Does Age Really Matter? Essay

Some people may think that age matters in relationship while others say that relationships work best when the male is older, but I do not agree with either ideology. I used to believe that age matters in a relationship but after personally going through an experience that counteracted those beliefs, I finally believed. When my cousin, Mojgun, met the love of their life no one, including myself, ever believed that the relationship would work, especially since she was five years older than him. Usually in the Persian culture, the man is supposed to be older than the female, always, and when that isn’t the case, there is not much hope for the relationship. After being together for six years, they finally married, and now she is expecting their second child, and they are happier than they could ever be. With that, age doesn’t matter in a relationship because it all depends on the individual’s ideals, culture, and what their goal is in that relationship or that point in their life what they’re looking for. Age doesn’t matter in a relationship; as long as they both are mature and they have a same goal in their life and they care about each other. A relationship is like a boat in the ocean if they don’t know where they’re heading too and if they can’t work together, they never can land the boat. The only thing that matters the most in a relationship is the love between couples. If you are in a relationship with a person that takes advantage of you or abuses you, it makes no difference what your situation or age is they will do that no matter what the age is. An example of that is one of my mom’s childhood friends married a man two years younger than here, and since they have been together he has been abusive to her ever since. It has not gotten any better, in fact it has gotten worse, because now she is use to it and thinks that’s what love is. No matter what people try to do, including my mom intervening, she always goes back to him because that ’s how her brain is trained now. That’s what she grew up with, especially with her relationship, and that’s what she is accustomed to. The relationship obviously is not healthy because they both don’t have the same goals in that relationship, which should be including treating each other with respect, not degrading each other. No matter what the age, if she was younger or  older, her husband is the type of person who is abusive, and age would not fix any of it. It would remain the same because that’s how his personality is. Perhaps, if he was actually loving, and really treated her with respect, she would know what real love is, but she does not, and it is sad to see her live with that, thinking that deep down it is love. Love should not hurt, and in her case that’s all she feels on a constant basis from him. Through this example, it clearly shows that age does not take a toll on the end result or on what’s occurring between my mother’s friend and her husband. No matter what the age, everything will still stay the same, and eventually as time passes by things will get worse and w orse, as sad as that is. When people have the same goals on the other hand, like for example, wanting to settle down and have children, relationships are more likely to be successful. When couples have the same goals at the time of meeting or starting a relationship, it plays really vital to the success of that relationship. If one likes to go out and party, and the other does not there is always going to be that friction between them because one is doing something the other does not approve of, and so forth. Regardless of the age, there is always going to be that friction. On the other hand, if both like to stay at home, dine in, and share the same interests it really doesn’t matter what age they are because they share the same interests or common goals. When couples have the same long-term goals in mind, such as having kids or settling down getting married, they will do whatever they have to do to complete that end goal, and both do that to make sure it happens. For example, if a man is not looking to settle down, while the woman is, there is always going to be friction, and most likely that relationship is not going to work out. In my own experience, even though I am only twenty two years old, I have had relationships where girls wanted to become something more serious than I could handle, and I just was not ready for that. As a result it caused a lot of road blocks because we did not see eye to eye on what was going on with the relationship and where it was going, therefore me having to break up with her because it’s not a common goal we shared. I did not plan on marrying her or being in a committed relationship where I knew I wanted to marry her, I just was not ready. Regardless of age, if one is ready to settle, when the other is not, the relationship is most likely not going to work, because it’s in their  mentality, the personality, whether they want to settle down at that point in time or in their life. Anyone could make an argument that if someone was older or younger, it could have an impact, but in the end, it all depends on the individual and age doesn’t necessarily mean that your outlook, personality, or opinions change. As one gets older, you can argue that their opinions become more solidified, and they become more stable with who they are, and what they want in life. Primarily in the Persian culture, women are always treated with the utmost respect. It does not matter how old each partner is in the relationship, because there is always the basic foundation of treating each other with respect, especially Persian men with Persian women. They are like a team, and no matter what, they will do what they have to do to win the game (life), side by side. When a couple sees eye to eye, it does not matter how old they are, it matters that they understand each other, and want their relationship to work. Relationships work if you take the time to get to the know the person you are going to be with. If they don’t share the same ideals, culture beliefs, or goals in life, most likely the relationship is not going to work. It all depends on the type of individuals that are paired together and whether there is chemistry and that drive to make it work, otherwise it’s an uphill battle. When couples who are together share the same interests, goals in life, and beliefs, there’s a higher probability that their relationship will work, regardless of their age.

Noetic Structure Essay

View and take notes on the presentation, â€Å"An Overview of Issues in Contemporary Justification, Part 1.† What are 3 characteristics of a person’s noetic structure? The sum total of everything that person believes It recognizes the differing degress of certainty, firmness, and conviction with which people hold their beliefs. Characterized by how beliefs are related together. Explain coherentism and the 3 problems with it. Coherentism: All beliefs fall into one category. No beliefs are more foundational than the others. Problems: Circularity: How do I justify my belief in P? It coheres with Q. Isolation Problem: Coherentism isolates my beliefs from the external world. Plurality: It is possible to have 2 coherent systems that are logically incompatible. Read chapter 4 of Epistemology: Becoming Intellectually Virtuous, â€Å"Foundationalism.† As you do, consider the following questions and points: What is the root idea of foundationalism? Each of us holds a set of beliefs basically or immediately while we hold other beliefs non basically or mediately. Why would one adopt a foundationalist approach to justification? Because they are epistemic engies of our noetic structures, imparting to all of our non-basic beliefs, while not themselves requiring justification from any other beliefs – this support goes just one way. What is the regress argument? Taking for granted the general reliability of your conscious faculties, and indeed must take them for granted. What are the 3 basic components of foundationalism? Basic or immediate beliefs- Form the bedrock of what all we believe  undergirding everything else we are justified in believing. Mediate or non-basic beliefs- Everything else we believe Basing Relation- Specifies how the epistemic merit of our basic beliefs is to be transferred to out non-basic beliefs. What are the characteristics of strong foundationalism? Specifically explain: The 3 conditions for a basic belief. Must be self-evidently true: those we see to be true immediately, without the benefit of deliberation or argument, merely when we understand the term of the claim in question. Must be Incorrigible: The belief in question is one that is impossible to believe and be mistaken about. Evident to the Senses The means by which basic beliefs support non-basic beliefs. Entailment is the only logical relation that preserves certainty. If one starts with self-evidently true starting points and accepts only what can be validly derived from the same, one thereby insures that one’s entire set of beliefs is untainted and error free. Four â€Å"additional† features of foundationalism. One cannot claim to have knowledge simply by asserting that one knows One must be inwardly cognizant that one’s claims to knowledge is genuine. One must be prepared to show that this is the case. What are the main problems with foundationalism? Note: This section can be challenging; try to understand the main points raised; don’t be concerned about all the details except as a way to understand the following main points: Problems: One’s beliefs in the reliability of one’s senses or memory or consciousness; none of these beliefs is either self evident or incorrigible or evident to the senses, yet they are held as properly basic by virtually everyone. Any acceptance of supposedly pure and certain basic beliefs makes use of various background assumptions or information that compromises their certainty and undermines their basicality. Why only these conditions for a basic belief? Claims that foundationalism solves the regress argument fail (the arbitrariness of stopping points). Other means of supporting beliefs than just deduction/induction (best explanation, retroduction, concurrence, etc.). The security vs. content problem. The strict demands for four unimpeachable certainty leave one with so small a set of basic beliefs that they can’t possibly bear the heavy weight of all we believe. Other problems (excessive individualism, access requirements, noetic effects of sin). Pg 95 What are the similarities and differences between strong and modest foundationalism? Specifically: What is primae facie certainty? One’s foundational beliefs are not necessarily immune to any conceivable doubt – they can be overridden – but they are perfectly acceptable unless one has a good reason for thinking they have been undermined. Four of Reid’s contingent truths. The thoughts of which I am conscience are thoughts of a being I call myself. Those things really happened which I distinctly remember. Those things really do exist which we distinctly perceive by our senses, and are what we perceive them to be. What is to be will probably be like what has been in similar circumstances. Reid’s reliabilism of first principles. For our evidence concerning reliability would have to include deliverances of the faculties whose reliability we are accumulating evidence for. On behalf of his foundational principles, they can be correctly identified by their accompanying marks or signs. If someone persists in requesting additional assurances over and above the usual marks accompanying properly based beliefs, then the person holding such beliefs can only respond with genuine bewilderment. Two weaknesses with modest foundationalism. Reid may have underestimated the capacity for thinkers of sound mind and sincere will to disagree about alleged, philosophical first principles. The belief in God can be held in a basic belief. Alvin Plantinga’s belief in God as properly basic. The belief can be justifiably held in the manner of a first principle, that  is w/out the benefit of argumentative support. Terms Make sure you can explain the following terms and concepts: Indefeasible- Not able to be lost, annulled, or overturned. Retroduction- A king of reasoning from the best explanation. It is reducible neither to induction or deduction. Concurrence- Observations that cumulate in his belief.  Necessary First Principles- They are self-evidently justified, being believed merely upon being understood. Must have these. Contingent First Principles- Not self-evidently justified. Dependent upon something. Doxastic Assumption- A theory that a belief is justified if it coheres with other beliefs

Awareness about the Energy Sources of the World Essay

Energy supply refers to the process of combining resources through natural or artificial means in order to manipulate energy and use it for several human applications. Energy simply describes the ability of a matter to perform work. From an economist point of view, energy dictates the evolution of industries and civilizations in the world thus, a country’s economy largely depends on its production and utilization. Some of the common energy sources are the geothermal energy, the wind energy, the solar energy and the water energy. Geothermal energy is the heat that came from the earth’s core. This large amount of energy is usually collected through drilling of wells beneath the earth’s surface and converted to electricity by turbines and generators. Wind energy is described by the power produced by blowing winds which is collected by a spinning rotor and converted into mechanical energy. Solar energy is the heat radiation that came from the sun travels to the Earth in the form of photons. Water energy is the power generated by hydraulic turbines from the extensive fall of water from a higher surface to a lower ground (Yergin, 2007). Energy sources can primarily be classified as renewable and non-renewable. Renewable sources refer to the resources that can be easily replaced by natural processes after using them while the non-renewable resources are those that can be depleted since they can only be replaced after a very long period of time. Examples of renewable sources are the solar energy and water energy. Petroleum that comes from the fossil fuels and mineral deposits are examples of non-renewable sources. Due to extensive use of our non-renewable sources of energy, such as petroleum from fossil fuels, energy crisis in most part of the world is badly experienced. Such crises are described by the extreme inflation of the international oil price in the world market (Yergin, 2007). This effect is primarily due to the depletion of some sources of petroleum due to uncontrolled extraction of some major oil suppliers. These problems are associated with high demand of oil by large companies due extensive usage of fuels and rapid growth of industrial civilization. Due to this, the governments of different countries are trying to promote sustainable developments that will ease problems in conservation of the energy sources of the world. Reference: Yergin, Daniel, et al. â€Å"World Energy Supply. â€Å" Microsoft ® Student 2008 [DVD]. Redmond, WA: Microsoft Corporation, 2007.

