All About Christianity Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

All About Christianity - Research Paper Example Christianity’s sacred literature is called the Bible, which is comprised of the Old Testament and the New Testament. As stated in an online article entitled Overview of Christianity, central to Christian practice is the gathering at church for worship, fellowship, study, and engagement with the world through evangelism and social action (Davis-Stofka). In this paper, we take a close look at Christianity by highlighting on its origin, its history, and its belief system. Indeed, through this holistic research approach, we intend to understand Christianity in a much deeper level by being able understand the various concepts that have shaped its unique views on an Ultimate Creator, on human nature, and on external reality. The origin of Christianity is attributed to the life of Jesus Christ who was born in 4 B.C.E. in a Jewish province called Nazareth. Believed to be the Son of God the Father, Jesus Christ spent his entire human life by doing acts of goodness and by spreading know ledge about God’s plan toward humanity. Aside from Jesus Christ, Christianity is also known to have been deeply influenced by Jewish, Greek, and Roman cultures. Since the first Christians were Jews, their ways of worship included attending the holy temple, reading Jewish scriptures, and adhering to Jewish laws and customs. As Jewish Christians spread to Mediterranean provinces in Rome, they were able to proselytize the Greek-speaking Gentiles. Through this, Greek intellectual culture was infused into the core of Christianity. The belief on the supremacy of logic helped in the development of philosophical explanations of the Christian faith. Likewise, it is the model of Roman political organization that formed the hierarchical system in Christianity—wherein the pope is deemed to be the religious leader, followed by the archbishops, bishops, and priests. Lastly, Christian scriptures, as contained in the bible, play a vital role in the foundation of Christianity. The bibl e, which comes from the Latin ‘biblia’ that means ‘books’, is composed of the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Jewish scriptures make up the Old Testament while the twenty seven manuscripts from the apostles complete the New Testament. As further noted in Overview of Christianity, the bible has been published into 2,000 languages and is regarded as the largest selling book of all time (Davis-Stofka). The history of Christianity can be viewed in two parts. Firstly, the early developments of Christianity from 2nd to 4th century C.E. were marked by intense persecution and identity creation. The persecution of Christians was primarily driven by their refusal to honor the roman emperors as god-like figures, since they considered it as an act of idolatry. As punishment to their disloyalty, majority of the early Christians were tortured and killed during the reign of Emperors Domitian in 81-96 C.E., Marcus Aurelius in 161-180 C.E., and Decius in 249-251 C. E. The persecutions, however, did not stop the spread of Christianity. In fact, more people got converted through the hospitality and philanthropy of the early Christians, as evidenced by their establishment of social networks that cared for the poor, the widows, and the orphans. Indeed, it is Christianity’s emphasis on communal life and social generosity that attracted religious conversions. As the Christian fait

PERSONAL FINANCE Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

PERSONAL FINANCE - Essay Example The two children attend a nearby secondary school and likely to attend university. As a planner, I will ensure that the advice give to the Jameson family is suitable to the financial circumstances, and situation of the family and the financial plan will match their level of financial literacy. This paper will produce a comprehensive financial plan for the Jameson family under the following headings: 1. Current financial situation Before setting goals and strategies, it is important for the Jameson Family to determine its current financial standing. Determining the current financial position is the first step in the creation of a personal financial plan (Gitman and Joehnk, 2008). Having a thorough understanding of ones current financial position will help in the formulation of well informed and realistic goals. Therefore, the Jameson will need to determine the family’s current net worth by getting the total of their current liabilities less the total current assets. The followi ng charts will be used in the calculation of the net worth of the Jameson Family- it is simply a family balance sheet for the Jameson Family. ... wner Value Cash expenditure Joint $80,000 Insurance premiums Phillip Belinda 1,546.48 478 Total current Bills 82,024.48 Outstanding Debt Owner Value Mortgage loan Joint 100,000 Personal loan Belinda 17,000 Credit Card Joint 5,000 Total outstanding debt 122,000 Total liabilities 204,024.48 Net worth of the Jameson Family Total assets less the Total liabilities= 1,312,641- 204,024.48= $1,108,616.52 A net worth of $1,108,616.52 for the Jameson family is an indication of a better financial position for the couple/family. The client’s situation Broad category Age Group (years) Characteristics Middle age 45-55 Children usually leave home or attend tertiary education. Level of income increases. Superannuation, debt reduction, asset accumulation and risk management would be important in this stage. 2. Objectives Setting financial objectives and goals is the second step in the preparation of a personal finance. Setting of goals or objectives will give the couple a direction for their p lan as well the destination toward which they should head (Gitman and Joehnk, 2008). Some of the obvious objectives include monthly savings and retirement investments. The goal should be very smart, measurable, realistic, time based, attainable and specific. The objectives of the Jameson Family will be categorised as short term, long term or even intermediate. The development of these objectives will allow the family to achieve successes early in the plan while keeping their eye towards the future (Koh, 2012). It is also quite important for the family to establish its priorities, consider its net worth in order to make realistic objectives which align with their financial situation (Melicher and Norton, 2011). The objectives or goals should be stated as dollar amount against its future date or

Personal statement for graduate school Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

