Monday, December 30, 2019

1984 Comparison With The Soviet Union - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 6 Words: 1892 Downloads: 1 Date added: 2019/04/10 Category Literature Essay Level High school Tags: 1984 Essay Did you like this example? 1984 Comparison With The Soviet Union George Orwell, also known as Eric Arthur Blair, is the writer of 1984. Orwell wrote many other well-liked fictional and nonfiction books such as; Coming Up for Air,animal farm ,and many more. 1984 takes place in a dystopian society. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "1984 Comparison With The Soviet Union" essay for you Create order According to Vocabulary.com a dystopian society is, â€Å" imaginary society that is as dehumanizing and as unpleasant as possible†(Vocabulary.com). The unpleasant world in 1984 is about how the people are controlled by their government. The purpose of orwell writing this is to show what would happen if there is a totalitarian type of government still was in power. This similar event has happened in the our world. Specifically this is similar to The Soviet Union. They are similar by: torture, superstates, Big Brother, socialist, secret organization, and Famine. Throughout history, the Soviet Union was known for its strong-arm tactics of using torture to get what they wanted out of a person. Either it was a confession or respect for their leader. This was all under the rules of Joseph Stalin; the leader of the Soviet Union. He made many rules for the people to follow. Going against these rules would mean torture;which most of the time means death for that person. According to Ekaterina Loushnikova,a radio and print journalist based in the city of Kirov, states that, â€Å"If you don’t sign a confession, we’ll go on beating you. We’ll leave your head and right hand alone, but we’ll turn the rest of you into a shapeless bloody lump of meat†.(Lushnikova). The forced them to do what they were told to do. Going to show that they would not stop until they get what they wanted to get. The words â€Å" shapeless bloody lump of meat† shows they would use their power of torture to the max where they get to the point of killing. The Soviet Use of torture parallels The Party’s method of torture. They both used torture to get what they wanted out of people. According to George Orwell in 1984 â€Å"you don’t have to take me to the place! Havent I told you everything already? What it else is it you want to know? There’s nothing! I wouldn’t Confess nothing just tell me what it is and I’ll confess a straight off. Write it down and I’ll sign it- anything! Not room 101!†(Orwell). The way they were tortured was how life under the party. They would use their power to get their confession of love of their government ,and confessions of the crime they did. My evidence shows how they both used torture to get their message across of not to do crimes ,and to get the truth out of people. Secondly the Soviet Union was known for its strong-arm tactics of using superstates.The meaning of superstates is to have a surplus of land. The Soviet Union had control of a lot of land. According to Robert Conquest,writer for britannica, wrote, â€Å"the U.S.S.R. covered some 8,650,000 square miles (22,400,000 square kilometres), seven times the area of India and two and one-half times that of the United States†( Conquest). He had a large part of land which makes the Soviet Union a super state. No matter if they took the lane or they found the land it makes it a super state. The Soviet Use of superstate parallels The Party’s method of superstate. They would take control the lands that surround it. Making their populations and land grow. According to Frank Jacobs, a writer for big thinks, writes that, â€Å"Oceania covers the entire continents of America and Oceania and the British Isles, the main location for the novel, in which they are referred to as ‘Airstrip One’. Eurasia covers Europe and (more or less) the entire Soviet Union. Eastasia covers Japan, Korea, China and northern India†(Jacobs). Just like the Soviet Union they had a lot of land. The took over most of the world. Although they have different names, they follow the same rules. In life the area they have is about the same. The Soviet Union is also known for having a powerful leader in charge. They have had a person in charge who is in total control of them. The Soviet Union leader at this time was Joseph Stalin. Joseph Stalin was a fearless leader. He brung terror and fear into the people of Russia (History). They wouldnt go against him, knowing that they would be killed. According to Library of Congress,Repression and terror: Stalin in control , states that, â€Å" Millions of soviet people were sent off to camps or killed. After a while of this the soviet people started to grow fearful of stalin no longer wanting to go against him†(Library of Congress). For all of the stuff he did they began to fear him. Which eventually kept him in office for so long. They feared to go again him knowing that they could die. The Soviet Union and 1984 leaders had much in common. They both wanted power and respect. Big Brother was the keeper of everything. Even though he was never seen. He still influenced others.â€Å"Big Brother is infallible and all-powerful Every success every achievement every victory every scientific discovery all knowledge , all wisdom, all happiness, all virtue, are help to issue directly from his leadership and inspirationâ€Å"(208). Even sometime it was physical pain they were put into in order to get them to show their loyalty. They thought of him as a god. They worship them just as they worship joseph stalin. Life under 1984 were the same. They both had a ruler whose rules were that were outrages. The Soviet Union was broken down in categories. These catergy are making a major difference in the separation of the soviet people. Although they are still broken up they still follow the same leader. The encyclopedia states, â€Å"Soviet industry was owned and managed by the state, and agricultural land was divided into state farms, collective farms, and small, privately held plots† (encyclopedia). What this is say is that, they are put in these categories and have to follow those rules set with the land they have. Those rules are managed by Joseph. Although the people of oceania may not know but they are indeed the same. They follow Big Brother rules. They have land that is broken up just like the Soviet Union,but they are enemies of each other. But they follow they same rules. There is no difference. Orwell states, â€Å" Everywhere there is the same pyramid structure the same worship of semi divine leaders, the same economy exiting by and for continuous warfare. It foll ows that the three superstates not only cannot conquer one another ,but would gain no advantage by doing so†(orwell 197) They were the same. The states could never have actually have war with each other. Life under The Soviet Union and under 1984 were the same. They were broken up in â€Å"states† , but they were ultimately the same. At first there was no one there to try and stop the group. The people were to scare ,until a group came together. There a group that was going again the Soviet union. They were trying to stop them from the horrible things they were doing to the innocent people. BBC states, â€Å"Islamic insurgent groups called the Mujahideen, were determined to fight against the Soviets†(BBC). Due to the mass killing that the soviet leader had ordered they were determined to take the Soviet Union down. Oceania also had a group like this. The wanted to defeat the government for their abuse of power and what they had done to their land. This group was called the brotherhood. It was a very secretive group that not many people could join. If they would have gotten caught they would have been putting in jail. According to orwell â€Å" we believe that there is some type of conspiracy,some kind of secret organization working against the party and that you are involved in it. We want want to join in and work for it. we are enemies of the party†(Orwell 170). There was a secret organization jus like in the Soviet Union, that goes against their leader. Life under both was hard they wanted to take their government down,but they knew what was at stake. Even though one was successful and the other one wasnt, the fact that they risked their lives to save others is a great thing. They had organization going against leader. Powerful leaders that had many followers. Lastly the Soviet Union has had many problems with Famine under the control of Stalin. According to voabulary.com the definition of famine is, â€Å"A famine is usually caused by crop failure or disaster†(Vocabulary). The â€Å"disaster† coming from Stalin caused famine unto the Soviet people. He would take away from there family,because he wanted to as produce materials. Leaving the people with little things to survive. The Soviet Union was parallel to 1984 by famine. They both had a shortage on food caused from the government. The government would give them so little things to survive not just on food, but on clothes,and toiletries. Life under both was hardly survivable. The History place explains,†By mid 1932, nearly 75 percent of the farms in the Ukraine had been forcibly collectivized. On Stalins orders, mandatory quotas of foodstuffs to be shipped out to the Soviet Union were drastically increased in August, October and again in January 1933, until there was simply no food remaining to feed the people of the Ukraine†(history place). After all of there food was taken away by stalin, there was nothing left for them to have. They would have all of there had work from farming taken away from them. This is life under Oceania as well. They would have there food token away and given back so little. However they would be mind controlled thinking it was a lot, nut in stalin case he would jus t take it way not caring. Although the Soviet Union and 1984 were different, they were more alike. This goes to show that life could be the same way. It could go back to the same way if we have the wrong people in charge of our government or another countrys government. We can get affected in these same ways:torture, superstates, Big Brother,socialist ,and secret organization. As a whole 1984 has many parallels to the Soviet union. Works Cited Planning D-Day (April 2003) Library of Congress Information Bulletin, Victor, www.loc.gov/exhibits/archives/reps.html. The History Place World War II in Europe Timeline, www.historyplace.com/worldhistory/genocide/stalin.htm. â€Å"Comrade Stalins Secret Prison.† OpenDemocracy, 13 Jan. 2015, www.opendemocracy.net/od-russia/ekaterina-loushnikova/comrade-stalin’s-secret-prison. Dewdney, John C., et al. â€Å"Soviet Union.† Encyclopà ¦dia Britannica, Encyclopà ¦dia Britannica, Inc., 20 Dec. 2018, www.britannica.com/place/Soviet-Union. â€Å"Higher History The End of the Cold War Revision 2.† BBC News, BBC, www.bbc.com/bitesize/guides/zq63b9q/revision/2. Jacobs, Frank. â€Å"A Map of George Orwells ‘1984.’† Big Think, Big Think, 10 Dec. 2018, bigthink.com/strange-maps/66-the-world-in-george-orwells-1984. Orwell, George. 1984. Propyla?en-Verl., 1984. Republics., Union of Soviet Socialist. â€Å"Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.† The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th Ed, Encyclopedia.com, 2019, www.encyclopedia.com/places/commonwealth-independent-states-and-baltic-nations/cis-and-baltic-political-geography/union-soviet-socialist-republics. â€Å"Famine Dictionary Definition.† Vocabulary.com, www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/Famine.

