Grameen Phone Essay Example

Grameen Phone Essay Example Grameen Phone Essay Grameen Phone Essay Skilled and qualified work force can ensure better standard of products, services and organizational performance. And the quality of this workforce Is solely dependent on the recruitment process. Only a comprehensive and fair recruitment process can ensure the inclusion of the best options to the organization Gramophone ,being the leading telecommunication brand in Bangladesh, carries an extensive and multi dimensional recruitment process to ensure premium standard of human resource. With an attempt to finding the best individuals, Gramophone conducts a multi- leveled recruitment procedure. At different levels of this process different aspects and dimensions of the individuals behavior and knowledge is assessed. The whole assessment system comprises of steps like: Initial screening , written test, interview etc. And all these steps are intended to Analyze the candidates on the basis of Experience, Exposure and Education ,generally known as the sees. Thus the recruitment process of GAP Is designed to evaluate a candidate basing not only on his academic credentials but also on his behavioral and psychological aspects. And The highly experienced selection panel and extremely transparent assessment process enables Gramophone rightly to do so and provide GAP with the best work force available Thus the fastidious and inclusive nature of Gasp recruitment has helped it become unique and probably The best in this sector. And subsequently enabled GAP to sustain the standard of work force to the highest degree . Introduction to gramophone: Gramophone started its journey in Bangladesh as a joint venture of telethon and Grahame telecoms corporation on 26th march, 1997. : Since Its inception it created a rand value In the mind of the customers through premium product quality, extensive network faceless and customer oriented services and thus It was able to establish Itself as the leading telecommunication company In Bangladesh. Besides conventional services its wide range of exclusive and innovative customer services like Byplay, Cellarer, Mobility helped it to gain a competitive advantage over its competitors. In its tenure of 16 years it has created over 16 million customers to become the largest telecommunication brand in Bangladesh. And it has succeeded to establish it as a glowing Image of sensibility. Reliability and trust. Why are we choosing gap: Among several other organizations/brands, it has succeeded to differentiate itself from the others through professionalism, sincerity, reliability, transparency etc in its recruitment process. Through its comprehensive recruitment procedure, it has succeeded to filtrate the most talented and skilled brains of the country over the years. Thus with the help of latest technologies, extensive consumer analysis, Impeccable product and service quality and most of all a wide range of the most qualified professionals, technicians. Employees and service providers, has enabled setting the recruitment process of GAP will certainly unravel the recipe of flawless recruitment Scope of study: Recruitment process of GAP: Over the years gramophone has succeeded to maintain its impeccable standard of human resource. And the thing that has helped gramophone to maintain such standard i n the field of human resource is its flawless and comprehensive recruitment process. Through its multi dimensional recruiting process GAP has succeeded to filtrate the most talented and skilled individuals of the country. GAP has a standard recruiting process consisting of multiple steps and levels. Which helps to analyze each candidates aptitude,effectiveness and skills. Then Human resource department evaluates each candidate basing on the results and documents of their performance on each level. And thus by analyzing all the aspects they select the best candidates. The pros and corns of the Recruitment process of GAP is described below: Classification of recruitment: Generally GAP goes for two kinds of recruitment basing on their demands and requirements. Hey are 1 . Lanterns recruitment. 2. External recruitment. Internal recruitment: When a company fills up vacancies with its own manpower hen it is referred as internal recruitment. In case of internal recruiting internal recruiting existing employees are informed about vacancies through the official medias and links. And afterwards qualified and able candidates are either promoted or replaced to the vacant place on the basis of their qualifications and existing performance. External recruitment: External recruitment is the recruitment process where an organization fills up its vacancies by recruiting people from external sources. External recruitment is more complex in nature and requires more effort and budget. Steps of recruitment: Once a vacancy is created GAP goes through a standardized and structured recruitment process. Len these steps different dimensions of the candidates physical and mental faculty of the candidate is Judged as per the Job requirement. He steps of the recruitment are: Identifying the need to recruit Advertisement Initial screening The written test The interview Candidate Assessment The medical test Appointment and orientation model) Identifying the need to recruit: Recruitment budget (same baa Identifying vacancy is the first step of recruitment process. A vacancy is created mainly due to two reasons. Hey are:l . Resignation and 2. Business growth. Irrespective of the reason, the information of vacancy is intimidated to the Hum an resource department by the concerned department. Then human HER defines the requirements basing on the Job nature and functions. Len case of new role they define up a detailed list of tasks that the person will have to do. This helps in determining the qualities and qualification genuinely required the Job. 2. Bib description:Next they produce an outline of the broad responsibilities(rather than detailed task) involved in the Job. 3. Person specification:then the decide what kills,experience,qualification and attributes someone will need to do the Job as defined in the task analysis and Job description. Hush in the first step of the recruitment process of GAP, they find out the vacancy,the position of the Job,required qualifications of the Job,Job description,and the personality traits desired determining the recruitment budget: upon request from the concerned department,the HER department makes an estimated budget. Finance and account department also takes part in this process. Thus a budget plan is determined and sanctioned upon the approval of higher authority. Advertisement: In this step GAP(HER department) advertises the vacancies to inform eligible candidates. Len this respect GAP is slightly non traditional in the perspective of Bangladesh. GAP uses internet as its only major medium of advertisement. Len these advertisements ,the Job qualifications are properly mentioned with some other necessary information to limit the number of applicants as well as to find the best candidates for the Job. Besides,the ads give a brief description of the Job along with the programs etc. Thus the advertisements provide the candidates with clear conception about the Job and its particulars. Initial screening: Upon receiving the C.v.,the initial screening takes place. GAP(HER Department) shortlists the number of candidates based upon the information provided in the applications. N this step HER conducts the screening basing on two set of criteria. They are:written criteria and unwritten criteria. Written criteria encircles the requirements that are mentioned in the advertisements. Elf HER fails to fails to minimize the number of candidates basing on the written criteria, then they go for unwritten institutions,work experience etc. Writte n examination: the candidates passing through the initial screening possess are hen called for a written examination(not always). This test is to evaluate Job knowledge,communication skills,analytical aptitude and mental promptness of the candidates. The interview :A panel of managers takes the interview of the candidates who have passed the written test. The panel generally have managers from HER and the concerned department. These well structured interviews focus on required competencies for the particular post. These interviews are designed to solicit information from a persons response to oral inquiries. Apart from Judging the educational and theoretical knowledge of the candidates,these interviews are features like leadership,honesty,presence of mind are verified through skillful questioning.

The Piano Lesson Themes - Sutters Ghost

The Piano Lesson Themes - Sutters Ghost Supernatural themes lurk throughout August Wilsons drama, The Piano Lesson. But to fully understand the function of the ghost character in The Piano Lesson, readers may want to become familiar with the plot and characters of The Piano Lesson. Sutters Ghost During the play, several characters see the ghost of Mr. Sutter, the man who probably murdered the father of Berniece and Boy Willie. Sutter was also the legal owner of the piano. There are different ways of interpreting the ghost: The ghost is a product of the characters imagination.The ghost symbolizes oppression.Or it is an actual ghost! Assuming the ghost is real and not symbolism, the next question is: What does the ghost want? Revenge? (Berniece believes that her brother pushed Sutter down a well). Forgiveness? (This doesnt seem likely since Sutters ghost is antagonistic rather than repentant). It may simply be that Sutters ghost wants the piano. In Toni Morrisons beautiful foreword to the 2007 publication of The Piano Lesson, she states: Even a threatening ghost hovering in any room it chooses pales before the gripping fear of what is outside - the steady, casual intimacy with imprisonment and violent death. She also observes that Against years of menace and routine violence, wrestling with a ghost is mere play. Morrisons analysis is spot on. During the plays climax, Boy Willie enthusiastically battles the ghosts, running up the stairs, tumbling down again, only to go charging back up. Grappling with the specter is sport in comparison to the hazards of the oppressive 1940s society. Spirits of the Family Bernieces suitor, Avery, is a religious man. In order to disconnect the ghosts ties to the piano, Avery agrees to bless Bernieces house. When Avery, an up-and-coming reverend, passionately recites passages from the Bible, the ghost does not budge. In fact, the ghost becomes even more aggressive, and this is when Boy Willie finally witnesses the ghost and their battle begins. In the middle of The Piano Lessons chaotic final scene, Berniece has an epiphany. She realizes that she must call on the spirits of her mother, father, and grandparents. She sits down at the piano and, for the first time in a year, she plays. She sings for the spirits of her family to help her. As her music becomes more powerful, more insistent, the ghost goes away, the battle upstairs ceases, and even her stubborn brother has a change of heart. Throughout the play, Boy Willie demanded that he sell the piano. But once he hears his sister play the piano and sing to her deceased relatives, he understands that the musical heirloom is meant to stay with his Berniece and her daughter. By embracing music once again, Berniece and Boy Willie now appreciate the pianos purpose, one that is both familiar and divine.

