Security Issues Of The Arab Spring Movement - 2310 Words

Security Issues in Syria This essay will examine how festering and fermenting animosity between Sunni and Shia factions in the region embroils issues of food security and human security with the security issues found in conflict generally. Security is a looking-glass that puts different things as priorities for whomever in question is looking. The security concerns of Bashar al-Assad are different to those of the Free Syrian Army, Jabhat al-Nusra or the Islamic State. While these actors- and there are more than just those three- are actively engaged in conflict with fiscal and military support from NATO, Saudi Arabia, Iran and Russia security issues will blossom for civilians in the region and globally. There is a long and complex history†¦show more content†¦The Alawite Assad family has based its power for more than four decades on the solid loyalty of its religious bloc in a loose alliance with Christians, Druze, and, sometimes, one or more of the other smaller, ethnic groups. A prominent feature of the 2011–12 rebellion is a largely Sunni Arab bid to overthrow that â€Å"coalition of minorities† regime. (Carpenter, 2013: 1-2) One cannot talk about Syria without talking about the region as a whole. Since the end of the Cold War three Western led ground operations in the Middle East have been added massive strain to societies still recovering from centuries of colonialism and the authoritarian regimes that followed the colonial era. Western interference and intervention did not cease with the independence of nation-states in the region as the numerous wars and propping up of authoritarian regimes since 1945 can attest to. The establishment of the Israeli state following World War Two has caused multiple conflicts in the region, as have longstanding animosity between Iran and Arab nations and the Iran-Iraq war. Resource Wars and Post-Colonialism Resource wars are violent conflicts fought over vital materials, the Middle East region contains some of the largest producers of petroleum and natural gas, the market for these resources however is global. As energy security forms a core part of the national

Essay about Traditional vs. Modern Architecture in China

Question: Traditional culture in architecture is being eroded by modernity of the present architecture in China. Analyze the causes and effects of this problem and possible solutions. In China, urbanization is at dramatic pace but in static patterns. This leads to the Chinese cities losing their own styles, and being built in the static architecture modes which are introduced from developed countries. Moreover, the traditional architecture cultures are being eroded by the static modern architecture patterns. Some of them are even on the boundary of extinction. Recently, architects in China have shown an increasing interest in the issue of traditional architecture in the modern era. This paper studies on the causes and effects of the†¦show more content†¦Although there are many success works, the â€Å"modern temperament† is indeed threatening the status of traditional architecture. In fact, cities in China are constructed rapidly yet monotonously. The development of modern architecture design in China cannot match with the splitting urbanization. In the major cities of China, there is almost no difference and few characters of architecture in Chinese cities. (there are almost no differences between the architectures and only a few of them have characters) The reason of this phenomenon is that in the present architecture in China, the traditional culture is confronted with an all-out threat of modernityï ¼Å'and is being eroded slowly. For example, a large-scale commercial pedestrian street called Luoma Market was planned to be constructed in a historical and cultural relic of the ancient site near the Bell Tower in Xi’an (a historical city on the northwest of China) (a historical city located in the northwestern of China). Due to the investors’ one-sided pursuit of modernization and ignorance of the local area history and culture, after 6 years of construction, the urban context was cut off by the pedestrian street. Because of this, as a local newspaper in Xi’an reported in 2007(according to the Xi’an local newspaper that was reported in 2007), the Luoma Market, which was full of modern emporiums and hotels, is just like an incongruousShow MoreRelatedContexts of Metropolis and 19841295 Words   |  6 PagesWorld War I Germany had to pay off large amounts of reparations money and debt as a result of its defeat in WWI Workers suffered as the ones who had to labour hard to keep Germany from falling while the rich were hedonist Social crisis- Kaiser and traditional authority rejected, democracy seen as way forward but only experimented with rather than fully integrated Opposing views: capitalism and communism Rise of Soviet Russia and its Influence on Germany Geographical proximity to Germany- socialist revolutionRead MoreEssay on Chinese Culture vs. Western and American Culture3118 Words   |  13 Pages Chinese Culture vs. Western and American Culture There are many different aspects on Ancient Chinese culture that differ from Western and American culture. 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Marriage and Divorce free essay sample

Marriage is an institution under siege today, and only a return to the biblical foundation of these God-given institutions will reverse the decline of marriage and the family in our culture today. With this in mind, we must first look at Gen. 2:18, 21-24. â€Å"The Lord God said; it is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him and while he was sleeping, he took one of the mans ribs and closed up the place with flesh. Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. The man said, this is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called woman, for she was taken out of man. For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh†. We will write a custom essay sample on Marriage and Divorce or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page It could be said that we are seeing the first wedding. We can conclude from this account in Genesis that marriage is Gods idea, designed and instituted by the Creator. In these verses we also discover that at the heart of Gods design for marriage is companionship and intimacy, making it a lifetime covenant between mankind and God, never to be severed by human action. There are several epistles written by the Apostle Paul that refer to marriage and how believers are to operate within the marriage relationship. The following are especially profound in reference to a successful biblical marriage. â€Å"Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord for the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior† (Ephesians 5:22-23). â€Å"Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her† (Ephesians 5:25). â€Å"In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself, after all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church† (Ephesians 5:28-29). â€Å"For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh† (Ephesians 5:31). As we can see, a biblically based marriage is one that is in balance, with Christ as the head of the man and the wife together. In the pre-Mosaic period, divorce was common among the heathen nations. A man could divorce his spouse for any reason simply by telling her before witnesses, â€Å"You are no longer my wife†. The practice of easy divorce became common among the Hebrews, encouraged by the absence of regulations restricting it. In His comments on divorce, Jesus explained that divorce represents a change in God’s order because, â€Å"from the beginning it was not so† (Matt 19:8). He further observed that it was because of the â€Å"hardness† of human heart that Moses â€Å"allowed† divorce (Matt 19:8). I have found that in extreme cases, there are a couple of grounds for divorce. When adultery has taken place and that Apostle Paul added to the teachings of Jesus what is called the â€Å"Pauline privilege†. According to this concept, Paul taught that if an unbelieving spouse leaves a believer, the believer is not bound to the marriage relationship, but is free to remarry (1 Corinthians 7:15). Some people believe that such a reason could cover the brutalization of one spouse by the other, making it impossible to live with them any longer. They believe the situation is the equivalent of desertion, and divorce is permissible. I could not find incompatibility, lack of love, or differing career goals as grounds for divorce. _____________________ (1)http://www. thewordout. net/pages/page. asp? page_id=74725 An important factor contributing to the alarming escalation of divorce among Christians is the growing acceptance of the societal view of marriage as a social contract, governed by civil laws, rather than as a sacred covenant, witnessed and guaranteed by God Himself. Instead of promising each other faithfulness till death do us part, many couples are adopting the modern version of the marriage vow, by pledging to remain together â€Å"as long as we both shall love†. The recent â€Å"no fault† divorce law makes the dissolution of marriage so easy that some lawyers advertise divorce services for less than $100. 00, â€Å"All legal fees and services included in one low price†. What a sad commentary on the cheapness of marriage today! What God has united, many will put asunder for less than the price of a good pair of shoes. We must always remember, â€Å"Whosoever finds a wife finds a good thing, and obtains favor of the LORD (Proverbs 18: 22).

Social Commentary in Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre Essay Example

