Workers Compensation in the State of Florida Research Paper

Workers Compensation in the State of Florida - Research Paper Example Workers are entitled to make claims in regards to injuries arising out of work while in the course of employment. These injuries may result in temporary total disability, permanent disability or permanent partial disability as well as death. To calculate benefit entitlements worker are divided into classes according to the type of duties they perform or job description. Each category has an average wage which is used in determining premiums paid by employer and in compensation (Justice Newsflash, 2010). Workers are entitled to claim benefits as a result of occupational diseases acquired at work due to use of harmful chemicals or other substances that may affect health. The employer is supposed to hire a certified medical practitioner or recommend a list of practitioners where injured employees can be medically examined. If established that indeed the employee suffered injury, the following benefits are payable:-Medical benefits whereby full medical benefits are given but after maximu m medical improvement, a $10 patient copayment is required for all medical services and non attendance to medical exams is fined 50% (Larson, 2003). Temporary total disablement are subject to social security and unemployment insurance and are calculated as % of workers wage subject to weekly maximum and payment is up to 104 weeks. Permanent total disability benefits are paid as long as disability continues and are subject to legal deductions while permanent partial disablement is % of weekly payments and has no minimum. Disfigurements such as facial or head are also payable.  

Value Based Marketing Concept Marketing Essay

Value Based Marketing Concept Marketing Essay Research in Motion Limited, based in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada was founded in 1984. It is one of the largest companies in Mobile Communications worldwide. It took the world by storm by launching its leading product Blackberry smartphone in 1999. The current product includes Blackberry Play book Tablet, Blackberry smartphone, software for Businesses and other related accessories. It has got its identity in North America, Asia-pacific, South America and Europe. The Company is led by President and CEO, Thorsten Heins. Frank Boulben was named Chief Marketing Officer effective June2012. Executives and sales people from around the world boasts about the possession and utility of Blackberry. It enhances their ability to access key corporate information and connect with their colleagues in real time. The resulting efficiency has resulted in sales agreements being closed faster and key decisions being communicated to Top Honchos. The BlackBerry smart phone has become the one device that many business people find hard to function without.(Mcgraw-hill.com) The BlackBerry solution is now available on over 300 networks in over 120 countries. Recently, on 5 June 2012, its stock fell below $10 for the first time since 2003. Company is losing grounds to Apple Inc.s iPhone and phones that run Google Inc.s Android software like Samsungs. Revenue for the second quarter fiscal is $2.9 billion which is down 31% from $ 4.2 billion in the same quarter of fiscal 2012. Company net loss for the quarter was $ 235 million (www.press.rim.com/newsroom, 2012) After studying the case studies and using the Marketing mix strategy and Value based marketing models I have analyzed that customers want value for the price they pay for. RIM can create value through quick innovation, market research, market trends and realities. It also needs to change with changing needs of the people. Blackberry was once the pioneer in mobile industry, it has lost its shares in the current market due to slow adoption with changes in demand of consumers. I have also studied the strengths, weakness, threats and opportunities that blackberry have in the current situation. I have analyzed that Blackberry has a potential to rule the market again however the company should invest on new technology according to the needs and change in demand in the mobile industry 1.0 Value based Marketing concept Companies generally focus on maximizing the profits than on maximizing customer value. The late Peter Doyle, in his book value-based marketing, charges that profit maximization leads to short term planning and under-investment in marketing, promoting a focus on Sales, market share and current profits. (Doyle, 2000) This concept erodes the competitiveness in the long run as it eliminates the opportunities in the new markets. Companies ignore the fact that the real investment of a company relies on brand management, customer relationship, Partner relationship and knowledge about the market. Customers buy value rather than products and services. It is a Value package of cost of the product and the benefits that are significant to the end users. Customers hardly find true value, when they find they hardly ever leave until a better value takes over. (J Nicholas De Bonis, 2012) Companies should discover customers attributes and benefits the customers look for in a product and create a marketing strategy to deliver value to them. The steps involve market research and how customers perceive different brands available in the market. The diagram below depicts how cost based pricing is different from Value based pricing. In value based approach value comes first and in cost based approach companies target on profit maximization. (Pricing and price stratergy, n.d)http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSMggVwiSafznfxuwsbt3bnGX_6m75FlJJ993t1Gi9ezRLXeRaH7g How companies create values: Customer Relationship Management: Companies maintain the database base of the customers, collect information on the preferences and likings of the customers, Use information to target the potential/target customers through products services and promotions that adds value to the most important aspect of customer requirements. Target Segments: Value driven companies focus one or more consumer segments, ensure additional value on the product and reduce cost through extremely efficient operations. Retaining the existing loyal customers by adding value features that can be helpful to the target customers. http://image.slidesharecdn.com/valuebasedmarketing-120228185920-phpapp02/95/slide-8-728.jpg?1330477417 Companies can focus on key areas: Focusing on the customer Focusing on market trends realities Articulate new market opportunities Emphasizing on customer satisfaction Creating single cohesive strategy CMO of Research Motion also talks about which customers they intend to serve and why they are going to serve them better than the competitors. By adding value to the product, RIM could have the greatest come back http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAJp_tL7ggE (Boulmen, 2012) 1.2 Marketing Mix Strategy http://business-fundas.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Strategies-for-Marketing.jpg (The 4 Ps of marketing, n.d) The term marketing mix was coined by Neil Borden. Every Marketer should have knowledge of this theory. It is part of the segmentation process where all 4 Ps, Product, Price, Place, Promotion play their role. This model helps in positioning based on the elements that are best suited for marketing. The above diagram also talks about the relevant questions that the company can think of and based on the best answers the strategies can be made. By answering the above questions, RIM can create a value for its products to effectively compete in the market. 2.0 Driving forces of change in the mobile Industry and changed landscape The best innovation ever is of a mobile phone. Mobile has created worlds most innovative companies. The macro trends surrounding the industry are: Persistent Demand: There seems to be a never ending demand of mobile phone. There has been demand of mobile phones, smartphones tablets throughout the world. People strive hard to earn a good phone. The market has been swayed with the extensive demand of mobile phones. Customer Centric Mobile Applications: Every company is struggling hard on innovation to compete on products and features that the customers expects or over expects from mobile phone. Market Disruption: There is a deadly competition happening in the mobile market. There are mergers, acquisitions, war among technologies, Facebook planning to create its own phone, Google planning to buy Motorola. Lack of innovation problem for Nokia Blackberry has created havoc in the Mobile Industry. Based on the trends that we analyzed, we can say that Mobile industry will remain the most lucrative industry in the years ahead and will lead to further innovations in technology and designs. 3.0 Understanding Customer Behaviour and upcoming Challenges Customers look at maximizing values. High customer value delivery is the key to customer loyalty. 3.1 Drivers of Customer Equity Value Equity: It is a combination of effective of quality, price and convenience. It is effective where companies have differentiated products. Brand Equity: Its a bundle of perception, attitude and awareness. Effective when products are less differentiated. Relationship Equity: It is for companies relying on customer loyalty programs and special and maintaining relationships. 3.2 Factors affecting Customers behavior Personal Factors: Includes Age, Gender, values, personality, lifestyle, occupation, etc. Blackberry is targeted for a separate class of people that needs quick texting, believes in getting things done, messenger, and Internet access with media player. It is a great way to connect people, place and resources access through Mobile. Cultural Factors: It involves the cultural differences of individuals based on the culture and background an Individual comes from. Geographical location, Nationality, Religion is a part that affects the customers choice and beliefs. Social Class: It is segmented based on the income earned by an individual group of people. It affects the customers behavior in a way where not every person can buy a specific product because of limited source of income. 4.0 SWOT Analysis Strengths Brand: Brand is internationally recognized and established. Products beneficial for consumer and business professionals as well. The most relied upon phone for business e-mails Potential to develop a range of products based on specific designs and innovations over the years Patented rights for the thumbwheel and QWERTY keyboard found on the device. Its products have awarded for unique features and products. It still has a huge database of loyal customers who do not want to part from their phones. Weaknesses Prolonged lack of innovation Persistent fixation with a platform which is losing appeal for both customers and developers Blackberry phones are expensive and chic product that is gets costly for organizations that want to offer email across large organizations. Limited storage capacity compared to other phones. Opportunities: Non Exposure of its product line RD talent is getting increasingly low. Acquisitions: Smaller firms with low resources to invest on technology can be a good buy-out option. Market Intelligence reveals an immense opportunity for smart phones similar technology that can be exported. Exports are expected to can reach billions by 2013 end. The new BlackBerry Tablet OS (found on the Play Book) looks like a robust platform in the long run, and it is built on QNX OS that is tried-and-tested. Threats: Aggressive competition on evolving new soft wares in the global smartphone market In 2007 Symbians operating system designed for mobile devices held an estimated 65% worldwide share of the converged devices, exporting 77.3 smartphones in 2007, while RIM Blackberry OS at 11%.(2011) In Exports RIM leads in North America standing at 42% Key competitors have already expanded globally like Apple, Samsung, LG, and HTC Product imitations, loss of source code, software piracy and are more common in developing and third world countries Competitive market for employees in the global software development industry. Rapid innovations from other companies. Changing consumer behavior: With wider options in features and technology customers choice change rapidly. It is a threat as it becomes difficult to cope with the rapid change in consumer requirements. 4.1 TARGET MARKET The primary target market for Blackberrys is the business people between 25 to 60 years. These people are the ones that want their things done, more on the go people and mostly occupied with their work. A device which can provide them more suppleness of wireless network i.e. internet services, emails and GPS services is needed to make lives easier of the corporates. Blackberry should also add features that can target children and Generation Y as they are more technology savvy and innovation hungry. The Gen Y group is always exquisite about latest and smarter technology and they respond rapidly to changes in technology. They are also willing to pay high prices for the benefits and value offered to them. Hence it is a prospective market for RIM. 5.0 Marketing Mix strategy for RIM to achieve the lost market share PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT BRANDING: In this dynamic environment of technology RIM needs to invest on innovation and R D. Horizontal business opportunities like Multimedia and Satellite services will generate extra revenue. RIM needs to position itself as the leading smart phone provider for professionals in emerging countries such as Brazil, Russia, India and China. MARKET SEGMENTATION: They should target others segments not specifically but by adding additional features that can attract students, youths and try to indulge in other product or cross sell other products. CHANNEL SALES: RIM can negotiate with major phone services provider in several countries, this will help RIM to promote their phones through a mutual relationship. Internet marketing and social media channels can also be widely used for advertisements marketing COST CUTTING: RIM can also look at reducing the cost through operational excellence. This can further reduce the cost of the supply chain and can also reduce the per unit cost of making the phone and ultimately selling it at a competitive price. 6.0 RECOMMENDATION 1) RIM needs to innovate and invest on technology this needs to come with new products with more user friendly feature to satisfy current consumer demand and attract new customers 2) RIM should also strongly focus on the advertising campaign to increase brand awareness through viral advertising, television advertisements, internet marketing etc. 3) RIM sells its equipment and services in around140 countries, so it should target to place the product in some other developing countries. 4) RIM should target not only business clients but also target tech savvy Generation Y by increasing product line. 7.0 CONCLUSION Looking at the disappointing sales figure of this year RIM should develop robust product strategies to win over competitors. In order to regain the competitive edge RIM needs to utilize its resources to utmost level by increasing the product line. Also RIM can make strategies to foresee future competitors e.g. Facebook planning to launch its own mobile phones. Facebook Inc. and plan long term strategy as per market demand. It is time for RIM to step ahead of the game and compete directly with Apple and Samsung. As per market research Blackberry is in the maturity phase of its life cycle so it needs to make the future plans accordingly. It is high time that Blackberry enters the market with a big bang giving tough competition to its competitors.

