Significance of Therapeutic Relationships between Nurses and Patients Essay

Significance of Therapeutic Relationships between Nurses and Patients with Different Cultural Background in Saudi Arabia - Essay Example 4 b. Significance of Spirituality as a Core Component of Holistic Nursing Care †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 6 c. The Different Stages of Nurse-Patient Relationship as Described by Hildegard Peplau †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 9 c.1 Orientation Phase †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 9 c.2 Working Phase †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 10 c.3 Resolution or Termination Phase †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 11 d. Strategies that will Improve Nurse-patient Therapeutic Approach particularly with Regards to the Patients with Different Cultural Background †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..†¦. 12 e.1 The Application of Humour and Laughter When Caring for Patients †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 12 e.2 The Use of Good Communication Skills †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 13 e.3 The Ability of the Nurses to Tolerate the Patients’ Negative Attitude †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 15 e.4 The Application of Cultural Leverage †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 17 e. Real-life Examples that will serve as a Guide in Improving the Nurse-patient Therapeutic Relationship with the Patients in Saudi Arabia †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 18 III. Conclusion and Recommendations †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦..†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. ... In order for a nurse to properly care for a patient, cultural sensitivity is very important. It is not enough to administer medicines in a professional manner. Nurses need to understand why patients make certain requests, why they act certain ways, and what their expectations really are. Understanding cultural differences is a key part of this. Culture forms the way in which social relations of a particular ethnic group are being structured and shaped (Clarke et al., 1976, pp. 4 – 6). In line with this, strong values represent a stable, long lasting belief which could greatly influence the perception and decision-making of the patients with regards to their preferred treatment and care. In general, culture sets a standard in guiding us in determining what is good from bad and what is morally right from wrong (Sagie & Elizur, 1996). Since there are a lot of differences with regards to religion, race, educational attainment, and economic status of each ethnic group, nurses shoul d learn more about the cultural differences of each patient. Upon examining the impact of cultural differences with regards to the overall team performance, the study of Strauch (2010) revealed that cultural factors could lead to team errors especially when the team members have high-level of work load and are highly stressed during the operational phase. In line with this, Wachtler, Brorsson, & Troein (2006) confirmed that cultural differences between the health care professionals and the patients could cause the general practitioners to wrong diagnosis and treatment. As an indirect result of general practitioners’ wrong diagnosis, nurses may end up administering wrong medications to patients with different ethnic and cultural background. Developing awareness regarding the

Agricultural pricing policies and distributional issues Essay Example for Free

Agricultural pricing policies and distributional issues Essay The actual cause of food insecurity across the globe has been a longstanding debate among the social, economic, political, and scientific fronts of the society. It is a common assertion that the cause of food insecurity revolves in ineffective agricultural pricing policies and distribution issues (Case, etl, 2008). On the contrary, some individuals have blamed the problem to natural causes such as drought which are beyond our control ability (Kracht Schulz, 1999). Nevertheless, given available scientific evidence that the world has enough resources to sustain its population, the problem of food insecurity is no doubt a question of poor agricultural policies. This paper seeks to refute the claim that â€Å"famines are acts of God resulting from bad weather or other natural disasters. Therefore, there is nothing we can do about them except to send food relief after they occur†. The actual causes of famines   Effective agricultural practices are instrumental in ensuring sustainable food security in the world. On the other hand, resources such as land, rains, and farming capital remain a major challenge to the realization of large scale agricultural production (Babu, etl, 2009). Famine is defined as a period of food scarcity for sustaining a given population. True to the letter, famines are cause by a combination of natural and mankind factors. Drought and crop disease outbreaks have been blamed for compromising the yielding capacity of crops (Babu, etl, 2009). This is because they negate the projected production provisions made by farmers. In addition, disasters like floods and strong winds potentially damages plants. Poor agricultural practices are one of the commonly asserted mankind contributions to famine in the global community. Just like other investments, the level of agricultural outputs is dependent on the farming techniques employed by the farmer. The problem of global warming has also been blamed for causing weather prediction uncertainties (Babu, etl, 2009). This has prompted the development of adaptive agricultural strategies to enhance production security under such situations. Nevertheless, most farmers, particularly in developing nation are still engaged in traditional farming practices which are no doubt a source of production risk in the event of weather failure. Moreover, failure by government to give farming incentives and subsidies (Babu, etl, 2009) serves to lower agricultural production. Another artificial cause of famine is lack of effective food preservation and weather prediction strategies. Food security should be a matter of priority in any sober government. This means that the government should have a reliable strategy for monitoring its food reserves (Kracht Schulz, 1999). Failure in food production due to natural causes does not always lead to famine as can be evident from the 1989-1992 droughts that were witnessed in southern Africa region. Though agriculture production was low during this time the strategic approach employed by Southern African Development Community (SADC) played a crucial role in evading a famine crisis in the region (Babu, etl, 2009). Therefore, poor food conservation and weather forecasting strategies are major cause of famine. The impact of agricultural pricing policies on famines Consideration of agricultural pricing policies is quite important in understanding the problem of famine in a given community. Agriculture as a business serves as a source of livelihood for many individuals in the community. This is particularly true in developing nations where their economy is heavily dependent on agriculture (Case, etl, 2008). On the other side, in a free market economy, the price of products is determined by the factors of demand and supply. This has the implication that overproduction of agricultural products calls for decreased prices in the market. However, the government as having the responsibility of protecting its economy has been engaged in regulating product prices. This is evident from government policies such as purchasing agricultural products from farmers into its food reserves at competitive prices (Kracht Schulz, 1999). Such are instrumental in ensuring farmers of competitive market availability for their products. Nevertheless, government agricultural pricing policies have been blamed for inhibiting production (Case, etl, 2008). According to available information, seasonal overproduction in the agricultural sector has witnessed low prices for such products as well as damage of products due to lack of markets and effective preservation practices. Through this, the community suffers the consequences of food insecurity, an element that might lead to famine if poor persistent poor weather conditions occur. In addition, motivation of farmers through effective pricing policies is found to promote innovative agricultural practices (Kracht Schulz, 1999). This is because it serves to guarantee farmers sustainable returns for their investments. Available literature has it that the globe is witnessing a gradual shift from agricultural economy to better paying jobs in the formal job market. This is in part a consequence of poor pricing policies in the agricultural sector which threatens sustainable economic independence of farmers (Case, etl, 2008). Indeed, lowered agricultural production in developing nations has been blamed on poor product prices. This trend is of major concern to the realization of food security in the world, a factor which contributes much to the problem of famine. On the other hand, most developed nations have limited commercial agricultural production to big farms whose production can be efficiently monitored by the government (Clapp, etl, 2009). This gives the government an added advantage of closely considering its moderation of product prices to protect this major source of food supply to the nation’s population. On the contrary, most developing nations engage in small scale, typically subsistence farming (Clapp, etl, 2009). Such compromises the development of effective government product pricing policies.

