Dirct and e-Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Dirct and e-Marketing - Essay Example The threat for the future of direct marketing is data protections and privacy laws accepted in order to protect personal information from undesirable intrusion. Until the problems of protection of personal data have been solved, public acceptance of the Internet for widespread online purchasing of good and services will not really take off. It should be mentioned that personal data is: "Information that identifies a person e.g. address, e-mail address, name etc. and "includes any expression of opinion about the individual" which is, recorded and processed" (Data Protection, 1998). The field of marketing communications has seen dramatic changes since the 1980s, not least the unprecedented advances in marketing technologies. The ubiquitous Internet, ingenious smart cards, sophisticated customer databases, easily accessible data warehouses, and cost-effective direct mail have all contributed to a quantum leap in the quantity and quality of information exchanged between companies and the ir customers. Through information and communications technology, the pace of exchange has reached lightning speed and the costs of information processing have plummeted. The impact on the everyday lives of businesses and individuals has been profound (Chaffy, Mayer, Johnson, Ellis-Chadwick, 2000). Privacy concerns relate not only to interception and subsequent misuse of credit card or other personal data on the Internet but also extend to private use of information held on computers about individuals, such as health, tax and social security records, and to monitoring of what is downloaded from different sites and by whom. For instance, if someone goes into a e-shop the staff can record which items they are buying and their personal information such as e-mail, telephone, etc. On the Internet, the computers holding the Web pages log all comings and goings. The organisation running the site - in the case of official information, has a complete record of everything they look at, their interests and concerns. " The factors that exacerbate concerns are unsolicited communications, particularly if they presume to extend a relationship beyond what the consumer recognises, and especially if the communication is from an unknown organisation, and even more so if personal data has been ex propriated and exploited through such mechanisms as the exchange of mailing lists. For some people at least, a further cause for concern is its wastefulness" (Clarke, 2005). Without the transparency afforded by building freedom of information and data protection principles into the systems which will deliver online services, it is hard to see why people should trust not to abuse the powers it will need to tie together the data from disparate sources. If the same 'smart' electronic card will in future be used for financial transactions, to hold medical records, criminal records, driving licence details and to authenticate my dealings with departments, how can a cost6omer be sure the firm will not abuse the technology to track my movements, lifestyle, reading matter and so on This gap in public trust is going to be one of the biggest problems facing the wiring up of public service delivery, and strong FOI and data protection laws are the absolute minimum requirements to bridge the divide. On the one hand the right to be informed of the facts involved in any buyer-seller relationship is clearly a fundamental right. Some of

FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT DISCUSSION Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT DISCUSSION - Essay Example Profitability is the difference between revenue and costs generated by both current and fixed assets during normal business activities. From working capital point of view risk is the probability of the inability of the entity to pay its current liabilities when those become due. Simply the more the working capital the lesser is such risk. Working capital management is to decide this level of working capital so that the criteria of risk and profitability are balanced off. Business operations are directly affected by working capital management. More the current assets in ratio with fixed assets the lesser is the risk of short term insolvency, but the current assets are less productive than fixed assets and thus affect business operations producing less profitability. Contrary to the when current liabilities are more used ( as compared to ling term liabilities) to finance total assets the profitability increases as current liabilities as source of finance are considered less costlier than long term sources of finance. According management of working capital directly affects the business activities of the company. Working capital mismanagement is aptly indicated by the adverse current ratio and this is what happened in the organization. Shortage of cash and near to cash current assets forced the entity to delay the timely liquidation of accounts payable forcing them to increase the liabilities by levying interest on delayed payments as per terms of credit. Suppliers forced renegotiations of agreements revising rates and terms of credit. Shortage of inventory forced delay in conversion to finished goods and that affected the flow of fresh sales orders and renewal of existing sales orders. These abnormalities affected the cash conversion cycle and average age of inventory. With the result operating cycle period started getting longer; and thereby