Social Commentary in Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre Essay Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre has now attained an iconic status as a literary work. There are several reasons behind this achievement. The first is the inherent beauty and complexity of the novel. The twists, turns and fluctuations of fortune that comprise the plot are both original and engaging. The second most notable aspect of the novel is its authorship by a woman. Although originally published under a male pseudonym, it is evident to the scrupulous reader that the work is by a woman, as it contains numerous insights into female psychology. Finally, the novel is at once incisive and critical of the then existing social norms and customs, which were largely unfair to women and the underprivileged. Hence, Jane Eyre is a rich source of information on English society of early 19th century. It was an era when the industrial revolution was taking shape and having far-reaching impact on economic, social and cultural life. Bronte’s classic novel captures well a society caught in this transition. We can see how, despite fundamental changes to the organization of economic activity, social hierarchies (both within and outside the family) were holding on to status quo. Reading Jane Eyre in this backdrop offers the reader interesting perspectives on sociological issues facing the England of early 19th century. Jane Eyre belongs to the ‘bildungsroman’ (coming of age) literary genre, in that the story starts at Ms. Eyre’s youth and narrates her development and maturity into adulthood. The growth of Jane is physical, mental and spiritual. And it is this rounded development that is the key attraction in the novel. Otherwise, it might have easily turned out into a run-of-the-mill pulp romance fiction with no lasting value. One of the main issues that Jane Eyre is concerned with is gender relations. Recognized today as a pivotal feminist text, there are several symbolic as well as concrete forays into women’s issues. One of the most striking of these symbolisms is ‘the madwoman in the attic’, describing Mr. Rochester’s first wife who is mentally ill. It is through depictions of such social situations that the emancipative narrative strategies of the work come to light, whereby, the author both conceals and reveals social and psychological truth s about women’s lives. For example, â€Å"their anger at being treated as sexual objects in the marriage market, and, paradoxically, their overwhelming desire to love and be loved by men with whom they can never be equal.† (Griesinger, 2008, p.30) We will write a custom essay sample on Social Commentary in Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Social Commentary in Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Social Commentary in Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer The case of the madwoman is a socio-literary strategy employed by other female authors of the time as well. This way, they were hinting at deeper meanings beneath surface designs that conceal or obscure such interpretations. Like Bronte’s madwoman, â€Å"these inaccessible meanings are locked up, as it were, in the â€Å"attic† of the text.† (Griesinger, 2008, p.30) It is for this rich social commentary that Jane Eyre continues to be studied by women in contemporary era. For example, the novel excels in its treatment of women’s issues, including women’s education, the plight of the governess, and equality in marriage. It should be remembered though, that while subtle feminist messages in the novel are lauded, there are more critical interpretations that question Bronte’s implicit acceptance of racism and imperialism, which are actually subversive to the feminist cause. Another interesting facet to Jane Eyre is its comment on spirituality and Christianity. Like many contemporary writers of hers, the salvation of the soul is one of the preoccupations of Bronte’s works. Her views on the subject varied from that of novelists like Charles Dickens, Thomas Hardy and George Eliot, in that, she was not overtly critical of religious faith in general and the Christian doctrine in particular. During the Victorian era, evangelical Christianity was becoming an accepted form of religious propaganda. Based on what we can glean from Jane Eyre, it is clear that she was swayed by the evangelical movement to an extent. The Victorian era was a time when complex tensions existed â€Å"between Evangelical, Calvinist, and Methodist theologies that swept through and ultimately divided the established Church of England which Bronte loved†¦Gallagher is the first to identify Jane Eyre as a â€Å"Christian feminist bildungsroman†. Published in 1847 when Bronte was thirty-one, Jane Eyre is at least partly autobiographical, which opens the possibility for considering how Jane’s spiritual bildung, especially in the early sections of the novel, may reflect that of Charlotte Bronte. The influence of religion on Bronte is both obvious and obscure. It is obvious that much of what she saw, heard and read was concerned with religion. It is not obvious how she originally reacted to the variety of religious beliefs she encountered.† (Griesinger, 2008, p.31) Another factor that adds complexity to Jane Eyre is Bronte’s mixing of genres in the work. This lends the novel to sociological study from various disciplinary perspectives. One can witness an overwhelming ideological dialectic that seems to close down toward the novel’s end to an â€Å"apparently thin monological stream. Bronte’ tremendous displacement of the domestic values toward the tragic and mythical, though it falls short of ultimate achievement, gives her work a margin of superiority over that of other Victorian novelists.† (Peters, 1996, p.59) This assessment is best exemplified in the final passages of the work, where the independent and bold Jane Eyre settles down to a life in dedication of Mr. Rochester. Is this a resignation to entrenched social norms or irrational dictates of romantic love? Further, â€Å"Has Bronte failed to extricate her vision from the apparently downward-tending â€Å"domestic† to achieve the â€Å"tragic and mythical† and therefore failed to fulfil the vision she seemed to offer women? Or is it perhaps that Bronte is raising the domestic to the level of the mythical? An examination of Bronte’s use of the Cinderella tale in Jane Eyre points to the latter conclusion: Jane Eyre fuses the domestic to the mythical.† (Clarke, 2000, p. 695)

FYW narrative essay Essays - Free Essays, Term Papers

FYW narrative essay Essays - Free Essays, Term Papers It was the seventh grade when I decided to tryout for he volleyball team. My friend Amaiya screamed out Stephanie! I turned around and the ball knocked my head to a 90-degree angle. How hard I was hit for my head to be parallel to my ear like Im on the phone. I thought I was going to be watching TV sideways for the rest of my life. With Gods miracle I made the team. Before our first game we had our jerseys on, taking pictures on our cellphones in the locker room. Ive never felt so cool in my life, unfortunately that took a turn for the worst. The 80-year-old man produced this sorry sound of a whistle from whatever is left of his respiratory system, and smack goes the volleyball. Of course it is coming towards me with everyone and their mother watching. I was dismantled like a Lego. It hit my 7-year-old boy chest so hard, ricocheting and hit my girl Amaiya in the head. (Good ex. of what comes around goes around.?) Immediately afterwards I see signs floating all across the bleachers #1 7 YOU SUCK. I turned to my teammates and I see the Devil rising in their eyes. Amaiya says, Youll get the next one. All of a sudden I hear snapping turtles everywhere, What the heck was that? Whats wrong with you? Wheres your brain? Do you even go here? Within seconds I was drowning in tears. Coach said, Suck it up. Suck what up? The river of snot and tears flooding the court? The game has haunted me for the rest of my life. Word choice can make or break any situation.

Determination of Coefficient of Friction Essays

Determination of Coefficient of Friction Essays Determination of Coefficient of Friction Essay Determination of Coefficient of Friction Essay First of all, I prepare my working place and start my determination. All my measurements are recorded to the table above. For more accurate results of   kinetic I recorded data with 5 different weights.  The smallest graduation of the spring scale is 0.1 N. According to this, the absolute uncertainty of weight of the block is 0.05 N. I do not add additional uncertainty as I did not encounter any further difficulties in weight measurement. I used weights provided by my teacher. Those weights were precisely 1 N each. In the table I only provide the number of them and therefore I take it without uncertainty.  Once again the smallest graduation of the spring scale is 0.1N and according to this, the absolute uncertainty of friction force measurements should be 0.05N, but I decided to take this uncertainty as 0.1N as it was hard to determine the friction force correctly. I needed to pull the block with the weights at just that force to overcome the friction. I needed to pull equally and using the constant force. It was hard to do, so I decided to add some further uncertainty. Data processing:  When determining the kinetic friction coefficient the mg is equal to the normal force. In each situation I add the weight of the block with weight of the number of weights added. As my used weights were very precise and provided by my teacher I do not include uncertainty to their weights. They were 1N each. Therefore, I leave the absolute uncertainty of the normal force the same as the weight of the block as the same uncertainty remains. ?Normal force = ?weight of the block + ?weights - ?normal force = ?weight of the block + 0. For each situation with different number of weights, the normal force differs as well. I calculated the normal force in this way:  Normal force = weight of the block + n x weight of one weight - Normal force = 0.60 + 1n, where n is the number of weights added.  First of all I measured the length of the wooden plane. I used a meter rule which had a smallest graduation of 0.1 cm. Therefore, I should take the absolute uncertainty of length measurement as 0.05cm, but I decided to take it as 0.1cm due to the fact that wooden plane could not have been in a perfect rectangular shape and therefore length at different positions could be different. I decided to investigate and to check the static coefficient of friction in different situations, so I include the number of weights attached to the wooden block. I provide them as integer numbers.  Further I collected raw data of the height just before which the wooden block started to move. I collected these readings with a meter rule which smallest graduation was 0.1cm and therefore the absolute uncertainty of height measurements should be 0.05cm but I decided to take the absolute uncertainty as 0.3cm due to the fact that wooden plane was lifted by a human and therefore it was hard to identify the correct height.However the biggest deviation from the mean is 0.06, so this number will be taken as the absolute uncertainty. Now I can compare my result with literatures. In Giancoli Physics page 97 it is provided that the coefficient of static friction of wood on wood is equal to 0.4. The percentage discrepancy is equal to 45%. Also, the percentage uncertainty is equal to 27%. I will discuss these finding in conclusion and evaluation part.  Conclusion and evaluation:  The first part of my determination, where I had to find the kinetic coefficient was done more precisely, but not more accurately. The percentage discrepancy compared with the literatures was 0% what is a great achievement, but however the percentage uncertainty was 100%. In the second part discrepancy was 45% and percentage uncertainty was 27%. The percentage uncertainty of the static friction coefficient is quite good, but still the result and determined coefficient is quite far from given literatures value. Therefore, I have to state the weaknesses and limitations of my determination. Some errors were encountered and the percentage uncertainties are quite big despite the fact that I tried to be as accurate as possible. Next time I may try to improve my determination with suggestions provided further and then more accurate results could come. First of all, the main weakness of the determination was human factor as it was needed either to pull uniformly or to lift the plane very slowly and uniformly as well. It was clearly the weakest part of all determination as uniformity was very difficult to achieve. Of course, calculating means helped me to determine the coefficients more precisely, but huge uncertainties were still left. Moreover I could blame the instruments as I had to use quite many of them, but the uncertainty they provided was relatively small. Furthermore, some systematic errors have occurred as I had to do a lot of calculations and roundings during the data processing part. Also, the instruments may have been badly calibrated and this could have affected my determination. However, systematic errors are not so important because even if they even were encountered, they were very small. Another thing is with random errors as they were really significant because the percentage uncertainty shows quite high result. I could provide several suggestions to improve the determination. First of all, I would rather use bigger and longer plane and bigger block. Then, as I would still use the same equipment with same absolute uncertainties, the percentage uncertainty would be reduced significantly. The uncertainty would be less important and more accurate results would come. Also, human factor uncertainty would be reduced because it would be easier to pull uniformly or to lift the plane. However, my suggestions would only lesser the uncertainties, but they would not totally cancel them.

