Accounting

A company is considering the following alternatives: Alternative Alternative 2 Revenues $120,000 $120,000 Variable Costs S 60,000 $60,000 Fixed costs $35,000 $35,000 Which of the following are relevant in choosing between the alternatives? 2. ) Adler Company manufactures a product with the following costs: unit Variable Cost $50 Unit Fixed Cost $24 Total Cost per unit $74 The company normally sells 10,000 units at a price of $88 each. Adler has a one-time opportunity to sell an additional 3,000 units at $70 each in a foreign market, which would not affect its present sales.If the company has sufficient capacity to produce the additional units, acceptance of the special order would affect net income as follows: 3. ) If a company must expand capacity to accept a special order, it is likely that there will be 4. ) May company produces 1,000 units of a necessary component with the following costs: Direct Materials $48,000 Direct Labor $32,000 Variable overhead $8,000 axed overhead $14,00 0 May Company could avoid $6,000 in fixed overhead costs if it acquires the components externally.If cost minimization is the major consideration and he company would prefer to buy the components, what is the maximum external purchase price that May Company would accept to acquire at 1 ,OOH units externally? 5. ) A company has a process that results in 500 drums of Chemical L that can be sold for $300 per drum. An alternative would be to process Chemical L further at a cost of $25,000 and then sell it for $380 per drum. Should management sell Chemical L now or should Chemical L be processed further and then sold? What is the effect of the action? 6. The focus of a sell or process further decision 7. A company is considering replacing old equipment with new equipment. Which of the following is a relevant cost for incremental analysis? 8. ) A company has several product lines, one of which reflect the following results: Sales $400,000 variable costs $275,000 Contribution Margin $1 25, 000 axed expenses$200,ooh Net loss -$75,000 If this product line is eliminated, 80% of the fixed expenses can be eliminated and the other 20% will be allocated to other product lines. If management decides to eliminate this product line, the company's net income will 9.Using compound interest, if you deposit $1 ,OOH each year in an account paying 7% interest, approximately how much will have in that account in five years? 10. ) A company is considering an investment, which will return lump savings of $150,000 four years from now. If they require a 10% return, what is the most they should pay for in the investment? 1 1 The internal rate of return is the interest rate that causes 12. ) A company is considering investing in a project, which will cost $1 75,000, and last for 5 years. Annual net income will be $45,000 and annual cash flow ill be $50,000.What is the payback period from†¦? 13. ) If a project has equal annual cash flows, its cash payback period is computed by dividing the cost of the capital investment by the 14. ) Paschal Company is considering the acquisition of new equipment at a cost of $1 , 700,000. The company's accountants have provided the following additional information about the project for your analysis: Annual net income $360, 000 Net annual cash flow $390,000 Estimated useful life 7 years If the company has established a required rate f return of 1 1 what is the approximate net present value of the equipment acquisition? 5. ) Your analysis of a project under consideration by Davenport Company reveals the following expected performance over it expected three year useful life: Net Income Cash Flow Year 1 year 2 Year 3 535,000 $40,000 $45,000 $50,000 555,000 $60,000 This project has a cost of $110,000 and Davenport has established a discount (hurdle) rate of 9%. What is the approximate net present value of the project? 16. ) Complete the statement: Intangible benefits in capital budgeting 17. ) You are evaluating the financial characte ristics:Project A Project B Net present value $50,000 exclusive projects which have the following $75,000 Initial investment $200,000 $400,000 project life 4 years 4 years Which project will be accepted? 18. ) Hinges Hardware is evaluating a new retail location and its accountants have prepared some information for your review. Their analysis has established that the new location will costs S 1 , 500,000 and generate net present value of $100,000 using a discount rate of 10%. What is the profitability index for this project? 19. ) Roan, Inc. S analyzing the acquisition of new equipment, which will cost 50,000. Accountants have determined that this equipment will have a five- year useful lifer and in each year generate net income of $1 2,800 and operating cash flow of $14,200. The company requires a 10% return on invested capital. What is the approximate AIR of this equipment acquisition? 20. ) In most cases, prices are set by the 21 Which of the following is not considered a limitat ion of cost-plus pricing? 22. ) Downing company produces a high-resolution computer monitor.The following information is available for this product: Fixed cost per unit $50 Variable cost per unit $150 Total cost per unit $200 Downing expects to sell 10,000 units per year. The company has decided to price its monitors to earn a 14% return on its investment of $8,000,000 What is the target-selling price per monitor? 23. ) Assuming the selling division has available capacity, a negotiated transfer price should be a maximum of 24. ) The Burnett Company's Crystal Division normally sells its product for $24 per unit. Accounting A company is considering the following alternatives: Alternative Alternative 2 Revenues $120,000 $120,000 Variable Costs S 60,000 $60,000 Fixed costs $35,000 $35,000 Which of the following are relevant in choosing between the alternatives? 2. ) Adler Company manufactures a product with the following costs: unit Variable Cost $50 Unit Fixed Cost $24 Total Cost per unit $74 The company normally sells 10,000 units at a price of $88 each. Adler has a one-time opportunity to sell an additional 3,000 units at $70 each in a foreign market, which would not affect its present sales.If the company has sufficient capacity to produce the additional units, acceptance of the special order would affect net income as follows: 3. ) If a company must expand capacity to accept a special order, it is likely that there will be 4. ) May company produces 1,000 units of a necessary component with the following costs: Direct Materials $48,000 Direct Labor $32,000 Variable overhead $8,000 axed overhead $14,00 0 May Company could avoid $6,000 in fixed overhead costs if it acquires the components externally.If cost minimization is the major consideration and he company would prefer to buy the components, what is the maximum external purchase price that May Company would accept to acquire at 1 ,OOH units externally? 5. ) A company has a process that results in 500 drums of Chemical L that can be sold for $300 per drum. An alternative would be to process Chemical L further at a cost of $25,000 and then sell it for $380 per drum. Should management sell Chemical L now or should Chemical L be processed further and then sold? What is the effect of the action? 6. The focus of a sell or process further decision 7. A company is considering replacing old equipment with new equipment. Which of the following is a relevant cost for incremental analysis? 8. ) A company has several product lines, one of which reflect the following results: Sales $400,000 variable costs $275,000 Contribution Margin $1 25, 000 axed expenses$200,ooh Net loss -$75,000 If this product line is eliminated, 80% of the fixed expenses can be eliminated and the other 20% will be allocated to other product lines. If management decides to eliminate this product line, the company's net income will 9.Using compound interest, if you deposit $1 ,OOH each year in an account paying 7% interest, approximately how much will have in that account in five years? 10. ) A company is considering an investment, which will return lump savings of $150,000 four years from now. If they require a 10% return, what is the most they should pay for in the investment? 1 1 The internal rate of return is the interest rate that causes 12. ) A company is considering investing in a project, which will cost $1 75,000, and last for 5 years. Annual net income will be $45,000 and annual cash flow ill be $50,000.What is the payback period from†¦? 13. ) If a project has equal annual cash flows, its cash payback period is computed by dividing the cost of the capital investment by the 14. ) Paschal Company is considering the acquisition of new equipment at a cost of $1 , 700,000. The company's accountants have provided the following additional information about the project for your analysis: Annual net income $360, 000 Net annual cash flow $390,000 Estimated useful life 7 years If the company has established a required rate f return of 1 1 what is the approximate net present value of the equipment acquisition? 5. ) Your analysis of a project under consideration by Davenport Company reveals the following expected performance over it expected three year useful life: Net Income Cash Flow Year 1 year 2 Year 3 535,000 $40,000 $45,000 $50,000 555,000 $60,000 This project has a cost of $110,000 and Davenport has established a discount (hurdle) rate of 9%. What is the approximate net present value of the project? 16. ) Complete the statement: Intangible benefits in capital budgeting 17. ) You are evaluating the financial characte ristics:Project A Project B Net present value $50,000 exclusive projects which have the following $75,000 Initial investment $200,000 $400,000 project life 4 years 4 years Which project will be accepted? 18. ) Hinges Hardware is evaluating a new retail location and its accountants have prepared some information for your review. Their analysis has established that the new location will costs S 1 , 500,000 and generate net present value of $100,000 using a discount rate of 10%. What is the profitability index for this project? 19. ) Roan, Inc. S analyzing the acquisition of new equipment, which will cost 50,000. Accountants have determined that this equipment will have a five- year useful lifer and in each year generate net income of $1 2,800 and operating cash flow of $14,200. The company requires a 10% return on invested capital. What is the approximate AIR of this equipment acquisition? 