Finding a New Advertising Agency Essay

It started with a pair of certified letters to MINI USA’s Woodcliff Lake headquarters in northern New Jersey in the summer of 2005. One of the letters was addressed to Jim McDowell, vice president and managing director of MINI USA, the U.S. division of BMW’s MINI automobile brand. The other letter was to Trudy Hardy, marketing manager for MINI USA and a direct report to McDowell. Both letters were from Scheid, Roberts, and Reicher (SRR),1 MINI’s advertising agency since 2001, and both arrived at their respective destinations at almost exactly the same time. From her desk, which was not in the immediate proximity of McDowell’s office, Hardy sat back in her chair and opened the letter without the knowledge that McDowell had just received a similar letter. Her thoughts and feelings as she broke the seal of the envelope and read the one-page letter partly confirmed previous suspicions but, nevertheless, included a sense of great disappointment and some hurt feelings. A rare event in the client-advertising agency relationship, SRR’s letter informed Hardy that they would resign the MINI account in order to pursue a larger account with a competing German automobile manufacturer. For Hardy, it was during the next few moments that the gravity of the event began to sink in. SRR had been the ad agency for MINI ever since the months leading up to the U.S. launch of the new MINI Cooper, which was the first new car launched by the MINI brand since its acquisition by BMW several years earlier. In a time when the duration of a client-advertising agency relationship typically lasted for just about two years, the collaboration with SRR had been in her mind a productive one for almost five years. And in the same way that she believed the relationship had been extremely valuable  to MINI, it was also hard for Hardy to believe that the same did not hold true for SRR as well. In 2001, the MINI account stood as one of the first major SRR client wins when it was a start-up agency with fewer than 50 employees. SRR had now grown to more than 300 employees, and the launch of the MINI Cooper was an unquestioned success. In some ways, MINI and SRR had grown up together. 1 Although this case is based on actual events, Scheid, Roberts, and Reicher (SRR) is a fictional name for MINI USA’s advertising agency from 2001 to 2005. For simplicity, hereinafter, MINI is used as opposed to MINI USA. 2 The BMW Group maintained a general rule that each BMW brand have its own advertising agency. For example, SRR could not work for BMW and MINI at the same time. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Professor David Godes prepared this case with the assistance of Research Associate Peter Wickersham. HBS cases are developed solely as the basis for class discussion. Cases are not intended to serve as endorsements, sources of primary data, or illustrations of effective or ineffective management. Copyright  © 2007, 2008 President and Fellows of Harvard College. To order copies or request permission to reproduce materials, call 1-800-5457685, write Harvard Business School Publishing, Boston, MA 02163, or go to http://www.hbsp.harvard.edu. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, used in a spreadsheet, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without the permission of Harvard Business School. Hardy began to think of the task before her. In one sense, if she were the marketing manager for almost any other product, the selection of a new advertising agency might not have been such a critical task. But the MINI brand, in almost every respect, was unique—from the design of the car itself to the passionate owners of the car who, for example, often named their MINI Cooper as they would a pet or family member. MINI’s advertising since the launch of the Cooper had been highly unconventional, and although she had no immediate ideas of how to proceed in finding a new agency, Hardy knew that  the selection process would need to be just as unique. The BMW Group and MINI Mini History We went round the works, and I drove him at a hell of a speed—I’m sure he was terrified—but then he was so impressed by its road holding. We stopped outside his office. He got out of the car and he said, â€Å"Go ahead and make it.† — Alec Issigonis, head of design for the Morris Mini Minor (a.k.a, the Mini), conversation with Leonard Lord, chairman of British Motor Corporation (BMC), 19583 The twentieth century witnessed the creation of scores of automobiles, but it can be argued that only a handful of these cars transcended the others to become cultural icons. For some car enthusiasts, the short list of such cars might have included the likes of the Ford Model T or Volkswagen Beetle. For those living in the United Kingdom and Europe in the 40 years between 1959 and the end of the century, the Mini Minor and its descendants, including the original Mini Cooper, would almost certainly have been counted among them. The genesis for what was to become the Mini was attributed to Leonard Lord in response to the nationalization of the Suez Canal by Egypt in September 1956. Since it was thought this action might disrupt or restrict the shipment of oil from the Middle East, Lord commissioned Alec Issigonis to design a small car intended for those seeking frugal transport. The design requirements were few and simple: the ability to seat four people, use of a BMC engine, and an overall size smaller than that of current BMC cars. Issigonis formed a team of eight designers and engineers. In one of their first meetings together, Issigonis placed four wooden chairs on the workshop floor in two rows of two and asked four of his team members to sit in them. They then shuffled the chairs around on the floor until each could sit comfortably in a minimum of space. The rough dimensions were captured in chalk on the workshop floor; the passenger space required was to be at least 8 feet 9 inches long, Purchased for use on the MSc International Marketing, at King’s College London, Department of Management. Taught by Douglas West, from 12-Jan-2015 to 27-Mar-2015. Order ref F240566. Usage permitted only within these parameters otherwise contact info@thecasecentre.org â€Å"Well, I guess they’re off to greener pastures,† he said in a matter-of-fact tone. After talking some more about the resignation, they soon turned their attention to finding a new partner. â€Å"Listen, I have total confidence in you to find our next agency,† McDowell assured Hardy. â€Å"It won’t be easy, but you know our brand better than anyone. The only catch is that we should probably have this nailed down before the end of the year, which means early December. Let’s talk more once you have an idea of where you’d like to take the search.† With those words, McDowell left Hardy’s office. In addition to its small size (and in some cases because of it), the design of the Mini contained several other notable innovations. It was one of the first front-wheel-drive cars, and its engine was mounted transversely so as not to contribute more than two feet to the overall length of the car. The wide spacing of the wheels allowed for more efficient passenger space, and thus more than 80% of the overall dimensions of the Mini were devoted to luggage and occupants. The design of the Mini also had some other unique consequences. First, the Mini’s simple layout made it easy for owners to modify the interior and exterior of the car; as a result, customization of the car became common. Second, its wide wheel spacing and low center of gravity made the Mini suitable for development of a racing variant of the car. An acquaintance of Issigonis, John Cooper, created the Mini Cooper in 1961 to be driven in rally races. The Mini Cooper was quite successful,  winning the prestigious Monte Carlo rally in 1964, 1965, and 1967. In all, around 150,000 Mini Coopers were produced. The mass-produced version of the Mini was a success in terms of unit sales. It also attracted a cult-like following. Each of the four Beatles owned a Mini as did Peter Sellers and many other famous British celebrities of the day. In 1995, the Mini was voted â€Å"Car of the Century† by readers of Autocar, a U.K. car magazine. BMW Acquires Mini Although the Mini was universally considered a success, the same could not be said for the succession of parent companies that owned the brand. In 1968, British Leyland was formed when BMC merged with the Leyland truck company. In 1975, British Leyland went bankrupt, and the company—with classic brands such as Jaguar, Rover, MG, Triumph, and Mini—was bought out by the British government. In 1988, the collection of surviving brands, now referred to as the Rover Group, was sold to British Aerospace, another nationalized company. Along the way, there were notable investments made in the Rover Group by other car manufacturers, including Honda of Japan, which owned approximately 25% of the company at one time. Yet, the greatest investment and perhaps the biggest surprise occurred in 1994 when BMW, the German luxury automaker with 1993 sales of $18 billion, acquired Rover and its brands, including Mini, for $1.2 billion. In the eyes of senior management at the BMW Auto Group (AG), the vision for the purchase of the Rover Group was to take the company into a new international era. Bernd Pischetsrieder, who was named chief executive officer of BMW AG in 1994, explained it this way: â€Å"The key to success is continuously changing your focus over the long term . . . in the ‘80s, we focused on enhancing the engineering process. The  key emphasis for the ‘90s is globalization of the entire business, including financing, product engineering, styling, designing, manufacturing, and sourcing.†4 Similarly, some industry analysts believed that BMW could not afford to compete solely at the luxury end of a maturing world car market. The acquisition of the Mini brand and the decision to develop the new MINI was seen as a solid strategy to offer less expensive cars without jeopardizing the integrity of the BMW brand.5 According to an analyst with Commerzbank, â€Å"By slightly modifying an existing brand, effectively ‘inserting’ a new vehicle into it, it avoids having to pay all the upfront costs associated 4 J. P. Donlon, â€Å"Honk if you are global (interview with BMW CEO Bernd Pischetsrieder),† Chief Executive, October 1, 1994. 5 BMW differentiated the new version of the Mini from the original by capitalizing all four letters when referring to the new model (i.e., MINI). 3 Purchased for use on the MSc International Marketing, at King’s College London, Department of Management. Taught by Douglas West, from 12-Jan-2015 to 27-Mar-2015. Order ref F240566. Usage permitted only within these parameters otherwise contact info@thecasecentre.org  feet 2 inches wide, and 4 feet 4 inches high. Ultimately, once the engine and luggage space were added, the Mini was designed to be just 10 feet in length (Exhibit 1). MINI USA: Finding a New Advertising Agency (A)  with developing a new brand. The costs of brand building cannot be underestimated, as anyone at Daewoo would be quick to point out.†6 Not included in the deal to divest the Rover division, notably, was the MINI  brand as well as the manufacturing facility near Oxford, England. â€Å"We knew we had a winner there. Much to the chagrin of the British, we held onto it,† McDowell would say later. Educational material supplied by The Case Centre Copyright encoded A76HM-JUJ9K-PJMN9I Order reference F240566 Designing a New MINI The design and development of the new MINI in the mid-1990s was to some at BMW the embodiment of the larger struggle to integrate the cultures of Rover and BMW. Between 1994 and 1999, there existed two separate MINI design teams—one British and one German. The British-based Rover designers and engineers for much of that time envisioned a revolutionary design of the new MINI. One such MINI concept was unlike, the previous Mini in almost every way but was seen as a contemporary interpretation of Issigonis’ vision of building a small car with maximum passenger space (Exhibit 3). BMW’s designers took a more evolutionary approach in terms of design combined with BMW’s reputation for delivering high-performance, driver-oriented cars. On one night in 1998 at his home in Munich, Frank Stephenson, a BMW designer originally from the U.S., cast himself into the role of Issigonis, who was known for doodling designs of cars on the back of napkins. On a kitchen towel, Stephenson sketched a series of updated versions of the original Mini to reflect modern trends in design and new technology; see Exhibit 3 for a sample sketch.7 In the end, it was Stephenson’s design that would form the basis of the new MINI. The official launch of the MINI was held at the Paris auto show in 2000. During the show, senior BMW AG executives and Stephenson unveiled the new MINI to a rousing ovation. In explaining its design, Stephenson said, â€Å"The MINI Cooper is not a retro design car, but an evolution of the original. It has the genes and many of the characteristics of its predecessor, but is larger, more powerful, more muscular and more exciting than its predecessor.†8 Two production models were to be launched in the U.K. (its historical home) in July 2001: a base model called the MINI One and a more upscale MINI Cooper. A sportier MINI Cooper S was to be launched soon thereafter in the U.K., and both the MINI Cooper and MINI  Cooper S were scheduled for launch in the U.S. as well as other parts of the world in early 2002. Even though the first MINI Coopers were not scheduled to arrive until early 2002, work was well underway in 2000 to establish an organization to support  the launch of the MINI in the United States. MINI USA was established as a division of BMW of North America LLC and would share the same headquarters in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey, as its parent organization. Jack Pitney was named general manager of MINI USA, a unique distinction for someone with a marketing background as opposed to automotive engineering, manufacturing, finance, or sales. Kerri Martin was appointed MINI’s marketing communications manager. Trudy Hardy was also recruited in 2001 as brand communications manager of MINI, reporting to Martin. The MINI USA headquarters organization was designed to be small (fewer than 25 employees), nimble, and highly creative. From the start, the credo of the organization appeared to be, â€Å"If another car company might take the same approach, MINI ought not.† Martin, for instance, was commonly called by the title â€Å"keeper of brand soul† instead of marketing manager. Work proceeded quickly. By the end of 2000, www.miniusa.com was live and already receiving hits. As with the MINI USA headquarters organization, the existing BMW infrastructure was utilized to create a network of U.S. MINI dealerships. Nevertheless, in a similar fashion, great lengths were taken to establish MINI as its own brand. Approximately 70 dealerships in 31 cities were renovated to add an exclusive MINI showroom under a separate marquee. In total, across all U.S. dealerships, first-year MINI sales objectives were expected to be 20,000 units, an amount Pitney viewed as aggressive but within reach. Base retail sticker prices for the MINI Cooper and MINI Cooper S models were set at about $18,000 and $21,000, respectively, including dealer shipment fees. Additionally, leveraging the history of customizations to the original Mini, each model carried an extensive list of optional equipment and exterior color schemes. For instance, the car roof alone could be painted at the factory with one of more than 10 color schemes, including a black-and-white checkerboard pattern as well as an image of either the Union Jack or American flag. Early expectations were that the MINI Cooper S would capture approximately 80% of sales due to its larger engine and better acceleration. Depending on the amount of optional equipment selected, the total price of a MINI Cooper S could exceed $25,000. Given its design and price range, plans were to position the MINI Cooper as a premium small car—something that MINI saw as a new market niche. This was especially true because the MINI Cooper was smaller and more expensive than some of the better-established compact cars made by Honda, Toyota, and Nissan. Initial MINI marketing materials and media reports from auto shows portrayed the MINI Cooper as a â€Å"fashionable accessory to an affluent, urban-hipster lifestyle.