My Antonia Essay: The Role of Men in My Antonia -- My Antonia Essays

The Role of Men in My Antonia Gloria Steinem once wrote that "A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle." Clearly she is attempting to assert women's independence and further the liberation movement. However, her analogy is not quite complete. A bicycle has absolutely no place in a fish's life, but whether she needs him or not, men are very much present in a women's life. While a women can survive without a male influence, his influence shapes much of her personality. This role of man manifests itself in the lives of the women of Black Hawk but most vividly in the form of the working girls. While working in Black Hawk, the hired girls assert their independence from men in practical matters but also proclaim their dependence in defining their personality. Tony, Tiny, Lena, and any other country girl ever to work in town can clearly survive without a male influence. They are, in fact, supporting the men with the funds they send home. However, as each is independent from men for survival, each is still defined by their actions and attitudes toward men. Lena Lingard is most outwardly defined by men. In the fields and the cattle she exists in a male vacuum where she can be wild like the fields around her. Once she is exposed to town life and men, she still retains the wild nature, but it is now covered by a facade of new dresses instead of her earlier rags. "The unusual color of her eyes - a shade of deep violet - and their soft, confiding expression" are no longer representative of her pure nature, but instead an object to be lusted over by men (150). Lena doesn't need men to survive, but she needs men to be beautiful. In similar fashion, the farm physiques of Tiny and Ant... ...back], you're here, like my father. So I won't be lonesome" (256). Those memories of her father and Jim are all that Antonia posses of her past and they are all that shapes her future No woman truly needs a man to sustain life; but men will often shape their future. As clearly shown in My Antonia , men often have an undeniable impact on women's' personalities and choices of lifestyle. Mrs. Steinem's metaphor does not hold. A bicycle has no place in a fish's world, but men and women cannot be separated. Any past action inevitably shapes one's future. If a man exists anywhere in a woman's world he will affect her life whether it be in a positive or negative fashion. The more appropriate metaphor would be something like "Women need men like a fish needs nuclear waste". You certainly don't need it, but if it's there, it's going to have an impact on your life.