20. ) In most cases, prices are set by the 21 Which of the following is not considered a limitat ion of cost-plus pricing? 22. ) Downing company produces a high-resolution computer monitor.The following information is available for this product: Fixed cost per unit $50 Variable cost per unit $150 Total cost per unit $200 Downing expects to sell 10,000 units per year. The company has decided to price its monitors to earn a 14% return on its investment of $8,000,000 What is the target-selling price per monitor? 23. ) Assuming the selling division has available capacity, a negotiated transfer price should be a maximum of 24. ) The Burnett Company's Crystal Division normally sells its product for $24 per unit. Accounting Accounting Require: Choose the best answer for these questions as below: (40 marks) 1. Which of the following costs would be classified as a period cost? a) Direct labor. b) Direct materials. c) Factory overhead. d) Selling expenses. 2. Costs that rise and fall proportionately with the volume of output are often referred to as: a) variable costs. b) flexible costs. c) idle capacity costs. d) uncontrollable costs. 3. If Company A has a higher proportion of fixed costs relative to variable costs than Company B: a) Company A has a higher break-even point than Company B. b) Company A is more sensitive to changes in sales than Company B. ) Company A has greater risk compared to Company B. d) All of the above are true. 4. The margin of safety ratio is: Page 1 /3 a) higher for a company with lower operating leverage. b) lower for a company with lower operating leverage. c) is not affected by operating leverage. d) is increased by a greater proportion of variable to fixed costs. 5. If unit sales are $1 2, variable costs are $7. 20 per unit and fixed costs are $24,000 what is the contribution ratio per unit? a) 50% b) 60% c) 40% d) 70% 6. A cost that has already been incurred and cannot be changed is called a(an): a) opportunity cost. ) sunk cost. c) joint cost. d) out of Pocket cost. 7. The human resources department of a large company would be considered: a) a cost center. b) a profit center. c) an investment center. d) a revenue center. 8. The primary difference between profit centers and cost centers is that: a) profit centers generate revenue. b) cost centers incur costs. c) profit centers are evaluated using return on investment criteria. d) profit centers provide services to other centers in the organization. ANSWER 1. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 5 . †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 2. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 6 . †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 3. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 7 . †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 4. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 8 . â⠂¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. II.The Gong Company produces and sells three types of jigsaws, variable speed (A), single speed (B) and variable speed with auto-scrolling (C). Budgeted data is given below: Sales Mix as a Proportion Product Sales Price Variable cost Per Unit of Total Sales Dollars A B C $30 20 40 $15 12 30 Budgeted total fixed costs are $700,000. Page 2 /3 10% 50% 40% Required: (40 marks) 1) Calculate the break-even point in sales dollars for each product based on the budgeted sales mix. 2) Determine the sales dollars of each product needed to generate a budgeted after tax profit of $245,000, assume a 30 % tax rate. ) Determine the sales dollars of each product needed to generate a 14. 5% budgeted return on sales dollars after taxes, a ssume a 30% tax rate. 4) Assuming total sale revenues are $2,500,000; calculate the operating leverage of the Gong Company. Give your idea about this operating leverage. If sales revenue increases by 10%, how will operating profit c hange? III. Henson Company produces golf discs which it normally sells to retailers for $7 each. The cost of manufacturing 20,000 golf discs is: Materials $10,000 Labor 24,000 Variable overhead 20,000 Fixed overhead 50,000Total $104,000 Henson also incurs 5% sales commission ($0. 35) on each disc sold. Wood Corporation offers Henson $4. 75 per disc for 4,000 discs. Wood would sell the discs under its own brand name in foreign markets not yet served by Henson. If Henson accepts the offer, its fixed overhead will increase from $50,000 to $55,000 due to the purchase of a new imprinting machine. No sales commission will result from the special order. Required: (20 marks) 1) Prepare a differential a nalysis for the special order. 2) Should Henson accept the special order? Why or why not? The end Page 3 /3 Accounting Accounting A company is considering the following alternatives: Alternative Alternative 2 Revenues $120,000 $120,000 Variable Costs S 60,000 $60,000 Fixed costs $35,000 $35,000 Which of the following are relevant in choosing between the alternatives? 2. ) Adler Company manufactures a product with the following costs: unit Variable Cost $50 Unit Fixed Cost $24 Total Cost per unit $74 The company normally sells 10,000 units at a price of $88 each. Adler has a one-time opportunity to sell an additional 3,000 units at $70 each in a foreign market, which would not affect its present sales.If the company has sufficient capacity to produce the additional units, acceptance of the special order would affect net income as follows: 3. ) If a company must expand capacity to accept a special order, it is likely that there will be 4. ) May company produces 1,000 units of a necessary component with the following costs: Direct Materials $48,000 Direct Labor $32,000 Variable overhead $8,000 axed overhead $14,00 0 May Company could avoid $6,000 in fixed overhead costs if it acquires the components externally.If cost minimization is the major consideration and he company would prefer to buy the components, what is the maximum external purchase price that May Company would accept to acquire at 1 ,OOH units externally? 5. ) A company has a process that results in 500 drums of Chemical L that can be sold for $300 per drum. An alternative would be to process Chemical L further at a cost of $25,000 and then sell it for $380 per drum. Should management sell Chemical L now or should Chemical L be processed further and then sold? What is the effect of the action? 6. The focus of a sell or process further decision 7. A company is considering replacing old equipment with new equipment. Which of the following is a relevant cost for incremental analysis? 8. ) A company has several product lines, one of which reflect the following results: Sales $400,000 variable costs $275,000 Contribution Margin $1 25, 000 axed expenses$200,ooh Net loss -$75,000 If this product line is eliminated, 80% of the fixed expenses can be eliminated and the other 20% will be allocated to other product lines. If management decides to eliminate this product line, the company's net income will 9.Using compound interest, if you deposit $1 ,OOH each year in an account paying 7% interest, approximately how much will have in that account in five years? 10. ) A company is considering an investment, which will return lump savings of $150,000 four years from now. If they require a 10% return, what is the most they should pay for in the investment? 1 1 The internal rate of return is the interest rate that causes 12. ) A company is considering investing in a project, which will cost $1 75,000, and last for 5 years. Annual net income will be $45,000 and annual cash flow ill be $50,000.What is the payback period from†¦? 13. ) If a project has equal annual cash flows, its cash payback period is computed by dividing the cost of the capital investment by the 14. ) Paschal Company is considering the acquisition of new equipment at a cost of $1 , 700,000. The company's accountants have provided the following additional information about the project for your analysis: Annual net income $360, 000 Net annual cash flow $390,000 Estimated useful life 7 years If the company has established a required rate f return of 1 1 what is the approximate net present value of the equipment acquisition? 5. ) Your analysis of a project under consideration by Davenport Company reveals the following expected performance over it expected three year useful life: Net Income Cash Flow Year 1 year 2 Year 3 535,000 $40,000 $45,000 $50,000 555,000 $60,000 This project has a cost of $110,000 and Davenport has established a discount (hurdle) rate of 9%. What is the approximate net present value of the project? 16. ) Complete the statement: Intangible benefits in capital budgeting 17. ) You are evaluating the financial characte ristics:Project A Project B Net present value $50,000 exclusive projects which have the following $75,000 Initial investment $200,000 $400,000 project life 4 years 4 years Which project will be accepted? 18. ) Hinges Hardware is evaluating a new retail location and its accountants have prepared some information for your review. Their analysis has established that the new location will costs S 1 , 500,000 and generate net present value of $100,000 using a discount rate of 10%. What is the profitability index for this project? 19. ) Roan, Inc. S analyzing the acquisition of new equipment, which will cost 50,000. Accountants have determined that this equipment will have a five- year useful lifer and in each year generate net income of $1 2,800 and operating cash flow of $14,200. The company requires a 10% return on invested capital. What is the approximate AIR of this equipment acquisition? 20. ) In most cases, prices are set by the 21 Which of the following is not considered a limitat ion of cost-plus pricing? 22. ) Downing company produces a high-resolution computer monitor.The following information is available for this product: Fixed cost per unit $50 Variable cost per unit $150 Total cost per unit $200 Downing expects to sell 10,000 units per year. The company has decided to price its monitors to earn a 14% return on its investment of $8,000,000 What is the target-selling price per monitor? 23. ) Assuming the selling division has available capacity, a negotiated transfer price should be a maximum of 24. ) The Burnett Company's Crystal Division normally sells its product for $24 per unit.

