College Goals Essay

Attending college is the first step to a better future. Throughout life there will be many goals to accomplish but some of the most important goals to accomplish will be during the time you are in college. My first goal is to pass every class this semester. After completing this goal my next goal to complete will be to graduate from Hudson County Community College with an Associate’s Degree in Liberal Arts. Finally my last goal to complete is to further my education and get the job I want. Passing every class this semester will help me feel positive and confident about my future and future goals. In order to complete this goal I will have to attend every class and be on time. By missing one class I will miss out on a lot of work and may not be able to catch up. I will have to finish every assignment on time because if I write the best essay I could possibly write but hand it in late, my grade will drop dramatically. Finally I will have to ask for help if I need it. Even though it is my first semester of college and I do not know what to expect, asking for help is easy and can help improve my college experience. To be able to obtain my Associate’s Degree in Liberal Arts by August 2015 I will have to work harder than I ever have. I will have to be sure to complete all my assignments and be sure to attend all my classes. I will have to put school first in life and avoid activities that will have a negative impact on my education. Prior to achieving this goal I also want to choose the career I want so I can know what direction my life is going. My final long-term college goal is to go on to obtain my Bachelor’s Degree and possibly my Master’s Degree, depending on the career I choose. I have not chosen the career I want yet but I want to have the best education possible to qualify me for the job. To be able to obtain the best education possible I want to keep my grade point average high and be able to attend a good university. I have not really thought about all the details since I have not chosen a career yet but I am going to better my education as much as I possibly can. After completing all my education I will have the job I want and be happy and financially stable. In conclusion, my college goals are some of the most important in my life because they greatly help shape my future. By passing all my classes this semester I will have the confidence to continue my education and do well. By obtaining my Associate’s Degree I will be able to go on and obtain my Bachelor’s and possibly Master’s Degrees. And finally when I finish completing all my education I will be able to get the career I want and be happy with my life. My entire future depends on the choices I make in college.

Gloria Estefan

Gloria Estefan, is seen an icon of Latin music. She engraved her path in the world of music by helping many people, and by influencing them. She has worked hard to get to where she is today, and is still thriving. Not only is she a great singer, she's a great humanitarian, and is always reaching out those in need. Gloria was the one who introduced a Latin influence into her songs and she will always be remembered because of that. Gloria Marà ­a Fajardo Garcà ­a, was born on September 1, 1957 in Havana, Cuba. When was two years old she left Cuba to go to Miami with her family, after Fidel rose to power. Life wasn't easy when she got here at first, but after she started adapting, slowly, but surely, she became the icon and the great influencer she is today. Gloria has realized the struggle for Latin rights in the US.â€Å"I have always thought that when someone listens to a song of mine they feel strength, hope. I feel happy that my music can brighten up and help other people†With her message, Gloria has achieved great songs such as Mi Tierra, Abriendo Puertas, and Alma caribeà ±a. These songs have made her rise to the top on all of the charts. She is considered one of the best-selling musical artists of all time. Selling more than 100 million records worldwide! She has numerous Grammy awards and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 1990, she was invited to sing at the White House. The bus who took her back had an accident. Gloria survived but a spinal injury left her invalid for a long time. â€Å"I broke my back and thought I would never walk again,† she said. After this accident, she opened up her sensitivity to the people that suffer, not only paralysis, but all kinds of illnesses. She realized that her position, and fame, could be put to many great things which led her to create the Gloria Estefan Foundation to offer a helping hand for those who have any type of illness President Barack Obama awarded the Medal of Liberty award to Gloria and her husband, Emilio, in November 2015. On September 19, 2011, she received the Ultimate Award, for being a model of inspiration for youth. Gloria has shockingly performed at the Olympics and at the Superbowl twice! Her song ‘Reach' even turned into the hymn for the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympics! Gloria has always been determined on using her fame to bring awareness to political affairs. In 2010, Gloria famously led Las Damas de Blanco march down Calle Ocho in support of the opposition movement in Cuba. Gloria became a board of director for Univision Communications Inc. In conclusion, the talented singer is still continuing to thrive in the music industry. Gloria came to Miami in hopes of achieving the ‘American Dream', that's one more thing she can scratch off her bucket list. And keep in mind don't despise humble beginnings.

Leaders vs Managers Essay

According to many scholars, management is a basically the implementation of already established processes such as planning, staffing, measuring performance and budgeting thereby enabling an organization to do well. On the other hand, leadership is entirely different. It can be described as taking an organization to the future, exploring and successfully exploiting opportunities that come up. Leadership is about having vision, empowerment and most importantly providing useful change in the organization. The main differences between leaders and managers are: the relationship between the followers and managers and leaders, how leaders and managers solve problems, and the difference in emotional intelligence between leaders and managers. Leaders and managers have a difference in emotional intelligence. A leader is an individual who strategizes a visionary and most importantly someone who inspires other people to greatness. In order to achieve this, while leading one must share their vision with the staff or people brought together to solve a problem or create a strategy. Leaders serve as role models, motivate their staff, inspire cooperation and create a community both inside and outside of the organization. They mostly follow their intuition which in most cases benefits the company and in most cases they gain followers who become loyal to them and the organization. This is a direct contradiction to managers who carry out their instructions by the book and follow the organization’s policy to the letter and as a result the staff may or may not be loyal to them. Even when the idea of a divinely appointed leader prevailed, there existed a contrary view that the leader was actually empowered by followers, this theory was analyzed by Thomas Paine â€Å"Titles are but nicknames†¦it is common opinion only that makes them anything or nothing . . . . [A]body of men, holding themselves accountable to nobody, ought not to be trusted by anybody† (1944, pp. 59-60, 63). Another major difference between leaders and managers is how their duties and relationship with their followers differ. A leader creates or rather innovates whilst the manager administers , meaning that the leader is the individual who comes up with fresh ideas in order to move the bulk of the organization into a new direction that is more beneficial and profitable. He has to come up with new strategies and tactics by keeping his focus on the  horizon constantly. It is important for him to be updated on the latest trends as well as studies and the skill sets. Contrary to this, a manager simply maintains a system that has already been established and is in use. It is his duty to maintain control and ensure that things run normally and everyone in the staff is pulling their weight and contributing fully and effectively. One of the distinguishing characteristics of a typical manager is how dependent he is on the activities of a variety of other people to perform his job effectively. (Kotter, 1983, p. 360). He is rigid and unable to be creative in carrying out his duties, thereby barring him from being considered a business leader. According to Richard Rosenberg, (1992) one of the most profound examples of the difference between leaders and managers is how computers create significant changes in any organization. He illustrates how information is able to travel from top to bottom effectively without the intervention of managers somewhere in between. This shows how the difference between leaders and managers which is that managers are easily replaceable and in some cases they are not required at all to some extent. Leaders inspire greatness and effectiveness unlike managers who more or less rely on control. In other words, leadership is not what one does but actually how they respond to you. If people do not choose to join your cause then you cannot really be considered as a leader since they have inspired no one. If people do indeed join your cause then it would mean that you have inspired them, thereby creating a bond with them and the company, which is very important particularly if the organization or business is changing rapidly and needs people who believe in it to support its mission. Leaders and managers handle and prepare for problems in a different ways. Managers prepare themselves for turbulent times and during these times the primary task is to make sure that the organization’s capacity to survive and to ensure that the it maintains its structural strength as well as is capacity to survive failure and adapt as quickly as possible in the shortest time period (Peter D., 1980). Business leaders instill a staff loyalty that a manager cannot be able to because of his rigid methods and lack of spontaneity. In the case of managers, their primary job is to control their  staff by aiding them to develop their assets and discover their greatest talents. In order to do this they have to know the people working for them and understand their abilities and interests. G. Lumsden (1982) describes how middle managers model themselves on top managers in a form of hierarchical mimicry: what happens is that the behavior inheritance persists. As it is passed down deeper in the organization, sans power, such behavior begins not to work so well. And at lower levels it gets muddied even further because it’s being used on individuals who don’t understand it, aren’t impressed by it, or are downright opposed to it. (p. 8) A leader focuses on the reasons why to make certain decision whereas a manager considers how and at what times decisions are made. Managers prefer to execute plans accordingly and maintain the status quo without deviating even when failures are experienced. If the company experienced failures, then a leader would learn from it and use it as a clarification point in order to get better and avoid losses in future. Levine and M. Crom (1993) in their book â€Å"The leader in you† highlight an example of leadership changes and state that â€Å"Good human relation skills have the ability to transform people from managing others to leading them. People can learn how to move from directing to guiding, from competing to collaborating and from operating under secrecy to one of sharing all of the information required, from a mode of passivity to a mode of risk taking, from one of regarding people as an expense to one of viewing people as an asset,† (P.15) In conclusion, management and leadership are not necessarily mutually exclusive. They are however different in that leadership entails inspiration as well as steering an organization whereas management is simply overseeing and delegating.

