Marketing Executive Skills

Axiom steel (PVT) Ltd is a privately owned steel re-rolling firm which consists of three units and is located within the industrial zone at the outskirts of the city. Two of the firm’s units are automatic which produce wire rods & whose end users are the wire & electrode manufacturers. The third is a manually operated unit producing reinforced steel, the end use of which is for construction purposes. The Chief Executive Officer, who is also the owner of the firm, sits at the firm’s head office which is located 25 kilometers away from the production units in the heart of the city. Axiom Steel is currently facing all time huge losses, which the CEO thinks is due to the firm’s production planning deficiency, under /restricted use of the firm’s capacity and ability & poor marketing strategies.   The CEO thinks he needs a good marketing individual who can market his products and can bring business to the company and only then can the company survive, other wise the firm is heading for a shut out which can result in not only a dented reputation for the owner & business loss but also several individuals who are related to the firm, losing their jobs. After through screening and interviews,   the firm hires a new individual at the post of assistant manager marketing whose main goal is to identify the loop holes in the company’s marketing and planning infrastructure and boost sales by formulating proper strategies thus helping Axiom Steel mills, which now poses to be a sinking ship. The newly appointed Assistant Manager visits the various departments of the firm which includes all three units, their production technicians, marketing representatives, quality control and the firm’s ware house. A thorough marketing strategy discussion with the individuals and after discussing results in following points being put forward for analyses:- There is no proper marketing department of the firm, the individuals that are so-called marketing people are actually being used for follow up of the orders, which are netted by the company’s CEO and then transferred to the production floor. These individuals are being paid at price which is far below the prevailing market prices for individuals working under such capacities and are working for the firm since a very very long time. A through interview also reveals that most of the marketing individuals do not posses a recognized degree in Marketing and are working on bases of sheer experience. The production planning is being done in the head office without consulting the production capabilities with the production technicians. The production planning is carried out by the CEO himself with the team he calls his â€Å"marketing team†. Since the CEO seldom visits the production mills and depends purely on the information presented to him by the â€Å"marketing team†; he is un-aware of the ground realities; often, orders are being shipped out late, which are resulting in customer losing faith and looking for other vendor options. There is a communication gap between the head office and the Mill’s Production Management resulting in delay in production planning and preparation of the orders at mill’s end. This gap is also due to the fact that the CEO held the powers to make decisions and enforce to his management. The CEO belongs to an older generation which is reluctant to learn new methods of communications such as the internet (Although the facility is available for use). The fastest method of communication for the CEO is the communication via Fax and Telex. Sales of wire rods are restricted to wire and electrode manufacturers only and thus sometimes, there came a time when the units often faced shut downs due to lack of orders! The two Automatic units which are producing wire rods are also capable of producing reinforced steel for construction but this capability is not being utilized and the units are restricted to production of Wire rods only. This is also a reason for late shipments as bottle necks are being produced and the load is not shifted from one production unit to another which is capable but not being utilized of producing the same product. The CEO is therefore correct in pointing out this issue as one of the reasons for current losses. After looking at above problems, following strategies are being proposed: The company should adopt a proper marketing strategy for its firm. This includes injecting fresh blood in the marketing team, those individuals who are capable of taking the company beyond a certain level. This means certain over hauling of the marketing machinery. The CEO must realize that if he wants the business turn over to increase; he must then look after and take care of his people well†¦ In fact a policy of profit sharing should be introduced where the marketing individuals are given a certain %age of commission over their efforts to bring new business to the firm. If not, then the rate of payment must be increased for the individuals who have lost motivation in working for the company because of the poor compensation for their work. There should be a separate production planning department whose specialization should be the planning of order executions at mills. These individuals will provide the correct idea to the marketing individuals and the CEO regarding the timeline of orders from raw material stage to the shipment Ex-Factory. Each marketing individual should be provided with at-least a desktop computer work station with internet facility and designated individual email IDs which they lack today. This will help the marketing individuals to concentrate on marketing and transfer order execution information from their firm to the customer. Internet excess will also help the marketing people to search for new potential markets and fetching customers, also not to forget faster communication The CEO must realize that if he wants the business to grow, then he must delegate authorities to the individuals working under him as with the increase of business, a phase will come where he cannot handle things on his own. The CEO must introduce a layer of Management which includes Top Management consisting of himself and his reporting General Managers, Middle Management of Managers and Assistant Managers reporting to the GM and the work staff that will be reporting to the Middle Management. This delegation of authorities and creation of Management chain will not only help in quicker decision making but also in fluent transfer of orders from top level to down. These are the points which are basics for an improvement in the marketing structure and in the communication and centralized decision making problem which the marketing department is facing within the firm. These together with a few production related issues highlighted above, if addressed will result in better performance. If successful, more recommendations for improvement will be forwarded for perusal.         

