Evaluation of disciplinary interview Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Evaluation of disciplinary interview - Essay Example So I had to discard my initial strategy of being passive and straight away adopt assertive manner to explain my reasons. The most important factor that favoured me was that the interviewer was ready to listen to my reasons with open mind. It was for these reasons that I was able to satisfactorily explain my erratic timekeeping. The open disposition of the interviewer greatly helped to ease my tension. The manager’s understanding of human behaviour greatly facilitated my strategy to come to the desired outcome. All through the interview, I never felt threatened. But the mild rebuke from the manager about my not being open with him regarding my personal problems and timely communication of the same was justifiable. Though, he was quite sympathetic about my child’s health problem, he informed me gently that he too is a father but at the same time, being a manager, he is also accountable for his workers performance as well as for their welfare. Had I discussed my problems with him, I would have better managed my office and personal life. Indeed, I was let off with warning that any future late hours would be treated as such and no leverage would be given. The feedback was an important proceeding that comprised of open class discussion of my role play video. The peer observation was the highlight of the interview. I was informed that the first assumption of the manager about my late coming had really taken me by surprise and I had no alternative but to become assertive to maintain my credibility. I had also maintained respect for my manager that had shown through my facial expression and non verbal behaviour. My manager was very open minded and empathetic that had helped me to be frank and discuss my personal problems. The attitude and behaviour of the manager inspired trust which became the major element of facilitating satisfactory outcome of the interview. The manager’s assertion that effective communication helps to solve problem

Academic Honesty Essay Example for Free

Academic Honesty Essay Academic misconduct and dishonesty is prevalent in institutions of higher learning, especially with online students (Staats, Happ Hagley, 2008). The lack of academic honesty affects the integrity of the institutions, of degree programs, and the character of current and future students (Staats, Happ Hagley, 2008). Studies have shown that a student who strives to be academically honest completes work that is morally and ethically sound. They ensure that all of their work is their own or that they have given credit to the original source (Academic Ethics, 2014). Academically honest students exhibit characteristics such as empathy, courage, and honesty more often than do less honest students. The high prevalence of these characteristics is a good predictor of a lower occurrence of academic dishonesty (Staats, Happ Hagley, 2008). â€Å"Honesty and Heroes: A Positive Psychology View of Heroism and Academic Honest,† a study published in the Journal of Psychology in 2008, was performed to show how heroism is related to academic honesty in online students. The study showed that fifty percent of students involved in the study admitted to lacking academic honesty in their schoolwork (Staats, Happ Hagley, 2008). The first experiment involved 200 students from the Mid-west with an average age of 22. 3 years. Three measures were used to test potential academic honesty, including courage, honesty, and empathy. Results showed that these measures were inter-correlated and lead to the potential for cheating and other forms of academic dishonesty (Staats, Happ Hagley, 2008). The second experiment involved 69 undergraduates from the same Mid-western institution with an average age of 20. 03 years. Results showed that most students reported cheating on exams or lying in their own interest (Staats, Happ Hagley, 2008). The authors found that those students who decided not to cheat had a high degree of academic virtue which they defined as heroism (Staats, Happ Hagley, 2008). ACADEMIC HONESTY AND THE ONLINE STUDENT DOUET 3 Prior to reading this article, I hadn’t put together that empathy, courage, and honesty are some of the characteristics found in an academically honest student. I was surprised about the amount of people who admit to academic dishonesty. Scriptures tell us in Proverbs 12:22 that â€Å"lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who act faithfully are his delight. † In order to please the Lord a student needs to work with integrity throughout their degree program and ensure that all of their work is theirs or is supported by those to whom the work is originally credited. I will apply the characteristics of heroism such as courage, empathy, and honesty in all of my coursework. I will ensure that all of the work that I submit will be my own and if I borrow any ideas from others, I will credit them for the work. The amount of academic dishonesty involved with college students is astounding, and needs to be corrected using the Christian worldview which states that we should live and work with integrity. In Proverbs 10:9, Jesus tells us that â€Å"whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but he who makes his ways crooked will be found out. † The more concern students have for others, and the more noble-minded students and more morally sound they are, the less likely they are to cheat. By encouraging those virtues in the student body, the university will garner a higher degree of respect for the institution and degree programs that they offer. In conclusion, as we hear in Hebrews 13:18, â€Å"Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a clear conscience, desiring to act honorably in all things. † ACADEMIC HONESTY AND THE ONLINE STUDENT DOUET 4. References Academic Ethics. (2014, January 1). . Retrieved June 12, 2014, from https://www. liberty. edu/index. cfm? PID=24212this_session_key=86vE59559nh834YHx1u4OX993N94898H2t72B1ZmG8 3kfullnameErrorCode=ns=falsewebsite=year=2014term=30returnCASTicket =TGT-132907-BkExOI1gz9ZiSKCCxCaTCAaNIMyYs9JQJWGlo9lm3fmviRTkgX-cas2 prod. liberty. eduCFID=249618158CFTOKEN=24951222 Moscetelli, R. G. (2005). The Quote Manuel: Wisdom and Wit of the Ages. : Author House. Staats, S. , Happ, J. M. , Hagley, A. M. (2008). Honesty and Heroes: A Positive Psychology View of Heroism and Academic Honesty. The Journal of Psychology, 142, 357-72.

