Dr Pepper Analysis

Individuals, companies, schools, restaurants Bargaining power: low, since Coke supplies a numerous variety of products buyers do to have a huge impact on pricing and quantity. Also, customers develop brand loyalty to Coke, thereby making it difficult for buyers to affect prices and quantities as well. Suppliers: fasted restaurants, vending machines, school campuses. Bargaining power: very high, since companies can easily provide Pepsi products which serve as excellent substitutes.Compliments: pizza, burgers, hot dogs, chips, etc SOOT Strengths Weaknesses Concentrated in North America (US, Canada, Mexico where almost 70% of revenues come from Health Craze will hurt soft drink sales Opportunities Acquisitions & alliances Bottled water growth Hispanic growth in the US and Pepsin's ability to meet their tastes with current product lines (I. E. , Substrata chips) Growth In emerging markets Growing consumer health consciousness will help Pepsi as It Is already a leader In non-carbonated dr inks with brands Storage, Aquifer, Lipton; and also with healthy food brands such as Quaker oats.Threats Declining economy/recession Sluggish growth of carbonated drinks Coca-Cola ; other smaller, more nimble operators Commodity price increases, fluctuating oil prices effect production and distribution gas, plastic) IV) SOOT annals;s of PEPSICO Soot consists of examining the current activities of the organization: its strengths and weaknesses, and then using this and external research data to set out the opportunities and threats that exist. A. Internal Strong market position PepsiCo NAS a tremendous presence on ten snack Ana sort rural market.Inane, TN company owns 25% of the non-alcoholic drinks market and 39% of the snack market. * Good economic situation In 2008, PepsiCo was ranked 26th on the top 100 of the global brands ranking in 2008. The same brand value company has raised PepsiCo as an example during the recession: â€Å"Amazon, Pepsi, Audio, Panasonic, and Campbell have all prospered during a challenging year for marketing executives. † PepsiCo most famous brands are all very famous and successful. Thanks to this notoriety, PepsiCo annual sales reach $35 billion. Rand's Popularity of Pepsi has a wide range of brands. These brands are more famous than the Coca Cola Company's ones. For example: people know what Lipton Teas, Tropical beverages or Traitors Tortilla Chips refer to, whereas: who has heard of Pike, Chino r Spur? On this point, PepsiCo is inexorably in a strong position. * Presence PepsiCo has spread its presence in over 200 countries. Products from this brand are sold all over the world. * Diversification PepsiCo brands include drinks and snacks such as ready-to-drink refreshments, bottled water, cereals, crisps or school-snacks.This wide range of product enables the brand to settle down in any place of the world. Lack of capital constraints (availability of large free cash flow) Strong market position Solid brand portfolio Strong r evenue growth Economies of scale Broader product line Popular brand of pop * Geographical concentration PepsiCo tends to focus its activity in North America (US, Canada, Mexico). Almost 70% of revenues come from this region. * Dependence on important clients A big part of PepsiCo sales (12%) are made to Wall-Mart, which creates a dependence supplier-client.Consequently, Wall-Mart's strategy influences PepsiCo actions, especially on lowering prices. * Bad remunerations PepsiCo employees are less paid than the competitors' ones. It may alter the employees' excellence or productivity: they might want to work for a company that revives higher salaries for the same Job. * High recall I en product recalls are Deterrent. I en problem nerve Is Tanat ten return causes are internal: the defects come from the production, they don't come from transports or storage.For example: the salmonella case forced PepsiCo to recall $200,000 worth of pistachios in the US in 2009. Product recalls decrease t he final customers' confidence in the brand. It inevitably alters the company's image. B. External Threats * New measures for health Many occidental governments are creating new regulations and campaigns in order to change people's eating behavior. Snacks and soft drinks are the first â€Å"victims† of this ideological renewal. Coca-Cola is the worst competitor for DRP Pepper because it is more powerful in terms of image and notoriety.In this sector, competition is so sharp that it has a direct influence on prices and sales. * Many successful brands DRP Pepper brands are successful, well-known and they have a good reputation. The products sold by the company are still very popular to the public. A good marketing activity maintains the company in a good situation and confers it a good image. * Quest of other markets If the fact to be concentrated on North America is a weakness, let's say that this is also an interesting challenge of market conquest, for example in Russia or As ia.PepsiCo is powerful; it has enough resources to develop all around the world. * Customer's well-being An important value, which growth is correlated to new regulations on health, is the customer's well-being. It has become the guideline of a marketing operation in the soft drinks market. This notion gives PepsiCo the opportunity to increase innovation for soft drinks. Indeed, the more original and creative you are, the more successful your product will be.

Collectivism, New Right Essay

Collectivism focuses on the government’s responsibility of providing health and social care services to society which is funded by taxation and National Insurance. This approach is an example of a political response to meeting the needs of identified welfare. In all societies there are groups which are more vulnerable than others such as children, the elderly and people with mental or physical impairments. In some society’s, their care will be seen as the responsibility of the individual or their families whereas in others it will be seen as the responsibility of larger groups such as the local community or religious groups. Since the Poor Law was passed in 1601, the state has been responsible for the care of the vulnerable but there was still no significant change until the 19th century; the birth of the Welfare State occurred after the Second World War. In 1942 the Beveridge Report provided the foundation for the creation of a wide range of welfare services. Lord Beveridge’s Report on Social Insurance and Allied Services identified five giant evils which are holding back society: Want (poverty), Squalor (poor housing), Idleness (unemployment), Ignorance (inadequate education) and Disease (ill health). He felt these needed to be addressed urgently by the state. The New Right approach considers the responsibility of the vulnerable to be placed upon the individuals and their families and that the state should only play a minimal role in their care. This idea was not fully challenged until the election of Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative government in 1979 as they believed that the state should play as smaller role as possible in welfare provision as it was mainly the responsibility of the individual and their family. The New Right saw state support to be creating a highly dependent society in which independence was dwindling. Mrs Thatcher saw welfare as producing a society which was reliant on benefits rather than a society which was able to take responsibilities for its own needs and plan ahead for the future.

Berkshire Partners: Bidding for Carter’s Essay

1. Berkshire brought expertise in finding the right financing structure and operational and strategy related to the retail and manufacturing industry. Berkshire managers believed that the equity portion of a capital structure should be at least 25% to order to achieve the desired results as far as return and to show true commitment to the lending base. When determining the capital structure, they also seriously took into account such questions as: Is this the appropriate amount of leverage for a business of this type; what do the rating look like; how difficult will it be to get financing and what about financing costs? Once Berkshire had taken an equity position in a firm, Berkshire would help the firm management by prioritizing key objectives, improving organizational design, building a quality team of managers and aiding the integration process of a subsequent acquisition. Berkshire would add value up front with extensive due diligence, addressing opportunities for companies, and aligning strategically and building a strong relationship with management. Since Carter’s was an established business, they would receive a great deal of care and attention up front and then moderate to low oversight during the rest of the investment until exit. Berkshire also added value by exiting most of their investments by sale of a company instead of the typical IPO used by most private equity firms. Berkshire was more apt to facilitate an IPO in the middle of ownership with the intention of staying involved with the management and helping the company grow. Berkshire’s deep acquisition experience and familiarity with capital markets enabled very attractive financing to be put in place, as Berkshire solicited the views of a range of potential partners including Merrill, First Union, Lehman etc. in order to ensure the optimal financing structure. In addition, Berkshire had met with the Carter Management on two occasions and had a strong, open line of communication. Therefore, Berkshire should have a strong understanding of Carter’s goals. Ultimately, Berkshire used â€Å"internal and external resources to undertake a thorough planning process that both built a road map to guide management’s operating execution, but also served to coalesce the team around the significant potential inherent in the opportunities ahead of their company.† 2. Berkshire had developed a focus on â€Å"building strong, growth oriented companies in conjunction with strong equity incented management teams.† Carter’s was definitely financially strong as mentioned in the last question and growth orientated, as they recently diversified into the discount market for baby and young children’s apparel and were looking to move into the two to six year old playwear segments . They had shown success in a competitive, non-seasonal industry. Carter’s management team was disciplined and working to increase operating efficiencies by shortening development cycle and aiming to use 100% offshore sourcing in the near future. Management was also set on building on relationships with major customers (top eight wholesale customers represented 74% of wholesale revenue), and to continue to build profitable retail outlet stores. Berkshire liked the fact that Carter’s was a strong recognizable brand that could be leveraged across multiple channels and be viewed as a consumer products company. The only problem could be that Goldman Sachs was using a staple on financing structure. Berkshire felt this structure limited their ability to get an edge in the bidding process by bringing more creative financing deals to the table with Carter’s Investcorp wanted to exit the company in mid 2000 because they were at the end of a 5 year investing period and wanted liquidity in order provide quality returns for investors to set the stage for future financing. They could of went public (IPO) with Carter’s in 2001 but it would take over a year to exit the situation after the IPO and the IPO market was at a standstill. In addition, in summer of 2001 Carter’s was on the path to operational and financial success. From 1992 to 2000, the company increased revenue at a compound annual growth rate of 9.5% with EDITDA increasing 22.1%. Since Carter’s was bought by Investcorp, the firm had a improved brand recognition, a lower cost structure, expanded into the discount channel with Tykes, and the movement of some manufacturing operations offshore to reduce cost. These improvements and Carter’s ability to weather economic swings made the company a attractive commodity among financial buyers.

