Explain Kants Theory of Ethics Essay Example for Free

Explain Kants Theory of Ethics Essay Kant was born in 1724-1804, he was a German thinker from East Prussia (now Russia), and he spent his whole life in his hometown. Kant wanted to create a logical, stand-alone theory that wasn’t just based on assumptions, he believed in an objective right or wrong that is decided on reason and that we shouldn’t do the right thing just because it’s right and not to fulfil our desires. Can we lead a life following his ideals are there not some situations where a perfect moral decision cannot be made, are all our choices fuelled by personal gain and desire? He has a deontological and absolute approach to ethics, to Kant what makes an action good is when you do your ‘duty’ and that one’s duty is to always flow the moral law. We should not act out of love or compassion. The motive is what makes an action good –nothing else! The consequences to Kant are meaningless it’s the act itself that needs to be right an example of his thinking would be its immoral to kill 1 man in order to save 10. For Kant the fact that we ‘ought’ to do something implies that it is possible to do it. Thus moral statements are prescriptive: they prescribe an action. Ought implies can, ‘if I ought to do X’, it means ‘I can do X’. Kant also believed that moral statements are a priori (knowable prior to experience) and synthetic, that they can be verified by our empirical evidence so are either true or false. Kant put forward the idea of two imperatives the hypothetical imperative, these are not moral commands and they don’t apply to everyone. In Kant’s eyes you only need to obey them if you want to achieve a certain goal. An example of this would be that Kant observed that the word ‘ought’ is often used none morally, for example ‘if you want to become a better artist or guitarist, you ought to practice’. On the other hand Kant also proposed the Categorical Imperative, these are moral commands that can be universalised and do not depend on anything else. Whereas the hypothetical imperative requires you to go from ‘a’ to ‘b’ then categorical imperative only requires you to just do ‘a’. â€Å"Duties for duties sake† this related to the categorical imperative. Kant then goes on to the 3 maxims, first off to test a moral maxim as it’s a universal law either everyone should follow it or everyone should reject it. The first maxim is ‘Your action should be able to be universalised’ before you act in a certain way, would you like everyone in the same situation to act in the same way. If not, then you are involved in a contradiction it goes against reason, â€Å" so at that principle of action might safely be made of law for the whole world† if you were to take lying through the first maxim its clear it would fail as that would mean everyone would be lying to one another and trust is completely destroyed. The second maxim is ‘Don’t treat people as a means to an end’ Kant strongly believed that you can never use human beings as a means to an end, to exploit or enslave them. Humans to Kant are all the highest point of creation and so demand a unique treatment. This guarantees that all individuals are afforded the moral principles; therefore no humans can be used for the sake of others, he also explained that we have a duty to develop our own perfection, developing our moral, intellectual and physical capabilities. We also have a duty to seek the happiness of others as long as that is within the law and allows the freedom of others. â€Å"Always recognise that human individually are ends and do not use them as a means to your end† therefore you can’t lie for example to further your own needs at the cost of using someone. Kant’s final and third maxim ‘ work towards a kingdom of ends’ this is an overall culmination of the first two, everyone should act as if every person was a ‘end’ and that moral choices be based on any empirical consideration about human nature, human flourishing or human destiny. However it needs to be clear that despite this autonomy this does not mean that everyone can just decide their own morality but rather that each individual has the ability to understand the principles of pure practical reason and follow them. It is impartial and must apply to everyone. If one maxim is disproved then the law becomes immoral and can’t be universalised. Kant also talked about good will and duty, to Kant the ‘greatest good or summon bonum’ is what Kant terms as good will. Someone of good will is not good because of what they achieve (the consequence) but because he/she acts out of duty. Good will to Kant is the only thing that is truly pure, as we can get our reasoning wrong or it can be manipulated, but to have the good will to perform your duty cannot be manipulated or got wrong. Kant contrasted ‘doing your duty’ with ‘giving into your emotions’ or doing what you feel like. The main two meanings of duty come into conflict as the first thought meaning of duty is to obey your superior, this is what the Nazi soldiers claimed innocence about when they were trialled for war crimes they were just following orders but is that moral? To obey the moral law do the right thing and think a situation through is Kants meaning of duty â€Å"Good will shines forth like a precious jewel† –Kant. Kants theory of ethics seems to grant freedom to do anything that can be universalised. This sets the limits but does not give guidance; therefore in order for it to make sense Kant proposed the three postulates, the existence of god, freedom and immorality. We know that morality can exist because we can observe it. However we must be free to perform it as otherwise the act wouldn’t be truly moral. Morality and freedom must come from somewhere to Kant this is God. Kant argues that there must be a God and an afterlife as there has to be some sort of reward. As we cannot be perfect in this life. This is known as reaching the summon bonum that I mentioned earlier, as this cannot be achieved in this life, there must be an afterlife where this can be achieved. For Kant, morality leads to God. Part B: Assess the view that it is always right to keep one’s promises. In Kants view immorality occurs when the categorical imperative is not followed: when a person attempts to set a different standard for themselves then for the rest of humanity. In the Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals, once Kant has derived his categorical imperative he applies it to a number of examples. The second example and probably the most analysed is that of an unfaithful promise. Kant applies his imperative to a person who is short of money who intends to ask for a loan, promising to repay it, but with no intention of doing so. When Kant applies the categorical imperative to this situation he discovers that it leads to a contradiction, for if breaking promises were to become universal then no person would ever agree to a promise and promises would disappear. Kant connects rationality with morality, and sees contradictory behaviour as immoral. Some critics have argued that Kant never asserts the connection between rationality and morality, but most dismiss this and point out that Kant clearly explains how morality must be based upon reason and not upon desires. Another weakness is that what if your friend told you a secret that he was planning to murder someone, it would be your obligation to keep it but is that morally right? Could that surpass the 3 maxims, in the second maxim there can be no use of one individual for the sake of another, are you forsaking the person that is planned to be murdered just to keep a promise. However on the other hand there are strengths to Kants way of thinking as it means everyone single human has intrinsic value, actions are based on reason and logic and there are 3 straightforward maxims that need to be followed so it cuts out many grey areas as if it simply doesn’t follow the maxims it can’t be universalised. Other theories, utilitarianism for example would say it would be wrong to keep a promise of a secret of planned bomb attack that would kill hundreds as you would be saving hundreds of lives by informing the police. Utilitarian’s believe that the outcome outweighs the action. In my opinion I agree with Kant theory as I believe there needs to be trust between people, as relationships with people would mean nothing also it’s a matter of honour if you gave your word to someone I will promise you this etc. then it has to be in the best of your ability to fulfil it if it’s a good cause and not unjust. However in extreme cases such as say the promise of keeping a secret of a planned terrorist attack I would have to side with the utilitarian approach.