Reflective essay -Counselling session Essay

In this reflective essay I will provide an analysis of the counselling session I conducted and recorded. This will include a summary of the session. I will also describe the micro and advanced counselling skills utalised, as well as a critical evaluation of their effectiveness. A discussion of my application of these skills, as well as areas of possible improvement will supported by reference to relevant literature. Summary of the session. Leesa is a 37-year-old woman who I have seen around four months previously. At the previous session Leesa spoke of her frustrations at work and of her hopes of securing a promotion. Leesa’s presentation was one of lethargy consistent with someone who was suffering feelings of depression. I began the session by welcoming the client and reminding her of the confidentiality agreement. Leesa had previously worked in the hospitality industry but explained that had decided to terminate her employment after being overlooked for a promotion. She also explained that she had felt a lack of fairness and respect from her employer and fellow employees. Since leaving her position in hospitality Leesa had sought employment through an agency that provides office work opportunities. Leesa explained that she had had four different jobs in the past three months and that she was experiencing a similar feeling of being disrespected. Leesa spoke of experiencing a lack of self-confidence at the moment and a feeling of being stuck as well as frustration and uncertainty around her future direction. However the client was able to identify that she would like to be more financially secure, feel respected at work and to achieve a greater sense of confidence. Leesa spoke of a time when she enjoyed her work and private life more, and was able to relate some of the key differences that contributed to her feeling more respected and confident in general. The client identified that she would like to seek alternative employment that allowed her to take on grater responsibility and that involved less travel. Leesa believed that her employment agency may be able to assist her, but admitted that she had not been discerning about the kinds of roles that she took recently due to her  financial situation. She also disclosed that she had been isolating due to her current state of mind. Accepting a homework challenge Leesa agreed to approach some friends to see if she could catch up with them at the next weekend. She also agreed to compile a list of the sorts of jobs that she felt she was qualified for and believed that she could achieve a greater feeling of responsibility and respect. Leesa said that she would approach her employment agency to see if they could help, and that she would bring her list to the next counseling session. Counselling skills application. Reflecting upon the counseling session it is clear that I utalised a range of conversational micro skills. Attending Behaivour Hackney & Cormier (2009) & McLeod (2007), explain that a counsellor leads by following the client, which is done by encouraging the client to tell their story using verbal and non-verbal encouragers. Another way to explain what attending is that it allows the client to continue talking with minimal interruption (Armstrong, 2006). When watching the recorded session I could observe numerous occasions where examples of attending behaivour are present. For example my posture was relaxed and I leant forward. My tone of voice was moderate and consistent, and I maintained eye contact. I constantly nodded my head and aid â€Å"mm hmm or, oh really†. This combination of skills conveyed that I was interested and empathetic to what the client was saying. Similarly Egan (2010) describes an effective guideline for turning into clients as represented by an acronym: SOLER, which is important in the beginning of any counselling session. This means; S – face the client squarely O – maintain open posture L – lean towards the other E – good eye contact R – relaxed and natural in these behaviours Minimal responses. Throughout the session I used a range of minimal responses that let the client know that I was interested and engaged in what she had to say. It also conveyed that I was empathetic towards her situation. Geldard and Geldard (2009) explain that minimal responses not only convey that the counselor is listening, they can also be used to convey a message, such as surprise, agreement or even to challenge what has been said. The meaning of these minimal responses is also influenced greatly upon the delivery of them. Tone of voice, facial expression, posture and eye movement all help to determine the way in which these messages are received. An example of a minimal response I made that conveyed empathy would have been; when the client was describing her feelings of not being respected in her workplace and I responded by saying: â€Å"sounds horrible†. This short response did not interrupt the flow of conversation, and encouraged the client to continue. My tone of voice and facial exp ressions were also congruent with someone who empathized and was interested in what was being said. Reflective Listening. Summarising, paraphrasing and reflection of feelings are all examples of counselling micro-skills that let the client know that the counselor is listening and understanding them correctly. Although it is important to try to respond accurately it is not essential as an incorrect response can encourage the client to re-think what they have said and then clarify it, possibly resulting in a better understanding for both parties. Geldard and Geldard (2009) explain that these reflections also serve as deepening the therapeutic relationship. And that the most important to be: â€Å" genuinely yourself and aim to create a real, trusting, caring empathetic relationship with the person seeking help.† Examples of when I utalised reflective listening techniques would include: When the client had explained the reasons why she had left her previous employment, I reflected back by saying: â€Å" So you’ve left there you weren’t happy with that job, you felt like you were unfai rly treated, is that..?† Another example would have been after the client had explained that she had experienced a number of negative employment situations within a short period of time. I reflected back: â€Å" Would I be right to suggest that perhaps you are feeling a bit stuck, you’re not really sure what you are doing? †. Questioning Techniques and Advanced Counselling Skills. During the session I used a range of open and closed questions. I opened the session by referring back to the subject of her difficulties at work covered in the previous session and then asked: â€Å" How has that been going?† Later I asked the client: â€Å"Can you tell me a little more about the situation, what was going on for you?† Overall I was happy with the mix of open and closed questions. It felt like I was getting the information I needed, without interrupting the client. The counseling modality I used was solution focused. I tried to structure the session with Egan’s ‘Three Stage Model’ in mind. Egan (2010) provides a structured and solution focused approach that can be broken into 3 major sections. The initial part of the session saw me ask a range of questions designed to ascertain ‘what was going on?’ For the next section: ‘What do I want instead?’ I used a range of questioning techniques. For example: ‘s caling questions’. At a point in the session it had been identified that the client had become stuck and was unsure of what direction to take due to a series of negative experiences at work. The client had agreed that a pattern had emerged she felt disrespected at work. At this point I also felt a little stuck. It felt as if I should explore this as a theme and try to help the client to identify her blind spots. However I also felt like it might be counterproductive to challenge the client at that stage, as she appeared to have a low self-image. At the time, although uncertain it felt a little dangerous to examine her role in the situation. In order to firstly establish that the clients self esteem was low, and to then help her to identify what would have to change for her to feel better I asked her to rate her level of self-esteem, or confidence on a scale of one-to-ten. Her response was a three. This strategy was useful in establishing that the client was unhappy and felt stuck in her situation, and therefore provided a platform to work with. However it was not successful in helping the client to identify ‘what she wants instead’ (Egan 2010). I was unsure at this point as to weather the client was genuinely uncertain of what she would like to change or if she was reluctant to say. It was this feeling that led me to self-disclose. This gave me the opportunity to express empathy indirectly and to help the client feel like the relationship was equal. Geldard and Geldard (2009). It was also useful  in clarifying that she felt frustration and not the anxiety that was present in my disclosure. In an effort to move to Egan’s second stage I chose to ask a variation of the ‘miracle question’. De Jong and Berg (2008), propose that the miracle question allows the client an opportunity to step out of their current situation for a moment and consider the possibility of something better (as cited in Corey 2013). Although the client’s response was not immediate she could identify that she wanted â€Å"to be more financially stable, to have more confidence, and to be respected.† I then asked the client â€Å" Has there ever been a time in your working like, that you can remember where you felt respected and happy at work?† This question had an almost immediate positive reaction, as evidenced by the clients change in posture and facial expression. This coincided with what might have ordinarily been the negative situation of a refrigerator making a loud noise. However this situation added a useful element of humor that would probably not been possible. â€Å"Both clients and counselors can enrich a relationship through humor† (Corey 2013 p.31). Having identified that there was a time when things were different, coupled with the comfortableness achieved through humor, it felt like I had permission to ask what was different in her personal life at that time. The responses gave me the information I needed to begin to help the client look at Egan’s (2010) third stage of ‘how do I get to what I want?’ This also gave me the opportun ity to work with the immediacy that was evident in the change of mood when the client reflected upon a time when her life was going well. This person-centered approach added a real sense of genuiness to the relationship and allowed the client to identify emotionally connect with the difference in her life at that time (Corey 2013). During a summary of what was different, when the client’s life was going well new information was disclosed that the client had not been discerning about the jobs that she took due to her financial situation. I made the comment that; â€Å"that was understandable, we all have to pay our bills†, thus normalizing the clients experience, Normalising a clients experience can help them to look at their situation more positively Geldard and Geldard (2009). This was useful as the session moved into the third stage of the framework provided by Egan (2010). During this stage we brainstormed ways in which the client could access alternative employment, and also how to achieve greater life balance through recreational activities. The client agreed to continue to develop this list and to approach some employment agencies. She also agreed to contact some friends socially the following weekend as a homework tasks. Tompkins (2006) suggests that there are clear advantages to the counselor and client working in a collaborative manor in negotiating mutually agreeable homework tasks. (as cited in Corey 2013). I felt that overall the session went well. At times I think I could have injected more energy into my responses. It is strange, as I felt more enthusiastic inside than what was conveyed. I was happy that I could work to a framework and I found that I enjoy the positivity of the solution-focused modality. It did seem a little too perfect at times, which is difficult to avoid in a role-play situation. References. Armstrong, P. (2006). The practice of counselling. Melbourne: Thomson Higher Education Corey, G (2012). Theory and Practice of Counselling and Psychotherapy. 9th.Ed. Melbourne. Canage Learning. Egan, G. (2010). The Skilled Helper 9th Ed. Belmont, USA: Brooks/Cole, Cengage Learning. Geldard, G & Geldard, K (2012) 7th Ed. Basic Personal Counselling: A Training manual for counsellors. N.S.W Australia. Pearson.

