Iago because they both find honest, good friend and have a hard time judging character. Iago acts like he truly cares about Othello by giving him warning signs about Cassio. Iago also fools Cassio into thinking he cares whether he has a good time or not. Another way Iago manipulates Cassio is when he plants the handkerchief in Cassio’s chambers. â€Å"I know not  neither, I found it in my chamber. I like the work well. Ere it be demanded, As like enough it will, I would have it copied. Take it and do ’t, and leave me for this time. †. Cassio says this when he gives it to Bianca. Cassio has no idea as to how the handkerchief got into his room. Iago left it there to set him up and make it seem as if he is having an affair with Desdemona. Iago exploits Cassio’s limited knowledge since Cassio did not know that the handkerchief belong to Desdemona. In both scenarios Iago manipulates Othello and Iago by sugar coating the truth from  them. Iago does feel better after manipulating the characters in the story this is shown throughout the story as Iago manipulates and controls every other character so well that they seem like puppets that he controls. At the end of the play, Iago’s manipulation has left a trail of destruction that has killed Othello and Cassio, as well others and has destroyed the lives of many who remain. The motivations and ideas Iago has are very deceptive and cunning, and his ability to influence is very amazing. Iago’s actions define of a man who will stop at nothing until he  exacts revenge on everyone who he feels has threaten him in one way or another. Shakespeare has presented Iago as a kind and noble soldier he has also been known as honest Iago, this showing that everyone is not as what they seem on the outside. Already knowing that Iago has a hatred for his superior Othello and now Cassio â€Å"Thou told’st me thou didst hold him in thy hate,† Said Roderigo. â€Å"Despise me if I do not,† Iago replies. This during the opening scenes in the play. Iago fools Othello by providing â€Å"ocular† proof but didn’t allow him to listen or understand properly. As for Cassio, he used his friendship to plant the handkerchief. Both Othello and Cassio are naive have a hard time judging character, are too proud to believe that someone is fooling them and their limited knowledge as to what was going on around them allows Iago to Successfully in the end manipulate the mind of Othello and sent him insane and 2 left Cassio in a situation that he didn’t belong in. Othello and Cassio were both victims of Iago’s manipulation due to the fact that they had something Iago did not. 3 Bibliography William, S. (01. 22. 14). Othello. Great Britain. Oxford University. JONATHAN, L. (28. 01. 2010). HOW DOES IAGO MANIPULATE DIFFERENT CHARACTERS IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE HIS AIMS? OTHELLO. RETRIEVED (02. 27. 2014), FROM HTTP://WWW. MARKEDBYTEACHERS. COM/AS-AND-A-LEVEL/ENGLISH/HOW-DOES-IAGO-MA NIPULATE-DIFFERENT-CHARACTERS-IN-ORDER-TO-ACHIEVE-HIS-AIMS. HTML The Theme of Deception in William Shakespeare’s Othello. Retrieved (02. 27. 2014), from https://sites. google. com/site/thethemeofdeception/home Joshua, A. (2013). Protestant epistemology and Othello’s consciousness. Retrieved (03. 01. 14), from Gale Academic One File.

Colorimeter Essay

Record the absorbance values for 4ppm Methyl orange, making sure to zero the machine with the deionised water cuvette after each reading is taken. After I measured out my methyl orange I diluted each with deionised water up to the calibration mark on the volumetric flask. 4. I then poured each solution into separate cuvettes. 5. Recording the absorbance values for each always â€Å"zeroing† in between each reading with a cuvette containing deionised water. 6. Get the absorbance value of the unknown solution. 7. Record results in Tables 8. Prepare a standard curve graph 9. Estimate the concentration of the unknown solution on your graph. Results Part Two Concentration Discussion Using a colorimeter I used different coloured liquids to prove beer lamberts law. I did this experiment three times each time recording my results. I believe I proved beer lamberts law and this can be seen by my results which I have listed. I was also able to find the concentration of an unknown solution by plotting it on my graph using its absorbance number.

BFS 3440-07B BUILDING CONSTRUCTION FOR FIRE PROTECTION (BFS3440-07B) Essay - 1

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Personal Statement Example ing my goals; however, at the same time, I believe that academic understanding is very important, and thus, amalgamation of my strengths and academic achievements have turned me into an ambitious and successful person that dreams to contribute constructively in the future. Academically, I completed my undergraduate degree in Business Administration from Taibah University, Saudi Arabia in the year 2007 that provided me a basis to understand the foundations of business world. Subsequently, to continue my process of lifelong learning, I acquired my Masters degree in E-Commerce from Dalhousie University, Canada in the year 2010 that enhanced my knowledge regarding the business society and that will be very beneficial in playing a pivotal role in the contemporary business world. As a follower of lifelong learning process, my fervor, and aspiration for education and learning does not stops here that have enabled me to apply for a PhD in E-Commerce that will facilitate me in acquiring a challenging position to make some constructive alterations in the business society on global level. Moreover, I have carried out detailed research regarding the business profession & I enormously admire it due to the way the field is making positive changes in so many live globally. In addition, I consider your academic institution as one of the most reputable institutions after acquiring information about faculty and highly academic environment that will facilitate me in achieving my goals effectively. Finally, with the much success and pledge to achieve more, it is my belief that this PhD degree will be my own way of contributing to the development of my society and the whole

Hannibal and the Second Punic War Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Hannibal and the Second Punic War - Essay Example This history of the Punic Wars is grim and intricate. The reason behind the Second Punic war is simple: the defeat of the Carthaginians in the First Punic War. It became necessary for the losing power to develop and maintain a sentiment of hatred and anger against those who had led them to defeat. The best way to regain Carthage's lost prestige was to conquer and replace large tracts of land to their empire. For the Carthaginians, Spain became an area of ample interest. This idea was further encouraged by Hamilcar Barca. As the premier Phoenician General he had been greatly dishonored and incensed over the defeat and the peace terms set out by Rome. This was coupled with the capture of Sardinia during Carthage's own mercenary war. Spain was then seen as the launching point for future action against Rome: a battle that would help resume the reputation that had been lost by Carthage. The events that befell Cartage before the Second Punic War are important because it was Barca's son who continued with his invasion plans: turning the Second Punic War into a battle which would be remembered for years to come. It began with Barca's designs to construct a strategy that would allow Carthage to retake, establish and maintain its identity. According to the treaty signed between the two countries, Barca had the freedom to expand his conquests in all directions that were meant to be west of the River lberus. This river would flow southeast into the Mediterranean Sea. Its name, Iberus, was later changed, to Ebro. Following the treaty with the Romans meant that the Carthaginians were not to cross the lberus (Arnold 1886). This was coupled with another important aspect to the treaty. The Carthaginians were also bound by the treaty not to interfere with the people of Saguntum. This was a crucial city because it laid between the lberus and the Carthaginian dominions. The Romans knew of its immense significance. They chose this area especially in an effort to control the ever growing Carthaginian forces. They saw the danger of leaving Saguntum to itself and thus enforced another clause in their treat y with Carthage. It was thus that because of Sagnutum's role in alliance with the Romans it was also placed under their protection. Hannibal was Barca's son and developed the same anger and loss of pride that ran deep in his father's veins. He soon transformed into an ardent General: one whose tactics and style would be revered for generations. It was during Barca's time that Carthage had begun to assume a control over Spain. Rome was concerned by these moves of the Carthaginian army and sought a treaty with Carthage which forbade limited them to expand South of the town of Ebro. It was then that an alliance with Saguntum was signed by Rome. This decision was responsible for giving the Romans a small but significant stronghold in the heart of Carthaginian lands. Thus, the Second Punic War was created by the dispute over the hegemony of Saguntum. When Hannibal came into power the Romans and Carthaginians were not at a state of war. Both rested in the comforts of the peace deals that had

