Blind Faith and False Belief: An Examination of the Development of The

The purpose of this paper is to closely examine the effects of children with congenital profound visual impairment (CPVI) and a possible correlation to the delay in the development of theory of mind (ToM). Specifically, this paper will compare a study that investigated how visual cues affect the development of ToM to a similarly themed episode from the popular television show Xena: Warrior Princess. On the surface these two groups may appear to be an odd comparison, for children with CPVI and Xena seem like they have nothing in common. However, there is one episode in particular entitled â€Å"Blind Faith,† in which these two worlds collide in a unique and surprising way proving and interesting parallel and additional insight into how blindness may affect the development of the theory of mind. In the article entitled, â€Å"An investigation of first-order false belief understanding of children with congenital profound visual impairment,† a detailed look at the development of ToM was performed. Theory of mind (ToM) is defined â€Å"as the ability to impute mental states to others and to interpret and predict behavior in terms of those mental states† (Green 1). In order to examine ToM, the study performed a series of false belief tests. False belief can also be explained as misunderstanding which connected to false reasoning. In the case of the children in this study, the false belief would be if they can correctly identify how another person would respond to a specific task, if that person had limited information that the children were previously made privy too. These tests are important because, as they article explains; the testing false belief is the most direct way to access if a person has a fully developed theory of mind (Dennett c... ...ere is a correlation between blindness and a delay to the development ToM. Whether it’s Xena or children with congenital profound visual impairment it’s obvious that visual cues are significant when trying to interpret the actions of others. Xena, like the children in the study, was forced to rely on other senses to compensate for the lack of visual cues, which is important because without them children are at a disadvantage to understanding the greater world around them. Works Cited â€Å"Blind Faith.† Xena: Warrior Princess. Created by Rob Tapert and Sam Raimi. Perf. Lucy Lawless, Renee O’Connor. USA Network. April 17, 1997. Green, Sarah, Linda Pring, and John Swettenham. "An Investigation of First-order False Belief Understanding of Children with Congenital Profound Visual Impairment." British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 22.1 (2004): 1-17.

Death of a Salesman Essay -- essays research papers

Samuel Adams was born on September 27, 1722, Boston, Massachusetts Samuel Adams was a son to a merchant who sold things in Boston. When he graduated from Harvard College in 1740, his ideas about a useful career were not many : he did not want to become a brewer, fate (or ill luck) forced Adams into the brewery; he operated his father's malt house for a livelihood but not as a dedicated businessman, and the idea of working a Church didn’t interest Samuel Adams much either. Adams was not a good merchant like his father and didn’t like the idea of becoming one. He, however, was a very good politician. He also unlike his father, wasn’t a good businessman either. His early public office as a tax collector made people suspect him of a British agent. He made did very well with understanding tax codes and he knew the majority of merchants in Boston because of his father being a merchant. Samuel Adams was a very popular leader in his time who spent a great deal of time in the public. Adams became more involved in politics. He belonged to several patriotic clubs and was an important person in Boston town meetings. Adams did not like several laws passed by the British Parliament in the American Colonies. Those laws included the Sugar Act of 1764, the Stamp Act of 1765, and the Townshend Acts of 1767 Adams served in the Massachusetts legislature from 1765 to 1774. As its clerk, he talked a lot with other colonial leaders. Unfortunately for Samuel Adams the Parliament in 1776 didn’t all...

