Functional Analysis of KV1.2 and Paddle Chimera Kv Channels in Planar Lipid Bilayers

Missteps in Django Unchained essays

Missteps in Django Unchained essays Jamie Foxx recently made a movie, demonizing the antebellum South and the land and peoples of my ancestry once again, providing an occasion for racial agitation between blacks and whites in America, providing false justification for the invasion and displacement of white men in America by way of illegal immigration, and once again providing occasion for men to blaspheme the social structure given to Moses by Almighty God. I have not seen this movie, but from what I understand from reading and watching his introduction of it on Saturday Night Live, this movie will most likely run along the typical Jacobin-Jesuit party lines. Before one comes to make a moral judgment concerning Southern Slavery, one must come to make a judgment on Philosophy in general. How does one know whether something is right or wrong? Come to think of it, how does one know anything at all? When someone honestly studies the history of Empiricism, he will be left empty handed. Secularists cannot define sensation or show how it produces thinking, cannot define what physical reality is, cannot escape the formal fallacy of induction, and cannot demonstrate how mathematics represents our physical reality. Having been disappointed with secularism, the Western man faces 3 primary choices, all of which claim the same Abrahamic root and all of which leave this man with no escape concerning the issue of slavery: Judaism, Islam and Christianity. Before I continue I want to make clear that I am not advocating that black people in America today should be enslaved. I suggest that the solutions offered by black civil rights leaders like Malcolm X and Marcus Garvey should be pursued to address the problems associated with the black community in America today. The fact is, the Bible is full of Scriptures concerning slavery and its administration in society. First, I want to make clear that there is a distinction between a slave TRADE and the INSTITUTION of slavery. The former is...

Learning and Personal Growth Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Learning and Growth - Personal Statement Example I was lucky enough to find an entrepreneur and a friend of my mother, who was not only well known but also deputy chair of the Entrepreneur Association, to accompany me to municipal office for arranging to complete many formalities. I also mobilized a very dedicated employee of my mother's company to help me on deciding the price of shares to be sold and also work as a liaison between my family and the management of the company. I believe that was one of my biggest accomplishment because of my relative inexperience in different things like management, finance and other things, I was still able to mobilize people to accomplish one of the challenging tasks of my life. I believe this also provided me an opportunity to show and hone my nature leadership skills as I achieved things beyond my capacity. It was during 2007 when I was project manager for the renovation of Translation Planning and Management System, a tool used for managing IBM globalization and localization processes. During Investigation, it came up that the system is not delivering value to the end users due to different problems such as low customer satisfaction, speed etc. This analysis provided me an insight into the fact that we must shift our focus from being technology driven to customer driven and should develop technologies which support end users. It was also revealed during our analysis that we must develop an application which can deliver the functionality of a web based application while remaining a desktop application. This approach not only clicked but also proved one of the most important innovations which helped to create an I.T. environment in IBM in Egypt, for the first time which revolved around the customer needs and demands. Essay # 2 Background I am a Master Degree holder from Yale and served as an angel investor for an international education product distribution company. Based on my analysis of the company and its products, I persuaded my parents to invest into the company based on my assessment using Valuation Adjustment Mechanism which demanded that the value of the shares hold by my parents would increase from one level to another upon failure of the firm to achieve certain profit levels. However, things did not worked the way as it were perceived and analyzed by me as the firm failed to achieved our desired results Mistake I believe my over-anxious approach of getting quick results as an investor was the major mistake committed by me in this situation. My Self- Reflection on this Mistake While reflecting on my mistake, I came up with different and multiple perspectives on the mistake I committed. I first realized that to be successful investor means patience as investment needs a long term horizon to achieve results. Inability to take into account prudent and sound business principles would yield into failure even if backed up by most advanced measurement techniques. I also felt that I failed to take into account the market cycle China was experiencing at that time besides understanding that for an angel investor, it is necessary that he or she must provide valuable experience, skills, and networking opportunities to

Action Potentials and The Cardiac Cycle Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Action Potentials and The Cardiac Cycle - Essay Example ld take approximately 200 to 500 milliseconds to complete and conducted from cell to cell, slower compared to less than 2 milliseconds in the action potentials in skeletal muscles (Seeley, Stephens, and Tate, 2007: 333). The following figures depict the stages or phases of an action potential: resting potential, depolarization, repolarization, and returning to resting potential or the final repolarization phase. The resting potential is the stage when the cell is not conducting an impulse (Rothenberg and Chapman, 1989). At this resting stage, the concentration of sodium (Na+) ions is higher outside the cell than the inside. On the other hand, the potassium (K+) ions are evidently higher inside the cell, compared to the outside. In this manner, the sodium-potassium pump is constantly at work to ensure a more positive ionic environment outside the cell membrane, thus leaving the cell interior highly negative (MCB-HHMI Outreach, 2005). Depolarization marks the first step in sending a signal or action potential, wherein the negatively charged cell interior is disturbed by the entrance positive Na+ ions, as we can see in the above figure (MCB-HHMI Outreach, 2005). Further, it is in this stage that Na+ channels open to give way to the diffusion of Na+ into the cell, at the same time, the K+ channels would just begin to open but closes immediately to decrease the permeability of cell to K+ (Seeley, Stephens, and Tate, 2007: 333). We can notice in figure 2 that the potassium and sodium channels are like gates that open to give way to their respective ions. Accordingly, the opening and closing of these membrane channels are responsible in the production of action potentials, as a result of the changes in cellular membrane permeability (Seeley, Stephens, and Tate, 2007: 333). In addition, calcium (Ca++) channels slowly open to cause Ca++ ions to diffuse into the cell, which also mimic depolarization (Seeley, Stephens, an d Tate, 2007: 333). An action potential triggers

To what extent are football violence and sectarianism linked Essay

To what extent are football violence and sectarianism linked - Essay Example In Scotland, sectarianism takes the form of political sectarian rivalry and religious sectarian rivalry which occurs between Catholics and Protestants. Sectarianism is clear in football clubs such as the fierce rivalry between Celtic football club and Rangers football club. Discussion Sectarianism According to Murray (2000), sectarianism in the Scottish football arises from offensive behaviours on the pitch. The behaviours include expression of religious, social, political and racial incitement. This aspect may occur between players of two opposing teams or among the fans. The behaviour of managers and players influences sectarianism whereby, players may receive influence from the manager who is in rivalry with the manager of the opposing team (Murray, 2000). This implies that the players will consider the opposing team as a rival, not just in the football contest, but also in the physical sense. The managers play a vital role in ensuring that there is no sectarianism among players s ince they are the role models of the players. Sectarianism may also occur during the broadcasting of a match where the commentary may use sectarian terms and incite the fans. The commentators have personal beliefs and interest. Their interests may be on one team compared to the other team; this implies that, in their commentary, they will favour one team leading to rivalry between the two teams. Sectarianism in a broad perspective may lead to threats of solemn harm, which intend to cause fear and alarm to an opposing team. To demonstrate the rivalry that one team has over the other, there is the use of implied threats such as images that depict serious harm such as bullets and threats that incite religious hatred (Murray, 2000). In the Scottish football, many deaths and assaults have occurred and have a direct link on sectarian tension within the nation. Such assaults leading to death occur before or after a football match featuring rivalry teams. Sectarianism, which is present amon g the old Firms in Scotland, occurs due to religious conflicts where some of the teams identify themselves as Catholics while the rest, which constitute a small percentage, are protestant and are from the rival team as seen in the study work of Ward & Williams (2010). Sectarianism is openly demonstrated where some clubs put up the Union flag on their pitches while some put up Irish tricolored flags. The clubs, which demonstrate Catholic faith, sign players who are Catholics. This applies to Protestants who do not allow Catholics to play for their club such as Rangers football club. Though many researchers argue that football is not the main cause of sectarianism in the Scottish football, there is evidence to show that sectarianism is until now rampant among many fans as seen in the research work of Potter & Jones (2008). Sutherland (2012) states in his research studies that politics plays a considerable role in promoting sectarianism around Scotland. This is because influential poli ticians are supporters of some teams. If an influential politician supports a club while the rival politician supports another club, it implies that the supporters of the different politicians will become rivals not just on the pitch but also outside the football pitch. Football violence This is the act where the fans or the players’ turn against each other during a football match leading to destruction of property and injuries of people.

Theories of Attachment and Disorders

Theories of Attachment and Disorders Table of Contents (Jump to) Introduction Attachment and Separation Disorders of Attachment Conclusion Bibliography Introduction The demand for literature on parenting and child rearing has increased exponentially over the past few decades. Parents, teachings and other professionals are being coming increasingly aware of the importance of the early relationship between mother and infant in determining future success in intimate, social and professional relationships. Over the centuries there have been a number of approaches to parenting, some promoting a formal, distant relationship, encouraging independence. However, more recently the relationship between a child and his or her primary care-giver (particularly the mother) has been shown to form the corner stone of future emotional functioning. Bowlbys (1980) theory of infant attachment explains how an infants first experience with his or her mother influences the formation of mental representation of the self and of others. The representation of the self determines the individuals sense of self worth, of how worthy one feels of receiving love. The representat ion of others shapes how the individual interprets the world and others as being reliable and trustworthy, or unreliable and not to be trusted. The development of these cognitive processes is rooted in the style of attachment an infant forms with his or her mother. The follow essay will provide an overview of attachment processes and styles and will consider the long-term impact of these. Attachment and Separation The origins of attachment theory are heavily rooted in the observations of psychologist John Bowlby and the subsequent contributions of Mary Ainsworth and others. Attachment can be understood as the tone of affection that exists between two people (or animals) and is described by Bowlby (1969: 194) as the lasting psychological connectedness between human beings. According to Bowlby, this occurs when the relationship between the mother and infant is loving and intimate, and one from which both receive enjoyment and satisfaction. Attachment differs from bonding in that bonding entails the emotional feelings that a mother experiences for her infant and does not include an element of security. Kaplan and Sadock (1998) identify phases of attachment: 1. Pre-attachment Phase (birth – 12 weeks) – characterized by babies using their eyes to orientate themselves to their mother, following her with their eyes and turning towards her voice. 2. Attachment Making Phase (12 weeks – 6 months) – sees the infant developing an attachment to more than one person in their environment (eg. Mother and father). 3. Clear Cut Attachment Phase (6 months – 24 months) – the infant shows obvious signs of distress when removed from mother and seeks proximity with mother on her return and is easily soothed by her. 4. Fourth Phase (25 months and onwards) – the child views the mother as separate. Bowlby (1969) proposed that from birth an infant will constantly seek proximity to his or her mother so as to gain comfort and security. This seeking of proximity, according to Bowlby, can be partly explained as an attachment behavioral system based on the evolutionary process of natural selection. Accordingly, only those who maintain close proximity to their mother are safe from danger and more likely to survive the potential threats of their environment. Early studies by Harry Harlow (1958), a psychologist intrigued by love, relieved the attachment needs of monkeys. One particular study showed that young monkeys, removed at birth from their mother and then given the choice between a wire monkey offering food or a wire monkey covered in cloth (yet without food), would opt for the comfort of the soft wire monkey over food. This experiment showed that attachment is more than a need for food, but includes strong elements of a need for love and affection. According to Bowlby (1969, 1980) the affectional bond between mother and child has a far reaching impact, continuing throughout life. He identified four primary characteristics of attachments: 1. Safety – The carer provides the child with a safe haven; a place where he or she can return when feeling threatened. Here the child will receive acceptance and comfort in times of distress. 2. Security – The carer provides the child with a sense of security. The child feels confident to explore his or her environment. 3. Proximity – The child seeks to maintain close proximity to the carer; thereby maintaining a sense of safety and comfort. 4. Separation – When separated from the carer, the child becomes distressed and seeks proximity with the carer on his or her return and is readily soothed by him or her. Bowlby found that achieving satisfactory proximity in times of distress will result in feelings of relief, however, should the mother fail to respond to the infants attempts at receiving proximity (through crying), this will result in one of two secondary strategies: 1) Deactivation is the repression of attachment needs and avoidance of seeking proximity; 2) Hyperactivation is the continual, often unsuccessful and frustrating, attempts at attaining proximity. Bowlby (1969, 1980) highlights the importance of the quality of the mothers responsiveness and sensitivity to the infants needs in the formation of healthy, secure attachment styles. A mother who responds with sensitivity to her infants cries helps the infant contain his or her anxieties, and mirrors for the infant emotional regulation. Later, the child will be able to be a container for his or her own emotions. Bowlby (1969, 1980) explains how a responsive mother provides a secure base for the child to explore his or her enviro nment free of fear and anxiety. However, an insensitive or inconsistent mother creates, for the child, a sense of insecurity evoking feelings of anxiety and avoidance behavior. Mary Ainsworth, a colleague of Bowlby, built on Bowlbys theory. Ainsworth observed the significant influence the early attachment between mother and baby had on present and future behavior. This researcher, for example, found that by soothing a baby when they cry reduced future crying behavior. Also, Ainsworth found that secure attachment reduced anxiety and that bodily contact between mother and baby nurtured the development of future self-reliance as apposed to clinging behavior (Ainsworth, 1985). Ainsworth, Blehar, Walters and Walls (1978) undertook a study to explore Bowlbys theory. These researchers developed a study called the Stranger Situation, which sought to observe the attachment related behavior of infants when separated from and later reunited with their mother. The process of the stranger situation involved the mother and child initially being placed in the same room; a stranger would then enter the room while the mother left. The stranger would then leave the room and the mother would return and comfort her child. Again the mother would leave and the stranger would return. Finally, the mother would return to the room and comfort her child. Based on the childs behavior through this process, Ainsworth and colleagues were able to identify three distinct attachment styles: 1. Secure Attachment – A securely attached child will be seen to freely explore his or her environment in the presence of his or her mother. When the mother leaves, this child will show obvious distress and will seek proximity with his or her mother on her return, being readily comforted by her. 2. Avoidant Attachment – Children who failed to seek proximity to his or her mother were identified has having an avoidant attachment style. These children were seen as exhibiting little range in affect, and did not respond with distress when the mother left and showed little interest on her return. These children would resort to the secondary strategy of deactivation. 3. Anxious/Ambivalent Attachment – Children with this attachment style also failed to seek proximity with his or her mother, but resorted to the secondary strategy of hyperactivation. Ainsworth (1978) and colleagues were further able to identify the types of mother-child relationships associated with these attachment styles. Securely attached children were found to have mothers who are attuned and sensitive to her childs emotional as well as physical needs. She formed a secure base for her child and helped regulate stress and emotional disease. Mothers of children with avoidant attachment styles would respond with little concern to their childs distress, and rather than comfort them, she would discourage the childs attempts at achieving proximity and encourage independence. Finally, ambivalently attached child had mothers who responded inconsistently to their children. At times they would respond attentively and provide comfort; yet at other times she would discourage the crying behavior and ignore the childs attempts at proximity. These attachment styles differ slightly in adulthood, with four types being identified: sure, preoccupied, fearful-avoidant and dismissing-avoidant. These types differ to those identified by Ainsworth mainly in the distinction between fearful-avoidant and dismissing-avoidant. An individual showing a dismissing-avoidant style maintains a positive view of self and a negative view of others, while those with a fearful-avoidant styles holds a negative view of both self and others. Main, Kaplan and Cassidy (1985) were the first to demonstrate how early attachment styles, formed during infancy, are generalised to an individuals future relationships in adulthood. These researchers described how mental representations of the self and others, formed in infancy, are used to predict and interpret attachment-related situations. According to this line of thought, a person who experienced rejection in infancy will carry this experience into adult relationships. They will feel unworthy of love, and moreover, that others are incapable of loving them. Attachment styles are also shown to influence such things as self-esteem, self-efficacy and socializing abilities. In a study by Kaplan and Sadock (1998) these researchers show how securely attached adolescents are more socially adjusted than those with avoidant or anxious/ambivalent attachment styles. Furthermore, these researchers note how low self-esteem, poor social relatedness, and emotional vulnerability to stress are associated with insecure attachments during the first year of life (147). The development of theory of mind is also impeded in attachment theory. Theory of mind is the understanding that each person has heir own, separate beliefs, ideas and mental states. Furthermore, it is the ability to predict, with a large degree of accuracy, how another person may feel or respond in certain situations. For example, a person having theory of mind would accurately predict how a person may feel should they fail in an important exam. The development of theory of mind or mentalizing capacity is directly dependant on secure attachment. A mother who responds consistently with love and acceptance to her infants cry demonstrates to the infant that they have understood them and that they are in tune with their needs. This mother has demonstrated that she is able to infer the thoughts and needs of her child. The child then learns this from the mother. This ability to make accurate inferences and to envisage the emotional experiences of others is crucial for health psychological and psychosocial functioning (Fonagy, Gergely, Jurist and Targer, 2005). Disorders of Attachment As previously noted, unstable or unhealthy attachment is a result of maternal disregard, where a mother is seen to be dismissive, unresponsive, and lacking in warmth and consistency. People having an avoidant or anxious/ambivalent attachment style experience problems in developing and maintaining relationships, in communicating with others, trusting in others, feeling unworthy of love. This deprivation results in disorders of attachment including such things as failure-to-thrive syndromes, psychosocial dwarfism, separation anxiety disorder, avoidant personality disorder, depressive disorders, delinquency, academic problems, and borderline intelligence (Kaplan Sadock, 1998: 147). These resulting problems highlight some of the adverse effects of a deprived relationship between mother and child. Conclusion John Bowlbys theory of attachment has challenged some of the traditional beliefs on parenting, such as: crying babies should be left alone, holding a baby too much will result in clinging behavior, attending to a distressed baby will result in over dependence. Still today, some of these outdate beliefs are held by many. However, research into the area of attachment has revealed a very different picture. The tenderness of the relationship between mother and child has been shown as being paramount to the healthy development on emotional, social, psychological and even educational levels. Children require physical warmth, love, affection, consistency and understanding in order to develop a positive sense of self, trust in the world, confidence to explore the world and a belief in others. Children learn from their mother, from the very time of birth, what to think of the world, who they are in the world, what to expect from the world and what the world expects from them. Bibliography Ainsworth, M.S. (1985). Attachment across the life-span. Academic Medicine, 61, 792. Ainsworth, M. S., Blehar, M. C., Waters, E., Wall, 5. (1978). Patterns of attachment: A psychological study of the Strange Situation. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum. Bowlby, J. (1969), Attachment and loss, Vol. 1: Attachment. New York: Basic Books. Bowlby, J. (1980). Attachment and Loss. New York: Basic Books. Fonagy, P., Gergely, G., Jurist, E.L., Target, M. (2005). Affect Regulation, Mentalization, and the Development of the Self. London: Karnac. Harlow, H. F. (1958). The nature of love. American Psychologist, 13, 673-685. Kaplan, H.I., Sadock, B.J. (1998). Synopsis of Psychiatry: Behavioral Science/Clinical Psychiatry (8th Ed). Lippincott, Williams Wilkins, Maryland. Main, M., Kaplan, N., Cassidy, J. (1985). Security in infancy, childhood, and adulthood: A move to the level of representation. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 50, 66-104.

Formation and Organization of the Athalassic Salt Lakes of Australia :: Geology Research Papers

Formation and Organization of the Athalassic Salt Lakes of Australia Preface Upon my acceptance to the Biomes of Australia 2003 program – a biologically-oriented summer experience in the â€Å"Land Down Under† that, for the 6th consecutive year, has been organized by Dr. Warren Dolphin of Iowa State University – I was presented with the task of writing a research paper on an aspect of the Australian landscape. Anxious to apply my new knowledge of geomorphology and desiring to investigate an ecosystem from the holistic perspective of an environmental scientist, I settled upon investigating the formative elements of athalassic (inland) salt lakes and how they determine the ecological structure of salt lake playas. The research summarized in this report is an assimilation of fragmented literature on the subject and represents an attempt to integrate those pieces for better clarity. I believe that my travel companions, to whom I am obligated to present this information, shall derive a greater understanding of Australian salt lake systems f rom a broad examination of the subject than from an intensely focused analysis of but a single component. Although the information that I present is indeed broad in scope, the reader must realize that it falls short of comprehensiveness. The shear volume of literature prohibits designing anything other than a series of encyclopedias to encompass the full complexity of salt lake systems. It is my hope, rather, that this paper elicits the reader’s curiosity and prompts further reading on this fascinating area. The introduction draws a necessary overview of salt lakes in basic geographic and geologic terms. Part I examines the processes of basin and lake formation, first the physical mechanisms of creation and secondly the concentration of ions within the basin. Part II explores the effects of salinity and other chemical characteristics on lake fauna. Part III explains how climatic adjustments determine the composition of vegetation in and around salt lake basins. Together, these pieces should provide some insight to a central question of this paper: What physical and chemical characteristics of athalassic salt lakes, as determined by the regional climatic and hydrologic regime, determine local ecologies? Abstract The athalassic salt lakes of Australia arose during the continent’s shift to the present arid/semi-arid climate regime. Some, such as Lake Eyre are ephemeral and hold water only after infrequent and irregular rains; others flood intermittently or permanently contain water.

Do new dependency theories overcome the weaknesses of classical dependency theories?

IntroductionOver the century’s, economic development theorist have put forward various models for explaining the â€Å"underdeveloped-ness† of countries in the Third World. However, with sociological theory comes criticisms and despite lasting a great deal of time in the framework of the international sphere, classical dependency has been subjected to a barrage of criticism on theoretical, empirical, methodological, and stylistic grounds. In this essay, it is my aim to analyse the criticism put forwards while simultaneously determining whether or not the modification by new dependency theorists have overcome these flaws.Before doing so we must firstly acquaint ourselves with the origins of the dependency theory, first formulated in the late 1950s under the guidance of the Director of the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America, Raul Prebisch. The second part of this essay will provide an analytic account of Paul Baran and Andre Gunder Frank’s classic al studies of dependency theory, looking at their general perspectives and adaptation to Marxism.Once this has been achieve, the third and final part of this essay aims to draw out the criticism that have been put forward on classical dependency studies while looking at new dependency theorist; Fernando Henrique Cardoso, Stephan M. Haggard and Thomas B. Gold perspectives. This will allow me to conclude how sophisticated new dependency studies are in overcoming the flaws of the classical dependency studies. Origins of Dependency Theories Given the many interpretations given to dependency, how can one capture the concept of dependency in a concise manner?Dos Santos, defines it as â€Å"a historical condition that shapes a certain structure of the world economy such that it favours some countries to the detriment of others, and limits the development possibilities of the subordinate economies†. (SO, A, Y. 1990: 99) Whereas liberals (mainstream economists) define underdevelopment as a condition in which countries find themselves in, depedentistas see it as a process in which less developed nations are trapped because of the relationship between the developed and underdeveloped countries in the world economy. (SANCHEZ, O.  2003)However, it can be agreed that dependency theory is not a socioeconomic relation that just â€Å"occurs†, it is developed historically through capitalism’s power-relations between the first world and the third world. In order to understand dependency theory, we first need to place the model in historical context by examining its origins. Emerging in the late 1940’s against the development theory of modernization which examined development from the point of view of the United States and other Western Countries, The Dependency Theory took the approach of viewing development from a Third World perspective.According to Blomsorm and Hettne, the dependency theory represents the â€Å"voices from the periphery†. (Blomsorm, M, Hettne, B. 1984) Dependency theory arose out of central and south America in the 1960s and 1970s, but was part of a larger movement that was asking a lot of questions about international relations at the time. One of those questions was â€Å"why are so many countries not developing? † The traditional answer to this question was that these countries are not perusing the right economic policies or the governments are authoritarian or corrupt.However, dependency theorists wanted to find out if that was all there was to it, which lead them to argue that countries were not developing around the world due to international division of labour, class distinction and global capitalism. The diagram above (Wikimedia commons, 2008) is a clear example of what dependency theorist meant when they argue that there are a number of different kinds of states in the world which all form a different funtion in the world’s economy. First you have the core states are the most richest and powerful (e.g Europe and North America).These states dominate in terms of industry and technology and as a result the semi-periphey and periphery states (e. g Latin America and South Africa), who are characterised by resource extraction economy, argiculture production and providing cheap labour, serve the economic intrest of the richest countires. Dependency theory became popular as a criticism of modernization theory (also known as development theory) which seemed to be failing due to the continued widespread poverty of large parts of the world.This may be because modernisation theory only offers an â€Å"internal† explanation of Third world development. For example, it assumes that there is something wrong inside Third world countries- such as traditional culture, overpopulation, little investment, or lack of achievement motivation- and this is why Third world countries are backward and stagnant. (So, A, Y. 1990: 92) The theory believes in order for third world countries to reach modernity they need to look up to western countries as mentors and follow western paths of development.However, dependency theorists argue that this is impossible to do so because of colonialism. â€Å"The colonial experience has totally restructured Third world countries and has drastically altered their paths of development† (So, A, Y. 1990. :96) Looking back at liberal reformer Prebisch and the ECLA strategy of protectionism and industrialization, he believed, in order to put an end to all problems of development, poorer countries should embark on programs of import substitution so that they need not purchase the manufactured products from the richer countries.The poorer countries would still sell their primary products on the world market, but their foreign exchange reserves would not be used to purchase their manufactures from abroad. (Larrain, J, 1989:110) However, this was not as straight forward as anticipated, because if a poorer nation makes any a ttempt to resist against the power of the rich nations they may have to face military force or economic sanctions.â€Å"Developed nations actively keep developing nations in a subservient position, often through economic force by instituting sanctions, or by proscribing free trade policies attached to loans granted by the World Bank or International Monetary Fund†. (WiseGeek, 2003) Despite the failure of Prebisch international trade theory, it is undoubtable that it provided the dependency theory with the support that it needed, and showed some semblance of what dependence means in this type of economic system. (Moses, D, 2012)In a nutshell, Development and Underdevelopment are two sides of the same coin. Wealthy nations of the world need a peripheral group of poorer states in order to remain wealthy. Using a variety of political economic interventions as well as media, education systems and interventional sporting events wealthy nations control poorer nations, making them de pendent. And it is in their best interest to keep the poorer nations poor by using Ha-Joon Chang metaphor â€Å"kicking the developing ladder away† so that they can continue to steal the poor’s natural wealth and exploit their workers.Latin America was asked to produce food, raw materials for the great industrial center, and in return, Latin America would receive industrial goods from these centers. (So, A, Y. 1990:93) Classical Dependency Theory In this next section we will examine Neo-Marxist theorist’s Paul Baran (1910–1964) and Andre Gunder Frank’s (1929–2005) who developed dependency theory from Marxian analysis.â€Å"The dependency theory is rooted in a Marxism analysis of the global economy and as a direct challenge to the free market economic policies of the post-War era† (Ferraro, V, 2008) In The Communist Manifesto, Marx argued within the capitalist economy the bourgeoisie mercilessly exploited the proletariat. He recognised that the work carried out by the proletariat created great wealth for the capitalist. The products created in the factory (the material outcome of the workers' labour) were sold for more than the value of the labour itself i. e. more than the workers' wages.Like Karl Marx (1818–1883), Baran and Frank argued a similar exploitative system of stratification between countries. Usage of Marxist ideology can be seen as strength of the dependency theory as led the way to other neo-Marxist investigations of the linkage and possible reconciliation between Dependency Theory and Marxism. Paul A Baran Baran is the first author within the theory of imperialism who studies the class structures and economic processes of underdeveloped countries, but more importantly, he was the first Marxist author who puts in doubt the homogeneous conception of world capitalism.  (Larrain, J, 1989:80)Baran believed imperialism had penetrated underdeveloped countries, destroying earlier social formations and distorting their subsequent development, creating lasting conditions of dependency. Underdeveloped countries were systematically subordinated to the developed countries in the international division of labour. However, Baran was not the first to make such arguments. Traces of such views of imperialism can be found in Marxism.â€Å"if it were not for the distorting effects of imperialism, the country that is more developed industrially would have shown to the less developed the image of its own future† (Foster, J, 2007) Baran’s Political Economy of Growth argued that Third world countries were characterized by small industrial sectors and large agricultural sectors, which was not immensely profitable on world a scale. He emphasized class relations and their impact on utilization of economic surplus, as well as the distribution of power as primary barriers which prevented development.He espoused that internal conditions were the source of the major problems in under developed countries, and recommended state intervention to promote nationally controlled industrialization as a precondition for evolution of other industrial sectors. (TheDevelopmentStudent, 2010) Baran’s uses his study of India as an example of a country which would have developed much better had it not been for the surplus torn from it by Britain. In his study he traced how British colonialism contributed to the underdevelopment of India through plundering, deindustrialisation, and the uprooting of the local society.  (So, A, Y. 1990:111)Although, Baran agrees with Marx that one should not idealise India’s pre-Britain past, he maintains that ‘at the same time, I should not be overlooked that India, if left to herself, might have found in the course of time a shorter and surely less tortuous road towards a better and richer society’ (Larrain, J, 1989:86) This study can be highlighted as a powerful insight of the classical dependency theories which has directed researchers to examine the process by which foreign domination had shaped the development of Third World countries.  (So, A, Y. 1990:129)Overall, the work of Paul Baran can be considered a very important landmark in the refurbishing of the theory of imperialism after the Second World War. He introduced such crucial changes to it that it is possible to argue that his contribution is the hinge which joins or articulate the theory of imperialism with, and marks the beginning of dependency theory. (Larrain, J, 1989:115) Andre Gunder Frank Andre Gunder Frank was one of the key figures under the Dependency Theory as well as the first to write in English.In his most influential writings ‘The Development of Underdevelopment (1969)’ Frank drew inspiration from Paul Baran, focusing upon the dependent character of peripheral Latin American economies, and was able to conceptualise Baran’s notions in terms of a capitalist world system of metropolitan and satellite areas. Metropolitans are countries that are considered as the colonizers or developed countries and the satellites on the other hand are the colonies and considered underdeveloped countries.Satellites supply cheap primary commodities to the rich countries that then use the raw materials to produce specialized good, and then send them back to the satellites for profit. Frank argues that this metropolished-satellite relationship is only in existence to serve the â€Å"interests of the metropoles which take advantage of this global, national, and local structure to promote their own development and the enrichment of their ruling classes† (Moses, D, 2012.)He argues that the reason why LDCs are getting poorer is because the exploitation it experiences from the DCs such as extracting raw materials from the LDCs while the DCs manufacture, deliver and sell the final product to LDCs with a price hitting the ceiling. In his famous writing entitled as Dependency theory claims that the r elation of imperialism and domination trapped poor nations at the bottom of the global economy.  (Larrain, J, 1989:115)Frank purposed four hypotheses, one being â€Å"the satellites experience their greatest economic development and especially their most classically capitalist industrial development if and when their ties to their metropolis are weakest† (So, A, Y. 1990:98) Therefore, his solution to the problem was that Third world countries â€Å"de-link† themselves from the world market, allowing them the opportunity to develop instead of distributing their own resources to the metropoles.However, as stated previous, due to military force or economic sanctions this may not be possible. By escalating Baran’s views and adapting them to the analysis of the Latin American situation, Frank’s idea that capitalism expanded from Europe and managed to incorporate the whole world in a single international system, quickly became well known all over the academic world and gave intellectual currency to dependency theory.Critique of classical dependency studies and modification by new dependency theorist The dependency perspective seems to have been particularly popular during the 1960s, but based on the classical dependency theories outlined above, it has since lost some of its attraction and has been the subject of a great deal of criticism since the 1970s. Firstly, it can be claimed that dependency theory itself was betrayed by the very formulation of its name. Many critics argue that it is not a theory, but can more accurately be conceived of as an approach to the study of underdevelopment.In fact, new dependency theorists such as Cardoso objected to the term ‘theory' to describe it. He believed it is an overarching framework within which one might formulate specific hypotheses/theories, a ‘methodology for the analysis of concrete situations of dependency. ‘ It did not predict determinate, discrete outcomes. Rather, it sought to provide a new perspective from which to examine the problematique of economic backwardness. (Cardoso, F, H. 1977:15) For many social scientists the methodological faults of the approach were too obvious to ignore.As stated earlier, the dependency theory arose as a critique of the modernisation theory. However, the modernisation school fought back, characterising the dependency perspective as a propaganda fragment of Marxist revolutionary ideology. Instead of providing a scientific analysis of what has actually happened in third world countries, the concept of dependency has become an all-purpose explanation for everything that is wrong with third world countries (So, A, Y. 1990:131) Another methodological criticism was that classical theorist Baran and Frank committed a major error of treating all peripheral areas as if they were the same.Fernando, H, Cardoso is usually singled out as the key figure of the new dependency studies. Unlike the general analysis of the classica l dependency school, Cardosos methodology is â€Å"historical-structural†. (So, A, Y. 1990:135) Therefore, he paid more attention to historically specific situations of dependency than classical theorist Baran and Frank. In this work, Cardoso pointed out that the shift from the Brazilian populist regime to military regime was represented as the pursuing of a new model of â€Å"associated-dependent development† in Brazil.He added that there were many new activities, which has been done by military regime in Brazil. Goertzel (1999) suggests that Cardoso’s success: ‘†¦ has come not because he has had a better theory but because he has always kept one question at the center of his thinking: What will happen if society selects one course of action over another? To answer this question, he has focused on the sociology of the historical conjuncture rather than on general theory†¦ ’ (Goertzel, T.  1999:182)However, Cardoso work too received much criticism for his esoteric style of writing. One scholar, assessing Cardoso and Faletto's Dependency and Development, decries the authors' â€Å"ornately Hegelian style† which is held to be partly responsible for the â€Å"confusing and even contradictory† message of dependency theory (Staniland, M. 1985:134). However, Cardoso himself admitted that â€Å"if there have been so many distortions in the consumption [of dependency theory], it is because the original production was not clear regarding several points† (Cardoso, F, H.1977, 17).Dependency theorist overemphasised the factor of external conditions, and neglected the role of internal dynamics such as class conflicts and the state. Petra’s (1982) indicated that â€Å"to conceptualise the issues of the Third World in terms of dependency is to lose sight of the most decisive processes class formation and social relations which beget change and the particular configurations of social forces which emerg e on a world scale†. (Petras, J.  1982:148)New dependency theorist Cardoso overcame this weakness by focusing on the internal structures of dependency. According to Alvin Y. So â€Å"Cardoso is more interested in analysing the socio-political aspect of dependency, especially class struggles, group conflict, and political movements† (So, A, Y. 1990:136) Classical dependency theorists have become subject to criticised on policy implication. The dependency perspective emphasizes the harmful effects of colonialism and international division of labor.But in fact, the success of countries such as India, south Korea and Taiwan have proven this idea wrong, especially Baran’s study on colonialism who once believed India moved backwards, from a relatively advanced industrial nation to a backward agricultural nation with the belief that it would never escape the British rule and develop again. Dependency may not lead to underdevelopment and as such periphery countries mov e from â€Å"underdevelopment† to becoming serious economic heavyweights it can be used to argue against the theory.Unlike classical dependency theorist (e. g.  Landberg) who portray the miracle of East Asian development as â€Å"manufacturing imperialism† New dependency theorist Thomas B Gold (1986) uses the concept of â€Å"dynamic dependency† in his study of Taiwan’s development. Taiwan’s starting point of development was in most ways very similar of that of Latin American countries. Like other colonial governments, the Japanese implanted a structure of dependent capitalism in Taiwan and skewed the economy to the production of two primary good (rice and sugar). Gold believed that Taiwan was undeniably restructured by Japan, it was not underdeveloped.Soon after World War 2 Taiwan broke free from the Japanese colonial rule and have attained rapid economic development. (So, A, Y. 1990:158) Therefore this rejects classical dependent theoristâ€⠄¢s assumption that this is impossible for a country to develop if it has experienced colonialism. Furthermore, determinism also burdens dependency with what Stephan Haggard has called the ‘structuralist paradox'. â€Å"The model was outlined to help identify the international constraints associated with certain development paths in order to overcome them.†However, dependency does not allow for the possibility that particular state strategies may act to reduce those international constraints. (Haggard, S. 1990: 21) In response to this new dependency theorist such as Cardoso view dependency as an open-ended process. Unlike classical predictions of unidirectional trend of underdevelopment in Third World countries He argues â€Å"that there can be development and dependency and that there exist more dynamic forms of dependence than those characterising enclave or quasi-colonial situations† (So, A, Y.  1990:137)Even though the new dependency perspective has modifie d some of the classical dependency perspective, they still share the same concept such as focus research is Third world countries, national level of analysis, and center – periphery dependency. According to Larrain â€Å"Dependency analyses share similar interests in studying the situation of peripheral capitalist countries from the point of view of the conditioning effects which external forces and structures produce on the internal structures of these countries† (Larrain, J. 1989; 112) ConclusionIn conclusion this essay has demonstrated an overall understanding of dependency theory, by originating back into the 1940s where it all began, following up to its relevance in today world. As well as the strengths of the theory, the essay has discussed the ways in which dependency has been subjected to a barrage of criticism on theoretical, empirical, methodological, and stylistic grounds. Furthermore it has researched and demonstrated how new dependency theorists have modif ied classical dependency studies in order to overcome their weaknesses.Overall I feel that Cardoso’s analysis in more sophisticated than the classical dependency studies. His work has added the lack of explanation in the classical work; it has improved on many of its criticisms and emphasizes broader explanation on what happen in the third world. I also believe that Cardoso’s research, along with Gold’s study of Taiwan’s, has shaped the direction of empirical studies in the dependency school and started a whole new investigation on dependent development in the third world.

Free Essays on Sources Of International Law

Between the various sources of International Law there exists an obvious hierarchy, in which treaty holds undisputed authority. Discuss. In an international system typified by the sovereign equality of states, above which exists no legislator or enforcer, much of international law emanates from the rules such states choose to be bound by. Treaties are a common method of doing this, but they are not the only one. Other sources of international law exist, and to suggestions that treaties hold undisputed authority are false. This essay shall begin with examining the statute of the International Court of Justice (ICJ). This Article indicates three primary sources of international law and some subsidiary sources. This will be followed by a brief description of each of the three main sources. Section 2 asserts that customary law holds equal status to treaty amongst the sources. This is seen through the operation of two principle maxims of interpretation; lex posterior derogat priori and lex specialis derogat generali. It will be shown that these maxims give preference to neither treaty nor custom, but treat them equally. Se ction 3 shall examine the concept of jus cogens norms in International Law. It shall be seen through both theoretical discussion and case law that jus cogens norms override both conventional (treaty) and customary law. They are principles that allow no derogation and nullify any treaty or custom with which there is conflict. However, it will be noted that the potential problems and difficulties associated with jus cogens norms has meant significant development has not been achieved. Nevertheless, it is seen how jus cogens norms sit atop the hierarchy of sources. Section 4 shall examine the source of law known as ‘General principles’. It shall be seen that though commonly and rightly considered to be subsidiary to conventional and customary law, this category can have implications which may limit their superiority. Ce... Free Essays on Sources Of International Law Free Essays on Sources Of International Law Between the various sources of International Law there exists an obvious hierarchy, in which treaty holds undisputed authority. Discuss. In an international system typified by the sovereign equality of states, above which exists no legislator or enforcer, much of international law emanates from the rules such states choose to be bound by. Treaties are a common method of doing this, but they are not the only one. Other sources of international law exist, and to suggestions that treaties hold undisputed authority are false. This essay shall begin with examining the statute of the International Court of Justice (ICJ). This Article indicates three primary sources of international law and some subsidiary sources. This will be followed by a brief description of each of the three main sources. Section 2 asserts that customary law holds equal status to treaty amongst the sources. This is seen through the operation of two principle maxims of interpretation; lex posterior derogat priori and lex specialis derogat generali. It will be shown that these maxims give preference to neither treaty nor custom, but treat them equally. Se ction 3 shall examine the concept of jus cogens norms in International Law. It shall be seen through both theoretical discussion and case law that jus cogens norms override both conventional (treaty) and customary law. They are principles that allow no derogation and nullify any treaty or custom with which there is conflict. However, it will be noted that the potential problems and difficulties associated with jus cogens norms has meant significant development has not been achieved. Nevertheless, it is seen how jus cogens norms sit atop the hierarchy of sources. Section 4 shall examine the source of law known as ‘General principles’. It shall be seen that though commonly and rightly considered to be subsidiary to conventional and customary law, this category can have implications which may limit their superiority. Ce...

Contemporary Issue on Aesthetic Labour in Hospitality Essays

Contemporary Issue on Aesthetic Labour in Hospitality Essays Contemporary Issue on Aesthetic Labour in Hospitality Paper Contemporary Issue on Aesthetic Labour in Hospitality Paper Service jobs now account for around three quarters of all jobs in the UK, with retail and hospitality alone providing nearly five million jobs (Hospitality Training Foundation, 2003; University of Warwick, 2004). Organization in the hospitality industry vary enormously, ranging from first class and luxury hotels providing extravagant, full 24-hour service to the more homely comforts of a bed and breakfast establishment; from fast food restaurants to Michelin starred restaurant. In turn, the jobs provided by these organizations demand a variety of skills and attributes from those employees interacting with customers. Increasingly, though, there is an appreciation that employees in these jobs not only provide desired levels of service in terms of responding to customers in a friendly and sociable manner but can also be part of the branding of service companies by becoming, in words of Zeithaml and Bitner (2003, 318), ‘walking billboards’. Witz, Warhurst and Nickson (2003: 44) point out that, for many companies, employees have become part of this branding exercise, with ‘aesthetic labourers †¦ the animate component of the material culture that makes up the corporate landscape’. Aesthetic labour is a concept based on the notion that employers in parts of the service industries described as the ‘style labour market’ (Nickson, Warhurst and Dutton, 2004: 3), such as boutique hotels, designer retailers and style cafes, bars and restaurants, require ‘aesthetic skills’ in addition to social and technical skills from their workers (Warhurst and Nickson, 2005). The genesis of aesthetic labour as a concept lays in early 1990s of newspaper job advertisements that stipulated the attractiveness of applicants as recruitment and selection criteria in the hospitality industry. The term ‘aesthetic labour’ is analytically complex. It refers to the hiring of people with certain capacities and attributes that favourably appeal to customers and which are then developed through training and/ or monitoring. It has become translated in the popular imagination as those people who are employed on the basis of ‘looking good’ and/ or ‘sounding right’. In its tabloidized form, along with sexism, racism and ageism, ‘lookism’ is now offered as one of the key issues of the contemporary workplace (Oaff, 2003). Further analysis of the definition of aesthetics reveals another close relation of the spiritual self with aesthetic labour. The definition proposed by Greek philosopher aisthanomai meaning â€Å"perception by mean of the senses and danaher, shiprato and webb (2000: 161) cite â€Å"the art of the self†. The constituent of the spiritual essence of self constitute the mind, emotion, senses which are spiritual aspect in the formation of personality, attitude and appearance apparently expressed in the process of self presentation. This is the relative aspect of the spiritual self, manifesting aesthetic presentation of self. The definition clearly implies development of self is an art associated with the mind. LOCATING AND EXTENDING THE EVIDENCE FOR AESTHETIC LABOUR In hospitality, organizations too have been concerned with their workers’ labour of aesthetic both in the past and the present. The mobilization of this labour is increasingly a corporate strategy, less ad hoc and more systematic, for some hospitality employers, featuring in their hiring and management of employees. Aiming to portray a company image and create an appealing service encounter for the customers, employers in hospitality are increasingly drawing upon the corporeal skills of their workplace. Employees, for example, are hired because of the way they look and talk; once employed, staff are instructed how to stand whilst working, what to wear and how to wear it and even what to say to customer. Aesthetic labour is the mobilization, development and commodification of embodied dispositions. These disposition, are form of embodied capacities and attributes, are to an extent possessed by worker at the point of entry to employment. However, and importantly, employers then mobilize, develop and commodify these dispositions though processes of recruitment, selection, training, monitoring, discipline and reward, reconfiguring them as skills intended to produce a style of service encounter that appeals to the senses of customers, most usually visually or aurally. In other words, distinct modes of worker embodiment are organizationally prescribed and produced for corporate benefit, with these workers becoming ‘aesthetic labours’. RECRUITMENT, SELECTION AND TRAINING THE AESTHETIC LABOUR Generally for much interactive service work, studies consistently report high levels of informality in recruitment and selection, including things such as word of mouth, referrals and casual callers, especially in the hospitality industry. (Lockyer and Scholarios, 2004) Moreover, in customer service work, recruitment and selection is more likely to be based on people’s social and aesthetic skills rather than technical skills (Scottish Centre for Employment Research, 2004). Thus, managers’ preference for recruitment and selection in service work has tended to focus of the attitude and appearance of applicants, or their personality and increasingly their image and self-presentation. The trend for employers to choose staff based on their personal appearance and speech is particularly prevalent in the rapidly expanding service sector, where workers usually have direct contact with the public. For example, in a survey of skill needs in hotels, restaurants, pubs and bars, 85 percent of employers ranked personal presentation and above initiative, communication skills or even ability to follow instructions. Additionally, jobs ads for the hospitality sectors regularly ask for people who are stylish, outgoing, attractive or trendy and well-spoken and of smart appearance (Worklife Report, 2001). But as the economy shifts toward â€Å"high touch† jobs the trend is spreading to the wider job market. More and more employers are looking for staff who are pleasing to the eye and ear and who reflect their company image (Worklife Report, 2001). The employers believed that having staff that look good and/or sound right not only helped companies create a distinct image on the high street but also provided competitive advantage for their companies in the crowded hospitality industries. The study revealed that companies in the service sector desired and developed employees who could become the physical embodiment of the image and personality of their companies. As one respondent stated about her company’s recruitment and selection, they want: ‘†¦ people that look the part †¦ fit in with the whole concept of the hotel’ (Nickson et al. , 2001: 180). On a practical level, this strategy, featuring a ‘style of service’ is intend to have workers create competitive advantage for employers in often highly competitive markets either by simply positively appealing to the senses of customer-by having pleasing looking staff-or by embodying the prescribed corporate image-employees as ‘walking billboard’. To affect this possibility, employers need to regulate the sight and/ or sound and their workers (most obviously). This regulation also has a conceptual dimension, for a double shift has occurred as services have displaced manufacturing. The first and most cited shift is a quantitative one: the increase in the number of jobs now provided by services. The second shift is qualitative and less appreciated: the nature of work with service jobs has change. In hospitality, employers seek employees with personal characteristics likely to make them act spontaneous and perform effectively. Soft skills or self-presentation skills are more important selection criteria than technical skills for employers (Scottish Centre for Employment Research, 2004). To discern such characteristics and attributes most employers from the surveyed organisation relied on the so-called ‘class trio’ of application forms and/ or CVs, interviews and references. The interview remains a popular method with manager and applicants alike as it is simple, quick and cheap-despite reliability concern. In recognizing the labour of aesthetics and its importance to employers, academics are playing catch up. Employers, even if not a corporate strategy of aesthetic labour, want presentable employees with aesthetic appeal. In hospitality, there is a clear pattern of employers’ skill demands. Jackson et al. (2002) point out in their analysis of sales and personal services’ job advertisements that the skills stated as necessary by employers are social skills and personal characteristics’. Likewise, a recent examination of nearly 100 human resource professionals in the USA responsible for hiring entry-level hospitality industry employees revealed that the top two criteria were: ‘pride in appearance’ and ‘good attitude’ (Martin and Grove, 2002) The emergence of these new skill raise a number of issue about training: firstly where aesthetic skills are formed; secondly if and if so how, such skills may be accredited and trained. All organizations train staff. Most of this training is centred on that mandated, and for all employees: health and safety for example. Such training is a feature of the hospitality industry. Beyond that which is mandatory, other than for management and professional staff, training is relatively poor at least in UK. Training for part-time workers, who feature heavily in the hospitality workplace, is particular weak. With the decline of manufacturing and the rise in service jobs, and the demised of training featuring physical dexterity and technical ‘know how’, where it does occur the training emphasis has also shifted. Training is provided in customer service skills, instructing employees in body language, verbal interaction with customer (what to say and how to say it) and dress codes and uniform standards.

RESEARCH METHODS FOR BUSINESS Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

RESEARCH METHODS FOR BUSINESS - Assignment Example There is evidence that the average customer satisfaction score is age-dependent. These are questions number 2 and number 7 in the questionnaire that the customers of the gymnasium during the weeks filled. The relatively younger customers tend to have been more satisfied by the services of the gymnasium as compared to the older ones. Those in the age groups 16-24 and 25-44 scored highly in the level of customer satisfaction in the ranges of 4 and 5 as opposed to the older ones in the age groups of 45-64 and above 65 who had lower scores of customer satisfactions in the ranges of 1 and 2 on average. The data establishes that indeed the mean willingness-to-pay for membership of the upgraded Gymnasium is at least  £75. This is question number 6 in the questionnaire that the customers of the gymnasium during the weeks filled. More than half of the people from whom data was collected concurred the maximum amount they would be willing to pay for monthly membership to the upgraded Gymnasium is more than  £75. This makes it a fact that the members of the gym are willing to pay a minimum of  £75 monthly for the services of the gymnasium. The gymnasium has way much more males than females. However, on average, there is a slight difference between the willingness-to-pay for membership of the upgraded Gymnasium of male and female customers. The females are slightly more willing to pay a higher amount on average of the fee than the willingness of the males on average. In accordance to a two-variable linear regression that describes the relationship between household weekly net income and willingness-to-pay for membership of the upgraded Gymnasium there is indeed a relationship between the household weekly net income and willingness-to-pay for membership of the upgraded Gymnasium. According to this regression, the estimated willingness-to-pay of a customer with a household weekly net

Dunkins brands strategic performance Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Dunkins brands strategic performance - Article Example Dunkin Brands Group is the parent company of Dunkin Donuts (DD) and Baskin-Robbins (BR) that has its headquarters in, Massachusetts in the United States. Dunkin Donuts and Baskin-Robbins were initially owned by a French multinational corporation that was known as Pernod Ricard and afterwards they were bought purchased by the American Multinational company that is known as Dunkin’ Brands. Its history of offering breakfast meals that is supposed to be simple and straightforward has given it an edge over the competitors that are in the same industry such as Starbucks since the company targets the people who are modest and mind about how they spend their money. The company tries to grow in all the aspects so that it can be able to reach as many customers as possible and develop more products that will appeal to these clients in an effort to achieve proper retail placement which normally can be a delicate balance. The company partners with several grocery retailers but does not put its business in the store within a store concept that will include a grocery since they want to be within big places that are frequented by more consumers as the target more people. Dunkin’ donuts has not been left behind as far a technology is concerned since the have employed the use of software that if adopted is able to tell the location of their different stores that are to come up as the software called iSite from geoVue helps the company to analyze where it can put more restaurants that will better serve the people. In the fourth quarter of 2012 Dunkin’ Brands had a variety of highlights that included a 3.2 percent growth in the sales of its Donuts compared to the other stores that are in the United States. In the rest of the world the brand also posted significant success that was exhibited by the opening of 256 new restaurants that included 149 Dunkin Donut restaurants