Quiz Week 7 Essay Example

Quiz Week 7 Essay Example Quiz Week 7 Paper Quiz Week 7 Paper Essay Topic: Literature Question 1: Why does Scheherazade in The Thousand and One Nights tell her husband a story each night? Q1 Answer:To prevent execution the next morning Question 2: Why did the Spanish Jews welcome the Muslim invasion? Q2 Answer:The Visigoth rulers had persecuted them Question 3:Why did Mohammad allow Muslim men to have up to four wives? Q3 Answer: To provide protective charity Question 4: Why did Mohammad leave Mecca for Medina in 622? Q4 Answer: Meccas leadership was displeased with him Question 5: Why was the Kaaba significant to the Bedouins? Q5 Answer: It housed images of their gods Question 6: Why was Islam able to spread so quickly after Muhammads death? Q6 Answer: A long war had exhausted the Byzantine and the Persian empires Question 7: Why was Mecca important to the Bedouin traders? Q7 Answer: It had natural springs Question 8: Why does an author use a framing tale? Q8 Answer: To unite different stories Question 9: Why are practitioners of Islams mystical branch called Sufi (from the Arabic suf)? Q9 Answer: They write intense metaphorical poetry Question 10: Why do Muslims decorate their mosques without figurative images? Q10 Answer: Mohammad warned that image makers would face punishment at Judgment Question 11: Why did Hildegard of Bingen believe her plainchant brought heaven and earth together? A11 Answer: Her extremes of register created soaring arches Question 12: In the Song of Roland, why are the Saracens able to ambush Rolands army? Q12 Answer: Roland is betrayed by Ganelon Question 13: What was the main task of Christian missionaries in England? Q13 Answer: To transfer the peoples allegiance from their king to God Question 14: What medieval cult is connected to the courtly love literature? Q14 Answer: The Cult of the Virgin Question 15: Why was the Book of Kells moved from Iona off the Scottish coast to Kells in Ireland? Q15 Answer: To protect it from Vikings threatening the Scottish coast Question 16: What leads to Rolands death in the Song of Roland? Q16 Answer: His sense of pride Question 17: What pilgrimage destination was most difficult to reach? Q17 Answer: Jerusalem Question 18: What effect was the space created by the Romanesque churches barrel vaults designed to produce for the pilgrims? Q18 Answer: Raise their eyes and direct their thoughts toward heaven Question 19: Why was the wergeld (life-price) of a thane higher than that of a thrall? Q19 Answer: Thralls were slaves Question 20: Why does Beowulf travel from Denmark to Sweden? Q20 Answer: To kill the monster Grendel Question 21: Why is the Jesse tree a common stained-glass motif? Q21 Answer: It establishes Marys royal lineage from King David Question 22: On whose relationship was the popular poem the Roman de la Rose based? Q22 Answer: Peter Abelard and Heloise Question 23: Why was Jean, duke of Berry in the fifteenth century, the wealthiest man in Europe? Q23 Answer: His subjects paid the highest taxes in all of Europe Question 24: Why was Saint Denis not completed during Sugers lifetime? Q24 Answer: Louis VII left for the Crusades and withdrew funding Question 25: What two subjects did Scholasticism seek to reconcile? Q25 Answer: Christian faith and classical reason Question 26: What musical instrument became popular in the cathedrals? Q26 Answer: The organ Question 27: Who designed the Abbey of Saint-Deniss renovation and thus began the Gothic style? Q27 Answer: Abbot Suger Question 28: Why did Pisano sculpt his Mary, Sister of Moses, which sits on the Siena Cathedral, to lean forward? Q28 Answer: So the viewers below could see her face Question 29: According to the chapters Continuity and Change section, what exploration was a driving force in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries? Q29 Answer: The meaning of being human Question 30: On whose method did Peter Abelard base his teaching? Q30 Answer: Socrates Question 31: As reported in the chapters Continuity and Change section, whose 1804 Imperial Decree on Burials created the idea of a cemetery as a kind of landscape garden? Q31 Answer: Emperor Napoleon of France Question 32: Why was Dante Alighieri exiled from Florence? Q32 Answer: For failing to mend a political schism Question 33: Why does Virgil guide Dante through Hell and Purgatory? Q33 Answer: Virgil represented the embodiment of reason Question 34: According to the chapters Continuity and Change section, what was a positive effect of the bubonic plague? Q34 Answer: Per capita wealth increased Question 35: Why is the camel in Giottos Adoration of the Magi not exactly realistic? Q35 Answer: It has blue eyes Question 36: In what area of Italy are Siena and Florence located? Q36 Answer: Tuscany Question 37: What is an advantage of the buon fresco (paint on wet plaster) technique? Q37 Answer: The paint becomes part of the wall Question 38: What was the Florentine bankers most important invention? Q38 Answer: Europes first single currency Question 39: On what trade was Florences wealth based? Q39 Answer: Textiles Question 40: In the Arena Chapel frescoes, what is Giotto the first artist since antiquity to depict? Q40 Answer: People from behind

