Methods and Procedures to Form the Government Contracts in Saudi Essay

Methods and Procedures to Form the Government Contracts in Saudi Arabia and the UNICTRAL Rules - Essay Example It compares it with the Saudi legislation in the government contracting procedures. Government procurement market is one of the largest markets in the world. Countries spend billions of dollars yearly to meet the needs in the various sectors of health, educational and municipal services, communications and technology. Therefore, it is not unforeseen that the issue of government procurement obtains great attention and consideration locally and internationally. Government Contract is an important tool used by the administration to achieve its requirements to ensure that the regularity of the public utilities. In consideration of the importance of government procurement law, many local and international organizations and conventions address government the contracting procedures. One of these agencies is the United Nations through â€Å"The United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL). It is a â€Å"Model Law on Procurement of Goods, Constrictions, and Services with Guide to Enactment.† The law empowers countries around the world to reconsider their local laws on government procurement that contains uncertainty, lack of clarity, and lack of transparency. Therefore, when countries are drafting their laws, this model law can guide them. Thus, the UNICTRAL Model Law is a model for comparison between its rules and the Government Tenders and Procurement law of Saudi Arabia, which was enacted by the Royal Decree No. M/58 dated 27 September 2006. The papers scope is limited to clarifying the contracting procedures of the government agency in Saudi Arabia when choosing the contracting party. It relates to the Government Tenders and Procurement Law. The process is applicable in the contracting to purchase items or services, whether the contracting method is sealed bidding, limited tender or the direct purchase method. Before 1966, Saudi Arabia lacked an integrated law specialized in organizing the contracts entered

Coney Island and Victorian Culture Essay Example for Free

Coney Island and Victorian Culture Essay Coney Island at the turn of the century was a bustling and growing place. People of all classes traveled from New York City as well as other parts of the world to take part in the famous amusements that helped to loosen the tight corsets of Victorian gentility. Inspired by the Columbian Exposition in 1893 George Tilyou began to build a park on Coney Island beginning with the Ferris Wheel similar to that featured at the exposition which was designed by the Pennsylvania Steel Company. By 1895 Tilyou opened Steeplechase Park and began to fill it with acts and side shows thus inspired by his travels a few years prior. While concentrating on the appeal to all walks of life Tilyou acquired A Ride to The Moon from Fredric Thompson and Elmer Dundy who built the ride specifically for the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York. A short season later in 1902 Thompson and Dundy left Steeplechase to create Luna Park taking the amusement with them. Playing off the most popular sport on Coney Island, Tilyou obtained a mechanical horse race that took riders on a thirty second ride around a track complete with hills and sharp turns. Other attractions added to the park included the Human Roulette Wheel which threw riders in all directions and Earthquake Stairs which jostled climbers and challenged them to descend a shaking stair case. These attractions as well as the wild side shows caused people to throw off all conventionality and made them rub elbows with other classes while having unrestricted fun. While Steeplechase drew visitors to the peninsula it also increased in the popularity of swimming or bathing as it was referred to in Victorian speak. People on a hot New York day adventured to Steeple Chase and the beach by various means of transportation. Donning the latest in bathing fashions people enjoyed more unrestricted fun regardless of any class system in the water. Although Victorians looked down their noses at the amusements and public bathing, people still flocked to the beaches and splashed in the chilly waters of the Atlantic Ocean. Ruckus rides and the ability to socialize appealed to the younger generations looking to toss off the oppressive garbs of Victorian gentility and just have plain unrestrictive fun. In 1907 tragedy struck Steeplechase as fire ravaged the park leaving a smoking ruin. In the efforts to still turn a dollar Tilyou charged admission to the ruins of the once great park. During the rebuilding, Luna Park benefited from the loss and treated guests to a modern park with rides to thrill everyone. The â€Å"old-fashionedness† of Steeplechase was challenged as Luna Park, the most modern of it’s time dazzled park goers with electric lights and tall white towers bathed in bright bulbs. This enabled the park to operate at night. But still people remained loyal to the original amusement park they knew so well even though built anew from smoldering ruins. George Tilyou sadly passed away in 1914 after seeing his park through another fire in 1911 which claimed Dreamland. Luckily enough the winds shifted and spared his park from a second disaster. By 1914 the amusement park began to