Changes in media and its effects on personal, social and work lives Essay

Changes in media and its effects on personal, social and work lives - Essay Example However, all this came to change with the fast development of technology. Before we knew it, we had television, and all this changed everything because we could not only hear the news but could also see who was presenting it as well as videos of the news itself. It has indeed been a privilege for me to live long enough to see the development of media from its infancy to where it is today. Question: What are your feelings concerning the development of the Internet and social networking? Granddad: it is quite fascinating how the technology for transmitting media has developed and how fast that development has been. The things that we used to think were impossible have now become reality and this is something quite extraordinary. The Internet is a technology that I did not become aware of until sometime in the mid nineties when it was first introduced to me. I found it to be most useful because I could use email to send information, which I would have otherwise sent by mail, and I could find information instantly online, without having to go to a library, as used to be the case. I have come to adapt to this new technology like a fish in water, because it has made my life all much easier, especially now that I do not move around as much as I used to. I am an avid user of social networking sites such as Facebook, where I have come to encounter plenty of information as well as made many friends. I have also been able to rekindle old relationships with people whom I knew when I was younger, but life put us in different paths. Furthermore, the different sources of news have ensured that any biased news can be detected. I personally prefer watching news online and during the Iraq War, recently, I used to watch Al Jazeera and BBC to get a balanced picture of the news. Question: Which media do you think has managed to survive way into the modern times? Granddad: In my opinion, I believe that television, and most especially cartoons, have not lost the charm that kept peopl e hooked to them. When I was young, I used to love the Disney cartoons and I followed them every chance I got. I still see the same fascination in cartoons among kids today and this, I believe, is continuity. Personally, I am still a huge fan of cartoons because they not only remind me of my younger days but also make me laugh, something that I have to admit, has become extremely rare for me in other forms of entertainment. Question: What was the relationship between politicians and media, and has this relationship changed? Granddad: In previous decades, it was extremely difficult to find politicians who were open with any form of media. In fact, media was always treated with suspicion because of the belief that their main purpose was to destroy political careers by creating scandals. This, I believe, has changed since many politicians have come to embrace the media to further their own political careers. President Obama in the United States is an example of this new trend among pol iticians. He has used the media so well that he has managed to maintain his popularity where other presidents would have fallen from grace. I may add that media has come to influence change in society because without it, the Americans would not have been able to elect a black president. Essay Media has experienced plenty of changes, especially from the mid twentieth century to the present day. It has not only led to the development of better means of communication between people but has

Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 169

Assignment Example The supporters and advocates for Affordable health care in their previous sign up efforts, have come to the realization that from the few lessons learnt during the sign up efforts, in which a significant number of individuals previously uninsured managed to buy the cover. From the lessons learnt during the sign up effort, the supporters, and advocates of the Affordable health care plan on implementing the same effort that saw millions of uninsured people get the cover, as a marketing strategy for the next enrolment period, in an urge to increase awareness of the importance of buying the cover. Previously, many people opted for private insurance; however, the approach faced certain technical problems prior to the sign up process (Radnofsky), an aspect that proves the success of the sign up effort. As an aspect of in for the fall, research has shown that indeed, there is an increased focus on in-person help with testimonials from real people, making more emphasis on deadlines as pertai ning to Affordable health care. On the out aspect, getting a health care coverage has become an individualized mandate, which motivates more people into signing up for the cover. Previously the law required that all people should sign up for the cover or risk a penalty when filing their taxes (Radnofsky). The main aspect of study in this particular course is marketing, especially on the role that it plays in making informative approach to potential customers on the benefits of a particular good or service as addressed or provided by an organization against other competitors in the same industry. Based on such a perspective, it is significantly clear that marketing increases the chances of an organization or institution getting access to a bigger market. The article Health-Law Advocates to Tweak ACA Marketing Campaign for the fall, clearly indicates that before the sign up effort by the advocates

Tutorial (Film) Report Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Tutorial (Film) Report - Movie Review Example Vertov also demonstrates a high level of determination and experience by capturing various images and scenes. He is able to capture slow moving images that increases in speed as the day moves on. Vertov also demonstrates a high level of passion when he walks on high bridges, climb a smokestack and crawls underground with miners. He also hangs on side of trains in order to get good shots (Bordwell & Thompson, 2010). Progress There is a theme of progress and development in the film. For example, Vertov tries to demonstrate two sides of life in his film. He shows beginnings and endings of various people. For example, he shows images of marriage and divorce, life and death, young and old, a woman going to bed and waking up the next day and work as well as recreation. By showing these stages, he demonstrates how life progresses from one stage to another. To show how people progresses from work to leisure, Vertov captures images of people in games, sports, pubs and beaches. The actor also shows how the society is moving away from traditional tool to more modern and advanced technology. Images showing people travelling in trains and workers using machines in factories is a clear demonstration of a progressing society (Bordwell & Thompson, 2010). Politics Vertov tries to bring out the theme of politics by showing a Proletariat society under the leadership of Lenin. However, several people were not workers. They are peasant farmers who could not afford wealth yet they were the main source of wealth. Vertov shows a socialist society where people live together as a community. He shows masses of people partaking and enjoying in same actions such as traveling, working and recreation. The demonstration of repetitious pictures of machines and lower social class of individuals is a clear indication of how people should live and operate like a machine. Each individual should carry out his or her duty in building the nation just like different parts of a machine work together fo r the machine to function properly. The actor also elevates the states of women. He does this by demonstrating how women and men work alongside each other regardless of their gender (Bordwell & Thompson, 2010). Influence on Modern Comedy from Bringing up Baby Bringing up Baby is the pioneer of screwball comedies. These comedies are usually in white and black. In such comedies, a repressed, upright or a stiff character is broken out of their shell by being sort after romantically by a similar type character. The comedy is usually characterized by escapist themes, farcical situations, fast-paced repartee and plot lines that include love, courtship and marriage. There is also economic struggle between different classes. Apart from these, they are usually very funny, ballsy and screwy (Bordwell & Thompson, 2010). Bringing up Baby was produced in 1938 and directed by Howard Hawkins. Starring includes a leopard, Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn. Just like screwball Comedy, Bringing up Bab y has a marriage plot in that Grant is planning to marry and is only missing intercostals clavicle. The night before he marry, he is supposed to force a lawyer donate some money to the museum. On his way to meet the lawyer, he meets Hepburn. Hepburn accidentally steals his car and golf, preventing him from going to the meeting (Bordwell & Thompson, 2010). Another influence that the movie has had on current comedy is use of females as main characters. Hepburn plays a dominant role in

KFC and Its Franchising Strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

KFC and Its Franchising Strategy - Essay Example Presently the company has 15000 outlets with its presence in more than 105 countries (KFC, â€Å"About us†). It has almost 455000 employees. Currently, the company has a turnover of $15 billion. The success of the company is mainly due its product and a sound marketing strategy. However, the international expansion of the company also added to its huge success. The company undertakes its international expansion with franchise system. A franchised system is a process by which the company allows another organization to use its name and market its product. The organization which uses the name of the company to market the products is known as the franchisee. A franchisee thus holds the right to market the products in a particular geographic area (â€Å"Franchise†). KFC operates with franchise system in the international arena. The company was also highly benefitted by this type of operation as the financial risk was greatly minimized and company had taken other risks agains t it. Also, the franchised system has helped the company to understand the culture of the local community and develop the product line accordingly. For example in India, the company never sells any beef product as it is against the social culture. However, in countries like Pakistan, Afghanistan and other places of the world, the company sells beef products. As a consequence, the franchised system helps the company to adapt according to the regional taste. Also, the franchised system helped the company to decide the pricing strategy. It has a network of 1500 franchisee (Yum franchises, â€Å"Yum brands†). The international franchising strategy of the company is both offensives as well as defensive and thus made the firm less dependent on the home country about the revenues and demands. The company has also been able to generate high profits from international franchising strategy. Moreover, the franchising has system has driven the company to the international avenue. The fra nchising strategy of the company has also helped the company to accomplish the following:- International brand recognition by making its presence all over the world. The company strategically has chosen franchised mode apart from other modes of operation, as the franchised system offered less financial burden and also allowed the company to adapt according to the local culture. Franchise mode is also a safe way of conducting the business. It also allowed KFC to undertake an end to end marketing and distribution system. Hence on a whole, it can be concluded that apart from its product mix, promotional technique and other competencies franchised system hugely helped the company to grow their business into a global organization. Skoda and its Positioning Strategy Skoda is an automobile manufacturing and marketing company based in Czech Republic (â€Å"Volkswagen aims at becoming top global car-maker riding on the Skoda† 2011). However, in the year 2000 Skoda became a fully owned subsidiary brand of Volkswagen Auto group of Germany. The brand is mainly positioned as the entry brand of the entire brand. Within the group, the company was positioned at even higher than Volkswagen. It started the venture by manufacturing what is known as people’s car. Nowadays Skoda is positioned as the alternative of Volkswagen. Hence it can be clearly stated as the positioning strategy of Skoda was based on its features. It has successfully positioned itself as the family car which offers value to the price.  Ã‚  