The importance of costs. (Need different writer for 534474.) Essay

The importance of costs. (Need different writer for 534474.) - Essay Example This paper seeks to discuss the importance of understanding ‘cost’ from the managers’ perspective. Introduction The managers are involved in decision making of various types in the business, and the understanding in the following lines facilitate easy grasp of the concept of costing in relation to business management. 1. Behavior of cost The cost could be classified basically into variable and fixed or direct and indirect. All variable costs directly involved in manufacturing of a product or rendering services include direct material, labor or overheads which are variable in nature in tune with the level of production. Whereas, the ‘indirect costs’ have a tendency to remain constant within a range and may be called as ‘capacity costs’. 2. The objective or the purpose for which the cost is being considered There are various decision making situations in a business which include pricing, make or buy, sub-contracting and capital investment a part from cost control, budgeting and variance analysis which are done on a regular basis. The analysis of data and application of the costing techniques vary according to the objective. The intervention of the manager for decision making purposes is involved mainly in the situations like pricing, make or buy, outsourcing, sub-contract and capital investment. ... In this paper, while discussing about the various methods, the influence of the variable and fixed costs in the decision making and the appropriate situations for using a particular method of costing is considered for better understanding. 4. Opportunity cost In the final count, the internal calculations need to pass the test of ‘Opportunity Cost’ because, any decision which is at least not compatible to the ‘opportunity cost’ may have to be discarded, because the opportunity cost it is not a simple calculation of future costs but, involves imputed costs. The opportunity cost means â€Å"The  cost of an alternative that must be forgone in order to pursue a certain action. Put another way, the benefits you could have received by taking an alternative action†. (Investopedia, 20110) Generally speaking, the managerial decision is not introvert in nature, but takes into account the economic justification considering the external environment and the margi nal efficiency of the capital needs to justify a proposal. For instance, if the opportunity cost of capital does not justify a management decision, it signifies that the opportunities elsewhere available would yield superior returns on the capital invested. Methods of costing and its relevance to decision making The method of costing to be adopted depends on the nature of manufacturing activity. However, the paper is not dealing with the methods per se, in relation to the procedural aspects related to Job Costing, Batch Costing or Process Costing, in line with the objective of the study. The analysis is rather with reference to managerial accounting perspective for the purpose of decision making. For instance, Rama Gopal, C. (2009, p. 473) states

In finance, risk is best judged in a portfolio context. Is this true Essay - 7

In finance, risk is best judged in a portfolio context. Is this true Why - Essay Example This paper takes an argument to prove that individual stock cannot allow investors to help judging the overall risk associated with investment on shares. A critical criticism context will also be introduced in the paper later on to justify the argument regarding risk being judged better in a portfolio of stocks. It will not be incorrect to state that investors of stock market are directly associated with the risk which is not avoidable. These risks can be variable in types such as short-term risk or portfolio risk. For the focus of this paper, portfolio risk is being discussed in a contextual manner. It should be noted that portfolio risk is relatively low in accordance to the movements within the stock market. Herein, the process or concept of aggregation is considered for calculating risk associated with an asset or for valuing a company. It is due to this reason that individual investors are suggested to manage their portfolio risk because their individual transactions are aggregated. This denotes that investors tend to diversify their assets in order to judge the risk of security (Brealey, et al., 2010). It is not being proven here that by taking an aggregate of the risk of in a portfolio can eliminate risk. Portfolio of stock allows the investors to understand the associated risk in accordance of variation in all levels of the market. There is an underlying condition associated with portfolio risk. As a matter of fact, risk can be best judged in a portfolio context, as diversified stocks can have reduced risk. The underlying condition is that the return which is received by the investors is less than one. In this case, it is stated that diversification will remain beneficial or the investors (Brealey, et al., 2010). Risk or systematic risk is interlinked with the changes that may occur in the market. The risk is

Langston Hughes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Langston Hughes - Essay Example Langston's sensitive nature was also responsible paradoxically in reinforcing his sense of separateness as a Negro. He acknowledged his race to be clearly an advantage, which gained him fame and recognition not only among his peers but also among those towards whom he was subjected towards color sensitivity, as it was his color that acknowledged and helped him in seeking his own identity in revealing the black experience. Langston Hughes was aware of the fact that being a black, his race would never be granted permission to gain access in participating in any effort towards America. He wanted the blacks to awake from the long sleep and start making the dream of their homeland a reality, although it was the dream which according to Langston was converted into a nightmare for Southern blacks, he aimed at rehabilitating that nightmare again into an American dream. No doubt Langston Hughes was among one of those renaissance writers who produced little work on Harlem, but whatever they produced, the work emerged as a magnum opus in the Harlem Renaissance history and produced a true Harlem color. Langston Hughes, the Harlem writer was especially adept at portraying New York's ghetto life concerning about people, culture and religion. What he experienced during the renaissance enabled him to portray the true face of white Americans and in the form of words he described it. Langston's work about Harlem reveal his versatility as wh... ons African Americans had to face regarding social and economic factors of Harlem, he found a ready market among some blacks who wanted to read about life in the black metropolis on one hand, while on the other he was aware of those whites who were attracted to the exotic, strange, and colorful rhythms of 'nigger heaven'". (Wintz, 1988, p. 45) Harlem, though, was more than a playground for white Manhattan, for Africans it was more than a battle. A battle conducted not to loose, but to win and make whites acknowledge their identities as African Americans. "It was a teeming, overcrowded ghetto, and much of its laughter and gaiety only thinly veiled the misery and poverty that was becoming the standard of life for the new black urban masses. This, too, was reflected by the Harlem Renaissance, viewed from the perspective of Langston". (Wintz, 1988, p. 46) "Langston portrayed the outbreak of World War I as the only means, which intensified racial conflicts in America. He was aware of the sacrifices given by every single African of America and realized the importance of African traditional people in supporting America's war, with a hope that their efforts would display one day a result of loyalty and battlefield gallantry to win them popular support in their quest for equality". (Rampersad, 2002, p. 54) Langston encouraged their efforts to participate fully in their country's battles; blacks have traditionally confronted a government reluctant to accept their services. During World War I the already existing racial strife intensified these problems. Some poets saw Harlem slightly different as compared to other poets of Renaissance in a sense that unlike many would be black writers; Langston Hughes was strongly drawn to the black people of Harlem, which won the hearts of

Sustainable guidelines for Road , Education and Health infrastructure Research Paper

Sustainable guidelines for Road , Education and Health infrastructure developments in Mozambique on behalf of a foreign private - Research Paper Example Sustainable Development Guidelines In order to ensure sustainability for any project geared towards the development of above regions; it is of great importance to formulate and implement appropriate guidelines that would act as a direction for the project developers. The appropriate guidelines are inclusive of: (A) Development of Synergies For any successful and sustainable development project, the aspect of working in synergies plays a crucial role. Synergies can be conducted in various ways depending on the suitability or the type of development project to be conducted; this includes collaborations with different stakeholders as well as encouraging the participation of different stakeholder. The importance and of these forms of synergies are discussed below: (i) Encouraging Stakeholder Participation Development partners need to determine the roles played by local communities when undertaking massive development projects that will impact on their lives. ... Reduction of future conflicts that may affect sustainability of the development projects can also be achieved through promoting the participation of the local communities is such projects. During the planning process, the communities may assist in identification and elimination of any activity that may lead to future conflicts hence promoting the sustainability of the project. Cases of public participation have proved successful for most non-governmental organizations in Africa such as in: Tanzania and Kenya where the African Medical and Research Foundation has undertaken myriad community development projects through encouraging public participation hence leading to project sustainability. (ii) Application of a Collaborative Approach This is also another method of operating in synergy that has been used by most successful development organizations. There are various organs that may play important roles as collaborators this includes but is not limited to: The Mozambican Government, o ther organizations, donors and the local communities. The importance of such collaborations which each development partner encompasses: Access of adequate funds to undertake sustainable development processes; such funds may be provided by the Mozambican government, donors like the World Bank and in some case the development of some projects i.e. water resources, the local communities may act as collaborators by providing locally available construction materials. This is pertinent for the success and sustainability of the projects. An example of a successful collaboration occurred in the year 2011 between the World Bank and the Mozambican government through donation of funds geared towards promoting development of Water Resources. A

Business Website and Children Clothing Research Paper

Business Website and Children Clothing - Research Paper Example The paper will also deal with issues related to the questions of how to buy a domain, how to trademark and protect logo. Step 1 Identify the problem that needs to be solved or opportunity that needs to be developed Essentially, any new business venture is mainly aimed at recognizing and creating an opportunity in the market (Nieman, 2003. In this case, the internet has brought about an opportunity that can makes it possible to market any product since it is a widely used channel of communication during the contemporary period given that it can reach a lot of people from different geographical locations. In terms of clothing, it can be seen that there are no large chain stores in different regions that specialize in selling baby/kids/children clothes. These products can be found in large conventional clothing shops that also sell clothes for adults. Therefore, it can be seen that there is a gap which exists in the market in terms of marketing and selling children’s clothes sinc e some of the consumer needs that are not adequately satisfied. In order to solve this problem, it is wise to start an e-business website that specializes in selling children’s clothes. This strategy is likely to be very effective in filling the gap that has been identified in this case. In other words, this business venture is likely to add value in the market if the following factors are carefully taken into consideration. Product identified and clearly defined- an assortment of children’s clothing would be sold online. The new e-business venture will specialize in selling these products to different customers in different areas. All business can be carried through the use of the internet and the products purchased can be delivered to the customers. Reason for product- there is a gap in the market where it can be seen that there are few actors in this sector who specialize in selling products that are specifically meant for children. Children’s clothes are oft en found in conventional clothing shops and this business is likely to be very convenient to many shoppers since they can get exactly what they would be looking for. STEP 2: Select a general topic area related to the problem or opportunity to research The general topic related to the problem or opportunity identified is concerned about the aspect of how to start a business. In this case, an opportunity has arisen and it can be seen that starting an online business to sell children’s clothes can be the best solution to address this issue. According to the Wall Street Journal (2012), there are different steps that ought to be taken into consideration when starting up a business. Starting a new business venture requires proper preparation and an entrepreneur should first decide if he or she is suitable to run that kind of business. This is very important since starting a business venture is not an overnight event. Entrepreneurship is about identifying opportunities that exist in the market and then measure are put in place in order to utilize the opportunity that exists at that particular moment in the market. The other important element to consider is about how to register a trademark for a company name. This element is very important since it helps to distinguish one company from the other. Whilst there are many companies that specialize in offering different products, they must be distinguished. According to the Wall Street Journal, this process can be done online and the company can also get the legal

