The East Asian Financial Crisis and Regulation - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 7 Words: 2186 Downloads: 10 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Finance Essay Type Analytical essay Did you like this example? The East Asian Financial Crisis: Deregulation or More Regulation? The East Asian countries were presented as an example for other developing countries (their progress was called the east Asian miracle by World Bank) until the East Asia financial crisis. Some blamed the government for the crisis saying, state intervention was the root of the problem. Some held the financial liberalisation process responsible, Even today, many scholars and experts hold different opinions on the roots of this crisis and the solution to it. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "The East Asian Financial Crisis and Regulation" essay for you Create order There were many opinions on the crisis and critics of how to handle the crisis from left and right side of the scholars. While some critics said that the pegged exchange rates, exchange rates controls, guaranteed governmental bailouts for banks, the lack of prudential regulation and management of the financial system was the root of the crisis. Other critics said that financial liberalization was the real cause of the problem as it enabled to move massive funds from country to country to earn the maximum profits from speculating or investing in currencies and shares and get higher returns for providing loans. Those who blamed the government for the crisis summarised some of the main causes of this crisis as follows: High debt/equity ratios; so much higher than in western countries. Overvalued currencies; they pegged their currencies to the U.S dollar. Lack of competition in the market. Government directed loans. High current account deficits. Those who are in this group suggested that the above were the main causes of the crisis, but before we accept this explanation, we should first have a look at East Asian countries economic systems. East Asian countries had some kind of Keynesian economic model. This allowed close and co-operative relationships between government, firms and financial institutions. Corporate debt/equity ratios in East Asia countries were higher than in western systems, because savings were higher (Gross domestic savings to GDP ratios in Asia were one third of GDP or more compared to 15-20 percent in western systems). Households who hold the majority of savings have those savings mostly in bank deposits, as it is less risky than shares. Banks have to lend and firms are the only major net borrowers in the market. Firms did have high debt/equity ratios, because firms, which aim to compete with major world industries, needed large sums of money. Equity and retained earnings were not enough to meet their requirements, therefore, this system allowed high debt/equity ratios and the governments were playing an important role allocating funds efficiently. Yet, this model made the Financial system vulnerable to shocks, but as long as there was government protection the system worked well. Was the financial liberalization the cause of the problem which generated huge amounts of capital inflow into these countries or were the capital inflows the evidence of the problems these countries economies were suffering? Why did they have financial crisis? Why did the attack on their currency cause a financial crisis? It did not have to. They experienced this crisis because their financial institutions and firms were suffering currency mismatch. An increase in the exchange rate (depreciation) makes them default as their balance sheet deteriorates and cause a financial crisis. Before the crisis occurred International banks and money traders thought that Asian currencies were overvalued. They started attacking those currencies. Asian countries tried to withstand against this attack, as they knew devaluation would impair those firms, which had borrowed vast sums of money in foreign currencies. Speculators won along with institutional investors, first in Thailand, selling Thai baht forward, making instant profits. The Asian governments tried to resist, but even central banks ran out of dollars and they allowed their currencies to devalue, stock market plummeted and now many companies would be in trouble. Lets deepen our analysis, what made these exemplar countries experience this crisis. They had this financial structure for a long time and had experienced high growth performance until the crisis. When they embarked on financial deregulation, they removed or lessened controls on firms foreign borrowing and investments and failed to oversee the banking system. Domestic borrowers started borrowing from abroad, as it was cheaper than home .For example; this caused unsustainable real estate boom in Thailand. Foreign debt escalated, most of it private and short term. This short-term capital flow plus the rise in US dollar against other currencies (interest rates increased in USA) contributed to overvalued currencies as exchange rates of local currencies had been fixed against the US dollar. So one can say financial liberalisation caused this crisis. In fact, theory says that such liberalisation (deregulations) in the financial market, especially lifting restrictions on inflows and outflows of funds, would bring in foreign funds that accelerate a countrys growth by reducing the cost of capital and allocate the financial resources in a most efficient way to get the highest returns .On the contrary what we saw in Mexico, hot money flows lend themselves easier to financing consumption rather than growth. Short-term investments rarely contribute to actual production .In East Asia a big part of short-term capital was directed into speculative investments, which pushed up property and share prices. When the crisis started by attacking those countries currencies all creditors immediately tried to collect on debts, which lead to a chain reaction of general bank and financial insolvency. These countries government could not take action to stop it as they abandoned their means of controlling their financial system by deregulation. One should think about why China was not nearly as badly hit as its neighbours, because it was able to cut, not raise, interest rates in the crisis despite maintaining a pegged exchange controls. India was relatively insulated from the East Asia crisis as well. East Asia countries had high level growth rates, were running budget surpluses, and built up high quality manufacturing industries, savings were high. Income had soared, health improved and poverty plummeted dramatically. Some had not suffered a single year of recession in 30 years. All those had been done by governments guidance prior to the so-called E. Asia crisis, which coincided with deregulation of the financial system. Countries like Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, and Turkey, all suffered financial crisis after deregulations of financial markets. A study done by Demirguc-Kunt and Detragiache (1998) shows that financial liberalisation made crisis more likely and increase financial fragility. East Asian countries were unprepared when they removed many restrictions on their financial system and liberalized it. While they liberalized their financial system they lacked doing the necessary regulation and creation of new watchdog bodies which could supervise and oversee the banks and other financial institutions operations. There were not strong, prudential bodies that could eliminate or reduce the asymmetric information problems of adverse selection and moral hazard. Weak regulations and monitoring systems allowed the banks and other financial institutions to exploit the opportunities created by financial liberalization. Banks are blamed for lending unsafe loans and it was widely believed that banks would be bailed out if they became insolvent. Furthermore, many accused western banks and financial institutions of lending excessively to those countries. What about the idea of financial liberalization, deregulating the financial system? How correct is it to treat financial markets like goods markets? To suggest Laissez faire type of policy in financial markets and applying demand supply diagrams which we use in goods markets to analyse financial markets? Finance is interested in the exchange of money today for the promise of repayment tomorrow. The existence of uncertainty, lack of complete future markets, and the risk of bankruptcy make finance different. Information asymmetries will always exist; there will never be a state of perfect information, besides, investment decisions will not necessarily be improved by better information and transparency. If it would, Sweden, Finland, Norway would not have had financial crisis. They are not enough to underpin robust financial systems. We need the state as a regulatory authority to complement the markets. Noam Chomsky (1999) argues that 30 years ago about 90% of foreign exchange transactions were related to real economy (trade and long term investment); today over 90% of a vastly greater sum consists of short-term flows, about 80% less than a week duration. These short-term flows speculate against currencies or exchange rate fluctuations. According to data from The Bank of International Settlements, a total of 184 billion US dollars entered Asian developing countries as net private capital flows in 1994-1996. In 1996, 94 billion US dollars came in and even as late as the first half of 1997, 70 billion US dollars poured in. With the financial crisis starting in June, a total of 102 billion US dollars flew out in the second half of 1997. This shows how volatile capital flows can be and makes the probability of crisis likely. I think this can be the response to those who suggest that financial liberalisation will allocate the funds more efficiently and investment thus become more efficient. Neoclassical economic school that is behind financial liberalisation (they want deregulations in all markets) wants the state out of the economy completely. Deregulating markets will prevent governments from pursuing any economic and social policy. From economic theory we know externalities, we know when something is good for an individual, it does not follow that is good for society as a whole. This is where the government comes into action, which tries to maximize common good for the nation. A project might not be profitable for an individual, but it may bring benefit to the whole society or vice versa. To understand this crisis and prevent it from happening again one should understand how these countries achieved significant growth rates before the crisis. East Asian countries did not have free markets or western type civil liberties they did have strong, authoritarian governments who made long run economic decision in the sacrifice of short term individual interest. When they liberalized their financial market Individuals, firms and banks did not make their business decision on the basis of long run interests of the common good but on the basis of short term interests of themselves. Adverse selection and the moral hazards problems which caused the Asian financial crisis can be reduced by establishing regulatory institutions and monitoring systems, but will never be removed completely. I believe that the East Asian financial crisis was brought about by many factors. These included; bad economic decision, ongoing decline in economic performance of these countries before crisis, lack of transparency in the system, undemocratic, corrupted governments combined with the adverse selection and moral hazards problems in the banking industry and financial liberalization triggered the crisis. If there were robust, prudent financial institutions, strong, effective regulatory and monitoring bodies with little and no corruption limit and control harmful effects of financial liberalization of markets. What East Asian crisis and other financial crisis provide evidence that the first part of financial liberalization should be to create regulatory and monitoring bodies that holds the financial instability under control created by financial liberalization. There should be some transition period that this type of regulatory framework can be created. Therefore, developing countries who want to liberalize their financial system must follow a gradual path and be cautious. The ironic part of this story is that trying to liberalize the markets by deregulating shows us we still need regulations, rules and monitoring systems. REFERENCES Bong-Chan Kho, Ren M. Stulz, (1999). Banks, the IMF, and The Asian Crisis.NBER Working Paper. Demirguc-Kunt,Asli and Enrica Detragiache, (1998) Financial liberalisation and Financial fragility, World Banks Development Research Group and the International Monetary Funds Research Department. Frederic S. Mishkin, 1999 Lessons from the Asian Crisis NBER Working Paper. Giancarlo Corsetti, Paolo Pesenti, Nouriel Roubini, 1998 Paper Tigers? A model of the Asian Crisis,NBER Working Paper. Joseph Stiglitz, 1998, More Instruments and Broader Goals: Moving Toward the Post-Washington Consensus The 1998 Wider Annual Lecture Joseph Stiglitz The role of the Financial System in Development Presentation of the Fourth Annual Bank Conference on Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC ABCDE) Joseph Stiglitz, February 4, 1998. Bad Private Sector Decisions Wall Street Journal, Joseph Stiglitz, 2000, What I learned at the World Economic Crisis The Insider Joseph Stiglitz, 2003. The Roaring Nineties, Penguin Books. Lot S.Felizco, Feb. 2001, Asian Exchange. Understanding Short-Term Capital Flows and the Imperative of Regulation. Martin Khor, Third World Network, The danger of financial liberalisation Martin Khor , Third World Network, The Economic Crisis in East Asia: Causes, Effects, Lessons . Noam Chomsky ,1999From Bretton Woods to the MAI Le Monde Diplomatique, P.Krugman (1998) What happened to Asia, and Analytical Afterthoughts on the Asian Crisis; at https://www.pkarchive.org Robert Wade and Frank Veneroso,1998, The Asian Crisis: The High Debt Model Versus the Wall Street-Treasury-IMF Complex, New Left Review. Sule Ozler, The Asian Financial Crisis Causes, Contagion and Consequences Koc University and University of California, Los Angeles The Asian Financial Crisis Causes, Contagion and Consequences Edited by Pierre-Richard Agenor, Marcus Miller, David Vines and Axel Weber