5 Benefits of Facebook

————————————————- 5 Great Benefits of Facebook Fan Pages for Local and Small Businesses Small and Local businesses are discovering the advantages of having a Facebook fan page and are beginning to learn the secrets to attracting new customers and website visitors with simple tricks that are classified as affordable and easy. With some effort, your great plan or product can be become a fan favorite on Facebook! We often hear the old adage, It’s an amazingly small world when coincidences occur or common acquaintances are discovered.With the growing rise in popularity of Facebook, the entire world seems even smaller in recent times, simply because this popular social network connects people around the world, building a global community of shared connections and interests that knows no cultural boundary. Facebook allows users to connect not just with old friends, however with people all over the world who share their interests and passions on fan pages created for them. These fan pages are fundamental to Facebook’s popularity and incorporating one into your marketing plan might just be your ticket to success.With just a few clicks of the mouse, you   can create a Facebook fan page to advertise your product, interest or passion. Without any effort or expense by you, Facebook’s search feature will yield your fan page as being a search outcome and those who share your interest will soon find you. To help get more website visitors to your fan page without any cost, you can spread the concept about your latest page to all your current client database and Facebook connections.Considering that the average Facebook user has 130 friends, there exists nearly endless potential for attracting new individuals to your page simply by reaching over to those you already know and asking them to assist you in making connections. Naturally, you also wi ll want to be sure to promote your fan page on your website, and vice versa. Proven Benefits of Facebook Fan Pages: 1. Attract more traffic to your site through fan page links- People who find you on Facebook will probably be interested enough into your product or service to click on a link that will take them directly to your website. 2.Effortless income potential- Through Facebook’s innovative advertising options, you can make an income by targeting certain demographics and like-minded potential customers for a very low cost. 3. Easier search engine optimization- A Facebook fan page does more than heighten your exposure within a social network; a fan page raises the odds of your name being found quicker on search engines, like Google. 4. Increased customer loyalty- Current customers who follow your Facebook fan page will develop an individual connection to your product or service, particularly if you are diligent about feedback and responses with their posts.Fan pages offer fans chances to post pictures, provide product reviews and with loyal fans to post feedback and comments that may possibly attract others and provide you with priceless insight into the wants and also needs of your projected audience. 5. Get to know your customers- With Facebook’s detailed analytics, you will get entry to valuable specifics about people who follow your fan page, such as their gender, age and also place. Gaining a more rewarding knowledge of the demographics of your respective group of followers can help you more effectively reach particular people with targeted, customizable advertising.Facebook is fast becoming the most popular element that links people from around the world. As friends connect on Facebook, they naturally share information about products and services they normally use and love. That is where a Facebook fan page and its great potential for business owners enters into play. Increasing your global exposure with a fan page for your product or s ervice provides a simple means for people to hook up with you and tell their friends about you.The great thing about a Facebook fan page is the benefits that are available to even the smallest business and it also takes simply passion and purpose to attract fans and initiate to reap all of the benefits Facebook fan pages have to offer. Business owners worldwide depend on Facebook experts for a bunch of their Facebook fan page needs, from Facebook marketing suggestions to information about how to monetize Facebook. Visit us online or call us at 206. 350. 3504 to learn more about the proven advantages of Facebook fan pages and how to use them to get results for your business. ————————————————-Facebook Business Basics (Lesson 1): Facebook Status Updates and How They Work So That You Can Better Understand How to Use Them to Your Advantage October 19, 2011 by  Lisa Santos    ·Ã‚  Leave a Comment 1 Welcome to the first lesson in the Facebook Business Basics Crash Course. Over the next few weekly posts you will receive several lessons that will help you learn a few basic ways that you can build your business and increase your profits with Facebook . In this first lesson let’s talk a little about Facebook status updates and how they work so that you can better understand how to use Facebook to your advantage.Because there are so many social network terms out there, let’s start this lesson by distinguishing early on what a Facebook status actually is. A Facebook status is a post that appears for your contacts to read. Whereas before, Facebook statuses were immediately broadcast for everyone, now there are plenty of privacy settings to protect the person by letting them choose who can actually read their messages. You can also interact through your Facebook status. Friends and other contacts are allowed to comment on the Facebook status or s imply Like the status. Recently, Facebook has added a tagging feature to Facebook statuses.Put @ in the beginning and you are allowed to tag as many as 6 people in a post. Friends and contacts that are tagged will be notified in the same way that they are also notified when somebody else or the status owner has replied a status he   commented on. How are Facebook statuses important for professionals, you may ask? Well, Facebook statuses are what many consider as the very essence of Facebook. Here, customers, potential customers and other interested parties can interact on a particular piece of information in a casual manner that is way more convenient and conversational than email or even Twitter actually will.With Facebook statuses also, almost everyone can join in the conversation (that is if you want them to) which makes for a casual promotion of your product, service or company. The Facebook status is a powerful part of using Facebook for your business. The number of Likes and comments for every Facebook status will help your page climb up in its search engine position. Facebook statuses can also help you with branding efforts. For your Facebook marketing to be successful it is important that you monitor your page carefully, that you keep your status posts enthusiastic and professional at the same time.While it’s tempting to place something instantly catching, hilarious or even shocking, you need to ask yourself first whether this will help the business reputation in the long run or will it just server as temporary entertainment? It is important to optimize Facebook statuses in order to make them more searchable for potential customers. A good feature to use is Facebook status tagging. What makes this so advantageous for business owners is that when you tag affiliated companies in the post, it will also appear on their page. Therefore exposing your company to customers who may be looking at a related site.You can also do this with community pages. When you tag a community page, you will gain access to millions of potential customers who may have the same interests as your business. While it’s important to organize your Facebook status updates, it isn’t recommended that you leave all the work to organizing sites like Hootsuite. Checking through a Profile or Fan Page that are dominated by RSS Feeds is a turnoff for most potential customers. Clients want to feel like they’re interacting with a real person in the company, so be mindful of interaction.We have a lot to go over in the next few days if you want to learn how to use Facebook for your business, so make sure you look for your next lesson soon. We will be talking about how you can use Facebook to attract new customers. ————————————————- —————————————à ¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€- ————————————————- ————————————————- Facebook Business Basics (Lesson 2): How To Use Facebook to Attract New Customers 0 It’s time for your second lesson in the Facebook Business Basics Crash Course.I hope you found lesson one informative and that you now have a good understanding of how Facebook statuses work to your advantage. In this lesson we are going to talk about how you can use Facebook to attract new customers. Some business owners ask, why is it important to establish online presence through social networking sites particularly Facebook even when if you already have an official website? Simple, because Facebook is more accessible and to most, more user-friendly than any traditional website will ever be.It gives a sense of friendliness to business that puts prospects at ease and lends a sense of credibility to businesses who have no website to speak of. Aside from this, a Facebook page allows a business to be more interactive with present and potential customers, getting their feedback for everything from product reviews to testimonials. While it may seem scary because you can be given both positive and negative feedback, businesses should not be afraid because with Facebook it can be easily moderated. If you have a mind to you can retain the best feedback and hide the rest.This way, most potential customers will be able to read the positive testimonials of previous customers. Such feedback adds a touch of authenticity to your business, and can entice the potential customer reading it. Furthermore, customers who are tired of traditional online marketing such as email, newsletters and online ads will look to the Facebook page to have their questions answered. Having a Facebook page will give your busin ess access to over 500 Million users without even having to buy e-mail addresses like what traditional email marketing resort to.Interaction isn’t limited to Facebook updates and wall posts though. You can also use Apps to provide photos, notes and videos. When using a Fanpage which is the recommended page for businesses (instead of the more personal profile page), you can change the posting ability of fans which allow them to post photos, videos and links to the page. This way, potential customers will be able to see how other customers use the product or service. Again, this can engage the community to be more interactive as was successfully executed by the Pampers’ Facebook Fanpage.Other companies like Ben & Jerry’s go as far as polling customers. This gives customers a sense of power with regards to their products, which in turn will give them a sense of ownership and acceptance. Facebook is also a great tool to gain audience to promos, special prices and di scounts as in the case of the company rushIMPRINT, who use their page to feature their products for sale. The site easily leads back to their official website as well as their toll free number. Some even use Facebook to give exclusive deals to their customers. This is a good way to gauge the effectively of your page.Various incentives can be given exclusively to Facebook users which aren’t accessible by those who follow you through e-mail, Twitter or your official website. Other companies such as Baskin Robbins develop and use a Facebook application to make their Facebook page more interactive and enticing to customers. Through their account, they’re giving out a very enticing deal, a Buy One, get one promo that most enthusiasts will not surpass. Facebook is an easy tool to master and can add just the right sense of fun, differentiating you and your business from the rest in the market. That’s it for today’s lesson.In your next lesson we will be talking a bout how to use Facebook to advertise your business without spamming. ————————————————- Facebook Business Basics (Lesson 3): How You Can Use Facebook to Advertise Your Business Without Spamming November 18, 2011 by  Lisa Santos  Ã‚ ·Ã‚  Leave a Comment 0 It’s time for your third lesson in the Facebook Business Basics Crash Course. Today let’s talk about how you can use Facebook to advertise your business without spamming. Using Facebook as the means for free advertising is probably one of the wisest moves any business person can make in this competitive marketing age.As we have been discussing Facebook offers plenty of opportunities for the business owners to launch develop and grow through its influential social network. Through Facebook, you can actually choose who to target just as easily as a paid system such as Google Ads does. Through Facebook, you can choose the location, interests, relationship status, gender, age and location of your target market. What a convenient way to start your marketing strategy online! The best part is that it can actually be free if you want it to be. Facebook gives you the option of running free or paid promotions.The paid aspect is through Facebook’s formal ads. Now, how do you run free promotions? Why, through your personal network, of course, or through your fan page. If you’re launching a product, service or brand, it is recommended to have a formal fan page. Nevertheless, personal connections such as friends, friends of friends, acquaintances and relatives will help greatly in building your business social network. Wall updates, photos, notes, group discussions and basically any other posts will help the product or service stay top-of-mind.As I mentioned in your last lesson, prospective customers want companies to have enthusiastic and informative updates. Tip: Don’t make the mistake of barraging your customers or potential customers with too many Facebook updates at one time, or worse, continuously flood their Facebook walls with the same message placed several times. Spamming is annoying no matter who does it, so take care that you avoid doing that to your friends and fans. The best way to avoid spamming others, however intentional or unintentional, is to choose your target market well.Nobody wants to receive a wall post that is a generic message of a product they’re not even interested in. You can control who sees your message by researching the person’s likes or dislikes which may be apparent in their profile page or you may also ask from a personal contact. You can even check out organizations or groups that they are affiliated with online which are related to your business or industry. Another way to place a wall post in that isn’t tantamount to spamming is to place it like a personal message. The less generic the message is,   the better.You may start with something like, ‘Hi. I just saw from your profile that you like Ice Cream and I though you may be interested in a free sample of our Homemade Ice Cream. ’ If this strategy is a bit too forward for you, then work on making Facebook applications that can insert advertisements into them or better yet, try Social Ads. Demographically speaking, these two are more effective and less time consuming than having to analyze your customers one by one. That’s it for today’s lesson. In your next lesson we will talk about using Facebook and Twitter together for your business. u are here:  Home  / Advertising ————————————————- Facbook Advertising for Local Business: 5 Benefits You Can Receive From It November 3, 2012 by  Lisa Santos  Ã‚ ·Ã‚  Leave a Comment Facebook Advertising Local Business You’ve probably read this a million times, but one of the best things you can do to boost your business’ online performance is to participate in the world of social media. And what HOT social media platform do you know that can help you with that? Facebook of course! =) Facebook is your best avenue to start on this journey of advertising.It offers a lot of features that are especially helpful for  local business  owners like yourself. If you aren’t making use of  Facebook advertising  and timeline pages (aka fan pages), then you should be, no matter how small or localized your business is. Here are five benefits for  local business  from  Facebook advertising: ————————————————- 1) Highly targeted marketing – Facebook Advertising Local Business One of the best things about Facebook ads is that you can specify exactly who you want to view your ads, based o n things like age, interests, and geographic location.For example, if you run a mobile salon business, you may opt to target your ads to women in your area who have expressed an interest in beauty, hair care, fashion, and salons. ————————————————- 2) The Snowball Effect – Facebook Advertising Local Business Basically, any time someone clicks on your ad and lands on your page, they have the option of â€Å"liking† your page if they are pleased with what they find. Any time someone likes your page, that activity shows up in that person’s newsfeed.This means that all of that person’s friends are exposed to your page and have the option of liking it themselves. Facebook ads are a great way to attract attention to your page and gain fans on an exponential level. ———————————à ¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€- 3) Broader Reach – Facebook Advertising Local Business The numbers don’t lie: Facebook is the world’s highest ranking website, and is viewed on a global scale. You may have a small local business, but there is no question that if you sell a product, your business could benefit greatly from having a broader reach. ) Smart Phone Users – Facebook Advertising Local Business Most people these days access the web from their smart phones on a regular basis. By using Facebook advertising, you are making your presence known to local smart phone users who only search for businesses while on the go. 5) Customization – Facebook Advertising Local Business In addition to the previously mentioned targeting, Facebook ads also allow for a lot of flexibility when it comes to customizing ads to your liking, especially when compared to Google ads (a very common advertising platform that you are likely already using).For example , the ability to have longer descriptive text and the ability to add images allows you create ads that best suit your needs and marketing goals. To make the most of your social media marketing, contact the professionals. We at  LS Virtual Assistant Services  can help take your Internet presence to the next level. Contact us by phone, at 757-204-5782, or  contact here. Filed under  Advertising,  Facebook,  Facebook Marketing  Ã‚ · Tagged with  facebook ads,  facebook advertising,  facebook advertising local business,  Local Business ————————————————- Ways to Boost Up Your Facebook Fan Activity October 26, 2012 by  Lisa Santos  Ã‚ ·Ã‚  Leave a Comment Got a fan page for your business but it’s lifeless? Well, it’s time to shake things up on your fan page. With the popularity of social media sites like Facebook, there is a new way to mar ket: it’s interactive. You no longer have to figure out creative ways to relay messages that will somehow get peoples’ attention, and then sit back and hope it’s working. By marketing through social media sites like Facebook, you get to hear your customers’ reactions first-hand, and can tweak your marketing efforts accordingly.In my post today, I’m going to cover 5 ways you can wake up your fans and get them interacting on your fan page. Here we go†¦ The first way is by  interacting on other fan pages. Why is this important? Because you want to build credibility on Facebook and in order to do that you need to be an active participant on other fan pages related to your niche or business. Simply get involved in serious discussions, post useful bits of information, or even show your support for the page and people will reciprocate by participating more on your fan page.The second way is through  interactive type Apps. There are numerous apps on Facebook that are helpful in building up your fan page activitiy. An example of one is the â€Å"Fan of the Week† app which actually keeps track of your fans’ participation and acknowleges your top fan of each week. People love being recognized and this app will surely encourage your fans to keep hanging out on your fan page more often. The third way is very simple. Be GENUINE! Make your communication human and not like a robot. Be yourself. Interact on a personal level with your fans and they will respond.The fourth way is through  Fan Page partnerships. Get with other fan page owners and promote each other’s fan pages. You can promote other fan pages by sharing their pictures and posts, and by linking to their pages from your own page. And finally, another way, is by  having a contest. Create a contest of some sort and provide your fans with a chance to win a prize, based on their participation. You can set it up any way you like. It can be anything lik e a photo contest or answering a silly question and then advertise the prize and the deadline date.As you can see, there are some very simple ways you can take action on to increase your Facebook fan activity. If you want to get the most out of your social media marketing, contact the professionals. We at LS Virtual Assistant Services can be reached by phone, at (757)204-5782, or reach us on our  contact form. Filed under  Facebook,  Facebook Fan Pages,  Facebook Marketing  Ã‚ · Tagged with  faccebook activity,  facebook fan page activity,  increase fanpage activity ————————————————- How to Make Your Facebook Timeline Posts Stand Out May 1, 2012 by  Lisa Santos  Ã‚ ·Ã‚  Leave a CommentIt seems that the new Facebook format, Timeline, really has people in arms. But don’t people always complain any time Facebook makes format changes? The truth is, F acebook Timeline has some great new features that truly broaden the Facebook user experience . . . and Timeline is not going anywhere. As of today, Facebook users will have no choice but to learn and adapt to Timeline since most all profiles have been converted. One great thing you can do with your Timeline is to make your most important posts (of your choosing, of course) stand out amongst the rest of your posts.How do you accomplish this? Read on for step by step instructions: Timeline Highlight. The new feature that allows you showcase any and every post you want to call special attention to is called â€Å"Highlight. †Ã‚   Highlight is super easy to access and use, as you will see in this breakdown. (Side note: the Highlight feature applies to Facebook fan pages only. The same feature is actually called â€Å"Feature† on standard profile pages. However, both Highlight and Feature work the same way. ) How does Timeline â€Å"highlight† your posts? Basically, when you choose a post to highlight, that post is xpanded to the full width of your screen (or the full width of the Timeline, that is). Where is the Highlight feature? This is easy. Simply hover your mouse around the upper right hand corner of your post and two buttons will appear: a star and a pencil. The star is your Highlight button. The highlighting process. Click on the star. Yes, that’s it. If you make a mistake and highlight the wrong post, or if you have a change of heart and decide that a post you highlighted is unworthy, simply click the Highlight star again to remove the highlighting.What can you highlight? Anything you post on Facebook may be highlighted. This means status updates, photos, videos, Timeline events, and much more. As a matter of fact, you may use Highlight to customize the look of your page in any way you like; for example, you may opt to highlight every one of your posts if you prefer that your page fans have a large, simplified view of everything you post. Facebook’s new Highlight feature can be a powerful marketing tool, if you know how to use it. To make the most of your social media marketing, contact the professionals.We at LS Virtual Assistant Services can help take your Internet presence to the next level. Contact us by phone, at 757-204-5782, or use our  contact form  here. Filed under  Facebook,  Facebook Marketing,  Facebook Timeline  Ã‚ · Tagged with  facebook timeline,  facebook timeline highlight feature,  highlight posts in facebook,  powerful marketing tool,  social media marketing ————————————————- The Importance of Using Customized Facebook Pages that are Built to Capture Leads February 7, 2012 by  Lisa Santos  Ã‚ ·Ã‚  Leave a CommentMost business owners understand that fresh leads ultimately means more business. Therefore, having a powerful, steady stream of lead p ouring into your business is not an option – it’s a must. One way to accomplish this is with a customized Facebook Fan page that is built to specifically capture leads. I’m sure you’re heard of Facebook†¦ Yes, that site that currently has over 750 BILLION users? That’s it. Any smart business knows they need to have a strong presence on Facebook if they want to continue to grow and prosper. How does a lead capture Fan page work?Let’s say a business prospect lands on your lead capture Fan page because it’s clean, attractive, and professional-looking. They get just enough information to pique their interest so they decide to take your free offer in exchange for their email address. They now want to know more about you and decide to venture over to your website to get even more information†¦ Not only that, but now that you have their email address, you can start communicating with them on a regular basis and work on converting t hem into a customer. Can you see how this process can end up giving you an endless stream of new leads?Ensure that your business is on the front lines. A sleek, real-time and inspirational Fan page will draw in customers who did not know they needed what you have to offer. Put your advertising dollars in the right place. As a savvy business owner, harness the energy of social media fans who will â€Å"like† your business. When you customize your Fan page, whether you are a small business, non-profit or service industry, your web presence and reputation will catapult your bottom line to high profits and product longevity. Nothing motivates people more than liking what their friends like.When you use customized Fan pages to capture leads through social marketing, your business is sure to be a winner. Filed under  Facebook,  Facebook Fan Pages,  Facebook Marketing  Ã‚ · Tagged with  customized fan pages,  facebook fan pages,  facebook pages,  lead capture fan pag es,  lead capture pages ————————————————- Facebook: The Real Power Of â€Å"People See – People Do† January 24, 2012 by  Lisa Santos  Ã‚ ·Ã‚  Leave a Comment In case you haven’t noticed, just about everyone is online these days doing a thousand different things.From paying bills, to arranging travel, to shopping for a new home, people spend a LOT of time online. People are even using the Internet more than ever to keep in touch with family, friends, and co-workers. Not only do they keep in touch with each other, but they recommend products and services that they like. For instance, when one person â€Å"likes† a product or service, they let other people know about it and they, in turn, â€Å"like† the product or service too. On Facebook, businesses build followers by getting them to â€Å"Like† their Facebook Fan pages. Imagi ne omeone being in love with your product or service†¦ so they tell everyone they know. Then, they come to your Fan page and â€Å"Like† you and now they get all of your promotions and become loyal customers. The process becomes viral and continues to go on and on†¦ Business owners are becoming aware that they also need to be online in a major way to capitalize on social network usage amongst consumers. It is a fact that your business success strongly relies on a solid, reputable online existence. If you do not have a customized landing page you are actually losing out on business.Your gross income is probably sagging if you are a small business owner without an online fan base or ability to capture leads. Imagine how much traffic you can send to your website if you provide surveys for your customers about that new product you want to launch? Not only will you get real-time data for market analysis, but your customers will be delighted and relieved to know they can find you, their friend, online 24/7. If you really want to effectively allocate your marketing and advertising dollars wisely, get a Fan page setup and start a viral explosion amongst your satisfied customers.

