Report on Marks and Spencer Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Report on Marks and Spencer - Essay Example The current liabilities includes trade payables and other payables, borrowings and other financial liabilities, partnership liability to the pension scheme, derivative financial instruments, provisions and current tax liabilities. The company had Interest bearing debts from external sources of ?2,760.9 million and loans from partners to fund the pension scheme of ?71.9 million. Both consist of a mix of a long term portion and a short term portion which is due within the next 12 months. The table below provides that information for interest bearing or fixed interest debt.. Interest Bearing Debts Period Partnership loans ? Other Interest Bearing Loans ? Total Current 0 482.9 482.9 Non-current 71.9 2,278.0 2349.9 Total 71.9 2,760.9 2832.8 Marks and Spencer’s Financial Structure The following ratios in the table below will assist in the assessment of Marks and Spencer. Ratio Formulae 2010 2009 Debt Management Debt ratio (Total liabilities/Total assets) x 100% (4,967.3/7,153.2)x100 % = 69.4% (5,157.5/7,258.1) x 100 = 71% Gearing Ratio Interest Bearing Debts (IBD)/Equity + IBD 2,832.8/5,018.7 = 56.4% 3,200.6/5,301.2 = 60.38% Interest Cover Profit Before Interest and Tax (PBIT)/Interest Expense 852/162.2 = 5 times 870.7/214.5 = 4 times Liquidity Ratio Current ratio Current assets/current liabilities 0.80 0.60 Acid Test Ratio Current assets - inventory)/current liabilities 0.47 0.37 Debt Management The debt management ratios indicate how the company’s management has managed the debts of the company. According to Brigham (2005) the extent to which debt financing, which is also referred to as financial leverage is used by a firm has three implications. Firstly, financing the business using debt will allow share holders to maintain control of the company without increasing their investment in it. Secondly, shareholders returns can be substantially increased if the company earns more on investments that are financed with borrowed funds. However, financial risk increases as debt increases. Thirdly, creditors depend on shareholders to provide a margin of safety. Therefore the more funds supplied by shareholders the more comfortable they are in doing business with the company. Additionally, the interest expense which relates to interest charged on borrowed funds is allowable as a deduction for tax purposes. Dividend is not so allowed and is a distribution after tax is deducted. The Debt Ratio The debt ratio is the ratio of total liabilities to total assets and provides information on how much of the funds are provided by sources other than equity. The company’s debt ratio is 69.4% for the year ended April 3, 2010. Although this is an improvement over the previous year’s figure of 71%,. the guideline indicates that a percentage over 50% percent does not augur well. Marks and Spencer’s debt ratio is unfavourable and indicate problems with its financial structure. However, a comparison with the average in the industry in w hich Marks and Spencer operates is important. The gearing ratio below will provide additional information. The Gearing Ratio The gearing ratio is the portion of interest bearing debts to equity and interest bearing debt. The gearing ratio of 56% suggests that the company has a significant amount of interest bearing debt in its capital structure. The normal threshold of 50% has been exceeded. However, whether the ratio is favourable or not depends on the industry. The ratio for the year ende

Theodore Rex by Edmund Morris Essay Example for Free

Theodore Rex by Edmund Morris Essay Introduction Writing this paper, I faced a challenging task of exploring, discussing and analyzing a well-written book about one of the most prominent and controversial figures in American politics and history. In the first part of my report I would like to discover basic themes and concepts of the book as well as compare and contrast â€Å"Theodore Rex† and other books about the twenty-sixth US President. Also I would like to concentrate my attention on the major accomplishments of the author and on possible bias found in the book. The book is a thorough and profound biographical account of Roosevelt’s presidency and discusses and evaluates his major deeds and successes. The book concentrates on the two presidential terms he served, while â€Å"The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt†, another celebrated biographical work by Morris, sheds light on Roosevelt’s career before presidency. â€Å"Theodore Rex† ends with Mr. Roosevelt quitting the office. Edmund Morris writes about Theodore Roosevelt with great respect combined with admiration. The author doesn’t always clearly state it, but we can read it between the lines. When exploring Roosevelt external policy in the global context, the author quotes London Morning Post that stated Roosevelt’s presidency marked, â€Å"the emergence of a new world peacemaker: Mr. Roosevelts success has amazed everybody, not because he succeeded, but because of the manner by which he achieved success.† (Morris, 2002: p.391) Roosevelt is positioned as a great an innovative man of state for the ample reason that he was the first US president to leave the country or to fly in an airplane. I strongly deem that any book addressing questions connected with politics or history can’t be absolutely free from bias. For instance, Morris argues that American world hegemony and superpower is largely, if not only, Roosevelt’s accomplishment. But we know that economic and political conditions at the beginning of the century were very favourable, and the president seized the moment and American gilded age so he enhanced country’s position on the international arena. The book is different from others in many ways. First of all, it concentrates not only on the strengths of the twenty-sixth president, but also on his faults. The book provides the reader with full and comprehensive account of Roosevelt as a man of state and some insightful information about Roosevelt as a personality. Another difference is the focus of this biography solely on the presidential years of Theodore Roosevelt. Main Body Now let me proceed with evaluating the organization and the persuasive power of the book. The choice of the sources is satisfactory; the bibliography of the book is diverse and trustworthy. Morris consults sources dating from the early 20th centuries up to nowadays. The major material for Morris’ research consists of Roosevelt’s presidential whitepapers and worksheets, his private documentation, the archives of John Hay, William Howard Taft and Owen Wister. The author manages to be stylistically good and historically balanced. The book gives very specific account of political events that happened during the presidency of Roosevelt and goes through every political crisis, external or internal. The book doesn’t give much information about personal life of the twenty-sixth president, but it makes the reader feel as if sharing all the daily routine with Mr. Roosevelt. Let me enlist the issues, on which the author concentrates most. Morris reminds us about the success of Roosevelt’s external policy and stresses the fact of US acquisition of Panama Canal and the Philippines, signing a treaty ending the Russo-Japanese War and strengthening American naval forces. The book states that, â€Å"French foreign-policy experts believed him to be the strongest international personality since Bismarck.† (Morris, 2002: 193) He gives a positive account of Roosevelt’s policy in the spheres of culture, science, and ecology and urges to keep in mind presidential initiatives to create national parks and monuments and to start national conservation policy. He praises the president’s ability of dealing with labor issues by discussing the settlement of the significant coal strike in the early 1990s. Still, the author admits the existence of complicated points during the Roosevelt’s career, for instance, the Brownsville Incident. I believe that Morris concentrates too much on the description of major and minor state affairs. The book is purely a narrative. Instead of going so deep into daily matters of the president, Morris might have included more analysis of Roosevelt’s policies and practices. I would like to read more about Roosevelt in the wider historical context; the reader wants not only a success story, but the discussion of president’s actions to ensure success. Still, enough attention is paid to important people in Roosevelt’s life, namely Edith and Alice. Morris shows us the twenty-sixth president as a loving husband and caring father. Roosevelt’s family supported him in the turmoil of state affairs, and the president valued his dearest and nearest very much. When his wife arrived, â€Å"Careless of watching eyes, he threw his arms around Edith, then escorted her inside for supper.† (Morris, 2002: 47) Morris clearly states what traits of character are necessary for an outstanding leader. The author describes sometimes controversial behavior and complicated character of the president. Some small personal details give us better understanding of Theodore’s nature, for example, president’s habit to carry pistols with him. The detailed descriptions in a combination with easy way of presenting the information made the book seem convincing and trustworthy. Conclusion In the concluding part I would speak about the relevance and historical value of â€Å"Theodore Rex The book is readable and enjoyable, giving insight into big and small issues of governing. Sometimes the book may seem to be too detailed for a non-professional reader. I dare call this book to be a research of Roosevelt’s biography, since it keeps track of everything taking place in the president administration. Morris’ book may be useful for historians as well as for the general public. The book is very short still it has everything the one needs to know about Roosevelt and the US at the dawn of the 20th century. The organization of the book is good, but the tone of the story isn’t always adequate since Morris describes very official events using lyrical language. Let’s analyze the episode concerned with Panama-US treaty: â€Å"Pens scratched across parchment. Wax melted on silk. Two oceans brimmed closer, ready to spill.† (Morris, 2002: p.298) The prologue is marked by unnecessary romanticism, too. But it can’t be called a disadvantage since it saves the book from being boring. Paragraph and sentence structure is adequate and quite clear. And I didn’t notice any serious contradictions worth mentioning here. The organizational drawback is that personal and political episodes aren’t described in separate chapters. Still, the strictly chronological way of presenting the events with clear separation of the first and the second administration is definitely a plus. I believe that some practical solutions of social and economical problems, e.g. unemployment or discrimination, can be used by contemporary politicians as well. I would like to end my report with giving an overall assessment of â€Å"Theodore Rex† by Edmund Morris. This account of Roosevelt’s presidency and charismatic personality is in-depth but transparent, analytical but charming, complex but inspiring. I believe that such a charismatic leader as Theodore Roosevelt definitely deserves such a brilliant biographer as Edmund Morris.    References:    Morris, E. 2002. Theodore Rex. New York: Modern Library

Misconceptions of psychology

Misconceptions of psychology Numerous studies have shown undergraduate students and everyday people to have a range of misconceptions about psychology. This study examined misconceptions among one group of first year psychology students, and another group of first year engineering students in order to determine whether psychology students perform significantly better than students of other academic disciplines in regards to their knowledge of psychology. A quasi-experimental independent-groups design was used, with the independent variables in this study having two levels, or whether the participant was either a psychology or engineering student and the dependent variable of the number of correct questions the individual achieved on the questionnaire. Results of this study showed that students from the two disciplines differ in their misconception and knowledge of psychology, with descriptive statistics and analyses of an independent groups t-test and a point biserial correlation showing a significant difference between the two groups. Conclusively, this study suggests that psychology students do have fewer misconceptions compared to engineering students, while further stating an alternative explanation and critically analysing procedures used to determine the produced results. Further research of in this area could focus on testing the misconceptions of a more varied sample, administer a different type of questionnaire, while also extending such research to a range of groups such as psychologists, doctors, teachers, or students of numerous disciplines. Misconceptions of psychology: A comparative study between psychology and engineering students Psychological research, regardless of the specific topic of study, is based upon the same scientific principles as the other hard sciences like physics and chemistry. Nevertheless, psychology has a long history of fighting a commonly held perception that it does not qualify as a scientific discipline and that it generates knowledge that is mere common sense. In many cases, however, common sense leads to an incorrect appreciation of phenomena that have been scientifically investigated by psychologists. Several studies have shown that undergraduate students and lay people alike hold many misconceptions about psychology. These misconceptions have been demonstrated in the United States and England and in several different courses of study. McCutcheon, Furnham, and Davis (1993) asked if there was a significant difference in the prevalence of misconceptions about psychology between American and English university students. They administered a 65 item multiple-choice questionnaire and found that English students generally did better than American students, though neither group answered more than half of the questions correctly. While the authors offered no clear explanation for either the poor performance or the difference between the two groups, they speculated that selective reporting in the mass media may contribute to both the formation of misconceptions and their resolution. Martin, Sadler, and Baluch (1997) tested undergraduate students from psychology, sociology, business, English and engineering from Middlesex University, U.K. on their general knowledge of psychology. Questions on their test invited common sense but incorrect answers. Out of a possible score of 38, psychology students scored highest with an average score of 17.08 while engineering students scored lowest with 11.57. Martin et al. also found that engineering students were least likely to regard psychology as one of the hard sciences or even one of the social sciences. The present study followed up previous reports of students generally poor performance on tests of misconceptions about psychology. Specifically, we repeated a portion of Martin et al.s (1997) study of misconceptions about psychology. We tested two Australian undergraduate classes, one introductory psychology class and one introductory engineering class, on a true/false test of common misconceptions about psychology adapted from Best (1982).This way of replicating a study is known as conceptual replication. While not all details of the Martin et al. study were replicated, this study allowed researchers to answer the overall question of misconceptions in psychology from a different angle. For this to be considered an exact replication of the Martin et al. study, misconception tests should have been given to individuals from a range of both first and last year psychology, sociology, business studies, engineering and English students, compared to just first year psychology and engineerin g students. Additionally, this study did not use a multiple choice test of misconception, but rather assessed misconception using a true or false questionnaire and provided no questionnaire of student attitudes towards psychology. The present study aimed to determine whether psychology students perform significantly better than students of other academic disciplines in regards to their knowledge of psychology. It was hypothesized that psychology students would have the lowest number of misconceptions about psychology, while engineering students would express the most misconceptions. Method Participants The 641 participants in this study consisted of 282 first year, undergraduate psychology students and 359 first year, undergraduate engineering students. Of the two groups in the study, the psychology group consisted of 75 males and 207 females, with ages ranging from 16 to 59 years, and a mean age of 20.3 years and a standard deviation of 5.5 years. The engineering group consisted of 264 males and 95 females, with ages ranging from 16 to 59, and a mean age of 20.0 years and a standard deviation of 5.3 years. The experiments were conducted at a university during Week 2 tutorials in the second half of the university year. Students were recruited by means of whether they were enrolled in either PSYC1040 or ENGG1000, two courses offered at the university. Design and Materials For the present study, a quasi-experimental independent-groups design was used. Similar to a true experiment, this study set up two levels of the I.V. (independent variable) and measured its effect on the D.V. (dependent variable). In this case, formation of the two groups was established by random assignment, but also by criteria established prior to completing the study. The independent variable in this study had two levels, or whether the participant was either a psychology or engineering student, while the dependent variable was the number of correct questions the individual achieved on the questionnaire. The key difference in a quasi-experiment is that participants in this study were tested on their knowledge and misconceptions according to characteristics they already acquired. The experiment used a 36-item true or false questionnaire (see Appendix A) to measure participants misconceptions and knowledge about psychology. The statements were drawn from a previous study conducted by Best (1982), which additionally suggested these statements appeared in a range of contemporary psychology textbooks and other similar questionnaires. Each statement consisted of a short sentence describing a simple scenario or event (e.g. psychiatry is a subdivision of psychology) and for which each participant was instructed to provide a true or false answer. Procedure All 641 participants received one copy of the questionnaire. Individuals were given the questionnaire during tutorials in Week 2 of Semester 2, 2010. Members of each tutorial group were assigned randomly by means of being there at the given time. Participants were instructed to complete each item individually and answer the statement as honestly as possible. The questionnaire was completed individually by the participants, without any interaction with fellow colleagues. Participants were given 10 minutes to fill in their answers, after which they were asked to swap their questionnaires with the person sitting next to them. Each participant then counted how many of the answers were correct and wrote down a score out of 36. For all the questions, the answer was false. Questionnaires and scores for both PSYC1040 (see Appendix B, figure 3) and ENGG1000 (see Appendix B, figure 4) were collected for further analysis and publication of the raw data. Results Data for both groups was explored graphically through frequency tables, frequency polygons, and box-and-whisker plots and were statistically analysed by means of an independent groups t-tests and a squared point-biserial correlation coefficient. Table 1. Mean questionnaire score and standard deviation of PSYC1040 and ENGG1000 Descriptive Statistic Psychology Engineering Mean 20.674 12.262 Standard Deviation 5.246 4.030 Psychology students scores were the higher of the two groups, with a mean of 20.7 and a standard deviation of 5.25 (see Table 1). Engineering students, on average scored lower than psychology students, with a mean of 12.3 and a standard deviation of 4.0 (see Table 1). As further indicated in Appendix C, psychology students performed better, with clear indication scores ranged between 16 and 26, while the engineering students highest scores ranged from 9 to 18 correct answers. Relative frequencies (see Appendix C, tables 4 5) were greater for scores between 15 and 28 for the PSYC1040 group, while scores between 8 and 18 for the engineering students proved to be more relatively frequent. Similarly, Figures 2 and 3 (Appendix D) illustrate PSYC1040 participants to have performed better than ENGG100 students, as psychology students achieved a higher score of 20 (indicated by the peak in the graph) most frequently and compared to engineering students who achieved a high score of only 12 m ost frequently. Additionally, from the distribution illustrated, the highest score from the PSYC1040 group was 36, while the lowest score was 6. Contrastingly, engineering students performed worse, achieving a high score of 30 and a low score of 0. Systematically, psychology students scores (See Appendix E and Appendix G, Figure 5), showed a mode and median of 20 and a range of 30. Descriptive statistics (Appendix E) and the box and whisker display (Appendix G, Figure 6) for the engineering group indicate a mode of 11 and a median of 12, while the range proved to be 30. Descriptive statistics (Appendix E) for the two groups show a significant difference between the two groups. Psychology students in fact performed 8.41 points greater than engineering students. However, in order to obtain a difference which is statistically important, certain assumptions were made to in order to perform further statistical analyses. Three assumptions were made of the independent groups t-test performed. Firstly, it was assumed that scores of PSYC1040 were independent of scores by ENGG1000 students, that data collected is representative of normally distributed populations and that variances of the two groups scores are alike. Test scores of PSYC1040 can be assumed to be independent of test scores of ENGG1000, as individual test scores from PSYC1040 could in no way be related to test scores achieved by ENGG1000 students, as the two groups were different. By means of illustration using the frequency polygons (Appendix D), the second assumption can be proven correct. Whi le the two distributions of the sample look more skewed and peaked than a normal ideal curve, we can make a decision that indeed the two samples of scores are from normally distributed populations as distributions of scores are not too skewed or peaked to violate such an assumption. Variances of the two populations differ slightly, as variance for the psychology group was 27.525 and variance for the engineering group was 16.243. There is no great difference to assume the two differ, so as a result we accept the given data and proceed. An independent groups t-test (see Appendix H) revealed that psychology students (M = 20.67, SD = 5.25) performed significantly better than engineering students (M = 12.26, SD = 4.03), with t (639) = 22.92, p Discussion As predicted, psychology students performed best in the misconceptions of psychology test than engineering students. The independent t-test and point biserial correlation both support the hypothesis proposed. The independent t-test showed significance between the two groups. The difference is very unlikely to occur if the samples were of no difference in the population and as a result the assumption is rejected. In other words, we reject the null hypothesis () and accept the alternative hypothesis, or that we are accepting a difference between the means that is no equal to zero. In this case the mean for psychology test scores is larger than the mean for engineering test scores, so it can be concluded that studying psychology leads to significantly higher tests scores when it comes to misconceptions of psychology. Additionally, the squared point-biserial correlation coefficient also supports the predicted hypothesis. Indicating the proportion of variance in a two sample study, the proportion ranges from 0 (variable has no effect) to 1.0 (variables control scores and therefore 100% of all scored can be predicted accurately). Variables representing between 10% and 30% of variance, indicated a relationship. Therefore, it can be concluded that being an engineering or psychology student accounts for a significant amount of the variance in the test scores. The variable therefore plays an important part in determining the test scores on the misconceptions survey. This means that the study was significantly more accurate at predicting a participants knowledge of psychology by knowing the condition they were in as opposed to just utilising the overall mean score for both conditions. Alternatively, composition of the two classes may have affected the data obtained. In both classes a gender difference exists. The psychology group consisted of more females than males, while the engineering group consisted of more males than females. Uneven numbers of males and females allows the data to be slightly bias. While experimental logic states that if one variable is manipulated, and if everything is kept the same, then all differences we observe are due to the manipulation of that variable. Quasi- experimental studies, which use gender as a variable, cannot be easily manipulated, meaning we cannot change gender throughout the experiment and we cannot be sure everything else stays the same. In order to control for the factor of gender bias, it is important to ensure the samples are representative of both males and females, in both the psychology and engineering groups. Possibly, other types of groups could be tested, all of which should be representative of both genders. McCutcheon (1991) critics the questionnaire used in this study. The Test of Common Beliefs has been constantly criticised on the basis that many items are ambiguously written. It has been argued that making the correct answers to all items false exposed individuals to accept without protest and gives many the opportunity to guess the answer by chance. Furthermore, McCutcheon suggests, items on several misconception tests are not widespread, meaning the test only focuses on a specific set of topics. Several studies such as Vaughan (1977), Lamal (1979), Gardner and Dalsing (1986) and Griggs and Ransdell (1987) all found that only a fraction of their questionnaire items were answered and only by half of their participants. It is possible to come to the conclusion that students which are beginners in psychology do not have many misconceptions about the subject. McCutcheon also proposes a possibility that true-false surveys are perhaps not the best at measuring misconceptions. In order to counter for this, McCutcheon steers away from using the true-false test of misconceptions, including several questions related to participant interest. Overall, results of this study suggest that in fact psychology students do have fewer misconceptions about psychology. It may be that other students of other disciplines are not aware of the knowledge required to overcome such misconceptions and therefore may even dismiss psychology as being a hard science. Further research in the area could include a study of misconceptions based on a larger, varied sample, while also using a questionnaire related to participant interests instead of a true or false questionnaire. Furthermore, future studies could also integrate participants who may be more experienced in the field, such as qualified psychologists in order to further analyse inter-disciplinary comparison of attitudes about psychology.

Charles Dickens A Tale of Two Cities :: GCSE English Literature Coursework

In society today, all people determine their lifestyle, personality and overall character by both positive and negative traits that they hold. Sydney Carton in Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities was a drunken lawyer who had an extremely low self- esteem. He possesed many negative characteristics which he used in a positive way. Carton drastically changed his life around and became a new man.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Sydney is not the man he first appeared to be. He is first described at Darnay’s trial as slouching and not paying attention. He is seen as a drunk who had many personal issues. Carton feels that there is no hope for him, and that his life will never improve. He has much more potential and could be so much more in life, yet he chooses to remain in the shadow of others. Sydney has a dramatic life and is an alchoholic who sees nothing positive in himself.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Carton demonstrates a sensitivity which helps others in the long run. His partner, Mr. Stryver relaxes while Sydney works long hard hours to prepare the defense materials for the following days. Carton does most of Stryvers work, he is a man of great talent but lacks the character traits that would make those talents work to his own advantage instead of others that he helps. He always use to be satisfied with faling into his rank and never did anything to attempt to change his life. He further destroys himself with drinking and although he is not satisfied with his life now, he feels that he cannot do anything to change it.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Sydney’s love for Lucie Manette changed him greatly in a positive way. One day when Sydney visited the Manette residence he called on Lucie and pledged his love to her. After hearing this, Lucie feels nothing but compassion for Carton. He asked nothing more of Lucie than to always remember how deeply he cared for her, and that he would make any sacrifice to her or anyone dear to her. Lucie was the main reason for bringing out the new , more positve Sydney Carton. He now looked at things with a more positive attitude and a new personal strength was seen in his later actions.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Carton’s final act in this novel shows what a brave man he was and he acts upon his true love for Lucie. After the second arrest of Charles Darnay, Carton urges Dr. Manette to attempt to use his influence to free Charles. When Carton is speaking with little Lucie, Charles and Lucie’s daughter, she begs him to do something to save her

Marketing and Nike Essay

Q. N. 1: What have been the key success factors for Nike? Ans. The key success factors for Nike are their exciting marketing strategy, product innovation and staying to the mission which is â€Å"To bring, inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world.† These are as follows: * Nike established a strong brand name through designing innovative footwear for serious athletes. * Nike’s management has found most significant celebrity support: the right collaboration between celebrity and product. * Nike stayed focused on being an authentic sports and fitness company serving the athlete and sports minded people. * Nike’s campaign even featured an 80 year old long distance runner with the slogan â€Å"Just Do It† that placed the emphasis on self-empowerment through sports and fitness for all ages. * Making corrections and change of the American style ads in Europe also a key factor for success. Q. N. 2: Where is the Nike vulnerable? What should they watch out for? Ans. Vulnerable points of Nike as well as its solution are as below: * There is one fact, when using celebrity endorsements Nike advertisers need to keep in mind that is to never let the celebrity become your brand. If so, the company will run the risk of killing the brand as soon as celebrity becomes faded. * Selecting a spokesperson whose characteristics are congruent with the brand image. * Nike deals with only one product line that it footwear. In this circumstance, it should watch out for diversification of the products to increase the maker share. Q. N. 3: What recommendations would you make to their senior marketing executives going forward? Ans. For going forward senior marketing executives of Nike can follow the recommendations as below: * Find the right collaboration between celebrity and product. * Promote prospective display that is going global and evaluate current position rate. * Watch out for diversification of product line. * Collecting feedback from customers about the products quality * Customize the advertisement for the customer of different culture in different region. Q. N. 4: What should they be sure to do with their marketing? Ans. They be sure to manage their marketing system in a proper way that it is satisfying the customer needs and wants keeping pace with the time. They can give importance to the following topics: * Be sure that your product performance quality is ok as you advertise. * Ensure innovation on designing the product. * Collect ideas from customers to improve the product * Make aware the customer about the continuous improvement * Establish Customer Relationship Management.

Hellenistic age essays

Hellenistic age essays While the classical age of Greece produced great literature, poetry, philosophy, drama, and art, the Hellenistic age shared it with the known world. At the forefront of this new age were the Hellenistic cities. They stood as islands of Greek culture in a sea of non-Greeks. The spread of Greek culture, new opportunities for women, and long term improvements in living resulted from these Hellenistic Cities. The Greek culture thrived in the Hellenistic cities. While these cities were often very diverse, all government business was transacted in Greek. The political institutions of the cities were modeled after those of the Greek polis and the physical layout of the new cities were modeled after those of the Greek homeland. In a traditional rectilinear grid, cities were laid out with temples, altars, and theaters. The Greeks commissioned purely Greek sculpture, read literature of the classical period, and had separate law courts for themselves. Within these Hellenistic cities some Natives felt resentful and their complaints have been recorded. According to Jackson J. Spielvogel, Western Civilization, An Egyptian camel driver, for example, complained bitterly that he was not paid regularly because he did not know how to behave like a Greek We can see how important it would be for easterners to completely become Hellenized in order to enter the ranks of the ruling class. Sadly bec oming Hellenized often meant alienation from ones own culture. If a non- Greek wanted to achieve any such success he had to first adapt himself into the Greek culture. With cities growing and trade spreading through the east, the Greek culture was able to spread to the known world. A noticeable feature in the Hellenistic world was the improvement of opportunities for women. For example in Macedonia, alliances between mothers and sons provided openings for women to take an active role in politics. And in Egypt opportunities fo...

Boston University Summer Challenge Should You Go

Boston University Summer Challenge Should You Go SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips In this guide, I'll be discussing the Boston University Summer Challenge, a summer program for high school students at Boston University.Duringthe program, students take non-credit college-level courses, live on campus, and explore all that BU and Boston have to offer. While you can read aboutthis programon the BU Summer Challenge website, the information available is somewhat spotty and what is there can be difficult to dissect. For this reason, I spoke to the program coordinators and gathered everything you need to know about the program into this easy-to-read guide. I’ve created a Table of Contents so you can find the specific infoyou need, but I suggest reading the entire article in order: What Is the BU Summer Challenge? What Do You Do? Why Should You Attend? How To Apply and Application Requirements How Much Does It Cost? Tips on How to Get In FeaturedImage:ViaWikipedia What Is the Boston University Summer Challenge? What Activities Do Participants Do? The Boston University Summer Challenge is a two-week program for rising high school sophomore, juniors, and seniors that offers a preview of college life.During each of the three summer sessions, between 100 and 300 high school take two non-credit seminars and live on BU’s campus in the dorms. As a participant, you choose a morning seminar and afternoon seminar. In between your morning and afternoon seminars, you have lunch in one of BU's dining halls.After your afternoon seminar and on weekends, youparticipate in organized social activities such as exploring areas of Boston, shopping, seeing improv shows, and more. The exact social programming will vary from year to year. You also have plenty of free time to do your seminar assignments, explore Boston on your own, and explore BU's campus (you'll have free access to the libraries and canpurchase a short-term membership to Boston University's Fitness Recreation Center). In yourseminars, you'll be expected to attend lectures, engage in discussions, attend field trips, and completeindividual work,group work, and project-based assignments. The seminars have small class sizes (10 to 24 students)to ensure that you get sufficient attention from your experienced college instructors as you arechallenged with the college-level material taught in your seminar. Each seminar ends witha final in-class presentation. At the end of the summer (typically, in August/September), a certificate of completion and letters of evaluation from both seminar instructors will be sentto you. Listed below are the seminars that were offered in Summer 2015. (Summer 2016 seminars have not yet been announced.) Morning Seminars Abnormal Psychology Business: From the Ground Up Chemistry of Medicine Creative Writing Electrical Engineering The History of Boston International Politics Journalism Nutrition Visual Arts Afternoon Seminars Abnormal Psychology Business: From the Ground Up Communication Computer Science Economics Infectious Diseases Law Persuasive Writing Philosophy Photography Who’s Eligible for the BU Summer Challenge Program? The basic application requirements for all applicants are: Be a rising high school sophomore, junior, orsenior If you’re an international student, you also must meet the following qualifications: Have a valid passport Have health insurance While these are the only requirements needed to apply, there are more qualifications that will help you get in. Read those below in our Tips on How to Get Insection. What Are the Program Dates for Summer 2016? The programs dates for Summer 2016 are: Session 1: June 19 - July 1, 2016 Session 2: July 10 - July 22, 2016 Session 3: July 24 - August 5, 2016 Why Should You Attend the BU Summer Challenge Program? I’d highly recommend doing the Boston University Summer Challenge if you can afford it and it works in your summer schedule. I participated in a similar program at UCLA, and the program helpedme figure out whether I was interested in attending UCLA (which I found out I wasn’t) and what kind of coursework I wanted to pursue. I’ve broken down the pros and cons of attending the programbelow. Pros of BU Summer Challenge Test out BU to see if it’s the right college for you. Take non-credit college coursesto helpfigure out what you might be interested in majoring in (you could find out you hate art and want to study biology or vice versa). It's better to figure this out in high school rather than halfway through college when you've already spent a lot of time and money on classes you ended up not liking. Receive two letters of evaluation(one from each of your seminar teachers) at the end of the program, which could be used as supplementary letters of recommendation for college. As a residential student for twoweeks, you get to test out living away from home for the first time. My friends and I who did the UCLA summer program struggled a lot less with homesickness once we started college than our peers. Have a college program on your resume for your college applications. While there is no guarantee of admissions and no guarantee that participating will better your chances of admission, the BU admissions office likes to see that you’ve shown a significant interest in the university. Doing this program will show them your interest. Cons of BU Summer Challenge Expensive (I discuss the exact cost below). You can't get college credit while some similar programs such as the Emory Pre-College Program do offer classes for credit. No financial aid available while at some other programs such as the Emory Pre-College Program, there is financial aid available. How To Apply and Application Requirements Applications are accepted on a rolling basis beginning in the January before the summer session.You typically receive aresponse via email within threeweeks of submitting your application. The application deadline for summer 2016 has not yet been posted. It will be posted on the BU Summer Challenge website after December 15th. However, as the website says, students who apply earlier "are more likely to receive the session and seminar selections of their choice," so you should submit your application ASAP. To apply, you must: Pay a $50 non-refundable application fee paid by credit card. Complete an online application that includes a 500 - 750-word personal statement describing why you want to attend the BU Summer Challenge Program. Email a copy of your complete high school transcript, including your fall grades, to summerhs@bu.edu. Additionally, international studentsmust: Complete an international student form. Submit a copy of your passport. If the primary language of instruction at your high school is not English, you will likely be asked to provide proof of proficiency such as a TOEFL score (though this is on a case by case basis). How Much Does BU Summer Challenge Cost? The feefor the BU Summer Challenge includes tuition, housing, and all meals in the dining hall. It also includes textbooks and all sponsored activities during the two-week program.The program cost for the BU Summer Challenge in 2015 was $3730.This may be changing for Summer 2016, but it hasn’t yet been announced.Additionally, as I mentionedearlier, there is a $50 non-refundable application fee (which will stay the same in 2016). Is There Financial Aid? Unfortunately, there is no financial aid available for this program. However, I have some advice for quick ways to raise money if you're hoping to attend but can't afford tuition: Try using an online crowdfunding platform such as Go Ennounce (which is specifically for students looking to fundraise), Go Fund Me, or IndieGoGo. Write lettersto friends, family, employers, local businesses and churches asking for support. Reach out to civic organizations in your area, such as Rotary and Kiwanis, to see if they could offer ascholarship. 3 Tips onFundraising Your BU Summer Challenge Tuition Tip #1: When you write your explanation on the crowdfunding platform, write your letters tothe community, or reach out to civic organizations, make sure you share your personal story and explain why the BU Summer Challenge program is important to you and will help you achieve your future goals. This explanationshould be similar to your personal statement for the program (which, as I said above, asks you to describewhy you want to attend the BU Summer Challenge Program). Tip #2: Share your fundraising campaign on social media and ask your friends and family to share your campaign on their social media if they're unable to donate. Tip #3: Write a thank you note for every donation you receive. Tips on How to GetAccepted If you’re hoping to attend the Boston University Summer Challenge, your high school transcript and personal statement need to show you off in a positive light. While there is no specific GPA required for admission, the program coordinators said they preferred applicants with at least a 3.0 unweighted GPA.To have the best shot of being accepted, you should try to get your unweighted GPA at or above a 3.0.While you may not have a lot of time before applying, there are ways to raise your GPA fast. The BU Summer Challenge Programdoes not tell the public itsacceptancerate, but the program website says they look for "motivated high school students who are taking a college preparatory curriculum. Your high school transcript and personal statement are both taken into account when admission decisions are made." Additionally, I spoke to the program coordinators who indicated that most students with a 3.0 or higher are accepted into the program. For your personal statement, make sure you show off your personality, explain your love for BU, and explain why you want to be a part of the Summer Challenge. If you need help writing the personal statement, read our other great guide with tips on writing a personal statement. What’s Next? Learn about the college application process: How To Do College Research Right: Step-By-Step Guide Complete Strategies: Common App Essay Prompts (2015-16) How to Pay for College: A Complete Guide Want to improve your SAT score by 240 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now: