Relationship Between Brand Forgiveness and Brand Equity

Question: Discuss about the Relationship Between Brand Forgiveness and Brand Equity. Answer: Introduction It has been found that first impression about a product or service can develop a specific mental image in the mind of customers. Stahl et al. (2012) stated that unpleasant experience or negative publicity about a brand can create unfair classification about a brand. It can decrease brand forgiveness. It has been found that brands and companies within the service industry have to face intense pressure from the customers related with their service quality (Kapferer 2012). It has been found that service failure and negative brand association can question business trustworthiness. Service failure is often considered unavoidable without proper brand equity. It is a word used in marketing to explain the worth of having well recognized brand name. Torres et al.(2012) stated that proprietor of a well recognized brand can produce better revenue from a specific product or service compare to less well known companies. The reason of brand equity is to calculate the value of brand name. It encompasses factors such as image, name, logo, and perceptions which can help to address a product or service. Now it has become essential to find out the connection between brand forgiveness and brand equity. It has been found that brands corporate social responsibilities (CSR) initiatives and firms response (apology) have positive impact on the rate of forgiveness. It has been found that the level of consumer equity can increase the rate of forgiveness for many companies. Brand forgiveness It has been found that one of the hardest jobs of managing appropriate brand value is to clean up all the mess after a crisis situation. Hsu (2012) stated that when customers forgive any mishap done by their favorite brands can be termed as brand forgiveness. However, brand forgiveness is not an easy thing to achieve. According to Sheng and Teo (2012), a brand will have to go through a period of penance before it can regain its trust among customers. Rusty Cowly (the assistant director of public relation and communication at Texas AM) has developed a six step approach to achieve forgiveness. They are mentioned below: Confess sins and mishaps committed by the company The management team needs to explain what happened and why happened. Cuneo et al. (2012) stated that, in most of the cases it has been found that fault of the company may exist only in the mind of an outraged community. The management needs to remind that outraged customers or community can cause great harm to the brand reputation. Hence, the management needs to acknowledge their faults and admit that they are wrong. Allow the community to purge its outrage The company needs to create a community to express its emotions directly to the top brass. The management needs to take notes but avoid debt. Apologize and repent Kim et al. (2012) mentioned that apology has three stages. 1) Accept fault 2) show sympathy to specific victims 3) accept responsibility for improvement Make things right The management team has to take suggestion from community and seek their suggestions. They also have to work on the suggestions as well. In order to gain forgiveness, they have to do more than they are asked to do by the customers. Show consumers the improvement They have to update the customer community regularly. The management has to develop system that will prevent the company from transgressing again. They have to ask for recommendations from customers and implement them than their own. Show humility They have to give physical reality to their penance. They have to develop some offers, loyalty programs or something dramatic in order to gain customer loyalty again. Brand equity Jara and Cliquet (2012) stated that brand equity is the word used to mention the worth of a brand. It has been found that reason of brand equity is to calculate the worth of a brand. It encompasses name, logo, image, and identity of a product or service. It promises about quality, performance and various other dimensions related with values that can affect consumers choice about the competing products and services. It has been analyzed that when customers belief a brand and discover its service relevant, they may decide on the offerings related with the brand over those of the competitors. Brand equity can be effectively handled by the development of the brand equity objectives. Wang and Li (2012) stated that, the brand equity goals can be used to track performance and progress of a specific service or product. Brand reinforcement is considered as one of the major part of the brand equity. Bruhn et al. (2012) stated that as a significant asset, brand has to be cautiously managed so its worth does not reduce. Companies can easily strengthen brand equity by assigning the meaning of brand in context of two terms. They are mentioned below: What service or product that the company offers, what are the core benefits and what needs that it can satisfy. How the brand makes a service or product superior and which favorable, strong and unique brand association needs to exist in customers mind. Hakala et al. (2012) stated that brand Reinforcement is becoming highly significant in intensively competitive markets. Impact of brand equity on brand forgiveness It has been found that any new expansion in the advertising environment can significantly have an effect on the fortune of a brand. Unpleasant experience or negative publicity about a brand can create unfair classification about a company that can decrease brand forgiveness. Brand forgiveness is not an easy thing to achieve. However, from various research works it has been found that there are numbers of organizations or brands that are able to make impressive comeback in recent years. In order to increase brand forgiveness, it is required to find out the factors of brand equity that need to begin with. If a brand has some positive reputation, consumers will easily forgive the missteps. For example, in the year of 2011, due to 60% price increment, the company Netflix had lost 800,000 subscribers (77% drop in the stock price). However, the company has quickly turned around. In the year of 2013, the stock of Netflix increased by 213% (Grhan-Canli et al. 2016). There are some specific w ays in which brand equity can increase brand forgiveness. They are such as: It delivers on value proposition It can change customers live in positive manner It develops positive relationship between customers and brands. Research objectives and approach Research objectives To analyze the positive impact of brand equity on customers To assess the factors that can lead to brand forgiveness for customers To evaluate the effect of brand equity on brand forgiveness Research approach In order to conduct this research work in appropriate manner positivism philosophy has been selected along with deductive research approach. Both primary and secondary data will be collected to conduct this research work. Primary data will be collected with help of survey questionnaires and face to face interview. 