A Study of the Cultural Imperialism Theory Essay

ABSTRACT This paper explores the validity of the Cultural Imperialism Theory which says the Western culture has dominated the cultures of developing Nations. It examines to what extent and how the Western world in the real sense has dominated the developing countries. The study further examined the means through which the developing countries are being dominated culturally by the Western culture. The paper further looked at both the negative and the positive effects of cultural imperialism. It concluded that though the western world is succeeding in eroding the culture of developing countries and Nigeria as a study, Nigeria as a Nation should put on some safety belt in safeguarding our heritage. INTRODUCTION Culture is the way of life of a set of people. It encompasses the knowledge, ideas, beliefs, values, standards, and sentiments prevalent in the group. According to Charles A. Ellwood, an American Sociologist, culture is the â€Å"collective name for all behavior patterns socially acquired and socially transmitted by means of symbols†. Dare A., defines Culture as the collectivity of human activities and general principles that tend to guide ideas of a group of people with shared traditions (general acceptability), which are passed on, instilled into generation (socialization) and reinvigorated by members of the group (sustainability) while Imperialism as defined by The Dictionary of Human Geography is the creation and maintenance of an unequal economic, cultural and territorial relationship, usually between states and often in the form of an empire, based on domination and subordination The Theorist of Cultural Imperialism theory, Herb Schiller postulated that Western nations dominate the media around the world which in return has a powerful effect on Third World Cultures by means of imposing on them, western views thereby destroying their native cultures Western Civilization produces the majority of the media (film, news, comics, etc.) because they have the money to do so. The rest of the world purchases those productions because it is cheaper for them to do so rather than produce their own. Therefore, Third World countries are watching media filled with the Western world’s way of living, believing, and thinking. The third world cultures then start to want and do the same things in their countries and destroy their own culture. In cultural Imperialism theory, the key words are culture and imperialism. According to Anaeto G., Onabajo, O. and Osifeso, J. (2008), they wrote that â€Å"the western countries are technologically developed in television and motion programmes and developing countries that are not technologically developed depend on the programmes from the developed countries. This means that the programmes from the developed counties which portray their culture will be imbibed by the developing nations. This western culture now dominates our local culture simply because we are consuming their mass media messages†. The assumptions of the theory according to Schiller, H., are classified into three namely 1. Ontological Assumptions 2. Epistemological Assumptions 3. Axiological Assumptions 1. Ontological Assumptions This theory says that humans do not have the free will to chose how they feel, act, think, and live. They react to what they see on television because there is nothing else to compare it to besides their own lives, usually portrayed as less than what it should be. 2. Epistemological Assumptions This theory explains that there is one truth and no matter what that truth never going to change. As long as Third World countries continue to air Western Civilization’s programs then the third world countries will always believe they should act, feel, think, and live as Western Civilizations act, feel, think, and live. 3. Axiological Assumptions This theory is value-neutral and objective. It does not matter what beliefs the people of Third World may already hold, the television programs from the Western World will communicate the same message and affect them in the same way. CRITIQUES OF THEORY The critiques of the Cultural Imperialism theory came up with scientific theory which counter-argued the theory with the following responses: Explanatory Power: It explains what happens when one group of people with their own ideas sends messages through the media to a different group of people. Predictive Power: It predicts that Third World countries’ culture will be destroyed and the people will identify with Western views. Parsimony: We can see a direct linear path from sender to receiver through the media channels and then watch the effects. Falsifiability: The theory could be proved false should the Third World countries not be affected by Western media and they do not lose their culture. E.G â€Å"Under the intriguing title Seducing the French (1993), Richard F.Kuisel concedes that the French underwent a process of Americanization. But at the same time, they succeeded in defending their â€Å"Frenchness.† French consumers found some American products appealing but they also continued to cherish and idealize French national identity, notably the idea of a superior French high culture.† Internal Consistency: There is a logical flow of events and consequences within the theory. Heuristic Provocativeness: This theory could lead to new hypotheses such as which cultures are affected more than others (if any) or whether low context differ in the reception of messages compared top high context cultures? Organizing Power: This fits with what we already know about differences between Western civilization and Third World countries. Another example the critique stated is that â€Å"if an International Broadcast station shows a video depicting Nigerians as corrupt, dangerous and malnourished, should someone in Nigeria watch this the Western stereotype of Nigerians, and not affected by it, the theory have been proved false†. John, T., further argues that Cultural imperialism consists of the spread of modernity. It is a process of cultural loss and not of cultural expansion. There never were groups of conspirators who attempted to spread any particular culture. Instead, global technological and economic progress and integration reduced the importance of national culture. Therefore, it is misleading to put the blame for a global development on any one culture. The notion of imperialism that is, purposeful cultural conquest is irrelevant; instead, all countries, regardless of whether they are located in the northern or southern hemisphere, are victims of a worldwide cultural change MODES OF CULTURAL IMPERIALISM Tracing world history all through the era of colonialism, there have been histories of cultural imperialism which will seem the only way to explain the popularity of the very-British game cricket in all countries that once served as British colonies. Invasion of a country most often doesn’t end with an invasion of the geographical territories within the political boundaries alone. Religious and cultural invasion are often inseparable parts of a political conquest. It’s much easier to rule if your subjects share the same religious and cultural platforms as the invaders? The cultural imperialism theory is founded upon the premises of imposing the influences and beliefs of the stronger culture (the invaders) upon the weaker or more submissive culture (the invaded). How does this cultural Imperialism take place? Dare A., states that Cultural imperialism takes place when one culture overtakes another in such a way that the latter ends up following a significant number of values, traditions, beliefs and influences of the former either completely or in a way merges the influences of the dominating culture with those of its own. Such a cultural invasion can either be active or passive. In its active form, the dominant culture forcefully imposes its cultural influences upon the dominated culture. This is a dynamic phenomenon where the subordinate culture is compelled to adopt the ways of the invaders. The passive form is when one culture (not necessarily subordinate) voluntarily embraces the influences and traditions of another culture. Here, the dominant culture makes little or no forceful efforts in imposing its cultural ideals upon another but the latter gets influenced as a consequence of its receptivity to the former’s cultural impacts. The passive form of cultural imperialism is what largely takes place today. Cultural imperialism can also occur due to the significant commercial relations between two countries. A country heavily importing products and services of another country may get significantly influenced by the exporting country’s lifestyle attributes and social values. We can see this phenomenon in the form of Westernization of a number of Eastern countries. This is a type of passive cultural imperialism as the receiving culture adopts the foreign values without perceiving the fact that they are, in fact, becoming slaves of a foreign culture. WORLD EXAMPLES OF CULTURAL IMPERIALISM English Cultural Imperialism English cultural imperialism has been rife in the history of cultural imperialism. Latin which has the Church’s official language to popularizing its national game all across its colonies was changed to English. The British Empire left no stone unturned to make sure that its subjects adhered to its cultural idiosyncrasies even decades after ceasing to be its subjects. The fact that Cricket is among the top ten most popular sports around the world with an estimated 3 billion fan following, especially in countries like Australia, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, United Kingdom, New Zealand and certain African and Caribbean countries proves the strength of the English cultural imperialism. It is also a known fact that English is the third most spoken language after Mandarin and Spanish. Decades of dominion and repressive policies towards Tibet, Taiwan and various other neighboring regions by China has had a significant influence upon the religion and culture of these regions. The aggressive promotion of a standardized Chinese language across Mainland China and Taiwan indicates towards an attempted cultural imperialism aimed at overtaking regional dialects in these areas. Also, the fact that most traditional aspects of the Chinese culture pertaining to religious beliefs, festivals and social norms significantly inundate the socio cultural edifices of various Oriental countries indicate towards strongly existing cultural imperialism. The most widespread and still continuing instance of cultural imperialism can be seen in the form of Americanization. This is mostly due to the multitudes of commercial relationships the United States holds with a large number of countries in all parts of the world. This is definitely passive cultural imperialism and the countries that are most affected are those that have voluntarily adopted the stereotyped American lifestyle values and specific cultural aspects CULTURAL IMPERIALISM IN NIGERIA The Issue of Sagging Sagging has become the latest phenomenon among the male youths today in Nigeria. It is what is in vogue; if you have not exposed the lower part of your private, you belong to the old school system. What is sagging and where did it come from? According to Greg, M., sagging was adopted from the United States prison system where belts are prohibited. Belts are sometimes prohibited to keep prisoners from using them as weapons or in committing suicide by hanging themselves. The style was later popularized by hip-hop artists in the 1990s. It has since become a symbol of freedom and cultural awareness among some youths or a symbol of their rejection of the values of mainstream society. Jails are typically state run institutions. What usually happens is the state will order a set number of inmate uniforms. These uniforms are usually in general sizes like small, medium and large; making them ill-fitting for most inmates. When a medium sized inmate comes in and there are no remaining medium uniforms this inmate will receive a large instead. Prisoners are not allowed to have shoe laces or belts for fear they’d use them to kill themselves (by way of strangulation or hanging), or as weapons to kill or injure other inmates. The combination of over sized clothing and lack of fastening devices created the perfect storm for falling pants. Many street hungry rappers latched on the dress of their incarcerated friends and family and brought the style to the masses. Thus a new trend was born and Nigerians have fallen into this trend Linguistic Imperialism Language is one of the principal elements in identifying a particular culture and the absence of it makes a culture unidentifiable. It is vital for cultural transmission and preservation. With the gradual loss of our indigenous languages in Nigeria, what culture are we then preserving? Ogwu, M., Agbanu, N. and Ofordile, J. describes Linguistic Imperialism as â€Å"People who can relate with each other only through the medium of communication foisted on them by a former colonist are victims of a peculiar kind of Schizophrenia†. The use of our language is declining in Africa especially Nigeria because we are compelled to embrace Western culture and civilization as Western language. Western language has created a division between an elite and mass of our people who still cannot do business with foreign language. It causes alienation for people who cannot speak English or French. Language is a vehicle of culture; we are in a very serious problem. e.g. â€Å"Professor Babafunwa project on local language as a basic tool of teaching in Nigeria was aborted because of the nature of our country.