Make It Mine - Customization as the Future of Luxury Essay Example for Free

Make It Mine Customization as the Future of Luxury Essay 1 â€Å"The things at Prada today are not well made, the fabrics are not as good, everything was much better in my time† Miuccia Prada I. Purpose of Research The changing landscape of the luxury industry challenges brands to find a new approach to reach out to their core costumers. Brands like Louis Vuitton, Gucci or Burberry are about to jeopardize their true customers and their image by overexposing themselves to a mass luxury clientele. Thus, a new approach must be found to bring back the feeling of true luxury, personal attention and to create a bond to their core customers. This paper’s purpose is to examine how luxury brands can adapt mass customization techniques in order to create a sustainable competitive advantage and bring back the notion of true luxury. Furthermore, it will be questioned if customization can harm a luxury brands image and status, taking into consideration the â€Å"anti-laws† of marketing, which propose to not pander to the customer’s wishes and to dominate the luxury client (Kapferer, Bastien, 2009, 64 f. ). The goal is to come up with a conclusion that provides luxury brands with a direction of how customization could be implemented and what benefits or challenges may come with it. II. From Class to Mass Looking at today’s luxury fashion market one does not have to be an expert like Miuccia Prada to see things have changed. While almost every established luxury brand started out as a small business with a tradition of unique craftsmanship, utmost quality, best service and limited quantities, those attributes are not necessarily true for many of today’s still existing luxury brands. Luxury brands have gone mass. This is often referred to as â€Å"the democratization of luxury†, which means 2 that luxury brands have opened themselves for a mass market. While back in the day luxury brands were the domain of the rich only available in selected stores or brand owned boutiques, brands today want to reach a wider customer range. According to Thomas, aggressive growth was not a priority until the eighties (Thomas, 2007, 238). However, growth quickly became the main objective and store expansions have experienced a boom in Japan, as well as the USA. The middle market customer was born. By expanding their assortment lines in department stores with lower-priced items, such as perfumes, small leather goods and cold-weather items, luxury brands became attainable. No longer were people intimidated to walk into a luxury boutique, they often became tourist attractions in capital cities. Luxury brands were intrigued by the sudden success. It just took a few logo-covered products, which were the middle class’s favorite item and sales and profits grew steadily. However, the rapid expansion also created one of the luxury brands biggest problems today. As banking analysts conclude, the greatest problem that luxury brands have created for themselves by going mass is financial instability. â€Å"Before its global expansion to the middle market, luxury was immune to economic cycles. The companies were small and catered to a limited old-money clientele [†¦] who shopped consistently and bought well. Luxury was a successful niche business. But when luxury changed its target audience to the cost-conscious middle market that shops when flush but stops cold when times get tough, it made itself dangerously vulnerable to recessions† (Thomas, 2007, 264). Another disadvantage from overexposing themselves is the loss of the traditional old money clientele, since their logos could be seen everywhere. Many brands jeopardized their exclusivity status along with their â€Å"well-crafted† message along the chase for higher profits, in order to keep the shareholders happy. The dilution of the luxury status peaked with the 3 introduction of e-commerce and outlet stores. In the first case it is very hard for a brand to create a luxury shopping experience, since the Internet is a generic and impersonal sales channel. In the case of outlet stores, brands are trying to sell their overstock, which has highly increased due to mass production. Not only is merchandise that was once available at a high-end boutique sold for a discount price, moreover some brands are producing some items solely for outlets (Edouard, 2006, 11). Assessing the six main facets of a luxury brand, which have been identified in a broad empirical study by Dubois/Laurent/Czellar and are considered to be global and most accurate, one can review the situation of the luxury market today. The six main facets are (Dubois/Laurent/Czellar, 2001, 8 ff. ): †¢ Very High Price (according to the absolute price (inter-categorical) as well as the price relative to other brands of the same category (intracategorical)). Excellent Quality (according to the processed materials as well as the assumed diligence of the manufacturing-process). Scarcity Uniqueness (expressed by a difficult accessibility and rarity). Aesthetics Polysensuality (creating through design, colors etc. a value experience that touches all senses). Ancestral Heritage Personal History (continuous branding in design, communications etc. ). Superfluousness (dominant perception of symbolic attributes †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ compared to technical-functional ones). It is evident that at least two of the six facets, namely Excellent Quality and Scarcity and Uniqueness, are not fulfilled in many cases anymore. Industry experts suggest that the last true luxury brands that are living up to all the standards are Hermes and 4 Chanel (Thomas, 2007, 323). Hermes is the epitomization of luxury, which is highly due to the fact that the house is still making all its products by hand, sourcing the finest materials and using special design and production techniques that have been invented from the house’s founder over 150 years ago. However, there is another reason why Hermes is on top of other luxury brands: Customization. Unlike in most luxury boutiques, Hermes only receives a few handbags each season to sell them directly. However, this is the exception. The rule is that those handbags are just a display of options. The customer can choose the material (canvas, cowhide, reptile or ostrich), the color and the hardware and in case of the Kelly bag the seams (Thomas, 2007, 172). And then you wait for a product that is specifically tailored to your taste and needs. Obviously this is an experience that real customers highly value. The next chapter provides a brief overview about the luxury consumers today and examines the need to offer separate services for each customer type. III. The Luxury customer today â€Å"Today’s luxury consumer is different from the wealthy consumer of the past. † (Okonkwo, 2007, 65) As mentioned above, many luxury brands opened themselves for the middle-class customer. Silverstein and Fiske have extensively described the evolution and habits of these consumers in their book â€Å"Trading up† (2005). Amongst those â€Å"mass wealthy† consumers, the spending on luxury goods has increased tremendously due to a rise in real household income by 30 percent since 1970. Looking at the figures, four million American households had a net worth of more than $1 million by 2005 and the average spending increased up to 70% (Thomas, 2007, 239). Parallel to this the credit card debt reached its peak. What happened to all that money? Consumers 5 traded up and luxury brands catered to their new audience. While the old-money consumer had a deep appreciation for quality and craftsmanship, the new luxury consumer wanted to buy into the dream and show that they could. Logos came in fashion, and soon â€Å"It† bags with the brand’s logo plastered on them could be seen everywhere and on everyone. Interesting enough brands and designers seem to embrace this trend, as Marc Jacobs states: â€Å"When you look at Louis Vuitton, you see it is mass-produced luxury. Vuitton is a status symbol. It’s not about hiding the logo. It’s being about a bit of a show-off† (Thomas, 2007, 18). Although welcomed by the brands themselves, this is a development that does not please a lot of the old luxury consumers and luxury brands are about to jeopardize their core clientele. Besides the love for the logo there are other characteristics that come along with the new luxury consumers. These are a need for a quick trend turnaround, a disposable attitude and the experimenting and mixing of luxury brands with premium and fast fashion (Okonkwo, 2007, 66). Thus, these consumers are not loyal to one single brand but shop across the entire brand hierarchy, from Gucci to HM. And they are not recession proof. While in the past luxury catered to a limited old money clientele enough money whose spending habits have not been deeply affected by economic cycles, short-term stock market drops or the dependency of credit available, the new luxury customer is very sensitive to all those factors. The luxury market as we experience it today is an amalgam of mass production1, flashy branding, highly varying quality and heavy advertising. While this might work for the middle class market, educated, real luxury consumers cannot be captioned by such techniques. 1 E. g. all Gucci leather products are designed on a computer, by 2004 the entire Gucci group produced 3,5 million leather goods a year, with a production time of two to three hours for a basic bag. Louis Vuitton’s handbags are produced in an assembly line setting in China, where it takes two minutes to glue handles on two bags. As a comparison, an average size Birkin or Kelly bag takes up to sixteen hours, while a bigger one takes up to thirty hours (Thomas, 2007) (Purseleague, 2010). 6 This paper acknowledges the importance of these new customers for luxury brands in order to keep the shareholders satisfied and the need for luxury brands to grow and make profits. If brands would stop cater to this clientele, the losses would be tremendous, since the brands made themselves dependent on high volume sales. However, it must also be considered that such practices can and will jeopardize the old luxury consumers, the ones who support the brand even in tough economic times. Thus, this paper suggests an approach to return to older notions of luxury, namely superb quality, classic design, premium service and customization. In short, the ultimate luxury experience. IV. Back to the roots â€Å"Luxury fashion brands today are too available, everything is too uniform, and customer business is too pedestrian. † Tom Ford Looking back in the history of luxury, customization has been the starting point for many brands and has always played a vital role in the brand’s identity. Hermes started out as custom-made harness shop, catering only to the aristocracy. Likewise Gucci, which started as a saddlery shop in Florence and later specialized in small custom made leather goods and luggage, while Louis Vuitton started as a Malletier for French Royals. All had in common that made-to-order items were the focus of their businesses and they offered only a small product range. Another big part of the customization history of luxury and probably the embodiment of the ultimate luxury item is the haute couture dress. Fittings were done by the couturiers themselves and the garment was constructed for one’s own shape, height and comfort. When American society ladies could not make it to Paris, the Couture houses would sell their patterns to stores like Saks or I. Magnin and fittings were done in beautiful 7 private fitting rooms to convey the Paris atmosphere. Shopping in those department stores was an experience, an event, a pleasure and sales assistants were experts, advisors and friends. Customers chose their favorites, either at in-house fashion shows or during personal viewings, and an in-house seamstress would alter everything to make the customer happy and fit the garment perfectly. This was a long time ago. As Thomas, points out, luxury clothing shopping today is more an exercise of patience, with only a few pieces in the smallest sizes on the sales floor, mediocre service and long waiting times (Thomas, 2007, 5). Buying an $8000 dress directly from the rack is a relatively new phenomenon, evolving with the availability and democratization of luxury. Reviewing the history of customization in the luxury industry, the following points can be identified that cater to a true luxury experience: Craftsmanship, high quality material, luxury service and customization. Based on these findings, the following part of the paper will develop a framework of customization for luxury brands today. It should be emphasized that the approach of customization is not catering to the luxury mass clientele, but rather to the true luxury customer, to create brand loyalty and recreate the luxury experience in the current market setting. V. Customization in Today’s Luxury Market One’s striving for uniqueness and expressing their individuality has without a doubt reached a peak in the current society. Some businesses have recognized this development and reacted accordingly, such as Dell, Apple, Levis, BMW or even Ralph Lauren. Especially luxury consumers always had the need to feel the exclusivity attribute of a service or a product and require personal attention. Luxury customers today do not want to follow a dictate by a brand, they are independent in 8 their choices and want to be involved in the creative process. As one author correctly stated, the days of uniformity and sameness are over (Okonkwo, 2007, 249). While Okonkwo is advocating a â€Å"mass customization† approach, which means that customization for luxury brands is done in bulk and offered to everyone, this paper suggests an exclusive approach of customization. Although economies of scale still play a role with the exclusive approach, it is not promoted to produce customized products en masse. This again would take way from the notion of rarity and exclusivity and would not help luxury brands to recreate a luxury experience, which is the purpose of this paper. It must be mentioned that a few luxury brands currently offer customization as they call it, however this is not customization to a degree that satisfies a true luxury customer. Louis Vuitton for example offers a â€Å"customization/personalization† service on its website, where customers can choose different colors for stripes and their initials to be drawn on a brown canvas bag. The whole process is done online, which delivers no luxury atmosphere at all and the aesthetics are not living up to a luxury brand and neither the leather, nor the hardware or lining can be altered. â€Å"Real customization† is only available for travel pieces. According to Gilmore and Pine, two customization experts, there are four different approaches for customization and managers should evaluate each to offer best service to their customers. In some cases not every approach is possible. The following part of the paper examines each approach and the possibilities for a luxury brand to utilize it (Gilmore/Pine, 2000, 116). 9 1. Collaborative Customization In this approach a company is conducting a dialogue with customers, so that they can articulate their preferences and needs. The goal is to identify a precise offering in order to satisfy these needs and offer a tailored product. 2 2. Adaptive customization In this case a standard product is offered, that the customers can customize themselves after the purchase. An example would be a watch where one can change the wristbands, such as the Gucci â€Å"U-Play Interchangeable Lizard Watch†. Fig. 1 Gucci â€Å"U-Play Interchangeable Lizard Watch† 3. Cosmetic Customization 2 [†¦] on an Air France flight from Paris to London Jane Birkin pulled her Hermes datebook out of her bag and all her papers fell out. She groused about how the book needed a pocket. Besides her sat Jean-Louis Damas. He took her datebook and she got it back a few weeks later with a pocket stitched inside, which is still there today (Thomas, 2007, 189). 