Social Networking Sites Are Good Society Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Social Networking Sites Are Good Society - Essay Example Steve Chazin, a former managing director at Apple is quite categorical in his statement that social networking has changed the lives of people for the better as all humans do have a need to feel connected to each other (Are Social†¦). Danah Boyd, researcher at the Microsoft and experts in media, has more discreet view on the subject that those who do not understand social media look at only negativities and see social media as evil (Are Social†¦). Aric Sigman, a fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine and recipient of the Chartered Scientist award from the Science Council is of the view that online contacting displacing face-to-face contacting will bring about some sort of physiological changes such as illness or higher premature mortality. (Are Social†¦) In one of the study done at University of Maryland on 200 students (Conger, 2010) giving up all social networking sites for a day had some amazing findings. On asking students how they felt during this pause, students came out with a reply of having anxious mood and frantic cravings that typically felt by a person who goes through withdrawal from any addictive stuff. In such context, it has been said that social networking sites would destroy our brain and bodies as has been voiced by Susan Greenfield, a neuroscientist from U.K; however, so far, no any published scientific studies have validated such claims (Conger, 2010). On the contrary, it has been found that the more people are engaged with any social site, the better they feel. This is what argued by Moira Burke, a researcher from the Human-Computer Institute at Carnegie Mellon University (Conger, 2010). The reason for favorable feelings stems... This essay discusses that the more people are engaged with any social site, the better they feel. This is what argued by Moira Burke, a researcher at the Human-Computer Institute at Carnegie Mellon University (Conger, 2010). The reason for favorable feelings stems from the emotional support that friends, acquaintances or family provide. The feeling of having more social capital triggers a sense of well-being in them. In another study done at Cornell indicates that social capital garnered online also propels better physical health. Though it has been warned in some quarters that social networking would drive people into isolation; it has helped reap benefits from online contacts. Fowler and Christakis from Harvard University have completed many studies on the aspects of attitudes, health behaviors, and on happiness among social networking site participants and they have reached the conclusion that as people influence each other in their normal interactions, similar is the behavior pat tern found at social networking sites. This paper makes a conclusion that a social networking has gone a long way since its modest start about 15 years back. Facebook, Twitter, Orkut and many other sites have now millions of users who share their daily experiences and understandings on a myriad of issues. In the era of globalization, these sites are being extensively used for the various causes and will continue to grow as one of the formidable social tools for masses.

See des Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

See des - Essay Example re concerned, much of the motivation that get people to patronize matches has to do with personal thoughts of people about the sporting discipline in question, players involved in the game, competing teams, and other social factors. Though the need for marketing strategies is generally necessary, a lot of the respondents pointed to the fact that they attended the game because of the performance of the two teams of the day. Greater part of the respondents also indicated that they are selective of the kind of games to watch based on the performance of the teams involved and whether or not they have personal favorites among the players taking part in the game. Some others also pointed out that their presence had no linkage with marketing done by the teams but that they were there as part of their social curricula activities. The researcher can therefore conclude that for people to get more students to games, they ought to create very good personality marketing for their teams and player s. This is because if the teams and their players have very good image in the eyes of the students, they students will go and watch their games as part of their social relaxation activities. Interview someone who works for a retail store about how they choose which products the store sells. You will have to interview an owner or manager who is involved in the product decisions. A clerk at a store will not know how the products are picked. You can interview them about a particular product line (like snow boards or stuffed animals or soft drinks) or new products. This question should include some detail-not just â€Å"what people buy is what we keep†. The popularity of a product is determined by the public promotion and popularity of the product. This is because the interviewee indicated that there are shoppers who come to the shop and ask for specific products because they have heard advertisements on the products. This confirms the saying that buyers take decisions based on what

Sample Analysis of a Poem Essay Example for Free

Sample Analysis of a Poem Essay Listen, children: Your father is dead. From his old coats Ill make you little jackets; Ill make you little trousers From his old pants. Therell be in his pockets Things he used to put there, Keys and pennies Covered with tobacco; Dan shall have the pennies To save in his bank; Anne shall have the keys To make a pretty noise with. Life must go on, And the dead be forgotten; Life must go on, Though good men die; Anne, eat your breakfast; Dan, take your medicine; Life must go on; I forget just why. Source: â€Å"Second April by Edna St. Vincent Millay.† Poet’s Corner. 2003. 25 Apr. 2007 http://www.theotherpages.org/poems/millay01.html In Edna St. Vincent Millay’s poem â€Å"Lament,† the speaker, a mother whose husband has just passed away, must face both her grief and the continued daily needs of her children: clothing, medicine, food. The children learn of their father’s death in no euphemistic terms as their mother tells them, â€Å"Listen, children: Your father is dead.† Rather than immediately becoming emotional, she focuses on the practical needs of her children, telling them that she’ll make them pants and jackets from his old clothing. She says, â€Å"Life must go on,† and â€Å"the dead must be forgotten,† stoically facing a bleak future. The poem’s only overt emotional reference comes when the speaker repeats, â€Å"Life must go on,† and adds, â€Å"I forget just why.† This last line is a clear indication of the hopelessness and emptiness that the speaker feels now that her loved one is gone, a common expression of frustration with the absurdity of death. Although all individuals grieve differently, this poem represents a universal expression: that life must go on even when we feel like it cannot. Poetic Devices: 1. Apostrophe: the poem is a direct address from mother to children, as evidenced by the first line â€Å"Listen, children:† 2. Repetition: the speaker’s frequent statement that â€Å"Life must go on† emphasizes the cruelty of death for the living; daily life continues despite the absence of those we love.

Essay --

The term forensic is used often among television crime dramas but what is it? Forensic, as defined by Oxford Dictionary of English, is â€Å"relating to or denoting the application of scientific methods and techniques to the investigation of crime (Stevenson). This science has led to the capture of many criminals. DNA testing has been a large part of this forensic science, however forensics played a large role prior to DNA testing being developed. Fingerprinting, blood typing, and trace evidence were three of the forensic tests in use before DNA testing that helped identify a suspect. Fingerprinting is a technique that has been in use for a long time. In 1880, a Scottish doctor, Henry Faulds, first suggested to the British that fingerprints could be used in criminal investigations. This suggestion had merit because every person has a unique set of fingerprints. The concept was then incorporated into the law system. Fingerprints are, in fact, most often used in prosecutions. They are to help the prosecutors identify a suspect and to place them at the scene of a crime (â€Å"Fingerprints† 410-411). Fingerprints can be left on almost any surface, including smooth ones. The combination of the friction ridges, or the raised grooves on the fingertips, and sweat that gathers there is what causes the fingerprint to leave a trace (Bergman and Berman-Barrett). Fingerprinting is widely used today and I believe it still plays a large and crucial role in criminal investigations. Blood Typing, or Serology, is another method of identification used in forensics. This type of science is focused on the study of Antigens in the blood and how specific antibodies places blood into separate groups. The blood groups most commonly used in this scie... ...croscopically match fibers from carpet to a specific car is fascinating and intriguing. Trace evidence also seems to be easily left behind, where as fingerprints can be concealed with rubber gloves and blood is not always left at crime scenes. Forensic science consists of many different components that have helped solve many crimes. Fingerprinting can be used to place criminals at scenes and to identify suspects. Serology is a science that has become outdated but helped prosecutors narrow down suspects. It ultimately led to the development of DNA testing, the culprit for its demise. Edmund Locard was the innovator behind the concept of trace evidence and how particles can be compared microscopically to help in crime solving. All of these aspects of forensics potentially led to the development of DNA testing and laid the groundwork for future expansion.

