Vaccine Production The Egg Based Method - 2158 Words

Vaccines play an important part in how we deal with diseases. It allows you to increase your immunity to the disease for any future attacks and also prevents outbreaks of diseases. In producing a vaccine there are three the first steps is Inactivation, Second step Purification, and the step is Formulation. Within these steps there are three main methods of vaccine production the Egg-based method, Cell Cultured method, and the Recombinant DNA method. These three main methods produce the different types of vaccines that we currently have today. What is a Vaccine? Vaccines are an important necessity to us, due to its creation we â€Å"enable our body s natural defenses, i.e. our immune system, to fight and defend our body against a disease. When the vaccine is injected into our body, it will trigger an immune response in the same way our body would respond after an exposure to the virus, but without the person suffering symptoms of the disease. Our body s immune system will detect and recognize the pieces of virus or the killed/weakened virus (also known as the antigen) in the vaccine as a foreign invader. Our immune system will then start an immune response by producing proteins called antibodies. The antibody proteins produced by our body during an immune response will then identify and neutralize these foreign viruses or viral particles† (Understanding Vaccines, 2014). Having had this first initial attack from the antigen allows for a faster immune response in any futureShow MoreRelatedVaccination Types Of Influ enza Vaccination927 Words   |  4 Pagesinactivated. Currently, most common type of influenza vaccine is the inactivated type which is grown in chicken eggs. The egg-based production method has its advantages, but its many drawbacks are leading to a shift towards the live-attenuated vaccine which is produced in cell cultures. Both vaccination types protect against the influenza virus by triggering an immune response in the body that releases antibodies to fight off the virus. In the inactivated vaccine, the influenza virus is killed so that it cannotRead MoreEssay about Influenza Vaccines841 Words   |  4 Pageshospitalization and deaths each year. The aim of receiving an annual vaccine is to prevent spreading infections. Since flu outbreaks vary, it is recommended that individuals receive a vaccination for the flu every year, especially for those at high risk for developing serious complications from influenza infections. (Davidson, 2007-2009, Davis, 2007). Vaccines are created using several different methods. However, all vaccines share a similar general goal. That is to weaken the virus or bacteriaRead MoreThe Influenza Virus : Viral And Contagious Disease Essay2013 Words   |  9 Pagesthere were no effective treatments that helped kill the viral strain or prevent its spread. At the time, people were ordered to wear masks, and public entities like schools were closed for an extended period of time. Even today, there are very few methods of remedy other than rest, fluids, and staying warm. One drug that was approved by the FDA in 1999 that treated for influenza in adults was oseltamivir, or Tamiflu. However, it wasn’t put to use until 2005 in Southeast Asia when the H5N1 avian influenzaRead MoreVeterinary Medicine Case Study923 Words   |  4 Pagesand specific diagnosis of animal diseases (Jain, 2002). This paper will review the current and potential uses of biotechnology in veterinary diagnostics. IMPROVED IMMUNOASSAYS Conventional immunoassays for the diagnosis of animal diseases have been based on the detection of antibody to the pathogen of interest, using techniques such as virus neutralisation, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), complement fixation and agar gel immunodiffusion (Langedijk, et al., 2001). These assays generally relyRead MoreCost Analysis of a Poultry Farm in Nigeria7715 Words   |  31 PagesRearing 7 6. Watering and Feeding 8 7. Feed and Feeding 8 8. Vaccination 10 9. Ideal Vaccination Schedule 11 10. Methods of Individual Vaccination 12 11. Disease Prevention 13 12. Beak Trimming 16 13. How to limit Effect of Heat 17 14. How to distinguish laying from non laying birds 19 15. Egg Quality 19 16. Water 20 17 Record Keeping 23 18. Disposal of Dead Birds 23 19. Waste management 23 20 ProjectRead MorePrevention Of The Anti Vaccination Movement1472 Words   |  6 Pagesharmful conditions is without a doubt terrifying. However, what many individuals forget or simply fail to appreciate is how much safer vaccines are currently and how rigorously they are tested prior to widespread inoculation. In fact when looking at what the risks where when vaccinations where first developed to when scientists were trying to develop a cure or vaccine for Polio the testing, creation, and safety has improved by leagues. Salk’s vaccination killed eleven individuals a few short weeksRead MoreA Brief Note On Lipid Based Delivery Systems1499 Words   |  6 Pages4.2.4.1.2 Biphasic vesicles Lipid based delivery systems which are composed of both liposomes and emulsions are called biphasic systems. Biphasic vesicle systems provide several advantages as a topical carrier system such as have multichamber structure allow encapsulation and co-encapsulation of various therapeutics of different weight range with different solubilities. Biphasic systems are evaluated for many vaccine candidates including proteins, nucleotides, recombinant subunits and classicalRead MoreJoint Venture2556 Words   |  11 Pagesinvestment in SPAFAS increased production of SPF eggs in the United States. Rarity For CRL, resources were important and ALPES represented an opportunity for them. ALPES was the sole producer of SPF eggs in Mexico. A joint venture with ALPES would give CRL a market where basically no competition exists. To enhance this opportunity, CRL will need to contribute funds for the joint venture which would ultimately increase the SPF egg production capacity. Adding this production in Mexico would give competitiveRead MoreH1N11606 Words   |  7 PagesFor the assessment of progress, there have not yet been developed exercises and tests to check the capacity of the laboratory, but these critical activity requirements still work. Quantitative production of the A (H1N1) anti-viral vaccine - specific or cocktail - with other large-scale antiviral vaccines - is provided by global drug manufacturers. The unanimous population of the population, well-maintained media (Swine flu crisis - H1N1 virus out of control. Cherie Blair, wife of ex-PM TonyRead MoreVaccines : Defense Against Disease Or Illness?1657 Words   |  7 PagesVaccines: Defense Against Disease or Initiators of Illness? Human beings are not invincible, for they are susceptible to things such as sickness, disease, and death. Throughout the years, humans have faced numerous outbreaks of different illnesses. In response to such outbreaks, people searched for ways to protect themselves. One protection method was vaccination. The creation of the first vaccine, the further development of common vaccinations, and the varied responses to vaccination have greatly

The Organizational Structure And Behavior At Pluto...

Introduction: This paper critically examines the organizational structure and behaviour at Pluto Telecommunications. Through an analysis of the relationship among the job design, motivation, structural form and the work culture the paper aims to suggest a plan of action to rectify the challenges. PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION The case does not delve into specific factors and rather talks about the various departmental cultures and motivators. The company’s growth strategy is disconnected from the organizational strategy and communications at the highest level are lacking or ineffective. Sales have a short term incentive, marketing has a longer term view, (and an opinion of themselves) and Customer Service has a medium term view.†¦show more content†¦However Ms Tsang’s leadership style does not appear to have driven constructive and active participation from her team. Nor has she communicated a vision of a company that they can buy into. By combining transactional and transformational styles of leadership, she may be able to develop subordinates to their highest potential (Bass and Avolio, 1990). While I would argue that her personal style is limiting the company’s growth, I did wonder if gender is impacting her ability to bring about transformational change. However, the work done by Bass, Avolio and Atwater argues that women have as good a chance as men to lead in a transformational way. Work, Motivation, Objective alignment and / or collective goals This is the cornerstone of the issues within Pluto. Marchington and Wilkonson (2013) reference a fundamental issue that exists within Pluto: Lack of Identification with Employer Goals. The three departmental leads are oblivious to the challenges that they are causing nor the impact that it is having on the overall company. Veronica has a Laissez-Faire Leadership style, but she isn’t managing to this style by monitoring the output, (Organizational Behavior, pg. 38) of the team which is causing problems. There is a clear lack of cohesion between the three team. Sales have objectives that are structured and are incentivized to perform their tasks. They clearly want to boost

