michael jordan :: essays research papers

Michael Jeffrey Jordan is the son of Deloris and James Jordan. He has three siblings, Ronald James, Deloris, and Larry. Mike was born on February 17th, 1963 in Brooklyn Hospital. He grew up in North Carolina. Before basketball Mike enjoyed playing the game of baseball. I chose him because I knew little about him, like he played with the Chicago Bulls and he got married and had a son. Before I didn’t know he got a divorce. He is currently playing with the Washington Wizards in his fifteenth season of basketball. He is the fourth player to score 30,000 points. Besides basketball, Michael Jordan opened his own school and training camps called Michael Jordan Flight School.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   One day Mike’s father made a full basketball court in their backyard where Larry and Michael always played there. He started playing around the age of eight. Every time the two brothers played it made Mike’s skills get better and made him into a better player. He wasn’t sure if basketball fitted his talents, so he went to baseball, football, and track. However, Mike found his love in the game of basketball. He wanted to work on his game to become a pro player so he skipped school to practice, but unfortunately he got suspended. His mother made him study all day. Mike never said an unkind word to anyone and was liked by everyone, even his teachers. When he needed help, he’d come after school to learn more. Some people would make fun of him in front of girls. In that way no one would marry him.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A basketball scout picked him in Division I. No one from his school had ever played in Division I. His experience gave him more confidence to play the game of basketball. He played for the University of North Carolina Tar Heels where he made both team and starting lineup. At age 20 Michael was 160 lbs., six foot six inches and could run the 40-yard dash in 4.3 seconds. His confidence and carelessness improved his game and made him into a great decision maker to lead in all areas of the game. He loss to St. John’s University, University of Missouri, and Tulane University in 1982-1983. The Sporting News named Michael Jordan College Player of the Year. Michael Jordan was drafted to the NBA by the Chicago Bulls in 1984 in the first round (third overall) to start his amazing career as a pro basketball player.

Caring for a Person With Dementia Essay example -- Dementia and Aggres

Introduction Dementia is an umbrella term used to explain the gradual decline in multiple areas of functions, which includes thinking, perception, communication, memory, languages, reasoning, and the ability to function (Harrison-Dening 2013). Worldwide, 47.5 million people have dementia and there are 7.7 million new cases every year. Alzheimer's disease is the most common cause of dementia and may contribute to 60–70% of cases. (Alzheimer's society 2014). The complexity of dementia presents a number of behavioural challenges to those who live with dementia and their care providers. Aggressive behaviour seems to be one of the most prevalent challenging behaviours in the different stages of dementia (Weitzel et al 2011). As acute care settings are not the best places for people afflicted with dementia , it is necessary to empower the hospitalised people with dementia and their family members. As nurses are often the central core of care, they should have the potential of positive long-term effect on the lives of people with dementia (Harrison-Dening 2013). Inadequate training, lack of specialised education, negative attitudes and poor practice development can precipitate a failure in the delivery of high-quality care for the hospitalised dementia people (Chater & Hughes 2012). Brain Activity Changes Dementia progressively affects almost all brain functions, including the control of motor function (Plosker & Gauthier 2009). The cell damage leads to tissue shrinkage and limited function in the brain's frontal and temporal lobes, which control emotions, planning, and reasoning, judgment, speaking, understanding and controlling movements (Narvid et al 2009). Consequently people with dementia may suffer the difficulty of solving p... ...rnal Of The Australasian Rehabilitation Nurses' Association (JARNA), 14(3), 8-12. McKay, A., O'Neil, M., & McMonigle, A. (2008). Managing challenging patient behaviors. Journal Of Continuing Education In Nursing, 39(9), 390-391 Plosker, G., & Gauthier, S. (2009). Cerebrolysin: a review of its use in dementia. Drugs & Aging, 26(11), 893-915 Narvid J, M. L. Gorno-Tempini , A. Slavotinek , S. J. DeArmond , Y. H. Cha , B. L. Miller & K.Rankin (2009) Of brain and bone: The unusual case of Dr. A, Neurocase: The Neural Basis of Cognition, 15:3, 190-205. Whall AL; Colling KB; Kolanowski A; Kim H; Hong GS; DeCicco B; Ronis DL; Richards KC; Algase D; Beck C; (2008)Factors associated with aggressive behavior among nursing home residents with dementia.Gerontologist, 2008 Dec; 48 (6): 721-31

