Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Ethnography of a religious event Research Paper

Ethnography of a religious event - Research Paper Example As a way to better understand religious beliefs and the impact of such beliefs on the daily lives of its followers, it is often beneficial to complete an ethnographical study. This student desired to learn about the Muslim faith, specifically the methods by which females observe religious doctrine with the belief system. As such, she located a mosque in her local community and made plans to observe a Friday noon prayer service. Such an experience would surely give the student a perspective on the faith that simply studying research on the religion could not. It proved most enlightening to witness the Friday prayer service and this student now has a more informed understand of the Islamic faith and its influence on it followers. What follows is an in-depth analysis of the experience, coupled with an understanding of the Islamic faith itself. This student contacted a local Islamic Center and inquired about the possibility of a non-believer observing their Friday prayer service. She was welcomed and given some instructions to prepare herself. Since women and men are not permitted to worship together, she was instructed as to the entrance she was to go through upon arriving to the service, in addition to the location she would be relegated to. As an observer, the Islamic Center allowed her to enter the service and to stand reverently in the back to observe. This is a common practice for all non-Muslim and this student certainly felt comfortable under the circumstances. Attendance at this event consisted of a majority male population, with a scattering of females present.

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Both Psychoanalysis And Surrealism Unconscious Mind Psychology Essay

Both Psychoanalysis And Surrealism Unconscious Mind Psychology Essay The relationship between Surrealism and psychoanalysis cannot be debated because they share similarities that are evident. The following literature review will show that both psychoanalysis and Surrealism are based on the unconscious mind. While psychoanalysis attempts to explain that the human behavior is influenced by the feelings from the past that have been stored in the unconscious mind, Surrealism attempts to influence the thinking of the human mind by evoking the feelings of the unconscious mind by the use of visual arts. It was also found out that the psychoanalytical theory by Sigmund Freud comes in handy in explaining the relationship between the works of a surrealist with psychoanalysis. In addition to that, some of the surrealists works of art will be used to show how they influence the unconscious mind. Surrealism Sigmund Freud is known to be the father of psychoanalysis and through his work, the relationship between psychoanalysis and surrealism can be seen. Surrealism is a style of art and literature developed principally in the 20th century, stressing the subconscious or non-rational significance of imagery arrived at by automatism or unexpected juxtapositions (Cherry par. 1). People who engage in surrealism are referred to as surrealists and the main activity that they are engaged in is art work, such as painting and writing of literature. The movement of Surrealists which involved writings and visual art was most prevalent in Europe and later on spread to other regions such as New York eventually having an effect on music, literature, visual arts, political thought, social theory and philosophy. Surrealism grew principally out of the earlier Dada movementà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦which produced works of anti-art that deliberately defied reason (Cherry par. 2). In her book, Bradley states that Dada predated Surrealism, and Surrealism survived Dada, but for a while, the two movements co-existed in a continuum of shared energy and excitement (12). The Dada movement shared a lot of similarities with Surrealism. For example, just like Surrealism, it ridiculed the way in which the way the complexities that existed in modern life were made to look secure through categorization and division. Dada artists declared everything to be in a constant and creative state of flux. They were interested more in a mental attitude than an artistic mo vement (Bradley 12). In other words, the followers of the Dada movement dwelled mostly on activity believing that it would eventually give rise to creativity. A closer look at the Dada art and creativity shows that they had the intention of provoking and arousing anger in the audience. However, Surrealism was associated with positive expressions in contrast to Dada movement which was mostly negative towards art. The members of the Surrealism movement were reacting against the destruction that was caused by a rational way of thinking especially in the European politics and culture. The spokesman of the movement, Andre Breton, stated that Surrealism was meant to be used to reunite the unconscious and conscious experiences completely so that the dream and fantasy world would unite. Through this unity, the rational world would be presented in the minds of people in such a way that there would exist not only an absolute reality -but also- surrealism (Bradley 14). Andre Breton first joined the Dada movement and engaged in the experimentation of automatic writing. This kind of literature involved spontaneous writing without the censoring of ones thoughts. As Breton continued writing, he managed to influence other writers to join him and with time they managed to make a team. It then dawned on them that automatic writing seemed to be an effective way of changing the society rather than the Dada way of attacking values, which seemed to be negative. Breton kept on referring to the works of Freud and saw that the source of imagination was the unconscious mind. He defined genius in terms of accessibility to this normally untapped realm, which, he believed, could be attained by poets and painters alike (Lusty 4). In that regard, great works of art and paintings have been produced today due to continuous thought processes and insights of the mind. In addition to that, Breton adds that the aim of Surrealism is to unite the internal reality and the external realityà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦and refusing to allow the preeminence of one over the other (par. 5). In order to achieve this, both realities need to be treated in a manner that is systematic in order for their reciprocal effects to be felt by individuals in an effective way. The coming together of different automatic writers formed a group that had the desire to revolutionize the experiences of humans including its political, social, personal and cultural aspects. They intended to do this by influencing people to be free from what they perceived as restrictive customs, false rationality and structures. Breton also added that the Surrealism is long live social revolution, and it alone! (Breton par.6) A few years later, the group of writers, led by Breton formed the Surrealist Manifesto. In this manifesto, Breton defined Surrealism as Pure psychic automatism, by which it is intended to express, verbally, in writing, or by other means, the real process of thought (par.13). Surrealists have come to believe that cultures from the non-Western regions of the world are a source of continuous inspiration for the activities of surrealists since they strike a balance between imagination and instrumental reason than the culture of the west. In addition, Surrealism has also had an impact on revolutionary and radical politics both indirectly and directly. The direct influence can be explained in the sense that surrealists may join or form allies with political groups, parties or movements. On the other hand, an indirect effect occurs when surrealist put an emphasis on the intimate link between freeing imagination of the mind, and liberation from repressive and archaic social structures (Lusty 3). Surrealists work, as stated earlier, was mostly about automatic writing which later on dwelled on visual arts. In fact, it seemed as if the Surrealism movement was all about a visual movement due to the many visual styles that were created by various artists in the movement. However, the movement came to find out that it can associate their visual images with ones individuality and at the same time use the images to bring out psychological truth. The artists did this by, for example, painting original objects that seemed to have a completely a function that is completely different from their intended use. This was done in order to evoke empathy from people that viewed it. An example of this process of a Surrealists work is the image of watches that sag as if they are melting (Bond 5). Such a work of art intends to reach deeply into the psychology of individuals and is made whole with ones individuality (Bond 5) Psychoanalysis explores the interconnection between the conscious and the unconscious mind. The psychoanalysis view holds that there are inner forces outside of your awareness that are directing your behavior (Cherry par.3) Sometimes individuals might act in ways that they may not be in a position to explain why they act that way and yet their actions may be explained based on unresolved feelings about the past caused by specific experiences or significant people in their lives. Such feelings can be explored or triggered with the help of psychologists and help the individual gain insight into his or her behavior or problems. In the field of psychoanalysis, it is widely known that Sigmund Freud was the person who first discovered psychoanalysis and he then came up with psychoanalytical theory. Most of his theories were considered to be shocking since he dwelt on the sexual desires of human beings and attempted to explain the human behavior based on these desires, which is why his theories raised a lot of controversies and debates. Actually, his work had a major influence on many disciplines such as sociology, anthropology, art, literature and most of all, psychology. Psychoanalysis is used to refer to many aspects of Freuds work and research; including Freudian therapy and the research methodology he used to develop his theories (Cherry par.4) Most of the theories that Freud formulated were mainly based on observations he made on his patients. Cherry agrees with this observation when she states that Freud relied heavily upon his observations and case studies of his patients when he formed his theory of pe rsonality development (par.5) When people are faced with thoughts that are immoral they engage in self reproach or some people may have paranoia towards certain images or certain people due to past experiences that are still engraved in the subconscious mind. The purpose of paranoia is thus to fend off an idea that is incompatible with the ego, by projecting its substance to the external world (Bell 13) Many of the behaviors of human beings can be linked to their past experiences and as Bell puts it, many people face a difficulty in managing intolerable ideas that eventuate in self-reproach (14).Some people manage to delete these ideas through the process of repression but for others, self-reproach becomes self-distrust and so the obsession person continues to check and recheck his own actions (Bell 14). In addition to that, the idea will always remain in the mind of the paranoia but the judgment that concerns the idea is transformed as reproach towards the individual that bears the idea. In this way, the individual will live thinking that people are judging him because of the bad ideas that are in his mind, yet in the real sense, he has become paranoid. When an individual projects such internal objects to the environment that surrounds him or her, then it psychologists refer to it as projection and one is said to be suffering from paranoia. This example is given so that the strong effect of the unconscious mind is demonstrated clearly. According to psychology, many people are unaware that the unconscious mind is very alive and the thoughts that are inscribed in this part of the brain play a significant role in shaping the general behavior of individuals. In order to clearly illustrate psychoanalysis, it is important to be in a position to differentiate the meaning of the conscious mind and the unconscious mind. These two are sections of the brain that store memory at long term or short term depending on the section. A precise definition states that the conscious mind includes everything we are aware of (Cherry par.1) When one can easily talk and think about the mental processing in his or her mind, then it is said that the individual is operating in the conscious mind. Physicians normally test the memory of their patients, especially those that have suffered a brain injury, by asking them if they can remember their names or if they can recall what happened shortly before the accident. If these patients are in a position to recall the incidents, then their memory is still intact since a section of the conscious mind includes the memory. Freud called this memory ordinary memory the preconscious (Bell 12). On the other hand, the unconscious mind is a reservoir of feelings, thoughts, urges, and memories that are outside of our conscious awareness (Bell13) generally, psychologists say that the contents of this part of the mind are unpleasant or unacceptable, for instance, feelings of conflict, pain or anxiety. In addition to that, the unconscious mind will always influence our experience and behavior even though we are unaware of these underlying influences (Bradley 4) Psychoanalysis of the human mind will therefore help individuals understand why they behave in a particular way and they will also find out whether the unconscious mind is influencing their behavior. Breton was always corresponding with Freud in his works and in leading the movement of Surrealism. He especially showed a deep interest and a continuous reference on the theories that were presented by Freud. A closer look at surrealists paintings will reveal that there is an interconnection between Surrealism and psychoanalysis. As discussed previously, it can be noted that Surrealism was an artistic movement which was concerned with the nature of the unconscious and its connection with creation (Bond par.1) As the surrealists aimed to break the way of thinking that was conventional, their works attempted to highlight the the role of the unconscious in creativity in order to break new ground (Bond par.1) In addition to that, since the surrealists had an interest in the expressions and the functioning of the unconscious, and where the position of desire was in psychoanalytical theory, it was obvious that there would be attempts to associate a surrealists work with a theme that spelled out desire. In that regard, desire is treated in psychoanalytical terms. In support of this view, Bond states that The connection between surrealism and psychoanalysis cannot be understated (par.20) since psychoanalysis was seen as the means to the freedom of the mind of human beings. Since the unconscious mind is correlated with conflict, pain or anxiety, the work of surrealists, especially visual arts, attempts to evoke feelings that are associated with these three emotions. In fact, most of the work of surrealists aims to make its audience emotional and instill feelings of empathy. The main themes of Surrealism are psychoanalytic as depicted in the work of a surrealist. Lusty supports this view when she says that a series of psychoanalytic Surrealist themes, including narcissism, fantasy, masquerade, perversionà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (1) From these themes, it can be said that many surrealists work depict perversion especially those that show the nudity of females. In the same light, psychoanalysis, which mainly dwells on the unconscious mind, demonstrates that this part of the brain stores up unpleasant memories some of which, according to Freud, are sexual in nature. Therefore, the way a surrealist work uses the unconscious mind for creativity in order to illustrate perversion by the use of nude paintings, may evoke associated feelings of the unconscious mind. This way, the surrealists succeeded in influencing the human mind by use of creative visual arts. Also the use of fantasy can be explained in the same way. In addition to that, the theater of Surrealists depicts the subconscious experience, moody tone and disjointed structure, sometimes imposing a unifying idea (Lusty 6) These surrealists wish to create a theatrical form that is direct and immediate, by linking the unconscious minds of performers and spectators (Bell 12) which seems to be ritualistic. In some of these theaters, feelings, emotions and metaphysical were expressed physically thus creating a vision that seems to share similarities with the realm of dreams. Thus it can be deduced that psychoanalysis has a deep interconnection with surrealists work since Surrealism depended mostly on imagination and linked it to psychoanalysis in order to produce great and creative pieces of art. Conclusion It can therefore be noted that the relationship between psychoanalysis and surrealism is real and it affects human beings since they both deal with the subconscious mind. The literature review has shown that Breton depended on the work of Sigmund Freud, the father of psychoanalysis, as he led the followers of Surrealism. In addition to that, Breton showed that he fully depended on psychoanalysis as he was doing automatic writing and painting. In that regard, the definition of surrealism is connected with art and the subconscious mind as they work hand in hand with the aim of expressing inner thoughts and influence the way of thinking of other human beings. Therefore, it is sufficient to state that surrealists are the people who are paint and do automatic writing, also referred to as literature. Moreover, the surrealists were known to be influential and they were very aggressive with their work of art since it was a way of expressing anger and ridicule to the peoples way of thinking. In other words, surrealism does not use the voice for expression but passes so many messages by the use of visual arts that seems so unique and creative. This kind of art helps surrealists to express emotions such as desire, love, hatred, despair, dissatisfaction and many more. It was also seen that they use abstract images in their work of art; images that one cannot expect can be used in a particular manner. An example of this was the use of a sliding wall clock on top of a table. Such are the kind of creative art that were used but with the intention of influencing the subconscious, just as psychoanalysis attempts to understand the feelings that are stored up in the subconscious. In addition, it was learnt that Surrealism grew from the Dada movement and the two movements shared some similarities. The only problem that Dada movement had is that it used its literature to attack the individuals of the society. This is what displeased Breton, who was then a member of the Dada movement and he would later turn out to be the spokesman of the Surrealism movement. Thus, the literature review has shown that Breton, together with a team of other automatic writers rebelled form the Dada movement since they were not pleased with the concept of leadership and they formed a Surrealist network that would be positive in its activities and movements instead of negative like Dada. In other words, Breton and his team chose art, a more subtle way of passing messages, as the theme of movement. This movement would later move from Paris to other parts of the world like New York. The relationship between Surrealism and Psychoanalysis was brought out clearly in the paper by showing that they both use the subconscious mind. First and foremost, the conscious mind is that part of the brain where one can easily talk about when asked what they are thinking about. On the other hand, the unconscious mind is the part of the brain that stores up feelings and emotions associated with it and this is the part of the mind that influences behavior. Moreover, psychoanalysts who try to understand why an individual is behaving in a particular manner will always explore the mind of a patient with the aim of uncovering the stored feelings in the unconscious. Psychoanalytical theory that was invented by Sigmund Freud dwells upon the unconscious mind. Sigmund Freud has stated that the feelings that result from the experiences all people go through are sometimes stored in the subconscious mind. Such feelings may, in many occasions, influence the way people interpret other situations that they go through in life without being aware that the subconscious mind is the one leading them to act and think in such a manner. The kinds of feelings that are stored in this part of the mind are normally unpleasant and Freud states that most of the time, the feelings are sexual. Freud further states that some individuals engage in self-reproach whenever they experience such feelings because they believe that they are unacceptable and wrong. This is what results in paranoia where an individual is self-obsessed with fear over issues and experiences due the influence of the feelings in the unconscious mind. The paintings of Surrealists had a connection with the unconscious. This is where the relationship between Surrealism and Psychoanalysis begins. The works of surrealist was painted in such a way that they would influence the way of thinking of human beings, which was thought to be conventional. Thus their work intended to bring out the role the unconscious mind played in creativity and thinking so that this way of expression by art, would break new ground. Moreover, it was seen that Breton kept referring to the psychoanalytical theory of Sigmund Freud in his work so that he would use the theme in the paintings. Thus this also was an indication that there exists a relationship between Surrealism and Psychoanalysis. Furthermore, it was shown that the main themes of the Surrealists work are psychoanalytic. The kinds of themes that seemed prevalent and shared a close relationship with psychoanalysis are narcissism, perversion, fantasy and masquerade. It is especially true to note that perversion seemed to be the central theme of their work especially when they did the paintings of women, this kind of paintings has raised a lot of controversy in the world today as the Surrealists were accused of being feminists. Moreover, the use of perversion may evoke associated feelings with the unconscious mind that people see as unpleasant, such as paintings of nudity. In addition, theaters that displayed surrealists work intend to make a connection with the mind of the audience and this is also a concept of psychoanalysis. This is how the surrealists used visual art to influence the human mind. In fact, it was not only the theme of perversion that was used to influence their way of thinking, but also themes t hat would ridicule politicians and other leaders in society to change their way of leadership and lead the society and its members in the right path.

Friday, October 25, 2019

My Favorite Kind of Vague :: Personal Narrative Jealousy Envy Essays

My Favorite Kind of Vague When dreams mix with realities it’s 2 o’clock on a Sunday morning, and no one is awake but you, scribbling on a notebook pad behind the bathroom door, trying to grasp how something so mild, how heartwarming, could be converted by its counterpart. I read this book last summer, it was required reading, everyone told me it was horrible. The book takes place in the south at this boy’s boarding school called Devon during the summer session, in it Gene, this guy with a terrible sense of self and an even worse self-esteem, engages in a codependent relationship with the magnificent athlete Phineas. Everyone loves Finny, he’s charming, he’s naive, he’s everything Gene isn’t. So anyway, Gene is jealous of Phineas, although they’re best friends, so he develops this concept of Finny being jealous of him, justifying the hatred he develops for him. It becomes apparent that Phineas isn’t at all jealous; Gene’s, consumed with envy, and pushes Finny out of the tree they used to jump out of together, essentially killing his best friend. It’s strange how literary life parallels life so perfectly sometimes. But it really is a good book, I recommend it. But who am â€Å"I†? Well, allow me to introduce myself. I’m Beth. Some may accuse me of being antisocial, but I’m not. I mean, sure, I get calls all the time, but they’re for homework help and advice on weak poetry. It’s not that I mind it; it’s just that I don’t exactly enjoy it. When I was in seventh grade, I cracked a book open at my father’s library, you should probably know he’s a librarian. It was called â€Å"Popularity in 100 steps.† I remember a few guidelines from it â€Å"Be nice to others,† that means listening to them, and giving good advice another was â€Å"Try not to be pessimistic,† another â€Å"Use your fashion sense† and then the big 100 was â€Å"Be yourself.† Well, I’d been being myself for 16 godforsaken years, and it was time for a change. I met her in a hallway, at the time squirming at her singing, her faà §ade of giddiness. She could have authored the awe-inspiring â€Å"Popularity in 100 steps,† her life was based around its rules. She was happy then, happier than she’s ever been since, we hadn’t exchanged words, yet, I was just a nametag, and she was just the ringmaster of a group of 30 boys.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Economic Contribution of Migrant Workers in Bangladesh