10 Cosmetic Customization is not about the product itself but more about the packaging, the advertisement of different attributes or benefits of the product. Thus, a standard product is packaged and presented differently for certain markets. This can become especially important a retail environment where customized packaging plays a big role. Personalization, like adding the customer’s name would be an example for a cosmetic customization. 4. Transparent Customization This approach is used when customers do not directly communicate their needs, but they are easily predictable or can be easily deduced. Customers are provided with goods or services tailored for them, without letting them know that they have been customized for them. This type of customization requires constant monitoring and a deep understanding of the customers needs. It challenges brands to come up with innovative methods of data collecting. Fig. 2 The Four Approaches to Customization 11 Besides the different approaches of customization it must be mentioned that customization can be applied throughout the value chain, but it implies a company open for innovative approaches and careful management. Customized? Development? Customized? Production? Customized? Retailing? Customized? Delivery? Fig. 3 Possible Value Chain of a Luxury Brand Since it would exceed the scope of this paper to discuss every possible customization process that could be applied by a luxury brand, the following part outlines a scenario of customizing a luxury handbag for exclusive customers, taking every step in the value chain into account. In the development stage of the product, the customer would make an appointment in a luxury boutique, or be offered to have a designated expert of the brand come by a place of the customer’s choice. It must be mentioned that customization should only take place in selected brand-owned boutiques, such as flagship stores and never on the internet or a non luxury shopping mall (e. g. Lenox). In the case of an instore appointment, there should be a private room or section that is solely reserved for customization customers, including catering of exquisite snacks and drinks to enhance the luxury atmosphere. Unlike customization that is offered online, the customer should actually have all the materials that she can choose from in front of her, so she can feel and smell the different kinds of leather, fabrics, linings, hardware etc. As mentioned above, polysensuality is an integral part of a luxury brand, thus all senses should be addressed. The brand should provide multiple options to choose from of materials, shapes and sizes. However, if a customer has a special wish, e. g. 12 a color that is not available in the presented selection or a special lining wish, the brand should be able to provide it. On top of that personalization should be offered. Customers should be able to have their name, a quote, writing etc. on the bag at every place they want it. Anya Hindmarch for example offers customers the opportunity to write a personal message in their own handwriting that is discreetly embossed on the handbag in silver or gold, prices range from $1300 $9. 500 (Okonkwo, 2007, 262). Unfortunately, this service is only offered online, thus customers can’t feel the materials and have definitely no luxury experience. When the customization process is finished, the brand should have special software to show the customer on a big screen a model of what the creation will look like, so that last changes can be made. The design must be sent to an atelier, preferably in the country of the brand’s origin, where skilled craftsman are working on the items. Each bag must be identified with a number, the craftsman who worked on it and the material it was made from. Naturally a customized piece has a longer delivery time, for a handbag approximately 6-16 weeks, depending on availability of materials etc. However, since a customized item is considered an investment piece, customers are willing to have a longer waiting time. After the item has arrived in the store, cosmetic customization can be made at the point of retail by the sales assistant. In case of a bag or travel item e. g. the brand could attach a charm or a customized name nametag in the bag’s color to surprise the customer and show special attention. The packaging of the customized item can also be tailored towards the taste of the customer (the in-store customization expert should be aware of customer’s preferences or be able to find out during the design process, referred to as transparent customization). Along with the customized item the customer should 13 receive a letter from the store manager, which addresses the customer directly and shows the brand’s appreciation. Having a personal delivery service that brings the item directly to the customer can customize the last part of the value chain. To create the ultimate luxury experience the brand could additionally send flowers, truffles or wine to show appreciation for the customer. The process of customization outlined above is not limited to bags and can be applied to almost every item, shoes, jewelry, travel items etc. Obviously customization is a laborious process, thus the question arises which advantages does it have for brand have and is all the effort worth it? The basic question â€Å"Do customized products bring additional value to the customer† was widely discussed in academic literature. The findings of the latest study by Franke, Keinz and Steger suggest that the higher the customer involvement with a product is, the more value customization adds (Franke, Keinz, Steger, 2009, 115). Assuming that a luxury product already requires a high consumer involvement, due to its high price and the â€Å"dream value†, it can be concluded that customized luxury goods are adding value to the customer’s purchase. Amongst all advantages the most important one is the closer contact and relationship to your core customers, and a personal identification with the brand. The customer serves as a co-designer and in-house consultant during the customization process. The brand can learn about their customers’ taste and tap into their intellectual property, which results in higher potential of future design success. Empowerment of the customer leads to a higher customer satisfaction, which results in repeated purchases, less comparative shopping and overall brand loyalty (Okonkwo, 2007, 252). Especially in a globalized luxury landscape brands can satisfy customers in different parts of the world and react to cultural taste differences. As a conclusion it can be said, that â€Å"benefits of 14 customization are contingent on characteristics of the customer, namely his or her level of insight into own preferences, ability to express those preferences, and product involvement† (Franke, Keinz, Steger, 116). Although the advantages overweigh, it must be noted that customization also imposes challenges on a brand, such as the integration of the customization process into already existing internal processes and the value chain. Operations must be changed, functional units for customization must be established and the brand must invest in human capital, in order to have experts on both the retail and manufacturing side. Many companies will have difficulties overcoming current practices, since most luxury brands are now owned by big conglomerates, where they face a wall of bureaucracy. Besides that the collection of personal data from customers is a highly sensitive area of customization. First, data collection and analysis are not a core competence of luxury brands and many companies just started to use special software. Thus, problems could arise organizing and interpreting the gathered information. Second, although it can help a lot with future shopping assistance and marketing, luxury brands should never store personal data without the explicit permission of the customers. VI. Marketing in an Age of Diversity It is a given that an exclusive offer like customization needs an exclusive marketing approach. Therefore, all common marketing practices, such as fashion magazine advertisement, blogs, online marketing etc. are not an option. Since this customization is a costly service, the right clientele must be targeted. Thus, this paper suggests three marketing approaches to reach the luxury core customer. The 15 first strategy is to approach luxury magazines that are not directly fashion related. The selected magazines would include, but are not limited to: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ FT- How to spend it Town and Country Palm Beach Illustrated3 Architectural Digest Robb Report Unique Homes Luxury Living Dolce Vita Elite Traveler Prestige Instead of placing bold ads in these magazines, the marketing strategy should focus on creating interest by subtle advertisement. This could include product placement in an editorial spread that has nothing to do with fashion, e. g. a bag could be placed on a designer table in Architectural Digest. Placing the product in a special section like â€Å"most exclusive picks of the month† would be another form of subtle advertisement. If the relations to a magazine are very good, the brand could have the magazine featuring a story about most exclusive luxury items and place the customization service in there. It is crucial that prices or places where the customization service is offered will not be communicated. The magazine should only provide a phone number that connects the customer to the customization department of the brand, where all information will be available. Furthermore â€Å"price upon request† is an effective tool to create interest and the notion that a product is in a top price range and only available for a few clients. 3 Palm Beach Illustrated Magazine is an award-winning regional luxury lifestyle magazine, appealing to the worlds most sophisticated and ultra-affluent audience. The magazines content reflects the many facets of sophistication that set the Palm Beach market apart and gives the community its unique brand of panache. Focusing on cutting-edge fashion, the social and philanthropic scenes, the celebrities and fascinating personalities, the exquisite estates and interiors, as well as the luxurious retail and travel opportunities available in this unique region. 16 The second marketing strategy would be an exclusive catalogue, in which the brand introduces its new service to selected clients. That this service is not available to the broad public must be clearly communicated. Naturally the catalogue must be printed on high quality paper and must feature only very creative pictures from one of the world’s best fashion photographer, such as Andrea Klarin, Raya or Steven Meisel. The catalogue should inform the customers about the customization process, as well as provide examples of customized bags. Since luxury customers today have strong values and principles, the catalogue should include where products such as leather and silk are sourced as well as the place of production. The catalogues would be sent to already existing top customers, whose addresses the luxury brand should have in their data storage. Magazines such as Prestige, which only have subscribers over a certain net worth (starting at $2 Mio. ) could provide additional addresses of future customers. The catalogue must convey a luxury feeling through materials and aesthetics, so it does become a decorative book more than a disposable item. The last part of the marketing strategy would be an invitation only event that can be held in the best hotels of strategically important cities. With approximately 150-200 guests, the brand would exclusively introduce the customization service to their most important clients and high-society people of the city in a glamorous atmosphere. The brand could show a video about their history and heritage, leading the consumer back in the days when customization was the starting point of the brand. Exquisite catering and entertainment must be a part of the event, as well as a small fashion show that shows the brand’s latest collection with some of the customized items. The brand should have a customization expert on site, so if guests have questions about the service there is a person helping them directly. 17 VII. Financial Analysis The attached excel sheet outline a one-year cash flow plan for setting up the customization service in a first tier city flagship store. The $500. 000 start capital are sponsored by corporate. Travel expenses include travels to other flagship stores, the manufacturing site or to customers, who are out of town. As mentioned before, customized products do not impose any inventory costs on the stores. It is assumed that corporate takes over most advertising costs, however stores must support local advertisement, which can be seen in the expenses. Income taxes are assumed to be 25 percent of the sales, based on the information that in the US income taxes range from 10-35 percent. The sales figures are derived from the following price points of merchandise: Between $9. 000 and $85. 000 for a customized bag, $800 $5000 for customized shoes and $15. 000 100. 000 for customized travel items. Prices depend on leather, hardware, other materials such as lining and complexity of production. The high price points are set deliberately, to keep away non-enthusiast and protect the exclusivity of the service. The predicted sales figures are more conservative at the introduction phase of the customization service but pick up by the end of the 12 months, leaving the store with a profit of $648,700. 000 at the end of the year. December is supposed to have the highest sales figures, due to holiday business. VIII. Conclusion: Does Customization Take Away a Brand’s Authority? One reason why many brands are reluctant to change their current practices when it comes to customization is their fear of losing brand authority. As Okonkwo put it correctly, it is argued that if brands provide their customers with the tools to customize their products, they might lose their superiority appeal (Okonkwo, 2007, 248). Marketing guru Kapferer advises luxury brands to â€Å"Not pander to their 18 customers’ wishes† and to â€Å"Dominate the client† (Kapferere/Bastien, 2009, 64 f. ). However, looking at the roots of most luxury brands, with customization as their starting point, this advice seems to be outdated and ignorant to the trends in current society. Due to the latest development in the luxury markets, which have extensively explained above in chapter II- IV, denying customization to the customer seems to be narrow-minded and can seriously damage the brand on the long run. Since customization as discussed in this paper is not a means to please the masses, but to gain back the true luxury consumer who seeks an exclusive experience, the argument that the brand loses its superiority status is not applicable. The purpose of research was to examine if luxury brands could use customization in order to win back core customers and regain a luxury status. It can be concluded that with the right marketing approaches as well as with a management that is open for innovation, customization can be a great tool to optimize customer satisfaction and add value at every part of the value chain. If customization is executed correctly, it can change the luxury landscape to a situation where not only Hermes, but other brands with a long tradition of craftsmanship can be considered true luxury again. 19 References M. Edouard (2006), Revamping Luxury: Mass Customization Applied to the Luxury Goods Market. MBA Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. N. Franke, P. Keinz, C. J. Steger (2009), Testing the Value of Customization: When Do Customers Really Prefer Products Tailored to Their Preferences? , Journal of Marketing Vol. 73 (Sept. 2009),103-121. J. Holusha (1996), Making the Shoe Fit, Perfectly; Companies Use Technology to Sell to a Market of One, The New York Times. J. N. Kapferer, V. Bastien (2009), The Luxury Strategy – Break the Rules of Marketing to Build Luxury Brands. London: Kogan Page. P. Zipkin (2001), The Limits of Mass Customization, MIT Sloan Management Review, Spring2001, Vol. 42 Issue 3, p81, 7p.