Roles Of Leadership And Management - 1466 Words

In every organization, individuals are faced with the task of fitting into a role, and functioning in the role that they possess. This role can be seen in the simple organization of the family, and in more complicated organizations, such as national government. One pivotal role in any organization is that of the leader who provides a framework and advises those under his direction. A manager not only leads those under his direction, but is also efficiently utilizes the available resources and time. Leadership and management are critical in the healthcare setting, and more specifically in nursing. According to Ellis and Abbot (2013) â€Å"the role of the leaders is to inspire, facilitate and direct rather than to dictate the way in which†¦show more content†¦Strict authority is often needed when working with employees who need a large amount of direction and who do not have the educational background or initiative to act on their own. According to Frandsen (2015)  "This style works best in a true emergency, when split-second decision-making is needed; however, if employed as the leader’s primary style, it is demoralizing and can result in increased turnover, as staff feel undervalued.† The person in the leadership role makes the decision with little to no regard for the ideas of subordinates. This type of leadership may be viewed as dictatorial. While some people may follow the dictates of the leader without question, others will find this to be an intolerable work environment. Nurses are educated to be self-reliant, critical thinkers. Those who possess these skills would feel suppressed in an environment where their ideas that could improve the work environment or patient care were of little to no importance. Also, this leadership style does little to acknowledge the efforts and accomplishments of those working. Without positive feedback, self-confidence and motivation may be compromised. According to Giltinane (2013) â €Å"followers of an autocratic leader can rely heavily on their team leader and may underperform in the leader’s absence.† Without someone directing actions, those under the supervision of an authoritative leader no longer have the capacity to self-motivate and

Reasons Forms Of Expansion Foreign Markets -Myassignmenthelp.Com

Question: Discuss About The Reasons Forms Of Expansion Foreign Markets? Answer: Introduction XYZ Corporations is a finance firm that is based out of Australia and operates from four different domestic locations. The organization serves domestic and international customers and is under the expansion phase. There are over 250 employees engaged with the organization distributed across four different business units. There are communication issues that have been observed in the company and the report analyses the same. Data Collection Method In order to understand the communication issues, it is necessary to gather data sets describing the major conflict areas, primary gaps, current scenario, expected scenario, and likewise. There are various methods that may be used for the purpose of data collection, such as online surveys, questionnaires, personal interviews, group discussions and so on. The method which is apt for this scenario is online surveys. It is the method in which the employees of XYZ Corporations can fill out a questionnaire shared over the network. The identity of the employees may be kept anonymous or may be revealed as per their comfort. The idea behind the selection of this method is due to the geographically spread business units and large number of employees. The conduction of other measures will be time-taking and higher on cost as well. However, there are pros and cons associated with online surveys as the method of data collection. Set of Advantages The method will be cost-effective in nature as there will be no cost spent on the infrastructure and resourcing. The survey will be shared over the network and the employees will be asked to give their response. The employees will be free to give their honest opinion as they may choose to keep their identity anonymous (Harlow, 2010). The survey will reach to all the employees located at diverse business locations. The management will find it easy to analyse the response and draw conclusions as the grouping of the data sets will be easier with the aid of automation of data handling and analysis. Set of Disadvantages The detailed description of the issues and problems may be difficult to gather as compared to measures like personal interviews. The employees will be required to be reminded multiple times to have a good response rate (Nulty, 2008). There may be fraud responses filled in by the employees which may be difficult to track. Report The primary aim of a business organization is to ensure that the customer expectations and met and the customers are served with best quality services and products to have increased profits and revenues. So is the case with XYZ Corporations as well. In order to achieve these goals, the team collaboration and team playing of the human resources is of utmost importance. In the four different geographical locations of the company, there are over 250 employees that are engaged with the company that belong to different age groups, cultural backgrounds, communities, and gender. Also, the skills, knowledge, and experience of these employees vary. Recommendations Some of the recommendations for the diverse set of employees to achieve their respective project goals along with the organizational goals are as listed below. There shall be an ethical and professional code of conduct that must be set-up and complied by all the resources (Acs, 2014). There must be bi-monthly trainings provided to the employees on the development of professional and soft skills. A strategic alignment shall be formed between the project goals and organizational goals. There must be regular inter-department and intra-department sessions, activities and discussions organized by the company. Every team must publish a weekly portfolio on any of their project-related topic on the company portal. Summary There are 43% females and 57% of the male employees that work in the organization. Out of these employees, 65% are below 35 years of age and 10% are above 50 years of age. The organizational structure includes senior-level management at the top spot in the hierarchy followed by middle level managers, lower-level managers and operational staff in the same order. The top-level management comprises of 12% of the overall employees. 60% of the staff is at the operational level. There must be group discussions and activities organized by the company to minimize the cultural, and knowledge gaps. Please let us know if you have any concerns over the information that is shared and we will be more than happy to assist you. Message to Employees To: All Employees of XYZ Corporations From: John Hanks, CEO, XYZ Corporations Date: January, 18, 2018 Subject: Strategy for Business Expansion Our company has decided to expand at the global level due to the enhanced competitive rivalry and new entrants in the market. The financial sector in Australia has witnessed a drop by 12% in the overall market shares in 2017. The numbers are expected to drop further and we are therefore, required to take necessary steps to emerge out as winners in the tough times. Our customer base has been marginally implicated due to the changing nature of the market and we tend to maintain and enhance our customer base by revising our business schemes and policies. We will be relocating some of our employees so that they may contribute better towards the process of business expansion that will be initiation next month. Also, we will be developing a fresh web portal for interacting with our customers. There will be a new social media development department that will be set up for maintaining customer relationships and some of the employees will be shifted to the department as per their skills and our requirement (Twarowska, 2013). There are financial start-ups along with small and media scale enterprises that have captured over 45% of the total market and we need to establish the services to have a distinguished place among our competitors and peers. The transformations in the organizational strategy may introduce some changes in the business operations, techniques, and methods. It is expected that the XYZ Corporations family of employees will work together as a team to be able to establish an excellent brand image (Amoako, 2016). We are also open to suggestions and recommendations from our employees that may assist us in the process of business expansion. Let us all pledge to work together towards a smooth expansion and transition. Proposal to CEO XYZ Corporations is a financial firm that is suffering from the communication issues among the employees due to their diverse backgrounds and geographical locations. These issues may impact the organizational growth in its process of business expansion. The proposal is written to the CEO of the company to recommend the tools and techniques that may be used for the resolution of the issues. The purpose of the proposal is to provide the CEO and senior management of XYZ Corporations with the recommendations on the resolution of the problems of business issues and problems. The company is witnessing major communication gaps that may have an impact on its process of growth and business expansion. Proposed Course of Action The communication issues in the organization shall be resolved with the aid of technology. There shall be an internal chat server that must be set-up for the organization and every business unit shall be equipped with tele-conferencing tools and equipment. There shall also be Big Data and data analytics tools that must be used to analyse and understand the communication problems among the employees. These tools will allow the organization to understand the common patterns and trends associated in the communication channels (Llorente Cuenca, 2016). Further Materials/Tools to be used These tools will also be of a great aid in the business expansion process as the market status, customer expectations and demands will be easier to understand. A real-time picture of the data will be available with the management that will assist in the formation of business strategy and decision-making processes. Schedule and Costs The implementation of these tools shall be done in a total duration of six months. The budget for the required changes shall be $45,000. These shall include the cost of infrastructure, cost of operations, tools cost, resource costs, and implementation costs. Conclusion XYZ Corporations must carry out extensive planning and analysis before making the changes that are highlighted above. The current and expected scenarios shall be clear in the minds of all the resources to ensure that the transition is smooth and successful. References Acs. (2014). ACS Code of Professional Conduct Professional Standards Board Australian Computer Society. Acs.org.au. Retrieved 18 January 2018, from https://www.acs.org.au/content/dam/acs/rules-and-regulations/Code-of-Professional-Conduct_v2.1.pdf Amoako, S. (2016). The Development, Growth and Expansion of Locally-Owned Businesses in Africa. Theseus.fi. Retrieved 18 January 2018, from https://www.theseus.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/105610/Amoako_Shirley.pdf?sequence=1 Harlow, A. (2010). Online Surveys - Possibilities, Pitfalls and Practicalities: The Experience of the Tela Evaluation. Researchcommons.waikato.ac.nz. Retrieved 18 January 2018, from https://researchcommons.waikato.ac.nz/bitstream/handle/10289/6163/Harlow%20online.pdf Llorente, Cuenca. (2016). The use of Big Data in corporate communications strategies. Desarrollando-ideas.com. Retrieved 18 January 2018, from https://www.desarrollando-ideas.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2016/10/161102_DI_Article_Big_Data_ENG.pdf Nulty, D. (2008). The adequacy of response rates to online and paper surveys: what can be done?. Retrieved 18 January 2018, from https://www.uaf.edu/files/uafgov/fsadmin-nulty5-19-10.pdf Twarowska, K. (2013). International Business Strategy: Reasons and Forms of Expansion into Foreign Markets. Toknowpress.net. Retrieved 18 January 2018, from https://www.toknowpress.net/ISBN/978-961-6914-02-4/papers/ML13-349.pdf