The use of children in the Cambodian genocide Essay

The use of children in the Cambodian genocide - Essay Example The farms today are known as the 'killing fields' as so many died through over work, hunger or slaughter. Amongst the victims were the children who were taken away from their families and made to live in communal groups where the only family they were to consider was that of the Khmer Rouge. This essay sets out to show the lives these children led The Khmer Rouge wanted to eradicate anyone suspected of "involvement in free-market activities" including professionals, almost everyone with an education and who had connections to government and those who lived in the cities. The regime did not want the risk of anybody having the consciousness to rebel against their movement. The country was predominantly Buddhist and its monks were disrobed, half of them were killed and the rest forced to work in the harsh agricultural labor camps and Christianity was also abolished. They also believed that parents were corrupted by capitalism and felt that children should be separated from their families in order to ensure that they were swathed in socialist ideology. Children were taught methods of torture and were instrumental to the leadership of the communist dictatorship. The regime saw that children could be molded and indoctrinated to their political ideology; they were able to condition the children to believe that they were not the enemy and in doing so developed a community of children who were not able to identify with any other than the Khmer Rouge. The intention was to destroy the family values that were part of their culture and irradiate the trust that is held within family and community networks. Community and family members were expected and given incentives to spy on each other and this shattered networks and dissolved any trust through imbedding deeply rooted fear [1]. The young minds of children were easier to manipulate and the regime were able to brainwash children to such an extent that they would report back to the regime if their own parents were being antagonistic, the regime taught them to believe that they were their family and that their own kin were their enemies. Slogans such as 'I'm not killing my mother -I'm killing my enemy' were planted into their minds [2]. A propaganda song entitled, "We Children Love Angkar boundlessly," compared pre-revolutionary children to orphans abandoned by "the enemy", their parents, an excerpt from the song follows: [1] Colletta, N. J., & Cullen, M. L. (2000). The nexus between violent conflict, social capital and social cohesion: Case studies from Cambodia and Rwanda [electronic version]. [2] Martin, M. A. (1994). Cambodia: A shattered society. Berkeley, California: University of California Press Before the revolution, children were poor and lived lives of misery, Living like animals, suffering as orphans. The enemy abandoned all thought of us Now the glorious revolution supports us all [3]. The book the 'Children of Cambodia's Killing Fields' contains 29 essays from children who suffered at the hands of the regime. The children speak about their astonishing and painful experiences at the hands of the Khmer Rouge, how their families were torn apart to assist the social engineering plan of the regime, how

Adding value through marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Adding value through marketing - Essay Example In today’s world, consumers are being bombarded with a multitude of products and services with the entailing cacophony of messages that vie for attention. The result is an increasing confusion and indifference on the part of the buying publicEvaluate the extent to which a sustainable and green approach to marketing can add positively to the bottom line in an age of consumer confusion and possible indifference. In today’s world, consumers are being bombarded with a multitude of products and services with the entailing cacophony of messages that vie for attention. The result is an increasing confusion and indifference on the part of the buying public. This can breed consumer discontent that, in itself, is becoming increasingly difficult to address. According to Kaptan (2003), if this confusion, indifference and discontent are not dealt with successfully, any relief created will be transitory and that later on new symptomatic issues and complaints would arise. (p. 45) Ther e is, hence, a need to introduce products and services and build brands that aim to rise above the rest. This objective is best served by adopting sustainable and green approach to marketing. The Concepts Essentially, green marketing is the holistic marketing concept wherein production, marketing consumption and disposal of products and services happen in a manner that is less detrimental to the environment, especially with growing awareness and consideration to prominent environmental issues like global warming, non-biodegradable solid waste, harmful impact of pollutants, and so forth. (Chandrasekar 2009, p458) Sustainability follows and reinforces the same principle, and is characterized by activities that seek to change existing framework in favour of sustainability. (Saren et al., p205) Pursing this strategy is significant to consumers for several reasons. The most important of these include: its contribution to the consumer’s â€Å"empowerment† since it allows the consumer to make a difference by using â€Å"green† products and services; and, it provides credibility since sustainability related claims can make consumers believe and trust in the product. (Ottman 2011, p110) The gist of the benefits of sustainable and green marketing is that their associations with the positive impact to environment provides a product or brand a mantle of uniqueness and responsibility that adds value in the eyes of the buyers. Successful sustainable and green campaigns include the Levi’s recently launched Eco line of 100 percent organic cotton jeans; Wal-Mart’s â€Å"Green† push consisted of diverse initiatives such as reducing energy waste, opening green supercenters, stocking more organic products, and working with suppliers to get them on board as well. (Hawkins & Mathersbaugh 2010, p102) Ottman emphasized that sustainable and â€Å"green† products offer tangible and direct benefits that are actually meaningful and importa nt to a number of consumers. (p110) Making a Difference The principles at work here is that green products can rise above the din of commerce that are peppered with superficial solutions to individual needs. Slater pointed to the social dilemma that emerges as a consequence. In his view, the production of more goods and services that provide false satisfactions to human needs in greedy pursuit for profit contribute to the increasing disorganization, disorientation and confusion not just with regards to their needs but also their identities. (p126) In the past, marketing and advertising could have gotten away with it with what Slater called as: an innumerable series of images are forced upon the individual, like mirrors, seemingly empathetic and totally credible, which bring their secrets to the surface and display them there. In these images, people are continually shown the unfulfilled aspects of their existence. The illusion ingratiates itself, promising satisfaction; it reads des ires in one’s eyes, and brings them to the surface of commodity. (p126) The problem now is that consumers have been satiated with these messages and strategies. This and the crass materialism had not satisfied many people’s innermost desires. (Sattar 1992, p. 41) One may say that, today, the average buyer is both aware and confused about the way products are pandered to him. Slater