fall out of favor. The once well loved and most visited park suffered a loss in the visitors during the hot New York summers. Steeplechase continued to operate and help people socialize and essentially come out of the tight bonds of gentility by offering a carefree time with out restrictions. Then on New Year’s Eve 1964 the last light was turned off for the final time at the ill fated old fashioned park. Luna Park on the other hand was not as popular as the original park but provided new wonders for those curious and daring enough to seek it out. Created after the Beaux-Arts movement of the time Thompson an erratic architect began to design the park as a world where someone could be lost in fantasy. By opening day on May 16th 1903 Luna Park opened its doors to the wonderment of many people seeking out entertainment and new amusements to help them shed the conventionality of the structured Victorian world. Here we can clearly see where still Steeplechase was cherished like a child hugs a ragged teddy bear but the new adventure which was named Luna was embraced for its latest technologies that Steeplechase clearly was lacking. With over 1 million lights, long distance telephone service, telegraph and radio services Luna Park became a city with in a city. With Thompson and Dundy’s success in creating illusion rides for the park guests they still relied on others as well. When they left the employment of Tilyou after the 1902 season they brought their famed â€Å"Ride to the Moon† amusement with them. Counting on its fame from Steeplechase park and the illustrious past of being featured at the Pan-American Exposition in 1901 the creators hoped it would bring the crowds in. With more and more people seeking a day at the park and on the beach both parks helped make Coney Island known world wide and soon became a top tourist destination. At a time when high society still held restrictions of how men and women should act in public in high regards, more and more people used these parks as a way to shed the restrictions of society and seek titillating amusements and fill curiosities each other had that Victorian culture had suppressed over the years with rules and barriers against those who dared to go against the prim and proper societies. Technology in these times were changing and what better place to display these but at amusement parks and expositions. Younger Victorians embraced these changes and viewed them as a move toward the future. We can clearly see where walls were broken down between classes while all walks of life frolicked on the beaches of Coney Island, screamed on the same rides, and traveled faster than they ever had in their lives. Luna Park and Steeplechase side by side were wonderful examples of old an new. While people still embraced the old curious onlookers sought out attractions that displayed futuristic gadgets. By the creation of the final park Dreamland in 1904 tourism and the shedding of Victorian genteel ways were in full swing. Dreamland brought more pleasure seekers to the peninsula and more bathers to the sea shore. The park was built by William Reynolds who is best known for his crooked dealings with Tammany Hall. Dreamland became the park to rival the other 2 on the peninsula. It is said that the park would be anything unlike the modern world has seen. The main tower of Dreamland had a beacon that shined out to sea and confused many ships coming into port. The amusement park sparkled as guests promenaded through the many attractions and thrill rides. With Dreamland promising amusement in a more dignified way the creators tried to offer Culture to those who visited the park. Providing a grand ballroom and upscale restaurants from around the world Dreamland attempted to cater to the upper class leaving lower classes to attend the older less dignified parks. The developers still provided rides and attractions that rivaled the other parks and even stole ideas from them as well. Americans were fascinated by disasters. Fighting the Flames was a good example of this as New Yorkers were most familiar with tenements catching fire and many people dying. People could identify with this ride. As tenement style buildings covered in asbestos were set ablaze, firefighters came to the rescue of the tenants who jumped to their safety in huge nets below. With rides like Shoot the Chutes guests at Dreamland were still treated to rides that caused them to throw off all conventionalities. Dreamland with its intentions to preserve all that is roper and dignified still provided outrageous outlets that caused people to smile and scream like they never had before. Sideshows still prevailed like Bostock’s Circus and Captain Bonavita’s Lion Show. They treated guests to clowns, wild animals, and daring stunts which caused people to gasp and look on in awe. Dreamland gave people a look at the world in their own backyard. Rides like Touring the Alps which provided ride rs with a simulated ride through the Alps complete with blasts of cold air to the Japanese Tea Room which gave people a look at cultures foreign to their own. The achievements of creating an atmosphere of wonderment and awe like that of the previous expositions held in Chicago and Buffalo, Reynolds achieved ultimate success in helping people question their hum drum ways and rules that bound them tightly. On May 27 1911 the wonderment