For graduate school - Personal Statement Example By serving at the air force, I have developed a very scheduled and organized lifestyle. Spending my time at the air force has allowed me to gain the skills that help in responding, reacting, interacting and dealing with different types of people. Working with the air force has really helped me to recognize my limits, abilities, skills and true potential. My experience with the air force has taught me to be calm, tolerant, and cool. It has trained me to work under all sorts of pressure and stress, and still gain the best possible outcomes. I am currently working at the airport and in order to advance professionally, I need to be equipped with management skills. Hence I firmly believe that having a master’s degree in Business Management and Leadership will not only enhance the leadership and management skills but will also open the doors of opportunities for me. Choosing what is best for me and looking at the best available options I have applied at CUNY School of Professional Studies to gain the extra skills to become a successful and highly qualified airport manager. Looking at the extensive business education that is being provided by CUNY and the analytical leadership skills that I will gain from the school, I can anticipate that it is really going to be helpful for me in managing and handling the affairs that I will encoun ter at the air port. I, being a single parent, have learned how to organize my time, my priorities and how to get things done in the best possible way even during emergencies. Living the life of a militant and a single parent, I have learned not take everything for granted. Being the air force and serving for the troops at Afghanistan, I have discovered what volunteering means and how it pays off when you see the smiles on people’s faces who had given up on everything, who had given up on hope. Learning is an ongoing process and I

Chinese Business Essay Example for Free

Chinese Business Essay Introduction It is often argued that when business persons of different cultures negotiate commercial deals, there is bound to be a culture clash. I disagree with this view. It is true that cultural differences influence business negotiations but with the appropriate approach to deal with the differences, culture clash is to be least expected in any business negotiations, especially with the Chinese. As Sun Tzu would advised in his book The Art of War â€Å"Know your enemy and know yourself and you will win all battles† (Sun Tzu 1913). According to Newstrom and Davis (2002) there are many striking differences across countries, just as there are some surprising similarities. Clearly, residents of each country have their own preferences for clothes, food, recreation, and housing. In his research about national cultures of sixty countries, Hofstede (1993) revealed that cultures differ in five key factors namely, individualism/collectivism, power distance, uncertainty avoidance, masculinity/femininity, and time orientation. Among these factors, the Chinese have the culture that value clarity and have the kind of orientation that accent values such as necessity of preparing for the future, the value of thrift and savings, and the merits of persistence. Literatures on different cultures also classify China as high-context culture which tends to emphasize personal relations, place value on trust, focus on non-verbal cues, and accent the need to attend to social needs before business matters (Newstrom and Davis 2002). Culture is very important in certain country such as China. Huntinghon (2000) as cited by Fellner (2008) defined culture as the values, attitudes, beliefs, and underlying assumptions prevalent among people in a society. He stressed that culture is dynamic, interactive, and synergistic, and intermixes with all the elements of the society such as business and economic development (Huntinghon 2000; Fellner 2008). Huiping (2009) stated in her article entitled Understanding Chinese culture leads to business success with China’s growing significance as an economic superpower  understanding the Chinese psyche becomes very helpful and useful in business negotiations management of supplier relations and many other business situations. As emphasized by Uthaisangchai (n. d. ), Chinese history and culture has impact on the way they do business and each of the many elements of the Chinese culture has a role to play in today Chinese business world. In Hofstede’s (1980) theory of individualism-collectivism as cited by Jones (2009), the individualism and collectivism dimensions differs on the degree a culture is committed to an in-group such as extended family, company or village. In the individualistic society, people are less attached to an in-group (that is, people are more self-centered and in pursuit of their own self-interests). Meanwhile in the collectivist society, people are more attached to an in-group, that is the interests of the in-group come first. Jones (2009) also noted from Hofstede and Bond (1988) that such value of collectivism likely stems from a deep rooted, ingrained culture based on the traditional philosophy of Confucianism. Uthaisangchai (n.d,) gave emphasis of the teachings of Confucius in the development of the culture of Chinese. In the article entitled Connecting Confucianism, Communism and the Chinese Culture of Commerce, Keller and Kronstedt (2005) explained that Confucianism is a very important component of the Chinese culture. â€Å"In a Confucian society, everyone has a role to play, and the key relationship is built around the family†¦ Chinese cultures value family connections and protecting relationships (saving face). Developing ‘family-like’ relationships takes time and patience, not merely a contractual deal based solely on money. If one has to do business in a Chinese culture, it is critical to understand and respect Confucian values† (Keller and Kronstedt 2005). Keller and Kronstedt (2005) further emphasized the significance of connections-Guanxi. In Confusian-based society like China, guanxi or proper connections are more crucial than price, product, place, etc. According to Jones (2009), China is known for being loyal to their in-group’ and favoring them in business related decision. As given emphasis by Li (2008) as cited by Jones (2009), understanding the guanxi is critical for conducting business in China and it involves cultivating trust, credibility and reciprocity. One way to understand cultural differences is through the concepts of high-context culture and low-context culture. The notion of ‘context’ can be understood as the social environment in which a business transaction takes place. Edward T. Hall’s theory of high- and low-context culture explains the powerful effect culture has on communication. The countries classified as high-context cultures include China, Korea, Japan, Middle East, Africa, Italy and South America in which people are characterized as collectivists, relational, contemplative and intuitive. This implies that the people in these societies put emphasis on good relationship between members of the society. In relation to business transactions, the development of trust is a very important step. Hall (1976) argued that the people in high-context cultures prefer harmony in group and agreement for the achievement of individual members; also individuals make decisions based on their feelings or intuition. The theory further emphasized that individuals focus on non-verbal cues, that is, words are not so significant in communication as compared to context; rather, more is given emphasis on context which include facial expression, tone of voice of the speaker, posture, gestures, and family history and status of the individual. The communication in the high-context culture is depicted as formal and indirect, which suggests that flowery humility, flowery language, and apologies that are often too elaborated are common. Also, communicators in this type of culture do not depend on language precision and legal documents. Meanwhile, the countries classified as having low-context culture include Germany, North America, Finland, Canada, Norway, Denmark, and Sweden are linear, logical, action-oriented, and individualistic. Individuals in the low-context