Market Failure Research Paper Essay

The following are some ideas to help you pick a topic for the Market Failure Research Paper assignment. Consult with your instructor if you are having trouble picking a topic. What are some areas where the MARKET fails to give us adequate quantity of output and desirable price (A) Public Goods and Service — Schools, Highways and Streets, Fire and Police Protection, National Defense, Prisons (B) Industries that Need to be Regulated — Utilities, Airlines, Banks — As our economy changes what other industries also need to be regulated or de-regulated? (C) Externalities — Companies produce some type of external cost that affects the community. The company would not voluntarily reduce or eliminate this cost unless the government required them to do so. (These could also be benefits that would add to community but not benefit the company in any way.) (D) Income Inequality — Minimum Wage, Welfare Programs, Unemployment Benefits, Social Security, Medicaid — Areas where our society is becoming more socialized. Assignment: Pick one market in which the price system does not produce an equitable price and quantity of output. Write a paper of 250 words minimum discussion with at least (2) sources cited in the MLA format. Include in your discussion: (1) What action has our government taken in order to provide this good or service in an equitable fashion? (2) What are the alternatives to government intervention? (3) What has been the end result of government intervention? The rise in direct tax has the effect of reducing the post-tax income of those in work because for each hour of work taken the total net income is now lower. This might encourage the individual to work more hours to maintain his/her target income. Conversely, the effect might be to encourage less work since the higher tax might act as a disincentive to work. Of course many workers have little flexibility in the hours that they work. They will be contracted to work a certain number of hours, and changes in direct tax rates will not alter that. The government has introduced a lower starting rate of income tax for lower  income earners. This is designed to provide an incentive for people to work extra hours and keep more of what they earn. Changes to the tax and benefit system also seek to reduce the risk of the ‘poverty trap’ – where households on low incomes see little net financial benefit from supplying extra hours of their labor. If tax and benefit reforms can improve incentives and lead to an increase in the labor supply, this will help to reduce the equilibrium rate of unemployment (the NAIRU) and thereby increase the economy’s non-inflationary growth rate. Changes to indirect taxes in particular can have an effect on the pattern of demand for goods and services. For example, the rising value of duty on cigarettes and alcohol is designed to cause a substitution effect among consumers and thereby reduce the demand for what are perceived as â€Å"de-merit goods†. In contrast, a government financial subsidy to producers has the effect of reducing their costs of production, lowering the market price and encouraging an expansion of demand. The use of indirect taxation and subsidies is often justified on the grounds of instances of market failure. But there might also be a justification based on achieving a more equitable allocation of resources – e.g. providing basic state health care free at the point of use. Lower rates of corporation tax and other business taxes can stimulate an increase in business fixed capital investment spending. If planned investment increases, the nation’s capital stock can rise and the capital stock per worker employed can rise. The government might also use tax allowances to stimulate increases in research and development and encourage more business start-ups. A favorable tax regime could also be attractive to inflows of foreign direct investment – a stimulus to the economy that might benefit both aggregate demand and supply. The Irish economy is often touted as an example of how substantial cuts in the rate of corporation tax can act as a magnet for large amounts of inward investment. The very low rates of company tax have been influential  although it is not the only factor that has underpinned the sensational rates of economic growth enjoyed by the Irish economy over the last fifteen years. Capital investment should not be seen solely in terms of the purchase of new machines. Changes to the tax system and specific areas of government spending might also be used to stimulate investment in technology, innovation, the skills of the labor force and social infrastructure. A good example of this might be a substantial increase in real spending on the transport infrastructure. Improvements in our transport system would add directly to aggregate demand, but would also provide a boost to productivity and competitiveness. Similarly increases in capital spending in education would have feedback effects in the long term on the supply-side of the economy.

Make Recommendations for Improving Your Health Education Campaign Essay

The health education topic which I choose is sun awareness. I choose this campaign because more people are going on holidays and using sun beds and not being aware of the dangers and what it can cause. The 2009-10 National Skin Cancer Awareness Campaign is targeting to as low as 14-40 years as research has shown that these ages are still getting sun burnt each weekend in summer, and cumulative exposure to ultra violet radiation over your lifetime and episodes of sunburn increase the risk of skin cancer. This is because people can now afford to go on holidays more often and are not using sun cream and covering up. Also people at the age of 18 are now using sun beds more often because appearance means a lot to people at that age. They are becoming more self conscious about themselves and are using sun beds to get a quick, cheap and easy tan. My s. m. a. r. t objectives for skin cancer is SunSmart Policy to: Increase the knowledge and awareness of skin cancer. Assist to develop strategies that encourage responsible decision making about skin protection, including not sun baking. Work towards a safe school environment that provides shade for students and staff. Encourage students, parents, teachers, and staff to wear protective clothing, sunglasses, hats and sunscreen during high risk times such as lunch times, sports, excursions and camps. Ensure that parents are informed of the school’s SunSmart policy. Sun protection and skin cancer awareness programs are incorporated into the Health and Physical Education areas of the school curriculum. Wear the correct protection Clothing when out in the sun. The school is working towards increasing and/or maintaining shade in its grounds, particularly in areas where students congregate eg. Lunch, canteen, decking areas. Also to start showing the dangers of the sun and sun beds and try not to advertise sun beds. To try and make people follow these objectives I could make people aware of the dangers by showing them horrific pictures of skin cancer and the affects of sun burn. By showing them these images it would stick in there head and they would try and stop in taking a stupid amount of UV. By making videos of people with skin cancer could make them aware of how dangerous the sun is and using sun beds are. Also how the skin is affected by the sun by making you age. I think for my choice of approach I would make a presentation to a group of people making them aware of the causes of skin cancer. by doing this each person which intakes the awareness would hopefully tell there friends and the friends would tell other people which would make it a on going process to eventually people would realize the dangers. Hopefully this will help them adapt to sun smart and how important it is to just listen. The media which im going to choose posters, leaflets and games. This is a effective way to promote my campaign. There fun always full with bright colors and easy to understand. I think this is a good idea for my age range audience as its to 14-40. I think they will understand my media well and hopefully it will get to them. I will show pictures on my posters which are eye catching. These could be what a skin cancer mole looks like. Hopefully the audience will be educated by this and know what there looking for. I will also show badly burned people, this will scare the audience and make them use more sun cream and cover up. My game will be easy to use and fun. It will give someone good knowledge of skin cancer and the sun smart campaign and what’s it all about.

Hospitality Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Hospitality Management - Essay Example Human resource department has to go an extra mile by offering effective services to the employees if an organization has to succeed. Competition in the hospitality industry especially in the UK make the human resource department of an organization to evaluate modalities, which it would use to win employees interest to service, they offer. The hotel commands a large workforce, which caters for clients who visit the hotel. Clients in the hospitality industry are sensitive to response their get from the hotels. This consideration influences the ability of human resources department to conduct its labour sourcing effectively or it would risks loosing clients. The paper analyses the strengths and weakness of human resource management of Parkes hotel. Human resource management is very essential in hospitality industry. Definition given to HRM suites the purpose it serves in the organizations. Perkes hotel boosts of its workforce that has demonstrated high ability of responding to the clien ts of the hotel. Its means that the core functions of the human resource department of the hotel are perfect. The functions include attracting, training, selecting, rewarding and assessment of employees, while providing leadership that complies with the existing labour laws (Landsbergis, 2009:2). HRM functions in Perkes hotel thus offers liaison with representatives from labour unions. The strength of the human resource department would translate to success of the organization. Perkes hotel has demonstrated to its employees that its recruitment process is effective. Many organizations find recruitment process as a daunting task because of failure to identify the right labour. The organization announces its vacancies through the organisation website. Many interested individuals find time to go through the required qualification before submitting their application. The recruitment process is usually competitive enabling the organisation to source for the right employees. Employee†™s treatment is crucial factor because it influences the work out put of an employee. Perkes hotel has been able to identify this factor as one of its strengths. The organisation has designed mechanism of ensures good treatment to its employees. Working hours is a factor that influences employee satisfaction. The organisation has designed flexible working hours for its employee in accordance with the labour laws (Landsbergis, 2009:6). Many employees of the organisation feel that their working condition is satisfactory. Working condition affects employee relation because it defines the attitude the employee would develop towards work. Adherence to the existing laws is important because it helps the organisation to achieve the desired results. For instance, sometimes the organisation faces the challenge of many customers during high seasons necessitating long working hours for the employees. The organisation has been able handle this challenge effectively by introducing work schedul e and overtime ratings, which acts as motivations to the employees. The overtime ratings pay employees for the extra service they offer to the organisation. Rewarding employees for extra performance is a common feature with this organisation. The HRM department usually conduct survey in various department of the organisation to identify exemplary performance. Once identified the organisation would offer reward that commensurate to the amount of effort

Project Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

Project Management - Essay Example Although all the three methods aim at managing organizations’ projects efficiently, a closer look reveals a number of differences in the structural organization of functional projects and matrix projects. A functional organization structure involves a hierarchy where a single superior manages one employee, whereas the matrix organization structure may not necessarily have a hierarchy (Boyer & Verma, 2010). While the matrix project recognizes and values the authority of the project manager, the case is different with functional projects where there are multiple projects managers with each reporting to a higher authority, therefore, making the project cycle more complex. In the functional organization structures, communication tends to be lengthy as information requests have to pass through the hierarchy as opposed to the matrix organization structures where communication goes directly to the project manager. Lastly, but more importantly, the matrix project is divided into weak, medium, and strong depending on the authority of the project manager, while the functional organization structures do not have any subdivisions (Yagiz, 2006). Although the matrix project structure is more preferable, it has certain disadvantages despite its numerous advantages. The main advantages of the matrix project structure include the ability to retain the benefits of the functional organization and project team structures, a better coordination of resources for the efficiency in the resource use, and the ability of staff to retain their membership teams. However, the matrix project structure suffers certain disadvantages such as the presence of internal complexities, sometimes conflicts arise between the functional and project groups. Additionally, the matrix project structure has high maintenance costs due to increased managerial and administrative overheads (Yagiz, 2006). â€Å"You don’t inspect quality into a product; you have to build it in.† This statement has significant implications especially as far as project management is concerned. Quality is very important at all the levels of project management as all the project managers undertake various projects in order to come up with tangible and quality results. If a project turns out to be successful in terms of results and quality, both the project managers and their team will feel motivated to continue perfecting their work. Under normal circumstances, the inspection of quality comes after the project is complete so that the audit team can write a comprehensive audit report (Aubry et al., 2012). However, it is the duty of the project managers and all the staff involved in such projects to ensure that they perform quality work in order to have a project whose quality is impeccable. This means that whatever product that has to have quality must first undergo quality processes that from the onset include quality manufacturing and control (Aubry et al., 2012). The inspection merely come s after quality work has been done, and, therefore, the process of building of quality into a particular product determines the results of the inspection. This insight informs project managers to be diligent and meticulous as they coordinate project stages with their team members in order to produce quality products within their organizations. Although quality inspections for products are essential in quality control, it should not form the basis of determining the credibility and authenticity of the means used, but rather a confirmation of the due