Faith in “Life of Pi” Essay

How deep is your faith? How strong is your will to survive if the tables were turned and misfortune rocked your boat of life? Throughout the entire novel Life of Pi by Yann Martel, the protagonist Piscine Molitor Patel develops an extreme devotion to God. As the story progresses Pi’s faith becomes stronger, allowing him to continue living a peaceful life even when things get nearly impossible. Religion keeps Pi busy, happy and most importantly†¦ alive. He develops a profound faith in God’s of 3 different religions (Hinduism, Islam and Christianity), which is put to the test when he spends 227 days stranded on a lifeboat in the Pacific Ocean. During those 227 days Pi as a character grows immensely and his beliefs are truly put to the test. Eventually the theme of faith leads to the biggest question in the novel after Pi tells two completely different stories of his survival to the Japanese insurance investigators. Which is the better story? Faith is believing what you want to believe, yet cannot prove. Sadly, many people live with this definition of faith. For some it feels liberating. It means being able to believe in anything; no explanation is required or given; it is just a matter of faith. For others, such a definition is sickening. This definition states as faith increases, reason and meaning eventually disappear. Nothing can be proved, so in other words living in faith is living in the dark. â€Å"Religion will save us,† I said. Since when I could remember, religions had always been close to my heart. â€Å"Religion?† Mr. Kumar grinned broadly. â€Å"I don’t believe in religion. Religion is darkness.†Darkness?† I was puzzled. I thought, Darkness is the last thing that religion is. Religion is light† Pi completely contradicts the statement ‘faith is living in the dark.’ Faith is not meant to be interpreted in such a way, which is something Pi realizes during the earliest stages of the novel. Pi chooses to believe what he would like to believe, even if it meant taking several concepts from 3 completely different religions and combining them to create a Utopian religion in a sense. As a child, Pi begins to read a great amount and starts embracing more than just one religion. He notices that their powerful narratives have the ability to provide meaning and dimension to life, which is where Pi’s  interest and faith in multiple religions truly begin to develop. In Pondicherry, his atheist biology teacher Mr. Kumar challenges his Hindu faith in God, this makes Pi realize the positive power of belief and the need to overcome the harshness of the universe. Piscine then becomes incredibly motivated to learn more and begins practicing Christianity and Islam, realizing these religions all share the same foundation: belief in a loving higher power. Practicing three different religions gave Pi the flexibility to choose the good and convenient aspects from each. This allowed him to practice a utopian religion where his curiosity could be satisfied, so Pi became very dedicated to each religion. He went to worship at the local mosque, mandir and church but chose to hide all of this from his parents. Pi’s faith and belief in God inspires him as a child, keeps him motivated and constantly thinking but most importantly, helps sustain him while at sea. While Pi is in middle the ocean on the lifeboat after the sinking of the TsimTsum, he turns to faith and religion to keep busy and give himself hope. Throughout the novel we see that faith and religion is something Pi turns to in order to keep himself occupied, especially during his 227 days at sea. On that stormy night, cruising on a ship in the middle of the ocean, Pi lost everything, everything that meant something to him, his family, his protection, the feeling of safety and love. In other words, everything that could give him a hint of hope had disappeared in a matter of seconds. In exchange for all of that he was left stranded on a life boat in the Pacific Ocean surrounded with fierce zoo animals. Even though he had no way of being sure that he would be saved, he still pushed himself to believing that somehow he will be able to overcome the crises that he had fallen in. He prayed to God even though he had no proof He was there but he believed that God really was listening. He believed because he had no other choice. In a situation such as this one, Pi needed a miracle. On the lifeboat, prayer becomes a daily routine for the cast away. Each day Pi wakes up, prays, feeds Richard Parker and inspects the raft and lifeboat, which helps him maintain his mental sanity by keeping busy. His religious rituals allow him to feel a sense of calmness and give him the will to go on. â€Å"They brought me comfort, that is certain. But it was hard, oh, it was hard. Faith in God is  an opening up, a letting go, a deep trust, a free act of love- but sometimes it was so hard to love.