An Examination Of Bioplastics Technology Environmental Sciences Essay

An Examination Of Bioplastics Technology Environmental Sciences Essay Bioplastics also called organic plastics are a form of plastics produced from renewable biomass sources, such as vegetable oil, corn starch, pea starch or microbiota rather than fossil-fuel plastics which are derived from petroleum. They are polymers which are also obtained from plants genetically engineered to produce them. [1] Some, but not all, bioplastics are designed to biodegrade. Bioplastics are made in order to solve the problems caused by plastics which are non-biodegardable. Bioplastics are not new, it is been there from around 1850.There are different types of bioplastics like the starch based bioplastic, the polylactic acid, PHB, bio-derived polyethylene and the genetically modified bioplastics. Bioplastics are biodegradable that is they can be broken down into simpler compounds by the microbes and thus do not remain for years in the environment. Bioplastics are used in making many items like the disposable cutlery, and for biomedical uses,etc. Its market value is a littl e less as of now but will increase in the near future. Global plastics problem Plastics are carbon-based polymers which are made mostly from petroleum.The word plastic means flexible.Plastics are used to make mostly disposable, low-value items such as food-wrap and product packaging, but theres nothing particularly disposable about most plastics. On an average, we use plastic bags for 12 minutes before getting rid of them-yet they can take fully 500 years to break down in the environment. [2] Compounds like polyethylene, polypropylene and polystyrene are largely used in the manufacture of plastics. [1] Excessive molecular size is the reason for the resistance of these compounds to biodegradation. Plastics are xenobiotic compounds which are recalcitrant (completely resistant) to biodegradation. [3] Getting rid of plastics is extremely difficult. Burning them can give off toxic chemicals such as dioxins, while collecting and recycling them responsibly is also difficult.With societys ever-increasing focus on protecting the environment, theres a new emphasis on des igning plastics that will disappear much more quickly. Broadly speaking, so-called environmentally friendly plastics fall into three types: bioplastics made from natural materials such as corn starch or generally plants; biodegradable plastics made from traditional petrochemicals, which are engineered to break down more quickly; and eco/recycled plastics, which are simply plastics made from recycled plastic materials rather than raw petrochemicals. History Bioplastics are not new. In the 1850s, a British chemist made plastics from cellulose, a derivative of wood pulp. Later, in the early 20th century, Henry Ford experimented soy based plastics in his automobiles, even going to the extent of unveiling a complete prototype plastic car in 1941.But by then petroleum had emerged as a source of synthetic polymers, which possesed more favourable properties than that of plant based plastics. World War II cemented the dominance of synthetic plastics. Only in the last ten years, in response to the rising cost and less supply of oil, have bioplastics re-emerged in consumer applications. In 2003, Nature Works- a joint venture of Cargill, the largest agricultural business in the United States, and Dow Chemical, the countrys biggest chemical company began producing Ingeo bioplastics, which can be extruded into containers for food packaging and into fibers for apparel, furnishings, and disposable products such as baby wipes. Ingeo is a PLA, or polyla ctic acid, derived from corn. Alternatives are also being made from castor beans, sugarcane, algae and even chicken feathers. Bioplastics are yet to meet the performance requirements of more durable goods. At the moment they are in their infancy. They are actually being used as molded products. Cell phone casings are one such example. The Japanese company NEC unveiled a phone with a corn- based plastic body. applications. Types of bioplastics: Starch linked plastics: Starch is a linear polymer (polysaccaride) made up of repeating glucose units linked by glucosidic linkages in the 1-4 carbon positions. Starch-based biodegradable plastics contain starch contents ranging from 10% to greater than 90%. Starch based polymers can be based on crops such as corn (maize), wheat or potatoes.As the starch content is increased, the polymer become more biodegradable and leave less recalcitrant residues. Often, starch-based polymers are blended with high-performance polymers (e.g. aliphatic polyesters and polyvinyl alcohols) to achieve the necessary performance properties for different applications. Biodegradation of starch based polymers is a result of enzymatic attack at the glucosidic linkages between the sugar groups leading to a reduction in chain length and the splitting off of sugar units (monosaccharides, disaccharides and oligosaccharides) that are readily utilised in biochemical pathways. At lower starch contents (less than 60%) the starch particles act as weak links in the plastic matrix and are sites for biological attack. This allows the polymer matrix to disintegrate into small fragments, but not for the entire polymer structure to actually bio-degrade. The bulk of soil bacteria are heterotrophic and utilize readily available source of organic energy from sugars, starch, cellulose and protein.[4] Microbes such as Bacillus, Clostridium, Micrococcus, Aspergillus, Fusarium, Rhizopus; etc are involved in starch hydrolysis. There are several categories of biodegradable starch-based polymers including: Thermoplastic starch products; Starch synthetic aliphatic polyester blends; Starch PBS/PBSA polyester blends; and Starch PVOH Blends. Starch based plastic constitutes about 50 percent of the bioplastics market, thermoplastic starch such as Plastarch material, currently is the most important and widely used bioplastic. Pure starch absorbs humidity and is therefore used for the production of drug capsules in the pharmaceutical industries. Biolac: Biolac is polylactic acid. Polylactic acid is an aliphatic polyester. The monomers which make up this polyester are lactic acid units. PLA is a transparent plastic produced from cane sugar, glucose or starch waste. It resembles conventional petrochemical mass plastics in its characteristics, and it can also be processed easily. Polylactic acid can be produced by chemical methods and by fermentation method using microbes.The Lactic acid bacteria (Lactobacillus amylophilus, L. Bavaricus,L. Casei) produce lactic acid using starch, which is then polymerised by bacteria such as A.eutrophus into polylactic acid.[5]Polylactic acid is biodegradable because it is the product formed by bacterial digestion of starch waste. The biodegradation of polylactic acid is brought about by the hydrolysis of the ester bonds by esterolytic enzymes produced by bacteria like Amycolatopsis species. PLA has become a significant commercial bioplastic. Its used in making bottles, yogurt cups, and candy wrappers. It is also used for making food service ware, lawn and food waste bags, coatings for paper and cardboard and fibers for clothing, carpets, sheets and towels and wall coverings. In biomedical applications it is used for sutures, prosthetic materials and materials for drug delivery. It also has many potential uses, for example as upholstery, disposable garments, awnings, feminine hygeine products and nappies. Microbially synthesized plastics ( Biopol) Poly -3 hydroxy butyrate ( PHB) is a polyester produced by certain bacteria like Rhodovibrio sodomensis in the presence of excess carbon like glucose or starch. It is also called as Biopol.Poly-ÃŽÂ ² hydroxy butyrate accumulates as energy reserve in many micro-organisms like Alcaligenes, Azotobacter, Bacillus, Nocardia, Pseudomonas, Rhizobium etc.It is a poly hydroxy-alkanoate ( PHA). It is a common storage material of prokaryotic cells consisting of a polymer of ÃŽÂ ²- hydroxybutyrate or another ÃŽÂ ²- alkanoic acid. Reserve polymers store excess nutrients present under favourable growth conditions for use during periods of nutrient deprivation.[6] A wide variety of Bacteria and Archaea produce PHAs. Biopol is made in industrial fermentor by bacteria that converts sugars ( refined from corn or beet) into a polymer. Genetically engineered Arabidopsis thaliana a type of cress is also used to make Biopol.[1] Its characteristics are similar to those of petroplastic polypropyle ne.It produces transparent film at a melting point higher than 130 degrees Celsius, and is biodegradable without residue. PHB is suitable for specialized areas like biomedical use and speciality coatings. A copolymer of PHB ( Poly ÃŽÂ ²- hydroxy butyrate) and PHV ( Poly ÃŽÂ ²- hydroxy valerate) are used in making shampoo bottles in Europe. PHB is easily degraded as it is an energy source of microbes. A copolymer containing approximately equal amounts of PHB and PHV has had the greatest market success thus far.[7] Bio-derived polyethylene The basic building block of polyethylene is ethylene. This is just one small chemical step from ethanol, which can be produced by fermentation of agricultural feedstocks such as sugar cane or corn. Bio-derived polyethylene is chemically and physically identical to traditional polyethylene, it does not biodegrade but can be recycled. It can also considerably reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Brazilian chemicals group Braskem claims that using its route from sugar cane ethanol to produce one tonne of polyethylene captures (removes from the environment) 2.5 tonnes of carbon dioxide while the traditional petrochemical route results in emissions of close to 3.5 tonnes. It can be used in packaging such as bottles and tubs Genetically modified bioplastics Genetically modified bioplastics are bioplastics which are produced from genetically modified plants and microbes. Normally the plants and microbes produce very small quantities of bioplastics, therefore their production on a large scale is expensive. Genetically modified plants and microbes can be used for the industrial production of bioplastics. Employing genetic-modification methods Monsanto has also developed plants (oilseed rape) that produce relatively small amounts of Biopol (5% of the total weight) in their cells. The ultimate aim is to develop plants that consist of up to 20% by weight of Biopol, thereby enabling various bioplastics to be produced for a wide variety of applications. Biodegradation of bioplastics All bio- and petroleum-based plastics are technically biodegradable, meaning they can be degraded by microbes under suitable conditions. However many degrade at such slow rates as to be considered non-biodegradable. The degree of biodegradation varies with temperature, polymer stability, and available oxygen content. Consequently, most bioplastics will only degrade in the tightly controlled conditions of commercial composting units. An internationally agreed standard, EN13432, defines how quickly and to what extent a plastic must be degraded under commercial composting conditions for it to be called biodegradable. This is published by the International Organisation for Standardization ISO and is recognised in many countries, including all of Europe, Japan and the US. However, it is designed only for the aggressive conditions of commercial composting units. There is no standard applicable to home composting conditions. Biodegradable plastics are made from traditional petrochemicals, w hich are engineered to break down more quickly. Traditional plastics such as polyethylene are degraded by ultra-violet (UV) light and oxygen. To prevent this process manufacturers add stabilising chemicals. However with the addition of a degradation initiator to the plastic, it is possible to achieve a controlled UV/oxidation disintegration process. This type of plastic may be referred to as degradable plastic or oxy-degradable plastic or photodegradable plastic because the process is not initiated by microbial action. The degraded plastic residue will be attacked by microbes. Applications Bioplastics are mainly used in making disposable items such as packaging and catering items such as crockery, cutlery, pots, bowls, straws, etc. The use of bioplastics in making shopping bags is already very common, after this initial use these bags are used for organic wastes and then they can be composted. Bioplastics are also used for making trays and containers for fruits, vegetables, eggs and meat, bottles for soft drinks and dairy products and blister foils for for fruit and vegetables. Bioplastics are used in making non-disposable items also for example mobile phone casings made by the NEC, carpet fibres by Dupont Sorona and car interiors done by the Mazda company. The French company Arkema, produces a grade of bioplastic called Rilsan, which is used in fuel line and plastic pipe. In these uses the goal is not biodegradability but to create items from sustainable resources. Drawbacks Though bioplastics are eco-friendly and are of great use, they have their own drawbacks. When some biodegradable plastics decompose in landfills, methane gas is produced, which is a very powerful greenhouse gas that adds to the problem of global warming. Biodegradable plastics and bioplastics dont always readily decompose. Some need high temperatures and in some conditions can still take many years to break down. Even then leave behind toxic residues. Bioplastics are made from plants such as corn and maize, so plants which are a food to be eaten are used to make bioplastics which is also an ethical issue. Some bioplastics are made from genetically modified plants which are harmful to the environment. Bioplastics and biodegradable plastics cannot be recycled easily. There are accelerated rates of deforestation due to the use of plants in making bioplastics. Manufacture of bioplastic materials is reliant on petroleum as a source of energy which is required to power farm machinery, irrigate growing crops, to produce fertilizers and pesticides, to transport crops and crop products to processing plants, to process raw materials and ultimately to produce bioplastics. Many bioplastics lack the performance and ease of processing of traditional materials. Polylactic acid plastic is being used by a handful of small companies for making water bottles. But the shelf life of these bottles is limited because the plastic is permeable to water the bottles lose their contents and slowly deform. Market value of bioplastics Bioplastics are rapidly catching up. Bioplastics are already unbeatable as medical implants, which dissolve in the body, as compostable mulch films for agriculture. Packaging materials constitute the most important application area for bioplastics, for example filler materials that are utilized in very large amounts. Supermarkets are increasingly using compostable shoppng bags. However the largest growth rates of the use of bioplastics are seen in electronic industries in consoles or cell phone cases. During the past eight years consumption of biodegradable plastics based on starch, sugar and cellulose has increased by around 600 percent. Starch based bioplastics are dominant in Europe. Bioplastics have the potential to reduce the petroleum consumption for plastics by 15 to 20 percent in 2025.Bioplastics have 10 to 20 percent share of the total plastics market and it will increase to 25 to 30 percent by 2020.There are over 500 bioplastics processing companies already available, more than 5000 is expected by 2020.Europe is one of the leading country in the market of bioplastics. Already bioplastics are used for variety of items, there would be more and more applications for bioplastics in the near future, especially in the automobile and electronics industries where plastics are indispensable. Toyota is one of the leading companies in research and usage of bioplastics. Bioplastic companies are relatively small plants and are in there initial stages of development. The scenario in India is a little different. The market of bioplastics is a little challenging here due to unawareness about the eco friendly nature of bioplastics and its uses. This therefore can be overcome by creating an wareness on the uses and benefits of bioplastics. The market for bioplastics in India grew at 30 percent in 2008 and will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 44.8 percent between 2009 and 2015.Apart from all this there is an availability of abundant feedstock in due to which it can become a hot destination for bioplastics companies.

Michelangelo :: Art, Paintings

Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti was born on March 6, 1475 in Caprese, Tuscany. His dad was Lodovico di Buonarrotto and his mother was Fracessca Neri. Michelangelo was also the second of five brothers. His mother was not capable of raising Michelangelo so his dad let a stonecutter’s wife raise him. Sadly, Michelangelo’s mom died when he was six (Bonner Par. 1-13). Michelangelo’s family moved to Florence, Italy a month after his birth. Although his family was not wealthy, Michelangelo went to school in 1482. When Michelangelo started to excel in the arts his dad was not happy. He wanted Michelangelo to become a government or military figure. He beat Michelangelo to steer him away from the arts. Finally, at age 13 Michelangelo’s dad gave up and let Michelangelo start an apprenticeship under Domenico Ghirlando to learn (McNeese 11-21). Michelangelo’s first sculptures were made when he was around age 16. These sculptures were the Battle of the Centaurs and Madonna of the Stairs. The Battle of the Centaurs consisted of nude Greek men fighting centaurs. Centaurs are creatures that have the top half of a man and a bottom half of horse. These sculptures are what told Giovanni de Bertoldo, Michelagelo’s second teacher, that he had a unique calling for sculpting (Bonner Par. 1). Shortly after arriving in Rome, Michelangelo was hired to make a Roman god sculpture. Michelangelo chose to sculpt the Roman god of wine, Bacchus. Michelangelo spent a year on the project. The original customer was not happy with but Jacopo Galli, a Roman banker, purchased the piece. This sculpture is what lead Michelangelo to become more famous (McNeese 34). The next sculpture that Michelangelo made was for a French cardinal, Jean Villiers de Fezencac. The cardinal wanted a sculpture of Virgin Mary and Jesus. Michelangelo signed a contract to be paid 450 ducats if he completed the sculpture in one year. Gladly, he finished the sculpture successfully. The sculpture was called the Pieta and consisted of the siting Virgin Mary with the dead body of her son Jesus across her lap (McNeese 35). In April 1508 Pope Julius II hired Michelangelo to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel (McNeese 87). The Sistine Chapel was where major papal ceremonies took place (Summers 11). Although Julius II just wanted Michelangelo to paint the ceiling of the chapel Michelangelo had bigger ideas. By 1513, Michelangelo had around 340 figures on the ceiling of the chapel.