Voluntary Ratings And V-chip Technology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Voluntary Ratings And V-chip Technology - Essay Example Parents must assume responsibility for what their children are exposed to on the public airwaves, and the government has provided parents with some valuable tools. Nonetheless, it can be argued that these tools have not been properly publicized or explained to parents. The government cannot simply endorse these tools and then forget about the problem. It must expand publicity of these tools, it must create educational resources which are readily available to parents and the public, and it must maintain an oversight function to ensure that broadcasters continue to comply with certain minimum standards. Section 551 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 was a directive from the U.S. Congress to the broadcasting industry. This directive called on broadcasters to establish voluntary ratings for programming. The system was designed to include ratings for programs with sexual themes, violence and other topics or themes which parents might deem inappropriate for their children. On September 25, 1997, the Federal Communications Commission reviewed a set of standards that were agreed on and proposed by broadcasters. These proposed standards included an advisory before the broadcast to be followed by a basic grading system. For example, a TV/ M rating would be for mature audiences only; a TV/14 rating would strongly caution parents to be aware of inappropriate themes; and, a TV/PG would suggest parental guidance. In addition to these voluntary rating standards, the government also endorsed the implementation of certain technological tools. These technological tools, based on the V-chip, would prevent inappropriate or objectionable material from being broadcast. The enforcement of the government’s V-chip† directive required increased advertising to consumers on the purposes and the use of the V-chip, and the expansion of V-chip technology to the radio.

Marketing Research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 1

Marketing Research - Essay Example Also, the uses of these normally depend on factors such as the research methods used to perform the search. The procedure for selecting an appropriate research method normally depends on factors such as the problem at hand, training and skills that a researcher has nature and amount of available resources and also the audience that will be used during the research. Despite the fact that many of these methodologies used may have components of both qualitative and quantitative techniques, there are certain assumptions that differentiate the approaches given. Qualitative and quantitative methods can be reviewed in the following manner1. Quantitative research This is always regarded as making inquiry over certain problem that has been identified depending on a testing theory. The figures that have been found under this research are normally analyzed further using other statistical means like graphs and charts2. Quantitative research often involves respondents of a large number, and norma lly it has always been predetermined. The measurements used during quantitative research options need to be quantitative, statistically valid, and objective in nature. During this research process, the size of the sample under examination is always calculated with the help of formulas to establish the parameters of the ample that will be required for the research. Most qualitative researchers are always designed 3to produce very low error margins thus even if the exercise is conducted over and over, the results attained will be more or less equal. The aim of qualitative method is always to prove whether prognostic generalization given to a theory may be holding any true or relevant meaning4. During quantitative research, the main question revolves around numbers for instance â€Å"†¦how many people watch football.† During this research, the researcher normally distances him/ herself from the phenomenon under study. And the values attained from the research do not form pa rt of the research. For instance, a research seeking to establish the number of people watching football will not concentrate on the numbers among the research value. Rather, the used sample will represent an entire population that is under study. Most researchers using quantitative resources apply deductive theories, logic and formulate hypothesis that are tested in the area. After all these analyses, the researcher often seek to come up with generalizations that support the underlying theory or hypotheses and will help them understand and explain the behavior pattern of a certain phenomenon. In this way they can even predict the future outcomes of these. There are also certain approaches that have been put in place to help come up with effective quantitative research questions. One of the most recommended means of approaching this is through following certain steps. First, one must establish the nature of quantitative research to be performed. For instance it can be based on relat ionship, comparative or descriptive factors. The next step involves spotting out the various variables that you want to study5. After which a fitting structure is identified depending on the prospect variables. Then finally stating the issues you intend or are trying to address as research questions. Below is an example of a quantitative research question. â€Å"What issues influence the professional choices of American college students?† When do organizations use the quantitative techniques? The quantitative rese

Homework assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 3

Homework - Assignment Example Plate, the Pacific Plate, the Caroune Plate. The North American and Pacific plates are sliding apart and past each other, Pacific moving left and North American moving right. The Juan de Fuca Plate is sliding underneath the North American Plate, and melting (Watson, 1997). There are no active volcanoes in the Eastern US because there are presently no active plate boundaries (no shifting and sliding tension). There is, however, evidence that this was not always the case, and that conditions used to yield volcanic activity, but it was long ago (Watson, 1997). Mt. Ranier is an active volcano, which has erupted severely, many times over many centuries. It last erupted in 19894-95 and is resting, at the moment, but this temporary situation lulls people into feeling safe when, in fact, they are not safe. Someday it will no doubt erupt again (Driedger & Scott, 2008). This will cause snow and ice to melt, which picks up mud and a lot of destructive force, or large landslides can occur and act in a similar manner. These are called lahars, and they act like a rapidly oncoming, thick wall of concrete. Enough force can carry it all the way to Puget Sound, so many people along the way can be damaged, since there are densely populated areas along the way. Infrastructure would also be destroyed (Driedger & Scott, 2008). The anytime-now probability of lahars from Mt. Ranier activating is actually a very strong and serious risk. About 80,000 people, their homes, businesses, roads, bridges, etc. would be affected. Ashes from the volcano can be dangerous for aircraft visibility and respiratory risk. Utility and transportation systems can be impacted, and it can be rather costly to clean up. One of the most dangerous aspects is that there would likely be no warning, or insufficient warning to prevent mass death and damage

Financial Management (MBA) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Financial Management (MBA) - Essay Example The project's cost of equity stands at 13.08% and it is calculated by using the equation of CAPM. In this analysis the average beta is 1.48 and it shows that the project also bears some risk. Market risk premium is calculated by using the geometric average prices of the stock from 1973 to 2000. In the early part, the cash flow is slightly vulnerable because it recovers the initial cost outlay associated with the project, but later the project's net cash flow is in the positive zone which in the end makes a strong reflection on the NPV and the IRR of the project. Cost of capital stands at 10.44%, which is higher than the other project primarily due to the high debt financing which would leverage the firm's net income and also increases the costs associated with debt financing. The NPV of the project is $36,367,676 which is quite solid as far as the project valuation is concerned and the IRR provides a rate of return equivalent to 24.70% which is lower in comparison with the other project. It is reviewed that the project's cash flow stream is in positive zone throughout the period. The cash flow of the whole project's life increases gradually year by year because the profit overcomes all the cost associated with the project. The ultimate decision criteria would be to proceed with Front End Loader Project. ... iated with the project, but later the project's net cash flow is in the positive zone which in the end makes a strong reflection on the NPV and the IRR of the project. OUTBOARD MOTOR PROJECT The facts related with the Outboard Motor Project are disclosed below: Due to heavy debt financing of 70%, the project's cost of debt is high with a 4.82% which in the end makes an impression on the cost of the capital of the project. Cost of capital stands at 10.44%, which is higher than the other project primarily due to the high debt financing which would leverage the firm's net income and also increases the costs associated with debt financing. The NPV of the project is $36,367,676 which is quite solid as far as the project valuation is concerned and the IRR provides a rate of return equivalent to 24.70% which is lower in comparison with the other project. It is reviewed that the project's cash flow stream is in positive zone throughout the period. The cash flow of the whole project's life increases gradually year by year because the profit overcomes all the cost associated with the project. CONCLUSION The ultimate decision criteria would be to proceed with Front End Loader Project. This type of expansion bears a greater positive Net Present Value as compared to the outboard project, and since the company primarily focuses on NPV to make these capital decisions Front End Loader clearly adds more value. Assuming that the sales projections are correct, and after accounting for the initial cash outlay, the operating costs and maintenance, the discounted cash flow over the life of the project and after factoring in the depreciation of assets and their disposition value, the NPV of the outboard motor project is $ 36,367,676 which is no where close to the NPV of Front end loader,

The true cause of World War I Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The true cause of World War I - Essay Example The period thereafter until 1918 marks the one of the most tumultuous times in world history. The royal murder at the hands of the Black Hand, a Serbian nationalist secret society, gave rise to an impulsive series of political happenings and fuelled the already existent conflict between Austria and Serbia that unexpectedly culminated into a global war. In order to impose authority on Serbia, Austria issued an ultimatum demanding justice to the murder of their heir. However, the ultimatum was not responded to as expected and Austria declared war on Serbia on 28 July 1914. Russia, Germany, France and Britain (along with all its colonies) plunged into the war as they were bound by treaties to one party or the other. In 1917, United States was finally forced into the war (despite its policy of absolute neutrality) as it received a commercial blow. Subsequently, Japan and Italy stepped into the field as they were in alliance with Germany. Various alliances that came into play during the war owe their roots to Bismarck, the Prussian Prime Minister's desire to unify the loose assembly of German confederation states into a single empire way back in 1860's. These states were primarily under Austrian influence and Bismarck bore ambition to defeat Austria and take over the territories. He finally succeeded in his endeavor and the German empire was created after a series of wars. At a grass-root level, it was Bismarck's foreign policies that eventually led to the sequence of events that we know as the "First World War". Bismarck was a shrewd strategist and in order to lay a reason to inflict war upon France, he tried to place a Hohenzollern prince on the Spanish throne, much to the objection of Napoleon III. He further insulted France and Prussia via telegrams thereby coaxing them into declaring war. The French forces were defeated and the Prussian forces laid siege to Paris along with Alsace and Lorraine. As a consequence, France was compelled to pay enormous reparations and the northern and southern German states allied to form Bismarck's German Empire. Monetary gain made Germany a financially powerful nation and instilled a sense of supremacy among the Germans that led to class conflicts at a later stage that led to internal conflict which Bismarck believed could only be resolved by war. "Bismarck's creation of a unified Germany was of direct relevance to the outbreak of war some 43 years later, since it resulted in the assembly of the key alliances that later came into play"1. In order to stabilize his empire, Bismarck started building European alliances for defense against potentially threatening nations like the French. As a matter of fact, the French plan for war in 1914, was actually aimed at recapturing Alsace and Lorraine. The Three Emperors League formed in 1873 was an alliance that tied Germany, Austria-Hungary and Russia but Russia backed out five years later leaving Bismarck with a Dual Alliance with Austria-Hungary which contained clauses against Russia. These clauses invoked Austria-Hungary in calling Germany to her aid against Russian support for Serbia (who in turn was protected by treaty with Russia). The Triple Alliance involving Italy in 1881 provided for support from Germany and Austria-Hungary if Italy was attacked by France but Italy entered into a