†9 However, early market research also indicated that the target market for the MINI was not limited to a specific demographic group or socioeconomic class but rather was more of a lifestyle choice or mind-set. For example, in surveys conducted before launch, potential MINI buyers in the U.S. described themselves as â€Å"young at heart† or â€Å"free spirited,† a finding that was consistent among both young as well as older age groups. Moreover, the potential MINI buyer appeared to be less concerned by the opinions of others and was independent minded. MINI and BMW AG drew a number of conclusions from this initial research. First, it was decided that further research should closely examine the psychographic factors associated with the purchase of a MINI, since the most fervent of potential MINI buyers seemed to have a common mind-set about the car, which was something that Pitney and others hoped to explore in greater detail. Second, the research confirmed to them that, unlike the original Mini, the new MINI should not be marketed as a car for the masses but instead to a particular segment of car buyers. Third, although it created 9 Suzanne Vranica, â€Å"Cool Mini Cooper Prepares for Relaunch,† The Wall Street Journal, February 14, 2001. Pitney and Martin thus recognized the importance of selecting an advertising agency with experience in nontraditional advertising such as promotional events, online advertising, and direct marketing. None of the large advertising agencies known for television advertising were invited to pitch the account, a decision that many industry observers viewed as bold and against the grain. DaimlerChrysler’s Chrysler Group unit, for example, had recently consolidated its $1.5 billion ad account at Omnicom Group. MINI also decided to base part of the compensation of the ad agency on the collective opinions of its dealers, something that was unique in advertising. Following a fourmonth review, SRR was selected as MINI’s agency of record. A separate firm, Circle.com, was selected to handle their online technology strategy and customer relationship management (CRM) duties. Although MINI would not disclose it publicly, the MINI account was valued at about $25 million per year in term s of total marketing spend, a relatively modest size for an automotive client. Let’s Motor: The U.S. Launch of the MINI The U.S. Launch Campaign (2001–2002) By July 2001, in the eyes of Pitney, Martin, Hardy, and the rest of the MINI team, both the marketing strategy and the creative focus of MINI’s U.S. launch (scheduled for March 2002) were taking shape. Moreover, they felt that the desire to do things differently at MINI had been taken to a whole new level. Most significantly, the marketing team had decided not to use any television or radio advertising as part of MINI’s launch, an industry first for what was essentially an entirely new automobile brand in the U.S. market (it had been almost 40 years since the original Mini was sold in the U.S.). Instead, a phased approach using print and nontraditional marketing techniques was developed. During August and September 2001, MINI’s focus was  to build brand awareness primarily through print advertising in magazines. The tagline for the ads was â€Å"Let’s Motor,† a theme developed by SRR and that would be carried throughout the launch campaign in 2002. The use of the word â€Å"Let’s† at the beginning of each ad was intended to create a feeling of inclusiveness, and the tone of the ads was intended to be friendly and funny. For example, one ad read: â€Å"Let’s not use the size of our vehicle to compensate for other shortcomings. Let’s Motor.† Another began, â€Å"Let’s put away the middle finger.† In addition to initial print advertising in magazines such as Autoweek, SRR developed The Book of Motoring, a 5-inch by 5-inch glossy booklet designed to convey exactly what it meant to be a motorer. â€Å"How is motoring different from driving?† it posed to the reader. â€Å"Physically, they’re the same process . . . the difference is in the mind of the operator . . . when you drive, you go from A to B . . . when you motor you go from A to Z . . . it’s all about living . . . nobody can tell you when you’re motoring . . . you just know.† The book also suggested that motorers pay the toll for the car behind them or feed parking meters if they see a meter maid coming. â€Å"Motorers look out for one another,† the book said. The Book of Motoring could be obtained through BMW dealers or the MINI USA website. In October 2001, in addition to continued print advertising, the SRR and the MINI marketing team designed a series of promotional events and publicity stunts to create additional buzz for the brand. Purchased for use on the MSc International Marketing, at King’s College London, Department of Management. Taught by Douglas West, from 12-Jan-2015 to 27-Mar-2015. Order ref F240566. Usage permitted only within these parameters otherwise contact info@thecasecentre.org  challenges for the manufacturing team in Oxford, England, it was clear that the target market would likely seek to make their MINI unique by adding optional features and color schemes. Finally, it also became apparent that limiting their advertising to traditional media such as television and radio would not be cost effective, since the MINI itself was not a mass-market car  and since its potential buyers seemed less interested in being part of the mainstream. In one example, for a Formula 1 car race in Indianapolis, MINIs were secured to the top of three fullsize sport-utility vehicles and were driven to the city from other parts of the U.S. carrying signs that read, â€Å"What are you doing for fun this weekend?† The same MINI-toting SUVs then toured some 24 U.S. cities (Exhibit 4). When curious onlookers asked about the car, representatives were instructed to give them a card that said â€Å"Coming to America† and directed them to the MINI USA website. Sporting events were also used as venues to promote the car. For instance, a MINI was placed in the stands of an Oakland A’s baseball game and in the Superdome for a Monday Night Football game (Exhibit 5). As part of this promotion, during the game, the announcer did a series of â€Å"callouts† that drew the attention of the fans in attendance to the MINI. As one example, he announced: â€Å"To the gentleman in Section 101, you’ve left your lights on.â €  When the in-stadium camera focused on the MINI in Section 101, its lights flashed and then shut off. This particular promotion also played a role in the firm’s attempts to anthropomorphize the MINI. When the official launch of the MINI Cooper began in March 2002, MINI and SRR continued their grass-roots marketing efforts and print advertising in combination with outdoor advertising using, most notably, billboards, which they felt were underutilized by other car brands. In all 45 markets where the new MINI was to be sold, teaser billboards were posted on the day that showrooms were opened. Instead of displaying the car or its logo, the billboards only included the company’s website, miniusa.com, and a single line of text. One billboard read, â€Å"XXL XL L M S Mini.† Another read, â€Å"The SUV backlash officially starts now.† Then, in April, a new series of  billboards were rolled out that included a photo of a MINI, the MINI logo, and the â€Å"Let’s Motor† tagline. Slogans included, â€Å"Let’s Sip Not Guzzle,† referring to its above-average fuel economy. The outdoor advertising was taken to the extreme in cities like New York, where a skyscraper was wrapped to represent the car’s two-tone paint job and a 29-foot-by-125-foot billboard was erected in Times Square. Though typically considered a traditional medium, print advertising was used by MINI as nontraditionally as possible. In late 2001, for instance, executives from 35 magazines were invited to MINI’s headquarters to brainstorm unique ways to market the new MINI in print. One noteworthy outcome of this session was a proposal to use the margins around news stories to hold advertisements. At launch, the â€Å"cornering ads,† as they were called, were run in six magazines, including Rolling Stone and Motor Trend. The ads said, â€Å"Nothing corners like a MINI† and contained a photo of the Mini Cooper S cornering the one-inch margin of the magazine page. Other aspects of the launch campaign included the following (Exhibit 6): †¢ More than 6 million magazine inserts of an abridged version of The Book of Motoring †¢ A series of MINI-inspired cartoons featured in The New Yorker magazine †¢ Other magazine inserts including an unscented MINI-shaped air freshener and a pullout car game. Another insert allowed readers to customize the car using peel-off stickers; accessories such as wheel covers, blowers, and racks could be placed on a photo of a MINI in the ad. In total, more than 30 million magazine inserts were published in magazines ranging from Car and Driver to Vanity Fair. The MINI organization was very  happy with the creative output of SRR. â€Å"Conceptually, just about every one of their ideas was spot on,† Hardy said. â€Å"Besides the fact that they really ‘got’ the brand, they also made sure that the ideas they showed us were fleshed out and developed. This extra effort on their part really made it easier for us to react to the ideas and to give them meaningful feedback so we could work together to make them come to life.† MINI and SRR planned to explore other advertising media as 2002 wore on, just not television. Rather than use TV advertising, for example, MINI opted to sign a deal with National Cinema Network, a movie theater network, to show 30- and 45-second advertisements on roughly 2,000 screens in five cities. 7 Purchased for use on the MSc International Marketing, at King’s College London, Department of Management. Taught by Douglas West, from 12-Jan-2015 to 27-Mar-2015. Order ref F240566. Usage permitted only within these parameters otherwise contact info@thecasecentre.org By the close of 2002, there were several reasons for MINI and SRR to celebrate. Most obvious were the year-end MINI sales figures, which indicated that 24,590 units had been sold in a little over nine months. At that pace, first-year sales were projected to total over 30,000 units. In addition to the strong sales figures, a consumer survey indicated that brand awareness for the MINI among the carbuying public was 25%. A survey indicated that 75% of MINI buyers had read or heard about the MINI through  public relations and Internet exposure before the official launch advertising actually began in March 2002. The launch campaign also earned both MINI and SRR a significant number of awards, including Adweek magazine’s 2002 Guerilla Marketer of the Year and 2003 Media Plan of the Year honors, the 2002 Kelly Awards Grand Prize for Outstanding Magazine Advertising, and two 2002 Cannes Media Lion prizes. SRR also won the Best of Show Award and an award for innovation in marketing at the annual One Show awards, a prestigious event sponsored by the One Club for Art and Copy in New York. At the same awards ceremony, MINI USA received the Advertiser of the Year Award. Pitney was named one of two Automotive News Marketers of the Year (the other was awarded to Jim McDowell, vice president of marketing for BMW of North America). In January 2003, the MINI was selected as the North American Car of the Year by the same publication. The MINI Cooper and MINI Cooper S were selected as finalists for the Motor Trend Car of the Year as well. The Creative Work Continues (2003–2005) By all accounts, the relationship between MINI and SRR was felt by both sides in 2003 to have been a highly productive collaboration to that point. â€Å"Each day we came to the office thinking that we had one of the best jobs in the world. In a sense, SRR was just part of the family. We’d interact and debate ideas on a weekly, sometimes daily, basis,† Hardy described. â€Å"It was a close working relationship.† Over the next two years, MINI’s strategy of using primarily nontraditional advertising in combination with print and outdoor advertising continued, as did SRR’s ability to develop unique creative material in support of this strategy. One magazine campaign featured punch-out, assembleable versions of the MINI Cooper built on a 1:56 scale. About 4.4 million inserts were created, featuring two cars with different combinations of accessories, and came complete with assembly instructions; both cars became collectors’ items. In another campaign, consumers could pull out MINI cartoon-character decals from magazines. The stickers came eight per sheet and were designed to drive buyers into dealerships for a ninth sticker. Approaches like this one were well received by dealers, including Wayne Youngblood, general  manager of Motor City Mini near Detroit. â€Å"I’m thrilled with it; MINI marketing is quirky, fun, and it delivers customers that match the vehicle perfectly,† he said. â€Å"In my 30 years in the business, there has been no other product that commands as much excitement or attention as MINI.†10 Sales of the MINI Cooper continued to climb (Exhibit 7). In 2004, a MINI Cooper convertible was added to the model lineup. Changes would soon be underway, however. In March 2005, Martin announced that she was leaving MINI to become director of market development for Volkswagen of America, a company known for spending about $500 million annually in North American advertising. Around the same time, Pitney and McDowell made the unique decision to switch jobs as general manager of MINI USA and vice president of marketing for BMW of North America. But the ultimate surprise was SRR’s resignation of the MINI account in order to become the agency of record Purchased for use on the MSc International Marketing, at King’s College London, Department of Management. Taught by Douglas West, from 12-Jan-2015 to 27-Mar-2015. Order ref F240566. Usage permitted only within these parameters otherwise contact info@thecasecentre.org for Volkswagen. By then, Hardy had assumed Martin’s duties as head of marketing, and one of her first challenges was starting over and finding a new advertising agency, which would not be easy given the unique relationship that MINI enjoyed with SRR. Advertising Agencies With each passing year of technological advancements, it was apparent to MINI and others that the foundations of any advertising firm—creativity and the ability to deliver creative content in a variety of media—were becoming less and less the exclusive domain of bigger advertising firms with extensive production staffs. Consequently, it was possible for a one- or two-person shop to perform the same creative services as a large, multinational advertising conglomerate with billions in revenues such as Omnicom, WPP, Interpublic Group (IPG), and Publicis. Advertising firms in 2005 could be categorized into either of these two groups, but a third group also existed. The â€Å"independents,† as they were called, were privately owned firms with anywhere from about 10 to 300 employees. As was the case with SRR, oftentimes these firms were started by young, entrepreneurial advertising professionals looking for creative freedom or autonomy following stints at one or more o f the publicly held multinational firms. Seen by some to be a competitive response to the growth of the independents, consolidation was a significant theme in the advertising industry during much of the 1990s and early twenty-first century. Over this period, the major holding companies appeared intent on expanding market share in order to gain economies of scale, diversifying their revenue streams, and serving clients as a one-stop shop while growing into large, multinational players. In 1993, for example, the top three agency holding companies captured a 36% share of the market. By 2003, this figure had increased to 50%.11 The increase in market share was largely achieved through acquisitions of independents and smaller holding companies, with the bulk of these acquisitions occurring from 1996–2001. One holding company, IPG, acquired 240 companies during that period. Another significant industry theme was the shift in agency compensation over the past decade from commissions to fee-based compensation. Traditionally, advertising organizations had been paid at a set percentage of an advertising budget for the creative work on an account; this percentage was  typically in the 12%–15% range but could be as high as 20%. A major criticism of this compensation system was that it did not align the agency’s pay with the success of a particular campaign or with the amount of work required to create the campaign. The fee-based system (or FTE model) charged production fees and employee hours along with a standard profit margin (e.g., 20%) for the advertising firm. In 2005, it was estimated that 80% of all advertising clients had moved away from commission-based compensation structures to enter fixed fees or a combination of fee and incentive compensation.

Biology Lab Report Ib Hl Osmosis

Biology Lab Report 2 Investigating the phenomenon of Osmosis in plant tissues: Potato in different concentrations of NaCl Tutor: Maria Tsaousidou By Marina Gkritzioudi Biology Lab Report 2 Investigating the phenomenon of Osmosis in plant tissues: Potato in different concentrations of NaCl Tutor: Maria Tsaousidou By Marina Gkritzioudi Investigating the phenomenon of Osmosis in plant tissues: Potato in different concentrations of NaCl Introduction: Osmosis is the movement of water molecules through a semipermeable membrane from low concentration to high concentration. Research Question:How does the concentration of salt (NaCl) affect the mass of a potato soaked in water (H2O) with different concentrations of NaCl over the course of 30 minutes? Hypothesis: It is expected that the solution with the highest concentration of salt will cause more mass loss to the pieces of potato. The pieces that will be placed in the solution with the lowest concentration of salt will have small weight los s. Finally, the pieces that will be placed in water (NaCl concentration 0) will gain weight. This is expected because of the phenomenon of osmosis which was examined in a previous lab. Variables:Independent: concentration (%) of salt (NaCl) Dependent: mass (g) change Controlled: * shape and material of the beakers * size and weight of the potato pieces * volume of the aqueous solution The beakers need to be of the same size, of the same shape and of the same material, either plastic or glass. The size of the potato pieces needs to be the same in order for the surface to volume ratio to be the same and the initial weight of the pieces should also be the same so that the mass change can be compared. Since this is not always possible, we calculate percentages and make the pieces approximately the same.Lastly, the volume of the water solutions should be the same in all beakers so that the osmotic effect will only depend on the concentration dissolved in the solution. Materials: 5 beaker s sized: 250cm3 (Â ±0. 5cm3) Tap Water Potato Knife Weigh balance (Â ±0. 01g) Salt (NaCl) Watch glass Spatula Timer (Â ±0. 1sec) Volumetric cylinder Procedure: Step 1: Line up the five beakers and with the help of a volumetric cylinder add 100cm3 of water (H2O) in all of them. Step 2: Place the watch glass on the weigh balance and after zeroing it, measure four different concentrations of salt by adding it with the spatula.Start by measuring 0. 5% of NaCl, then 1%, then 3%, and finally 5% and add each one in a different beaker. Step 3: Stir the solutions using the spatula in order for the salt to dissolve. Step 4: Take a potato and after peeling it with the knife, cut it into 10 same size small pieces. Step 5: Measure each one of the 10 pieces and in order to equalize their mass chop, or scrape off some of the piece if needed. Step 6: Record the initial mass of the potato pieces and place 2 potatoes in each beaker. Step 7: After 15min take each of the pieces out of the beakers an d measure its weight and record it.Step 8: Repeat Step 7 after 30min and after 35min in order to get the rate at which the mass changes. Data Collection: Table 1: Mass measurements of the potato pieces in solutions with different NaCl concentrations over the course of 35min | Time in min| Mass(g)(Â ±0. 01) in 0. 5% NaCl concentration| Mass(g)(Â ±0. 01) in 1% NaCl concentration| Mass(g)(Â ±0. 01) in 3% NaCl concentration| Mass(g)(Â ±0. 01) in 5% NaCl concentration | Mass(g)(Â ±0. 01) in 0% NaCl concentration| | Trial 1| Trial 2| Trial 1| Trial 2| Trial 1| Trial 2| Trial 1| Trial 2| Trial 1| Trial 2| 0| 1. 76| 1. 76| 1. 76| 1. 76| 1. 76| 1. 6| 1. 76| 1. 76| 1. 76| 1. 76| 15| 1. 80| 1. 80| 1. 63| 1. 63| 1. 57| 1. 57| 1. 58| 1. 58| 1. 95| 1. 95| 30| 1. 80| 1. 80| 1. 54| 1. 54| 1. 50| 1. 50| 1. 51| 1. 51| 1. 97| 1. 97| 35| 1. 79| 1. 79| 1. 52| 1. 45| 1. 49| 1. 42| 1. 48| 1. 45| 1. 98| 1. 98| Data Processing: In Table 2 the average mass of the measurements of the two trials from Tabl e 1 over the course of 35min is shown. The information in the table was a result of adding the measurements from both of the trials, at a specific time, and dividing this sum by two. For example, in the 5mol dm-3 NaCl concentration the mass (g) after 35min was 1. 8g in the 1st trial and 1. 45g in the 2nd trial (see Table 1). The average of these two measurements for the time of 35min, in concentration 0. 5mol dm-3 NaCl, is found by adding them and dividing their sum by two: (1. 48+1. 45)? 2=1. 465, rounded to 1. 47g. Table 2: The average mass measurements of the potato pieces in solutions with different NaCl concentrations over the course of 35min| Time in min| Mass(g)(Â ±0. 01) in 0. 5%3 NaCl concentration| Mass(g)(Â ±0. 01) in 1% NaCl concentration| Mass(g)(Â ±0. 01) in 3% NaCl concentration| Mass(g)(Â ±0. 01) in 5% NaCl concentration | Mass(g)(Â ±0. 1) in 0% NaCl concentration| 0| 1. 76| 1. 76| 1. 76| 1. 76| 1. 76| 15| 1. 80| 1. 63| 1. 57| 1. 58| 1. 95| 30| 1. 80| 1. 54| 1. 50| 1. 51| 1. 97| 35| 1. 79| 1. 49| 1. 46| 1. 47| 1. 98| In Table 3 the average mass change of the measurements over the course of 35min is shown. This is calculated by subtracting the initial measurement of the average mass of the pieces of potato (measurements of 0min shown in Table 2), which are submerged in different solutions with different salt concentrations, from the final measurement of the mass of potato present in the same concentration (measurements of 35min shown in Table 2).For example, the average mass change over the course of 35min in NaCl concentration of 05mol dm-3 is found by subtracting the first average measurement of the mass, 1. 79g, from the final average mass, 1. 76g: 1. 79-1. 76=0. 03g. Table 3: Average potato mass change in each solution over the course of 35 minutes| | Mass(g)(Â ±0. 01) in 0. 5% NaCl concentration| Mass(g)(Â ±0. 01) in 1% NaCl concentration| Mass(g)(Â ±0. 01) in 3% NaCl concentration| Mass(g)(Â ±0. 01) in 5% NaCl concentration | Mass (g)(Â ±0. 01) in 0% NaCl concentration| Mass (g) change (Â ±0. 01)| 0. 03| -0. 27| -0. 30| -0. 29| 0. 22|When the mass change is a positive number, this means that the mass of the specimen, the potato piece, increased from the initial mass. On the contrary, when the mass change is a negative number, this means that the mass decreased from the initial mass that was first measured before it was submerged in the solution. In Table 4 the rate at which the mass increases or decreases in the five different solutions is shown. This is calculated by dividing the absolute average mass change of each solution (shown in Table 3) and dividing it by the maximum time used in the experiment, which is 35min.For example, the rate at which the mass drops or increases in the 0. 5mol dm-3 NaCl concentration solution is shown by taking |0. 03| (Table 3) and dividing it by 35min: |0. 03|? 35=8. 6*10-4g/min. Table 4: Rate at which the mass increases or decreases. | | In 0. 5% NaCl concentration solution | In 1% NaCl concentration solution| In 3% NaCl concentration solution| In 5% NaCl concentration solution| In 0% NaCl concentration solution| Average mass (g)/time (min)| 8. 57*10-4| 7. 71*10-3| 8. 57*10-3| 8. 28*10-3| 6. 28*10-3| In Table 5 the percentage% mass change is shown.This is calculated by subtracting the average initial mass measurement from the average final one, dividing it by the average initial mass and multiplying it by 100. For example, the percentage% mass change in the 0. 5mol dm-3 NaCl concentration solution is calculated like this: [(1. 79-1. 76)/1. 76]*100=1. 70%. Table 5: Percentage% mass change| | Mass(g)(Â ±0. 01) in 0. 5% NaCl concentration| Mass(g)(Â ±0. 01) in 1% NaCl concentration| Mass(g)(Â ±0. 01) in 3% NaCl concentration| Mass(g)(Â ±0. 01) in 5% NaCl concentration | Mass(g)(Â ±0. 01) in 0% NaCl concentration| Percentage%Mass change| 1. 0| -15. 34| -17. 04| -16. 47| 12. 5| Graph 1: Mass changes of potato pieces bathed in NaCl solutions Graph 2: Ra te at which the mass in each solution increases or decreases Conclusion: The data collected confirmed the hypothesis that that the solute with the highest concentration of salt will cause more mass loss to the pieces of potato, the pieces that will be placed in the solute with the lowest concentration of salt will have small weight loss, and the pieces that will be placed in water (NaCl concentration 0) will gain weight thus increasing in mass.After observing the changes in the mass of the potato pieces we can tell that the higher the concentration of salt in the water, the more the mass of plants will decrease because of osmosis. The lower the concentration of salt in water, the more the mass of the plants will increase or just decrease but not dramatically. If we submerge a plant in water with no NaCl dissolved in it, the mass of the plant will increase, because water molecules will move from the low concentration solute to the high, thus entering the plant tissue and increasing i ts mass and weight.Also, time wise, the more the plant specimen soaks in the solutions the more its mass will relatively increase or decrease. Lastly, from the first graph it can be estimated that at concentration 4. 2% the potato in the NaCl solution will reach equilibrium, thus the concentration will be the same inside and outside of the potato. Limitations: There are some limitations to this experiment that prevent the results from being perfect. First of all there was not enough time to repeat the experiment and because the lab was crowded there was no time to chop more han two pieces of potato for each beaker so only two trials were performed instead of three or five. Secondly, the sizes the potatoes were chopped in were not exactly the same because more attention was given to having the same mass and thus neglecting the size which leads to different surface to volume ratio and affects the results. Thirdly, the timer that was used was the classroom clock and therefore the time at which the pieces or potato were measured were not very accurate.Improvements: In order to improve the results of this experiment, it is necessary that some changes be made. Firstly, a tool should be found that will allow potato pieces to be chopped in the same size so that the surface to volume ratio will be the same and not change, thus affecting the results. A proper timer should be used to count the time intervals. Lastly, more repetitions, at least 3, need to be made so that the results are more precise.