Dream Job Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Dream Job - Essay Example In fact, from my early childhood, I have cherished assisting my peers learn new or difficult things. I always seek to lead group discussions as this gives me an opportunity to exercise my love for teaching. Thus, this job would provide me with the opportunity to practice what I enjoy. My choice of university as a place to exercise my love for teaching follows my belief that institutions of higher learning provide greater challenge to the teacher than pre-university institutions. It would be useful to appreciate that the undergraduate and postgraduate students could have greater knowledge of what is being taught than the instructor. As such, I would constantly be seeking for knowledge, thus keeping me active in the academic field. Universities stand out as institutions of higher learning where there is access to resources required to gain further knowledge, thus an advantage I would utilize to increase my knowledge. Furthermore, the diversity in the university population bringing toge ther nearly every aspect of the international outlook would provide me with the opportunity for beneficial networking. It would also be useful to appreciate that the career is well paying, the Government of Canada citing 90.1% practitioners in the field earning an annual income of greater than $50,000. Therefore, there are many push and pull factors that inform my choice of university instructor as my dream job. Even so, to achieve my dream would require a lot of hard work in my academics. As noted by the Government of Canada, a doctorate in a field of instruction would be the minimum requirement for any university to admit me as an instructor despite the huge variation in the requirements from different universities. However, it gives relief to note that holders of Master’s degree could also be considered as long as they are pursuing their doctorate studies or holders of Bachelor’s degrees with extensive experience in the area of instruction. This means

Should sick people pay more for health insurance Annotated Bibliography

Should sick people pay more for health insurance - Annotated Bibliography Example Gottlieb, Scott. How Much Does Obamacare Rip Off Young Adults? We Ran The Numbers. Here Are The  Results. Forbes. 28Th March 2014. Web. 9Th April 2014. Gottleb’s article in this study will act as a proof in showing how expensive insurances have turned out to be especially for the young beneficiaries. Therefore, its content will aid in backing varied statistics, which in intend to state in this argument contending the health insurances are too pricey whereby the state through its varied authorities ought to regulate. Since, not all Americans despite being legal or illegal citizens are capable of affording their current ratings. However, this source compared to others will not be among the main ones but as a backing reference meant to show how pricey health insurances have turned out to be. This is despite those involved in dispatching of health insurances including the government knowing sickness is not a permanent condition. I will also use this source in showing how the government has failed in regulating the cost of health in comparison to other states like that of Germany as depicted by Khazan’s article. From this recent article highlighting how a man was diagnosed with a testicular mass likely a cancer. Thus, he did not get proper care because he did not have a health insurance. I intend to use it in backing the argument on health insurance cover. This is to show how costly it has become in comparison to other states globally. This implies the US should intervene to regulate the price to be affordable to all civilians. This content discusses how one might be at high risk of death if he or she does not have a health insurance cover. I will use this content to cite how

Choicepoint and Sony, an Ethical Analysis Essay Example for Free

Choicepoint and Sony, an Ethical Analysis Essay Ethics refers to what comes off as right or wrong to an individual’s conscience .The internet age has brought about new ethical issues, not only for an individual but for the society as well as it has eased anonymous manipulation and distribution of information, creating new and easier paths for committing crimes like piracy, identity theft, infringement of an individual’s privacy etc. In this paper we will be analyzing the Choice-point case and the ‘Sony data breach ‘case from an ethical point of view. (Laudon Laudon, 2010, p.128) Background: The ChoicePoint Data breach: On September 27 of 2004, ChoicePoint,a company that aggregates and stores personal information, suspected that some of its small business customers were involved in suspicious activities and informed the police. (Paine, Phillips, 2008)On February of 2005, ChoicePoint only notified those residents of California whose data had been leaked to the illegal customers, since a certain law in California requires it. A protest from the public, however, forced the company to notify the details of the breach to the other involved parties residing in the other states. The swindlers who scammed ChoicePoint had created over 50 accounts with previously stolen identities over the course of a year or even longer. (Pantesco, 2006) Look more:  the issues concerning identity theft essay Changes in business practices (Otto, Anton Baumer, 2007): ChoicePoint made numerous changes after the 2004-2005 data breach. The company closed the 50 fake accounts and made a policy to refuse any faxed business licenses in the future .The Company formed a new policy, that all nongovernmental organizations need to be re-credentialed in order to do business with it, and increased its procedures in verifying the identity of the company. More stringent and better business policies in ensuring the safety of their customer’s data, for e.g. partial masking of social security numbers were employed. The company continued its investigations of its databases for further indications of foul play and brought in outsiders to assess and rectify their practices. The Sony Data Breach: The Sony data breach was a result of an intrusion from an outsider party, causing an outage in the PlayStation Network and Qriocity’s services between 17th April 2011 and 19th April, 2011.A confirmation from Sony revealed that pieces of personal information had been stolen from each and every 77 million accounts. This breach resulted in Sony shutting off the PlayStation Network for 23 days. (Hirai, 2011) Sony stated that the chairman of the company had submitted explanations wanted by United States House subcommittee regarding the attack and that they were taking some measures to prevent further breaches. When questioned about the delay in making the breach public, Sony explained that they’d sought help from outside officials to conduct an investigation in order to comprehend the nature and magnitude of the incident; and hence forensic analysis and investigation had caused the delay since they wanted to have all the necessary details before making the breach public. On May 14, 2011, Sony released a security patch called PlayStation 3 firmware version 3.61 requiring users to change their password upon signing into their account in the PlayStation Network. (Seybold, 2011) Compensation: In compensation for this outage, Sony announced hosting of special events for their users. Sony wanted to appreciate the loyalty of the customers who stuck to using Play Station network and didn’t look for other alternatives. Hence Sony announced an extension of free 30 days of its various services for its existing users. Also, few of their games in the PlayStation network were made free, though these games are available only in some regions or countries. In addition to that Sony also offered one year’s worth of â€Å"free identity theft protection’ to all of its customers. (Wesley, 2011) Ethical Analysis According to Culnan and Williams (2009, p.679),the two aspects of morality that are principal to the relationship between information aggregators and information providers are vulnerability and avoiding harm. Aspect of Vulnerability Analysis: Since the customer gives away his data in exchange for something in return, he loses control on how that information would be used in the future.(Culnan Williams, 2009, p. 681) The firm that is aggregating the data has the duty to exercise caution in protecting the consumer’s vulnerability, not only for the sake of the customer but also to build its own reputation. However, in the cases of both ChoicePoint and Sony breach, the consumers were vulnerable. Individuals whose data ChoicePoint and Sony stored lacked knowledge about the risks posed by Choice Point’s credentialing procedures or the way personal information was stored by Sony. Aspect of â€Å"Do No Harm† Analysis: Most ethicists are of the opinion that data aggregators have the minimum duty of doing no harm whenever there is an issue concerning information privacy rights (DeGeorge 2006; Goodpaster 1987; Marcoux 2003; Valesquez 2003 as cited in Culnan Williams, 2009), even more so when their treatment of the consumer’s sensitive personal information makes the consumers unnecessarily vulnerable. (Culnan Williams, 2009, p. 682) In both the cases of ChoicePoint and Sony Data breach however, the ‘DO NO Harm’ principle was violated and moral responsibility was clearly absent in the behavior of the officials of these firms. (Culnan Williams, 2009, p. 682)ChoicePoint’s questionable intentions in delaying the notification of the breach to the public and the fact that ChoicePoint only bothered to search records that were leaked within 15 months to the date of the search ,until pressurized, were criticized heavily.( Evers, 2005)Further investigations revealed that ChoicePoint had been subjected to a similar scam in 2002.( Paine, Phillips, 2008) The fact that ChoicePoint could be duped so easily within two years proved that ChoicePoint hadn’t done anything to improve its practices since the last breach. Similarly, Sony also had a delay in notifying the users of PlayStation network about the breach. The public disputed Sony’s reason for its delay by speculating that, if Sony judged the situation to be so grave that it felt the need to shut down its PlayStation network, then they should have warned the public without any delay as well. Moreover, Sony failed to give any concrete reports regarding the breach and merely stated that they cannot rule out the possibility of a ‘username or password ‘leak. One more thing to be noted is that the fiends could have possibly gotten information like email addresses and first names of the customers who had consented to receiving information about new deals or products from Sony or its partners.Now, there is a pretty good chance that the fiends might send emails in the format of a Sony webpage template and extract valuable information from those customers. Hence this breach indirectly paved the way for more unintentional breaches in the future. (Eddy, 2011) According to, (Laudon Laudon, 2010,p.135),the basic Concepts of ethics are as follows: Responsibility: where the individual or the organization should accept the duties, costs and obligations for the decisions that it made. Accountability: where the organization should be aware of what decision is taken by whom. If it is impossible to find out who was responsible for what action then that organization is basically incapable of ethical analysis. Liability: this basically extends the concept of responsibility to legal actions where the affected individuals should be able to get compensation for their damages. Analysis : In my opinion, both ChoicePoint and Sony showed half-hearted ethics on these incidents as a whole. While Choicepoint did inform officials about the breach as soon as it found out, yet it only felt necessary to inform the public because of the California law. The people in the other states were notified because of public outcry. Also limiting the search results for leaked records to only 15 months prior to the date of the search just because it was necessary by the law was another mistake on ChoicePoint’s part. Thus ChoicePoint violated the ethical concepts of responsibility and accountability yet they seemed to have understood their mistake when they were making changes in their policies and practices after the 2004-2005 breach, and were willing to take corrective actions. But it is debatable whether ChoicePoint’s corrective measures were taken to save its own business or whether it genuinely cared for the affected individuals. Similarly, though Sony did do necessary investigations, it failed to concretely identify which parties had been affected or what kind of information have been stolen. Similar to ChoicePoint, there was a delay in notifying the public regarding the breach. Hence, there is a dearth of responsibility and accountability from Sony’s side as well .The compensations given can similarly be argued to be a ploy for keeping itself in the market. While, ChoicePoint and Sony offered free credit monitoring and free identity theft protection respectively for one year, they disregarded the possibility that the thieves might lie low and take advantage of the stolen information after the passage of a year. Hence these companies showed half-heartedness in being ethically liable as well.