A Business System For Technicians Commerce Essay

A Business System For Technicians Commerce Essay Business, now-a-days is vitally affected by the economic, social, legal, technological and political factors. These factors collectively form business environment. Business environment, as such, is the total of all external forces, which affect the organisation and operations of business. The environment of an organisation has got internal, operational and general factory managers must be aware of these three environmental levels and their relationship and importance. Economic dimensions of environment Economic environment refers to the aggregate of the nature of economic system of the country, the structural anatomy of the economy to economic policies of the government the organisation of the capital market, the nature of factor endowment, business cycles, the socio-economic infrastructure etc. The successful businessman visualizes the external factors affecting the business, anticipating the prospective market situations and makes suitable changes to get the maximum with minimize cost. Social dimensions or environment The social dimension or environment of a nation determines the value system of the society which, in turn affects the functioning of the business. Sociological factors such as costs structure, customs and conventions, cultural heritage, view toward wealth and income and scientific methods, respect for seniority, mobility of labour etc. have far-reaching impact on the business. These factors determine the work culture and mobility of labour, work groups etc. For instance, the nature of goods and services to be produced depends upon the demand of the people which in turn is affected by their attitudes, customs, so as cultural values fashion etc. Political environment The political environment of a country is influenced by the political organisations such as philosophy of political parties, ideology of government or party in power, nature and extent of bureaucracy influence of primary groups etc. political stability in the country, foreign policy, Defence and military policy, image of the country and its leaders in and outside the country. Legal regulatory environment Legal environment includes flexibility and adaptability of law and other legal rules governing the business. It may include the exact rulings and decision of the courts. These affect the business and its managers to a great extent. Technical environment Business in a country is greatly influenced by the technological development. The technology adopted by the industries determines the type and quality of goods and services to be produced and the type and quality of plant and equipment to be used. Technological environment influences the business in terms of investment in technology, consistent application of technology and the effects of technology on markets. (P5) Part A The following is an example of the basic health and safety which needs to be addressed within an engineering company:- GENERAL REQUIREMENT FIRE/EMERGENCY PROCEDURES GENERAL SAFETY CODE OFFICE SAFETY WORKING WITH DISPLAY SCREEN EQUIPMENT SAFE USE OF ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT SAFETY PROCEDURES IN HARDWARE PRACTICAL CLASSES IN ROOM 16G27 SAFETY PROCEDURES IN ELECTRONICS LABORATORY AND WORKSHOP SAFTEY CONTROL OF SUBSTANCES HAZARDOUS SAFETY FOR TECHNICAL SUPPORT STAFF FIRST AID AND EMERGENCY FACILITIES REPORTING HAZARDS The Health Safety at work Act 1974 The Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 , also referred to as HASAW or HSW, is the primary piece of legislation covering occupational health and safety in the United Kingdom. The Health and Safety Executive is responsible for enforcing the Act and a number of other Acts and Statutory Instruments relevant to the working environment. Fire precautions Act 1971 The Act furthers the provisions for the protection of persons from fire risks. If any premises are put to use and are designated a certificate is required from the fire authority. Although classes of use cover the provisions of sleeping accommodation; use as an institution; use for the purposes of entertainment, recreation, instruction, teaching, training or research; use involving access to the premises by members of the public and use as a place of work have been designated Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulation at Work regulations 1999 The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 places a duty on employers to assess and manage risks to their employees and others arising from work activities. Employers must also make arrangements to ensure the health and safety of the workplace, including making arrangements for emergencies, adequate information and training for employees, and for health surveillance where appropriate. Employees must work safely in accordance with their training and instructions given to them. Employees must also notify the employer or the person responsible for health and safety of any serious or immediate danger to health and safety or any shortcoming in health and safety arrangements. Working Time Regulations 1998 The Regulations came into effect on 1 October 1998 to implement a 1993 EC Directive (the Working Time Directive 93/104EC) which was introduced as a Health and Safety measure to protect workers across Europe. Since their introduction, the Regulations have been updated and amended through additional legislation to cover an even wider range of workers, and granted additional rights to young workers. While special rules apply in respect of young workers and junior doctors, the core rights at the heart of the Regulations remain the same. Describe the environmental constraints that are to be considered for sustainability and the use of renewable resources. Renewable energy is energy generated from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, and geothermal heat, which are renewable (naturally replenished). Natural resources can be easily sustained as their supply is through natural means via nature and planet earth. Business are trying to work more with renewable resources as that will allow them to carry on with their business and non-renewable resources such as oil and coal will eventually decrease. However due to the increase in global warming the earth is suffering from impacts on the environment. The constant decline in the way the earth is changing could risk the use of renewable resources as they will have a direct impact due to the changes. Using natural recourses i.e. renewable resources such as solar radiation, tides, winds and hydroelectricity, these resources are not under threat of being finished as the world will not be lacking in them as they are available through the means of nature. Renewable resources may also mean  commodities  such as  wood,  paper, and  leather, if harvesting is performed in a sustainable manner. This is key, for example if the world wishes to have a regularly supply of paper in offices, schools etc it is vital that the sustain the trees and make sure they are re-planting the same or even more trees in replacement to the ones that they have cut and used for making paper. This has an overall impact on the green house effect. The less the trees there are on the planet it will have a negative impact on how the earth works. Green house gases can cause extreme damaged to the earth which leads to bad weather conditions. Pollution is also an issue which has been raised for the constant threat it causes to the environment and how the natural habitats of animals and forest are being destroyed due to pollution and tree harvesting. What impact do the following social constraints have upon the operation of an engineering company: workforce skill levels and training requirement, and the impact of outsourcing? Workforce skill levels and training requirement:- If the staff which is hired in the engineering company is not well trained and do not hold the required knowledge to work in the company, it will become increasingly difficult for the company to move ahead in their business as their time and energy will be spend in teaching employees information which is needed to work in an engineering company. Impact of outsourcing:- Outsourcing only becomes an issue when companies take their production and plants over to less economically developed countries where they are able to get workers who will not charge a large amount. This however can cause problems because it ethically raises concerns for the amount of work these people do for a very less amount of pay. The advantage to the companies is that they save large amounts of money because they have to pay less for more work. This would be a different scenario of the engineering plant was based in an eastern country where the workers have a right to get a minimum wage. Describe the appropriate legislation and standards, which apply to the design of fridges. The Refrigerator Safety Act was enacted in 1956. The Acts regulations which became effective October 30, 1958 require a mechanism (usually a magnetic latch) which enables the door to be opened from the inside in the event of accidental entrapment. This type of latch, therefore, makes the hazardous refrigerators manufactured before that date easy to identify. The serious entrapment hazard occurs when children, during play, climb inside the old abandoned or carelessly stored refrigerators to hide. Many of these refrigerators are still in use, and when they are carelessly discarded or stored where they are accessible to children, they become a danger. Fridges and Freezers contain dangerous CFC gases that damage the ozone layer. In most areas, old fridges/freezers can be taken to Household Waste and Recycling Centers. From here they should be away for degassing, where the coolant gases (CFCs) are removed and stored by a specialist for recycling. Some fridges/freezers can be re-used or some materials recycled. There are two things that need to be known for refrigeration. A gas cools on expansion. When you have two things that are different temperatures that touch or are near each other, the hotter surface cools and the colder surface warms up. This is a law of physics called the Second Law of Thermodynamics. graphic of refrigerator system Old Refrigerators If you look at the back or bottom of an  older  refrigerator, youll see a long thin tube that loops back and forth. This tube is connected to a pump, which is powered by an electric motor. Inside the tube is Freon, a type of gas. Freon is the brand name of the gas. This gas chemically is called Chloro-Flouro-Carbon or CFC. This gas was found to hurt the environment if it leaks from refrigerators. So now, other chemicals are used in a slightly different process (see next section below). CFC starts out as a liquid. The pump pushes the CFC through a lot of coils in the freezer area. There the chemical turns to a vapor. When it does, it soaks up some of the heat that may be in the freezer compartment. As it does this, the coils get colder and the freezer begins to get colder. In the regular part of your refrigerator, there are fewer coils and a larger space. So, less heat is soaked up by the coils and the CFC vapor. The pump then sucks the CFC as a vapor and forces it through thinner pipes which are on the outside of the refrigerator. By compressing it, the CFC turns back into a liquid and heat is given off and is absorbed by the air around it. Thats why it might be a little warmer behind or under your refrigerator. Once the CFC passes through the outside coils, the liquid is ready to go back through the freezer and refrigerator over and over. Todays Refrigerators Modern refrigerators dont use CFC because CFCs are harmful to the atmosphere if released. Instead they use another type of gas called HFC-134a, also called tetrafluoroethane. HFC turns into a liquid when it is cooled to -15.9 degrees Fahrenheit (-26.6 degrees Celsius). A motor and compressor squeezes the HFC. When it is compressed, a gas heats up as it is pressurized. When you pass the compressed gas through the coils on the back or bottom of a modern refrigerator, the warmer gas can lose its heat to the air in the room. Remember the law of thermodynamics. As it cools, the HFC can change into a liquid because it is under a high pressure. The liquid flows through whats called an expansion valve, a tiny small