Abdellahs theory of Practice Model of Nursing Research Paper

Abdellahs theory of Practice Model of Nursing - Research Paper Example Among the gains of nursing theories in the practice, include that they aim to describe, explain and predict a phenomenon of nursing (Meleis, 2011). Thus, through such theory, it is easy for the nurses to identify the cause of suffering of the patient, and relate accordingly in explaining or predicting the condition the patient is suffering. Therefore, this aspect of nursing theory helps in simplifying the work of the nurses and reducing repetitive work within the practice. Thus, it speeds operations within the working of the nurses who practice application of the theories of nursing (Meleis, 2011).   Secondly, nursing theories provide the foundations; they help in generating further knowledge and indicating the direction of developing nursing in the future, within the nursing practice. Therefore, in view of this, the nursing theories facilitate the learning process of nurses even at work as it helps them decide what they know and do not know. Thus, the nursing theories direct and d etermine the future practice of nursing and facilitate increment of knowledge in the practice, enhancing the quality of service delivery in the practice (Meleis, 2011). Moreover, nursing practice explicitly describes nursing, thus, helping to distinguish the basis of the practice. This constitutes benefits such as enhancing the professional status of the nurses, facilitating better patient care, improving the communication between nurses to nurses and nurses and patients. In addition, it facilitates guidance for further research and education.

Civil Engineering Contracts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

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Teaching assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

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Why Women Should Not be Allowed in Active Combat Duty Essay

Why Women Should Not be Allowed in Active Combat Duty - Essay Example They are admirable in the way they acquit themselves in times of conflict and split second decision making and maybe, just maybe -- we might even have a female president some day. Women still have lofty ambitions when it comes to more things that they hope to do in terms of male equality and, along with the presidency, fighting alongside men in active combat is still one glass ceiling they cannot break. Although there already exists cracks in that particular ceiling, I do not believe that women should ever be allowed to see active combat for a number of valid reasons. There are two main reasons that women should not be allowed in combat according to Robert Bork (qtd. in Sowin). Those reasons are: 1. Putting women in combat is crucial to women’s self-esteem and to men’s respect for women. (That has never been true in the past and it is impossible to see why it should be true now.) 2. Combat roles are important to military advancement. The above arguments are all based up on the way that women are traditionally viewed in our society. Women's rights activists protest the idealization of the female role in society because it makes them seem like fragile, emotionally weak people who do not have any desire or capability to defend themselves or others. By joining the military and joining active combat, women feel that they are an equally strong sex and are capable of fighting the good fight also. This is one case wherein the intentions may be sound, but the execution will always be weak. The reality of women in the military is that they are given preference and leeway in most streneous and taxing activities because women do not have the same stamina as men. In fact, women who train in West Point and other military institutions are not made to compete against other men or by male standards, they are only measured in terms of capabilty against other women. This can prove to be detrimental on the battlefield where they fight alongside men who are faster and stronger but are then held back in order to allow the women to catch up. (Sowin Why Women Should Not Be Allowed in Combat). Gender norming and lowering the training standards in order to allow women to pass is a disservice to our world class soldiers who are expected to lead on the battlefield. Women are still thought of all over the world, most specially in the Muslim territories as being weak and dependent on the male species. Majority of the modern women have managed to change that idea by proving that they can be emotionally and physically strong in various ways. I take my hats off to those women. However, fighting in an active battlefront requires much more than just marathon training and endurance tests. There are those who take on the point of view that : Women are not suited by temperament or by physical characteristics for the highly aggressive, ultra-violent pursuit of victory in battle. Much of an army’s success depends upon intimidation of the enemy. A force compo sed of women is far less intimidating than one consisting of macho men. Intimidation of the enemy saves lives in wartime. (Women Should Not Be Allowed in Military Combat). Consider if you will, that the enemies of our nation field burly, scary, and brainwashed men into battle. They live to intimidate the weak. The simple glare of of their eyes, flare of the nostrils, or clearing of the throat is designed to instill fear into any enemy be he male or female. Fighting a war does not allow for segregation of the sexes in order to effectively fight the battle. It is man vs. woman in most cases and, no matter what Hollywood says about G.I. Jane, a woman can easily be taken down by a well trained and strength enhanced enemy. This will then pose a problem for the team who will

Don't Ask, Don't Tell Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Don't Ask, Don't Tell - Essay Example It is important to note that at the time of implementation, this was only a policy, and not a law! According to it, neither was anybody allowed to investigate the sexual orientation of the members in service in US military, nor the members would discuss it with anybody. Thus, if gays and lesbians were to serve in the US military, they would have to keep their sexual concerns unrevealed. Contrary to this policy, the law did not prevent the US military soldiers from being interrogated about their sexual orientation (Burrelli). This has conventionally remained a very controversial subject on political grounds. For a long time, the number of US military soldiers who would be discharged for the charge of homosexuality was readily dropping until 1993. From 1993 onwards, US military soldiers have increasingly been discharged for being homosexual till 2001. In order to put forward a sufficiently comprehensive account of the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy, it is imperative that th e reaction of American nation towards the policy is studied. According to (Mccabe), the opinion of public regarding the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy can be classified into three types. ... The three types of opinions can be referred to in one word as â€Å"permissive†, â€Å"restrictive† and â€Å"prohibitive† respectively (Mccabe). Two main questions have conventionally been put in front of public to offer their opinion upon in the public polls. One of them inquires if the gays and lesbians should be allowed to openly serve the US military. This question essentially asks the public to convey their opinion with the condition that the servitude is â€Å"open†. Thus, if someone answers in negative, it is not clear if he/she would have maintained the same response for those gays and lesbians who would keep their sexual orientation unrevealed while serving in the US military. In this way, the wording used in aforementioned question distinguishes the permissible opinion from the restrictive and prohibitive opinions. The second question asks the public if gays and lesbians should or should not be allowed to serve the US military without any indica tion of open or restricted expression of sexuality. In this case, when someone says that they should be allowed to serve, it is not clear if he/she would maintain the same response if the question mentioned that the gays and lesbians would openly express their sexual orientation. In this way, this statement distinguishes the prohibitive opinion from the permissive and restrictive opinions. Since the time of implementation of the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy, a number of Washington Post polls and ABC News polls have been conducted in which the American public was asked to respond to the two aforementioned questions simultaneously. Comparison of the findings of these surveys makes it possible for one to simultaneously analyze