that was known as Dreamland came to an end when it burned to the ground. Complaints by the fire departments that fought the flames were low water pressure. It was said that Reynolds built the park so fast that he built over fire hydrants. The mistakes and rush to greed cost him his park only seven short years later. The fire although sparing because of the winds did not leave Thompson’s railway alone. Sadly but fortunately that was one of a few external victims of the fire caused by greed. Fred Thompson found General Manager Samuel Gumpertz staring blankly at the ruins. Reynolds decided not to rebuild the park and Gumpertz opened a freak show in a large tent. This was the beginning of the end of Coney Island, the most famous playground of the early 20th century. Luna Park and Steeplechase continued to operate through many changes of attractions. The 1920’s ushered in rides like The Wonder Wheel and The Cyclone. It is joked immigrants who came to this country saw The Wonder Wheel first before seeing the Statue of Liberty. Still The Wonder Wheel is a wonderful example of freedom through good times and laughter and the shedding of old ways to a new life. By the close of the season of 1946 Luna Park could no longer afford to keep its gates open to the dwindling visitors. That which was new and exciting became old and worn out. Steeplechase continued to operate and pride itself of being risen from the ashes still provided visitors with aging and familiar rides. By the opening of Astro Park in 1962 this began to spell the end of the turn of the century amusements. At the stroke of midnight New Years Eve 1964 the last light was turned out on the oldest amusement park of the time leaving behind a legacy of fun and a little known waltz written for the opening of Dreamland entitled â€Å"Meet Me Tonight in Dreamland†. By looking at the amusement parks of the early 20th century we can clearly see where proper Victorians were given the opportunity to shed the constrictions of a culture that forced them into a protected part of society. Here creators of parks provided a person all types of amusements and bathing which for proper Victorians swimming with people of the opposite sex was just scandalous. Many of the older generations still held fast to their convictions of manners and proper ways. In many ways Coney Island was a petrie dish for societies and cultures. Could they truly leave behind the tight corsets and stiff collars to have fun with all folks of all classes with out concern for class stratification due to wealth, power or even dress? The writer of this believes yes. This was a place where society began to leave behind their constrictions and just have plain fun. Therefore unmaking Victorian culture as it was known.

The Future Of The Race :: essays research papers

The title of Gates and West's book evokes nineteenth and early twentieth-century works: Martin Delayn's Past, Present and Future of the Negro Race (1854), William Hannibal Thomas's The American Negro:What He Was, What He Is, and What He May Become (1901)…….. Within all these titles lie two assumptions no longer so openly embraced: that it is possible to speak of African-Americans in the singular—as what used to be called 'the Negro'; and now most often appears as 'the black community';—and that the authors in question possess authority to speak for the whole African American race. Gates and West, two of our leading black intellectuals, cast themselves as the grandchildren of what Du Bois called the Talented Tenth. Perhaps, with the Du Boisian Vandyke beards and the DuBoisian three-piece suits, the grandsons of Du Bois himself. Certainly they are taking upon themselves the Talented Tenth's early twentieth century responsibility to lead the race. Who is the Talented Tenth? This time-bound phrase comes from Du Bois's 1903 essay, 'The Negro Problem,'; quoted in the Appendix of The Future of the Race, and begin: 'The Negro race, like all races, is going to be saved by its exceptional men.'; These exceptional men, and Du Bois did mean men, would "guide the Mass away from the contamination and death of the Worst.'; The Talented Tenth would shoulder the task of uplifting the race without succumbing to money-grubbing selfishness; their formal education signified their intelligence and enlightened character. In 1903, the Talented Tenth was broadminded and big-hearted by definition. The passage of forty-five years diminished Du Bois's assurance. By 1948 he had revised his appraisal, and that revision also appears in the Appendix. He confessed error of his assumption that altruism flowed automatically from higher education. The Best Men had not become the best men. He lamented that the Talented Tenth had mostly produced self-indulgent egotists who turned their training toward personal advancement. Meanwhile, Du Bois had been learning to respect the masses from reading Marx. Nonetheless, he still cherished a hope that a new, self-sacrificing Talented Tenth of internationally minded men—still men—would ally African Americans to the peoples of the Third World and uplift the colored masses universally. Gates and West, who teach at Du Bois's own Harvard University, accept his challenge with all its Victorian mission of uplift. Although they announce their essays as the fruit of long conversations in Cambridge, they do not enter into dialogue.