Sunday, December 22, 2019

Smoking Bans Cut Number Of Heart Attacks - 993 Words

Smoking Bans Allyna Reyna Ms. Piazza English IV, Period 1 November 3, 2015 Smoking Bans cut number of heart attacks, strokes smoking bans quickly and dramatically cut the number of people hospitalized for heart attacks, strokes and respiratory diseases such as asthma and emphysema. Heart attack hospitalizations fell an average of 15% after communities passed laws banning smoking in areas such as restaurants, bars and wore places, according to the largest analysis of smoke-free legislation to date. The analysis included 45 studies covering 33 laws in American cities and states, as well as countries such as New Zealand and Germany. Stroke hospitalizations fell 16%, while hospitalizations for respiratory diseases fell 24%, according to the study, the more comprehensive the law, the greater the impact, says senior author Stanton Glantz, director of the Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education at the University of California-San Francisco. For example, a 2002 law banning smoking only in restaurants in Olmsted County, Minn., had no effect on heart attack s, according to a study also published Monday in the Archives of Internet Medicine. However, heart attacks fell by 33% after a 2007 law that expanded the smoking ban to all workplaces, including bars, according to the report, from Minnesota’s Mayo Clinic How cigarettes became uncool on campus. It has been about four months since signs went up all over Northeastern University announcing a smoking ban on school property.Show MoreRelatedSmoking Must Be Banned from All Public Places Essay653 Words   |  3 PagesSome states have adopted a law that prevents smoking in places like restaurants and bars, but that isn’t far enough. Banning smoking in all public places will significantly improve the health of innocent bystanders, which is something the public should want to strive for. More than 42,000 American die each year from smoking without even lighting up a cigarette, including 900 infants (Wanjek). With these statistics, why should smoking in public be tolerated? Christopher WanjekRead MoreSmoking In Public Places - Is a Public Smoking Ban The Answer?1023 Words   |  5 PagesIs A Public Smoking Ban The Answer? Imagine... you come into a restaurant and are seated in the smoking area, you chose to sit in this area even though you dont smoke and you know the smoke bothers you. A smoker comes in and sits down at the booth next to you and lights up. What do you do? A) Ask the waitress for another location in the non-smoking area. B) Ask the person who just lit a cigarette to kindly put it out? Or C) Get up and leave the restaurant? For many people, this isRead MoreEffects of Smoking Ban Laws Essay1327 Words   |  6 Pages Introduction Smoking bans are policies, which include occupational safety, regulations regarding health, and criminal laws, which prohibit tobacco smoking in public areas and in work places. The rationale behind these laws is to prevent non-smokers from the effects of second-hand smoke that may among other things result in lung cancer, heart diseases, emphysema and many other diseases. Smoking ban laws make smoking indoors in many countries worldwide illegal, with scientific evidence clearly showingRead MoreBans on Smoking in Public Areas1476 Words   |  6 Pagesadd all of these together and then multiply that number by four, you get the number of people that die because of smoking each year! Smoking is the leading preventable cause of death in the U.S. Each year more than 480,000 people die because of smoking. This is just one of the many reasons why I believe that cigarette smoking should be banned in public areas. I will argue this point in three ways. First, I will argue that the health eff ects of smoking are so harmful that cigarettes should not be allowedRead MoreSmoking Should be Banned in Public Places Essays1464 Words   |  6 PagesDuring the past few decades it has come to light that smoking kills. The federal government mandates that every pack of cigarettes carry a warning on it that smoking can lead to health problems including death. But the messages are rather clinical, for example: â€Å"Smoking Causes Lung Cancer, Heart Disease, Emphysema, and May Complicate Pregnancy.† Smoking is a danger to one’s own health but there is now evidence that smoking can affect others as well. Second hand smoke has been shown to cause cancerRead MoreCloud of Smoke Essay example965 Words   |  4 Pagescigarette smoking should be banned from all public places, such as restaurants, bars, clubs and even parks. Smoking is one of the worst human habits that a person can pick up. Still, it is the choice of that individual, whether or not he or she smokes cigarettes. There is freedom of choice. As far as public places go, some do have an option of smoking or non-smoking sections. Yet, this might not be enough for some. These places do very little to separate the smoking and the non-smoking sectionsRead MoreBackground. â€Å"The Tobacco Control And Regulation Of Tobacco1860 Words   |  8 PagesAdvertising† is the Lebanon’s smoking ban stated in number 174 of the law which bans smoking in enclosed public areas such as cafes, restaurants, bars, government buildings and offices. The law was signed by 126 out of 128 members of parliament in August 2011(initial ban) and the legislation was enacted in 2012. But this edict had never been applied due to weak rule of law and practically unstable country like Lebanon. PROBLEM The predicament upon not applying the indoor smoking law has so many seriousRead More7)How To Fight Dental Caries. †¢Eat A Balanced Diet And1410 Words   |  6 Pagesin moderation †¢ drink of water after a sugary or acidic drink to help rinse out mouth †¢ after drinking sugary beverages, don t brush teeth right away, but wait for hour to let teeth recover from acid attack †¢ do not sip a sugary or acidic drink slowly, because you expose your teeth to acid attacks for longer period of the time in this way †¢ never drink sugary or acidic drinks before you go to bed 8) Science experiment- Test the fluoride strength You’ll need: †¢ 2 hard-boiled eggs †¢ FluorideRead MoreThe Cost Of Smoking Cigarettes1833 Words   |  8 Pagesare pivotal in generating more than half of the money they earned from exports, $165 million. So, would we be doing more harm than good by banning the smoking of cigarettes? When investigating the true cost of smoking cigarettes there is an overwhelming amount of research into the multiple effects smoking has on health. The smoke inhaled when smoking a cigarette contains 4,000 compounds which often leave toxic traces in the lungs and other organs. This is one of the biggest contributing factors asRead MoreMarketing Regulations Of Indonesia s Tobacco1146 Words   |  5 Pagescompanies to penetrate the market and aggressively expand their operations. Indonesia is among the five largest producers and exporters of cigarettes in the world (WHO, 2012). In 2011 Indonesia ranked third in the number of male smokers and 17th for female smokers (WHO, 2012). The number of cigarette consumers is the third-largest in the world. In 2008 the consumption of cigarettes in Indonesia was 225 billion sticks, with, on average, 12.8 cigarettes smoked a day (WHO, 2012) Indonesia is the only