Comparing and contrasting agency theory and stakeholder theory Essay

Comparing and contrasting agency theory and stakeholder theory - Essay Example In a corporation the principal are the shareholders, whose agent is the chief executive officer hired by them; thus, the agent is expected to act in the interest of the shareholders. The main challenge is in motivating the agents to increase their productivity to a level they would achieve if they were the owners. Further, one of the key factors of agency theory is that principals and agents have different preferences or goals; and these divergent preferences can be aligned with the help of incentive contracts. Stakeholder theory is to a great extent not a formal, unified theory, but is more of â€Å"a broad research tradition, incorporating philosophy, ethics, political theory, economics, law, and organizational social science† (Solomon, 2007, p.23). Stakeholder theory is underscored by the fact that companies are large and have a far-reaching impact on society; hence they are accountable to many more sections of society than their shareholders alone. A common feature among a ll stakeholders of a company is their participation in an exchange relationship with the company by providing contributions while expecting their own interests to be fulfilled through ‘inducements’. ... has to maintain the support of all of these groups, balancing their interests, while taking measures to ensure that all the stakeholder interests can be maximized over time in the organization. Thesis Statement: The purpose of this paper is to compare and contrast Agency theory and Stakeholder theory; and to determine which theory offers the most useful insights into corporate behaviour. Agency and Stakeholder Theories are Based on Essential Moral Principles: of Honouring Agreements and Respecting the Autonomy of Others Firms with high levels of agency may face threats from other firms in the business environment, through the mechanism of the market for corporate control. These assumptions are based on presuming the presence of a functional, â€Å"efficient, competitive environment, in which information asymmetries are minimal, and competitive pressures are high† (Udayasankar, Das and Krishnamurti, 2005, p.1). Agency theory pertains to discussion on moral hazards and agency co sts. Agency theory can only be applied effectively if four moral principles were observed: â€Å"avoiding harm to others; respecting the autonomy of others; avoiding lying; and honouring agreements† (Solomon, 2007, p.25). That is, the principal-agent model would be applicable only if it was based on the setting of these moral principles. Thus, the principle of agent morality stated that only when agents fulfilled their basic moral duties as human beings, could they involve themselves in maximizing shareholders’ wealth. Further, Agency theory is interwoven with transaction cost theory. Both provide different views of the theory of the firm and of managerial behaviour, while using different terminology to describe the same problems and issues. For example, while agency theory confronts moral hazards

Ethical issues in Packaging Practices Research Paper

Ethical issues in Packaging Practices - Research Paper Example The world today has progressed towards being more consumer-oriented. One of the most important aspects of marketing is packaging basically since it portrays the origin of a particular product. From a marketing perspective it is important to ensure that the packaging is such that it allures the potential customers and increases the sales of the product. It is important to present sufficient information about the product on its package so that the customers have enough information before deciding to buy a particular product. However, several ethical issues surfaces with the aspect of packaging since in order to ensure proper sale values several factors are compromised with leading to unethical practices. Shrimp present four different ethical issues that are involved with packaging. The four issues primarily include representation graphics, information present on the cover or the label, safety of the packaging material and environmental issues. Graphics for starters, is the key factor which represents the product meant for sale. Some producers and marketers utilize pictures on the packaging case which do not appropriately represent the actual product and in most cases maybe misleading and present a false representation of the product. Labeling and providing information on the labels is another vital aspect of packaging a certain product. The information printed on the body is meant to provide sufficient details to the potential customers.

ANALYSIS A&P supermarkets VS Shoprite Research Paper

ANALYSIS A&P supermarkets VS Shoprite - Research Paper Example The company operates around 435 supermarkets all over the United States. It is being operating as a subsidiary of Tengelmann Group, which is a based in Germany. A&P is only operating in the market of USA and has around 45000 employees. Once known to be the biggest supermarket retail chain in the country, A&P is now facing several financial issues and challenges. In the year 2010, the company reported a decline of around 7.4 percent in the overall revenues. The operating loss was reported to be around $600.6 million in the same year and the net loss in the year 2010 was around $875.6 million. Shoprite Holdings Limited is serving in the retail industry through different subsidiaries and provides the customers with fast moving consumer goods retail services. The company has being operating a vast network of hyper markets, outlets, and stores. Apart from this the operations of the company are expanded into 17 different countries and have well constructed supply chain network. Shoprite ha s been reporting considerable financial results and performance from several years and has been able to survive in the time of economic recession. It is offering significant dividend to its shareholders. The strategic and financial analysis carried out in this report, suggest that Shoprite is a better option for investing the money as the company is reporting increasing profits and revenues. INTRODUCTION: Retail industry is a recession proof industry and the industry has been growing even during the time of recession. The main reason for this is because of the fact that people have to eat, drink and wear clothes despite of what the situation of economy is. Because of this reason, a lot of investors choose to invest in companies within the retail industry particularly grocery stores. OVERVIEW OF A&P: The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, Inc. (A&P) is a US supermarket chain; the company was once one of the biggest companies in the US but it has been reduced in size. A&P runs 435 supermarkets in eight eastern states and the District of Columbia (AP Freshonline). In late 2007, A&P acquired its longtime rival, Pathmark Stores, for about $1.4 billion, reversing years of decline at the grocery company. A&P is a subsidiary of Tengelmann Group, a German Retailing Group which owns about 40% of A&P. A&P operates only in the US and is headquartered in Montvale, New Jersey. It employs approximately 45,000 people (Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, 5). OVERVIEW OF SHOPRITE: Shoprite Holdings Limited (Shoprite) is an investment holding company that operates through its subsidiaries and offers fast moving consumer goods retail services by operating a range of hyper markets, stores and outlets. It operates through 1,394 stores, including 265 franchised outlets and 1084 corporate outlets in 17 countries. Shoprite is headquartered in Western Cape, South Africa, and primarily operates in South Africa, the Indian Ocean Islands and various other African Countries. It employ s about 88,000 people. PRODUCTS AND SERVICES: Both companies offer a range of products and services which mainly include

Comparative Between Confucius and Daoism Essay Example for Free

Comparative Between Confucius and Daoism Essay Conflict Resolution Negotiation (Volume 2011 Issue 4)111 Please cite as Low K. C. P. (2011) ‘Confucianism Versus Taoism’, Conflict Resolution Negotiation Journal, Volume 2011, Issue 4, p. 111 127 Confucianism Versus Taoism Prof. Dr. Patrick Low Kim Cheng Ph. D. Chartered Marketer, Certified MBTI Administrator, Certified Behavioral Consultant/ Universiti Brunei Darussalam; Associate, University of South Australia About the Author Prof. Dr. Patrick Low Kim Cheng, Ph. D. (South Australia), Chartered Marketer, Certified MBTI Administrator, Certified Behavioral Consultant (IML, USA), brings with him more than 20 years of combined experience from sectors as diverse as the electronics, civil service, academia, banking, human resource development and consulting. His MNC and local corporate clients from ASEAN, Sri Lanka, Hong Kong, Bangladesh and Kazakhstan are in manufacturing, electronics, IT, retail, engineering services, hospitals, hotels, banks financial institutions as well as the public sector. The once Visiting Professor, Graduate School of Business, Universiti of Malaya (Jan to Feb 2007), Prof. Dr. Low was the Deputy Dean, Postgraduate Studies Research, teaching in Universiti Brunei Darussalam (2009). He teaches the graduate students/ MBA in Organisational Behavior, Managing Negotiations, Leadership and Change Management, and the undergraduates in Leadership Basics, Challenging Leadership, Business and Society, Issues in Organizational Leadership, Organization Analysis Design; and Organization Development Change. The former Associate Dean, Director of Career Services and Chair of the Management and Marketing Department of a University in Kazakhstan (2004 to 2006) focuses on human resource management and behavioral skills training covering areas like negotiation/ influencing, leadership and behavioral modification. An academician-practitioner, a prolific author (author of twelve books including bestsellers (Strategic Customer Management, 2006, 2002, 2000 – one of Borders’ top ten in 2001/2, Sales Success, 2006, 2003; Team Success, 2003 and The Power of Relationships, 2001). His most recent books include Successfully Negotiating In Asia (Springer, 2010) and Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn. com/abstract=1982271 Conflict Resolution Negotiation (Volume 2011 Issue 4)112 Corporate Culture and Values – Perceptions of Corporate Leaders of Cooperatives in Singapore (VDM-Verlag, 2009). A business coach, Prof. Dr. Low is the founder of BusinesscrAFTâ„ ¢ Consultancy and he previously served as an Examiner for University of South Australia’s DBA and Ph. D. candidates (2003 to October 2006); presently, he has been appointed as the supervisor for its DBA candidates. Besides his experience in academia, training and consulting, Prof. Dr. Patrick Low has held positions in regional human resource development (HRD). He has been the Senior Training Manager (Asia Pacific Region) in Standard Chartered Bank where he was responsible for regional management training and development, marketing of HRD services and management succession. He can be contacted at [emailprotected] com Confucianism Versus Taoism Abstract: In this paper, the practitioner-academician makes comparisons and contrasts between the two great philosophical bodies (or oldest religious traditions) of China, that is, Confucianism and Taoism. Among other things, the key commonalities of Confucianism and Taoism include being in pursuit of the Tao, close to nature and harmony, and taking the right actions are critical than just the belief(s). The key differences are also examined here, and these, among other things, include human living and spirituality, and filial piety and nature as well as rites and beyond rites. 1 Introduction Confucianism and Taoism do not have a specific founder or date of founding, even though one of them (Confucianism) appears to be named after an individual, K’ung Fu Tzu or Confucius in English. Confucius was born in 551 BC in China in what is presently Shantung Province. He lived during the Zhou dynasty, known for its ethical laxity. For Taoism, its texts include the Tao de ching (The Way of Power) which is believed to have been written by Lao Tzu. The text describes the nature of life, the way to peace and how a ruler should lead his life. The Chuang Tzu contains additional teachings of Taoism. Franklin Publishing Company www. franklinpublishing. net Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn. com/abstract=1982271 Conflict Resolution Negotiation (Volume 2011 Issue 4)113 1. 1 Paper’s Aim And Objectives The aim and objectives of the paper are to make comparisons and examine the contrasts between the two great philosophical bodies (or oldest religious traditions) in China, that is, Confucianism and Taoism, and with that, it is hoped to logically get a better understanding of the two philosophical bodies. 2 2. 1 Commonalities Of Confucianism And Taoism In Pursuit of the Tao Both show that the non-religious state of existence is unsatisfying and non-harmonious. Instead, both Confucianism and Taoism stress on the pursuit of the Tao, and that the Tao is the ultimate. Similar to Shakespeare’s â€Å"have more than thou showest, speak less than thou knowest†, in Taoism, it is said that those who know do not speak and those who speak do not know. Tao, the first cause, can be roughly translated into English as â€Å"path†, or â€Å"the way†, referring to a power which envelops, surrounds and flows through all things, living and non-living. Tao is the Oneness of everything; â€Å"Tao is always without a name and that it is the origin of heaven and earth. Tao can also be said to be the â€Å"Absolute† that it can be said to be the movement and a stillness without a beginning, Yin and Yang (also known as Tai Chi) are things that can be said to be without a beginning† (Cleary 2003, cited in Low and Ang, 2010: 85; Wu, 1990: 1). 2. 2 Close to Nature And Harmony Both Confucianism and Taoism are close to nature, very much reflected in Chinese culture. Most Chinese gates or traditional Chinese gardens display a pair of lions, one male and one female. The female mother lion, usually with its young, represents Mother Nature. From Confucius – The Analects, Chapter VII verse 17, we learn that â€Å"The Master used a fishing line but not a cable; attached to a net, he used a corded arrow but not to shoot at roosting birds. † Both Taoism and Confucianism believe that the two opposing and complementary forces Franklin Publishing Company www. franklinpublishing. net Conflict Resolution Negotiation (Volume 2011 Issue 4)114 (chi) of yin and yang should be maintained in a harmonious condition no matter what level they are operating on, such as universe, nature, society, or an individual (Li, 1996). â€Å"Everything will be accomplished smoothly in a harmonious family,† Confucius encouraged that internal harmony should also be treasured as the highest value within a family, just as it is essential to the smooth functioning of a system at any other level. Both schools preach that humans live in harmony with nature, and such a way is compatible with humankind’s taking care of nature and the surrounding environment of the communities they live and work (Low and Ang, forthcoming; Low, forthcoming). In Lao Tzu’s mind, the people should be encouraged to embrace simplicity, diminishing self interest and curbing one’s desires (Tao Te Ching, Verse 49); in this way, one can then create a peaceful and harmonious environmental attitude towards people and nature, and there is overall happiness between and among all. Detaching ourselves and not getting caught with the great number of things in our mind, we also slow down, pay attention to our breathing, move slowly and deeply, and we reach new understandings about ourselves and the world around us. In Taoism, peace is  treasured (â€Å"The best way of conquering an enemy is to win him over by not antagonizing him†¦Ã¢â‚¬  – Tao Te Ching, verse 68; Wu, 1990: 101). War is no good and only results in sufferings of the people; rulers need to find and seek peace for his or her people. With harmony, trade, business and profits can be made, and the countries make progress – as the Chinese saying goes, â€Å"Harmony grows profits† (Hanyu Pinyin: he chi sen chai). It can thus be said that the Chinese prize harmony above all things. A large part of Chinese literature is based on the idea of harmony (Tao Te Ching – McDonald, 2009; Mitchell, 1995; Towler, 2002). For both Confucianism and Taoism, a sage is a person who is in total harmony with their world – the world around them as well as the world within them. 2. 3 Wanting to Be Happy And Being Positive Franklin Publishing Company www. franklinpublishing. net Conflict Resolution Negotiation (Volume 2011 Issue 4)115 One of the basic facts of life is that all of us want to be happy. Each of us does not wish to suffer; and yet, suffering is a part of life, just as happiness is. It can be taken that both Confucianism and Taoism, being positive, appear to urge people to pursue happiness. If we are negative, then we spend too much time searching for ways to avoid suffering; indeed so, we will also miss out much of the happiness that is possible in our lives. In Confucianism, with the Rectification of Names and roles fulfilled, a father does the father’s role, a mother the mother’s role, the son the son’s role and so on; then there will be harmonious relationships and happiness. If there were peace, harmony and happiness in the family and since a nation is essentially made of families, then the nation would also enjoy peace, harmony and happiness. Confucius also highlighted that having an independent, truly calm, steady, down-to-earth mind and heart that one can avoid being swayed by the rises and falls, gains and loses of life. Free from worries and fears (Confucius – The Analects, Chapter XII, verse 4), a person of high integrity and morality (a gentleperson, junzi) would be happy; (s)he would sleep well. In these ways, one can thus be more or less, contented or happy. In Taoism, as in Yin-Yang, it is taken that the seed of suffering is inherent in each moment of happiness. In this way we should remain centered during moments of great happiness. In life, if we build our happiness on simple things like love, friendship, good health, and spirit, we can build a sense of happiness that will endure the challenges and changes that life gives us (Towler, 2002a; http://ancienthistory. mrdonn. org/Taoism. html). Thus, in both Confucianism and Taoism call for people to live happily. 2. 4 Right Actions Are Critical Both generally see religious beliefs as having less importance than religious practices. In fact, both Confucianism and Taoism stress on orthopraxy (right actions) over orthodoxy (right beliefs). Franklin Publishing Company www. franklinpublishing. net Conflict Resolution Negotiation (Volume 2011 Issue 4)116 In The Analects, Book II verse 13, it is said that Tzu-kung asked about the gentleman. The Master said, ‘He puts his words into action before allowing his words to follow his action. ’† Low (2008: 33) speaks of the â€Å"message Confucius impresses on us is that: As leaders, we need to act and behave as gentlemen. † And what more, he has added that â€Å"when virtue is practised, one enjoys a clear conscience† (Low, 2008: 33). Confucianism also stresses on humanism, and more importantly on the value of love and compassion (Low, 2010). In a person’s personal conduct, (s)he is respectful. In his or her dealings with his or her staff, (s)he is considerate; in caring for the common people’s welfare, (s)he is generously kind; and in dealing with all, (s)he is just (Low, 2008). Like Confucianism, Taoism also stresses on compassion (a typical right action), underscoring the fact that â€Å"weapons of war augur evil. Even things seem to hate them†; besides, â€Å"to achieve more for others, enlarge your heart† (Low, 2009: 33). 2. 5 Open And Continuing Canons Each does not have a closed canon, each continues to be interpreted, written and included in their respective canons. However, unlike Taoism, familiarity with the Confucian canon was one of the main requirements of the civil service examinations in traditional China. 2. 6 No Fixed Religious Services But Anywhere At Anytime, It Can Be Practiced Interestingly too or in fact, very convenient, both have no fixed religious services and can be practiced anywhere, from shrines and temples to private studies and mountain peaks. Seen from this angle, there is much freedom and it is life and in living, praying and living in oneness (life itself is a prayer! ). The good thing is that they are without rituals or strict conformity of attending masses or prayer sessions in fixed days as evident in some of the other major religions. Franklin Publishing Company www. franklinpublishing. net Conflict Resolution Negotiation (Volume 2011 Issue 4)117 2. 7 Benevolence And Compassion Interestingly, Low (2008a: 67) has highlighted that one of the classic leadership sins or mistakes is that of â€Å"being callous to the needs of the others† or lacking in empathy or worse, compassion. For both Confucius and Lao Tzu, leaders need to be benevolent. Low (2008b) has highlighted that the Confucian business owner/leadership, with its high task and high relationship, is seen as caring and the leader builds the bond with the employees. In the Confucian sense, being benevolent or kind, a characteristic element of humanity, is an part of an individual’s talents. Like Confucianism, Taoism also considers a worthy person as a benevolent person, and in the former, a benevolent person enjoys longevity (ren cher shou). Leaders need to be compassionate and empathetic. Both Confucianism and Taoism preach and stress on compassion. Compassion is, in fact, one of Lao Tzu’s three treasures (Low, 2009; Wu, 1990). Such a belief and action is particularly vital. And it is, in fact, excellent when it comes to leading people since the compassionate leaders practice servant leadership, desiring overall little or nothing for themselves, but empathetically showing and acting with care and concern more for the people and their needs (Low, 2010, 2009; 2008). Figure 1: A List of Commonalities Of Confucianism And Taoism In Pursuit of the Tao Close to Nature And Harmony Wanting to Be Happy And Being Positive Right Actions Are Critical Open And Continuing Canons No Fixed Religious Services But Anywhere At Anytime, It Can Be Practiced Benevolence And Compassion Franklin Publishing Company www. franklinpublishing. net Conflict Resolution Negotiation (Volume 2011 Issue 4)118 3 3. 1 The Key Differences Human Living and Spirituality Confucianism, on one hand, stresses on attaining Tao in human living. The writings of Confucius deal primarily with individual morality and ethics. (also see Low, 2008c – Confucian ethics and business responsibility to the various stakeholders), and the proper exercise of political power by the rulers. Confucianism is not, properly speaking, a religion but it is more of a way of behaving so that one does the right things (http://ancienthistory. mrdonn. org/Confucius. html). Confucianism stresses on the Rectification of Names, and each needs to fulfill each person’s respective roles and responsibilities. For Confucius, â€Å"therefore, the superior man examines his heart that there may be nothing wrong there, and that he may have no cause for dissatisfaction with himself. † (Doctrine of the Mean, Chapter XXXIII. , Verse 2, cited in Confucius, 1915). A Confucian thus believes that an ordered society is what people should strive for. In that sense, it is more this-worldly, and is a way of life rather than a religion. Nonetheless, the wisdom of the Old Master can (still) help us to obtain spiritual happiness in the modern world, to get used to the daily routine of our lives, and to find the personal bearings that tell us where we are (Yu Dan, 2009: 11). Taoism, on the other hand, focuses on achieving the Tao, basically on the spiritual aspects of life; and it is other-worldly and can be considered as a religion. [Some have, however, argued that Taoism is not a religion. Taoism is a philosophy, a way of looking at life and a way of thinking about things. Taoists believe if one looks at life and think about things in the right way, one will be much happier -http://ancienthistory. mrdonn. org/Taoism. html. ] This author however feels that Taoism stresses on the spiritual aspects of life and it is mystical too – â€Å"Tao can be talked about, but not the Eternal Tao, Names can be named, but not the Eternal Name. As the origin of heaven-and-earth, it is nameless. As ‘the Mother’ of all things, it is nameable. † (Tao te ching, verse 1, Wu, 1990: 1). It is also said that one of the head-twisty things about the Tao de ching is that it never specifically defines The Way. The book itself is a series of verses, poems, Franklin Publishing Company www. franklinpublishing. net Conflict Resolution Negotiation (Volume 2011 Issue 4)119 and riddles, stressing on control but not dominance, fluidity but not ambivalence, and mystery but not confusion. Nonetheless, it is full of wise, helpful nuggets to assist human beings in living and attaining spiritual contentment; examples include â€Å"embrace simplicity, put others first. Desire little†, and â€Å"weapons are the bearers of bad news; all people should detest them† (Lao Tzu, Verses 19 and 31, Tao de ching; McDonald; 2009). To elaborate, one should live simply while being healthily aware and refusing greed and lust. After all, as in the Chinese proverb, one should not â€Å"add legs to the snake after one has finished drawing it†. And not to complicate things, simplicity indeed makes one’s life easier, more convenient and pleasant. And next, all of us should value or treasure peace and harmony. Confucius’ The Analects, depending heavily on analogy and metaphor, is, on the other hand, very clear and concrete on attaining the way in terms of human living, and for the overall good of humankind. For Confucius, there is to be good family living; and peace and harmony as well as the attainment of good community living. For Lao Tzu, there is to be oneness with nature and the Universe or Heaven. 3. 2 Practicality And Esotericism. Confucianism is very practical, suited for pragmatic human living. In The Analects, Book XI, verse 12: â€Å"Chi-lu asked how the spirits of the dead and the gods should be served. The Master said, ‘You are not able even to serve man. How can you serve the spirits? ’ ‘May I ask about death? ’ ‘You do not understand even life. How can you understand death? ’ For Confucianism, in business, corporate social responsibility (CSR) should always be there: what is taken from the community is returned through donations, charity and other assistances rendered to the poor and needy. In his study, Low (2008c) has indicated that the Confucian Golden Rule and Confucian ethics in the context of the stakeholder theory, showing how businesses can be ethical while being caring and compassionate for its stakeholders. Franklin Publishing Company www. franklinpublishing. net Conflict Resolution Negotiation (Volume 2011 Issue 4)120 In Taoism, the goal of each believer is to become one with the Tao, a force that flows through all life. The concept of a personified deity is foreign to them; perhaps there is the concept of an impersonal god. The practitioners do not pray because there is no god to hear the prayers or to act upon them; believers seek answers to life’s problems through inner meditation and outer observation. [In that sense, Taoism can be seen as esoteric, abstract or not easy to be understood. ] Taoists believe in the duality of the universe, symbolized by yin-yang, but oneness is to be attained through inner meditation, balance and harmony. Taoist practitioners believe in nourishing life and the spirit by energizing or getting chi (energy), meditating and being in oneness with the Tao. 3. 3. Groupings, Categorization and Non-Categorization/ Dualities And Oneness Because of Confucius’ Rectifications of Names (Fung, 1948), the role each person needs to play appears to have a lot of categorization (groupings); and love starts from loving one’s parents and family members first; and then extend out to love one’s neighbors and further extend to one’s community and society. In Taoism, there is this seeking or search for Oneness and no dualities or differentiation between animals and humans or humans and nature. Let me explain. First of all, humans need to widen their mind and horizons. Humans often live and experience reality conceptually. We do not see things afresh and anew every time we look at them; instead, we create categories and let things fall into them, which is an easy and more convenient way of dealing with the world. Apart from the smaller things, such as defining a flower as a rose, a vase as a Chinese Ming vase, an antique, or a person as a teacher, there are wider categories (groupings or types) under which everyone lives, including religions, beliefs, ideologies, and systems of government. Each category or type supplies us a level of psychological certainty and saves us  from the effort of constantly challenging our own beliefs. Take for example, humans often divide animals into ‘favorites’ or ‘pets’ and ‘domestic/ farm animals’ so that we can feel alright loving one and eating or consuming the other. Franklin Publishing Company www. franklinpublishing. net Conflict Resolution Negotiation (Volume 2011 Issue 4)121 Mindlessness, on one hand, is when there is no focus and occurs when humans are conditioned or at least not know that the categories to which they subscribe are categories and have accepted them as their own without really thinking, understanding and/or experiencing it. Breaking away from, reassessing old groupings and being able to see outside one’s (individual/ in-box) subjective context (seeing the wider, collective/ out-of-the-box/ objective context) is mindfulness. We should indeed be perceiving things in un-habitual ways, and thus we’ll grow. On the other hand, when we are mindful, we will not be stereotyping and boxing things up, we’ll be in line with nature as things are transient and they also change. When we are mindful, we are breaking away from our egos and categories and in fact get closer to nature or Tao, the Universe. Then again, one can also argue that both Confucianism and Taoism are, in a way, common in terms of the pursuits of the Tao (as said under the Commonalities of Confucianism and Taoism section), and the differences lies in their starting points, from subjectivity to universality for Confucianism and from mindlessness to mindfulness for Taoism. 3. 4 Filial Piety And Nature Confucianism urges the people to respect their parents and the old. They are to take care of their parents, maintaining good links with them while upholding the value of filial piety (xiao). In the Confucian language, filial piety (xiao) means serving one’s living parents, and thus, resulting in the five (5) vital relationships in the Confucian Teaching, that is, the relationships between: i. ii. iii. iv. v. the royalty/prince and subject. father and son. older and younger brother. husband and wife. friend and friend. Filial piety embraces those attitudes of respect for one’s seniors and a reciprocal attitude of love and affection on the seniors part to the junior. After the death of one’s parents, it involves religious obligations in ceremonial worship. Franklin Publishing Company www. franklinpublishing. net Conflict Resolution Negotiation (Volume 2011 Issue 4)122 Taoism, on the other hand, emphasizes ‘going with the flow’, maintaining good links and in oneness with the Nature, Heaven or the Universe. In Taoism, we learn from nature – a flower falls even though we love it, and weed grows even though we do not love it. We love the animals and creatures around us. And we do not interfere yet we are contented; after all, there is a season and reason for everything; and everything has its place; just let it be. By accepting things as they are, we become impartial or unaffected. It is good to follow the natural order (Low, 2010b). In following nature, we are in harmony with nature. There is no or little stress. We sit quietly†¦ do nothing. Spring comes and grass grows by itself. Besides, a known yet significant point to note is that nature does not hurry yet everything is achieved. 3. 5 Rites And Beyond Rites Or Rigidity Versus Flexibility Confucius introduced rites/terms of reference to ensure people comply with the system. This is somewhat rigid; however, on many occasions, he would allow people to modify, change and improve the rites accordingly. For example, on one occasion, Confucius highlighted that according to the traditional rites, ceremonial hats were made out of hemp; these days people make them out of silk, he approved of the common practice since this, after all, is more economical † (Confucius – The Analects, Chapter IX, verse 3). Lao Tzu was flexible in his teachings, and he did not introduce or follow any system such as the rites proposed by Confucius. He instead encouraged people to lead a simple life, following the natural ways of living and remain detached to the world like a newly born infant who has not yet learnt to smile. (Tao Te Ching, Verse 20). To analyze further, we can say that people in the world consists of different personalities, and some people are so used to or prefer a structure, a sort of checklist or a religious (structured) approach to doing things (In Myers-Briggs Type Indicator: MBTI terms: Thinking; Judging Franklin Publishing Company www. franklinpublishing. net Conflict Resolution Negotiation (Volume 2011 Issue 4)123 Types) while others may prefer a less structured approach to doing things (In Myers-Briggs Type Indicator: MBTI terms: Feeling; Intuitive/ Perceiving Types). They like to move, adjusting along the way, rather than an immediate structured, ordered way, all the way through till the end or completion. In Confucianism, rites give structure, stability and continuity. Rites are necessary since they provide the basis of practices as well as more importantly, standards. Confucius also stressed the need for rituals and music. For Confucius, ‘sacrifice as if present’ is taken to mean ‘sacrifice to the gods as if the gods were present. ’ The Master, however, said, ‘Unless I take part in a sacrifice, it is as if I did not sacrifice. ’ (Confucius –The Analects, Chapter III verse 12). Taoism goes beyond rites, ‘going with the flow’; and like the quality of water, flexibility is also applied. Chairman Mao Zedong once quoted Lao Tzu, â€Å"Fortune lies in misfortune and vice versa. † In other words, the Taoist practitioner is often mindful of the fact that in every misfortune lies the seed of fortune, and in every fortune lies the seed of misfortune; and given a situation, (s)he is to flexibly apply the ‘right’ approach. 3. 6 Learning And Unlearning. In Confucianism, learning and education is indeed critical (Low, 2010; 2010a). Confucius stressed very much on learning and he himself set an example of continuous learning throughout his life. â€Å"The Master said, ‘At fifteen, I set my heart on learning; at thirty I took my stand; at forty I came to be free from doubts; at fifty I understood the Decree of Heaven; at sixty my ear was attuned; at seventy I followed my heart’s desire without overstepping the line. ’† (Confucius – The Analects, Chapter II, verse 4). Confucius stressed on learning; learning prevents one from being narrow-minded. For Confucius, it is important for individuals to learn. He used learning to correct his mistakes and improve himself, and he in fact considered Junzi (a gentleman/lady) as a person eager to study. Confucius said, â€Å"The gentleman seeks neither a full belly nor a comfortable home. He is quick in Franklin Publishing Company www. franklinpublishing. net Conflict Resolution Negotiation (Volume 2011 Issue 4)124 action but cautious in speech. He goes to men possessed of the Way to be put right. Such a man can be described as eager to learn. † Overall then, the Confucians see it as bad to eat one’s fill all day long, and do nothing to nourish the mind. † (Low, 2010, 2008). On the other hand, Taoism stresses on unlearning (perhaps even undoing bureaucracy or procedures), and here it can be seen as being simple is both wise and good. Lao Tzu encouraged people to unlearn their learning for then they would not have any anxiety (Tao Te Ching, Verse 20). Simplicity is indeed embraced and it is wise not to overemphasize or complicate things (Low, 2009). To the Taoists, the Confucian’s pursuit of knowledge has divided people and things (creating distinctions and differences between men and animals/ other creatures) as well as having complicated life; they also argue that it can also cause contention for profits and fame. Life is indeed simple, and it is good not to over do things; when eating just eat and when sleeping, just sleep; and in living, just live. More so, one cannot learn with an occupied mind, one cannot fill a full cup unless it’s emptied; one should not overanalyze too. Lao Tzu speaks of â€Å"stop thinking and end your problems† (Verse 20, Tao de ching). Figure 2: shows a summary of key differences between Confucianism and Taoism Human Living and Spirituality Practicality And Esotericism Groupings, Categorization and Non-Categorization/ Dualities And Oneness Filial Piety And Nature Rites And Beyond Rites Or Rigidity Versus Flexibility Learning And Unlearning 4 Conclusion Both Confucianism and Taoism, having been home-grown in China and developed in almost total isolation from the rest of the world, have played a major role in the country’s three thousand Franklin Publishing Company www. franklinpublishing. net. Conflict Resolution Negotiation (Volume 2011 Issue 4)125 years of history. And perhaps the world and the people can learn, apply and adapt the finer points and wisdom of Confucianism and Taoism into their lives. And to paraphrase Yu Dan (2009: 187), wherever we are, we can let the spiritual power of Confucianism and/or Taoism combine with our present laws and rules, fusing seamlessly together to become an essential part of our lives, to let each of us build for ourselves a truly worthwhile life. This is surely the ultimate significance of Confucius and/or Taoism in our lives today. References Confucius (1915) (Contributors: Dawson, Miles Menander) The ethics of Confucius: The sayings of the Master and his disciples upon the conduct of â€Å"The Superior Man†. G. P. Putnam’s Sons: New York. Fung, Y. L. (1948) A short history of Chinese philosophy, The Free Press: New York. Lau, D. C. (1979) Confucius The Analects (Lun Yu), The Penguin Books: England. Li, Y. Y. (1996) Chinese traditional values and characteristics of Chinese health behavior. (in Chinese) Chinese psychology and therapy, Laureate Book Co. : Taipei. Low, K. C. P. (forthcoming) ‘Confucian ethics’ in Idowu, S. O. (ed. ), (2011) Encyclopedia of corporate social responsibility, Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag Low, K. C. P. (2010) ‘Values make a leader, the Confucian perspective’, Insights to a changing world journal, Volume 2010 Issue 2, p. 13 – 28. Low, K. C. P. (2010a) ‘Teaching and Education: the ways of Confucius’, Educational research, December 2010 Special issues, p. 681- 686. Franklin Publishing Company www. franklinpublishing. net Conflict Resolution Negotiation (Volume 2011 Issue 4)126 Low, K. C. P. (2010b) â€Å"Zen and leadership – Growing one’s leadership excellence†, Insights to a changing world, Volume 2010 Issue 1, p. 1 10. Low, K. C. P. (2009) ‘Lao Tzu’s three treasures, leadership organizational growth’, Leadership organizational management journal, Volume 2009, Issue 3, p 27 – 36. Low, K. C. P. (2008) ‘Value-based leadership: Leading, the Confucian way’, Leadership organizational management journal, Volume 2008 Issue 3, p. 32 – 41. Low, K. C. P. (2008a) ‘Leadership thoughts to ponder – Some classic sins of leadership’, Leadership organizational management journal, Volume 2008 Issue 4, p. 65 75. Low, K. C. P. (2008b) ‘Father leadership and small businesses in Singapore – Case revisited’, Leadership and organization management journal (LOM), Vol. 2008 Issue 3, p. 68 82. Low, K. C. P. (2008c) ‘Confucian ethics social responsibility – The golden rule responsibility to the stakeholders’, Ethics critical thinking journal, Volume 2008 Issue 4, p. 46 54. Low, K. C. P. and Ang, S. L. (2010), ‘Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)’, Chinese Medicine, Vol. 1 No. 3 (Dec 2010) p. 84 90, (Published Online http://www. SciRP. org/journal/cm). Low, K.

