Jacques †Louis David Essay

We know that through out our Art History many artists have made themselves a name in this world. We have learned about the different periods of art history and the artist involved in those periods. Listening about all theses artists really touched me. There is so many to talk about, but I have pick one. Jacques Louis David was a great painter painting was considered his strength. He is one I really liked. Jacques Louis David was born on August 30 1748 and then he died December 29 1825. David was considered â€Å"the most celebrated French artist of his day and a principal exponent of the late 18th-century Neoclassical reaction against the Rococo style† (Britannia Encyclopedia). His father had died when he was nine and his mother left him. His uncles who were architects took care of him. He was not considered a good student. â€Å"He had a facial tumor that impeded his speech, and he was always preoccupied with drawing. He covered his notebooks with drawings† (Jacques-Louis David. org). He never paid attention to his studies just focusing on his art. He once said, ‘I was always hiding behind the instructor’s chair, drawing for the duration of the class’† (Jacques-Louis David. org). He wanted to be a painter but his uncles and mother wanted him to be an architect. He followed his heart and went to study with Francois Boucher, who was the famous artist of that time. The times were changing and so was the art. Boucher decided to send David to his good friend Joseph Marie Vien to study with him. David ended up attending the Royal Academy well he was there. David around 1770 to 1774 attempted to win a scholarship. He tried four times before he finally won. â€Å"David attempted to win the Prix de Rome, an art scholarship to the French Academy in Rome, four times between 1770 and 1774; once, he lost according to legend because he had not consulted Vien, one of the judges. Another time, he lost because a few other students had been competing for years, and Vien felt David’s education could wait for these other mediocre painters. In protest, he attempted to starve himself to death. Finally, in 1774, David won the Prix de Rome,† (Jacques-Louis David. org). David later on ended up in Italy. He was very inspired by the work. â€Å"David filled twelve sketchbooks with material that he would derive from for the rest of his life,† (Jacques-Louis David. org). In 1780, David completed the work Belisarius Asking Alms, which he also exhibited in Paris. He used a very unique approach to this piece. â€Å"In which he combined a nobly sentimental approach to antiquity with a pictorial technique reminiscent of Poussin,† (Britannia Encyclopedia). This piece you can tell is what started it all. You can see that David was very into the classical period. This is a very good piece for an artist just starting his career. To me it looks realistic, but you can still tell it was idealistic. I really liked the use of color in this piece. The focus though does not just seem to be on one person, but one all three characters portrayed in the piece. It really fits in the period. I chose this piece because it was one of David’s first pieces that kick started his career into art. It was the very first piece he exhibited. Another piece that helped his career is Oath of the Horatii. He produced this in 1784. This was one of the pieces in the Neoclassicism period. This piece had to do with a social contract. â€Å"The artist references Enlightenment values while alluding to Rousseau’s social contract,† (Wikipedia). They are showing the oath as a act of being one, they are coming together. â€Å"The Oath between the characters can be read as an act of unification of men to the binding of the state,† (Wikipedia). It also shows gender issue clearly between the women and the men. The issue of gender roles also becomes apparent in this piece, as the women in Horatii greatly contrast the group of brothers. David depicts the father with his back to the women, shutting them out of the oath making ritual; they also appear to be smaller in scale than the male figures,† (Wikipedia). This piece was really good. It really caught my eye when we studied it in class. I chose this piece because I wanted represent a piece of David’s from the Neoclassicism period. This was one of his best. It marks the middle of his time. One last piece of David’s is Mars Being Disarmed by Venus and the Three Graces. This was the very last piece of work he created before he died. It was known to be his â€Å"great last work†. He worked on this from 1822 to 1824. In 1823 he had said, â€Å"This is the last picture I want to paint, but I want to surpass myself in it. I will put the date of my seventy-five years on it and afterwards I will never again pick up my brush,† (Wikipedia). He exhibited this in Brussels, where about 10, 000 people came to view this piece. I chose this piece because I wanted show the ending of this story. This story is the story of David. He had actually stopped on his own will. This is the piece that represented he ended with a bang. He had been painting for seventy-five years now. I really liked how he showed the end of a battle. It symbolizes the end of his career. There are many great artists in our world, many from a long time ago. There has been so much artistic work that has impacted us in many ways. We can only rely on artwork to tell us about these artists that no longer exist. Jacques Louis David was a very famous painter from the many periods. He had seventy-five years of work. His impact has still remained. Artists will still remain.

