Motet Music Essays - Medieval Music, Renaissance Music,

Motet Music The genesis of the motet is, like the biblical birth of Eve, a matter of appendage. In the case of Eve, a rib was removed from Adam and fashioned into a women; the motet was a rib added to pre-existing clausulae. James C. Thomson describes this development as follows: ?In the thirteenth century, perhaps sooner, it became the practice to add a new text to the upper voice of a clausula. The newly worded, was then called motetus.? (Thomson, 56) Despite its somewhat haphazard birth, the form was widely accepted. Grout describes its popularity as: ?Thousands of motets were written in the thirteenth century; the style spread from Paris throughout France and to all parts of western Europe.? (Grout, 99) Originality was not a hallmark of the thirteenth century motet. In fact, of the two essential characteristics of the motet, one was that ?it was constructed on a cantus firmus, some pre-existent melody (Thomson, 57) The other was that it had at least two different texts. As Grout points out, ?the stock of motet melodies, both tenors and upper parts, lay in the public domain; composers and performers freely helped themselves to the music of their predecessors without acknowledgment and altered it without notice.? (Grout, 99) A unique characteristic of the motet of this period is the mixing of melodies and rhythms. Alfred Einstein described this technique as: ?This may be called polymelody, the compulsory combination of the two or more distinct melodies with different rhythms (Einstein, 26) With the acceptance of such combinations came the development of stranger mixtures. Side by side with a sacred liturgical text appeared secular texts of sometimes outrageous contrast. The mixture of sacred and secular text was a result of the fact that less and less notice was taken of the connection between the texts of the tenor and duplum. Einstein theorized this development was arbitrary, however most belief the music is premised on an, ?internal perception? (Bukofzer, 28) and to the musician, ?to them a detail was a value in itself.? (Mathiassen, 70) The motet blended the different planes of music. An additional development in the technique of mixing and adding is that not only was it polyphonic, polyrythmic, and polytextual, but music was now polyglot: ?one or more vernacular (French) texts might be substituted for Latin ones.? (Thomson, 57) During this time, composers of the Notre Dame School concerned themselves with the development of clausulae in ?rhythmically identical patterns.? (Harman, 53) Harman writes: ?This was not only the culmination of the Notre Dame preoccupation with rhythm, but was also a very important innovation, because it eventually developed into the chief structural device of the fourteenth century motet.? (Harman, 53) The structural device alluded to above, goes under name of ?isorhythm?, (same rhythm). At first, this concept of single rhythm was applied solely to the tenor part, but gradually the principle was applied to the other parts. Creating a greater unity and sense of whole to the listener. Philippe de Vitry (1291-1361) ?was a master of the isorythmic motet.? (Thomson, 59) It was he who pioneered the application of the principle to the other parts. He and Guillaume de Machaut (c.1300-c.1377), whose ?claim that the ear should be used to check a completed composition was the first indication that the combination of the given melodies? was beginning to yield to a freer, more individual attitude towards creative art.? (Einstein, 34) Machaut was the most prominent practitioner of the strophic motet and preferred the use of French text. (Saide, 625) The fourteenth century also witnessed a change in attitude toward text. The polytextual thirteenth-century motet was replaced by the fourteenth-century forms, which typically had a single text, treated either as a solo (the French ballad) or distributed between the voices in such a way as to keep the words always clearly understandable. (Grout, 157) The development of the motet from the thirteenth to the fifteenth centuries can be characterized as a gradual turning away from the abstract, nonsensuous principles of construction toward pleasure of sounds for their own sake, and toward a clarity of structure immediately apparent from the music itself, without reference to esoteric meanings. (Grout, 157) Many of the motets written during the fourteenth century were constructed in

Patient Escorts at City Hospital Essay Example

Patient Escorts at City Hospital Essay Example Patient Escorts at City Hospital Essay Patient Escorts at City Hospital Essay City Hospital is located in the heart of a large Midwestern city. It is one of five major hospitals in the area and has recently built a small addition for treating well-known patients, such as professional football players, top company executives, and singing stars. Visiting or local celebrities always choose City Hospital if they need treatment. City Hospital has about 1200 hospital beds and employs 4500 individuals, including about 40 patient escorts. The job of patient escort is a rather simple one, requiring no special physical or mental talents. The work is easy, few skills are required, and the pay for the job is considered good. When patients need to be moved from one location to another, patient escorts are summoned to assist in the move. If the move is only a short distance, however, a nurse can move the patient. Of particular importance is the fact that patient escorts almost always take patients who are being discharged from their hospital room to the front door of the hospital. A wheelchair is always used, even if the patient is able to walk unassisted. Thus, the typical procedure is for the nurse to call for a patient escort; the escort gets a wheelchair and goes to the patient’s room, assists the patient into the wheelchair, picks up the patient’s belongings, wheels the patient down to the hospital’s front door or to his or her car in the parking lot, and returns to the work station. The job of patient escort is indeed critical to the hospital since the escort is always the last hospital representative the patient sees, and hence has a considerable influence on the patient’s perception of the hospital. Of approximately 40 escorts, about three-fourths are men, and one-fourth are women. Most are high school graduates in their early twenties. Some, particularly those on the early morning shift, are attending college at night and working for the hospital to earn money to pay college expenses. Four of the escorts are older women who had previously served as hospital volunteers and then decided to become full-time employees instead. Turnover among patient escorts is quite high and has averaged 25% in recent years. In addition, upward mobility in the hospital is quite good, and as a result, another 25% of the escorts typically transfer to other jobs in the hospital each year. Thus, about half of the patient escorts need to be replaced annually. The hospital follows a standard procedure when hiring patient escorts. When a vacancy occurs, the human resource department reviews the file of applications of individuals who have applied for the patient escort job. Usually the file contains 15 to 20 applications. Two or three applicants are usually picked and asked to come to the hospital for interview. The applicants are interviewed first by the human resource department and then by the patient escort supervisor. The majority of those interviewed typically know some other employees of the hospital, so the only reference check is a call to these employees. Every new escort attends an orientation program the first day on the job. This is conducted by a member of the hospital’s human resource department. The program consists of a complete tour of the hospital; a review of all the hospital’s HR policies, including a description of its promotion, compensation, and disciplinary policies; and a presentation of the hospital’s mission and philosophy. During this orientation session, employees are told that the hospital’s image in the community is of major importance and that all employees should strive to maintain and enhance this image through their conduct. After orientation, all patient escorts receive on-the-job training by their immediate supervisor. During the last two years, the hospital has experienced a number of problems with patient escorts, which have had an adverse effect on the hospital’s image. Several patients have complained to the hospital administration that they were treated rudely, or in some cases roughly, by one or more patient escorts. Some complained that they were ordered around or scolded by an escort during the discharge process. Others stated that their escorts were careless when wheeling them out of the hospital to their cars. One person reported that an escort carelessly tipped him over. All escorts are required to wear identification tags, but patients usually can’t remember the escort’s name when complaining to the hospital. Additionally, the hospital usually has difficulty determining which escort served which patient because escorts often trade patients. Finally even when the hospital can identify the offending escort, the employees can easily deny any wrongdoing. He or she often counters that patients are generally irritable as a result of their illness and hence are prone to complain at even the slightest provocation. At the request of the hospital’s top management, the assistant human resource director asked the human resource manager, the head of the staffing section within the human resource department, and the chief supervisor of patient escorts to meet with her to review the entire procedure used to select patient escorts. It was hoped that a new procedure could be devised that would eliminate the hiring of rude, insulting, or careless patient escorts. During the meeting, a number of suggestions were made as to how the selection procedure might be improved. Criticisms of the present system were also voiced. The chief supervisor of patient escorts argued that the problem with the hospital’s present system is that the application blank is void of any really useful information. He stated that the questions that really give insights into the employees are no longer on the application blank. He suggested that applicants be asked about their hobbies, outside activities, and their personal likes and dislikes on the application blank. The head of the staffing section suggested that each applicant be asked to submit three letters of recommendation from people who know the applicant well. He wanted these letters to focus on the prospective employee’s personality, particularly the applicant’s ability to remain friendly and polite at all times. The human resource manager contended that the hospital’s interviewing procedure should be modified. He observed that during the interview little attempt is made to determine how the applicant reacts under stress. He suggested that if applicants were asked four or five stress-producing  questions, the hospital might be in a better position to judge their ability to work with irritable patients. The assistant human resource director noted that the attribute patient escorts need is always being courteous and polite. She wondered whether a personality test could be developed that would measure the applicant’s traits toward being friendly and helpful. She suggested that the personality traits that are critical to being a successful patient escort be determined and test questions be developed to evaluate these traits. The test questions could then be administered to the hospital’s existing patient escorts to ascertain whether the personality test accurately distinguishes the best escorts from the worst. She felt that a well-designed personality test might be worth consideration. Basing on the information provided in the case material and your class learning, submit a written assignment (800~1200 words excluding bibliography) answering all of the following case questions. Answer the questions in the order they are asked and answer each question separately instead of weaving several questions together. Make use of headings/subheadings wherever appropriate to facilitate the instructor’s reading and understanding of your assignment. No executive summary is necessary. Case Questions: 1. Evaluate each of the alternative approaches as suggested in the case for solving the problem of selecting patient escorts. 2. Recommend a procedure for recruiting and selecting patient escorts, and 3. Propose other actions, besides improving its recruitment and selection procedures, which the hospital could potentially take to improve the behavior of the patient escorts. General Instructions: This is an individual assignment (not group assignment). Your assignment must have a front page bearing your FULL name, student number, the course title, and some kind of class identification (preferably weekday plus start time of your class, e. g. , Wed 1130). Format of assignment: typed, A4 paper, double-spaced, 12 pt Times New Roman font, 1 inch all margins. This assignment should be submitted on or before the specified due date to the instructor during class. This assignment should be submitted in hard copies; do not submit via email or SOUL.

