A Just Life Leads To A Prosperous Life †Philosophy Essay

A Just Life Leads To A Prosperous Life – Philosophy Essay Free Online Research Papers A Just Life Leads To A Prosperous Life Philosophy Essay Plato’s view on leading a just life – as asserted through Socrates in Republic – lends one to suggest that being just leads to a life of happiness. I will attempt to show that leading a just life can be rewarding to someone who chooses to follow it. In the Republic, Socrates is engaged in a spirited debate with Thrasymachus in which at one point the two men argue whether or not leading a just life would have an advantage over an unjust life. Thrasymachus maintains (using an analogy) that â€Å"†¦when a partnership is wound up, you will never find that the more honest of two partners comes off with the larger share† . Through cross-examination, Socrates concludes – based on the answers of Thrasymachus – that the problems that occur when injustice occurs – ignorance, lack of cooperation between others, etc. – culminates into an unsuccessful life where nothing can be achieved. The claim in which leading a just life carries more rewards than leading an unjust life is true in the sense that what is achieved by leading a just life – knowledge, cooperation and happiness – far outweighs the product of leading an unjust life. Therefore, I find Thrasymachus flawed in his view on justice and injustice in regards to his argument that those leading just lives do not lead rewarding lives because his argument is based on a ‘worst case scenario’. I find his line of reasoning narrow because his argument fails to acknowledge the fact that a just life is also capable of being a happy life. He also fails to acknowledge the fact that leading an unjust life could also potentially lead to an unhappy life. Take for example, a successful businessman practicing shady business tactics. He does so to achieve a high status within the business community but gets caught in this unjust act, loosing all the acclaim and honour he had, while his happy life going south. This goes contrary to what Thrasymachus believes the just man is worse off than those who practice injustice , where being unjust in this case does not necessarily lead to happiness. This situation is plausible today in such a wired society such as ours in which many transactions are tracked and human error in covering up the breaking of business regulations is probable. Socrates later goes on to say in his discussion with Thrasymacus that the function of the soul – which is living a happy life – is dependant on whether the virtue of justice is present . This is true in the case that being just in discerning what is right or wrong is reliant on whether or not society will punish you if caught. Those who are just – according to Socrates – possess high intelligence and character ; essential elements for leading a just life. It is easier to view injustice and justice as two branching paths: the path of justice is the harder path to take while the path of injustice is the easier, high-risk path. To put this into perspective, we could use an example to prove this in the form of a typical student project situation involving the path of justice and the path of injustice. If you took the path of injustice and chose to ride the coat tails of your peers in a school project, you could do nothing to contribute to the project while achieving a high mark than researching, collaborating and contributing ideas with your peers in order to achieve a high mark. However, if you took the path of justice, you would be a willing contributor to the group, assisting in research and throwing in ideas in order to help your team mates. If you helped your teammates, it would display the character you possess to your peers and shows the intelligence you have in being able to contribute ideas to the final product, therefore leading a just path. On the opposite ends of the spectrum, failing to contribute can lead to your peers seeing how despicable you are and causing a break down in group chemistry, showing the people you work with how horrible of a team member you are and ultimately you could be reported as a faulty member of the group to the professor and be given a fail. In this case, the path of least resistance does not pay off as opposed to working hard and contributing. One of the most common rebuttals that have been tossed around in response to Plato’s works is in the form of an example. A man who is at his wits ends, poor and unable to support himself through legal means. He is then forced to stealing food in order to support himself and his family, committing an injustice while being happy and content with his action. I find this example flawed, as it does not address certain issues. One must ask how he ended up in such a dire state. In many cases, it is the government’s role to reach out to every citizen’s needs – as many politicians claim – and succeed in doing so. However, this is not something that is done in many cases, and therefore an injustice has been committed by the government in being unable to fulfill their obligations in assisting the people that they are expected or pressured by citizens to help. Therefore, it is in my opinion that stealing in order to extend one’s lifespan and others he or she is responsible for is justified in this case due to the fact that the elected authority has failed to service this person. Maintaining a sense of justice serves as a cog in the soul’s primary function of leading a happy life. Despite the fact that the path of justice is harder than following the path of injustice, the payoff and self-gratification one can get from the riches of a just life outweigh the massive risks one takes in taking a path of injustice. Bibliography: Plato, Republic, A. Johnson, A. Reath, Ethics Selections from Classical and Contemporary Writers, (Thomson Wadsworth), 2004 Research Papers on A Just Life Leads To A Prosperous Life - Philosophy EssayComparison: Letter from Birmingham and CritoCapital PunishmentLifes What Ifs19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraUnreasonable Searches and SeizuresThe Relationship Between Delinquency and Drug UseAnalysis Of A Cosmetics AdvertisementRelationship between Media Coverage and Social andArguments for Physician-Assisted Suicide (PAS)Bionic Assembly System: A New Concept of Self