The Scientific Method in Everyday Life Assignment

The Scientific Method in Everyday Life - Assignment Example According to Healthy Living magazine, one of the most effective treatments of breast cancer is through the breast removal surgery that was conducted on once Kathy Bates (Huffington, 2012). Notably, this form of breast cancer treatment is quite essential development in the breast cancer treatment. The breast removal surgery involves double mastectomy without irradiation on the cancer cells. The breast-removal surgery or the mastectomy can be conducted through two methods including preventive measure and treatment methods. According to the National Institutes of Health, the preventative measures are often conducted to persons with higher risks of developing breast cancer while persons who have been diagnosed with breast cancer are subjected to treatment (Huffington, 2012). There are numerous types of mastectomy. Application of each of mastectomy depends on the degree of the breast removal. For instance, total mastectomy means the surgical removal of the entire breast tissue including the nipple. Alternatively, radical mastectomy calls for complete breast removal including the lymph nodes and chest muscles (Huffington, 2012). Lumpectomy is an alternative beast-removal cancer treatment; however, this process preserves most parts of the breast since only tumors are removed (Huffington, 2012). These new forms of breast cancer treatments, Double Mastectomy and Lumpectomy, are quite a development in Breast Cancer since the body is not subjected to radiation that often kills healthy

Business Law - Case study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Business Law - - Case Study Example An "offer" in the context of contract law has been described as "an expression of willingness to contract on certain terms, made with the intention that it shall become binding as soon as it is accepted by the person to whom it is addressed, the "offeree.3" The "expression4" may take different forms and Hard Water's original quotation will satisfy this requirement. The intention element is an objective consideration and the case of Smith v Hughes 5emphasised the relevant consideration as being a focus on how a reasonable person would view the situation. Furthermore, the law distinguishes between an offer and an invitation to treat, which is not an offer but an indication of willingness to negotiate a contract6. For example, in the case of Gibson v Manchester City Council7, the words "may be prepared to sell" constituted an invitation to treat and not a distinct offer. Furthermore, valid acceptance in law follows a valid offer and the formation of a contract follows immediately. Moreover, a valid acceptance is a final and unqualified acceptance of an offer as demonstrated in the case of Peter Lind Limited v Mersey Docks & Harbour Boar,8 highlighting the "mirror image" rule, where acceptance must be unequivocal and unconditional, therefore acceptance must "mirror" the offer. With regard to the current scenario, the issue in c... With regard to the current scenario, the issue in contention is whose terms are applicable to the contract. Contractual negotiations particularly in the context of quotations and bids for, will often involve several exchanges between the commercial parties involving offers and counter offers9. The case of Hyde v Wrench10 established that a counter offer brings an end to the original offer. However, the "battle of the form" creates real problems in practice11. The difficulty with this as evidenced with the current situation is determining the exact terms of the eventual contract. Indeed "Chitty on Contracts" underlines this problem and concludes: "Thus it is possible by careful draftsmanship to avoid losing the battle of the forms, but not''.. to win it. The most that the draftsman can be certain of achieving is the stalemate situation where there is no contract at all12." Despite the possibility of conflict in the current situation as to the exact terms of the contract, there is clearly a contract between Doors Software and Hard Water by virtue of course of conduct13. However, to clarify the issue of whose terms are applicable, the courts have adopted the "last shot principle", which was established in the case of Butler Machine Tool Co -v- Ex Cell-O-Corp14 . According to this principle, the presumption is that the last offer which has been accepted without qualification will be determined as covering the conditions of the contract. In the current scenario, Hard Water returned and acknowledgment slip incorporating the terms and conditions of Doors Software Limited and on a strict interpretation of the "last shot" principle, this would suggest that the contract was concluded on Doors Software's terms

Drew Sterling to replace Josh Newly In upcoming concerts Essay Example for Free

Drew Sterling to replace Josh Newly In upcoming concerts Essay The City Symphony will be showcasing the upcoming talents of Drew Sterling in the next two concerts. Mr. Sterling replaces the internationally renowned singer, Josh Newly. While Mr. Newly’s talents have been greatly appreciated in past concerts, the City Symphony has decided to utilize this opportunity to allow Drew Sterling to shine in both concerts as the baritone soloist. Mr. Newly has graced many orchestras around-the-world with his genuine gift as a soloist. Consequently, his talents are both known and respected internationally. Thus, it is understandable that Josh Newly is a very popular artist who is able to sell out concerts. Sadly, Mr. Newly will not be able to perform at this year’s concerts due to prior engagements. The City Symphony wishes that the media respects its desires to not discuss this topic. If Mr. Newly desires to address the media concerning this matter, then he will do so in his own time. On another note, we are happy to announce Mr. Drew Sterling as the baritone soloist. We feel that Mr. Sterling has earned the opportunity to shine in the spotlight. The City Symphony further believes that Mr. Sterling is a fresh and upcoming talent that will have fans on the edge of their seats. In addition, Mr. Sterling is a professional who has given the City Symphony the privilege of showcasing his talent in the next two concerts. Thus, Mr. Sterling will be available for questions and answers (QA) on Friday morning. We are hoping that you can feature this Press Release in your afternoon column as it requires the most urgent attention.

Ethics In The Criminal Justice System Philosophy Essay

Ethics In The Criminal Justice System Philosophy Essay The concept of good is the distinguishing feature of any act we call moral (Souryal,  2007,  p.  72). Our ethics are guided by our morals. The government and the criminal justice system must be fair, ethical and unbiased. They must work with a code of ethics. These codes of ethics will provide moral guidelines and professional standards of conduct (Souryal,  2007,  p.  111). Members of the criminal justice system have moral obligations and qualities that have to be met. The standards that they are held to are of the highest level and hold them to the obligations of honesty, fidelity, and duty (Souryal, 2007). This helps to explain the existence of social contract. According to the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy (2004) the social contract theory is the view that persons moral and/or political obligations are dependent upon a contract or agreement among them to form the society in which the live (para. 1). This theory keeps people from being treated unjustly. It proposes that we are individuals with different identities, that we are equal, that we create society, and that acting human we can maintain that we are free and equal (Souryal, 2007). The social contract theory is known through three different people. They are Thomas Hobbes, Jean-Jacques Rousseau and most importantly John Locke. Thomas Hobbes believed that there was a need for a central authority to settle conflicts and settle disputes. Entering into a social contract would help them to become a civil society. He felt that society was led by their emotions and that self-preservation would eventually lead to war. He felt that the only solution was to have a commonwealth ruled by a ruler or king and that is the only way that peace would be kept, justice served and happiness achieved (Souryal, 2007). Jean-Jacques Rousseau believed that all men are created to be equal and therefore no one has the right to rule or judge another. He believes that every citizen should decide collectively on how to live together and what laws should be enacted. He also noted that the citizens must live in close areas. If they are spread out so they cannot meet on a regular basis this social contract would not work. He believed that society most invoke their free will and constitute themselves politically. This would be good for society both individually and collectively (Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2004). John Locke used some of Hobbess theory but built upon it to make it a greater society contract. He believed in liberalism and a more liberal form of government. He wanted group economic and prosperity and disliked anything that did not fall under those guidelines. He believed and had trust in societys moral judgment and felt as if the government should only be used to settle extreme disputes . He believed that natural law was a way to freedom, market economy, commerce and happiness. He proposed separation of powers and a system of checks and balances (Souryal, 2007). So there we have three different theories to the social contracts. We have Hobbess idea that we should be ruled by a ruler or a king, Rousseaus idea that we should all rule ourselves and make our own laws, and Lockes idea of liberalism which is what society is built on today. The key principles of Lockes social contract are economics and limited rule for the government. Locke believed that society should have free commerce and be able market the economy as they see fit. They should be able to obtain their wealth through a free economical society. The government should setup and pass the laws for society but in doing so not infringe on societies freedom. The government should uphold those laws and administer punishment to anyone that breaks those laws. Societies freedom should come first and foremost in the eyes of the government when passing laws or dealing out punishment. Lockes principles were used within the Bill of Rights. He believed that even though there was a government to help to run our society he felt that an individuals freedom should be sacrificed for this government. Freedom of religion, freedom to assemble, and freedom of speech and press are freedoms of society and therefore should not be taken away and within the bill of rights it states that no law should be passed to take these freedoms away. A regulated militia shall not overshadow the freedom and right to bear arms. The freedom to protect their homes from against unreasonable searches and seizures, a speedy trial, non-excessive bail, and trial by a jury of their peers also follows Lockes principles. The government will not act upon their own but only by the power that the Constitution allows them (U.S. Bill of Rights, n.d.). Lockes principles play a role in the criminal justice system. His idea that an individuals freedom must not be infringed upon is one of the most important in the criminal justice system. The rights of citizens must not be violated even as they are being arrested for breaking the laws setup by the government. An individual must not be held for an indefinite time before they stand trial for the crimes they are accused of. An individuals privacy must not be violated. All paperwork must be in order if they are to be observed or search and seizure of any properties. Private security firms are not held to the same standards as our criminal justice system. They do not require all of the paperwork that the justice system does. They can use survelience equipment that cannot be used by the justice system. Private security firms are not held to the same moral and ethical standards that the criminal justice system is. The criminal justice system must follow strict guidelines that make sure that they do not violate a citizens rights. They cannot lie and cheat to make the case. This is not the same rules that private security has to follow they can use all means possible to get the job done. Natural law is the law of humanity. Human reason is what natural law is based upon and supercedes legislative law. It is the moral obligations of human beings. The fundamentals of the natural law is used in the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights. These rights state that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights; everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person; no one shall be subjected to slavery or servitude; no one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; everyone is equal before the law; everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion; and everyone is entitled to all of the rights and freedoms set forth in the declaration (Souryal, 2007, p. 87). According to Souryal (2007), there are natural law principles that restrict state power. They are governments shall not deprive anyone of liberty or citizenship; governments shall not banish individuals; governments shall not disallo w habeas corpus; and governments shall not arbitrarily deprive anyone of property (p. 87). These are freedoms that individuals were born with and have the right to practice. The natural laws are things that the governments have no right to infringe upon. Freedom does not give an individual the right to break the law to justify their means. An individual must live by ethical standards and obligations just as the criminal justice system must follow the same standards and obligations. Criminal jusctice systems have standards and obligations that they have to follow. The members of the system has to follow the law and be fair and unbiased at the same time. They must protect society and their rights. Individuals have their rights and freedoms set down by the bill of rights. They have the freedom of speech but this does not mean that they have the right to harm someone elses reputation. They have the right to bear arms but this does not mean that they have the right to shoot and wound or kill someone else. They have freedom of religion which means that everyone has the right to choose what religion they want to practice without being condemned for it. These are all personal rights that require some ethics to practice them properly. Lockes ideas concerning liberalism could have been thought as being too idealistic. Without these ideas it would have been a possibility that the idea of liberty and free enterprise in the world today would not have been possible. Many of Lockes principles were used in forming the Declaration of Independence. As a result we as a nation are free and prosperous today (Souryal, 2007).

Zara’s Business Model, Information and Communication Technologies, and Competitive Analysis :: essays research papers

Question 1 – Zara’s Business Model and Competitive Analysis Zara, the most profitable brand of Inditex SA, the Spanish clothing retail group, opened its first store in 1975 in La Coruà ±a, Spain; a city which eventually became the central headquarters for Zara’s global operations. Since then they have expanded operations into 45 countries with 531 stores located in the most important shopping districts of more than 400 cities in Europe, the Americas, Asia and Africa. Throughout this expansion Zara has remained focused on its core fashion philosophy that creativity and quality design together with a rapid response to market demands will yield profitable results. In order to realized these results Zara developed a business model that incorporated the following three goals for operations: develop a system the requires short lead times, decrease quantities produced to decrease inventory risk, and increase the number of available styles and/or choice. These goals helped to formulate a unique value proposition: to combine moderate prices wi th the ability to offer new clothing styles faster than its competitors. These three goals helped to shape Zara’s current business model. Zara’s Business Model Zara’s business model can be broken down into three basic components: concept, capabilities, and value drivers. Zara’s fundamental concept is to maintain design, production, and distribution processes that will enable Zara to respond quickly to shifts in consumer demands. Josà © Marà ­a Castellano, CEO of Inditex stated that "the fashion world is in constant flux and is driven not by supply but by customer demand. We need to give consumers what they want, and if I go to South America or Asia to make clothes, I simply can't move fast enough." This highlights the importance of this quick response time to Zara’s operations. Capabilities of Zara, or the required resources needed to exploit the opportunities and execute this conceptual strategy, are numerous for Zara. Zara maintains tight control over their production processes keeping design and manufacturing in-house or with some strategic partnerships located nearby Headquarters. Currently, Zara maintains 80% of its production processes in Europe, 50% in Spain which is very close to La Coruà ±a headquarters. They have strategic agreements with local manufacturers that ensure timely delivery and service. Through these strategic partnerships and the benefits brought by this proximity of manufacturing and operational processes, Zara maintains the flexibility necessary to design and produce over 12000 new items annually. This capability allows Zara to achieve their strategy of expedited response to consumer demand.

Wolfgang Kohlers Experiment And Insight Learning Essay -- essays resea

Wolfgang Kohler's Experiment and Insight Learning Have you ever been trying to figure something out that you just can't piece together and then all of a sudden have it hit you? If you have, you've experienced the type of learning called insight learning. The term insight refers to solving a problem through understanding the relationships various parts of a problem.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Wolfgang Kohler, a Gestalt psychologist who was born in 1887 and died in 1967, used chimpanzees in the study of insight learning. Kohler who was born in Revel, Estonia and moved to the United States in 1935, did pioneering studies in the behavior of apes that showed the importance of perceptual organization and insight in learning. His groundbreaking experiment involved one of his chimpanzees, Sultan. Sultan had learned to use a stick to rake in bananas outside of his cage. This time Kohler placed the banana outside of the reach of just one stick and gave Sultan two sticks that could be fitted together to make a single pole that was long enough to reach the banana. After fiddling with the sticks for an hour or so, Sultan happened to align the sticks and in a flash of sudden inspiration, fitted the two sticks together and pulled in the banana. Kohler was impressed by Sultan's rapid â€Å"perception of relationships† and used the term insight to describe it. He noted that such insights are not learned gradually through reinforced trials. They seemed to occur in a flash when the elements a...

Creon and Haemon Essay

How would you direct the confrontation between Creon and Haemon in order to achieve your chosen impact for your audience? The scene of confrontation between Creon and Haemon comes when Creon has sentenced Antigone, future bride of Haemon, to be shut up in the cave. I would want to show a contrast between the characters with costume, so that the audience would get a visual representation of their emotions. I would dress Creon in an extravagant red silken robe, with gold trimmings. This would highlight his status as King, and also the red could signify a bloodthirsty attitude, as Creon is revelling in Antigone’s fate. Contrastingly, Haemon would be wearing a simple black cotton robe, without any trimmings. This would show that he doesn’t care for superficial extravagance, and black is also a colour of mourning; this would symbolise Haemon’s feelings towards Antigone’s fate. In the opening of this scene, Creon greets Haemon pleasantly. I would direct Creon to grip Haemon’s right hand with both of his own hands, in a friendly, pleading handshake; this would show warmth for Haemon, which is what Creon wishes to express at this point. He would maintain eye contact and stand with legs shoulder-width apart He would speak in a soft tone, with a slow pace, medium pitch and a relatively low volume, again to give the impression of warmth. In the line ‘we are always comrades, and my love for you is unshaken’, I would direct the actor playing Creon to emphasise the words ‘always’ and ‘unshaken’, stressing these superlatives, in order to exaggerate the positive feelings, diplomatically Haemon’s response would be in kind, reciprocating the respect. He would accept the handshake, and keep eye contact. His vocal qualities would be as those of Haemon. He would say ‘I know I am your son, Father’, stressing the word ‘Father’ to show respect and also family love. During this exchange, they would both be very close physically, to show that they are, at this point, still emotionally close. The lighting would be a straw wash from above over the stage, of medium intensity: neutral. Creon would be next to a podium, centre-stage-left. Haemon would be centre stage, and the Chorus would be arranged in a semi-circle around them. During Creon’s following speech, I would want the audience to witness a change in Creon’s approach. The first noticeable change in attitude would be when he says ‘Don’t be taken in/ Boy. Don’t let any woman ensnare you. ‘ His tone would become harsher, and lower almost as if speaking in a whisper. He would also grasp Haemon on the word ‘Boy’, to show the audience that he wants to instil certain sexist values in Haemon, as it is a subject he feels passionately about. Furthermore, he would almost spit the work ‘woman’ and emphasise the word ‘ensnare’ to present acidity to the audience. He would say ‘Don’t be taken in, Boy’ without changing his tone or pace, simply increasing intensity, to show the audience how sincere he is. He would continue in this manner, speaking in harsh tones. The next change in Creon’s demeanour would come when he says ‘I will do it. And she must die’. Here, he would revert to speaking with authority, assertively. He would stress the modal verbs, ‘will’ and ‘must’ to show that he is completely fixed upon the idea, and is unwavering. This would show the audience his stubbornness. At this point, low-intensity, subtle red uplighting would have slowly faded in, to cast shadows upon Creon’s face to make him seem more imposing and venomous. It would be barely noticeable by the audience at this stage, as it would be slowly and subtly introduced. Creon would also step back and stand straight at this point, and pause after the line, to highlight its significance to the audience. He would have his hands calmly by his sides. Creon would continue to rant, his volume increasing, and the red uplighting becoming stronger, as the straw wash slowly faded and his hand gestures becoming increasingly evident and expansive. On the line ‘Anarchy, disobedience,’ he would be banging his fists on his podium in anger, to show the audience how passionately he feels about the subject. He would be nearly shouting at this point, and Haemon would recoil slightly, in fear and surprise at Creon’s outburst. Creon would next shift toward the end of his speech, and I would want my audience to see him bring back subtle persuasion, using the fact that he is Haemon’s father to his advantage: ‘Let it be by a man’s hand, eh son? / Not by a conspiracy of women! ‘. I would want him to go back to speaking in lower tones, almost at a stage-whisper level, as he wants to instil his own sexism, and apparent paranoia regarding women, into Haemon yet again. This repetition would show the audience just how sexist Creon is. I would therefore have the actor emphasise the words ‘man’ ‘son’, ‘conspiracy’ and ‘women’ to show this, and put one arm around Haemon. The red uplighting would also dim at this point, the straw wash becoming more prominent; this would visually represent the change in tone to the audience. Following the Chorus’ somewhat neutral response, Haemon would reply by at first speaking pleasantries: ‘It’s not for me to say you are wrong’ is quite self-deprecating and is complimentary to Creon. Haemon would therefore speak it in a soft tone, and would physically lower himself by bending knees and back slightly. His volume would be medium at this point, and he would make no hand gestures. The lighting would remain as a straw wash, all red gone at this point. Haemon would emphasise ‘me’ and ‘you’ to underline the fact he is making a direct comparison between himself and Creon. Haemon would change in approach right on the line ‘But I can sometimes hear people whisper’. The word ‘but’ here is a clear discursive marker in the text, indicating a change. Also, Haemon begins to discuss how ‘people’ see Antigone’s punishment as unjust. He would thus take a step back is if expecting an outburst from Creon, and emphasise words like ‘people’ and ‘whisper’ to show the audience that the character aims to dissociate himself from the views. He would become more pleading as the speech progresses, ‘let me beg you to have second thoughts’ and ‘I beg you Father’. This is again showing he accepts inferiority, but also makes clear to the audience that he is against his fathers actions. The metaphors regarding the failure of stubborn things would be spoken with a degree of accusation regarding Creon; Haemon would look at Creon when saying ‘inflexible’ and ‘refuses’ to indicate that there refer to Creon. At the end of the speech he says ‘Take good advice when it is offered. ‘ This is a direct question to Creon, and I would have Haemon on one knee, clasping Creon’s hand at this point, to show his desperation to the audience. In the ensuing stichomythia, I would instruct Creon to increase in volume, pace and raise his voice at the end of each sentence. Also, I would want him to spit phrases like ‘You’re a woman’s mouthpiece! ‘, whilst shaking his arms, palms clawed and facing up to show rage to the audience. Comparatively, I would instruct Haemon to remain calm, speaking in controlled tones and a steady volume throughout, making few hand gestures. Haemon would instead increase in cold contempt, by sharpening the sound of his vowels at the ends of sentences, and speaking in a low tone, and emphasising certain words. He would emphasise the word ‘demented’, but without raising the volume of his voice a great deal. Also, at the end, when Haemon says ‘†¦ this disgusting spectacle/ In company with a madman, are welcome to it’, I would want him to speak this calmly; without varying his pace. He would say this emphasising ‘disgusting spectacle’ and ‘madman’ by raising pitch and volume a little. This would show the audience that he feels contempt toward Creon, but is above just shouting. Creon, on the other hand, would be virtually screaming ‘Bring her out, the bitch’, emphasising the word ‘bitch’ by stressing the harsh vowel sound, and gesturing wildly towards the side entrance, as if indicating from where she should be brought. This would show the audience that Creon has lost his composure, and has lost control of his rage. The lighting would be red uplighting again on Creon only, to cast shadows across his face, whilst a blue gel, to mix with the straw wash, would be coming in from above. Overall, this should all contribute into presenting Haemon into an emotionally controlled, stable character, whereas Creon would appear as quite the opposite; unreasonable, stubborn and emotionally volatile. The objective would be to present the characters as such, to encourage the audience to sympathise with Haemon, even empathise with him; ideally, the audience too would feel frustrated and contemptuous towards Creon.