Strategic Procurement Management Essays

Strategic Procurement Management Essays Strategic Procurement Management Essay Strategic Procurement Management Essay The traditional purchasing methods of procuring materials and services have evolved over the last 20 years and to-day is often referred to as Supply Chain Management. The simple definition of supply chain management is the integration of all organisations involved in supporting the customer with a quality product utilising inventory in the most effective and efficient manner. This concept is vague because it embraces a number of procedures and policies within an organisational structure and senior executives in many corporations often fail to understand the important role of the supply chain function This paper will attempt to answer the questions posed by J.R. Electronics, a Scottish electronics company established in the 1980s who feel that that a new competitive advantage must be developed to maintain the companys position as a market leader. The management of the company have identified the four key strategic procurement activities of location and liaison with world class suppliers, global sourcing, E-commerce and a lean or agile approach to procurement as key initiatives that they believe will form the basis of their ongoing advantage. In writing this paper I have assumed that J.R. Electronics are a medium sized company with limited experience in strategic procurement activities. 1. Location and liaison with world class suppliers. J.R. Electronics must attempt to understand what the definition of a world-class supplier is before they begin to re-engineer their current procurement processes. The common answer to this question by both buyers and suppliers is that to attain world-class status a supplier will offer outstanding performance in price, quality and delivery (Tim Minahan, 1998). Terry A. Carlson, Vice President of Purchasing for the Maytag Corporation argues, that to be considered as world-class a supplier must possess the following 3 characteristics: 1. A formal (and demonstrable) company wide effort to continually improve products and processes. 2. The ability and willingness to align, products, processes and business strategies with customers for mutual success. 3. The proven ability to be an industry leader in developing new technologies and products. Genuine world-class suppliers share a common vision of continual improvement and a commitment to continually improve both their products and their processes. Continuous improvement is a way of life from the shop floor worker to the managing director. The senior management of J.R. Electronics should not underestimate the task of identifying world-class suppliers to compliment their supply base. The process of selection will require a number of meetings to determine if the potential supplier is genuine in its quest for customer excellence and is capable of meeting all of their clearly defined expectations. J.R Electronics will need to consider the following points during the selection of a prospective world-class supplier. 1. Is the supplier committed to continuous improvement? Do they have a formal process to achieve year on year improvements? 2. Are they a technology leader within their market sector? 3. How adaptable are they and are they willing to invest in new equipment as they develop new technologies? J.R. Electronics must also recognise the need to develop the relationship through mutual trust and respect. Working with a world-class supplier should be considered a long-term partnership as opposed to a short-term arrangement. They must clearly define their expectations and measure the performance to their targets and be prepared to offer assistance when required. More importantly J.R. Electronics must be prepared to reward good performance. This can be in the form of long-term contracts and the sharing of cost savings. 