Disinvestment: Capitalism and Public Sector

DISINVESTMENT – BOON OR BANE INTRODUCTION 1. Public enterprises are neither new nor unique to India. In good old days, Kautilya in his ‘Arthasastra’ talked of a public sector. A person was made incharge of salt manufacture and fixing its price. Similarily there were people made responsible for mining, coinage and gold, all in public sector. Nowadays there is hardly any country that is not engaged actively and directly in the management of economic and industrial enterprises. Various names given to these enterprises are ‘Public Sector Undertakings’ or PSUs, ‘Public Sector Enterprise’ or PSEs, ‘Trading Corporations’, State Owned Enterprise or SOEs, Government Owned Enterprise or GOE etc. 2. The role of government in businesses and otherwise has been questioned in the past. Thoreau said , â€Å"That government is best which governs least†. The only purpose of government would be to protect its citizens from force or fraud. The protection from force, that is, the protection of individual rights, would be achieved through the use of a police force to protect the rights of citizens at home; a military, to protect the rights of citizens from foreign aggression; and a court system to enforce contracts and settle disputes between citizens. It is not government business to do business. The poor performance of government owned enterprises around the world led to a world wide withdrawal of government from businesses and coining of a new term called ‘Privatisation’. Privatisation process in India is euphemistically called ‘Disinvestment’ to make it palatable to those who consider privatisation a dirty word. Disinvestment or privatisation in India was initiated in 1991-92 by the Chandrashekhar government and carried forward by subsequent governments. AIM 3. The aim of this paper is to study various aspects of Disinvestment so as to conclude whether it is a boon or bane for India. SCOPE 4. The paper would be covered under the following heads:- (a)What is Disinvestment? (b)Capitalism, Socialism, Communism and Market economy. c)Genesis of Government Participation In business. (d)Performance of Government Controlled Enterprises. (e)Objectives of Disinvestment. (f)Genesis of Disinvestment process. (g)The Disinvestment process in India. (h)Advantages of Disinvestment. (j)Disadvantages of Disinvestment. (k)Disinvestment-Boon or Bane. WHAT IS DISINVESTMENT 5. Disinvestment can be defined as withdrawal of state from production of goods and se rvices or transfer of ownership from the public sector to the private sector. CAPITALISM, SOCIALISM, COMMUNISM AND MARKET ECONOMY 6. Before we proceed further it would be worth our time to understand the concepts of Capitalism, Socialism, Communism and Market Economy. CAPITALISM 7. Capitalism is a political system in which factories, companies, land, etc. are owned privately in order to create profit for the owners. Prices of goods and services fluctuate depending on the desire of the consumer and the availability of the goods (the law of supply and demand). In a capitalist society their will be significant differences in wealth and power between those who have capital (machines, factories, ships, land, etc. and those who do not. 8. No one can say when capitalism first began. Clearly the development of capitalism was not revolutionary like that of communism. Instead it emerged gradually without anyone making a plan of what it should become. However, aspects of modern capitalism such as the stock exchange, banks and great disparity in wealth came about during the industrial revolution. 9. In 1776 Adam Smith, a Scot tish university professor, produced a book which described the workings of a capitalist society. He believed that a country's wealth depends on all people pursuing their own interests. If a person promotes his own interest he or she is unintentionally promoting his country's interest. Smith thought that governments should promote free trade and not interfere by protecting certain industries from competition. The only duty of governments, Smith wrote, was to provide services that couldn't be profitable like the building of roads, schools etc. 10. Capitalism means the complete separation of economy and state, just like the separation of church and state. Capitalism is the social system based upon private ownership of the means of production which entails a completely uncontrolled and unregulated economy where all land is privately owned. But the separation of the state and the economy is not primary, it is only an aspect of the premise that capitalism is based upon: individual rights. Capitalism is the only politico-economic system based on the doctrine of individual rights. This means that capitalism recognizes that each and every person is the owner of his own life, and has the right to live his life in any manner he chooses as long as he does not violate the rights of others. The essential nature of capitalism is social harmony through the pursuit of self-interest. Under capitalism, the individual's pursuit of his own economic self-interest simultaneously benefits the economic self-interests of all others. In allowing each individual to act unhampered by government regulations, capitalism causes wealth to be created in the most efficient manner possible which ultimately raises the standard of living, increases economic opportunities, and makes available an ever growing supply of products for everyone. The free-market operates in such a way so that as one man creates more wealth for himself, he simultaneously creates more wealth and opportunities for everyone else, which means that as the rich become richer, the poor become richer. It must be understood that capitalism serves the economic self-interests of all, including the non-capitalists. SOCIALISM 11. Socialism believes that the inequalities that exist in our society are unjust and that the minority of the population should not own the vast majority of the wealth. Socialists do, nevertheless, differ on ways by which this change should be achieved. Some believe that the change should be gradual, achieved through parliament, and others believe that the change should be rapid, brought about through revolution. 12. Karl Marx became the prophet and teacher of socialism whose writings transformed socialist thinking all over the world. Marx was a philosopher and an idealist Marx believed that man should labor not only for himself as an individual but for society as well. Implied in Marxist philosophy is the notion that man, being a social animal, has his destiny and his reality inextricably linked with his society. His analysis describes capitalism as the first stage followed by socialism and finally communism. Marx believed that socialism is an unrealised potential in capitalism and once most workers recognized their interests and became â€Å"class conscious,† the overthrow of capitalism would proceed as quickly as capitalist opposition allowed. The socialist society that would emerge out of the revolution would have all the productive potential of capitalism. People would be aided on the basis of social needs. COMMUNISM 13. The final goal, communism, toward which socialist society would constantly strive, is the abolition of alienation. A class-less society would be advantageous for the vast majority of the population. Communism, a form of government, inspires some people with the zeal of a religion. Communism in theory stands for total public ownership and rejects private property and personal profit. In practice, however, the state determines how strictly the doctrine is applied in any particular country. MARKET ECONOMY 14. The market economy idea is based on, or at least explained by, Darwin's theory of evolution. Companies are viewed as organisms in an ecosystem. A company with a successful formula will prosper and grow, spread its formula and ideas, while a company with a bad formula will wither and disappear. A profitable company can grow, or at least survive, while an unprofitable company will wither and die out. 15. Post Karl Marx, The fight against inequality was viewed as a fight by the collective worker class vs the individual entrepreneur. The individual who complements the group was seen as a contradiction. Some states evolved on this contradiction, wherein an individual was supposed to surrender his individuality and entrepreneurship for the state and the social security provided by it. On the other side of the world this fad for collectivism was viewed as a threat to its existing capitalist system which not only proved successful in the past, but also held promise for the future. It is this clash in ideologies which gave as a bi polar world of communism and capitalism. 16. Contrary to widely held beliefs, capitalism is not a system which exploits a large portion of society for the sake of a small minority of wealthy capitalists. Ironically, it is actually socialism that causes the systematic exploitation of labor. Since the socialist state holds a universal monopoly on labor and production, no economic incentive exists for the socialist state to provide anything more than minimum physical subsistence for the workers except to perhaps prevent riots or revolutions. Exploitation is inherent in the nature of socialism because individuals cannot live for their own sake, rather, they exist merely as means to whatever ends the socialist rulers — the self-proclaimed spokesman of â€Å"society† — may have in mind. Inequality is and progress are directly linked and progress always causes inequality. To reach for something high, we would have to stand on one another and not together on the same platform. GENESIS OF GOVERNMENT PARTICIPATION IN BUSINESS GOVERNMENT PARTICIPATION IN BUSINESS WORLDOVER 17. Before considering the need for disinvestment and why disinvestment, it is relevant to consider the main reasons for rise of state power world over. The following are few reasons for state power:- (a)Great depression of 1930s, unemployment and hardship. b)Rebuilding war-torn economies. (c)Redistribution of income, protection to the needy for ethical reasons. (d)Developing countries do not have markets in which individuals can operate and ill-developed private enterprise. (e)Rise of non-economic objectives (sanctions against apartheid policies, or restraining ethnic minorities dominating an economy). (f)Protect employment or ensure good working conditions. (g)Total lack of faith in markets and priva te ownership. (h)Cold war, wars among developing countries and border disputes. j)State investment in and the control of the strategic sectors of the economy was necessary for the economic development of those sectors and the security of the country. (k)Government stepping in to rescue certain enterprises, whose closure could result in significant loss of jobs. (l)An economic consensus around the world accepting public enterprises as an integral part of the economy, particularly to manage natural monopolies as also the core industries, like infrastructure, which in turn would promote rapid economic growth and the pace of industrialisation. GOVERNMENT PARTICIPATION IN INDIA 18. Before independence, there was almost no â€Å"Public sector† in Indian economy. The only industries worthy of mention were Railways, The Post & Telegraph. The Port Trust, The Ordnance and the Aircraft factories and few Government controlled undertakings. 19. In the 1948 Industrial Policy Resolution, the manufacture of arms and ammunition, production and control of atomic energy, ownership and management of railways became the State monopoly. Six basic industries viz. iron & steel, coal, aircraft manufacture, ship building, mineral oils, manufacture of telephone, telegraph and wireless apparatus were to be developed by the State. All other areas were left open to private initiatives. 20. Within a decade of laying down the policy parameters in 1948, another policy statement was issued in April 1956 by the Government to give a new orientation to the â€Å"mixed economy† concept. The passage of Industrial Policy Resolution of 1956 and adoption of socialist pattern of society as the national economic goal of the country built the foundation of the dominant public sector as we see it today. It was believed that a dominant public sector would reduce the inequality of income and wealth and advance the general prosperity of the nation. 21. The main objectives of setting up the Public Sector enterprises as stated in Industrial policy Resolution of 1956 were:- (a)To help in the rapid economic growth and Industrialisation of the country and create necessary infrastructure for economic development. (b) To earn return on investment and utilise generate resources for development. (c)To promote redistribution of income and wealth. (d)To create employment opportunities. e)To promote balanced regional development. (f)To promote import substitutions, save and earn foreign exchanges for the economy. 22. The 2nd Five year Plan document clearly stated that â€Å"all industries of basic and strategic importance, or in the nature of public utility services should be in the public sector. Other industries, which are essential and require investment on a scale, which only the state, in th e present circumstances, could provide have also to be in the public sector†. If further emphasized that, â€Å"the public sector has to expand rapidly. It has not only to initiate developments which the private sector is either unwilling or unable to undertake, it has to play the dominant role in shaping the entire pattern of investment in the economy†. The investment in public sector enterprises has grown from Rs. 29 Crore in 5 PSU on 01Apr 51 to Rs. 2,52,554 Crore in 240 PSU on 31Mar 2000. PERFORMANCE OF GOVERNMENT CONTROLLED ENTERPRISES 23. What was the outcome of government investment in business. Over a period of time, the States failed in achieving the goals and results for which State Owned Enterprises had been created. The following are some of the reasons for the same:- (a)Politicians govern the state and they serve group interest and not public interests. (b)Bureaucracy operates to maximise budget of individual departments, their own prospects and perks. (c)Expansions of state control resulting in the loss of economic and freedom and thereof-political freedom as well. (d)Regulation by state tends to serve the interest of regulated. (who capture regulators) rather than public. (e)Costs of regulation tend to exceed benefits of regulation. f)Supply by public authorities is inherently costly, inefficient usually in over supply, with less choice for consumers. (g)Developing countries have weak institutional structures for governments to operate services efficiently. (h)Public enterprises or state owned enterprises tend to be monopolistic, have no risk of closure and are liable to political and bureaucratic manipulation. (j)Property rights and transferability with gains or losses are important if owner s were to demand information and make the enterprise really accountable and efficient. 