Compare and Contrast the ways in which Christina Rossetti communicates her attitudes towards death in “Song” and “Remember” Essay

In both â€Å"Song† and â€Å"Remember†, Rossetti conveys her own attitudes towards death through writing about how others should treat her death and how she wants to be remembered, respectively. She addresses important ideas as well as using word choice and the metrical template to paint a clear picture of her perceptions of death. As a poet, Rossetti uses her choice and form of words as a way of conveying her initial feelings towards death. In â€Å"Song† the tone is immediately set by the ingenuous and candid first line, â€Å"When I am dead my dearest†. It portrays a surprisingly pragmatic approach to death on behalf of the poet and demonstrates an emotionally detached attitude to it, believing that it is inevitable; hence she does not disguise the subject of this poem in clichà ©d euphemism. The rest of the verse develops this, where she uses imperatives, â€Å"Sing†, â€Å"Plant† and â€Å"Be†, stressed at the beginnings of their lines, to show that she is adamant that her partner should dispense with all the conventional trappings of grief. The verse is heavily embellished in connotations of mourning, Rossetti making reference to as many symbols of it as she can, â€Å"roses at my head†, â€Å"sad songs† and a â€Å"cypress tree†, almost to satire the traditions of the day. Clearly, her views are that people should accept death as fated, although she also carries a tone of indifference as to what her partner should do, telling him that she does not mind whether he wishes to remember or forget her, â€Å"And if thou wilt, remember, And if thou wilt, forget†. This apathy is just as effective as the orders to not grieve, as she rejects the traditional and overt emotional intensity of the Pre-Raphaelites, demonstrated in poems such as â€Å"The Blessed Damozel†, parodying them. She finishes the poem in this manner, using the ambiguity of â€Å"haply, whereby it could be an archaic form of happily, so she will not be sad, or it could mean â€Å"perhaps† showing her casual and impervious attitude to whether she dies or not. In â€Å"Remember†, imperatives are also used to give a sense that she wants her death treated in a certain way, the first line being demanding and insistent, â€Å"Remember me when I am gone away†. Immediately, her perceptions of death seem to be that it is a final thing, hence she needs her partner to be sure to remember her, using this same imperative verb three times in the octet. It could almost suggest that she is scared of death, realising that she will be â€Å"Gone far away† and have no contact with earth again, and â€Å"Nor I half turn to go, yet turning stay† reflect her unwillingness to die, and a sense of fear of it. However, these lines also reveal a flawed relationship, whereby she had been controlled by her officious partner. The use of the imperatives therefore may be Rossetti now trying to reverse these roles and control him, because of her resentment towards him; â€Å"You tell me of our future that you plann’d†. The accusatory tone is emphasised by the spondee on â€Å"you plann’d† and the shift from â€Å"our† to â€Å"you† suggests bitterness. Clearly, she is using her death as a way to make her partner realise his wrongs, and feel guilty through having to think about her for a change, and the fact that now she is going to have to be in a â€Å"silent land† where he can â€Å"no more hold me by the hand†. However, there is a shift in Rossetti’s tone indicated by the volta, â€Å"Yet†, as the sestet begins, moving from this idea of demanding that her partner remember her, to that of indifference to the matter. It seems she realises that their relationship was flawed and that she didn’t really love this man who tried to control her after all, and so she suddenly does not appear to mind if he â€Å"should forget me for a while† and in fact tells him, â€Å"do not grieve† if he feels guilty for doing so. She reaches a fatalistic acceptance that she is going to die, and that it doesn’t matter what her partner chooses to do, because she now appreciates that she should not make him â€Å"remember and be sad† when he could â€Å"forget and smile†, moving on with his life, and not tied to remembering someone who did not love him. However, it could be interpreted that here, Rossetti is again playing with the idea of guilt, and that she puts on this apathy in order to leave her partner in limbo to whether to forget or remember her. Perhaps this is her ploy to make him feel the guilt of trying to control her and through doing so, he will realise his wrongs, and thus been controlled by her, which you could argue as being her object, as the ultimate form of revenge. Rossetti also addresses the idea of religion in both â€Å"Song† and â€Å"Remember† which broadens her portrayal of her attitudes towards death. In â€Å"Song†, as already discussed, Rossetti rejects convention in her pragmatic approach to death, but also consciously rebuffs the traditional religious views of the