Introduction to Asthma

Asthma is an inflammatory disorder of the airways, which causes attacks of wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tightness, and coughing. There is no cure for asthma, but most people can control the condition and lead normal, active lives. Different things set off asthma attacks in different people. Smoke from cigarettes or a fire, air pollution, cold air, pollen, animals, house dust, molds, strong smells such as perfume or bus exhaust, wood dust, exercise, industrial chemicals all can trigger an attack. The symptoms of an asthmatic person are cough with or without sputum phlegm production, Shortness of breath that gets worse with exercise or activity, Pulling in of the skin between the ribs when breathing intercostals retractions, Wheezing, Usually begins suddenly, Comes in episodes, May go away on its own, May be worse at night or in early morning, Gets worse when breathing in cold air, Gets worse with exercise, Gets worse with heartburn reflux, Gets better when using drugs that open the airways bronchodilators The emergency symptoms are the decreased level of alertness such as severe drowsiness or confusion, during an asthma attack. The bluish color to the lips and face. Extreme difficulty breathing for a person is hard. Severe anxiety due to shortness of breath, Sweating. An additional symptom that may be associated with this disease is abnormal breathing pattern breathing out takes more than twice as long as breathing in. Have a chest pain is hard to breathe when u having asthma and it’s hard when tightness in the chest. Breathing temporarily stops and nasal flaring. The goal of treatment is to avoid the substances that trigger your symptoms and to control airway inflammation. Peoples and doctors should work together as a team to develop and carry out a plan for eliminating asthma triggers and monitoring symptoms. There are two basic kinds of medication for the treatment of asthma. There are long-acting medications to prevent attacks. Quick relief medications for use during attacks. The long-term control medications are used on a regular basis to prevent attacks, not to treat them. Such medicines include as inhaled corticosteroids such as Azmacort, Vanceril, AeroBid, and Flovent prevent inflammation. Leukotriene inhibitors such as Singular and Accolate. Long-acting bronchodilators such as Serevent help open airways. Cromolyn sodium Intel or nedocromil sodium Tilade. Aminophylline or theophylline. Sometimes a combination of steroids and bronchodilators are used. Quick relief, or rescue, medications are used to relieve symptoms during an attack. These are short-acting bronchodilators inhalers, such as Proventil, Ventolin, Xopenex, and others. Corticosteroids, such as prednisone or methylprednisolone given by mouth or into a vein Most people with asthma have wheezing attacks separated by symptom free periods. Some patients have long-term shortness of breath with episodes of increased shortness of breath. In others, a cough may be the main symptom. Asthma attacks can last minutes to days and can become dangerous if the airflow becomes severely restricted. In sensitive individuals, asthma symptoms can be triggered by breathing in allergy causing substances called allergens or triggers. Allergy testing may be helpful in identifying allergens in patients with persistent asthma. Common allergens include pet dander, dust mites, cockroach allergens, molds, and pollens. Common respiratory irritants include tobacco smoke, pollution, and fumes from burning wood or gas. The doctor will use a stethoscope to listen to the lungs. Asthma related sounds may be heard. However, lung sounds are usually normal between asthma episodes. The tests that an asthma may include. Blood tests to measure eosinophil count a type of white blood cell and a type of immune system protein called an immunoglobulin. Lung function tests, Arterial blood gas, Chest x-ray and a peak flow measurements. There is no cure for asthma, although symptoms sometimes improve over time. With proper self management and medical treatment, most people with asthma can lead normal lives. The prevention of asthma symptoms can be substantially reduced by avoiding known triggers and substances that irritate the airways. Bedding can be covered with â€Å"allergy proof† casings to reduce exposure to dust mites. Removing carpets from bedrooms and vaccuuming regularly is also helpful. Detergents and cleaning materials in the home should be unscented. Keeping humidity levels low and fixing leaks can reduce growth of organisms such as mold. Keep the house clean and keep food in containers and out of bedrooms this helps reduce the possibility of cockroaches, which can trigger asthma attacks in some people. If a person is allergic to an animal that cannot be removed from the home, the animal should be kept out of the patient's bedroom. Filtering material can be placed over the heating outlets to trap animal dander. Eliminating tobacco smoke from the home is the single most important thing a family can do to help a child with asthma. Smoking outside the house is not enough. Family members and visitors who smoke carry smoke esidue in and on their clothes and hair this can trigger asthma symptoms. Persons with asthma should also avoid air pollution, industrial dusts, and other irritating fumes, as much as possible. The complications of asthma can be severe. Some include as Death, Decreased ability to exercise and take part in other activities. Lack of sleep due to nighttime symptoms of dealing with asthma. They are permanent changes in the function of the lungs and persistent cough. The trouble breathing that requires breathing assistance ventilator. Call people health care provider or go to the emergency room. An asthma attack requires more medication than recommended. The symptoms get worse or do not improve with treatment. People have shortness of breath while talking. There is severe shortness of breath at rest. The peak flow measurement. The peak flow measurement is less than 50% of your personal best. Some people have severe chest pain best. Drowsiness or confusion develops. What are the causes in asthma all people with asthma have the same underlying problem an immune system that overprotects the lungs. Cells that defend the body stay gathered in the airways and produce mucus, a moist substance that keeps the airways free of dust. But if an irritant, such as smoke, pollution, or cold air, comes along, these defense cells overreact they make too much mucus. The mucus clogs the breathing passages. At the same time, the muscles lining the passages contract, squeezing and narrowing the airways. The result is that less air is able to flow in and out of the lungs. Doctors aren't sure what causes these cells to stay gathered in a person's airways in the first place, but they do know that the problem tends to run in families. If one of the parents has asthma, the odds that you will have it are higher. People are even more likely to have asthma if both of their parents have it. Asthma shows up before the age of 18 for about half of the people who develop the condition. But it can appear at any age, even when a person is in his sixties or older. They have preventions for an attack. There are three keys to taking control of the asthma: faithfully using your prescribed medication, periodically checking your breathing at home, and avoiding the things that set off the symptoms. With these keys, there can prevent attacks rather than just treating them. Using medication that people need. Certain anti-inflammatory drugs can ward off attacks or lower the number of attacks you have. Most often, people breathe in the medication using an inhaler. These drugs keep the defense cells that stay in their airways from overreacting and causing an attack. The doctor will tell a person how many times a day to use the inhaler and how many puffs to take each time, based on how bad your asthma is. He or She must follow this schedule for the inhaler to work. And it's important to remember that using anti-inflammatory drugs won't help during an attack. It's a good idea to rinse him / her mouth out with water after using the inhaler. This will help prevent an infection in the mouth, a rare side effect of the drug. Anti inflammatory drugs also come in pill form, but usually only people with severe asthma need to take pills. In pill form, the medicine goes directly into the bloodstream and stays in the body longer, having a more lasting effect than an inhaled drug does. Anti inflammatory drugs are sometimes called corticosteroids. However, they have nothing to do with the muscle building hormone that many people think of when they hear the term steroids. A person might have to check their breathing from time to time at home with a device called a peak flow meter. This small, hand held instrument measures the amount of air that you are able to blow out. The measurement gives people a better idea of the clearness of their breathing passages than they can sense of their own. Using the flow meter regularly will help you and your doctor work out the best possible treatment plan. If people keep getting good results, meaning they're breathing easily, they may not have to use the inhaler as often or at all. A dip in the flow meter’s reading, showing that you are able to exhale less air than usual, can warn people that an asthma attack is coming. What to do if people have an attack. She/he won't always be able to prevent asthma attacks. If they have one, take action immediately. Have people medicine handy to their doctor will prescribe drugs that relieve the symptoms of asthma should before they suffer an attack. These drugs are called bronchodilators. Their inhale them, and they quickly work to open up their airways. If people asthma is very mild, the bronchodilator may be the only drug they need at that time. People often confuse these drugs with inhaled anti-inflammatory medications, which act on the immune system cells in the lungs but will not loosen their breathing passages during an attack. Check their breathing. Use the flow meter to see if an asthma attack is responding to your medication. If it's not, get emergency care right away. Unlike bothersome substances, exercise is not an irritant that you need to avoid. Although vigorous activity can cause attacks in many people with asthma, there are things that a person can do to make exercising more comfortable. Experts encourage adults and kids to go for it to participate in pretty much whatever sports or activities they like. There have even been Olympic athletes with asthma. Asthma symptoms can appear during their workout or after they finishing exercising. The symptoms are thought to be caused by changes in the temperature and moisture of the air they breathe. Usually an exercise flare up reaches a peak in five to ten minutes and then goes away by itself in 30 minutes to an hour. Here are some things that they can do to avoid asthma symptoms while people work out. Start slow. Spending a few minutes warming up before they go all out can help prevent the symptoms. Be prepared. To lessen the negative effect of physical activity, the doctor may tell people to take a couple of puffs from their bronchodilator inhaler about ten minutes before they start exercising. Check the air quality. While exercise itself rarely brings on a bad attack, exercise in combination with another irritant can create a serious problem. If they are sensitive to air pollution or pollen, for example, and most run on a day when the air is smoggy or pollen counts are high, they may have trouble. A better choice on such a day is to exercise indoors. Check the air temperature. Like physical activity, cold air brings on asthma symptoms in many people. The same bike ride, walk, or roller skating outing that you can handle in mild weather may be tougher in the winter. Work out when they're healthy. They’re more likely to experience a flare up during exercise if you have a virus. Make sure that they're over a cold or the flu before going back to their routine. A stuffy nose can also create problems. People’s nose warms and moistens the air and the inhale. But when people have to breathe through their mouth, colder, drier air goes into their airways, causing asthma symptoms. If they often have a stuffy nose from allergies, ask their doctor about treatment. As a mother, there is no need to be too worried or over protective of their asthmatic child. Look after her/him as people would for other children with love, care and encouragement. Although asthma cannot be cured, with proper management, asthmatic children can still lead happy and healthy lives like any other children. As most mother are very protective with me their child when she/he was born with asthma.

Ethical Leadership and Employee Behaivor Dissertation

Ethical Leadership and Employee Behaivor - Dissertation Example Furthermore, there is the pressing need to investigate all the manners in which ethical leadership tends to affect employee behavior. A number of steps have already been taken in order to promote ethical behavior such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Though this is a step in the right direction but it cannot be termed as an end in itself. Instead, there is a constant need to explore the issue of ethical leadership and its impacts on employees to gauge methods to improve ethical conduct in organizations. This paper will attempt to analyze the dimensions of ethical leadership and its impacts on employee behavior as best as possible. Given the expansive nature of the topic, it is unrealistic to assume that all aspects and perspectives will be covered but this paper will attempt to delineate as much as possible. 2. Ethical Leadership Both ethics and leadership have been investigated for a very long time distinctly based on either normative or philosophical approaches. Results from these invest igations were traditionally used to decipher what leaders should do in order to bolster leadership. However, neither ethics nor leadership have been investigated on a strong scientific and social basis thus leading to fundamental gaps in understanding ethical leadership. ... cement and decision making also falls under the domain of ethical leadership (Brown, Trevino, & Harrison, 2005) (Trevino, Brown, & Hartman, 2003) (Trevino, Hartman, & Brown, 2000). In contrast philosophers have tried to define ethical leadership using normative perspectives by delineating how leadership ought to behave in organizational and other context (Ciulla, 2004). This approach to defining ethical leadership has narrowed down the focus of the subject. Instead the social scientific approach being pursued in this paper emphasizes describing ethical leadership, its antecedents as well as its consequences. Researchers have concluded for a long time that certain traits are more important to leadership than others. For example personal integrity has been linked with leadership effectiveness. Furthermore, perceived leader effectiveness has been linked to the perceptions of the leader’s character as per honesty, integrity and trustworthiness (Kirkpatrick & Locke, 1991) (Den Hart og, House, Hanges, Ruiz-Quintanilla, & Dorfman, 1999) (Posner & Schmidt, 1992) (Kouzes & Posner, 1993). In addition to these traits cognitive trust is also associated with effective leadership styles (Dirks & Ferrin, 2002). In this context cognitive trust has been defined as being composed of exercise of care in work, dependability and professionalism (McAllister, 1995). This concept has been used by Trevino et al (2000, 2003) in order to research what ethical leadership means to proximate observers of leaders. The research utilized structured interviews with twenty ethics or compliance officers as well as twenty senior executives. The respondents were asked to think of an ethical leader they knew about and to answer a broad survey that queried the motives, characteristics and behavior model of

