Case Assignment Essay Example

Case Assignment Essay Example Case Assignment Essay Case Assignment Essay Case Assignment Name: Course: Institution: Instructor: Date: Case Assignment Microeconomic Factors Affecting Prius Microeconomic factors are those that are internal to the company, those that the company can be able to influence and change. The issues of marketing that affect the company in serving its customers. Some of these factors include customers, employees, competitors, suppliers, and among other stakeholders. However, for our case study, there are only two factors affecting the introduction and re-launching of prius, which are consumers and the competitors. The consumers were feeling the pressure of increasing gas prizes that made traveling quite expensive than usual. Many of them probably sought other means of transport such as public transport. Toyota, realizing this problem, sought and found the answer in the hybrid vehicle, Prius, which would use both electric and a fuel engine, giving the consumers a fuel-efficient vehicle that would reduce their cost of using gas, but still give them good service. More so, the second generation, or the re-launched Prius included more features such as advanced technology and more fuel-efficiency, further attracting more consumers. The other factor came in as competitors, where other vehicle manufacturers such as Honda, also wanted to capture the new growing market of hybrid cars. Honda had launched their hybrid vehicle even before Toyota. Others included ford, which also developed their hybrid vehicle to capture the market However, Toyota responded through continued advancement of their hybrid vehi cle that people had already liked, ensuring that they continued to give them more and more value for their money, to fight of competitors. The second generation came with more fuel efficiency and interior space. Macro Environmental Factors Affecting Prius On the other hand, where there are micro economic factors, there are also macro economic factors that affect a product. These factors deal with larger factors within the society that affect even the micro factors. These factors are demographic, economic, natural, technological, political or legal, and finally, the social-cultural factors. The company cannot influence this factor, but they influence organizations in a big way. Therefore, it is up to the company to adapt to them. The natural factors that affected the introduction of Prius are environmental hazards of emitting too much carbon in the air. During its introduction, there were so many environmental concerns of carbon emission by vehicles, which made the hybrid become a major hit. Many people, aware of the hazards caused by emitting carbon n the air were welcome to the idea of having a less carbon-emitting vehicle. The legal/political issues that affected the introduction and re-launching of the hybrid vehicle were the strong favors by the government in use of environmental friendly vehicles. The government reduces taxes on the hybrid vehicle by a big margin, which made it quite easy for consumers to acquire one at reduced prices. This further influenced the consumers as well as he company itself to sell more at the reduced prices, making the vehicle a hit. More so, there was a provision of free parking for the hybrid vehicles in some of the cities, with some states allowing the hybrid to use the H igh Occupancy Vehicle lanes, which were not used by other vehicles, further influencing more consumers to buy the hybrid. The economic factors that influenced the introduction and re-launching of the vehicle are cost reduction through reduced fuel consumption. In addition, fuel prices were going up, which influenced its sales further. Toyota dealt with these factors through adapting to what the macro environmental factors demanded, which was reduced costs, and emissions. The company continued to give incentives for the hybrid to attract more consumers. Toyota’s Marketing Strategy Toyota has been very proactive in its marketing strategy for the Prius hybrid vehicle, which has seen its sales improve year after year. One of the marketing strategies that Toyota used is ensuring to satisfy customers need to save money on traveling. From the case, it is stated that only the Prius allowed consumers to save costs of commuting. Toyota was very keen in the beginning to start by targeting the techies, or innovators, who are usually the first people to buy new products, with advanced technology. The technology of the car attracted many innovator and early adopters. The next generation was more targeted for the early adopters, and Toyota did this through adding more features and sportier design to the vehicles, which attracted many people. In addition, Toyota invested a whole $40 million on advertising the second generation Prius through the media, magazines and fortuneteller. The company used strong advertising such as features that allowed the consumers to save travelin g costs through fuel-efficient vehicles. Another strategy that Toyota has used in marketing the hybrid vehicle is the differentiation of the vehicle into different standards where there is a standard one with others coming in at lower standards for lower prices, while others are at higher standards for those who want more features’ to go with. This attracts different consumers to buy the vehicle since there is one for all of them depending on their economic status as well as preferences. GM’S Hybrid Strategy According to Ken Stewart, to get more hybrid vehicles on the road, or selling, one will need to put them in cars that people are buying. Summarizing their strategy in hybrid issue, I feel that he is quite right. Hybrid vehicles, due to current technology can be fitted in many models of vehicles since it is adding an electric engine that reduces fuel consumption. Considering that many people especially in America love the big spacious vehicles and sports utility vehicles, consumers would be much interested in seeing vehicles that they love being fitted with a hybrid engine. For instance, if a certain sports utility vehicle is very popular and loved by many, if fitted with a hybrid vehicle, the lovers of this vehicle will be happy to save fuel using the same model and design that they love, rather than having to opt for another one.

How to Display Menu Item Hints in Delphi Applications

How to Display Menu Item Hints in Delphi Applications Use specific coding language to program Delphi applications to display a hint, or tooltip, when the mouse hovers over a menu component. If the ShowHint property is set to true and you add text to the hint property, this message will be displayed when the mouse is placed over the component (a TButton, for example). Enable Hints for Menu Items Because of the way Windows is designed, even if you set the value for the hint property to a menu item, the popup hint will not get displayed. However, the Windows start menu items do display hints. The favorites menu in Internet Explorer also displays menu item hints. It is possible to use the OnHint event of the global application variable in Delphi applications to display menu item hints in a status bar. Windows does not expose the messages needed to support a traditional OnMouseEnter event. However, the WM_MENUSELECT message is sent when the user selects a menu item. The WM_MENUSELECT implementation of the TCustomForm (ancestor of the TForm) sets the menu item hint to Application.Hint so it can be used in the Application.OnHint event. If you want to add menu item popup hints (tooltips) to your Delphi application menus, focus on the WM_MenuSelect message. Popup Hints Since you cannot rely on the Application.ActivateHint method to display the hint window for menu items (as menu handling is completely done by Windows), to get the hint window displayed you must create your own version of the hint window by deriving a new class from the THintWindow. Heres how to create a TMenuItemHint class. This is a hint widow that actually gets displayed for menu items! First, you need to handle the WM_MENUSELECT Windows message: type TForm1 class(TForm) ... private procedure WMMenuSelect(var Msg: TWMMenuSelect) ; message WM_MENUSELECT; end...implementation...procedure TForm1.WMMenuSelect(var Msg: TWMMenuSelect) ;var  Ã‚  menuItem : TMenuItem;  Ã‚  hSubMenu : HMENU;begin inherited; // from TCustomForm (so that Application.Hint is assigned) menuItem : nil; if (Msg.MenuFlag $FFFF) or (Msg.IDItem 0) then begin if Msg.MenuFlag and MF_POPUP MF_POPUP then begin hSubMenu : GetSubMenu(Msg.Menu, Msg.IDItem) ; menuItem : Self.Menu.FindItem(hSubMenu, fkHandle) ; end else begin menuItem : Self.Menu.FindItem(Msg.IDItem, fkCommand) ; end; end;  Ã‚  miHint.DoActivateHint(menuItem) ;end; (*WMMenuSelect*) Quick info: the WM_MENUSELECT message is sent to a menus owner window when the user selects (but does not click) a menu item. Using the FindItem method of the TMenu class, you can get the menu item currently selected. Parameters of the FindItem function relate to the properties of the message received. Once we know what menu item the mouse is over, we call the DoActivateHint method of the TMenuItemHint class. The miHint variable is defined as var miHint : TMenuItemHint and is created in the Forms OnCreate event handler. Now, whats left is the implementation of the TMenuItemHint class. Heres the interface part: TMenuItemHint class(THintWindow)private activeMenuItem : TMenuItem; showTimer : TTimer; hideTimer : TTimer; procedure HideTime(Sender : TObject) ; procedure ShowTime(Sender : TObject) ;public constructor Create(AOwner : TComponent) ; override; procedure DoActivateHint(menuItem : TMenuItem) ; destructor Destroy; override;end; Basically, the DoActivateHint function calls the ActivateHint method of the THintWindow using the TMenuItems Hint property (if it is assigned). The showTimer is used to ensure that the HintPause of the Application elapses before the hint is displayed. The hideTimer uses Application.HintHidePause to hide the hint window after a specified interval. Using Menu Item Hints While some might say that it is not a good design to display hints for menu items, there are situations where actually displaying menu item hints is much better than using a status bar. A most recently used (MRU) menu item list is one such case. A custom taskbar menu is another.

Market Segmentation and domino effect Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Market Segmentation and domino effect - Essay Example The strategy formulation is when the revelation of business strengths and weaknesses, for the growth of a wide range of strategic plans for the successful administration of environmental openings and threats. The corporate projects are redefined by signifying attainable goals, emergent strategies, and setting execution procedure. Strategy formulation is germane both for organization's proposal in general and for individual product. Economic Conditions: economic conditions of the area or territory where the company market their product can affect the sales of the product. Thus it is important to understand the economic conditions such as unemployment rate, inflation rate, interest rate etc. before launching the product Innovation is the process of creating a commercial product or process and also an invention of the product. Thus, in terms of creating value, an invention's potential is reached only when a firm develops and sells a product that satisfies customer's current or unmet needs. McDonalds is known a the most popular fast food chain, with more than 3000 franchises in almost every country of the world. The global annual sale of McDonald is 57 billion dollars while more than 25 billion dollars only in America (Arndt, 2007: 64-72). Committed to stringent standards of product quality, service and cleanliness, McDonalds uses value pricing (the source of relatively low costs to customers) while offering menu and storefront variety and relying on the power of its brand name (sources of differentiation). Globally, McDonalds seeks to provide its combination of relatively low costs and some levels of differentiation in a culturally sensitive manner. In India, for example, the Maharaja Mac, which is made from lamb, substitute for the beef-based Big Mac. Popular corn soup is offered on the chain's menu in its Japanese units (MacArthur, 2001:13 -53). McDonalds marketing strategy mainly focus on children, parents having young children, teenagers and business workers. Market Segmentation for McDonald's new burger The company which practice the strategy of market segmentation is discouraging broad segmentations sections because minor segmentation helps in focusing and better understanding of the consumers. An advertising company states, "there will be no market for products that everybody likes a little, only for products that somebody likes a lot" (Cutler, p.76, 1989). While other marketers are of the view that market segmentations are very important (Linneman & Stanton, 1991: 50-67). McDonald has been in the fast food industry for a long time and it has ample experience of new food products. Statistics have depicted that the size of fast food industry has reached, to the annual growth of 4.8% in the industry of fast food. McDonald's per year income is almost 102.4 billion dollars, along with the global