Apology Paper

Apology Paper In the Apology by Plato, the scene is set up on the jury; Socrates is standing in front of his accusers, Meletus, Lycon and Anytus. He is defending for himself against the four charges brought by the accusers. Socrates is charged with inquiring the heaven and searching things beneath the earth, a Sophist, not believing the god of Athens, and corrupting the youth. Therefore, surrounding him was a group of wealthy young audiences. In the Apology, Socrates is defending for himself as well as prophesies to those who condemned him.Although Socrates died, but he never convicted of his charges; even at the last moment, he warns the condemners and accusers will soon be punished by his son. In my opinion, if I were on the jury, I would also find Socrates as not guilty. Socrates violates none of the four charges, and by his eloquence, he embarrassed his accuser in front of the public, especially the wealthy young group of people and leading the defense on the jury and trap the ac cuser. According to the four charges on Socrates, the first one is Physicist, which is inquiring in the heaven and searching for things beneath the earth.Socrates uses two points for his defense, the falsehood that Socrates is a Physicist and Aristophanes. In the Dialogue, â€Å"and took possession of your minds with their falsehoods† Socrates thinks that the jury is judging unjustly for his charge, for those people who are being told that he is a Physicist since child. By default, those people are tended to think of the Physicist side. The word â€Å"default† means the natural tendency of thinking him as a Physicist in the first place.Later in the dialogue, Socrates furthers his defense by using Aristophanes’ comedy as an example. Aristophanes, also known as the father of comedy, he has been said to recreate the life of ancient Athens more convincingly than anybody else. With such a great name being mentioned in front of the public, it is far more convincing th at Socrates is not in the charge of Physicist, since Socrates treats the charge as watching a comedy which tells nonsense theory. Therefore, Socrates on the jury claimed that Meletus could not charge him for that. O Athenians that I have nothing to do with these studies. † The above statement shows the denial of Socrates of being a Physicist, he did not inquiring the heavens and below the earth. In my opinions, Socrates is obviously not guilty for the charges. He never was a Physicist, and even if he is, he would have search for explanation of the God, and knowing the cause of some Myths and use scientific approach to find the answer. The most important fact about Physicist is that they don’t believe in God, they believe in evidences and proofs instead. But Socrates does believe in God.Besides, I found no sign of Socrates in doing anything scientific. Instead, he is trying to call out the people who he met are present here to witness the truth. The second charge against Socrates is he making the worse argument into the better argument, this charge identified Socrates with the Sophists, a Sophists is a tutor who charged for tutoring the youths for a career in politics by teaching them how to make a convincing arguments and travelled from city to city to teach the youth. If I were on the jury, I would give a vote for him for not guilty.First of all, Socrates in the dialogue seems to separate him from the Sophists group, he jokes about if he able to teach, he would honor his student to pay him. Later he quotes other great philosopher as his argument, he is honoring those great people have the knowledge to persuade the youth to leave their own citizens, with such privilege that is certainly worth some money. Also he told the story of Hipponicus’s son and the way he interprets is convinced that Socrates lacks any knowledge in teaching other people. â€Å"My poverty is a sufficient witness. Furthermore, Socrates is using his poverty level as a p roof and a strong argument against Sophist, yet if he is charging fee for exhortation, it would if brought him out of poverty and living in luxury. But throughout the dialogue, there are plenty of places where Socrates stated that he have no money, â€Å"But you see that I have none, and can only ask you to proportion the fine to my means. † If he have the money, he would if volunteer to make an offer for the proposal for the sentence, instead of keep saying he have no money.As a conclusion, Socrates never travelled nor charged people money and living the life of poverty. It is very hard for me to think of Socrates doing the same as the Sophist, therefore I would brought in a verdict of not guilty for Socrates. The third charge for Socrates is corrupting the youth, â€Å"what evil does he practic or teach? They do not know, and cannot tell. † Socrates introduced his defense but saying group of wealthy young men came across him and getting angry with him for finding out that they really know nothing and call him the misleader of youth.But they can’t even point out what particular thing that Socrates had corrupted them, his argument was how he corrupted the youth when nobody can tell what Socrates teach. Furthermore, Socrates uses his eloquent brilliantly to embarrass his accuser Meletus. Socrates brought out Meletus and constantly ask him question and set him up to step on the trap. The tricks that Socrates is trying to do is to make Meletus contradicts himself. From the point of the jury, I would say he is not guilty for corrupting the youth.On the jury, Socrates pretends that he is the corrupter and asks for the people who he have given them advice to be his accusers, then he followed by a long list of names that he come across with. Besides, Socrates uses the word â€Å"produce† to emphasize his argument that Meletus should have â€Å"produce† some of witness that Socrates had gave them bad advice and Socrates even voluntee r to make way them. Judging from this point, I certainly know that Socrates is telling the truth and he is confident that he is not corrupting the youth.Besides, I also think that the charge of corrupting the youth is linked with other charges, like the Sophist charge, the Sophist were very distrusted by Athenians, if Socrates is found guilty for Sophist, he is certainly corrupting the youth too, vice versa. Besides, the analogy of the training of the horse is a convincing point, yet the young men also require training by a skilled teacher, and most people cannot do it, unless those youth are same as the horses. Therefore, he is found not guilty for corrupting the youth.The last charge against Socrates is not believed in the god of Athens, this charge is probably a follow-up of the first charge, Physicist. If you do not believe in the god of Athens, than you must be worshipping other god, therefore, Socrates’ accusers think he is inquiring the heaven and searching for thing b eneath the earth. In order to defense against he, Socrates further asks Meletus question by interrogating him to what extent is mean by not the same gods which Athens recognizes. Later Socrates regards the sun as stone and doubt about if Meletus is accusing Anaxagoras instead. â€Å"You really think that I do not believe in any god? This quote clearly shows Socrates’ argument, as Socrates are being accused on the jury, he defend himself by questioning Meletus of not knowing his belief. Socrates’ horsemanship and flute-playing is definitely dubious for Meletus, as he did not answer the question but get up an interruption. For the judgment here, I would say Socrates is not guilty for not believing the god of Athens as he does believe in gods of Athens. In his defense, Socrates admitted that he do believe in divine beings, it must be spirits or demigod and he claims and make Meletus to say that Socrates is an atheist who believes in spiritual agencies and demigods.Socrat es here successfully lead his accuser to admit that he have made a false accuse and have made up one just for charging Socrates. Without a valid accuse, how can Socrates be found guilty of not believing in the god of Athens? And yet Socrates is believes in the god of Athens. To conclude, if I were on the jury, I would found Socrates not guilty for the four charges. Nevertheless, the jury never wanted Socrates to die; it is Socrates would fain lose his life. Truth is always the truth, if you endeavor to defense, someday you will success.

Dangers of the Internet

Many people view the internet as an ultimate resource for anything they desire. The people who say that the internet is a brilliant invention for the best have reasons backing up their idea. For example, Sherry Turkle writes about such ideas explaining how the internet is an excellent tool for the better in her essay, â€Å"Can You Hear Me Now? † Turkle believes strongly that the invention of the internet is an innovation for the better and emphasizes to her readers how important it is in everyone’s lives nowadays. On the other hand, some believe exactly the opposite of Turkle’s invalid inquisition that the internet is a tool that is most definitely not for the greater good. The internet is a major promoter of violence and bad habits, it allows abusers to reach people that do not want to be reached and it opens many of us up to identity theft and malware viruses. The internet is an extremely risky device that many of the common users take for granted due to the lack of knowledge of its dangers. With the great power that the internet provides comes great responsibility that its users must also provide. Just like many other things, there are people who lack such responsibility and use the internet with bad intentions. Influencing Violence The first point of discussion pertaining to the harmfulness of the World Wide Web is that it is a great promoter of violence and bad habits. Users are free to roam to any type of website they please, whether it is a game site, social networking site, forum site and etcetera. The internet has no restrictions as to what people put on websites and web pages. Much like violence in video games, the internet can influence violence towards its users as well. Michele L. Ybarra speaks about the amount that children are influenced by the violent website on the internet today in her essay â€Å"Linkages Between Internet and Other Media Violence With Seriously Violent Behavior by Youth,† which was published in the â€Å"Official Journal Of The American Academy Of Pediatrics. † The internet is a host to many violent games and violent based websites alike. About 97% of the youth ages 12-18 are using online communications and have online access (Ybarra 929). With this many kids on the internet they can browse and view hate pages which discriminate against people or they can come across violent related web pages as well (Ybarra 930). With this increased exposure to these websites, causes an increase in violent behavior among our youth. Ybarra and her team conducted a study of 10-15 year old children and the effects of the different sources of violent media on their real habits. The results showed substantial results of increased violent behavior among the group that was associated with the violent media (Ybarra 933). Results reported that the violent behaviors included shooting or stabbing, aggravated assault, robbery and sexual assault (Ybarra 933). Among the many types of media that was studied such as: music, video games, television and the internet, the type of media that was the most influential was the internet (Ybarra 933). Ybarra goes to show her readers that most of all websites used included killing, fighting and shooting which in correlation contributed to the stimulus of the children’s anger level, having delinquent friends, and substance use such as drugs and alcohol (933). The monitoring of what our children view on the internet is crucial towards their health and well being, without monitoring our children are prone to be influenced by immoral and violence behaviors. Reaching Those Who do Not Want to be Reached Another harmful risk that the internet so willfully provides is the dangers of domestic violence and child predators. The internet allows predators and violent domestic partners to access people and children on a wide scale with the click of a mouse. The various social networking sites that the internet provides is practically like a database for people to access whoever they want. Although children and the victims of domestic violence do not want to be reached by predators and violent spouses, it is easy for these terrible people to reach them without their own consent. As I myself say, the internet is â€Å"Stalking made easy. † In her article, â€Å"Friend Request or Foe,† Laurie L. Baughman persuades her audience of the dangers and risks pertaining to internet stalking, mainly pertaining to domestic violence. Baughman is a senior attorney at the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence, thus giving her the right to speak about the topic. Facebook itself has over 400 million active viewers, and it considered the most popular online social networking sight for adults and children alike (Baughman 933). Baughman also points out that Facebook users in total upload approximately three billion photos every month and the average user spends about 55 minutes a day on the site (934-935). With such astronomical numbers like these, this introduces a whole new type of stalking based violence that was once again introduced by the internet. To start, pertaining to the issue of domestic violence, which is the major topic that Baughman discusses in her essay. She feels that it is an extremely dangerous asset that the internet has brought upon society. Baughman asserts in her essay â€Å"†¦Internet users who are victims of domestic violence may be vulnerable to further abuse or may experience harassment or stalking through these social networking mediums† (935). This quote offers a brief summary of the topic that Baughman is most concerned about in her essay, which will be addressed below. Domestic violence is defined as abusive behavior in a relationship to gain or maintain power, all of which can be done by actions or threats (Baughman 936). To show how much of a problem domestic violence has become; Baughman uses the quote â€Å"An estimated 1. million women are victims of physical assault each year† (936). With the amount of people attached to the internet today, many domestic assaults root from internet stalking. These social networking website were people post pictures and information about themselves has become a source of vulnerability of victims of domestic violence (Baughman 940). For example, many of us post pictures and personal information on Facebook, but what many do not know is that there can be bad people that we do not want seeing this information looking at it as well. Many of you may be familiar with the quote from Spiderman â€Å"With great power comes great responsibility,† this is much like the quote from Baughman’s essay when she states â€Å"Using technology is like a super power: you can use it for bad and you can use it for good† (940). This quote from Baughman’s piece stresses her concern of how much power comes from the internet and how people can use this power by means of harming other people. With this power that the internet has given to anybody who uses it, comes people who use it by means of stalking. The term cyber-stalking came directly from the invention of the internet and it is defined as behavior that constitutes â€Å"computer† based harassment (Baughman 940-941). Such stalkers do things such as: monitoring other people’s email, sending email threats or insults, disrupting email communication, using others email identity and using the internet to get personal information (Baughman 941). Although many may see all of these as an invasion of privacy, with the power the internet has given us, most of them are very simple to do and done quite often. In her essay Baughman shows her readers how cyber-stalking often leads to physical staking (941). With the small amount of difficulty that cyber-stalking is, often an abusive partner uses it to maintain power and control over their victim (Baughman 941). All of the above ways discussed, pertaining cyber-stalking can allow an abuser to access their victim through the internet, even if the victim has set up an internet protection, which will be discussed in the next topic (Baughman 941). Baughman uses an example of such harassment through emails in her essay; she tells us a story of how an abusive husband sent 1,500 pages of threatening emails to his ex-wife even when she had a restraining order placed on him (944). To sum up Baughman’s essay, due to social networking sights allowing individuals to freely post photos, comments, and other personal information, the internet acts as a personal information super-highway that is easily reached by abusers (965). A simple search of a persons name can bring up very personal information that abusers can easily access (Baughman 965). In sum, social networking sights and the internet are tools for communication, blogging, picture sharing and now vengeance by abusers. Roam at your own risk (Baughman 953). Nobody, including domestic partner are safe when on the internet. The next point of discussion relating to how abusers can access people who do not want to be reached is the issue of child predators on the internet. The author L. Alvin Malesky, Jr. , PhD in the Department of Psychology writes his essay â€Å"Predatory Online Behavior: Modus Operandi of Convicted Sex Offender in Identifying Potential Victims and Contacting Minors Over the Internet,† in correlation to this topic. Most sex offenders know their victims before even meeting it them, they become acquainted through the internet (Malesky 24). As discussed previously in Baughman’s essay, this task of becoming acquainted with anyone you want is relatively easy with the amount of social networking websites today. Predators tend to disguise themselves as another teenager and lie about their identity, the internet provides them with ideal cover that can fool even the smartest of children (Malesky 24). In his essay Malesky affirms â€Å"Chat rooms were the most frequently used component of the Internet to identify and contact potential victims† (26). When a child that talks about sex in anyway on the internet, it is found appealing by pedophiles and is often the reason why pedophiles go after a specific child (Malesky 27). This warning given by Malesky shows her readers how every little thing you say, post or do on the internet can be viewed by these disturbing people and can possibly make you their next target. These sex offenders patrol the virtual world in hopes to find a victim and eventually meet with them in person. People are free to surf the web, the type of people that lean towards an attraction to children are also free to do as they please. The internet give minors vulnerability to people who wish to do them harms (Malesky 30). In conclusion to his topic Malesky tells warns his readers that children should not post anything sexual on the internet or talk to people you do not know, you never know who may be looking or listening (Malesky 30)! Children are put in harms way while online, thus in sum urging how unsafe the internet really is. Cyber-Crime Lastly, the internet itself has brought forth a new type of crime everywhere in the world. The term cyber-crime refers to crime that takes place from a computer through the internet. These cyber-criminals can steal your identity, take your personal information and even give your computer a virus without ever leaving their computer desk. The root cause of this new crime is directly due to the invention of the internet. As was previously stated, the internet is a tool that requires responsibility. Criminals take no such responsibility when performing illegal cyber-crime related acts. Nobody is safe when they are on the internet with the growing amount of yber-criminals today. Kit Burden discusses the issue of the increasing problem of cyber-criminals in her essay, â€Å"Internet crime; Cyber Crime – A new breed of criminal? † which was published in â€Å"Science Direct† (College Edition). Burden starts out her essay by showing her readers that 43% of Americans recognize cyber-crime as a problem (2). These types of crime have been introduced to the world thanks to the invention of the World Wide Web. The first example of a cyber criminal I would like to point out is the increasingly more and more common hacker. Hackers use technology to gain unauthorized access to private computer systems, which is mostly for the purpose of retrieving confidential information such as credit card number and internet passwords (Burden 3). If the hacker has used a computer for functions with intent of retrieving other peoples information and date, this is considered illegal based off the Computer Misuse Act in 1990 (Burden 4). A hacker can obtain the most confidential of information on your computer, for example they can take your credit card information and use it as their own. Hackers may also go onto company website and alter what their information reads for terms such as of political leads and malicious intent such as cyber terrorism (Burden 4). Secondly, with the increasing threat of hackers, there is also an increasing threat of credit card fraud. These two go hand in hand with each other because hackers much of the time aim to receive others credit card information illegally by hacking. Burden points out that there is an estimated four billion dollars lost to credit card fraud each year and fifty percent of that money lost comes from online credit card fraud/hacking (9). Burden also points out how vastly internet related commerce is growing, therefore so will the amount of money lost to credit card fraud due to the increasing dangers posed by hackers (9). Along with credit card information, we must not forget that hackers can steal information such as accounts that you have set up online, which can hold your payment information and use them as well, the same goes for your email account. Lastly, on top of all that hackers can install malicious software onto your personal computer without you knowing. Viruses are embedded within files which you may think to be real; however they can be completely the opposite and trick you into downloading a virus. Most of the time, if one clicks on the virus itself it will download without you even noticing. Viruses can do whatever the maker of the virus wants them too. Viruses such as a key logger are planted on a computer and it will show the hacker who made the viruses every key you input into the computer. For example, if you type in your credit card information, the hacker will now be able to view it. The famous ‘Love Bug’ virus was released two years ago and single handedly completely shut down and paralyzed over 100 million computers (Burden 5). Because viruses can be spread to many users at a very fast pace and often can not be erased, they are looked down upon by the government and are taken extreme legal action against (Burden 6). Conclusion In conclusion, one has learned a great amount about the internet and the harm that it can bring. The internet puts a great amount of power into the hands of anyone who decides to use it, a power that should not be tampered with and often is by its abusers. Many reasons validate the inquisition that the internet is not a resource for the greater good but it is a tool that can and frequently is used for promoting violence and bad habits, allowing abusers to reach people that do not want to be reached and lastly, it opens many of us up to identity theft and malware viruses. We must all think twice about using the internet and if we do hopefully now we will take extra precautions especially when giving the power to roam the web to our children. The internet is an extremely dangerous place and we must not forget, nobody is safe when they are on the internet!