4. During the last ten years, the Tax-payer has had to give about Rs. 80,000 crore directly or indirectly to the public sector, so that it could survive. During 1999-2000 alone, the CAGs report on PSUs for 1999-2000 indicates that the tax-payer has taken a huge burden in one year alone which amounted to Rs. 23,140 crore for supporting PSUs. OBJECTIVES OF DISINVESTMENT 25. ‘Is the business of government business? ’- Easily the million-dollar question that plauged the minds of policy makers, intelligentsia and the public alike. The performance of PSUs world over led to introspection and a need for privatisation/disinvestments was felt. Technology and W. T. O. commitments have made the world a global village and unless industries, including public industries do not quickly restructure, they would not be able to survive. Public enterprises, because of the nature of their ownership, can restructure slowly and hence the logic of privatisation got stronger. Besides, techniques are now available to control public monopolies like Power and Telecom, where consumer interests can be better protected by egulation / competition. Therefore, investment of public money to ensure protection of consumer interests is no longer a convincing argument. Disinvestment aimed to achieve the following: – (a)Promote economic efficiency by fostering well functioning markets and competition. (b)Redefine role of the State in order to allow it to concentrate on the essential task of governing and to withdraw from activities, which are better suited to private enterprise. (c )Reduce fiscal burden of loss-making public enterprises, in order to help regain fiscal control and macroeconomic stability. d)Reduce the public debt. (e)Release limited State resources for financing or other demands, for example in the field of education and social health. (f)Generate new investment including foreign investment. (g)Mobilise domestic investments and deepen domestic financial development (h)Spread and democratise share ownership by encouraging it among individuals, making employees share-owners and by rising productivity through incentives for holding stock. GENESIS OF DISINVESTMENT PROCESS GENESIS OF DISINVESTMENT PROCESS – WORLDWIDE U. K (Post 1979) 26. Although the idea of privatisation has been around for a long time (Adam Smith wrote about it as long as 1762), privatisation has been tried widely since the mid 1970s. Privatisation first attracted world-wide attention in 1979 when the Conservative Government of Prime Minister Margaret Thacher began transforming the ailing U. K. economy by selling public holdings in industry, communications and other service sector areas. Since 1979, over 105 countries all over the world have initiated their own privatisation programmes. Following are the salient features of the privatisation programme in the UK:- a)Privatisation carried out in three phases (i)Phase I: Commercial enterprises (e. g. , British Aerospace) (ii)Phase II: Utilities (involved more complicated structural & regulatory issues) (iii)Phase III: Less commercial industries, mainly those performing socially desirable services and dependant on subsidies (e. g. , the railways). (b)Around 60 major businesses, representing 10% of GDP, transferred to private sector. (c)Fundamental issues addressed were:- (i) Ensuring commitment to the policy from the top of the Government. (ii) Setting clear objectives. iii) Careful planning. (iv) Engaging intermediaries-financial, technical and legal advisers. (d)Regulation & competition effectively used while privatising services and infrastructure. (e)Initially resisted both by consumers and employees. (f)However, consumers benefited from lower prices, greater choice & better service and productivity improved. (g)Employees too benefited in the medium term due to increase in economic activity, though some loss of jobs in the short run as productivity increased rapidly. Offered liberal opportunities to invest in divested shares. France 27. 8 large groups and 3 medium size banks were privatised. Shares divested to domestic public (about 50%), large shareholders (about 25%), employees (about 10%) & foreign investors (about 15%). 21 companies privatised, including 2 of the largest banks and 3 largest insurance companies. Shares divested to domestic public, large shareholders, employees & foreign investors in. China 28. Market reforms first started in 1978. Corporatisation and then listing on both domestic and foreign stock exchanges favoured for efficient large and medium size SOEs. Foreign investors permitted to invest in various infrastructure and utility businesses, including railways, toll roads, ports and power plants. In 1978, over three-quarters of industrial output was produced by the state sector. This fell to 34% by 1995. The collective sector increased from 32% to 37%, individual sector (small capitalist businesses) jumped from 1. 8% to 13% and others (including all other capitalist enterprises – local and foreign) leaped from 1. 2% to 16. 6%. Thus, the private sector grew at the expense of the state sector. Gradual stage-by-stage approach followed for reforming State Owned Enterprises (SOEs). According to the World Investment Report 1997, foreign direct inflows to China amounted to US $42. 3 billion in 1996. Some Other Countries 29. Some other countries which have undergone privatisation are :- (a)Eastern EuropeBulgaria, Czech. , Hungary, Latvia, Poland, Romania (b)Latin AmericaArgentina, Brazil (c)Far EastKorea, China, Philippines (d)S. E. Asia Malaysia, Thailand (e)South Asia Pakistan, Sri Lanka (f)Middle East & AfricaEgypt, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria THE DISINVESTMENT PROCESS IN INDIA Genesis 30. A decade ago, the concept of privatisation as a catalyst was hardly acknowledged in India. Not long ago, it was nationalisation that was in vogue. Even international aid-donors such as the IMF and the World Bank had recommended a larger role for the public sector during the 1950s and 1960s and they refused to grant loans to those countries which did not have government-sponsored development programmes. Now, it is just the other way round. The prescription of privatisation is being sold, rather over-sold, as a panacea to cure our economic ills. India, for almost four decades was pursuing a path of development in which public sector was expected to be the engine of growth. But by mid-eighties their short comings and weaknesses started manifesting in the form of low capacity utilisation, low efficiency, lack of motivation, over-manning, huge time and cost overrun, inability to innovate and take quick decision, large scale political and bureaucratic interference in decision making, etc. But instead of trying to remove these defects and to increase the rate of growth of national economy, gradually the concept of self-reliant growth was given a quiet burial. The Government started to deregulate the imports by reducing or withdrawing import duty in phases. This resulted in dwindling of precious foreign exchange reserve to abysmally low level. The foreign debt repayment crisis compelled Government of India to raise loan from IMF against physical deposit of RBI gold reserve, on conditions harmful to the interest of the country. 31. Thus started the reversal of policies towards PSU. The Industrial policy of 1991 started the process of delicensing and except 18 industries, Industrial licensing was withdrawn. The market was opened up to domestic private capital and foreign capital was provided free entry upto 51% equity in high technology areas. The aim of economic liberalisation was to enlarge competition and allowing new firms to enter the market. Thus the emphasis shifted from PSEs to liberalisation, of economy and gradual disinvestment of PSEs. A paradigm shift of Government's economic policy orientation originated in 1991 from a foreign debt servicing crisis. Disinvestment Process 32. The Industrial Policy of 1991 limited the priority areas for the public sector to : (a)Essential infrastructure goods and services. (b)Exploration and exploitation of oil and mineral resources. c)Technology development and building of manufacturing capabilities in areas which are crucial in the long term development of the economy and where private sector investment is inadequate. (d)Manufacture of products where strategic considerations predominate such as defence equipment. 33. Congress Government in 1991-92 offered up to 20% of Govt. equity in selected PSUs to mutual funds and investment institutions in the public sector, as also to wor kers in these firms. The objective was to raise resources, encourage wider public participation and promote greater accountability. 4. As per Rangarajan Committee recommendations in Apr 93, there were only six Schedule ‘A’ industries where the Government might consider holding 51% or more equity, namely (a) Coal and lignite. (b) Mineral oils. (c) Arms, ammunition and defence equipment. (d) Atomic energy. (e) Radioactive minerals. (f) Railway transport. 35. The Common Minimum Programme of the United Front Govt in 1996 aimed for the following:- (a)To carefully examine withdrawal from non-core strategic areas. (b)To set up a Disinvestment Commission for advising on disinvestments issues. c)To take and implement decisions to disinvest in a transparent manner. (d)Job security, opportunities for retraining and redeployment to be assured. 36. Disinvestment Commission Recommendationsin Feb 97- Oct 99 aimed for the following:- (a)72 PSEs were referred to the Disinvestment Commis sion during 1996-99. The Disinvestment Commission gave its recommendations on 58 PSEs. (b)The Disinvestment Commission recommendations gave priority to strategic / trade sales, with transfer of management, instead of public offerings, as was recommended by the Rangarajan Committee in 1993. 37. In 1998-99, the govt aimed to bring down Government shareholding in the PSUs to 26% in the most of cases, (thus facilitating ownership changes, as was recommended by the Disinvestment Commission). 38. In 1999-2000, the Govt. aimed To strengthen the strategic PSUs, privatise non-strategic PSUs through gradual disinvestment or strategic sale and devise viable rehabilitation strategies for weak units. 39. On 16th March 1999, the cabinet approved classification of PSUs into Strategic and Non strategic. (a)Strategic PSUs: (i)Defence related (ii)Atomic energy related (iii)Railway transport b)Non-strategic PSUs: All other 40. Strategy for Non-strategic Public Sector Enterprises wasReduction of Government stake to 26%to be worked out on a case to case basis,on the following considerations: (a)Whether the Industrial sector requires the presence of the public sector as a countering force to prevent concentration of power in private hands. (b)Whether the Industrial sector requires a proper regu latory mechanism to protect the consumer interests before Public Sector Enterprises are Privatised. 41. In 2000 – 2001, the main elements Policy were:- (a)To restructure and revive potentially viable PSUs. b) To close down PSUs which cannot be revived. (c) To bring down Government equity in all non-strategic PSUs to 26% or lower, if necessary. (d)To fully protect the interests of workers. (e)To put in place mechanisms to raise resources from the market against the security of PSUs’ assets for providing an adequate safety-net to workers and employees. (f)To establish a systematic policy approach to disinvestment and privatisation and to give a fresh impetus to this programme, by setting up a new Department of Disinvestment. (g)To emphasize increasingly on strategic sales of identified PSUs. h)To use the entire receipt from disinvestment and privatisation for meeting expenditure in social sectors, restructuring of PSUs and retiring public debt. Utilisation of Proceeds 42 . In the Budget of 2000-2001 the Govt. outlined its aim for utilisation of the disinvestments proceeds as enumerated below. (a) Restructuring assistance to PSUs. (b) Safety net to workers. (c) Reduction of debt burden. (d) Additional budgetary support for the Plan, primarily in the social and infrastructure sectors (contingent upon realisation of the anticipated receipt). ADVANTAGES OF DISINVESTMENT 43. After disinvestments the following would be achieved: – (a)Releasing of huge amounts of scarce public resources locked up in non-strategic PSUs, for deployment in areas much higher on social priority, such as, public health, family welfare, education and social and essential infrastructure; (b)Stemming further outflow of public resources for sustaining the unviable non-strategic PSUs. (c)Reducing the public debt that is threatening to assume unmanageable proportions. d)Transferring the commercial risk, to which the tax-payers’ money locked up in the public sector is exposed, to the private sector wherever the private sector is willing and able to step in. The money that is deployed in the PSUs is really the public money; and, is exposed to an entirely avoidable and needless risk, in most cases. (e)Release of other tangible and intangible resources, such as, large manpower currently locked up in managing the PSUs, and their time and energy , for redeployment in areas that are much higher on the social priority but are short of such resources. f)Disinvestment would expose the privatised companies to market discipline, thereby forcing them to become more efficient and survive or cease on their own financial and economic strength. They would be able to respond to the market forces much faster and cater to their business needs in a more professional manner. It would also facilitate in freeing the PSUs from the Government control and introduction of corporate governance in the privatised companies. (e)Disinvestment would result in wider distribution of wealth through offering of shares of privatised companies to small investors and employees. f)Disinvestment would have a beneficial effect on the capital market; the increase in floating stock would give the market more depth and liquidity, give investors easier exit options, help in establishing more accurate benchmarks for valuation and pricing, and facilitate raising of f unds by the privatised companies for their projects or expansion, in future. (g)Opening up the erstwhile public sectors to appropriate private investors would increase economic activity and have an overall beneficial effect on the economy, employment and tax revenues in the medium to long term. h)In many areas, e. g. , the telecom sector, the end of public sector monopoly would bring relief to consumers by way of more choices, and cheaper and better quality of products and services. DISADVANTAGES OF DISINVESTMENT 44. Having seen so many advantages, what do we have on the flip side? Is disinvestments without any disadvantages? Some of the likely disadvantages could be:- (a)Non realisation of actual value of the PSU as the realisation would on unit potential and not assets held. The logic is similar to an old Fiat car in Delhi selling for less than what it would fetch as scrap. (b)Short term retrenchment occurs in order to increase efficiency. However, It is offset in the longterm by a profitable organisation creating more employment. (c)It is the wealthy who would buy the PSUs making them wealthier. Therefore, they inequality in society increases. (d)Creation of monopolies may take place. DISINVESTMENT-BOON OR BANE 45. After having seen the advantages and disadvantages of disinvestments, the ast performance of our PSUs, the non accountability of the Public sector to the Tax payer and the consumer we are sure that there is no doubt about the Disinvestment process being a boon for the nation. As the world changed in this era of globalisation, a country living in the past is doomed and economic slavery is not far behind. Proponents of anti-disinvestment campaign have a past record of pushing conglomerate like Coca-Cola out of the country, little realising that it all about creation of wealth by production and not about transfer of wealth to another country. For the poor to get rich, the rich must get richer and conversely for the rich to get richer the poor must get rich. It this is understood by one and all then the inequalities in the society become acceptable and progress becomes the norm of the day. Going slow on the disinvestments process would be to delay the progress of the country and turning around from it would only prove catastrophic for the economy and the industry. Effecieny is the keyword in the present day world and any thing produced inefficiently is at a cost that the nation has to pay one way or the other. It is better to give dole than to hire extra people and breed inefficiency. Let the government improve governance before it even thinks of Business. Let not the Pseudo profits earned by monopolistic mineral oil selling agencies like Indian Oil, HPCL etc cloud our vision. We have the example of BSNL, which when faced with private competition is coming out with innovative ideas to lure the customer, while in the past it was sleeping. CONCLUSION 46. Every time utopia is discovered in a system, utopia redefines itself. The process of corruption and correction is continuous. Same may happen with the concept of privatisation in the future. In retrospect, it is easy to fault the vision our leaders of yesteryears. If we need to fault them, it should not be for creating public owned enterprises but for killing the private enterprise by means of license raj, red tapism, lack of infrastructure, rules and rules for rules, corruption and capacity control. It remind me of a statement made by JRD Tata in one of his last interview and I quote â€Å" It is in this country that I was penalised for producing more†. I had not heard a sadder statement that day and stayed the saddest statement for a long time to come. Entrepreneur and the worker complement each other and need to co-exist. Today, government as an entrepreneur is passe. Yet, the indiscriminate pursuit of the policy, unmindful of the social setting is not without its failings. For in the interregnum, when the benefits of privatisation have not yet completely trickled down, we need sufficient social security mechanisms to ensure the poor do not turn poorer. We further need strong regulatory regimes and stronger competition laws concomitant with privatization in order to install the ‘consumer as king’, and prevent distortions in the functioning of the market by the big monopolistic players. A fine balance of these competing interests, with the ultimate goal of ‘public good’, which is essentially what the business of government is all about, should be the primary focus of any privatisation agenda.

Pros and Cons of European currency union Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Pros and Cons of European currency union - Essay Example One of the biggest advantages of Euro is that it saves a lot of time and effort of the travelers who choose to travel with Europe. For instance if there is a Soccer game in Spain which a Greek citizen wants to witness, he/she can just straight away catch a flight and reach the Soccer stadium in Spain and watch the game. There is no need to covert the currency into some other currency. The same has resulted in saving a lot of time and effort of the European Citizens. This was not the case prior to the introduction of Euro. The people had to exchange money every now and then to meet their demands but after the introduction things have changed for better. The introduction of Euro has brought in many significant changes in the European Economy. The most noticeable of them all is the economic integrity brought by the introduction of the Euro. The positive effects are not restricted to economy but they also positively influence the political climate in the European countries. This paper will throw light upon the benefits and the problems of the European single currency, which is Euro. In addition to this the paper will also focus upon the affect on other currencies by the present rise in the value of the Euro. "Having a single currency and an economic and monetary union strengthens Europe's role in international fora and organizations like the International Monetary Fund, World Bank, and Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development." (The Euro & You). Euro strengthens the position of all the European countries, having a single currency helps a lot in the growth of the country and in this particular case Europe on the whole. Euro is very frequently used in international trade; it has very quickly become a part and parcel of the lives of many businessmen who carry out trade at large scales. Countries also have started using Euro as the currency for International trade. "A single currency makes Europe a strong partner to trade with and facilitates access to a genuine single market for foreign companies, who will benefit from lower costs of doing business in Europe." (The Euro & You). Another major advantage is the clarity in prices whenever an European citizen travels to another European country it becomes very easy to compare and buy the products of his/her choice; this facility was not available to the citizens prior to the launch of the Euro. Earlier even if a Tourist wanted to buy a product desperately, he/she was made to think thrice about it because of the different currencies within Europe but these days there is transparency in prices with regard to the currencies and this has only happened because of the introduction of the Euro. Euro has brought in a lot of Economic and financial stability, a Businessman is much less prone to risk when using Euro as his/her currency. Single currency keeps the inflation rate under a good check, which is extremely important for an economy and the Euro does exactly that. It keeps interest rates and the rate of inflation under check hence it can be said that the Euro plays a pivotal role in maintaining the economic growth of the European nations. Problems of the European Single Currency The biggest disadvantage is that it increases the financial cost of an institution in getting adjusted to the new currency. The

DIVERSITY & INCLUSION Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

DIVERSITY & INCLUSION - Research Paper Example In terms of religious beliefs, the Yankees and Maine Acadians are mostly distinct. Third, family life involves several aspects of human development and belonging and living in a family. Both the Yankees and Maine Acadians highly value the family. This essay will also examine the similarities and differences between the two subcultures in terms of the three aforesaid cultural concepts. A significant selection of literature on the three cultural concepts is available hence they are selected. E. Results Section This section provides a general overview of the Yankees’ and Acadians’ arts and entertainment, religious beliefs, and family life. Yankees The Yankee musicians justify their musical interest on account of redemptive culture: the belief that the culture of music could revive the American soul (Moore, 1985). Yankees viewed themselves leaders of a revolutionary campaign distinctly American and, hence, collective. By openly experiencing the harmonious values of redempti ve culture, people could make sense of the meaning of Yankees’ uniqueness as Americans (Moore, 1985). The Yankee musician, similar to romantics, perceived themselves to be ‘unacknowledged legislators’ (Fox, 1940, 57). ... The Yankee him/herself normally explains the visionary future, tradition, and music, in relation to each other. In terms of religious beliefs, Yankees in Maine are Puritans, among other things. They believed in deliverance or redemption, that the destiny of human souls was predestined by God (Wyatt-Brown, 1990). This means that God had preprogrammed as to the people who would be saved and who would not from the very beginning. Salvation was a private issue between the Saints and God. Saints were the saved (Wyatt-Brown, 1990). Yankees have faith in God and value the reading of the Bible because they believe that the task is the way to God. To become a Saint and be saved they perform a Covenant of Grace, a bond that pleads for salvation and forgiveness of sins (Library of Congress, n.d.). They believe that they have to follow by the example of God and virtually dedicate their live to Him. Religious beliefs of the Yankees are full of ironies. They oppose each other in order to form Utop ia or an ideal World, a world that did not permit mutiny (Fox, 1940). The beliefs and purposes of Yankees generated an anxiety full of ironical issue. Humans should not commit sins, but they would sin nevertheless. Humans are obliged to forgive, but wickedness and temptations was omnipresent. Humans are pursuers of salvation, but are defenseless against vice (Wyatt-Brown, 1990). In relation to their religious beliefs, the Yankees believe that the family is very valuable. The Scriptures strongly claim that sex and marriage are gifts given by God (Moore, 1985). The Yankees believe that sex and marriage are co-existent for pleasure and reproduction. The Yankees also undervalue celibacy, view married sex as pure and important, value family life, support the