Origins of Tissues Macrophages

Origins of Tissues Macrophages Ryan Lewis    Discuss current ideas about the origins of tissue macrophages and whether these origins influence the subsequent functions of macrophage Graphical Abstract Figure Legend: This figure highlights possible tissue macrophage origins and their development pathways. The essay discusses contradicting findings in the literature, involving three different publications; Sheng et al, 2015 (blue pathway), Hoeffel et al, 2015 (red pathway) and Perdiguero et al, 2015 (green pathway) which are shown in the figure. Cell positions relate to the time point they are established during embryonic development. Positions of yolk sac and foetal liver are also related to the times they are developed. Introduction In the late 19th century Ilya Metchnikoff discovered macrophages (Tauber, 2003) and since then our understanding of the immune system and its complexity has progressed to a stage where the macrophage is no longer as simple as was originally depicted by Metchnikoff. Although much more is known about tissue specific macrophages and their functions, the origins of these macrophages are less well understood including how their origins relate to the functions they have within specific tissues. This essay aims to address the current ideas about the origins of tissue macrophages and whether these origins influence the subsequent functions of macrophages. Macrophage Discovery and History As previously mentioned Metchnikoff discovered the macrophage late in the 19th century (Tauber, 2003). Metchnikoff published a paper talking about phagocytic cells he had observed in frogs, he described the phagocytic cells as being involved in host defence but also the clearing of dead and dying cells (Gordon, 2007). Mechnikoff then discovered the presence macrophages in starfish, which dont have a vascular system, which led him to the discovery of tissue-resident macrophages (Gordon, 2007). Metchnikoff received the Nobel prize for his studies on cellular immunity to infection in vertebrates which he shared with Paul Ehrlich who discovered humoral immunity (Gordon, 2007). It took roughly 80 years after Metchnikoffs discovery before the origin of the tissue macrophage was uncovered. It was proposed that tissue macrophages originated from circulating monocytes in the blood (van Furth and Cohn, 1968), this theory has persisted for the last 40 years however from recent studies we know t hat this is not the primary origin of the tissue macrophage. Shortly after the theory that tissue macrophages originated from circulating monocytes was proposed, it was discovered that tissue macrophages and monocytes are heterogenous and their heterogeneity is conserved in humans and mice (Gordon and Taylor, 2005). The discovery of monocyte subsets followed shortly after in 1983, which supported the theory that tissue macrophages originated from circulating monocytes (Yona and Jung, 2009). The theory that tissue macrophages are derived from circulating monocytes has been the prevailing view until very recently partly due to the arrival of advanced techniques including; fate mapping and ionizing radiation. In the last 5-6 years, many definitive publications have redefined our understanding of the origins of tissue macrophages (Epelman et al, 2014). Recent studies have shown that many tissue macrophages are established during embryonic development and continually self-replenish into adulthood independently of any input from circulating monocytes in the blood (Epelman et al, 2014; Ginhoux et al, 2010; Hashimoto et al, 2013; Yona et al, 2013). Tissue Macrophage Heterogeneity and Function Tissue macrophage have a huge degree of heterogeneity which reflects upon the specialization of their functions in different tissues and locations (Gordon and Taylor, 2005). Macrophage heterogeneity is required to ensure the tissue macrophage has the most effective phenotype to tackle its specific microenvironment, this is particularly important in the gut. Tissue macrophages in the gut isolated from the lamina propria have a unique phenotype characterised by high phagocytic and bactericidal activity but very poor production of pro-inflammatory cytokines which makes them perfectly suited to their microenvironment (Gordon and Taylor, 2005). There are many specialised tissue macrophages that have very distinct functions including; osteoclasts in the bone which breakdown bone deposits for bone remodelling, alveolar macrophages (dust cells) in the lung that break down foreign material and pathogens, and microglia in the brain which play a role in neuronal development homeostasis and the recovery from pathology (Boyce et al, 2008; Rubins, 2003; Prinz et al, 2014). The theory that tissue macrophage populations are replenished from circulating monocytes in the blood is somewhat true but the most diverse tissue macrophages such as microglia, alveolar macrophages and osteoclasts are replenished through self-renewal and proliferation (Yona and Jung, 2009). There is a substantial number of studies discussing whether macrophages originating from monocytes in the blood can differentiate into resident tissue macrophages. In most cases the monocyte subset that the macrophage originated from determines its ability to differentiate into a specialized resident tissue macrophage, this is particularly true in the lung as studies have shown only Ly6Clo, not Ly6Chi, monocytes have the ability to differentiate into enchymal lung macrophages (Landsman et al, 2007). In regards to the more complex and specialised alveolar macrophages in the lung, studies have shown that these macrophage s require a parenchymal lung macrophage intermediate (Landsman and Jung, 2007). Circulating monocytes in the blood were long believed to be the origin of specialised tissue macrophages but recent evidence has shown that this is incorrect and proven that many of these tissue macrophage populations are developed long before birth (Epelman et al, 2014). Origins of Tissue Macrophages Macrophages are first observed during embryonic day 6.5 and are produced in the yolk sac during what is termed as primitive haematopoiesis (Epelman et al, 2014). During this early stage in development macrophages are the only immune cell produced due to restricted progenitors in the yolk sac. During embryonic days 8.5 10.5 hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) emerge from the aorta-gonad meso-nephros (AGM) and give rise to all immune lineages (Epelman et al, 2014). At embryonic day 10.5 HSCs migrate from the AGM to the foetal liver, the foetal liver then becomes the major hematopoietic organ until birth. Only after birth do bone marrow HSCs become the primary progenitors and produce all immune lineages (Orkin and Zon, 2008). Microglia are the only tissue macrophages that are established in the yolk sac and are self-maintained through-out adulthood, all the other tissue macrophages are established from embryonic day 14.5 to birth and either self-maintained by proliferation or replenished b y HSCs in the bone marrow (Ginhoux et al, 2010; Sheng et al, 2015). The arrival of fat-mapping techniques have enabled researchers to precisely track embryonic macrophage populations into adulthood, giving an insight into the relationship between resident tissue macrophages and circulating blood monocytes (Epelman et al, 2014). As previously discussed, microglia are the only tissue macrophage originating from the yolk sac and arise before embryonic day 8 (Ginhoux et al 2010). Fate mapping analysis was used to determine that the origin of microglia was the primitive myeloid precursors in the yolk sac and also proved that microglia are self-maintained independently of any circulating blood monocytes (Ginhoux et al, 2010). There is also evidence that Langerhans cells originate from the yolk sac but only partially (Sheng et al, 2015). The fate mapping study by Sheng proved that microglia and Langerhans cells were the only tissue macrophages that originate from yolk