Tuesday, November 26, 2019

Belie and Betray

Belie and Betray Belie and Betray Belie and Betray By Maeve Maddox A reader asks for a discussion of these two words: I get confused when using belie and betray. Sometimes they seem to mean the same thing. Would you please explain when each word should be used, and why. The OED cites two verbs spelled belie that were in use as early as 1000 CE. One belie meant, â€Å"to lie around or encompass.† It was used literally to describe a spatial connection. For example, an army â€Å"belied by the enemy† was surrounded by the enemy. This belie was also a slang word for â€Å"have sex with.† The other belie is the one still used in modern English. Its original meaning was â€Å"to deceive by lying.† Shakespeare plays on the different meanings of the words lie and belie in the scene in which Iago employs innuendo to stoke the Moor’s fears about Michael Cassio: OTHELLO: What hath he said? IAGO: Why, that he did- I know not what he did. OTHELLO: What? what? IAGO: Lie- OTHELLO: With her? IAGO: With her, on her, what you will. OTHELLO: Lie with her? lie on her? We say â€Å"lie on her† when they belie her! Lie with her- that’s fulsome.  - Othello, IV, 1. The belie associated with falsehood expanded to have the following meanings: 1. to tell lies about; especially to calumniate by false statements. 2. to give a false representation or account of, to misrepresent; to present in a false character. 3. to treat a thing as false by speaking or acting at variance with it. 4. to show to be false, prove false or mistaken; to falsify. Belie is often seen in headlines. Here are several examples from the Web: Companies’ Pro-Equality Rhetoric Belied by Their Campaign Donations Image of a Wealthy Gore Is Belied by a Net Worth in Senates Minor League Outsider claims belie political insider past Sometimes belie is used to mean cover up or conceal: Their campaign promises belie a more sinister agenda. Pickfords small stature and cinema sweetness belied a shrewd businesswoman, forming her own production company. Beware of euphemisms that  belie  Ã¢â‚¬Å"hellish†Ã‚  behavior.    A common use of belie is, â€Å"to misrepresent† or â€Å"to reveal as a lie†: Laboratory Tests Belie Promises Of Some GMO-Free Food Labels CO2 emissions belie climate  promises Shattered streets of Homs belie Assads promises of peace Sometimes belie is synonymous with â€Å"call into question†: Marias strength and  intelligence belie  our image of a â€Å"genteel southern lady   Strike, protests  belie  Haitian  governments  free education claims.   Marilyn Monroe and Joanna Lumley belie the dumb blonde image. Monroe was reputed to have an IQ of 170 and Lumley is a member of the Royal Geographical Society. The verb betray also has multiple meanings: to lead into error or sin A Don Juan is a villain who betrays virgins and abandons them. to deliver into the hands of an enemy When he had obtained the confidence of the citizens, he betrayed the town to Darius. to prove faithless or treacherous to a friend How should we react when we find out that a friend  betrayed  us?   to prove faithless to ones country Aaron Burr is often alluded to as the stereotypical traitor: a man who betrayed his country. to reveal A red brick chimney rising up the north side  betrayed the existence of  the small fireplace in the living room. The intended meaning of betray is usually obvious from the context. Because the meaning of belie is not always clear, writers may choose from the following alternatives: contradict be at odds with call into question show to be false disprove debunk discredit negate Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Grammar Test 1What is Dative Case?Plurals of Proper Names

Friday, November 22, 2019

The Truth About Famous Black Inventors

The Truth About Famous Black Inventors Quite a few of our  readers have written asking me to clear up some facts about African American inventors in a sort of mythbuster manner.  Much of the  discussion has centered around who was the first person to invent a comb, elevator, cell phone, etc. African American Patents When an inventor files for a patent, the application form does not require a person to state his/her race. Thus little was known about early African American inventors. So librarians from one of the Patent and Trademark Depository Libraries decided to compile a database of patents granted to black inventors by researching patent applications and other records. These compilations include Henry Bakers Patents by Negroes [1834-1900]. Baker was a second assistant patent examiner at the USPTO who was dedicated to uncovering and publicizing the contributions of Black inventors. The database listed the inventors name followed by the patent number(s), which is the unique number assigned to an invention when a patent is issued, the date the patent was issued and the title of the invention. However, the database was misunderstood as readers falsely assumed that the title of the invention meant that the inventor had invented the first comb, elevator, cell phone and such. In the case of Henry Sampson, readers even misunderstood the title of gamma cell to mean Sampson had invented the first cell phone. Black Myth or Black Fact? This has led to writers publishing misleading articles that assume that every invention mentioned in the database would not have been invented if black people did not exist. Even worse are other writers who have written counterpoint articles that falsely give the impression that black inventors have not achieved great things. Understand that titles are required by USPTO law to be as short and specific as possible. Nobody entitles their patent applications The First Comb Invented or The 1,403th Comb Invented. You have to read the rest of the patent to find out what new improvements that the inventor is claiming. And nearly all patents are for improvements to pre-existing items. Did you know that Thomas Edison, who was not the first person to invent a lightbulb, invented over fifty different lightbulbs? Misleading the Public? Not one of the black inventors lied in their patent applications or stated that  they had invented something totally new when it was merely an improvement. However, I have read articles that imply that these inventors have done something terrible. For example, take my article on John Lee Love. Nowhere do I state that John Lee Love invented the very first pencil sharpener, but the tone is favorable and shows the respect I have for Love as an inventor. Another website uses a headline that read Pencil Sharpener - John Lee Love in 1897? No! This harsh tone puts the inventors achievements in a negative light. However, these were still real inventors who received real patents at a time when it was rare and difficult for a person of color to do so. Why Recognizing Back Inventors  Is Important My database list of African American patent holders holds historical value far beyond winning the first race. It has led to research that answered many important questions. Questions such as: Who were the first African Americans to receive a U.S. patents?What were African American inventors inventing during the 19th and early 20th centuries?Did early black inventors profit from their inventions?What are contemporary African American scientists and inventors achieving today? About Henry Baker I believe wholeheartedly that inventors make the best people. And while I will continue to maintain the historical aspects of the database and update the database with current inventors, what we know about early African American innovators comes mostly from the work of Henry Baker. He was an assistant patent examiner at the U.S. Patent Office (USPTO) who thankfully was dedicated to uncovering and publicizing the contributions of Black inventors. Around 1900, the Patent Office conducted a survey to gather information about black inventors and their inventions. Letters were sent to patent attorneys, company presidents, newspaper editors and prominent African-Americans.  Baker recorded the replies and followed-up on leads. Bakers research also provided the information used to select black inventions exhibited at the Cotton Centennial in New Orleans, the Worlds Fair in Chicago and the Southern Exposition in Atlanta. By the time of his death, Baker had compiled four massive volumes.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Bauhaus and Modernism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Bauhaus and Modernism - Essay Example In the humming windowless hallway leading to his office, he stops in front of a metal box full of chilled metal cylinders. He inserts several polished silver disks into a slot and pushes one of the glowing square buttons to receive a modern marvel of preserved mass-produced liquid. Entering his office, he settles back into a tubular metal chair and grabs one of the antiquated but comforting newspapers waiting on a nearby projection of the wall that serves him as a desk. As he sips his drink and scans the headlines, an article draws his eye because it is contained within a slightly shaded box and uses bold, sans-serif letters. The words inform him that inflation is causing the economy to collapse. Anxious to protect the small space he calls his own, the man then turns to the electronic box sitting on his desk as a faster and more focused means of gaining essential information. As he waits for the flickering lights to settle on his rectangular screen, he suddenly thinks about how much of his world is shaped by boxes. He realizes that they make him feel mundane and standardized and inwardly blames the Modernist movement that was born out of the Bauhaus. If he took the time to follow that line of thinking, though, the man would learn that the Bauhaus and the Modernist movement were focused instead on ideas of comfort and creative familiarity. The earliest elements of what today’s experts refer to as characteristics of the modern period arose through the combined energies of the Arts and Crafts Movement.