Boutique Hotels vs. Chain Hotels Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Boutique Hotels vs. Chain Hotels - Essay Example The variety of kinds of hotels offers a selection according to one’s preferences. The availability of chain hotels and boutique hotels enable the customer to consider the selections and what each can offer. Chain and boutique hotels may be compared in terms of branding, experience and value for money. Hotel branding is a fundamental aspect of providing a distinct characteristic to the establishment. Historically, the hotel industry is an interesting study of the market and the ups and downs of the economy. Hotel franchising is widely attributed to Kemmons Wilson who founded the ever popular Holiday Inns by offering the brand to investors who are willing franchisees. The franchisor, in turn, provides for a centralized development of the product that is consistent with the franchise name in all of its important aspects. Consequently, others followed suit and the Mariott, Radisson, Hyatt, Ramada, Hilton and Howard Johnson came into existence. Perceptively, brand awareness for the se chain hotels yields a customer base that patronizes the brand as a whole but with concurrent disadvantaged for the franchisees and the franchisor (Langois 7-9). On the other hand, independent hotels such as boutique hotels thrive by providing a unique brand that caters to a particular niche in the market by taking advantage of a good location, a personalized level of service and a different offering specifically for its target market. Technology has afforded boutique hotels to develop their individual brands to compete with the encompassing scope that chain hotels have through internet marketing tools and with the help of organizations like Leading Hotels of the World and Preferred Hotels that promote them (ibid 13-14). Subsequent to branding, the experience of staying in a hotel is a main goal for engaging the market. Ensuring that the clientele are satisfied with their accommodations and that the companies offer the amenities that are necessary for a comfortable stay is the mai n thrust of the industry. The emergence of boutique hotels as a suitable alternative to well-known chain hotels had become more prevalent in the recent years. These boutique hotels are independent and usually owned by a single or individual group of people venturing in the business. They are smaller in scale with around 100 rooms but where they lack in size they make up for in service as they are able to customize a personal kind of service because of the ideal number of guests (Balekjian and Sarheim 2). The difference between the definition of a boutique and chain hotel is difficult to categorically sum-up. Boutique hotels are associated as being design-oriented and offering a unique experience than the typical notion of a hotel while international chains have been known to be â€Å"standardized business hotels and scrutinized for providing consistency at the risk of being impersonal at each location and property† (ibid 3). A particular market group may be more at ease with chain hotels with homogeneous services while some may be more obliging to stay at a place that is distinctively with its own flare. Many new innovations are emerging in the hotel industry to answer the varied growing needs of the clientele. The boutique hotel sector is proving itself as a formidable substitute to the conventional hotel chains that are common sights in many destinations. Realizing the most value for money is now a major category in how

Shiseido Presentation Essay Example for Free

Shiseido Presentation Essay Add more doors Enhance promotional packages with full product line Train beauticians to create a relationship Beauticians educate customers into the correct use of the products advertising Enable shop online Get global marketing benefits Japanese zen design influence Social Media Presence Men’s corner Men’s place Focusing on FB, twitter and beauty blogs Creating newsworthy, interesting, share-able brand content Using on line FB contests to enhance users participation (i. e. post your secret beauty tip, share it with friends, gather the most likes win the Shiseido products) Offering product related gifts/vouchers/samples Mapping of influential beauty/lifestyle blogs and using them as indirect WOM devices Sharing Shiseido news, photo shootings, campaigns from abroad Being the ultimate spot for â€Å"girl-talk†, regarding beauty, cosmetics, skin care issues †¢At current and new doors †¢Easy accessible †¢Familiarization †¢Awareness †¢Explore while girlfriend discussing with consultant †¢Feel more innocent Closer to Purity†¦ †¦Closer to Life †¢ †¢ †¢ Luxurious solutions to differentiate from from conservative, classic brands. Member’s club with exclusive activities such as Yoga, spa. Targeted use of media depending on segment

Observing the Positive Side of the Medical Profession Essay -- Medical

People who decide to become medical doctors need to make several sacrifices. The training to become a doctor is long and difficult. Furthermore, it does not end with school because doctors are required to learn about new problems and advances in the field of medical science for the rest of their lives. However, there is a positive side in becoming a doctor. It is not just about learning complicated procedures and going through rigorous training. Being a doctor means that a person is required to nurture the positive fundamental characteristics of the human mind. Doctors have to be truthful, both to their patients and their patients' relatives. They need to be above discrimination. If a doctor practices medicine with a correct attitude and respect towards the oaths taken, that person has an opportunity to develop all positive qualities of a human being and improve people's living standards without sacrificing their own. Becoming an expert in the field of medicine is a long process that will turn away most people, particularly because doctors gain their abilities exclusively by practicing on other people. â€Å"The moral burden of practicing on people is always with us, but for the most part unspoken† (Gawade, 2003). Besides the moral burden that is created by practicing on others, when their lives might depend on the doctor's skills, doctors need to constantly keep up with the advances in the field. In addition, they need to adapt to different patients constantly. Even if there are no advances in the medical field, the doctor must always remain flexible and accept that something unexpected might happen at any given moment. Atul Gawade (2003) states that the incredible pace of advances in medicine do not always keep up with the advances... ...cause no other field is so closely connected to human well-being and life. However, according to Carola Eisenberg (1986), â€Å"What we do as doctors, most of the time, is deeply gratifying, whatever the mix of patient care, research, and teaching in our individual careers. I cannot imagine a more satisfying calling. Let us make sure out students hear that message from us†. In the final part of the UCLA medical oath, the doctor states, â€Å"In being true to this oath, I will preserve the finest traditions of medicine and science, and enjoy and conduct my life, my profession, and my art to the fullest† (Robinson & Parker, 1995). Doctors do not give up their lives to help others. Doctors swear that they will live their life and art to the fullest. And there is no greater satisfaction in life other than when a person lives both his professional and personal life to the fullest.

How does Frayn present ideas about growing up in Spies? Essay

In the novel Spies, the motifs of personal growth, growing up and childhood are all integral to the plotline. It could be said that besides the theme of memory, growing up is the most crucial theme of the novel. As a genre, Spies fits clearly into bildungsroman style, showing the importance of Stephen’s personal development with relation to the storyline. Throughout Spies, Stephen shows a great deal of personal growth as a character, from his outlook on life, to the ways he interacts with other characters. Frayn expresses this through a variety of literary techniques. Spies’ narrative style is set from two perspectives. Firstly, a reflective third person narrative from Stefan’s perspective as an elderly man that is recalling childhood memories. Secondly, a more direct first person narrative which seems to be more the perspective of Stephen as a young child. The contrast in narrative allows for greater flexibility in showing the contrast between the more mature man, and his younger counterpart. In chapter 9 when Mrs Hayward appeals to Stephen for his help, the perspective switches in the middle of the chapter, which is also indicative of the thought process of the character at that point. By the use of third person narrative to begin the chapter, Frayn gives Stephen’s mind a sense of distance and separation from the event, emphasising the surreal situation of an adult woman ‘driven to humble herself’ by asking a child for help, and Stephen’s inability to cope with the confusion that brings. It shows how at that point, despite his growing maturity, Stephen had not fully matured enough to fully comprehend what Mrs Hayward was asking of him. By dealing with this from a reflective aspect, allows for the elder Stefan to fill in some of the gaps in younger Stephen’s knowledge and understanding of the situation. When the perspective switches to the first person, it gives a greater sense of involvement of Stephen in the scene, and thus adopts language that is more childlike, and a younger inner voice. This again emphasises the difference between the thoughts of younger, and elder Stephen, and provides contrast between child and adulthood. Whereas younger Stephen’s sentences are much shorter and abrupt such as ‘Silence again. I sneak another look’, older Stefan’s language is more complex and extensive, as in examples like ‘he’d begun as her antagonist, now he was to become her accomplice’, showing that Stefan’s ability to express himself has yet to fully develop. These contrasting perspectives also allow to clearly show when the younger Stephen matures or achieves clarity on some thought, as in chapter eight. In this chapter, he claims ‘I see all kinds of things I never saw before’. Another example is when he begins to realise after Barbara’s interpretation that perhaps his and Keith’s ideas that Mrs Hayward is a German spy are perhaps false, or misunderstood. They also create many of the humorous points of the novel, by identifying childish misconceptions of life, and expressing them in a frank manner, as they would have been thought by the children. Characters such as Barbara Berrill and the Hardiment children provide aspects of comedy as to how they perceive the world, and how they are perceived by Stephen and the other children of the close. Barbara, being slightly older than Stephen, appears to have a more mature view on the world, yet it is shown how it is not necessarily correct, as when she claims ‘lots of ladies have boyfriends while everyone’s Daddies are away’. This shows a more romantic outlook on the world, biased by girls’ magazines and entertainment predominately focused more towards love, relationships, and families, rather than war and machismo. Other instances include credence being given to Elizabeth Hardiment due to the fact that she wears glasses; with no other basis for the claim that she is more knowledgeable or intelligent than any of the other children. Frayn also makes frequent use of symbolism to imply aspects of personal growth or sexual awakening. On a large scale, the tunnel that both Mrs Hayward and Stephen pass through to get to the barns can be said to represent a grander theme of Stephen’s transition from safety of childhood, to the more troubling nature of adulthood that Mrs Hayward frequents often. The fact that in order to make that transition Stephen is forced to confront guilt and self doubt shows his maturity as an individual, despite his motives for visiting the barns. Originally, this investigation is done with Keith, in order to discover Mrs Hayward’s secrets, but later again on his own Stephen shows a greater level of development, braving to face the barns on his own for reasons less self-motivated than before. Other smaller symbols used to represent growth include cigarettes and ‘x’ marks. Both of these symbols hold sexual connotations for Stephen, showing another aspect of how he matures throughout the novel. Cigarettes are a motif used throughout the novel to suggest intimacy and sexual relationships, as Deidre Berrill and Stephen’s brother Geoff are known to smoke together. This is explained to Stephen by Barbara in chapter 9 when she tells him ‘they smoke cigarettes and then they kiss each other’, thus implying there is a natural link and progression from one to the other. Mrs Hayward is also discovered to be leaving cigarettes for Uncle Peter in the barns, with the implication that they also smoke them together – another sign of intimacy. Finally also, Stephen and Barbara share cigarettes, this being indicative of their blooming relationship and Stephen’s increasing feelings towards her. As at the beginning of the novel, Stephen would not lower himself enough socially to talk to Barbara, the fact that he shares cigarettes with her further on shows how he has matured sexually, but also socially enough that he no longer feels that all girls are not worth talking to. The ‘x’ marks also represent sexual aspects of life to Stephen, being associated with kisses, femininity, equations, and things that he does not fully understand. As he begins to understand the meanings of the ‘x’ marks, he also begins to realise the childish nature of what he originally believed Mrs Hayward’s secrets were about. By maturing enough to grasp the more romantic nature of ‘x’ marks, rather than the sinister, allows him to accept more the idea that Mrs Hayward’s secret is of a more feminine and sexual nature than her being a German spy. Therefore, the ideas Frayn presents on the concept of growing up in Spies are largely in the use of symbolism and perspective switch, creating the varying levels of understanding for younger Stephen, and allowing the reader to understand the contrast between the thoughts and perspective of the younger character, versus the more elderly character reflecting. This also reinforces the overall theme of memory in the novel, as to have only one perspective throughout Spies would deny the reader to a whole level of the character’s emotions, either the more analytical emotions expressed in reflective speech, or the more abrupt and immediate emotions of the character as he is dealing with the situations he is facing. It is the combination of the two that creates the level of effectiveness that Spies has as a novel.

Introduction to Statistics

Random Sample: each member of the population has the same chance of being selected Representative Sample: characteristics should represent those of the target population without bias Observational Study: no intervention by the investigator, no treatment imposed Experimental Study: Investigator has some control over the determinant Variables: Categorical – each observation falls into a feline number of groups Nominal: named variables with no implied order e. G. Personality type Ordinal: grouped variables with implied order e. G. Veil of education Continuous – measured variables Discrete: take discrete values e. G. Number of children Numerical: can assume any value within a certain range/elemental e. G. Height Types of Designs: True experiment: researcher has potential to randomly allocate observations to conditions Quasi-experiment: demonstrate a relationship between an IV/DVD researcher makes use of naturally occurring groups, can't make cause and effect statements Non- experiments (correlation design): question If there Is a relationship between variables, can't make cause & effect statementsBetween groups: two groups being compared on some outcome measure Within-subjects: participants experience each condition of an IV, with measurements of some outcome taken on each occasion Extraneous variables: variable present In an experiment, which might Interfere with the relationship between IV & DVD Confounding variables: mediating variable that can adversely affect the relation between IV/DVD Internal validity: extent to which a casual relationship can be assumed between IV & DVD.External validity: degree to which you can generalize the results of your study to mom underlying population T-test One sample t-test – A: data should arise from a normal population Paired t-test -A: must be independent, arise from a normal distribution & populations of same spreads Independent sample – A: normally distributed, homogeneity of variances, independen ce of the observations Correlation/Regression – A: the relation in the population is linear, the residuals in y have a constant standard deviation and the residuals arise from a normal distribution detests of good fit and test of independence – A: expected count has to be larger than five

Execution of Project Through Generalization and Interpretation Essay Example

Execution of Project Through Generalization and Interpretation Essay Example Execution of Project Through Generalization and Interpretation Essay Execution of Project Through Generalization and Interpretation Essay Execution of the project (implementation phase of the project) proceeds on correct lines, the data to be collected would be adequate and dependable. The researcher should see that the project is executed in a systematic manner and in time. If the survey is to be conducted by structured questionnaires, data can be readily machine-processed. In such situation, questions as well as the possible answers may be coded. If the data are to be collected through interviewers, arrangements should be made for proper selection and training of the interviewers. Steps should be taken to ensure that the survey is under statistical control, so that the collected information is in accordance with the pre-defined standard of accuracy. Generalizability: It is the responsibility of the researcher to provide evidence regarding the reliability, validity and generalizability of the findings. The report should clearly identify the target population to which the findings apply. Factors that limit the generalizability of the findings, such as the nature and representativeness of the sample, mode and time of data collection, and various sources of error should be clearly identified. The reader should not attempt to generalize the findings of the report without explicit consideration of these factors. Interpretation and Conclusions: The findings should be reported in an objective and candid way. The interpretation of the basic results should be differentiated from the results parse. Any assumptions made in interpreting the results should be clearly identified. The limitations of the research should be discussed. Any conclusions or recommendations made without a specification of the underlying assumptions or limitations should be treated cautiously by the reader. WHAT IS GENERALIZATION? Generalization is to which extent the research and the conclusions of the research apply to the real world. It is not always so that good research will reflect the real world, since we can only measure a small portion of the population at a time. In fact every research study, somehow tries to relate observations to theory. If a hypothesis is tested repeatedly then researcher can move to generalization and construct a theory out of it. This is the real objective of the research. [pic] Generalization identifies commonalities among a set of entities. The commonality may be of attributes, behavior, or both. For example, a statement such as All windows have a title expresses a common attribute among all entities that are considered windows. Similarly, the statement, All windows can be resized. expresses a common behavior that all windows provide. Generalizations are usually easy to recognize as they contain words like all and every. Generalization is an essential component of the wider scientific process. In an ideal world, to test a hypothesis, you would sample an entire population. By Martyn Shuttleworth (2008) You would use every possible variation of an independent variable. In the vast majority of cases, this is not feasible, so a representative group is chosen to reflect the whole population. For any experiment, you may be criticized for your generalizations about sample, time and size. You must ensure that the sample group is as truly representative of the whole population as possible. For many experiments, time is critical as the behaviors can change yearly, monthly or even by the hour. The size of the group must allow the statistics to be safely extrapolated to an entire population. In reality, it is not possible to sample the whole population, due to budget, time and feasibility. For example, you may want to test a hypothesis about the effect of an educational program on schoolchildren in the US. For the perfect experiment, you would test every single child using the program, against a control group. If this number runs into the millions, this may not be possible without a huge number of researchers and a bottomless pit of money. Thus, you need to generalize and try to select a sample group that is representative of the whole population. A high budget research project might take a smaller sample from every school in the country; a lower budget operation may have to concentrate upon one city or even a single school. The key to generalization is to understand how much your results can be applied backwards to represent the group of children, as a whole. The first example, using every school, would be a strong representation, because the range and number of samples is high. Testing one school makes generalization difficult and affects the external validity. You might find that the individual school tested generates better results for children using that particular educational program. However, a school in the next town might contain children who do not like the system. The students may be from a completely different socioeconomic background or culture. Critics of your results will pounce upon such discrepancies and question your entire experimental design. Most statistical tests contain an inbuilt mechanism to take into account sample sizes with larger groups and numbers, leading to results that are more significant. The problem is that they cannot distinguish the validity of the results, and determine whether your generalization systems are correct. This is something that must be taken into account when generating a hypothesis and designing the experiment. The other option, if the sample groups are small, is to use proximal similarity and restrict your generalization. This is where you accept that a limited sample group cannot represent all of the population. If you sampled children from one town, it is dangerous to assume that it represents all children. It is, however, reasonable to assume that the results should apply to a similar sized town with a similar socioeconomic class. This is not perfect, but certainly contains more external validity and would be an acceptable generalization. Forms of Generalization: One of the four forms of generalization is hierarchy. In the case of hierarchy, the commonalities are organized into a tree structured form. At the root of any sub tree are found all the attributes and behavior common to all of the descendents of that root. This particular kind of tree structure is referred to as a generalization/specialization hierarchy because the root provides more general properties shared by all its descendents while the descendents typically add specializing properties which make them distinct among their siblings and their siblings descendents. The second form of generalization is genericity. In the case of genericity, the commonality is expressed with the aid of a parameter. Various specializations are distinguished by what they provide for the parameter. For example, using genericity it is possible to represent the common properties of a stack through the generalization of a stack of anything, where anything represents the parameter. Specialized forms of this generalization are stack of integers and stack of characters. The third form of generalization is polymorphism. Polymorphism captures commonality in algorithms. An algorithm may have a nested if-then-else (or case statement) logic which tests for the exact type of an object which it is manipulating. The algorithm performs some operations on the object based on the exact type of the object. However, in many algorithms the operations to be performed are the same, only the type of the object on which they are performed varies. Thus, the algorithm need not know the exact type of the object. The algorithm only needs to know that the object can respond to the invocation in some manner. The fourth form of generalization is patterns. A pattern expresses a general solution (the key components and relationships) to a commonly occurring design problem. The attributes and behavior of the individual components are only partially defined to allow the pattern to be interpreted and applied to a wide range of situations. For example, a wheeled vehicle pattern might be defined in terms of the components wheel, axle, frame, body and power source. The pattern would also show how these components would be arranged in relation to each other (e. g. , the axle must connect two wheels). Example of the wheeled vehicle pattern are automobile, horses of Generalization: |All apples are red. | |All buildings are square. | |Anyone could tell you the laws of physics. | |Everyone is literate these days. | Image Example of Generalization: | | [pic] An n-cube can be projected inside a regular 2n-gonal polygon by a skew orthogonal projection, shown here from the 2-cube to the 10-cube. Generalization Assess Knowledge Assess knowledge is used to not only judge the generalization rules, but also assess the generalization quality, such as square root law. For example, when we use deduced knowledge to reason in map generalization, it will trigger process knowledge. Also the application of process knowledge needs the parameters about descriptive knowledge. Knowledge representation is an important section of information system design and operation. It symbolizes and formalizes the knowledge of experts field and translates them into the form which computer can recognize and process. But with the limitation of computer language, we often use the formal knowledge representation to realize the automatic process. Most knowledge representations are based on logic, relationship, object, regulation, semantic network, model and ontology (Kong, 2001). For cartographic generalization system, the difficulty in knowledge representation is how to express the knowledge of cartographic experts with systematic and integrated method, and eventually to solve real problems. Interpretation: Interpretation is the process by which meaning is attached to data. Interpretation is a creative enterprise that depends on the insight and imagination of the researcher, regardless of whether he/she is a qualitative analyst working closely with rich in-depth interview transcripts or ‘thick description’ based upon intense observation or, at the other extreme, a quantitative researcher carrying out a complex multivariate statistical analysis of a massive dataset. In both instances, interpretation, the way in which the researcher attaches meaning to the data, is not mechanical but requires skill, imagination and creativity. Purpose: Interpretation is used for drawing inferences from data, expounding/exposing relationships and process underlying the findings, searching for broader meaning of research findings, understanding and explaining what has been observed in the study. It is also used for providing theoretical conceptions to serve as a guide for further research. Interpretation opens avenues of intellectual adventure and simulates the quest for knowledge. ’Post-factum’ interpretation translates findings of exploratory research into experimental research. Data Interpretation: Data interpretation is an essential element of mature software project management and empirical software engineering. As far as project management is concerned, data interpretation can support the assessment of the current project status and the achievement of project goals and requirements. As far as empirical studies are concerned, data interpretation can help to draw conclusions from collected data, support decision making, and contribute to better process, product, and quality models. With the increasing availability and usage of data from projects and empirical studies, effective data interpretation is gaining more importance. Interpretation of data for project control, here, the focus is on project execution. Factors such as the increasing distribution of development activities, the need for monitoring risks, or regulatory constraints have accelerated the introduction of data-based project management techniques into practice. However making valuable use of collected data is challenging and requires effective mechanisms for data interpretation Need For Interpretation: For better appreciation of findings and make others to understand the real significance of findings. To understand the abstract principles that work beneath findings, to link findings and results with that of others, arriving at generalization after repeated testing of hypothesis, to take decisions based on implications of results and to maintain continuity in research i. e. is to help further studies. Precautionary Tips for Interpretation: Interpretation is an art and requires great skill. Optimum use of data and techniques. No over or under or misinterpretation. No out of context interpretation. Look for generalization but no false or even broad generalization. No hurry, have patience. Be impartial, have correct perspective. Wrong interpretation would lead to inaccurate conclusions. Make correct use of statistical measures. Interpretation and analysis are highly interdependent. Evaluating Interpretation: Why evaluate? Evaluating your interpretation will tell you whether it’s working or not. To evaluate you must have clear objectives for your interpretation. There a re four kinds of interpretive objective: Learning objectives – what do you want visitors to know about the site? Emotional objectives – what do you want visitors to feel about the site? Behavioral objectives – what do you want visitors to do as a result of the interpretation? Promotional objectives – how do you want to present your organization? When do I evaluate? Evaluation is classified according to when it’s done in the interpretive process. Front-end evaluation is done while you’re developing your interpretive objectives. It answers questions such as ‘what do the audience already know about this topic? ’ and ‘what are they most interested in? ’ This way you can tailor your interpretation to your visitors’ knowledge and interests. Formative evaluation tests visitors’ reactions to trial versions of your interpretation. For example, proofs of leaflets and panels can be tested to see if they attract attention and communicate the right messages. This allows you to change the design or content to make sure it works. Remedial evaluation checks that once all the elements in a display are brought together they work – for instance, the lighting is appropriate, visitor flow patterns are optimized, and distraction/competition between elements is minimized. Summative evaluation answers the question ‘is our nterpretation meeting its objectives? ’ Summative evaluation is carried out once a project is implemented. How do I evaluate? A range of evaluation methodologies are available. They can be subdivided into: Quantitative methods which count and measure things. Here your data is already in the form of numbers or can be converted into numbers that can be analyzed statistically. Qualitative metho ds which attempt to describe your visitor’s opinions, attitudes, perceptions and feelings. This information will require further interpretation and organization. Phase |Method | |Front end |Focus groups | | |Questionnaire interview | |Formative |Observation | | |Simple interviewer administered | | |questionnaire | |Remedial |Observation | | |Simple interviewer administered | | |questionnaire | |Summative |All methods but primarily observation| | |and questionnaire | | |Critical appraisal | Examples for Interpretation: 1. Representativeness of the data – Comparison of distribution of characteristics among population, sample and response population 2. Take note of nature of questions and types of responses – Dichotomous question with either or type answer. – Multiple-choice questions which require only one answer. – Multiple responses to multiple choice questions. – Open-end questions. Frequency Distribution Of Age (Comparison of characteristi cs distribution among population, sample and response sample) Population Response Population Age in Years No. % No. % Up to 24 95 11. 6 69 13. 2 25-29 268 32. 6 173 33. 0 30-34 255 31. 0 165 31. 5 35-39 151 18. 4 85 16. 2 40-44 39 4. 7 27 5. 1 45-49 6 0. 7 1 0. 50-above 8 1. 0 4 0. 8 Total 822 100. 0 524 100. 0 3. Handling and interpreting unanswered – Not answered. – Can’t answer. – Don’t know. – Don’t want to answer. – Distributing proportionately among other categories. – Keeping as a separate category. – Estimating answer from other data contained in questionnaire. 4. Representing the data – Percentages (ratios proportions) should be computed in the direction of causal factor, if any. – Percentages should run only in the direction in which a sample is representative. Do not average percentages(without weighing by the size of samples) – Do not use very large percentage(e. g. 1200% increase) – Do not use too small a base(e. g. 33 1/3% for 1 in 3 ) Interpretation of correlation coefficients(r,rs) 0. 9 Very highdependable Chi-square test No (expected) frequency cell should have value less than 5(use Yates correction formula) Hypothesis testing Accepting null hypothesis on the basis of sample information does not mean or constitute the proof that hypothesis is true. It only that there is no statistical evidence to reject it Logically ordering the data so that questions can be raised and answered Cross tabulation of 2 or more attributes or variables is merely a formal and economical method of arranging the data so that the logical method of proof may be applied . Cross tabulation is an approximation of the controlled experiment, i. e; just thinking in terms of cause and effect. Cross tabulation may lead to spurious explanation. Examples: Family size v/s income (valid) No. of automobiles owned v/s brand of toothpaste preferred (spurious) Elaboration Is a process which is limited only by the analysis (his/her ability, patience and purposes) and by the nature of data? Check need for elaboration and what test variable to apply. Range of cross tabulations suggests test variables.