Clean Edge Essay

Non-disposable razors recorded average growth of about 5% in retail sales during the period 2007 to 2010 whereas refill cartridge and disposable razors recorded growth of approximately 2% and 3% respectively for the same period. Innovations and new product introductions are the prime factors for the growth. Non-disposable razors and refill cartridge market is broadly classified into three segments namely value, moderate and super premium based on price and quality. Paramount’s consumer research identified distinct segmentation in terms of product benefits and consumer behavior. % of non- disposable razor users are segmented as Involved Razor users, social/emotional shavers; 28% as Involved Razor users, aesthetic shavers and 33% as Uninvolved Razor users, maintenance shavers. Studies from 2009 showed that the retail sales of non- disposable razors and refill cartridge came from 25% volume of super-premium, 43% of moderate and 32% of value segments. In the last decade, the indus try has experienced significant growth in the super premium segment. Product innovation and new technology is leading this sector for a number of new entrants. In 2008-09 the rate of new product innovation leads to 22 new SKUs to be introduced. SWOT Analysis Strengths Paramount Health and Beauty Company’s biggest strength is that it is a well- established brand with deep pockets and a very good association with consumers. The product- Clean Edge Razor, that they nave released, is also technologically in the current market. Weaknesses best The company does not have a slice in the 37. 2% of the pie that corresponds to the super premium segment which has immense potential. Also there is a risk of launching the product in the wrong segment or positioning it wrongly. A wrong move could result in cannibalization of Paramount Pro, another product in their portfolio. Opportunities There is very good growth in the super premium segment especially in men’s grooming. The market is also highly profitable so vendors are ready to stock the products. Also, the maintenance users are a market not ventured by any company till date. Hence the opportunities are immense. Threats A good number of competitors are trying to become the leader in this segment which is expected to grow in the future. The competitors could also catch up with the latest echnology and release a technologically more advanced product. Availability of alternatives like disposable and electric razors make a high threat of substitutes. Because of large number of products available and constant innovation in the sector it is very easy for the consumers to switch the companies. Hence, consumers have a high bargaining power. Entry barriers are low in the industry since no major R;D costs are involved and there are no major regulations. The bargaining power of the suppliers is low. Hence, overall the premium segment of nondisposable razors is an attractive industry to enter into. Positioning Strategy: The first strategy that we suggest is Niche Positioning, targeting the premium segment: As of now, the products released by Paramount in the non-disposable razer segment, Paramount Pro and Paramount Avail are positioned in the moderate segment and as a value -offering respectively. After three years of development, Paramount Health and Beauty Company has come up with a new technologically advanced vibrating razor called Clean Edge. Keeping in mind the superior technology used and the fact that Paramount has not launched a product targeting the premium egment, Paramount could adopt Niche Positioning while launching Clean Edge. However, there are certain disadvantages and advantages: Advantages: Positioning Paramount’s Clean Edge as a niche will accentuate the company’s product portfolio significantly. From the exhibits it is visible that it will result in high and consistent profit margins for the company and the risk involved will be less. Apart from that, the financial requirement of launching the product in the premium segment is only 15 million dollars as against 42 million dollars for the mainstream targeting. Disadvantages: As the trends suggests, understanding the fact that the premium segment has not been targeted significantly, almost all of Paramount’s competitors have launched products for this segment. Also, for the past 5 years, the company’s current products Pro and Avail have not introduced any new innovations as a result of which its customers are moving on to other competitors. The product pro is in the mature face and might need phasing out eventually. The second strategy that can be followed is Mainstream Positioning. The advantages and disadvantages of the same are as follows: Consumers are becoming more and more sophisticated day by day and expect more advanced technology. Paramount’s bread and butter product, Pro was in the mature phase of the product lifecycle so there is a possibility of decline. Positioning Clean Edge as mainstream product will help prevent loyal Paramount customers from being wooed away to more innovative brands. Main stream razor unit volumes are expected to capture over three times the volumes of the niche market in the first year. Clean Edge has the potential for true market domination and would quickly gain ass appeal. Disadvantages: – Paramount already had product in mainstream positioning -Paramount Pro so launching it as mainstream positioning will dilute the brand power and will lead to cannibalization. More marketing support will be needed to reach the target masses. The company would require an extensive advertising campaign, considerable consumer promotions would be needed and thus the expenses associated with them will be huge. To reach full sales potential with this positioning, $42 million marketing budget would be needed for year one. Total sales of Paramount for Avail and Pro for first year (2009) and second year (2010) are calculated using the market size (retail sales) and corresponding market share, both real (2009)and estimated (2010), of Paramount. The cost of Cannibalization is calculated using total sales and percentage of cannibalization given. Analyzing the result, it is evident that launching the product is a profitable venture; however, the cost of cannibalization may change equations. The cost of cannibalization is lower for the niche market as compared to mainstream market. Although, cannibalization djustments give us losses for the first year in the case of both mainstream and niche, the profit obtained in the second year for mainstream is larger than niche market. Branding Strategy The branding should be done in such a way that it emphasizes Clean Edge Razor as a unique and breakthrough product with the usage of latest technology. However, given the tight advertising budget, it should use the well-established name of Paramount rather than build a brand based on the Clean Edge. This should help potential buyers connect with the product quickly and test it. This should ensure maximum sales. Recommendations & Conclusion The recommendation is to introduce the Clean Edge into the marketplace as a niche product since data shows that consumers in the premium segment are willing to switch between the companies. Using advertising and promotion of the new product we can gain market share from competitors. Exhibit 8directly suppo rts this recommendation and snows that even though unit sales are less than main stream sales, the operating profit and the operating profits as % of sales is higher. In both year one and year two, this niche arket is profitable and growing. It is here that Paramount should focus its efforts on product introduction and positioning for the Clean Edge Razor. Once it has launched itself in the niche segment, Randall should then launch it, maybe after 2 to 3 years, in the mainstream category. As the data shows, both niche and mainstream strategy will help Paramount to raise its market share in super- premium non disposable razor segment. But the niche strategy will enables Clean Edge Razor to contribute profit and at the same time, limit the effect of cannibalizing Paramount’s existing products.

