The Bribery Scandal at Siemens Ag Essays

The Bribery Scandal at Siemens Ag Essays The Bribery Scandal at Siemens Ag Paper The Bribery Scandal at Siemens Ag Paper The Siemens bribery scandal brought to light a strategic dilemma facing multi-national firms attempting to gain a competitive edge by operating abroad; specifically, how can they balance adherence to their own ethical and legal standards with the customs required to do business efficiently, or perhaps at all, in foreign markets? ?Germany’s Co-Determination law has since drawn intense criticism as hampering competitiveness and creating untenable situations for management, rife with conflict-of-interest issues, not only because of Siemens, but also because of the number of other German-based companies accused of bribing labor union representatives. ?The forced resignation of CEO, Klaus Kleinfeld, despite the resulting success during his tenure, illustrates the predicament international managers face with regard to conflicting operational methods, and leads us to larger questions about accountability within an organization.? As the case study author states, the Siemens scandal is representative of what many firms believe is the inevitable â€Å"ethical cost of intense competition in global markets†, particularly emerging markets, where payments for contracts are described as common place and perhaps even required. ?Perhaps the most glaringly problematic observation remains that the Siemens AG top management claims that they failed to notice rampant, and arguably conspicuous embezzlement leading to lucrative foreign contracts. Are there flaws in the German System of Corporate Governance? The 2007 scandal resulting in charges against Siemens’ Chief of Information Technology, Johannes Feldmayer, and Chief of Finance, Karl-Hermann Baumann, was rooted in illegal payments designed to work around German corporate governance laws. In this instance, IG Metall complained that Siemens was illegally funding smaller, rival union, AUB, in an attempt to grow and cultivate it as an ally against IG Metall in the bargaining process. This scandal marked the beginning of the unearthing of unethical behaviors in other German-based firms that have since lead to criticism that the Co-Determination law is antiquated and hampers competitiveness. The Co-Determination law was designed to provide a mechanism for worker participation in management decision-making via a two-tiered system with a supervisory board having oversight of the management board. Critics, however, argue that the law, in fact, limits the management board’s ability to make strategic decisions due to the control exerted by labor holding 50% of the seats on the supervisory board. I agree with the author’s statement that this creates, â€Å"a suspicious alliance between the management and the labor representatives†. The end result was often agreements made prior to the official meetings to facilitate outcomes favorable to management. Although the law was meant to bring balance to the corporate governance structure, I would argue that the potential for corruption of the labor representatives, or on the other end of the spectrum, obstruction of the management board, has a destabilizing effect likely to manifest in questionable and dysfunctional partnerships, such as was the case with Siemens. Another component of the Co-Determination law prevents selection of supervisory board members who are non-German, regardless of the expertise or perspective they could bring to the table. Naturally, the result is a limited, often recurring, and potentially like-minded pool of candidates, which the author points out, may have contributed to the ousting of Kleinfeld. The facts presented indicate that the lion’s share of the bribery scandal took place under Heinrich von Pierer, who was the CEO from 1992 until 2005, and the supervisory board chairman from 2005 to 2007. Kleinfeld took over in 2005 and, within a period of only two years, had accomplished a remarkable and profitable restructuring, as evidenced by a 26% increase in the stock price. This was not without growing pains, however, as it is speculated that Kleinfeld’s aggressive management style, often described as â€Å"American†, did not meet with the approval of the more conservative supervisory board. As such, analysts opined that the bribery scandal was used as an opportunity to remove Kleinfeld, citing the need for a â€Å"new beginning†. I agree that this is likely the case. The growth under Kleinfeld was impressive, particularly given the timeframe. Furthermore, the timing of the actual instances of bribery put them squarely during von Pierer’s tenure as CEO; and he had already stepped down from the supervisory board. Nevertheless, under the power granted by the Co-Determination law, the supervisory board opted to bring in a new CEO, Peter Loescher, indicating, in my opinion, that its issue with Kleinfeld was not performance based. Why Such Risky Business? The history of Siemens AG paints a picture of a successful and arguably dominant multi-national firm, with a reputation for a war chest of competencies and innovative products. The obvious question, then, is why would a firm with this resume and list of global achievements become involved with corruption and criminal behavior? The author recounts the opinions of analysts who believe the answer is simple; many firms view the types of payments at the heart of the Siemens scandal to be the necessary cost of doing business in the current global environment. At first glance, the facts of this case may seem to support this theory. There were â‚ ¬420 million of questionable payments made over a seven year period from 1999 to 2006. Official Siemens records showed the payments as having gone to external consultants. It was determined, however, that they were actually paid to foreign purchasing officials and that the expenditures coincided with the procurement of â€Å"fixed line telecommunications business in various international markets†, including Italy, Puerto Rico, Greece, and the United States. By March of 2007, two former Siemens managers were convicted of embezzlement of company funds for the purpose of bribing foreign officials. The employees argued that their actions did not violate any laws, resulted in no personal gain, and were taken solely for the purpose of improving Siemens’ positioning. They argued that they worked, only to secure a lucrative deal in which the payments were required by Enel management as part of the standard bid process. In fact, Siemens AG argued that the court order requiring forfeiture of earnings from the contract, prior to 2002 when the German government instituted a law prohibiting bribes to private officials abroad, specifically, had no basis in law. As previously stated, these events may appear to support the case in favor of questionable payments and loose ethical boundaries as a necessary cost of business. It is my opinion, however, that these events illustrate a flawed management culture and strategy. They are evidence of a system where a focus on true technological innovation has given way to a focus on unfettered expansion, and the unnatural duplication of the monopolistic type control over infrastructure in developing countries that was enjoyed during previous decades in other parts of the now industrialized world. If Siemens had bolstered their technologically competitive strength, they would not need to rely so heavily on their financial strength to gain entry into markets. Is this the New Cost of Doing Business? The fact that Siemens top management continue to take the official position that, despite the scope, depth, and intricacies of the bribery scandal, they had no knowledge of it remains difficult to explain. Further, they take no responsibility, save acknowledgement that they lacked adequate internal compliance systems. I find the truthfulness of this position to be of remote possibility due to the conspicuousness and magnitude of the payments, as well as their direct correlation with the securing of highly lucrative contracts. Moreover, the idea that entire sections of Siemens’ managers were of the character that they would be comfortable blatantly committing criminal acts for the sole benefit of their employer, but not themselves, I find to be quite counter-intuitive. The debate over whether events such as those unearthed at Siemens are part of the usual and customary cost of doing business abroad must be framed in terms of the complete denial of culpability by the top management. A legitimate, above-board expense is accounted for, tracked, and justified; this is the case even when it is outside the norms of the firm’s home country. It is not hidden from shareholders. A buffer of scapegoat-able employees need not lie between it and top management. If a light cannot be readily shown upon it, I believe it is without question, unethical. Whether or not it is illegal, however, depends upon the laws in the countries the firm is operating in. I could conceive of a situation where a firm could distribute cash â€Å"incentive† payments openly, on the books, as well as legally. In addition, firms have other options. They could improve their offerings to increase the competitiveness of the bid, and/or structure them with above-board incentives. They could operate with a clear and unwavering zero-tolerance policy for bribery; recognizing that it will be necessary to educate those conducting bid processes in markets where it is believed to be common to expect questionable payments. A firm could also exercise patience, and restraint, and be willing to walk away from markets requiring participation in corrupt processes. The Kleinfeld Conclusion. The Siemens AG supervisory board did provide adequate justification for the decision not to renew Kleinfeld’s contract, due to the scandals breaking during his time as CEO; yet, I believe that they were wrong in doing so in light of his track record of impressive and expedient accomplishments. Though his termination clearly pleased the board, unless Mr.  Loescher is able to maintain the growth trajectory set by Kleinfeld, I believe his departure will not inspire confidence from management or shareholders. This is of concern because confidence has a direct impact on value, which could make it harder to move beyond the bribery scandal. Was it Worth It? One question still remains: was Siemens really at fault, given the apparent prevalence of these sorts of issues among other German companies; or was their only sin getting caught? It is my opinion that the magnitude of the â€Å"bribing† which took place at Siemens made it highly unlikely that knowledge of it would stay buried. I believe Siemens had to have anticipated this, hence the buffer between top management and the â€Å"bribers†. I believe they made a calculated business decision that whatever the consequence may ultimately be, it was a greater benefit to get a foot hold in the infrastructure of those markets. In short, yes, Siemens is to blame, and yes, they are okay with it. Bibliography Deresky, H. (2011). International Management: Managing Across Borders and Cultures (7th Edition ed. ). Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall.