Science and nature Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Science and nature - Essay Example ove the Science curriculum, the teacher may consider restructuring the curriculum by allowing the learners take part in tasks in the environment that will allow them grasp concepts in the curriculum. In the case of Science, the teacher should manipulate the environment so that it allows learners grasp concepts in the subject. This includes an environment where the learners can experiment with their senses. For the teacher to be prepared well enough to assist the learners in investigating the environment around them, the teacher must constantly assess the steps forward made by the learners. The teacher responds by assessing the moves they make in the environment and marking down their misdeeds. The teacher may also take advantage of the informal erudition practices. This emanates from the teachers’ instinct on when to act and when not to act in the learning process (Mitchell, 1992). This entails the teachers’ ability to emphasize concepts that are teachable in the course of learning. Conclusively, learning in this context takes part with the teachers reinforcing learning activities through constant supervision of the learners’

Special Interest Tourism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 1

Special Interest Tourism - Essay Example Dark Tourism, on the other hand, is the tourism to sites of tragedy, says John Lennon (2005). Human beings have a liking to travel to places of tragedy where they come close to death knowing fully well that they are far away from whatever that was causing it. This according to Lennon (2005), happens because of a mix of reverence, voyeurism or may be a thrill of coming into close proximity with death. In addition to this, special interest would also include sports, mountaineering, technology interests and very other specific interest zones which one might not find in the course of normal tourism. Dark tourism is a specific case of special interest tourism. Special Interest Tourism caters to the needs of specific groups. According to Douglas et al (2001), it normally starts with the individual. When the individual is interested in a specific topic, she tends to start off a group interested in the special zones. The senior tourism that is also one of the special interest tourisms is specifically made for the seniors and their interests. This tourism might be to places of pilgrimage and then of course, those places that are related to their childhood and growth. Every kind of special interest tourism has relevance to the person concerned. Therefore, the reason behind special interest tourism is identifiable and the flow of tourists is also predictable to a great extent. Special interest tourism on Music is a common liking in Europe. Many English who are interested in music take on such a tour to visit all those historic sites of music and try to relive the glorious days of the yore. A similar thing happens with art, adventure or many suc h sports. Special Interest Tourism, says Tsartas et al (2005), is really a marketing segmentation created by the travel industry to highlight specific selling points. Secondly, this Special Interest Tourism is also aimed at providing the best possible service to the tourists. The satisfaction gained by the tourists is particularly better with Special Interest Tourism because of the reason that the groups of people will be having related targets and their requirements will be in line with the needs of the others in the group. All this would help the organiser to provide better service and at the end ensure that the individual tourist is happier. This 'satisfaction' also arises from the fact that every tourist has a purpose behind the visit that he or she makes. If the person has to get back satisfied then this interest has to be identified and has to be catered to. Most of the tours therefore, once the specific interest is identified, become a special interest tour meeting the needs of the specific tourist or group. This makes almost all the tours that are conducted as something 'special' and there could always be areas that need to be taken care of. This brings into focus the need for further research in this segment and the need to work more on this to understand and appreciate the need for the special interest tours, particularly, in the case of small businesses (Page et al, 1999). 2. How according to Douglas(2001) might Dark Tourism be described as being complex Douglas et al (2001) assert that dark tourism is a complex interaction of multiple emotions and feelings.

Gypsy cin America Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Gypsy cin America - Essay Example A: I don't the exact year, but he came over when he was twenties. As for America, I don't know exactly, but if I had to guess I would assume he was just doing what everybody around him did. As far I know he didn't leave because of harassment or anything like that. America just represented a better place, probably, but again I don't know for sure. He came with quite a bit of my extended family. A Gypsy family is quite huge. Even as recently as the 1970s or even the 1980s, I knew third and fourth cousins like they were brothers or sisters. Well, maybe not that close. But certainly I had spent as much time with a third or fourth cousin as most people do with first cousins. And, well, there was intermarriage as a fact of life. My sister was married to a man-I can't remember the exact relationships now, sorry, but my niece and nephew became their own second or third cousins as a result. Gypsies up until recently engaged in exclusive intermarriage with their kind fairly much up until the 1 960s. I had another sister who died a few years ago who was the first in my family's line to marry outside the family. And I became the second. Well, my father and my mother fairly much knew each other since they were very young. My father was born in Indiana, not in any particular town to the best that I know of, and my mother in Chicago. Well, Joliet, not really Chicago. My father was born in 1907 and my mother in 1913. ... He was dead by the time I was born. Q: What about your parents Well, my father and my mother fairly much knew each other since they were very young. My father was born in Indiana, not in any particular town to the best that I know of, and my mother in Chicago. Well, Joliet, not really Chicago. My father was born in 1907 and my mother in 1913. It's funny, but I really don't know much about my parents' life as children. I do know my mother was what they would call a little hell raiser. If she had lived outside the traveler's atmosphere, I suppose she would have been a flapper. She began smoking when she was thirteen, and almost waited until she died to give it up. She used to sneak away from the camps and the occasional houses the family lived in to meet up town boys at the picture show. My father, well, like I said, I never really knew that much about his childhood. Q: What do you mean by camps and occasional houses A: I think there might be a misconception that travelers, which is what I remember being called when I was young, not Gypsies, never stayed in the same place for very long. I have pictures I can show you of my mother and father and aunts and uncles and the whole big extended family actually in wagons that they used to travel. My mother and father were kids in those pictures, by the way. Even so those photographs date back to between 1910 and 1920. They traveled all over the country with the men going into town to do any kind of work necessary, while the women stayed in the camp working or doing Gypsy things. I told you my mother was a palmist, and there were always at least one palmist in a traveler's camp. Q: What were these camps like A: You ever seen an old western movie where people going out west set up camp and

Challenges to the pharmaceutical industry's blockbuster-driven Research Paper

Challenges to the pharmaceutical industry's blockbuster-driven business model, and the effectiveness of GlaxoSmithKline's st - Research Paper Example After discussing the challenges associated with the use of the Blockbuster-Driven Business Model, the effectiveness of GSK’s strategies to meet these challenges will be tackled in details. 2. About the Company: Business Press and Analyst’s Narratives on GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Its Business Performance (i.e. Sales Revenue, Stock Prices, and Market Share) Based in Britain, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is a science-based health care company that aims to develop a wide-range of medicines through product researches and innovation (GSK, 2013a). Serving 115 countries worldwide, GSK is one of the top three biggest pharmaceutical companies around the world (GSK, 2013a ; Gilbert, Henske and Singh, 2003). To develop and innovate new drugs, GSK spent as much as ?4 billion in 2002 (GSK, 2013a). Back in July 1986, the share price of GSK was only 7.31 (Yahoo, 2013). Since January 1992, GSK’s share price has been fluctuating due to a series of merger and acquisition, expiry of patent s, heavy investment on new drug innovation, and tight competition in the market. Between 1979 to 1993, GSK filed 6 patents on Augmentin (Community Catalyst, n.d.). As a result, GSK’s share price started to increase in December 1992 at 30.75. ... It was between 1994 to 1995 when GSK contested their point-of-views with the federal appeals court concerning the legal issues behind patent infringement on one of their famous ulcer drug called Zantac (Los Angeles Times, 1995). Since the federal appeals court supported the arguments made by GSK, Novopharm – a Canadian company was not allowed to sell the generic version of Zantac in the U.S. throughout the period when the patent right is still effective (Los Angeles Times, 1995). One of the possible reasons why GSK’s share price significantly decreased from 69.50 in December 1998 down to 48.75 in February 2000 and 35.05 in February 2003 was because of patent litigation of GSK’s Paxil (Evaluate, 2002). In relation to the expiration of GSK’s patent on Advair in 2010, GSK’s share price has also significantly decreased from 42.29 in December 14, 2009 down to the lowest point at 33.46 in May 24, 2010 (Yahoo, 2013). Because of GSK’s business strate gy, this company managed to gradually increase its share price up to 52.51 in December 2013. Since it takes 10 years for GSK to develop new patented drug (Williams et al., 2008), this company has been continuously developing other promising drug that can compete or even better than their existing â€Å"blockbuster† drugs. (See Chart I – Historical Trend of GSK’s Share Price below) Chart I – Historical Trend of GSK’s Share Price Source: Yahoo, 2013 One of GSK’s â€Å"blockbuster† drugs was the Advair Diskus – an inhaler which can be used in the treatment of chronic asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) such as bronchitis or emphysema (Kitamura, 2013; Recruiting Experts Worldwide, 2013). Costing roughly US$300 per dose, the selling of

