Contemporary strategy analysis Essay

2001-2011 was filled with many black swan events (i. e. events that are extremely rare, have a major impact and are unpredicted even if they are rationalised retrospectively) e. g. Sep 11 attack, Lehman Brother collapse, Greece/Iceland bailouts, Arab Spring revolutions, major earthquakes and tsunamis) Rise of BRIC countries creating a multipolar world 2. Sluggish Economic Growth + Increased Competition Economic growth in advanced economies sluggish throughout the medium term governments and household sectors are over-leveraged insufficient productive investment from companies sitting on cash excess capacity in most sectors -> resulting in strong price competition Internationalisation of companies from emerging-market countries e. g. contract manufacturers (OEM) in China and India competing with their customers in final markets. 3. Technology Disruption Digital technology disrupting incumbents (e. g. Netflix replacing Blockbuster) and redrawing industry barriers (e. g. Apple, Nokia, Nintendo, Blackberry now competing in same mobile device market) 4. Social Pressure and Crisis of Capitalism Loss of social legitimacy of companies as a result of a fall-out from the 2008/9 financial crisis – disdain for companies (hypocrisy + greed of bankers, traders, etc) and their leaders (e. g. Occupy Wall Street movement) Rise of alternative forms of business enterprise as better, more sustainable models over limited liability companies – e. g. state-owned firms (China, Brazil) and cooperatives (i. e. businesses mutually owned by consumers or employees). Challenge faced by companies of whether to unilaterally create/stick to its own values (which may become out of step) or reflect the current values and attitudes of society it operates within. Item 2: New Directions in Strategic Thinking 1. Re-orientate Corporate Objectives of Companies Reconcile the need for profit maximisation with a broader societal role (i. e. companies having greater social and environmental responsibilities) Move away from focusing on stock market valuation alone – Management should not focus on profits but what strategic factors that drive profits or create value e. g. customer satisfaction, innovation Best antidote to corporate empire building and CEO hubris is a stronger emphasis on basic principles of strategy analysis. 2. Seeking More Complex Sources of Competitive Advantage Competitive advantages in today’s dynamic world is difficult to sustain due to high rate of technology diffusion + increased competition from emerging market companies who are more cost-effective Developing multiple layers of competitive advantage is now required (e. g. as shown from companies that maintained profitability and market share for years (e. g. Toyota, Wal-Mart), combined with the ability to combine multiple capabilities. 3. Managing Options The portfolio of options of a company e. g. growth options, abandonment options, and flexibility options are increasingly important as sources of value. Therefore option thinking should be adopted into a firm’s strategy: e. g. industry attractiveness should not depend on profit potential, but option potential (e. g. an industry that produces a no of different products, comprises multiple segments, has many strategic groups, utilises a wide variety of alternative technologies) e. g. a resource is attractive if it can be deployed in different businesses and support alternative strategies (e. g. nanotechnology). Dynamic capabilities are important because they generate new options. 4. Understanding Strategic Fit Importance of fitting the strategy of the firm with the firm’s business environment and its resources and capabilities. 2 major concepts regarding linkages within companies: complementarity and complexity Complementarity: the importance of linkages among a firm’s management practices and finding the optimal configuration (e. g. a six-sigma quality program needs to be accompanied by changes in incentives, recruitment policies, product strategy, etc) Complexity: the idea that companies are complex systems whose behaviour results from interaction of a large number of independent agents. This results in unpredictability, self-organisation by a company and a company positioning between inertia, chaos, and evolutionary adaptation Common to both concepts is the contextuality of linkages: Do the benefits from any particular activity depend on which other activities take place? 2 dimensions of this contextuality: contextuality of activities (are management activities and their benefits dependent or independent of each other? ); contextuality of interactions (do activities interact in similar ways across firms) Item 3: Redesigning organisations The challenge of today’s business environment is reconciling multiple dilemmas (e. g. product at low cost, but also innovate), requiring multi-dexterity. Companies are now multi-dimensional structures with organisational capabilities for each business area e. g. quality management processes, social and environmental responsibility, knowledge management, innovation and exploration, etc. 1. Solution to Complexity – Making Organisations Informal, Self-Organising and Permeable Informal Organisation: Rely upon informal rather than formal structures and systems e.g. team-based structures which rely on coordination rather than control. Companies are moving towards project based organisations – temporary cross-functional teams charged with clear objectives (as opposed to permanent functions and continuous operations). Such teams are more able to achieve innovation, adaptability and rapid learning than more traditional structures and avoids issues of over-concentration of power and rigid, inflexible structures (e. g. W. L. Gore, supplier of Gore-Tex boots). This is an example of a consensus-based hierarchy, which emphasises horizontal communication, over an authority-based hierarchy, which emphasises vertical communication. Self-Organisation: Humans (and therefore, companies) have a capacity for self-organisation. Three factors are conductive for self-organisation: identity, information and relationships. Identity is a shared cognition of what the organisation is (what is core, distinctive, and enduring about the character of the company) and an emotional attachment towards what it represents. A strong consensus of identity provides a powerful basis for coordinated action that permits flexibility and responsibility to be reconciled with continuity and stability. Information and communication networks within companies support spontaneous patterns of complex coordination with little or no hierarchal direction Relationships, or informal social networks, allow information to be created and transformed and allows the organisation’s identity to expand and include more stakeholders. The more access people have to one another, the more possibilities there are. 2. Breaking Down Corporate Boundaries There are limits to the range of capabilities that companies can develop internally. Therefore, companies must collaborate in order to access the capabilities of other companies e. g. strategic alliances. Today’s web-based technologies permit much wider networks of collaboration (e. g. use of ICT technologies by P&G and IBM to draw upon ideas and expertise across the globe or the rise of open-source communities that build highly complex products such as Linux). Item 4: Changing Role of Managers The changing conditions and types of organisations require new approaches to management and leadership. Previous era of restructuring and shareholder focus associated with change masters (highly visible, individualistic and often hard-driving management styles e. g. Michael Eisner of Disney, Rupert Murdoch) â€Å"Buck-stop here† peak decision-making role of CEOs may no longer be feasible or desirable for the current era. Instead, it is the role of guiding organisational evolution that is more important nowadays (being a social architect by creating an environment where every employee has the chance to collaborate, innovate and excel). CEOs should be less concerned about decision-making and more concerned about cultivating identity and purpose. Senior managers also require different knowledge and skills nowadays – e. g. self-awareness, self -management, social awareness (empathy) and social skills – i. e. emotional intelligence. They should move away from being administrators and controllers and become entrepreneurs, coaches and team leaders instead. In particular, Rapid evolution requires a combination of both incremental improvement and stimulating radical change (e.g. Sam Palmisano at IBM) Establishing simple rules: the idea that companies can be managed by a few simple rules (boundary rules and â€Å"how-to† rules) with limited managerial direction otherwise (e. g. Cisco) Managing adaptive tension: Create a level of tension that optimises the pace of organisational change and innovation. This is done through imposing demanding performance targets, but ensuring targets are appropriate and ac hievable.