sac precursors and th at most adult tissue macrophages originate from a second wave of haematopoiesis driven by HSCs. (Sheng et al, 2015). The number recent of publications concerning tissue macrophage origins is staggering and is most likely attributed to the arrival of fate mapping techniques. With the large surge of new studies regarding tissue macrophage origins it is important that a clear understanding is generated but this is not always possible with such a complicated subject. Contrasting Studies into Tissue Macrophage Origins There are a few recent studies concerning tissue macrophage origins which are particularly interesting. Sheng (Sheng et al, 2015) arrived at the conclusion that most tissue macrophages originate from HSCs however there are a few publications which contradict Shengs findings. Perdiguero concluded that yolk sac derived erythro-myeloid progenitors, were origin of almost all tissue macrophages which contrasts greatly with Shengs observations. (Perdiguero et al, 2015). Perdiguero also concluded that microglia were derived from erythro-myeloid progenitors rather than primitive yolk sac progenitors that was observed by Sheng, although both do come from the yolk sac (Perdiguero et al, 2015; Sheng et al, 2015). Perdiguero predicted that almost all other tissue macrophages originated from erythro-myeloid progenitors (Perdiguero et al, 2015; Sheng et al, 2015). A study by Hoeffel aligned well with Perdigueros observations but Hoeffel observed that primitive yolk sac progenitors gave rise to mic roglia rather than erythro-myeloid progenitors that was observed by Perdiguero (Hoeffel et al, 2015; Perdiguero et al, 2015). As well as the difference in the development of microglia, Hoeffel predicted that erythro-myeloid progenitors migrated to the foetal liver, giving rise to foetal monocytes which were then responsible for the production of tissue macrophages. (Hoeffel et al, 2015). Each of these 3 examples also propose a separate proposed major path of ontogeny and differentiation to adult tissue macrophage state. Perdiguero proposes erythro-myeloid progenitors from the yolk sac as the major precursor of tissue macrophages, Heoffel proposes erythro-myeloid progenitors from the foetal liver, as foetal monocytes, as the major precursor and, Sheng proposes that HSCs from the foetal liver are the major precursor (Perdiguero et al, 2015; Hoeffel et al, 2015; Sheng et al, 2015; Guinhoux and Guilliams, 2016). Although the observations made by Sheng are profoundly different to those m ade by Perdiguero and Hoeffel it could be down to the fate mapping technique they used. The model they used is not adapted to distinguish between late erythro-myeloid progenitors and foetal HSCs which has clearly effected the conclusion they have come to (Guinhoux and Guilliams, 2016). Although fate mapping has great potential in advancing our knowledge of cellular ontogeny there are certain limitation that come with it and these limitations must be considered when designing experiments and analysing data (Guinhoux and Guilliams, 2016). Do Tissue Macrophage Origins Matter? Determining the origins of tissue macrophages may be valuable for furthering our knowledge and understanding of their development but do their origins have any influence in determining their function? As well as ontogeny, diversity in the functions of tissue macrophages can also be attributed to the local signals received by the macrophages. These local changes can drive the expression of unique transcription factors which in turn lead to different functions (Lavin et al, 2015). There is a lot of evidence to suggest that the tissue macrophages microenvironment can alter its function, the plasticity of tissue macrophages allows them to adjust their functions to inflammatory events (Lavin et al, 2015). Using ionizing radiation most embryonic-derived tissue macrophages can be eliminated, they can then be replaced with donor-derived bone marrow progenitors to determine if the wild type state of the tissue can be restored. Using this technique, studies have proven that bone marrow progeni tors can completely restore the enhancer profile and transcriptional programme of the embryonic-derived tissue macrophages that were eliminated (Lavin et al, 2015). A very recent study has shown that yolk sac macrophages, foetal liver monocytes and adult bone marrow monocytes can all successfully differentiate into alveolar macrophages in the lung after the removal of the native alveolar macrophages using ionizing radiation (van de Laar et al, 2016). The study also showed that other already developed tissue macrophages, liver, peritoneal and colon macrophages cannot successfully differentiate into alveolar macrophages in the lung. This finding suggests that the plasticity of the mononuclear phagocyte system is at its largest during the precursor stage and after differentiation to tissue-resident macrophages no further phenotypic changes of macrophage types can take place (van de Laar, 2016). Perhaps the most interesting finding from this study is that the alveolar macrophages differ entiated from yolk sac macrophages, foetal liver monocytes and bone marrow monocytes were still able to self-maintain and prevent alveolar proteinosis (van de Laar, 2016). Similar results have also been observed with Kupffer cells. Kupffer cells were eliminated from the liver using diphtheria toxin-mediated depletion allowing its niche to become vacant. Observations showed that circulating monocytes can engraft the liver and adopt the transcriptional profile of the eliminated Kupffer cells and also become long-living self-renewing cells like their eliminated counterparts (Scott et al, 2015). These new findings question whether the origin of tissue macrophages is truly important to their function as the progenitors and monocytes tested have all been able to restore the tissues lost macrophages successfully without any loss of function. Conclusion Although determining the origins of tissue macrophages and other members of the immune system is important for the progression of our knowledge it remains to be seen whether the actual origins have any implications on the function of the tissue macrophages. The techniques used in the publications discussed are still very new and still require refinement, I believe further refinement of the techniques will enable a more detailed and accurate description on the origins of tissue macrophages and the role the origins play in their function. References       BOYCE, B.F., YAO, Z. XING, L. 2009Osteoclasts have multiple roles in bone addition to bone resorption.Critical Reviews in Eukaryotic Gene Expression, 19.3, 171-180 EPELMAN, S., LAVINE, K.J. RANDOLPH, G.J. 2014Origin and functions of tissue macrophages.Immunity, 41.1, 21-35 GINHOUX, F., GRETER, M., LEBOEUF, M., NANDI, S., SEE, P., GOKHAN, S., MEHLER, M.F., CONWAY, S.J., GUAN NG, L., STANLEY, E.R., SAMOKHVALOV, I.M. MERAD, M. 2010Fate mapping analysis reveals that adult microglia derive from primitive macrophages.Science, 330.6005, 841-845 GUINHOUX, F. GUILLIAMS 2016Tissue-resident macrophage ontogeny and homeostasis.Immunity, 44.3, 439-449 GORDON, S. 2007The macrophage: past, present and future.European Journal of Immunology, 37, 9-17 GORDON, S. TAYLOR, P.R. 2005Monocyte and macrophage heterogeneity.Nature Reviews: Immunology, 5.12, 953-964 HASHIMOTO, D., CHOW, A., NOIZAT, C., TEO, P., BEASLEY, M.B., LEBOEUF, M., BECKER, C.D., SEE, P., PRICE, J., LUCAS, D., GRETER, M., MORTHA, A., BOYER, S.W., FORSBERG, E.C., TANAKA, M., VAN ROOIJEN, N., GARCIA-SASTRE, A., STANLEY, E.R., GINHOUX, F., FRENETTE, P.S. MERAD, M. 2013Tissue-resident macrophages self-maintain locally throughout adult life with minimal contribution from circulating monocytes.Immunity, 38.4, 792-804 HOEFFEL, G., CHEN, J., LAVIN, Y., LOW, D., ALMEIDA, F.F., SEE, P., BEAUDIN, A.E., LUM, J., LOW, I., FORSBERG, E.C, POIDINGER, M., ZOLEZZI, F., LARBI, A., NG, L.G., CHAN, J.K., GRETER, J.K., BECHER, B., SAMOKHVALOV, I.M., MERAD, M. 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Marketing and market entry strategy in india