Mountain West Health Plan Case Analysis Essay

PROBLEM STATEMENT a. FACTS OF THE CASE: Mountain West Health Plans, Inc. – Denver-based health insurance company Martin Quinn – Senior Vice-President for Service and Operations Evelyn Gustafson – Former and retired Director of Mountain West Customer Service Department. Her motto â€Å"always put yourself in the subscriber’s shoes†. In her time, there were only 10% turnover rates in the department compared to the typical 25% to 45% rate for customer service representative. She firmly resisted all attempts to increase efficiency and lower cost in the department where salaries accounted for close to 70% of the budget. Erik Rasmussen – newly hired Director of Customer Service, the replacement of Ms. Evelyn. He is a young man in his late twenties with a shiny new bachelor’s degree in business administration. The management tasked him to bring down the cost on the department. Under Mr. Erick, the company, for the first time measured the representatives’ performance and used software that generated automated work schedules based on historical information and projected need. Also, the company cut back on training. The department cost was finally heading downward, though department morale was downward, with the current turnover rate climbing at 30%. Also receiving more complaints from subscribers of inaccurate information from inexperienced or representative who sounded rushed. b. KEY PROBLEMS How Mr. Quinn will address the issue of low morale among the employees in the customer service department and its high turnover rate, while keeping and meeting the goal of the company to increase efficiency and lower the cost incurred in the department? KEY OBJECTIVES To meet the company goal to increase the efficiency of the customer service department and lower its cost. To uphold the morale of the employees and to reduce turnover rate from 30% to 10%. ANALYSIS OF CAUSES A. Analyzing the leadership and management style of Ms. Evelyn and Mr. Erik, including their strengths and weakness, and their source of influence: MS. EVELYN GUSTAFSON MR. ERIK RASMUSSEN Behavioral Approach People Oriented – attention to people Task Oriented – attention to task Leadership Grid Country Club Management – Thoughtful attention to the needs of people for satisfying relationships leads to a comfortable, friendly organization atmosphere and work tempo Authority-Compliance Management – Efficiency in operations results from arranging conditions of work in such a way that human elements interfere to a minimum degree. Strength Consideration and motivation of the needs of her subordinates, a happy work environment as a result of her good interpersonal relationship. Valued the interest and personal development of her subordinates. Focus on productivity and efficiency in the accomplishment of organizational goals. Weakness Uncontrolled cost in her department result of excessive flexibility and too much focus on employees’ personal concern. Inability to analyze the internal culture, less concern of his subordinates’ personal development, interest and needs. Source of influence Legitimate power – authority granted from a formal management position in the organization. Reward power – stems from the authority to bestow reward on other people. Referent power – comes from an individual’s personal characteristics that command others’ identification, respect and admiration. Legitimate power and Coercive power – refers to authority to punish or recommend, and the opposite of reward power. Leadership of Ms. Evelyn – She is focus on people, highly concerned on the needs and interest of her people. She believes that when people are happy, contented and comfortable they will work hard to accomplish the organization goals. She sees that it is easy to gain the support of people, when its leaders fosters respect and  fair treatment, considers their needs and interest, and shows trust in them. Source of influence – From the authority of being a manager, she has access on giving rewards e.g., flexible scheduling, fr equent breaks, offering plenty of trainings opportunities. She used this to gain influence on her people. Leadership of Mr. Erik – He is more concerned on the accomplishment of goals rather than people. He believes that employee’s needs plays secondary to the need of effective and efficient work places. His type of leadership views that â€Å"employees are only tools in accomplishing task†. Source of influence – from the legitimate power given to him by management, he ensure to get things done, and with the achievement he got support from the top management. B. It is also important to note the Style of Followership of the subordinates of these bosses, to further analyze the existing concern of the department. The employees in the customer service department could be describe as: a. Dependent uncritical thinker – does not consider possibilities beyond what he or she is told, does not contribute to the cultivation of the organization, and accepts the supervisor’s ideas without thinking. DEVELOPMENT AND SELECTION OF ALTERNATIVES (ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES) ALTERNATIVES ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES To recommend Mr. Erik to a particular leadership training that would develop his leadership skills. He will be more effective leader as he develops an interactive leadership style. Measurement is reduction of turnover rate in his department. It would somehow take time, as leadership style cannot be acquired overnight. To give Mr. Erik another task to accomplish: to promote strategies that would increase efficiency and effectiveness of his people and at the same time minimize turnover rate. Being a task oriented leader, Mr. Erik will ensure  that he will accomplish this task, which will make him realize that he would attain it by being concern on the interest and needs of his people. If Mr. Erik will take it another way around, he might insist on his authority to accomplish the new task. Job Enrichment – giving employees control on the resources in performing their tasks, give them elbow room on how they will accomplish their task, give them opportunity to grow, and give them a set period to accomplish it. Employees would have greater sense of responsibility with their involvement and commitment on the task. Increase motivation Contributes high morale Low turnover High performance Management may lose control on employees RECOMMENDATIONS/CONCLUSION: Recommending combination of alternative 1 and alternative number 3 – Job Enrichment, this alternative would be more effective, than the existing statistical standards that emphasized speed, recording the customer service calls, using of software to generate automated work schedules. This will promote high morale, as you will be considering people big part and contributor in the accomplishment of task and not as a â€Å"tool† only. While at the same time, Mr. Erik undergoing a leadership training to enhance his people skills, being young, he is more focus on promoting himself as achiever. It is but typical to young professional, but as he goes along, he will start to develop his leadership style with balanced skills on both people and task. WORKPLACE APPLICATION In my company, I observed different styles of leadership. The most prominent in my heart, is the leadership style of my immediate boss. She is woman, her immediate subordinates are both male, I agree on the women rated higher almost in all aspect in leadership ability as shown in Gender differences in  leadership behaviors. I also described her as follows with the following situations that she exhibits as a leader: Servant Leader – she fosters selflessness to serve both people and organization. Her personal vision â€Å"to have one million employees†, she even gave away to her people some precious personal things e.g., cellphone, bags, shoes, clothes. Authentic Leader – she demonstrate high level of passion and commitment, leads with her heart, have compassion for others, have the courage to make difficult decision, she loves to be surrounded by good people and contribute to their growth. She is never after on any merit or credit, she preferred it be given to her people. She always treats trainings and development of her people as investment. She sends me here as full scholar.

Foreigners in their own country Professor Ramos Blog

Foreigners in their own country Christine Sun Kim’s Tedtalk presentation introduces us to her world. A world without sound. She was born deaf and for some time, she felt excluded from the hearing world because of her deafness. She learned very early that everything she does makes noise, and because of this she became hyper aware of sound. Her self awareness of living in a hearing world makes every action a conscious thought to maintain hearing etiquette. Like not to scrap your utensils, don’t slam doors, don’t burp in public etc A world we don’t even give a second thought, because as hearing individuals this is the world we live in. In Kim’s Tedtalk, she presents to us not only inspiration in her art work but something hidden in-between the lines. The deaf community is a large and very over looked minority group that most hearing individuals simply don’t understand how to interact with, foreigners in their own country. Kim explains in the eyes of society, without a voice, y ou hold no social currency. So in order for her to be seen as an equal or to even be taken seriously by others in the art community, she needs to seek out interpreters that WILL see her as an equal and become her voice. Kim teaches us about deaf culture and encourages us to go out and learn more about the deaf community and its rich diversity. She encourages us that ASL isn’t just for the deaf, just like how music isn’t just for the hearing. This is still an issue that is very much present and dealt with poorly because the lack of education and understanding of deaf awareness. This is a truth most deaf individuals simply live with, for instance going to the movies is un-enjoyable because of outdated equipment and most theaters refuse to have separate show-times for movies to include subtitles. Going out to eat can be exhausting if the server doesn’t know how to interact with someone who is deaf, or worse interacting with a police officer who has never encountered someone who is deaf, the list goes on and on. The ASL sign for â€Å"hearing† is the same sign for â€Å"publicâ€Å". This is something I find disheartening because this implies the public isn’t for the deaf. I have two questions I want everyone to ask themselves, have you ever met someone who was deaf? And what could we do to help deaf individuals feel more included in today’s society as equals without taking away their culture.

The Fall Of The House Of Usher Essays (1029 words) - Free Essays

The Fall Of The House Of Usher Essays (1029 words) - Free Essays The Fall Of The House Of Usher Death is defined as, The termination or extinction of something. Edgar Allen Poe uses this description in The Fall of the House of Usher in different ways. Poe's intention when writing The Fall of the House of Usher was not to present a moral, lesson, or truth to the reader; he was simply trying to bring forth a sense of terror to the reader. Poe's mind works this way, and critics believe this statement, especially when related to this story. Poe is grouped with other writers in the Romantic period. Writers of this period focused on life, emotions, and the existence of the human race. Although Poe's work has many characteristics of Romanticism, The Fall of the House of Usher, falls into the Gothic category. It is usually admired for its 'atmosphere' and for its exquisitely artificial manipulation of Gothic claptrap and decor. Bringing forth the symbolism of death is a major part of this writing. All of the characters in The Fall of the House of Usher are linked to death; by physical objects or by other people. There are no symbols of absolute good. The physical aspect of the House of Usher symbolizes death, in the chain of events, during the story. Even Poe's description of the house has deadly characteristics. Poe describes the house as having eye-like windows and being covered by minute fungihanging in a fine tangled web-work from the eaves; a barely perceptible fissure, which, extending from the roof of the building in front, made its way down the wall in a zigzag direction, until it became lost in the sullen waters of the tarn. This fissure is presented to the reader, early in the story, to represent that Roderick's love for his twin sister, Madeline, was dying, because she was suffering from a mysterious malady, or disease, that baffled her doctors. This caused Roderick to be emotionally and physically depressed, and was described as a madman at this point. He was convinced that his whole surroundings, the stones of the house, the fungi, the water in the tarn, the very reflected image of the whole, was woven into a physica l oneness with the family, condensed, as it were, into one atmosphere-the special atmosphere in which alone the Ushers could live. And it was this atmosphere which had molded the destinies of his family. Roderick invites a friend to the House of Usher to visit and support him during this crisis. The narrator is involved in all of Roderick's emotions and problems during the course of the story. He sees Roderick's compassion for his sister during her illness. After Madeline dies he assists Roderick in the placement of her body in a steal coffin in a vault under the house. The reason for such protection of Madeline's body was the fear of her doctors. They were so fascinated by the strangeness of her disease that Roderick feared that they would steal her body for pathologic reasons. Poe uses this whole scenario to show that Roderick really cared for his sister. It was as though they were one being, relying on each other for life; -a brother, his twin sister, and their incredibly ancient house all sharing a single soul and meeting one common dissolution at the same moment. Once Madeline died, Roderick had lost part of himself. Madeline was his connection in the human realm. He knew that his love would eventually kill her, and it did. They loved without any resistance and eventually dragged each other to death. For the Holy Ghost says you must not be as one thing with another being. Each must abide by itself, and correspond only within certain limits. In the end, Roderick's guest finally expresses that Roderick is truly a madman. The purpose for this is that Madeline was alive when they sealed her in the coffin. Usher knew that he had done this many days before, Long-long-long-many minutes, many hours, many days, have I heard it-yet I dared not-oh, pity me, miserable wretch that I am!-I dared not-I dared not speak! We have put her living in the tomb! After Usher finally speaks about what he knew, a figure of Madeline appears to them, but then without those doors there

Tips For Writing An A+ Worthy Essay

Tips For Writing An A+ Worthy Essay Tips For Writing An A+ Worthy Essay If you are a student, you know it can be difficult to write a powerful essay. It can also be daunting if you don’t comprehend the content of the research you read. Here are some tips for writing an A+ worthy essay: Topic is Key Having a firm understanding of your topic is important in order to convince the reader. To get an A+, though, the essay needs to stand out from the crowd. If you can add some originality to how you address the topic, this can improve the final grade. Creating the Thesis First, concentrate on the thesis, as it’s through line of thought that holds your essay. Brainstorm ideas that will become your arguments. Dont buy into the myth that having three arguments is necessary. Having one strong argument can be enough to convince your reader. But if you have developed several good, convincing arguments, by all means, use them. The Hook The hook (also known as the attention grabber) is included in the introduction and is used to spark a readers interest. Your hook is also used in the conclusion. The attention grabber can be in the form of a question regarding the topic, but should cover a broader thought which then leads into the thesis. By adding the hook to the conclusion, you provide an answer to the initial question that got your readers attention. Giving a thorough answer will allow your reader to fully understand the writer’s point of view. Research, Research, Research Research plays a crucial role in an essay, so make sure you have all of the facts to help explain your arguments. The library or internet are great places to begin seeking information to back up your thesis. While researching and using the information, create a bibliography to recognize the resources you used. Transition Statements Connect each section of your essay with a transition statement. These allow your essay to read smoothly from beginning to end. Do you have an essay that you are having difficulty putting together? Are you confused about a particular section of your essay? Contact today toll-free at 1-800-573-0840.

Web Services. Design Patterns Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Web Services. Design Patterns - Essay Example Web services have appeared as a most attractive and extensible technology that facilitates application-to-application interaction, using open standards and protocols. At the present, the use of web service has become very common. Basically, a web service is a software application that is purposefully designed for running over the internet. In this scenario, the web server is used to host a web service that is accessible to its users for use over the internet. Once the web service is created, it has to be uploaded on a web host, with the intention that Web service can be made available to everyone over the Internet. We should not use web server for the purpose of testing a web service. A web service can be tested by making use of a local web server (VKInfotek, 2012; Wang et al., 2004). Basically, the web services are created to address the need of connecting applications from incompatible and mismatched environments, for instance UNIX and Windows, or J2EE and .NET. The main theme behi nd the emergence of Web services was basically to efficiently deal with the challenge of interoperability and integration of applications developed in diverse platforms. In addition, Web services support almost all the programming languages on any platform. Additionally, the web services can also be used in the case when there is need to apply a specific functionality, feature in a wide variety of business applications. In this scenario, the integration of a web service to a business application improves the functionality and scope of that particular application. Furthermore, a web service can be integrated with web applications, windows applications, mobile applications and websites (VKInfotek, 2012; Wang et al., 2004). In addition, there exist a wide variety of web services across the web that have the capability of carrying out simple as well as complex tasks for instance performing the simple task of information processing as well as executing complex business processes. Also, w e have a variety of standards and protocols that have been developed to deal with web services such as Web Services Description Language (WSDL) that presents machine-readable information of Web services, simple object access protocol (SOAP) that enables exchange of messages between Web services, a Universal Description, Discovery and Integration (UDDI) registry which is a directory of Web services WSDLs (Wang et al., 2004; Phu, 2005). In the light of the above discussion, we can conclude that in the near future, Web application development will be dominated by Web Services, and it is expected that most web application development will involve just the calling of existing Web Services. DQ2: Other Design Patterns This week we discussed and implemented the MVC design pattern for Web based database interfaces. However, there are otherdesign patterns that may be directly applicable to PHP programming, orweb programming in general. Find another design pattern which could be used for web b ased development and write a synopsis on it, pointing out whether it would be applicable for use within your project or not. Comment as applicable on design patterns that other class membersprovide. â€Å"A design pattern points to an issue that can take place repeatedly in a programming environment, and then points out the idea of the way out to that issue. In this scenario, this solution can be applied to this or any other similar problem a million times over, even there is no need to do it the same way twice" (Wallace, 2000). In simple words, a design pattern describes a problem and its solution. However, descriptive name should be used for a design pattern so that it can be

Quality of education in post-conflict in Rwanda and post-disasters in Essay

Quality of education in post-conflict in Rwanda and post-disasters in Pakistan - Essay Example Education can spare and support lives, offering physical, cognitive and psychosocial security when conveyed in protected, nonpartisan spaces. Education restores routine and gives individuals trust for the future; it can likewise serve as a channel both for meeting other essential compassionate needs and conveying basic messages that advance security and prosperity. During conflicts and catastrophes, education systems, students and personnel suffer the effects of the conflicts and catastrophes and forced displacement. Some of these effects include, loss of life, loss of property and loved ones, loss of educational opportunities, and mass rape and other sexual violence which is as a result of alteration of the school programs. Conflicts and catastrophes intensify inequality, disrupts the whole society. This can have severe psychological effects particular to the children who are in school (Schweisfurth, 2006). However, not having enough education worsens security and deepens poverty in a country. The presence of unequal education opportunities fuels a sense of injustice and grievances. Education of terrible quality can be exceedingly divisive, especially if choices about educational module content, course books or dialect of guideline prohibit or permit denunciation of some social gatherings, and if education strengthens messages that savagery i s a worthy answer to individual, social or political issues. Education has vast value for its own sake. This means that all young people and children, including those that have been affected by conflict and catastrophes have the right to receive a quality education. Nevertheless, education is needed in emergency setting to prepare the society for ultimate post-disaster and post-conflict reconstruction and social-economic development (Jones, 2006). Balanced development with economic development obliges that young people of all social, ethnic, religious and

How to Avoid Injuries and Death in Motorsports Research Paper

How to Avoid Injuries and Death in Motorsports - Research Paper Example With this superior engine power and high speeds involved, motorsport is dangerous and involves freak accidents. As observed by Lipp et al. (2007), the high engine power of these engines makes them attain extremely high speeds with speeds as high as 369.9 km/h having been recorded in previous events. This makes the probability and severity of accidents extremely high. In fact, it is riskier than other sports such as football, boxing, rugby and the others. In spite of this risk, Gilbert (2014) observes that it is an addictive sport such that once started, drivers never quit no matter how many times they get involved in accidents. Therefore, this calls for detailed measures to make the sport safer for all the participants. motorsport  is all about speed. Engines are designed to produce over 8,000 horsepower, making the vehicles attain speeds of over 300 mph within a short period of time (Gilbert, 2014). As technology towards manufacturing more powerful and faster vehicles is adopted, a more innovative effort is also geared towards promoting the safety of the participants. As a result, there has been a significant achievement on motorsports safety technology over the past couple of decades. The technologies involved have been geared towards minimizing the likelihood of drivers suffering serious injuries due to a crash (Foster, Begemean & Melvin, 2011). As such, motorsports safety has sought to act directly on the driver to reduce the impact of the crash and control the crash energies that the vehicles develop. With this regard, technology has focused on four key areas. The first area is the neck and head support technology. It would be appreciated that motorsports involve high speeds and restraint on the driver. According to Foster et al. (2011), this risks basilar skull fracture on the driver due to the immense tension forces that build up in the neck as a result of the head whipping forward against the restrained torso when a frontal impact occurs. Thus, the technology to make drivers safe in such a scenario has focused on developing proper neck and head restraints.  

Critical analysis on Roald Dahl's writing style and his influence on Essay

Critical analysis on Roald Dahl's writing style and his influence on my writing - Essay Example (Propson, David 2007) Oddly enough, Dahl’s children’s stories required heavy rewriting by the editors, but they were naturally brilliant, and so were quite worth the effort. Dahl’s adult fiction was quite dark, and though satisfying, it seldom had any balance from humor. However, his children’s stories, though dark as well, always had a generous dollop of humor and fantasy. Even the characters in his children’s stories seem to balance. In Charlie and the Chocolate Factory we have Charlie, his grandfather, and willie Wonka to represent the good guys and they balance out the three four awful children and their parents. (Amidon, Stephen 2006) He seems to have caught the exactly right tone for kids. He knew how they thought, how things worked in their heads. So, his children’s stories rang true for them, wonderfully parallel to their perceptions of the world. Yet, there was a wonderful quality of humor and fantasy which the illustrators, and later filmmakers, could play against in their work. The latest version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is fantastically done with the digital special effects of Tim Burton’s versi on of 2005. (iMDB 2005) (Mcmorran, Will, 2006) All of the lovely fantasy comes through and does justice to the author. However, it probably only matches the images which appear in the heads of the children who read the books. In fact, when one looks at Dahl’s children’s stories there is a core of frank truth at the center. He makes some strong points on the human condition and human psychology. His characters are extreme examples of all the foibles and character traits of real people. Even the Dahl’s childrens stories, even though he takes things to fantastic heights, his characters always wind up with their just deserts, as suits a story for children. Ambiguity is so0mething reader have to learn to tolerate, generally when we are very close to adulthood. Children require justice to be done. It does not

Look at each questions, and answer the questions Essay

Look at each questions, and answer the questions - Essay Example , increased production levels, efficiency and employment all together positively impact the economics of free trade country as it results in rising living standards and increased real incomes (Edge, n.d.). In case of global or regional economic recession, the country’s economy is more dependent on global economy and therefore it is less stable in terms of export incomes, GDP, and employment in export-oriented industries. In the developing countries free trade has a high risk of â€Å"eating† smaller national producers/companies by large international giants as competition between these two parties would not be equal. In case there are no measures undertaken by government in order to protect national producer/manufacturer there is a high risk of occupation of the market by foreign goods (Edge, n.d.). (b) Assume that two countries are competitors in the international trade markets. The two governments are thinking about whether it is profitable to adopt a free trade policy or not. The entries in the table below are showing (in millions of pounds) the gains of each policy. Find the Nash equilibrium. Analyse how you conclude to your answer. The table below illustrates, that when there are imposed restrictions (tariffs) for both countries, both A and B countries lose. If country A introduces free trade policy, then country B will be better off with imposed restrictions as it gets 70 million of pounds with restrictions and only 60 million with free trade. If country A imposes restrictions, then country B is better off with high tariffs, as it will get 20 million of pounds with free trade and 30 million with imposed restrictions. If country B introduces free trade, then country A is better off with free trade as it will get 60 million with free trade and 20 million with imposed restrictions. If country B imposes restrictions, then country A is better off with imposed restrictions, as it gets 30 million imposed restrictions and only 20 million from free trade. The

Business Policy and Strategic Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Business Policy and Strategic Management - Essay Example Starbucks will have to re-think the assumptions on which they based their pre-recession strategies: environmental and industry factors have changed. Strategic surveillance Starbucks follows a differentiation strategy where its basic aim is to produce a brand image within the eyes of its customer through the unique taste of coffee and the exclusivity of all its other products. Currently, Starbuck’s competitors are being favored by a global economy that is slowly recovering from a recession. How the effect of the recession will play out in the long run is difficult to project now, therefore Starbucks must increase its vigilance especially with regards to its day to day activities and their overall impact on its corporate strategy. Special alert control A special alert control is the thorough, and often rapid, reconsideration of the firm’s strategy because of a sudden, unexpected event (Pearce II and Robinson, â€Å"Chapter 13: Strategic Control† Slide 13-10). The economic and financial recession of 2008 greatly affected Starbuck’s key market segments in America and Europe. Surprisingly, the Asian markets were fairly more stable and have continued to grow.

Critical analysis on Roald Dahl's writing style and his influence on Essay

Critical analysis on Roald Dahl's writing style and his influence on my writing - Essay Example (Propson, David 2007) Oddly enough, Dahl’s children’s stories required heavy rewriting by the editors, but they were naturally brilliant, and so were quite worth the effort. Dahl’s adult fiction was quite dark, and though satisfying, it seldom had any balance from humor. However, his children’s stories, though dark as well, always had a generous dollop of humor and fantasy. Even the characters in his children’s stories seem to balance. In Charlie and the Chocolate Factory we have Charlie, his grandfather, and willie Wonka to represent the good guys and they balance out the three four awful children and their parents. (Amidon, Stephen 2006) He seems to have caught the exactly right tone for kids. He knew how they thought, how things worked in their heads. So, his children’s stories rang true for them, wonderfully parallel to their perceptions of the world. Yet, there was a wonderful quality of humor and fantasy which the illustrators, and later filmmakers, could play against in their work. The latest version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is fantastically done with the digital special effects of Tim Burton’s versi on of 2005. (iMDB 2005) (Mcmorran, Will, 2006) All of the lovely fantasy comes through and does justice to the author. However, it probably only matches the images which appear in the heads of the children who read the books. In fact, when one looks at Dahl’s children’s stories there is a core of frank truth at the center. He makes some strong points on the human condition and human psychology. His characters are extreme examples of all the foibles and character traits of real people. Even the Dahl’s childrens stories, even though he takes things to fantastic heights, his characters always wind up with their just deserts, as suits a story for children. Ambiguity is so0mething reader have to learn to tolerate, generally when we are very close to adulthood. Children require justice to be done. It does not

Business Policy and Strategic Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Business Policy and Strategic Management - Essay Example Starbucks will have to re-think the assumptions on which they based their pre-recession strategies: environmental and industry factors have changed. Strategic surveillance Starbucks follows a differentiation strategy where its basic aim is to produce a brand image within the eyes of its customer through the unique taste of coffee and the exclusivity of all its other products. Currently, Starbuck’s competitors are being favored by a global economy that is slowly recovering from a recession. How the effect of the recession will play out in the long run is difficult to project now, therefore Starbucks must increase its vigilance especially with regards to its day to day activities and their overall impact on its corporate strategy. Special alert control A special alert control is the thorough, and often rapid, reconsideration of the firm’s strategy because of a sudden, unexpected event (Pearce II and Robinson, â€Å"Chapter 13: Strategic Control† Slide 13-10). The economic and financial recession of 2008 greatly affected Starbuck’s key market segments in America and Europe. Surprisingly, the Asian markets were fairly more stable and have continued to grow.

Persistence Of Memory Essay Example for Free

Persistence Of Memory Essay Art can be used in a number of  Ã‚   ways:   to communicate and activate persistence of memory in people. It is not only in the modern days that art is used for   communication and sensation of memory but also   in the olden times. Just to revisit the kind of writing in the olden times the cuniform way of pictures which represented actions or episodes. On seeing the pictures, one could figure out what that meant. In this, I refer to records maintained in sculptures, paintings, posters, puppets, cartons, shapes e. c.t A carving of an Ape like man could stir somebody’s memory about the early man and the evolution. Pictures drawn or painted and given the names of   some of the Medieval time inventors give   a clear picture of the type of people who lived during the time and their ways of life. This includes clothing mode of transport ( incase of a picture of an old   locomotive). The weapons they used, the houses they used to build e.t.c It is apparent that there were no cameras during those days and before   then, but artists have made things vivid for   scholars to see and figure out how things used to be in the past. Take for example, sculpture or   sculptural/ artifacts which   are all over in the   Museum and other   historic preservation sites. They are sites of   attraction to the modern generation   which   admire their beauty. They impart a lot into the minds of the viewers   and it is unlikely for one to forget what he/she has seen. Colour also has a lot of appealing before the eye of the viewer. Artist have it that different colours   stand for different meanings. For Example Red – May  Ã‚   among others things stand   for   danger Yellow for cowardice, green for peace   and e.t.c. Religious people have different   perspectives on the colours especially Christians associate red with the   blood of Jesus, black with sin and white   with glory   so you can see that colours also   form   persistent memory in people. Nowadays, political critics use cartons in the newspapers to criticize or ridicule politicians or an event they feel should not go uncommented. Cartons analysis enjoy seeing them and getting the fun of   them. You will find that with such cartons one   cannot easily forget the episode  Ã‚   displayed by the cartons. This is another artistic way of creating and maintaining memory in ones mind. Some painting works have remained in the memories of people from the time in the past   to date. If you take the impact the painting of Monalisa about   the last supper and the effect   has with   Christians today, you will marvel about   the magic it holds. Leornado Da Vincil   of Florence painted the Monalisa between 1503-08 but   although Monalisa was stolen in 1911,the effect it had on the Christians still lives today . Since copies   of it and the recreation of much more about it had   been scarred all over the world by the Christians   and the lovers of art.   Today   few makers   have produced   films which are showing   allover the world   over   his artistic   achievements. On seeing a film or paintings about the last supper, Christians are reminded a fresh in their memory of their salvation. Last supper not support   has the symbolism of Jesus giving to   his followers his body and blood in commemoration of their salvation. Educators say that seeing believes. When you watch a   film, you are not likely to forget what you have seen. So, films, play a great role in persistence memory enhancement   for it is not easy for one to forget what he has seeing in a film. The world is full of art. These artistic objects keep on recurring into   our memories when we talk about them or see similar objects. So, there   should be no   doubt that art elucidate in terms of   others and reveal about the way they see the world.