2. A move from international to global sourcing To maintain a competitive advantage in the market place J.R. Electronics need to consider supply management strategies that will include long-term global supplier partnerships that extend beyond the traditional buyer-seller relationships into a multi-tiered world wide network. The term international sourcing has largely been replaced with the broader philosophy global sourcing which has been defined by (Monczka and Trent, 1991) as the integration and coordination of procurement requirements across worldwide business units, looking at common items, processes, technologies and suppliers. They also distinguish international and global sourcing by recognising that international is lack of coordination of requirements between worldwide business units. The evolution to global supply management can be broken down into three distinct stages. * Stage One: International Purchasing J.R. Electronics will focus on increasing volumes, minimising prices and managing their inventory costs. These are key characteristics of an organisation first entering the global sourcing arena. * Stage Two: Global Sourcing At this stage J.R. Electronics will place more emphasis on supplier capability, supporting production strategies and servicing customer markets. * Stage Three: Global Supply Management J.R. Electronics will optimise their supply networks through effective logistics and capacity management. Risks are minimised at this point and suppliers can be considered strategic partners. Corporations at this stage are sourcing for technology leadership. The main benefits to be gained from adopting a global sourcing strategy are as follows: 1. By adopting a global sourcing policy buyers will be able to purchase parts cheaper in other parts of the world. This is as a result of cheaper labour rates, lower overheads, lower raw material costs, higher productivity and reduced transportation costs. 2. Sourcing on a global basis will increase the number of potential suppliers to select from. Increased competition will make it easier to form reliable long-term partnerships with suppliers of potentially low cost materials. 3. Improved lead times due to increased availability of parts. 4. Technology is often more advanced and it is quite possible to obtain the latest technology from a global source. 5. The quality of parts purchased globally is often higher than those bought on the domestic market. The main problems that J.R. Electronics may encounter with global sourcing are: 1. Cultural issues that can cause problems due to differences in business etiquette and spoken language. This can lead to misunderstandings that potentially hinder and prolong the negotiation process. 2. Legal systems differ from country to country and this can lead to considerable problems. Intellectual property theft is currently a major problem in The Far East particularly in countries such as China and Taiwan. 3. Global sourcing can lead to difficulties when dealing with foreign currencies. Exchange rate fluctuations often impact the actual price paid for parts, 4. Logistics and more importantly the transportation of parts due to the availability and reliability of freight forwarders although most major international freight companies including BAX Global, Danzas and Schenker have all established local offices and hubs on a worldwide basis. Many major corporations have successfully implemented global sourcing strategies and these include: Motorola, IBM, Volkswagen and Dell. 3. E-Commerce approach to procurement. Technological advancement in the field of information technology coupled with the growth of the Internet and particularly The World Wide Web has led to many companies shifting away from paper based, people intensive purchasing processes to electronic buying methods. It is assumed that J.R. Electronics have had little or no exposure to e-commerce and are not fully aware of the potential benefits to be gained by adopting this strategy. The benefits of e-commerce do not come without a cost. There is the initial investment required to purchase the necessary hardware and software. The implementation process requires substantial resource to revise the internal business processes that will include system integration and employee training. J.R. Electronics may wish to hire an I.T. consultant who is fully conversant in the installation of a web based system to ensure that every aspect of the project is planned thoroughly in advance of the implementation. It is also critical that senior management of the company communicate these changes effectively as employees generally feel threatened with the introduction of new technology. Advantages of E-commerce * Cost reduction is achieved as efficiency improves within the purchasing function. Order processing times and costs are reduced considerably. J.R. Electronics may chose to implement an Electronic Data Interchange (EDI). This system if implemented can integrate the company to specific suppliers and automate the parts ordering process, order status reporting and invoicing through electronic transmission. * Due to the transparency of e-commerce it is possible to consider a large number of different