Free Essays on Employmenty

Construction employment was flat in November. Job gains in general build- ing contractors were offset by losses in heavy construction. Construction industry employment has shown no net growth since spring of this year. Employment in the services industry rose by 50,000 in November. Health services added 27,000 jobs, with hospitals accounting for about half of this increase. Over the past 12 months, employment in the health services industry has risen by 278,000. In November, employment also rose in several other services industries, including engineering and management, agricultural services, and auto repair and parking services. Employment in help supply services decreased by 23,000 in November; this followed declines that totaled 65,000 in the prior 2 months. The industry had added 167,000 jobs from Feb- ruary to August. In finance, employment continued to increase in mortgage brokerages (5,000) as refinancing activity maintained a healthy pace. Employment in mortgage brokerages has grown by 106,000 since its low point in January 2001. Weekly Hours (Establishment Survey Data) The average workweek for production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls was unchanged in November at 34.2 hours, seasonally adjusted. The manufacturing workweek and factory overtime also were unchanged at 40.7 hours and 4.1 hours, respectively. (See table B-2.) The index of aggregate weekly hours of production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls was unchanged in November at 148.1 (1982=100), seasonally adjusted. The manufacturing index was down by 0.4 percent over the month to 91.0. (See table B-5.) Hourly and Weekly Earnings (Establishment Survey Data) Average hourly earnings of production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls increased by 4 cents in November to $14.93, seasonally adjusted, following a similar ... Free Essays on Employmenty Free Essays on Employmenty Construction employment was flat in November. Job gains in general build- ing contractors were offset by losses in heavy construction. Construction industry employment has shown no net growth since spring of this year. Employment in the services industry rose by 50,000 in November. Health services added 27,000 jobs, with hospitals accounting for about half of this increase. Over the past 12 months, employment in the health services industry has risen by 278,000. In November, employment also rose in several other services industries, including engineering and management, agricultural services, and auto repair and parking services. Employment in help supply services decreased by 23,000 in November; this followed declines that totaled 65,000 in the prior 2 months. The industry had added 167,000 jobs from Feb- ruary to August. In finance, employment continued to increase in mortgage brokerages (5,000) as refinancing activity maintained a healthy pace. Employment in mortgage brokerages has grown by 106,000 since its low point in January 2001. Weekly Hours (Establishment Survey Data) The average workweek for production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls was unchanged in November at 34.2 hours, seasonally adjusted. The manufacturing workweek and factory overtime also were unchanged at 40.7 hours and 4.1 hours, respectively. (See table B-2.) The index of aggregate weekly hours of production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls was unchanged in November at 148.1 (1982=100), seasonally adjusted. The manufacturing index was down by 0.4 percent over the month to 91.0. (See table B-5.) Hourly and Weekly Earnings (Establishment Survey Data) Average hourly earnings of production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls increased by 4 cents in November to $14.93, seasonally adjusted, following a similar ...

How far does your reading of The Merchants Prologue and Tale lead you to agree Essay Example

How far does your reading of The Merchants Prologue and Tale lead you to agree Essay Example How far does your reading of The Merchants Prologue and Tale lead you to agree Paper How far does your reading of The Merchants Prologue and Tale lead you to agree Paper Essay Topic: Literature Song of Solomon The Tale is essentially farcical, enriched by a satirical character study of Januarie, with miniatures of May and Damyan, (T. W. Craik) this is the stance of some critics regarding Chaucers presentation of Januarie. They argue that Chaucer dwells on him and therefore exhibits his character by dramatic means as oppose to a brief summary, this constant attention towards Januarie develops the character in full satirical detail, so that his downfall is morally satisfying and at the same time richly comic. Chaucer articulately integrates the coarse satire of the fabliaux, much enjoyed by Chaucers gentil audience, which was often crammed with extended jokes or tricks, often bawdy and full of sexual connotations, but it also employs a remarkable range of narrative methods. The effect of this is to widen its satirical attack and give a serious resonance to the entertainment. The building up of Januaires character as a worthy knight who lived in greet prosperitee and his profligate history, hints at the fact that the noble, rich knight will suffer a fall thus becoming a tragic figure, as was standard in the fabliaux. From the opening of the tale; Chaucer subtly blends the numerous ironies, disparities and unrealistic reasoning to depict Januaries sense of self-delusion but the greater amusement lies in the fact that he remains oblivious to the numerous hints, suggesting that he is blind even before he looses his sight. By allowing Januaire to speak for himself, Chaucer is almost allowing him to ridicule himself, through his we are lead to believe that he is in fact a figure of fun. Januarie puts forth numerous arguments, to justify his motives of marriage, which equate to that in this world no oother lyf is worth a bene; for wedlock is so esy and so clene, that in this world it is a paradis, here we see he is deluding himself in order to gain the pleasures, his inconsistent justification of marriage amuse the audience. The old mans illusions, however are not his alone. The praise of marriage in the first part of the tale represents what is commonly said in its favour, the generalisation is obtained by putting this speech in the mouth of the narrator and not Januarie. The mockery, though clearly present, is still subdued. As we dwell deeper into Januaries thoughts the comic elements exceed the audiences expectations. The most cutting satire of the Merchants Tale is reserved for the notion that in wedlock a man may do no sinne with his wyf ne hurte himsleven with his owene knyf, the double-edged irony of this line looks forth to him being cuckolded. There is humour in the account of the nuptial chamber, having seen the Januaries desires grow throughout he wedding feast as he anticipates his impotent lust in action, is both repulsive and amusing, especially since he sees himself as the great lover and compares himself to Paris yet ironically he requires aphrodisiacs to laboureth till dawn. The happiness of Januarie at this point prepares us for his misfortunes later. The introduction of the garden as his special preserve for love, used in the summer for his sexual activity. Irony returns when Januarie seems to express genuine love for his wife, the passage is a parody of the Song of Solomon, and is the most beautiful and poetic lines within the tale, with references being made to the voice of a turtledove and columbine. Interestingly Chaucer increases the readers sympathy for January by allowing him to express his love for her during the moment that she is most ruthless. The irony is enriched by his reference to her as trewe deere wyf. When in actual fact she is inviting Damyan into the garden with somewhat equally eloquent gestures. Januaries strict precautions to ensure that his is the only key to the garden and his confidence that they are alone within the walled garden create a farcical atmosphere of what is to come. The ultimate farcical irony is when May leads Januarie to believe that she carves he pears and she must have them as a woman in her plit implying pregnancy. January is of course enraptured that an heir may be in the offing and laments the absence of a servant who could climb the tree for May, and ironically is happy to assist her into her lovers arms. He is to embrace the tree, whilst she climbs on his back. She is treading on him physically and metaphorically into Damyans arms, this is visually very strong as it is a sign of dominance or even victory. No matter how coarse and perverted Januaries character has seemed, at this point inevitably, the audience are sympathetic towards the cuckolded husband. As a farce this is perfect, but once Januaires sight has been restored May once again confidently answers him, which seems to satisfy Januarie. the credulous Januarie is left, full of the joys of prospective fatherhood, now a distinct possibility thanks to Damyan, and he is now as much the victim of his illusions as he was at the beginning. Januaries character is amusing in itself and offers Chaucer opportunities of showing it off, putting the reader in good humour as well as giving the necessary facts. The Merchants tale picks up strands from the previous tales. It continues the theme of war between the sexes but the merchants stance sides with neither, his tale backs neither the husband nor the wife but shows each abusing the other for his or her pleasure rejecting the idealistic concept of love in marriage.

How to Manipulate INI files from Delphi

How to Manipulate INI files from Delphi INI files are text-based files used for storing an applications configuration data. Even though Windows recommends using the Windows Registry to store application-specific configuration data, in many cases, youll find that INI files provide a quicker way for the program to access its settings. Windows itself even uses INI files;  desktop.ini  and boot.ini  being just two examples. One simple use of INI files  as a status saving mechanism would be to save the size and location of a form if you want a form to reappear at its previous position. Instead of searching through a whole database of information to find the size or location, an INI file is used instead. The INI File Format Initialization or Configuration Settings file (.INI) is a text file with a 64 KB limit divided into sections, each containing zero or more keys. Each key contains zero or more values. Heres an example: [SectionName] keyname1value ;comment keyname2value Section names are enclosed in square brackets and must begin at the beginning of a line. Section and key names are case-insensitive (the case doesnt matter), and cannot contain spacing characters. The key name is followed by an equal sign (), optionally surrounded by spacing characters, which are ignored. If the same section appears more than once in the same file, or if the same key appears more than once in the same section, then the last occurrence prevails. A key can contain string, integer, or boolean value.​ Delphi IDE uses the INI file format in many cases. For example, .DSK files (desktop settings) utilize the INI format. TIniFile Class Delphi provides the TIniFile class, declared in the inifiles.pas unit, with methods to store and retrieve values from INI files. Prior to working with the TIniFile methods, you need to create an instance of the class: uses inifiles; ... var   Ã‚  IniFile : TIniFile; begin   Ã‚  IniFile : TIniFile.Create(myapp.ini) ; The above code creates an IniFile object and assigns myapp.ini to the only property of the class - the FileName property - used to specify the name of the INI file you are to use. The code as written above looks  for the myapp.ini file in the \Windows directory. A better way to store application data is in the applications folder - just specify the full pathname of the file for the Create method: // place the INI in the application folder, // let it have the application name // and ini for extension: iniFile : TIniFile.Create(ChangeFileExt(Application.ExeName,.ini)) ; Reading From INI The TIniFile class has several read methods. The ReadString reads a string value from a key, ReadInteger. ReadFloat and similar are used to read a number from a key. All read methods have a default value that can be used if the entry does not exist. For example, the ReadString is declared as: function ReadString(const Section, Ident, Default: String): String; override; Write to INI The TIniFile has a corresponding write method for each read method. They are WriteString, WriteBool, WriteInteger, etc. For example, if we want a program to remember the name of the last person who used it, when it was, and what the main form coordinates were, we might establish a section called Users, a keyword called Last, Date  to track the information, and a section called Placement  with keys Top,  Left,  Width, and Height. project1.ini   [User]   LastZarko Gajic   Date01/29/2009   [Placement]   Top20   Left35   Width500   Height340 Note that the key named Last holds a string value, Date holds a TDateTime value, and all keys in the Placement section hold an integer value. The OnCreate event of the main form is the perfect place to store the code needed to access the values in the applications initialization file: procedure TMainForm.FormCreate(Sender: TObject) ; var   Ã‚  appINI : TIniFile;   Ã‚  LastUser : string;   Ã‚  LastDate : TDateTime; begin   Ã‚  appINI : TIniFile.Create(ChangeFileExt(Application.ExeName,.ini)) ;   Ã‚  try   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  //if no last user return an empty string   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  LastUser : appINI.ReadString(User,Last,) ;   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  //if no last date return todays date   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  LastDate : appINI.ReadDate(User, Date, Date) ;   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  //show the message   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  ShowMessage(This program was previously used by LastUser on DateToStr(LastDate));   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Top : appINI.ReadInteger(Placement,Top, Top) ;   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Left : appINI.ReadInteger(Placement,Left, Left);   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Width : appINI.ReadInteger(Placement,Width, Width);   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Height : appINI.ReadInteger(Placement,Height, Height);   Ã‚  finally   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  appINI.Free;   Ã‚  end; end; The main forms OnClose event is ideal for the Save INI part of the project. procedure TMainForm.FormClose(Sender: TObject; var Action: TCloseAction) ; var   Ã‚  appINI : TIniFile; begin   Ã‚  appINI : TIniFile.Create(ChangeFileExt(Application.ExeName,.ini)) ; try   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  appINI.WriteString(User,Last,Zarko Gajic) ;   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  appINI.WriteDate(User, Date, Date) ;   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  with appINI, MainForm do   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  begin   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  WriteInteger(Placement,Top, Top) ;   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  WriteInteger(Placement,Left, Left) ;   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  WriteInteger(Placement,Width, Width) ;   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  WriteInteger(Placement,Height, Height) ;   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  end;   Ã‚  finally   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  appIni.Free;   Ã‚  end; end; INI Sections The EraseSection erases an entire section of an INI file. ReadSection and ReadSections fill  a TStringList object with the names of all sections (and key names) in the INI file. INI Limitations Downsides The TIniFile class uses the Windows API  which imposes a limit of 64 KB on INI files. If you need to store more than 64 KB of data, you should use the TMemIniFile. Another problem might arise if you have a section with more than 8 K value. One way to solve the problem is to write your own version of the ReadSection method.