The Kansas-Nebraska Act Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Kansas-Nebraska Act - Essay Example There was a divided interest at this point as there was also strong consideration of territorial implications. Stephen A. Douglas, the proponent of this proposed bill, was highlighting national expansion, but the people were most concerned on the extension of slavery. The Kansas-Nebraska Act is therefore a highly political issue that sparked interest among the people and their rights to express their freedom to take stand concerning the issue. This policy certainly affected the Midwest because it divided the consensus stand on the idea behind national expansion. Instead, people were directed to focus on the critical issue about the extension of slavery. Prior to this, there was already a strong desire to eliminate slavery as clearly stated in Lincoln’s â€Å"House Divided† speech (PBS; Wikipedia). In the absence of consensus effort to be united on one stand, division should be remarkable and this was what Lincoln tried to emphasise in his speech concerning the issue ass ociated with Kansas-Nebraska Act. Lincoln’s â€Å"House Divided† speech Lincoln’s speech was an awakening point which could give further justification needed to obtain national solidarity that was threatened by political elements at that time. In order to make his points clearer, Lincoln tried to reference three of most controversial major governmental policies that for him if the people would not be united, particularly the governing body, there would be disunity and separation of popular interest diverted to personal and not to national assurance. Lincoln tried to emphasize national territory as a primary concern for the alignment of political goal of the nation. At this point, he urged the law-making body as far as legal combination was concerned, and so he believed â€Å"a house divided against itself cannot stand.† He was on the side revealing the point that a government could not remain to stand strong half slave and half free. In line with this, he cited the case of Kansas-Nebraska Act and other major governmental policies that gained popular protests and reactions. So there is therefore a good structure on Lincoln’s speech, which elaborates the need to take stand based on the prevailing reality. Lincoln emphasized the need to consider alarming output of some major governmental policies, which has become the strong basis of his stand to point out the Government could not just eventually take center stage but should need to understand solidarity for national expansion or growth. This makes Lincoln’s speech highly organized with appropriate point and structure, trying to combine persuasive manner in addressing a particular issue. Charles Beecher’s sermon, elements of rhetoric or style Obviously, Beecher’s way of addressing the issue on national policies on slavery was an expansion of text coming from the bible. He remarkably gained his authority and strong voice on the issue with reference to some bi blical text. As part of the development of his sermon, the focus of his application on the chosen biblical text was his own interpretation and stand on the national policies on slavery. This made a powerful combination of obtaining voice and authority in his sermon considering that there could be much more appreciation already placed on the actual issue and on the biblical text. Beecher’s sermon therefore has a specific voice trying to influence popular interest as it was timely and created a specific

Reflection ( R-Rent a car) buisness Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Reflection ( R-Rent a car) buisness - Essay Example After which a careful scan of competitors around Dubai must be thoroughly made so that I can have a full grasp of how it is to compete in a dense market. It was difficult since as a new entry in this business, other companies have already the advantage of having loyal customers. Nevertheless, I was able to successfully gather enough data that can give me a complete view of the car rental industry. This also meant being resourceful by tapping networks of friends, even relatives who knows someone from this kind of business. On the second week, I doubled my efforts to get primary sources for my data. This entailed doing interviews among two rent-a-car owners so I can have some idea for the marketing strategy. I also interviewed a driver so I can anticipate possible problems in operating this business. I fully realized that this business is not about cars, it’s about giving service which is why I incorporated â€Å"pleasure â€Å" in my tag line. The succeeding week, it was time to put up advertisement on different media and that was not quite easy for a newcomer. There were many phone calls to make just to canvass the price of such ads. Also, I was not familiar with sizes, dimension and design of paid ads. Indeed, the design of the website occupied also another week of the project since many considerations must be made in the B2C marketing. The four principles of marketing are the same but one must view the ad as a browser on the internet with very little attention span. The ad must immediately grasp the attention of the potential customer. There were many skills that I have learned in accomplishing this project. The first set of skills I have developed are soft skills in negotiating, problem-solving, listening, interacting with others, diffusing tension in an argument and even teaching. These skills were learned during my interaction with people in the industry as well as people in the media. The rent-a-car business depends

Communication in business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Communication in business - Essay Example Microsoft, being a technological company cannot do without expert technicians. The company faces the challenge of hiring the technologically best people who are in scarcity as far US is concerned. The scarcity of local workforce to fulfil the technological demands of Microsoft has been a huge challenge for the company. In order to deal with this problem , the Company holds recruitment drives in countries like India and China which are known for being rich in technically sound people and pays them hefty packages. But, the citizens of China and India often do not possess good communication skills which is again a challenge for the company. The next major issue faced by the company relates to co-employment. Microsoft has also faced legal challenges regarding the privileges given to employees of the firm vs. the temporary workers. The most popular case that Microsoft lost concerning this issue was the Vizcaino vs. Microsoft case of employee misclassification. Another issue talks about Criticism from employees of Microsoft in blogs, social networking sites, etc, huge segment of employee workforce at Microsoft is criticizing the firm. Employees are dissatisfied with the internal working of Microsoft. The major dissatisfaction in employees is about the cuts in compensation by the company as the profits soar. For a brand as huge as Microsoft, bad publicity happens really soon. The major challenge which Microsoft is facing as far as employment is concerned is that of retention management. The attrition rate of employees is increasing every passing year. Microsoft is losing some of its most creative workforce to its competitors like Google, Apple, Skype (which is not owned by e Bay).In this regard, Microsoft has also sued Google for over hiring of its former employees. A major proportion of Microsoft’s talent has been reported to join Google. This is not just a loss of talent for Microsoft, but along with this, the Company is also facing a

Evaluating the impact of international environmental laws on oil and Essay - 1

Evaluating the impact of international environmental laws on oil and gas - Essay Example GEP-Oil is under attack from environment conservation agencies on its oil exploratory methods.This has led to the firm abandoning oil exploratory activities by GEP-Oil which has been operating in the Russian northern hemisphere. Oil exploration in the northern hemisphere is exceedingly complicated and an extremely expensive investment and GEP-Oil had entered into partnerships with investors from out of state in order to be able to explore for oil reserves in the arctic region. The effects of the attack by the environmental groups will mean that the firm cannot and will not be able to meet its obligations to its partners. On the other hand, GEP-Oil cannot ignore the issues that have been raised against it because it wants to be conformable to environmental protection practices and also wants good partnership and trust with the local community. This means that GEP-Oil must carefully and quickly address the situation to resume its oil exploration as soon as possible. Recommendation(s) G EP-Oil should be able to address the issue while involving the relevant stake holders in the process. This will mean that GEP-Oil will have to closely work with environmental groups in order to ensure that their issues and concerns are well addressed. This will also mean that GEP-Oil will need to involve the local communities in order to also ensure that their concerns are also taken care of. By doing this, GEP-Oil will be able to overcome the challengers posed by the situation as well as mintage any risk of the situation happening again. 1. Background of the issue The issue of environmental degradation caused by the oil exploration is one that every oil exploration firm should be able to look at carefully. GEP-Oil has found itself in the midst of the issue and this threatens to interfere with the operations and the success of the firm. GEP-Oil has being accused by environmental agencies of being careless in the way it carries out its exploratory activities. Because of this, GEP-Oil has been affected in the way it operates because it has stopped some of its operations in order to deal with the situation first. This scenario is threatening to kill the numerous employment opportunities that the firm affords the residents. GEP-Oil is also likely to lose its reputation because this has affected its ability to continue with its obligations which it owes its partners in business. On the other hand, GEP-Oil does not want to create the wrong impression within the community it operates and this has meant that the firm has to tread extremely carefully around the matter. In this paper, these issues are addressed in detail and alternatives to dealing with the situation are taken. 2. Impact of Oil/Gas Production on the Environment According to Mushkat (87) businesses are seen to promote environmental degradation by the very fact that they promote economic activity. The exploration and production of oil leads to a damage of the environment and this means that producers of o il will have to take necessary measures to mitigate the damage done to the environment. GEP-Oil will have to understand this in solving its current situation. There are a number of ways in which GEP-Oil can remedy the situation and convince environmental groups to accept that it needs to go on with oil production in the arctic region. One of this is sustainable development. As Beyerlin (2011, p. 84) says, sustainable development refers to the fact that natural resources should be exploited in a way that leaves no or little damage to the environment. This law is recognizant of the fact that exploitation of natural resources will have to be done in order for survival of human beings on the planet. This will be GEP-Oil’s biggest defence against the accusation. Oil is an immensely useful to the community and it is

Lab report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 3

Lab Report Example For the second cycle, the mass of the water alone is the mass of the crucible lid and hydrate, less the mass of the crucible lid and residue after heating. That gives 22.678 – 22.455 = 0.223. Considering the fact that the second cycle represents a time when more accuracy is sought as opposed to the first cycle, the mass from the second cycle is taken for use in the establishment of the % of the water of hydration. The % of water of hydration is equal to the mass of the water of hydration alone, divided by the mass of the hydrated salt and the result multiplied by 100%. That gives, (0.223 / 0.636 ) * 100 = 4% to the nearest whole number. It is apparent that the experiment manifested that the percentage of the water of hydration is 4% as opposed to the theoretical value which is 5%. This may be attributed to the fact that there are some errors in the experiment that result from such attributes as impurities entering the reagents; zero error introduced in the measuring instruments and parallax error on the side of the personnel taking the readings from the instruments. The experiment however proved that indeed there is water of hydration in the reagent and that has weight which is shade off by heating the

Importance of Path Dependence in Management Essay

Importance of Path Dependence in Management - Essay Example The strong implication is that actors in a particular process become locked-in mechanisms that are themselves a product of historical contingencies. This perspective holds that phenomena are complex, and, therefore, a result of mutually interacting variables which produce non-linear dynamics and feedback loops. The complexity of the discourse on organisational change and innovation has only increased. This is occasioned by two divergent views. The first view holds that new and more flexible or fluid organisational forms are on demand while the second view holds the belief in organisational inertia and the historical necessity of decision making (Garud, Arun, and Peter, 2009:760). These two views have confronted managers who have to balance between new ideas and customs of an organisation or an industry. This is mostly influenced in concepts such as entrepreneurial mindset where actors are more driven by the logic of control which drives them to effectively actualise complex processes. This has made path dependence essential to managers as they struggle to understand the basic factors underlying most organisational processes and past successes while linking them with the realities of the moment to improve sustenance of an organisational performance and effectiveness (Coombs and Hull, 1997:1 -26). In a case study of Toyota production system (TPS), the perspective of change as a path dependence phenomenon promotes the importance of this concept in management (Driel and Dolfsma, 2009:67). To begin with, TPS created lock-in mechanisms long before the development of a proper mechanism involving relative competition. The competitors were able to copy some of the TPS models with accuracy and create considerable competition. However, through application of its significant and reliable production techniques and marketing strategies, they maintained loyalty of a client base that believed in the products produced by Toyota (Driel and Dolfsma, 2009:67).