Business Society and Planet Public Relations

Question: Discuss about the Business Society and Planet for Public Relations. Answer: Sales and Marketing Manager: I have to think about the deal that was proposed by the Minister of Punjab. Our company has some ethical practices. If our company does not follow ethical codes of conduct, then the community might create a misconception about the company. I have to think other ways of getting the job done. What is your opinion? Sales Area Manager: I will agree with the opinion of the Minister of Punjab. According to me, giving a part of commission to him will not hamper the profit of the company. His support will help the company to penetrate into Indian market. Soft drinks market of India is huge. Coca Cola can make immense profit by selling its various ranges of products in the market. Sales and Marketing Manager: Okay, you have a point. However, I have to think over it. It is a huge responsibility for me. Creating agricultural jobs for 50,000 people in Punjab is not at all an easy task. The senior management of the company have to think over it. We have to think about fulfilling the requirements of the Indian government. Sales Area Manager: You have a point Sir. We have to rethink on the matter. It will be a big decision of the company to enter into the soft drinks market of Coca-Cola. Many factors we have to consider while taking the decision of market penetration. Sales and Marketing Manager: Exactly, this is the point I am thinking about. We have to analyze both the requirements of the company and Punjab government in order to enter a joint venture with the Punjab government (Pop et al. 2014). Sales Area Manager: Well, I think that we should propose a meeting with the marketing and sales team along with the strategic management team. Their opinion is also required for making this decision. However, CEO is in favour of the proposal of the Minister of Punjab. After a moment of thinking with the proposal of Sales Area Manager, he agreed to the meeting with the other operational managers of the company. Sales Marketing Manager: Ok man. Go ahead with the meeting. Inform the managers about the issue of the ethical dilemma and send a mail regarding the timing of the meeting. Make sure that every manager must attend the meeting. It is of first priority. Sales Area Manager: Yes Sir. I will do it accordingly. I am sending the mail to the managers of the branch regarding the meeting and informing them to gather at the conference hall. Sales Marketing Manager: Ok. Do whatever you want. Make them gather at a place as soon as possible. I have to discuss the issue with them. Opinion of the managers is also very important. Well in this meeting, I will also get to know about their awareness level regarding the ethical code of conduct of the company (Frederick 2013). Few hours passed. The managers of the branch gradually gathered at the conference hall. Everyone is discussing about the market penetration of Coca Cola in India. Sales Marketing Manager arrived at the location within a while. Sales Marketing Manager: Hello managers. A very good afternoon to you all. Hope all of you are doing well. I assume that everybody know about the topic of discussion in the meeting. Well, before starting the meeting, I want to give you a brief regarding the topic. After the briefing, I would expect about your valuable opinion regarding the ethical issues faced by the company in terms of market penetration. After the meeting is over, the marketing manager is surprised after hearing the opinions of the managers regarding the ethical issues. He thinks of discussing the matter with the CEO of Coca Cola. In the meanwhile, CEO asked the manager about his opinion regarding the expansion of the company in Punjab. CEO: Manager, what is your decision related to our Punjab government joint venture. I have heard that you have headed a meeting over the office. Can you provide the details of the meeting you have done with our branch managers. What are the points that the branch managers have raised about the joint venture? I want every details of it. Sales Marketing Manager: Yes sir, i will convey each details of the conference. Sir, I am surprised that our managers do not have a clear conception about the ethical codes of conduct. CEO: Why are you surprised man? What happened? What did the managers say about our ethical codes of conduct? Just tell me everything about it. Sales Marketing Manager: Surely, sir, I have noticed that the managers do not have any basic conception about the new policies of ethical codes of conduct. Hence, the opinions they are giving regarding our joint venture cannot be considered. Since our company follows participative leadership, another meeting should be conducted related to the issue of joint venture with the Punjab government (Stone 2013). CEO: Is it really so? Our managers do not acquaint the new policies. We have to inform the message to the human resource department. The HR managers will have to formulate a training and development program with an objective to convey the new improved ethical codes of conduct of Coca Cola. Otherwise, they will not be able to take any decision related to the expansion of the company or any other decisions related to clients (Kaptein 2013). Sales Marketing Manager: Definitely Sir. I will take care of the matter. You can trust me. I am assuring you that this matter will be solved within few days. At this very moment, i will focus on the joint venture. I have to discuss the matter to the Strategic management team. CEO: Surely. Let me know what are their opinions regarding 50,000 agricultural jobs in Punjab. Sales Marketing Manager: Yes sir, I will let you know. Sales Area Manager comes to the office of the Sales Marketing Manager. He again pushes the marketing manager to accept the proposal of the Minister of the Punjab. However, Sales Marketing Manager decides to have a conversation with the Minister of Punjab. Sales Marketing Manager: Hi, this is Jitender Singh, Sales and Marketing Manager of Coca Cola. Can I have a word with the Minister of Punjab? Minister of Punjab: Yes speaking. How are you doing? Sales Marketing Manager: I am doing well. Thank You. I have called you regarding the 50,000 agricultural jobs in Punjab. Is it the right time to talk to you? Minister of Punjab: Yeah Sure. What is your companys decision regarding my deal? Is it fair enough? What is your CEO is telling regarding my proposal? Sales Marketing Manager: Sir, I wanted to tell you that we respect your proposal. However, our company has some ethical codes of conduct that does not support your proposal (Seele and Lock 2015). Will you agree to complete the deal with another means except the commission? Minister of Punjab: No, it is not possible for me. I want jobs in the agricultural sector of Punjab, which your company is providing. The deal is final and I want commission to grant the joint venture between the Punjab government and Coca Cola. Sales Marketing Manager: Ok sir. We will let you know about the decision of the company. Thank you for your valuable time. Within this telephonic conversation, the Sales Area Manager enters. Sales Marketing Manager informed about the telephonic conversation between him and Minister of Punjab. Sales Area Manager: I have already told you sir that the Minister of Punjab will not agree with our companys proposal. The company will face many political hindrances if it rejects the proposal of the Minister. Political dearth of Punjab is high. I think that Coca Cola should agree to provide commission to the Minister (DiStaso and Bortree 2014). Sales Marketing Manager: You might be right. Well manager I have to rethink over it, as it violates our ethical conduct. It is a very critical decision for our company to maintain the image of the brand in the Indian market. Sales Area Manager: I agree with your point Sir. We should consult about the conversation with the strategic management department and the CEO. Sales Marketing Manager: Yes, I am thinking of informing the matter to the board and senior management of the company. After thinking for a while, Sales Marketing Manager called CEO. Sales Marketing Manager: Hello Sir, Jitender here. CEO: Yes Jitender. Sales Marketing Manager: I want to have an appointment with you. I had a word with the Minister of Punjab regarding our expansion strategy in Punjab. CEO: Yes. What did he said about our policies? Will he convince with our proposal? Sales Marketing Manager: No, Sir. CEO: Well, I think that we should provide 10% commission to the Minister in order to avoid any political disturbances. It is not following our ethical codes. However, it is mandatory. Sales Marketing Manager: Perhaps you are right. This joint venture is very essential for our company. India is a country with huge population. We will earn a substantial profit by selling our all ranges of product in the market. References DiStaso, M.W. and Bortree, D.S., 2014.Ethical practice of social media in public relations. Routledge. Frederick, R., 2013. Global Business Ethics.The International Encyclopedia of Ethics. Kaptein, M., 2013. Business Codes of Multinational Firms: What Do They Say?. InCitation Classics from the Journal of Business Ethics(pp. 525-547). Springer Netherlands. Pop, N.A., Dabija, D.C. and Iorga, A.M., 2014. Ethical responsibility of neuromarketing companies in harnessing the market researchA global exploratory approach.Amfiteatru Economic,16(35), pp.26-40. Seele, P. and Lock, I., 2015. Instrumental and/or deliberative? A typology of CSR communication tools.Journal of Business Ethics,131(2), pp.401-414. Stone, R.J., 2013.Managing human resources. John Wiley and Sons.

Why are immediate rewards more effective in inducing consumer behaviour desired by the marketer Essay Example

Why are immediate rewards more effective in inducing consumer behaviour desired by the marketer Paper Immediate rewards are categorised as product based promotions, this includes three groups; bonus packs, multi packs and free-gifts. Bonus packs are special factory packs that offer consumers more of a product at the same price (e.g. 10%, 20%, 50% extra product free) or offering a large pack for the price of the small pack. Multi packs are two or more packs banded together and offered at a reduced price; the super deal in multi pack promotions would be the BOGOF (buy one, get one free) and 3 for 2 offers. Cross promotions can be classified as an immediate reward (buy pasta sauce and get pasta free).Free-gifts can be made available in a variety of ways; the on-pack free-gift, the in-pack free-gift, the with pack free-gift, and the pack itself being the free-gift. There are also some contests such as the Walkers crisps à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½20 and à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½5 notes and free pack coupons giveaway in a form of a potential immediate reward as not all bags of Walkers contain these prizes. Promotions similar to the Boots Advantage Card whereby bonus points are accumulated to save money off the next purchase or a free-gift depending on how many points have been collected; (even though the procedure of collecting points may be lengthy) the procedure of redeeming the points at a moment in time can be considered as an immediate reward. Bonus packs, on-packs, in-packs, with packs and speciality containers all make products more appealing to consumers. They appear to reward them for their purchases, thereby possibly generating positive feelings toward the brand. Crossruffed premiums that consist of samples of other products made by the same manufacture may cause people to try those brands, which may result in future demand for them. Non-immediate promotions such as coupons, self liquidating premiums (SLP) and free mail ins (FMI) have minimal trade interest, coupons may be removed from the pack and misredeemed or malredeemed, they can appeal to a limited audience and have a high drop-out rate if not targeted at strong prospects. High value coupons can equal high risk of coupon abuse and are less attractive at low face values, it can easily be countered by the competition with the same or stronger reward level and redemption levels are uncertain. There is a low participation rate, they can cause difficulties of premium stock control and have minimal sales effect. We will write a custom essay sample on Why are immediate rewards more effective in inducing consumer behaviour desired by the marketer specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Why are immediate rewards more effective in inducing consumer behaviour desired by the marketer specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Why are immediate rewards more effective in inducing consumer behaviour desired by the marketer specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Unlike non-immediate promotions, immediate rewards are attractive as they present an immediate gain to the consumer at the point of purchase; it has a direct impact. The promotions make the consumer feel good about themselves; the warm tingly feeling of getting a bargain and generates a positive feeling towards the brand. The packaging is usually eye catching, visual and exciting and the perceived value is higher than the cost to provide to the consumer; these offers have considerable on-shelf impact and high visibility and are a strong trial motivator as risk to consumer is removed. They allow consumers to make up their minds on complex or expensive propositions and can draw in applicants who would have declined otherwise, a strong gift can tempt even new users. Product based offers can generate high levels of motivation and participation and stimulate purchase; these promotions are instant. In regards to the brand immediate rewards may gain display space, especially if off-pack, as extra point-of-sale material will be needed to announce the offer, they can produce high incremental sales and a good offer can make a statement about the brands qualities. It can be economical for manufactures than money-off, it adds value to the brand and some promotions require no changes to the basic packaging (multi-pack), carrier products offer added value and the carried product offer brand awareness and trial. The promotion can drive loyalty and lock in portfolio buyers and strong offers may encourage immediate multiple purchases and so drive volume. Brands want to create a positive aura about themselves, sales promotion can help enhance the qualities of the brand; as well as a product based promotion being executed, if it is tied in will a cause related promotion (e.g. every unit bought 15p will go to charity) this can help increase a positive image of the brand. According to Lenard C. et al., (1998) consumers like promotions, they provide utilitarian benefits such as monetary savings, added value, increased quality, and convenience, as well as hedonic/pleasure benefits such as entertainment, exploration, and self-expression. Diamond and Sanyal., (1990) suggests that consumers perceive deals that are framed as presenting gains (buy one get one free') as more attractive versus those that are framed as reducing losses (get 50 percent off). Inman et al., (1997) found that deals with restrictions such as Limit 2 per customer or Offer good until certain date elicit higher evaluations from consumers than the same deals without such restrictions. According to Seibert., (1997) even within diverse forms of equivalent extra product (known as bonus-pack or volume) promotions, 91 percent of surveyed consumers appeared to favour the deal when it (the identical deal) was stated as percent more free rather than percent free and units free. These results are important as they can emphasize the impact that framing of the promotional offer has on consumers deal evaluation. Many of these types of immediate reward promotions can trigger the consumer to stockpile the product, and that alone can keep them away from the market place and competitors cannot have the chance to woo these consumers into buying a rival brand. The more the consumer has the more they will utilize or devour the merchandise; their consumption level increases, consequently, they will become familiar with the brand, which can ultimately result in brand loyalty. Research conducted by Ehrenberg et al., (1994) suggests that price promotions do not generally encourage people to trial a new brand, this works in portfolio markets (frequently bought goods such as groceries, petrol, cosmetics and toiletries, etc). Immediate rewards can be seen to work in the same way as price promotions in that they can encourage consumers to switch between brands that are already in their portfolio (i.e. they have bought them in the past), accelerate purchases, stockpile the promoted product and expand overall sales. To distinguish why immediate rewards are effective through consumer perception tools such as perceptual mapping and consumer surveys are useful. To observe whether immediate rewards are effective in regards to the company, sales data, AGB market research, Nielsen marketing research and tracking devices all provide a view of whether a promotion was successful/will be successful in the future. There can be many factors effecting consumer perception; Grewal et al., (1996) found that consumer perceptions of transaction value will be greater under positive mood than under negative mood. Further more, shoppers in a positive mood are likely to attend more to the favourable side of discount offerings (e.g. obtaining products at lower costs) or they may retrieve positive toned material from their memory at the time of judgement. Consequently, even a small extra discount may add to their pleasure. (Grewal et al., (1996) model of the effects of comparative price advertising on perceptions of value and proposed mood effects on perceived transaction value are on page 10-11). Free-gifts can often be linked to pester power; Kelloggs, McDonalds, Burger King are big users of free-gift items. Pester Power is the name given to marketing techniques which encourage children to nag their parents to purchase a particular product. For instance, advertisers use famous pop stars such as S Club 7 and footballers such as David Beckham to entice children into wanting their products. Link-ups with childrens films and cartoon characters are another enormous money-spinner. In July 2002 McDonalds Happy Meal, came with a free Smurf character one of nine characters which children are encouraged to collect. Children love collecting toys and McDonalds in particular have made this a key element in encouraging children to eat their food. Therefore, in large part, understanding the childrens market necessitates knowledge of the complex inter-relationship between parents, primarily mothers, as purchasers and children as end users. Even though the children may not pay for the items, the growth in the appreciation of pester power is indicative of the fact that children, like their adult counterparts, are becoming accomplished consumers at an even younger age. In recent years, pester power has been one of the buzzwords of the children marketing industry. Harnessing its power has become a holy grail for those who believe it to be the key to parents purse strings. The shortcomings with immediate rewards are as follows: bonus packs require changes to packaging and this is not available to all brands, it may be very costly to short-run and can present shelving problems to trade, bonus packs can have drawbacks in terms of production capability, warehousing, shipping, inventory, and shelving. Some oversize containers need significant modifications in the filling process. In some cases, the bonus pack bottle may be an inch higher or the buy-one-get-one-free pack twice as big, and so will not fit on the shelf. Multi packs can also cause shelving difficulties, they may be costly to run as banding is labour intensive (especially for smaller manufacturers) and requires considerable lead-time (manufactures do not produce the normal amount of their product when banding them together, the amount decreases). Free-gifts can be potentially expensive, merchandise is subject to pilferage, if the item is missing the consumer is less likely to buy the product, i t can be difficult to identify suitable products and may affect brand image if the gift is not of an adequate quality. When stockpiling occurs companies need to ensure that there is enough of the product available to suit demand as this can result in the consumer buying a rival brand and in bad publicity for the company that can consequently effect the brand image. Additional promotion to the trade may need to be implemented in return for efficient stocking of shelves/a point of sale/extra shelving space/allowing wobblers or footprints leading to the promoted product to be used in-store; meaning more money spent by the company, the more a company wants to be noticed the more money is needed to do so. Promotions are not as profitable as when the volume of merchandise is sold normally, after a promotion is conducted it may be difficult for companies to sell their product at the regular price and quantity. If a retailer is providing an immediate reward and the manufacture disagrees with it because it may potentially damage and undermine the brand image problems may occur, such as court hearings, as happened in the past with Levi and Calvin Klein objecting to their product being sold at an inferior price at supermarket chains such as Tesco. Bonus packs are generally unappealing to consumers who do not usually buy the product (if I dont usually use margarine, why would I want an extra 6oz of the product?). Also, in many cases, consumers may not believe that they are getting extra product for their money, suspecting that the price had been raised or that the new quantity offered is actually the regular amount. Can the quotes above really reflect the truth about what consumers think, if we stop to observe a supermarket floor when the store is executing big deals such as buy-one-get-one-free (which in theory is 100% free) and the product is in the consumers portfolio, do we see the majority of consumers not buying into that product? The answer would be a strong no! Stores such as Safeway often put a limit to the amount a customer can buy because the products offered are swiftly purchased, this can be proof enough that consumers tend to be pleased of promotions and stock-up. According to Ehrenberg, (2002 e-mail) 1. If immediate rewards have big effects, they are usually up and then down again (like with promotions). Put another way, immediate reward schemes are usually too costly to sustain over time. 2. Most market changes are slow. At any one time, any effect therefore looks small. Accumulated over time the effect can be bigger. However, it is then likely to be confused by other marketing-mix inputs. Smith et al., (2000) discovered that the results for price points suggested that subjects generally preferred price promotions for higher priced categories; however, they preferred volume promotions for lower priced categories, again demonstrating the importance of transaction value. Sales promotions affect brand sales in numerous ways for instance brand switching, stock piling, purchase acceleration and category expansion. However, not each and every one of these effects need to be present for all types of sales promotions. In the case of a short-term shelf-price reduction valid only for a week, customers will have more incentive to stockpile the product as opposed to a coupon promotion with a longer validity period. Sales promotion activities are by no means going to be uniformly profitable to all players in the market place but almost all companies need to utilize sales promotions as either offensive and/or defensive tools in the never ending battle for markets, Smith et al., (2000). Companies need to weigh out their objectives and link them to the effective type of promotion right for them, what is the promotion that will achieve the factor they want? Sales promotions are unique in their ability to respond in quick, focused, and flexible ways to motivate consumer or trade or counter attack the sales promotion activities of competitors. There are many types of sales promotions, from coupons to contests and sweepstakes, refunds and sampling to continuity programs and trade deals. Blattberg and Neslin,. (1990) summarises the popular sales promotional tools on page 10. Sales promotion is all about getting the brand noticed, to build brand awareness, to induce trial of a new brand or modified brand, to retain previous customers and create brand loyalty. The greater the sample group the brand entices the bigger the number of consumers likely to stay with the brand, the longer the promotion the greater the figure of samplers, however the longer the promotion the more expensive it becomes. An integrated effort of all marketing communication tools can achieve better results for a long-term benefit for the brand, than just singular tools used.

Fosters Australia Limited the Breach of Legal Provisions

Fosters Australia Limited the Breach of Legal Provisions Introduction The employees of an organization should be subjected to healthy working conditions. In the production companies that apply heavy machinery and equipments in their operations, the conditions of such tools need to be considered. The machines need to be regularly checked before and after use to ensure that they are in proper working conditions.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Fosters Australia Limited: the Breach of Legal Provisions specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The faults that are identified during these assessments need to be fixed before the implements can be used. The employees should also be informed of the risks that are associated with a given operation in the organization to take the appropriate cautious measures. Due to the need to ensure health and safety in the workplaces, policy makers in different countries have often intervened to enact legislation that advocate for the safety of the emplo yees (Council of Europe, 2007, p.999; Stellman and International Labor Office, 1998, p.1645). The Victorian Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 is one such legislation that is functional in Australia. The legal provisions provide an outline of what the management of organizations should put in place to ensure safe and healthy working conditions. The provisions also define the legal measures that have to be taken against an organization that goes against the provisions. Foster Australia is one organization that had found itself on the wrong side when a faulty machine caused an injury and subsequent death of an employee. The organization was then found guilty of two offences that subsequently caused the death of the employee and as such, it was fined. It has since made efforts to fix the faulty devices and increase risks awareness among the employees of the organization (Australian Food News, 2008). The accident The accident occurred at the Abbotsford premises of Fosters Australia , a company in Australia that produces and supplies beer within the country and its environs (VCC 902, 2008). The plant at this premise had two sets of bottling lines. One of the lines had two sets of depalletising machines consisting of conveyors that ferried empty bottles into the filling chamber through mechanized metal doors. The conveyor as well as a series of photoelectric sensors controlled the movements of the metal doors. There are also straps that hold the bottles into position in the pallet during conveying into the filling chamber. Before the bottles are passed into the chamber, these straps are to be removed by an employee who operates from some safe position, the main control panel just above the conveyor.Advertising Looking for report on health medicine? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More However, there are instances in which the bottles or the cut straps can fall into the operating area of one of the de palletising machines. If these are allowed to accumulate, the plant cannot operate and production will be hindered. In such instances, the employees are required to get into the operating area of the conveyor and the metal doors (WorkSafe Victoria, 2008b). They are required to clear up the operating area and inspect the photoelectric sensors that control the movement of the metal doors. The accident occurred in 2006 when one of the employees, Mr. Huynh, was working in the operating area of one of the depalletising machines. It is likely that the employee entered the area to check if the reflector of the photoelectric sensor was functional. Mr. Huynh was caught in between the opening door of the depalletising machine and the handrail (WorkSafe Victoria, 2008b). The system failed for some period during which the employee was held in this position. The failure was caused by one of the photoelectric sensors that had a cracked reflector. The employee had breathing problems during the per iod, collapsed and became unconscious. He was then taken to a hospital where he later died due to health complications related to the respiratory system. It is then obvious that several factors contributed to the accident that later claimed the life of Mr. Huynh. There are standard procedures designed for the operations and cleaning of the depalletising machines. However, the standard procedures did not include dealing with the jams that would occur during the production (WorkSafe Victoria, 2008b). This implies that the employees were subjected to risks when getting into the operation area to clean the jam during the production. Besides, there was a standard operating procedure to detach the system in case such an incident is witnessed. Nevertheless, the operators have to be familiar with the procedures in time to be applied in case of an accident. Apparently, Mr. Huynh and the other employees were not informed on how the system can be detached in cases of such failures in order to prevent further damages. The causal factors and recommendations The incident that was witnessed at Fosters Australia could be avoided if certain measures. The measures could also reduce fatality of the incidence as was latter witnessed. It is necessary to identify each of the factors that contributed to the fatal accident and how they could be controlled. The precautious measures can then be adopted to prevent future occurrences of such incidences. Firstly, getting into the operating area to clear the jams that occur during the production process is very risky. There was no standard procedure to clear the jam prompting for the manual procedure. This could be avoided by developing the standard procedures that did not involve getting into the risky zone. Secondly, the employee was caught and held between the metal doors and the handrail due to a failure of one of the photoelectric sensors.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Fosters Australia Limited: the Breach of Legal Provisions specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The latter, in conjunction with the conveyors, controlled the movement of the metal door to open in order to receive new pallets of empty bottles (VCC 902, 2008). The cracked reflector of the sensors indicated that proper maintenance was not provided for the risky system. There is need to check the conditions of the machine each time it is to be used to ensure that all the parts of the system are functional. The processes should be monitored regularly to check for their effectiveness and efficiency. Similarly, there are measures that could be taken immediately the failure was encountered to prevent the injuries that Mr. Huynh suffered. The failure by the management of the organization to provide adequate information to the employees on the standard operating procedures for isolating the machine in the event that some misfortune occurs led to the fatal situation that was observed. Such pro grams need to be instituted so that every employee is conversant with procedures, in case of any negative event. The instructions are provided in some standard language like English. The employees need to have proper understanding of the English language in order to learn and adopt the procedures. The conviction of Fosters Australia Limited The working conditions that led to the injury and the subsequent death of one of the employees at Fosters Australia Limited were against the legal provisions. The company was convicted for failure to comply with some sections of the Victorian Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004. The company pleaded guilty of having committed two offences that were against the sections (The Australian, 2008). Sections 21(1) and 2(a) of the Victorian OHS Act 2004 required that the companies should provide a working condition that is not risky to the health of the employees (WorkSafe Victoria, 2008a). The machines as well as the system of operation should not ex pose the employees to some health-related risks. This section was breached by the company that failed to provide proper systems of operations and good machinery. Similarly, sections 21(1) and 2(e) required that in the event that the employees are working in risky conditions, they should be given proper guidance on how they can best manage the situation (WorkSafe Victoria, 2008a). This was also breached. Having pleaded guilty for the two offences, the company was fined a total of $1.125 million (Australian Food News, 2008). This figure was reached at since the company had cooperated during the investigations and pleaded guilty of the offence. Otherwise, the fines would be higher, about $1.5m (The Australian, 2008).Advertising Looking for report on health medicine? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The issue of punishment in monetary terms is acceptable. However, the verdict was not fair on the sides of those affected by the incident in terms of the amount of penalty fine charged on the company. Firstly, there was a loss life, the value of which cannot be evaluated in monetary terms. The deceased had dependants that would now not get proper provision of the necessities. The fines imposed should be enough to compensate the family members the deceased. The fines should also be imposed depending on the overall value of the company. The company could later fix some machine parts worth about $4 million (WorkSafe Victoria, 2008b). This suggests that it has the capacity to pay more for the negative consequences caused. Some compensation would also be extended to he employees that were traumatized by the fatal event that claimed the life of one of their members. The situation is also worsened by the fact that scenarios had been witnessed in the past but was not fixed until another inc ident was seen (WorkSafe Victoria, 2008b). Some moral considerations can also be applied in examining the situation. Even if there are no legal provisions requiring healthy and safety working conditions, understanding the needs of the employees and providing such condition is an ethical consideration (Maierhofer and Colley, 2004, p.4). The company should aim at improving the lives of its employees and their dependants like families, friends, and relatives. After the death of the employee, it would be of some moral value if the company assumed some if not all of the responsibilities the employee had to his family. Conclusion The health and safety of the employees of an organization should be a significant consideration in designing the strategies for the operation of the organization. Legal provisions are there to protect the rights of the employees. The legal measures should be taken depending on the fatality of the consequences that follow the breach of such legal provisions. Thus, even though the company was cooperative and pleaded guilty and despite the submissions that proper measures had been instituted since the incidence, the company was supposed to be fined higher than the stated amount. Reference List Australian Food News. 2008. Fosters receives record fine for fatal safety breaches. Web. Available from: https://docs.google.com/viewer?attid=0.1pid=gmailthid=1325bff2defed935url=https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui%3D2%26ik%3D4baa4f2379%26view%3Datt%26th%3D1325bff2defed935%26attid%3D0.1%26disp%3Dsafe%26realattid%3Df_gsgz96060%26zwdocid=67e46ec061c1a6629c866130195f4f99|e8dac3d4fa38fdbb02500f859c10ad53chan=EgAAALOBrpfCgg5SMbTJvDNTzjlgH%2Bcwb%2B12k5YKdzMUhqlQa=vrel=zip;z1;AFN+-+Fosters+Receives+Record+Fine+%28Aug+2008%29.pdf . Council of Europe. 2007. European Committee of Social Rights, European Social Charter Revised Conclusions 2007: Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Moldova, Norway, Romania, Slovenia, and Sweden. Strasbourg Cedex: Council of Europe. Maierhofer, N . and Colley, S., 2004. Ethical considerations for using values to manage in the workplace. Web. Available from: http://eprints.qut.edu.au/652/1/maierhofer_colley.pdf . Stellman, J. and International Labor Office. 1998. Encyclopedia of occupational health and safety, Volume 1; Volume 5. Geneva: International Labor Organization. The Australian. 2008. Foster’s fined $1.1m after a work death. Web. Available from: https://docs.google.com/viewer?attid=0.1pid=gmailthid=1325bff2defed935url=https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui%3D2%26ik%3D4baa4f2379%26view%3Datt%26th%3D1325bff2defed935%26attid%3D0.1%26disp%3Dsafe%26realattid%3Df_gsgz96060%26zwdocid=67e46ec061c1a6629c866130195f4f99|e8dac3d4fa38fdbb02500f859c10ad53chan=EgAAAMHB%2BKvCqIcPw9OAVTiRQG18TushHp4hUk94T4Vw87Lia=vrel=zip;z6;TheAustralian+-Fosters+Fined+after+Work+Death+%28Aug+2008%29.pdf . VCC 902. 2008. R v Fosters Australia. Web. Available from: https://docs.google.com/viewer?attid=0.1pid=gmailthid=1325bff2defed935url=https://mail .google.com/mail/?ui%3D2%26ik%3D4baa4f2379%26view%3Datt%26th%3D1325bff2defed935%26attid%3D0.1%26disp%3Dsafe%26realattid%3Df_gsgz96060%26zwdocid=67e46ec061c1a6629c866130195f4f99|e8dac3d4fa38fdbb02500f859c10ad53chan=EgAAALOBrpfCgg5SMbTJvDNTzjlgH%2Bcwb%2B12k5YKdzMUhqlQa=vrel=zip;z2;County+Court+Sentencing+08_VCC0902.pdf WorkSafe Victoria. 2008a. Brewer pleads guilty of workplace safety charges. Web. Available from: https://docs.google.com/viewer?attid=0.1pid=gmailthid=1325bff2defed935url=https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui%3D2%26ik%3D4baa4f2379%26view%3Datt%26th%3D1325bff2defed935%26attid%3D0.1%26disp%3Dsafe%26realattid%3Df_gsgz96060%26zwdocid=67e46ec061c1a6629c866130195f4f99|e8dac3d4fa38fdbb02500f859c10ad53chan=EgAAALOBrpfCgg5SMbTJvDNTzjlgH%2Bcwb%2B12k5YKdzMUhqlQa=vrel=zip;z9;Worksafe+Victoria+-+Notices+Regarding+Fosters+Prosecution+2008-09.pdf WorkSafe Victoria. 2008b. Fosters gets record $1.125m fine for fatal safety breaches. Web. Available from: https://docs.google.com/viewer?attid =0.1pid=gmailthid=1325bff2defed935url=https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui%3D2%26ik%3D4baa4f2379%26view%3Datt%26th%3D1325bff2defed935%26attid%3D0.1%26disp%3Dsafe%26realattid%3Df_gsgz96060%26zwdocid=67e46ec061c1a6629c866130195f4f99|e8dac3d4fa38fdbb02500f859c10ad53chan=EgAAALOBrpfCgg5SMbTJvDNTzjlgH%2Bcwb%2B12k5YKdzMUhqlQa=vrel=zip;z9;Worksafe+Victoria+-+Notices+Regarding+Fosters+Prosecution+2008-09.pdf.

5 Words from the Kitchen

5 Words from the Kitchen 5 Words from the Kitchen 5 Words from the Kitchen By Mark Nichol Words most people associate primarily with the kitchen have multiple nonculinary connotations as well. Here are five words you may find useful in other contexts. 1. Apron This name for a garment worn to protect the wearer’s clothes from food stains (or one that is purely decorative) also applies to similar protective attire. From this usage stems meanings for structures with similar form and/or purpose, including a piece of wood under a windowsill, an extension of a bathroom fixture, the part of a pier or wharf along its edge, an erosion barrier, or the part of a stage that extends past the proscenium arch (the opening between the stage and the audience area). 2. Cook This is not just a verb for the action of preparing food and a noun describing a preparer; it also refers to a process for producing a substance or a material, such as the act of cooking methamphetamines. It’s also a slang term used a as a synonym for happen or occur (â€Å"What’s cooking?†), for doing well (â€Å"That band is really cooking!†), or for falsifying documents, especially financial records (â€Å"He was caught cooking the books†). 3. Glass The word for an often tall, narrow container for drinking liquids from, regardless of material, also applies to the mixture of materials used in making clear or tinted glass. Glass may also apply to another item made wholly or in part from glass or a similar substance, such as a mirror (or looking-glass), a basketball backboard, an hourglass, a telescope (or spyglass), or eyeglasses; a barometer is often called a glass. The word also denotes a container full of a liquid (â€Å"Have a glass of beer†). 4. Plate A plate is a shallow, mostly flat dish for serving food, but it also refers to other usually flat, thin items such as a piece of armor or a body part that is similar to armor, any flat structural piece, a part of Earth’s crust, and precious metal, and has other meanings, including the figurative reference to matters and responsibilities â€Å"I have a lot on my plate right now.† 5. Table In addition to the meaning of a piece of furniture with a flat surface, often used for dining, table refers to any such surface, such as a geographical feature (tableland). It also has figurative meanings for eating (â€Å"Sit down to table†) and assembling (â€Å"Sit at the bargaining table†). Table also refers to a list or an arrangement of data. Table is used as a verb to describe entering data in a table. It also refers, in American English, to remove from consideration during a formal meeting or other procedure; in British English, curiously, its meaning is the opposite: It denotes placing an item on an agenda. There’s also a small but rich list of idioms that include table, including â€Å"lay (one’s) cards on the table† (â€Å"to be candid†) and â€Å"under the table† (â€Å"intoxicated,† or â€Å"secretive†). 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 Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Punctuating â€Å"So† at the Beginning of a SentenceHang, Hung, Hanged30 Nautical Expressions

To what extent is the teaching of Mencius close to the original Essay

To what extent is the teaching of Mencius close to the original teaching of Confucius - Essay Example With this concept, the two philosophers dealt with the ethical, sociopolitical, and philosophical systems, which developed from Chinese cultural teachings. It would be paramount to understand that this philosophy targeted by the two great Chinese teachers focused on the practical, especially the significance of the family and little did it give preference to the belief in deities or the possibility of afterlife (Richey 70). This is the rationale that these two philosophers believed that human capacity is teachable, can improve, and attain perfection through personal and communal endeavour. They believed that the cultivation of virtue and maintenance of ethics would ultimately liberate the human capacity. It is in this capacity that Mencius developed Confucius former philosophical advances. Mencius himself bears the tag name Confucius, who lived in the 4th century. He converges his philosophical teaching with Confucius, the founder father in the line that human nature was all-good. Th is is the same observation that Confucius put across (Richey 83). In his own understanding, Confucius emphasized that the human nature is the one that forms governmental morality as well as modelling itself to attain that personal morality. His virtue goes farther to touch on correctness of social relationships, justice, and sincerity. At this level, Mencius extends Confucius philosophy by acknowledging that human nature is alike. He uses the imagery of human as equated to tastes and flavours and points out that the human minds cannot be that different that there is nothing shared by other animal species. It is this concept that he wraps by suggesting that human nature ought to alike, just like the case of their minds. Mencius accepts the teachings of morality and virtue as formally extended by Confucius that human nature must appreciate morality just as the way their taste of buds appreciates great foods (Gardner 78). A reader would not fail to realize the efforts of Mencius adopti on of Confucianism philosophy since his perceptions allude that moral virtues such as humanity and righteousness come into existence through continual human efforts. When Mencius claims that there is no man who is not good and no one would stand to bear the suffering of others culminates to the very core concepts of Confucianism, the feeling that traces the integral and innate of humanness in the human race. Developing on the Confucian ethical human nature perhaps remains the greatest contribution of Mencius philosophy on Confucian learning. The earlier reflection of Confucius described the possibility of ethical heaven and innate nature of ethical human beings. In his true words, Confucius believed that the existence of these ethical standards received supervision from heaven. In extending this proposition, Mencius agreed that an ethical human being, either achieved through personal strife or innate natures, ethical human being is a moral universe on his own (Richey 105). This expl ains the understanding of Mencius that ethical human nature and personal physical life are two related idealistic perspectives and to some extent have an innate connection. Confucius put across these ideals. He argued that a man cultivates himself and thereby be able to draw peace and security to his fellow men. In an attempt to magnify his belief in the ethics of human nature, Confucius placed emphasis on individual’

The Geographical Origins of Ashfords Population in 1851 Essay

The Geographical Origins of Ashfords Population in 1851 - Essay Example The military men setup their schools, shops and churches .In the second half of 19th century Ashford cattle market was one of the greatest markets in south of England. Wool fleeces were collected and auctioned and hops were grown on large scale .After the introduction of railways, more than 2000 traders used to visit Ashford every harvest time (lambert).The Ashford then got divided into east and west union districts. Further, the east union district was split into 25 parishes, divided into three sub districts, whereas, the west union district comprised of 13 parishes divided into two sub districts (Pearman, 2012).The town of Ashford was established in 1849.before that it was a part of The Town of Auburn .This town has its roots in the 9th century. There are various manors that surround the town including Repton, Licktop, Esture and Wall is the prominent ones. (Pearman, 2012).Famous families continued their ownership in these manors and estates and later in 18th century declared Ashfo rd as a cheerful and neat town. Ashford continued to be an agriculture town and with the introduction of railways started becoming an attraction for migratory The railway company set up a society near the railway station .A factory for the repair of locomotive engines, residence for their workers and storage area for the railway carriages were constructed.   (Knight, 1850) There has been a parish workhouse erected with workshops, storehouses, a large yard, with every necessary implement (Pearman, 2012).

Wal-Mart Essay Example for Free

Wal-Mart Essay This paper will focus on a change initiative for Wal-Mart. Next, this paper will analyze how this change will impact the people, products, and processes. Then this paper will focus on the people portion, and provide recommendations to position this change initiative in a manner that results in high performance. Finally this paper will conclude with a summary of how the recommended approach to the change initiative will result in organizational excellence. A company’s image is very important. It shows how a company is viewed as a whole. Wal-Mart has gotten a bad reputation, and many consumers have stopped shopping there because of this image. The change initiative will be to change consumer’s image of Wal-Mart. The public perception can really affect a company’s profit. According to Margot and Rachel (2011), A 2006 marketing report by Walmart’s then-advertising agency described the public’s view of Walmart as that of a â€Å"bad corporate citizen who doesn’t treat employees well and isn’t acting as a good citizen of the planet† (p. 62). To change Wal-Mart’s Image they will need to change employee’s wages, increase staffing or don’t cut hours, and change the atmosphere. The first change that needs to happen is employee wages. Wal-Mart needs to look at the cost of living in each community where they are located, and pay a competitive wage. Costco pays its employees a competitive wage, and their profits have increased. Ungar (2013) states the following: In an identical economy, how do we explain Costco’s growth vis-a-vis the failures over at Walmart? Here’s a crazy thought—might it have something to do with the fact that Costco pays nearly all of its employees a decent living (well in excess of the minimum wage) while Wal-Mart continues to pay its workers as if their employees don’t actually need to eat more than once a week, live in an enclosed space and, on occasion, take their kids to see a doctor (para. 3). If Wal-Mart paid its employees more how would it impact the people, processes, and products and services? The impact on the people would be positive not only to the employees, but the consumers as well. It would raise employee morale. When one goes to Wal-Mart now, one can tell the employees don’t want to be there, and it’s hard to find someone to help. I have heard employees actually say, â€Å"They don’t pay me enough to help these people. † Ungar (2013) sums it up best about employee attitudes by stating, â€Å"and with those on site being paid a wage so low that it is difficult to expect much in the way of pride or motivation† (para. 6). If the employees got paid a competitive wage it would motivate the employees to take pride in their jobs. This would lead to better customer service for the consumer. So in a sense it would not only be positive impact for the people, but would be great for Wal-Mart processes regarding the customer. The impact on the products and services would be the employees would take pride to answer any questions on these items and other services. Also, Wal-Mart can raise wages without having to raise prices on products. According to Bivens (2006) state the following: Wal-Mart could raise wages and benefits significantly without raising prices, yet still earn a healthy profit. For example, while still maintaining a profit margin almost 50% greater than Costco, a key competitor, Wal-Mart could have raised the wages and benefits of each of its non-supervisory employees in 2005 by more than $2,000 without raising prices a penny (para. 3). Wal-Mart would not need to raise prices. There would be no impact on the products, or the consumers, or the process of everyday low prices. Plus, it would be a step in increasing their public image. The next change increase staffing or reduce cutting hours is another step in rectifying their image. Wal-Mart now has more stores operating and not enough staff to run them. So what do they do? They cut the employees working hours. The impact is negative for the consumers, their services, and the products. Ungar (2013) states the following: Without enough employees to get the basic work of a retail operation done†¦Wal-Mart merchandise remains stacked on pallets in the warehouse rather than making it to the floor where customers can find the products they want. At the same time, check-out lines are painfully long and annoying as the overall shopping experience continues to deteriorate. One is left to wonder about the value of offering products at a lower price if those products are not on the shelves when the customer needs to buy them (para. 4). So the impact on the people, processes, and product and services would be positive. The employees would be happier because they would have enough staff, and hours to get the work done. The consumers would be happier because the product on the shelves, and enough employees not to have to stand in long lines. The products and services would be better because there would items on the shelves, and employees able to service the customer. The last change would be the atmosphere. Wal-Mart’s atmosphere is not a positive one. When one looks on social media or reviews of Wal-Mart there’s a certain low class theme. When one goes to Wal-Mart sees carts all over the parking lot. Employees outside smoking or cussing at the tables they set up for them. Some of the types of consumers who go there can be rude, and ruthless to other consumers. Overall, it’s not a great shopping experience. According to City Data. com (2008) the unknown author states the following: From the errant carts strewn about the parking lot to the huddles of employees smoking in small designated areas outside the building, to hearing more languages than I can count, to hearing profanity, to seeing women younger than myself (Im 22) yammering into cell phones while toting around multiple screaming kids, I just get a bad vibe from that place. I realize you get what you pay for, but I also find good deals at Target and find it to be a much more pleasurable shopping experience. I saw just how low-class many Wal-Mart shoppers were when we learned of the trampling death of that Wal-Mart employee on Long Island this past Friday and just how many caused a further ruckus when told the store would be closing temporarily to remove the mans body (para. 3). The changes Wal-Mart would need to make to their atmosphere would help their public image. The first thing is moving the employee break area away from the customers’ view. No one wants to see the employees smoking. They could move it to the back of the store where there are no customers. Especially, at a time when people are trying to ban smoking from public areas; this sends out a bad image. The impact will be positive to the consumers it will give them a better view when walking into Wal-Mart. The impact on the employees may not all be positive. They may like where they take breaks, and hate the fact they have to go in the back where trucks unload products. They only impact on products would be if the employees got in the way of the trucks that are carrying the products; so this could be a negative too. The process would not really be impacted unless the employees sneak off to the back to smoke when it’s not their normal break time. This could be solved by putting a camera in the break area. The next change needs to be the carts. They need to have someone out in that parking lot keeping up with those carts. Wal-Mart is bad for having carts everywhere. Many people do not shop there in fear of a cart hitting their vehicle. This would be a positive impact for the people, product and services. The people will see that Wal-Mart takes pride in their appearance. This would let to more products and services being sold because people would come to Wal-Mart more if they didn’t have to fear their cars being hit by a cart. There would be an impact on the process. The process now does not work because the carts are not being picked up. The process would need to change for the employees, and some may not want the process to change so this could impact the employees. The employees may think the process of getting the carts is not broke, and may not cooperate with the changes. The last change would be towards the consumer. Wal-Mart tolerates bad behaviors in there store from consumers. This has lead to a bad environment to shop in. Wal-Mart needs to address the customers that are out of control in their store. Places like Target or JcPenney would not tolerate customers harassing other customers; they would be asked to leave. Wal-Mart should adopt this same kind of mentality. This would require a process change, and some employees may not feel comfortable dealing with rude customers. Wal-Mart may need to create a position to handle these types of customers. The impact may be negative to the employees if this change is not handled right. The impact for the consumers would be positive. They can go shopping in a nice atmosphere without the worry of dealing with other rude consumers. The people would know it won’t be tolerated in a place like Wal-Mart. This is the kind of image Wal-Mart wants to have. The products and services may be impacted at first because the loss of the rude consumers, but once word gets out Wal-Mart will attract more consumers. The changes that Wal-Mart would need to make would impact people. This part will provide recommendations to position this change initiative in a manner that results in high performance. In every one of these changes there will be some people who will want to resist this change. The way to overcome this resistance is by accepting this is part of the process. It may be frustrating, but this is part of change. Listen to what they have to say, and try to understand where they are coming from. By being supportive, they will eventually become less resistance. The next is defining the goals so all understands. Change is a journey, and if you want to succeed people need to know the destination. Harrison (2004) states that â€Å"the critical aspects of individual and group effectiveness for diagnosis on the primary problems and challenges facing the groups and their main tasks, goals, and standards† (p. 7). To sum it up, the goals need to be defined to be effective. By defining goals, it will result in high performance. Then, I recommend Wal-Mart hold the people accountable. For example, the cart removal process needs to hold employees accountable. If the employee responsible is not following through this needs to be addressed. In order for the changes to wor k one has to follow through with the processes. If Wal-Mart puts this in effect, and then the employees are still letting the carts go in the parking lot, and nothing is done the process won’t change. In order to get high performance one must make the employees accountable. Also, promote team by being accountable for each other. Corelli (n. d) states the following: Dont ask people to be accountable only for their actions and job performances, but just as importantly, ask them to be accountable to each other for maintaining high morale. By placing an equal value on teamwork, professional behavior, job performance, and accountability, you will be able to provide better service to both customers and to each other (para. 25). Next, empower the employees to find solutions instead of problems. The change will come with problems, but if Wal-Mart empowers the employees to find solutions this will help the changes go smoother. Corelli (n. d) states the following: This goes hand in hand with setting goals and establishing accountability. When new procedures are instituted and problems arise, people may wait for someone else to fix them. As you let people know that they are accountable, let people know you expect them to come in not only with their problems, but also with possible solutions. Add your input, too. Changes rarely occur without glitches, so be prepared to brainstorm ways to solve problems and get them out of the way to elp people achieve high performance (para. 27). The last recommendation is to train the people well on all the changes. Training is essential when making changes. If the proper training is not done then the new change initiatives may not be effective. Corelli (n. d) states the following: By its very definition, change suggests that you are attempting something new and different. To create that high performing work place during change, you need to ensure your people have the necessary skills to succeed in the new environment. Education and training must be seen as a top priority. The time you invest in training will eventually payoff in increased productivity as well as product and service quality (para. 29). All these recommendations will help the change initiative result in high performance. These approaches to the change initiative will result in organizational excellence. The first approach would be initiating the changes raising the wage, increasing the staff, and changing the atmosphere. This will be done after all the research, and training of the staff has been done. Managers will need to think differently; no more get them in and get them out. The new way is do we have enough staff to stock shelves and service customers. After initiating the change, Wal-Mart will need to manage the change. They will need to make sure everyone is following the changes. Wal-Mart needs to make sure everyone has the resources and materials available to manage through this change. For example, with wage increase can have a pay structure so employees know if they want to move up; they will know the pay. This would give employees something to strive for, and will promote organizational excellence on Wal-Mart’s part. The last is just sustaining the change. Wal-Mart needs to keep up with the changes; don’t go back to old ways. For example, don’t go back to tolerating rude customers. Let them know that behavior is no longer acceptable at Wal-Mart, and keep up with that change. Wal-Mart needs to change their public image in order to reach organizational excellence. If Wal-Mart makes these changes their reputation will get better. This will lead to more profits, and survival of the big chain. If Wal-Mart keeps going in the current direction eventually they may lose more than their reputation, but their whole organization.

Why The American Civil War Is Important Essays -- The American Civil W

The American civil war took place 150 years ago. The war ripped apart the young country and turned brother against brother. The American civil war ended the most grotesque American institution in its history and caused the nation to struggle for the next decade to recover from the devastation. The war caused a wealthy class to lose their stranglehold over the southern economy and ended politics being swayed by whether you were pro or anti slavery. The war caused the death of over 620,000 men, around 2% of the population. The American civil war is worth remembering today. It is worth remembering because it shapes the identity of who Americans are today. Without it, we cannot understand why a nation could be split over the death of a young delinquent named Trayvon Martin. Without it we cannot understand how Martin Luther King Jr. struggled to gain his dream. Without it we cannot understand why women fought for suffrage rights in the 1920s. What was the American civil war about? States rights? Slavery? Both? Perhaps this does not matter, perhaps all that matters is the end results, the prohibition of slavery and the emergence of the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments. The nation emerged with a new identity of freedom, not just whites, but people of all color. But the war did not end discrimination or racism, it saw different forms of it take place; forms that still effect us today. The Civil War is worth remembering because the Civil War still shapes America’s identity to this day. First let us examine the cultural implications the Civil War had on us today. Today in America we are we are shaped as a culture by diversity, and dreams. By diversity I mean we are a culture that though, dominantly white, is full of many ethnicities of pe... ...vil War.† In The War Was You and Me: Civilians in the American Civil War, ed. Joan E. Cashin, 136-156. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2002. Snay, Mitchell, Randall M. Miller, Harry S. Stout, and Charles Reagan Wilson. "Religion and the American Civil War." The American Historical Review 105.1 (2000): 217. Print. McPHERSON, James M. "Major Problems in the Civil War and Reconstruction." (n.d.): n. pag. Rpt. in Major Problems in American History Series. N.p.: n.p., n.d. 10. Print. Dew, Charles B. Apostles of Disunion: Southern Secession Commissioners and the Causes of the Civil War. Charlottesville: University of Virginia, 2001. Print. Douglass, Frederick, and Frederick Douglass. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass and Other Works. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print. "The Pledge of Allegiance." The Pledge of Allegiance. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Nov. 2015. Why The American Civil War Is Important Essays -- The American Civil W The American civil war took place 150 years ago. The war ripped apart the young country and turned brother against brother. The American civil war ended the most grotesque American institution in its history and caused the nation to struggle for the next decade to recover from the devastation. The war caused a wealthy class to lose their stranglehold over the southern economy and ended politics being swayed by whether you were pro or anti slavery. The war caused the death of over 620,000 men, around 2% of the population. The American civil war is worth remembering today. It is worth remembering because it shapes the identity of who Americans are today. Without it, we cannot understand why a nation could be split over the death of a young delinquent named Trayvon Martin. Without it we cannot understand how Martin Luther King Jr. struggled to gain his dream. Without it we cannot understand why women fought for suffrage rights in the 1920s. What was the American civil war about? States rights? Slavery? Both? Perhaps this does not matter, perhaps all that matters is the end results, the prohibition of slavery and the emergence of the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments. The nation emerged with a new identity of freedom, not just whites, but people of all color. But the war did not end discrimination or racism, it saw different forms of it take place; forms that still effect us today. The Civil War is worth remembering because the Civil War still shapes America’s identity to this day. First let us examine the cultural implications the Civil War had on us today. Today in America we are we are shaped as a culture by diversity, and dreams. By diversity I mean we are a culture that though, dominantly white, is full of many ethnicities of pe... ...vil War.† In The War Was You and Me: Civilians in the American Civil War, ed. Joan E. Cashin, 136-156. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2002. Snay, Mitchell, Randall M. Miller, Harry S. Stout, and Charles Reagan Wilson. "Religion and the American Civil War." The American Historical Review 105.1 (2000): 217. Print. McPHERSON, James M. "Major Problems in the Civil War and Reconstruction." (n.d.): n. pag. Rpt. in Major Problems in American History Series. N.p.: n.p., n.d. 10. Print. Dew, Charles B. Apostles of Disunion: Southern Secession Commissioners and the Causes of the Civil War. Charlottesville: University of Virginia, 2001. Print. Douglass, Frederick, and Frederick Douglass. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass and Other Works. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print. "The Pledge of Allegiance." The Pledge of Allegiance. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Nov. 2015.

Rejuvenating a Mature Business

The last two decades has seen a revolution in management accounting theory and practice due to the challenges of the competitive environment in the 1980s. Kaplan and Johnson (1987) identified the failings and obsolescence of existing cost and performance measurement systems which led to re-examination of traditional cost accounting and management control systems. Conventional financial and management accounting methods have developed primarily as a result of corporate legislation in the 1930s forcing companies to provide externally published financial accounts. Management accounting is primarily focused as a decision making tool for running a business, hence they require more flexibility. According to Kaplan management accounts have become a subset of financial accounts and that they reflect more on the external rather than internal requirements of the company. Most of the managerial decision-making and control systems in use in the late 1980s were described by Johnson and Kaplan as stagnant. As a result, they went onto research in new accounting systems raising the profile of internal accounting systems by use of financial and non-financial measures although their work was seen as controversial by Drury but is now considered of key importance to manufacturing industries aiming to become world class. This essay aims to discuss the ways in which new management accounting techniques can bring life into mature businesses, in particular those using non-financial measures. Most companies still use the same cost accounting and management control systems that were developed decades ago in a competitive environment drastically different from today. These systems have major drawbacks described below: They distort product costs i.e. absorption of production overheads into product costs for the purpose of stock valuation. The external financial reporting process was purely driving this allocation of overheads for stock valuation. They do not produce the key non-financial data required for effective and efficient operations, hence they are of little help to operating managers† seeking to reduce costs and improve productivity. The data produced reflected on external reporting requirements far more than the reality of the new manufacturing environment. Failure to provide accurate product costs as they were distributed by simplistic and arbitrary measures usually direct labour based. The short term profit pressures led to a decline in long term investment. These poorly designed or outdated systems can distort the realities of manufacturing performance. As companies become more efficient by using new technologies, labour costs are accounting for a smaller proportion of a company†s overall cost, hence the allocation of overheads to labour hours will become irrelevant and counter-productive to the company†s operations. The most enduring management accounting innovation was the return on investment (ROI) measure which provided an overall measure of the financial performance of each operating units or the entire company. The ROI, initially developed by Du Pont and General Electric in the early 20th century, came about due to the excessive focus on achieving short-term financial performance. As ROI control was introduced, managers aimed to achieve good performance by making operating and investment decisions on developing new and better products/processes, increasing sales and reducing operating costs. But it later became evident that during hard times, when sales were decreasing and operating costs were increasing, ROI targets could still be achieved through financial entrepreneurship by reducing discretionary expenses and exploiting accounting conventions. The creation of wealth through these activities will not help companies survive as world-class competitors. Problems of ROI are only surfacing now because of: the difference in size of organisations, changes in the competitive environment and the rapid movement of technology less pressure for short-term financial performance in the last two decades current managers have little knowledge of their organisation†s technology hence they rely on creating value through accounting activities Cooper and Kaplan introduce the Activity Based Costing (ABC) systems for manufacturing expenses as a replacement for traditional cost allocation systems. ABC is an internal accounting system designed to track overheads to cost units. ABC attempts to track overhead costs to units as accurately as possible hence the concept of the cost driver is essential to this system. A cost driver is a unit measure of a particular overhead that can be assigned to a user of that overhead. For example, in attempting to allocate administration overheads to products, the cost driver may be the number of invoices generated for that product. Hence the product generating most invoices will acquire the largest share of the administration overhead. There does not have to be one driver per overhead. There can be more drivers per overhead if they are relevant to the organisation. The ABC model is shown below: A more accurate means of allocating overheads means that product costs can now be more accurately assessed. ABC analysis allows companies to discover profitable products that have not been properly exploited because the correct costs had not been appreciated. If unit costs are based on budgeted capacity rather than actual, ABC highlights excess capacity because only consumed capacity is allocated via cost drivers. Hence there is a now a measure of excess capacity. This takes away the focus of meeting budgets at all costs and instead focuses on continuous improvement. Product costing is not the only use of ABC. By finding appropriate drivers and cost units, overheads can be assigned to anything that uses them. This allows sales and marketing costs to be assigned both to the products and customers. Traditional systems do not take into account costs generated by customers. For organisations concerned with customer focus, ABC will give valuable insights into customer behaviour. The other benefits of using ABC are its focus on continuous improvement, its measurement of activities at the process level, its provision of accurate cost data including those generated by the customers, and it is geared for the medium term (3-5 years). An extension of ABC is Activity Based Management (ABM), where using the cost drivers, a deeper understanding of the process is enabled. By measuring activity and costs, ABM has a system to monitor continuous improvement and manages a business from a process perspective rather than a departmental one. Therefore it can make decisions based on accurate process level information. A greater understanding of factors critical to the success of manufacturing organisations is needed. Accounting researchers can play a critical role in this effort by attempting to develop non-financial measures of manufacturing performance like quality, productivity, inventory innovation and workforce . A particular challenge is to de-emphasise focus on short-term financial measures and develop indicators that are more consistent with long-term competitiveness and profitability. The challenge of improving a firm†s manufacturing performance is particularly relevant to managerial accountants as they are supposed to provide information for planning and decision making. Therefore, measurement systems for today†s manufacturing operations must consider the following non-financial indicators of manufacturing performance: Quality is emerging as perhaps the most important factor if companies are trying to excel as world-class competitors. U.S. firms typically inspect quality into products whereas Japanese manufacturing is dedicated to eliminating all product defects. Quality is planned and thought into the product at all stages of manufacture including design and supplier specifications. Further commitment is required in training employees, maintenance of equipment and integrating with suppliers. With this embedded into the processes the goal of achieving zero defects can be achieved. Executives claim that manufacturing costs decrease as quality increases thus a continuous drive to reduce product defects will enhance the long run productivity of the production process . Managers tend to use the economic order quantity (EOQ) model which helps in determining the cost balance between an additional set-up (for a new production run or change of product) to the cost of holding inventory. If set-up costs could be driven to zero and by just-in-time inventory control systems implementation firms would hold less inventory and raw materials. These would result to lesser costs in holding material that has no value being added to it. In addition, reducing uncertainties in deliveries from suppliers through close co-ordination can enable factories to run without any raw materials in stock. Reducing machine breakdowns also contributes significantly toward reducing work-in-process (WIP). Thus by investing in information systems and integrating with suppliers, inventory costs can be reduced significantly and accurate information on the company†s manufacturing performance can be obtained. Productivity measures for manufacturing performance have not yet been considered as part of the information that will help managers in decision making and control activities. These measures should be a supplement to financial measures that highlight improvements. Developing new productivity measures would thus be a fruitful field for accountants. There are companies present whose competitive strategy is based on the introduction of new products with unique characteristics, rather than producing mature products with lower costs. These companies will only succeed if their products are introduced at the right time and have features that are desired by their customers. Companies that are forced to produce these products on existing line, due to lack of space, will have to directly monitor the performance, quality and delivery and disregard traditional measurements which put an emphasis on efficiency. The attitudes, skills and morale of employees are important if companies are to succeed in achieving their goals. Investing in skills training, conducting surveys of employee attitudes etc by human resources are all critical if employees are to share company goals. It is clear from the above indicators of manufacturing performance that non-financial measures are essential in rejuvenating mature businesses to become world-class. Executives are also aware that traditional accounting measures like ROI can give misleading information on continuous improvement and innovation which current competitive environments demand. Managers want a balanced presentation of both financial and operational measures which led Kaplan and Norton to devise a balanced scorecard that incorporated both such measurements. The scorecard aids the building of a comprehensive picture of the company†s health and effectiveness in achieving its goals. The balanced scorecard includes financial measures that produces results on actions already taken and is complemented by operational measures on customer satisfaction, internal business processes, innovation and learning activities. It is these operational measures that will fuel the performance of future financial measures. The balanced scorecard yields several benefits, including the ability to bridge the gap between objectives of high level executives and those of front-line workers whose performance is ultimately responsible for reaching the company†s goals. Rather than focusing on short-term financial results, which can blind management to internal efficiency and lead to continued revenue losses, chief executives can benefit by using the balanced scorecard as a strategic management system for translating strategy into action at all levels of the enterprise.

Economic Commentary: Public Good, Market Failure Essay

Paper Edition | Page: 5 Jakarta has long been infamous for its repeated floods, such as those that crippled the capital and all its government and economic activities last week. Over 15,000 people were displaced and the material losses from infrastructure destruction and damage inflicted on personal property have reportedly reached Rp 20 trillion (US$ 2 billion). The devastating impact of the disaster on government activities and public services under the central government’s auspices has revived a debate over the need for the country to move its capital from floodridden Jakarta. Even President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, according to his aides, has considered relocation of the capital, albeit as a last resort, as part of an all-out, comprehensive effort to solve the problems facing Jakarta. With or without major floods, which strike every five or six years, Jakarta can no longer sustain the population burden with all its consequences. The city no longer has space to provide housing to all of its nearly 10 million citizens or build roads for the 6 million cars and motorcycles thronging the capital. This is quite apart from the city’s lack of infrastructure to protect residents from disasters like the annual floods. Jakarta today is typified by frustrating traffic gridlock, slums that encircle high-rise buildings, makeshift huts built along riverbanks, food stalls and groceries that occupy sidewalks, traditional markets that spill onto public thoroughfares, clogged drains, illegal parking along busy streets and other forms of disorderliness resulting from the state of over-population. Not to mention the city’s crime rate, which tends to increase year-on- year. Every time Jakarta voters chose their leader, they elect a candidate who they consider able to live up to their high expectations, which of course gives them false hope. Jakarta has turned into a megalopolis without enough resources to deal with its gigantic problems and challenges. What the founding fathers failed to anticipate when they chose Jakarta as the capital city was perhaps its evolution as the country’s commercial hub. About 60 percent of the nation’s money circulates in Jakarta, where foreign companies assign their representatives. Many countries have become aware of the problems in developing their capital city as both the center of government and the heart of economic activities. Then they have got to the point where relocating the capital city becomes unavoidable. Brazil did it in 1960 when it moved its capital from densely populated Rio de Janeiro to newly built Brasilia City, our Southeast Asian neighbors Malaysia and Myanmar moved their capitals to Putrajaya and Naypyidaw in 1999 and 2005 respectively. Indonesia moved its capital to Yogyakarta from January 1946 to December 1949 due to the war of independence. In that time Bukittinggi in West Sumatra also briefly served as the capital city when founding president Sukarno established an emergency government prior to his arrest by the Dutch between December 1948 and June 1949. Unless Jakarta takes drastic measures to shore up its increasing burden, Indonesia will have to consider an alternative capital. Sooner or later saying good-bye to Jakarta will no longer be a matter of choice, but of necessity. Commentary: The article tells us about the recent flood in Jakarta, which has brought huge impacts to the nation financial cycle. The flood was happened because many factors, but the most significant factor is because the lack maintenance of the flood controls system in Jakarta. The capacity of the drains has not been maintain to what level it should be. Therefore, due to heavy rain during the rain season the flood control system could not handle the pressure which resulting the massive flood in most of part the city. Public Good is defined as a good that is both non-excludable and non-rivalrous. Nonrivalrous; its consumption by one person does not reduce consumption by someone else; Non-excludable; it is not possible to exclude someone from using the good. Flood in Jakarta happened because the government has created a market failure since they have under provided the flood control system in Jakarta. The flood control system is an example of an environmental public goods: flood cont rol system, which nobody would provide on their own, even though everybody benefits from it being available. This suggests that since flood control system is a public good (because it is over consume, and underprovided based on what is needed for society) it clearly shows that it is an example of a market failure. Since the market fails to allocate resources to the production of the public goods it means that there are external costs. The article mentioned that the flood has resulted massive looses: over 15,0000 people were displaced and material losses from the city infrastructure, damage inflicted on personal property have reportedly reached Rp 20 trillion (US$ 2 billion). About 60 percent of the nation’s money circulates in Jakarta, where foreign companies assign their representatives; the flood has also interrupted the economic activities, as Jakarta is the â€Å"heart of economic activities† Through this tragedy there are different effect resulted. Seeing the disaster, we could clearly see the disadvantages. Most Jakartans living in flood-prone areas will probably answer mud or garbage after the flood, Citizen loss their property, illness such as fever and other water-borne diseases has also spread wildly.It means, there are external cost needed to recover houses and infrastructure as well as for the health care. In the other hand, other stakeholder got more benefit : trash picker and food seller on the street. Local news reported that the trash picker help to picked up motorcycle from one point to another; they got paid for Rp. 20.000/one way. The food seller on the street increases their income as there is increase in consumer,people were trying to see the flood from closed distance. Jakarta’s government must step in to ensure that flood control systems are produced at socially desirable levels. The flood control system should be provided up to the point where MB=MC so the flood would not be happen again and it would not interrupt the economic sector as well as creating disadvantage for the whole citizen. There are many ways to correct the market failure. Government could make an effective legislation to limit number of urbanization. As we know, Jakarta does not have an appropriate city planner. People build shift huts in the area where it is inappropriate such as the riverbanks. These people are not paying for the house tax since their house is also illegal. This will distort the city infrastructure and also decrease government revenue since they are not paying tax. Government could also do implication of direct provision in using economic criteria to determine which public goods and in what quantity of the public good should be produced. To make government direct provision to be happen, tax should be imply. With implying indirect tax government will increase the revenue which could be use for the spending on public goods, in this case is to increase the number the flood control system and maintain its quality. In long run, this issue will add another problem including the nation government and economic sectors. Based on the article, the President of Indonesia has stated there would be a probability of relocation of the capital. This will bring huge cost on all government, public services, and the whole economic activity within the country, unless the flood issue in being solved. Works Citied: â€Å"Editorial: Good-bye Jakarta.† Jakarta Post. N.p., 26 Jan. 2013. Web. 01 Feb. 2013. Tragakes, Ellie. â€Å"Market Failure.† Economics for the IB Diploma. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2009. 119+. Print.

Magdalena and Balthasar

In the book, Magdalena and Balthasar, Steven Ozment reveals and interprets letters written by a husband and wife in the late sixteenth century. The letters entailed daily life occurrences between Magdalena and Balthasar through a sixteen year period. They explained the joy, hardships, and intimate love relationship that Magdalena and Balthasar experienced in a portion of their lives. Their close and personal relationship in which they had between one another clearly explained that remaining in good health, being business partners, and having faith in God were priorities that Magdalena and Balthasar had in their lives. Magdalena and Balthasar were always aware of all of the ailments and diseases that they were susceptible to. They were unfortunately witnesses to many casualties of friends and relatives. Due to the lifestyle in which they lived, they were not by each others side all the time and therefore were in constant worry of one another, praying that the other was in good health condition. Magdalena writes to Balthasar on the 7 of July 1584, in Altdorf, saying, I have hoped that Almighty God will grant my heartfelt prayer and restore your health there by Christian means, since it has not been his will to do so here. May God preserve you at all times and bring you safely back to me in joy so that we may again cheer and comfort each other after our long separation. Magdalena has dedicated part of her day for praying for her husband to remain in good health and return home safely. The couple attempted numerous treatments in order to maintain their good health standard. One trea! tment they would do about four times a year was bleeding. Magdalena claimed that letting herself bleed had cured the arthritis in her shoulder. Balthasar believed that one remedy to keep his health was drinking water. In his letter to Magdalena on the 5 of June 1591, in Carlsbad near Schlackenwalde, he says, I bega...

Word Choice Amount vs. Number - Proofeds Writing Tips Blog

Word Choice Amount vs. Number Word Choice: Amount vs. Number It can be tempting to think that the subtleties of word choice don’t a major difference to your work. But whether you’re writing an academic paper, a business report or even a novel, picking the right words for the right situation can make your writing stand out from the crowd. Getting words confused or mixed up, on the other hand, can detract from an otherwise great piece of work. Take the words amount and number, for instance. Both are terms used to deal with quantities, so many people use them interchangeably. But they do in fact have importantly distinct meanings, so using the wrong one makes it harder for the reader to follow exactly what you mean. Worry not, though! Here at Proofed we are dedicated to helping people express themselves fully and clearly, so we’ve prepared this little guide on how to use amount and number correctly. Amount (Uncountable Quantities) Typically, when used as a noun, the word amount refers to the sum or whole of a quantity which would be difficult or impossible to count, for example: There is a large amount of sand in the desert. It can also be used as a verb, meaning to total or equal: After the financial crash, losses amounted to four billion dollars. Number (Countable Quantities) The word number, of course, can refer to figure (e.g., 1, 2, 3). In this context, though, we’re interested in its use as an expression of quantity: The number of people at the party was enough to cause a problem. The key is that â€Å"number† refers to a specific, countable quantity. This is made clearer if we think about how â€Å"number† can also be used as a verb: After reading the note, David knew his days were numbered Here â€Å"numbered† indicates a limited quantity of days which could be counted. Amount or Number? One way of working out which word to use is to ask yourself whether the quantity described could be counted. For instance, the phrase â€Å"a large number of sand† wouldn’t make sense because â€Å"sand† is an uncountable noun. So if you’re referring to an unspecified but countable quantity of something, such as pebbles or people on a beach, use â€Å"number.† But if you’re referring to something you can’t count, such as happiness or water, the word you need is â€Å"amount.† You can find more advice on vocabulary in the word choice archive section of our academic blog. And don’t forget that Proofed’s expert proofreaders are available to provide guidance on word choice, grammar, spelling and formatting for everything from resumes to PhD dissertations. Why not upload a free 500-word sample today and see if Proofed can help put the finishing touches on your written work?