Thursday, November 28, 2019

Conventional Medicine And Alternative Medicine Essays -

Conventional Medicine And Alternative Medicine ?Conventional medicine has little to learn from alternative medicine?. Today many people in the UK and US choose to be treated by methods that are not based on Western scientific methods, that is the science and practice of medicine which is standard in the West. These methods are known as ?Alternative medicine? or ?Complementary medicine? ,which include homeopathy, acupuncture, osteopathy, aromatherapy, chiropractic medicine, and reflexology among others. Chinese medicine is also increasingly popular. Unlike alternative medicine, conventional medicine has proven effectiveness and is scientifically based, while alternative medicine has its drawbacks and a lack of scientific basis and its results are not always consistent. For this reason alternative medicine is not generally available on the National Health Service in the UK and other countries, and people have to pay for their own treatment. Whereas some people consider it a mystery and do not dare try it because they believe it might be dangerous or unsafe, some others just consider it as a lot of mumbo jumbo and pay little or no attention to it. People who feel fearful or mistrustful of it claim that if its medicines and potions really worked, then proper doctors would use it. However, since the early 1980s alternative medicine has become more and more popular, and although it is not officially accepted by the medical profession, some doctors do accept that such methods can be effective in treating some types of illnesses. Furthermore, conventional medicine has its limitations, since some illnesses are incurable and some others which are caused by psychological problems cannot be cured by its methods. In contrast, alternative medicine can be effective in many such circumstances and there is a general acceptance that its methods can be beneficial. Many people who have not found a solution to their problem in conventional medicine have resorted to alternative medicine and obtained effective results, as is the case with hypnotherapy which has helped many people in overcoming problems such as insomnia, stress-related disorders, a smoking habit, an allergy, aches and pains. In addition, people who are in favour of alternative medicine claim that it is good beca use it is natural. But not all the people who have tried alternative medicine felt enthusiastic about it from the very beginning. On the contrary, many of them mistrusted it and felt apprehensive or sceptic, and after their experience they changed their mind and were pleased with it as they noticed an improvement in their condition. In other cases, however, people who lacked motivation in undergoing such treatments and were unable to take them seriously found them ineffective and felt unconvinced or even resentful after their experience. This shows that most probably motivation and trust on the part of people play an important role in the results of alternative medicine. In conclusion, it can be said that there can be many potential benefits as well as drawbacks in alternative medicine, and that its effectiveness can depend heavily on people's reliability and motivation with respect to it. Nevertheless it is not scientifically based and cannot be regarded as having as consistent results as is the case of conventional medicine. In spite of this fact, many people choose to be treated by alternative medicine. (521 words) Medicine Essays

Monday, November 25, 2019

Hotel Ratings in the Modern World

Hotel Ratings in the Modern World Introduction Looking at the modern industry of hospitality, the hotel ratings seem too strange and unreliable. Having visited many hotels, I may say that there are a lot of those which do not correspond to the real estate of things. Having read two articles about hotel ratings, I should say that the modern system of hotel ratings is too poor and does not nave any reliable grounds.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Hotel Ratings in the Modern World specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Neither the rating which is given by the credible magazine which tries to follow the international standards nor the one presented by those who have visited the place can be trusted as most of the comments are left by the professional writers who are paid for a rating to make people believe that the place is good enough. There is also no guarantee that a hotel rating presented by a reliable company which is responsible for creating the rating is objective as all people do in the modern world are subjected to business relations. Body Hotel business is one of the most important ones as accommodation is the central aspect in the global political and economical relations in the world. Each company tries to be responsible for the ranks it gives, however, being based on the business relations there is no guarantee that the hotel is ranked adequately and no business relations are involved. Looking at the present situation in the accommodation business, the following aspects are to be considered. First, hotels want to get as many customers as possible, therefore, the marketing and promotion strategy is usually on the high level. The hotels create websites where people seem to express their opinion. However, in most cases professional writers leave comments. Of course, people are able to do it as well. One may come across several negative feedbacks, but a clever client would think that they are just the personal opinion of those who are always unsatisfied with everything as the vast majority of the feedbacks are going to be positive. Second, there are many companies which guarantee to provide hotel ranking services having compared and contrasted the hotel’s services with the standards and to draw the conclusions. However, the absence of any internationally accepted standards makes it possible for the companies to vary in their opinions. The business relations are based on the financial grounds, therefore, the companies get money and give a hotel rating it wants. Finally, hotel business is very competitive. The Internet has become the most important means of advertising. Many people in the world use the Internet for all needs and the information search is one of the main functions the Internet performs. Having understood this idea, many hotel promotion programs became to be oriented on the customers’ feedback. Conclusion Therefore, it should be concluded that hotel ratings in the modern world a re created just with business purposes and some of the hotels do not correspond to the level they are ranked with. Being positioned as 5 star hotels, most of the accommodation services are not that perfect as they are to be.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More It is impossible to get to know about a hotel the whole truth before staying in that hotel. The websites which seem to express client’s opinion are served by the professionals, the feedbacks are created to attract more customers and the ranking system is used just for marketing services as there are no international standards.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Ethnic studies Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Ethnic studies - Term Paper Example forcement of policies, attitudes, practices that yield equitable opportunity, power, access, treatment, impacts and outcome for all (Yamamoto, pp, 7). Most people have the perception of racism as an individual action such as prejudice or intentional acts of discrimination but racism is just more than individual acts. Racism is a set of cultural, societal and institutional practices and beliefs that subordinate and oppress one race for the benefit of another. Nevertheless, a racial justice integrates the beliefs and practices but still include prejudice as one of the way racism is propagated. If cases of racism exist in a society, the best response is to provide diversity training or sensitivity training. The racial justice framework would seek to evaluate the social injustices, systems, polices and laws and if cases of inequality are found hold them accountable and demand for systemic change. Racism traces its genesis in the colonial relationships, slavery and capitalism. These three elements are the roots of racisms that have manifested itself in different forms such as human oppression such as mentally, financially or socially. Empathy has always played a central role towards racial justice. The understanding and having compassion for those undergoing racism have ignited the racial justice that currently seen in the world. It is the fight for those who felt this is not right that led to emergence of racial justice. For instance, empathy exhibited by the famous leaders such as Martin Luther King on social equality gave birth to racial justice. Those people who felt the minority were being left out during voting exercise and brought the case to US court in 1965 led to change of the system whereby everyone was allowed to vote regardless of the social status or race so long such individual had the requisite age. Yamamoto offers four aspects as a working definition towards racial justice. These integral aspects when incorporated together works on a theory that

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Technology Plan Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Technology Plan - Research Paper Example Its head office is located at Redmond, WA. The company uses a web based platform to promote its business on the internet. It can be visited on: Clean-n-Brite.com. However, this is a static web site that only presents basic information about the company. In this scenario, the implementation of new technology based system will offer an excellent support and capability for establishing online sales. At the present, company has a large loyal customer base. In addition, Clean-n-Brite Business is basically a supplier of cleaning products to a lot of different companies and commercial areas. In addition, Clean-n-Brite Business provides different grade cleaning products for a number of different sectors. Additionally, Clean-n-Brite Business presently deals with a large number of corporations including hotels, processing industries, hospitals and public organizations, catering organizations such as leisure centers and schools. With the evolution in business, Clean-n-Brite Business has been able to see a lot of new opportunities as well as issues. Though, the greatest opportunity that business has got is in form of increased customer reorganization and business market position improvement. While talking about the problems that Clean-n-Brite Business is facing include handling the information and data gathered from various customers and corporations. As a result, the existing system which was created to manage these areas is not effectively dealing with these operations in an appropriate manner. Thus, there is need for a better system which can effectively and efficiently manage the operations and processes of business in an attempt to improve the organizational performance. For resolving this problem we have proposed the idea of application of a web based business platform. The new web based business platform will make use of the new technology based services for managing the online sales and transactions. The new system for business management will

Monday, November 18, 2019

Argue that porn has changed sexuality today Research Paper

Argue that porn has changed sexuality today - Research Paper Example Studies concerning the impacts of pornography in the society focus on various outcomes including potential influences on sexual dysfunction, rape, and difficulties with sexual relationships among others. Individuals can easily access sexually explicit materials from the internet and the effect or influence of this is questionable. Today, exposure to pornography has left many sexually active and independent young women to engage in some sexual acts and do things that they do not want to do in bed which they later regret. According to many studies concerning this same topic, men were found to use sexually explicit materials from the internet as opposed to women. Indeed, watching pornography greatly affect individuals’ sexual behaviours which in turn influences their relationships negatively. Following an extensive research, this paper focuses on the relationship between pornography and sexual aggressiveness among individuals. Even though exposure to pornography has been associat ed with sexual violence and failing relationships, its contribution to sexual enhancement for some people should not be ignored. Individuals exposed to extreme pornographic images are more likely to become addicted or tolerant to such films and this in turn will affect their sexual response. Despite the presence of many studies conducted on this issue, there is still no clear evidence confirming that virtual pornographic images and films can make individuals become addicted to such acts. This is because addiction to porn sex or images influences individuals’ sexual experience in general making them to be sexually dysfunctional since the real sexual experiences do not arouse these addicts. In addition, most people using pornographic materials tend to fantasize about or imitate some of the scenes they have watched in these films in order to get aroused during sexual intercourse with their partners. Pornography is one common way through which

Friday, November 15, 2019

Promoting fashion brands through social media

Promoting fashion brands through social media The purpose of this study has been to research possibilities of promoting a fashion brand through social media, specifically Facebook. It would analyse its advantages as well as disadvantages towards fashion business. The social media is an Internet platform where people are free to discuss and communicate through different blogs and websites. The critical question is how consumer decisions are affected by other consumers recommendations. It is very important that businesses intending to join the online environment should thoroughly understand the online consumer market. For the marketing purposes, social networks represent unique opportunities of a constant contact with the consumers. Sales over the Internet have increased drastically over the last decade in both USA and Europe (Forrester Research, 2000). In December 2002, Europeans reportedly spent $ 15.8 billion in 2002, Whereas North Americans spent $15.7 billion. The rise in Internet sales was mostly effected by the sales of gar ments and toys (Blauw Research bv, 2003). Outlaw Freelancers is a small Amsterdam based fashion brand, and is a good example of the micro business. Their sales are done only through Internet, at their main web page (www.outlawfreelancers.com). Outlaws have decided to use new marketing ways, and advertise their brand through social network such as Facebook. In order to find out how the big brands on the market manage social media exposure, interview with NIKE and HM representatives was accomplished. From the interviews it can be seen that companies operate almost with the same structure, except geographically targeting consumers. In comparison with Outlaws, both NIKE and HM, have already established an image, and therefore in no need of a new one. The study has shown that social media power is not enough to push the brand on the market. After a 4 months observation of Outlaw Freelancers it was clear that social media was not enough to push the sales. However, it is crucial for established companies like NIKE and HM to use social media to communicate with its consumers. Due to the time limit, it was unfeasible to continue the Outlaws research of 4 months which could possibly lead to better results. The observation is relatively small and could have led to different outcome if the period was longer. The study has shown that for a new brand on the fashion market it is crucial to mix the use of traditional marketing as well as new Internet ways. Acknowledgements I would like to express my appreciation and thank to all those involved in accomplishing this thesis, including individuals and various organizations that will be mentions throughout the process. Thanks to my parents, Mr. And Mrs. Kaminskiy, for their unfailing support during the period of my entire course. Special thanks to my dear friend Louisa Chiejina, who stayed encouraging and positive through the whole process, and believed in me. 1.1Introduction Outlaw Freelancers is Amsterdam based fashion brand, which is represented by a collaboration of fashion and graphic designers who worked with the worlds largest fashion brands in previous. The brand was established in spring 2010, and represented by a simple but highly effective designs. The collection is entitled, Run, the old world is behind you! Inspired by the 1968 Paris student protests features a 12 piece line on mens t-shirts with the Outlaws signature bold, iconic imagery. At the moment the brand is concentrating only on online sales, which will follow by retail in the near future. The Vision of the brand can be refereed to as a glocal lifestyle and take inspiration from popular culture: art, music, design and modern European living. Outlaw Freelancers consumer are masculine, work and socialize in stylish fashionable cities. Their personal style is intuitive and daring, reflecting an independence of spirit. Creative provocative and rebellious, always modern. Being a new brand the company is trying to find a suitable marketing strategy. In the industry there are many marketing strategies that a company could use to promote its brand awareness such as: advertising, public relations, personal selling, direct marketing, sales promotion and word on mouth marketing, which all belong to the marketing communication mix, also known as a promotional mix. The six elements help companies to achieve customer loyalty and rise in sales. The marketing communication mix model was created Philip Kotler, whos knowledge is being used all around the world. Every element of the mix represents a different approach, which will be explained in the literature review. Outlaw Freelancers have adopted some of the strategies from the marketing mix, such as word of mouth, for its future success. Despite the use of marketing mix, the brand has decided to use the Internet also known as Web 2.0. Companies have widely recognised the power of the internet and broad scope it offers . The interactivity provide retailers with the potential to transform their customers shopping experience (Evanschitzky et al., 2004; Wol ¬Ã‚ nbarger and Gilly, 2003), and in so doing, strengthen their own competitive positions (Doherty and Ellis-Chadwick, 2009; Levenburg, 2005). The company uses the internet through social media sites like Facebook, to communicate with its consumers and prospective customers. Primarily, social networks were aimed to build communities on the Internet, of people with similar interests and/or activities. Social networking existed since 1995 and started up with www.Classmates.com. The project came out quite successful, and in the next few year there was a number of duplicates with the same content. But the official social networking success started in 2003-2004 with the networks such as: LinkedIn, Myspace and Facebook. The advantages of networking can also involve finding people with the same interest, finding the desired web page or any other information that can interest you related to your hobby or work. Usually, the web site allows you to post information about yourself (e.g. Date of birth, school or university you attended, hobbies etc.) from which other users can find you, and relate if needed. There are different types of profiles, you can either have your own private profile, or make a group which will be visible for everybody. As competition in the fashion markets intensifies globally, companys seek other and new strategies to capture both the interest and loyalty of consumers. Because the business environment is changing and is very dynamic in the fashion sector . Apparel companys would have to build their image and brand with supporting marketing strategies which will lead to growth in the long run and survival of the brand and what it represents (Marguerite Moore, 2003) For the marketing purposes, social networks represent unique opportunities of a constant contact with the consumers. It became a usual activity to talk about different companies and preferences, which either can break the companys reputation, or make it stronger. Social media marketing platform is growing extremely fast, therefore it attract spending more budget by the companies on advertisings that can be placed on these web pages. The major goal of Marketing is undoubtedly to satisfy the customers needs and make a profit along the way. Unfortunately, the needs of customers can differ tremendously from industry to industry. Therefore different approaches are required to meet all the different needs. Positioning the brand is about finding the right spot in customers minds in order to create the desired association. (Kotler, 2001, p.172) The thesis mostly concentrates Facebook as a form of social media network. It would analysis its advantages as well as disadvantages towards businesses and their marketing strategy. Nowadays news about Facebook appears very regularly, this is one of the fastest growing social networks and the most popular one. Launched 6 years ago, Facebook was a closed network for students only, allowed to sign in only with a student email address belonging to certain universities. Nowadays anybody around the world can join the network. The main advantage for marketing purposes, that ensured success of Facebook, is the transformation from the usual social network into a platform with web applications. Developers have created a program that allows anyone to create an addition to Facebook. Currently, there are more than 5000 web-based applications, among them games and promotions which are quite useful for enhancing the performance of services and advertising. After a convenient research Outlaw Freelancers have decided to use the social media website such as Facebook as a marketing strategy to take on helping promote the brand. (Salzer-Morling and Strannegard 2004) define the brand as the organisations principal asset and the core business activity. It is more than just a name or symbol and can be used to differentiate a retailer from its competitors . having a strong brand is a powerful marketing strategy to reduce uncertainty about evaluation of product and to increase the purchase intentions of online shoppers (Collins-Dodd and Lindley, 2003). Today more and more retailers use their websites and social media to establish their brand presence on the web and communicate with key audiences. The main purpose of this thesis is to find out whether social media, such as Facebook, can influence the Outlaw Freelancers brand awareness, and sales in a long run. There are a lot of surveys mentioning that traditional advertising methods are losing power, compare to the online word of mouth, therefore it is interesting to use a real life example such as Outlaw Freelancers, to observe whether Facebook can be effective. The remainder of this study/research is organised as follows. Chapter 2 looks at the literatures relative to the subject , while chapter 3 looks at the methods used to convey the research . Chapter 4 looks at the analysis gotten from the survey and finally chapter 5 will conclude the research. Aims and Objectives I. To find out if the social media such as Facebook can affect online sales of the small brand such as Outlaw Freelancers. Compare the use of Facebook of a big company like NIKE to a small brand such as Outlaw Freelancers. Find out what are the lessons that small business can apply. Analyze if it is effective to use only social media during the growth of the new brand. 1.2 Significance of study The purpose of this study is to explore how a small fashion brand tries to engage in the market using social media techniques. Upon completion of the study , the Researcher would have an additional knowledge in analysing how social media works and most especially in what kind of businesses. The study will identify problems that might occur using this form of marketing strategy. With research , interviews, sent out questionnaires and the presence of a focus group. The study will show in detail the impact of social media network such as Facebook on the business and its brand. The recommendation on findings made in the study will help Outlaw Freelancer, its owners and potential small businesses, more aware and knowledgeable on external factors out there that could endanger or improve their business future. Limitation of study Time constraints due to time it was unfeasible to have more personal interviews with managers of mostly fashion companies. Also questionnaire could be as extensive as the researcher would have preferred. Limited Research present research/survey available still represent a diminutive fraction of the individuals on social media site; Facebook and fashion companies that promote their brands through this medium. The sample is relatively small and might have a different outcome if the sample was larger. Limited response Some of the interviewees have busy lives hence are limited to a short time and would only be able to answer a restricted amount of questions. Data availability Some of the respondents were reluctant to provide some of the information. Chapter 2 Literature Review As the internet continues to grow more and more consumers organise their regular lives around the web. From education(online learning to shopping for groceries or in this context fashion goods. Over the years consumers have seem to increase their online purchase of fashion merchandises. That status has generated a body of research allied with fashion e-tailing. (Marchiniak, R. and Bruce, M. 2004) summarise in a chapter about e-tailing, they highlight that an ample amount of study done in the area shows cross channel shopping behaviour and issues with consumer behaviour. However further research show essentials like web site design , quality and fashion are most retailers approach to online strategy (Neil F. Doherty Fiona Ellis 2010). The aspect of web design is important to any fashion branding especially the Outlaws; a brand coming straight into the e-tailing market. In the terms of web site design, issues like the page design , interactivity level , and inconsistency across the si tes get consumers concerned and react ( Siddiqui, N., OMalley, A., McColl, J.C. and Birtwistle, G. 2003). In different literature , there are aspects that are needed for any company looking to promote its brand through the web or social media websites. Aspects like branding, promotions, and web design mentioned above. Branding is crucial to the final vision of any fashion company, whether big or small. Park and Stoel (2005) investigated the familiarity with brands on the internet alongside with previous experience of shopping. They suggest that this familiarity and knowledge about brands is likely to influence the way consumers react and most especially their purchasing power. It also influences their perceptions on the risk associated with shopping online. In other words there is some evidence that brand familiarity may stimulate engagement with online shopping (Jennifer Rowley 2009). In a research model by Park, he made up a hypotheses that, People who are exposed to a well-known brand name will perceive (a) higher value and (b) more positive store image, as compared to people who are exposed to a website with an unfamiliar brand name ( Minjung Park 2009) . The diagram in Appendix ( diagram from journal). goes on to show how Park describes the links between the brand, promotion, perceived value, purchase intention and store image. Although in the case of the Outlaw Freelancers there is not a store image. Moving on to promotions, which are very useful in cognitive evaluations when deciding on the product to purchase (Raghubir, P. 2004). They are important ways of keeping consumers informed about products and trends. They create a sort of awareness value to the retailer, let consumers know about their activities which might eventually lead to their loyalty and encourage them to revisit (Minjung Park 2009). Several research have shown and proven that promotions such as price promotions like discounts have a positive impact on the customers behaviour towards products.(fit it somewhere) However despite the increase in online sales of fashion apparel, research from scholars suggest that many individuals especially those in Europe are more reluctant to shop for garment over the internet. No doubt that issues like trying the apparel on and feeling the fabric hinges this process enormously . (Rene P. Spijkerman 2008) shows in details investigation from several resources (E buyersGuide.com, Kwon et al., 1991; Jasper and Quelette, 1994). He goes on to highlight the percentage and issues involving shopping on-line. In the same research conducted by Rene P. Spijkerman which intended to answer his main research question: How do Dutch fashion retailers use Internet sites (2004 2007) and if Dutch consumers appreciate web sites selling apparel? The research investigation includes the web presents of Dutch apparel retailers having at least up to 55 shops in the town/city. It was to no surprise that majority of the shops could be identified using the google search engine, althou gh others had to be searched through other websites or links. This highlighted a notable part to the researcher that the web presence of any retail business (fashion brands) and easy access was a crucial element, more over as companies like Outlaws intend to grow and be known, the ability to make its presence on the web would be a tough but promising challenge if successful. Finally at the end Rene comes to a conclusion that some Dutch retailers do sell on the Internet on their own site but the majority do not, despite the fact that they obviously put money and effort into their web sites. Others like Doherty et al. (1999) support Rene and suggest similar, proposing that the Internet adoption might not be a viable strategy for all retailers, as the likelihood of an organisation succeeding in their investment decision would be dependent upon the retailers specific internal and environmental inhibitors and facilitators. When all seems to fail, Word of mouth (WOM) is always another marketing strategy for firms to use. It has a greater impact on judgements and decision making than formal methods of marketing communications. Research has showed that this method helps attract new customers . even though others emphasis on branding and promotions Chapter 3 Methodology Research methodology A research process that includes a systematic set of steps and actions to answer certain questions, which usually include information from academic journals, books, different publications and web sites. A right set of methods will lead to the development of the answers. In this thesis few methods will be used to answer the main question. The most important field research is the actual observation and working with the firm Outlaw Freelancers a brand on the social media strategy, for the period of 4 month. It is crucial to observe the process as it goes, paying attention from the very start. The brand is a good example of micro business and it will be interesting to compare its use of the social media, to the big company like NIKE and HM, and the way they operate through Web 2.0. However, it needs to be taken into consideration that big companies already have an existing image, and in no need to build a new one. Their task is to represent the image in its best, and communicate with the consumers, making them a part of a social media building process. Small new brands, on the other hand, have an opportunity of building their image through social media and the word of mouth, which does not involve as much costs like marketing campaigns. An interview will be conducted with NIKE HM representatives, from the social media section, their answers are summarised in the analysis. The NIKE interview will be done in person, to increase the response of the interviewee. The questions will be very open and would be more like a conversation. The HM interview will consists of 7 questions, the questions will be set as an open questionnaire they will open questions with no fixed answers and seek to solicit opinions on particular issues. This questionnaire can be seen in Appendix. It will be interesting to find out how long the companies used social media, if they analyse the outcome and the reaction of users, if there are any costs involved in the process and how many people in the company are involved in the process of managing the Web pages. In order to find out if the users of Facebook pay attention to the fan pages of the fashion brands, another questionnaire will be conducted and sent to 50 users. The questionnaire is closed, with a set of questions in a fixed order, which generally requires the correspondence to respond by selection of one or more multiple choice options. The method ensures a rapid response, easy quantification, coding of data, and consequent comparability of response and guarantees coverage of the area of the interest to the research ( Brewerton et al, 2001. p.70) It will be interesting to see from the user prospective, if there is any attention paid to the updates and information that companies post. (See Appendix) After gathering responses from the following questionnaires, one might be able to compare the use of Facebook of a big company like NIKE to a small brand such as Outlaw Freelancers and find out if the social media such as Facebook can affect online sales of the small brand such as Outlaw Freelancers, which are the aims and objectives (I and II) of this project. All interviews, observations and questionnaires will help to examine and explore the links between the company, its branding and its promotions within social media context. All research, observation and scholars have shown that this elements are very essential ingredients to any company that wishes to participate in e-retailing and make its web presents. However, certain limitations may obstruct the collection data. The interviewees and recipients of the questionnaire are extraordinarily busy. They may not respond or complete the surveys independently. Chapter 4 Analysis 4.1 Analysis Outlaw Freelancers To answer the aims and objectives of this study, the observation was conducted with the Outlaw Freelancers brand. During the period of 4 months the researcher was given an opportunity to work on the social media strategy and advertise the Outlaws mainly through Facebook. Social media gives companies an opportunity of free marketing, the main difference between traditional media and social media are the costs of it. Traditional media have existed long before Internet took over. In a lot of cases it is still relevant, depending on the product and the company. It includes radio, television, newspapers, magazines, books and most print publications. Outlaw Freelancers is a good example of micro business, therefore it was interesting to observe the growth of it. Most of the main objectives that were created in the beginning of the observation were met. Creating a Facebook fan page was a first step. To attract the users to become fans came out as a difficult task, due to the lack of the name recognition. After some time mostly the friends of the brand started to notice, and adding the brand to their profiles. Another important trick that was used in order to grow fan base, was Facebook advertising on the right side of the page. Facebook advertising is meant to be paid for, and the price is depending on the location, occupation and ages that you are targeting, etc. The advertising helped the brand to grow up to 1300 online fans, targeting countries such as Netherlands, France, Belgium, USA and United Kingdom, people who are working in the fashion industry or are related to it by any means. To target different countries gives a brand an opportunity of the immediate international presents, which is important in the long run. Outlaw Freelancers Fan page: New posts of the brand are sent to the fans through the Facebook updates (the posts on the main wall) and message updates. The main web shop (www.outlawfreelancers.com) is linked with Facebook profile which is shown in the information box on the wall of the profile. The fans were constantly indulged in the conversations, which is an important part of the social media strategy. Facebook users like to feel important and noticed. The communication that is done by a brand needs to represents its tone. Preferably the selling part is better to leave to a costumer, which can decide for himself. The post were representing the Outlaws