Marketing and market entry strategy in india A market entry strategy maps out how to sell, deliver and distribute HMs products in another country such as India. When products and services are exported to another country, the strategy will define ways of obtaining contracts and delivering them in that country. If HM has decided to conquer the international market in India, it is opened to many choices. These options may include the cost, risk and the degree of control that the company will encounter in the country. In entering an international business, it is important that the management of the HM should be able to choose marketing entry strategies and carefully choose the product that the company will market in India. Exporting, is the simplest form of marketing entry strategy which includes direct or indirect method such as using an agent, in the case of direct method and counter trade if the company opted to implement an indirect method. Due to technological advances, direct marketing is staging a comeback, leading to a relationship orientation. Moreover, since HM wants to be known globally, there are many other ways the company can choose from like joint venture or export processing zone. The management of HM may decide to choose the export strategy and include in their operation the specific channels to market their product. Relationship marketing has revolutionized the traditional marketing and has become the biggest paradigmatic shift in marketing practice in recent decades.It has not only changed customers to advocate by replacing customer satisfaction by customer delight but has also increased quality service offers that exceeds expectations. Similarly, it will open new horizons for HM. It will trigger the HM to introduce new products and services. According to Berry and Parasuraman (1991: 25) relationship marketing concerns attracting, developing and retaining customer relationships. Relationship marketing will provide HM with necessary selling approach to cope with various challenges, set by the modern market in India. Relationship marketing transforms single usage to multiple service usage and will strengthen HM by providing them the wherewithal with which they can carry out effective customer services in India. Nowadays, competition in fashion industry and demands of customers are increasing constantly. They demand for global fashion company like HM where there are provisions for an incentive to the customer. So, strong commitment to customer care, attraction and maintenance at all levels are the top priority of HM, while dealing with the customers. Relationship marketing will help HM to overcome these problems and make the sales procedures much simpler. Palmer (2001) enumerated the components of relationship marketing as being: a focus on customer loyalty and retention; long term orientation; tracing identifiable buyers; distinguishing different levels of relationship between the buyer and the seller; high levels of customer dedication; and service quality as being the responsibility of every employee. Relationship marketing will transform indifferent customers into loyal clientele and emphasizes on their retention. Customer retention is the means to delivering long-term profitability in H M. Customer relationships management focuses on customer retention, and customer retention is believed to be more profitable than customer acquisition. Dawkins and Reichheld (1990) found that higher retention rate leads to higher net present value of customers. The longer customers can be retained by HM, the more and more tangible benefits will accrue from a sustained income stream. The end goal of relationship marketing is profit for HM. Saren and Tzokas (2000) raised the usefulness of relationship marketing in creating unique, difficult to imitate knowledge through the processes of interaction and dialogue with the customer. Knowledge about customers can only be enhanced if HM is able to maintain lasting relationships with their customers. The determinants of store choice, customer loyalty, patronage behaviour, customer retention and relationship marketing have been widely studied around the globe. Therefore, a considerable volume of literature exists, especially regarding fashion industry. However, there is still considerable scope for research in this field as the environment of fashion industry is in a constant state of flux and the emergence of new store formats in India has led to dramatic changes in consumer behaviour. New and existing fashion industry tend to provide a completely new experience for their consumers by offering sophisticated customer service, a wide and assorted variety of goods, breakfast ambience, quality imported and branded products. Since, fashion has invading people style of living and HMs the product that has been chosen to go international market. Hence, this research will suggest a marketing entry strategy for HM using Porters Five Forces model (Porter, 1980) and SWOT analysis of other HM companies in other countries. The company is a new entrant to the Indian Market, thus, this paper will provide a marketing entry strategy analysis for the company as it invade the market in India. Competitors Analysis Competitors analysis is very important since HM is a new entrant within the market place. It is essential so that the HM will be able to know their competitors and the possible strategy that they may use to level up such competitors and know the needs of the target market. Thus, this means that HM will enter the India as a beginning industry considering many competitors within the market place. Marketing Entry Analysis Utilizing Marketing Mix Marketing is considered as one of the most important element underpinning successful business creation and because of its complex applications, marketing is defined in a variety of ways (Sheth, Gardner, and Garrett 1988). According to Elliot (1990), the marketing concept was first promulgated in the late 1950s. The importance of marketing concept incorporates oft-repeated elements such as: customer orientation; integrated marketing efforts; and resultant profitability (Elliot, 1990). The marketing mix principles can be adjusted on a frequent basis to meet the changing needs of the target market and other dynamics of marketing environment (McCarthy, 2004). In relation to marketing plan, marketing mix includes both short term and long term strategies makes for a more profitable marketing mix. Long term strategies build brand/company awareness and give sales revenue a permanent, gradual boost. Short term strategies create a temporary, immediate revenue boost by giving buyers an incentive to purchase. By implementing both long and short term strategies, you can attend to immediate sales goals while building your business reputation and goodwill (Kyle, 2004). 1.1. Product HM AB (originally known as Hennes Mauritz) is a Swedish clothing company, known for retail of low-cost designer clothings. It was established in Và ¤sterà ¥s in Sweden in 1947 by Erling Persson, though at the time it only sold womens clothing and was called Hennes, which means hers in Swedish. Persson acquired the premises and inventory of a Stockholm hunting equipment store named Mauritz Widforss in 1968. Persson expanded into menswear and renamed the store to Hennes Mauritz, later abbreviated to HM (www.hm.com). H M is the worlds favourite and preferred designer of apparels and clothing for man and women. In addition, H M is also known not only for their fashion cosmetic but because of the quality of the clothes designed durability and the funkiness of its clothes. Through the online stores, HM provides the regional, continental and European Market an exclusive clothing designs. The main goal of HM is to provide innovative designs of apparels and clothes for different types of people in different countries all over the world. The company is known because of its strategy of providing clothing designs exclusively for each countrys preferences and needs. 