ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
Introduction The purpose of any company is to meet the needs of its customers. However; there are many factors that determine the consumer’s behavior. Therefore this paper is going to examine the factors that influence consumer’s behaviors (which is the study of how people choose, buy, use and dispose off goods and services, experiences or ideas so as to meet their needs and desires).Additionally, each company has many competitors and has to do something so as to ensure that consumers gain confidence in their products. As a result this paper will also give examples of some global brands that have good qualities and give example of a global brand crisis that have occurred recently. Factors influencing foreign consumer’s behavior There are many factors that influence consumer’s behavior. Some of these factors are culture, subculture and personal factors. Firstly, culture which refers to the beliefs, norms, values or customs that are learned by an individual from the society they belong to influence consumer’s behavior. For example, it determines the type of food one eats as some foods are customary unacceptable, the type of clothes one wears and the type of house to live in. That is the culture will force people to buy goods and use the processes that are culturally acceptable to the whole society (Kotler & Keller, 2007, p. 32-40).Secondly, subculture which is a subdivision of culture and refers to people with similar core values from which can either be nationality, religion, racial group or geographical region also influences consumer’s behavior. For instance it influences the kind of clothes people buy, type of food they eat and the type of house they live in as some things are taboos to them. Moreover, it determines the activities people engage in the process of meeting their needs. Lastly, Personal factors also affect consumer’s behaviors. For example, a person will buy clothes and engage in recreation activities that fit their age and buy items whose personality match with their own personality. In addition, they will buy goods which they are capable of paying for. This therefore calls for market research. Companies should carry out market research so as to know what their target customers needs. A company should hire an outside company to do research for them as this will reduce enormous costs in finding out what customers need and the outside company can provide more information than what the company could have collected by itself. In addition, the company can use that time they could have been doing research in other things that are important to the company. Global brands Brands refer to terms, names, symbols or combination of all which are used by companies so as to distinguish their good from those of their competitors. Some of the global brands that I believe have high quality includes; Coca Cola, Colgate, Sony. Nokia,Visa,Nivea,Gillette,Google,Nescafe,amazon.com,
Introduction Tourism in the Gulf States has increased significantly over the last five years. Specifically, the Internet has played a critical role in influencing consumer behavior in travel and tourism industry. The internet has turned the world into a global village. Anyone can be able to access the web using their smartphones and tablets. Foreman (2013) allude that the internet is being used by travel agencies as a reliable source of information that enables marketers to market their products online (p.13). The hospitality industry is dynamic in the sense that it includes restaurants, hotels, theme park, cruise line and transportation services. Tourism is more about travel, and thus the role of transportation in tourism cannot be ignored. This paper critically analysis al deyafa which is a hotel, tour and travel agency in the United Arab Emirates. The decision to establish this venture is based on the role played by hotels and transportation in the tourism industry. Moreover, the paper carries out situational analysis, marketing mix and strategy implementation of the venture. Situational Analysis Tourism in the Gulf States in quite impressive. In UAE, tourism relies extensively on the Internet via smartphones and other online platform in all stages of travel experience. For instance, according to a report by Euromonitor International, online travel and hotel booking is expected to increase from 18 percent to 22 percent in 2016 (Wyma, 2015, p. 94). This represents a significant market penetration in mobile booking which is expected to hit 30 percent by 2018. The tour and travel industry in UAE is not fully tapped which presents a lucrative business opportunity for Al deyafa. Thompson (2013) argues that tourism sector in the Middle East is expected to increase by 67 percent by the end of 2016 to $7.5 billion (p.15). If Al deyafa can be able to position itself in the market as the leader by offering exceptional customer service, the company can reap the benefit of tourism not only in the short-run but, also in the long-run. Online sales have increased significantly over the last five years in the Middle East having reached $3 billion which represent 17 percent of the total sales in tourism. Analysts believe that total sales in the hotel, tour and travel industry will increase by 18 percent over the next three years. Marketing mix Marketing is dynamic in the sense that it focuses on the needs of customers even before services are offered and after sales. Product Al deyafa will provide a range of services such as traditional Arabic meals, ma