Saturday, December 14, 2019

Night Creature Blue Moon Chapter 34 Free Essays

I slept with a pistol and a rifle. Probably the most action I’d be seeing for years at the rate I was going. This time tomorrow night, I could be minus one†¦ what? Boyfriend? Lover? Really cute guy who made me scream? Hell, I could be minus a limb, my sanity, or my life. We will write a custom essay sample on Night Creature: Blue Moon Chapter 34 or any similar topic only for you Order Now Better get my priorities in order. As soon as I walked into the apartment, I glanced at my machine. The message light was blinking. â€Å"Dammit, Jessie. Where are you?† Cadotte sounded seriously pissed. Had he realized I’d read his notes, seen his book, knew he’d lied? Or was he just mad he hadn’t gotten a little early-evening delight? I set traps in front of the picture window, the door, hell, every window. I didn’t plan on being surprised by any furry friends, or enemies. I had to sleep today, or I’d be no good at all tonight. Nevertheless, I awoke in the heat of midday and knew I wasn’t alone. I’m not sure what woke me. The mousetraps by the windows? The bells on the front door? The marbles in front of the balcony entrance? None of the above or all three? I heard nothing now. But I felt someone. I crept out of bed, taking along both guns for company. Barefoot and in my underwear, I checked every room, every closet. Not a single trap, bell, or marble was out of place. I was losing my mind. When I glanced out the picture window, the bright light of midday hit my eyes and made my head ache. When I turned around, I saw stars. When the stars went away, I saw him. I cocked my pistol. He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the wall in the hall. His earring swung merrily as he tilted his head. â€Å"Are we back to this again?† â€Å"How did you get in here?† â€Å"It wasn’t easy.† â€Å"Get out.† He started to walk toward me. My heart sped up. â€Å"I mean it, Cadotte!† The gun shook. I lost the rifle so I could steady the pistol with both hands. He laughed. â€Å"Got silver bullets in there?† â€Å"I’ve been packing silver since I met you, Slick.† He stopped a foot away, blinked, snorted. â€Å"Good girl. You may need it.† â€Å"Have you come to finish the job?† â€Å"I thought I finished pretty well.† He wiggled his brows. Cadotte was behaving oddly for a man who’d tried to murder me a few hours back. He didn’t have any weapons that I could see. Of course he could strangle me with his bare hands, if I let him get close enough. â€Å"You know damn well I meant finish me off. Kill me. Murder me. Dump my body somewhere it’ll never be found.† His mouth fell open. â€Å"What?† â€Å"Someone shot a crossbow at me.† His gaze drifted over my body. â€Å"You seem all right.† â€Å"I’m fine. Mandenauer isn’t.† His eyes snapped back to my face. â€Å"Dead?† â€Å"Is that what you’d like?† â€Å"I don’t even know the man. Why would you think I’d try to kill you with a crossbow? I could have done pretty much anything I wanted to you at my place.† And had. My cheeks warmed. â€Å"You’ve got a crossbow.† â€Å"Me and about a hundred other guys.† â€Å"What’s it for?† â€Å"My grandfather. It’s a gift.† He threw up his hands. â€Å"If I’m a werewolf, I don’t need a damn crossbow to kill you. Why would I be that stupid?† He had a point. Cadotte took one huge step and grabbed the barrel of the gun. God, he was fast. I held on tight, figuring he’d wrench the thing out of my grip. Instead, he put the business end to his chest. â€Å"Shoot me. See what happens.† â€Å"Have you lost your mind?† â€Å"Yes. I love you, Jessie. I’d rather die than have you look at me as if you think I’m going to hurt you.† As declarations go, it was pretty impressive, I never thought a man would tell me he loved me. Especially one like this. Of course my skeptical mind whispered: Is he telling you he loves you because you told him ? When he was a big black hairy wolf? Did it matter? My chest ached. My eyes burned. No one had ever said they loved me before, not even my mother. Suddenly I understood why people did anything for love. I eased my finger from the trigger. I’d rather die than be the one to kill him. Even if he was a werewolf†¦ I couldn’t do it. The pistol was too heavy to hold any longer. I let it fall back to my side, then placed the weapon on the couch. Cadotte pulled me into his arms, buried his face in my hair. â€Å"I missed you.† He smelled like the wind and the night, the forest. When I was in his arms, everything I believed became jumbled and confused. I could only think of touching him skin to skin, of feeling him move inside me, of letting him make me forget who he was or what he might be. I pulled his T-shirt from his jeans, slipped my fingers beneath, spread my palms across his back, his shoulders. He had the most beautiful skin, smooth planes, hard muscles. I could touch him forever and never grow tired of the game. He stepped back and drew the shirt over his head. I became fascinated with the ripples across his stomach and chest. I wanted to taste his skin while his muscles danced against my lips. I dropped to my knees and did what I’d only dreamed of, placing openmouthed kisses across his hard, supple belly, sucking his flesh between my teeth, laving my tongue over the curve of his navel. He groaned and forked his fingers into my hair, pulling me closer, showing me he liked my fantasy as much as I did. His erection pressed against my chest. The rasp of his jeans across my nipples, covered only by an old, thin T-shirt, was as arousing as his hands or his mouth. Suddenly he slid to the floor and crushed his face to my breasts, filling his hands with me. It was my turn to thread my fingers through his hair and press him ever closer. His earring dragged across one tight nipple as his mouth closed on the other. For a minute I wished he had long hair and that he would swish the tresses all over my body. The thought was soon gone when he ripped my T-shirt down the center. My breasts spilled free, and he moaned as if he’d been given a gift. â€Å"Hey!† I protested. â€Å"I’ll buy you another. I’ll buy you a hundred. With lace. Red, blue, purple.† The words were muffled against my skin. The puff of his breath against me made my hands clench on his shoulders. I wanted to say something sarcastic about me in purple lace, but I couldn’t quite manage it. â€Å"That shirt was old anyway.† â€Å"And ugly. You should wear silk, Jessie. As soft as your skin right here.† He placed a gentle, sweet kiss at the curve of my hip and I shivered, then smoothed my palms over his biceps. No man had ever spoken this way to me. Hell, in my experience men didn’t do much chatting during sex. Mostly, â€Å"oh, yeah,† or, â€Å"right there.† Cadotte seemed to like to talk nearly as much as he liked – His hand slipped into my panties and stroked me. â€Å"Oh, yeah,† I muttered. â€Å"Right there.† â€Å"How about right here, right now?† My answer was to slip the button from his jeans and slide the zipper down. My hand followed. Heated, hard skin met my palm. â€Å"Do you even own underwear?† â€Å"What for?† He lost his shoes and his jeans, fumbling a bit in the pocket for a condom. I thanked my lucky stars he’d remembered, because I continued to forget a lot of things. And the whole puppy issue just wasn’t funny anymore. He covered himself and tossed the empty package to the floor. My underwear soon followed. He thrust into me just as he had in the pond; one smooth stroke and he was all the way home. I expected him to be wild, rough, fast. I wouldn’t have minded. I wanted to forget that this could be the last time we were together. I imagined the blue moon hovering just below the horizon, waiting to pounce. Neither one of us knew what would happen tomorrow – if there’d even be a tomorrow. I’d never done it on the floor. The men I’d known hadn’t ever been so anxious to have me they couldn’t wait awhile. I discovered the idea that he needed me, now, was as arousing as his mouth at my breast and his body within mine. Instead of desperation and frantic need, a pounding, pulsing coupling, he gave me love. His kiss was sweet and gentle as he traced his lips across my cheekbone to the corner of my eye. His breath a breeze that ruffled my hair, I sighed and he drank me in. The pace slowed. His hands almost reverent as they soothed and aroused, I wanted to crawl inside of him and stay there forever. â€Å"‘ You feel so good,† he murmured against my neck. I ran my hands down his back, rocked my hips, and took him as deep as I dared. He quivered, then stilled. â€Å"Look at me, Jessie.† I couldn’t focus on what he wanted until he kissed me, then took my lower lip between his teeth and tugged. My eyes popped open. He was so close I could see where the black of his pupil and the dark brown of his iris met. For an instant I was staring into the eyes of the black wolf, and I stiffened. â€Å"Hush.† He kissed the corner of my mouth. â€Å"I love you, Jessie. I’d never hurt you.† He punctuated every other word with a slow slide and firm thrust of his body into mine. All I could do was nod and clutch him tighter. Taking my hands, he placed palm against palm, clenching our fingers together. I felt him growing inside of me, pulsing, coming. â€Å"Come for me,† he whispered. â€Å"I want to go there together.† My attention drifted lower, to where our bodies joined. My eyes fluttered closed. He stopped moving. â€Å"Look at me,† he demanded. â€Å"See me. Please.† I frowned and opened my eyes. His expression was so sad, I wanted to touch his face, but he wouldn’t free my hands. I lifted my mouth inviting his, and he kissed me, long, deep, wet, while he remained buried inside. â€Å"I see you, Will,† I whispered against his mouth. â€Å"I’ve always seen you.† He lifted his head and together we reached what we’d been searching for. At the moment of climax his eyes went intense, fierce. He thrust into me faster, harder, and I clenched around him, the waves of pleasure so intense I could do nothing but ride them and call his name. He didn’t collapse on top of me in a heap of satisfied male flesh. Instead he rolled to the side, taking me with him, keeping us joined through some acrobatic maneuver that would have been even more impressive if I could think. My hands free at last, I touched his cheek, his hair, and he nuzzled my palm. My heart did that nauseatingly slow flop toward my belly. Oh, boy, I had it bad. â€Å"I love you,† he repeated and before I could force the words back where they belonged – a secret in my heart until it was safe to set them free – they popped out of my foolish mouth. â€Å"I love you, too.† How to cite Night Creature: Blue Moon Chapter 34, Essay examples