† (page 231) Pi admits that it was hard to put his trust in God when it seemed like He wasn’t listening, but continues praying, staying faithful and practising his religious rituals throughout the entire 227 days. On a superficial level, Pi’s faith contributes to his survival by providing daily rituals. On a deeper level, Pi’s faith contributes to his survival through answered prayers. Several times during his experience on the life boat Pi calls to deities during life threatening situations. â€Å"My heart stopped and then beat triple speed. I turned. â€Å"Jesus, Mary, Muhammad and Vishnu!† I saw a sight that will stay with me for the rest of my days. Richard Parker had risen and emerged. He was not fifteen feet from me. Oh, the size of him! The hyena’s end had come, and mine.’† Here, Pi who is on the point of death. Richard Parker, a deadly animal, could have easily killed Pi. However, due to Pi’s prayer, he is saved. A rat â€Å"appeared out of nowhere† and Pi is able to fling at Richard Parker who accepts the rat as an â€Å"offering† and flops back down on the bottom of the lifeboat. Pi’s prayer along with many others had been answered due to the immense amount of faith and dedication Pi shows throughout the novel. Pi has the faith to go on. Even in the most difficult situations, he realizes that in order to survive or even have the will to survive he must put his trust in God and have faith that things will get better. Pi stays strong and courageous and never has the attitude of defeat, he believes that he will get off the lifeboat eventually. Pi has faith in everything around him, giving him more motivation to continue on with his daily life on the boat.   Throughout the course of this entire novel, Pi’s faith is put to the test. At the beginning of the novel, an older Pi states that he can tell a story that will make the author believe in God, which is true in many ways. Yann Martel creates two stories on Pi’s survival in the Pacific while talking to the Japanese insurance investors. One story involving the zoo animals that was very long, fantastical and elaborate and the other that was incredibly brutal and deals directly with issues such as human brutality and  cannibalis m. The story with Richard Parker and the zoo animals is told in great depth for 318 pages of the novel, but after the insurance investigators flat out tell Pi â€Å"We do not believe your story† Pi recreates another more believable, yet more gruesome story. In Pi’s second story he retells the first one but using humans instead. He hints that the zebra is the Japanese sailor (innocent and defeated), Pi’s mother is the orang-utan,(motherly and caring) the hyena is the cook (pure example of evil in humans) and Pi is Richard Parker. In his second story, the cook is a pure example of evil in humans, which is something that many choose to believe that such a thing does not exist. The first story Pi tells is a much more powerful, inspiring story but the second is more believable in many ways. So where does God come in? How can this story make someone believe in God? In a way, Richard Parker represents God. At the end of the novel, when Pi has told his long story to two Japanese insurance investigators but they refuse to believe him, Pi tells a shorter, ugly version that is much more believable, but many hate to believe. Then Pi asks the investigators which story they prefer. Many want to believe in the story where Richard Parker existed because it’s a better story than the one of madness, murder and cannibalism but that is where faith comes in. Faith that Pi was telling the truth the whole time. So what about the prediction at the beginning, that the story will make anyone believe in God? Yann Martel uses the desire to believe in Richard Parker as a stand in for God, creating an analogy, that the readers and audience must make on their own. Pi desperately wants to believe in God. The whole point of the novel is to trick the reader into the question, which is the better story?. Of course everyone prefers Richard Parker to be real. The theme is to accept that belief in God is the better story, just how Richard Parker is hoped to be real. Yann Martel states people prefer religion over reality because the story of God is a better story than reality.The novel is an elaborate metaphor to explain why people believe in God. It doesn’t say that God exists. It just says people prefer to belief in God because it’s a better story than how we see reality directly. Conclusion: During the course of life of Pi, the theme of faith occurs often. Whether it is keeping Pi educated, alive or even kept in the back of  people’s minds long after the novel ends. Faith gives Pi the power to go on, even when he feels as if everything is hopeless. So, without Pi’s faith in God that he developed near the beginning he would not have made it through the 227 long, hard days as sea. And whichever story is right, the better story will always be the one with Richard Parker because faith is God and God is faith.

Globalization on Chinese Society Essay

Our research aims to discover peculiarities of ideology in China. It’s going to highlight integrating values, legitimating the government’s policies and continued authority. The study is a review of articles by David Lynch, Gordon White and Feng Chen. From the recent past years up to this point of time, China has been taking part in extensive economic globalization activities like facilitating free trade policy. China’s new economic openness has resulted to remarkable growth trends. It has been practicing its â€Å"go out policy† by participating in the international market competitions. Observers have also noted some major changes in the Chinese media in coping up with globalization. With China’s entry to the World Trade Organization, structural reforms have taken place and more and more researchers have focused their interest on the interaction between Chinese media particularly television and the world at large. Currently, China is still in a whirl and sways with various ideologies such as a waning communist ideology, an increasing conservatism, as well as liberalism. Various ideological trends such as globalism, nationalism, individualism and pragmatism are likewise alive and under further exploration especially by Chinese youths. The pursuit of the leftists who adhere to the theory of socialism, elect to preserve the fundamental purity of the socialist economy and state authority. Meanwhile, reformists have argued that China should rather enrich its market economy and the rights to property. Besides, reformists want to recognize private entrepreneurship to join the Party. There exists some few numbers of youths having true belief in communism. Most of them, however, want membership to the Party as a stepping ladder in gaining their individual objectives. In some of the researches, David Lynch (2000 (Lynch, 1999, p173) has focused his objects on what expectations the intellectual and political elites expect leading to same changes in China for the years ahead. The objects include linked issues on some domestic and political affairs, the power capability of China as a nation, how the party state would defend its national identity as well as its cultural heritage and integrity in the face of the raging and deepening effects of globalization. Besides, Lynch assesses on how China aligns its new development and technology in directing its society’s future. With the continued transformation of the media including print, TV, the Internet, the entry of some foreign TV programming and the likes now depends mostly on the supply and demand and the behavior of the controlling party. The improvements of local or domestic contents have rivalled foreign counterparts. Lynch also assessed the trends in censorship and found some possible means by which media could possibly find ways of overcoming or avoiding rules, laws, problems, or difficulty to government restrictions of imported as well as local media contents. Briefly, Lynch tries to arrive at a point when the communist government’s hold on China’s domestic affairs would become loose due to the use of new technology. â€Å"Dilemmas of ‘Thought Work’ in Fin-de-Siecle China† reports that in May 1997 was established special organ of the Party Central Committee – Central Guidance Committee on Spiritual Civilization Construction. This fact indicates the seriousness of intentions in pursuing the spiritual civilization line. â€Å"Thought work† refers to Chinese Communist Party’s attempts to transmit socialist ideology and to control ideas of the masses so that they will comply to the demands of the national development plan. In his article Lynch argued that the government’s efforts to build a socialist spiritual civilization in China failed. He concluded that government’s attempts to limit access to global media and control political discourse turn out to be ineffective. Lynch reports the Chinese Ministry of Public Security’s estimate that as many as 620,000 Chinese had access to the internet in 1997, with a rise to 4 million expected by 2000 (Lynch, 1999, p. 193). The propaganda state is indeed crumbling. The author reports that Chinese children play cops and robbers who require the cops to inform the robbers of their rights before taking them into detention, as they have seen in American movies (Lynch, 1999). Other political writers like Feng Chen and Gordon White agree that China’s Chinese Communist Party is capable of adapting itself to the changing political climate. Moreover, China’s leaders could strengthen its position like having political legitimacy by re-inventing itself and continue some evolutionary tuning to reinforce the CCP’s legitimacy. Nevertheless, evolutionary refining is a hit and miss system that nobody can guaranty its success. Gordon White primarily focused on the politically engaged society in China. According to White politically-engaged society proved to be a durable theme in Chinese politics. Riding the Tiger concludes that society’s political engagement with the state will shape future of the state. For example, There may be a form of Chinese ‘Brezhnevism’ to see out the millennium as the current leadership tries to stay in power. If this is indeed the case, then the political contradictions and trends which I have identified will intensify and make it more likely that the transition, when it comes, will be sudden, radical and possibly violent. (White, 1993, p. 255) Even if the market becomes predominant through radical reform and even if it takes a capitalist form, which is very probable, there is a continuing need for a new form of developmental state to tackle†¦social and economic problems [such as market failure and its consequences for the poor]. In the short term, moreover, the role of the state is even more crucial because of the need to break through the ‘hard policy constraint’ and manage the transition from a planned to a market economy. This is a process†¦which is fraught with instability and tensions arising from the opposition of vested interests, threats to economic security, inflation and growing inequality. A strong state is needed to provide the political order and direction necessary to underpin this transition and regulate an emergent market economy in a huge and increasingly complex country. (White, 1993, pp. 238-9) As Gordon White has observed in Riding the Tiger, an attempt to establish a political system that can serve as an alternative to both capitalist economics and liberal politics has not appeared to be possible in China: â€Å"Marxist-Leninist socialism has been incapable of reforming itself and that ‘market socialism’ rather than saving its bacon, cooks its goose† (White, 1993, p. 12). White was writing at the start of the 1990s. Civil society-like forms emerged in China in the 1990s. That process the result collapse of the state structure, as it was in Soviet Union. But for the time being the Party-state still remains in command. As it was noted in Riding the Tiger, â€Å"to the extent the economic reforms were the spearhead of an attempt to resuscitate the political fortunes of Chinese state socialism, they can be judged to be a dismal failure†(White, 1993, p. 233). By the millennium China was certainly the most successful of the socialist states in adjusting to capitalism. Yet at the same time socialism remains in place in China and power is monopolized by the Communist Party. White denoted this combination as â€Å"market Stalinism† (White, 1993, p. 256). White suggests that the increasing prevalence of the elements of a civil society does not point toward an evolution into more liberal regime with market-oriented economy and multiparty political system. The author also noted that in Chinese society there are some groups that didn’t make benefits from the reforms. These would include state officials and state workers, women and the unemployed and floating populations: Fear of threats to status, power or income; disappointment because the reforms were delivering less than they had promised; disgruntlement arising from the â€Å"red-eye disease†; concerns that gains already achieved were in danger of erosion (through inflation and leadership mismanagement); contrarily, impatience at a deceleration of the reforms and anxiety at an acceleration. (White, 1993, p. 217) Some observers have concluded that the efforts of the Central Party in building some thought works on socialism in China has been not effective. Moreover, they gravitate to some extent. Formerly, China firmly opposed globalization as it disrupts some global institutions. Today, China is one of the firm advocates of liberalization and globalization, opening its trading system to the world. Slowly but surely, the Chinese system has now been updating itself on the rule of law, adapting many foreign laws to transform its civilization. China’s success through globalization, which happened in a short time, has indeed uplifted the standards of living of many workers. With such economic success arising from the impact of globalization, China has learned some stressful and painful lessons adjusting itself. Some of the effects include the decline of state employment from 110 million in 1995 to 66 million in March 2005, the lost of 25 million jobs in the manufacturing establishments, and the consolidation of some 125 car companies to just six firms. Its recent economic growth has revived and revved up the economy of Japan and kept safe its neighboring countries from recession, which otherwise could have led to a risky global downturn. With the prevailing trend of globalization, the process has deeply influenced the study habits, culture, and consumption styles of the youth (ACYF). They now believe that English is a basic skill and reference for one to acquire a degree. As more and more Chinese youths go out to study abroad, more and more of them have returned home, which benefits their culture. The youths now could avail some entertainments made in the USA, Europe, and elsewhere via television, films, videos, and the internet. Even internet games or serial TV programs from Japan or Korea have become the favorite of young students. Young people now in China are learning more the facts of life, society, and world affairs through the said media. When educators, scholars, officials, and artists speak of culture, this includes both the physical and non-physical aspects. The physical or material aspects include sites, landscapes, monuments, buildings, and like objects whereas non-physical aspects include music dance, language, poetry, and the like, which have been associated with China’s social practices. The non-physical culture is China’s living heritage is passed from one generation to the other. In reality, one should accept the fact that culture cannot be easily isolated from the influence or effects of globalization (UICIFD). To conclude the work we should note that ideology is still alive in China. The Chinese communist regime didn’t decline its ideological absolutism. The Communist Party alone that possesses the universal truth and represents the fundamental interest of the people (Guo, 1995, p. 84). In fact, â€Å"Mao Zedong thought† or â€Å"Deng Xiaoping theory† was adapted by the post-Mao party leadership in accordance with the changes of the China’s specific conditions. But this modification does not suggest discarding the fundamental principles and norms, but renovation within the same basic framework of development of Marxism. But post-Mao regime has cautiously modified some of Mao’s doctrines through the official interpretation of the sacred text (Guo, 1995, p. 84-85). As Feng Chen asserted, agricultural decollectivization in China was not an equivalent of â€Å"privatization,† but only the transformation of the rural economy into â€Å"a new type of collective economy, characterized by combining public ownership of the land with totally individualized operations of production† (Feng Chen, 1998, p. 82). To the post- Mao leadership, such an arrangement is defined as the â€Å"separation of land ownership rights and land use rights† (Feng Chen, 1998, p. 88). Land in China remains under public ownership. Reference List White, G. (1993). Riding the Tiger: The Politics of Economic Reform in Post-Mao China. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press; London: Macmillan. Lynch, D. (1999). Dilemmas of ‘Thought Work’ in Fin-de-Siecle China. China Quarterly, 157. Guo, S. (1995). Totalitarianism: An Outdated Paradigm for Post-Mao China? Journal of Northeast Asian Studies, 14 (2). Chen, F. (1998). Rebuilding the Party’s Normative Authority: China’s Socialist Spiritual Civilization Campaign. Problems of Post-Communism, 45 (6).

