Victorias Secret Pink

Analyze the buyer decision process of a typical pink customer Consumers generally follow a certain decision-making process when buying products, particularly new or expensive items. They undergo five steps that include: recognition of need, search information, evaluation of alternatives, purchase, and after purchase behavior. These five steps represent a general process that can be used as a guide for studying how consumers make decisions.Advertising We will write a custom case study sample on Victoria’s Secret Pink specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More It is important to note, though, that consumers’ decisions do not always proceed in order through all of these steps. In fact, the consumer may end the process at any time or may not even purchase products from the Victoria Secrets.  According to the market research females, on average, have a larger deep limbic system than males, implying that they are more in touch wit h their feelings as compared to men. It follows, then, that women are also tapped into emotionally charged images. Psychologists at the State University of New York and Stanford University found that, though emotion-evoking photographs were more likely than emotionally flat images to stick in the brains of both men and women, women were able to remember more of the emotional images over time than could men (Barney 114). Women use more of their brains to process emotional images. They have been found to have an increased ability to bond with and be connected to others-which equip them generally to be the best shoppers. A woman’s brain functions differently than a man’s in decision making. This is not a debate about which gender’s brain is better, per se, because each is simply different in form and function. Understanding these differences gives Victoria Secrets a sound basis from which to launch consideration of female-focused marketing approaches. Apply the con cept of aspirational groups to Victoria Secret’s pink line. Should marketers have boundaries with regard to this concept? The appeals given are some of the appeals which make use of reference group concepts. A reference group in this context is a set of people with whom consumers of Pink products compare themselves to shape their attitudes, values, knowledge and behavior (including buying behavior). These concepts are used by Victoria Secret brands in a number of situations and celebrity usage is one of the vital applications of reference groups. A brand would derive value from celebrity associations if celebrity usage is done in a conceptual manner. Marketers would need to maintain boundaries and understand the aspirational groups with which target consumers may like to associate themselves.Advertising Looking for case study on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More These aspirational groups would have to be represented in a manner which would appeal to target consumers. There could be three kinds of reference groups. The aspirational group is one which the young teens admire and like to emulate but they are not members. The consumer does not have a face-to-face contact with this group and hence it is a secondary group. Explain how both positive and negative consumer attitudes toward a brand like pink develop? How might someone’s attitude toward pink change? In general, the strength of one’s elaboration likelihood will determine the type of process by which attitudes towards the advertised brand will be formed or changed. The persuasion model in indicates two mechanisms, by which persuasion occurs: at the top, a central route; and at the bottom, a peripheral route. Under certain circumstances, attitudes towards the advertised brand have a high probability of being changed in the direction of the experienced emotion; positive emotional reactions leading to positive bran d attitudes, and negative reactions leading to negative attitudes. Also, because the consumer’s elaboration likelihood is high, it can be expected that any attitude change experienced under the central route will be relatively enduring. Message-based persuasion Attitude formation process results from processing message arguments. When Pink consumers are sufficiently motivated and are able to process a message’s specific arguments or selling points, their cognitive responses may lead to changes in beliefs about the advertised brand or to changes in evaluations of the importance of the brand’s attributes and benefits. In either or both cases, the result is a change in attitude towards the brand. This process is based on the theory of reasoned action (TORA), which proposes that all forms of planned and reasoned behavior have two primary determinants: attitudes and normative influences. What role does pink appear to be playing in the self-concept of Tweens, teens, a nd young adults? Consumption types, whether symbolic, compensatory or voracious, are closely connected to the development of the self, and often intersect through the use of dress. Likewise, as a client at Victoria Secrets goes through a role transition, he or she will likely choose objects believed to signify the new role. Participants often allude to specific brands of clothing as future consumption goals. We therefore, consider the role of brands like Pink within symbolic consumption at various stages of teens, teens and adults, and to the ultimate transformation of the self. Brands and the Self Brands provide benefits to the consumer. For instance, Barney argues that brands can act as consumers’ partners and that â€Å"consumer-brand relationships are valid at the level of lived experience† (112).Advertising We will write a custom case study sample on Victoria’s Secret Pink specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More A search for the common ground between a brand and consumer has resulted in the development of five dimensions of the brand-consumer relationship: sincerity, excitement, competence, sophistication, and ruggedness (Berry 16). These five dimensions are perceptions identified and defined by the consumer, which serve as symbols of the similarity between the product’s attributes and uses. The relationship between the consumer and a brand requires a degree of emotional commitment from both parties. Branding that appeals to the consumer’s emotions, allows the brand and consumer to together construct their own â€Å"story: which in turn, justifies further use of the brand Works Cited Barney, Hansen. â€Å"Trustworthiness as a Source of Competitive Advantage.† Building New Forms of Cooperation in a Volatile Economy. (2009): 112-18. Print. Berry, Bendapudi. â€Å"Clueing in Customers†. Communicating in times of Uncertainty. (2002): 2-29. Print. This case study on Victoria’s Secret Pink was written and submitted by user GwenStacy to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Queen Hathseput essays