Marketing Concept to the 21st century Business of Starbucks Essay - 1

Marketing Concept to the 21st century Business of Starbucks - Essay Example This requires marketers to constantly upgrade their marketing tactics and strategies. In the 21st century, marketing is quite different from what it used to be a century before. One concept that has gained interest among the marketers is relationship marketing. Relationship marketing deals with developing long and lasting relationships with the stakeholders of the organization. One company that has truly adopted this concept is Starbucks that continues to provide services and products while remaining customer and employee oriented. This paper will delve on relationship marketing and its application within one specific organization which is Starbucks. Description of the Marketing Concept As competition is increasing throughout the world, companies have to constantly readjust their marketing strategies in order to gain an edge over the competition. In this era, companies are becoming increasingly people-oriented, that is, they develop their operations to suit the needs of their stakeho lders. These usually include in most cases the consumers and with new concepts developed, employees have also become the central focus on the companies. Employee oriented companies have become more common in the service industries where employees form the face of the company. Thus the concept of relationship marketing has emerged in today’s world that companies are increasingly adapting to in order gain a good share of the market. In relationship marketing, the aim of the company is not profit maximization but rather retaining good relationship with its stakeholders, specifically the consumers. Palmatier, 2008 defines relationship marketing as ‘the process of identifying, developing, maintaining, and terminating relational exchanges with the purpose of enhancing performance’. This relationship, though is falsely attributed to extend to only the consumers, is in fact developed with all stakeholders including the consumers, employees and the community. Gummesson, 2 002 further broadens relationship marketing to total relationship marketing where marketing is extended from CRM approaches to developing relationships with all stakeholders of the company. He defines the concept in the following terms, ‘Total relationship marketing is marketing based on relationships, networks and interaction, recognizing that marketing is embedded in the total management of the networks of the selling organization, the market and society. It is directed to long-term win-win relationships with individual customers, and value is jointly created between the parties involved. It transcends the boundaries between specialist functions and disciplines’ (Gummesson, 2002) In terms of the consumers, the aim of the company in relationship marketing is to develop long-lasting relationships. This is done by orienting the company to meet the needs of the consumers. Companies that aim at relationship building conduct regular surveys and feedbacks. The purpose of the se surveys is to better understand the customers and to align the operations of the company with the changing needs of the consumers. Companies practicing relationship marketing consistently innovate their products and services to better serve their customers. For example, recently many retail outlets have developed their Android presence. Consumers can easily download applications and order for their products through their cell phones conveniently.  

Financial Accounting. Relevance and Reliability Dissertation

Financial Accounting. Relevance and Reliability - Dissertation Example Financial information of any company is presented in financial statements. Financial statements are the main components of company’s annual report. These statements need to have fairly representation of the financial details which is responsible for the decision making process of the investors, suppliers, creditors etc. relevance and reliability are two most important characteristics of financial statements of any organizations. These two factors determine the quality of financial statements. The main purpose of the financial reporting is to provide fairly valued and audited financial details of company for its stakeholders. According to these settlements the actual; worth, performance, profitability, growth rate etc are determined. So, a financial statements needs to be relevant to the valuable decision making requirements of the users. Depending on financial statements, millions are invested to companies by the investor daily. So, relevance and reliability of financial state ments are very essential to the users of financial statements. Purpose of the financial reporting There are two broad purpose of financial reporting, external and internal. External purpose includes the investment decision making by the shareholders and potential new investors of a company, credit rating analysis of company by the credit rating agencies and also by the creditors like banks and other financial institutions, suppliers, government and regulatory bodies like taxation department of government. Internal purpose of financial reporting is to make a standardized record of the financial activities by a company so that it can evaluate its performance at the end of a quarter or a financial year. From the evaluation of the financial statements the companies make decision and develop strategies or change strategies and activities for the next quarter or the next financial year. Financial reporting provides information to the investors, creditors, suppliers so that they can assess the timing, amount and uncertainty of a business entity’s performance in terms of future cash inflow and cash outflow. The elements in financial statements are very important to analysis the ability to generate net cash inflow by a business. This is one of the important characteristics of a business which directly influence the return on the investment of the existing investors of a business and it is also the key important factor to the potential investors by which they are generally influenced to invest in company. Financial reporting is the important part of the valid contract between a stakeholder and an organization. The stakeholder may be any individual or other institutions who are directly or indirectly related to a business entity. A financial report must needs to accomplish some key important factors or characteristics of a business. The main factor is the business is making profit and loss and the amount of profit or loss. Secondly, how much assets the company has to cover its liability and the quality of the assets the company. Third, financial statements provide information about the source of the capital that the business use and efficiency of the business in terms of effective use of the capital so that it can generate substantial return of capital used. Net cash flow of a business is directly influence the return for the investors of a business so it is another important factor of a business which financial stateme

Cultural Manifestation Via A Game Of Street Basketball Essay Example for Free

Cultural Manifestation Via A Game Of Street Basketball Essay Two hoops, ten players, one basketball court and one leather ball to dribble, pass, shoot and score points with. The other aspects of basketball – the rules, the technicalities – are all fluid and bent by the whims and preferences of the existing culture, even the existing playing teams. Street basketball may not be the roots of the sport, but through the years, it has becoming both the foundation of professional basketball as well as the avenue for the exercise of the growing subculture in street basketball. Ballard (2004) elaborates: Within the caged confines amidst the bohemian community of Greenwich Village in Lower Manhattan can be found the essence of street basketball: all the grit, showmanship, competition, and spectacle that make the game great (pg 35). To those who are not indoctrinated in the culture of street basketball, it is easy to say that what they see being played on the street and what they see flashing on their television monitors are both the same game of basketball; that they share so many similar attributes and that the only thing different in street basketball compared to collegiate or professional basketball is the level of popularity. But that is far from the truth – because those who know and understand street basketball, those who lived and breathed street basketball, those who bled and literally died in the cement floors of the street basketball courts know that what they do where they do it is so much different from what high salaried pro basketball players do in the NBA. They have different stages where they play; they have different rules as well as different ways of enforcing it; they have different cultures and different reasons why they play basketball. The only thing they have in common is that they all want that leather and rubber spheroid up in the air and then inside the rim, swooshing the net that makes a catcall for such a sexy swing. Professional basketball is all about winning the coveted ‘ring’, about being able to parade around town like rockstars and hoist that championship trophy alongside guys who you might be elbowing the following season. In professional basketball, there is a certain convenience for players and team owners to just move from one team to another because it is just a job for them, but on the street, one’s alliance to a basketball team is a binding oath; jumping to another team is never about the job of getting the Ws and finishing the season with the ‘ring’, and most players who see a former teammate desert them always take it personal, because street basketball is never a job. It is a brotherhood where loyalty is the most expensive and most important aspect of a player, and those who sell it cheap will always have a ‘low market value’. Street basketball and professional basketball have different set of ethos – in street basketball, they play for their team’s pride and for the wager while in professional basketball, they play for their own personal pride and for their own personal salary, especially in today’s era when even the best of players are traded to other teams in exchange for the chance of the team’s long term vision to take shape. In street basketball, it is always here and now, every game feels like the last game, and it is hard to go home with a monkey on your back because when you lost, you did not just part with some of your money, you also parted with some ounces of self respect and the respect of the people in the neighborhood about you, your team and your game. Observing and analyzing human behavior – Like every cultural vestige and like every subculture type, included in the consideration for the analysis of certain cultural practices is the assessment of human behavior. In street basketball, there are also a set of prevailing human behavior and the dictating factors on why such patterns exist, appear and persist. The manifestation of these sets and patterns of human behavior inside street basketball is two-pronged; those which the average eyes can see and those which only the trained eyes can detect happen simultaneously. It is both reflected and hidden in the way they dress, in the way they talk and in the way they play the game. The human behavior patterns in street basketball depict that of the prehistoric tribes – it requires that only the fittest with the toughest set of behaviors survive. And what are these behaviors? The behavior in fighting, in negotiating, in people management and control of power all of these behaviors are essential for a person to survive the culture of street basketball. Without some of these behaviors, the individual is forced outside the circle of street basketball. Players fight for their place to be among those who are considered as respected basketball players in the street. Outside the five-on-five, there are those who wield similar power, clout and influence – those who fix wagers, those who tap, harness and control budding talents and those who are present in the circuit for their own socio-political reasons. One needs only to sit down by the bleachers and take a good look around to see the abundance of a diverse set of human behavior present inside one confined yet open spaced rectangular domain of street basketball. African American guys play with white guys and vice versa, and so does the relationship of those who have different ethnic descent, and this reflects the behavior of the individuals inside street basketball when it comes to ethnic sensitivity. Other easily discernable behaviors found in street basketball include the penchant of most basketball players for gambling, their obvious disregard for socially accepted behavior while in public like going topless for most of the time, spitting, cursing and the prevalence of foul and derogatory terms hurled at each other, the integration of gang related separatist attitude and the resorting to physical assault as a way to settle differences of avenge any feeling of indignation. Looking at street basketball players, the universal behavior noticeable is their take on street basketball as the end all and be all of their lives – they gamble every paper bill they have on the pockets of their pants, sometimes, even money that they don’t have, on a round of street basketball without serious regard for what will happen in the future in the event that they lose their bet; most of them would rather spend their days playing ball and cementing their hold among their peers and their social cliques, which sometimes result in the creation of strong bonds of brotherhood between two persons or among members of a group or the creation of intensive animosity as well; school is never an equally important priority, and the preference for the type of work they would engage on is similar on how they battle, win and lost in street basketball – exciting, thrilling and promises the yield of a quick buck.. Street basketball is a religion, while professional basketball is a mere day job for night shift dribblers, and the rituals that are involved in the daily exercise of their faith exists in different aspects – there are rituals of battle, rituals of praise, rituals done to ask for intercession and divine intercession as well as the rituals for both the victorious and the defeated. At some point, the ‘real’ and the ‘sports-based’ religion meets in the middle, when religion is infused in the practice of a competitive sport, because there is one ultimate human behavior that is manifested greatly in street basketball – and that is the desire to win, because winning is always more than the scorebook statistics; it is about winning wagers and bets, winning the respect of the crowd as well as the opponents and winning your own sense of self respect towards yourself. A sports activity is a particular cultural event, and like any other cultural event, st reet basketball is unique in different places. But despite these differences, this cultural event shares the same characteristic – and that is this: that it is the showcasing of the most primitive instinct that is present among humans inside the society; it is a display of skill, grace, strength and the set of values to which a person will be remembered for; it is a reminder of how fiercely competitive the world is, how one should earn everything with his bare hands standing on his own two feet alone. Street basketball speaks a lot about a place’s culture; pro basketball is plain entertainment. Works Cited: Ballard, Chris. â€Å"Hoops Nation: A Guide to Americas Best Pickup Basketball. † University of Nebraska Press, October 2004.