KMC and market attractiveness

KMC and market attractiveness Introduction Kids Market Consulting (KMC) was established in 2002 by Natalie Berezovskaya. The company has similar characteristics described by Tsoy (2005) for medium and small companies. Tsoy (2005) discusses that these companies rely on the top manager’s skills for their strategy and success. They hire employees with technical skills to perform other duties.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on KMC and market attractiveness specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More KMC has relied on Berezovskaya’s expertise in children, and experience in the media industry for its success (Taylor Vynogradov, 2004). KMC also attributes part of its success to the partnership it shares with Dynamic Development and Innovation Group (DDI). The current situation is that KMC is threatened by potential competitors who offer undifferentiated products in the Ukrainian market research industry. KMC has created consumer confidence for its pr oduct. Customer loyalty is not guaranteed if competitors develop a similar product. Competitive pricing is the strategy that is most likely to be used by competitors because the market segment appears to have a low growth rate. Russia has a larger market research industry with revenues that amount to about $300 million (Klimenko Harrison, 2013). The Russian market is the most viable expansion location for a small-sized or medium-sized company located in Ukraine. Market attractiveness of Ukraine’s marketing research industry Market attractiveness refers to the market size, growth possibilities, and potential for profits (Cant et al. 2009). The factors to be considered in market attractiveness are market/customer factors, economic and technological factors, competitive factors, and environmental factors (see exhibit 1). Market/consumer factors evaluate the market size, potential, and growth rate. It also considers the product’s stage in the life cycle, customer loyalty, bargaining power of customers, and seasonality of demand (Cant et al., 2009). Stage in life cycle and customer loyalty The life cycle of KMC’s product appears to have reached maturity. If KMC does not find potential expansion areas, its market share can decline because of new rivalry. Firms that offer undifferentiated marketing, advertizing, and branding services consider engaging their services in KMC’s target market (Taylor Vynogradov 2004). KMC has the advantage of customer loyalty.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Its association with Dynamic Development and Innovation Group (DDI) has gives it an advantageous mark of quality. It may be able to withstand competitive forces as a result of the brand image (Taylor Vynogradov 2004). KMC success will also rely on price elasticity in the market. If competitors offer lower prices, customer loyalty may not be guaranteed. Porter’s five forces The market’s profit potential and customer’s bargaining power can be analyzed using Porter’s five forces (McDonald Wilson, 2011). When KMC was developing its product, there was no competition. Children were considered to lack purchasing power. KMC’s successful entry has attracted new rivalry. The market research industry has several large firms offering similar products. Intensity of competition in the industry is high. If the same rivalry that the entire market research industry experiences is transferred to the kids’ market research, KMC is likely to lose a portion of its market share. KMC has to expand geographically. It can intensify its presence in other cities within Ukraine or globally. The threat of substitute is unlikely because kids and adults have different perceptions (Taylor Vynogradov 2004). This makes it necessary to conduct market research that specifically targets children. The marke t is more attractive because the product lacks potential substitutes. The threat of new entrants is determined by the resources that a company needs to start operating. KMC made a successful entry because it relied on DDI resources such as offices, and personnel. KMC had to â€Å"spend 50% of its first year revenue on computers, and project planning activities† (Taylor Vynogradov 2004, p. 6). KMC also has several years of reinvestment. Market entry for a completely new company may be limited by lack of familiarization with the market, and the size of capital. KMC benefited from contacts that the founder had after working in the media industry for several years. New entrants may lack such advantage. However, the large companies that already exist may decide to offer similar services that target kids’ market research. Suppliers have a strong bargaining power if they are a few in the industry. KMC uses psychologists, and other professionals who may be costly to hire. Fro m KMC’s expenses, it is reported that â€Å"70% of the expenses consist of payment made to 5 full-time employees† (Taylor Vynogradov 2004, p. 6).Advertising We will write a custom report sample on KMC and market attractiveness specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Suppliers appear to have strong bargaining power. It is also evident from the revenues of the large firms. Their net income is a small percentage of total revenues (see exhibit 2). This is because of the high cost of supplies. Market attractiveness is reduced by the high cost of human resources. When KMC entered the market, customers did not have strong bargaining power because of less rivalry (Taylor Vynogradov 2004). With more firms willing to offer similar products, customers have gained stronger bargaining power. When customers have stronger bargaining power, profit margins may reduce because of competitive pricing. Low profit margins reduce market attractive ness. Market growth rate, size and potential KMC is experiencing slow growth. It is also threatened by potential competitors from firms offering undifferentiated services (Taylor Vynogradov 2004). KMC should consider matching its growth rate with that of the whole marketing research industry. It can be used to evaluate possible growth. The growth rate can be estimated using â€Å"average annual growth rate of revenue in that industry† (McDonald Wilson, 2011, p. 180). The Ukrainian market research industry lacks accurate estimates to calculate growth rate. However, a projection can be made using the market leader growth rate. Gfk is the market leader in Ukraine. In 2001, its revenues were 5.07 million hryvnia. In 2011, its revenues were 100.4 million hyrvnia (Gfk Ukraine, 2012). Gfk has experienced an average growth rate of 38.8% in the last ten years (see exhibit 3). KMC could grow at the same rate by investing the same amount of resources. A high growth rate increases mark et attractiveness. KMC Ukraine can also consider its concentration in the other 6 cities. It can offer specific market research for each city to increase potential for growth. It can also consider that 80% of the population lives in rural areas. According to Taylor Vynogradov (2004), only 20% live in urban centers.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The market size is estimated using total accessible revenue generated in the industry less inaccessible revenue (McDonald Wilson, 2011). The inaccessible revenue represents the customer base that cannot be captured despite additional investment. The size of the Ukrainian market research industry was between $5 million and $20 million (Taylor Vynogradov 2004). The main reason for lack of a more accurate figure is the existence of firms that do not submit their financial records to the government. KMC should consider venturing into the Russian market which is estimated to be 10 times larger (Taylor Vynogradov 2004). Economic and technological factors Economic and technological factors consider the â€Å"investment intensity, level of technology, ability to pass through effects of inflation, barriers to entry/exit, and access to raw materials† (Cant et al. 2009). Barriers to entry have been considered in the Porter’s five forces. Ukraine is considered to have a low inf lation rate (see exhibit 4). Reports indicate that Ukraine is likely to experience deflation this year (Ukraine Inflation Rate, 2013). The Heritage Foundation reports that Ukraine has an inflation rate of 8% (Index of Economic Freedom, 2013). Other reports indicate lower inflation rates. Companies operating in Ukraine are unlikely to lose value through inflation. A low inflation rate increases market attractiveness. The market research industry elaborates mature use of technology. KMC spent 50% of its revenue on computers, and other projects in its first year. This is about $50,000 considering that it generated about $100,000 annually during its initial years. It also invested an additional â€Å"15% to 20% in subsequent years† (Taylor Vynogradov 2004, p. 6). The industry appears to be investment intensive especially on human resources, and technology. A high cost on new technology reduces market attractiveness. Competitive factors Competitive factors consider the product di fferentiation among competitors, industry structure, and competitive groupings among other factors (Cant et al. 2009). There is a great possibility of new entrants in the kids’ market research. KMC benefits from operating under DDI as a competitive grouping. The group may face rivalry from other large groups operating locally or globally. KMC has the advantage of perceived product differentiation. It is also associated with high quality as a result of differentiation. Environmental factors Environmental factors evaluate the â€Å"regulatory climate and degree of social acceptance† (Cant et al., 2009, p. 131). The formation of the Ukrainian Marketing Association (UMA) ensures that companies within the industry use fair practices. UMA is a self regulatory organization (Taylor Vynogradov 2004). It indicates industry maturity. KMC has carried out extensive activities to increase customer awareness. New entrants are likely to find an industry where customers are knowledgea ble. Knowledgeable consumers increase market attractiveness. Kids’ market research significance has been accepted by the industry. Analysis of Kids Market Consulting The major reasons for KMC’s success are the strengths and the competitive advantage. The strengths of the firm are internal factors that give it a competitive advantage. The potential risks are the threats it may face that come from the external environment (Ferrell Hartline, 2010). These factors can be analyzed using the SWOT analysis. SWOT analysis Factors that led KMC to succeed KMC succeeded because of external opportunities which came from the discovery of a new product. Kids’ market research was a segment that was despised for lacking marketability. Kids were considered to lack purchasing power (Taylor Vynogradov 2004). KMC had to carry out awareness programs to create a market niche for kids’ market research. KMC was able to change customer needs and tastes to match its product. Othe r external factors that led to its success are the large proportion of children in the population. Taylor Vynogradov (2004) report that 25% of the urban population consists of children. This made it significant for KMC’s customers to consider their potential for sales. KMC was able to succeed by offering a new product that firms in Ukraine thought lacked potential. Ukraine’s economic growth rate is another external factor that led to the success of KMC. It has been between 4% and 8% since 2000 (Taylor Vynogradov 2004). The average monthly wage ($86) is higher than the living minimum wage ($64). Ukraine may appear to have the purchasing power for more consumption. Ukraine’s unemployment rate has been lower between 2005 (7.185%) and 