Air Water Soil Noise Pollution Essay

Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into an environment that causes instability, disorder, harm or discomfort to the ecosystem i. e. physical systems or living organisms. Pollution can take the form of chemical substances or energy, such as noise, heat, or light. Pollutants, the elements of pollution, can be foreign substances or energies, or naturally occurring; when naturally occurring, they are considered contaminants when they exceed natural levels. Pollution became a popular issue after World War II, due to radioactive fallout from atomic warfare and testing. Then a non-nuclear event, The Great Smog of 1952 in London, killed at least 4000 people. This prompted some of the first major modern environmental legislation, The Clean Air Act of 1956. Air pollution Air pollution is the introduction of chemicals, particulate matter, or biological materials that cause harm or discomfort to humans or other living organisms, or damages the natural environment into the atmosphere. The atmosphere is a complex dynamic natural gaseous system that is essential to support life on planet Earth. Stratospheric ozone depletion due to air pollution has long been recognized as a threat to human health as well as to the Earth’s ecosystems. Pollutants An air pollutant is known as a substance in the air that can cause harm to humans and the environment. Pollutants can be in the form of solid particles, liquid droplets, or gases. In addition, they may be natural or man-made. Pollutants can be classified as either primary or secondary. Usually, primary pollutants are substances directly emitted from a process, such as ash from a volcanic eruption, the carbon monoxide gas from a motor vehicle exhaust or sulfur dioxide released from factories. Secondary pollutants are not emitted directly. Rather, they form in the air when primary pollutants react or interact. An important example of a secondary pollutant is ground level ozone — one of the many secondary pollutants that make up photochemical smog. Major primary pollutants produced by human activity include: Sulfur oxides (SOx) – especially sulfur dioxide, a chemical compound with the formula SO2. SO2 is produced by volcanoes and in various industrial processes. Since coal and petroleum often contain sulfur compounds, their combustion generates sulfur dioxide. Further oxidation of SO2, usually in the presence of a catalyst such as NO2, forms H2SO4, and thus acid rain. [2] This is one of the causes for concern over the environmental impact of the use of these fuels as power sources. Nitrogen oxides (NOx) – especially nitrogen dioxide are emitted from high temperature combustion. Can be seen as the brown haze dome above or plume downwind of cities. Nitrogen dioxide is the chemical compound with the formula NO2. It is one of the several nitrogen oxides. This reddish-brown toxic gas has a characteristic sharp, biting odor. NO2 is one of the most prominent air pollutants. Carbon monoxide – is a colourless, odourless, non-irritating but very poisonous gas. It is a product by incomplete combustion of fuel such as natural gas, coal or wood. Vehicular exhaust is a major source of carbon monoxide. Carbon dioxide (CO2) – a greenhouse gas emitted from combustion but is also a gas vital to living organisms. It is a natural gas in the atmosphere. Odors — such as from garbage, sewage, and industrial processes Radioactive pollutants – produced by nuclear explosions, war explosives, and natural processes such as the radioactive decay of radon. Secondary pollutants include:  Particulate matter formed from gaseous primary pollutants and compounds in photochemical smog. Smog is a kind of air pollution; the word â€Å"smog† is a portmanteau of smoke and fog. Classic smog results from large amounts of coal burning in an area caused by a mixture of smoke and sulfur dioxide. Modern smog does not usually come from coal but from vehicular and industrial emissions that are acted on in the atmosphere by sunlight to form secondary pollutants that also combine with the primary emissions to form photochemical smog. Ground level ozone (O3) formed from NOx and VOCs. Ozone (O3) is a key constituent of the troposphere (it is also an important constituent of certain regions of the stratosphere commonly known as the Ozone layer). Photochemical and chemical reactions involving it drive many of the chemical processes that occur in the atmosphere by day and by night. At abnormally high concentrations brought about by human activities (largely the combustion of fossil fuel), it is a pollutant, and a constituent of smog. Peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN) – similarly formed from NOx and VOCs. Minor air pollutants include: A large number of minor hazardous air pollutants. Some of these are regulated in USA under the Clean Air Act and in Europe under the Air Framework Directive. A variety of persistent organic pollutants, which can attach to particulate matter. Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are organic compounds that are resistant to environmental degradation through chemical, biological, and photolytic processes. Because of this, they have been observed to persist in the environment, to be capable of long-range transport, bioaccumulate in human and animal tissue, biomagnify in food chains, and to have potential significant impacts on human health and the environment. Health effects of Air Pollution: The World Health Organization states that 2. 4 million people die each year from causes directly attributable to air pollution, with 1. 5 million of these deaths attributable to indoor air pollution. Worldwide more deaths per year are linked to air pollution than to automobile accidents. Direct causes of air pollution related deaths include aggravated asthma, bronchitis, emphysema, lung and heart diseases, and respiratory allergies. The worst short term civilian pollution crisis in India was the 1984 Bhopal Disaster. Leaked industrial vapors from the Union Carbide factory, belonging to Union Carbide, Inc. , U. S. A. , killed more than 2,000 people outright and injured anywhere from 150,000 to 600,000 others, some 6,000 of whom would later die from their injuries. The United Kingdom suffered its worst air pollution event when the December 4 Great Smog of 1952 formed over London. In six days more than 4,000 died, and 8,000 more died within the following months Water pollution Water pollution is the contamination of water bodies (e. g. lakes, rivers, oceans, groundwater). Water pollution affects plants and organisms living in these bodies of water; and, in almost all cases the effect is damaging not only to individual species and populations, but also to the natural biological communities. Water pollution occurs when pollutants are discharged directly or indirectly into water bodies without adequate treatment to remove harmful compounds. Causes of water pollution The specific contaminants leading to pollution in water include a wide spectrum of chemicals, pathogens, and physical or sensory changes such as elevated temperature and discoloration. While many of the chemicals and substances that are regulated may be naturally occurring (calcium, sodium, iron, manganese, etc. ) the concentration is often the key in determining what is a natural component of water, and what is a contaminant. Oxygen-depleting substances may be natural materials, such as plant matter (e. g. leaves and grass) as well as man-made chemicals. Other natural and anthropogenic substances may cause turbidity (cloudiness) which blocks light and disrupts plant growth, and clogs the gills of some fish species. Many of the chemical substances are toxic. Pathogens can produce waterborne diseases in either human or animal hosts. Effects of Water Pollution Water pollution is a major problem in the global context An estimated 700 million Indians have no access to a proper toilet, and 1,000 Indian children die of diarrheal sickness every day. Some 90% of China’s cities suffer from some degree of water pollution, and nearly 500 million people lack access to safe drinking water. Chemical and other contaminants Organic water pollutants include: Detergents Disinfection by-products found in chemically disinfected drinking water, such as chloroform Food processing waste, which can include oxygen-demanding substances, fats and grease Insecticides and herbicides, a huge range of organohalides and other chemical compounds Petroleum hydrocarbons, including fuels (gasoline, diesel fuel, jet fuels, and fuel oil) and lubricants (motor oil), and fuel combustion byproducts, from stormwater runoff[15] Tree and bush debris from logging operations Volatile organic compounds (VOCs), such as industrial solvents, from improper storage. Chlorinated solvents, which are dense non-aqueous phase liquids (DNAPLs), may fall to the bottom of reservoirs, since they don’t mix well with water and are denser. Various chemical compounds found in personal hygiene and cosmetic products Inorganic water pollutants include: Acidity caused by industrial discharges (especially sulfur dioxide from power plants) Ammonia from food processing waste Chemical waste as industrial by-products Fertilizers containing nutrients–nitrates and phosphates–which are found in stormwater runoff from agriculture, as well as commercial and residential use[15] Heavy metals from motor vehicles (via urban stormwater runoff)[15][16] and acid mine drainage Silt (sediment) in runoff from construction sites, logging, slash and burn practices or land clearing sites Land pollution Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Land pollution is the degradation of Earth’s land surfaces often caused by human activities and their misuse of land resources. It occurs when waste is not disposed properly. Health hazard disposal of urban and industrial wastes, exploitation of minerals, and improper use of soil by inadequate agricultural practices are a few factors. Urbanization and industrialization are major causes of land pollution. Increased mechanization The major increase in the concentration of population in cities, along with the internal combustion engine, led to the increased number of roads and all the infra structure that goes with them. Roads cause visual, noise, light, air and water pollution, in addition to land pollution. The visual and noise areas are obvious, however light pollution is becoming more widely recognized as a problem. From outer space, large cities can be picked out at night by the glow of their lighting, so city dwellers seldom experience total darkness. As the demand for food has grown very high, there is an increase in field size and mechanization. The increase in field size makes t economically viable for the farmer but results in loss of person and shelter for wildlife, as hedgerows and copses disappear. When crops are harvested, the naked soil is left open to wind after the heavy machinery has compacted it. Another consequence of more intensive agriculture is the move to monoculture. This is unnatural, it depletes the soil of nutrients, allows diseases and pests to spread and, in short, brings into play the use of chemical substances foreign to the environment. A pesticide is a substance or m ixture of substances used to kill a pest. A pesticide may be a chemical substance, biological agent (such as a virus or bacteria), antimicrobial, disinfectant or device used against any pest. Pests include insects, plant pathogens, weeds, mollusks, birds, mammals, fish, nematodes (roundworms) and microbes that compete with humans for food, destroy property, spread or are a vector for disease or cause a nuisance. Although there are benefits to the use of pesticides, there are also drawbacks, such as potential toxicity to humans and other organisms. Pesticides are used to control organisms which are considered harmful. For example, they are used to kill mosquitoes that can transmit many potentially deadly diseases like west Nile virus, yellow fever, and malaria disease. They can also kill bees, wasps or ants that can cause allergic reactions. Insecticides can protect animals from illnesses that can be caused by parasites such as fleas. Pesticides can prevent sickness in humans that could be caused by moldy food or diseased produce. Mining Modern mining projects leave behind disrupted communities, damages landscapes, and polluted water. Mining also affects ground and surface waters, the aquatic life, vegetation, soils, animals, and the human health. Acid mine drainage can cause damage to streams which in return can kill aquatic life. The vast variety of toxic chemicals released by mining activities can harm animals and aquatic life as well as their habitat. The average mine disturbs over a thousand acres of land. Construction See the bodies of water. doing this, natural water filters are damaged. Natural water filters help break down many pollutants before they reach other water bodies. Some that may run off with water and sediments from construction sites are oils, debris, and paint. This can cause damage to soil, aquatic life, and promote hazardous chemicals to get into drinking water. Effects A large percentage of material that is dumped into waters not only destroys habitats for animals but for humans as well. Below is a list of some impacts of land pollution. There are some habitats, where aquatic animals feed and live, so there is a risk of destruction of habitat of aquatic animals. Reduced oxygen levels from decomposition of organic material dumped from drains. Reduced light penetration in the water column, from sediments and excessive algal growth, leading to oxygen depleted water. *Massively changed flow regimes, large fast flows can scour existing habitat and wash species downstream. Increased human health risks, from syringes, broken glass and cans washing onto creek banks and beaches. Reduced aesthetic appeal of areas from litter strewn on banks and beaches, thus reducing recreation and tourist appeal. Acid rain damages trees and other plants.

