Marketing Strategy and Planning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Marketing Strategy and Planning - Essay Example Many organizations apply marketing concepts like customer focus, good value, quality service and efficient exchange mechanism for satisfying customer need and wants. Organizations based on management information about customers, products, prices, competitors, suppliers and every aspects of the marketing environment are bound to move ahead. 'Marketing' belongs to marketing specialists but 'going to market' is a process owned by everyone in the organization.Due to expansion of new technologies, organizations augmented their geographical reach and could share their information about philosophy, products, and prices to their consumers. Organizations could collect information about markets, customers, prospects and competitors etc., conduct market researches and identify their focus groups. Marketers can customize offerings, services and messages to individual customers due to Internet services. Organizations can significantly improve logistics and cost efficiency while improving accuracy and services quality through the online exchange of information's, orders, transaction, payments etc. So the present information revolution pushed every organization to remain accurate in levels of production, improve their quality, pricing their products properly. Products innovation takes a close look at customers' need and preferences and modify accordingly. Marketing takes a sweet spot in the present organizations." Marketing is too important to leave to the marketing department."(Bill Packard, Hewlett Packard, in Piercy, 1997) Marketing cannot be leave alone to marketing dept. only. Basically, Marketing deals with identifying and meeting human and social needs. Marketing is "meeting need profitably" (Kotler, 2003). Organizations must carefully monitor their customers and competitors, continuously, improve their value offerings, carefully define the target market and value proposition and take a long term view to satisfying customers, stockholders, employees, suppliers and channel partners. The most important marketing definition given by the American Marketing Association (1995) provide us the complete marketing management process i.e. "Marketing (Management) is the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing promotion and distribution of ideas, goods and services to create exchanges that satisfy individual and organizational goals". Marketing management is the conscious effort to achieve desired exchange outcomes with target markets. The ever changing situation of the market i.e. of buyers, suppliers, customers, employees or technological could change the equilibrium of any organization. Organizations normally adjust to these changes by changing their overall all-round policies and strategies. Any process cannot be successful without proper planning. Market oriented strategic planning provides, the managerial process of developing and maintaining a viable fit between organizations objectives, skills and resources and it changing market opportunities. The aim of strategic planning in to shape the company's business, products, services and messages so they achieve targeted profits and growth. Strategic marketing deals with the bigger picture in a market which links customers, competitors and organizations ability to meet demand. Strategic marketing plan covers the following key areas i.e. Aims and mission, Analysis, Goals, strategies, objectives timescales etc. To define mission, organization should address Peter D rucker's (1973) classical questions: What is our business Who are the customers What is of value to the customer What will our business be What should our business be Successful organizations continuously raise these questions and answer them thoughtfully and thoroughly. Strategic marketing planning could be based on different strategic models such as Boston Consulting Group (BCG) model and General Electric Model (Kerin, Mahajan, Varadrajan, 1990), PESTLE and SWOT analysis, Porters five forces model, Core Competency model, Porters

Bob Knowlton Case analysis Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Bob Knowlton analysis - Case Study Example Knowlton felt threatened because Fester was quick to spot problems, knew about things that he had barely studied at the lab, and could single handedly solve huge problems- some of which had been abandoned long time back. Fester was intelligent, confident and secure but what Bob failed to see was that he was a poor team player. How Fester Threatened Knowlton: From day one, Fester made it clear that he had immense knowledge. He told Knowlton he could tell what his project was about by simply looking at the graphs. Knowlton was quick to acknowledge this when he met Jerrold the next day. Fester was introduced to other members of the team and went right ahead to tell Link, the mathematician, what he was doing wrong. Fester challenged the group thinking, believing it only led to mediocrity. Knowlton had always believed in group-thinking and Fester had suddenly come up with solutions single handedly which made Knowlton question the efficacy of group thinking. Fester would often come up with analysis and scientific knowledge that Knowlton was unaware of. Instead of helping Knowlton understand what he was talking about, Fester would enthusiastically go on explaining his theories expecting everyone to already know what he was talking about. This gave him a superior status while everyone else felt inferior to him. During one meeting, he challenged Link's way of thinking and offered solution to a problem that Link had long abandoned feeling that it could not be solved. Fester also pointed out the weaknesses in various experiments and experimenting method and claimed that if this method were followed, resulted would be inconclusive. Fester's... This paper presents Bob Knowlton’s strengths. Bob Knowlton had been working with Simmons Laboratories for two years and had been made project head only recently. He was a leader whom people loved and respected. He had a good relationship with company’s head, Mr. Jerrold. He was a capable leader who would enjoy developing relationships with others and encouraged group thinking. He felt that while there were some problems that could not be solved by group thinking, in most cases, the ideas that emerged from such an approach were helpful. Knowlton had been promoted when he had accidentally stumbled on the idea of photon reactor. Knowlton was hardworking and enjoyed staying late in the office. This helped him find some quiet time to think over various problems and to assess project’s progress. He was a man with a traditional yet highly admired style of leadership. The paper also demonstrated Knowlton’s mistake. Knowlton was felt so threatened by Fester that he totally blinded himself to his obvious flaws. Had Knowlton been more secure and sure of himself, he would have talked to Jerrold and pointed those flaws. It would have then become easier to see that Fester could never replace Knowlton as the leader because Knowlton was a true team player- a key trait of a good leader and a pre-requisite for becoming a leader in the first place. Bob Knowlton should have focused on his own strengths as a leader. He already knew that he couldn’t possibly know about everything but he was a good leader who could use his people’s strengths to his advantage.

