Can terrorism ever be morally justified Research Paper

Can terrorism ever be morally justified - Research Paper Example The demands could be socio-economic or political. According to Igor Primoratz, terrorism can be defined as: ‘The deliberate use of violence, or threat of its use, against innocent people, with the aim of intimidating some other people into a course of action they otherwise would not take’ (Primoratz, 2011). These definitions however, form more of a general perspective to this whole idea, are simply unsatisfactory. They don’t delve into the root cause and what the ultimate objectives are behind these motives, but rather focus on what is done. The issue in its entirety is far more subtle. Virtually, in every historical era and society, there have been extremists who have used terror as their tactics to advance their cause. Of thousands of such groups that exist or have existed, the validity of their cause is often questioned. However, one element has remained consistent throughout the time, and that is their belief of being denied all the resources and opportunity to advance their cause through conventional means and that terrorism is the only way to voice their concerns and give them relief (Vague, 2007). Some studies suggest that poverty and one’s perception of unfairness and moral debauchery of Western capitalism play an integral part in forming these terrorists. Not only because they have had no other means to make their opinions heard, but also to show their hopelessness and frustration towards their oppressors.

Education and Life Chances in Modern Education Essay Example for Free

Education and Life Chances in Modern Education Essay Is there such thing as secret of finding meaning in life? That might some what answers me base on certain articles that I just read and as well as the video that amazed me while viewing. This first article defines life and it’s meaning which is â€Å"Meaning in Life [live the life that you want]† by Albert S. Wang, written on November 19, 1997. This article, questions you if you are really contented and happy of what you have and if this is really the life that you wanted. It is said in here that to be able to live a life that you want and to put a meaning on it; you must first know yourself from within because this makes you know of who you are, second is know where you want to go for it gives you direction in finding your happiness. These things are beginning of having a meaningful life. To find the meaning of your life, you must find it with action not just by waiting for it to come and you can also find this meaning in life not just in distant place but mostly it is found near you. Putting a meaning in your life is all about the choices and decisions that you made on where you want to go. Just live your will and you’ll see that each day you will grow in having a meaningful life. The second article that touches me is entitled â€Å"So What Will Matter? † sent by Leandro G. Cruz and shared by Joe Gatuslao of Bacolod City, Philippines. Its original title is A Life That Matters. This article is so inspiring because it stresses that all that you have got starting from yourself just like beauty, fame, wealth and all other things that you have are just in vain because these things are not forever yours, these are just passing things and you cannot bring these things when you leave earth but what really matters are the thing that you made that others will remember you of your goodness, the things that you gave not just in material aspects but in all, living your life with significance, teaching others and set yourself as an example to them. All of these things are living a life that matters. This third article has an unknown author which entitles â€Å"A Purpose†. The article speaks that all of us who are created by God has a unique and significant purpose. Each of us is given a chance to find our designated purposes but you must wait when the right time comes because God has set it for you at a time when you are equipped and ready. Most of the time you’ll experience the roughness of life but don’t be dismayed because there is always a helping hand that will take care of you, which is God who never leaves you. Just stay at the right path and do good deeds for in the end you will find your own way to the pearly white gate. The next article is the one that I liked most which is â€Å"The Journey of Our Life† shared again by Joe Gatuslao from Bacolod City, Philippines. This article actually tells a story about the Emperor who owned a huge land and he told his horseman that if he could ride on his horse and cover as much land area as he likes, then the Emperor would give him the area of land he has covered. The horseman did not stop riding and whipping the horse because he wanted to cover as much area as possible. Came to a point when he had covered a substantial area and he was exhausted and was dying. Then he asked himself, â€Å"Why did I push myself so hard to cover so much land area? Now I am dying and I only need a very small area to bury myself. † This story is really similar with the journey of our life because most of us are always striving for richness, properties, possessions, power etc. So we work harder and harder until we come to realized that all of these things are not necessary for living a happy and meaningful life; we must balance our way of living so that we could not missed something in life that might happen once. The next thing that I am going to share is all about the video clip that I watched; it’s about an old woman at the age of 47 and her name is Susan Boyle who joined in a certain show that searches for extraordinary talents namely Britain’s Got Talent. During her performance, a big shock was made by Susan because at the beginning when she first introduced herself, everybody was against her like they are judging Susan of joining the show where she looks like so ordinary and nothing to show up but when she start on singing all where stunned by her angelic voice and they gave her a standing ovation but most importantly the three big yes from the strict juries. This gives us an insight that we must not judge the person’s appearance because you’ll never know what’s the biggest surprise that comes from within. God created us with equal gifts and we must use this as an inspiration to others. This last article is a prayer entitled as â€Å"Mere Possessions†. It’s all about the prayer of a woman who asked a help from the Lord, asking that she might not put much stock in possessions because things don’t last and you cannot bring all of these things when you leave earth. That we come into the world with nothing, we leave with nothing. Having a meaningful life is about your choices and decisions that were made; just make sure you have chosen the right path because if you do then you’ll end walking along the pearly white gate and that is the fulfillment of having a meaningful life. There is really no such thing as a secret of finding a meaning in life; it’s just you who will make it meaningful by doing what is right and just; live happy and be happy all the time because life is just too short, you might missed something so let’s make the most of it. Public education, it can be argued, shapes society, instils social mores and indoctrinates the impressionable with those philosophies the elites value. This essay will focus upon three main areas intrinsic to the education system. These are the social reproduction of ideas, the life chances created and instilled through education, and the socialisation of the individuals undergoing the educational process. Two main sociological perspectives that are useful when studying the education system are Functionalism and Critical Theory, because they focus on macro issues and social structures more than the interactionist perspective. Functionalists believe that the school system is an agent of social reproduction, which operates to reproduce well integrated, fully functioning members of society (Webb, Schirato and Danaher, 2002: 114). Critical theorists, conversely, hold that education is the most effective mechanism for promoting social change and for giving opportunities to less privileged groups so that they can advance their social standing. However, education usually reproduces existing social divisions, maintaining the relative disadvantage of certain groups (Webb, Schirato and Danaher, 2002: 106). Munro (1994: 108) describes the different approaches by stating that, functionalists tend to see education as synonymous with socialisation, while a conflict theorist is inclined to view education as ideological- that is, reflecting the interests of particular groups. Functionalists hold that the major institution for social reproduction is the education system, whereas, from a critical perspective, teachers, who oversee this reproduction, have been made into administrators of programs that provide manpower capitalisation through planned and directed behavioural changes (Illich, 1973: 327). Illich (1973: 327) comments, from a critical perspective, that teaching and learning remain sacred activities separate and estranged from a fulfilling life. This is because the things being taught do not line up with the necessary knowledge needed for life outside of education, and that learning from programmed information always hides reality behind a screen (Illich, 1973: 324). This means that the knowledge provided is set to a secret agenda. The learning process, which supposedly passes on the values and mores necessary in society to students, is not, however, meeting these needs effectively. Relevant information, that is, knowledge, which will add skills to the labour market, is becoming less practical and more theoretical, expanding the gap between study and work. Regardless of this, employers and social elites have attempted to use the schools for the reproduction of compliant workers (Davis, 1999: 65). This double standard has been discussed in a best selling song, The Wall by Pink Floyd (1978) in which they stated that the reproduction received through the school system was set to a hidden agenda, and that society would be better off without it. Drucker (1973: 236) equates the influx of educated people to the potential for producing wealth in any given country. By stating this, educational socialisation and the development of educated people is the most important function education can have. He goes on to state that while this may be the case today, throughout history, being uneducated provided the wealth of a given nation, due to the class differences, and that education was for the rich and idle while the work was performed by the illiterate. This all changed with the Industrial Revolution, and the invention of moveable type in the 17th Century (Drucker, 1973: 232). The moveable type meant that education could be performed at a reduced rate, and words became a commodity that was necessary for improving the quality of the labour force. Education is purported to provide the best possible life chances for its graduates, yet in reality, in many ways education diminishes these chances. Heinz (1987: 132) points out that the life chances of graduates are in a state of flux, that when the labour market is depressed and work is difficult to find, then young people will opt for more education as a means of delaying their entry into a tight work force. The school then takes on the function of a warehouse; it is a place to mark time. At the same time school acts as a socio-political instrument for reducing social and political conflict, and this function gains predominance over its main function of educating young people. In many cases the academic credentials earned are unnecessary for working-class jobs (Furlong and Cartmel, 1999: 12), which changes the focus of education, making it oppressive and irrelevant (Davis, 1999: 83). Heinz (1987: 131) states secondary school-leavers face a worsening outlook when they want to start in working life, and joining a preparatory program is increasingly becoming the only alternative to unemployment. There are a growing number of young people who are finding it harder to find a place, whose prospects on the labour market are poor, being qualified but underemployed, or drifting between unemployment and occasional jobs (Heinz, 1987: 131). This increases social inequalities and the gap between rich and poor. By acting as a warehouse education is not preparing students for life but rather crippling their life chances. The alternative to this are to reassess the curricula and teaching methods, reintegrating skilled workers into vocational education, ensuring that knowledge will be of direct benefit to graduates in obtaining a place within the work force. There are fewer and fewer opportunities becoming available, and school leavers have to undergo more and more relevant vocational training. However, fewer school-leavers are able to go directly into the vocational training they want. Heinz (1987: 130) noted a growing trend 16 years ago that Depending on the region, only between one-third and one-half of these school leavers succeed in getting a training place, and in 1994 Munro (1994: 109) observed that the school-to-work transition had failed which had major ramifications for everyone involved, causing underemployment of school leavers (Munro, 1994: 116). The seriousness of this trend is made even more apparent by the fact that school-leavers are even ready to enter apprenticeships that lead them into dead-end occupations (Heinz, 1987: 129). Drucker (1973: 232) however, states that while this may be so, to be uneducated is an economic liability and is unproductive, even though education is producing an unemployable, overeducated proletariat. (Drucker, 1973: 233) According to Mehan (1973: 240) education is a major socialisation agency, which moulds the individuals self-concepts into a socially accepted format, allowing each individual to be slotted into a specific function (Sargent, 1994: 240). Sargent (1994: 240) points out that in the function of education values are essentially involved and are taught beside worldly knowledge. However, this knowledge interprets the world, but does not necessarily correspond with any external state (Sargent, 1994: 232). The transmission of knowledge, skills and values, helps to sort and rank individuals, that they might be better placed in the labour market (Munro, 1994: 96). This raises a paradox, however, where education is seen by many as the best possible means of achieving greater equality in society (Sargent, 1994: 233), yet it categorises the graduates into job specifications, personality types and the opportunities granted to each. Sargent (1994: 231) furthers this thought by explaining that the education system is an integral part of determining position and power in our society (Sargent, 1994: 231), and that through education the class structures are compounded, making it more difficult for those in the working classes from advancing in the social hierarchy. The education institution both absorbs and perpetuates the ideology, masquerading as knowledge, which legitimises inequality (Sargent, 1994: 231). Regardless of the inequalities produced, it has become the absolute prerequisite of social and economic development in our world to have a highly educated pool of people ready for the labour market (Drucker, 1973: 232). In conclusion, the failure of the education system to reduce social inequality and produce better workers, raises serious doubts as to its effectiveness. Life chances created through education appear to be diminishing, despite the extension of education. The knowledge taught seems to be ineffective in preparing students to cope with life. Functionalists need to reassess the structure of education, as it loses its ability to effectively provide for graduates, becoming dysfunctional in its goals to remove inequality and give a head start to people entering the work force. When looking at the education system, it is necessary to ask if the cost spent on educating people is being effectively used, considering the increasing number of educated poor. The gap between knowledge taught and life experience needs to be bridged, for education to effectively function. If, as it appears, schools are to socialise and reproduce effective and functioning members of society, the curricula has to be addressed. Bibliography Davis, Nanette J. (1999). Youth Crisis: Growing up in the High Risk Society. Praeger Publications, Westport Drucker, Peter F. (1973). The Educational Revolution, Social Change: Sources, Patterns, and Consequences (2nd ed) Amitai Etzioni and Eva Etzioni-Halevy (Eds). Basic Books Inc. , New York. pp 232 238 Furlong, Andy, and Cartmel, Fred (1997). Young People and Social Change: Individualisation and Risk in Late Modernity. Open University Press, Buckingham Heinz, Walter R. (1987). The Transition from School to Work in Crisis: Coping with Threatening Unemployment, Journal of Adolescent Research (Vol 2). pp 127 141 Illich, Ivan (1973). The Breakdown of Schools: A Problem or a Symptom, Childhood and Socialisation Hans Peter Dreitzel (Ed). Macmillan Publishing Co. Inc. , Canada. pp 311 336 Mehan, Hugh (1973). Assessing Childrens School Performance, Childhood and Socialisation Hans Peter Dreitzel (Ed). Macmillan Publishing Co. Inc. , Canada. pp 240 264 Munro, Lyle (1994). Education, Society and Change: A Sociological Introduction to Contemporary Australia Brian Furze and Christine Stafford (Eds). Macmillan Education Australia Pty. Ltd. , South Melbourne. pp 96 128 Pink Floyd (1978) The Wall, The Wall. Mushroom Records, California. Sargent, Margaret (1994). Education for equality? employment? emancipation? , The New Sociology for Australians. Longman Cheshire Pty. Ltd. , Melbourne. pp 231 256 Webb, J. , Schirato, T. and Danaher, G. (2002). Bourdieu and Secondary Schools, Understanding Bourdieu pp 105 106 (Reprinted in Sociological Reflections on Everyday Life: GSC 1201 Reader). Allen and Unwin, Sydney. pp 227 238.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome :: essays research papers fc