2008 (6.363%) than it was in other years (Ukraine Unemployment Rate, 2013). Its location in Kyiv gives the company an advantage of a larger customer base than in other cities. The knowledge about the Ukraine kids’ market is an other external factor that led KMC to succeed. Market unfamiliarity has slowed down international firms with a similar product from venturing into the Ukrainian market. Strengths are the internal factors that give a company competitive advantage (Ferrell Hartline, 2010). Differentiation is one of KMC’s strengths that led it to succeed. Specializing in the kids’ market gives it time to produce quality products that have created a strong brand image. Its brand is also reinforced by having partnerships with DDI. Ferrell Hartline (2010) explain that an alliance with other firms has potential for internal strength. The founder’s experience, expertise, and contacts made it easier for KMC to reach out to potential customers (Taylor Vynogradov 2004). The founder’s expertise and experience were significant in the success of the firm. As a result of this, KMC success may be attributed to superior management skills. Another internal factor that led to KMC’ s success is the ability to share costs with DDI firms (Taylor Vynogradov 2004). KMC was able to share offices, and human resources reducing its operational costs. The partnership made it less costly and easier for KMC to venture into the business. KMC was able to hire researchers who conduct surveys with assistance from DDI. It was able to produce quality products because of the alliance with DDI. There is mutual benefit where firms under DDI group are able to sell different products to the same customers. KMC is able to reduce costs by selling one product to several buyers (Taylor Vynogradov 2004). In the consolidated research strategy, the cost of developing the product remains constant while the revenues increase because of more buyers. The KMC reinvestment strategy has enabled it to obtain new technology. New technology enables the company to compete with large firms. Threats and weaknesses KMC main weakness is the lack of a strategic direction to increase growth and profitab ility. KMC market share appears to be consistent on a narrow product line (Ferrell Hartline, 2010). KMC relies only on one product. KMC should consider broadening its product line to include specific manufactured kids’ products, and specific manufacturing firms. It may increase product relevance to customers. It may increase their need to purchase its services, and documented products. Another weakness is that KMC has a few full-time employees compared to potential competitors. Taylor Vynogradov (2004) discuss that KMC has only 5 full-time employees. Gfk reports that it has 170 full-time employees in the Ukraine market research industry (GfkUkraine, 2012). A lower number of employees may reduce costs but it may also be the cause of the slow growth rate. A company is able to broaden its services with more dedicated employees. Employee commitment also increases the quality of product. Threats develop from external factors such as the firms offering undifferentiated products m ay choose to offer a similar product. For example, Gfk has a large number of employees and other resources (Gfk Ukraine, 2012). It may find it easier to dedicate some of its resources to develop a similar product. It is a market leader and has a strong brand image. It is likely to capture a larger market share than KMC in the kids’ market research segment. The KMC product life cycle could face a decline stage if new rivalry develops before it finds new market or new strategy (Taylor Vynogradov, 2004). If other firms venture into the kids’ market research, it is likely to be saturated within a short period. Future of the KMC Large companies may develop similar products to KMC. If they may target the same market segment, KMC market share is likely to reduce. The founder should continue with the plans to expand geographically to ensure growth of the company. The first geographic location the company should venture into should be the Russian market. It is 10 times bigger than that of Ukraine (Taylor Vynogradov 2004). Klimenko Harrison (2013) discusses that the Russian market was about $300million to $310 million in 2008. KMC is likely to grow 10 times if it invests the right amount of resources. In Russia, the top six market research companies had total revenues that amounted to about USD 40 million in 2003 (Tsoy, 2005). The medium sized companies that earn between USD 0.3 million to 1 million were about 25 companies in 2003. KMC may fall into this category. The industry appears saturated but KMC can perform better because of the uniqueness of its product. In Russia, the medium and small market research companies owned about 30% to 35% market share in 2003. Demand in market research products was expected to grow between 30% and 50% (Tsoy 2005). KMC is likely to create a market segment that fits its product. The Ukrainian social environment is almost similar to that in Russia. As a result of market similarity, KMC may have a lesser challenge coping with a new market. There is an expected growth in demand that may keep large companies focused on their product mix rather than venture into KMC’s product line. KMC has developed a strong brand image. It focuses on specialization and product quality (Taylor Vynogradov 2004). It also has a loyal customer base. As a result these factors, KMC should be able to face rivalry with its current market position. It can maintain its customers if it ensures accuracy of surveys to develop quality products. It can also limit rivalry by having most of its employees working full-time. It can avoid having the same employees working for competitors. If the same employees work for competitors, product qualities are likely to be similar. The competition would go to competitive pricing. With higher quality products, KMC can manage to maintain the same level of market share while competitors look for new customers. KMC should also consider increasing the length of its product mix. It can be don e by broadening to services that are closely associated with understanding children’s behavior. KMC can also develop products that target specific manufactured products, and then market them to the companies involved in the manufacturing of the products. Conclusion KMC should keep its product quality to be higher than the other companies to maintain the same level of market share, and to overcome competitive pricing. If large companies with a stronger brand image such Gfk enter its market segment, KMC is likely to lose part of its market share. However, it can still maintain higher quality than Gfk because of its complete product differentiation. KMC should consider venturing into the Russian market because it has a higher demand growth forecast that firms may be unable to satisfy. Its product uniqueness also favors its entry into many other countries. If KMC expands in Russia, there is a large space to fill before its market segment is saturated. The Ukrainian research marke t appears to be attractive because the market leader, Gfk, has an average annual growth of 38% for the last ten years (Gfk Ukraine, 2013). It shows that with more resources KMC can grow even without venturing into new geographical locations. KMC is likely to continue benefitting from the manager’s expertise, and experience in the industry. KMC may appear a small company, but DDI as a group is a large company. KMC may benefit from the alliance through brand image, and ability to sell different products to the same customers. Reference List Cant, C. M., Strydom, W. J., Jooste, J. C., Du Plessis, J. P. (2009). Marketing Management. Cape Town: Juta Company. Ferrell, O., Hartline, M. (2010). Marketing Strategy (5th ed.). Mason: South-Western Cengage Learning. Gfk Ukraine. (2012). Growth from Knowledge. Retrieved from gfk.ua/imperia/md/content/gfkukraine/presentations/gfk_ukr_comp_p resentation_eng.pdf Index of Economic Freedom. (2013). Retrieved from heritage.org/index/country/ ukraine Klimenko, T., Harrison, M. (2013). Business-to-Business Market Research in Russia. Retrieved from b2binternational.com/publications/white- papers/russian-market-research/ McDonald, M., Wilson, H. (2011). Marketing Plans: How to Prepare Them, How to Use Them (7th ed.). Chichester: John Wiley Sons. Taylor, S., Vynagradov, O. (2004). Kids Market Consulting. London: Ivey Management Services. Tsoy, Y. M. (2005). The Analysis of Marketing Research Industry in Russia, KORUS. 6 (1), 953-956. Ukraine Inflation Rate. (2013). Retrieved from tradingeconomics.com/ukraine/inflation-cpi Ukraine Unemployment Rate. (2013). Retrieved from http://world-economic- outlook.findthedata.org/l/5835/Ukraine Appendices Exhibit 1 Factors considered in market attractiveness (Cant et al. 2009). Market attractiveness Competitive position Market/customer factors Size of market- 5 to 20 million USD Market potential- mature The growth rate of market- market leader grows by an average of 38% annuall y Stage in life cycle- maturity Diversity of competitive offerings- undifferentiated products Current customer loyalty- KMC has a strong brand image/built customer confidence Price elasticity- unknown but likely Bargaining power of customers- currently is low for KMC Seasonality of demand- likely Market position factors Relative market share- unknown Rate of change in market share (increasing or decreasing) slow growth Perceived actual or potential differentiation- actual product differentiation Breadth of current or planned product mix- single product line Company image- strong brand image Economic and technological factors Investment intensity (heavy/medium/low) considered medium because of costly analysis software and personnel but no plant Level and maturity of technology utilization- high Ability to pass through effects of inflation- low inflation rate about 0.3% Barriers to entry/exit- expertise and other forms of capital Access to raw materials- less influential E conomic and technological factors Relative cost position- high Capacity utilization- high considering it uses freelancers Technological position- high Patented technology (product or technology) none except brand Competitive factors Industry structure- saturated Competitive groupings- multiple Threats from substitution- likely Perceived differentiation among competitors- less differentiation Individual competitors’ strengths- Gfk has resources and a strong brand Possibility of new entrants- likely Capabilities of organization Management strength and depth- highly skilled Financial resources- support from DDI RD capabilities- unknown Marketing skills/strengths- good Sales force- unknown Distribution network- unknown Labor relations- unknown Relations with regulators- good Environmental factors Regulatory climate- UMA, a self-regulatory body Degree of social acceptance- customer is well-informed Synergy with other segments Market synergy- ability to benefit fr om growth in other fields such as psychology and statistics Operational synergy- DDI group Exhibit 2 The net income of global companies for the year 2003 as reported by Taylor Vynogradov (2004) Firm Total income Net income Profit margin Gfk $747m $41.8m 5.6% IPSOS S.A. $564.3m $7.5m 1.3% VNU N.V. $4.9b $163.1m 3.3% Exhibit 3 Gfk revenues and estimated growth rate from 2001 to 2011. Retrieved from gfk.ua/imperia/md/content/gfkukraine/presentations/gfk_ukr_comp_presentation_eng.pdf Year Growth rate% 2001 2002 43.9 2003 116.4 2004 58.9 2005 37.5 2006 27.7 2007 14.3 2008 54.2 2009 1.4 2010 18.7 2011 12.8 Average growth rate 38.8% Exhibit 4 Ukraine’s inflation rate as retrieved from tradingeconomics.com/ukraine/inflation-cpi