Problem Identification Over the past, the Major League Baseball has been faced by several problems. These are mainly financial problems that have led to perpetual differences between the players and the owners. These problems have threatened the performance of this organisation. For instance, the organisation has been faced by several work stoppages (Blum 2002). Such encounters affect its performance significantly. The organisation has been faced with financial situations which have threatened performance. Unsatisfied players will tend to be less productive and work stoppage will also affect the performance of the organisation. The organization has also been faced with the problem of low level of ticket sales. Analysis As already noted, Major League Baseball has been faced by a serious problem, which has threatened its performance. The organisation has found itself in a situation where its players have to miss their end of season final week’s salary (Blum 2002). This discourages the players hence invoking work stoppages. In most cases, work stoppages come along with huge costs to an organisation. This is because various processes are interrupted, which undermines the overall performance of an organisation. When employees engage themselves in strikes due to dissatisfaction, their productivity levels will be significantly affected, negatively. This is because their morale will be reduced considerably. The Major League Baseball has been attracting large number of audience compared with its competitors (Blum 2002). Therefore, the organisation has already developed a good image at the eye of the public. However, work stoppages and strikes may destroy its image at the eyes of the public. This may lead to a fall in its ticket sales significantly. Meanwhile, as the players faced the problem of losing their salary for the last weeks of the season, the owners encountered a big problem since the World Series were wiped out for the second period (Anonymous, 2011). As a result, the ticket sales were notably reduced in 2003. This implies that the organisation will experience further reduction in its revenue. This posed a big blow to the organisation since this is one of the main sources of revenue. The main cause of these problems was revenue sharing which led to increase in expenses. These extra expenses reduced the financial returns to the organisation. As a result, other expenses were similarly affected. The lux
Introduction High-Tech Corporation (H-T) is a computer manufacturer that has a 115-year-long history. The organization was founded in New York in 1901 and employed 1,300 people. It was initially preoccupied with selling tabulating machines in several US states and Canada. Later, due to several planning strategies and incentives, its market expanded to Europe, Asia, Australia, and South America. Nowadays, with about 300,000 employees, H-T rates among the major manufacturers of computers, hardware, and software, as well as computer-associated services (Bhimani, Horngren, & Foster, 2008). The organization has several plants. The one I have selected for the analysis in terms of managerial accounting system is located in Essenes, France. A friend of mine is currently working there and that is why I have access to this kind of information. Strategic programs The company produces logic and memory chips made of silicon wafers that are sliced from a silicon cylinder. The production is unceasing: the plant works 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and 52 weeks a year. Each wafer gives 100 logic and 400 memory chips. To minimize losses, the organization contributes a lot of time, effort, and finance to the planning stage of managerial accounting (Heisinger, 2009). It develops five-year strategic programs that feature annual and quarterly budgets. The former is based on the data received from production managers. Budget-planning is performed by a cross-functional team that is responsible for the ultimate goal congruence. The quality, yield, and lead-time are discussed at weekly board meetings. Monthly budgets are compared with the quarterly ones (Bhimani et al., 2008). The planned charge-out rate for an information system, according to the accounts, is $10,000 per hour, for utilities is $20,000 per square kilometer, for maintenance is $80 per labor hour, whereas for a quality guarantee – $52,000 per person. Information systems feature the salaries of the employees, accounting costs, and expenses connected with the mainframe central processing unit. Utilities include repair works, electricity, running water, fuel, taxes on property, etc. Maintenance covers the costs of the machinery repairs used in production as well as computers and mainframe systems used throughout the plant. Quality assurance is provided by those who measure quality and study the factors predetermining suppliers, employees, and customers’ satisfaction. The major goal of the company is to reduce costs improving the quality of the end product. To achieve it, H-T implements a widely accepted costing system, allocating all the expenses of the production to the good products only (Bhimani et al., 2008). For monitoring quality, the organization does a lot of research in the form of questionnaires for employees, customers, and suppliers. Job satisfaction is regarded as one of the major factors as the leaders of the company believe that if the employees are content with what they do, they strive f