Development of the Childs Brain

Development of the Childs Brain Early Childhood Development (ECD): A step towards a better future Shamsa Amin Hussaini Gifted with countless skills and abilities, every child enters this world with a fresh, fertile, sponge-like brain, ready to be exploited. The critical years of every child begins from the conception through birth to the 8 years of age and according to developmental psychology, this is the time of significant physical, cognitive, social and emotional development for every person. Incidents and experience in these first few years of life, and even before birth leave their impressions throughout children’s life, signifying the influence of external environment on a child’s development. Dr. Hiam Ginnot says, â€Å"Children are like wet cement. Whatever falls on them makes an impression.† Therefore, these early years are said to be the best time for children to learn and should be maximized to lay a foundation of a brighter future. The explosion of research in this area of Early Childhood Development (ECD) has gained public attention and has become a topic for discus sion. Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Missouri (2012), states that researches over the years indicate that significant short-term and long-term benefits are gained by children who participated in early education programs. Additionally, three meta-analyses of over 120 research studies indicate that around eighty percent children with ECD programs scored better on school entry as compared to those who did not experience such programs. Moreover, Tribune (2013) reveals that globally the enrolment in primary school has increased,from fifty-three percent in 1990 to eighty-one percent in 2011.This signifies the benefit of ECD children are receiving. However, there are a lot of people who are unaware of this knowledge or do not make ECD initiatives a part of their lives and eventually remain deprived of its benefits. According to UNICEF (2013), each year, 7.6 million children under the age of five die worldwide and more than two-hundred million children do not reach their full potentials. This in turn makes their countries lose approximately twenty percent of the adult productivity. Besides, in Pakistan there exist a lack of significant data and statistics about ECD implementation, however, it was reported that about 86 children every 1000 live births were reported to die in 2012 (Tribune, 2014) and no one knows how many of the living children may not have achieved their developmental milestones. Researchers have proved that a positive Early Childhood Development can open a world of possibilities and opportunities for a child but many children in Pakistan are never exposed to it. Similar to Pakistan, there are several other developing countries where children less than eight years are suffers multiple things which negatively influences their development. There could be several reasons due to which many children are unable to maximize their potentials in developing countries like Pakistan. These may include poverty, gender biasness, economic status, e thnicity, disability and poor health. All these factors prevent these innocent beings from receiving adequate nutrition, care and opportunities to learn as their environment is non-stimulating for a positive growth. Such circumstances make the poor families focus on keeping their children fed and neglecting the other cognitive, health, emotional and social needs of their children. Concurrently, researches prove that children without exposure to ECD programs lack in their social, emotional and cognitive skills. Therefore, the significance of this issue in countries like Pakistan cannot be denied. . If these children are provided with appropriate Early Childhood Development, may become a source of the country’s development in future and bring prosperity. This article aims to provide a basic understanding about Early Childhood Development, its statistics, the importance of investing in it and the ways to promote it within the society. Understanding of Early Childhood Development varies from people to people and is affected by several factors including local and family traditions, culture, national policies, schooling systems, awareness etc. However, increasing discussions about early childhood activities and development had familiarized people with the concept to some extent. ECD is not just confined to schooling and education, but, it is concerned with holistic well-being of a child. While it stresses on providing a joyful learning environment at schools, it also caters child’s health, nutrition and hygiene. ECD also entails cognitive, social, physical and emotional development. Therefore, Early Childhood Development may not just be conducted at school environment or a formal setting, it may occur at an informal setting as well, provided by anyone from governmental organizations (NGOs), governmental organizations to communities and parents. Literature reveals that the major concept behind the ECD programs is that every child is unique with different growth and developmental needs to be addressed. Moreover, ECD programs does not just develop children, it also compensates for any kind of negative influences or experiences in any aspect of life like social, emotional, nutritive, cognitive et cetera. In addition, ECD also supports Child Rights Convention, according to which every child has a right to be provided with opportunities to develop his personality and his mental and physical abilities. Scientific researchers have proved that about ninety percent of the brain develops by the age of five years and during early childhood, genetics, environment and experiences together work to build integrated circuits in the brain. Additionally, a stimulating environment, adequate nutrients and social interaction are said to be the major requirement for optimal brain development. ECD programs focus on these factors and emphasizes on providing stimulating environments to children ad meet all their needs for the betterment of their future lives. However, children’s development is often ignored in our society where they are seen as smaller versions of adults due to which advances in physical, psychological and social development remains unimportant. The normal development of children is categorized into three aspects; physical, psychological and emotional. Physically, the rate of development increases as children passes infancy. With increasing age children develop different gross and fine motor skills. As discussed earlier, both genetic and environmental factors affect the child’s normal development. Growth of a child depends on certain hormones in the body. The particular hormone responsible for physical development of a child is sensitive to environmental stressors. Environment with less stress and more care, love and stimulation favors the growth of children. Thus, environmental factors play a significant role in children’s physical development. Apart from physical, normal psychological development of children includes cognitive and emotional development. Psychologist, Jean Piaget adequately explains the cognitive development during childhood. According to him children play an active role in gaining, constructing and understanding the knowledge of the world. He developed four stages of children’s cognitive development. According to which, early cognitive development involves processes based upon actions whereas in later stages there are changes in mental operations of children. As they grow, their thinking becomes logical, abstract and their learning abilities improve. Moreover, children begin to use deductive reasoning and abstract ideas as their age increases. Also, children experience enhanced concentration, judgment and attention span with age. In addition to cognition, children also exhibit emotional development like increase in self-awareness and feeling empathy and pain. Further, children begin to appreciate the feelings and perceptions of others, contributing to their moral development. Hence, psychological development enhances children’s moral reasoning and abilities. Furthermore, children’s social development occurs as they grow and come in contact with the people around them. This aspect of their development includes relationship of child with their parents, siblings and friends. Literature underlines that early relationships with caregivers play a major role in children’s development and continue to influence social relationships throughout life. According to psychologist Albert Bandura, children learn new behaviors from people each time when they interact with their social environment. By observing the actions of others, they tend to develop new skills and acquire new information which they practice later. Also, with increasing age, children become more socially active and participate in different activities where they have hands-on experiences, helping in developing higher brain functioning. Also, children love to play different games and as they grow, they move from solitary state to playing in groups and respecting others†™ opinions. ECD is an initiative which aids the normal development of children and fulfils their developmental milestones that are related to their physical, social and emotional aspect. It also guarantees outstanding returns not just for the individual alone but for the society and the country too. Therefore, the developing countries are seen to support the idea as it provides them, a hope of overcoming the darkness of poverty and other problems. Also, literature says that learning experiences in early years of life has lasting impacts on the holistic well-being of an individual and the development missed at this stage can hardly be replaced in later life. And if replaced, it is expensive and challenging, therefore, Early Childhood Development should be focused as a preventive and secure measure for each child. Arguments exist that children have always grown up to be intelligent and reliable young adults without the benefits of an intentionally planned proper early childhood development programs. But in today’s vast and challenging world there is a need to provide children with environment of learning opportunities so that our future generation could grow up into successful people and in turn benefit our country. For the same, several initiatives have been taken at community, national and international levels. UNESCO and UNICEF are two of the several international organizations which work to close the knowledge gap and promote ECD initiatives throughout the world to improve children’s life. Furthermore, it has been observed that in developing countries, effective ECD facilities and services are available mostly to the high profile and rich areas leaving the poor deprived and dwelling in the cycle of poverty. However, there are still several governmental and NGOs working throug hout Pakistan, in urban and rural areas, to benefit the population with ECD initiatives in all aspects. Some of them are; Ali Institute of Education, Aga Khan Development Network, Children’s Global Network for Pakistan, HOPE, and PAHVNA, Health and Nutrition Development Society. Even though organizations are working to promote ECD programs in Pakistan yet, a lot needs to be done. We need to ensure that the possibilities of the world remain open to every child and this could be achieved by providing a safe stimulating environment in early childhood. Today’s children are the future of every nation; they will become tomorrow’s citizens, workers, and parents. So, society, parents and government should invest wisely in ECD initiatives as they play a vital role in preparing the younger generations for a lifetime of productivity and prosperity. Several strategies could be adapted to progress towards the goal of providing healthier learning experiences both at home and in community too. Primarily, parents need to be aware of the concept of ECD and its importance as they control their children’s life. They should be empowered to nurture their child’s development and in absence of professional ECD programs and services, parents could independently be a source of a positive early childhood development for their child by paying attention to young children’s emotional, social, cognitive and health needs. Community, governmental and NGOs could do this through informative programs, advertisements, discussions and parents’ education initiatives. Moreover, society at large needs to be educated about importance and benefits of investing in ECD programs as well. For the purpose of spreading awareness and knowledge, not just amongst parents but also for the society as a whole, media could be beneficial as it reaches out to large number of people at diverse places, belonging to different cultures, in shorter time. Besides, adopting interventions respecting the economic, social and cultural aspects of the community would make it easier for the community people to accept and practice them, ultimately promoting Early Childhood Development. For example, healthcare professionals could support parents to integrate their child-rearing practices with the recent, scientific recommended approaches to bring up their child more efficiently. Additionally, teachers should be empowered and informed about ways to blend the concept of ECD with their teaching learning practices. This could be done through training programs, supervisions, and monitoring children’s development with time. Moreover, community people could be empowered to establish low-cost community based centers in order to enhance the development of the children in the particular community. Apart from community, NGOs and government together could play a vital role in promoting ECD throughout the society. They could join hands and work in partnership to pro vide holistic ECD services to the country. Furthermore, at governmental level, policy initiatives like promoting rich learning environment for young children can provide a basis for their future productivity and success in the society. As highlighted above, low socioeconomic status is one of the factors leading to ineffective childhood development of several children in Pakistan. Therefore, there exists a need to adopt simple, cost-effective measures which could be implemented at home or anywhere to promote a healthier ECD and minimize the negative effects of the economic status. In community, ECD can be best promoted by mother, family especially grandmothers and cousins. Mothers could engage their children in different activities at home like playing with objects, singing poem, showing colorful pictures, making origami or involving children in fruits or vegetable identification. These activities can help in promoting children’s cognitive development. Also, children love to play with their grandparents, who can tell stories to the kids and play with them at free time. The more children listen to people, they improve their own language and vocabulary, so, communication and storytelling can help parents develo p language skills of their children. Moreover, parents could be trained regarding different activities they could plan for their child at home. Besides, physical development of children could be achieved though several ways including provision of proper nutrition. All in all, children’s growth and development should be a primary focus of community as well as government as these young people are the ones who will form the workforce of the country in the near future. To bring about prosperity and success, every individual needs to get active. One should start with his own home; one simple act can create a big effect. It is hoped that a better understanding about the rapidly growing concept of Early Childhood Development can ignite a thought to work for ECD of children at every level possible. Today, when the world is speedily moving ahead, there is a compelling need for the adults to choose and act wisely to create better, competitive and capable individuals within the available, limited resources in Pakistan. Therefore, make a wise decision, support and invest in Early Childhood Development programs to nurture optimal growth and development of the children in our country. References http://www.unicef.org/publications/files/Inequities_in_Early_Childhood_Development_LoRes_PDF_EN_02082012.pdf Download – national scientific council RCC http://www.successdegrees.com/inspirationalquotesaboutearlychildhoodeducationandteaching.html http://www.unicef.org/earlychildhood/index_40748.html http://nowforlater.org/files/2013/03/The-Facts.pdf http://data.worldbank.org/country/pakistan http://tribune.com.pk/story/665437/at-8-6-pakistan-is-among-countries-with-highest-infant-mortality-unicef-report/ http://books.google.com.pk/books?hl=enlr=id=sTuWAgAAQBAJoi=fndpg=PA339dq=physical+development+of+childots=rVCJYirUYrsig=uz_4SqhKfY2mRUI6sVu1E3pHxfo#v=onepageq=physical%20development%20of%20childf=false http://bernard.pitzer.edu/~dmoore/psych199s03articles/bjorklund.pdf

