Under Armour Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Under Armour - Essay Example The fact that Under Armour has fewer retail stores it means that it has fewer powerful buyers who can often dictate terms. In terms of competitive rivalry, the two companies do not pose a serious threat since Under Armour itself offers unique products. However, all the competitors have allocated a sizeable budget on research, meaning that they are likely to offer undifferentiated products and services that may reduce attractiveness of Under Armour. Under Armour doesn’t pose the threat of new entry since the other two corporations have the advantage of the economies of scale, and considering their budgetary allocations on marketing, Under Armour is less likely to capitalize on the threat of substitution. Under Armour has a major strength of manufacturing the most unique brand in the market. However, the weakness of fewer retail stores and the threat posed by other corporations like Nike and Adidas Group gives it a lesser advantage in the market. Broadening the company’s product offering to all athletes and increasing its sale, designing kits that can be worn under different weather conditions, marketing and product promotion (Thomson, 2012). All the three companies are engaged in sponsorships and endorsements for product promotion and marketing. They have also allocated sizeable amounts of resources on research and development of new products. On one hand, Under Armour has the advantage of its unique products in the market, and on the other hand, it has a disadvantage of unfavorable competition in terms of capital against the other two. He needs to address the issue of the growing number of individual items produced, uncertainties surrounding consumer demand that affects accurate projections of items to order (Thomson, 2012), and how to acquire the lion’s share of the market. Carrying out proper survey in

ILSC 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

ILSC 2 - Essay Example Involving and engaging employees in the decision-making process or working together with employees, as a team is another way of motivating employees.Many employees become contended with their work and also become active in the company when they are engaged in the decision-making process or work together as a team. Team building is crucial because it enables employees to improve their performance level because of accomplishing their task faster and effectively (Mayhem 2013, pr.6).For instance, Sony Company is one of the well-known corporations that have increased their revenues because of increased innovative products. This is because the company has a unique way of motivating their employees through involving and engaging them in the decision-making process, as well as, treating everyone equal (Smith 2013, pp. 16).James (2008, p. 433)offers some effective leadership strategies such as motivation and teamwork as valuable means for achieving competitive advantage in the company. Many l eaders have made significant efforts of incorporating varied leadership strategies in order to meet the organizational needs. Northouse (2010, p. 24) also argues that managers need to examine their own traits since this will enable them to recognize their weakness or strengths vital for understanding the way followers perceive them in the work environment. This is crucial because it can enable leaders to engage or create the good relationship with their employees; thus improving the industrial relations.