Introduction Bangladesh is located in South Asia. It is the seventh most populous country in the world and is mostly densely inhabited. The poverty level, however, has fallen by more than 20%, helped by its prominent agricultural sector. The Bangladeshi economy is helped by its big garment sector, which contributes more than two-thirds of the country’s trade. The major challenge to prosperous growth is the vulnerability of the land to cyclones and floods. However, even with such challenges, Bangladesh has experienced a growth rate of 5% since 1990.This growth has been helped by remittances from expatriates as well. Since 1975, there has been a two-fold increase in the per-capita GDP. During the 2008 global economic recession, Bangladesh managed to stay flexible. According to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), there was an increment of $62 in the per capita GDP in FY2009 from US$559 at the end of FY2008. Fiscal 2009 registered per capita income of US$621. About 25% of t he country’s GDP in 2009 came from remittances of expatriates, totaling $9. billion and garment exports worth $12. 3 billion. The increasing foreign direct investment highlights the growth rate of the Bangladesh economy and remittances from overseas Bangladeshis, totaling $11 billion in FY10, accounted for almost 12% of GDP. Scenario of migrant workers in Bangladesh is given below throw a chart. [pic] Economic Contribution of Migrant workers in Bangladesh Remittance is the life line of Bangladesh economy. Some 4. 5m nonresident Bangladeshis are working abroad, and sending home hard earned foreign currencies.It is believed that the actual number of Bangladeshi migrants, both legal and illegal, would be close to 7. 5 million. In the first 10 months of FY 2006-07, number of manpower export stood at 0. 42m, showing 83. 14% rise, compared to 0. 25m in FY2004-05. In FY2005-06, the number stood at 0. 29m, current year to year growth is around 16%. In addition to achieving higher exp ort earnings, the country witnessed a 44 percent growth in remittance earnings during the first quarter of 2008-09 fiscal year compared to the same period of the previous fiscal year.The other records of remittance earnings in a single month are $820. 71 million in July and $808. 72 million in March of year 2008. A total of 9,81,102 Bangladeshi people went abroad in 2007-08 fiscal year which is about 74 percent above the previous fiscal year figure. According to the statistics, on monthly average basis more than 81,000 Bangladeshis went abroad in 2007-08 fiscal year. The figure was 46,000 in the previous fiscal year. Non-resident Bangladeshis (NRBs) sent $2. 45 billion to Bangladesh between July and September of 2008, according to the Bangladesh Bank statistics. Meanwhile, private bank officials said the global economic slowdown, mainly in the US and European countries, is yet to impact the remittance inflow. They, however, apprehend that if the crisis continues it may have a negati ve impact on the inflow. The remittance market of Bangladesh has been showing a steady growth in terms of incoming remittance volume.Considering the current macro-economic indicators, it seems that this growth run will continue in the coming years. Central Bank predicts that our annual incoming foreign remittance will touch $10 billion in the next 3 years. The reasons for such robust growth can be summarized as: †¢ Stable macro-economic indicators including GDP growth, †¢ Steady growth in manpower export specially in the middle east †¢ Substantial devaluation of the local currency †¢ Rapid urbanization Development of new remittance corridors in Australia and part of Europe and Africa †¢ Increased focus of Central Bank and the Government to channel funds through formal channels †¢ Increased competition among financial institution to grab market share †¢ Aggressive marketing policy adopted by Banks to increase their share of wallet †¢ Expansion of branch network of various commercial banks †¢ MFIs involvement in channeling remittance funds in remote areas †¢ Participation in the UN peace keeping missions Anti-Money Laundering rules and regulations came in force However, the market is still far from perfection in terms of service quality, cost structure, and transaction risk aspects. Among all, the biggest impediment is the speed of transactions and cost of transaction. In cases, it takes more than a week to send a foreign remittance to beneficiary. Average cost is 20 SAR for a remittance from Saudi Arabia to Bangladesh. Banks drives the legal channel for remittance mobilization.Top 3 remittance receiver banks in market are given in Table 1. 1. Table 1. 1 Monthly Inward Remittances | |Sl. |BANK |August, 2008   (in USD Million) | | | |1 |Sonali Bank |104. 700 | | | |2 |Agrani Bank |66. 091 | | | |3 |Janata Bank |64. 50 | | Whilst data on Non Resident Bangladesh (NRB) remittances coming into Bangladesh are readi ly available, projections for local remittances are difficult to determine. The figures in USD given in the Table 1. 2 are approximate. Table 1. 2: Local and Foreign Remittance Comparison in USD | |07-08 (No. ) in USD |2008-9 (No. ) in USD |2009-10 (No. ) in USD | |NRB Remittances |7 million |8. million |10 million | |Local Remittances |14 million |17 million |20 million | Most of the remittances sent to our country are for various livelihood purposes, such as disbursement of Small loans, living expenses, business start up costs, medical treatment and funds for asset purchases. This highlights the importance of fast disbursement of money that e-Remittance System promises to deliver. The system will help attract new un-banked customers who have previously depended upon informal channels.At present, only a fraction of remitters send their money through banking channels. The e-Remittance system will also provide the right platform for handling the substantial market for within country remittances. Source Countries of Remittance From Saudi Arabia, over a million workers sent $1,312 million during July-March period of 2007. In the same period The United Kingdom came out as the second biggest source of remittance with Bangladeshi Diaspora sending home $657 million to their relatives at home, closely followed by $656 million from the United States of America.Non-resident Bangladeshis remitted $559 million from the United Arab Emirates and $494 million from Kuwait in July-March period of 2007. Economic Benefits Remittance has economic benefit both at macro and micro level. In 2004, the formal remittances contributed 6% of GDP. If informal channels were included this contribution reaches 9-10% of GDP. In 2004-2005 fiscal year remittance was 44. 47% of export receipt. The proportion of foreign aid was only 38. 74% of remittances in 2004-2005 fiscal year and foreign direct investment was only 13. 58% of remittances in 2003-2004.The remittance has significant macroeconomi c impact at household level. The majority of Bangladeshi migrants abroad is unskilled, and originates from rural areas and poor community. The poorer the household, the more impact or benefits remittance income can have alleviating poverty. Remittances allow the poor people to increase expenditures on both durables and non-durable products, and provide them with protection against negative income shocks. Statistics between growth of migrant workers and growth of remittances are mention bellow. [pic] Migrant workers drive economyBangladesh's economic development largely depends on remittance sent by migrant workers, which is one of the sources of earning foreign currencies. A third of the 18 lakh people who enter the job market a year go abroad for work, adding that remittance inflow will increase significantly if the figure can be increased to 10 lakh in five years. We hope the remittance inflow would cross $14 billion mark this year. The incumbent government sent about 2 million Ba ngladeshis from January 2009 to October 2012 and the country received around $44. 22 billion in remittances during the period.Expatriates' contribution to the national GDP (gross domestic product) is 11 percent. Over 30,000 female workers go abroad a year to work, and the government has been working to transform them into skilled hands to create more jobs. The government has also taken some steps, including rehabilitations of the returned migrant workers and scholarships for their children, to ensure better facilities for the expatriates and their families. Around 25 percent of the total employment comes from overseas employment, which should be increased to 50 percent in five years. Conclusion According to the World Bank, Bangladesh has achieved a growth rate of 5. % in FY2009. The country has registered significant expansion in its middle class. The consumer industry has grown considerably. The increasing foreign direct investment highlights the growth rate of the Bangladesh econo my. At present situation when political imbalance of our country, violation of law in every sector, corruption, price hiking, lack of electricity, gas etc creates thousands of problem in economy of Bangladesh, and in this situation contribution of migrant workers strengthen the growth rate of Bangladesh economy. That’s why Bangladesh's economic development largely depends on remittance sent by migrant workers.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