Queen Hathseput essays Hatshepsut was the first female ruler who ever ruled in all the history of the world. She was the most remarkable women that influenced history as a whole as well as Egypt itself. She was the first female pharaoh who ever ruled Egypt. Hatshepsut came to be by her parents TuthmoseI and Aahmes. She had two brothers who died prematurely and she was the favorite child. Unfortunately her two brothers both died. Since she was the only child left, she would become heir to the throne when her father dies. Hatshepsut's family tree made it easier to understand and it is a bit complex. It starts with Hatshepsut's parents' parents. Senseneb was married to AmenhotepI and had Tuthmose I, but Amenhotep I, also had a child with Aahotpou II and they had Aahmes, who Tuthmose I married. Tuthmose I and Aahmes had three children. They had two sons named Ouazmosou and Amenmosou who both died prematurely. Their third child was none other than Hatshepsut. Her father, Tuthmose I had a son with a commoner named Moutnofrit, their son was named Tuthmose II. Hatshepsut and her half-brother Tuthmose II were married. There is more to thisfamily tree that I will discuss later. When Hatshepsut's father died they became the new rulers of Egypt. Tuthmose I died in1512 and it became Tuthmose II and Hatshepsut's turn to rule. Tuthmose II was the one who was to gain the throne, but it was said that for the few years of his reign, Hatshepsut was doing most of the decision making. Hatshepsut had a child but it was very likely that it was her lovers, Senmut. But also Tuthmose II had a son with a commoner whose name was Isis. Their son was named Tuthmose III. Tuthmose II was pharaoh for only three or four years. Archeologists found some markings on the surface of his mummy that indicate that he had died of skin disease. His son with Isis, Tuthmose III, was too young so Hatshepsut was the person chosen to rule since Tuthmose III worshipped as a priest of the god Amon...

The Story of George Crum, Inventor of the Potato Chip

The Story of George Crum, Inventor of the Potato Chip George Crum (born George Speck; July 15, 1824 – July 22, 1914) was a renowned African-American chef who worked at Moon’s Lake House in Saratoga Springs, New York during the mid-1800s. According to culinary legend, Crum invented the potato chip during his work at the restaurant. Fast Facts: George Crum Known For: Widely credited with inventing potato chips when he sliced an order of French fries extra-thin to spite a demanding customer. The story has since been debunked as a myth, but Crum achieved success when he opened  Crums, a popular restaurant in Malta, New York.  Also Known As: George SpeckBorn: July 15, 1824, in Saratoga Springs,  New York, USADied: July 22, 1914, in Malta, New York, USA The Potato Chip Legend   George Speck was born to parents Abraham Speck and Diana Tull  on July 15, 1824. He grew up in upstate New York and was hired at Moons Lake House in the 1850s. Moon’s Lake House was a high-end restaurant that catered to wealthy Manhattan families when Speck was hired. A  regular patron of the restaurant,  Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt, frequently forgot Specks given surname. Vanderbilt  often asked waiters to relay various requests to â€Å"Crum,† thus giving Speck the name he is now known by.   According to popular legend, the potato chip was invented when a picky customer (Vanderbilt himself, according to some reports) repeatedly sent back an order of  French fries, complaining that they were too thick. Frustrated with the customer’s demands, Crum sought revenge by slicing a batch of potatoes paper-thin, frying them to a crisp, and seasoning them with lots of salt. Surprisingly, the customer loved them.  Soon enough, Crum and Moons Lake House became well-known  for their special â€Å"Saratoga chips.†Ã‚   Disputing the Legend   A number of notable accounts  have disputed the story of Crums culinary innovation. Recipes for frying thin potato slices had already been published in cookbooks  by the early 1800s. Several reports on Crum himself, including a  commissioned biography of the chef published in 1893 and his own obituary, were curiously missing any mention of potato chips whatsoever.   Crums sister, Kate Wicks, claimed to be the real inventor of the potato chip. Wick’s obituary, published in The Saratogian in 1924, read, A sister of George Crum, Mrs. Catherine Wicks, died at the age of 102, and was the cook at Moon’s Lake House. She first invented and fried the famous Saratoga Chips. This statement  is supported by Wicks’ own recollections of the tale, which was published in several periodicals during her lifetime. Wicks explained that she had sliced off a sliver of potato that inadvertently fell into a hot frying pan. She let Crum taste it and his enthusiastic approval led to the decision to serve the chips. Crums Legacy Visitors came far and wide to Moons Lake House for a taste of the famous Saratoga chips, sometimes even taking a 10-mile trip around the lake just to get to the restaurant. Cary Moon, the owner of Moon’s Lake House, later tried to claim credit for the invention and began producing and distributing potato chips in boxes. Once Crum opened his own restaurant in the 1860s, called Crum’s, he provided every table with a basket of chips.   Crum’s chips remained a local delicacy until the 1920s when a salesman and entrepreneur named Herman Lay began traveling throughout the south and introducing potato chips to different communities throughout the country. At that point, Crums legacy was overtaken  by the mass production and distribution of potato chips on a national scale. Sources George Crum Dies at Saratoga Lake,  The (Saratoga Springs) Saratogian.  July 27, 1914.  Another Claims Potato Chip Idea,†Ã‚  Glens Falls Post Star.  August 4, 1932Barrett Britten, Elizabeth  [Jean McGregor]. Chronicles of Saratoga, Saratoga Springs, NY. Bradshaw 1947.Bradley, Hugh. Such Was Saratoga.  New York, 1940. 1940, 121-122.Dearborn, R.F.  Saratoga and How to See It. Albany, New York. 1871.  Gruse, Doug. Chipping Away at History.  Post-Star, Glens Falls, New York. November 25, 2009Kitchiner, William.  The Cook’s Oracle; Containing Receipts for Plain Cookery, on the Most Economical Plan for Private Families. 4th ed. A. Constable and Co. of Edinburgh and London.Lee, N.K.M.  The Cooks Own Book: Being A Complete Culinary Encyclopedia.  Boston, Munroe, and Francis. New York, Charles E. Francis, and David Felt. 1832.

