Cost Accounting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Cost Accounting - Essay Example Absorption cost (also known as full costing) is costing systems which includes direct materials, direct labour and variable and fixed manufacturing overhead as product cost (Duruy, 2011).This costing method is normally required for external reporting purposes under GAAP since accountants believe that fixed overhead is a crucial component in the manufacturing process (Deo, 2009).. A reason for this is that stock valuation include all production cost under UK SAAP9 so that when profit increases the stock also increase (Pong, & Mitchell, 2004) On the other hand, Marginal or variable costing is costing system which includes all manufacturing cost that vary according to the number of units produced, which includes direct materials, direct labour and variable manufacturing overhead (Bhimani, 2011). Economists favour the use of marginal costing since it enhances profit maximisation (Deo, 2009) since stock increases lower the profit (Pong, & Mitchell, 2004). Theoretically, it is easy to iden tify the effects of the costing method used by an organization on profit. The costing method used in stock valuation therefore has an implication on profit as shown in the table below: Movement increase decrease Valuation method used Full costing Variable costing High profit Low profit Lower profit Higher profit Several principles were put forward in attempts of supporting either of these costing methods. For instance, the matching principle, which holds that during profit calculation, revenues, must be matched with the costs incurred in generating the revenue (Pong and Mitchell, 2004). Assuming prices are constant, the variable costing method results in a time series of profits that is in synch with the sales. This is considered an advantage of variable costing. The profit generated in this case is not subjected to any movements influence by changes in the stock level as the fixed costs are written off. This is found to concur with the realization principle that recognises profits as they occur (Pong and Mitchell, 2004). On the other hand, carrying forward fixed costs in the full costing method can boost profits in the case of rising stock. It is acknowledged that production activities can affect profitability via the levels of stock. However, this claim has been on the spotlight as it encourages managers to increase profitability by increasing stock which may be dysfunctional to the firm (Pong and Mitchell, 2004). The main difference between absorption costing and managerial costing is the treatment of the fixed manufacturing overhead cost, which are treated as a period cost in variable costing (Durury, 2011, p.195). The two costing methods will be compared using the given data below. Year 1 Year 2 Sales Price 50 52 Direct Materials 10 10 Direct Labour 7 8 Variable Production overhead 5 5 Fixed Production overheads 4800 5700 Administration costs 4000 5000 Sales Volume 900 1400 Production 1100 1300 The unit cost for the absorption costing method was higher at ?26.36 than the ?22.00 for the marginal costing due to the addition of ?4.36 per unit in the first year. The unit cost for the second year was also high for the absorption costing at ?27.38 when compared to the ?23.00 for the marginal costing. This comparison discovered that the unit cost for absorption costing was higher than the marginal costing because of the addition of the fixed manufacturing cost. The benefit of a two year comparisons is that it reveals how manufacturing cost are transferred in the absorption and managerial costing (Lere, 2000, p.29). The benefit of marginal costing is that fixed manufacturing overhead is already incurred even if there is no production for the period. (Durury,

Life Meaning Essay Example for Free

Life Meaning Essay The definition of life is very difficult. Although dictionaries and encyclopedias say in general is the intermediate state between birth and death, I think it goes far beyond, is something deeper and we all want to know. By asking this question we faced is as if we ourselves, as research is about something Ive always lived, after much thought and analysis that is life, in my point of view I think is that although many try to define life as commonly defined other terms, in my position, life is not a thing, but rather as a process. To truly know that life is all we can do is live and this is the only way and how life is lived? Maybe its the question we should ask ourselves, what can say to that is this: being alive, flowing, running with her, walking with her. Life is now, is now, life is what is happening to us, life is not something or someone or somewhere that we have to look, life is a gift that we already have. lama you can feel in your breathing, your blood circulation in the beating of your heart. What you are now, thats your life what happened to you, what is to befall and what not, thats your life. While humans try to find different meanings to what life is and try to give the concept deeper, scientific, philosophical or theological response will never be enough to describe the life, and while people look the concept of life are missing what it is, they have forgotten the real and have been replaced by concepts and explanations that my term, to take advantage of anything. We see what is actually already here, we rationalizations. Nobody can give you the meaning of your life. Its your life and you have to give it meaning only you. No one but you can find it. Its your life and only accessible to you. Only by living the mystery will be revealed. Life is not looking at other people or writings or intelligent explanations, these are only justifications that ultimately explain nothing. Life is already bubbling within. Only if you want her there. The temple is on the outside, you are his sanctuary. So the first thing we must remember to define ourselves is life is never look outside or try to discover somebody. And the second thing to remember is that when you finally discover in yourself that is life, you will find that is death. At the beginning I mentioned that life is a process, well, death is part of that process. Humans usually think that death is the enemy of life, which is the grand finale, which is the enemy to be feared but in reality it is not, death is not the enemy, and if you consider death as the enemy that just shows you have not been able to know what life is. Although it seems absurd, death and life have many things in common, both have the same energy is a phenomenon like day and night, as cold and heat, and summer and winter, life and death are rivals, not polar opposites, are not separated and are not contrary, quite the contrary, they are complementary. Death is not the end of life is actually a culmination of a life, the summit of life, the climax, the great final stage. And once you know your life and your process, then you understand what death is. Death is a part harmony, full of life and is very friendly with her. Without it life can not exist. Death is a renewal process. And death happens every moment. The instant you inhale and exhale the moment, life and death are passing, both are given. By inspiring, life goes; upon expiry death comes. So when a child is born the first thing he does is breathe life begins there, however when the old man dies the last thing you do is breathe, there is life. The exhale is death, life is inspiring. They are like the two wheels of a cart. Lives that inspire and breathe out, is part of the inhale exhale, you can not breathe if you stop inhaling, the exhaling is part of breathing. You can not breathe if you stop exhaling. You can not live if you stop dying. The man who has understood what is your life, let death happen, welcomes you. Dies every minute and every moment to life. LIFE is a process, a process in which the past is dying every moment and born again and again into the future. If you look at what life is like you know what death is. If you understand what death is, only then will you be able to understand what life is. Life is a gift, a gift of God, and have certain scents that make it magical, like love, like friends or family, life is full of little moments that make your story and each of these moments is good live them with people you love and who love you, life without love is like a box that looks beautiful on the outside but when you open it and find it completely empty with nothing of value, thats love, which gives value to your life. Maybe weve heard many times the phrase living dead for my concept that is the perfect definition, a life without love makes us dead in life. When we say live life, we mean that, to love, that gives meaning to life, to love somebody to love many or love everyone, to love God and to love nature. Life is real is what is in you is what queeres, there are things unreal, superficial exterior such as money, money is something that absorbs life unreal how many times we have not worried about getting money and is scientifically proven that concerns cause disease and alters the body of people altering the normal functioning of this, while we worry about things more unreal wears more life and go to becoming a plant that interest only superficial things, fine work and make money, which is not right that this will become the center of your life and everything in you turn around money. If we look at the birds of the sky and see how they survive only with his life, feed and have the best clothes that anyone ever could have, with all those colors and how they sing every morning, the birds live their lives, not care about anything and are inferior to us. We should take example from them. Finally we can say that life does not have to investigate it or try to define it or worry about understanding it, life must be lived and enjoyed.