Overall strategic objective and the marketing plan

Overall strategic objective and the marketing plan There is much overlap between overall strategic objective and the marketing plan of an organization. Marketing plan keeps eye at consumer needs and organizations ability to satisfy them and these factors direct the companys overall strategic plan. If company fail to throw appropriate marketing strategy, the ultimate goal of profit maximization and expansion of business will be in hard condition. Organization should build suitable marketing plan which helps to achieve companys overall strategic objectives. This study is based on worlds leading electronic and software based company Apple Inc. which was funded by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak in 1976 and is known as computer giant. It designs, manufactures and markets personal computers, mobile communication devices, and portable digital music and video players and sell variety of related software services peripherals and networking solutions. It is also known as innovative company and it has demonstrated that innovation can lead to market dominance. It operates it business with the motto think different. Apple offers a range of electronic and software product and services such as PC, Mac Book, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, iTunes, Mac OS X, iLife, iWork, Safari and enormous range of applications worldwide through online store, direct sales force, third party sales, whole sellers, resellers, value added resellers and digital content and applications through the iTunes store to satisfy the desires of modern consumer. In this context apple has in troduced another innovative product iPhone4 smart phone and marketing plan of iPhone4 is the main focus of this study. This study has got five separate sections. The first part is introductory part which identifies and justifies the objectives of the study. The second part explores how the marketing plan supports the strategic objectives of the Apple, third part explains how Apple construct it marketing plan, forth section discusses how Apple promotes the marketing plan to support its strategic objectives. The last section is about the conclusion and summary findings which are developed from the discussion and analysis and recommendations for further improvement. Explaining the strategy of the organization impacting on the marketing plan. Each and every organization stands with business plan to set its overall direction for the company for their existence and this plan sets out how the company is to achieve its strategic aims and objectives. The strategic aims and objectives of a business inform and shape its business plan and an essential part of the overall business plan is the marketing plan. Thus the marketing plan is guided by strategic objective of the business and there should be alignment between the strategic objectives and marketing plan to meet the ultimate goals of an organization (e.g. profit or sales growth). The relationship between strategic objectives and the marketing plan is clarified by following diagram. Business aims objectives Business plan Product services their position in market Market data including size trends competition Business aims objectives Marketing plan Financial information including budgets Figure: Key element of business plan In context of Apple, it committed to offer the range of best possible innovative technological product and services and put that technology in the hand of as many people as possible. Apple leading towards market dominance through its innovation and Apple has already demonstrated it by offering innovative products like iPod, iPhone, iPad. Apple is also committed to protect the environment, health and safety of employees, customers and the global communities where it operates and recognize that by integrating sound environmental health and safety management practices into all aspects of its business. Apple can offer innovative technological products and services while conserving and enhancing recourses for future generations. Apple is leading towards market leader through its effective marketing plan. Apples marketing plan is directed by its strategic planning. In this context Jobbers six planning question helps to apple to align strategic objectives and marketing plan. The six questio ns are as follows. Where are we now? How did we get here? Where are we heading? Where we would like to be? How do we get there? Are we on course? These are the key planning question not only for the marketing plan but for the other plan as well. If any organization wishes to construct effective marketing plan to meet strategic objectives they should address these questions. The first three questions can be addressed by the help of business mission, market audit, SWOT analysis. It gives the concrete shape of marketing plan. The first question emphasis the current position of the company like market share, competition. Apple has dominance market share with its core competencies innovation. The second question focuses on an analysis of significant events that had a bearing on the achievement and shortcoming identifies earlier. Apple get this position by the help of innovation and with the motto of think different Third question point out the direction of the business in future. By the help of market audit and SWOT analysis a business can set the direction. Apple is leading towards market dominance. Fourth question is talk about the objectives or vision of the business. Apple wishes to be a market leader. The fifth question focuses on the course of action which is going to be done in order to achieve the final goal. Apple wishes to meet its objectives by the help of core strategy, marketing mix decision, organization and implementation of marketing plan. Final question emphasis the continuous controlling mechanism whether we are in right track or not if not and what may be the next step to walk on right course. In order to address jobbers first three planning question and to build effective marketing plan a business must conduct market audit. Market audit concern with systematic examination of a businesss marketing environment, objectives, strategies and activities with the view to identify strategic issues, problems and opportunities. It is the cornerstone of the marketing planning process. It keeps eye on environmental forces which may affect the marketing plan: internal and external factor. Internal factor is also known as micro factor which are in hand of a business which mainly focus on the five different factors: Operating results (sales, market share, profit margin and cost), Strategic issue analysis (marketing objectives, market segmentation, competitive advantages, core competencies, positioning, portfolio analysis), marketing mix effectiveness (product, price, promotion, distribution) marketing structure (marketing organization, marketing training, internal communication), marketing system (marketing information system, marketing planning system and marketing control system). External factor are not in business hand so business itself should change to make effective planning. External factor contains macro environment (PESTEL factor) which are economic factor (inflation, interest rate, unemployment), social and cultural (age distribution, lifestyle change, values and attributes), technological factor (new products and process technologies, materials) political and legal factor (monopoly control, new laws, regulations) ecological factor (conversion, pollution, energy). In order to construct effective marketing plan Apple should consider market audit because without considering these factor apple can not meet its strategic objectives. After analysing these factor apple can get present background data on the market, product, competition and distribution. Identifying the components part of marketing plan of Apple. SWOT analysis the strategic technique to evaluate the strategic position of a business by identifying its strength, weakness, opportunity and threats. It helps to address the planning question where are we now? How did we get here? Where we are heading? Once SWOT analysis is done an idea can be developed to how to turn weakness into strength and threats into opportunity, it helps to construct effective marketing plan. In context of apple iPhone 4, the price is high, it can not afford by middle income level people and the treats may be the increased competition which pressure apple to reduce the price because there are other strong competitors as well who produce less priced smart phone and it also difficult to expand in Asian market because without internet server iPhone cannot be operated. So this SWOT analysis helps to Apple how to turn these weaknesses into strength and treats into opportunity in order to construct the marketing plan and these factor helps to build the shape of marketing plan. Once market audit and SWOT analysis has been done it leads to set marketing objectives. Marketing objective keeps eye on two types of objective: strategic trust and strategic objective. It addresses the planning question: where we would like to be? Strategic trust defines the future direction of a business. By the help of Ansoff of Matrix a business can develop strategic trust which product to sell in which market. Figure: Ansoff Matrix Source: www.courseware.finntrack.eu According to Ansoff Matrix there are four strategic alternatives which are market penetration, market development, production development and diversification. Among these four alternatives the Apple has selected a product development alternative and decided to sell new product (iPhone 4) in the existing market. Another part of marketing objective is the strategic objective which deals with the process of planning at the product level. There are four types of alternative: build, hold, harvest and divest. To analyse appropriate alternative, there are various no of product planning portfolio tools such as BCG matrix, General Electric Market Alternatives-Competitive Position Model, Shell Directional Policy Matrix. Even though, this study is going to keep eyes on BCG matrix. Figure: BCG Matrix Source: www.apps.develebridge.net The iPhone is new product and it has low market share but high market growth so it contain to the question mark. This represents high demand due to low market share. So for the new product, the strategic objective will inevitably be to build sales and market share. The important point to keep in mind at this stage is that building sales and market share is only the sensible strategic objective of iPhone 4. Overall, strategic trust and strategic objective characterize where the business and its product intended to go in future. After setting marketing objective a business must determine the means of achieving them. Core strategy focuses on how the objectives can be accomplished and it contains three key elements: target market, competitive advantage and competitor target. Core strategy helps gives the answer of the planning question how do we get there? iPhones primary customer targets is the middle-upper income professional that need one portable device to coordinate their busy schedules and communicate with colleagues, friends and family and secondary consumer targets are high school, college and graduate students who need one portable multifunction device. Identifying issues of risk within a marketing plan of Apple Constructing a marketing plan is not an easy process and it is not out of risk factor which may lead to failure if marketing planner unable to address potential problems effectively and Apple is not also escaped from potential problem which may be: Political behaviour: Typically, marketing planning is a resource allocation process by manager. In this allocation process the power base, career opportunities and salaries may bring conflict. Perception of planning: There are different people involve in this planning with different perception and they wishes to apply their perception to construct the plan which may be the cause of conflict. Reward system: The reward system of business emphasize only short term reward. Managers may overweight the short term focuses rather than long term focuses and the marketing plan not only concern with short. Basically, it is concerned with long term which thing may be underweighted by manager and marketing plan is treated as the secondary focus. Cultural clashes: Cultural clash is another potential problem associated with marketing plan because in a business we can get different culture which may be the reason of conflict like as the business may plan by making incremental decision and strategic planning may challenge the status quo. Lack of knowledge and skills: In planning process, the manager may not has the sufficient knowledge in terms of market segmentation, competitive advantages and the nature of strategic objective and lack of skills in terms of analysing competitive situation and defining core strategy which may lead to failure. Lack of information: The systematic marketing planning system needs accurate information inputs in terms of market share, size and growth rates. These are basic inputs into the marketing audit which may unavailable. In order to construct the effective marketing plan marketing manager should overcome from these problems. To overcome from potential problems leading to risk, apple can use Jobbers formulation of remedies which are as follows: Senior management must support the middle management and coordinate with them and must be committed to the planning process. To address cultural clashes, there should be match between planning process and the culture of the business. The reward system should focus on long term objective rather than focusing on the short term. There should be clear communication system in both ways top to down or bottom to top. Management can conduct training program to marketing personnel in order to provide knowledge and skills about to perform the planning job. 2.1 Identifying the levels of importance of each component of the plan. The marketing mix is the set of marketing tools which a business blends to achieve the marketing goals in a defined target market. Effective marketing mix decision ensure that a business is marketing the right product to the right person in the right place and at the right time which is the key success factor of the marketing plan. It helps to gain competitive advantages with considering market segmentation. Basically, there are two frameworks in order to manage effective marketing mix decision at product or service level: 7Ps and 4Cs. Although, Apple may use 7Ps framework in order to manage effective marketing decision which are mentioned below. Product: The iPhone 4 combine three amazing products- a mobile phone, wide screen iPod, and a breakthrough internet deviceinto one small, lightweight, hand held device with the best e-mail ever on a mobile phone, full screen with browsing, multi touch screen, and applications which gives the best experience of smart phone to the consumers. Place: Apple has set the distribution channel which is appropriate and convenient to its targeted customer. It is offering this product not only through its own retail store and online store but it has build channel with other retail store and the network providers which give easy assess to the target customers. Promotion: In order to promote iPhone 4 to the targeted market segment Apple is using several promotional tools like advertising, publicity, direct marketing, internet marketing, Bluetooth marketing etc. which really helps Apple to bust the sales. Apple is using both below the line and above the line promotional strategy. Price: As other organization apple have their own pricing policy and the price of the iPhone 4 is marked according to it. The price of the iPhone may affect by marketing objective, marketing mix strategy, costs, nature and demand of the market, competition and other environmental forces like economy, reseller, government etc. Other components of marketing mix decision are people, process and physical evidence. These components of marketing mix of Apple are well blended; the marketing strategy is well joined with strategy. 2.2 Identifying mitigation strategies for high risk components of the plan of Apple Once marketing mix decisions have been done the marketing plan leads towards action plan. Action plan refers to the specific steps that must be taken and specific activities that must be performed well to achieve designed strategic objectives. It talks about the specific task: what will be done? Who is responsible for doing it? , time horizon: when will it be done? , resource allocation: how much will it be cost? In terms of Apple it has addressed these questions through its market plan to make marketing mix decision towards perform. Apple has set specific task (i.e. sales programmes, promotion programmes) and delegate responsibility to related person (i.e. marketing manager, sales assistance etc) in order to implement marketing mix decision with convenient time bound. Furthermore, in order to implement action plan programme Apple need supporting budget which talks about resource allocation (i.e. cost and revenue). Without supporting marketing budget the action plan can not be completed because it is the most important part of marketing plan. Although, Each and every company have limited resources which may limit actions and Apple has considered it as well. So in terms of producing budget, Apple is aware of how limited resources produce optimum output and it has produced projected income statement for lunching iPhone 4 which gives the around figure of sales revenue which made up of forecasted unit sales and average net price, cost which made up of cost production, physical distribution and marketing and profit margin. Apple also has conducted Breakeven Analysis which determines the sales units where apple in position of neither profit nor loss from the sales of iPhone 4. It can provide additional information for the budgets or financial section of the marketing planning. Apple has used key performance standards like costs/sales ratios, market shares, territory quotes, comparison with competitors in order to monitor the actions programme. 2.3 Producing marketing plan for Apple. Marketing mix framework helps to enlighten consumers needs, how to exploit the competitive advantages that blends the core strategy with marketing mix and this helps to match corporate resources. Apple has set unique blend of product offering, pricing, promotion and distribution system designed to reach at targeted market. The marketing plan of iPhone 4 mainly focus the consumer satisfaction, the key goal of marketing plan, that can be only achieved by designing the marketing mix suitable for the customer groups or market segments. Marketing mix planning requires all possible tools analysis, such as segment analysis, market research and competitor analysis which play vital role in construction of marketing plan. So overall, marketing mix decision significantly contributes to make the effective marketing plan of iPhone4. Market planning process provided a well-defined path from generating a business mission to implementing and controlling the resultant plans for Apple. The typical marketing plan structure is as follows: Section Purpose Executive summary A short overview of the plan for a quick management review: Current marketing situation The marketing audit to present background data on the market,product,competition and distribution SWOT Analysis Identifies the companys main strengths and weakness and the main opportunities and threats facing the product or service Objectives and issues Define the companys objectives in the area of sales. Market share and profits and the issues that will affect these objectives Marketing strategy Presents the broad marketing approach that will be used to achieve the plans objectives Action programmes Specifies what will be done, who will do it. When it will be done and what it will coast Budgets A projected profit and loss statement that forecasts the expected financial outcomes from the plan Controls Indicates how the progress of the plan will be monitored 3.1 Discussing how the plan supports strategic objectives. David Jobber suggested five different organization structures in order to implement a marketing plan namely: no marketing organization, functional organization, product base organization, market centred organization and matrix organization. Out of these five structures, Apple has structured as a product based organization which focus on individual responsibilities to product managers for managing product lines. Specifically Apple focussed for individual product lines and can develop own marketing mix which helps to apple to align marketing plan to strategic objectives. 3.3 Identifying an evaluation and review measures for the agreed plan. The marketing plan is a cycle that begins and ends with evaluation. The final stage of in the marketing plan is to measure the outcome of the marketing activities against the original objectives and targets. Continuous evaluation helps the marketing team to focus on modifying or introducing new activities to achieve objectives. Apple adopted a range of key performance indicator to asses the success of the iPhone 4s marketing plan. Market share: Did the iPhone 4 hit the market share and help to achieve its market share objective? iPhone 4 is market leader of smart phone in some European countries and is consistently gaining market share. Overall sales: Was this in line with objectives? iPhone 4 is increasing sales significantly comparatively to other competitors. It is meeting the expectation line. Brand image ratings: Apple has an extremely positive brand image with consumers compared to other brand. iPhone 4 is able to increase the brand loyalty of Apple which helps to retain the consumer because consumer are getting the best smart phone experience. Profitability: iPhone 4 is significantly contributing Apples profit margin. These results show that the iPhone 4s marketing plan met the overall targets, which was a significant achievement, considering the difficult economic environment. The marketing plan for iPhone 4 used past performance and forecast data to build a new marketing strategy. This built on the brand and companys strength to take advantage of the increasing change of consumer towards smart phone.