Appeal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Appeal - Essay Example Therefore, I and my younger sister have suffered severe anxiety and melancholy afterward. My younger sibling has become suicidal after this tragic incident as she could not accept the realistic fact of death. Previously my younger sibling lived in Canada for her studies, but after her several attempts of suicide; I could not leave her on her own, took her under my wings. Right now, I am struggling with my own anxiety, focusing on my sister’s rehabilitation and trying to be empathetic towards my father. I am physically and sentimentally exhausted and could not focus on my studies, which resulted in low grades. After my mother’s demise, my father urges me to return to Korea as he also feels lonely and gloomy. I have become sleep deprived and struggling with emotional and physical demands of my family every day and in the meantime barely getting any sleep like a normal person. I have visited counseling center for the same sake and received medical assistance from the hospi tal as well. I do not want to leave my studies in between as I have always been eager to complete my graduation from the University. However, I am trying to recover from the tragic incident and struggling to manage my family life and studies for which I will need your support and empathy as well. If I am reinstated, I will focus much better on my schoolwork, take fewer hours, and manage my time more wisely. Fortunately, my father is recovering and has returned to work, so I should not need to travel home nearly as often.

The Economic Motive Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Economic Motive - Essay Example But in the rights of everyone, he busted everyone's lives among those 200+ people. Upon examining the case with the (3) three facts beyond a reasonable doubt is the opportunity, where Mr. Lee is said to be proven as he have the crime at hand. He also has the ability to do the crime. But the motive of him is somewhat unpredictable since don't mean to hurt these people but he is just doing what his ancestors are doing before him. In here the problem will be circulating at the situation on which is much better to measure his weakness. Will it be the opportunity and ability or his motive Glifonea stated again that , if u have been with or have any connection with the crime, we cannot call it not a crime doer, because what he did is also a crime, even we look at it on any other sides. As time passes by, our society, and the whole wide world are also changing. Why ot Mr. Lee's generation change their old tradition Kevin Bales said "Slavery is a horrible thing". As if everybody will look at this case, people might say it's too crude and tyrannous. And we should not treat other people mean fully.

Assignment Questions and Answers Essay Example for Free

Assignment Questions and Answers Essay b) Explain the importance of the mission statement, the vision and the goal of an organization A mission statement defines what an organization is, why it exists, its reason for being. It helps guide the actions of the organization, spell out its overall goal, provide a path, and guide decision-making. A vision statement is a description of a companys values and its long-term goals. It helps an organization prepare for the future. A goal is an observable and measurable end result having one or more objectives to be achieved within a more or less fixed timeframe. It helps motivate members by clarifying and communicating what the organization is striving to achieve. Both the mission and vision statement help the organization focus on what is really important. Although the organization knows what it is trying to do to improve your community, its easy to lose sight of this when dealing with the day-to-day hassles that plague all organizations. The mission and vision statements help members remember what is important as they go about doing your daily work. The mission and vision statements also let other individuals and organizations have a snapshot view of whom the organization is and what it wants to do. When the vision and mission statements are easily visible (for example, if they are on the letterhead of your stationary), people can learn about your organization without having to work hard for the information. c) Discuss why an organization would carry out an environmental analysis, GAP analysis and SWOT analysis An Environmental Analysis evaluates internal and external factors affecting an organizations performance, especially its marketing effort. Internal factors are referred to as the strengths and weaknesses of the organization. External factors are opportunities and threats presented by forces outside of the company. In general, this information is used by strategic planners in forecasting trends a year or more in advance. This method is distinct from surveillance, which focuses on a specific area or time. A common synonym for environmental analysis is SWOT analysis, an acronym for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Another equivalent term is environmental scanning, referring to the ongoing nature of evaluating trends. In this type of analysis, internal strengths may include a stable workforce, proprietary systems and methods, and other factors. Internal weaknesses may include labor-union problems, obsolete equipment, or aging facilities. External opportunities can include new-market creation, beneficial alliances, and positive trade agreements. External threats may be comprised in part of negative governmental regulations, international conflict, or natural disasters. Using environmental analysis, an organization can evaluate the operating environment and establish organizational goals. They determine whether or not the goals are obtainable with existing strategies. GAP Analysis is the process through which a company compares its actual performance to its expected performance to determine whether it is meeting expectations and using its resources effectively. Gap analysis seeks to answer the questions where are we? (current state) and where do we want to be? (target state). Conducting a gap analysis can help a organization re-examine its goals to determine whether it is on the right path to be able to accomplish them. An organization will list the factors that define its current state, outline the factors that are required to reach the target state, and then determine how to fill the gaps between the two states. QUESTION 3 Discuss the main factors that should be considered to effectively implement the organizations strategic plan Implementation effectiveness can be measured by how well the business meets the financial projections set out in the strategic plan. To achieve effective implementation, a business must ensure that any changes initiated by the strategic plan are reflected in areas such as budgeting, reward schemes and information systems. The overall goal is to integrate the results of strategic planning with daily, weekly and monthly routines. The goals articulated in the strategic plan should drive marketing and sales efforts, human resources practices and research and development. These goals become a central part of the business by guiding daily operational activities.