time. There is no sense of celestial bliss or heaven in her mention of what death will be like, with no mention of a desire for a ceremony. She deliberately talks of her partner being â€Å"the green grass above me†, which shows that she has no belief of her dead body ascending into a divine afterlife, but rather staying firmly buried under the ground. Rossetti thus rejects the Pre-Raphaelites’ Anglican moral influences by her subversive reference to the afterlife. She writes of how she will be â€Å"dreaming through the twilight†, and given our associations of twilight- a time between day and night, it seems Rossetti imagines that she will merely be in an in-between stage, rather than in a true life in heaven or hell. Her reference to how she â€Å"shall not hear the nightingale sing on as if in pain† is also subversive, this time, of literary tradition. In poetry at the time, there would always be a reverent and eulogistic attitude to the nightingale, such as in â€Å"Ode to a Nightingale† by Keats, where he writes how the bird â€Å"singest of summer in full-throated ease† and so depicting a bird with a beautiful song, enjoyed by everyone. However, Rossetti writes that the bird sounds â€Å"in pain†, demonstrating an irreverent and caustically dismissive attitude to such conventional writing. Rossetti describes how death will be a form of sensory deprivation for her; â€Å"I shall not see the shadows, I shall not feel the rain† and again, it is surprising, but she seems to find a comfort in this, writing of these bad things- â€Å"shadows†¦.rain† and what she finds as a horrible noise, and how she will not miss them when she is dead. This shows how she does not fear death but rather sees it for its benefits. In â€Å"Remember†, she rejects religion, writing that â€Å"It will be late to counsel then or pray†. She uses the conflict in her relationship with her partner to form the structure for this clash- advice and guidance, her approach, verses looking to religion for the answer, which would be her partners approach. Thus, from this, we can conclude that she does not see death as something in the hands of any devout power above her. Rossetti also uses the meter, and structure of rhythm and rhyme to her advantage to help convey her attitudes towards death. The poem â€Å"Song† is written in two verses of eight lines, with an ABCB rhyme scheme. The simplicity of this metrical template suggests contentment and serenity, as it is familiar to the reader. The stresses are placed on important words such as the imperatives in the first verse, and the rhyme gives it an easy bouncing rhythm associated with humorous nursery rhymes, which fits the light-hearted feel the poem has when it concludes, with the balanced ending, â€Å"Haply I may remember, and haply may forget†, reflecting Rossetti’s nonchalant attitude towards death. The second verse could be interpreted to be a response to the first, however, whereby Rossetti’s lover is conveying his feelings, although Christina Rossetti herself is still writing. Perhaps he is talking of the relief it will be to not hear her constantly complaining- he will not have to hear her â€Å"sing on as if in pain† as she suffers from her illnesses or even just rambles on about death, or be surrounded by negative feelings, represented in the poem by the â€Å"rain â€Å"and â€Å"shadows†. Given our associations with twilight as a calm and quiet time, it seems he will be able to live in peace without her, and have entire free will as to whether he â€Å"may remember† or â€Å"may forget†. However, considering that Christina Rossetti is credited as the poet for the entire poem, perhaps she is paranoid that this is what he thinks, so is putting herself in his shoes, and feels guilty for this selfishness, and so, when she writes, â€Å"And if thou wilt, remember, And if thou wilt, forget, she is merely trying to ensure that she does not dominate any more of his life. The poem â€Å"Remember† is a sonnet, composing of fourteen lines written in iambic pentameter. The fact that sonnets are synonymous with love makes this poem again subversive, as it deals with love in a surprising way, whereby the relationship has broken down and Rossetti’s obsession now seems to be with her own demise, rather than a lover. It is made up of an octet, with the rhyme scheme ABBAABBA and a sestet, with the rhyme scheme CDDECE, and the latter begun with a volta, which in â€Å"Remember†, is â€Å"Yet†. This clear separation marks how the poem deals with her death in two separate parts, the octet with the remembrance of her, and the sestet, with forgetting her, and hence in turn marks her change in attitude between one where she requires her partner to remember her, and where she realises that there is no need. In conclusion, Rossetti’s attitudes to death, presented in both â€Å"Song† and â€Å"Remember† are highly subversive, and reject the pre-Raphaelite conventions of religion and the belief that the woman is dependant on their partner, in a passive role, and fears death away from their partner who they rely on.