Stress, The Invisible Tiger :: miscellaneous

Stress, The Invisible Tiger I was assigned to read the book Fighting Invisible Tigers by Earl Hipp. The reason I was assigned this specific book is because I was at Oconto County Teen Court for fighting at school and told the panel I had an anger problem. This book, I think, was a very good one for me because before reading this book I got angry at very little things, was stressed all the time, and didn’t know how to handle either thing. After reading this, I now know how to handle things that stress me and simply how to look at things differently so I can be happier and life be easier. The first part of the book was the introduction. The main concept of then introduction was to point out that hundreds of young people feel stressed out by live, and I’m not the only one. I thought that was a good point to bring up because at times, when you have so much stress you feel like your all alone and no one can help or would understand. I use to be embarrassed and mad about the idea of going to a counselor because of the common misconception that only crazy people go to them and if you do your weird. After reading the introduction I realized that sometimes you need to let others help you figure out things about you and you cant do it alone. I now look forward to going to counseling, instead of dreading it, because I think of it as a way for me to vent and work on not getting upset so easily. The first section of the book titled â€Å"Life in the Jungle† taught me the history of stress and lots of other things about it. Stress, I learned, is a feeling you get from everyday problems and challenges. When you get the depressed feeling its when you have reached your limit of internal pressure. Internal pressure simply is just the amount of pressure and stresses you can handle. I sort of had an idea that stress could, over a long period of time, mess you up in the head but what I didn’t really realize was that stress can also lead to illness’s, long-term depression, and even bigger problems. Of course with learning about stress came some bad news. There is no easy way or quick way to manage stress, and you cant get rid of stress completely.

Feasibility Analysis

Liability insurance, and especially mall-practice insurance, would be essential to my business. * Neurology is a continuously expanding profession and this trend will most likely continue upward for some time. * Neurological disorders tend to affect the elderly most frequently. Taking this into consideration (along with the retirement of the baby-boomer generation) the demographics of my customers will most likely consist of elderly patients. The Industry & Market * The healthcare industry will almost definitely continue to expand nation-wide. * My market practice is nearly unlimited. I can increase the size of my business by taking on partners, associates, etc. * There would not be much competition to begin with, and If were to be the best, then there would be close to none. * My customer pool would consist of anyone with a neurological disorder.Again, this mostly consists of the elderly. * My potential market penetration is high considering that many communities have a shortage of neurologists. Financial Projections * My pricing would mainly be driven by insurance companies. The likelihood of making a profit is very high considering that most neurologists make between a year. * I am unable to come up with a sales revenue forecast at tans time Owe to tense projections Dealing Tar In ten Utter; out one would need to owe created projecting from the time of startup, to three years down the road. A attention cost forecast, would depend on the cost of labor, fixed costs, malpractice insurance, other variable costs, etc. A specific number is unattainable at this time. * The gross profit of the average neurologist is roughly 15%; the net profit is typically about 7 h So the gross-net profit margin is about half. * The fixed operating expenses would consist of property tax, utilities, equipment, etc. The variable costs would be limited, most likely consisting of hiring additional staff upon expansion. * Taxes would most likely be high, but so would profits.Hence my in come would be gig regardless of taxes. Future Action Plan * The start-up capital needed typically runs around $500,000. * The sources of my start-up capital would most likely consist of loans (from the bank and from my father. ) * A strategic plan must be written specifying any steps that are to be taken but, again, cannot be written at this early a stage. * A business plan must also be written, detailing my practice head-to-toe. This will also be written at a later stage. * On a side note, a business consultant is most likely necessary to insure the success and continued success of my practice.

Overpopulation and Water shortage Essay

Increased life expectancies as a result of advances in science are causing overpopulation. In the west immigration and increased life expectancies are causing overpopulation. This directly translates to various economic and social problems for all the residents in an area due to the increased strain in resources. While there is increased need for other countries to adapt better policies that will improve the living conditions for its residents and curb the need to immigrate, nations have to address the issues that are resulting from overpopulation. These issues arising from overpopulation include starvation due to increased population, reduced food supplies and increased prices of food. In addition there is an increasing danger of water shortages in the world due to overexploitation of water resources. The issue of water shortages also arises from the changing global climatic patterns which have resorted from global warming as a result of climate unfriendly practices such as deforestation from increased need for land to settle on and increased air pollution due to increased number of industries and emissions. Systems such as healthcare have also not been spared from strain due to overpopulation and people are receiving lower quality medical care resulting to more deaths. Environmental degradation and overexploitation of available natural resources is a result of overpopulation. Populations are polluting the environment more by inefficient waste disposal mechanisms and increased air and water pollution. Overpopulation results to overcrowding and increased levels of unemployment which has led to increased poverty, more injustices, violence, hunger and an increase in spreading diseases. Human beings like all other species depend on natural ecosystems self regulating processes for supply of basic life support processes such as the purification of air, decomposition of waste, climate regulation and the supply of water. Water is a natural renewable resource that will automatically self renew. However this is when all other natural processes are held constant. An increase in the population of people living in an area to an amount that will bring a strain to all natural resources is called overpopulation. The integrity of all these ecosystems is compromised by the strain and as a result there is either insufficient water supply or a compromise in the quality of water (Zuckerman & Jefferson, 56) There is a world wide crisis over water. According to the recent report by the United Nations, the problems arising from water shortages cannot be ignored. More than thirty one countries are currently facing dire water shortages. More than a billion of the world’s population is facing water scarcity or is lacking access to clean water for drinking. The reports published by World Bank predict that by 2025, more than two thirds of the world population will have insufficient water (Cooper, 16). The amount of water being consumed is on an upward global trend and is doubling every two decades due to the increasing populations and needs. At the same time, the available water resources are under the constant threat of pollution, depletion and overexploitation in a bid to meet the rising needs. Countries and municipal systems have proved inefficient in the provision of sufficient and safe water to the constantly increasing population. In addition the most crucial aspect to this dilemma is the strain the over population is placing on the existing water resources. Illinois is the fifth largest state in the United States with a population of more than 12. 4 million people. More immigrants are moving to Illinois and experts predict a slow but rapid increase in the state in the future. Illinois has always been thought to have ample water supply. The fact that Lake Michigan has constantly supplied Illinois with water has always given residents security in water supply. Researchers have raised concern over this current trend of affairs and have predicted that in the next fifteen years Illinois will be facing possible water shortage crisis. Cities in the south like Chicago and Bloomington used cooperative agreement with the surrounding California states to limit their water consumption. In the Chicago area, similar to other parts of the continent, awareness on the looming water crisis as experienced by other states in the south has resulted in local and state officials implementing measures that will allow conservation of the fresh water supplies and ensure that water is more efficiently used by the residents (Zuckerman & Jefferson, 64). Illinois as a state has realized the importance of addressing impending water crisis before they become a reality. The solution to the looming water shortages in Illinois were first geared towards increasing the number of water supplies in the state by digging more wells and aquifers. There was an outcry by environmental conservationists and as all the stakeholders began to realize that this approach would not last them long, they initiated a better strategy into the 21st century. This approach is on better management of the already established supplies. To this ideal, numerous water conservation programs have been established at the regional level that are geared towards the application of better water saving approaches at the individual level. In addition they advocate for residents to use water efficient appliances as well as fixtures. The battle over water resources at the Southern states has created awareness among all the US states and the politicians and policy makers have geared their efforts towards addressing the threat of water shortages. Illinois is one of the eight states of United Sates of America which approved the Great Lakes Compact. This is an initiative by the southern states to protect the five great lakes by restricting and regulating access to them thereby ensuring a constant safe supply of water for those Southern Sates in the future. There is a rapid growth in all the towns in Illinois and due to this the demand for water has increased. This has translated to higher water consumption and Illinois is approaching the maximum allotted limit from Lake Michigan. These limits have been in use since 1985 after being decreed by the Supreme Court in 1967. Researches have been analyzing the possibility of utilizing alternative water supplies such as Aquifers for meeting the growing water demands. They discovered that the aquifers would only sustain water use up to 2030 if the populations’ consumption remained stable. Under the growing population strain and the corresponding rising need for more water that would not be enough for sustaining the population (Cooper, 20). Sufficient fresh water which is of good quality is vital for any state to sustain the various people and animals living there. Water is a basic need used for drinking and bathing, irrigation, sustaining fisheries and other crucial services in a state (Shah, 90). There is a global change in the climatic conditions and this has led to the eventual and rapid disappearance of critical ecosystems not only in Bloomington but also in other cities all over the world threatening the continuous supply of water for their increasing populations. The situation at hand in Bloomington is that which is being faced by all the other cities all over the United States. Bloomington city is located in the center of Illinois southwest of Chicago. It is the largest county in Illinois with a population of more than 64. 8 million. Bloomington is the fastest growing city in Illinois and recorded a population growth of more than 20%. There is an increased trend over the last few years due to increased immigration. The city council of Bloomington is working towards the expansion of the Monroe WTPs’ capacity. They are attempting to address this issue by using membrane filtration to bring the additional flow to provide population with sufficient water. Bloomington is major city in Illinois. The main source of drinking water for Bloomington city is Monroe Reservoir. Lake Griffy and Lake Lemon supplement the water supply. In Bloomington, the main regional water conservation body is campaigning for addressing both quality and quantity water issues for Bloomington’s rapidly growing population. Among the recommended strategies they have given to improve the quality of water they are advocating for planting green roofs and eliminating the use of chemical fertilizers. This is because the chemical residues are eventually drained off to the lakes and the water reservoirs. In addition residents are dissuaded from over exploiting fossil fuels and instead using alternative energy (Shah, 102). To address the issue of water shortages the city has focused on implementing measures that will reduce water use for the growing population. They have recommended and are facilitating the implementation of better strategies which will lead the way towards the achievement of a self sustainable biosphere in the light of the increasing population. These include the installation of low flow shower heads, introduction of machines that maximize washing loads, ensuring roof run off is not wasted and is instead used for irrigation and landscaping with native plants that are water efficient. Experts have also advocated for the installation of ultra flow sanitary units, better washing machines and more water efficient sprinkler systems (Shah, 86). The increase in the human population is inevitable and the state and city policy makers have had to address the issue of the increasing strain in natural resources including water. For this approach to be successful, Bloomington like other cities needs to engage a more cyclical approach which will be more efficient and cost effective to ensure long term future sustainability of water resources for its growing population. Bloomington seems to be taking initiative towards implementing this model by an increase in recycling strategies, decreasing the water consumption and toxic releases to the water sources and air. The Bloomington city government seems to have acknowledged the need to do more in regard to establishing initiatives that are addressing the impending overpopulation crisis. To this regard, they have established a commission on sustainability that addresses issues regarding the establishment of policies geared towards conservation of the already available resources. The mayor signed the climate protection agreement and implemented city council resolutions which are Kyoto protocol friendly. These have worked towards reducing the soaring green gas emissions which are targeted towards stabilizing global climatic conditions (Zuckerman & Jefferson, 76). The town needs to increase the North’s supply by incorporating Lake Lemon and Lake Griffy as well as the Bean Blossom Creek. This would only be more slightly expensive than the current model and would supply water to a larger region and would serve as a better supply alternative for Lake Monroe. Other sources that would end the impending crisis would include investing in ground water supplies. Aquifers in the north would supplement the water supply but this would require an intensive study and analysis to ensure that they are a safe alternative for sully of water for consumption. Both of these approaches would ensure reliability in supply but in the light of the growing populations there is need to do more to ensure that these supplies will be consistent and will supply water for the populations. More crucial to implementing any conservation approach is the need to create water awareness campaigns for the residents. There is need to translate the soaring water costs and the reasons behind it so that communities can actively participate in implementing the recommended approaches. REFERENCES Ben Zuckerman & David Jefferson, Human Population and the Environmental Crisis, New York: Jones & Bartlett Publishers, 1996, 18-78. Anup Shah, Ecology and the Crisis of Overpopulation: Future Prospects for Global Sustainability, Northampton: Edward Elgar publishers, 1998, 86-162. Mary H Cooper, Water Shortages: Is There Enough Fresh Water for Everyone? , Washington: CQ Press, 2003, 16-35.

The Fall of Communism essays

The Fall of Communism essays Politics and Government in central and Eastern Europe. In this essay, I will examine what Communism is, the factors that have led to the collapse of Communism and how Communism collapsed in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. Communism is a political philosophy based upon the principle of collective ownership of both property and the means of production. Communists therefore, view history from the perspective of class struggle and seek to establish a classless society, or in its most ideal form a "dictatorship of the proletariat."1 The idea of a communal society, a fundamental element of communist thought, is not knew, but dates back to the ancient Greeks and was advanced by Plato in his philosophical work the Republic and T. More's Utopia in 1516, which promoted the idea of a communal society. The Industrial Revolution and the severe economic hardships suffered by workers, however, gave rise to socialism in the late 18th and early 19th centuries and modern communism emerged from the socialist movement, first as a radical wing of socialism and finally in early twentieth century as a separate and distinct ideology of revolution and collective ownership. The fundamental rivalry between communist and capitalist societies has been a factor in world history since the creation of the first Communist State, the USSR, and therefore, since one was destined to collapse at the end, Communism collapsed. There are many factors which have contributed, over the years, to the collapse of communism, such as the Soviet economic stagnation, the political corruption and the lack of reforms, but the actual collapse of Communism is mainly due to Gorbachev's radical reforms and this is what I am going to focus on. The momentous changes that took place in the Soviet Union under the leadership of Mikhail Gorbachev are usually described by two Russian words: glasnost and perestroika. The terms glasnost and perestroika came into common use ...

Personal Identity, piece of diary

Personal Identity, piece of diary Dear DiaryToday in class we had a brief discussion of what personal identity is. I didn't get a chance to speak out my thoughts and opinions so I felt like to share it with you.Personal identity is what I see myself as, positively or negatively.It could be argued but most people think they are at what called the 'Good' side even though he is a brutal killer. Word from a retired warden. Over 80% of the prisoners ready to be executed still believes they are innocent.The way one sees things and their judgement is varied by ones own personal identity. This is the combination, result of many factors. Like the majority of our physical appearances is already destined since the moment of our conception, of course, there are also other factors such as nutrition and environment.Everyone's personal identity should be changing everyday, every moment by the building up of their intelligence and experiences.THE IdentityIn the earlier stage, our personal identity is solely from our parents. This in cludes: heredity, culture background and the environment. As you grow older, fewer influences will come from your parents but more from your friends, peers and teacher. Due to the fact most people want a place to belong to (not necessary be a location), and want to have friends, we'll sometimes alter our decision and benefits to just fit into a group.When getting into the middle age, the biggest influences will probably come from your work, religion and friends still. As you can see friend plays a very big part in everyone's life.Personal identity plays a major part in my quest for self-knowledge, but its up to me to choose my own identity.God created all men equally, but it is up to us to determine whom we...

Spanish Beach Vocabulary

Spanish Beach Vocabulary Whats your idea of the perfect vacation? For many people, its spending days on the beach, listening to the waves pounding on the sand. And if youre a beach lover, sooner or later youll find yourself where Spanish is spoken. Before you head out, here is some vocabulary you can become acquainted with.  ¡Buen viaje! la arena - sandla bahà ­a - bayel balnerario - spa, resortel baà ±ador - swimsuit, swimming trunksel bikini, el biquini - bikiniel bloque del sol, el bronceador - sunscreen, suntan lotionel buceo, bucear - diving, to diveel bungalow - bungalowel cayo - key (island)el esnorquel, el esnorkel, buceo con tubo de respiracià ³n - snorkelingla isla - islandel lago - lakenadar - to swimel ocà ©ano - oceanla ola - wavela palapa - beachside building with a grass roofla piscina - swimming poolla playa - beachel puerto - portla puesta de sol - sunsetla sombrilla - beach umbrellael surf, hacer surf - surfing, to surfel traje de baà ±o - swimsuitla vista al mar - sea or ocean view Vocabulary Notes Hacer sustantivo: It is fairly common in Spanish when importing words to use the construction hacer followed by a noun for the verb form. For example, Spanish has imported the word surf as the general word for surfing. To make the verb form, use hacer surf, literally to do surfing. Another common use of this construction can be found frequently on Web pages, where haga clic aquà ­ is used for click here. Nadar: This verb is used in a number of idiomatic phrases. One of the colorful ones is nadar y guardar la ropa, literally to swim and keep ones clothing, translated as to have it both ways or to have ones cake and eat it too. Other common phrases are nadar entre dos aguas, to sit on the fence, and nadar contra corriente, to swim against the current. Wave: When speaking of a wave in the ocean or another body of water, the word ola is used. But when speaking of a wave in hair or in the physics sense, the word onda is used. Thus a microwave oven is un horno de microondas. There is no specific verb for to wave as in waving a hand; common phrases are saludar con la mano for a simple wave of the hand or despedirse de alguià ©n con la mano for waving goodbye.

Gambling Casinos Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Gambling Casinos - Research Paper Example The city attracted more and more people looking for work, and jobs were plentiful. It became a place where divorce could be obtained very quickly, which added to the lure of the economy. It also became a major tourist attraction of people interested in watching the construction progress of a massive dam. It was a way for the city to raise tax revenue. The first casino/resort to be built was the El Rancho in 1941, which started a booming industry that replaced mining and farming as the number one industry by 1950. Looking at Las Vegas today, it is still a thriving economic marvel. Residents are lured by the No State Income Taxes, increasingly newer homes, great climate year round, easy access to highways and good roads, great public schools, and state-of-the-art hospitals. The allure of a good job market, hiking and water sports, and just the prospect of a better life bring approximately 5,000 new people a month. It also loses 1,000 people a month, however, these numbers are based on vacationers. The growth of the city has been from legalized gambling and casinos. Gambling, wagering and betting bring in millions of dollars to Las Vegas and it’s one of the major reasons people migrate there. Other major Casinos are in New Jersey, Mississippi, and Pennsylvania. New Jersey was the second state to legalize casino gambling in 1978. This move helped to revitalize the resort area known as Atlantic City, and it was a success. Gambling has always been a subjective issue in the United States. Supporters argue that it increases revenues to the state and local economies in addition to promoting jobs and recreational benefits. History shows that the economic benefits greatly outweigh the detrimental side of casino gambling People who are opposed to casino gambling cite higher crime rates, gambling addiction and moral issues. Other less mentioned arguments are erosion of work ethics and traffic congestion. Some of these points can be measured in dollars lost in the for m of more police, increased legal and prison costs, the cost of social services for compulsive gambling, lost job production, and costs for traffic control. However, the damage that is done to persons and families cannot be measured. According to Terry Rephann with the Allegany College of Maryland casino gaming is more popular among older and more affluent people. Using Minnesota as an example, gamblers are drawn mostly from within the state to the Indian Casinos. The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988 made if possible for the Native American Tribes to negotiate Class III gaming compacts within their own states. They are allowed to operate full-scale casinos. Thus, in the last decade it has become a viable means of stimulating the economy, lowering unemployment and increasing tax revenues to local and state governments. Among other benefits, it has allowed Native Americans to greatly improve the quality of their lives. It has improved their schools, housing, jobs and income. Casin os attract tourism, increase business to other businesses in the area as well as lift the tax burden on the residents of the community. In economically depressed areas, casinos are seen as a sure way to draw tourists and create new jobs. Native Americans also have misgivings about the social ills that come with gambling. Chris Pearson, who is a member of the Mashantucket Pequot tribe says, â€Å"Native Americans are very spiritual people, and we don’