Predicting the Future of the United States Economy Essay -- economics

It is to my belief that no one can possibly predict the future of the economy. Because of this we are faced with many questions that cannot be easily answered. Will the economy recover drastically or simply continue to increase moderately? Or could the economy in turn go into a recession? â€Å"There's been plenty of good news about the U.S. economy†¦ employment is expanding (2.4 million new payroll jobs in the last year); inflation remains low (less than a 2 percent rate in the past quarter); the stock market is higher (up 11 percent on the Dow from its November low), and business investment is impressive (rising at a 14 percent rate in late 2004).† (1) It is my opinion that unless something drastic happens in the world today, positive or negative, the economy will continue to increase at a modest rate. Even though no one quite knows which way our economy is heading, there are many economic concepts designed to help measure positive and negative changes that can show us how well we are or are not doing. These concepts include examples such as gross domestic product (GDP), business cycle, and unemployment rate. It is only human nature to want economy growth because it will lead to higher incomes and higher living standards. In order to see which direction our economy is heading and measure our economic performance, a system was invented that measures the value of all final goods and services produced within a country during a specific period of time, usually a year. This system it called gross domestic product (GDP). These figures are closely watched by those in the business and financial communities to measure our economy’s growth. GDP is a measure of the economy’s output. It is measured by counting all final goods and services once and only once that are produced during a current period, within the country. GDP can be measured by totaling the expenditures on goods and services produced during a specific time frame. This is referred to as the expenditure approach. Conversely, GDP can be reached by adding the income payments to resources suppliers and the other costs of producing those goods and services. Production of goods and services can be costly because it requires resources that cannot be used else where. These expenses generate incomes for resource suppliers. Therefore, this method of calculating GDP is referred to as resource cost-income a... ... The rate of unemployment is an important measurement of the conditions in the total labor market. The rate of unemployment is the percentage of people in the labor force who are unemployed. It is equal to the number of people unemployed divided by the number of people in the labor force multiplied by 100. The department of Labor indicates five reasons why people may experience unemployment. These reasons included: new entrants, reentrants, job leavers, dismissed, on layoff. As the world changes, new products are introduced and new technologies are developed, some unemployment is inevitable. However, there can be a positive side to job searching because an individual can possibly find a better job. Even though no one can quite know which way our economy is heading, by closely observing our gross domestic product (GDP), business cycle, and unemployment rate we will have a better understanding. Because our world is so dynamic, there are so many variables that can change in an instant creating a peak or recession in our economy. The most important thing to remember, however, is neither a peak nor recession last forever so the only thing that remains constant is change.

Perspective Essay

Everyone can view perspectives differently and sometimes it is hard to understand another person’s perspective. Many people do the things they do because they feel that their perspective is the right one. Personally I believe that sometimes people do not want to look at the others personal perspective because they know that they are wrong with their own. In other words, some people know what they are doing is wrong and do not want to do anything to fix it. In my perspective of being angry with my friend, I was angered that my friend who had been living with me for a week during the summer was not picking up after himself. I had to clean up all of his messes and had to make sure that our living area was not in complete disarray. It angered me because I had to clean up after him as well as myself. I feel that he should have contributed at least a little bit to our situation. We were both away from our homes and were both in the same situation and he just relied on me to be his personal â€Å"maid.† My response to this situation that I was dealing with was that I was very short tempered, and I did not want to communicate with my friend as much. He got the hint that something was wrong, but he did not have any idea about what was wrong. I tried to just blow off the situation and see if he was going to eventually start helping out, but nothing changed. Finally, I opened my mouth and told him that he needed to start helping around the place. He got super offensive and he stated, â€Å"I thought that room service was cleaning our room.† Some people expect things in life, and my friend was one of these people. My perspective changed after I looked at how this kid grew up. He had his parents and his grandma do everything for him. From doing the dishes to taking out the trash, this kid had never done a chore in his life. Sometimes you just have to look at the other person’s personal background and look at how they were raised. Of course it was not the right way to being raised, but I couldn’t control what he was used to. Problems occur in perspective taking all the time because not everyone is raised the same. Many people come from different backgrounds and different societies. We all view things differently and based on the way we were raised. Sometimes your own perspective may not be the agreeable one, and that is the hardest thing to change, especially if you grew up with it.