Ceremony Response (written by Leslie Marmon Silko) Essay

Ceremony Response (written by Leslie Marmon Silko) - Essay Example Ceremony is a beautifully written story which combines poetry as well as prose to explain the reader its real meaning. It shows the importance of cultural and traditional values in a person’s life and how a person can recover from deep troubles if he properly understands his culture and sticks to his traditions. Tayo was a young lad who belonged to the Laguna Pueblo tribe. He was half white and half Native American. Tayo was his mother’s illegitimate child whom she abandoned at a very young age. She left him with her mother and sister who brought him up. Tayo did not have very memorable childhood as he had to listen to regular taunts from his aunt who used to remind him constantly about the shame that his mother had brought to the family. Tayo was scarred further by the atrocities that he witnessed in the Second World War while in Japan. He became mentally unstable during the war which was reflected by the fact when he was not ready to shoot one of the Japanese soldiers whom he felt was his uncle Josiah. He also lost his cousin Rocky during the war. Thus, the war worsened his condition and he became mentally ill and traumatized. Upon return, he was moved to an army hospital but this did not relieve his psychological problems. He became an alcoholic as the thoughts of his past haunted him. This did not help him forget about his past and it made him more physically and emotionally drained. Seeing his deteriorating condition, his grandmother brought him back and suggested spiritual Native American cures for him for which he went to see a man Ku’oosh. Ku’oosh referred Tayo to visit Betonie who would be able to carry out a stronger healing ceremony for him. Betonie gave him clues and ways that he would need to accomplish him to fully recover from his trauma. Tayo followed his path and stayed away from the things that reminded him of war. He gathered himself and found the cattle that belonged to his uncle and started his life once again. H is enemies got doomed and he recovered from his losses. Ceremony is a story which speaks about family bonds and the impact that one’s family can have on the life of an individual. Tayo could have lived a better life if he would have received proper love and care from his mother. He would also have been raised in a better way had he been not mentally tortured by his aunt. Despite of these shortcomings, it also needs to be assessed that Tayo was only able to recover because of the support of his family members. His grandmother was very supportive of him and she wanted Tayo to lead a normal life. Furthermore, it was his uncle who took him to Betonie for the healing ceremony. Thus, it was his family’s assistance which brought him back to normal and he was able to get rid of his problems. Reading about the family bonds in the story reminds me of my family and the love and support that they always offer me in times of difficulties. I can relate to Tayo and his insecurities w hen he was far away from his family at war and at the hospital. I felt the same when I had to come to complete my studies in the United States. I became very depressed and suffered from stress. But it was my family’s love and support which helped me recover from my difficulties. Thus, Tayo’s recovery from the difficulties that he was facing with the assistance of his grandmother and family reflect upon my revival as well. The ceremony

US as a World Power Essay Example for Free

US as a World Power Essay In the 1890’s, the idea of imperialism had begun imprinting itself in American minds. Many Americans began to believe that the United States was either going to explode or expand. Our country had a new sense of power which was generated from the growth of our industry and wealth. There were Americans who had pushed the idea of imperialism through books and articles, calling it the adventures of childhood dreams. The first moments had begun with President Cleveland and his secretary of state James G. Blaine. Imperialism had come off as an idea that benefited the world but, the cold hard truth was that we were simply just benefiting ourselves. Our new international interests began in several ways. Blaine had pushed the Big Sister policy, with this policy we were able to get the Latin Americans to rally with Uncle Sam. This give off an impression that we want to help out the others, give them an idea of bond ship with the United States but in reality, what we truly wanted was their open markets and utilize them for ourselves. Document A shows how power-hungry we are, wanting â€Å"to show our strength† and wanting â€Å"the taste of Empire†. One of the first ways we showed off our new, violent, and power hungry status was in 1899 against Germany. The two nations had been bickering over the Samoan Islands. Luckily, this was resolved and no war broke out. Alaska, another area of issues that occurred between The U. S. and Canada. This fight was a more idealistic than self interest one though. The hostilities had begun with seal hunting which, the United States was against giving off their humanitarian ideology. Doc. B, provide an explanation of this by stating that â€Å"we cannot fly from our world duties†. Hawaii was another area of interest to America. It’s location was able to hold a naval and it was enriched with resources the nation could use. American planters were searching for ways to secure Hawaii’s annexation. The Queen of Hawaii was against this and believed that her natives should keep control. The whites then revolted and the U. S. rushed to annexation but, President Cleveland withdrew the idea. The majority of the Hawaiian natives were against the idea and the idea of annexation was temporarily abandoned. We didn’t want to give Hawaii freedom and they didnt want it either, we just wanted to have over their island. Doc. C provide a well example of this, â€Å"they like their own way† yet we act as â€Å"amongst them as ruler†, not giving them the freedom. Cuba was another moment in our imperialistic time, where it was idealism than self-interest, supposedly. The Cuban’s were trying to revolt against their leaders in 1895. America gave their sympathies to the Cubans but were largely worried about their investments in the land. Senator Lodge at the time even showed their self-interest ways, â€Å"whoever controlled Cuba controls the Gulf†. McKinley, President at the time, gave in and sent the war message to free Cuba. Proposing the lie called The Teller Amendment after Cuba America was free but, not entirely. The Cubans were forced to sign to the Platt Amendment which basically, set them still under American control. This situation proves right here wanted control, not their freedom. Doc. D proves this control with stating, That the United States owns them but, â€Å"it can not incorporate them as part of the United States†. In1901, Theodore Roosevelt had taken the reigns of the U. S.  He had his own form of foreign policy called the Big Stick. The Big Stick policy was extremely aggressive and was very built around self-interest. Imperialists applauded his every move. His first move was the Panama Canal. The Colombian senate rejected the American offer of 10 million which Roosevelt didnt take fondly. In order to build his canal , Roosevelt sponsored a revolt in Panama and gained the opportunity to construct it with a larger zone. This situation right here shows how The U. S. truly did all the imperialistic moves in order to support itself not the world.

Education Essays Innovative Curriculum Students

Education Essays Innovative Curriculum Students Innovative Curriculum Students Introduction Many people argue that it is very much critical to design and also to deliver a good curriculum and it is in this curriculum that should be established to ensure that it has inspired and also at the same times challenged all the students so that they can be in a position to prepare for the 21st century challenges. The innovative curriculum is supposed to equip all students with humble knowledge and it is through this knowledge that the students will be in a position to face the future challenges come the 21st century. There is a going on project by many schools and it is in this project that these schools are participating together to ensure that they have made a good curriculum for the 21st century. (Schneider, 1998). Due to the modern technologies, it is important to come up with an innovative curriculum that is supposed to incorporate all areas of learning to ensure that education has been made easy for the students and are also in a position to succeed in life since it is in this innovative curriculum that students will be in a position to learn in all dimensions including music as a curriculum in most of the schools. Music is one of the subjects whereby intensive innovation has to be established. This is because most of the student’s talents have not been realized since there is no much which has been done in the music world. The many activities which are related to this project have demonstrated how power to innovative can engage many people including leaders who are said to be involved in the development of this curriculum in rethinking the role of education to many learners. (Schneider, 1998). Literature review Music can be defined as the manifestation of the human spirit which is similar to human language. Many people have agreed that there is a clear connection between music and academic achievement. As a result, you find that music is one of the most important curriculums which should be introduced in schools. The 21st century innovative curriculum should incorporate music as a curriculum in most of the schools simply because music has many roles in most of the societies. Music is said to incorporate arts and art can be seen as a language that all people can speak and is said to cut across racial, social, cultural, economic and educational barriers. This innovative curriculum is supposed to encompass music. Many students usually recognize the importance of music although is difficult to generalize the percentage of the students who are participating in music at the higher levels of education. The participation by these students is said to vary on the size of the school. Out of research which was done, it was found that the rate of students who participate in music in the large schools range from 5 percent the total number of students and in the magnate or small schools are thought to range from 35 percentage of the students who register for that course. (Cox, 2000). The required general music programs say in the K-6 is said to be less vibrant than it was at the mid of the 20the century. In the elementary schools, there was a reduction in the curriculum time during the 20th century and one of the said causes for the reduction in the budget curriculum is lack of funds. It is argued that there were no enough funds to support this curriculum in the elementary schools.97% of the public elementary schools are said to offer music instructions to the students. It is out of the 97% schools that offer music instructions that only 75% of them are taught by specialist in these elementary schools and only 8% are taught by classroom teachers only. So, it is out of this concern that an innovative technology has to be established in the 21st century and this technology is supposed to ensure that there has been improved performance by the music students. This is said to help these students to learn widely and also to be taught by specialized. Music plays so many roles in the societies and one of these roles is entertaining. Many people are usually known to spend most of their free times in listening to music. As a result, you find that music is one of the industries whereby many young people have invested so much. The basics of music depend on proper learning at the elementary schools. So you find that if the students are not taught well, then it becomes quite hard for them to succeed in the music world. Music can also be used to educate people. You find that most of the art which people do usually carry with them important information and the audience for this music is said to benefit a lot from it. So, it is out of the many advantages of music that an innovative curriculum is required for the 21st century and this is in order to help the music world to fully develop. The project in this case is innovating on implementing the scoring rubrics which are supposed to assess the performance of these students. (Cox, 2000). Scoring rubrics Scoring rubrics can be defined as a descriptive scoring scheme and are said to be developed by teachers and this has been developed in order to help these evaluators in accessing the student’s efforts. The scoring rubrics are usually employed when a judgment of quality is required and this drive is said to evaluate a broad range of subjects and activities of these students. So, it is with this innovative curriculum that most of the student’s efforts will be in a position to be accessed and hence leading to a greater performance by these students. So, it is through this organized learning that most of the students will be in a position to realize their many goals and aims in life. This is because the learning process will have been made easier for these students. In order to achieve this innovation, the school has to use the scoring rubric since this involves making some of the subjective judgments about the quality of student’s work. This is because so many people are usually uncomfortable when using the subjective judgments and have found that a good set of scoring guidelines can be of great importance to these students when assessing their performance. (Instrumentalism. 2001). A good scoring rubric is said to help in the following: 1) It is argued that it is going to help many teachers to define excellence and also to plan on how to help students in order to achieve it. 2) It will also communicate results and also goals to the parents of these students and also others. 3) It will also communicate to students what actual is said to constitute excellence and also how to evaluate their own work. 4) Help teachers to be more accurate, inconsistent and also unbiased in scoring. 5) To document various procedures which can be used in making important judgments about the students? Several ways for implementing this project For the 21st century innovative curriculum to be successful, there are several strategies which are to be employed to ensure that it has succeeded. Strategies and good plans are to be established to ensure that the established innovative curriculum has been made successful. A question has to be answered when implementing this strategy. How is this innovation being led and who are the leaders to the innovation? This question is very much important when implementing this project. This is because one knows the leaders to this innovation that we will be in a position to implement it. This scoring rubric is said to organize the scoring criteria for the students. (Instrumentalism. 2001). Rationale of the project The innovative curriculum for the 21st century is said to help these students to have improved performances in their studies. It is through this project that the students will be in a position to develop great desires in education and hence improving on their performance. This innovation is also thought to help students to use the modern ways of learning and this is by using the necessary tools which are required for this. (Henderson, 2002). Recommendations for addressing diversity The activities which are related to this project has demonstrated how power to an increased innovation engages leaders who are said to be involved in this curriculum development in rethinking about the education purpose of this curriculum. It is through this innovative technology that many students will be in a position to realize their many hidden talents. This is because their performance in this case can be accessed hence leading to a greater success in life. (Henderson, 2002). Conclusion Innovative curriculum is thought to help many students to succeed in their many goals and objectives. The innovative curriculum is supposed to equip all students with humble knowledge and it is through this knowledge that the students will be in a position to face the future challenges come the 21st century. This project by many schools is said to benefit many schools who use it and it is in this project that these schools are participating together to ensure that they have made a good curriculum for the 21st century. Reference Instrumentalism. 2001. â€Å"2001 Survey of School Music Budgets.† Instrumentalist (August):34–38. Gaff, J. (1999): The General education: The changing agenda. Washington. Association Of American colleges and universities. Schneider, C. (1998): Contemporary understandings of education. Washington. Association of American colleges and universities. Bergeron, K and Philip, V. (1992): Disciplining music. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Cox, R. (2000): Are musical works discovered? The Journal of Aesthetic and art Criticism. Engh, B. (1993): Loving it. Music in Roland Barthes. University of California press. Giles, J. (1990): Theorizing music’s affective power. Toronto: Institute for Canadian Music. Henderson, M. (2002): Music as lifestyle. Journal of American Folklore.