Term Paper by Jasim Essay Example

Term Paper by Jasim Essay Culture is an extremely broad and encompassing term. It includes what we have learned, our history, values, morals, customs, art, and habit. Marketing takes place within a given culture. Marketers should know that experience, history, values, morals, customs, art, habit, etc. vary within a given culture requiring different marketing programs. Not everyone in the same country or society shares the same behavioral pattern of the dominant or main culture. It clearly indicates that there are subcultures, such as those of northerners, southerners, city-dwellers, the poor, teen agers, elderly, religious groups and so on. The identification of a subculture may provide a firm with a segment of a market that it can develop. For example, products have been developed in great quantity for the teenage subculture, and advertising has been directed to these consumers. Each subculture, like a larger culture, has distinctive values, beliefs, and attitudes that the marketer must understand if he is effectively to exploit them. It is not always easy to identify differences among subcultures. It is easy to develop mistaken stereotyped notions about subcultures due to the lack of proper knowledge on subcultures. Marketers are interested in identifying any subculture as a potential market for their products. 1. Origin of the Report Dr. Md. Ashraful Islam Chowdhury, Professor, of Dhaka University, authorized this report in oral, as part of the course curriculum of Consumer Behavior (M-602). We will write a custom essay sample on Term Paper by Jasim specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Term Paper by Jasim specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Term Paper by Jasim specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer This is an individual assignment, which was assigned after a series of class lectures and presentations by the professor. 1. 2 Problem and purpose 1. 2. 1Problem StatementTo analyze the existing subculture in Bangladesh and take appropriate marketing strategy to reach them. 1. 2. 2Objectives of the study †¢ Understand the subculture context of Bangladesh †¢ Identify different types of subcultures †¢ Know how different subcultures affect buying behavior †¢ Explain Bangladeshi subculture for marketing decision making. 1. 3 A Preview of the Presentation To give an overview the report begins with a definition and explain what subculture is, then what are the subcultural groups prevailing in Bangladesh their characteristics , consumption pattern and the effective way to reach this subcultural group through marketing strategy. 2. 0 DEFINING SUBCULTURE Subculture is a part of the culture containing the important features of the main culture. In sociology, anthropology and cultural studies, a subculture is a group of people with a culture (whether distinct or hidden) which differentiates them from the larger culture to which they belong. If a particular subculture is characterized by a systematic opposition to the dominant culture, it may be described as a counterculture. As early as 1950, David Riesman distinguished between a majorities, which passively accepted commercially provided styles and meanings, and a subculture which actively sought a minority style. And interpreted it in accordance with subversive values. In his 1979 book Subculture the Meaning of Style, Dick Hebdige argued that a subculture is subversion to normalcy. Hebdige argued that subcultures bring together like-minded individuals who feel neglected by societal standards and allow them to develop a sense of identity. According to the definition of science dictionary A group within a society that has its own shared set of customs, attitudes, and values, often accompanied by jargon or slang. A subculture can be organized around a common activity, occupation, age, status, ethnic background, race, religion, or any other unifying social condition, but the term is often used to describe deviant groups, such as thieves and drug users. As there can be broad differences between the cultures of various societies, there can also be differences within the same culture. Every culture, therefore, contains subcultures, defined as groups that share the values and artifacts of the larger society, but also have distinctive practices, preferences, and beliefs. Businessmen living in the old part of Dhaka, cinema artists, and people living in the urban slums are all examples of subcultures. Islam is the dominant religion in the culture of Bangladesh; sunni, shiaa and Baahaai, for example, may be viewed as subcultures within the larger Muslim culture here in Bangladesh. Figure: Showing Subculture’s Relation with the Main Culture Main Cultural Behavior |Northern subculture | |Urban subculture | | | | | | |Religious subculture | | Berkman and Gilson have defined subculture for marketing purposes as any cultural patterning that preserving important features of the dominant society but provides values and life styles of its own. The cultural profile of a society or nation is a composite of two elements: 1) the unique beliefs, values, and customs subscribed to by members of specific subcultures and 2) the central or core cultural themes that are shared by most of the population, regardless of specific subcultural membership. 3. MAJOR SUB-CULTURAL CATEGORIES IN BANGLADESH 3. 1 Ethnic sub-culture The ethnic subculture is based on the nationality of one’s ancestors who have migrated to a new country. It (nationality) may form a basis for a subculture when the members of that nationality group identify with it and base at least some of their behaviors on the norms of the national group. Ethnic subculture is usually found in affluent countries where people might from other parts of the wor1d with the hope of a better life and live-li-hood. . 1. 1 Character i. It is based on the original nationality ii. Migrated from one country to another or one locality to another. iii. Though the citizens of a particular country see themselves as citizens of that country, but they frequently retain a sense of pride and identification in the tradition and language of their ancestors. iv. Pattered network of groups and organization v. Ethnic subculture provides a psychological source of group identification. 3. 1. 2 Consu mption pattern When ethnic subculture comes to consumer behavior, this ancestral pride is manifested most strongly in the consumption of ethnic foods, in travel to homeland and in the purchase of numerous cultural artifacts. Ethnic clothing, art, music and foreign language newspaper are the commodities which are preferred by the ethnic subcultural people. One’s interest in ethnic goods and services expands rapidly, as one tends to better understand and associates with his ethnic origin. 3. 1. 3 Marketing program To reach this ethnic subcultural people a marketer should understand the consumption pattern of that subculture. In Bangladesh there are foreigner ( people comes from Europe, Australia, USA) who come for their job purpose, but staying in Bangladesh for a long tine, may form a ethnic subculture and prefer fast food, long skirt, trouser, jogging shoe, golf course etc. So marketer should understand the need of this ethnic subcultural people and meet their unsatisfied need. Beharies are the greatest example of ethnic subculture. They use to speak in Urdu. Prefer food like kabab and parata. So to reach them marketer can take niche marketing strategy. 2. Working ladies sub-cultural Through the process of development, the number of working ladies is increasing day by day. The consumption pattern of these ladies varies as they have to maintain their work place as well as a family life. 3. 2. 1 Character i. They have a very short time to prepare food. ii. They have to do their household activity as well as maintain a working life. iii. Sometime they have to stay away their family 3. 2. 3 Consumption pattern This subcultural group used to consume ready food and less time consuming equipment to wash and prepare food like washing machine, micro-wave oven. 4. Marketing program to reach Marketer should take strategy like ready food as 3munites nodules, packet spice and ingredients, washing machine and home cleaner. Ladies hostel for those women who have to stay outside the home. 3. 3 Religious An individual’s religious affiliation influences to great extent his consumption pattern. Those who belong to a particular religion may buy/not buy and use/not use certain goods and services. 3. 3. 1 Character Members of a particular religion constitute what we call religious subculture. Religious beliefs and rituals may dictate the use of certain items and discourage the consumption of others. The bondage or the attachment to religious belief guides a religious person. If the bondage of religion is strong, life will be guided by religious belief rather than logic and vice versa. i. They consume some item heavily during religious festival. ii. Certain items are restricted by the religious belief to consume. iii. Some stimuli influence the consumption. 3. 3. 2 Consumption pattern Muslims buy and consume certain specific food items heavily during the month of ‘Ramadan and buy lot of gifts during the ‘Eid-Ul-Fitr, and discourages its followers the consumption of certain items such as alcoholic beverage. . Marketing program to reach A devout member of ‘Islam’ may consider it immoral to be materialistic, where another member of the same religion may find nothing wrong in becoming materialistic. A marketer of cine-magazine will have no problem in reaching the later person, where it will be almost impossible for him to penetrate the market consisting of pe ople of the other mentality and religious beliefs. So a marketer should be very sensitive to determine a product or service for that particular group of people. 3. 4 Regional The way people lead their lifestyles may also vary according to where they live or from which part of the country they have moved to the other part of the country. People from a particular part of the country or people living in a particular part constitute what we call regional or geographic subculture. On this basis, there could be two different types of regional or geographic subculture. One could be based on geographic region of the country and other could be based on urban, suburban or rural distinction. 3. 4. 1 Character i. Where people live in, the part of a particular country has a certain influence in consumption. ii. The region where from he come has certain consumption pattern. iii. Ecological climate vary and that dictate the consumption. 3. 4. 