Religion and Politics Essay

In the world today, there are several pillars of trivial issues that hold it together in spite of the several challenges. Issues like humanitarianism, peacekeeping, politics, religion, international negotiations or even conflict resolution have been on the frontline of such important tenets. However, the ever growing influence of politics and religion since time immemorial has made it one of the most outspoken subjects of all time with much spotlight being continuously placed on these two â€Å"twin† issues. Epley (40-48) articulates that the advancements in both religion and politics have astoundingly shot sky high over the recent times. This has led to an increased interest of scholars and researchers in issues to deal with religion and politics. As of today, a wide range of researches have been conducted to this effect and several volumes of academic material written so as to clearly define the relationship between the two aforementioned precepts. In a different study, Lerman supports Epley’s sentiments by saying that most of these researches tend to focus on the relationship between religion and politics with much emphasis being made on how the two can concurrently run together. He however goes ahead and opines that in as much as such studies have been quite informative, very little has been done by these researchers to fundamentally outline the elementary issue of whether the two should be interrelated and viewed together in the first place—as most scholars have done in the previous studies. It is therefore from this concern by Lerman that this study is going to not only focus on vigilantly highlighting whether both religion and politics should interchangeably influence each other-as they have been doing- but also on projecting on how such a study could be conducted if funds are made available. Theme for the study As partly glimpsed by the above writings, the theme for this proposed study is going to be Religio n and Politics. From the several research materials used in this study, most scholars amass that religion has had a great influence on politics just in the same way that politics also affects religion. To begin with, Cox (2) says that â€Å"Religion has influenced politics in America from the very beginning, religion continues to influence politics, and religion will continue in one way or another to influence politics for as long as we can anticipate.† Delcore adds that both religion and politics have greatly impacted one another. This has however come with the main challenge of pluralism since America is a pluralist state that allows freedom of worship, freedom of association and freedom to choose what to believe in (Murrin). In addition, there has been constant struggle between forceful religions like Christianity and Islam on who is the most domineering. As per the United States’ constitution, democracy fundamentally functions to protect both the minority and majority. However, it is common knowledge that the majority normally gets more decisions going their way based on numbers. And based on the alleged 55% Christian population in America, other religions have been silently complaining that most decisions seemingly favor them (Lormel). This problem is however not just faced in America; many other countries attest to challenges regarding religion and politics. The constant struggles between the Sunni and Shiite in Iraq or the religion versus politics conflict in Sudan are just but a few examples of such. Several other examples exist in many other areas around the world. It is therefore with great urgency that this subject is addressed; and that is the main purpose of our theme. In spite of the many achievements by law (whether religious or civil), a balance needs to be established so as to ensure that this dual partnership gives ultimate output (Murrin). Similarly, there have been numerous concerns raised on the use of religion to exert control over others. This is exhibited by the allegation of the wide involvement of the church in various campaigns both in the U.S and other countries (Simon). Based on the many positive issues associated with the religion-political relationship, Zeleny documents that Senator Barrack Obama, in his bid to woe voters, expanded George Bush’s program of investing federal money in religious institutions. This money was targeted at the low income earners and to help in alleviating the high levels of poverty by performing community aid work. This move greatly paid off as later indicated by the huge support Barrack O bama received from the religious background thus propelling him into power as President. On the other hand, it is important to note that it has not been a smooth ride for the relationship between politics and religion. According to Mella, most of the religious people who claim to be ardent followers of particular religions do not even have confidence in their religions. From the most elementary level of perception, this lack of confidence in one’s religion primarily discredits the church’s role in politics as being false. Again, there has been an escalating accusation of governmental institutions using their collaboration with various religions as a cover-up for their hidden agendas. For example, Zeleny documents that Obama’s involvement with the Christian community was considered as a fraudulent way of obtaining votes since his background clearly state that he is a Muslim. 2. Analytical question: Should religion influence politics or should the two facets be viewed independently Several questions can be raised from the theme. However, our focus is going to be on answering the question â€Å"Should religion influence politics or should these two facets be viewed independently?† in answering this, it is important to get a background knowledge on the relationship between religion and politics; then from there on we can focus on getting the appropriate answers. Preliminarily, Religion is an abstract concept and thus cannot be viewed as an entity on its own (Lerman). In order to ardently define religion, it is vital that we circumspectly view the context of definition, which people we are making reference to, among many other considerations. According to Connelly, the most representative definition of religion is: A mysterious manifestation of power and presence that is experienced as both primordial and transformative, inspiring awe and rapt attenti on. This is usually an event that represents a break or discontinuity from the ordinary, forcing a re-establishment or recalibration of perspective on the part of the experience. Connelly further adds that religion can be something done in an ordinary way but astoundingly leads to a large following of believers. In most cases, some mystique kind of perception is felt by the members who are then propelled into belief. On the other hand, Politics according to BrainyQuote.com is: The science of government; that part of ethics which has to do with the regulation and government of a nation or state, the preservation of its safety, peace, and prosperity, the defense of its existence and rights against foreign control or conquest, the augmentation its strength and resources, and the protection of its citizens in their rights, with the preservation and improvement of their morals. In relations to the question, different views are advanced by different scholars in trying to give a way forward. First, there are those of the opinion that religion and politics should both relate and help one another like they have been doing in the other past. Second, there are those who totally oppose this relationship and advocate for separation of the state politics and religion. Third and lastly, there is a group of scholars who are somehow in the middle and advocate for a balance between the two facets. We are therefore going to view all these arguments one by one. Starting with the group that propionate influence of religion to politics and vice versa; Lerman says that religious people have the right to offer their genuine opinion on politics. In U.S for example, freedom of speech and religion is protected and legalized under the constitution. This, however, should be done in a cautious way to avoid conflicting with other groups. With respect to this, a religious group like Buddhism, should behave in a way tantamount to their group, but still not be in conflict with either the constitution or openly condemn other religions. In addition, neither of the religious groups should use the authority and freedom bestowed to them to impose their rule on others. The scenario of imposing one’s authority is allegedly common with Islam states as well as Christian states. An example is the domineering influence of Catholic influence in the Roman Empire which has been alleged to overstep its boundaries just in the same way Islam is said to impose-through jihad- its religious fundamentals to people in the Middle East (Cox 6-8). Cox (3) further advances that there should be an increased influence of religion on politics since politics-by itself- cannot adequately stamp moral authority which is very essential for a country’s g rowth. This, he exhibits with the various cases like that of Martin Luther junior who-in spite of not directly routing for a particular political figure- greatly cultivated morality in politics through his numerous inspirational speeches (4-5). In making his contribution to this debate, Lormel asserts that the democracy in United States stipulates freedom of religion and this should not be deterred by any political authority-or individual for that matter- since it is a constitutional right. However, it is not clearly stipulated on whether religion should or should not affect politics; and in his interpretation, Lormel sees this as a go-ahead for the influence of religion on politics (3). Additionally, religion’s influence on politics is a moral obligation of keeping the politicians in check. It also serves a voice for the voiceless in the society who-more often than not- are always at the mercy of superior political classes and thus get frequently downtrodden on. Cox (7) strongly supports this idea by saying that: There is a larger moral purpose to public policy which goes far beyond brokerage and has to do with seeking a justice which is measured by how this society deals with those who are most vulnerable, its weakest members, and how they are dealt with. This is why it is not only the right but the responsibility of religious leaders, and of lay people in religious communities for whom this tradition is the basis of their lives, to remind those in power of this vision and to do so in such a way that the pretentiousness which is often present in kings and emperors and in public policy makers is punctured. The important role played by religion in various elections-like in the aforementioned case of President Barrack Obama’s catapult to office- is seen as very fundamental by many scholars and thus greatly encouraged by them Montanaro. To such political scientist, religion plays a fundamental role in vesting of power and should therefor e this role should not be stemmed out by alienating politics from religion. Lormel (4) says that religion provides platform for building a morally upright political environment just in the same way politics present a forum for instituting laws governing a country. This dual partnership is very healthy and essential for a country and therefore, doing away with this bond through separation of powers can be very detrimental not just to a country as an entity but even to the globe as a whole. In highlighting the views of those opposed to the relationship between politics and religion, Lormel (1-3) articulates that in spite of being religious, the founding fathers of America-who were responsible for creation of constitution- saw the need for separation of religion and politics no wander they ensured that the constitution allowed for pluralism. This, they did, despite the fact that most of them were religious. Again, to the proponents of separation of politics from religion, this independence ensures that both of these key aspects of the state run autonomously and thus ensuring maximum output from them (Shattuck 16-30). Epley (44-55) explicates that the separation also creates an ample environment for growth by the separate units since they themselves know how to handle their problems. In other words, religious organizations best know how to solve their problems just in the same way that political organizations know how to ardently solve their challenges or problems. Moreover, Simon reiterates that â€Å"There are many countries whose governments see religious resurgence posing a serious challenge to the future shape of their societies.