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Five easy pieces and the reflection of alienation in the 70s Essay

Five easy pieces and the reflection of alienation in the 70s - Essay Example Five Easy Pieces directed by Bob Rafaelson is among the greatest films of the Hollywood 1970’s golden era. In the film, the character of Bobby Dupea is the archetype of numerous heroes from that period. Bobby gets stuck in two worlds (Rafaelson). He is a man who cannot fit into the American society and is making efforts to find a place where he truly belongs. One of the outstanding features of the 1970’s films was the character’s struggle to deal with the problem of alienation that was prevalent in the America at that time. This emerged from the sixties as the rejection of both the working class and leisure class values. The film portrays an individual trying so hard to deal with the alienation problem without being a counter culture hippie. Most of the post sixties era exhibited the theme of alienation. The theme of alienation also defined the 70’s era. However, in recent films of the 1990’s and 1980’s era, alienation has been reflected to t he extreme with the so bloody and violent action films. The heroes in these movies are violent, anti-social and alienated. They have no societal respect at large. The first scenes of â€Å"Five Easy Pieces† show the main character Bobby as a typical oil mine worker. Bobby puts a lot of energy in his work to get his money. He spends his leisure time playing time drinking beer, playing cards, watching television and bowling.   At the beginning of the film, Bobby gets reflected as a happy person, but as the film progresses he gets revealed. as a man dissatisfied with his life (Rafaelson). Rayette’s clingy mature annoys Bobby so much. He loathes country music and dislikes the way his girlfriend lives her life through Tammy Wynette songs. Rayette seems to play songs for every occasion of her life. When they go out with their friends Stoney and Elton, Bobby could not enjoy the bowling. He is angry and highly competitive at Rayette’s inexperience in the game. At some point, he later cheats on his girlfriend with a woman named Sally Struthers. This shows the relationship trend at the time, where men cheated on their wives and girlfriends (Boyer 87). In contrast with his coworker and friend Elton, Bobby hates the life that comes with their job. Elton loves spending time with his wife and kid. His job at the oil field is due to lack of skills and that the job provides the basic needs for his family. Elton represents the working class who are in pursuit of the American dream. Bobby is more interested in worldly things. This film is a reflection of how the mid-seventies society got focused on the American dream. The contrast between the two characters gets clearly depicted in the scene where Elton and Bobby are in stuck in the freeway

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Are Emotion and Reason Equally Necessary in Justifying Moral Decisions Essay Example for Free