hole that the liquid has to squeeze through. Between the valve and the compressor, there is a low-pressure area because the compressor is pulling the ammonia gas out of that side. When the liquid HFC hits a low pressure area it boils and changes into a gas. This is called vaporizing. The coils then go through the freezer and regular part of the refrigerator where the colder liquid in the coil pulls the heat out of the compartments. This makes the inside of the freezer and entire refrigerator cold. The compressor sucks up the cold gas, and the gas goes back through the same process over and over. Task 9 (P7) (A) Define the following terms:- (a) Fixed cost: cost that remains constant regardless of sales volume. Fixed costs include salaries of executives, interest expense, rent, depreciation, and insurance expenses. (b) Overhead cost:- total of all costs of manufacturing except direct materials and direct labour, also called manufacturing overhead, indirect manufacturing expenses, factory expenses, and factory burden. In addition to indirect material and indirect labour, it includes such items as depreciation, setup costs, quality costs, cleanup costs, fringe benefits, payroll taxes, and insurance. (c) Variable cost: Variable costs are expenses that change in proportion to the activity of a business. In other words, variable cost is the sum of marginal costs. It can also be considered normal costs. Along with fixed costs, variable costs make up the two components of total cost. Task 10 (M2) Explain the impact of legislation on a specific operation within a typical engineering company in terms of benefits and limitations. Health and safety can be applied to this question as the engineering company must apply to this legislation as it is the law to ensure the health and safety of the workers within an engineering company. The benefits are that the workers are all looked after under the correct health and safety rules. The limitations may occur in terms of costs, the amount of money a company has to spend on ensuring the health and safety is precise. An engineering company would require more health and safety rules as it involves machinery which usually is operated by workers. The long term growth of the company is vital and health and safety will always play an important part in making sure the company always does well in the business environment. Health and safety not only protects the workers of the companies and factories but will have an overall positive impact on the organisation if it is used well and sustained all the time as well as updated in order to stay ahead of any new health and safety acts which the government may introduce. Health and safety can positively influence a business with the following:- Improved health and safety performance by your business will reduce the costs associated with accidents and incidents. Improved awareness of regulatory requirements reduces the chance that you will commit any offences. The Health Safety Executive will generally regulate your business with a lighter touch if it is well managed. If employees see that you are actively looking after their health and safety, relations and morale will  improve. The public see that you are taking a responsible attitude towards your employees. This improves your image and helps generate positive PR for your business.   Improving the efficiency of your business reduces your costs. You can demonstrate to your insurers that you are controlling risk effectively. This may help lower your insurance premiums. Banks and investors will be more willing to finance your business if you can show that it is well managed. Business partners have more confidence in your business. Larger companies and government agencies may only buy from businesses that can show effective management systems. When exporting into different countries, companies under heavy scrutiny in the form of trade limitations which have an effect on these firms, in many cases companies have to pay in order to export which has an overall impact on costs. Trade barriers  are generally defined as government laws,  regulations,  policy, or practices that either protect domestic products from foreign competition or artificially  stimulate  exports of particular domestic products. While  restrictive business  practices sometimes have a similar effect, they are not usually regarded as trade barriers. The most common foreign trade barriers are government-imposed measures and policies that restrict, prevent, or  impede  the  international exchange  of goods and services. Other forms of trade barriers are also put up such as tariffs and subsidies which are areas which need to be dealt with when exporting. Task 11 (M3) (A)Explain the concept of marginal cost. The marginal cost of an additional unit of output is the cost of the additional inputs needed to produce that output.   More formally, the marginal cost is the derivative of total production costs with respect to the level of output. For example:- Marginal Costs are the additional costs imposed when one more unit is produced. If the cost of making 9 pieces of pizza is  £90 and the cost of making 10 pieces is  £110, the marginal cost of producing the tenth piece of pizza is  £20. (B)Explain how the cost effectiveness of an engineering activity could be improved:- If an engineering company is facing the following concerns it maybe that they need to change their ways into something more cost effective and take advantage buy saving on unnecessary costs and a high profit in the end:- Products delivered late?   The company will have to face huge issues if the products they are sending out to customers are not delivered on time. In many cases companies may need to credit full orders and compensate customers if they have lost money due to them. A high rate in late deliveries will have an influence on the overall productivity of the company; hence they will be potentially dealing with a scenario which results in a loss for the company. Inadequate product quality?   Company will lose customers if the quality standards are not maintained. Customers will go and search for different suppliers who are willingly to supply better quality products at the right price rather than bad quality for the same price. They would also have to face the disadvantages of using a bad quality product which could potentially impact their business and increase costs in many areas of their business. Development costs too high?   If development costs are too high, the company needs to be ensuring that what they are working one such as a new product is actually worth the extra costs, it is vital that the product innovative and can guarantee a sale in the future which successfully covers the costs that is being put on it during the design and development stage. Getting less than you need from your engineering organization? The engineering company must always ensure that each department has been given the right resources and workers who maintain a steady work ethic and are able to make their departments meet targets at the end of every month. In order to make an engineering company work better, they could introduce a better system which can save costs within the production process. The following can also be considered when taking in cost effectiveness in engineering:- Concept Design Innovative concepts can lead to high expensive resources being used on it, therefore this areas needs to be monitored carefully and it must be ensured that the concept designs are worthy for the company and can turn into a profitability project. Detailed Design Engineering is a subject which requires detailed design and it is essential that throughout each stage of the designing, that it is important to make sure that everything has been completed in detail so when engineers need to go back and double check, they can solutions to problems more quickly rather than wasting precious time. This will help with the overall cost effectiveness of the company, good research and impressive engineering work. Failure Analysis Ensuring that failures are not repeated as that could potentially harm the business and will most likely have an impact on the cost effectiveness. Product Pricing Design for Manufacture and Assembly Important aspects as they are areas in which more funds will need to be pumped into the business hence accuracy in pricing is required by the sales department. Packaging Cost effective, cheap suppliers who sell good quality packaging for the products is what the company should be looking for in order to be cost effective. Supporting new product builds on assembly line Making new products on the assembly line along with normal products, must be a worthwhile product as it will be using up valuable time and will have an overall impact on the cost effectiveness if the product is worth it or not. Managing Production Emergencies The routine should be practiced and rehearsed when an emergency takes place on the factory floor, any mistakes could cost more lives and impact on machinery could lead to be very expensive. Health and safety routines and fire drills should be rehearsed precisely in order to prevent any serious costs. MS Office (Word, Excel, Power Point) All staff who uses Office documents should be well trained and should be able to know how to use it to its full potential as it will be cost waste if a product which has been brought is not being used properly due to staff not very trained and are not understanding the basic concepts of using the software package. Task 12 (D2) Evaluate the importance and possible effect of the external factors that directly impact on an engineering company. External factors which could have a possible impact on an engineering company; customers have affects on the company with volumes, complexity of the products, the quality requirements, and delivery timing requirements. Vendors have affects with a lot of the same issues, quality of supplies, delivery and reaction times, cost changes, and availability. Internal factors availability and quality of workforce, capacity of equipment, financial capacity, and engineering ability to develop products and standards, costs of production. These factors are very important and need to be addressed by the engineering companies properly. Customers: And engineering company must ensure that they understand correctly what their customer is looking for in the products that they are making. It is no use if the products which are being delivered to them are not of the correct quality and do not meet the necessary rules and requirements the customer had set out when doing a contract with the engineering company. Customers will search for new producers of their products if their needs and wants are not met by the company. The companys main concern is to ensure that customer satisfaction levels are always high and that the service level agreement is always maintained. Vendors: The engineering company will need to ensure that their suppliers are sending them the right raw materials and most importantly at the required times. Any delays in raw material arriving will mean that the production will start late, this will have a overall impact on all the departments who are waiting for the product to be prepared as well as the customer being impacted as there order has been sent late. This can cause huge concerns as many customers ship their products across to various destinations around the world. Any delays in shipping will mean they will be fined with extra costs and will be not satisfied with the overall services they have received. Timing is precise in a situation like this as one mistake could cost a company millions of pounds. Workforce: This is an internal factor which plays an important part in a company. Skilled workers are essential in engineering companies as the work that is being carried out has been made by high skilled and intelligent employees who need to ensure that when the product becomes a physical object and not something which they have designed on paper, they should be able to work with workers who understand the design techniques very well in order for the product to be of a high quality. Other issues which need to be considered during the factory floor is the capacity of equipment, financial capacity, and engineering ability to develop products and standards, costs of production.