Friday, December 6, 2019

Business Plan of Tasmanian Gourmet Venison Pty Ltd †Free Samples

Question: Discuss about the Business Plan of Tasmanian Gourmet Venison Pty Ltd. Answer: Introduction Finance Requirements Tasmanian Gourmet Venison Pty Ltd is an established across-the-board butchery company in Hobart that requires certain amount for business growth in order to establish its retail butcheries all over in Hobart and Launceston (Barton 2016). Required Finance Tasmanian Gourmet Venison Pty Ltd requires fund of $500,000 in its business growth for establishing its business of butchery. The fund is needed by company in purchasing new machinery, as working capital along with certain leasehold improvements. Funds Use For the business, the company might take $500,000 of loan. This fund would be employed in acquiring latest plant and machinery, for paying salary and in marketing strategy development. The amount will be used in development of the companys new outlets (Hofer 2016). Funds Advantages on Business There are several benefits of needed amounts in business expansion strategy of Tasmanian Gourmet Venison Pty Ltd. This might facilitate in leasehold enhancements along with interior decoration along with establishment of cold stores that has walk-in. Amounts will be employed in advertising, which can offer company with benefits of attracting consumers within all new outlets. It can offer the advantages of developing attractive facilities along with superior service in order to gather consumers (Jagweet al.2015). Overview Business Name The name selected is Tasmanian Gourmet Venison Pty Ltd for the newly established business of butchery. Structure of Business The structure of the companys business is to develop and process organic meat and offer them within two segments of market namely wholesale and retail. Through retail trade, the company will promote its locations along with offering superior service. The business structure of the new company will be developed in a manner for offering convenient location, delivery service along with running an internet site (Jones and Penaluna2013). Key Business Activities Main business activity associated with Tasmanian Gourmet Venison Pty Ltd is to be a supplier of meat products those are organic to Tasmanian people. Managing reproduction and grazing operation will also be among major conducts. The company can focus on vertically incorporating its operations of meat supply in retail and wholesale operations. One other business activity includes breeding and processing deer within on-farm licensed abattoir. Facilities and Location Tasmanian Gourmet Venison Pty Ltd identified a land in Hobart for lease over the five years along with certain renewing options of the lease for additional two years (Kelly 2017). The plant will have proper interior decoration along with old store walk-in. Another opening can be situated in Launceston after this opening becomes operational which generates positive cash. New Product, Consumers and Economic Trends The company will offer its new product of lean meat for the fitness aware target market of customers. This innovative product of meat will have low fat along with cholesterol content than beef, chicken pork and lamb as per the preference of Tasmanian people. The target market of customers for company is specialty restaurants and food markets. Economic trends analysis indicates there is an increasing healthy foods demand within Launceston and Hobart areas. Following this trend, 47 hotels, 18 high-quality butchers and 21 grocery markets offer health advantages in diet along with organic venison products (Simn-Moya and Revuelto-Taboada 2016). Key Employees Two game butchers those are specialist will be appointed for Hobart outlet. The staffs is deemed to be responsible for developing organic products of meat for trade in retail and wholesale market. Moreover, four part time assistants for sales will be appointed in awarding casual rates and the responsibilities will include selling organic venison products for retail customers over the counter. Outlet in Launceston might employ two sales assistants and a game butcher that will be a specialist (Roberts et al. 2014). 3. Marketing Plan Superior Features of Product or Service Venison organic food offered by company is deemed to gather several health benefits as it is rich in polysaturates vital for developing health. Meats of New venison offered will be low fat diets with 207 calories within 100 grams containing high quality of iron and protein that canbe preferred by Tasmanian consumers (Simn-Moya and Revuelto-Taboada2016). Target Market Target consumer market for the new business will be the fitness aware consumers in Hobart and Launceston area along with specialty restaurants along with food markets. People that look for venison products of meat free from hormones along with antibiotics belong to the target market for companys fresh lean meat as well as venison products. Target Market Size Target market size of the business is small, as company will develop goods focusing on wellbeing aware consumers demanding low fat and organic food. Considering the same, it might ensure that supply of organic venison can be of adequate amount that can facilitate consistent product supply for the target market (Jones and Penaluna2013). Target Consumers Attained in Trading Area Potential customers of the company will be the populace within the Hobart and Launceston area that look for superior value organic venison at competitive prices. Moreover, the customers those look for venison rump steak and venison topside will be the potential customers. Target Customers of Product or Service The target markets of consumer for company are the specialty restaurants and food markets. Moreover, health conscious people of the regions are also target consumers for the companys organic lean meat (Thomas et al.2014). Competitors The major competitors of organic venison products offered by Tasmanian Gourmet Venison Pty Ltd will be a butcher in Launceston and two butchers in Hobart as they have previously acquired the organic venison from company as well as are observed to function as wholesale consumers. 4. Plan of Business Operations Place Tasmanian Gourmet Venison Pty Ltd recognized a land in Hobart for lease over the five years along with renewing options such lease over additional two years. The plant can have proper interior decoration along with walk-in old store. The building will have sales area covering 135 m2, 12 m2 cutting room and 80 m2 additional space which is unused these days for growth. Another outlet is deemed to be situated in Launceston after this outlet becomes successful and generates high cash (Makeover 2016). Processes The processes through which Tasmanian Gourmet Venison Pty Ltd will offer the products through maintaining clean quality, attractive facilities along with offering superior service. The company will offer organic venison through supplying them within specialty food markets and restaurants. Focus of the product supply process will be on maintaining constant supply, daily delivery service, convenient location, superior quality along with a comprehensive internet site that can offer service in all the segments of market. Employees Two proficient butchers might be employed for Hobart outlet. The employees will be responsible for developing unrefined meat products for trade in retail and wholesale markets. Moreover, four sales assistants working part time will be involved in awarding casual rates and the responsibilities will include offering organic venison products for its customers in retail segments over the counter (Liu 2016). Launceston outlet will employ two sales assistants and one proficient butcher. 5. Financial Plan Particulars Amount (in $) Amount (in $) Current assets: Cash 5,000 Accounts receivable 100,000 Inventory 150,000 Prepaid expenses 10,000 Total current assets 265,000 Non-current assets: Plant and equipment 100,000 Accumulated depreciation 50,000 50,000 Buildings 150,000 Land 300,000 Total non-current assets 500,000 Total assets 765,000 Current liabilities: Overdraft 20,000 Accounts payable 70,000 Provision for taxes 60,000 Accrued expenses 15,000 Total current liabilities 165,000 Non-curent liabilities: Term loan 50,000 Mortgage 150,000 Total non-current liabilities 200,000 Total liabilities 365,000 Owner's equity: Contributed capital 300,000 Retained earnings 100,000 Total owner's equity 400,000 Total liabilities and owner's equity 765,000 Particulars Amount (in $) Amount (in $) Sales revenue 1,200,000 Cost of sales: Beginning inventory 150,000 Purchases 700,000 Less: Ending inventory 120,000 Total cost of sales 730,000 Gross profit 470,000 Operating expenses: Salaries 200,000 Wages 70,000 Marketing 100,000 Occupancy 80,000 Administration 50,000 Depreciation 50,000 Interest 15,000 Total operating expenses 565,000 Net profit before tax (95,000) Provision for income tax - Net profit after tax (95,000) References Barton, A., 2016. The Munch: An Integrated Business Plan. Hofer, C., 2016. The Evolution of Business Plans in International Business Plan Competitions. InModels of Start-up Thinking and Action: Theoretical, Empirical and Pedagogical Approaches(pp. 145-211). Emerald Group Publishing Limited. Jagwe, J., Ouma, E.A., Brandes-van Dorresteijn, D., Kawuma, B. and Smith, J., 2015. Pig business planning and financial management: Uganda smallholder pig value chain capacity development training manual. Jones, C. and Penaluna, A., 2013. Moving beyond the business plan in enterprise education.Education+ Training,55(8/9), pp.804-814. Kelly, M., 2017. 10 Items Your Business Plan May be Missing. Liu, A.J., 2016.An Algae Bioreactor Business Plan to Demonstrate Market Feasibility(Doctoral dissertation, California State University San Marcos). McKeever, M., 2016.How to write a business plan. Nolo. Roberts, C., Corcoran, K., Miller, M. and Smith, S., 2014. Business Plan Presentation. Simn-Moya, V. and Revuelto-Taboada, L., 2016. Revising the predictive capability of business plan quality for new firm survival using qualitative comparative analysis.Journal of Business Research,69(4), pp.1351-1356. Thomas, D.F., Gudmundson, D., Turner, K. and Suhr, D., 2014. Business Plan Competitions and Their Impact on New Ventures' Business Models.Journal of Strategic Innovation and Sustainability,10(1), p.34.

Thursday, November 28, 2019

Database Application at Amazon

A database consists of logically related data stored in a single repository, normally within a computer. The components of a database are columns, rows, tables, and keys. They are the building block of any relational database, and understanding their functions helps an organization to manage its data.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Database Application at Amazon specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Columns are single characteristics or facts about an entity within a database. Employee’s name, department number, customer’s name, and product price are examples of columns. A row contains data of one or more columns according to the design of a database; it describes a single instance of an entity. Columns and rows are contained in a table, making it necessary to group data logically. For instance, you can have a customers table that store customers’ details. Tables can be linked together by keys. A table can consist of a primary key, a foreign key, or both. A primary key is a field that uniquely identifies each row; and a foreign key is a key in one table that must match a primary key value in another table in order to establish a relationship or a link between two tables (Coronel, 2000). Amazon has been able to embrace the use of databases in order to manage its organizational records hence meeting its corporate objective. The company offers its customers a wide range of products, including music, toys, electronics, software, books, and clothes. These products are sold through the company’s website (Amazon.com) and managed by relational databases such as Amazon RDS (Vogels, 2009). Amazon’s database enables it to take online orders, manage supply, and coordinate many e-mails. The company records customer details in a table having columns such as names and phone numbers. Each row in a table contains individual customer records. Another table containing product de tails enable the company’s database to link product and customer tables through keys. When a customer selects a product, the product number identifies the item in the product table, thus enabling the company to manage product details with much ease. There are several data management issues that can be encountered by Amazon. First, the company’s database may run out of space because many people are now registering in e-market places.Advertising Looking for essay on computer science? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The increase in number of products may lead to little or no storage capacity. Second, handling many transactions tends to lower the operation of a database. This may lead to orders taking longer than normal. Third, data stored in the database can be hacked or destroyed by viruses. Besides, private information about users or customers can be leaked, leading to loss of privacy. References Coronel, R. (2000 ). Database Systems: Design, Implementation, and Management. (4th Ed.). Cambridge: Thomson Course Technology. Vogels, W. (2009). â€Å"Expanding the Cloud: The Amazon Realtional Database Service (RDS).† All Things Distributed. Retrieved from https://www.allthingsdistributed.com/2009/10/amazon_relational_database_service.html This essay on Database Application at Amazon was written and submitted by user Hayes Ramirez to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Monday, November 25, 2019