Uncle Tom’s Cabin Essay

Mohammad Rabah Harriet Beecher Stowe and Other Influences on the Civil War Harriet Beecher Stowe's book Uncle Tom's Cabin is often seen as a primary influence of the Civil War. She showed just how terrible and difficult the life of a slave really was. By doing so she caused a lot of disturbances across the country regarding the institution of slavery. It open many people's eyes to the terrible conditions slaves lived under and led many to act towards the abolition of slavery. Uncle Tom's Cabin displays the hardships of Tom, Eliza, and George, as well as the other slaves they encounter along their journey. The hardships suffered by them showed just how cruel and terrifying the life of a slave could be. Never before had a novel emphasized the terrible conditions slaves lived under like Uncle Tom's Cabin. Tom's story shows both the good and bad in how white people had treated their slaves, and his noble and heroic characteristics shed a new light on slaves who were often looked down upon. Therefor much turmoil was caused amongst slave holders in the south for this made them look cruel, like Simon Legree, who had beaten Tom to death in the story. The story also shows the tension caused in slave families when they would be torn apart due to family members being sold, which is why Eliza and her husband George fled north to Canada. All of these dramatic events in the story led many people to push towards ending slavery. Uncle Tom's Cabin also influenced white northerners to house escaping slaves due to all the trouble they had to go through to get freed. Not only did the book influence people living in the US, it also revealed the inhumanity of slavery to people all around the world, selling three million copies world wide (Smith). Such a widespread influential book also upset the south, for slavery was a major part of how they made money and it had now been revealed to the public how crudely they treated their slaves. Rising tensions about the topic are seen as one of the major factor leading to the Civil War. It is said that when Stowe met president Abraham Lincoln in November 25, 1862 he said, â€Å"so you are the little woman who wrote the book that started this great war† (Smith). Although Harriet Beecher Stowe was a major influence on the Civil War there were also quit a few other reasons as well. The other main reasons are the control of the government, economy, states' rights, abolitionism, and the election of 1860. Although the focus revolved around slavery a lot of the tension that led to the war was from how the South felt it had no power when it came to making decisions. â€Å"As new states were added to the Union, a series of compromises were arrived at to maintain an equal number of â€Å"free† and â€Å"slave† states† (Hickman 1). However; as new states were added they were all being declared â€Å"free† states without the South having any say in the matter. Fearing they were losing power the South turned to the states' rights argument, stating that the federal government didn't have the right to change the laws of slavery in states whom already own slaves (Ayers). Things grew worse during the abolitionist movements which called for an end for slavery, whether it be immediate or gradual. This caused many disputes among the people which often led to biblical disputes (Hickman1). Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin should the cruelty of the Fugitive Slave Act and gave support to the abolitionist movement. The election of 1860 was the final straw. With the election of Abraham Lincoln as president, they feared all was about to change. â€Å"The North with its growing population and increased electoral power had achieved what the South had always feared: complete control of the government by the free states†(Hickman 2). After the election the South immediately began to discuss seceding from the Union. The secession of the South was the ultimate leading factor for the North to go to war, in order to keep the country united (Ayers). Therefor, there were a multitude of reasons for the Civil War. Harriet Beecher Stowe's book Uncle Tom's Cabin sparked rage in the South and inspired abolitionists, which ultimately led to the Civil War. Though centered about the institution of slavery, the Civil War was also massively influenced by the fact that the South felt it had little to no say as to what happened in the government. All of these factors led to one of the most regrettable wars in American history.

A Tragedy Revealed: A Heroines Last Days

A Tragedy Revealed: A Heroines Last Days Today you are going to read an amazing story wrote by a man named Ernst Schnable, this story is about a young girl named Anne Frank. Anne Frank lives in Amsterdam. Anne and her family must go into hiding at the Secret Annex to hide from the Nazi’s. After two years of hiding they are found and taken away to a concentration camps. Today I will be telling you about Anne and some characteristics about her. Anne is very confident, energetic, and also very caring.Anne is confidant in many ways, she is confident because when things go wrong or people start to think negative Anne stays strong, and positive. Anne always sees things on the bright side why think negative when you can think about things in a positive way. Anne also does not give up when she is taken away from her family and friends and sent away to a concentration camp. While Anne is away at the concentration camp she is kind of happy to be there because she gets to feel the cool b reeze, smell the air, and see the sky.When other people saw how confident Anne was they thought why not be confident to and have hope in being free soon. Anne is energetic because she is always talking, smiling, and playing around trying to have some fun. Before Anne went to the Secret Annex, she went to school and did normal things just as we do now. One day while she was at school she was talking so much that her teacher called her Ms. Quack Quack. Even though Anne has went into hiding she still trys to have some fun, though she must be quiet all day she still manages to have fun in any way possible.Anne is also caring because she loves to be around people. She always loves to help anyone when they are in need of something. Though at times Anne may argue with her mother about helping her do house work Anne really has a soft heart. The one thing that I found very touching was that Anne stayed by her sister Margot’s side the whole time she was ill until she passed away. Now y ou know some characteristics about Anne Frank, but their are many more than just the three I have listed. I recommend this story to any age or skill level reader.This story teaches you a lesson on what we should think about people and things, and that we should take a second look at the different things in life. I hope this story will delight you as how she did me, and to imagine what she felt when she was in this situation, and try to relate with one of your own experiences. I hope you enjoy this lovely story about a girl named Anne Frank. Also think of other characteristic than just confident, energetic, and caring, and see the bright side of things as did Anne. Do pass on this story as a reminder that threw good or bad everything happens for a reason.

Academic Coaching

Academic coaching classes are becoming more and more popular as the schooling system becomes increasingly competitive. Parents desperate to get their children into good quality schools will go to great lengths to help them pass entrance exams and excel in interviews. However, it is unclear how effective coaching classes really are. Here are some advantages regarding coaching classes: Coaching classes use different methods to those utilized in the classroom.This means alternative approaches to learning that could be more suitable to your child are made available. Various teaching methods can be beneficial to different children; if your child is being exposed to two kinds, there is a very good chance one will be effective for them. Children receive more individual tuition at coaching classes, meaning teaching is catered to their abilities more directly. If your child does not eceive one-on-one tuition in coaching classes, they will at the very least be in very small classes.They will h ave a learning plan tailored to their needs, allowing them to succeed at an increased pace. Coaching classes can be provided specifically for certain entrance exams. This gives your child a head start in the admissions process, placing them above candidates that have not had coaching classes. Therefore they are more likely to gain a place. On the other hand, coaching classes do have a umber of disadvantages: They are, in most cases, unsubsidized and very expensive.They can pile pressure onto your child, who is likely to already feel nervous about upcoming exams. Your child may worry that even after the coaching classes they won't pass, which will leave them feeling stupid and unmotivated to learn. Coaching classes could artificially boost your child's performance. This may not be in their best interest as they could be placed in a school not suited to their abilities.