International business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

International business - Essay Example Apart from this, on the basis of the analysis, with varied tools, certain recommendations are also provided to the management of the organisation. It is essential in order to enhance the productivity and the prosperity of Scholz & Friends. Moreover, it would also enhance the brand association and distinctiveness among other evident players in the market. Table of Contents 1 Abstract 2 3 Introduction 4 Analysis 5 Overview of Scholz & Friends 5 Analysis of China Market 6 Market Overview 6 Trend Analysis 7 PESTLE Analysis 7 Porter’s Five Forces Analysis 10 SWOT Analysis of China Market 12 Recommendation 14 Conclusion 14 References 15 Bibliography 19 Appendices 20 Introduction The rapid pace of globalisation and industrialisation enhanced global affiliation among various intercontinental regions resulting in reduction of trade barriers leading to upgradation of international business. Moreover, globalisation also enhanced the economic growth of the varied developed and developing countries along with improvement in business activities due to free trade opportunities (Wang, n.d.). International business is referred to industrial or mercantile dealings that take place among two or more areas, countries or nations beyond political periphery. International business includes exports and imports activities as numerous products and/or services are transferred from one region to the other. The prime objective of an organisation to undergo global business is to enhance its market share along with its corporate image. The other key aim of international business is to augment organisational productivity and profitability (Wang, n.d.). Subsequently, international business helps an organisation to extend its credibility and identity all over the globe in order to enhance its reputation. Hence, enhancement of international business amplified the need of promotional activities resulting in wider scope for advertising agencies. An advertising agency mainly deals in service industry which attempts to create and to promote inventive ideas and thoughts such as Scholz & Friends. The prime objective of any advertising agency is to encourage and to convince consumers regarding commercial offerings. Advertising agencies like Scholz & Friends also attempts to reassure employees or shareholders about the success of any organisation (Scholz & Friends Group GmbH, 2010). The report mainly focuses on varied features and importance of Scholz & Friends in a brief way. Along with this, it also highlights varied attributes of international business and a detailed analysis of Scholz & Friends is also shown with the help of diverse techniques such as PESTLE analysis, Porter’s five forces analysis and SWOT analysis. In addition, various recommendations are also provided in order to enhance the growth and the development of Scholz & Friends. Analysis Overview of Scholz & Friends Scholz & Friends is one of the reputed advertising agency groups in Europe. It was esta blished in the year 1981 with an alliance of 48 friends. The head office of Scholz & Friends is situated in the region of Berlin of Germany (Scholz & Friends Group GmbH, 2010). The company i.e. Scholz & Friends was originated in Hamburg by Jurgen Scholz and many others so it was named such. It is known as one of the most imaginative agencies of Germany and hence is ranked, number one by trade journal Horizont. Due to high brand image and

The Code of Journalistic Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Code of Journalistic Ethics - Essay Example If he does then it amounts to misrepresentation and is an unethical exercise. This stands valid for those cases where the journalist is aware that misrepresenting himself will get him the desired information he needs, however, he shall not disobey the code of ethics. According to the writer’s opinion, this ethic of misrepresentation is absolutely fine and necessary to keep the journalists in check and to make sure that they don’t cross their boundaries as journalists. Protecting Sources of Information: This code of ethics propounds the theory that a journalist shall never divulge the source of his information under any circumstances to any person who has asked for it. It all depends if the source wants him to divulge the information or not. According to the writer, this code of ethic is absolutely sufficient an imperative for the journalist ot do his duty in the most honest fashion to his profession. A journalist should never divulge the information to anyone if the sou rce has refused him to do so, even if that amounts to going to the jail. This way the journalist is showing solidarity and a faith of trust not only towards his source but also towards his profession. Objectivity and Fairness: A journalist should be fair and objective, but this code of ethic cannot be implemented for various reasons. ... Only in those circumstances the journalist is consciously avoiding to divert opinion, but nevertheless it happens all the time. The need of the hour is to come to grips with it and implement it consciously so that the effect would be greater than what it is right now. Conflict of Interest: This code of ethic talks about the fact that there shall be no conflict of interest while a journalist is reporting to his story. I completely agree to this code of ethic and believe that there is no room for submersing the news for the sake of any relative or loved ones. A journalist should always be free and fair in his reporting and therefore it is imperative to follow this code of ethic Economic Pressure: The theory of the code of not yielding to economic pressure says that a journalist should not write a story praising an organization in return of financial advantage. However, there are certain loopholes in this code of ethic, as a journalist needs money to finance himself and his family. It i s imperative for the survival of the journalist that he is able to afford a living, as the readers who are reading his article never understand the financial plight, which the journalist might be going through. Therefore, if there are times when a journalist needs to write a story for remuneration or advertise a story then he should be able to do it without having a feeling of guilt. Privacy vs. Public’s right to know: In the writer’s opinion there is no room for investigative journalism. A journalist should never cross his boundaries when trying to unearth the information. A public celebrity is a celebrity is public and does not live in the public scheme of things. Therefore, journalists should avoid

Issues in Criminal Justice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Issues in Criminal Justice - Essay Example behaviour of the defendant, illegal possession of drugs, presence of drug in school and secretly carrying drug with approval or knowledge of the school administrator. The Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986 "enacted the 100-to-1 quantity sentencing powder cocaine"; the law is strong enough to suggest the award of sentence. As per law, "possession of drugs i.e. cocaine is liable to five-year mandatory minimum prison sentence", the quantity specified in the law is 500 grams of powder cocaine. As per gathered evidence there is no law, which can protect the defendant from the imprisonment sentence (Martin, 2002). The serious offence committed by the defendant is much beyond the possession of cocaine. The defendant possessed cocaine at a location which is considered to be righteous place. The possession of cocaine at schools and public location is serious offence than simple possession of cocaine. The important element relevant to this case also includes the non-availability of any argument, excuse or reason by the defendant which shall rescue her against the violation. As per American Behaviour-Law, no one stands above the law enforcement agencies. The instruction of law enforcement agencies is binding, and any violation shall be considered unacceptable. The defendant misbehaved with the police officer, the defendant was abusive and her act of throwing bag towards the officer was sign of disrespect. As per law, the defendant shall be either send for voluntary service, if not she shall be counselled, and any such action in future shall be deemed intolerable, and the defendant can be taken into custody as per law. The law suggests that the defendant has no right to protest in front of police; however the defendant had the right to request the presence of her lawyer during investigation. From the quoted incident, it is evident that the behaviour of the police officer towards the defendant was normal and acceptable, therefore the response of the defendant towards