Military and Technology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Military and Technology - Essay Example Politics is another major factor that determines the acceptance of a certain technology. Military technology is associated with various engineering fields like the mechanical, chemical, mechatronics etc. And the use of this technology requires basic military training as result; some of these harmful gadgets are not left to the civilians like the bombs, guns, missiles etc. However, some technologies were meant for the militants but with time and advancements the government allowed the civilians to be in their possessions (General Books LLC, 2010). My work focuses on the global positioning system (GPS) technology. GPS is space technology that helps in locating objects directed by the satellites. It also indicates the surrounding weather. A GPS receiver is the gadget that uses the space technology to give locations among other benefits. The signals received by the GPS receiver from the satellite is analyzed accompanied by some calculations then the receiver gives feed back in terms of t he transmit time and the distance to the satellite all displayed on the receivers’ screens hence can be used by the militants to locate positions. This technology was developed in 1973 to solve the problems associated with navigation. Man had a problem with locating places and this made navigation-a very important aspect in the military so difficult. Before this invention, man tried to solve the positioning and navigation problems by using the stars which were not reliable as they only existed during some nights. The star pattern kept changing, giving wrong information in terms of positioning. Pendulums on the other hand were used to indicate time and they were not only slow but also cumbersome to carry and count the swings. It was also not accurate hence could not be relied on. Design and the principles behind this space technology were not original but were adopted from some radio based systems of navigations that include the Loran as well as the Decca technology which were found in 1940. Atomic clocks used the gravitational forces to indicate time and this solved part of navigation problems however, it gave vague information to the militants as it only showed time but not positioning hence some innovations were still required. Another prior related innovation was the omega system of navigation and it also had several limitations as it was not accurate. The greatest need that led GPS technology innovation was during the cold war ant the United States wanted to use the nuclear bombs for attack. The submarines were to be accurately positioned before releasing their missiles. The air force had to navigate accurately to get the correct positions to release their missiles. The weight and urgency of these needs led to innovation of GPS but the first technology was in adequate as it’s slow to the fast moving air force planes. The technology was advanced to assist in timing too and by around 1974 it had atomic clock. A better product was attained by in corporating the ideas of navigation, and timing hence a better GPS. This was further advanced to Navistar GPS. The invention was based on scientific knowledge i.e. the effect of time in a strong electromagnetic region. It was found that time is slowed and this could be used to indicate time as well as navigation. However, the experiments were based on trial and error method and this cost the government a lot of cash until some positive feedback was attained. The combination of timing and the navigation component was basically on trial

Food & Beverage Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Food & Beverage - Essay Example Being a consultant, I will pay 35% of the total time and energies on people development, due to the very reality that staff members are the identification and uniqueness of an organization, behavior, performance, qualification and professionalism of which means a lot to the organization. It is staff on the basis of which people visit the organization. Second priority would be given to operations department, which will take 25% of total time and energies. Like people, products are also the sign of an organization’s recognition and individuality. If clients are not satisfied with the products and services offer to them, they will never trust an organization. Moreover, if product and services are satisfactory, they will surely leave significant impact upon both sales and profit. Lastly, I will suggest equal concentration to be paid to sales and profit, which will be 20% of the total investment for each. Sales phenomenon is the department that determines future planning and strate gy making of an organization for future. Moreover, profit ultimately soars up provided customers and clients are satisfied with the performance of the staff on the one hand, and quality and excellence of the products and services on the other. Being a consultant of the food chain I aim to pay due heed to the products and services of the organization, which will surely increase the food cost from 26.5% to 31.3% over the same period. One of the main reasons behind such a sudden as well as an imperative jump in the food cost is certainly applying most hygienic products with proper sterilizing of all the crockery including dishes, glasses and cooking range etc, as well as keeping the area extremely neat and clean. Moreover, use of fresh and high meat, vegetables and fruit will also increase the expenditure of the food to be presented to the customers. In addition, presentation and

Sustainable Management Futures of Ford Motor Company Essay

Sustainable Management Futures of Ford Motor Company - Essay Example Globalisation had increased the trade flow between countries by liberating trade barriers which had helped Ford to expand their sales in foreign countries. Several governments of foreign countries had developed good technological collaboration and permitted foreign ownership which had helped Ford to increase their resources and develop latest model to manage with the current market condition (Ivory Research Ltd, 2011). Economic Economical factor can influence the automotive industry. The GDP growth rate can determine the purchasing power of any country which is the most crucial factor for operating any business. Ford Motor Company operates in major economies such as China, America, the UK, India, Australia and others where the GDP growth rate and vehicle market condition are good (Ivory Research Ltd, 2011). Social Social factors such as customer attitudes, demographic factor play a vital role in automotive industry. For example, in countries such as America, people prefer large comfo rtable car, while on the other hand, people of the UK usually prefer small vehicles. These factors can affect the attractiveness of vehicle market in a particular country. From the graph below it can be seen that the demand of large vehicle had increased by 202% between the year 2003 and first quarter of 2004. Source: (Ivory Research Ltd, 2011). Technological In this era, the preferences of technological improvement had increased rapidly. People prefer more advanced and technological features in their cars. The Ford Motor Company always utilises good technology in their vehicle and it provides high quality vehicle for efficient use. It also allows customers to view the product’s features online and... The researcher states that in the 21st century, Ford Company had experienced several issues and most important issues are economic recession, usage of energy and other environmental aspects. This essay focuses on the discussion of how Ford had responded every issue and proved as one of the top car manufacturers in the world today. It has developed new technology and decreased the CO2 emission along with increased sales. It is stated that Ford is concerned for both green environment and global economy and thus it develops car which has less impact on environment and is affordable by most customer. Ford focuses on developing solution to resolve global issues and help customer live better life. Ford strives to be a leader in fuel efficient technology. The researcher states that Ford aims to create electric vehicle in order to capture the electric vehicle market. Over the years, Ford has decreased the usage of energy by initiating various programs, mentioned in the essay. Ford had made c ontinuous progress with regards to product quality, durability and security of vehicle and continued good progress in various environmental issues. In 2010, Ford was awarded as the ‘World’s Most Ethical Company’ because of good corporate social responsibility attempts and sound business practices. The researcher then concluds that Ford always provides product according to customer choice and with their convenient strategic business policy, Ford is determined to rank among the leaders of global automobile industry.

Report Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 1

Report - Assignment Example You may as well think about both your fleeting procedures and long haul objectives in the arranging stage, giving careful consideration to contrasting the dangers and the potential The Marketing Process rewards. When you have improved a plainly characterized marketing arrangement, you can start the usage stage. The triumph or disappointment of the usage stage depends practically altogether on the work you have finished in the examination and arranging stages. In the event that your arrangements are practical, well thoroughly considered and dependent upon sound investigation, the execution stage may as well bring about triumph for your business. It is vital to remain concentrated on your target goals throughout the execution stage and be readied to acclimate your arrangements to suit evolving conditions. We have to be attentive to changing economic situations, our rivals and clients and alter marketing techniques in like manner. These fundamental standards of marketing apply to all business sectors far and wide. Coca-Cola is extremely market orientated, accompanying the arrival of distinctive products, for example, Coke Lime flavour, and diet Coke. They went under far reaching statistical surveying to discover what individuals preferred, and regulating around the range of 59% of the planet market. Coca-Cola is the drink that gives where it counts down refreshment for the brain, figure and soul since just ice-frosty Coca-Cola makes a minute more uncommon by joining together the extraordinary Coca-Cola sensation with whats true and bona fide giving a wellspring of satisfaction in regular life. Coca-Cola customers are not just restricted to just drinking Coca-Cola, they can look over an assortment of juices, games beverages, and mineral waters. Despite the fact that carbonated beverages are their biggest development fragment, the Asia showcase alone has around 3.2 billion buyers. Globally, Coca-Cola

The Christian Symbols of Cross and the Body of Christ Essay - 6

The Christian Symbols of Cross and the Body of Christ - Essay Example God’s purpose for creating Adam was His desire to replicate Himself, reproduction of Himself and He implemented this in the Garden of Eden. Adam was God manifested in the flesh in the Garden of Eden. In Copeland’s teaching, it was a way to show that racism was not in Gods mind. Those disagreeing with this use the bible to militate against Copeland’s teaching. Adam was not God manifested in the flesh. Jesus was exceptional in this respect (John 1:14). Beyond that, Adam was undeniably subordinate to God (Copeland, audiotape #01-0304, side 1). Copeland alleged that Jesus became a demonic being on the cross: Copeland insists "Satan dominated Jesus on the Cross and took His spirit to the dark regions of hell Copeland's description of Christ's ordeal in the hell is nothing short of chilling. He (Jesus) allowed Himself to come under Satans control" (Copeland, audiotape #02-0017, side 2). Copeland stated that the physical death on the cross did not pay the price for sin and that anybody could do that. According to him all prophets that walked on earth guided by the Abrahamic covenant would have paid the price if it were for the physical death (Copeland, audiotape #02-0017, side 2). Those in disagreement with Copeland’s allegation say because of Jesus’ atoning sacrifice on the cross, people who have their faith and trust in Him (Jesus) alone for salvation are guaranteed endless life (John 3:16). However, Jesus called His disciples to take up their cross and follow Him "If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow Me."