Misuse of Connective Symbols with Numbers

Misuse of Connective Symbols with Numbers Misuse of Connective Symbols with Numbers Misuse of Connective Symbols with Numbers By Mark Nichol In each of the following sentences, a connective symbol is employed in a reference to numbers or numerical values, but the usage is incorrect. Explanation of the error, and a revision of the error, follows each example. 1. Open enrollment for 2018 runs from November 1 December 15. A connective symbol linking two values in a number range functions as a replacement for from and to (or between and and), not just the latter word (though only to is pronounced when the number range is read aloud, hence the confusion), so do not precede a number range formatted this way with from (or between): â€Å"Open enrollment for 2018 runs November 1–December 15.† If the word from is retained, to should replace the symbol. (Note also that the symbol should be an en dash, not a simple hyphen- except when a publication’s style guide specifies use of that symbol- and that no letter spaces should intervene.) 2. Five-thousand service members are expected to participate in the event. Hyphenation is used in spelled-out numbers only to link two words representing two place values, as in seventy-five. â€Å"Five thousand† modifies â€Å"service members† but is an open compound: â€Å"Five thousand service members are expected to participate in the event.† Note that large round numbers are often spelled out in isolation but should be treated as figures if other numbers appear in proximity, but numbers should always be spelled out at the head of a sentence. (If doing so is awkward, as in the case of a large precise number such as that representing a year like 2017 that requires more than a couple of words to convey, recast the sentence.) 3. The most fatalities occurred in the 15-24 year old age group. In most books and in some publications, style would dictate that the numbers in this sentence should be spelled out. However, in other content, or in a case in which using numerals is preferable (as when a concentration of numbers occurs), the phrase in which the figures appear should be treated as shown here: â€Å"The most fatalities occurred in the 15- to 24-year-old age group.† (When numbers are spelled out, the sentence should read, â€Å"The most fatalities occurred in the fifteen- to twenty-four-year-old age group.†) The hyphen does not function as a linking symbol connecting two figures in a number range; it links words that are part of a phrasal adjective, an abridgement of â€Å"15-year-old to 24-year-old† in which the first instance of â€Å"year-old† is omitted because it is clearly implicit. (This tactic, called suspensive hyphenation, renders such phrases more concise and less cluttered. In addition, the sentence can be further pared to â€Å"The most fatalities occurred among 15- to 24-year-olds.†) Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Style category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Definitely use "the" or "a"At Your DisposalWhat the heck are "learnings"?

Krugman Book response paper (2 pages) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Krugman Book response paper (2 pages) - Essay Example However, this paper attempts to show that Krugman’s ideas are somewhat simplistic and cannot be applied in the modern economies. First, Krugman argues that in order to recover from the effects of inflation and ensure sustainable growth, it is important to aim for â€Å"moderately higher inflation† of around 4 percent (Krugman, 219). According to him, inflation helps to lower the value of debts such as mortgages which cause depression. This will in turn cause the economy to recover. One factor overlooked by Krugman is that inflation in itself will cause other problems that will significantly affect the growth of the economy. For example, higher inflation rates would mean that the price of domestic products will be high, and this will make the US unattractive to other countries in doing business. The total value of exports will be reduced. Considering the US and most of European countries rely on exports, inflation will simply lead to slow growth. The real problem is not in the lack of demand but the lack of adequate production. Unfortunately, this cannot be addressed by increasing the money in the econo my. This approach as proposed by Krugman will lead to trade deficits. Secondly, the author also focuses on the issue of debt, and argues that the effect of deficits for the American economy is â€Å"for the most part, hypothetical†. He argues that the burden caused by debt is less compared to that caused by unemployment. He does not believe in the idea of a debt crisis. However, it can be argued that an increase in debt does not help to increase the quantity of productive capital. Increased debt will in fact lead to some â€Å"fictitious capital†, and this can only address the problems in the short term. In the long term, the amount available for the private sector to save is greatly reduced, and this will lead to slower economic growth. As a result, few job opportunities will be created, and the same problems will resurface. It is no doubt that US

Targets operation in Canada Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Targets operation in Canada - Essay Example The retail store failed miserably in its market strategies such as pricing. This stands out as a major influence on customers. From the start, Canadian shoppers felt that the prices maintained by Target were too high while compared to other stores. It created a perception that it was the most expensive among its competitors. Targets management was not observant and reactive about pricing. They failed to see the power of low pricing in Wal-Mart Canada. Additionally, Target did not compensate for its higher pricing with better services. The customers’ experience at Target stores was not good and prices made it worse. It has been shown that some customers are willing to forego a slight increase in price provided the experience they receive is a stand-out feature from the rest of the competition. Other competitors had the edge in pricing as well as customer service. Only 18% of the respondents questioned by Forum Research said that they were very satisfied with Target. This percen tage was the lowest level of satisfaction among all the other competitors. This shows that   Target’s management did not prioritize customer satisfaction.The supply chain management also attributed to the failure of the business in Canada. Customers were not pleased by empty shelves in stores. However, stocks were piling up in Target’s warehouses at a faster rate they were being sold. There were delays that caused the goods from hitting the shelves on time. Target’s supply chain was marred by inconsistencies between the actual inventory level and the computer records. There were delays caused by verification of the inventory. The shipments needed to be verified manually. This is a time-consuming process that increased work for the store workers while also leaving the shelves empty.

Visions for International Education Essay Example for Free

Visions for International Education Essay Klafki introduces terms like increasing interrelations, mutual dependencies, fate of all continents, cultures, states and societies when addressing the core problems our modern world faces at the turn of the century. A world, which has shrunk since the tunes of Walt Disney’s â€Å"It’s a small world after all†¦..[1]†, and in the aftermath of wars, trade and spheres of progress – appears to be closely knit. The points he makes are very clear through the discussion on 6 complexes of development, though you could look at them solitarily, they are very much intermeshed, as he points out. The entwinement of both individual capabilities and society focus, is very evident in all 6 points, be it: information availability or existential necessity. I couldn’t agree more; unfortunately conflicts exist in our own society, while promoting and claiming a route of tolerance and inclusion on one hand, we wish to be selective and limit the amount of â€Å"fugitives† we can accommodate annually, on the other. First, Klafki approaches education and educational science from a universal standing, where conditioning and development have to have common ground globally. There are many perspectives to developing knowledge and awareness and students of the future need to have an international stance to problems at a very early age. Although he tends to draw a very utopian picture, he keeps focus through his discussion with five key issues towards implementation and involvement. First key issue is â€Å"the problem of peace† and its educational value, as he addresses it, which consists of two main elements: 1. Macro-sociological and macro-political causes of threats to peace or of wars. 2. Moral justification for wars if there are any. The second key issue, he reflects upon, is that of â€Å"environment†, again globally and in conjunction to â€Å"accountability and controllability of scientific-technological development† he addresses the possible need to assist the lesser developed countries in global interest by removing blatant inequality through insight to First world knowledge. An excellent point and one very much current through efforts like movements such as â€Å"Camp for Climate Action[2]†. Klafki makes points on 3 main tasks for dealing with this global initiative towards educating the youth of tomorrow about the environment: 1. Awareness of ecological obligations and the consequences of unchecked tech-eco development. 2. Appreciation of developing energy-saving and environmentally sound consumer behavior. 3. Realization of maintaining, monitoring and further development of initiatives at an international and local level: glocal commitments. Third key issue addresses the inequality which certainly exists within societies and internationally between social classes, gender, employed/unemployed. He points out that at a national level and where the task of inter-cultural education really poses itself, is between a countrys foreign nationalities and even between them and the native population. The fourth key issues, as he puts it, are threats and opportunities amidst a vast and evolving field of new technical control, information and communications media. These tools should be embraced critically and included in any form that can boost education, while weighing the pros and cons of their effect on the user, through both possible social consequence and media misuse. Nay to both euphoria and phobia, but involve them in furthering didactic concepts in the classroom. His fifth and final key issue is on inter-personal engagement, involvement, recognition and responsibility: I-You relationships are central and enlightenment is very much the field for this issue. Now just because we are able to agree across the board on these issues being the basis, problems are not solved, because enlightenment is simply our first global quest. We need to maintain concentration on the key issues to succeed at the international level of education and promote discussion and debate via national curricula. In fact, if we are merely able to promote the significance of these key issues, then solutions can be nationally various and toned, as long as they are based in general for those who are potentially concerned. Soundly enough we also need to address four fundamental attitudes and abilities, which can assist in our quest towards global teachings and classroom practices: 1. Ability to criticize: as well as receive by furthering a point, suggestion or solution. 2. Ability to argue: to contribute to a better-founded insight on all angles of cognition. 3. Empathy: in understanding a counterpart – even if a solution is far from the scope. 4. Networked thought: interrelationships that connect everything with everything. Even after all of these discussions, it boils down to time and teaching – planning and teams. There is a clear necessity to organise and discuss reform: 1. How should class activity be blocked for lessons? 2. Should lessons be in 45 minute intervals or 2 hours? 3. The responsibility of the teaching team and its structure: How much or how little? These are simple questions and a minute contribution which need to be addressed, if there is to be any fruitful outcome through this process. The interrelated educational principles of exemplary teaching and learning, method oriented learning, action-oriented teaching and co-operative learning, all need a more fluid approach. Mutual trust is a necessity and with a realistic approach to implementation and evaluation we are well on our way – whether it seems utopian or not.