Assess The Usefulness Of Labelling Theory In Explaining Crime And Deviance

Focusing on interactionist approaches such as Becker (1963); labelling theory suggests that deviancy is a social process usually related to power differences but it doesn't explain the causes of crime. It does however explain why some people or actions are described as deviant, and can help in understanding crime and deviance. Becker argues deviance is a behaviour which has been labelled deviant by the reaction of others. This suggests that there is really no such thing as a deviant act. An act only becomes deviant when others perceive it as such.The application of a label to someone has significant consequences for how that person is treated by others and perceives him or herself. Studies such that by Jock and Young (1971); exemplify Becker’s claim that there is no such thing as deviant behaviour. Interpretivist sociologists (interactionist) argue that we form our self-identity by interpreting how others respond to us and internalising the reaction. A label can have positive and negative effects on an individual and it helps define them in the ‘eyes’ of others. Becker calls this the ‘self-concept’.Interactionist theory suggests that being labelled as deviant can actually increase deviant behaviour. For example if a person is in trouble with the police then they are more likely to resort to criminal activity or criminal behaviour. Jock Young (1971) used his study of drug users in Notting hill to demonstrate the process of becoming deviant. The studies showed 4 different stages. Firstly, the marijuana users developed a deviant self-concept because their drug of choice was illegal; then the deviant element became their main identity in society.They were considers ‘hippies’ first and foremost ; then the negative response of those around them and the police made the drug taking a significant part of their live and then their drug taking increased. Labelling theory is clearly validates behaviour. Additionally, Lemert (19 72) identifies primary and secondary deviance. Primary being when deviance is not publicly labelled as much; secondary is deviance that follows once a person has been publicly labelled as deviant.Lemert drew a distinction between primary and secondary deviance through a study ofstuttering amongst a Native American nation. He observed that public oratory was important among the nation yet displayed high levels of stuttering. When young boys showed any speech defect parents reacted with such concern that the child became worried about it and more nervous causing him to stutter. Therefore the primary deviance of the speech defect was not that important, it was the effect of the worried parents, labelling the child, causing the nervousness, leading to the secondary deviance of stuttering.Thus showing that societal reaction, promoted by a concern about particular forms of deviance can actually produce those forms of deviance. Contrastingly there are critiques of Lemert and Becker’ s studies. Akers (1967) criticises both Becker and Lemert for presenting individuals as powerless it make decisions or take control of their own identity. Deviance, according to Akers, is not something which happens to an individual, but a choice an individual makes.Goffman (1961) substantiates the idea of labelling theory via his study of a deviant career in mental illness. He stated that the negative label of being mad is imposed on the patient by society and psychiatry, and the patient must eventually conform to it. However, critics such as Taylor, Walton and Young (1973) argue many forms of behaviour are widely viewed as deviant- so deviants actually know that they are breaking the law or social rules before the societal reactions however they still continue to do it.Marxist sociologists accuse Interpretivist of ignoring the role of power in defining crime and deviance. Marxists state that certain groups have the power to influence what is classified as criminal or socially acce ptable. Furthermore, Gouldner (1973) accused interactions sociologists of being fascinated with deviance, and even suggests they enjoy observing ‘cool’ deviants, and hanging out with the ‘underworld’.In evaluation, it is evident that there are contrasting views on labelling and social influence on deviance. It is also evident that interactionist sociologists focus on ‘the little things’ and take the ‘micro’ approach to issues such as crime and deviance. They focus on interactions between individuals. One can criticise that by also focusing on the ‘bigger picture’ it may be evident how the small interactions affect the larger scale infrastructure of society.