Indian National Congress and Dear Fellow Indians

Today we celebrate the 65th Independence Day of our great Nation. On this joyous occasion I convey my greetings and good wishes to all the Indians living in this beautiful country and pray for their peace, progress and prosperity. On this auspicious day, 64 years ago, India attained freedom from colonial rule and the people of our country became the masters of their destiny. All in all, the past 64 years have been momentous.Despite serious challenges on varied fronts, including several attacks on the territorial integrity of India, we have been able to keep the flame of democracy burning bright. And, today, India is looked upon as the largest and most vibrant democracy in the world. In recent years India has been well known the world over for its achievements in several fields, particularly in the arena of Information Technology. The struggle for Indian independence began with the first war of Indian independence in 1857.Although not fully a success, this revolt sowed the seed for a new force, which was to take this struggle to its rightful end. As British oppression strengthened so did the urge to attain the freedom from it. This urge found voice in the form of many great leaders such as Subhash Chandra Bose, Lala Lajpat Rai, Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, Sukhdev, Khudiram Bose, Ram Prasad Bismil,Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel to name a few. These great patriots along with a lot unnamed freedom fighters sacrificed their lives for the cause of the nation.This dream of millions of Indians was realized when finally India got freedom on August 15, 1947. The joy of independence brought along with it the grief of partition! The country was divided into two parts – India and Pakistan. The greatest achievement of this country is that in spite of its vast diversity and a population of 1/6 of entire humanity, the country has continued to remain intact and strong even after over six decades of independence. Today the nation is all set to make a big come back, in spite of all its odds. It is a fact that the Indi.