† Parents also do not encourage their children or wards to speak in their local language as they belief it causes setback in their education. Fashion imperialism You hardly find few of our men, women and the youths who still embrace our cultural mode of dressing. Our people are going ‘gaga’ with the western way of dressing thereby losing their root of African way of dressing. It’s quite unfortunate that when expatriates and tourist who come to Nigeria appreciate our native attire while the owners of the heritage has seen it as something of old school and fashion. Tattoos have also become a common phenomenon. Both the young and old are stamping themselves all over the body with symbolic ‘devilish’ tattoos. Religious Imperialism Most churches in Nigeria today have gone the western way. When you go to some churches today, you marvel at the way some our ladies apparel. The custom of covering of hair has been eroded by the western way; all kinds of dressing are acceptable. The men or young male adults put on all sort of jewels and dress ‘haggardly’. The sense of going to commune with God is lost. EFFECTS OF CULTURAL IMPERIALISM Moral Decadency Through the float of western culture into Nigeria through the advent of technology and globalization, there has been obvious moral decline in Africa and in Nigeria in particular. This moral decadence has permeated almost all spheres of our culture. Moral consciousness has been equated with awkward and odd life styles. According to Oshafu, H., in his article â€Å"Cultural Imperialism†, this resulted due to Africa’s carelessness and failure to hold their culture with high esteem. He added that the moral excellence of African society has over night transformed into moral decay. Elders are no longer respected, our rapid festivals and ceremonies are now seen as â€Å"old school† and we now have children of single parents, a phenomenon that is identifiable with America. People no longer communalize, nobody wants to be anybody’s brother’s keeper. Our mode of dressing has been totally distorted by western civilization through foreign films and media conten t. Today we seem not to have any cultural attire. Our people now prefer to go naked on the streets as against our culture, micro minis with handless tops has this to show. The acculturation of â€Å"blue jean and hamburger† has gradually found it way into young people in African society. The issue of dress code has led to controversies in our high institute in today. Cases of immoral dressing have also gave way to rapid sexual harassment among students and lecturers, bosses and their employees. Raping in our society today came as a result of reckless dressing code by ladies The traditional notion of chastity and virginity have been rendered absurd by pornographic and sleazy materials displayed on screens, distorting sexuality and condoning promiscuity, which has given rise to active homosexuality and lesbianism in our society today. These cases of reckless sex have led to the rapid spread of STD’s particularly, HIV/AIDs in our society today. Innocent children are dying of this disease. They paid dearly for the offence committed by their parents. This is immoral evil militating against the dignity of human person. Increase in Crime Rate With exposure to the western way of life, increase in crime rate is on high. Most of the films we watch on the television set are crime oriented thereby leading to increase in crime rate. In as much as there is positive impact of the television set, the negative aspect outweighs the good part, as the western world is teaching modern ways to crime though the kind of programmes being disseminated, which includes kidnapping, serial killing etc. Look for more points We have scholars who however belief that Cultural Imperialism theory regardless of its negative effect has its positive side. Cultural imperialism they say is not entirely bad as it increases the pace of development in Nigeria and other less developed countries. For example, in the giving away of media products free of charge or selling them at a very low price to these developing nations, the US actually accelerates the growth of the media industry and the advancement in technology, hence increasing the knowledge and skills of the people there. Their actions not only add on to actual growth; the subsequent increase in human capital further boosts potential growth, which is essential for the actual growth to be sustained in the long run. This investment in human capital goes a long way and benefits the country as it strengthens the competitive edge and increases productivity of the workforce. Economic growth is also achieved Even more so, being a developing nation, Nigeria would not have had the latest technology available to produce media products; it is only through the provision of the American companies that they are able to obtain state-of-the-art equipment. The advocacy of production of local-helmed programs would thus further enhance American influence on the nation. Despite government efforts to hinder cultural imperialism, they cannot completely eliminate the impacts of this influence as American media products have already found their way into the market and become a part of Nigeria’s media production efforts. They need such â€Å"interference† in order to keep their media industry alive WAY FORWARD Long Term Investment in the Development of our Mass Media One way cultural imperialism spreads is through the mass media. The local media imports foreign materials because it is cheaper than having to produce local indigenous content. An example of this issue is that indigenous journalists have to learn to transcribe and rewrite news by foreign news agencies rather than source for their own stories. Sometimes even rewriting local stories covered by the foreign news agencies. Our government and private investors should invest heavily in our local media and encourage the development of indigenous content that will reflect our culture, values, promote our languages etc. Media products like movies, news, music, advertising etc should be regulated to avoid the influx of foreign content. This is where organizations like the Nigerian Broadcasting Service come in. They should develop stronger laws and be strict in its enforcement of the laws such as the 60/40% rule (60% indigenous, 40% foreign). If the indigenous media products are of high quality, the citizens will be encouraged to consume them. This is so because a lot of people give the low quality of the products (movies, music, adverts, news etc) as reasons for not consuming them. If Nigerians consume indigenous media products, it will reflect in every area of our lives (culturally that is). An example is what is happening in the Nigerian music industry,. Because of the increase in local content in our music, it is now becoming acceptable and even encouraged to sing in our indigenous languages(Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo etc), dress in our native attires most especially Ankara and wear our national colors. There has been a rise in the popularity of Pidgin English as opposed to just speaking plain English. Also the teaching of our indigenous languages should be encouraged in our schools. All primary and secondary schools should be encouraged to teach at least one Nigerian language at all classes especially in the minority regions of the country where the minority languages are in danger of becoming extinct. Parents should further speak their native dialect with their wards or children to aid them to be conversant in their local dialect. Young adults today see it as a taboo or as inferiority complex speaking in their local dialect; â€Å"it does not sound ‘tush’ rather local† parents more importantly should be more watchful and observant in the kind of foreign stations their children tune to for their programmes as â€Å"media has become the primary means by which many of us experience or learn about many aspects of the world around us† Stanley and Dennis, 5th edition,p.200). With the presence of technology, access to International broadcast station is at the tip of the hand, we have cables surrounding us and with just a remote control, you can be anywhere in the world learning and assimilating what is been impressed on you. As such supervision is needed to regulate what is been watched. Parents should devout time for their children while they are still young as most of the western values tend to catch them while they are still young just as the â€Å"catch them young phrase†. Another solution is to try to export our own culture as this will help in boosting tourism in Nigeria. We should conscious try to sell and promote our media products to the rest of the world. This will improve our image globally and help foreigners understand our culture, values, cuisine better. I would like to say at this point that we should not consume wholly indiginous media products. A little foreign content is still advisable as there has been some good aspects of cultural imperialism such as technological and educational advancement, political structure (democracy), eradication of some harmful practices like the killing of twins etc. We should take a balanced approach, like an 80 (indigenous))/20% (foreign). CONLUSION As a result of globalization and technological advancement, the western world has succeeded in dominating the third world countries. This notwithstanding should not be an excuse for Nigerians and other third world countries to be subjugated by the western world. Nigerian as a nation should fight cultural imperialism and fight back for our lost culture. One way by which this could be done is through Long Term Investment in the Development of our Mass Media as it is the major means by which cultural imperialism spreads. The local media imports foreign materials because it is cheaper than having to produce local indigenous content. An example of this issue is that indigenous journalists have to learn to transcribe and rewrite news by foreign news agencies rather than source for their own stories. Sometimes even rewriting local stories covered by the foreign news agencies. Our government and private investors should invest heavily in our local media and encourage the development of indigenous content that will reflect our culture, values, promote our languages etc. REFERENCES Anaeto, S. G., Onabajo, O. S. and Osifeso, J. B. (2008). Models and Theories of Communication. African Renaissance Books Incorporated. Dare, A., (2010). The Effects of Western Civilization and Culture on Africa. Afro Asian Journal of Social Sciences (1/1) Quarter IV Grifin, E. (2000). A first look at communication theory. (4th edition). Boston, MA: McGraw- Hill Littlejohn, S. W. (1999). Theories of human communication (6th edition). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. Oshafu H. U. Cultural Imperialism. Accessed from http://www.buzzle.com/articles/culturalimperialism-examples.html on 12/11/2012. Ogwu, M., Agbanu, N., and Ofordile, J. (December, 2010). â€Å"Sustaining Cultural Values Through the Promotion of Indigenous Languages in Nigeria† Journal of Communication and Culture: International Perspective. (1/3), pp 76 Schiller, H. I. (1976). Communication and Cultural Domination. Armonk, NY: International Arts and Sciences Press. Accessed online on 29/10/2012. Critics of cultural imperialism theory. Encyclopedia of the New American Nation available Accessed at http://www.americanforeignrelations.com on 29/10/2012

Assignment Unit

This brings a number advantages and disadvantages. Advantages Disadvantages Increases motivation ( when somebody gets raised, other employees become motivated to work hard in order to prolong their career in the organization), this can also raise the productivity of a firm More cost effective Less time consuming People already familiar with the business and how it operates (which in turn saves costs for training staff) Business already knows the strengths and weaknesses of candidates.Higher amount of salaries to be paid Competition for better vacancy between employees may prevent them from efficient team work and so damage a firm Causes other vacancies in your organization to be filled May cause resentment amongst candidates not appointed Limits the number of potential applicants External Recruitment – is a process of filling existing job vacancies with people from outside of the organization.This also brings a number of advantages and disadvantages to the firm. Advantages Out side people may bring new creative ideas argue pool of workers from which to find the best candidate People from outside may have a wider range of experience Bringing in fresh talent from outside of the company roster can help motivate the current employees to achieve more in hopes of obtaining the next promotional opportunity. More time-consuming More expensive process due to advertising. Ewe staff trainings costs and interview required Selection process may occur to be not effective enough in order to reveal the lost candidate Job center – is a place where people who are looking for work can go to get advice on finding a job, and to look at advertisements placed by people who are looking for new employees. Reference: http://www. Illuminations. Com/dictionary/English/job-centre Recruitment agency – is a business that works for organizations to find people for jobs when the organizations need them.Reference: http:// Consultant – a person who is not employed by t he business, but brought in to provide advice. Applying for a job There are several ways Of how people could apply for a job. These include application online (e. G. Via email or by the professional en;irking site), by telephone conversation and in person. To apply for a job in CEQ candidates have first to fill in the application form including C.V. and references, they then deed to email a covering letter to the school.All the applicants will then be shortlist and some will be invited for an interview where the second stage of selection process takes place. To apply for a job to 02, people have to write a covering letter and send it via email or upload to the website where job advertisement is published. Then they need to ring the firm and talk to the firm's representative in order to find out more detailed information on the recruitment process for this particular job. Where CEQ advertises The college advertises its vacancies on their website and on the TEST website ND TEST newspa per.There is a significant benefit coming from advertising on the CEQ website as it is free and so enables all people who are interested in working for CEQ to look at information about the school and be aware of when a vacancy occurs. Advertising on the TEST website and their newspaper is expensive, however, it is a good value for money as it is a national newspaper and the website can be accessed internationally, and so CEQ will reach its target market The only disadvantage is the cost of advertising through TEST.The cost, though, should outweigh the number of applicants applying for a job. Internal recruitment for CEQ Internal recruitment in CEQ takes place when someone takes a maternity leave, when someone is promoted and the vacancy arises or when a cover needed (such as for long term sickness). There is also a possibility of transferring boarding staff or teachers from one place to another if his/her skills and specifications allow this to happen. So, for example, house parent of Sixth Form girls' boarding house with a time and experienced gained may become the Head of Sixth Form Girls.Such a high vacancy imposes more responsibilities and so requires a perfect understanding of all the school rules ND their application to student Therefore, internal recruitment occurs to be more suitable, as candidate is already familiar with his responsibilities. This method of recruitment is also much quicker, as it's easier to find suitable candidate, as they all have been through selection process. External recruitment for CEQ In order to recruit workers externally, CEQ can use the recruitment agencies (such as Hays Recruitment), this will help to choose suitable candidate from a variety of applications.It saves time, as the agency does the selection process part and then matches employers to employees. This method of recruitment ay be used in CEQ when the college decides to provide new subject, therefore qualified staff has to be hired. Also CEQ may recruit externally if it needs to expand its labor force, this usually happens when the number of students in school increases. New experienced candidates may bring new teaching techniques or creative ideas. However, External type of recruitment is more expensive, as advertising takes place through mass media.Internal recruitment for 02 02 is a large company and so has a huge number of employees, therefore it may be easier for 02 to recruit internally choosing from a wide range of its in- Tate applicants. This enables the firm to save time and money (e. G. Training costs), as the candidate is already familiar with the system and how it does work, so he can effectively work towards the aims and objectives of the company. 02 may also decide to promote an employee, therefore vacancy will arise and workers will become more motivated.External recruitment for 02 02 can recruit externally using a phone interviews in order to seek more applicants; it then needs to monitor candidates in order to narrow the nu mber of applicants who then will be invited for an interview. When needed o recruit externally 02 may place its advertisement in different job centers to attract potential worker's attention, it also may invite recruitment consultants in order to select an appropriate candidate for a job.Those consultants interview the candidates, check their backgrounds, whether they were involved in crime or not and finally match them to company. 3. Planning and conducting recruitment Vacancies may arise due to the number of reasons such as: Creation of new job position Promotion of an employee which may cause a chain reaction of vacancies down the hierarchy High unemployment rates Salary difference between the competitors. New business requirements Low productivity and big workload Lack of high-qualified workers.CEQ vacancies may arise when someone go on maternity leave or become promoted, a new subject may be introduced in the school, increasing number of students, staff may leave or be retired which causes a staff turnover. When a high turnover due to introducing new job titles takes place, CEQ is likely to recruit externally. Similarly, 02 may fill the jobs gaps by recruiting externally if someone has a long-time sickness or when the business is expanding. An example of recent job vacancy in CEQ: Reference: http://www. Jackboots. Co. UK/job/626096/chef/ Example of recent vacancy in 02: Reference: http://www. Ethologic. Com/Jobsharer/ Unintentionally. Asps? Job I d lye Candidates can apply for these vacancies online using the websites in the links. When matching themselves to the personal specification and satisfied with the job description, they will then upload their C.V. to the website and wait for the invitation for the interview to Come. 4. Conclusion Considering all the information found in the research, we can conclude that both external and internal methods of recruitment have their downsides at en time while can benefit the company at another.To my mind, the exte rnal recruitment is more suitable for 02 as it is the international company which has its franchised stores all around the world so due to geographical immobility of most part of its current workers they will need to recruit people from outside anyway. External recruitment is also linked with ass's aim to expand. While CEQ is the local business and so it's more likely to prefer to use internal method of recruitment in order to save money and time (for training and selection process) and have staffs with an experience of working for CEQ.However, there are also exceptions of the rule. So, whether to recruit externally or internally fully depends on the specific situation. So, it's really important to consider the aim of the firm, the type of the vacancy it needs to find the candidate for, it's time and financial resources to go through recruitment process when deciding which method of recruitment is more appropriate. Task 2 1. Introduction to the Business department 2013-14 Here Mrs. Bradford-Ryder -?The head of Business, Economics, CIT and Enterprise introduces the Business department 2013-2014.As we can see, a to of plans have been developed including changes in B ETC Business course structure. As a student I faced these changes when I first arrived to the school. The Business department grown rapidly due to the increasing number of students willing to take courses in a Business & Economics related areas. Staff had to be recruited internally, as some previous fill-time staff left for other jobs, a maternity leave had to be covered and also some of the staff have been promoted.Due to those changes the new system was introduced in order to keep up With the productivity of Business Department 2. Explanation of changes to the department and reasons behind the need to recruit staff internally and externally From these overprints we can see how Business department has experiencing changes in order to comply with development plan and achieve all of its targets. As th e number of students increased rapidly, they recruited externally new workers in order to expand their labor force and so to provide Economics and business lessons to all students who seek this .By introducing new job titles such as Key Stage 4 Student Progress Coordinator they became able to control and record student SUccess or help them to solve robber more effectively. Working with individuals will with a time which increases the productivity of the whole Key Stage. The promotion of staff (which is internal method of recruitment) will motivate other members of Department work more efficiently in order to experience promotion in future, high motivation may increases productive of work for the whole department. While internal recruitment took place, the new job gaps arose and caused the department to hire even more new workers.

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See the attachment - Essay Example Mainstream economists believe that producers usually employ the cheapest input method while the consumers substitute towards spending on products that are manufactured by cheaper input methods. Mainstream economists posit that labour may not adapt its supply in conjunction with the demand but a flexible market mechanism in the labour market as well as in the goods and financial market may equate the number of jobs available with the number of job seekers. The audience for this genre are manufacturers and the students who are interested in understanding the labour and the commodity markets. Manufacturers would always want to understand the best mix for labour in a particular industry so as to employ the most appropriate and cost effective mix in production. For academic purposes, the students and other people interested in the economic activities may be interested in understanding the connection between labour and production. This genre is very informative as it informs about the labo ur market relationship with production. It highlights how market mechanisms in the labour market affect technique of production and finally the result of the labour input. This genre attempts to explain an economic phenomenon, which most people do not understand. An economic expert who has a deep insight of activities taking place in the labour market can therefore write the genre. 2 Economy is dependent on transportation, taxes, poverty, education, environmental preservation and immigration. These factors are interrelated and play an integral part in the growth of economy. There are various challenges facing the factors determining economic growth rate. For instance, there is a problem between expansion of roads and transportation system and the need to protect the environment, which is also an important economic aspect. Transportation is an important aspect of resource distribution and should therefore be evenly distributed. However, because of inability to expand it imposed by fa ctors such as financial constraint developing a centralized transportation location may be very useful in ensuring proper distribution of resources. Environmental pollution may hinder economic growth but since there should be economic activities going on regardless of environmental challenges, few of the activities such as housing and transportation may be allowed to ensure minimal pollution of environment. Education is another significant factor that can catapult economic growth but because it is a scare resource, the government should mostly concentrate on educating children living in poverty because the rich can afford their children’s education. In fact, due to scarcity of educated individuals, educated immigrants may just feel the gap and produce quality. The audience for this genre is policymakers, government workers, students and players in an economic growth sector. Policymakers and government workers would utilize this information to understand economic drivers that can help a country’s or a region’s economies. Additionally, economic students may also use the genre as a good source of information regarding economic growth and development. The purpose of this genre is to inform the audience about the main economic drivers, their impact and significance in the economy. The genre highlights different factors affecting economic growth

Learning profile Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Learning profile - Essay Example In the cardiac placement, I came across situations wherein patients would start complaining of chest pain and immediately nitroglycerine spray would be given three times after five minutes interval; later patient would be sent for angiography as patient would still be complaining of chest pain. All the above circumstances helped me increase my critical thinking skills. The role of nurses in all these encounters was very important and all of the situations were handled by the nurses very well. My previous clinical experience has helped me to use the critical thinking skills to provide patient care and will help me in this perceptorship. 2. Strengths in Clinical Practice (reflect on previous clinical rotations). I know my medications before administration e.g. effectiveness, side effects, signs of adverse drug reactions and/or drug interactions. I understand the importance of administrating medication on time and signing them on MAR after administration. I review documentation, prior d ocumentation and provide adequate time to document appropriately. My fluency in different languages (English, Punjabi, Urdu and Hindi) is an added asset for provision of care. E.g.

The Role of International Systems - The Balance of Power During the Essay

The Role of International Systems - The Balance of Power During the Cold War - Essay Example In itself, the balance of power theory suggests that any rapid change in the international status or power of an independent state or collection of states will result in counterbalancing actions by other states. This occurs most readily when the alliances between different states are easily broken and formed based on what is beneficial to the particular state at the time. This essay argues that the balance of power was a key factor in the Cold War and was the driving factor of many of the events that occurred, including the Cuban Missile Crisis. Furthermore, this ultimately resulted in the development of the unipolar international system that is present today. The theory of the balance of power differs substantially between authors and publications and this section will attempt to determine some of the overall themes. Some authors consider that the model is a description of the international systems that are in place currently, others consider that it is a theory of coalitions, while still others consider it a guideline to peace2. In one sense, any international system is a balance of power relationship at some level. However, the term is usually used to refer to specific systems where the actors respond to each other primarily through negotiation rather than through war and where they each attempt to protect their state’s short-term and long-term interests3. Each country has their own internal resources and interests which they aim to maintain, as well as their position on the international stage, their relationship to other international powers and international trading relationships. States must balance their internal needs with needs of the international environment. Regardless of exact definition, the balance of power remains one of the most central theories of international systems and relations.

Learning theories Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Learning theories - Essay Example Behaviourism theory as mentioned are mostly two the classical and operant. Operant conditioning is associated with B. F Skinner while classical conditioning is associated with Pavlov. Cognitivism is associated with Chomsky while constructivism is associated with John Dewey among others (Taylor and MacKenney, 2008). The reflection will be based on the behaviourist theory by Ivan Pavlov. This theory examines learning through conditioning of children in the way of pairing the undesired with the desired. This would be very effective especially for a teacher who has a new class and would like them to follow a specific pattern of behaviour in learning. The new learning pattern of behaviour would be used in conjunction with the old behaviour of learning which did not seem to be yielding any positive results in the long run. Since there was the behaviour the students were used to and the results were negative and the new behaviour which the teacher wants them to learn which elicits no response, the two learning behaviours should be paired together over a period of time in order to yield positive results. With time, the new behaviour being used alone will elicit positive results and at this juncture the old and non-productive behaviour will completely be

Letter to Your Friend in England Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Letter to Your Friend in England - Essay Example My dear friend, you are right when you observe that we are living in a period of great political turmoil. I regret to tell you that here, in the colonies, public opinion continues to grow against controls imposed by the Mother Country. As a medical practitioner, I am exposed to a variety of views, ranging across the spectrum of political opinion: from those calling for peaceful negotiations to others calling for an outright revolution. I will attempt to address, to the best of my ability, your doubts on these issues. I think you will agree with me when I say that the cause of the present troubles can be traced to England’s state of near bankruptcy at the end of the French and Indian Wars. The first major irritant to hitherto cordial relations between the colonies and England was The Proclamation of 1763, preventing us access to the Western lands. In the light of an ever-increasing population, this appeared to be manifestly unwarranted. Of course, we chose to ignore the Proclam ation. At this juncture, The Grenville Program of 1764-1765, which we hear had great support in England, was salt to our wounds. The Sugar Act of 1764, imposing additional duties on sugar, and doubling the duty on imported goods, was manifestly unfair from our point of view: particularly as the taxable list included almost everything we produce. You can imagine the number of cases of confiscation and litigation arising from this! Matters were made worse by the changes to the Navigation Acts, giving a single Vice-Admiralty court in Halifax, Nova Scotia, jurisdiction over all of the American colonies in trade matters. The legal costs, and the cost of travelling from Boston to Nova Scotia, to say nothing of the cost in time, were a major cause of complaint among the traders here. I am sure that expecting the defendant to post a bond to cover all expenses for both sides, would not be acceptable in England! Boston witnessed many town meetings calling for a united opposition to these Acts . I must admit that I was a willing participant in these meetings. An additional benefit of my attendance was that we (a group of educationists and doctors) were able to pacify the hot-heads who kept calling for some violent action in protest against the Acts. My friend, surely you will agree that expecting us to house and supply British troops at our personal expense, as mandated by the Quartering Act of 1765, was manifestly unfair. When most of us consider ourselves to be loyal subjects of His Majesty, the presence of a significant number of troops is itself a sign of suspicion and unwanted tight control. The Act has turned our perception of control into that of repression. Of course, it was the Stamp Act of the same year which finally turned the tide of public opinion decisively against England, and alienated the majority of colonists against the Mother Country. The paying of a direct tax to England flies in the face of every legislative tradition. I support the colonial position that it is a form of ‘taxation without representation.’ A tax on all printed material: including playing cards and college diplomas! My friend, how could the British Parliament pass such an Act? The Act succeeded in creating a unified opposition, led by the influential lawyers, merchants and newspaper publishers in Boston, who were most affected by its terms. The popular anger aroused by the Stamp Act resulted in the beginnings of mob violence. The Sons of

Comparing war crimes and crimes against humanity Essay

Comparing war crimes and crimes against humanity - Essay Example One is the most commonly heard crime such as crime against humanity/genocide and the other, the least expected crime by least expected individuals such as rape as perpetuated by US soldiers in Iraq. United S tates and its military is known worldwide to be a global policeman and prides itself as a dispenser of justice. It is often called to end injustices around the world from Egypt to Syria of which she responds (most of the time) to the point of meddling of domestic affairs to which she is often criticized. Thus, the idea that she herself and some of her soldiers are guilty of war crime and committed injustice is unthinkable. Such, the US case, particulary the Mahmudiyah Killings would make a good discussion about war crime, that anyone could be guilty to it without exception even a superpower like United States. The crime became sensational that it became the basis of the fictional dramatization of the film Redacted (2007) directed by Brian De Palma. The Mahmudiyah Killings involved the rape and murder of a 14 year old young girl Abeer Qasim Hamza by 5 soldiers of 502nd Infantry Regiment in a town of Al-Mahmudiyan in Iraq.   The perpetrators were SGT Paul E. Cortez, (II) SPC James P. Barker, (III) PFC Jesse V. Spielman, (IV) PFC Brian L. Howard and (V) PFC Steven D. Green. The family’s girl were also murdered that includes her mother, Fakhriyah Taha Muhsin, 34; father, Qasim Hamza Raheem, 45; and six-year-old sister Hadeel Qasim Hamza. The girl had attracted the unwanted attention of the US soldiers who were manning a checkpoint in their village and told her mother that the soldiers were making advances towards her until it consummated to rape and murder of the girl and her whole family (Knickmeyer, 2006). Despite initial cover-ups, Steven Green et al., were convicted of rape and murder which are also considered as war crimes. â€Å"War crime† under the US law of which the five soldiers was convicted is

Case Study- Company Situation (Financial Analysis & SWOT Analysis Essay

Case Study- Company Situation (Financial Analysis & SWOT Analysis only) - Essay Example Based on the rising revenues and margin data, it is possible to conclude that Inditex is at the growth phase of the life cycle, while Benetton, the GAP, and H&M are at maturity and stability phase, as their revenues and margins are declining. Financial Ratio Analysis - Inditex Profitability Gross profit margin of the company is fairly high – 59%, which implies that the company has effective outsourcing manufacturing strategy and has good relationships with suppliers. Both factors have positive impact on cost reduction. Operating profit margin is 18%, which means that the company makes 0,18 cents for every Euro of sales (before taxes). Net profit margin is 14% and it means that the company has good control over its costs. ROA ratio which is 19% means that the company is effectively using its investment, converting it into profit. ROE Liquidity Current ratio of the company is 2,0 suggests that the company has a good ability to pay back its short-term liabilities with the short-t erm assets it has. This means that Inditex is capable to continue its business expansion strategy and to avoid insolvency during the slower growth phases. The quick ratio of 1,5 means that Inditex position has enough liquid assets to cover its current liabilities. Thus, the company can implement its strategy of fast fashion being capable to pay quickly for its orders and to kepp short inventory turnover. Leverage Debt-to-Equity ratio (0.42) indicates that the company’s debt used to finance its operations is not so high and is a positive sign of strong financial position of the Inditex. This indicates that the company is financially strong enough to grow its business due to its profits rather than debts. Long-term debt-to-equity ratio is relatively low and indicates on the company’s financial stability. Activity Inventory turnover at 4,50 indicates that the company has efficient supply chain and can continue taking its course of fast fashion retailer. Days of inventory ratio is equal to average 81.0 days. This indicator seems to be fairly high for the company focusing on fast fashion strategy. Average collection period is 13,4 days, which is quite low and therefore optimal for Inditex to continue its aggressive business development strategy. Financial Analysis has shown that Zara’s overall financial position is very strong and enabling for implementing its strategy of future sales and stores’ growth. SWOT Analysis Strengths The company’s strategy is based on aggressive multichannel global business expansion which is implemented due to its flexible business model based on having the right fashions at the right time at affordable prices. Financial state of the company rated as â€Å"healthy† allows the company to have enough capital for future growth and investments. Global expansion of Zara’s stores and its responsive marketing strategy increase global brand awareness. All these result in strong sales and revenue growth. Effective supply chain management allows the company to be competitive on the market balancing the quality of its goods and affordable prices for mass market consumers. Excellent human resource management is another strategic strength of the company which enables the company to grow its sales and gain positive reputation. Design of new stores in

The World That We Live in Essay Example for Free

The World That We Live in Essay Not long ago the law of the jungle prevailed â€Å"kill or be killed†. Barbarism was at its heinous best. Darwin’s theory of â€Å"survival of the fittest† was apt for those times. The smaller animals were at the mercy of the bigger ones and the latter were at the mercy of the biggest and so on. Evolution continued and finally we are today at a position of being called the ultramodern man who has lots and lots of knowledge and education, robots and gadgets to assist him. He has every comfort that one can think of ! He can traverse the longest of distances in minutes, view matches and ceremonies being conducted thousands of kilometres away in his bedroom and so on because the list seems endless. But I have a serious concern†¦.i sometimes wonder whether we are still in the same precarious situation as our ancestors were? Is there any similarity between those times and the era that we live in? And my answer would unfortunately be â€Å"yes†. I have come to the conclusion after long hours of brainstorming and analysis. There is ample proof of this in our daily newspapers and television’s breaking news! How else do you justify the acts of crime and violence in the name of sex, caste, religion, panchs, fatwas, state, country, political parties etc. Hooliganism in any form for any cause should not be tolerated but it is being given wings to fly in our present day society. Everyday we have some slogans by our leaders (religious and political) which vent venom at somebody else and we are misguided. Everyday a son kills his parents or a girl is tortured for dowry. Everyday we find a minister being charged of fund misappropriation worth many crores. Everyday there are stories of gang war and shootouts for â€Å"supari†. We are living in a very dangerous era where this ugly problem is gathering tremendous momentum as it is sliding downhill and is threatening to wipe out the very progress made by man since existence. Hence I am very scared as a child. My fear is will man destroy himself? Will this world come to an end because of man’s inner insecurity and his own undoing? What is the need to develop nuclear warfare? What is the need to spread religious hatred and communal disharmony? Can’t we live in peace and harmony with a sense of eternal brotherhood? I pray god almighty to make every human sane enough to understand the motto of life and to lead it peacefully with love for others. Life is precious. We have made enough progress and we are making too. So let us not destroy ourselves,  rather live together and make this world a better place to live in.

The Marine Industry

The Marine Industry Introduction Purpose This report aims to educate readers about the safety of seafarers going to sea and the possible dangers that they face. The report will also elaborate about the ongoing issues and measures taken to ensure the safety of the seafarers. Background Marine Industry has been a major platform for investment and income since the ancient times. Seafarers face possible dangers from collision of ships, fire and weather conditions. Therefore, the casualties onboard a ship have been increasing due to lack of awareness towards safety on board the ship. The International Maritime Organisation( IMO) took steps to prevent such disasters from happening. Rules have been set up to make sure the equipments onboard the ship are up to date, certified and are regularly inspected. Workers onboard must be well trained in the safety aspects. According to the International Maritime Organisation(2009),ship safety is a subject that is currently receiving high attention by most countries. The International Maritime Organisation(2009) said that this was due to a number of serious vessel casualties that have occurred in recent years. Methodology The information for this report was obtained from the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) 1974 edition, reference books, research about shipping companies and the internet. Case studies were taken from online news articles. Scope As there are many possibilities that could happen onboard a ship, this report will investigate solely about the possible cause of fire at sea, preventive measures, consequences of fire, actual events that took place due to fire, types of fire and much more. Fire Hazards onboard the Ship Causes of Fire According to John G. Antherson (2000),the causes of fire on a ship arent a lot different than the causes of fires in any urban setting. As there are electrical circuits onboard the ship, there is a chance for an electrical fire is to occur. Machinery onboard a ship can get hot when its operating. An overheating bearing could cause a fire.(John G. Antherson 2000) Ships uses combustion systems to generating steam, and internal combustion engines are used generate electricity. These combustion system will get very hot and can cause a fire.(John G. Antherson 2000) Closed machinery spaces and the volatility of fuel, lubricants and hydraulic fluids around the hot machinery can lead to a fire or an explosion. A collision at sea could initiate a fire. The galley where food is prepared is another fire hazard on board a ship.(John G. Antherson 2000) During ship repairing, metal cutting and welding equipment is carried and used to faulty equipment. Sparks from this equipments could also start a fire. There are some more possible ways fires could be started. Fire hazards in the cabin could also cause fire to occur. An article (Anon: Fires In Ships 2002) states that careless smoking is the main cause of fires in ships. In one case scenario, sixteen Chinese nationals have been taken to the hospital after a fire broke out in their ship(APL Columbia) at port Botany on 5 January 2010.A crew member onboard the 45,000 tonne APL Columbia(IMO:9252242) noticed a fire in his cabin about 1.30am.The man tried to put out the fire but was unsuccessful.The crew members had suffered from smoke inhalation and the fire was put out about 5.30 am using the ships own firefighting equipment. In another case scenario, a fire broke out in the engine room. A Maersk container ship (Maersk Duffield) crossed Brisbanes Moreton Bay with its engine room on fire and the Emergency Management Queensland helicopter is en route to assist. One crew member required treatment. Shipping Database,2009-2010[Online] Available from: http://www.shippingdatabase.com/ [Accessed 31 January 2010] According to the chart ( figure 1) made by the Maritime Institute in Gdansk(2007), most fire accidents occur during ship repairs. Fire caused from ship repairs take up 79.3% of most fire accidents in their case study. Meanwhile, figure 2 showed that 24.11% of fire occurring on board a ship is located at the Cargo holds and tanks. Classes of Fire There are 4 types of fire that might occur onboard a ship. There are Class A , Class B , Class C and Class D fires. The U.S Department of Agriculture, Forest Service(2007) said that Ordinary combustible fires are the most common type of fire, and are designated under Class A fire . These occur when a solid, organic material such as wood, cloth, rubber, or plastic become heated to their flash point and ignite. This class of fire is fairly simple to combat and contain .According to National Fire Protection Association (NFPA 2008),the most common way to do this is by spraying the burning material with water, oxygen can also be removed by smothering the fire with foam from a fire extinguisher. Meanwhile, flammable liquid are categorized under Class B fire. The National Fire Protection Association(2008) reports that this fire follow the same basic fire tetrahedron (heat, fuel, oxygen, chemical reaction) as ordinary combustible fires, except that the fuel in question is a flammable liquid such as gasoline, or gas such as natural gas. An efficient way to extinguish a liquid or gas fueled fire is to disrupt the chemical chain reaction of the fire, which is done by dry chemical and Halon extinguishing agents. According to an extract from Industrial Hygiene and Information Management (2008): ESH Manual Chapter 40, Hazardous Materials, class D fire are fires that are caused by flammable or combustible metals. Examples given by the ESH manual Chapter 40, Hazardous Materials, of such metals are titanium , sodium ,magnesium, potassium, uranium and calcium. Generally, metal fire risks occur when sawdust, machine shavings and other metal are present. These fires can be ignited by the same types of ignition sources that would start other common fires. Wikipedia, Fire Classes [Online] Available from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_classes [Accessed 1 February 2010] A crew onboard a fishing vessel said that If a fire was to start onboard a ship, crew members onboard must know what type of fire it is. If a wrong extinguisher or method is being used, the fire might spread even more. ( Florida Sport Fishing Crew 2002) Consequences of fire Loss of Revenue and Marine Environment The International Maritime Organisation (2009) said that most accidents onboard a ship will result in a loss of revenue. Cargos onboard a ship might be damaged and millions of dollars worth of cargos and resources will be affected. Fire onboard a tanker ship will have a high chance of causing an explosion and fuel leaked into the sea will cause water pollution and that will affect the marine environment. Thousands of dollar will be used to clean up the oil spill. A case study given by the Port State Information exchange (2006) was that of Hyundai Fortune where an accidental fire broke out on 21st March 2006. The combined cost of the ship and damaged cargo is estimated at over 300 million US dollars. According to an online article by Brisbane Times, oil spill clean-up can be rather costly. In a case study by the article, an insurer of a Hong Kong-based cargo ship had to foot the bill for a 20 tonnes of diesel fuel into waters off Stradbroke Island. Authorities announced that the estimated cost of the clean-up will reach about $100,000 a day and take seven days to complete. Daniel Hurst 2009 , Oil spill clean-up to cost $100,000 a day[Online] Brisbane times Available from: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/news/queensland/oil-spill-cleanup-to-cost-100000-a-day/2009/03/12/1236447368184.html [Accessed on 7th February 2010] Political Fallout Political fallout might also occur if swift action is not taken. Political fallout will cause the reputation of the government or authority to be at stake.(M.Masellis and S.W.A.Gunn 1992) The disasters that occur within the Maritime Industries can be used as an example for opposition parties to blame the government and this might change the mindset of the society towards the government. According to an online article by BBC news, an oil well in the Timor Sea off the north-west coast of Australia caught fire. The oil rig had been leaking oil and marine fire fighters were struggling for ten weeks to stop the leak. The National Offshore Petroleum Safety Authority had been called out to help combat the fire and other teams such as the Geoscience Australia and the Australian Maritime Safety Authority were on standby. However, an opposition spokesman accused the Environment Minister of Australia of doing nothing to stop the oil leak. BBC News 2009 , Australia well catches fire [Online] Available from: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8336564.stm Human Casualties Accidents onboard a ship will also cause human casualties to occur. Fire especially will be life threatening onboard a passenger ship and it will cause chaos and panic among passengers. ( L.M. Collins 1999) A good way to ensure that human life is not lost is for the crew and passengers to follow instructions given by the Captain. If the passengers follow the instructions swiftly, they will be able to escape from the ship safely.