Irritable Bowel Syndrome Introduction to IBS Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common disorder of the intestines that leads to crampy pain, gassiness, Bloating, and changes in bowel habits. Some people with IBS have constipation. Others have diarrhea or frequent loose stools, often with an urgent need to move the bowels and some people experience both. Sometimes the person with IBS has a crampy urge to move the bowels but cannot do so. As much as 20% of the US population suffers from irritable bowel syndrome. Irritable bowel syndrome is one of the most common digestive disorders disorders in North America. Over three millions doctor visits are made each year due to IBS. Almost 50% of referrals to a gastroemterologist are for irritable bowel syndrome. Twice as many women suffer from irritable bowel syndrome than do men. Symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome usually start early in life. Half the patients have symptoms before they reach the age of 30. Through the years, IBS has been called by many names -- colitis, mucous colitis, spastic colon, spastic bowel, and functional bowel disease. Most of these terms are inaccurate. Colitis, for instance, means inflammation of the large intestine (colon). IBS, however, does not cause inflammation and should not be confused with ulcerative colitis, which is a more serious disorder. The cause of IBS is not known, and as yet there is no cure. Doctors call it a functional disorder because there is no sign of disease when the colon is examined. IBS causes a great deal of discomfort and distress, but it does not cause permanent harm to the intestines and does not lead to intestinal bleeding of the bowel or to a serious disease such as cancer. Often IBS is just a mild annoyance, but for some people it can be disabling. They may be afraid to go to social events, to go out to a job, or to travel even short distances. Most people with IBS, however, are able to control their symptoms through diet, stress management, and sometimes with medications prescribed by their physicians. Causes of Irritable Bowel Syndrome The colon, which is about 6 feet long, connects the small intestine with the rectum and anus. The major function of the colon is to absorb water and salts from digestive products that enter from the small intestine. Two quarts of liquid matter enter the colon from the small intestine each day.

Leadership :: essays research papers

Webster's Dictionary defines leadership as the position or guidance of a person or thing that leads, directing, commanding, or guiding head, as of a group or activity. However Leadership has not one single definition, but many. Leadership is often an intangible factor that makes one group more effective than another. It exists at different levels within organizations and should be woven throughout the entire organization. Different organizations use different ways in effectively teaching or molding their employees how to be an effective leader. One such company is the R.E. Brown Company and Associates, who have developed a yearlong program that is strictly used as a program to teach their employees how to become a more effective leader. They use what they believe as the Nine Behaviors of leaders. This program doesn't directly start off with the introduction of the nine behaviors, but of little tasks given to the participants. They are broken into small groups where they interact with each other, summarize common threads, and then present their findings to the larger group. Then once this has taken place they develop specific action plans to take back to their groups and from there on they work coherently together as a team. This develops a bond, and creates a model of team leadership, sharing, and reflection. Once this has happened then the teams are introduced to the nine behaviors of leadership where they discuss each one and try to use the information that they have gathered to take back to their own jobs were they can become even more successful then they have ever been before. The Nine Behaviors that develop exception leaders are: 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Motivating others through adaptive leadership, who knows when to direct, coach, facilitate, or delegate, depending on the task and person. 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Empowering others, which is a sort of delegation that will help you as a leader to control the situation with the help of others. 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Encouraging teamwork, which is balancing results, process, and relationships. 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Preparing people for change allowing you to understand their psychological responses and helping them to create a positive change with force-field analysis. 5.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Vision/Mission, which establishes guidelines for accomplishing a specific goal. 6.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Using multiple options by allowing you to see different strategic possibilities and being open to more day-to-day options. 7.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Taking intelligent risks, relating decision-making to risks and getting consensus. 8.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Stretching personal creativity that renews personal resources. 9.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Showing passion for work by demonstrating presence, inspiration, and energy.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Each company has their own way of developing programs that center on ones ability to become an effective leader; this was just one aspect that I was able to find.