E Business Integration Systems Of Alibaba

E Business Integration Systems Of Alibaba Alibaba.com is commonly quoted among the leading 5 websites in the world. Other 5 websites which are competing in the same race are Amazon, Yahoo, eBay as well as AOL, with the help of domestic as well as international media. Hence, in other words, www.alibaba.com is a top rated business-to-business (B2B) as well as business-to-consumer (B2C) website. The e-business integration system of this website, in general, needs such a tactic, which has a touching appeal in order to produce prompt action. Hence, principally for an expensive products or assistance, this website is required to offer superior depth of information to the customers (both buyers as well as suppliers) in order to assist them in their assessment of this business. This website is useful for both buyers as well as sellers. Hence, one can buy as well as sell products also. This website is basically an English-language website as English is the only language which can be understood by whole world. So, there is no geographical challenge for this website to seek attention of customers. It primarily serves small as well as Medium-Sized Enterprises or in short SME, in the worldwide trade community, and hence, around 1 million users have registered themselves to this site from more than 200 countries as well as territories. Over 300,000 visitors go through this site every s ingle day, among which maximum users are global buyers as well as importers who are looking for trading with traders in China as well as other foremost manufacturing nations all over the world. Hence, the primary customers for this website are Suppliers, Exporters, Manufacturers as well as Importers. Problem Statement As www.alibaba.com is a website on a broader perspective, millions and trillions of customers go through it and trade accordingly. Now, the main problems while designing this website which needs to be solved are following: The website must be user friendly, so that it should not be problem for a buyer or a seller to navigate the site and work accordingly. Not everyone is well versed with internet technology; hence, its really important to make a comfortable website with not very complicated language. but, on the same hand, the website should be attractive enough to appeal visitors to go through it. Secondly, its a normal tendency that customers usually like to inspect the merchandise before purchase; hence, they can assume that they are at advanced threat of fraud as they are not able to inspect the product and services physically. There is one more risk of making purchase with the help of stolen credit cards or any other counterfeit refutation of the online purchase. Hence, this website needs to be more reliable and secured from customers perspective. Third problem area is that Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption is a must to be used for secured transaction otherwise not a single buyer as well as supplier will want to use their credit card for this purpose. SSL is a technique which usually solves the difficulty of credit cards which, many times, got disconnected in delivery between the customer and the business. A lot of hackers are there to hack the transaction in between; hence, SSL should be compulsorily used in order to avoid Identity theft. Thus, computer security is really a major concern, now days, for both merchants as well as e-commerce service providers, who install countermeasures like, firewalls as well as anti-virus software, which is essential for protecting the network. Phishing is one more danger, where customers are fooled by thinking that they are trading with retailer of good reputation, while, they are actually manipulated to feed confidential information to such a system which is controlled by malicious parties. Hence, website needs to be secured enough to avoid the circumstances of Phishing. One more problem area is privacy. No one wants to share their personal and confidential information with third party or over unsecured network because of risk; hence, registration must be very confidential and secured. Even, a lot of consumers do not like spam and telemarketing also, which can lead to providing contact data to any online merchant. Objective This research intend to develop as well as design a website with inbuilt e-commerce techniques, such as, B-2-C (Business-to-Consumers) as well as B-2-B (Business-to-Business) features meant for efficient marketing approaches. Moreover, there are few more specific objectives while designing this site, as well. First is to build up such a system which must permit a process of monitoring in order to maintain database interactivity. Second objective is to create such a data-driven application where the contents of the web can be reorganized dynamically. Furthermore, last but not the least objective is to provide as well as improve all the product information and allocation for Alibaba.com. Summary Alibaba.com is one of the global leaders in the world of e-commerce for small scale business organizations as well as flagship corporations of Alibaba Group. This website offers internet as well as Web-related services to customers all over the world. The services provided by this website are selling different products to its customers. As this website is designed on the principle of Business to Business (B2B) and Business to Customer (B2C), both, buyers as well as suppliers are its customers. Based on the experience along with expertise in both business-to-consumer and business-to-business sales, this business organization believe that it can offer a unique as well as superior service to its customers across the whole world, in comparison to what is currently available. The development of this project is based on the phases of System development Life Cycle. All the problem areas have been identified and hence, a user-friendly website has been created. These phases of development will emphasize most of the aspects of this system and the business. Planning Planning is something which is very important for any organization to do as it will help in organizing things in a planned manner. We can be successful in what we are doing if proper planning is done. We need to understand the purpose of planning the things. This will help in going in the right path. There are many important things which have to be taken care when planning for a task. Planning a website is again the most important thing as it is used by the users of the organization. This is something which has to be taken care seriously. Proper planning will lead to the success of the company. It is always advisable to design a website with the help of experienced people. There are two main steps in planning for a task. Project intention: This is something which helps in understanding the importance of the project. The value of the project should be known properly. Our final intention of creating a website is to increase the revenue of the company. Website should be planned in such a way that it is user friendly. Users should be able to use the website and should get the required information from it. Website planning is an important task and should be taken seriously. Details about the company should be included. Search options should be very friendly. This will help in navigating properly across the site. We should design the website in such a way that customer can get all the information that they are looking out for. We should look into minimizing the work and should think of saving money. Website should be designed in such a way that customers are visited quite often and can be impressed with the websites information. This will increase the number of users and also helps in increasing the revenu e of the company. Project management: Project management is very important as it will help in understanding the requirements. We should be very careful when designing the website. We should a proper planning of how to create the website. Care should be taken that the size of the website should be enough to get into it as it may slow down which will in turn increase customers frustration. Designed website should be virus free which will increase customers visit and also will ensure that the website is safe enough to use. There are many other things which also have to be taken care and are the color, design and the font size. Color used to design the website should be light and should not involve many colors. On the other side we should also make it look attractive. Font size should be normal so that we can easily follow. We should try to create something different on the website which will attract customers and can increase our revenue. Competition is very high in this modern generation. So we should m ake the difference to tolerate our competitors. We should ensure that the language is English as most of the customers across the globe can access the website. In this way a planned website can be created successfully with all the latest features. Analysis, including descriptions of the requirements or projected features of the Web site by highlighting integration issues The analysis phase describes all the possible necessities of this website in order to develop it. Requirements are basically the collection of functionalities as well as constraints which the end-user must expect from the site and as alibaba.com has both buyers and suppliers as the customer, it really need a well designed integration of selling and busying over the secured mode. These requirements are collected from the customer by means of discussion. It is really very important to take customers suggestion as end of the day our goal is to satisfy our customers. We should be able to analyze what is the problem, where are we lagging behind, what are the improvements to be made, etc. In this way, many things can be sorted. Analyzing the current situation and working accordingly will help in overcoming the barriers. We should be capable to analyze the situation. These requirements are examined in order to check the validity as well as the possibility of incorporating them in the system which is to be developed. At last, a document providing requirement specification is developed that will serve the intention of guiding principle for the forthcoming phases of model. This website has been designed on the basis of waterfall model under the processes of System Development Life Cycle. The requirement specifications which are included for the purpose of development of website are: proficiency in copy writing, conventional graphics, high-resolution images, consultation regarding website architecture, reasonable web hosting along with the service of active 24X7 customer supports for the domains, domain registration, hosting as well as other services. This site also requires various development services including ordinary B2C functionalities, such as e-commerce solutions as well as video integration. More features like online catalogs, integrated convincing client demonstrational videos or testimonial videos, and many others, can appeal visitors to view and trade through this website. Local Search as well as Ranking Services may also assist in dominating the presence of local market. This site will also offer various other services like pay-per click services in support of Google Adwords, MSN advertisement Center and Yahoo Search promotion, consulting advertising over the internet, in addition to entire program management in order to get the majority for the budget. Diagram1: Project Management technique While every project has different set of requirements as well as challenges as per the project specification, there are several milestones and considerations, which are common in every project. In broader perspective, a 5 stage strategy is developed. These phases comprise of all the necessary phases of a Software Development Life Cycle or in short, called SDLC model. Requirement Analysis: Before start functioning on the project, an in-depth study of users requirements is needed to make the base or foundation of the website. Hence, this will assist in suggesting one of the best clarifications suiting the current requirements. Design: next phase is design phase which basically starts as soon as the project kicks-off. This phase describes the designs for the front-end along with robust and scalable application structure which includes the database design. This phase is one of the critical phases in the project since; entire application is going to be formed based on this framework. Development: As soon as the design is confirmed, reviewed as well as approved in the design phase, now the next stage is the development stage where application development starts utilizing the suitable programming languages based on the requirement of project. Various type of testing is done in this phase, such as unit testing, system testing as well as integration testing at various milestones of this B2C and B2B website development project in order to make sure an error free delivery to the end user. Devotion to various programming in addition to testing standards is stringently followed to make sure the quality of the code and performance. Implementation Support: Subsequent to the development phase where various coding and testing is completed, the next stage is the implementation and support stage. Here, the recently developed application is installed in the real server environment to check whether it is working as per the strategy or not. Hence, now, the application goes live. In this stage, support is also provided in order to keep the application forever on the go. Maintenance Promotion: The last stage is maintenance and promotion. As soon as any application goes alive, updates are necessary. It helps the application to get restructured as per the need of latest environment. Hence, any and all of these updates are accomplished as a component of maintenance work. Various marketing campaigns over the internet are also done in order to enhance the visibility of the business over the internet. Project initiation, management and control scenarios, including overall planning and role assignment to each member To initiate a project of alibaba.com, its really required to move on with several careful planning along with projecting. Initially, this business can reduce the cost; however, it will improve the situation, later on. Following are the five most important control scenarios, which this website has taken in consideration while designing it. First feature or scenario is its reliable hosting which comprises of more than 99.99% uptime. Second feature is its user-friendly appearance as well as feel. This appealing appearance is brought with the help of various professional designs or softwares having template storefront. Third attractive scenario is a gateway for secure payment, incorporated with the feature of shopping cart. Payment transaction is mandatory to be secured and encrypted; otherwise, no user will try this site. Fourth scenario of this website is to generate a merchant account. This account will help in accepting multiple mode of payment as different users can use different mode of payment in order to trade. Fifth most important feature is to store the contact information of the customer in order to smooth the progress of customer service as well as privacy policy. Locating a Niche Market in the world of Online Retail A lot of entrepreneurs, in todays time, already have a thought of what they want and are capable of selling over the internet. On the other hand, few of the entrepreneurs still do not know what to sell, however, are familiar with the opportunity and hence, are involved in the planning of initializing a retail business based on e-commerce. The preliminary phase of business planning is basically an opportunity in order to investigate numerous markets in addition to making sensible and realistic decision on which products or else, services are offering the maximum earning potential. A niche is really important while planning for a online retail as if you dont know what to sell and how to sell, then its not possible to sell products and services properly and run business. Hence, its really important to think about all the expenses linked with the product, together with its storage, import taxes, shipping or packaging, in order to obtain a practical projection of the expenditure of selling it. Projecting Sales, Costs and Profits in B2C E-Commerce Business Planning Financial projections play a very important role on the planning for business. However, this is also true that it is really impossible to enlighten at the planning phase how well the business will be going to perform. Still, market as well as competition research work as a support and permit entrepreneurs to formulate educated guesses that include various tools like, graphs or charts in this phase of business planning. Diagram 2: Detail Project Analysis with the help of graphs and charts This course of action is really very important. As, in todays world, B2C e-commerce companies like www.alibaba.com launch themselves very quickly over the internet, hence proper research and plan acts are really important to be performed as they work as an authenticity check. A lot of time it happens that a idea which seems one of the best idea from the theory perspective, does not make logic in the live, real environment, hence, its best to have few alternatives so that one can move on to the subsequent possible product. This alternative is basically sinking money into a failed business. Its a ray of hope to a dead business. Design Detailed feature of www.alibaba.com Design phase is the subsequent phase after the analysis phase in the system development life cycle model. Unlike analysis phase, where what needs to be done is decided, this phase implements the strategies of analysis phase and design the frame work of the website as shown below: Diagram 3: Screenshot of www.alibaba.com Diagram 4: Screen shot of www.alibaba.com The website of www.alibaba.com is very user friendly. As this site has the features of both B2B (Business-to Business) as well as B2C (Business to Consumer), buyers and sellers, both are its customers. One can buy various products and on the same time one can sell various products from here. Below are some key features of this website as per the SDLC approach: This site has a Buy feature. This tab is needed to be used when the user is planning to buy various products. This tab comprise of all the details which are needed while purchasing: newly added products (detail of fresh products), how to buy, safety and security center and last but not the least is the post buying leads. Second feature is the sell feature. This tab is used by the end user when its time to sell products. Hence, this tab is mainly used by suppliers who supply products. This tab comprises of all the details while selling products, such as, newly added buying leads, how to sell and display new products. Third key feature is the community tab. This tab is basically a support tab in order to help both buyers and sellers while dealing with their trade. It comprises of :Ask it, where one can ask any question regarding this site and the answer will be provided to them as soon as possible, forums, price watch which gives an idea on the prices of different products and trade shows. Fourth feature is the registration feature. As this website deals with genuine trade, fake peoples are not allowed to enter here. Thus, a proper registration is done here before buyers and sellers move inside to trade. This consists of a proper unique login id and password, which help in maintaining the secured environment. Fifth key feature is the search tab. This tab is also very different unlike other search engines. Here, various products can be searched out. Moreover, suppliers as well as buyers can search for different products for selling and buying purpose, separately. Searching can be done as per the geographical location also. The next key feature of www.alibaba.com is the ask it section. Here, both buyers and suppliers can ask any type of query related to dealing with this website. For example, a customer can ask a question like should he has to make payment before the delivery or after delivery, etc. this site consist of three sub features which means question can be related to trade, safe trading as well as finding different suppliers. Next feature is the price watch tab. This gives an idea of updates in the value of different currency, different product prices, etc. hence, while trading, customers do not have to go through other websites to check all this and they can get the updated information from here, only. Next feature is the success stories tab. This feature helps in providing success stories of this website. Its just a strategy to promote this website as customers definitely want to be aware of this, when they are trading here. Hence, they need not check various news sites in order to get the latest report. Each and every success story related to www.alibaba.com is available here. One more unique feature of this website is to provide a detail of products which are highly eye-catching. This tab is known as featured products. At present, which product is leading the market, can be known from here. This gives the customer an idea to go through them and buy as per their requirement. This feature is very similar to todays special in restaurants. Next feature is the advertisement section. This section advertises one of the best products of this e-commerce site. Last but not the least feature is the section from where one can easily surf all the details about the website, from company information, partners, to buying, selling, safety and support and other services as well as tools. Detailed description of features and functions of www.alibaba.com Alibaba.com is basically based on quite a few requirement frameworks that include strategic advertising branding, consultation for web designing, creation of professional contents, robust features of ecommerce, management in addition to administration of site, managed services, systems integration, as well as hosting. Below are the details of all the features as well as functions, which have been the part of the alibaba.com. Custom Site Design This feature include customized or traditional designed banner, navigation buttons or links, logo, site layout as well as color scheme as per the choice of the customer for the website. It basically works as per the customers need, requirement as well as choice. Second customized design is that the home page of www.alibaba.com must have various links, such as, view account, buyers and suppliers account login, , checkout page, shopping cart in addition to site map Management of various products Customized products are making entry and hence, get managed with the help of built-in merchant tools This website includes pages with unlimited number of grouping, sub-categories as well as detailed information related to products. Products are assigned to multiple different categories as well as sub-categories One more function of this website is to upload products in bulk or product feeding which means importing product details from other websites or databases by the help of files of XML data feed. Internal products can be searched with the help of various keyword related to products along with search query archiving. Technique for dynamic imaging is used which helps in enlarging image view, zooming image as well as multiple views of the image from front, side and back in order to provide most favorable user experience. Selection of Color swatch is done which allow end users to select from a variety of available colors. Notification for Out-of-stock is provided. This basically produce an out-of-stock notice on that page where the product detail is mentioned along with an anticipated in-stock date One more feature of this site is such that it can mark products as Unavailable. This means, products which have been removed from the catalog, although not from the database, are marked as, not available. Playback of video is also available to give attractive look to end-user. Videos related to any product can be uploaded on the site and played on the page of detailed product. Order Management Order editing can be done here, which means all the components of order can be edited. Searching for Order can be done which includes searching orders by the name of customer, corporation name, date, state, and order ID as well as order status. This business works on the principle of partial as well as back-order shipment which means shipping of in-stock items are done first and items which are out-of-stock are shipped later on. Order history is available which helps registered end users to view a catalog of formerly placed orders in addition to transferring selected orders to the online basket, known as shopping cart. Tracking of order status can also be done which means registered users are able to keep a eye on the condition of current orders as well as partially shipped orders. Shopping Cart Shopping cart is basically an online basket. Hence, a normal shopping cart or a drop-down is really needed and hence, designed. The customer can select among any of these two which appeared on the page where product detail is given in order to transfer the product to a shopping cart. The feature of this function is such that it can sum up all the items automatically inside the cart. Editing of shopping cart can also be done like consumers can delete items as well as update product items as per their requirement. Checkout Processing of instantaneous credit card permit order payment by majority of the credit card. Payment processing is done at the point of sale or for the duration of order fulfillment Order notification consumer get order confirmation along with order tracking number as well as shipping confirmation as soon as the order ships. Security SSL is used which means secured encrypted transport of order as well as credit card information is done. Secured HTTPS/SSL as well as password protected entry is done in order to enter to the admin section. Complete log-out capabilities is provided for site administrator as well as customer. Website is PCI compliant which means the servers are firewall protected. Numbers of credit card are no longer stored than necessary, susceptible data is encrypted in addition to restricted access. Audit logs are also created. Site Management Account management is done where site administrator has to login and revise the information related to customer account. Product management as well as order management is done. Pricing updates are provided which gives flexible interface for various price information related to all product items or for definite categories. Generation of sales reports for sales is done with the help of date, type of product, customer, location and order size, etc. Content management is done. Reviewing customer reviews, making those reviews on or off, are done here. User Engagement Customer account registration is done. Account information can be viewed. Customers can login to go through and update various and can check status of the order. Onsite blogging- end users can put their comment on various blog posts. Onsite product reviews can be done which means customers may rate as well as share their personal experiences regarding any product. Social media optimization in addition to integration provides link to social media sites such as Digg and Reddit, and on the other hand, two-way incorporation with different social networking sites such as Facebook as well as Twitter. Testing Diagram 5: Testing Testing is one of the important parts of designing and development of web based application for the reason that this application all the time works as a multi-user system along with limitations of bandwidth. Few of the common testing are integration testing, Scalability testing, Stress testing, resolution testing, load testing as well as cross-browser compatibility testing. Testing is a broader term which basically divided into two parts: automated testing and manual testing. Both of these testing can be performed without any failure. For instance, its really essential to test the speed of uploading of graphics, in order to calculate this loading time, as they plays a very important role in the appearance of any website. In todays time, there are a lot of testing tools available over the internet which assist testers to test the web applications. After complete of all the short step-by-step testing, a final testing is necessary. This testing will be done in a live environment. Hence, the basic policy is that as soon as the site is uploaded, there must be a complete testing. Various Inputs to the phase of testing A website, supporting documents, Requirement specifications, Technical specifications, along with Technical documents Various outputs of the phase of Testing Complete Website, Reports on testing, Error logs, recurrent interaction along with developers as well as designers Promotion This stage of system development life cycle is applicable only for websites. This phase consist of preparing Meta tags, steady analysis in addition to suggesting the URL to various search engines as well as directories. Its generally an ongoing process because the different strategies of search engine usually changes quite often. Hence, one of the ideal policies for submission will be to submit the website URLs once in every two months. Moreover, if the end user is willing, paid submissions as well as paid click can also be performed with extra cost. Various Inputs to the phase of promotion A website along with content, Mails from client notifying the competitors Few Output to the phase of promotion Site submission is done along with essential Meta tags. Maintenance and Updating All the e-commerce websites like www.alibaba.com basically require frequent updates in order to look fresh and adjust with any situation. Hence, a need for analysis is there so that application can be well maintained as well as all the phases of life cycle must get revised. Bug or error fixes are also done throughout the period of maintenance. As soon as the website is functional, ongoing promotion, content management and updating, technical maintenance, reports for website visit, mentoring as well as staff training are considered necessary on a normal basis depending on the intricacies of the website as well as the needs within the business organization. Various Inputs to Maintenance along with Updating Site or the application, Content as well as functions which are needed to be modernized, Reports for Re-Analysis Various Outputs to Maintenance along with Updating An Updated application, Various supporting documents developed to