Strategic Planning Theories Essays

Strategic Planning Theories Essays Strategic Planning Theories Paper Strategic Planning Theories Paper Essay Topic: Citizen Kane DBA 822 Seminars in Strategy and International Business Strategic Planning Theories A Literature Review By; Benjamin J. Shuford III 8/24/10 Introduction: Strategic planning is a broad concept that has been introduced into the main stream practices of today’s corporations. Strategic planning can be defined as an organization’s process of defining goals, direction, and decision making processes that effect the allocation of resources that include capital and people. The term â€Å"strategy† is derived from the Greek word of â€Å"strategos,† which means literally, â€Å"general of the army. (Hart, 1965). The Greek tribes of ancient civilizations would elect a strategos to head their regiments during battles. These political rulers would follow the strategic advice from the council members about managing troops to win battles. From its early military roots on winning battles to becoming a pattern of purposes and policies that define a company and its busines s, strategic planning has become the primary focus of today’s diverse organizations. There are many theories that are used to describe how organizations view the strategic planning process. These processes are framed as models that are consistently being revised to fit the needs of an organization. This literature review will focus on some of these models and the theorists who developed them. This literature review will review theories from Igor Ansoff, Henry Mintzberg, Michael Porter, and Kenichi Ohmae. The purpose will be to gain a better understanding of how these theories shape organizational performance. An analysis will be conducted to evaluate the practice of and the future direction of these theories. The choice to review these four theorists over all of the others is because of their legacy and robust contributions to the field of strategic management. Ansoff was one of the earliest writers on strategy as a management discipline, and laid strong foundations for several later writers to build upon, including Michael Porter, Gary Hamel and C K Prahalad. He invented the modern approach to strategy and his work pulled together various ideas and disparate strands of thought, giving a new coherence and discipline to the concept he described as strategic planning. A debate between Ansoff and Henry Mintzberg over their differing views of strategy was reflected in print over many years, particularly in the Harvard Business Review. Ansoff has often been criticized by Mintzberg, who disliked the idea of strategy being built from planning which is supported by analytical techniques. This criticism was based on the belief that Ansoffs reliance on planning suffered from three fallacies: that events can be predicted, that strategic thinking can be separated from operational management, and that hard data, analysis and techniques can produce novel strategies. The strategic planning/management theories of Porter and Ohmae were derived from both Ansoff and Mentzberg. Ansoff was the originator of the strategic management concept, and was responsible for establishing strategic planning as a management activity. The Strategic Planning Process: Because of high competitive business environments, organizations must engage in strategic planning processes that clearly define and state the objectives of the organization. They must assess both external and internal factors to develop and implement a strategy to stay competitive. They need to evaluate the process and make needed adjustments to stay on track. In their search for sources of sustainable competitive advantage, researchers have come to realize that business performance depends not only on the formulation and successful implementation of a given strategy but also on the process by which competitive positions are created or maintained. Mintzberg was one of the first to point out that the realized strategy of an organization can strongly differ from the intended strategy and that the extent to which an intended strategy can be realized is closely related to the strategic process that exist within the organization (Mintzberg, 1987). In his early work, he identified three main types of strategy processes: planning, entrepreneurial and learning-by-experience. He described planning as a philosophical approach when he classifies strategic business thinking in ten schools of thought, which he describes in their historical and ideological context. Early theorist, such as Igor Ansoff, focused on the analytical aspects of strategy formation. The first three schools in Mintzberg’s taxonomy are therefore prescriptive and focus on how strategy ought to be formulated. One of the major premises of the prescriptive schools if the performance claim, which states that the more an organization engages in systematic strategic planning, the more likely it will result in above average returns. The prescriptive schools have been influential in the discourse of strategy formulation, but have failed to explain the process of strategy execution (Mintzberg, 1990). Mintzbergs School of Strategic Thought (Mintzberg and Lampel, 1990). | | | | | | | | School| Category| Foundation| | | | Design| Prescriptive| Engineering| | | | Planning| Prescriptive| Systems Theory| | | | Positioning| Prescriptive| Economics| | | | Entrepreneurial| Descriptive| Economics| | | | Cognitive| Descriptive| Psychology| | | | Learning| Descriptive| Psychology| | | | Power| Descriptive| Political Science| | | | Cultural| Descriptive| Anthropology| | | | Environmental| Descriptive| Biology| | | | Configuration| Both| History| | | | | | | | | | The Design school defines strategy formation as a process of conception. It began during the late 1950s and mid-1960s. This school puts emphasis on an appraisal of external environment and the internal situation using the classic SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats). Also shaping strategy formulation are the values of the organization’s management and an assessment of the organization’s social responsibilities (Selznick, 1957). The Planning school identified strategy formation as a formal process. It emerged in the mid 1960. It has resulted in a plethora of strategic planning models. The underlying foundation of all of these models is straightforward: divide the SWOT model into neatly delineated steps. Step1 – Set objectives – Establish and qualify goals or objective of the organization. Step 2- External Audits – Assess the external environment, using the SWOT analysis, and create a set of forecasts about the future. Step 3 – Internal audits – Typically this process is assisted by checklists and tables of topic to consider. Step 4 – Strategy evaluation – Organizations can use a variety of techniques ranging from return on nvestment (ROI), to risk analysis, to calculating shareholder value. Step 5 – Strategy implementation – This step creates a very detailed and formalized action plan. Objectives, strategies, budgets, and programs are all brought together into a master plan. The Positioning School defines strategy formation as an analytical process. This school began in the 1980s and was popular due to the notion of competitive strategy frameworks that were identified as five forces on an organization’s environment by Michael Porter. The significance of this school is that it emphasized the importance of strategies to any given industry. The Entrepreneurial school looks at strategy formation as a visionary process. This school of thought developed in the 1990s and using vision as a central starting point. Vision establishes the broad sense of direction while preserving flexibility to adapt to changing conditions. One of the advocates of the entrepreneurial school is Peter Drucker, who identifies entrepreneurship with management itself: â€Å"Central to business enterprise is†¦ the entrepreneurial act, an act of economic risk taking. And business enterprise is an entrepreneurial institution† (Drucker, 1970). The Cognitive school defined strategy formation as a mental process and started in the early 1990s. This school focuses on the mind of the strategist, drawing from the field of cognitive psychology. There is a large body of research that suggests that individuals encounter a variety of problems in making decisions that influence many situations in the management process because they are difficult to change and form once implemented. Individuals who practice this school find that they each have different cognitive styles that can distort decision making processes. The Learning school defines strategy formation as an emergent process. It started in the mid 1990s and follows the perspective that people within an organization learn how to use the organization’s abilities to change and adapt in a positive manner in order to respond to a changing environment (Quinn, 1980). This school is less concerned with the actual strategy that was formulated than with what it took to get a strategy implemented. The Power school, which began in the late 1980s, defines strategy formation as a process of negotiation and is based on the notion that the influence of power from the external environment will affect any organization, and in many cases politics will infuse an organization. This school views strategy as a political process that focuses on alliance building, empire building, budgeting, expertise, insurgency, counterinsurgency, lording, rival camps, whistle-blowing, and line versus staff. The importance of this school is that it has identified the political process as a reality that must be acknowledged and managed but that is not the sole means for making strategies within an organization. The Cultural school defines strategy formation as a collective process. The cultural school began in the early 1990s and can be thought of as a system of shared values, beliefs, and meanings held by staff members that distinguish the organization from other organizations. The dimensions making up this school include teamwork, honesty, control, decision making processes, rewards, and conflict. The Environmental school started in the mid-1990s and defines strategy formation as a reactive process. It views the forces operating outside the organization as active, while the organization itself merely reacts to these outside forces. The primary contribution of this school is that it attempts to bring the overall view of strategy formation into balance. This school emphasizes that the outside environment, the leadership, and the organization itself are actually responsible for strategy making. The Configuration school defines strategy formation as a process of transformation. This school began in the mid-1990s and attempts to integrate strategy by showing how different dimensions of an organization band together under particular conditions to define states, models, or ideas types. The premise of this school is that periods of stability and transformation can best be understood as life cycles of an organization. The key to strategic management is to recognize the need for transformation and manage the process of change without having a negative impact on the organization. Later developments in strategic management literature moved away from the prescriptive approach modeled on quantitative exact sciences and their inherent presumptions of a controlled world. The descriptive schools of thought are inspired on the qualitative social and cultural sciences and study what businesses actually did to be successful for other organizations to learn from their approaches. The descriptive schools move from a focus on a-priori strategic planning to a-posteriori dynamic strategy formulation and execution. For practitioners, the prescriptive schools of thought are very attractive. However, the descriptive schools are somewhat problematic to practitioners of strategic management because they do not provide straightforward recipes for success. The question raised by Mintzberg’s taxonomy of strategic thought and other similar taxonomies is how average practitioners can determine what strategy they should employ (Sokol, 1992). Fuller (1996) suggests that traditional strategic planning is under fire. Strategic planning in the classical model was developed in an era when the external environment was relatively simple, stable, and predictable, and when the behavior of a firm was viewed as being cybernetic. Strategic plans were primarily used as a control mechanism to reduce uncertainty and risk and to allocate power. They were internally focused because many of the company’s transactions were internal. As a result of slow or negligible environmental change, managers were able to consider their strategic options once a year through a process that is detached from the ordinary workings of the company. Consequently, the plans that are produced are used in litigation between a corporation and its business units, or among business units, for control of the decision-making processes. Hamel and Prahalad (1995) ask why it is that in so many companies strategic planning departments are being disbanded or dramatically downsized. This change in emphasis was driven by thinkers such as Hammer and Champy (1993) with their concept â€Å"business process re-engineering†. Hamel and Prahalad (1995) continue to make the claim that the problem is not with strategy but with the particular notion of strategy that predominates in most companies. What is being rejected is not strategy itself, but strategy setting as a pedantic planning ritual on one hand or as a speculative and open-ended investment commitment on the other. The academic scholars of the Planning School had determined a formal process for strategic planning and, in 1985; a study by Ginter (1985) was undertaken in the UK to determine whether this academic model had practical applicability. The 4,000 members of the Planning Executive Institute were asked a range of questions to provide a forum for assessing the perceptions of planning and strategic managers in practice. In excess of 1,000 members responded, and the researchers concluded that the model was a good framework for the way strategic planning takes place in the corporate environment. The Ginter (1985) paper described the strategic process as containing eight elements: (1) Vision and mission; (2) Objective setting; (3) External environmental scanning; (4) Internal environmental scanning; (5) Strategic alternatives (crafting strategy); (6) Strategy selection; (7) Implementation; and (8) Control. These elements are found consistently in the literature and taught in university business schools and undergraduate programs Thompson and Strickland (1998), Hill and Jones (1998), Stahl and Grigsby (1992). Viljoen (1994), and Hubbard (1996), all propound similar models in their educational texts. The central message of the Planning School is â€Å"formal procedure, formal training, formal analysis, lots of numbers† (Mintzberg, 1998). Many corporations adopted formal strategic planning as the fundamental driving concept for their business. Differentiation strategy When using a differentiation strategy, a company focuses effort on providing a unique Product or service, setting their offerings apart from competitors. Product differentiation fulfills a customer need and involves uniquely tailoring the product or service to the customer. This strategy allows organizations to charge a premium price to capture market share. The differentiation strategy is effectively implemented when the business provides unique or superior value to the customer through product quality, features, or after-sale support and service. Firms following a differentiation strategy can charge a higher price for their products based on the product characteristics, the delivery system, the quality of service, or the distribution channels. The quality may be real or perceived, based on fashion, brand name, or image. The differentiation strategy appeals to a sophisticated or knowledgeable consumer interested in a unique quality product or service and willing to pay a higher price for these non-standardized products. Customers value the differentiated products more than they value low costs. Our research identified three tactics which were significantly related to organizational performance in the companies we surveyed following the differentiation strategy. These critical practices included: 1. Innovation in marketing technology and methods. 2. Fostering innovation and creativity. 3. Focus on building high market share. Cost leadership strategy Porter’s generic strategy of cost leadership focuses on gaining competitive advantage by having the lowest costs and cost structure in the industry. In order to achieve a low-cost advantage, an organization must have a low-cost leadership mindset, low-cost manufacturing with rapid distribution and replenishment, and a workforce committed to the low-cost strategy. The organization must be willing to discontinue any activities in which they do not have a cost advantage and may outsource activities to other organizations that have a cost advantage. There are many ways to achieve cost leadership such as mass production, mass distribution, economies of scale, technology, product design, input cost, capacity utilization of resources, and access to raw materials. Cost leaders work to have the lowest product or service unit costs and can withstand competition with their lower cost structure. Cost leaders may take a number of cost saving actions, including building efficient scale facilities, tightly controlling overhead and production costs, and monitoring costs to build their relatively standardized products that offer features acceptable to many customers at the lowest competitive price. But the tactic that proved to be most critical to this strategy is the minimization of distribution costs. Focus strategy In a focus generic strategy, a firm targets a specific, often narrow, segment of the market. The firm can choose to concentrate on a select customer group (youths or senior citizens, for example), product range, segment of a market (professional craft persons versus do-it-yourselfers), geographical areas (East coast versus West coast), or service line. For example, many European firms focus solely on the European market. Focus also is based on adopting a narrow competitive scope within an industry that large firms may have overlooked. The focus strategy aims at growing market share through operating in a narrow market or niche segment more effectively than larger competitors. A successful focus strategy depends upon an industry segment large enough to have good growth potential but small enough not to be important to other major competitors. Focusing allows the firm to direct its resources to certain value chain activities to build its advantage. An organization may also choose a combination strategy by mixing one of the generic strategies of low-cost or differentiation with the focus strategy. For example, a firm may choose to have a focus differentiation strategy or a focus/cost leadership strategy. Based on our research, four tactics appear to be critical for organizations attempting a focus/low cost strategy: 1. Providing outstanding customer service. 