Trace Evidence Essay examples -- essays research papers

Crime scenes are known to have many clues left behind. The obvious would be a the body or bodies, clothing, and sometimes even the murder weapon. While these are great way to solve a case there's another kind of evidence; trace evidence. Trace evidence are small pieces of evidence that are laying around a crime scene. There are many types of trace evidence some of them include metal filings, plastic fragments, gunshot residue, glass fragments, feathers, food stains, building materials, lubricants, fingernail scrapings, pollens and spores, cosmetics, chemicals, paper fibers and sawdust, human and animal hairs, plant and vegetable fibers, blood and other body fluids, asphalt or tar, vegetable fats and oils, dusts and other airborne particles, insulation, textile fibers, soot, soils and mineral grains, and explosive residues. Although these are the most common found elements, they are not the only ones. The Trace Evidence Unit is known to examine the largest variety of evidence types a nd used the biggest range of analytical methods of any unit. materials are compared with standards or knowns samples to determine whether or not they share any common characteristics. In this paper I will discuss the different kinds of trace evidence and how crime scene investigaros use it to solve cases and convict criminal. Trace evidence was first discovered by Edmond Locard. Edmond Locard was born in 1877, and founded the Institute of Lyon’s Institute of Criminalistics. He is also known for advancing the science of fingerprints. In 1910 he was authorized to start a small forensic laboratory in the Palais de Justice which he directed until 1951.While there he worked on criminal identification methods including poroscopy- the microscopic examination of fingerprints; analyses of body fluids, hair and skin; and graphometry or handwriting analysis. He is the man responsible for coming up with the theory that when two objects come in contact with each other they leave some kind of material matter behind. This theory was later called Locard’s Exchange Principle. The idea is that the evidence can be used to associate objects, individuals or locations with one another." A person typically loses about 100 hairs a day. These hairs may be of evidentiary value to show contact between two people. With an adequate hair standard, a trace chemist will be able to microscopically compare a... ...furniture which may be locked. They then use the small paint chips and metal as evidence and process them the way that individual piece of evidence should be processed. Believe it or not, wounds from a victim are also evidence. The wound can allow the investigators to match up any marks that could have been made from the weapon and therefore allows them to determine at what angle, distance, and how fast the weapon was used. The last type of evidence I will discuss are documents. Everyone has a different handwriting and different characteristics that make it unique. Computers are also unique in the way they type and print out things. Document examiners can look over these and establish the similarities in the handwriting and computer forensic specialists can extract logs and other data from most devices. As you can see there is no perfect crime. The littlest piece of hair or paint or anything left behind can be found. Suspects often miss these tiny peieces of evidence and while they looked over it, it is still lurking at the crim scene. It is guarenteed that a Crime Scene Investigator will find this evidence no matter how small and use it to find, prosecute, and convict a criminal. Trace Evidence Essay examples -- essays research papers Crime scenes are known to have many clues left behind. The obvious would be a the body or bodies, clothing, and sometimes even the murder weapon. While these are great way to solve a case there's another kind of evidence; trace evidence. Trace evidence are small pieces of evidence that are laying around a crime scene. There are many types of trace evidence some of them include metal filings, plastic fragments, gunshot residue, glass fragments, feathers, food stains, building materials, lubricants, fingernail scrapings, pollens and spores, cosmetics, chemicals, paper fibers and sawdust, human and animal hairs, plant and vegetable fibers, blood and other body fluids, asphalt or tar, vegetable fats and oils, dusts and other airborne particles, insulation, textile fibers, soot, soils and mineral grains, and explosive residues. Although these are the most common found elements, they are not the only ones. The Trace Evidence Unit is known to examine the largest variety of evidence types a nd used the biggest range of analytical methods of any unit. materials are compared with standards or knowns samples to determine whether or not they share any common characteristics. In this paper I will discuss the different kinds of trace evidence and how crime scene investigaros use it to solve cases and convict criminal. Trace evidence was first discovered by Edmond Locard. Edmond Locard was born in 1877, and founded the Institute of Lyon’s Institute of Criminalistics. He is also known for advancing the science of fingerprints. In 1910 he was authorized to start a small forensic laboratory in the Palais de Justice which he directed until 1951.While there he worked on criminal identification methods including poroscopy- the microscopic examination of fingerprints; analyses of body fluids, hair and skin; and graphometry or handwriting analysis. He is the man responsible for coming up with the theory that when two objects come in contact with each other they leave some kind of material matter behind. This theory was later called Locard’s Exchange Principle. The idea is that the evidence can be used to associate objects, individuals or locations with one another." A person typically loses about 100 hairs a day. These hairs may be of evidentiary value to show contact between two people. With an adequate hair standard, a trace chemist will be able to microscopically compare a... ...furniture which may be locked. They then use the small paint chips and metal as evidence and process them the way that individual piece of evidence should be processed. Believe it or not, wounds from a victim are also evidence. The wound can allow the investigators to match up any marks that could have been made from the weapon and therefore allows them to determine at what angle, distance, and how fast the weapon was used. The last type of evidence I will discuss are documents. Everyone has a different handwriting and different characteristics that make it unique. Computers are also unique in the way they type and print out things. Document examiners can look over these and establish the similarities in the handwriting and computer forensic specialists can extract logs and other data from most devices. As you can see there is no perfect crime. The littlest piece of hair or paint or anything left behind can be found. Suspects often miss these tiny peieces of evidence and while they looked over it, it is still lurking at the crim scene. It is guarenteed that a Crime Scene Investigator will find this evidence no matter how small and use it to find, prosecute, and convict a criminal.