Field Interview Paper about Correctional Institution Guard Essay

Field Interview Paper about Correctional Institution Guard - Essay Example I would put together group activities like partnering teams up to create, design, implement, and display their project after observing it for a week in nature so the detainees can get fresh air and spend some one on one time with each other. They would be paired in groups that I felt would benefit one another from previous observation, and then I would have them display and explain the project. Softball would be good for their souls that shows real fun within a simple game where they can show gratitude, work as a team, cut up, be loud, where I could watch and the youngsters get exercise frequently. Since I would want to work with 13 to 17 year old juveniles would take the juvenile approach because it consists of talking openly about the crimes they have committed and taking blame because a lot of people who commit crimes are ate up with guilt. When that guilt builds up and is not let out in the open, and then it can drive someone insane, cause them to inflict pain on themselves, hurt or kill others or themselves. In this process I would keep a Your last name ii journal of notes on each day with each detainee and their actions, participations, and outcomes or improvements were there problems. This attempt would be to discuss the facilities statistics and their age and crime rates, the life of inmates who are in for good or on death row. This can bring reality in the discussion, like an eye opener and time for these individuals to think back to their own crime(s) because that is an attempt for them to talk. I would have an open discussion about the guidelines of healing and integrity including the group’s opinions and comments and talk about how crime does not affect just the victim but both sides’ families, their reputation, and where they stand or feel and are they ashamed. Taking responsibility for actions, how to fix anything, acceptance, apologies, a written apology to the other family, whether sent or not but to get their feelings out, but ask them to do this later to discuss at the next meeting. I would also leave on a positive note with maybe everyone going around the room stating their favorite music and why. There is a sport that I can see myself doing up in middle aged and elderly years, and that would definitely have to get in to bowling, even order personalized balls and shoes, because I have never had either the money, sitter, or time and that would be a good time in life to take part in it especially with my husband who enjoys the sport, too. I know if my husband and I walk every other day, and are still able to get up and use a 8 to 12 pound ball like we always have because it is a safe, fun, and happy interactive sport that is fun to play with all members of the family, groups of friends, as a caregiver who is overseeing different age levels of people regardless of whether they are handicapped, afterschool, summer camp, or just a day camp. In bowling, just like for any other people who have hobbies and things people enjoy, it is easy to get in to and find out through others and sponsors who may help pay for you to create your own Your last name iii or even become a member of a group, association, or team member, and have certain nights of the week where you go and have some time to yourself because everyone

Discussion# 13 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Discussion# 13 - Assignment Example Nurses get their information from a variety of sources. Research and evidence based practices offer a lot of information to the nurses. The incorporation of information technology and computer based searches has enhanced adequate information access, retrieval and its dissemination. This has led to the creation of EBN (Evidence Based Nursing). The incorporation of informatics has gone a long way in ensuring that EBN is achieved at each and every point when dealing with patients (Ball, 2000). This ensures that they have accessed the best healthcare practices that are affordable. Over the years, there are particularly many practices that have become overrated. This is because the same practices and procedures can now be conducted in simpler procedures at low costs. This has been discovered through nursing informatics. This shows that nursing informatics has contributed immensely to EBN and nursing research (Ball, 2000). Once the nursing informatics has been employed in an instance or situation, it is observed that the general process of research is enhanced. This makes nursing interventions more reliable, quality and affordable to all the people who are accessing the healthcare. The interventions in turn, make it possible for hospitals and healthcare centres to offer more to their patients. This does not threaten the quality of the services delivered. In conclusion, nursing informatics can be considered a distinctive technology that has revolutionized nursing practices all over the world. This is through improved healthcare and nursing practices (Ball, 2000). The accurate data acquired ensures that it is possible to research the best practices and introduce them as nursing intervention strategies in any health care facility. This has expanded the horizon for nursing as a profession. Ball, M. J., Hannah, K. J., Newbold, S. K., & Douglas, J. V. (2000). Health and nursing

Franchise law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Franchise law - Essay Example Therefore, each of the renewal terms raised by Joe must be examined in terms of whether or not, the proposed conditions and terms constitute good faith and fair dealing grounds for refusing renewal of the expiring franchise contract. In general, Joe takes issue with the requirement to purchase meat and cheese from Hoagie Land in Philadelphia when it is more convenient for him to purchase the same from Hoagie Land in New York, the payment of what Joe considers an excessive legal fee, the payment of a renewal fee, the installation of a point of sales systems, adoption of a new sign and remodelling. The question for consideration is whether or not each of these terms and conditions can be characterized as inconsistent with the concept of fair dealing and good faith. The concept of fair dealing and good faith was considered in the case of Payne v McDonald’s Corp. In this case, the franchisor’s renewal was conditional upon the franchisee’s consent to rebuild the resta urant. The court held however, that the requirement for rebuilding was not inconsistent with the concept of good faith and fair dealing (Payne v McDonald’s Corp.). However, the facts of Joe’s case can be distinguished from the facts of Payne v McDonald’s Corp. ... The ruled in Payne that since there was no express right to renewal, the franchisor was not under a duty to renew the franchise and in deciding to do so could condition renewal on requirements that suited its business ends (Payne v McDonald’s Corp.). Some guidance is found in the case of Bresler’s 33 Flavors Franchising Corp. v Woksin. In the case, the court ruled that in order to satisfy a claim that a refusal to renew on terms and conditions that were inconsistent with the concept of fair dealing and good faith, the claimant must show that the terms and conditions were only applied to the claimant and not to any other franchisor. Specifically, when the renewal term was for remodelling, the claimant must also show that to the satisfaction of the court that remodelling would have a negative impact on profitability (Bresler’s 33 Flavors Franchising Corp. v Woksin). I would therefore advise Joe to provide as much evidence as possible demonstrating that remodelling would negatively impact profitability and that purchasing meat and cheese from Philadelphia rather than from New York would negatively impact profitability. In looking at the requirement to purchase meat from Philadelphia as opposed to New York, it is unlikely that Joe can excise this term as it appears to be applicable to all franchisees and is stated to be for quality control and for economies of scale. To begin with, it may be argued that purchasing from the Philadelphia suppliers may be more convenient for Joe since his restaurant is located in Cherry Hill, New Jersey which is nearer to Philadelphia than it is to New York. Moreover, the requirement to purchase meat and cheese from the Philadelphia supplier applies to all franchisees and does not discriminate

NCOER EVAL DA 2166-8 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

NCOER EVAL DA 2166-8 - Essay Example This is due to three reasons. Firstly, the soldier illustrated appropriate military bearing, posture, and also appearance. Secondly, the soldier illustrated adequate mental and also physical capabilities, required for the performance of any successful military project or mission. Thirdly, the soldier maintained satisfactory physical fitness and mental alertness, despite the temporary challenges of back injury and extreme operational tempo. The soldier achieved success ratings in terms of leadership competencies. This is illustrated through three issues. Firstly, the soldier is a proven leader who understands approaches of motivating junior soldiers to effectively and efficiently accomplish missions, with minimal supervision. Secondly, the soldier effectively coached 6 soldiers through initiating study groups. The initiative increased the General technical scores of the soldiers, to more than 110. Thirdly, he enhanced spirit de corps by endorsing SHARP. He thus made himself available to help, through training, the unit victim advocate. The soldier achieved the success score for the training aspect. This is due to effective performance in three major areas. Firstly, he effectively identified more than 7 soldiers who can be competent platoon Master drivers. Secondly, he trained 31 soldiers using 6 military vehicles, and no accident or incident was reported. Thirdly, the soldier successfully trained two soldiers, and hence they passed the APFT after several unsuccessfully attempts. He also taught the significance of individual responsibility to the soldiers, through motivating them to formulate and work towards achieving their goals. The soldier received a score of success, and this is illustrated through three issues. Firstly, he properly managed military commodities and equipments worth in excess of $2.1 million. Secondly, there was no loss, mismanagement, embezzlement or discrepancies

Discussion Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 62

Discussion - Assignment Example Organizations are more willing to listen to the grievances raised by unions and protect their members against intimidation by their employers. Since companies rarely win against claims raised by union, they pay their employees according to the market rate or standards determined by the workers unions to avoid conflicts such as strikes that may sterilize operations of the organizations. Unionization contributes to about 13% increase in nurse wages. Also, according to Edwin & Trevor (2011, p. 16) there is a â€Å"strong correlation between the presence of unions and overall wages for nurses.† Unions benefits to the patients in terms of quality of services they get from the nurses. According to Edwin & Trevor (2011, p. 16), unions enhances self-esteem of the nurses, promotes interaction of nurses in the organization and improves the employees confidence resulting to better quality of services the patients receives from the nurses. The study indicates lower mortality rate for patients with â€Å"acute myocardial infarction† in unionized hospitals than less unionized areas (Edwin & Trevor, 2011). Since unions attract more nurses unionized, hospitals have a higher number of nurses per patient than those less-unionized hospitals. Higher nurse-patient ratio result to increase in quality of care the patients receives in the hospital (Lovell,

The Benefits of Recycling Essay Example for Free

The Benefits of Recycling Essay Recycling is a vital factor in the future of our beloved home, Earth. If we want to keep our land green, prevent pollution, conserve natural resources and save our plants and animals, recycling is a key factor in doing so. Recycling reduces the amount of pollution going into earth. When products are made from fresh material, there are more pollutants being released into the air due to the extraction and processing. Using recycled material produces fewer pollutants and is better for the environment (Weber, n. d.). Recycling helps to reduce the amount of garbage being made. This means we are decreasing the size of our landfills. The less garbage going into our landfills, the less garbage we have to burn to ash. (Onsola, 2017). Landfills also create a liquid called leachate which occurs when debris disintegrates in the landfill and leaks through the waste which can pollute the land, groundwater, and waterways (Environment Victoria, 2013). When recycling, we can lessen the amount of greenhouse gases going into our environment (Knowledgiate Team, 2017). This can create multiple environmental problems. In 2005, Pennsylvania DEP stated that by recycling, it reduced greenhouse gases by 9 million tons of carbon dioxide. By recycling we reduce the need to combust fossil fuels. (Sherman, n.d.). To make sure we want our future generation’s air to be breathable. Another benefit to recycling is that it creates a sustainable amount of resources. When we recycle, we are turning old, used material into new, usable material. By recycling we save more resources, for example when we use virgin materials, it is coming from natural resources. Around 40% of our waste comes from paper. If we recycled our paper instead, we could save millions of trees and also lessen the amount of waste going into our environment. (DLCSRecycling, n.d.).When we cut down trees, it is for fresh pulp which will be used for first-generation paper. Instead we could use recycled paper which can very well be used to make paper which is just a good quality as the paper made from virgin material (Schenker, 2017). Our future generations will also need these resources, so instead of wasting what we have we should recycle. Lastly, another pro to recycling is that it saves wildlife. When we don’t recycle we are ruining habitats. For example, when we cut down trees for a paper we are destroying homes of wildlife. By not recycling we are also polluting many homes of animals. Green SC states that more than one million seabirds, 100,000 sea mammals, and 50,000 fur seals die yearly because of plastic litter that we humans put into the water (Lake, 2015). Turtles that eat jellyfish confuse plastic bags for food and then choke and die on them (Tay, 2016). We are messing up the ecological balance of ecosystems. This will also affect our food sources in the future as it may cause the extinction of plants and animals. By doing something as simple as recycling, we reduce the need for new material, saving nature from harm (Missimer, n.d.).

Bic Corporation Marketing Strategies

Bic Corporation Marketing Strategies Introduction A smile is a curve that sets everything straight. Now a days, smile is being lost in this competitive world thus Bic Corporation is back with an innovation in toothbrush cum tooth paste know as Joy-Top. Dental hygiene is the most important part of dental care. This preserves the charming smile in most efficient manner. Primarily, good dental hygiene is essential to the health of the mouth which can be maintained by brushing teeth twice a day. It is also essential in a cosmetic manner. Pleasant, healthy smile makes a personality look more confident and thus makes them feel healthier while interacting with people. Bic Corporations, leading manufacturers of disposal pens, lighters and shavers. Manufacturing facilities are extensive in north and South America including Toronto, Canada, Milford, Connecticut, Clearwater, Saint.petersberg, Florida, Guatemala city and Mexico. Their products are low cost plastic items. The most affordable in their category are pens, lighter and shavers. Half of the companys production, sales and earnings lie on pens. The most prominent product is Clear plastic ball point Bics lighter is top seller in North America. It also makes correction fluid and pens and has acquired a premium pen manufacturing position. Joy-Top Bic Corporations focuses on low cost, good quality, disposable items, and innovations. So as to develop the product line of the company a new product called Joy-Top toothbrush cum paste has been taken into consideration. Pens, lighter, shavers are the daily used commodity for a common people so Joy-Top also appears in the same lane to these products. Whats new in Joy-Top? Joy-Top is a toothbrush which consists of head of tightly clustered bristles mounted on a handle which includes paste. The toothpaste contains fluoride which helps in increasing the effectiveness of brushing. When the bristles are pressed against teeth, in a required proportion of paste appears on the bristles internally. On an average the paste can be used for about 15-20 times. Features:- Brush head gives a great clean. The multilevel layer bristles in which the top layer act as a dental floss. As it cleans by improving gum health. Never brush too hard again when the bristles are pressed a bit hard against the teeth the paste appears internally in the bristles. If pressed more than once there will be excess of paste which can be harmful for the teeth. It is best suitable for travelers. Thus Joy-Top promises long term care. Comfort grip. Soft bristles Developing Marketing Strategies and Plan Mission statement: To provide dental health of superior quality and value which will improve the lives of the worlds consumers, as a result they will reward us with never ending smile and happiness. SWOT analysis: Strength Strong brand. Focuses on innovation. Price, Quality, Value. Marketing- Distribution, Awareness, Reach. Capabilities. Development of new technologies. Global advantages. Weaknesses Less competitive power. Low budget product. Customer service staff requires training. Drawbacks of proposition. Opportunities Development of new products. Competitors can be surprised. Business can be exceeded to overseas. Positive response from end users to new ideas. Good profit margin. Huge potential to rise in emerging markets. Variations according to season weather and fashion. Lifestyle trends. Threats Distraction from core business. High competition in the market. Unfavorable conditions due to environmental effects. High competition in the market. Global economic condition. Litigation (2011, Business balls) Summary SWOT analysis is a tool which is commonly used to provide useful information. So from the above we can say that the company is holding a strong position in todays world, keeping aside all weaknesses and threats this company can produce a product with long lasting future and considering some of the factors which are given below: Low cost Reliability Innovation Disposability Objective Objectives are the basis of policy and performance appraisal. They bind entire organization together. Objectives can also be explained as mission, purpose, which can be achieved within the expected time frame and with the available resources. (Business dictionary) Marketing objectives Target customer. Effectiveness and practical use. Research over hardness/Softness of bristles. Type of grip and general structure of toothbrush. Customer satisfaction. Product quality to be maintained in accordance with low cost. Word of mouth. Packaging to be done so as to attract maximum customers. Advertisement (Visual, Audio, Print media). Financial objectives To achieve growth in revenue of 10% per year. To increase earnings by 15% annually. To increase dividend per share by 5% per year. To increase in net profit margin 2-4% per year. Stable earnings during the period of recession. Gathering information and scanning the environment Secondary data: It is been collected by individuals or agencies for purposes other than primary research. Internet sources:- Internet search tools like Google and yahoo can help to find specific sites which are rich in information. Discussion groups, post to a chat room or news groups can help to find secondary data. Wikipedia: It helps in quick and easy search of relevant information through a bunch of Google searches. It is great for finding out basic explanation of something very important. Scribd:-It is worlds largest social reading and publishing company. Information and original written content are shared across the web and mobile devices. Non internet sources:- Library:-Periodicals (Magazines, Journals and Newspaper) art materials which are published at regular intervals. Questionnaire: They are very cost effective as compare to face to face interviews. These are easy to analyze. Wikipedia helps in collection of quantitative data which can be helpful in market research. As Scribed connects people with the information online market research will be helpful for market planning. Library contains current information which helps to translate trends into marketing opportunities. Questionnaire reduces biasness. And thus Wikipedia and Scribed helps in providing necessary information and questionnaire and library serves a way towards the research and therefore these sources becomes the important aspects in drawing marketing plan. Technological Funds for research. Potential of innovative ideas. Communication and information. Communication across the globe. Buying mechanism of end users. Demographic Lifestyle Advertisement and sales promotion Consumer buying patterns. Brand, Company image. Difference in consumer opinions. Media views. Age. Level of education. Social class. Family. Economy Industry factors. Issues regarding money/International trade. Exchange and interest rates. Trends from home economy. Market cycle (2011, Business balls) Conducting marketing research and forecasting demand Future demand Toothbrush being a daily commodity needs special attention. Bic Corporation has decided to perform and experiment in the form of a new product Joy-Top. Brushing are teeth twice a day is a major part of our daily lives, everyone wants to have a beautiful smile but brushing teeth twice a day does not mean any difference so Joy-Top with enormous features estimates the capacity of 150 million toothbrushes to be sold per annum.. Thus estimating a production of 12.5 millions monthly. Marketing effectiveness It is the quality of the marketers to go to the market with the goal to achieve good results for both short term as well as long term. An increase sale is a goal of marketing but it is a measurement of the effectiveness of the entire company. Awareness:-Effectiveness can be through website visits, traditional media mentions, and social media mentions etc. Loyalty marketing:-Customer satisfaction, retention etc. These can be effective measurements to marketing efforts Creating customer value, satisfaction and loyalty Customer satisfaction is a measurement of product and services supplied by the company to meet end user satisfaction. Measurement provides an indication of the organization been good at providing products/services to the market. (2011, En.wikipedia) Measurement 1Reliability Performance Product range 2 Quality of communication Quality of offering Flexibility Reaction time Repairing quality Information, support Availability Quality of delivery service Quality of order handling 4 3 Analyzing Consumer Market The process of selection buying using disposing of ideas, services, and goods in order to satisfy needs and wants by individuals, groups and organization is consumer behavior. (2011, scribd) Factors affecting Joy-Top Cultural factors Culture: There are different taste and manners which are being seen throughout the world. Toothbrush, the daily routine commodity is used by one and all. Now the people residing in various parts may prefer to use different paste which may or may not be suitable for our product. Subculture: This culture mainly helps in segmenting the market into various small proportions. It consists of different religions, geographic regions, racial groups etc. The needs of this particular group depend upon their lifestyle. Thus local advertisement will affect the buying behavior for Joy-Top. Social class: These are the people determined by occupation, income, education, family background and location. The buying behavior of them will be according to their piece of earning. They may prefer spending their single penny for other useful things. Social factors Reference groups: These are the people pursuing special talent to convince people for the particular product so as to increase the customers. Thus by providing practical benefit of Joy-Top can help to increase the influence. Family:-The member of the family is most influential thus the role of the members are very important for example- If the buying decision of a particular product is influenced by elderly people then the advertisement will be targeted on them. Roles and status:-There are different roles and status of a person in the society for example- A man working in the organization as a manager will play the role of manager as well as a father therefore buying decisions will be influenced according to his role and status. Personal factors Age:-Joy-Top is basically for youngster and above. Consumer changes the purchase of goods and services with the passage of time. Thus as the age increases there will be different consumers within the range. Occupation:-Joy-Top is best suitable for travelers and people having high lifestyle. Economic situation:-This trendy toothbrush focuses on all people having different economic situations Lifestyle: Joy-Top is a product which will help person to express their style in the surrounding. Personality:-Different features like self confidence, dominance etc can help to buy our product. Psychological factors Motivation:-Joy-Top can be a motivating factor so as to satisfy the needs of the consumer. Perception:-To set a better perception customer attention is necessary towards the product. Beliefs and attitude:-By launching special campaigns, customers attitude can be made positive. (2011, Business.ezinemark) Research tools The different research tools are as: Online marketing service:-Online study becomes premier data collection method for customer satisfaction research. Online research surveys are generally appropriate for customer satisfaction because data collected is quality as well as quantitative. Focus group research:-It is useful as a way to personally connect with buyers and observing their expressions and body language as they speak about the product and brand name. Competitive intelligence:-This is any information about competitors which is helpful for obtaining their strategies, strength, weakness and resources. Go to market plan:-This plan includes live market test, advertisement campaign which helps in understanding buyers attitude and behavior. Consumer buying roles Consumer buying roles relevant for Joy-Top are: Influencer: Helps in viewing influence between buyers and deciders. Buyer: Holds formal authority to select their products. User:-User of the product. Gatekeeper:-Controls information s and helps influencer and buyer. (2011, provenmodels) Stages of buying process Need:-Low cost and sales promotions like coupons, product samples can create the high need for the product. Collection of information:-Information can be collected through the sources as People (Friends, relatives, family etc) Product (details) Advertisements(Print ads, television etc ) Experiment(Using the product) Purchase decision:-Price, product, public relations can be the factors which can be consider while having buying decision. Post decision:-Physical evidence and price can be the market activity so as to confirm satisfaction to the consumers (2011, openlearningworld) Identifying market segments and targets Market segmentation:-This helps in identifying small portion the market which is different from one another. It helps customer satisfying their need. Consumer market segmentation:-Psychographic or behavioralistic are the most suitable variables to segment our consumer market. Psychographic segmentation:-In this segmentation customers are group according to different lifestyles. Variation in interest, activities, attitude, values, opinions etc helps to choose product differently Behavioralistic segmentation:-Customer behavior towards product varies due to usage rate brand loyalty readiness to buy occasions this is direct starting point for market segmentation. Business market segmentation:-The market customers are fewer in number and purchase larger quantities. There decision process involves more than one person like manufacturers, government, institutions etc. Behavioral characteristics:-This is suitable as it includes different buying status, purchase procedure and usage rate. Company type:-Company type includes industry, company size, and decision making unit. (2011, netmba) Evaluation of attractiveness of market segmentation Attractiveness will be evaluated as follows: Segment competition. Brand loyalty. Number of customers. Customers growth rate. Expected profit Target market selection Bic Company pursues selective specialization as this is multiple segment strategy for example- Lighters, shavers mainly target youth and above while stationary are targeted to all segments similarly Joy-Top targets youth and above. (2011, netmba) Dealing with competition Strategic group Big business is the strategic group for Bic Corporation. It includes business men, managers, employees, workers and many other similar groups in Bic Corporation. (2011, slideshare) Best companies in the manufacturing of toothbrush Butler gum Breath remedy Colgate Crest Dentek Dr. Fresh Glide Gripit Johnson Johnson Mentadent Oral B Plak smacker Reach Sonicare Sulcabrush Oral B is a worldwide market leader which targets children and adults. Their brushes are used by most of the dentist worldwide. (2011, Oralb) Objectives The main objective is to provide superior quality and services which improves the life of worlds consumers. Thus consumer will reward them with leadership sales profit and value creation. (2011, pg) Strength It focuses on five core strength: Understanding consumers-Fulfills the need of consumers. Innovation-Translates desire into new product. Brand building-Shapes purpose inspired brands. Go to market capabilities-Reaches consumers, retailers at the right time, at the right place. Scale-Drives consumer value and efficiency. Competitive intelligence Competitive intelligence is defining, gathering, analyzing about products, customers and competitors. Additional competitive intelligence which is required to have the complete knowledge of market leaders are: Competitors Ads-Clipping competitors ads will be helpful in collecting market material used by competitors. Competitors brochures-This helps to check out the marketing strategies, format, special offers, pricing, the key benefits and clues to the marketing segment which may be underserved. Mystery shop-Mystery shop is actually to buy their products r services so as to experience the purchases process. Internet-Major search engines can help in gathering information about them. This also helps in visiting their websites which can give important clues. (2011, Gordon) Newspapers-Newspapers can also provide major information about the market leader. Competitive strategy Bic Corporation being the market challenger needs to gain the market share and become the leader. This can be done by attacking the market leader, other firms of the same size, smaller firms. Frontal attack strategy will be the most effective for Bic Corporation by providing quality, price with low cost. Setting product strategy Core benefits Core benefits are the benefits which are being enjoyed internally as well as externally some of them are as follows: Joy-Top can provide long term care. It is flexible as well as durable. Joy-Top provides oral hygiene in low cost. It helps in avoiding gum diseases. Outer case of the toothbrush will avoid contact with germs as it is a germ free case. Joy-Top is a toothbrush cum toothpaste. So travelers need not to take paste along with them. Augmented product Bic Click one of the New Zealands favorite retractable ball pen. Sturdy pocket clip. 1.0 mm medium ball diameter. Ridges on barrel for better writing Available in colors Blue, Black, Green, Red. (2011, au.bicworld) Developing pricing strategies and programs Pricing objectives To maximize long run profit as toothbrush is never ending demand. To obtain a target rate of return on sales so as to achieve profit. To get competitive advantage. To enhance the image of Bic Corporation. To increase sales volume. As toothbrush being easily available commodity customers are not likely to be price sensitive. As Joy-Top is a low cost product demands will be elastic. Pricing decisions Internal factors: Product pricing depends heavily on the productivity of operating facilities. Increasing productivity can reduce the cost of production of each product and thus allows the marketer to lower the product price. External factors:-There are number of influencing factors which are not controlled by the company but will have the impact on pricing decision. Pricing decisions changes due to following: Elasticity of demand Customer expectation Government regulation Competition and other products (2011, know this) Promotional pricing like 20% less of the actual price would be adapted by Bic Corporations. Designing and managing value networks and channels Marketing flows Physical flow-In physical flow manufacturer, transporters, and warehouses will directly deal to customers. Title flow-Title flows from supplier to the manufacturer then dealers and finally to the customers. Payment flow-Payment is received by customers then to banks-dealers-banks-manufacturer-banks and finally to suppliers. Information flow-Information flow from suppliers to transporters, warehouses, banks to manufacturers and from manufacturers to transporters, warehouses, banks-dealers-transporters, banks-customers and vice-versa. Promotion flow- It flows from suppliers-advertising agency-manufacturers-advertising agency-dealers-customers. Selective distribution is the most appropriate distribution as it works in normal pattern where sellers stock the product in consumer as well as in business market. Managing retailing, Wholesaling, Logistics Types of retailers The most appropriate retailers are: Departmental stores:-They bear a resemblance to a collection of specialty stores and offer considerable customer service. Advantages:- 1. Cheaper price than of special shops because of bulk buying. 2. Large range of goods Disadvantages:- Lower quality of service as compared to special shops. Supermarkets:-Supermarkets sell mostly daily products as well as food products. Advantages:- Sometimes cheaper than other shops. Quality is often assured here Disadvantages:- Generally prices are higher. Variety stores:-These offer extremely low cost goods with limited selection. Advantages:- Convenient Able to compare product price and features. No pressure to buy. Disadvantages:- No enjoyment of retail shopping. Privacy and security issues. Product category risk. Too many choices. Wholesalers They are the people selling service to the third party who in turn sells the products to their customers. Wholesalers are referred as decision support system for production and distribution. They propose an optimization model to satisfy the best service at low cost. There decision support system is developed to build different aspects and suitable models for selling. (2011, article alley) Market logistic issues The product has to be delivering at the right time for the right place in right condition. Outsourcing and considerable values are the functions to be performed by logistics. A thorough knowledge of materials, foreign exchange, custom regulations, purchasing, transportation, and information technology and supply chain management is required. (2011, bestlogisticsguide) Designing and managing integrated market communications Audience targeted Bic Corporations would target unintended audience as Joy-Top is a daily routine commodity and is used by one and all. (2011, everything2) Image Bic Corporations need to attract more customers and client. Thus Bic Corporations is focusing on trustworthy business image. Although, Bic is successful in maintaining trustworthy image through the products like pens, shavers, lighters, thus they tend to serve more customers. (2011, sbinfocanada) Objective of communication campaign The basic objective of the campaign is to educate the public. The goal of the campaign is to build peoples confidence in dental hygiene and to ensure a smooth product. The campaign would consist of free dental check-ups and thus the need of Joy-Top will be shown. Campaigning would consist of distribution of brochures, free samples and promotional products. Promotional tools In Store promotion:-This influences the consumer decision making process at the particular moment. A lot of purchases are made by impulse buying. Trade fairs:-This tool helps in export promotion and also an expensive tool. Advertising:-Advertising is directly targeted to the big audience and end users. It is also targeting the players in distribution channels, importers and wholesalers. Internet:-Internet offers display possibilities and advertisement space. Catalogues, brochures, company profile can be digitalize and put on the web. It is an economic and flexible option. The corporate brochure:-Material and print used are of superior quality and thus A3 sizes of papers are used to provide required information. (2011, infomipyme) Marketing communications budget The budgeting process helps in determination of the realistic plan for profit margin; 10-20% gross revenue is projected to marketing and communications. 4% on the purchase of advertisement and promotion media including internet, TV, newspaper. + 2% producing and printing all communications including newsletters, brochures etc. + 1.5% producing special events. + 2% promotional products + 3.5% salaries, consultants and independence. = 13% Total percentage of Bic budget going to communications and market (2011, getting attention) Managing mass communication: Advertising, sales promotion, event and public relations Joy-Top being a new product needs attention in the market. Advertisements will help the consumers to know about the product and the services without advertisement there are chances of bad word of mouth and fake visual clues. (2011, financialcrisis2009) Advertising goals Goals are very specific. Generally advertising goals are made to increase sales. It increases knowledge and awareness. Thus advertising goals are: Target market to achieve Corporate image Emphasis on Joy-Top Monetary expenditure Right time of advertisement Smile to the fullest and make this world a better place to live in -a message with Joy-Top reveals. Television and internet are most appropriate media as these media are the best ways to express this message. Promotion Consumer promotion is to stimulate sales by influencing the end consumers. Bic Corporations mainly focuses in serving end users. Thus consumer promotion is the best option. Promotion of public relation Bic Corporations being a brand name already sustains a good corporate image in the market. Promotions are being done using advertisements rather than public relations. Managing personal communications: Direct marketing and personal selling Direct selling Direct selling is basically marketing and selling products, directed to customers from fixed retail location. Bic Corporations prefer direct selling force as it has its own advantages which are as follows: There are more opportunities to meet new people. Internet helps in increasing sales tremendously An unlimited amount of money is been expected to be earned (2011, improvingyourworld) Selling activities should focus on professional sales people who are well trained and ethically responsible. Sales objective To develop a strong personnel relationship with the customer in order to be successful. A special skill which is not generally seen in common people. Role of E-marketing Internet plays a very important role in every aspect of product life cycle. It delivers the highest value during the growth and maturity. The medium of searching makes internet an ideal platform for informing sharing and educating. Primary goal of internet during launch is to create awareness, encourage trial and build a brand. Online brand building and awareness can be cost effective to serve consumers because the target audience can be naturally drawn to specific online information (2011, lewis) Sales Representative The biggest challenge for a sales representative is time and territory management. Some strategy requires selling Joy-Top is: They should have complete knowledge of Bic Corporations and their product. The person should be a good communicator and influencer. The representative must know the product. The representative must maintain customer contacts in order to get feedbacks, to know new trends and to have new customers request. (2011, llc) Executive summary Bic Corporations is a manufacturing company dedicated to low cost, innovative and disposable product. The company has production line as pen, lighter, shaver. The company was formed in 1945 and has 2700 employees. The company intends to become a manufacturer leader by expanding and adding to its product line. Thus a new daily base commodity (Toothbrush) has come into consideration. Referencing Anonymous., 2011. SWOT analysis method and examples [Online] Available at: http://businessballs.com/swotanalysisfreetemplate.htm [Accessed 2 February 2011] Anonymous., 2011 Develop specific financial goals and objectives [Online] Available at: http://www.e-channelnews.com/ec_storydetail.php?ref=411299 [Accessed 2 February 2011] Anonymous., 2011 Objective [Online] Available at: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/objective.html [Accessed 2 February 2011] Anonymous., 2011 Finding the perfect toothbrush [Online] Available at: http://yogizilla.wordpress.com/2007/05/10/finding-the-perfect-toothbrush-a-lesson-in-marketing [Accessed 2 February 2011] Anonymous., 2011 Secondary objective [Online] Available at: http://www.scribd.com/doc/18789047/Secondary-Data-Sources[Accessed 2 February 2011] Anonymous., 2011 Pest analysis [Online] Available at: http://businessballs.com/pestanalysisfreetemplate.htm[Accessed 2 February 2011] Anonymous., 2011 How to achieve total customer satisfaction [Online] Available at: http://www.businessknowledgesource.com/marketing/how_to_achieve_total_customer_satisfaction_027879.html [Accessed 2 February 2011] Anonymous., 2011 How many ways can a toothbrush be improved [Online] Available at: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100218095845AA8jZHp[Accessed 2 February 2011] Anonymous., 2011 Factors affecting consumer behavior [Online] Available at: http://business.ezinemark.com/factors-affecting-consumer-behavior-50fc758b3b5.html[Accessed 2 February 2011] Anonymous., 2011 Oral b toothbrush 9900 review [Online] Available at: http://oralbtoothbrush.org/oral-b-toothbrush-9900-review[Accessed 2 February 2011] Anonymous., 2011 Toothbrush background [Online] Available at: http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Toothbrush.aspx[Acce

Following Janies Developement in Their Eyes Were Watching God Essay ex

People grow and develop at different rates. The factors that heavily influence a person's growth are heredity and environment. The people you meet and the experiences you have are very important in what makes a person who he/she is. Janie develops as a woman with the three marriages she has. In each marriage she learns precious lessons, has increasingly better relationships, and realizes how a person is to live his/her life. In Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston, Janie's marriages to Logan Killicks, Jody Starks, and Tea Cake are the most vital elements in her growth as a woman. Janie's marriage to Logan Killicks was the first stage in her growth as a woman. She hoped that her obligatory marriage with Logan would end her solitude and desire for love. Right from the beginning, the solitude in the marriage shows up when Janie sees that his house is a "lonesome place like a stump in the middle of the woods where nobody had ever been" (20). This description of Logan's house is symbolic of the relationship they have. Janie eventually admits to Nanny that she still...

Archaeology Essay -- essays research papers

Archaeology   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There is a saying that goes: One must first have an understanding of the past in order to proceed into the future. An archaeologist’s job, therefore, is very important because they have the crucial role of interpreting the past through archaeological finds. How does an archaeologist go about doing this? How does he interpret his findings? How are the artifacts that he finds related to the behaviors of past humans? Concepts such as patterning and middle range theory are the main tools used for this interpretation of the past. Patterning is the regular relationship between material objects and space, and middle range theory is how the visible archaeological data can be related to past human behaviors or actions.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Patterning is used to interpret past human behavior because the products of human action usually suggest repetitiveness or a pattern of activity that can be discerned by the archaeologist. For example in the Olsen-Chubbuck site in Colorado, a bison graveyard was discovered of 190 bison. The pattern or relationship between the bones and how they were found gives the archaeologist clues as to how the bison were butchered. Some bones were found with spear points in the bodies, some whole skeletons were found closer to the bottom, and some bones were scattered all over. It can be inferred from the patterning of the bison bones that they were butchered differently. Middle range theory also plays a p...

Babie’s Nutrition Essay

Is immunity compromised in babies who are formula fed for their first year compared to babies who are breastfed for the first year? Anastasia J. Jorgensen LCC Nursing 165 Is immunity compromised in babies who are formula fed for their first year compared to babies who are breastfed for the first year? Many hospitals are now implementing a â€Å"Baby Friendly† environment in their delivery and mother-baby units. This initiative promotes breastfeeding as the priority feeding method to new mothers and leaves formula feeding by the wayside. Is formula feeding hurting these children or all of the children who have been formula fed up to this point? One study suggests that there is a high use of laxatives in formula-fed infants (Gitte Zachariassen, 2013). While another sets out to prove that formula containing galactose, galactooligosaccharides (GOS) would help reduce infections and allergic manifestations with a prebiotic effect on intestinal microbiota (Carlos Sierra, 2014). Purpose In Sierra’s et al.’s (2014) article, which reviews the effect of prebiotic’s during the first year of life in formula fed infants, a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial is performed to assess the effects of prebiotic supplements on intestinal micro bacteria and the incidence of infections and allergic reactions during the first year of life. In Gitte Zachariassen’s et al.’s (2013) article on preterm infant diet and the high use of laxatives among the formula-fed infants, a study was performed to see what the effects of formula were on the infant gastrointestinal system versus infants who were given breastmilk along with formula and breastmilk alone. This study included the number of meals given, number and amount of regurgitation, number of stools, and amount of laxatives used daily. Summary of Studies1 Population. The first study, Carlos Sierra et al. (2014), consisted of infants less than 2 months old and healthy term infants from eight Spanish hospitals. These infants ranged in gestational age of 37 to 42 weeks and weighed more than 2500 grams. The infants were then placed into different groups to monitor the effects of the different food given whether it was formula or breastmilk. In the next study, Gitte Zachariassen et al. (2013), parents of very preterm infants (  regarding breastfeeding is important but I believe that more information should be provided about formula feeding and the problems that can occur. Specifically, I think parents should be informed that their infant could be more irritable because they are gassy or constipated if they are only formula fed, this may deter some parents from the use of formula or at least encourage them to supplement with breastmilk. I also think that they should be informed that breastfeeding, while it does contribute to passive immunity, is not the only way to keep your infant healthy. Formula, while more convenient to use at times, is not going to make your infant less healthy but it will not increase their immunity eith er. References Carlos Sierra, M.-J. B.-I.-L.-M. (2014). Prebiotic effect during the first year of life in healthy infants fed formula containing GOS as the only prebiotic: a multicentre, randomised, double-blind and placeboi-controlled trial. Springerlink.com, 11. Gitte Zachariassen, J. F.-G. (2013). Preterm dietary study: meal frequency, regurgitation and the surprisingly high use of laxatives among formula-fed infants following discharge. ACTA Paediatrica, 7.