2 Consumption pattern People from Sylhet, like certain food and beverage, like ‘shatkora’ one kind of lemon, which is used in preparing beef. People from Chittagong like spicy food. Fish is consumed by ever here in Bangladesh, but dry fish is consumed heavily by people living in the southern and coastal areas of Bangladesh. Those living in the hill districts display different patterns in food consumption, housing, and recreation than those of the people living in the other parts of the country. Different geographic regions of the country pose different problems that consumers must solve. The most obvious of these are the climatic conditions. Climatic conditions influence home construction clothing requirements, and recreational opportunities to name but a few. In addition, different regions of the country have different age distributions and different social histories. These variables in combination with the climatic variables have produced differing values and lifestyles which newcomers to a region generally acquire after a period of time. These regional variations influence the use of particular media, the types of products used, and the product attributes considered important. 3. 4. 3 Marketing program to reach Marketer should study the characteristics of that region and the people. A marketer should segment his market to satisfy every group. If s/he produces noodles for every segment he should prepare separate flavor and test. Regional nature, variety should be adopted for the product of service. Regional subcultures clearly influence many aspect of consumer behavior. The consumption process also is influenced by the urban, suburban, and rural distinctions, another type of regional subculture. The urban, and suburbanpeople, prefer ready or instant food, prefer eating out and enjoy their leisure in a way different from rural people. So marketer should identify this subcultural people to serve with certain marketing strategy. 3. 5 Age Subcultures may also be based on the age differences of people living in the same country and belonging to the same main culture. It is likely that those who belong to the teen age group will behave quite differently than those to the teen age group will behave quite differently. Because the outlooks, experiences, attitudes and other aspects vary among people of different age groups, their consumption patterns are likely to vary. 3. 5. 1 Teen agers: The teen agers are to be influenced more by popular heroes and heroines and will display more materialistic lifestyles. The youth market is a significant subculture for the marketer It is important to marketers not- only because it is lucrative, but also because many consumption patterns held throughout life are formed at this time. The youth, as they start their career in this age are flaunt with more luxury items. Since they have little obligation at this can spend whatever they are. Their consumption patterns lean toward personal care and luxury items. 3. 5. 2 The middle aged: This group on the- contrary are matured, worried about the future and making purchase decisions. As an attempt to build a reserve for the future, they are likely to be conservative in buying many material goods, and are found to investments. 3. 5. 3 The elderly people: They display quite different consumption behaviors with that of teen-agers and middle aged people. The elderly subculture consists of people who have gone on retirements or whose regular income generating activities have ceased. 3. 5. 3. 1 Characteristic i. Most of them live with their children; ii. Their health conditions gradually deteriorate; iii. They have emotional difficulties iv. They have minimum amount of money at hands to spend v. They are price/value conscious; vi. They are deal prone; like to shop as it has special meaning; are tuned in to the mass media vii. Read direct mail, package labels, and package inserts. These few characteristics make them behave quite differently than other groups. Because of their differences with other groups, they also require different types of products. 4. Marketing Strategy The elderly people, because of deteriorating health, will require more fat free foods, tonic items, medical advices and medication as well as hospitalization. Since they have limited incomes, they prefer comparison shopping. Because of their maturity and different attitudes, they are skeptical of advertising claims and are influenced more by the informed sources. The emergence of elderly market has created a need for many different types of products sue as old people’s clubs and a number of other products and services. Personal selling is more effective, should be remain careful about the problems of communicating with the elderly. 3. 6 Singles The singles subculture consists of unmarried individuals. This subculture is found to be increasing in urban and semi-urban areas. The size of this subculture is gradually becoming prominent to call a special marketing attention. Quite a few reasons are associated with the growing size of the subculture of the singles. 3. 6. 1 Character They could be delaying marriage; postponement of marriage; higher divorce rates; inability to find a suitable source of earning to bear family expenditures and so on. The singles have some special needs. Which can not be met through normal social interaction. 2. Marketing program to reach Marketers who can recognize their specific needs and can develop products aimed at meeting those specific needs can reap a considerable benefit. ingles night clubs; exotic telephone talk services, dating services, artificial sexual organs, bachelors’ hostels/mess, product that promise sex appeals, convenience foods, restaurants, sports equipment, etc. , could be some of the examples of products and services aimed at the subculture of singles. In a country like ours, the singles subculture is growing prominent in the urban areas, and as a result lot of hostels for both males and females have been established aiming to provide accommodation services to singles. 3. 7 Gender Subculture may also be formed based on gender difference, such as subculture of males and subculture of females. Since every society emphasizes distinct, specific roles for men and women, they are likely to behave differently. 3. 7. 1 Characteristic i. As their behaviors vary, they consume differenttypes of products and respond differently to marketing appeals. ii. Men are influenced more by aggressiveness, competitiveness, independence, self-confidence, and masculinity. iii. Women are influenced by neatness, gentleness, tactfulness, talkativeness, and feminity. 3. 7. 2 Marketing Strategy There are products which are equally used by men and women. But, different appeals in the same product are needed for these two groups. Cosmetics, perfumes, clothing, bicycles etc. , are used both by men and women. But different designs, colors, sizes, shapes, and fragrances are provided for by the marketers to appeal people of different sex. Bicycle is designed differently for men and women. Even promotional appeals are made different for these two groups. Again, among the females, those who are professionals, behave differently than those of non professionals /housewives. The working women, particularly those, who are married, will again require different types of products and services that may not be bought by unmarried working women. The shopping patterns of these two groups will also vary. Since characteristics, attitudes, and needs vary between these two groups they may be considered as two different market segments. 3. 8 Occupation People display different patterns of purchase behaviors according to their occupational involvement. People of different occupations may constitute occupational subcultures, such as subculture of the doctors, subculture of the lawyers, subculture of the teachers, subculture of the engineers, subculture of the defense personnel. . 8. 1 Characteristics A defense officer, will show different purchase behavior than someone belonging to the civilians’ society. Doctors’ may look at the nutritional aspect while buying a food item. 2. Marketing Strategy Marketers should recognize the differences in attitudes and behaviors among people of different occupations and formulate marketing strategies accordingly to be successful in each specific subculture. 3. 9 Social Class Social c lass may also be used as a determinant of subcultural differences. There could be subculture of the well-offs, subeulture of the middle class and subculture of the poor. 3. 9. 1 Rich subculture: People belonging to the subculture of the rich will display altogether different buying behavior than those of middle class and poor’s. Rich will be very selective in their purchases; 3. 9. 2 Middle-class Subculture: People of the middle class will have substantial control over their consumption decisions; poors will be very careful and cautious in taking their purchase decisions. 3. 9. Poor’s Subculture: The subculture of poverty consists of people living below the poverty line. Because of their low incomes, they will avoid buying pre-packed, instant, frozen food items as they are likely to be costlier than the fresh staple or as they have limited educational opportunities, they develop different attitudes, outlooks, and motivation resulting in different buying behaviors on the part of them. Most of their incomes are spent on basic necessities such as food, and housing. Only a small amount of their incomes are spent on clothing, transportation, recreation, and luxury. They basically look at low-cost items, favor shops where they get credit, and are attracted by different inducements offered by the marketers. 4. 0 CONCLUSION Subculture may be categorized into many different classes. Though in Bangladesh consist many subculture, we consider some of the important subcultural groups and show how they affect consumption and marketing decision. Because of the important differences within any culture, marketers must be aware of diverse subcultures -examining them individually and on their own terms. Those identified with a subculture tend to think and act alike in certain respects, and this has important implications for their lifestyle. Recognition of this has led to experimentation with market segmentation as a means of developing effective marketing strategy adapted to market targets that are believed to ha special promise. Marketers must recognize that even though their operations are confined to a particular country, or a division or district, or even to one city, subcultural differences’ may dictate considerable variations in what, how and when people buy. To deal with these differences effectively, marketers may have to alter their product, distribution systems, price, or promotion to satisfy members of particular subcultures. Bibliography Books 1. Chowdhury, Ashraful Islam; Consumer Behavior; seventh edition. Bangladesh Open University; 2007. 2. Philip Kotler and Armstrong Gray (2006); Principles of Marketing, Twelveth Edition 3. Lesikar, Raymond V and Marie E. Flatley. Basic Business Communication, 10th Edition. McGraw-Hill Company Inc. , New York 2005 Web sites http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Youth_subculture http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Subculture