Buddhism is the reality

Emptiness in ‘Buddhism† is the reality of the existence of ourselves, and all the phenomena around us. According to the Buddhist point of view, seeking reality and seeking liberation amount to the same thing. The person who doesn't want to seek reality doesn't really want to seek liberation. If you have to look for it outside yourself, in another place, then you are mistaken. You cannot seek reality outside yourself because you are reality. Perhaps you think that your life, your reality was made by society, by your friends?If you think that way you are far from reality. if you think that your existence, your life was made by somebody else it means that you are not taking the responsibility to understand reality. You have to see that your attitudes, your view of the world, of your experiences, of your girlfriend or boyfriend, of your own self, are all the interpretation of your own mind, your own imagination. They are your own projection, your mind literally made them up. If you don't understand this then you have very little chance of understanding emptiness.You cannot seek reality outside yourself because you are reality. Perhaps you think that your life, your reality was made by society, by your friends? If you think that way you are far from reality. if you think that your existence, your life was made by somebody else it means that you are not taking the responsibility to understand reality. A basic doctrinal assertion in the Buddhist tradition states that Buddhism or â€Å"no self† means that no permanent identity comtinues from one period of time to the next.This according to them is not a pessimistic point of view but rather a simple realistic acceptance of the constantly changing human personality and all of reality as well. They understand that if everything changes, then it is possible for everything on earth to become new. If they grasp fully the essence of â€Å"emptiness†, then it would be possible to face even the toughes t situations in life with a feeling of lightness and peace of mind. With this in mind, one can begin to understand what it means for a Buddhist to cross out the word â€Å"I†.Buddhists can begin to erase this word by reallizing that there is no permanent self to hold onto or protect. Furthermore, emptiness is a mode of perception, a way of looking at experience. It does not add or subtract anything from the actual data of physical and mental events. It is looking at the incidents or happenings in the mind and the senses without any thought of whether there’s anything lying behind them. In this mode one does not act or react to any events that transpire which would mean a deeper involvement thus complicating the matter.To master the emptiness mode of perception requires firm training in virtue, concentration and discernment. Without this training, the mind stays in the mode that keeps creating stories and world views. And from the perspective of that mode, the teaching of emptiness sounds simply like another story or world view with new ground rules. It seems to be saying that the world doesn’t really exist,or else that emptiness is the great undifferentiated ground of being from which we all came and to which someday we will all return. QUESTION # 2Snyder’s poetry has the grandeur and detail of nature, and the mental disciplines of Zen Buddhism. He writes I the first person, as individual in the wilderness, but the beauty and glory of the wilderness allows that individual the status of a common man. For Snyder, symbol and metaphor cause a distancing from the thing itself,the thing itself is at least enough. Love and respect for the primitive tribe, honour accorded the Earth, the escape from city and industry into both the past and the possible, contemplation, the communal, peace, and the ascetic.There is not much wilderness left to destroy, and the nature in the mind is being logged and burned off. Industrial-urban society is not â €Å"evil† ut there is no progress either. (quoted in David Kherdian, Six San Francisco Poets, Fresno, Calif. , 1969). â€Å"Wild Mind† according to Gary means elegantly self-disciplined, self-regulating. In wilderness nobody has a management plan for it. Care for the environment is like noblesse oblige. You don’t do it because it has to be done. You do it because its beautiful. You are not being anxious to do good, or feels obligation or anything like that.In â€Å"The Practice of the Wild† Gary introduced a pair of distinctive ideas to our vocabulary of ecological inquiry. Grounded in a lifetime of nature and wilderness observation, Snyder offered the â€Å"etiquette of freedom† and â€Å"practice of the wild† as root prescriptions for the global crisis. Informed by East-West poetics, land and wilderness issues, anthropology, benevolent Buddhism, and Snyder’s long years of familiarity with the bush and high mountain places, these pri nciples point to the essential and life-sustaining relationship between place and psyche.To Snyder, value also translates as responsibility. Within his approach to digging in and committing to a place is the acceptance of responsible stewardship. Snyder maintains that it is through this engaged sense of effort and practice-participating in what he salutes as â€Å"the tiresome but tangible work of school boards, county supervisors, local foresters, local politics†-that we find our real community, our real culture.Many of Snyder's original arguments addressing pollution and our addiction to consumption have by now become mainstream: reduced fossil fuel dependence, recycling, responsible resource harvesting. Others remain works-in-progress: effective soil conservation, economics as a â€Å"small subbranch of ecology,† learning to â€Å"break the habit of acquiring unnecessary possessions,† division by natural and cultural boundaries rather than arbitrary political boundaries.As an ecological philosopher, Snyder's role has been to point out first the problems, and then the hard medicine that must be swallowed. Snyder has become synonymous with integrity-a good beginning place if your wilderness poetics honor â€Å"clean-running rivers; the presence of pelican and osprey and gray whale in our lives; salmon and trout in our streams; unmuddied language and good dreams. † From The Oxford Companion to Twentieth-century Poetry in English. Ed. Ian Hamilton. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1994. Copyright  © 1994 by Oxford University Press