Critical Thinking Questions Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Critical Thinking Questions - Assignment Example Other times, the listener is preoccupied with other things apart from what the listener is talking about at that moment. In other times, the listener is ego-occupied, or very busy with personal needs to concentrate on what is being conveyed. Lack of interest or curiosity in the message being delivered or lack of energy to listen is another hindrance to listening well. Listeners literally choose not to have an attachment with what the listener is saying and end up not getting anything. Many listeners simply do not have adequate listening skills while others have no discipline in controlling themselves. Others lack the motivation to take up responsibility for good listening habits. There are various ways to improve your listening ability. One you have to be alert and force yourself to pay attention. To achieve this, you have to be disciplined and responsible you have to make right decisions and know that listening is beneficial to you. This means that you will have to force your mind to concentrate on the speaker. Second, you need to concentrate on improving your interpreting. You can achieve this through be attentive and following the speaker from beginning to the end. You have to understand the exact context to which the speaker is in i.e. knowing the meaning of the message being delivered. Third, you need to think from the speakers viewpoint. This means connecting with the speaker and developing a mind picture of what the speaker is conveying this will help you not to be lost in the course of conversation. Finally yet importantly, you will need to consciously try to remember. You will never be in a position to process information if memory is left out. With out remembering, you will not be able to connect words to bring out a meaning of what is being said. Without memory, you will not understand the full meaning of any message.

Analogue-digital and Digital-analogue conversion Essay

Analogue-digital and Digital-analogue conversion - Essay Example music record (Dallet and Silva, 2005). Analogue signals are usually continuous and variable in nature are they can be represented by a variable wave. On the other hand, digital signals are multi-level in the sense that it only varies after some predetermined time hence it is easier to predict its future processes. The essence of analogue to digital is to convert the data contained in an analogue signals into a more presentable form without altering the initial content (Pelgrom, 2013). There are numerous methods that are in use when it comes to analogue to digital conversion the type of techniques that is chosen depends on the requirements of the user. For instance, is the user wants a quick conversion technique then he/she will opt for a faster ADC, alternatively if he/she wants an accurate conversion process then he will indeed opt for an accurate ADC. However, in all case the same principle is utilised to conduct the conversion process. The sequence of bits in a typical digital representation infers a number that whereby each bit has twice the weight of the next bit in the sequence, for instance; bn-1, bn-2†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦b0 (Shoop, 2001). There are different procedures for A/D transformation, including flash, half blaze, integrator, delta sigma or modulator, progressively rough guess, and voltage-to-recurrence. A flash ADC applies the info in parallel to numerous quick comparators whose edges are just as dispersed all through the sought data voltage range, ordinarily 1V. At any minute, all the comparators that have edges underneath the info voltage are on, and the rest are off. Half-streak simple to advanced converters focus their yield code by digitally joining the aftereffects of two successively performed lower-determination streak changes. An integrator is an ADC whose return system speaks to the standard estimation of the voltage information more than a given time

Comparison and contrast Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Comparison and contrast - Research Paper Example This is due to various reasons to be covered later in the paper. In this paper, we shall compare and contrast variations between the Twilight book by Stephanie Meyer and the twilight movie. The twilight saga is a series of young fantasy of a young girl who falls in love with a vampire. It was in 2005 that Stephanie Meyers published the twilight saga as the first part of the series in hardcopy. It was among the many nominations as the best selling book in the States. Later director Catherine Hardwicke adapted a film from the novel Twilight and released it on November 8, 2008 (Baptiste 10). The young seventeen year old girl, Bella Swan falls in love with a handsome young vampire, Edward Cullen. Their relationship is faced by many challenges due to the fact that Bella is human and Edward is a vampire. Edward has to fight off the urge to hurt Bells due to the blood scent (Meyer 42). There also exists a feud between the vampires and the wolves. In the wolf territory a young and handsome man falls in love with Bella too. But their love scene is dwelled more in the next series which is the new moon. In this first series, Bella finds out that she is in trouble from a vampire tracker, James. She attends a vampire baseball game and from that time James hunts for her blood. The vampire family attempt to save Bella from James, but finally he catches her. Later on they save her and kill James. Edward then promises to love her and take care of her as long they are together. It is a romantic young love story basically but with fiction about vampires. This is the saga we are going t o analyze the comparison of plot development of the book and the movie. Some reasons why the movies may be disappointed would be due to various reasons. There could be changes, omissions, additions and many more. In the Twilight movie a lot of things do not match along with the book. In most movies this is done to give the movie the proper length. This is especially the omissions of

Ethical Dilemma paper-second moral language Essay

Ethical Dilemma paper-second moral language - Essay Example odel of the Second Moral Language, in which he has described the ethical dilemma and moral conflict arising in man’s mind as an outcome of his moral values and ethical principles. I also had to undergo the same situation during my studies at university. I also had to undergo such a precarious situation last year at university, which could be stated as the ethical dilemma, where there was serious conflict in respect of taking a bold decision on the basis of moral duties. I was the student of English Literature, and loved Milton’s Paradise Lost and the moral lessons it conveyed. Besides, I had studied theology including Judaism, Christianity and Islam, and the noble characters of the holy personalities i.e. Noah, Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Aaron, David, Solomon, Zachariah, John, Christ, Muhammad, Ali, Hassan and Hussein (peace and blessings of Almighty God be upon them all). In the same way, I got acquaintance with ancient and modern western philosophers including Seven Sages, Thales, Socrates, Descartes, Machiavelli, Kant, Hegel, Nietzsche, Karl Marx, Rousseau, Voltaire, Hobbes and others, all of which always preached morality, impartiality, forgiveness, charity and goodness of heart and mind. Hence, truth, justic e, fair play and politeness were the principles that developed my personality, which I tried to apply in my everyday life at university. But it was not the case in real practical life. On the other hand, fairness and morality used to be taken as synonymous to foolishness and perhaps ignorance too in this world of bitter realities. Due to my politeness, intelligence and impartiality, my class-mates elected me as their class-representative and spokesman during the first year at university. It was really a token of regard as well as the gesture of goodwill and their unflinching trust in my person. I decided to run the affairs of the whole class as well as the department and staff, with complete consensus and co-operation without

The Yellow Wallpaper Essay Example for Free

The Yellow Wallpaper Essay The Yellow Wallpaper, by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, is a first person narrative of what appears to be a woman in the grip of madness. Written in the 19th century, it has been considered a gothic horror story, assuming that the narrator is not having hallucinations, but is actually seeing evil spirits. The more likely analysis is that the woman is suffering a nervous breakdown brought on by postpartum depression. The Yellow Wallpaper can be seen as a condemnation of the accepted psychotherapeutic treatment of the late 19th century, when what appears to be benign neglect was prescribed. The narrator’s husband, described as a physician, says that she is suffering from a ‘temporary nervous depression—a slight hysterical tendency,’ (2). It is known that she is isolated from the rest of the household and confined to a room decorated in yellow wallpaper. This wallpaper quickly becomes an obsession. There is the possibility that the narrator is insane and none of what she tells the reader is true. Possibly she never had a baby and her insanity is more pronounced than is first assumed. There is no way to know for certain, but the author has let it be known that the work is vaguely autobiographical and she was not insane, but rather depressed. Her hallucinations are a further symptom of postpartum depression, though the reader is not told whether or not a physiological cause for her behavior has been ruled out. Her condition worsens. Her dissociative behavior and cognitive dysfunction, as she walks the room in an endless loop, failing to recognize her husband on the floor, seems evident. Her delusion of being trapped in the yellow wallpaper is noteworthy (15). It is difficult to evaluate a work of fiction when the author is deliberately vague, but the available evidence points to what may be a hormonal imbalance, leading to postpartum depression, hallucinations, cognitive dysfunction, delusions and madness. Bibliography Gilman, C. , 1989, The Yellow Wallpaper and Other Writings, New York: Bantum Books

Types of Business Loan Business Loan Definitions

Types of Business Loan Business Loan Definitions In this research of this report am trying to find the different loan options that available to small and medium businesses from banks or other financial institutions. The research it will open the window on the different terms of loans i.e. short term, medium term and long term and it is up to the businesses to decide which is the most affective for the business. Also In this research will going to look at the loan types with details, the eligibility requirement and the application process for each with supporting information and documents will be provided for each loan. A loan can be defined as: An amount of money that is borrowed, often from a bank and it has to be paid back with an interest. (Press, 2017) There is two main forms in this research: The banks were visited and the online web researches. Bank of Ireland, AIB and Credit Union which were visited to collect some leaflet relating to the types of loan research. Online Web searches related to the subject within Republic of Ireland. Businesses loans are a sort of finance and are classified as a short term, Medium term, and long term. In this research will give some examples of uses for each loan type. Short term Money that is lent for a short time, usually less than one year. Short term loans assist businesses that their businesses is seasoned like retail businesses and businesses who like to build up inventory. Short terms are to raise working capital to cover temporary deficiencies in funds so you can meet your expenses. Medium Term A loan that must be paid back between two t ten years after the money is borrowed Term Loan usually designed to finance the purchase of fixed assets. It is also a method of paying for equipment in instalments. Long term A loan that is to be paid back over a period of time between three and ten years and sometimes for as long as twenty years. Term Long loan is usually for investments .Loan instalment and mortgage payments made with 12 month count as current liability and the outstanding debt or mortgage beyond 12 months is long-term liability.   Bank overdraft are a short term financial institution allowing businesses to issue cheques or make withdrawals on their current account, up to a specified amount. Interest is charged on daily basis on the amount of the overdraft used. Mostly, overdrafts are used by a business in managing its working Capital. Eligibility Flexible repayment Business loans tailored to your cash flow. Borrow up to 100.000 per annum. Application Process Applying could be online by completing an application form available. later will be a meeting from the bank with a loan-adviser to discuss your business requirement and if there Also you will required to with any other additional documentation in order to process your request. You can apply over the phone Business loans eligible for Business customers who are based in the Republic of Ireland and over 18s. This type of finance used to fund a wide range of moveable businesses and equipment, from machinery to transport vehicles. The bank buys the asset and leases it to the businesses by lease agreement that gives the business the use of assets for a time (3-5) years, in return for payment monthly to the bank. At the end of the lease by paying an annual rental to the bank, it can trade the asset in, or the asset may be bought outright. 2 types of business plan with the interest rate, Tax deductible and Vat reclaim. Offered by A I B. Eligibility Minimum advance à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬30.000 Maximum à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬150.000. Minimum term 10 years, Maximum term 15 years. Security required loan must secured by first charge on appropriate legal instrument. Loan Insurance is mandatory and is paid by member s. 6.50% current variable rate, Annual by 6.7%. Application Process Arrange a meeting with your at the department of loans manager. Complete the Application form in full. Gather any additional supporting documents or information that maybe required by the bank. And will be informed by the bank if any additional requirements wanted. Business loans eligible for Business customers who are based in the Republic of Ireland and over 18s. Although there are many types of loans available for businesses requirements and they are available and facilitated by the financial institutions. The conclusion is that businesses should be aware of what type of businesses is affordable depending on the capacity of business. Those financial institutions or the banks will be required to advance loans after center conditions set out in the agreement have been satisfied. Repayment of loans depends on sources that can generate cash during in a single operation cycle. Finally, the most important consideration, however the ability of the businesses to repay the amount of loans. References Allied Irish Bank PLC. (2017, January 20). Business.aib.ie. Retrieved from https://business.aib.ie/products/finance-and-loans/asset-finance Bank of Ireland. (2017, January 20). Buisness Loans Loans Bank of Ireland. Retrieved from https://businessbanking.bankofireland.com/credit/business-loans/small-business-loan/features-and-benefits/ Bank of Ireland. (2017, January 20). Small Business Loan Application Bank of Ireland Forms. Retrieved from https://form.bankofireland.com/small-business-loan-application/?facility=Loan Class Handout and Booklet. (n.d.). Douglas, A. (2003). Business Administration. Dublin: Gill Macmillian. Press, C. U. (2017, January 19). dictionary.cambridge.org. Retrieved from dictionary.cambridge.org: http://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/loan