The Political Communication Of India

The Political Communication Of India In the early years of Indian Independence political communication was considered to be addressing peaceful rallies and dropping election pamphlets from a plane to persuade the Indian Voter. The post liberalization has already seen three paradigm shifts, Firstly the Nehruvian Socialism in the 1960s, then the hard lined discipline of Indira Gandhi and economic freedom in the 1990s. the liberalization of the Indian economy has changed the way of communication ranging from cable television to telecommunication and then bringing on to the online platform. Earlier the communication during elections used to take place in rallies and depended a lot on politicians interpersonal skills. But the political parties are soon realizing the importance of this Digital Era to connect with the youth of the country. The Political parties know that the youth are going in the transformation from Digital Migrants to Digital Natives. They are present with their true identities on the Digital platform. This requires the political parties of India to adopt methods which have been never adopted before. In the recently hard fought Lok Sabha Elections of 2009, all major political parties of India had hired Ad and Media Agencies to manage their Brand Image. Understanding Political Communication Political communication is a sub-field of political science and communication that deals with the production, dissemination, procession and effects of information, both through media and interpersonally, within a political context. This includes all usage of Media, speeches by politicians, Opinion leaders in the community to influence the decision process and it also includes the formal and informal discussions in the general public. The Study of Political Communication revolves around 3 basic elements. The Political Party The Voter The Medium of communication The Political Party As per the Ace Electoral Network, A political party is defined as an organised group of people with at least roughly similar political aims and opinions, that seeks to influence public policy by getting its candidates elected to public office. Political parties perform key tasks in a democratic society, such as Aggregating and articulating needs and problems as identified by members and supporters Socialising and educating voters and citizens in the functioning of the political and electoral system and the generation of general political values Balancing opposing demands and converting them into general policies Activating and mobilising citizens into participating in political decisions and transforming their opinions into viable policy options Channelling public opinion from citizens to government To perform these above mentioned key tasks, the political party should be able to communicate their objective clearly to their Voters. With the increase in the number of mediums a party can use to communicate with their voter, a consistency in the communication objective should be must. Communication objective is derived from the Brand Proposition the party wants to display to the general public. Harrop (1990) perceives political marketing as being not just about political advertising, party political broadcasts and electoral speeches but covering the whole area of party positioning in the electoral market. Maarek (1995) conceptualises political marketing as a complex process, the outcome of a more global effort implicating all the factors of the politicians political communication. Maarek explained the Difference between commercial marketing and political marketing. Figure 1: Commercial and Political Marketing, two parallel strategies. In the above figure Maarek tries to point out the difference between Commercial Marketing and Political Marketing. Such a parallel cannot be drawn, as a partys product consists not of its political communications but of: a) Its ideological platform and its set of policy proposals. b) The party leader, the candidates and party officials. In Maareks view, political marketing has become an integral and vital component of political communication. In his words: Political communicationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦encompasses the entire marketing process, from preliminary market study to testing and targeting. The Voter The aim of any type of communication is to convince the receiver. All marketers try to convince their customers about the product. Here the marketer is the political party and the customer is the voter. But there are certain differences between mainstream marketing and political marketing with respect to the voter. Lock and Harris (1996) identify four main differences between mainstream and political marketing: All voters vote on the same day, everyone makes choice as per their own methods or requirements There is no cost attached to casting a mandate for a particular party, therefore no cost when considered from an individual point of view but a very huge cost from a societys point of view. Even though you must have voted for a particular party, even though its not elected ,you will have to live with it. There is no choice to vote for a political party or the candidate, basically the service given is unbundled. The candidate and the political party both are generally taken into consideration while making the choice. The main role of PR activities is to improve the perception of the political party or the candidate. Today political parties are involved highly in PR activities during elections; the Bhartiya Janata Party had the India Shining campaign in 2004 which triggered a new PR era in Indian Politics. The Congress party ran the Secular campaign successfully in 2009. No political party has left any stone unturned in the field of PR, whether it is print or television or even digital. The Indian Voter today is exposed to a minimum of three different kinds of medium in a day, it is important to reach out to this person when its most effective. It is very difficult to improve the perception of the candidate or the party in a short term; it requires a long term perspective with a consistent proposition to the voter. The Medium The early beginnings of democratic thought in the eighteenth century, political philosophers have recognized the crucial role of un-inhibited public debate and free speech, which was later, extended to the demand for a free press (Voltmer, 2007)The notion of a marketplace of ideas is based on the liberal belief that no single agency be allowed to have the last say on the course of politics. Rather, it is through public exchange of argument and counter-argument that the truth eventually emerges (Mill 1859, reprinted 1974). From the perspective of the marketplace of ideas argument, the media are usually assigned a more passive role, serving as a forum where a variety of groups and individuals are given the opportunity to express their views. Arguably the mass media serve as the main link between governments, political parties, candidates, etc. and voters, as the opportunities for direct communication between citizens and their representatives are extremely limited both in terms of the scale of the audience reached and the scope of the issues covered. However, the media are not just channels conveying the messages politicians want them to communicate to voters. They are also active participants in the creation of political messages (Cook 1998). In a democracy like India, The medium of communication is the single most important factor through which political parties reach out to the people. Political Speeches, coverage, events are all part of the medium of communication. Even hate speeches, rally by political parties only make sense if they are reported by the print or the television medium. In the print there are articles that report the unfolding of different events through the day, the television has live screening of interviews and events. As film stars became popular figures in Indian politics, movies became an important medium of political communication. This all is the part of the medium through which political marketing talks place. Today the digital medium is yet another medium which cannot be ignored by any political party. Blogs, Social media, websites, email, viral marketing and websites itself has brought about a paradigm shift in ways political parties could present itself to the voter. The print and television mediums are generally active only during election campaigns but the digital medium is generally active all through the year. The Digital Medium: The Game Changer Not so long ago, Television and Print were the mainstays of most marketers media plans with radio and outdoor and a few other things filling in the gaps where appropriate. Even with the emergence of the internet in the late nineties television commercials were heavily favored by the dotcoms as the way to build their brands. The internet is now over a decade, its certainly isnt new .In fact, any product that advertised itself as new ten years on would be laughed at or even sued by the authorities . Today Digital channels are mass and mainstream reaching global audiences. For example in some markets, a popular website can reach a staggering part of the population. Its not just the big portals or social networking sites that command large audiences. Perez Hilton, the web king reaches an estimated 5 million people daily via the blog. (David Meerman ,2004) While digital channels are now mass, they can also be extremely targeted allowing for singular interactions with consumers. This is one of the defining benefits of new media. Marketing through the digital platform can be extremely personalized in many ways. Personal Emails or SMSes might be tailor made to suit every individual needs. They can be content differentiation also, as different mailers could be sent to different individuals based on their likes and dislikes. New Media are essentially social. Everything in digital format can be easily replied to by everyone. The best part of digital medium, that it can be viral. Any exciting piece of communication through the digital medium can be easily replicated and produced in the same form. There are basically two types of Digital Marketing. The first one is the pull strategy and the second is the push strategy. The pull strategy basically consists of attracting consumers/visitors to a particular website or a blog or even watching a video (youtube). Here the initiative is on the consumer to visit the particular digital platform. The pull strategy requires a substantial marketing budget as the numbers of competitors are more. Also the pull strategy does not allow you to be personalized to the user, as the same content is viewed by all viewers. The push strategy basically consists of sending emails and SMSes to the target audiences. The push strategy could be extremely personalized, for example a polit ical party could send in different SMSes to people of a region affected by floods and a different message to people affected by Naxal issues. Use of Internet as a Political Communication Tool The internet is a perfect example of customer centricity in political communication. The internet acts as a one stop platform for people to interact with politicians, discuss their problems. The primary problem in India was that people were finding it tough to connect with politicians except during elections when politicians wanted their mandate. The internet as a platform itself can act as a connection tool for the people with the politicians. But internet is not utilized to its true potential; internet is often seen as a tool to spread awareness about a politician or a political party. (David Meerman ,2004) Before the internet platform emerged, it was believed that the people would go to the administration for help or issues, but the internet could give way to a system which would bring the government and political parties to the people. The focus of the internet could be to generate efficiency in the system which will indirectly benefit the government. But the important thing with the internet is that the tool works best when the consumer uses it for a dialogue and not a monologue. Online tools There are a variety of tools available today for use of political communication. These tools are generally used by the people for entertainment or networking purposes. These tools can consist of blogs, social networking sites, news sites, video streaming and group sites. These tools can be used by have great political applicability. These tools can be used to generate public attention and also to act as points of salience. The internet is generally open systems and are accessible all public. The internet today has no dependency on computers as the internet can be accessed through mobiles. Every tool present on the web today has a specific use and can be used to target niche audiences. Importance of youth in elections The analysts believe that the segment of youth would be the most critical in the forthcoming elections. Unfortunately this segment has registered a dismal participation in the elections upto this point. This segment of youth is identified as being rationale and will be having the capability of taking decisions. This segment can easily identify the right and wrong between things, they understand the importance to cast votes in elections too; the only thing that is lacking is a platform to connect with this target audience. The political parties today should be involved in giving out communication messages which are more relevant in times of today. The youth of today feel that they are disconnected with politics just because of the lack of use of appropriate communication tools by the political parties. That is why it is very important to understand the consumption of messages by this segment. Understanding the Psyche of the Indian youth in Elections The Indian youth is one of the largest segments of the Indian Society; they surpass any other segments present in the Indian Voting Canvas. In the recent Lok Sabha elections of 2009, the voting percentage among the youth was an abysmal 20%. The influencers in the case of youth are their parents, if the parents decide to cast their vote then the youth generally follow them otherwise they dont cast their vote. Most of the youth today does not find it intriguing enough to talk about politics, the trend is slowly changing but it is still an urban phenomenon. Most of the youth today look at the Election Day as a holiday; they generally plan out long weekend holidays on account of election days. The youth of today believe in the saying Be the change, they volunteer to NGOs and help other organization, they firmly deem that rather than relying on politicians or political parties, they themselves take the onus of changing the landscape of this country. Generally Youth does not cast their vote on the pretext of saying that their vote does not make a difference. The youth of today in the range of 20- 25 years, have seen all the major political parties at the centre (1996 2009), so the feeling of nothing changing in the Indian Landscape is pretty evident. The youth also believe in the fact that they have never been asked to vote. When researched this led to the vicious cycle phenomenon in Indian Politics, the Indian urban segment and youth are the two segments which generally registers the lowest amount of voting percentages. This is the primary reason why politicians and political parties pay very less or no attention to them. Due to no attention to them the youth do not get any personalized or communication that makes relevance to their life during election days. Many youth of today feel that the process of casting votes is a tedious one, as one never know how to register and when and where to vote. Before the Jaago re campaign, th ere was no particular online platform which educated the youth about the process of casting votes. Need and Rationale for the Study Changing voter profile of the country The voter profile of this country is fast changing, the faster the political parties adopt the change, better will be the results for the political party in the Long run. Media fragmented As the media of today is getting more and more fragmented, the traditional means of reaching the voter might not work, and innovative means of reaching the same voter might be needed. Americanization of Politics in India Learning from the recently concluded Americas Presidential elections, the use of social media had been used exhaustively along with other online tools. This can pave the way of the changing political propaganda as it takes place today Research Design Literature Review Knowledge and Learnings Content Analysis of Websites Conclusion/ Recommendation Learnings Expert Interviews Research Objectives Following are the research objectives: To analyze and compare the websites of different political parties and understand their offering in the digital medium To analyze the different promotional activities done by political parties on the digital platform. Research Methodology Information gathered through data published, websites, reports. The books and articles for reference would be sourced from the KEIC library of Mudra Institute of Communications, Ahmedabad In -Depth interviews would be conducted with professionals from the digital marketing industry and the people responsible for PR of political parties. Content Analysis of Websites would be done of the websites of the major political parties of India The content analysis of websites will be done on several labels like Information on the website, Informing the people, engagement with people, appeal to people , media releases given on the website and transparency achieved by the website Content Analysis in general is conducted in several discrete stages. Although the following stages are given in sequence, they need not be followed in the same order. Formulate the research question : Analyzing and comparing websites of different political parties in India ( Four national parties are taken in the consideration set) Define the population in question: The population would be all the data that is available on the internet about these political parties. Select an appropriate sample from the population: The sample for population would be the websites of these parties. (Official websites) Select and define a unit of analysis: The unit of analysis would be the pages on the website. Each page would be analysed from the website. The units would be : Information of the web site Interaction with People Appeal to the people Service to the people Media Coverage and Public Relations Transparency Sampling A panel of experts from the digital marketing industry would be chosen with their political knowledge in mind. For selecting the panel snowball sampling would be used The sample for selection of websites would be of the four national political parties of India Research Questions Some sample questions which would be asked to the panel of experts would be as follows How important do you feel is the online platform in todays age for political parties? Describe what is the appropriate time for political parties to use the online platform? Where is the online platform best likely to fit in the entire process of political propaganda? Could you tell us some campaigns which u liked/disliked by political parties? What would be the extent of use of online platform in political campaigns, five years down the line? Limitations Confidential information would be withheld as the topic of research is sensitive subject which is politics Data Collection The data collection was done in two phases for the Four National Parties of India. This was decided by the number of seats won by each of these parties in the recently concluded General Elections. The initial data was collected on January 5 January 7 2010. This data was recorded in an Excel sheet based on the selected variables. After this interviews were taken with the Media / PR heads o the respective political parties. This helped me in cross checking and validating their claims about the website and also to help me fill in gaps during my initial collection. Also a link analysis was done to check the traffic for these websites during the election period, as these links are more active during election periods. Data and Analysis The research would be done on the following websites: National Party Website URL Indian National Congress (INC) http://www.congress.org.in/ http://www.congress4india.com/ Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) http://www.bjp.org/ http://www.bjpindia.in/ Samajwadi Party (SP) http://www.samajwadipartyindia.com/ http://www.spmumbai.org/index.aspx Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) http://bspindia.org/ http://www.bahujansamajparty.net/ The Research was done on two websites of each political party. The first data collection was carried out on January 5 January 7 2010 and the second data collection was done between February 5 February 7 2010. The purpose was to find if the websites were updated. In all cases however the content was not changed. Findings of the Research The political parties have yet not realized the importance of the updates of the websites. They did not update the sites on a day to day basis, although it is technologically possible to update the contents in real time today. The sites of the Indian National Congress and the Bhartiya Janata Party are more updated than the Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party. There are more than 32 features on the INC website put together compared to 29 of the BJP party. The Samajwadi party and BSP havent updated their sites since a very long time; they have far less features than compared to the counterparts. The better contents and updates in the BJP site could be attributed to the experience of the BJP elections n 20004. New Media including internet was used extensively during the elections of 2004. BJP has hired a New Media agency for handling only their New Media campaigns in 2009. INC lagged behind in the use of internet during the elections so far and appeared to have attempted to catch up with the BJP. BJP has sites for all the states of India; these are for the local communication in the state. BJP had the India Shining campaign as the theme in which the party had extensively used New Media. Language of the Content of Website Maharashtra state has the local language called Marathi and Gujarat has Gujarati. There are 71, 936,894 (6.99% of the total population) Marathi Speaking people in India where as 46,091,617 (4.48% of total population) people of India speak Gujarati. This is against 90,000,000 (10.66% of total population) in India. Yet the parties have totally neglected the regional language. No one has given regional font for download. Campaign Strategists bank heavily on the local language to write text for bills, posters, billboards, and advertisements etc. Hence logically they should write contents of the sites in local languages to reach majority voters. However this study revealed that the sites depended only on English. None of the all the eight websites of political parties in Maharashtra and Gujarat had site analytics , date of the last update of the website and site map. The date for last updating is necessary in some situations. For Example political parties announce their candidates for elections in two three phases or more. They announce various lists and it changes even after announcements. If the date of last updating is given, the visitors of site can easily come to know whether it is an odd list or the latest one. This happens with other types of content too. Site Map is a feature that helps the user to easily locate the needed information on that site. They also act as a navigation aid by providing an overview of sites content at a single glance. If the number of links is very large, the site map helps visitors to access all content on the site. Webmaster: Details of the webmaster (email, phone or fax) are necessary because a visitor can write to him/her in case the site or part of it does not function. All sites had Telephone number to only the head quarters and no region wise contacts. All sites had given the indication of a copyright. This prohibited others from using the website content for free. Visitors counter is another feature which is neglected by these sites , the visitor counter helps getting everyone an idea about the popularity and utility of the site. Unit Analysis of Websites Information of the party Indian National Congress The site of the Indian National Congress had given Information about the history of the party , the latest manifesto, List of candidates and the current Office bearers. Bhartiya Janata Party The Bhartiya Janata Party had given Information about the Organisational Structure of the Party, History of the party, List of states under BJP rule and the current list of Member of Parliament Samajwadi Party The Samajwadi party had given information regarding the performance of the party in the recent elections and the list of candidates for the Lok Sabha Elections in 2009. There was no mention of any kind of History of the party and the party manifesto Bahujan Samaj Party The Bahujan Samaj party website was more focuses only on current activities of the party and no information about the past. They didnt have the list of candidates or constituency which they have won in the recent elections. There was no mention of any kind of organisational structure in the party. There was no mention of Alliance partners of any of the websites under perview Interaction with People Indian National Congress The website of the Indian National Congress had given option to submit their feedback, comments, suggestions and complaints. There was no Toll free number mentioned on their website. Bhartiya Janata Party The Bhartiya Janata party was more people and new media friendly they had subscription to RSS feed They also had an opinion poll on their website to know peoples view on a particular issue. Samajwadi Party The website of the Samajwadi Party had only contact numbers of the head office and respective branch offices. They had no other latest interactive features on their website. Bahujan Samaj Party The website was least interactive among websites of all the parties. The party was more interested in a monologue and not a dialogue with its voters. The website had no links or any other such things to keep the voters updated on the happenings. Appeal to the people Indian National Congress The Website of the Indian National Congress does not appeal to vote for it neither their alliances. There is no way that anyone interested in joining the party could apply for a position. There was no appeal for a donation for a noble cause. Bhartiya Janata Party The Website of the Bhartiya Janata Party does not appeal to vote for it neither their alliances. There is no way that anyone interested in joining the party could apply for a position. There was no appeal for a donation for a noble cause. Samajwadi Party The Website of the Samajwadi Party does not appeal to vote for it neither their alliances. There is no way that anyone interested in joining the party could apply for a position. There was no appeal for a donation for a noble cause. Bahujan Samaj Party The Website of the Bahujan Samaj Party does not appeal to vote for it neither their alliances. There is no way that anyone interested in joining the party could apply for a position. There was no appeal for a donation for a noble cause. Service to the people Indian National Congress Every website should be user friendly at the base level and somehow it should help us in the entire process of voting. The website of the Indian National Congress had no links for whats new on the website, FAQ s etc. Bhartiya Janata Party The website of the Bhartiya Janata Party had links whats new is happening to the political party in India. There was no service of any kind to the people. Samajwadi Party During Elections, finding your name on the voters list is one of the most tedious tasks for any voter. Samajwadi Party is the only party which is providing voters list to its users. This is one of the most useful features on any of the websites. Bahujan Samaj Party There is no feature of any kind on the Bahujan Samaj Party Website. The lowest on service to people. Media Coverage and Public Relations Indian National Congress The Media Coverage and Public Relations is an integral part of any website, it gives you a coverage on the latest happenings of the political party. The media coverage in the INC website give you info only on the election results and not on the party achievements in each of their state. Bhartiya Janata Party The BJP Website has put photo gallery section at the front of their home page and audio-video features to attract the visitors Samajwadi Party The Samajwadi Party has their media section updated and it has given it list of latest joins in the party on the website. The party is not in power in any state so its only mentioned its achievements when they were in power Bahujan Samaj Party The Bahujan Samaj Party uses it website to effectively communicate its latest achievements, especially in the state of Uttar Pradesh where its a ruling party. Other News of the party is lost in the clutter of information which is present in the website. Transparency Indian National Congress Transparency is one thing that the Indian voter likes to see with every political party. The site didnt try to remain transparent about declaring the assets of their candidates even though it was a simple thing to do. All the details of assets of a particular candidate are given on the site of the Election Commission of India. Bhartiya Janata Party The site didnt try to remain transparent about declaring the assets of their candidates even though it was a simple thing to do Samajwadi Party The site didnt try to remain transparent about declaring the assets of their candidates even though it was a simple thing to do Bahujan Samaj Party The site didnt try to remain transparent about declaring the assets of their candidates even though it was a simple thing to do Unit Analysis of Websites INC BJP SP BSP Information on the Website Interaction with people Appeal to People