Sports-Related Science Fair Project Ideas

Sports-Related Science Fair Project Ideas Stay away from the typical, overdone science fair cliches, instead create something that combines sports and science for your science fair project.   Some Ideas to GetYou Started How does the material from which a baseball bat is made affect performance? How does a wood bat compare with an aluminum bat?Does altitude affect the height of a ball bounce (for example, a golf ball)? If an effect is seen, can you attribute it to the effect of gravity or atmospheric pressure?Examine the effect of energy bars on performance. Pick a sport. Is there a difference in performance if you use a protein-boosting energy bar versus a carbohydrate-boosting energy bar?What is the effect of using a corked baseball bat compared with a normal one?Does drinking an energy drink (or sports drink) affect reaction time? memory?Are there really streaks in baseball? Or is it simply chance?Compare energy drinks based on cost, taste, short-term effect, and long-term effect.Which sports drink contains the most electrolytes?How is ball diameter related to the time it takes the ball to fall?Does the length of a golf club affect the distance you can hit the ball?Does a swim cap really reduce a swimmers drag and increase speed? How does exercise affect heart rate? This project is especially good if can track data over a longer time frame.Does exercise affect reaction time?Does regular exercise affect memory?At what slope angle is the mechanical advantage of a bicycle lost, as compared with running?Compare different brands of balls for a sport (like baseball or golf) for cost versus performance.Do helmets really protect against a crash (presumably tested with a stimulant like a watermelon)?What is the best air pressure for a soccer ball?How does temperature affect the accuracy of a paintball shot?Does altitude, temperature, or humidity have an effect on the number of home runs seen at a baseball diamond?Does the presence or absence of a net affect free throw accuracy?Measure the effect on peripheral vision from wearing different types of corrective eyewear (such as glasses). Does an athlete experience a noticeable improvement when peripheral vision is increased?Is there an effect if you fill an inflatable ba ll with a different gas than air (such as nitrogen or helium)? You can measure height of bounce, weight, effect on passing, and how long it stays inflated. Tips for Choosing a Sports Science Fair Project If you are an athlete or trainer, pick the sport you know best. Can you identify any problems to be examined? A good science fair project answers a question or solves a problem.When you have an idea, consider how to design an experiment around it. You need data. Numerical data (numbers and measurements) are better than qualitative data (greater/lesser, better/worse), so design an experiment that gives you data you can graph and analyze. Do you need more science fair project ideas? Heres  a big collection  to browse.

Frank Gehry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Frank Gehry - Essay Example In 1956, Gehry moved to Massachusetts with his wife in a bid to enroll into Harvard’s School of Design. Sadly, the education life at Harvard was never completed, which saw him drop out and afterwards, divorce his first wife. The reason for his non-completion in Harvard’s Design School was because his ideas for a socially responsible type of architecture were not realized (Isenberg and Gehry 43). He remarried in 1975, and had two more children with Berta Isabel Aguilera. He later went back to California after his attempt at design school failed, and that is where the legend of Frank Gehry was born. Works around the world Shortly after moving back to California, Gehry began making his name a household name through the Easy Edges furniture line. Most of the cardboard furniture products were sold in California between 1969 and 1973 before his marriage to Isabel, and before taking on the task of remodeling his family’s house in Santa Monica. It was this erratic remodeling that saw Gehry capture the architectural world’s attention as his design was deemed unique and out of this world. The famous Walt Disney Concert Hall is among Gehry’s famous works, and this was after he achieved celebrity status after modeling homes in Southern California for a while. The Guggenheim Museum building in Spain and a skyscraper in New York city are also Gehry’s works, and have become tourist attraction sites visited by countless individuals. The Opus Hong Kong tower in China can also be placed among his top achievements (Isenberg and Gehry 48). In some instances, Gehry is said to have been invol ved in the designing of jewelry, liquor bottles, and even trophies. He is said to have designed an ice hockey trophy, which was for the World Cup Hockey tournament. These ‘quick fixes’, according to Gehry, were as a result of the little or lack of realization of exceptional architecture (Lange 53). He, therefore, may have wanted to remain relevant in the field of design even if it meant that he would not be designing buildings and memorials. Style and design and the material used Gehry’s style was a deconstructivist form of architecture, which pushed and challenged the accepted designs of architecture. It is a post-structuralist aesthetic that is most familiar with architects who go against the normally accepted paradigms of architecture, and is most visible and popular in California. This might be because he did most of his works in the area during the 1980’s. It is believed that Gehry calculatedly violates the modernism approach to architecture with his focus on the right angles and cubes (Lange 59). The instability that is the deconstructivist approach is what makes the designs by Frank memorable. Even though the projects may be comprehensive and complete, they tend to bring about the feeling of explosion. In some sense, the nature of the deconstructivist style is to bring about the acceptance of flaws as an inevitable phenomenon in architecture. Cardboard and scotch tape are the materials used to bring the designs in Gehry’s head to life, which later turn into buildings. In many of his works, Gehry has incorporated the use of titanium and stainless steel. Theme in Frank Gehry’s works One thing that makes Gehry a truly gifted architect of his day is his perceptive and immaculate manner of bringing out his designs. He is said to be fond of fish as most of his structural designs are said to have used fish motifs engrained in some

Marketing Services Versus Products Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Marketing Services Versus Products - Assignment Example In terms of similarities, the marketing of both products and services require the presence of a market segment. A market segment is that specific group of people with the same line of needs that the marketer tries to satisfy (Perreault Jr., Cannon & McCarthy (2014). According, whether a company is marketing a product or a service, it is important to have a specific market segment that the product or service is prepared for. Another similarity is with the use of strategic option. A strategic option is a specialized approach used by companies to gain competitive advantage over their competitors (Fill, 2002). Kotler & Keller (2012) emphasized that both those in the product sector and those in the service sector have need for strategic options that ensures that they are able to gain competitive advantage within the market segment. The third similarity has to do with the use of a marketing mix. Whether a company is marketing a product or a service, Perreault Jr., Cannon & McCarthy (2014) stressed that using the marketing mix, which are commonly identified as product or service, place, promotion, and price all become applicable. Regardless of the similarities identified above, there are some times that differences are identified when marketing products from services. One such difference has to do with the output of what is marketed to customers. This is because whiles the output of products are tangible, the output of services are abstract or intangible (Kvesic, 2008). What this means is that the actual things that marketers sell to customers as products can be seen, felt and handled but those that are marketed as services cannot be seen or handled. A typical example of a product is a car, while banking is an example of a service. The second difference is seen in terms of branding. The difference in branding can however be associated with the differences in outputs of products and services. Kvesic (2008) explained that whereas the use