How to Use the Complement Rule in Statistics

How to Use the Complement Rule in Statistics In statistics, the complement rule is a theorem that provides a connection between the probability of an event and the probability of the complement of the event in such a way that if we know one of these probabilities, then we automatically know the other one. The complement rule comes in handy when we calculate certain probabilities. Many times the probability of an event is messy or complicated to compute, whereas the probability of its complement is much simpler. Before we see how the complement rule is used, we will define specifically what this rule is. We begin with a bit of notation.  The complement of the event  A, consisting of all elements in the  sample space  S  that are not elements of the set  A, is denoted by  AC. Statement of the Complement Rule The complement rule is stated as the sum of the probability of an event and the probability of its complement is equal to 1, as expressed by the following equation: P(AC) 1 – P(A) The following example will show how to use the complement rule. It will become evident that this theorem will both speed up and simplify probability calculations. Probability Without the Complement Rule Suppose that we flip eight fair coins - what is the probability that we have at least one head showing? One way to figure this out is to calculate the following probabilities. The denominator of each is explained by the fact that there are 28 256 outcomes, each of them equally likely. All of the following us a formula for combinations: The probability of flipping exactly one head is C(8,1)/256 8/256.The probability of flipping exactly two heads is C(8,2)/256 28/256.The probability of flipping exactly three heads is C(8,3)/256 56/256.The probability of flipping exactly four heads is C(8,4)/256 70/256.The probability of flipping exactly five heads is C(8,5)/256 56/256.The probability of flipping exactly six heads is C(8,6)/256 28/256.The probability of flipping exactly seven heads is C(8,7)/256 8/256.The probability of flipping exactly eight heads is C(8,8)/256 1/256. These are mutually exclusive events, so we sum the probabilities together using one the appropriate addition rule. This means that the probability that we have at least one head is 255 out of 256. Using the Complement Rule to Simplify Probability Problems We now calculate the same probability by using the complement rule. The complement of the event â€Å"We flip at least one head† is the event â€Å"There are no heads.† There is one way for this to occur, giving us the probability of 1/256. We use the complement rule and find that our desired probability is one minus one out of 256, which is equal to 255 out of 256. This example demonstrates not only the usefulness but also the power of the complement rule. Although there is nothing wrong with our original calculation, it was quite involved and required multiple steps. In contrast, when we used the complement rule for this problem there were not as many steps where calculations could go awry.​