suppliers quickly taking into account both price and lead-time. New or alternative suppliers can be found quickly. E-commerce is available 7 days per week 24 hours a day. * There a number of parts brokers who utilise the world wide web to sell various parts and services. Goodrich Aerospace based at Prestwick frequently utilise e-commerce to source suppliers and are members of the Inventory Locator Service (I.L.S.), a favoured parts search medium for aerospace companies. * Competitive bidding or E-auctions on the Internet has become very popular over the last few years. Companies that adopt this approach to procurement effectively tender their requirement on the Internet and potential suppliers bid against each other to win the business. * Communication with suppliers is improved. Utilising electronic mail (e-mail) would enable J.R. Electronics to send and receive information from the supply chain quicker, eliminating the need for time consuming letters. Potential Disadvantages of E-commerce * Costs and benefits can be hard to quantify and therefore confusion can be created within the supply chain. * Purchasing professionals must be properly trained. This takes considerable effort, time and money. J.R. Electronics may have to recruit specialist procurement personnel who are already experienced in e-commerce. * Employees and current suppliers may be resistant to change, as they are often comfortable using their more traditional methods of phoning, faxing and meetings. * International e-commerce can be difficult due to currency differences, import and export restrictions and legal implications. As J.R. Electronics begin to realise the full potential of e-commerce their supply chain will become more efficient and integrated with both their suppliers and their customers. The positive implications will soon outweigh the negatives. Adopting a more lean or agile approach to procurement. Lean and agile procurement are two different yet related aspects to supply management. The Collins English dictionary defines lean as lacking fat; thin or meagre whereas agile is described as nimble or quick. Both lean and agile approaches to supply management require high levels of product quality. Lead times must be minimised from the point that a customer order is received until it is fulfilled. Lead-time reduction in a lean process must be achieved as by definition excessive lead-times is waste and a lean process demands the elimination of all waste. Agile supply chains seek to operate to customer demand as opposed to forecasting and promote the free flow of information with its partners.

Confidence Interval for the Difference of Two Population Proportions

Confidence Interval for the Difference of Two Population Proportions Confidence intervals are one part of inferential statistics.   The basic idea behind this topic is to estimate the value of an unknown population  parameter by using a statistical sample.   We can not only estimate the value of a parameter, but we can also adapt our methods to estimate the difference between two related parameters.   For example we may want to find the difference in the percentage of the male U.S. voting population who supports a particular piece of legislation compared to the female voting population. We will see how to do this type of calculation by constructing a confidence interval for the difference of two population proportions.   In the process we will examine some of the theory behind this calculation.   We will see some similarities in how we construct a confidence interval for a single population proportion as well as a confidence interval for the difference of two population means. Generalities Before looking at the specific formula that we will use, lets consider the overall framework that this type of confidence interval fits into.   The form of the type of confidence interval that we will look at is given by the following formula: Estimate /- Margin of Error Many confidence intervals are of this type. There are two numbers that we need to calculate.   The first of these values is the estimate for the parameter.   The second value is the margin of error.   This margin of error accounts for the fact that we do have an estimate.   The confidence interval provides us with a range of possible values for our unknown parameter. Conditions We should make sure that all of the conditions are satisfied before doing any calculation. To find a confidence interval for the difference of two population proportions, we need to make sure that the following hold: We have two simple random samples from large populations.   Here large means that the population is at least 20 times larger than the size of the sample. The sample sizes will be denoted by n1 and n2.Our individuals have been chosen independently of one another.There are at least ten successes and ten failures in each of our samples. If the last item in the list is not satisfied, then there may be a way around this.   