Requirements for Admissible Statements Analysis Case Study - 1

Requirements for Admissible Statements Analysis - Case Study Example Illinois', Danny Escobedo, a 22 year-old young man, was accused for the murder of his brother-in-law. The incident happened at the night of 19th January, 1960 when the victim was fatally shot. After few hours Escobedo was arrested without a warrant and taken to custody for interrogation. Escobedo made no statements to police and he was released in the afternoon when his lawyer pursued writ of habeas corpus to the state court with the appeal of releasing his client as according to him there were no sufficient evidences against his client. But Escobedo was again arrested along with his sister on January 30, on the basis of the statement of Benedict DiGerlando who was another suspect of the murder. Benedict DiGerlando stated to police that Escobedo shot his brother-in-law causing his death. Police handcuffed Escobedo while taking him to police station and threatened him by saying that they have enough proof of his crime and it will be better for him to confess. According to the Fifth Am endment of the United States Constitution, nobody can be forced to be witness against himself in any criminal case but this rule was violated in case of Escobedo. Even, when Escobedo requested to consult with his attorney, his request was rejected. The attempt from Escobedo's attorney to see his client was also rejected by police. Again it was the violation of Sixth Amendment of U.S. Constitution as it states that, the suspected person has the right to enjoy legal assistance in all criminal prosecution. Finally, Escobedo confessed the crime and based on that he was found guilty of the murder. He appealed in the Illinois Supreme Court to reconsider his conviction. But it was rejected and then he approached to the U.S. Supreme Court. Supreme Court's decision went with Escobedo and his conviction was overturned by declaring his confession statement as inadmissible. In the second case 'Miranda v. Arizona', Ernesto Arturo Miranda, was accused in two cases one is robbery and the other is attempt to rape. He was arrested on March, 1963. In the attempt to rape case, the victim identified Miranda as the attacker. He also confessed the fact during police interrogation. The court appointed attorney of Miranda, John J. Flynn, tried to defend the accused by highlighting two points. First point was the instability in the story stated by the victim in the attempt to rape case and the second point was the confession of Miranda during police interrogation without any legal advice from any lawyer. But the Arizona Supreme Court convicted Miranda a 20-30 years imprisonment for the punishment of both cases by overruling all objections of his lawyer. But an appeal to the U.S. S

Comparison of the key management and leadership aspects of Essay

Comparison of the key management and leadership aspects of organisations in the private sector, public sector and not for profit - Essay Example The behavioural approach to management is preferred to other approaches to management because it takes into consideration the behaviour of employees. Behaviour is one of the key factors that significantly influence performances of employees in various organizations. Therefore, managers who wish to lead and motivate employees should fully understand how behaviours of individuals under them respond to different phenomenon in the organisation. This will enable them integrate and influence the environment under which the employees work, without hurting their feelings. According to Sloan (1964), number of factors including manager’s biasness, the type of organisation as well as growth and development stage of an organisation among other factors influence choice of management approach in any given organisation. The development of the behavioral approach to management in an organisation The behavioral approach was derived from human relations approach management. This is because its major focus is human dimension at work. According to this approach, productivity is improved through proper understanding of individual’s behavior at work. Human relation theorists defined the employees as individuals, resources, and assets. In the behavioral approach, direct relation exists between employee satisfaction and production. Most human experts believe that workers are more productive when they are satisfied. Therefore, managers who wish to increase and improve organisation’s performance should work hard to meet the needs of people who are working for them. In addition, the theorists believe that employees can be empowered through training, motivation and providing appropriate tools for work. According to Tripathi (2008), the behavioural approach to management gives employees more flexibility in terms of autonomy, independence and empowerment in the organisational structure (Barnard, 1962). The behavioral approach points out that human rationality has constr aints when making the optimal decisions. These constraints are both practical and situational. Both employees and managers may make sub-optimal decisions due to influence by their behaviour. According to Vroom (1964), behaviorists insist that it is appropriate to humanize administration control process and encourage self-direction process rather imposing controls to restrict individuals. Managers should also consider various needs of individuals when influencing people because employees are different. In organizational conflict and change, behavioral approach remains to be practical. It addresses the inevitability of conflict and proposes that conflicting individuals should be understood. Furthermore, it acknowledges that individual often resist change on social aspects. Workers are often organised into teams in the behavioural approach. This is because managers in most organisations are biased to a flatter organisational structure. Application of behavioural approach to management began in 1930’s as a reflection of Hawthorne’s expression of human relation movement and organisational behaviour development. The field of organisational behavior was developed to fill the gap left by early human relation experts who concentrated on inter-personal relations and gave little attention to the patterns of group behavior. As compared to human relations approach management, behavioral approach concentrates it efforts in the study of human behavior. Douglas, McGregor, Chester Barnard, Rensis

United Arab Emirates Essay Example for Free

United Arab Emirates Essay In his article titled â€Å"United Arab Emirates† Sulayman Najm Khalaf gives an interesting overview of the UAE, one of the richest and most prosperous countries in the world. He briefly covers a wide range of subjects that concern the way of life of the Emirati society and vary from the country’s location and geography, its history, ethnic and social composition, political institutions, social welfare, the history of economic development, urbanization to the family life of its citizens, religion, child rearing, education, eating habits, etiquette, etc (Khalaf). Khalaf’s brief account of gender roles and statuses in the Emirati society now make me see the role of women in the country’s social, political, religious, or artistic life in a slightly different way. Although it is a well known fact that Emirati women, like women in many other Muslim countries, do not have the same rights and opportunities as men regardless of whatever the country’s government officials may declare, I did believe they had a greater influence on many aspects of social life and better access to the country’s politics than they actually have. I was also surprised to learn that in spite of the high ratio of the number of educated women in the UAE and their impressive performance in schools and universities, most of them tend to get married early, instead of taking the existing career opportunities, and actually choose to dedicate themselves to raising children and managing domestic affairs. I wrongly believed that the current status of women in the UAE was somewhat approaching the status of women in Western countries. In his article Khalaf describes some aspects of the special relationship between four principal social classes existing in the United Arab Emirates on the one hand, and between the Emirati nationals and the immigrants on the other hand. I was not aware of the high importance which is attached to the division of the nationals into social classes, their roles in â€Å"Page # 2† the Emirati society, and particularly the obvious impossibility for their members to move from a lower social group to a higher one. The article also changed my beliefs about the existence of equal opportunities for the citizens of the United Arab Emirates. Despite apparent openness and equality that I believed were typical of the country, and also tolerance for other ethnic or religious groups, now I am quite aware of the visible existence of gender discrimination and discrimination against other cultural or religious groups which, what is particularly shocking for a Westerner, are overtly encouraged by the state. As far as discrimination against the immigrants is concerned, now that I have read Khalaf’s article I am inclined to believe that the incomers are tolerated in the UAE not out of a sense of Emirati hospitality that is often advertised abroad, but because the country needs them and their low paid labor and services. This can be substantiated, for example, by the fact that the nationals that are just a minority group representing only 20% of the population are favored by most state laws or business regulations (Khalaf). Despite being a multiethnic society, the UAE grants privileges to and appears to protect the interests of only one ethnic group reserving other groups for a sustainable but nonetheless a relatively decent, by local standards, existence. It can be thus concluded that equal opportunities as we understand them in the West simply do not exist in the United Arab Emirates. The author explains that apart from Islam which is the country’s official religion foreign incomers can open and attend their own places of worship, too. But, as he emphasizes in the article, the majority of immigrants are of Asian or Arab descent following Islam. Khalaf does not mention, for example, how many, if any, practicing Christians or Buddhists as well as their churches or temples there are in the country. It would be also interesting to find out more about how the UAE regulates the inflow of immigrants from the much poorer countries of the region. Little does the author say about certain aspects of the country’s â€Å"Page # 3† political life, for example, how the president and his deputy are elected and by whom, how the judiciary is formed, etc. REFERENCES: 1. Khalaf, S. N. United Arab Emirates. Retrieved April 17, 2008 from the World Wide Web: http://findarticles. com/p/articles/mi_gx5228/is_2001/ai_n19144272

Theories and relevant models about branding

Theories and relevant models about branding In this chapter, concepts, theories and relevant models about branding, brand perception and customer buying behaviour will be discussed in detail. An individual who buys products for personal use and not for manufacture or resale is said to be a consumer. A consumer is someone who can make the decision whether or not to purchase an item at the store, which can be influenced by marketing and advertisements. Each and every consumer is influenced by their own brand perception and buying decisions which depends on various number of factors. 2.2 Branding Brand is the image that consumers have in mind (Aaker, 1991). It is also the unique characteristics that have been developed all the time in order to differentiate actual products from the competitors (Murphy, 1990). In addition, The American Association defines a brand as a name, term, sign, symbol or design, or a combination of them intended to identify the goods or services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of competitors. A brand is thus a product or service that adds dimensions that differentiate it in some way from other products or services designed to satisfy the same need. These differences may be functional, rational, or emotional or intangible related to what the brand represents. Brand concepts must address customer interests and lifestyles. Factors that affect its brand image and brand perception among marketing communication program that implementing to the public to create brand perception, brand characteristic, brand image and bran d equity. De Chernatony and McDonald (1992) define a brand as an identifiable product, service, person or place, augmented in such a way that the buyer or user perceives relevant, unique added values which match their needs most closely. There have been two basic values identified by de Chernatony (1999) that contribute towards the brand premium. One is the functional value such as the price, technology, design and store layout. This functional value is a distinct attribute that a customer adds to the brand and distinguishes the brand from the rest. The second form of added value comes from emotional value. This value is derived from notions like advertising, internal branding, translating the retail brand into consumer taste, and even the shopping experience itself at the retail outlet. 2.3 Brand Perception Perception is how we see ourselves and the world we live in. However, what ends up being stored inside us doesnt always get there in a direct manner. Often our mental makeup results from information that has been consciously or subconsciously filtered as we experience it, a process we refer to as a perceptual filter. To us this is our reality, though it does not mean it is an accurate reflection on what is real. Thus, perception is the way we filter stimuli (e.g., someone talking to us, reading a newspaper story) and then make sense out of it. Perception has several steps. Exposure sensing a stimuli (e.g. seeing an ad) Attention an effort to recognize the nature of a stimuli (e.g. recognizing it is an ad) Awareness assigning meaning to a stimuli (e.g., humorous ad for particular product) Retention adding the meaning to ones internal makeup (i.e., product has fun ads) Brand perception is consumers ability to identify the brand under different conditions, as reflected by their brand recognition or recall performance (Kotler Lane, 2006). Brand recall refers to consumers ability to retrieve the brand from the memory (Keller, 1993). According to the improvement of measurement for brand equity, consumer-based brand equity was described for four dimensions; brand awareness, brand association, perceived quality, and brand loyalty (Pappu, et al, 2005). Brand awareness was defined as the consumers ability to identify or recognize the brand (Rossiter and Percy, 1987). It refers to the strength of a brand presence in consumers minds. Brand awareness has several levels starting from the less recognition of the brand to dominance (Aaker, 1991). Perceived quality was evaluated and decided by consumers. Perceived quality is another valuation of brand to push the customer to buy products. Brand building has been around for centuries as a means to distinguish the goods of one producer from those of another. The earliest signs of branding in Europe were the medieval guilds requirement that craftspeople put trademarks on their products to protect themselves and consumers against inferior quality. In the fine arts, branding began with artists signing their works. Brands today play a number of important roles that improve consumers lives and enhance the financial value of firms (Kotler Lane, 2006). Brand awareness and brand perceived quality as the significant factors to create and maintain brand equity. There are positive relationship among brand awareness, perceive quality and brand equity (Aker, 1996, Buzzell Gate, 1987). The marketing program has effect to improve the perceive quality of brand for different customers. Brand perception is consumers ability to identify the brand under different conditions, as reflected by their brand recognition or recall performance (Kotler Lane, 2006). Brand recall refers to consumers ability to retrieve the brand from the memory (Keller, 1993). According to the improvement of measurement for brand equity, consumer-based brand equity was described for four dimensions; brand awareness, brand association, perceived quality, and brand loyalty (Pappu, et al, 2005). Brand awareness was defined as the consumers ability to identify or recognize the brand (Rossiter and Percy, 1987). It refers to the strength of a brand presence in consumers minds. Brand awareness has several levels starting from the less recognition of the brand to dominance (Aaker, 1991). Perceived quality was evaluated and decided by consumers. Perceived quality is another valuation of brand to push the customer to buy products. Brand building has been around for centuries as a means to distinguish the goods of one producer from those of another. The earliest signs of branding in Europe were the medieval guilds requirement that craftspeople put trademarks on their products to protect themselves and consumers against inferior quality. In the fine arts, branding began with artists signing their works. Brands today play a number of important roles that improve consumers lives and enhance the financial value of firms (Kotler Lane, 2006). Brand awareness and brand perceived quality as the significant factors to create and maintain brand equity. There are positive relationship among brand awareness, perceive quality and brand equity (Aker, 1996, Buzzell Gate,1987). The marketing program has effect to improve the perceive quality of brand for different customers. 2.4 Brand Equity Source: Aaker, 1991 Brand equity is the added value endowed to products and services. Aaker (1991) defined the brand equity as a set of brand assts and liabilities linked to brand that adds or detracts the product or service value based on the customers perspectives. This value may be reflected in how consumers think, feel and act with respect to the brand that consumers had perceive from marketing programs. Brand equity is an important intangible asset that has psychological and financial value to the firm. The value of brand equity depends on the number of same people who buy regularly (Aaker, 1996). The brand loyalty, brand awareness, and brand perceived quality are necessary to maintain the brand equity (Motameni Shahrokhi, 1998). There are two different perspectives of brand equity; financial and customer based. The first perspective evaluates the asset value of a brand name that creates to the business (Farquhar et al, 1991). Brand equity increased the discounted future cash flows and revenue comparing to the same product did not have the brand name (Motameni Shahrkhi, 1998). According to the second perspective, the premise of customer-based brand equity models is that the power of brand lies in what customers have responded, seen, read, heard, learned, thought and felt about the brand over time. In other words, the power of brand lies in the minds of existing or potential customers and what they have experienced directly and indirectly about the brand. The customer-based brand equity finally drives the financial return to the company (Lassar et al, 1995). The valuation of brand has been studied for different approaches, for example, marketing, premium pricing market value, customer factors, replacement cost perspective. According to the valuation based on consumer factors, the measurement of customers preference and attitude can be used to evaluate the brand equity (Aaker, 1991 and Kapferer, 1992). 2.5 Marketing Communication The marketing communication is considered as the strategic activities for brand managers to build and maintain the brand image of targeted customers (Duncan Mulhern, 2004). It is a significant driver of competitive advantage to create the ability of companies to attract, retain, and leverage customers (Kitchen, Joanne, Tao, 2004). Duncan (2002) explained that marketing communication is a process for managing the customer relationship that affects brand value lastly. Marketing communication programs are not only above the line activities such as advertising and sales promotions but also below the line activities such as public relations. Regarding recent concept of marketing communication, two-way communication as well as one way communication is a key determinant of brand strategies to stimulus the brand orientation process (Aaker, 1996 and Urde, 1994). 2.6 Consumer Behaviour Schiffinan and Kanuk (2004) define Consumer Behaviour as the behaviour that customers display in searching for, purchasing, using, evaluating and disposing of products and services that they expect will satisfy their needs. Consumer buying behaviour incorporates the acts of individuals directly involved in obtaining, using and disposing of economic goods and services including the decision process that precede and determine these acts (Huctings 1995). image0.jpg Source: (http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/consumer-behavior-for-dummies-cheat-sheet.html, accessed on 20 /10/10 at 8.40pm) Lamb, Hair and McDartiel (1992) note that consumer behaviour is a study of the processes the consumer uses to make purchase decisions as well as the use and disposal of the purchased goods and services. It also includes the analysis of factors that influences purchase decisions and goods usage. Further more consumer behaviour is a process and purchase is only one step in that process. Santon,Etzel and Walker (1994) states that consumers are complex in nature and keep changing constantly. So it is a must for the marketers to constantly improve their understanding of consumers and understand what influences the needs of the consumers. In short, the understanding of the buying behavior of existing and potential customers is imperative for marketers (Lancaster 1998). It is also needed for the competitive survival. When the consumer is viewed in the proper perspective, the outcomes could be quite positive for the manufacturer. Lamb,Hair and McDaniel (1992),claim that the knowledge of consumer behavior reduces uncertainty when creating the marketing mix. The field of customer behavior covers a lot of ground: It is the study of the processes involved when individuals or groups select, purchase, use, or dispose of products, services, ideas, or experiences to satisfy needs and desires (Michael, 2003). Earlier, the field was referred to as buyer behavior, which emphasized o n interaction between consumers and producers at the time of purchase. Now marketers feel that consumer behavior is not merely a consumer handing over money in return for a service or good, but it is an ongoing process. The exchange of a transaction in which two or more organizations or people give and receive something of value is an integral part of marketing. 2.7 Consumer Decision Making Mahatoo (1985) defines Consumer Behavior decision making process consisting of a number of steps that begin before the purchase and reaches beyond the buying act. He suggests that marketers have to go beyond the various influences on buyers and develop an understanding of how consumers actually make their buying decisions .The ability to create a good service and to persuade the market to buy this offering instead of its competitors offering depends upon the insight into the consumer purchase decision on the understanding of how the target customers arrive at their purchase decisions. Price is one of the dominating factors when it comes to making a purchase decision. It generally plays a vital role in determining consumers brand choice while selecting a product. Consumers look into the price while taking a buying decision and check whether it is within their affordable limits. This helps them to maximize their immediate utility that they gain from the purchase. The consumers give relative importance to both price and quality, so while choosing a brand they make a choice consistent with the relative importance attached to both attributes (Nor Khasimah Alimana and Md Nor Othman, 2007). It is also known that consumers look upon the additional services and freebies which come along with the product rather than looking on the price factor. Customers were believed to put different weights on every factor when it comes to the evaluation process. Analysis shows that customers who had experienced bad customer service tend to consider more thoroughly all aspects of the serv ice when it comes to choice of product (Tor W. Andreassen and Line L. Olsen, 2008).   According to Kotler (2003), there are five roles people play during a purchase. They are Initiator: It is the person who gives the idea of buying the product or service. Influencer: It is the person who reviews or influences the decision. Decider: It is the person who makes the buying decision: what to buy, how to buy, when to buy and where to buy. Buyer: It is the person who actually makes the purchase. User: It is the person who consumes or uses the product or service. 2.8 Buying Behavior Buying behavior is a process in which consumers decide and act accordingly to buy certain products for their use. There are certain aspects which we need to understand. Why do consumers buy what they buy? What are the key factors for influencing consumers to buy the products? What are the changing trends in the society? Consumer buying behavior refers to what consumers buy at a certain point of time which involves their decision making. So it is important for any firm to keenly analyze on consumer buying behaviors as it has a great impact on the firms marketing strategy. It also plays a key role in the success of the firm. It is important for any firm to create a marketing mix that satisfies the customers. 2.9 Types of Consumer Buying Behavior There are few types of buying behaviors based on the type of products which needs to be purchased. Complex buying behavior is where an individual seeks lot of information about a high value branded product before purchasing it. Habitual buying behavior is where the individual buys the product out of habit. Variety seeking buying behavior is where the individual likes to shop around and experiment different products. Consumer buying behavior is determined by level of involvement in the purchase decision (Renjith, June 2004). According to Mahatoo (1985), the nature of the decision process varies depending upon the product and the consumer. The marketers need to determine the kind of decision making behavior that is involved with the particular product in order to understand the behavior of the consumer. Howard (1989) classifies consumer buying decision into three broad categories: Routine Response Programmed Behavior- A consumer generally uses a routine response behavior while frequently buying the low cost goods or services. These goods and services can be called low involvement products as the consumer spends little time on decision making and purchases easily. The consumer is familiar with different brands in this product category, but usually sticks on to one brand. The consumer usually skips many steps in the decision process as he buys the product out of habit. Limited Decision Making Buying product occasionally. When you need to obtain information about an unfamiliar brand in a product category. Requires a moderate amount of time for information gathering as it is compared with various brands. Acquiring information about an unfamiliar product category is called as limited decision making. Examples: books, clothes and cosmetics. Extensive Decision Making Consumers usually spend much time on extensive decision making with high involvement when they purchase an unfamiliar expensive product. This is the most complex type of consumer decision making as the consumers need a great deal of information to compare it with its alternate brands. Examples: cars, computers. Complex buying behavior involves three steps: The consumer develops belief about the product. The consumer develops attitude about the product. The consumer makes a thoughtful choice. Consumers usually engage in complex buying behavior when they are highly involved in a purchase, which usually happens when the product is expensive, risky, and highly self expressive. Many products do not carry features unless the buyer does some research. The marketer of a high involvement product must understand consumers information- gathering and evaluation process. According to this the marketer needs to develop strategies which will assess the buyer in learning about the products attributes and their importance. The marketer also needs to differentiate the brand features, motivate store keepers, and use proper print media to describe the brand and the buyers interaction to influence the brand choice. Dissonance-Reducing buyer behaviour According to Herbert (1965), the consumer sometimes gets highly involved in a purchase but see little differences in brands. The high involvement is due to the fact that the purchase is expensive, infrequent and risky. For this type of purchase the consumer will shop around to learn more about the product but purchase it quickly responding to the primary factors like price or convenience. After the purchase, the consumer might experience dissonance by hearing favourable things about other brands or noticing certain disquieting features. Now the consumer will alert the informants who support his or her decisions. For example, here, the consumer acted first then acquired new beliefs and ended up with a set of attitudes. Marketing communication should supply beliefs and evaluations that help the customer feel good about the brand of his choice. Variety-Seeking Buying Behaviour Henry (1987) states that some buying situations are characterised by low involvement but significant brand differences. Usually consumers do lot of brand switching. Take for example, cookies. The consumer has some knowledge about cookies, chooses them without much evaluation and evaluates the product during consumption. But next time the consumer may reach for another brand according to his taste. Brand switching occurs for the sake of variety rather than dissatisfaction. 3.10 Buying Decision Process The consumers engage in a decision process to deal with the marketing environment and make purchases. The consumer goes through a series of logical stages to arrive at the decision when he faces a problem which could be resolved through a purchase. A typical buying process consists of five stages. (Micheal and Elnora, 2000). 2.10.1 Problem Recognition The purchase process starts where the buyer recognises a problem or need. The need maybe triggered by internal or external stimuli. Marketers need to identify the circumstances that trigger a particular need (Micheal, 2003). People have unsatisfied needs and wants that create tension or discomfort, which can be satisfied by acquiring and consuming goods and services. Hence, the process of deciding what to buy begins when there is a need and it can be satisfied through consumption. Mahatoo (1985), states that when the consumer becomes aware of a discrepancy between the existing state and a desired state, a need is aroused. The existing state is the total situation of a consumer, the current needs, attitudes, motives. The desired state is the situation after the kinds of changes the consumer wishes. Both these states are the functions of consumers motivation, personality and past experience of cultural and social influences. Evans and Burman (1984), defines a stimulus as a cure intended to motivate a person to act. It can be social, commercial or non commercial. Need recognition shows a persons readiness to act by becoming aware of a need but does not guarantee that the decision making process will continue. Kotler (2003), suggests that by gathering information from a number of consumers marketers can identify the most frequent stimuli that triggers an interest in a product category, thereby developing marketing strategies that would create a spark in consumers interest. 2.10.2 Information Search When a consumer needs to gain knowledge about a product or service, he or she would be aroused to search for more information in the product category. Consumer information sources fall under four groups: Personal sources: Family, friends, neighbours Commercial sources: Advertising, sales person, dealers, display boards Public sources: Mass media, consumer-rating organizations Experimental sources: Handling, examining, using the product. The relative amount and influences of these information sources vary with product category and consumer characteristics (Peter, Daniel and Nancy, 1986). Customer decisions are based on a combination of past experiences and marketing information. Past experience is considered as an internal source of information. Greater the past experience, lesser the external information the consumer is likely to seek to make a decision. Baker (2000), states that if there is a sufficiently high level of involvement with the problem, the consumers are likely to engage in a complex and extensive information search. If the involvement level is low, they are likely to use a very simple information search. Kotler (2003), states that by gathering information the consumer learns about competing brands and their features. There will be lot of brands available to the consumer in a product category, in which only a few brands the consumer would be aware of (awareness set). Among these brands, few brands will meet consumers initial buying criteria (consideration set). As the consumer gathers more information only a few brands would remain (choice set). All the brands in the choice set might be acceptable. 2.10.3 Evaluation of Alternatives There is no single evaluation process used by all customers or by one customer in all buying situations. The consumers view each product as a bundle of attributes with varying abilities of delivering the benefits needed to satisfy them. The attributes of interest to buyers vary by product. Consumers will pay most attention to attributes that deliver benefits (Mary, James and John, 1997). Once a choice set has been identified, the consumer evaluates them before making a decision. The evaluation involves establishing some criteria against which each alternative is compared. The criteria that consumers use in the evaluation results from their past experience and feelings towards various brands as well as the opinions of family, friends, etc. (Stanton, Etzel and Walker, 1994). The product related attributes such as quality, durability, price, design, etc. Influence the buying decision of a consumer. A way to narrow down the products in the choice set is to pick an attribute and then excl ude all products in the set that does not possess that attribute (Lamb and McDaniel, 1992). Thus the choice which possesses all the required product related attributes can be selected. 2.10.4 Purchase Decision From the evaluation process discussed about, consumer will reach their final purchase decision which is made up of five purchase sub decisions: Brand decision, Vendor decision, Quantity decision, Timing decision and Payment method decision (Joseph and Howard, 1987). After evaluation, the first thing in mind would be to purchase the product or not. If the decision is to buy, a series of related decisions must be made regarding the features, where and when to make the actual transaction, how to take delivery, a mode of payment and other issues. So a decision to purchase starts an entirely new series of decisions that may be time consuming and difficult. Selecting a source from which a purchase can be made is also a buying decision (Stanton, Etzel and Walker, 1994). A consumers decision to modify, postpone or avoid a purchase decision is heavily influenced by risk. The amount of risk varies with the extent of money at stake, the amount of attribute uncertainty and amount of self confide nce. Marketers must understand the factors that create a feeling of risk in the consumer, thereby providing information and support to reduce the risk (Kotler, 2003). 2.10.5 Post Purchase Behaviour Every customer after buying a product will experience either satisfaction or dissatisfaction. Hence the marketers job does not end when the product is bought; it must be monitored for post purchase satisfaction and post purchase actions. A very important stage of the consumers decision is the impact of current decisions on the future purchasing behaviour. Mahatoo (1985) says that three general outcomes are possible. They are: 2.10.5.1 Satisfaction Satisfaction occurs when a product performs according to expectations. The brand chosen has served to fulfil the customers needs and thus reinforces the response of purchasing the brand, which also means that beliefs and attributes about the brand are positively influenced and the likelihood of repurchase is increased. 2.10.5.2 Dissatisfaction Dissatisfaction occurs in the reverse situation, when the products performance is not up to the expectation it leads to negative belief and attributes about the brand. A dissatisfied customer is not likely to recommend the product to others. The results of satisfaction and dissatisfaction are recorded in long term memory and become inputs to the internal search of the firm. So the marketers must be careful in satisfying the needs and expectations of the customers. 2.10.5.3 Cognitive Dissonance: Cognitive dissonance occurs when the consumer experiences a feeling of doubt or psychological discomfort about the choice made. It is often felt right after the purchase when the consumer begins to have second thoughts about the product chosen. Dissonance is more likely to occur in complex decision making with high involvement purchases. Dissonance can come from a personal source from advertisement or from experience with the product. Post purchase evaluation is important to marketers because positive evaluation increases the probability of repeat purchases and brand loyalty. Negative or doubtful thoughts increase the probability that different alternatives will be considered next time when the need arises (Husted, Varble and Lowry, 1989). 2.11 Factors influencing the behaviour of buyers http://www.ac.wwu.edu/~market/380dir/cbinfluence.jpg Source: (http://blog.oneshotmarketing.com/2010/08/consumer-buying-behavior-the-laws-of-attraction/ accessed on 20/10/10 at 9.15pm) Consumer behaviour is affected by many uncontrollable factors. Culture is one of the factors that influence behaviour. Culture can be defined as our attitudes and beliefs. It is developed along with age in the society. For an individual growing up, a child is influenced by their parents, brothers and sisters. They learn about their religion and culture which helps them to develop opinions, attitudes and beliefs (Richard, 1976). These factors will influence a buying behaviour of the consumer, other factors like friends or people they look up may also influence their choices of purchasing a particular product. Culture is the most basic cause of a persons wants and behaviour.   Culture is learned from family, church, school, peers, colleagues. It reflects basic values, perceptions, wants, and behaviours. Cultural shifts create opportunities for new products or may otherwise influence consumer behaviour. Peoples social status plays an important role in the consumer buying behaviour. Social class distinctions allow companies to position their products to appeal to certain social classes. The easiest example is automobiles. Marketing for Mercedes Benz is completely different from the marketing campaign from Honda or Toyota because they target individuals from the upper class. Another powerful and easy factor that companies manipulate in their marketing efforts is the social factor. To be part of a group, or represent a certain lifestyle, you must have certain possessions. Personal and Psychological factors are very specific realms and the target market segment becomes even smaller. That means even less amount of people can use these products. This reflects in higher prices to account for the decrease in volume 2.12 Models of Consumer Behaviour The various models of consumer behaviour as per (Ramasamy and Namakumari, 1990) are stated as follows 2.12.1 The Economic Model According to the economic model of buyer behaviour, the buyer is a rational man and his buying decisions are totally governed by the concept of utility. If the customer has certain amount of purchasing power, a set of needs to be met and a set of products in a very rational manner with the intentions of maximising the utility or benefits. 2.12.2 The Learning Model According to the learning model, buying behaviour can be influenced by manipulating the drivers, stimuli and responses of the buyers. The model rests on mans ability at learning, forgetting and discriminating. 2.12.3 The Psychoanalytical Model According to this model the individual consumer has a complex set of deep stated motives that drive him towards certain buying decisions. The buyer has a private world with all his hidden fears, suppressed desires and totally subjective longings. His buying action can be influenced by appealing to these desires and longings. 2.12.4 The Sociological Model According to the sociological model, the individual buyer is influenced by society, by inmate groups as well as social classes. His buying decisions are not totally governed by utility, he has a desire to emulate, follow, and fit in with his immediate environment. Several of his buying decisions may be governed by societal compulsions. 2.12.5 The Nicosia Model Efforts have been made by marketing scholars to build buyer behaviour models from the marketing mans point of view. The Nicosia model and the Howard and Sheth model are two important models. Both of them belong to the category called the systems model where the human being is analysed as the system with stimuli as the input to the system and behaviour as the output of the system. The Nicosia model tries to establish the link between a firm and its customers, how the activities of the firm influences the consumer and results in the buying decision. The information from the firm influences the consumer towar

Charles Dickens :: GCSE English Literature Coursework

Charles Dickens Did you know that Charles Dickens thought that Americans were distasteful? There is a reason for this and you will find out if you read my essay. This will be a discussion on the famous author Charles Dickens and his life. The great author Charles Dickens was born on February 7, 1812, he was the son of John and Elizabeth Dickens. Charles Dickens father, John Dickens, was a clerk in a Navy pay office. John was very bad with finances so he was put in jail because of his debt. Charles' whole family joined his father in jail and Charles was stuck working for Warrens Blacking Factory. After his father was let out of prison he rescued his son from his horrible labor fate. From 1824 to 1827 he became a student at a school in London. Little did his family know that his stay at the Blacking Factory would haunt him for the rest of his life. The only 2 people he told about this horrible event in his life would be his wife, and his best friend John Foster which he will meet later in life. He uses this period in his life in one of his books it is called Great Expectations and also uses this in the book DavidCopperfield. In 1829 he was a reporter for the Doctor's Commoner's Courts. In 1832 he ,was a reporter on the Parliamentary debates in the House of Commons, and he became a reporter for a newspaper. In 1834 he adopted his famous pseudonym " Boz." Soon his father was put in jail for another count of debt and he came to his aid time. During his lifetime Charles' family would always be on his back for money. 		In 1836 the first series of the "Sketches of Boz" was released , also during this year he was hired to be a short writer to go along with his humorous sport illustrations by Robert Seymour. Robert committed suicide after the second set was completed so Charles changed the conception of the "PickWick Paper's" which afterwards would become a novel. The PickWick Papers was a huge success through November 1837. In 1836 he became editor of Bentley's Miscellany then he published a second series of the famous "Sketches of Boz", and met John Forster who later would become his greatest friend. 	After the huge success with the PickWick Papers he became a full time novelist,		

The Color Purple vs. The Joy Luck Club Essay -- essays research papers

The Color Purple is a biased, unbalanced view into the life of black women during the early to mid-nineteen hundreds. While it is obvious that a woman who in her own right is racist, chauvinist, and ignorant to the way that the world really works wrote the novel, it has been requested that the class write a paper on the story. Whilst this writer does not agree with this novel or anything that Alice Walker thinks or feels, obligingly this paper is been written. The Color Purple and the Joy Luck Club had many similarities, the most notably the presence of weak, ill bred, and quite frankly embarrassing male characters.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The most obvious example of one of these unfortunate male characters is of course Albert from the Color Purple. Throughout the novel, Albert is portrayed as an abusive agitator whose main concerns are money, sex, and making sure things are in their â€Å"place†.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Dear God, Harpo ast his daddy why he beat me. Mr. ________ say, Cause she my wife.† (Walker, 23) Only the most ignorant of men, even if they believed this would make that reply, fueling the fire that this author feels to have Alice Walker burned at the stake. Especially considering that Alice herself admitted that she does not think fondly of the male race. Albert, throughout the book, is in no way portrayed as a good man until the very end when his whole world comes crumbling down because Celie finally stood up for herself and left with Shug. This writer feels that this is indirectly saying that men are weak and can not function in life without a â€Å"strong Woman† to guide them. I will add personally that a woman does not make a man, actions and attitude make a man. That being said, Albert is not a good man, but he realizes this and changes his ways towards the end of the story which I feel deserves him a great deal of respect.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Having slandered Alice Walker like that, this writer cannot overlook the fact that Amy Tan’s novel The Joy Luck Club does not convey a flattering view on men. While all of her male characters are minors ones at best, each one conveys a different distinct shortcoming. Harold, Lena’s husband, is completely oblivious to his wife’s feelings making him self-centered. After viewing the list of expenses on the refrigerator Lena’s mother and her had a discus... ... he had indeed been cheating on her. This fact only came out when he called her after the divorce asking for the house to start a new family. This revelation is not a proud day for men, fictional character or not.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the end, the fact that men like all of these actually exists, cannot be disputed. However, focusing on the shortcomings of someone always puts them in a negative light. This writer could easily produce a novel featuring women who do much of the same thing or perhaps I could bash a certain religion, race, or how about talking trash about homosexuals? I do not do this because it gets us nowhere and in reality, it is wrong, everyone has shortcomings. Focusing on the positive of out civilization is the way to go. I feel that the chauvinism displayed by both of these authors is a detriment to the novelists who manage to take unbiased views on the world. While both of these novels are widely shared and respected throughout the literary world, perhaps it is time to stop looking so deep into books to analyze how the theme of colonialism affected Nettie on page two-twelve and look at the facts that are in bold face. The Color Purple vs. The Joy Luck Club Essay -- essays research papers The Color Purple is a biased, unbalanced view into the life of black women during the early to mid-nineteen hundreds. While it is obvious that a woman who in her own right is racist, chauvinist, and ignorant to the way that the world really works wrote the novel, it has been requested that the class write a paper on the story. Whilst this writer does not agree with this novel or anything that Alice Walker thinks or feels, obligingly this paper is been written. The Color Purple and the Joy Luck Club had many similarities, the most notably the presence of weak, ill bred, and quite frankly embarrassing male characters.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The most obvious example of one of these unfortunate male characters is of course Albert from the Color Purple. Throughout the novel, Albert is portrayed as an abusive agitator whose main concerns are money, sex, and making sure things are in their â€Å"place†.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Dear God, Harpo ast his daddy why he beat me. Mr. ________ say, Cause she my wife.† (Walker, 23) Only the most ignorant of men, even if they believed this would make that reply, fueling the fire that this author feels to have Alice Walker burned at the stake. Especially considering that Alice herself admitted that she does not think fondly of the male race. Albert, throughout the book, is in no way portrayed as a good man until the very end when his whole world comes crumbling down because Celie finally stood up for herself and left with Shug. This writer feels that this is indirectly saying that men are weak and can not function in life without a â€Å"strong Woman† to guide them. I will add personally that a woman does not make a man, actions and attitude make a man. That being said, Albert is not a good man, but he realizes this and changes his ways towards the end of the story which I feel deserves him a great deal of respect.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Having slandered Alice Walker like that, this writer cannot overlook the fact that Amy Tan’s novel The Joy Luck Club does not convey a flattering view on men. While all of her male characters are minors ones at best, each one conveys a different distinct shortcoming. Harold, Lena’s husband, is completely oblivious to his wife’s feelings making him self-centered. After viewing the list of expenses on the refrigerator Lena’s mother and her had a discus... ... he had indeed been cheating on her. This fact only came out when he called her after the divorce asking for the house to start a new family. This revelation is not a proud day for men, fictional character or not.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the end, the fact that men like all of these actually exists, cannot be disputed. However, focusing on the shortcomings of someone always puts them in a negative light. This writer could easily produce a novel featuring women who do much of the same thing or perhaps I could bash a certain religion, race, or how about talking trash about homosexuals? I do not do this because it gets us nowhere and in reality, it is wrong, everyone has shortcomings. Focusing on the positive of out civilization is the way to go. I feel that the chauvinism displayed by both of these authors is a detriment to the novelists who manage to take unbiased views on the world. While both of these novels are widely shared and respected throughout the literary world, perhaps it is time to stop looking so deep into books to analyze how the theme of colonialism affected Nettie on page two-twelve and look at the facts that are in bold face.

Audit Program Essay

The purpose of this part of the audit process for Apollo Shoes is to design tests of controls, substantive tests of transactions, and analytical procedures for the sales, collection, payroll, personnel, acquisition, and payment cycles. These test and procedures are with intent to attest operating effectiveness of internal controls of Apollo Shoes on the basis of documentation provided. It is with the understanding that with the performing of test and procedures an opinion can be formed but management of Apollo shoes is responsible for the maintenance and assessment internal controls of over financial reporting. The design of test of controls of the sales and collection cycle follows. Sales and Collection Cycle Tests of Controls Sales Cycle: The review of the revenue and collection cycle manual of Apollo Shoes provides the improper record keeping of sales orders and that sales orders are not numbered which may affect the accuracy of pricing on invoices so steps. The test of controls for sale cycle to determine accuracy will be: 1. Examine sample 1004345 for Anglonesia Rehabilitation and Reprogramming Institute invoice to review unit prices of merchandise listed. Compare unit prices on invoice for merchandise to these shoe types from inventory status report of 2007. 3. Verify unit prices on invoices are correct. Collection Cycle: A review of balance confirmation from customers provides a customer of Apollo Shoes Neutralizer’s account balance was understated by $ 1,388. 75, which prompts testing of existence of collections. With that information, the test of controls of existence of collections will be: 1. Determine if bank reconciliation has been performed. . Request bank deposit slips and for end of year for 2007 and bank statement with information for deposit for end of year 2007. 3. Review accounts receivable aged trial balance. 4. Compare deposit amount listed on bank statement to deposit slips. 5. Review balance on reconciliation. 6. Compare payments customers indicate on balance confirmations to those listed on deposit slips for end of year 2007 and payments indicated on accounts receivable aged trial balance. Verify the amounts of reconciliation, bank statement, deposit slips, and accounts receivable aged trial balance align. Substantive Tests of Transactions Sales Cycle: With the same rationale of attesting to accuracy of recorded sales with the test of controls notation of a customer indicating receipt of merchandise not requested, the steps of substantive test of transactions are: 1. Examine sample 1004345 for Anglonesia Rehabilitation Trace invoice back to shipping documents, sales and customer order. 2. Verify shipping amount is correct. . Verify if what is listed is sales order was shipped. 4. Verify if what listed on sales or is what Anglonesia Rehabilitation requested Collection Cycle: In regards to collections, the same rationale for test of controls proving existence with the basis of Neutralizer having an understated balance, the substantive test for collections would be: 1. Review cash receipts journal for the amount of the cash receipt indicated by customers. 2. Review bank s tatement for deposits indicated. 3. Review deposit slips for list of deposits. 4. Verify amount customers indicate they payment is listed on deposit slips and are included on deposits listed on bank statement. Analytical Procedures Sales Cycle: From the basis of negative press that Larry Lancaster addresses in the letter to shareholders the assumption is that sales will decrease. The analytical procedures to confirm expectations for the sales cycle will be: 1. Review the sales trial balances from end of year 2006 and 2007. 2. Divide the sales trial balances for 2007 by the 2006 trial balance. 3. Determine the percentage change and if it is positive to confirm expectation. Collection Cycle: From the same basis for the analytical procedure for the Sales cycle and questions of collectability from Mall-Wart, it is the expectation that AR will balance will be larger than last year so the analytical procedure will be: 1. Review audited balance of AR for 2006 and the unaudited balance of 2007. 2. Determine if the AR balance has increase as expected. Payroll and Personnel Cycle The payroll and personnel cycle have a high level of internal control to ensure that employees are paid accurately and on time. This also ensures that the company files accurate and timely payroll returns with the government. Tests of Controls 1. Review time cards for hourly employees to ensure that the time clock was used to record all hours worked. 2. Review time cards for hourly employees to confirm that the supervisor has approved them. 3. Examine the last payroll or employees listing which supervisors checked and compare it with personnel files to confirm that all paid employees are current employees. Review personnel files to confirm that all current pay rates have been properly authorized by supervisors and properly documented. . Review personnel files to confirm authorized pay rates match the paychecks from the last pay cycle. 6. Review personnel files for current and updated W-4 and I-9 forms. 7. Observe the segregation of duties in the payroll department and confirm that payroll forms are reviewed before checks are issued. 8. Confirm that the correct payroll forms are sent to accounts payable. 9. Confirm that there is a segregation of duties in the treasurer’s office. 10. Confirm with supervisors that all paychecks are distributed or turned back in to the treasurer’s office. Verify that all paychecks are signed for when picked up or dispersed. 12. Confirm that all payroll checks are numbered and accounted for. 13. Review payroll tax liability accounts and ensure they are properly recorded. 14. Review payroll tax expense and tax liability accounts and confirm amounts against the quarterly payroll tax returns. 15. Review the bank statements for the payroll account to verify that deposits are transferred every two weeks and payroll checks are the only withdrawals. Substantive Tests of Transactions 1. Review the payroll journal for adjusting entries or unusual entries. . Compare cancelled checks against payroll journal and verify that the information matches and is correct. Examine the endorsement on the cancelled checks to ensure that they were endorsed correctly. 4. Compare cancelled checks against the list of current employees. 5. Reconcile the distributions in the payroll journal with the checks cleared on the bank statement. 6. Confirm and review bank reconciliations for the payroll account. 7. Select 100 hourly employees and recomputed their hours worked from the time cards for three separate pay cycles. Select 100 hourly employees and recomputed their gross pay based on their time cards for three separate pay cycles. 9. Select 200 employees and confirm that withholding amounts are accurate based on W-4 and current tax tables. 10. Use the same 200 employees in the previous test and recalculate net pay based on verified gross pay and withholding calculations. 11. Examine the payroll transactions to ensure that expenses are being allocated to the correct expense account. 12. Examine cleared check dates and compare them with the pay cycle pay dates. Compare the payroll expense account balances with the previous year payroll expense account balance (adjust for increases in pay or new hires). 2. Compare direct labor costs as a percentage of sales and compare with prior years’ percentage. 3. Compare payroll tax expense as a percentage of salaries and wages with prior years’ percentage (adjust for increases in tax rates). 4. Compare accrued payroll tax accounts with prior years. 5. Compare accrued vacation, sick pay, and other benefits as a percentage of salaries and wages with prior years’ percentage (adjust for any policy changes and new hires). 6. Verify accrued payroll taxes with the subsequent period’s payroll tax returns to determine the amount of the liability at the balance sheet date. Acquisition and Payment Cycle The acquisition of goods and services is important to ensure proper internal controls are in place and being followed because these include purchases of raw materials, equipment, supplies, maintenance, and research and development. In reviewing Apollo Shoes acquisition and payment cycles, and developing the audit plan, tests of controls must be reviewed, followed by substantive tests of transactions, and finally analytical procedures. Tests of Controls 1. Complete a walk-through of five judgmentally selected receipts of inventory. a. Verify the procedures in the client’s memo by interviewing the workers. b. Is the segregation of duties still being observed? 2. Complete a walk-thorough of five judgmentally selected payments. c. Verify the procedures in the client’s memo by interviewing the workers. d. Is the segregation of duties still being observed? 3. In order to test if the process for authorizing payments is working, judgmentally select ten payments and check each for: e. Is it canceled? f. Is the purchase requisition attached? g. Is the receiving report attached and showing the same quantity invoiced and ordered? h. Is the receiving report signed by the receiving clerk? i. Does the quantity paid and the price paid, match the invoice and the purchase requisition and purchase order? j. Did the vendor offer a cash discount? If so, was the discount taken? k. Was the invoice paid on time? 4. In order to test if the process for receiving goods is working, judgmentally select ten receipts from last month and check each for: l. Was it supported by a valid purchase requisition and purchase order? m. Was the receipt signed by the receiving clerk? n. Was the quantity received the same as the quantity ordered? o. Was the shipment paid in the right quantity and prices (as ordered)? 5. In order to test if the process for purchasing capital assets is working, judgmentally select two capitalized assets from the general ledger and check each for: p. Was it authorized? q. Is the depreciation taken correct each month and started with asset being put into service? r. Observe the asset. 6. Review any old receiving, requisition, or purchase orders that are not matched. Review any old invoices that are not matched. Inquire about their status. Substantive Tests of Transactions 1. Observe the client’s year-end inventory count. a. Judgmentally select ten count tags and make copy. b. Note any slow moving or damaged items. c. Resolve any differences between inventory records and counts. d. Get copy of full count when complete. 2. Verify count is recorded in the GL (and subsidiary ledger agrees with GL): e. Trace selected items from inventory count into general ledger detail. Select several items from GL and trace to count sheet. g. Verify that slow-moving and damage inventory is valued at salvage estimates (odd sized shoes). h. Test foot (verify math) of inventory valuation. i. Test pricing of inventory by tracing to purchase invoice. j. Test cut-off by reviewing receipts two weeks before and after year-end and determine that they were recorded in the correct period and counted or excluded from inventory as appropriate. k. Review inventory adjustment for reasonableness based on differences found during count. Review costing method (LIFO/FIFO) journal entries. l. Review reserves for obsolescence. 4. Review payments since year end that are over 10% of materiality. Verify that if they were incurred prior to year end that they are accrued in year-end payables. 5. Obtain a letter from legal counsel about contingent liabilities. 6. Read minutes of the board of directors for contingent liabilities or subsequent events. 7. Ask management about any incurred but not paid amounts. m. Review any old receiving, requisition, or purchase orders that are not matched with invoices. Review any old invoices that are not matched with purchasing documentation. 8. Inquire about the status of the large shipment of odd sized shoes at year end. Was this paid? Analytical Procedures 1. Compare current transactions with previous year’s statements. a. Similar expenses should not have significant variances period to period. b. Any significant variances should be examined to determine the reason. 2. Accounts payable transactions should be reviewed to ensure no unusual vendors or companies received payment when they shouldn’t have. Ratios should be calculated and compared from period to period. Any significant variances should be examined to determine the reason. c. Average Accounts Payable Trade Balance d. Accounts Payable Turnover e. Days in Accounts Payable 4. Compute inventory turnover and compare to prior years to see if trend is reasonable. 5. Compute a three year trend for inventory, payables, cost of goods sold, and operating expenses. 6. Calculate inventory and payables as a percent of assets and expenses as a percent of sales. f. Ask the client to explain fluctuations that are large or unusual.