Learning About C# for Beginners

Learning About C# for Beginners C# is a general purpose object-oriented programming language developed at Microsoft and released in 2002. It is similar to Java in its syntax. The purpose of C# is to precisely define a series of operations that a computer can perform to accomplish a task. Most C# operations involve manipulating numbers and text, but anything that the computer can physically do can be programmed in C#. Computers have no intelligence- they have to be told exactly what to do, and their actions are defined by the programming language you use. Once programmed, they can repeat the steps as many times as needed at high speed. Modern PCs are so fast they can count to a billion in seconds. What Can a C# Program Do? Typical programming tasks include  putting data into a database or pulling it out, displaying high-speed graphics in a game or video, controlling electronic devices attached to the PC and playing music or sound effects. You can even use it to write software to generate music or help you compose. Some developers believe that C# is too slow for games  because it is interpreted  rather than compiled. However the .NET Framework compiles the interpreted code the first time it runs. Is C# the Best Programming Language? C# is a highly ranked program language. Many computer languages are written for a specific purpose, but C# is a general purpose language with features to make programs more robust.   Unlike C and to a lesser extent Java, the screen handling in C# is excellent on both desktops and the web. In this role, C# overtook languages such as Visual Basic and Delphi. Which Computers Can Run C#? Any PC that can run the .NET Framework can run the C# programming language. Linux supports C# using the Mono C# compiler. How Do I Get Started With C#? You need a C# compiler. There are a number of commercial and free ones available. The professional version of Visual Studio can compile C# code. Mono is a free and open-source C# compiler. How Do I Begin Writing C# Applications? C# is written using a text editor. You write a computer program as a series of instructions (called statements) in a notation that looks a little like mathematical formulas. This is saved as a  text file and then compiled and linked to generate machine code which you then can run. Most applications you use on a computer were written and compiled like this, many of them in C#. Is There Plenty of C# Open Source Code? Not as much as in Java, C or C but it is starting to become popular. Unlike commercial applications, where the source code is owned by a business and never made available, open source code can be viewed and used by anyone. Its an excellent way to learn coding techniques. The Job Market for C# Programmers There are plenty of C# jobs out there, and C# has the backing of Microsoft, so is likely to be around for a while.   You could write your own games, but youd need to be artistic or need an artist friend because you also need music and sound effects. Perhaps youd prefer a career as a business software developer creating business applications or as a software engineer.

This Holiday Season, Thank a Trucker!ÂÂ

This Holiday Season, Thank a Trucker!   As you sit down to enjoy some much-deserved time off this holiday season, remember there are a few industries, like trucking, that never take a break. While you’re with your family and friends, there’s a whole fleet of long-haul drivers who won’t get the chance to be home for the holidays. Here are three things not to forget:Santa Didn’t Deliver Your Gifts- a Trucker DidIt’s easy to forget where our goods come from and how they get to us. But almost anything you’ve ever bought- food, clothes, toys, electronics- were probably trucked in to your local stores. We’d have very little if it weren’t for truckers.Truckers Can Be Highway AngelsTruckers know how to survive on the road, and they are often seen helping others reach their destinations safely. Whether that means helping to change a tire or pulling off a roadside rescue, truckers frequently put others’ safety first.Truckers  Make Our Lives EasierWe wouldn’t sur vive a minute driving long-hauls, showering in rest stops, and spending so little time at home with our families. It’s not a job for everyone. And while some do truly enjoy being on the road, it’s still a sacrifice they make to keep our economy flowing.This holiday season, be sure to raise a glass to all the men and women who spend their time driving our groceries and gifts around.3 Reasons to Thank a Trucker

Meno and Phaedo Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Meno and Phaedo - Essay Example The following will present three succinct (and related) arguments which defend the position concerning the immortality of the soul. The arguments in question, are as follows (1) ‘argument from opposites’ [69e-72e], (2) argument from recollection [73-78b], and finally, (3) ‘the argument from affinity’ [84c-88b]. The focus of this analysis will be on the above three sections, however, both a consideration of some of the objections will follow, and finally, the final or summary refutation provided by Plato’s mouthpiece (Socrates). The first position in question, is the argument from opposites. This is an argument which is based on an inference which is an extension of observation. What we perceive around us, is a process in nature where opposites turn into each other. In this section in question, Plato observes the following opposites which typify this process of â€Å"becoming† [72B], namely, the opposites of ‘small/larger’ [70E]â₠¬Ëœfaster/slower’, ‘waking/sleeping’[71D], and ‘hot/cold’[71B]. As mentioned, these are processes whereby opposites turn into one another. There are, however, some problems with this argument. First, the very notion of ‘opposite’ is problematic. ... in Celsius) between ‘hot’ and ‘cold’, but they are not opposites in the contradictory sense of ‘life’ and ‘death’. In other words, ‘life’ and ‘death’ are binary opposites in the sense that a person is either ‘alive’, or they are ‘dead’. A difference in the sense presented by Plato with respect to ‘hot’ and ‘cold’ or conversely, ‘fast’ and ‘slow’ are not binary opposites – the admit of a middle ground, and moreover, they are united or related in some sense. They are related in the sense of being relative to another. While a tortoise is relatively slow when compared with a hare, a hare is slow when compared to the speed of light. Thus, is the ‘hare’ fast or slow? In normal logic, one cannot predicate real opposites of the same thing, this is the law of non-contradiction [Wagner 28] and this is actually that which brings into question some of what Plato is claiming concerning these opposites. This said, Plato is claiming that â€Å"all things come to be in this way, opposites from opposites† [71A]. Further, he infers that among â€Å"all† of these â€Å"things†, must also be the soul and the body. Thus, if everything turns into its opposite, then, the soul must turn into the body, and the body must turn into the soul. Phrased in terms of a syllogism, (1.) if it can be said â€Å"that to be dead is the opposite of being alive† [71D], and (2) â€Å"all things come to be in this way, opposites from opposites† [71A], then, (3) it can be inferred that the body and soul turn into each other. As has been noted, the form of this argument is an inference, and there are some problems, and second, his very notion of opposites includes ‘contraries’ and not just ‘contradictories’ – that is,

To Outline a Synthesis or Summary of two Quantitative Research Paper

To Outline a Synthesis or Summary of two Quantitative Articles about Nursing Rounds - Research Paper Example Meade, Amy L. Bursell and Lyn Ketelsen (2006) entitled â€Å"Effects of Nursing Rounds on Patients’ Call Light Use, Satisfaction and Safety† which found that hourly rounds by nursing personnel played a significant role in reducing patient falls as well as increasing their satisfaction while at the same time reducing the use of the call light. This study has been designed in a quasi- experimental like the previous study where hourly rounds are conducted by the nurses from two units namely 4S and 6S. 4S is a control unit where data was collected on an hourly round while 6S has been designed to maintain the current practice where there is no change implemented. Research has shown that falls among patients in the US are a problem given that 2.3 to 7 falls occur in U.S. hospitals every 1000 patient days and about 30-48% percent of these falls result in injury among both old and young patients. However, in this study, it has also been found that hourly nursing rounds can decr ease the rate of falls among the patients by 52 %. The study found that patients admitted in hospitals often require assistance with personal tasks such as the use of the toilet as well as during eating times where they will call for assistance using the call light. This study also found that the level of patient satisfaction is determined by his or her perception of the way a nurse conducts her duties. While the call light offers a lifeline to the patients in hospital, it has also been observed that it can be stressful on behalf of the practicing nurse. It often contributes to issues such as fatigue among the nurses and this negatively impacts on their patient care management which is often compounded by the existing shortage of staff. Therefore, hourly rounds have been found to be effective in this particular study which was carried over a twelve month period. At least, the study has been carried over a long period compared to the previous one. The sampling method employed by the study is non-probability sample on all subjects who are 18 years and over admitted to 4 South (Oncology/OBGYN) or 6 South (Orthopedic/Neurology) at Hospital during the period of the research. This method is ideal given that the results are likely to be reliable since it is inclusive of all subjects. This section also summarizes an article by Tucker, S.J. et al (2011) which is entitled "Outcomes and Challenges in Implementing Hourly Rounds to Reduce Falls in Orthopedic Units.† According to this article, patient falls remain a problem especially in acute care facilities as they have negative impacts such as injury to the affected people. Basically, patient fall can be described as unplanned descent to the floor (Curie, 2003). These range from 1.7 to 25 per 1,000 patient days with approximately 6–44% of these resulting in injury. Thus, patient safety through the reduction of falls is a very important phenomenon in the health care industry and can be derived from implementi ng structured nursing rounds interventions (SNRIs) according to this particular study. This study has been designed to establish the rate of patient fall during the three period intervals namely: baseline, during the 12-week SNRI implementation, and 1-year following implementation. According to this paper, evidence of effective interventions to prevent and reduce patient falls is mixed (Oliver et al. 2007; Currie 2008). However, in some studies like the work of Christine M. Meade, Amy L.

Great Expectations by a famous Charles Dickens Essay Example for Free

Great Expectations by a famous Charles Dickens Essay Great Expectations written by a famous man called Charles dickens. Great expectations is a famous and tense novel which was first published in the year 1860 to 1861 every fortnight in a magazine called all year round. The plot is based on a young boy called Pip, who in the first chapter meets and odd fellow in a gloomy, dark cemetery, pip walks on and soon finds himself turned upside down bye an ex-convict who threatens pip at the throat that he would cut out his heart and his liver if pip dose not do as he says. This dark gloomy fellow scares pip which makes you sympathize for pip. In chapter 8, pip is at a house with his mean sister and her kind and caring blacksmith husband Joe. As pip is a working class orphan he has no parents just is evil sister. Then a rich old, creepy women called Miss havishem asks pip to come round and to play, as he doesnt want to, his sister forced him. When he arrives he ends up in a room with no external light only candles and a dead like figure who demands him to play is Miss Havishem, she demands him to play with her beautiful older then pip daughter, Estella, whom pip falls in love with, you feel sorry for pip now because he cant get her because she is upper class and he is garbage to her. In chapter one, Dickens sets the scene by describing the marshes, saying it is an open dark place and thats were pip lives, so it make you sympathise for pip. When Magwitch comes, the mood changes to scary. When pip meets magwitch at the old gibbet, he says a gibbet with some chains hanging to it which had one held a pirate. The man was limping on towards him, as if he were the pirate come to life, he was using his imagination as if magwitch was the pirates ghost which has come to life, which gives the reader the effect of an old, white, dusty, see-through pirate has returned. When Dickens describes Miss Havisham room, he says it was a large room, well lighted with candles; no glimpse of daylight was to be seen. It seems pitch black but only candles laying around, pip sees everything is faded and old, her white wedding dress which she is still wearing, is white no more, but torn and ripped and grey. All clocks have stopped at the same time in this room. As if time has come to a stand still, except for the old wrinkles lady in the chair. Reading this makes you feel scared because if you were pip, then you would not want to stay in the room. In chapter 1 in the eerie settings of the marshes, we meet the sinister character called Magwitch. As he just pops out of the bushes and bellows hold yer noise or ill cut your throat, we get an image of a ruffled up man, a man with no hat but only rag on his head and broken shoes, and he is soaked in water and mud. When we see that he has a shackle on his leg we know he is an escaped convict. When he threatens pip to cut out his heart and liver and lies about having someone else who will get him when he is asleep in his cosy bed, then you see how much he wants the food and file. It is ironic that magwitch will be his benefactor after all his threats and bullying. When pip walks into Miss Havishem room and sees its all dark, we get a feeling of eerie. All the things the rooms are grey and aged, just like her, dickens writes:- Her shoes were white, a long white vale, I saw everything in my view which ought to be white. He repeats the word white, which gives an effect of how old everything is. He describes she is like a corpse I sometimes have sick fancies miss havishem says and then she says she wants pip to play and clicks her fingers at pip and makes pip fell uncomfortable, which is weird for an old lady to demand a young boy to play. Pip who is the main character of Great Expectations is an orphan that lives in a boggy environment which makes you feel sorry for pip. He then meets magwitch and even tho he scares pip, as dickens describes him as a bundle of shivers pip still remembers his manners and he has respect for elders even magwitch. Half way through dickens changes 1st, 3rd person which show how small he is in retrospective view. When pip enters the room with Miss Havishem in it, he feels scared but he is still polite towards her. When she I talking to pop he tries to avoid eye contact wit her when Miss Havishem asks if he is scared of a women who has not daylight since before he was born, he lies and says no. when she calls Estella in the room, pip immediately fall in love with her, but when she says no because he is a working class boy, he turn his back on Joe and hates him because he did teach him how to be a gentle man and cries then kicks the wall. In Great Expectations, Dickens writes in the first person about Pip life. Chapters one and eight are the two key chapters that are enough to hook the reader. Dickens includes strange characters, like Magwitch in the cemetery. The story is a journey of pips life from child hood to man hood and it shows all his emotions and fears through out. Dickens uses his imagination which appeals to the audience and his vocabulary to his advantage, writing out all pips emotions, making you feel as if you were Pip, which makes this a very good and famous story. All of the characters are different and each has their own dramatic events. Great expectation is a well known novel because it hooks you from the 1st chapter all the way to the end.

A Random Walk Down Wall Street Essay -- Stock Markets Investing Money

A Random Walk Down Wall Street There is a sense of complexity today that has led many to believe the individual investor has little chance of competing with professional brokers and investment firms. However, Malkiel states this is a major misconception as he explains in his book â€Å"A Random Walk Down Wall Street†. What does a random walk mean? The random walk means in terms of the stock market that, â€Å"short term changes in stock prices cannot be predicted†. So how does a rational investor determine which stocks to purchase to maximize returns? Chapter 1 begins by defining and determining the difference in investing and speculating. Investing defined by Malkiel is the method of â€Å"purchasing assets to gain profit in the form of reasonably predictable income or appreciation over the long term†. Speculating in a sense is predicting, but without sufficient data to support any kind of conclusion. What is investing? Investing in its simplest form is the expectation to receive greater valu e in the future than you have today by saving income rather than spending. For example a savings account will earn a particular interest rate as will a corporate bond. Investment returns therefore depend on the allocation of funds and future events. Traditionally there have been two approaches used by the investment community to determine asset valuation: â€Å"the firm-foundation theory† and the â€Å"castle in the air theory†. The firm foundation theory argues that each investment instrument has something called intrinsic value, which can be determined analyzing securities present conditions and future growth. The basis of this theory is to buy securities when they are temporarily undervalued and sell them when they are temporarily overvalued in comparison to there intrinsic value One of the main variables used in this theory is dividend income. A stocks intrinsic value is said to be â€Å"equal to the present value of all its future dividends†. This is done u sing a method called discounting. Another variable to consider is the growth rate of the dividends. The greater the growth rate the more valuable the stock. However it is difficult to determine how long growth rates will last. Other factors are risk and interest rates, which will be discussed later. Warren Buffet, the great investor of our time, used this technique in making his fortune. The second theory is known as the â€Å"castle in the ai... ... while using the beta approach as a guide. Returns may also rely on general market swings, changes in interest rates and inflation, to changes in national income and other economic factors. Chapter 11 closes our discussion with several insights into the efficient market theory. There have been many attempts to discredit the random walk theory, but none of the theories hold against empirical evidence. Any pattern that is noticed by investors will disappear as investors try to exploit it and the valuation methods of growth rate are far too difficult to predict. As we said before the random walk concludes that no patterns exist in the market, pricing is accurate and all information available is already incorporated into the stock price. Therefore the market is efficient. Even if errors do occur in short-run pricing, they will correct themselves in the long run. The random walk suggest that short-term prices cannot be predicted and to buy stocks for the long run. Malkiel concludes the best way to consistently be profitable is to buy and hold a broad based market index fund. As the market rises so will the investors returns since historically the market continues to rise as a whole.

Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been

The dramatic irony of â€Å"Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? † conveys the tone of warning about temptation. Connie’s situation is that she does not feel appreciated at home and uses her looks and actions to get attention and appreciation from boys even if it is short-term. She is self-conscious about her looks and is constantly worried about how other people perceive her. Friend’s fantasy is that Connie will willingly go with him and be his â€Å"lover† (605) even before he officially met her.The reality of the situation is that she does not want to go with this strange man, but is being forced into it because of her fear, which makes her weak and submissive. Connie is fifteen years old and obviously self-conscious because of the love that she never receives at home. Her whole life revolves around attention from boys since she does not feel loved at home. Her sister June appears to be the favorite in the family, as she receives all of the positiv e attention. Connie's mother doesn’t speak kindly to Connie or about Connie, and Connie doesn't think well of her mother either.Her father does whatever he can to please Connie but doesn’t seek for a good father-daughter relationship. They never talk about what is happening in their lives and act as if they are only acquaintances. Connie wants to appear older and wiser than she actually is and her head is always full of meaningless daydreams to help her cope. Her promiscuity leads to attraction from boys and older men where she becomes terrified and realizes that she is not as grown up as she thought.Connie comes face to face with the harshreality of being forced into adulthood at the age of fifteen because of the special attention of Arnold Friend. 2 Arnold Friend is a smooth talker and has a great influence on the actions of his victims. His word choice appeals to teenagers as does his clothing. He is a short and stocky guy who stuffs his boots to make him seem talle r and wears a leather jacket to look young and desirable to teenage girls. The fact that his feet do not touch the bottom of his boots alludes to the devil’s hoofs, significant in that he resembles the devil’s ability to deceive. Don’t hem in on me. Don’t hog. Don’t crush. Don’t bird dog. Don’t trail me† (608) are slang that he rattles off because he momentarily forgets what sayings are popular so he reconciles by making them up on his own. He has a moment when he breaks down in front of Connie and starts to lose his cool, calm, and collected personality showing his panic in possibly not being able to get his way. This shows that he is narrow-minded and does not settle for anything that he does not approve of.His main focus is on retrieving girls for rape and murder and always goes for the attention-seeking personalities to make it easier to reach this goal. Friend is living a fantasy, while Connie asserts the reality of the sit uation. When these worlds mix, it is obvious that Connie does not have control and Friend becomes dominant. Friend’s alternate world is made up of his desire to have â€Å"dates† and â€Å"lovers† (605) when in actuality, he forces women to show him affection by kidnapping them, raping them, and then killing them.Friend’s forceful words show how he is caught in this dream of what Connie is going to do with him and how perfectly it will all work out in the end when in all actuality, Connie has no intention of willingly going with him. He continuously harps on the fact that he is going to get his way because he insists that his dreams are true. Every time he talks about his fantasy, Connie has a bold statement declaring that she is willing to fight against his dream and 3 bring it back down to a reality as she tries to reason with him. Friend has the gift of persuasion where his greatest tools for manipulation are his words.He â€Å"promises† (607) t hat he will not harm Connie as long as she does not follow through with what he considers threatening. Connie separates her mind from her body because she suddenly loses control. She is used to being on top and empowered but Friend comes along and takes over. The dramatic irony, during the course of their conversation, implies that Connie was in control of the situation to begin with, but Friend managed to obtain ultimate control of the situation by having her succumb to his power. Modern culture promotes having fun and doing what feels good in the moment.Connie has poor communication with her family, shown by her rebellious behavior and lack of respect for her parents. She chooses to distance herself from her family which results in them not being there when she needs them the most. Parents are supposed to be protectors and leaders in their children’s lives and when these key aspects are not present, a window is opened for the victimization of youth. The consequences of such situations result in a predicament like Connie’s and becomes an immense concern for the effects that modern culture has on youth. Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been â€Å"Where are you going, Where have you been:† The Media’s effect on youth In this 1966 short story written by Joyce Carol Oates, fifteen-year-old Connie is a self-absorbed teenager who spends her time fantasizing about romance and searching for attention from men. While out with a suitor, a strange man promises her, â€Å"I'm gonna get you, baby† (2). Connie doesn't think much of the incident until one day while alone at home; the man comes to â€Å"get† her. The assailant, Arnold Friend, is kind at first then progressively becomes aggressive and violent towards her.Though at first she enjoys Arnold’s attention, once his demands become sexual and violent, her confidence diminishes. While Connie attempts to evade Arnold’s commands, she becomes powerless against the man and eventually follows him to â€Å"go for a ride† (3). While â€Å"Where are you going, Where have you been,† appears to simply be a tragic story about the abd uction and rape of a young girl, it is more importantly a statement of the time on the over-sexualization in the media.From the time period the story was written, the 1960’s, we know that society as a whole was exploding with counter-culture and rebellion. In response to the Vietnam War, for the first time in history, music rapidly became highly influential and that of a sexual nature. This first wave of over-sexualized media is what influenced Connie and millions of the time to exploit their sexuality. The youth of the time period are commonly thought of as being extremely responsive to the world around them.With music being more suggestive than in the past and young people being more expressive and experimental, Connie grew up in a drastically changing world complete with the need to be sexual and to really stand out in order to be noticed. Media became more widespread and important in the 60’s than it had ever been before. When the TV and radio weren’t focusi ng on the war efforts in Vietnam, they showed the youth’s protest, and push to â€Å"Make Love, Not War:† an iconic phrase that illustrates the push towards sexuality during that time.Connie, an adolescent of this explosive period, is a prime example of sexualization in the media having a detrimental effect on a person. It is her need to be desired that makes her appealing to Arnold Friend, and leads to her demise later in the story. Music is a major theme in the story: Connie constantly listens to music and associates music with pleasure in multiple instances. At one point, she even says she â€Å"listened to the music that made everything so good† (2). Upon Arnold’s arrival we see that he is listening to the same music as Connie, which serves as a way to connect them.Since music plays such a prevalent role in Connie’s life, we can conclude that music is the media that influences her to behave in a sexual manner. From the music that she listens to , Bobby King, we get the impression that she links her idea of romance (that derives from the music she listens to) to the confidence and maturity she pretends to have when it comes to boys. Music plays in every situation where she intends to be sexually desired; while out with boys, out with her friend searching for attention, while laying out in her backyard, and even at the beginning of her conversation with Arnold.Music and Connie’s sexuality are inextricable tied together–once Connie becomes frightened of Arnold and is no longer exploiting her sexuality, there is no further mention of music in the story. While it is understood that Arnold will most likely harm Connie, he also is whisking her away (or saving her) from a morally loose society–that very same society that made her the over-sexualized girl we see in the beginning of the story.Everything about Connie indicates that she has been socialized into how the media thinks a young girl should be–fr om her suggestive clothing to her desperate attempt to be sexually desirable to the male population. Despite what she leads on, Connie is actually sexually innocent. Her innocence is echoed by her child-like naivety of opening her front door to a complete stranger while alone, as well as the fear that consumes her while she could have been calling the police to prevent her murder.Arnold’s desire for the young Connie may be Oates’ way of portraying how perverse the media’s ploy to sexualize America’s youth is as well. The â€Å"Lolita Effect† is even a relatively recent concept. A â€Å"lolita† is a young girl who is viewed in a sexual manner, while the â€Å"lolita effect† is not only the corruption of a child by an adult, but exploiting an adult by a child that has been corrupted by society. Connie exploits her sexuality so well in the beginning of the story. It is her sexualization at such a young age that causes Arnold to find her attractive and is the real life tragedy that comes from the story.By the end of the story, as the title suggests, Connie undergoes a major change. She ties to be an adult, but when Arnold challenges her with sexual advances, we see the frightened child she is. Arnold is merely an agent to portray the evils that exist in the media. He illuminates the fact that our culture’s media gives young girls the unattainable idea that they must behave in a certain way in order to be attractive, and that a man finding them sexually attractive is of upmost importance even as a pre-teen.The sexualization of young girls causes adult men to be attracted to them, creating an even further over-sexualized society. A young girl’s sexuality is such a vital aspect of the maturation process: a process that is malfunctioning or happening far too soon because of the media. It is the evil in the media that causes Connie to fall victim to the media’s harmful portrayal of femininity. Media teaches us that being a typical young woman in today’s society is contingent on the amount of sexuality her appearance exudes.Connie so perfectly replicates how young girls in America that are being over-sexualized through music or television without even being aware of it. The tragic way that Connie is stripped of her childhood suggests that â€Å"where you are going,† is dependent on where you have been. In â€Å"Where are you going, Where have you been? † Oates’ does a terrific job of hyperbolizing the affects of the media’s influence while pointing out the very unexaggerated truth that over-sexualization in the media is detrimental to all aspects of society.

Exchange of letters Essay

This book is about the exchange of letters between two ladies named Urbana and Felisa; and through these letters Fr. Modesto de Castro made known the desirable behavior that everyone-young and old, women and men-should observe in dealing with other people well. It is thought by many that the ideal conduct described in this book should be emulated by Filipinos and should not be cause for embarrasment even in these days. Filipinos do not need an Emily Post to teach them good manners because we already have Father de Castro who left behind golden rules which Filipinos ought to follow not only then but even now and in the time to come. In these times when our societies are dominated by new patterns of behavior and when even laws governing the home have changed and been swept away by the winds buffeting our shores brought about by Western values, now, more than at any other time, there is a need to return to the past periodically. This is not to strip ourselves bare of new ways which we have donned in entering into new relation- ships, but to see mirrored in the waters glimpses of a beautiful and glorious past. What we experienced is inscribed in the book of life thus: ‘Those who fail to look back at the past/will never arrive at their destination. â€Å") (Those of you who are mothers who have the duty to teach your chil- dren those great truths announced in the Sacred Scripture, you shouldstrive to fulfill these weighty responsibilities for which you have to account before God. ) (The knowledge that teaches a person how to deal with his/her neighbor comes from love of one’s neighbor; love of neighbor comes from love of God. Thus, one who loves God knows how to deal with his/her neighbor well, and anyone who does not know should strive to learn, because this knowledge springs from good action which God delights in. Those who know how to deal with their neighbor possess good man- ners, for they are careful that their action, behavior, and speech are within certain boundaries pleasing to God and to their fellowmen. Thus, this knowledge is a precious gem to a woman, honor to a gen- tleman, ornament to a young man, beauty and loveliness associated with good behavior that captures the heart. But if you neglect your responsibilities, allow them to grow lacking in guidance, stripped of good manners, and forced to account for them- selves before God, and when the time comes for them to live their lives, and you see only bad harvest, woe to you; you will be blamed because you have been neglectful parents. ) (The name ‘Urbana† connotes good manners. In her letters to her sis- ter Felisa, a young woman, a child, a married couple, a young man can learn some lessons to suit their various conditions. From Felisa a young woman can learn how to avoid dangers to her purity; and Felisa’s proper behavior can guide anyone who wants to preserve her goodness and modesty. ) (And if from the examples I proferred, you mothers would deign to pick up some lessons, internalize and observe them, and I witness how your children have profited from your labor to make the lessons bear fruit, can you guess what I will say? I will say that I have come across good fortune, for I am like the sower and the seeds I scattered fell on good soil. Before you say anything, reflect on it first, and follow St. Augustine’s advice, that any utterance must be measured, and weighed by the mind. Be careful, for an evil word once spoken can never be taken back again. When speaking, avoid gesticulating excessively, speak quietly so as not to shatter the listener’s eardrums; neither is it proper to speak too deliberately because a person who is too full of himself, apart from having little credibility, becomes a butt of joke and a source of irrita- tion to the listener. When the hand, the face or the clothes become dirty, clean up first before going to school. . . . When talking to another, avoid showing timidity, speak forthrightly, do not speak with too much sweetness or affectation, do not scratch, or scrub the hand nor wet the finger with saliva to scrub . . . . Do not give half-eaten or dirty food to another. ) (Even a strong body weakens, gets sick and even though still young, it ages prematurely and dies due to excessive drinking. The most san- guine color fades, and the face becomes pale, . The agility of youth, the excitement of middle life, the splendor of beauty wither away; all these wine makes a mockery of. ) (In time, after numerous dalliances, her honor is shattered, her fami- ly’s reputation is tarnished while the townsfolk tattle, but the most painful is the loss of the souls of these unfortunate women, and the many people who sinned because of these women’s bad examples. Who will God blame for these sins but the negligent parents? ) (First, the couple must be alike in class and character. Second, love must exist. Third, love must be in moderation. Fourth, they should trust each other. Fifth, the woman must not be much richer than the man. Sixth, the couple must be of the same age, or almost the same age. Seventh, the woman’s beauty must not be extraordinary. Eighth, both must be peace-loving and despise sinful merrymaking. Ninth, neither must be fond of incessant gambling. Tenth, they should neither be miserly nor prodigal. Eleventh, both should be industrious and despise laziness. Twelfth, both should avoid ostentatious display. Thirteenth, both should possess inner strength and endurance. ) Walking in a studied manner is not appropriate, nor is provocatively swaying the hips nor coyly glancing at a young man proper, because a woman will be faulted for breach of decorum. ) (When a young woman, through the way she walks, acts and uses her eyes, displays anything that runs counter to proper behavior, she in effect is inviting a man to treat her scornfully. ) (The world is a place of suffering, where pain comes from the parent, the spouse and child, and from other members of the family. If a woman’s threshold of suffering is low, marriage will offer no fulfillment. ) (If you, Felisa, can endure the pain, embrace the heavy cross invari- ably placed on the shoulders of a married woman, I say accept this weighty burden. if you strive . . . to follow the path of goodness and holiness that are a woman’s treasures, and which Solomon searched for and that the Holy Spirit praised, then 1 say to you, accept the sac- rament of matrimony. )

The Meanings of Myth and Related Words

The Meanings of Myth and Related Words The Meanings of â€Å"Myth† and Related Words The Meanings of â€Å"Myth† and Related Words By Mark Nichol Myth, originally a word of elevated and scholarly pretension, has passed into the vernacular to describe anything of dubious truth or validity, though it retains earlier senses. This post lists definitions of the word and others of which it is the root. The word derives from the Greek term mythos, which variously means â€Å"speech† or â€Å"story,† or even â€Å"thought.† In modern English usage, a myth is a story, often featuring heroes and deities or supernatural entities, that explains a belief, custom, phenomenon, or worldview; it is also a synonym for allegory or parable. By extension, a myth is a belief or tradition, often one integral to a society, or an invalid notion born of ignorance or bigotry, or simply a rumor or untrue story. (Myth, without the article, denotes a body of myths.) An urban myth, meanwhile, is an account of an unusual or inexplicable event that did not occur, or state that does not exist, that is widely assumed to be true. The primary adjectival form is mythical; it is also used in the sense of â€Å"imaginary,† but mythic is appropriate for referring to astonishing achievements. Mythology pertains to a set of myths, the study of myths, or an allegory, or to an assumption or belief. A mythologist (or, sometimes, mythologer) is someone who studies myths. Mythos is a synonym for both myth and mythology and denotes a symbolic set of cultural attitudes as well. Mythogenesis is the development of myths or the tendency to ascribe mythical status to something. Mythopoeia, too, refers to the creation of myth. To mythicize is to turn something into, or treat something as, a myth; mythologize also has the latter meaning. Conversely, to demythologize is to analyze the meaning of myths or to unromanticize them. (A countermyth, meanwhile, is a myth that challenges or contradicts another myth.) A mythmaker is someone who creates myths, generally in the casual sense of beliefs or traditions or of reputations about a person, place, or thing. A mythomaniac (or, sometimes, mythomane), meanwhile, is a pathological liar or exaggerator; the condition is called mythomania. An etymologically related word is stichomythia (â€Å"verse speech†), denoting argumentative repartee, especially as a dramatic device in the performing arts. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:When to use "on" and when to use "in"50 Types of PropagandaPhrasal Verbs and Phrasal Nouns

Why Burning Money Is Illegal in the United States

Why Burning Money Is Illegal in the United States If you have money to burn, congratulations- but youd better not actually set fire to a pile of cash. Burning money is illegal in the United States and is  punishable by up to 10 years in prison, not to mention fines. (More fun facts: Its also illegal to tear a dollar bill and even flatten a penny  under the weight of a locomotive on the railroad tracks.) The laws making defacing and debasing currency a crime have their roots in the federal governments use of precious metals to mint coins. Criminals were known to file down or cut off portions of those coins and keep the slivers for themselves while spending the altered currency. The odds of being prosecuted under the federal laws that making burning money or defacing coins, however, are fairly slim. First, coins now contain very little precious metals. Second, defacing printed currency in an act of protest is often compared to burning the American flag. That is to say, burning money may be considered protected speech under the U.S. Constitutions First Amendment. What the Law Says About Burning Money The section of federal law that makes tearing up or burning money a crime is  Title 18, Section 333, which was passed in 1948 and reads: Whoever mutilates, cuts, defaces, disfigures, or perforates, or unites or cements together, or does any other thing to any bank bill, draft, note, or other evidence of debt issued by any national banking association, or Federal Reserve bank, or the Federal Reserve System, with intent to render such bank bill, draft, note, or other evidence of debt unfit to be reissued, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than six months, or both. What the Law Says About Mutilating Coins The section of federal law that makes mutilating coins a crime is Title 18, Section 331, which reads: Whoever fraudulently alters, defaces, mutilates, impairs, diminishes, falsifies, scales, or lightens any of the coins coined at the mints of the United States, or any foreign coins which are by law made current or are in actual use or circulation as money within the United States; or whoever fraudulently possesses, passes, utters, publishes, or sells, or attempts to pass, utter, publish, or sell, or brings into the United States, any such coin, knowing the same to be altered, defaced, mutilated, impaired, diminished, falsified, scaled, or lightened shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both. A separate section of Title 18 makes it illegal to debase coins minted by the U.S. government, meaning to shave some of the metal off and make the money less valuable. That crime is punishable by fines and up to 10 years in prison. Prosecutions Are Rare for Mutilating Currency Its pretty rare for someone to be arrested and charged with defiling or debased U.S. currency. Even those penny press machines found at arcades and some seashore attractions are in compliance with the law because theyre used to create souvenirs and not to debase or shave metal off the coin for profit or fraud. Perhaps the highest profile case of currency mutilation dates to 1963. An 18-year-old U.S. Marine named Ronald Lee Foster was convicted of whittling away the edges of pennies and spending the 1 cent coins as dimes in vending machines. Foster had been sentenced to a year of probation and $20, but more seriously the conviction prevented him from being able to get a gun license. Foster made national news in 2010 when President Barack Obama pardoned him.

Analyzing and Recommending Best Buy in Crisis Case Study

Analyzing and Recommending Best Buy in Crisis - Case Study Example Again, consumers will acquire the information only with a well-designed marketing strategy. If innovation of the products goes together with improved marketing plan then no doubt the company will gain high reputation and loyalty from consumers. In addition, apart from retaining its current customers it will have the potential of attracting new customers which will finally enable the company to benefit from large economies of scale. For example, the consumer centricity plan drove the sales higher even without any other change in the products or operations of the company (Wells and Danskin 3). This therefore provides a proof to the benefits of a good marketing strategy. With the highly innovated products, Best Buy international division failed to produce good results, which lead to a failure (Wells and Danskin 7). This necessitates the need of improving the means of monitoring the behavior of international markets to come up with the best method of marketing most appropriate in each region. The same products that perform well at the home country should also be able to perform in another country; the only difference is the communication language that best suits each region that the organization has to know. To be able to come up with the best marketing strategies most appropriate in the modern world of consumer electronics, Best Buy has to understand the marketing challenges it faces. From the challenges, it is easier to identify the opportunities and take advantage out of them. The company faces the following challenges, The product promotional design features should directly reflect to the consumers. There is need to communicate the exact information about the product. Consumers always make purchasing decisions based on the information they have. This calls for the need to pass all the important details about the

Wal-Mart Business Strategy Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Wal-Mart Business Strategy Analysis - Essay Example Wal-Mart draws its competitive edge in the market owning to its efficient supply chain management. The company has effectively used innovations and technology to generate efficiency in supply chain management that has helped it to fuel its highly acclaimed EDLP (Every Day Low Price) strategy. Behind this successful strategy lies technological innovations like cross docking and use of Enterprise Resource Planning to integrate various business units and generate cost effectiveness. The use of real time information system to forecast demand has helped Wal-Mart to ensure that demand forecasting is done on the basis of real time data. Wal-Mart has also integrated its suppliers with the system and also used the famous cross docking system to ensure reduced inventory carrying costs. The supply chain management of the company has helped ensure that there are no overstocking or stock outs. This has reduced the inventory carrying costs by a huge margin. The cost benefits gathered from the inve ntory management of the company has been used to fuel the company’s Every Day Low Price strategy (Bergdahl, 2008, p.20). However in recent times there have been numerous issues with regards to the company’s cost reduction strategy with reports that Wal-Mart sources low quality goods from third world countries so as to have goods with low price. In order to counter the latest bashings regarding the company, Wal-Mart initiated a slew of measures that ranged from measures to improve the social image of the organization.... This has reduced the inventory carrying costs by a huge margin. The cost benefits gathered from the inventory management of the company has been used to fuel the company’s Every Day Low Price strategy (Bergdahl, 2008, p.20). However in recent times there have been numerous issues with regards to the company’s cost reduction strategy with reports that Wal-Mart sources low quality goods from third world countries so as to have goods with low price. In order to counter the latest bashings regarding the company, Wal-Mart initiated a slew of measures that ranged from measures to improve the social image of the organization as well as promoting employee friendly policies that would have helped it to position its image as a socially responsible and employee friendly organization. In response to the bashings in various quarters, Wal-Mart increased the employee insurance cover for the employees and included both permanent as well as contractual staff. It also revamped its reward and incentive policies in order to project the company as an employee friendly organization caring towards the needs of the employees. Wal-Mart also initiated some community development programs such as eliminating wastage and use of recyclable products in order to showcase its environmental sustainability; it also planned means to reduce energy consumption. For the customers, the company initiated a new design for its stores and also came up with attractive offers and new discounts in order to project a customer friendly image of the company. Strict quality control standards were implemented for suppliers including use of eco friendly ways in their business processes. In addition to this Wal-Mart also took up measures in which it would work closely with their suppliers in order to