Foundation, Foundation and Empire, and Caves of Steel, by Isaac Asimov

Everyone is faced with difficult obstacles at some point in his or her life, whether or not they are able to overcome them can define them as a person. Every story has a plot, but a plot is determined by the characters and their actions to events that take place in the story. According to the article â€Å"Science Fiction Images of Computers and Robots† written by Patricia S. Warrick, many of the plots in Asimov’s novels depend on â€Å"computers and robots [along with] space exploration and development† (54). Characters in the novels written by Isaac Asimov have to figure out the capabilities of new technology, understand other characters, and find solutions to problems with no end in sight. Characters’ actions and responses to problems play large roles in the plot of a story. The characters in Asimov’s novels have to solve problems that could affect the future of humankind. With such great advancements in technology, the humans begin to worry tha t technology such as robots will take over and become the primary race. In Isaac Asimov’s novel, Foundation and Empire, one of the themes is deception and some characters use deception to get what they want, and in a world of power, they became the most powerful of all. When the structure of organizations and countries begin to fall apart in the world, there are some people who will do almost anything to gain power. In Asimov’s eyes, the future world is going to be enormous expanding across galaxies, having unlimited technology, and billions of people. Asimov is one of few writers who has had success writing novels containing science fiction and mystery. Isaac Asimov depicts similar themes of power and deception by using the plot, characters, and setting, while the use of all these makes him an i... ...simov. Ed. Joseph D. Olander and Martin Harry Greenberg. N.p.: Taplinger, 1977. 32-58. Rpt. in Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Jean C. Stine. Vol. 26. Detroit: Gale, 1983. 41-45. Print. Short, Sue. "The Measure of a Man? Asimov's Bicentennial Man, Star Trek's Data, and Being Human." Extrapolation 44.2 (2003): 209. General OneFile. Web. 12 Mar. 2014. Warrick, Patricia S. "Science Fiction Images of Computers and Robots." The Cybernetic Imagination. N.p.: The MIT, 1980. 53-79. Rpt. in Contemporary Lieterary Criticism. Ed. Jean C. Stine. Vol. 26. Detroit: Gale, 1983. 53-56. Print. Watt, Donald. "A Galaxy Full of People: Characterization in Asimov's Major Fiction." Isaac Asimov. Ed. Joseph D. Olander and Martin Harry Greenberg. N.p.: Taplinger, 1977. 135-73. Rpt. in Contemporary Lieterary Criticism. Ed. Jean C. Stine. Vol. 26. Detroit: Gale, 1983. 45-50. Print.

Bsbmkg502b †establish and adjust the marketing mix Essay

Assessment Task 1 – Work Based Knowledge Test 1. What are the characteristics of the products and/or services in your business? Ans. I am working in . We are selling burgers as well as fries and soft drinks. But recently we start selling frozen coke and ice cream, which Mc d was selling and now we are making good money. 2. How do these products and/or services relate to the market they are in, and to the immediate competitors? Ans. We have many competitors in market but Mc d is our biggest competitors because they are selling same product what we are selling. 3. How would you determine the effect of pricing variables on demand? Ans. It is depend on main four factor place, price, product and promotions. 4. What promotional Methods and channels of distribution would you use to obtain the marketing outcomes established in your business? Ans. At the movement we are using electronic media more than paper media. Customers can use our iphone app and they will get something free. 5. Describe the channels of distribution that you would use to ensure greater market penetration? Explain how you would develop a pricing strategy for these products/services Ans. For greater market penetration, I shall not only market through the advertisement I will also take help from marketing agencies who can promote my business on a larger scale. 6. Explain how you would develop a pricing strategy for these products/services If product is sold at the lowest price regarding all my competitors, we practice competitive pricing. Sometimes, competitive pricing is essential. For instance, when the products are basically the same, we use this strategy The success of competitive pricing strategy depends on achieving high volume and low costs. If prices are lower than costs, we are going straight to bankruptcy! To avoid such a mistake, we take notice of the break even ratio. -Cost-plus-profit: It means that add the profit need to cost. It is also called cost-orientated strategy and is mainly used by the  big contractor of public works. The authority may have access to the costing data and should like to check if the profit added to the cost is not too high. In fact, this strategy is only good for a business who’s the