PRINCIPLES OF MARKETING Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

PRINCIPLES OF MARKETING - Essay Example The marketing mix is customized to match the needs of the targeted consumers in the market that is vital to enhancing the attractiveness of products and services supplied by a given company. In addition, the branding of the MAC Cosmetic products has been influential in enhancing the attractiveness of the business that is vital to sales revenue generation. Consequently, this paper evaluates the influence of marketing strategies of MAC Cosmetics in enhancing the welfare of the business. The mission statement of MAC Cosmetics is one of the attributes that has enhanced its attractiveness in the market. This is due to the role of mission statement in articulating the intention and objective of a business organization in offering services or goods to the targeted market (Kotler & Keller, 2012). Consequently, the mission statement of MAC Cosmetics in extending its services and goods to the targeted market has been able to reinforce the marketing effort of the company in attracting consumers in the market. The mission statement of MAC Cosmetics Company is as reflected below. The mission statement indicated above for MAC Cosmetics reflects that the company embraces the diverse global community. This is instrumental in enhancing the acceptance of the company’s products since it caters for possible negative undertone a product may face from market (Carey, Knowles, & Towers-Clark, 2011). Consequently, the mission statement of MAC Cosmetic is vital in enhancing the penetration of its products in the market. The financial performance and position of MAC Cosmetics is one of the vital aspects that reflect how the marketing efforts of the business enhance the welfare of the business in enhancing the wealth of consumers. Accordingly, the recent financial statement of MAC Cosmetics indicates that the marketing strategies of the company have been vital in enhancing the generation of sales revenue. The sales revenue of the company in 2012 stood at

Planning and Measuring Performance Essay Example for Free

Planning and Measuring Performance Essay Planning and Measuring Performance Planning and Measuring Performance This paper will discuss Hospital Corporation of America’s (HCA) goals of achieving industry-leading performance in clinical and satisfaction measures and recruiting and employing physicians to meet the need for high quality health services (University of Oregon Investment Group, 2011). This paper will also discuss which tools would be most effective in measuring the organization’s performance against the determined standards. The actual standards that HCA would use to measure the first goal of achieving industry-leading performance in clinical and satisfaction measures are set by The Joint Commission. According to Kicab Casta eda-Mendez (1999), achieving improved clinical performance and satisfaction measures requires performance measures in three areas: * To lead the entire organization in a particular direction. * To manage the resources needed to travel in this direction. * To operate the processes that make the organization work. According to Kicab Casta eda-Mendez (1999), these measures are: * Strategicto drive strategies into action and change the organizational culture. * Diagnosticto evaluate the effectiveness of these actions and the extent of change. * Operationalto improve continuously. The most effective tool to measure these improvements is benchmarking. Benchmarking against the top healthcare companies will determine if HCA is achieving industry-leading performance in clinical and satisfaction measures. Without benchmarking HCA could not determine if the company was leading the industry or if they were at the bottom of organizational ladder. HCA’s goal of hiring physicians to meet the need for high quality health services can be measured by determining the number of physicians need to accommodate the number of patients, determining the specialties/ sub-specialties the physicians are needed in, as well as measuring the retention rate of the physicians. The Balanced Scorecard would best fit this goal. The Balanced Scorecard allows the company to see the projected percentages and the actual percentages of the measurements. It also helps the company see what needs to be changed and gives direction for those changes. HCA can use benchmarking and the Balanced Scorecard to measure the different aspects of their goals. HCA will also be able to see the areas that need improvement and have some guidance into making these changes. With these tools HCA will be able to make an effective go at achieving their goals. References University of Oregon Investment Group (May 6, 2011). Hospital Corporation of America. Retrieved from http://uoinvestmentgroup. org/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/HCA. pdf Casta eda-Mendez (1999). Performance Measurement in Healthcare. Retrieved from http://www. qualitydigest. com/may99/html/body_health. html

The Significance Of Business Development In Hospitality

The Significance Of Business Development In Hospitality The essay mainly focused on the significance of business development in hospitality, Business Development analyses and evaluates the different aspects of business growth routes and development processes in the international hospitality industry. It considers the essential features of the strategic business context, in which any hospitality organization operates. The hotel industry needs significance business development According to Pizam stases further in the essay following things will be focused similar to, aspire of importance of business development, accepting requires of consumer, how to build up product that can make best to customer want, the main reason for failed hotel business. Victorious hotels are individuals who regularly involved in developing new product that can catch the attention of consumer, for the reason that client are the crucial base of any business, particular in the hospitality sector. Discrimination refers to capability to offer exceptional value to client produce brand loyalty that lowers customer senility to cost (Pizam, 2005 p54) Modifying the business development system features of new products and world class services, toward the inside new markets and the success of any hospitality business depends mainly help to increase hotel revenue, improves customer satisfaction, quality, and achieves important benefits for organizations. According to Hassanien, Dale, Clark (2010) that Hospitality industry improvement refer to the method by which an association uses joint resources in order to launch, get better, modify or extend its present in an accessible in new market. (Hassanien A, et al, 2010 p1-p3) Profitability Successful Hotel industry organizations must regularly search to generate their profitability for new ways to reduce operating expense and grow revenues. Think about outsourcing as a way to reduce expenses, but also weigh up its effect on quality of service. Continuing improvements in technology and ideas have created new opportunities for profitability improvements, but technology improvements must be based on careful Return on profit. Hotel must look to both increases and decreases in room rates. Example Increase in room occupancy and room price once again provides London with the great compliment of being the most money-making city of Europes key hotel markets. The United Kingdom capital was way ahead of the pack significance achieving gross operating revenue per available room. The statement well said David Bailey, deputy managing director, TRI Hospitality Consulting. London hotels enjoyed a strong boost to profitability 23% during December 2009 .The first time since December 2008, Budapest hoteliers achieved amazing growth in profitability. To improve market shares have many wonderful ways, depending on the item for consumption or good service. Customization of services or product refers that enlarge the customers willingness to continue to deal with hotel rather than bidding out the contract at every opportunity. The trick here is to ensure that the high revenue and very fast improve market shares . Business growth goals Doing well business expansion requirements a lot of factors to come together at the exact time. For business growth must have the time to plan and manage the growth, the sales and market strategies must carry in new consumer. Unique product new unique product s creates an entirely targeted new market and provides that excellent improved performance better than old product. New products earn good profit and profit growth depends on market demand and new product introduction. The hotel offers a unique product to consumer. Hotel provides reimbursement that are planned to meet very precise needs, wants and desires of very specific target markets Sustained customer service and a scope of preference in product and services bring in a distinctive relationship between customer and product. (Cedicci et al, July 2007) for example a 5 star hotel in Ramada hotel Jaipur in India has changed many new items in its guest room like Big Flat TV, free internet facility fresh flowers and fruit bucket, laundry facility for the guest staying for more than a week, Bottle of red and white wine to all rooms. These unique ideas not only make easy the guest and make them happy this is shows business development of hotel. . Every big hotel has new market opportunities in Boutique hotels are those hotels which provide outstanding accommodation, furniture in a themed and stylish manner and cater to corporate travellers. Example: The Taj Lake palace Udaipur is one of the best boutique hotels in India. According to (Jones, 2009) boutique hotels was firstly opened in 1980s in USA and then gradually it covered the whole of Europe and finally throughout world. He says that the luxury hotels are in danger zone some watt but at the same time the there has been no effect on the boutique hotels and its growing day by day. Customer or tourist are mostly attracted to the boutique hotels rather than going to the luxury hotels. Most of the largest groups of hotels like intercontinental group of hotel , the Marriott hotel and Taj hotel are launching many boutique hotels in Europe as well as in many others country in the world Managerial urge According to Clark, A(2007) Budget hotels are those hotels which are designed and made according to meet up the fundamental require of the guest by provided that relaxing and very hygienic clean room for a comfortable stay in the hotel as well best budget fare. Budget hotels are totally new concept in all countries. These types hotel comes below five star hotels like as small property. Budget hotel discovered in USA Budget hotels generally comes under 4 star or 5 star property known as Budget Hotels. These kind of hotel do not recommend as many services as the other 5 star and luxury hotels offers, but offer reasonably priced accommodation to the extremely great price for the domestic customers and foreign travellers. Budget hotels are playing significant role Indian hospitality market. Economies scale The term Economies of scale refers to a firms abilityto reduces the cost of producing one unit of goodand services as the volume of production increases. Mass production and economies of scale werecentral concepts in the development of modern economic theory According Economies survey Hospitality industry currently generates more than $100 million in annual revenues, giving significant bulk and purchasing power. Customer attraction and Satisfaction To understand guest is the main key to business excellent improvement. Understanding guest need, necessity is only doable when hotel keep in contact with guest during stay in hotel and after stay, by responsibility explore in the market, must take feedback from guest as regards what guest look forward to any more expectation for next time stay in the hotel. The important of guest satisfaction has become an essential business issue as hotel has realized the significance outcome achieved when providing effective customer service in hotel industry satisfaction has always been important. The ability to satisfy customer, therefore.become the key ingredient of continued success Coopers,P(2002) shows that firm is aware that customers satisfaction and quality can be more important than current financial result creating long term share holder Competition is increasing national and international market new competitors growing fast day by day in hotel industry. EDDYSTONE C. NEBEL III states that Being successful in hotel business depends how much the hotel managing level is strong and power full and how much know about business development. Hotels industry has become very much competitive industry, this affects how hotel need to be managed. Significance of business development in hotels are need to improve standard of service and understanding how the service business differ from good-producing business helps executives manage better to best. Hotels provide both a product and service. The main purpose is that ability to provide great service Competition is main significance of business development Marketers must need to monitor other competitors product and must be development distribution method to make high competitions with other hotels. Brand and image improvement. In to have better brand image the particular brand should be advertize and marketed well and they should be innovative pricing which would attract more guests to visit the particular branded property (Anon, 2008) In India has many highly branded hotels as like Taj, ITC,but Oberoi hotel group is one most highly trusted brand in Hospitality industry in India. An Oberoi hotel understands its guest and believes in designing, excellent developing services which make possible it to top their expectation. Oberoi hotels are always willing to take new challenges and needs of their guest, Oberoi hotel is most well organized and methodically managed hotel in India which is really wonderful effort to do its best, to make happy to guest, and hotel gives value for money to guest. Oberoi is mostly known as for world class and very excellence in service. Hotel meets the needs of guest and hotel keep on innovating new product.Brands are seen as product characteristics brand is associated in consumer mind and advertising has a significance influence of consumer image of brand Globalization In all world countries, where Travel and tourism have grow to be a most important export industry, the hospitality sector is the central position for concepts of globalization. Hospitality industry has become the world ¹s largest export industry. The hospitality industry is one of the world ¹s largest employer and arguably one of the largest traders of foreign currency. The hospitality industry plays significance branch bodily in bringing people together with a global community Internationalization The twentieth century was the rapid supply in h internationalization hotel market. Hotels companies expanded market across the world. Example Marriot hotels spread from 29 countries in 1996to 56countries in 1999. Best western is largest internationalization working under a single brand name and western has more than4000 separately owned and operated hotels in the world. Best western offers over 300,000 sleeping bedrooms in 78 countries all over world. Business development the process by which a Hotel industry can get better performance through modify feature and attribute of it recent product or services developing new product or service toward the inside new market In the hospitality industry. Conclusion This essay y highlight the importance of business development within hospitality industry a. what significance of business development