Role of Technology in Terrorism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Role of Technology in Terrorism - Essay Example This paper will expansively present how technology plays a pivotal role in terrorism when selecting target areas. "Much terrorist behavior is less than rational, and suicide is not the act of a rational person. Many experts (Ganor 2000; Schweitzer 2000) have commented on the tendency for modern terrorists to use suicide attacks. In fact, theIslamic Jihad(there are several Islamic Jihads started in the 1980s, all stemming from inside the Muslim Brotherhood movement started in the 1920s) have specialized in the use of suicide bombers, which involve a person wearing explosives or detonating a vehicle packed with explosives." (The Readiness to Kill and Die). Suicide Bombers have been used time and again to carry out difficult missions, terrorists who have stern determination are selected for this mission and a live bomb with a timer is tied to their body in order to accomplish the mission. The Suicidal tendency of the terrorists is time and again capitalized upon by several terrorist organizations. "Suicide terrorism, which is also called a suicide mission or a martyrdom operation, among other terms, is something of a growth industry because in 2005 alone, there were 555 such attacks around the world (Gambetta 2005). Poverty is the main cause of people turning towards terrorism; no one is foolish enough to blow himself up for no reason. The terrorists' organization take good care of the family members of the terrorists and the same motivates more and more people to become actively involved in several terrorists' activities; this is the only reason why the world is yet to come up with a fool-proof system to counter this long standing men ace. "There is a lot of propaganda and window-dressing surrounding suicide terrorism. Most of the myths about it are tied to specific contexts. The fact is: suicide terrorism can occur in a number of settings, both indoor and out; it is not confined to the Middle East; it indirectly can serve numerous terrorist purposes; and because of this, some people say it may very well be the kind of terrorism the world is likely to see more of in the future." (Bloom 2005). Bioterrorism Bioterrorism is consistently on the rise because it is very easy to obtain Biological weapons and another influential factor is that it causes fear of much larger magnitude when compared to the other weapons used by the terrorists. The biggest motive of terrorists when biological weapons are used is to cause immense fear in the minds of the people. Anthrax is a very popular biological weapon used by the terrorists, in the year 2001 the people in the US suffered a lot because of Anthrax menace, it was later found that the terrorists deliberately did the same in order to weaken the bio defence system in the US. Anthrax was used in several mails in the US and when the recipients opened the mails the anthrax spread thorough their nostrils entering into their body. Anthrax is more than capable of causing death unless the patient is immediately attended to. Of late anthrax has become out dated and no such cases have been reported but terrorists are consistently finding new ways to spread

Enron corporation's power project in India Essay

Enron corporation's power project in India - Essay Example Enron entered into a contract with the Maharashtra Sate Electricity Board (MSEB) by risking its and its allied companies’ stakes in Dabhol Power Project (DPP). The discussions for the project started with the two principal stakeholders from the Indian side, the Indian state of Maharashtra and the other was Maharashtra State Electricity Board (MSEB). The project proposal of building a 2015 megawatt power plant with the investment of US$3 billion was given a green signal initially (Negotiation-project-India, 2010). Enron was not the only principal stakeholder; it was a sort of joint collaboration with the investment of 10% each by General Electric and Bechtel. Sustenance of the project was detriment to the availability of Liquefied Natural Gas to power the plant, which Enron planned to secure from one of its joint venture in Qatar, 1200 miles away from the power plant situated in Dabhol. The project was the largest ever project taken by Enron in India, supposed to produce electr icity in two phases. In the first phase it was planned to produce 695 megawatts from the locally available LNG, while the second phase target was to produce 1320 megawatts through natural gas channeled from Qatar (Negotiation-project-India, 2010).Enron was expecting huge profits from this project for the company investors from the MSEB of Maharashtra. It took just five days to materialize the contract by signing a memorandum of agreement between the MSEB and DPP. (Negotiation-project-India, 2010).... Sustenance of the project was detriment to the availability of Liquefied Natural Gas to power the plant, which Enron planned to secure from one of its joint venture in Qatar, 1200 miles away from the power plant situated in Dabhol. The project was the largest ever project taken by Enron in India, supposed to produce electricity in two phases. In the first phase it was planned to produce 695 megawatts from the locally available LNG, while the second phase target was to produce 1320 megawatts through natural gas channeled from Qatar (Negotiation-project-India, 2010). Enron was expecting huge profits from this project for the company investors from the MSEB of Maharashtra. It took just five days to materialize the contract by signing a memorandum of agreement between the MSEB and DPP, representing Enron of purchasing electricity at the rate of 7.3 US cents per kilowatt hour (Negotiation-project-India, 2010). What went wrong that the project failed? From the very start, it was a mistake made by the management at Enron to invest in a technology-efficient project in India without attempting an analysis of Indian socio-political environment. One thing became clear that the project was cleared without adhering to set legal and corporate procedures, essential for such a huge global venture. It also became evident that Enron adopted the unethical path in securing the contract. It was totally in the darkness over the political unsettling environment in India. All its negotiating and renegotiating expertise failed as the MSEB could not pay the bill against the used electricity. Enron had to confront opposition from many fronts; it had to initiate counter-campaigns to create positive conditions in its favor; legal battles also ensued.

How We Could Use Alternative Dispute Resolution To Settle Civil Essay

How We Could Use Alternative Dispute Resolution To Settle Civil Justice Matters More Efficiently - Essay Example The Arbitration Act 1966 and 19965 provided full court application of one of the ADR procedures, following the lead of UNCITRAL's 1958 Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards paving the way to acceptance of arbitration in international trade dispute resolution. The methods were taken up by the public after they have been officially encouraged in Lord Woolf's 1996 "Access to Justice" report.6 The Police (Northern Ireland) Act 20007 is one of the more recent statutes applying ADR to administrative tribunal cases following PACE 1984, infra. The cost effectiveness of ADR has been fully demonstrated in commercial litigation. It has also placed or misplaced false hopes on the alternative methods application in civil cases. Civil case application of ADR encouraged the proliferation of profit and non-profit ADR providers and services with fully trained and accredited ADR practitioners, most of whom are also solicitors. The CPR required active management of cases by judges, including encouragement of litigating parties to use ADR. For the purpose of facilitating ADR use by litigants, CPR allows the court to stay its proceedings while the parties concerned try to settle the case. Pre-action protocols were also installed, requiring parties to let each other know the basis of their proposed claims and defences. The importance of ADR is emphasized in several judicial decisions. In Cowl vs. Plymouth9, the Court of Appeals imposed cost sanctions on a party for unreasonable failure to use ADR. Solicitors are also required to apprise clients of ADR, otherwise, they will be considered professionally negligent. Apart from judicial initiative, the executive also introduced ADR in government departments and administrative tribunals, particularly in clinical negligence claims, employment and legal services. Mr. Justice Lightman, a Justice of the High Court Chancery Division, presented ADR with high hopes as a necessary alternative to "extravagantly expensive and unpredictable exercise"10 of litigation. It must be recognized that ADR is "an ever evolving process."11 Newer methods are being introduced and legislation, including rules of court would tend to be left behind. Current consensus among law practioners tend to limit ADR use to arbitration and mediation. The failure of the use of inappropriate ADR method force the parties to incur needless expenses. On this note, the observations of Sir Anthony Evans triggers a painful spot when he pointed out that it is the agreement of the parties to come to a settlement that is responsible for the supposed success of ADR and not ADR processes themselves. In fact, he emphasized that "a settlement agreement is always to be preferred to any of the [ADR] processes which may result in a binding decision".12 He meant that solicitors and judges should look at the nature of the case before influencing the parties to undergo ADR procedures that could be inappropriate and ineffective. He also pointed out

The ethics of abortion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The ethics of abortion - Essay Example It can also refer to motivation based on the ideas of right and wrong. Therefore, for the purpose of this essay, this paper will discuss circumstances that abortion should be allowed so that it is in line with the moral values of the society.  It can also refer to motivation based on the ideas of right and wrong. Therefore, for the purpose of this essay, this paper will discuss circumstances that abortion should be allowed so that it is in line with the moral values of the society.   For some time the topic of abortion has acquired admirers and haters in equal measures. There are proponents who are of the school of thought that abortion should be permitted and excused in certain instances. On the other hand critics fail to agree with this school of thought and in turn, advance the idea that abortion is termination of innocent life which should be equated to murder. It is justifiable to commit murder in the rare circumstance of self-defense.   This includes times of war or in th e case of a criminal intruder. A practical example in our case would entail those time when the life of the mother is in danger. In this case, she will be forced to abort in order to save her life and avoid risking both her life and that of the child. Better lose one and save another life than losing all of them. Other instances where abortion can be permitted is when the mother has been raped and is tortured psychologically. When such a pregnancy is allowed to term then it risks both the lives of the baby and the mother.