( L.M. Collins 1999) One of the major events that had many human casualties was that of RMS Titanic. According to David G , Titanic was struck by an iceberg and sank in two hours and forty minutes on 15 April 1912. The sinking of the Titanic resulted in 1517 deaths out of the 2223 people on board. The high casualty rate was due to the fact that the ship was not carrying enough lifeboats for everyone onboard. Brown, David G. (2000). The Last Log of the Titanic. McGraw-Hill Professional. ISBN 0071364471. Most fire cases are quickly dealt with and the only losses that the crew face are the cargos or raw materials onboard. Up to this day, passenger ship have not faced any fire incidents that resulted in major human casualties. Fire Safety Measures Safety of Life at Sea(SOLAS) M.Masellis and S.W.A.Gunn(1992) said that fire casualties on ships lead almost certainly to disastrous results because of the limited and isolated areas of the vessels and the lack of immediate and easy access for the rescue team. Preventive measures are therefore much more effective in the effort to avoid such casualties than rescue and fire-extinguishing procedures or devices. [Marine fire casualties in merchant ships: the Greek statistics 1992 Available from: http://www.springerlink.com/content/h8362077847j9127/] In 1914, The International Maritime Organisation had a convention among international leaders and maritime leaders to talk about maritime safety. Of all the international conventions dealing with maritime safety, the most important is the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea(SOLAS). There have been many versions of SOLAS adopted by the International Maritime Organisation but the present version was adopted in 1974 and entered into force in 1980.The SOLAS conventions have all covered many aspects of safety at sea. The convention in 1914 included chapters on safety of navigation, construction, fire protection and life-saving appliances.(International Maritime Organisation 2009) This shows that the International Maritime Organisation is constantly trying to find ways to improve the aspects of safety at sea to ensure the safety of seafarers life by introducing the Safety Of Life at Sea(SOLAS) and updating it. Fire Safety Test and Safety Equipment One of the fire safety measures is to conduct fire safety test for the ship. Fire safety of ships is an extremely important area. Before any material can be used onboard a ship, it must have successfully passed strict tests and have been certified for use. This is to ensure that the material or equipment does not pose a fire hazard onboard the ship. (SP Technical Research Institute of Sweden 2008) Another safety measure is to install safety equipments on the ship. Equipments such as fire extinguisher, sprinkler system , gas monitor and other safety equipments are being implemented. The International Maritime Organisation(IMO) is taking steps to introduce new and more sophisticated equipments onboard the ships. IMO hope to reduce the amount of accidents from occurring onboard the ship and will rely on this new equipments to combat the problem more efficiently. Service of ships and Equipments According to The Safety of Life At Sea 1974 edition, the ship and its safety equipments have to undergo service once every few years. Safety equipments include components that can deteriorate over time. Therefore, this can decrease the effectiveness of the equipment. Examples of such equipments stated in the Safety Of Life At Sea 1974 edition (SOLAS) are fire extinguishers, EPIRBs, flares, life jackets, life rafts and smoke signals. Servicing of the equipment must be done by the manufacturer or an authorised agent by the expiry date. The expiry date must be clearly marked on the equipment. Most life raft needs to be serviced every two or three years. Equipment that cannot be serviced or no longer works must be replaced if it is to be carried as part of the safety equipment onboard the ship.(The International Maritime Organisation 2009) In the event that an emergency were to occur and the safety equipments were to be faulty as they were not sent for servicing, the manufacturer should not be blamed as the expiry date have been stated clearly on the equipment. It is the duty of the crew onboard and its owner to send the equipments for servicing once the expiry date is over. According to the IMO 2009, maintenance and inspections of equipments must be recorded to provide objective evidence that these work have been carried out according to the manufacturers instructions. Proper training for the crew According to the Maritime Port Authority Singapore(MPA) 2010, Seafarers working on board a ship must have the valid certification or endorsements. In Singapore, these are issued by the Training Standards Department of MPA. Seafarers working on board a ship are required to have a valid Certificate of Competency (CoC) or endorsement, which comply with the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW). The crew must also be well trained in fire fighting and First Aid. Those who wish to work onboard a ship must have an Advance Fire Fighting Course certificate and Elementary First Aid certificate as well before they are qualified to work onboard (Maritime Port Authority Singapore 2010). The crew will also conduct regular safety drills after each departure from port. The crew are to follow their duty that had been assigned on the Muster List. By having proper trained crews onboard a ship, this will minimise the chance of human error and accidents from occurring. Furthermore, the crew are well trained to handle any emergencies such as fire . The International Maritime Organisation(IMO) 2009 once said that the quality and familiarisation are directly affected by the frequency and quality of the drills carried out. IMO added that a crew debrief after each drill is essential to emphasise lessons learned and to give additional training where necessary. Conclusion Further Improvements Every year, the International Maritime Organisation and other Maritime Body are working hand in hand to improve a seafarers life in terms of their living condition and to ensure that they are working in a safe environment. The organisation are trying to find constant improvement to reduce marine casualties, loss in revenue due to unwanted accidents. One improvement that can be introduce to the ship is the All-in-One fire extinguisher. This extinguisher would be able to combat any types of fire such as Class A , Class B, Class C or Class D fires. By having this fire extinguisher onboard the ship, the crew will not need to waste time to find different methods to combat different types of fire. Another improvement that could be introduced is the fire isolating system. This system will isolate the fire from spreading to other rooms and this will reduce the damage caused towards the ship. The Maritime Port Authority said that this new inventions will further improve the safety aspects but it still needs to undergo more tests before it can be implemented towards the ships. Human Error is still the Main Cause The International Maritime Organisation have taken steps to ensure that the technology and safety equipments being implemented are up to date. Even thought this is so, nothing can be done if the accident caused is by human error. Even if the crew had gone for proper training, human error will still occur. An article by B.S Dhillon(2007), human error costs the Maritime Industry $541 million per year and a study of 6091 major accident claims revealed that 62% of the claims were attributed to human error. B.S Dhillion(2007) added that human error contributes to 84% to 88% of tanker accidents. [B.S Dhillon 2007. Human Reliability and Error in Transportation Systems, Springer Series in Reliability Engineering . Page 1.] These incidents will result in crew injuries or death and the ship will be delayed or damaged. Even if there is mechanical failure, human error can play a role in terms of lack of maintenance , monitoring or a breakdown in communication. The Bahamas Maritime Authority added that crew fatigue and complacency can be a major factor in this incident. The Bahamas Maritime Authority said that Good equipment can cost more, but safety should be accorded a higher priority because a ship cannot be operated safely without the seafarer. References http://www.cruisebruise.com/princess_cruise_star_princess_fire_march_23_2006.html http://www.articledashboard.com/Article/Marine-Fire-Fighting-EquipmentSecuring-Ship-Safety-And-Damage-Control-Against-Fire/1252660 http://www.unols.org/publications/manuals/safe_man.html http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8336564.stm http://www.mpa.gov.sg/sites/port_and_shipping/for_seafarers/seafarer_certification/seafarer_certification.page http://www.springerlink.com/content/h8362077847j9127 http://www.mapreport.com/subtopics/d/n.html http://www.bahamasmaritime.com/Documents/Bulletins/72bulltn.pdf Summary In brief, the report describes about the various reasons why fire safety is an important factor for the maritime Industry. It also goes into the detail on the causes of fire onboard the ship. The consequences of fire is also gone into detail in this report to show the importance of safety at sea.

Vietnam Airlines: An overview

Vietnam Airlines: An overview INTRODUCTION Vietnam Airlines is the flag carrier of Vietnam, the country with population of 85 million and 330 000 square meter. It was established in January 1956 by the Government and marked the birth of aviation industry in Vietnam, and served only domestic flights (Vietnam Airline, 2008). After the end of Vietnam War, from 1976, Vietnam Airlines started international flights, including South East Asian countries and China. Another turning point of Vietnam Airlines is year 1993 when this airline became the national flag Airlines of Vietnam. Nowadays, Vietnam Airlines connects 19 cities throughout the country and 42 international destinations (including code-sharing services) in Asia, Europe, US and Australia,. Mission: As a flag carrier, Vietnam Airline wants to be the bridge between Vietnam and other countries in the world and â€Å"bring Vietnam cultural to the world† (Vietnam Airline, 2008). The International Air Transport Association (as cited by Chan (2000)) predicts air travel in Asian Pacific will account for 40 % in 2010. The potential of this airline market increases due to the fact that the attractive of tourism, the emerging economies and the increase number of middle-class. Unlike in Western country, surface transportation, such as railways, highways in Asia is not good and therefore, it can create opportunities for airline transportation as the only and the faster way. Like other countries in Asia, the potential of Vietnam market is high and untapped. In 2007, 4.2 million foreign visitors travelled to Vietnam, 16 per cent more than in 2006 (Sydney Morning Herald, 2008). And according to Sydney Morning Herald (2008), Vietnam is ranked as number 4 by The World Travel and Tourism Council on its list of the worlds fastest growing travel destinations. Vietnams domestic market is also highly potential due to the fact that surface transportation infrastructure is not competitive. It takes more than 30 hours to travel by train, from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City, much higher than nearly 2 hours of normal flight. Other alternative is coaches which also take time and inconvenient. Although average income per capita of Vietnamese is only 835 US Dollars (in 2007) (General Statistics Office of Vietnam, 2008), lower than other neighbour countries, such as Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore; the income increases gradually in the last few years increase 7% per annum, shows the tourism potential of this airline in Vietnam market. Moreover, due to high population density and business opportunities in two largest economic hubs of Vietnam: Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, travel demand for business purpose is very high. However, aviation service quality in Vietnam is far behind the international standard. It is very easy to find tons of articles of customers complaints about all three domestic airlines in Vietnam: Vietnam Airlines, Indochina Airlines, Jetstar Pacific. Even in Vietnam Airlines, the national flag carrier and full service airline, service delivery is mainly product-oriented which has set the mind of management board to be far apart from customer-oriented. Customer dissatisfaction varies from booking services, poor catering, the temper of air crew to luggage delivery services. Broad aim of the research: Use SERVQUAL model to assess customer satisfaction and service quality of Vietnam Airlines. Research questions: How can the customer satisfaction with Vietnam Airlines be described? How satisfied of Vietnam Airlines customer with its services? How can Vietnam Airlines managers improve the service satisfaction among Vietnam Airlines customers? The main purpose of this study is to investigate customer satisfaction in airline industry. In the chosen airline, Vietnam Airlines, the author aims to explore what customer satisfaction is in the perceptions of the airline passengers and find the solutions to improve customer satisfaction. By analyzing questionnaires and interview of customers, customer satisfaction degree will be examined and after that, new strategies and recommendations will be given for Vietnam Airlines to enhance service quality. This study aims to help Vietnam Airlines management to better diagnose the customers needs and expectations. It will also play a role in identifying the present situation of this flag carrier and suggest future strategies for better customers service. Conceptual framework: To investigate the service quality and customer satisfaction of Vietnam Airlines, I will use the SERVQUAL model (Parasuraman et al, 1985, as cited by Chau and Kao (2009)) which the de LITERATURE REVIEW The importance of customer satisfaction: Thank to good services and customer satisfaction is met, behavioral acts of customer can affect the profitability and market share of a firm through three main behavior: word-of-mouth, repurchase intention and positive feedback. The first customer behavior is â€Å"word of mouth†, defined by Saha and Theinge (2009) as a flow of information about products and services that passes from one customer to other and can be used as trustable source of information to evaluate recommendations (mouth to mouth marketing). In all case, customer satisfaction does not always create mouth-to-mouth marketing but it is a necessity that satisfaction is met for positive word-of-mouth. Research conducted by Babin (2005) shows that not only pleased customers generate world-of-mouth but also extremely dissatisfied customers causes negative feedback and controlling two flows of information is necessary for marketers. Secondly, good services also lead to repurchase intention or customer loyalty. It is very necessary to gain loyalty because it is cheaper to keep old customers than lure new ones from other service providers. Airline carriers often use â€Å"frequent flyer scheme† but it is not often applied for budget airlines due to the high cost. Only by services and affordable price, low cost carriers can maintain the number of customers. Another behavior of customers as mentioned above, customer behavior, refers to transmission of complaints and compliments to service suppliers. Soderlund (1998) shows that dissatisfied customers tends to generate negative feedback than positive one from satisfied customers. The number of feedback cannot be the most precise method for customer analysis but it is useful to forecast consumer trends and improve services. Customer satisfaction in airline industry: Tai and Chan (2002) define service satisfaction as the post purchase evaluation of consumption experience. Unlike material products or pure services, airline service- like other hospitality services is combination of tangible products and quality of service offered to passengers. For example, satisfaction with hospitality service- such as a restaurant meal is amalgamation of the food or drink (material product), the behavior of waiters or waitresses, and the environment of the restaurant (decoration, lighting). In aviation industry, the core products are only physically transport customers and their luggage between two destinations. Other services in a flight, such as making enquiry and booking, seat allocation, in-flight services and baggage handling are only secondary tasks but they can create dissatisfaction if it is performed badly. Service quality and customer satisfaction becomes vital in the sustainability of aviation industry, basing on following criteria: financial data, fares, passenger load factors, service related issues (Sultan and Simpson, 2000). Sultan and Simpson (2000) suggest marketing strategies for airline industry focus on customer satisfaction, rather than company profit. Airline service can also be rated in terms of five dimensions: overall performance, comfort, service, food and website (Rhoades, 2006). On the other hand, Rhoades and Waguespack (2005) points out the operational measures of airline service qualities: the number of flight delays, mishandled baggage, overbooks flights and consumer complaints. Only a few airlines (including Singapore Airlines, British Airways and American Airlines) can establish the reputation of high service quality (Chan, 2000). These airlines are successful in positioning themselves, not by offering the cheapest prices but delivering excellent service quality. Providing consistent service quality is a challenge for all companies in service sector, including airline industry. In these days, to keep the high level of quality standard, mega carriers and small airlines are cooperating rather than competing with others by sub-contracting, code sharing and global marketing network. (Nejati et al, 2008). The formation of these alliances increases the benefit of economies of scale by enhancing flight availability and yield from customers. However, to work in effective way, two airlines must offer similar service level and position themselves in the same way in the market. Customer satisfaction Measurement SERVQUAL -the gap model which is firstly proposed by Parasuraman (1985) (as cited by Nejati, 2008) is a widely used model and has been applied for plenty of service industries: public services (Bryland (2001) and Wisniewski (2001)), police services (Donnelly et al, 2006), heath care (Kilbourne, 2004), mobile communication (Lai et al, 2007), etc. SERVQUAL is based on the assumption that the service quality is measured by the gap between the customers needs and wants of service and the actual service quality that customers receive from service provider (Donnelly, 2006). If the service is over customers expectation, it is assessed as excellent service; otherwise, the service becomes unacceptable. It is a useful method because service quality is assessed from customers perspectives, and by comparing and contrasting the difference between the each customers groups and the differences between the company and its competitors, managers know where they are in the market, how to position the s ervice and which group will be the target customers. Zeithaml (1990) (As cited by Donnelly et al, 2006) identifies five dimensions of service quality management: -Tangibles: the existence of modern equipment and facilities, professional employees, and communication materials. Reliability: performing the service as promised, carrying out the service right at the first time and managing to solve customer services problems. Responsiveness: willingness to help customers, provide prompt service and readiness to customers request. Assurance. The knowledge and courtesy of employees and their ability to convey trust and confidence. Empathy: understanding customers need and wants and giving customers individual attention, convenient business hours. Among the five gaps of SERVQUAL, this research concentrates on Gap 5- the difference between customers expectation and perception. The reason for this limitation of the research due to the fact that it is the only gap that can be investigated solely by the data provided by customers while other gaps need information from management board and the company itself. BIBILIOGRAPHY: Boddy, D. (2008), Management: An introduction, 4th edn, Pearson Education Limited: Essex. Bryman, A. and Bell, E. (2007), Business research methods, 2nd edn, Oxford University Express: New York. Collis, J. and Hussey, R. (2009), Business Research: A practical guide for undergraduate and post graduate students, 3rd edn, Palgrave Macmillan: Hampshire. Chan, D. (2000), â€Å"Air wars in Asia: competitive and collaborative strategies and tactics in action†, Journal of Management Development, 19 (6), pp 473-488, EMERALD. [Online]. Available http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/viewPDF.jsp?contentType=ArticleFilename=html/Output/Published/EmeraldFullTextArticle/Pdf/0260190602.pdf (Accessed May 25th 2009). Doganis. R. (2001), The airline business in the 21st century, Rouledge: London. Fisher, C. (2004), Researching and writing a dissertation for business students, Pearson Education Limited: Essex. Horn, R. (2009), Researching and writing dissertations: A complete guide for business and management students, Chartered institute of personnel and development: London. Knowles, R., Shaw, J. and Docherty, I. (2008), Transport Geographies: Mobilities, Flows and Spaces, Blackwell Publishing Ltd: HongKong. Hanlon, P. (2007), Global airlines: competition in a transnational industry, 3rd edn, Butterworth-Heinemann: Oxford. Liu, A.H.(2006) ‘Customer value and switching costs in business services: developing exit barriers through strategic value management , Journal of Business Industrial marketing,21(1), pp.30-37 EMERALD [Online].Available at: http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/viewPDF.jsp?contentType=ArticleFilename=html/Output/Published/EmeraldFullTextArticle/Pdf/0800210104.pdf (Accessed: 14 May 2009)Mowen, J. (1995), Consumer Behavior, Prentice Hall: New Jersey.Saha and Theingi (2009), â€Å"Service quality, satisfaction and behaviour intentions: A study of low cost airlines carriers in Thailand†, â€Å"Managing Service quality, 19(3), pp 350-372, EMERALD. [Online]. Available at http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/viewContentItem.do;jsessionid=962B9598F85C1E4B396446804F931677?contentType=ArticlehdAction=lnkhtmlcontentId=1789597history=false (Accessed May 25th 2009). Solomon, M. (2007), Consumer Behaviour: Buying, having and being, 7th edn, Pearson Prentice Hall: New Jersey. Vogel, V., Evanschitzky, H. Ramaseshan, B. (2008), â€Å"Customer equity drivers and future sales, Journal of Marketing, Vol 72 (Nov 2008), pp 98-108, [Online], Available at http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdf?vid=2hid=6sid=7ab9124a-a6ce-45e3-8f37-f753a51e48ee%40SRCSM2#db=buhAN=34664503 (Accessed May 4th 2009) General Statistics Office of Vietnam (2009), Statistical Handbook of Vietnam 2008 -National Account, [Online] Available at http://www.gso.gov.vn/default_en.aspx?tabid=515idmid=5ItemID=8445 Accessed Jun 16th, 2009. . Mitton, R. (2007), Vietnam: Surge in flights to trendy destination, The Straits Times, [online], Available at http://www.asiaone.com/Travel/News/Story/A1Story20071203-39379.html (Accessed July 3rd, 2009). http://www.itpc.gov.vn/importers/news/2009/05/2009-05-14.683111/MISNews_view?b_start:int=40set_language=en Sydney Morning Harald (2008), Jetstar targets Vietnam tourists boom, [Online], Available at http://www.smh.com.au/news/news/jetstar-targets-vietnams-tourist-boom/2008/05/26/1211653891044.html (Accessed May 25th, 2009). Vietnam Airlines (2008), Our Background, Available at http://www.vietnamairlines.com/wps/portal/en/site/about_us/our_background (Accessed June 18th 2009).

“Let Teenagers Try Adulthood” Essay -- Article Review

We all remember the day of the Littleton high school shooting also referred as the Columbine High School Massacre. When the flashing new lines of (CNN News, 1999) stated that 25 people were killed at the High School by two heavily armed male students that also took their own lives; it was shocking and very disturbing news to learn that something so horrible caused this students to kill their own peers. What was the reason that drove these students to kill? Was the students bullying these boys, did they belong in the reject circle, the outcast’s of the high school, were they the weirdo’s because they loved to learn; while everyone else was focused on their looks and the next football game. Maybe, and this is the very point that Leon Botstein states in his article â€Å"Let Teenagers Try Adulthood† for the New York Times which was written after the Littleton shootings. Botstein article â€Å"Let teenagers Try Adulthood† purpose that the American high school is obsolete and should be abolished. He states that puberty and education don’t mix, because their bodies are going through changes that can be embarrassing. The high schools are made up of cliques and the artificial intensity of a world defined by insiders and outsiders. (Botstein pg.20) The insiders hold control over the outsiders because of good looks, popularity, and sports power; the teacher and staff do nothing to stop them, the so called elite. When in fact the high school outsiders becomes the more successful and admired adults in society. Botstein, states that team sports of high school dominate more than student culture. He purpose that secondary education be rethought; elementary s... ...roblems at school and to top it all off their raging, uncontrollable hormones; it’s a ticking time bomb just waiting to happen inside of every teenager. In conclusion, Botstein arguments about abolishing high school; should really be considered and taken into action. Considering majority of high schools is a social playground not an educational institute. It is a serious waste of tax funds and waste extremely precious time which can never be regained. Unless parents, teachers and the country start seeing that these problems with shootings and gangs in high school are all due to the fact of the most basic concept every teen know about â€Å"everyone for their selves, if you can’t play with the big dogs than get off the porch.† With that stated we seriously need to change our the school system for everyone benefit.