Industry anlysis of Retail Grocery Industry Essay -- essays research p

Industry Analysis   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In order to analyze an industry, it is important to determine where it is in the industry lifecycle. During the 1970’s and 1980’s the retail grocery industry was expanding at a phenomenal rate. Throughout this boom period, the number of large grocery stores was rising and forcing the existing† Mom and Pop† grocery stores out of the industry.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the early 1990’s, the retail grocery industry began leaving the growth stage and entered the maturity stage in the industry lifecycle. This was caused by increased market saturation and slowing growth rates. Between 1995 and 1996 the growth rates were the lowest they had been in the past twenty years. The main reason for this was the vast number of grocery stores that had been built in growth stage and the emergence of new grocery retail formats such as warehouse clubs and dollar stores. This increased competition forced firms to compete with each other for the same customers by lowering prices.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Enter WalMart. Walmart was not even in the grocery industry in the early 1990’s but through excellent supply chain management and extremely low everyday prices have forced their way as one of the dominant players in the retail grocery industry. Industry surveys indicate that the five largest chains (WalMart, Kroger, Costco, Albertsons, and Safeway) accounted for approximately 37.5% of total sales in 2002.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The 1990’s were an important time because of the arrival of new technologies that would change the retail grocery industry. Scanners, Elcetronic Data Interchanges, and the internet have all sped up and lowered the costs of business operations. WalMart was one of the early adopters of this technology and had a competitive advantage over its competitors. New technologies being pioneered now include self-serve checkouts, RFID’s, and kiosks, they will all eventually change how we shop at grocery stores today.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Walmart’s arrival as the largest grocer in North America has caused quite a stir in the retail grocery industry. Walmart’s low prices have caused an industry–wide obsession with consolidation. Many firms are cutting costs any chance they can, forcing some firms to move upmarket. â€Å"The traditional supermarket concept no longer has a profitable future in most ... ...lay a part in the consumer’s decision but in the end eggs from one store are the same as eggs from another store. The consumer can also compare prices from various stores to get the best deal on their groceries. Supplier Power   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Supplier power has been pretty high in the past because grocery stores had very few options of where they could get their goods and had even less of a say of how much to pay for these goods. Recently WalMart has started to change the balance of power away from the supplier. By being so large and having the power of making or breaking a product based solely o if WalMart carries it they can demand certain prices. Another way to combat high supplier power is to introduce private label brands. For example Giant eagle carries its own brand of peas it is not as dependable of its pea suppliers as it was before carrying their own brand. Some suppliers have decided to try and regain power by merging with other suppliers such as Gillette/Proctor & Gamble and Phillip Morris/Kraft. It appears that after a long time of high supplier power the playing field is starting to level itself off and it appears this will continue into the future.