Organization of Study Time

Study and revision skills INFO This section covers the following ideas and material: An introduction to revision methods, including †¢ concept mapping, ? ow charts and mind maps †¢ planned revision timing †¢ practising examination technique. General study methods Organisation of study time The examinations are looming large. Suddenly you realise that you do need your notes and experimental work from the last year or two. Are they in good shape? Well†¦! It is worth remembering that revision is just that. It shouldn’t be the first time that you have tried to get to grips with a subject.Organisation of study habits over a whole course is a vital part of being successful. This certainly means practical things, such as making sure that your notes are intact and readable. But it also includes making sure that you have understood the ideas and connections as you have covered a topic. Nothing can be worse than trying to learn masses of material that you don’ t understand. The best preparation for an examination begins a long time before it! This spreads the load and lessens the tension as the examination approaches. Figure 1 summarises various aspects of preparing for examinations.The coursework ‘arm’ emphasises not only the collection of good notes directly from class, but also the need to look at and use material from outside. Reading reference material and taking useful notes from it is a skill in itself. Table 1 outlines different methods of reading and their purpose. The first three methods are more appropriate to using books for reference. However, there is an increasing number of popular science books and magazines for which the last two methods are appropriate. In addition, there is an increasing amount of reference material now available on CD-ROM and, most significantly, the internet.You should find ways of using this material, as it provides a more interactive presentation of the material. The ability to make not es and topic summaries as you work through a course is important, as they can then be used as a starting point for revision. You should not think of practical work in chemistry as separate from other classwork. The ideas and detailed information from the practicals are important in reinforcing your understanding of a topic. Indeed, a particular experiment may help you to remember and understand a crucial idea – giving you a visual clue on which to ‘hang’ the idea in your memory. Cambridge University Press IGCSE Chemistry Study and revision skills 1 reading CD-ROM practical work classnotes COURSEWORK review cards summary sheets Information how much? when? spider diagrams Or gan isin topic lists mind maps gn ote s O n rga g isin tim e take breaks REVISION SKILLS use a timetable u St sk ill key words and ideas s dy bi ha stick to timetable or y ts M em suitable place regular reviews use summaries, spider diagrams and mind maps Figure 1 Revision involves organisation and the development of particular skills. alone or with a friend ime of day Type of reading skimming scanning reflective reading detecting bias reading for pleasure Method looking for the main topics looking for specific information reading carefully and thoughtfully, with attention to detail separating fact from opinion reading at own pace Purpose to gain an overall impression to find particular facts or conclusions to obtain a thorough understanding of a topic to form a decided impression of a controversial area to gain a feel for a subject, and for enjoyment Table 1 Different methods of reading and their purpose.This book, and the accompanying materials, are aimed specifically at students taking the Cambridge IGCSE Chemistry course. This is a course and qualification with a very high international reputation. 2  © Cambridge University Press IGCSE Chemistry Study and revision skills INFO There is an excellent website for Cambridge IGCSE students, at: www. cambridgestudents. org . uk/subjectpages/chemistry/igcsechemistry Do take a good look at this website. You will ? nd copies of past papers, model answers to past questions, some simulations, and revision checklists based on the syllabus.The tips from examiners are there to help you do well in the exam and are certainly worth taking note of. The website is worth visiting regularly, as new material and up-to-date papers are added to it. Getting started We have said it earlier, and it can be boring to repeat it, but it remains true all the same: to make sure of a high grade in your final examinations you will need to work hard throughout your course. Here are some tips to help you make the best use of the time you put in on your work in chemistry. Make sure you have a copy of the IGCSE Chemistry syllabus.There is one provided on this CD which also gives you guidance as to where in the book the different topics are covered. It is important you know the course you are taking and the way in which you will be as sessed. IGCSE exams aren’t just about learning facts. You need to be able to understand your work and become sufficiently confident in your understanding to answer questions about things you have never met before. You need to be able to transfer your knowledge in a particular area to an example that will be unfamiliar to you.The IGCSE examiners will be setting questions to test three sets of skills (they are known as Assessment Objectives). These are: †¢ Skill A: knowledge with understanding †¢ Skill B: handling information and solving problems †¢ Skill C: experimental skills and investigations. About 50% of all the marks in the exam are for skill A, 30% for skill B and 20% for skill C. Skill A is about learning and understanding all the facts and concepts in the syllabus. These are covered in your textbook, and your teacher will make sure you have met them all in class as your course progresses.There are no crafty shortcuts, it is simply a case of getting your head down and working at these. Skill B is about using these facts and concepts and applying them to an unfamiliar context. It’s important that you become confident in tackling questions that, at first sight, look completely new. The workbook will give you lots of practice at this. Trying past question papers will also help to test this skill, but there will still be unusual material that you will meet for the first time in the exam. The following ‘model exam question’ is similar to the type of question found on an extended paper and will give you some idea of what to expect.Cathodic protection of steel objects is not mentioned in the syllabus whereas sacrificial protection is. Yet here you are asked to compare the two using your knowledge and understanding of electrolysis. Skill C is about practical skills. You should have plenty of opportunity to do experiments in a laboratory throughout your course. The workbook also has exercises that will help you to improv e your skills at handling and interpreting data obtained from experiments, and designing experiments. But make sure you gain the most you can from your practical sessions.Chapter 12 gives you clear guidance about what is involved in the assessment of your practical work.  © Cambridge University Press IGCSE Chemistry Study and revision skills 3 Model Q Questions For relevant material, see Chapter 9. Titanium is very resistant to corrosion. One of its uses is as an electrode in the cathodic protection of large steel structures from rusting. + power – steel oil rig which is cathode titanium anode seawater contains H+(aq), OH–(aq), Na+(aq), Cl –(aq) a Define oxidation and reduction in terms of electron transfer.Oxidation is the loss of electrons Reduction is the gain of electrons HINT: Remember OIL RIG – to help remember ‘oxidation is loss; reduction is gain’ [2] b The steel oil rig is the negative electrode (cathode) in this protective electro lytic arrangement. Name the gas formed at this electrode. Hydrogen HINT: Discharge of H+ ions from the seawater. [1] c Name one of the two possible gases formed at the titanium anode. Oxygen (or chlorine) HINT: Discharge of OH? ions or Cl? from the seawater. [1] d Explain why the oil rig does not rust.T oil rig legs are the cathode in the cell that is set up (see diagram)he and oxidation does not take place at the cathode (electrons are moving towards the cathode, not away from it). HINT: See Chapter 4 – oxidation takes place at the anode in electrolysis; reduction takes place at the cathode. Do not confuse this with sacri? cial protection. [2] e Another way of protecting steel from corrosion that involves using another metal is sacrificial protection. Give two differences between sacrificial protection and cathodic protection.Cathodic protection involves electrolysis and needs electricity; it uses an inert electrode (here made of titanium). Sacrificial protection needs a mor e reactive metal; this metal corrodes instead of the steel. Sacrificial protection does not need electricity. f What is the name of the method of rust protection that uses zinc? Galvanisation [2] [1] 4  © Cambridge University Press IGCSE Chemistry Study and revision skills Keeping up progress During the course you will be given work to do. Try to work steadily through all the necessary material throughout your course. It is really important that you keep up with this.Don’t set out to make life difficult for yourself. Do make sure that you understand each piece of work you do. Research shows that we find it much easier to learn and remember things if we understand them. If there is something you don’t understand, make sure you do everything you can to put this right straight away. Quite often working through a topic with a friend will help. Use your school library or the internet. Be careful of the internet, though, as many chemistry sites are written for other course s in different countries. These can use different approaches and it is difficult to apply the explanations you see.Ask your teacher for a (short) list of reliable sites you can go to regularly. Strategies of study Your study sessions should use a variety of techniques to aid your understanding and learning of the material. Simply reading over your notes is not a particularly productive strategy. Try to summarise topics as you read, then shorten the summary down to a set of key words. Having learnt these, try to reconstruct notes on the topic. Your learning and understanding can also be checked and developed by answering questions from past examination papers. Keep the length of time taken to answer questions in mind when testing yourself.There is no point in preparing over-elaborate answers to short questions. An important aspect of understanding a topic is to ‘see the connections’ between the ideas involved. Establishing these links makes it so much easier to remember the details of a topic. Pictorial methods of linking ideas can be very useful for this. INFO The methods available include: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ ?ow charts concept maps Venn diagrams mind maps. The importance of all these methods is that they force us to sort out the material into key ideas, and then to establish the links between them.It is useful to draw up the diagrams for yourself. Remember that your ‘maps’ may well differ from other people’s. Comparing notes with others, or even drawing them up together as a group, can also be very useful. Sharing ideas and comparing maps helps you to think things through. As you use these methods, you will develop greater skill in drawing them up. Flow charts are linear in their approach and work down from a major idea by a series of subdivisions. They are useful for emphasising the different types of chemical substance, for example (see examples of charts in Chapters 2 and 3 in the textbook).Concept maps and min d maps are particularly useful for helping you to see the flow of ideas. In a concept map (Figure 2), the interlinking idea is written alongside the connecting arrow.  © Cambridge University Press IGCSE Chemistry Study and revision skills 5 a combustion neutralisation precipitation synthesis redox are types of a catalyst speeds up a chemical reaction can be written down as a word or symbol equation word n tio equa sym bo equa l tion example: zinc + oxygen > zinc oxide 2Zn + O2 > 2ZnO these are elements this is a compound this means this means 2 atoms of zinc 1 molecule of oxygen is the process that positive ions undergo at the cathode during is the gain of ELECTROLYSIS transferred during ELECTRONS is the loss of is the opposite process to is the process that negative ions undergo at the anode during process used to extract metals in the BLAST FURNACE REDUCTION REDOX OXIDATION is a special form of is the opposite process to is the removal of is the addition of COMBUSTION OXYGEN ele ment removed from metal ores by carbon in Figure 2 a Spider diagrams, and b concept maps involve organising ideas and their connections. reactions in which substances react withVenn diagrams are useful for showing where different categories overlap. For example, the different ways in which we categorise reactions can result in overlaps. Figure 3 shows this. It also shows how the term ‘redox reaction’ covers a wide range of reactions. 6  © Cambridge University Press IGCSE Chemistry Study and revision skills NEUTRALISATION acid + base/alkali > salt + water ONLY PRECIPITATION forming an insoluble solid by a chemical reaction sodium thiosulfate + hydrochloric acid REDOX Synthesis Decomposition to elements Electrolysis Displacement Figure 3 A Venn diagram showing various types of reaction.Can you think of examples to ? ll each space? (One has been done for you. ) Figure 4 shows a mind map covering aspects of the nature of atoms and molecules. This particular map covers a w ide range of ideas – radiating from the central idea that matter is made up of very small particles (atoms or molecules, depending on the substance being talked about). The interconnections of ideas are emphasised. Putting the map on paper helps you to sort out your ideas! There are obviously overlaps between different topics. There are various pieces of mind-mapping software available (one was sed to construct Figure 4) and you can find these on the internet. However, it is important not to get over-involved in the processes of a particular IT package. In many ways the important thing about ‘mind-mapping’ is that it can be practised quite casually, and frequently, simply on a piece of ‘rough’ paper. Sketching different ‘mind maps’ on different topics is a way of looking at the subject from different angles to aid the memory. The main point is the thinking that is done while constructing the ‘map’.  © Cambridge University Press IGCSE Chemistry Study and revision skills 7 escribes the states of matter and the movement of particles in these states the particles in matter are moving all the time ion init de f different substances contain different types of particles, e. g. atoms, ions or molecules Kinetic theory all matter is made up of very small particles the higher the temperature, the higher the average energy of the particles Diffusion does not take place in solids heavier particles move more slowly than lighter particles at the same temperature much slower in liquids than gases often energy given out various types, e. g. synthesis and decomposition usually not easily reversibleATOMS AND MOLECULES new chemical substances formed Chemical reactions e. g. melting or dissolving Physical changes Dalton’s idea easily reversible, e. g. by cooling or evaporating no new chemical substances made Atomic theory atoms of different elements can combine to make the molecules of a compound a pure element co ntains only atoms with the same number of protons in the nucleus atoms of an element are each given their own symbol atoms are the smallest particles that take part in a chemical reaction the atoms of the different elements differ in size Figure 4 A mind map on ‘atoms and molecules’.  © Cambridge University Press IGCSE Chemistry Study and revision skills (isotopes) (nucleus) (nuclear reactions) (balanced equations) physical properties depend on how the atoms are linked together (atoms can be subdivided) everything is made from about 100 elements, each made up of different atoms everything is made of invisibly small atoms, linked together in different patterns everything can be made from a few substances combined in different ways structures weigh the same as the total mass of their parts the total amount of matter stays the same (by mass) during chemical changes mount of matter stays the same (by atom count) during chemical changes chemical combinations of substances have different properties visible objects may be made of large numbers of very small invisible particles substances have physical properties magnifiers and microscopes often show that objects are made of smaller parts small parts can be put together in different ways to make different things water evaporates into the air all materials come from somewhere and must go somewhere PROPERTIES OF SUBSTANCES COMMON ELEMENTS ATOMS ARE INVISIBLY SMALL CONSERVATION OF MATTERKEY Scientific ideas More general notions Storylines Figure 5 The different ‘storylines’ behind the maps branch into each other. Figure 5 shows how several ‘storylines’ can be linked together. This type of diagram can help you see the overall pattern of a section of the course you are taking and begin to see the ‘connections’ between ideas. The more connections, or associations, you can make between ideas, the more likely you are to understand and remember them. When a particular part of a course, or a particular topic, is finished it can be useful to produce a diagrammatic summary.This helps reinforce the linked ideas while they are still fresh in your mind. The charts can provide a useful ‘checklist’ when it comes to revision. The next three charts (Figure 6a,b,c) show how parts of a course can be summarised. Figure 6a summarises a great deal of the material covered in Chapters 2 and 3, and Figures 6b and 6c flow into each other and show how much of chemistry develops from a consideration of the Earth’s resources. This ‘map’ of chemistry provides a context for your studies.  © Cambridge University Press IGCSE Chemistry Study and revision skills 9 a SOLIDS LIQUIDS GASESCHEMISTRY SECTION ONE PARTICLES ATOMS MOLECULES IONS ATOMIC STRUCTURE proton number Z – mass number A PROTONS ELECTRONS ORBITS (2,8,8) PROTONS +NEUTRONS NEUTRONS = A–Z p + 1 n o 1 e – EQUATIONS and CALCULATIONS Balancing Mr from Ar + % Quanti ties from equations Solids and gases Formulae from % Data Book FORMULAE 1 1840 CHEMICAL BONDS FORMING IONS Metals lose electrons Non-metals gain electrons GROUP 1 THE ALKALI METALS Reaction with Water Storage Variation down group Density m. p. IONIC COVALENT SHARING ELECTRONS GROUP 7 THE HALOGENS Reaction with iron Displacement Colour Variation down group m. . TRANSITION METALS Coloured compounds Catalysts High m. p. s NOBLE GASES No reactions Coloured lights METALS NON-METALS PHYSICAL PROPERTIES Malleable Conductors Strong High m. p. Shiny Alloys BURNING IN AIR and OXYGEN PHYSICAL PROPERTIES Brittle Poor conductors Low m. p. Dull REACTIVITY OF METALS BASIC OXIDES ACIDIC OXIDES Figure 6 a, b, c Flow charts can show very clearly the links between different areas of chemistry and help provide an overall pattern to a course. 10  © Cambridge University Press IGCSE Chemistry Study and revision skills b CHEMISTRY SECTION TWOALKALIS Basic Oxides + Water CHEMICAL REACTIONS ACIDS Acidic Ox ides + Water REACTIVITY SERIES OF METALS AIR NEUTRALISATION H + +OH – H2O BONDS BREAK and FORM WATER ACID POTASSIUM SODIUM 14 pH WEAK WEAK STRONG pH STRONG NEW SUBSTANCES 8 6 1 Rapid Rapid BANG! ENERGY CHANGE CALCIUM  © Cambridge University Press IGCSE Chemistry MAGNESIUM Quite Quick Rapid WATER pH7 SALT ALUMINIUM ZINC SULFATE Sulfuric Acid CHLORIDE Hydrochloric Acid NITRATE Nitric Acid Slow React with Steam Slow IRON ENDOTHERMIC Energy used and taken in EXOTHERMIC Energy produced and given out COPPER No Very Slow REVERSIBLE REACTIONS Can go both waysSILVER No GOLD No N2 + 3H2 2NH3 DISPLACEMENT REACTIONS RATE(Speed) OF REACTION Reactions happen when particles collide. BUT they must collide hard enough. More collisions or harder collisions = Faster reaction. More reactive metals displace Less reactive metals from their compounds. BIG DIFFERENCE = FAST REACTION TEMPERATURE ALL REACTIONS Higher Temp Faster Particles Harder Collisions Faster Reaction Faster Reaction More Collis ions More Particles More Conc REACTIONS WITH SOLUTIONS REACTIONS WITH SOLIDS Small Pieces More Surface More Collisions Faster Reaction CONCENTRATION SURFACE AREACATALYST SOME REACTIONS Catalyst not used up. Less energy needed More collisions succeed Study and revision skills ENZYMES Special Biological Catalysts in Living things. 11 c 12 BAUXITE ROCK Crust HEMATITE REDUCTION MALACHITE BLAST FURNACE ELECTROLYSIS OF MOLTEN OXIDE ALUMINIUM IRON LIME O2 STEEL CHEMISTRY SECTION THREE THE EARTH RAW MATERIALS N2 AIR O2 CO2 WATER H2O Photosynthesis Breathing IGNEOUS LIMESTONE HE AT  © Cambridge University Press IGCSE Chemistry S U N SEDIMENTARY BLAST FURNACE + PURIFICATION BY ELECTROLYSIS Decay ering Erosion eat W sport Deposi an nta tio Tr Ceme tion n PLANTS Cooling Heat Pressure COPPER ANIMALS Death MAGMA METAMORPHIC M elti n g HALITE RockSalt NITRIC ACID LIME CEMENT GLASS SLAKED LIME CO2 O2 FOSSIL FUELS NITRATES IN SOIL NATURAL GAS AMMONIUM NITRATE N2 ELECTROLYSIS OF SOLUTION HABER PROC ESS AMMONIA NITRIC ACID FERTILISER COAL PETROLEUM COKE HYDROGEN Fuel CHLORINE Water Treatment SODIUM HYDROXIDE Soap. BLEACH FUEL +or ELECTRICITY FRACTIONAL DISTILLATION ALKENES GAS PETROL NAPHTHA KEROSINE DIESEL LUBRICATING OIL FUEL OIL BITUMEN CRACKING PLASTICSStudy and revision skills The glossary – words are important Chemistry can be said to have a language of its own. As for the other sciences, there are special terms that need to be understood and remembered – an ‘atom’ is not the same thing as an ‘ion’ or a ‘molecule’. There are also some words that have a different slant on their meaning in chemistry. For example, saying that ethanol is ‘volatile’ does not mean that it is about to ‘freak out’, simply that it evaporates easily. Throughout the textbook, you will find words that have been highlighted in red bold type.It would be useful to make a note of these and make sure that you are clear about th eir meaning. A glossary of these important chemical terms is also provided at the end of the book. The same glossary is also provided on this CD. If your first language is not English – and possibly even if it is – it would be useful to keep your own ‘chemical vocabulary’ book to help you to learn and understand the terms used in this subject. This should help you to understand questions clearly and not get tied up in confusing ‘waffle’ in your answers.  © Cambridge University Press IGCSE Chemistry Study and revision skills 13