1.2. Pricing H M is believed to have advantages when it comes to its pricing tactic. In order to be known into the market place and as a new entrant, the company will provide its target market with an affordable cost while providing them a high quality products and services. The company will be given the customer and client a price that is lesser than its competitors so that the consumer will be enhanced to buy and patronize the H M clothes and cosmetics. 1.3. Placement/Distribution The HMs products will be distributed directly to its clients and consumers in order to be known in the market place. HM products can utilize joint venture strategies with distinguished distributor of apparels, clothes and cosmetics, providing them with great offers, so as to market the product of the H M internationally. In 2003, HM announced its entry into the traditionally exclusive Milan fashion scene. It remains to be seen if HM and other low-end retailers will be able to find a market there. In February 2004, The Gap, another prominent international retailer, sold off all of its German outlets to its competitor, HM. HM launched its first American outlet on March 31, 2000 on New Yorks famous Fifth Avenue. Following the success its stores, additional outlets were opened in the SoHo, Gramercy, and Herald Square areas of Manhattan, followed by outlets in Upstate New York in Syracuse, Utica, and West Nyack. The brand then expanded to other regions of the country, including Chicago and its outlying suburbs. The first two HM stores to appear on the West Coast of the US opened in San Francisco, California on November 19th, 2005. HM opened its first Canadian store in Fairview Mall in Toronto and soon after, its store in Torontos Eaton Centre was opened in March 2004. Following great financial success, HM opened ten other stores within the Greater Toronto Area. Stores were also opened in Montreal in Spring 2006. HM continued its expansion in the Canadian market and doubled the number of stores in 2006. It planned new markets include Barrie, Hamilton, London, Kitchener/Cambridge/Waterloo, St. Catharines and Windsor and Ontario market, Fairview (Pointe Claire) shopping centre, Rockland Centre, the Galeries dAnjou and the Carrefour Laval. (www.hm.com) 1.4. Promotion/Communication HM can use video advertisements, print advertisements and the concept of e-marketing to promote its products. These promotion and communication strategy will tend to meet the consumers form different places everywhere, especially those target markets or the consumers in the working place. Moreover, since the trend in the market place today is the usage of e-marketing, the company will provide a website that any client can access. The use of the Internet is changing technologically advanced marketing overnight while different industries have been trying to use it as part of their marketing strategy. It does not only reconfigured the way different firms do business and the way the consumers buy goods and services but it also become instrumental in transforming the value chain from manufacturers to retailers to consumers, creating a new retail distribution channel (Donthu and Garcia, 1999). E-marketing is a powerful tool used that can be used by HM. E-marketing is defined as the process of achieving marketing objectives through the use of electronic communications technology (ICT). Smith and Chaffey (2001) have provided a 5Ss learning devices on how the internet can be applied by all business firms for different e-marketing tactics. These 5Ss are useful for HM and are se lling, serve, speak, save and sizzle. E-marketing or online marketing strategy can be used by HM to market its products. Thus, the HM has created its own website (www.hm.com). HM will use the e-marketing strategy is to keep in touch to different internet users and to be able to attract more clients and consumers. HM will use e-marketing to accelerate its business portfolio whether the user of the website is a customer, employee, stockholders, vendors, retailers or end customers. 1.5. Market Segmentation Marketing segmentation is defined as an aggregating process clustering people with similar needs into a market segment (Perreault McCarthy, 2002: 74). According to Ravesteyn (2005), customer segmentation is critical for an effective relationship marketing strategy. HM will provide its target consumers for its product by using market segmentation strategy. The segmentation of the market is a critical aspect of relationship marketing and the segmentation of business customers by HM must be in line with the different levels of relationship offered by the company. They need to make use of relationship marketing and management at segment or market level to identify the target market they intend pursuing (Stewart, 1995). Primarily, the context of the market segmentation for this company will be the Psychographics. Strydom, Cant Jooste (2000) identify the following four types of segmentation: demographic, geographic, psychographic and behavioural segmentation. Psychographics includes soc ial class, lifestyle, and personality variables (Chiagouris and Kahle, 2000). The end result of using these variables is a psychological profile of each market segment. Issues also examined the customers loyalties, habits and self-concept. Social class describes how individuals want their office automation will meet their comfort and satisfaction, what they consider important about their immediate surroundings, their opinions on various issues, and their interests. As lifestyle studies concentrates on what the consumer requires, using these study results as marketing strategies eventually became a marketing concept. The marketing concept is a basic philosophy that maintains that HM should endeavour to satisfy the needs and wants of customers through a coordinated set of activities that also allows the HM to achieve its goals at a profit. The HM must be able to consider its consumer, especially the demands of the consumer so as to let the business have an opportunity of having an expansion of its business portfolio as required by the consumers. The focus of this overview is on the behavioural segmentation process, which refers to the segmentation of buyers or customers into groups on the basis of their knowledge of, attitude towards, use of or response to a product or service of a HM. The behavioural variables identified by Kotler (2000) include: Occasions occasional buyers develop needs, purchase, or use products. Benefits refer to the benefits that buyers seek. User status includes potential users, regular users, non-users, first-time users or ex-users. Usage rate will include light, medium or heavy users. Loyalty status are classified as hard-core loyals, split loyals, shifting loyals and switchers. Buyers-readiness stages where the customers are either aware or unaware of the product or service, informed, interested, have a desire for the product or service and have intent to buy. Attitude enthusiastic, positive, indifferent, negative and hostile. Research Objectives: Relationship marketing will contribute significantly to the development of HM in India. Therefore, it becomes essential to study its applications in a fashion company in India. This study fulfils this need. The study addresses the different pros and cons of relationship marketing in a fashion company in India. Thus, the general purpose of this research investigation is to identify, describe and analyse factors that have an impact on relationship marketing, customer retention and customer acquisition in Indian fashion context. The main objectives of this study are given below, To identify, describe and analyse factors that will have an impact on relationship marketing, customer retention and customer acquisition in a fashion company and at HM in India. To appraise the views of customers of HM in India, how they feel about the companys relationship with them. To gain insight on how HM in India build customer relationship marketing tactics. To understand and determine the mediating role of customer behavior between relationship marketing and customer retention and acquisition. To indentify the market entry strategies for HM in India. Research Questions: What is the relationship marketing tactics practiced by the HM in India? What is the market entry strategy practiced by the HM in India? Deliverables: As it has been described in the objectives of the research project that the main purpose of this study is to examine the market entry strategies and relationship marketing by HM in India and customer relationships in Fashion Company and to find out how fashion company relationships with customers promotes its entry in India. The final product of this research project will be a report, containing the HMs relationship strategy and market entry strategy in India, what are their advantages and disadvantages. The report will contain the perceptions of employee and customers. Finally, the report will highlight some relationship marketing problems of HM and a fashion company and suggest some guidelines to remove these problems and improve its customers base in India. Research Methodology: Interested customer and would be customers of HM in India will be approached to collect the data. There are two kinds of data. Primary data Secondary data Primary data includes the information about relationship marketing and market entry strategy available from customers of HM in India. This also includes responses by the different employee of HM on the shop-floor. Secondary data will tell about the impact of relationship marketing in the retailers and the data has been available in their system. To collect the data, retailers employees, posted at different positions, will be contacted. Similarly, to assess the changes in retail services, caused by the relationship marketing, customers views will also be found out. The tools to collect this data will be the surveys. For this, employees and customers will be interviewed, where as to know the views of customers, different questionnaires will be prepared to ask them different questions. To analyze the collected data, different statistical techniques will be used. Qualitative research can be referred to as the opposite of quantitative research method. Any research method has its advantages and it disadvantages. Qualitative research is a study done that produces its results and findings that do not result from statistical means or other method of quantification. This method of inquiry requires a high level of intelligence and experience from the researcher to arrive at a more realistic and targeted data from the respondent. Quantitative research is referred to as a measurement of how people feel, think or act in a particular way and that this survey tend to include large samples from fifty to any number of interviews, structured questionnaires containing mostly closed questions that require questions along with set responds. This involves the clear statement of variables i.e. specifying the dependent and the independent variable. Resources: The most important thing to carry out any research project is to know the background, research objectives, and research methodology of the research project. For this literature is searched out. The University Library will be the primary source to review the literature. Books in hard and soft form will be obtained from the library. Similarly, different research journals and articles in the library will be valuable assets to prepare a comprehensive research report. To prepare the questionnaires, surveys done by Fashion Company to know the relationship marketing and market entry strategy will be used. Similarly new questionnaires, depending on the situation, will also be prepared. Project Plan: The project is divided into three stages. Literature review Interviews of employees of HM and their customers Report writing Literature Review: To carry out any research project, a research must be able to review the literature. This makes researcher aware of work, done by other people in the respective field. The main source of literature is the journals, in which different researchers publish their findings of problems. Interviews of retail employees and customers: In order to collect information on the impact of market entry strategy and know impact on relationship marketing in the Indian fashion company, the employees of HM will be interviewed. They will be asked about the positive and negative points of relationship marketing utilization in their stores. Similarly, customer views will be taken through the interviews. Considering all these views, suggestion to improve the customer services will be advised. Report writing: The final product of the research project will be a written report. The structure of my report will be divided in following categories, Introduction: In the introduction, the market entry strategy and history of relationship marketing use in fashion sector will be discussed and how different relationship marketing systems will be used to address the issues of HM, with the passage of time. Aims and objectives: In this part of report, purpose of the research project will be stated very clearly; what are the aims of the study and what are the problems, which will be discussed in the report. Research methodology: This is the core part of the report. After stating the problem, different research methodologies will be explained to gather the data. The primary source will be the interviews of the employees and customers. From these interviews, impact of relationship marketing and market entry strategy of HM will be assessed. The questions asked to employees and customers will be provided in the appendix of report. Conclusions: After describing the problems and research methods, suggestion will be advised to eliminate the highlighted problems. Risk: In order to carry out any research project, it is very important to study all the aspects of the project. One of the main aspects regarding any project is the risks involved. There are also some risks involved, regarding the research project under consideration. One risk can be privacy. HM employees can be duty-bound and show reluctance to give information about their working procedures and on relationship marketing operations, used in the fashion company. Impact and Beneficiaries of Research: The main objective of this research activity is to investigate the market entry strategies and relationship marketing by HM in India and customer relationships in Fashion Company and to find out how fashion company relationships with customers promotes its entry in India. This research can be very helpful for the fashion sector. For instance, it will analyze the effectiveness of relationship marketing and its market entry strategies in India. It will determine the views of HM employees about the introduction of relationship marketing in their working environment. From this, both positive and negative points about the role of relationship marketing in the fashion sector, put forward by the HM employees, can be known. Similarly, the customers views about the insertion of relationship marketing and the effect of HMs market entry strategy can be found out. Customers level of satisfaction about the HMs customer services can be assessed. This report will also show the comparison of differe nt strategies among different HMs companies worldwide and how they use relationship marketing to achieve the same target. By knowing the views of customers through this study, their difficulties while dealing with HM, can also be discovered. This report will also address these issues and suggest solutions to eradicate these problems. So, the major beneficiaries of this report are the management of HM and by considering the suggestions of the report, they can improve their market entry strategies, customer services and hence the customer relationship from HM will be invigorated.