South Africa During and After Apartheid

South Africa is a land blessed with natural resources including fertile lands, metals and mineral resources such as platinum, gold and diamonds. The climate is mild which is ideal for land activities.The richness and potential of this country attracted Dutch and English in the seventeenth century. South Africa has one of the unique histories in the world. It is evident how colonial racism emanated from Europe. The whites invested power and politics which is still manifested today.In the seventeenth century, South Africa was colonized by English and Dutch. Boers and Afrikaners were the English domination of the Dutch descendants. The discovery of diamond and other mineral resources in 1900 motivated the English invasion as a result of Boer War. Racial discrimination in Africa started with the enactment of Apartheid laws in 1948.Apartheid was invented when an uneasy power- sharing between the Boers and Afrikaners held sway until 1940’s. Since Afrikaner National Party was able to gain strong majority, they established Apartheid as a means to reinforce their control over the social and economic system. Initially, the objective of the apartheid was to maintain white domination and leadership while extending racial separation (Chokshi, Carter, Gupta, Martin and Robert, 1995).The term Apartheid is from the African word for â€Å"apartness† was actually coined in the 1930’s and later used as a political slogan of the National party. The social and political custom of Apartheid was materialized under law after the primarily Afrikaner Nationalists came to power in 1948 (â€Å"Apartheid†).When Apartheid was institutionalized, racial discrimination started. Apartheid, as racism made law, consisted of numerous laws that denied basic human rights and political rights for black people. They were obviously exploited and their lives were segregated with the white people.People of mixed race like Asians and Coloureds were also exploited and terrorize.    It was a system dictated in the minutest detail as to how and where the large black majority would work, live and dies (â€Å"Human Rights, Historical images of Apartheid in South Africa†).The ultimate goal of Apartheid was to establish â€Å"racial separation legally† and to maintain the guarantee of white authority. The restrictions formulated by the Apartheid laws and effects placed the black people in the difficulties regarding land issues, living areas, jobs, personal relationship, political rights, constitutional and human rights.The Group Acts of 1950 divided the lands in which blacks and whites resided into distinct residential zones. The best urban, agricultural and industrial areas were expectedly given to whites while blacks were given only some distinct areas in South Africa. Blacks were not allowed to live and occupy areas that were named as â€Å"white zones†.Even marriage and relationships were so extensive and encompassing for blacks. It is illegal and against the law to marry a person of different race. Couples and families were strictly required by law to obtain state permission before they could live together and authorities had given any right to refuse such permission.Every black South African has their own passbook issued by the government that will determine where they could live and work which they have to carry every now and then.   In terms of Education, the Bantu Education Act of 1953 was instituted to provide black pupils with different way of learning than white students. Black students were given different orientation, expectations and future goalsWorks Cited:Chokshi, Monal., Carter, Cale., Gupta, Deepak., Martin, Tove and Robert Allen. 1995 â€Å"The history of Apartheid in South Africa†. Stanford Universityhttp://www-cs-students.stanford.edu/~cale/cs201/apartheid.ethics.html  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Africa-Apartheid†Africana, The Encyclopedia of the African and African American   Experience.http://www .africanaencyclopedia.com/selections.htmlâ€Å"Human Rigths, Historical images of Apartheid in South Africa†. United Nations 2008 http://www.un.org/  Spindle, Tim., Shafer, Rachel., Joliff, Kevin.,Henderson., Sarah.,Bradford, Stephanie   and David Weigman.†Laws and Effects of Apartheid†http://home.snu.edu/~dwilliam/f97projects/apartheid/Document5.htmlâ€Å"Apartheid, South Africa†.Wander the Planethttp://www.wandertheplanet.net/SouthAfrica/apartheid.htm

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Modern Version for Romeo and Juliet Essays

Modern Version for Romeo and Juliet Essays Modern Version for Romeo and Juliet Essay Modern Version for Romeo and Juliet Essay Love at the fire escape â€Å"My only love sprung from my only hate! Too early seen unknown, and known too late! Prodigious birth of love it is to me, that I must love a loathed enemy†- Juliet -Characters Rodney, as Romeo Julia, as Juliet Rodney’s dad, Mr. Voligod, as Mr. Montague Julia’s dad, Mr. Ultis, as Mr. Capulet Setting- Chicago, on a chilly spring night, Julia’s apartments’ fire escape. Prologue- Rodney’s dad, Mr. Voligod, and Julia’s dad, Mr. Ultis, are business rivals and they don’t want Rodney and Julia to talk or see one another. Rodney is walking with his friends towards the celebration party for winning the national football championship, when he starts thinking) Rodney- (In his mind) I wish my beloved girlfriend would be here, oh Julia where are you? I miss you . . . . (Julia is sitting in her apartments fire escape thinking of Rodney.Her dad comes in. ) Mr. Ultis- Juliet, daughter of mine, I have to go on a conference far away and won’t be home until tomorrow night. Julia- Okay dad. (Julia stays outside thinking. ) Julia- Rodney, I wish you could be here with me, my parents not home so they wont know . . . . I should call you! Grabs phone and calls Rodney, Rodney’s phone rings, he answers) Rodney- Hello Julia Julia- Hey Rodney, I miss you, and I wish you could come over so we could see each other for a while. Rodney- I’m on my way to the celebration party for the football game with my friends, but you’re more important than them so I’ll sneak out and go my love. My dad can’t find out though. Julia- Oh babe, you would do that for me? Rodney- I will do that and way more. Julia- Aw, Okay, I’ll wait for you. Rodney- I’ll be there in 10. Julia- Okay, Rodney- Okay, (They hang up) (Rodney runs to Julia’s apartment complex)Julia- I wish our parents weren’t so stubborn and let me and Rodney just be together . (Yells) Rodney- Oh Julia can I climb up and come in. Will it be safe? If your father catches me he will call the police and we will never be together. Julia- My father is in a job conference, he will not be home until tomorrow. Rodney- Well then, I’m a lucky guy. (Rodney smiles and climbs up the ladders really fast to go see his lovely Julia. He gets there and hugs Julia really tight. ) Julia- Please don’t let me go, I want you to stay with me forever and ever. With you I’m so happy and you make me feel like I’m the best!Rodney- My love, I wish I could stay with you forever but our families would not like for us to be together and I don’t want to lose what we have because of them. Julia- I know babe . . . . . . . (Rodney’s dad calls him and asks where he is. He doesn’t tell him and hang up. Then they hear someone walk in) Julia- someone just walked in lets go see who it is. (They go Check) Julia- who is there? (the person is walking towards them) Mr. Ultis- Hey there Julia, I’m back! (Mr. Ultis arrives at where Julia and Rodney are and he is shocked seeing him there. He sits in the table and tells them to sit so they talk) Mr.Ultis- Rodney, you know you’re not supposed to be here , and Julia you know better that we don’t like this people near our family. Now Rodney if you may please GET OUT MY HOUSE! Rodney- Excuse me sir, but me and your daughter have a great affection for each other and maybe we getting together will break the feud between our families. Julia- Yes dad, I love him so much!! Rodney- If only you give me and opportunity maybe we could solve something out! Mr. Ultis- The feud between our families will not break up and be good! Now leave or I’ll make you leave!!!!!! Rodney- Sorry sir, but I won’t leave until you accept Julia and I to be together.Mr. Ultis- I’ll accept your love if and only if your dad does as well. (Rodney’s dad accepts their love a nd now they are the couple that resolved their love with the feud. Two years passed and as they sit down thinking of how they got together Julia said) Julia- My only love sprung from my only hate! Too early seen unknown, and known too late! Prodigious birth of love it is to me, that I must love a loathed enemy. Rodney- I love you Julia. (They live happily forever after. ) Epilogue Mr. Ultis and Mr. Voligod join business together to show their acceptance of their children’s love.

Monday, October 21, 2019

CNG- The only alternative essays

CNG- The only alternative essays Over the past hundred plus years the world has relied on oil as the mainstay fuel for vehicles, and this dependence has backed us into a corner. Many people have introduced solutions to this dependence, but unfortunately, none have been put into real world use. These solutions included Electricity, Hydrogen, Alcohol, and many others. All have been analyzed and scrutinized greatly since their introduction and many have great benefits over oil but none have been put into use on a large scale. This is the result mainly of large oil companies and auto manufacturers, which have heavy weight in politics, who are very complacent to make a large switch. This complacency has caused the world to continually use and process oil nonstop depleting nearly all reserves worldwide. Now the projected life span of oil has been changed to less than fifty years left before all oil has been consumed. People are finally realizing this fact and want to make a change but they do not know where to star t. CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) is another alternative to gas that has not been addressed nearly as much as other solutions. CNG has many benefits and nearly no negatives that give it perfect reason to be the next fuel for our world to rely on. The first alternative that received rave reviews but then lost steam quickly off was that of Electric Vehicles that ran solely on electricity. These cars sounded great for many reasons. The fuel was much cheaper and completely clean. The cars were also touted as the only vehicles that could, Plug into the Sun (John Felt, Ford Motor Company). People bought into this idea and felt they had finally found the solution to their energy needs, but unfortunately many cons showed up quickly. Electric engines did not produce much horsepower resulting in their use in only compact cars and nothing larger. This reason alone made many change their minds because electric vehicles could never be used as "...

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Help Editing

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Saturday, October 19, 2019

Religion Experience Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Religion Experience - Research Paper Example The aim of the festive is tom prepare Christians through prayers, repentance and may be fasting before the actual celebrations of the suffering, death, burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. This work is about Lent and all it entails to the Christian community. Christians believe that Jesus was crucified and died on Good Friday, He was buried but on the third day, Easter Sunday, he resurrected. The festive is commemorated in different ways by different Christians. Majority engage in self-denial like fasting and abolishing the luxurious life as away of humbleness before the actual Easter. This usually lasts for about forty days (Catholic University of America, 2003). Other Christians walk around their religious institutions carrying the cross to feel or rather appreciate the pain and suffering the Christ went through for the sake of mankind. Some remove costly decorations from the synagogue and replace them with pinkish religious status to represent the general pain Christ underwent. Some also restrict themselves and families from meat; this is because meat is considered a luxurious meal. Some churches also mobilizes their members to attend some sessions is about seven churches located in Jerusalem, specifically in Mount Calvary. This is to acknowledge the life of Jesus Christ when H e was on earth. Some Christians commemorate the festive as the forty days Jesus spent in the wilderness fasting and praying. Fasting is a very important aspect in a Christian life, it is meant to weaken the flesh and strengthen the Spirit and this can be indicated when Jesus refused to turn the stones into bread as the Satan commanded, this was because he was weak in the flesh but great in the Sprit. The modern Christians set side this festive season to separate themselves from their busy career schedule and live as Christ commanded. The main themes observed during the festive are fasting and abstinence from certain worldly meals and luxuries. The forty days are marked wi th mix up reactions depending on what a particular religion group believes in. Some abstained from animal products like meat, milk or even blood but instead depended on fish, chicken or eggs. Some survives entirely on bread that is prepared without yeast. This is because this kind of bread is treated as pure, yeast symbolizes impunity or sin. Most Christians serves only during the mid night during the festive. Religious researches indicate the distractions attributed by nutritious food like eggs, meat, milk, butter and other dairy products. These foods are rich in protein which in turn boosts the reproductive systems in human. Too much consumption of such food activates sex drive in the body system and this is distractive to prayers and fasting among other Christian values and believes. However, this is greatly opposed by religious groups who depend solely on such dairy products like milk and butter. Rouen Cathedral is known for its butter production and it would make no sense if th eir butter would go to waste in the name of celebrating lent. There are several considerations put in place to determine the duration of the festive by different religious groups. It is recorded in prophetic books written by Moses that Jesus would was in the tomb for three days, approximately forty days. Different groups of Christians have different interpretation with respect to this duration. The Romans initially fasted for three weeks but later lengthened this period for about 6 weeks. This difference in the way of celebrating the season is a subject of free will in the interpretations of the Bible. In other words, different groups of Christians interpret the Biblical contents differently and there is no offence in this. Some Christians baptized their followers or believers during the

