Civil rights then and now Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Civil rights then and now - Essay Example That victory of moral persuasion by Martin Luther King, Jr was translated into the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the law that prohibited discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, or sex in employment, public accommodations, and federally funded programs. The ideals of a jaundiced Constitution have deep historic roots in the first principle of freedom the proposition, as Lincoln called it that all men are created equal, and that this equality forms the basis of inalienable individual rights. It was to vindicate this principle that Americans ratified the Thirteenth Amendment abolishing slavery, as well as the Fourteenth Amendment guaranteeing "the equal protection of the laws" to all citizens. And it was to vindicate this principle that, beginning in the 1930s, the lawyers for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund embarked upon a litigation strategy designed to end public school segregation. However, it is the principle of equal treatment under law without regard to race that for 125 years constituted the unvarying goal of antislavery crusaders and civil rights advocates. The most distinctive legal claim of the American civil rights tradition has been the principle of nondiscrimination, above all a claim for equal treatment by the government without regard to race. Despite the legal mandate of equal treatment, for the past several years many of Americas educational institutions have blatantly violated the law in the name of "affirmative action" and "diversity." In reality these terms are extremely misleading euphemisms for the practice of gross racial discrimination. In the undergraduate school, applicants for admission were simply sorted into different pools with lower admission standards if they identified themselves as African-American, Hispanic, or Native American, and higher standards if they identified themselves as white

Should the top executives of the major banks that received bail-out Term Paper

Should the top executives of the major banks that received bail-out money be allowed to receive large bonuses - Term Paper Example The act of providing additional capital to banks and other organizations when they face the danger of bankruptcy is called bailout. During the last few years, most of the major banks in America were provided with bailout money so that they would be saved from the danger of insolvency and thereby liquidation. Since banking sector is the growth engine of a nation’s economy, government must give great care to its maintenance. In addition, the regulators can also play a vital role in preventing the disastrous effects of bankruptcy by the effective application of various financial tools. This paper has been drafted with intent to explore the ethical range of paying large bonuses to top executives of major banks that received bailout money. Bailout and its impacts on economic sector The bank bailout has a far reaching impact on a nation’s economy as it is spent out of extra budgeted money. The general public of the nation largely suffers from the bank bailout since it leads t o the downturn of economy. Similarly, many investors and shareholders may lose money on their investment due to the economic collapse of banks; and therefore they hesitate to go with further dealings. The foreign investors and companies may also lose their interest in a weaker banking sector and it would adversely affect the financial viability of the nation as a whole. In the opinion of McKay (2010), the taxpayer money has been employed to meet the cash reserve needs of the banks. The money from the treasury is used to carry out fund operations, if the banks have not repaid the money (pp. 50-51). Therefore, the Federal Reserve is forced to pay more money to the banking industry at the time of depression and it breaks balanced financial structure of the various policy based operations. McKay also indicates that the banks generally utilize the cash deposits from the customers to ‘purchase mortgage-backed securities, collateralized debt, and loan obligations. In most cases, they are valued worthless and it would badly impinge on the rate of return on bank’s transactions. Likewise, it is reported that some major American banks had inflated their profit in order to attract more investors and creditors. As a result, many creditors have not been still reimbursed for their claims. â€Å"When banks fail, getting credit and loans becomes more difficult. This makes the process more difficult for the people looking to buy cars, homes, and property and perhaps for students trying to obtain educational loans† (McKay,2010, p.53). Similarly, the businessmen would not get adequate assistance from the banks and it would impede the industrial growth of the country. The failure of banks and subsequent bailout leads to incredible job losses within the country. Moreover, when the banks are compelled to withstand with the bailout money, they cannot implement new policies and programs. In short, the process of bailout will certainly cause the economic diminution of the whole country. Top executives of banks and their bonus payment Usually, banks pay high salaries to their top executives with intent to retain them in the organization since they are the skippers who lead the day to day activities. I am of the opinion that top executives of the banks that received bailout money should not be allowed to collect large bonuses. As the top executives are the decision takers of the organization regarding various matters, they are also responsible for the

Nursing Research Critique Assignment Essay Example for Free

Nursing Research Critique Assignment Essay I will be critiquing two different articles. Both studies are nursing studies that evaluate outcomes. I will be following specific key points for a quantitative perspective and a qualitative perspective. There is a guideline that I will be following for each article that includes identifying and examining the data collection and data analysis methodologies used in each study. The names of the articles are The Experience of Patients Undergoing Awake Craniotomy and The Effects of Crossed Leg Blood Pressure Measurement. The references will also be reviewed to determine validity and relationship to the new study. Data Collection Quantitative Study: The operational and conceptual definition is congruent. The key variables were operationalized using the best possible method and with adequate justification. Specific instruments were adequately described and were good choices, given the study purpose, the variables being studied, and the study population. The instrument used specifically was a blood pressure monitor. The blood pressure cuff size, dimensions, and inflation pressure were described. The blood pressure monitor was adequately pretested and calibrated before the study began by a biomedical technician (Foster-Fitzpatrick, Ortiz, Sibilano, Marcantonio, Braun, 1999). It can be determined that the data collection methods provided data that was reliable and valid. The intervention executed was having patients cross their legs and measuring their blood pressure. The intervention was adequately described and implemented. The implementation of the intervention was faithful to its plan (Polit Beck, 2012). The data was gathered by trained nurse researchers (Foster-Fitzpatrick et al. , 1999). The same blood pressure monitor was operated during the data collection to minimize biases (Foster-Fitzpatrick et al. , 1999). Qualitative Study: The methods for gathering data were appropriate and the data was gathered using interviews over a span of 2 days (Palese, Skrap, Fachin, Visioli, Zannini, 2008). It could be determined that triangulation was achieved since the interviews were performed on numerous occasions and during assorted circumstances. The researchers did ask the right questions and make the right observations, which were also recorded in an appropriate fashion. It can be concluded that sufficient data was gathered, given the specifics required to be a factor in this study. The data collected was adequately rich in depth and detail. The data was gathered using interviews with open-ended questions. The interviews were audio-recorded. The data compilation tools were valid and reliable for this study. Data collection was adequately described and appeared appropriate for this type of study. Bias was kept to a minimum. The researchers were to determine and recognize ideas that may have prompted or provoked personal biases, they also had to recognize any personal experiences or beliefs that might have influenced what they were going to hear and report (Palese et al. , 2008). Data Analysis Quantitative Study: Analyses were appropriated to answer the research question and to test the hypothesis. The researchers performed various blood pressure measurements on a sample of hypertensive males to determine if the crossing of a leg has an effect on blood pressure measurements. Appropriate statistical methods were used given the level of measurement and assumptions of the test. However, there was only one specific group that was the variable, 100 hypertensive males whose ages ranged from 31 to 81. Hypothesis testing allows researchers to make objective decisions whether study results likely reflect chance sample differences or true population differences (Polit Beck, 2012). In this study there was no control group. Then, how can we determine that crossing your leg would increase blood pressure. It is challenging to support whether a type I and type II errors were actually minimized or avoided. The intervention studies did not perform an intention-to-treat analysis. All of the participants were treated and there was no omitted information. The participants also did not abandon the study. The problems of missing values were evaluated and adequately addressed. The limitation of the study includes gender and sample size. The researchers discussed the weaknesses with solutions for future studies. The researchers recommend replicating this study using a larger sample size that includes females. They consider that these changes would increase the significance of the results. The findings are discussed and interpreted. Information about statistical significance and confidence interval is presented and reviewed. There was good use of tables and figures that included titles and headings that were clearly and appropriately labeled. The results were also clearly displayed in tables with identifiable titles and labeled headings. The study included descriptive statistics. The study described the main characteristics in the dataset. The mean and standard deviation for each blood pressure measurement was calculated before and after crossing of the legs was performed by the study subjects. Inferential statistics were also present in this study. In order to test mean differences with three or more groups, an analysis of variance (ANOVA) statistical test is used. This research study conducted a repeated-measure ANOVA, which is when there are three or more measures of the same dependent variable for each participant (Polit Beck, 2012). Measuring blood pressure at various intervals and under numerous conditions for the same subject is one incident where this type of testing can be used. . The model for this design was repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA). The level of significance in this study was stated at 0. 05 for all three effects in the model, (before crossing the legs, during legs crossed, and after having crossed the legs). This significance level indicates that researchers accept a risk that out of 100 samples drawn from a population, a true null hypothesis would be rejected 5 times (Polit Beck, 2012). Given the level of measurement and the nature of the hypothesis, the results were adequate. However, I believe that further research is required to have a stronger correlation. A wider sampling population should be used in future research to have more accurate conclusions. Qualitative Study: The data management and data analysis methods were sufficiently described. The data analysis strategy was compatible with the research tradition. It was also compatible with the nature and type of data gathered. The findings are effectively summarized. There was good use of citations from the patient interviews. The researchers were able to abstract concepts that were found in the data collected from the interviews. Although each patient had a unique experience, the researchers were able to categorize concepts from the data that was analyzed. Researchers were able to group these concepts into pre-operative concerns, intra-operative concerns, and post-operative concerns. Since there was limited research conducted on intra-operative experiences there were limits with the ability of being able to link it to previously performed studies. However, the study did recognize the limits it had. Since this is a qualitative study, generally these studies cannot be generalized to the population. Qualitative researchers are not concerned with the general population, but rather with subjects experiences (Polit Beck, 2012). The researchers did acknowledge the importance of the healthcare team members to think about patient’s experiences in order to better understand how to prioritize the needs of the patient (Palese et al. , 2008). I believe that biases were kept to a minimal considering the implementations that the researchers were exposed to at the beginning of the study and before they were exposed to the interviews or observations. The composition and exploration of the data produced genuine and significant descriptions of the experiences that the patients whom were subjects had. Summary After reviewing both articles and critiquing each one, I believe to have a better understanding about the difference between a quantitative research study and a qualitative research study. Data collection should be systematic and meticulous. Both studies gathered their data systematically and meticulously. In view of the statistical analysis, levels of measurement should be defined as nominal, ordinal, interval or ratio level data. Sources of data can be documentary sources as primary and secondary sources, field sources as subjects in person, conditions, environment and events that are observable and measurable, and historical data. Both of the studies also had these types of sources. The methods of collecting data include surveys questioning using interview schedule and questionnaires, observation techniques with the help of structured or unstructured instruments, and measuring with standardized instruments. Both of the studies also used some of these methods for collecting data. The purpose of analyzing data in a study is to describe the data in meaningful terms. For example, the study in reference to blood pressure changes utilized tables for interpretation. Statistics help to answer important research questions and it is the answers to such questions that further our understandings. It is required the researcher to have an understanding of what tools are suitable for a particular research study. Depending on the kinds of variables identified (nominal, ordinal, interval, and ratio) and the design of particular study, number of statistical techniques is available to analyze data. The data collection and data analysis methodologies used varied and followed the particular need of each research study. The researchers followed the research process guidelines and methodologies. Although, both studies had some weaknesses, they were both performed adequately, using appropriate techniques and instruments. They were also both performed with integrity, discussing thei r limitations and weaknesses.

Red Bull strategy

Red Bull strategy Red Bull is one of the biggest soft drink successes over the past the years. The slim blue silver can has developed a following among those who claim that it helps them with virtually everything to work better and play better. Yet Red Bull has a 70 to 90 percent market share in over 100 countries worldwide. During the past 15 years, the drink has been copied by more than 100 competitors, but such companies as Coca-Cola and Anheuser-Busch have been unable to take market share away from Red Bull. [Selling Power (September, 2004)] In 1982, Dietrich Mateschitz, the founder of Red Bull became aware of products called tonic drinks which enjoyed wide popularity in Asia. Energy drinks containing taurine, glucuronolactone, caffeine and important vitamins and carbohydrates are claimed to help with physical endurance, improved reaction, speed and concentration and a feeling of well being. We can see that in the present days more than a billion cans of Red Bull are consumed each year around the world. Red Bull was launched in the UK in the mid-1990s of Austrian parentage. According to a Zenith International 2001 survey that, in 2001, it was the UKs third biggest soft drink by value, behind Coca-Cola and Pepsi Cola. In the energy and sport drink sector, estimated to be worth  £750mn, it had an 86 per cent brand share by 2000, more than double the combined sales of Lucozades energy and sports brands. The advertising slogan of the Red Bull is The Drink That Gives You Wings and focuses on the stimulant properties of the drink. The functional sector concentrated on energy drinks, with brands such as Red Bull dominated. Meanwhile, the focus for sports drinks is replenishing carbohydrates and electrolytes quickly, and rehydrating the body after exercise. This subsector is still dominated by Lucozade Sport with  £34 mm in sales in 2000, but Coca-Cola intends to prelaunch its Powerade brand to capture a significant share, using Get Up, Stay Up as its campaign theme. Lucozade Sport in creating a new sector that is in tune with changes in lifestyles and reflects the development of sport physical activity. [Hawkes (1997), Johnson (2001), Newnham (2001)]  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Analysis of the external and internal environments of an organization influence strategic choices and compare the marketing proposition that, The UK total cold drinks market is large and competitive area in which, many powerful and famous brands with large marketing budgets competing for share. In the cold drinks market, increases in the soft drinks category have been slowing. However, growth has been driven considerably by the energy drink sector, which was worth an estimated  £940 million in 2003 and more than  £392 million in 2004 and still has grown 26% since 2003. (ACNielsen) The Energy drink category continues to grow at pace with brand extensions and new entrants to the market emerging every year. This represents both a challenge and an opportunity for the categorys leading brands. [Mintel Energy Stimulant drinks Market Report August 2006]. The Product Red Bull improves emotional status and vigilance, increases performance, reaction speed and concentration. Customers drink Red Bull for such benefits as these.   In times of long school hours, stressful work, and very tiring days, customers look to a product that vitalizes body and mind. Red Bull does just that!   Red Bull even supplies a sugar free version for the average health-concerned user.   The Target Audience (Market) At this point, the concept of market segmentation, targeting and positioning are key to the success of firms marketing efforts. Red Bull targets an active audience, especially those between the ages of 17 and 23, male and female.   Characteristically, 17- to 23-year-olds are either thinking about college, in college, or just recently graduated from college.   It is currently in a consumers life that dramatic schedule changes are happening.   High school atmospheres are considerably slower than the pace of college atmospheres. Sports, education, clubs and part-time jobs are far more challenging in a college setting.   Red Bull is targeting customers across the world that it is at the turning point in their lives when energy is a necessary component to successfully make it through any given day.   Red Bull is a perfect solution for 17- to 23-year-olds who live fast-paced, hectic lifestyles while hardly making it through long days and nights of classes and studying. Segmentation is also important because firms cannot appeal to all customers at once, especially not with the same offering.   Rather, firms need to design products and services that fit with particular groups of individuals. Firms can segment their market in a number of ways, including geographical which is mainly people who are situated in the city, as they are likely to be really busy and tired. Red Bull seems to have a cooler in most bars and clubs in the city as well as in convenient stores.Demographic, mainly concentrate on men and women of all ages but focusing on people aged 16-29. Psychographic for example, the people who are tired or stressed and want to relax and have fun and finally behavioural segmentation especially students and young professionals to boost energy during work long day at work. The type of marketing strategy that should be employed will vary on the target market. Choosing an appropriate target-marketing strategy will depend on a number of factors. Once a firm has selected the segment within which it wishes to compete, it must then choose a specific position within said segment where it will distinguish itself [Kotler and Keller, 2006; Kotler, 1980, 1985]. The requirement of market positioning refers more broadly to the notion of competitive advantage. The Proposition Red Bull is The Drink That Gives You Wings. This is Red Bulls international slogan for its energy drink. Red Bull is a popular drink amongst men in particular, with its largest consumers consisting of athletes, students, and night-clubbers in need of a late night lift.   However, the brand is marketed to opinion leaders and hard-working people with active lifestyles, as the companys website claims. Red Bull succeeds by remaining exactly the same. Consumers can choose with sugar or without. There is no other choice. As founder Dietrich Mateschitz says We dont bring the product to the people, we bring people to the product. Red Bull marketing maintains a sense of product mystique that makes consumers feel special. Customers can relate to the experience they were having when they encountered the drink and they adjust their values to the attributes of the product. The Competition Red Bull is competing with major competitor Lucozade in the soft drink market and they are the driving forces in the rapidly increasing energy drink market. A close assessment of their websites reveals that they have a similar focus in their messages, so they seem to be competing for the same customers. However, the message delivery is very different. This would seem to indicate that they are not concentrating their strategic objectives on stealing market share or overall market share growth. Instead they recognize that the whole market share pie is rising. For that reason it seems logical that each company would be concentrating on bringing in a greater number of the consumers new to the energy drink market. Red Bull is also competing with some companies such as show below; Vault -Markets product as a hybrid: Drinks as a Soda, Kicks like an Energy Drink The Taste. The Quench. The Kick. -A Coca-Cola product -Product Variations: Vault Zero (diet version) -Commercial advertisements display men doing extraordinary things while drinking Vault. Monster -Tagline: Unleash the Beast -Green and black themed product and website -Product variations: Lo-Carb, Assault(soda drink), Khaos(juice drink) -Khoas slogan: 70% Juice, 100% Monster -Promote Supercross racing events -Promote mixing Monster with alcoholic beverages, website provides mixed drink recipes. Rock Star -Edgy tone -Rock music plays on the website; Rod Stewart, Fernando Vargas and Snoop Dogg are pictured on the homepage of the site, Party Like A RockStar -Product variations:   Diet RockStar, RockStar Energy Cola, Get Juiced -Get Juiced slogan- 70% Real Juice, 100% Energy -Website sells merchandise: t-shirts, hats, wristbands, etc. -Youthfully imaged founder CEO Advertising Objectives Red Bull campaign strategy is to redirect the advertising from the former extreme sport athlete audience to a demographically larger target audience college students.   What will Red Bull campaign do for the target? Red Bull campaign will hit a soft spot and plant their product deep in to the minds of the target audience by using a childhood cartoon character for instance, Popeye the Sailor Man who has recently been missing in action on current television.   Their focus group study revealed that the targeted college student audience often wishes they could turn back the hands of time and relive their childhood when life was easy and they had all the energy in the world to laugh and play.   The goal is to reach their targets soft spot by using a childhood cartoon character pleasant childhood memories.   The Ad Pyramid (AIDA) Attracting Attention: Using a cartoon character, which the target market has not seen since childhood, to promote Red Bull will grab the attention of the 17- to 23-year-old audience.   Holding Interest:   The tagline, Tastes Better Than Spinach, pokes fun at the taste of Red Bull, using the technique of humour to keep the consumers interested in the product.   Sparking Desire:   The target market will also long for the desired energy results of Red Bull who long to return to the days of childhood.   Influencing Action: The interest in and the desire to drink Red Bull will add enough fuel to the consumers flame to make the target need and/or want to go out and purchase their product. Overall goal of Advertising Campaign: Red Bull wants to have at least 75-80% of all college students in the country drinking or highly aware of their drink.  Ã‚   The Media and Creative Requirements Creative Brief/Copy Platform Red Bull will reach out to the college student market by using humoured advertising, along with product benefits to prominently put Red Bull on the college campus map.   Our strategy is to implement pulse advertising to stress Red Bulls importance through midterm and final times by way of the following media:   MTVs the 10-Spot, People Magazine, and college radio stations nationwide. Red Bull is bringing Popeye back into the spotlight!   Popeye and his infamous love, Olive Oyl, will use their persuasion skills to remind the target market of sweet childhood memories, as a result, aiding in the desire to drink Red Bull for strength and energy.   What is Popeyes message, you ask?   Tastes Better Than Spinach is the hot button tagline we will use to reach the target market.   In the print and broadcast advertisements, Popeyes character will appear in various college settings, while studying and drinking Red Bull to gain energy, instead of eating what he is famous for, cans of spinach.   The Red Bull cans and website promote the specific product benefits increasing performance, concentration and reaction speed, improving vigilance and emotional status, and stimulating the metabolism.   We plan to stick with the effective strategy of humoured animation advertising to sell Red Bull Energy Drink across the United States.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Production requires the hiring of animators, scheduling studio time for voiceovers, hiring actors for the voiceovers, and obtaining the rights to use Popeye and Olive Oyl in advertisements.   Final edits are expected within the production elements. Popeyes strength and energy will flow into the college students of America. The result:   sky-rocketed Red Bull sales! Media Rationale People Magazine Many young adults within our target market read this weekly magazine.   People Magazine, constantly available for reading, is our chosen media outlet that can reach our target at nearly any time of the day.   People Magazine often sits in the lobby or waiting area of schools and businesses, giving us the opportunity to reach out to the consumers in many places and at many times of the day.   The creative vision of having the popular cartoon character, Popeye, drinking Red Bull in college settings will scream to our target that Red Bull Energy Drink is a necessity for the average college student.   MTVs the 10-Spot College students, far and wide, take a break from studying to tune in to the popular MTV 10-Spot.   Red Bull commercial advertisements during the highly rated Real World/Road Rules Challenge will clearly remind our audience of the energy they crave to make it through many hours of homework after their much needed break is over.   A constant reminder with three commercial slots during this half hour television show will have the target market running out to the nearest venue to buy Red Bull Energy Drink.  Ã‚  Ã‚   College Radio Stations What better way to reach our target audience than by pouring our product advertisement right into the heart of their schools media college radio stations!   Students are exposed to the sound of college radio in general public campus areas, such as cafes, restaurants, hallways and lounges.   Advertisements are to run between the times of 6:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m.   Surveys reveal that the target market prefers to drink Red Bull in the evening.   The evening targeting strategy will reach students after dinner hours when they are getting ready for gruelling night classes and/or long nights of studying.   Conclusion I can say that, advertising is any paid form of non personal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods, and services by an identified sponsor to a targeted audience and delivered primarily through the mass media. Advertising has much strength. It can reach a large mass audience to intensify broad-based demand for a product, build brand awareness, create long-term brand images and brand positions, and increase brand knowledge effectively. On the hand advertising has several weaknesses also. It is perceived as intrusive and as cluttering the environment. It is also wastes many impressions, so it may not be cost-effective, especially if the business is targeting a niche market.  