A Comparative Study of Consumer Behaviour

A Comparative Study of Consumer Behaviour ABSTRACT: Consumer Behavior is an aspect that is given a lot of importance in the globe of marketing. A lot of products have been a sensation or a breakdown due to inappropriate analysis of consumer behaviour and motivation. Food is a basic requirement for all livelihoods and everybody who earns spends money on food without any second thought. To live we need to eat and therefore food is tremendously important in all our lives. Todays consumers are becoming increasingly displeased with GM (Genetically Modified) and conventional fruits and vegetables and therefore are stirring towards organic fruits and vegetables. Many consumers are going organic not only in the case of fruits and vegetables but also regarding skincare, beauty products, paper and also clothing! Organic fruits and vegetables are not only said to be healthier due to ethical ways of production which do not use man-made chemicals and unnecessary preservatives as opposed to conventional food. It is also said to be eco-friendly beca use of environment cognizant methods which are used for the production of organic food. The advantages of organic fruits and vegetables are more whereas the disadvantages (such as price premium) are negligible when compared to its better side. Regular buyers of organic fruits and vegetables are willing to overlook these minor disadvantages which are negligible when compared to its disadvantages. In this research work, the consumer behaviour in the United Kingdom regarding organic fruits and vegetables is studied and compared with that in India. The factors (such as consumer expectations, beliefs, criteria, concerns, quality, awareness etc) that affect marketing of organic fruits and vegetables in UK and India are also studied with relevance to consumer behaviour. INTRODUCTION: Background This research work revolves around the consumer behaviour and attitudes towards organic fruits and vegetables in the United Kingdom and in India. A brief introduction will be given on consumer behavior and how important it is in the field of marketing. Secondly, a deeper understanding of the term organic will be given. Many theories and aspects related to organic fruits and vegetables will be discussed and reviewed as well in this dissertation. A number of consumers of organic and conventional food are consulted to get their views and opinions about organic fruits and vegetables. Not everyones attitudes towards organic fruits and vegetables seem to be the same, therefore the application of certain statistics methods help us in further understanding the relation and patterns in the consumer behavior patterns and trends in organic fruits and vegetables in the two countries. This study helps understand how the consumers in UK and in India differ from each other and also help understand the ways they are similar in. On the whole, the differences and similarities between the consumers of organic fruits and vegetables in the two countries are studied. To get this information, many respondents were asked to answer questionnaires regarding this topic and these answers were analysed using statistics. In the end these are discussed and limitations and conclusions are given and suggested. Research Questions: How does the consumer behavior towards organic fruits and vegetables vary between India and UK? In what ways do consumers in the two countries expect the food to be different from convenience foods? What are the popular beliefs among consumers about organic fruits and vegetables? When will India accept organic fruits and vegetables widely, the way UK has? What makes organic fruits and vegetables to be preferred more than convenience fruits and vegetables? Why is there a variance between the preference rate and sales of organic fruits and vegetables in both India and UK? What are the factors owing to this? General Aim The aim of this study is to find the consumer behavior and attitudes towards consumption of organic fruits and vegetables in the UK and India. The elements and factors (health factors, eco-friendliness, ethics, taste, quality, safety standards etc) influencing the consumers decision making are also studied. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY: Introduction This section talks about the methodology used for this piece of research work. Methodologies vary from research work to work due to the difference in subjects, areas and study view. What methodology is used for one research purpose may not be suitable or applicable to another. Sometimes it might not be possible for a researcher to sit and observe all that he is researching. To collect primary data for this research study, survey research approach has been used. The non probability convenience sampling method has been used for this research primary data collection method. Therefore, the method of preparing a set of questions and selecting a group of people to get to answer them and studying these answers based on an already set theory or patterns, is common and a lot many researchers today are using this form of methodology. Application of statistics to these answers helps analyze and understand the trends, patterns and fashion that the study has proved using this method. â€Å"Potte r (1996, 2002) has roundly criticized researchers who use his own approach (discourse analysis) for depending too much on interview data and has argued for a greater use of naturally occurring data.† http://asksage.typepad.com/methods/. This section deals with the methodology used for this study and the course of action taken to complete the research study for the purpose of this dissertation. Purpose of this Research The obvious purpose of this research is to study the consumer behavior towards organic fruits and vegetables in India and in United Kingdom and to compare the two. While conducting the study, the marketing flaws and strengths of it, customers attitudes towards organic fruits and vegetables in the two countries will be studied. The attitudes of customers towards organic fruits and vegetables will be studied and explored. It is important to identify the determinants of the success and failure of organic fruits and vegetables industry in India and the United Kingdom. The consumers of organic fruits and vegetables in India and the United Kingdom might differ a lot in their way of behavior as considered in the marketing field and their attitudes towards it might not be the same or might be the same. This research will help in understanding the consumer behavior towards organic fruits and vegetables in the two countries by conducting a comparative study of the consumer behaviors from the t wo countries. Research Questions How do the attitudes of Indian consumers differ from that of the British with respect to organic fruits and vegetables? The above given question is the main aim and the biggest question for this study and research work. There are of course many sub questions as well which will also be researched in the course of this study. The question speaks about finding out the attitude differences in the two countrys consumer behaviour but the study might also prove the similarities in the two countrys consumer behaviour patterns towards organic fruits and vegetables. Instrument This research work is conducted on a survey of consumers and non-consumers of organic fruits and vegetables in India and in the United Kingdom. The study (survey) questionnaire was distributed to customers of local supermarkets which sell both organic and conventional fruits and vegetables in India (Chennai and Delhi) and in the United Kingdom (London and Birmingham). The questionnaire included a brief note about the study being conducted and a variety of questions regarding the area of research. The questionnaire included a brief note about the study being conducted and a variety of questions regarding the area of research. The questionnaires were handed out in person by the student conducting the study and her friends outside supermarkets selling organic fruits and vegetables in India and in the United Kingdom. The questionnaire had 15 questions which took not more than 5 minutes to answer. Most respondents were happy to help out and were interested in the subject of organic food. Population The questionnaires were distributed in person to organic food consumers and non-consumers. It took a period of over (18 days in India to get respondents to answer the questionnaires and 22 days in the United Kingdom to get the respondents to answer the questionnaires related to organic fruits and vegetables). Sample While conducting a research study, it is not possible to take into consideration the whole population. For example when studying Indias consumers, it is not possible to take into consideration one billion plus consumers in India, therefore we take a selected sample to represent this entire population which is 100 from Chennai, 100 from Delhi (i.e 200 from India on the whole), and 100 from Birmingham and 100 from London (i.e 200 from the United Kingdom). These 400 respondents are taken as sample population and their answers are expected to correspond to all the consumers of the two countries (United Kingdom and India) respectively. The sample population consisted of 200 respondents from India and 200 respondents from the United Kingdom. Out of the 200 respondents from India, 76 were male and 124 were female and out of the 200 respondents from the United Kingdom, 84 were male and 116 were female. The other data about age, monthly earnings, occupation etc are given under the section of empirical findings and data analysis. Data Collection Every research study needs primary and secondary data. Secondary data is collected from already established and published information which has been studied, researched and verified by someone else. The use of such data for research purpose gives certified information provided it has been taken from reliable and referenced sources. Secondary data is collected from already published studies, papers, theories, articles etc. This data might not be valid in todays times and circumstances due to the fact that it must have been published or verified during the time when circumstances and states were different in simple terms, the data might be outdated. Therefore, it is important to verify if the secondary data collected is valid. It is advisable to use secondary data collected is valid. It is advisable to use secondary data for research which is well referenced and uses valid and checkable data. For this research study, books, journals, magazines and electronic databases have been used which are verifiable and authentic. Primary data was collected through the usage of questionnaire as explained under the sampling section. The primary data collected was statistically analyzed using statistical formulae and methods. The data used in this study from other studies, papers, theories, articles etc are referenced well so that the question of plagiarism does not arise. These data are used under the literature review section and they are reviewed and explained and discussed. Sampling Methods The non-probability convenience sample method was used for the purpose of this research study. The short-comings of time and resources are not a problem in the case of this method of sampling. Non probability sampling does not involve random sampling and therefore it might not represent the population well. But this does not have to be true in all cases though it depends upon the study area also. Convenience sampling is also referred to as haphazard sampling or accidental sampling and is named so because it is convenient for the researcher and easy to use. It might not be a good representative of the population but it is a good representative in case of a homogeneous sample population. Only a selective number of consumers are considered in this study who are taken and considered as representatives of the entire population (consumers of organic fruits and vegetables in this case) for the study and research purpose. The probability sampling method proves to be more expensive and time c onsuming, which are only two of the many short comings in that case. For primary data collection, the questionnaires prepared for the purpose of this research are e-mailed to 200 people in United Kingdom and 200 in India. Another 400 were distributed in supermarkets (200 in India and 200 in UK). More number of questionnaires were sent through e-mail but due to software and document problems, they were not considered for the study. Many people who wanted to participate in this questionnaire session were unfortunately not able to do so due to time constraints. Finally 400 respondents answered the questionnaires which were used for the purpose of this research work. Questionnaire Design The questionnaire consisted of 15 questions which had multiple choice of answers each. Each respondent had to select one out of the given answers with respect to each question. The four answers for each question were related to the same aspect but there might not be any relation to the other questions answers. This is because a variety of questions regarding the consumer behavior and attitudes towards organic fruits and vegetables were considered. The first few questions were about personal details and background such as occupation, monthly earning, educational qualification etc which were followed by questions regarding organic fruits and vegetables and their opinions towards it. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK A theoretical framework basically lays down the guidelines for the research work. The concepts, theories, cases, models etc used for the presentation of the research are basically explained for understanding the study being carried out. In this dissertation, a few theories and models will be reviewed and discussed. Consumer Behaviour Consumer behaviour is a very widely studied subject in the field of marketing. Without consumers, it is very difficult for businesses of any sort to function normally. Consumers are the raison-d-etre for a business mere existence. The business may be based on profit or it might also be a non-profit organization. The field of consumer behaviour is the study of individuals, groups, or organizations and the processes they use to select, secure, use and dispose of products, services, experiences or ideas to satisfy needs and the impacts that these processes have on the consumer and society. Consumer behaviour mainly sheds light on how consumers decide to spend their various resources like time, money etc on various products so as to meet their needs and requirements. Consumer behaviour encompasses study of what, when, why and where the consumers will buy their products. It also focuses on how often the consumers use the products. Furthermore, it also sheds light on how the consumers evaluate the products after the purchase and the effect of evaluations on their future purchases. From the marketing point of view, it is very important to understand the consumer well and to attend to their needs, wants and demands to be successful. A consumer is the centre of attention in case of most marketing techniques; after all, it is the consumers a business needs to run. In the case of organic fruits and vegetables, a consumer might decide to buy it for its benefits on health or the environment or maybe because of the advertising for it is good. There are various factors that affect the consumer decision making process which is also discussed further. Models of Consumer Choice: The Cognitive model: When consumers make an important purchase for the first time, they may reflect on alternatives and discuss pros and cons with others with the intention of securing benefits and avoiding costs. This model is sometimes called the extended-problem solving model. (East, Wright and Vanhuele, 2008) The Reinforcement Model: Choice is controlled by factors in the environment that reward and facilitate some alternatives more than others. Managerial control is achieved by changing the consumers situation. However, what is rewarding to some persons may not be so to others and this limits influence. (East, Wright and Vanhuele , 2008) The habit model: Choice is controlled by managing stimuli (brand name, logo, pack features, etc) that have become associated with a product as a result of past purchases. Sometimes this is called stimulus control. (East, Wright and Vanhuele, 2008) Consumer Behaviour models: The purpose of consumer behaviour models is to provide description, explanation and prediction of purchase behaviour. At the same time the models provide a conceptual framework and so help researchers to set up and test new ideas so as to give even better explanations and predictions of behaviour. On the positive side, these models do help to organize research results and to demonstrate the complexity of decision processes involved in even a simple purchase, such as a can of soup in the local supermarket. On the negative side most of the models can be criticized as providing no more than a description of a range of influencing variables. There are four main clusters of factors that have an effect on purchase behaviour. They are political, economic and technical; cultural and social; psychological; and marketing influences. (Bareham, 1995) Theories make it easier to understand a concept as they outline causes and effects that are possible and what to anticipate provided the input (the happening circumstance) is given. In most cases, it is easy to analyze whether practical situations are normal and acceptable with the help of proven time tested theories. Marketing segmentation The market is divided into different groups or segments based on their needs, tastes, income, and a lot of other criteria. Marketing segmentation is based on a lot of research and important factors to suit the needs and purposes. Some of the marketing segmentation is as follows: Geographic segmentation: This involves segmenting the market by location on the assumption that people living in one location will have similar needs, wants and preferences and these will differ significantly from people living in other locations. There are some obvious limits to this assumption. People all over the world drink Coca-cola and buy Japanese electronic goods for instance. When you think about it from the viewpoint of the consumer, most buying behaviour is actually local. Localized consumer behaviour is often expressed through the presence of a significantly large cultural or sub cultural group that is different from the main stream. There are also geographically based differences between consumers for reasons that are more complex or obscure. It is not immediately obvious why some sections of consumers have different behaviour than the other sections. But knowing that, they will do, can be important to the marketing strategy. Demographic segmentation: Demographic segmentation deals with the many ways if statistically categorizing all the people in a national population. For example, a national population can be divided into subgroups based on age, sex, income, education, occupation, social class, family size, race and religion. In a sense, there are also different ways of looking at the same individual consumer, because of course we belong to each of these groups. Different aspects of our identity will be relevant to different products at different times. Baby foods can only be marketed to parents of young children, for example and a middle-class, middle aged, middle income, middle manager is more likely to be in the market for an exercise bike than a motor bike. Some of the important specifics of demographic segmentation are Age: Age is perhaps the most frequently used demographic variable in marketing segmentation. One reason for this is that the lifecycle has been divided up by society into what seem to be easily recognizable groups that are clearly differentiated from one another- infants, children, teenagers, young adults and so on. Sex: Dividing the market into male and female segments is another frequently used strategy. But even here, the old marketing certainties are breaking down. It used to be a safe bet for marketers to target do-it-yourself products exclusively at men and supermarket shopping at women. But with the larger increase in single occupant hose-holds and one parent families (most of them female), many more women are buying things that men would do if they were in a family. In addition, more women than men buy for other consumers. Socio-economic status: A persons socio economic status is determined by