Coca Cola and Pepsi Companies

Tax equity and efficiency in context of public finance.

Tax equity and efficiency in context of public finance. Tax Efficiency:-Tax efficiency has three aspects.The first involves the administration and compliance costs of taxes. Tax efficiency is concerned with the convenience and certainty of a tax to the taxpayer, and with the cost of collection and compliance to the taxing unit. An efficient tax system would not impose excess cost to the taxpayer in the payment of the tax and would be collected and enforced at the lowest possible costs.Administrative costs vary, of course, among individual taxes. Some types of taxes are more costly to administer than others. The cost of collecting and enforcing the federal income tax is large; yet these costs do not appear high, as a percent of revenue collected, although there is no real basis for making an objective determination. In regard to the compliance costs of taxes, they could be, rather high for certain taxes while appearing to be low enough to require little emphasis.Map of USA highlighting states with no income tax ...The second and third aspe cts of tax efficiency will be stressed instead, primarily because they involve the most important aspect of tax efficiency; namely the effects of taxes on the efficient operation of the economy.The second aspect of tax efficiency involves an understanding of tax neutrality. Traditionally, economists view the economy as operating under a purely competitive framework. Given this framework, the allocation of resources in. the private economy would be optimal or at least efficient. As we have learned, the opportunity cost of increasing the size of the public sector is equal to the value of private goods and services sacrificed. But if, in addition to opportunity cost, private-decision-making in the market is interfered with and relative prices and individual behavior patterns are altered, taxes may cause an additional cost and have non-neutral and move the economy away from the most efficient use of...

Fords Profitability Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Fords Profitability - Essay Example The research work will help in giving an explanation on why the company is making 24 billion in losses. A competitive advantage may be created in producing similar products to Toyotas’ models with lower costs. The output produced should be according to what the consumers need, and not according to what it is used to producing (Close, 2012). They can completely change the company strategies and structure on how it carries out its operational activities. This can be achieved by changing the objectives, target and mission statements of the company. Introduction of process engineering skills, tight cost control and reports that are more frequent. The management should be able to give the company a new purpose and direction, by motivating the workers, and improving the culture of the organization (Canary, 2012). In extreme circumstances, the firm may also consider taking action on the management structure by considering the option of reducing on the number of employees both in the management level and in the operational levels. This will act as a direct way of reducing on the production and operational

CISG Contract , Goodscan Contract Fact Pattern Assignment

CISG Contract , Goodscan Contract Fact Pattern - Assignment Example This condition applies if offeree gets the withdrawal before the offer or at the same time like the offer. Goodson is the offeror, in the case being analyzed, while Hospitex is the offeree. There is an offer from Goodscan to sell Hospitex five X-ray machines. A negotiator from Goodscan travels to Toronto to make an offer to the CEO of Hospitex. Terms of the offer are two hundred thousand Canadian dollars for 5 x-ray machines. Hospitex (offeree) accepts the offer but on a condition that Goodscan includes a clause stating that incase of any conflicts in future the two parties will use Canadian law to resolve it. It is evident there is an offer and an acceptance from the offeree, but there are additions that constitutes to a counter offer according since the offeree agree to the offer on condition that the clause is included (Ramberg 5). A mutual agreement refers to a contract that is agreeable to both parties. Article 29 clarifies that a mere agreement of both parties can be initiated to either modify or terminate a contract (Ramberg 6). The two parties agreeing to enter into an agreement are capable of performing specific duties of the contract against each other. Ramberg (6) says each of the both parties may be precluded by each other’s conduct from asserting certain provisions to a point whereby the other party has respectively relied on the other’s conduct respectively. Any contract can be a mutual contract, as long as it binds two parties. In this case, the contract between the two parties is mutualistic in that Goodscan should deliver the goods and the offeree (Hospitex) should pay the agreed fee to Goodscan. Both parties, according to the contract, have something to benefit from each other. Consideration is typically a concept of legal value in relation to contracts. It involves valuable goods promised to each other in a contract. It takes the form of physical objects,

Saving Natural Resources Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Saving Natural Resources - Essay Example Likewise, the contemporary lifestyle of people all over the world can not be thought to exist without oil. Oil is used for fuelling the vehicles and airplanes. The modern lifestyle is shaped according to these. We can not think to continue the business in the modern age without having vehicles, which in turn, require oil to be driven. â€Å"A litre of petrol produces about 2.5kg (5 lbs) of greenhouse gases, while a US gallon produces nearly 15 lbs of greenhouse gases† (Viator.com). Gas is an alternative to oil, but that does not solve the problem of unsustainable development because that too is a natural resource and depletes as more and more of it is being used. The contemporary lifestyle is an outcome of heavy reliance on natural resources, thus it will diminish along with the natural resources. In light of the rapidly depleting natural resources, we need to change our living practices so that we can enjoy the pleasures of life for a longer period of time. Of all the natural resources, the one that concerns us the most is oil. If we stop depending upon oil, we will have done much to make the life style sustainable. In order to achieve that, what needs to be looked into is the purposes we need oil for in general. We generally need oil for fuelling cars and making electricity. Both of these purposes can be achieved without depending upon oil. Most of the oil that is extracted from Earth is used for fuelling vehicles. â€Å"Transportation is the second leading contributor to greenhouse gases in the country† (Shahan). The potential solution to this problem lies in the use of bicycles. Bicycles offer a solution not only to this, but to various other problems of the contemporary age as well like obesity. Bicycles do not need any fuel to be driven and yet, the wheels on which it runs make the journey less time consuming. In order to drive a bicycle, the rider needs to peddle constantly. This is a very good exercise for the thighs. In addition to making us smart and healthy, use of bicycles also reduces the chances of dreadful road accidents. The collision of a bicycle rider with a man on foot is least likely to result into a life taking accident, unless there were some other factors involved in it. Thus, by replacing vehicles with bicycles, man can not only make himself indifferent to the oil reserves, but it will also make our living practices environment friendly and the life style sustainable. Natural resources not only include what is hidden under the surface of Earth; they also constitute all plants and animals as they are the fundamental source of food and nutrition for the humans. Polar bears are dying in large numbers as a result of the global warming. The point here is not that they are food for humans, but â€Å"[i]f people want a more people-centered reason to save polar bears, it surely exists in the way lack of polar bears could ultimately affect human food supply and commercial fishing industries† (Ellis-Chri stensen). This takes the discussion of saving natural resources to the level of global warming. The two phenomena are linked with each other. As the temperature of Earth is rising, more and more animals are dying. They can not sustain the effect of heat. Therefore, we also need to take measures to reduce global warming in our attempt to save natural resources. Built environment happens

Research Methods Into Positivism And Social Constructivism

Research Methods Into Positivism And Social Constructivism There has been heated discussion over the use of positivism and social constructivism in management research over the past few decades. And one can find that most of the theorists take a neutral view with regard to this situation. After the 1980s there has been a trend towards social constructivism but even then no one is sticking completely to the principles of one single philosophy. The main idea behind positivism is that society is an external agent and hence its properties or characteristics must be measured objectively rather than by any subjective means like intuition, sensation etc. This view was first proposed by French theorist Auguste Comte (1853) according to whom All good intellects have repeated, since Bacons time, that there can be no real knowledge but that which is based on observable facts. Hence his view has two main assumptions i.e. reality is external and objective and knowledge is based upon observations of this reality. Thus there are certain postulates of this philosophy: Independence: The researcher must be independent in his thoughts and is not influenced by any factors while observing the reality. Value-freedom: This involves deciding upon the area to be studied and how to study it. Positivism suggests doing this on the basis of objective research and not on human beliefs. Causality: The main objective of social and behavioral sciences is to evaluate the causes and fundamental laws behind the fluctuations in the behavioral pattern of people. Hypothesis and deduction: every research will be based on certain hypothesis and the observations will be made to either prove or disprove this hypothesis statement. Operationalization: The research concepts must be formulated in such a way that the facts obtained from observations can be measured empirically. Reductionism: This concept believes that a bigger problem will be easy to solve if it is divided into smaller elements which can be separately solved. Generalization: In order to make general conclusions on fluctuations in human behavior, it is essential that the research must be conducted among samples of appropriate size. On the basis of results obtained from the sample size, the researcher can make wider judgments on the whole population. Cross-sectional analysis: This kind of regularities can be easily identified by comparing the differences in the samples. All the above given implications are the collective view points of different theorists of positivism. But there were many theorists who were having contrasting opinions on these postulates too. Even Comte was not supporting the reductionism concept. Wittgenstein proposed in his past studies that all factual intentions can be broken down into smaller elementary propositions that were entirely independent from each other. He himself later challenged this theory arguing that elementary propositions can be logically related to each other (Pears, 1971). Thus this philosophy is under an unending debate among the theorists. Aiken (1956) came up with the view that positivism is the best way to find out the behavioral patterns in human beings which may be originated as a result of metaphysical speculation. The concept of social constructivism on the other hand was developed based on the works of Berger and Luckman (1966), Watzlawick (1984) and Shotter (1993). This philosophy is based upon idea that people use language as a medium for sharing their experiences and it is through this way, they make sense of the world. Hence this theory suggests that people form, create and make themselves and their worlds by means of the verbal skills. It is more concerned about the process and product peoples way of interacting with each other (Leeds-Hurwitz, 1995). It is considered as social because it focuses on the interaction rather than the individual. Hence even though there exist a clear dichotomy between the two philosophies, there exists a high difference in opinion among the researchers about the selection of methods. Therefore a number of compromising has to be done between these two philosophies in order to conduct a research. Figure: Matrix of research designs Detached Survey research Case method (Yin) Quasi-experimental design Ethnography Positivist Social Grounded theory Experimental Design design constructionist Co-operative enquiry Action research Involved The following are pure researches mentioned in the figure above: Action research: Action research cannot completely belong to pure research as it contains certain elements of applied research too. In this research, the researcher tries to be as much close to the research area or subject. This is because the researcher intends to make a direct influence for which he may make certain alterations even in the research process. The ground concept behind this research was that if one wants to know a subject well he must try to change it. This theory was widely accepted in Organizational Development where the trainers use it for enhancing the team effectiveness (French Bell, 1978; Homan, 1979). Survey Research: This is a kind of research process which requires direct interaction with the samples. If done properly, this research can give accurate information which can be highly useful in solving the research problem. Survey research gives much importance to primary data and involves systematic observation (Sapsford, 2007). Therefore this research helps to take better business decisions by which way the business activities can be handles much more effectively. Experimental design: In this research, the experimenter assigns subjects at random to a test or control group. The test group conditions are then manipulated by the researcher so as to evaluate their effect with regard to the control group who are in a normal setting. But this kind of study is quite difficult to conduct in real organizations since its not easy to obtain a captive population for the research. Quasi-experimental designs: This was developed when the researchers found it difficult to create pure experimental designs under the positivist concept. This was clearly explained by Campell and Stanley (1963), who assessed a number of designs which made use of multiple scales so as to minimize the impact caused by incomplete matching of control and test groups. Ethnography: This is a theory based on social constructivist principle where the experimenter will try to be a part of the research so as to understand the mindset of the experimental group and the meanings and significances that the samples bring in their behavior of themselves and others. Case Method: There are several research designs at present and some of them are similar to fieldwork methods while some others fall in the intermediate position. Case study method is the kind of research design which comes under the latter category. The most important deliberations to this topic were made by Robert Yin (1993). The other popular contributors to this method are Stake (1995), Eisenhardt (1989), and Hamel et.al (1993). Grounded theory: This theory is based on constructivist principles and helps the researcher to understand how he will proceed with the research. This concept got worldwide attention from the studies of Glaser and Strauss (1967). In this method, the researcher mainly has to develop a theory by means of comparative method, i.e. viewing the same event in different situations and analyzing the difference. Co-operative enquiry: This is a type of action research where all the participants of the research contribute equally to the development of enquire and show active participation in the research process (Heron, 1996; Reason, 2003). Apart from the above research designs, there exist certain other designs which can be used for management researches. The most important ones among them are critical inquiry, participant observation and narrative methods. All these methods have certain similarities with the above mentioned designs as well as certain unique features of their own. Hence they are also widely accepted in business research and used according to the requirements. 2. The different areas of research that holds high significance are: a) Research topic: Finalizing the research topic is the first and most important part of a research since it is based on the depth of title that the research proceeds (Kumar, 2005). In the broad sense, research title can be any question or problem that you need to answer or any assumption that needs to be challenged. As per the words of Powers, Meenaghan Twoomey (1985), Potential research questions may occur to us on a regular basis, but the process of formulating them in a meaningful way is not at all an easy task. In order to frame a research title, it is essential to have a thorough knowledge of research methodology as well as on the theoretical aspects of the topic. The research title can be formulated based upon four sources namely daily life, practical issues, past research and theory (Johnson Christensen, 2010). They form the initial base for the structuring of research title. Thus the research topic serves as a foundation to the research and hence if it is framed properly, the study will also move in the right direction. The research problem can vary in complexity and hence the way it is formulated determines the research approach, study design, sampling strategy, research instrument as well as many other factors. Therefore there must be certain considerations while selecting a research topic. The main considerations are interest, magnitude, measurement concepts, expertise level, relevance, ethical issues etc. (Kumar, 2005). If the research topic fulfills most of these considerations, then it can be regarded as a suitable one. b) Research question: A research question refers to the problem that the experimenter seeks to answer through the research. The research question is an essential element of every research despite of the fact that it is qualitative and quantitative. But they will vary according to the nature of research. If the research question is qualitative, then it will be intended for finding out the relationship between two variables. A variable is something which has more than one value (Vaus, 2002). Hence research questions for these kinds of researches are not much specific. While on the hand, a quantitative research question tends to more precise as it will be based on mathematical results. Business research usually applies qualitative research questions since they ask more general questions which can be used for exploring the samples views or responses on a particular phenomenon. It is usually an interrogative sentence which aims to relate two or more variables. It can be of three types nam ely: descriptive, predictive and causal. The researcher must have thorough understanding of the variables that are related in the research. These questions are open-ended, general, and over-reaching regarding an issue, problem or phenomenon. c) Research hypothesis (es): They can be referred to as tentative answers to the research questions. This is because the solution to them can be found out after statistical analysis only and hence it forms a critical step in the evidence-gathering process of a research (Guerrero Nachmias, 2010). There will be two hypotheses while conducting this process. The first hypotheses will be referred to as research hypotheses (H1) and the other one will be termed as null hypothesis (H0). The research hypotheses are formulated based upon the parameters of population but its form is different from research to research. Null hypothesis is the one set as a counter the research hypothesis. It is because every research hypothesis is set in order to prove a relationship. Hence it is necessary to set an alternate hypothesis that could disprove the relationship. For hypothesis testing, the researcher aims to disprove the null hypothesis in order to provide support to the research hypothesis. Therefor e research hypotheses are oriented towards a particular direction. This means it states whether a population mean is greater than or lesser than a particular value. d) Research objectives: A researcher intends to summarize what must be achieved by means of the research. The objectives of the study must be in alignment with the problem statement. There are mainly two types of objectives set for a research- general objective and specific objective. General objective states what the researcher intends to achieve in general terms through conducting this study. This general objective when broken down to smaller parts for better solving becomes specific objectives. Research objectives are better than research questions since they lead to higher specificity in the research (Saunders et.al. 2003). 3. A research design process that could be adopted in business researches is as follows: Web 01: An overview of the research design process This research design can be used in most management studies with little variations. This process starts with identification of research problem. Every research must have a problem which needs to be solved through the research process. Business researches usually intend to find answers to some social issues, business problem or a phenomenon. After identifying the research problem, the next step is determining the research objectives and questions. A research question is the problem or issue that the research intends to solve while research objectives tend to summarize the area that is to be achieved by the study. Hence both these factors lie in close relation to each other. The next task in the research design process is conducting the secondary research. This is done by means of an extensive literature study. This way the researcher gathers details on the theoretical aspects of the research. Hence the researcher will be searching in books, journals, articles, online databases, websit es etc for collecting the data. An appropriate methodology for conducting the research must be developed by this time. Research methodology helps in determining the research philosophy, approach, method, study design etc. All these factors are highly important for the successful completion of research. After collecting the secondary data, the researcher will look out for methods for collecting the primary data. There exist several research methods for data collection. The research instrument will be decided based upon the literature study (Taylor et.al. 2006). The most common research instruments include surveys, interviews, questionnaires, etc. In some cases, the researcher conducts a pilot study in order to obtain responses from a small portion of the population. These research instruments help to gain valid data from the samples. After collecting the primary and secondary information, the researcher decides upon the methods for their analysis. Literature review analysis is quite critical for researches as they would help in gaining insights on the core issues and provide suitable recommendations. The analysis of primary data is done by means of certain analysis techniques. The most common methods include percentage analysis, chi-square test, ANOVA, z-test etc. They help in providing empirical findings for the research which are most accurate. After obtaining the findings, they are interpreted to reach at final judgments and conclusion. On the basis of these interpretations, the researcher could provide suitable suggestions or recommendations for solving the research problem. 4. a) A survey is used for describing a population and it usually involves systematic observation or interviewing. Surveys involve what the researcher wants to find out and the answers also will be defined under a specific range (Sapsford, 2007). The most common survey instruments used in management and social researches are questionnaires and interviews. For constructing a questionnaire, the responses must be provided in a range. Hence it must have certain measurement scales. There are mainly four types of measurement scales used in surveys. They are: Nominal Scale: This is a kind of measurement scale where the objects are assigned to categories without any numerical properties. These scales have definite identity of their own but have no other characteristics (Jackson, 2007). Those variables which are measured using these scales are named as categorical variables since they try to classify the information collected. But these variables have no empirical value. Examples of variables measured through nominal scales are ethnicity, gender etc. These variables cannot be hence used in mathematical analysis. Hence these scales are considered as the lowest level of measurement since the variables are different by means of quality rather than quantity in this (Bordens Abbott, 2006). Ordinal Scale: They form the next level of measurement used in surveys. They constitute numbers which are in a predetermined order so that there will be certain relationships which can be inferred from them (Sapsford, 2007). Hence the objectives are classified into certain categories which form a rank order through a range. The data in this scale do have certain identity and properties but they dont have equal unit size and absolute zero. Interval Scale: In this scale, the measurement units are all of equal size. Therefore it fulfills the three main criteria of an ideal scale i.e. identity, magnitude and equal unit size. It forms the third level of measurement used in surveys. Hence this scale contains the characteristics of both nominal and ordinal scale but is much more effective than the other two (Malhotra Dash, 2008). Fahrenheit scale is the most prominent interval scale used. Ratio scale: This forms the highest measurement scale and has all the characteristics of nominal, ordinal and interval scale. It is the most complicated scale since it allows the researcher to identify the absolute differences between scale points as well as helps him in comparing the responses obtained (Hair et.al. 2007). This scale possesses an absolute zero which indicates the absence of variables in measurement. b. Questionnaire is the most commonly used research instrument. The main characteristics of a good questionnaire are as follows: It must be short and precise. So while framing a questionnaire, ensure that the research objectives will be met from the analysis of responses of the questionnaire. Usage of simple language: The questionnaire must be framed in such a way that the respondents find it easy to understand. Start with interesting questions: The questionnaire will include questions that will generate interest in the samples to answer and encourage them to fill out the complete form. Absence of leading questions: If there are leading questions in the form, it will encourage the respondents to answer in a particular way. But this is not considered as a good practice since the sample must not be influenced by any means in writing an answer. The number of choices wont be too long because the respondents will find it difficult to assess all of them. Hence the choice list must be small. Include simple concepts which the samples could understand. Including complicated concepts will make it a tough task for the respondents to answer the questions properly. The elements of a bad questionnaire are included below. It will have more open-ended questions than close-ended ones. This will make it difficult for the respondents to answer the questions and also their answers wont be similar. The analysis of these responses is not possible through any statistical method. The questions will be vague. The respondents will not be able to understand the real meaning of this question and this will influence their answer. The research questions are not communicated through this questionnaire. This way the questionnaire fails to serve its purpose.