Advanced Marketing course (MBA)

Question I: Explain the concepts of product line width, length, depth, and consistency. Use examples to support your answer. A product mix is a collection of a large variety of product lines. A product line is a group of items or products closely related and lie within a product class as the functions performed by them are similar, have the same group of customers, range within the given price or are advertised and marketed through the same channels or outlets. Every company’s product mix encompasses certain width, depth, consistency and length. Product width: Refers to the number of different product lines carried by the company. For e. g. Unilever deals with food brands, home care and personal care products therefore it offers a product mix width of 3 lines. Product length: The total number of different items or products in a single product line refers to the product length for e. g. if we take food brands of Unilever then Best foods, Knorr, Birds Eye, Lipton and Ben & Jerry’s makes the product length of the specific product line of food brands. Product depth: The variants of each product in a product line refers to the product depth for e. . if we take Lipton, it comes in two formulations loose powder tea and tea bags as well as it also comes in different types such black tea, green tea and herbal tea, so this would mean that Lipton has a depth of 5, as it branches out in 5 different variants. Product consistency: How closely the different product lines are related to each other in use, requirements, production , c hannels and distribution or some other possible way for e. g. If we take Unilever then their goods are consistent in a way that all of their goods are consumer durable and are distributed through the same channel. Similarly they are less consistent as each of their goods serves different buyers and also perform different functions for them. Question II: In planning its market offering, the marketer must address the five product levels of the customer value hierarchy. Describe the â€Å"customer value hierarchy† and identify the five levels of product contained within. Customer value hierarchy is an approach of viewing customer value. It is in a hierarchical representation telling us about how the customer relates and views a product. The customer value hierarchy is pyramid shaped with its base comprising of the basic customer value followed by the expected, unanticipated and desired levels. The five levels of product contained within it are as follows: Core benefit: This is the basic level. It actually refers to the benefit or the service the customer wants to have out the product he buys. Benefit providers, is how a marketer must see himself. Basic product: This is the next important level where the core benefit is converted into a basic product by the marketer. Expected product: The third important level where an expected product is created by the marketer. By expected product we mean a set of conditions or attributes expected by the buyer when he purchases the product. Augmented product: In this level such a product is created by the marketer which is far beyond the expectations of the customer and is referred as an augmented product. Brand positioning and competitions usually starts from this level in developed countries where as in developing countries like India competition starts from expected product level. Potential product: This level comprises of all the possible changing or augmentations the product gets to face in future. New ways of satisfying customers and distinguishing the product and its offering starts from this level. Question III: Explain the concept of a hybrid channel distribution system. When would this system be best utilized? When would this system not be beneficial? Hybrid channel distribution is when a marketer utilizes more than one or a multi channel distribution design. It is one of the most widely used and important channel distribution systems among the vertical marketing network. A single firm can easily cater multiple marketing segments by setting up two or as many marketing channels using hybrid channel distribution system. Firms mostly establish a hybrid system as multiple targets and segments can be approached. If we take the example of star bucks we’ll notice that it follows many distribution designs as they use direct retail system by selling to the stores owned by the company, selling through grocery stores following a single party selling system and also via direct mail following the direct marketing system. Also other distribution systems are utilized by the company. Hybrid channel distribution system works the best when a company serves a wider market and also the marketer knows what system suits the best to its customer way of doing the business. The Hybrid channel communication system carries a lot of potential for channel conflict, therefore in the case of conflicts; this multi channel system does prove to be that beneficial as it may result in improper channel utilization and blocking probabilities. Question IV: In designing a marketing channel system, the marketer must understand the service output levels desired by target customers. Channels provide five service outputs. List and briefly describe each of these outputs. In developing marketing channel systems, needs of the customers are analyzed, objectives of the channel are established and major channel alternatives are evaluated. The five service outputs produced by the channels are: Lot size: The quantity of items possible for the channel to make available to a customer on one occasion. For e. g. a wholesaler will always prefer a channel that can supply him a large lot size of units. Waiting and delivery time: The time taken by the channel to deliver goods to the customers. A customer normally does not like waiting a lot for receiving the goods and prefer a faster system. Spatial convenience: The extent to which the channel makes it convenient for its customers to receive the product. For e. g. if we consider TCS then we’ll notice that it has more offices situated in every area nearby and customers save a lot on transportation as compared to OCS which has less offices and dealers, therefore TCS offers more spatial convenience as compared to OCS. Product variety: The variety or the assortment breadth of the product that the channel offers to its customers. More variety is preferred by