countries value facts, logic and they prefer directness. Finding solutions to problems involves identifying and enumerating all the facts and evaluating each of the options. Also, each decision is based on facts; more often each discussion ends with an action. Communicators in this type of culture are anticipated to be concise, straightforward, and efficient in conveying the action that is expected. According to Hall (1976), communicators have to be precise in the words used in communicating to be absolutely understood. All negotiations are always concluded with definite contracts. Summing up the differences, on the one hand, high-context cultures tend to emphasize personal relations, place high value on trust, focus on nonverbal cues, and accent the need to attend to social needs before business matters. On the other hand, low-context cultures tend to interpret cues more literally. Individuals tend to rely on written rules and legal documents, conduct business first, and value expertise and performance. With these classifications of cultures, it is apparent that when Americans negotiate with Chinese, a failure in negotiation if not a culture is more likely if the former group is not familiar with the latter. As noted by Minor and Lamberton (2010) from an interview with intercultural communication expert ray Ruiz: â€Å"Countries in Latin American and Asia value the building of relationships, but each in their own unique way. Before traveling to another country, I would recommend reading appropriate materials and speaking with foreign nationals residing in the U. S. in regards to the customs and business practices in their country of origin. I would also suggest that, once in a foreign country, it is important to observe your host’s mannerisms and responses and respectfully respond in a like manner. Be well versed on acceptable and unacceptable behaviors. For example, when in Asia, do compliment and share your impressions of their country. Do not decline any food or drink because this is viewed as an insult. In Latin America, do begin all meetings with friendly conversation regarding family or other social topics. Do not begin a meeting delving directly into the business objective. The lesson many American business people fail to learn is that â€Å"it is all in the relationships† (Minor Lamberton 2010). In his article Doing Business In and With China: The risks are great, but so are the rewards, Atkinson (2004) noted from Stephen Nelson, the partner and co-head of the China practice group for the Hong Kong-based law firm Baker McKenzie, that when acquiring businesses in China, it is important to realize that there are perceived cultural differences. One of the important lessons in making business in China is that foreigners simply cannot enter a venture in China with only a cursory understanding of its terms and conditions. Atkinson (2004) cited an example of a US company that recently decided to make an investment in China by setting up a joint company through its Hong Kong manufacturing agent. The US company sent over $3 million worth of equipment, then came to us with documentation written in Chinese and asked ‘Can you look at this and tell us whether we really own 50 percent of this company? ’ Akgunes et al (2012) identified several points to consider for successful negotiations. According to Zhao (2000) as cited by Akgunes et al (2012), negotiations become successful when the participating parties are cooperative with one another; this can be done by applying the cooperative Confucian tactics. Also, for a western company like a US company, such company has to show that they have government support which is an indication that they are reliable, stable and credible to do business with. According to Fang (2006) as noted by Akgunes (2012), trust will lead to much better performance and being patient will be more beneficial to you than any other attribute you might possess. Bredin (1998) as cited by Akgunes (2012) also suggested that a foreign business negotiator should not give in to pressure from superiors to hurry up and complete the deal because can cause problems because the Chinese are not greatly concerned with the time dimension. There are companies that also failed to successfully negotiate business deals with the Chinese. According to Fang (2006) as cited by Akgunes (2012), the most common reason for failure is that the Chinese firm lacks the funds to go through with a deal. Also, sending a low-ranking employee to make the negotiation will be viewed as very impolite and the Chinese may find it insulting and insincere, in this case failure is also almost certain. Moreover, it is important to note from Sebenius (2002) as cited by Akgunes (2012) that Chinese law says that one cannot leave a contract unless both sides approve dissolution. Fang (2006) as cited by Akgunes et al (2012) also emphasized that Failure to say no to a Chinese negotiator who is using a Sun Tzu-like strategy could be detrimental to the deal, but on the other hand, saying â€Å"no† to a Confucian gentleman could cause a loss of face. This also will be very harmful, if not fatal, to a successful deal. The Chinese have regional areas just like the United States and there are very different cultures, traditions and sometimes languages in these regions. Not acknowledging these regions can cause you to have limited success in one area and a complete failure in another (Fang 2006; Akgunes 2012). Conclusion In conclusion, like what Sun Tzu have said in his book The Art of War â€Å"Know your enemy and know yourself and you will win all battles† (Sun Tzu 1913). This means that for companies to be successful in making business deals, having the capital is not enough to close a business deal. Knowledge and understanding of the culture of the prospect business partner is very important. Other than this, Sebenius (2002) emphasized that culturl allegiances are often not as simple as they appear. Designing the right strategy and tactics in reaching the right people, with the right arguments, will result to a sustainable deal. References Fellner, Amira 2008, ‘Role of Culture in Economic Development: Case Study of China and Latin America’, Graduate School Theses, University of South Florisa Schoalr Commons, viewed from http://scholarcommons. usf. edu/cgi/viewcontent. cgi? article=1235context=etd Hall, Edward 1976, Beyond Culture. Hofstede, Geert 1993, ‘Cultural Constraints in Management Theories’, Academy of Management Executive, pp. 81-94. Jones, Gwen 2009, ‘Differences in the Perceptions of Unethical Workplace Behaviors among Chinese and American Business Professionals, Competition Forum, vol. 7, no. 2, pp. 473-480. Keller, G. Kronstedt C. 2005, ‘Connecting Confucianism, Communicsm, and the Chinese Culture of Commerce’. Journal of Language for International Business, vol. 26, no. 1, pp. 60-75. Minor, Leslie Lamberton, Lowell 2010, ‘High-Context Low-Context Cultures’, viewed from http://www.cascadebusnews. com/business-tips/networking/154-high-context-a-low-context-cultures. Newstrom, JW. Davis, K. 2002, Organizational Behavior: Human Behavior at Work, McGraw-Hill Sun Tzu 1913, The Art of War. Uthaisangchai, Prasong (n. d. ), ‘The Importance of Understanding Chinese Culture’, viewed form http://www. bangkokbank. com/download/Week%2012%20Culture%20intro. pdf Huiping, Iler 2009, ‘Understanding Chinese Culture Leads to Business Success, Canadian HR Report, vol. 22, no. 12, pp. 18.