Identifying 2 Potential Apps Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Identifying 2 Potential Apps - Research Paper Example This will need a group of twelve people to work on the project. This application will execute in advanced phones like those that use operating systems such as android, I Operating systems; windows mobile and HP web OS. This is because it supports portable executive format that is a property of .net framework. They also provide IDE (integrated development environment) and free SDK. This application is coded in advanced programming languages such as html, CSS, JavaScript, C, and C++. Since this application is web based, .net languages are the most suitable. This application queries the school database and gives the feedback via the phone. For this to work the apps must communicate with the server that stores all the information about the students. The school database must be updated regularly so that information send is updated. Other details about the student are also monitored so that the system becomes more user-friendly There two ways in which the app will function. The first one is through the web. In this the application is installed on the phone. To use it, you load the application just like the normal web page in the phone and it will display a form where you enter the student’s details for example the admission number, level of study and name then you submit. This can be made possible by interconnecting the app program with the school website or it can be stand alone. The other methods that the application can work are through the mobile phone features like the SMS and the MMS. For this to work you agree with the network providers in that particular region such that they facilitate the connection. The parent just composes an SMS containing the details of the student and sent to a specific number. Then network provider will query the database using the same app and gives the results to the parent as part of their network services. Andriessen and Matti 65. The applications that

Ethical Dilemma in Admission Criteria for Nursing School Essay

Ethical Dilemma in Admission Criteria for Nursing School - Essay Example This paper stresses that  the dilemma concerning students’ perspective in admission into nursing schools are caused by costs, expected benefits, and the lengthy of the application process. Nursing education requires a variety of technology and equipment for study. These equipments are costly to buy and maintain. As a result, the institutions of nursing are forced to charge high fees to in order to cover the costs of buying learning equipment and paying highly specialized instructors. Students have to decide whether join or avoid the nursing school costs. Avoiding the costs may lead to short-run savings among the students, but they will miss the opportunities of reaping the long-run benefits from the nursing profession. Similarly, decision to join the college may be associated with a lot of sacrifice to meet the fees requirements.  Thiis discussion highlights that  students believe that nursing courses expose them to comparatively higher paying jobs. However, students are also aware pursuing nursing courses requires extensive reading and sacrificing. Interested students may not be able to decide whether to sacrifice their life for future greater benefits or avoid the pain associated with studying and use the time to study less demanding courses while simultaneously doing other income generating activities. Additionally, the process of joining nursing colleges is lengthy and expensive since students have to pass the stipulated preliminary tests.  

Security issues involved with the transition of IPv4 to IPv6 Research Paper

Security issues involved with the transition of IPv4 to IPv6 - Research Paper Example This helps them stay connected to their colleagues or bosses at work as on the other hand helping them solve minor home based problems by use of the internet resources. As a matter of fact, many people are adopting the work from home formula from the benefit of readily available internet supply. This kind of technological change makes the internet a reliable resource on a varied range of applications. Above all, the internet is now one of the main channels of communication. For instance, business people use it to transfer information on their transactions and governments use it for conducting administrative functions. However, many governments are struggling to strengthen its security levels every new day. According to Hinden and Deering in the publication IP Version 6 Addressing Architecture 2006, it is true to state that the internet is a significant resource for the entire world. Below the application layer, where the above mentioned internet services are out in the open to the en d user, the network comprises of a number of routers, servers and other network enabled devices which transfer information/data by use of standard set of protocols. ... This leads to the security issues that link to the set standards of protocols in the networking systems. Today the generation of Internet Protocol is the IPV4 which is in existence since the 80’s. It plays a role in the internet growth since then. This internet protocol can be effortlessly installed and is interoperable using 32 bit address space to contain approximately 4 billion unique addresses. However, as the internet is growing rapidly, the IPV4 is facing a lot of challenges which include forthcoming exhaustion of the IPV4 address space, security issues, configuration problems and other technical complications at the IP stage. The IPV4 suffers Denial of Service (DOS) attacks which is an action to make the computer resource unavailable to its set users. This happens in flooding the target host with requests, consequently stopping authenticate network traffic to access the host. The IPV4 is a target for viruses and worms transfer as a result of the exhaustible address spac e of the IPV4. The IPV4 exposes confidential data of end users to attackers and hackers who can easily modify without their knowledge. The IPV4 faces fragmentation attacks where the victim host can crash, hang or reboot as a result of the fragmented ICMP packets that exceed the total allowable size for IP data address. There are technological ways to control the above mentioned security issues in connection with IPV4. The transition of IPV4 to IPV6 is one of the ways that involves the end users, administrators and the network operators (Sotillo 5). However, this transition comes with its own security issues. This transition process is conducted to ensure modest disturbance occurs in executing hosts and routers

Extended Service Encounter Reflective Journal Essay

Extended Service Encounter Reflective Journal - Essay Example The term ‘service encounter’ refers to ‘the contact situation between service customer and service firm when the service is being created’ (Se? Ler, 2009, p. 4), and as such is ‘one of the most central and controversial concepts in the service marketing literature’ (Grillmair, 2008, p. 4). The service encounter is important because customer perception is created by their most vivid impression of the service that takes place during the service encounter. There are three types of service encounters: episodic, consisting of a single occurrence producing a single revenue stream for the business, and a defined service duration; extended, which consists of an episodic service encounter but allowing for multiple service types; and continuous, which consists of multiple occurrences with multiple revenue streams, with an undefined service duration, multiple episodic or extended service encounters, and a relational exchange focus (Hume & McColl-Kennedy, 1 998). In this discussion, the aim is to create a diary of service encounters in the course of an extended service encounter. ... ement product requiring intimate participation of the customer in the process); (2) the pleasantness or unpleasantness which the customer felt for the duration of the service encounter; and (3) the lasting impression derived by the customer from the encounter. While it is true that all of us react to service encounters, not all of us react in the same way because of differences in cultural backgrounds, psychological make-up, and personal circumstances that make each of us unique (Grillmair, 2008). Therefore for the purpose of this study, there will be no better subject than this writer, to describe the feelings and impressions garnered during the exercise. I shall provide a service encounter journal of an experience I myself had undertaken, describing actions, thoughts and feelings that shaped the service encounter. Thereafter, the journal entries shall be analysed on a per-event basis, to break down the service encounter experience and later integrate them into a holistic account of what it takes for a customer to be satisfied. 2. The Service Provider Days Hotel is a popular chain of hotels that has established a global presence. Noted for its ‘affordable luxury’ and ‘ambience of carefully cultured elegance,’ the hotel is pleasantly appointed, unpretentiously four-star, and makes one feel at home with a modest kind of comfort. This local subsidiary is a take-off from its parent company, Days Inn of America, but it has evolved into an establishment that embodies both the warm hospitality of the locality and the service quality for which the brand is known. The company slogan is: â€Å"We make your day.† This is apparently a witty use of the word ‘day’ which comprises the hotel’s brand, while at the same time conveying in a simple and straightforward manner

Development Economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Development Economics - Essay Example Conversely, macroeconomics is a broader view of economy and its effect is identified in the entire nation and in the international market as a whole. Besides, it is the analysis of a country’s economic performance and structure along with the government policies affecting the economic condition (McConnell & et al., 2009). In many developing nations, economic issues faced by the inhabitants of a society and a business are in terms of distribution of scared resources. Inequity and development is the key issues in any economy in which inequity refers to differences in income or wealth, consumption and other variable that are related to the social welfare. In this context, inequity has emerged as the central problem for every economy that threatens the upward mobility of a nation (Chilosi, 2010). Correspondingly, the essay highlights the development issue in relation to the high level of inequity problem in an economy. The most possible effect of inequality in the development along with the possible remedial measure to eradicate the inequality will also be discussed. Furthermore, the analysis helps to have a better understanding about the economic issue of inequality and its possible impact on the economic development of the nations. The concept of inequality is based on a multidimensional approach that refers to the comparability of elements. This comparability is done between specific characteristics, which are measure with adequate indices and indexes. Difficulty arises when the concept are been framed in the societal context, which ultimately creates economic problem. As stated above, the concept of inequality is related to the differences in income, consumption and other components of social welfares. In some of the nations, top earners enjoy larger part of overall distribution of wealth and gains, whereas the others are having little shares. Growing level of

Extended Service Encounter Reflective Journal Essay

Extended Service Encounter Reflective Journal - Essay Example The term ‘service encounter’ refers to ‘the contact situation between service customer and service firm when the service is being created’ (Se? Ler, 2009, p. 4), and as such is ‘one of the most central and controversial concepts in the service marketing literature’ (Grillmair, 2008, p. 4). The service encounter is important because customer perception is created by their most vivid impression of the service that takes place during the service encounter. There are three types of service encounters: episodic, consisting of a single occurrence producing a single revenue stream for the business, and a defined service duration; extended, which consists of an episodic service encounter but allowing for multiple service types; and continuous, which consists of multiple occurrences with multiple revenue streams, with an undefined service duration, multiple episodic or extended service encounters, and a relational exchange focus (Hume & McColl-Kennedy, 1 998). In this discussion, the aim is to create a diary of service encounters in the course of an extended service encounter. ... ement product requiring intimate participation of the customer in the process); (2) the pleasantness or unpleasantness which the customer felt for the duration of the service encounter; and (3) the lasting impression derived by the customer from the encounter. While it is true that all of us react to service encounters, not all of us react in the same way because of differences in cultural backgrounds, psychological make-up, and personal circumstances that make each of us unique (Grillmair, 2008). Therefore for the purpose of this study, there will be no better subject than this writer, to describe the feelings and impressions garnered during the exercise. I shall provide a service encounter journal of an experience I myself had undertaken, describing actions, thoughts and feelings that shaped the service encounter. Thereafter, the journal entries shall be analysed on a per-event basis, to break down the service encounter experience and later integrate them into a holistic account of what it takes for a customer to be satisfied. 2. The Service Provider Days Hotel is a popular chain of hotels that has established a global presence. Noted for its ‘affordable luxury’ and ‘ambience of carefully cultured elegance,’ the hotel is pleasantly appointed, unpretentiously four-star, and makes one feel at home with a modest kind of comfort. This local subsidiary is a take-off from its parent company, Days Inn of America, but it has evolved into an establishment that embodies both the warm hospitality of the locality and the service quality for which the brand is known. The company slogan is: â€Å"We make your day.† This is apparently a witty use of the word ‘day’ which comprises the hotel’s brand, while at the same time conveying in a simple and straightforward manner

Scientific method Essay Example for Free

Scientific method Essay 1. Epistemology: The theory of knowledge in sociology it is used to refer to the procedures by which sociological knowledge is acquired. The theory of knowledge especially with regard to its methods validity and scope and the dis? nc? on between jus ed belief and opinion. 2. How sociologists conduct their study Interpre? vist Posi? vist Sociologists need to use di%erent ways of ?nding out about the world Seeks to apply the same methods that are used by the natural sciences : RESEARCH. BASED ON LOGIC AND METHOD The study of the ways in which people understand and interpret the world in which they live Use theory to generate hypotheses Interpre? vists wish to understand human behaviour by reconstruc? ng the meanings that people have associated with social situa? ons in which they have found themselves and with their own ac? ons Posi? vists seek to explain human behaviour by reference to social forces ac? ng upon people Interpre? Vist Approaches Posi? vist Approaches  important to think about di%erences in suicidal behaviour between di%erent groups of men He wanted to demonstrate how even this most individual of acts is shaped by social forces the need to research suicide sociologically, and that we need to collect qualita? ve as well as quan? ta? ve data on this topic. Posi? vism: Can deal only with observable things and that phenomena in any form have to be studied in a scien c manner. It does not take in account of the individual’s interpreta? on of the situa? on.

