Cordination Compounds Essay

* FLEXIDENTATE CHARACTER OF POLYDENTATE LIGANDS; * Poly dentate ligands have flexi dentate character in the sense that all donors atoms may not form coordinate bonds with the central metal atom or ion. For example; EDTA which is the hexa dentate ligand also acts as tetra dentate or penta dentate in certain complexes. Similarly sulphate ion, which is a bi dentate ligand, also acts as a mono dentate ligand in certain complexes, e.g. in [Co(SO4)(NH3)5]Cl. * LABILE COMPLEXES; * A complex in which the ligands can be easily replaced by other ligands is called a labile complex. * GEOMETRY OF [CuX4]2- IONS; * The halide complex of Cu (2) shows two different stereo chemistries. In (NH4)2[CuCl4], [CuCl4]2- ion is square planar, but Cs2[CuCl4] and Cs2[CuBr4], the [CuX4]2- ions have a slightly squashed tetrahedral shape. Tetrahedral [CuCl4]2- ions are orange whereas, square planar [CuCl4]2- ions are yellow in colour. * GREATER STABILITY OF Co(+3) COMPLEXES THAN Co(+2) COMPLEXES; * Co+2 ions are very stable & are difficult to oxidise. Co+3 ions are less stable and are readily reduced by water to Co2+. In contrast Co(+2) are less stable and are readily oxidised to Co(+3) complexes, i.e. Co(3) are very stable. This is because CFSE of Co(+3) with d6 configuration is higher than Co(+2) with d7 configuration. * SIDGWICK THEORY OR EFFECTIVE ATOMIC NUMBER (EAN) RULE; * Sidgwick put forward a rule to explain the stability of complexes on the basis of effective atomic number as follows:- EAN of metal in complex= atomic number –oxidation state+2Ãâ€" co-ordination number A stable complex is formed if the EAN is equal to the atomic number of the next noble gas. Thus, from the calculation given in the table below, [Fe(CN)6]4- is more stable than [Fe(CN)6]3- Though this rule is found to be applicable in many cases, yet it fails in no. Of cases as illustrated by last two examples given in the table below: complex| Oxidation state| Atomic number | Co-ordination number| EAN| [Co(NH3)6]3+| +3| 27| 6| 27-3+2Ãâ€"6=36, i.e. [Kr]| [Fe(CN)6]4-| +2| 26| 6| 26-2+2Ãâ€"6=36, i.e. [Kr]| [PtCl6]2-| +4| 78| 6| 78-4+2Ãâ€"6=86, i.e. [Rn]| [Fe(CN)6]3-| +3| 26| 6| 26-3+2Ãâ€"6=35| [Ag(NH3)2]1+| +1| 47| 2| 47-1+2Ãâ€"2=50|

The Right Fabric Sourcing Practice for Apparel Manufacturing By: Arun Chattopadhyay

(Views expressed in this article are the personal opinion of the author) Purchasing the right fabric can be sometimes a tough challenge faced by apparel manufacturers. Out of the total cost of manufacturing a garment piece, the cost of fabric can contribute between 50 and 65 per cent. Furthermore, even a minor oversight in selecting the right fabric and right manufacturer may spoil the entire apparel programme. Interestingly, though the fabric constitutes the main part of a garment, many of the apparel merchandisers have a very limited knowledge about fabric. They consider fabric as another component of raw material like buttons, care labels, and hang tags or packing materials. Unfortunately, describing a fabric in terms of specification to fulfill its end use is much more complicated than communicating the requirement of any other component of a garment and many apparel merchandisers do not have the necessary knowledge or training to order the right fabric from the right manufacturer at the right price. To be on the safer side, they simply ask various suppliers to bid for their lowest price and finally select the one who offers the lowest price or the most favourable term. Consequently we often see the adverse effects of poor fabric sourcing strategy every day in the apparel industry. Garment air shipment cost is prohibitive and applied as penalty only when the apparel manufacturer fails to deliver the consignments beyond acceptable delays. The cost of air-freight is so high that air shipment of a single consignment of garments may wipe off the profit of a few months for the garment manufacturer. A study revealed that more than 80% of all garment air shipment is caused due to poor fabric sourcing management. Fortunately, such critical errors can be avoided when sourcing woven fabric for manufacturing garments and the procedure is easier than we think about it. When discussing with the garment buyer, do not just talk about the target price he or she is giving you. Ask about the fabric in more detail. This is not only about the counts, construction and weight of the fabric but about some important and critical points. Here are certain things to keep in mind to ensure a trouble free fabric sourcing. Know the end use – that clarifies the required quality standards like colour fastness, pilling / abrasion resistance, tear and tensile strength, stability towards special types of www. fibre2fashion. com garment wash if any etc. Do not feel hesitant to ask those questions because at the end of the day if something does not match the buyer’s requirement, everyone will suffer losses. Special requirements like shade / strike off approval conditions, finishing standard, feel of the fabric, etc. , to be discussed, noted and shared with the buyer and the fabric manufacturer. The garment delivery lead time should be calculated after taking the fabric delivery lead time into consideration. Many garment buyers demand very short, sometimes unrealistic delivery lead time. You should consider the lead time required for each necessary activities like LC opening, sample approval, lab dip approval, one or two re-submits that may be required, inspection and shipment time for the fabric, clearance and transportation to the warehouse and all related activities. Inspection of the fabric and grouping those according to shades are to be done with extra care. For example, if one particular colour is having a large quantity, it is natural to have 2-3 batch wise variation. Mixing shade batches on the cutting table can result in disaster. To make the process easier, the fabric supplier should be instructed to supply the shade grouping charts with roll number mentioned against each shade swatch. The garment buyers also should be informed clearly that for large volume orders that require fabric processing in more than one batch, there would be small batch to batch variation in properties. Fabric with special surface finish like peach finish, microsanding, etc. needs special care. Firstly, the supplier must be instructed to roll such fabric with face inside and put arrow marks on each piece showing the direction of such finish with clear arrow marks at both ends. This is to avoid massive shade variation due to stitching pieces finished in different directions, together. Transportation and storage – Avoid buying fabric that may change properties during the reasonable time required for transportation storage. For example, do not buy a postcure resin finished fabric from a faraway place because during transport and storage, the www. fibre2fashion. com resin may start cross-linking in the fabric, thus spoiling the required DP rating after garment finishing process. Last but not the least; orders should be placed with fabric manufacturers of reputation. Giving 10 cents more to a responsible and reputed manufacturer may prove to save lot of costs and penalties going forward. Failing to supply garments on time also badly affects the reputation which is priceless. The products of reputed companies also give better realization, lesser wastage and higher efficiency at garment making process. At the end of the day, we should keep in mind that real prosperity does not mean only buying cheap and selling high to earn short term profit. The apparel manufacturing company that focuses on delivering quality, punctuality, communication and value to each customer will never have any shortage of business and riches in the long run. About the Author: The Author is specialized in management of Apparel Fabric business. During his more than 30 years of managerial experience of working with a number of Indian textile fabric and apparel manufacturing companies, he has observed that more than 80% problems in the Indian Textile and apparel Industry is related to managing people and lack of adequate HR Development initiatives. Besides having his consulting profession in textile fabric marketing, he also offers Executive Coaching and Consulting in the textile and apparel industries.