Analysis of Chakushin Ari Film Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Analysis of Chakushin Ari Film - Essay Example Supernaturalism, monsters, cults, mad scientist, old castles, graveyards, and uncharted islands are some of the features of a horror film. Films not dealing with those particulars are to be classified as something else. The test of a film should be the film itself not the broad terms used to describe it. When a film is judged in terms of its photography, direction, acting or in terms of its relevance contemporary nature of its contents, the horror film is worse than the ordinary drama or comedy. Scholars have asserted that the aforementioned features are not the only measures to categorize a horror movie. Arguably, the external appearance of films can fail to indicate the right direction hence necessary to incorporate emotional factors. Ignoring the emotions in the horror film may easily make one to point in the wrong direction. A film gains popularity if it can provoke emotions of the viewers and therefore, the more the provocative emotions in a film the more quality it becomes, as in the case of â€Å"Chakushin Ari†Ã¢â‚¬  film. In this context, horror films are more provocative than others making the genre become famous hence gaining more viewers.Any filmmaker should turn a script or a concept into a series of sounds and images that express the essence and the surface of the source. Making a successful horror film, the filmmaker should decide the primary of the production of horror. Why, for instance, a film like â€Å"Chakushin Ari† is labeled a work of horror and not a murder thriller or a detective? Anyone who has ever watched this film would admit that it inspires dread and fear and therefore deserves the name horror film. The structure of horror film â€Å"Chakushin Ari† is an example of films that employ much the same devices and method, as does the horror film. The form in which the film is presented and the content within the same film determine if they a contain a feature of horror films. Therefore, from the features, it is possible to verdict if such a film is an exclusive work of horror. The films of this genre are not just a sequence of events but also unity of a certain kind of actions. Horror, like comedy, drama, or suspense

Leadership of Richard Branson Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Leadership of Richard Branson - Assignment Example Actually, most likely, the Virgin Group may be the only brand globally that transcends such a big range of services and products. The important feature to note is that the Virgin brand with its assorted businesses has grown to be stronger on embracing diversification instead of being diluted. In fact, Virgin is referred to as the inexpensive, innovative, cool option to the rest of the key players. At present, more than just a businessperson who is a successful, Branson is the symbolic leader especially for startup entrepreneurs. Branson’s cheeky attitude, innovative methods as well as multi-colored advertising concepts aimed at attracting the masses, makes him stand out like a corporate champion with popularity akin to that of a super star. Although, Branson has experienced failures numerous times, his endeavors, to overcome them have grabbed the attention of people at all times. From such events as those pertaining his pitfalls and success while establishing his brand, a lot can be learnt about his leadership style. Although other entrepreneurs might get entangled in corporate wrangles, Branson takes his challenges in business as a campaign. Branson takes pride in himself by challenging big companies to provide his customers better value for their money. For example, the moment Virgin ventured the market, people already were feeling that they were not being treated fairly and his offerings of better value placed Virgin steadfastly on the side of customers. Thus, whereas some entrepreneurs may look at the strength of market players and think otherwise, Branson is a firm believer in taking on the main players and succeeding. In addition, the unconventional attitude and informal style of Branson has made him famous with his attraction to the hippie movement, especially of the 60s, basically shows his affinity for being in sync with the mood of the times. In fact, this is amongst

Three Impressionist works of art Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Three Impressionist works of art - Assignment Example This type of art used light by outlining its changing effects with time and movement. They used short strokes which were thick in painting with mixing of colors emphasizing the natural light. Impressionists founding members included Edgar Degas, Eduardo Manet, Camille Pissarro and Claude Monet among others (Dumas, 1999). Introduction Painting was the main impressionist work in Paris, France to which we are going to base our arts in three main artists (Herbert 1988). These include Clande Monet’s art on Impression, a woman with a parasol (1872), Edouard Manet’s on Olympia (1863-1865) oil in canvas and Edgar Degas on the glass of Absinthe (1876) oil in canvas. These artists can be seen as the founders of impressionism and there arts contributed a lot to the spread of impression across Europe. Their arts are among the first impressionism in the world to which they were then adopted by other artists like Giuseppe De Nittis who was an Italian, James Abbott McNeill Whistler wh o was an American among others showing how it spread across Europe (Stuart, 1993). They majorly used nature in portraying information to the people in which in this context we can see the luxury impact on women which was negative view of them as they portrayed negative behaviors on women. Similarities All of the artists are the main founders of impression. They are all believed to have contributed to the emergence as they all united during the opposing moments in showing their different types of arts. The arts are also seen to convey the message of luxury also indicating that there main objective in this type of art is to portray the culture or rather the nature of individuals in that period of time (Thomson, 2000). The three arts are seen to have portrayed the social life during that period. From Edgar’s art we are able to see the cafe with a glass of wine indicating the living standards in Paris. The glass has a drink probably alcohol which was majorly used by people of the middle and upper class status (Stuart, 1993). Edouard’s art on Olympia shows prostitute with necklace and a bracelet on the bed a servant standing next to her. Her head is on the white comfy pillow with the tucked beddings which was mainly seen in the next France by middle and upper class women. In Claude’s art on the Impression, sunrise, we can see the movement of people using a boat which is at dawn the sun portraying the upper-class (Dumas, 1999). The style used by the three artists relied on light and movement. They both use light colors to portray the brighter side and dark colors showcasing the dark side. Movement is also seen as a style used as it showed movement as we can see from Claude Monet’s art which we see a lady with an umbrella. The arts also used the technique of short strokes in painting as this was the main method used in the Impression with the mixing of colors which blended to give the outlook. They avoided the use of dark colors and mainly relied on light and vibrant colors to capture the changing effect of sunlight (Thomson, 2000). In these three types of arts we are able to see that they both tried to convey the message on the culture of the People in France during that period that is luxury. From the visual perspective, Edgar Degas’s art clearly shows how a lady who looks royal and a gentleman with a glass of Absinthe in a cafe indicating their lifestyle during leisure. The lady

Proposal report Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Proposal report - Assignment Example In the modern society where internet has revolutionized the way of conducting communication among individuals, groups and departmental units, web based internal administration system bears a special relevance. This system allows managers to manage projects effectively, thereby ensuring that operational efficiency is achieved with minimal errors. Thus, this research proposal is about one such web based internal administration system and its associated characteristics, which will enable the manager of a construction company to conduct all its business processes very effectively. The construction industry throughout the world is splintered due to involvement of many stakeholders and phases in a construction project (Yi and Hwang, 2003). As a result of this fragmentation, construction companies have faced number of well documented problems with information processing and communication (Maurer, et al., 2000; Thorpe and Mead, 2001). In addition to that, fragmentation has also been largely responsible for creation of adversarial relationships between parties involved in a particular project (Alshawi and Ingirige, 2003). This fragmentation has been widely believed as the cause of low productivity in construction companies (Dossick and Sakagami, 2008). With the advent of information technology, modern and innovative information technology tools are being increasingly used by construction companies in order to minimize certain problems associated with fragmentation (Lee and Yu, 2012). The utilization of information technology in the form of web based project management applications has resulted in improvement of collaboration and coordination between companies participating actively in a construction project (Han, et al., 2008). Consequently, the communication practices between functional units in the construction organization are

Point Helper Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Point Helper - Assignment Example governments bailout. Daniel Akerson, Chairman and Chief Executive of GM, spoke to his shareholders regarding the current position of his company. He stated that â€Å"GM has gone from almost being history to making history† (Terlep). A new GM has been created after bringing about numerous changes in his company. The new GM has gone on to become the largest IPO ever in a span of 18 months. The progress has happened through review of design, engineering and manufacturing footprints, reducing complexities and eliminating costs (Terlep). A new senior management team had been recruited and more talented people from within and outside had been employed to build new business models. Some analysts have predicted that GM will have a market growth of more than 12MM units from 2010 to 2015, and GM has become the market share leader in the BRIC countries (Terlep). They have successfully invested $3.4B in U.S and thereby generated 9000 new jobs since its bankruptcy. They have further announced an additional $2B in U.S. facility investment which will support 28000 other jobs (Terlep). â€Å"GM has great potential to deliver profitable growth around the world as the recovery continues,† said Dan Ammann, senior vice president and CFO of GM to the shareholders (Terlep).Thus we see that GM has rebuilt itself out of the ashes like a phoenix by creating a strong customer demand for its new fuel efficient vehicles and a competitive cost structure which has leveraged their strong brands in the market and increase their profits year by

How World Wide Web and Internet Affected Globalization Essay

How World Wide Web and Internet Affected Globalization - Essay Example Social networking has also made the world small and accessible to most individuals, regardless of their location, age, and economic status. The cost of internet connections has become cheap, allowing most individuals, regardless of economic status, to use the internet. In effect, the internet has made it easy for social, economic, and political interactions to be carried out among people from most parts of the globe. In other words, the internet has expanded the extent of globalization. This paper will discuss and critically evaluate the extent to which the World Wide Web and the internet have affected globalisation. This discussion shall start with an overview of globalization and the internet use. A critical discussion on the impact of the internet on globalisation shall follow. Finally, concluding remarks shall end and summarise the discussion. Globalisation and the Internet Overview Globalisation refers to the process of making a phenomenon, activity, or product worldwide in scop e or utilization (Milward, 2003, p. 14). Generally, globalisation is also considered the process of incorporating the world closely with each other in terms of its economics, politics, and culture. The World Wide Web and the internet, on the other hand, basically refer to the interconnected global networks of computers where documents, images, messages, and similar information are transmitted electronically to each other (Bidgoli, 2004, p. 264). The internet is in many ways a tool for globalisation, expediting the process of globalisation and allowing it to reach a bigger population at a faster and more efficient pace. In effect, the internet has significantly impacted on globalisation, allowing for a more comprehensive process of globalisation to be implemented in most parts of the globe. Critical Evaluation Computers and the internet support globalization by providing major changes in the processes of communication, making geographical considerations superfluous elements in establ ishing collaborations and business interactions with other countries and other nationalities (Adam, et.al., 1997, p. 115). Globalized computer technology has also allowed new technologies and social organizations which impact on the effectiveness of businesses and the improvement of lives of ordinary individuals. The impact of globalization, however, is based on people’s understanding of globalization, including its social and economic aspects. Globalization can be seen at the international and national level; infrastructure is also usually established nationally as people often use their telecommunication structures within their countries (Adam, et.al., 1997, p. 116). These structures are crucial to the internationalization processes of globalization and other elements and issues which refer to the international operations of globalized infrastructures. Globalization is made possible by various commercial processes and incentives in the improvement of efficiency; it is also driven by the need to improve the quality of lives of individuals. The internet is a major element of current globalization practices because the internet allows for a wide and open marketplace for information, goods, and services (Adam, et.al., 1997, p. 117). With the advantages of the internet, the globalized marketplace has now made possible the establishment of electronic analogues in financial practices. The internet combines researches and related technologies from various fields and