How does the western model of Internet Banking apply to Russia Literature review

How does the western model of Internet Banking apply to Russia - Literature review Example Recently many banks have adopted online banking. With its boom in the United States and the United Kingdom, online baking has subsequently spread to other areas, Russia included. Victor (2008, p. 724) asserts that although this is the era of internet boom in many regions of the world and that more developed countries are increasingly using the internet for various ways, the reality is that most of the developing countries are yet to fully adopt the internet and embrace it as a way of doing business. The online banking, commonly referred to as the internet banking is one of the newest forms of banking adopted by banks in the developed countries. According to Arnaboldi (2009, p. 1), â€Å"a few pioneering banks started to offer products via the internet in the mid-nineties.† This shows long the service has been on going in the European-banking sector. However, Russia and other Eastern Europe countries are yet to realize the dream of conducting most of their banking operations wi th convenience of their mobile phones and computers. Hopes of these people transforming their banking services and fully going digital are still alive, if the current changes and improvements in the banking sector are anything to go by. More and more, banks in the Russian region have embraced the need to go online, with many customers already subscribing to internet banking. While the previous technologies used in the country were unreliably painful to the customers, current innovative improvements in the sector provide hopes for a full transformation of the entire sector. However, not all western banking models are applicable in the Russian situation. A few modifications are necessary to make it compatible with the Russian customer base. This is because of the differences in customer base between the developed and the developing countries (Jaruwachirathanakul & Fink 2005 p. 302). The slow nature of the internet banking penetration rate of the people constrains the hopes of growing and expanding this sector to robust volumes such as in the United States and on the United Kingdom. Hopes for growing the sector are still high, as 10-12 per cent of the total bankable population are ready and more than willing. This percentage loves the convenience of the internet, as well as its efficiency. The biggest booster of this trend is the adoption of the emoney and the money kiosks industry. Most of the banks offering internet banking in Russia offer payment services. This is however, a misconception about the whole issue about internet banking, a notion held by most of these banks’ customers. Initially, banks offer banks offer iBanking services to their customers, with only the opportunity to make their payments. The biggest advantage for this service is its ability to reduce the transaction costs for the customers. However, banks miss out from making sales, which were potentially available for the banks to exploit. Mols (2000, p. 12) stresses on the important rol e-played by the internet to business organizations in marketing their products and services. according to Mols, (2000, p. 14), the increase in online marketing offers business organizations unlimited opportunities to advertise and sell their products and services. As such, many organizations have introduced online sales that allow customers to search and pay for the ownership of goods. Benefits accrued from online banking cannot be underestimated. In most cases, young men aged between 25

SPSS Analysis & Methodology Section Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

SPSS Analysis & Methodology Section - Term Paper Example as an Internet marketing tool by the companies. †¢ To examine the evidence about the benefits of using social networking websites as communication tool. Details of the methodological implications will be highlighted in the following sections. 1.2 Research Approach Saunders, Lewis & Thornhil (2007 & 2009) pointed out that researchers should select any one of the research approach from available approaches such as, 1- Correlation Study- understanding the relationship between variables is the key aim in such kind of studies and 2- Causal Study- finding out the reasons behind the variation in the behaviour of variables is the key reason behind such kind of research approach. As the researcher is trying to understand the role of social networking websites such as Facebook and twitter on increasing effectiveness of Internet marketing tool for companies hence the researcher will use correlation approach to find out what is the relationship between effectiveness of Internet marketing to ol and social networking website penetration. ... 1.3 Research Strategy Creswell (2009) stated that there can be three types of research strategy for researchers such as, 1- Quantitative research strategy- gathering primary data by using open ended and preferably close ended questionnaire or secondary data with the help of literature review, case study etc and then analyze the data by using mathematical and statistical operators, 2- Qualitative approach- gathering data from secondary sources or open ended questionnaire based interview, observation, ethnography and then analyzed data in non-numeric manner, 3- Mixed strategy- combination of both qualitative and quantitative research approach. Saunders, Lewis & Thornhil (2007 & 2009) argued that quantitative research strategy works well for establishing new theory or explaining a social phenomenon but the research strategy works poorly for measuring the relationship variables in absolute manner. On the other hand, Bryman & Bell (2003) also found that quantitative research can be used f or finding the relationship between variables in definite manner. As the researcher has also planned to understand the role of social networking websites in digital marketing which is a definite phenomenon hence the researcher will use quantitative research strategy in the study. 2.3 Unit of analysis and Study setting Robson (2011) stated that while conducting quantitative data analysis, researchers need to set the confidence interval high enough to get correct research findings. Saunders, Lewis & Thornhil (2009) suggested that 95% confidence level with significance of 0.05 can be used in case of academic research. Hence, the researcher will also use the 95%

Communication Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 10

Communication - Essay Example They take with them their respective cultures, values, beliefs and customs which are all so important. The need is there to save these dying languages because they have people who speak them yet in someway are now making use of other languages to satisfy their day to day affairs. Question 2: How do the media and communications technology affect culture? Discuss either how the content of media shapes culture in a particular social context, or how changing communications technology is affecting culture. Media and communications technology affect culture as these keep changing and the cultural adaptations do not seem to catch up. The changing communications technology affects the culture since technology is pacing ahead at a frenetic speed and there seems to be no stopping this phenomenon at all. The culture does not change at such a fast speed and hence the media and communications technology lags far behind resulting in more anarchy within the society than one can think of. This leads to a confused culture on the part of the people who are looking at media and communications technology on the one and adapting to the requirements of the culture on the