Consumer & Industrial Buyer Behaviour Assignment

In consumer markets, segmentation typically entails statistically categorizing a large number of customers with similar needs into the same group so that they can be reached with similar marketing and advertising channels. By doing so, the marketer can then analyze the needs of the consumers and cater the products to better fit their needs. For the consumers, the decision process for making purchases begin with need recognition — they differentiate between their actual or desire states. Needs are the basic forces that motivate the person to do something. Some needs involve a person's physical well being; others the individual's self-view and relationship with others. Needs are more basic than wants. Wants are needs that are learned during the person's life. A successful marketer will be able to create the need amongst consumers and try to satisfy it. After the consumer become aware of their needs or wants, they will store them in their memory or go around searching for information on these needs. There are two kinds of searches: internal and external. Internal search is when the consumers search within their existing knowledge base, beliefs and attitudes. External search is when they seek information from neighbors, sales peoples or consumer reports etc. The consumer can obtain information from any of several sources: personal, commercial, public and experiential. Personal sources include family and friends. The personal sources are important for the person when making a buying decision. The marketer can use commercial sources such as advertising and point-of-sale marketing to reinforce the product awareness and increase the knowledge of the brand name. After gathering information from various sources, the consumer will then start to evaluate the different alternatives, weighing the pros against the cons. They rank the brands and form purchase intention. The purchase decision will result in the consumers buying the preferred brand and two factors can affect the purchase intention: attitudes of the others and unexpected situational factors. If you wants to buy product A, but your mother feels product B is cheaper while the quality of the two products is similar, it is very likely that you will end up buying product B instead. After purchasing the product, the consumer will be satisfied if they find that the product has met or exceeded their expectations. Re-purchases will likely occur, and consumers will probably introduce the product to their relatives and friends and become loyal customers of the brand. If, on the other hand, the reverse occurs, bad word-of-mouth will result and even consumers who have never tried the product will be hesitant to buy it. Societal values in the Body Shop It is critical that all aspects of the firm's marketing mix be consistent with the value system of its target market. Different groups will have different value systems and marketers must adjust their activities to the values of their target group. Marketers must also change their marketing mix as the value systems of their target groups evolve. Fortunately, values generally change slowly. Firms will have time to allow the practices to evolve if they monitor customer values. Firms can do that by conducting their own monitoring surveys or subscribe to one of the many commercial surveys. However, caution should be used in responding to popular press declarations of major value shifts. Nowadays, most of customers increasing concern for the environment. Marketers need to respond this approach by 1) producing products whose production, use or disposal is less harmful to the environment than the traditional versions of the product, 2) developing products that have a positive impact on the environment or 3) tying the purchase of a product to an environmental organization or event. Marketers need to be cautious when making environmental claims. Those most concerned with the environment are opinion leaders who are active shoppers. These people carefully evaluate advertising claims and are skeptical about them. As concern for the environment grew throughout the 1980s and into the 1990s, many firms began to improve their products and processes relative to the environment and to advertise those improvements. In recent years, most of the companies have included ethical objectives in their mission statement. The products and services provided by these companies acquire a special meaning to their customers, which is associated with the value chain. However, failure to live up to ethical objectives may attract criticism. One company that has been very successful establishing an environmentally friendly image is â€Å"The Body Shop.† The name â€Å"The Body Shop† creates a natural and ethic subculture to the customers, which is further reinforced by the use of green to decorate their retail shops. It gives a standardized message – The Body Shop sells natural products. Store image is composed of many different factors. Store features, coupled with such consumer characteristics as shopping orientation, help to predict which shopping outlets people will prefer. Some of the important dimensions of a store's profile are location; merchandise suitability and the knowledge and congeniality of the sales staff. The Body Shop started in Brighton on the South Coast of England by Anita Roddick with only twenty-five hand-mixed products on sale in 1976. At first, The Body Shop employed mostly friends and friends of friends and everybody viewed themselves as one big family. However, the organization rapidly expanded through a system of franchises and to gain a franchise the potential franchises are all screened to ensure that they have the same ethical beliefs as the founder. The Body Shop now operates around the world with almost one thousand four hundred shops. The Body Shop maintains a number of formal policies, guidelines and manuals that underpin the ideals expressed in the Mission Statement. The Body Shop ‘s mission statement as quoted in Values Report 1997 is that the company is unique in explicitly giving attention to social problems. They focus on social responsibility and naturally based quality personal care products. Their core principles are organized into five pillars: Defend human Rights; Protect Our Planet; Promote Community Trade; Activate Self-esteem and Against Animal Testing. These are core to their campaigning and community engagement programmes and are an integral part of their business philosophy and practice. The Body Shop is committed to doing business with integrity and transparency. This means using their principles to inform customers of the way they do business and setting their business partners and themselves clear standards of practice. It also involves engaging stakeholders with their business aims and reporting on their performance within the overall context of their business strategy. They focus are on being a world-class retailer, offering customers prestige products at value prices with excellent customer services. In United Kingdom, they have driven through a major initiative called ‘Inspiring the Customer' in order to improve service. Unlike other cosmetics companies, the Body Shop does not claim that their cosmetics will eliminate wrinkles, make you look years younger or thirty pounds slimmer and change one's life. The company promotes health and well-being instead of beauty. Instead, it used stories to promote products. In 1998, they introduce Ruby dolls- love your body. She is a fat lady like a real person and she does not look like conventional models. The whole campaign aimed to give a self-esteem message to the customers. The Body Shop's philosophy of promoting health and well-being and actually serves as a promotion device. They focus on naturalness and health is a kind of niche marketing strategy, which attracts a relatively small segment of the market. This niche market generated a pre-tax profit of GBP20.4 million in 2003. The Body Shop sells skin and hair care products from Vitamin E cream to Tea Tree Oil, from Banana Shampoo to Aloe Vera Lotion. All in all, The Body Shop's product range includes over 400 products and 400 accessories. There are special product lines for men, for expectant mothers and for babies. There are sun-tanning products perfume oils and a full range of accessories, including brushes, towels, household gloves and sponges. At the time of writing, it enhanced its skin care range with the launch of kinetin. The Body Shop also undertook a stance of being against animal testing and seeking to gain attention and business from the environmentalist market by recycling bottles and keeping wastage to a minimum. However, it is worth noting that The Body Shop originally introduced recycling plastic bottles as a cost reduction exercise. Due to falling customer demand, the company discontinued their long-running refill service in January 2003. However, by investing time and resources to introduce the recycled plastic programme they believe they will have a greater positive impact on the environment globally than their refill service could possibly offer. In November 1998, the United Kingdom government banned tests on cosmetic products and ingredients. There were also finished product test bans in the Netherlands and Germany. After two years, Europe banned cosmetics animal testing. It is an environment influence the customers chose their cosmetics. They will choose the anti-animal testing cosmetics. The Body Shop was the first international cosmetics retailer to be approved in the USA for its non-animal testing policy under a common Corporate Standard of Compassion for Animals. The Body Shop asserts a philosophy based on the exchange principle: a company that owes its success to society should do something in return. Hence, the company should take responsibility for society in several respects. Of course there is no real indication that social and environmental policies negatively impact The Body Shop's profits. Rather the company cultivates an ethical profile and its customers get the idea that in buying the products, they help people in the Third World or help save the environment. The company's Fair Trade policy includes buying ingredients and accessories from Third World countries, thus attempting to improve living conditions in poor areas. In 2001/2 The Body Shop purchased over GBP5 million worth of natural ingredients and accessory items through the Community Trade programme, including nearly 60 tonnes of natural ingredients. Now there are 37 suppliers ranging from Nicaraguan sesame farmers to Indian handicraft producers from 24 countries from Australia to Zambia. The sponsoring of Greenpeace in 1985 reinforced this approach. In addition to encouraging employee involvement in the local community, the Company also facilitates employees' personal donations to their selected charities through a give-as you-earn payroll scheme. Other initiatives include Charity Works, an on-site charity shop enabling employees at the United Kingdom head office and distribution center in Littlehampton to purchase products that are substandard or shop spoiled. This initiative allows for the disposal of non-saleable stock in an environmentally responsible way, while also bringing benefits to the local community and employees of The Body Shop. The use of environmental and ethical issues are used to appeal to those who have the same concerns as well as in gaining free publicity from local and national press. Marketing uses psychographics to identify those not only with the desire for more natural and high quality products, but those with the same beliefs and attitudes towards the products they buys. The increased awareness in environmentalism and concern over the way the planet is being treated has also created a fashion of environmental awareness, taking this appeal mainstream rather than remaining as a marginal target market. The good value and the simple packaging with clear labels were also more extensive than most common brands. For many products there is a decision making process, this takes place in the black box. Black box models treat the individual and his or her physiological and psychological make-up as an impenetrable black box. They are concerned with the external environmental influences on behavior and in the context of consumer behavior. The producer is affected by the actions of its competitors and the government; distributors are affected by the sales and marketing efforts of their suppliers and by the needs of consumers and finally consumers are affected by the marketing activities of producers and retailers and by the actions of the other consumers. This may be by the category-based evaluation or piecemeal processing. Category based decision making is a method of evaluating a product. The category based process will involve the consumer will make use of the existing knowledge or memories that they already have regarding the product. They may remember that a particular brand was associated with Fair Trade, or received a good review in a magazine. Advertising may play a large part in this but as the Body Shop philosophy is against advertising. Many of the consumers will have gone into the shop aware of the philosophy, this is usually through publicity surrounding Anita Roddick or by the notices that advertising the philosophy in the window such as trade not aid and supporting environmental issues. A piecemeal process is where the consumer takes into account the different characteristics of the different products. The consumer looking for a product may therefore look to see if it is scented, tested on animals, what the strength and type is described as and possibly even the usefulness of the jar after the product is used. In attracting the consumers into the store the category process may be used and inside the piecemeal process may be seen as determining what products are purchased. Conclusion The consumer decision produces an image of an individual carefully evaluating the attributes of asset of products, brands or services and rationally selecting the one that solves a clearly recognized need for the least cost. It has a rational, functional connotation. While consumers do make many decisions in this manner, many others involve little conscious effort. Furthermore, many consumer decisions focus not on brand or with the environment in which the product is purchase or used. Purchase cosmetics requires limited decision making. It involves internal and limited external search, few alternatives, simple decision rules on a few attributes and little post purchase evaluation The marketers of the Body Shop are helping consumers recognize problems. The approach is generic problem recognition to cause problem recognition. It creates the need for affiliation and for assertion. Affiliation is the need to develop mutually helpful and satisfying relationship with others. Group membership is a critical part of most consumers' lives and many consumer decisions are based on the need to maintain satisfying relationships with others. The need for assertion reflects a consumer's need for engaging in those types of activities that will bring about an increase in self-esteem as well as esteem in the eyes of others. The Body Shop has full range body products and they are natural and protect environment and has gained a first mover advantage in this market. The Body Shop believes that disclosure is an important tool in helping stakeholders to feel engaged in its business aims and approach. As importantly, it regards the discipline of preparing accounts and reviewing its performance in an objective way as a crucial management tool for developing the company's understanding of its current approach. The company aims to provide a current insight into the business to share its philosophy and aims and helps manage expectations around its ongoing performance. It will create the customer awareness and reinforce them to choose their products. The product is seen as ethically appealing with good quality ranges that appeal to a wide target market. The slightly high price of a high mid rate product is justified by the increased value that consumer places on the goods and the way that the consumer will also feel good about themselves. Promotion is the communication of the company values in some form. All these come together to form a successful company that has since been emulated by many larger leading companies, however they lack the credibility and as such fail in total emulation.