Friday, October 18, 2019

Please discuss the following question with philosophy ethics and Essay - 2

Please discuss the following question with philosophy ethics and knowledge - Essay Example The concept of maximum utility notion of utilitarianism involves lack of suffering, economic well-being and pleasure. In justice and fairness, for instance, utilitarianism accounts that the rights of an individual are less important than the good of many people. Therefore, the utilitarian theory is considerate on people’s demands. The state of the world, on the other hand, is what places greater demands on different people. Individual needs are what corrupt utilitarianism. The ill-will nature of individuals is what leads to suffering. If individual’s needs are highly prioritized, then happiness would be achieved, and utilitarianism would demand very little from the people. Peter Singer’s reply is quite convincing when it comes to the roles of utilitarianism in people’s lives. This is because utilitarianism does not distinguish what people do from what they allow to happen. An individual’s innate feelings, self-ago and view of others are what necessitates or results into suffering. If utilitarianism is too demanding as critiques put it, then everyone is morally obligated to suffering which is not the case with utilitarian

Holidays Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Holidays - Essay Example ay a vital role date in observing holidays such as â€Å"Yom Kippur†, which is the Jewish Day of Atonement, Ramadan, which is the holy month that Muslims fast and pray, and Easter, which is the period where the Christians celebrate the commemoration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ (Gordon et.al 23). Although these holidays are both religious, they have different purposes and are celebrated on different times. For instance, when we look at the Ramadan and Easter holidays, they fall on different time. The second thing is that Ramadan holiday is marked after forty days of prayers and fasting by the Muslims. On the other hand, Easter holiday is marked by performing the commemoration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Not all holidays are associated with religion, some holidays are meant for thanksgiving, others are national holidays that are intended for countries to celebrate their foundation, independence, Veterans Day and other relevant appreciation. All people generally celebrate these holidays, but the effects they have on these people are different. When people tour new places or countries, they tend to bring their holiday celebration with them. They share their holidays with the people that they met and at the same time adopt other customs. The Irish, the Americans and the Italians also observe Holydays such as the Columbus Day. The New Year celebration is usually marked every first of January, but this is not the case the Jewish as their celebration is Rosh Hashanah that falls in September. It is the same situation in China, Korea and Vietnam that have their New Year holidays in February (Gordon et.al 34). Though many people travel everywhere during holidays, they get to learn new cultures from the people they meet, hence there is behavioral

Outsourcing - Joint venture, Nearshore, back source and switch vendor Essay

Outsourcing - Joint venture, Nearshore, back source and switch vendor - Essay Example In fact, Whitten and Leidner point out that outsourcing can determine the â€Å"product quality, service quality, relationship quality and the switching costs† of a company’s products (2006). As such, outsourcing is generally an important strategy that can determine the success of an organization. Essentially, due to the development or organizational skills and technological developments, the competition among organizations has increased significantly. To avoid losses, many companies have opted to enter in to contracts and partnerships through the act of outsourcing. Generally, to enter these contracts, there are various costs that each organization has to cater for. These costs generally arise due to the payments made in respect to offshore government policies, agreements and negotiations as well as legal aspect matters among others. Notably important, in many instances, the costs of the partnership contract will be lower in huge and established corporations such as GlobShop, and higher in smaller organizations. Generally speaking, established organizations such as GlobShop are usually offered better investment programs and incentives as compared to the less established ones. Equally important, the monitoring and evaluation of performance in any organization helps in the acknowledgement of ambiguities that may lead to failure of the outsourcing. To ensure that an outsourcing venture is successful, organizations should consistently conduct meetings to discuss and review the set goals and targets. These meetings will also ensure that the organizations keep a consistent work towards attaining specific objectives thus enabling employees and managers to consistently keep track of their performance. Furthermore, joint venture outsourcing enables the organizations under partnership to increase returns and reduce costs significantly. However, lack of

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Focus Plastics Plc - Producer of Moulded Plastic Essay

Focus Plastics Plc - Producer of Moulded Plastic - Essay Example The household items under the brand name ‘focus’ remain almost stagnate i.e. in 1993 it was worth 6056,000 pounds and in 2005 it remains at 6533,000 pounds. But the new product range under brand name ‘concept’ comprising storage years, mixing bowls, strainers, salad bowls, towel holders and other kitchen items, sales have grown from 3411000 pounds in 1997 to 16210,000pound in 2005. In 2005, the company started a new product range with brand name ‘concept office’ comprising filing trays, storage boxes and a range of desk items. This latest and new range of products proved very successful in the very first year of its launch and contributed 1320,000 pounds in sales. The company has divested itself completely from its industrials customers. The company has inculcated a reputation for household products for its quality in the minds of the consumers’. It has used latest technologies and trained manpower but being in an industry, where entry ba rriers are low, it faces on the inherent threat from smaller manufacturers on the pricing front. The company has planed its manufacturing facilities with a process-based layout and having all sorts of injection - molding machines of various ages from latest Robotic devices to operate manually. At the planning level, scheduling all the machines and maintaining inventory levels as well as utilization of equipment, output rates &scrap rates has to be monitored by the planning manager. In this particular area, the company is facing the problem company is also inclined to develop new and innovative products regularly because of the market requirements. Needs and preferences of customers are changing fast and the company has to cope up the changing need of its customers. So the company is always trying to develop newer products but in the process faces some problems in developing products continuously and timely.Now company is facing a new dilemma that whether it may continue with its pro duct range under brand name ‘Focus’ or to emphasize on the other product ranges namely under brand name ‘concept’ & ‘concept office’ in this situation company has to evaluate its production and operations capacities and to find out the right kind of strategies for production, warehousing and distribution.

Impressionism and Its Effect of the Development of Art Essay

Impressionism and Its Effect of the Development of Art - Essay Example The essay "Impressionism and Its Effect of the Development of Art" discovers impressionism and it's effect of art development. The Impressionist form of art was peculiar in the sense that unlike other traditional paintings at the time of its origin, Impressionist paintings included relatively small, thin but nevertheless visible brush strokes. Impressionist paintings focused more on depicting light accurately in its altering qualities. Contrary to the fine finish detail to which most traditional artists always wanted to achieve in their works, the Impressionist’s were focused on capturing the immediate effect of a scene in their painting. It was often the case that still lifes and portraits were always painted indoors by artists before the emergence of Impressionism movement. The Impressionists realized they capture the momentary and transient effects of sunlight simply by painting en plein air. As a result, their paintings were a realistic reflection of modern life characteri zed by rich visual effects as opposed to details. In order to achieve the visual effects, the Impressionists often used short â€Å"broken† brush strokes composed of mixed and pure unmixed color. This provided the effect of intense color vibration in their paintings. Prior to the formation of the Impressionism art movement, art painting was being practiced. The earlier painters the 17th-century painters including the Dutch often focused their attention on common subjects but somehow their composition remained largely traditional.

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Focus Plastics Plc - Producer of Moulded Plastic Essay

Focus Plastics Plc - Producer of Moulded Plastic - Essay Example The household items under the brand name ‘focus’ remain almost stagnate i.e. in 1993 it was worth 6056,000 pounds and in 2005 it remains at 6533,000 pounds. But the new product range under brand name ‘concept’ comprising storage years, mixing bowls, strainers, salad bowls, towel holders and other kitchen items, sales have grown from 3411000 pounds in 1997 to 16210,000pound in 2005. In 2005, the company started a new product range with brand name ‘concept office’ comprising filing trays, storage boxes and a range of desk items. This latest and new range of products proved very successful in the very first year of its launch and contributed 1320,000 pounds in sales. The company has divested itself completely from its industrials customers. The company has inculcated a reputation for household products for its quality in the minds of the consumers’. It has used latest technologies and trained manpower but being in an industry, where entry ba rriers are low, it faces on the inherent threat from smaller manufacturers on the pricing front. The company has planed its manufacturing facilities with a process-based layout and having all sorts of injection - molding machines of various ages from latest Robotic devices to operate manually. At the planning level, scheduling all the machines and maintaining inventory levels as well as utilization of equipment, output rates &scrap rates has to be monitored by the planning manager. In this particular area, the company is facing the problem company is also inclined to develop new and innovative products regularly because of the market requirements. Needs and preferences of customers are changing fast and the company has to cope up the changing need of its customers. So the company is always trying to develop newer products but in the process faces some problems in developing products continuously and timely.Now company is facing a new dilemma that whether it may continue with its pro duct range under brand name ‘Focus’ or to emphasize on the other product ranges namely under brand name ‘concept’ & ‘concept office’ in this situation company has to evaluate its production and operations capacities and to find out the right kind of strategies for production, warehousing and distribution.