the customers as it increases their chance of finding what they are looking for or even better than that. Service backup: Any add on services that the channel provides to its customers such as delivery, installation, repair facilities etc. How good the service backup is, determines how good the channel performs. An increase in the channel cost also takes place for the customers in the case of greater service backup. Question V: The extraordinary growth of direct marketing can be attributed to many factors with both consumers and business are benefiting. List some of the factors that are contributing to the growth of direct marketing. Many factors are involved in the growth of direct marketing. The few most prominent ones are: Changing lifestyles is one of the most important factors that have made the customers accepted direct marketing. In these few years the number of women entering the workforce has increased tremendously. This trend contributed a lot to the growth of direct marketing as it became very inconvenient for working women to take time out and go for shopping. They could simply sit at home and select the merchandise of their choice and convenience through mail-order shopping and receive all kinds of merchandise at their home only via commercial television, mail, interactive television or via home shopping networks. The second most important factor that has increased the growth of direct marketing was the increase that has taken place in the cost of personal sales calls which has risen tremendously in the past few years making personal sale calls very expensive. Direct marketing methods have now made personal selling more cost effective. Another factor that has contributed a lot to the growth of direct marketing is technological growth such as computer based technologies. These technologies have enabled the marketers to be more accurate in the analysis of results, in creating advanced and better customer and prospect databases, better targeting of messages regarding complex demographics and psychographics and even in faster and better execution of packages by direct-mail. Another important factor that has made direct marketing more attractive than mass marketing is the quantity of available product and services has grown as through direct marketing a greater variety and number of products and services can be offered to a smaller group of prospects. Due to an increase in the use of telephones as a means to order has also helped direct marketing to grow and prosper as placing an order through a telephone results in faster order fulfillment and also makes the customer get rid of any delays connected with the mail order system. Question VI: Most companies set annual quotas. Quotas can be on dollar sales, unit volume, and margin, selling effort or activity and product type. Compensation is often tied to the degree of quota attainment. What problems does the setting of quotas present to both the company and to the sales representative? Sales quotas are set by a lot of companies to encourage and provide incentives to the sales representatives in order to meet their daily challenges and also to motivate them to work more effectively bringing out good results for the company. First a sales forecast is created by the company which becomes the basis of planning production, financial requirements and workforce size but the sales quotas create a lot of problems for the sales representatives and the company. Problems cause the company or the sale representative to suffer a lot for e. g. when the company underestimates and the sale representative is already pain then the company has over paid them. Similarly when the company overestimates the potential of the sales, it gets very hard for the sales representatives to match up to their quotas and eventually they get frustrated leading them to even quit at times. Another disadvantage is that often quotas ignore the service side of the business as it usually enables the sales representatives to get a lot of business. Another problem is that only short term results are gained by the company though providing customer satisfaction for a very long term. Due to all these problems faced by the company and the sale representatives most companies have dropped quotas and are adopting other systematic and proper means of attracting sales representatives to work at their best. Question VII: The new product development process starts with the search for ideas. New-product ideas can come from interacting with various groups and using creativity-generating techniques. List these techniques. New innovative product ideas can be created either by interacting with other people such as your own customers and getting their ideas or also by using creativity generating techniques for developing and enhancing creativity in individuals working for the company. These techniques are as follows: Attribute listing: In this technique each attribute of a product is listed and then modification is done to it. For e. g. f we take milk box, we can modify it by replacing the paper box by a glass bottle then it is painted differently and the cap is replaced by a cork etc. Forced relationships: Several ideas are listed then each idea is considered in relation to other ideas. For e. g. in designing a bed room, you consider a bed and a sofa as separate ideas. Then you think of getting a sofa bed that can serve both the purposes. Morphological analysis: It refers to listing every possible combination for creating many innovative solutions. For e. g. we take a problem like â€Å"getting something cooked†. First think of the dimensions such as how well cooked like half cooked, full cooked or baked. Then think of the possible mediums such as stove, on fire or oven and the power source such as electric oven, gas over or electric stove. Reverse assumption analysis: This is done by noting down all the assumptions and the possibilities about an entity and then reversing them. For e. g. let’s take a cinema that plays a movie of the audience choice, charges for the movie and provide snacks. Now if we apply the reverse assumption analysis we will reverse every assumption. The cinema will now show any movie that the owner gets charges not for the movie but for sitting as long in the cinema and instead of snacks offers fast food. New contexts: Consider a familiar process and re-design it into a new context. For e. g. replacing people-helping