Examining Motivational Strategies in Multinational Organisations

Examining Motivational Strategies in Multinational Organisations Motivation is next to directing/leading. Managers can motivate their subordinates while guiding them. Motivating means encouraging people to take more initiative and interest in the work assigned. It is an art of getting things done willingly from others. Motivation avoids clashes and non-cooperation and brings harmony, unity and co-operative outlook among employees. Managers have to work as motivators of their subordinates. For this, effective communication, proper appreciation of work done and positive encouragement are necessary and useful. Motivation is inspiring and encouraging people to work more and contribute for achieving the objectives of the company The creation of the desire and willingness to perform the job efficiently is known as motivation Motivation is a psychological and sociological concept as it relates to human behavior and human relations. It is the most fundamental and all pervasive concept of psychology. For motivation, sweet words are useful but are certainly not adequate. Motivation basically relates to human needs, desires and expectations. In other words, these factors suggest the measures which can be used for the motivation of employees. In motivation, efforts should be made to satisfy the different needs of employees so that they will be satisfied, happy and away from tensions. This creates favorable environment because of which employees take more interest and initiative in the work and perform their jobs efficiently. Motivation is a technique of creating attraction for the job. It is encouraging employees for better performance in order to achieve the goals of an Organization. The process of motivation is a continuous one (circular one) and is beneficial to both employer and employees. It is a key to improve work performance of employees. The term motive is derived from the Latin word emovere which means to move or to activate. Motivation is the act of making someone to act in the desired manner through positive encouragement. It is through motivation that employees can be induced to work more, to earn more and to give better results to the Organization. 2. Definitions of Motivation. According to W. G. Scot, Motivation means a process of stimulating people to action to accomplish the desired goals. According to Michael J. jucius, Motivation is the act of stimulating someone or oneself to get a desired course of action, to push the right button to get a desired results. 3. Features or Characteristics of Motivation. Psychological Process: Motivation is a psychological process useful for encouraging employees to take more interest in the work assigned. It relates to human relations. Initiative by Manager: The initiative for motivation is by the manager by offering guidance and also by other methods like appreciation of good work or offering incentives. Management has to adopt special measures for motivating employees. They include monetary as well as non-monetary. Continuous activity: It is a continuous and circular process. Subordinates need motivation in a continuous manner as their needs and expectations change from time to time. A manager has to study the needs of workers and use the technique of motivation accordingly. The process of motivation must be made a regular and continuous one. Goal-oriented and action-oriented: Motivation diverts human behavior towards certain goals. Attainment of organizational and individual goals depends on the motivational plans. Broad concept: Motivation covers needs, human relations and satisfaction of employees. For employee motivation, monetary and other incentives need to be offered. Job satisfaction is one such need and is useful for their motivation. Essence of management process: Motivation is an essential function of a manager. He has to motivate his subordinates for achieving organizational objectives. Motivated labour force is an asset of a business unit. Motivated employees bring prosperity to a business unit. Beneficial to employees and management: Motivation offers benefits to employees and Organisation. It avoids crashes and encourages cooperative outlook among employees. Motivation leads to cordial labour-management relations. It provides more profit to management and better welfare to employees. Varied measures available for motivation: For motivation, various monetary and non monetary incentives can be offered to employees by the management. Attractive wages, welfare facilities, job satisfaction, appreciation of good work, encouragement to self-development, job security and fair treatment are some measures of motivating employees. Motivation is different from satisfaction: Motivation implies a drive towards a result while satisfaction involves result already experienced and achieved. When desire is satisfied, employee is motivated. Related to a person in totality: An employee is motivated in totality and not in part. Employees basic needs are interrelated. Management must fulfill all the needs through monetary and non-monetary incentives. 4. Importance of Motivation. Motivation occupies an important place and position in the whole management process. This technique can be used fruitfully for encouraging workers to make positive contribution for achieving organizational objectives. Motivation is necessary as human nature needs some sort of inducement, encouragement or incentive in order to get better performance. Motivation of employees offers may benefits to the Organisation and also to the employees. This suggests the importance of motivating employees. Motivation acts as a technique for improving the performance of employees working at different levels. Motivation of employees is one function which every manager has to perform along with other managerial functions. A manager has to function as a friend and motivator of his subordinates. Motivation is useful in all aspects of life and even our family life. The same is the case with business. This dearly suggests that motivation is extremely important. It is an integral part of management process itself. 5. Advantages of Motivation. (A) Advantages to Management or Organization: Increase in the efficiency and productivity of employees. Motivation ensures a high level performance of employees. Better co-operation from employees and cordial labour-management relations. Reduction in the rate of labour absenteeism and turnover. Reduction in the wastages and industrial accidents. Improvement in the morale of employees. Quick achievement of business/corporate objectives and favorable corporate image. (B) Advantages to Employees or Workers: Employees get various monetary and non-monetary facilities/benefits which provide better life and welfare to them. Security of employment and other benefits due to cordial relations with the management. Job attraction and job satisfaction. Higher status and opportunities of participation in management. Positive approach and outlook of employees towards company, management and superiors. Reduction in the rate of labour turnover which is harmful to employees and management. Better scope for improvement in knowledge and skills of employees. 6. Motivational Factors or Motivational Incentives. (A) Monetary or Financial Incentives: Monetary incentives are offered in terms of money. Such incentives provide more cash or purchasing power to employees. Monetary incentives are extremely attractive to employees (particularly those working at lower levels) as they get the benefit quickly and in concrete terms. At the higher levels of management, non-monetary incentives are more important than monetary incentives. Workers prefer monetary incentives as compared to non-monetary incentives. Managements also offer liberal monetary incentives to all categories of workers. Monetary incentives may be further classified as following:- Individual Monetary Incentives: The benefit of individual monetary incentive is available to concerned worker only. For example, F. W. Taylor suggested differential piece rate system which offers different wage rates to different workers as per their production efficiency. Different incentive wage plans are the examples of individual monetary incentives as the benefit is offered individually to every worker. Here, a worker is paid as per his efficiency, productivity or as per the production given by him. Efficient/sincere workers give more production and get higher reward in terms of wage payment. Group Monetary Incentives: In the group monetary incentives, the monetary benefit is not given individually but to a group of workers or to all workers in the Organisation. Workers have to work jointly/collectively as a team in order to secure the benefits of group monetary incentives. Bonus payment, pension, P.F, production/productivity bonus, profit sharing, etc. are the examples of group monetary incentives. For the employer/management, group incentives are more important as they offer many benefits to the management. (B) Non-monetary Incentives for Employee Motivation: Job security and job enrichment: Job security is useful for the motivation of employees. Such security keeps the employee away from the tension of becoming unemployed. Job enrichment provides an opportunity for greater recognition and advancement. Job enrichment refers to redesign of jobs. Fair treatment to employees: Employer should give attention to the needs, difficulties and grievances of employees. Small work groups and effective communication are useful for solving the problems of workers. Employees must be given decent treatment. They will be co-operative only when they are treated with sympathy and love, affection and dignity. Employees should also be given help in personal matters. Recognition of good work: Recognition of good work at an appropriate time gives encouragement to employees to show better performance in future. As an appreciation of good work, prizes, rewards, promotions, etc. should be given. Encouragement to self-development and career development: Employees should be given varied training facilities. Training facilitates self-development and also provides opportunities for career development. Every employee has a desire to grow, develop and rise higher. This desire should be exploited fully for motivating employees. For this, training as well as management development programmes should be introduced. Delegation of authority: Due to delegation of authority, a subordinate employee feels that superior has faith in him and also in his ability to use authority in a proper manner. Employees get mental satisfaction when authority is given to them. They take interest and initiative in the work and try to prove that they are competent to work at the higher levels. Thus, delegation of authority becomes a motivating factor. Congenial working conditions: It is a non financial incentive for motivation. Employees should be given various facilities and conveniences at the work place. The work environment should be pleasant and safe. This creates desire to work efficiently. Helpful attitude of management: The helpful attitude of management towards its employees creates a sense of affinity for the Organisation. Fair treatment to workers creates better understanding among workers. Cordial industrial relations also motivate employees. Thus, enlightened and pro-employee attitude of management acts as a motivating factor. Fair opportunity of promotion: Fair opportunity of promotion to all eligible workers is one more method useful for motivating employees. They take interest in the work as they feet that they will be rewarded in the form of promotions. Training facility should be provided to employees in order to make them eligible for promotion. Labour participation in management: Labour participation in management is useful for the motivation of employees. Workers get higher status and better scope for expressing their views through such participation. Even the formation of quality circles or joint management councils is useful for motivating employees. Designation and status: When an employee is provided with a better designation, it adds to his status. Employees are proud to reveal their attractive and high-sounding designations. 7. Theories of Motivation. A. H. Maslows Need Hierarchy Theory. Hertzbergs Motivation Hygiene Theory (Two Factor Theory). Douglas McGregors Theory X and Theory Y. McClellands Achievement Motivation Theory. 8. Elton Mayos Hawthorne Experiments 1927-1936. The most famous of all human relations movement and research were Hawthorne Experiments. So named because they were carried on in Hawthorne plant of western Electric Company of Chicago in USA. Dr. Elton Mayo led a team from Harward University which cooperated with western electric co. in the period 1927-1936 to carry out Hawthorne Experiments. They identified following details. Recognized the importance of employee attitudes such as understanding voluntary co-operations and willing dedication in accomplishment of organizational goals. Found that employee performance is very much influenced by his attitude towards his job, associates and management. Proved that organizational firm can gain only when its employees are satisfied contented in their jobs. Pointed out that any change to be should be made should be explained and its meaning should be clear to employees. The fact that change is logical is not enough because employees may not appreciate the logic. Explored much of information on group behavior. Thus have provided the basis for much of what we know about getting along with all, problem employees in particular. Employee Motivation: Theory and practice The job of a manager in the workplace is to get things done through employees. To do this the manager should be able to motivate employees. But thats easier said than done! Motivation practice and theory are difficult subjects, touching on several disciplines. In spite of enormous research, basic as well as applied, the subject of motivation is not clearly understood and more often than not poorly practiced. To understand motivation one must understand human nature itself. And there lies the problem! Human nature can be very simple, yet very complex too. An understanding and appreciation of this is a prerequisite to effective employee motivation in the workplace and therefore effective management and leadership. These articles on motivation theory and practice concentrate on various theories regarding human nature in general and motivation in particular. Included are articles on the practical aspects of motivation in the workplace and the research that has been undertaken in this field, notably by Douglas McGregor (theory y), Frederick Herzberg (two factor motivation hygiene theory,) Abraham Maslow (theory z, hierarchy of needs), Elton Mayo (Hawthorne Experiments) Chris Argyris Rensis Likert and David McClelland (achievement motivation.) Why study and apply employee motivation principles? Quite apart from the benefit and moral value of an altruistic approach to treating colleagues as human beings and respecting human dignity in all its forms, research and observations show that well motivated employees are more productive and creative. The inverse also holds true. The schematic below indicates the potential contribution the practical application of the principles this paper has on reducing work content in the organization. Motivation is the key to performance improvement There is an old saying you can take a horse to the water but you cannot force it to drink; it will drink only if its thirsty so with people. They will do what they want to do or otherwise motivated to do. Whether it is to excel on the workshop floor or in the ivory tower they must be motivated or driven to it, either by themselves or through external stimulus. Are they born with the self-motivation or drive? Yes and no. If no, they can be motivated, for motivation is a skill which can and must be learnt. This is essential for any business to survive and succeed. Performance is considered to be a function of ability and motivation, thus: Job performance =f(ability)(motivation) Ability in turn depends on education, experience and training and its improvement is a slow and long process. On the other hand motivation can be improved quickly. There are many options and an uninitiated manager may not even know where to start. As a guideline, there are broadly seven strategies for motivation. Positive reinforcement / high expectations Effective discipline and punishment Treating people fairly Satisfying employees needs Setting work related goals Restructuring jobs Base rewards on job performance These are the basic strategies, though the mix in the final recipe will vary from workplace situation to situation. Essentially, there is a gap between an individuals actual state and some desired state and the manager tries to reduce this gap. Motivation is, in effect, a means to reduce and manipulate this gap. It is inducing others in a specific way towards goals specifically stated by the motivator. Naturally, these goals as also the motivation system must conform to the corporate policy of the organization. The motivational system must be tailored to the situation and to the organization. In one of the most elaborate studies on employee motivation, involving 31,000 men and 13,000 women, the Minneapolis Gas Company sought to determine what their potential employees desire most from a job. This study was carried out during a 20 year period from 1945 to 1965 and was quite revealing. The ratings for the various factors differed only slightly between men and women, but both groups considered security as the highest rated factor. The next three factors were; advancement type of work company proud to work for Surprisingly, factors such as pay, benefits and working conditions were given a low rating by both groups. So after all, and contrary to common belief, money is not the prime motivator. (Though this should not be regarded as a signal to reward employees poorly or unfairly.) Motivation theorists and their theories (1 of 2) Although the process of management is as old as history, scientific management as we know it today is basically a twentieth century phenomenon. Also, as in some other fields, practice has been far ahead of theory. This is still true in the field of management, contrary to the situation in some of the pure sciences. For instance, Albert Einstein, formulates a theory, which is later proved by decades of intensive research and experimentation. Not so in the field of management. In fact this field has been so devoid of real fundamental work so far, that Herbert A. Simon is the first management theoretician to win the Nobel Prize for Economics in 1978. His contribution itself gives a clue to the difficulty, bordering on impossibility, of real fundamental work in this field concerned with people. In order to arrive at a correct decision, the manager must have all the information necessary relevant to the various factors and all the time in the world to analyze the same. This is seldom, if ever, the case. Both the information available and the time at the managers disposal are limited, but he or she must make a decision. And the decision is, therefore, not the optimum one but a satisficing one in effect, a satisfactory compromise under the real conditions prevailing in the management arena. Traditional theory X This can best be ascribed to Sigmund Freud who was no lover of people, and was far from being optimistic. Theory X assumes that people are lazy; they hate work to the extent that they avoid it; they have no ambition, take no initiative and avoid taking any responsibility; all they want is security, and to get them to do any work, they must be rewarded, coerced, intimidated and punished. This is the so-called stick and carrot philosophy of management. If this theory were valid, managers will have to constantly police their staff, whom they cannot trust and who will refuse to cooperate. In such an oppressive and frustrating atmosphere, both for the manager and the managed, there is no possibility of any achievement or any creative work. But fortunately, as we know, this is not the case. Theory Y Douglas McGregor This is in sharp contrast to theory X. McGregor believed that people want to learn and that work is their natural activity to the extent that they develop self-discipline and self-development. They see their reward not so much in cash payments as in the freedom to do difficult and challenging work by themselves. The managers job is to dovetail the human wish for self-development into the organizations need for maximum productive efficiency. The basic objectives of both are therefore met and with imagination and sincerity, the enormous potential can be tapped. Does it sound too good to be true? It could be construed, by some, that Theory Y management is soft and slack. This is not true and the proof is in the pudding, for it has already proved its worth in the USA and elsewhere. For best results, the persons must be carefully selected to form a homogeneous group. A good leader of such a group may conveniently absent from group meetings so they can discuss the matters freely and help select and groom a new leader. The leader does no longer hanker after power, lets people develop freely, and may even (it is hoped) enjoy watching the development and actualization of people, as if, by themselves. Everyone, and most of all the organization, gains as a result. Theory Z Abraham Maslow This is a refreshing change from the theory X of Freud, by a fellow psychologist, Abraham Maslow. Maslow totally rejects the dark and dingy Freudian basement and takes us out into the fresh, open, sunny and cheerful atmosphere. He is the main founder of the humanistic school or the third force which holds that all the good qualities are inherent in people, at least, at birth, although later they are gradually lost. Maslows central theme revolves around the meaning and significance of human work and seems to epitomize Voltaires observation in Candide, work banishes the three great evils -boredom, vice and poverty. The great sage Yajnavalkya explains in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad that by good works a man becomes holy, by evil works evil. A mans personality is the sum total of his works and that only his works survive a man at death. This is perhaps the essence of Maslows hierarchy of needs theory, as it is more commonly know. Maslows major works include the standard textbook (in collaboration with Mittlemann), Principles of Abnormal Psychology (1941), a seminal paper, A Theory of Human Motivation (1943) and the book, Eupsychian Management (pronounced yew-sigh-keyan) published in 1965. Maslows theory of human motivation is, in fact, the basis of McGregors theory Y briefly described above. The basic human needs, according to Maslow, are: physiological needs (Lowest) safety needs; love needs; esteem needs; and self-actualization needs (Highest) Mans behavior is seen as dominated by his unsatisfied needs and he is a perpetually wanting animal, for when one need is satisfied he aspires for the next higher one. This is, therefore, seen as an ongoing activity, in which the man is totally absorbed in order to attain perfection through self-development. The highest state of self-actualization is characterized by integrity, responsibility, magnanimity, simplicity and naturalness. Self-actualizers focus on problems external to themselves. His prescription for human salvation is simple, but not easy: Hard work and total commitment to doing well the job that fate or personal destiny calls you to do, or any important job that calls for doing. Maslow has had his share of critics, but he has been able to achieve a refreshing synthesis of divergent and influential philosophies of: Marx economic and physical needs; Freud physical and love needs; Adler esteem needs; Goldstein self-actualization. Frederick Herzberg Hygiene / Motivation Theory This is based on analysis of the interviews of 200 engineers and accountants in the Pittsburgh area in the USA. According to this theory, people work first and foremost in their own self-enlightened interest, for they are truly happy and mentally healthy through work accomplishment. Peoples needs are of two types: Animal Needs (hygiene factors) Supervision Interpersonal relations Working conditions Salary Human Needs (motivators) Recognition Work Responsibility Advancement Unsatisfactory hygiene factors can act as de-motivators, but if satisfactory, their motivational effect is limited. The psychology of motivation is quite complex and Herzberg has exploded several myths about motivators such as: shorter working week; increasing wages; fringe benefits; sensitivity / human relations training; communication. As typical examples, saying please to shop-floor workers does not motivate them to work hard, and telling them about the performance of the company may even antagonize them more. Herzberg regards these also as hygiene factors, which, if satisfactory, satisfy animal needs but not human needs. Chris Argyris According to Argyris, organization needs to be redesigned for a fuller utilization of the most precious resource, the workers, in particular their psychological energy. The pyramidal structure will be relegated to the background, and decisions will be taken by small groups rather than by a single boss. Satisfaction in work will be more valued than material rewards. Work should be restructured in order to enable individuals to develop to the fullest extent. At the same time work will become more meaningful and challenging through self-motivation. Rensis Likert Likert identified four different styles of management: exploitative-authoritative; benevolent-authoritative; consultative; participative. The participative system was found to be the most effective in that it satisfies the whole range of human needs. Major decisions are taken by groups themselves and this results in achieving high targets and excellent productivity. There is complete trust within the group and the sense of participation leads to a high degree of motivation. Fred Luthans Luthans advocates the so-called contingency approach on the basis that certain practices work better than others for certain people and certain jobs. As an example, rigid, clearly defined jobs, authoritative leadership and tight controls lead in some cases to high productivity and satisfaction among workers. In some other cases just the opposite seems to work. It is necessary, therefore, to adapt the leadership style to the particular group of workers and the specific job in hand. Victor Vroom Vrooms expectancy theory is an extension of the contingency approach. The leadership style should be tailored to the particular situation and to the particular group. In some cases it appears best for the boss to decide and in others the group arrives at a consensus. An individual should also be rewarded with what he or she perceives as important rather than what the manager perceives. For example, one individual may value a salary increase, whereas another may, instead, value promotion. This theory contributes an insight into the study of employee motivation by explaining how individual goals influence individual performance. We have discussed above only a selection of the motivation theories and thoughts of the various proponents of the human behavior school of management. Not included here are, among others, the thoughts of: Seebohm Rowntree labor participation in management; Elton Mayo the Hawthorne Experiments; Kurt Lewin group dynamics; force field theory; David McClelland achievement motivation; George Humans the human group; William Whyte the organization man. What does it all add up to? Back to square one? Yes, indeed, the overall picture is certainly confusing. This is not surprising, for the human nature and human mind defy a clear-cut model, mathematical or otherwise. In some of the theories and thoughts presented, however, one can see some glimpses of the person and how, perhaps, he or she could be motivated. This is rewarding in itself. But, as noted earlier, practice has been ahead of theory in this field, so let us now move to the practical side of management of human behavior and motivation in the workplace. Application of employee motivation theory to the workplace Management literature is replete with actual case histories of what does and what does not motivate people. Presented here is a tentative initial broad selection of the various practices that have been tried in order to draw lessons for the future. Stick or carrot approach? The traditional Victorian style of strict discipline and punishment has not only failed to deliver the goods, but it has also left a mood of discontent amongst the working class. Punishment appears to have produced negative rather than positive results and has increased the hostility between them (the management) and us (the workers). In contrast to this, the carrot approach, involving approval, praise and recognition of effort has markedly improved the work atmosphere, leading to more productive work places and giving workers greater job satisfaction. Managers motivation toolkit The managers main task is to develop a productive work place, with and through those he or she is in charge of. The manager should motivate his or her team, both individually and collectively so that a productive work place is maintained and developed and at the same time employees derive satisfaction from their jobs. This may appear somewhat contradictory, but it seems to work. The main tools in the managers kitbag for motivating the team are: approval, praise and recognition trust, respect and high expectations loyalty, given that it may be received removing organizational barriers that stand in the way of individual and group performance (smooth business processes, systems, methods and resources see outline team building program) job enrichment good communications financial incentives These are arranged in order of importance and it is interesting to note that cash is way down the ladder of motivators. Lets look at a couple of examples taken from real life situations. The Swedish shipbuilding company, Kockums, turned a 15 million dollar loss into a 100 million dollar profit in the course of ten years due entirely to a changed perception of the workforce brought about by better motivation. At Western Electric there was a dr

Use of Logic in Monty Python and the holy grail :: essays research papers

Monty Python and the Holy Grail   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Logic affects our lives everyday. We use it both subconsciously and consciously to make decisions which can be as important as our careers, or as insignificant as what to eat for lunch. Logic can also be used in other ways. Ironically, others’ bad logic can result in us learning something just as much as we learn from our own bad decisions. This is shown in Monty Python’s Quest for the Holy Grail.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One example of this ironic use of logic is with the trial of the witch. In this trial, Monty Python uses deductive reasoning to conclude that the woman is a witch. By this, he is demonstrating how deductive reasoning is not always right. Just because wood burns like a witch and floats like a duck does not mean she is a witch. The conclusion that â€Å"if she weighs as much as a duck, she is a witch†, therefore, is entirely false. Her weight, at no moment, is a subject of the argument. It is just thrown into the argument, along with the duck and the wood, to make a connection between her and the duck. From this we learn that an argument cannot be won by randomly connecting points until you have proven yours.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Another display of this ironic logic is with the Knights who say â€Å"Ni†. They are an example of a Red Herring Argument. They attempt to distract Arthur and his men from their original task with meaningless quests and tasks. Monty Python places the task of â€Å"cutting down the greatest tree with a herring† to ironically relate to this type of logic. It could have been anything else, but the herring was used to relate to this type. From this, we learn that there will often be many things in life to sidetrack us.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The greatest display of ironic logic in the movie was the rabbit outside the Cave of Caerbannog. This is an excellent example of deductive logic. Arthur and his knights assume that, since all the little white rabbits they have seen were harmless, that the one guarding the cave would also be harmless.

Abnormal Psychology and Othello Essay -- Othello essays

To what extent is the science of abnormal psychology involved in the characterization in William Shakespeare’s tragic drama Othello? This essay will answer that question. Blanche Coles in Shakespeare’s Four Giants affirms the Bard’s commitment to abnormal psychology, and his employment of same in this play: That Shakespeare was keenly interested in the study of the abnormal mind is commonly accepted among students. [. . .] The suggestion that Iago may have been intentionally drawn as a psychopathic personality is not new. [. . .] Even a casual scrutiny of a book on case histories of psychopathic patients will find Iago peeping out from many of its pages. Still more, Iago’s name will be found appearing occasionally in bold print in books on abnormal psychology.(89-90) Evidence of the ancient’s psychopathic personality is seen early in the play. He manipulates the wealthy Roderigo into awakening the senator Brabantio (â€Å"Rouse him: make after him, poison his delight†); and then he utters very offensive smutty lines about a black ram and white ewe, which indicate the way his sick mind operates. He seems to be motivated by love of money which he has been receiving from Roderigo for some time (â€Å"thou, Iago, who hast had my purse / As if the strings were thine†). Iago himself says that he is motivated by revenge on the Moor (â€Å"I follow him to serve my turn upon him†) because of the promotion of Michael Cassio to the lieutenancy. But regardless of the question of motivation, it is a fact that Iago hasn’t a single true friend in the play; in his disordered personality he can only manipulate or use people; he is incapable of loving them. His manipulation of his general repeats time and again from the first mee ting: Nay, but he... ...  Ã‚  Ã‚   To the Propontic and the Hellespont,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Even so my bloody thoughts, with violent pace,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Shall ne'er look back, ne'er ebb to humble love,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Till that a capable and wide revenge   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Swallow them up. (3.3) Iago is so in control of the general’s contorted mind that he specifies how the Moor should kill Desdemona: â€Å"Strangle her in her bed, even the bed she hath contaminated.† And the general dutifully responds, â€Å"Excellent good!† The enthusiastic answer causes one to suspect that the ancient’s psychopathology has taken possession of the Moor.    WORKS CITED Shakespeare, William. Othello. In The Electric Shakespeare. Princeton University. 1996. http://www.eiu.edu/~multilit/studyabroad/othello/othello_all.html No line nos. Coles, Blanche. Shakespeare’s Four Giants. Rindge, New Hampshire: Richard Smith Publisher, 1957.    Abnormal Psychology and Othello Essay -- Othello essays To what extent is the science of abnormal psychology involved in the characterization in William Shakespeare’s tragic drama Othello? This essay will answer that question. Blanche Coles in Shakespeare’s Four Giants affirms the Bard’s commitment to abnormal psychology, and his employment of same in this play: That Shakespeare was keenly interested in the study of the abnormal mind is commonly accepted among students. [. . .] The suggestion that Iago may have been intentionally drawn as a psychopathic personality is not new. [. . .] Even a casual scrutiny of a book on case histories of psychopathic patients will find Iago peeping out from many of its pages. Still more, Iago’s name will be found appearing occasionally in bold print in books on abnormal psychology.(89-90) Evidence of the ancient’s psychopathic personality is seen early in the play. He manipulates the wealthy Roderigo into awakening the senator Brabantio (â€Å"Rouse him: make after him, poison his delight†); and then he utters very offensive smutty lines about a black ram and white ewe, which indicate the way his sick mind operates. He seems to be motivated by love of money which he has been receiving from Roderigo for some time (â€Å"thou, Iago, who hast had my purse / As if the strings were thine†). Iago himself says that he is motivated by revenge on the Moor (â€Å"I follow him to serve my turn upon him†) because of the promotion of Michael Cassio to the lieutenancy. But regardless of the question of motivation, it is a fact that Iago hasn’t a single true friend in the play; in his disordered personality he can only manipulate or use people; he is incapable of loving them. His manipulation of his general repeats time and again from the first mee ting: Nay, but he... ...  Ã‚  Ã‚   To the Propontic and the Hellespont,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Even so my bloody thoughts, with violent pace,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Shall ne'er look back, ne'er ebb to humble love,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Till that a capable and wide revenge   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Swallow them up. (3.3) Iago is so in control of the general’s contorted mind that he specifies how the Moor should kill Desdemona: â€Å"Strangle her in her bed, even the bed she hath contaminated.† And the general dutifully responds, â€Å"Excellent good!† The enthusiastic answer causes one to suspect that the ancient’s psychopathology has taken possession of the Moor.    WORKS CITED Shakespeare, William. Othello. In The Electric Shakespeare. Princeton University. 1996. http://www.eiu.edu/~multilit/studyabroad/othello/othello_all.html No line nos. Coles, Blanche. Shakespeare’s Four Giants. Rindge, New Hampshire: Richard Smith Publisher, 1957.   