Why Am I Doing this Writing Assignment? :: Writing Assignment

"Everyone has his own specific vocation or mission in life; everyone must carry out a concrete assignment that demands fulfillment. Therein he cannot be replaced, nor can his life be repeated, thus, everyone's task is unique as his specific opportunity." -Viktor Frankl Done because I was told to do so, I think not. All assignments are done by people like me who care where they will be ten, twenty, even thirty years from now. Assignments are designed to further ones knowledge about a specific subject, and this one is pushing me to do better. This assignment is being done for three reasons: to pass the class so I will eventually graduate, when a job comes I will be prepared for writing and so I can write and speak better. First, and most importantly, I am taking this class so I can eventually graduate with the degree of my choice. You see, if I get a good grade on this, I will have a good grade in the class, which means I will be more likely to graduate. I am required to take 8-11 hours of college writing for a degree in engineering, which I will eventually finish at Walla Walla College. This essay is being done because when I look at the alternative, taking over the family business (carpentry), I don’t like it. Therefore I need to do this assignment, along with many others to complete my degree. Secondly, when it comes time to get a job I will have the necessary knowledge to complete my required writing assignments. As an engineer I will need to know how to write for many aspects of the job, such as typing a memo or writing a manuscript. I will have to show my skills in my resume in order to apply for the job. Also I will be able to type my presentation before I give it at the office. People in charge of hiring can tell how well educated the prospective employee is by the way they speak and write. Lastly, I will write and speak as though I was educated. I believe educated people speak differently, this assignment is actually serving a dual purpose, it’s getting me a grade in the class (whether it be good or bad) and helping me to write better. Id like to be the kind of person that can type an essay such as this in less than half an hour, but for now I will spend hours thinking about what to type.

Leadership Memo Essay

I would like to thank you for the opportunity to lead the new team in the department. I feel that it will be a great journey and have developed a plan to successfully lead the team. Included in this memo, are details about the individuals that will be a part of the team as well as insight provided on the leadership approach that I will be taking. Because the members of this team have been with the company for quite some time and are proficient in their individual roles, there should not be much time focused on training or teaching the culture of the company. Sandy Paul has great organization skills and is very trustworthy. I will give her the tasks of managing the finances, budgets for the department, including keeping inventory and ordering supplies as needed. Brian Brown is highly conceptual. I feel that he will do well with any research that may be necessary and also have him be heavily involved in quality control, should any problems or customer complaints come about. Liam Walker has been noted to be very creative and people oriented. He will be best suited for assisting Brian with any necessary research that will be needed on the team. He also provides a high sense of optimism and motivation. I have no doubt that he will be able to help keep the team morale high, even during stressful tasks. Lastly, Courtney Gatier has a drive and natural desire to lead. She will stand as my assistant and run the office in my absence. She is a visionary, and looks for ways to improve her department. She has a low tolerance for incompetency and I feel that she is confident enough to take on this role. Robbins and Coulter (2012) states that there are seven traits associated with  leadership – drive, desire to lead, honesty and integrity, self-confidence, intelligence, job-relevant knowledge and extraversion. In order to effectively lead, I agree and feel that having these traits will make for a well balanced team. With that being said, I will be taking on the democratic style. Robbins and Coulter notes a study performed in 1951 at the University of Iowa. This study showed that the â€Å"democratic style of leadership was most effective and encouraged participation (2012).† It is important to involve the team in decision making so that everyone not only feels that they are valued, but also understand the goals that the team will be working towards. This style of leadership also allows me the ability to utilize feedback with the employees as a means for coaching as necessary. This leadership approach works well with the Fiedler contingency model. According to Robbins and Coulter, this theory suggests effective group performance depends upon the proper match between a leader’s style and the degree to which the situation allow the leader to control and influence (2012). This theory also points out three dimensions that attribute to the leader’s success and effectiveness – leader member relations, task structure and position power. Sir, I would like to thank you again for the opportunity to head this team. I feel that with the plan I have developed and wit the staff I have on board, this team will be able to successfully execute the company’s strategic plan to enter the market segment. Reference Robbins, S. P., & Coulter, M. (2012). Management (11th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Economics Commentary †article on the Haitian Earthquake Essay

IN JANUARY last year, the quake causes the 2004 Asian tsunami, which kill 250,000 people and 300,000 injured. People were living under sheeting strung across wooden poles. There were too many vulnerable homeless people that aid agency can’t fit them in tens. People are trapped in supermarkets, debris and so on. I feel really sorry for them and I hope casualty’s family can be rest in peace. First of all, there will be a change in Haiti’s economy because there’s a huge effect of Haiti’s production. Haiti lost 250,000 people and 300,000 people were injured. They lost loads of labor and enterprise just because of this. Labor are human resources providing power to make goods and services Enterprise is a firm is an owner of a factory or company e.g. Nike, Apple. Capitals such as Houses, hospitals and factories were destroyed. Capital is man made resources that use for production. Many animals got kill by this earthquake and tsunami and destroyed timbers there’s loss of land. Land is natural resources that can’t add by human. Clearly, Haiti’s production is decreasing. In this case, we can use a PPF to explain the situation. PPF is a curve that shows the combinations of 2 or more goods that can be produced using all available resources. Here’s the PPF of Haiti before tsunami. PFF1 is Haiti’s PPF before tsunami and PPF2 is Haiti’s PPF after tsunami The PPF shift to the left means there’s decrease at both actual and potential output. Actual output is what the country is currently producing and potential output is the maximum outputs you can produce will all currently resource. Because Haiti lost a lot of capitals, land, labor and enterprise, its production is running down. Therefore, it’s PPF shifts inward. There’s also economic decline and economic deterioration. Economic decline is the percent decrease in real GDP per annum and economic deterioration is decrease in living standard for everyone in the country. There is a shift of PPF because of the environment factors (earthquake and tsunami). There was a change of Haiti people’s demand because of the tsunami and earthquake. Demand is amount of a good or service that consumer are will and able to buy at a given price over a period a time. What’s the change of Haiti people’s demand? Tsunami and earthquake destroyed a lot things, one of them is food. Haiti people are in starvation, there’s no more flesh food for them so their demand of canned food rose. It is because inferior good’s demand if rise when there’s war, natural disaster. Inferior good is a good that can replace another good as a substitute. The demand of Haiti people’s canned food This is a demand curve shows people in Haiti’s demand of canned food rise from D1 to D2. Because the demand determinate is not price of the good of itself, it’s environment, there’s a shift of demand curve to the right. Demand determinants are factors that can affect the demand such as: price, consumer income, and low populations†¦ Evolution Haiti’s earthquake and tsunami are lost and a pain we would never wanted to happen and they took millions of people’s life away and destroyed thousands homes. Here are few solutions I think it might help to raise back the economy of Haiti. First of all is asking UN for help. The United Nations (UN) is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace. United nation will usually provided aid and food for refugees. Second is building hospitals and factories. Recovering labor and capital is an important step to get the economy back on track. Education is more important in Haiti than other countries. They need new blood to contribute for the society and that’s where education is needed. ‘Good people equal good country’.

cloning is morally wrong essays

cloning is morally wrong essays Cloning is an issue that touches upon the most profound ethical issues. If humans even consider cloning each other then they should revise what is morally and ethically right and wrong. The cloning of any species, whether its human or non-human is by all means wrong. Denmarks Minister of Research agrees to the idea of cloning, or at least starting the cloning experiments. By votes of 11 to 5, the pro side has won the argument for cloning research. According to The Lancet magazine, researchers are about to be ready to start cloning as soon as legalization is drawn up. I personally think that should there be a universally unethical act, it should be cloning. If we want to look for a clear reason to why we should not clone, we should apply this to our selves. Imagine if there is a clone of you 20 or 30 years from now? Doesnt that shake the idea of the self? Identity is then no longer valid. On top of all, according to most religions, cloning would interfere with the will of God. Creation of human beings is a natural process that God has blessed us with. Interfering with this natural cycle is just like telling God: NO! Some people do not believe in morality in the first place. Others do not believe in the existence of God either. To those people, the simplest reason to why we should not clone humans would be the great risk of producing deformed humans. Then those who would survive will have to live with a defect for the rest of their lives without a reason. Secondly, if technology is able to develop human organs in animals, then what would be the line between human and non human. As a conclusion, cloning is interfering with lifes natural cycle and is a morally incorrect process. I think humans should start thinking of what they are doing before taking action ...