2. Improving operational efficiency. 3. Controlling the quality of products or services. 4. Extensive training of front-line personnel. Focus/differentiation Another combination focus strategy is a focus/differentiation strategy where the organization has a unique quality product offered to a targeted market segment or niche. The significantly important tactics include: * Producing specialty products and services. * Producing products or services for high price market segments. In addition to generic strategies, Porter (1985) developed several other modular concepts. The five forces model is shown in Figure 2. Porter (1980) suggested that the task facing managers is to analyze competitive forces in an industry’s environment. He claimed that only five forces needed consideration. Porter (1980) argued that the stronger the manifestation of each of the forces, the more limited the ability of established companies to raise prices and to earn greater profits. This is pure Modernist, Neo-economic thinking. The simplifying and â€Å"blinding† role of externalities in economics, blinds Porter (1980) who is unable to postulate the role of government, or de-regulation, in his five factor, positioning model at the very time he was proselytizing the case of the US Airline industry under severe conditions of Reaganite, ideological deregulation of that industry (Kouzmin, 2007). Porter (1997) preaches that many of these intangible forces are measurable and that, in addition, there is a â€Å"chain of causality that runs from competitive environment to position to activities to employee skills and organization†. This causal argument is further pursued with Porter’s (1985) concepts of the value chain (see Figure 3). The value chain analysis is based on the simple linear idea that every activity performed in an organization will add some value to the final products or services produced. The final product is simply the aggregate of values contributed. The 3Cs model of Kenichi Ohmae Ohmae (1982) has much to discuss about competitive position, particularly the competitive positioning of successful Japanese companies. It is his view that the theories abounding in economic and economic policy circles concerning the importance of position have not been the drivers of Japanese success. He believes that strategy is not about beating the competition but about satisfying customer needs. Still further, Deming (1986) expounds a fundamental concept when exhorting his audience to consider the concept of competition. It is his argument that people must learn to cooperate with others and to compete with themselves. In the context of strategy, the ideas of Ohmae and Deming, regarding the importance of customers is most important. Concepts of competition and market share are of little use to the business principal and as a consequence there is very little that the philosophies of the Positioning School can add to their strategy knowledge base. As with Ohmae’s Japanese corporations, competitive advantage is driven by the ability to serve the needs of customers better. The 3Cs Model is a strategic look at the factors needed for success. The 3C’s model points out that a strategist should focus on three key factors for success. In the construction of a business strategy, three main players must be taken into account: 1. The Corporation 2. The Customer 3. The Competitors Only by integrating these three C’s (Corporation, Customer, Competitors) in a strategic triangle, a sustained competitive advantage can exist. Ohmae refers to these key factors as the three C’s or strategic triangle. Hito-Kane-Mono A favorite phrase of Japanese business planners is hito-kane-mono, standing for people, money and things. They believe that streamlined corporate management is achieved when these three critical resources are in balance without surplus or waste. For example: Cash over and beyond what competent people can intelligently expend is wasted. Of the three critical resources, funds should be allocated last. The corporation should firstly allocate management talent, based on the available mono (things): plant, machinery, technology, process know-how and functional strength. Once these hito (people) have developed creative and imaginative ideas to capture the business’s upward potential, the kane (money) should be given to the specific ideas and programs generated by the individual managers. The Ansoff Growth Matrix Strategy Tool Igor Ansoff (1965) was the originator of the strategic management concept, and was responsible for establishing strategic planning as a management activity in its own right. His landmark book, Corporate Strategy (1965), was the first text to concentrate entirely on strategy, and although the ideas outlined are complex, it remains one of the classics of management literature. Ansoff was one of the earliest writers on strategy as a management discipline, and laid strong foundations for several later writers to build upon, including Michael Porter, Gary Hamel and C K Prahalad. He invented the modern approach to strategy and his work pulled together various ideas and disparate strands of thought, giving a new coherence and discipline to the concept he described as strategic planning. During the 1970s and 1980s, this concept shaped more ideas about management as other writers took up Ansoffs ideas, such as core competence or sticking to the knitting. A debate between Ansoff and Henry Mintzberg over their differing views of strategy was reflected in print over many years, particularly in the Harvard Business Review. Ansoff has often been criticized by Mintzberg, who disliked the idea of strategy being built from planning which is supported by analytical techniques. This criticism was based on the belief that Ansoffs reliance on planning suffered from three fallacies: that events can be predicted, that strategic thinking can be separated from operational management, and that hard data, analysis and techniques can produce novel strategies. Ansoff argued that within a companys activities there should be an element of core capability, an idea later adopted and expanded by Hamel and Prahalad. To establish a link between past and future corporate activities (the first time such an approach was undertaken) The Ansoff Growth matrix is a tool that helps businesses decide their product and market growth strategy. This Ansoff Matrix considers the existing and new markets as well as the existing and new products and services as a potential for business growth and development. Ansoff identified four key strategy components that interact with each other causing various effects on both new and existing products and markets. Figure four below is followed with a brief description of each component of the matrix. The Ansoff Growth Matrix Grid Source: (Proctor, 1997, p. 146). Market penetration Market penetration is the name given to a growth strategy where the business focuses on selling existing products into existing markets. Market penetration seeks to achieve four main objectives: Maintain or increase the market share of current products – this can be achieved by a combination of competitive pricing strategies, advertising, sales promotion and perhaps more resources dedicated to personal selling Secure dominance of growth markets Restructure a mature market by driving out competitors; this would require a much more aggressive promotional campaign, supported by a pricing strategy designed to make the market unattractive for competitors Increase usage by existing customers – for example by introducing loyalty schemes a market penetration marketing strategy is very much about â€Å"business as usual†. The business is focusing on markets and products it knows well. It is likely to have good information on competitors and on customer needs. It is unlikely, therefore, that this strategy will require much investment in new market research. Market development Market development is the name given to a growth strategy where the business seeks to sell its existing products into new markets. There are many possible ways of approaching this strategy, including: New geographical markets; for example exporting the product to a new country New product dimensions or packaging: for example New distribution channels Different pricing policies to attract different customers or create new market segments Product development Product development is the name given to a growth strategy where a business aims to introduce new products into existing markets. This strategy may require the development of new competencies and requires the business to develop modified products which can appeal to existing markets. Diversification Diversification is the name given to the growth strategy where a business markets new products in new markets. This is an inherently more risk strategy because the business is moving into markets in which it has little or no experience. For a business to adopt a diversification strategy, therefore, it must have a clear idea about what it expects to gain from the strategy and an honest assessment of the risks. Future Direction of Strategic Planning Strategic planning has come a long since its humble earlier works that were defined in the early 1960s. Many of these earlier concepts are still valid today or are reflected in the basic assumptions being used by leaders in our ever diverse organizations. Today, the goal of the organization is to achieve a competitive advantage by positioning itself in such a way that it has the ability to succeed all competition by enhancing performance. Competitive advantage is a concept that business organizations will continue to strive for. Michael Porter has been credited with introducing the five forces concept into business strategies. His theory has served as a back board for IO Theory (industrial Organization) theory. The traditional Bain/Mason paradigm of industrial organization offered strategic management a systematic model for assessing competition within an industry and was never really inducted into business policy by top decision makers. Many economists today have learned that introducing business policies into strategic planning and managing the economic impact of this union offers a positive influence on how organizations match up against each other on a microeconomic scale (Porter, 1981). From an IO economic perspective, mobility barriers or market positions are critical sources of competitive advantages that lead to superior performance. Organizational economics is more concerned with devising appropriate governance mechanisms or contracts to help reduce transaction or agency costs. The RBV (Resource Based View) of the firm has refocused the field of strategic management on all internal characteristics and views firms these characteristics as the source of competitive advantage. These characteristics have been identified as operational efficiencies, mergers, acquisitions, level of diversification, types of diversification, organizational structures, team management style, human resources management, and the manipulation of the political and social influences intruding upon the market that impacts organizations (Teece, 1982). The resource based view of the firm will be continue to be of significant importance to any organization because it provides leaders with specific tools needed to sustain a competitive position in a market place by providing management needed insights into examining the resource attributes and the their relationships towards other related variables in the market place as a means to gain the edge in the dynamic market (Barney, 2001). Conclusion Strategic planning has developed into a vital practice that must be approached with careful consideration to allow for through investigation into how an organization is structured. From both an internal and external perspective, managers need to recognize the need to evaluate value, mission, core competencies, history, and past, current, and future situations in order to gain and sustain competitive advantage in a market place. The need to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, has been addressed as a main basic goal that must be used by leaders to empower the organization. Various models and theorists have been identified and explained as a means to gain a better understanding on how to define strategic planning. Since the 1960s, there have been many different points of view concerning the strategic planning concept. Various schools of thought have been developed by infamous theorists who have engraved a foot print into the development of modern corporate practices. Many of these concepts have paved the way for common approaches utilized by corporations as building blocks for surviving in such dynamic and competitive environments. Many of the strategies that are in use today are variations from the past and will continue to be adopted and manipulated to fit the needs of leaders seeking to find solutions to new and emerging issues that are relevant and applicable to the real business needs of organizations. Leaders today will need to continue finding new ways to plan for the future and adjust to the pace of environmental change with confidence, knowledge, skill, and ability. References Ansoff, H. I. (1965). An Analytic Approach to Business Policy for Growth and Expansion. McGraw-Hill, New York, NY. Barney, J. B. (1991). â€Å"Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage†, Journal of Management, Vol. 17 No. 1, pp. 99-120. Deming, W. E. (1986). Quality, Productivity and Competitive Position. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA. Drucker, P. (1970), Technology Management and Society, Harper Collins Books, NY. Fuller, M. (1996), â€Å"Strategic planning in an era of total competition†, Planning Review, Vol. 24 No. 3, pp. 22-7. Ginter, M. (1985). Planners’ Perceptions of the Strategic Management Process Journal of Management Studies, Vol. 22 No. 6, pp. 581-96. Hammer, M. and Champy, J. (1993). Re-engineering the Corporation: A Manifesto for a Business Revolution, Harper, New York, NY. Hamel, G. and Prahalad, K. (1995), â€Å"Thinking differently†, Business Quarterly, Vol. 59 No. 4, pp. 22-35. Hart, L. (1965). The Memoirs of Captain Hill. Volume 1 and II. Gassell, London, 1965. Hill, L. and Jones, R. (1998), Strategic Management Theory: An Integrated Approach, Houghton Mifflin, Boston, MA. Hubbard, G. and Taylor, G. (1996), Practical Australian Strategy, Prentice-Hall, Sydney. Kouzmin, A. (2007). â€Å"Economic rationalism, risk and institutional vulnerability†, Risk Decision and Policy, Vol. 1 No. 2, pp. 229-57. Mintzberg, H. (1987). The Strategy Concept 1: Five Ps for strategy. California Management Review, Vol. 30, pp. 11-24. Mintzberg, H. (1990). Strategy Formation: Schools of Thought. Perspectives on Strategic Management, J. W. Fredrickson. Frand Rapids, Philadelphia, Harper Business: 105-236. Mintzberg, H. and Lampel, J. 1998), Strategy Safari: A Guided Tour through the Wilds of Strategic Management, Prentice-Hall, New York, NY. Mintzberg, H. (1998). Five Ps For Strategy: The Strategy Process. Revised European Ed. Prentice Hall, New Jersey. Ohmae, K. (1982). The Mind of the Strategist: The Art of Japanese Business, McGraw-Hill, New York, NY. Porter, M. E. (1979), â€Å"How competitive forces shape strategy†, Harvard Business Review, March-April, pp. 137-45. Porter, M. E. (1980), Competitive Strategy, Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors, Free Press, New York, NY. Porter, M. E. (1985), Competitive Advantage, Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance, Free Press, New York, NY. Porter, M. E. (1991), â€Å"Toward a dynamic theory of strategy†, Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 12, Winter, pp. 95-117. Porter, M. E. (1997), â€Å"Response to letters to the editor†, Harvard Business Review, March-April, pp. 162-3. Proctor, T. (1997). A Conceptual Synergy Model of Strategy Formulation for Manufactoring. Quarterly Journal of Operations and Production Management. Vol. 24, ISS: 9. pp. 140-149. Quinn, B. (1980). Strategies for Change: Logical Incrementalism, Home, IL: Irwin. Sokol, R. (1992). Simplifying Strategic Planning. Management Decision. Vol. 30 No7. Pp. 11- 17. Teece, J. (1982). Towards an Economic Theory of the Multi-Product Firm. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization 3, pp. 39-63. Viljoen, J. (1994), Strategic Management – Planning and Implementing Successful Corporate Strategies, Longman, Melbourne. Viljoen, J. and Dann, S. (2000), Strategic Management – Planning and Implementing Successful Corporate Strategies, Longman, Melbourne.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