Define empowerment, capacity building and participation

Define empowerment, capacity building and participation in the context of your research. Describe the dependent and independent variables in your research and justify the relationship between the dependent and independent variables. The understanding of the concept of empowerment varies among disciplines. It is a cross-disciplinary term, mainly used in fields of Education, Psychology, Community Development, Economics, among others. Based on this many meanings of the term, it has been seen as a construct easy to define by its absence but difficult to define in action, based on the fact that it takes different forms in different people and contexts (Rappoport, cited in Page Czuba, 1999). Therefore, how we define empowerment within our projects and programs will depend upon the specific people and context involved. In the context of community development, a general definition of empowerment was proffered by Page Czuba (1999) as follows: Empowerment is a multi-dimensional social process that helps people gain control over their own lives. It is a process that fosters power (that is, the capacity to implement) in people, for use in their own lives, their communities, and in their society, by acting on issues that they define as important. From the above definition, three basic components are necessary to any understanding of empowerment, namely multi-dimensional, social, and a process. By multi-dimensional, empowerment is frequently connected to the four development dimensions of equity, capacity building, participation and self-reliance. According to Adams (2002) these four dimensions are regarded as the common denominators in most definitions of empowerment and debates regarding the role of empowerment in the development process. It also occurs at various levels, such as individual, group, and community. And it is a social process because it occurs in relationship to others. Embedded in this definition of empowerment is that the individual and community are fundamentally connected. The importance of individual empowerment is such that it is a prerequisite for community and social change and empowerment (Speer Hughey, 1995), and a bridge to community connectedness and social change (Wilson, 1996). With specific reference to the current study which looks at Youth development as a strategy for Poverty reduction, empowerment in this case entails the acquisition of power and the ability to give it effect (Swanepoel, 1997). Theron (2005) buttresses this view by looking at empowerment in terms of dual perspectives, namely empowerment as a process of skills and abilities development; and secondly, empowerment as a process that equips people to decide on and take action regarding the issues of concern to them. In the same vein, Burkly (1993) states that empowerment is a process that releases power to the people which they can use to access resources in order to achieve desirable goals. Although empowerment as a concept can be examined in the context of both individual and collective aspects, the concept as used here is operative at the individual level, rather than collective or organizational. While individual empowerment relates to the way people think about themselves, as well as the knowledge, capacities, skills, and mastery they actually possess (Staples, 1990, p. 32), collective empowerment refers to processes by which individuals join together to break their solitude and silence, help one another, learn together, and develop skills for collective action (Boehm Staples, 2004). For the purpose of this study, empowerment is defined as a process whereby individuals develop the skills and capacity for gaining some reasonable control over their lives. From the foregoing, empowerment in the context of this study does not only imply capacity building, by which is meant the building up of peoples knowledge, skills, and ability to enable them take actions correctly, it (empowerment) is also an effect of this process of capacity building where the individual participants of the capacity building process overcome their poverty situation and attain self-determination. Self-determination is consistent with notions of personal control (Greenberg Strasser, 1991); and it refers to an individuals sense of control over his or her own work (Wagner, 1995). As a major component of individual empowerment, self-determination is most frequently reported in the literature (Sprague Hayes, 2000). Fetterman (1996, p.92) believes that self-determination, defined as the ability to chart ones own course in life, forms the theoretical foundations of the components of individual empowerment. Against this background, the individual participants, who have become self employed and are economically empowered, having acquired skills via capacity building, are enabled to be in control of their lives. Therefore, empowerment here is an outcome of the process of capacity building. Individual empowerment is a development that involves many changes whereby an individual is able to strengthen and exercise the ability to act to gain control over his or her life. Hence, the goal of individual empowerment is to achieve a state of emancipation strong enough to impact ones power in life. Capacity Building As with the concepts of globalization, development, and sustainability, the term capacity building is an ambiguous concept that means different things to different people, groups and organizations. Although many people use these terms, their definitions do not conform to the same, as each puts emphasis on a certain aspect of capacity development (James, 2001). However, definitions of capacity building emphasize that capacity building is a tool to build and improve the skills, resources and ability of people to implement, monitor and assess a project. The United Nations (UNDP, 1997) sees capacity building as a process by which individuals, groups and organizations, institutions and societies increase their abilities to perform core functions, solve problems and define and achieve objectives; to understand and deal with their development needs in a broad context and in a sustainable manner. Eade (1997) sees capacity building as an approach to development which encompasses all the fields that influence the development sphere. In this approach to development, capacity building identifies the weaknesses that people experience in achieving their basic rights, and finding proper means through which to increase their ability to overcome the causes of their exclusion and suffering. In the context of this study, capacity building comprises the skills acquisition that the youth undergo in the process of their empowerment. Capacity building here is an intervening variable, which by its nature surfaces between the time the independent variable (participation) starts operating to influence the dependent variable (empowerment). It helps to explain the relationship between the IV DV. Thus, by participating in the development programmes, youth are equipped with the capacity, skills, knowledge that will enable them become economically empowered, employable and self-employed, thereby reducing unemployment and poverty among them. Capacity building as used in the study is not concerned about implementing a project or enhancing a particular aspect of life; it is a comprehensive empowerment process which builds the capability of people with relevant skills needed to find meaning in their lives. Consequently, the concept of capacity building as used in the study is a process where people are developed in order to manage themselves. To this end, empowerment of the participants becomes the ultimate output of capacity building process. On this understanding of capacity building as a process, Eade and Williams (1995) elaborate the concept as: Men and women becoming empowered to bring about positive changes in their lives; about personal growth together with public action; about both the process and the outcome of challenging poverty, oppression and discrimination; and about the realization of human potential through social and economic justice. Above all, it is about the process of transforming lives, and transforming societies. In this process of capacity building, people acquire the skills, which in turn create an avenue for them as individuals and as members of the community to achieve their development objectives and improve the quality of their lives. Hence, capacity building is a response to community development needs. Participation Participation is one of the essential aspects of community development associated with empowerment. It is a people-oriented approach to development, where people play an important role by feeling a high degree of ownership; and are subjects rather than objects in the process of their development. According to De Beer and Swanepoel (1998), participation leads to empowerment and empowerment results in vulnerable people or oppressed groups achieving sufficient power or authority to be able to influence decisions that affect their lives and livelihoods, so that they can attain ownership of their lives. Participation in this study is the input variable or independent variable, where, through involvement in youth development programmes like auto mechanics, electrical work, and welding, the participants acquire the capacity (skills, knowledge and training) that enable them to become self-employed and employable. By participating in the programmes, youth have enhanced their capacity to alleviate poverty. They have also built partnership with others by widening their employment opportunities. As marginalized members of the society, being involved in their development programmes enabled them to voice their concerns, hopes, and grievances. Adams (2008) asserts that participants are able to contribute to their development by giving feedback on programmes that are aimed at them. With empowerment in mind, the youth are able to collaborate with the project providers, thereby paving way for a more active role, having greater choice, exercising more power, and contributing in decision-making and management (Adams, 2008, p.17). Their participation has also broadened their support network, resulting in opening up new opportunities through programme development and social action. By participating in their development process, youth not only gain skills and knowledge, but also gain self-confidence, pride, initiative, responsibility and cooperation which without such development components in people all efforts to alleviate poverty will be difficult. An important attribute of participation is community empowerment, which requires a people-centered approach that culminates in self-reliance. Chambers and Freire (1996, p. 77) envisage that participation and empowerment can enable the poor to express and analyze both their individual and shared multiple realities. According to the World Health Organization (2002), community members should participate in their development because they have a right to have a say about decisions that affect their lives; and will also lead to better decisions being made, which are more appropriate and more sustainable because they are owned by the people themselves. Dependent and Independent variables of the study The conceptual framework below illustrates the variables of the study Youth empowerment as a strategy for poverty reduction in Niger Delta, Nigeria. In a nutshell, participation is the independent variable, where youth, through their involvements in skills acquisition programmes in auto mechanics, electrical work and welding develop/acquire the capacity in skills, training, knowledge and competence that led to their empowerment (DV); hence, becoming economically empowered, self-empowered and having a reduction in poverty. Empowerment Economic Empowerment Self-employment Individual Empowerment Unemployment reduction Poverty reduction Participation Involvement in youth development programmes Capacity Building Skills Knowledge Awareness Competence * Sense of community Input Auto mechanics Electrical work Welding a. Independent variable: Participation Based on the definitions and framework given above, the concept of participation will be the independent variable (IV) of the study, which will be manipulated in order to determine its influence or effect on the dependent variable (DV). As an input variable which influences the dependent variable, participation of the youth in development programmes will constitute the IV of the study, to see their relationship with the dependent variable. In other words, the youth participation in such programmes as auto mechanics, electrical work and welding will be operated to see how they lead to empowerment, which is the DV. Participation as employed in the study therefore is the social element whose characteristics or variations shape and determine the dependent variable. In other words, it is through the participants involvement in the development programmes that they are eventually empowered. Thus, participation causes the outcome of involvement in development programme which is empowerment (the DV). Economic empowerment b. Dependent variable: Empowerment Self-employment Unemployment reduction The dependent variable (DV) is a variable of primary interest to the researcher, whose task is to understand and describe it (the DV). And it is through the analysis of the dependent variable that the researcher is likely to find answers or solutions to the issues under study which is done by measuring the dependent variable as well as the other variables that influence this variable. In this study, empowerment is the dependent variable (DV) because it is a response to the action of participation (the IV). The DV depends and responds to the action of the IV. Empowerment in this study is the variable that reflects the influence of the independent variable. As illustrated in the framework above, economic empowerment, self-reliance (self-employed), unemployment reduction and poverty reduction are the effects or outcome of participation of youth in development programmes. These outcomes are necessitated by the skills, knowledge, training and competence which the participants have acquired in the process of their capacity building via the development programmes. Capacity building therefore becomes the intervening variable that brings about the effect of the independent variable (participation) on the dependent variable (empowerment). Justification of the relationship of variables The independent and dependent variables are related based on the dependency relationship, where one variable, the dependent variable depends on the independent variable. It is a cause and effect relationship where the DV is an effect of the IV. In this study, empowerment resulted as an effect of participation. Participation (the IV) causes the change (effect) that resulted in the empowerment of the youth. To elaborate further, the relationship of participation (IV) and empowerment (DV) is such that the variation of the IV influences the DV. The dependent variable changes when the independent variable changes the dependent variable depends on the outcome of the independent variable. Further, capacity building relates to both the IV and the DV as an intervening variable by linking the independent and dependent variables. In this study, capacity building resulted as a function or operation of the IV (Participation) and helps to explain the influence of the IV on the DV. Capacity building here explains the relationship that exists between the action of the IV and the DV. As the diagram shows, the participants involvement in the skills development programmes equipped them with the enabling capacity (capacity building skills, knowledge, and training) that led or transformed them into empowered members of the community. 