College Students and Anti-Depressants :: Depression Psychology Drugs Essays

College Students and Anti-Depressants Starting college can be a stressful time for any adolescent. For students suffering from depression it can be a traumatic experience. Worlds feel turned upside down. Even for those who manage to â€Å"cope,† pressures can cause these students to feel overwhelmed. Upon meeting Katelyn*, no one would ever suspect this tiny, thin blonde with a bubbly personality to be shy, much less depressed. Katelyn is a 19-year-old Northeastern University sophomore, who has been suffering from depression for about three years. â€Å"Sometimes everything seems like a big blur,† said Katelyn. â€Å"I have so much to do, so much to think about, and suddenly none of it seems important. It’s like the more I have to do and get done, the less motivated I feel.† As Katelyn talks, she transforms from an average college student to one with a serious illness, a condition that almost 24% of college students had been diagnosed with in 2003, at one time in their life. â€Å"Being depressed is not something that everyone can easily understand. There’s such a stigma that comes along with the term. So many people just see it as some fake, made-up condition that I should just be able to snap out of. What they don’t understand is that it’s not something that I can just will away,† said Katelyn. Katelyn’s story isn’t so different from other depressed college students nationwide. In college, young adults meet new peers and enter environments much different than high school. For many students, it will be the first time living on their own, away from the comforts of home. For the average student, this situation is extremely stressful and uncomfortable. For students who suffer from depression, these feelings are multiplied. According to an article by Josephine Marcotty in Minneapolis’ Star Tribune from April 10, college students lead â€Å"hyper-enriched lives,† said Greg Kneser, dean of students at St. Olaf College. That’s what makes this generation of students distinct from its predecessors, he said. That is why more students who cannot cope with these feelings end up at college counseling centers with â€Å"increasingly serious mental-health problems.† 15 to 20 percent of college students nationally were diagnosed with depression. The second most common diagnosis was severe anxiety. According to the article, it is not unusual for mental-health issues to become apparent during a student’s college years. According to Roseanne Gotterbarn, a psychologist from New York, college students who are depressed should seek professional help and, if necessary, help from medication as well. College Students and Anti-Depressants :: Depression Psychology Drugs Essays College Students and Anti-Depressants Starting college can be a stressful time for any adolescent. For students suffering from depression it can be a traumatic experience. Worlds feel turned upside down. Even for those who manage to â€Å"cope,† pressures can cause these students to feel overwhelmed. Upon meeting Katelyn*, no one would ever suspect this tiny, thin blonde with a bubbly personality to be shy, much less depressed. Katelyn is a 19-year-old Northeastern University sophomore, who has been suffering from depression for about three years. â€Å"Sometimes everything seems like a big blur,† said Katelyn. â€Å"I have so much to do, so much to think about, and suddenly none of it seems important. It’s like the more I have to do and get done, the less motivated I feel.† As Katelyn talks, she transforms from an average college student to one with a serious illness, a condition that almost 24% of college students had been diagnosed with in 2003, at one time in their life. â€Å"Being depressed is not something that everyone can easily understand. There’s such a stigma that comes along with the term. So many people just see it as some fake, made-up condition that I should just be able to snap out of. What they don’t understand is that it’s not something that I can just will away,† said Katelyn. Katelyn’s story isn’t so different from other depressed college students nationwide. In college, young adults meet new peers and enter environments much different than high school. For many students, it will be the first time living on their own, away from the comforts of home. For the average student, this situation is extremely stressful and uncomfortable. For students who suffer from depression, these feelings are multiplied. According to an article by Josephine Marcotty in Minneapolis’ Star Tribune from April 10, college students lead â€Å"hyper-enriched lives,† said Greg Kneser, dean of students at St. Olaf College. That’s what makes this generation of students distinct from its predecessors, he said. That is why more students who cannot cope with these feelings end up at college counseling centers with â€Å"increasingly serious mental-health problems.† 15 to 20 percent of college students nationally were diagnosed with depression. The second most common diagnosis was severe anxiety. According to the article, it is not unusual for mental-health issues to become apparent during a student’s college years. According to Roseanne Gotterbarn, a psychologist from New York, college students who are depressed should seek professional help and, if necessary, help from medication as well.

Essay on the the Secret Book Essay

According to recent studies, self-help books – non-fiction books that offer advice for behavior modification and make explicit promises for positive change – have doubled as a percentage of all book titles since the 1970s. The increasing popularity of self-help books is an indicator of the modern society’s quest to maximize personal happiness through a process of self-discovery. Self-help books are a response to a real and genuine hunger for psychological understanding and self-improvement and are part of the larger market of advice media. Readers buy self-help books seeking self-control – both as a good-faith attempt to increase their self-control and to elicit a temporary sensation that, in fact, the first step toward self-control has already been taken. And of recent years, one of the increasing self-help or spirituality books involve the teachings of New Age-ism. The New Age is a decentralized Western social and spiritual movement that seeks â€Å"Universal Truth† and the attainment of the highest individual human potential. It includes aspects of Occultism, astrology, esotericism, metaphysics, alternative medicine, music, collectivism, sustainability, and nature. New Age spirituality is characterized by an individual approach to spiritual practices and philosophies, and the rejection of religious doctrine and dogma. New Age practices and philosophies sometimes draw inspiration from major world religions: Buddhism, Chinese folk religion, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism; with particularly strong influences from East Asian religions, Gnosticism, Neopaganism, New Thought, Spiritualism, Theosophy, Universalism, and Western esotericism. New Age spirituality has led to a wide array of literature on the subject and an active niche market: books, music, crafts, and services in alternative medicine are available at New Age stores, fairs, and festivals. And one of the most phenomenal publishing successes in the self-help/New Age teachings is a book called The Secret. ABOUT THE SECRET Product Details The English-language 6. 9 x 5. 7 x 0. 9 inches hardcover book is fairly lightweight at 198 pages. It was first published in November 28, 2006 by Atria Books in Australia. In the United States of America, the book is published by Beyond Words and in United Kingdom by Simon & Schuster UK. Product Description Fragments of a Great Secret have been found in the oral traditions, in literature, in religions and philosophies throughout the centuries. For the first time, all the pieces of The Secret come together in an incredible revelation that will be life-transforming for all who experience it. In this book, you’ll learn how to use The Secret in every aspect of your life — money, health, relationships, happiness, and in every interaction you have in the world. You’ll begin to understand the hidden, untapped power that’s within you, and this revelation can bring joy to every aspect of your life. The Secret contains wisdom from modern-day teachers — men and women who have used it to achieve health, wealth, and happiness. By applying the knowledge of The Secret, they bring to light compelling stories of eradicating disease, acquiring massive wealth, overcoming obstacles, and achieving what many would regard as impossible. Content of The Secret 1. Foreword 2. Acknowledgements 3. The Secret Revealed 4. The Secret Made Simple 5. How to Use The Secret 6. Powerful Processes 7. The Secret to Money 8. The Secret to Relationships 9. The Secret to Health 10. The Secret to the World 11. The Secret to You 12. The Secret to Life 13. Biographies The Secret Revealed The first thing you need to know is that The Secret isn’t really a secret. The secret is actually â€Å"The Law of Attraction† that asserts what you think creates what you feel, and these feelings flow from your body as magnetic energy waves over vast distances, which then cause the universe around you to vibrate at the same energy level as your feelings. The idea dates back nearly 3,000 years to early Hindu teachings that â€Å"like attracts like. † The law of attraction, which the author Rhonda Byrne says is the most powerful law in the universe, states that people experience the logical manifestations of their predominant thoughts, feelings, and words. This gives people direct control over their lives. A person’s thoughts (whether conscious or unconscious) and feelings bring about corresponding positive or negative manifestations. Positive thoughts bring about positive manifestations while negative thoughts bring about negative manifestations. The theory is very simple. Because it is an absolute law, the law of attraction will always respond to your thoughts no matter what they are. Thus your thoughts become things. You are the most powerful power in the universe simply because whatever you think about will come to be. You shape the world that exists around you. You shape your own life and destiny through the power of your mind. To quote some of the teachings in this book are â€Å"Thoughts are sending out that magnetic signal that is drawing the parallel back to you. †Thus there is no such thing as accident or coincidence; it is you, the individual, who brings misery on yourself because of your toxic thinking. But the good news, if you can alter your thoughts, and therefore your feelings, you can actually cause the universe around you to vibrate at a positive energy level and the desires of your heart will come to be realized! All you have to do is Ask — Believe — Receive. You just have to visualize what you want, feel good about it, and then ask the universe — and whatever you can imagine can be yours. It is like having the universe as your catalogue and you flip through it and go, ‘Well I’d like to have this experience and I’d like to have that product and I’d like to have a person like that’ †¦ It is you just placing your order with the universe. The law of attraction was the power, the author argues, behind geniuses such as Plato, Newton, Beethoven and Einstein. In this book too, she has also gotten quotes, experiences and support from the who’s who of the self-help industry, including John Gray, author of â€Å"Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus,† and Jack Canfield, who wrote â€Å"Chicken Soup for the Soul. â€Å"Jack Canfield, provides an excellent example of the ask-believe-receive system where he tells us that he visualized earning $100,000 (even writing the desired amount on a bill worth far less and tacking it to the ceiling above his bed) and focused his mental energy only on the goal of attaining the money. He tells us that he had absolutely no idea how he was going to get the money — he simply focused on believing that he would get the money, somehow. But how? For four weeks he had no breakthrough ideas but then, one day in the shower, he remembered that he had written a book and, if it was published (particularly if he sold 400,000 copies and he made a quarter on each) he just might achieve his financial goals. Of course the book was published, and the results were only a few thousand dollars shy of 100,000 dollars. And this is just one of the many testimonials in this book called The Secret. The Story Behind The Secret It is not a secret now that The Secret is a publishing phenomenon of recent years especially for in the non-fiction & self-help category. This small book, with a parchment-brown cover engraved with the image of a red wax seal, debuted in 2006 and since then it has sold over four million copies worldwide and has been translated to 38 different languages. The Secret began as a DVD which came out end of 2004. Rhonda Byrne was a television producer in Australia in 2004 when the death of her father led her to discover ‘the secret’, which is her term for what is commonly known as the law of attraction. Her discovery was mainly caused by the 1910 book The Science of Getting Rich by Wallace Wattles. Wattles’s book struck such a chord with Byrne that she plunged into a crash course in Western, Eastern, ancient and modern thought, devouring hundreds of books and articles in just two and a half weeks. Inspired, she flew to the States in July 2005 and began lining up people to interview; the film was finished six months later and she began trying to find an Australian network to air it. The top-rated Nine Network was intrigued by her proposal, but the finished film struck Len Downs, the program manager, as just â€Å"a whole range of talking heads giving their basis of the secret of life. † It eventually ran in Australia just a few weeks ago, and, says Downs, it didn’t do all that well. But armed with the law of attraction, Byrne was confident things would work out. A Web company situated just blocks away from her office in Melbourne had a technology for distributing streaming video over the Internet. In March 2006, her site (http://thesecret. tv) began selling downloads and DVDs, one of which found its way to Cynthia Black, president of the New Age-oriented publishing house Beyond Words saw its potential and by late November the book was in the stores and the rest as they say, is history. PURCHASING THE SECRET The Secret books are available at all major bookstores, online bookstore and through its official website. It is usually placed in the Health, Mind & Body -> Self Help category or Religion & Spirituality -> New Age category. At most of these major bookstores, The Secret books are placed most prominently on the shelves. Due to it being constantly on worldwide bestseller lists for non-fiction books thus the title is prominently displayed in the bookstores should the bookstore have a bestsellers display section. Its average retails price for cash & carry stores are $23. 