Ocean Park Brand Equity Essay Example for Free

Ocean Park Brand Equity Essay I am genuinely tank to Mr. Nicholas Tam for supporting me all the time and spending many hours on my final year project. This was totally appreciated that he provided many professional and useful advices and recommendations to me. Otherwise, I would also like to thanks Mr. C. N. Lo as my second marker and give me suggestion to improve my project. ABSTRACT Ocean Park Hong Kong is a home-grown treasure. It is also one of the most popular amusement parks in the world, providing educational, conservation and entertainment. Ocean Park Hong Kong has brought joy to local and overseas visitors throughout her 30-year history. She lets everyone in Hong Kong has a special and memorable experiences. In these 30 years, it experienced many impacts that are occurred by outside and inside of the organization. They also recorded a deficit for a certain years. But it was carried out the revolutions continually. Afterwards, the business is still running. Recently, some information indicated that the ranking of the most popular amusement park of the world, which is the Ocean Park Hong Kong higher than Hong Kong Disneyland. Finally, through survey, focus group interview and brands performance measures, to conclude that the brand equity of Ocean Park was better. Better leadership, better quality, builds up customer loyalty. CHAPTER I – INTRODUCTION Ocean Park is one of the theme parks in Hong Kong. â€Å"Marine† is the majority theme of the park. It is located at the Southern District of Hong Kong, and it was opened on 10 January 1977. It was constructed at a land granted by the government, and then the funding of construction is granted by the Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC), and it also operated by HKJC. In January 1979, Ocean Park introduced a Killer Whale for the visitors. It becomes a one of the selling points of the park. In the inception stage, there is not enough amusement rides for the public. But, there was expanded their scale of the park, and increased much more amusement rides into the park. The operating capital of Ocean Park was depends on the revenue from tickets and donation from HKJC in earlier stage. It also has a significant deficit for a long time because the price is set on the low side. In 1 July 1987, the â€Å"Ocean Park Ordinance† is constituted by the government. HKJC will granted that they are established the trust with $200M funding. In this time, Ocean Park becomes a non-profit making organization and needs to self-finance. The park changed their business to commercial-oriented, and increasing its ticket price. Thus, the park enhanced its financial conditions to be positive. In 1998, the park recorded deficit again caused by some factors, such as East Asian Financial Crisis. Although it received 2 pandas from China, it still could not increase the visitor’s attraction of the park. The park also closed the water attractions and the Middle Kingdom. And then, it introduced more amusement rises for visitors especially for the teenagers such as the Abyss Turbo Drop and the Mine Train. In Fiscal Year 2004/2005, there are more than 4 million visitors during a year. This is renewing the record since the park is opened. It is caused that PRC government implemented the â€Å"Individual Visit Scheme† under CEPA. Ocean Park revealed its redevelopment plan in 2005, which will upgrades the quality and availability of features at the park. This is response the impacts from the opening of Disneyland. Ocean Park is also held a groundbreaking ceremony for its redevelopment project in November of 2006. According to the Attraction Attendance 2008 releases by Economics Research Associates (ERA) and Themed Entertainment Association (TEA) on 16 April, Ocean Park is the world’s number 15 theme park, Asia’s 5th theme park (Judith Rubin, 2009). (Appendix 1b) 1. Industry Background The tourism industry is one of the four key industries in the Hong Kong economy. There were two types of tourism which were inbound tourism and outbound. For inbound tourism, there were 5 groups of sub-industries which included retail trade, hotels and boarding houses, Restaurants, Cross-boundary passenger transport services and others. The value added of tourism in 2006 and 2007 were HK$45,300 Million and HK$52,300 Million. There was increased around 14% from 2006 to 2007. And the employment in this industry in 2006 and 2007 was 176,300 and 193,800. There was increased around more than 8% from 2006 to 2007 (Census and Statistics Department, HKSAR, 2009). (Appendix 9) In order to support the poor economic condition, Hong Kong government was provided some supporting projects to the tourism industry such as â€Å"the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA)† and â€Å"Individual Visit Scheme†. These projects both were cooperated with PRC. Ocean Park is one of the participators in the amusement park market. Its major competitor is Hong Kong Disneyland. Before Disneyland involved its business in Hong Kong, Ocean Park was the only one participator in this market during the other amusement parks were closed their business such as Lai Chi Kok Amusement Park. On the other hand, the amusement park from neighbor country should also be the major competitors for Ocean Park such as Happy Valley from Shenzhen, PRC. As a famous landmark of Hong Kong, Ocean Park was a successful company in this industry. In accordance with the Attraction Attendance 2008, the 2008 attendance was equal to 5. 03 Million. It was a leading brand of the amusement park market (Judith Rubin, 2009) (Appendix 1b). In conclusion, Ocean Park should be capturing the opportunity derived from increasing attendance and the supporting from government, and focus its competence for facing the threat generated by intensive competition from the neighbor country. 2. Statement of issue In past certain years, Ocean Park faced impacts in different period of time, for example, East Asian Financial Crisis, SARS, and external environment. For the financial issue, Ocean Park was faced the financial distress on past certain years especially for the East Asian financial crisis. Besides, for the external environmental issue, Ocean Park should also be faced to the new entrants of Hong Kong amusement park market that was Disneyland. Ocean Park was a domestic famous brand in Hong Kong. On the other hand, Disneyland was an international famous brand. The overall size of organization of Ocean Park should be smaller than Disneyland. 3. Purpose of the study Propose of this study is to understand customer’s brand equity of Ocean Park. A result of questionnaire survey is to ascertain the sources (Brand Equity Ten) of brand equity of Ocean Park. Base on the findings of the survey, propose that the critical success factor of the theme park. CHAPTER II – LITERATURE REVIEW The Brand Equity Ten will be applying in this study, which is an effective method to evaluate brand equity. Ten sets of measures grouped into five categories, are shown in Table 1. The first four categories are to measure customer perceptions of the brand. The four categories of brand equity are including loyalty, perceived quality, associations, and awareness. The last category is to collect information from the market based information rather than directly from customers (D. Aaker, 1996). 1. Loyalty Measures Since it is now widely recognized that it is much less costly and much more profitable to keep existing customers than to win new ones, customer retention become an important goal for most organizations. In principle its simple: you just have to keep your existing customer (N. Hill, J. Alexander, 2006). The Hong Kong amusement park industry was created a monopoly loyalty during there was only two participators in the market, such as Ocean Park and Disneyland. The loyalty of these two amusement parks might be generated by devotion of its customers, for instance, the customer would be sought some adventure experiences at Ocean park during there was provided many thrill rides. Besides, if the customer would be found some story of fairy tales, they would go to Disneyland, it is because customer can be met many famous characters like Mickey Mouse. 1. Price Premium â€Å"A basic indicator of loyalty is the amount a customer will pay for the brand in comparison with another brand (or set of comparison brands) offering similar benefits†(D.Aaker, 1996). For the admission fees of both Ocean Park and Disneyland, there was a large difference between parks. For instance, in the adult’s general admission fees, Ocean Park was HK$208, and Disneyland was HK$350. Therefore, the price premium should be HK$142. 1. Perceived Quality/Leadership Measures â€Å"Perceived quality is often the key positioning dimension for corporate brands (such as Toshiba or Ford) and other brands that range over product classes (such as Weight Watchers, Kraft, and store brands such as Safeway Select). Because these brands span product classes, they are less likely to be driven by functional benefits, and perceived quality is likely to play a larger role. (D. Aaker, 2009) For Ocean Park, it provided different amusement facilities to visitors. Besides, Disneyland provided the story of fairy tales to visitors. Visitors could earn the different experiences during they are visiting these two parks. They would use the last experience to evaluate the perceived quality of the parks. â€Å"Leading brands are perceived to be relevant, unique and compelling. They inspire customer loyalty and enable organizations to charge price premiums. They increase bargaining power with business partners, make it easier to hire and retain talented employees and provide organizations with clear strategic direction and platforms for future growth. †(B. VanAuken, 2007) Both Ocean Park and Disneyland were performed their services at a unique and compelling ways. For example, Ocean Park provides a lot of amusement facilities for visitors; some facilities were very unique in Hong Kong such as Giant Panda Habitat. On the other hand, Disneyland arranges many owned international famous characters that visitors may take some photos with them. 2. Associations/ Differentiation Measures â€Å"The key associations/differentiation component of brand equity usually involves image dimensions that are unique to a product class or to a brand. The challenge, then, is to generate general measures that will work across product classes. † (D. Aaker, 1996) Since Ocean Park was opened, it was established a personal image for visitors that it was provided some messages like ocean protection and education, exciting experience. Visitors had no doubtful that the meaning of Ocean Park, and they was knew that it was not an amusement park only. Also, Disneyland was generated a dreaming place for visitors to enjoy a childlike and entertaining tour for their each visit. But it was not provided other functional characters to the public such as educational activities. 