Educational Systems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Educational Systems - Essay Example This paper stresses that various citizens in the UK have lost their trust in the educational system of the UK and have criticized the learning system incorporated by the academic institutes as well as the government. Strong evidence has emerged which raises doubts over the quality of the educational as well as learning system in the UK and highlights the need for improvement from the government. The author approves that lack of consistent learning and development has lead citizens to complain over the downgraded academic standards of the UK. Even employers have found difficulty in being able to find people who don’t possess basic skills which can be beneficial for employment which include problem solving, numeracy, time management etc. Due to this reason, employers either have to invest on the improvement of their employees or have to hire candidates from abroad. This report makes a conclusion that learning styles may also depend on various factors such as age, demography, gender etc and there is a sudden change in learning style when one gets old and gains relatively more experience. Learning styles do play a critical role in the educational system of a region and due to this reason, intervention and constant intervention of the government authorities is highly critical in this regard. The state regulations of UK do depict the fact that learning styles and education system are related to each other. For this reason, it is extremely crucial to incorporate different learning styles into the educational system of a region.

Hepatitis A Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Hepatitis A - Essay Example The most effective method to prevent the disease is the use of vaccination (Hall, William and Clarke, 34-36). The symptoms for the disease are clearly visible within two to six weeks of the entrance of the virus in the human body. In some children the symptoms may not be even visible. The symptoms usually last for less than 2 months and can persist for almost half a year. The symptoms usually include high fever, nausea, and loss of appetite, pain in the abdomen, jaundice, head ache, and other such symptoms. These mentioned symptoms are common to many other diseases as well and therefore in the initial stages it is usually diagnosed as some other disease and when the infection prolongs then it is correctly diagnosed. The virus which causes hepatitis A is present in the blood stream and therefore it affects liver the most. Hepatitis A is a serious disease and can even result in death. Liver is one of the most important organs of the body and its proper functioning is extremely necessary for the proper and healthy working of the body and as hepatitis A has a direct impact on the liver and its failure may even result in death. For the diagnosis of hepatitis A several blood tests are carried out and the entire medical history of the patient is observed so as to prevent from any wrong conclusions because it is a highly misdiagnosed disease. Several tests are carried out to test the liver conditions and x-rays and ultrasounds are carried out to properly examine the liver and make proper conclusions (Atlanta, Ga.: U.S. Dept. of Health, Education, and Welfare, Public Health Service, 45-70). There is no proper treatment for the cure of hepatitis A. the only treatment is that the surrounding conditions of the patient are made extremely clean and hygienic and efforts are made to eliminate germs as much as possible. The diet of the patient is made healthy and highly nutritious and fatty products are completely eliminated and it is made sure

Student Satisfaction in Pakistani Universities Essay Example for Free

Student Satisfaction in Pakistani Universities Essay A Study on Student Satisfaction in Pakistani Universities: The Case of Bahauddin Zakariya University, Pakistan Muhammad Nauman Abbasi Lecturer, Institute of Management Sciences Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, Pakistan E-mail: [emailprotected] edu. pk Ali Malik Senior Lecturer, Department of Accounting, Finance Economic University of Hertfordshire Business School, United Kingdom E-mail: m. a. 1. [emailprotected] ac. uk Imran Sharif Chaudhry (Corresponding author) Associate professor, Department of Economics Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, Pakistan E-mail: [emailprotected] edu. pk Muhammad Imdadullah Department of Statistics Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, Pakistan Received: October 19, 2010 Abstract This study measures the level of student satisfaction with current services offered by Pakistani universities. The exploration and comparison of possible differences in terms of level of satisfaction across gender and various programs/disciplines formulate key objectives. General survey guided by well structured questionnaire through connivance sampling has been administered across a valuable sample of 401 students. Bahauddin Zakariya University (BZU) has been selected as sample case and data was collected from eighteen different disciplines and/or programs. Ten major constructs i. e. teaching, administrative/management support, transportation, library, computer labs general labs, accommodation, medical; sports, prayer/religious facilities, and class room facilities were used. Mean analysis reflect student dissatisfied with many core services facilities like teaching, administrative support, library, labs, accommodation, medical, and sports, while satisfaction has been reported only in three augmented areas like transportation, class room and prayer facilities. Quite interestingly, no significant differences of opinion have been recorded among male or female respondents. Overall, satisfaction level is alarming low and results indicate dissatisfaction of university students on educational services offered by Pakistani universities. Keywords: Students’  satisfaction, Higher education, University services 1. Introduction The aim of this paper is to determine satisfaction level of the students studying in Pakistani universities. As a matter of fact, student satisfaction has never been considered as an issue of importance by educational authorities nor regarded as a matter of survival by higher education institutions. This is evident form the fact that the impact of educational services provided by a university on the satisfaction level of its students has largely been an area Accepted: February 12, 2011 doi:10. 5539/ass. v7n7p209 Published by Canadian Center of Science and Education 209 www. ccsenet. org/ass Asian Social Science Vol. 7, No. 7; July 2011 that remains unexplored. Higher education institutions especially universities are like practice grounds where students learn and acquire all necessary skills and abilities that potential employers out there in job market sought. To ensure that this is the case, universities tend to bundle their offerings which includes; i). core services i. e. knowledge, intellectual abilities, interpersonal skills, and communication skills, ii). actual services i. e. degrees like undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate through regular teaching and research, and iii). augmented services including infrastructure i. e. building, transportation/logistics facilities, libraries, labs, computer labs, hostel/boarding facilities, medical, sports, and class room facilities coupled with administrative support. It can be convincingly argued that student satisfaction with tangible and intangible offering at universities is vital for them to acquire those skills and abilities that can satisfy needs of those next in the chain i.e. employers and society. In Pakistan, higher education institutions are under immense pressure since the establishment of Higher Education Commission (HEC). The HEC initiated reforms in 2002 providing universities with necessary resources like unlimited access of digital libraries, high speed internet and incredible range of local and international research scholarships programs. These reforms have changed the educational climate of the country while technology has helped to improve the range of teaching and learning tools. On one side the Commission is facilitating higher education institutions, and on the other side working for the enhancement of quality of education in the country. This double edge sword i. e. higher education expansion and high quality of higher education has spurred a drive to improve and enhance quality standards. Resultantly, this has created a distinct â€Å"sphere of opportunities†, simulated among students, teachers and the market. The authors are of the view that this sphere of opportunities, if follows the principle of quality, will leads to educational revolution in the country. In Pakistan, there are 124 universities of which 68 (55%) are in public sector, whereas 56 (45%) are in private sector. The total enrolment in the universities is 741,092 of which 637,037 (86%) is in public sector, whereas, 104,055 (14%) is in private sector. The total male enrolment in the universities is 398,967 (54%), whereas, the female enrolment is 342,125 (46%). The total teachers in the universities are 46,893, out of which 38,266 (82%) are in public and 8,627 (18%) are in private sector (Statistics, 2007-2008). Observing the facts, considerable students i. e. 741,092 have been enrolled during the academic year 2007-2008. The question underlying in this study is whether Pakistani students are satisfied with the academic, administrative, and logistics support provided by their respective higher education institution. To measure personal satisfaction of the university students, this study has been initiated to empirically measure the phenomenon taking Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan (BZU) as case. 2. Literature Review Kotler et al. (2009, p.120) define satisfaction as ‘a person’s feeling of pleasure that result from comparing a product’s perceived performance (or outcome) to their expectation’. It means if the performance matches the expectation, the customer will be satisfied. In the context of higher education, the matter of satisfaction is what students expect from their educational institution, in fact, everything that makes them eligible to become productive and successful person in their practical lives. Reid (2008) has classified few basic characteristics that employers normally seek from university graduate. These include knowledge, intellectual abilities, ability to work in modern organizations, interpersonal skills, and communication skills (Reid, 2008). In addition, there are other invisible characteristics required by the market and that include: willingness to learn, be participative and positive to work in teams, problem solving skills, analytical abilities, leadership qualities, adaptability, flexibility, ability to summarize key issues, and last but not least the ability to be productive and loyal team/organizational member. The attainment of these skills and abilities is what parents expect when they decide to send their children for higher education in universities. The question under consideration here is if university graduates are provided necessary facilities that make their experience conducive and attainment of necessary skills and abilities possible. This is crucial not only to students’ individual success but the success of economy of the country on the whole as well. In this regard, Umbach and Porter (2002) argued that institutional impact on the students’ outcome is still unknown, and if anything is known, that is somewhat contradictory. Moreover, it is worth mentioning that different academic disciplines vary in term of their application of practical problems, cognitive processes, faculty time commitment and scholarly output. Hence, it is quite difficult to conclude institutional impact on students’ outcome. However, among the earlier researchers, Cameron and Ettington (1988) and Hartnett and Centra (1977) measured the impact of departmental culture and climate on students’ leaning and satisfaction. Much of the current knowledge on student satisfaction can be traced from studies during a period of unrest in the late 1960s and early 1970s (Betz et al.1970; Pervin, 1967). Interestingly, the focus of these early studies was the 210 ISSN 1911-2017 E-ISSN 1911-2025 www. ccsenet. org/ass Asian Social Science Vol. 7, No. 7; July 2011 level of satisfaction as opposed to cause of satisfaction (see for example, Bean and Bradley, 1986). In literature, there exists an interesting debate suggesting that students’ expectation build prior to enrolment in a college or university, while satisfaction exists during his/her stay in college or university. For example, Palacio et al. (2002) suggest that student expectation normally build even before entering the university. The image of an institution affects students’ mindset that in turn affects their decision to enroll in that particular institution that later on directly affects students’ satisfaction with the institution. However, Carey et al. (2002) stressed that satisfaction actually covers issues of students’ perception and experiences during their academic years. This has been supported by Kara (2004) who employed empirical data and conceptual model to prove that students’ college experience is positively related to their satisfaction and intentions to stay at college or university. Earlier, Keaveney and Clifford (1997) have presented students satisfaction and retention model. According to this model, faculty, advising staff and class room facilities normally shape student practical college experience and therefore considered key satisfaction and retention components. Researchers have also measured students’ satisfaction in context of many tangible and intangible elements and characteristics. For example, Feldman and Newcomb (1969) and Pascarella and Terenzini (1991) have explored relationship between student learning experiences and their learning, development and satisfaction. Pike (1994) and Pace (1979) have suggested alumni satisfaction as an excellent tool for assessing the effects of educational institution on students. Based on the studies of Pascarella and Terenzini (1991) and Umbach and Porter (2002), it is stated that intellectual and personal developments are among key satisfaction outcomes of educational institutions. Moreover, they found variables like faculty contact with students, research emphasis, and proportion of female students had significant impact on student satisfaction. Ewell (1989) has observed negative correlation between institutional culture and its impact on student performance. The contradiction exits in literature regarding relationship between grades and students satisfaction. Authors like Liu and Jung (1980) and Pike (1991) have observed moderate relationship, while Bean and Bradley (1986) found no relationship at all. However, Centra and Rock (1983) and Lavin (1965) observed significant relationship between grades and student satisfaction. On the other hand, limited attempts have been made to measure impact of gender, ethnicity, race, religion, and migrations from one educational institution to another, on student satisfaction. However, existing evidence reports less satisfaction among female students as compared to male students (for example, Rienzi et al. 1993). Numerous studies have addressed the issue of service quality and student satisfaction. For example, Fitri et al. (2008) have observed service quality dimension i. e. tangibility, responsiveness, reliability, assurance, and empathy as positive contributors towards student satisfaction. Some other authors like Bigne et al. (2003), Ham and Hayduk (2003) and Elliot and Shin (2002) have reported significant relationship between service quality i. e. service reliability, responsiveness, empathy, assurance, tangibility etc and satisfaction in higher education settings. Spreng and Mackoy (1996) reported that perceived service quality is an antecedent to satisfaction. Faculty continues to be the most significant influence on student experience and satisfaction in universities. In this regard, universities have adopted student evaluation of teaching effectiveness to enhance student satisfaction. Student evaluation of teaching (SET) is among the most frequently used performance measurement instruments used by higher education institutions across the world (Pounder, 2007; Stratton, 1990). Student evaluation of teaching (SET) questionnaire is a control device used to measure teaching effectiveness as stated by concerned students (Crumbley et al. 2001). Historically, a number of studies confirmed that student teaching evaluation has provided reasonably valid multidimensional measures (Holtfreter, 1991; Marsh Roche, 1997; McKeachie, 1987). The main aim of the SET is to measure the teaching performance/effectiveness of faculties at a university. Moreover, this technique is used in educational institutions to assess the capabilities and competencies of academic staff and as a result, assessment score depicts that on what basis students perceive their teachers in their minds that directly affects their satisfaction. In context of Pakistan, majority of the studies have focused on the ways to improve the quality of higher education, unfortunately, no significant study has probed the issue of student satisfaction. For example, Hanif et al. (2008) examine the use of balance scorecard to enhance accountability and performance in higher education institutions concluding that long-term vision through consistent performance evaluation is the key to enhance performance in higher education. Reid (2008), while making comparison between higher education in Scotland and Pakistan, highlighted industry as a source of evaluation parallel to internal evaluation system. Moreover, he suggested an increase in the number of PhD qualified teachers throughout the country. Owais and Akber (2008) commented how to improve research/PhD education in the country. Aurangzeb (2008) presented a work integrated learning model for students. The Model suggests the role of three key educational players i. e. students, higher education institutions, and industry to improve education and student satisfaction in the country. Hafeez Published by Canadian Center of Science and Education 211 www. ccsenet. org/ass Asian Social Science Vol. 7, No. 7; July 2011 and Fatima (2008) have highlighted the importance of strategic partnership between universities and industry. They have presented a conceptual model with the focus to transform the kind and level of collaboration between universities and industry. Nasira et al. (2008) have presented comprehensive debate on the importance of international ranking and its impact on student mindset while selecting a college or university for higher education. They have suggested that college or university ranking should not be the only criteria to select any institution for higher education rather student must gather necessary other information before making final selection. From the existing literature, it is evident that there is a need to administer a systematic research to measure the important issue of student satisfaction in Pakistani universities. From literature, three different constructs i. e. teaching, administration/management, and support augmented facilities have been used as major variables to measure student satisfaction in this study. 3. Research Methodology As stated above, this study aims to measure student satisfaction in Pakistani universities. Bahauddin Zakariya University (BZU) in Multan has been selected as a sample case because the university is a public sector university and is currently offering a wide range of programmes of studies under various faculties at postgraduate and undergraduate levels. University has significant population (on board students) from neighboring countries as well. Six major faculties are playing pioneering role in spreading education across the country and act as catalysts for socio-economic development of the country. The faculties are: Faculty of Arts Social Sciences, Faculty of Islamic Studies Languages, Faculty of Commerce, Law Business Administration, Faculty of Science Agriculture, Faculty of Pharmacy, and Faculty of Engineering. Hence, the university was selected as sample case and data was collected from current students enrolled in eighteen different disciplines and/or programs representing both postgraduate and undergraduate levels. First construct under observation was ‘teaching’ that is considered a core activity at higher education institutions. Nineteen different variables were used to measure student satisfaction of this construct. The variables under observation were; teachers communication, lecture delivery skills (qualitative subjects), lecture delivery skills (quantitative subjects), research activities, nature of class assignments and tasks, examination and grading (quantitative subjects), examination and grading (qualitative subjects), examination procedures, teacher’s attitudes towards class, teacher’s respect for class, extra consultation, extra reading material, feedback on assignments, permanent senior teachers, permanent junior teachers, permanent male teachers, permanent female teachers, visiting male teachers, visiting female teachers. Second construct under observation was ‘administrative support’. In addition to teaching, administrative activities are necessary to facilitate the process of developing necessary skills and providing exposure to students in accordance with market demand. The administrative construct has been operationalize through eight different variables that were; behavior of head of department and programme  coordinators, behavior of clerical staff, administrative support of head of department and programme coordinators, administrative support of clerical staff, extracurricular activities, banking facilities, restaurant facilities at the campus, and prayer facilities. Third construct under observation was ‘augmented facilities’ and variables used to measure this were; transportation and logistics facilities, library, computer labs, general labs, student accommodation facilities, medical facilities, sport facilities, and class room facilities. All these concepts have been further probed through different variables like transportation and logistics has been measured through, availability of buses, route timings, and behavior of the drivers conductors. Satisfaction from library facility has been measured through seven different variables including availability of core text books, availability of supporting books, availability of research journals, availability of newspaper magazines, library timings, facilities at central library, behavior of the library staff. Next facility computer labs were measured through variables like availability of enough computers, internet availability and speed, behavior of lab attendants, computer labs timings, and availability of e-journals. Similarly, availability of required equipments, behavior of lab attendants, and lab timings were used to measure the satisfaction of the concerned students. To measure students satisfaction about hostel and boarding, four different variables were used, which are; availability condition of rooms, mess and dining, behavior of hostel staff, and overall study environment. In addition, medical facility was measured through different variables which are; availability of doctors, availability of medicines, availability of ambulances, and availability of emergency staff and medicines. Next concept sports facilities were measured through four different variables which are; availability of sports grounds, coaching facilities, availability of sports equipments and sport development opportunities. Last augmented facility under 212 ISSN 1911-2017 E-ISSN 1911-2025 www. ccsenet. org/ass Asian Social Science. Vol. 7, No. 7; July 2011 observation was class room facilities, which have been measured through variables i. e. class size, class timings, availability of multimedia, air conditions, and furniture fixture. All variables were measured on Likert Scale of 1 to 4 where: 1 = extremely satisfied; 2 = satisfied; 3 = dissatisfied, and 4 = extremely dissatisfied. High value of Cronbach’s Alpha (0. 92) reflects high reliability of instrument. Table – 1, presents response rate as per programs/disciplines and gender. High response variations have been recorded across different faculties and programmes of studies. A total of four hundred and eighteen (418) responses were collected, however, seventeen (i. e. 4. 1%) were discarded because respondents have neither mentioned gender nor their programme of studies, therefore, the final sample size turns out to be four hundred and one (401). Of four hundred and one, 191 (45. 7%) respondents were male, while 210 were female i. e. 50. 2%. On the other hand, 218 (52. 2%) respondents were studying for undergraduate degree, while 183 (43.8%) were studying for postgraduate degree. Based on literature synthesis, well structured questionnaire have been formulated to know the satisfaction level of student studying in different programs at different levels. Undergraduate and postgraduate students currently enrolled in any semester of forty different departments were considered as unit of analysis. To make it a systematic process, researchers tried to manage an enrollment list (a sample frame) in all programmes of studies of all concerned departments. However, in some instances administrative staff refused to provide the list of students due to confidentiality issues. Resultantly, questionnaires get filled through non probability connivance sampling. Data have been collected from students enrolled during session Fall-2009. 4. Results Discussion The primary aim of this study was to measure student satisfaction in Pakistani Universities. The three construct used to do so were teaching, administrative support and augmented facilities. The first  construct applied was ‘teaching’ that is obviously a core activity in any education institution. Nineteen different variables were used to measure student satisfaction about teaching and related activities (please see section 3 of Table – 2, for detail). With the exception of few variables, overall mean values of the variables regarding this construct reflected student dissatisfaction of existing teaching methods and techniques. Mean values of different variables enhancing university student satisfaction are; teachers communication (mean value of 2.34), lecture delivery skills of qualitative subjects (mean value of 2. 48), examination procedures (mean value of 2. 50), teachers attitudes towards class (mean value of 2. 49), teachers respect for class (mean value of 2. 30). It is observed that several key areas need keen attention of faculty members, head of the departments, deans and vice chancellor. The areas are; lecture delivery skills of quantitative subjects (mean value of 3. 20), provision of feedback on assignments (mean value of 2. 59), number of permanent (full time) senior teachers (mean value of 2. 59), number of permanent (full time) junior teachers (mean value of 2. 57), research activities (mean value of 2. 96), nature of class assignments tasks (mean value of 3. 05), examination and grading of qualitative subjects (mean value of 2. 90), extra reading material (mean value of 3. 04), examination and grading of quantitative subjects (mean value of 2. 77), extra consultation time by teachers (mean value of 2. 74), permanent (full time) male teachers (mean value of 2.87), permanent (full time) female teachers (mean value of 2. 95), visiting (part time) male teachers (mean value of 2. 96), visiting (part time) female teachers (mean value of 3. 04). Results of mean analysis clearly reflect that students are largely dissatisfied with their teachers’ communication skills (language used for lecture). Moreover, to probe the satisfaction level of the university students with lecture delivery skill of their teachers, questions were included as per classification of curriculum i. e. quantitative qualitative courses. Students have unanimously declared that they are dissatisfied with the delivery skills of teachers of quantitative courses as compared to qualitative ones. Perhaps, this reflects positive attitude of Pakistani students towards qualitative subjects as compared to quantitative subjects; however, there is a need to improve delivery skills of teachers of quantitative courses. Moreover, as there is no visible difference of opinion among male and female students studying either at undergraduate or postgraduate levels, the results strengthen the above discussion. In addition, lesser satisfaction about research activities has been reported by undergraduate students as compared to postgraduate students, which validates the fact that strong research activities are normally required and conducted at higher level in Pakistani universities. However, mean analysis depicts that students are dissatisfied with the nature of research carried out in different disciplines. This situation is quite alarming for higher education authorities, particularly Higher Education Commission (HEC) who is striving for quality research in Pakistani universities. Quite interestingly, high dissatisfaction was reported by male respondents regarding nature of class assignments, supporting the view that teachers (in Pakistani universities) normally give easier tasks and assignments to female students which is gender discrimination by the teachers. Similarly, postgraduate Published by Canadian Center of Science and Education 213 www. ccsenet. org/ass Asian Social Science Vol. 7, No. 7; July 2011 students are more dissatisfied with the nature of assignments as compared to undergraduate ones. Perhaps, this dissatisfaction is because of the fact that students failed to recognize visible differences in term of nature and quality of assignments they had performed during their undergraduate studies from the one they are doing during their postgraduate studies. Overall results regarding research activities invite serious attention of Higher Education Commission of Pakistan in general and management of the BZU University in particular. Lesser dissatisfaction with grading marking of quantitative courses as compared to qualitative ones endorses natural response and perhaps mature attitude of students. However, overall dissatisfaction on grading and marking reflects distrust on the assessment style of university teachers. On the other hand, satisfactory mean score on examination procedure reflects valuable trust on new measures taken by universities to enhance examination standards. In these variables, no visible difference of opinion has been reported among male and female students. The trust on examination procedure while distrust on grading marking reflects university commitment to enhance education standards while provoke serious thinking to do on the paper and coursework marking style of teachers. Next, the mean scores depict positive attitude of the teachers towards their classes. However, allocation of appropriate time for consultation has been reported as a dissatisfactory variable. The results are in fact conceivable, because of large population of students in Pakistani universities making it difficult to academic staff to allocate equal additional support for all students causing dissatisfaction at individual levels. Finally, it can be observed from the results that overall students are dissatisfied with academic faculties irrespective they are senior or junior, male or female and permanent or visiting. Similarly, dissatisfaction is quite high in respect of visiting faculty members which indicates distrust on pathetic recruitment policy of university. It is recommended that authorities must hire permanent teachers of high caliber with excellent academic competencies rather than relying on contract or visiting teaching staff. In this regard, new recruitment policy from Higher Education Commission (HEC) can bring about a positive change provided it is implemented with true spirit and monitored consistently. Moreover, if highly required, respective Deans and Head of the Department must ensure to hire highly qualified and experienced visiting teachers. A clear policy needs to be chalked out and implemented in this respect. Here it is worth mentioning that the sample case i. e. Bahauddin Zakariya university is situated in Southern Punjab. In this part of the country hiring high caliber, self-motivated and highly qualified individuals has always remained a challenging job for university management. This region is largely remote and most of the qualified individuals prefer living and working in metropolitan cities of Pakistan like Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi. Secondly, BZU is a public sector university and can’t offer competitive salaries and financial incentives. Moreover, lack of motivation to work in a university, biased behavior of university management, extra work load without remuneration and limited training and personal development opportunities are among the key reasons restricting the entry of competent individuals in education sector. In addition to these, university is distantly located from city centre making it inconvenient for visiting faculty members to come all the way for few hours work and hence low level of interest is recorded. Moreover, university does not have an incentive plan in policy in place to attract high quality professionals to come to university. Second construct under observation were the ‘administrative support’. Individual mean analysis depicts that there some fundamental facilities are in place and are currently responsible for overall student satisfaction. These are; prayer facilities available at campus (mean value of 2. 18) and facilitation by university management for extracurricular activities (mean value of 2. 41). For these variables, no significant difference of opinion has been recorded among male and female students, as well as at level of studies i. e. undergraduate or postgraduate. It is quite interesting that branches of two well-reputed national banks are operative at campus, still surprisingly; students have reported dissatisfaction with the current banking facilities. On the other hand, behavior of the Chairman of department and Programme Coordinators (mean value of 2. 83), administrative support of Chairman and Coordinators (mean value of 3. 00), administrative support of clerical staff (mean value of 3. 27), overall mess and dinning facilities available at campus (mean value of 2. 76) are emerged as critical factors. In this regard, female students in particular have reported higher level of dissatisfaction with behavior and dealing of clerical staff which is astonishing as well as quite alarming. Results require immediate attention of university authorities and concrete steps need to be taken to improve the behavior of the administrative staff. It is also recommended that the relevant authorities must take proper measures to enhance the overall level of administrative support. Third construct under observation was ‘augmented facilities’ which was measured using following variables; transportation logistics facilities, library, computer labs, labs, hostel/boarding facilities, medical facilities, sport facilities, and class room facilities. Transportation Logistics facility have been measured through factors 214 ISSN 1911-2017 E-ISSN 1911-2025 www. ccsenet. org/ass Asian Social Science Vol. 7, No. 7; July 2011 like availability of buses (mean value of 2. 50), route timings (mean value of 2. 25), and behavior of the drivers conductors on buses (mean value of 2. 88). Overall mean values regarding transportation facilities reflect student satisfaction with the available transportation facilities offered by university. It is significant to note that the behavior of bus drivers conductors are somewhat problematic to student satisfaction. In this regard, male students seem to be more dissatisfied with the behavior of bus staff as compared to female students.

The E-Health Consumer

The E-Health Consumer Wilkins (1999, p. 30) summarizes the E-health consumer when he states that: In this new era of consumerism in health care, consumers are going to take ownership of in-formation about themselves and demand value in exchange for it, such as better clinical out-comes and better service. The concept of the information-empowered consumer is growing rapidly, and the days in which only certain â€Å"qualified† medical professionals create and dis-seminate medical information are receding. Consumers seeking information about health-related information have more options today than they had in the past .Available technology provides consumers with more outlets to seek information with a sense of empowerment. . The internet is a source of easy and quick access to information including health information. The internet has reinvented the way consumers search for information and has influenced decision making process especially in the health care industry. In general, health care-related information seekers can be motivated in several ways. (Williams et al. (2003) highlights that people might be searching for information as a healthcare professional, as a consumer trying to diagnosis his illness or as a patient to complement information from a doctor or for general interest browsing. Several studies indicate that the search for health information online is increasing (Ahmann, 2000; Wilkins, 1999; Natesan, 2005). Consumers are accessing health-related web sites in growing numbers and finding information that were once protected. Larson et al. (2004) however claims that co online information search is perceived as being more risky than other channels of information by consumers (Larson et al., 2004). Moreover Tan-Torres ( 2000) points out that the inconsistency in the quality of e-health information is a matter of concern as there is an increasing number of websites which offer a large variety of information. Therefore the consumer should be sceptical about all web sites, they should look for code of conduct labels or other quality labels that may communicate whether a site is reputable and should remember to communicate with doctors or medical professionals openly about web site usage as a means of obtaining health care information. 2.08 â€Å"Will you adopt online procurement of Medication?† – Role of cognitive factors Consumers’ self-awareness underlies their rational planning of future purchase behaviours relative to perceived consequences. The application of socio-cognitive factors to consumers’ proclivity toward (or aversion to) Internet exchange processes is evidenced across a host of effects applications in the social sciences literature. In addition to cognitive and personality variables that have been explored as predictors of online behaviour such as neuroticism, locus of control, shyness, extroversion, and risk-aversion(Amichai-Hamburger Ben-Artzi, 2000;AmichaiHamburger,Wainapel, Fox, 2002; Chak Leung, 2004; Gupta, Su, Walter, 2004) , there are other important cognitive factors, such as self-efficacy and objectivism, that influence consumers’ pharmaceutical procurement decisions via the Internet. 2.8.1 Impact of Self –Regulation on the procurement of medication online. Self-regulation is considered as an internal control mechanism that regulates individuals’ behaviours (Bandura, 1986). Social cognitive theory posits that these internal control mechanisms influence both attitudes and behaviours. Higgins (1998) suggested that individuals with a promotion focus are more motivated by the benefits that will accrue to them by taking actions, whereas people who are prevention focused will place more importance on safety. Promotion focused individuals use â€Å"eager strategies,† whereas those with prevention focus prefer â€Å"vigilant strategies† (Crowe Higgins, 1997). Online shopping has been associated with the prevention focus in individuals because of the security concerns and inherent risks (Miyazaki Fernandez, 2001; Fennis, Kerkhof, van Noort, 2006; van Noort, Kerkhof, Fennis, 2007). Moreover, Higgins (1998) stated that while self-regulation is not an inherent individual difference factor, it may still manifest differences across individuals. Online shopping has been associated with the prevention focus in individuals because of the security concerns and inherent risks (Miyazaki Fernandez, 2001; Fennis, Kerkhof, van Noort, 2006; van Noort, Kerkhof, Fennis, 2007). However in the case of shopping pharmaceuticals online it might not be similar. In the case of purchasing medications online from illegitimate Web pharmacies, consumers are voluntarily engaging in several potentially risk-laden decisions such as fear associated with online acquisition, uncertainty related to suppliers’ integrity and product quality and the qualms linked to self–initiated rather than physician mediated health care decisions. Online shopping is often associated with convenience, but this may not be the principal consideration in the case of self-initiated purchase of medication from online pharmacies. The predominant motivating factors in online pharmaceutical procurement are cost reduction for medications and obtaining medications that are not easily accessible through brick-and-mortar retail pharmacy channels. Thus, it may be speculated that consumers are acting with a promotion focus rather than a prevention focus. According to regulatory focus theory (Higgins, 1998; Crowe Higgins, 1997; Zhou Pham, 2004), promotion focus is associated with the willingness to engage in risk-laden behaviours for specific goal attainment. 2.8.2 Health Value its impact on online Procurement of medication. Health value has often been investigated as a moderator as well as an antecedent of health-related behavior (Jayanti Burns, 1998; Ugland, 1989; Tapler, 1996; Lau, Hartman, Ware, 1986). It is an individual’s assessment of the value of engaging in health-related behavior (Jayanti Burns, 1998). According to Rotter (1954), people who believe concurrently that they have control over their health and that they value their health are more likely to engage in health related behaviour than their contemporaries who do not. Higgins (2002) points out that promotion-focused decision maker will consider promotion relevant value dimensions as more important, and vice versa in the case of prevention-focused decision makers. This means that the promotion-relevant aspects such as staying healthy will be considered in the decision to purchase from online pharmacies by promotion-focused consumers. On the other hand, prevention-focused consumers are more likely to focus on the negative aspects of the action (e.g., counterfeit drugs, reactions with other medications, lack of support of a doctor). 2.8.3 Self Efficacy its impact on online procurement of medication Self-efficacy has been found to be a consistent predictor of health behaviour by many researchers (Tapler, 1996; Janz Becker, 1984; Strecher et al., 1986; Block Keller, 1997; Jayanti Burns, 1998). However, its application has been limited to specific health conditions or diseases, and it has rarely been applied to a field such as online procurement of medications. An individual’s promotion focus has been related to the higher self-efficacy associated with health behaviours by previous researchers (e.g., Keller, 2006).This means that consumers high in self-efficacy are willing to engage even in risky and new alternatives to achieve their objectives (Keller, 2006; Crowe Higgins, 1997).Thus, with reference to regulatory focus theory, one can argue that self-efficacious individuals will have a higher propensity to procure medications from online pharmacies as compared to the prevention-focused, low-self-efficacy group. Further, it has been argued that self-efficacy beliefs influence consumers’ choice behaviours (Bandura, 1986; Litt, 1988; Bagozzi, 1993), especially in challenging situations. These situations that call for self-driven coping may compel consumers to find ways and means to cope with the challenge, encouraging them to take actions that may even be perceived to be more risky. Rising costs and difficulties involved in procuring many medications through traditional channels of distribution present today’s health care consumers with such challenging situations. Online procurement of medication is seen by consumers as a self-driven coping strategy aimed at cost containment and waiting-time reduction (for doctors’ prescriptions) (Erdem Chandra, 2003). However, safety, ethical, and legal concerns associated with the online procurement of medications suggests that a consumer with low self-efficacy may be less willing to purchase medications online compared to those posses sing high levels of self-efficacy 2.8.4 Health Locus of Control its impact on the procurement of online medication. Health locus of control refers to the perception of controllability in health-related situations. Since perceived control has been found to influence behaviour (Skinner, 1996; Sprott, Brumbaugh, Miyazaki, 2001), it is important to understand how health locus of control would influence consumer behaviour related to procuring medications online (i.e., channel choice). Wallston, Wallston, and DeVellis (1978) conceptualized it as a three dimensional construct consisting of internal, powerful others, and chance dimensions. These three dimensions are distinguished from each other based on who the person ascribes the responsibility for his/her health to. If he/she believes that his/her own actions dictate his/her health, the person is considered to have a high internal health locus of control. Similarly, the person who believes his/her health to be dependent on a powerful other, such as a physician, will be high in powerful others health locus of control. The belief that health results by chance is categorized as chance health locus of control. Rotter (1975) stated that the three dimensions of health locus of control can be categorized based on their internal or external orientations. According to Rotter (1975), the three dimensions of health locus of control can be categorized based on their internal or external orientations. The categorizations of individuals into internals and externals is based on whether they perceive that the results (of their behaviours) are dependent on themselves (internal locus of control) or outside their control (external locus of control) (Rotter,1966; Strickland, 1978; Norman Bennett, 1996; Armitage, 2003; Wallston, Wallston, DeVellis, 1978). According to Rajasree and Lou E.( 2009) online procurement of medications, due to its inherent risk content, may be a health behaviour that is likely to be avoided by consumers with external locus of control (i.e., powerful others health locus of control and chance health locus of control). If a person believes in the ability of a powerful other (e.g., his physician) to deal with the problem (illness), she/he is likely to rely on the physician’s advice rather than procure medications online by her/himself. Similarly, consumers with high chance health locus of control are less likely to try their luck by buying from unknown sources. Health locus of control is just a domain specific form of control. Therefore, it can be speculated that consumers high in internal health locus of control will seek to buy online, as it gives them more control over their purchases. These control factors include cost savings, expansive product choice, and even additional medication accessibility. In accord with regulatory focus theory, consumers with internal locus of control (i.e., promotion-focused individuals) are willing to take risks and try new options to achieve their goals of obtaining medication that will alleviate their problems. 2.8.5 Objectivism its impact on the procurement of online medication According to Leary et al. (1986), objectivism is the â€Å"tendency to base one’s judgments and beliefs on empirical information and rational considerations† (p. 36). Individuals who are objective in nature will place more emphasis on information obtained from empirical supports during decision making. Regulatory focus theory suggests that prevention-focused individuals are more concerned with security, safety, and protection in general (Higgins, 1998; Higgins Spiegel, 2004). Pham and Avnet (2004) assert that promotion-focused individuals rely more on affective information rather than objective information. Thus, it can also be argued that since objectivism is more associated with prevention focus rather than promotion focus, objective consumers may stay away from online procurement of drugs. 2.8.6 Gender, Income, Educational Status and Insurance Status impact on online medication procurement Many studies have identified the gender differences that exist in health care consumption behaviors (e.g., Conner Norman, 1996; Stelmach et al., 2004; Green Pope, 1999). These studies find women to be more proactive in seeking health care services and to be more involved in health-related behaviors. On the other hand, online shopping literature finds men to have a greater propensity to shop online than women (Otnes McGrath, 2001; Shim, Eastlick, Lotz, 2000; Briones, 1998; Rajamma Neeley, 2005). Garbarino and Strahilevitz (2004) stated that one reason for this difference could be the higher perception of risk associated with buying online among women Very few studies have examined the influence of income, educational status, or insurance status on the consumer’s propensity to procure medications online. One of the motivating factors for any consumer in procuring medications online is the lower cost. The conclusion from this argument is that lower-income consumers may prefer procuring medications online than their higher-income counterparts. However, it is to be noted here that the lower income consumers may not always have Internet access (Jump for Web Prescription Sales, 2004) and may not have the knowledge or familiarity with the different technologies involved to be successful Internet shoppers. Rajasree and Lou E. (2009) stated that in spite of the hypothesized differences across consumers with respect to their propensity to procure medications online based on income and level of education, no differences are expected based on consumers’ insurance coverage. Low-income consumers are less likely to have insurance coverage than higher income consumers. Consumers without insurance coverage are likely to abstain from buying medications from brick-and-mortar or Internet-based pharmacies as far as they can help it, since they have to pay for it anyway. On the other hand, consumers with insurance coverage are likely to be indifferent to where they buy the medications, as their insurance covers the cost.

The Johari Window Theory Philosophy Essay

The Johari Window Theory Philosophy Essay For the first window which is open self, DeVito claims that people know something about us and we also already know about oueselves. For instance, the basic details about ourselves liked our age, name, the color of hair, sex, attitudes, feelings, motivation, political and religion. When we meeting a new friend, we would tell him the basic about ourselves such as our name, where we live and where we were from. The open self will be more widen when the people we interact with can make us feel comfortable and closed to us. The relationship with our parents and best friends can be one of the examples. Communication becomes worse if our open self getting smaller. It means that if we are too secretive to others, it is difficult to communicate and we are surely having social interaction problems. It is a good thing if we have a large open self. Being an open self person, others used to be more comfy with us and it is a very good point to students to have a large open self as working in groups is common between students. By practicing the open self more in future, we can simply accept others views and perceptions about us whether it is negative or positive. The people who have a large open self will get more powerful position in negotiation and the percentage to be exploited is less. (Straker, 2012) The second window, the blind self, is the opposite window to the open self. In this window, DeVito (1994) argued that people usually know certain things about us that we do not know about it. It can be related to some information about us such as the way we defense ourselves or fight strategies. In example, we tend to play with our fingers when we getting nervous or we choose to keep in silence when we get angry with someone. Some people who have a very outsized blind self seems to ignore their own faults. Some people say that they know everything about themselves and saying that they can surely eliminate the blind self window. We can never get rid of the blind area yet it always there. Nevertheless, the communication will be difficult with it existence. We have a tendency to be people who do not even care about what the others think about us if we have a large blind self. We do hide certain things about ourselves but only in a small count. People around us tend to labeled us as harmless person because they know certain things that we do not realize it liked our weakness points. If it is happen, people can easily take advantage of our naivety. Sometimes we can be aggressive which will cause to disliked and feared. For instance, we may have a smelly mouth or we may have a bad odor body that makes people stay a distance from us. People will not tell us about these because it will cause misunderstood or misconception in a relationship. And yes, it is difficult to make a truly confession about the blind self window. (Straker, 2012) The third window is hidden self. Mostly, DeVito (2011) said that this window representing some information that you know but the others do not know about it. This part contains every secret that you successfully kept from other people. In this area, there are two types of groups which are the over disclosers and the under disclosers. The over disclosers do not mind to share all their secrets about themselves or others. They will let us know about their family history, dark sides, bank card passwords and everything else. While the opposites side, the under disclosers, they keep everything hidden. They will not tell anything about them in every conversation they have made even though with someone who is closed to. By having a large size of the third window, people may say that we tend to appeared distance and secretive to others. Just like the second window, we tend to speak out less about us if we are in the under discloser group. We may be a person who not easily trusts people in a short period. We do take time to build a trust. While having a conversation, we may pay less attention to others because we are too afraid if we may slip our tongue when we speaking. Our introversion is the main cause that has led us to retreat the world with suspicion and awareness. It is a different thing when we go to the second group, the over discloser. This group may be labeled as a group of people who not a good person in keeping secrets. They have no doubt to tell the others about our past, our dark side and many things that we should keep it. Because of it, it will make people hardly to put a high expectation in keeping secrets. (Straker, 2012) The last spot of the Johari Window theory that DeVito (2011) had mentioned is the unknown self which is no one know about the self neither ourselves nor others identify it. It hidden in our subconscious or by some means is we would escape notice on it that may remain an unrevealed. It can be discovered by hypnosis, various projective tests or dreams. The discovery also can be done through honest and emphatic relationship. Our interaction with family, friends and lovers can be used as examples as they are the most trusted person in our life and they trust us back. It is an efficient method to gain insight. People may think we are mysterious person if we are having a great size of the unknown self. We may be looked like a lonely and friendless person but we are not a shy person. The hidden things may consist of both good and bad things that not possible to discovered it if this window go through the other window, the open self, the blind self or the hidden self window. (Straker, 2012) Associated with Johari Window, DeVito (2011) conclude that each individuals window will be vary as one self grows, one or more of the other selves shrink. According to Charless Horton Cooleys (1922) concept of the looking glass self, when you want to discover, say, how friendly or how assertive you are, you would look at the image of yourself that others reveal to you through the way they treat you and react to you (Hensley, 1996). Youd look especially to those who are most significant in your life. As a child, youd look to your parents and then to your teachers. As an adult, you might look to your friends, romantic partners and colleagues at work. If these important others think highly of yourself reflected in their behaviors; if they think little of you, youll see a more negative image. (DeVito, 2011) By visualizing this model as representing yourself, it will build up our personal development either to positive or negative. Hence, our self-concept, self-awareness and self-esteem will be increased in future.

Greenlands Climate Essay -- Greenland Weather Environment Essays Pape

Greenland's Climate Anyone who can locate Greenland on a world map knows that the world’s largest island is not a sunny tropical paradise. Greenland is a place of climactic extremes, lying mostly within the Arctic Circle, where dog sleds are preferable to cars for out-of-town transportation. Residents of Greenland can by no means ignore the weather. Climate has played a leading role in Greenland’s history and even today plays a large part in any Greenlander’s existence. It is responsible not only for the state of their economy, but also for the limits that exist on their infrastructure today. In short, Greenland is a society that has been forced to accommodate its climate and which has a great deal at stake regarding the peculiarities of the same. European colonization of Greenland has over the past thousand years has been inconsistent, and the wellbeing of its residents has been directly linked to the climate. The Old Norse Greenlanders, who arrived around AD 950, came during a period of unusual warmth(Lamb, 175). Having the luxury of living in a Greenland that was actually green, the Norse raised crops and livestock in ground that today is permanently frozen. The mistake the Norse settlers made was to assume that Greenland’s climate, which had been suitable for their way of life for more than two centuries, would remain so, and ultimately it was a shift in climate that resulted in their demise. Starting about half way through the 13 th century, a cooling trend developed, and by 1369, regular communication between Greenland and the rest of Europe ceased due to ice sheets encroaching on the shipping routes that took vessels past Greenland (Lamb, 187). It was around this time that the more northern of the two Norse settl eme... ...uld otherwise significantly raise the sea level. Greenland is a society that relies on a very delicate balance of weather factors to remain viable. The balance is maybe less precarious for many other parts of the world, but a change in the status quo of the climate always has the possibility to upset society on a biblical scale. Advanced as humans are as a species, we have not by any means developed to the point where we can force the climate to accommodate us. Works Cited Lamb, H.H. Climate, History, and the Modern World. New York: Routledge, 2002. â€Å"Lonely Planet: Destination Greenland.† The Lonely Planet. 2003. Accessed: 12 December, 2004. http://www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations/europe/greenland/printable.htm â€Å"The World Factbook – Greenland.† CIA World Factbook. Accessed: 12 December, 2004. http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/gl.html

Boosting the Economy: 0% Financing on New Cars :: Market Economics 9/11 Essays

Boosting the Economy: 0% Financing on New Cars The economy had been moving in slow motion for the last year and the dreaded "R" word, recession, had been put into circulation by the media and consumer analysts. Then, of course, the events of September 11th occurred and the economic slow down sounded just fine as opposed to the economic standstill that many feared. Staring into the face of recession and contemplating the national tragedy, corporate America was desperate to find a way out. Not that they were alone, but Joe Schmoe, a blue-collar worker, couldn't do much to change nation's economic dilemma. And good old Uncle Sam hand his hands tied with the terrorist problems. Even so, saying that the government was going to take action is just to say that the government would help corporate America take action. Of course the answer was to get and keep America spending; keep money circulating. But how was the question that loomed. As we know, many of the major automobile companies decided that they would offer 0% financing on new cars in order to lure Americans to spend money. At this point we don't know what the final effects will be, whether this action will actually stimulate the economy and keep America from a recession. However, there is much to speculate on concerning the possible effects. And it is interesting to consider exactly who might be reaping the benefits from this action. In addition, this type of economic action seems to have elements that fall into a category of similar capitalistic avenues that many authors read this semester have analyzed in the past. Benefits Now, why should we think that this action will benefit the economy? Again, in the face of recession the goal is always to get people spending and keep money flowing. New automobiles are a high dollar item that can get money circulating in a hurry. New automobiles are also an item that the majority of the population cannot afford without financing. This makes the idea of buying an automobile with no finance charges very appealing. From the big picture perspective, the idea is that enough automobiles would be sold to keep money circulating and to keep consumer confidence high so that we could talk ourselves out of a recession. Basically, the remedy for recession is keeping people believing that the economy will be okay, consumer confidence, and therefore they will not be reluctant to spend and money will circulate.