Are Emotion and Reason Equally Necessary in Justifying Moral Decisions Essay In analyzing human behavior and human thought processes it can be said that reason and emotions are always present in each major decision. There is no human being, even the most morally upright or the most unbiased observer can make crucial moral decisions without having to have felt the power of reason and the equally powerful emotions in his mind and body. If Emotion and Reason are taken together and if the proponent of this paper will not be given the freedom to choose one from the other then the answer to the query is no. There is no need to have the combined benefit of emotion and reason to justify a moral decision. But if allowed a free hand one should insist that Reason is necessary in justifying moral decisions. This paper will look into the implications of using Emotion and Reason in matters regarding moral decisions. This will be done by finding out what is the meaning of emotions and reason in the world of epistemology. But even before that there is a need to have a review of epistemology the theories on how human beings acquire knowledge. Background Epistemology is a branch of philosophy that deals with how man attains knowledge. For many the getting of knowledge from reading, observing the external environment and by doing experiments can be taken for granted. But for philosophers it is not simply about getting data and then having the ability to describe what was observed and inferred afterwards. Philosophers are persistent that man knows the exact process and if there is none then one should suspect if there is actual learning that occurred after all. With this in mind it is time to introduce two diverging schools of thought when it comes to epistemology and how man exactly acquires knowledge. The first group of philosophers believes that human beings can get knowledge using pure reason. It is the use of the rationale mind, to think using logic to deduce and infer from what can be observed. It is easy to say â€Å"reason† but it is difficult to explain the actual processes of how man looks at the different pieces of the puzzle and then be able to see the whole picture and finds a pattern or connection. Reason is the man’s secret weapon and allows him to reign supreme in this planet. There is no other creature that can use the harness the awesome power of reason in the same way as a human being. A good example is on how man can deduce that certain plants are edible while others are lethal. It is common knowledge that man learns to distinguish between a tasty snack and a vine of poison by observing animals around him. This is probably the same technique used to discover that the seeds hidden behind the coffee pod are not only edible but also a source of one heavenly drink. Without the ability to reason it would have been impossible for man to realize that there is something in that coffee pod after observing the goat or maybe birds taking a liking for the sweet fruit. Another example of reason is in finding a pattern and consistency in natural occurrences such as typhoons, fruiting seasons, gestation period etc. Using reason man was able to build a system where he can begin to tame nature and enjoy her benefits. He can plant and expect harvest. He can build shelter and expect to be protected by an upcoming storm. Man can also reproduce his kind and even multiply his flocks knowing pretty well that there are certain laws in nature that he can rely upon and all these are possible by unleashing the power of reason. Diverging Stream Another school of thought when it comes to the acquirement of knowledge is called empiricism. The empiricists believe that it gaining knowledge through reason alone is suspect. They argue that reason can be influenced by many factors and they conclude that biases and prejudices can interfere in the process. This is understandable because for thousands of years man has postulated about something and made predictions about the future only to be made a fool at the end. This is because reason has its limits. It is at this point that that man is advised not to jump to conclusions. Empiricists will assert that accurate knowledge is only possible if man avails of his senses. The eyes to use to see and measure; the hands used to grasp and determine shape; the ears to hear and determine sound; the nose for determining smells; and the tongue for taste. Emotions are feelings and better yet it is a reaction that a person can observe after the body and the mind – or the heart – is exposed to certain external factors. For example, a mother sees her baby crying because she had not eaten the whole day. The mother has no money to buy milk and she too begins to cry. Her emotion – can be labeled as sadness – tells her that her mind and body does not agree to the image that she saw which is her poor baby experiencing acute hunger. There is another view of emotions which can be very helpful in this study. There are those who assert that emotions are not only act as messengers that tell a person whether something good or bad has occurred but they can be feelings that propels a person to do what is right even when faced with great odds. Jaggar remarked that, â€Å"†¦it is appropriate to feel joy when we are developing or exercising our creative powers, and it is appropriate to feel anger and perhaps disgust in those situations where humans are denied their full creativity or freedom† (1996, p. 82). A good example of such an occurrence was again given by Jaggar who wrote, â€Å"Certain emotions may be both morally appropriate and epistemologically advantageous in approaching nonhuman and even the inanimate world Jane Goodall’s scientific contribution to our understanding of chimpanzee behavior seems to have been made possible only by her amazing empathy with or even love for these animals† (1996, p. 182). To those who are familiar with Goodall’s case will admire her courage and determination considering that she had to travel to Africa and be removed from the comforts and security of Western society and be immersed in a hostile environment, not with humans but with wild animals. It is a good instance of how emotions guided someone to do something heroic. It is easy to understand what emotions can do to lift ordinary humans to strive for things that exceed his grasp. Emotions can fire-up a person and allow him to go where no one has gone before. The history of the United States is replete with examples where tough moral decisions were justified with the cry for freedom and equality. But there is also a counter-argument that emotions are not needed to do justify moral decisions. Reason alone should be enough to move a person to do what is right. This is because emotions can be subjective. And there is no need to furnish volumes of scientific material to prove that point. Emotions can even be counter-productive when used to analyze tough moral decisions as evidenced from the results of a new study published in Newsweek. According to Wray Herbert – writing for Newsweek (2008): A large and growing number of psychologists now argue that a welter of prejudices are simmering just below the surface of society: prejudices against many ethnic groups, against women, gays, the elderly, and outsiders like the homeless and drug addicts. The big question is whether these unconscious animosities are potent enough to actually shape our actions, to make us do things we ourselves find shameful. A new study suggests that, unhappily, the answer is yes. Conclusion The question whether emotion and reason are equally necessary to justify moral decisions is a double-headed query that should have been simplified by separating emotion and reason; rephrasing it in two separate questions: 1) Is emotion necessary to justify moral decisions and 2) Is reason necessary to justify moral decisions. If this is possible then the proponent of this study will say no to the first and then say yes to the second question. But since the main topic used the phrase equally necessary then the answer is no meaning there is no need to bring both emotion and reason to the process of analysis of the problem and ultimately giving the justification for a moral decision. To clarify what is meant by using emotion in the decision process, one has to revisit the example of Jane Goodall and his work with endangered species, it was her strong feelings of emotions, specifically empathy that allowed her to do so much. Using this understanding of emotion the proponent still cannot endorse the use of emotion to judge a moral case because even with strong emotions one can still be mistaken. An excellent example would be the events that transpired in Germany in World War II. The residents of this nation enthusiastically embraced the idea given by Hitler that Jews deserve nothing but death and suffering. The majority agreed or at least the Nazis agreed that this is fact, even truth and they are responsible for the death of 6 million Jews. If one will go to Germany today and present the same ideas to present day Germans they will surely not react with the same fervor as they did in the time of Hitler but they will recoil in horror. This is a clear example of the subjectivity of emotions and therefore not needed to analyze tough moral issues.

Thursday, November 14, 2019

The War in Iraq is Not Justifiable Essay -- Bush War Democracy Argumen

The War in Iraq is Not Justifiable Thousands of young men and women are sent overseas to be killed or injured only to return crippled for life or in a coffin. I commend all in the military for their service and I would never disrespect any soldier. In fact, my best friend?s brother entered the United States Navy out of high school and has served three years so far; he is in active duty serving on an aircraft carrier. I have the same feelings about the war in Iraq. I continually ask myself why thousands of men and women, injured or dead, may not know the purpose of this war. Like many Americans, I understood the reason for the invasion of Afghanistan, but the purpose of this war has been faulted from the beginning. An innocent woman?s fiancà © does not deserve to die in a foreign country for false motives. At first, our President told the citizens of the United States that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. This has now been proved false. This leaves troops thousands of miles from home fighting in an unfamil iar land for no purpose. Millions of Americans were led into this war under phony pretenses. I am in, and will always be in, support the United States Army and troops from every nation, but when thinking of the question ?What was our purpose I cannot mull any answers. In the very heartbreaking documentary Last Letters Home, the parents, friends, and wives of deceased soldiers, read the letters they received from their loved ones. This documentary, produced by The New York Times in conjunction with HBO, tells the demoralizing stories of killed soldiers in Iraq. It gives an idea of what regular men and women in the armed service go through on a daily basis. Shelly, a twenty-year-old from New Berlin, Wisco... ...y the Answer?. MIT Press: 1997. ?Farenheit 9/11.? Dir. Michael Moore. Columbia Tristar. 2004 Hamilton, William. Who Voted for Hitler?. Princeton University Press. 1982. ?Hero.? Dir. Yimou Zhang. Buena Vista Home Vid. 2004. Kaiser, Davis. American Tradegy. Cambridge: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. 2000. Logevall, Fredrik. Choosing War. Berkeley: University of California Press. Mearsheimer, John and Stephen Walt. ? Iraq: An Unnecessary War.? FP January, February 2003. Postel, Danny. ?Realistpolitik.? Dispatches. May 2004: 11-13. ?Unprecedented: The 2000 Presidential Election.? Dir. Joan Sekler. Sony Pictures. 2002. Walt, Stephen. Revolution and War. Cornell University Press: 1997. E-reserve Texts 1. Chalmer?s Johnsons?s Blowback 2. Lawrence Corb ? Rumsfeld?s Follies 3. Martin Peretz ? Without Sin