Barrows and Pickell model of problem solving Essay

INTRODUCTION This is a case study concerning a patient presenting with low abdominal pain, frequent micturation and dysuria. I will discuss the consultation and show how I used the problem solving consultation style detailed by Alison Crumbie. This involves listening to the patients’ initial complaint and developing hypothetical diagnosis. Focused questioning and clinical examination and investigations will then be used to eliminate some of the initial hypotheses. The patients’ perspective of their problem will be addressed and the synthesis of gathered information will enable the practitioner to arrive at a differential diagnosis and to agree on a treatment plan with the patient so that they can manage their problem. I currently work as a Nurse Practitioner in General Practice in East London. I provide first contact appointments for patients registered with the practice each morning on a walk-in basis. I am a non medical prescriber and generate prescriptions for patients. I work autonomously within my agreed scope of practice and am supported by the structure of a small organisation of professional clinical and administrative staff. The patient , whom I will call Sue, presented in the walk-in Surgery and told me she had had three days of stinging pain on passing urine, increased frequency of passing water and intermittent low abdominal discomfort. She also said that she had a water infection three months previously and that she thought that she now had the same problem. She had tried over the counter (OTC) medications and had increased the amount of fluids she drank with little effect. She said that her abdominal pain reduced after taking paracetamol but reoccurred after a few hours. She requested a prescription of the same antibiotics she had last time she had this problem. Forming the initial conceptMy first impression of Sue was that she was smartly dressed, of normal weight, looked physically well and did not appear to be distressed. She attended alone and I could see from her patient record that she was 25 years old. After introducing myself I asked her two opening questions – ‘how can I help you’ and ‘what brings you here today’. I find by combining open and closed questions in this manner it helps the patient be more focused on their presenting compliant than by using either of these  opening questions alone. I try not to interrupt the patient as they respond and so give them the opportunity to relate what they think the problem is and what it is they think I can do to help them manage this problem. Sue told me that she got a burning pain on passing urine and thought that she had cystitis. She told me that last time she had a similar problem she was given antibiotics tablets. Sue told me that she had tried to self manage with OTC medications for pain relief and for cystitis for the past 2 days but had had no lasting relief from symptoms. She said that a few hours after taking paracetamol her pain returned. My initial concept was of an articulate, well dressed woman, who had decided that she was experiencing a urinary tract infection (UTI), who had tried unsuccessfully to manage her symptoms her self and was now requesting assistance from a health care professional. She appeared systemically well to me but possibly had cystitis. Generating multiple hypothesesA provisional explanation for the patients’ problems could now be attempted. It is important to think as widely as possible about potential causes to generate broad hypotheses which can then be narrowed down with focused enquiry and investigations (Crumbie et all) The quality of hypotheses is dependent on the practitioners experience in eliciting information from the patient and in translating this information into a number of potential scenarios. It is important that the information offered by the patient is understood correctly and not translated badly by the practitioner. For example a patient may say they felt sick and the practitioner understands this as feeling nauseated whilst the patient meant they felt generally unwell. I hypothesised that Sue could be suffering from Cystitis (uncomplicated UTI) , pylonephritis (ascending UTI), eptopic pregnancy, Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID), Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) or constipation. On later reflection I realized I could have though about interstitial cystitis, appendicitis and renal calculi. My multiple hypotheses for this patient are presented in Table 1. Formulating an Inquiry StrategySue had told me that she had pain on passing urine and as I focused my questioning she told me her urine appeared darker in colour than normal and smelled different than usual. She described the pain as stinging and said that it was provoked by micturating and relieved a minute or so after she stopped urinating. I asked her to point to where the pain was in her abdomen and she indicated the suprapubic region. She gauged the pain to be level 6 on a pain scale of 0-10 without analgesia but did say it was relieved by analgesia and resolved to a feeling of pressure rather than pain at that time. Back/loin pain, nausea, vomiting, fever and frank haematuria are all more common with pylonephritis. Sue denied any of these symptoms which made it less likely as a diagnosis ultimately. .On enquiry Sue told me that she used Depo- Provera injections for contraception and dysmenorrhoea and consequently did not menstruate. She also denied any spotting of blood. Her last injection was given in practice 40 days previously and by reviewing her notes I could see her history showed timely attendance for these injections. Although I knew that both dysuria and suprapubic pain can be experience in both normal early pregnancy and in eptopic pregnancy, and that cystitis is more common in pregnant women, I felt I could now discount pregnancy as a cause of her symptoms due to her contraceptive history. I then asked her about her sexual history. Sue told me that she was currently celibate and had not had a sexual relationship for one year. I She told me she had never experienced genital herpes so I felt able to discount STI at this stage. I enquired about her bowel habits and Sue told me that she had passed a soft stool that morning as was her normal routine and that there had been no recent change to bowel actions. This made a diagnosis of constipation less  likely. Whilst enquiring about her symptoms I used Mortens PQRST structured clinical questioning mnemonic. This enabled me to focus my questions and to analyse symptoms and Sues responses. It is especially useful when assessing symptoms of pain and enabled me to detail a focused history of her complaint. I have used this technique extensively since commencing Nurse Practitioner training and have found it easy to remember and that it adds a structure to my questioning that was previously lacking. Incorporating the patients perspectiveFollowing the above questioning, I went on to discuss with Sue her own concept and concerns regarding her presenting complaint. I asked Sue what she thought was causing her problem, what she thought was required to rectify the problems and what could help prevent reoccurrence. She told me that she was sure that she had another episode of cystitis and that she needed antibiotics. Applying appropriate clinical skillsI began with a general inspection of Sue’s external appearance ,her tone of voice and articulation. I recorded her vital signs. She was apyrexial @ 35.6 Celsius and normatensive @ 120/70. Respiratory rate was 12/min and pulse rate 80 bpm. These results are within normal limits for a person of her age. I performed near patient testing in the surgery with urine dip stick testing. This showed a positive response to nitrates and leukocytes. I did not have facilities for near patient pregnancy testing, and on reflection would not have performed one at this time in this case due to her contraceptive history. I chose not to send a test off to the laboratory for pregnancy testing for the same rational. Sue declined an internal exam at this time. I noted from records that Sue had not had a smear test so I offered to do this at this time. After explanation Sue agreed to this. I asked Sue to undress from the waist down and to lie on the examination coach. I ensured that she was comfortable screened and relaxed before commencing the exam. I examined her abdomen using the process taught in Nurse Practitioner  training and described by ( Bickly 2005). I noted her abdomen was of normal appearance with what appeared to be an appendicectomy scar. Sue confirmed that she had had her appendix removed as a child. I auscilated for bowel sounds in the four quadrants and as these were heard and of normal tone I was able to rule out an acute abdominal problem. I then percussed her abdomen and found no change to expected tympani. This helped confirm the patient’s opinion that she was not constipated and after palpation of a soft abdomen I was able to discount this hypothesis at this stage. When I palpated her suprapubic region Sue complained of discomfort, this tenderness is indicative of bladder inflammation. Palpation of the costovertebral angles induced no pain response from Sue and as I recalled her vital signs and presenting history I felt able to exclude pylonephritis also. I then began an exam of Sue’s external genitalia looking for swelling, ulcer, lacerations or discharge. Inflammation and discharge are common with Candida and other vaginal infections. Genital herpes causes ulcerated areas and scratching can cause minor skin lacerations. This external exam was normal. I continued with the vaginal examination. Using a bimanual technique I first felt for Sue’s cervix and palpated it from side to side looking for a positive chandelier sign. If there is infection in the uterus this test can elicit pain. Sue did not have any pain on testing. I then inserted the speculum and examined the vaginal walls for signs of injury or discharge. This was also normal, inspection of the cervix and of the os showed no discharge and this combined with a negative chandelier sign now made the diagnosis of pelvic inflammatory disease less likely. I performed a smear test and took samples for HVS and Chlamydia testing. My initial hypotheses of cystitis now seemed most likely as the cause of symptoms. During this examination sequence I was reminded to consider appendicitis as a hypothesis in the future with this set of presenting symptoms. Developing the problem synthesisWhen I considered the presenting problem, my history and examination findings, and compared them with my original hypotheses I found that I was able to eliminate some at this stage. As Sue had no fever, nausea, haematuria or costovertebral pain I discounted pylonephritis. Bowel history and examinations were normal so constipation was also discounted. As Sue had a record of in date contraceptive cover with an injectable contraceptive and denied sexual intercourse I discounted pregnancy. Although I was aware that Pelvic inflammatory disease could account for her symptoms, examination findings had not supported these hypotheses and were all negative at this stage. When I reviewed the consultation at this stage, recalling the positive urine dip test, the suprapubic tenderness and the patient’s history I was able to be confident that to proceed with the differential diagnosis of cystitis was most appropriate. Diagnostic decision makingMy differential diagnosis was cystitis .I made a differential diagnosis of cystitis for the following reasons:Previous episodeDysuria – pain on micturation and frequencyLow abdominal pain – provoked by palpation of suprapubic areaNo systemic signs/ vital signs normalNo red flags – haematuria, pregnancy, recent change of sexual partnerPositive urine test for nitrates and leukocytesTherapeutic decision makingSue had come to surgery with the idea the she required antibiotics to treat her self diagnosed cystitis. She wanted her health care provider to facilitate this request. She had tried self management and used OTC preparations before presenting in surgery. This showed me that she was motivated in trying to achieve resolution of her problem. As these measures had not been successful in this instance we could agree a short course of oral antibiotics would be an appropriate treatment plan. As I had access to Sues health record I could see that she had been prescribed trimethoprin previously. Sue confirmed that she had no side effects from this medication and that she was willing to take it. As there were no contraindications for  prescribing trimethoprin for this patient I issued her with a prescription for 1 x 200mg tablet, twice a day for three days. This is in line with prodigy guidance and local prescribing policy. As this was the treatment plan Sue had originally requested I was confident of concordance. I discussed with Sue some steps she could take to try and prevent reoccurrence of infection. These includes toilet hygiene (front to back wiping), post-coital micturation, regular voiding and reiterated early symptom self help measures with increased fluid intake and OTC cystitis remedies. I also provided Sue with a printed Patient Information Leaflet about self help measure for women with cystitis. I advised Sue that she should find her symptoms improving within the next 24 hours and asked to return to either the practice or the NHS Walk in Centre (depending on hours of opening) if she had no improvement in 48 hours or if her symptoms changed and she became feverish or pain increased. I explained that these could be signs that the infection was moving up towards her kidneys and that this would require urgent review. I explained that I had given her an antibiotic which would work for the majority of infections but that on some occasions is not effective and a different antibiotic is necessary. I provided her with this information so that she could make sense of any change in symptoms and would be more likely to present earlier for a consultation with a health care professional if there was treatment failure. Reflection in and on practiceI felt that this was a satisfactory consultation for both the patient and me. It began with the patient stating that she thought she knew what was wrong with her and what action needed to be taken to resolve the problem. By listening to the patient’s story I was able to make an analysis of her responses and to think of a number of multiple hypotheses. Proceeding with focused inquiry and utilizing clinical examination skills enabled me to discount some of these hypotheses, and by using structure, reminded me of hypotheses I had originally forgotten to include. I was able to facilitate an unexpected health intervention when the patient and carry out  opportunistic smear testing. Following on from this I was able to reach a diagnostic decision and make therapeutic interventions. Throughout I was communicating with the patient, offering education and involving her in her care which should translate to better concordance with treatment plans and improved patient satisfaction with the consultation. This consultation took me 18 minutes to conclude and although I feel that I covered a wide range of potential hypotheses concerning the initial complaint and responded effectively to the patients concerns, I did feel time pressured. On reflection I need to be able to balance the quality of the consultation with the quantity of patients requiring attention during a session. I could have asked Sue to book another appointment for a smear test which would have enabled me to manage my time better but at the expense of patient distress and an incomplete patient episode. It has been my experience to be critisised by my medical colleuges about the time taken for consultations and they are in fact able to move patients through the surgery quicker than I can. Although this is a recurrent problem I believe that the most prevalent reason for this is that in using this model of consultation the practitioner addresses a wider range of potential hypotheses and that these can lead on to other health issues which then need addressing as demonstrated above. When I discussed this with my GP mentor he said that he would have probably tested her urine first and as it was positive for infection, prescribe an antibiotic after enquiring about her risk of pregnancy and not have addressed any other history at that stage. If he had wanted further testing, he would have asked her to make a nurse appointment. It would be interesting to see which approach is preferred by the patient and most satisfactory for the clinician. ConclusionThis case study looked at a consultation where a patient presented with possible cystitis and requested antibiotics. After following a structured consultation and diagnostic style I was able to reach agreement with the patient and to provide a prescription for antibiotics. This was a satisfactory conclusion for both the patient and me. I was also able to  address a secondary health enquiry and opportunistically provide a smear test which was of additional benefit for the patient and the practice, as auditing will show this patient to now have had a smear test which has positive financial implications for the practice.

Group and organizational behavior Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Group and organizational behavior - Assignment Example are explicitly indicated as â€Å"simultaneously improving individual internally focused satisfaction and reducing work-unit absenteeism is the most promising approach to reducing individual absenteeism† (Diestel, Wegge, & Schmidt, 2014, p. 353). 5. The implications of these conclusions are: management should design factors in the job setting that would assist in reducing absenteeism; as an integration of both internally focused satisfaction (job conditions) and externally focused satisfaction factors (work unit). Future research could focus on increasing sample sizes or extending applications to other organizations from different cultural settings to validate consistency of the results. 4. The main conclusions of this article are: â€Å"perceived deep-level dissimilarity evokes perceived relationship conflict, which produces lower evaluations of subordinate performance, which, in turn, lead to higher levels of abusive supervision† (Tepper, Moss, & Duffy, 2011, p. 288). 5. The implications of these conclusions are the noted need to conduct further research on the subject in other organizational settings, particularly in health care organizations, to validate consistency of results. In addition, perceived levels of dissimilarity could not be structured as constant due to the personality differences of both, supervisors and subordinates, in different work settings. As such, future studies should rule out limitations, noted therein. Diestel, S., Wegge, J., & Schmidt, K. (2014). The Impact of Social Context on the Relationship Between Individual Job Satisfaction and Absenteeism: The Roles of Different Foci of Job Satisfaction and Work-Unit Absenteeism. Academy of Management Journal, 353-382. Tepper, B., Moss, S., & Duffy, M. (2011). Predictors of abusive supervision: Supervisor perceptions of deep-level dissimilarity, relationship conflict, and subordinate performance. Academy of Management Journal,

Report on religious traditions Religion is Tenrikyo Research Paper

Report on religious traditions Religion is Tenrikyo - Research Paper Example Some would even argue that it is still not a separate religion, but remains a branch or sect of Shinto. The name comes from Tenri ,which means "heavenly wisdom" in Japanese, or â€Å"heavenly intelligence ( Morrigan 2013), and Kyo meaning "teaching, and so Tenriko is the teaching of heavenly wisdom as put forward by a benign deity. In its earliest days was mainly a grass roots peasant’s movement, with a strong shamanic element. It set out to meet the needs of ordinary people and also drew its support in the main from the lower stratas of Japanese society. Followers of Tenriko have faith in God, who is known by several names. This God has expressed his divine will through Nakayama Miki's part as the Shrine of God, together with other less important leaders who followed her, such as Honseki Izo Iburi, known when young for his carpentry skills, and who took over Tenriko leadership on the death of the foundress. Morrigan ( 2013) discusses the fact that, despite its female founder , Tenriko can be seen as sexist with leadership often being handed down the male line, father to son , whether or not the new leader is the most suitable , and clearly sees this as something that has gone wrong. Having researched lists of clerics Morrigan has found ( 2013) no sign of a church led by a woman , or any movement asking for the advocating for a greater inclusion of women in leadership in Tenriko. Similarly to the situation found in too many other faiths , and in particular in Christian churches , women tend to have their own organizations and activities, although officially training for ministers is open to both males and females and the idea of equality is an important tenet of the faith. It seems likely that the more patriarchal practices which have crept into Tenriko have occurred as it became established as an officially recognized part of Shintoism and also had to survive the difficult times of the early 20th century, which of course included Japan’s involvem ent in two major wars, as well as the country’s economic collapses during the Great Depression and as a result of World War II. According to Dempsey ( 2013) although there are now followers in many countries, this new religion began in Japan in the mid-19th century, and is based upon revelations to a woman called Nakayama Miki, known to her followers as Oyasama. The exact date of the church’s founding is 10/26/1838, the date on which Miki’s husband Zenbei felt he was complying with the wishes of God by accepting his wife as a shrine, that is he was accepting that God was actually dwelling inside his wife. They had married when Miki was only 13, and she has been described as a perfect and virtuous housewife. The events described took place more than 30 years after their marriage ( Let us reason ministries, 2009). In her 40’s a Shino priest was called to the home to carry out some form of "mystical ritual" in order to cure both Miki and her husband. At this time she went into a trance and had her first revelation. She spoke as if the voice of God was actually speaking through her. Tenrikyo Church World Headquarters can be found in the city of Tenri, in central Japan. I tis built around Jiba, the place where, according to ancient tradition humankind was first created by God the Parent and, so, symbolically, and according to the faith of believers , is therefore the ancestral home of all people. According to the doctrine of Tenriko ,:- In the beginning, the world was a muddy ocean. Tsukihi, God the Parent, finding this chaos unbearably tasteless, thought of creating human beings in order to see the Joyous Life and thus share in that joy.( Doctrine of Tenriko,

Tattoos. Cultures that Use Tattoo and Methods of Tattooing Research Paper

Tattoos. Cultures that Use Tattoo and Methods of Tattooing - Research Paper Example Although usually considered by some as a mere way of accessorizing one’s body with the typical dragon or butterfly, tattoos are regarded as an outlet of creativity and a medium of expression by those who truly understand and appreciate art. While tattoos often seem to carry negative associations as the images of gangs of tough biker boys, and their promiscuous girlfriends come to mind as you think of such body decoration, they are also considered greatly meaningful and significant by various cultures. The people of Thailand regard getting tattoos as a religious ritual and they are often used to illustrate holy symbols like tigers, temples, or verses from sacred prayers. In contrast to this, the Japanese culture used tattoos to brand criminals permanently, which worked like a public display of one’s acts. Similarly, in Germany as well, tattooing prisoners with serial numbers meant making it easier to identify them. Such usage of tattooing explains why tattoos are associa ted with gangsters and mafia men. On the other hand, however, some Germans have also redeemed the status of tattooing to that of a form of a body art by using women’s bodies as their canvases to decorate and consequently display their artistic talents. Native tribes of the Polynesian Islands over the Pacific Ocean have taken this a step further as they regard tattooing as a representation of one’s social standing, as they employ tattoos to illustrate lineage, rank in society and sexuality (Wianecki, 2011). In Western cultures, as one can see on the television, the tattoo culture is greatly dominant, since numerous Hollywood actors like Eva Longoria, Megan Fox, and Ben Affleck, among others, are seen showing off their tattoos on their lower backs, necks, ankles and various other body parts. In addition to this, the tattoo culture is on the rise and has truly become a rage as icons such as Avril Lavigne and David Beckham choose to display their individuality through a ti ny tattoo on the wrist, or through large ones on the back and arms (Mifflin, 1997). As these celebrities are looked up to by huge fan followings, which instantly mimic their favorite idols, the tattooed populace in the world has increased greatly. As published by the Daily News in Los Angeles, â€Å"Credible statistics on the number of people with tattoos are actually tough to find. But in 2006, the Pew Research Center stated that 36 percent of Americans ages 18-25, 40 percent of those 26-40 and 10 percent of people 41-64 have tattoos† (Auerbach, 2011). It is safe to say that the numbers have only been on the rise ever since. Methods Recently, tattooing has also become increasingly popular for being instrumental as a method of plastic surgery for areola reconstruction (Aston, 2009). The most common tool used for tattooing is an electrically powered tattoo machine that uses a needle or group of needles to drill ineradicable ink onto the skin in order to decorate the body perma nently with a tattoo. After this painful procedure is undertaken, the tattoo becomes a part of a person’s attire as well as his/her personality, and is shown off as a style statement, or a symbol of something one believes in, or, as in the case of some Indian actresses like Deepika Padukone, even a symbol of love for one’s partner. This convenient method of tattooing with a drill-like machine, however, has been discovered only recently. Since tattooing had started a long way back, when technology was not as advanced, various other methods were under utilization to make color penetrate into the skin. In some tribal cultures, designs are cut into the skin and ink rubbing cause color. In others,

Case Problem Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Case Problem - Essay Example Such a business case demonstrates yet again how statistics can be used to reduce uncertainty. In particular, simulation modeling enables quantification of events and outcomes with varying probabilities. Previewing all possible outcomes with unknown probabilities of occurrence helps to assess potential costs and benefits. Monte Carlo simulation is one such procedure that applies (Doane & Seward, 2007; Stout, 2007). These parameters require the use of a uniform model, where RV values vary within a given range with no central tendency or standard deviation assumed. For the first step of estimating randomly varying demand, the result of 52 iterations of revenue simulations (see Table 1 below) yields a somewhat skewed distribution with a mean of $540 daily, a median of $542 and a standard deviation of $184. Gross annual revenue before simulating the effect of mechanical breakdown would be $28,109. This is the baseline. Next, we factor in the incidence of breakdowns and the lead time for repair. We employ the RAND function to estimate the probability that the copier will be trouble-free all days of the week (instead of defining as â€Å"6 times the square root of r†). For the first week in the all-year iterations, therefore, the RAND value of 0.487 translates to a probability that the main copier will break down after just three days of operation. That same week, repair lead time is calculated using the VLOOKUP function based on the same column of RAND values. Since RAND=0.487 is lower than the 0.65 cumulative probability associated with two days’ repair lead time, the VLOOKUP function returns 1 day. Hence, revenue loss for the week comes to gross revenue times the proportion of 7 days that the main copier can reliably be predicted to

Lens essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Lens - Essay Example Using Kant’s deontology, an analysis of the actions of Mackenzie and Elena reveals that Mackenzie merely concerned about consequences that are not recommended while Elena made her decision correct from a sense of duty. There exists a dilemma on whether this issue should be forwarded to the council or the matter should just be ignored. When people are making decision, stakeholders must be considered. In the case, all sororities are stakeholders because fairness is not existed when one small group break the rules. Furthermore, those recruits are also stakeholders given that they have additional interaction with people in sororities. In the view of Mackenzie, she might just care about her own advantage, but from the perspective of Elena, she considered most of stakeholders’ benefits include herself. Kant explains: â€Å"One ought only to act such that the principle of one’s act could become a universal law of human action in a world in which one would hope to liveà ¢â‚¬  (13). Ethical dilemmas exist at workplace especially because most of them happen to our dear friends. Mackenzie is in a dilemma on whether to reject the whole recruitment process just because a few of the interviewee’s ignored the basic rule. Although it seems like a tedious and troublesome process it is the right channel that must be followed. The rules said that in order to have a fair process for everyone, sorority members had to stay indoors to avoid mixing with the rest. This is the rule and for Mackenzie to be fair and just to the rest of the sorority members she has abandon the recruitment process and report the matter to the recruiting council although it is not her fault and she has not broken any rule. By doing this she will also be showing her loyalty to the company. Elena on the other hand is right and she had made the right decision by advising Mackenzie to abandon the recruitment

The strong earthquakes happened in Sichuan province, how it influence Research Paper

The strong earthquakes happened in Sichuan province, how it influence local people - Research Paper Example The Wenchuan and Ya’an earthquakes have been devastating to the local people. Wenchuan earthquake occurred in 2008 while Ya’an earthquake occurred in 2013 (Chen et al 2013). This paper seeks to discuss the occurrence of the Sichuan Province’s earthquake and how influenced local people. Sichuan Province has a pre-cambrium basement with a double layer texture (Yueqiao et al 2013). This is exposed in the province forming the Western region. This pre-cambrium basement is what forms the Upper Yangtze Platform. In the time of late Palaeozoic-Masozoic geology states that the Sichad seat was the point where the Asian plates extended from. It led to Palaeo-Tethys extended from Southwest Asia to Southeast Asia. Sichuan Province harbors plateaus on its Western side. This  plateaus are cited as the greatest Indosinian fold zones on the planet Earth. The province has also experienced very strong Post- Triassic intercontinental modifications. This includes cases of various geotectonic movements in the Province like block faulting, seismic activity, glaciations and mudflows. This incidence has led to a situation referred to as a geological mystery in Sichuan province (Gioncu & Federico 2011). Sichuan Province is susceptible to earthquakes and studies have shown reasons for the occurrences of earthquakes in the region (der Hilst 2008). The man-made activities together with the natural factors have led to the high prevalence of earthquakes in Sichuan Province. Engineers in Geology and Seismology have reported that that the water collected in the Zipingpu water reservoir triggered the earthquake. The dam is made up of 470 fit high concrete upstream from Dujiangyan (der Hilst 2008). It was seen that the Sichuan earthquake in May 2008 its epicenter was close to the dam. It was four miles from the dam and the area around the dam was highly affected by the earthquake (Macdougall 2011). According to the world Commission on dams, the 2008

Principles of European Contract Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5500 words

Principles of European Contract Law - Essay Example The Unidroit Principles have been regularly applied as lex mercatoria in international commercial arbitration, as they 'meet all the substantive requirements of a true law merchant. On the contrary, arbitrators are being reluctant to apply PECL as generally accepted principles of commercial law in international arbitration. This may be due to their relative novelty, to the fact that their scope is limited to the European Union, or to the strong materialism and esprit collectif which manifests itself by the preminent role of the good faith principle and by a social regulation of the contract which may be dubious in an international context (in particular, the regulation on excessive benefit or unfair advantage, unfair terms not individually negotiated or change of circumstances). In this sense, in the ICC arbitration case no. 12111, the arbitrator rejected claimant's claim for the application of PECL, concluding that they constituted an academic research, at that stage not largely wel l-known to the international business community, being a preliminary step to the drafting of a future European Code of Contracts, not enacted yet. Thus, PECL has not yet obtained a universal status as a (modern) lex mecatoria. It cannot be regarded as constituting an autonomus lex mercatoria but as a part of universal lex mercatoria. ... And at one time, without doubt, it was the law of England simply because it was the law of other nations. Its Origin The exact place and time of its origin is uncertain. Many writers have stated that it began in Italy in the central part of the Middle Ages. But investigation of early documents shows that it goes back much further. For instance, to the time when the Arabs dominated the Mediterranean. But they invented little and many of the terms which they used came from the Romans, Greeks and Phoenicians, who for many hundreds of years monopolized the sea commerce. First Treaties on Merchant Law in England - 1622 The first work on merchant law in England was written by Gerard Malynes published in 1622, entitled "Consultudo Vel Lex Mercatoria" or the Ancient Law Merchant. In his preface to this work, he stated that he had entitled it Lex Mercatoria instead of Jus Mercatorum because it is customary law provided by the authority of all kingdoms and Commonweals, and not a law established by the sovereignty of any prince. Blackstone stated that the affairs of commerce were regulated by a law of their own called the Law Merchant or Lex Mercatoria "which all nations agree in and take notice of and it is particularly held to be part of the law of England which justifies the causes of merchants and the general rules which obtain in all commercial countries." Still later, Lord Mansfield stated that "Mercantile law is not the law of a particular country but the law of all nations". On What Law Merchant Based The Lex Mercatoria would seem to be in part based on Roman law, in part maritime custom, in part the law of the Medieval

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Sales Developing and Merchandising - Assignment Example s of the product, external sales development techniques, the tools and techniques of internal sales promotion and merchandising and role played by the staff in ensuring the success of the hotel. The hotel under consideration is called the APA Hotels & Resorts. As a point of departure, the APA Hotels & Resorts are headquartered in Japan. This hotel has a slogan that assures the clients top quality products and services. The hotel endeavours to attain non-nonsense frugality. A long side the normal services that are offered at a cost, the hotel offers a free breakfast. The rates are affordable. They range form 5500-14000JPY. The hotel has over 76 properties well spread across various nations. The hotel offers a wide range of accommodation facilities, which range from a single executive room for one person to double executive suite for two people. Consider the following cost of various classes of accommodation. In essence, the nature of products and services offered form a fundamental basis in which the organization creates its market niche. The larger the market niches the more the revenues. Essentially, in the hotel and & hospitality industry, the competition among the primary players depends on the quality of the products and the nature in which they are presented to the clients (JONES & LOCKWOOD, 2004). Giving more insight on the manner of product presentation in the modern business milieu has taken a technological dimension, which has seen numerous organizations embrace internet marketing and distribution. In the hotel industry, the hotels and resorts use internet application in creating channels, which help in the overall management of the organization (ANDREWS, 2009). The aspect of product differentiation is attributed to this context where the organizations such as the APA Hotel and Resort use the best procedures and superior raw materials to produce unique products. It is imperati ve to note that product differentiation helps APA Hotels & Resorts to identify