Creationism vs Evolutionism Essay -- essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Most people view the theory of evolution as being a feasible explanation of how life became what is today. Evolution is a theory that the various organisms are descended from others that lived in earlier times and that the differences are due to inherited changes that occurred over many generations. It must be realized that evolution is a theory and cannot be considered a fact. Even though it’s roots are from Greek anatomists, the theory of evolution came to light in 1859 when Charles Darwin published his book The Origin of Species, which dealt with natural selection. Since then, scientists have been continually searching for proof for the theory through research and experimentation. Some of the topics that are associated with proving the theory are fossil records, carbon-14 dating, and DNA testing.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  These are also noted as part of phylogenetic systematics, which is the term used for classifying and understanding the relationships and history among species of the past and present. Natural selection, or â€Å"survival of the fittest†, is the mechanics of evolution. Natural selection deals with the dying of weaker offspring of an organism, and the survival of the stronger offspring. When a strong organism survives, its dominent genes are passed on to its offspring. Over time, these genes will lead to mutations, which allow a species to adapt as they slowly move to different environments or other natural change.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This is a broad interpretation of how evolutionists explain, for instance, sea creatures becoming land creatures. Evolutionists believe that life began on earth when chemicals combined to produce the first cell. Throughout the course of millions of years, single cell organisms arose to life as it known today. Fundamentally, evolution is based on scientific reasoning and experimentation. As with most sciences, inaccuracies do occur through new discoveries and the theory of evolution must be rethought. Creationism deals with the theory that the world was created in a brief amount of time by a higher being. Creationism has been the way humans explain the making of the earth and the inhabitants on it for thousands of years.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This has been depicted through ancient hieroglyphs, stories, and popular mythology. Al... ...on. The only people who do think there can be coexistence are those who are less educated on the topic. A popular opinion that I share with these people is that evolution has and is happening as scientists believe, but at the fate of a higher being. An example of this belief is that when non-organic chemicals came together to form the first living cell, as scientists give credence to, there was a deity involved.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   One way that evolution might gain more acceptance is the decline of religion in society. Since most creationism is based off of religion, which is declining in participation from generation to generation, more people might turn to science. Creationism would require a supernatural occurrence to turn evolutionists over to accepting it as fact.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The opposition between the theory of evolution and the belief in creationism is in an idle balance, and without any extravagant changes in evidence or approach, it will be for an extensive time. I myself, have personally come to a stand still. It might not be a life or death decision, but just the same it is a question that I do not think anyone is in the position to decide.

My Career Goal Essay

I always ask myself a question of what I want to be and what goals I am going to achieve four years later. Four years later, it is hoped that I can get the most out of my education, becoming more independent and mature. Four years later, it is hoped that I can be a journalist who contribute as much value as I can to my city. My first career goal is to be a journalist who writes for newspaper. A journalist who sees and tells the truth with honesty. Reporting the news completely. Presenting all sides of viewpoints unbiasedly. Seeking more sources when writing a news so as to be sure of multiple sides are presented. Secondly, helping the public society but the government will become one of my main concern. It is hoped that I can be independent from the government. Keeping a watchful eye on the government and making representation to the government about the unjust policy or measure. Therefore, I can supervise the government as to be sure that they do their work properly. Moreover, bridge the gap between society and real life is also my concern. Passionate on providing the information of the causes of the accident so as to raise the public awareness of the things going on the social issues. Finally, sincerely hope that I can hold on the mission which inspired by principle of freedom, of information, of expression in my career life with all attempt, determination and faith in justice. I always ask myself a question of what I want to be and what goals I am going to achieve four years later. Four years later, it is hoped that I can get the most out of my education, becoming more independent and mature. Four years later, it is hoped that I can be a journalist who contribute as much value as I can to my city. My first career goal is to be a journalist who writes for newspaper. A journalist who sees and tells the truth with honesty. Reporting the news  completely. Presenting all sides of viewpoints unbiasedly. Seeking more sources when writing a news so as to be sure of multiple sides are presented. Secondly, helping the public society but the government will become one of my main concern. It is hoped that I can be independent from the government. Keeping a watchful eye on the government and making representation to the government about the unjust policy or measure. Therefore, I can supervise the government as to be sure that they do their work properly. Moreover, bridge the gap between society and real life is also my concern. Passionate on providing the information of the causes of the accident so as to raise the public awareness of the things going on the social issues. Finally, sincerely hope that I can hold on the mission which inspired by principle of freedom, of information, of expression in my career life with all attempt, determination and faith in justice.

Lord of the Flies: Human Nature

Lord of the Flies Human Nature In the novel, Lord of the Flies, Golding has young and innocent children on a remote island to test how human nature works. Golding uses objects such as the conch and the Beast to reflect our society politically and psychologically. The novel shows human’s own illness and human nature. Human nature is unavoidable and can be a source of evil. It is one’s nature to do whatever it takes in order to survive. By trying to survive one’s evil creeps out. Jack and his hunters showed the most evil. The first pig being killed was the first sign of evil. They celebrated the killings and became blood thirsty for hunting. It was human nature for the hunters and the little boys to follow Jack and to try to survive on the island. Evil is an inborn trait that lives inside every one. It is our parents’ job to teach good morals and values when we are young, but evil can not be fully covered up. The children enjoyed the freedom away from rules and adults. As time passes on the island their freedom soon turns into a nightmare and in the end some died. Civilization is not so far from savagery and everyone has some kind of evil lurking about. Even the little innocent British boys have a certain amount of evil in themselves. The kids are used to rules, but they soon realize that rules do not matter anymore. They can not be punished for throwing rocks or pushing a boulder and killing someone. Roger can not get into trouble by adults anymore, so his human nature kicks in and he reveals his evilness. He was able to kill without getting into trouble. The Beast is messing with the kids’ minds and they become crazed little boys. The fear makes them turn into savages and kill to survive. The Beast is like a phobia for the littluns. Beast from the Air arrives and stirs up some more trouble. It confuses them because they realize there are more things to be cautious of. The conch was supposed to be good, but the power of it changes the kids. Jack and Ralph fight about who has the conch and who is the leader. It is human nature for Jack to desire the conch and what is not his. Human nature has a big role in Lord of the Flies and many of the kids can not handle it. Once human nature was revealed many turned into little killers. It was human nature to try to survive and many did live at the end, but at the cost of lives.