Making Habits

We want from our target market to make a habit of eating their meals in our restaurants. If we are able to reach them, this will help us to grow at the end of the first year. In addition to this, we have another objective which is to decrease the number of people who are not aware and people who are resisting to not purchase our goods. In this case, we are planning to encourage them to taste our products and take their opinions about them to adjust our goods according to their needs and wants. Stressing our competitive advantage to our target customers is our another goal which makes them loyal to our restaurants.Identify the marketing segment for the product and explain why this segment was selected. Because we are producing healthy fast foods for different diet programs, mass marketing does not fit our marketing strategy. Therefore we segment the market based on Demographics. For example, if gender is taken into consideration, woman and man should take different amount of calories per day in order to carry on their daily activities. Besides, amount of calories are taken by young people, adults, and elderly people changes as well according to their heights, weights, and activity levels.Therefore when our customers come to our restaurants, they should be able to find a food that best fits their diet in order to be satisfied. Moreover, we also segment the market based on geographic as well. In this case, we are planning to run our business in United States because there is a high demand for healthy foods since people want to live healthy and longer. Discuss the target market and why these customers will be targeted. We segmented market according to people’s ages and genders. We decided to target people whose ages are between 18 and 64 or more and tried to figure out the market size.According to US and World Population Clocks in the US Census Bureau web page, there are 309,092,421 people living in America now. Again, according to the report posted on US Census Bureau, Meyer (2001) stated that people whose age is under 18 is 26 percent, people whose age is between 18 and 64 is 62 percent and people whose age is more than 64 is 12 percent of US population. So if we assume that the percentage of people whose ages are between 18 and 64 or more remain unchanged from 2000 to 2010, the total population of young people, adults and elderly people is now 228,728,319. 62%+12%=74%, 309,092,421? 74%). Moreover, if we assume that 50 percent of this amount is woman and 50 percent of it man. So we have 114,364,159 men and 114,364,159 women whose ages are between 18 and 64 or more. This is a huge number and it seems that targeting this segment is profitable. Furthermore, this market size can grow in the future because in 2000 the total US population was approximately 281 million according to US Census Bureau 2000 report. (Meyer 2001). Today, as I mentioned above it is nearly 309 million. Conduct a SWOT (strength, weakness, opportunities and treats analysis for company.One of our strengths is offering healthy foods. Our menu contains foods that they are rich in terms of protein, vitamins, mineral etc. which play an important role in the structure of human body. Secondly, while we are preparing our menu, we consult nutritionists about the ingredients, the types to enhance the variety and cooking techniques. In addition to this, our customers can benefit from the dietician service on every Mondays, and Fridays between 1-5pm. They can ask their questions and have a chance to take medical support. Moreover, we are using organic and fresh foods while we are cooking and these vegetables and ruits are produced and picked diligently. This is also one of our strengths that help us to meet our customers’ expectations. Unfortunately, we have also some weaknesses as well. One of the most important weaknesses of our healthy fast food restaurant is our prices. To produce organic vegetables and fruits is very costly. Therefore this is reflected in prices of those kinds of products. Because organic foods are crucial ingredients of our foods, we also have to reflect the prices of vegetables and fruits to our food prices in order to make profit.In addition to this, because we do not offer any unhealthy foods such as fried chicken, fried potato, hamburger etc. our foods may not fit the people’s tastes. Beside our strengths and weaknesses, we have also some opportunities coming from macro environment. Firstly, people love eating in Unites States and they like to know about different and new foods. In addition to this, United States is the best place to run a fast food restaurant because of being a home country of fast food industry. Secondly, number of obese people is increasing day by day in United States because of overeating fast foods.Since these kinds of meals are unhealthy and they can cause serious health problems, this makes people more conscious while they are making decision about food choices. Therefore they tend to eat more healthy foods. Thirdly, organic food industry is growing in Unites States and people tend to consume organic foods because of being healthful compared to regular vegetables and fruits. Furthermore, number one fast food chains such as McDonald’s, Burger King, etc. do not offer rich healthy meals alternative to unhealthy ones. In this case, consumers are in pursuit of healthy food restaurants.Lastly, in United States technology is advanced a lot to prepare fast and healthy foods. This leads fast food restaurants to work more efficient. We also have some threats caused by macro environment as well. For example, people may not have enough purchasing power to buy healthy foods. In this case unhealthy foods seems cheaper to them. Therefore they may tend to prefer unhealthy fast food restaurants. Besides, organic foods are expensive. As a result, restaurants that are not using organic foods charge lower prices to their meals compared to restaurants that use those kinds of egetables and fruits. Moreover, eating hamburger, fried potato, fried chicken, cheese burger, etc. can seem more attractive to customers. Therefore customers may prefer places that offer those foods. Describe the market position for your product and service When we are positioning our product, the quality and the price are taken into consideration and we compared our product with the one that is produced by our competitors. In the fast food market, we have many competitors; however our number one and well known competitors are McDonalds, Burger King, Subway, Taco Bell, Wendy’s and others.In figure one, circles which are depicted closely represent our competitors and the upper circle represents our fast food company. The competitors’ circles are depicted closely because they are perceived more or less the same by consumers. For example, their menus and prices are more or less the same. They are using nearly same strategies. For instance, both Burger King and McDonalds have the dollar menus. Although our competitors offer some kinds of healthy foods such as salads, grilled chicken, etc. they are still selling unhealthy foods. On the other hand, our company’s number one strength is always serving healthy foods to our customers. Besides, we are offering free dietician service for our customers. Our customers can ask their questions and get a customized service. In light of these facts, our product quality is high relative to our competitors. price X’s Healthy Fast Food Restaurant Low qualityHigh quality Our competitors Figure 1 Perceptual Map In addition to our product quality, our products’ prices are also higher than the average prices as well. Because organic foods’ prices are high, we have to reflect this to our prices.According to figure 1 it can be seen that our competitors dominate us in terms of prices. However, we also dominate them in terms of product quality as well. Recommendations Service is an intangible product and X’s Healthy Fast Food Restaurants are producing both tangible product (i. e. food) and intangible product (i. e. dietician service). In service industry customer satisfaction is very important. If a company satisfies their customer’s needs and wants, they become loyal.Therefore management should know whether their customers are happy with the service provided or not. This is the case that X’s Healthy Fast Food Restaurant can be face with. Therefore we should do some surveys to measure the satisfaction level of our customers about the service quality. There are many tools to do this. For example, Winner (2004) stated that â€Å"One of the most popular approaches to measuring service quality is the SERVQUAL instrument† (p. 418). In this type of questionnaire there are several questions that measure the quality of service.If we put servqual surveys on customers’ table and request to fill them after they finish their meal we can measure the satisfaction level of our customers by looking the results and this helps us to improve our service quality. Because service is an intangible product, customers may not know what they are buying until they buy. One author said that â€Å"†¦the service provider’s task is to make the service tangible in one or more ways† (Kotler 1999 p. 648). In this case, we should find some ways to make our product tangible.For example, if we give importance to keep our restaurants clean, our customers may think that we prepare our foods diligently. Providing a qualified and quick service can be another way to make our product tangible. If consumers see how we deliver our service quickly, they always prefer us. ReferencesKotler, P. (1999). Principles of marketing. New Jersey: PrenticeHall Winner, S. R. (2004). Marketing management: New Jersey Pearson PrenticeHall Meyer, J. (2001). Age:2000. US Census Bureau. Retrieved April 8, 2010 from http://www. census. gov/prod/2001pubs/c2kbr01-12. pdf

Faith and Man: A Literature Essay

In our history and our society we heard of stories of great men and women who pass through difficult times of their lives and were able to overcome and came up victorious. This made us to draw inspiration from them. People admired their courage and the strength they possess to surpass the tests in their lives. What could have driven this people to continue and press on with their lives? Is it because they are just extraordinary people that can do even impossible things or is it because of having a character full of faith? It is interesting to discover the role or relation of faith to man. Can man live without faith? What is faith and how do we explain it? Faith means believing that you have tremendous power to do exceptional things and to overcome hardships. Man plus his faith will guarantee that he will survive. Where is this faith really coming from? Inspiring Literature Helen Keller’s The Story of My Life illustrates an example of how a person with physical defects can raise above all her problems and became one of the respected lecturer and social activists of America. Helen Keller quoted that â€Å"Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.† This word signifies that Helen Keller believed in the power of faith which is also related to optimism, hope and confidence. If people look at Helen Keller’s life it may seem impossible for her to make significant contributions in society as her deafness and blindness was a real challenge. But because of her insurmountable faith she was able to succeed in life. Emily Dickinson in her poem entitled My Faith Is Larger than the Hill had this first line which says â€Å"M y Faith is larger than the Hills, so when the Hills decay, My Faith must take the Purple Wheel, to show the Sun the way†. This would mean that her faith is much higher than the hills around her and no matter how negative things are, there is a ray of hope waiting for her and could change the situation because she holds on to her faith. Grace Under Fire: Letters Of Faith In Times Of War by Andrew Carroll was a collection of war letters about the faith of the   US troops and their families in the midst of danger it said: â€Å"We are now encamped right in the midst of tall mountains which would look very strange to you they look like they reach clear up into the sky These days the mountains are now covered with ripe whortleberries which are very nice the people bring them to our camp & we buy them & our Irishman that cooks for us makes pies for us† Faith Can Move Mountains by Helen Downey is all about how a family increased their faith when Sara survived a major accident in her life. One line goes said that:† A tragic event happened before Sara’s parents opened their eyes to that word called ‘Faith’. Conclusion Faith is something that people must develop in their selves. Faith comes from your belief that some invisible force may take control to help you survive the difficult situation. It is always thinking that everything will turn out right. It also pertains in having faith in God and his divine intervention in our lives. Having faith means having hope. A number of literatures were written on how people have used their faith in times of troubles and difficulties. They are written to encourage everyone undergoing hard times in their lives. It really showed the power of faith for us to do things which seem impossible. Maybe if we don’t have faith everything around us will turn negative, there will be no literature ever written to inspire us and no literature to encourage us. Therefore faith is a gift from above that can empower and save us from all life’s challenges and difficulties. Work Cited Downey, Helen.† Faith Can Move Mountains† 21 July, 2009