Social Media and Banking Essay Example for Free

Social Media and Banking Essay Introduction Social media and banking do not seem to have a strong relation at the first look on the topic, but are indeed complexly related in today’s world with the continuous evolution of the banking sector and the huge impact of social media on the masses. While today many international banks are using social media as a connectivity and marketing tool with its customers, Indian banks are also not far behind. ICICI, one of Indias biggest banks, already boasts a Facebook app allowing clients to view their account details, check statements and upgrade their debit card, among other activities, but still maintains a cautious attitude to social media strategy. While there is no doubt that social media is all the rage amongst retail and advertisings sectors, it is yet to make major inroads in the financial services and banking sectors. A new report from Ovum, the technology arm of market analyst firm Datamonitor reveals that a majority of banks worldwide aren’t yet ready to embrace social media. Privacy and Data Security are two of the biggest hindrances to mass-scale social media adoption in the banking sector. Moreover, many banks do not think social media gives them an edge to engage customers. In fact, they believe that it’s a dangerous proposition which may compromise sensitive financial data .Startling as it may seem, the recent Ovum research indicates that 60 per cent of the world’s retail banks have no plans to use social media in the future. There are noticeable exceptions though – UK’s First Direct, Australia’s NAB, Wells Fargo in the US and Rabobank in the Netherlands have adopted social media as a communication channel. While American banks mostly rely on Twitter, Australia’s NAB used YouTube and Twitter to pacify disgruntled customers  after its online banking system fell over. And going by the encouraging response received so far, the move appears to be fetching the desired results. 14 per cent banks currently use social media as a marketing tool, with a further 12 per cent planning to use it to promote their business by the end of 2012. Some challenges which the sectors might face are as follows: The banking sector relies on sensitive financial data all the time. Though Facebook has made several changes to its privacy norms over the last couple of years, a lot more needs to be done in order to simplify who gets to see what information. Perhaps, a different set of privacy controls for banks and financial institutions would help. Given the current situation, it’s unsurprising that most banks prefer Twitter over Facebook as the former has virtually no privacy vulnerabilities. The Ovum report indicates that social media offers a massive untapped opportunity for financial institutions. Consumer confidence in the banking sector has hit an all-time low and a personal touch of social media would serve as a perfect shot in the arm to lift the struggling global financial industry. Before we plunge into this fast deepening relation between social media and banking, let us first understand some basic concepts about banking and social media separately. Banking Under the Central Government Act, Section 5(b) in The Banking Regulation Act, 1949 (b) Banking means the accepting, for the purpose of lending or investment, of deposits of money from the public, repayable on demand or otherwise, and withdrawable by cheque, draft, order or otherwise; In general, a bank is a financial institution and a financial intermediary that accepts deposits and channels those deposits into lending activities, either directly by loaning or indirectly through capital markets. A bank connects customers who have capital deficits to customers with capital surpluses. Due to their influence within a financial system and an economy, banks are generally highly regulated in most countries. Most banks operate under a system known as fractional reserve banking where they hold only a small  reserve of the funds deposited and lend out the rest for profit. They are generally subject to minimum capital requirements which are based on an international set of capital standards, known as the Basel Accords. Standard activities Banks act as payment agents by conducting checking or current accounts for customers, paying checks drawn by customers on the bank, and collecting checks deposited to customers current accounts. Banks also enable customer payments via other payment methods such as Automated Clearing House (ACH), Wire transfers or telegraphic transfer, EFTPOS, and automated teller machine (ATM). Banks borrow money by accepting funds deposited on current accounts, by accepting term deposits, and by issuing debt securities such as banknotes and bonds. Banks lend money by making advances to customers on current accounts, by making installment loans, and by investing in marketable debt securities and other forms of money lending. Banks provide different payment services, and a bank account is considered indispensable by most businesses and individuals. Non-banks that provide payment services such as remittance companies are normally not considered as an adequate substitute for a bank account. Products Retail banking * Checking account * Savings account * Money market account * Certificate of deposit (CD) * Individual retirement account (IRA) * Credit card * Debit card * Mortgage * Home equity loan * Mutual fund * Personal loan * Time deposits * ATM card * Current Accounts Business (or commercial/investment) banking * Business loan * Capital raising (Equity / Debt / Hybrids) * Mezzanine finance * Project finance * Revolving credit * Risk management (FX, interest rates, commodities, derivatives) * Term loan * Cash Management Services (Lock box, Remote Deposit Capture, Merchant Processing) Economic functions The economic functions of banks include: * Issue of money, in the form of banknotes and current accounts subject to check or payment at the customers order. These claims on banks can act as money because they are negotiable or repayable on demand, and hence valued at par. They are effectively transferable by mere delivery, in the case of banknotes, or by drawing a check that the payee may bank or cash. * Netting and settlement of payments – banks act as both collection and paying agents for customers, participating in interbank clearing and settlement systems to collect, present, be presented with, and pay payment instruments. This enables banks to economize on reserves held for settlement of payments, since inward and outward payments offset each other. It also enables the offsetting of payment flows between geographical areas, reducing the cost of settlement between them. * Credit intermediation – banks borrow and lend back-to-back on their own account as middle men. * Credit quality improvement – banks lend money to ordinary commercial and personal borrowers (ordinary credit quality), but are high quality borrowers. The improvement comes from diversification of the banks assets and capital  which provides a buffer to absorb losses without defaulting on its obligations. However, banknotes and deposits are generally unsecured; if the bank gets into difficulty and pledges assets as security, to raise the funding it needs to continue to operate, this puts the note holders and depositors in an economically subordinated position. * Asset liability mismatch/Maturity transformation – banks borrow more on demand debt and short term debt, but provide more long term loans. In other words, they borrow short and lend long. With a stronger credit quality than most other borrowers, banks can do this by aggregating issues (e.g. accepting deposits and issuing banknotes) and redemptions (e.g. withdrawals and redemption of banknotes), maintaining reserves of cash, investing in marketable securities that can be readily converted to cash if needed, and raising replacement funding as needed from various sources (e.g. wholesale cash markets and securities markets). * Money creation – whenever a bank gives out a loan in a fractional-reserve banking system, a new sum of virtual money is created. Laws Related To Banking In India 1.1.Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 1.2.Banking Regulation Act, 1949 1.3.Negotiable Instrument Act, 1881 1.4.Consumer Protection Act, 1986 1.5.Limitation Act, 1963 Social Media Social media employ web- and mobile-based technologies to support interactive dialogue and â€Å"introduce substantial and pervasive changes to communication between organizations, communities, and individuals.† Social media are social software which mediate human communication. When the technologies are in place, social media is ubiquitously accessible, and enabled by scalable communication techniques. In the year 2012, social media became one of the most powerful sources for news updates through platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and Google+. Classification of social media Social media technologies take on many different forms including magazines, Internet forums, weblogs, social blogs, microblogging, wikis, social networks, podcasts, photographs or pictures, video, rating and social bookmarking. By applying a set of theories in the field of media research (social presence, media richness) and social processes (self-presentation, self-disclosure) Kaplan and Haenlein created a classification scheme in their Business Horizons (2010) article, with six different types of social media: collaborative projects (for example, Wikipedia), blogs and microblogs (for example, Twitter), content communities (for example, YouTube), social networking sites (for example, Facebook), virtual game worlds (e.g., World of Warcraft), and virtual social worlds (e.g. Second Life). Technologies include: blogs, picture-sharing, vlogs, wall-postings, email, instant messaging, music-sharing, crowdsourcing and voice over IP, to name a few. Many of these social media services can be integrated via social network aggregation platforms. Social media network websites include sites like Facebook, Twitter, Bebo and MySpace. Mobile social media Social media applications used on mobile devices are called mobile social media. In comparison to traditional social media running on computers, mobile social media display a higher location- and time-sensitivity. One can differentiate between four types of mobile social media applications, depending on whether the message takes account of the specific location of the user (location-sensitivity) and whether it is received and processed by the user instantaneously or with a time delay (time-sensitivity). * Space-timers (location and time sensitive): Exchange of messages with relevance for one specific location at one specific point-in time (e.g., Facebook Places; Foursquare) * Space-locators (only location sensitive): Exchange of messages, with relevance for one specific location, which are tagged to a certain place and read later by others (e.g., Yelp; Qype) * Quick-timers (only time sensitive): Transfer of traditional social media applications to mobile devices to increase immediacy (e.g., posting Twitter messages or Facebook status updates) * Slow-timers (neither location, nor time sensitive): Transfer of traditional social media applications to  mobile devices (for example, watching a YouTube video or reading a Wikipedia entry) Mobile social media can also be used on the go when one is not near a personal computer, lap-topetc. With all the new devices that are arriving at our finger tips, gadgets such as tablets, iPods, phones, and many other new products, there is no use for sitting at home using ones PC; mobile social media has made other sources of internet browsing obsolete, and allows users to write, respond, and browse in real-time. New media of social networking such as Instagram allows the world to interconnect and makes space and time much smaller. Instagram allows individuals to snap a photo wherever they may be and share it with the rest of the world instantly, delivering a social media site full of foreign accomplishments and strange scenarios. This feature was introduced by Facebook and other existing social media sites, Instagram is a recent addition to the social media scene, and has made picture sharing much easier. Mobile social media is a relatively new platform since it is contingent on m obile devices ability to access the Internet. There are various statistics that account for social media usage and effectiveness for individuals worldwide. Some of the most recent statistics are as follows: * Social networking now accounts for 22% of all time spent online in the US. * A total of 234 million people age 13 and older in the U.S. used mobile devices in December 2009. * Twitter processed more than one billion tweets in December 2009 and averages almost 40 million tweets per day. * Over 25% of U.S. Internet page views occurred at one of the top social networking sites in December 2009, up from 13.8% a year before. * Australia has some of the highest social media usage in the world. In usage of Facebook, Australia ranks highest, with over nine million users spending almost nine hours per month on the site. * The number of social media users age 65 and older grew 100 percent throughout 2010, so that one in four people in that age group are now part of a social networking site. * As of May 2012 Facebook has 901 million users. * Social media has overtaken pornography as the No. 1 activity on the web. * In June 2011, it was reported that iPhone applications hit one billion in nine months, and Facebook added 100 million users in less than nine months. * If Facebook were a country it would be the worlds third largest in terms of population, larger even than the US. * In June 2011, it was also reported that U.S. Department of Education study revealed that online students out-performed those receiving face-to-face instruction. * YouTube is the second largest search engine in the world. * In four minutes and 26 seconds 100+ hours of video will be uploaded to YouTube. * One in six higher education students are enrolled in an online curriculum. * In November 2011, it was reported Indians spend more time on social media than on any other activity on the Internet. A brief overview of Indian banks-Pictorial statistics Facebook Twitter The Why and How of Social Media w.r.t Banking Why Social media matters to Banks? Whether a bank’s ultimate goal is enhancing its brand, reducing costs, increasing customer satisfaction, boosting innovation ,or driving revenue ,social media can be a valuable pursuit. Enhancing the brand Social media can play an important role in differentiating brands and making them more relevant to consumers. Much of its power in this regard derives from the fact that in a consumer’s mind, the most credible spokesperson a company can have is a â€Å"person like me.† In fact, research shows that the number of people who trust such a hypothetical person more than they trust brands or organizations increases around the world each year. How can banks take advantage of â€Å"people like me?† American Express, for one, created OPEN Forum, an online community dedicated to connecting businesses with each other and providing valuable content to customers with which the company wants to have relationships. Today, OPEN Forum has more than 10,000  businesses involved, monthly traffic has reached as high as 1.5 million visits,5 and the majority of content is produced by the community. The result is a new touch point that drives brand affinity, provides American Express w ith an immense opportunity to create brand impressions, and gives the company a chance to be at the center of important conversations among its customers. Reducing Costs Social media can be a major contributor to banks’ ongoing cost reduction efforts, especially as they pertain to service, sales, and marketing. For instance, banks can use social media as a low-cost channel to distribute messages, host conversations, provide customer service, identify dissatisfied customers, and increase the impact and reach of traditional media efforts. Consider Bank of America, which was the first and largest bank in the world to use Twitter for customer service. The bank uses a dedicated Twitter page on which a wide variety of real people—with their actual photos— help customers solve their issues. User feedback reveals the sentiment among customers that receiving help through this page is easier and faster than traditional customer service. In addition to driving customer service costs down, the page creates brand impressions across consumers’ social graphs, thereby allowing other consumers to see the value of the channel for a variety of goals. The channel also can enhance the impact of marketing. Consider, for example, how Discover Bank recently created a Facebook identity for â€Å"Peggy,† a character from its popular series of TV ads. Today, that character is â€Å"liked† by nearly 9,000 consumers, and interacts with them several times a day. Such campaigns create millions of additional brand impressions inside of Facebook, as well as new opportunities for brands to interact with their customers in a low-cost format. Creating and improving innovation : Banks can use the channel to create better, more innovative products and services that reflect real-time consumer demand. Chase, for example, created an online community of mass-affluent consumers and tasked the group with designing a credit card purpose-built to their specific wants and needs. The result: its highly successful Chase Priority Club Rewards card. Chase also created a Community Giving program that allows consumers to direct the  bank’s donations to specific charities. As of this writing, that community had directed more than $5 million to 100 local charities. Through this initiative, Chase’s philanthropic entity is opening up its decision-making to crowds and involving millions of people in the process Increasing revenue While the use of social media to drive revenue within banks is still in its infancy, results from other industries further along the growth curve are encouraging. Avis, for example, has been able to use a variety of coordinated social me dia efforts to boost its sales by 9 percent—in a competitive, commoditized industry with flat or declining revenues. As an example of a more specific and successful effort, USAA, a financial services provider for members of the US armed forces, allows site visitors to rate products like auto insurance or home equity lines of credit and add a written review. In fact, USAA customers have added thousands of reviews to products, and consumers have responded strongly: In the first year of adding product reviews to the site, USAA claims incremental sales of over 15,000 products. This tactic clearly shows a direct impact on growth and demonstrates the value of â€Å"people like me.† In both cases, using social media to unlock increased revenue requires firms to focus on fundamentals. Providing service that customers want to talk about and delivering products that are worth recommending. Once those conditions exist, the chance of successfully using social media to drive revenue goes up exponentially. A uniquely challenging industry For many banks, all of the examples in the world are not enough to get off the starting blocks. Typical challenges include: †¢ External communications are strictly governed by a host of rules and regulations that limit what they can and cannot say. †¢ Banks must observe strict rules regarding consumers’ personal information and data security. †¢ Sanctioned employees, whether from customer service, marketing, or another functional group, must be knowledgeable about products, services, rules, and how to get things done within the bank—and they must be mature enough to make decisions and craft responses to difficult questions. Plus, all this must be done within the strict legal and regulatory framework that banks inhabit and occur within real time in order to be effective. For many banks, technology itself is a major concern when it comes to implementing a social  media strategy. Banks must identify and implement the tools they will need to be active in social networks, from simple listening platforms to sophisticated tools that enable the integration of social media with legacy CRM systems, customer service tools and workflows, reporting and record keeping requirements, and overall marketing analytics. Finally, some banks will need to overcome a lack of organizational structures and in-house talent to derive full business value from social media. More specifically, many banks may find they have to close talent gaps and bridge internal divisions between product-oriented teams, all while gaining senior leadership support for a company-wide approach to social media. This is no small task, especially given the fact that most senior leaders are not well-versed in social media. A path toward social media mastery While the preceding paints a picture of industry-wide challenges, there is a path that banks can use to begin their social media journey. It starts with gathering critical knowledge that will guide the development of their strategy and assure positive outcomes. To begin, banks must strive to understand what their customers, prospects, and competitors are discussing online, as well as the social technologies that seem most relevant. This includes developing profiles of how various customer segments actually use social technology and understanding the practical implications of those uses. For example, strategies for student loan customers may vary widely from those designed for private wealth management clients in areas of execution, content, and technology. Banks also must assess their current social media capabilities and activities: All too often there are separate, potentially conflicting social media initiatives under way, as well as underutilized technology, insights, and experie nce. Banks must begin to consider their collective presence versus that of individual lines of business. Consumers don’t make those distinctions, and neither should banks. It is critical for banks to get a firm grasp on what competitors are doing in the social media space, and where â€Å"white space† exists. Bank of America, American Express, and Chase all have done this with their respective social media efforts, but that does not mean no space is left to establish a presence. To find this space, banks have to ask two questions of themselves : What can we deliver to our customers that we don’t offer today, and how  will it provide them with value? Social media sponsors must critically review risk. Specifically, they must identify specific social media concerns, assess their likeliness, and establish processes to handle adverse events. Prior to involving senior management, it is necessary to have answers to these questions, examples of how others have navigated similar waters, and concrete ideas on the trade-offs between risk and reward. And as mentioned earlier, banks must establish clear business objectives and map them to specific areas in which social media can generate value. All of the above becomes a moot point if efforts are not driven by real business goals. By addressing each of the preceding areas, social media teams can build senior leadership support for and sponsorship of overall social media efforts. In Accenture’s experience, successful initiatives typically involve one or more executives with deep passion for and experience with technology and social media. It is crucial to find and engage these people and use their influence to open the eyes of the broader C-suite. Crafting a Social Media Strategy All of this work will prepare banks for the successful development and implementation of a comprehensive social media strategy. To be effective , such a strategy must encompass the following areas: Crafting the Vision: With an overarching framework in place, social media can be designed from the ground up , versus as a collection of disparate tactics .It also can focus on a specific segments and experiences, as well as on the necessary internal ‘piping’ to implement social media connections across channels. Indeed, every good customer experience is carefully designed and good social media experiences must follow suit. Defining and Measuring Success : A Bank’s Social media strategy must encompass well-defined metrics that reflect progress toward the bank’s business goals ( as defined in the vision). However, first and foremost , they must align with the same type of metrics that drive business today . For Example, a social media strategy focused on sales as an outcome should look at driving traffic from social media, converting that traffic into leads, and successfully cross-selling  and up-selling customers that are interacting across social media channels. In effect, viewing the efforts through the same eyes that traditional channels evaluate success. Governance: A social media strategy should include clear governance and effective organizational structures, whether that means establishing a dedicated social media center of excellence or appointing social media champions across the bank’s functional groups and/or product lines. Regardless of the specific measures or structures in place , the bank’s goal should be to support efficient , effective engagement in social media with the right skills, staff, and controls . this Structure must be nimble, include processes for iteration ,and have senior leadership included. Technology: Perhaps counter-intuitively, it is only when the vision, metrics , and organizational structures have been defined that the bank should start thinking about technologies and the tactics they dictate. Banks Should start with basic learning and listening platforms that allow them to â€Å"test the waters† and identify areas of potential engagement, and then progressively integrate that platform with existing CRM tools to achieve a single view of customers. Banks must also consider what technologies are appropriate for record keeping and adherence to the policy. Recognizing that not all starting points are the same: The level of Social Media experience that a bank has plays an important role while crafting a social media strategy. The scope of the social media strategy depends on the relative social media maturity of the bank. The strategy used by a bank that has significant experience in social media will differ in some aspects from the strategy used by a bank which is new to social media. Banks with less experience in Social Media: The social media strategy used by the banks with no or relatively less experience in social media should address the following questions: * They should pay attention to the scope in terms of the functional areas covered by the strategy, important business goals, and the business processes used to achieve those goals. * They should also focus on building engagement among key stakeholders and assessing their willingness to participate in the  initiative This is as much about creating an initial â€Å"coalition of the willing† as it is about telling a compelling story on how social media can positively impact business results. * They should also learn from lean on agency partners and others that have been through the fire before. Banks with significant experience in Social Media: The social media strategy used by the banks with significant experience in social media should address the following questions: * The Social media champions within these banks must know when it is time to seek help from inside and outside the firm. This is needed because the expanding range of social media analysis and reporting will begin to overwhelm marketing staff and merits the involvement of dedicated analytical and technical staff. * As these banks begin to expand the use of social media across product lines, they have to design governance models that can keep pace, as well as focus on integrating social media technologies with CRM systems to achieve a truly holistic view of cross-channel, multi-product customers. Successful Integration of Social Media into the Operations: Banks that have been successful in integrating social media into their operations often have grass-roots efforts to thank. These banks have passionate leaders who have led social media efforts for individual product or service lines. The key to moving beyond grass roots and getting the entire organization pulling in the same direction is actively engaging senior leadership. Only then will the full brand-building power of social media truly be realized. How banks use social media According to the survey conducted by MHP Communications amongst the heads of communications and public relations specialists at more than 35 global banks to gain an understanding into social media habits across the banking industry. In broad terms, use of social media is high with the majority of respondents (53%), using social media both in a private and a business capacity. 30% use social media outside of a work context and 3% for business purposes only. 15% of all respondents do not use social media at all, which is a high percentage given that social media generally sits under the communications department’s remit. Whilst social media has become a mainstream activity, it is notable that more respondents use social media  for personal means than in a business context. When looking at the purpose of social media, it is widely seen as a good source of information on what is happening in the media (75% of respondents). Interestingly it is less seen as a direct route to the customer, but more to communicate broadly and advertise products and solutions: More than two thirds say they use social media for communications and public relations purposes, whereas 42% use it for marketing and sales activities. Customer service is a key purpose for 25% only. In the retail banking sector social media has a more established footprint than in the investment banking world. This follows the logical conclusion that for customer service and customer engagement purposes the mass consumer market is appreciative of being able to communicate with banks through these new, yet very much established platforms. And banks are increasingly keen to appear more customer-friendly whilst tackling the image the sector has as consisting of traditional and staid organizations. In the investment banking world social media takes on a different purpose, and has even become a platform to be feared and avoided. It is also not seen as a traditional direct route to clients. This is changing however, and one senior PR manager commented that the bank’s trading desk recently received a client request for traders to be given access to Twitter to monitor and engage with client comments throughout the trading day. The use of social media within the internal communications function is relevant for around one third of respondents (36%) – which represents a vast untapped potential given the range of opportunities to share knowledge and information internally that social media creates. Free tools such as Yammer, Twitter with protected tweets or Google+ with individual circles make information available only to a selection of people, so they can be used to streamline internal communication processes. However, and this is a key problem for a heavily regulated industry such as the banking sector, social media platforms are provided by external third parties. Any shared data which is of a sensitive or confidential nature will in many cases be stored on the provider’s servers which may not provide sufficient protection or peace of mind for the banking sector. Most providers are based in the US where legislation may, under certain circumstances, require them to reveal their clients’ identities or other data. Also, social media platform providers are commercial operations and there is the risk that data is misused, misplaced  or falsely allocated. Many banks feel that sensitive data should only be stored and transmitted on their own infrastructure to ensure full compliance. At the same time, regulatory bodies such as the Financial Services Authority (FSA) in the UK aim to make social media more widely user-friendly for banks by publishing guidelines and recommendations. As a consequence there is a high level of insecurity as to what can and cannot be done. Despite these issues, social media is now seen as forming a strategic part of a communications program rather than representing solely a tactical activity, with 84% of banks now having a specific social media strategy. Nearly one third has started to execute a strategy, and 15% have a fully developed strategy in place. More than 40% are currently in the process of creating a strategy, and only 16% have not started thinking about or have decided not to have a social media strategy in place. A number of banks do have a social media strategy, but no defined goals for the strategy: 27% responded that they have not established specific goals for their social media strategy. Measuring the success of a social media program is perceived to be more complicated than for traditional PR which may explain why metrics and, in effect, goals remain vague.

Rationale For Brand Extension Marketing Essay

Rationale For Brand Extension Marketing Essay Brand extension is beneficial in enhancing new and already existing segments. Through brand extension companies can target those segments which antecedently were not explored or inactive. Brand extension can be beneficial in terms of fulfilling consumers changing preferences and needs, wants and demands of the consumers. This would ultimately result in increased loyalty for the brand and the cost associated with switching brand is avoided. Brand extension is also useful in terms of creating consumer trials. Comparatively to launching new brands, cost associated with consumer trial in extended brand is less. This can be more beneficial if companies in Pakistan focus on improving their distribution network as well. Brand extension is also useful when recognition, awareness and refreshment come into consideration. It can improve recognition of parent brand as well as awareness cost can also decrease. Moreover, in Pakistani market, it was observed than comparatively to parent brands, extended brands avails more awareness and recall. Utility of a brand can also be improved as a result of brand extension. Companies can become more powerful by using brand extension which can give companies more bargaining power with their retailers. Brand extension can strengthen companys position for bargaining with its retailers. To some extent brand extension is considered as a revitalizing process of any brand. It is considered as a strategy of re launching and refreshing a brand in the mind of the target consumers. It also helps in re positioning a brand in the eyes of consumers. Using brand extension strategy as a part of branding strategy, companies can also gain a competitive advantage over its competitors. It can be achieved by focusing on a market niche. Brand extension can also be beneficial in terms of shifting parent brand technological expertise to extended brand in terms of production, and research and development (RD). Advantages Disadvantages of Brand Extension Consumer knowledge about parent brand reputation and image always gives an advantage to companies. To communicate about extended brand benefits to the consumers, it is always beneficial for the companies if consumers already know about parent brand quality and image. Use of parent brand to extend the brands plays a role of attention getting process for extended brands. Consumer knowledge about parent brand image and quality make companies to communicate precisely the benefits of extended brands. Trustworthiness of consumers about a brand is useful for the companies to brand extension strategy. Trustworthiness of consumers tempts them to try new products originating from a brand which consumers already trust on. Consumers already have an implicit accord with already proven brands, thus consumers feel free to try extended brand even in other market segments too. Revitalization and refreshment of parent brand can definitely be achieved through brand extension strategies. Even in Pakistan brand extension is considered a source of refreshment and repositioning of parent brand. It is also useful to reposition the image of parent brand in the mind of the consumers. Though, In Pakistan brand extension strategy is at its initial stages, but brand managers always focus to overcome the disadvantages associated with brand extension such as dilution of parent brand. There are couple of brands which got diluted as a brand extension strategy but most of the extended brand got success in the eyes of the consumers. The number of diluted brand are far and few. Brand extension caused cannibalization of sales in Pakistani market. Companies in Pakistan like Nestle and Haleeb did face cannibalization of sales as a part of brand extension strategy. Success of Brand Extension Fit between extended brand and the parent brand in terms of similarity and consistency of quality and image is foremost important for the success of brand extension. Extended brands can be successful in the mind of the consumers, if consumers find the same quality and performance, which they found in the parent brand. Conversely extended brands can be a disaster for the company. Favorable appreciation by the consumers for the extended brand may lead to the success of the extended brand and the parent brand, while unfavorable appreciation may result in tarnishing the parent brand image. Moderating variable such as quality of the parent brand, consumer knowledge about the parent brand play a life-sustaining role for extended brands. In Pakistan, companies delineate quality as meeting the international standards of quality. Sound brand equity may result in brand loyalty, reduced cost and improved image. It also helps in improving the positioning of a parent brand in the mind of the consumers. CONCLUSION Rationale For Brand Extension As per our research, couple of factor work as a driving force behind successful brand extension. One of the most striking forces for successful brand extension is growth for the companies. Using brand extension, growth can be achieved either by maintaining current market share or by entering into new market segments which are not yet explored by the competitors. This can be achieved through leveraging or improvising favorable core brand into extended brands. Those companies which are operating in multiple categories or industries try to extend their brands not because of gaining growth but as a case of trend of brand extension. Such actions might spoil the core brands and essence of brand extension. To be successful in brand extension, steadfastness is a prerequisite. Meeting customers need, wants, and demand is one of the other important reason for brand extension. Customer retention is always gained if companies are satisfying customers need, wants and demands. For this purpose companies are using brand extension as a part of their branding strategy. Using this strategy companies can make their customer more loyal to the brands. This research also shows that brand extension is also used to introduce new brands for the purpose of fulfilling changing customers preferences, their needs, wants, and demands. By doing so companies on one hand try to capture the all possible market segments which eventually result in higher profit and market share. One of the other motivational factors for brand extension is to gain economic advantages. Mostly companies use brand extension because they want to gain higher net profit and want to save cost associated with creating awareness and communication with their customers. A part from saving cost related to promotional activities, companies also gain economic advantage through catering different other segments of consumer by extending their brand into different market segments. As in case of Haleeb foods limited, chosen for our research, brand extension is done to employ unused capacity due to the seasonal nature of its business. Apart from utilizing unused capacity, other reasons include, effective promotional activities, (ROI) return on investment, and higher net profits. Our research also indicates that brand extension strategy is also useful to take advantage of consumer trials in a cost effective manner. Cost associated with consumer trials in case of extended brands is comparatively lower than launching entirely a new brand and creating trials for these brands. It was also found that lower cost for promotion and communication is incurred in case of extended brands comparatively to a newer brand. New brand extension can target new customers segments without incurring higher promotional and advertisement cost. Our research also discovered that gaining advantage from economies of scale is also considered as a promising factor of brand extension. Economies of scale related to production, research and development and communication is a motivational factor for brand extension. Gaining advantage of economies of scale from brand extension may ultimately lead to higher net profits. Efficiency of supplier in providing goods is also count. It was also found that in food (perishable) processing companies economies of scale may be dependent on suppliers capability to serve demand. We also found during the course of this research that brand extension can also be beneficial as far as recall and recognition of parent brand is concerned. In such case, comparatively weaker brands can gain profound benefits in terms of recall and recognition, thus their bargain power with the retailers can also be enhanced. Moreover, to grapple the varying business environment, brand extension plays an important role in terms of revitalizing, re-launching the parent brand. Through this process of revitalization and re-launching of parent brand, parent brand becomes more captivating. Our research concluded that increased competition with the competitors along with the other factors also lead to the brand extension strategy as a part of branding. To compete with competitors, companies have to launch extended product, which can cater the needs of the consumer either in the current market segment or in different other market segments, where competitors are performing well. To stay a head of competition, it has now become vital to launch new brands under the parent brand name. One more important factor which motivates companies to use brand extension is to gain advantage of the technological expertise in parent brand. Using technological expertise gained in parent brand, companies try to enter into new market segment by using the same technology which they used in parent brand. Technological might include superior packaging technology or outclass promotional activities, which companies use in their extended brands as well. Advantages and disadvantages of brand extension This research concluded that advantages and disadvantages of extended brands are also recognized by managers. As per brand managers, consumer know-how about the parent brand is vital in the success of extended brands, but it is also important to convey the important characteristics of the extended brands, so that consumer would have an idea about how extended brand differs in terms of specification than the parent brand but not in terms of quality. Brand extension is usually considered more beneficial by brand managers due to the fact the comparatively to launching new brands, extended brands use pull strategy instead of using push strategy. In Pakistan, brand managers use the parent brand name to portray an appealing brand name for the extended brands which might help consumers to realize the parent brand doctrine and eventually accept the extended brands. Consumer trust can also be beneficial for brand extension. During the course of this study, it was found that consumer trust on parent brand may lead to the acceptance of the extended brands easily and in a cost effective manner. Companies have to incur less cost for promotional activities and to create awareness about the extended brands. Due to consumer trust, companies can penetrate into new market segments easily and quickly due to the acceptance of the parent brand among the consumers. Consumer trust can also be beneficial when it comes to retailers. Retailers accept the extended brands easily due to the acceptance of the extended product among customers. Consumer trial becomes easy as well due to the image of the parent brand, which results in quick penetration of the extended brand in the market and among the consumers. But it can be opposite if the parent brand name is not much familiar among consumers. It will become difficult to extend the brand under a brand name which is not accepted by the customers. It might lead to failure of that brand. In Pakistan one of the advantages which we came to know is refreshment and revitalization of brands. Brand extension can also be useful when it comes to repositioning of the brands. Every brand has a life cycle as eventually brands become mature. At such time brand extension is a useful strategy to reposition the parent brand, thus giving it a new life. Apart from advantages of brand extension, there are couples of disadvantages associated with brand extension. One of these disadvantages includes dilution of parent brand. From our research we came to know that in Pakistan, according to managers, they didnt face brand dilution as a result of brand extension. They agree that brand extension if done in a wrong manner can actually tarnish or dilute parent brand name, but in Pakistani context, it is not the case. Another disadvantage of brand extension is cannibalization of sale, which as per manager, companies faced in couple of extended brands. In case of Haleeb food, company faced cannibalization of sales in UHT milk and tea whitener. Changing trend led company to introduce tea whitener, which eventually cannibalized sales of UHT milk. Same case is with Nestle. Success of brand extension We found in our research that, a successful brand extension should fulfill the requirement of Fit in terms of consistency and similarity with the parent brand. Similarity and consistency does not mean exactly the same, but extended brand should maintain the quality and image of the parent brand. If extended brand would not follow the same perception which consumers have in their mind about parent brand, then there is a possibility that extended brand might not get the same response which parent brand got from its consumers. As a result extended brand might be a failure. We also found that failure of extended brands as a result of not maintaining the concept of fit does not necessarily harm the parent brand. Brand managers of all four brands which were chosen for this study, always make sure to follow the concept of fit between extended brand and parent brand. They always try their utmost to maintain the same image and quality in extended brands, which they promised with their custome r in parent brand. We also found that concept of fit between parent brand and extended brands make consumers to evaluate extended brand as favorable or unfavorable. Their decision about extended brands for favorability or un-favorability decides the future of the extended brands. If consumers do not find a fit between parent brand and extended brand then extension might become unfavorable, and if consumers find fit between parent brand and extended brand, then extension might become favorable. Recommendation