Mass Marketing and Mass Customization Essay

1. Stragetic Marketing In its strategic role, marketing focuses on business’s intentions in a market and the means and timing of realizing those intentions. The strategic role of marketing is quite different from marketing management, which deals with developing, implementing, and directing programs to achieve designated intentions 1.1 Concept of strategic marketing As shown above, the marketing function plays at different levels in the organization. At the corporate level, marketing inputs (competitive analysis, market dynamics, and environmental shifts) are essential for formulating a corporate strategic plan. Marketing represents the boundary between the marketplace and the company, and knowledge of current and emerging happenings in the marketplace are extremely important in any strategic planning exercises. At the other end of the scale, marketing management deals with the formulation and implementation of marketing programs to support the perspectives of strategic marketing, referring to marketing strategy of a product/market. This time, marketing strategy is developed at the business unit level. Marketing’s Role in the Organization Organizational level Role of Marketing Formal Name Corporate Provide customer and competitive perspective for corporate strategic planning Corporate marketing Business unit Assist in the development of strategic perspective of the business unit to direct its future course Strategic marketing Product/market Formulate and implement marketing programs Marketing management Together, the strategic three Cs form the marketing strategy triangle. All  three Cs-customer, corporation, and competition- are dynamic, living creatures with their own objectives to pursue. If what the customer wants doesn’t match the needs of the corporation, the latter’s long-term viability may be at stake. Positive matching of the needs and objectives of customer and corporation is required for a lasting good relationship. But such matching is relative, and if the competition is able to offer a better match, the corporation will be at a disadvantage over time. In other words, the matching of needs between customer and corporation must not only be positive, it must be better or stronger than the match between the customer and the competitor. When the corporation’s approach to their customer is identical to that of the competition, the customer cannot differentiate between them. The result could be a price war that may satisfy the customer’s but not t he corporation’s needs. In summary, marketing strategy, in terms of these three key constituents, must be defined as an endeavor by a corporation to differentiate itself positively from its competitors, using its relative corporate strengths to better satisfy customer needs in a given environmental setting. 1.2 Example for marketing strategy 1.2.1 Around the World There are a lot of corporations succeed in marketing strategy. The most highlight one is Samsung. Just a few years ago Samsung was struggling to catch up in the smartphone market. Now it makes more of them than anybody else and has Apple on the back foot, in addition to being the world’s largest technology company by revenue. Samsung’s aggression has gotten it into trouble in the past, losing a high profile case to Apple for imitating its design. But the reputation hit and the fine were a small price to pay. The company pivots and produces quickly, coming out with a variety of devices. It sees what the market responds to, pushes successes, and kills failures. And now, rather than just providing a cheaper and lesser iPhone, it’s differentiated itself with larger screens, different features, successful marketing, and delivering what consumers want. The Note is a perfect example. The company found through market research that Asian-language speakers in particular wa nted a device that they could hand-write on, because drawing characters is easier with a pen. The result was a combination phone/tablet (â€Å"phablet†) that’s been an unexpected hit. 1.2.2 Vietnam In Vietnam, the marketing strategy has just started in 2006 (as Vietnam joined WTO). Therefore, marketing strategy could count on the fingers of one hand. But there still are some corporations do that. As we know they are ICP, THP, and Vinamilk†¦ To Vinamilk, at the beginning, Vinamilk just paid their intension in distribution. But later, the most important thing that they concerned about is to build the trust and quality (especially after the melamine incident) As the quality is acquired, Vinamilk makes a further step forward in building the trust in their customers. In order to do that, they aim to produce milk from domestic initiative through developing and supporting farmers in their dairy herds. After the melamine incident, it makes a positive impact on Vinamilk. So that Vinamilk can make a further step to increase customers’ awareness in products’ quality. In 2011, Vinamilk went in making trust by cooperating with well-known milk and nutrition research center s. In that way, Vinamilk can be more proactive in meeting the milk and nutrition which suited the Vietnamese. 2. Mass marketing 2.1 Definition Mass marketing is a market strategy in which a firm decides to ignore market segment differences and appeal the whole market with one offer or one strategy. Companies use mass marketing to promote a single product or service to as many people as possible without differentiating how various segments of the market might respond. For example, a fast-food chain might offer the same hamburger promotion at all of its franchises to create a demand for its new product. The idea is to broadcast a message that will reach the largest number of people possible. By reaching the largest audience possible, exposure to the product is maximized. In theory, this would directly correlate with a larger number of sales or buy in to the product. It is the technique of trying to spread our marketing message to anyone and everyone who are willing to listen. It enables us to reach a wide range of services to take any job that comes on our way. Some examples of mass marketing strategies would be direct mail, yellow page ads, billboards, radio ads, free dinner seminars, etc A mass market is a general population which can be targeted at wide for the sales and marketing of a product. A  mass market is broad in nature and is not categorized by demographics. For example – Automobiles – cars and two wheelers, usually target the mass markets with heterogeneous ages, locations and preferences. . However these mass markets can be further diversified into smaller segments. Products which target a mass market generally vary their promotion strategies according to the market. Example – An automobile company or a telecom company targets a mass market. However each individual might have a different preference for automobiles or telecom service providers. Does within the mass market, there exist individual segments. A smart marketer will try to promote his product to the biggest chunk of the mass market. For example – In soft drinks, Pepsi is targeting the youth, but on the other hand coke is targeting whole families through defining values. Thus coke has a bigger market and it is a more widely recognized brand when compared to Pepsi. 2.2 Purpose The purposes of undifferentiated marketing are several. Mass marketing focuses on high sales and low prices. It aims to provide products and services that will appeal to the whole market.It announces the presence of your small business and products to the general public and attracts as many eyes to the brand as possible. By doing so, it allows you to gauge which segments of the market are most interested in your brand and adjust your marketing to target them more specifically. Mass marketing also saves the expense of market research and targeted campaigns by allowing you to reach the market as a whole and fine tune your efforts later on once revenue is comfortably consistent.Henry Ford realized this when he created the Model T. Before him, the automobile was a niche product for the wealthy. Ford developed a vehicle that was accessible to all and made millions. The reason mass marketing strategies work at all is because at any given time, there is approximately 3 percent of the market that is actively looking for what it is you have to offer. For example, 3 percent of people are actively in the market, as we speak, for a new car, a new home or maybe even a new advisor. Mass marketing strategies rely on this 3 percent to give you a return on your investment. To be successful utilizing these strategies, you have to invest a significant amount of time and money upfront to see any response. Many advisors spend a lot of years and money competing with other advisors in their market over this small â€Å"need help now† market. 2.3 Background Mass marketing has its origins in the 1920s with the inception of mass radio use. This gave corporations an opportunity to appeal to a wide variety of potential customers. Due to this, variety marketing had to be changed in order to persuade a wide audience with different needs into buying the same thing. It has developed over the years into a worldwide multi-billion dollar industry. Although sagging in the Great Depression it regained popularity and continued to expand through the 40s and 50s. It slowed during the anti-capitalist movements of the 60’s and 70’s before coming back stronger than before in the 80’s, 90’s and today. These trends are due to corresponding upswings in mass media, the parent of mass marketing. For most of the twentieth century, major consumer-products companies held fast to mass marketing- mass-producing, mass distributing and mass promoting about the same product in about the same way to all consumers. Mass marketing creates the largest potential market, which leads to lowered costs. It is also called overall marketing. 2.4 Products For certain types of widely consumed items such asnecessities, furniture, artwork, automobiles, residential communities, soft drinks and personal computers,†¦mass marketing approach makes the most sense. Typically, things which are perceived to be necessary to the consumer are subject to mass marketing. Resources of mass marketing provide cost-effective marketing solutions for small and micro businesses, including start-ups. For example, toothpaste isn’t marketed to one particular market segment.It is sold in huge quantities. A company or individual who manufactures toothpaste wishes to get more people to buy their particular brand over another. The goal is that when a consumer has the option to select a tube of toothpaste, he would remember the product that was marketed. Often, this type of general appeal is supported by positive, emotional settings, and a great many reinforcers at the point of purchase. Walk through any supermarket, and you will observe hundreds of food products that are perceived as nearly identical by the consumer and are treated as such by the producer, especially generic items. Many mass marketed items are considered staple items. These are items people  are accustomed to buying new when their old ones are used up. Even â€Å"products† like politicians and services from professions such as law, chiropractic and medicine, are subject to mass marketing. A company that sells affordably priced products that appeal to a wide variety of consumers. Mass market retailers are not necessarily known for selling durable, high-quality merchandise or for having exceptional customer service, but they do meet consumers’ wants and needs, at reasonable prices. Examples of mass market retailers include big box stores such as Target, Sam’s Club and Best Buy, as well as brands like Levi Strauss and Gap, and e-retailers like Amazon. Supermarket, drugstore, mass merchandise and warehouse chains, are all considered mass market retailers. 2.5 Shotgun Approach The shotgun theory is an approach of mass marketing. It involves reaching as many people as you can through television, cable and radio. On the Web, it refers to a lot of advertising done through banners to text ads in as many websites as you can, in order to get enough eyeballs that will hopefully turn into sales. An example of shotgun marketing would be to simply place an ad on primetime television, without focusing on any specific group of audience. A shotgun approach increases the odds of hitting a target when it is more difficult to focus. 2.6 Strategy â€Å"All things to all people† It is the technique of trying to spread our marketing message to anyone and everyone who are willing to listen. A truckload of general advertising is done to the mass market in the hope that some of them will hit a target. It enables us to reach a wide range of services to take any job that comes on our way; and ultimately we become a â€Å"jack of all trades and a master of none†. Mass marketing quite simply targets the masses without any concern over addressing different needs and desires of different segments of the population. Mass marketing can be effective for products that are helpful to the majority of people. Advertisers often combine more than one type of ad around a single theme or slogan to help the product become more familiar with consumers. Companies aim mass marketing at the total market for a particular product. With an un-segmented strategy a firm develops a single marketing mix – one combination of product, price, promotion and  distribution. Compan ies that adopt mass marketing take an undifferentiated approach that assume that all customers in the market have similar need and wants that can be reasonably satisfied with a single marketing program. Coca-Cola, for example was available in only one flavor and in one type of bottle. Another example of mass marketing was Henry Ford’s offer to consumers of only one car Model-T in just one color. 