customers is public collectivities or government agencies. -Value pricing: It means that base the prices on the value we deliver to customers. For example, when a new technology has a very large success, you can charge high prices to the customer. This practice is also called skimming. It is easy when you are in the introductory phase of the product life cycle. Value pricing is also common in luxury items. Sometimes, the higher the price, the more you sell. 7. Identify and analyse the level of customer service that you would pursue relevant to the products/services associated with your business. Ans. First of all, personal presentation, although not necessarily a key factor of customer service, is however critical. It is imperative that one is open and honest with the customers. It is therefore imperative that employees employed to promote the product are not paid on commission but rather at an hourly rate. This ensures more honesty and less pushiness, and less aggressive sales ‘tactics’. 8. Describe your target market in terms of demographic, psychographic, and behavioural variables. Ans. Psychographic / Behavioral variables– Psychographic variables refer to any attribute relating to personality, lifestyle, values, interests or attitudes. These factors consider various influences on a person’s buying behavior. Different lifestyle choices like parenting, exercise decisions, religion, marriage or health can greatly affect a person’s requirements or preferences for certain products or service. People have different lifestyle patterns and behavior could change as people pass through different stages in life. On the other hand, a consumer’s opinions, interests or hobbies will have a huge impact on the products or services they will choose to buy. Demographic – are the statistical characteristics of a population As the prices of our store products are comparable with other convenience stores, it is not a good idea to open a deli store in may lands. So from my point of view it would be  great to open a store near to bays water as there is no shop near to that place 9. Describe how each component of the marketing mix interrelates to the target market? Ans. Marketing mix is a mixture of 4 variables; product, price, place and promotion. These variables make up the core marketing strategy as they help to define the marketing environment in which they operate. Product: Focusing on meeting the customer’s needs. A good product makes its marketing by itself because it gives benefits to the customer. Design, packaging and the safety and the green a friendly product to environment gets an advantage among some segments. Price  The price should not be above or below the price of other retailers, as this would not suit the needs of the target market. Promotion Promotion strategies will be focused to the target market segment. Given the importance of word-of-mouth/referrals among the areas resident. We shall strive to service all our customers to gain their business regularly, which is the recipe for our long-term success. We shall focus on direct resident marketing, publicity, trial food demonstrations, and advertising as proposed. Place Channels of distribution include †¢ Distributing Pamphlets †¢ Build up stalls in big mall or outside of it †¢ Adding advertisement on local newspaper or channels †¢ Use of social sites (internet as well) 10. What environmental factors will affect the marketing mix in your business Ans. Environmental factors that can affect the marketing mix in any business include cultural factors, technological factors, demographic factors, government factors and economic factors. 11. How do customer priorities, needs, and preferences impact on your marketing mix components? Ans. The Target Market in which our store aims to sell to, is everyone The customer’s needs, priorities and preferences influence the marketing mix compentants such that price should not be more or less than the recommended retail price. Channels of distribution include stores such as word of mouth, Advertisement and also pamphlets and internet as well. Design what you consider is the most appropriate marketing mix to satisfy the target market and meets the marketing objectives? For appropriate marketing we need to consider four keys Product, promotion, price and place Product:- It is a tangible good or an intangible service that is mass produced or manufactured on a large scale with a specific volume of units. Promotion: – represents all of the communications that a marketer may use in the marketplace. Promotion has four distinct elements: advertising, public relations, personal selling and sales promotion. Price: – The price is the amount a customer pays for the product. The business may increase or decrease the price of product if other stores have the same product. Place: –  Represents the location where a product can be purchased. It is often referred to as the distribution channel. It can include any physical store as well as virtual stores on