2. Based on the main concepts of your research, provide a theoretical framework that can best explain the research that you will be undertaking. What are the theory/ies that can be used to support your research? Discuss the rationale for choosing the theory/ies and the strengths and weaknesses of the theory/ies. With regard to the main concepts of the research, Keiffers theory of empowerment as a process was considered relevant and suitable for handling the study. The theory illustrates the elements and stages of empowerment as well as the phases that the individuals undergo in the process of acquiring skills, which translate into full realization of empowerment. The theory was considered appropriate for the study as it has been extensively used in several related study. Keiffers theory of empowerment as a process The theory applies to individuals in the process of empowerment; where the (empowerment) process passes through several phases in the participants. It shows the patterns and processes of the participants transition from a state powerlessness to empowerment. The theory is suitable to this research, which focuses on empowering the youth of the Niger Delta, who are ravaged by poverty and unemployment, coupled with what Keiffer (1984) referred to as a feeling of alienation from resources for social influence, an experience of disenfranchisement and economic vulnerability, and a sense of hopelessness in socio-political struggle. Understanding empowerment in the light of Keiffers theory starts by examining the concepts of power and powerlessness (Moscovitch Drover, 1981). Power is conceived as a multi-dimensional social process that helps people gain control over their lives (Page Czuba, 1999, p. 25). The Cornell Empowerment Group (1989, p.2) define power as the capacity of some persons and organizations to produce intended, foreseen and unforeseen effects on others. Underscoring the need to produce these expectations or effects on others, some sources of power were identified as a panacea. Moscovitch and Drover (1981), for instance believe that the class-dominated nature of our society indicates that a small proportion of the people have enormous economic and political power as opposed to the greater number of the people that have little or none. Therefore, power is required to influence the outcome of life events. On the other hand, powerlessness is seen as an objective phenomenon, where people with little or no political and economic power lack the means to gain greater control and resources in their lives (Albee, 1981). Keiffer sees powerlessness at the individual level as the expectation of the individual that his or her own actions will be ineffective in influencing the outcome of life events (Keiffer, 1984). Lerner (1986) distinguished between real and surplus powerlessness. While real powerlessness emanates from economic inequities and oppressive control exercised by systems and other people, surplus powerlessness derives from an internalized belief that change cannot occur a belief which results in apathy and an unwillingness of the person to struggle for more control and influence. Keiffers (1984) effort on individual empowerment is one of the prominent studies which examine individual empowerment as a process. He conceives empowerment as a developmental process which consists of four stages: entry, advancement, incorporation, and commitment. These stages are: era of entry (characteristics: powerlessness, sense of integrity, rootedlessness, sense of attachment, and support within a caring community of peers, experience of injustice); era of advancement (centrality of mentoring relationships, more critical understanding of social and political relations); era of incorporation (developed self concept, increased strategic ability, and matured critical comprehension, improved organizing and leadership skills, and constructed survival skills); and era of commitment (application of new abilities to the reality and structure of everyday life worlds, commitment to adapting recent empowerment to continuing proactive community mobilization and leadership) (Keiffer, 1984). From the above, the individual is prompted at the entry level by his or her experience of certain disturbing self or family situation, which Keiffer refers to as an act of provocation. The advancement stage possesses three important characteristics that are necessary to the progress of continuing the empowerment process, namely, a mentoring relationship; supportive peer relationships with a collective organization; and the development of a more critical understanding of social and political relations. While the focal point of the third stage is the development of a growing political consciousness, the era of commitment, which is the fourth stage is such that the acquired participatory competence is applied by participants to ever expanding areas of their lives. Consequently, Keiffer believes that empowerment at the individual level is the experience of gaining increasing control and influence in daily life and community participation (Keiffer, 1984). A major strength of this theory is that the author worked on the premise that the existence of powerlessness or alienation is a given at the very first step of individual empowerment; and this underscores the need for participation in view of acquiring skills. As with the area under study which requires a source of power to alleviate their poverty and unemployment, the author confirms that such a state of powerlessness becomes evident prompting a group of empowerment agents recognizing the alienated and oppressed. In this first stage of empowerment, both the alienated and the empowerment agents have come to true knowledge of the formers powerlessness, coupled with such social pathologies as disadvantages, oppression, alienation, and stratification. The process of participation, thus, was both empowering and advanced in the process of empowerment for the participants. As participants got involved in development programmes, they see it as a process towards the reduction of their povert y. It is in this way that participation advanced the process of individual empowerment (Keiffer, 1984). On capacity building, the theory underscores the fact that the transition towards individual empowerment was an exceptionally ongoing process towards skills acquisition. And that the skills which the participants acquired will function as catalysts for the empowerment process, making them become aware of their own capacities and developing new directions for themselves while in the process of emancipating from the experience of powerlessness. Here participants have to gain the skills and the potential to change their circumstance. As participants gain mastery over their lives and learn and utilize skills, which are the skills (capacity) for gaining some reasonable control over their lives, they become empowered. With the foregoing, individuals become empowered when they develop capabilities to overcome their social obstacles and attain self-determination. Self-determination, defined as the ability to chart ones own course in life (Fetterman, 1996) is repeatedly presented in the literature and considered as a sole and vital component of individual empowerment (Sprague Hayes, 2000). Boehm and Staples (2004) advocated mastery and self-determination as the components of individual empowerment. Mastery is understood as: full control over someone or something, and through in-depth understanding or greater skills, can be a variety of types, such as physical mastery, mastery of emotion and behavior, mastery of information and decision making, mastery of social system, efficient mastery of time, mastery as connected to autonomy and individual freedom, and planning mastery, thus enabling consumers to prevent negative situations and to actualize positive ones (Boehm Staples, 2004). As components of individual empowerment, self-determination is associated with the power that enables individuals to meet the challenges of different life situations; mastery on the hand is concerned with increased levels of the individuals ability to understand reality and the capacity to make decisions that impact the conditions and quality of life. Conversely, one of the limitations of Keiffers theory is the fact that it did not elaborate how the individuals impact their community with their acquired participatory competence. He limited individual empowerment as the experience of gaining increasing control and influence in daily life and community participation. It was earlier noted that sustaining involvement in participation deepens the competence and control of the participants leading to the advancement of the process of personal empowerment (Keiffer, 1984). Although empowerment can exist at the individual level, yet one would have expected that the theory incorporated how the participatory competence can impact the larger community bearing in mind that community development entails improving the community life in its wider sense. Another weakness of the theory emanates from a theme which the theorist identified as underlying the movement through all phases of the empowerment process: the view that conflicts and growth are inextricably intertwined (Keiffer, 1984). The suggested dynamics of praxis advocated by the theorist for resolving these conflicts may, after all, be time-consuming and ineffective in the empowering process. Praxis, for him: refers to the circular relationship of experience and reflection through which actions evoke new understandings, which then provokes new actionsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ The building up of skills only progresses through repetitive cycles of action and reflection. In other words, crucial for the building of empowerment is time and practice (Keiffer). There is a likelihood that conflict may degenerate and also prove irresolvable by the praxis within a given period of empowerment process; thereby hampering the skills developing process of participants which should have a time frame. 3. Compare and contrast 2 different research methods (qualitative and quantitative) that might be used in your study. For each approach, discuss: how the research question are formulated/arrived at (what kind of questions are posed) the approach to data collection; the approach to data analysis; how the findings might be triangulated; and how the findings might be presented and discussed. There are two broad approaches in the collection of information for research purposes, namely quantitative and qualitative methods. A basic understanding of both methods will be highlighted to show their differences. First quantitative data: It is an objective, formal, systematic process in which the enquiry is based on numerical data findings. It derives from the scientific method used in the physical sciences (Cormack, 1991). Quantitative method describes, tests, and examines cause and effect relationships (Burns Grove, 1987), using a deductive process of knowledge attainment (Duffy, 1985). In other words, it tests theories deductively from existing knowledge, through developing hypothesized relationships. On the other hand, qualitative research differs from quantitative approach as it develops theory inductively. Qualitative researchers are guided by certain ideas or perspectives regarding the subject to be investigated (Cormack, 1991). It is used as a vehicle for studying the empirical world from the perspective of the subject, not the researcher. Benoliel (1985) buttressed this aspect, describing qualitative research as modes of systematic enquiry concerned with understanding human beings and the nature of their transactions with themselves and with their understandings. The aim of qualitative research is to describe certain aspects of a phenomenon, with a view to explaining the subject of study. Unlike the quantitative method, qualitative research derives from the social sciences such as sociology, anthropology, psychology and philosophy, (Cormack, 1991). For sampling, both research approaches require a sample to be identified which is representative of a larger population of people or objects. Quantitative research employs random selection of the sample from the study population and the random assignment of the sample to the various study groups. Results obtained from random sampling have an advantage, which is an increased likelihood of the findings being generalizable. Its disadvantage stems from the fact that random selection is time-consuming, with the result that many studies use more easily obtained opportunistic sample (Duffy, 1985). This hampers the possibilities of generalization, especially if the sample is too small. Qualitative research uses non-random sampling, which is a selective sample, because of the in-depth nature of studies and the analysis of the data required. Hinton (1987) confirms that the strength of this approach is seen when the sample is well defined, for then it can be generalized to a population at large. A disadvantage of this approach can be suspicion that the researcher could have been influenced by a particular predisposition; hence having a tendency of affecting the generalizability of the study. a. how the research questions are formulated/arrived at (what kind of questions are posed) Based on the statement of the problem, the research questions were formulated with a focus on what the researcher expects to achieve in the study. They show close relationship to the statement of the problem and arise from issues raised in both literature and on the ground, not deviating from the objectives of the study. The questions were arrived at to establish a clear purpose for the research in relation to the chosen field. The issue of manageability was considered in formulating the questions. This relates to the researchers ability to tackle the scope and scale of the project. For instance, the ability to access people and documents from which to collect the data required to answer the questions fully; and whether the data can be accessed within the limited time and resources available to me. b. the approach to data collection This study will adopt both quantitative and qualitative methodologies to collect data, through questionnaire survey and in-depth interview. The study will be primarily quantitative, while the qualitative aspect will complement it in order to increase understanding of the study, and to generate richer and deeper research findings. Both approaches will be concurrently undertaken. The research design therefore relies on a mixed-method approach to investigate the topic under study. The primary method of data collection will be through questionnaires. A Likert scale questionnaire survey will be the major instrument for quantitative data collection; and the questions will be formulated based on the research objectives, as a means of exploring respondents views on the topic under study. Likert scale provides researchers a way of measuring the degree of agreement or disagreement of the respondents to a question. It is also very convenient for the respondents due to the non-ambiguous nature of the format of the questions. The research variable will be measured on a 5-point Likert scale, with a score of 1 representing strongly disagree, and a score of 5 representing strongly agree. A pre-test will be conducted with a convenience sample to ensure the clarity and validity of the questions. Respondents will also be asked to comment on any difficulties encountered in completing the ques

Technology?s Downside Essay -- essays research papers

There is no doubt that technology has played a major roll in many people’s lives today. It has affected the way we perform our daily routine, communicate with people, and just about anything else that is done in a day and night. But most of the technology we have is thought of as a good thing. Actually it is not a positive for our world, its is bad for us.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the early days many people would have to get together to communicate and interact among each other. Today all we do is log onto our computers and interact in a cyber chat. The computer technology has cut down on actual human contact interaction. All the communication is performed through the Internet chat rooms and e-mails. Also, computers have hurt us in another way. Computers run everything in our world and if they break down nobody knows how to do the job the computer was doing manually. We have become dependent on the computers to make all things run like clock- work and keep us going. Nothing is done manually anymore which only complicates the process. The people have become ignorant on how actions are performed.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Another technology downside was the A-bomb. Its invention wound up killing large quantities of people. To go along with that, other weapons such as the automatic machine gun or laser guided missiles have been invented only to cause human death and mass destruction. Our war-like technology has only increased human casualties and lowered the fair fi...

KFC †Marketing Strategy Essay

The purpose of this paper is to critically evaluate the marketing strategies of KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken). The researcher will analyze how the organization creates superior value and builds strong relationship to capture value from customers in return. The paper explores facts for building and maintaining profitable customer relationship by delivering superior value and satisfaction. The researcher is going to investigate the social obligations of the company to observe the impact organizational  policies on the environment, community, health of the consumer and use of available resource At the end the researcher will suggest how the company can design customer driven marketing strategy for acquiring, retaining and attracting new customers. The paper also focuses on creating superior value and satisfaction through blissful marketing and communication programmes. INTRODUCTION KFC which stands for Kentucky Fried Chicken formed in 1930 and based in Louisville is the world’s famous chicken restaurants chain specializing in original recipe, extra crispy, Kentucky grilled chicken etc. Everyday more than 12 million customers are served in more than 109 countries and regions. KFC operates more than 800 restaurants in UK, more than 5200 restaurants in USA and more than 15,000 restaurants around the globe. KFC is part of YUM brands corporation, the world’s largest restaurant company in terms of system restaurants with more than 36,000 locations around the world. The company is ranked 239# on fortune 500 list, with revenue in excess of $11 billion in 2008. KFC is as committed to the environment as we are to our food and to our customers. We are proud of the steps we have taken so far to reduce our environmental footprint and are committed as a brand to do even more in the in future. It’s an ongoing journey that we’re on and we want to keep you – our customers – informed along the way! KFC introduced first reusable fast food container in 2010. The company replaced plastic plates with paper serving boxes and reduced use of non-renewable resources like styrofoam from the restaurants. By 2011 the company will reduce foam and plastic use by 62% and 11% respectively. Note: You can check the entire history of the corporation at http://www.kfc.com/about/pdf/timeline.pdf MARKETING It is the process by which the company creates value for the customers, builds strong relationship with the consumers and captures value in return. (Kotler, 2007) Let’s use the simple model of marketing process to assess the secrets behind the success of KFC. UNDERSTANDING THE MARKET The basic reason behind the success of KFC is their ability to understand the marketplace and needs of the customers. KFC conducts consumer research to go great length in learning about their market, competitors and customers. Consumer’s wants are satisfied by providing superior value and satisfaction. Other factors behind such a resounding success are the capability of company to understand whom to serve, how to serve by integrating customer driven marketing strategy and how to capture the value in return to build long term profitability. The company has adopted the concept of increasing the share of the customers rather than increasing product market share. CHOOSING A VALUE PROPOSITION After successful segmentation the company decides about how it will serve the customers to differentiate and position itself in the market place. Through value proposition the company creates set of benefits that distinguish itself as a premium brand in the market. the company provides superior food and dining experience to kids, families and visitors in order to discover dinning and to differentiate itself from competitors. The company offers products that offer most in quality, performance and taste. Due to service oriented nature of the hospitality industry; the company maintains customer-centred sense of marketing by developing the right products for their customers instead of finding the right customer for their products. MARKETING STRATEGY The primary goal of developing a customer driven marketing strategy is to build strong and profitable relationship with the customers for accomplishing short and long-term organizational goals. Through market segmentation, targeting and positioning the company divides its overall market into smaller segments to be served effectively. It identifies the needs of the target market by selecting the most promising segments and then delivers premium value in order to foster customer satisfaction and loyalty. In order to design a best marketing strategy and marketing mix; the company makes use of environmental analysis, marketing analysis, planning, implementation and control measures. To survive and be competitive in the market; KFC designs customer oriented strategies to win customers from their competitors and to grow by delivering superior value. The managements is aware about the cost of having dissatisfied customers who disparage the products to other individuals. Therefore they design products and services that are appealing to all the consumers. MARKET SEGMENTATION At first place the company decides whom it will serve? By dividing the target market into different segments like Family, Kids, Visitors, Tourists, Professionals, age, region, culture etc and then developing superior value for specific segments. Market segmentation enables the company to select and serve only those segments offering the best opportunity for achieving the organizational goals and objectives. Consumers are grouped and served based on demographic and geopgraphic factors. The segmentation also enable the company to analyze the behavioural patterns, affordability, best communication and delivery channel. TARGET MARKETING After the careful selection of the segments, the company evaluates the attractiveness and profitability of available segments. Based on such findings the company selects segments pledging for superior customer value, generating more profitability and where it can sustain value over time. MARKET POSITIONING In order to make a clear, distinctive and desirable product image before the target market; KFC makes use of competitive intelligence to get useful information about their competitors for gaining competitive advantage in the market, benefiting from first mover advantage (FMA) and for having a competitive prices. The company sustains the competitive advantage by having lower prices than competitors and providing more benefits. The company differentiates itself through by rewarding customer loyalty and appreciating staff’s or customer’s input for customizing their menu. Another useful tactic used by the company is the selection of medium through which the information is distributed (disseminated) to the general public for  maintaining the desirable brand recognition and picture. The company effectively uses all the available media (print, electronic etc) for targeting the potential customers and creating a distinct corporate image. MARKETING MIX It is the set of controllable tactical marketing tools that the company blends in order to get the desired response from the target market (Kotler, 2005). It includes everything that the company aspires to influence demand in the target market. PRODUCT KFC offers tasty and convenient food to customer at nominal prices. The company produces products for family, kids and people of age groups to discover dinning. Although company has done alot for offering quality food to the target market but critics point that hamburgers, friend chicken, fries, and snacks contain high fat and salt. Sometimes meals are â€Å"Super sized† leading to over eating and becoming an evident cause of obesity epidemic. Although the products are wrapped in convenient packaging but raise demands for handling substantial waste and pollution. KFC being the largest fast food supplier generates tons of solid waste every day where significant percentage isn’t recyclable and lasts longer on the landfills. Therefore in the shorter run the company is satisfying consumer needs but creating environmental problems in the longer run. The company has a reputable image and brand name in the world for producing quality food with essential nutritions, healthy ingredients, low calories and drinks containing needed minerals. Customers can easily get the information about the products from the company’s website with guidance on how the product is made, customer can also customize product on their own premises and change the ingredients to their likings. All the burgers are filled with chicken breast only. Recently the company invest The company invests  £1 million per annum to switch to nutritionally superior high oleic rapeseed oil; following that recently company announced to use only high oleic rape seed oil in all products and aborting the use of palm oil. The company has variety of things distinguishing itself from the competitors  operating within the same industry. Some of the defining aspects distinguishing company from its competitors are easy to cook food, elegant packaging and status value. Buyers don’t estimate the product’s values and costs objectively and are only persuaded by perceived image of the company and its food in the market. PRICE The company deploys yield management to come up with competitive prices for their products. The prices are really low due to large number of players penetrating in the same market or industry and satisfying consumer needs. More than anything it’s the â€Å"brand identity† influencing people to acquire the product. The company also uses â€Å"Augmented Product† concept in order to boost the sales, provide special discounts and schemes for rewarding loyalty. The company has s different prices for different segments based on number of servings. PLACEMENTS The company greatly emphasizes on customer convenience for obtaining products/services therefore have designed free standing outlets so that customer’s are not few minutes walk away from the outlet, suburbs, cities or high street. The outlets are positioned at all major shopping malls, train stations, cities, city centres and suburbs so the cost of reaching the market, acquiring and disposing the product is low. Apart from expressing deep concerns for customer health issues; the company directly interacts with the target market by providing toll free number and facility to go online for reserving orders. The company has also adopted the concept of â€Å"Direct Marketing† where consumers can buy virtually anything without going to the outlet by telephone, mail-order catalogue or by visiting online. KFC uses www.kfc.co.uk or www.kfc.com for direct marketing. PROMOTION KFC deploys different activities for communicating the merits of their products and persuading customers to obtain their products/services. The company uses print and electronic media to target the potential customers  and for maintaining a distinctive image of their products/service before the public. KFC has the presence on different social websites such as Facebook, Flickr and Linkedin to promote the products. The company spends considerable amount of money for Advertising and Selling. The marketing experts design different TV Ads for promoting the products, targeting the individuals, disseminating the merits of products and attracting new ones. The company also uses bill boards, sign boards, print publications, brochures, magazines, printing success stories in the newspaper and forming partnership with other famous organizations to boost selling and preserve an elative face before the public. Recently the company was ranked as a Britian Top Employer and recognized as a great place for work on the basis of following catalyst characteristics performance recognition culture, friendliness, team work, career progression, advancement and development opportunities. MANAGING THE MARKETING EFFORT Apart from being good at marketing, KFC pays significant attention to management that includes in depth market analysis, planning, implementation and control. The company gathers lot of information about the market to analyze whether the window of opportunity is opened for their products before actually marketing products to the target market. The company first develops marketing oriented mission statement, then develop strategic plan for products, services, brands and target markets. After thorough consideration and planning the company turns plan into actions. ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS The environmental or PEST analysis is used to assess the industry in which the company is operating and is used in conjunction in SWOT Analysis to find out major opportunities or threats facing company. The company can use such techniques to examine the internal or external forces affecting their ability to provide superior value to customers at a fair price. The pest analysis of the KFC is as under POLITICAL KFC has partnered with several government and non-government organizations to effectively circumvent barriers influencing to deliver premium value to  customer. Many consumers and environmental groups have raised their voice against fast food giants providing junk and unhealthy food to consumers. Critics suggest that hamburgers, French fries, fried chicken etc are high in fat and salt. The government has also restricted the fast food giants not to market the food to under age groups and regulated the companies to modify their product menu that doesn’t contribute to national obesity epidemic. Critics feel that fast food companies are harming consumer health and providing fat food. Recently KFC signed up to the Government’s Public Health Responsibility Deal, promising to include calories on menu boards. The company will also be launching a ‘Lighten Up’ initiative at point of sale by offering customers an opportunity to lighten up their meals for free or by swapping a regular drink to diet, and fries for corn or beans – saving up to 295 calories. The company was also the first QSR to introduce salad to the menu and to stop salting its fries, and eliminated artificial trans fats in 2007 by removing hydrogenated vegetable oils from its menu. Furthermore, a salt reduction programme launched in 2005 has so far cut salt by up to 40% across the menu. The company has adopted fair trade practices e.g having the culture of equal opportunity employment, minority rights, accurately declaring business income, paying taxes. In united states Food and Drug administration, Consumer product safety commission set safety standards for the products and penalize companies failing to meet them. ECONOMIC The management keeps an eye on ongoing economic events so that the company isn’t affected by economic volatilities or uncertainties. The company closely monitors per capita income of consumers in different regions, ongoing inflation affecting buying behaviour and exchange rates limiting their ability to obtain or import material from suppliers. The company gathers all that information to exploit from labour market imperfections in the international arena and from expanded opportunity rationale. SOCIAL The company deploys Societal Marketing in order to maintain the equilibrium between consumer short-run wants and long-term welfare; the company has established strict guidelines for portraying a favourable public image and  to sustain brand recognition. KFC is a company that satisfies the needs of the target market by doing what’s best for them in the longer run? To curb the concerns of consumers and environmental groups the company has taken different initiatives to look after health and safety issues of their employees and customers in particular. Recently the company introduced â€Å"Brazer (non-fried, griddled range†, to consistently improve the nutritional profile of their menu (products), to fulfil promises made about health and to cut down the level of saturated fat. The company has also done partnership and signed memorandums with other organizations to look after public health issues. Recently the company was ranked as a Britain top employer and as a pleasant place to work for individuals. The company executive disclosed that the company provides advancement opportunities to individuals on merit and encourages team work and individual participation. The company established environmental leadership council in 2006, became a member of Considerate Contractor Scheme and presently working with Carbon Trust to reduce energy emissions. The company has also taken initiatives for reducing carbon footprints, making efficient use of natural resource e.g water, electricity etc. The company has also formed alliance with environmental defence system to handle solid waste and maintain environmentally favourable image. TECHNOLOGICAL The company is operating in a rapidly changing environment creating new opportunities and posing threats. The new technology creates new opportunities but the of replacing new technology is always high. The company is aware about the cost of ignoring new technology and its side effects as well. KFC is a company that keeps with the technological changes and refines its product menu on regular basis. Such changes have resulted in much higher research and development costs; due to the complex nature of the technology the marketers and consumers must have technical know how. SWOT ANALYSIS SWOT ANALYSIS is the acronym of Strengths, Weakness, Opportunity and threat; is a strategic tools used by the company to analyze the circumstances in which the company is operating. Strengths and Weaknesses are the internal  factors on which the organization has total control where as Opportunities and threats are the external uncontrollable factors. Strengths of KFC * Favourable public image and Brand Equity * Second largest fast food supplier after Macdonalds * Global Existence * Nominal Prices * Customer Convenience * Professional certifications and awards * Proactive management * Britain’s top employer and great place to work * Flexible Franchising bringing considerable revenue * Customer Equity * Organizational culture Weaknesses of KFC * High labour turnover * Junk food * Same taste twice * Lack of innovation * Cultural clash of two titans namely Pepsi and KFC * Hygienic food problems as one of the outlet in America was declared rat infected Opportunities for KFC * Rapidly changing economy and global trends * Increased demand for convenient food * Pursue Conglomerate Diversification for health conscious people * Increased diversity * Global market imperfections * Expanded opportunity rationale Threats for KFC * Saturated Market * Increased Competition * Rapidly changing technology * Legal legislations and political regulations * International political chaos * Low variety * Availability of substitute products * Threat of new entrants * Bargaining Power of Customers * Lack of competitive intelligence * Health and safety concerns * Environmental and Government Regulations ANSOFF’S PRODUCT MARKET EXPANSION GRID It is a portfolio mangement tool for identfying growth opportunities through market penetration, market development, product development and diversification. The model is depicted as Since its inception the company has used different tactics in order to hover around in the international market to market their products to domestic, national and international consumers. DIVERSIFICATION In 1930 the Harland Sanders opened his first restaurant in Corbin in front of gas station. PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT In 1937 Sanders Court & Cafà © added a motel and expanded the restaurant to 142 seats. MARKET PENETRATION, PRODUCT AND MARKET DEVELOPMENT In 1960 Colonel’s hard work on the road begins to pay off and there were 190 KFC franchisees and 400 franchise units in the U.S. and Canada. In 1964 Kentucky Fried Chicken had more than 600 franchised outlets in the United States, Canada and the first overseas outlet, in England. In 1971 the company had more than 3,500 franchises and restaurants worldwide when Heublein Inc. acquired KFC Corporation. At the end of 1979 the company had There are approximately 6,000 restaurants worldwide with sales of more than  $2 billion. PRODUCD DEVELOPMENT AND DIVERSIFICATION In 2007 KFC introduced a new recipe that keeps the Colonel’s 11 herbs and spices and finger-lickin’ flavor, but contains Zero Grams of Trans Fat per serving thanks to new cooking oil. In 2008 The Colonel had a new look! KFC updated one of the most recognized, respected and beloved brand icons with a new logo. The new logo depicted Colonel Sanders with his signature string tie but replaced his classic white double-breasted suit with a red apron symbolizing the home-style culinary heritage of the brand and reminded customers that KFC is always in the kitchen cooking delicious, high-quality, freshly prepared chicken by hand, just the way Colonel Sanders did 50 years ago. MARKET DEVELOPMENT AND DIVERSIFICATION In 2009 KFC introduced Kentucky Grilled Chickenâ„ ¢ – a better option for health conscious consumers to care for their long run welfare in order to capture the entire stream of purchases they would make for the rest of their life. Kentucky Grilled Chicken had less calories, fat and sodium than KFC’s Original Recipe ® chicken, without sacrificing the great taste of KFC. PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT In 2011 the company launched first ever non-fried range the Brazer! that is is a lighter, great-tasting alternative to KFC’s existing menu, and includes three new items; a burger, a Twister (a tortilla wrap) and a salad, each of which are lower in calories (by up to 60%), fat (by up to 87%), saturated fat (by up to 82%) and salt (by up to 45%) than regular menu items. The company has been using the Ansoff’s product market expansion grid by introducing the existing products internationally, providing halaal food to different communities opening new market and needs to be satisfied, by modifying the nutritional profile of their menu and by slightly changing the cooking ingredients at times. CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT (CRM) AT KFC According to Philip Kotler (2007); customer relationship management is an art of building and maintaining profitable customer relationships by delivering superior value and satisfaction. KFC has developed an extensive database  about their customers in order to track touchpoints where they can deliver superior value and maintain profitable relationship with the customers. The major reason for the success of KFC is their ability to offer products having â€Å"highest customer perceived value† and exceeding the â€Å"customer perceived value†. Another reason of such a phenomenol success is the capability to market products whose perceived performance normally exceeds customers expectations. Beyond offering high quality products; the company has designed several customer loyalty and retention programs by rewarding customers on frequent purchases. The company also uses â€Å"Selective Relationship Managment† by undertaking customer profitability analysis where overall motive is to weed out loosing customers and target winning ones for pampering. The company creates profitable customers by providing exceptional quality products and delivering customer oriented superior value. The company knows that losing a single customer means losing the entire stream of purchases the customer would make over the entire lifetime. The firms leverages CRM to offer great variety to customers in order to increase the â€Å"Share of customers† rather than the â€Å"market share†. KFC examines its relationship with social values, responsibilities and the Earth that sustains it. Recently the company announced to cut the use of plastic by 17% and foam by 62% for the year 2011. The social responsibility and environmental movements have placed even strict demands on the company. As KFC is a forward looking company so it readily accepts the responsibility to the world and people around it. The company views such actions as an opportunity to do well by delivering good (new slogan of the company is â€Å"So Good†). The company compares the â€Å"opportunity cost† of its actions against the long-run interests of the customers and communities. The company has also taken initiatives towards Data Protection and Privacy Issues to curb the misuse, scam or phishing. PUBLIC RELATIONS AT KFC Public relation is an art of managing communication between the organization and the public with an objective to create and maintain favorable public image. KFC uses different communication tools for building awareness about their products and for preserving socially image in the marketplace for their products and services. The company deploys numerous equity or  perceived value and dent the reputation of the organization in the market. All the efforts are aimed at helping the public to understand the company and its products in more depth. The company sends â€Å"mystery shoppers† to different outlets to unveil defects in service or product. The company also gathers a lot of information about the customers and different topics of their interests to leverage relationship for building a strong public image. Apart from using different media in order to influence the public; the comany also deploys lobbying, printing success stories in the newspaper, launching products, posting particular achievements online and by sponsoring UN HUNGER FOOD PROGRAM for providing food to needy people. Recently the company was nominated as the great place to work for individuals and was awarded an award of Britain Top Employer. Such measures play critical role in achieving a competitive edge, attracting high calibre individuals, creating and delivering superior customer value; moreover protecting the well being of the company in the time of crisis. Yum! Brands which is the parent of KFC has formed an Animal Welfare Advisory Council whose role is to get information and advice based on relevant scientific research. The company also obtains positive headlines in the media by showing the commitment to the environment and by productively (efficiently, frugally) using the natural resources. In 2010 the company introduced fast food reusable container. The corporate policy is to reduce the usage of non-renewable resources, cut down the use of Styrofoam and carbon foot prints. In that respect the company is using the concept of â€Å"Subsistence Economy†. The company has also developed guidelines, limitations, and rules (restrictions) for the suppliers in the broiler industry. The company is also proud to be a prominent player in the collaborative effort conducted by National Council of Chain Restaurants and the Food Marketing Institute in developing comprehensive guidelines for all species of farm animals. The company has also i mplemented programs in the area of poultry care and handling. The company has initiated partnership with Barnardo’s, the UK’s biggest charity supporting children and young people to address the issue of youth unemployment. The company is backing the United Nations’ World Food Programme against world hunger by raising over half a million pounds last year – that’s about 3.35 million meals for  children in some of the poorest regions of the world. The company is also implementing the concept of â€Å"product liability† where the manufacturer is responsible for the faulty product or any damages made by the product to the consumer. In the past the companies were sued, dragged in court and evicted on ignoring the product liability obligations. For instance when considering the tragic tampering case in which eight people died from swallowing cyanidelaced capsules of Tylenol; a Johnson & Johnson brand. The company knew that the pills were altered in some stores not in the factory so it decided to recall all of its products. The total recall cost was $240 million in earnings but in the longer run such initiative strengthened customer’s confidence, trust and loyalty in the company. It shows the importance of managing public relations in crisis to preserve the favourable image of the organization. KFC bought the best quality chicken from UK Farms that meet Red Tractor Standards. The company has decided to cut the level of saturated fat by 25%, use of plastic by 17%, use of Styrofoam by 62% and invested  £1 million annually on replacing palm oil with rape seed oil. The company also provides all the nutrition information on the internet so that the consumers are aware about their calorie intake and has reduced the use of salt on menu board. All these initiatives show the dedication of the company towards protecting the long-run welfare of the community and customers. The company was recently conferred with an honorary award of Carbon Trust Standard for continued CO2 reduction. In 2009 the company opened first eco-store with salient energy saving features. CONCLUSION & RECOMMENDATIONS Based on primary and secondary research; it can be deduced that the company has taken best initiatives to build strong public image, influence people buy their products by effectively leveraging the selective relationship management and in improving work place practices from employment and production perspective. As the study suggests that the company knows the overall impact of its operations on Environment, health of the consumer and reputation of the organization. So it has taken measures to curb the environmental pollution by decreasing the use of plastic and Styrofoam,  reducing calories, saturated oil and fats in the food by replacing palm oil with rape seed oil, reducing salt, providing nutrition information to the consumers, obtaining high quality chicken from british farms and by modifying the nutritional profile of the menu on consistent basis. As suggested in earlier part of analysis the company is also funding the United Nations World Food Hunger Program, joined charity in order to help the unemployed youth and reducing the use of non-renewable resources to certain extent by building eco-stores with some energy saving features. The company is making a significant contribution in the well being of the society and in preserving the natural climate by reducing carbon footprints. All these initiatives are the premium examples of how organization’s create and maintain profitable customer relationship by using public relations, societial marketing and customer relationship management. When observed from the business perspective; the company is operating within a highly saturated market not showing any signs growth for the future. The company can increase the share of their customers by closely analyzing the other cultural values and perceptions. As the company is operating worldwide it can add new products to menu board by undertaking global cultural research analysis and consequently creating superior customer values shaped by consumer’s needs, wants and demands by observing culture. Based on my own judgement it seems like company’s policy is to sell everything to everyone. They should focus on particular segment of the market, closely analyze their needs, carefully select the customers and deliver superior customer value to capture back the value in return. As United Kingdom is the country with rich diversity; so all these issues should be taken into consideration when creating superior customer value, selecting the appropriate communication channel for positioning the product or targeting the customer, crafting an effective message for the public for communicating the merits of the product and designing loyalty scheme. In analysis it has been discovered that the company hasn’t been able to develop customer loyalty and retention programs beyond offering consistently high value and satisfaction. Now a days companies offer â€Å"frequency marketing programs† whereby they reward customers for buying more or in bulk. For instance airline companies offer frequent flier programs, hotels provide room upgrades to regular guests and supermarkets give patronage discount to valuable customers. KFC isn’t  implementing such schemes to reward customers for their loyalty and commitment. The company can issue membership cards with certain validity providing special discounts for generating revenue and increasing sales. REFERENCES Valentin, E. K.,†SWOT Analysis from a Resource-Based View,† Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, Vol. 9, spring, pp. 54-68, 2001. Valentin, E.K. and Jerald T. Storey, â€Å"R.C. Willey Home Furnishings,† Business Case Journal, Vol.10, summer, pp. 99-116, 2002 Chen, H. & Green, R.D., (2009). Marketing Mix and Branding: Competitive Hypermarket strategies. International Journal of Management and Marketing Research, 2(1), 17-34. Constantinides, E., (2002). The 4S Web-Marketing Mix model. Electronic Commerce Research and Applications, 1(1), 57–71 Kotler Philip, 2007. Marketing Management.12th Edition, Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. Kotler Philip, Keller Kevin L., Brandy Mairead, Goodman Malcalm and Hansen Torban 2009. Marketing Management., Pearson Education Edinburgh Essex , England Bahadur, Nikhil, Patrick W. Houston, Curt Mueller, and Martha Turner (2007), Not Just Effective but Efficient: A New Blueprint for Marketing in an Era of Fragmented Media. New York: Booz Allen Hamilton. Bucklin, Randolph E., Oliver Rutz, and Michael Trusov (2008), â€Å"Metrics for the New Internet Marketing Communications Mix,† in Review of Marketing Research, Vol. 5, Naresh Malhotra, ed. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe. CMO Council (2008), Marketing Outlook 2008: Senior Executives Chart a Course for Strategy and Spend. Palo Alto, CA: CMO Council, (accessed February 9, 2008), [available at http://www.cmocouncil.org/resources]. Court, David (2007), â€Å"The Evolving Role of the CMO,† McKinsey Quarterly, (3), 29. ———, Jonathan Gordon, and Jesko Perrey (2005), â€Å"Boosting Returns on Marketing Investment,† McKinsey Quarterly, (2), 37. Davenport, Thomas H. and Jeanne G. Harris (2007), Competing on Analytics: The New Science of Winning. Boston: Harvard Business School Press. Farris, Paul W., Neil T. Bendle, Phillip E. Pfeifer, and David J. Reibstein (2006), Marketing Metrics: 50+ Metrics Every Executive Should Master. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Wharton School Publishing. Haven, Brian (2007), â€Å"Interactive Marketing Channels to Watch in 2007,† Forrester Research, (March 27), (accessed February 9, 2008), [available at http://www.forrester.com/Research/Document/0,7211,41208,00.html]. Marketing NPV Journal (2007), â€Å"A Tipping Point for New Media,† 4 (3), 6. Myers, John, Stephen A. Greyser, and William F. Massey (1979), â€Å"The Effectiveness of Marketing’s ‘R&D’ for Marketing Management: An Assessment,† Journal of Marketing, 43 (January), 17–29. O’Regan, Rob (2007), â€Å"Do You Have What It Takes to Survive as a CMO?† 1to1 Magazine, (July/August), 14. Rasmussen, Andrea, Carolyn Ude, and Edward Landry (2007), HD Marketing 2010: Sharpening the Conversation. New York: Booz Allen Hamilton. Vranica, Suzanne (2007), â€Å"Password to Marketers’ Meeting: Digital,† The Wall Street Journal, (October 11), B6 American Psychological Association (2002). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association, Fifth Edition, Washington DC. Egan, John (2001). Relationship Marketing. Prentice Hall. Harvard Business Review (2001) Customer Relationship Management. Harvard Business School Press. Johns, N. (1999). ‘What is this thing called service?’ European Journal of Marketing, 33(9/10), 958-973. Kelly S (2000). ‘Analytical CRM: the fusion of data and intelligence’. Interactive Marketing, (3), 262-267. Peppers, Don, Martha Rogers and Bob Dorf (1999). Is your company ready for one-to-one marketing, Harvard Business Review (Jan-Feb). Steinman, Christine, Rohit Deshpande and John U Farley (2000). ‘Beyond market orientation: When customers and suppliers disagree’. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 28 (1), 109-119. http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/KFC-Corporation-Company-History.html http://kfc.co.uk/ http://www.kfcdevelopment.co.uk/assets/KFC_Sustainability_EPCs.pdf http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73H5Bs2pDuQ&feature=player_embedded#at=15 http://www.kfc.com/menu/