Improvement Is Better Than Delayed Perfection

Question- † Continuous betterment is better than delayed flawlessness † A? Mark Twain ( 1835-1910 ) . Analyse this statement critically and strictly with mention to allow literature beginnings.IntroductionThis essay will be looking at the importance of quality and uninterrupted betterment at a glimpse within an educational context. The author ‘s involvement in the subject is simply to research and understand the kernel to which every constitution for whatever intent it was built upon should endeavor in uninterrupted betterment to services rendered to its clients and the community at big while keeping quality services. The focal point is to foreground any defects within the organizational pattern with which quality could still be improved upon for the good of the whole community. The construction of the essay will take an expressed reading and description of quality and uninterrupted betterment while portraying an interventionist stance at the conclusive statements made at the terminal of the essay.Literature reappraisalThe construct of QualityQuality direction is a systematic manner of vouching that organized activities happen the manner they are planned. It is a direction subject concerned with forestalling jobs from happening by making the attitudes and controls that make bar possible & A ; acirc ; By Philip Crosby Hagiographas in 2008, Winch and Gingell province that during the 1990s it became stylish to speak about â€Å" ?quality in instruction ‘ . Part of the ground for this is a renewed involvement in answerability. Why should the concern for answerability be expressed in footings of quality? One major ground is that concerns about whether or non a peculiar signifier of instruction is worthwhile have been expressed in footings of a paradigm derived from fabricating industry. â€Å" ?Quality ‘ in a commercial context strongly connotes merchandise utility and dependability. â€Å" ?Quality confidence ‘ refers to systems that are robust plenty to guarantee that merchandises that are faulty or undependable merely do non acquire made. The thought, as one quality guru has said, is to â€Å" ?get it right first clip ‘ . Of class, an artifact can be scrapped or reworked if it is faulty, but a service can non. If it is non â€Å" ?right first clip ‘ so it is non r ight. Some effectual quality confidence systems ought to be peculiarly relevant to serve countries of economic activity. Whether or non it is in the private or the public sector of the economic system, it is sometimes maintained that instruction has the features of a service industry. In peculiar, if instruction is ill provided so there is no 2nd opportunity for the receiver. A diner at a eating house who has a severely cooked repast will experience dissatisfied but will endure no lasting harm. On the other manus, the student who receives a hapless instruction may non even experience disgruntled but may endure lasting harm in footings of future life chances. It is, so, non surprising to hear that a cardinal characteristic of educational answerability is the proviso of quality confidence systems. Every facet of leading and direction across all sectors of most administrations require a sustainable attack towards guaranting quality and sustainable steps are being utilized and developed within a planetary context. This includes steps which most leaders would follow towards keeping and prolonging the strategic purposes of any administration with due considerations of internal and external forces which influences the determinations made each twenty-four hours. An illustration of what entails leading that is sustainable through quality steps can be found in a school direction system. Where the Head instructor aspires to hold really committed pupils who have good classs, a good school construction and a qualitative staff that would assist the school achieve its strategic aims successfully. But during the procedure of strategising for an academic twelvemonth other factors comes into drama i.e. client service, effectual acquisition and deployment of resources, school budget for the academic twelvemonth etc. There may be a figure of cardinal factors that would assist accomplish such successFirst, a well-devised system of service rating procedure of Search-Feedback-Act that could be put in topographic point affecting all employees, non merely direction or instructors, in developing programs for betterment.Second, all employees could be given considerable instruction and preparation to assist them better service quality and would actively and consistently promote creativeness and invention.Third, the administration that may travel off from mensurating quality strictly by the figure of ailments it gets from clients and the feelings of the caput of forces section. Alternatively, administrations implement a multi-factor index which includes quantitative points such as the length of clip clients have to pass being tested into the school, and qualitative points such as the friendliness/politeness experienced at response.The construct of Continuous bettermentContinuous betterment has been succes sfully used by the Japanese for a figure of old ages, and the Nipponese word kaizen is used to depict it. The thought of kaizen is non to sit back one time betterments have been made to a merchandise, but to be about like bees working off at a hive. Each does a small at a clip, but by adding on an incremental footing they can finally bring forth something that is much larger and better. The issue of quality can be approached in the same manner, so that really minor alterations over clip can ensue in a considerable betterment in public presentation. For illustration, the degrees of fuel efficiency in the mean barroom auto have improved dramatically over recent old ages. This has been made possible due to the cumulative effects of continual minor alterations in auto organic structure form, fuel bringing systems and engine design ( .Porter, K. , Smith, P. , Fagg, F. 2006 ) . Foskett, N. , Lumby, J. 2003 provinces that the 3rd manner of specifying quality ( in respects to uninterrupted betterment ) is to fit the current province with an imagined hereafter improved province. In other words, persons or groups non needfully take as their comparator an bing criterion or outlook but, instead, work creatively to propose ways to which a current facet of instruction could be improved. This definition is realistically based on working signifier what exist to what could be achieved. It is a universally applicable in theory in that thoughts for betterment will take into history resources and political worlds. However, the accent on uninterrupted betterment is predicated on a grade of liberty and power that may non be in all establishments or civilizations. If authoritiess impose a construction or course of study on schools/colleges, or if the internal direction constructions are hierarchal and commanding, so the freedom of staff, parents and pupils to propose ways f rontward is clearly constrained. This thought of uninterrupted betterment can be linked to Deming ‘s ( 1986 ) thought of Plan, Do, Study and Act, where a job is examined, information is gathered and a program to better it is suggested. The â€Å" ?Do ‘ portion is when the program is tested on a little graduated table, followed by the â€Å" ?Study ‘ phase, where rating of the test takes topographic point to see if any other issues have arisen. The â€Å" ?Act ‘ phase is where the program becomes standard and is carried out continuously. This leads back into the â€Å" ?Plan ‘ phase for farther analysis. The inquiry so arises of how one assures the quality of instruction. There are two replies which are non needfully incompatible with each other. The first focuses on procedures, the 2nd on results. Process-based quality confidence relies on observation of instruction and acquisition and the activities that support it, as the cardinal determiner of whether the instruction being offered is worthwhile. Inspection is the most common signifier of procedure quality confidence. Outcome-based quality confidence relies on the appraisal of the results against certain pre-agreed criterions. Examination and testing are the most common signifiers.Leadership ApproachsQualitative leading accomplishments in educational direction revolve around factors described below:Identifying the key issuesBettering Customer satisfaction and ways of mensurating itCustomer attention – preparation employees and scene criterionsEmployee engagement in overall ends of the administration.Bettering quality â€Å" † observation and benchmarkingContemplation and decisionQuality and organizational culture- Foskett, N. , Lumby, J. ( 2003 ) stated that Quality can besides be comparative to cultural norms. What appears to be choice proviso for pre-school kids in China will look really different to western eyes and frailty versa. They farther noted that steps of Quality by definition are dependent on numeral values in relation to, e.g. , scrutiny passed or scrutinies met, but such values do non needfully capture the assortment of results expected of instruction or the dynamic alterations in outlooks in the experiences of even the scholar, allow alone the all those of an establishment. Quality will therefore stay a fluid and cloudy construct, interpreted diversely in pattern, an orthodox to which many feel indebted to follow. No individual prescription will procure betterment in quality in a context as complex and animated as a school or college. The most that an educationalist can make is to stay cognizant of the impreciseness of the construct and be sensitive to both the educational and micro-political forces which affect its accomplishments, taking with attention from the overplus o f taxonomies, doctrines, good pattern and recommended procedure they can offer.MethodologyQualitative researched literature reappraisal was adopted which typically includes rationalist, interpretative, constructionist, critical, and participatory paradigms. The research worker ‘s perspective roots from the long documented history of realistic observation in real-world state of affairss. Positions of positivism scope from conservative to progressive-activist, but all involve the belief that world is external to self and can be observed utilizing tools that produce information that can be understood and interpreted by others. The essay is linked historically to societal activism through the thought that societal state of affairss can be studied, critiqued, and later changed. The essay may hold collected informations through observations or assorted signifiers of instruments and frequently derive accounts for their consequences from preexistent theory without concern for whether the survey population understands or agrees with their positions. a literature reappraisal is really much a plural instead than a remarkable one as there are many literatures a research worker must analyze to bring forth a consistent literature reappraisal. For illustration, by making qualitative research, the research worker is fall ining an on-going argument in some form or signifier. The originality of an thought, an attack, or a theoretical reinterpretation adds to bing literature. The aim of this entry is to depict the plurality of literature, to underscore the difference between general and specific literatures, to foreground how to utilize theoretical literature as a tool to increase apprehension of a capable country and prove a research inquiry or hypothesis, and to analyze the methodological analysis and information literatures that form of import parts of the research procedure. ( GIVEN, M. L. 2008 )Data findings on quality and uninterrupted betterment in educational conte xt.Wherever an educational operation is based, whether it is public or private, it needs clients, and consumer pick has increased dramatically over the past 20 old ages because of three factors: globalization, engineering and competition.TechnologyTechnology provides chances and menaces. The development of computing machine engineering in the signifier of online and blended acquisition, podcasts, webcasts and web logs can and progressively will supply consumers with the option of new self-study methods and the pick to larn with an administration in a foreign state while populating at place or working in the office. At some point interlingual rendition package may even contradict the demand for some people to larn a foreign linguistic communication. These engineerings, nevertheless, besides provide administrations with chances to supply new methods of larning and new agencies of communicating with clients. The rise of online acquisition and blended acquisition programmes, plus the en largement in province instruction of new engineering [ such as synergistic whiteboards ] means that pupils are progressively more techno-literate. It besides means that as engineering develops and becomes more portion of our mundane lives, pupils by and large expect linguistic communication categories, which in some instances take up a big portion of their disposable income, to be technologically well-equipped. The exponential growing of engineering can non be ignored as the velocity of technological promotion is improbable to decelerate down.CompetitionCompetition may come from new administrations come ining the market, as mentioned above, but it may besides look in other signifiers. As other states gain economic power, their linguistic communications become more of import and people begin to analyze them to enable them to come in that economic system. This phenomenon has already been observed ( Graddol, 1997 ) with Spanish, Arabic and Mandarin expected to derive importance over th e following decennaries, finally going a serious menace to English as a foreign linguistic communication. As economic systems develop, instruction is going progressively of import as skill becomes indispensable to happening work. An increasing figure of classs are going available, particularly in the field of computing machines and information engineering, which compete with ELT for clients, peculiarly within the preparation budget of major companies.Deriving an Edge over RivalsIf an administration has an component of its service which is different or more attractive than its rivals it is said to hold achieved competitory advantage. Deriving competitory advantage requires a transverse functional attack between an facet of selling which gathers informations about client demands and outlooks and the daily operational maps that translate those market needs into operational capablenesss. The functions of selling and pull offing the twenty-four hours to twenty-four hours operation are frequently taken by one individual in little administrations, which can do it easier to interpret client demands into operational world. In a little private linguistic communication school of 10 instructors, for illustration, the manager may be the focal point for information about the local market, the local economic system, the type of clients the school serves and how they feel about the service. In a school of this size the manager may besides be the individual who decides what classs are offered and whether the market is best served by, for illustration, offering expensive one-to-one ESP tuition for concern professionals or inexpensive general English classs for categories of 20 pupils. A not-for-profit administration may besides see prosecuting a peculiar scheme based on the sort of clients it serves. For illustration, a charitable or province ELT administration may make up one's mind to supply inexpensive walk-in English categories for deprived female parents to go to as and when they have clip. In this instance, flexibleness is the key to fulfilling the client and deriving competitory advantage. The three factors of globalization, engineering and competition mean that educational administrations have to pay increased attending to the demands and outlooks of bing and possible clients to retain them and to pull new 1s. By garnering information on clients ‘ demands and through market analysis administrations can develop a service which is different or more attractive than that of rivals. ( Walter. 2001 )DecisionIf stakeholders allow ourselves to acquire caught by the short-run disease of modern direction, non-thinking, market-driven patterns so the thought of sustainable organisation is out of the inquiry. Besides the opportunity of of all time making the degrees desired will be eliminated in all but the shortest of steps. It is necessary for every leader of the hereafter to cognize plenty about the moral side of concern and how it could be approached with sacrificial purposes through which sharing and upholding several values together among rivals would better upon planetary jobs. Or how the socio-economic net income of the organisation could be able to show or help the concerns required to reflect a longer-term position of the community at big. I would urge that every leader in every spectrum or field of survey to convey about ways through which the underlining influences surrounding the picks we make in life ( in respects to quality and uninterrupted betterment ) should reflect upon the curative social issues instead than viing. Merely as we know in the history of human dealingss over clip that competition brings about a helter-skelter province while the harmoniousness of shared values and forfeits brings about social coherence and benefits all.MentionsCrosby, P. ( 1980 ) Quality is Free. McGraw-Hill. Deming, W. ( 1986 ) Out of the Crisis. MIT. Foskett, N. , Lumby, J. ( 2003 ) Leading and pull offing education-International dimensions.London. Paul Chapman Printing Given, M. L. ( 2008 ) The SAGE Encyclopaedia of Qualitative research methods. California. Sage Publication series Graddol, D. ( 1997 ) The hereafter of English. London. The British council Porter, K. , Smith, P. , Fagg, F. ( 2006 ) Leadership and Management for HR Professionals Oxford.Butterworth-Heinemann Walker, J. ( 2001 ) . Clients ‘ Positions of TESOL â€Å" † Expectations and Perceptions The International Journal of Educational Management 15/4. MCB University Press hypertext transfer protocol: //www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/viewPDF.jsp? Filename=html/Output/Published/EmeraldFullTextArticle/Pdf/0600150404.pdf Walker, J. ( 2007 ) Service Climate in New Zealand Language Centres Journal of EducationalAdministration 2007 Volume: 45 Issue: 3 hypertext transfer protocol: //www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/viewPDF.jsp? Filename=html/Output/Published/EmeraldFullTextArticle/Pdf/0740450305.pdf Winch, C. , Gingell, J. ( 2008 ) Doctrine of instruction. Oxon. Routledge publishing houses