The Staging Techniques and Design Aspects of Silas Marner :: George Eliot Theatre Drama Plays Essays

The Staging Techniques and Design Aspects of Silas Marner A production of George Eliot's novel Silas Marner was held at the "clwyd theatr cyrmru". The Theatre itself is only small but this was used to the best advantage. The novel attempts to prove that love of others is more fulfilling than love of money. The play is set on what appears to be a simple thrust stage, with a simple sky cyclorama. The cyclorama although with a simple design over powered the stage, as the characters shadows where projected on the cyclorama and changed size depending on there positioning on the stage. Often Silas Marner is criticized for being such a simple, unrealistic story. It does seem odd that after fifteen years of almost solitary confinement, Silas can trade his love of gold for his love of a daughter overnight. This point about silas's love for gold is a powerful theme in the play, and needs to be to create the narrative. Heavy representation is used in making one see that Silas has a love for gold, at the same time one needs to know that he is a lonely weaver. This is a difficult situation that the director had to face, but worked perfectly. The Arena stage was revolving and as the theatre was small all the cast stayed round the stage even if they weren't performing. This is an unusual technique as usually too many people on the stage at once may create a clutter. At the edge of the stage benches were placed evenly where the cast sat when they weren't performing. This must have been difficult for the actual actors, as they would have to be performing at all times, even when they are of the stage. The benches in a way turned the actors in the audience. This made it feel that the cast where still; in character and watching over the action. Silas Marner is set in a small village and villages have a representation for knowing all the gossip about everyone in the town. This technique of the cast watching over the performance increased the awareness that the play is set in a village. The cast had another role to play once of the actual stage as they played the instruments that where clearly on show to the whole audience. The musical instruments where rather old fashioned rather than modern electrical instruments. I think that this audio was used to create the setting of the play as electrical instruments would bring it too much into the future. The atmosphere of the cast being on the stage playing the instruments again gave the stereotypical village

The Necessity of Gun Control :: Exemplification Essays

As a result of the many school shootings that have taken place in the last few years, there has been a push for stricter gun control laws. Many people don't feel safe in today's society. The government has been listening to the people and has already passed some laws. There are some people who are opposed to stricter gun control laws. Many gun enthusiasts don't believe that gun control laws will resolve the problem. They claim that only law abiding citizens would obey the laws - and they aren't the ones creating the problem. This group presents some good arguments for eliminating current gun control laws. One of the main arguments that anti gun control groups make is that they have a constitutional right to own guns. The second amendment to the constitution states that all American citizens have the right to bear arms. There are many people who think that guns should be banned all together. According to the constitution, this can't be done. All people have the right to own a gun if they want to. If the people are given this right by the constitution, then this right can't be denied. The government hasn't gone so far as to ban guns completely yet, but they have started to pass some laws aimed at controlling guns. One thing that they have done is to require a waiting period and a background check before people can buy a handgun. Gun dealers use a computerized instant check system to perform background checks. Many people argue that this system doesn't really work. According to Pema Levy of Newsweek, the system does block some people from getting guns, but it isn't 100% effective. The system is only as good as the information entered into it, and many local courts are lax about reporting convictions (Levy). Even if a potential criminal is stopped from buying a gun, they could still get one if they wanted to. According to Joe Lienhard, these regulations only apply to gun dealers. If someone couldn't buy a gun because they failed the background check, they could still get one from a private owner or a gun show. These laws simply don't do what they are inte nded to do. Criminals can still get guns if they want. All these laws do is make it harder for law-abiding citizens to get guns.

Ch01 Organizations and Organization Theory

Chapter 1: Organizations and Organization Theory Current Challenges of Organizations †¢ Globalization o Markets, technologies, and organizations are becoming increasingly interconnected †¢ Ethics and social responsibility o The list of execs and major corporations involved in financial and ethical scandals continues to grow †¢ Speed of responsiveness o Globalization and advancing technology has accelerated the pace at which organizations in all industries must roll out new products and services to stay competitive †¢ The digital workplace In today’s workplace, many employees perform much of their work on computers and may work in virtual teams, connected electronically to colleagues around the world †¢ Diversity o By 2050, it is estimated that 85% of entrants into the workforce will be women and people of colour What Is an Organization? Organizations: social entities that are goal-directed, are designed as deliberately structured and coordinated activi ty system, and are linked to the external environment Types of Organizations †¢ Multinational corporations †¢ Small, family-owned shops †¢ For-profit versus non-profit organizationsOrganizations exist to do the following: 1. Bring together resources to achieve desired goals and outcomes 2. Produce goods and services efficiently 3. Facilitate innovation 4. Use modern manufacturing and information technologies 5. Adapt to influence a changing environment 6. Create value for owners, customers, and employees 7. Accommodate ongoing challenges of diversity, ethics, and the motivation and coordination of employees Perspectives on Organizations Closed System †¢ A system that is autonomous, enclosed, and not dependent on its environment †¢ Don’t truly exist today Early management concepts such as scientific management, leadership style, and industrial engineering were closed-system approaches Open System †¢ A system that must interact with the environment to survive †¢ It both consumes resources and exports resources to the environment, and must continually adapt to the environment An Open System and its Subsystems [pic] Organization Configuration †¢ Technical core o Includes people who do the basic work of the organization o The primary transformation of inputs to outputs occurs here o Includes production department, teachers and classes, medical activities in hospitals, etc. Technical Support o Helps the organization adapt to the environment o Technical support employees such as engineers and researchers scan the environment for problems, opportunities, and technological developments o Responsible for creating innovations in the technical core †¢ Administrative Support o Responsible for the smooth operation and upkeep of the organization, including its physical and human elements o Includes HR activities like recruiting and hiring, making compensation/benefit plans, employee training, etc. †¢ Management A disti nct subsystem responsible for directing and coordinating other parts of the organization o Top management provides direction, strategy, goals, and policies for the entire organization or major divisions o Middle management is responsible for implementation and coordination at the departmental level [pic] Dimensions of Organization Design Structural Dimensions 1. Formalization ? Pertains to the amount of written documentation in the organization, including procedures, job descriptions, regulations, and policy manuals, describing behaviour and activities ?A large state university would be high on formulization and a small, family-owned business would be low on formulization 2. Specialization ? The degree to which organizational tasks are subdivided into separate jobs 3. Hierarchy of authority ? Describes who reports to whom and the span of control for each manager ? The hierarchy is related to span of control (the number of employees reporting to a supervisor), and when the span is na rrow, the hierarchy is tall, and vice versa 4. Centralization ? Refers to the hierarchical level that has authority to make a decision ?When decision making is kept at the top level, the organization is centralized ? When decisions are delegated to lower organizational levels, it is decentralized 5. Professionalism ? The level of formal education and training of employees ? It’s considered high when employees require long periods of training ? Professionalism is measured as the average number of years of education of employees 6. Personnel ratios ? Refer to the development of people to various functions and departments ?Includes the administrative ratio, the clerical ratio, the professional staff ratio, and the ratio of indirect to direct labour employees ? A personnel ratio is measured by dividing the number of employees in a classification by the total number of organizational employees [pic] Contextual Dimensions 1. Size ? The organization’s magnitute as reflected i n the number of people in the organization ? Because organization’s are social systems, it’s typically measured by # of employees 2. Organizational technology ? Refers to the tools, techniques, and actions used to transform inputs into outputs ?It concerns how the organization actually produces the products and services and includes things such as flexible manufacturing, advanced info systems, and the Internet 3. Environment ? Includes all elements outside the boundary of the organization ? Key elements include the industry, government, customers, suppliers, and the financial community 4. Goals and Strategies ? Define the purpose and competitive techniques that set it apart from other organizations ? Goals are written down as an enduring statement of company intent ?A strategy is the plan of action that describes resource allocation and activities for dealing with the environment and for reaching the organization’s goals 5. Culture ? The underlying set of key va lues, beliefs, understandings, and norms shared by employees ? These values may pertain to ethical behaviour, commitment to employees, efficiency, or customer service Performance and Effectiveness Outcomes †¢ Managers adjust structural and contextual dimensions and organizational subsystems to most efficiently and effectively transform inputs into outputs nd provide value †¢ Efficiency refers to the amount of resources used to achieve the organization’s goals, and it is based on the quantity of inputs necessary to produce a given level of output †¢ Effectiveness is the degree to which an organization achieves its goals †¢ Stakeholder is any group within or outside an organization that has a stake in the organization’s performance †¢ Stakeholder approach assesses the satisfaction of stakeholders as an indicator of the organization’s performance (also called constituency approach) †¢ Major stakeholders and what they expect: Owners/sto ckholders: financial return o Employees: satisfaction, pay, supervision o Customers: high-quality goods/services, service, value o Creditors: creditworthiness, fiscal responsibility o Management: efficiency, effectiveness o Government: obedience to laws and regulations, fair competition o Union: worker pay, benefits Community: good corporate citizen, contribution to community affairs o Suppliers: satisfactory transactions, revenue from purchases The Evolution of Organization Theory and Design Historical Perspectives †¢ Efficiency is everything o Frederick Winslow Taylor developed scientific management, which claims decisions about organization and job design should be based on precise, scientific procedures †¢ How to get organized Administrative principles focuses on the total organization (looks at the organization as a whole) o For example, Henri Fayol proposed 14 principles of management, such as â€Å"each subordinate receives orders from only one superior† and â€Å"similar activities in an organization should be grouped together under one manager† o These gave organizations fundamental new ideas for estabilishing high productivity and increasing prosperity o Administrative principles contributed to the development of bureaucratic organizations, which emphasized designing and managing organizations on an impersonal, rational basis through such elements as clearly defined authority and responsibility, formal recordkeeping, and uniform application of stand rules †¢ People o Hawthorn Studies are a series of experiments on worker productivity that began in 1924 o It attributed employees’ increased output to managers’ better treatment of them during the study †¢ Environment Many problems occur when all organizations are treated similar, which is the case with scientific management o Structures and systems that work in the retail division will not be appropriate for the manufacturing division o Consistency means t hat one thing depends on other things, and for organizations to be effective, there must be a â€Å"goodness of fit† between their structure and the conditions in their external environment o Some organizations experience a certain environment, use a routine technology, and desire efficiency, and in this case, bureaucratic controls would be appropriate o But today, almost all organizations operate in a highly uncertain environment Contemporary Organizational Design Today’s organizations and managers are shifting from a mindset based on mechanical systems to one based on natural and biological systems †¢ Chaos theory suggests that relationships in complex, adaptive systems – including organizations – are made up of numerous interconnections that create unintended effects and render the environment unpredictable †¢ Many organizations are shifting from strict vertical hierarchies to flexible, decentralized structures that emphasize horizontal colla boration, widespread info sharing, and adaptability †¢ Learning organization is an organization in which everyone is engaged in identifying and solving problems, enabling the organization to continuously experiment, improve, and increase its capability Efficient Performance versus the Learning Organization †¢ From vertical to horizontal structure †¢ From routine tasks to empowered tasks †¢ From formal control systems to shared information †¢ From competitive to collaborative strategy †¢ From rigid to adaptive culture ———————– Transformation Process Environment Raw Materials People Information resources Financial resources Input Subsystems Boundary Spanning Production, Maintenance, Adaptation, Management Boundary Spanning Products and Services Output Top Management

My Life Without Me †Individuality in conflict with societal roles Essay

Sacrificing one’s own options and choices in life, making decisions based on the role of being a good parent and aiming to advance future generations by renouncing own opportunities are ideals that have sustained in many cultures. But why is there a stronger emphasis on fulfilling societal roles and sacrificing own interests to fulfil such norms, if individualisation is such a high value in modern, especially western, society? There are dire consequences for society when people sacrifice their own self-fulfilment in order to fulfil obligations that have been thrust upon them. In the first few moments of My Life Without Me (Coixet 2003) Ann explains the problem with the life that she has lived up to that point. As the title suggests, she has lived it without her self: she explains who she is, as if realising for the first time that she actually exists and is a real person, a character. Ann is merely 23 years old and has lived her life up to the expectations that have been forced upon her: she gets pregnant with 17 and from then on she is but a mother and a wife and the main breadwinner of her family. In western modern society the concept of individualisation as the social advancement of individual ideals, autonomy, freedom and the pursuit of happiness is repeatedly referred to as one of the most important rights an individual has. In addition, an increase in the legitimacy and postulation of individual self-realisation and the cultivation of individual originality has taken place (Willems 2012: 147). With Ann we are shown an example of the problem that occurs, when there is a plain conflict of interest between the roles that have been sprung upon an individual, such as the role of a mother, even at merely 17, and the development of an individual identity, self-realisation and pursuing ones own personal interests. Even in the list of the ten things Ann wishes to do before she dies, her priorities are clear: the first half of the list are all things immediately associated with her role in her family. The things she wants to do for herself come last. In one scene, when she is asked in a bar what her favourite music is, she starts by saying she hasn’t listened to music in a long time, and that she used to like Nirvana. Immediately she drifts off to talking about how she met her husband there. She isn’t able to say what her favourite music is now, because she has ceased to do anything for herself. Ann, as an individual, faces society, while the society is made entirely out of individuals that have norms and expectations. If one considers these two components separately and ignores the context and reciprocal relationship, one creates an unbridgeable gap, which can lead to problems in the analysis of Ann’s character and the conflict she finds herself in. If one takes into consideration Ann’s circumstances, it becomes clear that Ann lives in Canada and finds herself in a religious society, that does not accept abortion for example as a given privilege and choice. When she realises she is pregnant at 17, it is obvious that she must get married, assume her role as a mother and must prioritise this role over all else. As Marcuse describes, two manifestations of the individual have developed in recent history, and although they are related to each other reciprocally, this dichotomy leads to a conflict in society. First, there is a tendency towards the development of a free individual and intellectual subject, and on the other hand there is the development of a free economic subject in free competition. A separation occurs between the struggle of the individual for his autonomy and the development of his self, and, at the same time, in a fight for its existence. Ann is forced to work and provide for her family, while her autonomy is strongly compromised. She takes care of the children, fully assuming and prioritising that role, rather than pursuing or even having dreams of her own. This shows that there is not only pressure from society to survive and provide financially for herself and her family, but also a moral obligation to prioritise her role as a wife and mother. Ann does not become aware of the compromises she has made towards her own identity and individuality, until she knows she is going to die soon. Through the role she has assumed, her self-fulfilment and expression presenting her individuality have been compromised. This is the price she has to pay for fulfilling her material and moral obligation. Questionably, compromises like these have consequences for societal structures as well as for the individuals one finds therein. The film depicts a subtle answer to the question of what the consequences from such compromises and conflicts are. An important factor is that Ann never tells anyone she is going to die. She solves the conflict of interest in her life by living her up to her new-found individuality separate from her traditional family life. The integration of these two lives would be ever so filled with conflicts, that she decides to start living a double-life instead: one in which she lives up to the expectations and her role as a loving wife and mother and another in which she pursues all the things she feels she has missed out on, like smoking, drinking and sleeping with another man. These two currents are not reconcilable. Another consequence is that Ann has very concrete plans for how the life of the others should go on, once she is gone. She acts manipulatively, by trying to introduce her husband to a woman she thinks should take her place, or by recording birthday messages for her children and advising them on how to act. Though one sympathises with Ann as a loving mother and wife that wants the best for her family even after she is gone, it seems paternalistic. While it seems selfless and kind of her to want her husband to have a nice children-loving companion when she is gone, the way she chooses someone over his head and manipulates the situation without his knowledge or his say to the matter, seems downright scheming and even patronising. While it is beautiful and touching of her to record all the messages for her childrens’ birthdays for them, it seems like she does not only have loving and encouraging words to stay, but is much rather trying to influence them on how to act and to behave in the future. It seems like the price she has paid in fulfilling her role, rather than indulging her own self, has had this effect on her. This very much reminds me of the sacrifices that many parents make for the next generations to come, especially of young immigrants, that wish for a better life for their children. Parents, as the first reference of what is right and wrong and important, influence their children strongly, especially in respect to education and how to determine their life. A mediation of the parents’ culture on to the children takes place and while the participatory influence parents have is hard to measure and define, it is obvious that a lot of elements in the behaviour of second-generation immigrants can be accounted to their parents (Farsi 2013: 100 ff. ). These parents sacrifice their home country and the fulfilment of their own dreams and individuality, in order to fulfil the obligation that has been thrust upon them: to provide the best chances and education they can for their children. While these intentions, like the intentions of Ann, are noble and entrenched with morality, the outcome is often paternalism. If one sacrifices self-realisation, self-fulfilment and the expression of ones own individuality for the role of being a great parent, the outcome is often a paternalistic attitude towards the pursuit of the rest of the family, especially the children. Furthermore when Ann knows she will die and leave her family, she knows she will lose her influence on them, which is why she decides to influence them as much as she can before, and ensure that her daughters and her husband live their life the way she thinks they should. The influence of parents that are immigrants lessens when the are in a different atmosphere and culture. The values they have been brought up with often get lost in western society, especially when they come from a middle eastern background. Much like Ann’s death, that will eliminate her influence on her family, it seems the influence of cultural values also â€Å"dies† once the environment is changed by the removal and replacement through modern western societal values. The stand-up comedian Amir K. explains this matter in his sketch on his father (K. 2011). The reason the audience appreciates and laughs about his performance, lies in the woeful cliche of the portrayal of his father. He depicts the disappointment of a typical middle eastern father who shouts at his son for pursuing a career in a path he does not deem appropriate, in his case stand-up comedy. He quotes his father in saying â€Å"You waste of education, waste of my money† or â€Å"You’re a fucking clown? I brought you to this country to be a clown? You can be a lawyer, you can be a doctor, you can open up a bank†¦ [but instead you choose a career in comedy]†. The reason especially young immigrants of the second generation can laugh at this is because it is so common for parents to have paternalistic expectations towards the career paths and norms and values that their children should live by. Similar to the case of Ann, it seems that the sacrifice of their own individuality for their role as a good parent, and the loss of their influence on the other hand, could lead to such a paternalistic attitude and the attempt to manipulate and coerce their values and their idea of how the children should live their lives. While I do not wish to condemn Ann’s love and care for her children, just like the sacrifices immigrant parents make for future generations, one must take into consideration that when dynamics of society thrust roles onto individuals that imply sacrifice of ones own self for the well-being of another and giving up the pursuit of one’s own expression of individuality, problematic, paternalistic relationships can occur. What begins as a well-intended sacrifice out of love, could end in a relationship in which choosing ones own path is something that none of the parties involved can pursue without a feeling of guilt. Bibliography Farsi, Armand (2013): Migranten auf dem Weg zur Elite? Zum Berufserfolg von Akademikern mit Migrationshintergrund. Online-Ausg. : Berlin [u. a. ] : Springer, 2013. DOI: 10. 1007/978-3-658-01564-0 Marcuse, Herbert (1970): Ideen zu einer kritischen Theorie der Gesellschaft. Suhrkamp Verlag, Frankfurt am Main Willems, Herbert (2012): Synthetische Soziologie – Idee, Entwurf und Programm. VS Verlag fur Sozialwissenschaften, Wiesbaden Internetquellen: K. , Amir (2011): Middle Eastern Dad. http://www. youtube. com/watch? v=JCxMWWf4_Ww Seen 24. 11. 13 20:11.