What is a Good ACT Aspire Score For a Freshman

What is a Good ACT Aspire Score For a Freshman SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips It’s tempting to compare the ACT Aspire test to the PSAT, but in reality they are quite different in their goals and purpose. The PSAT is meant to be practice for the real SAT, and doing well on it can qualify you for theNational Merit Scholarship. On the other hand, the ACT Aspire is a test for 3rd to 10th gradersthat is meant todetermine whether students are measuring up toCommon Core standards. Just like the real ACT, the ACT Aspire covers English, Math, Reading, Science, and Writing. But the format of this test, the structure of the questions, and the way the test is scored are all very different from the ACT. So how do you know what ACT Aspire score you should aim for in your freshman year of high school? Or if you already got your results, how can you tell where you stand compared to your peers? In this article, I’ll talk about how the ACT Aspire is scored, give you some different ways to think about what a good ACT Aspire score is for a 9th grader, and demonstrate several tools to use when thinking about your specific score. How is the ACT Aspire Test Scored? Scoring is slightly different for the different grades that take this test, so I will speak specifically about how ACT Aspire is scored when you take in high school. Right now,scores can range between 400 and 460 for each subject, depending on your grade level. This means that while the lowest possible score is 400 no matter what grade you're in, the maximum possible score goes up with each year that you take the test. In 10th grade, the last year the ACT Aspire is given, the maximum score is 460. In grades 8–10, your results will include a composite score, which is just the average of the scores you got on the English, Math, Reading, and Science sections of the test. Meanwhile, the Writing section is scored separately. Your results will also come with a few other measurements: one for language arts, one for STEM, and one that evaluations your reading comprehension. To get a sense of what all of this will look like, you can check out a sample score report. What’s a Good Freshman Score on ACT Aspire? What you consider a good score depends very much on what your goal for that score is. I will go through some possibilities of what the ACT Aspire score can show you, and discuss what constitutes a good score in each of those cases. Comparing Yourself to Yourself Because ACT Aspire is given to everyone from 3rd graders to 10th graders, after a few years, you will be able to see how well you’re doing on this test compared to all the other times you’ve taken it. The idea is that in each subject area, your scores should increase from year to year. So part of figuring out a good freshman score is tracking your progress to make sure that you are improving from one year to the next. At the same time, your scores should also be hitting the benchmarks set out by ACT. The benchmarks are basically the minimum scores that you need to get to show that you are performing at grade level. The point of these minimum scores is to show you, your teachers, and your parents whether you are on track for college readiness, and whether there are specific subjects where you could benefit from academic support. Here is a table of the ACT Aspire benchmarks for each subject: So for example, this table shows that on the math portion of the ACT Aspire, you can get a score anywhere between 400 and 460. If you get at least 428 as a freshman, you’re considered to be learningat grade level. Comparing Yourself to YourPeers Another thing that nation-wide tests like the ACT Aspire are supposed to do is give you a sense of where how your level ofacademic preparation compares to your peers. ACT Aspire publishes data about how students taking the test scored, so we can go through the data to see how you can tell where you stand when compared toother 9th graders who took the test at the same time as you. Some have it easier than others when comparing themselves to their peers. Using Composite Scores for Comparison One way to see how you stack up is through your composite score – the average of yourindividual subject scores (minus Writing). This number is a very quick way to see your relative ranking overall, without taking into consideration whether you are better or worse that some subjects than others. Here isthe range of composite scores for 8th, 9th, and 10th graders from the last year the ACT Aspire was administered: Grade Min 25% Rank 50% Rank 75% Rank 90% Rank 95% Rank Max 8 406 414 418 423 428 432 435 9 408 414 418 423 430 435 438 10 409 415 419 426 433 438 440 This table gives us a breakdown ofhow students scoredon the test.The "Min" and "Max" columns show the lowest and highest scores earned on this test. The "% Rank" columns show the score you'd need to reachthe given percentile, i.e. the score at which you'd be scoringhigher than that percent of other students. So, for example, 9th graders earned composite scores anywhere between 408 and 438 (that’s the minimum and maximum score columns). If you got at least 414, you did better than 25% of the 9th graders taking the test, which would put you in the 25th percentile of scorers. Meanwhile, if you got a 435, you fall into the top 5%, since you scored better than 95% of students. What can we learn from this table? For 9th graders, 418 was the medianscore - 49% of students did better, and 50% did worse. What's a good freshman composite score for ACT Aspire? Let’s assume that a good score is roughly at or above the 75th percentile – meaning, scoring higher than 75% of your peers. This means that a good composite score for the ACT Aspire for freshmen is 423 or higher. The mix everything together approach: great for paella, less useful for test scores. Using Individual Test Sections forComparison The composite score is a good tool for very quick analysis. But another, probably more useful, way of comparing yourself to your peers is to dive into each section of the test individually. Not only is this a more precise ranking system, but it also helps you figure out which subjects are your strengths, and which you need to work on more, or maybe even get some outside help. Now, let's investigate the test sections one by one. We can look at exactly what percentile you fall into depending on yourscore. ACT Aspire 9th Grade English Percentiles Score % Rank Score % Rank Score % Rank Score % Rank 400 1 415 13 430 57 445 96 401 1 416 15 431 61 446 97 402 1 417 16 432 65 447 98 403 1 418 19 433 68 448 99 404 1 419 22 434 71 449 99 405 1 420 25 435 74 450 99 406 1 421 28 436 77 451 99 407 2 422 30 437 80 452 99 408 2 423 33 438 82 453 99 409 3 424 37 439 84 454 99 410 4 425 40 440 87 455 99 411 5 426 43 441 89 456 100 412 7 427 47 442 91 413 8 428 50 443 93 414 10 429 54 444 94 One thing to look at right away is that you don’t need to get all the questions right in order to fall into the top 1% of students. Although the exact number will change slightly from year to year, on this version of the ACT Aspire anyone who got above 448 on the English section did better than 99% of test takers. The benchmark English section score of 426 would put you at the 43rd percentile, meaning you scored better than 43% of your peers. Keeping our assumption that a good score on this test is on or above the 75th percentile, we can see that getting 435 or higher puts you in at least the 74th percentile, making this a good score. ACT Aspire 9th Grade ReadingPercentiles Score % Rank Score % Rank Score % Rank Score % Rank 400 1 411 11 422 57 433 95 401 1 412 15 423 61 434 97 402 1 413 16 424 62 435 99 403 1 414 21 425 66 436 99 404 1 415 26 426 71 437 99 405 1 416 30 427 75 438 99 406 1 417 34 428 80 439 99 407 2 418 39 429 84 440 99 408 4 419 43 430 89 441 99 409 4 420 47 431 89 442 100 410 8 421 52 432 92 You can see a similar thing about the Reading section results – quite a few of the top scores would put you in the top 1% of people taking the test. Also, notice how big a difference in the percentile rankings just one point makes. If you earned 428, you are in the top 20%, but if you earned 429, you are in the top 16%. The Reading benchmark that ACT, Inc. determined is 425, or better than 66% of test takers. A good score on the Reading section – a score around the 75th percentile – is 427. ACT Aspire 9th Grade MathPercentiles Score % Rank Score % Rank Score % Rank Score %Rank 400 1 416 18 432 82 448 99 401 1 417 23 433 84 449 99 402 1 418 28 434 88 450 99 403 1 419 32 435 90 451 99 404 1 420 37 436 92 452 99 405 1 421 39 437 93 453 99 406 1 422 44 438 95 454 99 407 1 423 49 439 96 455 99 408 1 424 53 440 97 456 99 409 2 425 58 441 98 457 99 410 2 426 61 442 98 458 99 411 4 427 65 443 99 459 99 412 6 428 69 444 99 460 100 413 8 429 72 445 99 414 11 430 75 446 99 415 14 431 79 447 99 The math section yielded a really very big spread people in the top percentile – anyone who scored above 443 did better than 99% of their peers. The ACT Aspire benchmark for this section is 428, or the 69th percentile. Meanwhile, a good score in the 75th percentile is 430. ACT Aspire 9th Grade SciencePercentiles Score % Rank Score % Rank Score % Rank Score % Rank 400 1 413 7 426 59 439 97 401 1 414 11 427 63 440 98 402 1 415 16 428 67 441 99 403 1 416 17 429 70 442 99 404 1 417 22 430 76 443 99 405 1 418 24 431 79 444 99 406 1 419 29 432 82 445 99 407 1 420 35 433 84 446 99 408 2 421 40 434 87 447 99 409 2 422 45 435 91 448 99 410 4 423 46 436 92 449 100 411 4 424 50 437 94 412 7 425 54 438 96 The benchmark for ACT Aspire Science is 430, which the same as the good score we’ve been discussing, since it falls into the 76th percentile of test takers Incidentally, if you’ve been following along with the visual data presentation in these tables, you’re actually getting in somegood practice for both the ACT Aspire Science section and the real ACT Science section as well! ACT Aspire 9th Grade WritingPercentiles Score % Rank Score % Rank Score % Rank Score % Rank 408 1 419 26 430 76 441 99 409 1 420 31 431 76 442 99 410 5 421 31 432 88 443 99 411 5 422 35 433 88 444 99 412 7 423 35 434 95 445 99 413 7 424 47 435 95 446 99 414 9 425 47 436 96 447 99 415 9 426 65 437 96 448 100 416 13 427 65 438 97 417 13 428 71 439 97 418 26 429 71 440 99 The Writing section is scored separately and a little bit differently from the rest of the ACT Aspire sections. For one thing, you can see here that the lowest score on this section isn’t 400 like it is for all the other sections, but 408. Here, the benchmark score from ACT is 428, or better than 71% of everyone taking the test in that year. Meanwhile, a good score on Writing is at least 430, which is in the 76th percentile. Does the ACT Aspire Predict Your Future ACT Score? One of the reasons you may be wondering how well you did on theACT Aspire is that you want some kind of assurance or prediction that you’ll do well on the real ACT when you take it junior or senior year. The truth is thatACT Aspire is not a particularly great predictor of your future accomplishments– at least as far as your ACT scores are concerned.But this is actually fantastic news! First of all, it means that the ACT Aspire really does what it’s supposed to do – it shows you where you are now and where you need to improve. And second,it means that dramatic improvement is possible because, as a freshman, you have 2 or even 3 years in which to do it! The ACT Aspire is the weathervane of tests: it's really good at telling you what's happening now, but not really able to predict the future. How ACT Aspire and ACT Scores Compare ACT published a spreadsheet with score data on 50 10th grade students – what they got on each ACT Aspire section, and what they went on to get on the actual ACT when they took it in 11th grade. While it's true that this data is about sophomores rather than freshman, it's still useful to check out what it can tell us. The spreadsheet itself is rather unwieldy, so I've created a couple of graphs to more easily point out the salient bits of information. First, let's talk about the overall trends that the ACT's data shows. In general, the higher your score on the ACT Aspire, the more likely you are to get a higher score on the real ACT itself. Here is a graph that shows this tendency by taking individual scores and smoothing them out into trendlines: However, this is only part of the story. Another way to parse this data is to look more closely at an individual subject. For example, here is a scatterplot graph of a piece of the same data, comparing how 10th gradersdid on Aspire Math and how they ended up doing on ACT Math. The way the scatterplotgraph works is this: Each blue diamond point representsone student Ifyou gostraight down from the diamond, you can see what this student got on ACT Aspire Math If you gostraight left, you can see what this same student got onACTMath: What can we learn from this more zoomed-in approach? On the one hand, as the scores from Aspire Math increase (x-axis), the scores on ACT Math also tend to get somewhat higher as a group (y-axis). In other words, the swarm of diamonds goes upward as we go from left to right. This what accounts for the way the Math trendline appears on the graph above this one. On the other hand,we can see that your Aspire score is by no means destiny, no matter where in the score range students fall. For example, the 3 students who got434 on ACT Aspire Math (just above the sophomore "good" score in the 72nd percentile), ended up getting ACT scores between17 (approximately in the bottom 30%) to 26 (approximately in the top 15%). What Does This Mean in Terms of a Good Score? I think the best way to think about your scores if you’re worried about eventually taking the ACT is to: First, make sure you’re meeting your 9th grade benchmarks. That’s a pretty good indicator that you’re on track with your learning. Next, think about your ACT Aspire section scores. If there is one section (or several sections) that you are scoring significantly worse in, then this is the time to get extra help with these academic subjects. Should You Study For the ACT Aspire? It’s certainly a very good idea to get some exposure to the test itself. In order for any test to be an accurate reflection of your knowledge and abilities, you shouldn’t be penalized just for being unfamiliar with the test’s format and structure. To that end, you should definitely read ourdetailed breakdown of what the ACT Aspire is like and the kinds of questions you’ll face on it. You should also get a sense of what taking the ACT Aspire will be like from their sample questions and computer test simulator. Go to theACT Aspire exemplar page, where you’ll find a link to the simulator and login information for all test sections and grade levels. But honestly, beyond getting a basic sense of what you’ll see on test day, I don’t think it makes a lot of sense to study for the ACT Aspire. For one thing, this isn’t like the PSAT – no scholarships or awards are resting on the score you get. Also, the point of the test is to see whether you are where you should be in your learning. If you study specifically for the test, you could throw off these results – which would be a problem if you actually need help in a specific test area. Finally, the ACT Aspire isn’t just a diagnostic test for individual students. It’s also supposed to measure how each classroom is doing as a whole. Imagine, for example, that the ACT Aspire results come back and every single kid in your class bombed the Writing section. This will tell your teacher and school administrators that they really need to beef up the school’s writing program. And this in turn will benefit you down the road, when you learn how to write college-level work. If you are really very worried about your future testing results, you’re better off justtaking a practice ACT instead. It’ll more accurately show you how you’d score if you took the ACT now. One possible thing to do instead of studying for the ACT Aspire. The Bottom Line The ACT Aspire tests the same 5 sections as the ACT, but is structured, formatted, and scored very differently. You’ll get scores for each of the sections individually, as well as a composite score that averages English, Reading, Math, and Science. What is a good ACT Aspire score depends on what you are trying to determine. A good score for personal progress is a score that’s higher than your previous score and one that meets ACT Aspire benchmarks. A good score when comparing yourself to your peers is around the 75th percentile – the actual number is different for each ACT Aspire section. ACT Aspire is not very good at predicting ACT scores. Instead, it shows you subject areas where you need extra help. There is no need to study for the ACT Aspire, though it would be a good idea to get familiar with the test format by checking out their sample questions. What’s Next? Should you start preparing for the ACT as a 9th grader? We have some advice. Did you take me up on my suggestion to try out a practice ACT test? Now, read aboutwhat your score 9th grade ACT score means. Thinking about taking the PSAT as a 9th grader as well? Check out ourguide to the pros and cons of this decision and our discussion onwhat is a good PSAT score for a freshman. Want to improve your ACT score by 4+ points? Download our free guide to the top 5 strategies you need in your prep to improve your ACT score dramatically.