The Evolution of the Internet :: essays research papers

The Evolution of the Internet   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   So you believe Al Gore created the Internet? Well that’s not possible, because I did. Yes, it’s true, a few years ago I was sitting in my basement with nothing to do and suddenly the idea came to me: why not create an inter-connected network of networks that will allow users to send mail instantly, download copyrighted songs, and order pizza, all from the comfort of their own living room? OK, so maybe I didn’t exactly invent the Internet, but neither did Al Gore.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  So who was the genius behind the information superhighway, you ask? Well let’s take a step back to the sixties, a decade when Cold War tension caused nationwide fear of nuclear warfare. Early in the decade, two groups of researchers, privately owned RAND Corporation (America’s leading nuclear war think-tank) and federal agency ARPA (Advanced Research Projects Agency), grappled with a bizarre strategic mystery: in the event of nuclear war, how could political and military officials communicate successfully? It was obvious that a network, linking cities and military bases, would be necessary. But the advent of the atomic bomb made switches, wiring, and command posts for this network highly vulnerable. A â€Å"nuclear-safe† network would need to operate with missing links and without central authority. In 1964, RAND Corporation’s Paul Barran made public his solution to the problem. Essentially, the concept was simple. Barran’s network would be assumed to be unreliable at all times. Information would be broken into many small pieces called â€Å"packets† and then sent to various points, or nodes, in the network until they reached their destination. ARPA embraced Barran’s idea for three reasons. First, if nuclear bombs blew away large components of the network, data would still reach its destination. Second, it would be relatively secure from espionage, since spies tapping into parts of the network would be able to intercept only portions of transmissions. Lastly, it would be much more efficient because files and transmissions couldn’t clog portions of the network. Only five years after Barran proposed his version of a computer network, ARPANET went online. Named after its federal sponsor, ARPANET initially linked four high-speed supercomputers and was intended to allow scientists and researchers to share computing facilities by long-distance. By 1971, ARPANET had grown to fifteen nodes, and by 1972, thirty-seven. ARPA’s original standard for communication was known as â€Å"Network Control Protocol† or NCP. As time passed, however, NCP grew obsolete and was replaced by a new, higher-level standard known as TCP-IP, which is still in use today.