† As a point of caution therefore, separation of religion and politics would consequently inhibit the threat for this alleged challenge. Shattuck says that the issue of separation of the church from politics is not a new thing. Based on his circumspective studies that involved various subjects, Shattuck documents that issues like the state funding religious organizations has been greatly objected as it is viewed as inhibiting liberty and encouraging favoritism. Simon goes ahead and exemplifies this alleged favoritism by saying that in spite of George Bush’s funding of religious groups was said to be fair, most of it was-indeed- fraudulent since there is surmountable evidences that the policy greatly favored some particular people who were allied to the president—George bush. Lastly, there is the group of scholars who tend to believe that striking a professional balance between religion and politics is the ultimate solution. Proponents of this idea propose two ways of making this happen. First, they opine that there should be a balance in the intrinsic relationship between the various religious movements. For example, there should be a balance in the way Hindus treat Christians and similarly, M uslims should also treat atheists with the same kind of respect they would treat their Muslim brothers. By ensuring a balance between the various religious affiliations, the perilous competition between them will be toned down and thus making them able to speak in one voice when addressing the political arena. History abounds with several examples where people of different religious backgrounds have come together and thus resulting in a unified resounding voice from them which has many times led to positive change in politics. Generally speaking, the church (whether Pentecostal or catholic) have always come out strongly in United States to oppose the implementation of laws like gay marriages which is an abomination in most religions. Lauritzen exemplifies this mutual relationship between different religions by citing the Evangelicals and Catholics merger-commonly abbreviated as ECT-in the fight against the institution of the volatile law on abortion. In spite of the political class shortchanging the religious organizations in the fight against legalization of abortion, it can be duly noted that-for once-, a clear and unified stand was taken by the pious world. Secondly, the balance between religion and politics is proposed to take shape inform of a mutual relationship between the two facets. So while religion will be charged with the responsibility of offering moral guidance in the political word, politics will on the other hand function to ensure freedom of religious organizations while encouraging unity between them. This should be done in a fair way rather than discriminating against a particular religious group or imposing a religion just because of the relative dominance it enjoys in a region. This type of imposition-as cited earlier-is very characteristic of Christian and Islamic states. In effect, the very essence of democracy and freedom of worship or choice gets corroded away by such actions. If the abovementioned guidelines are observed, there will be positive output from both ends without necessarily getting into each others’ way but rather complimenting the growth of one another (Shattuck 12-14). In summary, most scholars and researchers that I studied tend to support the continuity in the relationship between politics and religion. A good percentage of this proponents advocate for balance, while the rest believe that there has been a relatively good relationship between the two facets in the past and this should just continue in the same way. Of course there is the group that opposes the mutual relationship between politics and religion through the separation of roles between the two. In as much as this proposition has not landed on deaf years or has not been greatly opposed by their counterparts; the alleged positive results associated with continuity of the mutual effect of religion and politics tends to outweigh the positives associated with separation of po wers thus making the latter option less popular. 3. Importance of the research This research not only offers immense insights into politics and religion, it pans further into highlighting several other essential issues which-in effect makes it very important. A number of the significances of this research have been in-part mentioned or addressed above. Some other significance includes: Fundamentally, this study mentions and offers insights key issues like abortion, gay (same sex) marriages, terrorism, religiously branded killings e.g. Jihad among other essential subjects which are in great contention in the current world and have been threatening to tear the victims-like America-apart (Shattuck17-18). This is far much better than just burying our heads in the sand-like the proverbial Ostrich-hoping that the problems will fade away instead of wisely dealing with them head-on! In fact, it is by highlighting such challenges that it becomes easy to find a way of getting forward. According to the Manila Bulletin, issues to do with religion and politics were swept below the carpet by most people and thus making it difficult for a way forward to be found. But based on the ever increasing urgency and prolificacy of these two facets with regards to other current fundamental issues; it is the duty of everybody to contribute towards fostering a better world—be it by separation of the two or their continuity. With that in mind, this study addresses this issue of politics and religion in an in-depth way thus laying a platform for others to follow suit. In addition, Simon documents that â€Å"The end of the cold war left the world without an overarching narrative of good and evil and created a free market in ideas in which any group that is sufficiently assertive and has access to media can communicate its prescriptions for the common good.† As a result, some religious and political organizations have been enjoying unchecked freedom. This research therefore highlights methods in which this regulation can be done—with a balance between the two facets being the most proposed solution. This study therefore does not stop at showing where the problem is but goes further into proposing a solution thus making the research inherently vital. Finally, this research is richly endowed with authoritative facts, examples and even opinions which lay a foundation for future studies to be conducted by other people.   Education is a continuous process and based on this proposed study, someone else might just decide to pick up on a par ticular area and continue with researching thus fostering an academic empowerment. 4. How does the research connect to the literature? A wide variety of literature was used in this research. Different styles are employed in each piece of literature that is used. Some tend to take a laid-back position by talking on a general way about the concerned theme. Others however go ahead and opine of what should or should be done based on evidences which they present. Yet still, some literatures are purely factual and the writers base their arguments on attested concepts. In order to exemplify the ultimate connection between the study and the literature, it is inherent to note that most of the materials used here either emanated from political scientists or religious circles. As a result, most of the writers tend to support what they subjectively view as ideal to them and only a handful of them circumspectly address the theme of politics and religion. Additionally, it is worth mentioning that modernism has paved way for paradigm shifts; with more complex paradigms replacing the simple ones that were previously held. This shift has also had an effect on the literature with most of the current writings being more informative, incorporative and taking a certain pattern. Gabler tries to aptly represent this alleged change by noting that: Perhaps the single most profound change in our political culture over the last 30 years has been the transformation of conservatism from a political movement, with all the limitations, hedges and forbearances of politics, into a kind of fundamentalist religious movement, with the absolute certainty of religious belief. In exemplifying those who take a laid-back position, Shattuck (9) says that people should not worry about the mutual relationship between religion and politics since everything done by both of the facets have to be passed through the constitutional sieve which rarely goes wrong. Mella (2008) also softly contributes to the issue of religious influence in politics and social issues by saying that â€Å"There is a wide range of views on this, but our take is that the application of precepts such as sacred Scripture or the Catechism of the Catholic Church to our politics and society is healthy to the degree it isn’t manipulated or distorted in service to a political end.† To the second category of those offering their opinion, Senator Danforth is quoted by Shattuck (8) saying â€Å"I don’t think people who have deep religious faith are expected to check their faith at the door when they leave their church or mosque or synagogue. Religion is something that infuses all of our lives, hopefully our personal lives, our family lives, our business lives, and our political lives.† The third group that represents the factual scholars is the most the trusted source of information. This is because facts are normally from authoritative sources thus giving more credibility and accuracy to the information. An example of factual material analyzed and used in this research is the verity that a good balance between religion and politics leads to an overall goodwill in the society (Orens 20-23). Shattuck (56) also taps into the use of facts by authoritatively stating that Martin Luther King greatly changed America in spite of never endorsing any politician from the various pulpits he was in. 5. How I would conduct the research Coffey denotes that religion and politics is a fundamental pair not just in America but also in other parts of the world. It is therefore not just enough to highlight the problems associated with politics and religion but also look at the prospects of making the dream of making both percepts fully actualized. If I had funds, time and opportunity to meet the sources relevant to my study, this is how I would conduct the research: My studies would mainly be focused on circumspectly highlighting the theme in question from a worldwide perspective. I would therefore select at least 5 countries from each continent and do an in-depth analysis of the various religious and political systems in place. In addition, I would ensure that amongst the five countries, there is a good representation of developed and developing countries. This is very important in knowing what roles religion and politics have played in such countries. Yet still, I would make sure that the countries selected are polytheists or have several religious groups so as to ardently get accurate, informative and representative results. In Africa for example, I would select South Africa, Kenya, Egypt, Nigeria and Zimbabwe. With the exception of Zimbabwe, all these countries are still developing with South Africa being the most developed. The choice of a country like Nigeria is based on the many religious factions that are present in the country and the constant debates that have been allegedly going there in the recent past so as to either join or separate religion and politics. The political system of governance in such countries is also very important for the studies i.e. whether dictatorial, authoritarian or autocratic. In Zimbabwe for instance, the political leadership of Mugabe has been greatly criticized for negatively impacting social and religious aspects of the country; the choice of such a country for this study would therefore provide a very interesting analytical angle for the research. There are various data collection methods that are normally used in various studies. However, since this research is highly prolific and requires substantial answers, it is very important that the methods used for data collection are highly inclusive. Primarily, I would conduct a survey on the countries in question so as to get adequate knowledge and information that will help me in the study. These interviews would be focused on religious and political leaders as well as historians who are viable and credible sources of information. The reason for the preference of interviews and questionnaires during the survey is because they allow for easy referencing and sufficient future analysis (Cano). Of course the nature of questions used in data collection will be simple so as to elicit lucid answers from the interviewees. Secondarily, I would use library materials-books, articles, journals-, online resources, governmental and non-governmental archives among many others. In order to ensure that the research gives as much information as possible to readers, I would make certain that neutrality and objectivity is ardently observed throughout the study duration. This is because any minor lapse in concentration can interfere with whole process thus jeopardizing the success of the study. Conclusion In my opinion, both politics and religion play important roles to each other and thus delinking them would rather destroy rather than build countries. Of course the collaboration between the two also has some relative negative effects (Simon). This should however not stand in the way of the immense benefits that the mutual relationship between the two precepts. In addition, despite the norm in life that the majority always gets things done their way, a balance should exist between the various religious factions just in the same way a balance should exist between the dealings of politics and religion. If this is done, there will be ultimate respect between all he involved parties thus fostering an environment for growth in each country.