We can modify the plus-four confidence interval construction and obtain robust results.   As we go forward we assume that all of the above conditions have been met. Samples and Population Proportions Now we are ready to construct our confidence interval.   We start with the estimate for the difference between our population proportions. Both of these population proportions are estimated by a sample proportion.   These sample proportions are statistics that are found by dividing the number of successes in each sample, and then dividing by the respective sample size. The first population proportion is denoted by p1.   If the number of successes in our sample from this population is k1, then we have a sample proportion of k1 / n1. We denote this statistic by  pÌ‚1.   We read this symbol as p1-hat because it looks like the symbol p1 with a hat on top. In a similar way we can calculate a sample proportion from our second population.   The parameter from this population is p2.   If the number of successes in our sample from this population is k2, and our sample proportion is   pÌ‚2 k2 / n2. These two statistics become the first part of our confidence interval. The estimate of p1 is pÌ‚1.   The estimate of p2 is pÌ‚2.   So the estimate for the difference p1 - p2 is pÌ‚1 - pÌ‚2. Sampling Distribution of the Difference of Sample Proportions Next we need to obtain the formula for the margin of error.   To do this we will first consider the   sampling distribution of   pÌ‚1  . This is a binomial distribution with probability of success p1 and  n1 trials. The mean of this distribution is the proportion p1.   The standard deviation of this type of random variable has variance of p1  (1 - p1  )/n1. The sampling distribution of pÌ‚2 is similar to that of pÌ‚1  .   Simply change all of the indices from 1 to 2 and we have a binomial distribution with mean of p2 and variance of p2 (1 - p2 )/n2. We now need a few results from mathematical statistics in order to determine the sampling distribution of pÌ‚1 - pÌ‚2.   The mean of this distribution is p1 - p2.   Due to the fact that the variances add together, we see that the variance of the sampling distribution is p1  (1 - p1  )/n1 p2 (1 - p2 )/n2.   The standard deviation of the distribution is the square root of this formula. There are a couple of adjustments that we need to make.   The first is that the formula for the standard deviation of pÌ‚1 - pÌ‚2 uses the unknown parameters of p1 and p2.   Of course if we really knew these values, then it would not be an interesting statistical problem at all.   We would not need to estimate the difference between p1 and  p2..   Instead we could simply calculate the exact difference. This problem can be fixed by calculating a standard error rather than a standard deviation.   All that we need to do is to replace the population proportions by sample proportions.   Standard errors are calculated from upon statistics instead of parameters. A standard error is useful because it effectively estimates a   standard deviation.   What this means for us is that we no longer need to know the value of the parameters p1 and p2.   .Since these sample proportions are known, the standard error is given by the square root of the following expression: pÌ‚1 (1 -  pÌ‚1 )/n1   pÌ‚2 (1 -  pÌ‚2 )/n2. The second item that we need to address is the particular form of our sampling distribution.   It turns out that we can use a normal distribution to approximate the sampling distribution of  pÌ‚1  - pÌ‚2.   The reason for this is somewhat technical, but is outlined in the next paragraph.   Both   pÌ‚1 and   pÌ‚2   have a sampling distribution that is binomial.   Each of these binomial distributions may be approximated quite well by a normal distribution.   Thus pÌ‚1  - pÌ‚2 is a random variable.   It is formed as a linear combination of two random variables.   Each of these are approximated by a normal distribution.   Therefore the sampling distribution of pÌ‚1  - pÌ‚2 is also normally distributed. Confidence Interval Formula We now have everything we need to assemble our confidence interval.   The estimate is (pÌ‚1 - pÌ‚2) and the margin of error is z* [ pÌ‚1 (1 -  pÌ‚1 )/n1   pÌ‚2 (1 -  pÌ‚2 )/n2.]0.5.   The value that we enter for z* is dictated by the level of confidence C.  Ã‚  Commonly used values for z* are 1.645 for 90% confidence and 1.96 for 95% confidence.   These values for  z* denote the portion of the standard normal distribution where exactly  C percent of the distribution is between -z* and z*.   The following formula gives us a confidence interval for the difference of two population proportions: (pÌ‚1 - pÌ‚2) /- z* [ pÌ‚1 (1 -  pÌ‚1 )/n1   pÌ‚2 (1 -  pÌ‚2 )/n2.]0.5