The Scarlet Letter - The Goals of Life essays

The Scarlet Letter - The Goals of Life essays Take a creepy old mad man, and a reverend who wont confess his devil-like sin, mix in a little psychology, and mind games, and you get The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne. As this story goes, Hester Prynne has committed an evil sin, and must wear a red A on her chest for the rest of her life. Later, Hawthorne introduces her husband, Roger Chillingworth who finds out about her evil sin, and is ready to take revenge to the person who committed this act of adultery. Then, we find the towns minister, Dimmesdale, in a poor state of being, so Chillingworth becomes his doctor, and soon finds out that his real ailment is that hes committed a sin. The mind games between Dimmesdale and Chillingworth continue, until Dimmesdale steps up, and admits his sin. On that spot, Dimmesdale dies. The most fascinating part of the book is the time in which Chillingworth is playing mind games with Dimmesdale. Even more fascinating are the characters themselves. While it seems that Dimmesdale and Chil lingworth are two separate characters, both with different goals, they have several things in common with each other. Dimmesdale and Chillingworth are two different, yet interesting characters. Dimmesdale is a younger reverend of the town that everyone looks up to. Also, Dimmesdale... [is like] a coward (Kestner, 2), because of his weakness against confessing his sin, and his guilt, his prison, festered inside him until he started to physically deteriorate (Kestner, 2). On the other hand, Chillingworth was Dimmesdales physician, and had a remarkable way of healing people. Even though he could have used his healing powers for good, throughout the book, Chillingworth is described by the townspeople, and Hesters daughter, Pearl as the black man (the devil), and that Chillingworth is plotting against Dimmesdale. Hawthorne makes Chillingworth out to be a monster (Brayton...

The Beneficial Effects of Exercise on Mood Improvement essays

The Beneficial Effects of Exercise on Mood Improvement essays Research conducted in the past investigating the relationship between exercise and mood has revealed that there is a possible relationship between exercise... and mood...(Berger and Owen, 1998, p. 611). In research conducted by Harte and Eifert (1995), test subjects generally reported feeling less anxious, depressed, angry, hostile and fatigued after their exercise session. Further research conducted by Berger and Owen obtained that different levels of exercise intensity were associated with mood benefits. Moreover, Mack, Huddleston and Dutler (2000) reported that being involved in light physical activity did not result in negative mood... (p. 913). This suggested that exercise might have a positive association with mood. Overall most of the studies concluded that physical activity is associated with beneficial mood changes. Thus one may assume that there quite possibly exist a relationship between exercise and mood. Previous research conducted by Berger and Owen hypothesized that there was an optimal exercise association with mood benefits (p.613). Moreover, their results showed that the test subjects did indeed report feeling better after exercising (p.614). In an effort to further understand whether this occurrence of mood enhancement due to exercise continues to be apparent, both an experimental and a correlation design will be used to carry out research concerning exercise and mood. The experiment designed to conduct this research will investigate the beneficial mood changes associated with exercise, whereas the correlation design will focus on the relationship between exercise and mood. Thus the general hypothesis of this study is that there will generally be an increase in positive mood in relation with exercise. Experiment This experiment will be designed to investigate if there exists a direct cause and effect relationship between exercise and mood enhancement. It is expected that exposure to dai...

How to Advertise an Event in College

How to Advertise an Event in College College campuses are legendary for the high number of programs that take place on campus every day. Whether its an internationally acclaimed speaker or a local film screening, theres nearly always something happening on campus. If youre the one planning an event, however, you know that getting people to come can be as much of a challenge as coordinating the program itself. So just how can you advertise your event in a way that inspires people to attend? Answer the Basics: Who, What, When, Where, and Why You could spend hours painting a poster advertising your event ... but if you forget to write down what date the program is, youll feel like a chump. Consequently, make sure the basic information is available on each and every piece of advertising you put out. Who is going to be at the event, and who is sponsoring it (or otherwise putting it on)? What will happen at the event, and what can attendees expect? When is the event? (Side note: Its helpful to write both the day and the date. Writing Tuesday, October 6th can make sure everyone is clear about when the event is happening.) How long will it last? Where is the event? Do people need to RSVP or buy tickets in advance? If so, how and where? And most important, why will people want to attend? What will they learn/experience/take away/gain from going? What will they miss out on if they dont go? Know the Best Places to Advertise Is social media big on your campus? Do people read emails announcing events or just delete them? Is the newspaper a good place to put an ad? Will a poster in the quad catch peoples attention, or will it just get lost amidst a sea of butcher paper? Know what will stand out on your campus and get creative. Know Your Audience If youre advertising something thats, for example, political in nature, make sure you reach out to people on campus who are more likely to be politically involved or interested. When youre planning a political event, posting a flyer in the politics department might be a particularly smart idea even if youre not posting flyers in any other academic department. Go to meetings of student clubs and talk to other student leaders to promote your program, too, so that you can personally get the word out and answer any questions people might have. Advertise Food if Youre Going to Have it Available Its no secret that providing food at a college event can drastically increase attendance. Having food, of course, can be a definite draw but it isnt an absolute necessity. If you are providing food, make sure its done in a way that encourages people to stay for the whole event and not just sneak in and grab a slice of pizza from the back of the room. You want event attendees, after all, not just moochers. Find Other Student Groups to Cosponsor Your Event Theres a pretty direct correlation between the number of people who know about your program and the number of people who show up. Consequently, if you can work with other student groups in the planning, you can outreach directly to each groups members. On many campuses, too, cosponsorship can lead to increased funding opportunities meaning youll have more resources to promote and advertise your event. Let Your Professors Know While it can be scary to figure out how to talk to your professors, its usually just fine once you try it. Remember: Faculty members were college students at one point, too! Theyll likely find your program interesting and may even advertise it in their other classes. They can also mention it to other professors and help get the word around. Let Administrators Know The hall director in your residence hall may know you by name, but she may not know that youre super involved in a certain club and planning a major event next week. Drop by and let her know whats going on so she can let other residents know when she interacts with them, too. You likely interact with lots of administrators throughout the day; feel free to promote your program to them (and anyone else who will listen) as much as possible!

Question 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Question 2 - Essay Example This report is based on the implementation of ICT in the business strategy making process and the selected organization for analysis is Google Plc. Google is the largest market share holder of the search engine and internet browser industry (google.co.uk, 2014). With a diversified and huge product base they are among the industry leaders of the technological segment. The report will try to evaluate the process of ICT implementation by Google for business strategy development. Before the introduction of ICT in the business world, business processes focused on gaining accuracy in their strategies which slowed the response time of the business towards market changes. However, in the past two decades the increasing use of ICT in the business processes has brought in frequent changes that allowed the business houses to cope up with the changes in the market nature. Bossink (2008) stated that the basic role of ICT was to enhance the communication between a business and its stakeholders. But with continuous growth and modification in the strategy, ICT is now a dominant factor in every functional aspects of business. New technologies such as cloud computing have helped in business expansion across geographical boundaries and reduced the cost of operating overseas. Business houses can now monitor the work, gather, store and share information, synchronies their work process from a singular location in spite of travelling to all the places. Pollock (2010) stated that business operations have become more accelerated and focused with the help of ICT integration in the business. Business firms can now connect with a wider consumer base with the help of ICT technologies such as video conferencing. Furthermore, business monitoring process has also changed with advanced technologies such as cctv monitoring, employee tracking systems, etc (youtube.com, 2009). Zikmund (2008) summarized that the influence of ICT on the business process has been mainly on the

Diplomatic Immunity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Diplomatic Immunity - Essay Example Yet because of ambiguities in the interpretation of the said international agreement, abuses of diplomatic immunities have become inevitable. These abuses of power and privilege range from petty crimes like traffic violations and debt to more serious crimes of conspiracy, rape, and murder. Because of this, efforts to clarify the extent and provisions of Diplomatic Immunity should take place. This paper will then attempt to provide suggestions on how to resolve and prevent abuses of diplomatic immunities. Diplomatic immunity, as agreed upon by the standards of international law, is a form of legal exemption extended to a country's diplomats. This entitles the diplomats and their immediate families to be exempted from the laws and local courts of the host country. Some of the general provisions of diplomatic immunity guarantee that the diplomats and their immediate families: "may not be arrested or detained, may not have their residences entered or searched, may not be subpoenaed as witnesses, and may not be prosecuted." (eDiplomat, 2006) The 1958 Yearbook of International Law Commission, as cited in Vrk (2003), mentions three theories about the legal bases of diplomatic immunity. ... ntatives of a sending state, the diplomats should also be given the same independence as a receiving state would have negotiated with the sending state itself. These two theories, of course, have long been deduced to legal fictions with all the faulty assumptions. The accepted theory behind diplomatic immunity now lies in the "theory of functional necessity." This theory is based on the need of diplomatic missions and diplomats to efficiently perform their duties and responsibilities according to what their country requires from them, without apprehensions of being criminally charged by the receiving state. For instance, diplomats are able to initiate unfounded penal proceedings without hindrances from the receiving state because of diplomatic immunity. According to eDiplomat (2006), "Diplomatic immunity is not meant to benefit individuals personally; it is meant to ensure that foreign officials can do their jobs. Under the concept of reciprocity, diplomats assigned to any country in the world benefit equally from diplomatic immunity." This assumption that diplomatic immunity would be reciprocally observed between sovereign states justifies the seemingly biased scales of justice. The rationale why countries agree to be dependent on a foreign country's decision before prosecuting a diplomat in their own territory is based on the fact that these countries are both receiving and sending diplomats. This means that they also have their own diplomats' immunity at stake in different countries across the globe. It is clearly stated in the preamble of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations that "the purpose of such privileges and immunities is not to benefit individuals but to ensure the efficient performance of the functions of diplomatic missions as representing

Vietnam Anti-War Movement Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Vietnam Anti-War Movement - Research Paper Example It was during that period that evolution of resistance started amongst Vietnamese nationalists led by Ho Chi Minh pressing for independence. The resistance resulted to the World War 1 that took place between the years 1914 to 1918. France continued to cling to its empire but Ho embraced Marxism-Leninism and built a strong following called Vietminh. The organization prepared to assume power of their territory after the occurrence of the Second World War. The war left France very weak but partly basing its strategies on racism contempt for the Vietnamese, French officials still had a believe that they could reassert their control and power over Indochina. Vietnam Antiwar Movement was a movement against the US involvement in the Vietnam War. Opposition of the Vietnam war took place in the late 1960s and early 1970. The movement took place in form of demonstrations in the year 1964 and continued to grow in terms of strength in the later years. The U.S fell in confusion between those who preferred peace and those who advocated the continuity of involvement in the Vietnam War. The biggest numbers of the participants of the movement were mothers, students, and anti-establishment hippies. Opposition developed with the participation of the African-American civil rights, Chicano movements, women’s liberation, and organized labor sectors. Other groups that joined the movement comprised of journalists, lawyers, academics, clergy, military veterans, leaders of the Civil Rights Movement and physicians. One of the physicians who participated in the movement was Benjamin Spock. Opposition of the war was mainly conducted using peaceful and nonviolent events. However, some few events were deliberately violent and provocative. In fact, some cases called for the police to use violent tactics against all the demonstrators. By the year 1970, there was a steady increase in the majority of Americans considering involvement of the US military in Vietnam as a mistake. Decades later,

The Sustainability of Seafood Farms Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

The Sustainability of Seafood Farms - Essay Example Moreover, it serves as a measure against which societies and institutions are evaluated, as well as a goal toward which communities and societies should aim. In respect to governance, sustainability implies interrogating existing ways of societal institutions in an attempt to determine to what extent they hearten vicious behaviors. In addition to this, sustainability results to a conscious endeavor to convert the status quo and encourage the advancement of increasingly maintainable models of activity (Dunphy, 2000). Sustainability is an essential factor in today’s global economy. This is because it results to an economically sustainable development. There are several advantages that economically yield as a result of sustainability. For instance, it recounts to the harvest of a self-renewing and specific natural resource, such as fish. Such a yield can be maintained for an indefinite period since it can be supported by the capacities of the fundamental normal system. A sustaina ble society can, therefore, be defined as the one which has adapted to comfortably live within the boundaries that have been established by nature’s limits (Dunphy, 2000). It can be upheld as an ongoing and collective entity since the behaviors and practices that heavily burden the environment have been abolished or reformed. A sustainable development indicates a process of advancements in the social nature of the society, which can accommodate the changing needs of the society, while at the same time integrating social, economic, and environmental contemplations in making any decisions. For any project to be sustainable, it should encompass some features. These features include social, economic, and environmental features. These have better being referred to as the Triple Bottom Line approach (Weber and Savits, 2006). The Triple Bottom Line also known as TBL or 3BL has, in fishing, has captured and expanded criteria and values for measuring the success of any organization ec onomically, environmentally, and socially. The goal of sustainability and the triple bottom line are usually described by People, Planet, and Profit. Economic and social factors have greatly been boosted by fish farming. Social factors have been boosted in that the society has significantly benefited from fish farming (Weber and Savits, 2006). Economic factors have, on the other hand been boosted in that maximum benefits have been reaped from the project. It is, therefore, arguable that sustainability has significantly influenced the Triple Bottom Line of fish farming. Production is the initial step in the process of trade. It can be defined as the conversion of raw materials into varieties that can be useful for human consumption (Marien, 1990). Production of fish can also be known as fish farming. It is the chief form of aquatic culture. It involves commercial rising of fish into enclosures or tanks for food. The current increase in demand for fish has, in turn, led to increased f ish farming. Distribution is a term used to refer to the process of conveying already produced goods to the consumers in the market. There are different methods of distribution existing in the market. This depends on the technological means and levels of progress within the region. An example of a way in which goods are distributed is by Efficient Consumer Response scheme. Fish distribution, therefore, refers to the process by which the

Work Perspectives PowerPoint Presentation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Work Perspectives - PowerPoint Presentation Example Since, the leader is the one who makes the decision and major actions within a given organization; it is only applicable that he/she is adept with the right qualities and fundamental skills in order to strengthen good relationships with his/her people who will be his/her partner in achieving their goals. This paper will discuss a few Exhibits presented in the book of justice Administration and to explain each factors or concepts by giving examples. Leadership’s Bond of Trust Kokkelenberg (2010) compared the kind of leadership in the US 200 years ago with today. Before, the kind of leadership was autocratic which was based on the old military dogma â€Å"follow orders before complaining.† This implies that the employee needs to obey his or her boss instructions even though it is against his/her principles or will. Like for example: he/she follows his/her boss to falsify records for the fear to get fired. But, today leadership has transformed in many ways such leaders now tend to work with someone like for example getting the opinions and feedbacks of his/her subordinates in formulating decisions. And everyone at work has already right to voice out his/her opinion especially if the superior’s order is against his/her principles (Peak, 2010; Kooken, 1947). ... For instance, he/she was offered a big amount of money just to shut his/her mouth because he/she discovered anomalies. If this leader has integrity, without any hesitation he/she will standby for the truth no matter what happen. And in order to gain the trust of the employees a leader must be competent in everything he/she do. This means that he/she can make sound decisions, manage organization, make strategies and can interact with all the people involved in the business regardless of their position. An example showing competency of a leader is if he/she manifested the following actions: remains steady or thrive under pressure, using it to fuel productivity and efficiency; stays calm and maintain focus in turbulent, threatening, or emergency situations; makes rational decisions and continues to perform effectively; and provides direction in crisis situations through defusing potentially violent people or situations, calming others and removing them from harm. Another important chara cteristic that a leader must possess is being accountable and dependable. This means that he/she takes personal responsibility for the quality and timeliness of work, and achieves results with little oversight. A leader is said to be accountable and dependable if he/she manifested the following examples: shows up to work on time, and follows instructions, policies, and procedures; meets productivity standards, deadlines, and work schedule; stays focused on tasks in spite of distractions and interruptions; makes the best use of available time and resources; balances quality of work with meeting deadlines; does not make excuses for errors or problems; acknowledges and corrects mistakes; and

Research paper on Milton's Paradise Lost Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

On Milton's Paradise Lost - Research Paper Example In this sense, the book and the author direct that freewill is not free at all, as it should be interpreted in a literal sense, but is instead a will that remains arbitral based on who you ask. This is shown clearly with illustrations from then authority of the king in puritan times, as well as the application of freewill in following God’s will. The section that draws up the arbitral sense of freewill is drawn and illustrated by the use of strong words that go to the extent to show then following freewill in the sense of being godly is not all free. This is because it is imposition of God’s will upon man, which in the first place is meant for to occur and is part of a design by God to be in power. As a result, there is no way that man exercises freewill in any way as all aspects of will are manipulated by God by design and by default, from the moment that one commences exercising it (Barfoot 176). In addition, the book stats that man’s exertion of freewill is by no means free as it is an act of obedience to God begging the question how freewill is meant to be freewill and how it is independent of God and His power, as well as how it should be defined. The definition of the term freewill in the book remains wanting in that it does not show a distinct definition that can be applied for the purpose of identification of the action that man engages out of sheer freewill. Instead, the whole ordeal of defining what freewill is turned into a means of showing how God works to exert freewill and how freewill is supposed to manifest itself for the glory of God. This is because the book shows that almost every aspect of freewill, including its practice, is for the glory of God, as none of it remains directly under the control of man at any given time. With this in mind, the book describes the application of freewill in antics used to ensure obedience and devotion to a high authority. It is in this case that freewill is brought out at as a challenge to God’s authority as it requires a clear definition and distinction between the ways to obedience and devotion without the use of the above-mentioned default and manipulation by God. This is not clarified in the book, but instead shows the Adam and Eve scene in separation, where there are the words saying that God towards thee has done his part do thine (Bizik 70). This part is a clear illustration of freewill at work, where God gives man freewill, by creating it in the first place and allowing the two to choose between the choices, they were given. The above illustrates that there is no way that freewill is existent, and that it is merely a convenience for human rights forums. The translation of the above statement, therefore, is that God is the master of all, and that there is no way that man has freewill as even the choices given to Adam and Eve are only bound by the will of God and His need for devotion and obedience by man towards Him. It is because of this that manâ€⠄¢s will is not free as man’s will is subjected to God’s direction thus the mental faculties of man are not independent or free of the influence. Instead, man’s freewill is subordinate to God’s will and command, as well as system of beliefs and institutions

Work Perspectives PowerPoint Presentation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Work Perspectives - PowerPoint Presentation Example Since, the leader is the one who makes the decision and major actions within a given organization; it is only applicable that he/she is adept with the right qualities and fundamental skills in order to strengthen good relationships with his/her people who will be his/her partner in achieving their goals. This paper will discuss a few Exhibits presented in the book of justice Administration and to explain each factors or concepts by giving examples. Leadership’s Bond of Trust Kokkelenberg (2010) compared the kind of leadership in the US 200 years ago with today. Before, the kind of leadership was autocratic which was based on the old military dogma â€Å"follow orders before complaining.† This implies that the employee needs to obey his or her boss instructions even though it is against his/her principles or will. Like for example: he/she follows his/her boss to falsify records for the fear to get fired. But, today leadership has transformed in many ways such leaders now tend to work with someone like for example getting the opinions and feedbacks of his/her subordinates in formulating decisions. And everyone at work has already right to voice out his/her opinion especially if the superior’s order is against his/her principles (Peak, 2010; Kooken, 1947). ... For instance, he/she was offered a big amount of money just to shut his/her mouth because he/she discovered anomalies. If this leader has integrity, without any hesitation he/she will standby for the truth no matter what happen. And in order to gain the trust of the employees a leader must be competent in everything he/she do. This means that he/she can make sound decisions, manage organization, make strategies and can interact with all the people involved in the business regardless of their position. An example showing competency of a leader is if he/she manifested the following actions: remains steady or thrive under pressure, using it to fuel productivity and efficiency; stays calm and maintain focus in turbulent, threatening, or emergency situations; makes rational decisions and continues to perform effectively; and provides direction in crisis situations through defusing potentially violent people or situations, calming others and removing them from harm. Another important chara cteristic that a leader must possess is being accountable and dependable. This means that he/she takes personal responsibility for the quality and timeliness of work, and achieves results with little oversight. A leader is said to be accountable and dependable if he/she manifested the following examples: shows up to work on time, and follows instructions, policies, and procedures; meets productivity standards, deadlines, and work schedule; stays focused on tasks in spite of distractions and interruptions; makes the best use of available time and resources; balances quality of work with meeting deadlines; does not make excuses for errors or problems; acknowledges and corrects mistakes; and

African American Gay Rights Essay Example for Free

African American Gay Rights Essay I cannot begin to argue about African American/Hispanic LGBT, living in New York City and their civil rights without remembering the public outcry against black civil rights. Although the focus of this paper is on African American/Hispanic LGBT living in New York City and Their Rights to Marriage I have decided to start my paper of by discussing the civil rights movement of the 1960s. The civil rights movement of the 1960s and the continuing struggle against race-based discrimination were rooted in the struggle against slavery. As early as the eighteen hundreds the United States legislative had laws known as segregation laws that limited certain freedom to them. They had to live in separate neighborhood, attend separate schools, drive in the back of public buses verses in the front where Whites were; African American would not dare go against these laws back then because if and when they did, they were unjustly imprisoned, beaten lynched and more for just trying to exercise human rights. In the 1960s African Americans led a fight to remove the legally codified vestiges of slavery from our constitution and from state and local laws. Most repulsive among these, were Jim Crow laws that required racial segregation; African Americans had to endure all these things until The Civil Rights Movement. The modern concept of civil rights was pioneered by African Americans in their long struggle to become full citizens of the United States. From the Civil Rights Movement to the Stonewall Riots of 1969 to May 17, 2004, the LGBTQ movement has made some tremendous gains into mainstream society, a reality that has not been afforded to African Americans. The African American Civil Rights Movement gave birth to many other civil rights movements in the 1960s. African Americans not only made new law, their success gave new hope. Among the many efforts sparked by the African American Civil Rights Movements were the efforts to end discrimination against women, Hispanic Americans, Native Americans, and Asian Americans, people with disabilities and lesbians and gays. Some African American still has one more river to cross because now African American LGBT are fighting a new civil war, the fight for same sex marriage; the right to be legally married. Currently, marriage has two distinct components: civil marriage and the religious ritual of marriage. Mixed-gender couples can have a civil marriage without the religious ceremony/ritual. Couples can have a religious ceremony/ritual, without a civil marriage. Some couples can choose both. However, to receive the legal protections of marriage, a couple must have a civil marriage, which is the only marriage that can be addressed by courts or legislatures. The LBGT believe that the rights and legal protections of civil marriage that are given to mixed-gender couples and families should also be extended to couples and families who are headed by same-gender couples. These include the rights of survivorship, inheritance, insurance, joint income tax filing, and a myriad of rights that many mixed-gender couples take for granted. For African American LGBT, state regulation has been particularly harsh. State sodomy law has had a way of preventing LGBT from acquiring some of the rights they are entitle to. Today, fewer than half the state has sodomy laws. LGBT recognizes New York City for being the birth place for many modern gay movements; however, New York has not yet passed any law giving LGBT legal protection and political support, (right to marriage being on of them). New York State gay rights bill, first introduced in 1971, still has not become law. While other states, like Vermont has established civil unions for LGBT, New York has not. Andy Humm writes that the biggest gay-related debate throughout the country right now is over government sanction of same-sex elationships. Vermont has gone the furthest, establishing civil unions for gay couples that confer almost all of the rights to which a married man and woman are entitled, though stopping short of full legal marriage. New Yorkers may travel to Vermont for the civil ceremony as of July 1, but there is some question as to what legal weight it will carry back home. The federal government enacted the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in 1996 when it looked as if Hawaii might give same-sex couples marriage licenses. It barred federal recognition of legal same-sex marriages performed in any state and gave the other states the right not to honor such a contract. Thirty-two states have passed laws barring recognition of same-sex marriages performed in other states, even though no state or nation allows gay couples to obtain a marriage license. (Holland will likely be the first in 2001. ) A New York version of the Defense of Marriage Act is pending in Albany, but has not had a vote in either chamber. Bibliography Diane Silver et al. , The New Civil War: The Lesbian and Gay Struggle For Civil Rights (New York; New York:1997), 25-26 Andy Humm, The State of gay rights in New York, Available http://www. gothamgazette. com/iotw/gayrights/ (Accessed May 16, 2005).