Introduction I attended a Sunday church service at St. Patrick Church, which is located on 756 Mission Street in San Francisco. This occasion was my maiden visit to any Catholic Church establishment, and thus it was a new and exciting experience. I was keen to note the different practices that happen during the service. I noted several practices, but the Holy Communion or simply the Mass caught my attention. Therefore, this paper will explore the practice of Holy Communion in the Catholic Church. The congregation’s tradition As aforementioned, I had never visited any Catholic Church congregation before, and thus I had to consult the person seated next to me from time to time in a bid to understand this practice. I saw a man enter the church using a covered door right in front of the building. Another man accompanied the first person, and I later learned that the two were a deacon and a priest respectively. My seatmate alerted me that it was time for the Mass. On the pulpit were several other people, whom I learned were servers on the altar. The priest made what appeared as a cross sign on his chest before greeting the congregants. He uttered some words, which I understand was the confession and absolution. The congregation then recited a well-choreographed piece titled ‘lord, have mercy’ before concluding with another one known as ‘glory to God in the highest.’ Finally, the session ended with a collective prayer from everyone within the church building. My seatmate informed me that the just-ended session was the introductory part of the mass. A brief historical sketch of the tradition The Holy Mass draws heavily from Jesus’ Last Supper as chronicled in the New Testament of the Bible. Whilst writing to the church at Corinth, St. Paul emphasized the practice by giving directions in the book of first Corinthians. Jesus directed his followers to break the bread and drink the cup because they are a representation of his body and blood respectively. The Last Supper heralded the crucifixion of Jesus, and thus he commanded his followers to carry on with the practice as they commemorate his death. The death on the cross signifies the redemption and forgiveness of sins for the believers. Therefore, the Catholics follow this tradition even to date. The priests consecrate normal bread cooked without yeast and wine in the process known as transubstantiation. After this process, the bread and the wine are no longer normal, but they take the body and the blood of Jesus respectively. Even though the substances do not change in shape and form, they change in meaning. Therefore, the Catholics observe this practice in obedience to Jesus’ words when he instructed his followers to do the same in his remembrance. Its characteristic theology, practice, and the worship service The theological background of the Holy Communion hinges on the principles highlighted in the preceding section of this paper. To the Catholics, the Holy Communion is a command from Jesus himself and he is the initiator of the practice. After the introductory part, as hig
Why Are Leaders Needed? On the whole, leaders are needed for a variety of purposes. For instance, they are required to keep focus and order in groups by coordinating and organizing the actions and efforts of multiple individuals. Leaders also permit accomplishing tasks by providing aims and purposes, as well as by coordinating actions. Also, leaders often supply their subordinates with perspective, letting them make sense of situations that might be ambiguous. Finally, it might be possible to state that a leader may play the role of a romantic ideal that represents the values and ideas which are embedded both in the culture and in a person’s mind. Obstacles to Effective Leadership There are five key obstacles to effective leadership. The first is the environmental uncertainty, which puts pressure on leaders to make decisions quickly and leaves them little time to learn; the lack of opportunity to learn makes effective decision-making more difficult. The second is the rigidity of organizations, which often leave no place for mistakes, thus suppressing creativity. The third is the fact that companies often adhere to old ideas and solutions which do not allow for addressing new problems. The fourth is an established organizational culture, which often results in resistance to innovations. The fifth is the difficulty of accessing and applying the results of academic studies. The Impact of Power Distance and Masculinity on Leadership In countries where the power distance is high (e.g., Russia), communication is usually directed downwards in the hierarchy, and little feedback is provided; in contrast, in countries with low power distance (e.g., the U.S.), feedback from below is expected and is provided more willingly. Thus, the lower the power distance is, the better the leaders might know the views, expectations, etc. of their subordinates. Greater masculinity means that independence and assertiveness are considered valuable. Therefore, in cultures with low masculinity, leaders may often simply give orders, and the others will comply, whereas, in cultures with high masculinity, leaders will have to be more democratic. The Impact of Group Membership on Leaders and Leadership Group membership may impact one’s leadership style (e.