Naloxone's Drug Profile Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Naloxone's Drug Profile - Essay Example Many greater doses are needed when using oral administration for any pharmacologic effect. Naloxone is absorbed in the liver, mainly through glucuronide conjugation, and eventually excreted from the body system in urine. Part Three Because of the penetrating biotransformation in the liver, Naloxone is ineffectual when taken orally, and because of this, it is dispensed exclusively for parenteral use (Robertson et al 512-5). Section 2 Part One Naloxone is available in both parenteral and oral formulations. In Australia, Naloxone comes as a sterilized solution for intramuscular, intravenous, and subcutaneous administration in three strengths (1milligram, 0.4milligram, and 0.02milligram) for every milliliter in the sterilized solution. Every milliliter of the one-milligram strength has 8.35 milligrams of NaCl. In Australia, Naloxone may be referred to by different brand names such as TARGIN or buprenorphine. They are offered in four strengths, which are 5/2.5 milligrams, 10/5 milligrams, 20/10milligrams 40/20 milligrams, and TARGIN tablets that come in boxes that have blister packs of 20 to 28 tablets. Packs of 20 tablets are only available until current stocks deplete (Kelly and Koutsogiannis 375) Part Two A Naloxone hydrochloride is injected either intravenously, intramuscularly, subcutaneously, or orally. Intravenous administration has proved to work faster than all the other forms of administration, hence its recommendation for use in emergency cases. As such, it is preferred in emergency circumstances. In intravenous infusion Naloxone, hydrochloride may be diluted in dextrose injection 5 per cent or sodium chloride injection 0.9 per cent (O’Malley-Dafner and Davies 212). Products from parenteral drugs ought to be examined visually for any complication such as discoloration prior to administration. Naloxone hydrochloride dose should not be mixed with any alkaline solution, preparations containing bisulfite, high-molecular-weight anions, metabisulfite, an d long-chain. There should be no addition of chemical agents or drugs to this solution unless one knows its outcome on the solution’s chemical and physical and stability. Section 3 Part One After a parenteral administration, Naloxone quickly disperses in the body system, freely crossing the placenta. The binding of plasma protein follows, but has been reported to be rather weak. Although the principal binding component is plasma albumin, plasma constituents also undergo naloxone binding. Part Two The drug’s distribution volume in plasma, which is 3litres per kilogram (this is more or less equal to 210 litres for a 70kilogram person versus five to six liters of blood in the same person, which would seem rather large). However, to get transported, the drug is usually bound to plasma proteins for transport (Martin 415). Naloxone is 61.5 per cent in fetal plasma and 54 per cent protein bound in adults. Part Three The usual adult dose is 0.4 to 2 milligram per dose of intra venous, and intramuscular, or subcutaneously administration and it may sometimes be repeated at two or three-minute intervals. Therapy is done if there is no response after accumulative dose of 10 milligrams. Naloxone is given intracisternally in loading doses. 0.1 milligram/kg/dose is given to children and infants who are less than or equal to five years or less than or equa

THERE ARE A TOTAL OF 7 SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS DEALING WITH LINGUISTICS Assignment

THERE ARE A TOTAL OF 7 SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS DEALING WITH LINGUISTICS - Assignment Example Even though it may give the historical representation of the word, it does not give how the language forms are pronounced (Hardcastle, Laver & Gibbon, 2010, p.679). The orthographical representation of the words, ‘read’ and the past form of it, ‘read’ are same but in phonetics representation these become different and more clarity is occurred. In phonetics these are, /ri:d/ and /red/. So linguists use the phonetic alphabets to present how the word is pronounced. It makes the learners use the language effectively. 2. Suprasegmentals are the particular features of language by which the meaning of language is altered. Suprasegmentals are â€Å"†¦ consisting of stress, juncture, and intonation and all affect morphologically and alter the identity and significance of the segments in an utterance† (Abrams &Harpham, 2011, p.197). These suprasegmentals change an utterance from verb to noun and the like. For example the word ‘contest’ is used as a noun with the stress on the first syllable whereas in the verb form of the word the stress is given in the second syllable. As English is a language that is affected by stress, juncture, and intonation the suprasegmentals are very important in the language. 3. The terms ‘phonetics’ and ‘phonology’ are different even though both are similar to each other. The term phonetics denotes the speech sounds produced by humans. Phonology denotes the pattern of sounds in a language and the distribution of it in different languages or within each language (Phonetics vs. Phonology, n.d.). Phonetics stands as an ordinary term whereas phonology has much wider areas. In phonetics the utterance of the sounds is considered as the most important one whereas in phonology it covers phonetics and analyses how sound patterns are distributed within the language and outside the language. 4. Phonemes are the smallest distinctive sound units in a language. For example in the word ‘pin’ we