Confused By Your New SAT Score 2 Controversies, Explained

Confused By Your New SAT Score 2 Controversies, Explained SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips With the launch of the redesigned SAT in March of 2016, a new era was born in standardized testing. While the College Board was hopeful that there would be no issues with the new test or its familiar scoring system (maximum score of 800 per section), unfortunately there have been scoring issues that are confusing and upsetting students. Furthermore, the College Board has managed to irk its arch nemesis, the ACT. In this article, I’ll break down these controversies and explain what they mean for you. The New Scores Are Inflated The biggest issue with the new scores seems to be that scores on the redesigned SAT are slightly higher compared to those from the old SAT. For example, a 1300 on the new SAT corresponds to a 1230 on the Math and Critical Reading sections of the old test. A 730 on the new Math section is equivalent to a 700 on the old one. Here’s a chart comparing the old combined SAT scores to the new ones. New SAT scores were multiplied by 3/2, so all scores could be out of 2400. Basically, this chart reveals what the new SAT scores equate to on the same scale as the old SAT. At almost every point along the curve, the new SAT score is roughly 80 points higher than you would expect from the old SAT. After students got back their scores from the first administration of the new SAT, many were very happy with their scores until they learned that their scores were not as good as they thought. His score wasn't as good as he thought. Why Are the Scores Higher? We believe that the scores on the new test are higher because of the elimination of the penalty for wrong answers. The College Board didn’t compensate for the higher raw scores that inevitably result from no guessing penalty and one fewer answer choice. Other than at the lowest score levels, the same percentage score equates to roughly the same scaled score. If you got 60% of the questions right on the old SAT Math, you would receive the same scaled score (out of 800) that you would receive if you got 60% of the questions correct on the new SAT Math. For example, from the chart you'll be able to see that getting 40% of right answers on the new and old SAT would get you a score of a little less than 500. However, because there’s no penalty for guessing and one fewer answer choice, students will get a greater percentage of questions right on the new test, if the tests are equally difficult. Most likely, this was a deliberate decision by the College Board. But why? There are a few possible reasons. The College Board may have wanted scores to be higher to raise satisfaction with the test. The redesign was motivated in part because the SAT was losing market share to the ACT. If students start to get higher scores on the SAT, that could motivate more students to opt to take the SAT vs. the ACT. Also, more states are adopting the SAT as a mandatory state test. Because all students in certain states will be taking the SAT as opposed to just college-bound students, scores from the old test and new test may become more equal over time. In addition to inflated scores, there's another scoring controversy that involves converting new SAT scores to ACT scores. Are the Concordance Tables Accurate? In early May, the College Board released concordance tables that allow students to convert old SAT scores to new SAT scores. These tables also allow you to convert old and new SAT scores to ACT scores. You can use our conversion tools that are based on these tables. While the ACT and College Board previously collaborated in 2006 to create a concordance table so students could convert old SAT scores to ACT scores and vice versa, the two groups didn’t work together on the recently released table that enables conversion of the new SAT scores to ACT scores. The CEO of the ACT, Marten Roorda, claimed that because the College Board didn’t collaborate with ACT on the table that the College Board’s table can’t be accurate. Furthermore, he stated that these tables are likely not to be accurate because they were released after only one test, and the old tables were created after a year’s worth of tests. Concordance tables are created using equipercentiling, which means that a 75th percentile score on one test is equivalent to a 75th percentile score on another. A 90th percentile score on the ACT is equivalent to a 90th percentile score on the new SAT. Roorda argued that there can’t be accurate percentile scores on the new SAT because there had only been one administration of the test when the tables were released, and the students who took the first test may not be representative of students as a whole. He claimed that a year’s worth of tests and data was needed before the College Board could effectively equipercentile. The College Board’s senior vice president for research, Jack Buckley, responded by stating that the concordance tables aren’t only based on the March 2016 SAT. There were â€Å"two large-scale national concordance studies in December 2014 and December 2015.† The College Board stands by its concordance tables. He also said that they had reached out to ACT to collaborate on the new concordance tables and that the College Board looks forward to working with ACT in the future. What Do These Controversies Mean for You? The squabbles between the ACT and the College Board won’t have much impact on you, but you should be aware that the new SAT scores are slightly inflated. Because there’s no better alternative, college admissions officers will likely use the College Board’s concordance tables, and you should do the same. If you take the SAT and the ACT, or if you’ve taken the old SAT and new SAT, you should send your best scores based on the concordance tables to colleges, if you have the option of selecting which scores to send. Also, if you’re trying to determine your target score for the SAT, use the concordance tables to convert old SAT scores to new ones. Colleges haven’t released their standardized test scores for the new SAT yet. We recommend that you strive to get a 75th percentile score for any college you want to attend. Use the concordance table to convert a school’s 75th percentile score on the old test to an equivalent score on the new one. What's Next? Are you planning on taking the new SAT? Find out what students who've taken the test thought about it. Did you know the essay on the new SAT is optional? Learn if you should take the essay. Did you get a high score on the old SAT? Read this post to find out if you should take the new SAT. Disappointed with your scores? Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points?We've written a guide about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Discussion Questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 11

Discussion Questions - Essay Example A good practice in team settings is giving different members a chance to be team leaders. Attitudes influence the behavior of people when they work together. I once worked in a company that had morale issues. Everyone was down because the company was having financial troubles that were affecting the entire staff. The employees were getting paid a week or two late every payroll. The attitude of the employees was horrendous. People would come to work late and leave early. Nobody respected the managerial staff because they were doing nothing to ensure they employees got paid. It was one excuse after the other. The lack of commitment by managers led to an organizational chaos. There are generational differences that affect the way an organization operates. The younger employees are not as committed to a company as the older employees because younger employees have more options. They expect a company to help them in their professional development. If a company does not provide its younger employees opportunity for growth the most likely scenario is that they won’t be able to retain the employee. Older employees value job security and a stable working environment. A way to get the younger employees and older workers to participate with each other is to formulate work teams made up of both young and experienced workers. Managers are not the only workers that can lead a company. There are many informal leaders in organizations. These people are able to motivate the rest of their colleagues to perform work at a higher level. Sometimes these leaders are silent leaders that influence the behavior of others through example. For instance a person at a manufacturing line can motivate others to improve their performance by producing more units per day than anybody else. When another worker sees that it is possible to produce more the worker starts believing that greater production is possible. I understand what you are going through working in that inefficient

Emotion and moods in organization behaviour Essay

Emotion and moods in organization behaviour - Essay Example Emotions have been proven to be a significant contributor to our daily mental life influencing the eminence of our being. Researcher and psychologists have pointed out that, emotions make life worth living to people by being making them be receptive to certain environmental stimulus (Giovann, Petrella, Blasi, Zontini, & Nolfe, 66). Emotions help as do determine what people whom we interact with feel towards us. People know how their partners feel about them by looking at their facial expression. Tonal voice is also a key determinant which helps to evaluate a human’s true feelings (Charmine, Neal, Ashkanasy & Zerbe, 46). There are two main categories of emotions. They include the complex and simple emotions. These two categories are further subdivided into positive and negative emotions. Common emotions which are normally depicted by human beings include anger love, hatred, depression, and joy and happiness etcetera. Mood Mood is an expression of emotion which is perceived to b e long lasting state. Moods can take a longer duration of time to last taking even up to a couple of days. As compared to simple emotions, moods are less intensive. Literary, when someone is in a negative emotional condition, the person is said to be in a bad mood. On the other hand, positive emotions induce good moods (Ashkanasy, Neal & Cary, 24). Sources of emotions and moods A variety of studies have been conducted to identify sources of particular emotions evoked to an individual. Positive incidents are bound to have an effect on positive mood and emotions which are positive as well. Conversely, negative occurrences influence the negative moods for those who have emotional imbalance. To make an illustration, let us consider two employees who work in a particular organization Ashkanasy, Neal & Cary, 26). Employee A has a high level of emotional stability while his counterpart B scores low. One day, both the employees are notice that there is a bonus to be granted for each of thei r sale. Soon after, their boss passes by and scolds them for no obvious reason. In this circumstance, it would be expected for the one who is mentally stable to remain solid because he focuses only on then news with helps him achieve maximum happiness Ashkanasy, Neal & Cary, 24). The news with negatively affect employee B due to his emotional disadvantage of emotional instability hence he will get demoralized that faithful day. It has been noted that some people’s emotions depends on the time of the day and day of the week. Weekdays are known to the working days where most people are busy running various errands. Nevertheless weekends are special days of the week where individual getting to relax and take a rest from their busy weekday schedule. This means that you will find a majority of people in their best mood during weekends Ashkanasy, Neal & Cary, 27). Monday is a week day that you will find a bigger section of the populace in their worst mood due to Monday blues. Early in the morning, it is expected to find many individuals lowly spirited. Our moods revive in the course of the day and a projected decrease during the evening hours. What time people go to sleep at night or what time they wake up necessary impact the level of positive implication Positive influence peaks up in the midst of when one wakes up and when one goes to bed? At work place, how well we interact is depicted in midmorning and later in the week. A couple of people