2.7 Advantages and disavantages 2.7.1 Advantages Product Life Cycle A mass marketing approach may offer an advantage in cases where a product has reached the end of its life cycle. A product’s life cycle charts its course within a consumer market, from its first appearance on the market to increasing sales followed by its eventual decline in popularity or demand. A decline in sales typically marks the end of a product’s life cycle, regardless of what type of marketing approach you used. At the beginning of the life cycle, businesses may use mass marketing approach to obtain the most sales possible from targeted consumer markets. Once sales start to slow, these marketing approaches show little potential for increasing sales. By using mass marketing approach at the end of a product’s life cycle, businesses may increase the likelihood of sales by making a product available to other market sectors. Economies of scale When applying the mass marketing approach, the companies are able to produce in large scale. This requires that companies have to invest in the modern equipment, improve leadership. Moreover, the production processes need to be standardized in order to gain the economies of scale. For example: Advertising messages by mass media can reach millions of viewers in a single showing, and economies of scale make mass distribution cheaper than regional deliveries Spreading of risk When investment in capital is scattered, the companies can minimize changes of demand. For example, if one segment is crashed, this is likely to be compensated by other segments. Brand awareness and value When applying mass marketing approach, your brand will appear in many segment markets. This will help your company build a strong brand. For example: Hoang Anh Gia Lai has been a wood manufacturing company since 1990. In 2009, this company invested in estate and succeeded quickly thanks to this famous brand 2.7.2 Disadvantage Marketing cost When applying mass marketing approach, companies have to implement the promotion strategies such as: advertising, public relation (PR). For example: when introducing toothpaste product P/S, Unilever implements advertising campaign on national television channels, even on local television channels. According to experts, brands that are as large as P/S, are advertised 30-40 times in a single day on VTV3 channel. The price of a single advertising range is between 7 million vnd to 40 million vnd in accordance with advertising time. It is just a single channel; in fact, P/S has also been advertised on VTV1, VTV2, and many local channels such as DRT†¦ And in addition, Unilever also has to pay for banner cost, labor cost†¦ And P/S is also a single Unilever’s product. Therefore, Unilever spends millions of dollar a day on advertising. Research and development cost and fierce completion Today, technology has become the most important factor in business. This factor is vital factor especially for market leaders. In many cases, the new products of competitor are able to dominate market, even are able to make your products disappear. For example: Kodak is a photography company. While Kodak is competing with Fuji, a photography company from Japan, the invention of digital camera almost makes those companies to be in bankruptcy. Another example, Unilever and many detergent manufacturers are anxious about the invention of ultrasonic washing machine. This may lead to the disappearance of Omo (products of Unilever) Market research cost Today, when the supply of many commodities overcomes the demand, the society changes from manufacturer society to consumptive society. The marketing concept also changes. The manufacturers, now, have to find out the needs of customer, and try to satisfy them. The manufacturers no longer pay attention  about how to find out markets to sell their products, therefore, they try to produce as much as possible. And in order to satisfy diverse needs, companies have to spend much time and money on market research activities such as population census, level of economic growth, demography, culture, polity, national policy†¦ 3 Mass customization 3.1 Definition Mass customization was first popularized in 1993 by B. Joseph Pine II in his book â€Å"Mass Customization – The new Frontier in Business competition† and defined as â€Å"developing, producing, marketing and delivering affordable goods and services with enough variety and customization that nearly everyone finds exactly what they want† Indeed, mass customization did not become a tangible innovative business trend until the second half of the 2000’s thanks to rapid manufacturing and information technologies and more structured customer-manufacturer interaction methods A completed definition appeared. Mass customization, in marketing, manufacturing and management, is the use of flexible computer-aided manufacturing systems to produce custom output. Those systems combine the low unit costs of mass production processes with the flexibility of individual customization. Mass customization has become particularly important within the fashion industry, where ther e is an increasing demand for personalized clothes, handbags, shoes etc. 3.2 Characters of mass customization †¢ It is an evolution of mass production, which seeks to answer customers’ needs, requirements and wishes for having individualized and personalized goods and services. This also implies the production of high quantity at low costs. †¢ It leverages on new information technologies and innovative manufacturing processes to ensure high volumes at low cost; It produces goods and services to meet individual customer’s needs with near mass production efficiency† 3.3 Key success factors of mass customization Customer sensitivity. Refers to customer demands for individualized and customized products, which depends on two main factors: 1) Degree of customer’s sacrifices (how much he is willing to pay and how long he is willing to wait); 2) Firm’s ability to produce according to customer’s  specifications within a reasonable time and cost limits. Process amenability. Manufacturing technology and information technologies must be available for mass customization systems and products must be designed to be customizable. Competitive environment. Market conditions will support competitive environment. Being the first to implement mass customization in a particular industry may lead to gaining competitive advantage but when mass customization becomes more common, there are fewer opportunities to achieve that. Organizational readiness. Organizational readiness refers to the firm’s attitudes, culture and resources. The firm’s management should be open to new ide as and aggressive in competitive advantage and the promotion of a culture through the development of networks, new products and process technologies. 3.4 Example In 1996, Dell drew people’s attention to completely-new computer marketing strategy called â€Å"Build-to-order†: Marketers must first consult with customers to determine their requirements, then realize exactly what customers need and finally, use the information in product design processes. Dell Computer was also eager to use this method very successfully in building a database for their website. They allowed individual customers to assemble and purchase computers and accessories directly via the website www.dell.com. In 2000, Dell’s revenue reached $ 50 million per day. In 2001, Dell surpassed IBM to become the multinational computer technology company having the largest market share in the world. The success of Dell shows trends and demands to shift from mass production to mass customization. A typical example can be found easily through fast food outlets providing â€Å"burger† and chips at a low price. However, until 1995, this model became backward to market growth. Therefore, McDonald’s quickly shifted from mass production to customer requirements. McDonald’s added meatballs, pizza, sandwich, apple pies and ice cream to their menus. Moreover, the menu is suitable for each country and is written in many languages. For example about Big Macs (hamburgers sold by McDonald’s) in India where the majority of people are Islamic, pork is replaced with lamb on the menu, and drinks also diversify with beer and wine beside Coca Cola , Pepsi and 7 Up . The size of the glass also varies by regions: large glasses of water in the U.S. and smaller glasses in Asian countries. The present success of McDonald all  over the world shows a good change in their strategy. 3.5 Advantages and disadvantages 3.5.1 Advantages Benefits to the economy Applying the method â€Å"build to order†, no goods are actually made until the buyers send an order. Unwanted and out-of-date products, which are wasted to our limited resources, are eliminated. Because mass customization uses â€Å"build-to-order†, which requires a very short lead time from the receipt of the customer’s order to the delivery of the product, speedy response and perfect coordination of all types of input is necessary. Therefore, it would be suitable for the company’s functional departments such as procurement, manufacture, assembly and logistics to be addressed which market nears the customer. Specalization will save our resources because it reduces cost and time despite of mass production. Blue-collar workers (people who do physical work in industry) in developed countries will benefit as they have more jobs in their local without going to any far countries. Manufacturers, who always want to sell to large populations of developing countri es, believe that their local subsidiaries are able to independently meet the needs of that market without direct producing from parent company. Therefore, developing economies will also benefit as more knowledge-based jobs moved to their countries. Benefits to manufacturers By applying mass customization and â€Å"build to order† strategies, products are only manufactured when a customer order is received. As nothing is produced until an order is received, there are huge saved successes to be harvested by eliminating of unsold goods, goods in process and raw materials. In the case of Dell, payment is collected upfront when the customised order is received. Therefore, the company’s cash flow position improves and financial risk is reduced. Tseng and Jiao (1996) pointed out that in high volume production; mass production shows an advantage due to the economy of scale. However, with low to medium volume production, where production quantity cannot give remarkable result to buyer’s profits, customers are willing to pay more because their special and divers needs are satisfied. Consequently, small and medium enterprises, that have difficulty achieving economy of  scale, have the most to gain from mass customisation. In taking a custome r order, closed information about the customer’s preferences is collected thus generating a profile of the customer. By keeping profiles of all customers in a database, the company is able to design a â€Å"customised marketing† strategy for each individual customer. More importantly, knowledge of the customer’s profile allows the company to better manage the relationship it has with the customer. This stage also helps the company reduce the cost for market research. Benefits to customers The most obvious benefit to the customers is that goods that can meet the exact needs and wants of an individual are available at prices comparable to those of standard mass produced goods. Fiore et al. (2001) state that in the fashion apparel industry, the process of configuring and designing clothes by themselves proves to be a stimulating experience. The sheer novelty, intriguing application of advanced technology such as body scanning and pleasure from involvement in the creative process may prove as desirable as the apparel itself. As build to order becomes the norm in industry, customers can expect shorter lead-time to delivery. Long wait for goods due to out of stock situation would no longer occur. 3.5.2 Disadvantages Drawbacks for the customers A major concern of customers is whether there would be higher prices for customised product. In short to medium term, pricing would likely be higher than mass produced goods. In the longer term, when mass customisers compete among themselves, prices are expected to fall. A key disadvantage of customised goods is the difficulty in comparing between suppliers. Different suppliers rarely offer the same options for their goods. Therefore, some benefits of sharing information between customers are lost. Consequently, the lack of comparison and competition may result in higher prices for customised products than mass-produce ones. Suppliers are likely to apply value-based pricing rather than cost-based pricing. In value-based pricing, price is set based on the feeling value that customers think about goods. In cost-based pricing, the price is set based on the actual cost of production. However, this disadvantage to the customer is an advantage to the manufacturer who gains a higher profit on customised product. Because the  customer is given multiple choices product, identifying the real cost of the customized product may prove difficult. When the number of product options increases, so does the complexity of cost estimation. To separate the risk of costing, manufacturers may place higher profit on all features of the products. Lack of product knowledge by some customers may result in wrong details and unwanted products. There is also increase in the performance of the customised product due to lack of comparison. Helping customer to learn how to configure the products is an additional unpredicted cost. Entering into the privacy of customers can be a major concern. Personal information is extracted during product detail stage and set database. The information is then sold to other suppliers without previous agreement of the customers; this company may have to be faced with punishment. Drawbacks for manufactures & the economy Although there are many substantial researches into the subject, there are very few actual successful organisations that a working framework can be modelled coherently. A key problem of mass customisation is deciding on the options for customers. Gilmore and Pine (1997a) warned that customisation options should be restricted to limit options for customers to choose, in order to avoid wasteful efforts. Another difficulty is too definite the amount that the customer is willing to pay for functional goods. Mass customisation faces the hard task of changing their organisational structure and culture. When the progress go wrongly, factory productivity and capacity planning can be seriously affected. The complexity of supporting multiple types of product can result in increased cost due to: lower worker, higher machinery cost and higher inventories of goods in process and finished goods. Other concerns are constant re-training demand, production delays and product quality issues. Substanti al investment in information technology is required to create the close relation between all organisation’s value chain and external suppliers and intermediaries. As information technology becomes obsolete (out-of-date) fairly quick, keeping the information infrastructure can increase cost. Approriate market players, whose strategy is to focus on small part of the market, will be the biggest losers. Mass customisation organisations are able to enter all parts of the market, at mass production pricing. Market manufacturers that do not change will not survive. Michael  Cox, chief economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, in concurrence with Toffler lamented that â€Å"If you don’t customize, you’re going to lose business in today’s marketplace.† (Wall Street Journal, April 29, 1999, pp. A1). Finally, we may have a remarkable situation, where the market is dominated by a few super efficient mass customisation organisations. Entering into the privacy of customers can be a major concern. Personal information is extracted during product detail stage and set database. The information is then sold to other suppliers without previous agreement of the customers; this company may have to be faced with punishment. 