Movie crash Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Movie crash - Essay Example Racist families inculcate racial believes in their children too and thus throughout their growing period they are trained to become racist however this believe is rejected in the Movie crash where Dillon who was extremely close to his father, whereas his father was not racist at all. Dillon became racist due to the negative experiences he had with his father along with him being a member of LAPD which actually gave birth to his negativity against blacks. There is another scene in the movie depicting the general behavior of US people where a Persian family went to purchase a gun, and the person selling the gun made some racist comments and also spoke about the twin towers and 9/11 incident blaming the Middle Eastern people for that and calling all of them racist. Generally people use such events like 9/11 in order to show their own personal anger and frustration towards different ethnic groups. Sandra Bullock’s character also spoke about the relationship which is shared between the white and black people, where she says that generally if women see black men coming, they will change their way and be called racist however when Sandra did not do that she was caught up with a gun in his head. It is the general concept which is in the heads of US people where all the black men are suppose to be criminals, drug dealers and also thugs. This stereotyping has affected many innocent African Americans as well. Another important black character in the movie was of Ludacris who use to steal cars from white people. Movie also reveals that the stereotyping is not restricted to skin tones only , it is also an integral part of the social class of the people of the US. Cameron is another black character who achieved a lot of success and he was a hardworking man however he was also badly treated by his wife and also his white producer. Cameron was earning a lot of money but for that he was suppose to live a life like a black man but still he always remembered this in

Topic selection and sources Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Topic selection and sources - Coursework Example Hate crime is an important topic in criminal justice because it can cause numerous kinds of crimes, since it can lead to different forms of violence and discrimination against target individuals/groups/organizations (Hall, 2005, p.4). The concept to be examined is â€Å"profiling† which is not based in inaccurate and purely negative stereotypes about race, ethnicities, gender, religion, and/or age, but based on â€Å"observable conditions, behaviors, and activities† (Maxfield & Babbie, 2011, p.35). The research can focus on how to avoid discriminatory profiling that is rooted on personal biases or hate against others and how law enforcers should be trained to adapt a scientific approach to profiling. Profiling is an important topic in criminal justice because it can be used to help catch criminals or to prevent crimes. However, profiling guidelines and boundaries are essential to its proper theorization and practice. The research can focus on the concept of â€Å"juvenile delinquency recidivism,† particularly understanding how imprisoning juveniles, even violent ones, in adult prison systems, can worsen their behaviors and increase recidivism. Labeling theory can partially explain why labeling juveniles as criminals can socially stigmatize them enough to accept the labels as their permanent identities (Gaines & Miller, 2013, p.530). It is interesting to study how the justice system contributes to recidivism based on how it handles juvenile delinquents. In addition, â€Å"juvenile delinquency recidivism† is an important topic in criminal justice because juveniles can turn to lifetime criminals. It is crucial to use the right intervention programs to stop the further development of juveniles to adult criminals. â€Å"White-collar crime† should be clearly defined as a research concept and legal term because its definition affects the identification of white-collar criminals. The research can focus on how white-collar crime is defined

Movie crash Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Movie crash - Essay Example Racist families inculcate racial believes in their children too and thus throughout their growing period they are trained to become racist however this believe is rejected in the Movie crash where Dillon who was extremely close to his father, whereas his father was not racist at all. Dillon became racist due to the negative experiences he had with his father along with him being a member of LAPD which actually gave birth to his negativity against blacks. There is another scene in the movie depicting the general behavior of US people where a Persian family went to purchase a gun, and the person selling the gun made some racist comments and also spoke about the twin towers and 9/11 incident blaming the Middle Eastern people for that and calling all of them racist. Generally people use such events like 9/11 in order to show their own personal anger and frustration towards different ethnic groups. Sandra Bullock’s character also spoke about the relationship which is shared between the white and black people, where she says that generally if women see black men coming, they will change their way and be called racist however when Sandra did not do that she was caught up with a gun in his head. It is the general concept which is in the heads of US people where all the black men are suppose to be criminals, drug dealers and also thugs. This stereotyping has affected many innocent African Americans as well. Another important black character in the movie was of Ludacris who use to steal cars from white people. Movie also reveals that the stereotyping is not restricted to skin tones only , it is also an integral part of the social class of the people of the US. Cameron is another black character who achieved a lot of success and he was a hardworking man however he was also badly treated by his wife and also his white producer. Cameron was earning a lot of money but for that he was suppose to live a life like a black man but still he always remembered this in

Sustainable Corporate Strategy Group ASS SECTION 4 ONLY Essay

Sustainable Corporate Strategy Group ASS SECTION 4 ONLY - Essay Example In order to do this the regulators can call for a meeting of the manufacturers and discuss the technical size of the environmental parameters that should govern the industry in years to come. -Then the regulators have to obtain consensus from the automakers on the technologies that would help achieve the above parameters. These essentially fall into two categories -one that make futuristic cars light weight and thus environment friendly and two that use ignition technology based on newly evolved engines that help reduce emissions degrading the environment. -Smart Car has been using plastic formulations to reduce the weight of the car. In fact, the use of plastics for automotive applications has risen from about 27 kg per vehicle in 1970 to more than 163 kg in 1999. According to some 1999 European research studies, using 100 kg of plastic material in modern cars replaces between 200 and 300 kg of other materials. This, in turn, reduces fuel consumption by 750 liters over the 150,000 kilometers life span of the average car.(Plastics,1999) Regulator has to make decisions on the incorporation of plastic materials in car designs. Fr this automakers common opinion needs to be obtained.