the Internet   12. What do you consider is the most appropriate marketing mix to satisfy the target markets and meets the marketing objectives? Ans. Convenience stores are currently in the planning stage resources are limited. Currently we have received a $10000 grant from the government to get started. To ensure the marketing mix decisions meet the company’s strategic and operational objectives, I shall ensure the scarce resources are allocated as follows; Website Design $1500 Web- hosting $45.00 Other Web Costs $150.00 Stock including some Samples $20000 Business Cards $99 Shop Leasing Start-up Costs (Rent and Bond) $1150 13. Explain how you would monitor the marketing mix against marketing performance and isolate components for testing. Ans. As the marketing mix is comprised of 4 components, that is, price, promotion, place and product, to isolate each of these components for testing, that is, to test each component and its marketing particular performance, one must do simply that; isolate each component for testing. To isolate each component for testing, and monitor the marketing mix, for marketing performance, I should first establish or seek to research some benchmarks for sales. It would be easy to test the effectiveness of place, of product and of promotion, but to test price would be somewhat difficult if it were not for industry benchmarks that establish the sales benchmarks. 14. How would you evaluate the implication of altering one or more components of your marketing mix in relation to marketing factors and consumer response Ans. I evaluate that altering one or more component of the marketing mix in relation to factors or consumer response would be effective; however, I do feel that only the price component would need to be altered in response to consumers. I do feel that I have a solid marketing strategy. 15. Describe the process you would use to adjust the components of the marketing mix in response to test results and evaluation of market response. Ans. The process I would use, to adjust the components of the marketing mix, in response to test results and in response to the market response is as follows I would adjust the price to below recommended retail price and only in such a way as to reach sales benchmarks of my competitors and meet the prices of my competitors, as after all the majority of the profit is donated to worthy causes. 16. Explain how you would ensure that the adjusted marketing mix would meet budgetary requirements. Ans. If I were to adjust my price to meet the benchmarks and prices of my competitors I would like to assume there would  also be an increase in the number of sales. I am however aware this is merely an assumption. 17. What procedures would you use to ensure that the adjusted marketing mix continued to meet organisational, strategic and operational marketing objectives, and desired positioning? Ans. Procedures I would you use to ensure the adjusted marketing mix continued to meet organisational, strategic and operational marketing objectives, and desired positioning include; Adjusted price – I would need to continuously monitor sales and profit benchmarks and speak to an accountant in order to ensure that my business is still an effective profitable business.

Organizational Behavior - What Is Kaizen I Low Is This...

Need Answer Sheet of this Question paper, contact aravind.banakar@gmail.com www.mbacasestudyanswers.com ARAVIND – 09901366442 – 09902787224 Organizational Behavior Q1. Do you believe people are really getting smarter? Why or why not? Q2. Which of the factors explaining the Flynn Effect do you buy? Q3. Are there any societal advantages of disadvantages to the Flynn Effect? Q4. What performance problems is the captain trying to correct? Q5. Use the MARS model of individual behavior and performance to diagnose the possible causes of the unacceptable behavior. Q6. Has the captain considered all possible solutions to the problem? If not, what else might be done? Q7. Identify the stressors in John Breckenridge’s†¦show more content†¦Q32. Explain how encouraging engineers at RWE npower to think outside the box has led to increased motivation for these employees. Q33. Recommend wavy in which another organisation of your choice might improve its employees to think in creative ways about work. results through encouraging its employees to think in creative ways about work-related problems. Q34. How does Siemens seek to provide good career opportunities for employees? Q35. Describe one of the systems that Siemens has created which provides development opportunities for employees at work Q36. How important is the appraisal system in helping to create shared understandings the objectives of the organization and personal objectives of individual employees? Q37. How effective do you think the Siemens approach to people management will be 2 in creating great results Need Answer Sheet of this Question paper, contact aravind.banakar@gmail.com www.mbacasestudyanswers.com ARAVIND – 09901366442 –Show MoreRelatedOrganizational Behavior - What Are the Sources of Conflict for These Conflict Incidents743 Words   |  3 PagesSheet of this Question paper, contact aravind.banakar@gmail.com www.mbacasestudyanswers.com ARAVIND – 09901366442 – 09902787224 Organizational Behavior    Q1.  Do you believe people are really getting smarter? Why or why not? Q2.  Which of the factors explaining the Flynn Effect do you buy? Q3.  Are there any societal advantages of disadvantages to the Flynn Effect? Q4.  What performance problems is the captain trying to correct? Q5.  Use the MARS model of individual behavior and performanceRead MoreCorporate Survival Strategy: Breakthrough Management5448 Words   |  22 PagesAbstract We are in an age of enormous change in business and industry. Change can be a source of opportunities for business. It can also threaten an organisation’s survival. Today’s king is not guaranteed to be tomorrow’s emperor. We have seen this in history and politics, and we see it in business also. While at times, corporations themselves hasten their downfall by questionable decisions, at other times entrepreneurial start-ups with some luck rapidly make their way to the top. Most of theRead MoreContemporary Issues in Management Accounting211377 Words   |  846 PagesContemporary Issues in Management Accounting This page intentionally left blank Contemporary Issues in Management Accounting Edited by ALNOOR BHIMANI 1 Great Clarendon Street, Oxford ox2 6dp Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide in Oxford New York Auckland Cape Town Dar es Salaam Hong Kong Karachi Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne MexicoRead MoreDeveloping Management Skills404131 Words   |  1617 Pagesmymanagementlab is an online assessment and preparation solution for courses in Principles of Management, Human Resources, Strategy, and Organizational Behavior that helps you actively study and prepare material for class. Chapter-by-chapter activities, including built-in pretests and posttests, focus on what you need to learn and to review in order to succeed. Visit www.mymanagementlab.com to learn more. DEVELOPING MANAGEMENT SKILLS EIGHTH EDITION David A. Whetten BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY Read MoreManagement Control Systems Pdf115000 Words   |  460 PagesAnalysts of India, January 2006. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, used in a spreadsheet, or transmitted in any form or by any means – electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise – without prior permission in writing from Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts of India. Fo ISBN 81-7881-995-3 Ref. No. PMCS/A 01 2K6 31 For any clarification regarding this book, the students may please write to ICFAI giving the above referenceRead MoreH2O Can Expand Operations from Germany Into the Us30890 Words   |  124 PagesBest Practices- Applied Table of Contents (Con’t.) Recommendation PM Program HR Budgets- Components/ Elements Cost Reduction Strategies Budget Cut Recommendations Summary of HR Department Budgeting Challenges Recent Practices from 3-5 US organizations Review of Typical US Rewards Programs. Analysis of Best Practices for Compensation, Benefits, and Perks Consideration of US Taxation requirements (Social Security, Medicare, etc) Best practices/Unique Compensation MethodsRead MoreFundamentals of Hrm263904 Words   |  1056 PagesThis online teaching and learning environment integrates the entire digital textbook with the most effective instructor and student resources With WileyPLUS: Students achieve concept mastery in a rich, structured environment that’s available 24/7 Instructors personalize and manage their course more effectively with assessment, assignments, grade tracking, and more manage time better study smarter save money From multiple study paths, to self-assessment, to a wealth of interactive visualRead MoreStrategic Marketing Management337596 Words   |  1351 PagesStrategic Marketing Management Dedication This book is dedicated to the authors’ wives – Gillian and Rosie – and to Ben Gilligan for their support while it was being written. Acknowledgements Our thanks go to Janice Nunn for all the effort that she put in to the preparation of the manuscript. Strategic Marketing Management Planning, implementation and control Third edition Richard M.S. Wilson Emeritus Professor of Business Administration The Business School Loughborough University Read MoreOrganisational Theory230255 Words   |  922 Pages. Organization Theory Challenges and Perspectives John McAuley, Joanne Duberley and Phil Johnson . This book is, to my knowledge, the most comprehensive and reliable guide to organisational theory currently available. What is needed is a text that will give a good idea of the breadth and complexity of this important subject, and this is precisely what McAuley, Duberley and Johnson have provided. They have done some sterling service in bringing together the very diverse strands of work