Marketing Report Virgin Media Marketing Essay

Marketing Report Virgin Media Marketing Essay The aim of this research is to disclose the challenges and progress being made by Virgin and the marketing process and other crucial means leading to their progress. In order to complete this analysis, the adoption of strategic planning and marketing tool is crucial. Additional research for this report was completed through visiting Virgins online resources, which include historical archives, annual reports, strategies, operations etc. The aforementioned sources or documents provide background information, which acts as the basis for Virgins current position and against strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats analysis (SWOT analysis). Further analysis includes market segmentation, environmental analysis, target market and launching strategies. The first phase of this marketing report is to conduct a situation analysis that reveals the present state of the organization and its opportunities in the market. However, disclosing the history of the organization in view is crucial. The focus of the report thus would be on virgin media groups especially the mobile or telephony sector alongside the HD-TV or (3d TV) and broadband connection in the United Kingdom. Introduction Kotler and Kevin (2006) defined marketing as the science and art of selecting the right market, and then attracting and retaining customers making use of different techniques and making the customers happy. The marketing is not an easy concept of management. People believe it just as selling of goods, but it has the important role of satisfying the customers by giving them their needs and wants (Drysdale, 1999). This suggests that marketing is a tool, which involves the process of identifying the need of the product/ service in the market, and designing the product accordingly to fit into the market, using different strategies of sales and promotions. Successful marketing strategy is one, which makes increased returns from existing customers (Wilson et al., 2002). Marketing Process It is the process of marketing that makes the success or failure of the business. For below figure describes important characteristics associated with the marketing. Virgin media focuses on characteristics such as social, technological, political, and demographic factors for its marketing and promotional activities. Virgin also targets customers based on products in an appreciable manner by introducing 3D TVs into the market. This might act as the USP for the organization. Source: Kotler and Kevin (2006) Figure: Important factors of marketing strategy Company Background /Mission Statement The history of Virgin dates back to 1970 when Sir Richard Branson, the founder of the Company started with a student magazine and then the company expanded to several sectors; ranging from music labels, travel, drinks, financial services, media, music, transportation, telephony, media and services and fitness (virgin.com). Virgin has developed more than 300 branded companies globally. Global branded revenues as of 2009 accrued to around  £11.5 billion. A merger between Richard Bransons Virgin Mobile in 1993, and cable operator NTL, which metamorphosed into Virgin Media Inc on February 6, 2007, established media. External Marketing Audit Macro environment -Virgin Media Marketing is depicted by Brassington Pettit (2003, p.8-9) and Brassington Pettit (2007,p.2-3) as composed of conception, pricing, promotion and distribution of ideas , goods and services. Brassington Pettit (2007, p.2-3; Armstrong 2009,p.7-9) specifically submitted that marketing involves; identifying, planning, anticipating, and satisfying customer demands or specification with profit in mind. It thus involves exchanging or stimulating of ideas and the processing of such ideas. It could also be depicted as the creation of awareness for products, which stems from designing products, conducting market research, launching strategies, ensuring availability and service. Marketing thus can be depicted as a demand management activity. The marketing scope however takes place in an environment which takes into consideration basic themes in marketing and customer relationship management (Brassington Pettit 2003, p.9-11). The macro environment audit examines ranges of issues that affect the organization from the environmental perspective. This is represented by PEST (Political, Economic, Social and Technological analysis (Drummond et al 1999, p.24). Despite the global economic recession, the innovation and launch of products have remained constant. The particular segment of Virgin media; the television and telephony sector which provides distribution of television programming , broadband and fixed line telephone services to consumers on Virgin Medias cable network accounted for over 84.5% of total revenue in the first half of 2010. Micro Environment Market Analysis With the new development of TV 3D and the proposed increase of the network offering a downstream speed of 100Mbps and an upstream speed of probably 10Mbps by the end of 2010. The cable TV, telephony and broadband sector however of Virgin media is envisaging spending up to 30% of  £40mthan last year as compared to  £170m this year. Appendix 1 further explains the current position of Virgin Media. The launching of 3D by Virgin media ahead of other major competitors like BSkyB which is available for domestic use demonstrates the innovative intent of the company. In this era of globalization, technologies become the particular part in our life. One of the significant parts of people daily-life is communication. That makes telecommunication infiltrate into customer lifestyle. Virgin Media, despite the so many innovative and early market entry cases with its product remains a loss prone company. Competitors such as BBC, ITV, Channel 4,BT Group and Talk Talk through their collaboration which seeks to deliver internet access and video on demand programming accessible to the Freeview digital TV box. Competitor Analysis The present position of Virgin Media in the market, as an innovative and early launcher of products .In 2010 , Virgin media has successfully completed a portfolio of voice, data and internet solutions to leading businesses alongside public organizations and service providers in the United Kingdom (Barnet 2010). The focus of this report however would be on the 3D revolution. With the new converged TV and broadband set -top box gaining more demand, Virgin Media would launch TiVo at the end of the year. From this perspective, Virgin media submits that in the first three months of the year and recorded around 200 views million views of video- on -demand content. TV channels have benefitted from this video-on- demand strategy, for instance, Channel 4s 4oD realized up to 19 million views through Virgin Media (Guardian.co.uk). The BBC iPlayer however stands as another medium through which more than 50 million views of content in the first quarter. The competitive advantage of BSkyB cannot be ignored. The battle for the 3D market is on, as Virgin Media has beaten BSkyB to launch the first commercial 3D Television service to the United Kingdom customers and further to other European companies starting from 1st October, 2010 (Virgin Media press release, 2010). The latest of strategies employed by BSkyB is the unveiling of the service known as 3D Movies on Demand, which allows customers access to 3D versions of films with a loop of preview programming. The positive of all this submission is that over 1.2 million households that have a V plus or V HD receiver and 3D glasses would be able to benefit from the 3D rental services. Customer Analysis The number of subscribers in the United Kingdom is increasing continually especially with the introduction of internet, broadband and lately 3D TV video on demand. Cable Products and Services Virgin media offers cable broadband internet, television and fixed line telephone services to residential customers in the United Kingdom. Virgin media offers its customers several packages and multiple services (Virgin media annual report 2009). Broadband Internet Virgin media has over 3.8 million subscribers, with several upgrades made to the network in the first half of 2010. As the first provider to offer download speeds of up to 50Mbps to over 12 million homes across the United Kingdom, with the current upgrade of up to 100 Mbps, Virgin media ranks one of the first companies in the United Kingdom to provide a further download speeds up to 200 Mbps (Halliday 2010). The broadband internet service has been credited as one of the successful sectors of Virgin Media with intense marketing and customer relationship management services (Virgin media annual report 2009). Television Virgin media operates in different aspects from the TV; Cable Television, Free TV service, Virgin TV on Demand (VOD) , High Definition Television, and Digital Video Recorders. The new 3D TV revolution leads to the examination of the internal market and the position of the media sector of the company. Internal Marketing Audit Operating results Virgin media has held a solid presence in the market with a combination of different sectors as disclosed above. From the perspective of Gilligan Wilson, (2009, p. 73-75) is concerned with strengths and weaknesses , organizational performance and structure, operations and resources , marketing objectives ,marketing strategy, information systems , control systems, functional efficiency, inter functional efficiency, cost effectiveness analysis. Fig 1 : The place of the marketing auditing in the overall management auditing Source: Gilligan Wilson, 2009, p. 79 Internal auditing assesses the extent to which an organization, its structure, and resources interact with the environment and they have the means of operating efficiently within certain constraints that the environment presents Gilligan Wilson, (2009, p.80). Five stages of auditing as disclosed by Gilligan Wilson, (2009, p.82) involves; defining the market, determining the performance, determining differences in competitive programmes, profile the strategies of the competitors and determining the strategic planning structure. Strategic Issue Analysis Investing in a particular business, demands a marketing research or audit. Following the corporations aim, which is to be the leader in entertainment communication, according to Virgin Media website, it provides a wide range of products to serve consumers wants and needs by focusing on entertainment and 3D technology with design and suitable for customers lifestyle. There are main three category of product, which is divided by usage and customers lifestyle as following: Daily life tool, Communication Entertainment, and Style Statement. Firstly, daily life tool is the mobile phone which is produced for customers who want just only basis of communication which could be linked with the mobile telephony business. The strategic concern here is the launch of the 3D TV, which is supposed to boost the Virgin Media Inc. Considering the modernity, and new customer or coverage of this new product. Certain things need to be taken into consideration; segmentation process which covers the consumer behaviour, social influences, personal influences and psychological influences (Drummond et al, 1999, p.51-59). SWOT Analysis Strengths Wide-range of products Environmentally friendly Strong partnership Reasonable price Early launcher or early market entry Weaknesses Accumulated deficit Wide range of Media products without any specialization Weak Brand identity Limited expansion of coverage Opportunities Christmas and New Year/Seasonal period sales Expanding of signal, broadband coverage with the TV. Increasing in On-line purchase Technology flood trend Threats More entrants into the market Strong competitors Negative media reports Marketing / Strategic Objective With the new 3D TV on demand in place, the entire marketing objective of Virgin Media is to consolidate its profit in the market through innovation and launching of new products (Virgin Media). At the beginning of this strategy, the strategic objective is to stimulate existing customers and potential customers to purchase the product (3D TV on demand). This plan takes issues such as services, after service, customer relations management and promotion, quality products and service delivery are crucial. However, it is crucial to drive total sales unit by attracting customer with a great deal. This can be achieved by applying Ansoffs Growth Strategies (Wood, 2007), to decide which area might be suitable for this plan, the decision is made by choosing market penetration. This penetration strategy of Virgin may help it in the long-term. The company will be able to penetrate well into the market segments left untouched. This will lead the organization towards a better position in the market. The company uses its different segment of products to penetrate simultaneously into the different market segments. Virgin strictly follows the marketing concept to sell its products all acros s. Their focus is on branding the products for increased sales. Furthermore, customer relationship management has become an important factor for Virgin, as the performance outcomes are categorized as customer loyalty, profitability, customer satisfaction and the market share (George A. Day Robin Wensley, 1988). Marketing Strategies Virgin should make use of segmentation strategy of market, based on the 4Ps of marketing (Kotler, 2006). They should select their two products 3D TVs for entertainment and the TV for transfer of information etc. Firstly, the 3D TV shall be sold to users who want just the comfort of the 3D entertainment. While the second type of TVs are for those looking for different applications on their TV for the transfer of information or use of the internet (Style Statement). Those who make purchase just for entertainment include children and homemakers, shall be targeted for the first type of product. Some people, who are professional by nature, and are more involved in the information transfer, shall be targeted for second type of product. The product chosen for discussion in the below sections is TV. Product Virgin Media produces a variety of products to serve any market segmentation with wide-range of prices depending on what features fit in customers needs. The customers have many choices to purchase other HD TVs or TVs with multimedia benefits, which are suitable for their lifestyle. According to the Product/segment analysis grid, Wood (2007), there are three categories for Virgin media TV. Their product (TV) is aimed to wide range of market segment. Thus, the company can achieve economies of scale by selling its products all across. Considering the products by using Product Life-Cycle Marketing Strategies, Kotler et al (2009), it has some products extinct from the market but it has also the products which resurrection to the market as well. Price The impact of the economy crisis, slow down the purchasing power and customer spending behaviour, during gift-giving holiday as Christmas and New Year are the special occasions for European. However, the pricing of their TVs is fit to the market today. The products range from HD TVs to the simple TVs for wide range of genera. Thus, the company here focuses on earning revenues from low involvement TVs by achieving economies of scale, while good margin on high involvement TVs. The information from Mintel mention that the average amount spent on gift for family and friends this Christmas was 370 pounds (Mintel 2007). This simply implies that for a product such as the 3D TV videos on demand, the price would be much affordable for subscribers and it would focus on a particular class of the society at first, which are the high earners and early technology adopters. (See Appendix 2). Place One of the marketing mix elements that would be the key success factor for any business is distribution channel. The channel, which could approach to the customer directly, should be the suitable way to increase profit in short term. Virgin thus makes use of the retailers distributed worldwide, to sell its products. From this fact, it leads the marketing department to choose direct marketing in term of e-marketing to be the channel and also using the existing channel that distribute product to retailer and the retailer sells to customers which means the company is using dual distribution for this marketing plan and selective distribution. The competitive advantage of online marketing is lower costs and prices. According to the accumulated deficit of the company, the department desire to lighten the load of companys expenditure by developing the website to sell the product. Promotion Just like the place, there should be multiple ways of communicating the benefits and awareness of the new product. Promotion could be through the following ways; Internet marketing, magazine, television to mention but a few (Appendix 3). The company uses promotion strategy as advertisements and various promotional plans randomly for selling its TVs. Virgin gains competitive advantage against its competitors due to its wide range of quality products. Continuous research and development by the company helps it to introduce new products into the market. These products, with big brand attached to it, sells in the market to gain revenues. Additionally, the long lasting existence of the company shows its expertise and experience in the industry. The company thus has linked with large number of retailers indirectly, to distribute the products directly to its end consumers. The company does not stand up with high pricing. Their pricing strategy is worth the brand value they have achieved. They stand well in the market with strong base. Thus, it suggests their pricing fit for upper-middle class of people. Marketing- An approach to success Marketing in itself is not an easy phenomenon. It varies from one geographic location to the other. For Virgin, the company analyses well the different approaches for selling its products at different places. For example, for selling its products in US, the products should be trendy and luxurious. The products shall be sold showing their fade. However, for countries such as India, China and Malaysia, the company shall use promotional strategies using the local cultural approach. The company offers huge discounts during cultural timings in these countries. This raises the sales of their products. Company also uses traditional means of representing their products as cost effective and as value to price. For this, Virgin promotes its products to grab the attention of both, end consumers and organizations. Selling to end consumer focuses on the benefits attached with the product for home use. However, for organizations, benefits on bulk purchase, benefits on using various range of products etc. is laid. This increases the probability of Virgins products acceptable all across. References Armstrong,G, Kotler, P,Harker, M,Brennan,R. (2009) Marketing and Introduction, Pearson Education Limited. Barnet, E. (2010) Virgin beats Sky to 3D service launch; accessed 29th September, 2010 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/8029425/Virgin-beats-Sky-to-3D-service-launch.html Drummond, G , Ensor, J Ashford, R.(1999) Strategic Marketing :planning and control; Oxford:Elsevier. Drysdale, L. (1999) Marketing or Market Orientation: Whats the Difference, Prime Focus The Professional Journal for Australian Primary School Leaders April pp28-29 George A. Day Robin Wensley (1988), Assessing Advantage: A Framework for Diagnosing Competitive Superiority. A Journal of Marketing, Vol. 52, pp. 1-20. Giligan, C Wilson,M.S .(2009) Strategic Marketing Planning, Oxford ,UK: Elsevier. Halliday, J . (2010) Virgin Media steps up battle over broadband speed advertising, accessed 1st October ,2010 ; http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/sep/02/virgin-media-broadband-speed-advertising Kotler, P. et al (2009) Marketing Management, London: Pearson Education Limited. Mintel, (2007), Christmas Shopping Habits 2009 report, Accessed 29th September, 2010: http://www.academic.mintel.com Philip Kotler, Kevin lane Keller (2006), Marketing Management, Prentice Hall, 12th edition, ISBN 0-13-145757-8, p. 6 Virgin Media press release (2010) accessed 1st October, 2010; http://pressoffice.virginmedia.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=205406p=irol-newsArticleID=1449279highlight= Virgin Media First Quarter 2010 Results ( 2010) accessed 1st October, 2010; http://pressoffice.virginmedia.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=205406p=irol-newsArticleID=1418909highlight= Virgin Media on Demand , accessed 1st October, 2010; http://www.virginmedia.com/tvradio/ondemand/ Virgin Media brings 3D TV to UK living rooms ; accessed 1st October, 2010; http://www.virginmedia.com/movies/features/virgin-media-3d.php Virgin media annual report 2009; accessed 30th September, 2010 ; http://investors.virginmedia.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=135485p=irol-reportsAnnualVirginMedia Wilson, H., Daniel, E., MacDonald, M. (2002), Factors for success in CRM systems. Journal of Marketing Management. Vol. 18, No.1, pp. 193-219 Wood, M.B. (2007), Essential Guide to Marketing Planning, London, Prentice Hall. Zack Investment research online archive ; accessed 1st October, 2010, http://www.stockresearchwiki.com/Ticker/VMED/ Appendix A