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Delivering Customer Value Though Marketing Essay

Assignment: i) Describe and analyse the brand’s product, market positioning, pricing strategies and its target segment. ii) Critically evaluate if the brand’s marketing activity is delivering values to its customers. Why? iii) Suggest ways in which the brand can improve in its marketing strategies or activities. i) Describe and analyse the brand’s product, market positioning, pricing strategies and its target segment About UNIQLO: UNIQLO is a Japanese causal wear retailer. It is also a wholly owned subsidiary of Fast retailing Co. Ltd. The first UNIQLO was opened in Japan in 1984. Across years, successful brand strategies enable UNIQLO to be the fourth fashion retailer in sales volume in 2013, just right after Zara, H&M and Gap. Marketing mix is a useful tool to analyze UNIQLO’s strategies and its product development direction among competitors. Marketing Mix (4P): Overview UNIQLO’s product: UNIQLO provides a wide range of clothing, including Men’s, Women’s, Children’s, and even in Baby’s wear. UNIQLO manages this range of products  in order to satisfy the needs of different age groups and genders. Especially children and baby wear, not all its competitors provide these two lines, this can satisfy customers’ need. UNIQLO has their own R&D team, to design the latest fashion and life-style wear to customer. Also, its materials sourcing team help to bring the most suitable and sometimes the luxury materials into product development in order to give the best wearing experience to customers. Such as premium down, cashmere sweaters and premium cotton are the good examples. UNIQLO gain customer’s trust in quality guaranty. UNIQLO’s price: UNIQLO’s products are not expensive comparing to its competitors, such as Gap, Zara, etc. Although UNIQLO’s clothing requires similar price with other fast fashion retailers, its quality is relatively higher than them. It is due to the most fundamental UNIQLO’s direction, â€Å"Low price, high quality†. UNIQLO’s Place: UNIQLO’s strategies are for both local (Japan) and international. Stores are all over the world, including Japan, America, Euro, China, East and south Asia. This can show the determination of UNQLO to expand its business and build the brand internationally. All the stores of UNIQLO, are in central area, or popular district in the cities. Take Hong Kong UNIQLO as an example, there are totally 21 UNIQLO stores in Hong Kong. The flagship UNIQLO store is in causeway bay Lee Theater, which is the most popular shopping area in Hong Kong. UNIQLO apply the same store strategy internationally, such as Tokyo, Osaka store in Japan, Shanghai store in China, New York 5th ave in USA. Another strategy to make UNIQLO a good place to shop is their total sale-floor method. UNIQLO tries to enlarge the floor area in every shop and include as many departments and clothing display as they can in the store. That can provide the convenience to customers to buy their favorite things in only one station. And the big display area can attract customer’s focus to their products and give a confidence that UNIQLO can provide everything that they need. UNIQLO’s promotion: New product development process in many other companies is very simple. Usually, from idea generation, testing, product producing and so on. However in UNIQLO, the first step of product development is customer feedback. That means all products in UNIQLO are responding to customer. This is also the concept they are promoting to the potential customer. â€Å"Cheap, simple design, but is perfect fit for daily use with a good quality†. This sentence shows that UNIQLO is promoting their image to public. Another way is UNIQLO promotes their products by sport sponsorship. Take Japan market as example, football league is extremely hot among Japanese. So, UNIQLO make good use of this opportunities to sponsor the uniform for a football team in J.League to increase visibility and exposure. Also, UNIQLO is the uniform sponsor for Japan’s Olympic athletics in 1998, 2002 and 2004. They also sponsor uniform for tennis players in high rank tennis competition. Exposure in different sport events can successfully promote UNIQLO as a very good ready-to-wear clothing brand to public. Market positioning: The clothing concept of UNIQLO is very strict forwards, which is â€Å"Low cost, and high quality†. They produce clothing with simple but fashionable design and good quality for wearing in every day. Their tremendous business expansion can prove that they successfully build their concept to customer and this represent that their business is on the tract. There are four factors that can help to analyze UNIQLO’s positioning, they are: 1. Product quality 2. Prices 3. Distribution 4. Image 1. Product quality UNIQLO is always proud of their products’ quality. Their CEO Tadashi Yanai had said that, they are a technology company rather than a fashion company. Their high quality clothing enables them to be worn every day. UNIQLO is positioning their product in a relatively higher quality compare to other fast fashion companies, such as Zara , H&M. These company concern fashion trend more than quality. However, UNIQLO is not a luxury brand, so their quality is not comparable to other luxury brand, such as LV, Gucci, etc. 2. Prices UNIQLO’s concept is â€Å"Low cost, but High Quality†. UNIQLO’s price is fair, but they offer a better quality of clothes at the similar price compare to other fast fashion companies. UNIQLO’s price is not the cheapest one, but quality is the highest among its market competitors. 3. Distribution All the products UNIQLO selling are in their own stores. They do not have franchises or displays in department stores. So they can control all the promotion or logistics without third parties’ constrain. It is known as â€Å"SPA† (Specialty-store of Private-label Apparel), selling their own product in their store and exclusively. Take Hong Kong UNIQLO as an example, they have 21 stores in Hong Kong, which has a broader coverage than its main competitors. Zara only have 7 stores in Hong Kong. However, comparing to the local competitors like Bossini and Giordino, UNIQLO does not have a greater advantage in store numbers, but their number of stores are already much higher than other international fast fashion brand in Hong Kong market. 4. Image UNIQLO is selling clothes with their functionality rather than fashion style. So, their image to customer is very simple, which is basic, simple, cheerful and comfortable. Comparing to Zara, and H&M , UNIQLO’s image is linked to quality and simple to mix and match for every day while the former two competitors focus more on trendy and fashion but sometime not easy to carry. Position Map: In this part, I am going to simply illustrate UNIQLO’s position with the position map by considering only two factors, Quality, and Price. LV & Gucci surely come to the top rank in both quality and price because they are luxury brands which have a very different position comparing to UNIQLO. UNIQLO, Zara and H&M can be grouped together due to their fast fashion nature. The price of their products is similar, but UNIQLO provides the highest quality while H&M is the last one. Bossini or other local fashion chains usually don’t provide a very high quality, but they have local network and channels to sell their product. They sell their product in a lower price comparing to other international brands in order to sell more and earn more. Local small bountique is the bottom one, in both quality and price. They target those people who concern money only but not quality. Target segment & Pricing Strategies: In this part, we need to identify UNIQLO’s target segment and then to anaylse it’s price strategies. Target