Baidu Enters African Mobile Browser Essay Example for Free

Baidu Enters African Mobile Browser Essay Executive Summary Baidu Inc. will benefit from partnering with France Telecoms’ Orange to enter in Africa’s mobile searching market which has large potential opportunities and revenues. Africa, the Next Major Mobile Market Africa with the second large population in the world and emerging purchasing power from new middle class requires telecommunication to be popularized. The sudden growth and high density of mobile connection in Africa across countries generate large demand of smartphones and mobile webs or other mobile services. The fast speed of growth rate and potential opportunities in this market attract large mobile operators and search engines, and then Africa will become the major mobile market and transform the global economic landscape. Baidu should enter this market earlier to develop its international business Benefits and Limits of Partnering with Orange Exclusively Benefits:Enjoys Orange’s mass customer base Orange has health growth rate Orange has invested 3G networking in order to expand its market share Orange has more than 800 million customers and spreads its operation across 20 countries. Risk: The exclusive agreement limits Baidu’s expand from cooperating with others Evaluation: Despite the limits of the exclusive contract, the benefits of partnering with Orange are great. Baidu, which has less international business experiences, is good to start cooperating with large mobile operators like Orange to step into the large mobile competition in Africa, which has large potential market, opportunities, and revenues. Introduction Baidu Inc. signs its first global agreement with Orange, on an exclusive basis. The Baidu-Orange browser will provide more affordable and richer browsing experience for customers across Africa by enhancing data  compression capabilities up to 90% of compression. The browser is one-click access to web-search like apps. About Baidu: Baidu is the largest searching engine in China, taking more than 70% of the market share. It beat Google out of the Chinese market in 2010 because it was familiar with Chinese web culture in which allows free downloads and develops general searching However, Baidu lose its ability to be business internationalized, since Baidu satisfied its large market share in the region; at the same time it also lose its good timing to establish and develop its mobile searching while the popularizing and development in smartphones has changed the rules of the game from web networking to telecommunication networking. The need of Baidu expanding its global market and mobile web services is important and urgent. Baidu now is targeting in African as an emerging mobile market in the partnership with Orange, a France’s telecom Africa, the Next Major Mobile Market According to the observation from GSMA, African mobile market has dramatically grown and reaches the highest growth rate worldwide due to the governments have liberalized the telecommunication, and competitions between private telecoms have increased service affordability. Africa has large mobile connection penetration and has speedily gown From 2000 to 2011, mobile penetration has rapidly increased in Africa, from just 2% in 2000 to 63% in 2011, representing a compound annual growth rate of over 46%. It is expected to reach 85% mobile connection penetration in 2015 (GSMA, Africa Mobile Observatory Report, September. 2011) (See Figure 1) Figure 1: Mobile connections and penetration in Africa since 2000. Data sources: Wireless Intelligence. The number of cennections in North Africa has grown by 41% while Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest growth rate with 44% worldwidely, compared to an average of 34% for developing countries and 10% for developed countries.(Deloitte;GSMA, Sub-Saharan Africa Mobile Observatory Report, November 13, 2012). (See Figure 2) Figure 2: Growth in the number of mobile connections world wide, 200-2012. Data source: wireless intelligence The rapid growth of mobile communication in Africa generates high demand of mobile telephony and mobile service and increases revenues According to Wireless Intelligence and International Monetary Fund (IMF), mobile operators reported over $35 billion revenues in 2011, growing by an average of 18% each year from $8.2 billion in 20000 in Africa. According to GSMA Africa Observatory 2011 Report, over the past 5 years, the number of subscribers across Africa had grown by almost 20% per year and was set to reach more than 735 million by the end of 2012. The mobile ecosystem in Africa currently generated approximately $56 billion or 3.5% of total GDP, with mobile operators alone contributing $49 billion. Africa is transforming the global economic landscapes. African economies are among the fastest-growing in the world while emerging economies in Asia have been slowed down due to their increasing capital and labor costs and markets saturated. Economists predicted that Africa would be poised to transform the global economic landscapes (John J.; Wild Wild, International Business: the challenge of globalization, January 16, 2013). Annual GDP growth averaged 5.7% between 2000 and 2010 in Sub-Saharan Africa. (IBM, â€Å"Is mobile Africa’s future?,† 2011) Expected annual growth averaged 7% over the next 20 years. (IBM, â€Å"Is mobile Africa’s future?,† 2011) 14% of the world’s population, the second large population in the world, provides large consumption base. (IBM, â€Å"Is mobile Africa’s future?,† 2011) New middle class has been emerging in Africa The purchasing powers from large population and middle class must stimulate the sales of mobile products and co-related mobile services. Africa’s mobile market is a good start for firms like Baidu, which seeking opportunities to expand its international business and mobile operation with  less experiences. Demands from large consumption’s requests and purchasing from new class created substantial profits. Benefits and Limits of Partnering with Orange Exclusively The Chinese Web services giant Baidu will bring its mobile browser to Africa in signing an exclusive contract with France Telecom’s Orange network, the third-biggest mobile operator in Africa. Benefits of partnering with Orange Orange, which has a mobile customer base of more than 80 million subscribers and covers 20 countries in Africa, has continued to see its smartphone user base in Arica and Middle East increasing, for example the demand for Android devices in Egypt has doubled in the second half of 2012 by Marc Rennard, senior executive vice president for Orange. (Deloitte;GSMA, Sub-Saharan Africa Mobile Observatory Report, November 13, 2012) Orange has recently been deploying 3G networks in countries where it has operations and makes more low-cost smartphones available; customers have been steadily moving from basic feature phone towards more low-cost Android smartphones. (Deloitte;GSMA, Sub-Saharan Africa Mobile Observatory Report, November 13, 2012) The mass user base, the wide geographical operations and the increased growth of smartphone users from Orange help Baidu expand its mobile services and data collecting in the new emerging market. This not only makes Baidu get a slice of Africa’s lucrative mobile and data market but also helps Baidu gain experience of transforming itself to be business internationalized and searching mobilized under the pressure of globalization and development in smartphones. Limits of Partnering with Orange Emeka Obiodu, Principal Analyst for Telecom Strategy, Ovum Research, pointed out that there is a limitation for Baidu by dealing with Orange exclusively. Baidu’s deal with Orange may limit the firm’s maneuverability in the market. If Baidu sticks to Orange exclusively, it will depend on Orange’s expansion of its geographical footprint. Obiodu later added his concern for Baidu that Over time, this lack of maneuverability will influence, and maybe undermine, Baidu’s ability to exploit emerging opportunities in the market. While Baidu is tie-up with Orange, its largest competitor Google has already entered in the Africa’s mobile browsing market. Google not only has a deal with South Africa’s giant telecom operator Telkom’s cellphone network unit 8ta but also rolls out a new services in Sub-Saharan Africa though operator Zambia Telecommunication Company, a government-owned telecom. (IDG Reporter, â€Å"Africa is the newest telecoms battleground,† January 27, 2013) The spread of Baidu browser is limited because it is depended on Orange’s geographical footprints due to exclusive agreement, compared with Google, which has multiple partnerships with large government-owned and private-owned operators. Despite the limitation, the benefits from cooperating with Orange for Baidu are greater. Baidu as an inexperienced international investor could decrease its risk to fail the first entry into an emerging market with the helps from sharing Orange’s wide geographical footprints and mass customer base. (TitaniumMedia, Baidu’s Radical Internationalization, 2013) Evaluation of Baidu’s Entry into Africa’s Mobile Bowering Market though Exclusive Partnership with France Telecom’s Orange. Africa’s mobile market Mobile market in Africa is potential and profitable (Deloitte;GSMA, Sub-Saharan Africa Mobile Observatory Report, November13, 2012): 85% mobile connection penetration in 2015 (forecast)  44% mobile connection growth (the highest growth rate worldwide) $49 billion revenues (mobile operator alone)  The fast and wide dissemination of mobile connection and communication in Africa makes the demand for smartphones and mobile web be on the rise remarkably, creating potential mobile market and providing healthy grown profits for Baidu, which is seeking opportunity to internationalize and  mobilize its operation. Partnership with France Telecom’s Orange Despite the limitation of just cooperating with one company, Orange is still a good partner which already has mass customer base and keeps growing users doubly though its investment in 3G networking. Baidu, a Chinese searching engine which has less international business’ experiences, takes advantage of cooperating with Orange in order to lower the risk of first entry into a unknown market by sharing Orange’s mass customer base and wide geographical operation . Entry into Africa and cooperation with Orange are a good start for Baidu turning itself internationalized and mobilized. References Wild, J. J., Wild, K. L. (2013). International business: the challenges of globalization (Seventh ed.). : Pearson College Div. Sub-Saharan Africa Mobile Observatory 2012. Sub-Saharan Africa Mobile Observatory Report. Retrieved May 4, 2014, from www.gsma.com//SSA_FullReport_v6.1_clean.pdf Arican Mobile Observatory 2011 Driving Economic and Social Development through Mobile Services. African Mobile Observatory Report. Retrieved , from www.gsma.com//2011//Africa-Mobile-Observatory Afica is the newest telecoms battleground. (2013, January 27). . Retrieved May 2, 2014, from http://www.cnmeonline.com/analysis/africa-is-the-newest-telecoms- battleground/ Is mobile Africas future?. (2011, January 1). . Retrieved May 15, 2014, fromhttp://www.ibm.com/smarterplanet/global/share/19jan2012/mobile_africa/ Baidu’s Radical Internationalization. (2013, March 31). . Retrieved May 11, 2014, from http://tech.163.com/13/0331/09/8R9JOH9O000915BF.html Appendix A Important notice about GSMA and Deloitt Frequent uses of data, facts, and statistics are from â€Å"Sub-Saharan Africa Mobile Observatory 2012†, a report is prepared by Drloitte for GSM Association with contract. The â€Å"Sub-Saharan Africa Mobile Observatory 2012† is provided exclusively for the GSMA’s use under the terms of contract. No party other than GSMA could be entitled on the report for any purpose whatever Deloitte accepts or not. Appendix B Figure 1 and 2 Figure 1 is from GSMA’s â€Å"Africa Mobile Observatory 2011 Driveng Economic and Social Development through Mobile Services.† Figure 2 from GSMA’s â€Å"Sub-Saharan Africa Mobile Observatory 2012.† Both figures of the charts are collected data from Wireless Intelligence

Methodology set of rituals

Methodology set of rituals Unfortunately method is sometimes reduced to incantations or a set of rituals which are applied to data. Because the research object is complex due to its multi-dimensional characteristics it is not susceptible to exhaustive coverage. Therefore, method itself should investigate at a conceptual level and not simply applied in a mechanistic way. The methodology applied in this project is therefore not a recipe for research practice. The research requires a qualitative methodology rather than a quantitative and it will draw upon non-positivist insights like phenomenology and post-structuralist. Again the analysis is not based on statistics but employs semiotics and analysis of discourse. Through data collection and the development and elaboration on the theoretical embedding the findings will gain reliability, validity, as well as the ability to generalise. To distinguish this approach from statistical sampling Glaser and Strauss (1967) have termed this theoretical sampling. Grounding theory on the basis of observation and recounting experiences either social experiences or work practices requires a: â€Å" process of data collection for generating theory whereby the analyst jointly collects, codes, and analyses his data and decides what data to collect next and where to find them, in order to develop his theory as it emerges. The emerging theory, whether substantive or formal controls this process of data collection. The initial decisions for theoretical collection of data are based only on a general sociological perspective and on a general subject or problem area † (Glaser and Strauss: 45). This requirement has impacted the decision for a qualitative methodology that leans towards institutional ethnography, associated with Dorothy E. Smith a social theorist from Canada. However, researching this project through institutional ethnography is primarily motivated by my views that objective knowledge used in the management of organisations does not pay tribute to the actual diverse circumstances of the lives of organisations members and is thus not open to the causes and consequences of the social problems perpetuated by these circumstances. By using institutional ethnography I envision, implicitly, a more just world where knowledge is distributed more equally, and where it can be used a challenging force of the existing power relations in an organisation (De Vault, 2008). This method contributes to a distributive justice agenda by turning peoples everyday lives into knowledge which seek to understand the existing power relations, and pointing to possible interventions in th ese relations. In answering the questions â€Å"how does this happen as it does? How are these relations organised† (Campbell Gregor, 2002, p. 7), institutional ethnography relies on the influence of social organisation literature the language theory of Bakhtin and critical theorists such as Marx and Foucault. The combination of the terms institutional and ethnography implies the need to move beyond local practices (Travers, 1996). It is an approach to empirical inquiry grounded by a materialist ontology the daily world of peoples actual activities drawing from ethnomethodology that examines how everyday life experience or professional practice, or policy making is socially organised (Devault and McCoy, 2001 p. 751), and its consequences in contemporary societies. Social organisation is understood as local practices tied into activities occurring across time and space to form extended sequences of action or what are called â€Å"trans-local† relations (McCoy, 1998). Institutions organise themselves formally by establish discourses of power and control which are disseminated through. These policies form the basis for further organisational documentation like contracts, accounting records, time sheets, job descriptions etc. Institutions develop conceptual practices:. These discursive, managerial, and professional forms of governance can be seen as the textual venues (such as legislation, management, administration etc.) where power is generated and perpetuated in society across multiple sites and are defined in institutional ethnography as ruling relations. Attempting to understand how the coordination of work processes, activities, and relations organised across space and time form part of the ruling apparatus in society (Grahame Grahame, 2000) institutional ethnography examines how textual sequences coordinate consciousness, actions, and ruling relations what Smith calls textually-mediated social organisation. Ruling relations are embedded in t hese textually-mediated social organisations, which make power less obvious to those being controlled. This notion of ruling relations draws on Marx and his conception of political economy arising from the activities of people (Smith, 1990: 94), but also on ethnomethodology, because it starts from the common-sense knowledge of people and how they talk about daily activities. It should be clear that institutional ethnography is not simply a methodology. Institutional ethnography is not a tool one can readily use at will without adopting the theoretical framework. Theory and orientation toward research are intricately entwined in institutional ethnography and cannot be divorced from one another. In summary the aim of institutional ethnography is not the discovery of ‘meaning or the description of social worlds as in traditional ethnography; the goal is to discover the forms of coordination and control that shape peoples everyday lives and thus to look at the concrete actions of individuals as they function in relation to an institution using an ethnographic method, but more interested in the political contexts than other qualitative approaches. The method takes into account the texts and discourses that make up social life, but is actually more grounded in fieldwork study of texts that are actually used than most forms of discourse analysis (Eastwood Devault 2001). So the research begins from the embodied experience of particular Citi staff and then set about systematically investigating the social and institutional determinants of that experience. In this way, the research produces knowledge for people, rather than about them, a kind of map of the work processes, dis courses and social practices that generate specific forms of inequality, marginalisation and subordination. The object of study in this research is not individual people or social groups but, rather, the social relations, especially institutional work processes and related modes of knowledge, that form the ground of Citi staffs lived experience, hence the almost perfect fit to apply institutional ethnography as the research approach, because one of the main purposes of institutional ethnography is to describe the coordination of the day to day activities in the organisation. The challenge is then to discover how ideology can be used to relate those activities to Citis institutional imperatives. This method enables the exploration of power and politics within Citi, producing insights unavailable using other research methods. The co-ordinating Citi staffs activities is being investigated through the use of institutional texts, with the aim to clarify how these are â€Å"hooked up† as Smith expresses it hierarchically and horizontally beyond Citis world. Using institutional ethnograp hy my study identifies the language of meritocracy as an area of experience or everyday practice, and explicates the institutional processes shaping that experience (Campbell Gregor 2002, p.59; DeVault McCoy 2001, p.755). Text Approaching text through institutional ethnography means deviating from the post-modern stance. It is not the discourse of the text that is the starting point nor is the focus on the subject who makes use of it. Contrary to post-modern approaches to social analysis that often treat texts as metaphors, the ‘body as text or ‘society as text; institutional ethnography investigates texts as active constituents of social relations. The idea of texts as constituents of organisations has been around in institutional theory for a long time: DiMaggio and Powell (1983) argued that texts allow organisations to standardise by modelling themselves after similar organisations, which are perceived as legitimate or efficient. For Taylor et al. (Taylor et al., 1996; Taylor and Van Every, 1993), actions in bureaucratic organisations are always text generating. Hasslebladh and Kallinikos (2000: 703) assert that â€Å"no organisation could support its status as a formal system without the arsenal of verbal and numerical techniques through which its goals and operations are described, organised and controlled†. More recently, Phillips et al. (2004: 635) have offered what they call a â€Å"discursive model of institutionalisation,† where â€Å"it is not action per se that provides the basis for institutionalisation but, rather, the texts that describe and communicate those actions. It is primarily through texts that information about actions is widely distributed and comes to influence the actions of others†. The same authors (ibid.: 641) write that â€Å"discourses provide the socially constituted, self-regulating mechanisms that enact institutions and shape the actions that lead to the production of more texts. Thus, the discursive realm acts as the background against which current actions occur—enabling some actions and constraining others†. Texts, in both their material and symbolic aspect form the bridge between the everyday/every night local actualities of our living and the ruling relations (Smith, 1999:7). The relations into whom the text and its discourses enter are investigated to discover the social activities that are generated. Symbolically, it is how text influences everyday life to co-ordinate social activities, how text constitutes social organisation. This will show the power of texts in everyday life (Smith, 1992: 93), and the importance of the physical texts to institutional organisation (Smith, 1984). Texts transport power in ideologies and practices across sites and among people. Since texts do not know boundaries, they are powerful tools in organising peoples activities, across organisations. (Smith, 1999: 80), standardising peoples activities into bureaucracies. The power of a text can be viewed similar to Foucaults (1967) explanation: â€Å"Power must be analysed as something, which circulates, or rather as something which only functions in the form of a chain. It is never localised here or there, never in anybodys hands, never appropriated as a commodity or piece of wealth. Power is employed and exercised through a net-like organisation. And not only do individuals circulate between its threads; they are always in the position of simultaneously undergoing and exercising power. They are not only its inert or consenting target; they are always the elements of articulation [italics added]. In other words, individuals are the vehicles of power, not its point of application.† (p. 234) Ruling relations The entry point of my inquiry is the standpoint of actual individuals located in the everyday world (Smith, 1987:159). Standpoint refers then to the location of an embodied subject in a specific local, historical setting. Although experience is the ground zero of my analysis it cannot be confined to the direct experience of the everyday world for it is organised by social relations not fully apparent in it nor contained in it (1987:92). According to a social organisation framework, social relations are systematic processes that control peoples lives through ruling relations â€Å"more or less mysteriously and outside a persons knowledge† (Campbell Gregor, 2002, p. 18; 2004, p. 18). Within this framework, social life is not chaotic but is purposefully organised to happen as it does. Power becomes critically important to evidence how ruling relations are transported through knowledge, experience, discourse, and institutions. Power of these ruling relations is investigated on an institutional level where Citi transposes what really happens to its staff into abstract categories. Conceptualising â€Å"what happens in a form that makes it administrablethese categories are embedded, for example in case reports, report cards, application forms, tickets, etc.† (Darville, 2002, p. 61). Smith conceives of institution as a complex of relations organised around a specific function such as law, health care, or education. This complex of relations forms part of the ruling apparatus in contemporary society. Rather than referring to a specific form of social organisation, institution refers to the coordination and intersection of an array of activities into a functional complex. The concept institution does not refer to entities in themselves but rather to the way in which they are interwoven around a particular function. To obtain data for this analysis, this project proceeds through three main phases of data collection: investigation of local experience through the Citi staffs individual standpoint, analysis of processes and social relations extending beyond Citi staffs experiential accounts, and establishing the interconnection between the local experience and the extended experience (Griffith Smith, 1990; Smith, 1987). Phase one examines the work activities (broadly defined) of Citi staff engaged in the progress of their daily lives with a view to analysing how that world is shaped by and maintains the institutional process. Bearing in mind that experiences or situations are not free-standing phase one data collection tries to discover the â€Å"material connections between what actually happens to participants in a research setting and what triggers those particular events† (Campbell Gregor, 2004, p. 70). While phase one brings the problem into view, phase two is an analysis of ideological procedures that are used to make the institutional work processes accountable. It is a way to â€Å"explicate how the local setting, including local understandings and explanations, are brought into being- so that informants can talk about their experiences as they do†((Campbell Gregor, 2004, p. 90). Important to this phase of data collection and analysis is the earlier mentioned notion that power is carried through the ideological constructs of texts. Analysis is about deriving particular meaning from the data as to their social construction across multiple settings. Bringing the other phases together phase three analyses how these work processes in a particular context are connected across time and place and as such operate as part of an extended set of social relations (Smith, 1987:160-161).

Social values of welfare: Hong Kong

Social values of welfare: Hong Kong Welfare is all collective interventions to meet certain needs of the individual and/or to serve the wider interests of society may now be broadly grouped intoà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ categories of welfare (Titmuss, 1959). The development in the social values of welfare has always been changing throughout the centuries, particularly the 20th century. In traditional Chinese society, people used to believed that social welfare, or fuk lei, was given by kind-hearted philanthropists in society (N. Chow, 1994, p.325). In the early 20th century, the concept of social welfare was still very weak among Hong Kong people. Majority of welfare services were provided by non-government organizations before 1965 (W. S. Chow, 1993, p. 41). The situation changed after the publication of the white paper of the social welfare in 1965. Together with the rise of social worker, more people consider social welfare is part of their civil rights in the following decades. In 1997, the change in sovereignty of Hong Kong and the Asian financial crisis brought a significant impact on the social values of welfare. In the following paragraphs, I will briefly discuss the development of social welfare in Hong Kong and the corresponding social values of welfare, particularly the changes before and after 1997. As will be argued, there are both long term and short term factors that led the changes. The former would be the increasing consideration of civil rights and the latter would be the Asian financial crisis in 1997, the change in sovereignty of Hong Kong and the publication of Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) Review. In the early 20th century, majority of people considered welfare was given by kind-hearted philanthropists in society. As Hong Kong was a colony of Britain at that time, the colonial government put their focuses on protecting the Britishs interest, particularly the British merchants. Hence, the living environment and welfare of local Chinese were not concerned by the colonial government unless it interfere the interest of British. With this colonial background, local Chinese rationalized the concept of welfare would not be given by the colonial government. The Chinese merchants used their wealth to establish and maintain their reputations and leadership roles through acts of charity (Leung, 1996, p.3). They set up organizations and gave welfare to the locals. Among these organizations, Tung Wah Hospital was the most noteworthy charitable organization which catered the medical services and welfare needs to the locals. Apart from these organizations, churches and clans man association would also give welfare to the locals too. In the post World War II period, the situation had a slightly change. In the post war period, a large number of non-government or voluntary welfare organizations were set up in Hong Kong. It is important to note that most of these welfare organizations had their parent-bodies overseas. A typical example of these organizations would be the Hong Kong Red Cross. During this emergency period, the internationally-linked welfare organization had probably done much more than the government in meeting the welfare needs of people (N. Chow, 1994, p.324). Although the concept of welfare is given by kind-hearted philanthropists was weaken, the majority of the Chinese in Hong Kong are still unable to wipe away the traditional notions of welfare and accept the modern idea that it should be the responsibility of the state to provide the necessary social welfare services (N. Chow, 1994, p. 325). Meanwhile, a large proportion of population was refugee from mainland China (Due to the civil war in Chin a). Part of them considered Hong Kong is there temporary shelter but not their home. Hence, welfare development would not be their consideration as they expected to leave Hong Kong soon. These factors made there were only little pressure groups would fight for the rights for the locals in that period. The situation further changed after 1965. In 1965, the colonial government published the White Paper on social welfare. N.Y. Chow (1993) suggests that to be exact, the beginning of social welfare policy of Hong Kong was after the publication of the first White Paper on social welfare in 1965 (p.41). The White paper was the first government document that discusses social welfare policy in Hong Kong. It explained the welfare development and integrated the experiences from the development. Also, it gives the stands of colonial government toward social welfare policy and reasons that made the government cannot implement comprehensive social policy in Hong Kong. Although the White Paper has been blamed for lacking in-depth discussion on the blueprint of social welfare development and the foreseeable challenges, but this White paper gives a foundation for the further development of social welfare system (W. S. Chow, 1993). The concept of social welfare and government were no longer disseve ring like the past. More people started to integrate social welfare into the role of government. The most rapid change was found in the 70s. There were two major factors that led the change, the Big Bang of social policy and the rise of social worker. The Big Bang of social policy was initiated by the 25th governor of Hong Kong, Murray MacLehose. After MacLehose take office the governor in 1972, he had a strong sense of responsibility towards social welfare, under his influence, amendment of social welfare policy was necessary (W. S. Chow, 1993, p. 52). Apart from it, the increasing social problems (i.e. the riot in 1966 and 1967, Corruption) led the demand for governments involvement in social welfare further increased. These factors urged the publication of the second White Paper of social welfare in 1973. The aim of the White Paper was giving a five year plan of social welfare development and dividing the responsibility in providing social welfare between government and voluntary organizations. The aspects of social welfare in the five year plan included education, housing, m edical service, social allowance, youth services etc. The comprehensive expansion of welfare services increased the involvement of people in social welfare system. The value of welfare would not be given by the colonial government was further weakening in this period. Apart from the Big Bang of social policy, the rise of social worker also led to the significant change in social value of welfare. The rise of social worker could be traced back to the professionalization of social work and the implement of professional training at the University of Hong Kong and the Chinese University of Hong Kong in the mid-1960s. In the 1960s, Fabian Socialism was the most fashionable approach taught in the social work schools of the two universities (N. Chow, 1994, p.327). Equality, freedom and fellowship are the central values of Fabian Socialism. The social work students in 60s and 70s were strongly influenced by these values. They had a strong sense of working towards a more equal and justice society. Hence, when the students became social workers in society, they would try to advocate policies that achieve to these two ideals. More people would consider welfare as a means to achieve an equal society. Meanwhile, the young social workers at that time also stres sed on civil rights. They believed that social welfare is one the important parts of civil rights. When they graduated, they would educate and advocate the public to uphold their civil rights through different social actions. As a result, under this influence, it led to the rise of the awareness of welfare system as rights enjoyed by citizen. Another significant change of social values of welfare could be found in 1997. The major factor that led to the change is the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997. Before the crisis, the economy in Hong Kong was at boom. Majority of people were actively investing in property market and stock market. At that time, people emphasized on material values and short-term time horizon. Material values are the major criterion used to evaluate the worth of things and people (C.K. Wong, K. L. Chow K.Y. Wong, 2001, p.68). Meanwhile, majority of Chinese investor were looking for the maximum benefit in the shortest period of time. Topley states that many Chinese still prefer to invest in non-industrial property and trade because of the relatively quicker return of capital and profits. When investing in industry, the overwhelming desire of investors is to look for quick profits by whatever means present themselves as attractive in the short run rather than to look for opportunity for starting long-term investment. (as cited in Lau, 1982, p.70) As both of the property market and stock market were so flourished, the economic environment enabled people to achieve the above goals simultaneously. This in turn led Hong Kong became one of the wealthiest cities in Asia. The living standard in Hong Kong was one of the highest in Hong Kong history in the early mid 1990s. As most people could sustain their life in the market, they put less consideration on the welfare system. At that time, people would consider social welfare system was only for those who were in need in society, like elderly and disabled people. In other words, despite the underprivileged and the corresponding pressure group, majority in society would not care about the welfare system as they believed they could achieve self-sustentions in market. In general, social welfare development was overwhelmed by economic development at that period. But a significant change was provoked by the 1997 financial crisis. A great depression in both stock market and property market was provoked by the crisis. Lots of people were bankrupted because of the suddenly fall in the property market. Also, a massive unemployment was accompanied with the economic downturn, particularly in the financial sector. The decline in consumption led to further depression in other non-financial sector. The financial crisis brought two major impacts on the welfare system. First, it led to a significant fall in the tax income of the government. Second, more people fall into the safety net of the welfare system. In other words, it led an increase in demand for welfare services. Simultaneously, it would increase the welfare expenditure of the government. As these two factors happened at the same time, this brought heavy pressure on the financial budget of the government. At the same period, the sovereignty of Hong Kong changed back to China. One of the problems that foresee by the government is the increase in immigrants from China. In the review report of CSSA that published by the Social Welfare Department, it suggests that the increase in mainland immigrants would lead to an increase application for CSSA. It implies that the government believes that a number of mainland immigrants would rely on the welfare system for livelihood. Before the publication of the report, the government already spread this ideology through news and government press. At that time, the government disclosed different abusive cases of CSSA by the new immigrants. This made the public also be believed the new immigrants would bring pressure to Hong Kong welfare system. The economic downturn, mainland immigrants, together with the foreseeable aging population, these made the government believed a review for welfare system is necessary. As the government wanted to tighten the budget for social welfare expenditure, the publication of the review report was a means of government to the public support. This report brought a momentous impact on the social value of welfare. In particular, there were more people believed that abusive cases are common in the welfare system after the publication of the report. For example, the report suggested the level of benefits for four-person household is high. The average monthly payment for a four-person household increased in 120% from 1980s to 1990s. But the median wage of workers only increased 41%. The government suggested that this would create disincentive to work and lead to long term dependency on welfare system. According to a survey, 36.4% of respondents believed that the increasing number of CSSA cases becau se the criteria for application is too lenient (C.K. Wong, K. L. Chow K.Y. Wong, 2001, p.5). Although the way and method that government used to interpret and present the statistics had bias and hidden agenda, majority still believed that CSSA was breeding lazy people. Since CSSA has a strict income test and asset test, statistics of Suspected Fraud and Abuse was minimal. But the mass media created a negative image of CSSA recipients as they only reporting fraud and abusive cases. This, in turn, created a strong labeling effect on CSSA recipients. In a survey, 40.8% of respondents agreed that CSSA recipients are not deserved to be help (C.K. Wong, K. L. Chow K.Y. Wong, 2001, p.9). This reflected the fact that CSSA recipients were stigmatized. Apart from stigmatization of CSSA recipients, the role of welfare that interpreted by the public is also worth to discuss. Compare with giving direct welfare, people considered that self-reliance would be more appropriate. In a survey, 70.3% of respondents believed that people should satisfy their needs through self-reliance. On the other hand, only 8.6% respondents believed that people should satisfy their needs through social welfare (C.K. Wong, K. L. Chow K.Y. Wong, 2001, p.30). The development of the concept self-reliance could be explained by the Utilitarianistic Familism. Utilitarianistic Familism is social values of the Chinese people in Hong Kong (Lau, 1982). Chinese people would put the interest of family member in a higher priority over others. The bonding of the family members was strong. In addition to the extended family structure in the early mid 20th century, people would not look for help from government; rather, they would look for help from family members. As most problems could be solved without the help of government, it contributed to the development a sense of self-reliance. This concept is particularly prevailing value hold by the older generation (i.e. Those who born in the Post War Baby Boom). From the above discussion, we can see two sets of contradictory social values of welfare have developed in Hong Kong. On one hand, more people consider social welfare as their civil rights. On the other hand, people stigmatize some welfare recipients. It makes the rights of accessing welfare become alienated from the civil rights. These two contradictory values lead to different conflicts in society. Social workers, pressure groups and non-government organizations are striving for destigmatization of the welfare recipients. Lots of social actions like social demonstration and public forum are used to promote this civil rights. But at the same time, the government is attempting to marginalize the welfare recipients in order to reduce the welfare expenditure. From time to time, the government would publish the fraud and abusive case in CSSA. It seems that it wants to remind people that abusive cases are still common in welfare system. These, in turn, led to never-ending debates between the two interest groups. As seen in above discussion, it is hard to find a consensus towards the value of welfare in Hong Kong. The historical background, personal experiences and education would have a strong influence on the development of our value. But it seems that government would spread concepts and ideas that deviated from the principles of social welfare equality and equity, because its political agenda. Whether the ultimate goal of government is bring a stable and harmonious society in Hong Kong is questionable.

Demos as an Art :: Art Arts Artistic Technology Essays

Demos as an Art A little more than two years ago I came across a very small computer program that amazed me. It was very small as computer programs go, but it did something I have never seen before - it used a mathematical formula to create a stunning moving display, and played music in the background. After a while of looking around I found more of the same type of programs, most created by different people, all of which had a common purpose of presenting the user with computer-generated art - some by mathematical formulae, some by conventional means, but most a combination of the two. Each one had music composed especially for that program. They were all works of art, a new form of art. I found out that to make such a program one had to have some ideas for something to be represented by mathematical expressions, then express them all in a computer program, that was fast enough to do many complex calculations on an average user’s machine. The latter part turned out to be a lot harder than it sounded. As fast as computers are today, they are not fast enough, for there is always something which requires more and more calculations. Many tricks have to be implemented to make a program run the fastest possible, some of them being, ironically, to write it in the â€Å"earlyâ⠂¬  computer languages which dealt more with computer instructions than with the structure of the program itself. Thus the more complex your goal, the simpler means you have to employ to reach it. Because of this it is very hard to create a fast and small program. The ammount of time and effort spent on writing it can be amazingly high. I, myself, spent two days once writing a program that consisted of about 200 â€Å"letters† of computer istructions - a few lines - all generated from a few pages of the program that I wrote, and re-wrote, and re-wrote ... These programs carry an unassuming name: â€Å"demos† , short for â€Å"demonstrations†, but they do so much more than that implies. Most of them push computers to the â€Å"limit†, doing what was earlier thought of as impossible or at least required a super-computer, but most importantly they define a new art form. This special mode of art requires many new and exciting factors, such as musical composition, art merged with science (a seemingly incompatible mixture), excellent computer programming skills, but most important - teamwork.

Essay --

Fahrenheit 451 Argumentative Essay Was meeting Clarisse good or bad for Montag? In the book Fahrenheit 451 the main character, Montag, meets Clarisse someone he has recently known. She changes and adjusts his whole life. Clarisse brings valuable and wonderful effects upon Montag, but she also brings disastrous effects upon him too. In the society where Montag lives a firefighter’s job is to burn books. Montag is a fireman. Montag burned books for a living, but he has never questioned why the fireman's job is to burn books. Clarisse comes along making Montag realize there is more truth behind his regular, dull life. She always asks him odd questions that Montag has to ponder into his thoughts to answer them truthfully. Meeting Clarisse was good for Montag because she is the reason for motivation that urges Montag forward in his journey of self-realization, she helps him realize that his life has particularly been a lie, and she helps him recognize what he really feels on certain topics. Clarisse brings out a different side inside of Montag, and she brings him out of the little shell he has lived in. Montag is awed by Clarisse's curiosity and questioning. Because she is an person who has her own soul and makes her own decision. Clarisse helps Montag realize this by proving she is beneficial for Montag. For example in the book Clarisse asks Montag, â€Å"Do you ever read any of the book you burn?† and Montag replies by laughing, â€Å"That’s against the law!†. She is not afraid to ask questions that no one would dare to ask. Montag is always intrigued by her. She is unafraid to express her ideas and she challenges Montag by asking him why he is a fireman, burning books. When Montag goes to burn books at someone's home he always thinks about w... ...ds him in discovering his true feelings towards various things in his life. In conclusion Clarisse and Montag meeting was good for Montag because his life changed forever in a positive way even though there were some hassle. I believe that in the future Montag will never forget about Clarisse and always will be thankful for her when he reads books and becomes closer with Granger's group of book readers. Clarisse helped bring out a different side and perspective of Montag that had hidden behind his mind. He started breaking the rules and "living off the edge". Therefore meeting Clarisse was good for Montag because she acknowledges to him the absence of love, satisfaction, and happiness in his life, she helps him realize that his life has been mostly a lie, and she helps him recognize what he really feels on certain topics. She is a very positive influence on him.

Create Dramatic Tension Essay

A view from the bridge, one of Arthur Miller’s first comings when he became interested in the work and lives of large communities of long shore men. Arthur Miller himself worked as a long shore man on New York Brooklyn harbour. This certainly invigorated him into something ‘dangerous and mysterious. ‘ A View from the Bridge originated from a simple story Miller’s friend had told him about. At the time Arthur was active with numerous other projects he hand entitled to do, so he didn’t act upon this piece immediately. His travels along with many potential ideas combined with his clever knowledge and imaginative understanding would give way to something that would later on become controversial. This play was written in 1955, set in Red Hook in a slum area in New York, its exactly as it sounds, dull, dark and full of unwinding drama behind closed doors. Based in 1940s immigration had been illegal at the time when America had banned it due to heavy immigrant incomings, this made coming into America difficult but not impossible. A View from the Bridge at first boasts upon a second generation Italian family, consisting of Eddie, his wife Beatrice and her niece Catherine, these three characters living together pleasantly. These characters play an essential role in dialectical amusement. This Italian family would follow the nature of the stereotypical Italian virtues, valuing loyalty, fixated trust, respect and honour. Respect and loyalty are things an Italian family should contain and retain. A clear feature in this play is immigration, which right from the beginning intertwines through to the end. Starting of with such a young fun loving warm hearted family filled with an easy atmosphere then merged towards difficult and stiff tension between additional characters like Redolfo and Marco who come over to stay from Italy, the family go through hoops of dispute leading to argumentative circles and to a most glum ending. When Beatrice’s cousin’s Marco and Redolfo move into in with the family welcomed by Eddie, things start to submerge. Eddie notices Catherine’s fondness for Redolfo, causing Eddie to become over protective, but not because its his niece but more so because of unmentionable deeper feelings he has for his niece. This family gets torn apart by jealousy, loss of trust and violence. At the end of the play after psychological and verbal threats from Eddie to Redolpho, Marco at the end of Act one/two lifts a chair above Eddie declaring power, urgency and alarms start to go off. At the end of the play the immigration officers come in and arrest Marco and Redolfo. Tempers start to run up high as Marco swears at Eddie which sets him off. Eddie at the end attempted to kill Marco with a knife which goes by all his morals, but Marco turns Eddies weapon into his nemesis and kills him instead. Beatrice and Catherine were deeply upset about Eddies death recollecting what they lost forgetting all the trouble he’d brought upon himself. Eddie’s death was appropriate it wasn’t about why he would die more about how he would die. Although Eddie died, in a sense he became successful because he was killed on Catherine’s and Redolfo’s wedding day, so each day they would remember his death and why he died. My first key dramatic moment is when Beatrice says to Eddie ‘you want something else Eddie and you can never have her! ‘ and when she also adds, ‘the truth is not as bad as blood’ indicating that if he doesn’t acknowledge the truth their will be a bloody outcome. When Beatrice says all this its as if she had brought everything that has been hidden for so long out into the wide open. She brings up the hidden agenda that has stayed taboo to her for so long, she’s telling him that she knows that he wants something else and makes it clear she knows its Catherine by concluding ‘and Eddie you can’t have her! ‘ This is a key dramatic moment because this is when Miller lets Beatrice take control and helps the other characters understand why Eddie is doing what he is. Also because it comes as unexpected and to Catherine it would be a shock and would fill her with disgust, she had no idea what Beatrice was saying it hadn’t sunk in to her, she couldn’t believe what she was hearing. This moment delays what’s happening and it starts to focus on Eddie, Beatrice and Catherine. This horrifies the other characters around and certainly makes the audience reacts with gasp, for the characters had no idea about Eddies feelings but the audience had an idea of it but didn’t expect Beatrice to say what she did and they way she did. This caused dramatic irony because they knew something that the characters didn’t and they were witnessing the build up. This left Eddie in a state uneasiness he swiftly went into denial knowing that inside that Beatrice was speaking the truth. Miller showed us the effects when both Catherine and Eddie both exclaimed ‘B’ and diverted their attention and eyes on her. Miller created this effect cleverly because just as Eddie was going to confront Marco, Beatrice used this as a last attempt to stop Eddie’s frenzy. Miller showed us a wife telling her husband that she knows that her partner wants someone else, the biggest effect this would have is on Eddie. Also the way he showed us they horror in the raised voices. The audience and characters didn’t suspect Beatrice to confront Eddie like this, since she was torn apart by these 2 sides. Miller runs the tension higher than it already was and straight back down to the confrontation of Eddie and Marco.

Role of Kamala in Hermann Hesse’s Siddhartha

The novel Siddhartha written by Hermann Hesse is a philosophical novel that explores the journey of life and to enlightenment. This is done through the narration of the life of a young boy – the eponymous Siddhartha by a third-person omniscient narrator. My goal in this essay is to explore the role of the most important female character in Siddhartha, Kamala. Siddhartha is set in India, the story concurs with the life of Gotama the Buddha and therefore is estimated to take place around the 5th-6th century B. C. Many female characters play a part in Siddhartha’s journey. Siddhartha’s mother, the nameless young woman in the forest that attempts to seduce him and Vasudeva’s deceased wife. However the only female character that plays a significant role in the plot is Kamala, a courtesan who meets Siddhartha outside the city and becomes an influential character. The root word of the name Kamala – â€Å"Kama† is the Hindu god of love and desire; this represents her profession and character. Kamala first appeared in the eponymous chapter. Siddhartha meets Kamala outside the city when she was being escorted by her servants. Immediately, Siddhartha is struck by her beauty and decides to find her in the city. He saw beneath high-piled black hair a very fair, very soft, very clever face, bright-red lips like a newly opened fig, eyebrows well tended and painted in the form of high arches, dark eyes clever and alert. † The immediate circumstances in which we meet Kamala give us the impression of her being a very beautiful and rich, yet mysterious and untouchable given Siddhartha’s social and financial situation. He then enters the city and asks for her name, Siddhartha learns that she is the renowned courtesan Kamala, who is wealthy and owns a house in the city. His decision to visit Kamala brings about a turning point in the plot where Kamala becomes an object of desire for Siddhartha, and also he views her as someone capable of tutoring him in the ways of love. However Kamala initially rejects Siddhartha as he has no possessions and wears ragged clothing. She does however; give Siddhartha a kiss for a poem he performs. â€Å"He lowered his face to hers, and placed his lips on those lips that were like a newly opened fig. † She introduces Siddhartha to Kamaswami, who is a merchant and a regular client of Kamala’s. She tells Siddhartha to work with Kamaswami and learn the way of the merchant in order to earn money for himself. This becomes important as Siddhartha does become a successful merchant like Kamaswami changing him into a respected wealthy man. Eventually Kamala accepts him and shows him the world of physical love and sex. â€Å"[Siddhartha] learned the art of love; he practiced the cult of pleasure, in which more than anywhere else giving and taking become one and the same; he chatted with her, learned from her, gave her advice, received advice. This persists for many years as Kamala continues her relationship with Siddhartha, but comes to an end when the latter becomes disillusioned with the material world and runs away from the city. Only after Siddhartha leaves the city does Kamala find that she is pregnant with his child and decides to accept no other lovers, the story then leaves Kamala. Kamala returns later when she and her son are on their way to see the dying Buddha Gotama. By this time Siddhartha has returned to his old ascetic lifestyle living with the ferryman Vasudeva. Whilst resting by the river Kamala is bitten by a poisonous snake, Vasudeva hears her son calling for help and immediately goes to assist. Vasudeva brings Kamala back to the hut where Siddhartha recognizes her, and realizes that the boy is his son. Kamala lives only long enough to have one last conversation with Siddhartha before she dies in his arms (The Ferryman chapter). We see Kamala as a temptress who seduces Siddhartha and draws him away from his journey to enlightenment. She does however indirectly lead Siddhartha to his enlightenment first by teaching him the values and limitations of the material world, and also by bearing his son who gives Siddhartha the most difficult test on his path. Kamala is the master tutor of the material world, this makes her the opposite of Gotama who is the master tutor of the spiritual world. Whilst Gotama teaches his followers the virtues of patience and inner peace, Kamala focuses on a lifestyle of â€Å"living in the moment†. She also contrasts the Samanas whom Siddhartha has become when he first meets Kamala. The Samanas live without personal property but Kamala demands items such as clothing and jewelry from clients for her courtship. While we see Kamala’s relationship with Siddhartha as mutual love, the two never truly love each other. Siddhartha only sees Kamala as a teacher of love and an object of desire, Kamala sees Siddhartha as a skilled lover, a client and a source of income (she does however show preference and affection for Siddhartha, as we see in the initial chapters when she gives Siddhartha the opportunity to earn a living in the city). For a long while she sported with Siddhartha, luring him on, repulsing him, forcing his will, encircling him, enjoying his mastery, until he was vanquished and lay exhausted at her side. † She treats her relationship with Siddhartha as a part of her profession. However, after Siddhartha leaves and Kamala becomes aware of her pregnancy, she refuses to take another lover. This tells us that she still had a very intimate relationship with Siddhartha. An interesting fact is that despite Siddhartha’s dislike for teachers (as shown in his conversations with Gotama the Buddha and later with Govinda), he shows a preference towards Kamala’s teachings. Towards the very end of her life, Kamala seems to have also found an inner peace. Kamala is described as physically very beautiful and alluring, whilst at the same time being very clever (although we do learn that she cannot read nor write). â€Å"Her body was as lithe as a jaguar’s or as a hunter’s bow. † Kamala’s most important role in Siddhartha is being Siddhartha’s mentor in the world of love and as the mother of Siddhartha’s child. She plays a major role in Siddhartha’s life as a long-time companion and a lover of sorts. Initially we see her as an obstacle to Siddharta’s journey to find enlightenment as she seduces Siddhartha and keeps him from his continuing on his trek, but soon we see that while Siddhartha has experienced much of the spiritual world, he lacks any experience in the material world and is naive to the concepts of love. Here is where we begin to see her as an instructor, a companion and a guide to Siddhartha’s other side of life (the original being a life of ascetics). Reference http://www.123helpme.com/view.asp?id=169147

Information Assurance

We live and conduct business in an active asymmetric threat environment. An individual, business or organization must adapt and protect its vital information assets and critical digital infrastructure. Failure to do so is reckless and may be considered as an obvious lack of due diligence for people who have fiduciary and custodial responsibilities. Any event that causes damage to information resources, whether it is a computer virus, natural disaster or system failure could be devastating to an individual (i.e. identity theft), company, its customers, suppliers and shareholders. Failing to do so may threaten the survival of the company itself. An information system security breach could result in serious financial losses, the disclosure of protected private information, loss of research and development data or fines by regulatory agencies. Losses due to intrusions into an information system could negatively affect the general public (i.e. power failures). This might result in costly class action lawsuits that could exceed an organization's ability to pay and result in its dissolution. Even an individual might be sued for negligence and be financially ruined. So how should an organization or person protect its valuable digital processing infrastructure? A business should establish and implement a comprehensive information assurance plan. Individuals should at least address the components of a professional information assurance plan. Doing so is evidence that the infrastructure owners are attempting to practice due diligence. An information assurance plan for an organization should be formalized and approved in the organization's policies and have the following components: Confidentiality, Integrity, Availability, Accountability and Non-Repudiation. Let's briefly examine each: A. Confidentiality refers to restricting access to data, information or to any component of the digital processing infrastructure unless there is a â€Å"Need† for an individual to be able to access it. The â€Å"need† must be aligned with an employee's job requirements and the mission of the organization. Strong confidentiality prevents the disclosure of sensitive records, research and development information. B. Integrity refers to maintaining the validity and reliability of information that is to be used for decision-making. An information infrastructure that has integrity can be depended upon when making decisions. The information is otherwise useless. Integrity must be aggressively assured. C. Availability is that characteristic of information, which assures that critical information is ready for access precisely when, and where it is needed and to whom it is needed so that decisions can be made. Computers and networks must be protected to assure that mission critical data is on hand when needed. D. Accountability refers to the idea of assigning responsibility to an individual or group of individuals for each part of the digital processing infrastructure. Each time the information infrastructure is accessed someone needs to be responsible for its safe and legitimate use. Otherwise the system is open to serious security breaches. E. Non-Repudiation is that component of information assurance that guarantees each party to a transaction is bound to its results. E-commerce, for example, would be impossible without provisions for assuring that a customer actually made a purchase. Maintaining the confidentiality, integrity, availability and non-repudiation of the information processing infrastructure is vital to the survival of an organization.

Introduction To TESOL Essay

Using what you have read in this introduction to TESOL and your own knowledge, what do you consider to be the blocks which may prevent language learning? When speaking about difficulties in learning and teaching foreign language different authors use different terminology. Some of them speak about mistakes, misbehavior (Cummings, C.: 2000), sources of friction (Smith, C. J., & Laslett, R.: 2002), some – about anxiety (Nishimata, T.: 2008), troubles, difficulties and so on. For better understanding let’s summarize all this definitions into a word â€Å"block†, which means â€Å"block, that could prevent language learning†. There are two major types of blocks. The first type is teacher’s blocks. And the second one is student’s. This means that we could face with some challenges in the question of effective learning from the both sides of the process. And in each situation there are also external and internal blocks. External are blocks that are dictated with the environment. Internal ones are coming from the personality. In both cases I suppose blocks are about psychological reactions but the di fference is in a reason for that. Regarding blocks that could appear from the teacher’s side most of the authors pay attention to the following. Lack of self-discipline, fears of working with different (â€Å"non-standard†) students (Cummings, C.: 2000), managing stress, anger and other emotions (Coetzee, S. A., Wydeman, J. L., & Niekerk, E. J.: 2008). Also I could mention blocks that are connected with the previous experience, teacher’s deformation and burnout. To overcome this troubles teacher needs to be a strong-motivated person able to struggle with his/her blocks. Help of colleagues and observation feedback, realistic understanding of the own level and own abilities may be very useful. Connecting with other teachers â€Å"is a way of sharing your burdens, and your successes, with somebody else. They might feel the same and share strategies to help you overcome the burdens and rejoice in the successes† (Saumell, V.: 2014). Authors also stress that teacher should remember that the bloc ks exists from both sides, try to create a relaxing atmosphere, be respectful to students, give a positive feedback and be encouraging, give students an opportunity to redo the tests, use various teaching methods and techniques. As for the students and their blocks there is much more information to think of. In a list there are such huge themes  as age, motivation, level of knowledge, previous learning experience and influence of mother tongue. The problem of age mostly appears before adults. â€Å"I’m too old to learn English† or â€Å"The time is lost† and so on. It’s important to work upon the positive attitude of grown-up students, to show them the advantages of learning language now, when they exactly know where they will use it and what for do they need it. And do not forget to dispel a myth that it’s impossible to learn foreign language effectively after the age of 20. Teacher may use different arguments to confront with the lack of self-confidence. For example â€Å"without strongly embedded L1 syntactic structures, young children are probably more amenable to actions and activities that promote productive language skills†. (Holloway, M. K.: 2008) And for sure it’s essential for a teacher to know the basis of developmental psychology to be able to communicate effectively with the students of different ages and to consider age peculiarities. As for the motivation it’s a great clue to solve the problems with other blocks. Strong motivation to learning allows student to overcome all other difficulties. Speaking about children it’s a rare situation when a teacher faces with the highly motivated class. So it is one of the great challenges – to motivate students, to show them the positive attitude, to encourage for search and discovering new world. â€Å"As with all learning skills, pupils will be more motivated when they are interested in what they are thinking about or see a real purpose for their thinking† (Wilson, J., & Murdoch, K.: 2008). It’s far not all the blocks and not all the ways of overcoming them but I think that student’s blocks and the blocks of a teacher are deeply connected. And if a teacher has strong blocks in teaching sure s/he will face with the lack of motivation and self-confidence from his/her students and vice versa. As the main responsibility lies on the teacher’s shoulders it’s meaningful to know the blocks and not to avoid but face them and work at them.