Risk management Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Risk management - Case Study Example The second part involves the liability insurance on liability related risks. It must be noted that liability insurance is meant to offer protection to a third party should there be any claim. The family can insure their dogs. That can certainly be under pet insurance from Progressive Insurance. That is because one of their dogs has been reported to be engaged in biting people. That can lead to a huge loss if the family is not careful. For that reason, taking an insurance cover for the two dogs is important in case of any accidents especially because they have allowed students of Perdue school to be passing by their fence. That even makes it more dangerous. On the other hand, the family may decide to enclose their yard and garden by fencing and prohibiting students from passing over the yard. That also possesses the family in danger of theft related cases. Jane is also working in a manufacturing plant and therefore needs to be covered under the company’s public liability insura nce due to accidents, injuries, death at work and many others. Jane may also insure her businesses against losses especially because the business is seasonal and sometimes funds are not available. Home related risk in the third part involves insuring the house. Homes are insured under the home insurance. The house though very old can still be insured. Progressive Insurance company offers certain categories depending on the perils. Jane can contribute an average annual insurance at $1,163 and monthly contributions at $96.92. That will be cheap while considering that her business is cyclic. Jane will be required to pay a $5000 deductible monthly insurance against flood. The maximum amount payable is $250,000 for house allowance. In future Jane would wish to move out of the old house since it has high risks rates that lead to high deductible amount. Jane would also be needed to insure his

An Economic View of Egypt Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

An Economic View of Egypt - Research Paper Example The country has a lot of military and political influence over a number of countries in Africa and Middle East. This paper makes an investigation into the country from the economic and political points of view. The various economic indicators have been thoroughly analyzed. Along with that the present issues that is of the biggest concern for the country has also been enumerated. Finally a recommendation has been provided which provides an insight into the prospects and the possible way forward for the country. Research Objective The country of Egypt has gone through various turbulences in the recent times. This has some effect on the economic and political condition of the country and has brought the country under various challenges. The objective of this paper is to find out the various nuances of the economic and the political aspects of the country. The study would provide an insight into impact of the happening in the country as well as find a feasible solution to the host of pro blems. Literate Review The economic and political aspects of the present day Egypt has been captured in the writings of a number of researchers. The existing political scenario of a particular country has a direct impact on the economy. The well being of a country is largely dependent on the kind of governance that is existent in the country. The major indicator of the development of any economy is the growth rate of the GDP. From the figure below it can be concluded the Egypt experienced a growth rate which have fluctuated over a period of time. The country has faced phases of positive trend in the rate of growth of the economy during the period from 1992 to 1998 and again from 2003 to 2008 as see in the diagram below. However the economy faced a major downturn with the growth rate bottoming out during 2011. The chief reason behind this is the political turbulence that had been taking place in the country due to the removal of Hosni Mubarak from the political control of the governm ent of Egypt. The country recovered from the drastic situation with an extremely slow pace which resulted due to the various social and economic challenges that the newly formed government faced. The national issues had greater significance at that point of time. However, the real GDP showed a positive trend in the growth rate by 2.0 % in the year 2012. The consumption expenditure of the government also increased during this phase which justified the path of recovery of the country. The country has always reported a very high rate of inflation which remained above 10% with the consumer price index always having a double digit figure. After the period of political turbulence, in 2012 as the economy recovered the inflation rate was also brought under control and was reported to be 8.7%. However, the currency of Egypt faced a huge amount of depreciation because of the high rate of depletion in the foreign reserves of the country. This resulted in the weakening of the currency and excha nge rate for the country became very vulnerable. The diagram that follows explains the position of foreign exchange of the country. During the year 2012, the foreign exchange reserve of Egypt slowly went down. This resulted in a low level of reserve as low as 13424.1 million US dollars in 2013.

Economics, Effects of Specialization Essay Example for Free

Economics, Effects of Specialization Essay Specialization basically means when an individual or businesses produce a narrow range of products in simple words, when a person or business focuses on producing one type of product because they are good in producing that product. International exchange allows for specialization, which is when one producer produces the good that comes at the least cost of production and opportunity to him or her and then trades for those goods that come at a higher production or opportunity to him or her. The law of comparative advantage explains how people can gain from trade and specialization. Comparative advantage is defined as the ability to produce a good at a lower opportunity cost than others can produce it. Therefore, specializing gives that country a comparative advantage over others. specialization also leads to economic interdependence which is when producers in one nation depend on other to provide good and services that they do not produce. eres an example : lets say China produces 500 fish and 200 cheese and Canada produces 200 fish and 500 cheese , China will stop making cheese and focus on producing more fish and Canada will stop making fish and focus more on producing cheese , in the end , they will end up trading , this is economic interdepedence when another country relies on another country for a product or service. Not only does it lead to mutual gains by allowing different countries to specialize in the production of those things they do best, but it also allows them to import goods that foreign producers are willing to supply at a lower cost than domestic producers. Resources and such differ from country to country and give some countries an advantage to producing some goods over others and prove to be more profitable and advantageous to all. By allowing for international trade, countries can specialize in those goods that they can produce most economically and them offer them to consumers at a cheaper, more affordable, and more economical price. Absolute advantage is a situation in which a nation as a result of its previous experience can produce more of a good, with the same amount of resources, than another nation. till , this doesnt mean that just because one country has an absolute advantage that the countries cannot gain from international trade. countries can still gain as long as relative production costs differ. 3 reasons why International trade is necessary International trade allows countries to learn from each other and take in new ideas. international trade is needed between countries is because resources that country needs are not available everywhere. international trade is necessary is that it reduces the risk for one economy.