Leadership style affect on employee work performance

Leadership style affect on employee work performance According to Khurana, R. (2002) leadership is essentially the secret to successfully fulfilling demanding roles in todays society. A leadership style encompasses a consistent combination of individual behaviors and attitudes towards group members in order to achieve goals. Effective leadership can be a fundamental tool in maximizing company performance and has elicited an abundance of research. Employee performance comprises of two components: performance on the job and withdrawal from the job (Brayfield, A.H. and Crockett, W.H., 1955). Performance on the job refers to factors such as efficiency and overall quantity and quality of output. Withdrawal from the job demonstrates adverse occurrences including absences, accidents and turnover. Subsequent definitions have marked performance as the ability to accomplish a purpose and produce the desired result (Chatman and Flynn, 2001). This essay seeks to outline types of leadership styles projected by various researchers. In a culture that has denoted the immense importance of effective leadership, it will then analyse the effects of leadership styles on employee work performance in accordance to the criteria above. To conclude, this essay will question the impact of leadership style, and finally debate whether it is crucial for adequate performance. During the twentieth century, it was thought that reaching goals were vital to success, leading to the development of classical theories such as Taylors theory of Scientific Management and Fords introduction of the Assembly Line. However, Mayos Hawthorne Studies exposed the importance of social factors in addition to economic motivators. Thus, the Human Relations Movement emerged resulting in a shifted focus onto social processes, and effectively the expansion of leadership theories. The Ohio State Studies highlighted two central factors to leadership: Initiating Structure and Consideration (Stogdill, 1974). Initiating structure addressed task behaviours which served to fulfill duties whereas consideration represented relationship behaviours which aided to build leader-follower links. Essentially, levels of each component would combine to signify the leadership style a particular leader would adopt (see Appendix 1 in Appendices). Likert (1961) went on to summarise leadership styles into four types: exploitative autocratic, benevolent autocratic, consultative and democratic. Leadership styles could be distinguished into four main types: autocratic, democratic, laissez-faire and human relations. An autocratic (or directive) leader would exude a sense of control and often outlining the means of how to achieve targets. Democratic leaders would alternatively consult group members and implement a vote before final decisions. Democratic leaders fall into a sub-group of participative leaders which involve group members in decision making. The laissez-faire approach encourages independence of followers and rarely contributes to the methods of output. Finally, a human relations style comprises of attributes similar a democratic leader, emphasizing the importance of consulting those involved before making a decision (Berkowitz, 1954). The Michigan Studies concluded that leadership styles could be formed on a basis of their employee orientation and production orientation, which consisted of behaviours similar to the Ohio State studies (Katz, D., Kahn, R.L., 1951). Originally, these constructs were seen as dependent variables; that is, if a leader was highly employee orientated their focus on product was compromised and vice versa. However, this principle was subsequently reconceptualised and viewed as independent constructs (Kahn, R.L., 1956). The development of assessment methods later materialized including the Managerial Grid which assigned leaders levels of task and people concern (Blake and Mouton, 1964, 1978 1985). The five central styles are exhibited in Appendix 2 in the Appendices. An authority-compliance leadership style would possess large focus on output and presuppose that followers would obey their orders. Conversely, a County club style leader would stress the importance of addressing peoples needs before output. Impoverished Management Style involves little input from the leader in both aspects, which could be associated with the laissez-faire approach. Initially, autocratic leadership appeared to be idyllic in boosting performance. Before Fords Assembly Line was introduced the factory was producing two-hundred cars per day at a rate of ten days per car. The introduction of Fordism entailed ordering employees when and how to complete tasks. Consequently, productivity rose leading to a total increase of two-thousand-and-five hundred cars per day (Roberts, A., 2009). One cannot deny that autocratic leadership was effective in reaching, and even exceeding, performance targets. However, according to Blake, R.R. and Mouton, J.S. (1975), the effectiveness of authority has diminished. It seems that as the human relations movement emerged, so did new preferential leadership styles: today, in an environment of vastly improved education many are rejecting traditional authority and trying to set up and act upon their own. Results from Blake and Moutons Managerial Grid found that most respondents score towards the 5, 5 middle-of-the-road style. This implies that most common leadership styles consist of a balance between people and task concern. The 9, 9 approach is acknowledged by managers as the soundest way to achieve excellence. This conclusion has been verified from studies throughout the U.S. and around the world. (Blake Mouton, 1975). It seems that nowadays attention to employees needs whilst maintaining performance targets is a must. Leadership styles that incorporate both concerns are vital to boosting employee performance. According to Lewin et. al (1939), variations of leadership styles influences performances. This study measured the consequence of leadership style on aggression, which could used to connote performance since aggression could be attributed to withdrawal from the job. Laissez-faire was the most common situation for provoking aggression followed by autocracy and democracy. This suggests leadership styles alternate aggression levels and possibly performance. However, it is difficult to generalise findings from a study of young children performing trivial tasks to large organisations where tasks are complex and aggression is not tolerated. Further findings concluded the boys agreed in a relative dislike for their autocratic leader whereas the majority of participants preferred their democratic leaders to their autocratic ones. Assuming that higher liking for a leader would result in preferential performance, this could infer that a democratic leadership style has a positive effect, thus supporting the argument that leadership style impacts performance. However, it would be reductionist to draw a finite conclusion on the practicality of leadership styles according to this piece. It fails to recognise the importance of upbringing which evidently affects the impact of leadership styles. The participant to dislike their democratic leader happened to be the son of an army officerand consciously put a high value upon strict discipline. Thus, it is not exclusively leadership style that affects behaviour but also the values and social norms an individual has acquired. If this concept were expanded onto organisational terms, it could be said that the culture of a business would contribute to whether leadership has a consequence. For instance, in the Ford factories a democratic approach may have been inappropriate in an environment where workers were unskilled and required guidance, hence why autocracy succeeded in boosting performance. An important factor to consider when assessing the usefulness of leadership style is situational variables that exist beyond the control of leaders. According to Tannenbaum and Schmidt (1958) these variables include: Type of Organisation; Group Effectiveness; The Problem Itself and The Pressure of Time These factors could determine the success of leadership styles, and leadership as a general instrument of performance. Participative leadership has been found to be more favourable for moderately structured problems while directive leadership was more compatible in situations facing fairly structured problems (Kahai, S. et. al, 1997). This most certainly has implications for the role of leadership styles within the workplace. It could infer that under circumstances where the problem comprises of routine and repetitive tasks a participative leadership style is complimentary in motivating employees to sustain performance. Conversely, problems which are more ambiguous may call for a directive leadership style to inspire followers and unite towards the same goal. Thus, in one respect, it could be argued that leadership styles are ineffective in promoting employee performance as situational variables will ultimately alter overall success. Nevertheless, it is not unreasonable to dispute th at, provided the right style is adopted, leadership style can be imperative in steering employees towards the right aims using the appropriate methods. Conducted research measured the effects of directive and participative leadership style on Heterogeneous teams (teams comprised of members deriving from varying backgrounds with dissimilar skills) and team reflection, and subsequently performance (Somech, A., 2006). Findings discovered that participative leadership lowered team in-role performance under the condition of high functional heterogeneity but found no effect on low functional heterogeneity. Directive leadership, however, had a positive impact on performance. Therefore, it could be debated that leadership style has a consequence on work performance. However, Somech has pointed out that an investigation by Kahai et al. (1997) found no difference in frequency of supportive remarks or of critical remarks in teams working with a participative and with a directive superior. Hence, suggesting that workers cease to notify a difference between these leadership styles and are able to respond to both forms, which subsequently casts d oubt over the value of leadership styles. The relevance of leadership styles is challenged by several theories including the trait approach. It proposes that successful leadership is derived from the possession of certain characteristics such as drive, honesty and integrity and self-confidence rather than styles (Kirkpatrick, S.A. and Locke, E.A., 1991). Supporting research for this approach is plentiful in comparison to the style approach (Stogdill, R.M, 1948 1974; Mann, R.D., 1959; Kirkpatrick, S.A. Locke, E.A., 1991). However, it is yet to generate a definite list of traits and there is less clear evidence to support certain traits such as charisma. In reality, despite its enticing facade, the possession of charisma can often lead to corporations hiring inappropriate candidates. The detrimental effects of charisma were exposed in the case of Enron; the hiring of Jeff Skilling as CEO contributed to their fatal downfall as he was able to justify unethical activities through his charismatic traits, such as allowing top exe cutives to participate in the off-balance-sheet partnerships, (Khurana, R., 2002). However, this approach has failed to produce substantial research linking it to performance outcomes (Yukl, G., 1994). The issues addressed in this essay relate to the introduction of leadership styles and examines the value on employee performance. The profusion of research in this area infers that leadership style has a consequence on employees in the workplace. Nonetheless, research has failed to depict an adequate association between leadership style and work performance, with many results proving contradictory and inconclusive (Yukl, 1994). The lack of conclusive evidence for any approach to explaining leadership could have implications for the concept itself. There is reason to suggest that leadership is not critical with studies finding that forty-seven percent of executives rated their companies overall leadership capacity as poor/fair while a minor eight percent ranked it as excellent (Csoka, L.S., 1998). The reliance of leadership in enhancing performance has largely been questioned with some arguing it as a romanticized conception (Meindl, J.R., et. al, 1985) and others speculating the concept as a social myth which symbolically represents a regressive wish to return to the symbiotic environment of the womb (Gemmill, G. and Oakley, J., 1992). In other words, leadership is a necessity that society has created itself in order to disillusion individuals with the belief that another should be responsible for creating the visions and responsibilities that they could merely accept themselves. In addition, researchers ha ve argued that leadership is not vital if substitutes are available such as individual job expertise and intrinsic task satisfaction (Kerr, S. and Jermier, J.M., 1978). Thus, it brings it into question that if leadership is not a stabilized concept, then perhaps all theories based on leadership could be brought into interrogation, including the principle of leadership styles. The usefulness of leadership styles is undermined by the lack of an optimal style in all situations. Nevertheless, it has been suggested that leaders have back-up strategies if the usual style of accomplishing tasks fail (Blake, R.R Mouton, J.S, 1975). As oppose to debating which style is superlative, it may be sensible to advocate the notion that styles could compliment one another (Sagie, A., 1997). This proposal reinforces the usefulness of leadership style providing that the appropriate style is employed according to varying circumstances. The extent of research conducted, regardless of its substantiality, generates implications that leadership styles do matter(Somech, A., 2006). It would be ignorant to deny the magnitude of leadership in organisations, but that is not to say it should not be considered with caution. It would be reductionist to claim leadership is purely the reason for performance variations. Situational variables, such as culture, will inevitably influence leadership success. Rather than arguing a prime style, an appropriate approach to delegating leadership style would be the Path-Goal Theory which states that leadership styles should be allocated according to the characteristics of the subordinates and the nature of the task (House, R.J. Mitchell, R.R., 1974). Leadership style as a reputable concept clearly imposes an effect on efficacy but companies cannot place full reliance on this tool; leadership style is merely a stimulant and not the sole foundation of employee performance. Appendices Appendix 1 Classic descriptors of leaders decision behaviours diagram taken from Roberts, A. and Corbett, M. (2009) Understanding Organisational Behaviour IB1230. Warwick Business School; McGraw Hill Custom Publishing, p. 197. SHOWING CONSIDERATION High Human Relations Democratic Low Lassez-faire Autocratic Low High INITIATING STRUCTURE Appendix 2 Blake Moutons Managerial Grid. (Blake, R.R and Mouton, J.S. 1975) Bibliography Berkowitz, L. (1954) Group Standards, Cohesiveness, and Productivity, Human Relations 7, pp. 509-514. Blake, R.R. and Mouton, J.S. (1964) The managerial grid. Houston, TX: Gulf Publishing Company. Blake, R.R. and Mouton, J.S. (1975) An Overview of the Grid, Training and Development Journal, 29 (5), May, p. 29-36. Blake, R.R. and Mouton, J.S. (1978) The new managerial grid. Houston, TX: Gulf Publishing Company. Blake, R.R. and Mouton, J.S. (1985) The managerial grid III. Houston, TX: Gulf Publishing Company. Brayfield, A.H., and Crockett, W.H. (1955) Employee Attitudes and Employee Performance, Psychological Bulletin, 52 (5), pp. 396-424 Chatman, J.A., and Flynn, F.J. (2001) The Influence of Demographic Heterogeneity on the Emergence and Consequences of Cooperative Norms in Work Teams, The Academy of Management Journal, 44, p. 956-974. Corbett, M. (2009) Understanding Organizational Behaviour (IB1230) Martin Corbett Lecture Slides: Leadership. Warwick Business School; University of Warwick. Csoka, L.S. (1998) Bridging the Leadership Gap. New York: Conference Board. Dubrin, A.J., 2007, Leadership: Research Findings, Practice and Skills. Fifth Edition. Boston, New York. Houghton Mifflin Company. Gemmill, G. and Oakley, J. (1992) Leadership: An Alienating Social Myth? Human Relations, 45 (2), February, p. 113-129. House, R.J. Mitchell, R.R. (1974) Path-goal theory of Leadership. Journal of Contemporary Business, 3, pp. 81-97. Kahai, S., Sosik, J. and Avolio, B.J. (1997) The effects of leadership style and problem structure on work group process and outcomes in an electronic meeting system environment, Personnel Psychology, 50 (1), March, p. 121-146. Kahn, R.L. (1956) The Prediction of Productivity. Journal of Social Issues, 12, pp. 41-49. Katz, D., Kahn, R.L. (1951) Human Organization and worker motivation. In L.R. Tripp (ed), Industrial productivity (pp. 146-171). Madison, WI: Industrial Relations Research Association. Kerr, S. and Jermier, J.M. (1978) Substitutes for Leadership: Their Meaning and Measurement, Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 22, December, pp. 375-403. Khurana, R. (2002) The Curse of the Superstar CEO. Harvard Business Review, 80 (9), September, p. 60-66. Kirkpatrick, S.A. and Locke, E.A. (1991) Leadership: do traits matter?, Academy of Management Executive, 5 (2), May, p. 48-60. Likert, R. (1961) New patterns of management. New York; McGraw-Hill. Lewin, K., Lippitt, R. and White, R. (1939) Patterns of aggressive behavior in experimentally created social climates. Journal of Social Psychology, 10 (2), May,   p. 271-299. Mann, R.D. (1959). A Review of the Relationship between Personality and Performance in Small Groups. Psychological Bulletin, 56, pp. 241-270. Meindl, J.R., Ehrlich, S.B. and Dukerich, J.M. (1985) The Romance of Leadership, Administrative Science Quarterly, 30 (1), March, p. 78-102. Northouse, P.G., 2007, Leadership: Theory and Practice. Fourth Edition. California; London; New Delhi. Sage Publications, Inc. Roberts, A. (2009) Understanding Organizational Behaviour (IB1230) Ashley Roberts Lecture Slides: Lecture 3, Classical Theories (2): Ford and The Assembly Line. Slide 8. Warwick Business School; University of Warwick. Roberts, A. and Corbett, M. (2009) Understanding Organisational Behaviour IB1230. Warwick Business School; McGraw Hill Custom Publishing. Sagie, A. (1997) Leader direction and employee participation in decision making: Contradictory or compatible practices? Applied Psychology: An International Review, 46. p. 387-452. Somech, A. (2006) The Effects of Leadership Style and Team Process of Performance and Innovation in Functionally Heterogeneous Teams, Journal of Management, 32 (1), February, p. 132-157. Stogdill, R.M. (1948). Personal factors associated with Leadership: A survey of the literature, Journal of Psychology, 25, pp. 35-71. Stogdill, R.M. (1974). Handbook of leadership: A survey of theory and research. New York: Free Press. Tannenbaum, R. and Schmidt, W. (1958) How to Choose a Leadership Pattern, Harvard Business Review, 36 (2), March/April, p. 95-101. Yukl, G. (1994). Leadership in organizations. Third edition. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. Page 1 of 11