Health Law and Regulations Essay

In understanding regulatory agencies the differences between regulation and legislation needs defining. Legislation is the law that has been passed by a voting process and regulation is the responsibility of the regulatory board appointed to enforce laws once the law is passed; it sets forth rules on how the laws are to be implemented and to what degree. In health care the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has the predominant responsibility to enforce legislation that impacts the health and well-being of Americans. Under the umbrella of HHS there are 13 regulatory agencies tasked with setting rules on the enforcement of the legislation passed by lawmakers. Regulatory Agencies Two of the most influential regulatory agencies within HHS are the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), these two agencies have substantial influence on every aspect of health care delivery. The FDA is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the regulation and supervision of food safety, medical devices, drugs, vaccines, blood products and biologics. In addition, they monitor medical errors and adverse reactions and reporting such to providers, (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2011). CMS controls the Medicare program and works in collaboration with state governments to oversee Medicaid, and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). In addition to these responsibilities, CMS dispenses criteria from the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), surveys and certifies quality standards in long-term care facilities, and clinical laboratories, (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services). The proportion of national health spending sponsored by both federal, state, and local governments was 45% in 2010, a significant source of revenue depended on by providers of health care, (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, 2011). Current FDA Regulations The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPAC Act), amended the Public Health Service Act (PHS Act) to create a shortened authorization route for medications found to be â€Å"highly similar† or â€Å"interchangeable† with an FDA-approved medication, (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2011). The goal is similar to the Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act of 1984 (â€Å"Hatch-Waxman Act†), which produced condensed methods for the approval of drug products under Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFD&C Act). The outcome is aimed at the FDA’s instituted policy of allowing confidence on what is already known about a drug, thus protecting time and resources, (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2011). To help increase access to affordable prescription medications, the FDA implemented measures to expedite the development and approval of generic drugs. Generic drugs cost 50 to 70% less than their brand-name counterparts equating to a savings of eight to ten billion dollars a year at retail pharmacies, (Crawford, June). These savings do not include the use of generic drugs in an institutional setting. PPAC expands on the practice of generic drugs and incorporates using medications that have the same efficacy as another more expensive medication leading to more options in the prescribing of medications. The practice of using generic drugs is not without concern. As evidenced by the case Pliva v. Mensing where the question was; the safety standards for brand-name drug labeling also apply to generic-drug manufacturers. The patients in the case took the generic drug metoclopramide and developed tardive dyskinesia, which was listed on the label. The patients argued the warning was not adequate and the manufacturer argued the â€Å"changes being effected† process was not available to generic-drug manufacturers because the FDA requires labels for generic versions of drugs to be identical to those of the brand-name drugs, (Glantz & Annas, 2011). The FDA upheld the manufacturer’s claim although the FDA added the manufacturer had a responsibility to request a label change if the manufacturer knew a stronger warning was needed to market the drug safely. The court found in favor of the manufacturer stating â€Å"federal law still preempted injured patients from bringing lawsuits in state courts, because the state laws in question require a safer label, not communicating with the FDA about the possibility of creating a safer label,† (Glantz & Annas, 2011, p. 682). Despite this regulatory standing, a controversial issue may entail for the FDA in the allowance of medications to be â€Å"interchanged† to promote an additional avenue for savings in prescription medications. Much foresight needs to be included to protect the safety and well-being of patients. Current CMS Regulations The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), is legislation aimed at the adoption and â€Å"meaningful use† of health information technology. CMS was authorized to establish incentive programs for eligible Medicare and Medicaid providers who adopt, implement, upgrade, or â€Å"meaningfully use† certified electronic health records (EHR). The term â€Å"meaningful use† is an acknowledgement that improved health care is not the product of technology but a method to exchange and use health information to support clinical decisions at the point of care. To qualify for CMS’ incentive program the provider must obtain certified electronic health record technology. An incentive of $44 thousand can be achieved by an eligible professional who shows â€Å"meaningful use† over a five year period. Hospitals implementing a certified EHR system can qualify for a t wo million dollar base payment. In 2015 Medicare will implement a reduction in payment to those not displaying â€Å"meaningful use†. The decrease in payment begins at one percent and rises each year that hospitals and providers receiving Medicare payments do not make evident â€Å"meaningful use,† to a maximum reduction of five percent, (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, 2011). The use of EHRs is encouraged by touting improved efficiency, cost-effectiveness, quality, and safety of health care delivery. A study on the use of EHR in 2952 hospitals in the United States revealed 12% of hospitals had instituted electronic physicians’ notes across all clinical units and 17% had instituted computerized provider-order entry for medications in all clinical units, (Jha, et al., 2009). The cited barriers to implementation of EHR were inadequate capital (74%), maintenance costs (44%), resistance of physicians (36%), unclear return on investment (32%), and lack of available staff with expertise i n information technology (30%), (Jha, et al., 2009). Ironically, the hospitals who had implemented the use of EHRs cited financial reasons such as additional compensation for electronic health record use (82%) and financial enticements for implementation (75%), (Jha, et al., 2009). The estimated cost of purchasing, installing, and implementing an EHR system in a provider’s office is approximately $40,000 and this figure does not reflect the cost of maintenance, (Blumentha, 2009). A survey by the American Hospital Association revealed â€Å"the median annual capital investment on information technology was over $700,000 and represented 15% of all capital expenses. Operating expenses were much higher at $1.7 million, or 2 percent of all operating expenses,† (National Institutes of Health, 2006, p. 18). Although there are indisputable reasons for implementing an EHR system, CMS’ incentive program is merely a pittance compared to the ongoing costs of operational expenses. The concept of all health care providers possessing an EHR system is ideal. As with any form of electronic technology comes the prospect of personal information being violated. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) does provide for penalties from $100 to $1.5 million, depending on the violation and whether it was done unknowingly or willfully and can include imprisonment up to 10 years. HIPAA protects the health information of individuals; â€Å"it does not create a private cause of action for those aggrieved,† (The General Counsel Department of Health and Human Services, 2005). Conclusion Federal regulatory agencies are a necessity to interpret and assist in the implementation of legislation. Without federal regulatory agencies the United States would have over 50 different interpretations on one piece of legislation. The FDA and CMS play a significant role in the ever changing health care arena. The FDA is based on scientific integrity evidenced by the recent publication of defined key principles of scientific integrity. Through this commitment to scientific integrity and quality the FDA provides medical safety to the American people. Through research and establishing guidelines the FDA has been instrumental in making generic drugs available to the public, saving them more than eight billion dollars annually. The PPAC tasked the FDA has been tasked with expanding on the generic drug practice by discovering medications that have the same efficacy as another medications leading to more cost saving options in the prescribing of medications. CMS has been tasked with implementing HITECH that has the promise of decreasing costs and errors in health care delivery. This is a lofty goal with over 80 percent of the United States hospitals without any type of electronic health record in place. The financial incentive provided by the federal government through CMS does not seem to be enough of a motivator to encourage the financial commitment of an EHR. Although, after 2015 when hospitals and providers have not demonstrated â€Å"meaningful use† these providers of Medicare services may be more inclined when losing one percent of their Medicare payments. These regulatory agencies and the legislation cited in this paper are a minute representation of the responsibility and obligation the federal agencies have to protect the well-being of the American people. The cited legislation delegated to these regulatory agencies is not only focused on health but financial constraint and safety of the American people. References Blumentha, D. (2009, April 9). Stimulating the Adoption of Health Information Technology. Retrieved from The New England Journal of Medicine: http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp0901592 Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. (2011, October 17). Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Program Basics. Retrieved from CMS.gov: https://www.cms.gov/EHRIncentivePrograms/35_Basics.asp Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. (2011, September). National Health Expenditures 2010: Sponsor Highlights. Retrieved from CMS.gov: https://www.cms.gov/NationalHealthExpendData/downloads/sponsors.pdf Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. (n.d.). About us. Retrieved from CMS.gov: http://www.cms.gov/home/aboutcms.asp Crawford, L. (June, 23 2004). The Law of Biologic Medicine. Retrieved from FDA: http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Testimony/ucm113745.htm Glantz, L., & Annas, G. (2011, August 25). Impossible? Outlawing State Safety Laws for Generic Drugs. Retrieved from The New England Journal of Medicine: http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp1107832 Jha, A., DesRoches, C., Campbell, E. G., Donelan, K., Rao, S., Ferris, T., . . . Blumenthal, D. (2009, April 16). Use of Electronic Health Records in U.S. Hospitals. Retrieved from The New England Journal of Medicine: http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMsa0900592#t=articleBackground National Institutes of Health. (2006, April). Electronic Health Records Overview. Retrieved from National Institutes of Health: http://www.ncrr.nih.gov/publications/informatics/EHR.pdf The General Counsel Departmentof Health and Human Services. (2005, June 1). SCOPE OF CRIMINAL ENFORCEMENT UNDER 42 U.S.C.  § 1320d-6. Retrieved from The United States Department of Justice: http://www.justice.gov/olc/hipaa_final.htm U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2011, November 16). FDA Fundamentals. Retrieved from About FDA: http://www.fda.gov/AboutFDA/Transparency/Basics/ucm192695.htm U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2011, March 10). Implementation of the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act of 2009. Retrieved from U.S. Food and Drug Administration: http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/GuidanceComplianceRegulatoryInformation/ucm215089.htm

Lg Rural Marketing

LG India—Approach To Rural Markets Summary From the few years, consumer electronic manufactures have started focusing on the rural markets for their growth and expansion. The major reasons include saturation of urban growth rate and increased contribution and higher growth rate in markets. Increase in disposable incomes due to good agricultural output, increase in easy financial options by banks and financial institutions, increased media penetration and electrification of rural areas are influencing the growth of marketing in rural areas.In this light situation, India’s learning consumer electronics manufacturer LG Electronics India Pvt. Ltd. (LGEIL) began concentrating on rural marketing. To mark its presence and to increase sales, LGEIL designed a different marketing strategy for rural areas. It made changes in its products to suit needs of rural customers. For example, LG removed ‘golden eye’ technology in models sold in rural market. Keeping in mind ab out the rural customers, LG carried out campaigns in various regional channels like Lashkara, Alpha Punjabi, and Gujarati.LGEIL adopted a unique distribution strategy for rural markets to increase its presence and sale of its other products. The company designed a pyramidal sales structure by decentralizing its distributing network. The company fragmented the distribution network with branch offices operating from big cities and many Remote Area Officers (RAOs) working under each branch office. These RAOs were further fragmented with Regional Sales Officers (RSOs) working under the supervision of each RAO. By 2005, company had 51 branch offices and 78 RAOs.Each RAO was given charge of the territory with an independent accounts, sales, servicing and marketing team. To assist RAOs in there endeavour; the offices were computerised and connected with branches officers and the corporate office’s ERP system through Very Small Aperture Terminal (V-SAT) and an Intranet network. This enabled the RAOs to have up-to-date data on important aspects such as inventory, payment status of the dealers, etc. The RAOs overseeing the territories were given independent decision-making powers to the extent of developing their own marketing and promotional strategies in their territories.This setup helped the company in not just improving sales but also in penetration deep into the market. The distribution setup also enables the company to establish relationship whit the sub-dealers who are not been contacted by the company representatives. Better servicing of the sub-dealers helped in increasing their sales. But analysts pointed out that such a distribution strategy was not unique and had been many of its competitors. For example Samsung and Electrolux Kelvinator followed the same strategies. Questions for Discussion 1.A company needs to be careful in its approach while taking decisions regarding territory management. Discuss the territory management followed by LGEIL for its rural markets. Answer: Territory management develops and implements a strategy for directing selling activities toward customers in a sales territory aimed at maintaining the lines of communications, improving sales coverage, and minimizing wasted time. It includes the allocation of sales calls to customers and the planning, routing, and scheduling of the calls. LGEIL designed a different marketing strategy for rural areas.It made changes in its products to suit needs of rural customers. Keeping in mind about the rural customers, LG carried out campaigns in various regional channels like Lashkara, Alpha Punjabi, and Gujarati. The company designed a pyramidal sales structure by decentralizing its distributing network. The company fragmented the distribution network with branch offices operating from big cities and many Remote Area Officers (RAOs) working under each branch office. These RAOs were further fragmented with Regional Sales Officers (RSOs) working under the supervision of each RAO.Each RAO was given charge of the territory with an independent accounts, sales, servicing and marketing team. To assist RAOs in there endeavour; the offices were computerised and connected with branches officers and the corporate office’s ERP system through Very Small Aperture Terminal (V-SAT) and an Intranet network. This enabled the RAOs to have up-to-date data on important aspects such as inventory, payment status of the dealers, etc. The RAOs overseeing the territories were given independent decision-making powers to the extent of developing their own marketing and promotional strategies in their territories.This setup helped the company in not just improving sales but also in penetration deep into the market. The distribution setup also enables the company to establish relationship whit the sub-dealers who are not been contacted by the company representatives. Better servicing of the sub-dealers helped in increasing their sales. 2. LGEIL followed a new sales str uctured to market its products in the rural markets, different from the one used in urban market. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of LGEIL’s rural sales structureAnswer: Advantages: – * Better market coverage. * Effective distribution of work load. * Evaluate sales people. * Control on direct and indirect costs. * Optimum utilization of sales time. * Helps manager better control and monitor sales and evaluate programms. Disadvantages: – * Sales achieved through personal relationships * Sale of technical and sophisticated products. * Customers spread over vast geographic area. * Service expectations and product deliveries is at multiple places; so geographic division will not help.

Youth and the media Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Youth and the media - Essay Example Media plays a vital role to build the mind setup of the youth. There are many negative aspects of media on thinking and behavior of youth which led to the social crimes. Most of youths are influenced by the unnatural events and happenings projected in media which paved the youth away from the real life. Music, style of clothing and life styles are the common traits youth adopt from the media. With increasing crimes rates by the youth there is need to bring quality, supervised and literate media content. Relation between Youth and the media Circuit of culture and youth identity In the area of cultural the most commonly used theory is the circuit of culture. According to this theory, while studying a cultural text or artifact, five aspects are commonly taken under considerations that are: its representation, identity, production, consumption and regulation. This theory was designed by a group of theorist in 1997 when studying the walkman cassette player. In the beginning of 1955, the r ock n roll has got the commercial prominence. The common concept about rock n roll is that it is the music of fantastic and freakish performers, amplified guitars and aggressive lyrics. It is the collision of African-American R&B (rhythm and blues) and white country music. These musical styles were eagerly received by the teenagers. A Latin industry claimed that the music had only become controversial because "the [white] pop kids started buying the R&B disks and playing them at home" (Martin and Segrave, p.17). Rock n roll replaced the sub cultures like the English mods and skinheads and the French yeh yehs to the prominent and raising sounds of Jamaican reggae, South African mbaqanga, Balkan turbo folk and Algerian rai. Style of clothing and music, language and behavior are so closely associated with it. It provided adolescents for a common sense of identity. Various youth behaviors are associated with the rock n roll. This music has evolved with every decade. In every decade yout h's trend towards rock n roll arises. The youth culture is categorized as: The silent generation: this generation has the experience of harsh realities of war and weak economy. The laid down the way for civil rights and rock n roll. Baby boom generation: this generation enjoyed the most idyllic images of American family life. As they grew up the idealism paved the way for materialism. Generation X: this generation grew up with uncontrolled and abundant rate of divorce, irresponsible behavior for career and jobs, electric rise in street crimes and unsupervised afternoons. They are responsible for hip-hop explosion. Generation Y/Millennial: this generation never experienced their so good and bad at the same time. Child welfare back up the national agenda from vaccination to childcare but at the same time school violence and trends towards drugs are also remarkable raised. Youth are referred as post- adolescent and pre-adult generation. The young people between the age of 15 and 24 are considered as the primary engine for the global media growth. In fact, youth are the most technology and media literate group of their societies. The involvement of youth in new media technology results in the industrialism and mass produced culture and sky rocketing raise in economy. Youth are being empowered by new cultural opportunities. Youth culture cannot be separated from political economy. After Second World War the youth the current generation is often described as the most oppressed. It has been the tough decade for the youth. The youth culture commonly includes language, music and dress styling. These all are in varying combination to establish an identity. All three aspects have its own importance in youth identity. The

Austin Farrer Faith and Speculation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Austin Farrer Faith and Speculation - Essay Example When goes through Farrer’s article, Grace and Freewill, one can understand that elements of speculation and faith are the leading traits which exert a predominant role in one’s life. Analysis of his article leads the readers to the fact that man strongly believes that one can attain self realization only through bridging a good relation with God and following His ways. Analyzing the article a reader can find the fact that Austine Farrer has exposed his ideas with a specific touch of speculation and Faith. Author comments that religion forces the people to believe that the existing nature has a divine structure and all its parts follow a positive end and the man is bounded with his devotion towards God. It is also a thought provoking concept that man believes the positive rapport between God and he permits him to go on being himself .Here a researcher can easily understand the signs of a conscious effort from the part of the author to establish the idea of ‘faith’. Human psyche never finds a rebuff on God’s faithfulness if a material perception proves all appearances are vein. Whatever the result, pain or frustration, man keeps on a constant friendship with god and follows the principles of the religion. The author indirectly persuades the reader to follow the principles of a believer. There are a number of agencies that link on es relation with his creator. But it should be noted that the agencies do not strike us in the springing point of causes but in the finished effects. The effect is more or less based on a divine cause and it is related to a religious mind. In our engagement with god we are solely concerned with his purposes and actions and for the operation we provide ourselves completely that is we commit ourselves entirely to it. It is done with the divine assistance and for which trust in god is obligatory. When we actaccording to god’s will we are

Account for Japans decision to go to war against the United States in Essay

Account for Japans decision to go to war against the United States in 1941 - Essay Example Attempts to successfully negotiate a ceasefire failed primarily on account of Japan’s refusal to return conquered territory (Iinkai 1973, 111). As the Second World War progressed, Japanese leaders began to feel increasingly vulnerable and particularly isolated (Bess 2008, 27). From the Japanese perspective the Soviet Union was a long and enduring enemy so that by 1936 Japan had subscribed to an anti-Communist pact with Germany and Italy. Fortifying the anti-Communist and anti-Soviet stance, Japanese military factors had conflict with the Soviet factions on Korea’s border with the Soviet Union in 1938. A larger battle would follow between the two in 1939 at Nomonhan near the border between Mongolia and Manchuria. The latter was a region in China conquered by Japan. The Soviets defeated the Japanese in this later battle and forcing Japan to conclude a non-aggression truce with the Soviets having learned that Germany had entered into a similar agreement with the Soviets. The knowledge that Germany had engaged a non-aggression pact with the Soviet Union would be a turning point for Japan. In the latter stages of the 1930s Japan had commenced cooperation strategies with Nazi Germany, assuming that the two nations would jointly attack the Soviet Union and divide that country’s wealth between them (Duiker and Spielvogel 2006, 696). Japan came to the realization that it could not take the Soviet Union on its own and would inevitably have to find another method for obtaining its wealth. Attention then turned to Southeast Asia. This would mean a potential war with the Europe over its colonies in the area and the US who had already expressed disapproval of Japan’s attack on China, particularly following an attack on a US naval ship stationed in China (Duiker and Spielvogel 2006, 696). German victories in Europe in 1940 however, particularly the

Conserving Soil Quality On Farms In Hawaii Research Paper

Conserving Soil Quality On Farms In Hawaii - Research Paper Example By the time measurable damage to the soil quality has occurred, crop yield may already be irrecoverably failing (Stocking, 2003). This relationship can even hold true in areas that with volcanically-enriched soil such as the tropical islands of the state of Hawai'i. To understand soil conservation for farming in Hawai'i, the first step is to understand the background of soil quality conservation, with a focus on the issues specific to the tropical islands. Only then can workable solutions be found and analyzed for suitability to the specific situation found on the Hawai'ian islands. A clear definition of soil quality is necessary for a conservation project to be undertaken. Unless soil quality is clearly and definitively described, it is impossible for researchers to design tests and measurements to study the current state of the soil quality. However, soil quality has proven a very difficult concept to define, especially as soil quality has so many different parameters in many diffe rent spheres of scientific study. Defining soil quality as a term is not the same as defining other widespread environmental terminology such as air quality or water quality. This is due to the fact that air quality or water quality are not based on the usage of the material or its relationship relative to a â€Å"natural† state, but merely on the lack of specific pollutants or on the levels of such pollutants (Sojka & Upchurch, 1999). Since pure soil cannot exist by definition, and clean soil varies dependent on location, pollutants within soil can be limited only to specific non-natural products, such as industrial wastes or household chemicals (Cowan & Talaro, 2006). Soil quality, on the other hand, is determined by the soil's ability to support certain usage and by healthy levels of bacterial, animal, and plant life (Sojka & Upchurch,1999). Measuring soil quality in tropical regions, on the other hand, is simplified because of the reduction in the number of related variab les. Many attributes of topsoil quality in tropical regions of the world, including Hawai'i, are quantitative and measurable. Assuming those conditions to be true, soil quality can then be measured using a fertility capability soil classification system (Sanchez, Palm, and Buol, 2003). Other single-attribute measurements of soil quality are such concerns as soil compactability or erodibility based on location or use, but the fertility classification most affects the ability of the soil to support intensive crop farming, which is the concern of this review (Parr et al., 1992). The fertility capability classification systems are not without their faults, but they provides a starting point for measuring the success of a given conservation program by providing a quantitative standard. A measurement that makes use of this system would be comparable to future measurements under the same system, allowing a researcher to compare numerically the success of the method under study (Sanchez, Pa lm, & Buol, 2003). Soil systems in tropical regions tend to be extremely dynamic, changing rapidly over short periods of time. Within these systems, soil quality may vary widely from location to location even between patches of soil in the same forest (Parr et al., 1992; Stocking, 2003). In such a dynamic system, nutrients rarely have time to accumulate in the tropical

Sociolinguistic case study on the linguistic rights of Serbs in Essay

Sociolinguistic case study on the linguistic rights of Serbs in Croatia - Essay Example It is the ability to speak in more than one language and to fully understand the communication patterns. Such occurrences have been enhanced by different factors such as; love for literature, geographical diversity and historical causes. Also, politics and psychological factors like seeking identity have contributed to linguistic diversity (International journal of the sociology of language 1974, 12). The homogeneity caused by languages influences genocide of other communities. This is the systematic destruction of a particular group of individuals based on their opinions or differences in either their religion race, or language. The study is to review the situation of the ethnic minorities by exploring the history of the area, the developments of languages and the current issues facing minorities in Croatia. Croatian, Hungarian and Serbian are the commonly used languages by the people of Croatia (Hogan and Wolff 2003, 122). Serbian and Croatian were sufficiently similar to be identi fied as Serbo-Croatian. However, during the war outbreak in 1991, Croatian was identified as the main language. In the census conducted in 2001 the minority groups were Serbs, Bosniaks, Italians, Hungarians, Albanians, Roma, Slovenes and Czechs just to name a few whose percentage ranged between 0.2 and 4.5 percent. Historically, the communities gathered in the same region through migration and there was a continuous ethnic tension among the Serbian and Croatian groups mostly being political. (Varennes 1996, 78).

Achilles and Odysseuses' Self-sufficiency Essay

Achilles and Odysseuses' Self-sufficiency - Essay Example A community is necessary to fulfill moral needs of a man (Gerson 73). The self sufficiency is fulfilled by (1) one has the abilities to procure needed resources; (2) one does not need resource so large as to require help from others; and (3) one does not need any amount whatsoever of those resources, like political power or friendship, which naturally require others. Because Aristotle associates the sufficiency of 2& 3 with the state or community, the self sufficiency through state may be called as 'political self-sufficiency' and that is the focus of Aristotle's discourse (Brown 5-6). The virtues and ultimate good are promoted by the state when man lives in the polis, the city. Human is a political animal and the man who lives away from polis or does not need the city is either the worst sort of animal or a super- human, the god. The power of speech indicates that human are not self sufficient since they can express pleasure or pain and concept of justice and injustice clearly shows that human are political animals (Marietta, 127). The present article intends to compare personalities of Achilles and Odysseus in the light of Aristotle's concept of self- sufficiency. The portrayal of Achilles and Odysseus is a presentation of bie ( wild force) and metis (tact or cleverness). Homer, though pays honor to Achilles which is deserved by his greatness yet in the end the intelligence and endurance of Odysseus triumphs (Clay 96). When we first meet Odysseus, he is sitting on the seashore, desolately lamenting for his island home Ithaca and his wife Penelope. His longing is for society, his city and domesticity. However, after rejecting the public assembly and throwing the scepter on the floor, Achilles also sits by himself on the seashore with tears in his eyes and waiting for his mother Thetis. The goddess comes and promises to intervene with Zeus for him against Agamemnon. This scene shows Achilles' obsessive and lonely nature, self-imposed isolation from his society instead he seeks godly intervention through his mother. Such a contrast in the warriors' character is evident throughout the Homer's epics (Abad 3). After the death of Patroclus, his dear friend, Achilles admits that despite his supremacy in war others are better than him. These 'others' certainly included Odysseus. He is less elegant and hungry for glory but at the same time more practical and less impetuous. In Iliad, Odysseus is entrusted with the task to return chrysies to her father; he saves the day when Agamemnon's catastrophic test of morals misfires. Besides, his good qualities, he also possesses great rhetoric skills (Homer and Rutherford 16). Just before the war the assembled Greeks were having a feast on Tenedos. But Achilles was invited last. An argument took place between Agamemnon and Achilles. Odysseus tried to shift his attention from quarrel but Achilles announced returning back to home (Clay 99). It shows ability of Odysseus to resolve issues through dialogue while Achilles was reluctant to make use of that exclusive gift to man, the speech. At this Odysseus accused him of cowardice and harsh words were exchanged between them. Achilles did not need either the society or the reason as a social human would do. Achilles obsession with war and revenge is his most destructive side which is prominently depicted in Iliad. Odysseus urges Achilles to have breakfast and let the army eat too before seeking vengeance on

Life Payments Essay Example for Free

Life Payments Essay It is 10:33 AM. You are awaken abruptly from your alarm. You prepare yourself for the day ahead. The day has been going well so far. It is now 12:25 PM. You step into your vehicle hoping to stop at the best burger place in town for lunch. The preceding are the last thing you remember when you wake up cold, sweaty, and drowsy from your coma. Changing perspectives, you are a family member now. Your brother has been in a horrific car accident and is in a coma for thirteen days now. How will you communicate with him? How will you tell him that you love him and are here for him? Most importantly, how do you know that he is still alive? For those who dont know, a coma is a persistent vegetative state, also known as PVS. Coma is also defined as a state of almost total unresponsiveness to external stimulation in which the patient lies with his eyes closed. It is a condition in which the normal cognitive and communicative functioning of the patient is hampered. A coma may occur for various reasons, such as intoxication, CNS (central nervous system) diseases, a serious injury, and hypoxia (oxygen deprivation). But there have been a number of cases across the world like the example mentioned above. A 26-year-old patient named Kate Bainbridge had a viral infection which had put her in a coma — a condition that generally persists for two to four weeks, after which patients die, recover fully or, in rare cases, slip into a vegetative or a minimally conscious state. (Tutton) And there is most notably Rom Houben, also known as Patient 23. Allan Hall reports â€Å"Alive but unresponsive, he has been in a coma for 23 years since he has been 24 years old. Ongoing research in the field of comatose communication has found out that there may be small â€Å"islands† of consciousness, even in persistent vegetative states, like such in Houben’s case. And this is how, through comatose communication and other methods such as fMRIs, they were able to conclude that Houben was still alive in his body. This could be another example of how the conscious is separate from the physical body. So why should you care? How can coma work help patients, families, and caregivers? Coma work furthers the internal and external ommunication of patients in altered consciousness. This can aid patients to complete inner work and spontaneously come closer to the surface, and at times even all the way out of coma or other altered consciousness. With metabolic comas emergence can be quick and dramatic. Mark Tutton, an author at CNN. com, reports â€Å"a study carried out last year on 103 patients by Laureys and his colleagues at Lieges Coma Science Group found that 41 percent of patients in a Minimally Conscious State (MCS) were misdiagnosed as being in the much more serious Vegetative State (VS). Dr. Daniel Hanley, professor of neurology at Johns Hopkins Medicine, in Maryland, told CNN that VS is a coma-like state in which patients have a sleep and wake cycle, and can show reflex chewing, swallowing and blinking, but dont respond to language or stimulation. † With coma from traumatic brain injury and other causes, progress is usually slow, but measurable. Progress can be accelerated if the awareness for coma communication is heightened. Families and caregivers are often relieved to find ways to communicate with loved ones and clients about treatment options, life and death decisions, and love and personal connection. Family and caregivers often feel validated about their perceptions of subtle cues they have noticed. Now put the shoe on the other foot and imagine if you yourself were to be in a coma today. Wouldn’t you like a way to tell your family that you are alive, are ready to fight through it and come out of your PVS state? Surely yes.

Principles of Management in McDonalds

Principles of Management in McDonalds McDonalds is the largest and most well known global foodservice retailer, which was founded in 1955 by Ray Kroc; head quarter in Oak Brook, Illinois, US. McDonalds has more than 32.000 restaurants (19% operated by the Company and 81% of restaurants operated by franchised restaurants) in 117 countries, serving more than 60 millions people each day (McDonalds, 2009). Recently, many of Vietnamese people still think that fast food services are small business that are not worth to do business. After studying McDonalds, my point of views about fast food industry have been changed considerably. Serving fast foods only, McDonalds receives annually almost 23 billions USD, that is equal about 27% of GDP or 71% total revenues of all types of services of Vietnam on 2009 (Vietnam General Statistic Office, 2009) and McDonalds ranks 153 biggest companies in the world (Forber, 2010). This study aims to analyze management of the Company in the past few years and strategy in the next decade, which help us to understand the reasons that lead McDonalds to the success. 1. Core business 1.1. The main products and services The products of McDonalds are fast foods of wide range of choices, such as: hamburgers, chicken, french fries, soft drinks, coffee, milkshakes, salads, deserts and breakfast with varies of famous in the world brands (Big Mac, Quarter Pounder with Cheese, Filet-O-Fish, Chicken McNuggets, Chicken Selects, Snack Wraps, McFlurry, McCafe) which meet requirement of customers of different ages. McDonalds fast foods have became necessary daily foods for the numbers of people not only in the US but in other countries also. Therefore, McDonalds brand name became so popular, that many investors in the world willing to deal with McDonalds to open restaurant under franchised agreement 1.2. Business generates the most revenue McDonalds revenues mainly come from its own restaurants and from restaurants operated by franchisees. In accordance with the McDonalds Corporation Annual Report 2007, 2008, 2009, revenues of the Company in 2007, 2008 and 2009 are 22.8 billions USD, 23.5 billions USD and 22.75 billions USD respectively. Most of Companys revenues come from the restaurants operated by the Company, which has percentage in 2007, 2008 and 2009 are 73%, 70% and 68% respectively; the rest of revenue are from franchised restaurants. Obviously, the percentage of revenue of Companys operated restaurants has been decreased while percentage of revenue of franchised restaurants increased (McDonalds, 2009). Source: McDonalds Corporation Annual Report 2009 1.3. Business generates the most profit In 2007, 2008 and 2009, consolidated net incomes of Company are 2,395, 4,313 and 4,551 millions respectively. In accordance with McDonalds Corporation annual Report 2009, the most profit of the McDonalds has been generated by franchised restaurants, which in 2007, 2008, 2009 holds about 64%, 65%, 66% of the total profit of the Company respectively. The second place of profit has been generated by restaurants operated by the Company (McDonalds, 2009). Franchised margins Franchised margin dollars represent revenues from franchised restaurants less Companys occupancy costs (rent and depreciation) associated with those sites. Franchised margin dollars increased $254 millions of 4% (7% in constant currencies) in 2009 and $695 millions or 14% (11% in constant currencies) in 2008. The franchising strategy contributed to grow in franchised margin dollars in 2009, 2008 and 2007 (McDonalds, 2009). Company-operated margins Company-operated margin represent sales by Company-operated restaurants less the operating costs of these restaurants. Company-operated margin dollars decreased $101 millions or 3% (increased 3% in constant currencies) in 2008. Company-operated margin dollars were negatively impacted by this transaction in 2008 and 2007 and by the enfranchising strategy in 2009 and 2008 (McDonalds, 2009). Source: McDonalds Corporation Annual Report 2009 1.4. Business will drive growth in the next decade In order to keep sustainable growth in the next decade, for the last few years, McDonalds has differentiated the brand and enhanced efficiency of investment in expansion of restaurants chain in the world, mainly in the type of franchised restaurants. In accordance with McDonalds annual Report 2009 and report of Jim Skinner (2009) To our valued shareholder: To state the obviuos, 2009 was a tumultuous year economically, these strategies will continue drive growth in the next decade. Regarding to the strategy of differentiation of products, due to criticism in the society to McDonalds fast foods as the cause to obesity, McDonalds has launched new lines of products, which contain low fat, low calories or more fruit and vegetable, healthy alternative for the customers, which have been in great success for the last few years with some famous brands, such as: Fremium Fiesta Salad, New mans Own Low Fat Balsamic Vinargrette These types of foods will be developed in the next decade. Regarding to efficiency of investment, McDonalds will concentrate into expansion of restaurants in the world, mainly in the type of franchised restaurant, which have many advantages compare with restaurants operated by Company type. 1.5. How successful would you say this company has been since 2007? Cumulative total shareholder returns from 2007 to 2009 has been increased, higher than average of that of SP 500 index and Dow Jones Industrials (McDonalds, 2009). Net income is increased. Source: McDonalds Corporation Annual Report 2009 At the result of implementation of strategy Plan to Win, income and dividends were increased during period from 2007 to 2009, while revenue has been decreased. The number of restaurants operated by the Company decreased from 6,906 in 2007 to 6,262 in 2009, while franchised restaurants is increased from 24,471 in 2007 to 26,216 in 2009 (McDonalds, 2009) 2. Corporate Responsibility In accordance with the commitment to social responsibility, McDonalds focuses primarily on animal welfare, education, environment, people, quality, safety and Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC). Regarding to the animal welfare, McDonalds recognizes that its responsibility as purchaser of food products includes working with their suppliers to ensure good animal handling practices. Thus, it buys all its beef, fork and poultry products from suppliers who maintain the highest standards and share McDonalds commitment to animal welfare. Regarding to the education, McDonalds mould the future of the society and therefore, is committed to the education of the youths. Thus, they support school-age employees in their reaching of educational goals. Regarding to the people, McDonalds recognizes the importance of the employees, who is driving force to the Companys success. So, McDonalds is committed to creating an environment that value and respects their employees, recognizes and rewards their performance, as well as providing them with meaningful growth opportunities. Regarding to the quality and safety, McDonalds has set strictly enforcing high-quality and safety standards often exceeding those standards established by industry and governments, quality and safety are the most important items on McDonalds menu of success, because they give customer confidence to McDonalds. Regarding to the Ronald McDonalds House Charity (RMHC), McDonalds supports RMHC by providing free goods and services, covering 100 percent of management and general costs for RMHCs global office. Therein, RMHC works to improve the health and well-being of children by awarding grants to organizations and supporting 206 RMHC worldwide. Recently, McDonalds has many CSR initiatives; and these seem to focus mainly on the areas in which they ware accused. For example, on allegations of rainforest deforestation, McDonalds response was CSR initiatives in the field of environment. Where they were being accused of bad working conditions, they responded that McDonalds has been a leader in setting and strictly enforcing high-quality and safety standards often exceeding those standards established by industry and governments and contributing to this cause. Fortune Magazine has even ranked McDonalds as one of the most admired socially responsible company. 3. Crisis management McDonalds manages to overcome the crisis occurred for the last few years, such as: CSR case (McLibel trial) and economical crisis from 2008-2009. From the case McLibel In the middle of 1980s London Greenpeace began a campaign focusing on McDonalds as a high profile organization, symbolizing everything they considered wrong with prevailing corporate mentality. In 1986 London Greenpeace produced a 6-sided fact sheet called Whats wrong With McDonalds? Everything they dont want you to know, which accused McDonalds of exploiting children with advertising, promoting an unhealthy diet, exploiting their staff and being responsible for environmental damage and ill treatment of animals. In 1990, McDonalds served libel writs against the five activists who came up with the Whats wrong With McDonalds leaflet. Three of the five activists took the former suggestion, while Dave and Helen chose the former. On 28th June 1994, the McLibel trial began and the verdict was announced on 19th June 1997 in favour of McDonalds, which stated that Helen and Dave had not proved the allegations against McDonalds on rainforest deforestation, heart disease and cancer, food poison ing, starvation in the Third world and bad working conditions. However, they had proved that McDonalds exploited children with their advertising, falsely advise their food as nutritious, risk the health of their most popular, long term customers, are culpabably responsible for cruelty to animals, are strongly antipathetic to unions and pay their workers low wages. Justice Bell ruled that Helen and Dave had libelled McDonalds, but because they had proven many of allegation true, they would only pay half of the claimed damages, that was à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¤60.000. However, both Dave and Helens litigation fee and the damages had to pay were donated by the public. Recently, McDonalds has many CSR initiatives; and these seem to focus mainly on the areas in which they ware accused, such as through animal welfare, education, environment, people, quality and safety and Ronald McDonalds House Charity (RMHC), McDonalds has tried to do a lot of good to the community. Economical crisis from 2008-2009 During economic crisis from 2008-2009, the prices on energy, foods and commodities were high, financial market was frozen, rate of GDP of almost countries were low, high rate of unemployment, many companies in fast-food industry suffered loses, such as income have been turned down. However, during this period, McDonalds took necessary measure to stabilize the business, on this, keep relationship with the suppliers to ensure the continuous supply of necessary ingredients for its foods at the reasonable price. Therefore, the prices on foods were stable, revenue was increased, income growled up. In fact, McDonalds net income in 2008 were 4,313 billions and was 4551 billions in 2009. 4. Strategy What markets has it forced on? Over the past few years, McDonalds has focused on the emerging markets, such as China and Russia, where the rate of growth has been highest in the world, even in the time of economic downturn during 2008-2009, the revenue of McDonalds in China increased almost 16% annually, while in the same period, in US and in Europe the rate of growth decreased. Till now, China is the fastest market of McDonalds, where McDonalds operates 1.100 restaurants and plans to increase the number of its restaurants in China to 2.000 by 2013. What are the core strengths? Brand name McDonalds with Golden Arches logo have became the symbol of retail of low cost fast foods among the people, therefore McDonalds products are the first choice of customers in the market of fast foods services. Process management have been established providing business activities efficiency helped secure the quality of products and reduce the cost, which can compete with other fast food companies. Managements staffs, employees of McDonalds are high qualified, quick respond to the changing of the market (products and service innovation, remodelling of restaurants, improvement of technology, management). McDonalds economy scale and bargaining power dominance provide advantages in supplying of raw material (at low costs), that contribute to reduce the price on products lower than competitors. Would you describe the company as innovative? McDonalds is a innovative company because of the following activities: + From 1973, McDonalds was the first company in the world to provide customers with nutrition about the products its offers. + In order to meet requirement of customers to avoid obesity, McDonalds created new line of low fat products, in this Salad is one of the successful low fat bands. + In recent years, McDonalds has turned to new line of products, which are innovative and trendy, such as: coffee and beverage products with brand names McGriddle, Snack Wrap, premium coffee (take market share from Starbucks), Strawberry-banana and Wild berry (take market share from the fruity beverage sector). 5. Vision, Goals and how does it motivate its employees? 5.1. McDonalds mission statement In every stage of development of the Company, the mission of the Company has been changed to meet new goal and adapt trend of the market, and at present, McDonalds brand mission is to be our customers favourite place and way to eat. To implement the mission, Company has reinvented global strategy which called the Plan to Win, which identifies five core drivers that are: people, products, place, price and promotion. 5.2. What are its goals? As stated Jim Skimmer, Vice Chairman and CEO in annual report in 2009, the goals of the Company are improving the overall experience for customers of the Company. In accordance with report of Andy McKenna, Chairman in annual report in 2009, the goal of the Company are elevation of industry leadership of the Company, enhancing long term profitable growth, providing relevant offerings and supporting balanced lifestyles all contribute to the Companys continued success. 5.3. How does it motivate its employees? McDonalds recognizes the importance of the employees, who is driving force to the Companys success. Therefore, McDonalds has taken necessary measures, such as: create good conditions for working, living, studying and promotion. For example, September 2006, McDonalds Europe introduced the McPassport program, designed to help employees move and work in other McDonalds restaurants across Europe with relative ease. McDonalds Singapores vision, Every crew member can be a manager. McDonalds offers a unique training opportunity through the McDonalds University Accredited Programme. McDonalds builds a caring, warm community for employees, offers a variety of programs that franchised and company-operated restaurant employees can participate in to grow and develop, both personally and professionally. Healthcare options for McDonalds restaurant employees. 6. Would you like to work for this company and why? Studying McDonalds I would like to work for McDonalds for the following reasons: McDonalds is a qualified company managed by intellectual management teams, which has continuous developed with high rate and high profits. Therefore, McDonalds will secure the job for the long term. McDonalds encourages people to work creative. McDonalds provides good working conditions, social benefits, having a chance to education and of promotion.   The company follow CSR initiatives. 7. Summary McDonalds, with limited of fast-food menu, has served 60 million in almost 120 countries in the world every day and became the biggest company in the food industry and a one of 200 biggest companies in the world. The success of the McDonalds has shown the sample of efficiency management of MacDonalds Board of Management and Directory, which are: strategy in motivation of people, innovation of product, CSR initiatives, creation in management. Although in its history of foundation and development, there were difficulties, but McDonalds has overcame and adjusted these in time contributed in its development. At present, McDonalds still faces many difficulties, such as there are different campaign against McDonalds in advertising towards to children, or accuse its products effect obesity, but I think McDonalds will take necessary measures to overcame this difficulties.

Greek Gods - The Historical Background Essay -- Classics

Greek Gods - The Historical Background Greek gods were an essential part of Greek mythology. Our proper knowledge of the ancient Greek gods can be traced back to Homer who wrote The Iliad and The Odysse. It is also believed that the myths were heavily influenced by the Mycenaean culture that existed in Greece from 1700 to 1100 BC. However there is some evidence that the beginnings of Greek mythology and beliefs can be traced back to the ancient Middle Eastern cultures. There are many similarities between the mythology of these ancient Middle Eastern cultures and the ancient Greeks. Greek Gods - Religious & Social Background The Greek gods were created in order to explain the world around them in order to put a reason or explanation behind everything, and to provide entertainment for the masses. In the Greek religion however there was not a sole source or reading that could be studied and preached, i.e. Muslims study the Koran, and Christians the Bible. However the Greeks were broader and less strict in the way they practised their faith, each different Greek city-state would devote itself to a particular god or a set of gods, and depending on the location of the state the characteristics of the gods could vary many city-states erected temples to their particular gods, and these gods were honoured in festivals and animal sacrifices. The ancient Greek gods were believed to take on human form and lived in a society similar to human society, ...

Complex Relationship between the American and Jig in Hemingway’s Hills

The Complex Relationship between the American and Jig in Ernest Hemingway’s â€Å"Hills Like White Elephants† In Hemingway’s â€Å"Hills Like White Elephants†, the American and Jig are like the tracks at the train station, they can never meet. While Jig represents fertility, life and continuity, the American represents sterility, dryness and death. Unfortunately, Jig depends emotionally on the American – as many women depended on their male counterparts in the 1940s – and lacks the autonomy and willpower required to openly affirm herself in their relationship. As they struggle to find common ground, the very discussion that can bring them together only tears them apart. The differences in each character – in their personality, means of communication and desires – truly emphasize the constant opposition that burns between them, this very opposition leads to the couple’s inevitable separation, as Jig discovers herself and her independence through the dilemma at hand. The ubiquitous conflict between the American and Jig is underlined by the tremendous differences in their personality, communication methods and desires. In the beginning, the environment seems relaxed, neither, the American nor Jig, is speaking. Jig is looking out at the scenery that is â€Å"brown and dry† (paragraph 8) – like their relationship – as the American orders drinks. Unlike the American who is disconnected, Jig seems to be imaginative, intuitive and connected with her world, while she gazes out the window, she remarks that the hills â€Å"look like white elephants† (paragraph 9). At this point, she seems to have something on her mind: white elephants are believed to be rare and precious, although they require much upkeep, commitment and sacrifice, e... ...g and the American is what eventually tears them apart, they have different needs and desires and this, in turn, allows Jig to discover her independence, despite the difficult choice she faces. After having weighed everything, Jig would have probably had the abortion. Regardless of whether she leaves the American or remains forever unhappy with him, Jig’s decision is made: she takes a final stance and acknowledges – in an ironic tone – â€Å"I feel fine†¦ there’s nothing wrong with me. I feel fine† (paragraph 110). The question of self-affirmation has been solved here, as she looks to her own self, her own happiness and her own will to look at things as they are. WORKS CITED Hemingway, Ernest. â€Å"Hills Like White Elephants†. Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing. Ed. Edgar V. Roberts. 4th Compact Ed. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2008. 290-293.

Ethical Assessment of Implantable Brain Chips :: Science Neurology Technology Ethics Papers

Ethical Assessment of Implantable Brain Chips My purpose is to initiate a discussion of the ethics of implanting computer chips in the brain and to raise some initial ethical and social questions. Computer scientists predict that within the next twenty years neural interfaces will be designed that will not only increase the dynamic range of senses, but will also enhance memory and enable "cyberthink" — invisible communication with others. This technology will facilitate consistent and constant access to information when and where it is needed. The ethical evaluation in this paper focuses on issues of safely and informed consent, issues of manufacturing and scientific responsibility, anxieties about the psychological impacts of enhancing human nature, worries about possible usage in children, and most troubling, issues of privacy and autonomy. Inasmuch as this technology is fraught with perilous implications for radically changing human nature, for invasions of privacy and for governmental control of individuals, public di scussion of its benefits and burdens should be initiated, and policy decisions should be made as to whether its development should be proscribed or regulated, rather than left to happenstance, experts and the vagaries of the commercial market. The future may well involve the reality of science fiction's cyborg, persons who have developed some intimate and occasionally necessary relationship with a machine. It is likely that implantable computer chips acting as sensors, or actuators, may soon assist not only failing memory, but even bestow fluency in a new language, or enable "recognition" of previously unmet individuals. The progress already made in therapeutic devices, in prosthetics and in computer science indicate that it may well be feasible to develop direct interfaces between the brain and computers. Worldwide there are at least three million people living with artificial implants. In particular, research on the cochlear implant and retinal vision have furthered the development of interfaces between neural tissues and silicon substrate micro probes. The cochlear implant, which directly stimulates the auditory nerve, enables over 10,000 totally deaf people to hear sound; the retinal implantable chip for prosthetic vision may restore vision to the blind. Research on prosthetic vision has proceeded along two paths: 1) retinal implants, which avoid brain surgery and link a camera in eyeglass frames via laser diodes to a healthy optic nerve and nerves to the retina, and 2) cortical implants, which require brain surgery and the pneumatic insertion of electrodesinto the brain to penetrate the visual cortex and produce highly localized stimulation.

A. E. Housman’s “To An Athlete Dying Young” Essay

E. Housman’s â€Å"To An Athlete Dying Young† is part of his series of poems collected in his book, A Shropshire Lad. It is set during the funeral march of a young and victorious runner who died at the height of his career. The speaker is one of the pallbearers, who recounts the athlete’s victory and philosophizes on the timeliness of his death. As with the rest of the book, this poem resounds with the melancholic themes of death and dying in youth. To be more specific, this poem describes how it is best to die young and at the peak of one’s career in order for one’s memory and legacy to be forever etched in the minds of the people. Though Housman’s exhortation might seem to be bordering on the macabre, it rings true: glory, fortune, and fame are all fleeting. The poem starts by depicting the victory of the runner and how he became the source of pride in his town: â€Å"The time you won your town the race  / We chaired you through the market-place.† The image of chairing shows how the townspeople carried the runner on their shoulders and paraded him in the market-place. The market setting is important, as it depicts a place where people of all ages and social status converge. It is a testament to the runner’s achievement and how it was able to bring together different people together in his victory. As they were carrying him on his shoulder, â€Å"Man and boy stood cheering by, / And home we brought [him] shoulder-high.† The last line of the first stanza foreshadows what would happen as the poem progressed. Carrying him shoulder-high not only indicates how he was chaired by the townspeople but also foreshadows how his coffin would be carried at the same shoulder-high level as he is brought to his tomb. Also, home could be read two ways given the foreshadowing: home as in his physical house and home as in his final resting place. In this manner, the speaker draws a connection between his victory and his death, and how, in both instances, he would be carried by the shoulders to be brought â€Å"home.† In the second stanza, the procession takes a sudden turn from one of gaiety and victory to one of sadness and melancholy, as this time, they are no longer celebrating but sending the athlete to his grave. â€Å"Shoulders† and â€Å"house† again are mentioned, paralleling that of the first stanza albeit taken on a somber tone. The procession takes place on the â€Å"the road all runners come,† a metaphor for the road of life that everyone travels. Another metaphor makes an appearance to further the sober theme: once the athlete has been brought â€Å"home,† he becomes a â€Å"townsman of a stiller town.† The â€Å"stiller town† here refers not only to the cemetery at which he is buried but to the idea that he is resting in peace, that he has accepted his death. Again, this idea of peaceful death corresponds well to the theme. When young people die, people always assume that it is â€Å"untimely,† hence, they cannot rest in peace. However, for the athlete, his death is timely as he is at the peak of his career, ensuring that he will remain a glorious image in the minds of the townspeople for generations to come. The third stanza presents the main theme of the poem by saying that the runner was a â€Å"smart lad, to slip betimes away / From fields where glory does not stay.† The speaker also presents here the laurel as a symbol for glory and the rose as a symbol for the life of non-victors. He compares that lifespan of the laurel to the rose, indicating that the laurel easily withers, while the rose, slow to bloom, lives much longer. The fourth and fifth stanza both expound on the third, as it gives evidence of how death is indeed a blessing for the young athlete, for in death, he is able to preserve his victory. In death, he â€Å"cannot see the record cut,† indicating that he will not have to deal with younger and better runners eventually overtaking him, as they will inevitably do. In dying, too, he will not become like any run-of-the-mill athlete, who did not quit while they were ahead. As such, he is a privileged position, as he will not live to be disgraced, for his body died before his name. In the third stanza, death is represented by the metaphor â€Å"shady night,† which works on an age-old technique of associating death with night. An oxymoron is also used in the third stanza – silence sounds. It marries together two contradictory terms, which furthers the image of death, for in death, the only â€Å"sound† to be heard is â€Å"silence.† The main point of these two stanzas is that the brief life that he had is esteemed, for he did not have to suffer the loss of fame and glory. In the fifth stanza, the athlete is about to be laid in his tomb, and the speaker is exhorting his companions to recount once more the victory. He rationalizes that in doing such an act the memory of the runner’s victory is immortalized, preserving it in the minds of the people. The symbol of the challenge-cup is also used as a testament to the glory of the athlete. Once again, the metaphor of the death as shade is used, indicating that death is not the loss of the light of life but merely the blocking of light. The importance of this metaphor to the poem is that death cannot extinguish the light of the runner’s glory. At most, it can only dim it to a more subtle shadow. Finally, the last stanza elevates the theme of the poem – as well as the glorious athlete – towards another, spiritual level. In a way, the last stanza encapsulates the promise of dying young and at the height of fame, and that despite the seeming â€Å"untimeliness† of his demise, much more is to be gained through death. As the athlete passes on to the next life, the â€Å"strengthless dead† will â€Å"flock to gaze† at his â€Å"early-laurelled head.† The image of the dead surrounding the young athlete (implied by the phrase early-laurelled) is a very powerful one, as it indicates how the glory of the athlete transcends the mortal plane, which makes it an even more laudable success. Furthermore, in this spiritual state, his laurel crowns will not wither. What this means is that his success has finally become immortal, and his glory will no longer fade, preserved as it is, ironically, through death. Death as a way to preserve glory and success may seem to be too vain and too gruesome. However, it is important to go beyond this theme and instead, reach beyond the heart of the poem. For, at its heart and driving spirit is a reminder to people to remember that worldly glory and success are but transitory. Works Cited Housman, A. E. â€Å"To An Athlete Dying Young.† Ed., Untermeyer, Louis. Modern British Poetry. New York: Harcourt, Brace and Howe, 1920; Bartleby.com, 1999. . 12 April 2007.

Building a Local Fashion Brand

Executive Summary This report is prepared on the basis of a survey on a local fashion brand (Dishes Doss), & it's a survey to building this brand as a strong brand. The concept of branding has been around for centuries as a meaner to distinguish the goods of one producer from those of another. In fact the word brand is derived from the Old Norse word brander, which meaner â€Å"to burn,† as brands were and still are the meaner. Brands identify the source or maker of a product and allow consumers to assign responsibility to a particular manufacturer or distributor. Most important, brands take on special meaning to consumers.Because of past experiences with the product and its marketing program over these years, consumers find out which brands satisfy their needs and which one do not. As a result, brands provide a shortened device or meaner of simplification for their product decisions. Building a brand is a step by step process. There are four steps or six blocks to build up a brand. Here we applied all the steps or blocks to find out the present brand situation of Dishes Doss. In order of these steps or blocks we made a questioner of 69 questions ; held a survey on 50 people.After the survey we convert the result onto percentage and put it into graph to show the situation. The topic has been selected to building some local fashion brands (dishes Doss). A major objective of the report is to make customer based equity for these brands. After studying the steps of a brand building, we surveyed the information of these brands, on the basis of brand building. 1. 1 . Introduction: To build up a brand two questions often arises: What makes a brand strong? And how do you build a strong brand? To help to find out we study about the CUBE model which has four steps or six blocks.Beside this marketer face two questions are: What o different brands mean to customer? And how does the brand knowledge of consumers affect their response to marketing activity? The challen ge for marketers in building a strong brand is ensuring that customers have the right type of experiences with products and services and their accompanying marketing programs so that the desired thoughts, feelings, images, beliefs, perceptions, opinions, and so on become linked to the brand. 1. 2. Origin of the report: Brand is a very sensitive issue to the marketing people and is a very important issue to the customer.Because a strong brand can create a very highly demand of a reduce of a particular brand. To build up a strong brand one should to know so many things, ; he/she have to go with a four step procedures. And in this report we tried to focus on building a brand as a strong brand for that we select a local fashion brand. 1. 3. Objectives of the study: We make a study to know the Brand identity, meaning, response, relationship with the customers. We tried to know that is the customers are satisfied, dissatisfied, confused about the brand, its service, products and the overa ll factors.The core or the main objective of the study is to building a local fashion brand. To find the robbers, and scope of a local fashion brand ; build it as a strong brand. 1. 4. Methodology: We make a survey on Dishes Doss, which is a local fashion brand with ten famous local fashion brands. We make a questioner consisting 69 questions, on the basis of brand building in categories. Then take a sample of 50 people of different age, gender, ; occupation who use these brands. After getting the answers, we measured the level of satisfaction, dissatisfaction, confusion on different level of brand building. . 5. Limitations of the study: We are in our formal education stage. So this is our first assignment which is n the basis of the practical experience in real life. So, our lack of experience greatly influenced in preparing this report. We faced some other limitations that are given bellow: * It is too much difficult to comment and suggest based on few days study. Assignment repo rt is important to fulfill the Brand Management course, but we do not have enough time for such a detailed process. * Lack of collecting essential data ; information. * The survey is not 100% accurate. The four steps of brand building: The four steps of brand building represent a set of questions that customers invariably ask about brands. The questions are as follows: 1. Who are you? (Brand identity) 2. What are you? (Brand meaning) 3. What about you? What do I think or feel about you? (Brand response) 4. What about you ; me? What kind of association and how much of a connection would I like to have with you? (Brand relationships) By establishing the answer of these questions marketer can build a strong brand in the market among the customers.When customers get a clear answer of their question from the marketer then it become easy to make a decision about the brand. When marketer able to establish he answer of the question then they are on the way of building a strong brand. 2. 1. 1 . Brand Identity/salience: Achieving the right brand identity meaner brand salience with the customers. Brand salience measure awareness of the brand, that indicate is the customer are aware of the brand or not? Or how often and how easily the brand is identified by the customer in order of various situations and circumstances?We have said that brand awareness refers to customer ability to recall and recognize the brand under different conditions and to link the brand name, logo, symbol, and so forth to certain association in memory. Here we will know about the depth and the breadth of awareness thus gives the product an identity by linking brand elements to a product category and associated purchase and consumption or usage situations. Brand depth measure that how likely or easily the brand element come to the mind of customers ; brand breadth measure the range of purchase ; usage situation in which the brand element come to the mind. . 1. 2. Brand Meaning/Performance ; Imagery: The brand performance describe how well the product or service meets customers' more functional needs. How well does the brand rate on objective assessments of laity? To what extent does the brand satisfy utilitarian, aesthetic, and economic customer needs and wants in the product or service category? Five types of attributes and benefits often underlie brand performance, as follows: 1. Primary ingredients and supplementary features. 2. Product reliability, durability, and serviceability. 3. Service effectiveness, efficiency, and empathy. 4.Style and design. 5. Price. 2. 1. 3. Brand Response/]judgment & feelings: Brand image indicate a brand picture in a customer mind. Brand imagery depends on the extrinsic properties of the producer or service, including the ways in which the rand attempts to meet customer psychological or social needs. In this way people think about a brand abstractly, rather then what they think the brand actually does. Thus imagery refers to more intangible aspe cts of the brand, and consumers can form imagery association directly from their own experience or indirectly through some other source of information.Many kinds of intangibles can be linked to a brand, but four main ones are: 1. User profiles. 2. Purchase and usage situations. 3. Personality and values. 4. History, heritage, and experiences. Brand Judgments are customers' personal opinions about and evaluations of the rand, which consumers form by putting together all the different brand performance and imagery associations. The four types of brand Judgments are important, they are: 1 . Judgment about brand quality, 2. Brand Credibility, 3. Brand Consideration, 4. Brand Superiority. 2. 1. 4.Brand Relationship/Resonance: Brand resonance describes the nature of the relationship and the extent to which customers feel that they are ‘in sync' with the brands. Resonance is characterized in terms of intensity, or the depth of psychological bonds that customers have with the brands, as well as the level of activity engendered by this loyalty.