Marketing Trends Starbucks Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Marketing Trends Starbucks - Essay Example The market structure is not very complicated in the coffee segment as there are not that many reputed players in the coffee market. Unlike what we see in segments like in the mobile phone market, some of the well known competitors of Starbucks include McDonalds Corporation, Dunkin Brands, Inc. and Nestlà ©. Having a strong brand image and a loyal customer base certainly helps the company, but in order to ward off the threat from competing companies the company has always tried to be innovative in its approach and offerings. With presence1 in 43 countries outside US and 7,087 Company-operated stores, besides 4,081 licensed stores, the company is on a strong footing and looking after its business interests quite well. In addition the company takes good care of its workforce and appreciates the role of its diverse workforce in taking the company to such heights. The company has been recognized as amongst the ‘100 Best Companies to Work For’ by Fortune magazine. In fact the company has received such recognition consistently2 for many years now. Coffee or soft drinks are the items which almost every individual loves to have every now and then. But as far as eating and drinking habits are concerned, an individual loves to go for the taste which suits him or her. Therefore, for new entrants the main challenging task is not only to attract the customers towards their products and services, but to retain them as well. Therefore it will be preposterous to think that new companies entering into the fray will overnight start posing a serious threat to Starbucks. But in these times of globalization and liberalization one should not underestimate the emerging competition. For example if Apple Inc, known for computer hardware products, can create a serious threat to reputed mobile companies with the successful launch of iPhone, there could be companies offering coffee and