services with animals such as cats and dogs. Mind mapping: Start with a thought such as food, note it down. Then note down the next thought that comes into your mind such as pizza. Then link both the thoughts that are food and pizza and think of the next association that will be Italy. Associate a new thought with every other word that comes up. Doing this might lead to a whole new idea. Question VIII: Explain the product or brand management organization and list its advantages and disadvantages. Only a company that produces different variety of products or the production capacity is beyond the ability or control of the functional organization establishes a product management organization. It however has another form of management but doesn’t replace the functional organization. A product category manager is under the supervision of a product manager. A product category manager manages and supervises specific brand and product managers. Product and brand management is sometime referred to as hub and spoke system with the brand manager in the center and managing various departments. The brand managers develop competitive strategies for the product, think of an annual marketing plan and predict sales, initiates improvements in the product to meet the changing needs of the market and also continuously work with advertising agencies for the promotion of their product. Advantages of product or brand management: A product manager always develops a cost-effective marketing mix A product manager always ends up reacting quickly to new and innovative products. Smaller brands produced by the company get a product advocate. Disadvantages of product or brand management: Lack of authority to product and brand managers in carrying out their responsibilities. Lack of functional expertise as they are only experts in their own product areas. High costs associated with the system as every major product or brand requires an individual to manage it. Even minor products and brands are catered by different individuals. Brands are usually managed by the brand managers for a short time which leads to short term planning and fails in developing long term strengths. It’s harder for the management to develop a national strategy due to the fragmentation of the markets. Product and brand managers are more focused towards gaining the market share for the company rather than developing healthy customer relationships.

Sexual Stereotypes in Advertis essays

Sexual Stereotypes in Advertis essays When marketers create advertisements they create stereotypes. The most common are gender roles. Women in advertisements are displayed as sexual objects. This works because sex is one of humans basic needs (Miller and Jowles 608). These ads are targeted toward men. If they were to put a commercial on TV of a man lounging on the couch with a remote control in his hand and popping open a beer, some men might find that appealing. But, place a sexy woman on the couch with him, drooling over his wet beer bottle and they can have a man ready to jump in the car to go get some beer. The advertiser is swaying men to purchase their product by stereotyping women as being there for men's desires. The advertiser is saying that if the consumer, a man, were to go purchase their beer, somewhere in that scenario they would get a sexy woman to go with the beer. In reality, men are not that stupid. They know if they run into the local grocery store that they cannot just pick out a beautiful woman with their beer. But still, the more outlandish, the sexier, and the more skin shown, the more that image will stick in somebody's mind. And their hopes are that the next time somebody goes to purchase a six-pack of beer, that image will still be imbedded somewhere and that person will just naturally grab their brand of beer. It only works because of the stereotype placed on the woman. In a Coors light advertisement, from Maxim For Men, a set of twins is pictured. They wear tank tops that show off their bodies standing close to each other with innocent smiles on their faces. Underneath the picture is states, Heres to the twins. Turn a few pages in the magazine and you see a subsequent ad. It is the same set of twins in cheerleading outfits, showing more skin, wearing even bigger less innocent smiles. In this picture the girls appear to be having more fun. Underneath this picture it says, Heres to the twins. Again.&quo...

Police Abuse misc essays

Police Abuse misc essays In recent years, police actions, particularly police abuse, has come into view of a wide, public and critical eye. While citizens worry about protecting themselves from criminals, it has now been shown that they must also keep a watchful eye on those who are supposed to protect and serve. This paper will discuss the types of police abuse prevalent today, including the use of firearms and receipt of private information. I will also discuss what and how citizens' rights are taken advantage of by police. For these problems, solutions will be discussed, focusing on political reform, education, and citizen review boards. These measures are necessary to protect ourselves from police taking advantage of their positions as law enforcement officers with greater permissive rights than private citizens. Because of this significant differential, all citizens must take affirmative action from physical brutality, rights violations, and information abuse. Problems arise, however, when one side is t old what to do by another, as there is bound to be conflicting viewpoints. In regard to police abuse, there will be many officers who feel that their job of fighting escalating street crime, gangs, narcotics violations, and other violent crimes is difficult already, and that worrying about excessive policy for abusive behavior will only further decrease their ability to fight crime effectively, efficiently, and safely. Citizens, however, have been caught up in this gung-ho attitude, and police are more and more often crossing the line of investigation and interrogation with abusive behavior. This abuse must be monitored so that police do not forget who they are servingnot themselves, but the public. This means that even the criminals, who are a part of the public, have certain rights, particularly, civil rights. All citizens must be aware of these rights to protect themselves against over-aggressive officers who take advantage of their position as badg...