4 Mass Marketing and Mass Customization 1. Goal -to appeal to an entire market, create the largest potential market and reach the highest turnover. -Delivering goods and services at prices low enough that nearly everyone can afford them. -to meet consumers’ diverse and changing needs at near mass production prices. -Delivering affordable goods and services with enough variety and customization that nearly everyone finds exactly what they want. 2. Strategy -using one basic marketing strategy to approach the entire market. -using different methods designed to target each specific population segment. Because Mass Marketing is a market coverage technique that does not distinguish or recognize any substantial differences between customer segments, it only use one basic marketing (single marketing mix) strategy by utilizing mass distribution and mass promotion to appeal the entire market place. On the contrary, mass customization uses many different methods to satisfy each specific customer segment. There are 4 types of mass customization (which are Collaborative Customization, Adaptive Customization, Transparent Customization and Cosmetic Customization) and in each type; the company has different ways to communicate with customers. For Collaborative Customization, the company works in partnership with individual customers to develop precise product offerings to best suit each  customer’s needs. For Adaptive Customization, the company produces standardized products that are customizable by the end-user. Transparent Customization is where the company provides unique products to individual customers without overtly stating the products are customized. And Cosmetic Customization produces standardized products but market the products in different ways to various customers. 3. Tools -utilizing mass distribution and mass media. -using technologies such as computerization, internet, product modularization, and lean production. Mass marketing tries to spread the marketing message to anyone and everyone who are willing to listen and let its products/services known by the greatest number of people so that it can reach potential customers. Therefore, mass media and mass distribution are good tools for the strategy. Businesses can reach the mass market with advertising messages through a variety of media. Radio is the oldest mass market medium. Television quickly took a dominant role as the mass medium of choice of a large number of businesses. Television remained the most effective means of reaching mass market audiences until innovations in technology and the Internet began to change the game around the turn of the 21st century. Newspapers are also a traditional mass market medium, although not as effective as radio or television due to the regional or biased nature of individual publications. Mass customization concentrates on using technologies (such as computerization, internet, product modularization, and lean production) in order to make products that really meet customer’s needs and be able to quickly produce an item only when an order is received. 4. Products -standardized products built to inventory. -long product life cycles -standardized modules assembled based on customers’ needs. -short product life cycles Mass marketing aims to attract all kinds of buyers by producing and distributing the one best product at the lowest possible price; no product  is made specially for one person or a group of people. Therefore, the products must be standardized to make sure that the vendor can sell their goods to a large number of customers. Typically, things which are perceived to be necessary/essential to the consumer are subject to mass marketing. It focuses on products that have little change in customer’s demand, so the life cycles of products are long. In mass customization, products are made to satisfied different customer segment, it also have standardization but for modules to be assembled and made complete products based on customer’s need. Because the mass customization produces goods in response to volatile market demand, the life cycles of products is short. 5. Economics -Economies of scale. -Economies of scope and customer integration. An economy of scale means the decrease in unit cost of a product or service resulting from large-scale operations and it plays an important role in mass marketing. When applying the mass marketing approach, the companies are able to produce in large scale. Advertising messages broadcast over mass media can reach millions of audiences in a single showing, and economies of scale make mass distribution cheaper than regional deliveries. Economies of scope are conceptually similar to economies of scale. Whereas economies of scale for a firm primarily refers to reductions in the average cost (cost per unit) associated with increasing the scale of production for a single product type, economies of scope refers to lowering the average cost for a firm in producing two or more products. In mass customization, the product customization concepts and design schemes are determined and agreed between customers and manufacturers. Moreover, by sharing demand and supply information, supply chain partn ers can better utilize production resources in response to volatile market demand. The integration of customer in manufacturing really helps to make products with reasonable and affordable prices. 6. Customer involvement -customers are passively involved in the value chain. -customers are actively integrated into the value chain. In Mass Marketing, products are made before there are orders from customers and they just receive products’ information through mass media like newspaper, TV or internet; then make decisions to buy goods or not. In other words, mass marketing is where the vendor offers a product on a ‘take it or leave it’ basis, so customers are passively involved in the value chain. In Mass Customization, there are many applications including software-based product configurations that allow end-users to add and/or change certain functionalities of a core product. This involvement of the customer in the design and production stage means that the customer becomes a â€Å"prosumer† as described by futurologist Alvin Toffler in the 1970 book, ‘Future Shock’. The â€Å"prosumer† is producer and consumer in concert, defining and producing the product. This type of customization is called Collaborative customization and the customers are really involved in the value chain of products. 7. Type of business -big enterprises. -small and medium enterprises. To carry out a mass marketing strategy, a company must have a strong finance to pay for heavy advertising costs, establishing brands and. The company has to pay a large amount of money on mass media for keep its image in public eyes. Whereas, in mass customization, thanks to the build-to-order method (products are only manufactured when a customer order is received), the company can reduce the cost of a customized products and avoid unsold products. Moreover, the company creates specific marketing strategies to reach different customer segments, so it can really understand the customer’s needs and keep good relationship with them. This also helps the company reduce the cost for market research. This is an advantage for small and medium enterprises to start their business with limited resources. 5 Which one is dead? Mass marketing strategy is trying to reach market in greater areas by using single marketing strategy. The advantages of this strategy is in terms of low cost in production costs and tends to masters market monopolistic ally – as well as – can close all markets from competitors. In the past, mass  marketing was a relatively common and successful approach. The classic example given is the Ford Motor Company with their standard offering of the Model T Ford, which is the only product they sold for many years and it was only provided in one color (black). Nowadays, mass marketing is facing to the death because of several challenges below: Various segmented market and different demand of customer Today’s marketplaces are individualized, customized, and personalized. A single product offering, therefore, cannot fully satisfy the diverse needs of all consumers in a market and consumers with unsatisfied needs expose businesses to challenges by competitors who are able to identify and fulfill consumer needs more precisely. In fact, markets for new products typically begin with one competitor offering a single product, and then gradually splinter into segments as competitors enter the market with products and marketing messages targeted at groups of consumers the original producer may have missed. These new competitors are able to enter a market ostensibly controlled by an established competitor because they can identify and meet the needs of unsatisfied customer segments. In recent times, the proliferation of computerized customer databases has worked to drive marketing toward ever-more-narrowly focused market segments The ineffiecience of communication to customer Mass marketing is an attempt to appeal to an entire market with one basic marketing strategy utilizing mass distribution and mass media. Also called undifferentiated marketing, it maximizes products advertising to consumers. Unlike niche marketing, that targets markets and audiences via research and analytical techniques; mass marketing advertises products to a large audience. Until recently, marketers have pretty much taken a â€Å"mass media† approach to their efforts: Blast out as many marketing messages as possible on every medium available as often as you can afford it. In an era when it’s not really possible to learn anything about the audience and their tastes, this crude shotgun method of attack is pretty much the only option. Mass marketing tactics are really just slightly more sophisticated versions of standing on the street corner yelling at people who walk by, hoping that some small percentage of them might be interested in what you have to say. The development of the Internet and social media Traditionally mass marketing has focused on radio, television and newspapers as the media used to reach this broad audience. By reaching the largest audience, exposure to the product is maximized. In the new millennium, the Internet – a mass communications medium- is more and more developing. Besides, it also changes the way people approach new products. The Internet has allowed people to reach out to each other and becomes a powerful force of one. Through ‘world wide web’ and social media, customers are able to connect with others who have similar interest, share experiences about products, complain about poor performing products or even become brand advocates.. Thereore, customers – not mass maketing tools – have influence on their decision buying products themselves. The Mass marketing could be coming to an end replaced by a new era of personal marketing. The businesses should make the right marketing strategy to approach their targets. VII. Conclusion Mass marketing is old school marketing. No longer can businesses afford to blindly send large volume of the same messages to unqualified recipients. Nor can they afford to treat each customer to same way. Yet many businesses still practice these useless exercises. Plenty of businesses practice bad marketing on a regular basis. It’s wasteful and it produces negative effects. With an unfocused target, the wrong people will get the wrong message. As a result, marketing dollars will be wasted. Prospective elients may look unfavorably on your business because you appear to be careless, desperate, or just plain clueless, and no one wants to work with a business like that. Customers can’t be treated anonymously. One of the keys to successful marketing and sales understands your customer’s needs and pains, and how to better serve them. Personalized marketing will help businesses address these customer needs. Today, when more and more industries move towards creating mark ets of one, the satisfaction of increasingly individualized consumer demand is a challenge faced by many manufacturing organizations. Consequentially, this situation has led to a rapid growth in the attention given to mass customization for the fulfillment of individual consumer requirements. Customer co-design and integration are the keys to  mass customization. This is the core element that differentiates mass customization from other strategies like lean management or agile manufacturing. With today’s information technology, mass customization customers can be included into the value creation chain by defining, configuring or modifying an individual order. Though an interactive website customers can configure specifications of the product or service, packaging and even delivery options. The use of build-to-order methods, where an item is not constructed until an order is received, is an important factor in minimising the cost of a customized product. Mass customization is a reality because it is an attractive strategy for both manufacturers and customers. Producers are able to reduce their inventories a nd manufacturing overhead costs, eliminate waste in their supply chains, and obtain more accurate information about demand. Including the customer in the product design also establishes an individual contact between the manufacturer and customer, which offers possibilities for building up a lasting relationship. Mass customization technologies make it possible for companies to create a cost efficient value chain, while increasing flexibility towards answering customers’ needs from heterogeneous market demands. In this way, companies pay more attention in delivering products and services, and, instead of focusing just on acquiring new customers, they concentrate on building lasting relationships with the existing customers. Involving customers into the company’s value creation process increases their sense of contribution in the end product and brings real first hand customer knowledge. Small and medium enterprises comprise most of the world’s manufacturing secto r. In addition to feeling intense pressure from low-cost international competitors, these organizations have to deal with rising raw material cost, customers demanding high quality service, support, and product variety. Mass customization has snuck up on many of us. It has happened gradually and has moved from industry to industry without carrying the â€Å"mass customizing† label. We have gotten used to having our products and services customized without having the label â€Å"mass customizing† used to define customizing what is happening. We take mass customization for granted. We turn on our computer, click on â€Å"Word,† choose our favorite font, our color of the day, and the stationery that we think will impress our reader, and within seconds we are creating a document that we have quickly and effortlessly customized  to meet our personal desires. We believe that mass customization has great potential to be a source of sustainable financial and strategic adv antage. Today’s market characteristics and competitive challenges favor mass customization in many industries and market situations. We invite managers to learn more about this strategy and investigate how a customized mass customization approach can suit their businesses better.