The Great Healthcare Debate: Liberalism versus Conservatism

The Great Healthcare Debate: Liberalism versus Conservatism Alex Fisher A large issue in todays society is healthcare. The clashing ideas about what should be done within the realm of healthcare is such a big deal now more than ever since we have a recently elected president. Much like other issues, there are clashing ideas from different political parties; this case will highlight those of liberals and conservatives. It is important to note that liberals and conservatives tend to clash on all aspects of healthcare such as: amount of government intervention, access or entitlement to healthcare, and federally mandated insurance. Furthermore, it must be stated that each partys stance on these aspects demonstrates a key idea or pillar of their party. The first main aspect of the healthcare debate between the two parties is the amount or level of government involvement. The conservative side argues for minimal government involvement so that healthcare, just like the overall economy, runs like a free market. This facet of the conservative healthcare argument can be traced back to the concept that the conservative perceives the need for prudent restraints upon power and upon human passions (Kirk, 4). Kirk further explains this point of view by stating that The conservative endeavors to so limit and balance political power that anarchy or tyranny may not arise (4). Additionally, this point of view can also be traced back to the conservative concept that there must survive orders and classes, differences in material condition, and many sorts of inequality attempts at levelling must lead, at best, to social stagnation (3). Essentially, Kirk is explaining that conservatives believe that unless there is a natural hierarchy with competiti on, a society will stagnate or lose the ability to progress. After piecing together these pillars of conservative view, it is not surprising that the current conservative argument is for healthcare to be run like any other business in our economy with free market ideals. With this being said, there is a liberal side to the argument of government involvement in healthcare. Their point of view is the complete opposite of the conservatives in that they believe that everyone in the healthcare field should be equal, therefore getting rid of the competition that fuels the free market. The liberal background that influences this point of view is a bit more complex than that of conservatives. One concept in liberalism is that there is a natural state in which mankind falls into. This state of nature involves a natural hierarchy of physical and mental strength; however, it must be stated that this hierarchy will lead to competition; For as to the strength of body, the weakest has strength enough to kill the strongest, wither by secret machination or by confederacy with others that are in the same danger with himself (Hobbes, 1). At first, this concept seems to parallel with the competition and free market ideals of conservatism. However, there is a caveat to this liberal view. Liberals recognize this state of nature, and then argue that mankind should forgo this state for the good of society. Hobbes explains that during the time men live without a common power to keep them all in awe, they are in that condition which is called war (2). This statement explains the idea that the duration in which mankind is living without a governing power, they are in constant war with each other due to the high levels of competition in the state of nature. Furthermore: In such condition there is no place for industry, because the fruit thereof is uncertain: and consequently no culture of the earth no knowledge of the face of the earth; no account of time; no arts; no letters; no society; and continual fear, and danger of violent death (Hobbes, 2) Essentially, this concept in liberalism is that mankind must forgo the vicious competition and violence found in the natural state in order for society, industry, and culture to even exist. These aspects cannot be established if man is more concerned with preserving his own life, and ending that of others to get ahead. For this reason, the liberals are arguing for more equality and less of a business or free market model in the healthcare field. The second main point of contention in the healthcare debate is the question of who should and should not be entitled to healthcare. It is important to note that both liberals and conservatives agree that everyone should get healthcare. The difference in views is found when it comes the financial aspect of healthcare entitlement. Conservatives believe that if you have money to pay for healthcare, you should be paying for it. They do not believe in government assistance for healthcare if you can pay for it yourself. Essentially, it goes back to the old adage that there is no such thing as a free lunch; except in this case its healthcare instead of lunch. This concept can be explained through the conservative concept that conservatives are guided by their principle of prudence (Kirk, 3). What this means that Any public measure ought to be judged by its probable long-run consequences, not merely by temporary advantage or popularity (3). Conservatives do not want to just start handing ou t healthcare for free or at discounted prices because it would have a hefty impact on the economy in the long-run. In the present time, the general population would love to have free or even cheap healthcare, but the United States economy is not in the position to be able to do that. This is what the conservatives are thinking about when refusing to give handouts. Conversely, the liberal view is that even if you could pay for healthcare, you should not go broke for it. This concept can be traced back to the liberalistic idea that the whole purpose of government is the preservation of property (Locke, 3). Furthermore, this connects to their idea of abandoning the state of nature because The great purpose for which men enter into society is to be safe and at peace in their use of their property (Locke, 3). Forcing people to pay for healthcare until they reach bankruptcy violates these ideas. By making people give up all their money for such a basic right like healthcare, the government is no longer preserving the property (or money) of the people in the society. To take this concept even further, there are things that liberals believe a governing body cannot do. Among this list is it doesnt and cant possibly have absolutely arbitrary power over the lives and fortunes of the people (Locke, 4). It should also be noted that Locke stated that legislature can never have a right to destroy, enslave, or deliberately impoverish the subjects (5). Making people pay for healthcare until they no longer can, instead of giving government assistance completely goes against these liberal ideals. It is for this reason that liberals prefer to provide assistance for healthcare even if the person has the ability to pay for it. The third focus of the healthcare debate is the concept of federally mandated insurance. This refers to whether decisions about laws involving healthcare and health insurance should be left to the federal government