3. Awareness Measures â€Å"Brand awareness measures the accessibility of the brand in memory. Brand awareness can measured through brand recall or brand recognition. Brand recall reflects the ability of consumers to retrieve the brand from memory when given the product category. † (P. Chandon, 2003) Both Ocean Park and Disneyland were achieved to brand awareness. For Ocean Park, visitors may be bethought its owned characters when they were went to it such as Dolphin, Giant Panda, thrill rides and etc. On the other hand, also, Disneyland was gained the high level of international attention. Visitors were recall its owned characters like Winnie the Pooh, Stitch, and they can be got this memory outside it such as TV and other side-products of its owned characters. The dimension of differentiation in the association category is a summary of brand associations (D.Aaker, 1996). 4. Market Behavior Measures 1. Market Share â€Å"The performance of a brand as measured by market share (and/or sales) often provides a valid and sensitive reflection of the brand’s standing with customers. When the brand has a relative advantage in the minds of customers, its market share should increase or at least not decrease. † (D. Aaker, 1996) The performance of an amusement park can be measured by some elements such as its functions, service level, customer relationship management and etc. It can be grew its admission income during the higher service performance that it can be performed. 2. Price and Distribution Indices â€Å"Market share can be a particularly deceptive brand equity measure when it increases as a result of reduced prices or price promotions. Thus, it is important to measure the relative market price at which the brand is being sold. † (D. Aaker, 1996). â€Å"Market share or sales data are also extremely sensitive to distribution coverage. Sales may be dramatically affected when a brand gains or loses a major market or expands into another geographic region. A measure of distribution coverage is thus a second logical companion measure to market share. † (D. Aaker, 1996). As an amusement park, the market price data was equal to the admission income of a year, because this was majority source for capturing its operating resources. Besides, it indicated that the admission income might be affected by the change in attendance directly. On the other hand, the price and distribution indices should be reflected the market share that can be evaluated by admission attendance during a year. This may be found out the true picture of the growth of admission attendance rather than depends on admission income. CHAPTER III – METHODOLOGY 1. Sample Design Data will be collected by using a questionnaire. It is use to measure customer perceptions of the brand along with the four categories (D. Aaker, 1996). The questionnaire is use to survey those people who are visited Hong Kong Ocean Park and Hong Kong Disneyland before. It is to ensure that the data from respondents are effective and reliable. The questionnaire will be distributed to them through e-mail, and the respondents are classmates, teachers, familiars, friends, and colleagues. 100 samples were collected through this survey. 2. Questionnaire Design First, questionnaire is used to measure the four categories, which are Loyalty Measures (price premium and satisfaction/loyalty), Perceived Quality/Leadership Measures (perceived quality, and leadership), Associations/Differentiation Measures (perceived value, brand personality, organizational associations, and differentiation), and Awareness Measures (brand awareness). Second, setting demographic factors, respondents were required to answer their personal information, including gender, age, monthly income, occupation and education. It is in order to compare the general information with the 25 items, and find out the critical success factor of Ocean Park. Nine dimensions including 25 items, plus 5 items of general information, there are totally 30 questions. Third, this study will compare with Disneyland because it is the mainly competitor in Hong Kong. The questionnaire format is Part A is Ocean Park, Part B is Disneyland, and Part C is the general information. â€Å"5-point Likert Scale† is usually used in questionnaires, and is the most widely used scale in survey research. †. There were used 5 choices of answer question for respondents to answer their questionnaire except general information. It was included â€Å"Strongly Disagree†, â€Å"Disagree†, â€Å"Neutral†, â€Å"Agree† and â€Å"Strongly agree†. (Answers. com, 2009) Fourth, set â€Å"Missing Data†. It is to reduce or ignore the answer of unclear, ambiguous or answer more than one choice, etc. The questionnaire format could refer to Appendix 7. 3. Statistical Package for the Social Science(SPSS) SPSS was established in 1968 by Norman H. Nie, C. Hadlai (Tex) Hull and Dale H. Bent. They want developed a revolutionary software system in order to turn raw data into representative information in an easily way. According to the SPSS’s website, â€Å"This revolutionary statistical software system was called SPSS, which stood for the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences. Nie, Hull and Bent developed SPSS out of the need to quickly analyze volumes of social science data gathered through various methods of research. † (SPSS INC. , 2009). In addition to statistics analysis, the features of the base software, which are included Descriptive statistics (Cross tabulation, Frequencies, Descriptives, Explore, Descriptive Ratio Statistics), Bivariate statistics (Means, t-test, ANOVA, Correlation (bivariate, partial, distances), Nonparametric tests), Prediction for numerical outcomes (Linear regression), and Prediction for identifying groups (Factor analysis, cluster analysis (two-step, K-means, hierarchical), Discriminant) (Wikipedia, 2009). In this report, there was using SPSS to analyze the statistical information, there are included Cronbach Alpha Reliability Analysis, Mean and Standard Deviation, Crosstab Test. 1. Reverse Scoring In order to calculate some opposite data in one dimension, there should be rescored the negative data to turn into positive data. This can be increasing the reliability and correlation among data in one dimension. â€Å"Items that are negatively worded in a scale must be rescored in a positive direction in order to match the other items in a scale† (S. Stark, et. al. , 2001). In the questionnaire, Question 22 25 of Part A and B was used this function that in order to find out the reliable and correlated data, and these sets of data should be opposite to other data in same dimension. 2. Cronbach’s Alpha Reliability Analysis â€Å"Cronbachs alpha measures how well a set of items (or variables) measures a single unidimensional latent construct. When data have a multidimensional structure, Cronbachs alpha will usually be low. Technically speaking, Cronbachs alpha is not a statistical test it is a coefficient of reliability (or consistency). (UCLA Academic Technology Services) There were used the Cronbach’s Alpha Reliability Analysis to find out the reliability. The output table will then be displayed the Cronbach’s Alpha of the dimension. 3. Mean and Standard Deviation â€Å"The mean, indicated by ? (a lower case Greek mu), is the statisticians jargon for the average value of a signal. It is found just as you would expect: add all of the samples together, and divide by N. † (S. Smith, 2007) It is the use to find out the average in a group of population. There were calculated the means by all of the scoring of each question. Afterwards, added up the separate mean from all dimensions which were found out the total mean of each category. â€Å"The standard deviation is one of several indices of variability that statisticians use to characterize the dispersion among the measures in a given population. To calculate the standard deviation of a population it is first necessary to calculate that populations variance. Numerically, the standard deviation is the square root of the variance. Unlike the variance, which is a somewhat abstract measure of variability, the standard deviation can be readily conceptualized as a distance along the scale of measurement. † (R. Hoffman, 2002) Besides, the standard deviation was displayed on the output table of SPSS in order to analyze the dispersion of the result of nine dimensions. 4. Crosstab Test â€Å"Cross-tabulations give us much more insight into the data than do simple profiles or frequency distributions. Cross-tabulations are an example of bivariate analysis (i. e. , examining the relationship between two variables). However, cross-tabulations are of limited value, too, because we are realistically restricted to examining the relationship between only two variables at a time (e. g. , customer status and age; customer status and income; etc.). If we try to examine a cross-tabulation of more than two variables at a time, the results are very difficult to visualize and interpret meaningfully. † (SmartDrill, 2008) There was used the crosstabulation to compare the variability of general information. This can be easily found out the difference between two set of data. 4. Focus Group â€Å"Focus groups are a powerful means to evaluate services or test new ideas. Basically, focus groups are interviews, but of 6-10 people at the same time in the same group. One can get a great deal of information during a focus group session. † (C. McNamara, 2006) 5. Data Analysis. 1. Calculated the mean and standard deviation for all of 9 dimensions in order to find out the overall performance of both Ocean Park and Disneyland. 2. Used SPSS reverse scoring function in order to make some conflict data that reversed into same way. This can make that the reliability must higher than origin data. Besides, Cronbach’s Alpha Reliability Analysis can be found out the reliability of all of the dimensions, and ignored some irrelative items in the dimensions. This can improve the reliability for each dimensions that if deleted the items. 3. Calculate the mean with both Ocean Park and Disneyland. 4. Used crosstabulation to compare which the general information of both Ocean Park and Disneyland such as age, gender and income, 5. After used of SPSS, there were formed a focus group that was invited 7 interviewees in order to discuss the issues that occurred in the result from SPSS. 6. Besides, found some corporate information of Ocean Park and Disneyland which how to performed the market behavior. 7. Match the result of mean analysis and the result of crosstabutaion analysis, in order to find out the source of brand equity and the critical successful factor of the theme park. CHAPTER IV – RESULTS. 