segment: Few background recall: UNIQLO’s concept is â€Å"low cost, high quality† as mentioned above. Its products are sold within a reasonable range. It provides a wide range of products including men’s, women’s , children’s and babies’ . Its style is â€Å"simple but trendy, easy to mix and match† . Then we can analyse the market segment by parts. Targeting: a) Demographics Age: Babies – Right target of it’s babies line Children – Right target of it’s children line Adolescent – Right target of it’s Men’s and women’s lines Adult – Right target of it’s Men’s and women’s lines Mature – Non-target , due to less fashion requirement of this group Elderly – Non-target , due to less fashion requirement of this group Gender: Both female and male are their targets Income: The target customers’ income is low to medium, due to its cost and its pricing level. b) Psychographics Value: For people who have a basic requirement on trend and pursuing good quality on clothing. Lifestyle: UNIQLO’s clothing is simple and comfortable. It is suitable for people who always have light exercise and sports in their living habits. Pricing strategies: After analyzing UNIQLO’s target segment, we found that their target population is very large. In order to enlarge the target group, a penetration price strategy is adopted by UNIQLO. Their target’s income is not high, they must have a price sensitive characteristic. So, UNIQLO try to maintain the products in a low to reasonable price to match the target’s income. In this sense, UNIQLO can make profit only when high volume of sales has been made. ii) Critically evaluate if the brand’s marketing activity is delivering values to its customers. Why? Customer value is the benefit that people will derive from their purchase of the goods or service. In this case, it means if UNIQLO’s marketing direction can generate benefit to customer after they bought the products. Overall, I think the existing brand activities of UNIQLO can deliver value to their  target customers because of the below reasons. 1. Technology focus: UNIQLO owns many technologies that its competitors do not have, such as Heat-tech, anti-smelling, lighting down, anti-UV, etc. These are the material advantages from competitors, indeed it gives extra value to customer and more attractive to buy UNIQLO but not buying other brands 2. Simple â€Å"trendy† design, There are not many fashion pioneers in the world. Most of the people in the world are relatively simple, especially UNIQLO’s target. UNIQLO hires some famous designers to develop a hybrid type of clothing that perfectly merge basic into trendy. It makes their â€Å"basic† wear easily to be carried and extra â€Å"fashion† value added onto it although people originally is seeking for basic style. 3. Convenient store location, Take Hong Kong UNIQLO as an example, it owns 21 stores in Hong Kong. All of the stores are in population area, such as Kowloon Tong, Causeway bay, Tsim Sha Tsui, Sha Tin, etc. Convenient stores location means customers can enjoy service or purchase easier. And after-sell service, such as goods return, can be accessed easily to customers. It is an intangible value. 4. Pricing strategies UNIQLO produces all the products by its manufacturing sites. So it can minimize the cost , and then sell them in a lower price. Its penetration strategy enables more people to access their products. Also, with their advanced technology and materials choosing, the ratio of price to quality can be utilized greatly to customers. 5. Excellent store visual merchandising, UNIQLO did very well in visual merchandising. First of all, different styles are well organized and distributed in distant area. In some multicolor basic shirts sectors, they make the whole sector to be more cheerful and colorful by folding the shirts subsequently and orderly. It can let customers to find  the color they want more easier and enhance visual conditions. Also, UNIQLO can let your family to buy clothes for all gender and age groups in only one stop. Every store of UNIQLO sell men’s, women’s and children’s at the same site. Their professional store visual management can increase buyer experience and enjoyment in shopping. All these marketing activities from UNIQLO can perfectly match the need of their target customers. So, we can say that UNIQLO is generating benefits to customers and even give them benefits out of their expectation. iii) Suggest ways in which the brand can improve in its marketing strategies or activities. In this part, we should identify the relative weak area of UNILQO first, and then target the weakness to formulate improvement way. a) Design too simple This is what UNIQLO proud of, but meanwhile it might be its weakness. UNIQLO emphasizes a basic style clothes that can be worn for every day. However, the fashion trend runs too fast recently, customers might be tired of plain pattern of UNIQLO clothes. So, in the future, I think UNILQO can maintain its original design and also add a few more fashionable and trendy lines. A fashionable and high quality apparel should be successful because it merge advantages of H&M and UNIQLO itself. b) Brand Image UNIQLO’s concept is â€Å"Low price, high quality†. Due to this concept, it limits UNIQLO to build a â€Å"High End† image. This low end image make UNIQLO with less pricing flexibility. People will not buy a â€Å"low end† brand with a high price. In long term, apart from the original line and image, UNIQLO can expand its brand image towards â€Å"Middle end† or â€Å"High end† by expanding some attractive lines. It will definitely increase product’s attractiveness. c) Improve advertising and brand visibility UNIQLO is weak in advertising. Comparing to its competitors Zara and H&M,  these competitors are willing to spend much more on the public noise. Apart from product quality and store expansion, UNIQLO can expand the brand’s visibility and awareness with the aid of proper TV advertisement. d) Elderly market In the existing target segment of UNIQLO, elderly is not the main focus group. However, we can not underestimate the potential of this market, especially in some countries, such as Japan and Hong Kong, aging population is getting more. UNIQLO can put more resources on elderly by developing some specialist garment for people who need extra care. For example, heat-tech sweater is suitable them because elderly easily lose temperature. Also, UNIQLO can use its technology advantage to make some functional apparel to them like high elastic trousers which can provide protection from joint damage during walking. These functional products not only can attract elderly, but also can attract all age groups who need functional products. Moreover, they can invite some famous old celebrities to be the brand’s spoke person to increase the influencing power in this age group. Conclusion: Overall, UNIQLO is a very successful international fast fashion retailer in the world in both sale volume and inspiration in fashion. UNIQLO successfully use â€Å"Simple† to compete with others in this fast pacing fashion world. UNIQLO’s high â€Å"price to quality ratio† makes them very attractive to its target group, and penetrate brand image to more people. The existing brand’s activities are useful in expanding business and deliver benefit to customers. However in this challenging market, changes is the ever rules. UNIQLO should focus more the changing of people’s interest and the trend. Simple mix and match can be sword for brand building and harms if people change to pursue more fashionable styles. Reference: 1. http://www.fastretailing.com/eng/ 2. http://www.uniqlo.com/hk/ 3. http://www.zara.com/ 4. http://www.hm.com/ 5. http://www.gap.com/ 6. http://www.brandchannel.com/features_profile.asp?pr_id=324 7. http://www.slideshare.net/ 8. http://www.wikipedia.org