Persian Proverb Doubt Is The Key To Knowledge Philosophy Essay

Persian Proverb Doubt Is The Key To Knowledge Philosophy Essay I have been quite fascinated by the many changes that keep happening to what seems to be a certainty and realized that doubt has traditionally played a significant part in the philosophy of knowledge. The ancient Greek philosophers debated the issue of knowledge and the relevance of doubt. Plato described knowledge as justified true belief1 the key word being belief which in itself is subject to interpretations by individuals. The famous French philosopher Renee Descartes tried to define knowledge in terms of certainty and in his arguments the path to certainty begins with doubt. In his book Meditation 1 What can be called Doubt, he says I realised that it was necessary, once in the course of my life, to demolish everything completely and start again right from the foundations if I wanted to establish anything at all in the sciences that was stable and likely to last.2 So is there any truth in the Persian saying Doubt is the Key to Knowledge? Is this purely an epistemological rhetoric or will it hold true in areas of knowledge as diverse as science and arts? Nobel laureate and leading physicist, Richard Feynman described doubt in relation to science as follows: Scientific knowledge is a body of statements of varying degrees of certainty -some most unsure, some nearly sure, none absolutely certain. A strong parallel can be drawn between his statement and space research. What made man land on the moon or explore the possibility of life on Mars? As a knower, I know that if we would not have doubted the probability that man could live on the moon, space expeditions to the moon would have stopped after the near life and death drama of Apollo 13. The Apollo3 series of expeditions seemed to have established that the moon was completely uninhabitable because of its inability to sustain water. The desire to know and doubting what was already known, led to the Indian unmanned space expedition to the moon. The Indian space craft Chandrayaan discovered traces of ice on the moons surface. So, can man really live on the moon? Science generally relies on a set of deductive logic to prove their hypothesis. Euclids two dimensional geometry is a classic case of using modus ponens or deductive logic to prove assumptions or hypothesis. Going by this, one could easily argue as follows: Man needs oxygen and water to live. Water contains oxygen. Ice is formed from water. Ice has been found on the moon therefore, man can live on the moon. www.plato.stanford.edu/entries/knowledge-analysis/à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ modus ponens xenodochy.org/article/popper.html www.rep.routeledge.com/article/DA026SECT4 www.space.com/8193-caused-apoll-13-accient.html Popper doubted this process of deductive truism and said it cannot prove a theory true every time. In his theory of falsification he argued that modus ponens is purely truth preserving and therefore a better alternative is modus tollens which uses the conditions of denying to falsify the assumption e.g. if P implies Q and Q is false, then P must also be false. Poppers falsification theory pointed out no scientific theory is ever conclusively verified, no matter how many tests it has survived4 For example, Schizophrenia has all along been seen as a chronic relapsing psychotic disorder that primarily affects thought and behaviour.5 A recent study by the University College of London has established by means of an experiment that in some cases, the perceptions of schizophrenic people is more accurate than those without schizophrenia. Therefore a doubt is created whether schizophrenia is really a psychotic condition or are there other dimensions to it. Going by the argument that deductive knowledge doesnt always hold good, I can safely surmise that we do not have adequate information to conclude that man can live on the moon and therefore more questions need to be asked. On the other hand doubting every scientific fact leading to unnecessary research and information overload could lead to a situation of complete paralysis in our normal day to day life. For example, if we were to doubt that oxygen is a life giving substance, then it could lead to critical situations in medical emergencies. Similarly while dealing with society at large and friends and relatives in particular, if we were to doubt everything to seek more knowledge, we are most likely to find ourselves with very little knowledge and even fewer friends! Peoples emotions, intentions and their behavioural traits like honesty, integrity, sincerity etc. should not be doubted. There will be rare cases where people may want to deceive, but that by itself cannot lead to a doubt about people in general. _____________________ science.martinsewell.com/falsification.html priory.com/schizo.htm. Shakespeare said If music be the food of love, play on6.Wonderful as it sounds and probably not argued too much, yet people have researched the effect that music has on plants. There is one school of thought that believes and claims to have empirical data to prove that plants respond well to sedentary classical and similar genre of music but they wilt under the influence of hard rock and similar music. Drawing a parallel with human life they argue that hard rock, metal etc is actually detrimental for human growth and therefore should be banned. Traditional botanists however argue that the so called empirical data based on research is purely coincidental and there is no correlation between music and growth of plants. They resort to another set of evidence which shows that growth of plants is related to a number of factors that are not related to music such as condition of soil, temp, moisture content etc. On a third dimension, music itself has different genres enjoyed by different people. Therefore is music also subject to perception or is it absolute? Does it really impact plant detrimentally or otherwise? If we doubt the basis of the claims and counterclaims and pursue with investigation from all angles, then, knowledge will progress and facts can be established. Science notwithstanding, art is abstract enough to create its own set of debates which normally focuses on the likes and dislikes of the perceiver. This leads me to wonder, if art and aesthetics are synonymous then to what extent is beauty a necessary ingredient for something to be considered art? Platos theory of forms claimed that It is by beauty that beautiful things are beautiful. Immanuel Kant, an 18th century German philosopher on the other hand claimed that aesthetic experience is not a matter of understanding or reason, (and hence not true knowledge), but is a matter of judgment [Critique of Judgment].7 Taking this argument further, the painting by Eduord Manet8, Luncheon on the Grass, was hotly debated when it was first exhibited in 1863. Most of all it was not viewed as an art, but as an affront to society. The painting, depicting a naked woman sitting amidst two fully clad men, all of whose images were contemporary and almost identifiable as one among the viewers, earned the painter the wrath of the critiques and masses. Yet an earlier painting by Thomas Coutre in 18479, Romans in The Decadence of the Empire depicted a scene with Romans lying about with many naked women in various poses of sensuality. It appears to me, that a nude in classical settings such as the ancient Greek or Roman empires was considered acceptable but a nude in contemporary setting was not. Either way, the painting, known for its controversy today hangs as a masterpiece in the Musee D Oray in Paris. 6. www.enotes.com/shaespeare-quotes/music-food-love-play 7 www.creatorix.com.au/philosophy/t03/g010.html 8 http://blog.photos2view.com/2008/05/27/art-and-controversy.htm 9 http://www.essentialart.com/acatalog/Edouard_Manet_prints_Luncheon_on_the_Grass.html As a student of visual arts in IB, I was told that there are three basic colours red, yellow and blue. While using the computer, trangely I found that the primary colours were red, green and blue, otherwise called the RGB format. So, what are the basic colours? The answer lay in the different mediums where they are used. Red, yellow and blue are primary colours which are used in while mixing dyes to achieve other shades and colours on a painting canvas. Red, green and blue are used where there are overlapping shades to be used while projecting on screens such as in LCD panels or monitors for computer screen. My doubt about the basic colours led me to seek additional information. The key to knowledge in this area of art was learning how to mix primary dyes in painting and this learning has been both experimental and experiential. Taking the Platonist view that knowledge is justified true belief, I can now reasonably claim to have knowledge that red and yellow if mixed in equal proportions would give the colour orange or shades of orange. Whether the area of knowledge is science or arts, doubts and questions remain. Some answered with a reasonable amount of justification which points to a probable definitive answer based on information available at that point in time and others remain unresolved leading to further doubts. Therefore the question is knowledge absolute or is it infinite? We can never know unless we doubt all knowledge leading us to seek more and more information. The downside do we doubt everything in life or should we accept some events as empirical realities. The answer? It is situational. At the end, as a knower, when I look at the word doubt I can safely say that the Persian saying Doubt is the Key to Knowledge is not just an epistemological rhetoric; it is indeed a means to gain more knowledge. In the words of H L Mencken an influential writer and critic of the 20th century, Men become civilized, not in proportion to their willingness to believe, but in proportion to their readiness to doubt.9 ___________________________ www.leopoldsegedin.com/essay_detail_mona_lisas_smile.cfm www.notable-quotes.com/d/doubt_quotes.html

The History of Capitalism Essay -- Essays Papers

The History of Capitalism Capitalism is based on the same principles as mercantilism. The accumulation of means, materials, land and other things, this accumulation is called capital and â€Å"the property-owners of these means of production are called capitalists† (Hooker 2). Productive labor, human work that is necessary to make goods and distribute them, takes the form of wage labor. â€Å"The means of production and labor is manipulated by the capitalist using rational calculation in order to realize a profit† (Hooker 2). Mercantilism is the earliest form of capitalism. Mercantilism can be simply defined as the allotment of trading goods for profit. Rome is credited with the first formation of a mercantile society. As the Rome Empire expanded, mercantilism expanded with it, spreading into the Middle East and Western Europe. Due the localizing nature of European economies this enabled mercantilism to expand and was not part of the European culture. Thus by the fifteenth century, when the Roman Empire began to retrench so did mercantilism (â€Å"Hooker†). In contrast to Europe, the Arabic economies grew around a thieving mercantilism. They lived on trade routes between three magnificent empires: Egypt, Persia and soon after the Byzantium, and they found that stealing products, then selling them, to be very lucrative. Thieving mercantilism spread swiftly through Spain, Asia, Middle East, and Northern Africa, where â€Å"Arabic mercantilism assumed an unprecedented global character† (Hooker 1). During the Medieval Age is when the European culture expanded its mercantilism, taking trading to lands far beyond its shores. From the 1300’s onwards, the Europeans would push â€Å"their mercantile practices† forward, (Hooker 1) causing social up... ...ural production of human nature. Of all the economic systems tried to date, Capitalism appears to be the only system that has endured many tests, and has grown to dominate the world. The fact that communism in Russia failed during the 1980 and 1990’s proves that capitalism is the outcome of human nature. Capitalism conforms to the natural laws and conditions of humanity and that anything that falls out of these conditions can only brings misery (â€Å"Wood†). Works Cited - Kan, Fang et al. An Economic History of the Major Capitalist Counties. New York: East Gate, 1992. - Hooker, Richard. â€Å"Capitalism†. The European Enlightenment Glossary. 1996. 8 Nov 2004. - Wood, Ellen Meiksins. The Origins of Capitalism. New York: Monthly Review Press, 1999. Wood, Ellen Meiksins. The Origins of Capitalism. New York: Monthly Review Press, 1999. The History of Capitalism Essay -- Essays Papers The History of Capitalism Capitalism is based on the same principles as mercantilism. The accumulation of means, materials, land and other things, this accumulation is called capital and â€Å"the property-owners of these means of production are called capitalists† (Hooker 2). Productive labor, human work that is necessary to make goods and distribute them, takes the form of wage labor. â€Å"The means of production and labor is manipulated by the capitalist using rational calculation in order to realize a profit† (Hooker 2). Mercantilism is the earliest form of capitalism. Mercantilism can be simply defined as the allotment of trading goods for profit. Rome is credited with the first formation of a mercantile society. As the Rome Empire expanded, mercantilism expanded with it, spreading into the Middle East and Western Europe. Due the localizing nature of European economies this enabled mercantilism to expand and was not part of the European culture. Thus by the fifteenth century, when the Roman Empire began to retrench so did mercantilism (â€Å"Hooker†). In contrast to Europe, the Arabic economies grew around a thieving mercantilism. They lived on trade routes between three magnificent empires: Egypt, Persia and soon after the Byzantium, and they found that stealing products, then selling them, to be very lucrative. Thieving mercantilism spread swiftly through Spain, Asia, Middle East, and Northern Africa, where â€Å"Arabic mercantilism assumed an unprecedented global character† (Hooker 1). During the Medieval Age is when the European culture expanded its mercantilism, taking trading to lands far beyond its shores. From the 1300’s onwards, the Europeans would push â€Å"their mercantile practices† forward, (Hooker 1) causing social up... ...ural production of human nature. Of all the economic systems tried to date, Capitalism appears to be the only system that has endured many tests, and has grown to dominate the world. The fact that communism in Russia failed during the 1980 and 1990’s proves that capitalism is the outcome of human nature. Capitalism conforms to the natural laws and conditions of humanity and that anything that falls out of these conditions can only brings misery (â€Å"Wood†). Works Cited - Kan, Fang et al. An Economic History of the Major Capitalist Counties. New York: East Gate, 1992. - Hooker, Richard. â€Å"Capitalism†. The European Enlightenment Glossary. 1996. 8 Nov 2004. - Wood, Ellen Meiksins. The Origins of Capitalism. New York: Monthly Review Press, 1999. Wood, Ellen Meiksins. The Origins of Capitalism. New York: Monthly Review Press, 1999.

12 Angry Men: Review 3

In the beginning of 12 Angry Men, they clarify that they had sat through six days of court listening to the case, and were now ready to decide the verdict. After those six days of hearing believed conclusive evidence and no defense from the plaintiff, it seemed to be an assured decision. When I researched on what exactly happens in the Jury Room it said: The first motion of business in a jury room is to select one of the jurors as a foreman. He or she leads the discussion and tries to encourage everyone to join in the discussion.Every juror should have input. The purpose of these deliberations is to have a robust, uninhibited discussion which will lead to a calm, unbiased reasoning. With that being understood, it helped me comprehend and get more of a grasp on what the climate the jury room should have. As we saw in the movie, the jurors entered the room and none of them seemed eager or looked like they had the motivation to sit there and converse. What make’s matter worse was the scorching heat with no air conditioning.They were locked inside a small room with 12 other men; one was sick, and almost all of them were smoking. Absolutely nobody wanted to be there, so the climate is completely negative to begin with. Climate is defined as the atmosphere or environment within a group and is experienced by all members of the group. It materializes and is impacted by communication and can either be supportive or defensive. The frame of mind is set by the irritated baseball fan who tells everyone he has a game to get to and makes it clear that this case has an unambiguous verdict.With this sort of nonverbal confidence he is showing in his decision, it provides confirmation to the jurors in the room that there is nothing significant to discuss. The only thing established is the fact that the jurors have already made up their mind about the boy being guilty without any discussion. To start the jurors meeting, they decided to take a vote of how many feel the boy i s guilty and how many do not. Fortunately for the boy being tried as guilty, there was one juror, Henry Fonda; that had a reasonable doubt about the case and stood against the others.It wasn’t that he had already a made a decision on the verdict; it was that he felt he couldn’t vote guilty and send a man to die until he at least talked about it. The climate in the room became exceptionally negative because they all thought they were going to be able to go home but Fonda stopped them from doing so by not voting guilty. One man wouldn’t stop yelling and others were taking his side making the environment in the room a bit hostile. Fonda was willing to face the ridicule of eleven angry men.He challenged every juror to effectively tell him why they are voting guilty, which promoted deliberation. By standing up to all of the others, he gradually began to gain respect from some of the other jurors who were now ready to hear what he actually had to say. Without being na med the jury foreman, Fonda turned the broken juror room into a proper and productive room. In my opinion, this was a fine demonstration of leadership. When they decided to take turns around the table putting their two cents in, Fonda sat there and listened.Instead of arguing for the sake of not guilty, he simply let the other jurors elaborate on some of the main facts they had in the case, which often became major points of speculation. Just by listening, Fonda was able to hear everyone’s arguments and the other jurors themselves started to second guess themselves because what they believed were based on wrongful facts. When they started discussing more and more about a particular fact or certain evidence, the smaller details became inconclusive. Without listening, none of what they had found out by speculating the facts, wouldn’t have unfolded the way it did.It was from there, they started developing cohesiveness and the jurors started opening their minds and explori ng all of the other possibilities. As they kept their discussions and expatiated on the facts that they can all relate to, clues about the case started to become clear. They started to listen to one another, realizing it was necessary to hear each other’s incite, and they finally began to support each other’s views. This is a perfect illustration of groupthink, which is where group members try to cut down on any sort of conflict by not evaluating, scrutinizing, or arguing with other people’s ideas.However, they had a conflict with one of the jurors. There was no intention throughout the entire movie that this was going to switch his vote because he had personal ties from a family feud he was portraying. He had told us that in the beginning of the movie that he got into a fist fight with his 16 year old son and hasn’t seen him in two years. Once everyone was on the same page, convincing this man to vote not guilty became the name of the gamehttp://www. ala meda. courts. ca. gov/courts/jury/procedure. shtml

MBA Papers and Essays

MBA Papers and Essays MBA degree can be the right path for a number of reasons. One reason is simply the desire to continue studying in business area. Undergraduate training often ends when students are still only up to their ankles in the subject matter in which they wish to fully immerse themselves. There is still so much to discover and contribute, and graduate training opens up opportunities for knowledge advancement. Zest for learning, then, is a good reason to seek an advanced degree and perhaps is the one that will best sustain you. Another common reason for wanting to earn a higher degree in business administration is to reap the employment opportunities that accompany graduate training. Job applicants with advanced degrees have an advantage over those without them, and many careers require an advanced degree to qualify at the minimum entry level. Those who want to work in a professional capacity in business typically will need to earn a masters or doctoral degree. Finally, as a group, people with advanced degrees make more money at least over the longer haul than those without them. So, love, employment, and money are all common motivations for seeking advanced degrees. But before starting your education, you, as most students throughout the country, need to complete your MBA applications and handle them do different universities where you wish to study, or to compose only one MBA essay for only one university. In last case you have less chances and therefore you should be 100% sure that your application essay will bring you luck and you will enter this program that you’ve thought about for so long. An application essay is a commonly requested written assignment, usually consisting of two or more typed pages, included with the application to a graduate program. Application essays that request a focus on the applicants educational goals are often referred to as statements of purpose. Our custom writing service provides lots of students around the world with custom written applications for different graduate degrees as well as MBA degrees. Our academic writers can complete not only your term paper, research paper, essay or thesis but also your MBA application if you apply to any business program. While any business education can be very expensive, it is important that your application paper was excellent. You should consider your MBA application to be more than simple term paper that you have completed for many times in the school. In this section we want to let you know about 12 content categories that you should consider when you write your MBA applications.

Manot Cave - Early Modern Humans Out of Africa and Into the Levant

Manot Cave - Early Modern Humans Out of Africa and Into the Levant Manot Cave is an active karst cave with abundant speleothems, and, more to the point, evidence of multiple Middle and Upper Paleolithic occupations likely associated with both Neanderthals and  anatomically modern humans (abbreviated AMH). The cave is located in what is today Israel, some 40 kilometers (25 miles) northwest of the similarly dated Neanderthal site of Qafzeh Cave and about the same northeast of the four Neanderthal sites at Mount Carmel, and about 220 meters (656 feet) above sea level. The interior of the cave is an elongated main hall (80 m [262 ft] long, 10-25 m [30-80 ft] wide), and it has two lower chambers connected from the north and south. A skull cap (calvaria) from a hominin skull was found in the side chamber extending eastward from the northeastern wall of the main cave, covered by a thin calcite crust. The chamber is 7.7x4 m (25x13 ft) in floor area and 1-2.5 m (4-8 ft) high. The skullcap was resting on a flowstone ledge, without loose sediment nearby, and is not associated directly with any stratified archaeological layers found elsewhere in the cave. The calcitic crust directly covering the calvaria was direct-dated by Uranium-Thorium methods to 54,700 /- 5,500 years ago: researchers suggest that given the constant wetness of the cave today, the crust date likely approximates the true age of the skull. AMH is thought to have arrived in Europe ca. 45,000 years ago (bp). Chronology Excavations indicate the cave was intensively occupied during the Upper Paleolithic period, and, to a lesser extent, the Middle Paleolithic. Dates include both Accelerator Mass Spectrometer radiocarbon dates and Uranium-Thorium dates. Collapse of the cave, 30,000 years bpUpper Paleolithic (Areas C and E)  Levantine Aurignacian  (39,000-35,000 bp), carinated and nosed endscrapers on blades, bladelets and antler spear points, comparable to Hayonim Cave and Ksar Akil Rockshelter; Columbella rustica and Nassarius gibbosulus shells, some perforated, presumably for personal ornamentationAhmarian (46,000-42,000 bp): long, narrow blades with punctiform platforms, burins, endscrapers and el-Wad pointsTerminal Middle Paleolithic/Initial Upper Paleolithic (60,200-49,200 bp): blade cores, endscrapers, Levallois-like blades, similar to Ksar Akil, Ucagizli Cave, Boker TachitMiddle Paleolithic (Areas A, C, D): Levallois cores and flakes, some of which were found in the later assemblages Features of Manot Cave Features associated with the habitation of the cave include Area E, a thin living surface associated with the Upper Paleolithic component. Area E included charcoal remains, flint artifacts, animal bones and two combustion areas, one of which is a hearth with white calcified wood ash, surrounded by a layer of burnt clay. Artifacts in Area E included endscrapers, burins and Dufour bladelets. Area C is primarily an Early Upper Paleolithic occupation, with a scatter of Middle Paleolithic tools. Flint tools include Aurignacian-like blades and blade tools, el-Wad points, and antler points. Area C also included perforated shells and red ochre. A recent study of the lithics from Area C (Weiner et al) suggests that 19 of 20 examined artifacts were heat-treated, a characteristic of AMH first definitively used about 70,000 years ago in South Africa. The faunal record of the cave indicate the inhabitants were exploiting mountain gazelle and Mesopotamian fallow deer. See the Manot Cave project gallery page at Antiquity by Marder et al. for details and photographs of the artifacts and site features. Calvaria at Manot Cave A large intact portion of a human skull was recovered from Manot Cave, including of the uppermost part of the frontal bone, two nearly complete parietal bones and the occipital. The calvaria is relatively small and gracile, but is believed to be from an adult. Cranial capacity is estimated to be 1,100 milliliters, well within Anatomically Modern Human  (AMH) ranges. Indeed, most aspects of the skulls form fall within the range of modern humans, although others, including a coronal keel and an occipital bun, do not. Excavators Hershkovitz and colleagues argue that the skull cap contains a mosaic of archaic and modern traits like other hominins found across sub-Saharan Africa and the Levant as recently as 35,000 years ago. Given the date and formal aspects of the skull, Hershkovitz et al. argue that the Manot 1 individual likely was a member of a population that migrated  out of Africa  and established itself in the Levant during the late Middle Paleolithic or Middle-Upper Paleolithic interface. Thus, say the scholars, Manot 1 is either an early local Levantine Anatomically Modern Human, or it represents a hybrid between Neanderthals and early AMHs. In either case, suggest the scholars, the residents of Manot Cave did live in close proximity to Neanderthals, and thus the Manot skullcap may have been one of the first descendants of AMH populations to have interbred with Neanderthals prior to the migration into Europe. Archaeology Manot was found by construction workers in the early 21st century and excavated by an international team led by Tel Aviv University between 2010-2014. Sources This article is a part of the About.com guide to the Upper Paleolithic, and the Dictionary of Archaeology. Hershkovitz I, Marder O, Ayalon A, Bar-Matthews M, Yasur G, Boaretto E, Caracuta V, Alex B, Frumkin A, Goder-Goldberger M et al. 2015. Levantine cranium from Manot Cave (Israel) foreshadows the first European modern humans.Nature in press. doi: 10.1038/nature14134 Marder O, Alex B, Ayalon A, Bar-Matthews M, Bar-Oz G, Bar-Yosef Mayer DE, Berna F, Boaretto E, Caracuta V, Frumkin A et al. 2012. The Upper Palaeolithic of Manot Cave, Western Galilee, Israel: the 2011–12 excavations. Antiquity Project Gallery. Weiner S, Brumfeld V, Marder O, and Barzilai O. 2015. Heating of flint debitage from Upper Palaeolithic contexts at Manot Cave, Israel: changes in atomic organization due to heating using infrared spectroscopy. Journal of Archaeological Science 54:45-53. doi: 10.1016/j.jas.2014.11.02s wasahave come from

Battle of Raymond in the Civil War

Battle of Raymond in the Civil War Battle of Raymond - Conflict Dates: The Battle of Raymond was fought May 12, 1863, during the American Civil War (1861-1865). Armies Commanders Union Major General James B. McPherson12,000 men Confederate Brigadier General John Gregg4,400 men Battle of Raymond - Background: In late 1862, Major General Ulysses S. Grant began efforts to capture the key Confederate bastion of Vicksburg, MS. Located high on the bluffs above the Mississippi, the city was key to controlling the river below. After several false starts, Grant elected to move south through Louisiana and cross the river south of Vicksburg. He was aided in this effort by Rear Admiral David D. Porters gunboats. On April 30, 1863, Grants Army of the Tennessee began crossing the Mississippi at Bruinsburg, MS. Sweeping aside Confederate defenders at Port Gibson, Grant moved inland. With Union forces to the south, the Confederate commander at Vicksburg, Lieutenant General John Pemberton, began organizing a defense outside of the city and calling for reinforcements from General Joseph E. Johnston. The bulk of these were directed to Jackson, MS though their transit to the city was hampered by damage inflicted to the railroads by Colonel Benjamin Griersons cavalry raid in April. With Grant advancing northeast, Pemberton expected the Union troops to directly drive on Vicksburg and began pulling back towards the city. Successfully keeping the enemy off balance, Grant instead set his sights on Jackson and cutting the Southern Railroad which connected the two cities. Using the Big Black River to cover his left flank, Grant advanced with Major General James B. McPhersons XVII Corps on the right with orders to proceed through Raymond to strike the railroad at Bolton. To McPhersons left, Major General John McClernands XIII Corps was to sever the Southern at Edwards while Major General William T. Shermans XV Corps was to attack between Edwards and Bolton at Midway (Map). Battle of Raymond - Gregg Arrives: In an effort to halt Grants advance towards Jackson, Pemberton directed that all reinforcements reaching the capital be sent twenty miles southwest to Raymond. Here he hoped to form a defensive line behind Fourteen Mile Creek. The first troops to arrive in Raymond were those of Brigadier General John Greggs over-strength brigade. Entering the town on May 11 with his tired men, Gregg found that local cavalry units had not properly posted guards on the area roads. Making camp, Gregg was unaware that McPhersons corps was approaching from the southwest. As the Confederates were resting, Grant ordered McPherson to push two divisions into Raymond by noon on May 12. To comply with this request, he directed Major General John Logans Third Division to lead the advance. Battle of Raymond - First Shots: Screened by Union cavalry, Logans men pushed towards Fourteen Mile Creek early on May 12. Learning from locals that a large Confederate force was ahead, Logan deployed the 20th Ohio into a long skirmish line and sent them towards the creek. Hampered by rough terrain and vegetation, the 20th Ohio moved slowly. Shortening the line, Logan pushed Brigadier General Elias Dennis Second Brigade forward into a field along the west bank of the creek. In Raymond, Gregg had recently received intelligence which implied that Grants main body was south of Edwards. As a result, when reports arrived of Union troops near the creek, he believed them to be part of a small raiding party. Marching his men from the town, Gregg concealed them on the hills overlooking the creek. Seeking to lure the Federals into a trap, he sent a small guard detachment to the bridge over the creek in the hope that the enemy would attack. Once the Union men were across the bridge, Gregg intended to overwhelm them. Around 10:00 AM, Union skirmishers pushed towards the bridge but halted in a nearby tree line rather than attacking. Then, to Greggs surprise, they brought forward artillery and began firing on the Confederates near the bridge. This development led Gregg to conclude he was facing a full brigade rather than a raiding force. Undeterred, he altered his plan and shifted his command to the left while preparing for a larger ambush. Once the enemy was across the creek, he intended to attack while also sending two regiments through the trees to strike the Union artillery. Battle of Raymond - Gregg Surprised: Across the creek, McPherson suspected a trap and directed the remainder of Logans division to move up. While one brigade was held in reserve, Brigadier General John E. Smiths brigade was quietly deployed on Dennis right. Ordering his troops to advance, Logans men moved slowly through the vegetation towards the deep banks of the creek. Due to a bend in the creek, the first across was the 23rd Indiana. Reaching the far bank, they came under heavy attack from Confederate forces. Hearing the enemy yell, Colonel Manning Force led his 20th Ohio to the 23rd Indianas aid. Coming under fire, the Ohioans used the creek bed for cover. From this position they engaged the 7th Texas and 3rd Tennessee. Hard pressed, Force requested the 20th Illinois to advance to his regiments aid (Map). Surging past the 20th Ohio, the Confederates pushed forward and soon encountered Logans main body which was in a nearby tree line. As the two sides exchanged fire, the Union troops at the creek began falling back to join their comrades. In an effort to better understand the situation, McPherson and Logan directed Union forces to withdraw a short distance back to a fence line. Establishing a new position, they were pursued by the two Confederate regiments who believed the enemy was fleeing. Encountering the new Union line, they began to take heavy losses. Their situation quickly worsened when the 31st Illinois, which had been posted on Logans right began attacking their flank. Battle of Raymond - Union Victory: On the Confederate left, the two regiments that Gregg had ordered to get into the enemys rear, the 50th Tennessee and consolidated 10th/30th Tennessee, pushed forward and scattered the Union cavalry screen. Seeing his cavalry retreating, Logan became concerned about his right flank. Racing around the field, he pulled two regiments from Brigadier General John Stevensons reserve brigade to plug holes in the line and dispatched two more, the 7th Missouri and 32nd Ohio, to cover the Union right. These troops were later joined by additional regiments from Brigadier General Marcellus Crockers division. As the 50th and 10th/30th Tennessees emerged from the trees and saw the Union troops, it quickly became clear to Gregg that he was not engaging an enemy brigade, but rather an entire division. As the 50th and 10th/30th Tennessees pulled back into the trees, the 3rd Tennessee began to crumble as the flanking fire from the 31st Illinois took its toll. As the Tennessee regiment disintegrated, the 7th Texas came under fire from the entire Union line. Attacked by the 8th Illinois, the Texans finally broke and fled back across the creek with Union forces in pursuit. Seeking new instructions, Colonel Randal McGavock of the 10th/30th Tennessee dispatched an aide to Gregg. Unable to find their commander, the aide returned and informed McGavock of the Confederate collapse to their right. Without informing the 50th Tennessee, McGavock advanced his men on an angle to attack the Union pursuers. Charging forward, they began to slow Logans advance until they were taken in the flank by the 31st Illinois. Sustaining heavy losses, including McGavock, the regiment began a fighting withdrawal to a nearby hill. Here they were joined by Greggs reserve, the 41st Tennessee, as well as remnants of other shattered regiments. Pausing to reform their men, McPherson and Logan began firing on the hill. This continued as the day passed. Frantically attempting to restore order to his command, Gregg saw McPhersons line moving to flank his position on the hill. Lacking the resources to contest this, he began retreating towards Jackson. Fighting a delaying action to cover the withdrawal, Greggs troops took growing losses from Union artillery before fully disengaging. Battle of Raymond - Aftermath: In the fighting at the Battle of Raymond, McPhersons corps sustained 68 killed, 341 wounded, and 37 missing while Gregg lost 100 killed, 305 wounded, and 415 captured. As Gregg and arriving Confederate reinforcements were concentrating at Jackson, Grant decided to mount a major effort against the city. Winning the Battle of Jackson on May 14, he captured the Mississippi capital and destroyed its rail connections to Vicksburg. Turning west to deal with Pemberton, Grant defeated the Confederate commander at Champion Hill (May 16) and Big Black River Bridge (May 17). Falling back to the Vicksburg defenses, Pemberton turned back two Union assaults but ultimately lost the city after a siege which ended on July 4. Selected Sources Civil War Trust: Battle of RaymondBattle of RaymondNational Park Service: Battle of Raymond

A specific foreign culture Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

A specific foreign culture - Assignment Example That is to say that the paper will brief us on how different was communication in the past as compared to the present in terms of the reasoning and therefore give the outcome. These and many more will be featured in this research project. Culture can be said to be the communication system. It is the way people relate to one another in terms of customs and values. It is the focal point in terms of peoples’ relationship. What am saying is that culture brings people together and they are able to understand from each other, relate to one another and able to identify themselves from the rest of the groups. And in fact, Eric O. Ayisi in his book: Introduction to the Study of African Culture, defines culture as a sum total of the material and intellectual equipment whereby they satisfy their biological and social needs and adapt themselves to their environment (1). It is therefore the people’s practices and beliefs that differentiate them from others. On the other hand, interp ersonal communication is a close link in terms of passing of ideas between two or more people but within a small group. It is all about passing of information from one individual to the next with the view of enhancing fluent communication. The kisii people have got a culture that defines and give them identity. Their communication systems were arranged in such a way that hierarchical order was the determinant factor; that no information could be passed to the children without first reaching the elders from which the information would pass to the rest of the community members. This was to ensure that respect is in place and that the elders are much more experienced in community issues and any emerging issues can be easily dealt with by the elders than it could be done by women and children. Perhaps it is good to mention different ways through which information was passed for easy communication. First, we will look at how communication was done within the context of the family and the n communication within the community at large. The interpersonal communication within the family was very basic. As Owen Hargie puts it in his book: Skilled Interpersonal Communication: Research, Theory and Practice, communication therefore represents the very essence of the human condition (2). This is where every member of the family was required to keep in touch with one another. All male children were directly linked to their father and their counterparts, the female children linked to their mother. Not at any time one could break such a system. In fact, Scott Loveless and Thomas Holman in their book: The Family in the New Millennium: World Voices Supporting the "Natural" Clan, Volume 1 puts it clearly that the family is the exclusive social unity sanctioned to nurture the inborn, instill human behaviors, and ensure that human rules and laws spinning around emotions and interactions are respected (94). All male children were therefore advised by their fathers and the elders on t he task ahead of them. For instance, getting ready to take care of homestead at large or even getting prepared to be the warriors of the village. On the other hand, female children were advised by their mothers and the grandmothers on how to cook, fetch water and how to behave more especially in front of the elders and men at large. Children were there

Ethical Challenges realted to Leadership roles in Organizations Essay

Ethical Challenges realted to Leadership roles in Organizations - Essay Example brings confidence that the goods and services the customers have bought have not been made at the expense of workers in the global supply chains enjoying their rights (Bohlman, 1993). A good ethical decision favoring fair pricing would make international trade work better for the whole people in the world, especially the disadvantaged. Such case demands the people in leadership to promote fair pricing because it will address the issue of trade injustices and discrimination against the consumers (Steers, 2010). There is less involvement of the most governments in regulating fair pricing in the markets. It is because most countries have weak law enforcement aimed at protecting customers, hostile environment to trade unions, and few people are members of unions that fight for fair pricing. However, most governments promote fair pricing. It is legal in most countries for retailers to charge high prices because it will pay the workers a wage they can afford to live on. On the contrary, it is unethical to charge these high prices because most consumers find it as bullying (Steers,

Strategic Management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Strategic Management - Assignment Example A third advantage of SWOT is that the tool can be used for strategic management purposes. A fourth advantage of using SWOT to evaluate a business is its simplicity and versatility. Despite the benefits of using SWOT, the tool also has its cons and limitations. One of the inherent weaknesses of the tool is that different people might evaluate companies using subjective factors. For instance, a manager that is biased might perform a SWOT analysis using favorable data that might be misleading. The success of SWOT is dependent on methodologies utilized by the business analyst and the eagerness of the management team to implement the recommendations identified by the analysis. Another weakness of SWOT is that the analysis can be simplistic and not actionable (Britt, 2012). Sometimes people that used SWOT focus too much on gathering information instead of interpreting the information and finding solutions to the challenges the company

Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 13

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Enhancing Competitiveness through Strategic Marketing Term Paper

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Module 1 Small Scale Evaluative Study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

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Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 13

Marketing - Essay Example It has posed tough competition for its competitors for each of its functions starting from procurement to the delivery of products. As of September 30, 2006, the Company had 1,123 Wal-Mart stores, 2,142 Super centers, 570 SAM’S CLUBS and 109 Neighborhood Markets in the United States. Internationally, the Company operated units in Argentina (12), Brazil (296), Canada (279), China (66), Costa Rica (133), Germany (85), Guatemala (125), Honduras (38), Japan (391), Mexico (845), Nicaragua (36), Puerto Rico (54), El Salvador (59) and the United Kingdom (326).1 Company targets volume. The target consumers are middle class and upper middle class customers. These customers do shopping for their monthly grocery requirements. The target markets are identified on the basis of volume and population in a particular area. Apart from that various other macro and micro environmental factors are considered before entering to the new market. Company ensures the availability of products in the store through proper inventory management, logistics management and distribution management. It offers range of products from eatables, clothing, grocery and other household products. Company has 1,123 Wal-Mart stores, 2,142 Super centers, 570 SAM’S CLUBS and 109 Neighborhood Markets in the United States. Customer can visit any of these stores according to their needs and location. Wal-Mart adopts various promotional strategies to communicate with its customers and stakeholders. The promotional strategies can be on local level, national or international level. The promotional channels utilized here can be print, electronic or combination of number of channels. It has an excellent virtual platform with attractive website which offers another channel of communication and marketing. Retailing industry is highly competitive industry because competition comes in various formats. The traditional setups like

Module 1 Small Scale Evaluative Study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Module 1 Small Scale Evaluative Study - Essay Example Evaluation in schools is of interest to various stakeholders in the education sector i.e. the government, parents, teachers, media and the wider society (Bracey 2006). Government inspectors have in many cases taken the roles of evaluation on schools’ performance in many countries although the new trend that is widely gaining prominence is that of schools doing self evaluation. Inclusion is one of the aspects of self evaluation that has been seen to have a wide range of positive outcomes if well implemented and it is for this reason that this paper shall seek to further on its impact on the evaluation process and how this can be facilitated by the SENCo (Swaffield and MacBeath 2005). It is a basic understanding that leadership should not be detached from the organs it is leading and it is for this reason that the process of inclusion is quite important in the cases of self evaluation for schools. All the stakeholders mentioned above need to work together and share ideas as evaluation is mostly the basis for school improvement and appraisal of standards of education. Valuable outcomes have been seen to crop up in instances where the school management and the various stakeholders come together and give ideas or good as well as bad areas that need improvement and how best to do it. SENCo has the best chance and has their work well organised when such a scenario is in the offing. On basic terms the teaching staff for example should monitor leaning activities, manage performance of pupils, conduct department reviews and become actively involved in improvement and development activities of the school. Students with special needs have various disabilities that affect their learning and for this reason there are more aspects that need to be looked into more than the case would be in other schools. This is quite an interesting aspect to explore into and the findings of this paper shall come from various methods

Strengths and Weaknesses Essay Example for Free

Strengths and Weaknesses Essay It is very difficult to outline my strengths and weaknesses (I would say areas of improvement) at any point of time, as they keep on changing. This is because when I see any area of improvement, I make it a point to mend it as soon as I can. It is really important to keep on building on skills all the time. I believe this attitude of recognizing my area of improvement and working on to improve it has been biggest strength. Another thing which has always worked in my favor is my passion and enthusiasm to learn new things. I must admit that the movie â€Å"3 Idiots† has been instrumental in taking me on to this path. After watching this movie I have always tried to imbibe whatever I read or come across which is message the movie gives. The movie made me think about what is that I am good at, which enchanted me toward the career of finance as I was good with my analytical skills and the ability to understand numbers quickly. This set me off on the path of finance when I started pursuing Certified Financial Planner and Chartered Financial Analyst. My passion kept on surging since then and I never looked back. I feel bliss to see my family being proud of me as I am now working as a faculty at IPLAN institute helping students in clearing CFA Level 1. Let me talk about my areas of improvement. I believe there will be many. My major area of improvement at the moment is that in this rat race era I am in, I sometimes cannot acknowledge the balance between my personal and professional life. With time, new horizons will open and new avenues will be revealed. This change will unfold a new set of trends and areas of improvements. I would like one famous quote which I have faith in is from the movie of Will Smith, â€Å"The pursuit of Happyness†: Don’t ever let people tell that you can’t do something. If you have got a dream, you have to protect it. Period.

Usefulness Of Symbiotic Relationships In Marketing Marketing Essay

Usefulness Of Symbiotic Relationships In Marketing Marketing Essay Symbiotic Marketing, also known as Co-Marketing Alliances and Joint Marketing Activities, has remained sporadic, especially in Indian Small Scale Sector. The studies focusing on the applicability of these Symbiotic Marketing strategies in the Indian context are conspicuously absent. The existing literature, conveniently assuming that the Indian Small Scale entrepreneurs possess the knowledge of the operationalities of the concept, has suggested this as a valid alternative system to their marketing problems. The present study is aimed at comprehending the perceptions of the Small Scale entrepreneurs towards Symbiotic Marketing strategies. The analysis is useful in developing programs aimed at facilitating these inter-organizational cooperative marketing strategies. In marketing channel strategy literature, a number of channel alternatives have been identified which firms utilize in distributing their products and services. These alternatives include the traditional marketing channel, the vertical marketing system, vertical integration, strategic alliances, network organizations, and the horizontal marketing system. These channel forms have been studied by market researchers relatively thoroughly and from a number of perspectives. However, one other strategic alternative has been identified and discussed by a few authors but has yet to receive the same level of attention as other forms of marketing and distribution. This cited strategy is the more holistic concept of symbiotic marketing, originally defined as an alliance of resources or programs between two or more independent organizations designed to increase the market potential of each (Adler, 1966). The concept was first introduced in 1960s, but has rarely been discussed by the market resea rchers and is generally dispatched as a synonym for horizontal marketing system (Kotler, 1991). However, the concept is much more powerful and comprehensive, than conceived by the lack of research in the area. The symbiotic marketing is comprehensive in the sense that firstly, it provides a strategic direction to channel considerations. Rather than develop strategically important core competencies and resources internally, firms which practice symbiotic marketing are actively and continually scanning both the external and the competitive environments for likely partners with such resources. This shifts the firm from being primarily internally- oriented to externally oriented. Secondly, the modes of symbiotic marketing comprise virtually all of the various forms of distribution identified in extent marketing and management literature. Modes of symbiosis include strategic alliances, joint ventures, co-marketing agreements, vertical marketing systems, horizontal marketing systems, and traditional buyer-seller marketing channels. However, distribution strategy employing mergers and acquisition as a tool, violate the spirit of symbiotic marketing, since the firms are integrated and are no longe r independent organizations, which is a requisite for symbiotic marketing. Thus all forms of distribution strategy other than vertical integration lie within the scope of symbiotic marketing. Since, not enough research has been done on the subject, extent literatures existing on strategic alliances and organizational networks has been used for the analysis since virtually all modes of symbiotic marketing is based on some form of organizational collaborations. Once the basis for symbiotic marketing has been established network analysis will be proposed as a tool for symbiotic partner selection and market selection. The underlying framework for this research is that the use of symbiotic marketing can return to a firm superior market success, if applied in a strategic manner, via such measures as first mover advantage, superior profit returns, and the ability to overcome barriers of entry into market niches dominated by well-entrenched competitors. Hypotheses will be proposed to test these assumptions. STATEMENT OF PROBLEM The usefulness of Symbiotic Relationships in Marketing for firms to compete successfully in the local global markets and its acceptance by small business units in India. TOPIC JUSTIFICATION OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY The primary objective of this paper is to address an apparent gap in the strategic or purposeful use of symbiotic marketing as a delivery system for a firms product or service in the current stream of marketing literature. Only recently has the market researchers focused on an attempt to understand the vertical marketing systems (VMS) and horizontal marketing systems(HMS), of which HMSs such as joint ventures, strategic alliances and partnerships have been studied most heavily. However, the researchers of these strategies have focused only on a single mode of HMS, whereas Symbiotic Marketing provides a broader framework for the researchers, to apply their desired analysis tool. Apart from the handful of extant literature existing on HMS, much of the research on channel strategy has focused on vertically-oriented channels such as VMS and vertical integration. This focus on Vertically-oriented Structures has discounted the emergence of horizontal strategies such as strategic alliances, partnerships and co-marketing agreements. The rationale behind vertically- oriented alliances or integration primarily gravitates around reducing transaction costs or achieving economies of scale (Heide,1994). On the other hand Symbiotic Relationships allow the firm to achieve significant leverage in the marketplace by not only accessing external resources but also identifying and exploiting market voids at reduced capital outlays. Furthermore, as the market segment boundaries are becoming increasingly undistinguishable, the firms focus is shifting from market share to designing strategic distribution programs that provides some degree of isolation from competition (Day, 1991), which is achievable through the use of Symbiotic Marketing strategies in niche markets, or using external resources for competing successfully in the global marketplace. Once the foundation for Symbiotic Marketing has been established and justified, network analysis can be used to explain how and why the firms will achieve superior markets via Symbiotic Marketing, providing a method for identifying potentially profitable market niches and guidance for selecting symbiotic partner firms for penetrating these market segments. Moreover, understanding the formation of Symbiotic Marketing in the network analysis framework is important because, firstly no adequate framework for understanding the Symbiotic relationships exists in the marketing literature; secondly business competition is increasingly between distinct networks or groups of independent firms operating as a single competitive entity; finally, there is a lack of marketing literature, focusing on the specific conceptualization of Symbiotic relations which need to be addressed. Thus an integrative framework needs to be developed to understand why and how firms enter into these types of partnership s, which will be useful to both academicians and practitioners. To achieve these goals, this paper will first, introduce and review the extant literature available on the subject matter which will provide the basis for developing the framework. The framework will be developed which builds on that introduced by prior researchers and will focus on developing a typology of possible modes of symbiosis available to businesses and their symbiotic opportunities. Secondly, the general concept of market segmentation discussed which is applicable to our study presented. Thirdly, the powerful concept of network analysis will be introduced. However, the focus will be on the qualitative, managerial implications and applications of network analysis, not on its usefulness as a quantitative structural analysis tool. Finally, a model of Symbiotic Marketings usefulness as a strategic tool will be presented and justified. CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW Recent research has pointed the importance of nurturing relationships for effective marketing. There is a paradigm shift in marketing from transaction marketing to relationship marketing. Firms are also considering relationship marketing as crucial for sustaining competitive advantage. The center has provided impetus for an in-depth look at relationship marketing from the perspective of both theory and practice. The term relationship marketing encompasses some of the constructs suggested by past research. These constructs are relational contracting, internal marketing, symbiotic marketing, relationship marketing, strategic alliances, working partnerships, co-marketing alliances, and long-term orientation. Morgan and Hunt emphasize the process and their definition states relationship marketing refers to all marketing activities directed toward establishing, developing, and maintaining successful relational exchanges.We suggest that relationships lead to value creation that has become an area of interest to researchers. Firms realize that both customers and suppliers create value. The value can manifest itself into access to technology, access to markets, and access to information. Firms realize that customers and suppliers provide access to value creation that will provide them with sustainable competitive advantage. Value creation can be divided into three domains. The first domain is value creation through supplier partnering that forms the first set of articles for this special issue. Value creation through alliance partnering form the second set of articles. Finally, value creation through customer partnering form the third set of articles. The issue of value creation through relationships with suppliers is examined by the first four articles. The first paper is Supplier Relationships: Emerging Issues and Challenges, written by the co-editors of the special issue. The paper proposes that effective relationship with suppliers will provide firms with next-generational competitive advantage. We suggest that this shift toward supplier relationships will change the role, processes, and strategies of firms and, therefore, new areas of inquiry will emerge. These include understanding suppliers as customers; cross-functional supplier teaming; economic value of supplier equity; supply experience curves; hub and spoke organization; bonding with suppliers; global sourcing processes; cross-cultural values in purchasing; cross-national rules and regulations; and service procurement. The second article also addresses the issue of the importance of supplier relationships and discusses the use of portfolio approaches to examine supplie r relationships. In previous papers, authors suggest that firms should examine supplier performance to classify suppliers into groups. This classification will aid firms in designing strategies to enhance relationship with firms. The next two articles discuss the effect of JIT and information technology on supplier relationships. In The Effect of JIT Purchasing Relationships on Organizational Design Purchasing Department Configuration, and Firm Performance, by Richard Germain and Cornelia Droge, the authors suggest that JIT relationships involve close supplier collaboration on product development and specifications, product, and information flows. Based on a survey of 200 US firms, the article suggests that JIT increases a firms formalization, integration, and specialization. Also firms that use JIT have enhanced performance. Employing Information Technology in Purchasing: An Empirical Study of the Impact on Buyer-Supplier Relationships and Size of the Supplier Base, by Rodney L. St ump Ven Sriram, and Earl G. Graves, discusses the role of information technology on relationships. They find that information technology investments enhance buyer-seller relationships and the degree of information technology used in transaction processing affects this relationship. Interestingly, they also find that information technology investments reduce the supplier base. The next set of two articles discuss value creation through alliance partnering, an emerging area of interest to marketers. The fifth article in the special issue is Scope and Intensity of Logistics Based Strategic Alliances: A Conceptual Framework and Managerial Implications, authored by Walter Zinn and A. Parasuraman. The article examines logistics based strategic alliances and proposes a typology to classify these alliances along the dimensions of scope and intensity. They also offer strategies for firms involved in strategic alliances as well as areas for future research. The next article, Selling Alliances : Issues and Rights, by Brock Smith, examines the issues of selling alliances, an emerging area of interest in personal selling. The issues of selling alliances at both the organizational as well as the personal level are discussed. A sample of 175 salespeople who are in sales partnerships is used to validate the expectations. The final set of articles discuss value creation through customer partnering. Customer Value Change in Industrial Marketing RelationshipsA Call for New Strategies and Research, by Daniel J. Flint, Robert Woodruff, and Sarah F. Gardial, addresses the issue of customer perceptions of value. The authors suggest that suppliers perceptions of value are changing. To design strategies that give business marketers a strategic advantage, firms need to understand customers present value needs, marketers ability to deliver value, and change in perceptions of value. The next article discusses the issue of customer perceptions of the marketer and value provided by the mark eter. As firms survey their customers to determine their performance, the issue of the validity of customer evaluations comes into question. What Information Can Relationship Marketers Obtain from Customer Evaluations of Salespeople? by Douglas M. Lambert, Arun Sharma, and Michael Levy, addresses this issue. The results of a survey from business customers in the health care industry suggest that buying firms that give higher evaluations to business salespeople also give higher performance ratings to the selling organization. Also, salespeople who are evaluated as being better and more credible by customers also receive superior evaluations from their managers. The final three papers in the special issue discuss case studies in value creation through customer partnering. The first paper, Managing Business Relationships and Positions in Industrial Networks by Brian Low, examines the issues of industrial networks. The article views networks as providing access to resources and activiti es and examines a network in the context of a dealer for office equipment. The second article, Building Supplier-Customer Relationships: Using Joint New Product Development, by James Comer and B. J. Zirger, examines the evolution of a supplier-customer relationship. The paper examines a relationship in the case of an automobile project. The final paper by Pierre Filiatrault and Jozee Lapierre, Managing Business-to-Business Marketing Relationships in Consulting Engineering Firms, (accepted by Peter LaPlaca) examines relationships in the context of business services. In conclusion, we feel that the papers provide a broad look at the academic research in the area of business relationship marketing. The articles in this special issue address value creation through supplier relationships, alliances, and customer relationships. The papers make an important contribution to relationship marketing thinking in the domain of business markets. The research is both useful to managers and serves as an impetus to future research in this area. We hope that you find the articles as exciting and interesting as we have. CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY DATA SOURCES UNIT OF ANALYSIS SAMPLE SELECTION The present investigation is prescription type of study undertaken to estimate the effectiveness of the Symbiotic Relationship in the Indian Marketing Scenario in various business units and its impact on the Partnered Business profits, Market Share, Level of Competition and Customer Loyalty and Retention. The present study identifies the views of people engaged in different businesses, generally small-scale, about their interpretation, importance and understanding of the advantages of developing a Symbiotic Relationships with different aspects of their supply chain or competitor base in order to cater to new market segments, or expanding their resource base and thereby improving their productivity, profitability and survivability in the highly competitive and rapidly expanding Indian Markets. Moreover, due to lack of availability of enough time, the scope of research has been restricted to the local area markets in the Mumbai region covering the areas of Andheri, Vile-Parle, Kandivali, Santacruz, which are small scale businesses such as shop-owners or factory outlet managers and marketing and operations team-members of some large scale firms. Considering the time criteria in which the report had to be prepared, we considered small scale businesses as the population with the size of 68. However, 24 participants did not fill the questionnaires provided to them completely, a requisite when using the likerts scale, and about 8 people were not willing to fill such questionnaires, the number of actually completed forms was drastically reduced to 36. Considering the fact that, for conducting a Z-Test for the analysis, the minimum size should be 30, the sample size of 35 was considered appropriate for the analysis and was carried forward for the purpose of research. TOOLS TECHNIQUES The tool used for conducting the research was administering the questionnaires to the business owners and conducting interviews, so as to determine whether their response in the questionnaire and on-face does not contradict. The questionnaire consists of open-ended questions which need to be answered on Likerts 5 Point Scale. For the analysis of the responses of the respondents, a 2-tailed Z-test will be used and the feasibility of the Symbiotic Marketing in the Indian Context will be determined based on the mind-set of the people involved in the analysis. Although, the sample size is 35, but it will be indicative of the entire population in the local areas considered for this study. Also random sampling (and in some cases systematic sampling) has been used to distribute the questionnaires and collect the responses for conducting the analysis. DATA SOURCES Market research requires two types of data i.e. secondary data and primary data. Primary data has been used abundantly for the study. Well-structured questionnaires were prepared the survey was undertaken. Feedback for the display has been taken by asking questions observation has also done to gather primary information. There is also a use of secondary data, collected from the extant literature available on the subject matter in various journals, books, and websites from various marketers and business owners. PRIMARY DATA The primary data to be selected was based upon the response of the respondents to the questionnaire designed. The questionnaire consists of open ended questions. The Questionnaire was targeted to know about the views of the business owners and planning and marketing department people towards the adoption of symbiotic relationship in the long term opportunities for the businesses especially in the Indian Context. SECONDARY DATA The secondary data was collected by referring through various companys marketing strategies in online manuals, Reports, journals and research papers, web sites, and the final data was analyzed systematically to accomplish the objectives of this research paper. CHAPTER IV RESEARCH FRAMEWORK OF THE STUDY PROPOSED FRAMEWORK RATIONALE OF FRAMEWORK VARIABLES HYPOTHESIS Symbiotic Marketing increases the competitive Advantage of the participating firms over their respective competitors companies with complementary products or services can also achieve symbiotic marketing by carrying out lateral cooperative marketing Growth Oriented firms prefer bigger firms for Marketing Symbiosis. Survival Oriented firms prefer equal sized or smaller firms for Marketing Symbiosis. Sharing of operational resources and mutually-complementary advantages among interrelated companies, will increase their production efficiency. CHAPTER V DATA ANALYSIS INFERENCE STATISTICAL ANALYSIS INTERPRETATIONS CHAPTER VI SUMMARY CONCLUSION SUMMARY OF FINDINGS CONCLUSION SCOPE RECOMMENDATIONS LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY CHAPTER VII REFERENCES [1] Kotler, P., Fernando, T. D.(2005).Lateral Marketing. Beijing: China Citic Press,25. [2] Lee, A. (1966). Symbiotic Marketing. Harvard Business Review,44(9-10):59-71. [3] Rajan, P. Rajaratnam, D. (1986). Symbiotic Marketing Revisited. Journal of Marketing, 50(1):7-17. [4] Andy, L., Ian, B. (2001). Strategies for Building a Customer Base on the Internet: Symbiotic Marketing. Journal of Strategic Marketing, (9):47-68. [5] KaZuo, A. (2002). Sociological Principle. Beijing: Huaxia Publishing Co., Ltd., 50-52. [6] Shiroshi, T. (2000). How Will the Market Strategy Change in the Future?. ToKyo: Diamond Inc.,90. [7] Kazuhisa, T.(2000). Social Psychology of Consumption Behavior. ToKyo: Kitaoji Publisher,52-62. [8] Xavier, M. J., Krishnan, R., Borin, N.(2005). An Integrated Model of Collaborative Value Creation for Strategic Innovation: The Case of Retail Automation in India. IIMB Management Review,(6): 29-39. [9] Yokozawa, T. (1998).Customer Value Management. ToKyo: Productivity Publisher,71-80. [10]Mohr, J., Fisher, R., Nevin, J. (1996). Collaborative communication in interfirm relationships: moderating effects of integration and control, Journal of Marketing, 60(July) [11]Osborn, R. Baughn, C. (1990). Forms of interorganizational governance for multinational alliances, Academy of Management Journal, 33(3), 503-19. [12]Rangan, V., Menezes, M., Maier, E. (1992). Channel selection for new industrial products: framework, method, and application, Journal of Marketing, July, 69-82. [13]Shaw, A. (1912). Some Problems in Market Distribution, Quarterly Journal of Economics, 26 (4): 703-765. [14]Street, P. (1975). Animal Partners and Parasites, London: David and Charles. [15]Snyder, G. (1991). Alliance theory: a neoralist first cut, in The Evolution of Theory in International [16]Relations (pp. 83-110), Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press. [17] The Effect of JIT Purchasing Relationships on Organizational Design Purchasing Department Configuration, and Firm Performance, by Richard Germain and Cornelia Droge. [18] Scope and Intensity of Logistics Based Strategic Alliances: A Conceptual Framework and Managerial Implications, authored by Walter Zinn and A. Parasuraman. CHAPTER VIII APPENDIX Insert the questionnaire hereà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦

Essay --

.. Manny Pacquiao is one of the most famous and highest paid boxer of our generation. He is a modern day Rocky Balboa except he is actually the real deal. It is only fitting that he represents some of the today’s top companies in their ads. Even more so for what I would consider the biggest company of them all, Nike. It is only fitting as that is what all of this generation’s sports stars do if they are elite athletes. The top portion has a black background with a beam of light coming in from the top as if it’s all eyes on him where you see that the beam is hitting a boxer grasping the ropes as he is on his knees. The ropes were colored red, white, and blue with a red turnbuckle. The boxer acts almost as if he is praying with an invisible â€Å"audience† is surrounded around him. He was ripped with muscles from head to toe showing how strong and well off this elite boxer is. He wore red Nike shoes and white trunks with a golden eagle design and â€Å"pacman† written on the sash of his trunks. The bottom of the ad reveals â€Å"MP† with a crown or sun on top of the â€Å"M†, the Nike logo, a quote that says â€Å"Give Us This Day† and the date â€Å"12.06.08.† The boxer was the only thing that really catches your attention. Unless you are an avid boxing fan you would not recognize who the man is, but thanks to his nickname on his trunks and the â€Å"MP†, almost any person could get the idea. It looks as if he is in prayer, but that is because he always prays before and after he fights. How he is situated in the picture with his arms and legs spread like they appear as if he is creating a picture of himself Jesus was when he was crucified. This could imply Pacquiao as being a savior and that he is going to save the hopes of all the ... ...also a disadvantage due to him not actually fighting in the Philippines When the fight was announced many said that de la Hoya would win because he was a much more experience boxer. This ad shows Pacquiao’s hidden fears because knew he couldn’t underestimate de la Hoya, so to bring â€Å"his heat† he wears Nike shoes. The advertisement reveals, even when you face a big threat, with Nike you will be unstoppable. An advertisement can mean or stand for anything, whether it is simple or complicated. It can have famous people, animals, be various colors or be black and white. The reason why one picture becomes an ad is because it represents something exactly what the company wants. And that is for you to want to buy and wear Nike products. This Nike ad with Manny Pacquiao is a very enjoyable ad that is a great example of such a simple picture being effective.

History of Ian Fleming Essay -- Ian Fleming James Bond Essays

History of Ian Fleming Ian Fleming not just created the character of James Bond; he personified him by living an exciting life. With his suave style and long history of lavished background he was almost born into the part of his later creation. Ian Fleming was born on May 8th, 1908 to his father, Valentine Fleming, and his mother, Beatrice Fleming (Lycett 12). He was the grandson of the famous Scottish banking pioneer, Robert Fleming (Rosenberg 5). Ian also had three brothers named Peter, Richard, and Michael. He hated his brother Peter during most of his childhood. This was due to his brother being very successful in academics and got his fathers attention. Fist fights usually broke out between the two of them (Lycett 15). He loved his mother, but he was always rebelling against her because, he didn't like the thought of her controlling his life (Lycett 28). Ian's father did seem more like a teacher than a father him. He always encouraged Ian to take part in sports such as track. The father even taught him golf (Rosenberg 8). Since his father and his brother were very successful, Ian felt a desire to become successful himself. Ian attended Eton High School and joined the track team there and became and outstanding athlete (Cork 1). But, his stay at Eton was short lived due to some trouble he was in that involved women and a motor vehicle accident (Rosenberg 20). Apparently, Fleming stole his father's vehicle and went to a party where he drank a lot and met women that he later invited to ride with him. One of the women distracted Fleming and he ran into a tree (Lycett 31). During the expulsion of high school, Ian's father died in World War 1 during a battle in France on Sunday 20 May 1917 (. All the inherited money went to Ian's mother. With the stipulation that she would remarry, Ian was pressured into getting money of his own. The widowed mother put him in another school called Tennerhof High School. It was there that he started to gain girlfriends and have an expensive taste of food and automobiles. People who went to Tennerhof with Ian remembered him as being very arrogant and difficult. There were other's that swear he was found to be charming, handsome, witty, and a lively aristocrat. But, Ian was having problems academically. Ian's mother knew a married couple that could help Ian. So he would visit them one day a week... ...n making the book into a movie. They approached Ian with a proposition to make "Dr. No" into a movie. If the movie did well they would produce other "Bond" movies. During the negotiations and production of "Dr. No" Ian completed "Goldfinger", "For Your Eyes Only", "Octa*censored*", and "The Spy Who Loved Me". The movie, "Dr. No" was a huge hit and Ian had the feeling that he finally reached the success that he hoped to achieve over his father and brother. Other movies were made while Ian Fleming continued to write. That is until 1964 when Ian Fleming died of a fatal heart attack while at Royal St. Georges Golf Club. Ian Fleming was a man of many visions, and talents. It wasn't until after his death that James Bond was a British, sexual, and heroic icon. A total of 20 "Bond Films" have been made so far. Even more James Bond books have been written. Ian Fleming will live on with infamy and legend. Work Cited Bruce A. Rosenberg "Ian Fleming". Boston: United Publishing, 1981 Andrew Lycett "Ian Fleming: The Man Behind James Bond" Kansas City: Universal Press, 1995 John Cork "The Life of Ian Fleming (1908-1964)" http://www.mcs.net/idust/www/flem-bio.html

Unit SHC 51: Use and develop systems that promote communication

24. 10. 2012 Unit SHC 51 Use and develop systems that promote communication Criteria: 1. 1,1. 2,1. 3 – Review the groups and individuals whose communication needs you must address in your work role. Explain how you support effective communication within your work role. Analyse the barriers and challenges to communication within your work role. Communication can be defined as information transfer. This can be exchange of thoughts,messages,feelings. The way we transfer information is by speech,signals or writing ,to express oneself in such a way that one is really and clearly understood.We all use a variety of communication techniques to both understand and be understood. Without communication nothing would get done,no information would be passed on. Communication take place to inform ,to support,educate,give and receive instruction,keep records,liaise and coordinate. All these communications can assist any or all of the service users and key people in the health and social care and children and young people’s settings . In this sectors communication is used to talk about needs,concerns,attitudes and feelings as well as to impart information.Communication is vital for those who desire and for those already working in the childcare sector. In this sector practitioners need to build relationships with children,their parents and other relevant authorities. As a practitioner I communicate with parents ,colleagues,children and other professionals ,such as health visitors,social workers,medical stuff,sales reps,visitors to the setting,other managers. Therefor I make sure that everybody is provided with the necessary information they need. My communication has to be clear and concise – both verbal and written.Without these skills I cannot engage productively with individuals ,in my case these are children,colleges,parents and family members,outside agencies. Without communication the world would be a lonely place and communication is particularly im portant in my work role as it can affect the relationships I build. Team communication is important as it is essential to keep everyone in the group knowledgable about what is going on within our work setting. To enable my team to do this successfully ,my colleges have to ensure their relationships grow and blossom,as they relay mainly on effective communication.The first time I meet a new parent or child it is important that I am friendly and welcoming. This is the start of the relationship and it is good to begin with firm foundations and that they get a positive feeling about me. The day-to-day conversations, of asking â€Å"How are you? † or just asking about someone’s weekend slowly build up rapport with a parent or child and gradually the relationship moves on from that first friendly â€Å"hello† as I get to learn more about them and they learn more about me.To gain and share information I find out information from the parents and children to help me do m y job effectively and ensure that the needs of the children are met. I gain a good knowledge of the children and in return I share information with them. It is also beneficial for me to build relationships with other professionals so that I may gain and share information with them to help us run our setting effectively. To gain reassurance and acknowledgement whilst working with young children I give them reassurance physically with positive comments and acknowledge them by showing that I am interested in what they are doing.Reassurance and acknowledgment is also important to me ; by children being content in my setting and their parents acknowledging that they are happy with care their children are receiving. Communication takes vital and huge part of my work role as a manager and for me being a successful and meaningful communicator is essential . Our survival and success as humans has been dependent on our ability to communicate. People communicate for different reasons: to teach ,to learn,to relate.Along with these I use communication to maintain and promote good working relationships,to encourage the children to communicate effectively,to ensure that everybody knows where they stand,to get my colleagues their point across and ensure safety in the work environment,to help people understand how I feel and act accordingly,to work together and prevent errors,express my wants and needs,to help build and maintain trust,to negotiate and liaise with others.To support and develop my communication skills as a manager I make sure that I keep myself up-to-dated with all the relevant informations and news and pass them on to the relevant authorities. To keep my communication effective I use one way method : fax,e-mail,memo,voice mail,letter; two way method: -in person,phone calls; collaborative method: -team meetings,consulting,decision making,group problem solving. In my work role as a manager, one of the ways I ensure the correct methods of communication are being as sessed and used effectively for the service users within my setting, is to review care plans.I do this during supervisions with the key workers, I check that the needs and wishes of the children are being met, and recorded appropriately. I also ensure that the way information is recorded is done so in such a format that can be understood by all that need to read it( large print and avoid using jargon. ) I also maintain contact with family members, care managers via email and the telephone to ensure that all necessary information is passed on. This can be formal or informal.Part of my role is to help the staff to develop care plans, a large part of that is aimed at ensuring the staff understand the importance of identifying the best method of communication based, on each individual needs, if someone is non verbal use of signs or pictures or has sight problems using large print etc. I make sure that the key workers know the importance of acting as an advocate to ensure the rights of t he individual are met, and to giving support and guidance on how best to achieve this.One of the ways that I inform my stuff and the parents of up-and-coming events is to use a notice board, which is located in a visible part of the setting and is written using appropriate wording and text. To support effective communication in my work role is also important to build respect in business,inspire confidence,develop a distinct personality and reveal my ability to others. It is vital in establishing effective relationships in my work setting by allowing practitioners to expect support from colleagues/management and to provide them with the necessary support in times of stress and difficulty.Effective communication is one of the most important sources of my work. When practitioners communicate effectively with children this benefits massively on their learning and development,and they become to trust and respect them as practitioners. Family and friends know me well and will usually unde rstand me, even if I communicate poorly or very informally. Communicating with people at work is different because it is important that colleagues communicate respect for each other. Colleagues who do not show respect for each other may fail to show respect to the people who use the setting.I often have to greet colleagues by asking if they are well and spend time on ‘warm-up talk’ in order to show that I value them. I need to demonstrate that I am a good listener and can remember details of conversations with my colleagues. Colleagues have to develop trust in each other. It is important to demonstrate that I respect the confidentiality of conversation with colleagues. My work setting has its own social expectations about the correct way to communicate thoughts and feelings,which is in difference with the social expectations when communicating with my friends and family.Although communication between colleagues may often be informal it is important that they use skilled communication in order to develop respect and trust. As there has been,and will continue to be,an increase in the demand for good communication skills,as everyday life is becoming more complex and most jobs now need good communication skills,as it is crucial for progress in our changing world. In my work role ,as in all health and social care settings, there are barriers that affect my communication. These barriers are sometimes extremely difficult to overcome or very easy.The reasons that can block my communication can vary- difference in culture and values;personal feelings and difficulties in my own life;feeling unsafe or unwell,tired;not listening effectively,environment factors. Environmental factors that influence communication: It is very hard to hear what someone is saying if there is a lot of background noise. It is also very difficult to make sense of other people’s facial expressions if I can’t see their faces properly due to poor lighting. Rooms with awkwa rd seating positions might mean that a group of people cannot see each other comfortably.People sometimes feel uncomfortable if they are trying to communicate with a person who is too close or at a distance. A room that is too hot, stuffy or cold may inhibit communication if it makes people feel tired or stressed. The environment also plays an important role in the effectiveness of communication aids. For instance, hearing aids will amplify background noise as well as the voice of the speaker. A noisy environment may therefore be difficult and unpleasant for someone who is using a hearing aid. Good lighting will be critical for someone who supports their understanding of speech with lip reading.Time limits can also interfere with communication. Barriers associated with personality, self-esteem, anxiety and depression: Sometimes people can create their own barriers because they feel stressed by the emotional needs of the people they work with. Listening to others can involve hearing about frightening and depressing situations. People sometimes stop listening in order to avoid painful emotions. Tiredness, lack of time or a desire to avoid emotional stress can create a barrier to providing caring communication.Building an understanding of another person and establishing a ‘caring presence’ can be very difficult when their personality or self-esteem needs create a barrier. Many people who are depressed or anxious experience negative thoughts that ‘just come to them’. Attempting to understand these thoughts and feelings can feel like trying to find a way through a brick wall. It may feel as if there is an emotional barrier preventing the person from experiencing any positive emotions. Sensory impairment and disability: A sensory impairment means that a person’s senses do not work effectively.Impairments create the first kind of communication barrier, where information is not fully received. Disability is not the same as impairment. Some people experiencing barriers because of their difference may have a communication disability. In my work role I come across with people who suffer with a variety of disabilities or learning difficulties. If I meet a person who has visual disability then I would have to support him/her in order for communication and interpersonal interaction to be effective. It would be important for me to have appropriate resources such as glasses,magnifiers and high quality surroundings such as lighting.Along with these I need to use a clear tone and voice and speak louder so the person can understand what is being said,as him/her wouldn’t be able ti lip read. Hearing disability is another communication barrier. If I am communicating with someone who is partly or fully deaf ,then I have to take into consideration the environment in which the communication takes place. Physical disabilities,such as speech impediment, could cause difficulty in communication. In this case ,the use of sighs and symbols,used in different ways (facial expressions and hand gestures) can help my practice.Barriers associated with assumptions: Building an understanding of other people’s needs takes time and effort. Jumping to conclusions and making assumptions can save mental effort and time, but assumptions may cause me to misinterpret what another person is trying to communicate. For example, I might believe that I don’t need to listen to a person because I already know what his/her needs are. Assumptions can create a barrier because people stop listening and checking their understanding of other people’s communication. Some people make assumptions that people who have a disability are damaged ‘normal’ people.When disabled people are seen in this way, they might be pitied or ignored. Difference in culture and values: Many cultures have different beliefs about suitable communication between people,for example they may consider certain body language and han d gestures appropriate ,but others may find it offensive. An example of this is the â€Å"thumbs up† hand gesture ,which is commonly used to show that something is good or OK,but it is an insult if you were to show somewhere in Iran, Afganistan,Nigeria and parts of Italy and Greece. Also,a language in part part of the country could be different from somewhere else in this country (dialects).Accents and dialects can be confusing to understand the same for accents, in Britain there are many of these such as â€Å"Geordie† and â€Å"Cockney Rhyming Slang†. In my work role I must understand and respect people’s cultural backgrounds,thinking before I speak or make a certain action ,whether it is appropriate. Effective communication in my work role is also to make sure that the people know that what is said is kept confidential,and that I will not judge them based on what is said. I must be sensitive to the people’s needs and feelings,by not discriminati ng,judging or showing negative body language towards them.