4 Sample and Descriptive Statistics This survey totally collected 100 samples, 57 respondents are male and 43 respondents are female. The majority respondents aged between 20 to 24 years olds (83%). In the monthly income group, nearly 50% of respondents their salaries were $5,001 to $10,000 per month. Monthly income was â€Å"less than $5,000† which had 41% of respondents. Many of respondents were students and workers (80%). Over a half of respondents had education level at diploma levels or associate degree, and 37% of respondents had education level at undergraduate or postgraduate. (Appendix 2) 2. Cronbach Alpha Reliability Analysis. This research has nine dimensions which are belong to the four categories. The dimensions are including 25 items. Use the Cronbach Alpha Reliability Analysis to find out the reliabilities between the 25 items and the nine dimensions. The reliability test in order to define questions whether it is fit/relative to the nine dimensions. This can find out which items can be more significant and which are the insignificant. The existence of the items was whether or not to affect the result of the dimensions such as completion, reliability and accuracy. (Appendix 3) 3. Mean and Standard Deviations Table 2: Comparison of Mean and S. D. of dimensions with Ocean Park and Disneyland |Categories |Dimensions |Ocean Park |Disneyland |Mean Differences |Ranking | | | |Mean |Std. Deviation |Mean |Std. Deviation | | | |Loyalty Measures | |Dimensions |Ocean Park |Disneyland | |Price Premium |Medium |High (Negative) | |Satisfaction/ Loyalty |High (Positive) |High (Negative) | |Perceived Quality |High (Positive) |High (Negative) | |Leadership |High (Positive) |High (Negative) | |Perceived Value |Medium |High (Negative) | |Brand Personality |High (Positive) |Medium | |Organizational Associations |Medium |Medium | |Brand Awareness |High (Positive) |High (Negative). | |Market Share |- |- | |Price and Distribution Indices |Medium |Medium | 1. Loyalty According to the result after crosstab the items, it found that in the loyalty category, the effect of price premium for Ocean Park was medium. The acceptability of the admission price for Ocean Park was relatively higher than the Disneyland. Its admission price was cheaper than Disneyland. Comparatively speaking, the effect of price premium for Disneyland was high. The acceptability of the admission price was low, that was relatively expensive. The influence of price premium on Disneyland is negative. Besides, the result reflected that price was not the determining factor for respondents to switch brand. On the other hands, the effect of satisfaction for Ocean Park was high. The park was better than Disneyland in satisfied customers needs and wants. Loyalty was built by a cumulative result, which were the customers’ past visit experiences with the brands. The result indicated that the opportunity of respondents’ revisit the parks was based on their last visit experiences. Ocean Park was better than Disneyland, respondents were willing to recommend Ocean Park to others rather than Disneyland. The influence of satisfaction on Ocean Park is positive. However, the effect of satisfaction for Disneyland was high. It brings a negative influence on the park. In satisfied customers needs and wants, Disneyland was worse than Ocean Park. Respondents were unsatisfied with their last visit experience. Only seldom of respondents would revisit the park on the next opportunity and recommend the park to others. During the result of satisfaction was negative, the management from Disneyland would improve the quality for satisfying customers’ needs and wants. 2. Perceived Quality/Leadership. The result reflected that there was a linkage between perceived quality and leadership, Compare with Disneyland, Ocean Park was popular and more innovative, it was the leading brand in Hong Kong, and overall Ocean Park was better in quality. It implied that better leadership, better quality. It helps Ocean Park to keep closer relationship with loyal customers and less of switchers. The effect of perceived quality/leadership for Ocean Park was medium. Oppositely, Disneyland was worse, it was not innovative enough and not much popular than Ocean Park, and therefore Disneyland was not the leading brand in Hong Kong. One of reasons might cause by the negative news about the park. The effect of perceives quality/leadership for Disneyland was high and negative. 3. Associations/Differentiation Ocean Park could provide good value for the money. The effect of perceived value for Ocean Park was medium. Disneyland could not provide good value for the money. The effect of perceived value for the park was high and negative. Ocean Park had its own personality and it was interesting. Respondents had a clear image of the type of person who would visit the park. The effect of personality for Ocean Park was high and positive. Disneyland also had its own personality. However, seldom of respondents were agreed the park was interesting. Normally, respondents had a clear image for what type of person would visit the park. The personality of Disneyland was medium. The personality of Disneyland was indistinct. It could reflect the respondents’ imagery, which was a key driver of brand personality. About the organization management of Ocean Park, the results reflected that respondents were answered â€Å"neutral† about the organization trust and admire the Ocean Park Company. But the respondents thought that the organization association with Ocean Park had credibility. The effect of organization for the park was medium. On the other hand, many respondents were answered â€Å"neutral† about the organization trust with Disneyland, and admire the Disneyland Company, and the credibility of organization association. The results implied that the respondents were lack of knowledge about the organization management beheld Disneyland. The effect of organization for the park was medium. Organization management back of the theme parks is usually ignored by the visitors. It is because its lack of attractive for the visitors associated with its services. Therefore, the effect of this dimension with both companies was medium. Overall, Ocean Park and Disneyland were different. 4. Awareness Recognition of Ocean Park and Disneyland were high. Respondents had heard of the two parks, it was important for the exist brands. Moreover, respondents were knew what the parks stand for, it reflected that customers had a level of brand knowledge. Besides, respondents were no opinion about Ocean Park, but respondents had opinion with Disneyland. The result of brand opinion implied that respondents were less confidence with Disneyland. The effect of awareness for Ocean Park was high and positive, and for Disneyland was high and negative. . 5. Market Behavior For the market share measure, there was lack of information to compare the sales performance between Ocean Park and Disneyland. Therefore, the effect of market for both Ocean and Disneyland would not be evaluated. As the result, the market price was not compared between Ocean Park and Disneyland, because Disneyland’s admission income was not being provided in the Annual Report individually. The financial information of Hong Kong Disneyland was combined with European Disneyland. In the distribution coverage, the result of Attraction Attendance 2007 and 2008 (Appendix 1a b) indicated that Ocean Park had higher indicated that Ocean Park had recorded higher attendance rather than Disneyland. It is implied that Ocean Park should be more successful on the admission income, and gained a large number of visitors rather than Disneyland. On the other hand, Disneyland had higher distribution coverage on the world, because it involved that its operations were involved 5 countries in the world. Besides, Ocean Park had lower distribution coverage in the market, because it only had one amusement in the world. As a result, both of Ocean Park and Disneyland were medium in the effect of market price/ distribution indices. To conclude that after use high/low method to compare with the two parks, it found that the brand equity of Ocean Park was better. Table 3 shown each category has a key driver of influence. Loyalty, the key driver is satisfaction. Perceived quality and leadership measures, leadership variable in this category should be considered. The key component of associations and differentiation measures is including the personality. In the category of awareness measures, brand awareness is the important component. Attendance of distribution coverage in market behavior is the most important. Matching mean analysis with crosstab test analysis, it found out that the loyalty is the most influence category among the brand equity of Ocean Park. The dimension of satisfaction in the loyalty category is the critical success factor of Ocean Park. CHAPTER VI – DISCUSSION During the study, there were faced such problems. This part of discussion would point out the problems, in order to share the editor’s opinions with those people who would having study or survey in the future. 1. Questionnaire Setting 1. Sample of the survey is not many, only collected 100 samples, representation of the result is low. 2. The method of collecting the data is not good enough. It is because through e-mail, which is inconvenience, low efficiency, and usually will ignore by addressees. E-mail is a passive method, and the respondents their replies are also passive. 3. Questionnaire is distributed to visitors through e-mail. Some respondents had their feedback about the questionnaire, such as wrong words, the questionnaire format, etc. 4. Focus on the questionnaire design, it could be improved. For example, in the price premium, the questionnaire did not ask respondents some questions about the â€Å"dollar metric†, and market research approach (conjoint/ â€Å"trade-off† analysis). Therefore, the dimension of price premium can not be accurately and clearly to analysis whether it can build up customer loyalty and whether it is important part of loyalty measures. 2. Information Collection 1. In the category of Market Behavior, there were not found some accurate information about the â€Å"Market Share† and â€Å"Market Price†. That is the admission price of Disneyland. According to the Disneyland Annual Report 2008, the financial information about Hong Kong Disneyland was displayed that it was combined the financial information associated with European Disneyland. This is indicated that the financial information should not be compared with Ocean Park directly, because any changes of the financial information may be occurred by both Hong Kong and European one. Therefore, the related information should not be really reflected the true information especially for Hong Kong Disneyland. 3. SPSS Data Entry and Output 1. When setting the questionnaires, sometimes, may need to set some reverse questions. For example, asking respondents that â€Å"Ocean Park is different from Disneyland† and â€Å"Ocean Park is basically the same as Disneyland†, that is reverse question.