Ã‚   If I want to critically evaluate how analysis of the external and internal environments of an organisation influence strategic choices and compare the marketing propositions of Red Bull this assessment show that, the energy drink market is competitive and rapidly increasing in the existing market sector. Therefore, selection of advertising media for Red Bull is one of the most important and complicated of all marketing communications decisions. Media planning must be coordinated with marketing strategy and with other aspects of advertising strategy. Bibliography Burnet, J. and Moriarty, S. (1998) Introduction to Marketing Communications: An Integrated Approach, by Prentice Hall, Inc., Upper Saddle River, New Jersey. Geld, B. D., Hong, J. W. and Zinkhan, G. M. (1985) Communications Effects of Specific Advertising Elements: An Update in Current Issues and Research in Advertising, vol 11, ed. James H. Leigh and Claude R. Martin, Jr. (Ann Arbor, Mich: University of Michigan.   Kotler, P. and Armstrong, G. (2004) Principles of Marketing, (10th edition), Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education Kotler, P. and Keller, K.L. (2006) Marketing Management, (12th edition), Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education Mintzberg, H. and Lampel, J. and Kim, J.B. and Ghoshal, S. (2003) The Strategy Process: Concept Contexts Cases (4th edition), published by Pearson Education Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey Porter, M.E. (1980). Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analysing Industries and Competitors. New York: Free Press Porter, M.E. (1985). Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance. New York: Free Press. Shimp, T. A. (2000) Advertising Promotion: Supplemental Aspects of Integrated Marketing Communications, 5th edn,by Harcourt, Inc. Electronic sources: Superbrands Book 2004 www.red-bull.com www.redbullrampage.com www.bevnet.com/reviews/redbull www.hoovers.com/red-bull www.brandchannel.com www.lanceandeskimo.com/chefelf/bev_lucozade.shtml www.business2000.ie/cases/cases/case4.htm www.begleys.com/stats.html www.thelocalshop.com/default Selling power sep 2004 REFERENCES Kotler, P. and Armstrong, G. (2004) Principles of Marketing, 10th edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education Kotler, P. and Keller, K.L. (2006) Marketing Management, 12th edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education Porter, M.E. (1980). Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analysing Industries and Competitors. New York: Free Press Porter, M.E. (1985). Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance. New York: Free Press. Superbrands Book 2004 Hawkes (1997), Johnson (2001), Newnham (2001) Mintel Energy Stimulant drinks Market Report August 2006 Selling power sep 2004 APPENDIX 1. FIGURE 1:   [Source: Nielsen value share data, MAT to December 27th 2006]. 2. FIGURE: Typical off-trade retail prices of energy and stimulant drinks and pack sizes, (2006). Red Bull Solstis Lucozade Original Energy Purdeys Red Devil Feelfine Tesco Kick Average price  £0.96  £0.90  £0.75  £0.70  £0.90  £1.09  £0.48p Pack size 250ml 250ml 380ml 330ml 250ml 250ml 250ml According to figure 1, Lucozade has been the market leader in the energy drink category with just under 60% value share of the category since its launch. The biggest competitors such as, Red Bull with 27% market share and PowerAde 4.5% market share respectively. In 2003 has also witnessed the introduction of several private label sport and energy drink launches from the major grocers. The rest of the market is made up with a plethora of smaller brands, predominantly operating in the stimulant drinks sector, and distributed via the impulse channel and the on-trade environment. [See figure 2: Typical off-trade retail prices of energy and stimulant drinks and pack sizes, 200 Appendix 2 Posters The Drink That Gives You Wings Even If you are a HERO!!! Tastes Better Than Spinach

Federalist #10 :: essays research papers

Madison begins perhaps the most famous of the Federalist papers by stating that one of the strongest arguments in favor of the Constitution is the fact that it establishes a government capable of controlling the violence and damage caused by factions. Madison defines that factions are groups of people who gather together to protect and promote their special economic interests and political opinions. Although these factions are at odds with each other, they frequently work against the public interests, and infringe upon the rights of others. Both supporters and opponents of the plan are concerned with the political instability produced by rival factions. The state governments have not succeeded in solving this problem; in fact the situation is so problematic that people are disillusioned with all politicians and blame government for their problems. Consequently, a form of popular government that can deal successfully with this problem has a great deal to recommend it. Given the nature of man, factions are inevitable. As long as men hold different opinions, have different amounts of wealth, and own different amount of property, they will continue to fraternize with people who are most similar to them. Both serious and trivial reasons account for the formation of factions but the most important source of faction is the unequal distribution of property. Men of greater ability and talent tend to possess more property than those of lesser ability, and since the first object of government is to protect and encourage ability, it follows that the rights of property owners must be protected. Property is divided unequally, and, in addition, there are many different kinds of property; men have different interests depending upon the kind of property they own. For example, the interests of landowners differ from those who own businesses. Government must not only protect the conflicting interests of property owners, it must, at the same time, successfully regul ate the conflicts that result from those who own, and those who do not own, property. To Madison, there are only two ways to control a faction: one, to remove its causes and the second to control its effects. The first is impossible. There are only two ways to remove the causes of a faction: destroy liberty or give every citizen the same opinions, passions, and interests. Destroying liberty is a "cure worse then the disease itself," and the second is impracticable. The causes of factions are thus part of the nature of man and we must deal with their effects and accept their existence.

An Assessment of the Poetry of Robert Frost Essay -- Poetry Robert Lee

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Nature is beautiful in every aspect, but as nature changes with every season, beauty and innocence in human life is much the same as the years progress. Robert Lee Frost uses nature in such a profound approach; every aspect of nature can someway correlate with any characteristic of life. Whether it is the beauty in nature signifying the joy and happiness that every person experiences, or it be the traumatic losses and disappointments that may lead to ultimate failure or destruction, Robert Frost illustrates life, love and loss in the most natural and beautiful way feasible. His style is uniquely his own, and his themes are ones that many people can relate to on countless levels, which is what made Frost so popular during his lifetime, and has continued four decades after his death.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Robert Frost was born March 26 1874 in San Francisco where he spent the first eleven years of his life until his father died. It was then that he moved with his family to Lawrence, Massachusetts. While in high school in Lawrence, Frost fell in love with Elinor White, they became engaged and married in 1896 (the same year that their son Elliott was born). After withdrawing from Harvard in 1897, the Frost’s moved to a farm in Methuen, Massachusetts, and began raising poultry. Three years later Elliott died, along with Frost’s mother. Frost and his family then bought a farm in Derry, where they settled down, and Frost began writing. Robert and Elinor Frost had three more children before losing another infant in 1907. In 1912, Frost became irritated with his failure at success, and moved his family to England. This move proved to be successful when Frost’s first book A Boy’s Will was published in 1913, followed by North of Boston in 1914; b oth books appeared in the United States as well by the time that the Frost family returned in 1915. In 1938 Frost lost his wife to illness. New Hampshire garnered Frost the first of his unmatched four Pulitzer Prizes for poetry, followed by Frost's Collected Poems in 1930, A Further Range in 1936, and A Witness Tree in 1942. Frost’s crowning public moment was his recitation of "The Gift Outright" at John F. Kennedy's inauguration in January of 1960. He died on January 29, 1963. Robert Frost lived a very long and often tragic life. He suffered unreasonable guilt, and blamed himself for everything that went wrong. Robert Frost loved his f... ... to gain wisdom. This wisdom should not be what the speaker feels in the last line, that innocence is great and loss of it is to be mourned. This wisdom is in the title of the poem "Nothing Gold Can Stay." Here is Frost telling the speaker to understand that this is the natural way, and so there is no point in fighting it or being sad about it. In fact, within every leaf is just a leaf...meaning without the gold there is no green, without dawn there is no day, without death there is no birth. It is just the way it is and so we better love it.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Robert Frost’s poems are beautifully written, and offer such a deep insight into life, and nature. His work connects to readers on virtually every level of consciousness, and generates readers to understand that their feelings are not rare. Everyone experiences the same emotions, and must overcome many of the same situations in life; but his poems almost bring the sense of possibility. Frost may have become popular at the dawn of the nineteenth century, his life may have ended almost half a century ago, but his poems are still as distinguished as they were before his death, and they will continue to be popular for many years to come.

Traits of a Good leader

Today we live in a modern world where change is the only constant. We are surrounded by uncertainty in our daily lives, whether it is personal or professional. It is important to understand that a leader has to be comfortable dealing with uncertainty and change. First it is important to understand who a leader is. At the most basic level, a leader is someone who guides or leads other people. In more detail, a leader is a strong individual who has a vision or a purpose.He or she also has the skills and dedication required to see this vision through, guiding others to elieve in this vision and implementing the plan so that the desired result is achieved. The authors of Leading the Way look at seven angles or attitudes that make a successful leader. If these seven blocks are considered and improved, one is sure to be a more effective leader. According to Leading the Way, the two basic foundations of leadership are individuality and insight. It is vital to understand these before one can succeed at being a leader.Individuality is ones personal identity. Who you really are, what you stand for, that is individuality. When it comes to leaders, one who displays a strong ndividuality be being himself or herself is a powerful personality who will be looked upto. Individuality means bringing ones personal experiences, values and beliefs to the table (Leading the Way. 40). It is good for a leader to have his or her unique style and to follow the values he or she believes in. Personal experience is one of the greatest strengths of individuality. Every individual has his or wealth of unique experiences.When a leader is proud of his or her individuality and displays it openly he or she is sure to be more effective. I am trying to implement this is my personal aily life by dissecting my own values and trying to see what makes me unique. I have found that I am a very open person, direct and emotionally expressive. I let my emotions guide me. This is who I am as an individual an d has played a large part in my success as well as failures. Being emotionally expressive at work has helped my team understand my passion for my work that I love what I do and that has greatly benefitted me.It has a negative impact on my relationships, so I am working on controlling my emotions to reduce emotional outbursts. I am a firm believe that it is lways better to be yourself no matter what. Ralph Waldo Emerson summarizes thus concept of individuality beautifully in the form of this quote: â€Å"To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment†. The second foundation that is vital for a good leader is Insight. To the lay man, insight might simple mean understanding, or reexamining and then understanding.Leigh and Maynard break this down into three parts self awareness, understanding others, and seeing what is going on. In order to be insightful, one must be aware of imself or herself. Knowing your strengths as well as your flaws, seeing yourself and understanding who you really are is insight. A good leader is one who is completely aware of himself or herself, the positives and negatives. In order to be insightful, one her strengths, weaknesses? Really understanding others is a tough skill to master, but if a leader tries to understand his coworkers he will be more liked as well as a much more powerful leader.An insightful leader is also one who is aware of his surroundings and not Just looking, but â€Å"seeing† what is happening around him or her. I am trying to incorporate this in my daily life by questioning my own choices. I'm trying to understand why I do certain things, why I make certain decisions. Sitting down and thinking about my personal values, and the reasons why these are important to me has made me gain more insight into my own life. For example, I find that a value that is vital to me is trust.When I tried to understand why its so important and my number one val ue, I have realized that being let down in relationships has made me form trust issues. I am also trying harder to understand and appreciate others. Doing this is actually helping me strengthen relationships with loved ones. The next important leadership capability that Leigh and Maynard talk about is â€Å"initiate†. Being initiative means being proactive or action oriented. To initiate something is to start something or take the first step to begin something. This is a crucial quality that a good leader must possess.To take initiative the right way, one must put in a good deal of time and effort into researching the material, forming a way to approach it. Taking the required risks to begin something new, have the determination to follow it through. A good leader is a risk taker, but he or she is also ready to take responsibility for his or her actions. A good leader is willing to be held accountable for both failure as well as success. The leader often must be the one insti gating the task. He or she bears the major risk and should be ready to be accountable for it.Leadership is a powerful position, and as famous people have said â€Å"with great power comes great responsibility', this entails a leaders role too. In my everyday life, I am trying to take more initiative by taking on new tasks, and following through what I start. Sometimes a big mistake I make is procrastinating. Nowadays I am trying to begin and follow through my tasks. To take on new things, the results I am getting are a huge boost in my confidence. My coworker is also impressed that I am getting so much more done and asked me what my secret is!I have always been ready to face the results of my actions; so taking responsibility comes to me naturally. The fourth tool that a good leader should possess is the ability to engage and involve everyone to achieve the vision. A synonym for involve is to include. A good leader is an individual who engages his team, by empowering individuals. T he leader makes the individuals feel valued and important. He empowers the individuals through programs to develop their skills and through coaching and mentoring.The leader also receives constant feedback about himself or herself from people and improves his ways based on the criticism. When people feel important and included, then they are more motivated to deliver the best results. A good leader will work on engaging his employees. To incorporate this step into my daily life, I am trying to hear more opinions from people. Whether it was a team project I had for economics last eek where I was the team leader, I asked everyone for their ideas and we all worked together as a team. Respecting and gathering the opinions of others makes them energy to the task.Inspiration. It literally means to be motivated or moved emotionally to be creative and get a productive task done. A good leader is one who inspires people. An inspiring leader is one who taps into what really is his or her pers onal motivation and passion. He or she is passionate and expressive. The leader should have a clear larger than life vision, and be able to talk about this honestly. This vision should be omething that reaches people. People should believe in this vision and find the leader is genuine and passionate. Communication is also a crucial key to be inspiring.A good leader will have effective ways to communicate the vision and truly motivate people to believe in it and act on it. In my life, I am tapping into what own inspiration is. I find great sources of inspiration from quotes and success stories. I have started keeping a Journal of these inspiring thoughts and look at them when I need a push or motivation. â€Å"A good leader inspires others with confidence in him; a reat leader inspires them with confidence in themselves â€Å"- Anonymous. The sixth skill that a leader should possess is the ability to improvise.Improvising means being able to adapt. In an uncertain world, a leader s hould be able to face changes head on and adapt to them. To make things and situation work by compromising and improvising. A good leader needs to be flexible, as nothing is written in stone. In changing trying situations a leader has to be flexible and find a solution with the available resources. A leader has to be creative and innovative, to make things work along the way. When stuck in a challenging situation the leaders ability to be innovative and encouraging will define the success of the organization.In my daily life I find improvising difficult. When stuck with uncertainty, I am more focused on the problem than finding a solution. My goal is to try to improvise and work on finding solutions. Last week at work I had to file a report by the end of the day and my colleague called in sick. Normally I would have been worked up and focused on how tough it would be to accomplish this task alone. I tried to improvise by getting all the documentation done at work and then filing the report once I was ome so I could have it ready the next day.The seventh key to being a successful leader is the ability to implement plans. Implementation literally means putting into action. In order to implement, one must be action minded with a can-do attitude. A plan must be formed and the leader must follow it through with persistence and dedication. Feedback is an important aspect of implementing and a leader should encourage and give helpful feedback. The leader must also track the progress of the task and make sure that it is going smooth. Don't worry that people don't listen to you, but worry that they watch you.A leader should exhibit the model behavior that he or she receives from employees. The ability to implement and follow through is the only way to ensure success. I have started making sure that I follow through and complete any task I take on. I used to procrastinate a lot , but now I am trying on getting things done in a timely manner and also track the progress o f my tasks. An individual who wants to be the best possible leader should really work on improving these skills. Leadership is a way of life. A leader really makes a change and dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader. â€Å"