Moduation Techniques | An Overview

Moduation Techniques | An Overview The evolution of wireless cellular technology from 1G to 4G has a similar aim that is capable to deliver high data rate signal so that it can transmit high bit rate multimedia content in cellular mobile communication. Thus, it has driven many researches into the application of higher order modulations. One of the focuses of this project is to study and compare the different types of Digital Modulation technique that widely being used in the LTE systems. Hence, before being able to design and evaluate this in computer simulation. A study is carried out on digital modulation and drilled down further on QPSK modulation schemes, and followed by the QAM modulation schemes. What is modulation? There are several definitions on modulation taken from several references as follows: Modulation is defined as the process by which a carrier wave is able to carry the message or digital signal (series of ones and zeroes). Modulation is the process of facilitating the transfer of information over a medium. Voice cannot be sent very far by screaming. To extend the range of sound, we need to transmit it through a medium other than air, such as a phone line or radio. The process of converting information (voice in this case) so that it can be successfully sent through a medium (wire or radio waves) is called modulation. Modulation is the process of varying a carrier signal, typically a sinusoidal signal, in order to use that signal to convey information. One of the three key characteristics of a signal is usually modulated: its phase, frequency or amplitude. There are 2 types of modulations: Analog modulation and digital modulation. In analog modulation, an information-bearing analog waveform is impressed on the carrier signal for transmission whereas in digital modulation, an information-bearing discrete-time symbol sequence (digital signal) is converted or impressed onto a continuous-time carrier waveform for transmission. 2G wireless systems are realized using digital modulation schemes. Why Digital Modulation? The move to digital modulation provides more information capacity, compatibility with digital data services, higher data security, better quality communications, and quicker system availability. Developers of communications systems face these constraints: available bandwidth permissible power inherent noise level of the system The RF spectrum must be shared, yet every day there are more users for that spectrum as demand for communications services increases. Digital modulation schemes have greater capacity to convey large amounts of information than analog modulation schemes. Different types of Digital Modulation As mentioned in the previous chapter, there are three major classes of digital modulation techniques used for transmission of digitally represented data: Amplitude Shift Keying (ASK) Frequency Shift Keying (FSK) Phase Shift Keying (PSK) All convey data by changing some aspect of a base signal, the carrier wave (usually a sinusoid) in response to a data signal. For ASK, FSK, and PSK the amplitude, frequency and phase are changed respectively. Bit rate and symbol rate To understand and compare different PSK and QAM modulation format efficiencies, it is important to first understand the difference between bit rate and symbol rate. The signal bandwidth for the communications channel needed depends on the symbol rate, not on the bit rate. Bit rate is the frequency of a system bit stream. Take, for example, a radio with an 8 bit sampler, sampling at 10 kHz for voice. The bit rate, the basic bit stream rate in the radio, would be eight bits multiplied by 10K samples per second or 80 Kbits per second. (For the moment we will ignore the extra bits required for synchronization, error correction, etc.). A Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK) signal. The states can be mapped to zeros and ones. This is a common mapping, but it is not the only one. Any mapping can be used. The symbol rate is the bit rate divided by the number of bits that can be transmitted with each symbol. If one bit is transmitted per symbol, as with BPSK, then the symbol rate would be the same as the bit rate of 80 Kbits per second. If two bits are transmitted per symbol, as in QPSK, then the symbol rate would be half of the bit rate or 40 Kbits per second. Symbol rate is sometimes called baud rate. Note that baud rate is not the same as bit rate. These terms are often confused. If more bits can be sent with each symbol, then the same amount of data can be sent in a narrower spectrum. This is why modulation formats that are more complex and use a higher number of states can send the same information over a narrower piece of the RF spectrum. Phase Shift Keying (PSK) PSK is a modulation scheme that conveys data by changing, or modulating, the phase of a reference signal (i.e. the phase of the carrier wave is changed to represent the data signal). A finite number of phases are used to represent digital data. Each of these phases is assigned a unique pattern of binary bits; usually each phase encodes an equal number of bits. Each pattern of bits forms the symbol that is represented by the particular phase. There are two fundamental ways of utilizing the phase of a signal in this way: By viewing the phase itself as conveying the information, in which case the demodulator must have a reference signal to compare the received signals phase against; (PSK) or By viewing the change in the phase as conveying information differential schemes, some of which do not need a reference carrier (to a certain extent) (DPSK). A convenient way to represent PSK schemes is on a constellation diagram. This shows the points in the Argand plane where, in this context, the real and imaginary axes are termed the in-phase and quadrature axes respectively due to their 90 ° separation. Such a representation on perpendicular axes lends itself to straightforward implementation. The amplitude of each point along the in-phase axis is used to modulate a cosine (or sine) wave and the amplitude along the quadrature axis to modulate a sine (or cosine) wave. In PSK, the constellation points chosen are usually positioned with uniform angular spacing around a circle. This gives maximum phase-separation between adjacent points and thus the best immunity to corruption. They are positioned on a circle so that they can all be transmitted with the same energy. In this way, the moduli of the complex numbers they represent will be the same and thus so will the amplitudes needed for the cosine and sine waves. Two common examples are binary phase-shift keying (BPSK) which uses two phases, and quadrature phase-shift keying (QPSK) which uses four phases, although any number of phases may be used. Since the data to be conveyed are usually binary, the PSK scheme is usually designed with the number of constellation points being a power of 2. Applications of PSK and QAM Owing to PSKs simplicity, particularly when compared with its competitor quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM), it is widely used in existing technologies. The most popular wireless LAN standard, IEEE 802.11b, uses a variety of different PSKs depending on the data-rate required. At the basic-rate of 1 Mbit/s, it uses DBPSK. To provide the extended-rate of 2 Mbit/s, DQPSK is used. In reaching 5.5 Mbit/s and the full-rate of 11 Mbit/s, QPSK is employed, but has to be coupled with complementary code keying. The higher-speed wireless LAN standard, IEEE 802.11g has eight data rates: 6, 9, 12, 18, 24, 36, 48 and 54 Mbit/s. The 6 and 9 Mbit/s modes use BPSK. The 12 and 18 Mbit/s modes use QPSK. The fastest four modes use forms of quadrature amplitude modulation. The recently-standardised Bluetooth will use p / 4-DQPSK at its lower rate (2 Mbit/s) and 8-DPSK at its higher rate (3 Mbit/s) when the link between the two devices is sufficiently robust. Bluetooth 1 modulates with Gaussian minimum shift keying, a binary scheme, so either modulation choice in version 2 will yield a higher data-rate. A similar technology, ZigBee (also known as IEEE 802.15.4) also relies on PSK. ZigBee operates in two frequency bands: 868-915MHz where it employs BPSK and at 2.4GHz where it uses OQPSK. Notably absent from these various schemes is 8-PSK. This is because its error-rate performance is close to that of 16-QAM it is only about 0.5dB better but its data rate is only three-quarters that of 16-QAM. Thus 8-PSK is often omitted from standards and, as seen above, schemes tend to jump from QPSK to 16-QAM (8-QAM is possible but difficult to implement). QPSK QPSK is a multilevel modulation techniques, it uses 2 bits per symbol to represent each phase. Compared to BPSK, it is more spectrally efficient but requires more complex receiver. Constellation Diagram for QPSK The constellation diagram for QPSK with Gray coding. Each adjacent symbol only differs by one bit. Sometimes known as quaternary or quadriphase PSK or 4-PSK, QPSK uses four points on the constellation diagram, equispaced around a circle. With four phases, QPSK can encode two bits per symbol, shown in the diagram with Gray coding to minimize the BER twice the rate of BPSK. Figure 2.5 depicts the 4 symbols used to represent the four phases in QPSK. Analysis shows that this may be used either to double the data rate compared to a BPSK system while maintaining the bandwidth of the signal or to maintain the data-rate of BPSK but halve the bandwidth needed. Four symbols that represents the four phases in QPSK Although QPSK can be viewed as a quaternary modulation, it is easier to see it as two independently modulated quadrature carriers. With this interpretation, the even (or odd) bits are used to modulate the in-phase component of the carrier, while the odd (or even) bits are used to modulate the quadrature-phase component of the carrier. BPSK is used on both carriers and they can be independently demodulated. As a result, the probability of bit-error for QPSK is the same as for BPSK: However, with two bits per symbol, the symbol error rate is increased: If the signal-to-noise ratio is high (as is necessary for practical QPSK systems) the probability of symbol error may be approximated: As with BPSK, there are phase ambiguity problems at the receiver and differentially encoded QPSK is more normally used in practice. As written above, QPSK, are often used in preference to BPSK when improved spectral efficiency is required. QPSK utilizes four constellation points, each representing two bits of data. Again as with BPSK the use of trajectory shaping (raised cosine, root raised cosine etc) will yield an improved spectral efficiency, although one of the principle disadvantages of QPSK, as with BPSK, is the potential to cross the origin, that will generate 100% AM. QPSK is also known as a method for transmitting digital information across an analog channel. Data bits are grouped into pairs, and each pair is represented by a particular waveform, called a symbol, to be sent across the channel after modulating the carrier. QPSK is also the most commonly used modulation scheme for wireless and cellular systems. Its because it does not suffer from BER degradation while the bandwidth efficiency is increased. The QPSK signals are mathematically defined as: Implementation of QPSK QPSK signal can be implemented by using the equation stated below. The symbols in the constellation diagram in terms of the sine and cosine waves used to transmit them is being written below: This yields the four phases p/4, 3p/4, 5p/4 and 7p/4 as needed. As a result, a two-dimensional signal space with unit basis functions The first basis function is used as the in-phase component of the signal and the second as the quadrature component of the signal. Therefore, the signal constellation consists of the signal-space 4 points The factors of 1/2 show that the total power is divide evenly among the two carriers. QPSK systems can be implemented in a few ways. First, the dual data stream is divided into the in-phase and quadrature-phase components. These are then independently modulated onto two orthogonal basis functions. In this implementation, two sinusoids are used. Next, the two signals are superimposed, and the resulting signal is the QPSK signal. Polar non-return-to-zero encoding is also being used. These encoders can be located before for binary data source, but have been located after to illustrate the theoretical dissimilarity between digital and analog signals concerned with digital modulation. The matched filters can be substituted with correlators. Each detection device uses a reference threshold value to conclude whether a 1 or 0 is detected. Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM) Quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) is both an analog and a digital modulation scheme. It is a modulation scheme in which two sinusoidal carriers, one exactly 90degrees out of phase with respect to the other, which are used to transmit data over a given physical channel. Because the orthogonal carriers occupy the same frequency band and differ by a 90degree phase shift, each can be modulated independently, transmitted over the same frequency band, and separated by demodulation at the receiver. For a given available bandwidth, QAM enables data transmission at twice the rate of standard pulse amplitude modulation (PAM) without any degradation in the bit error rate (BER). QAM and its derivatives are used in both mobile radio and satellite communication systems. The modulated waves are summed, and the resulting waveform is a combination of both phase-shift keying (PSK) and amplitude-shift keying, or in the analog case of phase modulation (PM) and amplitude modulation. In the digital QAM case, a finite number of at least two phases and at least two amplitudes are used. PSK modulators are often designed using the QAM principle, but are not considered as QAM since the amplitude of the modulated carrier signal is constant. In 16 QAM 4 different phases and 4 different amplitudes are used for a total of 16 different symbols. This means such a coding is able to transmit 4bit per second. 64-QAM yields 64 possible signal combinations, with each symbol representing six bits (2^6 = 64). The yield of this complex modulation scheme is that the transmission rate is six times the signaling rate. This modulation format produces a more spectrally efficient transmission. It is more efficient than BPSK, QPSK or 8PSK while QPSK is the same as 4QAM. Another variation is 32QAM. In this case there are six I values and six Q values resulting in a total of 36 possible states (66=36). This is too many states for a power of two (the closest power of two is 32). So the four corner symbol states, which take the most power to transmit, are omitted. This reduces the amount of peak power the transmitter has to generate. Since 25 = 32, there are five bits per symbol and the symbol rate is one fifth of the bit rate. The current practical limits are approximately 256QAM, though work is underway to extend the limits to 512 or 1024 QAM. A 256QAM system uses 16 I-values and 16 Q-values giving 256 possible states. Since 2^8 = 256, each symbol can represent eight bits. A 256QAM signal that can send eight bits per symbol is very spectrally efficient. However, there is some drawbacks, the symbols are very close together and are thus more subject to errors due to noise and distortion. Such a signal may have to be transmitted with extra power (to effectively spread the symbols out more) and this reduces power efficiency as compared to simpler schemes. BPSK uses 80 K symbols-per-second sending 1 bit per symbol. A system using 256QAM sends eight bits per symbol so the symbol rate would be 10 K symbols per second. A 256QAM system enables the same amount of information to be sent as BPSK using only one eighth of the bandwidth. It is eight times more bandwidth efficient. However, there is a drawback too. The radio becomes more complex and is more susceptible to errors caused by noise and distortion. Error rates of higher-order QAM systems such as this degrade more rapidly than QPSK as noise or interference is introduced. A measure of this degradation would be a higher Bit Error Rate (BER). In any digital modulation system, if the input signal is distorted or severely attenuated the receiver will eventually lose symbol clock completely. If the receiver can no longer recover the symbol clock, it cannot demodulate the signal or recover any information. With less degradation, the symbol clock can be recovered, but it is noisy, and the symbol locations themselves are noisy. In some cases, a symbol will fall far enough away from its intended position that it will cross over to an adjacent position. The I and Q level detectors used in the demodulator would misinterpret such a symbol as being in the wrong location, causing bit errors. In the case of QPSK, it is not as efficient, but the states are much farther apart and the system can tolerate a lot more noise before suffering symbol errors. QPSK has no intermediate states between the four corner-symbol locations so there is less opportunity for the demodulator to misinterpret symbols. As a result, QPSK requires less transmitt er power than QAM to achieve the same bit error rate. Implementation of QAM First, the incoming bits are encoded into complex valued symbols. Then, the sequence of symbols is mapped into a complex baseband waveform. For implementation purposes, each complex multiplication above corresponds to 4 real multiplications. Besides, and will be the real and imaginary parts of = + iand assume that the symbols are generated as real and imaginary parts (as opposed to magnitude and phase, for example). After being derived, we will get and. From (1), x (t) becomes. This can be understand as two parallel PAM systems, followed by double-sideband modulation by quadrature carriers and. This realization of QAM is called double-sideband quadrature-carrier (DSB-QC) modulation. A QAM receiver must first demodulate the received waveform y(t). Assuming the scaling and receiver time reference discussed before, this received waveform is assumed to be simply y(t) = x(t) + n(t). Here, it is being understood that there is no noise, so that y(t) is simply the transmitted waveform x(t). The first task of the receiver is to demodulate x(t) back to baseband. This is done by multiplying the received waveform by both and. The two resulting waveforms are each filtered by a filter with impulse response q(t) and then sampled at T spaced intervals. The multiplication by at the receiver moves the positive frequency part of x(t) both up and down in frequency by, and does the same with the negative frequency part. It is assumed throughout that both the transmit pulse p(t) and the receive pulse q(t) are in fact baseband waveforms relative to the carrier frequency (specifically, that and for). Thus the result of multiplying the modulated waveform x(t) by yields a response at baseband and also yields responses around and. The receive filter q(t) then eliminates the double frequency terms. The effect of the multiplication can be seen by both at transmitter and receiver from the following trigonometric identity: Thus the receive filter q(t) in the upper (cosine) part of the demodulator filters the real part of the original baseband waveform, resulting in the output Assuming that the cascade g(t) of the filters p(t) and q(t) is ideal Nyquist, the sampled output retrieves the real part of the original symbols without intersymbol interference. The filter q(t) also rejects the double frequency terms. The multiplication by similarly moves the received waveform to a baseband component plus double carrier frequency terms. The effect of multiplying by at both transmitter and receiver is given by Again, (assuming that p(t) * q(t) is ideal Nyquist) the filter q(t) in the lower (sine) part of the receiver retrieves the imaginary components of the original symbols without intersymbol interference. Finally, from the identity, there is no crosstalk at baseband between the real and imaginary parts of the original symbols. It is important to go through the above argument to realize that the earlier approach of multiplying u(t) by for modulation and then by for demodulation is just a notationally more convenient way of doing the same thing. Working with sines and cosines is much more concrete, but is messier and makes it harder to see the whole picture. Modulation and transmission of QAM In general, the modulated signal can be represented by Where the carrier cos(wct) is said to be amplitude modulated if its amplitude is adjusted in accordance with the modulating signal, and is said to be phase modulated if (t) is varied in accordance with the modulating signal. In QAM the amplitude of the baseband modulating signal is determined by a(t) and the phase by (t). The in phase component I is then given by This signal is then corrupted by the channel. In this case is the AWGN channel. The received signal is then given by Where n(t) represents the AWGN, which has both the in phase and the quadrature component. It is this received signal which will be attempted to demodulate. Reference Fundamentals of Communication SystemsDescription: http://i.cmpnet.com/dspdesignline/2008/07/image046.gif, by John G. Proakis, Masoud Salehi Description: http://i.cmpnet.com/dspdesignline/2008/07/image046.gif Cross-layer resource allocation in wireless communications: techniques and Models from PHY and MAC Layer Interactionby Ana I. Pà ©rez-Niera, Marc Realp Campalans Digital Communication: Third Edition, by John R. Barry, Edward A. Lee, David G. Messerschmit OFDM for wireless multimedia communications by Richard Van Nee, Ramjee Prasad Modern Quadrature Amplitude Modulation by W.T Webb and L.Hanzo Digital Signal Processing in Communication Systems by Marvin E.Frerking COPD: a Clinical Case Study COPD: a Clinical Case Study Jerry Corners Introduction Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is the fifth leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the UK and fourth in the world (Hurd 2000; Soriano 2000). Though other causes exist, like genetics and environmental pollution, tobacco smoke is by far the leading etiology of this disease (Pride 2002). It may seem axiomatic that if cigarette smoking is the cause of COPD, cessation (or avoidance) of smoking is the prevention. However, despite extensive public education, smoking is still common among men and women in the UK and even when people do quit, relapse within the first year is common (Lancaster et al. 2006). Therefore our attention as caregivers needs to be focused upon methods of cessation that produce lasting results. To illustrate the diagnosis, management, both short- and long-term, and what Mike can expect from treatment as reflected in the medical literature, we present the following case. Pathophysiology of COPD COPD is a chronic disease in which decreased airflow is related to airway smooth muscle hypereactivity due to an abnormal inflammatory reaction. Inhalation of tobacco products causes airway remodeling, resulting ultimately in emphysema and chronic bronchitis (Srivastava, Dastidar, Ray 2007). COPD is a complex inflammatory disease that affects both lung airways and lung parenchyma. The modern focus of the pathophysiology of COPD is centered around this inflammation and it is now recognized that systemic inflammation is responsible for many of the extrapulmonary effects of cigarette smoke inhalation (Heaney, Lindsay, McGarvey 2007). The Clinical Case Study Diagnosis Mike is a 54 year old, self-employed grandfather who smokes 40 cigarettes daily. He was recently diagnosed with COPD based on an FEV1 of 66% of predicted (Halpin 2004). According to Halpin (2004), â€Å"There are still no validated severity assessment tools that encompass the multidimensional nature of the disease, and we therefore continue to recommend using FEV1 as a percentage of the predicted as a marker of the severity of airflow obstruction, but acknowledge that this may not reflect the impact of the disease in that individual. We have changed the FEV1 cut off points and these now match those in the updated GOLD and new ATS/ERS guidelines, although the terminology is slightly different: an FEV1 of 50–80% predicted constitutes mild airflow obstruction, 30–49% moderate airflow obstruction, and According to these criteria, Mike has mild airflow obstruction and will be treated accordingly. But no matter what stage he is at or what pharmacologic interventions are prescribed, we are nevertheless obliged to offer this patient access to an effective nicotine cessation program while in hospital. Treatment Acutely, the mainstays of treatment for Mike’s level of disease are inhalation and possibly oral therapy along with pulmonary rehabilitation (Cote Celli 2005;Paz-Diaz et al. 2007). Of course underlying bronchpulmonary infection is treated with appropriate anitmicrobial therapy. Inhalation and Oral Therapy Bronchodilators Of the three classes of bronchodilator therapy, ÃŽ ²-agonists, anticholinergic drugs and methylxanthines, all appear to work by relaxation of the airway smooth muscles, which allows emptying of the lung and increased tidal volume, with an increase in FEV1 with increase in the total lung volume and dyspnea, subjective air-hunger, significantly improved, especially during exercise (Celli Macnee 2004c). Combining short- and long-acting bronchodilators appears to improve lung function better than either alone, and so Mike will be treated with a combination of salbutamol and (albuterol)/ipratropium. There are many other agents that could be used that have shown to be effective in mild disease, such as Mike’s (Celli Macnee 2004b). Corticosteroids Inflammation is often part of the acute phase of COPD exacerbations and therefore part of Mike’s therapy will be inhaled corticosteroids. Many studies have shown that inhaled corticosteroids produce at least some improvement in FEV1 and ventilatory capacity. It is often necessary for a trial of medication to confirm that a given patient will respond to inhaled corticosteroid treatment (Celli Macnee 2004a). Ries ( 2007) claims that inhaled corticosteroids have become the standard of care for patients with COPD, in all phases of severity (Salman et al. 2003). Mike will be offered inhaled corticosteroids. Pulmonary Rehabilitation According to a statement of the American Thoracic Society, â€Å"[Pulmonary rehabilitation is] a multidisciplinary programme of care for patients with chronic respiratory impairment that is individually tailored and designed to optimise physical and social performance and autonomy†. The Pulmonary Rehabilitation Program Exercise Garrod ( 2007) has shown convincing evidence that exercise significantly modifies systemic inflammation, as measured by CRP and IL-6 levels, that plays such an important role in the pathogenesis of COPD. But rather than target just the pulmonary musculature, Sin et al. ( 2007) have suggested that the skeletal muscle dysfunction and reduced exercise tolerance, which are important extrapulmonary manifestations of COPD, could in fact be due to the systemic inflammation that is important in COPD. Therefore, Mike will be placed on a regimen of weight training designed to improve his over all muscle strength. In addition he will be offered aerobic exercise treadmill sessions to improve his exercise tolerance, similar to cardiac rehabilitation (Leon et al. 2005). Nutritional Support General nutritional status is related to COPD severity (Budweiser et al. 2007;Ischaki et al. 2007) and mortality (Felbinger Suchner 2003). The cachexia of COPD is a common sign of end-stage pulmonary disease. Mike has mild disease and would not be expected to be suffering from malnutrition. However, an evaluation by a nutritionist and possible early correction of any deficits are part of his pulmonary rehabilitation. Psychological Support Depression, anxiety, and somatic symptoms are valid indicators of psychological distress in COPD (Hynninen et al. 2005) and quality of life (Arnold et al. 2006), two very important nursing issues. Much of the psychological distress is related to a sense of personal control because the illness, especially in its late stages, is so often accompanied by a feeling of loss of control in one’s life. Mike is still self-employed and with his mild impairment, he is not likely to be feeling these issues, yet. However caregivers need to be acutely aware that his quality of life may depend upon recognition and early intervention in the future (Gudmundsson et al. 2006;Oga et al. 2007). To that end he will have a psychological evaluation while in hospital to screen for depression or anxiety symptoms. Educational Support There are many areas that are very important to Mike as he goes through his pulmonary rehabilitation. In an initial interview, he needs to know what he can and cannot expect from treatment. He needs a person to explain that the damage done so far is not reversible but that there are many treatments available that will allow him to live a good life, if he stops further cigarette use. Issues of promoting a healthy lifestyle, muscle wasting and psychological adjustment are all treatable with information, when it is presented in a sympathetic, firm, supportive atmosphere. Mike needs to know what to expect in the future, if he is able to quit smoking, and if he does not quit smoking. He may not like to hear the truth, but his quality of life will benefit in the years to come from a clear, honest educational program. In addition Mike needs to understand that he may have exacerbations from time to time and that early intervention by his generalist or pulmonologist are mandatory to avoid more serious consequences. Education that stresses the value of a healthy lifestyle, including regular exercise according to the regimen established in hospital, is very important. Also, education can help considerably in preventing the wasting that, though probably not present now, may become important in the future. Smoking Cessation No subject in the COPD literature is more clear than the need for immediate cessation of exposure to all cigarette smoke; and, no subject is more frustrating to caregiver and patient alike, at least in those instances where there is poor compliance with the cigarette smoke proscription. We will explore with Mike some of the recommended strategies to accomplish this sometimes elusive, if vitally necessary goal. Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) A recent article by West, et al. ( 2007) reported a prospective study of NRT that was large (2009 smokers), multicultural, involving smokers from the US, UK, Canada, France, and Spain, and of sufficient duration to render generalizable (â€Å"real world†) results. They concluded that NRT helps smokers’ cessation attempts and long-term abstinence rates. However, the 6% improvement rate was not large and this form of cessation therapy should be reserved for those who have tried and failed other methods or programmes. There are many forms of NRT, including nasal and oral nicotine sprays, gum, and patches of varying dosages, currently on the market, but whether they have significant one-year success rates over counselling is an arguable point in the literature. Since Mike now smokes 40 cigarettes daily, he will be offered the 15mg nicotine patch to help for the initial 20 weeks of cessation. Bupropion Therapy Buproprion is a dopamine agonist that has antidepressant effects but is also marketed as a smoking cessation agent. In a study comparing the nicotine patch with buproprion and controls (counselling only) by Uyar, et al. (Uyar et al. 2007), reported success of 26 % for the nicotine patch, 26% for buproprion, and 16% for counselling-only at the end of 24 weeks. As an interesting aside, they reported that those who had a Beck depression inventory above 13, i.e. were depressed at the onset of the study, were unsuccessful regardless of treatment or control group. However, because of the small numbers of smokers involved, there was no statistically significant difference between these groups. The authors conclude that counselling is as effective for cessation attempts as these pharmacologic treatments, and there are no known side effects of being in a control group. However, other studies (Tonnesen et al. 2003) have shown a significant effect of bupropion over placebo. Internet-Based Assistance Various groups have tried using an interactive website to help smokers stop smoking. Unfortunately they have yet to show significant positive findings. All that can be said about them is that the more often the smoker logs on to the site, the better his chances are that he will be successful (Japuntich et al. 2006;Mermelstein Turner 2006;Pike et al. 2007). Nurse-Conducted Behavioral Intervention In the UK Tonnesen et al. (Tonnesen, Mikkelsen, Bremann 2006) found that a combination of nurse-based counselling in conjunction with NRT in patients with COPD was more effective than placebo at 6 and 12 months. As one can readily imagine, there are a plethora of cessation strategies available to assist people in smoking cessation. However, there is no â€Å"silver bullet†, i.e. one method that fits everybody. It comes down to proper motivation, which we believe is related to education and perhaps other factors. All we can really be sure of is of that those who try, many will be successful, and try, try, again seems to be the best advice we can offer. But the most important lesson we can learn is to prevent use of this harmful and addictive substance in the first place. Teenage smoking prevalence is around 15% in developing countries and around 26% in the UK and US. Studies have shown that those who make it past 20 years of age are much less likely to succumb to this addiction (Grimshaw Stanton 2006). Conclusion Assuming Mike ceases to smoke cigarettes, and given a regimen of exercise appropriate to his physical functioning, and with a detailed and robust COPD rehabilitation programme, his prognosis is excellent. By far the most challenging days are yet to come as Mike begins to feel better and the educational materiel fades from his mind. Many smokers return to their fatal habit within a year. Many, though perhaps not all, could benefit from periodic follow-up sessions with a motivational nurse-counselor. 1902 words not counting references References Arnold, R., Ranchor, A. V., Koeter, G. H., de Jongste, M. J., Wempe, J. 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S. 2005, Cardiac rehabilitation and secondary prevention of coronary heart disease: an American Heart Association scientific statement from the Council on Clinical Cardiology (Subcommittee on Exercise, Cardiac Rehabilitation, and Prevention) and the Council on Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Metabolism (Subcommittee on Physical Activity), in collaboration with the American association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation, Circulation, vol. 111, no. 3, pp. 369-376. Mermelstein, R. Turner, L. 2006, Web-based support as an adjunct to group-based smoking cessation for adolescents, Nicotine.Tob.Res., vol. 8 Suppl 1, p. S69-S76. Oga, T., Nishimura, K., Tsukino, M., Sato, S., Hajiro, T., Mishima, M. 2007, Longitudinal deteriorations in patient reported outcomes in patients with COPD, Respir.Med., vol. 101, no. 1, pp. 146-153. Paz-Diaz, H., Montes de, O. M., Lopez, J. M., Celli, B. R. 2007, Pulmonary rehabilitation improves depression, anxiety, dyspnea and health status in patients with COPD, Am.J.Phys.Med.Rehabil., vol. 86, no. 1, pp. 30-36. Pike, K. J., Rabius, V., McAlister, A., Geiger, A. 2007, American Cancer Societys QuitLink: randomized trial of Internet assistance, Nicotine.Tob.Res., vol. 9, no. 3, pp. 415-420. Ries, A. L., Bauldoff, G. S., Carlin, B. W., Casaburi, R., Emery, C. F., Mahler, D. A., Make, B., Rochester, C. L., Zuwallack, R., Herrerias, C. 2007, Pulmonary Rehabilitation: Joint ACCP/AACVPR Evidence-Based Clinical Practice Guidelines, Chest, vol. 131, no. 5 Suppl, pp. 4S-42S. Salman, G. F., Mosier, M. C., Beasley, B. W., Calkins, D. R. 2003, Rehabilitation for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials, J.Gen.Intern.Med., vol. 18, no. 3, pp. 213-221. Sin, D. D. Man, S. F. 2007, Systemic inflammation and mortality in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, Can.J.Physiol Pharmacol., vol. 85, no. 1, pp. 141-147. Srivastava, P. K., Dastidar, S. G., Ray, A. 2007, Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: role of matrix metalloproteases and future challenges of drug therapy, Expert.Opin.Investig.Drugs, vol. 16, no. 7, pp. 1069-1078. Tonnesen, P., Mikkelsen, K., Bremann, L. 2006, Nurse-conducted smoking cessation in patients with COPD using nicotine sublingual tablets and behavioral support, Chest, vol. 130, no. 2, pp. 334-342. Tonnesen, P., Tonstad, S., Hjalmarson, A., Lebargy, F., Van Spiegel, P. I., Hider, A., Sweet, R., Townsend, J. 2003, A multicentre, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, 1-year study of bupropion SR for smoking cessation, J.Intern.Med., vol. 254, no. 2, pp. 184-192. Uyar, M., Filiz, A., Bayram, N., Elbek, O., Herken, H., Topcu, A., Dikensoy, O., Ekinci, E. 2007, A randomized trial of smoking cessation. Medication versus motivation, Saudi.Med.J., vol. 28, no. 6, pp. 922-926. West, R. Zhou, X. 2007, Is nicotine replacement therapy for smoking cessation effective in the real world? Findings from a prospective multinational cohort study, Thorax. Page 1 of 11 Is Power the Same as Violence? Is Power the Same as Violence? Huang Li Introduction For a long time in history, the coercive side that power involves and the destructive results that power rivalry brings have all along depicted power as horrible and deterrent. It has been viewed as closely related to force and violence, or to a large extent very similar. It is only until the time of modern democratic societies that the meaning of power is gradually enriched with the increasing role of rational recognition in power relations. This essay intends to show that power is not the same as violence; it is more than that because of the most fundamental difference: rational recognition. Power is not only composed of coercive force that resembles violence, more importantly it involves the force of social recognition which violence is short of. Power is a mutually regulated communicative process rather than simply exercised by the powerful over the powerless. After identifying some basic differences between power and violence, this essay will focus on the discussion of power and power relations, to explore the major difference between power and violence rational recognition and why it is so. On one hand, it will show that power can create violence and it consists of coercive elements by demonstrating why power is not a one-way event; on the other hand, this essay will proof why power is more of mutual constraint that rational recognition and willingness of acceptance from others can identify power from violence. Scholars like Weber views power as means than ends, backed by violence, threat or inducement; Mann illustrates power as resources that can be occupied; Parsons and Foucault both intend to reconstruct power but still proceed in the realm of violence theory. This essay mostly follows the ideas of Honneth, Arendt, and Habermas, but attempts to avoid another extreme of equalizing power to purely power of rationality or power of consensus through communicative process. It sees power as a combination shaped by both coercive and rational forces, avoiding placing power in the opposite of violence since in history power has been devastating too and violence could be â€Å"an attempt to achieve justice† (Gilligan, 2000, 11). Basic Differences: Power Dependent on Numbers and Violence on Implements Arendt defines power in the context of groups of individuals, as â€Å"the human ability not just to act but to act in concert† (1972, 143). One individual alone does not generate power; power is the aggregate strength of all the individuals in a group. So the exercise of power is preconditioned with numbers. Unlike power, violence does not require numbers or groups in order to be violence. Rather, it depends on implements to â€Å"multiply strength, to a point at which they can replace it† (Arendt, 1972, 145), instead of becoming power. Violence is designed and applied for expanding one’s physical strength that it is totally instrumental and always a means for certain purpose; but power in itself can serve as an end. There is categorical distinction in this sense. Is Power a One-way Event? If violence is not the end, it is a â€Å"blinding rage that speaks through the body† (Gilligan, 2000, 55) and the hope of those who do not possess power. So violence could start from the powerless against the powerful, such as slaves against slave owners, or the ruled against the ruling. Such power relations see those in power as subjects and those under the power objects, to be controlled and manipulated. Power in such a one-way model is pillared by certain condition which is understood as its source. Mann identifies four sources of power: ideology, economy, military and politics (1970, 35) that people who occupy these resources will own power. A society is thus divided into two kinds of people in a one-way power structure. If the will of those in power is not executed, the ruled will be punished, possibly by violence, and they stand up to resist, with violence, for power. It is not difficult to reach the conclusion that in a binary opposition, power and violence can be cause and effect of each other and they are actually two sides of one coin. Derived from the Hobbesian proposition, it should be admitted that power do contain certain aspects of violence, historically or theoretically, when it is understood as something can be possessed like resources. However, what can be relied upon by the ruled class for their struggle if they don’t have any resources at all? In the case of ideology, any interpretation by the powerless will be meaningless and invalid, why would those in power necessitate oppressing and controlling them? Will there be any struggle inside the powerful and the powerless? Power is Mutually Agreed: Rational Recognition of Imbalance Clearly such violence-illustrated power is not the whole picture. Power is more than something can be owned and preserved; it only exists when is â€Å"exercised by some on others† (Foucault, 2003, 126) and will be â€Å"dispersed once the group ceases to exist† (Arendt, 1972, 143). Power is the â€Å"structural feature of human relations† (Elias, 1998, 188). Slaves have power over the slave owner too as long as they are valuable to him; their power depends on the degree to which their owner relies on them; so is the case between parents and children, and teachers and students. In reality, if an individual or group acquires the power to implement self will, such power is not fully discovered if the ruled do not acknowledge it; they do not just accept power, they make certain responses to it based on their own will. So power is not necessarily a unilateral process where one is dominated and controlled by the other; it exists in interdependence and mutual constraint among people with differentiated level of resources; it is both â€Å"pervasive and negotiated† (Gosling, 2007, 3). Not only will power be regulated and negotiated between the ruling and the ruled, but also within themselves. The former power relations are coercive because the power is legitimized by laws, regimes or organizations. The latter may be absent from these elements but power relations and interactions still takes place because some individuals will still tend to persuade and influence others in exchange for recognition of authoritative positions, through knowledge, money and pers onal network, in order to implement one’s own will and better response to such power relations at the â€Å" most micro levels† (michel-foucault.com). In fact, power relations at the micro level are where those power relations between hierarchies originate. At the very micro level, it is to a larger extent the power of rational recognition rather than the power of force that leads to certain power relations. Since interdependence always exists among people regardless of their power positions, power relation is a dynamicequilibrium and mutual power regulation is always there, even in the extreme case of slaves and slave owner. However if the power relations regulated by rational recognition are neglected, those based on them at the macro levels will be shaken. Although power relations are mutually regulated and communicative rational, the degrees of interdependence are different, which lead to unbalanced relationships among the players. In fact, power to some extend is just demonstrated by such imbalance; violence too is demonstrated in kind of imbalance; but power goes further if it is identified different as it means others’ recognition of such imbalance. When the imbalance is maintained in the form of pure coercive force, it is violence; when rational force is included, it starts to turn into power. Under any circumstance, power is the combination of both. Bifacial Nature of Power When examined under Habermas’s context, in the terms of â€Å"facts and norms†, power includes two dimensions as well, described as â€Å"facticity and validity†. The facticity dimension reveals the coercive nature of power that power, in any kind of form, potentially contains coercive forces in realizing goals and excluding all impediments. Such aspect of power is underpinned by violence or the threat of violence which exist as real and concrete facts. The other dimension is validity that refers to power’s tendency of gaining rational recognition from the others. Though the two dimensions coexist in power and so does the tensions between them, they are not always equally demonstrated. In a tyrannic society, power shows more coercive side of its nature whereas the power of rational recognition is more compelling in a democratic society. Violence Does Not Create Power but Destroys It As discussed so far, power involves elements of coercion and it can generate violence. But is it the case the other way around that violence can also produce power? In many scholars’ understanding, violence is viewed as a resource that â€Å"can be mobilized to enforce the compliance of others† (Ray, 2011, 13). Usually exercised by those in power, it creates the ability of an individual or group to achieve their own goals or aims even if others are trying to prevent them from realizing them. Thus violence is naturally seen as a source of power. However, is what one has gained by using violence, or what violence has created, truly power? When a government turns into violence against its own people or a foreign country, or an individual uses violence to acquire what is wanted, it is generally because power in their hand is running out and violence is the last resort. While such a government or individual does not lack means of violence, they are in fact in short of power; to be more accurate, they are lack of recognition of their wills by others. When violence as a resource is utilized against another, it not only consumes the resource itself but also diminishes what little power is left over. Violence is always the choice of the impotent, not the powerful. Viewed in this sense, violence only equals to coercive means regardless of other’s recognitions. It emerges when â€Å"social ensembles are incoherent, fragmented and decadent† (Wieviorka, 2009, 165). Therefore, as violence â€Å"inevitably destroys power, it can never generate power† (Arendt 1972, 152). There is no â€Å"continuity between obedience to command (the enactment of power) and obedience to law (as legitimate authority)† (Ray, 2011, 13). A government that solely relies on violence has no power and â€Å"tyranny is both the least powerful and the most violent form of government† (Arendt, 1972, 140). Reproduction of Power and Violence In the past, power is largely associated with gains of interests, or occupation of social resources like those identified by Michael Mann. In Honneth’s Struggle for Recognition, he reveals the â€Å"force of recognition† behind power. Once this point is taken into consideration, the reproduction of power will no longer be just about violent competition, or rivalry for social resources, rather, the willingness of others to acknowledge and accept. Arendt insists that violence does not give rise to power because she believes that social recognition is missed in violence. When power is taken as a combination of coercive and rational forces, it may be understood as a relationship of mutual recognition among a group of people backed by the potential threats each have for others. Therefore, the reproduction of power naturally includes attempts of occupying as much resources as possible for greater coercive capability; it is indispensible and more important to gain recognition from others. If authoritative coercion is a source of power, it is not the only source. Rational recognition also generates power. So political power is not the potential capability to implement one’s own goals or realize one’s own interests, it relies on those over whom the power is exercised to define what power truly is. The power of a government is conferred through people’s recognition, or in another word, the coercive force of the government is agreed by the people. When applied at the micro level, it can also be stated that the power between individuals does not only arise in the lure of interests or in the constraint of violence, it rests in the one’s recognition of others’ will and authority over oneself. Only when such recognition exists, the will can be implemented without enforcement and power becomes power rather than violence. Right to the contrary, what violence concerned is how one’s own goals are reached through forceful means. Violence is always destructive but never constructive. Terrorist attacks do not increase the power of the terrorists, it grows intimidation and controls; meanwhile it gives the government power to do what it cannot do in the past and to expand its sphere of influence. Violence reinforces state power and makes more violence necessary in order to maintain and reproduce violence. Conclusion When power is perceived under violence theory, man is to be controlled and manipulated, instrumentalized in a subject-object relationship which is all about one trying to dominate the other in struggles for power resources, in order to preserve power and oppress others from grabbing it. Power in that sense equals to violence, which is observed throughout history. While power will fail should it be not supported by forceful and compulsory means, it is not sufficient to have these only. What cannot be overlooked is an â€Å"infinitely complex network of ‘micropowers’, of power relations that permeate every aspect of social life† (Sheridan 1980: 139). Where rational recognition also creates power, power can be compellent but not violent simultaneously. Thus, viewed in a rational context, man becomes a dialogue partner with the coexistence of competition, compromise and cooperation. Mutual regulation and interdependence is the one of the features of such power relationship and mutual understanding and respect is part of the foundation of power reproduction. Recognition of imbalance between people, particularly from those over whom power is exercised, legitimizes power and differentiates it from violence. Power and violence are not the same; the former is more than the latter. Power â€Å"cannot be overthrown and acquired once and for all by the destruction of institutions and the seizure of state apparatuses† (Sheridan 1980: 139). Unlike violence, power is not unitary and its exercise binary; it is interactive; a very important part of power struggle is the rivalry for recognition. In modern democratic societies, the violence aspect of power is decreasing and increasingly giving way to the role of rational recognition in shaping power. The major resources of power is no longer just about military or economy of one’s own capability, it is more about how convincing it is for others to accept, and in the end, how well one’s power is recognized and received by others. Bibliography: Arendt, Hannah, (1972), â€Å"On Violence† inCrises of the Republic, New York: Harcourt Brace Company, pp. 103-184. Elias, Norbert, (1998), â€Å"On Civilization, Power, and Knowledge†, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, chapter 7. Foucault, Michel, (2003), â€Å"The Subject and Power† inThe Essential Foucault, P. Rabinow, ed., New York: The New Press, pp. 126-144. Gilligan, James, (2000), â€Å"Violence: Reflection on Our Deadliest Epidemic†, London: Jessica Kingsley, pp. 1-60. Gosling, David, (2007), â€Å"Micro-Power Relations Between Teachers and Students Using Five Perspectives on Teaching in Higher Education†, available at: http://www.davidgosling.net/userfiles/micro power relations isl 2007.pdf, last accessed on 7 Dec. 2014. Habermas, J., (1996), â€Å"Between Facts and Norms†, Massachusetts: the MIT Press. Honneth, Axel, (1996), â€Å"The Struggle for Recognition: The Moral Grammar of Social Conflicts†, Massachusetts: the MIT Press. Mann, Michael, (1970), â€Å"The Source of Social Power†, Cambridge University Press, chapter 2, pp. 34-72. Michel-foucault.com, (2007), Key concepts, available at: http://www.michel-foucault.com/concepts/index.html, last accessed on 6 Dec. 2014. Ray, Larry, (2011), â€Å"Violence and Society†, London: Sage, pp. 6-23. Shabani, A. Payrow, (2004), â€Å"Habermas’Between Facts and Norms: Legitimizing Power?† available at: https://www.bu.edu/wcp/Papers/Poli/PoliShab.htm, last accessed on 6 Dec. 2014. Wieviorka, Michel, (2009), â€Å"Violence: A New Approach†, London: Sage, pp. 165.

Buying Decision Behaviour

Buying Decision Behaviour Contents (Jump to) 1.0 Introduction 2.0 Types of Buying Decision Behaviour 3.0 The importance of understanding consumer buying behaviours 4.0 Conclusion References 1.0 Introduction Understanding consumer buying behaviour is crucial for successful marketing. Consumer buying behaviour is defined as the buying behaviour of final consumers, individuals and households who purchase goods and services for personal consumption (Kotler, Brown, Adam and Armstrong, 2001: 858). Consumer buying behaviour can be classified into four groups: complex, variety-seeking, dissonance-reducing and habitual buying behaviour. These buying decision behaviours vary in terms of the involvement levels and the perceived differences between brands (Lawson, Tidwell, Rainbird, Louden and Bitta, 1997: 523). According to Mitchell (2002: 71), one of the core functions of marketing is to connect buyers and sellers as efficiently and effectively as possible. Therefore, it is imperative for marketers to acquire a profound and comprehensive understanding of consumer buying behaviours. 2.0 Types of Buying Decision Behaviour The relationship between different types of consumer buying behaviour with the level of consumer involvement and the degrees of differences between brands. The level of involvement in a purchasing a product is related to the importance of the purchase, the risks involved and the type of cognitive processing that is generated (East, 1997: 19). 2.1 Complex buying behaviour Complex buying behaviour is personalised by high levels of consumer involvement in a purchase and significant perceived differences among brands (Kotler, et al., 2001: 211). Consumers usually apply complex buying behaviour when the intended purchases are expensive, infrequent and risky (Rowley, 1997: 88). Purchase decisions are more intricate compared to other products that are less costly (Chao and Gupta, 1995: 48). According to Adcock (1993: 54), buyers undertaking complex buying behaviour are likely to go through each stage of the decision making process. They will usually spend time inquiring about the product, evaluating alternative brands and comparing options before finally making the purchase. For example, a person who wishes to buy a car would be very involved in deciding what car to purchase. He or she will engage in an extensive information search, such as by visiting different car dealers, surfing the Internet and so on, to evaluate and compare the numerous types of model s available in the market and also to scout for the best deals. They may take weeks or months to make a decision. A car is an expensive asset and will usually be used for a long time. As a result, consumers undergo complex buying decision behaviour to ensure that they will not regret their investment in future. 2.2 Dissonance-reducing buying behaviour Dissonance-reducing buying behaviour encompasses high involvement in purchase decisions but little dissimilarity between brands (Adcock, 1993: 57). Purchases are usually expensive, infrequent and risky (Kotler, et al., 2001: 211). The buying decision is often made from only a small range of products. Considering the products brand name is not the main priority in the purchase decision, consumers will make their choice by evaluating and comparing the products based on their price, quality, performance and the consumers individual preferences ( Kennedy and Kiel, 2000: 84). For example, when purchasing a lawn mower, consumers may face a high involvement decision because a lawn mower is rather costly. However, the lawn mower brand names will not be of much concern to consumers. Buyers will still look around and compare different lawn mowers based on their extrinsic features, and purchases are normally made within a shorter period of time as opposed to complex buying behaviour (Kotler, et al., 2001: 212). After making a purchase, the consumer may encounter postpurchase dissonance, also known as after-sales discomfort, resulting from discrepencies between the consumers decision and the consumers prior evaluation (Lawson, et al.,1997: 447). For instance, the buyer may discover undesirable traits or hear negative comments about the lawn mower and thus regret his or her purchase. To minimise such dissonance, marketers have introduced certain features to satisfy customers, such as warranties and after-sales services (Lawson, et al.,1997: 637). 2.3 Variety-seeking buying behaviour Variety-seeking buying behaviour can be defined as consumer buying behaviour in situations concerning low consumer involvement but with significant perceived differences in brands (Kotler, et al., 2001: 212). These purchases are made simply because the of the consumers desire for novelty (Lawson, et al., 1997: 525). In other words, consumer may deviate from their normal brand purchase because they feel like trying something different for a change. Consumers who practice variety-seeking buying behaviour buy for the sake of diversifying and not as a result of dissatisfaction with the product (Adcock, 1993: 57). To further illustrate the point, a consumer who regularly buys Kellogs Corn Flakes, whom one day opts to purchase Nestles Honey Stars for a change, is engaging in variety-seeking buying behaviour. The consumer may be just bored of Kellogs Corn Flakes for awhile after consuming them every morning and would like to try out a different cereal, not because he or she is discontented with Kellogs Corn Flakes. Marketers have developed strategies to reduce this consumer behaviour, which will be discussed in the later sections of this report. 2.4 Habitual buying behaviour Consumers perform habitual buying behaviour when buying frequently purchased products that are relatively of low cost and that involves very little risk and decision effort (Kennedy and Kiel, 2000: 84). There is low consumer involvement and few differences between brands in this buying behaviour (Rowley, 1997: 89). These products are purchased almost automatically out of habit rather than brand loyalty by consumers( http://www.bbci.freeserve.co.uk/SAGEPROJECT/UnderstandingConsumerBehaviour.asp). This normally applies to grocery products. For instance, people do not generally spend much time or mental effort selecting a packet of sugar or a bar of soap. They do not really pay attention to the brand names of these products. Unlike complex buying behaviour, consumers who purchase the same product regularly, do not go through all the steps in the decision making process (Kotler, et al., 2001: 212). They need not undertake an information search or evaluate and compare the different produc ts in the market. Instead, they receive information through repetitive advertisements on the television or newspapers and this forms brand familiarity. Consumers are not inclined to a product, rather, they select the particular brand out of familiarity (Kotler, et al., 2001: 212). They would just recognise their need and immediately make a purchase decision. They may not even bother to make a postpurchase evaluation (Rowley, 1997: 89). 3.0 The importance of understanding consumer buying behaviours 3.1 Develop a more effective and efficient marketing strategy Consumer buying behaviour is an integral part of marketing. Attaining a deeper comprehension of the different types of consumer buying behaviour would be a boon for marketers as it would assist them in developing a more sophisticated marketing strategy, thus allowing the organisation to compete more efficiently and effectively than its competitors (Mitchell, 2002: 74). By analysing the type of buying behaviour that relates to the organisations products, marketers are able perform effective segmentation, which may lead to a more efficient targeting of resources (Rowley, 1997: 89). For example, for products that are susceptible to complex buying behaviours such as automobiles and computers, marketers tend to concentrate on promoting them on the basis of the features and the benefits a consumer may gain from the products (Adcock, 1993: 56).. Most car catalogues will show pictures of the engine and highlight the details of the technical features of the vehicle. For products that are more prone to dissonance-reducing and habitual buying behaviours, marketers will advertise substantially to ensure that their products will be considered by as many people as possible (Adcock, 1993: 57) and also to familiarise consumers with their products (East, 1997: 19). Providing another example, marketers will try to encourage habitual buying behaviour for products that are more inclined to variety-seeking buying behaviours among consumers by extensive advertising and dominating shelf space. In contrast, marketers may also try to encourage variety-seeking buying behaviour by offering promotions and free samples (Kotler, et al., 2001: 212). They do so to induce new customers to purchase their products. To summarise the point, a clear understanding of the types of buying behaviours can help marketers to construct relevant marketing strategi es to market the particular product so as to increase the products sales. 3.2 Form a healthy relationship between buyers and sellers As mentioned earlier, one of the core functions of marketing is to connect buyers and sellers as efficiently and effectively as possible (Mitchell, 2002: 71). The marketing concept stresses that organisations should create a marketing mix that will satisfy their customers better than their competitors. To do so, marketers must examine the major influences that determine what, where, when and how consumers make purchasing decisions (http://www.bbci.freeserve.co.uk/SAGEPROJECT/UnderstandingConsumerBehaviour.asp). According to Wilson (1998: 785), marketers who understand the types of buying behaviour that are related to their product will be able to come up with marketing techniques that will provide customer satisfaction and at the same time, establish brand loyalty among its customers. Marketers should always remind themselves that satisfied consumers would have a very positive impact on the organisations success. Therefore, it is essential for marketers to understand and evaluate the different types of consumer buying behaviour. 4.0 Conclusion The four types of buying behaviour mentioned earlier basically summarises how and why consumers make their purchase decisions. However, one has to keep in mind that the purchase of a particular product does not always derive the same type of decision making behaviour (East, 1997: 19). For example, an affluent businessman who enjoys collecting cars may not undergo complex buying behaviour as opposed to an average earning salesman who is buying a car for transportation purposes. In conclusion, understanding consumer buying behaviour can assist marketers in constructing a more efficient and effective marketing strategy allowing them to form a tighter relationship with their customers. Hence, it is vital for marketers to understand the four different types of buying behaviour that relates to their product. References Adcock, D., Bradfield, R., Halborg, A., and Ross, C. (1993), Marketing Principles and Practice, Pitman Publishing, London. Chao, P. and Gupta, P.B. (1995), ‘Information search and efficiency of consumer choices of new cars International Marketing Review, Vol. 12, No. 6, pp 47-59. East, R. (1997), Consumer Behaviour: Advances and Applications in Marketing, Prentice Hall, London. Kotler, P., Brown, L., Adam, S., and Armstrong, G. (2001), Marketing, (5th Edn), Prentice Hall, Sydney. Lawson, R., Tidwell, P., Rainbird, P., Loudon, D., and Bitta, A.D. (1997), Consumer Behaviour in Australia and New Zealand, McGraw-Hill, Sydney. Kennedy, M and Kiel (2000). ‘Marketing: A Strategic Approach. Nelson Thompson Learning, Melbourne. Mitchell, A.S. (2002), ‘Do you really want to understand your customer? Journal of Consumer Behaviour, Vol. 2, Issue 1, pp 71-79. Rowley, J. (1997), ‘Focusing on customers Library Review, Vol 46, No. 2, pp 81-89. Samara, N., Understanding Consumer Behaviour, (http://www.bbci.freeserve.co.uk/SAGEPROJECT/UnderstandingConsumerBehaviour.asp) Accessed (30 August 2003) Wilson, D.F. (1998), ‘Why divide consumer and organisation buyer behaviour? European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 34, No. 7, pp 780-796.