Critical Race Theory and the Rodney King Case Essays -- Recism

Critical Race Theory and the Rodney King Case In reviewing the article, Canadian Critical Race Theory, I found that the author, Carol Aylvard, raises some very interesting as well as disturbing questions on the nature of racism within the realm of police enforcement. In looking through the lens of the Rodney King case, we are provided with a very specific example of how the issue of race was dealt with, or not dealt with within the LAPD and judicial system. To gain a clearer understanding of how race was a major issue in this case but at the same time not confronted on the front lines, Alyvard highlights several aspects of the case. In the 1991 state trial of the four police officers accused of beating Rodney King, the prosecution did not even attempt to introduce evidence of "racial animus" on part of the officers. Even though there was video-audio evidence as well as eyewitness testimony to the contrary, they still did not challenge the defense's assertion that no racial epithets had been used by the police officers. As well, the prosecution neglected to appeal the decision of the State Court to move the trial from a racially diverse area to the predominantly white area of Simi Valley, where it was inevitable that the officers would be judged by an all-white jury. Furthermore, they also did not challenge the defense's portrayal of King's injuries as trivial. While it is needless to say that the list goes on and on, it came as no great surprise that the jury acquitted the four LAPD officers. It was also not surprising that riots followed this acquittal. One month after the beating and one year after the acquittal, two independent commissions, The McCone Commission and The California State Assembly Commission were appoint... ... is possible to implement alternative legal strategies that have their roots in recognition instead of avoidance? In looking at additional information displayed on the Internet, there seems to be an even wider range of issues being developed around the Rodney King Case. How do people of different social classes, gender or race fair in the law enforcement system? A few sites as well as the article alluded the O.J. Simpson case. Did this case confirm the importance of race consciousness and show a move toward a better understanding of the role that race plays in law? At any rate, Aylvard argues that the Rodney King case, " †¦exposed the significance of race in constitutional and criminal law and the dangers of avoiding it to maintain the "myth" of color blindness." (p. 66). References Carol, A. Aylvard. Canadian Critical Race Theory. Halifax: Fernwood, 1999.

The Significance of ?Xenia? Essay -- essays research papers

The Significance of â€Å"Xenia† Ancient Greece is known for its beautiful theaters and its skilled poets. One of the most famous ones at that time and famous even now is Homer. Nobody knows who he actually is but the works that he has created are far more than magnificent. The Odyssey and The Iliad are two poems that turned into myths, have actually been accepted as part of the history of the Greeks. The Odyssey is a story about a hero from the Trojan War who struggles to get home to his family and when he finally does he faces the suitors who he fights and defeats with the help of the gods and his son who he hasn't seen for around twenty years. The gradual development of the plot, the actual, end of the book is easily noticed. A big role in that development plays hospitality or as Homer calls it the xenia. Odysseus' journey on his way back to his island Ithaca contains numerous details about hospitality and what it is to be a good or a bad host. His voyage is based on the kindness and the warmth of the people . There are gods and humans, and giants that do not appreciate the hero but he deals with them and we meet with the actual plot of the story, his homecoming. Warmth and kindness are presented within every visit described in the book. Homer draws a very good picture of how guests are welcomed, what entertainment they are given and the way they are send on their way. The picture is filled with kindness and warmth. We could say that the kind of hospitality presented in the book is hardly seen today. The different steps of welcoming some one are really interesting. The host is bathed and fed right after his arrival no matter who he is. Hosts do not really present the question that identifies their guest until later on, after he has been well rested and entertained. A great example of this is when Telemachos and Athene, in the body of Mentor, visit Nestor. When Nestor sees the two men he has never seen before he has a feast with his sons and companions. In the sight of the strangers they all stand up and greet them. The first thing that is done is to find a place for the two guests on the table and to feed them. â€Å"When they had satisfied their appetite and thirst, Nestor, the Gerenian charioteer, said: ‘Now that our visitors have eaten well, it is the right moment to put some questions to them and enquire who they are?†(Book#3line ... ...e, son, and servants they abuse for so long. "You dogs!’ he cried. ‘You never thought to see me back from troy. So you fleeced my household; you raped my maids; you courted my wife behind my back though I was alive- with no more fear of the gods in heaven than of the human vengeance that might come. One and all, your fate is sealed.†(Book #22, lines 35-40) These are the words of Odysseus, mad with the destruction the suitors have caused to his home. He kills them all, right before they are about to eat. He kills Antinous right when he is about to drink from the wine. The suitors do not deserve the food that is being served to them because of their cruelty towards the host ,the hostess and their disloyalty to him and Ithaca The Odyssey is a book that grabs its reader with its story about Odysseus and his final homecoming. There would be no homecoming or he would have been home too late to save his wife and son from the â€Å"arrogant " suitors if there was not the good hospitality of the people he visits. Everybody Odysseus meets on his way has helped the story progress by their bad or good hospitality. Therefore xenia plays a very significant role in the plot of the story.