Saturday, November 9, 2019

“What’s Eating Gilbert Grape” Film Review

The film â€Å"What's Eating Gilbert Grape,† based on the novel by Peter Hedges, is an out of the ordinary middleweight observation of a dysfunctional, although regular family. The film has some touching scenes which take the audience away from the reoccurring humour of the Grapes' ways. Set in Endora, which is described as being â€Å"like dancing with no music,† the most exciting thing that happens throughout the film is Arnie's 18th Birthday Party and the arrival of the â€Å"Burger Barn.† Arnie, Gilbert's (Johnny Depp) mentally handicapped brother, always finds a way to escape Gilbert's watching eyes and climb up the tempting water tower. This is his way of getting in trouble with the cops, not shop lifting or drug dealing, but just exploring the local water tower. And when the police finally arrest him it causes his 500 pound mother (Darlene Cates) to leave the house after seven years and demand for her precious son back. The director, Lasse Hallstrom, is very clever in how he uses humour and pathos in this scene. On the family's way to the station the audience is able to laugh as the car tips up, nearly scraping the road, weighed down by the angry 500lb angry mother. However, on their way out of the station they find themselves part of a freak show, leaving the audience to feel horror and sympathy. Gilbert also has many of other responsibilities as well as keeping a constant watchful eye on Arnie: earning the money, maintaining the house and caring for his overweight mother and his two sisters. These things play heavily on his mind which is why his secret affair with Mrs. Carver (Mary Steenburgen) is very welcome at first. However when a free-spirited beautiful young woman arrives in a RV with her grandmother (Penelope Branning), the affair has to come to an end, helped by the death of Mrs. Carver's husband, who has formerly been threatening Gilbert. Becky, played by Juliette Lewis, is a down-to-earth character; someone like Gilbert has never met before. Becky and her Grandmother have been travelling almost everywhere and stop in Endora long enough for Becky and Gilbert to get to know each other very well and to start a romance. The arrival of Becky, however, changes the Grapes' routine and way of life. This film equals Lasse Hallstrom's other art house films such as â€Å"My Life As A Dog† and â€Å"Something To Talk About.† This Scandinavian director risked a great deal in experimenting with this film. One of the things he tries is the use of a voice over. This, used at the beginning, introduces us to the characters and the setting, Endora. At the end it lets us know where the characters end up and what they do. I think this is a bad technique in this film mainly because of the use of Gilbert's humdrum voice, which in a way warns the audience of the dullness that's to come. Hallstrom purposely chose the camera shots he uses throughout the film to give the film its homeliness. The recurring picture of the water tower in the background lets the audience appreciate Gilbert's responsibility. Gilbert's truck is also another frequent occurrence, which us see everyone in it, so we can observe their reactions and emotions to what is happening. This links to the camera shots through windows. These are also very common in the film and tie in with the â€Å"fly on the wall† technique, which is a favourite with reality T.V programs. As I previously said the film is like an observation of this family and this technique enables us to just watch them and feel like we are there with them, which makes us feel more ‘close' and we can sympathise with them because of their circumstances, as I'm sure that there is a little bit of Gilbert Grape in all of us. If you were a top famous Hollywood actor, would you be able to significantly play a mid-west, average twenty-odd year old man? In my opinion there would have been no one better than Johnny Depp in this case. He plays the part of Gilbert excellently, not over-the-top or over dramatic but perfectly, just how you'd imagine Gilbert to be after reading the novel. Compared to Depp's previous roles, such as in â€Å"Edward Scissorhands,† he really did have to act ‘down' in this film Johnny Depp is not the only actor in the film that I feel played an excellent performance. Leonardo Di Caprio also had a hard role to play as the ‘retarded' eighteen year old with the mind of a four year old. He obviously researched and thought greatly about how he should act such a difficult character, but he definitely pulled it off! Although the film is mainly pivoted around Arnie's eighteenth birthday party, the film has many sub-plots, which all have their own significance throughout the film. For instance the water tower, Mrs. Carver, the scenes in the cafà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ and a few others. These all bond the film together in order to make it what it is; a great family film. A really important recurring point that is made throughout the film is when Arnie says â€Å"we're not going anywhere.† In a way this is the key point of the whole film as only until the very end Gilbert has no choice but to stay in Endora and look after his mother and the rest of his family, unlike his older brother, Larry, who ‘got away' and went to college. And now, the question, what actually is eating Gilbert Grape? Personally I think that it is all his responsibilities but mainly, not looking after Arnie as much as having the burden of his overweight mother sitting at home doing nothing, him having to care for her and his siblings, when really it should be the other way around. Although I really enjoyed watching this film many people didn't and have slated it in the past. I think it depends on your own personal taste in films and what you expect and want from a film. And whatever that may be I recommend you watch â€Å"What's Eating Gilbert Grape.†