Working Together to Safeguard Children | Policy Analysis

Working Together to Safeguard Children | Policy Analysis This paper will consider the impact of the â€Å"Working Together To Safeguard Children† child protection policy on the clinical practice of the nursing profession in a general community clinic. The current legislative framework for child protection will be considered with regard to the 1989 Children’s Act, with special reference to the obligations of health professionals working with vulnerable children and their families. Research evidence on the role of nurses in the detection of child abuse will be considered. Furthermore, the paper will discuss the implications of developing existing general practice child protection procedures to include a more active and explicit role for child protection by medical and nursing staff. As Stower (2000) has argued, â€Å"Child protection is the term used by all agencies when there is a suspicion that a child or children (all or some of the children in a family) are at risk of being abused by any adult, family member or non-family member† (p 48). The 1989 Children’s Act was introduced to improve inter-agency cooperation between social services, health and education agencies in the provision of assessment and intervention with vulnerable children. One category of vulnerable children addressed by the legislation were children that have been subject to abuse. The central aim of the 1989 Children’s Act was to emphasis that the welfare of the child is of paramount importance at all times, and that professionals working with vulnerable families should promote cooperation and partnership where-ever possible. It afforded children the right to protection from abuse and the right to have inquiries made about their individual circumstances to safeguard them from harm. The Children’s Act 1989 raised the controversial issue of parental rights, patient confidentiality and a duty of health professionals to protect children and share information with appropriate other agencies with a view to protecting a child. In 1991, Working Together under the Children’s Act was published and it updated guidance on child protection, with an emphasis on different professional groups â€Å"working together† towards the interests of the child. This was replaced by Working Together to Safeguard Children in 1999. This policy document made it very clear that protecting the child was a higher priority than maintaining confidentiality. However, it recommended that parents should be informed when a professional was going to make a referral to social services, unless asking for permission from parents was likely to place the child ‘at risk’ of significant harm. The â€Å"Working Together To Safeguard Children† (WTSC) polic y was based on the legislative framework of the Children’s Act 1989. It outlined the specific roles and responsibilities of community nurses where child protection concerns had been experienced in their clinical practice. It stated that where child abuse was suspected by nursing staff, careful records of parental attitudes and behaviours should be made. This might include reference to the grounds for suspicion, such as a delay in seeking treatment for an injury, unexplained injuries on a child or variation in parental account of how an injury occurred over time, or between parents (Benger and Pearce, 2002). WTSC recommends a non-confrontational, information gathering approach to early investigations of child abuse by community nurses staff, with a strong emphasis on discussing concerns with the child’s GP, who may have detailed knowledge on the circumstances of the child and their family. Where there are concerns that the child maybe at â€Å"at risk of significant ha rm†, nursing and medical staff may contact the social services department to make an official referral. It is standard practice for the GP to make a child protection referral, but â€Å"when there are conflicting opinion, either by medical, managerial or senior colleagues, if the nurse is still convinced that there is a child protection issues, she or he is individually accountable and should refer it to social services† (p 51). However, under the current legislative framework, social services personnel may wish to contact the referral agency for further information on the child’s health and to undertake â€Å"network checks† with all the agencies involved. The GP or nurse maybe invited to an inter-agency strategy meeting attended by social services staff, the police and other relevant staff to discuss their child protection concerns and decide upon a plan of action. Furthermore, the GP or nurse maybe invited to a child protection conference that may lead to the decision to record the child on the Child Protection Register. The Child Protection Register is available to appointed child protection staff within health organisations, to check if a child is known to social services for reasons of emotional, sexual and/ or physical abuse, or neglect (WTSC, 1999). General guidelines on child protection are provided as part of the policy document. It is stated in section 1.13 that â€Å"For those chil dren who are suffering, or at risk of suffering significant harm, joint working is essential, to safeguard the child/ ren and where necessary – to help bring to justice the perpetrators of crimes against children† (p 3). It recommends that health professionals should be vigilant to the possibility of child abuse amongst patients and â€Å"be alert† to the potential risk that abusers â€Å"may pose to children†, and â€Å"share and help to analyse information as that an informed assessment can be made of the child’s needs and circumstances† (p 3). The WTSC policy stated that it was important that every organisation that came into contact with children had a child protection policy in place, but gave little guidance on what the child protection policy should be. It can be argued that the child protection policy should be revised regularly to take into consideration new developments within general practice, such as the introduction of electroni c patient record systems, or change of staff or clinical services. Changes to policy should be undertaken collaboratively between GP’s, nurses and administrative staff that have contact with children. The importance of health care systems in the protection of children has been made clear in recent years, and lead to legislative changes that are presently being implemented as part of the 2004 Children’s Bill. Victoria Climbie died in February 2000 as a result of severe and repeated physical abuse and neglect by her caregivers that amounted to 128 separate physical injuries being recorded at the time of her death. The appauling circumstances of her death trigged a public inquiry, led by Lord Laming (2003), who identified 12 opportunities by health, police and social services agencies to protect this eight year old girl from many months of brutal abuse and neglect. One source of criticism in the Climbie report was directed at the health care system, in particular Accident and Emergency departments, that had misdiagnosed her physical injuries of scratches and bruises as being the result of scabies in June 1999. Social services were not notified of any child abuse concerns by do ctors at this time. In July 1999, Victoria Climbie was readmitted to hospital for treatment of burns, but due to poor communication between health professionals, social services and the police no full assessment of the child was ever made (Hall, 2003). The Lord Laming report recommended that agencies work more closely together, with better training and interagency cooperation to prevent child abuse. As Hall (2003) argues, â€Å"Amid the justifiable horror at the death of Victoria Climbià © and the focus on violent physical abuse, we must not neglect the opportunities for prevention. This too is the responsibility of all who work with children, but in the health service it particularly falls on primary care staff, including midwives, health visitors, school nurses, and on those working with mentally ill adults and drug misusers† (p 294). Lord Lamings recommendations were reflected in the 2004 Children’s Bill that aims to set up a central electronic record for every chi ld in the country that would contain sensitive information on professionals who were involved with them. It is believed that such a system would make it easier for appropriate professionals to make ‘informed judgements’ about the safety of children, based on information gathered from other agencies with an interest in the child. However, the new legislation is controversial because of concerns about civil rights, and the Government are currently in consultation with local education authorities with a view to piloting the electronic record system. In the UK, four types of child abuse are currently recognised under the legislative framework. These can be classified as neglect, physical injury, emotional abuse and sexual abuse. Physical abuse and neglect maybe the most often encountered type of child protection problem in community practice, but it is easy to mistake physical abuse for accidental injury (Breslin and Evans, 2004). The estimated burden of physical child abuse in the UK population is 2.7 children per 1000 per year, according to the NSPCC (Breslin and Evans, 2004). This means that every general practice in the country could include a sizeable minority of families registered with them where physical child abuse is occurring at home. When children attending Accident and Emergency departments for treatment, it is standard practice to send a notification of attendance and reason for attendance to the GP. When medical staff have suspicion of child abuse, a careful examination of the medical records may show that a child has a history of injury. Shrivasta (1988) found that 22 out of 108 children (20.4%) had one or more admission to hospital for non-accidental injuries over the 5 year period of the study. Furthermore, Fryer and Miyoshi (1994) have shown that abused children are ‘at risk’ of being re-abused over a relatively short period of time. In their study, 69.2% of children that suffered from a reoccurrence of abuse, did so within 360 days of the prior abuse event. Furthermore, in their study 9.34% of children were re-abused in the four year period of the study, and the risk of multiple reoccurrences increased after every abuse event. Therefore, it is not possible for health professionals to discount evidence of child abuse as being a ‘one off’ episode that is unlikely to happen again, without a full investigation of the child’s needs. It is possible to check if a child is registered with social services on the Child Protection Register. However, this is a poor measure of risk because only the most serious cases of child abuse will ever be registered, and children rarely stay on the Child Protection Register for more than two years due to current social services policy. Greenfields and Statham (2004) have shown that the decision of health agencies to act on suspicious injuries is affected by knowledge of whether they are registered on the Child Protection Register or not and social/ circumstantial factors related to the child and their family, as opposed to the clinical characteristics of the case. Indeed, a third of child protection register custodians felt that health professionals gained a false sense of security from knowing a child was on the register, and did not intervene as much as where the child was not already known to social services. Research has shown that abused children who live with the perpetrator are sixteen times less likely to receive medical care for their injuries, as opposed to abused children where the perpetrator is not resident (Ezzell, Swenson and Faldowski, 1999). Furthermore, retrospective studies of adults reporting that they were abused as children are much higher than official statistics would suggest (Cawson et al, 2000). This suggests that a considerable degree of child abuse is ‘hidden from view’ and community nurses may be in a unique position to befriend families through the delivery of standard health care, such as immunisation, and be vigilant to child protection issues at this time. Furthermore, since research has shown that children at risk of abuse and neglect may not be registered with a GP (Taylor, 2004), the provision of general health checks such as the cervical smear clinic or diabetic annual review provide an opportunity for nurses to enquire after any children in the home that may not be registered at the practice. As the WTSC policy emphasises inter-agency partnership, it is possible for community nurses to contact duty social workers, health visitors and youth workers to facilitate information exchange about vulnerable young people in the area. This also provides an opportunity for information and training about the respective professional disciplines. Nurses in community settings have a potentially high level of contact with abused children and the opportunity to form ‘trusting relationships’ with children and families (Nayda, 2002). It is necessary to formulate general practice child protection policies that make best use of nursing expertise, and facilitate ‘working together’ ideals within practice between nurses, GP’s and other professionals as much as ‘working together’ with external organisations. This means that any child protection policy should include time at a weekly practice meeting where staff can exchange information about children thought to be ‘at risk’, and discuss best child protection practice. Opportunities for information exchange and inter-agency cooperation in child protection enquiries are particularly important since nurses, in one study, felt that other professionals were keen to ‘pass the buck’ rather than engaging in equal profession al consultation (Nayda, 2002). Furthermore, the nurses in this study suspected child abuse on a regular basis, but only reported it when there were no repercussions of reporting; â€Å"Their concerns were not only for the children and their families but also for themselves. One nurse stated that if her own safety was uncertain she would not report a situation where a child was at risk. However, most were concerned about the consequences of reporting for the family† (p 172). Furthermore, the decision to report about child abuse was partly informed by past experience of dealing with the child protection welfare system. As such, â€Å"some of the nurses did not report all cases of suspected abuse, knowing that reporting their suspicions did not necessarily result in action† (p 176). The nurses reported that they were reluctant to report families for child abuse because they felt it destroyed the relationship that they had developed with the families, and reporting child a buse was very much identified as a last resort when all other intervention options had failed. Through this study, it is clear that the ‘ideological’ values underpinning the WTSC policy may not be applied in practice due to difficulties contacting other professionals, and personal confidence and sense of security when making a decision about child protection. As Stower (1999) argues, there is some confusion amongst the nursing profession about their responsibilities under the Children’s Act 1989. The area of parental responsibility is not clearly defined in the legislation, and the term ‘at risk of significant harm’ is open to subjective interpretation. However, Stower (1999) suggests â€Å"This will depend on the degree of the type of abuse, the effect on the child and the circumstances surrounding the event. It must be remembered that single bruises in certain circumstances, for example, a disabled child or very young baby, could be significant an d should not be disregarded† (p 49) In conclusion, research has shown that child abuse is a common problem and one that nurses may encounter as part of their clinical practice. Research shows that community nurses are in a good position to build relationships with families, and to detect child abuse as part of their routine health screening duties. Furthermore, the new child protection policies insist that nurses report child protection concerns, and exchange information with other relevant agencies. However, in a Scottish study of training and supervision in child protection for nurses, it was observed that there was a lack of uniform availability of training opportunities; a situation aggravated by a professional resistance to clinical supervision by nurses who ‘avoided it like the plague’ and a resistance to child protection training that was perceived as not relevant to some nurses practice. â€Å"However, it is important to recognise that supervisors of these nurses may have little or no expertise in child protection issues, therefore the ability to access a specialist child protection worker in relation to specific pieces of work may be critical† (Lister and Crisp, 2005, p 67). Therefore, effective training and clinical supervision programmes, that meet nurses’ needs, may be central to their increased involvement in child protection screening and referral in general practice. References Benger J and Pearce A (2002) Quality improvement report: Simple intervention to improve detection of child abuse in emergency departments. BMJ 324, pp 780 – 782 Breslin R and Evans H (2004) Key child protection statistics. Retrived from: http://www.nspcc.org.uk/inform/Statistics/KeyCPstats/1.asp : 16th June 2005 Cawson P, Wattam C, Brooker S and Kelly G (2000) Child maltreatment in the United Kingdom (NSPCC, London) Department of Health (1999) Working Together to Safeguard Children (HMSO, London) Ezzell C, Swenson C, Faldowski R (1999) Child, family and case characteristics. Child and Family Studies 8.3 (pp 271- 284) Fluke J; Yuan Y; Edwards M (2005) Recurrence of maltreatment. Child Abuse Neglect 23.7 (pp 633 – 650) Greenfields M and Statham J (2004) The use of child protection registers (Thomas Coran Research Unit, Institute of Education) Hall D (2003) Child protection. BMJ 326: 293 – 294 Keshavarz R, Kawashima R and Low C (2002) Child abuse and neglect presentations to a pediatric emergency department. Journal of Emergency Medicine 23.4, pp 341-345 Lister P and Crisp B (2005) Clinical supervision in child protection for community nurses. Child Abuse Review 14, pp 57 – 72 Lord Laming (2003). Inquiry into the death of Victoria Climbià ©. London: Stationery Office, 2003. Retrieved from: www.victoria-climbie-inquiry.org.uk :18 June 2005 Nayda (2003) Influences on Registered Nurses’ decision making in cases of suspected child abuse. Child abuse review 11, pp 168 – 178 Prescott A, Bank L, Reid J, Knutson J, Burraston B and Eddy J (2000) The veridicality of punitive childhood experiences reported by adolescents and young adults. Child Abuse Neglect 24.3, pp 411-423 Shrivastava R (1988) Non-accidental injuries (Unpublished thesis at University of Liverpool) Stower S (2000) The principles and practice of child protection. Nursing Standard 14, pp 48 55 Taylor (2004) Integrating community child health and hospital information for communication and early warning (Royal Free Hospital Report, London) The Children’s Act 1989 http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts1989/Ukpga_19890041_en_1.htm