Book Critique Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Book Critique - Essay Example In this story Moraley furnished a scarce view of life between the lower classes in England and the middle colonies of America through the early eighteen century. His adventure as indentured servants from England to the â€Å"American Plantations†, where he served in different jobs, saunter on the country side, and jumbled with black and white bonds people, the worker, craftsman, Indians, and other ordinary people. The special interest in the story is the comments of Moraley on servants, bondservants, and Native American. The story is about the lower class lives in England and American Colonies during the eighteen century. One of the major characters of the story is Willaim Carr who took him from his job and taught him the Trade of Watch making. The main character of his stories is his father, brother and mother as well as his wife who affected his life too much. Sir George is another character of his story. He wrote about Sir George while he was sailing on towards America. He has written about his masters daughter as well. When he met up with the daughter of his master he was removing his rags and given a torn shirt and an old coat, but was assured that the clothes were provisional and that he could anticipate better. This was the first time in the story when Moraley thus a feeling of respect among a master and an indentured servant (Moraley, Klepp, & Smith, 2005, pp. 18-20). After spending her time on the boat they went to Philadelphia where the slaves were to be sold all the slaves were sold except Morely. He went to Philadelphia and wants to spend his life in good manners, he started to search for a job but he failed and sold to a master. During this time period he fell in love and want to settle there but he sold. When he was working for his master he ran away from there but caught. His masters bailed him from jail and free him before his ending time period of serving. After that he engaged with a

Information technology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Information technology - Essay Example This technique would help me manage the project in an effective way through proper and logical calculations. Considering Porter’s Competitive Forces Model, I think Keller should introduce a 24/7 customer service system in order to remain competitive in the market. Currently, all IT companies are providing best IT services to people but their after sales systems lack proper implementation. Keller can fill this gap by providing 24/7 support to the customers. Keller just needs to find a team of IT professionals to help in the implementation of the communication system. The DeVry Chocolate Chip Cookie Factory could replace existing IS with  the new one by integrating new features and functions. The company should use a proper database system in the IS software to enter and retrieve information in a proper manner. Currently, there is no record deletion function in the system because of which it becomes overload and does not operate efficiently. The company should add deletion function to make the system run faster and perform the operations efficiently. I would recommend Macy to use enterprise data warehouse and operational data warehouse in the IS plan. Both warehouses would be used by the IS department. With the first one, the department will get a control database for decision support, whereas with the second one, the department will be able to refresh the data in a real time manner. Macy’s CEO should use object relational database management system because it would help him/her convert object data between object database format and relational database format using software. The database department will use ORDBMS and users will not have to write code for conversion of formats. Macys would need to connect it to the Internet to use this software because it takes data from the online servers for all purposes including data access. To help secure Keller/DeVry’s websites’ data servers, I would use HP Scrawlr, UrlScan version 3.0 Beta, and Microsoft

Marx Materialist Conception of History

Marx Materialist Conception of History What is materialist about Marxs view of history? Introduction Marx himself never fully outlined his materialist theory of history, though ‘it occurs in fragmentary form in all his early work written during the years 1843-48, and is taken for granted in his later thought’ (Berlin, 1979: 56) thus it was left to later theorists to deduce it from his early work. In order to understand what is ‘materialist’ about Karl Marx’s view of history we must first situate his theory within the context in which he worked, for in developing his materialist theory of history Marx was heavily influenced by the theories of Hegel: for not only was Hegel the dominant philosopher in Prussia at the time, but Hegel also influenced Marx in his choice of doctoral dissertation. He chose a study of the materialist philosophies of Democritus [†¦] and Epicurus, a Hellenistic philosopher who wrote under the shadow of Aristotle in precisely the same way as the Young Hegelians seemed to be under the shadow of Hegel (Hampsher-Monk, 2001: 487). Indeed, Marx has often been linked to the group referred to as the ‘Young Hegelians’ (Williams, 2003: 489) and which included Bruno Baure, Max Stirner, Ludwig Feuerbach and David Strauss (Hampsher-Monk, 2001: 485-489) even though Hegel was long dead by the time Marx started his studies. Believing, as I do, that it is not possible to understand Marx’s materialism without first understanding Hegel’s idealist view of history, in the first section I provide a, very brief, overview of Hegel’s philosophy of history. In the second I examine Marx’s theory of history, demonstrating how he overturns Hegel’s idealist schema so that instead of being driven by ideas for Marx history is driven by inherent tensions within the mode of production: it is class based (Berlin, 1979: 59) and therefore materialist. In the conclusion I summarise my argument, highlighting the commonalities between the thought of Hegel and Marx whilst concluding that whilst Heg el was indeed an idealist, Marx’s view of history was undeniably materialist in that it was ultimately concerned with productive relations but, nonetheless, Marx remained idealistic in his methodology due to the influence of Hegel on his work. Hegel and Historical Idealism Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770-1831), pre-eminent philosopher at Jena, Heidelberg and later Berlin Universities (Hampsher-Monk, 2001: 409) came to dominate German Philosophy in the Nineteenth Century. He was himself heavily influenced by previous philosophers, including Rousseau (1712-1778), Descartes (1596-1650), Kant (1724-1804), Herder (1744-1803) and those thinkers of the Scottish Enlightenment (see Hampsher-Monk, 2001: 412-421). Hegel developed his ‘comprehensive’ theory of history through an in-depth examination of religion,[1] for he believed that religion, rather than being irrational, was ‘the way in which men generally achieve the consciousness of their being’ (Hegel in Hampsher-Monk, 2001: 416). For Hegel, history is the process of the unfolding of the ‘eternal, universal Spirit’ (Berlin, 1979: 57) toward absolute knowledge or self-consciousness: that is, down through history man has been increasingly freed from nature or necessi ty via the dialectic, ‘a constant logical criticism’ (Berlin, 1979: 58; Taylor in Marx and Engels, 1985: 8). Hegel thus argued that it was possible to identify in each historical epoch a dominant set of ideas and its negation (Taylor in Marx and Engels, 1985: 8), later termed thesis and anti-thesis, the emerging synthesis being progress. His view of history is therefore teleological and stagist; he believed it to be rational and progressive, moving toward improvement in distinct steps through the actions of ‘world historical individuals’ (Hampsher-Monk, 2001: 419; 480). For Hegel then, history is driven forward by ideas; it is, ultimately, idealist: ‘all change is due to the movement of the dialectic, that works by a constant logical criticism, that is, struggle against, and final self-destruction of, ways of thought and constructions of reason and feeling’ (Berlin, 1979: 58). Further, Hegel, following Rousseau and influenced by the Ancient Greeks, believed that true freedom was to be found through, rather than against the state, thus opposing the negative freedoms of liberal thought (Hampsher-Monk, 2001: 415, 424; 463): he argued that law and rights are products of man’s mastery over nature, rather than a continuation of the rights of nature as in Locke (Hinchman, 1984: 25), and that therefore equality is created in society via the act of mutual recognition (Hampsher-Monk, 2001: 440) and which he illustrates with the mythical encounter between the master and the slave.[2] Therefore, for Hegel, the state is not oppressive, but li berating as it presents the means by which ‘man’ is able to realise his own freedom. It was both this idealism and this freedom via the state that Marx, following Feuerbach, sought to invert. Marx and Historical Materialism So, for Hegel, history or social change was the result of tensions between different ideas, between thesis and anti-thesis. Karl Marx (1818-1883) however, via his critique of Hegel, was to overturn this theory, turning the idealist schema into a materialist one: for Marx, rather than history being the result of ideological tension it was the result of tensions between the classes (Berlin, 1979: 59): in short, he sought to invert Hegelian idealism ‘the weapon of criticism cannot replace the criticism of weapons, and material forces must be overthrown by material force (Marx, 1975: 251) in that he believed it was not ideas that drives history but the relations of production (Marx, 1975: 384). In short, Marx believed that it is practical activity by real humans that counts, and not the conceptual activity of Hegel, and it is economic history that is most important of all (Hampsher-Monk, 2001: 500; 513): in short his history was materialist. Following Hegel, Marx believed that the ‘history of humanity is a single, non-repetitive process, which obeys discernable laws’ (Berlin, 1979: 57), but he disagreed with Hegel’s idealism, following the critique of Hegel by Feuerbach in believing that such idealism was in fact a ‘mystification’ (Berlin, 1979: 57) he instead argued that the point of philosophy was to change the world (Marx, 1975: 244-245): ‘Philosophers have only interpreted that world, in various ways; the point, however, is to change it’ (Marx in Hampsher-Monk, 2001: 512) via praxis, or practical philosophy (Bottomore, 1979: 6). Further, unlike Hegel, Marx did not believe that Religion was ‘the way in which men generally achieve the consciousness of their being’ (Hegel in Hampsher-Monk, 2001: 416), but instead was made by man; it is an ‘inverted consciousness of the world [†¦] at one and the same time the expression of real suffering and a protest against real suffering [†¦] it is the opium of the people’ (Marx, 1975: 244, original emphasis). He also distanced himself from Hegel’s dislike of the empirical sciences (Berlin, 1979: 67); instead his practical philosophy seeks, like the empirical sciences, to be emancipatory. He argued that, when examining each historical epoch, it was possible to isolate the key tension; that is, like Hegel who argued that thesis and anti-thesis pushed history forward, for Marx it was a key socio-economic tension which led to revolution and so pushed forward history: ‘the ancient world gave way to the medieval, slavery to feudalism, and feudalism to the industrial bourgeoisie’ (Berlin, 1979: 64). In short: ‘all history has been a history of class struggles, of struggles between dominated and dominating classes at various stages of social development’ Marx and Engels, 1985: 57). Thus, rather than the actions of the ‘world historical individuals’ of Hegel (Hampsher-Monk, 2001: 480) for Marx it was the actions of an entire class in the future this was to be the proletariat that drives progress: ‘one particular class undertakes from its particular situation the universal emancipation of society (Marx, 1975: 254). Each revolution in the past, itself the result of the classes’ material circumstances, or the mode of production, had contributed to historical progress. Thus, rather than the idealist history of Hegel, for Marx history is materialist; it is the result of actual conflict in the real world, conflict which is the result of material forces (Taylor in Marx and Engles, 1985: 9; 18). Hegel’s idealism becomes, under Marx, a method (Hampsher-Monk, 2001: 489) which reveals that while the state may make men formally free, this freedom is in fact only abstract (Hampsher-Monk, 2001: 492-493) as people are actually embedded in the relations of production and are therefore unequal. Conclusion I have simplified Marx’s philosophy here, and thus missed the importance of thinkers such as Rousseau, Voltaire, Saint-Simon, Bauer and the Scottish Enlightenment on the development of this thought (Bottomore, 1979: 4-11; Hampsher-Monk, 2001). Also, some authors, including Althusser, have argued that Marx should be divided into early and later Marx (Williams, 2003: 491); with the early stage representing his humanist phase, whilst the later his ‘mature’ work, being where he developed his materialist, social scientific view of history (Williams, 2003: 491). In this essay, however, I have concentrated on his early work in order to demonstrate the materialist nature of his understanding of history: I have done this for two reasons; firstly, I feel that to divide Marx’s philosophy into early and late stages misses the continuity of his thought; secondly, by concentrating on his critique of Hegel, a critique to which he does not return to in his later work, I ha ve been able to demonstrate both his continuation of, and opposition to, the idealism of Hegel’s philosophy of history: for while Marx undeniably sought to overturn Hegelian philosophy, ‘the framework of the new theory is undeviatingly Hegelian’ (Berlin, 1979: 57). Indeed, recent scholarship appears to stress the continuity between Marx’s and Hegel’s thought: ‘Marx and Hegel can be usefully read as sharing a common emancipatory theory of human social history, tempering any putative epistemological break between them’ (Williams, 2003; 495-495). Both believed that poverty was the result of commercial society, rather that the result of misfortune or individual failings and that such poverty entails alienation (Hampsher-Monk, 2001: 456-457); both are positive when describing organizations in which men pursue common goals, for Hegel via the corporation (Hampsher-Monk, 2001: 459) for Marx via the establishment of communism (Marx and Engles, 1 985). However, whereas for Hegel history was driven forward by ideas and the actions of ‘world historical individuals’ (Hampsher-Monk, 2001: 480), for Marx it was to be the actions of an entire class, the proletariat, that would drive progress and bring about communism and whilst both theorists share a concern with alienation, for Marx this alienation is the result of material forces: ‘the process by which man creates things out of nature, comes to be dominated by those creations, but will finally overcome that alienation through recovering control of his own (material) creations’ (Hampsher-Monk, 2001: 499). For Marx, therefore, history is ultimately materialist. Bibliography Berlin, Isaiah (1979 [1973]) ‘Historical Materialism’, Karl Marx, Bottomore, Tom (Ed.), Oxford: Basil Blackwell, pp. 56-68. Bottomore, Tom (1979 [1973]) ‘Introduction’, Karl Marx, Bottomore, Tom (Ed.), Oxford: Basil Blackwell, pp. 4-42. Hampsher-Monk, Iain (2001 [1992]) ‘G.W.F. Hegel’ and ‘Karl Marx’, A History of Modern Political Thought: Major Thinkers from Hobbes to Marx, Oxford: Blackwell, pp. 409-482; 483-561. Hinchman, Lewis P (1984) ‘The Origins of Human Rights: A Hegelian Perspective’, The Western Political Quarterly, Vol.37, No. 1, pp. 7-31. Marx, Karl and Engles, Friedrich (1985 [1888]) The Communist Manifesto, Introduced by Taylor, A.J.P. (Ed.), Moore, Samuel (Trans.), London: Penguin Classics. Marx, Karl (1975) ‘A Contribution to the Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right: Introduction (1843-4)’ and ‘Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts’, Early Writings, Colletti, Lucio (Ed.), Livingstone, Rodney and Benton, Gregory (Trans.), London: Penguin, pp. 243-257; 279-400. Williams, Michael (2003) ‘Review Article: Marx and Hegel: New Scholarship, Continuing Questions’, Science and Society, Vol. 67, No. 4, pp. 489-496. 1 Footnotes [1] Art, religion and philosophy all represented, for Hegel, the development of the consciousness, with art being intuition in material form, religion ‘truth in a veil’, while philosophy was self-reflection (Hampsher-Monk, 2001: 476). [2] In this encounter, which is a life and death struggle for mutual recognition, the loser becomes the ‘slave’ as he submits to the others will rather than face death, while the winner becomes the ‘master’: he has obtained the recognition of the slave but only by becoming dependant on the slaves labour. The slave becomes a labourer, but recognises his own worth through his own labour: he experiences self-hood through his impact on the physical world. The master’s selfhood is confirmed by the slave’s submission, but it is a negative identity; in order to attain true self-hood the master must recognise the other as equal. Society is thus the result of mutual recognition (see Hampsher-Monk, 2001: 426-427; Hinchman, 1984).