Global Warming and Photosynthesis Essay

Introduction: Photosynthesis can reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the air. It represents a sink for carbon dioxide in the environment. Reducing forests and other vegetation can produce a net increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide. Therefore, more photosynthesis might act to reduce global warming. On the other hand, this is a more complicated title than it appears at first. Photosynthesis: The process in green plants and certain other organisms by which carbohydrates are synthesized from carbon dioxide and water using light as an energy source. Most forms of photosynthesis release oxygen as a byproduct. the reaction of this process: Chlorophillian pigment 6H2O + 12CO2 + S.E ———————–> C6H12O6+ 6O2 + 6H2O Easily, we can explain the reaction like 6 molecules of water plus, 12 molecules of Carbon Dioxide plus Sun energy, cross with chlorophillian pigment, in the product we have glucose, plus oxygen, plus water. We can put so briefly the process saying that the organisms use the energy from sunlight to produce sugar, which cellular respiration converts into ATP, The conversion of no usuable sunlight energy into usable chemical energy, is associated with the actions of the green pigment chlorophyll. Most of the time, the photosynthetic process uses water and release the oxygen that we absolutely must have to stay alive Importance of the photosynthesis: Animals and plants both synthesize fats and proteins from carbohydrates; thus  glucose is a basic energy source for all living organisms. The oxygen released (with water vapor, in transpiration) as a photosynthetic byproduct, principally of phytoplankton, provides most of the atmospheric oxygen vital to respiration in plants and animals, and animals in turn produce carbon dioxide necessary to plants. Photosynthesis can therefore be considered the ultimate source of life for nearly all plants and animals by providing the source of energy that drives all their metabolic processes Global warming concept: is when the earth heats up (the temperature rises). It happens when carbon dioxide, water vapor, nitrous oxide, and methane trap heat and light from the sun in the earth’s atmosphere, which increases the temperature. Global warming process: Some gases in the air are called â€Å"greenhouse gases†. These are gases, like water vapor and carbon dioxide, that are transparent to visible light (from the Sun), but absorb infrared light (from the Earth). When visible light from the Sun hits the earth, it zips through the atmosphere, hits the earth, and warms the earth. The earth emits some of this energy back out into space, keeping the planet cool. But the energy we emit is in the infrared, and some of that is absorbed by greenhouse gases in the air instead of going back out into space. When that happens, the air gets warmer — and the planet as a whole gets warmer too. We humans used to burn wood for fuel. When we burned wood, the carbon dioxide we were releasing was the same carbon dioxide that the tree extracted from the air when it was growing; so the net effect was zero: as long was we planted a new tree to take the place of the old one, no â€Å"extra† carbon dioxide got into the air. How does photosynthesis affect global warming? Global warming is the increase in the average temperature of the Earth’s surface and is caused by greenhouse gases in the Earth’s atmosphere. The more greenhouse gases there are, the warmer the Earth gets. The warmer the  Earth gets, the bigger the increase in the average temperature of the Earth’s surface. So, more global warming means more greenhouse gases which means more carbon dioxide in the Earth’s atmosphere. Plants need carbon dioxide for photosynthesis. Therefore more global warming equals to more carbon dioxide which means more more photosynthesis to make food(for the plants). Thus, global warming may be good for plants, but if you consider all the negative effects it has on the Earth, the negative effects outweigh the positive ones, definitely. When I was doing my research I saw that now the scientist wants to contrarest the global warming with artificial photosynthesis, that this is a new study that they opened to make possible the artificial plants for future time, when the photosynthesis that we have here it will not eough.Global warming is the increase in the average temperature of Process of photosynthesis: http://biology.clc.uc.edu/courses/bio104/photosyn.htm Importance of Photosynthesis — Infoplease.com http://www.infoplease.com/encyclopedia/science/photosynthesis-importance-photosynthesis.html#ixzz2ElihlMFm Photosynthesis concept: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/photosynthesis http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_does_photosynthesis_affect_global_warming

Movie versus the Novel Essay Example

Movie versus the Novel Essay Example Movie versus the Novel Essay Movie versus the Novel Essay When a book is made into a movie, in particular, or a film in general, a comparison will undoubtedly be done. And the general consensus is that the book is better than the film adaptation –regardless of who pegs, stars or writes the screenplay. In this particular essay, let us look into the difference between the Stephen King’s novel entitled â€Å"It† and the mini-series adapted from it. To begin with, â€Å"It† the film begins in the small town of Derry, and centers around a group of young local outcasts. The film adaptation is divided into two parts –the first part is set in 1960- and not 1958, as in the novel-, and introduces the group of social outcasts, the Losers, as they meet and form a tight-knit group in the face of a cruel and intolerant world. They each individually come into contact with the child-killing monster haunting their hometown which simply refer to as â€Å"it†. It usually appears as Pennywise the Dancing Clown before taking the form of whatever its child victim most greatly fears. Spurred on by Bill Denbroughs desire for revenge on It for killing his younger brother Georgie, the Losers resolved to locate â€Å"It’s† home in the sewers and destroy the threat to Derry once and for all. Despite managing to inflict serious injuries upon the monster, they fail to finish the job, allowing â€Å"It† to escape and recover over the years. The second half of the film, set in 1990- and not 1985 like the novel, focuses on the now-adult Losers who reluctantly agree to return home (all of them except Mike Hanlon have left Derry) to locate and destroy â€Å"It† once and for all. The Losers must again face not only the terrible creature and the diminishing of their circle after the suicide of Stan Uris, but also Henry Bowers. The bully who made their childhoods miserable and is now an incarcerated madman under Its influence, Bowers is determined to kill them all. While the book and the film adaptation carry basically the same story line, there are still noticeable differences between the two. Needless to say, many parts of the book are twisted, either changed completely, or have different characters. Let us take a look at some of the following elements that were important to the books plot which were either removed or represented very differently in the film. First off is the concept of violence.   I have to agree with some critics when they point out that many of â€Å"Its† extremely graphic and gory attacks are merely implied in the film, and are not shown onscreen. For instance, the Losers findings of many mutilated corpses are also omitted, as are several instances of cruelty to animals, such as when Patrick Hocksetter suffocates many animals inside an abandoned refrigerator, and Henry Bowers poisons Mike Hanlons dog, Mr. Chips. Second element that was not very clear in the movie is homophobia. In the book, â€Å"Its† first attack during its modern cycle is not on a little girl on her front lawn, but on a homosexual man named Adrian Mellon who had just been gay bashed. The movie drops this scene entirely, and never refers to it at any point. Other scenes involving homosexuality are left out, including a bar named the Falcon, rumored to be a gay bar, and when Patrick proposes to have oral sex with Henry. Profanity was also downplayed in the movie as opposed to the novel. Vulgar dialogue is omnipresent throughout the entire novel. It also features an aspect of characters developing their own abilities to curse. For instance, Eddie yells This is battery acid, you slime! while spraying his aspirator in â€Å"Its† face, as opposed to BATTERY ACID, FUCKNUTS! in the novel. Another element that was visibly altered in the movie is that of racism. Racism, particularly towards the Hanlons for being black, is a significant issue almost entirely ignored in the film. Despite establishing Henry Bowers and other characters as racists, the film does not feature some of the novels racist attacks, such as when Henry drenches Mike in mud in order to make a tar baby, or a thorough analysis of the word nigger. In addition, Stan being a Jew results in some stereotypical views of Judaism in the novel, though this issue is also never analyzed in the film. The most obvious omission in the novel is the element of sexuality. In the novel, before the young Losers successfully escape from the sewer after encountering â€Å"It†, Beverly Marsh has sex with the boys. She also has sex with Bill earlier as an adult. It also makes some appearances in which â€Å"It† threatens the children with sexual assault. These scenes are dropped entirely from the film, as well as characters viewings on sexuality as children, and details of their sex lives as adults. While many of â€Å"Its† attacks are represented accurately in the film, some never appear in Stephen Kings novel at all, and are completely unique to the film. Examples would include Pennywise coming out of a pipe while Eddie is taking a shower and Ben seeing his father, who died while serving in the Korean War, near the Barrens. Pennywise appears in his father’s place, and almost succeeds in dragging Ben into the swamp. In closing, I would like to say that I enjoyed the novel much better than the movie –as is generally the case. For starters, the novel allows the reader to explore his imagination and see each depiction of â€Å"IT† as he or she sees fit. Some of the scenes I have noted above fell short of my expectations and for this reason, I would recommend the novel more than its film version.