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

DQ1 e-activity and DQ2 Competitive Advantage Essay

DQ1 e-activity and DQ2 Competitive Advantage - Essay Example of buyers had an effect on an industry’s competitive pricing and consumer’s demand for better services, which affects the strategy of a firm (Porters, 2008b, 14). In this case, firms in the industry where customers have bargaining power experienced instances whereby consumers pressed for price reductions. Finally, the rivalry influenced the profitability of firms in an industry depending on the intensity of the rivalry and the basis of a firm’s rivalry (Porters, 2008b, 18). The online auction industry experiences robust growth due to the ongoing global internet and technological innovations although Yahoo, Amazon, and eBay are the most dominant firms in the industry (Bajari & Hortaà §su, 2004, p. 459). Nevertheless, the availability of online auction software in the industry, coupled with the low costs of establishing start-ups and cheap hosting services available, pose a threat of new entrants into the industry. In effect, the fact that the cost of start-ups in the industry is cheap makes the bargaining power of suppliers low in the online auction industry. On the other hand, buyers in the industry hold high stakes in a company’s profitability and success due to the bidding platform that the industry provided (Pinker, Seidmann, & Vakrat, 2003, p. 1457). In this case, buyers will control a firm’s strategy in the online auction industry since they have an option of buying the same commodities online from other dealers at a price of their choice. On the other hand, rivalry amongst firms in the industry results from the bidding platform offered, which brings intense rivalry (Stafford & Stern, 2002, p. 135). Finally, other resellers and auctioneers that are not internet based pose the substitutes’ threat in the online auction industry. Stafford, M. R., & Stern, B. (2002). Consumer Bidding Behavior on Internet Auction Sites. International Journal of Electronic Commerce, 7(1), 135-150. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/27751048 Small businesses

Monday, October 14, 2019

Case Study Food Restaurant Management Marketing Essay

Case Study Food Restaurant Management Marketing Essay Jack Sprat is the owner of seafood restaurant in a coastal town. He is 63 year old and doctor has advised him to take rest so he had appointed a Manager to look after the business operations and he use to come to see the business once in a week. But once he handed over the business to the manager his business is not doing well and there is continuous decline in the business. So in order to find remedy owner has approached to the investigator to analyse the case and suggest as what should be done to bring back the business of the restaurant. The investigator has analyzed the business with the tools of business (case) analysis-SWOT and further financial data has also been taken into consideration to find out the declining trend and come to a conclusion as why business is going down. In order to evaluate the business operation and put the findings in the report the investigator has done extensive research-secondary research and analysed the case with his valuable suggestions. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The investigator would like to convey his gratitude to those entire people who helped him to enhance his understanding of the case and analyzed the situation so that a valid conclusion of the case can be drawn. The investigator has completed this case successfully and has presented his findings with suggestion in this report. So author would like to thank the Module tutor for kind support and guidance. INTRODUCTION Jack Sprat is 63 year old owner of 60 seat licensed seafood restaurant that is situated in a coastal town. Before starting this business Jack was simply a Manager at a local Bluebeckers Restaurant. But an inheritance left this restaurant to him. Since the opening of this restaurant business it has given very good return. The belief of Jack towards success of this business is the Maintenance of high standards in food production and presentation. Other fact is Menu and beverage list has been fairly constant since beginning of this restaurant. Jack did not change menu and beverage list because business was giving modest return since beginning. But jack is not regular to the restaurant so he has appointed a Manager to manage the business operation and he used to come to the restaurant to see the business operation once in a week. This is because at this age (63) he has been suffering from health problem and his doctor has advised him to take rest. But business of this restaurant has gone down as soon as it was handed over to the manager. Absenteeism of the staff has increased. Keeping in mind the remedy of the situation author has established aim and objectives of this report, here are the aim and objectives written in detail: Aim of this report is to find remedy of the existing problem or discrepancies of the restaurant and give valuable suggestions to overcome from these problems so that business can be put on its old pattern-profitable. Objectives are: Finding most important problems Identification of further information that would be helpful in making realistic plans for the future of the business To list the priorities Drawing an action Plan The structure of this report is as follows: First of all main body has been presented wherein SWOT other detailed analysis has been done. Then conclusion has been drawn and bibliography (list of references) has been given followed by appendix section where additional information has been provided. MAIN SECTION Before providing solution of anything one has to find the problems first. So to find problems related to Jack Spart business the investigator has conducted SWOT analysis and financial analysis. Before going for the SWOT analysis of the business concerned it is important to understand SWOT first. SWOT ANALYSIS is the detailed search and listing of factors from situational analysis that might or will impact the businesss strategy. Strategic marketing is based on the SWOT analysis. The process by which SWOT factors are derived is to carefully review the internal analysis for strengths and weaknesses, and the environmental analysis for opportunities and threats, and to then record. (Reich, Z.A, 1997) According to Morrison, J (2002) The SWOT analysis is a commonly used planning tool, which assesses the firms strategic profile in terms of its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Focusing on both internal and external environments, it serves to highlight a firms distinctive competences, which will enable it to gain competitive advantage. Based on the above information from the scholars it is true that business environment can be divided into two part-internal and external environments. Internal environment consists of all factors that are internal part of the business. These internal factors are within the control of the business. Strength and Weaknesses of the business can be found in the internal environment of the business. External factors are those factors which are not within the control of the business and to be into existence business houses have to change in internal policy and adjust itself to cope with the external environment factors. Opportunities and Threats are the factors that are part of external environment of a business. For SWOT analysis please refer to appendix1..SWOT ANALYSIS.docx FINANCIAL ANALYSIS REVENUE (SALES) POINT OF VIEW: Food sales has increased in 2007-8 by 4.3% compared to 2006-7, and it has gone down in the financial year 2008-9 by 3.95% compared to 2007-8 sales of food. Liquor Sales has increased in 2007-8 by 5.97% compared to 2006-7 and further it increase by 15.59% in the year 2008-9 compared to 2007-8. Overall Total Sales has been increasing in the financial year by 4.67% in the financial year 2007-8 compared to 2006-7, and further increased by 6.57% in the financial year 2008-9 compared to 2007-8. DIRECT COST POINT OF VIEW: In the financial year 2006-7 food cost was 42.05% of its sales and in 2007-8 it became little favorable by going down to 41.16% of its sales figure and in the year 2008-9 in again gone up to 43.63% Direct cost of Liquor is 59.72% of its sales in the financial year 2006-7, and 57.70% in 2007-8 and further 57.91% in 2008-9. So its favorable as it is in declining trend. Total direct cost is 54.01%, 55.11% and 52.88% in the financial year 2006-7, 7-8, and 2008-9 respectively which also seems favorable because in 2007-8 it gone little up but again it gone down by good margin-around 2 to 3% GROSS PROFIT POINT OF VIEW: Gross profit of food is 57.95%, 58.84% and 56.37% in the financial year 2006-7, 7-8, 8-9. This shows increase in 2007-8 and further decline in 2008-9. Gross profit of Liquor is 40.28%, 42.30% and 42.09% in the financial year 2006-7, 2007-8, and 2008-9 respectively. Overall it is in favorable trend. Gross profit in the financial year 2006-7 is 54.01%, 55.11% in 2007-8 and 52.88% in 2008-9 which seems declining trend. In the year 2007-8 it gone up but in 208-9 it came down. This is because there was declining of sales of food in the financial year 2008-9 by 3.95%, otherwise sale of liquor in this financial year was good and direct costs were also behaving favorably. INDIRECT EXPENSES POINT OF VIEW: There are three component of indirect expenses-labour, overheads and operating expenses and maintenance expenses. Amount spent in labour is in increasing order i.e., 29.76%, 31.51% and 33.21% in the year 6-7, 7-8, and 2008-9 respectively. This shows restaurant is spending more % every year in its staffing. Overheads and operating expenses seems within control as its 8.78%, 7.21% and 8.36% in the year 2006-7, 2007-8, and 2008-9 respectively. Maintenance expenses is 1.61% of sales in the financial year 2006-7, 1.40% in the financial year 2007-8 and 0.91% of sales of financial year 2008-9. This shows that organization is spending very less on maintenance expenses. Overall total indirect expenses is 40.15% of its sales in the financial year 2006-7, 40.12% in 2007-08 and gone up in the financial year 2008-9 to 42.48% NET PROFIT POINT OF VIEW: Net profit is 13.86%, 14.99% and 10.40% in the financial years 2006-7, 7-8, and 8-9 respectively. This shows that Net profit has going down, and in the financial year it has gone down with huge gap compared to previous years percentage. Overall its a matter of discussion and management should pay attention to the indirect costs as percentage of indirect cost is very high. As gross profit is in 50% so almost 40% of sales are being spent for indirect expenses. Although management is not spending much in maintenance component of indirect expenses but other components i.e., overhead and operating expense, and payroll expenses are very high that is the reason Net profit of the restaurant is not attractive. For further information please refer to financial ratios table in appendix2..FINANCIAL ANALYSIS.docx Aim and objective No.1: Finding important problems: Operational System A sales forecast is a prediction based on past sales performance and an analysis of expected market conditions. The true value in making a forecast is that it forces us to look at the future objectively. The hotel can takes note of the past and stay aware of the present and precisely analyzes that information to see into the future. It will also help the hotel to establish policies so that one can easily monitor prices and operating costs to guarantee profits, and make one aware of minor problems before they become major problems. Employee Morale Employee morale describes the overall outlook, attitude, satisfaction, and confidence that employees feel at work. When employees are positive about their work environment and believe that they can meet their most important needs at work, employee morale is positive or high which can lead to better service and customer retention. Since there is an increase in absenteeism in restaurant employee morale can be increased by treating employees with respect, recognition and empowering them. Menu choice is stale and boring Redesign menu to increase the average spend of the hotel customers, correctly categorize the items on the menu, improve the food presentation, increase food and beverage cost and thereby increase sales at the same time. Maintenance and Hygiene problem The organization is spending very less on maintenance expenses. In any food establishments, food handlers are either the first line of defense or the cause for the need for defense. This is because most types of foods can be contaminated and it is the responsibility of the food handler to ensure the safety of the consumers by eliminating or minimizing the contamination to safer levels for consumption.   The restaurant needs to have rules and procedures in place to ensure that Personal Hygiene is effectively managed. Aim and objective No.2: Identification of further information that would be helpful in making realistic plans for the future of the business: Information needed towards market segmentation-target market: Information to the case is very important to analyze any businesss health or problem. It is equally important like medical tests are important for human body for remedy of any kind of complain of a patient. There are other tests or scanning is needed for business analysis. Market segmentation is one of them. Market segmentation: market consists of buyers who differ in one or more ways. They may differ in their wants, resources, locations, buying attitudes and buying practices. Because buyers have unique needs and wants, each buyer is potentially a separate market. Ideally, then a seller might design a separate marketing program for each buyer. For example a caterer can customize the menu, entertainment, and the setting to meet the needs of specific clients. However, most companies are unable to offer complete segmentation. The cost of complete segmentation is high and most customers cannot afford completely customized products. Companies therefore, look for broad class of buyers who differ in their product needs or buying responses. The restaurant industry offers many examples of segmentation by a variety of variables. (kotler,p 2004) The reason why knowledge of market segmentation is needed because until unless it is not known that which segment is being targeted by the organization concerned (in this case Restaurant of Jack Sprat), it would be very difficult to compare the strength of that segment for the business. In this case it is not given in the case so its important to analyse this business from its segment point of view. Information Needed for competitors analysis: To get success of the business its needed to deal with customers, suppliers, employees, and others. In almost all cases there will also be other organizations offering similar products to similar customers. These other organizations are competitors. Objective of the other organizations is the same as yours to grow, make money and succeed. Effectively, the businesses are at war fighting to gain the same resource and territory; the customer. And like in war, it is necessary to understand the enemy: How he thinks; What his strengths are; What his weaknesses are; Where he can be attacked; Where the risk of attack is too greatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.. And so on. And like in war, the competitor will have secrets that can be the difference between profit and loss, expansion or bankruptcy for the business. Identifying these secrets is thus crucial for business survival. (http://dspace.dial.pipex.com) accessed on 2/01/2011 Other information needed is about its competitors. Information of competitors is very important to know the business of competitors and further business concerned can be compared with the competitors. So competitor analysis is very important. Aim and objective No.3: To list the priorities: First of all instant action should be taken to solve Hygiene problem. Proper forecasting of guests so that underproduction and overproduction both can be kept under control Extra manpower has to be reduced so that there will be less burden on payroll cost Choice of menu has to be increased Manager should be empowered or can be changed (as information is not given properly and in detail so it is impossible to say to change) Somehow owner has to be in touch even over the phone to monitor the business operation and if possible frequency to visit may be increased. Local bank should be approached for short term loan for the refurbishment activities. Aim and objective No.4: Drawing an Action Plan: Action plan is a process that includes assessments of own strengths, available resources and market opportunities. There must be idea about marketing objective of the organization concerned then a plan can be prepared and further implemented to achieve the determined objective. In other words these informations are basic and needed at very first step towards making action plan: Market and trading environment of the business concerned Decision about market business is targeting to Knowledge about differentiation or advantage of uniqueness of own product and services Deciding marketing mix Estimation of Fund etc. ACTION PLAN: PRODUCT: Option in Menu list will be given PRICING : May charge little higher than what has been charging PROMOTION: There is need to promote the product and create awareness to remove the negative image of the organization. So it can be done through normal aids of advertisement-Newspapers or T.V Channels. Through T.V Channels it may be a little costly affair in that point of view daily is better. Other Actions to be taken: It could have opened even on Sunday to attract customers who want to utilize their holidays. So it will be open all 7 days. Funds should be managed instantly- It can be done by approaching Commercial Banks for short term loans. Refurbishment will have to be done as soon as loan is approved. Employees have to be re-motivated so that absenteeism of staff can be kept under control. CONCLUSION The investigator has analysed the case of Jack Sprats restaurant and found that major problem is its hygiene and maintenance and indirect expenses. These two factors have to be kept under control and converted into favorable mode only then this organization can earn profit like previous time. There are other areas also that needs attention i.e., arrangement of fund, manpower management, empowering manager etc. BIBLIOGRAPHY Britton, C and Worthington. I (2003) The Business Environment, 4th Edition, UK:Prentice hall. Hooley.G(2004) Marketing Strategy and Competitive Positioning, 3rd Edition: UK: Prentice Hall Kotler, P. (2004) Marketing for Hospitality and Tourism, 3rd Edition, Delhi:Person Luck.D and Rubin, S.R (1996) Marketing Research,7th Edition, USA:Prentice hall Morrison, J (2002) The International Business Environment, 1st Edition, New York; Pal Grave. Reich, Z.A (1997) Marketing Management for the Hospitality Industry,1st Edition,: Wiley and Sons Canada. Wearne.N (2001) Hospitality Management, 1st Edition, New Delhi: Global www.netmba.com/strategy/pest/ Accessed on 2/01/2011 http://dspace.dial.pipex.com) Accessed on 2/01/2011 APPENDIX 1 SWOT : Strength, Weakness, Opportunities and Threat Analysis of Seafood Restaurant Business of Jack Sprat STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES It is an established organization Maintaining high standard in food and presentation Customers feel that restaurant is conveniently placed and charges reasonable price Owner is not able to give full time attention to the business Maintenance and Hygiene problem Menu choice is stale and boring OPPORTUNITIES THREATS Restaurant is old so having established market Market Image is good- reasonable price and consistent standard Dilution of market share due to inability to refurbish Environment Health officer may not be informal in future and there will be time when formal notice will be issued.

Sunday, October 13, 2019

The Allegory of the Cave Essay -- Papers the republic socrates plato

The Allegory of the Cave Plato’s Allegory of the Cave is the most comprehensive and far-reaching analogy in his book, The Republic. This blanket analogy covers many of the other images Plato uses as tools through out The Republic to show why justice is good. The Allegory of the Cave, however, is not the easiest image that Plato uses. First, one must understand this analogy and all of it’s hidden intricacies, then one will be able to apply it to the other images Plato uses such as the Divided Line, or Plato’s Forms. As Plato begins his story, he describes a dark cave. Contained inside of this cave are many people who are tied up into seats, unable to move. For their entire life, these people have been tied up without even being able to rotate their heads. They have chains that bind their hands to their seats. They have never seen anything apart from the wall directly in front of them. Their entire lives have been spent watching the wall and communicating with each other about the things they see on the wall. Behind these chained people is a large fire. This fire burns bright and allows shadows to be cast onto the wall. Below this fire is a small trench where the others of the cave lie. Here they hold up puppets and objects, casting shadows onto the wall. They essentially create the reality that the chained down live in, however, those chained down do not know this. They know only of the shadows on the wall and these shadows interactions with each other. If they see the shadow of a book, they will say to one another, in their own language, â€Å"look at the book on the wall.† They will not know that it is only a shadow, an image of the real object that is held up behind them to cast the appearance of a book onto the wall. The... ... the mind. The man, as he is walking back in the cave, understands now that what he has seen is the truth. He has seen the forms of the objects he only saw shadows to before. When he is back in the cave he tries to explain to the others that there are forms of the shadows they see on the wall. These forms are what truly is, but they reject him. The journey of this man is likened to that of all philosophers educated in the forms, Plato says. The Allegory of the Cave has many applications to both Plato’s writing and life in general. It describes the education of a philosopher, as well as how others look on the philosopher after he has gained the knowledge of the Forms. It also describes what it is like to see the forms. After understanding the forms, what once were objects, real things, become merely shadows. One sees everything as it truly exists, as it’s form.

Saturday, October 12, 2019

Nazism :: World War II History

Nazism The National Socialist German Workers' Party almost died one morning in 1919. It numbered only a few dozen grumblers' it had no organization and no political ideas. But many among the middle class admired the Nazis' muscular opposition to the Social Democrats. And the Nazis themes of patriotism and militarism drew highly emotional responses from people who could not forget Germany's prewar imperial grandeur. In the national elections of September 1930, the Nazis garnered nearly 6.5 million votes and became second only to the Social Democrats as the most popular party in Germany. In Northeim, where in 1928 Nazi candidates had received 123 votes, they now polled 1,742, a respectable 28 percent of the total. The nationwide success drew even faster... in just three years, party membership would rise from about 100,000 to almost a million, and the number of local branches would increase tenfold. The new members included working-class people, farmers, and middle-class professionals. They were both better educated and younger then the Old Fighters, who had been the backbone of the party during its first decade. The Nazis now presented themselves as the party of the young, the strong, and the pure, in opposition to an establishment populated by the elderly, the weak, and the dissolute. Hitler was born in a small town in Austria in 1889. As a young boy, he showed little ambition. After dropping out of high school, he moved to Vienna to study art, but he was denied the chance to join Vienna academy of fine arts. When WWI broke out, Hitler joined Kaiser Wilhelmer's army as a Corporal. He was not a person of great importance. He was a creature of a Germany created by WWI, and his behavior was shaped by that war and its consequences. He had emerged from Austria with many prejudices, including a powerful prejudice against Jews. Again, he was a product of his times... for many Austrians and Germans were prejudiced against the Jews. In Hitler's case the prejudice had become maniacal it was a dominant force in his private and political personalities. Anti-Semitism was not a policy for Adolf Hitler-it was religion. And in the Germany of the 1920s, stunned by defeat, and the ravages of the Versailles treaty, it was not hard for a leader to convince millions that one element of the nation's society was responsible for most of the evils heaped upon it.

Friday, October 11, 2019

“In Rwanda the nightmares have come to life Essay

They describe the events as â€Å"nightmares†; this is to relate to the reader, and to their own nightmares, this is very effective because its saying to the reader that theses things you will only see in such places as nightmares, but for these people this is reality and their life. Nightmares also have connotations of fear, and horror. They don’t even describe the killers as people, because the things they do are so inhumane. Instead they describe them as a metaphor of† monsters†, which also have the same connotations as nightmares. By mentioning the weapons in such vivid description lets the audience visualise the murders and creates imagery, which will leave the reader feeling uneasy. Repetition is also a technique that is used continually. The words most repeated are â€Å"massacres†, â€Å"silence†, â€Å"listen† and â€Å"you†. These are to constantly get the reader involved, as if they feel involved they, may also feel slightly responsible which may lead them to donate. The article contains statistics for how long the massacres have been going on for. â€Å"There were massacres in Rwanda in 1990, 1991, 1992, and 1993. In Burundi in 1965, 1969, 1972, 1986 and 1991. † By showing the reader all the dates exaggerates how long it’s really been going on for. It leaves the reader feeling amazed and makes them think about what they can do to help. The article uses many imperatives. â€Å"Hush. Don’t even breathe. Don’t let this page rustle† This is used to again grab the attention of the reader and to slow down the rhythm of the shocking events being foretold. The layout, pictures used, headings and visual effects are used to draw the reader in and to attract them to the leaflet. Once the leaflet has grabbed their attention, they must persuade them to donate, this is through language techniques. They use a lot of persuasive writing, statistics, emotional blackmail, rhetorical questions, repetition, and describe the events in such extensive detail. On the whole, the leaflet leaves the reader feeling guilty and makes them want to help. This could lead them into donating, or even just making them find out more about the actual charity. It informs the reader of what’s going on, for how long its been going on, and who is responsible. Overall, the leaflet achieves its main purpose by using persuasive techniques.

Thursday, October 10, 2019

Utilizing Online Social Networking Sites Paper

Utilizing Online Social Networking Sites Paper Class: BSHS/352 Technology is constantly expanding and making it easier and more convenient to communicate and network with individuals and various organizations that we may not otherwise of had the opportunity to connect with. One area of technology that is growing at a fast rate and offering individuals and businesses, rather it be their professional life or personal the opportunity to make lasting connections is social networking sites. Social networking has become an excellent tool for businesses and individuals to connect and share information that can prove vital to their business.Sites like Facebook and LinkedIn are becoming popular and are an effective way to grow your business whether it is through networking with similar organizations and getting beneficial information from them or expanding your cliental by reaching out to those who may need or want your services. LinkedIn has become a vital tool used by the working profession al, assisting them with making connections or linking up with other working professional to share what work and what doesn’t work as well as connecting them with local or online support groups or networking groups.Members of LinkedIn are able to create a profile that gives a detail list of their educational background as well as their work experience. Users are able to browse the social networking site to view the profiles of other individuals, organizations, or companies within their field and follow the organization of choice and their postings. My ultimate dream is to create a nonprofit organization that is geared toward targeting at risk youth and their families.The whole concept is to help the whole family and not just focus your attention on the youth that may be having emotional or behavioral issues but offer mental and emotional support for the entire family, implementing various programs and workshops that will assist the entire family in growing, working, and playin g together. Networking sites like LinkedIn can prove to be vital as I take the steps necessary to make this dream a reality. As I was browsing through the site I came across a few groups in my local area that met up monthly for lunch to discuss the ideas and challenges of those looking to start a nonprofit.I also took the time to search for companies or organizations that were geared toward working with and advocating for children. I was really quite excited to be able to look at their profile, view their web pages and doing so helped me to get some ideas and get my juices flowing. I have considered making connections with the various organizations I have seen on LinkedIn in hope that they could link me to information, people, and training opportunities that could possibly put me one step closer to my dream.I am also interested in going to the next luncheon for nonprofit communicators in Raleigh just to get feedback regarding my idea and you never know someone at one of these lunche ons could either help me get closer to making my dream a reality or can link me to an individual or organization who can. I have found sites such as LinkedIn can prove to be extremely beneficial in making lasting connections within the business community and it gives those with businesses the opportunity to link up with other businesses to get feedback, advice, and possibly connect you with someone who can help you take your organization or company to the next level.This site also enables professionals to come together with the common ground of helping and motivating each other. Within the human service field this site can connect you to so many resources that can only assist in providing your clients with the ultimate experience. Having a site where human service workers from all fields and from all areas can come together online and share their experience, advice, and resources can prove to be helpful to the community as a whole.LinkedIn not only connect likeminded people but it o ffers an opportunity to share information regarding training and workshops that could assist organizations in staying up to date with the latest software and/or regulations. Such training and workshops can keep your organization competitive and allows you to offer your clients the best possible service. The best way to keep any business or organization growing is to continue to gain knowledge in your particular field.Always be willing and open to learning and growing, this is what the training and workshops are there for to assist businesses and organizations in improving their techniques and staying relevant and competitive. Sites such as LinkedIn can offer you the ability to gain knowledge and training from some very successful people. Human service workers who use online social networking sites such as LinkedIn can find being affiliated with professional groups and connections to offer more than just sharing experiences, advice, training, and connections to resources.Another bene fit to being a part of an online community such as LinkedIn is the ability to request referrals from the connections you met online. Users can also request sponsorships or recommendations from other users. Human service workers who are affiliated with sites such as LinkedIn may also be able to connect with local churches that could assist connecting the human service worker to the communities that need their assistance the most. Employers often look at profiles on these online social networking sites to assist them in finding employees as well.Although social networking sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn are excellent tools to stay connected to various resources there are other technical tools that can be used to expand and maintain your connections. Smartphones have proven to be a vital tool to use as well with various applications directed at making the life of professionals easier. The goal of a human service worker is to effectively and efficiently assist the client in improvin g their lives and often times this requires connecting them to other resources.Social networking sites such as LinkedIn can assist human service workers in making numerous connections all at the touch of a mouse to various resources and training opportunities. Having online support that provide advice, training, and encouragement, of the human service worker can assist them in helping their clients meet their goals. Reference: 2012. LinkedIn. com. Retrieved from http//www. linkedin. com/home? trk_tab_home_top

Wednesday, October 9, 2019

Progressive Case Study

Progressive Case Study Progressive Auto Insurance company is among many other competing firms in the industry. Some of the others include State Farm, Allstate, and GEICO. They are currently the third biggest private auto insurance industry. From the time they came into existence they have strived for being the most innovative company in the market and shared the values of â€Å"fair, fast, best. † Beginning in 1957 Progressive mainly dealt with standard drivers but soon after they developed a strategy that benefitted them greatly.For the next 25 years they started to focus on the nonstandard driver, who are the drivers that insurers would not cover. Particularly they segmented motorcyclists who had recently received a DUI. They priced the premiums high which resulted in high profitability. They found out that the motorcyclists were actually a lot lower risk than other companies originally perceived. Starting in 1990, they started a practice of immediate response which reduced trauma for the person involved and also helped them in getting an accurate quote for the damages.They also introduced the gold card which reduced the time it took for people to respond to Progressive. In 1995, Progressive became the first insurance company to expand its business to the world wide web essay writer website. The biggest innovative move they made was in 2000 when they introduced the concierge service which included full service repair and customer service at their own shops. Starting in 2006 Progressive was enjoying high profitability due to unanticipated accident frequencies.Thus many companies cut their prices to keep up with the competition. The problem with this is severe underwriting losses. They tried the tactic of reducing prices below their competitors in hope to gain market share but this was the opposite result for them. The CEO Glenn Renwick recommended slowly returning to the underwriting profits of 4% rather than the drastic price drops which could hurt the m if the accident frequencies increased.JD power and Associates gave Progressive a sub par score for overall customer satisfaction of 14. They also fared low on brand awareness ranking in at 57% unaided brand awareness. Their competitors were at GEICO(79%), Allstate(69%), and State Farm(74%). Although they increased their advertising from 8 million in 1997 to 263 million in 2006, they were lagging behind the leading competitors in the field. Although Progressive have been striving as an innovative insurance company they have been lacking behind a few leading companies.It appears that they may need to narrow in on their strengths and cut out some of their programs to make sure they are ensuring high customer satisfaction. After learning that there are many risks out there, people want to know that they will be in good hands after a major disaster or incident. People will always rely on insurance companies because there numerous risks out there that people face everyday. With these co mpanies people feel at ease about the everyday risks that they constantly endure.