Till We Have Faces and The Vision of Ungit Essay -- Till We Have Faces

Till We Have Faces and The Vision of Ungit      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Queen Orual of Glome, the main character in C.S. Lewis's Till We Have Faces is often the victim of mysterious visions that appear to relate to her real-life experiences.   In one of her final visions, Queen Orual dreams that she is Ungit, an all-consuming goddess who is worshipped by the people of Glome.   Orual definitely is Ungit; she has several characteristics that give evidence of this.   Orual is all-consuming and possessive in her relationships with other people; she wears a veil to cover her ugly face, giving her a resemblance to the forbidding goddess; she is very demanding of her servants, which is similar to the intense rituals and sacrifices that Ungit demands.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Orual's all-consuming nature is most evident in her relationship with Bardia, the leading general in Glome.   Orual demands a great deal from Bardia, and his dedication to the Queen creates a rift between himself and his wife, Ansit.   Orual doesn't even realize Bardia's torment until Ansit tells her about it after his death.   Ansit say...

Critical Thinking Paper

Thinking and Decision Making Paper University of Phoenix MGT/350 December 13, 2010 Cyndie Shadow Critical thinking and decision making are more related than people know. Critical thinking affects the way people think, the way people live, and the decision they make. Good decision making is the backbone of sound management. This paper will analyze the three different types of thinking styles. Also, this paper will provide you with critical thinking and decision making processes by discussing workplace examples that highlight each of the three different types of thinking. The three different types of thinking are scientific, creative, and persuasive. After reading this paper learning more about critical thinking and decision making you will then have a better understanding of their relationship. This paper should provide you with the benefits of both critical thinking and decision making both personally and professionally. Persuasive Thinking Persuasive thinking is the thought process that is trying to influence someone to accept a message (Kirby & Goodpastor,  2007). This type of thinking is extremely too difficult to master, but when done well can be very effective. The main points to consider when using this type of thinking an individual must understand; human nature, emotions, and think carefully before attempting to get someone to accept a message. An individual must also be aware of the time and the place the message is being communicated, and understands his or her involvement in the message it’s self. Most important, the message being conveyed must be understood, the audience, and the audiences’ values. A thinker that can understand all of these complex pieces of persuasive thinking will be successful at getting the people they are attempting to persuade to accept his or her message. Scientific Thinking Scientific thinking and the scientific method have been a part of problem solving and communication since before the modern era. The scientific method has four specific steps used in the thinking process. The first is observation, and brainstorming the causes and effects of a certain situation or phenomenon. This is the beginning of thinking. The second step to the scientific method is hypothesis, a tentative statement about the relationship between two variables, usually in the form of a prediction (Kirby & Goodpastor,  2007). The hypothesis is similar to an educated guess that formulates the experiment. Experimentation is the third step of the scientific method. This is necessary to test the hypothesis and determine the correct cause and effect through various types of research. The final step of the scientific method is verification, or the analysis of data to see if that data supports or disputes the hypothesis. If the hypothesis is not supported the communication was incorrect somewhere and needs to be restarted at step one. Creative Thinking According to â€Å"VirtualSalt, 2010† Creative Thinking is the ability to imagine or invent something new. Unlike Persuasive thinking, Creative thinking is much easier to master. It is basically taking your own ideas and sharing that information into an objective. Anyone can think creatively, in fact, much of everyone’s thinking is some form of creatively. A person only thinks of creativity as a gift or skill, but a person could learn creative techniques from a teacher. Creativity starts with brainstorming. Brainstorming allows the mind to flow from thought to thought. Being creative is a benefit of having fun. There’s five creative methods in creative thinking process which are; evolution, synthesis, revolution, reapplication, and changing direction. Many organization work effectively together by using each other’s strengths, rather than punishing each other because of their difference. Our creativity can generate an astonishing amount of material, and creativity is involving continually in all areas of our thinking (Kirby & Goodpaster, 2007). Compare and Contrast Creative thinking, scientific thinking, and persuasive thinking have many similarities. Although they share similar traits, these thinking styles are also different from each other. A few of the similarities between these three thinking styles are that they all play an important role in critical thinking and commonly used in the decision making process to reach a solution. Creative thinking is when something new is created due to an individual’s thoughts. Many people use creative thinking in their daily routine which helps in tackling complex Creative thinking can be challenging at times as people don’t realize when they use this style. Creative thinking is one of the first steps of the critical thinking process however it can be used at any time during the process. Creative thinking is used in many situations such as creating a new product, creating a schedule, or even dealing with children. Without creative thinking there wouldn’t be consistence and frequent growth in new inventions. Unlike creative thinking, scientific thinking is a more serious thinking style. Scientific thinking is one of the most reliable types of thinking. It is also used by a lot of people in all areas of their everyday lives. There are four major steps in scientific thinking and at the end of that process we may be able to reach a persuasive conclusion. And last but not least is persuasive thinking. Persuasive thinking is when individual’s can encourage others to share their thoughts. Persuasive thinking is used by many people in their everyday lives however most people are not aware of it. We are more likely to be persuaded by someone who is knowledgeable, objective, rational, honest, attractive, convinced, similar to us, and by someone who appeals to our values, ours needs, and our wants (Kirby & Goodpaster, 2007). Unlike the scientific thinking process the persuasive structure process has five steps. These five steps are very important when using persuasion. Another thing that plays an important role in persuasive thinking is the audience. The audience’s demographics, their values, and their needs are very important when it comes to persuasion. Critical thinking is a very complex subject to break down and be able to fit the ideas in a few paragraphs. Any action that leads to a reaction by humans requires some form of critical thinking process and be able to judge the outcome of the reaction created. Scientific, persuasive and creative styles of thinking are a process within the critical thinking map. These are styles that simply help mitigate risks. Scientific styles plays an important role in critical thinking as it could either be a start of an idea, or there could be some form of scientific style that plays an important role when the thought has matured, or it could be the ultimate solution to the thought. This style is used for effectiveness and being able to prove the impacts of these thoughts. Creative style helps in the exploration of a critical thought. This style helps in thinking outside the box and molds us to think of alternate solutions. Thinking about open ended questions is a very crucial part of this style. This helps the mind explore into unknown territories. This style can be used in the day to day routines in personal and professional lives. Decorating a home to creating a PowerPoint presentation requires this style. Creative style also helps in building, developing and creating a short term and long term vision of the thought. In the corporate environment this style has become very popular and employers have given this style quite an importance. For e. g. Google has a very lengthy interview process where one of the interviews is all about how creative you are and whether or not you are able to come up with a solution with this style. They are not looking for a right or wrong answer but is able to test and reason their creative thoughts on the given problem. The last but not the least is the persuasive style. This style requires expertise and the ability to gain confidence of your audience to convince them about your message. One may have a brilliant thought, but not being able to persuade your audience can cause a huge problem. There may be finances involved with your thought but not being able to effectively convince your audience on how, the thought remains a thought. Persuasive style requires some scientific and some creative thinking as these go hand in hand. For e. g. There is a software idea that helps resolve the needs of a sales team. In order to prove this idea, scientific and creative thinking can help in the building blocks to the software. The next step is to be able to prove this idea and this requires persuasiveness. The need to connect with your audience and at the end of the day be able to persuade and convince them to buy the software for their sales team. Conclusion Thinking is something that everyone does on daily basis. This paper described the persuasive, creative, and scientific thinking styles that could be used by an individual or group to determine the best solution for a given problem. One thinking style may work in a particular situation while another is best for a different situation entirely. Each individual is different and therefore has a thinking style that works best for them in a given situation. Understanding each thinking style and selecting the style that best suits the individual is the key to finding the best possible decision. References Kirby, G. R. & Goodpaster, J. R. (2007). Thinking (4th ed. ). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Kirby, G. , & Goodpastor, J. (2007). Thinking: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Critical and Creative Thought. Retrieved from  https://ecampus. phoenix. edu/content/eBookLibrary2/content/TOC. aspx? assetdataid=d714d42b-a9b3-4644-abe2-bd0499f8f9ca&assetmetaid=8b8803a8-2bba-48b1-be11-f0f4106b8920. Virtualsalt, 2010 retrieved on December 13, 2010 from http://www. virtualsalt. com/crebook1. htm

