Thursday, January 30, 2020

Collective Action Problem Essay Example for Free

Collective Action Problem Essay Problem Statement: Competitors Coca- cola and Pepsi-cola have to decide whether or not to offer discount pricing. Matrix:-    Pepsi cola    Coca- cola Pricing Strategy Discount price Regular price Discount price $4b,   $2b $8b,   $1b Regular price $2b,   $5b $6b,   $4b * b means billion    Description: Both companies can choose one outcome by offering a discount price or a regular price. The payoff for each firm depends upon the pricing strategies of both firms.     For coca- cola the worst case scenario is $2 billion payoff when it offers regular prices while Pepsi-Cola charges discount prices. Similarly, for Pepsi- Cola the worst case scenario is $1 billion. Solution: A dilemma is involved because each party would like to have maximum benefits by offering the discount and hoping that the other doesn’t.   The only secure means both companies have of avoiding meager profits is to offer discount prices. The ideal scenario would have been when both were offering regular price as they would have earned $6 billion (Coca- cola) and $4 billion (Pepsi-Cola). But, it’s difficult to trust each other and thus, they both go for the conservative strategy and settle down for profits of $4 billion and $2 billion for Coca-cola and Pepsi-Cola respectively.

Wednesday, January 22, 2020

A Comparison of The Jewel in the Crown and Wuthering Heights Essay

Shared Elements of The Jewel in the Crown and Wuthering Heights       The Jewel in the Crown, by Paul Scott, and Wuthering Heights, by Emily Bronte', are romantic tragedies which share many common elements. Although written in two vastly different time periods, the shared elements reveal the continuity of romantic tragedies over time. Wuthering Heights, a 19th century realistic fiction, shares the same kind of passionate, violent and emotional characters as The Jewel in the Crown, a post colonial modernist fiction. Both stories contain a love triangle which subsequently end in death.    In both stories, Catherine and Daphne are much alike in that they are the point around which the two men in their lives dance circles around. Catherine and Daphne are both willful, doing as they please, Catherine fostering her love for Heathcliff, and Daphne secretly seeing Hari Kumar. "At fifteen, she [Catherine] was the queen of the country-side; she had no peer, and she did turn out to be a haughty, headstrong creature" (WH, p. 51). And of Daphne, "She had to make her own marvelous mis...

Tuesday, January 14, 2020

Postmodernism &Marketing

Due to its profound effect on individualistic side of consumer and consumption, it is inevitable hat marketing is also affected deeply by postmodernism. Hence, those who would like to make a long run and satisfying profit have to develop at least a basic understanding of the terms â€Å"postmodern† and â€Å"postmodern marketing†. It would be more convenient to give some basic knowledge about postmodernism before explaining its huge effect on the discipline of marketing.According to Encyclopedia Britannica postmodernism is defined as a â€Å"late 20th-century movement characterized by broad skepticism, subjectivism, or relativism; a general suspicion of reason; and an acute sensitivity to the role of ideology in asserting and maintaining lattice and economic power†. Postmodernism can be viewed as a criticism to 20th century modernism. It is a resistance to modernist ideas such as freedom, progress and liberty. It is much more about destruction of old theories, cr iticizing the modern and its values rather than proposing a solution to give order or something new.As First, Sherry and Venerates argue postmodernist looks for a universally accepted or agreed upon principle; that of tolerance and acceptance of difference. To sum up, while modernism has designed the grand projects to prevent failure, postmodernism as recognized such projects as failures themselves. After a brief explanation about postmodernism, it would be reasonable to give a marketing oriented definition of postmodernism before starting to discuss its huge influence on the discipline of marketing.According to Gerri & Van Iraqi (1998) postmodernism can be defined as † a cultural episode, characterized by a pluralism of styles (of consumption) and ideologies, a need for hyperthermia and self-expression through consumption†. After contemplating on this brief definition, it would not be hard to conclude that postmodernism has had a profound effect on the consumption tatte rs of individuals. Therefore, companies have been forced to take individualistic differences into account and develop strategies based on their own target customer group.However, the influence of postmodernism on marketing and businesses is not limited to the change in consumer preferences or the change in consumption patterns. The structure of an organization, and the organization's relationship with its employees are also affected by the birth and extensive usage of the term postmodernism. To begin with the effect of the term â€Å"postmodernism† on the customer side, it can be argued that it has brought a new phenomenon of postmodern marketing. In the modern marketing, a company generally makes some standardization in terms of what a customer needs, wants or desires by evaluating the society as a whole.In the evaluation process, a majority of them focus on the shared characteristics or personalities of customers and begin to make production and even customization according to a common, shared perspective. Naturally, they have a tendency to ignore customers who have a very different worldview, personality, preference or choice. Thus, those who make production do not have to worry about the diversity of customers in terms of attitudes, perception, personality etc. Since they produce goods and services in massive amounts and then advertise these goods and services to masses.Then, they expect their products to be consumed without any challenge by different consumer demands. This situation is partly a result of homogeneity and masculinity concepts of modernism. However, with postmodernism all these approaches have been affected. Unless having an understanding about the diversity of consumer behavior, a firm might not be able to hose its target customer group correctly, which is a situation that makes its production meaningless, since in the end the product or service might end up with appealing to no one.Also, in today's world companies have to give much importance to different groups such as gays, lesbians, gypsies etc. Since they have become to constitute a portion of the society that is not negligible. In fact those who took a quicker action than others to offer production or services appealing totally to such groups have made enormous profit. Moreover, the masculine culture has been placed by a more feminine culture in many areas of business due to the change in consumption patterns. For example, during ass Marlboro was using fancy letters. Then, it turned out that Marlboro was started being cited as women's cigarette.With this unintended impression, Marlboro immediately changed its letter type and started to use its famous masculine cowboy commercials. If this situation occurred in postmodernist era, most probably a majority of people would criticize Marlboro and stop buying, since Marlboro implicitly suggests that it does not give much value to its women customers. When considering all these, it can be clearly defended that du e to the profound influence of postmodernism on marketing, a vast amount of companies have shifted from forbids, mass consumption based approaches to post-forbids, individualistic based approaches.To continue with the structure of organizations, it might be asserted that before the birth of the term â€Å"postmodernist' most of the companies had adopted the principles of forbids. Believing the quality of stability, homogeneity and control and they followed the rules of a masculine culture. Their organization structures were strictly hierarchical. Hence, there was a significant rower distance among different levels of management. However, after postmodernism came to scene, the effectiveness of the bureaucratic organization culture during turbulent, unpredictable or complex times has been questioned.Many new beneficial concepts such as employee empowerment, flat organization structure have been created and emphasized. Afterwards, organizational design becomes more flat, since it is w idely believed that one of the most significant factors carrying a company to success is the active participation of employees. As the organization becomes more flat, the communication link among different levels of management gets stronger which contributes to the creation of new innovative ideas. Moreover, companies' culture has been changed dramatically with postmodernism.During the ass, ass company environment was homogeneous, outer directed, and factory based, since at those times a majority of firms believed the strength of stability. On the other hand with the postmodernism, company environment has been shifted to heterogeneous, self centered and participatory business culture. The motivation behind this situation is that companies have become to experience that creation of unique ideas in terms of production of goods or services is very much elated with the diversity of employees. Within an organization where everybody has a different personality, preference, perception etc. T would be more likely to make production that fits customers well. Therefore, in today's world those who can manage disorder and variety more effectively have a better chance to serve well and make sufficient profit. To conclude, with the rise of postmodernist ideas, as Stephen (1992) put forward that firms have been forced to prefer disorder to order, surface to depth, past to present, present to future, heterogeneity to homogeneity, plurality to nonsense, differences to similarities, complexity to simplification, rhetoric to logic and individuality to universality.All in all, the term â€Å"postmodern† has profoundly affected the discipline of marketing as it has a deep influence on almost all social and intellectual endeavors such as sociology, philosophy, politics, history, economics etc. With the rise of postmodern marketing, companies have started to give careful consideration not only to the customer differences but also to their own organizational and cultural struc ture. While constructing a more friendly and participatory organizational environment, impasses have started to offer a variety of solutions and answers to the demand of different customer groups.

Monday, January 6, 2020

Comparing The Lottery, By Shirley Jackson, And The Rocking...

Fiction Essay By: Martin Bennett 6/1/17 Stuck between a Rock a Horse Race No family is perfect, family is family, their love will always be there. At least till you fall off a rocking horse or hit by a few rocks. What I am referring to are these two short stories â€Å"The Lottery† by Shirley Jackson, and â€Å"The Rocking-Horse Winner’’ by D. H. Lawrence. Now for a brief overview of both these unsettling stories. The Lottery is a story of a small town basically consuming a member of its own community, It s like a smoothie of Dismay with figurative cannibalism, a bit of social commentary, a drop†¦show more content†¦Paul has earned money for his mother; however, it isn’t enough. The stress begins to effect Paul, as he is driven to make more money. Paul’s fixation with making his mother happy through monetary gain caused his illness and inevitable death after winning the big race. Just like the old saying says â€Å"Money Can’t buy Happiness†. Ø In â€Å"The Lottery† I was unable to distinguish the conflict of the story until a bit towards the end. The rising struggle is weaved throughout the entire story. It starts out with this festival and all the town taking part. There is joking and laughter and playing while they wait for everyone to arrive. Mrs. Hutchinson is late but finally arrives and everyone jovially allows her to pass through until she reaches her husband s side. Finally, the business part is done, everyone is there or someone is standing in for them and the drawing begins. The winner is picked...and out come’s the bricks. The theme of the two short stories are written is very different, however they do have some similarities like Family. Ø In â€Å"The Rocking Horse Winner† Paul s want to please his mother ultimately leads to his death. Now let me be clear the mother-son relationship in The Rocking-Horse Winner is a clutter of unfulfilled desire, anxiety, hostility, and terror. Let’s not forget to add Paul s father is almost absent from the story, we don’t even get to learn his name. While his mother frantically tries to make up for all the extravagances

Friday, December 20, 2019

A Clockwork Orange Antisocial Personality Disorder Essay

Antisocial Personality Disorder ( ASPD) is a mental illness with various causal factors such as genetic predispositions, environment, parental neglect, gender, brain abnormalities, etc. The factors presented affect the character Alex DeLarge from Anthony Burgess’s A Clockwork Orange (1963). Despite Alex not being diagnosed, it is evident that he suffers from ASPD, it is clearly expressed through his behaviors and mentality. Eventually, Alex is incarcerated preceding a murder he committed, in order to be released early he enlists himself to a treatment so that he could be cured. The events that follow include his participation in the Ludovico Technique, an experimental form of aversion therapy which leaves him unable to fulfill the needs of his mental illness. A Clockwork Orange: Antisocial Personality Disorder and Alex DeLarge Previous research suggests that Alex DeLarge, a fictional character created by Anthony Burgess, was the epitome of evil. However, previous research has not considered the environmental, socio-economical, and physiological dispositions that molded him into the person he became. Hence, in this paper, it is argued that Alex DeLarge is at a greater risk for Antisocial Personality Disorder than most members of the general population. This is important because it allows us to view beyond the theatrics and the metaphors into a character that is mentally unstable not a villainous caricature in the eyes of the audience. PersonalityShow MoreRelatedAn Investigation Of The Psychopath1417 Words   |  6 Pagesacquainted with a sociopathic character; you’ve probably read a book, watched a film or watched a television show that displays a character with sociopathic personality traits and have grown to enjoy following them through their story. It’s not uncommon; they’re charismatic, manipulative, powerful, and have an extremely different personality than most people. They’re charming and entertaining to watch, so it’s no wonder authors and producers alike have begun to use sociopaths and psychopaths in theirRead More Caregivers Behavior Contributes to Offspring Behavior1143 Words   |  5 Pageset al., 1996). Their theory about psychotherapy is that it is an adaption rather than a disorder. Violence by psychopaths might be reduced through careful monitoring and supervision therefore increasing the likelihood of detection. The researchers theory begins to take a close lo ok into a psychopaths childhood. The theorists determine that by means of close monitoring of the subjects aggressive and antisocial behavior by caretakers early in life it might shape the later behavior of persons withRead MoreAbnormal Psychology Terms9960 Words   |  40 Pagesrecent research is it is obvious that this case of obsessive-compulsive personality disorder arises from an early childhood fixation. which type of psychologist would most likely have made that statement? lets try to figure out where clients fall on several key personality traits, rather than using a dichotomous classification system. someone saying this would most likely favor which approach to classifying personality disorders? Litigaphobia and litigastress relational aggression is a termRead MoreEffective And Ethically Defensible Methods Of Reducing Crime2344 Words   |  10 Pagesseem more plausible to use genetic research to develop treatment and rehabilitation post factum. The author agrees with Morl ey and Hall in their proposition that genetic research should be directed into finding more effective treatments for personality disorders like ADHD, ASPD and ODD which are found to have some influence on criminal behaviour. Biochemical factors Biochemical factors can determine susceptibility to criminality and delinquency because various methods of predicting criminal behaviour

