A Model of English for International Learners Research Paper

A Model of English for International Learners - Research Paper Example Aside from using the language to facilitate the learning process, it could be used to carry out other activities successfully. Such activities include businesses, social interactions, and official meetings. According to the statistics about the relationship between language and businesses that were carried out in 2005, it was found that the use of the English language led to successful businesses. Hence, the use of the language brings about a common understanding among individuals. There are several languages that could be used internationally: French, Portuguese, German, and English. However, English has been established as the most preferable international language. According to Mauranen (2003), in the learning of English as an international language there is a variety of models that could be used to study it. The models include native-speaker model, nativised model, globish model, and lingua Franca model. All these models assist in the learning of English as an international language. They have several strengths and weaknesses and are only suitable for a learner/teacher depending on the purpose one wants to achieve. Basing on individuals’ goals, the purposes for learning the English language are different. Nevertheless, many individuals purposely learn the English language to facilitate communication at an international level. Hence, the use of English assists in understanding the academic interests for the learners: it eases group discussions among the individuals who do not share a mother tongue and provide a common understanding among the learners. ... on for using English is that most of the people worldwide have developed an interest in learning it and this has led to giving it a status of lingua franca. Lingua Franca refers to a language that is spoken as a second or third language after a people’s mother tongue. It is also referred to as vehicular. The people speaking this language use it specifically for communication with the non-natives or the natives of that particular language. There are different advantages associated with using English as a lingua Franca. Many people around the world have embraced the use of English making it easier to communicate with people from different dialects. Hence, lingua franca is viewed as the most appropriate model for use in the learning of the English Language (Ellis, 2002). This is because it facilitates communication among individuals who are from different cultures and speak different mother tongues. Using English as a lingua franca assists in the understanding of other peopleâ₠¬â„¢s culture and the appreciation of it at the same time. People from different cultural backgrounds are able to learn about each other’s culture through communication which is facilitated by the use of a common language. Thus, the lingua franca model supports the use of English language for a common understanding among individuals. The learners/users of English around the world could use the lingua franca model to facilitate communication amongst themselves and other people who are not of the same dialect as theirs. This is applicable in all countries that use English as either a second or a third language. For instance, in a country like Vietnam, which is located southeast of Asia, English has been adopted as a language that is basically used to promote understanding amongst individuals. In

Helping Behaviour Based on Gender, Race and Mobility

Helping Behaviour Based on Gender, Race and Mobility HELPING BEHAVIOUR BASED ON GENDER, RACE AND MOBILITY Field study on evaluating helping behaviour based on gender, race and mobility Ravindran Ramkumar Abstract This field study investigated the different factors which influence helping behaviour in humans. The experiment is focused on different factors about willingness to help others based on gender, race of the victim and mobility of the helper. The past studies provided support for the experiment that indicating there is a cause-effect relationship between the situational factors, time pressure and helping behaviour. As Piliavin et al. (1968) focused on all three factors and shows that dispositional factors such as gender are influential as well. In conclusion, situation of the victim, dispositions based on gender and social factors in prioritizing the need are all influential factors, but because of limitations to the studies this can only be applicable in multicultural countries where race is not peculiar discrimination factor. Keywords: Gender, racial discrimantion, mobility of the subjects, time pressure. Introduction Prosocial Behaviour: Prosocial behaviour stems from various motives and helps us attain various goals. For this reason, it is a common and an important aspect of our day-to-day social life. Why do people help? Multiple factors play in influencing whether, and to what extent, people engage in prosocial behaviour Many aspects of the situation and several personal factors are also determining. Prosocialality is a voluntary behaviour that is carried out to benefit of another individual (Bar-Tal, 1976; Mussen Eisenberg-Berg, 1977). This study focuses on various factors of prosocial behaviour. To this end, we revisit several previous experiments, Wade, Carole Tavris (2000) believed that bystanders should be less helpful in groups than alone.This was explained using the concept of diffusion of responsibility in which the outcome is diffused, or spread, among many people.Our hypothesis is about to analyse whether one sex is more prosocial than the other, as it is standard in the literature (Croson and Gneezy, 2009). Men are more likely to help a stranger in need than women (e.g. Bryan and Test, 1967; Ehlert et al., 1973; Gaertner and Bickman, 1971;. Graf and Riddle, 1972; Latane, 1970; Morgan, 1973) contrasty the evidence that female reacts more than men to social and emotional stimuli in many contexts (see e.g. Brody and Hall, 2008, or McManis et al., 2001, among many others). Secondly, whether people are readily come forth to help the same gender or the opposite. As the more people were put under time pressure, the less likely they were to help (Darley and Batson, 1973).Thirdly, we hypothesize testing helping behaviour with respect to mobility and state dispositions of the individual. To deduce the consistency with the above mentioned this paper is presented by a field study. Method Participant The participants in this field study were 40 Common pedestrians roaming around Somerset Orchard Area, Singapore, about forenoon 11.30 AM on a Friday. To maintain standard uniformity the participants were randomly chosen from both genders (20 male and 20 female) who were either mobile or Stationary (20 Walking, 20 Sitting or Standing) ranging from young adults to adults. We also assigned two young adult confederates of both genders one native and one non-native person. Materials and Procedure: In this study, we have divided into two groups with one confederate of a gender and an observer with him/her, both the groups made the experiment at the same time and almost closer location, to ensure the results independent of time and location. The confederate showed a battery drained mobile phone to the participant to build their reputation and approached the participants requesting as â€Å"Excuse me, hi, I’m supposed to be meeting a friend but my phone has run out of battery. Would you mind if I borrowed your phone to make a quick call†. Then the observers out of the participants’ sight had recorded their responses on gender, responses or replies, age range and mobility categories. Result Interpretations The results were as follows, among the total 40 participants, 20 were approached by each gender confederate, so it is necessary to examine the results individually first to draw a general result, when the confederate is a female the result ranges as 7 males of total 10 male (4 stationary) were readily offered the help while 6 female of 10 (4 stationary) had offered, in total 13 (65%) people helped. When the confederate is a male, 5 male out of 10 were ready to help (3 Stationary) and 4 females of 10 helped (3 Stationary), in total 9 people (45%). In general 12 males out of 20 and 10 females of 20 lend their mobile phone. So 60% of male were tend to help a stranger while 50% of female does; of 12 male and 10 female with positive response 14 were stationary (7 male and 7 female, i.e. 58% of male and 70% of female) and 8 were moving (5 male and 3 female, i.e. 42% of male and 30% of female), and the participants expressed a range of responses for readily offering the help to offer help after an inquiry with some questions like â€Å"Is that a Local call?†, Some continued their helping despite of their hurry as they committed to help while being stationary (i.e. While waiting at the pedestrian crossing). No noteworthy differences were found in the responses with respect to nativity of the confederates as the experiment location Singapore is a multi-cultural country were discrimation according to race is widely curtailed. Limitations: In particular, that when the details of the experiment are put into a more â€Å"social frame†, the appearance, approach and language of the confederate may have an influence in the decision making of the participant, factors like the participants personality traits (demographic characteristics, personal motives and personality traits) situational constrains (the bystander is in; are they in a hurry or do they have time to stop and help) environmental factors (Temperature, weather, crowd, culture) may also have critical influence on the helping behaviour Discussion The recorded data have been keenly observed to deduce the results as follows. Since the gender and mobility based differences are minimum, in order to elicit subtle conclusions the percentage differences are to be evaluated. When the confederate is a female, 65% of people tend to help while 45% offered when the confederate is male from this we may resolve that people tend to help a female than a male because of the stereotyping dispositions that helping a female is safe and secure than a male as detailed in the study the type of victim (drunk or ill) and the race of victim (black or white) effect on responding, frequency of responding and the race of the helper, the study also shows that gender is a factor in helping behaviour, and that there was no race distinction. Gender and race are both dispositional factors (Piliavin et al, 1969). When a situation to help others arises 60% male were readily willing while 50% of female helped is consistent with our first hypothesis on whether on e sex is more prosocial than the other. Men are more likely to help a stranger in need than women (e.g. Bryan and Test, 1967; Ehlert et al., 1973; Gaertner and Bickman, 1971;. Graf and Riddle, 1972; Latane, 1970; Morgan, 1973). The Comparitively majority of people, despite of gender was tending to give hand for a help when they were stationary than in a movement which is exactly consistent with the previous study that the more the people under time pressure, the less likely they were to help (Darley and Batson, 1973), But the hypothesized bias on helping behaviour according to gender (i.e. helping same or opposite gender) was not significantly detected. Conclusion Consistent with previous studies, we can conclude that male are more likely to help strangers than female, and in sum, the people were more ready to offer help to a female than a male and the state of mobitity indeed have a significant difference in helping behaviour proving that people tend to help others in their happiness and relaxed state. Reference Wade, Carole Tavris, Carol. (2000) Psychology Sixth Edition. Prentice-Hall, Inc. Upper  Saddle River, 2000. Espinosa M and Kovarik J (2015) Prosocial behaviour and gender. Front. Behav. Neurosci.  9:88. doi:10.3389/fnbeh.2015.00088. Alice H. Eagly and Maureen Crowley, (1986) Gender and Helping Behavior: A Meta-Analytic Review of the Social Psychological Literature, Psychological Bulletin 1986, No.1. 100, No. 3,283-308. John M Darley C Daniel Batson, (1973), From Jerusalem to Jericho, A Study of situational  and dispositional variables in helping behaviour; Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1973, Vol. 27, No.1, 100-108. Nancy Eisenberg and Paul A. Miller, (1987), The Relation of Empathy to Prosocial and  Related Behaviors, Arizona State University, Psychological Bulletin 1987, Vol. 101, No. 1.91-119. ErnstFehr And UrsFischbacher, (2003), The Nature Of Human Altruism, Nature 425, 785 –  791 (23 October 2003); Doi:10.1038/Nature02043 Hans-Werner Bierhoff, (2002), Prosocial Behaviour, Taylor and Francis Group Psychology  press, ISBN 0-203-98942-2 Master e-book ISBN. Personality And Social Psychology, Altruism And Prosocial Behavior, John Wiley Sons,  Inc. Chapter 19, Pg. 463 Robert A.Baron, Nyla R. Branscombe, Donn Byrne Gopa Bhardwaj, (2009), Social  Psychology, 12th Edition, Pearson Education Jamie Lynch,, (1998) Effects of Gender and Sex role on Helping Behaviour, Lehigh  University. Paul D. Hastings, Kenneth H. Rubin, Laura Derose,(2005), Links Among Gender,  Inhibition, And Parental Socialization In The Development Of Prosocial Behavior, Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, Vol. 51, No. 4. Roberts, William, And Sthayer, Janet.(1996), Empathy, Emotional Expressiveness, And  Prosocial Behavior. Child Development, 1996,67,449-470 David Myers,Prem Sahajpal,Pushpita Behera; Social Psychology (English) 10th Edition,  McGraw Hill Education (India) Private Limited (Words 1602) Appendix A Observations made on the fiels study with respet to the participants’ gender, age group and mobility Group members: Jarinda, Ram, Beth, Devin, Fred. Trial No. 1 Experimenter: Beth Observer: Devin. Date conducted: 20 Mar 2015 Experiment start: 11.10am Experiment end: 12:20pm Location: Orchard Rd, pedestrian path outside Orchard Central Shopping Centre, 181 Orchard Road, S.238896. Appendix B Trail No. 2 Experimenter: Fredrick Observer: Jeranda Ramkumar. Date conducted: 20 Mar 2015 Experiment start: 11.30am Experiment end: 12:50pm Location: Orchard Rd, pedestrian path outside Orchard Central Shopping Centre, 181 Orchard Road, S.238896.

Free College Admissions Essays: My Mother had Faith in Me :: College Admissions Essays

My Mother had Faith in Me    As a child, I never thought I would be the one who would graduate from high school. In grade school, I learned that I could do well, but I was afraid of going to a higher level. As a freshman in high school, I made a decision not to be a fool and drop out. Even though it crossed my mind to drop out, I stood tall and looked up to God. Now I have an overall of 3.567.    However, each goal that I strived for, I achieved because my mother always had faith in me. She believed I could do anything that I put my mind to . For eleven years, my mother was a single parent who raised me. My biological father died before I was born. She basically raised me all alone. My mother always bought me books as a child. Every night we read books like, 'Who am I,' and my favorite, 'Wacky Wednesday,' from beginning to end. Her dedication inspired me to be the person that I am striving for today. She always had a way of showing me her love and care by pushing me towards a successful life. Regardless of the circumstances, she was the one who helped me get to where I am today. This is why I'm determined to go even further in life.    In fact, today my career goals are not a problem I know that I can get the job done to the best of my ability by furthering my education. In the year 2005, I will be a junior high school math teacher. I will teach at a school that I attended as a child to help students learn. I will teach my students not only math, but values that will help them to be successful in life. As a teacher, or an accountant, I will also be an entrepreneur. I will help the people in the community where I grew up in and that's a promise. I know that I will achieve these goals. When I get my Bachelor and Master's degree, I will make sure that I will have something to show for it. Therefore, my career goals on my agenda will be accomplished through my success.    I have participated in various extra-curricular activities. I remember back in the 9th grade, when I tried out for the pom-pom team.

A Day of Many Events

The day I was born, April 28, 1982 was a day of love, business and learning. While the (insert surname) family is happily waiting for the love child of (name of your parents), series of events was also happening. It was a day filled with many activities and a day of expectations. In Federal Agencies, reports were made from the Education Week about the public hearings on bilingual education. This happened on the day I was born, April 28, 1982, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., in the El Fauno Room of the Condado Beach Hotel, San Juan, Puerto Rico (Education Week). Meanwhile, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration released reports involving the astronauts Robert L. Gibson and Rhea Seddon about the good news of expecting the birth of their first child. It was indeed a much anticipated moment for the couple to have a baby of their own (Lawrence). World Bank History also made one historical event on the day I was born. The IFC (International Finance Corp.) and IDA (International Development Association) Articles of Agreement were signed by Saint Lucia, a Caribbean island nation. The small country became IFC’s 122nd member and IDA’s 130th member. It was a huge leap towards developing funds for the world (World Bank). Clearly, on the day when my mother gave birth to me, there were many events that occurred in history. It was a day of hope for the education system when public hearings were conducted for the proposed Bilingual Education System. It was also a day of happiness and expectation for an astronaut couple. It was also an important day in the history of World Bank, when Saint Lucia joined IFC and IDA. Meanwhile, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, my parents were happily expecting a special gift—they were excited to see one bouncing baby who will add happiness to our family. Indeed, April 28, 1982 was a day of hope, excitement, and fulfillment for my family and for the world. Works Cited Name of your mother, Personal Interview. 2 April 2008. â€Å"This Week in World Bank History: April 28 – May 4† 2008.† The World Bank Archives. Worldbank. April 2008    â€Å"In Federal Agencies.† Education Week. Edweek. 28 April 1982. 5 April 2008   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Lawrence, John. â€Å"Expectant Astronauts.† 1981-1983 NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) News. NASA. 28 April 1982. 5 April 2008   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  

Intelligence Led-Policing Essay

The police institution has undergone major changes aimed at rebuilding its public. These changes date back to aggressive cops to the modern day police whose are guided by the rule of law (Ratcliffe, 2003, p 3). Introduced in the late 20th century, community policing focused on restoration of police legitimacy through community participation. It aimed at re-connecting the police institution to the public (Ratcliffe, 2003, p 4). Various researches indicate that it failed to provide measurable results. Consequently other models including problem oriented policing, Compstat and most recently, intelligence based policing (ILP) have emerged. Problem oriented policing involves use of statistical trends in identification of areas of interest. Compstat on the other hand focuses on empowerment of middle level officers to rapidly respond to crime. Basically it involves crime mapping, viewing and discussion. The most recent, ILP is an initiative at making the police smarter. It is founded on the use of criminal intelligence by the police in fighting crime (Ratcliffe, 2003, p 6). Emerging as a rare and unique initiative that attempts at understanding criminal environments and thus predict its occurrence and trends, the initiative is increasingly gaining popularity. Unlike the other models, ILP does not favor the popular reactive and investigate approaches in fighting crime but rather focuses on early identification hence prevention (Ratcliffe, 2003, p 6). It ensures that police actions are based on intelligence rather than intuition. ILP emerges as an alternative in organizational restructuring towards crime eradication. It is a result of changing crime faces and the transnational crime emergence alongside globalization, electronic financial transactions and internet in addition to police demand gap and failures of the existing policing models (Ratcliffe, 2003, p 6). The major similarity of this model to the previous models is the cause. Each aims to reduce crime marginal through either prevention or reactionary techniques. However, the approaches the take differ enormously. While the earlier models focused on either reacting to crime or cause identification, this model focuses on understanding the crime and the criminal mind as the basis for criminal fight.

The joint family is large in size. It consists of Essays - Family

The joint family is large in size. It consists of Essays - Family The joint family is large in size. It consists of parents, children, grand children and other near relatives along with women. It is a group in which several basic families live together at one and the same time.In a joint family, the ownership, production and consumption of wealth takes place on a joint basis. Both movable and immovable properly of the family is owned jointly. The joint property is managed by the head of the family, who is known as the Karta. He acts as a trustee and looks after the welfare of all the members of the family. The total earnings of all the family members are pooled together. Family expenses are met out of those earnings.A joint family or undivided family is an extended family arrangement prevalent throughout the Indian subcontinent, particularly in India, consisting of many generations living in the same household, all bound by the common relationship.Historically, for generations India had a prevailing tradition of the joint family system or undivided family. The system is an extended family arrangement prevalent throughout the Indian subcontinent, particularly in India, consisting of many generations living in the same home, all bound by the common relationship.[3] A patrilineal joint family consists of an older man and his wife, his sons and daughters and his grandchildren from his sons and daughters. The family is headed by a senior person called a karta, usually the oldest male, who makes decisions on economic and social matters on behalf of the entire family. The patriarch's wife generally exerts control over the household and minor religious practices and often wields considerable influence in domestic matters. Family income flows into a common pool, from which resources are drawn to meet the needs of all members, which are regulated by the heads of the family.[4] However, with urbanisation and economic development, India has witnessed a break up of traditional joint family into more nuclear-like families, and the traditional joint family in India accounted for a small number of Indian households.[5][6] A Hindu undivided family or HUF is a legal term related to the Hindu Marriage Act. The female members are also given the right of share to the property in the HUF. The term finds reference in the provisions of the Income Tax Act, but the expression is not defined in the act. There are various aspects of Hindu law relevant for the purpose assessment of income[7] and wealth in the status of HUF, as well as the impact of the provisions of Hindu Succession Act 1956 as amended by Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act 2005 relevant for the purpose of assessment of income and wealth in the status of HUF under the Income Tax Act 1961. In the case of Surjit lal Chhabra 101 ITR 776 SC, joint family and undivided family are synonymous: "A joint Hindu family consists of persons lineally descended from a common ancestor and includes their wives and unmarried daughters. The daughter, on marriage, ceases to be a member of her father's family and becomes a member of her husband's family." In 2016, a judgment of the Delhi High Court ruled that the eldest female member of a Hindu Undivided Family can be its "karta" (manager).Different relationships are addressed via different names. The nature of relationship also varies. Relations can be of equivalence, mutual respect or teasing in nature. In joint families in northern and central India between a bride or sister-in-law and her younger brother-in-law, a joking or teasing relationship is common, and the relationship towards an older brother-in-law is that of respectfulness.

ABEKA VOCABULARY, SPELLING, POETRY IV QUIZ 9A Essays

ABEKA VOCABULARY, SPELLING, POETRY IV QUIZ 9A Essays ABEKA VOCABULARY, SPELLING, POETRY IV QUIZ 9A Paper ABEKA VOCABULARY, SPELLING, POETRY IV QUIZ 9A Paper Essay Topic: Poetry censure to express disapproval or condemnation divulge to reveal a secret; to make known enamor to inflame with love; to charm, fascinate feign to put on or give a false appearance of; to fabricate abate to lessen in force or intensity to be eaten away gradually, as by chemical action corrode to kidnap or unlawfully carry a person off by force abduct to add fictitious details embellish to bring peace, often by satisfying demands appease to express sympathy with another in his affliction condole spell each spoken word completely spell each spoken word politician spell each spoken word grammar spell each spoken word specimen spell each spoken word Portuguese spell each spoken word inoculate spell each spoken word playwright spell each spoken word apparatus spell each spoken word hemorrhage spell each spoken word recommend

The Future of Human Space Exploration

The Future of Human Space Exploration From Here to There: Human Space Flight People have a solid future in space, with regular flights to the International Space Station continuing to bring astronauts to low-Earth orbit for science experiments. But, the ISS isnt the only extent of our push to the new frontier. The next generation of explorers is already alive and preparing for journeys to the Moon and Mars. They could be our children and grandchildren, or even some of us reading stories online right now. Astronauts aboard the International Space Station in blue jumpsuits. NASA Companies and space agencies are testing new rockets, improved crew capsules, inflatable stations, and futuristic concepts for lunar bases, Mars habitats, and orbiting lunar stations. There are even plans for asteroid mining. It wont be long before the first super-heavy-lift rockets such as the next-generation Ariane (from ESA), SpaceXs Starship (Big Falcon Rocket), the Blue Origin rocket, and others will be blasting off to space. And, in the very near future, humans will be aboard, too.   Space Flight is in Our History Flights to low-Earth orbit and out to the Moon have been a reality since the early 1960s.  Human exploration of space actually began in 1961. Thats when Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first man  in  space. He was followed by other Soviet and U.S. space explorers who landed on the  Moon circled Earth in space stations and  labs and blasted off aboard shuttles and space capsules. Yuri Gagarin, the first human to fly to space. alldayru.com Planetary exploration with robotic probes is ongoing. There are plans for an asteroid exploration, Moon colonization, and eventual Mars missions in the relatively near future. Yet, some people still ask, why explore space? What have we done so far? These are important questions and have very serious and practical answers. Explorers have been answering them throughout their careers as astronauts. Living and Working in Space The work of the men and women who have already been in space have helped establish the process of learning  how to live and there.  Humans have established a long-term presence in low-Earth orbit with the International Space Station, and U.S. astronauts spent time on the Moon in the late 1960s and early1970s. Plans for human habitation of Mars or the Moon are in the works, and some missions- such as the long-term assignments in space of such astronauts as Scott Kellys year in space- test astronauts to see how the human body reacts on long missions to other planets (such as Mars, where we already have robotic explorers) or spend lifetimes on the Moon.  In addition, with long-term explorations, its inevitable that people will start families in space or on another world. Very little is known about how successful that will be or what we may call new generations of space humans. Astronaut Sunita Williams exercising aboard the International Space Station. NASA Many mission scenarios for the future follow a familiar line:  establish a space station (or two), create science stations and colonies, and then after testing ourselves in near-Earth space, take the leap to Mars. Or an asteroid or two. Those plans are in the long-term; at best, the first Mars explorers most likely wont set foot there until the 2020s or 2030s. The Near-term Goals of Space Exploration   A number of countries around the world have plans for space exploration, among them China, India, the United States, Russia, Japan, New Zealand, and the European Space Agency. More than 75 countries have agencies, but only a few have launch capability. NASA and the Russian Space Agency are partnering to bring astronauts to the International Space Station. Since the space shuttle fleet retired in 2011, Russian rockets have been blasting off with Americans (and astronauts of other nationalities) to the ISS. NASAs Commercial Crew and Cargo program are working with companies such as Boeing, SpaceX, and United Launch Associates to come up with safe and cost-effective ways to deliver humans to space.  In addition, Sierra Nevada Corporation is proposing an advanced space plane called the Dream Chaser, and already has contracts for European use.   The current plan (in the second decade of the 21st century) is to use the Orion crew vehicle, which is very similar in design to the Apollo capsules (but with more-advanced systems), stacked atop a rocket, to bring astronauts to a number of different locations, including the ISS. The hope is to use this same design to take crews to near-Earth asteroids, the Moon, and Mars. The system is still being built and tested, as are space launch systems (SLS) tests for the necessary booster rockets. Water recovery of the Orion crew capsule in testing. NASA   The design of the Orion capsule was widely criticized by some as a giant step backward, particularly by people who felt that the nations space agency should try for an updated shuttle design (one that would be safer than its predecessors  and with more range). Due to technical limitations of the shuttle designs, plus the need for reliable technology (plus political considerations that are both complex and ongoing), NASA chose the Orion concept (after the cancellation of a program called Constellation).   Beyond NASA and Roscosmos The United States is not alone in sending people to space. Russia intends to continue operations on the ISS, while China has sent astronauts to space, and the Japanese and Indian space agencies are moving ahead with plans to send their own citizens as well. The Chinese have plans for a permanent space station, set for construction in the next decade. The China National Space Administration has also set its sights on the exploration of Mars, with possible crews setting foot on the Red Planet beginning perhaps in 2040. India has more modest initial plans. The Indian Space Research Organization (which has a mission at Mars) is working to develop a launch-worthy vehicle and carry a two-member crew to low-Earth orbit perhaps in the next decade. The Japanese Space Agency JAXA has announced its plans for a space capsule to deliver astronauts to space by 2022 and has also tested a space plane. The far distant future may well hold new ways of getting around space. Here, two spaceships enter a wormhole in outer space to get to another part of the galaxy. Such travel isnt possible yet, so humans are still constrained to exploring near-Earth space. Corey Ford/Stocktrek Images The interest in space exploration continues. Whether or not it manifests itself as a full-blown race to Mars or rush to the Moon or trip to mine an asteroid remains to be seen. There are many difficult tasks to accomplish before humans are routinely jetting off to the Moon or Mars. Nations and governments need to evaluate their long-term commitment to space exploration. The technological advancements to deliver humans to these places are taking place, as are the tests on humans to see if they really CAN withstand the rigors of long space flights to alien environments  and safely live in a more dangerous environment than Earth. It now remains for the social and political spheres to come to terms with humans as a space-faring species.

Organizational Behavior Concepts in any Organization Essay

Organizational Behavior Concepts in any Organization - Essay Example Through decision making, ideas and procedures are developed, which culminate in to events and eventually give results. From the results, more ideas are developed for more procedures, making the process an endless circle. This is the process that generates change within an organization, to give rise to the organizational culture. However, in some instances, this process may not generate the desired change. There are times when the results culminate in events which are disastrous. This necessitates careful observation and supervision of the processes which are routine in the organization in order to avoid unwarranted circumstances. In order to achieve this, prudent human resource practices need to be employed in decision making. This essay is a critical evaluation of organizational behavior concepts. Starbucks is the organization that has been used to illustrate these concepts. Aspects such as decision making, culture and human resources practices have been discussed. Decision making is a psychological process that culminates in the choice of a particular course of action amid many other alternatives. Innovativeness in organizations is usually realized after un1dergoing the decision making process, which involves need identification, search for possible sources o1f relevant information, evaluation of the information acquired and eventually undertaking a particular action. The outcome is psychological in the sense that decisions are not tangible, but from the ensuing behavior, one can easily tell that a certain decision has been made (Belk, and Askegaard, 2003 p.80). Organizational decision making takes place at different levels. Most of the crucial organizational decisions entail distribution of limited resources in the various departments or segments. They are significant in the identification of the most appropriate way to share resources. In Starbucks, it has

What disparity is there between defendants outcomes when you retain a Essay

What disparity is there between defendants outcomes when you retain a private attorney versus a public defender in a criminal trial - Essay Example While the presiding judge’s job is to ensure that the prosecution presents the case in a manner which is consistent with the law he is under no duty to ensure that council for either side is competent. As a result representation of a defendant at trial is very important if the defendant is going to benefit from a trial of the issues. It is important to remember that not all criminal trials involve jurors and not all parts of a jury trial require the jurors to remain a part of the proceedings. In Powell v Alabama Justice Sutherland explained the absolute requirement for legal representation at a criminal trial. He said that ‘the right to be heard would be, in many cases, of little avail if it did not comprehend the right to be heard by counsel. Even the intelligent and educated layman has small and sometimes no skill in the science of law. If charged with crimes, he is incapable, generally, of determining for himself whether the indictment is good or bad. He is unfamiliar with the rules of evidence. Left without the aid of counsel he may be put on trial without a proper charge, and convicted upon incompetent evidence, or evidence irrelevant to the issue or otherwise inadmissible. He lacks both the skill and knowledge adequately to prepare his defense, even though he have a perfect one. He requires the guiding hand of counsel at every step in the proceedings against him. Without it, though he be not guilty, he faces the danger of conviction because he does not know h ow to establish his innocence.’ (Powell v Alabama 287 U.S. 45 (1932)) In delivering the judgment for the court, Justice Sutherland went on to explain that in the event a defendant is charged with a capital offense and could not afford to retain council the court had a residual duty to appoint council for the defendant. Failing to appoint council was tantamount to a denial of the right to due process of law under the fourteenth Amendment to the

What disparity is there between defendants outcomes when you retain a Essay

What disparity is there between defendants outcomes when you retain a private attorney versus a public defender in a criminal trial - Essay Example While the presiding judge’s job is to ensure that the prosecution presents the case in a manner which is consistent with the law he is under no duty to ensure that council for either side is competent. As a result representation of a defendant at trial is very important if the defendant is going to benefit from a trial of the issues. It is important to remember that not all criminal trials involve jurors and not all parts of a jury trial require the jurors to remain a part of the proceedings. In Powell v Alabama Justice Sutherland explained the absolute requirement for legal representation at a criminal trial. He said that ‘the right to be heard would be, in many cases, of little avail if it did not comprehend the right to be heard by counsel. Even the intelligent and educated layman has small and sometimes no skill in the science of law. If charged with crimes, he is incapable, generally, of determining for himself whether the indictment is good or bad. He is unfamiliar with the rules of evidence. Left without the aid of counsel he may be put on trial without a proper charge, and convicted upon incompetent evidence, or evidence irrelevant to the issue or otherwise inadmissible. He lacks both the skill and knowledge adequately to prepare his defense, even though he have a perfect one. He requires the guiding hand of counsel at every step in the proceedings against him. Without it, though he be not guilty, he faces the danger of conviction because he does not know h ow to establish his innocence.’ (Powell v Alabama 287 U.S. 45 (1932)) In delivering the judgment for the court, Justice Sutherland went on to explain that in the event a defendant is charged with a capital offense and could not afford to retain council the court had a residual duty to appoint council for the defendant. Failing to appoint council was tantamount to a denial of the right to due process of law under the fourteenth Amendment to the

Business Ethics Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Business Ethics - Case Study Example Absolutely, as long as there are individuals who are willing to circumvent the system, in the hopes of accruing a further profit, and place the lives of their consumers at risk due to a hurried and ill researched drug release, the legitimacy of the entire process falls into question. The first liability is with regards to the fact that illegal form of payment and unlawful interaction between Chang and American Therapeutics has taken place. As such, in the event that this is discovered, both of Chang and American Therapeutics could be held liable for any damages that resulted from their collusion. Moreover, even if no harm came of this, both of these could still be held liable for corruption and bribery outside the bounds of the law. In order to obtain rapid FDA approval, Vegesna could easily have ensured that all of his documents were in the correct order and that the testing facilities had been vetted and approved by the FDA. Even though this might not have resulted in an immediate level of approval, as was created by the bribery of the FDA official, it would necessarily have increased the turnaround time that he could have expected as compared to what was realized by other firms. In order to prevent future payments such as the one that has been discussed, the level of interaction between a firm and a single individual at the FDA must be reduced. By engaging companies with a team of stakeholders from the FDA, the possibility and the temptation to bribe all of them will be greatly reduced; as compared to a single individual integrating with a hopeful

The Suicide tourist Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Suicide tourist - Essay Example In countries such as Switzerland, legally operated clinics such as ‘Dignitas’ offer suicide assistance to patients who face an inevitably long and painful death in the not so distant future. The moral question that have been raised so far, revolve around the right for persons to end their own lives. This is evident in situations when death is imminent due to terminal illness. Moreover, the assisted suicide procedure has elicited controversial issues concerning the respect for personal rights and desires versus the threat for abuse. At the heart of this controversy is Dignitas and its patients seeking assisted suicide services. Evidently, Switzerland is the only country that permits foreigners to come and seek the services of assisted suicide. To this end, this paper will seek to establish the moral basis and acceptance of the right to end one’s life as an act preventing further suffering. Consequently, an innate understanding of Craig Ewert’s case in Ã¢â‚¬Ë œThe Suicide Tourist’ will provide insight into judging the morality of his actions. The Suicide Tourist is a compelling and moving documentary that narrates the last days and eventual assisted suicide of Craig Ewert. The documentary raised pertinent questions about the quality of life and the moral precinct of ending one’s life (Fuchs, 2010). To this end, Craig articulately posed strong and logical arguments regarding his decision to end his life. Craig was a 59 year old American citizen who relocated to England with his wife. As a professor of Computer Science, and his wife enrolled for a PhD in Law, things were going quite well until Craig was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease, also known as ALS ( Fuchs, 2010). The condition was a neurological terminal disease that would rapidly waste away his motor functions. To this end, he was given at most five years to live. However, 6 months after the diagnosis, Craig’s health had rapidly deteriorated to the po int that he could not walk, swallow food or breathe on his own without a ventilator. At this point, Craig decided to end his life and avoid a prolonged painful suffering and inevitable death. Upon discussion with his family, they came to accept that he was suffering and acknowledged that his death was imminent. Ultimately, Craig family supported his wishes to end his life. To this end, Craig sought the services of Dignitas clinic in Switzerland. The clinic offered suicide assistance to terminally ill patients that were faced with an inevitable death after prolonged pain and suffering. At this point, it is important to note the facts that led Craig’s decision in choosing to end his life rather than wait for his inevitable death. In his own words, Craig noted that his degenerative state would render him paralyzed without any functions of his motor functions. He knew that he would be essentially trapped in his own body without the luxury of being able to communicate or even move any part of his body. Consequently, he was aware that he would be trapped in his own body just waiting for death. To this end, time was of the essence since he had to solely partake the lethal dosage that would ultimately end his life. Furthermore, Craig asserted that he was not tired of living but was tired of the disease. In addition Craig delved in the moral concern raised over assisted suicide and its judgement based on

Myth as a Precursor to History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Myth as a Precursor to History - Essay Example History is something different altogether, history is not used to explain natural phenomenon's or uncover aspects of daily life. History is fact that typically cannot be augured. It has evidence, it is fact. Ken Dowden states "History is what myth isn't.What history tells is true or else it would not be history, only failed history. What myth tells us is in some way false or it would be history"2 Myths can be said to have graduations of credibility, Dowden uses the example of the myth of Athena being born from Zeus head and compares it to Agamemnon's expedition to Troy to show that there are different levels of credibility in myth. As obviously there was never a women born from a man's head. Yet it is suggested that there was a Trojan War and Agamemnon's expedition to Troy has a place in history. In the example of Dowdens, we can see that myth can be a herald to history, as many believed that Homer's epic poem, The Iliad, was based not on a historical reality, but on mythical heroes. Heinrich Schliemann held a different view, believing in Homers war, he combined studies of Homeric text and fieldwork and published observations about Mycenae and the location of Troy in 1869.Although Schlie mann's arcelogical techniques were brought under criticism by many, ("Schliemann's excavations at Troy were not a good model of archaeological technique. Only solid structures were noticed and recorded, and they were rapidly demolished to reveal earlier features."3) Schliemann's aim was to identify the geographic setting of Homers Iliad only from literature and he brought the Greek Bronze Age and its antecedents to light for the first time. Not content with his identification of Troy, he also dug at Mycenae and revealed an unknown prehistoric civilization. The Japanese creation myth started out with the earth being a formless void of nothing but muddy water. From that water a green shoot sprung and inside it was the first god, who made all the other gods. Out of all he created though, Izagami and Izanami were the most perfect. The islands of Japan were formed when Izagami poked his staff through the clouds to see what was on the surface of the earth. As he lifted the staff from the muddy water, clumps of mud fell on top of the water and formed into the islands of Japan. The pair went down to the earth, and everywhere they went, flowers and plants sprouted. They had four children. One was the sun, one was the moon, one lived in the water and created storms and such, and from the fourth, the line of the emperors of Japan was established. In the Egyptian creation myth, most of the details are very similar to the Japanese myth. The world starts out covered in water, from one god all the others are created, and two of the gods, Osiris and Isis, sort of led all the rest. From them came all the rulers of Egypt, just like how in the Japanese myth Izanami and Izagami had a child who eventually had a child who was the first emperor of Japan. In the African origin myth of how leopards became spotted, the leopard invites fire over for dinner.  

Total reward system proposal Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Total reward system proposal - Coursework Example to the overview provided above, it is clear that Rational Holidays will only be capable of meeting its HR needs if it adequately accomplishes a number of crucial elements. According to WorldatWork (2007), the primary aims of a TR strategy are to communicate a unique value proposition that sufficiently meets the needs of current and potential employees in order to minimize unnecessary employee turnover. Secondly, the strategy aims to offer a framework for the design, administration and communication of rewards programs by employers. To achieve these objectives, Rational Holidays must conceive a suitable strategy involving the various elements: The first element is to lay out the company’s strategies. In other words, the firm must first articulate its core values together with its business strategies. Particularly, the firm must spell out how the proposed strategy will ensure that the business needs as well as aims are met. In addition to this, the company will need to stipulate exact timelines when goals are set to be achieved. The second vital element that be encompassed in the TR strategy is the statement of the firm’s overall objectives. It is well-known that multinational companies operate in an environment that is highly diverse, from a number of perspectives. Apart from the diverse legal requirements involved, multinationals have to respond to different customer needs, just the same way that it has to deal with the demands and conflicting opinions of numerous shareholders. As a result, the TR strategy for Rational Holidays will need to include distinctive statements that outline how the system will uphold these diverse needs. To accomplish this, the approach will need to clearly delineate the roles that will be played by every reward element. The third element is prominence. Every TR strategy ought to give a general description of the superiority of compensation rewards over other tools with an impact on actions as well as decisions. To achieve this

Myth as a Precursor to History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Myth as a Precursor to History - Essay Example History is something different altogether, history is not used to explain natural phenomenon's or uncover aspects of daily life. History is fact that typically cannot be augured. It has evidence, it is fact. Ken Dowden states "History is what myth isn't.What history tells is true or else it would not be history, only failed history. What myth tells us is in some way false or it would be history"2 Myths can be said to have graduations of credibility, Dowden uses the example of the myth of Athena being born from Zeus head and compares it to Agamemnon's expedition to Troy to show that there are different levels of credibility in myth. As obviously there was never a women born from a man's head. Yet it is suggested that there was a Trojan War and Agamemnon's expedition to Troy has a place in history. In the example of Dowdens, we can see that myth can be a herald to history, as many believed that Homer's epic poem, The Iliad, was based not on a historical reality, but on mythical heroes. Heinrich Schliemann held a different view, believing in Homers war, he combined studies of Homeric text and fieldwork and published observations about Mycenae and the location of Troy in 1869.Although Schlie mann's arcelogical techniques were brought under criticism by many, ("Schliemann's excavations at Troy were not a good model of archaeological technique. Only solid structures were noticed and recorded, and they were rapidly demolished to reveal earlier features."3) Schliemann's aim was to identify the geographic setting of Homers Iliad only from literature and he brought the Greek Bronze Age and its antecedents to light for the first time. Not content with his identification of Troy, he also dug at Mycenae and revealed an unknown prehistoric civilization. The Japanese creation myth started out with the earth being a formless void of nothing but muddy water. From that water a green shoot sprung and inside it was the first god, who made all the other gods. Out of all he created though, Izagami and Izanami were the most perfect. The islands of Japan were formed when Izagami poked his staff through the clouds to see what was on the surface of the earth. As he lifted the staff from the muddy water, clumps of mud fell on top of the water and formed into the islands of Japan. The pair went down to the earth, and everywhere they went, flowers and plants sprouted. They had four children. One was the sun, one was the moon, one lived in the water and created storms and such, and from the fourth, the line of the emperors of Japan was established. In the Egyptian creation myth, most of the details are very similar to the Japanese myth. The world starts out covered in water, from one god all the others are created, and two of the gods, Osiris and Isis, sort of led all the rest. From them came all the rulers of Egypt, just like how in the Japanese myth Izanami and Izagami had a child who eventually had a child who was the first emperor of Japan. In the African origin myth of how leopards became spotted, the leopard invites fire over for dinner.  

Superior Manufacturing Company Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Superior Manufacturing Company - Case Study Example This research will begin with the statement that considering the income statement and results of analysis of the profit and loss account by each item and factory, Waters’ decision to decision to keep product 103 was not rational, at least in the short run. This is because the company was operating at a loss and a decision to streamline causes of the loss was necessary, considering the tight competition in the industry. Analysis of products’ costs and revenues identified product 103 as the major cause of the company’s realized loss and its elimination would help the company in reducing its loses. In addition, and even though the company is less differentiated than its competitors are, focusing on stopping production of product 103, would promote the company’s specialization and this, together with focusing the resources on the remaining two products would empower the company towards competitive advantage, based on economies of scale and efficiency. Possible increase in operating income by at least $ 688, would however justify Waters’ decision to retain product 103. This is because the change would eliminate loss that the company suffers and would eliminate the urgent need for streamlining operations. In either case of operating income, Harvey’s position remains realistic. The researcher states that analysis of possible cost and revenues for the two options informs the decision to reduce the price or not.

Herman Miller Inc Essay Example for Free

Herman Miller Inc Essay From the headquarters of Herman Miller Inc. , Curt Pullen talks amid the unmistakable pounding sounds and commotion associated with a construction work site about his companys plan to rebound from the recession. Pullen, the firms executive vice president and president of North America, says the workers are installing new lower-height Herman Miller workstations designed to accommodate a growing trend in offices toward more open, collaborative environments. The new product, called Canvas, is part of the companys market-shift strategy after the demand for office furniture fell hard during the economic downturn. The plan also involves diversifying into the health care and academic furniture markets and more emphasis on emerging economies. The plan appears to be paying off. For the first time in nearly four years the company reported two consecutive quarters of double-digit percentage sales growth after releasing its second-quarter earnings statement on Dec 15th. Orders in the second quarter rose 34% to $462 million. CEO Brian Walker noted the companys expanded market reach as a contributing factor to growth. Significant increases occurred in international markets where sales rose 33%. In 2010 the company acquired UK-based ergonomic workstation manufacturer Colebrook Bosson Saunders and purchased assets from Australian furniture maker Living Edge Group. In 2008, the company announced a partnership with Chinas Posh Office Systems Ltd. to expand in the Asia-Pacific region. The company attributed a year-end surge to gains in its international, health care, learning and retail vertical markets. The expanding health care industry has become one of the companys key growth targets. One of the more recent expansions into the health care field came on Jan. 31 when Herman Miller completed its acquisition of health care furniture manufacturer Nemschoff Chairs LLC based in Sheboygan, Wis. Herman Miller designed the Canvas workstation at a lower height than traditional workstations to facilitate a workplace trend toward more collaborative environments. The design also allows more light into work areas and saves space, the company says. Including sinks and headwalls, to be reconfigured to meet patient needs. 2. Business Strategy: Broad Differentiation Strategies This strategy pursues the buyer’s needs and preference to make them satisfied with the product. And to be different from other rivals, the product must have unique product attributes that a wide range of buyers find appealing and worth paying for. The strategy achieves its aim when an attractively large numbers of buyers find the customer buyer value proposition. Herman miller is pursuing this strategy as we refer to the case study that their products are based on the design which is designed according to the people who use the furniture. Like the president of Herman Miller said: ‘people are important not the furniture. Furniture should be useful’. Besides, this company emphasizes on product design and environmental friendly, these are two basic things that they have been practicing for many decades. Furthermore, they also invest more in research and development for product innovation. Take an example of office design product, Herman Miller’s Insight and Exploration team observed various workplaces to analyze how people collaborate and the ways in which their interactions vary over the course of a day, and throughout the life of a project by differentiating the subtleties of how, when, where, and why people connect independent of content or industry. Senior Researcher Shilpi Kumar notes that, â€Å"outlining these collaborative work behaviors will empower designers and decision makers with a greater understanding for how people really work, and will enable more informed choices in regards to office spaces. Herman Miller takes advantage of the growing desire for green products to create a better world and increase ergonomic furniture, because the consumers are willing to pay a premium for such quality and social responsible product. Since the designer of Herman Miller emphasized quality, excellence, and the continual improvement of their products, obviously one of their product which is designed by Charles and Ray Eames since its launch in 1950 had developed from plastic chair to wood chair in 2000. She also confirmed that this wood chair is 100 times recyclable since Herman Miller is concerned about environmental friendly, and Eames Molded Wood Side Chair earns Gold award at NeoCon 2013 in the Guest Seating category. 3. Functional strategy: Research and Development (RD) This category focuses on strategy that is concerned with the actions in managing particular functions within a business especially in RD. In terms of Herman Miller RD, they invested in research and development (RD) financially. Although there was downturn in financial, Herman Miller still invested tens of millions of dollars in RD. The investment in RD was code named Purple. A result of investment in RD was an outgrowth of project Purple. The goal of this project was to spread beyond the boundaries of normal business. Herman miller created a special team called the accessories team in which the team-identified a potential growth area. This team is made to recruit people with different disciplines needed to support that goal. In addition, this team focuses on contributing ideas to the success of the team from all resources and also to develop a particular product as it goes through that piece of work. This project is in line with functional strategy of RD in which a company’s product development represents the plan for keeping the company’s product in accordance with what buyers are looking for (Thompson et al, 2014). In the case of Herman Miller Inc, they began with research in every real design solution in which the exploitation and insights of the best research leads to human-centered design and problem solving. Herman Miller Inc is doing many things for RD in the case of education, sustainability, performance, healthcare, manufacturing, architectures design and ergonomics. Herman Miller Inc has its major RD activities and projects, i. e. its way to support and develop a company’s product. According to Herman Miller’s financial statement for fiscal years 2006-2011, there was a decline in design and research in 2009 due to the ongoing economic downturn. Figure 1. 1: Spending on Design and research So far, they have done some research projects regarding education such as; student’s research work behaviors behind innovation spaces. In the fall 2012, there was a project Herman Miller funded as a way of investing in the next generation of workers by giving students the chance to apply what hey learn in a real-world setting. Herman Miller wanted them to look at the business objective of the company. Besides Herman Miller providing the funds, the employees of the company also participated in the project. After the field research, the goal of this project was that the students shared what they had learned from going to the company for a workshop. The company also wanted to discover more about places that encourage creativity and the places of creative people. Besides Herman Miller providing the funds, the employee of the company also participated in the project. In regarding with the research in technology, the research starts by understanding which technological trends are creating new behaviors in the workplace. So from that, they can produce new design solution. Over the last three years, a group of designers, engineers, and researchers, the Insight Herman Miller and Exploration Team (I E) has focused on emerging technologies and how they alter social behavior in the workplace. Herman Miller’s goal is to identify the technology trends that are relevant to the office and also understanding new behaviors that allow the designers, architects and manufacturers to bring new workplace design. For healthcare, Herman Miller Healthcare saw the opportunity to study and analyze by doing the research from the discussion of Bluewater health in which prior to design development and also the satisfaction and safety of patients and staff members. Herman Miller Healthcare is sponsoring a research project that will explore how changes in the built environment have affected staff in three important areas: Ambulatory Care, Intensive Care Unit and Emergency Department. 3 4. Functional Strategies: Marketing Marketing is one of the strategies used under functional strategy. First and foremost, Herman Miller products were sold internationally through wholly owned subsidiaries in countries including Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Australia, Singapore, China, India, and the Netherlands. Hence, they use the international strategy to compete its products in each country. In other words, they use the foreign subsidiary strategies because it seemed that they prefer to have a direct control over all aspects of operating in a foreign country that is the reason why they established wholly owned subsidiaries. As a result, this strategy was successful as their brand was recognized by customers and increased customer base spreading over 100 countries. Moreover, they used green marketing strategy to sell their products. This is because they mainly focus on environmental friendly such as Mirra chair, one of their products which was made of 45 percent recycled materials, and 96 percent of its material were recyclable. Therefore, the chairs used 100 percent renewable energy. Due to this strategy used, Mirra chair was recorded as one of the Top 10 Green Products by Architectural Record and Environmental Building News. Hence, this can indicate the success of using this strategy. In addition, Herman Miller engaged in cooperating advertising with strategic partners. As the example of Hilton Garden Inns which they equipped the Mirra chair in some room and on the desk in the room, was a card that explain how to adjust the chair while also providing the advertisement of Herman Miller’s website, how to purchase the products. Likewise, this is one of the advertising used to promote their products by using the strategic partner. As a result, they can reduce the advertising cost and gain more brand awareness. . Operating Strategy: Lean Production Initially, at Spring Lake, Herman Miller had invested in a giant robot assembly that welded supports inside file cabinet housings, including a tractor-trailer-length automated welding line with 1,000 sensors to drive labor completely out of the process. Unfortunately, big customers like Hewlett-Packard and ATT were pulling their orders of 100 instead of 500 and some wanted file cabinets in two weeks instead of six with much higher quality. The Spring Lake plant could not deliver, and certainly not for the lower prices customers demanded. 995, they adapted Toyota’s leading-edge formula for plant-floor management into an approach they called the Herman Miller Performance System (Boozco. , 2010, para 20). Based on the above quote, it depicted that Herman Miller’s decision to employ Herman Miller Performance System (HMPS); lean production, was to maintain efficiencies and cost savings by minimizing the amount of inventory on hand through a just-in-time process. To ensure a fluid flow on the order – driven production, Herman Miller collaborated with reliable and strategic suppliers. HMPS created competitive advantage through large assembly – manufacturing based. For example, direct materials and components purchased as needed to meet the demand and some suppliers delivered parts to Herman Miller production facilities five or six times per day. This resulted in a standard lead time of 10 to 20 days for majority of the products and low inventories on hand. Interestingly, HMPS managed to increase the variable costs rather than fixed costs while retaining proprietary control over manufacturing process. It was reported that â€Å"the plant managers across Herman Miller have learned that the best-run plants rely on people, not machines. Only people can solve problems to make assembly lines go faster, run cheaper, and deliver higher quality† (Boozco. , 2010, para 25). Therefore, it can be concluded that labor intensive approach tend to outperform machine intensive approach especially when the products demand further customization with limited time and the majority of industry products are built to each customers unique order. Question 2: Culture at HMI: healthy and largely supportive of good strategy execution. Herman Miller had codified its long-practiced organizational values, intended as a basic for uniting all employees, building relationship, and contributing to society. Herman Miller started in 1905 with the Star Furniture Company and created the Herman Miller furniture company with his son in law named Dirk Jan De Pree. From the beginning, De Pree committed himself to treating all workers as individuals with specials talents and potential. This was part of Herman Miller’s corporate culture which continued to generate respect for all employees and take advantage of the diversity of skills possessed by all. This is one of the functional strategies in corporate culture in Herman Miller Inc in which included the company’s approach to people management, procedures and operating practices that provide the guidelines for the behavior of the company. The impact of this culture became one of the competitive advantages that make strong management and employee satisfaction in the company. The business principles and ethical standard of Herman Miller are the management practices as the key of company’s culture. Herman Miller was one of the furniture company named to Fast Company’s â€Å"Most Innovative Companies† in both 2008 and 2010. Herman Miller had pursued a path of reinvention and renewal. Herman Miller has many ways to develop their products and its culture is also unique. Through the growing of the company, Herman Miller maintains the relationship with the employees. Herman Miller’s commitment to innovation included sharing ideas and opinions from the employees. On January 1979, Herman Miller established new organization structures that included all employees were to be given the opportunity to discuss new plan in small group settings. In addition, Herman Miller also established a plan in which all employees became shareholders. Herman Miller Inc. also focuses on more efficient and environmentally friendly by taking a major initiative in 1981. It is in line with a better world value which is pursuing sustainability and environmental policy. They established environmental quality action team whose goal was to coordinate environmental programs worldwide that involves many employees. A Herman Miller’s culture is grounded in and resides to certain core value and some sets for ethical behavior. Herman Miller had long practiced organizational values that were still used in 2012. The values are as basis for uniting all employees, building relationship, adapt the implied attitude, behaviors and work practices. The company adopted inclusiveness which means they include all the expressions of human talent and potential that society offers. As mentioned before, Herman Miller corporate culture continued to create respect to all employees and looking for and utilizing the skills possessed by anyone. The second value is design in which it is important to Herman Miller Inc. in order to make innovative products. It is the way for them for looking at the world and how it can work. The results of this value are Herman Miller established many innovative products and designs. In 1971 and 1984, they introduced products based on ergonomics principles such as the Ergon chair and Equa chair. For another groundbreaking design, it introduced the Aeron chair which was almost added to New York Museum of Modern Art’s permanent design collection in 1990. Other important values are based on Herman Miller’s best performance that focuses on enriching the lives of employees, customers and create value for the shareholders. The result of this value has made Herman Miller share the gains and pains with the employees especially about the compensation. All employees received a base pay and they also participated in a profit sharing program where they received stock in accordance to the company’s financial performance. The company also offered to the employees the employee stock purchase plan (ESPP), retirement income plan, offered annual bonus to all employees based on company’s performance, and in regard to profit sharing both the employees and executives have same calculation of bonus potential. High performance culture In Herman Miller Inc. there is a strong sense of involvement on the part of company personnel and emphasis on individual initiative and creativity. Two of the greatest strengths lie behind our heritage of research-driven design. Respecting and encouraging risks, exploring new ideas and freedom of speech. Owners actively committed to the life of the community called Herman Miller, pride in doing things right, sharing in its success and risks. The strengths and payoff really comes in when engaging in people’s own problems, solutions and behavior. Performance is required at the highest level possible. Herman Miller enriches employees’ lives, delight its customers, and create value for its shareholders. Herman Miller includes all the express human talent and potential, everyone should have a chance to realize his or her potential regardless of color, gender, age, sexual orientation. It believes that skill; different educational background could bring the company uniqueness. Adaptive Culture Herman Miller always keep innovating its products to serve their customers better. Herman Miller’s corporate culture, which continued to generate respect for all employees, had fueled the quest to tap the diversity of gifts and skill held by all. The company designs products according to what people want the most, and it is a way of looking at the world and how it works or does not. To design a solution, rather than simply devising one, required research, thought sometime starting over, listening and humility. Manager and employees support each other in dealing with working environment. Herman Miller designed the Canvas workstation, at a lower height than traditional workstations to facilitate a workplace trend toward more collaborative environments. The design also allows more light into work areas and saves space, the company says. Additionally, the company also keeps changing its production designs from time to time according to the needs of the people and follow ergonomic system. Herman Miller hired much expertise to design its furniture, and it is costly to spend on R;D but company the company was willing to take risks on new innovation. Financial performance Year 2008 2009 2010 2011 Revenue ($ millions) $ 2,012. 1 $1,630. 0 $1,318. 8 $1,649. 2 R;D to Sales Ratio R;D/Sale 51. 2 / 2,012. 1 = 2. 5 % 45. 7 / 1,630. 0 = 2. 8 % 40. 5 / 1,318. 8 = 3. 1 % 45. 8 / 1,649. 2 = 2. 8 % Table 2. : HMI’s Revenues and R;D to Sales ratio from 2008 to 2011 Figure 2. 1: Research and development (R;D) to Sales ratio from 2008 to 2011 The above graph shows the trend of R;D sales ratio which increases from year 2008 until 2010. However, it decreased slightly in 2011 due to low R;D investment because of recession. However, it is not clear whether measuring the R;D ratio is a good metric to represent its efficiency towards a company. This is because it takes into consideration the R;D expenses rather than R;D investment thus it is easy to manipulate the number by lowering the R;D expenditure. Even, in the balance sheet of Herman Miller, the R;D investment is not disclosed under assets. If R;D is capitalized as asset, then it depicts the efficiency of R;D towards business revenues. In brief, due to that constraint, we assume that at least the R;D sales ratio increases and contributes positively towards Herman Miller’s business structure as Herman Miller invests heavily in R;D to create the furniture. Figure 2. 2: HMI’s Revenues from 2008 to 2011 The above graph illustrates that the trend of sales revenue decreases from year 2008 until 2010. However, it started to increase in year 2011. Thus, in brief, Herman Miller is improving in their sales through investment in Research and Development and produces competitive design. Question 3: HMI’s Financial situation: prior years and its competitors 1. HMI’s financial situation In order to measure the financial performance of Herman Miller Inc, we have used different ratios, such as liquidity, profitability, leverage and activity ratios. Besides, we also compare the financial performance of HMI in relation to its competitors – HNI and Steelcase Inc from 2008 until 2012 based on the above mention ratios. For our case, we have used the current ratio to measure the extent to which the three companies (HMI, HNI and Steelcase) can meet their short term obligations as shown in the figure below. Figure 3. 1: HMI’s current ratio versus its competitors’ ratio The figure above shows the current ratios for the three manufacturers’ of office furniture and equipment for five consecutive years. In the case of Herman Miller Inc. , their current ratio showed some slight increase of about 1 percent from 2008 to 2009. However, a drop of about 21 percent was xperienced in 2010 but they were still able to maintain a current ratio of greater than 1. In the year 2011 and 2012, there had been a tremendous increase in their current ratio to 1. 76 and 1. 81 respectively. This current ratio of greater than 1 provides additional cushion against unforeseeable contingencies that may arise in the short term. In the case of HNI, their current ratio showed a moderate increase of about 7 percen t from 2008 to 2009. However, for the subsequent years, HNI experienced a decrease in their current ratio of approximately 10 percent from 2010 all the way to 2012. Nonetheless, they were able to maintain a current ratio of at least 1 to ensure that the value of their current assets covers at least the amount of their short term obligations. As for Steelcase, their current ratio showed a moderate increase of about 8 percent from 2008 to 2010. On the other hand, the company experienced a decrease of roughly 8 percent in the year 2011 but they were still able to maintain a current ratio of greater than 1. However, Steelcase managed to have an increase in their current ratio from 1. 37 in 2011 to 1. 52 in 2012. Overall, Herman Miller Inc. as shown a significant increasing trend in their current ratio as compared to the other two companies. This may suggest improved liquidity of the company or a more conservative approach to working capital management. ii. Profitability ratios: Profitability ratios measure management’s overall effectiveness as shown by the returns generated on sales and investment. There are a number of ratios under profitability but for our case, we have used the Return on Assets (ROA) to measure the after-tax profits per dollar of assets and Gross Profit Margin which measures the total margin available to cover operating expenses and yield a profit. These two ratios have been used to evaluate the three companies (HMI, HNI and Steelcase). Figure 3. 2. 1: HMI’s return on asset ratio versus its competitors’ ratio The figure above shows the Return on Assets for the three manufacturers’ of office furniture and equipment for five consecutive years. In the case of Herman Miller Inc. , there has been a decreasing trend of ROA in the year 2008 to 2010 from 19 percent to 4 percent respectively. This shows that the profitability of the company is deteriorating. Nevertheless, rom the year 2010 to the year 2012, the company has shown some slight increasing trend of ROA from 4 percent to 9 percent respectively. This indicates that the company’s profitability is quite improving over the years. When it comes to HNI, it has also shown a high decreasing trend of ROA in the year 2008 to 2011 from 5 percent to -0. 6 percent respectively. This shows that the profitability of the company is extremely deteriorating. However , in the year 2012, there was an increase of about 4 percent as compared to the previous year. The company was able to move from -0. 6 percent to 3. 8 percent. This signifies that the company’s profitability is slightly improving. Lastly for Steelcase, there has also been a high decreasing trend of ROA from the year 2008 to 2010 with about 6 percent and -0. 8 percent respectively. This shows that the profitability of the company is extremely deteriorating. However, there was a slight increasing trend of ROA in 2011 and 2012 of 1. 02 percent and 3. 33 percent respectively. This means that the company’s profitability is somewhat improving. Overall, Herman Miller Inc. has shown a considerable increasing trend in their ROA over the years as compared to the other two companies. This may imply effective use of assets and creation of high margins by the company as well as gauging how well the company uses its financing from borrowing and bonds. Figure 3. 2. 2: HMI’s gross profit ratio versus its competitors’ ratio The figure above shows the Gross Profit Margin for the three manufacturers’ of office furniture and equipment for five consecutive years. In the case of Herman Miller Inc. , there has been a slight decrease of the Gross Profit Margin in the year 2008 to 2009 from 34. 72 percent to 32. 37 percent respectively. However, from the year 2010 to the year 2012, the company has shown some slight increase in their Gross Profit Margin from 32. 49 percent to 34. 26 percent respectively. This indicates that the company can make a reasonable profit. For HNI, there has been an increasing trend of the Gross Profit Margin from the year 2008 to 2011 with about 33. 66 percent and 34. 6 percent respectively. However, in the year 2012, there was a slight decrease of about 1. 3 percent as compared to the previous year. The company’s Gross Profit Margin moved from 34. 86 percent to 34. 39 percent. This also signifies that the company can make a reasonable profit. Lastly for Steelcase, it has shown a slight decreasing trend of Gross Profit Margin from the year 2008 to 2010 with 32. 12 percent and 28. 35 percent respectively. However, there was a slight increasing trend of Gross Profit Margin in the subsequent years amounting to 29. 5 percent in 2012. This means that the company can still make a reasonable profit. Overall, HNI has shown a steady increasing trend in their Gross Profit Margin over the years as compared to the other two companies. This may indicate how efficiently the company is using its materials and labor in the production process and gives an indication of the pricing, cost structure, and production efficiency of the company. iii. Leverage ratios This ratio is used to determine the companies’ financing methods, or the ability to meet the obligations. There are many ratios to calculate leverage but the important factors include debt, interest expenses, equity and assets. In this section, we will examine two ratios which are debt to assets and debt to equity ratios. Figure 3. 3. 1: HMI’s debt to asset ratio versus its competitors’ ratio The debt to asset ratio gives us a quick measure of the amount of debt that the company has on its balance sheets compared to its assets. In general, the debt to asset ratio for Herman Miller fluctuated over the years as compared to its competitors – HNI and Steel case. In 2008, the debt to equity ratio for Herman Miller was above 80 percent and rose approximately to 100 percent in 2009, whereas this ratio was just about 61 percent and 57 percent for HNI and Steel case respectively in 2008; and about 58 percent in 2009 for both competitors. This indicated that almost 100 percent of Herman Miller’s assets were financed by debt or creditors which implied that the Company has high level of leverage and risk, while its competitors had roughly 50 percent of their assets financed by the owners. However, Herman Miller’s ratio significantly dropped in 2010 to about 40 percent which was below its competitors who almost maintained their position over the years. In 2012, 70 percent of Herman Miller’s assets were financed by debt. In general, although the company debt to assets ratio is still high in relation to its competitors, the financial performance of the company is improving after the financial crisis. However, the Company needs to further reduce the amount of debt resulting to the reduction of risk; this is because it may affect the company’s survival in the long-run. Figure 3. 3. 2: HMI’s debt to equity ratio versus its competitors’ ratio A debt-to-equity ratio measures the amount of debt a company uses to fund its business for every dollar of equity it has. In other words, it is a measure of a companys ability to repay its obligations. Generally companies with less debt equity ratio are less risky than the companies with high ratios. As we can see from the graphs, Herman Miller Inc. has the highest ratio over the year in relation to the other companies. For instance, its ratio fluctuated significantly over the years which were at 32. 7 and 94. 91 in 2008 and 2009 respectively. This might be due to the effect of the financial crisis, which caused the company to increase its debt financing heavily. Also, this indicates that the company had substantial high amount of debt as compared to equity which can endanger the long term survival of the firm since the company may not be able to generate enough cash to satisfy its debt obligations . Meanwhile, debt to equity ratio for HNI and Steel case was roughly lower than 2, which was acceptable for large public companies. For Herman Miller, however, this ratio sharply dropped over the next years to just about 8. 62 in 2010 and 2. 37 in 2012. In contrast, its competitors still can maintain their ratio below two over the next years. In order to improve this ratio, Herman Miller had sold its common stock and tried to lower the mount debt financing, this can be seen by the amount of long-term debt decreasing. This implies that the company’s financial performance has been improving after the financial crisis. In terms of leverage, overall, it can be said that the performance of the company has been improving over the years and regaining its position in the furniture market after the economic downturn. Although it may not do well as compared to its competitors in terms of financing the debt and equity, there is a sign of improvement and effort in positioning its self in the market industry in U. S. iv. Activity Ratios Figure 3. 4. 1: HMI’s Inventory turnover ratio versus its competitors’ ratio The inventory turnover is commonly used to measure the operational efficiency in managing its assets. Based on the figure 4. 1 illustrated above, in 2009, Herman Miller Inc. has the highest ratio compared to other years. This high ratio could indicate two conditions, such as; whether the company has strong sales during the year or it has an ineffective buying activity. However, it is perceived that the company did have strong sales proven from the lowest level of inventory and high sales revenue which are seen in the annual report during the year. While in 2010, Herman Miller Inc. ’s turnover ratio drops significantly compared to the other years. Its cost of sales for the year has the lowest and showed a decrement of 24% from previous year which simultaneously contribute to low ratio as well as indicating the lack of effectiveness particularly in turning its inventory into sales. One of the reasons is that it could be due to the recession which highly affected the company, and hence making them to reduce the cost of sales. However, Herman Miller Inc is getting better in turning its inventory into sales proven from the increment of its ratio by year. Additionally, compared to competitors, the position of the ratio shown for Herman Miller Inc. is located somewhat in the middle. Steelcase is somewhat faster in turning their inventory into sales compared to others. In contrast, HNI has the lowest rate. This proves that Steelcase is more effective in managing its operational assets. Figure 3. 4. 2: HMI’s Average collection period versus its competitors’ ratio Average collection period is the number of days it takes a company to collect its account receivables. As illustrated from the figure 4. 2 above, Herman Miller is getting better in obtaining its receivables shown by the average days taken which was from 58 days in 2008 and 34 days in 2012. This demonstrates that Herman miller Inc. onstantly improve its credit policy effectiveness confirmed by a dramatic slump by years. Comparing to other competitors, originally HNI was the most effective company in managing its credit term policy, as the company only took 38 days in collecting its account receivables compared to Steelcase or Herman Miller. However, the company ended up to be the highest rate at 2012 showing that it is not effective in evaluating company’s credit policy. As a result, when a company possesses a lower average collection period, it is seen as optimal as it indicates that the company does not take very long to turn its receivables into cash. . HMI’s current strategies: an issues of need to change its strategies during poor economic conditions The current Herman Miller strategy which focuses on growth strategy, through innovative products and related diversification made the company to survive the Great Depression early in its history, multiple recessions in 20th century and in early 21st century the company recovered from the dot-com bust and was able to continue expanding overseas. The furniture industry is an economically volatile industry. The office furniture segment of the industry was hit hard by the recession. Industry sales decreased 26. 5 percent during the 2009 economic downturn. However, because of the innovative and diversification, Herman Miller was able to outperform its competitors in terms of sales and profitability, during that time Herman Mill’s sales dropped by 19% which is relatively low in comparison with its competitors HNI Corporation and Steelcase which had dropped by 33 percent and 28% respectively. The furniture industry is at its maturity stage, thus Innovation is crucial to the company’s survival. If Herman Miller continues to successfully innovate, it will enable them to compete in the market strongly. The industry had been negatively impacted telecommunication which had reduced the need office furniture. Yet, more employees were spending more hours in front of the computer screens than ever before. Because of Herman Miller’s effective innovation, they were able to respond to the need of ergonomically correct office furniture that had helped to decrease fatigue and injuries like carpal tunnel syndrome. In summary, the company does not need to radically alter its main strategy which focuses more on innovation and diversification as it’s the reason they were not dramatically hit by recessions and competitions among the rivals. 3. Recommendation: i. Reduced current benefit and incentive schemes There are several incentives that had been eliminated by Herman Miller’s management due to the economic downturn in 2009. The suspend of 401(k) contribution plans (saving contribution plan), cut-off 15 percent of current workforce and 10 percent reduction in salary for remaining workforce had been implemented during the crisis. However the pay cuts was discontinued because of Herman Miller’s quick turnaround. The company was stable starting the year 2011, but the selling, general, and administrative were the highest contribution of the operating expenses. Specifically, â€Å"†¦$3. million and $16. 6 million of additional operating expenses during fiscal 2011 due to the reinstatement of all of our employee benefits and employee incentive expenses† (Herman Miller’s Annual Report, 2011). The company believed that the large benefit and incentives had created motivated and skilful employees which are the key of its competitive advantage. Even though the company has increased in sales as compared to the year 2010, it is important to cut the costs by eliminating some of the less important incentives schemes and benefits such as $100 rebate on a bike purchase, concierge services and one-site services to name a few. Previously, the company had eliminated the 401(k) contribution plan so that they could stop providing some percentage on the employees’ contribution. It is crucial since it could allow the company to save a significant amount of money in the long run (Richardson, 2009). It can be done by communicating the problems and issues which need to be addressed to the staff before they get out of hand. Address the problems proportionately and regular communication could make the staff be aware on their role to support the company throughout the economy downturn. By having it, the staff might accept the decision positively and provide effort to help the company to fully recover after the recession (‘Recession Business Cost Cutting†, 2013). ii. Reduction in company’s cost of sales According to Herman Miller’s Annual Report (2011), the increase in cost of sales for the year 2011 was due to the increase in sales volume that was driven primarily by cost leverage on higher production, which was partially offset by deeper discounting, higher employee benefit and incentive costs, and higher costs of key direct materials, most notably steel and steel components. Besides that, the cost of direct material increased as compared to previous years which there was increase in the cost of commodities and the increase in discounting, which has the effect of reducing net sales The costs of certain manufacturing materials used in producing finished products are sensitive to the volatility of commodity market price. The cost of direct labor and overhead were increased due to increase in product volume while the cost of freight expenses had increased during the year because of increase in product volume as well as increase in fuel costs in 2011. First recommendation to cut the cost of sales in terms of direct material is substituting lower cost material where possible to replace the expensive one and each angle should be considered for better decision. For example, the substitution of carbon steel to replace expensive stainless steel could reduce the cost but the corrosion protection might not last longer. This method should be applied if only the benefit from the substitution is higher than the cost of reduction in quality (Lewis, n. d. ). Second recommendation is by eliminating unnecessary product features to reduce cost. The company should produce a product that really suits customers’ preferences in buying their products. For example, the company should identify whether customers are purchasing its products because of their unique looks, lower price or high quality. If customers buy the products because of their lower price, unique features may not be needed (Lewis, n. d. ). Third recommendation which is the most effective one is by hedging the price of the steel through futures contract. According to Herman Miller’s Annual Report (2011): The company believes market prices for commodities in the near term may move higher and acknowledges that over time increases on its key direct materials and assembly components are likely. Consequently, it views the prospect of such increases as an outlook risk to the business† (p. 34). By locking the price in the contract, it could eliminate any risk of price volatility (â€Å"Hedging in Practice†, 2013). For example, if there is a huge possibility that the price of steel will increase in a certain period of time. Due to that, the company will engage in future contract and lock-in the price for a specific period in the future. Regardless of increase in steel price, the company is eligible to buy the commodity at a lower lock-in price as stated in the agreed future contract. Conclusion Herman Miller Inc. has implemented different strategies in order to improve its performance and expand its self in furniture market, such as diversified strategy, broad differentiation strategy, green marketing, product development and innovation. In addition, besides focusing on those strategies to achieve the business goals, the company also concerns about how it communicates and treat its employees. â€Å"All workers as individuals ith special talents and potential† can be considered as one of the healthy culture at Herman Miller since 1927 and the Company continued to generate respect for all employees and fueled the quest to tap diversity of gifts and skills held by all. According to one of the verse in chapter 42 of the Qur’an: â€Å"Those who hearken to their Lord, and establish regular Prayer; who (cond uct) their affairs by mutual Consultation; who spend out of what We bestow on them for Sustenance† (Quran 42:38) The verse above explains the importance of mutual consent in making a decision. Islam encourages Muslims to decide their affairs by consulting with those who will be affected by the decision. Thus, in the case of Herman Miller, it empowers its employees and nurture participative decision making so that the employees feel as part of the company. Surviving in matured furniture industry and the economic volatility such as recession, demand full cooperation from the whole organization. It is not easy to integrate the diverse nature of employees with different backgrounds and behaviors to achieve goal congruence. Thus, Herman Miller’s healthy culture leads to its employee’s readiness to accept any relevant decision by Herman Miller such as cutting their salaries as the employees work with Herman Miller and not just work for it. Furthermore, in term of design value, the designer team of Herman Miller always emphasized on quality, excellence, and the continual improvement of their products. â€Å"At Herman Miller the products we made decade ago are still sold after today, and products we make today we will do for a decade to come. † All in all, Herman Miller should pursue its current strategies and continue to expand those strategies such as product innovation, diversification and so on. We believe that these strategies have made and will make Herman Miller one of an outstanding and award winning Company. They will continue to provide the Company with the ability to renew and reinvent itself in the furniture market and outperform its rivals in the future. From the explanation above, it gives us a broad view of how the company’s long-term strategy and objective affects all their business: from product design to decision-making process to the culture of the Company.

Levis Dockers Marketing :: Business Marketing

Dockers: Creating a Sub-brand Report 1. How would you characterize Levi ´s branding strategy in general? Levi’s is a brand recognizable in the whole wide world. There is no person who wouldn’t be able to associate correctly the Name with the product. LS&Co has managed to create something timeless, just like their classical 501 blue jeans. Although their branding message was changing slightly during the time, they kept core values and traditions untouched. Comfort, uniqueness, quality and emotional impact – these were always the main associations with the brand. However, other features were being emphasized as time was going by. First connotations were simple: "jeans are tough and rugged as men who wear them". This image of a 100% man was even strengthened after western movies appeared. Soon jeans, and so Levi’s brand which in people’s mind turned to be their synonymous, became a symbol of freedom, adventure and independence. In this moment, managers of LS&Co decided to expand the brand. Even though there where various new cloths introduced to the market ; 501 jeans remained their top-selling product. It was their new brand strategy to "offer products for every life style", which turned to be a fiasco. Not only it didn’t bring expected results, what is more, this to big diversification caused drops in sales. It was so decided to come back to the core product and it’s image. To strengthen the Levi’s position on a market, their launched a new campaign which emphasizes emotional connection between jeans and theirs owner. To wear 501 it is to be yourself – they said. Company also took the advantage of changes that started to appear according to the dress code at work place. In that times company accentuated 100% cotton in Levi’s jeans, as â€Å"baby boomer† who grew up were seeking for natural fibers. Now Levi’s brand is supposed to be seen as â€Å"a style for every story† – again emotional impact emphasized. But as we can see, although they stressed different features in different periods of time, LS&Co maintained core values which they stuck in people’s mind – quality, comfort, uniqueness and emotional impact. 2. Analyze the Dockers ´communication strategy at the time of the launch. How did it fit in with Levi ´s advertising efforts? How did it contribute to brand equity? Dokers brand was introduced by Levi’s to contrast the change that was happening to blue jeans buyers.