10 close ended questions will be developed for the survey questionnaires. They will be distributed among 50 customers of Starbucks. All the questions will be related with brand equity and their perception about brand forgiveness. Face to face interview will be conducted with 5 managers of Starbucks. This interview will help to analyze the steps taken by the company to improve brand equity so that brand forgiveness of customers can be increased. The Impact of brand equity on brand forgiveness has also been discussed in the literature review section. The objective of this research work has been provided along with the research approach. Finally a work plan has been provided i n which the research work will be developed in future. Current work and preliminary results Presently, the proposal for this research work has been developed. The topic of this research work is The relationship between brand forgiveness and brand equity in service brand context. In the introduction section, the background information related with brand equity and brand forgiveness has been provided along with the rationale behind developing this research work. In the literature review section, two concepts of brand forgiveness and brand equity have been mentioned. work plan and implications In order to complete this research work in time, appropriate work plan has been developed. This research work is planned to be completed within 26 weeks. A Gantt chart has been provided to describe the work plan. Task And Time 1st week (2nd-4th) week (5th-7th)Week (8th-10th) week (11th -16th) week (17th -20th)week (21th-23rd ) week 24th week 25th week 26th Week Introduction and Search for Data Literature Review Research Methodology Design of Data Collection and Methods Data Collection Data Analysis and Presentation Conclusion and Recommendations Proof- Reading Sending First Draft to Supervisor Printing, Binding and Submission Implications The search of data will be completed within the first week from the starting of the research work. The literature review section of the research work will be completed within the first 4 weeks. Research methodology required for this research work will be completed within the next two weeks. Data collection and data analysis for this research work will be conducted from 11th week to 20th week. The conclusion and recommendation section of this research work will be developed from 21st week to 23rd week. Proof reading will be complete within the next one week. Printing, binding and the final submission will be done within the next two weeks. Conclusion It has been found that unpleasant experience or negative publicity about a brand can create unfair classification about a company that can decrease brand forgiveness. Brand forgiveness is not an easy thing to achieve. A company will have to go through a period of penance before it can regain its trust among customers. Six step approaches can be applied in order increase brand forgiveness. On the other hand, brand equity is the term used to mention the value of a brand. It promises about quality, performance and various other dimensions related with values that can affect consumers choice about the competing products and services. It has been found that there are various ways in which the brand equity in improve brand forgiveness. In order to complete this research work positivism philosophy has been used along with deductive approach. Both primary and secondary data will gathered to conduct this research work in appropriate manner. Reference list Bruhn, M., Schoenmueller, V. and Schfer, D.B., 2012. Are social media replacing traditional media in terms of brand equity creation?.Management Research Review,35(9), pp.770-790. Cuneo, A., Lopez, P. and Jesus Yage, M., 2012. Measuring private labels brand equity: a consumer perspective.European Journal of Marketing,46(7/8), pp.952-964. Grhan-Canli, Z., Hayran, C. and Sarial-Abi, G., 2016. Customer-based brand equity in a technologically fast-paced, connected, and constrained environment.AMS Review, pp.1-10. Hakala, U., Svensson, J. and Vincze, Z., 2012. Consumer-based brand equity and top-of-mind awareness: a cross-country analysis.Journal of Product Brand Management,21(6), pp.439-451. Hsu, K.T., 2012. The advertising effects of corporate social responsibility on corporate reputation and brand equity: Evidence from the life insurance industry in Taiwan.Journal of business ethics,109(2), pp.189-201. Jara, M. and Cliquet, G., 2012. Retail brand equity: Conceptualization and measurement.Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services,19(1), pp.140-149. Kapferer, J.N., 2012.The new strategic brand management: Advanced insights and strategic thinking. Kogan page publishers. Kim, K.H., Jeon, B.J., Jung, H.S., Lu, W. and Jones, J., 2012. Effective employment brand equity through sustainable competitive advantage, marketing strategy, and corporate image.Journal of Business Research,65(11), pp.1612-1617. Sheng, M.L. and Teo, T.S., 2012. Product attributes and brand equity in the mobile domain: The mediating role of customer experience.International Journal of Information Management,32(2), pp.139-146. Stahl, F., Heitmann, M., Lehmann, D.R. and Neslin, S.A., 2012. The impact of brand equity on customer acquisition, retention, and profit margin.Journal of Marketing,76(4), pp.44-63. Torres, A., Bijmolt, T.H., Trib, J.A. and Verhoef, P., 2012. Generating global brand equity through corporate social responsibility to key stakeholders.International Journal of Research in Marketing,29(1), pp.13-24. Wang, W.T. and Li, H.M., 2012. Factors influencing mobile services adoption: a brand-equity perspective.Internet Research,22(2), pp.142-179.