Management Principles at Tesco

Management Principles at Tesco Introduction The organisation which we have taken for the study is Tesco Express the sub brand of Tesco Plc. In our study we are going to identify, describe and evaluate the following management area of Tesco Plc, where we will be involving Marketing Principles to give proper management report on the basis of below strategies: The Organisation Orientation The competitive advantage of the organisation The Impact, positive and negative of the organisations Marketing Mix Management report of Tesco Express- Strength, weakness and improvements that will help to maintain competitive advantage in near future Origin of Tesco Tesco Plc the leading Britain retailer among the top three retailers in the world. They are operating 3700 stores among the world and they have employed around 470,000 employees. They are operating in 14 countries and they are UK, Republic of Ireland, India, China, Japan, Czech Republic, Hungary, Malaysia, Poland, Slovakia, South Korea, Thailand, Turkey, and USA. Tesco Plc was started by Jack Cohen in 1919 and the name Tesco was first appeared in the shop in Edgware in 1929 since the company has grown they were implementing their innovation in different business. Jack Cohen founded Tesco and his first day profit was  £1 among his  £4 sales on selling a grocery from the stall in East London. In the year 1924 the first in-house brand of Tesco has launched and they named that product as Tesco Tea. The names come from the initial of TE Stockwell, who was a partner in the tea supplies and the CO from Jack Cohens Surname. In the year 1932 Tesco stores limited have changed to Tesco private Limited Company. Tesco the brand which have changed their way they do business so fundamentally in each and every part of its company. Because of this change they have done in to business which also includes the loyalty management. For that they have taken a different expertise among the world as the earliest and that they have that named as Clubcard. Tesco joined with DunnHumby and created a Clubcard to tracks the buying behaviour of their 13 million customers, through recording and tracking consumption data from shopping bills. Tesco and DunnHumby have jointly built, maintain and mine a rich customer database with information. The Organisations Orientation: Their core business logic is to satisfy their needs and wants of the customers. The production department when starts to manufacture the product, it focuses on the promotion, distribution, pricing etc. How Tesco Express implemented its Market orientation: It overall beats the competition in producing the best quality product to the end users with great customer satisfaction as mentioned below: Flexibility Plan and goal setting Managerial and interpersonal skills Flexibility Tesco Express is widely opened across the cities in UK and gives options to many consumers to shop easily. In total there are around 150 shops which is great benefit to the consumers. They have introduced online trading where customers can place an order and buy it without any hindrance. Self billing has been bought up to avoid queues, saves time and energy, people can use the self bill system and pay by themselves and also introduced Club cards in which they can measure sales and improve accordingly by collecting database. Plan and goal setting- Every organisation has its own plans and works only with the setting right goals at right time. Plans are to maximise sales and profits, maintains No 1 retail store in UK. Targets competitors and remains as a market leader, provides goods/services that are cheap and affordable to public. Business plans and modules are followed to achieve respective goal. Each objective has deadlines to meet so they have to meet their set objective within the stipulated period of time. E.g., Point of sale is an important merchandising activity to remind, people to stock up, just in case, a different product in categories has been brought together under Barbecue Theme, and a sale tends to increase. With the exceptions of meat, Tesco Express has brought all its barbecue products together under one category in store in order to promote sales and profits. Managerial and interpersonal skills Good managerial and interpersonal skills determine good business, we will explain one by one. Managerial skills- It means that one who takes responsibility in handling set of teams and everyone has to report to him/her. One who completes the task within stipulated period of time so that every other staff members can be motivated and then work effectively and efficiently. Tesco express handles sensibly in this department as it has to deal with the customers directly. Good managers will follow the prescribed plan and work accordingly. Interpersonal skills- Communication is nothing but exchanging words with one and another and it is must in any field. Good communication can become good leaders. When handling customers of different regions, each one has different style of speaking so Tesco express handles this part very well. Once staff members have good communication skills it automatically enhances and builds relationships. Marketing: Marketing is the management process responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying customer requirements profitably. (C.I.M, 2001) In this cut throat competition, Tesco innovations and re-innovates the new product as per the marketing environment in comparison with its fellow competitors. Healthy competition gives the best outcome of the product like price and quality. The main aim is to maximize customers value as a source of competitive advantage. Tescos Marketing Concept It congregates the customer needs, wants and preferences more effectively and more closely than competitors like ASDA, Sainsbury WM Morrison supermarket. The basic philosophies of the organisation are production and sales, it integrates the various activities like production, selling, distribution promotion, advertisement and human resource management in a profitable way for the service of the customers. Production: Focuses on the goods where quality matters and profit is gained on the volume of sales. Quality should be maintained in all the stages of production The company which offers around 1000 products under their own brand Tesco. Comparatively they are quality oriented and price oriented. These products are mainly targeted customer daily needs. They are following exact market economics to market their products. Sales: Even Tesco has its own products in Tesco express also they sell products from different brands too. While comparing with other products Tesco products is more cost effective and with high quality. Tesco Express is one of emerging sub brand in the UK is offering the customer to minimise their shopping time. New innovation has been brought in the form of advanced technology for the customers to generate and pay their own receipts by them. Goals have been divided into 3 different sets Once it sets up the plan with the right objective, the next strategy is to maximise sales with customer satisfaction. Let us take through with 3 different sets of goals. The organisation recognises the market movements of its competitors in order to maintain good mindset in peoples mind. It strives hard to satisfy customers needs, preferences and taste which is very big task. The last and foremost goal is carried out in the internal management to increase productivity with great coordination among staff members who works as a team. Let us concentrate on planning aspects with involving planning strategies as discussed below. Marketing Planning: Turning strategies into implementable action and it is a detailed written statement where each and everyone in the organisation must follow the principles and guidelines and act accordingly. Planning is decide in advance what to do and what not to do, planning plays a vital role in the supermarket division as it deals with FMCG products, in day todays business the sales increases rapidly when everything goes according to plan. Internal and External Environment Key Aspects Where are we now? Significant improvement has shown in identical market in UK Marketing Audit Market Research Environment Analysis How did we get there? They got there simply because of good performance which was solid. Where are we heading and where do we want to be? Tesco express has strived to achieve the highest standards to ensure the long-term access to quality products and maintain their position as the UKs number 1 supermarket. Tescos aim is to keep customers happy, to achieve high profit margins, to motivate workers, expand its marketing strategies, and support economic issues and to be friendly towards the environment. Tesco aims to cover every conceivable part of the consumer base with management controls with review procedures. How might we get there? It has good marketing mix strategies and implements successfully. By doing so it has reached heights by giving services to consumers. Let us talk about the Positioning of Tesco Express In earlier days Tesco did not have the brand name but when sales started picking up and demand was on higher side, it did not compromise quality in order to reduce price and it is very convenient to the customers to purchase products as quality of products are available. Once customers got an idea how good Tesco is then Tesco gained its brand name. With the brand name Tesco started to experiment the products with greater profits and then it is managing the customers with great customer loyalty. Philosophy of entire marketing mix hinges with good positioning and failed to do so creates unsound positioning. Positioning Strategies Reasonable price Good quality More and variety of Products Clearance sales Weekend offers and Festive offers Keys to successful positioning are based on competitiveness, successful positioning, creditability and consistency. Repositioning of product Takes place when positioning of products declines Change in customer tastes and preferences New competitors enters the market Competitive advantage