or if it should be an issue that is decided on a state by state basis. According to an article by Michael Bihari, MD: Mandated health insurance laws passed at either the federal or state level usually fall into one of three categories: Health care services or treatments that must be covered, such as substance abuse treatment. Healthcare providers other than physicians, such as acupuncturists. Dependents and other related individuals, such as adopted children Essentially, what Dr. Bihari is saying is that the most common mandated healthcare laws involve the coverage of necessary treatments, specialists, and dependents. After getting a good idea of what these mandated healthcare laws typically are, it should be aware that the most common debate on this aspect is who gets to decide if the law gets passed or not. Should each state get to choose if they want to pass and recognize the laws set forth or should the federal government pass healthcare laws for the entire nation? A subset of this question is should people face financial penalties if they fail to comply with these mandates? The conservative view on this matter is that these decisions should be made on the state level, not federal. Furthermore, the conservative party argues against any form of monetary penalties if people fail to adhere to these healthcare laws. For example, under the Affordable Care Act, there is fine for people that do not have health insurance. The conservative view is against this concept of health insurance mandate compliance. This side of the argument can be traced back to the conservative pillar that conservatives uphold voluntary community, quite as they oppose involuntary collectivism (Kirk, 4). Additionally, conservatives believe that: the decisions most directly affecting the lives of citizens are made locally and voluntarily. Some of these functions are carried out by local political bodies, others by private associations; so long as they are kept local, and are marked by the general agreement of those affected, they constitute healthy community. (Kirk, 4) In laymans terms, conservatives believe that decisions that greatly impact citizens, such as healthcare, should be decided by a governing body close to the population. This big of a decision cannot and should not be made by the federal governing body since each state has a different set of circumstances. There is no way that the federal government is completely aware of the needs of the people of each state. Furthermore, conservatives are against forced collectivism. Leaving healthcare mandates to the federal level means that these decisions are being made for the entire nation. It is forced collectivism by means of the nation instead of the individuality of each state. Moreover, giving that kind of collective power to the federal government gives way to a standardizing process hostile to freedom and human dignity (Kirk, 4). Each state should have the freedom and ability to decide what is best to uphold or bolster the standard of living created in each. Furthermore, each person shoul d be given the freedom to make their own choices about a personal matter such as healthcare. Penalizing people for not complying with healthcare mandates takes away this freedom of decision. On the contrary, liberals argue for healthcare mandates on the federal level. They also support the idea of monetary penalties for noncompliance. This aligns with the current themes seen in the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. The Affordable Care Act is a federally mandated healthcare act that penalizes people that do not have insurance. This view can be explained by the classical liberal idea that: The only way to erect such a common power, as may be able to defend them from the invasion of foreigners, and the injuries of one another, and thereby to secure them in such sort as that by their own industry and by the fruits of the earth they may nourish themselves and live contentedly, is to confer all their power and strength upon one man, or upon one assembly of men, thay may reduce all their wills, by plurality of voices, unto one will. (Hobbes, 3) What Hobbes is saying is that in order to organize the chaos of the state of nature, the people must decide on a person or group of people to represent all their voices and decisions in one. Additionally, Hobbes further explains the scope of this assembly of men: every one to own and acknowledge himself to be author of whatsoever he that so beareth their person shall act in those things which concern the common peace and safety; and therein submit their wills and their judgements to his judgement. (3) This further explanation translates into the concept that liberals believe that government should have a large amount of power and intervention. This is the reason why the liberals are arguing for federally mandated healthcare laws. Another level of that increased government power and intervention is the aspect of financial penalty for noncompliance. These fines are ensuring that everyone is following their mandates. In conclusion, the debate on healthcare has been going on for several years and has shown no signs of stopping anytime soon. The liberal and conservative parties have clashing views on aspects of this debate such as the amount of government involvement, access or entitlement to healthcare, and if healthcare should be federally mandated. The views or arguments of these parties can be explained and traced back to key ideas or pillars of their party. Conservatives favor less government intervention, prudent reform, and local governing bodies whereas liberals favor more government intervention, equality or less competition, and that a government should not deliberately impoverish their community. https://www.verywell.com/mandated-health-insurance-benefits-1738931

Explore The Relative Advantages Of Both Market Driven Marketing Essay

Explore The Relative Advantages Of Both Market Driven Marketing Essay In marketing research and literature, debate has been surrounding two approaches of market orientation that firms could adopt: market-driven and market-driving. Some argue that market-driving behavior is superior to market-driven behavior in creating customer values that contribute to growth and profitability, such as IKEA, Dell and Southwest Airlines, to name a few. (eg. Kotler et al., 2000) On the other hand, majority of authors stresses that these two behaviors are complementary. (e.g. Jaworski et al., 2000; Sheth and Sisodia, 1999) Such controversy leaves open questions to practitioners: Which is the winning approach for the firms to adopt? Should these two the competing approaches or complement each other? This essay begins with an introduction of market orientation, along with the market-driven and market-driving behavior. The next section will explore the relative advantages of these two behaviors from the marketing perspective and then to draw a conclusion to suggest that these two behaviors are complementing each other of which both play important roles in generating sustainable competitive advantage in todays dynamics business environment. Overview of Market Orientation Since late 1980s, significant amount of research in marketing suggesting that market orientation is the most effective strategy of achieving and maintaining long term competitive advantage and continue to stress its importance to the firms superior profitability. (e.g., Day, 1994b; Jaworski et al., 2000; Kohli Jaworski, 1990; Kotler et al., 2000; Narver and Slater 1990) Jaworski and Kohli (1996) defined market orientation as the organization wide generation of market intelligence pertaining to current and future customer needs, dissemination of the intelligence across departments, and organization-wide responsiveness to it. (see figure 1) On the other hand, Narver and Slater (1990) defined market orientation as an organization culture committed to the continuous creation of superior value for the customers and thus, continuous superior performance for the business. Narver and Slater (1990) classified the market orientation into responsive and proactive. The responsive approach, a typical response of a firm that exhibits a market driven behavior, is customer led, considering the market structure and customer preferences as given and focusing on the satisfaction of expressed customer needs. In contrast, the proactive market orientation, a typical response of market-driving firm, aims towards the satisfaction of latent needs, reshaping the customer preferences and market structure to enhance the competitive position of the company. (see figure 1) Figure Market Orientation Process (Neuenburg, 2010, p.49) Figure 2 below provides a framework adopted from Neuenburg (2010), which shows the whole spectrum of market-oriented behaviors that summarizes the discussion above. Figure 2 Marketing driven behavior vs market driving behavior (Neuenburg, 2010, p.46) In a nutshell, although there are differences in the precise definition, the market orientation is a fundamental approach for a firm to understand its markets, which represent an additional strategic dimension (Narver and Slater, 1998) and the implementation of the marketing concept (Jaworski and Kohli, 1990) that focuses the firms efforts on the needs of the market, learn about market developments, share this information within the organization and adapt the offering to the market. (Jaworski and Kohli, 1990) The Market Driven and Its Advantages Figure Conceptual Framework: Two Forms of Market Orientation (Jaworski et al., 2000, p.130) According to Jaworski et al. (2000), the term market-driven refers to learning, understanding, and responding to stakeholder perceptions and behaviors within a given market structure. (see figure 3) Specifically, the focus of a market-driven approach is to keep the status quo on existing customer preferences and behavior within an existing market structure. (Day, 1999a; Day, 1999b; Jaworski et al., 2000) The key element of market-driven behavior is to monitor customer satisfaction and analyzing customer needs, finding competitive advantage and strategic targeting. (Cravens and Shipp, 1991) Monitoring customer satisfaction allows firms to get an early indication about changing customer needs and preferences and the identification of future customer needs. Analyzing these needs helps the firms to prevent bad decisions or overlooking important parts of the customer value proposition as well as identifying its current or potential competitive advantage. (Cravens and Shipp, 1991) Firms gain advantage by matching the requirements of market segments with its capabilities to identify the best opportunities to serve its customers. (Cravens and Shipp, 1991) As markets become more fragmented the decision about which segments to target becomes increasingly important because each segment represents its own specific needs. (Neuenburg, 2010) Understanding of Markets, Customers, and Competitors Successful companies like Nestle, Procter Gamble, and Unilever are market-driven which reflects the conventional wisdom of marketing philosophy wherein they establish a clear understanding of markets, customers, and competitors. (Day, 1994b) Market-driven firms gain advantage to have good understanding of the market and how it is likely to change in the future. Furthermore, they hear the voice of the customers and develop differentiated products or services for a well-defined segment and then create combinations of marketing mix to adapt its offerings to satisfy customer needs. (Hills and Sarin, 2003; Kotler et al., 2000) As Day (1994b) argues, market-driven organizations are superior in their market-sensing and customer-linking capabilities, which enable them to understand, attract, and keep valuable customers. (Day, 1999a) When these two capabilities are deeply embedded within the organization, all functional activities and organizational processes will be better directed toward a nticipating and responding to changing market requirements ahead of competitors. (Day, 1994b) Therefore, market-driven firms are well equipped to achieve high levels of performance (Day, 1994b) and are expected to be more adaptable and perform better than less market-driven competitors because they stay in touch with existing and potential customer needs and competitor moves better than more internally focused firms. (Day, 1990) They are also predicted to be better and more successful at introducing new products to the market than their competitors. (Narver and Slater ,1990) They may not be the most innovative firm in their industry but, they will excel at adapting technologies to meet current and future customer needs. Thus, they often exhibit the adaptive characteristics of the Analyzer organization. (Miles and Snow 1978) Home Depot and Cisco Systems represent two examples of firm successfully adopting market-driven strategy of which their business focuses on putting customers first and sees themselves engage in the relationship business, not the transaction business. They strive to provide superior customer value through unprecedented customer service to increase customer satisfaction. This is how Home Deport leads with home improvement mega-stores by offering low prices and low frills but excellent services. IBM, on the other hand, failed to recognize market changes and customer preferences for personal computers which had resulted with a record loss for the fourth quarter of 1992 of $5 billion. IBM set a record for the largest annual loss in an American corporation in 1992 with a loss of $4.97 billion. Brand Portfolios as Assets In term of brand, companies with strong brands have more loyal customers, get greater return on marketing investments and are rewarded with attractive price premiums. As such, market-driven firms view their brand portfolios as assets to be leveraged and market development activities as investments rather than expenses. (Day, 1998) According to Day (1998), to manage a brand as an asset requires the deep market insights, organizational commitment and reasoned investment decisions that come naturally to market-driven firms. Moreover, the focus on long-run return from marketing investments enables market-driven firms to understand which customers are profitable to pursue, and knowing how to encourage loyalty by reducing customer acquisition costs. (Day, 1998) Creation of Permanent Value of the Existing Products or Services As quoted from Stoclhorst and Van Raaij (2004), customers do not always strive towards new and technologically superior products or services, but towards permanent value of the existing products or services so that the competition would find it hard to imitate. Hence, it is possible for market-driven firms to become irreplaceable for customers if the firms put serious focus on customers attempts constantly to offer something that are better and faster than the competitors and make the accessibility to the products and services easier. Importantly, there is support from research findings (Stull et al., 2007) validating that market-driven companies are 31% more profitable, twice as fast to bring products to market, twice as likely to lead, and enjoy 20% higher customer satisfaction rates. Furthermore, empirical results of another study (Vorhies et al., 1999) demonstrated that, the 43 market-driven firms outperformed the 44 less market-driven firms across adaptability, customer satisfaction, growth, and profitability dimensions. This finding supports the marketing literature about the capabilities of market-driven firms (Day, 1994; Day and Wensley 1988) and extends the findings on empirical research of market orientation. (e.g Jaworski et al.,1993; Narver Slater 1994) The Market Driving and Its Advantages Figure Conceptual Framework: Two Forms of Market Orientation (Jaworski, Kohli, and Sahay 2000, p.46) The term market-driving refers to changing the structure or composition of a market and/or the behavior(s) of players in the market. (Jaworski, et al., 2000) (see figure 4) It matches a proactive business logic that enhances the competitive position of the business (Tuominen et al., 2004) of which it involves the shaping of the market structure via deconstruction (eliminating competitors in the value chain), construction (adding players into the industry value chain) or a functional modification (shifting the functions performed by players in a market), and the shaping of market behavior by creating or reversing new customers or competitors preferences. (Carrillat et al., 2004; Jaworski, et al., 2000) Schindehutte et al. (2008) presented a different view of market-driving construct clarifying that it is an entrepreneurial phenomenon. They argue that the interface between the entrepreneurship and marketing offers a unique perspective on the market related decisions of firms and the observed impact of these decisions in achieving sustainable competitive advantage. Schindehutte et al. (2008) further argued that the market-driving behavior reflects a strong entrepreneurial orientation (EO). It has both the dynamic advantage that creates capability and a disruptive advantage that destroys the performance outcome. (Schindehutte et al., 2008) Despite the many different views on the notion of market-driving behavior, it has appeared as an alternative to market-driven strategy which has been recognized as a successful strategy for a number of established firms such as Amazon.com, BodyShop, CNN, IKEA and Dell, all of which has a clear brand image, a strong market position, and exhibit sustainable international business growth whereby success is based on radical business innovation, ventured into new markets, revolutionized existing industries by changing rules of the game. (Kotler et al., 2000) Kotler et al. (2000) indicate that the success of market-driving firms is based on two dimensions of radical innovation a discontinuous leap in the value proposition and the implementation of a unique business system (see Figure 5 and 6). Kotler et al. (2000) define value proposition as the combination of benefits, acquisition efforts/costs, and price offered to customers. While, unique business system refers to the configuration of the various activities required to create, produce, and deliver the value proposition to the customer. Figure Types of Strategic Innovation (Kumar et al., 2000, p.130) Figure Leap in Customer Value (Kumar et al., 2000, p.130) Therefore, the market-driving advocates argued that the market-driving firms gain more viable competitive advantage with greater performance and reap vast rewards than those that are not in a number of ways. Delivering Superior Value Kotler et al., (2000) suggested that the leap in customer value involve either breakthrough technology or breakthrough marketing enables firms to create a product and service experience that overwhelms customer expectations and existing alternatives. (Kotler et al., 2000) For example, FedEx constantly led its customers to ever higher expectations for quick delivery times, leaving competitors struggling to meet the spiraling demands. (Kotler et al., 2000) According to Carrillat et al. (2004), successful market-driving firms deliver superior value that best matches with their capabilities and by exploiting the competitors weaknesses. It also allows firms to exploit opportunities that competitors cannot (Hamel and Prahalad, 1994) and that includes addressing the deep-seated, latent or emerging customer needs. (Kotler et al., 2000) The study results in the paper of Market-driving in retail banking (Martà ­n-Consuegra et al., 2008) revealed that the two characteristics of market-driving: driving the market structure and shaping the market behavior if combined together contribute positively to overall performance of retail banks, particularly in terms of enabling them to satisfy their customers latent and expressed needs better. (Martà ­n-Consuegra et al., 2008) This study further suggested that bank-marketing managers should emphasize customer understanding in pursuing proactive market orientation, which will lead to improved performance. Market-driving behavior also enables firms to benefit from free advertising via buzz network through strong brand attachment. Customers are delighted by the leap in customer value of the offerings and are excited to share their customer experience with friends and public. Traditional printed media and online social media are often publicizing the review on radical new innovation. While early adopters and opinion leaders who are enthusiastic and committed to new innovation products and services has the influential power to generate excitement and emotional attachment among their followers. Consequently, The advertising-to-sales ratio is often less than that of their established competitors. (Kotler et al., 2000). Nike is one of the examples provided by Kotler et al. (2000) Nike didnt run a single national television ad until they had 1 billion dollars in sales. Phil Knight observes they instead used word-of-foot advertising by getting the best athletes to wear their products. Further more, study of Tuominen et al. (2004) revealed that market-driving behavior contribute to higher customer intimacy and is associated with generative (explorative) learning. On top of that, market-driving firms gain the advantage to establish new industry price points for the quality or service levels they deliver, either towards higher performance at lower price points or to charge a price premium that is higher than typical in an industry. Firms like Swatch and Southwest Airlines set the prices much lower than their competitors for similar products and services. (Kotler et al., 2000) For example, Southwest