education, income and occupation. Though there are many exceptions of course, these are three factors often in alignment. More highly educated people tend to do managerial and professional jobs that bring a relatively high income, and vice-versa. For obvious reasons most marketers are more interested in people with high socio economic status rather than low. Income is often considered the most important variable in this case because it is so easy to quantify and because it dictates entry to certain markets. But income by itself can be very misleading. Psychological segmentation: The attempt to come up with a practical form of consumer profile has concentrated on three areas of behaviour: activities, interests, and opinions. Segmentation by usage: This form of segmentation is based on information about volume and frequency of purchase for a given product. It is a popular way of segmentation of markets because there is a lot of readily available information about patterns of usage for most goods and services. In fact, with so many transactions now electronically recorded, a great deal more of data is available than is actually used. Perhaps the most familiar usage data is provided by the electronic point of sale (EPOS) used by supermarket checkouts. Not only are all the purchased items listed, together with their prices, but so is the date and exact time of purchase and the method of payment used. Segmentation by benefit: This form of market segmentation is based on knowledge of the benefits that consumers seek from that particular product. The task of the marketer is to include the appropriate characteristics- or the impression of them in the design of particular goods or services. In a sense this kind of segmentation is at the entire marketing concept find out what people want and provide it for them. Segmentation is very important for a firm or an industry to market its products strategically and for it to be a success. In the case of organic fuits and vegetables, it comes under the category of food which is a basic necessity and therefore would appeal to and include a lot many segments in the markets. In this research study we are considering only the United Kingdom and India. So geographically these two countries are covered. Demographically the middle aged and the older people will be targeted age wise, both sexes, and the middle class and upper class levels will be targeted according to the socio economic status segmentation. Since the middle aged and older people usually are the ones who go shopping for fruits and vegetables, they are targeted age wise, both men and women shop for it, and when it comes to socio economic status, the middle and the upper income groups are targeted as organic fruits and vegetables are more expensive than conventional fruits and vegetables. Many shoppers especially in India will give up the idea of buying food when it comes to the price factor that is not acceptable for them. That is the reason why the middle and upper income groups are aimed at here. Most people both in India and United Kingdom consume fruits and vegetables everyday. In India, no meal is complete without fruits or vegetables and in the United Kingdom, people are encouraged to consume fruits and vegetables everyday with the healthy 5 a day concept though it is already a staple portion of a healthy meal. These segments are most suitable for being aimed at for marketing of organic fruits and vegetables and therefore they are the target segments. Decision making process There exist a number of factors which affect the consumer decision making process. Each of the factors has many sub-factors. Communication Situation The situation in which the consumer receives information about a product or service influences the buying decision of the consumer. For example, in the case of organic fruits and vegetables, an advertisement speaking about the bad impacts of the chemicals used in conventional foods right when the buyer is suffering from food poisoning might influence the consumer to buy food that is healthier and does not involve the usage of chemicals responsible for food poisoning and therefore influence the consumer to go in for purchase of organic fruits and vegetables in future. Purchase situation: The situation involved while a consumer is out to purchase will influence the buying process of the consumer. For example, a very health conscious friend is out with a consumer shopping for food, the friends suggestions of low cholesterol, high fiber food items will influence the consumer to buy healthier food products. Situations like when the consumer is very hungry and shopping for food might make the consumer end up purchasing food items that the consumer might have a craving for right then. Usage situation: Marketers need to understand the usage situations for which the products are meant. Using this knowledge, marketers can communicate how their products create consumer satisfaction in each relevant usage situation. For example, a recent study found that consuming 1.5 cup servings of oat based cereal a day could lower cholesterol. To increase sales, a Cheerios ad depicted the advantages of it. Disposition Situation Some consumers consider the case of disposition an important attribute towards the buying decision process. For example, if there was a rule stating that all the particular products from a household should only be disposed off at a particular point for a locality which is open only for a fixed time in the weekends, or they would be fined heavily, there would be a large decrease in the sales of that product. Situational characteristics Physical surroundings such as dà ©cor, sounds, aromas, lighting, weather and configurations of merchandise or other materials surrounding the stimulus object influences the buyer. Also, social surroundings, temporal perspectives, task definition And antecedent states influence the buyer decision making process. The marketer should influence these factors as largely as possible to influence the buyer in a favorable way to appeal to the customers. How decisions are made by people: The obvious point about decisions worth spelling out is that we are constantly making them. Form the moment we get up in the morning we are faced with deciding what to wear and what to have for breakfast and we make decisions throughout the rest of the day. Indeed we normally make so many decisions in the course of the day, every day, that only rarely do we realize that in fact we are making a decision. Decisions are just part of the business of living our lives, and are taken for granted. Rationality: Rationality is what you and I would like to think we use when making a decision. Moreover, we like to believe we are rational in both the psychological and the economic senses of the world. Psychologically, we make objective, dispassionate choices that are not influenced by prejudice or other irrational influences. Economically, we find out all the information there is on each of the alternatives, assess the advantages and disadvantages of each, and then choose the best one on the basis of a cost-benefit analysis. Most decisions are made in a state of incomplete information. Heuristics: A heuristic is simply a procedure or method or strategy for solving a problem or making a decision. It is similar to an algorithm, a procedure widely used in science, except that and algorithm is guaranteed to find the solution, or the best solution, whereas a heuristic is not. Perhaps, then it would be better for us to think of a heuristic as a rule-of-thumb. That is, a heuristic may be a good place to start if faced with a decision and it may provide a reasonable guide in the search for a solution, but no more than that. A heuristic may therefore be helpful, but it might also lead us totally astray. The reason we need heuristics when making decisions is simply that the world we live in turns us into misers-cognitive misers. Three forms of heuristic that psychologists have identified in the way people make decision: the representative heuristic, the attitude heuristic and the availability heuristic. Every step taken by anyone would require a decision to be made be it whether to put your right foot forward or your left, to eat spinach or a burger and so on. Some are taken with our conscious effort and some with our sub-conscious mind. When it comes to purchasing organic fruits and vegetables, a number of decisions need to be taken. For that matter the purchase making decision of any product is made based on several factors. For example, in the case of buying organic food, a consumer might think if he really needs to shell out 10% extra for a kg of organic onions or whether he is really doing himself any good by consuming organic potatoes. Questions such as these are answered in a heuristic pattern which leads to the purchase of organic fruits and vegetables or otherwise. Attitudes: The study of attitudes is one of the most intensively researched areas of psychology. Although there are over 100 different definitions of the term, a widely accepted definition of attitude would be: A stable, long lasting, learned predisposition to respond to certain things in a certain way. The concept has a cognitive (belief) aspect, an affective (feeling) aspect, and a conative (action) aspect. Characteristics and components of attitudes: Like a proprietary pain killer, attitudes contain not one, not two, but three active ingredients which are the cognitive component, the affective component, and the conative component. The cognitive component is mainly concerned with a consumers opinions about the products properties, for example whether it is crunchy, chewy, whether the price is reasonable, or whether the packaging is informative. The affective component deals with the consumers feelings about the products properties, for example if it is appealing or if it is un-appealing, is it liked or disliked? The conative component relates to the consumers likely behaviour in relation to the product. Sources of attitudes: The three main sources of attitudes are family, peers, and direct experience. Attitudes and behaviour: The commonsense notion that knowing someones attitudes towards a product will inform you of the likelihood of their buying it is quite a useful rule-of-thumbfor practical purposes. It is certainly A Comparative Study of Consumer Behaviour A Comparative Study of Consumer Behaviour ABSTRACT: Consumer Behavior is an aspect that is given a lot of importance in the globe of marketing. A lot of products have been a sensation or a breakdown due to inappropriate analysis of consumer behaviour and motivation. Food is a basic requirement for all livelihoods and everybody who earns spends money on food without any second thought. To live we need to eat and therefore food is tremendously important in all our lives. Todays consumers are becoming increasingly displeased with GM (Genetically Modified) and conventional fruits and vegetables and therefore are stirring towards organic fruits and vegetables. Many consumers are going organic not only in the case of fruits and vegetables but also regarding skincare, beauty products, paper and also clothing! Organic fruits and vegetables are not only said to be healthier due to ethical ways of production which do not use man-made chemicals and unnecessary preservatives as opposed to conventional food. It is also said to be eco-friendly beca use of environment cognizant methods which are used for the production of organic food. The advantages of organic fruits and vegetables are more whereas the disadvantages (such as price premium) are negligible when compared to its better side. Regular buyers of organic fruits and vegetables are willing to overlook these minor disadvantages which are negligible when compared to its disadvantages. In this research work, the consumer behaviour in the United Kingdom regarding organic fruits and vegetables is studied and compared with that in India. The factors (such as consumer expectations, beliefs, criteria, concerns, quality, awareness etc) that affect marketing of organic fruits and vegetables in UK and India are also studied with relevance to consumer behaviour. INTRODUCTION: Background This research work revolves around the consumer behaviour and attitudes towards organic fruits and vegetables in the United Kingdom and in India. A brief introduction will be given on consumer behavior and how important it is in the field of marketing. Secondly, a deeper understanding of the term organic will be given. Many theories and aspects related to organic fruits and vegetables will be discussed and reviewed as well in this dissertation. A number of consumers of organic and conventional food are consulted to get their views and opinions about organic fruits and vegetables. Not everyones attitudes towards organic fruits and vegetables seem to be the same, therefore the application of certain statistics methods help us in further understanding the relation and patterns in the consumer behavior patterns and trends in organic fruits and vegetables in the two countries. This study helps understand how the consumers in UK and in India differ from each other and also help understand the ways they are similar in. On the whole, the differences and similarities between the consumers of organic fruits and vegetables in the two countries are studied. To get this information, many respondents were asked to answer questionnaires regarding this topic and these answers were analysed using statistics. In the end these are discussed and limitations and conclusions are given and suggested. Research Questions: How does the consumer behavior towards organic fruits and vegetables vary between India and UK? In what ways do consumers in the two countries expect the food to be different from convenience foods? What are the popular beliefs among consumers about organic fruits and vegetables? When will India accept organic fruits and vegetables widely, the way UK has? What makes organic fruits and vegetables to be preferred more than convenience fruits and vegetables? Why is there a variance between the preference rate and sales of organic fruits and vegetables in both India and UK? What are the factors owing to this? General Aim The aim of this study is to find the consumer behavior and attitudes towards consumption of organic fruits and vegetables in the UK and India. The elements and factors (health factors, eco-friendliness, ethics, taste, quality, safety standards etc) influencing the consumers decision making are also studied. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY: Introduction This section talks about the methodology used for this piece of research work. Methodologies vary from research work to work due to the difference in subjects, areas and study view. What methodology is used for one research purpose may not be suitable or applicable to another. Sometimes it might not be possible for a researcher to sit and observe all that he is researching. To collect primary data for this research study, survey research approach has been used. The non probability convenience sampling method has been used for this research primary data collection method. Therefore, the method of preparing a set of questions and selecting a group of people to get to answer them and studying these answers based on an already set theory or patterns, is common and a lot many researchers today are using this form of methodology. Application of statistics to these answers helps analyze and understand the trends, patterns and fashion that the study has proved using this method. â€Å"Potte r (1996, 2002) has roundly criticized researchers who use his own approach (discourse analysis) for depending too much on interview data and has argued for a greater use of naturally occurring data.† http://asksage.typepad.com/methods/. This section deals with the methodology used for this study and the course of action taken to complete the research study for the purpose of this dissertation. Purpose of this Research The obvious purpose of this research is to study the consumer behavior towards organic fruits and vegetables in India and in United Kingdom and to compare the two. While conducting the study, the marketing flaws and strengths of it, customers attitudes towards organic fruits and vegetables in the two countries will be studied. The attitudes of customers towards organic fruits and vegetables will be studied and explored. It is important to identify the determinants of the success and failure of organic fruits and vegetables industry in India and the United Kingdom. The consumers of organic fruits and vegetables in India and the United Kingdom might differ a lot in their way of behavior as considered in the marketing field and their attitudes towards it might not be the same or might be the same. This research will help in understanding the consumer behavior towards organic fruits and vegetables in the two countries by conducting a comparative study of the consumer behaviors from the t wo countries. Research Questions How do the attitudes of Indian consumers differ from that of the British with respect to organic fruits and vegetables? The above given question is the main aim and the biggest question for this study and research work. There are of course many sub questions as well which will also be researched in the course of this study. The question speaks about finding out the attitude differences in the two countrys consumer behaviour but the study might also prove the similarities in the two countrys consumer behaviour patterns towards organic fruits and vegetables. Instrument This research work is conducted on a survey of consumers and non-consumers of organic fruits and vegetables in India and in the United Kingdom. The study (survey) questionnaire was distributed to customers of local supermarkets which sell both organic and conventional fruits and vegetables in India (Chennai and Delhi) and in the United Kingdom (London and Birmingham). The questionnaire included a brief note about the study being conducted and a variety of questions regarding the area of research. The questionnaire included a brief note about the study being conducted and a variety of questions regarding the area of research. The questionnaires were handed out in person by the student conducting the study and her friends outside supermarkets selling organic fruits and vegetables in India and in the United Kingdom. The questionnaire had 15 questions which took not more than 5 minutes to answer. Most respondents were happy to help out and were interested in the subject of organic food. Population The questionnaires were distributed in person to organic food consumers and non-consumers. It took a period of over (18 days in India to get respondents to answer the questionnaires and 22 days in the United Kingdom to get the respondents to answer the questionnaires related to organic fruits and vegetables). Sample While conducting a research study, it is not possible to take into consideration the whole population. For example when studying Indias consumers, it is not possible to take into consideration one billion plus consumers in India, therefore we take a selected sample to represent this entire population which is 100 from Chennai, 100 from Delhi (i.e 200 from India on the whole), and 100 from Birmingham and 100 from London (i.e 200 from the United Kingdom). These 400 respondents are taken as sample population and their answers are expected to correspond to all the consumers of the two countries (United Kingdom and India) respectively. The sample population consisted of 200 respondents from India and 200 respondents from the United Kingdom. Out of the 200 respondents from India, 76 were male and 124 were female and out of the 200 respondents from the United Kingdom, 84 were male and 116 were female. The other data about age, monthly earnings, occupation etc are given under the section of empirical findings and data analysis. Data Collection Every research study needs primary and secondary data. Secondary data is collected from already established and published information which has been studied, researched and verified by someone else. The use of such data for research purpose gives certified information provided it has been taken from reliable and referenced sources. Secondary data is collected from already published studies, papers, theories, articles etc. This data might not be valid in todays times and circumstances due to the fact that it must have been published or verified during the time when circumstances and states were different in simple terms, the data might be outdated. Therefore, it is important to verify if the secondary data collected is valid. It is advisable to use secondary data collected is valid. It is advisable to use secondary data for research which is well referenced and uses valid and checkable data. For this research study, books, journals, magazines and electronic databases have been used which are verifiable and authentic. Primary data was collected through the usage of questionnaire as explained under the sampling section. The primary data collected was statistically analyzed using statistical formulae and methods. The data used in this study from other studies, papers, theories, articles etc are referenced well so that the question of plagiarism does not arise. These data are used under the literature review section and they are reviewed and explained and discussed. Sampling Methods The non-probability convenience sample method was used for the purpose of this research study. The short-comings of time and resources are not a problem in the case of this method of sampling. Non probability sampling does not involve random sampling and therefore it might not represent the population well. But this does not have to be true in all cases though it depends upon the study area also. Convenience sampling is also referred to as haphazard sampling or accidental sampling and is named so because it is convenient for the researcher and easy to use. It might not be a good representative of the population but it is a good representative in case of a homogeneous sample population. Only a selective number of consumers are considered in this study who are taken and considered as representatives of the entire population (consumers of organic fruits and vegetables in this case) for the study and research purpose. The probability sampling method proves to be more expensive and time c onsuming, which are only two of the many short comings in that case. For primary data collection, the questionnaires prepared for the purpose of this research are e-mailed to 200 people in United Kingdom and 200 in India. Another 400 were distributed in supermarkets (200 in India and 200 in UK). More number of questionnaires were sent through e-mail but due to software and document problems, they were not considered for the study. Many people who wanted to participate in this questionnaire session were unfortunately not able to do so due to time constraints. Finally 400 respondents answered the questionnaires which were used for the purpose of this research work. Questionnaire Design The questionnaire consisted of 15 questions which had multiple choice of answers each. Each respondent had to select one out of the given answers with respect to each question. The four answers for each question were related to the same aspect but there might not be any relation to the other questions answers. This is because a variety of questions regarding the consumer behavior and attitudes towards organic fruits and vegetables were considered. The first few questions were about personal details and background such as occupation, monthly earning, educational qualification etc which were followed by questions regarding organic fruits and vegetables and their opinions towards it. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK A theoretical framework basically lays down the guidelines for the research work. The concepts, theories, cases, models etc used for the presentation of the research are basically explained for understanding the study being carried out. In this dissertation, a few theories and models will be reviewed and discussed. Consumer Behaviour Consumer behaviour is a very widely studied subject in the field of marketing. Without consumers, it is very difficult for businesses of any sort to function normally. Consumers are the raison-d-etre for a business mere existence. The business may be based on profit or it might also be a non-profit organization. The field of consumer behaviour is the study of individuals, groups, or organizations and the processes they use to select, secure, use and dispose of products, services, experiences or ideas to satisfy needs and the impacts that these processes have on the consumer and society. Consumer behaviour mainly sheds light on how consumers decide to spend their various resources like time, money etc on various products so as to meet their needs and requirements. Consumer behaviour encompasses study of what, when, why and where the consumers will buy their products. It also focuses on how often the consumers use the products. Furthermore, it also sheds light on how the consumers evaluate the products after the purchase and the effect of evaluations on their future purchases. From the marketing point of view, it is very important to understand the consumer well and to attend to their needs, wants and demands to be successful. A consumer is the centre of attention in case of most marketing techniques; after all, it is the consumers a business needs to run. In the case of organic fruits and vegetables, a consumer might decide to buy it for its benefits on health or the environment or maybe because of the advertising for it is good. There are various factors that affect the consumer decision making process which is also discussed further. Models of Consumer Choice: The Cognitive model: When consumers make an important purchase for the first time, they may reflect on alternatives and discuss pros and cons with others with the intention of securing benefits and avoiding costs. This model is sometimes called the extended-problem solving model. (East, Wright and Vanhuele, 2008) The Reinforcement Model: Choice is controlled by factors in the environment that reward and facilitate some alternatives more than others. Managerial control is achieved by changing the consumers situation. However, what is rewarding to some persons may not be so to others and this limits influence. (East, Wright and Vanhuele , 2008) The habit model: Choice is controlled by managing stimuli (brand name, logo, pack features, etc) that have become associated with a product as a result of past purchases. Sometimes this is called stimulus control. (East, Wright and Vanhuele, 2008) Consumer Behaviour models: The purpose of consumer behaviour models is to provide description, explanation and prediction of purchase behaviour. At the same time the models provide a conceptual framework and so help researchers to set up and test new ideas so as to give even better explanations and predictions of behaviour. On the positive side, these models do help to organize research results and to demonstrate the complexity of decision processes involved in even a simple purchase, such as a can of soup in the local supermarket. On the negative side most of the models can be criticized as providing no more than a description of a range of influencing variables. There are four main clusters of factors that have an effect on purchase behaviour. They are political, economic and technical; cultural and social; psychological; and marketing influences. (Bareham, 1995) Theories make it easier to understand a concept as they outline causes and effects that are possible and what to anticipate provided the input (the happening circumstance) is given. In most cases, it is easy to analyze whether practical situations are normal and acceptable with the help of proven time tested theories. Marketing segmentation The market is divided into different groups or segments based on their needs, tastes, income, and a lot of other criteria. Marketing segmentation is based on a lot of research and important factors to suit the needs and purposes. Some of the marketing segmentation is as follows: Geographic segmentation: This involves segmenting the market by location on the assumption that people living in one location will have similar needs, wants and preferences and these will differ significantly from people living in other locations. There are some obvious limits to this assumption. People all over the world drink Coca-cola and buy Japanese electronic goods for instance. When you think about it from the viewpoint of the consumer, most buying behaviour is actually local. Localized consumer behaviour is often expressed through the presence of a significantly large cultural or sub cultural group that is different from the main stream. There are also geographically based differences between consumers for reasons that are more complex or obscure. It is not immediately obvious why some sections of consumers have different behaviour than the other sections. But knowing that, they will do, can be important to the marketing strategy. Demographic segmentation: Demographic segmentation deals with the many ways if statistically categorizing all the people in a national population. For example, a national population can be divided into subgroups based on age, sex, income, education, occupation, social class, family size, race and religion. In a sense, there are also different ways of looking at the same individual consumer, because of course we belong to each of these groups. Different aspects of our identity will be relevant to different products at different times. Baby foods can only be marketed to parents of young children, for example and a middle-class, middle aged, middle income, middle manager is more likely to be in the market for an exercise bike than a motor bike. Some of the important specifics of demographic segmentation are Age: Age is perhaps the most frequently used demographic variable in marketing segmentation. One reason for this is that the lifecycle has been divided up by society into what seem to be easily recognizable groups that are clearly differentiated from one another- infants, children, teenagers, young adults and so on. Sex: Dividing the market into male and female segments is another frequently used strategy. But even here, the old marketing certainties are breaking down. It used to be a safe bet for marketers to target do-it-yourself products exclusively at men and supermarket shopping at women. But with the larger increase in single occupant hose-holds and one parent families (most of them female), many more women are buying things that men would do if they were in a family. In addition, more women than men buy for other consumers. Socio-economic status: A persons socio economic status is determined by education, income and occupation. Though there are many exceptions of course, these are three factors often in alignment. More highly educated people tend to do managerial and professional jobs that bring a relatively high income, and vice-versa. For obvious reasons most marketers are more interested in people with high socio economic status rather than low. Income is often considered the most important variable in this case because it is so easy to quantify and because it dictates entry to certain markets. But income by itself can be very misleading. Psychological segmentation: The attempt to come up with a practical form of consumer profile has concentrated on three areas of behaviour: activities, interests, and opinions. Segmentation by usage: This form of segmentation is based on information about volume and frequency of purchase for a given product. It is a popular way of segmentation of markets because there is a lot of readily available information about patterns of usage for most goods and services. In fact, with so many transactions now electronically recorded, a great deal more of data is available than is actually used. Perhaps the most familiar usage data is provided by the electronic point of sale (EPOS) used by supermarket checkouts. Not only are all the purchased items listed, together with their prices, but so is the date and exact time of purchase and the method of payment used. Segmentation by benefit: This form of market segmentation is based on knowledge of the benefits that consumers seek from that particular product. The task of the marketer is to include the appropriate characteristics- or the impression of them in the design of particular goods or services. In a sense this kind of segmentation is at the entire marketing concept find out what people want and provide it for them. Segmentation is very important for a firm or an industry to market its products strategically and for it to be a success. In the case of organic fuits and vegetables, it comes under the category of food which is a basic necessity and therefore would appeal to and include a lot many segments in the markets. In this research study we are considering only the United Kingdom and India. So geographically these two countries are covered. Demographically the middle aged and the older people will be targeted age wise, both sexes, and the middle class and upper class levels will be targeted according to the socio economic status segmentation. Since the middle aged and older people usually are the ones who go shopping for fruits and vegetables, they are targeted age wise, both men and women shop for it, and when it comes to socio economic status, the middle and the upper income groups are targeted as organic fruits and vegetables are more expensive than conventional fruits and vegetables. Many shoppers especially in India will give up the idea of buying food when it comes to the price factor that is not acceptable for them. That is the reason why the middle and upper income groups are aimed at here. Most people both in India and United Kingdom consume fruits and vegetables everyday. In India, no meal is complete without fruits or vegetables and in the United Kingdom, people are encouraged to consume fruits and vegetables everyday with the healthy 5 a day concept though it is already a staple portion of a healthy meal. These segments are most suitable for being aimed at for marketing of organic fruits and vegetables and therefore they are the target segments. Decision making process There exist a number of factors which affect the consumer decision making process. Each of the factors has many sub-factors. Communication Situation The situation in which the consumer receives information about a product or service influences the buying decision of the consumer. For example, in the case of organic fruits and vegetables, an advertisement speaking about the bad impacts of the chemicals used in conventional foods right when the buyer is suffering from food poisoning might influence the consumer to buy food that is healthier and does not involve the usage of chemicals responsible for food poisoning and therefore influence the consumer to go in for purchase of organic fruits and vegetables in future. Purchase situation: The situation involved while a consumer is out to purchase will influence the buying process of the consumer. For example, a very health conscious friend is out with a consumer shopping for food, the friends suggestions of low cholesterol, high fiber food items will influence the consumer to buy healthier food products. Situations like when the consumer is very hungry and shopping for food might make the consumer end up purchasing food items that the consumer might have a craving for right then. Usage situation: Marketers need to understand the usage situations for which the products are meant. Using this knowledge, marketers can communicate how their products create consumer satisfaction in each relevant usage situation. For example, a recent study found that consuming 1.5 cup servings of oat based cereal a day could lower cholesterol. To increase sales, a Cheerios ad depicted the advantages of it. Disposition Situation Some consumers consider the case of disposition an important attribute towards the buying decision process. For example, if there was a rule stating that all the particular products from a household should only be disposed off at a particular point for a locality which is open only for a fixed time in the weekends, or they would be fined heavily, there would be a large decrease in the sales of that product. Situational characteristics Physical surroundings such as dà ©cor, sounds, aromas, lighting, weather and configurations of merchandise or other materials surrounding the stimulus object influences the buyer. Also, social surroundings, temporal perspectives, task definition And antecedent states influence the buyer decision making process. The marketer should influence these factors as largely as possible to influence the buyer in a favorable way to appeal to the customers. How decisions are made by people: The obvious point about decisions worth spelling out is that we are constantly making them. Form the moment we get up in the morning we are faced with deciding what to wear and what to have for breakfast and we make decisions throughout the rest of the day. Indeed we normally make so many decisions in the course of the day, every day, that only rarely do we realize that in fact we are making a decision. Decisions are just part of the business of living our lives, and are taken for granted. Rationality: Rationality is what you and I would like to think we use when making a decision. Moreover, we like to believe we are rational in both the psychological and the economic senses of the world. Psychologically, we make objective, dispassionate choices that are not influenced by prejudice or other irrational influences. Economically, we find out all the information there is on each of the alternatives, assess the advantages and disadvantages of each, and then choose the best one on the basis of a cost-benefit analysis. Most decisions are made in a state of incomplete information. Heuristics: A heuristic is simply a procedure or method or strategy for solving a problem or making a decision. It is similar to an algorithm, a procedure widely used in science, except that and algorithm is guaranteed to find the solution, or the best solution, whereas a heuristic is not. Perhaps, then it would be better for us to think of a heuristic as a rule-of-thumb. That is, a heuristic may be a good place to start if faced with a decision and it may provide a reasonable guide in the search for a solution, but no more than that. A heuristic may therefore be helpful, but it might also lead us totally astray. The reason we need heuristics when making decisions is simply that the world we live in turns us into misers-cognitive misers. Three forms of heuristic that psychologists have identified in the way people make decision: the representative heuristic, the attitude heuristic and the availability heuristic. Every step taken by anyone would require a decision to be made be it whether to put your right foot forward or your left, to eat spinach or a burger and so on. Some are taken with our conscious effort and some with our sub-conscious mind. When it comes to purchasing organic fruits and vegetables, a number of decisions need to be taken. For that matter the purchase making decision of any product is made based on several factors. For example, in the case of buying organic food, a consumer might think if he really needs to shell out 10% extra for a kg of organic onions or whether he is really doing himself any good by consuming organic potatoes. Questions such as these are answered in a heuristic pattern which leads to the purchase of organic fruits and vegetables or otherwise. Attitudes: The study of attitudes is one of the most intensively researched areas of psychology. Although there are over 100 different definitions of the term, a widely accepted definition of attitude would be: A stable, long lasting, learned predisposition to respond to certain things in a certain way. The concept has a cognitive (belief) aspect, an affective (feeling) aspect, and a conative (action) aspect. Characteristics and components of attitudes: Like a proprietary pain killer, attitudes contain not one, not two, but three active ingredients which are the cognitive component, the affective component, and the conative component. The cognitive component is mainly concerned with a consumers opinions about the products properties, for example whether it is crunchy, chewy, whether the price is reasonable, or whether the packaging is informative. The affective component deals with the consumers feelings about the products properties, for example if it is appealing or if it is un-appealing, is it liked or disliked? The conative component relates to the consumers likely behaviour in relation to the product. Sources of attitudes: The three main sources of attitudes are family, peers, and direct experience. Attitudes and behaviour: The commonsense notion that knowing someones attitudes towards a product will inform you of the likelihood of their buying it is quite a useful rule-of-thumbfor practical purposes. It is certainly