identity, they included different fashion and music events, art exhibitions, inspiring images as well as any kind of updates on the main web shop page. The right balance was accomplished from the beginning, therefore users felt comfortable to comment and take part in discussions. The calendar for updates was made in order to be more strategic, in this way users do not forget about the existence of the brand. To analyse the fan pages, Facebook created an overview graphs, which show the traffic that was drawn by users The main aim of the Facebook fan page is to draw more traffic to the main web-shop (www.outlawfreelancers.com) and increasing sales. The website analysis did not show much change in the first 2 month, where after that period traffic increased and t-shirts were selling, but in very small quantities. This 4 month observation has showed the first signs that the fan pages on Facebook might not be enough to advertise the brand, therefore traditional needs to also be used. Outlaw Freelancers SWOT analysis Strengths Individual networking Word of mouth communication Immediate Internet presence through social media Quality product Weaknesses Lack of name recognition Advertising only through social media Competition with established brands No guarantee of sale through social media Opportunities Rise in sales Brand expansion to wider range of products (e.g. pans, jumpers, ladies wear) Developing international presents Retail sales Threats Getting the right message across to the right target group Becoming price competitive Shifting trends 4.2 NIKE Field research: Interview with Lauren Jane McBridge who is working on Brand Communication within Northern Europe at NIKE, dealing with brand marketing through social media. Aim of the interview: In this interview researcher would like to find out the way big company like NIKE operates within the social media in comparison to a small company like Outlaw Freelancers. Lauren McBridge was contacted, who is being responsible for brand communication within Nothern Europe to find out the information the researcher was looking for. Social media at NIKE: At the NIKE headquarters in Hilversum, Brand communication department is responsible for social media in Europe, all the other parts of the world are covered in different headquarters such as United States of America and Russia. Lauren McBridge is mostly responsible for covering Northern part of Europe and countries such as: Denmark, Belgium, Sweden, Norway, Netherlands and Finland. NIKE uses few social media networks such as Twitter, Facebook and Hyves in Netherlands. The main network that is being frequently used is Facebook. Laurens main tasks include monitoring Facebook fan pages, analysing responses of the users, and overall looking at the success of different social media campaigns. The analysing process is made through graphs and responses on the fan pages, which calculate the number of visitors in the certain period, feedbacks and the highest ratings. After analysing the feedback the information is calculated and can be used in the next campaign, considering the information that have gotten the highest response. The success of the social media campaigns is also calculated through sales in stores as well as online. For example when a product is posted on a Facebook page, with a link to a web shop, NIKE is watching the response of the consumer online, as well as comparing it to the number of sales of that particular item. Taking into consideration that NIKE is a major publicly trade sportswear and the worlds leading supplier of athletic shoes and apparel, every country that NIKE is represented in needs a different approach in social media networks. Everything depends on the culture and sport events that are taking place. At NIKE there are usually one or two people who are involved in social media for each country, who update public profiles and give responses to the public when it is needed. This is relatively different approach that that of HM, where there is only one existing Facebook fan page. It contrast to NIKE here which admits on having various different fan pages, one for each country. NIKE Facebook pages can be updated quite frequently, sometimes even more then once a day, depending on the current situation with events. The content calendar is used in order to balance the posts. It is important not to be pushy or concentrating on sales as well as to keep the posts high quality, as every socia l media page carries the reputation of the global brand. Facebook users like to feel special, so the main task is to inform and generate interactions. Sometimes the response might come out negative, in which case it is important to reply in the right way, which will give the brand more credibility. A very similar method, is used by HM. It was demonstrated in the questionnaire, sent to the employee, when she was asked in question 5 about the companys reaction or response to negative comments. Her answer was as follow, If theres a need, we always do our best to respond. Facebook vs. Twitter and Hyves: The main social media website that NIKE is involved with is Facebook. It seems to be the most convenient network for the brand, with the biggest amount of users. Twitter, on the other hand, was used in the case of a big event (e.g. World Cup) which added the account a lot of followers, but did not come out as successful as Facebook. For the company the outcome is important, the attention of users, and Twitter did not show as much enthusiasm. Hyves, is the most popular social network site in the Netherlands, with mainly Dutch visitors, therefore it was essential to make a Hyves account for NIKE. Hyves is being used quite frequently and the content is different from Facebook, to keep the user interested. But then again, Facebook pages seems to draw more interest. A lot of countries all over the world have their own social networks, where they use mother tongue as the main language. The examples of those networks are Vkontakte in Russia and Mixi in Japan. Representatives of NIKE that work for social media for those countries monitoring the pages that are specially made for users of more localized networks. NIKE has few Facebook fan pages, depending on the audience they want to attract, for example male or female. The voice behind every post needs to be relating to the consumer. Therefore it is important to consider user differences in social network. Costs As much as social media can be considered a free of charge marketing, in the big companies like NIKE costs can be involved from time to time. There are special agencies that can be used to maintain Facebook fan pages, which includes clearing spam walls and any old tabs that are not used any more. It is important to include those agencies when the big events are coming up (e.g. Sponsoring Football games). Professional marketeers are able to figure out when is the best time to post certain information to get the best outcome. Most of the images that are used in the social media campaigns are sent from the global office in the United States, with the correct description. Here is the example of the new product post from NIKE Woman Facebook fan page : To summaries the post, it is clear that NIKE is trying to advertise the product, but after reading the information below the image, you become more informed where you can use the product, and relate to a sprinter like Allyson. Another marketing trick that NIKE used in this post is communication with the Facebook users. They are asking a question, and asking consumers to be creative with the ways to wear a product. By answering users feel important, and waiting curiously for the results, if their answer was the most creative one. This trick is used by a lot of companies who want to get on a more personal level with their consumers. Analysis 4.3 HM Following the interview of

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Personal Stregnths and weaknesses Essay -- essays research papers

The Personal Strengths and Weaknesses of Lindsay Nanna   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When I first came across this assignment, I was quite apprehensive. I thought about what my teacher and fellow classmates would really think about me then. How would my Learning Group react? But at the same time I knew that this would be a growing experience and when I was completed I could look back on the paper and take a sigh of relief. Honestly, it is much easier for me to say what my weaknesses are than my strengths. I usually tend to go for the difficult men; the ones with some kind of â€Å"problem†. This tends to land me in the middle of nasty break-ups and unfortunate broken hearts. So now one would also agree that I am too forgiving and give too many second chances. Now, all those hurt feelings can sometime tend to leave me cruel and bitter. I am now beginning to understand that not everyone has the same work ethics as I do. It greatly frustrates me when I see a fellow co-worker messing around on the job and when I tell my manager it seems as if they don’t care. It makes me feel like a nag, but it is really something that is important to me, especially since the matter deals with patient care on the bottom line. At work, I get rather upset when I see fraternizing between certain cliques. I know that any office has the same politics, but it to me is still hard to swallow. Another weakness is that when I have my mind made up, there is no stopping me. Now, one could see this as a strengt...

Monday, November 11, 2019

Participatory Workplace

The organization to which I am affiliated employs about five employees. The owner of the workplace is our boss. Typically, the organization is receptionist; that is, it is produces service-oriented products. The organization produces only hair products since it has limited resources to diversify product sale. Compared with other business establishments, the organization is small. In my 25 years of work, the organization grew little probably because its capital base was insufficient for expanding capital outlay. The organization though continues to provide the public quality hair products. Its supply chain of hair products is relatively open and diverse. The organization can procure hair products from different manufacturers. This makes transactions more competitive (because of the existence of many manufacturers). The organization is typically controlled by the principles of human resource management. Independent contractors are used for the procurement of supplies. Hiring of employees involves several stages. First is the identification of positions vacant. Second is finding potential recruits to fill these vacancies. Third is training the recruits to ensure that they will become high performing employees. The selected recruits will be hired. They will be given employment packages and benefits (corollary to their type of work). Terms of employment and regulations of the firm will be discussed in scheduled sessions. This is done to make the employees aware of the firm’s policies and current economic standing. Regulations will serve as limits to employee behavior in the workplace. Most of the time, regulations are systematically arranged in manuals which are given to employees. In the case of my organization, selection of potential employees is easy and not as restrictive as that of large business establishments. Usually, selection of potential employees and the training period are limited to 2 or 3 weeks. Orientation of the organization’s policies and regulations usually take a day (this is so since the organization is small). In sociology, centralization is defined as the process by which activities of an organization, especially those about decision-making are concentrated within particular positions or areas. Centralization can be vertical or horizontal. Vertical centralization is the typical relationship between departments and the board of directors. The board of directors usually provides the general framework of a given policy. The managers of the departments implement the provisions of a policy. Hence, the managers execute the specifics of a given policy. Horizontal centralization is the typical relationship between departments. In organizational theory, some departments are generally important than other departments. For example, the sales department is usually more important than the legal department of a firm precisely because the former holds the future of the firm. The sales department determines the financial status of a firm. Hence, relatively, the actions of the sales department may determine the actions of the other departments. Under centralization, open communication is only possible between managers of several departments and the general manager of the firm, and between the board of directors and the general manager. Open communication between ordinary employees and the management is done through division supervisors (although the information becomes blur as it passes from one level to another). Open information is only possible for high level managers and of course, the board of directors. Standardization is the process of agreeing upon a given set of guidelines for interoperability. Standardization is tantamount to enacting rules to maintain the operability of an organization. Hence, an organization creates standardized procedures in order to provide the employees an efficient and effective means of rendering work to the firm. For example, standardized guidelines for hiring employees allow a given company to select the best and efficient people to occupy vacant positions in the company. In addition, standardization generally prevents work discrimination in a company. This is so since the behavior of all workers in a company is limited by standardized work procedures. Role specialization in industrial sociology is defined as the diversification of job positions in the workplace. As one may note, jobs in most companies are highly diversified. Diversification ensures efficiency and effectiveness of a company. Diversifying job positions saves time and amount for a company. In addition, diversification provides the avenue for increased cooperation and interdependence among workers. For example, rather than employing two script writers, it is efficient for a film production group to employ one script writer and one film reviewer. This saves time for the firm. Autonomy is a condition in which employees are given some freehand over the nature and discourse of their jobs. This is typical of research firms where employees are given deadlines. The employees are free to do anything so long as the prescribed work is finished on or before the given deadline. By giving some autonomy to the employees, alienation is prevented. The employees are able to exercise their work values (professionalism) and skills without institutional limits. The distribution of power in a firm should be made more uniform to allow workers more voice. Resting power to one person or group of persons prevents workers from airing their grievances. Thus, in making the distribution of power more uniform, the firm creates institutions or channels that can absorb all the grievances and needs of the workers. Once the grievances are well documented, negotiation is the only plausible option. In the negotiation process, the management and the workers should have equal powers in terms of negotiation. The options that management will take should be compensated by the actions that the workers will enforce. Technology should be made more human-resource oriented; that is, technology should put under the discretion of both the management and the workers. If the management solely controls the direction of a firm’s technology, the workers loses value. If the control and direction of a firm’s technology solely belongs to the workers (e.g. in communist countries), the firm loses potential earnings. Therefore, there is a need to strike a middle position between the management and the workers. A middle position will enable the two parties to cooperate effectively with regard to the use of technology in the company. In addition, this will make work more participatory (employees and the management). In terms of skill, no substantial changes are necessary except that related skills should be realigned. This will allow more cooperation between employees, and consequently, making work more participatory (since every job in the firm is viewed essential to the continuity of a firm’s operations). Here are then the necessary changes that the management should undertake to make work more participatory: 1) Realigning related jobs – increased cooperation among related jobs increases employee participation and motivation of employees; 2)Putting some technologies of the company under the control of the employees – the employees will determine the production process (work in general), making their perception of the workplace more positive. This will generally increase participation among employees; 3)And, institutionalizing open channels of communication (grievances included) – the needs and grievances of the employees will be taken into account by management. If these needs and grievances are addressed, the management will expect an increased worker propensity to participate in company activities. Reference Hall, Richard and Pamela S. Tolbert. (2004). Organizations: Structures, Processes, and O