Why Race Matters in the Amanda Knox Case

Why Race Matters in the Amanda Knox Case Given the popularity true crime series covering O.J. Simpson, JonBenà ©t Ramsey, and Steven Avery have recently enjoyed, it’s no surprise that Netflix released the documentary â€Å"Amanda Knox† on Sept. 30 to enormous fanfare. The program stands out from others on Knox- the U.S. exchange student in Italy  accused of killing her British roommate  in 2007- in that it is largely told from her perspective. Teasers for the film show Knox sans makeup with a severely cut bob. Her features are now angular, the round cheeks that led the European press to call her â€Å"angel face† gone.   â€Å"Either Im a psychopath in sheeps clothing or I am you,† she says sternly. But the documentary only pretends to be interested in pinpointing the real Knox. The omission of information that reflects badly on her makes that clear throughout. Whether she’s guilty or innocent was never the most compelling aspect of her case, anyway- the culture clash, the false accusation of a black man for the crime, the slut-shaming and the idea that U.S. courts are somehow superior to Italian courts- are what drew in people from across the globe. Nearly a decade after Meredith Kercher’s murder, my questions about the case are unchanged. Would the press have given Knox as much attention if she’d been a student of color accused of killing her roommate abroad? Would Kercher, born to an English father and an Indian mother, have garnered more press had she been a blonde like Natalee Holloway?  People of color make up a disproportionate amount of crime victims and those falsely convicted of crimes, but they do not generally become celebrities like Knox and other whites, such as Avery, Ryan Ferguson and the West Memphis Three have.   The Central Park Five, the group of black and Latino teens wrongly convicted of attacking a white woman jogging in 1989, are the exception to the rule. Their conviction was the subject of a 2012 Ken Burns documentary. But from the outset, the public widely believed they were guilty. Donald Trump even referred to them as â€Å"animals† and took out a newspaper ad calling for their executions. When the real attacker confessed, Trump refused to apologize for his previous comments. In contrast, when he heard about Knox’s murder case, he offered to help her, demonstrating how an accused person’s race and gender affect public perception of her guilt or innocence. Reflecting on the Knox case in the age of Black Lives Matter makes it rather comical that Americans argued that the U.S. legal system was more just than the Italian counterpart. Only a few days after Knox’s 2009 conviction for killing Kercher, I wrote about my concerns with media coverage of the case for the now-defunct Racialicious blog. The conviction was later overturned, but my observations about Knox’s defenders remain relevant today as the Netflix documentary shines a spotlight on her case once more. Here’s what I had to say:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  * * * I first heard the name Amanda Knox nearly a year ago. As someone who, like Knox, traveled to Europe to study abroad, even visiting Italy during my time there, I sympathized with the young Seattle woman charged with killing her roommate while an exchange student in Perugia, Italy. Numerous articles portray the University of Washington student as an innocent wrongly targeted by a corrupt Italian prosecutor and victimized by Italians who were misogynistic and anti-American. Despite my sympathy for Knox- found guilty of murdering Meredith Kercher by an Italian jury Dec. 4- I take issue with the articles written in her defense. They reveal that America’s ideas about white womanhood have changed little since the 19th century, the whiteness of Italians remains tenuous and black men continue to make convenient crime scapegoats. I’ve no idea if Amanda Knox is innocent or guilty of the charges leveled at her- a jury’s already deemed her the latter- but some American journalists decided that she was innocent long before a verdict was reached. What’s disturbing about some of these journalists is that Knox’s race, gender, and class background played central roles in why they considered her innocent. Moreover, in defending Knox, their xenophobic and arguably â€Å"racist† feelings about Italy came to light. New York Times columnist Timothy Egan is a case in point. He wrote about Knox for the Times both in June and just before the jury issued its verdict in the case. â€Å"All trials are about narrative,† Egan remarked in the summer. â€Å"In Seattle, where I live, I see a familiar kind of Northwestern girl in Amanda Knox, and all the stretching, the funny faces, the neo-hippie touches are benign. In Italy, they see a devil, someone without remorse, inappropriate in her reactions.† What makes these â€Å"touches† benign- simply the fact that, to Egan, Knox was â€Å"a familiar kind of Northwestern girl?†Ã‚  While waiting to be interrogated, Knox reportedly did cartwheels. Egan chalks this up to Knox being an athlete. But if Donovan McNabb or LeBron James were being investigated for murder and did cartwheels during an interrogation, would their behavior be taken as that of a benign athlete or make them look unfeeling and flippant? Egan attempts to undermine Italy by making it appear as if sinister Italians were angling to punish this girl who not only reminds him of numerous girls from the Pacific Northwest but also of his own daughter. Yet, non-Italian friends of British murder victim Meredith Kercher considered Knox’s behavior to be strange as well, counteracting Egan’s attempts to discredit Italian sensibilities. â€Å"While I was [at the police station] I found Amanda’s behavior very strange. She had no emotion while everyone else was upset,† Kercher’s friend Robyn Butterworth testified in court. And when another friend reportedly remarked that she hoped Kercher hadn’t suffered much, Butterworth recalled Knox replying, â€Å"What do you think? She f___ing bled to death.† At that point, Butterworth said, the way Kercher died hadn’t been released. Amy Frost, another friend of Kercher, testified about Knox and Knox’s boyfriend at the time, Raffaele Sollecito. â€Å"Their behavior at the police station seemed, to me, really inappropriate,† Frost said. â€Å"They sat opposite each other, Amanda put her feet up on Raffaele’s legs and made faces at him. Everyone cried except Amanda and Raffaele. I never saw them crying. They were kissing each other.† Egan could have written a defense of Knox that focused on the fact that there was virtually no physical evidence of her having been at the crime scene and what little there was came under dispute because it was collected more than a month after the murder and, thus, thought to be contaminated. Instead, he chose to characterize Italy as a nation of backward, inane people. â€Å"As this week’s closing arguments showed once again, the case has very little to do with actual evidence and much to do with the ancient Italian code of saving face,† Egan wrote on  Dec. 2. Just as Egan chose not to explain why Knox’s odd antics during her interrogation were benign, he doesn’t explain why â€Å"saving face† is an â€Å"ancient Italian code.† It’s seemingly so just because he declares it to be. In the same editorial, he discusses the Italian jury much in the same way whites have traditionally discussed people of color, such as Haitian practitioners of Vodou, Puerto Rican practitioners of Santeria, Native American medicine men or African â€Å"witch doctors.† â€Å"Their verdict is not supposed to be about medieval superstitions, sexual projections, Satan fantasies or the honor of a prosecution team,† Egan writes. Egan implies Italy’s legal system is filled with people who can’t be trusted to make rational decisions, a matter of crucial importance when the future of a young American white woman is at stake. How horrible that Amanda Knox’s fate is in the hands of these crazy Italians? These people still believe in superstitions and Satan, for heaven’s sake! The way Egan and Knox’s own relatives described Italians reminded me that Americans haven’t always regarded Italians as white. This makes undermining the rationality and trustworthiness of the Italian people and court system go largely unquestioned. In a book called Are Italians White?, Louise DeSalvo writes about discrimination Italian immigrants to America faced. â€Å"I learned†¦that Italian-Americans were lynched in the South; that they were incarcerated during World War II. †¦I later learned that Italian men who worked on the railroad earned less money for their work than ‘whites’; that they slept in filthy, vermin-infested boxcars; that they were denied water, though they were given wine to drink (for it made them tractable)†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Some of the comments about Italians in the Knox case certainly seem like throwbacks to a time when Italians weren’t viewed as white. I have a hard time imagining that if Knox had been tried in England, consistent efforts would be made to discredit the British judicial system. To make matters worse, while American xenophobia is being aimed at Italy, American supporters of Knox are painting Italy as anti-American. Former prosecutor John Q. Kelly even used racialized language when discussing Knox’s plight, likening treatment of her to â€Å"a public lynching.† Isn’t this how racism works today? People who exhibit clearly racist attitudes and behaviors accuse President Obama of being anti-white or blame Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson for perpetuating racism rather than historic, institutionalized white supremacy. After Knox was found guilty of murder, U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell stated, â€Å"I have serious questions about the Italian justice system and whether anti-Americanism tainted this trial.† This argument of anti-Americanism falls apart considering that Italian national Raffaele Sollecito was also found guilty of murder. Are we to believe that an Italian jury would sacrifice one of its own to spite America? The problematic racial overtones in the reporting of the case not only involve Italians but black men. Following her November 2007 arrest, Knox wrote to police that bar owner Patrick Lumumba killed Kercher. â€Å"In these flashbacks that I’m having, I see Patrik [sic] as the murderer, but the way the truth feels in my mind, there is no way for me to have known because I don’t remember FOR SURE if I was at my house that night.† Because of Knox’s repeated insinuations that Lumumba murdered Kercher, he spent two weeks in jail. Police ended up releasing him because he had a solid alibi. Lumumba sued Knox for defamation and won. While Egan has mentioned that Knox mistakenly linked Lumumba to Kercher’s murder, he quickly let her off the hook for it, as did a commenter at women’s Web site Jezebel who remarked: â€Å"I don’t judge her for that at all. She was held in an Italian prison, questioned for days, and encouraged to ‘confess.’† But to ignore Knox’s transgression on this front is to ignore the history of sympathetic (but guilty) white Americans fingering black men for crimes the men never committed. In 1989, for instance, Charles Stuart shot and killed his pregnant wife, Carol, but told police that a black man was responsible. Two years later, Susan Smith murdered her young sons but told police initially that a black man had carjacked her and kidnapped the boys. Although Knox said that she fingered Lumumba for the crime under duress, her doing so casts suspicion on her and shouldn’t be overlooked by those who find it hard to believe that a pretty American coed is capable of murder. Another black man, Rudy Guede from the Ivory Coast, was convicted of killing Kercher before Knox and Sollecito were, but evidence suggested that more than one assailant was involved in Kercher’s demise.  If authorities believe that Guede didn’t act alone, why is it difficult to believe that Knox also played a role in Kercher’s murder? After all, Knox gave inconsistent statements about her whereabouts the evening of Kercher’s death and did not call police after reportedly finding the door to her home wide open and blood on the floor. To boot, her lover, Sollecito, bought two bottles of bleach the morning after Kercher’s death allegedly to clean up the crime scene, where police found his bloody footprints as well as Knoxâ €™s. These facts hardly reflect well on Knox, so I’m willing to consider her guilt as well as her innocence. Perhaps her use of hashish the night of Kercher’s death clouded her memory. But those who refuse to consider that Knox is guilty, all the while attacking the Italian justice system, remind me of those who struggled to believe that Lizzie Borden hacked her parents to death in 1892. â€Å"The horrific ax murders of Andrew Borden and his third wife, Abby, would have been shocking in any age, but in the early 1890s they were unthinkable,† writes Denise M. Clark in Crime Magazine. â€Å"Equally unthinkable was who wielded the ax that butchered them†¦The idea that the murderer could possibly be†¦Lizzie took days to register with the police – despite overwhelming physical and circumstantial evidence that pointed only at her†¦.What would end up saving her was the remarkable violence of the murders: The murders were simply too grisly to have been committed by a woman of her upbringing.† Isn’t this the argument that Egan makes when he described Knox as a benign hippie type from the Pacific Northwest? Knox, we’re told, worked multiple jobs to save up money to study abroad. She excelled in athletics and academics  alike. Girls like her don’t commit murder, many Americans believe. And if she were tried stateside, perhaps she would have gotten off as Lizzie Borden did. But apparently, Italians aren’t burdened by the cultural baggage that weighs down America. White and female and from a good family don’t equal innocent.