Marketing and Starbucks Essay

1.0 Introduction: The Starbucks Corporation was founded by three entrepreneurs at the place called Seattle in 1971. Initially they were selling of whole bean coffee in one Seattle store and by the year 1982 the business had grown tremendously and has opened five stores selling the coffee beans, a roasting facility, and a wholesale business for local restaurants. When the Starbucks started its business it was only a small retail coffee shop as like the other coffee shops. The main vision of the Starbucks owners was to educate customers about the fine coffees and feel the smell of the Dark roasted coffee, selling just the coffee was not their aim as the coffee was sold in the USA since 1960’s (Starbucks case study). Howard Schultz was recruited as the manager of retail and marketing and it was Howard who brought new ideas to the owners, but he was turned down. Schultz in turn opened his own coffee bar was named Il Giornale in 1986 based on Italian coffee cafes, selling brewed Starbucks coffee. By 1987, Schultz had expanded to three coffee bars and bought Starbucks from the original owners for $4 million and changed the name of his coffee bars from Il Giornale to Starbucks. His intention for the company was to grow slowly with a very solid foundation. For the first two years, Starbucks losses doubled as overhead and operating expenses increased with Starbucks expansion. Schultz stood his ground and did not sacrifice long term integrity and values for short-term profit. By 1991, Starbucks sales increased by 84% and the company were out of debt. Starbucks grew to 20 stores by 1988. By 1996 it grew to 870 stores with plans to open 2000 stores by the year 2000. 2.0 Marketing stategyof Starbuks: Marketing strategy is carrying out segmentation, targeting and positioning. Doing the detailed understanding of the marketplace into strategic decisions and the targeting of appropriate customer groups. This targeting should emphasise on any differential advantages and adopt a suitable positioning within the target segments (Dibb and Simkin, 1996). Starbucks has adopted a Differentiation strategy it is a strategy which seeks to provide product or service that offer benefits and should be different from competitors that are widely valued by customers. The aim this strategy is to achieve advantage by offering better products or services at same or higher price. When Starbucks was launched there were many coffee bars in the United States at that time but Starbucks wanted to stand unique from the others. Marketing has powerful potential to contribute to the highly important aspects of the organisational competitiveness, namely innovation (Kerin, 1992) and competitive analysis (Varadarajan, 1992) and Schulz wanted to innovate and recreate the experience of the Italian coffee bar culture. Starbucks mainly focused on the strategy of new products, a stronger connection with the customers as the Third place and expanding store locations in the United States and abroad. Starbucks has followed the simple STP process (Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning). 2.1 Segmentation: Market Segmentation is a process of dividing a market into distinct groups of buyers with different needs, characteristics, or behaviour that might require separate products or marketing programs is called Market Segmentation (Kotler and Armstrong, 2006). Initially Starbucks was based as a Socio-Economic segmentation base in consumer Markets as it has concentrated on social class particularly the business class people those who are working at the office and wanted to have a cup of coffee with a good atmosphere and facilities. Starbucks also had segmented his market by geographic and demographically by selecting the store location where they can find the educated and coffee lovers (Dibb and Simkin, 1996). 2.2Targeting: After a company has defined market segments, it can enter one or many segments of a given market and should make decision about how many and which customer groups to target (Dibb and Simkin, 1996). Target Marketing is a process of evaluating each market segment’s attractiveness and selecting one or more segments to enter (Kotler and Armstrong, 2006). The concept of target marketing is a logical implication of the basic philosophy of marketing (Lancaster and Massingham, 1993). A company should target segments in which it can profitably generate the greatest customer value and sustain it overtime. Starbucks wanted to develop a reputable relationship with the customers, Most of companies enter in a new market y serving a single segment, and if this proves successful than they add more segments, initially Starbucks did the same thing targeted the parents with the young children and it was hit concept and it has added more segments by including Teenagers and developed its product range also (Kotler and Armstrong, 2006). 