Managing services Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Managing services - Essay Example The researcher then targeted UK websites in which people complained about food. These were ideal for the investigation because such parties are already quite willing to seek remedies for their problems. They were requested to take part in the survey and asked to click on a link which would provide them with access to the forms. After completion, volunteers were supposed to click on another link which would allow them to submit their responses to the researcher. The link was centrally placed in the form. Evans and Mathur (2005) notes that one of the advantages of online surveys is the ease with which one can access a large sample space. It is easy to obtain contacts if one already has a target audience. In this research, persons who complain about food services are already tried and tested clients of the service industry under analysis. Therefore, they are ideal for this food service investigation. The study involved an analysis of the responses obtained through mathematical methods. Currently, some elements of analysis are not complete but will be completed in the coming weeks. Respondents were to select specific answers from a set of four possible choices. It was relatively easy to analyse these outcomes. Duffy, et al. (2005) explains that one of the reasons why researchers are attracted to this method of market research is its speedy and relatively unproblematic response times. The research demonstrated that several customers paid attention to the degree of cleanliness in fast food restaurants. Simple things like whether a waiter dipped their fingers in the salad or used different tongs for different food items affected customer perceptions of the quality. Barber and Scarcelli (2010) echo these sentiments in their US survey which found that cleanliness was of primary significance to clients. A number of respondents also cited their interactions with service providers as a key indication of value. Some believed that fast franchises are too keen on