95 in the United States; ? 12. 00 in United Kingdom; and MYR79. 90 in Malaysia. While its average retail price for online purchases are $14. 00 and ? 12. 00 in United States and United Kingdom respectively. PROMOTING THE SECRET After the phenomenal success of the The Secret DVD, it made sense for it to be turned into a book and what better way for the marketers to embark on promoting the book than playing up the hype of the movie and using the popular internet marketing tool such as the viral video site YouTube. The book was marketed with an online viral video campaign focusing on wealth enhancement. The short video clips showed testimonials from readers of the book and practitioners of â€Å"the secret† claiming that the technique brought them wealth, cured sickness, and brought about a general life-change. The video clips do not disclose what â€Å"the secret† is, where it originated from or how it can be practiced, but rather pointed viewers to the website for both the book and film. Thus hooking the viewers and made them all the more intrigue by the claims made by the author in the book. As for packaging and promotional material, the book also played into the consumers’ senses by trying to showcase that â€Å"the secret† originates from the cosmos. The cover prominently displayed a parchment-brown cover engraved with the image of a red wax seal (see Appendix 1) to indicate it is somewhat a book from the olden days and in the inside pages, the background design are a field of stars, and various shots of the universe thus adding mystique to the claims and the practice. However, the most savvy and most probably the ultimate gambit of the book is to call it ‘The Secret. To quote Mr Donavin Bennes, a buyer who specializes in metaphysics for Borders Books, â€Å"We all want to be in on a secret. But to present it as the secret, that was brilliant. † Thus the name evoke a sense of intrigue to readers who are looking for something magical or perhaps easier tool for them to understand and to fully live their lives. Another smart marketing move made by the publisher was to have it endorsed by well-known and highly popular worldwide celebrities. The book got its first break in the US when Ellen DeGeneres featured it on her show. And when Oprah Winfrey decided to run a show on it, although it was already a big success, the sales ballooned up much more. Oprah Winfrey first featured it on Feb. 8 2007 and according to Nielsen BookScan, the book had sold 18,000 copies the week before. During the week of the show, sales rocketed to 101,000 and when the show did a follow-up on Feb. 16 2007, the sales that week reached 190,000. With the success of the book, the publishers decided to create more spin-off titles, which they call The Secret tools. There are now The Secret to Teen Power (see Appendix 2), The Secret Daily Teachings (see Appendix 3) and The Secret Gratitude Book (see Appendix 4). Not only that, at its official website there are also ‘gifts’ for the readers such as visualization tools, The Secret memory game, wallpapers, ebook and blank checks (see Appendix 5) which goes hand-in-hand with the teachings of the book. THE SECRET S. W. O. T ANALYSIS Strengths 1. The intriguing title. As elaborated above, the title play a major role in inciting readers’ interest in the book. 2. The cover design. Alongside its intriguing title, the odd-shaped book with its olden-days personification invoke a sense of mystery that is definitely eye-catching and surely pique a person’s interest while browsing the shelves at a bookstore. 3. The content is an easy read with its simple language and peppered with inspiring testimonials from many men & women who has experienced the use of the secret plus personal experience & quotations from the the who’s who of the self-help industry. 4. The savvy marketing ideas of the publishers that has created the hype that constantly raise awareness of the book. 5. Endorsement by high-profile & influential personalities that are recognized world-wide certainly helped boosted its sale internationally. 6. Constant high-placing in best-selling charts, most probably due to the savvy marketing ideas of the publisher and as the  long-term effect of the celebrity associated to the book especially Oprah Winfrey. Weaknesses 1. The selling price in Malaysia of RM79. 90 is definitely a setback to potential buyers as the price is rather steep for many people especially for books in the self-help category. 2. The book is not available in paperback form thus some book buyers are not keen on buying hardback cover books due to its steeper price or its slightly heavy weight. 3. The content is not something that is unique and there are many similar teachings that one can get in many other books thus it does lack a little originality. 4. As typical with many New Age teachings, the content of the book has garnered much criticism which try to debunked the book’s teaching as merely hype, mumbo-jumbo or just plain illogical. 5. The book has to complete with many other form of self-help books available that are cheaper, more accessible and from much more renowned authors (Paulo Coelho, Eckhart Tolle, Anthony Robbins) Opportunities 1. Publishers could promote to younger readers especially The Secret for Teens book first and therefore will garner their interest in the main book The Secret. 2. Use the The Secret movie to lure potential readers as there are those who would like to have to book in hand as a way to look back or do revision which is harder to do with the dvd. 3. Offer a cheaper paperback form, thus the book is able to be sold at a cheaper price and therefore garner many more readers. Threats 1. With the easy access to internet, potential readers might decide to check out what the book is about online and thus stumbling on the many critics that the book has garnered. This in turn can make them believe the critics before actually reading the book, thus will result in loss of sales. 2. Like many other things in life, people are apt to stumble upon a new idea for a book or a belief that could help the world, thus there will be brand new books in the future that will probably come with a much more savvy marketing approach and thus will affect the interest of the people about The Secret! THE SECRET CONCLUSION The Secret is a phenomenon and it is likely to become one of the best-selling self-help books of all time. Venture into your local bookstore or look around you while waiting at an airport, and you’re bound to see people reading it and absorbing it. They will not just be people who consult astrologers and who listen to Tony Robbins tapes, but normal, average people like the ones who live next door to you. There are almost 1400 reviews of the book printed at Amazon with an average rating of 3. 5 out of 5. The breakdown of those scores is interesting: fifty-two percent of them are 5-star, thirteen percent are 4-star and twenty-one percent are 1-star. This means that the majority of people, the great majority even, believe in at least some aspects of the book’s premise and teaching. They believe in the law of attraction. The one problem that The Secret poses is that it simplifies and speculates way too much and there are a quite a significant level of moral defects, the lack of scientific backing, and the various philosophical shortcomings, how is it that a significant number of people still believe there’s something to The Law of Attraction? Part of the reason must certainly be the powerful testimonials coming from celebrity figures such as Oprah Winfrey, a woman who attributes her success to her mighty powers of attraction. Of course, that’s a long way from the simple model of Ask-Believe-Receive. In most people’s lives, positive thought leads to success only through the transforming medium of action. But as the author Rhonda said in an interview, she just wants to bring happiness to everybody. That’s the reason it all began. And to her credit, she does bring happiness to many people worldwide and surely there is nothing, in principle, wrong with thinking about what makes you happy.

Puritan Letter essays

Puritan Letter essays Back in the year sixteen hundred and thirty two, my pilgrim brothers and I began our long journey from the motherland, England, to the distant Americas all the way to a place we call Massachutes Bay. As we traveled our great leader, John Winthrop, gave us a wonderful sermon called "A Modell of Christian Charity." It was our goal to become, what he termed, "a City upon a Hill." This sermon was became our core beliefs in terms of are society and what we hoped to establish. First, we would create a city in the physical sense. Every settler would receive his own house and garden, which would have fields in which the entire community would aid in tending and all would use the land for the grazing of the communities cattle. Our community would be the seat of the church, a place of government, and a place in which all would be safe from the Indians. In addition, the grand community we hoped to build would also be excellant in the spiritual sense. It would be a city of a god; a place where a ll men would serve god in the way he hoped and demanded that he be served. Not only in this wonderful place would God be served as he should, but we would also serve our fellow men, as they should be served, as brothers. Sadly, we were not successful. While at first we did enjoy limited success eventually everything fell apart. We were not strong enough and could not resist the temptation of the devil. Over time, our resolve grew weak. Dissenters such as Roger Williams and Ann Hutchinson helped cause differences in opinion. But alas, sadly our problems were not just limited to our ideological differences. Soon,we became greedy. Men stopped concerning themselves with what was best for the community but started to only care about what was best for them. After, time all people cared about was making money. We were corrupted by the devil. Some argue that we were unsuccessful because everyone wa ...

Some Thoughts on what is to be Done

Some Thoughts on what is to be Done Many books have been written within the concept of development. It is evident from a historical perspective that there have been different perspectives as far as the term ‘development’ is concerned. Gilbert Rist, one of the greatest authors of his time has written very a comprehensive book on development. In his book, ‘The History of Development: From Western Origins to Global Faith’, Rist attempts to vividly make evident that which has not been seen. Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Some Thoughts on what is to be Done specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More He offers a fierce critique of western models of development, especially those recommended to ‘developing countries’. While he provides a bare account of development, he is not to be considered pessimistic but instead aims to make people aware of the facts of development motives, especially by the western countries. This essay seek s to offer a summary of Chapter 13 of Rist’s book as well as to provide a conclusion from a personal perspective. A number of authors have recommended this book to an overwhelmingly large number of people who would like to understand the forces that have shaped North-South relations for over half a century now. The book has a total of 14 chapters, each with identifiably unique yet related content. In chapter 13, Rist attempts to provide an overview of the preceding chapters with an aim of highlighting important themes brought out in the book. The chapter is entitled, ‘Some Thoughts on what is to be Done’ and widely focuses on ‘development’ as a misrepresented concept. First of all, it points out the Western countries’ misconception of ‘development’ since they provide a misleading definition. From Western understanding, growth or progress should be an ever continuing process (238). The same idea is still perpetrated even to the pr esent and has resulted in a greater division between nations. The West’s aim is to justify its ostensible superiority in all conceivable human achievements. These include; the military activities, technological and economic domination. In order to ensure the penetration of their idea, they constructed and disseminated the concept of ‘underdevelopment’. This hegemony of ‘development’ created a ‘false opposite’ so that countries perceived to be underdeveloped would struggle to catch up (238). However, in order to sound ‘optimistic’, the West introduced the term ‘developing countries’ that only served to reinforce the illusion of attaining material prosperity for all humanity. At the moment, according to Rist, virtually all leaders of states have embraced the ‘development’ paradigm. Everyone is talking about ‘development’ yet in most instances, they all doubt this possibility, individuall y. However, Rist notes that since every belief gets used to periodic uncertainties, they do not alter the mutual consensus attained during socially binding rites (239). Advertising Looking for essay on literature languages? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More This tendency takes captive of individual doubts on the precept that everyone else believes what has been collectively agreed upon. As a way of getting nations to demonstrate commitment to the belief, there are several forms of obligatory practices (239). The use of conventional ways of defining and solving problems are used. According to Rist, ‘development’ serves to bring forth inequality and exclusion apart from the need to meet the needs of consumers. He also observes that the gap between North and South is always widening. Similarly, the gap between the rich and the poor in each of the nations is also widening. The continued feeding of the well-of f group only serves to fuel the hopes of attaining the same status by the poor. This dream bars the realization that they are actually being exploited (239). The developing nations have been blinded by the numerous forms of ‘development assistance’ from the well-off nations, albeit the fact the aid barely reaches the target group but instead land on destitute authorities. The essay has offered a summary of Rist’s work from chapter 13 of his book. It has brought out his ideas on how ‘development’ as a concept has been misrepresented by the West at the expense of other countries. We can conclude that Rist’s arguments about development, to a significant extent, have the ability to enlighten people of all categories. It offers a new perspective of looking beneath the surface of every claim and engagements among nations as well as within independent countries. Work Cited Rist, G. The history of development: from western origins to global faith (2n d ed.). Zed Books, 238- 239

ALTERNATIVE PERSPECTIVES ON MANAGMENT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

ALTERNATIVE PERSPECTIVES ON MANAGMENT - Essay Example Thus management involves achieving competencies in human resources management, administration, and organizational leadership among others areas (Koontz & Weihrich, 1990). In addition, organizational image and identity refers to that which is most central, distinct and most enduring about an organization. In other words the image and identity refers to â€Å"who we are as an organization† (Whatten & Mackey, 2002). This definition indicates the other organization and ‘we’ are one and the same thing, which cannot be separated by any means. For example, a Human resource manager is involved in recruiting, training, and creating policies to motivate and retain the workforce within an organization. In performing these functions, the HRM performs a political function by creating and allocating people to positions of power within the organization (Devanna et al, 1981), and how payments and rewards are distributed. On the other hand, the manager is functional as they have t o design policies and strategies that have to ensure the recruited employees contribute to development and improvement of the firm. The manager performs a rational activity by having well organized and structured policies that will help in achieving certain ends to the benefit of the company while at the same time rewarding employees for their input. Likewise organization image is a political process as it uses the power of influencing perception. An organization has to improve its image so as to appear more aligned within a certain goal, which influences public’s perception. The strategies and policies put in place to enhance and achieve this image constitute the functional process. Its rationality is in the purpose of achieving an end, which is attracting more customers and investors through improved corporate image, while at the same time gaining the support of employees. However, the current developments in organizational study have resulted into critical theories that fi nd the mainstream management to be poorly structured in effectively addressing all the concerns of stakeholders (Adler, Forbes, Willmott, 2007) This is because; the current management structure gives more advantage to managers; sometimes misuse these positions to benefit the organization at the cost of stakeholders. According to Contu & Willmott (2003) there is unstable institutionalization of power within capitalist type of organizations where profit making is the sole purpose of such organizations. On the other hand, Lukes (2005) explains organizations that have decisions emanating from the decision makers only have one dimensional power prevailing in decision making, instead of having an agenda control type of decision making. As Heydebrand (2007) elaborates, the new organizational critic theories argue that the basic importance of power at the very initial level of management is to prevent grievances and unnecessary conflicts through consent. It seeks to define the social realit y including what people are actually thinking, acting, feeling and shaping the very definition of what is free and unfree, good and evil, or true or false (Heydebrand, 2009, Herbamas, 1990). Thus management conflict is central to important functions in the organizations such as bargaining, mediation in labor laws, other extra legal disputes, and negotiations (Stone, 2001). Largely, these are the major lacking attributed in the mainstream ma

Health care marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 11

Health care marketing - Essay Example Prudent and effective designing of the marketing materials for the two requires the marketers to consider the factors that appeal to the audience belonging to the high and the low socio-economic statuses individually. Specifically, to design the marketing materials for elective plastic surgery, more sophisticated marketing materials like television commercials showing celebrities undergoing elective plastic surgeries, youth magazines, and bill-boards would be more suitable as they are frequently considered and reviewed by the people belonging to the high socio-economic status. On the other hand, design of marketing materials for STD prevention should be easier and the means and platforms to promote it should be rampant. Marketing platforms for STD prevention may include but are not limited to television commercials, radio commercials, advertisements in the newspaper, awareness campaigns in the educational institutions, and STD prevention