The Nature of Computing. Why Programming Paradigms and Languages Essay

The Nature of Computing. Why Programming Paradigms and Languages - Essay Example This paper presents a detailed overview of computer programming languages. This paper will discuss the evolution of computer programming languages, change in a diversity of languages and explore how languages such as Python, Perl, Ruby and C# emerged as a convergence of previous languages. Introduction to Programming and Programming Languages The computer programming is the process of writing the computer programs (also called software applications) to solve different kind of problems as well as to manage different processes of the computer. In fact, a computer is useless without a computer program. In addition, a computer program is written after understanding the problem. In this scenario, we must be clear about the processing steps to be performed by a computer. It means that we must understand the logic of the program before writing a program; we must learn how to plan the theoretical framework of the program. Basically, the program instructions are written in such a way that the computer can follow the program instructions in the correct sequence to solve the problem productively. Hence, in order to write an accurate (or successful) program, the programmer must write the program instructions in an accurate order. On the other hand, if the program instructions are not written in a correct sequence, then the result of the program will be wrong. Thus, the computer programs must be planned before they are written into the computer (Shelly et al., 2005; Norton, 2001). Moreover, the programming languages are used to prepare computer programs or software applications. Early computer programs were written straightforwardly in machine language for instance in binary code. Additionally, it was very difficult to write programs in machine code. However, at the present, a wide variety of the programming languages are available for writing different types of programs. In addition, each programming language has its own rules for witting the programs, which need to be fol lowed in order to get accurate results. For instance, FORTRAN is used for scientific purposes, ADA for defense applications, COBOL for business solutions, etc. (Shelly et al., 2005; Norton, 2001). In simple words, the computer programming is an art of writing instructions and problem solving for a computer. However, the standards of programming are independent of the computer programming language utilized. Moreover, different programming languages have different weaknesses and strengths, making different types of programs difficult or much easier to write, however the fundamental theories remain the same regardless of language (Nasir, 1996; Tatum, 2012). Programming Diversities The computer programming languages are divided into two categories: system programming and application programming. The system programming is mainly concerned with the use of a computer system. On the other hand, the application programming deals with the computer programs which are directly utilized by many people. In addition, the application programming paradigm is further divided into more categories such as (Milo, 2007) Scientific programming Business programming Web-based programming Businesses programming Personal or home programming Game programming Embedded systems programming History of Programming Language Generations This section outlines the history of programming in the form of programming langu

TEXTBOOK-Brinkley, American History, Connecting with the Past, Volume Essay

TEXTBOOK-Brinkley, American History, Connecting with the Past, Volume II, McGraw Hill chapters 16-19 - Essay Example Furthermore, a wonderful platform was provided for entrepreneurs to showcase their talent at the onset of this revolution. Steam power was introduced with the help of which railways came into being; water wheels were made use of in the manufacturing industry; the textile industry made use of the spinning jenny as well as various other equipments that brought about a revolutionary change in American society. These effects were not only confined to America but also spread through parts of Europe as well as North America, making America to be one of the fastest growing economies at the time. A number of powerful and wealthy industrialists came into being and were known as Robber Barons who sold their products at prices that were very questionable; this process included buying out the competition, paying the employees and workers very low wages, hiking up the prices while maintaining a monopoly in order to amass wealth. This practice was followed under the concept of laissez faire which has been discussed further during the scope of this paper however it was due to such a monopoly that the government in the country had to interfere in order to keep in check the welfare of the poorer sections of society from being exploited by these barons. â€Å"Laissez-faire† is a French word-combination that literally means ‘let them do’ and may be interpreted in the economic sense as ‘let them do as they will’ or ‘leave them to do as they please.’ The phrase was brought into question when M. Le Gendre, who led a group of French businessmen, was asked about the welfare of merchants in France and how they could contribute to the commercial structure of the country. Established in the 18th century, the concept of laissez-faire was used in order to oppose any government intervention in business affairs. In America private owners have had a bigger say in matters relating to trade and commerce. E.A.J Johnson wrote the following in his 1973 study on the economic principles established at the foundation of the United States: â€Å"The general view, discernible in contemporaneous literature, was that the responsibility of government should involve enough surveillance over the enterprise system to ensure the social usefulness of all economic activity. It is quite proper, said Bordley, for individuals to â€Å"choose for themselves† how they will apply their labor and their intelligence in production. But it does not follow from this that â€Å"legislators and men of influence† are freed from all responsibility for giving direction to the course of national economic development. They must, for instance, discountenance the production of unnecessary commodities of luxury when common sense indicates the need for food and other essentials. Lawmakers can fulfill their functions properly only when they â€Å"become benefactors to the public†; in new countries they must safeguard agriculture and commerce, e ncourage immigration, and promote manufactures.† (Johnson, E.A.J) One of the main aspects of the industrial revolution in America was the development of railways and railroads because this led to the formation of the backbone of the American economy to a great extent. It assisted in balancing out transport of essential commodities to destinations near and far in order to maintain the supply of

Modern Public Health emphasises the importance of public involvement Essay

Modern Public Health emphasises the importance of public involvement. Critically and creatively analyse relevant literature to explain ways in which practitione - Essay Example Institute for Health Research â€Å"which aims to promote and support active public involvement in NHS, public health and social care research.† The group believes Specific organization†(Department of Health, 2006). Because people are involved in making decisions about their own health care and that of those they are close to, practitioners can be instrumental in identifying the needs of the public in which it serves. Goals of the new system are to develop a â€Å"health and social care system planned around the needs of individual people and those of the community,† create services that are â€Å" flexible, responsive, open to challenge, accountable to communities and constantly open to improvement,† and lastly, â€Å"assign decision making to the local level†(DH, 2006). Practitioners should encourage and collaborate with educators locally to provide health topic information to the youngest of the public population who will one day become the leaders and major influence in the lives of others. Even at the youngest levels, children are capable of absorbing and processing large amounts of information. One forum or place for health services that is becoming increasingly common is the workplace. The public is generally aware of job stress, health and safety risks and general employment practices that are unhealthy. Practitioners can also encourage local employers to become involved in the health education process, as an integral part of the particular workplace. Practitioners can then make recommendations for changes in processes or policies that encourage better physical and mental health, fewer workplace injuries and less time taken from work. Practitioners should be open to workplace complaints that those they serve provide. They can become advocates by addressing such diagnostic tools developed to assist them. This is a great way to influence the public and involve them in decision making processes. Allowing residents of a particular geographic area to