International Macro Post Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

International Macro Post - Essay Example It highlights how the aftermath has made GDP growth rates tumbled while the inflows of foreign unswerving investments have dried out. The article also explores the failures of the government for decades during the dictatorial regime. The country has to establish conventional macroeconomics to guide in managing economic growth and economic development instead focusing on GDP and neglecting other economic concerns such as inflation, unemployment and externalities. In their final submission, the article highlights possibility of hope for the’ New country’. Despite the challenges that the country has gone through in the last three decades leading to massive capital flight. The article underscores the need to review the economy while at the same time impose sound economic policies i.e. monetary and fiscal policies that would reclaim the country’s lost balance of payment (BOP) and country’s currency reserves. They retaliate the fact that Egypt as a country still can create a favorable environment for economic growth and entrepreneurial change. One key issue that the article explores according to my understanding is the link between civil war or the revolutions and their impact on macroeconomic policies and objectives such as economic growth of the country. It is essential to analyze the impact through domestic investment. The capital stock of any given country epitomize its accumulated stock of machineries, firms that are there in the country at any point in time, and this are what adds to productive power in the economy. If capital stock rises so will economic growth at its all-time high. According to neo-classical economists capital stock, originates from investment and depreciation. Egyptian revolution affected capital stock in two ways. First it reduced the existing stock of capital since during the period of revolution roads, ports and factories were destroyed. Secondly, the level of capital stock is affected by investment that must

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Social Web Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words - 1

Social Web - Research Paper Example †. A question comes to mind, what is social networking meant for? Its purpose is to enable people for creating a virtual social network to exchange ideas and thoughts with class mates, old friends, lost friends, relatives, and new friends. Social networking sites have advantages as well as disadvantages later to be discussed. The factors impacting on the society are interrelated to each other. The severity of the impact of these sites may vary from severity level 1 to severity level 3. Social networking sites facilitate people to create a public or private profile to share it with a group of people within an isolated system. Likewise, these ‘web based’ services offer opportunities to create a new relation. The first social network site was launched in 1997 that was named as SixDegrees.com. Since then, these sites offered innovation in relationship performances, impression management, privacy management, online and offline status of friends. However, study shows tha t there is no research on cultural disparity (VitkauskaitÄâ€", 2011). Social Networking Sites Statistics Over 700 billion minutes are spent by each user on ‘Facebook’ per month. More than 500 million active users are registered on face book. 50% of massive 500 million contributes to the log of active users on to ‘Facebook’ in every single day.... ite ‘www.facebook.com’ statistics also includes the activity of users is â€Å"above 30 billion pieces of content (web links, news stories, blog posts, notes, photo albums, etc.) shared each month. The Global Reach is in more than 70 translations available on the site About 70% of Facebook users are outside the United States and Over 300,000 users helped translate the site through the translations application. Moreover, Fig 1.1, 1.2 and 1.3 illustrated below, demonstrate the participation of genders, privacy and beliefs and behavioral tracking on ‘Facebook’. Fig 1.1(Retreived from (Hoy & Milne, 2010) Fig 1.2(Retreived from (Hoy & Milne, 2010) Fig 1.3(Retreived from (Hoy & Milne, 2010) These figures are incomparable to other social networking sites such as twitter has 175 million registered users and 95 million tweets are written each day (Roberts, 2011). Positive Impact of Social Networking Sites (SNS) Social networking sites (SNS) facilitate users to creat e new relationships. Continuous communication online strengthens relationships and gives opportunities for creative expressions in a collaborative way. The social networking sites provide free photo storage, blogging, games, invitations for participating friends and various services. The social networking sites provide common interest between people and proffer revelation to innovative ideas publishing around the globe and provide freedom of expression. Those people who have stammering problem while speaking can express their emotions and feeling to share with others in full confidence. Social networking sites also contributed people to make crucial decisions in their life. 60 million Americans are facilitated by the Internet for making one of the most crucial life decisions ("The Strength of Internet Ties,

Monday, November 18, 2019

Managerial Finance and Financial Markets Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Managerial Finance and Financial Markets - Essay Example commercial property can be used as an alternative investment during periods of high inflation, which is possible because of its low correlations with bonds and stocks. More so, the inclusion of commercial property in the portfolio will offer regular streams of income, for example in form of rent, which can be adjusted periodically thus shielding the investor from the effect of high inflation. The force behind commercial estate returns, from macroeconomics viewpoint, is different from that of equity and bonds. In this view, commercial property is an ideal source of portfolio diversification. Furthermore, the commercial property is in itself diversified, hence its performance is very unique. Commercial property can be used to diversify unsystematic risk, but not systematic risk. The reason why it is difficult to diversify systematic risk is because it influences a large number of assets (Case, 2014). The diversification, in this case, depends on risk-adjusted returns, the investor’s horizon and correlations (as shown in Table 1). Some of the types of diversification that can be generated from commercial property include that between private and public real estate, between bonds and equity, by property type, by investment strategy, within domestic market (geographically), and between domestic and foreign market. International diversification, whereby investors venture into international real estates, is a potential means of reducing risk as it offers very low return correlations. For example, by investing internationally, investors achieve low performance fluctuations, in a manner that cannot be achieved locally (Hudson-Wilson, Fabozzi & Gordon, 2003). Commercial property, relative to other asset classes, has been historically known to offer higher returns. However, in the long term, although commercial property is expected to generate a lower return compared to public equities, it is expected to perform better than bonds. Even though this relationship has