TXJ Companies

First of all, the TXJ Companies did not have as much security controls at all. The security controls that were in place were controls that were easy for hackers to have access to. The security’s controls weaknesses are that the computers that were used where computers that did not have the correct firewall installed. The firewall that was installed were firewalls that did not have as much of protection. They were not installed properly. The computers did not have any data encryption at all. These computers were easily to be access by hackers. The tools and technologies that could have been used to fix the weaknesses were to upgrade their computers to the latest security system. The computers could had firewalls installed, in order for hackers to stay away. An anti-virus could had been installed in order for malicious data to have access to the computers. The computers firewall should had been installed correctly as well. The business effect of TJX’s data loss to TJX, consumers, and banks were that due to its data loss, this lead to a raised in costs. The costs were from the personal data that had been lost. The business’s costs had raised a tremendous amount. The moral dimensions that may had been applied in this situation where to realize and focus what could had really happened if there were more security from the business. For instance, the business had to think before, after making any actions. The business made the action of not making secured computers and this is why, the business had to deal with a situation like this. The smart choice was not being conducted. By not making the correct decisions, the business had lost a lot.

The Soundtrack of Your Life

Music is a key factor in my life, now and has been for as long as I remember. Music is one thing that can control my mood and emotions unlike any other. The sounds and melodies of the composition have the potential to sway my moods from a dark gloomy state all the way to a joyous and soothing harmonic atmosphere. Music allows me to control how and what I want to be, or represent. Music is almost like picking out a favorite outfit. When one picks out an outfit to wear they most likely pick an outfit that expresses them and how they are feeling at that direct moment. They have the ability to change shoes, accessories, or their hairstyle to make it appealing to their particular desires, just as one has the will to change a song on their ipod, or flip the channel on a local radio station. Recently, my life has been undergoing many changes. I am now starting to apply myself in a way that allows me to develop my potential and show forth the results as an outcome of the pursuance of fulfilling my aspirations. More than ever now I am starting to realize that â€Å"you get out of life what you put in†. Life is dependent only on â€Å"what you bring to the table†. If one tends to put in minimal effort then one should not expect to experience a great aftermath. I have chosen three songs that apply to my life right now in the stance that I am currently in. Its ironic that all of these songs are from different genres, songwriters, and generations but, they somehow tie into my life perfectly. The main theme of the â€Å"soundtrack of my life† is â€Å"overcoming obstacles and changing that are essential to the growth and the perseverance of an individual†. Natasha Bedingfield’s song â€Å"Unwritten† has made quite an impact on me. When I first heard the song all I could really say is â€Å"wow†. This song made me feel empowered in a sense and I felt inspired to go out, make a difference and do something great. She explains how the world is offered to you and that it’s up to you to decide not only your fate but your destiny and how your life will end up. She states â€Å"I am unwritten, can't read my mind, I'm undefined, I'm just beginning, the pen's in my hand, ending unplanned†. By reading these lyrics and interpreting them more as a poem I realized the true and pure essence of this lyrical stanza. I believe the message of this is to convey that although we’re taught certain things as simple as proper etiquette and how to act, that doesn’t define us. It’s almost as if the writer is referring to herself as anonymous, as if she doesn’t really know herself but, in the process is trying to reveal and create herself transforming from a nonentity into a being with an individual personality, demeanor, and identity whether she knows where she’ll end up or not. This line can apply hugely to my life. I am 17 now and as a child we were all conditioned and taught to behave in a certain manner. Now that I am older I feel as if I can speak for myself and in a sense â€Å"reincarnate or change† myself into what I want to be instead of what my parents have taught me. I think that being a child one doesn’t always really know who they are other than what they are told that they are. I still don’t know exactly who and what I am but, being in this position I feel as if I can create a new identity with myself without having to know exactly where and how I will end up. This songs main message was not only that â€Å"you are who you say you are to be† but also that â€Å"perseverance is a choice that we all have to take advantage of to prosper on our own terms. Miley Cyrus’ song â€Å"The Climb† is a basic analogy of my life as a whole. She states that through life anything worth having is going to take some struggle and hard work if its something that one truly wants to be successful at or accomplish. Though, her lines in her song are very simple they are simple enough in nature to strike with a hard meaning. Miley states â€Å"the struggles I'm facing, the chance I'm taking, sometimes might knock me down, but no, I'm not breaking. † These effortless lines may seem juvenile but are very mature and take a leading stance in my life. I am transitioning from the mind of a child into an adult. I might not necessarily make the right decisions all the times or the best moves but, I never give up on my ending goal, which is to be just a more wholesome and better person. I realize that â€Å"there's always gonna be another mountain, I'm always gonna wanna make it move, always gonna be an uphill battle, sometimes I'm gonna have to lose, ain't about how fast I get there, ain't about what's waiting on the other side, it's the climb. Miley Cyrus has never stated my life in general in a better way. This song can be considered the epitome of how I live and the thesis for this paper alone. Finally, I would like to introduce the classic song off of the movie â€Å"Space Jam† that has respectively impacted my life. This song simply is real and to me defies the essential steps in creating growth in myself. This song teaches that one must be able to see and visualize themselves in an instance in order to â€Å"touch the sky† or in other words overcome an obstacle that would once never be thought of or made possible. This song is none other than the 1996 billboard topping hit of â€Å"I Believe I can Fly† by R. Kelly. Kelly sings confidently â€Å"see I was on the verge of breaking down, sometimes silence can seem so loud, there are miracles in life I must achieve, but first I know it starts inside of me, oh, if I can see it, then I can be it. † Through my conquest of life I have had times where faith has been broken and when all seems to fail my life has just spiraled out of control. This song is like a â€Å"pick me up, and booster† to reassure that in the end all will be well if you just let go and believe wholeheartedly that things will work out for you. This also means that staying positive is key to a change that you are wanting to see in yourself but, essentially you have to be proactive and press on to change and develop yourself into the idol that you have created in you mind for yourself. In the end the soundtracks of my life are austerely defined as â€Å"overcoming obstacles and changing essentially to the growth and the perseverance of an individual†. If anything I think that I am drawn to these songs because of the messages that they bring. It’s not the catchy beats, the talented artist, the flashy music videos, or the encoded messages that draw my attention forth but rather what the song has to offer to me in such a plain way. In considering things as far as the music that I listen to I am very eclectic. If the track can provide me with insight, motivation, or reality of life then I most likely will be listening to it. It’s not so much of what we are listening to but, more so why we are listening and engaging in an artistic piece of music.