Famous Quotes About History

Famous Quotes About History We marvel at the ancient architectural wonders that attract tourists the world over. But the essence lies in the history of the foundation. Historys frozen music is like a mute sentinel who helps cultures survive. Victories and failures, traditions and heritage, make history ever changing. Yet history remains the same. Famous Quotes About History Read these famous history quotes and get drawn into the realms of the past. VoltaireHistory is only the register of crimes and misfortunes. Napoleon BonaparteWhat is history but a fable agreed upon? Karl MarxHistory repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce. Winston ChurchillHistory is written by the victors. Thomas JeffersonI like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past. John Maynard KeynesIdeas shape the course of history. William ShakespeareThere is a history in all mens lives. Mark TwainThe very ink with which history is written is merely fluid prejudice. Henry David ThoreauIt is remarkable how closely the history of the apple tree is connected with that of man. Alexander SmithI go into my library and all history unrolls before me. Robert HeinleinA generation which ignores history has no past and no future. Marshall McLuhanOnly the vanquished remember history. Mohandas GandhiA small body of determined spirits fired by an unquenchable faith in their mission can alter the course of history. Stephen CoveyLive out of your imagination, not your history. Martin Luther King, Jr.We are not makers of history. We are made by history. Dwight D. EisenhowerThings have never been more like the way they are today in history.

AI in cyber Defense Essays

AI in cyber Defense Essays AI in cyber Defense Essay AI in cyber Defense Essay The speed of procedures and the amount of data to be used in defending the cyber space cannot be controlled by humans without significant automation. On the other hand, It is hard to develop software with conservative fixed algorithms (hard-wired logic on decision making level) for efficiently defending In opposition to the vigorously evolving attacks in networks. The applications of artificial intelligence an be used to handle this situation that offers flexibility and learning potential to software. A brief review of artificial intelligence applications in cyber defense, and analysis of prospects of enhancing the cyber defense capabilities by increasing the intelligence of the defense systems have been presented in this paper. After surveying the papers available about artificial Intelligence applications In cyber defense, we conclude that useful applications are already present. They belong to applications of artificial neural nets in perimeter defense and some other cyber defense fields. So it has become clear that only AY techniques can guarantee successful solutions to many cyber defense problems. For instance, use of extensive knowledge Is essential In decision making, and Intelligent decision support Is so far one of unanswered problems in cyber defense. 1. INTRODUCTION: 1 . 1. Background of Study. 1. 1. 1 . Limitations in cyber security that are need to be addressed. Cyber security Is a multidisciplinary field that Is targeted on reduction of risks to the secrecy, affinity and integrity of data, information and resources in computer as well as in network systems. Modern systems have become much complex. Need for an intelligent, adaptive and multimode solution raises here for which best suited approach is artificial intelligence. [l]. There was not apparently strong collaboration between cyber security and artificial intelligence in early days. Researchers of AY were paying attention In making computers do things that only humans had been able to do, while security researchers Intended to fix the leaks In examining the computing communications or design communications they consider leak proof. Further, AY researchers were often most interested in building systems with behaviors that could hangs over time through knowledge or adaptation, and hence were to some degree unpredictable. From the security point of view, volatile system behavior seemed unwanted. But the two fields have developed closer over the years, mainly where human users but also at lower system layers. [2] 1. 1. 2. Why has the role of intelligent software in cyber operations augmented so rapidly? Looking closer at the cyber space, one can see the following answer. Artificial intelligence is required, first of all, for swift response to various scenarios in Internet. One has to be able to handle large annuity of information very fast in order to portray and investigate events that take place in cyber space and to make essential assessments. The speed of processes and the amount of data to be used cannot be controlled by humans without significant automation but, it is hard to develop software with conservative fixed algorithms (hard-wired logic on decision making level) for efficiently protecting against the assault in cyber space, because new deterioration become visible continuously. Here is a place for artificial intelligence methods. [3] 1. 2. PROBLEM DEFINITION: Do some artificial intelligence techniques exist to improve certain aspects of cyber security? 1. 2. 1 . Remarks concerning the problem definition. The aim of the thesis is to determine whether the possibilities in artificial intelligence can effectively address some of the limitations in todays cyber security. Figure : Cyber Attack. 2. ABOUT ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: AY as an area of research is very old. It is equally old to electronic computers. There is possibility of building devices more intelligent than human beings from the early days of AY on the realm. The time realm moves away when time passes. A number of intelligently hard problems have been witnessed to be solved by computers like playing good chess. Chess playing was deemed a benchmark showing a real intelligence during the initial days of computer. Even in seventies of the last century, when the computer chess has reached on the masters level, it appeared almost impossible to make a program that could smack the world champion. However, this came about faster than estimated. Three reasons are important to mention here for success of chess computer: computing power has been increased, efficient search algorithms have been developed (that can be used in many applications beside chess, see the section on search below), and knowledge bases has been organized so well that they became able to include all available chess knowledge(first of all, opening and end games). In core, the chess problem could be solved because it was a specific intellectual problem which was related to professed narrow artificial intelligence. A special instance is translating from one language into another that Chamoiss work in structural linguistics, it was expected that the natural language translation problem will be solved soon. It has not happened yet, although success is evident in some specific applications like, for example, Googles AY linguistics. The reason is that this demand of artificial general intelligence possessing of an aptitude to handle large quantity of information in every field associated to human actions. It is usually acknowledged that AY can be considered in two manners: as a science intended at attempting to determine the fundamental nature of intelligence and emerging generally intelligent machines, or as a science providing ways for solving complex problems that cannot be solved without applying some intelligence eke, for example, playing good chess or making right decisions based on large amounts of data. [3]Len the present paper we will take the second approach, supporter for applying specific AY methods to cyber defense problems, and will refer to the existing AY algorithms described in [4]. . CHALLENGES IN INTELLIGENT CYBER DEFENSE: If we talk about the future research in development and applications of artificial intelligence techniques in cyber defense, we need to make a distinction between immediate objectives and long-term goals. Numbers of AY techniques are immediately applicable in cyber defense and a lot of problems are yet need to be dressed. We have talked about alre ady present immediate applications. One can expect encouraging perspectives of completely new principles of knowledge handling in situation management and decision making process. Proposed principles are introduction of a modular and hierarchical knowledge architecture. Expert systems are already being used in many applications, sometimes hidden inside an application, like in the security measures planning software. Still, expert systems can get wider application areas, if large knowledge bases will be developed. This will need substantial investment in knowledge achievement, and development of large dollar knowledge bases. Also further development of the expert system technology will be required: modularity must be introduced in the expert system tools, and hierarchical knowledge bases must be used. A futurist Ray Kurt well has extrapolated the development to come up with Singularity in 2045 [5]. One need not to believe in the Singularity threat, but the rapid development of information technology will definitely enable one to build considerably better intelligence into software in coming years. (Consider the recent impressive performance of IBM-s Watson program)[6]. Elementally of whether the GAG is available or Singularity moms, it is critical to have the ability to use better AY in cyber defense than the offenders have it. 4. PRESENT WORK OF AY IN CYBER DEFENSE: There are numerous useful applications available in the field of AY application cyber defense. They all belong to application of artificial neural nets in perimeter defense, and they are helping in solving many cyber defense problems. Wide knowledge usage is necessary in decision making, and the intelligent decision support is still to problem, which required human interference. We have grouped all AY methods and architectures in several categories like neural nets, expert system, intelligent agents, reach and machine learning. 4. 1 . Neural NetsNeural nets have long history that begins with the invention of perception by Frank Reasonable in 1957. Perception is an artificial neuron, and popular element of neural nets. Small number of perceptions combined together can learn and solve interesting problem. Neural nets consist of a large number of artificial neuron, which provides a functionality of parallel learning and decision making. They are suitable for learning pattern recognition, for classification, for selection of response to attack etc. They can be implemented either in hardware or in footwear. Neural nets are well applicable in intrusion detection and intrusion prevention. There have been proposals to use them in DOS detection, computer worm detection, spam, detection, zombie detection, mallard classification and in forensic investigations. The neural nets in cyber defense are popular because of their high speed, if implemented in hardware or used in graphic processors. There are new developments in the neural nets technology like third generation neural nets, spiking neural network that mimic biological neurons more realistically, and provide more application opportunities. Figure : Intrusion Alarm System. . 2. Expert Systemsalt is most widely used AY tools. It can be directly used for decision support, in cyberspace. An expert system includes a knowledge base where expert knowledge about a specific application domain is stored, it also includes an inference engine for deriving answers based on this knowledge and possibly additional knowledge about a situation. Empty know ledge base and inference engine are together called expert system. Developing an expert system means first selection of an expert system shell and second acquiring expert knowledge and filling the knowledge base with knowledge. There are many different knowledge representation forms in expert system, the most common is rule based representation. But the usefulness of expert system depends mainly on the quality of knowledge in the expert system depends mainly on the quality of knowledge in the expert system knowledge base. Example of cyber defense expert system is one for security planning. This expert system facilitates considerably selection of security measure, and provides guidance for optimal usage of limited resources. 4. 3. Intelligent agentslengthier agents are software components that process some torture of intelligent behavior that makes them special like protectiveness, understanding of an agent communication language (CAL), reactivity etc. They possess planning ability, mobility and reflection ability. Intelligent agents can consisting of mobile intelligent agents after solving some legal and also commercial problems. This will require implementation of infrastructure for supporting the cyber agent mobility and communication. This will require cooperation with Sips. 4. 4. SearchSearch is a universal method of problem solving that can be applied in all cases. Very little must be known in order to apply some general search algorithm n the formal setting of the search problem, one has to able generate candidates of solution, and a procedure must be available for deciding. The search is hidden in the software and it is not visible as an AY application. Search on and or trees, up-search, maxima search and stochastic search are useful in decision making for cyber defense. 4. 5. LearningLearning is improving a knowledge system by extending or rearranging its knowledge base or by improving the inference engine. Machine learning comprises computational methods for acquiring new knowledge, new skill and new ways to organize existing knowledge. Problem of learning fluctuates with respect to the complex from simple parametric learning which means learning values of some parameters, to complicated forms of symbolic learning, for example learning of concept, grammars, functions and learning of behavior. AY provides methods for both supervised learning as well as unsupervised learning. Data mining has originally grown out of unsupervised learning in AY. Unsupervised learning can be a functionality of neural nets, in particular of self organizing maps. Parallel learning algorithms are suitable for execution on parallel hardware. These learning methods re represented by genetic algorithms and neural nets. 4. 6. Video and CATV semantic analysis for terrorist or criminal action detectionA new generation of intelligent CATV cameras that can hear as well as see will alert police to crimes in progress by recognizing clues such as a person running or the sound of a scream. Researchers hope the smart cameras will have a dramatic impact on crime detection and prevention by cutting response times and ensuring that more incidents are caught on tape. The Daily Telegraphs Gordon Earner reports that a team at the University of Portsmouth has already developed software which enables Amerada to spot visual clues to anything from violent crime to vandalism, by looking for tell-tale signs such as someone raising their arm suddenly or even a snapped car aerial. This artificial intelligence software is now being taught to recognize sounds associated with crimes, including breaking glass, shouted obscenities, and car alarms going off. Cameras which hear the sounds will automatically swivel to the direction they have come from, and will alert the person monitoring the system to a possible crime progress. [7]. 5. ANALYTICAL CONCLUSION: The present situation of hastily growing intelligence of mallard and erudition of Weber attacks advocates that it is obvious to develop intelligent cyber defense methods. The incident of Dodos(Denial-of-service attack) alleviation has revealed that even a defense against large-scale attacks can be successful with relatively limited resources with usage of intelligent methods. An analysis of publications illustrates research in artificial neural nets. Applications of neural nets will continue in cyber defense. There is also an vital need for application of intelligent cyber defense systems in numerous fields where neural nets are not the most appropriate technology. These fields include decision support, situation awareness and knowledge management. Expert system technology is the most promising in this context. We are not sure about how rapid development of general artificial intelligence is ahead, but a threat exists that a new level of artificial intelligence may be used by the invaders, as soon as it becomes accessible. Clearly, the latest developments in knowledge understanding, representation and handling also in machine learning will significantly boost the cyber defense competence of systems that will utilize them.

Seed Tree and Shelterwood Harvesting Methods

Seed Tree and Shelterwood Harvesting Methods Even-aged Harvesting Methods Many tree species do not tolerate major shade during the early stages of development. These stages include early seedling germination, development and sapling growth stable enough to compete in mid-canopy.  These tree species have to have some light for regenerating and ensuring future even-aged stands for that species. Most of these timber types are mostly coniferous with a few exceptions. Commercially valuable trees that need light to naturally regenerate a new stand of the same species makes up a major part of even-aged harvesting schemes by foresters. The reproductive management of these trees in North America includes jack pine, loblolly pine, longleaf pine, lodgepole pine, ponderosa pine, slash pine. Notable intolerant hardwood species include many valuable commercial oaks plus yellow-poplar and sweetgum. Several reforestation systems and harvesting methods can be used to create even-aged stands.   While specific treatments vary across the U.S. by tree species and climate, the basic systems are clearcutting, seed tree and shelterwood. Shelterwood Even-aged stands must regenerate beneath the shade provided by mature trees left from the previous stand.   It is a major harvest scheme used in all regions of the United States. This includes regenerating loblolly pine in the South, Eastern white pine in the Northeast and ponderosa pine in the West. Preparing a typical shelterwood condition could include three possible types of cuttings: 1) a preliminary cut might be made to select high yielding trees to leave for seed production; 2) an establishment cut can be made that prepares a bare soil seed-bed  as well as trees that provide seed just before seed fall; and/or 3) a removal cut of overstory seed trees that have established seedlings and saplings but would be in competition if left to grow.   So, a shelterwood harvest would be done to leave seed-producing trees uniformly throughout the stand, in groups, or strips and, depending on seed  crop and species, can have between 40 and 100 crop trees.   As with seed tree harvests,  shelterwoods  are sometimes interplanted to supplement natural seeding.   Red and white oak, the southern pines, white  pine,  and sugar maple are examples of tree species that may be regenerated using the shelterwood harvesting method. Here are specific shelterwood terms that further explain this harvesting method: Shelterwood Cut - Removing trees on the  harvest  area in a series of two or more cuttings so new seedlings can grow from the seed of older trees. This method produces an even-aged forest. Shelterwood Logging  - Method of harvesting timber so that selected trees remain scattered throughout the tract to provide seeds for regeneration and shelter for seedlings. Shelterwood System  - An even-aged  silvicultural scheme in which a new stand is established under the protection of a partial canopy of trees. The mature stand is generally removed in a series of two or more cuts, the last leaving a new even-aged stand that is well developed. Seed Tree The seed tree reforestation method leaves healthy, mature trees with a good cone crop (usually 6 to 15 per acre) in the existing stand to provide seed for regenerating a new stand of trees.   Seed trees are typically removed after regeneration is established, especially when seedling levels are significant enough to  stand some logging losses. It is not unusual for a forest manager to  leave the seed trees for wildlife or aesthetics objectives. However, the primary objective of a seed tree regeneration harvest is to provide a natural seed source. Artificial planting of nursery seedlings may be used to supplement areas where natural seeding was not adequate.   White pine, the southern pines and several species of oak may be regenerated using the seed tree harvesting method. Clearcutting Removing in a single cutting all of the overstory trees in a stand to develop a new stand in a shade-free environment is called a clear or clean cut harvest. Depending on species and topography, reforestation can occur  by natural seeding, direct seeding, planting, or sprouting. See my feature on clearcutting: The Debate Over Clearcutting Each individual clearcut area is a unit in which regeneration, growth, and yield are monitored and managed specifically for wood production. That does not mean that all trees will be cut. Certain trees or groups of trees may be left for wildlife, and buffer strips are maintained to protect streams, wetlands, and special areas. Common tree species regenerated using clearcutting include the southern pines, Douglas-fir, red and white oak, jack pine, white birch, aspen, and yellow-poplar.

Human resource Take home exam Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Human resource Take home exam - Essay Example In the current case of the employee in the boiler room, there is a clear evidence that the new manager followed the system of progressive discipline by beginning from mild warnings and moving towards suspension from work in response to a lack of any response from the grievant. The grievant increasingly non responsiveness to the concerns of the manager especially with respect to the maintenance of safety within the workplace were not considered by the grievant, who even considered the option of discussing his issues pertaining to religious beliefs in a detailed manner (Amy Delpo, 2007). such a case of serious misconduct in the case of the grievant eventually led to his expulsion from the company as the manager was convinced over time to the relative insensitivity of the employee to his orders. Many large companies follow a system of progressive discipline although such practices are not given a proper definition. Further, it must be noted that the manager was also rather unheeding to the concerns of the employee with regards to the compromise of his modesty had he agreed to the directives of the manager. the grievant tried his best to convince his manager that the un-tucked shirt would not pose any problems in an environment with moving parts and also made efforts to reach out to his manager by presenting a book on the guidelines for employers in following Islamic religious practices (George Odiorne, 1990). However, it is believed that both the entities are equally to blame in this scenario as none was found to have budged from their earlier stand and that the eventual termination was just a matter of time as both parties would not heed to the concerns of the other and had made no serious effort to consider any notable alternatives. any action in an employment scenario qualifies as ‘tangible’ provided it leads to a significant change in the status of an employee. Although it is argued by the plaintiff that she was

Discussion Board 8, Chapter 10 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Discussion Board 8, Chapter 10 - Essay Example But our group leaders had a tendency to challenge our abilities. They would often ask us how we knew something was too complex without even trying to accomplish the instructions for the experiment. Our leader chose to validate our concerns by understanding our point of view and then negotiated with us regarding how we could complete the chosen experiment. That is how we would find ourselves working out the â€Å"complex† instructions and actually getting the work done. Then we would find out that it was never too â€Å"complex† at all. Then there was the time when I was part of the school dance committee. Our theme was 80s retro. The cost of our decorations were beginning to skyrocket and our class president would often remind us that our budget was running low. Luckily, we were a highly creative bunch in the group who knew that just because something was expensive, that did not mean we could not have it. Rather, it just meant that we would have to improvise instead, and improvise we did. By getting everyone involved in finding a solution to the problem, the result was a highly cooperative group that managed to pull off a school dance that looked expensive on a shoestring

Business Personnel and Human Resource Management Essay

Business Personnel and Human Resource Management - Essay Example Human resource management is the management that helps in the recruitment, selection, training and development of workers in an organization to get members who can work towards achieving the goal of the organization (Aswathappa, 2005:5). Although personnel management and human resource management may seem to be the same, the difference is that personnel management deals entirely with the workforce while human resource management deals with the resources (Pangarkar, 2008:17). The organizational purpose of a company depends majorly on the human resource management. An organization that lacks good and organized human resource cannot achieve its goal. Human resource management is important because it is the management that deals with the recruitment of the workers, without which the purpose of the company cannot be achieved. If there is lack of the workforce, then the organization would not achieve its goal. It is the human resource management that deals with the selection of the newly r ecruited workers, to ensure the workers work in the fields that they can deliver their duties well. The human resource management also organizes for training to the workers to ensure they gain knowledge. The processes of recruiting selection and training of workers, all which lie under human resource management work towards accomplishing the goal of an organization; thus, human resource management have an important impact on the purpose of an organization (Weber, 2008.:51). B. Access the role and responsibilities of a line manager in the Google Company The Google Company is a company formed with the aim of making it easy for people to search for anything from the web. It is a site that understands everything that anyone searches and gives back exactly what people need. Google, being a company like any other has its organizational structure which helps in its daily operation. A line manager is the manager who is closer to the workers, who deals with the issues brought to them by empl oyees or teams and is responsible for a higher level of management for the employees (CIPD, 2013). Line managers are responsible for daily management of workers and issues affecting them. The line manager in this company is the one who manages the operational costs of the company through accessing the company’s operational expenses. Line managers should also provide technical training to the workers. They induce the workers to the job through organizing for trainings in the various job fields in the company. A line manager has the responsibility if allocating the work to different workers to ensure that the right person attends the right duty. It is also their duty to supervise the progress of the work in the company, to check for any failures in delivery of duty by the workers. They also monitor the quality of the work done to ensure that the company meets and maintains its standards. Customers in a given field of business have their needs and desires that need to be address ed. Responsibly, the line manager responds to the needs and complaints of the clients effectively to aid in realization of organizational golas. All these duties of the line manager focus on ensuring a successful progress on the company; thus it is the duty of the line manager to measure the performance of all the operations (Weber, 2008:73). C. Examine the organizational environment that impacts the HRM function in your organization, outlining the impacts of legal and

Enterprise social networks Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Enterprise social networks - Essay Example Social media acts as a great equalizer. The educational institutions can utilize the social media and promote themselves without spending money and small colleges can also become popular instantly. There are many small colleges and educational institutes who have posted videos of their courses and online classes to create small advertisement with the resources available within the institute and uploaded them on YouTube or Facebook. Those videos received huge number of likes and the institutions became popular instantly. This study is based on utilizing social media networking for higher education and students in the universities and colleges. The cost for promotion through social networking sites is negligible and it is very easy to understand and handle. This will surely reduce the internal cost of the universities and colleges. Introduction The concept of enterprise social networking involves the usage of social networks or various social relations on the internet for various busin ess or personal purposes. Enterprise social networking basically works on the Web 2.0 platform. It is since 1990s the inception of social networking sites were seen in the world market. The first website motivating this concept was Theglobe.com in the year 1995. This website was only accessible by the registered users, but the website became available for general public usage from 1998. Since then many networking sites have come up for providing a common platform to share information (Uhomoibhi, 2006, pp. 4-14). However, the challenge was that internet, computers and related technology were not so much in use. People could neither easily afford them, nor were they considered important in daily lives of grown-up or any student. Eventually after the penetration of technology, World Wide Web and lightening fast speed of information, social networking mediums surfaced once again (Ernst & Young, 2012). The development of social networking and its rising popularity has been observed in th e 2000s. Nowadays social sites like MySpace, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and many more have become synonyms for social media industry. The popularity associated with social media is growing with the passing days and it is connecting more and more people on the basis of their preferences, similar purchase habits, likes and dislikes. Whether it is some news ticker that is promoting the view or news of some anchors or journalist on Twitter, social media is utilised everywhere and in every way. The latest insights revealed by a famous research firm Nielsen on social media networking and marketing states these above mentioned facts. USA claims to have 80 percent of the blog and social media users among the American countries (Nielsen, 2011). The time consumption of the students, youngsters, and also elders on the social media is increasing every day. For example about 60 percent of the customers who use more than two to three digital means definitely use social media as a means of resea rch when they go out to buy products or avail services (Nielsen, 2011). The brief introduction above clearly explains the scenario of the global market and also the penetration level of social media in our daily lives. Social media has penetrated in every field and industry. However, to narrow down the analysis, the discussion in this study would specifically include the usage of social media by students in schools, institutions, colleges, etc. A literary analysis of social media strategies and its four pillars would support the discussion further. Apart from this the probable role that social media can play in educational sector specifically in schools, university would also be evaluated.