Logistics and Operations Management (A case study on Apple Inc)

Question: You are an operations manager for one of the companies or organizations listed below; Apple Halliburton BBC LIDL NHS You are currently reviewing the product portfolio in other to introduce a new or modify the existing product /services. Assignment task . Design or modify a product or service for your chosen organization you are to report on the following; An introduction to the product or service. Details of the important of process design on the product or service The overall aim and objectives of the products/services using process design. Stages of product /service to illustrate your design concept. Analysis of the impact of performance objectives on the design. Your report should include relevant academic models to support your analysis. Answer: Introduction: Apple is one of the innovative product manufacturing organizations in the world. The particular organization is famous for developing the software, hardware and associated digital services. Apple not only focuses on one dimension but also deliver unmatched user experience. Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne established the organization in 1976 (Apple.com. 2016). The unique range of products and services of the organization allow them to obtain high sales revenue in the business. The logistics and operation management of the organization involves a particular process including five steps such as inbound logistics, operations, outbound logistics, marketing and sales and services (Hitt, Ireland and Hoskisson 2012). Apple has accumulated revenue of US $233.715 billion as of 2015 (Amit and Zott 2012). In the AMR supply chain list, Apple has been positioned as one of the 25 companies in the world. In recent years, the organization has been excelling their operational and innovative level for enhancing their business opportunity in the most competitive market (Chan, Pun and Selden 2013). Introduction to the product and services: By delivering the unique range of products, the organization can enhance its business opportunities in an effective manner (Boudreau and Lakhani 2013.). Apple has both hardware and software products. In the hardware product category, the products are Macintosh, iPod, iPhone, and iPad. On the other hand, in the software product category, Apple produces Mac OS X, iTunes, Internet browsers and other software (Teece 2012). The current products of Apple can be segregated into four different sections including desktops, IPOD, Laptops and software (Apple.com. 2016). Apple produces three types of Desktops including Mac mini, iMac, and Mac Pro. On the other hand, the organization has been famous for its iPod devices such as IPod Classic, IPod Nano, IPod Shuffle and IPod touch. The popular laptops manufactured by the organization are Mac Book, Mac book Air, Mac Book Pro (Stark 2015). Under the software category, the organization produces ILife, ITune, and IWork. Among these all products catego ry, the organization focuses on its primary product IPhone. By discussing the services of the organization, it can be assessed that the company has a wide range of services for their global customers. Apple provides the services like Apple Pay, Apple store, online Apple Store, iTune Store, iOS App Store, Mac App Store, iBook Store, iCloud and Apple music. By delivering this unique range of services, the organization has collected adequate sales revenue from the global platform (Huang and Benyoucef 2013). The Apple watch is one of the unique products of the company that attracts a huge number of customers on the global platform. In recent days, the organization has been planning to launch a new product called IPhone 7. Apple provides excellent after selling services to the clients so that it can remain its brand loyalty in the global platform (Polaine, Lvlie and Reason 2013). Some of the apple service programs are Apple care Products, iOS Direct Service Program, Self-Serving Account Program, and Apple Authorized Service Provider program (Oster walder et al. 2014). The SWOT analysis of the Apple has been provided below: Strengths Apple has strong brand image on the global platform. The organization provides enhanced customers service In recent years, Apple has shown the robust financial performance in the competitive market. The organization has been expanding adequate financial resources on the research and development. For example, Apple has invested $10 US billion dollar in the research and development in 2015 (Apple.com. 2016). Weaknesses The high pricing system of the company has created challenges to enhance their customers base on the global platform. Apple uses the IOS operating system, which is less popular, compared to android OS. The product development time of the company is unknown. Consequently, customers are not aware of the releasing time of new model. Opportunities Apple can utilize their huge financial resources on the product development and product designing Launch of I Phone 7 can be a beneficial aspects of the company There is a huge number of retail store available in the global platform Threats Nowadays, the organization has been facing intense competition from other organizations called Samsung. The uncertainty in the global economic has created difficulties to the organization for executing business in an effective manner. The organization has been focusing on increasing I-Phone sales. Consequently, their pc sales has been decreasing Process design on the product or service: The product designing is an important process of research and development. Most of the global companies including Samsung, Apple, Sony, and HTC have been spending huge monetary resources in the research and development activities. Apple invests $10 billion on research and development process in 2015 (Apple.com. 2016). Product design is one of the important parts of creating a new product. Without including enhanced product design process, the organization is unable to capture a new market. Consequently, the organization may experience a huge loss in the business. Apple focuses on the product design for engaging a huge number of customers globally. Each product of the organization starts with the enhanced designing process. Jonathan Ive is a chief designer officer of Apple Inc. According to Jonathan Ive, the designing of the product has facilitated them to uphold uniqueness in the product (Brown and Wyatt 2015). For example, the sleek and stylish design of the MacBook Pro has attracte d a huge number of customers globally. On the other hand, the recent mobile devices of Apple like iPhone 6, IPhone 6s have an attractive design. Moreover, the gold variant IPhone devices are nothing but incredible. The management of the organization provides high priority to the designers, as they are responsible for improving product design in an effective manner (Teehan and Kandlikar 2013). The design department of Apple produces artwork not only electronic device. Steve Jobs always preferred to work with those people, who have an artificial point of view. The designing process starts with the products, and it ends with the packaging. The designing department of the organization directly reports to the CEO (Lakhani et al. 2012). Before creating new products, Apple involves three primary processes including analysis, concept, and synthesis. In the analysis process, the designing team evaluates the research and data on the products so that they can be modified the product in an effe ctive manner. On the next step, a new concept of the product is accumulated from customers feedback. By including new concept, the organization ensures the design that will meet customers expectation (Balmer 2012). For example, in the new product category, the design of smart watch has attracted a huge number of customers globally. On the other hand, most of the customers have provided feedback that the unique design of the I-Phone has helped them to enhance the sales revenue within the short time span. In the final step, synthesis of the designing takes place (Porter and Heppelmann 2014). In this segment, the organization includes the brainstorming ideas for developing the products. Figure 1: Product design process (Source: Chandrasegaran et al. 2013) The aims and objectives of the products: The aim of the process design is to ensure unique designing of the products that attracts a huge number of customers in the global platform. On the other hand, the objectives of the products designing are as follows: To increase the product selling through its unique design To increase the organizations market share and to target the new market segment To ensure complete product range in companys portfolio To meet the new requirements of the customers globally By discussing the aims and objectives of the product, it can be assessed that the organization needs to focus on their product design department for engaging huge customers base in the market. In recent years, most of the electronics companies like Samsung, Sony have been focusing on their product design for enhancing their sales in the international market. In the competitive market, without having unique product design, Apple would not be able to achieve their desired goals and objectives of the business. Stages of product or service to illustrate design concept: Apple ensures the market expansion by delivering a unique range of products to the customers. Apples products have attracted a huge number of customers in the domestic and international market. Jonathan Ive, the chief designing officer of Apple, has been following the principle of the organizations designing strategy. The particular rule same for new chief executive of the company named Timothy Cook (Apple.com. 2016). The founder of the organization, Steve Jobs said, Quality is more important than quantity. Apples designing process is being executed through three processes including ideas, product start-up created and prototyping (Hitt, Ireland and Hoskisson 2012). At the initial stage of product creation, the senior managers of the company express their interest in developing a new product. In this stage, the discussion of the new products and ideas are initially sketched in an effective manner. For example, the product development team needs to accumulate market feedback for develo ping new products for customers (Amit and Zott 2012). In the next step, the product start-up is created. After defining the product, an interior start up stage is executed that works unconnectedly for developing a new product. In the next stage, the prototyping is executed which is the beginning of the new product mockup. The designing team has the freedom to explore their individual ideas on the new product development (Chan, Pun and Selden 2013). Figure 2: Design process (Source: Teehan and Kandlikar 2013) On the other hand, the Apples new product process is executed after selecting the prototyping. This particular process includes several processes such as follows: Weekly executive team review Peer design meetings The production management Testing of the product Packaging On every Monday, the executive team follows up the invention procedure within the business. The particular convention facilitates the organization to accomplish objectives by weekly reviewing process. The production procedure is less than two weeks from the supervisory pronouncement. In the next stage, the peer design meeting takes place in the process. The peer review meeting takes place between the design team and engineers, which focuses on improving the design ideas in an effective manner (Chan, Pun and Selden 2013). These meetings can be regular production meetings for bringing new creative ideas. After conducting the peer design meetings, the production management decides the final design of the products. In this phase, both engineer global supply manager (GSM) and product manager (EPM) are responsible for the production process. In this phase, the best possible products design is selected. Both of the GSM and EPM spend most of the time in China because the production is execut ed on that particular region. In the testing phase, the EPM and GSM take back the product to the Cupertino for obtaining the review and feedback from the executives (Teece 2012). Next, the product goes back to the China to apply to changes. The particular process can be repeated for enhancing the standard of the quality of the products. After the execution the testing phase of the product, the design department finalizes the particular design and started producing the models. In the final phase design, the wrapping of the invention is intended and tested on the latest prototypes. Figure 3: Stages of product design in Apple Inc (Source: Stark 2015) Impact of performance objectives on the design: The performance objectives are provided below: To enhance 10% sales yearly by including the improved design of the product To attract a huge number of clients globally by the unique range of product design To target youth customers by its enhanced product design The performance objective of Apple facilitated them in enhancing the sales revenue in the business. There are five different performance objectives including quality, speed, dependability, flexibility and cost. The design department of Apple has been following these particular performance objectives to deliver high quality products to the customers worldwide. Jonathan Ive, the chief design officer of the company believes that the organization is bound to uphold the quality of the design (Huang and Benyoucef 2013). The prime objective of the design team is to attract customer through attractive design and high quality performance. On the other hand, the quality indicates the durability of the product. For example, most of the products including I-Phone, IPad, MacBook have enhanced design that attracts a huge number of customers on the global platform (Polaine, Lvlie and Reason 2013). The speed performance objectives indicate the process where Apple can generate high sales in the marke t. Moreover, the particular process suggests how fast the organization can deliver its products to the customers. For example, the product design of the new I-Phone 6 and I-phone 6s facilitates the organization to attract all age customers in the market (Osterwalder et al. 2014). The improved design of the I-Phone influences a huge number of youth in the market to have the product experiences. The product development team of Apple has agreed with the fact that they would achieve 10%c increment on their yearly sales by maintain unique design of the products (Brown and Wyatt 2015). For example, there are several laptop brands available in the market such as Dell, Lenovo, and Asus etc. However, the striking design of Apple MacBook Pro has differentiated it from other available laptop brands in the market. On the contrary, the organization needs to focus on the designing cost of the product. Without maintaining affordable pricing system, the organization may not be able to target youth customers in the market (Teehan and Kandlikar 2013). Conclusion: It can be concluded that the product design of Apple plays a major role in the business. By bringing new design of the product into the market, Apple would be able to enhance its business opportunity in the global market. In this particular assignment, the process of the product design has been analyzed in an effective manner. By developing the performance objectives on the product design, Apple would be able to increase its sales revenue within the short span of time. References: Amit, R. and Zott, C., 2012. Creating value through business model innovation.MIT Sloan Management Review,53(3), p.41. Apple.com. 2016.Apple Info - Apple. [online] Available at: https://www.apple.com/about/ [Accessed 8 Aug. 2016]. Balmer, J.M., 2012. Corporate Brand Management Imperatives.California Management Review,54(3), pp.6-33. Boudreau, K.J. and Lakhani, K.R., 2013. Using the crowd as an innovation partner.Harvard business review,91(4), pp.60-69. Brown, T. and Wyatt, J., 2015. Design thinking for social innovation.Annual Review of Policy Design,3(1), pp.1-10. Chan, J., Pun, N. and Selden, M., 2013. The politics of global production: Apple, Foxconn and China's new working class.New Technology, Work and Employment,28(2), pp.100-115. Chandrasegaran, S.K., Ramani, K., Sriram, R.D., HorvTh, I., Bernard, A., Harik, R.F. and Gao, W., 2013. The evolution, challenges, and future of knowledge representation in product design systems.Computer-aided design,45(2), pp.204-228. Hitt, M.A., Ireland, R.D. and Hoskisson, R.E., 2012.Strategic management cases: competitiveness and globalization. Cengage Learning. Huang, Z. and Benyoucef, M., 2013. From e-commerce to social commerce: A close look at design features.Electronic Commerce Research and Applications,12(4), pp.246-259. Lakhani, K., Lifshitz-Assaf, H. and Tushman, M., 2012. Open innovation and organizational boundaries: the impact of task decomposition and knowledge distribution on the locus of innovation.Harvard Business School Technology Operations Mgt. Unit Working Paper, (12-57), pp.12-057. Osterwalder, A., Pigneur, Y., Bernarda, G. and Smith, A., 2014.Value proposition design: how to create products and services customers want. John Wiley Sons. Polaine, A., Lvlie, L. and Reason, B., 2013. Service design.From Implementation to Practice. New York: Reosenfeld Media. Porter, M.E. and Heppelmann, J.E., 2014. How smart, connected products are transforming competition.Harvard Business Review,92(11), pp.64-88. Stark, J., 2015. Product lifecycle management. InProduct Lifecycle Management(pp. 1-29). Springer International Publishing. Teece, D.J., 2012. Dynamic capabilities: Routines versus entrepreneurial action.Journal of Management Studies,49(8), pp.1395-1401. Teehan, P. and Kandlikar, M., 2013. Comparing embodied greenhouse gas emissions of modern computing and electronics products.Environmental science technology,47(9), pp.3997-4003.

Compare And Contrast - A Popular Research Method

Compare And Contrast - A Popular Research MethodAs parents of middle school students and a professor of reading comprehension, I always teach a comparison-based literature essay. This is not only because this is the most effective method for reaching your students but also because the comparison is the most successful one.During my lectures on this, I often compare similar texts with different viewpoints to my middle school students. In fact, if you just look at the face of your child as he or she looks at the text, the similarities will be pretty obvious.This is exactly how children read - they look at their parent's text and make a comparison to it, making comparisons to others they know. This is the way they learn! The similarities are there and this is what makes it a compare-and-contrast method.Let me explain. If you compare and contrast a book with another book, the entire book can be explained by simple-to-read examples.If you compare and contrast a book with another book by t he same author, then you have an idea of the overall style and characters. When you compare and contrast a book with a book by the same author and the same book, it is to give a 'snapshot' of the style of writing.Let me explain further. When we read a chapter in a book, we have to read it word for word and it is almost impossible to give a good idea of the style of the author just by reading it word for word.There are several ways to help you find more examples to use in the next paragraphs. Simply look at the pictures in these two letters, they will help you find more examples that will come upin your brainstorming process.

In Cold Blood Death Penalty Essays - Capital Punishment, Penology

In Cold Blood: Death Penalty Capital Punishment has been part of the criminal justice system since the earliest of times. The Babylonian Hammurabi Code(ca. 1700 B.C.) decreed death for crimes as minor as the fraudulent sale of beer(Flanders 3). Egyptians could be put to death for disclosing the location of sacred burial sites(Flanders 3). However, in recent times opponents have shown the death penalty to be racist, barbaric, and in violation with the United States Constitution as "...cruel and unusual punishment." In this country,although laws governing the application of the death penalty have undergone many changes since biblical times, the punishment endures , and controversy has never been greater. A prisoner's death wish cannot grant a right not otherwise possessed. Abolitionists maintain that the state has no right to kill anyone; . The right to reject life imprisonment and choose death should be respected, but it changes nothing for those who oppose the death at the hands of the state. The death penalty is irrational- a fact that should carry considerable weight with rationalists. As Albert Camus pointed out, " Capital punishment....has always been a religious punishment and is reconcilable with humanism." In other words, society has long since left behind the archaic and barbous" customs" from the cruel "eye for an eye" anti-human caves of religion- another factor that should raise immediate misgivings for freethinkers. State killings are morally bankrupt. Why do governments kill people to show other people that killing people is wrong? Humanity becomes associated with murderers when it replicate their deeds. Would society allow rape as the penalty for rape or the burning of arsonists' homes as the penalty for arson? The state should never have the power to murder its subjects. To give the state this power eliminates the individual's most effective shield against tyranny of the majority and is inconsistent with democratic principles. Family and friends of murder victims are further victimized by state killings. Quite a few leaders in the abolishment movement became involved specially because someone they loved was murdered. Family of victims repeatedly stated they wanted the murderer to die. One of the main reasons- in addition to justice- was they wanted all the publicity to be over. Yet. if it wasn't for the sensationalism surrounding an execution, the media exposure would not have occurred in the first place. Murderers would be quietly and safely put away for life with absolutely no possibility for parole. The death penalty violates constitutional prohibitions against cruel and unusual punishment. The grotesque killing of Robert Harris by the state of California on April 21,1992, and similar reports of witnesses to hangings and lethal injections should leave So 3 doubt that the dying process can be- and often is -grossly inhumane, regardless of method(Flanders 16). The death penalty is often used for political gain. During his presidential gain, President Clinton rushed home for the Arkansas execution of Rickey Ray Rector, a mentally retarded, indigent black man. Clinton couldn't take the chance of being seen by voters as " soft on crime." Political Analysts believe that when the death penalty becomes an issue in a campaign, the candidate favoring capital punishment almost inevitably will benefit. Capital punishment discriminates against the poor. Although murderers come from all classes, those on death row are almost without exception poor and were living in poverty at the they were arrested. The majority of death-row inmates were or are represented by court-appointed public defenders- and the state is not obligated to provide an attorney at all for appeals beyond the state level. The application of capital punishment is racist. About 40 percent of death-row inmates are black, whereas only 8 percent of the population as a whole are black(Flanders 25). In cases with white victims, black defendants were four to six times more likely to receive death sentences than white defendants who had similar criminal histories. Studies show that the chance for a death sentence is up to five to ten times greater in cases with white victims than black victims(Flanders 25). In the criminal justice system, the life of a white person is worth more than the life of a black person. The mentally retarded are victimized by the death penalty. Since 1989, when the Supreme Court upheld killing of the mentally retarded, at least four such executions have occurred. According to the Southern Center for Human Rights, at least 10 percent of death row inmates in the United States are mentally retarded(Long 79). Juveniles are subject to the death penalty.

How Do Whales, Dolphins, and Porpoises Sleep

How Do Whales, Dolphins, and Porpoises Sleep Cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and porpoises) are voluntary breathers, meaning they think about every breath they take. A whale breathes through the blowhole on top of its head, so it needs to come up to the water surface to breathe. But that means the whale needs to be awake to breathe. How does a whale get any rest? The Surprising Way a Whale Sleeps The way a cetacean sleeps is surprising. When a human sleeps, all of his brain is engaged in being asleep. Quite unlike humans, whales sleep  by resting one half of their brain at a time. While one half of the brain stays awake to make sure the whale breathes and alerts the whale to any danger in its environment, the other half of the brain sleeps. This is called unihemispheric slow-wave sleep. Humans are involuntary breathers, meaning they breathe without thinking about it and have a breathing reflex that kicks into gear when they are sleeping or are knocked unconscious. You cant forget to breathe, and you dont stop breathing when you are asleep. This pattern also allows whales to keep moving while sleeping, maintaining position in relation to others in their pod and staying aware of predators such as sharks. The movement may also help them maintain their body temperature. Whales are mammals, and they regulate their body temperature to keep it in a narrow range. In water, a body loses heat 90 times as much as it does in air. Muscular activity helps keep the body warm. If a whale stops swimming, it may lose heat too fast. Do Whales Have Dreams When They Sleep? Whale sleep is complex and still being studied. One interesting finding, or lack thereof, is that whales do not appear to have REM (rapid eye movement) sleep that is characteristic of humans. This is the stage in which most of our dreaming occurs. Does that mean that whales dont have dreams? Researchers dont yet know the answer to that question. Some cetaceans sleep with one eye open as well, changing to the other eye when the brain hemispheres change their activation during sleep. Where Do Whales Sleep? Where cetaceans sleep differs among species. Some rest on the surface, some are constantly swimming, and some even rest far below the water surface. For example, captive dolphins have been known to rest at the bottom of their pool for a few minutes at a time. Large baleen whales, such as humpback whales, can be seen resting on the surface for half an hour at a time. These whales take slow breaths that are less frequent than a whale thats active. They are so relatively motionless on the surface that this behavior is referred to as logging because they look like giant logs floating on the water. However, they cant rest for too long at a time, or they may lose too much body heat while inactive. Sources: Lyamin, O.I., Manger, P.R., Ridgway, S.H., Mukhametov, L.M., and J.M. Siegal. 2008. Cetacean Sleep: An Unusual Form of Mammalian Sleep. (Online). Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews 32:1451–1484.Mead, J.G. and J.P. Gold. 2002. Whales and Dolphins in Question. Smithsonian Institution.Ward, N. 1997. Do Whales Ever...? Down East Books.

Starbucks coffe industry Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Starbucks coffe industry - Case Study Example The organization selected for the study is Starbucks which is a major coffee retail chain based in USA and has operations across numerous areas of the globe. The study would include a theoretical analysis highlighting the advantages and disadvantages of each of the strategies mentioned above. In addition the study would also take into account the similarities and dissimilarities between the chosen set of business strategies. Furthermore the study would analyze the external environmental aspects that govern the coffee industry. This would be followed with an analysis for the trends of the coffee industry that would include an industry analysis of the entire industry. Finally a set of strategies would be proposed for Starbucks from among the chosen set of four generic strategies that would help the firm gain and consolidate its market share in the market and to help generate sustainable competitive advantage in the long run. Introduction In the age of increased market competition it ha s become inevitable for business organizations to purse strategies that differentiate their product offering from the others in the market. Porter proposed a set of three strategies namely focus strategy, differentiation and cost leadership that can be followed by firms to gain market advantage. Firms like Wal-Mart incorporate a single strategy like cost while there are others that use a combination of these strategies to create a hybrid strategy to generate advantage for them in the market. The choice of strategy largely depends upon the nature of the business and the target market segment considering the fact that each set of strategy has its own set of advantages as well as disadvantages (Griffin, 2008, p.207). Firms should therefore analyze their internal as well as external aspects before undertaking and implementing a business strategy. This would help them take the best advantage of the market conditions and would also help them channelize their internal resources and capacit ies to create favorable positioning and brand image of their brands and organization in the minds of the target market audience. Theoretical Background Depending upon the internal and external aspects influencing an organization it is necessary to adopt any of the four strategies namely differentiation, low-cost leadership, best cost and focus strategy. The matrix below lists out the similarities and dissimilarities of these strategies. Strategy Type Advantages Disadvantages Focus Focus Strategies help generate efficiency and promote greater learning and innovation. It helps firms to concentrate to a single segment and analyze their needs more effectively (Moore, 2008, p.84-85). Concentration on a single segment can be disastrous if the key differentiators are imitated by another market player. Narrowing down of difference within the target segments can lead to business risk (Longenecker et.al, 2005, p.66) Differentiation Helps beat the market competition. Generate new products acro ss different segments and reduces the business risks and uncertainties (Parnell, 2003, p.91) Loss of cost based advantage Imitation of key features by competitors (Wit & Meyer, 2010, p.343) Low Cost Leadership Ability to take greater advantage of demand and supply factors. Reduction of market risk (John & Harrison, n.d., p.82). Too much focus on cost can lead to deviation from the market and customers. Product aspects like quality and safety may be compromised

Access to Higher Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Access to Higher Education - Essay Example 33).Accessing the institutions of higher learning has however been a challenge even to the developed countries and this article tries to show why this is so and why in some countries it has been successfully implemented. This paragraph explores cost as a factor for access to higher education. One challenge that makes higher learning hard to achieve for everyone is the cost implication that comes with it. The cost of acquiring a degree is very high that not everyone in the society can be able to match. This poses a challenge to those in those in the lower class in the society (Harmon 2010, p. 75). Very often, you will find needy students that are very bright but cannot afford to further their studies. The only hope for these students is either to find a sponsor or the government loans and grants provided by governments especially in the developing world. To overcome such a challenge, countries like the Scandinavian countries have made tertiary education to be free for all its citizens regardless of their performance in the secondary school (Harmon 2010, p. 79). What this does is that it ensures no one is denied a chance to further his or her studies.Therefore, cost is really an issue. Next let us explore the loan factor in details.How is loan a factor? Loan as a helping factor to access to education involves the government offering to finance the education of its university population and recover the money once the student has graduated and found employment. The prohibitive factor in this case, however, is that not all students who complete their degrees do find jobs immediately or even at all and thus it is common to find a lot of defaulters and thus the government might not be able to offer enough funds to future deserving cases (White 2008, p. 19). What other governments do to avoid this is that they subsidize the cost of education for all students in public institutions of higher learning to a level where it is affordable to almost everyone. In Kenya for exa mple, the cost of degree courses in public universities there is averagely $300 a year. Such subsidies are however putting a strain in the overall running of the universities and most of them have been forced to look for funds from other sources to run the universities (Thomson 2009, p. 22). This brings in another element in the access to higher learning; inequality. How about exclusivity as a factor? Exclusivity definitely denies everyone access to the best tertiary institutions of choice but the good thing is for those who make it to these institution is the demand they will get in the job market. Here is a look at both sides of this discussion. There are some high end universities that are so sought after that they have to put extra requirement to be accessed. The so-called Ivy League Schools like Oxford and Yale are so expensive to the ordinary person that only the well-off do go there. While these universities actually deserve to be there, it is the inequality that exists that is the problem. You will find that there are different registration numbers for different student with one being for the self-sponsored and another for the government sponsored (Rubin 2012, p.35). This brings about favoritism as the self-sponsored tend to be more favored than the other students because of the amount of money that they bring in to the University. Graduates from these