2.3 Positioning: Once the company has decided which market segments to enter it should decide what positions it wants to occupy in those segments. Market Positioning is arranging for a product to occupy clear, distinctive, and desirable place relative to competing products in the minds of target customers. A products position is the place that the product occupies relative to competitors in consumers minds. Here in this case the Starbucks has developed a unique market position for their products because if a product is to be exactly same like the others on the market than consumers would have no reason to buy it. Starbucks has positioned themselves in the market as a highly reputed brand (Kotler and Armstrong, 2006). In this case Starbucks has planned his positioning in such a way that it distinguish their products from competing brands and give them the greatest strategic advantage in their target markets. Starbucks has a descriptively simple statement to inspire and nurture the human spirit-â€Å"one person, one cup, and one neighbourhood at a time†. Starbucks positioning strategy was customer base so that it can give the best service more than what the customers expect. Starbucks has gained a competitive advantage over customer satisfaction and employee satisfaction as Starbucks had developed its positioning strategy based on the customer and provided the utmost facility in terms of layout, furniture to the music, and in terms of employee satisfaction Starbucks make employee as a partners and gave them a personal security with a freedom to participate in the every decision of the business and make it successful (Porter & Miller, 1985, Porter, 1998). 3.0 Developing Marketing Mix: One of the major concepts in the modern marketing is once the company has decided its overall marketing strategy than it should plan the details of the marketing mix. â€Å"Marketing mix is the set of controllable, tactical marketing tools (product, price, place, and promotion) that the firm blends to produce the response it wants in the target market† (Kotler and Armstrong, 2006). Starbucks has a made good decisions on marketing mix tools 3.1 Product: â€Å"Product means the goods and services combination the company offers to the target market†. Starbucks has used Brand name, Quality, Variety and Services as their Product tool which can be concluded by this statement, Starbucks with a good Brand name provides best Quality and with the Variety of Products, it has adopted Quality improvement strategy (Kotler and Keller, 2009). Initially Starbucks started with the coffee than it has included non-fat milk, cold blended beverages. Later on stated seasonal offerings such as strawberry and cream Frappuccino, gingerbread latte with some food items like cookies and pastries. Before launching the products Starbucks was getting the approval of the customers. 3.2 Price: â€Å"Price is the amount of money customers have to pay to obtain the product†. Though the Price of the Starbucks was higher than the other coffee shops, the customers were ready to pay the amount because Starbucks has developed a luxurious image with all the facilities inside the store. Starbucks as a good Brand have offered more benefits and facilities and the best quality of products to justify their higher prices (Kotler et al, 2006). 3.3 Distribution and Service: Starbucks has a good distribution channels initially it was selling coffee beans and doing wholesale business for local restaurants. In terms of service and location Starbucks opened the stores in a such a way that it can reach to targeted customers and it has also gave more stress on giving the best customer service by spending a lot of money by training its employees (Starbucks case study). 3.4 Promotion: Starbucks initially did not use the advertising tool for promotion but it was the Public relations and the Personal selling tool that helped the Starbucks to achieve its target

Construction contract Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 1

Construction contract - Essay Example The implementation of the NEC contracts has resulted in great benefits in terms of time, money and quality both nationally and internationally. The NEC documents are essentially different in approach to many other procurement contracts. This approach is seen in the drafting of the contract. Where the traditional approach to a contract showed the adversarial relationship between the client and the contractor, the NEC approach to contracts promotes a collaborating approach that has a consistent record of submitting projects in the given time, and on budget (Bennett and Baird, p30). The NEC is a unit of standard contracts with three key characteristics that exist in each document. Firstly, it promotes good management and shows the relationship and the work between the two parties in the contract. Secondly, the NEC can be used for a variety of commercial situations as they support a variety of types of work regardless of the location. Lastly, NEC is a clear and simple contract which is drafted in easy language and simple words so that it is easy to understand for all parties. The contract in regard of the whole project comes with notes for guidance and flowcharts showing the details of the procedure of the project (Gibson, p77). Compensation events are those events that lead the contractor to be compensated for any change in price and as well as the completion date, if that event is not the contractor’s fault. The consequence of the compensation event is that the contractor has to allow additional payment and additional time. In some rare cases, these compensation events may also result in reduced payments. The basis on which the contractor is paid for the compensation event is the actual and forecast cost of the project. All the compensation events are mentioned in the contract under the core clauses where the contractor and