Foot Binding In China Essay

Although seemingly incomprehensible for the average Western person today, foot binding was a custom which lasted for more than 1,000 years in China. In fact, foot binding was a particular practice reserved for the elite and was reputedly a sign of social status, hierarchy and wealth. Extreme deformity, by way of bound feet, was practiced for its aesthetic appeal and as a symbol of social status. Starting in about the 10th century A. D. , foot binding gained currency in China and was practiced exclusively among women with an eye to aesthetic beauty. Seeking to address the mysteries behind the foot binding phenomenon and make sense of a custom which seems appears so foreign to the average Western eye, this essay will conduct a thorough analysis of foot binding in China through an exploration of Fred C. Blake’s â€Å"Foot-Binding in Neo-Confucian China and the Appropriation of Female Labor†, published in the scholarly journal Signs in 2009. We will begin with an analysis of the history of foot binding in China, explore the practice of foot binding and explain how it is accomplished, as explained in the article. We will delve into the reasons why foot binding became such a prominent feature in China, conclude with a summary of Blake’s research and discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the article. Accordingly, we will analyze the contribution to the field of anthropology. History Foot binding is a practice which is culturally specific and unique to the Asian context. Foot binding gained currency in the 10th century A. D. as an aesthetic characteristic sought after by women in China and is an excellent example of the evolution of conceptions of beauty. In China, the â€Å"lotus foot† was prized among members of all classes as being a standard of beauty to which many women worked hard to obtain. Accordingly, the foot binding custom was an incredibly painful process which required years to obtain and was additionally a painful process as well. Some oral historians relate the tradition of bound feet to the Chinese Prince Li Yu from the Sung dynasty and the gracefulness of his concubine Yao Niang. In fact, according to legend, Yao Niang, although not a woman with bound feet herself, had such small feet and walked so gracefully that her gait was one in which people all across China stove to emulate. Another legend discusses the life of the last Empress of the Shang dynasty, beautiful women who were born with a clubbed foot. Due to the stigma associated with such a disability in the era, this Empress bound her foot to conceal her deformity and instructed her husband to make the bound foot mandatory for all girls. By making a bound foot the norm in the kingdom, she thus made her bound foot beautiful and established an important standard of beauty in China. With Mongol invasions in the thirteenth century, they supported the practice of foot binding, allegedly because it demonstrated the inferiority of women to men and fully entrenched sex segregation and gender hierarchies. Establishing the Yuan dynasty, foot binding became more and more prominent in China and continued for more than 800 years thereafter (Blake 681). Although it may certainly seem usual for the average Westerner today to understand the beauty and desire associated with bound feet in ancient China, this practice is not so dissimilar to corseting, a practice common among the aristocracy of the Western world from the 15th century to the late 19th century. A corset is a garment which is worn to mold the stomach and torso into an incredibly thin shape, with the desired result being an incredibly thin waste. The corset, much like the bound foot, can be incredibly uncomfortable for the wearer and has the potential to result in permanent torso damage and disfigurement. Corset wearing has an important aesthetic in the West – particularly prominent in Victorian era England – and was a sign of refinement, privilege and beauty. The bound foot is similar and we will discuss the process of foot binding below. How was Foot Binding Accomplished? Now that we have established that there are important historical precedents for the practice of foot binding and that while we are unsure of how it came about, we do now know that it was common in China for nearly a millennia. How was the unique practice of foot binding accomplished? An article in the American Journal of Public Health which looked at the physical consequences of bound feet on elderly women succinctly described the process. Beginning at the age of five, â€Å"all but the first toe on each foot were broken and the feet bound with cloth strips that were tightened over the course of 2 years to keep the feet shorter than 10 cm and to bend the sole into extreme concavity. † The process was usually undertaken during the fall or winter so that the foot would be numb to the pain when the toes were broken. Feet were initially soaked – by the mother, an important actor in the process – in warm water and animal blood and herbs and a special potion was applied to the foot. After the toes were broken, bandages were applied around the smallest toes and were affixed tightly to the heel. For the first two years, the binding was removed and reapplied, a painful process, every two days. To ensure that the feet remained deformed and small, this process sometimes continued for ten years (Blake 663). Foot binding was a practice undertaken exclusively by women in Neo-Confucian China and was a tradition passed down from mother to daughter. It represented female submission and dependence on the husband and was an essential attribute of womanhood. The particular enforcement of this practice by women, on younger women and girls is particularly interesting from a sociological perspective. Accordingly: Mothers constantly informed their daughters that binding was necessary in order to find a good family into which to marry. Mothers impressed upon their daughters that the mark of a woman’s attraction resided more in her character as revealed in the bind of her feet than in the face or physique with which nature had endowed her. Her selection in marriage was the task of her prospective mother-in-law, whose criterion for a good daughter-in-law was the discipline that the bound foot represented (Blake 683). When it came to binding, there were certain attributes which were essential to the process. First and foremost, youth was important because foot binding required the physical breaking of the bones of the fee and for the purpose of binding, the optimum age to begin the process was between the ages of five to seven years old. From the standpoint of the female caregiver who was responsible for initiating the binding process of a young girl, the ages of five to seven were ideal for a variety of reasons. From a physical standpoint, a girl between the ages of five to seven had prepubescent bones which were still flexible and optimal for reconfiguration and breaking. From a mental and social maturation standpoint, a girl between the ages of five to seven was able to understand the meaning associated with foot binding, the prestige associated with a bound foot and the desire to one day marry. Accordingly, a girl between the ages of five to seven could appreciate the need and have the discipline to pursue the sometimes incredibly painful process of foot-binding. Disease and infection generally followed a foot bound girl into womanhood and oftentimes toenails curled into the toe and the foot physically died all together (Blake 684-86). Although voluntary and a process undertaken by women themselves, foot binding was an inherent attribute of a patriarchic society and was a custom undertaken in light of the social circumstances of Chinese society. Article Analysis Blake provides an excellent overview of the foot binding phenomenon. His article adequately provides substantive background to foot binding and includes an insightful historical analysis to the trend. An effective case is built utilizing both primary and secondary sources and the author provides meticulous – and sometimes hard to swallow – detail on the foot binding phenomenon. According to Blake, there are many reasons put forth for an incredibly painful and deforming practice, and foot binding is attributed to aesthetic appeal in a society in which tiny feet were conceived of as something erotic. Social status concerns are important and as mentioned above, bound feet were often necessary for a girl to marry. This is largely a result of the patriarchic social structure of China. Bound feet thus signified the dependency of women on men in Chinese society. By disabling her feet, the bound foot was perhaps the most ardent example of entrenched patriarchy in Chinese society. Accordingly, A woman’s dependency on her family was made manifest in her disabled feet. A popular saying was that in her lifetime, a woman leaned on three men, her father, her husband, and her son. But if a woman’s bound feet made her appear weak and vulnerable and thus dependent on men, it also veiled her inner sense of managing those appearances and thus being able to exercise considerable control over herself and those to whom she was attached (Blake 683). Concluding Remarks As a cultural practice which lasted for hundreds of years, foot binding was not all that dissimilar to the use of corsets in order to shrink the torso and waists of women in the Western world. Fred C. Blake’s â€Å"Foot-Binding in Neo-Confucian China and the Appropriation of Female Labor† explains that what sets foot binding apart from other measures was the incredible pain associated with the practice and the permanent deformities caused by this practice. While explanations for foot binding often point towards the beauty and the aesthetics of the practice, foot binding was inherently about female submission and subjugation in Chinese society. Foot binding was about patriarchy and the consequences of foot binding on the health of millions of Chinese women are incredibly grave. Thus, deformities due to foot binding are prevalent among women in China and they include being more prone to falling, less able to rise from a chair and a loss of the ability to squat. Additionally, â€Å"women with bound feet also had somewhat lower femoral neck bone density, perhaps because of limited weight bearing activity. The combination of lower hip bone density and greater risk of falling is likely to increase the risk of hip fractures† (Blake 684). For centuries, foot binding thus resulted in severe lifelong disability for millions of women. Works Cited Blake, C. Fred. â€Å"Foot-Binding in Neo-Confucian China and the Appropriation of Female Labor† Signs 19. 3 (2009): 676-712.

Mgmt Quiz

1. While there are many routes to competitive advantage, they all involve B. delivering superior value to buyers in ways rivals cannot readily match. 2. A low-cost leader can translate its low-cost advantage over rivals into superior profit performance by B. either using its low-cost edge to underprice competitors and attract price sensitive buyers in large enough numbers to increase total profits or refraining from price-cutting and using the low-cost advantage to earn a bigger profit margin on each unit sold. 3. The major avenues for achieving a cost advantage over rivals include A. liminating or curbing non-essential cost-producing activities and performing essential value chain activities more cost-effectively that rivals. Â   4. A differentiation-based competitive advantage E. often hinges on incorporating features that (1) raise the performance of the product or (2) lower the buyer's overall costs of using the company's product or (3) enhance buyer satisfaction in intangible or non-economic ways or (4) deliver value to customers by exploiting competitive capabilities that rivals can't match. 5.Which of the following is not one of the pitfalls of a low-cost provider strategy? B. Using a cost-based advantage to improve the company's bargaining position with high-volume buyers 6. Opportunities to differentiate a company's product offering C. can exist in supply chain activities, R, manufacturing activities, distribution and shipping or marketing, sales and customer service. 7. In which of the following circumstances is a strategy to be the industry's overall low-cost provider not particularly well matched to the market situation?When buyers have widely varying needs and special requirements and when the cost of switching purchases from one seller to another are relatively high.8. The objective of competitive strategy is to B. build advantage in the marketplace by giving buyers superior value relative the offerings of rival sellers.9. Successful differentiation allows a firm to D. command a premium price for its product and/or increase unit sales and/or gain buyer loyalty to its brand.10. The generic types of competitive strategies include C. ow-cost provider, broad differentiation, focused low-cost, focused differentiation and best cost provider strategies.11. Easy-to-copy differentiating features A. do not offer the promise of sustainable competitive advantage.12. A competitive strategy to be the low-cost provider in an industry works well when E. All of these.13. The most appealing approaches to differentiation are E. those that are tough for rivals to duplicate and that also have considerable buyer appeal. Read also Quiz Week 414. A company that succeeds in differentiating its product offering from those of its rivals can usually E.All of the above.15. A strategy to be the industry's overall low-cost provider tends to be more appealing than a differentiation or focus strategy when C. the offerings of rival firms are essentially identical, standardized, commodity-like products.16. Which of the following is not one of the five generic types of competitive strategy? E. A market share dominator strategy17. Perceived value and signaling value are often an important part of a successful differentiation strategy when E. All of these.18. A competitive strategy of striving to be the low-cost provider is particularly attractive when E. switching costs are high, price competition is strong, and buyers tend to use the industry's products in many different ways.19. A low-cost leader's basis for competitive advantage is D. meaningfully lower overall costs than competitors.20. A company's competitive strategy deals with A. management's game plan for securing a competitive advantage relative to rivals.

Improve Business Writing Skills to Increase Productivity and Revenue

Improve Business Writing Skills to Increase Productivity and Revenue Current Business Writing Skills Scenario Your employees’ abilities to write and rewrite, clearly and concisely, goes a long way in establishing a competitive advantage for your business. If you want to make the best first impression on all your customers, clients, vendors, other transacting parties, and anyone who comes in contact with your business, then your employees need to master the art of effective business writing skills. Because most employees spend a substantial part of each workday writing whether it's email, reports, briefings, presentations, or requirements summaries improving business writing skills willsave your company money and increase employee productivity. Good writing skills lead to improved productivity and cost savings for the business. When employees spend a lot of time writing reports and end up producing error-prone documents, your business is likely to lose goodwill. Another issue with poor business writing skills is that it leads to wasted hours of editing and proofreading. This negatively affects your business productivity, since the time spent to make corrections could have been utilized for profit-making activities. Additionally, you might need to hire experienced editors orproofreaders for key business documents, adding more expense to your payroll. Drasticallyimprove your employees’ business writing skills by conducting business writing training. This will lead to improved productivity and by reducingthe average time spent on a single business writing task. Here is empirical proof: Current Business Writing Skills Scenario Suppose that your organization has a work unit of 30 workers. Each worker earns $60,000 per year. Similarly, each writer spends 3.2 hours a day on writing. Within an average 40-hour working week, 40% of the time is therefore devoted towards writing. Current Costs to your Company Under the current scenario, your company is paying $1,800,000 ($60,000*30) to workers on an annual basis. As already mentioned, each worker spends 40% of his or her time every day in writing. This means that, currently, your business is spending $720,000 ($1,800,000*40%) on an annual basis on youremployees’ business writing efforts. Assuming that there are 240 working days in a year, the total annual employee writing hours are 23040 (240days* 3.2 hours/day* 30 workers). This means that you are currently paying $31.25 per hour ($720,000/23040 hours) as the average annual costs per hour on business writing. Staff Training - Revised Scenario Now, let’s consider an alternative. Suppose you train your staff how to improve their business writing skills. Through our 6-step proven business writing methodology, you can reduce your staff’s average time spent on writing by 30%. Keeping all other factors constant, it means that each writer now spends 2.24 hours a day (3.2 hours* 70%) on writing. Revised Costs to your Company Even from a quick glance, you can clearly see that improving your staff’s business writing skills will have a strong positive impact on time and money saved. Keeping the number of employees (30), the total annual salary ($1,800,000) and the total working days per year (240) constant, here are new results: Total employee writing costs for the year will reduce to $504,000 (1,800,000*28%) Total annual employee writing hours will decrease to 16,128 (240 days* 2.24 hours* 30 workers) These simple empirical calculations prove that you can save on your total writing costs by more than $100,000 and total writing hours by 6,912 hours annually. The resources saved can be invested in other business activities to generate profits. The benefits of an effective business writing skills improvement program are far reaching. They lead to improved information flow, better coordination, and manyother growth and branding incentives for a business. To learn more about the power of business writing and how to improve business writing skills for your employees, download my guide, Four Ways to improve your Team’s Business Writing Skillstoday!

How to Style Titles of Print and Online Publications

How to Style Titles of Print and Online Publications How to Style Titles of Print and Online Publications How to Style Titles of Print and Online Publications By Mark Nichol The rules for formatting titles of compositions and their constituent parts may seem complicated, but they follow a fairly straightforward set of guidelines, outlined below. Capitalization Titles of compositions are generally formatted in headline, or title style. In this system, the first letters of the following words are capitalized: The first and last word of the title, regardless of part of speech Nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and subordinating conjunctions (such as although, because, and than) In titles, the following words are lowercased: Prepositions (except when they are used adjectivally or adverbially (in such phrases as â€Å"off day† and â€Å"come down†) To when it is part of an infinitive (for example, â€Å"to exercise†) All articles, prepositions, and coordinating conjunctions (such as and, but, and or) Emphasis Italics are used for titles of books, periodicals, films, television specials and series, and both series titles and episode titles for anthology programs like Masterpiece Theatre, though episodes of regular series, as well as titles of book chapters and magazine, newspaper, and online articles, are enclosed in quotation marks. Some publications, including most newspapers and some magazines, use quotation marks for titles of all compositions as well as parts of compositions, but italics are almost always employed for this purpose in books, and I highly recommend maintaining this distinction in periodicals and online. Titles of many nonfiction books include a subtitle following a colon, and except in informal usage, the full title should be used on first reference; the title alone the part preceding the colon can be used thereafter. Note that magazine and similar descriptive words should be capitalized and italicized only if they are part of a publication title: refer to â€Å"the New York Times Magazine,† for example, but â€Å"Time magazine†; in the former case, magazine is officially part of the publication’s name. (In a context in which it is obvious that Time, for example, refers to the publication with that title, the word magazine can be omitted.) Also, as shown in this example, do not capitalize or italicize the before a publication name, whether or not it is part of the title. Various publications differ in self-identification, even when their titles share a word for example, the New York Times bills itself as â€Å"The New York Times,† while the Los Angeles Times omits the article and this rule is designed to save writers the trouble of having to check individual publications for specific usage. Titles of plays and of poems long enough to be published in book form are italicized; titles of poems short enough to be included in a collection in a book are formatted, like chapter titles, in quotation marks. To determine how to treat titles of websites and their components, compare them to print equivalents: A website that sells products and/or services, even if it features content related to those offerings, is an online store, and the site name should not be formatted as a composition title. But titles of sites that emulate books and periodicals, and their articles and essays, should be treated like them; the same standard applies to blogs and blog posts. What about titles of videos posted online? Many such videos, especially those posted to video-sharing sites such as YouTube, don’t have titles or lack well-thought-out titles so they can just be referred to generically (â€Å"See Smith’s video about wombats†), with a link. For those with traditionally composed titles, however, use either italics or, especially for short videos, quotation marks. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Style category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Using "a" and "an" Before WordsTaser or Tazer? Tazing or Tasering?Comment, Suggestion, and Feedback

Too much media influence on political campaigns Research Paper

Too much media influence on political campaigns - Research Paper Example Created:   2011-07-11 09:56   Deadline:    2011-07-21 07:58 Time Left:   9 days 14h 22m Style:   MLA   Language Style:    English (U.S.)   Grade:    n/a   Pages:   2   Sources:    3   â€Å"The media have always played a powerful role in politics,† says Hart. â€Å"Even before radio, we had the penny press. There’d be great wars between various newspapers about politics. So even back then, the media were important.† Throughout the history, the relationship between media and politics has been very extremely sensitive. Both the media and politics have been the major culprit for public opinion. Without a doubt, the media has continued to dramatically impact politics through legislation, information, and impacting voter turnout. Unquestionably, the media plays a vital role in politics as it impacts legislation through various ways. The media is notorious for picking out flaws or any sort of corruption that has plagued the society. As socie ty has evolved, the media has played a vital role towards reform. All of the American media is owned and run through wealthy individual.

REFLECTION REPORT. Evaluation of Research and Analysis, gets students Essay

REFLECTION REPORT. Evaluation of Research and Analysis, gets students to reflect upon the case study based research project they - Essay Example The business problem being analyzed in this case study is the decline in the number of people who are undertaking Project Management training courses in the recent years. It is important that CUPE Ltd address this trend if they want to continue to grow and become successful. The purpose of this reflection report will be to provide a reflection of the process of researching a business problem. Additionally, this study will be aimed at critically demonstrating our knowledge and understanding level of the various processes involved in research and analysis while at the same time evaluating our own performance in the area of researching a business problem. This problem will be also addressing on how we chose the research and analysis methods that were used in the investigation of the business problem while at the same time addressing the strengths and the limitations of our research and the processes we adopted. Additionally, the report will critically address the various changes we woul d like to make in our approach to researching and analyzing the business problem given another chance to work on the project. ... dertaking Project Management Training include the decline in the number of project management jobs, the increased emphasis on prospective employees having experience as opposed to training, the increased number of competitors in the market, the presence of new innovative ways of delivering training including the growth in popularity of online training and the availability of various new and innovative ways marketing the courses. How the research and analysis methods used to investigate the business problem were chosen In business research, it must be understood that the questions asked at all times need to be not only valid, but also fair and must also directly relate to our need for information. What this generally implies is that it is important to have very clear objective purpose while conducting business research right from organizing for the research, through conducting the actual research to the end where there is report writing (Martyn, 2013: 142-149). Additionally, we unders tood of the importance of collecting information in a fair and systematic manner and the analysis of the data not only with great care, but also in a systematic way. It is the rigour of the analysis that determines the validity of the research results (Pia, 2013). While choosing the research question, we first started by first broadly discussing areas in management which were of particular interest to us and which most of the group members thought were practical and needed to be further studies into. We consequently did a literature review on various case studies to do with management before settling on CUPE Ltd which was not only practical, but also was related to the interests of all the members of the group. To refine the topic to investigating the decline in the number of people