8 Warning Signs You Need to Update Your Resume

8 Warning Signs You Need to Update Your Resume While job searching, you want to make sure you’re coming across as the best and freshest person for the job. Here are 8 warning signs you need to update your resume. 1. Too much historyGet out of the past. You don’t need to list every single position you’ve ever had, just the most recent and relevant ones. This is the first thing hiring managers look at on a resume. Make yours sing. If you’re going back 10 or  15  years? Consider de-emphasizing that content and focusing instead on the good and grabbing most current stuff.2. Too much textFormat your resume to be reader friendly and to give the hiring manager the information they need most as quickly and as pleasingly as possible. Avoid long paragraphs and big sentences. Keep it short and snappy and keyword heavy.3. Too longKeep it to a page, unless your field demands something different. Make sure that a potential hirer can see what you need them to see in six seconds- which is sometimes all the time yo u get. Tailor your resume specifically to the job you’re applying for, and leave the rest of the content on your standard or generic document for other positions where it might be more relevant.4. Wasted address spaceYou don’t need to give out your personal snail mail address, unless otherwise specified. Current resume etiquette maintains that all you need in the way of contact information is your name, phone, and email. Anything more just wastes valuable space and could make you appear hopelessly retro.5. Your home numberBusiness line or cell, please. Who even has a home number anymore? This isn’t 1990. Plus, you want to set up boundaries. Do you really want recruiters calling while you’re sitting down to dinner with your kids?6. No links to social mediaThis is necessary nowadays. Add a link to your Twitter, LinkedIn, or Facebook profile. LinkedIn at the very least. But do make sure you’ve double-checked your profiles before linking them, and scou red for any inappropriate or inflammatory content!7. Career objectiveThis is way out of fashion, takes up valuable space, and bores the recruiter to tears before they even get to the part where you list your qualifications. Write a brief professional summary instead- two or three sentences that synthesize your strengths and experience and show why you’d be a unique and ideal fit for the position and the company.8. â€Å"References upon request†This is a way outdated and redundant thing to include. Obviously you’ll provide references if requested. Take that sentence out and put something more valuable in its place.

Highlights of Human Resource Management Research Paper

Highlights of Human Resource Management - Research Paper Example It is evidently clear from the discussion that Human Resource Management department looks over that people working in the organization are in the right job, this part of HR’s job includes hiring the right people for the job and also the firing process of any organization. It also helps employees in upgrading their skills when necessary, this step involves training of employees. Human Resource departments are usually not paid much attention. Organizations fail to realize their importance and need in the running of any firm. Human Resource Department’s most important task will probably be creating a work-friendly environment in an organization. A better work environment will lead to employees to work at their best which will in turn increase the efficiency of the firm. Since this department is linked with the management o the organization’s workforce it may help bridge the gap between the employer and the employee leading to a better relationship. Absence of Human Resource Management department may lead to poor environment for employees to work in there by discouraging prospective employees to join. This department further helps the organization it is working for in public relations it helps with the image of the organization which may make it attractive for prospective employees which may lead to a better workforce to be interested in working in that particular organization. Sometimes the Human Resource Department plays in active role in making business and marketing plans. Another big highlight to this department is it takes off the responsibility of hiring new employees off the shoulders of the owners and the management. In this the management and the owners will be able to focus more on their core issue than to the process of hiring new employees which in turn will affect the productivity of the organization.

How Can E-learning Play a Strategic Role in Fast-Growing Global Essay

How Can E-learning Play a Strategic Role in Fast-Growing Global Companies - Essay Example The researcher tates that most parts of the world are connected to the Internet and both children and adults have easy access to it. Also both the educated and the illiterate brows the Internet all over the world for one information, business or the other. Through these means college courses, long distance teaching, workshops and seminars have been conducted to different audiences from one part of the world to another with great successes. Today, things have become a lot better through the introduction of the Internet technology. Things have been made a lot easier with several training organizations – colleges, universities, firms, training and human resource consultancy organizations now having their own web sites; through their web sites the services they provide to individuals can be easily downloaded and accessed. From investigation, organizations locally here make use of e-learning method. Because of the importance of the courses to the organizations, the staffs are alway s intended take active part in the causes. Some of the reasons given for the active participation in the courses, seminars and workshops include the following: fear of losing their jobs if they did not, the courses did not have any cost implication on the individual employee, it adds to their knowledge and skills and many else presented in the essay. Based on the study conducted, the researcher suggests that the success of any organization using e-learning strategy will depend on the type or category of employees they have in their stable.