Thursday, November 7, 2019

Spanish Words Adopted Into English

Spanish Words Adopted Into English Rodeo, pronto, taco, enchilada - English or Spanish? The answer, of course, is both. For English, like most languages, has expanded over the years through assimilation of words from other tongues. As people of different languages intermingle, inevitably some of the words of one language become words of the other. It doesnt take someone who studies etymology to look at a Spanish-language website (or the websites in nearly any other language) to see how English vocabulary, particularly as it relates to technical subjects, is spreading. And while English now may be giving more words to other languages than it is absorbing, that wasnt always true. For the English vocabulary today is as rich as it is largely because it accepted words from Latin (mostly by way of French). But theres also a small share of the English language that is derived from Spanish. Many Spanish words have come to us from three primary sources. As you can hypothesize from the list below, many of them entered American English in the days of Mexican and  Spanish cowboys working in what is now the U.S. Southwest. Words of Caribbean origin entered English by way of trade. The third major source is  food vocabulary, especially for foods whose names have no English equivalent, as the intermingling of cultures has expanded our diets as well as our vocabulary. As you can see, many of the words changed meaning upon entering English, often by adopting a narrower meaning than in the original language. Following is a list, by no means complete, of Spanish loanwords that have become assimilated into the English vocabulary. As noted, some of them were adopted into the Spanish language from elsewhere before they were passed on to English. Although most of them retain the spelling and even (more or less) the pronunciation of Spanish, they are all recognized as English words by at least one reference source. adios (from adià ³s)adobe (originally Coptic tobe, brick)aficionadoalbinoalcove (from Spanish alcoba, originally Arabic al-qubba)alfalfa (originally Arabic al-fasfasah. Many other English words beginning with al were originally Arabic, and many may have had a Spanish-language connection in becoming English.)alligator (from el lagarto, the lizard)alpaca (animal similar to a llama, from Aymara allpaca)armadaarmadillo (literally, the little armed one)arroyo (English regionalism for stream)avocado (originally a Nahuatl word, ahuacatl)bajada (a geological term referring to a type of alluvial slope at the base of a mountain, from bajada, meaning slope)banana (word, originally of African origin, entered English via either Spanish or Portuguese)bandoleer (type of belt, from bandolera)barbecue (from barbacoa, a word of Caribbean origin)barracudabizarre (some sources, not all, say this word came from the Spanish bizarro)bonanza (although the Spanish bonanza can be used synonymously with the E nglish cognate, it more often means calm seas or fair weather) booby (from bobo, meaning silly or selfish)bravo (from either Italian or Old Spanish)bronco (means wild or rough in Spanish)buckaroo (possibly from vaquero, cowboy)bunco (probably from banco, bank)burrito (literally little donkey)burrocafeteria (from cafeterà ­a)caldera (geological term)canary (Old Spanish canario entered English by way of French canarie)canasta (the Spanish word means basket)cannibal (originally of Caribbean origin)canoe (the word was originally Caribbean)canyon (from caà ±Ãƒ ³n)cargo (from cargar, to load)castanet (from castaà ±eta)chaparral (from chaparro, an evergreen oak)chaps (from Mexican Spanish chaparreras)chihuahua (dog breed named after Mexican city and state)chile relleno (Mexican food)chili (from chile, derived from Nahuatl chilli)chili con carne (con carne means with meat)chocolate (originally xocolatl, from Nahuatl, an indigenous Mexican language)churro (Mexican food)cigar, cigarette (from cigarro)cilantrocinch (from cincho, belt)cocaine (from coca, from Quechua kà ºka) cockroach (Two English words, cock and roach, were combined to form cockroach. It is believed, but isnt certain, that the words were chosen because of their similarity to the Spanish cucaracha.)coco (type of tree, from icaco, originally Arawak ikaku from the Caribbean)comrade (from camarada, roommate)condor (originally from Quechua, an indigenous South American language)conquistadorcorralcoyote (from the Nahuatl coyotl)creole (from criollo)criollo (English term refers to someone indigenous to South America; Spanish term originally referred to anyone from a particular locality)dago (offensive ethnic term comes from Diego)dengue (Spanish imported the word from Swahili)desperadodorado (type of fish)El Nià ±o (weather pattern, means The Child due to its appearance around Christmas)embargo (from embargar, to bar)enchilada (participle of enchilar, to season with chili)fajita (diminutive of faja, a belt or sash, probably so named due to strips of meat)fiesta (in Spanish, it can mean a part y, a celebration, a feast - or a fiesta) filibuster (from filibustero, derived from Dutch vrijbuiter, pirate)flan (a type of custard)flauta (a fried, rolled tortilla)flotillafrijol (English regionalism for a bean)galleon (from Spanish galeà ³n)garbanzo (type of bean)guacamole (originally from Nahuatl ahuacam, avocado, and molli, sauce)guerrilla (In Spanish, the word refers to a small fighting force. A guerrilla fighter is a guerrillero.)habanero (a type of pepper; in Spanish, the word refers to something from Havana)hacienda (in Spanish, the initial h is silent)hammock (from jamaca, a Caribbean Spanish word)hoosegow (slang term for a jail comes from Spanish juzgado, participle of juzgar, to judge)huarache (type of sandal)hurricane (from huracn, originally an indigenous Caribbean word)iguana (originally from Arawak and Carib iwana)incomunicadojaguar (from Spanish and Portuguese, originally from Guarani yaguar)jalapeà ±ojerky (the word for dried meat comes from charqui, which in turn came from the Quechua charki)jicama (ori ginally from Nahuatl) key (the word for a small island comes from the Spanish cayo, possibly of Caribbean origin)lariat (from la reata, the lasso)lasso (from lazo)llama (originally from Quechua)machetemachismomacho (macho usually means simply male in Spanish)maize (from maà ­z, originally from Arawak mahà ­z)manatee (from manatà ­, originally from Carib)mano a mano (literally, hand to hand)margarita (a womans name meaning daisy)mariachi (a type of traditional Mexican music, or a musician)marijuana (usually mariguana or marihuana in Spanish)matador (literally, killer)menudo (Mexican food)mesa (In Spanish it means table, but it also can mean tableland, the English meaning.)mesquite (tree name originally from Nahuatl mizquitl)mestizo (a type of mixed ancestry)mole (The name for this delightful chocolate-chili dish is sometimes misspelled as molà © in English in an attempt to prevent mispronunciation.)mosquitomulatto (from mulato)mustang (from mestengo, stray)nachonada (nothing)negro (comes from either th e Spanish or Portuguese word for the color black) nopal (type of cactus, from Nahuatl nohpalli)ocelot (originally Nahuatl oceletl; the word was adopted into Spanish and then French before becoming an English word)olà © (in Spanish, the exclamation can be used in places other than bullfights)oregano (from orà ©gano)paella (a savory Spanish rice dish)palomino (originally meant a white dove in Spanish)papaya (originally Arawak)patio (In Spanish, the word most often refers to a courtyard.)peccadillo (from pecadillo, diminutive of pecado, sin)peso (Although in Spanish a peso is also a monetary unit, it more generally means a weight.)peyote (originally Nahuatl peyotl)picaresque (from picaresco)pickaninny (offensive term, from pequeà ±o, small)pimento (Spanish pimiento)pinole (a meal made of grain and beans; originally Nahuatl pinolli)pinta (tropical skin disease)pinto (Spanish for spotted or painted)pià ±atapià ±a colada (literally meaning strained pineapple)pià ±on (type of pine tree, sometimes spelled pinyon)plantain (from pltano or plntano) plazaponcho (Spanish adopted the word from Araucanian, an indigenous South American language)potato (from batata, a word of Caribbean origin)pronto (from an adjective or adverb meaning quick or quickly)pueblo (in Spanish, the word can mean simply people)puma (originally from Quechua)punctilio (from puntillo, little point, or possibly from Italian puntiglio)quadroon (from cuaterà ³n)quesadillaquirt (type of riding whip, comes from Spanish cuarta)ranch (Rancho often means ranch in Mexican Spanish, but it can also mean a settlement, camp or meal rations.)reefer (drug slang, possibly from Mexican Spanish grifa, marijuana)remuda (regionalism for a relay of horses)renegade (from renegado)rodeorumba (from rumbo, originally referring to the course of a ship and, by extension, the revelry aboard)salsa (In Spanish, almost any kind of a sauce or gravy can be referred to as salsa.)sarsaparilla (from zarza, bramble, and parrilla, small vine)sassafras (from sasafrs)savanna (from obsolete Spanish à §avana, originally Taino zabana, grassland) savvy (from sabe, a form of the verb saber, to know)serape (Mexican blanket)serrano (type of pepper)shack (possibly from Mexican Spanish jacal, from the Nahuatl xcalli, adobe hut)siestasilosombrero (In Spanish, the word, which is derived from sombra, shade, can mean almost any kind of hat, not just the traditional broad-rimmed Mexican hat.)spaniel (ultimately from hispania, the same root that gave us the words Spain and espaà ±ol)stampede (from estampida)stevedore (from estibador, one who stows or packs things)stockade (from a French derivation of the Spanish estacada, fence or stockade)taco (In Spanish, a taco can refer to a stopper, plug or wad. In other words, a taco originally meant a wad of food. Indeed, in Mexico, the variety of tacos is almost endless, far more varied than the beef, lettuce and cheese combination of U.S.-style fast food.)tamale (The Spanish singular for this Mexican dish is tamal. The English comes from an erroneous backformation of the Spanish plural, tamale s.) tamarillo (type of tree, derived from tomatillo, a small tomato)tangotejano (type of music)tequila (named after a Mexican town of the same name)tobacco (from tabaco, a word possibly of Caribbean origin)tomatillotomato (from tomate, derived from Nahuatl tomatl)toreadortornado (from tronada, thunderstorm)tortilla (in Spanish, an omelet often is a tortilla)tuna (from atà ºn)vamoose (from vamos, a form of to go)vanilla (from vainilla)vaquero (English regionalism for a cowboy)vicuà ±a (animal similar to a llama, from Quechua wikuà ±a)vigilante (from adjective for vigilant)vinegarroon (from vinagrà ³n)wrangler (some sources say word is derived from Mexican Spanish caballerango, one who grooms horses, while other sources say the word comes from German)yucca (from yuca, originally a Caribbean word)zapateado (a type of dance emphasizing movement of the heels)

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

Sense and Nonsense

Sense and Nonsense Sense and Nonsense Sense and Nonsense By Maeve Maddox A reader who heard a doctor describe a patient as â€Å"fluent and sensicle† has asked if sensicle is a word. Sensicle (more often spelled sensical) is a word in the sense that couth is a word, or combobulate or ept. Humorists have long delighted in making comical back-formations of unpaired words like nonsensical, discombobulate, and inept. unpaired word: a word that appears to have a related word that does not in fact exist in contemporary usage. Such words may have a prefix or suffix that implies an antonym that replicates the word minus the supposed affix. Nowadays, when so many native English speakers are lightly educated in the mother tongue, what begins as a witticism may be taken seriously by readers or listeners who lack the information necessary to understand the joke. For example, the following statements are not intended to be funny: I think the real issue that most people take with Iraq was simply that it  wasnt sensicle.   Their recommendation to remove that foam piece  wasnt sensicle  to me.   [Sufferers of] Brocas aphasia cant produce  fluent,  sensical speech. In terms of tax dollars, the Court found that to continue to waste dollars during the appeal  wasnt sensical. The ban to serve sugary drinks larger than 16 ounces in restaurants proved [to be a] law that just  wasnt sensical  enough to pass. Nonsensical is a â€Å"real† word. It means, â€Å"making no sense, absurd.† The -ical ending also appears in the unwieldy but acceptable adjective for the term common sense: commonsensical. Used alone, sensical is nonstandard usage. The frequently seen use of sensical in a medical context may derive from statements like this in texts about aphasia: In 1874, Carl Wernicke reported patients with a different type of difficulty: fluent but often non-sensical speech. Hyphenating the word nonsensical contributes to the notion that sensical is detachable. The notion of â€Å"non-sensical† is that the speech of the afflicted person â€Å"makes no sense.† The noun for that kind of speech is nonsense. The adjective is nonsensical without a hyphen. Another possibility is: incoherent (adjective): without logical connection or natural sequence of ideas; inconsistent, rambling, disjointed. Here are suggested corrections for the above examples: I think the real issue that most people take with Iraq was simply that it  wasnt sensible.   Their recommendation to remove that foam piece  didn’t make sense to me.   [Sufferers of] Brocas aphasia cant produce  fluent,  coherent speech. In terms of tax dollars, the Court found that to continue to waste dollars during the appeal  wasnt reasonable. The ban to serve sugary drinks larger than 16 ounces in restaurants proved [to be a] law that just  wasnt practical enough to pass. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:The Yiddish Handbook: 40 Words You Should Know3 Cases of Complicated HyphenationContinue and "Continue on"

Sunday, November 3, 2019

Impact of E-commerce on B2B Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Impact of E-commerce on B2B - Essay Example One of the greatest advantages of an e commerce platform is that information is exchanged between manufacturer and customer directly. The greatest advantage of E commerce is the flexibility it provides to production to take advantage of information sharing long the production chain. A production unit can manipulate this information to great profit customer needs can be coordinated better with processes. (Chen, 2003) The fundamental aim of this paper is to identify E-commerce and its Impact on B2B Organizations Supply Chain and identify the way in which the logistics of business-to-business e-commerce can be managed to gain the most efficient form of supply chain in UK. The fundamental question of this paper is to find out the whether the impact of E-commerce and B2B Organizations Supply Chain if effective and whether it is logical to implement it in the parameter of supply chain in UK. The objective in this study was to see the possible effect of the e commerce system would have on the market segment. The study would in fact be balanced in its validity and reliability by results in questionnaires delivered. The objective would be to discover whether a prior knowledge of management of market segmentation would be beneficial or detrimental toward the company and their understanding of the use of strategies as marketing tools. Data would be gained from a specific area for ease of accessibility and for targeted accuracy lending reliability and validity to the research process. (Jones, 2002) The variables involved would also include age groups, amount of education, and understanding of security needs and responsibility. Other variables may be inclusive of the economic standings of the potential customers of the e commerce system and rival industry, the physical market, along with the same standings for the customers at the edge of the market segment interviewed. A third series of variables includes the types of studies that are managed and the cultural background of the customers at each of these areas. The research paradigm considered by the researcher in regard to this work included the consideration of groups and how strategically developed planning would target them. (Caprette, 2007) 6.0 Methodology The data for this work was managed through a single questionnaire handed out to potential customers of the e commerce system. The researcher utilized gender identifiers and numbers or letters to separate each questionnaire for validity and reliability of results and to ensure bias reductions. The questionnaire is located in the Appendix section for understanding of the questions. Each question had either a 'yes' or a 'no' answer or followed positive or negative reactions to certain questions. The process to deliver and collect these questionnaires would be spanned around approximately two weeks. The