Make It Mine - Customization as the Future of Luxury Essay Example for Free

Make It Mine Customization as the Future of Luxury Essay 1 â€Å"The things at Prada today are not well made, the fabrics are not as good, everything was much better in my time† Miuccia Prada I. Purpose of Research The changing landscape of the luxury industry challenges brands to find a new approach to reach out to their core costumers. Brands like Louis Vuitton, Gucci or Burberry are about to jeopardize their true customers and their image by overexposing themselves to a mass luxury clientele. Thus, a new approach must be found to bring back the feeling of true luxury, personal attention and to create a bond to their core customers. This paper’s purpose is to examine how luxury brands can adapt mass customization techniques in order to create a sustainable competitive advantage and bring back the notion of true luxury. Furthermore, it will be questioned if customization can harm a luxury brands image and status, taking into consideration the â€Å"anti-laws† of marketing, which propose to not pander to the customer’s wishes and to dominate the luxury client (Kapferer, Bastien, 2009, 64 f. ). The goal is to come up with a conclusion that provides luxury brands with a direction of how customization could be implemented and what benefits or challenges may come with it. II. From Class to Mass Looking at today’s luxury fashion market one does not have to be an expert like Miuccia Prada to see things have changed. While almost every established luxury brand started out as a small business with a tradition of unique craftsmanship, utmost quality, best service and limited quantities, those attributes are not necessarily true for many of today’s still existing luxury brands. Luxury brands have gone mass. This is often referred to as â€Å"the democratization of luxury†, which means 2 that luxury brands have opened themselves for a mass market. While back in the day luxury brands were the domain of the rich only available in selected stores or brand owned boutiques, brands today want to reach a wider customer range. According to Thomas, aggressive growth was not a priority until the eighties (Thomas, 2007, 238). However, growth quickly became the main objective and store expansions have experienced a boom in Japan, as well as the USA. The middle market customer was born. By expanding their assortment lines in department stores with lower-priced items, such as perfumes, small leather goods and cold-weather items, luxury brands became attainable. No longer were people intimidated to walk into a luxury boutique, they often became tourist attractions in capital cities. Luxury brands were intrigued by the sudden success. It just took a few logo-covered products, which were the middle class’s favorite item and sales and profits grew steadily. However, the rapid expansion also created one of the luxury brands biggest problems today. As banking analysts conclude, the greatest problem that luxury brands have created for themselves by going mass is financial instability. â€Å"Before its global expansion to the middle market, luxury was immune to economic cycles. The companies were small and catered to a limited old-money clientele [†¦] who shopped consistently and bought well. Luxury was a successful niche business. But when luxury changed its target audience to the cost-conscious middle market that shops when flush but stops cold when times get tough, it made itself dangerously vulnerable to recessions† (Thomas, 2007, 264). Another disadvantage from overexposing themselves is the loss of the traditional old money clientele, since their logos could be seen everywhere. Many brands jeopardized their exclusivity status along with their â€Å"well-crafted† message along the chase for higher profits, in order to keep the shareholders happy. The dilution of the luxury status peaked with the 3 introduction of e-commerce and outlet stores. In the first case it is very hard for a brand to create a luxury shopping experience, since the Internet is a generic and impersonal sales channel. In the case of outlet stores, brands are trying to sell their overstock, which has highly increased due to mass production. Not only is merchandise that was once available at a high-end boutique sold for a discount price, moreover some brands are producing some items solely for outlets (Edouard, 2006, 11). Assessing the six main facets of a luxury brand, which have been identified in a broad empirical study by Dubois/Laurent/Czellar and are considered to be global and most accurate, one can review the situation of the luxury market today. The six main facets are (Dubois/Laurent/Czellar, 2001, 8 ff. ): †¢ Very High Price (according to the absolute price (inter-categorical) as well as the price relative to other brands of the same category (intracategorical)). Excellent Quality (according to the processed materials as well as the assumed diligence of the manufacturing-process). Scarcity Uniqueness (expressed by a difficult accessibility and rarity). Aesthetics Polysensuality (creating through design, colors etc. a value experience that touches all senses). Ancestral Heritage Personal History (continuous branding in design, communications etc. ). Superfluousness (dominant perception of symbolic attributes †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ compared to technical-functional ones). It is evident that at least two of the six facets, namely Excellent Quality and Scarcity and Uniqueness, are not fulfilled in many cases anymore. Industry experts suggest that the last true luxury brands that are living up to all the standards are Hermes and 4 Chanel (Thomas, 2007, 323). Hermes is the epitomization of luxury, which is highly due to the fact that the house is still making all its products by hand, sourcing the finest materials and using special design and production techniques that have been invented from the house’s founder over 150 years ago. However, there is another reason why Hermes is on top of other luxury brands: Customization. Unlike in most luxury boutiques, Hermes only receives a few handbags each season to sell them directly. However, this is the exception. The rule is that those handbags are just a display of options. The customer can choose the material (canvas, cowhide, reptile or ostrich), the color and the hardware and in case of the Kelly bag the seams (Thomas, 2007, 172). And then you wait for a product that is specifically tailored to your taste and needs. Obviously this is an experience that real customers highly value. The next chapter provides a brief overview about the luxury consumers today and examines the need to offer separate services for each customer type. III. The Luxury customer today â€Å"Today’s luxury consumer is different from the wealthy consumer of the past. † (Okonkwo, 2007, 65) As mentioned above, many luxury brands opened themselves for the middle-class customer. Silverstein and Fiske have extensively described the evolution and habits of these consumers in their book â€Å"Trading up† (2005). Amongst those â€Å"mass wealthy† consumers, the spending on luxury goods has increased tremendously due to a rise in real household income by 30 percent since 1970. Looking at the figures, four million American households had a net worth of more than $1 million by 2005 and the average spending increased up to 70% (Thomas, 2007, 239). Parallel to this the credit card debt reached its peak. What happened to all that money? Consumers 5 traded up and luxury brands catered to their new audience. While the old-money consumer had a deep appreciation for quality and craftsmanship, the new luxury consumer wanted to buy into the dream and show that they could. Logos came in fashion, and soon â€Å"It† bags with the brand’s logo plastered on them could be seen everywhere and on everyone. Interesting enough brands and designers seem to embrace this trend, as Marc Jacobs states: â€Å"When you look at Louis Vuitton, you see it is mass-produced luxury. Vuitton is a status symbol. It’s not about hiding the logo. It’s being about a bit of a show-off† (Thomas, 2007, 18). Although welcomed by the brands themselves, this is a development that does not please a lot of the old luxury consumers and luxury brands are about to jeopardize their core clientele. Besides the love for the logo there are other characteristics that come along with the new luxury consumers. These are a need for a quick trend turnaround, a disposable attitude and the experimenting and mixing of luxury brands with premium and fast fashion (Okonkwo, 2007, 66). Thus, these consumers are not loyal to one single brand but shop across the entire brand hierarchy, from Gucci to HM. And they are not recession proof. While in the past luxury catered to a limited old money clientele enough money whose spending habits have not been deeply affected by economic cycles, short-term stock market drops or the dependency of credit available, the new luxury customer is very sensitive to all those factors. The luxury market as we experience it today is an amalgam of mass production1, flashy branding, highly varying quality and heavy advertising. While this might work for the middle class market, educated, real luxury consumers cannot be captioned by such techniques. 1 E. g. all Gucci leather products are designed on a computer, by 2004 the entire Gucci group produced 3,5 million leather goods a year, with a production time of two to three hours for a basic bag. Louis Vuitton’s handbags are produced in an assembly line setting in China, where it takes two minutes to glue handles on two bags. As a comparison, an average size Birkin or Kelly bag takes up to sixteen hours, while a bigger one takes up to thirty hours (Thomas, 2007) (Purseleague, 2010). 6 This paper acknowledges the importance of these new customers for luxury brands in order to keep the shareholders satisfied and the need for luxury brands to grow and make profits. If brands would stop cater to this clientele, the losses would be tremendous, since the brands made themselves dependent on high volume sales. However, it must also be considered that such practices can and will jeopardize the old luxury consumers, the ones who support the brand even in tough economic times. Thus, this paper suggests an approach to return to older notions of luxury, namely superb quality, classic design, premium service and customization. In short, the ultimate luxury experience. IV. Back to the roots â€Å"Luxury fashion brands today are too available, everything is too uniform, and customer business is too pedestrian. † Tom Ford Looking back in the history of luxury, customization has been the starting point for many brands and has always played a vital role in the brand’s identity. Hermes started out as custom-made harness shop, catering only to the aristocracy. Likewise Gucci, which started as a saddlery shop in Florence and later specialized in small custom made leather goods and luggage, while Louis Vuitton started as a Malletier for French Royals. All had in common that made-to-order items were the focus of their businesses and they offered only a small product range. Another big part of the customization history of luxury and probably the embodiment of the ultimate luxury item is the haute couture dress. Fittings were done by the couturiers themselves and the garment was constructed for one’s own shape, height and comfort. When American society ladies could not make it to Paris, the Couture houses would sell their patterns to stores like Saks or I. Magnin and fittings were done in beautiful 7 private fitting rooms to convey the Paris atmosphere. Shopping in those department stores was an experience, an event, a pleasure and sales assistants were experts, advisors and friends. Customers chose their favorites, either at in-house fashion shows or during personal viewings, and an in-house seamstress would alter everything to make the customer happy and fit the garment perfectly. This was a long time ago. As Thomas, points out, luxury clothing shopping today is more an exercise of patience, with only a few pieces in the smallest sizes on the sales floor, mediocre service and long waiting times (Thomas, 2007, 5). Buying an $8000 dress directly from the rack is a relatively new phenomenon, evolving with the availability and democratization of luxury. Reviewing the history of customization in the luxury industry, the following points can be identified that cater to a true luxury experience: Craftsmanship, high quality material, luxury service and customization. Based on these findings, the following part of the paper will develop a framework of customization for luxury brands today. It should be emphasized that the approach of customization is not catering to the luxury mass clientele, but rather to the true luxury customer, to create brand loyalty and recreate the luxury experience in the current market setting. V. Customization in Today’s Luxury Market One’s striving for uniqueness and expressing their individuality has without a doubt reached a peak in the current society. Some businesses have recognized this development and reacted accordingly, such as Dell, Apple, Levis, BMW or even Ralph Lauren. Especially luxury consumers always had the need to feel the exclusivity attribute of a service or a product and require personal attention. Luxury customers today do not want to follow a dictate by a brand, they are independent in 8 their choices and want to be involved in the creative process. As one author correctly stated, the days of uniformity and sameness are over (Okonkwo, 2007, 249). While Okonkwo is advocating a â€Å"mass customization† approach, which means that customization for luxury brands is done in bulk and offered to everyone, this paper suggests an exclusive approach of customization. Although economies of scale still play a role with the exclusive approach, it is not promoted to produce customized products en masse. This again would take way from the notion of rarity and exclusivity and would not help luxury brands to recreate a luxury experience, which is the purpose of this paper. It must be mentioned that a few luxury brands currently offer customization as they call it, however this is not customization to a degree that satisfies a true luxury customer. Louis Vuitton for example offers a â€Å"customization/personalization† service on its website, where customers can choose different colors for stripes and their initials to be drawn on a brown canvas bag. The whole process is done online, which delivers no luxury atmosphere at all and the aesthetics are not living up to a luxury brand and neither the leather, nor the hardware or lining can be altered. â€Å"Real customization† is only available for travel pieces. According to Gilmore and Pine, two customization experts, there are four different approaches for customization and managers should evaluate each to offer best service to their customers. In some cases not every approach is possible. The following part of the paper examines each approach and the possibilities for a luxury brand to utilize it (Gilmore/Pine, 2000, 116). 9 1. Collaborative Customization In this approach a company is conducting a dialogue with customers, so that they can articulate their preferences and needs. The goal is to identify a precise offering in order to satisfy these needs and offer a tailored product. 2 2. Adaptive customization In this case a standard product is offered, that the customers can customize themselves after the purchase. An example would be a watch where one can change the wristbands, such as the Gucci â€Å"U-Play Interchangeable Lizard Watch†. Fig. 1 Gucci â€Å"U-Play Interchangeable Lizard Watch† 3. Cosmetic Customization 2 [†¦] on an Air France flight from Paris to London Jane Birkin pulled her Hermes datebook out of her bag and all her papers fell out. She groused about how the book needed a pocket. Besides her sat Jean-Louis Damas. He took her datebook and she got it back a few weeks later with a pocket stitched inside, which is still there today (Thomas, 2007, 189). 10 Cosmetic Customization is not about the product itself but more about the packaging, the advertisement of different attributes or benefits of the product. Thus, a standard product is packaged and presented differently for certain markets. This can become especially important a retail environment where customized packaging plays a big role. Personalization, like adding the customer’s name would be an example for a cosmetic customization. 4. Transparent Customization This approach is used when customers do not directly communicate their needs, but they are easily predictable or can be easily deduced. Customers are provided with goods or services tailored for them, without letting them know that they have been customized for them. This type of customization requires constant monitoring and a deep understanding of the customers needs. It challenges brands to come up with innovative methods of data collecting. Fig. 2 The Four Approaches to Customization 11 Besides the different approaches of customization it must be mentioned that customization can be applied throughout the value chain, but it implies a company open for innovative approaches and careful management. Customized? Development? Customized? Production? Customized? Retailing? Customized? Delivery? Fig. 3 Possible Value Chain of a Luxury Brand Since it would exceed the scope of this paper to discuss every possible customization process that could be applied by a luxury brand, the following part outlines a scenario of customizing a luxury handbag for exclusive customers, taking every step in the value chain into account. In the development stage of the product, the customer would make an appointment in a luxury boutique, or be offered to have a designated expert of the brand come by a place of the customer’s choice. It must be mentioned that customization should only take place in selected brand-owned boutiques, such as flagship stores and never on the internet or a non luxury shopping mall (e. g. Lenox). In the case of an instore appointment, there should be a private room or section that is solely reserved for customization customers, including catering of exquisite snacks and drinks to enhance the luxury atmosphere. Unlike customization that is offered online, the customer should actually have all the materials that she can choose from in front of her, so she can feel and smell the different kinds of leather, fabrics, linings, hardware etc. As mentioned above, polysensuality is an integral part of a luxury brand, thus all senses should be addressed. The brand should provide multiple options to choose from of materials, shapes and sizes. However, if a customer has a special wish, e. g. 12 a color that is not available in the presented selection or a special lining wish, the brand should be able to provide it. On top of that personalization should be offered. Customers should be able to have their name, a quote, writing etc. on the bag at every place they want it. Anya Hindmarch for example offers customers the opportunity to write a personal message in their own handwriting that is discreetly embossed on the handbag in silver or gold, prices range from $1300 $9. 500 (Okonkwo, 2007, 262). Unfortunately, this service is only offered online, thus customers can’t feel the materials and have definitely no luxury experience. When the customization process is finished, the brand should have special software to show the customer on a big screen a model of what the creation will look like, so that last changes can be made. The design must be sent to an atelier, preferably in the country of the brand’s origin, where skilled craftsman are working on the items. Each bag must be identified with a number, the craftsman who worked on it and the material it was made from. Naturally a customized piece has a longer delivery time, for a handbag approximately 6-16 weeks, depending on availability of materials etc. However, since a customized item is considered an investment piece, customers are willing to have a longer waiting time. After the item has arrived in the store, cosmetic customization can be made at the point of retail by the sales assistant. In case of a bag or travel item e. g. the brand could attach a charm or a customized name nametag in the bag’s color to surprise the customer and show special attention. The packaging of the customized item can also be tailored towards the taste of the customer (the in-store customization expert should be aware of customer’s preferences or be able to find out during the design process, referred to as transparent customization). Along with the customized item the customer should 13 receive a letter from the store manager, which addresses the customer directly and shows the brand’s appreciation. Having a personal delivery service that brings the item directly to the customer can customize the last part of the value chain. To create the ultimate luxury experience the brand could additionally send flowers, truffles or wine to show appreciation for the customer. The process of customization outlined above is not limited to bags and can be applied to almost every item, shoes, jewelry, travel items etc. Obviously customization is a laborious process, thus the question arises which advantages does it have for brand have and is all the effort worth it? The basic question â€Å"Do customized products bring additional value to the customer† was widely discussed in academic literature. The findings of the latest study by Franke, Keinz and Steger suggest that the higher the customer involvement with a product is, the more value customization adds (Franke, Keinz, Steger, 2009, 115). Assuming that a luxury product already requires a high consumer involvement, due to its high price and the â€Å"dream value†, it can be concluded that customized luxury goods are adding value to the customer’s purchase. Amongst all advantages the most important one is the closer contact and relationship to your core customers, and a personal identification with the brand. The customer serves as a co-designer and in-house consultant during the customization process. The brand can learn about their customers’ taste and tap into their intellectual property, which results in higher potential of future design success. Empowerment of the customer leads to a higher customer satisfaction, which results in repeated purchases, less comparative shopping and overall brand loyalty (Okonkwo, 2007, 252). Especially in a globalized luxury landscape brands can satisfy customers in different parts of the world and react to cultural taste differences. As a conclusion it can be said, that â€Å"benefits of 14 customization are contingent on characteristics of the customer, namely his or her level of insight into own preferences, ability to express those preferences, and product involvement† (Franke, Keinz, Steger, 116). Although the advantages overweigh, it must be noted that customization also imposes challenges on a brand, such as the integration of the customization process into already existing internal processes and the value chain. Operations must be changed, functional units for customization must be established and the brand must invest in human capital, in order to have experts on both the retail and manufacturing side. Many companies will have difficulties overcoming current practices, since most luxury brands are now owned by big conglomerates, where they face a wall of bureaucracy. Besides that the collection of personal data from customers is a highly sensitive area of customization. First, data collection and analysis are not a core competence of luxury brands and many companies just started to use special software. Thus, problems could arise organizing and interpreting the gathered information. Second, although it can help a lot with future shopping assistance and marketing, luxury brands should never store personal data without the explicit permission of the customers. VI. Marketing in an Age of Diversity It is a given that an exclusive offer like customization needs an exclusive marketing approach. Therefore, all common marketing practices, such as fashion magazine advertisement, blogs, online marketing etc. are not an option. Since this customization is a costly service, the right clientele must be targeted. Thus, this paper suggests three marketing approaches to reach the luxury core customer. The 15 first strategy is to approach luxury magazines that are not directly fashion related. The selected magazines would include, but are not limited to: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ FT- How to spend it Town and Country Palm Beach Illustrated3 Architectural Digest Robb Report Unique Homes Luxury Living Dolce Vita Elite Traveler Prestige Instead of placing bold ads in these magazines, the marketing strategy should focus on creating interest by subtle advertisement. This could include product placement in an editorial spread that has nothing to do with fashion, e. g. a bag could be placed on a designer table in Architectural Digest. Placing the product in a special section like â€Å"most exclusive picks of the month† would be another form of subtle advertisement. If the relations to a magazine are very good, the brand could have the magazine featuring a story about most exclusive luxury items and place the customization service in there. It is crucial that prices or places where the customization service is offered will not be communicated. The magazine should only provide a phone number that connects the customer to the customization department of the brand, where all information will be available. Furthermore â€Å"price upon request† is an effective tool to create interest and the notion that a product is in a top price range and only available for a few clients. 3 Palm Beach Illustrated Magazine is an award-winning regional luxury lifestyle magazine, appealing to the worlds most sophisticated and ultra-affluent audience. The magazines content reflects the many facets of sophistication that set the Palm Beach market apart and gives the community its unique brand of panache. Focusing on cutting-edge fashion, the social and philanthropic scenes, the celebrities and fascinating personalities, the exquisite estates and interiors, as well as the luxurious retail and travel opportunities available in this unique region. 16 The second marketing strategy would be an exclusive catalogue, in which the brand introduces its new service to selected clients. That this service is not available to the broad public must be clearly communicated. Naturally the catalogue must be printed on high quality paper and must feature only very creative pictures from one of the world’s best fashion photographer, such as Andrea Klarin, Raya or Steven Meisel. The catalogue should inform the customers about the customization process, as well as provide examples of customized bags. Since luxury customers today have strong values and principles, the catalogue should include where products such as leather and silk are sourced as well as the place of production. The catalogues would be sent to already existing top customers, whose addresses the luxury brand should have in their data storage. Magazines such as Prestige, which only have subscribers over a certain net worth (starting at $2 Mio. ) could provide additional addresses of future customers. The catalogue must convey a luxury feeling through materials and aesthetics, so it does become a decorative book more than a disposable item. The last part of the marketing strategy would be an invitation only event that can be held in the best hotels of strategically important cities. With approximately 150-200 guests, the brand would exclusively introduce the customization service to their most important clients and high-society people of the city in a glamorous atmosphere. The brand could show a video about their history and heritage, leading the consumer back in the days when customization was the starting point of the brand. Exquisite catering and entertainment must be a part of the event, as well as a small fashion show that shows the brand’s latest collection with some of the customized items. The brand should have a customization expert on site, so if guests have questions about the service there is a person helping them directly. 17 VII. Financial Analysis The attached excel sheet outline a one-year cash flow plan for setting up the customization service in a first tier city flagship store. The $500. 000 start capital are sponsored by corporate. Travel expenses include travels to other flagship stores, the manufacturing site or to customers, who are out of town. As mentioned before, customized products do not impose any inventory costs on the stores. It is assumed that corporate takes over most advertising costs, however stores must support local advertisement, which can be seen in the expenses. Income taxes are assumed to be 25 percent of the sales, based on the information that in the US income taxes range from 10-35 percent. The sales figures are derived from the following price points of merchandise: Between $9. 000 and $85. 000 for a customized bag, $800 $5000 for customized shoes and $15. 000 100. 000 for customized travel items. Prices depend on leather, hardware, other materials such as lining and complexity of production. The high price points are set deliberately, to keep away non-enthusiast and protect the exclusivity of the service. The predicted sales figures are more conservative at the introduction phase of the customization service but pick up by the end of the 12 months, leaving the store with a profit of $648,700. 000 at the end of the year. December is supposed to have the highest sales figures, due to holiday business. VIII. Conclusion: Does Customization Take Away a Brand’s Authority? One reason why many brands are reluctant to change their current practices when it comes to customization is their fear of losing brand authority. As Okonkwo put it correctly, it is argued that if brands provide their customers with the tools to customize their products, they might lose their superiority appeal (Okonkwo, 2007, 248). Marketing guru Kapferer advises luxury brands to â€Å"Not pander to their 18 customers’ wishes† and to â€Å"Dominate the client† (Kapferere/Bastien, 2009, 64 f. ). However, looking at the roots of most luxury brands, with customization as their starting point, this advice seems to be outdated and ignorant to the trends in current society. Due to the latest development in the luxury markets, which have extensively explained above in chapter II- IV, denying customization to the customer seems to be narrow-minded and can seriously damage the brand on the long run. Since customization as discussed in this paper is not a means to please the masses, but to gain back the true luxury consumer who seeks an exclusive experience, the argument that the brand loses its superiority status is not applicable. The purpose of research was to examine if luxury brands could use customization in order to win back core customers and regain a luxury status. It can be concluded that with the right marketing approaches as well as with a management that is open for innovation, customization can be a great tool to optimize customer satisfaction and add value at every part of the value chain. If customization is executed correctly, it can change the luxury landscape to a situation where not only Hermes, but other brands with a long tradition of craftsmanship can be considered true luxury again. 19 References M. Edouard (2006), Revamping Luxury: Mass Customization Applied to the Luxury Goods Market. MBA Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. N. Franke, P. Keinz, C. J. Steger (2009), Testing the Value of Customization: When Do Customers Really Prefer Products Tailored to Their Preferences? , Journal of Marketing Vol. 73 (Sept. 2009),103-121. J. Holusha (1996), Making the Shoe Fit, Perfectly; Companies Use Technology to Sell to a Market of One, The New York Times. J. N. Kapferer, V. Bastien (2009), The Luxury Strategy – Break the Rules of Marketing to Build Luxury Brands. London: Kogan Page. P. Zipkin (2001), The Limits of Mass Customization, MIT Sloan Management Review, Spring2001, Vol. 42 Issue 3, p81, 7p.