Promotional Mix Used By Two Selected Organisations Marketing Essay

Promotional Mix Used By Two Selected Organisations Marketing Essay Sales promotion tend to be thought of as being all promotions apart from advertising, personal selling, and public relations. For example the BOGOF promotion, or Buy One Get One Free. Others include couponing, money-off promotions, competitions, free accessories (such as free blades with a new razor), introductory offers (such as buy digital TV and get free installation), and so on. Each sales promotion should be carefully costed and compared with the next best alternative. 3. Public Relations (PR). Public Relations is defined as the deliberate, planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain mutual understanding between an organization and its publics (Institute of Public Relations). It is relatively cheap, but certainly not cheap. Successful strategies tend to be long-term and plan for all eventualities. All airlines exploit PR; just watch what happens when there is a disaster. The pre-planned PR machine clicks in very quickly with a very effective rehearsed plan. 4. Direct Mail. Direct mail is very highly focussed upon targeting consumers based upon a database. As with all marketing, the potential consumer is defined based upon a series of attributes and similarities. Creative agencies work with marketers to design a highly focussed communication in the form of a mailing. The mail is sent out to the potential consumers and responses are carefully monitored. For example, if you are marketing medical text books, you would use a database of doctors surgeries as the basis of your mail shot. 5. Trade Fairs and Exhibitions. Such approaches are very good for making new contacts and renewing old ones. Companies will seldom sell much at such events. The purpose is to increase awareness and to encourage trial. They offer the opportunity for companies to meet with both the trade and the consumer. Expo has recently finish in Germany with the next one planned for Japan in 2005, despite a recent decline in interest in such events. 6. Advertising. Advertising is a paid for communication. It is used to develop attitudes, create awareness, and transmit information in order to gain a response from the target market. There are many advertising media such as newspapers (local, national, free, trade), magazines and journals, television (local, national, terrestrial, satellite) cinema, outdoor advertising (such as posters, bus sides). 7. Sponsorship. Sponsorship is where an organization pays to be associated with a particular event, cause or image. Companies will sponsor sports events such as the Olympics or Formula One. The attributes of the event are then associated with the sponsoring organization. Coke Product The Coca-Cola formula is The Coca-Cola Companys secret recipe for Coca-Cola. As a publicity marketing strategy started by Robert W. Woodruff, the company presents the formula as one of the most closely held trade secrets ever and only a few employees know or have access to. This Coca-Cola formula appears to be the original formula to Coca-Cola. It is from the book For God, Country and Coca-Cola. The company Coca-Cola is a multinational and it is not limited to one product. Through the years they have invented and introduced many products than their main cola drinks. The list of Coca-cola brands are as follows: Appletiser Aquarius BPM Energy Barqs Beat soda Beverly Cannings Cheers Ciel Fanta And up to 70 different brands ! Pepsi Product The Pepsi-Cola drink contains basic ingredients found in most other similar drinks including carbonated water, high fructose corn syrup, sugar, colourings, phosphoric acid, caffeine, citric acid and natural flavours. The caffeine free Pepsi-Cola contains the same ingredients but no caffeine. Some of the different and varied brands of Pepsi are as follows: All Sport Aquafina Caffeine-Free Pepsi Crystal Pepsi Diet Pepsi Gatorade Izze Jazz Josta Kas Up to 40 different brands ! Coke vs. Pepsi-Product As seen above both the companies Coke and Pepsi have a number of products. Many of these products are innovations but there are also many products which are brought out just as a competitive product for the other companies. Some of these products that are brought in the market by both the companies to compete against each other are as follows: Coke Pepsi The main dark cola drink of the company which started the rivalry between these companies. Pepsi version of dark cola which is the major primary competitor to Coke. Full Throttle is an energy drink brand produced by The Coca-Cola Company. It debuted in late 2004 in North America. AMP is an energy drink produced and distributed by PepsiCo under the Mountain Dew soft drink brand. Vault is a carbonated beverage that was released by The Coca-Cola Company in June 2005. Mountain Dew MDX is an energy drink manufactured and distributed by PepsiCo under the Mountain Dew brand. It was introduced in 2005. PowerAde is a sports drink by The Coca-Cola Company and currently number two in the sports drink market worldwide. Gatorade is a non-carbonated sports drink marketed by Quaker Oats Company, a division of PepsiCo. Originally made for athletes, it is now often consumed as a snack beverage. Sprite is a clear, lemon-lime flavoured, non-caffeinated soft drink, produced by the Coca-Cola Company. It was introduced to the United States in 1961. 7 Up is a brand of a lemon-lime flavoured soft drink. Minute Maid is a product line of beverages, usually associated with orange juice, but now extends to soft drinks of many kinds. The Minute Maid company is now owned by Coca-Cola, and is the worlds largest marketer of fruit juices and drinks. It is headquartered in Houston, Texas. Tropicana Products is an American company based in Bradenton, Florida, USA, which is one of the worlds largest producers and marketers of orange juice. It has been owned by PepsiCo, Inc. since 1998. Nestea is a brand of iced tea manufactured and distributed by the Nestle companys beverage department in the United States, and by Coca-Cola in several European countries, Brazil and Venezuela. Lipton Original Iced Tea is a ready-to-drink iced tea brand sold by Lipton through a worldwide partnership with Pepsi. Coke Price Coke was a company ruling the markets before Pepsi entered. Earlier the price of coke was cost based i.e. it was decided on the cost which was spent on making the product plus the profit and other expenses. But after the emergence of other companies especially the likes of Pepsi, Coca-cola started with a pricing strategy based on the basis of competition. Nowadays more expenses are spent on advertising my soft-drink companies rather than on manufacturing. Coke has brought in a revolution especially in Indian markets with the Rs. 5 pricing strategy which was very famous. It was the first company to introduce the small bottle of Coke for just Re.5. This campaign was very successful especially with the price conscious Indian consumers. Even today most prices of Coke are decided on the basis of the competition in the market. Pepsi Price Pepsi again decides it price on the basis of competition. The best think about the company Pepsi is that it is very flexible and it can come down with the price very quickly. The company is renowned to bring the price down even up to half if needed. But this risk taking attitude has also earned Pepsi losses. Though lowering the price would attract the customers but it would not help them cover up the cost incurred in production hence causing them losses. This was the situation earlier but now Pepsi is a full-fledged and growing company. It has covered all its losses and is now growing at a rapid rate. Coke Place Coke is a multinational company and it has its market around the entire world. Pepsi Place Pepsi again has spread worldwide. Pepsi when entering a new market does not go in alone but it looks for partners and mergers. Till now Pepsi has collaborated with companies like Quaker Oats, Frito-lays, Lipton, Starbucks, etc. Pepsi like Coke has spread all over the world. It is because of this worldwide spread that now it is coming up with Advertisements which can be broadcasted in the different nations in the world. The recent example with would be the Pepsi advertisements having David Beckham as it brand ambassador. Promotion Both the companies Pepsi and coke are famous for their promotions. The rivalry was first started when Pepsi started with its blind taste tests known as the Pepsi Challenge. The challenge is designed to be a direct response to critics who allege that Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola are identical drinks, with no meaningful differences. The challenge takes the form of a taste test. At malls, shopping centers and other public locations, a Pepsi representative sets up a table with two blank cups, one containing Pepsi and one with Coke. Shoppers are encouraged to taste both colas, and then select which drink they prefer. Then the representative reveals the two bottles so the taster can see whether they preferred Coke or Pepsi. If Pepsi is revealed, the shopper is given a small prize. The implication is that Pepsi tastes better than Coke, and thus consumers should purchase Pepsi. In blind taste tests, more consumers prefer the taste of Pepsi to that of Coca-Cola. Because Coke was the historical leader, more people expected that theyd prefer and select Coke. Their surprise at picking Pepsi in the blind taste test (products were served in unmarked cups) helped change their minds about which product they prefer. Capturing this on film, Pepsi turned this into a memorable TV campaign that lasted many years. Also ad-campaigns are put up on the television by both the players. Mainly Pepsi is the company sponsoring most cricket telecasts happening in India and spends most of its revenue in that field. Nowadays both Coke and Pepsi are going in for Brand Ambassadors to promote their product. These brand ambassadors are famous people who usually people idolize and people can relate to them. A list of Celebrities that are brand ambassadors for the cola companies are as follows. These celebrities are not only asked to work in the advertisements but they also have to use the product promoted by them and they should not use the companies rivals pr P3: explain the role of advertising agencies and the media in the development of a successful promotional campaign Introduction In this assignment I must explain the reasons behind the choice of media in a successful promotional campaign. There are a lot of choices    that need to be made before setting up an promotional campaign. And if you want to make it successful, you have to make the right choices. Im going to find out in this assignment what the choices were for the Mercedes-Benz A-Class promotional campaign, and if they were the right choices. Theory Full service agencies          A full-service agency offers their clients a full range of marketing, communications , promotion services including planning, creating and producing the advertising,    they do the research and                select the media. Full-service agencies also offer non-advertising services. For example: strategic    marketing planning, production of sales promotion and sails training Specialty Agencies A specialty agency is one that either works with a particular industry such as medical, education, financial, insurance. They also work with a particular function like the internet, research, public relations etcetera. In-House Agencies Some companies have set up their own advertising agencies.   They do this to reduce costs and maintain greater control. Advantages    * Advertising agencies do all the work for you.    * They have a lot of knowledge and experience.    * The money you will invest will pay of (if the campaign is an success) Disadvantages    * Agencies cost a lot of money.    * If the campaign will fail, you will lose your money.    * You do not have full control. Evidence Product or Service Mercedes A-Class 180. Jung von Matt, a German advertising agency was founded in 1991. Today, the advertising agency offers a complete repertoire of marketing communication services: brand identity, direct marketing, events, film, literature, media, music, online, public relations, planning and, as always, advertising Characters, Theme, Focus of Appeal , Innovation In this commercial they only use the car as a character. The theme of the commercial is very futuristic and full of power. Its because of the dubstep song that makes it that way. In the beginning they only show specific parts of the car and play slow music, and then they show the whole car and play loud music.    This is very emotional because it gives you an adrenaline rush. Thats because of the dubstep music, the speed, the dark environment and the lightning. Its so cool.    The innovation is that its so futuristic. Its the first commercial that uses dubstep music. Increase in sales    Brand awareness    Competitive position    Consumer perception This car is released September 15th, 2012 so its new. But this car is so wanted that in June 2012 they already had 50,000 orders for this car.    Brand AwarenessMercedes-Benz is an well-known brand worldwide, but this gave the brand a more younger image.                The Rivals of the car are the BMW 1 series and the Audi A3. The price of this A-Class is higher than the other cars. But according to several reviews the car is worth its price.                This campaign created an whole new image for Mercedes-Benz. Mercedes-Benz was always known as an old brand. But this car and its campaign gave the brand an whole new younger image. Conclusion In this assignment Ive learned that it takes a lot to make choices. You have to do a lot of research and you must be sure that you have made the right choices. If you do not do that there is a chance that your promotional campaign will fail and you will lose your money. P5: explain the reasons behind the choice of media in a successful promotional campaignhttp://avantisport.nl/images/wysiwyg_uploads/images/nike-logo.jpg NIKE Just Do It http://avantisport.nl/images/wysiwyg_uploads/images/nike-logo.jpg Nike is the worlds Number 1 marketer of athletic footwear and the Nike swoosh logo to symbolize all Nike wear and became a symbol all known around the world. Nike is the leader in sportswear. Nike has been using the same logo ever since they established the famous swoosh. Not only does Nike have one of the most famous logo but Nike also has one of the most recognized slogans around: Just Do It I think that Nikes power to sell comes from the desire for cultural influences and athletic accomplishment. These desires come together in the hearts of consumers and give an undeniable need they got to have it for apparel. Nikes makes use of top athletes promoting their products appeal to countless ages and acts as a way to identify with and emulate their athletic heroes. These works powerfully upon the individual consumer. Nike promotes its products by sponsoring agreements with athletes, professional teams and college athletic teams. Nike is promoting itself as a brand that sells quality-designed goods. It is because of this extensive advertising and many sponsorship programs that Nikes products are priced higher than its competitors products.   Nikes focus has always been on athletes and has always used premiere athletes to help promote its products. It started off with Steve Prefontaine in the 60s wearing Nike running shoes. In the early eighties, Nike wanted to really grow and become a player in the sport of basketball. At the time, Converse we endorsing two of the NBAs biggest stars, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. Nike took a chance on a young rookie who eventually became the greatest on earth. Nike created a signature shoe for the Chicago Bulls rookie guard called the Air Jordan. This was the best investment Nikes has and probably ever will make. Because of Michael Jordan being the most popular player in the league, the hype and demand of this shoe was unbelievable. Tinker Hatfield designed the shoe and he spurred the basketball shoe industry to new heights. The introduction of the Air Jordan line helped to create new lines of basketball shoes, including the Air Force and Air Flight lines of basketball shoes and apparel. Also, a new innovative technology was a layer of air cushioning in their shoes; this was truly a differential factor for Nike when placed in comparison with other shoe companies. Nikes Air Jordan shoe was the best selling and most popular basketball shoe on the market. The Air Jordan shoe reached a point in the mid-nineties. According to Donald R. Katz, when a small picture of Michael Jordan at practice wearing different shoes sparked a booming inquiry all over Chicago. One store alone received over 300 phone calls asking if they had the shoes in stock.   From the popularity of the Air Jordan, and innovative styles and colors of Nike, a sub-culture of shoe collectors was born. These people search miles and miles and often camp out for these Limited Edition shoes. Nike, knowing that this market exists, will make very limited release of some special shoes known as quick strike or hyper strike editions to cater to this group. These shoes include retro version of styles, the 360 Hybrids, Paul Rodriguez, Rejuvenations, Clerk packs, and many more. Because theses shoes are released in limited quantities and the demand is so high, Nike can sell these shoes at enormous profits. Nike CEO Phil Knight is not slowing down as he continually signs new colleges on as Nike endorsed schools, current and up in coming star athletes. Nike has reached a point where they can count on the Nike name promoting itself, Nike believes, If you have a body, you are an athlete. And as long as there are athletes, there will be a need for Nike ! P5: design a promotional campaign for a given product/service to meet the needs of a given campaign/creative brief. Aims and Objectives Every business has aims that they want to achieve, they might be overall goals and purposes that the business was set up to fulfil. So here below you see my aims and my objectives : Making a profit †¢ Providing goods or services to the local or wider community †¢ Maximising sales or improving the quality of a product service †¢ Being environmentally friendly Choice of media Spoken, written, or broadcast communication including television, radio, advertising, movies, newspapers, magazines, books, cell phones and the Internet is a mass media that affects our society and ourselves. The most widespread form of this communication media is television and Internet. As we all know advertising costs a lot of money so I will need to advertise on channels that my target group would look on. My target group are people between 18-32 years old mostly females so it would be smart to advertise especially on fashion and music channels such as: MTV and MCM.. For internet advertising I would use Google.inc and Facebook as two biggest internet advertising agencies in the world . As I already said my target group are people between 18-32 years old and mostly females. So in this case it would be smart to advertise on topics and sites that have something to do with music and fashion . And of course billboards. In my opinion billboards are not the best way to advertise because you see limited variety of information and often its not enough for the customer.. But the reason of my choice is based on next thought : if people see some billboards outside with Ice cream galore on it even with limited but interesting information on it they will get back home and search on the internet for extensive information . And that is exactly what I need. Promotional plan Promotional tools Advertising Print advertising such as that in programs for events, trade journals, magazines, newspapers Direct mail Outdoor advertising, such as billboards and bus boards Broadcast advertising on radio and TV (or Internet sites) Produce and distribute materials such as: brochures newsletters flyers posters Of course I will make sure that my package design will be informative and catchy. (For a service business, the design of my company collateral and, most importantly, the appearance of me and my staff.) Promotional Activities Sponsoring special events (like fun runs) Participation in community projects and boards of directors Trade Shows Your product or service might be one that is suited Trade shows are one- or two- day events that allow businesses to set show cast their products or capabilities. Fairs (like Health Fairs, Job Fairs) Give-aways (like caps and shirts with my logo) Coupons and free samples Conducting contests A campaign is overall plan for contacting and staying in touch with targeted members of the media (reporters). I may want to develop a media relations campaign if it would benefit my company to be mentioned in newspapers or magazine that are viewed by my target group people. Costs Hereunder some advertising costs : Google : à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬500 one-off paying amount for Google Ad-words. The cost for the continuous and intensive optimization of your Google AdWords campaign from à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ 69 per week.(It can be more depends on the services and options you want to have.) Facebook Ads Cost Models When advertising on Facebook you can choose between two cost models: CPC: Cost per click CPM: Cost per thousand impressions CPC simply means that you pay when someone clicks on the ad while CPM means that you pay for each 1,000 people who have seen it. Both cost models use a bidding system an auction and the cost depends on what other advertisers are willing to pay for clicks or impressions from the same demographic. Again, in areas where there are a lot of advertisers competing for the same demographic, which is defined by your targeting preferences such as country, gender, age, interests etc., the costs are higher and vice versa. As always when it comes to Facebook advertising, youll see best results by testing both models and choose the one that meet your business objectives. But generally CPC gives a higher click through rate (CTR) whereas CPM generates fewer but cheaper clicks. TV Advertising Price for TV advertising is variable between à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬1000 and à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬350.000 for 30 seconds advertising depended of time of broadcasting. Billboards advertising Rates General: Billboard ad costs are set forth below for billboard signage. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Bulletin (Large Billboard): Range of à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬1,500 à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬30,000 per ad per 4 week period à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ 30 Sheet Poster (Medium Billboard): Range of à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬750 à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬2,000 per ad per 4 week period à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ 8 Sheet Poster / Junior Poster (Small Billboard): Range of à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬300 à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬750 per ad per 4 week period à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Digital Bulletin (Large Digital): Range of à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬3,500 à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬25,000 per ad per 4 week period for an ~8 second spot in a loop of ~64 seconds http://www.bluelinemedia.com/billboard-advertising Range of rates depends on timing and market. Materials such as: brochures newsletters flyers posters 1.250 pieces à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ 29,00 2.500 pieces à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ 33,00 5.000 pieces à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ 34,00 10.000 pieces- à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ 57,00 20.000 pieces- à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ 97,00 50.000 pieces à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ 228,00 100.000 pieces à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ 434,00 http://www.drukwerkmax.nl/4daction/web_shop_page/2/article/15160/?gclid=CKvMktWXiLMCFYXLtAod_CkAPg Fairs (like Health Fairs, Job Fairs) Give-aways (like baseball caps and mugs with your logo) Coupons and free samples Conducting contests Baseball caps Pieces 1-5 6-29 30-99 100+ Price à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ 6.9 à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ 6.47 à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ 5.61 à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ 4.74 Shirts Pieces 1-5 6-29 30-99 100+ Price à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ 8.62 à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ 6.9 à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ 4.31 à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ 3.45 http://www.leoworkshop.com/ Subtotal estimate price(costs needed to make to reach 1 million people) : Give -aways (baseball caps and shirts) ~ à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬45,000 Internet advertising (1 year) ~à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬500 a week à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ 24.000 Materials (brochures, flyers and so on ) ~à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬5,500 TV Advertising (1 year long, on Saturday and Sunday 4x a day ) 3000à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ 30 sec ~à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬480.000 Total: ~à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬554,500 (a year)