Potential Impact of Blogs on Communication Essays -- Internet Online C

The Potential Impact of Blogs on Communication The advent of weblogs as instruments of Web-based conversation shall surely increase the exchange of news-related and academic information; probably not to the extent that books or newspapers have, but certainly in an open and accessible way. Gradually as they gain in popularity, blogs shall transform the field of journalism from one of complacent reporting to a more competitive and less elitist industry. Motivated individuals, with the use of their personal blogs, shall weigh in on important and controversial topics related to politics and social issues. Similarly, separated networks of academics shall benefit from more convenient access in communicating their ideas across long distances, giving them greater opportunities to organize large collaborative projects. Although books and libraries shall continue to be the preferred and overwhelming choice of students, educators, and interested persons as a place for acquiring knowledge, weblogs, through the global network called the I nternet, shall bring people ever closer together to inform the general public and to exchange technical and academic ideas. The influence that blogging shall have on the news industry and on academia should, for the sake of objectivity, be placed in comparison with the advent of mechanized printing. Both these technologies (i.e. blogs and printing) have made general news coverage and advanced scholarship related to professional and academic disciplines more readily available than what was the case before their creation. Prior to the invention of moveable type and the printing press, only a small number of trained scribes and privileged aristocrats knew how to write. Books took painstaking effort ... ...ve understanding about the social and physical sciences shall be fostered by this new on-line forum. Works Cited Mumford, Lewis. "The Invention of the Printing Press." Communication in History : Technology, Culture, Society. Ed. Crowley, David and Paul Heyer. Pearson Education. pp. 93-97. Lasica, J.D. "Blogging as a Form of Journalism." We've Got Blog. Ed. Rodzvilla, John. USA: Perseus Publishing, 2002. 163-71. Pryor, Larry. "A Weblog sharpens journalism students' skills." Nieman Reports. Vol. 57, Iss. 3. pg. 97. Regan, Tom. "Weblogs threaten and inform traditional journalism." Nieman Reports. Vol. 57, Iss. 3: pg. 68. Reynolds, Glenn Harlan. "Weblogs and journalism: Back to the future?" Nieman Reports. Vol. 57, Iss. 3: pg. 81. Duke University. Center for Instructional Technology.

Essay --

The essential intent regarding NIBCO's alternative to help actualize an association large ERP platform was to combine all the procedures from the connection more than a merged, one point, so troubles determined having coordinating data and also facts coming from separate frameworks might be mortally wounded along with the connection can figure even more effectively. One of several important data in the crucial coordinating which prompted the ERP rendering was that the connection could hardly thrive using its recent data frameworks. (Brown, Dehayes, Hoffer, Martin & Perkins. 2012) Many people frameworks them to have been at the moment making use of had resulted in the patchwork of heritage frameworks and also credit reporting gadgets which could hardly communicate together. (Brown, Dehayes, Hoffer, Martin & Perkins. 2012) Your absence of frameworks interchanges have been with the approach which in recent times, NIBCO had a building package which jogged in H . p . as well as a bookkeep ing platform which jogged in IBM as well as a conveyance package that has been repackaged running in I...

Cola Wars Continue: Coke and Pepsi in 2006

Spenser Garrison Strategic Management 3/17/10 Case 1: Cola Wars Continue: Coke and Pepsi in 2006 The soft drink industry is very competitive for all companies involved. Recently the competition between established firms has only increased with the market nearing its saturation point. All companies in the industry, especially those thinking about entering, have to think about Porter’s 5-Forces model and the pressures it outlines; rivalry among establish firms, risk of entry by potential competitors, substitute products, suppliers, and buyers. When talking about market share, PepsiCo and Coca-Cola have the lions share. They have dominated the industry over the past 40 years with Coca-Cola leading in the category in 2004 (C256). With little resistance from Cadbury Schweppes, the distant third largest company in the industry, the two companies’ main focus was to increase market demand by outdoing each other in promotions, advertisements, and corporate acquisitions. Rivalry and power struggle have defined the existence of PepsiCo and Coca-Cola, looking for a competitive advantage to gain an edge on the competition. This rivalry has been to the benefit to the companies, the industry, and its consumers as a whole. Both have learned to not only stay afloat, but flourish in an industry that has constantly grown since Coca-Cola began advertising in 1891 (C258). They did this by increasing the demand in their products, and gaining brand loyalty by their consumers. In some instances, they were selling cases of Dasani (Coca-Cola) and Aquafina (PepsiCo) for less than the cost of bottling it (C267). The risk of entry by potential competitors isn’t a strong competitive pressure in the industry. PepsiCo and Coca-Cola dominate the industry with their brand name and distribution channels, which makes it difficult for new entrants to compete with these existing firms. High fixed costs of production facilities, logistics, and economies of scale also deter entry. It’s difficult for a new firm with a small production capacity, and a high cost structure to compete when, as soon as their product is introduced to the market, the two leading firms drop prices below your cost structure. Pepsi and Coke’s economies of scale allows them to do this since it costs so much less for them to produce their products than it would a new company. Substitute products come from competitors outside of the soft drink industry. These include: coffee, sports drinks, bottled water, tea, and juices. This is an increasingly growing force since consumers are becoming more health conscious in society. Most people are thinking about what carbonated soft drinks do to their bodies and replace them with sports drinks which appear to be healthier. These drinks also allow for a larger variety of flavors the appeal to different consumers (C263). Coffee and tea may also be substitutes for the consumer who drinks soda for the caffeine they contain. Consumers can switch to coffee to decrease the amount of sugar and carbonation. These also come in a larger variety of flavors provided companies, such as Starbucks, that have become extremely popular over the past 20 years. These substitutes are a large and powerful force in the industry, especially since the switching costs (the cost to switch from one product to the next) are essentially zero. Supplies to the industry don’t hold much competitive pressure. Bottling and packaging of the product don’t hold much of a bargaining position in the industry. Coca-Cola’s CEO Roberto Goizueta looked to consolidate a large number of bottlers in 1986, creating an independent bottling subsidiary called Coca-Cola Enterprises (CCE), went public and sold 51% of its shares while retaining the remaining which enables Coke to have separate financial statements from CCE (C261). This vertical integration essentially made Coke its own bottler, which almost cut out suppliers entirely. PepsiCo soon followed suit in the late 1980s with the Pepsi Bottling Group (PBG) and went public in 1999, retaining 35% of its shares (C261). By 2004 Coca-Cola had CCE bottling 80% of its North American bottle and can volume, while PepsiCo had PBG bottling 57% of their beverages in the region (C261). These consolidations took away much of suppliers’ bargaining power. The buyers of soft drinks range from Supermarkets, to mass retailers and supercenters, to gas stations. Soft drinks are sold to these stores which are, in turn, resold to customers. Buyer power in the industry is very strong. Larger stores purchase soft drink in large volumes allowing them to buy at low prices. Gas stations have less bargaining power since they buy smaller quantities. Although soft drink demand is beginning to plateau which could cause a shift in bargaining power to the buyer because of decreasing demands in both Pepsi and Coke. Porter’s 5-Forces model completely encompasses all factors of the soft drink industry. It has shown that industry has been very profitable in earlier years, especially to Pepsi and Coke. Demand for soft drinks is beginning to level off because of a new health conscious trend by the consumer which will inevitably affect profits. The industry has also been defined by intense rivalry by the two largest firms which leave little room for new entrants. The soft drink industry has reached its peak in society and will soon begin to decline soon because of the consumers decrease in demand for the product and increased demand in other healthier products. For both companies to stay profitable, they will have to curtail their products to the new health conscious trend of the consumer. The value created by the soft drink industry is apparent and distributed across the industry in a variety of ways. Pepsi and Coke at first only produced their cola products, two companies each with one product line. The success of both companies led them to diversify their production capabilities and produce different flavors of soda; Fanta, Sprite, and Tab (1960-63) from Coke, and Teem, Mountain Dew, and Diet Pepsi (1960-64) from Pepsi (C259). These expanded product lines proved to be highly profitable and were continued and expanded on in the years to come. By the late 1980s Coke and Pepsi each offered more than 10 major brands of soda in 17 or more sizes (C261). This product proliferationincreased profitability, rivalry, and barriers to entry. Soon both companies would break into markets other than carbonated soft drinks. Sports drinks such as Gatorade and Powerade, juices and juice drinks, energy drinks, tea based drinks, and bottled water. These new product lines all had substitute products from the other company to battle with. Pepsi and Coke had a vast understanding on game theory and demonstrated it with their sequential and simultaneous move games. This led to an enormous selection for the consumer, whose only problem was choosing a flavor. Both Pepsi and Coke both have secret recipes to their flagship cola. Coke was the first to be imitated in its early years. The company constantly fought trademark infringements in court. There were as many as 153 barred imitation of Coca-Cola in 1916 alone (C259). When Pepsi proved to be a viable competitor to Coke, the company filed a suit against Pepsi claiming it was an infringement on the Coca-Cola Trademark. From that point on the two companies engaged in competitive marketing campaigns to gain market share. In 1950, Coke controlled 47% of the US market, while Pepsi’s was only 10%. Coke and Pepsi are two gigantic companies that have flourished throughout their existence. They can be described as the definition of rivalry and competition in the modern business world. They are exact substitutes of each other and have battled to control the carbonated soft drink industry for over a century. From the 1950s-present, the carbonated soft drink industry has steadily increased in terms of consumption by person in the US (C251). Both companies have spent billions in marketing, research, acquisitions, and promotions to meticulously exchange percentage points in the $66 billion a year industry that they have created (C250). Unfortunately times are changing, and the superiority that the carbonated soft drink industry once held among beverages is slowly fading. Schools are banning sodas from being sold in them, claiming they are unhealthy for children (C263). People in today’s society are more health conscious than they were in prior years. This is why you see a health clubs left and right, and â€Å"0g Trans Fat† labeled on snack foods. A majority of the US population is very health conscious, which leaves little room for the sugary carbonated soft drinks that used to dominated beverage consumption. The stability of the Soft drink Industry as a whole is in jeopardy. Coke and Pepsi will have to find alternatives to increase market share, or break into new markets, if they want sales to keep increasing like they have in the past. Non-carbonated beverages, such as juices, sports drinks, and energy drinks, are beginning to grow more rapidly than when they first were introduced, while carbonated beverages are leveling off. This health conscious shift will lead Coca-Cola and Pepsi executives to focus in these once thought auxiliary components of their business to pick up the slack that the carbonated industry is leaving behind. Coke and Pepsi will not be able to repeat their success with carbonated beverages in the water segment. Water can’t differ like soft drinks can. There are simply too many similar substitutes for customers to turn to, and the brand loyalty diminishes. A mere 10% of consumers say they choose a brand of water because â€Å"it’s my favorite brand† when compared to the 37% of carbonated beverage consumers (C267). To compete in this new market, Coke and Pepsi will need a new competitive dynamic to stay profitable, one that won’t end in price wars. Fortunately for the market it is much cheaper to bottle and sell water than it is carbonated soft drinks, so competitive advantage will need to inevitably be realized in other parts of the business.