Dominant Position of a Company

According to the European competition case law, a dominant position is defined as â€Å"the power of a firm to behave to an appreciable extent independently of its competitors, customers and consumers†. It is obvious that a firm or several firms which hold a dominant position can determine price, the amount of production, supply and this is because these firms can act independently of their competitors and customers.As a result, dominant position can lead to the market power and in this situation a firm or several firms have an ability to individually make a big influence on the price and total quantity produced which could result to the market failure. But does this definition make an economic sense and how it should be interpreted in monopoly and oligopoly? Firstly, we need to understand exactly the actual meaning of a dominant position.It is a situation when a firm has an ability to behave independently of its competitors, customers and ultimately the final consumer. A well known example of monopolistic dominance is Microsoft’s market in PC operating systems. In monopoly some members in a market can gain market power allowing them to stop other important gains from trades and this can make the allocation of recourses inefficient due to imperfect competition. As going back to my example, Microsoft illegally used its market power by bundling its web browser with its operating system.In economics, market power is the ability of a firm to independently determine the market price and the production of a good or a service, of course, in perfectly competitive markets – market power vanishes. From this example we actually see that Microsoft has an ability to make a big influence on the price or other outcomes in the market by using its dominant position because that kind of a firm can raise price, outcomes without worrying of losing its customers.On the other hand, not only one firm can hold a dominant position, but also a dominant position can be held among several firms and this is called oligopolistic dominance. For example: in 2008 Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, Nextel and T-Mobile together controlled approximately 89 % of the United States cellular phone market. In this situation sometimes firms can decide to make some secret agreements in order, for example, to raise prices of cellular phones leading to the profit maximization, knowing that they still are not going to lose their costumers.Of course, there is opinion that oligopoly is better than monopoly, because oligopolistic dominance (several firms who have a dominant position) could help to stabilize unstable markets, for example dominant firms could set some kind of prices which could help other producers to survive in the certain market and this is called a price leadership, however the welfare of economics in oligopoly is not easy to analyze and to determine if it is going to have a positive reaction.Furthermore, now we know that the definition of dominant position ma kes an economic sense, because when a firm has a power to behave independently and can make a big influence on the welfare of the economics (prices, total quantity produced, efficiency in allocating the resources), market power and later market failure could occur. We also know that a market failure is a situation when the allocation of recourses is inefficient due to imperfect competition when not all sellers and buyers can be satisfied.In order to prevent market failure, each government imposes some policies such as subsidies, taxes, minimum wage, some price controls, however sometimes happens that these policies also create inefficiency in allocating the recourses and it is called government failure. Going back to the original topic, dominant position is not an exception.According to the European competition case law, dominant positions are not forbidden but in order for firms not to abuse that position they have a special responsibility: dominant firms must not allow their strat egic decisions to make a negative influence on competition in the market, in other words, dominant firms cannot intentionally prevent or eliminate competition. Moreover, in order to determine the definition of dominant position in monopoly, at first we need to understand the basic aspects of it.Monopoly is a situation when a certain agent is the only one who supplies a particular good, of course, it is obvious that this market has a lack of economic competition. In monopoly a company has a much bigger profit than it could expect in competitive market, because that only firm regulates all the prices and services for that certain good. As a result, it can raise the price and maximize its profit without worrying of losing its customers. So, the dominant position in monopoly is a market with a single agent which has a power to operate independently and has an ability to make a big influence on the prices and production.Finally, to do the same in oligopoly we also need to understand the basic aspects of it. Oligopoly is the market share of several firms which together make a big influence to the price or other outcomes of a certain market, however the difference between monopoly and oligopoly is that in oligopoly firms do not operate independently, because then they could lose some of their customers to their competitors. That is why several dominant firms always try to cooperate together and sometimes they even make some secret agreements in order to maximize their profits.So, the dominant position in oligopoly is the market share of several dominant firms who have an ability to make big influence on the prices and production. To sum up, we actually see that a dominant position can be defined variously in different areas but still all definitions will have the same meaning: a dominant position creates a market power which evidence to the inefficiency of allocating the resources in economic markets and sometimes leading to the market failure, but in some cases domi nant position is the key of stabilizing unstable markets.

John Rawls A Theory of Justice

John Rawls A Theory of Justice Introduction In A Theory of Justice, John Rawls deliberates on how applying logic in justice principles would solve common problems like societal structures, assigning right duties to individuals and distribution of economic and social advantages to all people in society among other pertinent issues. Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on John Rawls’ A Theory of Justice specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Instead of concerning himself with the elusive notion of restoring justice in any unjust society, Rawls’ elementary duty in this book is to come up with principles of justice that would be universally applicable and used in shaping an ideal society. To some extent, Rawls borrows from Immanuel Kant’s principles of ethics that campaign for principles of nature where an individual has to do to others as he or she would expect them to do to him or her. According to Rawls, principles that would govern a soci ety are principles chosen by individuals if they were in an ‘original position’ and they acted rationally having mutual neutrality. To expound these principles of justice, Rawls came up with two principles of justice viz. ‘Principle of Equal Liberty† and â€Å"Difference Principle.† These principles can be understood better by looking into what Rawls calls â€Å"Original Position’ and â€Å"Veil of Ignorance.† If people acted or chose situations that are ‘ideal’ for them with neutrality, then justice would become fair and this would overcome the infringements presented by theory of utilitarianism. Rawls provides a strong argument for these principles and these principles are good justice principles. The Two Principles Before putting forward his two principles of justice, Rawls begins with expounding a hypothetical ‘original position’ that each individual should adopt. At this position, the involved parties wou ld determine precepts of justice from behind a ‘veil of ignorance.† The ‘veil’ mentioned here would fundamentally subterfuge people from recognizing any facts about themselves hence eliminate the possibility of littering justice with personal issues. Rawls says, â€Å"no one knows his place in society, his class position or social status, nor does anyone know his fortune in the distribution of natural assets and abilities, his intelligence, strength, and the like. Advertising Looking for essay on philosophy? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More I shall even assume that the parties do not know their conceptions of the good or their special psychological propensities. The principles of justice are chosen behind a veil of ignorance† ((Perry, Bratman Fisher 580). Therefore, in accordance with this argument, there would be no class, talents or any social distinction in the society. Rawls appro aches this issue from hypothetical ‘original point’ to eliminate personal issues that litter justice principles. For long, people have made decisions and passed justice based on personal likes and dislikes without considering the other party. Rawls uses this ‘original position, to attain a neutral ground where individuals would pass judgment that they would wish to be passed on them if they were in the shoes of their subjects. This is where Rawls agrees with Kantian Ethics that are rooted on natural law of doing to others, as one would wish to be done to him or her. In other words, it is a case of one giving what he or she would expect to get back. Rawls’ original position eliminates personal interests and the eventual justice would be fair to all people in society. If justice would be decided from the ‘original position’, it would be fair for all. Rawls assumes that parties in the ‘original position’ would agree to his two princi ples of justice because of the following reasons: firstly, given the fact that these parties do not know their position in society neither do they know their class, there is a probability that they would end up in any class or get any natural asset. Therefore, due to this uncertainty, these parties would try their best to ensure that the justice passed favors all people regardless of their classes. In any case, an individual in the ‘original position’ would be passing judgment for him/herself. Considering this, all individuals would pass judgments that favor themselves to ensure that if they find themselves in any class, they would be comfortable in it. Therefore, in a bid to create an ideal situation that would favor the maker of the situation, the overall justice would be fair to all. It is natural that people want the best things for themselves; therefore, they would come up with structures that are best for themselves and because they do not know where they would be in future, the overall judgment would be ‘best’ for them and ‘fair’ to everyone else. Moreover, Rawls thinks that people in the ‘original position’ would agree to his two principles because these principles gives a standard way out in distributing natural resources, economic and social advantages in societies. However, what are these principles?Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on John Rawls’ A Theory of Justice specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More As aforementioned, Rawls puts forward two principles of justice viz. ‘Principle of Equal Liberty’ and ‘Difference Principle.’ The principle of equal liberty states that, â€Å"each person is to have an equal right to the most extensive scheme of equal basic liberties compatible with a similar scheme of liberties for others† (Rawls 301). On the other side the Difference Principle states that,  "Social and economic inequalities are to be arranged so that; they are to be of the greatest benefit to the least-advantaged members of society, and offices and positions must be open to everyone under conditions of fair equality of opportunity† (Rawls 303). The principle of equal liberty is egalitarian for it ensures that every person gets equal liberties. In this case, justice would prevail and societies would be structured in a way that would allow mutual understanding. This first principle is absolute in its nature, and to some extent, it echoes libertarianism whereby people will have right to speech. However, Rawls admits that on its own, this first principle may not address all issues facing the society. Therefore, he throws in the second principle and he is quick to point out that the second principle is important but for it to be realized, the first principle has to be fully applied. The second principle does not substitute the first; on contrary, it complements it by adding some specifications that the first principle may not address. The second principle as aforementioned is the Difference Principle. Rawls divides this principle into two clauses addressing the same issue of social inequalities. The first clause calls for distribution economic and social disparities in a way that, â€Å"they are to be of the greatest benefit to the least-advantaged members of society† (Rawls 303). This clause differs from the first principle by eliminating the egalitarian bit of it. It allows some people to have benefits over others; however, these benefits should be of great help to the less fortunate in society. For instance, talented people in society may have benefits over others; however, they should use these talents appropriately and channel their results back into society for the help of least talented in society. In principle, even though they have their talents, they should not use them for their own good.Advertising Looking for essay on philosophy? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The second part of difference principle states that economic and social disparities should be distributed in a way that, â€Å"offices and positions must be open to everyone under conditions of fair equality of opportunity† (Perry, Bratman Fisher 578). This part is egalitarian just like the first principle for it calls for equality at all levels. Rawls explains these principles well by putting sense into them in a way that would compel someone to accept them. For instance, considering difference principle, Rawls provides a sustainable social structure that would eliminate injustice. The difference principle calls for formulation of projects that would allow some people to have more benefits in society than others. Some people would have more incomes, status and so forth over others. For instance, managers in blue chip companies would earn high salaries than street cleaners. This is logical and acceptable. People with talents in society would be allowed to pursue their tale nts and have higher social status than others. Rawls is fine with all these possibilities. Nevertheless, such disparities would only be allowed under certain controlled conditions that would allow better lives for the least advantaged people in society. Rawls puts forward two conditions; one, these disparities would be allowed if their outcome have direct or indirect positive effects in empowering the least advantaged in society. For instance, if paying a blue chip company manager millions of dollars would benefit the least advantaged, then so be it. As long as the outcome of such disparity is improving livelihood of the poor and less fortunate in society, then it is allowed. Secondly, Rawls indicates that as long as the procedure of accessing high posts in society is free and fair, void of irrelevant criteria and discrimination, then it is all right. Moreover, the difference principle addresses other ethical theories like the socialist idea, which calls for distribution of respons ibilities and benefits based on ability and need respectively. In essence, the least advantaged people in society have more needs whilst those greatly advantaged have the highest responsibilities. This boils down to merit where skills are rewarded and at this point, Rawls’ principles become good principles of justice. The society has for long promoted courses that would benefit only those who are well off in society leaving the least disadvantaged to groan under poverty and misery. However, Rawls first clause of the second principle of justice eliminates this problem. People should only change economic and social institutions if only they will benefit all people in society not the well off alone. For instance, there would be a proposal that seeks to allow erection of a nuclear plant in a family neighborhood whereby, the families around the nuclear plant would not benefit; however, the plant would provide well-paying jobs to professionals who are already well off. Under, Raw ls’ principles, this nuclear plant would not come to be; however, in contemporary society, this plant would be introduced regardless of the plight of the neighboring families. This is unfair; it is injustice. In the wake of these facts, Rawls’ principles of justice stand out as a better way out of the quagmire that societies have plunged into. Rawls’ principles are even better than utilitarianism. According to Perry, Bratman, and Fisher, utilitarianism states that as long as actions promote felicity, they qualify as ‘good’ actions (589). However, Rawls offers a better approach in addressing pleasure and happiness. Utilitarianism has many infringements that violate basic human rights; however, Rawls’ principles allows for equality and at the same time allow individuals to do what they love doing hence become happy. The difference between the two is what takes precedence over what. While in utilitarianism, the quest to derive felicity and plea sure takes precedence over human rights, Rawls’ principles are the exact opposite. Equality should prevail and this is why Rawls starts by taking people back to the ‘original position.’ After ensuring that equality prevails, Rawls then incorporates the issue of deriving happiness. In essence, if what an individual is doing does not benefit other people in society, it is wrong whether it brings happiness or not. Rawls’ principles are good because if societies are structured according to his suggestions, then at least everyone will be happy in society because justice would be fair for every body. Otherwise, without adopting these principles, societies would continue to suffer social injustices because social classes and positions have allowed people to pass biased judgments that benefit them alone. Conclusion Rawls comes out clearly in his principles of Justice. He starts by referring people to make judgments from an ‘original position’ covered with a ‘veil of ignorance.’ This veil covers people from acknowledging their interests, status, or positions in society. At this point, people would make judgments and decisions that are fair to everyone because these decision makers do not know where they would belong in future; therefore, they would pass judgments that are ‘best’ for themselves thus making the judgments fair to everyone. Rawls then gives his two principles. The first one is an egalitarian principle calling for equal distribution of liberties to all people in society. This provision eliminates many injustices while the second principle furnishes what the first does not address adequately. This second principle allows classes in society only if the outcome of such classes would be for the benefit of the least advantaged in society. Rawls provides a strong argument for these principles and these principles are good justice principles because they address pertinent issues of injustice in s ociety. They are better than utilitarianism for their basic objective is upholding human rights as opposed to utilitarianism’s happiness. Perry, John, Bratman, Michael, Fisher, Martin. â€Å"Introduction to Philosophy: Classical and Contemporary Readings.† New York; Oxford University Press, 2006. Rawls, John. â€Å"A Theory of Justice.† Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1971.

Venezuelas Revolution for Independence from Spain

Venezuelas Revolution for Independence from Spain Venezuela was a leader in Latin Americas Independence movement. Led by visionary radicals such as Simà ³n Bolà ­var and Francisco de Miranda, Venezuela was the first of the South American Republics to formally break away from Spain. The decade or so that followed was extremely bloody, with unspeakable atrocities on both sides and several important battles, but in the end, the patriots prevailed, finally securing Venezuelan independence in 1821. Venezuela Under the Spanish Under the Spanish colonial system, Venezuela was a bit of a backwater. It was part of the Viceroyalty of New Granada, ruled by a Viceroy in Bogota (present-day Colombia). The economy was mostly agricultural and a handful of extremely wealthy families had complete control over the region. In the years leading up to independence, the Creoles (those born in Venezuela of European descent) began to resent Spain for high taxes, limited opportunities, and mismanagement of the colony. By 1800, people were talking openly about independence, albeit in secret. 1806: Miranda Invades Venezuela Francisco de Miranda was a Venezuelan soldier who had gone to Europe and had become a General during the French Revolution. A fascinating man, he was friends with Alexander Hamilton and other important international figures and even was the lover of Catherine the Great of Russia for a while. All throughout his many adventures in Europe, he dreamed of freedom for his homeland. In 1806 he was able to scrape together a small mercenary force in the USA and Caribbean and launched an invasion of Venezuela. He held the town of Coro for about two weeks before Spanish forces drove him out. Although the invasion was a fiasco, he had proven to many that independence was not an impossible dream. April 19, 1810: Venezuela Declares Independence By early 1810, Venezuela was ready for independence. Ferdinand VII, the  heir to the Spanish crown, was a prisoner of Napoleon of France, who became the de facto (if indirect) ruler of Spain. Even those Creoles who supported Spain in the New World were appalled. On April 19, 1810, Venezuelan Creole patriots held a meeting in Caracas where they declared a provisional independence: they would rule themselves until such time as the Spanish monarchy was restored. For those who truly wanted independence, such as young Simà ³n Bolà ­var, it was a half-victory, but still better than no victory at all. The First Venezuelan Republic The resulting government became known as the First Venezuelan Republic. Radicals within the government, such as Simà ³n Bolà ­var, Josà © Fà ©lix Ribas, and Francisco de Miranda pushed for unconditional independence and on July 5, 1811, the congress approved it, making Venezuela the first South American nation to formally sever all ties with Spain. Spanish and royalist forces attacked, however, and a devastating earthquake leveled Caracas on March 26, 1812. Between the royalists and the earthquake, the young Republic was doomed. By July of 1812, leaders such as Bolà ­var had gone into exile and Miranda was in the hands of the Spanish. The Admirable Campaign By October of 1812, Bolà ­var was ready to rejoin the fight. He went to Colombia, where he was given a commission as an officer and a small force. He was told to harass the Spanish along the Magdalena River. Before long, Bolà ­var had driven the Spanish out of the region and amassed a large army, Impressed, the civilian leaders in Cartagena gave him permission to liberate western Venezuela. Bolà ­var did so and then promptly marched on Caracas, which he took back in August of 1813, a year after the fall of the first Venezuelan Republic and three months since he had left Colombia. This remarkable military feat is known as the Admirable Campaign for Bolà ­vars great skill in executing it. The  Second Venezuelan Republic Bolivar quickly established an independent government known as the Second Venezuelan Republic. He had outsmarted the Spanish during the Admirable Campaign, but he had not defeated them, and there were still large Spanish and royalist armies in Venezuela. Bolivar and other generals such as Santiago Marià ±o and  Manuel Piar  fought them bravely, but in the  end,  the royalists were too much for them. The most feared royalist force was the Infernal Legion of tough-as-nails plainsmen led by cunning Spaniard Tomas Taita  Boves, who cruelly executed prisoners and pillaged towns that had formerly been held by the patriots. The Second Venezuelan Republic fell in mid-1814 and Bolà ­var once again went into exile. The Years of War, 1814-1819 During the period from 1814 to 1819, Venezuela was devastated by roving  royalist  and patriot armies that fought one another and occasionally amongst themselves. Patriot leaders such as Manuel Piar, Josà © Antonio  Pez,  and Simà ³n Bolivar did not necessarily acknowledge one anothers authority, leading to a lack of a coherent battle plan to  free Venezuela. In 1817, Bolà ­var had  Piar  arrested and executed, putting the other warlords on notice that he would deal with them harshly as well. After that, the others generally accepted Bolà ­vars leadership. Still, the nation was in ruins and there was a military stalemate between the patriots and royalists. Bolà ­var Crosses the Andes and the Battle of Boyaca In early 1819, Bolà ­var was cornered in western Venezuela with his army. He was not powerful enough to knock out the Spanish armies, but they were not strong enough to defeat him, either. He made a daring move: he  crossed the frosty Andes  with his army, losing half of it in the process, and arrived in New Granada (Colombia) in July of 1819. New Granada had been relatively untouched by the war, so Bolà ­var was able to quickly recruit a new army from willing volunteers. He made a speedy march on Bogota, where the Spanish Viceroy hastily sent out a force to delay him. At the  Battle of Boyaca  on August 7, Bolà ­var scored a decisive victory, crushing the Spanish army. He marched unopposed into Bogota, and the volunteers and resources he found there allowed him to recruit and equip a much larger army, and he once again marched on Venezuela. The Battle of Carabobo Alarmed Spanish officers in Venezuela called for a cease-fire, which was agreed to and lasted until April of 1821. Patriot warlords back in Venezuela, such as Marià ±o and Pez, finally smelled victory and began to close in on Caracas. Spanish General Miguel de la Torre combined his armies and met the combined forces of Bolà ­var and Pez at the Battle of Carabobo on June 24, 1821. The resulting patriot victory secured Venezuelas independence, as the Spanish decided they could never pacify and re-take the region. After the Battle of Carabobo With the Spanish finally driven off, Venezuela began putting itself back together. Bolà ­var had formed the Republic of Gran Colombia, which included present-day Venezuela, Colombia,  Ecuador, and Panama. The republic lasted until about  1830  when it fell apart into Colombia,  Venezuela, and Ecuador (Panama was part of Colombia at the time). General Pez was the main leader behind Venezuelas break from Gran Colombia. Today, Venezuela celebrates  two independence days: April 19, when Caracas patriots first declared a provisional independence, and July 5, when they formally severed all ties with Spain. Venezuela celebrates its  independence day  (an official holiday) with parades,  speeches,  and parties. In 1874, Venezuelan President  Antonio Guzmn Blanco  announced his plans to turn the Holy Trinity Church of Caracas into a national Pantheon to house the bones of the most illustrious heroes of Venezuela. The remains of numerous heroes of Independence are housed there, including those of Simà ³n Bolà ­var, Josà © Antonio Pez, Carlos Soublette, and Rafael Urdaneta. Sources Harvey, Robert. Liberators: Latin Americas Struggle for Independence. 1st edition, Harry N. Abrams, September 1, 2000. Herring, Hubert.  A History of Latin America From the Beginnings to the  Present.  New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1962 Lynch, John.  The Spanish American Revolutions 1808-1826  New York: W. W. Norton Company, 1986. Lynch, John.  Simon Bolivar: A Life. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2006. Santos Molano, Enrique.  Colombia dà ­a a dà ­a: una cronologà ­a de 15,000 aà ±os.  Bogota: Planeta, 2009. Scheina, Robert L.  Latin Americas Wars, Volume 1: The Age of the Caudillo 1791-1899  Washington, D.C.: Brasseys Inc., 2003.

Abraham Lincoln’s Views on the System of Enslavement and His Connection to the Civil War in the U.S

Abraham Lincoln’s Views on the System of Enslavement and His Connection to the Civil War in the U.S Lincoln’s Beliefs and the Civil War The election of Lincoln was the main cause of the Civil War because Lincolns platform of not letting slavery expand westward threatened the South’s political rights. However, some might argue that the Dred Scott Decision was the main cause of the Civil War because it disregarded the Missouri Compromise and fueled the abolitionist movement. When Lincoln ran for president in 1860, he ran as the representative for the Republican party, which meant he believed in what the Republican party platform stood for. Although Lincoln never once said that he would abolish slavery, the South saw their tenth amendment as being jeopardized simply because he believed slavery was morally wrong. The final straw that contributed to the war was the secession of several Southern states, each state stated clearly in their declaration of secession that their primary reason for leaving was the president’s open denunciation of slavery. The tensions between the North and South had been rising for a while, mainly surrounding the conflicting views on slavery and whether or not it should be able to expand westward. All the tension finally came to a point when Lincoln was up for election and being openly against slavery. The South feared that he would abolish slavery and take away their slaves, which would be detrimental to the Southern economy. Upon the election, the Southern states began to secede, one by one from the Union and used Lincoln as their reason. As Lincoln ran as a Republican in the 1860 election, he carried the Republican party platform with him that openly denounced Democratic principles, which created worry among the Southern states. In article ten of the platform, the Republican party points out the Democratic ideas of non-intervention and popular sovereignty in relation to the Kansas-Nebraska Bill. . They go on to to call the bill a â€Å"demonstration of the deception and fraud involved therein† (Republican party platform 1860). The Democrats and Southerners saw this as the Republicans calling bluff on their threats to secede from the Union, giving them even more reason to leave. Once Lincoln was elected, the South became scared that not only would he try to change the Kansas-Nebraska act but abolish slavery as well. The platform goes on to openly condemn slavery in the U.S. territories explaining that â€Å" the new dogma that the Constitution, of its own force, carries slavery into any or all of the territori es of the United States, is a dangerous political heresy †¦Ã¢â‚¬  and calling it â€Å"subversive of the peace and harmony of the country† (Republican party platform 1860). The Republicans considered slavery to be harmful to the country’s peace, as if they were acknowledging the potential for war. Essentially, they wanted to show that they are refusing to accept the Kansas-Nebraska act. The Southern states considered their tenth amendment to be at risk because the thought Lincoln would try to abolish slavery. Slavery was, to some extent, considered to be protected under the tenth amendment of the U.S. Constitution, stating that â€Å"the powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, not prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people† (U.S. Constitution). The State’s rights clause was a way for some states to preserve laws that the federal government could potentially deem unconstitutional. A large majority of the North believed Slavery was something the federal government should rule on because it was becoming such a large issue. However, the Southern states used the tenth amendment to argue that the individual states should decide for themselves whether or not slavery should be allowed within their borders as it would affect each state differently. For example, the Southern economy depended h eavily on plantations and slaves, but the Northern, factory-based economy would suffer less impact if slavery were to be abolished. Although Lincoln repeatedly insisted he would not abolish slavery, the South considered the fact that he did not want it to spread Westward as a precursor to abolition. Charles Sumner, an abolitionist from Massachusetts, strongly believed that the Civil War was brought on by this controversy over State’s Rights and Slavery. â€Å"Therefore, there are two apparent rudiments to this war. One is Slavery and the other is State Rights. But the latter is only a cover for the former. If slavery were out of the way there would be no trouble from State Rights† (The Barbarism of Slavery). Although Sumner was an abolitionist, the dispute over how much power the tenth amendment gave the states and if slavery was included in that power. The Southern states did not get defensive when it came to their rights until Lincoln and the Republican party threate ned them from their point of view with the platform of not allowing slavery to expand Westward. Some might argue that the Dred Scott Decision was the main cause of the Civil War because it disregarded the Missouri Compromise and fueled the abolitionist movement. The final ruling on the Scott v Sanford case was essentially that slaves were considered to be property of their owners regardless of where in the U.S. they were. Many Southerners argued that their use of slaves was protected by the fifth amendment, which states that men will not â€Å" be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation† (U.S. Constitution). This amendment also averted any possible laws that the federal government could put in place to take away slaves from their owners. However, the decision didn’t abide by the rules of the Missouri Compromise because Dred Scott had been taken to territory where slavery was prohibited according to the compromise (Brinkley 356). The Supreme Court justice justi fied their ruling by declaring the Missouri Compromise unconstitutional as they believe that the power that Congress had was limited to the extent that it could not get new territory and set up a government system within that territory. This decision made people in the U.S. uneasy because Chief Justice Roger Taney believed that the federal government had no power in this situation and had no right to act on this decision (Brinkley 359). While the ruling showed the bias of the Supreme Court, it also fueled the abolitionist movement. The movement rested on the simple truth that all men are created equal and that includes slaves as well. The South frequently feared that the slaves would revolt and overpower the slaveholders, something some abolitionists attempted to kick start, like John Brown. These events, started by the Dred Scott Decision, could arguably be the main cause of the war because the decision brought together Northern abolitionists and led them to begin to fight harder f or what they believed in. While the Dred Scott Decision may have been one of the causes of the Civil War, it was not the main cause because in the secession declarations of several Southern states, they ultimately blamed Lincoln. Several of the secession declarations of the Southern states had the same reason for seceding from the Union, which was Lincoln. Specifically, in South Carolina’s declaration, they said â€Å"all the States north of that line have united in the election of a man to the high office of President of the United States, whose opinions and purposes are hostile to slavery† (South Carolina Declaration of Secession). This statement is directly blaming the election of Lincoln for South Carolina’s secession from the Union. They continue to explain that the mere fact that Lincoln believes slavery is morally wrong will eventually lead to the â€Å"extinction† of slavery. Another common Lincoln-related reason for seceding from the Union was because common association be tween the North and abolitionism. â€Å"For twenty years past the abolitionists and their allies in the Northern States have been engaged in constant efforts to subvert our institutions and to excite insurrection and servile war among us† (Georgia Declaration of Secession). The South believes the coming war and tension surrounding slavery had been building for twenty years. They consider the North to be trying to undermine the South’s institution of slavery by trying to create laws that limit the power of Southern states. Considering the newly elected president Lincoln was blatantly against slavery was enough for the Southern states to secede from the Union. In essence, when Lincoln was elected in 1860, his platform upset the Southerners because he did not want slavery to expand westward, making Lincoln’s election the main cause of the war. However, it is arguable that the Dred Scott Decision was the main cause because it declared the Missouri Compromise unconstitutional and led to a rallying point for the abolitionist movement. The Republican party platform of 1860 added to the tensions, that had existed for years before, surrounding slavery and the platform supported views of not allowing slavery to expand that the South did not agree with. In their point of view, their tenth amendment was at risk because Lincoln was opposed to slavery, even though he never acted on this opposition. While the Dred Scott Decision was a potential main cause of the war because it greatly affected the abolitionist movement, the secession statements from the Southern states directly blamed Lincoln for their secession. Collectively, Lincoln’s b eliefs on slavery and his opposition to it expanding Westward was the main cause of the Civil War.

The Legacy of Rome Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Legacy of Rome - Essay Example For a long period of time Rome used to be the main epicenter of art and architecture for the whole world (Claridge, 61-70). The Roman architecture initiated the use of shapes like domes, arch and the vault. Rome became the most important centre during the Renaissance period. Now let’s have a look on the other aspects of the Roman Legacy. In the seventeenth century, and throughout the entire of the eighteenth, the written works of Rome practiced a majestic influence over European taste. The customary record of the root of written works at Rome, acknowledged by the Romans themselves, is that it was altogether because of contact with Greece (Garwood, 33- 35). The writing time came in the first place, and is signalized by the names of Cicero, Sallust, and Caesar. The commended authors were currently basically men of activity and high position in the state. The standards of the dialect got settled; its syntactic development was altogether comprehended, and its particular genius wisely acclimates to those manifestations of creation in which it was characteristically equipped for outperforming (Edwards, 114-117). The flawlessness of verse was not accomplished until the time of Augustus. The Roman engineering is still mesmerizing and versatile in nature (Caldwell and Caldwell, 123). The first thing the Romans did after entering another locale, in the wake of winning the war that picked up them their new domain, was develop ways and extensions (Dyson, 217-220). The history of Roman law could be separated into three frameworks of technique: that of legis actiones, the model framework, and cognitio additional ordinem. Throughout the republic and until the bureaucratization of Roman legal strategy, the judge was normally a private individual (iudex privatus). He must be a Roman male native. The gatherings could concur on a judge, or they could select one from a record, called collection iudicum. They went down the agenda until they establish a judge

European Competition Law - The Market for Industrial Filters Essay

European Competition Law - The Market for Industrial Filters - Essay Example From their study of the documents and as a result of interviews conducted with representatives of the manufacturers in question, the Commission is of the opinion that a number of actions taken in concert by manufacturers of industrial filters in the European Union are in breach of current Competition Law, with particular reference to Articles 81(a)1 and 822. We have been asked by the Commission to study the facts and evidence relating to the case in question and, after careful consideration and research, to advise them on the relevance of such issues in respect of their breaches of the European Unions Competition Laws. In the preparation of this report, we have studied the information in hand and undertaken extensive research, including reference to other relevant Competition cases. Our conclusion, outlined in depth within the main body of this report, is that there is reasonable evidence to confirm that the manufacturers of Industrial Filters have taken action in concert to artificially influence the market and that such action is in contravention of current Competition Law. We have been presented with all of the evidence that has been collected and collated by the Competition Director, where they are investigating the possible breach of EU Competition Laws by the manufacturers of Industrial Filters. In our opinion, there are two main issues to be addressed in reaching constructive conclusions within this report. 1) Does the combination of all the undertakings3 in this event represent a dominant force within the industry in which they operate? 2) Have the same undertakings, arriving at decisions made jointly between them, abused their dominant position and conducted themselves in a way which may affect4 the objectives of free trade within the EU and its member states and, by doing so, committed breaches of the EU’s Competition laws and In what specific areas of the Articles have such breaches manifested themselves? There are a number of  different and varied categories of undertakings as defined within Articles 81 and 82.  Ã‚  

BlackBerry Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

BlackBerry - Research Proposal Example The purpose of this report was to make some key recommendations for the company to improve its market position, as well as revenue growth. The report included some major problems the company is facing at present. Decreased market share and decreased customer satisfaction level due to comparatively less impressive touch screen design were found to be the main problems for the company for which some key recommendations were given to the officials. The recommendations included development of Blackberry messenger service, manufacturing of music players and laptops, and sharing of the messenger service with competitors. Introduction - Global Overview of Issue Reaching a higher rank in today’s competitive business world and maintaining it for a long time is one of the biggest goals of almost every company belonging to any particular industry. If we talk about the companies belonging to the telecommunication industry, we can say that there is a strong competition among the companies because of ever increasing trend towards use of smart phones and latest wireless devices. In such a scenario, companies need to deliver attractive and innovative products to the customer not only to achieve competitive advantage but also to increase the customer base. However, doing all this is not an easy job and requires extensive thinking. is one of such companies which are currently facing huge financial crisis because of decreased customer satisfaction with their current product range. The company was considered one of the top smart phone brands of the world in the recent past because of its innovative products and high quality. ... osition in the world of wireless technologies because it is not coming up with the designs and features for its new products that customer usually look for. It is due to this reason that the company has not only lost a significant percentage of its market share recently but also lost many of its customers. The company will also lay off almost 4,500 employees in the nearest future (Goldman, 2013). This analytical report is designed to present an in-depth overview of the problem being faced by the company, as well as the reasons behind the problems. The main purpose of the report is to provide some recommendations to the company’s officials regarding solutions for the identified problems. Company Background Founded in 1984 by Mike Lazaridis, Blackberry is a Canadian telecommunication company that manufactures tablets and smart phones. The company has remained the market leader of the world of telecommunication devices for a long time based on its high quality mobile phones and w ireless devices. However, with the advent of new technologies and design concepts in the field of information technology and successful adoption of those concepts by the competing firms, the market share of the company has fallen drastically. It is true that Blackberry had a great hold on the telecommunication industry a few years back when designers and software engineers of the company were coming up with eye-catching mobile phone designs, as well as the software applications for the phones. However, the company could not carry on with the pace and eventually left itself behind in the race of competition. The major reasons behind this fall are lack of focus towards adopting new design concepts, lack of focus towards adopting new operating systems, such as, android, and lack of focus towards

A4 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

A4 - Essay Example Staff may normally read legal correspondence only if the Governor suspects that their it could harm prison security, or the safety of others, or are otherwise of a criminal nature. In this case the prisoner involved shall be given the opportunity to be present and informed that their correspondence is to be read. Mr. Daly, a long term convict has objected to the checking of prisoners’ legal correspondence in their absence. He submits that section 47(1) of the Prison Act 1952, which empowers the Secretary of State to make rules for the regulation of prisons and for the discipline and control of prisoners, does not authorise the laying down and implementation of such a policy . â€Å"The requirement that a prisoner may not be present when his legally privileged correspondence is examined by prison officers,† is the clause to which he has objected strongly. He feels this is not only against the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, but also a violation of common law for human rights. On 9 September 1994, six category A prisoners, (who were as classified as presenting an exceptional risk) escaped from the Special Security Unit at HMP Whitemoor. This happened because over a period of time, prisoners and staff had become familiar with each other and the security checks had become less vigilant. "inspite of the deprivation of his general liberty, a prisoner still has rights related to the nature and conduct of his imprisonment . . . and can take the option of courts unless some statute decrees otherwise." In its report the inquiry team made a number of recommendations. One of these was that cells and property should be searched at frequent but irregular intervals. Following a strip search, each prisoner was to be excluded from his cell during the search, to avoid intimidation. However,

Marketing Research Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Marketing Research Paper - Essay Example Affordability and convenience to meet customer demands lie in the core mission of Kudler Fine Foods. The retail space of the shop of Kudler Fine Foods is quite spacious and stores fresh ingredients of domestic and imported food items. The company is thinking of new initiative to add to serving their customers needs in a far better way. Kudler Fine Foods is planning to undertake a catering service to meet the demands of their customers. Kudler Fine Foods after achieving significant growth in their gourmet grocery food section are planning to increase the cycle of purchasing activity, improve their operating efficiency and expand its services to more number of customers. Thus Kudler Fine Foods has been providing its customers with fresh and finest bakery products, meat, and cheese, dairy and also finest imported wines. The company wants to further target high-income customers who are not concerned about price but needs quality and uniqueness in the food products. As an initiative to th is objective, Kudler Fine Foods has opened a website which offers a list of grocery and food items available and also provides with the opportunity of e-commerce (Kudler Fine Foods, 2013). Recommended solutions with reasons Kudler Fine Foods after achieving considerable growth is focusing in expanding its services and at the same time increase its revenues with lower costs. There are several ways which can be recommended to fulfill the company’s objectives. The cost differentiation is not the only factor that draws customers to Kudler Fine Foods. On the other hand, their customers are more interested in receiving unique food product with freshness and also uniqueness in the service of the shop. Thus, it is recommended that that Kudler Fine Foods should focus at expanding their catering services to add to the convenience of their customers. As per marketing theory, the recommendations to Kudler Fine Foods can be broadly classified under adopting strategies for cost leadership, differentiation and focus strategies. By cost leadership, Kudler Fine Foods will be able to produce food products which are cheapest in the industry. For this Kudler Fine Foods would have to develop alliances with companies that support their inventory management by transaction through computers. By adopting differentiation strategy, Kudler Fine Foods would be able to move ahead of its competitors by providing quality fresh foods and beverages to its customers. For this Kudler Fine Foods would have focus of proper maintenance of its storage and management of its inventory. Focus strategy can also be recommended for Kudler Fine Foods to identify their market segments or customers who can be targeted. Kudler Fine Foods can offer reward programs in order to draw the target customers and maintain their data in a database. Thus by studying the customer behavior pattern and bridging the gaps between the supply and demand, Kudler Fine Foods can plan for growth through alliance, innovation , internal efficiency and customer orientation. The other recommendations include holding cooking demonstration in their retail space, hiring a business manager for specialized

BlackBerry Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

BlackBerry - Research Proposal Example The purpose of this report was to make some key recommendations for the company to improve its market position, as well as revenue growth. The report included some major problems the company is facing at present. Decreased market share and decreased customer satisfaction level due to comparatively less impressive touch screen design were found to be the main problems for the company for which some key recommendations were given to the officials. The recommendations included development of Blackberry messenger service, manufacturing of music players and laptops, and sharing of the messenger service with competitors. Introduction - Global Overview of Issue Reaching a higher rank in today’s competitive business world and maintaining it for a long time is one of the biggest goals of almost every company belonging to any particular industry. If we talk about the companies belonging to the telecommunication industry, we can say that there is a strong competition among the companies because of ever increasing trend towards use of smart phones and latest wireless devices. In such a scenario, companies need to deliver attractive and innovative products to the customer not only to achieve competitive advantage but also to increase the customer base. However, doing all this is not an easy job and requires extensive thinking. is one of such companies which are currently facing huge financial crisis because of decreased customer satisfaction with their current product range. The company was considered one of the top smart phone brands of the world in the recent past because of its innovative products and high quality. ... osition in the world of wireless technologies because it is not coming up with the designs and features for its new products that customer usually look for. It is due to this reason that the company has not only lost a significant percentage of its market share recently but also lost many of its customers. The company will also lay off almost 4,500 employees in the nearest future (Goldman, 2013). This analytical report is designed to present an in-depth overview of the problem being faced by the company, as well as the reasons behind the problems. The main purpose of the report is to provide some recommendations to the company’s officials regarding solutions for the identified problems. Company Background Founded in 1984 by Mike Lazaridis, Blackberry is a Canadian telecommunication company that manufactures tablets and smart phones. The company has remained the market leader of the world of telecommunication devices for a long time based on its high quality mobile phones and w ireless devices. However, with the advent of new technologies and design concepts in the field of information technology and successful adoption of those concepts by the competing firms, the market share of the company has fallen drastically. It is true that Blackberry had a great hold on the telecommunication industry a few years back when designers and software engineers of the company were coming up with eye-catching mobile phone designs, as well as the software applications for the phones. However, the company could not carry on with the pace and eventually left itself behind in the race of competition. The major reasons behind this fall are lack of focus towards adopting new design concepts, lack of focus towards adopting new operating systems, such as, android, and lack of focus towards

Marketing Research Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Marketing Research Paper - Essay Example Affordability and convenience to meet customer demands lie in the core mission of Kudler Fine Foods. The retail space of the shop of Kudler Fine Foods is quite spacious and stores fresh ingredients of domestic and imported food items. The company is thinking of new initiative to add to serving their customers needs in a far better way. Kudler Fine Foods is planning to undertake a catering service to meet the demands of their customers. Kudler Fine Foods after achieving significant growth in their gourmet grocery food section are planning to increase the cycle of purchasing activity, improve their operating efficiency and expand its services to more number of customers. Thus Kudler Fine Foods has been providing its customers with fresh and finest bakery products, meat, and cheese, dairy and also finest imported wines. The company wants to further target high-income customers who are not concerned about price but needs quality and uniqueness in the food products. As an initiative to th is objective, Kudler Fine Foods has opened a website which offers a list of grocery and food items available and also provides with the opportunity of e-commerce (Kudler Fine Foods, 2013). Recommended solutions with reasons Kudler Fine Foods after achieving considerable growth is focusing in expanding its services and at the same time increase its revenues with lower costs. There are several ways which can be recommended to fulfill the company’s objectives. The cost differentiation is not the only factor that draws customers to Kudler Fine Foods. On the other hand, their customers are more interested in receiving unique food product with freshness and also uniqueness in the service of the shop. Thus, it is recommended that that Kudler Fine Foods should focus at expanding their catering services to add to the convenience of their customers. As per marketing theory, the recommendations to Kudler Fine Foods can be broadly classified under adopting strategies for cost leadership, differentiation and focus strategies. By cost leadership, Kudler Fine Foods will be able to produce food products which are cheapest in the industry. For this Kudler Fine Foods would have to develop alliances with companies that support their inventory management by transaction through computers. By adopting differentiation strategy, Kudler Fine Foods would be able to move ahead of its competitors by providing quality fresh foods and beverages to its customers. For this Kudler Fine Foods would have focus of proper maintenance of its storage and management of its inventory. Focus strategy can also be recommended for Kudler Fine Foods to identify their market segments or customers who can be targeted. Kudler Fine Foods can offer reward programs in order to draw the target customers and maintain their data in a database. Thus by studying the customer behavior pattern and bridging the gaps between the supply and demand, Kudler Fine Foods can plan for growth through alliance, innovation , internal efficiency and customer orientation. The other recommendations include holding cooking demonstration in their retail space, hiring a business manager for specialized

US Education system Essay Example for Free

US Education system Essay The spectrum of education which ranges on the world scene is highly progressive, dynamic and competitive. Education system of a particular country not only influences the way the basics are taught, but it highly affects the thinking, assimilating and the expression of the particular group. It is greatly affected by the thinking and expectations of the existing form of government, the decision makers and the geographic region. The historical background also plays a key role in the evolution of this dynamic process. It stimulates growth and evolution of the person as well as the country. The destiny of a country is very clearly guided and linked by the kind of educational measures it has taken a decade ago. The education system of USA is very open and creative, it allows for mental stimulation, open thinking, research and analysis, but in the last decade or two it has become weak in the area of science and mathematics. The balance of the creativity and skills of observation and analysis are both essential for well rounded educational system. In current times, especially under the regime of Mr. Bush, emphasis has been to restructure the educational system to stimulate more science and mathematics in the curriculum, from early elementary years of basic education. Back to basics has been the key slogan for new education system based on strengthening the science, mathematics and creativity, making the full complete circle. The realization has been made to strengthen the weaknesses, by comparing and contrasting with the systems of Asia and Europe, with special emphasis on Japan, Germany and Europe. â€Å"America has reading literacy rate at 98% of population over age 15, but ranks below average in science and mathematics understanding. The poor performance has pushed public and private efforts such as the No Child Left Behind Act. In addition, the ratio of college-educated adults entering the workforce to general population (33%) is slightly below the mean of other developed countries (35%) and rate of participation of the labor force in continuing education is high. As No Child Left Behind Act focuses on reading and math as primary target for improvement, other instructional areas have not benefited. There is much discussion within educational circles about the impact of singularly focusing on reading and math as tested areas for improvement and its impact on other areas of learning† (â€Å"Education in the United States†). The cost of education is another factor which affects the education system. The United States Department of Education recently released a statement detailing the average cost per pupil in public school as $3,500 USD per pupil, whereas average private school cost per pupil was $7,200 USD. In contrast , the private schools in Asia average around $1,400 USD per year and in Germany it is $4,500. The cost of education determines the availability of educational opportunities to minorities within the society, which shapes the overall characteristics of the nation on the whole (â€Å"Education in the United States†). â€Å"The family, as well as peers and school, plays a crucial role in forming students attitudes toward schooling and academics. In the case of Japan, research has documented that studying and homework are central concerns of Japanese families (Stevenson and Stigler, 1992; Lewis, 1995)† (The Role of School†). The school curriculum focuses directly or indirectly in teaching correct attitudes, moral values and to developing character. They aim at creating students who are literate as well as attuned to the basic values of culture and society. Teachers are highly honored and have high social status. Teaching duties extend to the moral instruction and character development of the children. â€Å"During the tests, students are up really late. They study all night. Virtually all are up to midnight. They dont sleep before then. When that goes on, I wish they would use their time better†. It is a more rigorous system based on core values of the society (â€Å"Education in Japan†). Germany offers dual system of education, with its strong emphasis on apprenticeships. The German education system provides different paths for students based on individual ability (â€Å"Education in Germany†). Children enter Grundschule at age 6, and students of all levels of ability remain together as a group through the fourth grade of Grundschule (sixth grade in two states). Following Grundschule, when most students are around 10 years old, the German school system tracks students of differing abilities and interests into different school forms. The support for this system of education remains strong among teachers, students, and parents of differing educational and social class background (An Overview of the German System). For much of its history, education in the United States was segregated (or even only available) based upon race. For the most part, African Americans received very little to no education before the Civil War. In the south where slavery was legal, many states enacted laws which made it a crime for blacks to even be able to read, much less attend school alongside white classmates. After the Civil War and emancipation, blacks still received little help from the states themselves. The federal government, under the Radical Republicans, set up the Freedman’s Bureau to help educate and protect former slaves (â€Å"Education in the United States†). Regardless of history, politics and government, schools need to nurture and build on the cultural norms that contribute to growth. â€Å"Strong schools have strong cultures evidenced by their heroes and heroines, rituals and ceremonies, and shared beliefs and values† (Deal). Education is this whole experience of growth and nurturance.America needs to grow more in its culture, values and inspiration. Works Cited: Education in the United States. Wikipedia. 20 Feb 2007. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 20 Feb 2007. http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Education_in_the_United_States. Education in Japan. Wikipedia. 15 Feb 2007. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 20 Feb 2007. http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Education_in_Japan. Education in Germany. Wikipedia. 18 Feb 2007. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 20 Feb 2007. http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Education_in_Germany. The Role of School in Japanese Adolescents Lives: Family Influences on Adolescent Development and School Participation. Archived Information. 1998. The Educational System in Japan: Case Study Findings. 20 Feb 2007. http://www. ed. gov/pubs/JapanCaseStudy/chapter4c. html. An Overview of the German System. Archived Information. 1998. The Educational System in Germany: Case Study Findings. 20 Feb 2007. http://www. ed. gov/pubs/GermanCaseStudy/chapter1a. html. Deal, Terrence E. , and Allan A. Kennedy. Culture and School Performance. Effective Schools and School Improvement Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development: Alexandria, Virginia, 1989: 140-41.

Defining brand identity of Indian milk producer

Defining brand identity of Indian milk producer Amul is the brand name for milk-based products manufactured by Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation a state level apex body of milk cooperatives in Gujarat started in 1946. Its major functions involve collection of milk from farmers, procuring and processing the milk and most importantly, marketing of milk and milk products. Amul is synonymous with White Revolution, instrumental in making India worlds largest milk producer India. Its product range includes milk powders, milk, butter, ghee, cheese, curd, chocolate, ice cream, cream, shrikhand, paneer, gulab jamuns, basundi, Nutramul brand and others. PART I DEFINING BRAND IDENTITY OF AMUL USING KAPFERERS MODEL According to Kapferer, more than the concepts of brand image and positioning, brand identity is more important. It is an identity which the brand defines for it self. The identity of a brand is important to ensure durability of the brand and make it more coherent and realistic. There are 6 aspects to brand identity which are addressed by Kapferers Prism Physique Refers to physical features which generate instant recall and awareness Personality A characterisation of the brand, providing it qualities and mannerisms of a human being to explain its products and services Culture Values that inspire the brand and are reflected in its products and its communication Relationship The brand in a way represents the transactions and exchanges that take place between people and forge a bond between them Reflection The brand builds an image of the user/buyer that it is addressing the image as a result of brand usage by the customer Self-Image The consumer of the brand makes an image of himself as a result of the usage of the brand Kapferers Prism for Amul Physique The connotations associated with Amul with respect to this aspect are the unique taste of its milk products, the utterly, butterly Amul girl and the butter. Personality The connotations associated with Amul with respect to this aspect are the facts that it is a completely Indian product, traditional and innovative, simple yet honest someone who will never cheat the consumer and only take what is its due Culture The connotations associated with Amul with respect to this aspect are that there is a co-operative culture with emphasis on sharing and being socially responsible Relationship The connotations associated with Amul with respect to this aspect is reliability which consumers perceive on basis of product experience. Another feature that is associated with this aspect is being sociable Amul is a part of the consumers social lives as experienced by the extensive use of Amul products Reflection The connotations associated with Amul with respect to this aspect is the feeling of care and concern for loved ones and also, a deep respect and orientation for values. Self-Image The connotations associated with Amul with respect to this aspect include being fun-loving, a proud Indian, who at the same time, believes in quality and is a firm believer in values. PART II CHARTING THE PRODUCT LIFE-CYCLE OF AMUL Amul is the brand representation for Gujarat Cooperative Milk Federation formed in 1946 to give farmers their due and protect them from unscrupulous middlemen. Apart from collecting milk, Amul had to find ways to make efficient use of the surplus milk it had which gave rise to launch and marketing of milk-derived products, starting with butter Launched in 1955, butter was one of the first milk products offered by Amul which also helped it to beat its rival, Polson Dairy. The same year, it launched ghee and skimmed milk powder which also garnered success. In 1959, came processed cheese from its stable followed by cheese powder in 1970s which by 80s, had become popular Economic reforms of 1990 brought lifestyle changes and changes in tastes. The management of GCMMF thus, wanted to go with the trends. Thus, there was emphasis on higher quality and diversification of product portfolio. An increase in milk production meant that an increase in consumption base of milk -based products was important to make its products more regular in the households. In 1996, an IMRB survey for GCMMF showed that the consumers wanted that Amul should come out with the following products ice cream, curd, paneer3, cheese, and condensed milk. Thus, the next few years were focused on these In 1997, Positioned as the Real Ice-cream, Amul Ice cream was one of the few milk-based ice creams in the market. Branded yoghurt got a start in India for the first time, when Amul came out with Masti Dahi in 1999. In January 2000, Amul launched Amul Taaza non sweetened, low fat, carton milk which served functional and lifestyle purposes. In November same year, came mozzarella cheese which had use in pizzas. 2001 saw Amul tie-up with Tata Coffee for instant coffee distribution in July while in August, they entered ready-to-eat segment with parathas, cheeseburgers and sandwiches under Snowcap brand which also had ketchup. Soon, Snowcap came out with pizzas in flavours like tomato-onion-capsicum, fruit pizza (pineapple-topped), mushroom and Jain pizzas'(pizzas without onion or garlic). Amul also entered the domain of soups called Masti in tetra packs with flavours like Hot n Sour and Tomato. In 2003, Amul discontinued its flavoured milk brand Shakti and launched Amul Kool instead in an attempt to target the youth with its cool and trendy positioning but with a nutritional base In 2007, bottled water segment caught Amuls attention and it looked to launch Narmada Neer brand of water, in the aftermath of its failed attempt earlier to market Jaldhara brand of bottled water of NDDB. In July 2008, bakery segment became the next area to venture in with the plans of GCMMF to manufacture biscuits and cakes In February 2010, GCMMF declared plans to launch a tea brand having already sold it to their milk producers at concessional rates. In July same year, came the plans to market a milk-based sports drink called Stamina which would compete directly with Gatorade and is aimed at sports professionals More recently, Amul has announced plans to launch pro-biotic lassi by the coming summer season in major metros of India having already test marketed it in Ahmedabad. PART III THE CHANGES IN COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES OF AMUL OVER THE YEARS The crux of all promotional strategies used by Amul is the concept of rotation. With every new product that Amul comes out with every 3-4 years, a new promotional campaign for the same is launched which helps it to stay in touch with its customers. Since Amul markets a wide range of milk-based beverages and products, it aims to move the consumers through this value chain from loose milk to better quality products with Amul providing those to the consumer The communication strategy follows a pattern of umbrella branding which means that Amul became the common name for most of its products and the promotional campaigns also tend to focus on the same aspect Amuls main strategy has always been to advertise the Amul brand and not the products as such. The communication of Amul dates back to 1966 when Sylvester Da Cunha got the account for Amul butter as before that, the advertisements were corporate in nature and quite boring. Sylvester, along with designer Eustace Fernandez, gave birth to the famous Amul moppet which since then has become the symbol for Amul. The utterly, butterly campaign began with hoardings and bus panels as media vehicles as with limited resources, that was the only possible option and also provided a much better frequency to the campaign. In its early years, Amul continued to advertise through billboards for its butter but in the late 90s, it came to realise that its image was not as savvy as its competitors and its forays in chocolates was taking a beating against rivals like Cadburys and thus, it looked to other media like TV soon leading to its all-pervasive Taste of India campaign which linked to its inherent Indianness and also became an underlying, consistent theme for its future communication strategies. In 2000, Amul got into other strategies of brand-building when it sponsored a nation-wide contest to find Amul Butter girl and Amul Cheese boy through its program Surabhi All these efforts, coupled with Amuls outstanding product quality and distribution network, meant that with just an ad budget spend of 1% of its revenues, it was able to gain significant mileage and visibility. But with passing time, came up concerns that with respect to increasing competition from players like Brittania, Nestle and others, Amul was compromising on its visibility and its effectiveness was now restricted to point-to purchase advertising. Therefore, in the last 3-4 years, Amul has gone all out in its communication strategies. In places like Delhi and Chennai where they cant put up hoardings, they are moving their topical advertisements to print. Amul is also looking to actively use digital media to its advantage with its venture into virtual world Second Life in form of virtual parlours where it intends to showcase its earlier ads and even replicate its co-operative model. Its below-the-line activities, in form of Amul Vidya Shree awards to school students and Amul Food festival are already going strong In TV, Amul is going in a completely new form as it looks to attract the youth actively to its products and has thus, rolled out campaigns like Hey Dude Wheres The Dudh? and Chill Your Dill. But amongst all this, the legendary Amul moppet will continues to hold its place as it still has legacy value for Amul and a symbol despite its efforts to woo the younger generation. With the Amul topicals continuing to draw its inspiration from contemporary events, it continues to maintain its status and relevance amongst every age group of consumers