Friday, November 15, 2019

Subjective Well-being Concept: Strengths and Weaknesses

Subjective Well-being Concept: Strengths and Weaknesses Subjective wellbeing: A critical discussion of its strengths and weaknesses Subjective Wellbeing is a new science and has to do with how people see their lives in terms of personal satisfaction (Diener, Suh, and Oishi, 2005, pg. 1). It can be affected by moods, illness, positive and negative emotions, economic status, and many other factors. The concept of Subjective Wellbeing has been around for a long time; however it has only been in recent years that researchers have studied and tested it. All those involved admit that it is not the final word and more research needs to be conducted (Frank, 2005, pgs. 69-79). Subjective Wellbeing has strengths, but there are also limitations. Subjective Wellbeing studies are important and valuable in that they provide us with a deeper understanding of human nature and they give us information that will assist us in improving the quality of life for others. Much progress has been made in researching the area of subjective wellbeing, but most of the current literature in this field indicates there are limitations. One of the strengths of Subjective Wellbeing is its usefulness in improving the quality of life. Emmons and McCullough (2003) conducted a study on the effects of gratitude on wellbeing. Participants were randomly assigned conditions. They were asked to meditate once a week or once a day for 2-3 weeks on what in their life they can be grateful for. They claim the results of this study were significant in their positive impact on wellbeing. They had to admit that they did not know how long the results would last (pg. 386). Subjective Wellbeing studies are usually administered as questionnaires and can give us a good indication as to quality of life for individuals providing the term â€Å"wellbeing† is clearly defined (Muldoon, Barger, Flory, and Manuck, 2003, pp. 542-545). Any abstract study of this nature must have clear definitions of key terms such as â€Å"wellbeing†, yet not necessarily a highly defined term as most people instinctively know what makes their lives better or happy. On the other hand, there are some scientists that are critical of the notion that most people know instinctively what gives them a sense of wellbeing. These critics claim that wellbeing can mean different things to different people. There are critics who do not believe that people necessarily have the ability to make an accurate assessment of their own wellbeing. The argument has been presented that people can become quite adaptable to less than favorable circumstances and conditions and will answer the qu estionnaire in a manner that is not completely honest. They may have become used to lowered living conditions and therefore would regard themselves inaccurately as having greater satisfaction than what they would normally report. Critics of this subjective study also have a problem with the lack of objective reference points. They believe it makes it difficult to compare people’s assessments of their own wellbeing (Van Bruggen, 2001, pg. 10-12). When reviewing the answers to the questionnaires it would appear that there is a common thread in the way people respond to them. This allows us to believe many of the same things give people a sense of wellbeing, yet when the answers are examined more closely idiosyncrasies are revealed. When investigated in depth it appears there are differences in what determines wellbeing for each individual. It would be important to ask the right questions. This would require an understanding of what constitutes wellbeing. The question arises as to what human goals or needs are the building blocks for Subjective Wellbeing. If we want to understand what makes for wellbeing we must determine universal goals and needs. These goals and needs are supposed to represent the components of Subjective Wellbeing. If these goals and needs are fulfilled, then it is believed that the individual will score high on subjective wellbeing. If this is true then those needs and goals must be identified. It is not on ly the achievement of those goals and needs that contributes to wellbeing, but also the way they are achieved. Within the context of goals and needs are many questions, such as if there is greater satisfaction through them being met through personal achievement or luck (Van Bruggen, 2001, pg. 10-12). One question researchers have regarding these Subjective Wellbeing studies is if a person’s sense of wellbeing is consistent and stable. Critics of Subjective Wellbeing question the study participants’ truthfulness and reliability. It has been determined that the respondents’ mood when taking the questionnaire can bring about an inaccurate outcome (Muldoon, Barger, Flory, and Manuck, 2003, pgs. 542-545). In a study conducted to determine the affect of mood on Subjective Wellbeing, Robinson (2000) states: Although laboratory studies can highlight the effects of mood  on processing and judgment, they cannot tell us about how  people evaluate their daily lives. By measuring naturally occurring  life events, mood states, and cognitive WB, the present investigation  sought to fill this gap. In particular, the primary purpose  of these studies was to understand the relation between daily  experiences and cognitive WB. The results of cross-sectional  and longitudinal designs reveal that the relation between life  events and cognitive WB is entirely mediated by mood states. Mood states appear to serve both reactive and prospective  functions, and are therefore the key to cognitive WB change (page 10). Another factor to be considered in Subjective Wellbeing studies is that of personality traits. Certain personality traits can influence the outcome of the questionnaire skewing the results. Chan, Ungvari, Shek, and Leung (2003) conducted a study to determine the quality of life of Chinese patients with schizophrenia. Their study was longitudinally based and they report this was the strength of their research. They claim this longitudinal design provided for greater accuracy because it regulated â€Å"influence of personal characteristics on dependent variables† (page 3). One of the limitations of their study is that the sample size was too small and they lacked a matched control group (page 3). In considering personality traits affecting the outcome of Subjective Wellbeing studies the question of IQ has been explored. Researchers led by Professor Ian Deary at the Edinburgh University in Scotland conducted a study where they recruited 500 volunteers who agreed to have their IQ’s tested. The participants had their IQ’s tested at the age of 11 years old and then at the age of 80 years old. The results of this test were that there was no correlation between their IQ’s and overall life satisfaction. What the researchers did find was that health played a factor in life satisfaction but not the intelligence level of the individual. Oftentimes a higher IQ causes the individual to place more demands and higher expectations on themselves. This can set the individual up for disappointment and therefore lower Subjective Wellbeing scores (Deary, et. al. 2005, pgs. 141-142.) An interesting model was created that did not address life satisfaction directly but nevertheless had an impact on Subjective Wellbeing. This model was developed to determine emotional-social intelligence (ESI) and was called the Bar-On model. This model measured behavior and performance and it proved to be consistent over time and highly accurate across cultures. Although the Bar-On model was not used specifically for measuring Subjective Wellbeing its results were very important and gave scientists information that can be applied in this area. What this model revealed were the areas in an individual that could use improvement in order to enhance overall life satisfaction. This model’s strength is its usefulness in many different areas and that it is highly teachable. It could be very useful in schools, for example. As with other models, longitudinal studies are required to obtain greater understanding and also acquire more accurate outcomes (Bar-On, R, 2005, pg. 20). Frank (2005) states the methods used to measure Subjective Wellbeing oftentimes do a fairly good job of monitoring the experiences we have that we are consciously aware of but there are limitations. One of the limitations is that there may be other things that are more important to us than those experiences we are cognitively aware of. He gives the following example: Suppose we lived in parallel universes and in one of those universes you earned $100,000 a year and in the other one you earned $200,000 a year. Suppose the individual would feel equally happy in either universe. Then consider that the people who lived in the wealthier universe would be inclined to spend more money on keeping a cleaner environment resulting in a longer and happier life for everyone. Frank states it is obvious that people would be better off living in the richer universe. His point is that there may be other things that are more important to us that we are not consciously aware of at this time; therefore the results of Subjective Wellbeing measures may not be accurate (pgs. 69-79). As we can see there are limitations to Subjective Wellbeing as a measure for life satisfaction, yet it has enough strength that it is still an important and useful emerging science. References Bar-On, R. (2005). The Bar-On model of emotional-social intelligence (ESI).  Issues in Emotional Intelligence, (1)4, pp. 1-28. In P. Fernà ¡ndez-Berrocal and  N. Extremera (Guest Editors), Special Issue on Emotional Intelligence.  Psicothema, 17. Chan, G.W.L.; Ungvari G.S.;, Shek, D.T.L.; Leung, J.P. (2003).  Impact of deinstitutionalisation on the quality of life of Chinese patients with  schizophrenia: A longitudinal pilot study. Hong Kong J Psychiatry, 13(4), pp. 2-5. Deary, A.; Gow, A.; Whiteman, M.; Pattie, M.; Whalley, L.; and Starr, J. (Jul 2005).  Lifetime intellectual function and satisfaction with life in old age:  longitudinal cohort study. BMJ. 331, pp. 141–142. Diener, E.; Suh, E.; and Oishi, S. Recent Findings on Subjective Well-Being (2005,  pg. 1). Retrieved August 1, 2005 from  http://www.psych.uiuc.edu/~ediener/hottopic/paper1.html Emmons, R.A. and McCullough, M.E. (2003). Counting blessings versus burdens:  An experimental investigation of gratitude and subjective wellbeing in daily life.  Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 84, No. 2, pp. 377-389. Frank, R.H. (Spring, 2004). How not to buy happiness. Daedalus. Vol. 133, Issue 2,  pp. 69-79. Muldoon, M.F.; Barger, S.D.; Flory, J.D.; Manuck, S.B. (14 Feb. 1998). What are  quality of life measurements measuring? BMJ, 316, pp. 542-545. Robinson, M.D. (2000). The reactive and prospective functions of mood:  Its role in linking daily experiences and cognitive well-being. Cognition and Emotion,  14(2), pp. 145-176. Van Bruggen, A.C. (2001). Individual production of social well-being: an  exploratory study. pp. 1-16. Retrieved August 1, 2005 from  http://dissertations.ub.rug.nl