Friday, November 8, 2019

Writing an Inquiry Business Letter for ESL Students

Writing an Inquiry Business Letter for ESL Students When you want to ask a business for more information concerning a product or service or for other information, you write an inquiry letter. When written by consumers, these types of letters are often in response to an advertisement seen in a newspaper, magazine, or commercial on television. They can be written and mailed or emailed. In a business-to-business setting, a companys employees can write inquiries to ask the same types of questions about products and services. For example, a company representative may want information on buying products wholesale from a distributor, or a growing small business may need to outsource its bookkeeping and payroll and want to contract with a firm. For further types of business letters, you can find examples of  different types of business letters to refine your skills for specific business purposes, such as making inquiries, adjusting claims, writing cover letters, and more. Hard-Copy Letters For professional-looking hard-copy letters, place your or your companys address at the top of the letter (or use your companys letterhead stationery) followed by the address of the company you are writing to. The date can either be placed double-spaced down (hit return/enter twice) or to the right. If you use a style that has the date on the right, indent your paragraphs and do not put a line of space between them. If you keep everything flush to the left, dont indent paragraphs, and put a space between them. Leave a line of space before your closing, and four to six lines of space for you to have room to hand-sign the letter. Emailed Inquiries If you use email, its easier on the readers eyes to have paragraphs with a line of space between them, so flush everything left. The email will automatically have the date of when it was sent, so you do not need to add the date, and youll need only one line of blank space between your closing and your typed name. Place your company contact information (such as your  telephone extension so someone can get back to you easily) at the bottom after your name.   Its easy to be too casual with email. If you want to appear professional to the business youre writing to, stick with the rules and tone of formal letter writing for the best results, and proofread your letter before sending it out. Its so easy to dash out an email, hit Send right away, and then discover a mistake upon rereading. Correct errors before sending to make a better first impression. Important Language for a Business Inquiry Letter The start: Dear Sir or Madam or To Whom It May Concern (very formal, used when you do not know the person to whom you are writing). If you know your contact already, thats better than being anonymous.Giving reference: With reference to your advertisement (ad) in... or Regarding your advertisement (ad) in...  Give the company context to why youre writing, right away.Requesting a catalog, brochure, etc.: After the reference, add a comma and continue could you please send me information on...Requesting further information: If you have more that youre seeking, add, I would also like to know... or Could you tell me whether...Summary call to action: I look forward to hearing from you... or Could you please give me a call between the hours of...Closing:  Use Sincerely or Yours faithfully to close.Signature: Add your title on the line following your name. An Example Hard-Copy Letter Your NameYour Street AddressCity, ST Zip Business NameBusiness AddressCity, ST Zip September 12, 2017 To Whom It May Concern: With reference to your advertisement in yesterdays New York Times, could you please send me a copy of your latest catalog? Is it also available online? I look forward to hearing from you. Yours faithfully, (Signature) Your Name Your Job TitleYour Company Name

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

Martin Luther King Jr. and the 1963 Revolution essays

Martin Luther King Jr. and the 1963 Revolution essays The summer of 1963 was an important period of the civil right movement. It was during these months that the Birmingham movement took place. In the book Why We Cant Wait, Martin Luther King Jr. discusses the Birmingham movement and why he believes it was important. This essay will discuss what King believed had already been achieved with the civil rights movement before 1963 and what he hoped would be the result of the work done in Birmingham, Alabama and other projects in 1963. King discussed many different tactics that were used before 1963 to move the civil rights movement forward. One of them was the Montgomery bus boycotts. These boycotts started when a woman, Rosa Parks whom King describes as a courageous woman refused to move from her seat on the bus for a white person. Following Parks arrest, many black men and women refused to ride the bus for over a year in order to desegregate the public bus system. King described a working woman who as she walked home from her job, on feet weary from a full days work, she walked proudly, knowing she was with a movement that would bring into being non segregated bus travel. It was Kings belief that all of those involved in this boycott were brave and that the outcome would be worthwhile. Another worthwhile tactic that was used in order to desegregate public places was sit-ins. Negro men would sit at lunch counters that were designated for whites only and would refuse to move until they were served. Most of these men were arrested under the local trespass after warning ordinance before they were served but the point was made that the black community was not going to let their rights be taken from them anymore. King was a supporter of this approach to gaining desegregation. It was his opinion that the men involved in sit-ins were in reality standing up for what is best in the American dream and ...

Monday, November 4, 2019

Work Place Safety Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Work Place Safety - Essay Example Therefore, human resource personnel together with the management ought to formulate and implement action plans to help address these issues. This paper explicates workplace safety issues in healthcare, and specific HR role in assuring safety. This paper further focuses on safety issues unique to healthcare, how HR enters into safety issues with their clinicians, and case studies of hospitals that have successful safety projects. Improving workplace safety in health care organizations has been a global challenge affecting both industrialized and third world countries. Each and every aspect of health could potentially put the safety of health providers and their clients at risk. For instance, the fact that health care providers deal with patients who sometimes present themselves with communicable disease means that they have a higher risk of acquiring the infections. According to the United States Department of Labor (2010), 653,000 incidents relating to harm or occupational diseases were account in 2010. These incidents in healthcare were higher when compared to other areas of the economy. In an effort to reduce these incidents, HR ought to work hand in hand with clinicians. Before explicating HR issues relating to workplace safety, it is important to define safety and workplace safety in the context of healthcare. A definition of safety cited by Hughes and Ferrett (2010, p. 2) denote safety as "The protection of people from physical injury". The meaning of workplace safety is explicated by Hughes and Ferrett (2010) through a definition of work-related ill health. In elucidating the definition in laymans terms, work-related ill health can be referred to as diseases resulting from or prompted by processes characteristic of healthcare organizations Jong et al (2014) posits that a healthcare provider can acquire special infections such as

Friday, November 1, 2019

Synthesize the Peer Review Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Synthesize the Peer Review - Research Paper Example To cater these mental issues many psychological clinics are found, in which special psychiatrists are there to help people come out of the mental issues using some special therapies and their own intelligence. However it is recommended by the author Lightner Witmer in his article that these psychiatrists should be given special trainings on psychology before dealing with the people who are going through a tough time especially in education. The psychological clinics were particularly built for the children who were suffering from mental problems which became hindrances in their educational careers but then they also proved to be prolific for the adults confronting the same situation. Moreover clinical psychology can also be pursued as a career, as teaching, research conducting and managing community programs. One of the processes used by psychiatrists to treat the patients of mental illness is might introspection. Introspection is a way through which a person can learn about his own ongoing mental activities, thoughts, beliefs and judgements. It helps people to find out the problem existing in their mind and then strive for the solution.