Chemical And Biological Weapons Essay -- essays research papers

Chemical and Biological Weapons Chemical and biological weapons are the most dangerous threats that our soldiers face today. But just how much do most of us know about them? The American public had been bombarded by stories of how our government keeps secret weapons, does secret experiments, and the everlasting conspiracies. And many accept it all. Rather than simply trusting our government, (which is perhaps as foolish as believing several unsubstansiated theroies), I’ve compiled several simple facts regarding recent and historic developments in chemical and biological warfare.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Chemical weapons are defined as chemical substances of gas, liquid, or solid which are used because of a directly toxic effect upon humans, animals, or plants. Biological weapons are living organisms, whatever their nature, or the materials that are created because of their use. Biological weapons can cause disease or death in living organisms, and are depended upon for their further ability to multiply inside the organism that it attacks. Even though the two weapons are closely related, chemical weapons are used far more commonly because they are inexpensive to make and use. Chemical weapons are more dangerous to America because of the conflicts we have involved ourselves in. Iraq for example, has a long and extensive history of using chemical weapons. In the 1980’s, Iraq released poisonous gases against Iranian troops. Iraq has even used chemical weapons against it’s own Kurdish citizens to subdue rebellions. As one of the aftermaths of the Persian Gulf War, however, Iraq agreed to giveup all materials and equipment for making chemical and biological weapons. An organization called UNSCOM or United Nations Special Commissions on Iraq was formed to ensure that Iraq followed through upon it’s promises. However, when Lt. Hussein, Saddam Hussein’s son-in-law and director of Iraq’s weapons program, defected, it was found that Iraq had been dishonest in it’s reports to UNSCOM. for four years. Today, everyone has heard even a passing reference to Gulf-War Syndrome. In 1994, a Congressional report examined eyewitness accounts and declassified operation logs. They concluded that United States troops were exposed eleven times to chemical and biological weapons. Yet, two other reports concluded the opposite. The DSB and IOM reports found that there was no reli... ...l weapons are not used exclusively for it’s harmful effects against humans. During the Vietnam War, Agent Orange was used by the Americans to destroy the rainforest, to make sure that enemy troops would be unable to hide in the dense plant growth. Chemical and biological weapons have been the subject of international debate for over 70 years, and I believe for good reason. Of course, the government should, and does, participate in the conventions and foreign event that have relation to these weapons. As citizens, we should be concerned because chemical weapons are so easily accessible to terrorists, and one result of living in such a powerful country, is being a prime target for terrorist. Mustard gas, for example, is made with two very commonly used chemical compounds, which are thiodiglycol and hydrochloric acid. Thiodiglycol is used in textile dyes, and almost all pens. Hydrochloric acid is often used here at school in experiments. While it would be impossible to completely stop the use of chemical and biological weapons everywhere, America can use it’s position as a world leader to influence other countries by showing an example of peace and strong defense, instead of offense. Chemical And Biological Weapons Essay -- essays research papers Chemical and Biological Weapons Chemical and biological weapons are the most dangerous threats that our soldiers face today. But just how much do most of us know about them? The American public had been bombarded by stories of how our government keeps secret weapons, does secret experiments, and the everlasting conspiracies. And many accept it all. Rather than simply trusting our government, (which is perhaps as foolish as believing several unsubstansiated theroies), I’ve compiled several simple facts regarding recent and historic developments in chemical and biological warfare.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Chemical weapons are defined as chemical substances of gas, liquid, or solid which are used because of a directly toxic effect upon humans, animals, or plants. Biological weapons are living organisms, whatever their nature, or the materials that are created because of their use. Biological weapons can cause disease or death in living organisms, and are depended upon for their further ability to multiply inside the organism that it attacks. Even though the two weapons are closely related, chemical weapons are used far more commonly because they are inexpensive to make and use. Chemical weapons are more dangerous to America because of the conflicts we have involved ourselves in. Iraq for example, has a long and extensive history of using chemical weapons. In the 1980’s, Iraq released poisonous gases against Iranian troops. Iraq has even used chemical weapons against it’s own Kurdish citizens to subdue rebellions. As one of the aftermaths of the Persian Gulf War, however, Iraq agreed to giveup all materials and equipment for making chemical and biological weapons. An organization called UNSCOM or United Nations Special Commissions on Iraq was formed to ensure that Iraq followed through upon it’s promises. However, when Lt. Hussein, Saddam Hussein’s son-in-law and director of Iraq’s weapons program, defected, it was found that Iraq had been dishonest in it’s reports to UNSCOM. for four years. Today, everyone has heard even a passing reference to Gulf-War Syndrome. In 1994, a Congressional report examined eyewitness accounts and declassified operation logs. They concluded that United States troops were exposed eleven times to chemical and biological weapons. Yet, two other reports concluded the opposite. The DSB and IOM reports found that there was no reli... ...l weapons are not used exclusively for it’s harmful effects against humans. During the Vietnam War, Agent Orange was used by the Americans to destroy the rainforest, to make sure that enemy troops would be unable to hide in the dense plant growth. Chemical and biological weapons have been the subject of international debate for over 70 years, and I believe for good reason. Of course, the government should, and does, participate in the conventions and foreign event that have relation to these weapons. As citizens, we should be concerned because chemical weapons are so easily accessible to terrorists, and one result of living in such a powerful country, is being a prime target for terrorist. Mustard gas, for example, is made with two very commonly used chemical compounds, which are thiodiglycol and hydrochloric acid. Thiodiglycol is used in textile dyes, and almost all pens. Hydrochloric acid is often used here at school in experiments. While it would be impossible to completely stop the use of chemical and biological weapons everywhere, America can use it’s position as a world leader to influence other countries by showing an example of peace and strong defense, instead of offense.