Problem Statement Tesla is recognised as a manufacturer and retailer of the only all-electric vehicles in the global market that can offer a range of cars to compete with gasoline-powered cars. The company’s customers, however, now face a critical challenge of getting adequate charge in their battery to cover significant miles, especially if the driver intends to cover a long distance. For this challenge, it is observed that high-speed car battery charging has been touted as the best solution as opposed to other charging systems that require over 12 hours to charge the big Tesla battery fully. Many Tesla customers have observed that getting to charge the car super-fast is quite difficult across many cities. One must drive across multiple neighbourhoods in attempts to find a charger, particularly when the GPS is out of service in such areas. Thus, the major challenge for many Tesla customers is that there are not adequate supercharger stations to recharge their cars fast enough. The problem of inadequate charging is further complicated on highways. Efforts to build many superchargers along major highways have been rather slow. This implies that using Tesla cars for long road trips remains a major challenge for most motorists. Analysis of Situation Tesla electric car is yet to become the mainstream car, although it is making inroads. As previously observed, the battery itself and recharging are the most challenging issues currently experienced. If Tesla can deliver a long-lasting battery with super-fast chargers across
Introduction China has contributed immensely towards the culture of the world, some significant contributions include T’angculture which is a Buddhist influence in art and the same is predominant in the field of sculpture and numerous other masterpieces which are well admired all around the world. One such masterpiece is Daoism, the term may sound complicated but in reality, it is not as complicated as it sounds. This paper will discuss the evolution and the principles of Daoism. Daoism has a native connection like another term which is Confucianism, the spirit of the Chinese people is reflected by Daoism. It evolved from ancient Chinese society and it portrays the beliefs and idealogy of the Han nationality. The source of its origination is from the workshop of gods and spirits. Daoism is regarded as the philosophical tradition of China along with Confucianism. “Daoism encompasses thought and practice that sometimes are viewed as philosophical, as religious, or as a combination of both. While modern scholars, especially those in the West, have been preoccupied with classifying Daoist material as either “philosophical” or religious, historically Daoists themselves have been uninterested in such categories and dichotomies. “( IEP.UTM 2008). Scholars across Europe have been working meticulously on how to classify Daoism, whether it constitutes philosophy or religion. The confusion has prevailed for quite some time now. During the time of the Han Dynasty, Daoism was not in existence but early texts like Daodejing and the Zhuangzi triggered off the beginning of Daoism. There is a common belief among the people that a teacher by the name of Laozi founded the school and also wrote himself all the major works called Daodejing, the same is also known as Laozi. Daoists were the people who followed Daoism; they firmly believed that immortality was not a gift from god. They also believed that there is a connection between nature and their bodies. People who thought like this were believed to be living in the mountains and considering the same they considered their bodies to be mountains and walked on the path of immortality. They involved themselves in interesting activities such as physical exercises, discovering new sexual positions to make sure that the flow of energy is greater than what it was in the earlier position, they also tried their hands at Chemistry but many of them died because of over experimentation. Not only did they die but a few emporers who followed in their footsteps also met with the same fate as the Daoists. Daoism always wanted people to cultivate the quality of se
Introduction Presently practitioners in the nursing profession face many challenges resulting from deficits of resources, continuously changing incentives, dysfunctional health care systems, and, ever-increasing health demands. In addition to these challenges, technological innovations and increasing numbers of students have made nursing leadership a hard task, more so when leaders apply the wrong leadership approach. Although this may be the scenario in most health care systems, the challenges provide a powerful drive to leaders in this field to transform or change things. It is important to note that, primarily, healthcare providers should be a collaborative, resourceful, personalized, and expedient practice, which must follow specific work ethics and values (Sanchez, Doran, Evans, McGillis, & Pringe 2009, pp.48-67). The Kind of Nurse Leader I Want To Be Nursing leadership is one of the most challenging tasks individuals can venture into because, it involves very many changes, developments, losses, and substitutions. It is never easy to exactly determine the future of a health care system owing to many changes in terms of health complications. In addition, it is important to note that leadership in this profession is not all about having the required skills and abilities; in terms of task allocation, but rather it is a practice that should invoke correct motivational and behavioral responses. Considering the nature of duties and trends in this profession, in most cases, dictatorship never works, and if at all it works it never gives desired results due to low motivational levels. Correct leadership in nursing involves the power to lead others in desired directions by providing or helping employees formulate and implement workable plans. This is possible through well-planned, organized, and controlled measures that not only consider a health organization’s needs, but also employees needs and desires; remembering health provision is a basic need (Feldman, 2009, p.1). Five main nursing leadership styles exist namely: situational, laissez faire, autocratic, bureaucratic, and participative leadership. Although all these follow the same work nursing ethics, their modes of application is different depends on their main application principles. Depending on the prevailing situations, leaders can combine or switch between any of the above, but my most preferred is participative or democratic leadership. This is because participative leadership is all-inclusive that is, this type of leadership style incorporates all employees’ suggestions in the decision-making process. Inclusion of employees in decision-making is one of the most motivating factors because it is a sign of how much an organization values its employees. Primarily, participative leadership orientation encourages commitment among team members because managements give them an opportunity of participating during decision-making and goals formulation. This form of leadership gives leaders an opportunity to endure ambiguity and inconsistency while giving organizational goals the first priority. In addition, this method gives space for p