of the organisation Jack Welch, former CEO of GE says, If you dont have competitive advantage, dont compete. (Jobber 2007:773) In the face of global competition and cut throat competition, there are many competitors are growing day by day and the rule of survival for the fittest comes into picture. Companies are forced to survive by increasing the production and sales at a better rate. With todays technology changing day by day organisation has to put the best foot forward to stay and compete. As a result they gain enormous experience to handle different sets of consumers and their buying habits Marketing is all about to generate transactions and to generate relationships. No organisation stands alone in the market without competitors; the company cannot develop its products by developing the product range and its features but also faces the competitive environment of the market. The factors which analyse the changing economic environment of the trading community and it react accordingly. The competitors also influences various factors such as success or failure of a business in any market conditions, this is why it is important to consider systematically a number of aspects of competitive behaviour. Competitive analysis is a systematic approaching in understanding the key factors of the planning strategy in terms of objectives, resource allocation and implementation through the marketing mix. A good understanding of these factors reveals the organisation to be in a stronger arena in building and sustaining foundations for the firm to hold its position to maintain the reputation in the longer run. When competitors are identified, the probability of forming them into clusters, depending on focus and strategy. The outcome of the identified clusters identifies strong and weak competitors in each group which can be considered as the strategic opportunities defined. These are the number of different characteristic that can be used for identifying strategic segments, which in turn provides a useful framework for evolving opportunities in business environment that leads to an order of implementing organisational behaviour techniques of competitors data that relies on financial performance of the segments served in marketing strategies. The arch rival of Tesco express is Costcutter because they are the one who have similar marketing policies to overcome its rival. Tesco Express is spread all over the United Kingdom with in and around 1000 outlets but Costcutter is with 1600 outlets. Comparatively Tesco express and Costcutter got the same logic of attracting their customers to sell best quality with reasonable price. However when we analyse the competitive advantage of Tesco to overcome its fellow competitors with new innovation called Auto billing and paying system but Costcutter lacks with that facilities. Opening as well as closing times varies with Costcutter as it is opened 24 hours open and Tesco express opens from 6am in the morning and closes 10pm in the night. So all we can say is that they are the perfect competitors with having leads and falls with each other in different facts. Tesco express is using different segmentations to make the Tesco express successful among their competitors and their segmentations are geographic, usage and loyalty; On geographic segmentation they categorise their shops according to the market. They mostly were concentrating on the region where they can have the more people who are be the bread and butter consumer that means people who wants to buy one or two products at that specific period of time. Theres a brand familiarity that you dont always get from a local store and the concept is familiar through use of the superstore predecessor. On usage segmentation being an express the range is limited and choice or very little and the price is bit higher than its own Tesco extra. On the loyalty segmentation they have just been the successor of the concept called Clubcard. They have track the customers with the card and it make them to analyse to find the exact need of customer and they serving them according to their needs. Marketing objectives of Tesco Express as follows: Tescos Marketing Objectives The main aim is to retain customer satisfaction and maintain number 1 Retail Company in the UK To maximise sales and profit To provide reasonable price to the consumers Marketing Environment Marketing environment and its influences It has been divided into 2 different categories based on 4ps Micro Environment Macro Environment Micro Environment has been divided into 4 divisions namely Suppliers Distributors Competitors Customers Macro Environment has been divided into 5 divisions namely Socio Cultural Environment- Factors affecting demographic structure of the population, lifestyles, attitudes, cultures, issues of public and private concerns, tastes and demands Technological Environment- Creates new product opportunities and improve production Economic Environment- It determines demand and supply chain Political and legal Environment- Rules, laws and regulations are operated as per the Government bodies. Ex: Smoking in public places Ecological Environment-Factors such as global warming, pollution, recycling, packaging etc. Macro environment with Tescos principles Socio Cultural Environment- Brassington and Pettitt has given definition regarding Demographic, where he briefly explains that it is the study of the measurable aspects of population structures and profiles including factors such as age , size, gender, race, occupation and location. Tesco express has widely opened across and also outside UK to satisfy customer needs and preferences. It represents the strength and weakness. There are wide range of products to satisfy all ages and all classes of people. It broadens tastes and demands according to peoples lifestyle and their expectations. If it does not satisfys then customers can lose interest and faith. Technological Environment When an organisation uses more and more different techniques then flexibility comes into picture. Tesco express operates paperless transactions. It brings out new innovation strategies to market the product as per the existing environment. The recent one which it has introduced new way of billing system call, Till , where customers can pick, pack and invoice themselves.. This new system has given new dimensions to the customers to save an extra time. Market research is carried out on a regular basis where an organisation collects information with the respect to the customer focus Economic Environment In this Economic environment two keywords which handle the whole market are demand and supply. When there is a demand in the market supply increases automatically, this will have a huge impact in the business environment. They concentrate on the factors affecting economic business and monitor them in order to overcome. Political and legal Environment Each and every organisation concentrates on the government laws, rules and regulations. Tesco Express follows strict rules and regulations and gives out warning signals to the customers. It also gives smoking free environment. E.g., Smoking is prohibited. Ecological Environment It aims to set up a greenery environment in the form of waste, packaging, recycling, and also cutting carrier bag use. It converts waste into an energy source and reduces the amount of waste going to landfill by over a third and works on waste targets scheme which are reviewed and reported every week. We have taken examples of two like packaging and recycling. If we take packaging with the product name called Eggs. Packaging helps to protect and preserve food for longer duration and promotes the product to reach the customers in the best condition. Recycling facilities are available in all our markets except China and Turkey. Tescos future plans are to implement recycling facilities even in respective countries as mentioned to have a global impact in the marketing environment. In UK we have 600 recycling centres of our larger stores. Last year we helped customers to recycle approximately 200,000 tonnes. Market Segmentation The identification of groups of individuals or organisations with similar characteristics that will have significant implications for the determination of marketing strategy. (Jobber 2004) Segments can be defined on the basis of Tesco principles Customer Satisfaction- customers can be pleased all the time because all the products are available under one proof so chances of pleasing them will be on higher note. They dont target individuals indeed they target on the whole. Customers have variety of products to choose and satisfy their preferences. E.g., Products are sold to all age groups with reasonable price and with most importantly good quality Methods of Segmentation Geographic: It targets customers as per the location, country and also takes into consideration whether it is Rural and Urban. Before it opens any new branches, it undergoes market survey based on the customers potential within the respective location. It also makes sure that for which county products are produced, plans for the available resources so that can be used up to the fuller extent, different sets of people has different taste and preferences according to their lifestyle. E.g., In China people have different lifestyles when compared to UK. Demographic: Once it does sets up the business by creating a layout of the geographic successfully, now the next part is to introduce product based on the marketing analysis which includes people age, sex, race, income, occupation, socio-economic status. It collects complete database and then goes forward. Surveys are conducted at regular intervals with the interest of not losing customers focus and interest. This reduces the negative impact on the organisation. Geo-Demographic: Geo- Demographic is nothing but the combination of geographic and demographic. Organisation works on the purchasing behaviours of the people. Once it gathers the available date by doing research in first and second stage and then works as per the prescribed plan. Postcode systems can assist agencies in the new business development, customer profile and identification. Psychographic: Tesco divides the market on the basis of life style and personality of the consumers. It targets people of all ages with their requirements. From grocery, eatables, liquor Mission Every business has its goals/objectives and works on directions set by the management. No firms can succeed without objectives and tagline of Tesco is, Every little Helps. This tagline has created a realistic statement which is motivating and creates intent in the organisation. The realistic purpose is to provide focus and direction through the conduct of the business. Marketing Mix An Effective marketing mix Tesco compromises on price and does not compromises on quality More demand and more supply. Customer loyalty The Impact, positive and negative of the Tesco Express marketing mix Marketing mix is divided into 7ps but let us concentrate on 4ps which as follows. Promotion Place Price Product We will critically discus 4ps in the following stages: Promotion Promotion is generally referred as awareness created towards the introduction of new product and also the availability of the existing product by means of selling activities and advertising. The main aim of promotion is to spread awareness of the products, uses and benefits. It helps the organisation to position their products in the market to reach customers. The effective tool of promotion of Tesco Express is in the form of television and email adverts, message should be clear and simple so that it can reach the targeted audience by creating a desired response. There are different types of promotions such as advertising, personal selling, public relations and sales promotions. Promotional strategy One of the Tescos key strategies in the promotional activity is, Clubcard loyalty scheme where it has been a huge success and in turn their market share has been increased. This change has led them to be a market leader. They were giving best and competitive prices to the market, products like fresh vegetables, fish, chicken , mutton, beef and all sorts of necessary day to day needs which were outsourced from the farmers , fish, mongers , butchers directly. They have opened number of convenience stores in every possible place and therefore have a good appeal to a huge number of customers in the market environment. Advertising It can be defined as any paid form of non-personal promotion transmitted through a mass medium. The sponsor should be clearly identified and the advertisement may relate to an organisation, a product or a service. The key difference, therefore, between advertising and other forms of promotion is that it is impersonal and communicates with large numbers of people through paid media channels. (Ref 1) Each and every organisation will advertise for the products produced, Tesco has always gives ads saying that they sell cheapest product in the whole of UK and it is one of the cheapest selling supermarket, where they claim that the price of the products is at least a penny less than their competitors firm in the advertisement featuring Prunella scales and Jane Horrocks comparing bills between Tesco and other stores. Stringent rules has to be followed when it is giving comparative advertising as per UK governments rule and abides the body for advertising standards, the Committee of Advertising Practice as listed in the rules and regulations act. They also have different advertisement taglines called, Every little helps, We sell for less, 1 billion pounds off, is youre nearest the dearest, Low prices every day because we sell 10000 everyday. There have been many advertisement campaigns stating that their products are cheaper to their direct competitors. Sales Promotion According to the institute of sales promotion, sales promotion is: A range of tactical marketing techniques designed within a strategic marketing frameworks to add value to a product or service in order to achieve specific sales and marketing objectives.(Ref 3) The store offers a wide range of promotional offers in various times, if they open a store they would give away vouchers having a  £2.00 discount on every  £6.00 spent for every passerby, club card members, computer tokens for schools. Below are the examples of New Year sales promotion. Examples of the New Year promotions offers include: Danepak Maple Cure Back Bacon 220g, was  £3.00, now  £1.50 Extra Large Pineapple, was  £3.00, now  £1.50 Dolmio Original Bolognese Pasta Sauce 750g, was  £2.12, now  £1.06 Princes Tuna Chunks In Brine 4X185g, was  £5.39, now  £2.69 Maryland Choc Chip Hazelnut Cookies 150g, was 86p, now 43p. Kelloggs Special K Oats and Honey 425g, was  £2.87, now  £1.40 Pampers Baby Wipes Sensitive Refill 63, Buy One Get One Free,  £2.29 Technika 24 Full HD TV with Free View DVD, was  £279.97, now  £229.97 Acer 4GB, 15.6 Laptop, was  £497, now  £397 Garmin Sat Nav, 215W, was  £149.97, now  £99.97 Public relations and publicity: Stanley (1982, p. 40) defined PUBLIC RELATIONS as: A management function that determines the attitudes and opinions of the organisations publics, identifies its policies with the interests of its policies with the interests of its publics, and formulates and executes a programme of action to earn the understanding and goodwill of its publics. Tesco maintains a good relation with the customers as per the sources, they have responded to query in time and they have attended to every problem faced by the customer, compromising on quality is not possible but most times they compromise on price. Good coordination is maintained even with their suppliers to maintain high standards. It also involves in wide range of charity operations. E.g., Ref 5 Public relations(Ref 6) Tesco uses a range of Public Relations firms including: Weber Shandwick Worldwide; 72 Point (part of the SWNS Group the UKs biggest independent press agency); CHA, the workplace communications consultancy; Good Relations;142 GGK Public Relations (Poland);143 The Maitland Consultancy. Lawson Lucas Mendelsohn (LLM)144. Marketing communications budget: Pickton and Broderick (2001, p. 67) define integrated marketing communication as .a process which involves the management and organisation of all agents in the analysis, planning, implementation and control of all marketing communications contacts, media, messages and promotional tools focused at selected target audiences in such a way as to derive the greatest economy, efficiency, effectiveness, enhancement and coherence of marketing communications effort in achieving predetermined product and corporate marketing communications objectives. (Ref 7) So we have discussed about promotion and then we will concentrate on place. Place Place means where the organisation is set up and it depends on distribution channels and market research. The main responsibility of the is to reach the product to the customers in the right time and at the right place. Good channel strategy highlights the growth of the company. Tesco express has different distribution channels, like most other retailers they draw the products from their suppliers to their regional warehouses or distribution centres which is then prepared to be delivered to their stores. In an idea to reduce their prices and improve their reliability of the products they have extended their logistics practice by collecting directly in their factories and to their suppliers. They are using 3 types of transport in order to reach the customers early. Ex we have taken road, rail and canal Road In response to the fear of over congestion of roads and a huge increase in fuel prices and concern over its carbon foot print Tesco are switching of their supply chains to alternative modes. Rail The Eddie Stobart group partnered Tesco in distribution of its products in the year 2006. Canal The Tesco started using the Manchester ship canal in 2007 to ship wine from Liverpool to a distribution facility in Manchester. The wine is previously offloaded from the south coast so that it completely avoids the road traffic. Market coverage Ensuring that the product is made available through appropriateintermediariesso that: (a) the potential customer can access it as easily as possible; and (b) the product is properly displayed, sold and supported within thechannel of distribution. Market coverage might involve intensive distribution, selective distribution or exclusive distribution. (Ref8) According to Tesco express they target on a place where it is easily accessible and effective they setup stores or acquire the existing stores in that area they have been successful with that kind of strategy, they do a lot of ground work dating back from the customers and then to the aisle rows, they are frequently replacing the items which are sold out. Specific channel members In the Tesco the channel members are appointed by the company itself where each one of the member in that board has a specific area to cover where the price negotiation, order approval and all the other necessities are taken care. Each department in the Tesco has its own head where the deciding authority is that person so they do-not have any intermediaries it is all B2B dealings. They outsource it directly from the producers. Warehousing Warehousing is an important link in the physical distribution chain. It enables goods to be stored and subsequently moved according to customer demand. The type and role of the warehouse will vary according to the demands of the products. (Ref 9) In this part the Tesco has been playing an completely efficient and an more organised way of warehousing they are frequently being refurbished with the products. There are a number of warehouses situated in the places which are easily accessible for the stores maybe it a superstore, express, extra or a metro. Product Product means commodity offered for sales and it gives be benefit to customers. We often distinguish between product and services, service mainly on tangible products. It also means physical products which satisfy the customer needs and preferences. While other competitors in the market, product sh

Violent Literature of the 1960s Essays -- Violence Vietnam War Litera

Violent Literature of the 1960's Like any idealistic movement of the 1960’s the anti war movement began as an impassioned protest. Peaceful rhetoric dictated by the emerging counter culture lined its foundations, propelling it into existence and giving it such hope and fervor it was impossible to ignore. Causes such as this were the catalyst for togetherness and comradery within and around communities. The Free Speech Movement set the stage for this national awakening, forcing the public to open their eyes to the issues at hand. Mario Savio’s cries for action rung out in the ears of the country, sparking an uprising of young idealistic believers; they had to put a stop to a war already reeking of death. Some of the most honest literature was created during the anti war movement, narrating the course of emotional attachment and dedication individuals felt. As Andrew Gordon wrote: â€Å"The time was ripe, America was ours, and we were going to change the world: Paradise Now or Apocalypse Now† (Por table Sixties Reader 231). The Free Speech Movement (FSM) began as a simple protest of the unjust enforcement of laws by school officials. Peaceful civil disobedience bled into more direct action as the cause grew, drawing increasing support from students and the surrounding community. Mario Savio sat in the center of this whirlwind transfer of power and emotion, summoning from within himself a passion that soon took hold of the Berkeley campus. The FSM became more than just a movement to gain rights; it became a national anthem of student progress and the ability to truly change an institution. Prior to entering Sproul Hall, student demonstrators listened as Savio fervently called them into action: There is a time when the op... ...both literally as well as through literature. Peace was born of idealistic individuals willing to fight with their words and diplomatic actions. This peace then mutated into a revolutionary society filled with radical leaders calling for violence to stop the war; a proverbial situation where fire was being used to fight fire. This flourish of harmony that existed throughout the country was inevitably weak, equipped to break at any moment. Thompson writes of this disintegration: â€Å"†¦with the right kind of eyes you can almost see the high-water mark—that place where the wave finally broke and rolled back† (Thompson 68). Literature from the 1960’s stands today as some of the most powerful narration of the domestic struggle out country witnessed. It documents the rocky movements of students and communities alike and paints an amazing picture of the battle to end the war.

Changing Families Essay -- Sociology, Family

Changing Families and the Impact on Surrounding Systems The family has been referred to as the most vital of the social institutions (Alexander, 2010). The definition of what it means to be a family has evolved over the past several generations. In technical terms, the U.S. Census Bureau defines a family as a group of two or more people residing together related by birth, marriage, or adoption. (U.S. Census, 2010). Categories of families that fit this definition include married couples with and without children, blended families, single parent, and extended family households. Same-sex and unmarried couples with and without children and individuals living alone are not included in this group, though they are a rising segment of the population. The make-up of family and household types at any given time has major consequences for society (Katz & Stern, 2007). Major systems such as economic political, legal, and other social institutions are all impacted by changes in family dynamics. This paper will explore the evolution of the fami ly unit and examine the reciprocal link between this shift and surrounding systems. The relationship between these changes and contemporary systems theory will also be discussed. Population information gathered by the U.S. Census bureau provides statistical data illustrating the changing nature of the American family. Though many contemporary families fall into the traditional two parent and child household, census data shows that other categories of families are increasing. Single and unmarried parents, blended, extended, childless couples, same-sex, and individual family units are all increasing. For example, 1960 census data shows that about 9% of children lived in a single parent home.... ... the past several years is the same-sex family. Since the sexual revolution of the 1960’s, changing attitudes have brought more tolerance to the gay and lesbian community. This has somewhat loosened the stigma previously associated with this segment of the population. Along with evolving public attitudes, economic and legal changes in the United States have also reduced barriers previously facing same-sex couples making it more likely for them to form families (Butler, 2004). On the other hand, continued strong institutional ties to marriage between one man and one woman continue to pose problem for this group and shape social agendas (Glenn, 2004; Lind, 2004). While several states and many employers have given recognition and benefits to homosexual partners, there is still no uniform policy in place which addresses their familial rights in the United States.

Biddy’s Bakery: Operations Management Essay

1.Elizabeth’s largest challenge considering her capacity needs, is that she outgrew her first facility’s capacity and then decided to move to a much larger facility where she realized she had considerably more capacity than needed for her business. Elizabeth is essentially paying for a facility she is not utilizing fully; therefore her sales expectations are not being met because of the bills she needs to pay with unused space. Elizabeth should have researched more into the facility layout before deciding to up and move her business to a new location. With considering this first, she could have accurately decided if the new building was the right fit for the arrangement of resources in the facility to enhance the producing process. 2.The proposal the business students at the university made for Elizabeth might not be the correct structure for her business due to the layout they are proposing involving a repetitive operation design. With a repetitive operation, the product variety is low, the degree of standardization is high, and the throughput time is shorter. These are all characteristics that would not fit the business for a bakery. Her operation is Intermittent. A bakery is labor-intensive, because of the specialized orders taken by customers that Elizabeth and her business takes pride in. The workers need to be able to perform different tasks, depending on the processes needed of the products being produced. The student’s just proposing the production of the McDoogle pie in large volumes, changes Elizabeth’s whole operations from Intermittent to Repetitive. She would need to create an assembly line type of organization and still suffer from unused capacity because she would then be cutting out a large part of her companies products by no longer taking special request orders. 3.Elizabeth’s bakery is Intermittent involving the use of project processes, batch processes, or a combination of the two. With a repetitive operation, the one the students suggest, would involve line processes or a continuous process both operating on a standard product produced quickly but with little to no customization of the products. Repetitive operations are not only large volume with little customization; they are highly capital intensive where Elizabeth’s operation is labor intensive needing specialized with workers with a variety of skills. 4.The business would be very different if Elizabeth decides to accept the university student’s proposal. She would be changing her whole operations system and would need automation equipment since she would only be producing one type of pie rather then the variety she has been used to. She would also have fewer inventories and mainly have to organize the layout differently to accommodate the new processing needs. The time however, would be increased and she would possibly see an increase in sales. The mission she originally set-forth with her business was producing a variety of baked goods with old-fashioned style and taste. With accepting a repetitive design, her mission statement would not be altered. 5.I mainly would suggest keeping an Intermittent design in the new building because Elizabeth’s business requires a variety of workmanship qualities not available with mass production. By accepting the student proposal and having her pies sold in a store, would mean she would be competing on a scale she is not used to which is price. With customization, she can keep her prices relatively high. Elizabeth may need to hire more skilled workers in her field in hopes of making her through process faster and inevitably, her baked goods to her customers sooner. By making her business focus more on the McDoodle pie in the new building is not entirely out of the cards. Elizabeth could have both an intermittent and repetitive structure with the purchase of some automation to help speed up certain processes while keeping the layout design in the building separate. Most of her sales come from that pie so a larger percentage can be focused on that pie. FMS is a way for Elizabeth to have an automated system while still combining the flexibility her intermittent operation has to offer, with the efficiency still in tact of continuous operations. With this idea of combining some technology with her operation but still keeping her grouping technique of workstations, may help speed up her process and keep her variety baked goods in the hopes of increasing sales to help with bills while eliminating unused space so Elizabeth can work at full capacity.

Annotated Bibliography Example

Annotated Bibliography Reina Garza Diana Hollinger, Russ Sperling, JoAnn Ford (2009, november 5). the state of music education in schools. (M. Cavanaugh, Interviewer) * When test scores go down in math and reading, the emphasis is put on those basic subjects to the detriment of other so-called elective courses.And now the combination of standardized testing and budget cuts have put art and music classes in the highest of high-risk categories,† (par 1) * â€Å"when you speak with great educators, and look behind the test scores, the lessons learned in studying music, learning to play an instrument, playing in a band, learning to read music, all provide a richness to a child's education that will last a lifetime,† (par 1). * Because of the declining math and reading scores, it is causing the students to double up on classes. This then does not give them time to take any form of music education. par 12). * â€Å"You cannot cut something for one or two years and say, oh, we ’ll bring it back next year because the cuts are long term,† (par 16). * We still have about half the number of music students in music education in K-through-12. And we’ve never fully recovered and partly that’s because we start cutting the things that are the least visible first, which would be elementary music and then junior high music because the things that are most visible are the marching band at the football game†¦and the choir at, you know, at graduation and those sorts of things in high school.But it’s like cutting off the roots; the flower only lasts just so long,† (par 16 ;amp; 18). * Some schools outsource their music programs. This then makes the teacher work with the students after school. Diana says, â€Å"we can’t just do a little music. Let’s outsource this and sing some songs after school. That’s not how you teach. You don’t teach algebra that way, you don’t teach somebody to read th at way, you don’t teach science that way. You cannot teach anything that way.So it’s very important that you have a structured, you know, step-by-step education so that students have access. Understanding how to read music and to sing music and to play music is access. It’s social justice,† (par 30). Harken, J. V. (2003, august 20). budgets cut student expeirence . Retrieved may 24, 2012, from CNN: http://articles. cnn. com/2003-08-13/politics/sprj. sch. cuts_1_budget-cuts-music-or-science-math? _s=PM:EDUCATION * â€Å"If a student's talents lie in art, or music or science, they lose out,† (par 8). Schools believe that math and reading are the most important subjects, so if the students have declining test scores, then all the other programs are cut while math and reading/English are funded even more. (par 7 & 8) *â€Å"For many kids, that's why they come to school, for the band or chorus or sports. † (par 18). * Students interested in de veloping business or music skills would have to look outside the school for programs or private tutors they go to on their own time, Johnson said. People have to compensate. If the student can't afford it, well, that's the downside to this situation. â€Å"† (par 25). Houck, Olivia. (2009). 2009-10: Against Cutting Art and Music Programs in Schools. Retrieved may 24, 2012, from morrison institute: http://morrisoninstitute. asu. edu/young-stewards-of-public-policy/essays/2009-10-the-voting-problem * â€Å"Overall, reports have shown that the percentage of kids with access to music has declined 50% in the past five years,† (par 1). â€Å"The study of music, theatre, and other forms of art have been shown to stimulate other parts of student’s minds and even keep them out of gangs and other harmful situations,† (par 1). *â€Å"â€Å"95% percent of Americans believe that music is a key-component in a child’s well-rounded education, 80% percent of resp ondents agreed that music makes the participants smarter; 78% believe that learning a musical instrument helps students perform better in other subject areas; and 88% believe participation in music helps teach children discipline† (Hurley 3),† (par 1). â€Å"â€Å"Within two to three years, every school that cuts arts showed a decrease in morale and attendance and an increase in vandalism and disruptions, and within three years most of them had to add extensive disciplinary staff to account for the problems that were created by not providing the full range of experiences that human beings need† (Hurley 2).† (par 3). Nelson, TJ. (2005, march 5). dumbing down, the dwindling funding of the arts. Retrieved may 24, 2012, from worldmusiccentral. org: http://worldmusiccentral. org/article. php/2005030922083613 â€Å"One Ipswich high school senior, Reeve Pierson, calculated the participation in his school and found that out of 629 students 445 participated in the music and art programs,† (par 6). * â€Å"†Students with coursework/experience in music performance and music appreciation scored higher on the SAT: students in music performance scored 57 points higher on the verbal and 41 points higher on the math, and students in music appreciation scored 63 points higher on verbal and 44 points higher on the math, than did students with no arts participation†. — College-Bound Seniors National Report: Profile of SAT Program Test Takers.Princeton, NJ: The College Entrance Examination Board, 2001† (par 8). * â€Å"â€Å"Secondary students who participated in band or orchestra reported the lowest lifetime and current use of all substances (alcohol, tobacco, illicit drugs). † — Texas Commission on Drug and Alcohol Abuse Report. Reported in Houston Chronicle, January 1998† (par 9) * â€Å"*Thirty-six out of 57 states and territories in the US plan to slash funding for culture. Estimates suggest tha t funds will be reduced from $355 million to $274 million in the 2004 fiscal year according to Americans for the Arts. Florida governor, Jeb Bush, reduced his state’s arts funding from $28 million to $5. 9 million. Colorado’s arts budget shriveled to a mere $200,000. † (par 13). * â€Å"There’s something utterly captivating in listening to the musical rendition of â€Å"She’ll Be Coming Round the Mountain† by a bunch of first-graders on kazoos and percussion instruments. What kind of society will we be without the squawky notes of â€Å"Greensleeves† emanating from an open window as a fourth-grader practices on a black, plastic recorder?What kind of cultural identity do we preserve and pass on without a music education? What happens to us if we become a country without a culture, without a voice, without a song? † (par 16). * â€Å"I guess Air Force One should invest in a good sound system and a CD of Sousa marches, because a f uture president might be stepping of the plane into the adulation of crowds, not to the strains of â€Å"Hail to the Chief† played by a school orchestra but to a bunch of kids holding up multiplication table flashcards,† (par 17). music Statistics/music advocacy quotations. n. d. ). Retrieved may 24, 2012, from heritageweb. org: http://www. heritageweb. org/~sanderson/MusicAdvocacyStatsandQuotes. pdf | | * Students with good rhythmic ability can more easily detect and differentiate between patterns in math, music, science, and the visual arts.-â€Å"Rhythm seen as key to man's evolutionary development,† TCAMS Professional resource Center, 2000. * A 1997 study of elementary students in arts-based programs concluded that students' math test scores rose as their time in arts education classes increased. â€Å"Arts Exposure and Class Performance,† Phi Delta Kappan, October, 1998. * The arts are recognized as a core subject in the Goals 2000: Educate America Ac t approved by both houses of Congress in 1994. -National Education Goals Panel * â€Å"In every successful business. there is one budget line that never gets cut. It's called â€Å"Product Development† – and it's the key to any company's future growth. Music education is critical to the product development of this nation's most important resource – our children. -John Sykes – President, VH1 * â€Å"Music is about communication, creativity, and cooperation, and by studying music in school, students have the opportunity to build on these skills, enrich their lives, and experience the world from a new perspective. † -Bill Clinton, Former President of the United States of America * â€Å"The arts are an essential element of education, just like reading, writing, and arithmetic. music, dance, painting, and theater are all keys that unlock profound human understanding and accomplishment. † -William Bennett, Former US Secretary of Education |