Case Study Foreign Direct Investment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Case Study Foreign Direct Investment - Essay Example Continuous growth is essential for company’s survival in the interest of its investors and work force. Hence, this reports addresses strategy development directions in this regard. The idea of growth should be one of the business objectives. The company needs to engage in strategy development so as to create competitive advantage over its competitors. The strategy development is important as it should be difficult for the competitors to replicate. Collaboration with business partners or the stake holders such as the company’s suppliers, distributors and customers is a guarantee creating a competitive advantage which the competitors cannot easily emulate (Campbel, Stonehouse, & Houston, 2002) Different strategies to achieve competitive advantage are 1) knowledge-based strategy, 2) generic strategy 3) hybrid strategy and 4) core competence/distinctive capability/resource-based strategy. Organizations generally will select one of the strategies and incorporate value-adding activities in support of the strategy selected. These strategies are briefly explained (Campbel, Stonehouse, & Houston, 2002). ... Tacit knowledge is that which cannot be stored being mostly of individual experiences of experts. This is also not possible to be copied by the competitors (Demarest, 1997). There should be at least three types of knowledge available within firms. They are know-how, know-why and know-what referring to practical knowledge, theoretical knowledge and strategic knowledge respectively. All these combine to form core competencies of a firm. Generic strategies are the well known Michael Porter’s generic strategy frame work that explains the competitive advantage of a firm. (Campbel, Stonehouse, & Houston, 2002). Hybrid strategy is the combination of knowledge strategy and generic strategy. Lastly, the core competency strategy which is nothing but the essence of the firm’s vast experience in the tradional activity the firm has been engaged in. Ansoff’s matrix will also serve to give the proper direction for the company’ s future activity. In view of the saturated market in Europe, the only way out for XYZ Plc is to seek greener pastures abroad. Developing countries are the niche market for automobiles because the globalization has improved the standard of living for the people therein resulting in creation of demand for automobiles. Markets for automobiles in these countries has not yet saturated. These countries are attractive not only within the context of domestic market for automobiles but also the savings in wages by almost 65 per cent. The countries offering huge opportunities for investment are China and India, the world’s two largest populated countries. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) These countries have benefited a lot from the inward FDI flowing in continuously. India especially has survived the economic crisis that