Airlines charged $15.00 for a trip from Dallas to San Antonio when Braniff, the next most inexpensive competitor, was charging $62.00. (Kotler et al., 2000) Such significant price gap and low price policy has successfully attracted many of the ground transportation users to choose Southwest Airlines. Their focus to compete on the ground transportation enable them to create new business opportunities in a market segment that has been ignored by their competitors. (Kotler et al., 2000). On the other hand, CNN, Starbucks, and FedEx are those market-driv ing firms that have a value proposition that is significantly more compelling than the existing alternatives, which enables them to set prices considerably higher than the standard in the industry. (Kotler et al., 2000) Implementation of Unique Business System According to Kotler et al. (2000), the success of IKEA and Dell is not only by just delivering discontinuous leap in customer value but also is attributed to the implementation of unique and radical business system which is hard to imitate by their competitors. Kotler et al. (2000) argued that such business system creates a more sustainable advantage, as it takes time for a would-be competitor to assemble the intra-organizational and inter-organizational players needed to replicate that unique system architecture. In term of distribution and channel management, market-driving firms focus a wide range of innovative practices within their industries. For example, Southwest Airlines handles its own ticketing instead of make seats available through the standard industry computerized reservation systems such as Sabre and Apollo. As a result, only 55 per cent of its tickets are sold through travel agents compared to 90 per cent for the industry, adding up to substantial savings on travel agents commissions. (Kotler et al., 2000) Reshaping the Customer Preferences and Market Structure Market-driving firm could lead customer value opportunities in new directions to achieve superior business performance by destroying the existing market segmentation and replacing it with a new set of segments reflecting the new altered landscape. (Kotler et al., 2000) For example, Southwest Airlines destroyed the market segmentation between ground transportation and airlines, attracting many ground transportation user who would not otherwise traveled by air. Jaworski, et al. (2000) suggested that firms could shape the market behavior directly or indirectly. One of the indirect options is by changing the existing preferences of customers or other stakeholders from a positive (negative) to a negative (positive) evaluation (Jaworski, et al., 2000). Examples of products that were formerly negative but are now positive are Skoda in automotive industry and Adidas in fashion and accessory industry. (Jaworski, et al., 2000) The proactive behavior of market-driving firms would also contribute to more innovative products and services, and more new product success (Narver et al., 2004) that enable firms to pioneer new markets, which would eventually lead to market ownership. In the case study about De Beers in China, Harris and Cai (2002) explored the advantage of market-driving behavior in practice and incurred, as cited from Neuenburg, (2010), firms gain significant market control in environments where markets are immature and product preferences are not yet formed. Conclusion Clearly, each of the market-driven and market-driving behavior has its own advantages and the notion of these two is highly relevant for business marketers (Tuominen et al., 2004). It is suggested that firms should well aware of the business logic they are applying (e.g. proactive or reactive) then it should be a match with the type of market orientation they emphasized. That is, according to Tuominen et al. (2004), the implementation of the specific strategic logic presumes matching marketing capabilities and learning capability. However, to sustain success in the long run, Sheth and Sisodia (1999) provided a more convincing argument, that firms need to be market-driven and market-driving simultaneously. Jaworski et al. (2000) echo such argument and proposed that truly market-oriented firms combine both behaviors of which these two are complementary. In other words, firms should devote effort in market-driven activities, such as incremental innovation and traditional market research. Nevertheless, firms should also continue to search for their next radical business innovation to drive them into new competitive position or the market leader risks being leap-frogged and deposed by upstart market drivers. (Neuenburg, 2010)

Admirations of Love Essay -- Poetry Analysis

Delight me, tickle my senses, I dare you! To be delighted-- isn’t that something we all wish to enjoy. Taking a walk in Edward E. Cummings’ poem, titled; â€Å"[S]omewhere i have never travelled,gladly beyond†, where he embraces his reader upon revealing a rainbow of â€Å"colour[ful]† techniques-- making my mind dance over hills of wild flowers (Cummings 742). With each new flower giving form to a jumble of abstract emotions, he conveys a more pronounced diction. And though I may color myself a portrait with perfect admirations of love, history has a funny way of telling me differently. â€Å"[S]omewhere i have never travelled,gladly beyond/ any experience,your eyes have their silence: / in your most frail gesture are things which enclose me, / or which i cannot touch because they are too near† (Cummings 742). In the first verse Cummings presents meter, but discontinues this method in the next four verses. When metering the first verse, it sets it apart, --like an introduction to a story-- laying down a path to the rest of the poem. Reading from one verse to the next, we see Cummings’ love for another become unraveled piece by tantalizing piece. His thoughts begin to break down into open words on the page, but still remain embodied within a quatrain structure. Perhaps telling us his love is uncontrolled, but composed. In the first verse, lines one and two are separate from lines three and four with a colon. A colon, in its most simple of ways, separates Cummings’ topics from his explanations. The first two lines of verse one, tells me of a place which he desires to travel, but has never been. The third and fourth lines in verse one describes that destination and why he must not go. In the fourth verse he entices me ... ... and the depth in which he sees her, is his understanding. So where does this leave me now? I have followed Cummings’ path from technique to technique. Even took a closer look through his use of words. Grasping ahold of an image I clearly see, but then questioning my thoughts when reading Cummings history during that time. One thing still remains clear to me; he has admirations of love for this person, and only the innocence behind it-- for me-- remains open for interpretation. Works Cited Cummings, Edward. â€Å"Somewhere i have never travelled,gladly beyond.† Literature An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. Ed. Campion, Donna. United States: Kennedy X. J., Dana Gioia, 2010, 2007, and 2005. 742. Print. Reef, Catherine. â€Å"E. E. Cummings a poet’s life.† USA: Houghton Mifflin Company imprint, 2006. Print