Jane Eyre :: Literature Literary Papers

Jane Eyre In the time of Jane Eyre, an aristocratic gentleman’s education did not end with secondary schooling. The final step in such an Englishman’s education was to take a Grand Tour of Europe. Thomas Nugent, an influential travel writer, describes the Grand Tour as "a custom so visibly tending to enrich the mind with knowledge, to rectify the judgment, to remove the prejudices of education, to compose the outward manners, and in a word form the complete gentleman" (Buzard 98). Throughout the novel, Rochester makes countless references to his travels and conquests on Continental Europe. In order to fully understand his disposition and character, it is necessary to examine this customary journey and its beneficial and in some cases detrimental effects on the young gentleman’s life. A tour of the Grand Tour will explain the life altering properties of such a voyage. The Victorian Era brought about a great change in the social hierarchy in Brontà «Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s England. The economic windfall that followed industrial capitalism created new wealth outside of land ownership and brought about the rise of the middle classes (8; Introduction). While this allowed more middle-class tourists from England to travel to Europe, due to cost, most restricted their journeys to Paris and the Low Countries (Black 4-5). Only the truly rich could afford the entire itinerary of the Grand Tour. A common itinerary included Paris, Rome Venice, Florence, and Naples. Rome is recommended for those interested in viewing "numerous spectacles both entertaining and exciting or gruesome and pathetic" (Hibbert 170). Everything from celebrations to executions were held daily and most English travelers wouldn’t leave without witnessing one or the other. Paris and Rome were considered the most important of destinations while the other cities of Italy ranked a close second. Sti ll other cities, like Vienna, while important, were matters of "personal preference, fashion, convenience, and the impact of external factors – war, political disorder and disease" (Black 5-6). These cities off the beaten path were also considerably more difficult to reach and because of this they were more expensive. The greatest number of travelers began their journey in Paris before continuing south to Italy (Black 8). Italy itself posed a difficulty in that reaching it required either crossing the Alps or taking a sea route, with a majority taking the Alps (Black 19-20). The difficulty of crossing the Alps was vastly overrated. In most situations, travelers were placed in stretcher-like chairs and carried over the mountain (Hibbert 97).

Advantages of Credit Cards

Throughout history, men invented ingenious ways to solve problems. Some simple, but most will leave a big impact on our future. Men invented trading as means to acquire things that is needed, with another individual who wants what the trader has. But sometimes, what we want to trade with is not what the tradee wants. So currency is formed. Currency is accumulatable, powerful and can be used to acquire our wants and needs. Currency had been created in many shapes and sizes.When it was first invented, precious metals such as silver and gold chips are the most widely used. But in our modern era, paper currency reigns dominance. As time goes on, men started craving, craving for thing or material objects that only money can buy. And one might not have the funds to buy such things or if that certain desire costs a lot, bringing a whole load of cash with you to the store might not be such a good idea for many reasons. And so the credit card is invented. This small little piece of plastic wi ll leave a big impact on society.There are repercussions of misusing this object but let’s talk about the advantages for now. So what exactly are the advantages of credit cards? BUY TICKETS OR SHOP ONLINE EASILY In modern society, people have found ingenious ways to make acquiring everyday needs or material objects of desired. Grocery shops were invented so that we don’t need to wake up early and go all the way to farms to get fresh food like vegetables, eggs and meat. But what if we want require specific items, something that is not common but it needed as quick as possible.We might go around asking our friends and relatives to acquire those items. How troublesome would that have been, or had been as people actually did this back then. But then, utilizing the power of the internet, people had discovered that they can acquire things that are unusually rare, but is available. Sometimes from a seller from another country. To buy, means to pay. But how do we pay someone f rom another country? Mailing a wad of cash in an envelope to the seller might not be such a good idea, as mail do get lost from time to time.And so the credit card plays the role in rectifying this problem. Using the credit card we can pay the seller using borrowed funds from the bank and send it to the seller in the form of digital data in which will then be added to the account of the seller and thus the seller is paid. We can acquire things easily from the internet, and now with the usage of credit card,everything we need can be acquired. If it exists, if it is being sold, it can be acquired. It doesn’t matter if it’s in China, New York or timbuctoo.And lets say if something is on sale or your favorite band is having a concert in your hometown but you don’t have enough cash to buy it and if you wait until your pay check to arrive, your opportunity is long gone. Don’t worry your credit card is here to help. Instant currency with just a swipe of the card or a few presses of some numbers and information on the internet. No longer will you have to wait in line at the airport to buy tickets, you get get them through the internet using your credit card in just a few minutes.Nowadays people would rather stay home and shop through the internet than having to endure a long drive to the local mall especially if during the peak hours where there are traffic jams. Sites such as Lazada. com are common shopping websites that welcomes the usage of credit cards. It’s like a virtual mall in which the items bought need not be carried in accumulative quantities to the car park, but is put in a virtual shopping cart and then sent directly onto your doorsteps after the credit card payment has been made.

Private University of Bd

Private Universities of Bangladesh: a Curse or a Blessing for the economy INTRODUCTION: Education is the basic need for socio-economic transformation and advancement of a country. It is the prime ingredient of human resource development. With over 143 million people, Bangladesh is the eighth largest in the world in population. It is also one of the most densely populated countries and endowed with limited natural resources.The total size of the student population in Bangladesh is around 29 million which is about 20% of the total population (143 million). (http://www. ukti. gov. uk/export/countries/asiapacific/southasia/bangladesh/sectorbriefing/356900. html)Highest allocations for education in the national budgets during the nineties (90’s) show that the government has attached topmost priority to human resource development though education. The goal of ‘Education for All' is being vigorously pursued in the country. (http://www. iscoverybangladesh. com/meetbangladesh/edu cation. html) A recent addition to the higher education system in Bangladesh is the emergence of the private universities. Although private universities existed in other countries for long, the first private university in Bangladesh did not make its appearance till 1992. A law titled ‘Private University Act of Bangladesh’ was passed in the National Parliament in 1992 and the first private university of the country, the North South University, started functioning in the same year.Today the country has 56 such private universities where approximately 1, 24,267 students pursue their studies in subjects ranging from business to fashion design and media studies. (http://www. belcampus. org/higher-education-in-the-21st-century-bangladesh. html) Objectives: http://www. international. ac. uk/resources/ROLE%20OF%20PRIVATE%20UNIVERSITIES%20IN%20HUMAN%20RESOURCE%20Development%20in%20Bangladesh. pdf

Boeing 717 Airplane †Double Narrative Creative Writing Story

Boeing 717 Airplane – Double Narrative Creative Writing Story Free Online Research Papers Boeing 717 Airplane Double Narrative Creative Writing Story An airplane (Boeing 717) that loosing every single connection with the ground control, avoided from being crashed into another plane (Boeing 777) in a half of a second. 717s account: Come in Boeing 717, come i†¦.. that was the last words that Eric Kingston, the pilot of this new Boeing 717 heard from the ground control center, before he realized that the communication line is dead, and also his radar. This, and the fact that it was a very cloudy, and dark night, made him completely unaware of his environment- he was totally blind. What happened? asked a panicked voice. It was Cris- his secondary pilot. I don’t know, it seems like we lost the connection to the ground control, and our radar is dead too. He paused but I don’t think we are in problem, the guys down there are good, Im sure they will fix it in no-time he said to calm Cris down, but it did not seem to effect. We are going to die, arent we? asked Cris quietly. No we are not! Relax; everything is going to be okay. After all, Kingston is 55 years old and he is a pilot for nearly 35 years. But Cris was only 21 years old and it was his first flight. He remembered how he didnt want to take Cris with him he is too young Bill! Im not taking him! What am I, a babysitter? he said only two hours ago to Bill Collins- his superior. Relax Eric, he wont do anything to you, but he needs the practice. Kingston knew that he cant argue with him- only because they were friends Collins informed it to him, otherwise, he wouldnt even tell him this until the flight itself. Okay, Ill take him- but if I wont like something that he may do, Im throwing him off. I knew you will agree, I think you will like the kid said Collins with a smile. Like I had a choice, Kingston thought sadly. A sudden roar brought him back from his thoughts. What happened? yelped Cris. Probably one of the passengers got sick, relax. He said. But he himself couldnt. Something happened, he thought. He tried to contact with the ground. Nothing. He tried some more buttons. Still nothing. Then he saw it- a huge silver metal object was approaching toward him very fast, very very fast. He saw it like in a dream, everything suddenly become very slow and clear. A flash of light- he saw his wife and daughter in front of him, another flash- he saw his first flight, another- his wedding, another- his last birthday- he saw all of his life flashes before his eyes. Then, like a warm up of an engine, there was a huge explosion, he heard someone scream, he felt his head knocking into something hard and then it all went dark. What happened? these were the first two words that came out of Kingstons mouth when he woke up 15 seconds afterwards. He felt like he was run over by a car, and was shivering in his seat. It cant be death- he thought. Then he understood. Apparently, Cris grabbed the wheels in the last second and save his, Kingstons and another 100 passengers lives. But the plane was still out of control, and was flipping in the air like a peace of paper in a tornado. Kingston was able to return the plane to his normal position, and all he was able to hear before he said thank you to his secondary pilot and passed out again, was a great applause behind the door. 777s account: Come in Boeing 717, come in†¦. No answer. Come in Boeing 717, come in†¦. Still no answer You are approaching in our course too fast Boeing 717, change course. I repeat- change course Silent. What in the name of god are they doing? asked in astonishment Arthur Present- the main pilot of Boeing 777. I don’t know sir, it looks like they are not going to change their course soon replied his assistant. It was true- the 717 was flying straight toward them. Maybe it’s a problem with our radar sir. Maybe Should I change our course? he asked. No, I have direct orders about the course, stay on it. Yes sir It was indeed very cloudy and dark night, and neither the pilot, nor his assistant suspected that the 717 is completely blind, and it is not going to change its course soon enough. The last few seconds were vital- it was only then when they realized that the 717 was not going to change course at time. They saw the plane in front of them too late to react. The crash was unstoppable. Then the 717 turned sharply, but not sharply enough to avoid some scratches. Or more- before anyone of them was able to understand how lucky they were that the 717s pilot has good instincts, Present began to loose control. We have a fuel leak! shouted the assistant Hold tight! This is going to be very nasty! shouted Arthur through the roars of the back engines. They flipped in the air, as they were starting to dive into the sea- an infinite body of black, scary and unknown water. To imagine the sound of metal that has 500 passengers, weights about 300,000 kg, has 170,000 liters of fuel and 60 meters of wing span, hitting the ocean from 35,000 feet in a speed of 970 k/ph + the gravity force, you need to be there- but almost nobody that was there survived. Neither did them. Research Papers on Boeing 717 Airplane - Double Narrative Creative Writing StoryNever Been Kicked Out of a Place This NiceThe Hockey GameMind TravelThe Spring and AutumnHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallows EssayThe Masque of the Red Death Room meaningsHonest Iagos Truth through DeceptionBringing Democracy to AfricaPersonal Experience with Teen PregnancyHip-Hop is Art