Performance Management and Human Resource Development Research Paper

Performance Management and Human Resource Development - Research Paper Example This paper tells that performance management served to be the answer because this system is specifically designed to drive profitable growth. Nevertheless, organizations encounter the problem that their daily activities are not associated with their strategy, initiatives, resources and risks; that is why they developed the strategy-related process known as performance appraisal. The main thrust of this paper is to explain what is meant by the term performance management and show the importance of performance appraisal scheme. Performance Management (PM) Performance management (PM) has no exact definition for it is emotive, â€Å"meaning different things to different people and dependent on which level in the organization they occupy† (Cattell, 2005, p.157). Likewise, several research studies with regard to the handling of employees are not consistent with their performance indicators because of diversity in individual needs and workplace expectations that differ from country t o country. This process is a systematic approach that is interested in motivating employees’ performance and productivity, monitoring, and assessment of performance through performance appraisal system. PM has two management fields that is focused on the progress and success toward goal achievement, and these are individual behaviour toward the organization and organizational strategies. The first aspect is all about organization as a whole, its performance and the performance of the top executives (managers and heads). The second aspect is the performance of individual system; they are the individual employees that worked for the achievement of organizational goals and objectives. These two aspects are distinct from each other in terms of the covered scope and resources. PM on employee’s level is really necessary to the company and this process would be effective if planning work and setting goals are consistent all throughout the execution. Through these, appraisal w ould be much clearer to the employees particularly on what aspects they will be evaluated, and the consequences behind the good and bad performance. Because of these consequences, coaching/feedback is given to the employees right after their evaluation. This is what Hackman and Oldham (2002, p.123) inculcated in their job design theory which â€Å"contends that a person’s intrinsic motivation is affected by his or her psychological state...† The only way to correct de-motivated behaviours of employees is to reward them intrinsically by giving them positive or negative feedback. However, there are instances that performance management is hard both to the managers and to the employees of the organization. Managers in their part, they tend to avoid PM process because they are afraid that their connection with their employees will be put to risk once they give feedback. Also, on the part of the employees, they felt embarrassed with the negative connotations from their mana gers especially if their performance did not meet with the expectation, and so their pay or advancement will be jeopardized (Chladek, 2006).  

Study of Factors and Approaches Influencing Implementation of ERP Essay

Study of Factors and Approaches Influencing Implementation of ERP Systems - Essay Example It is unclear from both the text and the table, what the source of these tables is. It is important to refer to, explain and even evaluate these tables in your text. | 7) In chapter 5, you must include a proper conclusion. Does your research answer the research questions you posed in chapter 1? Have you fulfilled your research objectives? Please be explicit in stating the extent to which you are satisfied with your work. It is okay to say that some elements did not work as you expected. If you were to do this research again, in what way would you do it differently? We are not looking for à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"rightà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ answers as we assess your work. We are looking for a critical, justified, evidenced, coherent evaluation of the research study and its process. Chung, B. (2007). An Analysis of Success and Failure Factors for ERP Systems in Engineering and Construction Firms. Retrieved December 19, 2010, from Digiral Repository of University of Maryland: http://drum.lib.umd.edu/bitstream/1903/7644/1/umi-umd-4917.pdf Srivastava, R. (2003). Learning from Failed ERP implementation or How to make em Successful. Retrieved December 19, 2010, from Apps to Fusion: