Critically evaluate piaget’s theory of cognitive development Essay

Piaget has been described as the father of cognitive psychology (Shaffer, 1988) and his stage theory as the foundation of developmental cognitive psychology (Lutz & Sternberg, 2002). It is not possible to describe Piaget’s empirical findings and theory in only 1,500 words. Instead, I will briefly review the theory’s scope, comprehensiveness, parsimony, applicability, heuristic value and methodological underpinning. I will then evaluate in more detail the theory’s utility in describing and explaining cognitive development. Historically, Piaget’s ontological approach was ground-breaking with its focus on the qualitative nature of cognition and its constructivist perspective. The theory itself is wide-scoped (universal), comprehensive (covering a broad spectrum of cognitive achievement) and elegantly coherent (from neonate to adult). It remains profoundly influential on cognitive psychology and continues to be widely applied in childcare and educational settings. Piaget’s theory is parsimonious in its commonality of approach to a broad range of complex phenomena with key interlinking concepts. Inevitably, such an ambitious theory has generated a wealth of research, some supporting, some supplementing, some extending and some disputing aspects of Piaget’s theory. Some of the weaker aspects of Piaget’s theory appear to arise from his ‘clinical method’ of using observational behavioural data to infer conclusions about children’s underlying cognitive competences. Longitudinal data, ideally suited to monitoring progression, was only recorded for his own three children. Certain of his techniques were insufficiently sensitive to identify the underlying causes of performance variations, especially with very young infants, where more recent habituation techniques have shown that Piaget considerably underestimated their understanding and ability (Bower, 1982, Baillargeon & DeVos, 1991). This may have led him to overlook other relevant explanations for varying levels of performance, eg limitations on memory capacity (Bryant & Trabasso, 1971, Kail, 1984, Diamond, 1985), motor-co-ordination (Mandler, 1990), availability of memory strategies (Siegler, 1991) and verbal understanding (Sternberg, 1985). However, Piaget’s clinical method, his flexible and ecologically valid approach did reveal original insights into children’s thinking, which a more standardised, ‘scientific’ approach may have overlooked entirely. Piaget’s theoretical framework describes the structure of cognitive development as a fixed sequence of four discontinuous and qualitatively different ‘periods’ (for ease of understanding, referred to as stages) of all children’s intelligence across domains, tasks and contexts. Invariance is a core feature of Piaget’s conceptual structure, in contrast with contemporary perspectives, which question rigid conceptual structures, eg post-modernism and chaos theory. Piaget emphasised the invariance of progression through stages, so that a child never regresses to thinking methods from an earlier stage of cognitive development. This is empirically unconvincing, eg, as an adult, I have easily switched from formal-operational to concrete-operational thinking when presented with flat-pack furniture and an incomprehensible set of instructions. Research (Beilin, 1971, Case, 1992) has also contradicted the assumption that within a given stage of development, children demonstrate only stage-appropriate levels of performance, eg 4-year-olds make the same mistakes as 1-year-olds on some hidden-object problems by looking at locations where they have found the object previously (Siegler, 1998). Structural, qualitative discontinuity between stages – a key feature in the theory’s description of cognitive development – is also questionable. Although much research has shown that children can do things at ages earlier than Piaget considered possible (Baillargeon, 1987, Mandler, 1998, Diamond, 1991), Piaget focussed on the sequence of progression from one stage to another rather than the respective ages of cognitive achievement. However, because cognitive achievements have often been shown to emerge earlier (and occasionally later if at all, eg certain formal operations) than Piaget’s stages indicate, exactly when these stages begin and end cannot be clearly established. This blurring of boundaries between stages, suggests a spiralling structure of gradual, continuous cognitive development rather  than a stepped structure of discontinuous stages. Piaget’s focus on competence as opposed to performance contributes to the difficulty of determining when one stage becomes qualitatively different from another. What we may be capable of doing optimally (competence) may often differ from what we do actually much of the time (performance) (Davidson & Sternberg, 1985). Even if we accept Piaget’s stages as distinguishing when competences are fully developed and functional not necessarily when they first appear (Lutz & Sternberg, 2002), there is still insufficient evidence that qualitative leaps in cognitive competence can be distinguished between one stage and another. Indeed, Piaget (1970) adjusted his position on the discontinuity of stages, acknowledging that transition from concrete-operational to formal-operational reasoning occurs gradually over a span of several years. Siegler (1998) suggests that catastrophe theory (a mathematical theory which examines sudden changes) explains both the continuous and discontinuous appearance of cognitive development. The forces that lead to the collapse of a bridge may build up over a period of years, however the bridge’s visible collapse appears as a sudden event. Analogously, a child may suddenly solve a problem that she could not solve the day before, but her progress may be due to experience and improved understanding acquired over preceding months. Thus cognitive development may be viewed both as a continuous process of small, imperceptible amendments or as a discontinuous shift from one state to another – depending on when and how closely viewpoints are taken. Bloom (2002) provides a similar argument in refutation of ‘spurts’ in word learning. Piaget initially argued that his stages are universal, ie that they apply to everyone irrespective of their individual experience. Recent research suggests that cultural practices are related to children’s proficiency on tasks (Rogoff, 1990). Piaget (1972) always acknowledged the impact of social and cultural contextual factors on cognitive development but came to revise his claim that his stages are universal, eg by recognising that achieving formal operations is dependent on exposure to the specific type of thinking  found in science classes and on individual motivation to undertake certain types of task. Piaget’s revised stance on universality and the discontinuity of stages also calls into question the theory’s implicit structural premise of cognitive development being domain-general. Piaget refers to stages as holistic structures, with coherent modes of thinking that apply across a broad range of tasks, ie are domain-general. However children do not appear to develop consistently and evenly across all cognitive tasks or even within specific types of cognitive functioning, eg conservation. Piaget explains unevenness of progression, eg, within the domain of conservation, mass is conserved much sooner than volume, by ‘horizontal decalage’, which occurs when problems that appear quite similar in the requirements of underlying knowledge actually differ in the complexity of schemata required. An alternative explanation for perceived unevenness in cognitive development is domain-specificity, ie that specific types of cognitive processing develop separately and a t differing rates from others. One example of domain-specificity for language vs number acquisition occurs in deaf infant’s symbolic-representational ability allowing them to learn American Sign Language as early as 6-7 months, while children’s symbolic-representational ability for number appears months later (Mandler, 1990, Meier & Newport, 1990). Subsequent research (Chomsky, 1986, Fodor, 1983, Chi, 1992 cited in Pine, 1999) has suggested domain-specificity for language, mathematics and logico-spatial reasoning involved in chess! Horizontal decalage is described, at best, as a peripheral element and, at worst, as undermining the theory’s holistic stage structure and domain-generality. To summarise the descriptive utility of Piaget’s theory, it certainly describes the general sequencing of children’s broad intellectual development, although stage-like discontinuity may be a reflection of perspective only. However, the theory appears less accurate in its description of cognitive development as universal, functionally invariant and domain-general. More recent research (Fischer, 1980, Flavell, 1985) suggests that cognitive development occurs gradually and sequentially within particular intellectual domains. Turning to the theory’s explanation of cognitive development, Piaget’s theory explains cognitive development as the result of physical maturation and two basic biological, invariant functions: organisation and adaptation (Lutz & Sternberg, 2002). Organisation is seen as the tendency to organise physical and psychological processes into purposeful, efficient systems. Adaptation occurs via equilibration, namely the seesaw-like balancing of (1) assimilation, ie how children transform incoming information to fit their existing modes of thinking (‘schemata’) and (2) accommodation, ie how children adapt their schemata in response to new experiences. Equilibration integrates physical maturation, experience with the environment and social influences (Miller, 2002). Whilst Piaget’s focus on the active constructivist mechanism of individual/environmental interaction has been highly influential, it does not provide a sufficient explanation of cognitive development. There is little explanation of the physical maturational aspects that are key to cognitive development, such as that provided by subsequent researchers on age-related neural processing improvements (Diamond,1991). More importantly, the processes of adaptation and organisation do not explain how a child’s logical ability is derived from interaction with the environment, eg there is no explanation of how sensorimotor activity is transformed into mental images which are in turn transformed into words. Crucially, Piaget’s theory does not provide any explanation of the mechanism of cognitive transition from one qualitative stage to another. Piaget’s explanation of cognitive development thus appears impoverished. It has been supplemented by social theory, which explicates the role of social interaction in the child’s development (Vygotsky, 1934/1978) and is supported by research into the innate social characteristics of young infants (Meltzoff & Moore, 1994 amongst others cited in Smith, Cowie & Blades, 1998). Information-processing theorists (Case, 1985,) have also explained the contribution of specific areas of cognitive development, such as memory and attention. Other theorists (Karmiloff-Smith, 1992) have  incorporated a combination of approaches into a more holistic explanation of cognitive development. In conclusion, Piaget’s theory appears only broadly accurate in its description of cognitive development. Its explanation of cognitive development is inadequate; only acknowledging but not fully examining the role of social, emotional and contextual factors, underestimating the existence of innate cognitive abilities (Flavell, Miller & Miller, 1993), and ignoring the complex role of language in cognitive development. Nonetheless, Siegler (1998) describes Piaget’s work as ‘a testimony to how much one person can do’. The theory’s heuristic power is undeniable: recent studies of cognitive development have focussed on previously unsuspected cognitive strengths in children and on a broader range of children’s thinking than that investigated by Piaget (Kohlberg, 1984). The theory’s longevity is certainly warranted for its originality and inspiration to others. According to Piaget â€Å"the principal goal of education is to create adults who are capable of doing new things, not simply of repeating what other generations have done – who are creative, inventive, discoverers† (Piaget, 1977 cited in Shaffer, 1998). By this standard, Piaget and his theory of cognitive development must be judged a success for current cognitive psychology. References Baillargeon, R. (1987). Object permanence in 31/2- and 41/2-month old infants. Developmental Psychology, 23, 655-664 Baillargeon, R. & DeVos, J. (1991). Object permanence in young infants: Further evidence. Child Development, 62, 1227-1246 Beilin, H. (1971). Developmental stages and developmental processes. In D.R. Green, M.P. Ford & G.B. Flamer (Eds.) Measurement and Piaget. (pp 172-196) New York:McGraw-Hill Bloom, P. (2002). How children learn the meaning of words. New York: Oxford University Press Bower, T.G.R. (1982 ). Development in Infancy 2nd Ed. San Francisco: WH Freeman Bryant, P.E. & Trabasso, T. (1971). Transitive inferences and memory in young children. Nature, 232, 456-458 Case, R. (1985). Intellectual Development: Birth to adulthood. Orlando, Fl: Academic Press. Case, R. (1992). The mind’s staircase: Exploring the conceptual underpinnings of children’s thought and knowledge. Hillsdale, NJ:Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Chi, M.T.H. (1992). Conceptual change within and across ontological categories: Examples from learning and discovery in science. In R.Giere (Ed.) Cognitive Models of Science: Minnesota studies in the philosophy of science. Minneapolis:University of Minnesota Press Chomsky, N. (1986). Knowledge of language: Its nature, origins and use. New York: Praeger Cole, M. & Cole, S.R. (2001). The Development of Children (4th Ed.). New York : Worth Publishers Davidson, J.E. & Sternberg, R. J. (1985). Competence and performance in intellectual development. In E. Neimark, R deLisi & J.H. Newman (Eds.), Moderators of competence (pp 43-76) Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Diamond, A. (1985). Development of the ability to use recall to guide action, as indicated by infants; performance on AB. Child Development, 56, 868-883 Diamond, A. (1991). Frontal lobe involvement in cognitive changes during the first year of life. In K.R. Gibson & A.C. Petersen (Eds.) Brain maturation and cognitive development: comparative and cross-cultural perspectives. New York:Aldine de Gruyter Fischer, K.W. (1980). A theory of cognitive development: the control and construction of hierarchies of skills. Psychological Review, 87, 477-531 Flavell, J.H. (1985). Cognitive Development (2nd Ed.) Englewood Cliffs, NJ:Prentice-Hall Flavell, J.H., Miller, P.H. & Miller, S.A. (1993). Cognitive Development (3rd Ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ:Prentice-Hall Kail, R. (1984). The development of memory in children (2nd Ed.). New York:Freeman Karmiloff-Smith, A. (1992). Beyond Modulatiry: A developmental perspective on cognitive science. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Precis accessed at http://bbsonline.org/Preprints/OldArchive/bbs.karmsmith.html Kohlberg, L. (1984). The psychology of moral development: The nature and validity of moral stages (Vol 2). New York: Harper & Row Lutz, D.J & Sternberg, R.J. (2002). Cognitive Development. In M.H. Bornstein & M.E. Lamb (Eds.) Developmental Psychology: An advanced textbook (4th Ed.). Mahuah, NJ:Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Mandler, J.M. (1990). Recall of events by preverbal children. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 608, 485-516 Mandler, J.M. (1998). Representation . In D. Kuhn & R.S. Siegler (Eds.), Handbook of child psychology (5th Ed.): Vol 2: Cognition, perception and language. New York: Wiley Meier, R.P. & Newport, E.L. (1990). Out of the hands of babes: on a possible sign advantage in language acquisition. Language, 66, 1-23 Meltzoff, A.N. & Moore, M.K. (1994). Imitation, memory and the representation of persons. Infant Behaviour and development, 17, 83-99 Miller, P.H. (2002). Theories of Developmental Psychology (4th Ed.). New York:Worth Publishers Piaget, J. (1972). Intellectual evolution from adolescence to adulthood. Human Development, 15, 1-12 Piaget, J. (1970). Piaget’s theory. In P.H. Mussen (Ed.) Carmichaels’ manual of child psychology (Vol 1). New York:Wiley Piaget, J. (1977). The role of action in the development of thinking. In W.F. Overton & J.M. Gallagher (Eds.) Knowledge and development (Vol 1). New York:Plenum Pine, K. (1999). Theories of Cognitive Development. In D. Meuer & S.W. Millar (Eds.) Exploring Developmental Psychology: From infancy to adolescence. London:Arnold Rogoff, B. (1990). Apprenticeship in thinking. New York:Oxford University Press Shaffer, D.R. (1988). Developmental Psychology: Childhood & Adolescence. Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole Siegler, R.S. (1991). Childrens’ thinking (2nd Ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ:Prentice-Hall Siegler, R.S, (1998). Children’s thinking (3rd Ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ:Prentice-Hall Smith, P.K., Cowie, H. & Blades, M. (1998). Understanding children’s development. Blackwell: Oxford Sternberg, R.J. (1985). Beyond IQ: A triarchic theory of intelligence. New York: Cambridge University Press Vygotsky, L.S. (1934/1978). Thinking and speech. In T.N. Minick (Ed.) The collected works of L.S. Vygotsky (Vol 1). Problems of general psychology. New York:Plenum Press

A Critique of Frye’s, Jordan’s, and Miller’s Feminist Theories Essay

Marilyn Frye’s feminist theory is based on a mix of art and philosophy as well as a presentation of her own ideas in the context of the world. Frye’s theory stresses among other things, the fact that the power of feminism is embedded in the capability of making women’s lives and their experiences understood by a vast majority of the people (Frye, 1983). On the other hand, Jordan’s feminist theory lays emphasis on the woman’s self with reference to her relational well-being (Jordan, 1991). Closely related to this, Miller’s theory is based on the view that there is need to address women’s experiences and make the world understand them better. Thus, Miller suggests that in order to understand women, there is need to understand their lives and values (Miller, 1987; Davis, 1999). This paper will examine and appraise the aforementioned theories and draw a conclusion based on the flaws or incongruence depicted by the theories, and will thus suggest whether the theories can be used together or as separate entities. Frye’s Feminist Theory Frye affirms that in order to understand women fully, that is in terms of their feelings, motivations, ambitions and how they are likely to react to different situations, there is need to understand their driving forces, which are the determining factors in various responses (Frye, 1983). Frye’s feminist theory thus presents an attempt to explain the forces and how they apply to different women. While it may be true that there are deciding forces behind every woman’s response to different situations, it is also evident that the forces cannot be studied conclusively. This viewpoint is instigated by the fact that women live in different conditions, and these conditions are likely to affect how they react to different circumstances. Thus, a generalization cannot be used to describe women’s attitudes. In view of sex and sexuality, Frye notes that sex roles have inhibited men and women from being in charge of their choices since the activities involved in sex are already predetermined (Hoagland & Frye 2000). However, this supposition fails to address the sex drives involved among same-sex partners. Thus, even though Frye notes that women are sexually oppressed, it is difficult to concur with the argument since sexual freedom has increased tremendously in the world over the past few years. Frye’s likening of women to a birdcage in which if one observes one wire of the cage, she or he is likely not to see the other wires present in the cage (Davis, 1999) presents an interesting point of discussion. This is true given that in there are instances when women are ignored, for example in restaurants when waiters expect men in company of women to pay the bills. This implies that much attention is paid to men, who are perceived to be a superior sex. Jordan’s Feminist Theory This theory emphasizes the connections among different aspects of women’s lives, which are developed through relationships. It dwells on factors such as sexism and heterosexism, which separate women and alienate them from the rest of the society, thus subjecting them to a lot of suffering (Jordan, 1991). In view of this, while it is true that women are more affected by issues that concern sex it is also imperative to note that such issues are not just limited to women. Concisely, men also suffer from issues related to sex. Jordan’s theory also dwells on the self-condition of women in relation to their relational wellbeing. Jordan emphasizes that most Western psychological theories tend to point too much on the woman’s self rather than her relations with others (Jordan, 1997). Along this line, Jordan asserts that men have subordinated women and view them as their subjects, thereby undermining women’s relation capacity. This presumption has some substance with reference to how women were treated in the past. However, it may loose significance in the contemporary world where women have taken more leadership positions and have better control of their undertakings. Jordan addresses desire by relating it to adolescent sexuality, noting that it arises from people’s integration with others and creation of relationships (Jordan, 1997). This is true in the context of what people commonly refer to as â€Å"real love† that develops between men and women through their continued association. On the other hand, since relationships commonly break, there is an indication of a flaw in Jordan’s theory. Nevertheless, Jordan’s point of challenging the tendency by men to be dominant over women (Jordan, 1991) stresses the need for equality between men and women. Miller’s Feminist Theory Miller focuses on the concern of men’s domination over women and their tendency to subordinate them (Miller, 1987). She asserts that the propensity by men to be dominant over women causes conflict between the two sexes because men fail to understand women. Miller also notes that in dealing with conflict, women, who are usually the subordinates revert to overt conflict, a phenomenon that is prevalent in the present day (Miller, 1987). Miller therefore questions why men should be dominant over women yet women have equal capabilities do what men can do. Miller’s feminist theory is important in addressing gender disparity in the world. It also supports women in having voices to do what pleases them irrespective of what men think about them. However, its flaw lies in the fact that it fails to address why men have higher propensity to be dominant over women and why women usually revert to overt conflict when dealing with men. Conclusion The feminist theories by Frye, Jordan and Miller all address issues that though not congruent are closely related. Frye’s theory is centered on understanding women; Jordan’s theory recognizes the woman’s self worth and the importance of women’s participation in relations; whereas Miller’s theory in centered on understanding women and why men should not treat them as subordinates. All these issues are closely related since they address the status of women and their role in the society, which is paramount in eliminating injustices against them. Hence the theories should treated together to achieve the objective. References Davis, F. (1999). Moving the mountain: The women’s movement in America since 1960: Chicago: University of Illinois Press Frye, M. (1983). Politics of reality: Essays on feminist theory. New York: Ten Speed Press Frye, M. (1992). Willful Virgin: Essays in Feminism, 1976-1992. New York: The Crossing Press, Inc. Hoagland, S. L. & Frye M. (2000). Feminist interpretations of Mary Daly. Pennsylvania: Penn State Press Jordan, J. (1991). Women’s growth in connection: New York: Guilford Publications, Inc Jordan, J. (1997). Women’s growth in diversity. New York: Guilford Press Miller, J. (1987). Toward a new psychology of women. Boston, MA: Beacon.

Laura Esquivel

Laura Esquivel’s â€Å"Like Water For Chocolate† is an epic novel set in Mexico at the turn of the twentieth century. It is a bittersweet love story between Tita and Pedro who through fate have kept them apart. The novel is divided into months and starts each chapter with a recipe from Tita’s kitchen. Throughout the novel we follow the seemingly doomed love affair between the two main protagonists of the book. Their affection for each other finally unites them in the afterlife at the end of the novel. The novel is a good example of how the Spanish culture has influenced the new world, or the American continent. Likewise, the novel also is a reflection of Spanish culture principally through its culinary practices. In pre-columbian times, the indigenous peoples of America, revered chocolate or cacao and was often even used as both currency and commodity of trade. The Olmecs, Aztecs and other ancient members of Maya culture regularly included the drink from the cacao beans in their rituals. But previously, the chocolate drink was reserved for the warriors and the elite and consumed only after and not during a   meal. When Columbus discovered America, these cacao beans were then sent back to Europe and was widely accepted there alongside other food products from America like the potato, tomato and other grains. â€Å"Like Water For Chocolate† vividly describes a typical rancheria in Mexico and here we get a glimpse of family life infused in long-held traditions as imposed by the grand matriarch. It is not uncommon for Spanish families to live in one roof even if the children are adults and married. It is quite the norm that married children and their spouses and children continue to live with either the family of the wife or husband. In the novel, Tita is forbidden to marry, being the youngest daughter, she is expected to take care of her aging parents and helping out with household tasks. A profusion of rituals and daily chores in the kitchen reveal to us readers the extent in which Spanish culture has been introduced to the new world. Spanish breakfast occurs twice in a day. The early breakfast consists of bread and coffee with milk eaten at home before one sets off to work or school. A second breakfast occurs anytime between 10 and 11 o’clock in the morning consisting of sweet rolls or biscuits and a tostada – a toasted bread smeared with butter and served on a saucer with olive oil for dipping. Sometimes the bread is served rubbed with tomato and garlic for a more robust flavor. Lunch then occurs at 2 pm which may consist of an omelette, a sausage, and finished with fruit. This repast may be eaten with coffee or beer. After lunch, the customary siesta or afternoon nap commences. This nap may last up to two hours, wherein businesses are closed, and will only open around 4pm. Thus is the unusual and laid-back attributes of the Spanish. In the evening, tapas is served, these are small servings of food or appetizers that may consist of vegetables, seafood, meat, chicken, sausages or just about anything that may be found in the kitchen. This hours are spent eating and drinking wine. Tapas bars abound in the more urban areas in Spain and are regular fare for the citizenry. By 11pm, a real dinner is served. A hearty full-course of salad, soup, entrà ©e, and dessert followed by coffee or an aperitif caps the day. Then off to bed goes the typical Spaniard in what was a typical day spent. The culinary traditions of Spain are steeped in their culture and daily life. The influence of these are far and wide covering the entire world as Spain set out to far reaches in search of wealth and territory. In their vast colonies, Spain brought these traditions with them and in turn imposed them on the local populace but also inter-mingling the local practices in turn. It is safe to conclude therefore that Spanish culinary traditions have been both recipient and donor. For Spain adapted to new world ingredients and manners of cooking. The novel masterfully exploits the culinary richness of Spain and makes these the springboard on which the plot so brilliantly revolves around. The recipes we read in the book are presented in such that their preparation all the way to their consumption is woven into the lives and motives of the characters involved. The recipe for chocolate and rose petals illustrates this. When Tita cooks the rose petals into the chocolate she is consumed with passion and unrelenting desire for Pedro – and eventually transforms all those who imbibe the drink into a frenzy of heat, lust, love and desire as well. Source: Davidson, Alan, The Oxford Companion To Food, 1999   

Customer Relationship Management Research Paper

Customer Relationship Management - Research Paper Example Rule # 1: The customer is always right. Rule # 2: If the customer is wrong, go back to Rule # 1. A customer is somebody who consumes a particular product or service and in exchange would shell out an amount for the said service or thing. Thus, to be able for any business to sustain, a system called Customer Relationship Management or CRM must established. Care after sales is so important. In fact, call centers are up to heed to every customer’s demand. Research findings from Xu and Walton, (2005) entitled "Gaining customer knowledge through analytical CRM", Industrial Management & Data Systems revealed that current CRM systems are dominated by operational applications such as call centers. The application of analytical CRM has been low, and the provision of these systems is limited to a few leading software vendors. Businesses use this online service provision to continually keep in touch with the customers. The introduction of the internet as part of the communication superhi ghway has helped shorten the gap between the business and its clientele. Thompson (2010) has said that two CRM application types are generating the most interest in 2010: Those focused on supporting revenue growth, and those geared to the trend toward social CRM. Most CRM projects are departmental and channel-specific, although large-scale CRM projects are reappearing. Therefore, CRM is a company-wide business strategy designed to reduce costs and increase profitability by solidifying customer satisfaction, loyalty, and advocacy. Money sent to the Philippines can be conveniently received through participating outlets of two of the biggest pawnshop chains in the country –Cebuana and Mlhullier’s Moneygram service and Xoom. These are just a few of the many possible ways to receive money sent to the Philippines online. The moment that the receiver gets the money, the sender will be sent a text message confirming it. This is to ease his/her worry against fraud and positive feedback has resulted from this service (http://sendmoneytothephilippines.blogspot.com/2010/09/cebuana-lhuillier-m-lhullier-as.html). In addition, the implementation of a customer relationship management system will improve retention rate, say of a school like Everest Online. It has always been a goal of every implementer to have a successful project implementation. Houston (2011) has found that the different measure of project management success can be when the project must have been delivered to the Scope, Time, Cost and Quality and when the customer is happy with the way the project management was carried out which means that the communications in particular, and the various other aspects of the project management, must have been performed professionally. Moreover, Bose (2003) found that businesses dedicate considerable money and resources to research on consumer behaviors in an attempt to understand their target markets. As Drucker (1973) has argued, the purpose of business is t o create and then retain a satisfied customer. Similarly, Sheth and Mittal (2004) have pointed out that a business makes money only if it satisfies its customers by catering for their needs. Customer Relationship Management in its general sense in the part of the business is increasing efficiency while minimizing the cost. As CRM is a widely-implemented strategy for managing a company’s interactions with customers, activities also those for marketing, customer service, and technical support, its overall goals are to find, attract, and win new

Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in Higher Education Essay

Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in Higher Education - Essay Example There are instances that I have encountered such experiences. For instance, someone approaches me and asks why I cook and clean my house. I feel offended because I don’t believe that such house chores belong to the ladies. Racial microaggressions are also common. They are a form of an offensive, racial discrimination. They make one feel inferior due to their race. People who face the vice also feel unwanted and unappreciated in the culture. One of the most common racial microaggression that I face in my life is the situation whereby my friends address me using particular surnames that are not mine. Such are the common names for my race, and everyone thinks that I have the same, because of my race. According to Riggle and Rostosky (9-11), some microaggressions are easier to deal with than others. The ease of handling them depends on the magnitude of stress and discomfort caused. The microaggressions that affect one’s health and family are tougher to handle than those tha t do not. As such, gender microaggressions are easier to deal with than the racial ones. On a similar note, Museums and Chang argue that microaggressions bear different impacts depending on whether they are racial or gender-based. Grey and Parker (57-68) also conform to this argument. Based on personal experience, racial microaggressions are the most common. The reason behind this is that most institutions of higher learning comprise of both Native and international races. Some puns end up being microaggressions. The most commonly committed microaggressions include racial, gender orientation, and gender identity. For instance, I tell my friend that she is too cute for a black girl, and she gets offended. A "good" man does not cook or clean the house. A "good" woman does not do office work. A "good" woman thinks of how to maintain the home and take care of the family.

Reason, Faith and Logos Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Reason, Faith and Logos - Essay Example As part of discussing the arguments made by each author, this study will present some self-evidence and/or empirical evidences behind the claims or arguments of each author. Comparison between the Philosophical and Theoretical Views on the Nature of Logos Plato was one of the great Greek philosophers in our history. Inspired by the theories of Parmenides, Plato mentioned that the term â€Å"logos† is a Greek term which means both the spoken and unspoken thoughts and reasoning that are rational by principles (Hillar, 1998). Since the era of Heraclitus, Audi (1999) revealed that the philosophical view of logos eventually became the basic philosophical theory of order and knowledge. The study of theology is focused on analyzing issues related to religion. As an essential part of the 1st century Jewish religious beliefs (Boyarin, 2001), the nature of logos is very much focused on revealing the truths. Given that the â€Å"logos† of theology is based on religious concept, Pl atonic defined logos as the divine â€Å"soul of the man Jesus Christ† (Basic Theology, 2012). It means that theological â€Å"logos† is all about thinking and uttering the word of God. Unlike the philosophical point-of-views, the Greek term â€Å"logos† (when based on a theological perspective) is simply referring to the act of speaking God’s words (Brent, 1999). It means that the nature of logos under the theological point-of-views is based on theological reasoning rather than pure rational reasoning. Conclusion that Boyarin (2001) Aims to Establish Published under the Harvard Theological Review, Boyarin (2001) wrote the article entitled â€Å"The Gospel of the Memra: Jewish Binitarianism and the Prologue to John†. In this article, the author thoroughly discussed the nature and significance of logos based on the views of theology (i.e. Judaism and Christianity) and philosphy. Unlike in Christianity which considers Jesus Christ as the son of God, Boyarin (2001) mentioned that the Deity is considered as the ultimate form of god. Regardless of whether or not a specific religion considers a Deity or Christ as the creator of this world, it will remain a fact that the logos of theology will always be associated with the reasoning of God. On the contrary, the logos of philosophy is not based on religious concept but rather based on the reasoning that is currently being used to govern the world. In other word, the philosophy of logos is not purely based on the teachings of God but more on a set of rules that people are obliged to observe when living in a particular society. Conclusion that Hillar (1998) Aims to Establish Hillar (1998) wrote the article entitled â€Å"The Logos and its Function in the Writings of Philo of Alexandria: Greek Interpretation of the Hebrew Myth and Foundations of Christianity†. According to Hillar (1998), Philo’s concept of logos is not clear because of his religious and mystical point-of-v iews. Since Philo’s religious views is very strong, God is considered as the ultimate goal whereas logos is considered as the â€Å"wisdom of God† (Hillar). Referring to God’s chief messenger, logos serve as the link between the human creatures in this world and God. Within this context, it means that the divine logos will allow the human

Unfair Terms in the Contracts and Exclusion of Liabilities Essay

Unfair Terms in the Contracts and Exclusion of Liabilities - Essay Example This may be due to the lack of a precise definition of the term ‘reasonableness’ under the provisions of the Act, the lack of which   that gave enormous freedom to the courts to decide on the reasonableness depending on the particular circumstances of the individual cases. Moreover the courts distinguished between the business transactions and the goods or services supplied to the consumers to decide on the reasonableness of the cases which enhanced the complexity of the issues arising from the operations of the Act. But it is certain that the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 considers the invalidation of the limitations and exclusions of the liabilities arising out of the operation of the standard written terms of business in case they are found to be unfair or unreasonable. This would leave the contractors facing an unlimited liability with respect to any issues arising during the course of construction process with the developers or the employers as the case may be. T he Court of Appeal has recognized the reasonableness of the claim for exclusion of the liability of an IT supplier in the case of Watford Electronics v Sanderson. In this case Lord Justice Chadwick observed that â€Å"where experienced businessmen representing substantial companies of equal bargaining power negotiate an agreement, they should be taken to be the best judges of the commercial fairness of that agreement. The court should in these circumstances be slow to intervene to substitute its own judgment.†Ã‚   Thus the decision of the Court of Appeal had acted.

Israeli Sovereignty Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Israeli Sovereignty - Essay Example in Palestine was estimated to be around 590,000 as compared to approximately 1,320,000 Palestinians, making the Jews equal approximately 31 percent of the total population (Kjeilen, 2006). The Arab nations voiced immediate opposition to the UN’s 1947 plan, joined soon after Israel’s foundation by Egypt, Transjordan, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq, in a struggle that continues to this day. At the opening ceremony of the Syrian-Israeli peace talks on December 11, 2000, Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk al-Shara stated, â€Å"It goes without saying that peace for Syria means the return of all its occupied land. Those who reject to return the occupied territories to their original owners in the framework of international legitimacy send a message to the Arabs that the conflict between Israel and Arabs is a conflict of existence in which bloodshed can never stop.† The Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, at the 2002 Arab League summit in Beirut, said, â€Å"I propose that the Arab summit put forward a clear and unanimous initiative addressed to the United Nations Security Council based on two basic issues: normal relations and security for Israel in exchange for full withdrawal from all occupied Arab territories.† Irans Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi, in a September 21, 2002 Washington Post interview entitled â€Å"The War and Iran,† stated â€Å"We do not recognize Israel as a government. We believe that eventually Palestinian refugees have to return to their homeland† (Israeli-Palestinian Pro-Con 2004). Since the state was founded, much of the world’s population, including opinion in the Israel-friendly United States, has become opposed the existence of Israel as an independent state. In the U.S., from Boston to San Francisco, people openly espouse this belief. â€Å"No country has a right to exist, certainly not one that was founded through the destruction of another country. Was Palestine ever afforded a right to exist?† claims a San Franciscan

Outline the stages of specimen reception and initial processing, Essay

Outline the stages of specimen reception and initial processing, highlighting particular safety issues - Essay Example Once the primary specimen is received in the laboratory, a quick assessment is carried out regarding any clinical risk. Such risks include damage, leakage, missing request form, inadequate labeling, wrong sample sent for requested test or the clinical information does not match the blood sample. However, if a risk has been flagged, it will fall under the Clinical Risk Management guidelines. If there is no clinical risk to be dealt with, the specimen will proceed to the next stage. The sample and the request form have to show the patient demographics. Patient demographics refers to the information that identifies the patient and provides other data that is important to the clinician in coming up with a diagnosis. Demographics consists of the patient’s name, hospital number, and date of birth. Missing demographic data makes the specimen a clinical risk, and a request for a new sample is sent to the requestor. Other instances where the sample can be classified as inadequately labeled include those samples that are not accompanied by supporting paperwork, and those that are labeled differently from the request form in such cases, a request for a new sample is sent to the requestor If the details match the sample, the specimen will be taken for further assessment in the laboratory. Some exceptions can be made in certain situations, especially if there is a need to protect the identity of the one from whom the sample has been obtained. An example of such a s ituation is in the case of an unrelated bone marrow donor whose identity has been protected using an international code for identification based on the Patient International Data Protection. After the clinician has verified that the specimen identification matches the request form, the anticoagulant tube is then checked to ascertain that the correct sample has been sent to the laboratory. For HLA genotyping, an EDTA anticoagulant

Total Quality Management Case Study (Welz Business Machines) Essay

Total Quality Management Case Study (Welz Business Machines) - Essay Example Welz Business Machines collected data for a 2 week period in order to know why some customers have to wait. Through this process data was collected on all the four reasons given above for customers having to wait. According to the information collected by the characters mentioned in the case the primary reason of the problem being faced by the company is short-staffed operators. The next two causes being receiving party not being present and operator not being able to understand the problem of the customer. Customer being dominant in the conversation and some other causes has also been mentioned in the case. The analysis is shown below with the help of a Pareto analysis and cause and effect diagram. Pareto analysis is a technique which can be used to prioritize the different types or sources of a problem. It can be used to identify the reasons for majority of the problem being caused. It uses the Pareto principal – 80% of the problems are caused by 20% of the causes. (Pyzdek, 2003).The Pareto analysis of the case is shown below – We can see from the above analysis that 90% of the problems are being caused by three reasons – operator short staff(51%) ,Receiving party not present(22%) and lack of operator understanding(18%).These are the areas to focus on. It is also known as the fishbone diagram or the Ishikawa diagram, named after the Japanese quality expert who made it famous. (Dale, 2007) It is basically a graphical representation of an outline that presents a chain of cause and effects. (Ishikawa & Loftus), 1990). With the analysis of the case given, various causes have been analysed because of which problems occur leading to the inability to answer customer calls effectively. These have been shown above in the form of a fish bone diagram. As we can see from the Pareto analysis done above; shortage of staff is the root cause of the problem and accounts for 51% of the causes. Increasing the

Strategic Alliances and Globalization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Strategic Alliances and Globalization - Essay Example The purpose of this paper is to explain the key advantages and disadvantages of strategic alliances in the globalization of products and services. When two companies join forces they are able to share resources and exploit the expertise of each company. Corporations formed strategic alliances for a variety of reasons. In the service industry many companies are forming strategic alliances in order to outsource business functions oversee. A prime location for the exporting of customer service contracts is the nation of India. A business function that is responsible for the formation of many strategic alliances is marketing. A lot of strategic alliances take the form of marketing alliances. There are four types of marketing alliances: product or service alliances, promotional alliances, logistic alliances, and price collaboration (Kotler, 2003). A product or service alliance occurs when one company licenses another to produce its product. This strategy has the benefit of reducing overal l costs of producing the product or service. In a promotional alliance one company carries out the promotion of another company. Logistic alliances involve one company offering logistical services to another. In pricing collaboration alliances two companies provide combined package discounts.

Conquerors or Jinas Essay Example for Free

Conquerors or Jinas Essay Jainism originated in ancient East India by the birth and ultimate liberation of twenty four conquerors or Jinas. People of the Jain faith believe that Jinas are human beings who become divine by subduing their sensual desires and overcoming karma, which is the accumulation of good and bad deeds. Good deeds allow living beings to be reincarnated into superior forms, while bad deeds force them to accept inferior forms after death (â€Å"Jainism†). The Jains believe that the first Jina or conqueror was a giant living on earth 8. 4 million years ago. The last Jina was Mahavira or The Great Hero, born in 550 BC. Mahavira is known as the founder of Jainism, seeing that he was able to attract a large number of followers to his faith (â€Å"Jain Dharma†). Like Siddharta Buddha, Mahavira had belonged to the warrior caste and â€Å"renounced the world† at the age of thirty (â€Å"History of Jainism†). Also like the Buddha, Mahavira had sought spiritual reality in the solitude of asceticism. Ultimately he had found enlightenment, although it had taken him thirteen long years to get there. He had converted eleven Brahmans to his faith soon after. By the time of his death, he had founded a community of ascetics with fourteen thousand monks and thirty six thousand nuns. Mahavira is further known to have starved himself to death – a practice referred to as salekhana (â€Å"History of Jainism†). According to the Jains, Mahavira is one of the fortunate ones, as he has â€Å"conquered love and hate, pleasure and pain, attachment and aversion, and has thereby freed ‘his’ soul from the karmas obscuring knowledge, perception, truth, and ability (â€Å"Jain Dharma†). † The first and foremost principle of living taught by Jainism is called Ahimsa or non-violence toward all living beings. Thus, the followers of Jainism have never encountered a problem of violence in their history. The only issue that the people of the Jain faith have had to confront is disunity. Two hundred years after the attainment of nirvana on the part of Mahavira, the Jain faith was divided into two sects: the Digambar and the Svetambar. Both sects hold different views or beliefs about a number of issues. For example, Digambar monks of the Jain faith do not wear anything because of their belief that clothes serve as reminders of the world. Svetambar monks, on the other hand, are known to wear seamless clothes that are usually colored white. Moreover, the Digambars are of the opinion that women are unable to attain liberation while they are living as women on earth. Svetambars, on the contrary, believe that women may indeed achieve liberation seeing that one of the Jinas was a woman. Likewise, the Digambars and Svetambars have varied views about the prayers that are traditionally recited by the Jains (â€Å"Jainism†). The Jains do not believe in a creator of the universe. According to them, the world is without beginning or end. Furthermore, there is no single god of the universe (Sivananda). The following is a prayer of the Jains describing their unique concept of divinity, following by a brief introduction of the same: I bow to the Arahants, the perfected human beings, Godmen. I bow to the Siddhas, liberated bodiless souls, God. I bow to the Acharyas, the masters and heads of congregations. I bow to the Upadhyayas, the spiritual teachers. I bow to the spiritual practitioners in the universe, Sadhus. This fivefold obeisance mantra destroys all sins and obstacles, and of all auspicious repetitions, is the first and foremost (Welcome to Jainism. org). Jains believe that all living beings are the same essential soul, but those human beings that perfect or liberate themselves are turned into gods. These souls – part of the single soul of all living beings, albeit separate – are worshipped by the Jains. Furthermore, these souls are the only ones that do not have to deal with karma any longer. They have achieved salvation through enlightenment, abandonment of worldly attachments, and asceticism. By controlling their selfish desires, they have followed their spiritual teachers to the core. For them, Jainism is the only true religion. Additionally, by attaining the divine status, they have become omnipotent and omnipresent (Sivananda). Before becoming gods, the liberated souls were able to achieve death at will. On the other hand are souls that are so attached to life that they do not wish to end their lives on earth. Such souls die nevertheless. Their death is Akama Marana, the death of helplessness, leading the soul to return to earth in an inferior form (â€Å"Death in Jainism†). There are seventeen kinds of deaths in the Jain faith: â€Å"Avici-marana; Avadhimarana; Atyantika-marana; Vasarta-marana; Valana-marana; Antahsalya-marana; Tadhava-marana; Akama marana; Pandita-marana; Balpandita-marana; Chadmastha-marana; Kevali-marana; Vaihayasa-marana; Guddhapristha-marana; Bhaktapratyakhyana-marana; Inginta-marana; and Padopagamana-marana (â€Å"Death in Jainism†). † Unsurprisingly, all of these separate types of deaths lead to a different kind of life after death. Jains are believers in the reincarnation of all living beings. Thus, the soul that dies the Pandita-marana death is said to have left the earth in peace and with satisfaction (â€Å"Death in Jainism†). The best kind of death is, of course, the very last one, that is, the end that leads to ultimate liberation from the process of rebirth (â€Å"Jainism†). Besides Ahimsa or non-violence, which forbids actions that cause verbal, emotional or physical harm to living beings; the principles of human behavior that the Jains must adhere to include the principle of Satya or the command to speak the truth and avoid falsehood; Asteya, or the command not to steal; Brahmacharya, or the principle demanding all Jains to remain monogamous in their sexual relationships; and Aparigraha, which is the principle of detaching oneself from the world by a reduction of worldly desires and abstinence from hoarding of material wealth (â€Å"Jain Dharma†). The Jains do not convert people to their faith. Hence, anybody who is willing to follow the faith of Jainism must believe in these moral principles and follow them without compulsion (â€Å"Jainism†). Jains additionally believe that every living being has the potential to attain ultimate liberation from the cycle of rebirth. The perfect and liberated souls serve as models on the path of attaining liberation. However, all living beings are responsible for their individual good or bad actions (â€Å"Jainism†). In order to attain ultimate salvation, souls must also believe in the triple jewels, that is, â€Å"[r]ight faith, right knowledge and right conduct (Sivananda). † Right faith constitutes belief in the perfect and liberated souls as real gods, the Jaina Sastras (written by spiritual teachers) as the scriptures of the Jain faith, and the saints of Jainism as the real teachers. Right knowledge provides the follower of Jainism with an eye of certainty that sheds all doubts. Right conduct, of course, constitutes the five moral principles that all Jains must adhere to, including Ahimsa, which compels all Jains to live as vegetarians (Sivananda). Lastly, Jains believe in overcoming all biases and prejudices, and gathering the viewpoints of others, despite the fact that the followers of the faith are divided into sects (â€Å"Jainism†). Works Cited â€Å"Death in Jainism. † Answers. 2007. 16 Nov 2007. http://www. answers. com/death%20in%20jainism. â€Å"History of Jainism. † Religion Facts. 2007. 16 Nov 2007. http://www. religionfacts. com/jainism/history. htm. â€Å"Jain Dharma. † Religious Tolerance. 15 Aug 2005. 16 Nov 2007. http://www. religioustolerance. org/jainism. htm. â€Å"Jainism. † Answers. 2007. 16 Nov 2007. http://www. answers. com/topic/jainism. Sivananda, Sri Swami. Jainism. 17 Oct 2004. 16 Nov 2007. http://www. dlshq. org/religions/jainism. htm. Welcome to Jainism. org. 16 Nov 2007. http://www. jainism. org/.

Economic and monetary union

Economic and monetary union Identify and discuss the costs and benefits of joining the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU)? Do the benefits outweigh the costs? Thesis Statement The Economic Monetary Union has been the centre of prolonged debates as to whether a country joining it will either create benefits or drawbacks. During the course of this analytical report, both costs and benefits will be identified and explained in order to judicate the feasibility of joining the EMU and a specific country will be chosen to illustrate this further. Introduction To understand the concept behind the creation of the Economic Monetary Union, the overall objective of the European Union must firstly be understood. Since the end of the World War II, European political forces have been attempting to unite forces in order to escape the extreme forces of nationalism which were seen as unsustainable. Industries were evolving and beginning to compete globally, international trade throughout the globe expanded at an exponential rate and some felt it had to be regulated in order to maximise the gains achievabe. As a result, the European Union was set up in 1993 with X. Its primary principles are of a single market with no barriers to trade in goods and services or to capital and labour movements, competition and social policies, co-ordinated macroeconomic policy and a harmonised fiscal policy. In order to regulate these aspects effectively the EU set up a body named the Economic Monetary Union. This was seen as potentially a contender to the widely trade d and valued US dollar and as the solution to deepening the integration of the European Union. The EMU is characterised by the following policies, policy harmonisation to remove barriers to improve mobility, a common monetary policy which states there is one interest rate and exchange rate policy determined by the Central Bank, fixed exchange rates via the single currency and the pooling of foreign exchange reserves. The evolution of the EMU began in the late 1980s and was characterised by three stages set out by the Delors Report in 1993. The first stage was devoted to ensuring all member states participation in the Exchange Rate Mechanism and improved policy co-ordination and the removal of barriers to capital flows. The second stage consisted of the creation of the European Monetary Institute (EMI) and central banks becoming independent from their national governments (January 1994). Finally the last stage involved fixing the participating currencies and creating the European System of Central Banks which takes over the responsibility for monetary and exchange rate policies and finally the Stability and Growth pact came into force by January of 1999 to ensure member states that do not comply to the EMU principles are fined or sanctioned. During this evolution in 1992 twelve countries signed the Maastricht Treaty, which fundamentally was the root of the introduction of the Euro. During 1992 and 1997 the convergence criteria was set out which stated that in order for a country to join it must have a low and stable inflation, stable exchange rates and stable public finances and by 1999 the countries officially joined the EMU. However as the Euro could not be introduced overnight, there was a transition period in order to allow the member states to adapt to the new currency and after three years, by 2002, the euro was officially the single currency for all European union member states. Initially the transition period was considered a triumph by European Union members, but as individuals (mainly economists) observed the evolution, many critics are still debating whether joining the EMU and endorsing the euro brings success or just adds to the ever amounting issues each member states are already experiencing. This topic will be thoroughly explored throughout the course of this analytical report and a balanced argument will be drawn from the information available as to whether the EMU carries with it primarily, benefits or costs to a member state joining. The Economic Monetary Union is considered to be one of the major steps in integrating a before divided Europe, as people and businesses could begin moving and trading freely as trade barriers were removed, the currency becomes more stable, financial markets are integrated, the cost of exchanging currencies was eliminated, transaction costs reduced and theoretically increased competition between countries which is a driving factor in keeping prices low and productivity high which is both favourable for consumers and businesses. These benefits must be more deeply explored in order to comprehend the extent to which they have aided success or deepened the intricate network in Europe. The success of the EMU has been difficult to quantify as its revolutionary principles have only been recently enforced, however the theoretical benefits are supposed to be more easily identifiable in the long run as more member states join and European integration is extended to particularly the eastern European community. Debra Johnson and Colin Turner state that one of the major benefits, the elimination of transaction costs in intra-EU trade, have only saved 0.5% of the EUs GDP and that SMEs which predominantly serve local markets, will not benefit extensively from this. However as successful SMEs usually have high exports they can expect a favourable return from the introduction of the Euro. The EMU is also responsible for the lowering of interest rates. Various studies suggest that decentralised fiscal policies cause a bias in inflation and public spending (Sibert 1992, Levine 1993, and Levine and Brociner 1994) and therefore are in favour of the co-ordinated fiscal policies in a monetary union. The single European market can bring numerous benefits to a joining country such as the price transparency. It is still considered too early to quantify precisely the degree to which it has helped and many argue that the EMU must speed up the price convergence through enabling consumers to compare prices across member states more easily. This in turn could facilitate a lowering or raising in in labour costs and could change supply patterns resulting in a more stabilised and fair souricng of resources for firms and possibly improve equality throughtout the European union. These benefits are possibly achievable but have not yet been completely achieved as these processes take time and co-operation and some believe these are not present in todays European society as the recession has caused political and financial instability. The EMU has the potential to create extraordinary gains for the member states but these will not be visible or quantifiable in the near future as it is a timely process of evolution, this therefore poses a risk of not only time consumption but also of resources both nationally and individually and along with the few drawbacks of joining the EMU, critics believe the EMU is not the optimum choice for certain countries in Europe. The drawbacks of joining the EMU are considered to not outweigh the benefits by the majority of observers but still must be considered thoroughly before joining a revolutionary body which causes a country to enter a short-term of deflation, the loss of the exchange rate tool which is considered a tool of national economic policy, the potential problems related to a lack of ‘real convergence and potential policy conflicts and finally the inappropriateness of one monetary policy for many states. These will be analysed and explored in order to conclude whether these outweigh the benefits even considering the majority of parties disagree. The main risk of joining the EMU is the differences in trade cycles between countries, this is one of the core reasons as to why the UK is yet to join. European countries have differing economic statuses and languages, which fundamentally are essential in permitting countries to maximise the gains achievable from a single currency. It is therefore argued that more attention needs to be given to how economies can enhance their factor mobility to balance out the differences found in differing countries. Cohesion funds are the possible solution to the problem but today there are still great differences across the member states in terms of economic performance and labour mobility. This raises the legitimate question whether one monetary policy can fit all member states. The globe today is experiencing an economic recession which is highlighted one of the major issues with joiing the Economic Monetary Union as governments from member states are obliged through the stability and growth pact to keep to the Maastricht criteria meaning they cannot regulate or alter fiscal and monetary policies in order to alleviate the problems arising from a receeding economy. Countries would not be able to devalue to boost exports, to borrow more to boost job creation or to decrease taxes because of the public deficit criterion. The most debated issue with joining the economic monetary union is the loss of national sovereignty. This would result in more established and developed states having to co-operate with the less stable and strong economic countries which are more tolerant to higher infation rates. Finally, the last drawback of joining the EMU is the initial cost of introducing the single currency. This issue is mainly debated in the UK as the British Retailing Consortium estimated that British retailers will have to pay between  £1.7 billion and  £3.5 billion in order for the Euro to be introduced. However it is argued that the one off cost does not outweigh the long-term benefits obtainable from the policies and regulation and that if more countries join the EMU these benefits will be amplified even further. Robert Mundell and Abba Lerner(1960s) believed in a currency area. This is a group of countries that maintain their separate currencies but fix the exchange rates between themselves permanently (Nello, 2009:205). The optimal currency region (OCR) is the idealistic view that an entire region sharing a single currency can benefit extensively the efficiency of the member states economies. It states the optimal characteristics needed for a successful economic integration to occur. These are optimal labour mobility across the region, openness with capital mobility and price and wage flexibility across the region and an automatic fiscal transfer mechanism to redistribute money to areas/sectors which have been negatively affected by the first two characteristics. Supportive Evidence The UK has the worlds fourth largest economy and the EUs second largest and is consequently one of the primary targets of speculation as to whether the benefits outweigh the costs of joining the EMU. In 1999, The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown said that although the government supported the principle of a single currency, Britain would not join. This decision was based on various factors that could have caused rifts in the country. In terms of trade it was seens as unfeasible to join because the UK has the lowest level of intra-EU trade and therefore is more vulnerable to fluctuations in external countries. The UK is vulnerable compared to the rest of the EU counties to potential unfavourable interest rates set by the Central Bank because it has one of the highest percentages of home owners potentially leaving British mortgage holders in a state of crisis. Another characteristic that lead the UK to not favour the joining of the EMU is its position as an oil producer and ex porter meaning it is harshly affected by changes in oil prices, however as the quantity of oil diminuishes at an ever expanding rate and the gradual transition to more sustainable energy resources means that this is not as important as it was when the EMU was introduced a decage ago. These issues are feasible arguments to the absence of the UK in joining the EMU however as the countries that have joined the EMU continue to attract foreign direct investments, the UK has been threatened by foreign investors that the Eurozone is becoming a more attractive zone to trade with because of its increased stability. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development released information on the World Investment Report in the form of a bar graph clearly illustrating the downward trend of inward FDI of the UK compared to the general upward trend of the countries with the EMU. As clearly illustrated by figure 1.0, the UK continued to attract FDI from 1992 until 2000, where it increased five-fold from 20 billion in 1992-1997 to almost 120 billion U.S dollars in 2000. However by 2003 this figure drastically fell to below 20 billion, which was less that it was almost ten years before. Whilst France, Netherlands, Spain and Ireland all either increased or stabilised by 2000 and resumed until 2003. This is further evidence that the UK should consider joining the EMU, in order to guarantee long-term success. As more countries join, currently 26 today, the EMU is ever closer to achieving an optimal currency area (Mundell, 1973) creating, idealistically speaking, a perfectly harmonized economy and resulting in countries flourishing. Conclusion In a perfect world, the EMUs potential benefits would be endless but due to unforeseeable fluctuations in economies, labour mobility, and personal matters it is difficult to quantify the benefits and costs of joining the EMU. Especially with the recent economic downturn the risk of joining the EMU has been even more re-considered by certain countries especially the U.K. However these drawbacks are limited and do not outweigh the vast benefits achievable from embracing a single currency and single European market as it would guarantee to a certain extent the long-term success of a country as harmonization and stabilisation will cause consumers to be given better prices and businesses to trade more efficiently creating a, arguably, more competent country. Establishment of the Maastricht Treaty which was signed by twelve countries in 1992, which set out the convergence criteria, ultimat The Maastricht Treaty of 1992 established a single currency, the euro, and on January 1st 2002, the EMU began using the euro.The EMU was created in 1992 It has stringent conditions and objectives which countries have to meet via signing the Maastricht Treaty. With joining the EMU, the euro must be endorsed and therefore the monetary policies become the responsibility of the European Central Bank and national central banks of member states. Essentially they are co-ordinating the monetary and fiscal aspects of the member countries. Sovereignty

Donald Olding Hebb: Biography and Theories

Donald Olding Hebb: Biography and Theories Obispo, Stacey L. In Chester, Nova Scotia on July 22, 1904 Donald Olding Hebb was born. Both of his parents were medical doctors (Brown Milner, 2003). Donald’s mother home schooled him till the age of 8 because she was heavily influenced by the ideas of Maria Montessori, an Italian physician who believed that education of the senses should come before development of the intellect (University of Alberta Canada, 2008). At the age of 10 Donald’s academic performance was so spectacular it left his teachers amazed and as a result he was promoted to grade 7(University of Alberta Canada, 2008) . Home schooling has been said to influence Donald’s attitude towards authority and policy (University of Alberta Canada, 2008). In his high school years he avoided all adult pressure and held a low estimate of the value of academic achievement and as a result failed the 11th grade (University of Alberta Canada, 2008). Donald managed to graduate and enrolled at Dalhousie University where he receiv ed his B.A. in 1925 (University of Alberta Canada, 2008). Donald carried distain for structured schooling and had a worse than mediocre record at Dalhousie (University of Alberta Canada, 2008). In 1925 he began teaching at an elementary school at his old schoolhouse in Nova Scotia for a year (University of Alberta Canada, 2008). Donald then began working as a laborer and read Sigmund Freud (Brown Milner, 2003). After reading Freud in 1928 Hebb thought that there was area for opportunity in the field of Psychology and sought to go back to school and enrolled at McGill University (University of Alberta Canada, 2008). Donald became bedridden for a year with a tubercular hip and during this time he wrote his M.A. thesis (Brown Milner, 2003). Donald tried to show in his master’s thesis that skeletal reflexes are a product of cellular learning (Brown Milner, 2003). He later said his thesis was nonsense (Brown Milner, 2003). In 1934 Donald made the decision to study physiological psychology, and worked with Lashley in Chicago for three academic terms (Brown Milner, 2003). In 1935 he moved to Harvard with Lashley(Brown Milner, 2003).While at Harvard the idea of neural networking began to take shape in Donald’s mind(Brown Milner, 2003).He later used the ideas of neural networking for his PhD thesis which he submitted in 1936(Brown Milner, 2003). These ideas led him to pivotal ideas that made him famous with the creation of a new branch of psychology (Brown Milner, 2003). Dr. Hebb would later conduct research on the brains of humans regarding intelligence and research on primates (Brown Milner, 2003). Hebb’s research lead him to write the book The Organization of Behavior (University of Alberta Canada, 2008). His book introduced his theory of neural networking (Brown Milner, 2003). In his book Hebb suggests’ that two neurons firing together will strengthen the connection and make it easier for the two neurons to illicit a response from the third. In sum The neurons that fire together, wire together(Brown Milner, 2003).The implications of his findings and theory forever changed physiology and psychology. Hebb’s theory has crossed over from psychology to computer science and engineering (Brown Milner, 2003). Dr. Donald Hebb received acclaim for his theory and findings and was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize and served on many boards such as the CPA, APA, NRC (Brown Milner, 2003). Hebb died on August 20, 1985 from what was thought to be a routine surgery on his hip (Olsen Hergenhahn, 2013). Five key findings Hebb discovered transformed the field of learning psychology. The five findings include; cell assembly, phase sequence, arousal theory, short and long term memory, and the Hebb rule. Hebb’s theories and research are now applied in engineering, robotics, and computer science as well as neurophysiology, neuroscience and psychology (Klien, 1999). The beginning to Hebb’s discoveries began in 1929 when Han’s Berger’s announced that the brain exhibits continuous electrical activity( (Brown, Milner,2003).With this information Hebb sought explanations as to how learning and physiology interact with one other (Brown, Milner, 2003). Hebb found that at the time, explanations as to how learning was developed were by simplistic equations such as the S-R relationship in organisms which to him was too simplistic (Brown, Milner, 2003). He believed that the inborn activity of the path must be taken account for (Brown, Milner, 2003). Hebb thought that psychologist could no longer pretend that the biology of the organism was irrelevant (Brown, Milner, 2003).Behavior as Hebb saw was affected by variables such as attention and psychological theory which could no longer be ignored (Brown, Milner, 2003). Hebb believed that the learning was related to neural activity and current data of the time could not explain the ph enomena. Hebb concluded that Classical Behaviorism could not account for electro-encephalic data which clearly demonstrated the inadequacy of the physiological data on which Classical Behaviorism was based on (Brown, Milner, 2003). As a result Hebb developed neural theory with the current neurophysiological data (Brown, Milner, 2003). One of the key findings of Hebb was the cell assembly. Understanding how environmental objects we experience impact the brain led Hebb to the discovery of the cell assembly. The cell assembly is a pattern of neural activity that is caused when an environmental object or event is experienced (Olsen Hergenhahn, 2013). Furthermore when the cell assembly is well developed, the person is able to think of the entire event following the stimulation of the assembly, even if the object itself or the event is physically absent (Olsen Hergenhahn, 2013). When a cell assembly fires we experience the event or thought the assembly represents (Olsen Hergenhahn, 2013). Thought or ideas according to Hebb, is the cell assemblies neurological basis (Olsen Hergenhahn, 2013). The next influential finding of Hebb was the phase sequence. The phase sequence is a sequence of temporarily related cell assemblies. A phase sequence occurs when cell assemblies consistently follow one another in time form(Olsen Hergenhahn,2013). Once a phase sequence is developed a temporarily integrated series of assembly activities amount to one current stream of thought (Olsen Hergenhahn, 2013). When a single cell assembly or combination of assemblies in a phase sequence is fired, the entire phase sequence tends to fire (Olsen Hergenhahn, 2013). As a result of the phase sequence firing, one experiences a stream of thought which is a series of ideas arranged in a type of logical order (Olsen Hergenhahn, 2013). Another important finding of Hebb was his development of arousal theory which explained reinforcement. Hebb discovered that there are times in which too much noise or commotion may allow one to not think clearly while at other times, one may need to shake themselves awake to keep up with optimal performance (Olsen Hergenhahn, 2013). Hebb discovered that these reactions suggests that there is a level of stimulation in which must not be too high or low to produce optimal cognitive functioning (Olsen Hergenhahn, 2013). This relationship led to Hebb’s development of arousal theory (Olsen Hergenhahn, 2013). Arousal theory according to Hebb is the contention in which brain wave activity ranges from very fast to very slow with a rate in between that allows for the optimal performance of certain tasks. (Olsen Hergenhahn, 2013). Hebb contributed towards developing the differentiation between long term and short term memory .Hebb completely developed the distinction between different kinds of memory and theorized on the underlying physiological mechanisms (Olsen Hergenhahn, 2013). Hebb believed in two forms of memory which consists of long term and short term memory (Olsen Hergenhahn, 2013). Short term memory according to Hebb, lasts less than a minute and is related with the reverberating of neural activity created by an environmental event (Olsen Hergenhahn, 2013). However if an experience is repeated enough it is stored as long term memory (Olsen Hergenhahn, 2013). The process in which short term memory is converted into long term memory is defined as consolidation (Olsen Hergenhahn, 2013). Another major contribution of Hebb lays in a learning rule. The Hebb rule is a learning rule used in computer simulation which refers to Hebb’s idea that when two cells are active together, the connection between them is strengthened (Olsen Hergenhahn, 2013), The Hebb rule is a mathematical statement which tries to capture Hebb’s contention that the connection between two cells that are active simultaneously will be strengthened or made more efficient (Olsen Hergenhahn, 2013). The similarities of Hebb and Pavlov’s theories is that Hebb’s ideas concerning formation of associations between areas that are contiguously active are not that much different from Pavlov’s (Olsen Hergenhahn, 2013). Comparatively, Hebb like Pavlov was not the first researcher to use his ideas about brain function to theorize about higher cognitive processes (Olsen Hergenhahn, 2013). Furthermore, it could be said the Hebb may have changed the level of analysis from larger areas of the brain to smaller numbers of neurons but maintained the basic principles of Pavlov (Olsen Hergenhahn, 2013). The differences between Hebb and Pavlov’s theory is that Hebb along with Lashley discovered that Pavlovian theory had restrictions specifically in the belief that the brain was a complex switchboard. (Olsen Hergenhahn, 2013). For instance, the switchboard view of the brain assumed that sensory events stimulate specific areas of the brain and learning causes a change in neural circuitry so that sensory events come to stimulate areas other than those they originally stimulated (Olsen Hergenhahn, 2013). Conversely Hebb and Lashley discovered through their research on rats that the location of destroyed portions of the brain was not as important as the amount of destruction (Olsen Hergenhahn, 2013). Lashley further proved through the principle of mass action that the disruption of learning and retention goes up when the amount of cortical destruction goes up regardless of the location of the destruction (Olsen Hergenhahn, 2013). Furthermore, when the cortex functions as a whol e during learning, and suppose one part of the cortex is destroyed then the other parts of the cortex take over the destroyed portion’s function (Olsen Hergenhahn, 2013). Hebb and Lashley’s discoveries show that the brain did not act like a simple switchboard. Hebb impacted the field of learning through his discoveries on the effects of environment and neural development and arousal theory (Olsen Hergenhahn, 2013). Hebb believed there were two kinds of learning (Olsen Hergenhahn, 2013). First is the gradual buildup of cell assemblies and phase sequences during infancy and early childhood (Olsen Hergenhahn, 2013). Both cell assemblies and phase sequences in early childhood develop in early learning in which the objects and events in the environment have neurological representations (Olsen Hergenhahn, 2013). As a result of this neural development, children can think of an object or event, series of objects and events, when it is not physically present (Olsen Hergenhahn, 2013). According to Hebb the second kind of learning, occurs when cell assemblies and phase sequences are developed in early life, then subsequent learning involves their rearrangement (Olsen Hergenhahn, 2013). One way of putting it, once the building blocks have been e stablished (first kind of learning) they can then be rearranged in numerous configurations (Olsen Hergenhahn, 2013). Another contribution to the field of learning was Hebb’s arousal theory. Arousal theory shows that for any given student or task efficient learning occurs when there is an optimal level of arousal (Olsen Hergenhahn, 2013). Together environment and neural development along with arousal theory have contributed towards the field of education. References Brown, R. E., Milner, P. M. (2003). The legacy of Donald O. Hebb: More than the Hebb synapse. Nature Reviews/Neuroscience, 4, 1019. Klien, R. M. (1999). The Hebb legacy. Canadian Journal for Experimental Psychology, 53(1), 3. Olsen, M. H., Hergenhahn, B. R. (2013) Introduction to theories of learning. 9th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. 9780205871865 University of Alberta Canada. (2008). Dr. Donald Hebb. Retrieved from http://www.psych.ualberta.ca/GCPWS/index.html Export Strategy: Advantages and Disadvantages Export Strategy: Advantages and Disadvantages 1.0. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The purpose of this report was to analyze the different strategies for exporting that are available to an organization internationalizing for the first time. Specific objectives were to identify the drawbacks and benefits of an export strategy. The report recommends an organization taking up exporting as a means of internationalization but also emphasizes that for exporting to be fully successful, the organization must approach it in a systematic way so that it may derive the full benefits associated with exporting. 2.0. TERMS OF REFERENCE My name is Amina J M Matongo,I am a student studying for my Bachelor of Arts in Business Studies at The Zambia Centre For accountancy Studies through the Greenwich University. The content in this report is based on examining different export strategies available to a firm wishing to internationalize for the first time and the advantages and disadvantages of an export strategy. 3.0. METHODOLOGY The information contained and gathered in this report has been collected from international business literature, texts, past knowledge and the World Wide Web. 4.0. INTRODUCTION A number of market entry strategies are available for a firm wishing to internationalize into foreign markets. Entry strategies include Exporting, Licensing, Franchising, strategic alliances, joint ventures and wholly owned subsidiaries. But because exporting entails limited risk, expense and knowledge of foreign markets and transactions, most organizations prefer exporting as their primary foreign market strategy. Exporting is a strategy of producing products or services in one country (often the producers home country), and then selling and distributing to customers in another country. The organization that is exporting retains its manufacturing activities in the home market but conducts marketing, distribution and customer service activities in the export market, the firm may conduct the latter activities itself or contract with an independent distributor or agent to have them performed (Cavusgil, Knight ,Riesenberger). Organizations venturing abroad for the first time, use exporting as an entry strategy, but beyond primary entry, all types of firms, large and small use exporting regardless of their stage of internationalization. Large companies such as Boeing and Toyota have used exporting in conjunction with other entry strategies. Compared to more complex strategies such as foreign direct investment (FDI), the exporter can both enter and withdraw from the markets fairly easily, with minimal risk and expense. Exporting may be employed repeatedly during the firms internationalization process.(reference 1) 4.1. The reasons why organizations internationalize include To seek opportunities for growth through market diversification. Substantial market potential exists outside the home country and this is how firms both large and small generate more than half their sales from markets abroad. Many foreign markets may be underserved for example high emerging markets, thus they have high demand and less intense competitive pressures which entails higher margins and profits for the firm. Firms are better able to serve key customers who have relocated abroad. For example when Toyota opened its first factory in the UK, many Japanese auto parts suppliers followed, establishing their own operations there. To gain access to lower-cost or better-value factors of production .Internationalization enables the firm to access capital, technology, managerial talent, labor and land at lower costs, higher quality, or better overall value at locations worldwide. Another driver for internationalization is that the firm is able to develop economies of scale in sourcing, production, marketing and RD .Also the firm will be closer to supply sources, benefit from global sourcing advantages, and gain new ideas about products, services and business methods. Unique foreign environments expose firms to new ideas for products, processes and business methods. (reference 2). 5.0. DISCUSSION According to Cavusgil, Knight and Riesenberger, the more experienced managers will use a systematic approach to exporting to improve the firms prospects for successful exporting. This approach should be as follows: 5.1.1. Step one, assess global market opportunity Management assesses the various global market opportunities available to the organization. The organizations readiness to internationalize and choose the most attractive export markets, identifies qualified distributors and other foreign business partners then estimates industry market potential and company sales potential. 5.1.2. Step two, organize for Exporting The second step is for managers to address the questions of what types of financial, managerial and productive resources should be committed to exporting? And to what extent should the firm rely on domestic and foreign intermediaries to carry out exporting? Options open to the organization are either to use indirect exporting which is exporting through intermediaries in the home market or direct exporting which is through intermediaries in the foreign market. 5.1.3. Step three, Acquire needed skills and competences Exporting is often complex and as a result requires specialized skills and competencies. Meaning the organization will need to acquire these skills and competencies, train staff and engage appropriate facilitating firms such as freight forwarders ,bankers etc. 5.1.4. Step four, Implement the export strategy In this final stage, management formulates elements of the organizations export strategy. This may involve product adaptation to modify a product to make it fit the needs and tastes of buyers. In export markets with many competitors, the exporter needs to adapt its products/services in order to gain a competitive advantage. For example when Microsoft markets computer software in Germany, it must ensure the software is written in German. Marketing communications adaptation refers to modifying advertising, selling, public relations and promotional activities to suit individual markets. Marketing activities are adapted depending on the nature of the target market, nature of the product/service, the firms position relative to competitors and managements specific goals and objectives. Price competitiveness refers to efforts to keep foreign pricing in line with that of competitors, the exporter may need to charge competitive prices .In the case of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), they may lack the resources to compete head to head on pricing with larger rivals. Such companies do not compete based on price but by emphasizing the non-price benefits of their products/services such as quality, reliability and brand leadership. Distribution strategy often hinges on developing strong and mutually beneficial relations with foreign intermediaries. Companies provide ongoing support to distributors and subsidiaries in the form of sales force, training, technical assistance, marketing know how, promotional support and pricing incentives. In markets with numerous competitors, the exporter may need to boost the capabilities of distributors. SOURCE: Adapted from Cavusgil et al,strategy, management and the new realities, pearson, 2008.pg 391. 6.0. STRATEGIES FOR EXPORTING MAY BE LOOSELY GROUPED INTO THREE CATEGORIES 6.1. Direct Exporting Direct exporting involves direct marketing and selling to the client that is contracting with intermediaries located in the foreign market to perform export functions; intermediaries include foreign based sales agents and distributors. These intermediaries or agents perform downstream value chain activities in the target market. If a firm has a reasonably accessible market, direct exporting of products and services may be a viable option .But where the firm faces less familiar markets with different legal and regulatory environments, business practices, customs and or preferences, direct exporting may not be an attractive option. A local partner for example may be better able to manage these complexities and serve the organizations potential clients better. 6.1.1. Advantages of direct exporting The exporting company will be able to establish a direct contact with a foreign trading partner, and not only operates through its own foreign trade companies abroad but also has the best opportunity for direct participation in foreign transactions. Target management and control of the sales become possible which is unrealistic in the case of indirect exports. The strategy offers potential for higher profits because of more direct contact. Direct exports may also enable the producer to have a closer relationship with foreign buyers and the marketplace. Direct exporting is applicable to a wider range of goods and services. 6.1.2. Disadvantages of direct exporting Direct exports are affected by other conditions. For example, the deterioration of exchange rates, if the rate of domestic currencies of third countries increases on the markets where the firm exports, it may cause the company to become relatively uncompetitive in overseas markets. Direct exporting may be inappropriate for goods with a short work life and are unlikely to be exported, goods such as those which may have high transport costs or goods that require complex after -sales service which cannot be granted by resellers. Direct exporting may require the producer to acquire new capabilities like marketing skills and financial resources in order to be able to contract with clients or business partners. 6.2. Indirect Exporting This method of exporting is mainly used by producers in the transportation, Automobile and Equipment manufacturing industries. For example, the Toyota Motor corporation. Indirect exporting entails contracting with intermediaries in the producers home country to perform export functions; these are intermediaries such as an export management company (EMC) or a Trading company. These intermediaries are responsible for finding foreign buyers in the target market, shipping products and receiving payment. The types of intermediaries Domestic based exporting merchants who sell the products abroad and domestic based export agents who sell on behalf of the exporter but do not take title of the products; agents are usually paid by commission. The producer/ exporter should exercise caution when selecting an agent or distributor for indirect exporting. 6.2.1. The advantages of indirect exporting The principal advantage of indirect exporting for most organizations is that it provides a way to penetrate the foreign markets without the complexities and risks of more direct exporting. The international organization can start exporting with no incremental investment in fixed capital, low startup costs and few risks, but with prospects for incremental sales. The exporter will have less complexity in dealing with when selling products in foreign markets, complexities which range from clashing cultures to volatile exchange rates. The exporter will not have to worry about managing product distribution in a foreign country as this is done by an export partner. The market entry barriers tend to be less in this form of exporting. In indirect exporting, the legal relationships exist between the organizations supplier (intermediary) and its immediate client buyer. Questions of jurisdiction in international lawsuits become less of an issue for the indirect exporter. The aspect of managing ongoing end user relationships is eliminated for the producer. Compared with other forms of access to foreign markets and their development, indirect exports require scarce resources. This will be an advantage for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) wishing to internationalize. The producer will have more time to focus on the core competencies of their business operations. Indirect exporting does not require a lot of organizational effort or commitment of staff workers, the firm only employs a small number of employees as the main work is carried out by foreign trade partners. In the event that this export strategy does not lead to achievement of goals, the exporter can easily withdraw from the market. 6.2.2. The disadvantages of indirect exporting The main disadvantage of indirect exports is that not all brokers are using the optimum market potential and opportunities for marketing, thus mistakes and miscalculations in their actions affect the income of producers of export goods. Indirect exporting may lead to diminishing returns in the long run as trading partners try to get maximum profit from their service as mediators. While the exporter using intermediaries to export can save a lot of money in the short and medium term, this type of supplier has little or no control over the business activities in international markets. By using an intermediary, the indirect exporter may lose out on brand recognition and loyalty in international markets, thus leaving this opportunity and domain to larger firms. Lastly the producer using indirect exports may lack recognition from the end users of the product or service, who are much more familiar with the end product. 6.2.3 The third option open to exporters is to export by establishing strategic partnerships with other organizations or individuals that have complementary skills or capabilities. The partner may often provide the insight, contacts and experience that fill the gap in the organizations export readiness. The advantage is that an alliance with a company selling a complementary product or service can provide the producer with more effective market access, resulting in more foreign sales in less time. A disadvantage may be that the two partners will not achieve synergistic benefits causing a failure in organizations export ventures. It should be noted though that many organizations use both approaches for different foreign markets. Key issues for deciding whether to use direct or indirect exporting are (1) the level of resources in terms of time, capital and managerial expertise that management is willing to commit to international expansion and individual markets;(2) the strategic importance of the foreign market; (3) the nature of the firms products, including the need for after sales support and (4) the availability of capable foreign intermediaries in the target market.(reference 3). 7.0. AN EXPORT STRATEGY As mentioned earlier ,exporting is the strategy of producing in the home country and then selling to buyers in foreign markets or abroad .Organizations that use exporting as a strategy include 3M (the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Co.) which makes tape, sand paper and medical products amongst other products. 3M is a major exporter with revenues of over $2billion in exports. Another export success story is FCX (based in west Virginia) systems which makes power converters for the aerospace industry ,this organization generates over half of its $20million in annual sales from exports to more than 50countries(reference 4),a third example would be the Toyota Motor Corporation. The advantages and disadvantages of exporting to the above named organizations are: 7.1. Advantages Organizations can increase sales volume, improve market share and generate profit margins that are often more favorable than in the domestic market. The exporter is able to diversify the customer base, reducing dependence on home markets. For example Toyota is in different regions thus they have a diverse customer base. Economies of scale will increase and therefore reduce the per unit cost of manufacturing. Exporting allows the exporter to minimize risk and maximize flexibility that is compared to other forms of internationalization. If situations necessitate, the firm can quickly withdraw from an export market. As compared to other forms of entry, exporting is a low risk, low cost strategy as it does not require the exporter to establish a physical presence there. Organizations can test potential markets before committing greater resources. The exporter is able to stabilize fluctuations in sales associated with economic cycles or seasonality of demand. For example, a firm can offset declining demand at home due to an economic recession by refocusing efforts toward those countries that are experiencing more robust economic growth. Also the exporter is able to leverage the capabilities and skills of foreign distributors and other business partners located abroad. Lastly the exporting organization is able to develop meaningful foreign relationships abroad. 7.2. Disadvantages Compared to foreign direct investment, the exporter has fewer opportunities to acquire and learn knowledge about customers, competitors and the marketplace. Meaning that it may fail to perceive opportunities and threats. An export strategy will require the organization to acquire new capabilities and dedicate organizational resources to properly conduct export transactions .Firms that are serious about exporting must hire staff with competency in international transactions and foreign languages. Exporting is much more sensitive to tariff and other trade barriers and fluctuations in exchange rates. Many of the pitfalls associated with exporting can be avoided if a company hires an experienced export management company, or export consultant, and if it adopts the appropriate export strategy. (Hill, 2009). 8.0. CONCLUSIONS Firms venturing abroad for the first time usually use exporting as their mode of entry. Exporting is also the entry strategy most favored by small and medium-sized enterprises. But beyond initial entry all types of firms, large and small use exporting regardless of their stage of internationalization. Exporting is the entry strategy responsible for the massive inflows and outflows that constitute global trade. Exporting typically generates substantial foreign exchange earnings for nations. For example in the United States, SMEs account for a great proportion of all U.S exporters. From 1992 to 2004, they represented nearly 100 percent of the growth in the U.S exporter population, swelling from about 108,000 firms in 1992 to over 225,000 firms by 2004. SMEs were responsible for nearly a third of merchandise exports from the United States in 2006.(Cavusgil, Knight, Riesenberger). 9.0. RECOMMENDATIONS Since it is possible to use both direct and indirect exporting simultaneously in different target markets, my recommendation would be to apply either direct or indirect exporting depending on the target markets and the conditions that prevail in those markets. Both methods of exporting can be used successfully.