Pomegranate fruit Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Pomegranate fruit - Research Paper Example Interestingly in Europe and United States, the fruit is regarded more for its ornamental values more than its property as a fruit. However, increasing acknowledgement of the medicinal and horticultural value in other parts of the world will fetch popularity for this crop in Europe and United States as well. The derivation of the name Punica granatum is also interesting. Punica is the Roman name for the Carthage, an ancient Tunisian city (Morton, 1987). It is from this city the best quality pomegranates historically used to be exported to Italy. The common name for pomegranate in the United States is Seedy Apple. A very interesting connection with the name of the fruit is that the French version of its name ‘grenade’ refers to the ammunition, as both of these have similarities in their appearance. The importance of the crop The origin of the common names of pomegranate in Mediterranean explains the importance of the crop in this area. The origin of Arabic and Hebrew names of the fruit has the common root referring back to ‘fruit of paradise’ (Lansky et al, 2002). This suggests and confirms the appreciations for the crop in these cultures. The utility of the crop is varied in nature. The taste of the fruit is a unique blend of sweetness and sourness of the acidity. This makes it interesting in its culinary value. The fruit is used to add flavour to dishes like the Iranian dish, Fessenjan (Panthaky, 2006). Pomegranate is carried easily and provided to the early travellers of the desert a well-protected form of water. In religions like Zoroastrianism, this fruit is a symbol of both fertility and everlastingness; in other faiths like in the Old Testament of the Bible, it serves as an emblem of love and seduction (Panthaky, 2006). It has also been used to symbolize Aphrodite, the love goddess. Many Greek myths, ritualistic adornments and battle good luck charms centre around this sweet fruit – the pomegranate. Medicinal properties of the fruit All over the world the medicinal properties of the pomegranate plant are well established, it is for this reason that in the year 2005 alone 40 scientific journal publications were produced on this fruit (Schulman, 2006). In early 1550 BCE, it is studied that Egyptians used pomegranate root extracts to rid themselves of tapeworms. Hippocrates in 400 BCE is said to have used extracts from the fruit to treat a wide variety of ailments (Adams, 1849). Dioscorides in 90 BCE claimed that pomegranates were good for the stomach and recommended the use of its juice to treat ulcers, ear pain and nose infections. Different products of this plant have been boiled, dried, crushed, roasted and transformed in every way possible to treat illnesses like snakebite, leprosy, contraception, diarrhoea, bronchitis, mouth and throat inflammation, diabetes and haemorrhage (Lansky et al, 2002). Some of these treatments have found valid scientific backing while others still remain traditional wisdo ms, having been passed down from generations. Probably because of its association with love and seduction, many cultures have considered the fruit a love potion. Prophet Mohammed endorses this view since he advises in the Quran, â€Å"Eat the pomegranate, for it purges the system of envy and hatred† (Gunter, 1934). Scientific research in the 21st century have shown that the juice of this fruit contains the highest content of antioxidants than any other food,

The Affect of Nursing Shortage in U.S. Hospital Essay

The Affect of Nursing Shortage in U.S. Hospital - Essay Example According to the report findings the market for nursing jobs in the world is also very competitive leading the US to compete with other more stable economies. Thus, this would imply that the US needs to create a more competitive environment for nursing jobs. However, considering its present situation and problems with its health care system, the problem would become more complex leading nurses to perform more than just what is enough or required in order to meet the higher value paid for health care. In other words, more nurses would be willing to spend their time and invest their skills in countries where there is corresponding significant value for their professional service. This paper highlights that the U.S. economy is said to be on its way to resurgence. This is an indication that the country suffered economic problem and once again is about to take the plunge to create a vibrant dominance in the world economy. In the same way, this is about time to restore the great impact that the U.S. economy brought to other economies such as Asia-Pacific which has become dependent on its trade and financial linkages with the U.S. The U.S. is on the process of hiring and rehiring its manpower in order to help boost the economy. There is a major reason why there is a need to lay off some workers and to rehire them. A reported case about shortage of pediatric nurse educator in the U.S. was associated with competitive salaries, budget cut and other economic-related issues. (Leonard et al., 2008). In line with this, there is a clear emphasis how the U.S. economy creates a significant impact even on the level of education for nursing in the first place. In the U.S. the re is an advantage for clinical salaries. Thus, there is a great desire to go for clinical jobs compared to those careers only related to them. However, this is just a small part of the issue. The reported economic crisis in the U.S. is said to affect the healthy flow of economic condition in the country. In this reason, consumers are hesitant to spend more, bankers are cautious to lend and entrepreneurs are focusing on calculating risk (Brooks, 2009). In this kind of thinking, it is expected that the US has more than what the economic crisis could bring. Brook was right when he said that ‘the US is in psychological crisis.’ In whatever ways it could be said about the U.S. recent economic condition, everything is clear that it started with a simple declaration about its economic status in the world. The impact of the said move triggered beyond economic understanding because people are given with ambiguous information about the status of the U.S. economy. There is no exa ct information that could tell up to what level does the US economy is trying to

Football in America Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Football in America - Essay Example This means that soccer is in fifth place in popularity according to the American sports fans preferences. There could be a nationalistic reason behind this negative perception of soccer in the United States. 3.- Americans don't like games that can end up in draws and this is a cultural factor. The big 3 major team sports (basketball, baseball and American football) suffered different rules changes in the twentieth century to make them more popular. 4.- Sports fans from the United States would like to see a change of rules in soccer, but this could be controversial for the rest of the world. It wouldn't be soccer if only the Americans make a change of the rules; it would be a different game for the rest of the world. 1.- The most obvious marketing factor is the barriers to entry into the market. The four top team sports cover most of the space, and the space is limited. There cannot be too many sports in the consumer's minds. Too many options are not good from the marketing point of view. 2.- But the barriers to entry can also be explained as another kind of limit. It has to do with the motivation about watching soccer. It is about enjoying the game itself. It is about satisfying the needs of watching an easy game with easy rules. But basketball fills these needs already for the American sports fans as basketball and soccer are similar in several relevant ways as Mandelbaum pointed out in his article. 3.- Another reason related to this similarity is that basketball is a strong substitute. It has deep roots in the American sports fans. Its roots are very difficult to change through marketing efforts. It would cost a lot of money to advertise soccer in new ways to make it more appealing to the American audience. 4.- A change of the rules is needed in order to make soccer popular in the United States but this solution is very controversial even from the marketing point of view. We think that both reasons get combined together to make soccer a loser in the American market. Both cultural (or nationalistic) and marketing reasons play their role in making Americans indifferent towards the most popular game in the world. Mandelbaum states the following about the similarities between basketball and soccer: "Spectators see the same thing in the two games: episodes of spontaneous coordination, with players devising and implementing schemes for scoring. They see, that is, acts of creation. If architecture is, as is sometimes said, music set in concrete, then football and basketball may be said to be creativity embodied in team sports. () Football and basketball are therefore the team sports that most vividly evoke a common human fantasy: to leave the ground and fly through the air. () Their marked similarities, however, also mean that the two sports duplicate each other. They provide the same satisfactions. For spectators they are, in a sense, alternatives. North Americans don't need football because they already get what it has to offer from basketball."