Thursday, December 12, 2019

The Mozart Effect Ia free essay sample

In an independent sample design, the participants were separated into two groups and asked to memorize and eater recall a list of 10 two digit numbers. Both groups received the same list and had the same period of time to complete the task. The experimental group, however, was exposed to classical music during encoding, while the control group memorized the list in silence. The independent variable was the atmosphere of encoding and the dependent variable was the amount of numbers correctly race Lied.After statistical analysis, the results showed that classical music does not have a significant effect on recall, thus the null hypothesis was accepted. Table of Contents Title page 1 Abstract 2 Table of Contents Introduction 4 Method 5 Results . 7 Discussion 9 References 11 Appendix 12 Appendix a 13 Appendix C 14 Appendix D 15 Appendix E 16 Appendix 17 Appendix G . 18 Appendix H 19 Appendix I 20 Appendix J 21 Appendix K 22 Introduction Many studies have been conducted to support the theory that memory is malleable. A positive result would indicate that the process by which humans encode, store, and retrieve information can be modified in such a way that may benefit recall. This means quicker remembrance of encoded material. In the past, many researchers have aimed to discover a method to manipulate Emory. Today, there is still much to be learned about the way in which memory works, but myriad approaches have been introduced with the purpose of improving the process. These include one known as the Mozart effect. The Mozart effect suggests that mental ability notably increases after listening to music from Mozart.The term was first used by Dry. Alfred Tomatoes who studied the effect of Mozart music on childhood development. He hypothesized that the ears main function was to develop the unborn brain, therefore listening to high frequencies such as those found in Mozart violin ancestors could energize the brain. Dry. Tomatoes prescribed sonic therapy to his patients and concluded that auditory experiences could occur before birth and exposing prenatal children to Mozart would help the development of the nervous system. In 1 993, Elizabeth Earaches aimed to test the effect of music on the brains spatial ability.To test this she instructed college students to perform different tasks requiring spatial reasoning in different environments. In one environment, they were exposed to Mozart sonata for two pianos, in the other they listened to relaxation instructions, and the last they were instructed to complete the task in silence. The students scores on the test were significantly higher after they listened to the Mozart sonata. These results were controversial as the effect was temporary and the results were not always replicated.Likewise, Maria Speechify conducted a study in which she aimed to see the impact of music on childrens development. She tested the effect with two groups of students. In the first group, Speechify adjusted the students curriculum with increased music education classes and decreased language and mathematics classes. The other group had an increase in language and thematic courses and the same amount of music courses. The results indicated that the students with increased music courses performed better in reading and showed no difference in math compared to the group with increased academic classes. Each of these studies aimed to determine the influence of music on mental ability. An experiment designed to test the effect of music on recall would provide us with ways to improve short-term memory. If the results were to indicate that music does in fact have a positive effect on recalling, the information could be used to improve tasks that require short-term memory. If the results were to indicate otherwise, then the information could be used to adjust the environment in which information is encoded which would also lead to enhanced memory.Either outcome would serve to modify and possibly enhance memory by adjusting the conditions under which information is encoded. Like the previous three studies, this experiment aimed to determine the effect of classical music on recalling, for the purpose of improving studying methods. The participants were asked to complete a test that consisted of memorizing a list of ten, two digit numbers. Numbers were used as a matter of convenience. The control group memorized the list in silence and the experimental group memorized it while exposed to classical music.The results of musicians will not be scored since it is accepted that, because they are adapted to music, their performance on the experiment will alter. HO null hypothesis- There will be little or no difference between the environment and the amount of numbers recalled. HI research hypothesis- If the students are exposed to classical music during the encoding time then the amount Of two digit numbers recalled will increase. Method Design This experiment took on an independent samples design, meaning that woo separate groups of participants were used as an experimental and control group.This design was adopted to avoid the participation of the order effect; exposing the same participants to the same test under the same two conditions at different times would skew the results, as their recall would improve with repetiti on. It also controlled for maturation; all of the data was collected at one time so the participants did not get a chance to change, or mature, during the experiment. The independent variable in this study was the conditions under which the participants memorized the numbers (silence vs.. Music exposure). The dependent variable is the amount of numbers correctly recalled.Ethical considerations in the experiment were met by providing each participant with a consent form (Appendix A). Furthermore, the participants received a briefing statement explaining the aim of the experiment and their right to withdraw at any time (Appendix B). After the briefing note, the subjects were instructed as described in the procedures (Appendix D). The participants had 1 minute to memorize the numbers on the list. To avoid cheating, a 1 minute break was given after the encoding period, as the experimenters collected the test to prevent the participants room looking back at the list while recalling the numbers.The participants then had 30 seconds to recall and write down the numbers to the best of their abilities. In the end, the participants received a debriefing statement (Appendix E). The ordinal level of measurement was used instead of interval due to the small number of sample data. Furthermore, the median was used to describe the data because it is the most appropriate measure of central tendency. The statistical test that was used was the Mann-Whitney IS test, given that the samples taken were so small that it is difficult to tell if they re part of a normal distribution.Participants The target population consisted Of a pure opportunity sample as a matter Of convenience. All participants were high school seniors at Coral Gables Senior High of 17-18 years of age. The 35 participants (N=35) involved in the study were randomly assigned a group by the researchers (Mozart or silence). Both male and female participants were included in the study. Due to the nature of this experiment, the participants were screened for any musical ability to ensure condition constancy; including musicians in this experiment would introduce outliers and possibly skew the results.Materials Student Consent Form (Appendix A) Standardized briefing notes (Appendix 8) Procedures (Appendix C) Test: list of 10 two-digit numbers (Appendix D) Standardized debriefing notes (Appendix E) pod with Mozart Sonata f or Two Pianos in D Major, KICK Stopwatch Proceed rest A set of standardized procedures was followed. Speakers Visit the classroom; describe the study that will be taking place and ask their permission to participate. Distribute student consent forms. Pick up the forms next time the class is visited.Only the results of those who turned n a signed consent form will be counted towards the results. Read briefing instructions to the class, explaining to them what the aim Of the experiment is and assuring them that ethical conduct will be strictly adhered Split class into two groups: one will serve as the control, while the to. Other will serve as the experimental. Place list of numbers face down in front of participants to prevent any unfair advantages. For control group: when the researcher says you may begin, participants must flip the list over and begin to memorize the numbers in silence for the next 1 minutes.A stopwatch will be used to time the testing. For experimental: when the song starts, participants must flip the list over and begin to memorize the numbers for the next 1 minutes. When the time is up, ask participants to flip list over and begin to collect them. There will be a break for 1 After the break, the participants were asked to write down as minutes. Many numbers as they can remember in 30 seconds. When the time is up, ask participants to put their pens down and begin to collect the tests. Make sure to place each test in one of two piles in accordance to the participants ole in the experiment. Read debriefing notes to the class, ensuring them that confidentiality and anonymity will be maintained. They will also be informed of their ability to withdraw from the experiment; they were asked to write a memorable code on the back of their tests in case they wish to do so. Rest Its At the ordinal level of measurement, the median, the intrauterine range and the semi-intrauterine range were used in the study because they are the most suited measurements. The mean is the most appropriate measure of central tendency because I is not distorted by outliers.After the experiment as conducted and the data was analyzed statistically, it was concluded that the median of the control group is 7. 5. The median of the experimental group is 6. The intrauterine range and the semi-intrauterine were appropriate for the sample size in the experiment. The intrauterine range for both groups was 3 and the semi-intrauterine range was 1. 5 for both groups. After calculating these values from the data, the results of the experimental group and those of the control group were very similar.For this, a Mann-Whitney L] test was performed to determine whether there was a significant difference teen the two results. This test is usually used for at least ordinal data in an independent samples design in an experiment testing a difference between two conditions (Crane, 399). The LU and the CO values were both greater than the Circuit, causing us to accept our null hypothesis and conclude that there is no significant difference between the group that listened to Mozart and the group that worked in silence.