Music Downloads From The Internet

Music Downloads From The Internet A big question in the music industry has arisen. It is the one about music downloads, whether free or paid for or illegally downloaded (piracy). People were and are still keen to know whether these downloads have an effect on the price of CDs and the sales of CDs. Many studies have been done in this regard as will be shown below. Some of the studies concluded that the downloads did not affect the Music CD industry negatively, but rather helped it to achieve higher sales. Others report that the industry has suffered. This paper will look at the different studies undertaken. It is a general trend and decision of music-lovers worldwide, to download music instead of buying CDs. Downloads are seen to be more convenient. Music CDs appeared in 1982 and became the medium for commercial music. The Internet and technology gives music lovers the ability to download music. It is this new technology and convenience that threatened and threatens the music CD sales. Consumers now have the luxury to handpick the songs and music that they prefer and like. The supply and demand of CD sales are influenced by the downloads. When a CD comes out, there are between 11 and 15 or more songs on the album. However, not all the songs are liked by music lovers. This is one of the main reasons for music downloading (Harrell 2007). Price, Demand and Elasticity Price elasticity is the reference to price change in connection to demand. Demand can also change in relationship to price. Price elasticity also refers to the amount of money a single consumer wants to pay for something. Consumers with lower incomes have lower price elasticity for they have less disposable income. This means that higher income consumers have higher price elasticity because they can pay more. Depending on the product and the value of it, even low income or low spenders with low price elasticity, will want to pay more. In the case of the music CD sales, both low and high income spenders, like to download music which is cheaper than a CD and they also have the luxury of choosing what they want (Ellis-Christensen 2011). Downloaded music and CDs are substitutes for each other. The downloaded music is on the rise. Downloaded music prices went down as a result if access to the internet on a worldwide scale as more music sites became available. Because of the fall in the pr ice of the substitute (downloaded music) decreases the demand for Music CDs. Thus the price drop in downloaded music is resultant of the decrease in demand for CDs ( Lee Gosain 2002; Leung 2009; Liebowitz 2005). Studies done in Music downloads and the effects on CD sales: The first such study was done in the US. It was undertaken by researchers of Harvard University and the University of the North Carolina. They kept track of music downloads over 17 weeks in 2002. These were then compared to the markets sales of CDs against the ones downloaded. The conclusion reached was that the multiple and numerous downloads had limited effect on record sales A study of file-sharings effects on music sales says online music trading appears to have had little part in the recent slide in CD sales. Furthermore, the authors of the report related that they think that those who downloaded music would not have bought the CD. The big culprits of downloads were identified as Kazaa and Morpheus who offered a link for people to use in downloads. Music producers and CD companies reported lower sales and blamed the loss on downloads where some music offers are for free. Besides the downloads lower incomes and the recession were also blamed. Then there is also the possible impact of other forms of entertainment such as DVD movies, video games for TVs and computers. The study has aroused interest to the effect that some people felt that the music industry should make music available on a peer-to-peer basis on networks to distribute the music. The feeling is that the download companies such as Kazaa and others should negotiate and cooperate instead of fighting and opposing each other. This study was done by professors Oberholzer (Harvard) and Strumpf (Univ. North Carolina). They used logs amounting to 1.75million downloads over a period of 17 weeks.This research showed that some people only did a logon twice and downloaded about 17 songs, while others logged on much more and downloaded more. In one case, one person downloaded 5,000 . The next step was to choose songs and then made a comparison of the albums with that of the downloads of the same songs. The researchers concluded that it would take about 5,000 downloads to upset and displace the sale of one CD. Even if millions of downloads were done worldwide, it would only affect the sales minimally. They even felt that the downloads could even push sales up a little. People who read and studied the report were critical of its findings. They feel that other studies showed both positive and negative effects. The Recording Industry Association of America was dismissed the results as inconsistent with earlier findings. This body referred to a study by the University of Texas who concluded that the downloads did affect the music industry (Borland 2004). The above report attracted many online comments. One highlighted the fact that CDs were too expensive compared to the records sold in the late 60s and 70s and teenagers then could buy one easily by just doing household chores such as lawn mowing or babysitting. In the present time, the costs of CDs are high and will require many lawn mowing and sessions of baby-sittings. Thus, teens are not to blame if they rather download music. These teens are afraid to buy a CD incase the rest of the music on it is not too good. Another person complained that modern technology makes the production costs of CDs, and questions the high cost in the shops. Therefore, people rather download (Oberholzer Strumpf 2004). Fisher (2007) reported that the music industry suffered a decline in sales of CDs. The drop is reported as high as 20%. Answers were sought for the drop in sales. According to the Wall Street Journal, the closure of more than 800 stores in 2006, is one of the reasons for the decline. Legal downloads are growing, but the money paid via the internet is not closing the gap in revenue. One argument is that legal downloads (paid downloads) decrease the money of CD sales. In the first quarter (2007) 81.5 million CDs were sold. It was 20% down on the previous sales figures (2006). In contrast, Apple iTunes sales grew 54%, accounting for 175 million songs sold and paid for. It is clear to see that the volume of downloaded songs were more than the actual CDs sold. It is estimated that the songs are mostly singles instead of whole albums. Figures quoted are: $2 billion from online music sales; of this $800 million were single-track sales.The argument still stands that people buy downloaded tra cks instead of buying the album unless it is a hit album. In the past consumers were prepared to pay for an album even if they did not like all the songs on it. Now they have the opportunity to just buy what they liked. This translates to CD sales going down and digital downloads are on the increase. Fisher argues that, Generally speaking, it takes 10 songs to reach the cost of an album (if generalized to $10), so even someone buying a handful of songs off an album leaves a revenue gap compared to a whole album sale. He also cites the competition of other forms of entertainment such as DVD or CD movies. Moya (2007) reported about a study done in Canada. This was a research study done by university professors. It was to make a comparison between CDs bough and the music downloaded. This study was conducted by Birgitte Andersen and Marion Frenz of the Department of Management at the University of London in England. It concludes that illegal file-sharing does not cause a decrease in music sales as the music industry has insisted. They argue that the opposite is true. According to them , downloads cause an INCREASE in music purchasing. These researchers argue that whereas earlier studies show a decline in CD sales due to P2P file-sharing, they find that P2P file-sharing actually increase rather than decrease music purchasing in Canada. The research delivered the following key findings: That for every 12 P2P downloaded songs, music purchases increased by 0.44CDs. This means that downloading about 1 CD increases the buying of half a CD approximately. There was no relationship between P2P file-sharing and digital purchase via for example iTunes. About half of P2P tracks were downloaded because people wanted listen to songs first, before buying. They did not want to buy an album , but rather what they wanted. Illegal downloads had an effect, but minimally; a 1% increase in such downloads, is linked to a 4% increase in CD sales. Owners of MP3 players were less keen to buy CD albums. The study further found that other forms of entertainment that was cited in other research as a reason for the decline in sales of CDs, actually did not stand up to their results. Andersen and Frenz (2008) argue that an interest in music translates to music purchases on CDs. Theoverall conclusion of this study is that there is a strong link between file-sharing and CD purchasing. For Canadians, it means that P2P file-sharing increase the sales of CDs. This comes about through the opportunity of people to listen to music and then decide to buy it (Andersen Frenz 2007). A study conducted in Japan (Tanaka 2004) also tested the notion that downloaded music hurt the sales of CDs. Tanaka (2004) researched the topic and looked at music downloads in Japan. In Japan the downloads are being done over anonymous file servers, so people who download are less concerned with copyright laws. He looked at many variables of sales and downloads. His final conclusion was that there is no evidence to suggest and show that downloaded music affected a drop in sales of CD sales. Another study conducted by Liebowitz (2005) returned some results. One main conclusion was that more research was needed to test the thesis that file-sharing and downloading hurts the music and CD industry. It is clear that academics do not agree with research findings to this effect. Liebowitz contends that his research shows that sales have been affected, however, it is not a cut and dried decision. He recommends that more economists should be engaged in the study of the effect of downloads and file-sharing of music on the music CD industry. His argument is that economists will draw more on sales figures and profits and losses and present a clearer picture of the thesis of the effects of music downloads on CD sales. Leung (2009) conducted research to test two beliefs of music piracy. The first one is whether music piracy hurts CD sales and the second about the idea that copyright laws might stop music pairacy. His research reveals that the music industry is hurt by music piracy, however, he disagrees with the results of Oberholzer and Strumpf (2007). Furthermore, he links music piracy to sales of Apple iPods and argues the case that more piracy will prevail and that in turn will enhance the sales of iPods. This stands to reason ,as iPods are favored to listen to music and the music for the iPod is downloaded, either legally (paid) or pirated. CONCLUSION: An ongoing debate prevails about whether music downloads affects price and demand as well as the sales of music CDs. From the various researches that had been conducted, different researchers delivered different results. Oberholzer and Strumpf (2002) contend that the CD sales did not suffer much. According to them, sales could increase slightly as people are exposed to more songs and go and buy the album. Tanaka (2004) asserted that the downloads of music in Japan did not affect the sales of CD s there. Andersen and Frenz (2007) found that sales increase in Canada as a result of downloading. They argue that music lovers could be exposed to certain music songs and then decide to go and buy the album.Leung (2009) argues that the music industry suffers due to pirated music downloads as a result of the popularity of the iPod listening device.