How Many Nanometers in a Meter

How Many Nanometers in a Meter SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips If you’re interested in studying a field such as biology or computer engineering, knowing how to convert nanometers to meters (or nm to m) will be a vital skillto have. In this guide, we'll go over exactly what a nanometer is and what it measures. We’ll then give you three methods you can use for converting nm to m. Finally, we’ll provide you with a chart that shows various conversions from nanometers to millimeters, centimeters, decimeters, and more. What Is a Nanometer? A Meter? Nanometers and meters are both units of measurement that are used to measure length. A meter (m) is the basic unit of length in the International System of Units, or what is typically known as the metric system. One meter is equivalent to approximately 3.28 feet in the Imperial system, which is used in the United States and a smattering of other countries. A nanometer (nm) is equal to one-billionth of a meter.Theprefix "nano" literally means one-billionth. Written out, one nanometer looks like 0.000000001 m (that’s nine zeros!). It can be a little long to write out fully, though, so another option is to use exponents. A calculator will most likely show you1e-9for one-billionth, meaning1 * 10-9. So if you’d rather write out one-billionth using exponents, you could do 1 * 10-9, or even just 10-9. To help you understand the relationship between nm and m, let’s look at an analogy provided by the National Nanotechnology Initiative: "If the diameter of a marble [were] one nanometer, then [the] diameter of the Earth would be about one meter." That’s a gigantic difference and goes to show just how much bigger one meter is compared to one nanometer! What Are Nanometers Used to Measure? One nanometer is so small, it’s invisible to the human eye.Nanometers are generally used to measure microscopic things, both man-made and natural, such as molecules, atoms, and the tiny components used in computer processors. Your fingernails grow about 1 nm each second. That’s around 86,400 nm each day- but that’s still such a small length that you wouldn’t even notice it! Still not understanding just how small a nanometer really is? Imagine a ruler. You probably have a decent grasp of how big a centimeter is. Remember that 10 millimeters fit into one centimeter, so millimeters are already pretty small. Now listen to this: there are one MILLION nanometers in just one millimeter! The following chart will give you a better idea of how many nanometers there are in various things you can (and cannot!) see with the naked eye in the world around you: Specimen Length in Nanometers Dust mite 200,000 nm Sheet of paper (thickness) 100,000 nm Human hair (thickness) 80,000-100,000 nm Red blood cell 7,000-8,000 nm Bacterium 2,500 nm Nanoparticle (diameter) 4 nm Human DNA (diameter) 2.5 nm Atom 0.1-0.2 nm 3 Methods for Converting Nanometers to Meters There are a few ways you can convert nm to m. We go over each of these below. Method 1: Set Up a Conversion Equation The first conversion method is to set up an equation. Recall that 1 m is equivalent to 1,000,000,000 nm. To use this nm-to-m method, you’ll want to write this as a fraction: $${1 \m}/{1,000,000,000 \nm}$$ Let’s say you were given a measurement of 12,358 nm. To convert this to meters, all you need to do is multiply the measurement in nm by the conversion factor (the fraction above). Here is what this would look like written out: $$12,358 \nm=12,358{1/1,000,000,000}$$ $$12,358 \nm=0.000012358 \m$$ If you wanted to convert a measurement from m to nm, simply flip the conversion factor upside down so that it looks like this: $${1,000,000,000 \nm}/{1 \m}$$ Because the denominator is 1, this fraction is the same as 1,000,000,000. Therefore, you canjust multiply your measurement in m by 1,000,000,000 to get its conversion in nm. Method 2: Move the Decimal Another method you can use for converting nm to m is moving the decimal over.Nanometers and meters are based on units of 10 (like the whole of the metric system), so converting between units is really about moving the decimal. Because 1,000,000,000 nm equals 1 m, converting from nanometers to metersconsists of simply moving the decimal point to the left nine places. Let’s look at an example. Say you have a dust mite that is205,449.13 nm in length. To convert this measurement to meters, all you have to do is move the decimal point to the left nine places: By doing this, you should get the following: $205,449.13 \nm=0.00020544913 \m$ If you have a whole number, such as 682 nm, the decimal point will be after the last number (think of it like 682.0 nm), so you’ll start from there before moving it to the left nine places to get your conversion, which in this case would be 0.000000682 m. Method 3: Use an Online Conversion Tool The final nm-to-m conversion method you can use is an online conversion tool. Many websites offer free conversion tools you can use to quickly and accurately convert a certain measurement from nanometers to meters. All you need to do is input the measurement in nm and you’ll be given the conversion in m instantly. Available conversion tools we recommend using include The Calculator Site, which offers a helpful reference chart, and FormulaConversion.com, which lets you see the conversions right as you add, subtract, and/or change numbers. You can use any online nm-to-m conversion calculator, just as long as it’s accurate. If you’re not sure whether the answer the tool gives you is correct or not, try one of the two methods above to double-check your answer. Can you figure out how many nm are in 20 km? How Many Nanometers Are in a Meter?In a Kilometer? It's definitely helpful toknow how to convert nm to m, but what about converting nanometers to centimeters? To micrometers? To kilometers? The following chart gives a brief overview of various conversions, all the way from nm to km: Measurement Conversion in Nanometers 1 kilometer (km) 1,000,000,000,000 nm(one trillion) 1 hectometer (hm) 100,000,000,000 nm(one hundred billion) 1 decameter/dekameter (dam/dkm) 10,000,000,000 nm(ten billion) 1 meter (m) 1,000,000,000 nm(one billion) 1 decimeter (dm) 100,000,000 nm(one hundred million) 1 centimeter (cm) 10,000,000 nm(ten million) 1 millimeter (mm) 1,000,000 nm(one million) 1 micrometer (ÃŽ ¼m/um) 1,000 nm(one thousand) 1 nanometer (nm) 1 nm What’s Next? Trying to study for SAT Math? Then take a look at our expert guide to the SAT Math section and learn how you can get a perfect score on it. Curious about how Celsius converts to Fahrenheit? Our in-depth guide walks you through the #1 trick to know so that you can quickly convert between these temperature units. How do you convert decimals to fractions? And what about cups to quarts? 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Behavioral Economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Behavioral Economics - Essay Example Hedonic treadmill is a variant of the term hedonic adaptation, which compares an individual's "pursuit of happiness to a person on a treadmill, who has to keep working just to stay in the same place" (Wikipedia). Social etiquette or stipulations or expectations can be a factor that molds the ability to adapt in individuals, and hence, in the community as a whole. The human beings obey or conform to certain unwritten axioms of the society which are considered to be the acceptable norms of the community. This leads to his or her voluntary suppression of certain needs or aspirations as a matter of course. This can also be caused by biases or prejudices that prevail in the society, for example, those that are based on genders, age groups, social status, hierarchies, income levels, etc. Religious principles, beliefs or way of life can also lead to an individual's conforming to certain expectations and thereby compromising on his wants, achievements and aspirations as well as his choices. If a human being can actually be happy with his misfortunes based on his religious beliefs, for example, of his or her miseries being God-given or his or her state being the will of God, etc., then his mental status would actually be happy. This means that even the unemployed, the beggar and the exploited can feel happy and satisfied with their lot. However, this may facilitate the study of human well-being and development unfavorably. In adjusting to a worse life situation, an individual's adaptation is downwardly directed. That is, he or she adjusts to being happy being in a circumstance worse than he or she used to be in. This kind of adaptation is harmful or damaging in that it influences the individual to avert from making rational or reasonable choices. This, naturally, affects development and its applications aversely. This is a conclusion more from an economic or a materialistic point of view, but when you take into consideration an extremely economically backward and thoroughly deprived community, "it is only prudent to wonder how much suffering and misery there would be in the absence of adaptation" (Clark 8). Another form of adaptation is that which is a result of inadequate know-how or awareness. When an individual is not equipped with adequate knowledge, his or her choices, naturally, will not be rational, reasonable or optimum for him or her. In such cases the utility concepts cannot be ideal for conducting development studies and practices. The parameters may change for situations where the individual is able to gather knowledge and where he or she is not. However, with modern-day advancements in the technology of communication, the disparity in the capability levels of acquiring information is going to be less and less. An individual who is in an extremely lowly situation, with most of the essentials of life not being fulfilled to any decent degree whatsoever, if he has adapted to his situation without complaints, as it usually happens in most of the low-economic groups, and he is resigned to be happy with the little pleasures that is available to him, he may not appear to be highly deprived in terms of utility. In such cases, the concepts of utility may not be the reliable or adequate bases for studying human well-being. From all of the factors

E-participation model Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

E-participation model - Dissertation Example Since attitude can significantly affect their behavioral intention to use e-partipation, several studies purposely has decided to adopt the use of TAM as a way to explore and examine the end-users’ attitude on e-participation (Sahari et al., 2012; Wang and Lo, 2012; Hung, Chang and Yu, 2006). To identify factors that could affect people’s intention to use the e-government system in Malaysia, Sahari et al. (2012) conducted a cross sectional study. According to Sahari et al. (2012), factors that can affect the citizen’s use of e-government system include not only the perceived ease of use but also other factors like â€Å"perceived usefulness†, â€Å"social influence†, â€Å"attitude†, â€Å"trust†, â€Å"intention to use behaviour†, â€Å"ICT infrastructure†, and the â€Å"personal background† of each person (i.e. age, race, educational attainment, skills in using ICTs, and service group). Based on the research find ings, factors like â€Å"perceived ease of use†, â€Å"perceived usefulness†, and â€Å"social influence† has a strong impact on â€Å"users’ attitude† and that factors like â€Å"attitude† and â€Å"trust† strongly influence the â€Å"users’ behavioural intention† to use the e-government system (Sahari et al., 2012, p. 329). ... 100 – 101). With regards to attitude behaviour, Hung, Chang and Yu (2006) conducted a primary research study which aims to examine the impact of dependent variables such as â€Å"perceived usefullness†, â€Å"perceived ease of use†, â€Å"perceived risk†, â€Å"trust†, â€Å"personal innovativeness†, and â€Å"compatibility† on attitude and the impact of attitude on the general public’s intention to use e-government services. Based on the research findings, perceived usefullness, perceived ease of use, trust, personal innovativeness, and compatibility has a strong positive impact on attitude and that attitude has a positive impact on intention to use e-government services (Hung, Chang and Yu, 2006). Using on environmental factors such as â€Å"subjective norms† and â€Å"perceived behavioral control† as well as the citizens’ attitude towards the use of internet and mobile technology in e-democracy, Nchise (2 012) purposely investigated the citizens’ decision on technology adoption. After examining e-democracy in the concept of â€Å"planned behavioral theory†, Nchise (2012) found out that â€Å"environmental subjective norm positively influences the citizens’ attitude to adopt e-democracy†; â€Å"citizens’ perceived behavioral control over e-democracy positively influences their attitude to adopt e-democracy†; and that the â€Å"citizens’ attitude toward e-democracy positively influences their intention to adopt e-democracy†. Wang and Lo (2012) also conducted a research survey study which aims to examine factors that will somehow influence the citizens’ intention to use e-government websites. Based on the research findings, Wang and Lo (2012) found out that factor such as â€Å"perceived usefulness† and â€Å"perceived ease of use† has a strong impact