Investigate the ways in which hip hop music appeals to male and female audiences

Investigate the ways in which hip hop music appeals to male and female audiences, with reference to 50 cent's Amusement Park, attempting to account for its popularity despite its sexist representations of women In this essay I shall be investigating the ways in which hip hop songs appeal to both male and female audiences, with specific reference to Amusement Park (released May 8, 2007) by 50 cent (real name Curtis Jackson), and its music video. I will attempt to account for the huge popularity of this artist, and others of the genre, despite the apparent sexism displayed in his songs. Firstly I shall look at how hip hop has gone from primarily an underground phenomenon to having mainstream status, as recounted by Bakari Kitwana (2005). From when hip hop originated, it was always an alternate culture for black youngsters to turn to. During the late 1980s economic recession, many Americans were still living in poverty: unskilled workers faced poorer wages than before, resulting in a sense of alienation from mainstream America. Although they had achieved equality in legal status, there were still plenty of economic and social problems facing black youth. Not only was hip hop an artistic way of expressing and making public these issues, but also provided a sense of culture those less privileged. Concerns could be voiced through the medium of music and radio stations, which, although primarily were by and for black people, still very much of the white working class population, who were also facing similar problems and suffering from the same detachment from the mainstream. In the late 80s powerful black icons began emerging, such as Michael Jordan, Oprah Winfrey, and major bands like Public Enemy who produced ‘politically charged lyrics, criticism of the media, and active interest in the concerns of the African American community'1. It soon became hard for white audiences to ignore hip hop culture. The East-West coast feud between artists from either side of America, leading to the eventual murders of Tupac Shakur and the Notorious BIG also brought both urban issues and its music in to public light. Gangster rap was a predominant subgenre which was responsible for expressing shocking views (notably rap group N. You can read also Audience Adaptation Paper W. A. ‘s F*** tha police) and portraying the more violent and misogynistic side of hip hop culture. While it still receives a lot of backlash, hip hop has become increasingly mainstream and popular. One way to account for the popularity of â€Å"Amusement Park† is to look at the representations of women in the video on its own, and to draw conclusions from those alone. The girls are shown against a very minimalistic background, only with the â€Å"ride† which they are on. This puts the focus on to their bodies and faces, increasing our sense of their sexuality. Both the shots of the girls and their poses are explicitly constructed, as their poses are unnatural and staged. They often look directly in to the camera, suggesting an awareness of the audience's voyeuristic perspective. A shot which specifically give a sense of degradation is one in which a girl is shot almost directly from above, her body twisted unnaturally on the ground, looking on command as the camera focuses on her. This appeals to the male audience by making them feel that the girl is putting out her sexuality for the benefit of the viewers i. e. he individual watcher. It might seem that this video is primarily aimed at males however; the huge success of 50 cent in the mainstream implies that his apparent misogyny is not only accepted but embraced by a large audience. One explanation would be to accept the belief of female sexuality being masochistic, and that the gratification a female gets from the video is that of relating herself to the girls in the video who are enjoying being a sexual object. However, French feminist Luce Irigaray questions the idea the traditional view of female sexuality: †¦ omen in the sexual imaginary of Western culture have always been a male fantasy; hence maschocism is something forced on women by culture, not a quality inherent within them. Thus, women don't define their own sexuality, desire, or pleasure2. If we bear in mind the amount of competition that is around now in the hip hop industry and the selection of media now readily available, through the wide range of music channel, and the relatively recent development of the ability to watch music on sites such as youtube and yahoo, audience could be said to become more active in the way they choose and thus perceive their media. Taking Irigaray's perspective, female audiences do not necessarily need to read the text in masochistic way, and this broadening of choice in their media allows them to take an alternate stance on such texts: that of a more active one. If this is the case however, it does not necessarily mean that female audiences reject Amusement Park, only that there is room to interpret the representations in a more ironic way and as I shall discuss later on, the text itself encourages this type of reading. The next issue I shall look at is the extent to which 50 cent is taken as a serious role model by his audiences. His background would imply that he is the stereotype of gangster: his mother gave birth to him at 15, was involved in cocaine dealing, and was murdered at the age of 23. 50 cent himself began dealing in crack/cocaine and taking guns to school. Before the release of his first album with Columbia Records, he survived being shot 9 times, including once in the mouth, which led to him being dropped by the record company. This would seem highly ironic, given that to a large extent the idea of an authentic gangster was what selling rap records in the first place (artists such as Snoop Dogg, The Notorious B. I. G and Tupac Shakur had a history of crime and drugs; and the murders of the latter two helped to bring hip hop in to mainstream media). It is interesting to ask whether it was the songs that consumers were buying and continue to do so, (his debut album, get rich or die tryin' selling 12 million albums worldwide) or the now glamorised image of celebrity gangster which is currently present, despite the fact that he currently lives in an $18,500,000 Mansion. He himself admits to the fact that his image portrayed in his music is separate from him as a person: †¦ all the things I say are good, if you watch what I do. What I say on record is entertainment; but what I'm actually doing with my life and the things I've had the opportunity to do is what makes me inspiring3 Although evidently he has achieved a great deal for himself, in the media he rarely expresses himself personal side, and even has made attempts to reinforce his gangster image, and example being: I've been in situations where either it was me or somebody else, and I handled my business. 4 (2003) However, in the later interview he does deny any assumptions: †¦ people associate me with gun violence, when I was the one who got shot5 This suggest that Curtis himself does have an expectation that audiences will be able to distinguish between his image portrayed in the media, and the reality of his life, but does little to counteract the negative images. Is he also being naive in thinking that the audience will automatically realise this, and not model his violent and sexist lyrics? There is clearly some sort of awareness in public audiences, both black and white, as shown by findings by the Black Youth Project: Over half of youngsters between the ages of 15 – 25 strongly agree with the statement that â€Å"Rap music videos portray Black women in bad and offensive ways. 6 The huge success of 50 cent however, seems to contradict this, which would seem to imply that audiences are in fact able to separate this misogyny from the rapper himself. However, it could also be argued that this is merely a way of excusing such portrayals. Considering the artist's earlier works, such as Get in my car containing the lyri cs â€Å"I got no pickup lines / I stay on the grind / I tell the hoes all the time / Bitch get in my car† and the highly pornographic music video for Disco Inferno, it is harder to take such things lightly. A widely quoted statistic is that 70% of hip hop consumers are in fact white. Although it is interesting to note that no accurate source has been cited for this statistic, hip hop is undeniably a prominent part of mainstream white music culture. Before, when the genre was a political move as much as it was a music genre, a chance for black underprivileged youth to voice their concerns for the culture, it was something that both black and white people could understand in relation to their own lives. The current state of hip hop is that we ‘look through the keyhole into a violent, sexy world of â€Å"money, ho's and clothes†Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ as described by Justin Ross (2007). This may be an accurate description of the way that audiences perceive such videos, given that 50 cent's music refers to neither the real problems, past or present, of black culture, nor to the life which Curtis leads. It would also account for the general acceptance of these representations, if the audience is distanced from what is shown in the videos: issues of sexism and violence are far less relevant outside black urban society and it is therefore easier for a white consumer to take the videos solely as entertainment. It is also important to remember that while the majority of hip hop artists are black, it is predominantly marketed and controlled by a white industry, as Bakari describes (p46) in which the importance of an authentic representation of black culture is of little importance compared with supplying the public with texts which they will buy in to, as evidently the sex appeal of the videos is an important aspect. The next thing I shall look at is the level of awareness of the sexism in both the video itself, and the audience it is aimed at. There are many shots which suggest that the images in it, and the lyrics, are not entirely sincere. This is evident in the shots of the girl sitting on a bench next to 50 cent. Unlike the rest of the images, she is not highly glamorised, and her actions appear to be a lot more naturalistic than the others. She directly reacts to his lyrics, often looking away smiling, as though amused by what he is saying. The title of the song could also be referring to 50 cent himself as a celebrity figure: that both his image and his songs are merely an â€Å"amusement;† not to be taken as serious. This creates a sense of bathos juxtapositioned against the more professional looking shots, so that the female audience can relate more to the women shown. Although taking up a lot less time in the video than the glamorised ones, it creates a distance between the hyperreality of the rest of the video, and the ordinary more down to earth shots, so audiences see the video more objectively. The shots of the girl lying provocatively on the car bear even less relation to the lyrics than earlier in the video, being more reminiscent of a car commercial than a music video. The car itself is briefly but distinctly focused on, which makes reference to the importance of money and material values which are present in not only video, but the whole hip hop industry. This hints at the suggestion that both the girls and their representations are merely a product of this, and therefore are not in fact serious degradations of the women. In this shot we see a girl, while impressed; rolling her eyes at the artist at the lyrics â€Å"You know it's no fun without the magic stick†. In this sense the girls are in fact the more active ones in the video, whilst 50 Cent mostly maintains his position as an entertainer. Instead of them covering the whole screen, two similar shots of the same girl are often slid in from either side against a plain black background, sometimes overlapping each other. Whilst in one sense emphasising the importance of the girls' bodies, it also is highly self aware as product, as by seeing two separate views of one scene, it reminds us that it is a construction. Instead of taking itself too seriously, it makes explicit its intention of providing a sex appeal. A less prominent but important character in the video is the girl dancing acrobatically, and the only girl who is represented by her skill rather her sexuality – the camera barely focuses on her face. On the surface, she seems to represent an entertainer at a fair (the bright flashing lights help to anchor this meaning), but it is possible to decipher alternate readings of her: certain comparisons can be drawn between the actions of 50 Cent and herself. She and he are the first people we see in the video, and she appears immediately after the artist announces himself: â€Å"50† and â€Å"Ferrari F-50†. The setting she is in is almost identical to that of 50 Cent's. At times her dance moves mirror the lyrics of his, for example at â€Å"You fear heights when I'm high hell yeah I go low†, she can be seen to do exactly this. In another shot she briefly does a boxing punch, followed by a similar view of 50 Cent looking macho. At the lyrics â€Å"yeah it's like that† she mimes as though saying the words herself. In this sense she is the female counterpart to 50 Cent, and could be said to hold the power, in that she has little direct engagement with the audience, while Curtis has to explicitly put on an act to keep is position as an entertainer. This could allow women to from the perspective of her instead of the rapper, and thus 50 Cent himself becomes the object of the video instead of the subject. As previously discussed, the initial purpose of this media text is to sell 50 Cent's music, and this is done by providing the audience with representations they are familiar with: a stereotypical ‘gangster', highly sexed girls, and also to be considered is the artist's own sex appeal. Firstly, the subject of the song itself is 50 cent inviting girls (the audience) to attend his â€Å"amusement park†, and the lyrics describe the activities available to those who go, thus partially placing him as the object of desire. He is shown later in the song without a shirt on, with lighting focused in such a way that highlights his muscular physique. An important issue is that of whether hip hop should be censored, else voluntarily toned down. In April 2007, a controversial incident occurred, involving Don Imus, the presenter of his radio show, which already had a reputation for its crude humour. In discussing a black female basketball team, he referred to the players as ‘nappy headed hos'. After floods of outraged complaints, his show was permanently removed from air, prompting wide discussion over the standards in the media, often with reference to hip hop. 0 Cent himself was involved in the subsequent discussion, but refused to agree to clean up his lyrics, using a politician involved in adult dating websites to make comparisons between standards in hip hop and that in supposedly higher society. While this may be true to some extent, it firstly does not provide a justification in itself; but also it is debatable as to how much of what he said was his own opinion and how many were prearranged arguments by his managers (in the video he can be seen grinning in long pauses after phrases such as â€Å"I personally believe†). On the subject of Master P, who made the decision to stop using sexist and violent lyrics, he replies â€Å"Well Master P doesn't sell CDs anymore†7. From this, and other interviews where he has put the focus on that of entertainment, one could draw the conclusion that the artist in fact, as Amusement Park suggests, concerned with little other than the money involved in the business. In defence to his own lyrics, 50 Cent has also expressed his irritation of apparent double standards in the media, in reference to Britney Spears' single ‘Gimme more'8 beginning with the lyrics ‘it's Britney, bitch'. While it may appear to be merely a sore complaint, it is certainly valid to discuss the treatment of women in other areas of the media, and by women themselves. The music video of the song in question consists of Britney Spears, wearing little more than underwear, dancing round a poll in a seedy setting. Similarly, in ‘Dip it Low' by Christina Milian, the artist is seen allowing herself to have black paint poured over her semi-clothed body, whilst a group of men stand at the side watching and jeering: the presentation of women apparent in male hip hop videos is not a unique one. In all aspects of the media girls are presented, more than anything, by their sexuality and appearance, which can be found in adverts in women's magazines, stereotypes in film and television (a notable example being Desperate Housewives), car adverts, drink adverts. Although elevated within the genre, this representation could be described as a reflection of attitudes prevalent in both the media and in society and therefore not so shocking to audiences. Another issue described by an internet blogger9 is that by shutting sexism and violence portrayed in hip hop music, it is shutting off a fundamental way of keeping these issues in the eye of the public. He quotes that the leading killer of African Americans is homicide; and that males are five times more likely to be killed than their white counterparts. These issues will still exist even in the absence of offensive hip hop. While this certainly an interesting point, hip hop paradoxically glorifies the very things which it makes an issue of. While artists like 50 Cent may primarily be driven by selling as many records as possible, he still in one sense continues to represent issues which would otherwise be forgotten, if only in a postmodern way. Therefore, in order for hip hop to serve this purpose, it is essential that audiences neither directly embrace the values shown in the videos, nor take it as purely entertainment, as Amusement Park evidently does allow us to do. However, audiences could be said to be becoming increasingly desensitised to these things, with violent films and video games and the huge availability of pornography through the internet, which would make this reading more difficult to achieve. Whether or not the sexism and violence in hip hop is justified or not, if audiences were to take a more active role in their media, it would simultaneously prevent potential influence from such songs, and also make thorny issues in black society more accessible to deal with.