Rugged Individualism

History as we know has many ways of describing it, with all the historical events that occurred in the past it is a result of our American system. As Americans, we live in a land of opportunity and because of that we have the freedom to live . â€Å"Every individual should be able to support themselves out that wouldn't include the government's aid†. This idea was originally introduced in Herbert Hoover's speech when he was president of the United States. Although this idea refers back during the Great Depression, Hoover believed that Americans shouldn't be assisted somehow by the government, financially speaking.In my perspective, I see rugged individualism as to any individual who is not being aided from the government, but also not just financially, but incentively through the mind. As I read along through books that relate to the American Dream, Hoover's idea of rugged individualism became more visible. Similarly books like â€Å"Ragged Dick† by Horatio Alger, †Å"The Great Gatsby† by Scott Fitzgerald and â€Å"A Raison in the Sun† by Lorraine Hansberry, are comparable that the idea of rugged individualism is still being used and even through today's society.To illustrate rugged individualism through the book Ragged Dick, Alger created a book disclosing the 19th century lifestyle of a poor boot black. In this book rugged individualism shows because of how Alger describes the motivation through his main character â€Å"Dick†. He was fourteen years young and worked as a ‘bootblack' aka shoeshiner boy and slept in dirty torn up clothes on the streets of New York City. Alger portrayed him as any ordinary boy that lived the hard life in the streets; he smokes and drinks occasionally.However, Dick would still practice good deeds and some gentlemen would be impressed that how would a bootblack be so humble and attentive in his work in the streets of New York. â€Å".. He was above doing anything mean or dishonorable. He would not steal, or cheat, or impose upon younger boys, but was frank and straight-forward, manly and self-reliant. His nature was a noble one, and had saved him from all mean faults. † Dick is a good example of someone who I thought that reflected rugged  individualism.He was brought up by himself and never had much of a role mode to look up to while growing up. He relied on himself to get customers to get their boots shined, he didn't complain about living on the streets or how filthy is his clothes was from the work that he does. In my point of view, Dick didn't have help from anyone, or didn't expect anything from anyone, and if he did he would be more than grateful and smart enough to invest it in the right ways.In the book, he was treated very well by an older man and his son, and during that time in the book he acted very humble as he explains that he lives on a cardboard box on the streets and didn't really see that hygiene wasn't so important to him, but what was im portant was how he was going to feed himself and live in the future. And as soon as he found a plan to get better at what he does he uses that money to save for an apartment and to invest in for the future. Although wealth can bring you happiness and success in life, it can also you direct you in the wrong places.The main character of the book by Fitzgerald is Gatsby who is a wealthy man. He tries to use his wealth to attract the attention of a women named Daisy. This is not the right way of to get someone to love you but he's also thinking that his money can bring him success of happiness. He believes that his money will make him succeed in his attempt to get Daisy to fall back in love with him. He would be known to throw the largest parties every saturday, and his guest wouldn't even know who is he truly and why there's a party. At that time in the early 1920's, every person in new york city loved to party.Furthermore Daisy likes the fancy things, the partying and it all seems so good, but her heart is still committed to her husband. Therefor Gatsby's plan was not successful because his plan wasn't a way of receiving love back. Rugged individualism may not seem evident, but it does in a way that Gatsby wanted to help from his money to get his dreams to come true didn't work out. For he wanted the parties to draw her attention, even his large land and big mansion couldn't help him to fulfill his dreams with Daisy. Lorraine Hansberry created a book that was about dreams.In the story A Raisin in the Sun, the main characters each have their own dream that they want to fulfill. The Youngers family struggle to attain these dreams through out the end of the story. Walter who is the man of the house wants to afford things for his family and give them a decent life to live and not having to hold back for his wife and kids. There's Beneatha his sister who wants to be a doctor and their Mama who just wants to best for their family. Although things didn't go as planned, fights and tension between Walter and his family even his wife, things became a learning lesson to each one.Mama always knew best, and when it all came down to one decision, it had to go Mama's way. That Walter had to turn down the offer of a big check to keep them from staying away from living at a all-white neighborhood. This taught Walter that his son, Travis, looks up to him as the man of the family, and in the long run, his decisions will be reflected on his son. He wouldn't want his son to think this is right. Walter was stubborn throughout the book that he just wanted to money to provide for his family, another house to live in, pearls to wear on his wife, and a better life for his son.But Walter didn't earn that money, it was just the life insurance of his father and he didn't earn any of it himself. In this book Walter is the example of rugged individualism because although he was stubborn to realize that it was wrong to receive that check to not live in an all-white neigh borhood. If he accepted it, the money coming in wouldn't be because he worked hard for it, it would because he wanted the white people to have their way of keeping their neighborhood an all-white neighborhood.But no one shouldn't be told to live a certain area because of their skin color. So when Walter rejects the offer, he is also accepting the fact that he will have to work harder to provide, and try to uplift his family in some way. It's better than uplifting his family in the wrong way by accepting that offer. That insurance check was tempting for Walter to accept, but he didn't and later when his son would grow older, he can then explain to him that he has worked for every bit of that money that kept his family together.In America today, we still struggle with people who don't live up to the idea of â€Å"rugged individualism†. I believe it isn't really called by that term, but people know it as the American Dream. People who aren't familiar with both are those who thin k reaching your lifetime goals don't require any effort or any struggles. For those who become millionaires are results of hard work and labor that put in to achieve in life. Anything worth having is worth fighting for, and along the path there needs to be struggles and failures, but it is still a choice to keep trying and to not give up.History as we know has many its ways of describing it, throughout all the historical events that occurred in the past it is a result of our American system. As Americans, we live in a land of opportunity and because of that we have the freedom to live. With the three books that i've mentioned, they are examples of the having the opportunity to uplift themselves in their lives. In each book they have reflected to the idea called â€Å"rugged individualism† which was introduced by Herbert Hoover when he was president of the United States.According to Hoover this idea meant that â€Å"any each individual should be able to support themselves out that wouldn't include the government's aid†. Even so, I see rugged individualism as to any individual who isn't being aided from the government, but also not just financially, but incentively through the mind. As I read through the three books, each author had their ways of reflecting rugged individualism through their characters, and with the struggles and decisions they made through the books.

Why Do Parents Let Their Kids Get Fat?

http://www. bbc. co. uk/news/magazine-19661085 Child obesity: Why do parents let their kids get fat? Obesity experts say parents are struggling with a multitude of problems when it comes to their child's weight. They range from a lack of education about food, limited cooking skills and limited money to buy healthier food to longer working hours and marketing campaigns for junk food aimed at kids. Despite the rise in child obesity, experts say it's wrong to just blame parents. They definitely have a responsibility, but the issue is much broader than simply blaming them,† says Paul Gately, professor of exercise and obesity at Leeds Metropolitan University. Many parents don't realise their child is fat when it might be obvious to other people, he says. According to studies, 75% of parents underestimated the size of an overweight child, while 50% underestimated the size of an obese child.People also judge things on what they see around them on a daily basis, Gately says. Tracey adm its she let her daughter's weight creep up because â€Å"she was no bigger than some of her friends†. From a very early age children are very good at using a â€Å"whole set of behaviours† to get what they want, say experts. It's easy to judge but nearly every parent in the land has caved in to some sort of emotion blackmail from their child, says Gately. It just might not be about food.Charlie Powell, campaigns director of the Children's Food Campaign – an alliance of 150 education bodies, health groups and children's charities – says it's also hard for parents to stand up to the barrage of junk food advertising. A bit about food industry: There are huge hurdles they have to surmount to keep their children healthy. It's stuff that wasn't around in years gone by and food manufacturers are very sophisticated in the techniques they use to appeal to children. † A bit about media: A lot of it is because the images of obesity that we see in the media are people who are massive, 30 stone (190kg) or above. This is what a lot of people think of as being overweight, but they are extreme cases. It only takes a few extra pounds to actually be overweight. † A bit about social aspect: (bigger sizes are more tolerated bcause it’s not clear any more where is the limit of being fat; evwerybody around are bigger) â€Å"Two thirds of adults in the UK are now classified as overweight, so our perception of what we consider the average size to be has changed,† says Gately.

Business Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 36

Business Law - Essay Example Commerce power scope is dependent on â€Å"commerce† interpretation if sufficiently broadly interpreted then it may offer the congress legislation power within various areas, which would have been subject to or within the power of police within the states. The term is not explained the constitution hence the Supreme Court happens to be quite flexible while deciding cases that involve the commerce clause as well as massive authority for influencing the state balance versus federal power (Lawnix ). In the case Pennzoil v. Texaco and the tort of interference with contract, the supreme court ruled that first; the determination for if a party was interested in being bound by contract that is not yet executed happens to be the fact finder’s question of fact. Secondly, contractual terms have to be ascertained to certainty reasonable degree so that the contract can be enforceable (Lawnix). In the case New York Times versus Sullivan, the ruling of the court was he publication of every statement protected by the 1st statement, even that which are false, about public officials’ conduct except only when a statement is maliciously made (Oyez

Are maritime transportation loosing out its competitive advantage over Essay

Are maritime transportation loosing out its competitive advantage over other modes of transportation like air and road transportation Justify your views - Essay Example The existence of maritime routes or in other words the fact that regular itineraries are existent is said to be the concept of maritime transportation.1 There have been quite a few technological transformation which have had the potential of affecting water transports, the most recent one is that of the modification of water canals, increasing the size as well as the automation and specialization of vessels. However it has been noted that the increase in maritime traffic has had the consequences of major ecological disasters.2 It needs to be pointed that the bulk of circulation that takes place through maritime transportation is limited along coast line and further three continents have limited fluvial trade. The majority of maritime infrastructure requires a huge maintenance cost for the modification of waterways or investments on the expansion of capacities of ports, which is very expensive and on the other hand takes a lot of space.3 It needs to be pointed out at this point that not every country has direct access to the ocean, these countries are better known as the maritime enclave that is they have difficulties in undertaking maritime trade since they are not part of what is called the domain of maritime circulation. So it requires agreements between neighboring countries to have access to the facilities of port via road, rail line or any other possible alternative. It is important to keep in mind that the countries which are enclave are not excluded from international trade or in other words it can not be implied that they can not take part in international trade, but the problem that they face are that they face higher costs which might lead to weakening of economic development.4 It has been proved that due to the establishment of commercial linkage between continents, maritime transport has been able to sustain a substantial amount of traffic which covers approximately 90% of intercontinental transport demand of

Health investment in relation to other forms of economic investment Essay

Health investment in relation to other forms of economic investment - Essay Example It is a fact that most countries find difficulty in meeting healthcare needs of citizens because of the limited resources. Economic concept emphasises that when resources are limited then they should be prioritized so that it generates maximum economic gain for the society. In one of the estimates of World Bank in relation to developing economies, it was found that a 10 percent increase in public health expenditure will reduce maternal mortality by 7 percent, child mortality by 0.69 percent and a 4.14 percent decrease in low weight for newborns. Such outcomes will certainly result in significant increase in economic productivity in long-term. A healthy child free of any disease and disability will have more opportunity to develop higher skills and education. All these factors will finally catapult into higher economic contributions in the society.The following policy recommendations towards allocation of resources can improve long-term health and economic outcomes.A large portion of healthcare resources including nurses and healthcare workers should be diverted to the prenatal and post natal care including care for mothers. Prenatal screening needs to be enhanced in risk-prone population for some of the deadly genetic diseases that later on becomes a burden on society. More rural quality healthcare centers should be established to take care of children with 100 percent coverage.A large-scale immunization programme should be run covering children of all age group to make them free of major communicable diseases.

Using two historically different product design examples examine how Essay

Using two historically different product design examples examine how design has contrubuted to a particular stereotyping of Nature - Essay Example Designers are the translators of technological concepts and prototypes into marketable products. All types of products from foodstuffs to houses and landscapes; have undergone some kind of design. In fact design is the new engine of modern consumerism. First developed by Raymond Lowley, and later developed by US Government psychology â€Å"think tanks† such as Edward Berneys, in the 1930s to enable USA to experience economic growth; consumerism was a fundamental paradigm shift from product durability to product ephemerality. Ephemeral products are short lived thus encouraging people to go out and buy the â€Å"modern†, â€Å"latest†, â€Å"in vogue† or simply â€Å"new† products, while constantly disposing of old ones, Raizman, D (2003). The emergence and development of computers played a crucial role in the new culture of consumerism. As this culture grew; and played a key expediency role for government, encouraging people to concentrate on consumption, thus leaving the important role of running the state to the politicians from the 1950s onwards; computer design became its key component. With the advent of television in the 1960s, consumerism went global and thus dictated the way of life worldwide. Through advertising, television became a conduit of international communication and consumer culture. Guy Julier (2007) notes that design is currently dominated by the belief that the identity of the consumer is defined by the products they buy. Consumerism is undoubtedly well rooted in societal culture. Computer design soon took on aesthetics and ergonomics, which today dominate hypermarket shelves, glossy magazine covers, shop windows and homes. Claudia Dona (1980) noted that the world is overflowing with our own creations which besiege us and often distance us from one another physically and mentally. There is a social distance, which seems physical, between those who drive a certain design of car and those who don’t, even

Compare philosophical Daoist notions of nature with the emerging Essay

Compare philosophical Daoist notions of nature with the emerging discourses in the West of Spiritual Ecology - Essay Example A spiritual ecologist believes that since spirituality dominates a significant part of human life, it can be manipulated to change and, in cases, to alter man’s perspective towards nature and the universe in order for a better inhabitable environmental status. In this regard, discourses on ‘spiritual ecology’ pivots on man’s religiosity and its connection with environment and ecology. On the contrary, religiosity and nature stand on the two opposite ends of the same continuum. Daoism is more of a philosophy, than religion, which includes spirituality that is indispensably connected with human being’s harmonious position amid the sacred order of the universe. Discourses on ‘Spiritual ecology’, in the first place, put emphasis on the idea that â€Å"The major problems in the world are the result of the difference between the way nature works and the way man thinks.† ... Before heaven and earth it existed. Without sound, without substance, it stands alone and unchanging. It is all-pervading and unfailing. We do not know its name, but we call it Dao† (Lao Tzu, quoted in â€Å"On Truth and Reality†). According to Daoism, man is an integral part of how the immense unity of this universe functions. Therefore, man’s happiness and salvation lie in his or her knowledge about the Dao, in other words, about how the immense entity of the universe functions. Obviously, Daoism also puts emphasis on the fact that man should lead his or her life in harmony with Dao. Daoism includes man and nature, spirituality and devotion to nature on the same continuum. Man Position in Nature according to Daoism and Spiritual Ecology Uniting with Dao through Nature is considered to be the ultimate goal of human life in Daoism. As to the goal of human life, Lao Tzu, one of the central figures of Daoism, notes, â€Å"Being one with nature, the sage is in accor d with the Dao† (Lao Tzu, â€Å"On Truth and Reality†). The concept of Dao in Daoism is more philosophical than doctrinal. Since Daoism asserts that man needs to know about his or her role in the greater way how the universe or nature functions, he or she is assigned with any dominion over the nature; rather man is entrusted with a responsibility to grow a harmonious relationship with natural orders and functions. Referring to this environment-friendly aspect of Daoism, Chen Xia comments, â€Å"Chinese Daoism rejects such idea that humans have dominion over the earth and its other inhabitants. Nature in Daoism is something of great value in and for itself.† (2) But in Daoism, the universe as well as the nature is infused in the existence of Dao. Indeed

Changing the Education Paradigm Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Changing the Education Paradigm - Essay Example The essay "Changing the Education Paradigm" talks about the purpose of education in general and as a way to master the challenges of society and get ahead in life. The noble purpose of education is to enable the individual to acquire needed skills and knowledge to muster the resources needed to make critical thinking possible, and from there effect desired changes in society. This is the lofty aim wherein an individual becomes empowered to greatly improve life for everybody. It is the main idea of famed educator John Dewey, who argued education should be used to help improve human nature, to raise human consciousness, to uphold moral values, and to infuse ethical behavior and thinking of all educated people. There is a need to restore real education again as an integral part of learning about life skills and competencies, not limited to acquiring skills to get a job. Real education prepares the person to face life and be able to enjoy it to the fullest. It is not the mere memorization of books and articles; rather, it should provide an understanding of what goes on in the larger real world. To be educated is to be imbued with those ideas and concepts which elevate the person into a real human being able to engage society in a meaningful way, get along in the world and give a good account of oneself. As Spayde somewhat put it succinctly, it should be much more than the â€Å"obligatory filling of our heads† with facts and figures which are oftentimes meaningless in the grander sweep of life. (Spayde 69), but education must not be limited only to the four corners of the classroom; rather, it should be the whole world, instead, made into a classroom, in a figurative sense. What Spayde meant to say was formal education in an academic setting should also be supplemented by informal schooling, in terms of real-life experiences, in which life-lon g lessons are learned and allow the student to distinguish the more important things in life. It will enable him to become a much more improved person able to tackle the challenges in life. A lot of distinguished Americans were essentially self-taught, and this includes Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Edison, and Mark Twain. These people did not limit their own education to what the classroom can offer, but supplemented their truncated academic schooling with their search for knowledge by living life to the fullest and did not confine their search to what was offered only in schools; in essence, the world became their giant classroom. As an example, Mark Twain quit school early and did not finish high school, and yet he educated himself by becoming a river pilot on the Mississippi River, met a lot of people, got to observe human behaviors and human nature, and became a self-taught expert on many topics concerning the Mississippi (Gribben 1). His frequent travels made for a real education, and his knowledge of the Mississippi is better than most people’s; he could cite facts about its geography, river basin (delta), soil fertility, and size from his prodigious memory (Twain 8). He ended up better educated

The Business Proposal on ArabTV.com Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The Business Proposal on ArabTV.com - Essay Example A significant number of people today use the internet to help them meet several needs such as shopping, employment chances, meeting their social needs, as well as for entertainment purposes such as watching movies or watching their favorite TV shows (Lescher 2008, p. 56). Consequently, creating a website that enables people to watch their favorite Arabic movies and TV shows is quite a great business idea because it is aimed at making the lives of people easier as they will be able to satisfy their entertainment needs through online. The uniqueness of this service is that it will enable clients to watch only the high quality Arabic television shows and movies right on their computer. And the most important and good thing concerning this service is that consumers have the chance of getting the quality programming and Arabic movies that will be appropriate for every person either within a family set up or as a group of friends. Furthermore, another unique or the difference of this servi ces is that, unlike the normal TV tuning, these Arabic channels will provide viewers the specific shows that they want to have and convert them right on their desktop. This website will ensure that it meets the various needs of the people ranging from entertainment channels, educational Arabic TV channels, Arabic music, programs on Arabic TV programs on home improvement, as well as relevant business programs for business people. The website also aims at providing several channels that show Arabic movies. This implies that a person may have a complete day of movie marathon particularly if he or she is a movie enthusiast who is presently on a day off and just desire to relax watching movies especially Arabic movies without renting DVDs. Generally, creating a website for Arabic movies and TV shows will provide consumers with all the television shows and movies that they want and even set up for their preference. As long as they choose this website, they will get the best providers for better value in terms of service and features (Strangelove 2010, p. 45). This will ensure consumers high quality Arabic movies and TV shows experience for a long period of time. With this service in place, a considerable number of problems will be solved. For instance, it will promote the lives of those people without televisions in their homes to enjoy Arabic television shows online. It will also simplify and help people save time in the process of searching for a place to rent DVDs containing Arabic movies, as well as save on the money spend on renting those movies. This is because as long as a person is able to access the internet, he or she will be in a better position to watch any Arabic television show of his choice, as well as enjoy his favorite Arabic movies at any time and at a favorable cost. It will also be advantageous particularly to those individuals who have membership cards with the website as they will be able to watch quality Arabic movies and TV shows all time onc e they pay their membership fee, which are quite affordable. In order for this proposal on creating a website to be accomplished successfully, there is need of employing different technologies such as standardized mark up that could either be hand coded or produced by editing software. Proprietary software founded on

The Creation of a Common Market for Financial Services in the European Union Essay Example for Free

The Creation of a Common Market for Financial Services in the European Union Essay Of all the global achievements in the last 50 years, economic integration in Europe may be considered as the most notable of all. From a continent separated by war and differences in culture, Europe has proceeded to become an economic and political leader today. The formation of the European Union (EU), the accession of the 15 European countries to the Community, and the introduction of a single currency which were all deemed too difficult have all become realities, proving skeptics that there is hope for a united Europe. From the beginning, the idea behind united Europe centered on economic prosperity. While conflicts in European countries were political in nature, it was almost always related to resource allocation. The signing of the Treaty of Rome in 1957 signaled the start of a gradualist approach to building the European Union as we know today. By preventing the establishment of monopolies, enabling the creation of common policies and granting commercial privileges to the colonies of the Member States, the Treaty of Rome put into motion the progressive economic integration which in turn, led to the longer term objective of political union in the continent (Ocana 2003). The Treaty of Rome paved the way for the creation of a common market wherein persons, services and capitals can freely move across borders. Yet, despite the freedom of establishment set out in Article 43, the freedom to provide cross border services as provided by Article 49 and the free movement of capital espoused by Article 59 (European Council 1957), the focus in these early years were mainly on the abolition of tariffs and excise taxes. Following the recession in the early 1980s (also termed as eurosclerosis), the Heads of States have decided to complete the plans for an internal market. As early as 1985 the potential of a common market for financial services was already recognized. In the 1985 White Paper published by the Commission of the European Communities, it said: â€Å"In the Commission’s view, it is no exaggeration to see the establishment of a common market in services as one of the main preconditions for a return to economic prosperity†¦the liberalization of financial services will represent a major step towards Community financial integration and the widening of the Internal Market† (Commission of the European Communities 1985). This is a fact that the modern day European Commission (EC) still believes in. With more efficient allocation of capital, the Commission hopes to ensure long-term economic performance. More than 20 years after the publication of the 1985 White Paper, Europe is in economic turmoil. Critics have started pinpointing the flaws of creating the EU, and the Commission must again enumerate the advantages of an integrated financial market, as well as report on the developments aimed at this direction. What are the different steps made toward financial integration? What are the specific features of the liberalization program? What are the results achieved from these reforms? These are just some of the issues which will be discussed in this paper. What does a Single Market Look Like? While so many legislators talk about the Single Market for financial services, very few actually understand what it is, and what can be expected from it. In sum, however, a fully functioning unified market allows buyers and sellers of assets to deal with one another, regardless of the location of their systems and infrastructure. It allows market participants, both the intermediaries (brokers) and the end users, to raise funds and profit in all Member States without fulfilling additional licensing requirements. Financial institutions which legally operate in one Member State can open new cross border operations without needing to pay additional fees or acquiring new certification from the host country. These same institutions are also given access to all essential systems and infrastructures they will need to continue their operation (The Working Group in City of London 2000). All financial institutions duly licensed in their home countries can work as intermediaries in the financial market offering the same functions, products and services across all Member States. In the same manner, infrastructure providers are free to offer their services in any country which belongs to the EU (The Working Group in City of London 2000). Needless to say, a Single Market is a venue for competition and innovation. It enables Member States to take advantage of the opportunities offered by the 27 countries and 480 million people in the Community without worrying about the risks. It allows Member States to take advantage of the benefits of free trade, while at the same time erecting safeguards that can protect their own economy from increasing volatility which is a major characteristic of globalization. The Benefits of a Single Market According to the EC, the completion of a â€Å"single market [for] financial services is†¦a crucial part of the European Commission’s overriding objective of achieving more and better jobs in a more dynamic, innovative, attractive Europe† (European Commission 2010). Keep in mind that the financial market deals mainly with savings (whether individual or institutional) which can then be used as capital. With a Single Market for financial services, Member States can hope to achieve the following advantages (The Working Group in City of London 2000: pp. 7-8): †¢ Improved allocation of capital, due to the lower transaction costs and higher market liquidity. †¢ More efficient movement in the security market which allows savings to become investments. †¢ More innovative financial systems which lead to a diversified (hence, a more stable) portfolio of investments. †¢ More efficient financial transactions as brought about by the competition among financial intermediaries in the EU. †¢ Increased opportunity to take advantage of the economies of scale. In the 1985 White Paper, it was stated that in order for the internal market to become a possibility, firms and private individuals must have access to more efficient financial services. With open competition among financial institutions, they will be forced to reevaluate their processes so that restrictions to capital movements are kept to a minimum (Commission of the European Communities 2005). The White Paper also believed that more efficient financial transactions will reinforce the European Monetary System and ensure the stability of the exchange rate (Commission of the European Communities 2005). Even in those early days, it was already known that the free movement of capital coupled with greater financial freedom will enable Member States to enact sound economic policies, hence, promote economic stability. In recent years, the need for a Single Market for financial services has become even more important. With the improvement in technology came the increased access to knowledge and information, which in turn affected strategic decisions and competition. In order to survive a globalized economy, companies have to find more efficient processes so that they can take advantage of the economies of scale. And yet, even the creation of efficient processes will require capital. With lesser restrictions among EU countries, companies can now raise funds from any side of the Community. Aside from this, the high interest rates have led to the increase in the demand for high-yield securities and assets, but with the deceleration in productivity came the need to manage portfolios more actively. Investors have become more wary and will not release capital without the assurance of profit. With a Single Market for financial services, the EU has provided stability in portfolios because of the increase in the number of investment tools available in the Community. A Single Market for financial services allows capital to flow smoothly because it provides investors an attractive market where there are more opportunities to pool risk, as well as improved chances to profit. With the increase in the flow of investments in all financial institutions in the EU, businesses can have additional sources of capital which they can then use to expand their operations, and provide employment. The â€Å"achievement of the Single European financial market is the most crucial [factor] in creating the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world, capable of sustainable growth with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion† (The Working Group in City of London 2000: pp. 8). For citizens, a single market for financial services meant that the capability to open bank accounts in any country in the EU, buy and sell shares in foreign companies, purchase real estate – basically to find an investment with the best return. On the other hand, for companies, it means the ability to invest (and own) other European companies and play a big role in their management. The financial market is a global industry where global players seek international markets which will give the best advantages in terms of cost, profit, flexibility and liquidity. An integrated European financial market makes available a number of opportunities – from retail investors, to wholesale financial markets for global traders. Steps toward Financial Integration in the EU The move towards financial integration in the EU can be traced as far back as the 1970s with the release of the major directives in banking, insurance and investments. The first banking directive focused on the establishment of credit institutions within the Community. According to this directive, all banks operating in the Community which have plans of establishing operation on another country must obtain authorization from the supervisory body of the host country. At the time, European Community (EC) banks were subject to restriction, especially in the range of activities they can perform. Many of these restrictions are listed on the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). Keep in mind, however, that this directive has been issued in the 1970s while the similar legal framework from the World Trade Organization (WTO) was released only in the 1990s. By 1989, a new banking directive was released. The second directive introduced a single banking license wherein the bank’s home country is responsible for checking the financial institutions’ overall solvency, and the fulfillment of minimum capital requirements. Once the bank was licensed in its home country, it can then expand its operations to other Member States without completing separate authorization requirements (Pasadilla 2008: pp. 3). Aside from these two directives, other directives affecting banking policies were released. Some of them were involved the harmonizing of accounting rules, the removal of exchange controls, the setting of minimum capital requirements, and the definition of banking activities. Integration in insurance and investment mirrors the same steps made in banking. Major directives were also released, each one amending the previous. The first directive in this sector paralleled the first banking directive wherein authorization procedures were outlined. In a subsequent directive, the home country control was enhanced and certain supervisory provisions were specified.

Brand Management at Uber

Brand Management at Uber Uber Case Analysis BACKGROUND Uber is a taxi service that connects users with independent car drivers by just a push of a button on an app (Exhibit 1) (Uber, 2017).Uber is known for its accessible anytime and low cost to luxury services (Uber, 2017). Ubers’ value to its drivers is that it promotes additional source of income, flexible working hours, and those who can earn money for doing their hobby. It focuses on customers who do not own a car, like to travel in style, and prefer a cost-efficient cab. Uber’s primary competitors in the United States are Lyft, traditional taxi drivers, public transportation and car owners. It earns revenue by taking 20% commission on each ride, while the rest goes to the driver. Uber has shown continuous growth, with net revenue of approximately $5.97 billion in 2016. However, they have also been incurring huge losses over the past couple of years, and had losses of $3 billion at the end of 2016 (Exhibit 2). Lyft, Ubers’ main competitor, has had a dramatic inc rease in growth in the past years, while Ubers’ growth has stagnated (Exhibit 3). Investors have been pressuring the CEO to go towards an IPO because it will be an easier way to raise cash trading in the financial market. The CEO has been delaying an IPO launch because Uber is trying to smooth out all bumps as a private company before going public. Currently, Uber raises its capital through venture capital firms and it is valued at $69 billion (Abboud, 2017).   Ã‚  Ã‚   One of Uber’s key marketing strategy for acquiring new customers is through word of mouth, which allows the company to spend virtually no money on advertisement. 95% of Uber drivers have heard about the company from another Uber riders and for every 7 Uber rides, word of mouth generates one new customer. The word of mouth strategy and the referral program allowed Uber to rise in popularity in many cities around North America and internationally. At the end of 2016, Uber was successful in expanding to approximately   81 countries and 581 cities worldwide. However, in the span of just two months, three major incidents are now resulting in the company to be viewed in a negative light. These events have been damaging people’s perception of Uber and its brand image through social media and word of mouth, the same platforms that helped Uber gain popularity in the first place. JFK Airport President Trump signed an executive order of banning refugees from seven predominantly Muslim nations, which created outrage and chaos in airports. The New York Taxi Workers Alliance showed their support for detained refugees by avoiding John F. Kennedy International Airport between 6p.m. to 7 p.m. on 28th January. Instead of standing with the Taxi drivers, Uber decided to eliminate their surge prices around the JFK region caused considerable outrage on Twitter and caused an increase of search of this topic on Google (Exhibit 4). Uber’s surge pricing is a company practice of temporary raising prices of rides because of the high demand and insufficient supply of drivers. Customers and competitors perceived this decision either as profiting off the situation and/or supporting the President’s travel ban because lowered price allowed Uber to capture higher sales. Uber quickly responded by stating that they were not in support of the Presidents executive order nor were they trying to profit from the situation. Uber’s spokesperson has said that the decision to turn-off their surge prices was due to increased demand during the protest. The Uber CEO also spoke out against the executive order through Facebook to mitigate the storm of outraged consumers. However, this did not work, which eventually resulted to Uber CEO’s resignation from his position on the Presidents’ Economic Advisory Council. Social media activists created #DeleteUber that went viral, which was tweeted 222,000 times and caused 200,000 Uber riders to delete their accounts by having screenshots of themselves deleting the app and posting it through twitter (Exhibit 5). On the other hand, Lyft responded by donating $1 million to the American Civil Liberties Union, which is a civil rights group that is fighting the executive order in the US courts. This negative news reporting caused Lyft to increase its market share from 16.5% to 20.9% in the ride-hailing industry and the spending on Lyft by consumers spiked by 30% (Exhibit 6).The #DeleteUber caused 7% increase of users for Lyft, where more than half were previous Uber users before JFK incident(Exhibit 7). Furthermore, 81% of the users that joined Lyft deleted Uber permanently (Hinchlife, 2017). Following Lyfts announcement of donating $1 million to the American Civil Liberalities, it increased riders by 30%, whereas Uber had a 10% decrease in users at around the same time frame (Bhattarai, 2017). Additionally, this public relations nightmare encouraged and gave growth to new competitors in the New York City region, such as Juno. Juno has had a dramatic spike in growth at the end of January 2017, which could potentially make it a future competitor (Exhibit 8).   In addition, Uber’s rank in all app downloads   went down that day, which is valued at a $40 million loss. Lyft has surpassed Uber as the top downloaded app during the time of travel ban news report (Exhibit 9) (Williams, 2017).    Sexual Harassment Incident Following the decision for Uber to turn-off surge prices, a former engineer, Susan Fowler spoke out about her experience of sexual harassment and neglect by the HR department at Uber through her blog (Exhibit 10, 11). Susans blog was shared on Twitter 22,000 times, which encouraged more Uber users to delete the app. Marian Baldauf, former Uber user, said â€Å"When I read the woman’s blog it was just so deeply offensive and so wrong in so many ways that I just couldn’t do it anymore, so I switched to Lyft. I’ve taken two rides since and they’ve been wonderful†. CEO quickly responded that the company has hired US Attorney General Eric Holder to investigate the claims of sexism, sexual harassment, and Ubers’ culture. CEO also made a statement through its website that â€Å"Ubers number one priority is creating a just workplace†. A report has shown that women accounted for 15.1% of Uber engineers, product management, and scientist teams, which is lower than Google, Twitter, and Facebook. The CEO asked for Amir Singhal, Senior Vice President of Engineering, to resign due to not disclosing his sexual harassment allegations at Google.The VP of Product and Growth Ed Baker also resigned due to allegations of sexual harassment at Uber. The timing of these new revelations gave consumers more added incentive to delete the app. According to the blog post by Susan, when she started working with Uber, women accounted for 25% of the workforce. When she resigned the number went down to as low as 6% (Thomas, 2017).   Fowlers blog boosted Lyft’s market share to increase to 21.3% and it was consistent in all the four top markets in the US (Exhibit 12) (Jones, 2017). The #DeleteUber campaign during this time again exploded and caused more Uber users to delete their app. In the meantime, Lyft launched their services to 50 more cities during this time (Moscaritolo, 2017). Video: CEO v.s. Uber Driver The CEO was caught on camera shouting and being insensitive to an Uber driver Fawzi Kamal. Kamal, who has been with the company since 2011, confronted the CEO at the end of the ride in San Francisco for lowering prices for Uber’s luxury high end chauffeur service (Exhibit 11, 13).   The CEO was caught on camera saying â€Å"Some people don’t like to take responsibility for their own s†.   The CEO was forced to issue an apology to staff members and said that â€Å"it’s clear this video reflects me and the criticism we’ve received is a stark reminder that I must fundamentally change as a leader and grow up†. The CEO explained and responded by claiming to attend a leadership seminar and its reported that he will hire an executive to work alongside himself. This news report adds to the bad relationship Uber has with its own drivers leading to low driver loyalty towards Uber (Exhibit 14). Many drivers continue to be with Uber for the simple fact that Uber subsidizes their pay in many areas. However, Ubers goal is to lower its prices to beat the competitors, which leads to   a reduction in drivers’ salary. An Uber driver from California has said â€Å"I think a lot of drivers feel that Uber always looked out for themselves first and foremost and relegated drivers to a second tier†. 400,000 drivers have currently left Uber to go to its competitors. Competitors have marketed to drivers about their better compensation and tip app. However, drivers have explained that they do get more business with Uber due to its reach. Uber drivers’ compensation is around $15.97 per hour compared to the $13 but it does not account for gasoline, insurance, and the cost of the vehicle (Kuo, 2016) (Exhibit 15). Market research was conducted and it showed that most drivers will pick Lyft over Uber due to its tip app. The Rideshare Guy blog conducted survey that showed that 75.8% of Lyft drivers have said that they were satisfied with their experience with Lyft, while 49.4% Uber drivers are satisfied. Lyft drivers earn $1.82 more per hour than Uber drivers.The issue that caused this was due to the lowering of prices of Uber products, while the average trip lengths are 10.2 minutes per trip for Uber drivers (Exhibit 16 ). ANALYSIS Uber is a profit oriented business that, unfortunately, has made revenue generation its main goal rather than satisfaction of its customers. Uber has not realized that having a traditional approach to revenue gaining inevitably hurts a business nowadays rather than helps it. Uber is not taking into consideration other equally important factors, such as corporate social responsibility, that makes a business successful in a world that has become so small, that with just a click of a button, any negative review of a business revolves globally, defaming a business if it has profited unethically and unfairly. As of now, Uber has been highly criticized for three incidents in a period of just two months. Taking advantage of taxicab and taxi drivers that were striking for the â€Å"Muslim Travel Ban† is one of the most unethical financial decision that Uber took, which led to a global uproar. 200,000 Uber apps were deleted within five days when #deleteUber was created on social media. Analyzing this, the very first thing it is doing wrong, is over emphasising on revenue generation. Before the decision of not surging up the prices, Uber did not realize the backfire it would face from the millennials, its main target audience, who, around 61%, want to contribute for the betterment of the world. Hence, when Uber took advantage of the taxi drivers, who are predominantly from Muslim countries, its target audience was furious, as Uber’s view and its actions did not align with the perspective of the millennials. As shown in Exhibit 2, 2016 revenue increased by 14.58% from first quarter to second quarter, and there was a massive rise of 53.55% in the third quarter. By taking the average, the last quarter increase would be about (14.58 + 53.55)/2 = 34%, which is around $2278 million. Adding all the revenue, the sum net revenue for the year of 2016 would be approximately $6038 million. The number of active users in 2016 was 15.8 million as shown in (Exhibit 17),and hence the average revenue generation from one active user per year is 6038m/15.8m = $382.15. This can lead to the conclusion that because of the deletion of Uber App after this incident, there was a loss of 200000*382.15 = -$76.43 million. Even though they might have earned quite a lot of revenue by not surging up the prices for that one hour, they have, at the end, suffered a huge loss from their action.Because 81% of the 10% Uber users deleted the app permanently, this has caused high customer attrition rate who will ask their friends and family to delete the app as well. This will further harm the brand image and improve the chances of Uber’s competitors, like Lyft, to capture the customers. Moreover, its pricing strategy was extremely wrong during such a delicate situation. Uber’s decision of not surging up the prices was perceived as purely a decision of financial gain by most people. Others also thought of Uber supporting the Travel Ban mainly because of this pricing strategy. This will further increase the number of people perceiving Uber as only revenue generators, further defaming the company. Because of the vast reach of social media, good and bad information is always streaming into social networking sites.In case of Uber, this negative information has affected consumers’ perceptions and has deteriorated brand reputation built during Uber’s years of operation, until and unless Uber changes its perception and aligns its values with the values of its target customers. There are, however, other reasons that led Uber to take this poor decision in the first place, and that is lack of corporate social responsibility. Uber has been trying to expand to as many countries as possible. Though extremely hard, it has been very successful in expanding its business, thereby operating in 81 countries worldwide. However, seeing that it started as a business in 2009, it just took Uber less than ten years to expand this much, which can lead to the conclusion that Uber might have over expanded. Instead of creating brand equity and finding creative ways to satisfy its customers, employees and the community as a whole, Uber has focused mainly on expansion rather than making strategic decisions for itself. Also, because there are excessive legal, advertisement and operational fees every time a company operates in a new country, most of Uber’s revenue goes towards these costs, and hence it does not have any money for taking social initiatives that might resonate with its target audience. Its lack of money for corporate social responsibility after these expansion costs is a huge reason for taking such poor decisions that counteracts the brand image it intends to make for itself. Its lack of taking any social initiatives firstly contradicts millennials’ views of helping the world be a better place, and it also makes it harder for people to believe that what they did was unintentional and there was no greed for financial gain. Its image of being constantly perceived as a revenue generator does not help Uber in this crisis since this goes against Uber’s value proposition. Susan J. Fowler’s blog about sexism, gender disparity, and sexual harassment was another crisis that Uber had to face. The worst part, however, was that Uber had made no attempts to help her; instead they were threatening to fire her for her complaints to HR. After this incident, there was a third increase in searches on Google Trends (Exhibit 11), which resulted in more #deleteUber tweets. With 25% women working in Uber when she joined, only 6% were left after one year when she decided to quit. This doesn’t just show the unprofessional environment for its employees, but also the unfair treatment of women in 2017, a time when companies are trying strenuously to eradicate the discriminatory practices. The uproar against the blog was hard for Uber, though not at all surprising. Even though Uber has expanded enormously, it has not taken proper measures to keep a professional environment for its employees. In today’s competitive environment, a company this big should provide a proper HR facility to its employees; where their concerns can be heard and willing to take proper action be taken if any problem arises. Instead, it seems like no proper guidelines about how to behave in a workplace are given to its employees. Even if employees are told about them, no strict action is taken against those who break the rules. Hence, it motivates people like the manager to continue their unethical and illegal behaviour as the HR is doing nothing to show its employees the consequences of their actions. For a workplace of only 6% women, no new woman would want to even apply to such an organization, especially after reading this blog that is available for everyone to see worldwide. It wont just defame Uber in America, but all around the world for practicing such sexist acts against women. Even the existing small percentage of women working there would also end up leaving, even for lower pay if they are given a comfortable environment to work in and more opportunities. Having only 3% engineers who are women is also quite disturbing as there is a huge gender disparity, leading to a discouragement of both men and women to work there. As a result, they may lose the chance of working with some of the best talent, who may end up going to work for Uber’s competitors. Moreover, not giving a promotion to employees when they are fully worthy of it, and then lying about it for manager’s personal gain of looking good as he has more female engineers working for him, shows political instability within the Uber environment, which can be demoralizing for all its employees, resulting in loss of motivation, reduced efficiency, and effectiveness. This can also highly increase the chances of lawsuits filed against them, which will not be helpful for Uber’s already weak situation. Uber is also highly likely to lose the lawsuits as many of its employees have records of what they did, just like Susan had. This will also lead to huge costs, which Uber cannot afford, with what so much going on. Furthermore, management’s failure to provide clear and concise goals will also lead to confusion among employees and a loss of commitment, not just to the task but to Uber as well. This event, hence, can also lead to the conclusion that Uber, as a team, is not working together towards improving the brand image and its brand equity; due to this, they end up making independent decisions that are not suitable for the whole company. Although keeping customers and internal employees satisfied is a pinnacle for any business success, ensuring external employee happiness has also never been a priority for Uber. In fact, Uber failed to realize that happy drivers would mean efficient employees, better work cultures that translate to happier customers. Mistreatment of its drivers and the video going viral (Exhibit 11) are some of the factors that led to the deterioration of its brand over years as the loss of drivers led to slower growth rate compared to its competitors Lyft (Exhibit 3). Hence, these negative reviews and mistreatment of drivers can be a threat for Uber by affecting future driver’s ability to drive for Uber and instead drive for competitors, which can hurt the company’s brand equity (no one wants to be involved with immoral company) as the drivers are the main channel for bringing sales and connecting with users. Due to this, Uber lost $1.27 billion in first half of 2016.   Keeping employees satisfied is important but Uber losing 400,000 drivers mean more cost of hiring new replacement drivers, which can be time consuming and will inevitably increase Uber’s expenses. This loss was due to drivers being unsatisfied because compared to the competitors like Lyft   uber drivers did not have a tip app and as a result they were required to work long extensive hours each week to make up for it due to most Uber users not having cash on hand. For instance, in order for a driver now to make $50,000, the breakeven point for the drivers to drive to reach this point is 60.21 trips each week (exhibit 15). This can put a lot of stress on the drivers and provides drivers with fewer opportunities to grow within Uber, which results in frustration for drivers. As a result, Uber’s weakness of not compensating the drivers to keep them satisfied is another reason for leaving Uber as they can get much higher pay through working with Uber’s competitors which means higher turnover rate. For Uber the opportunity to get back on a steady growth lies in their ability to further prevent losing their drivers because without drivers Uber would cease to exist in future.If consumers and drivers were to continue to share their frustrating experience with Uber, these bad information streaming in social media networks can affect the perception that people feel about the brands which can deteriorate its brand for long period of time (Exhibit 5). Through CSR, firms can build their reputation, competitiveness; drive innovation and thus leading to sustainable profits, which Uber failed to do so. By not building employee (internal & external) and customer   loyalty lead to less attraction of new investors because Uber does not have a good visibility of their sustainability and do not show transparency in their decisions that will create sustainable development of society. In conclusion, Uber needs to communicate a better image to the customers. They need to modify their value proposition, and emphasize on making social change instead of just focusing on low cost and easy access (Exhibit 18). They need to understand that social media is a very important aspect in the lives of the millennials, and they should use it to their advantage by spreading a better image of themselves. Their actions are not going to be tolerated by their core customers if its value proposition does not resonate with them. Being professional in the workplace, having a strategic management that focuses on making strategic decisions that are going to help Uber generate money not only in the short run, but in the longer run as well, and focusing on satisfying their employees and customers is going to make Uber successful in this era. Uber hence needs to seriously rebrand itself if it wants to survive in this market. RECOMMENDATIONS Firstly, Uber needs to have a public apology for their actions in the last few months before Uber rebrands on social and live press conference. In each of the three incidents discussed in analysis, never once did Uber directly apologize to the public for its mistakes. Nowadays, the general public places an extremely high value upon clarity and transparency, and hence coming clean and admitting that they have spent numerously on less important aspects when they should have tried to launch social initiatives is one step closer to rebranding itself. Also, Uber needs to explain how it is initiating changes to make up for mistakes so that it will not happen again in the future. This should stop outrage and reduce harm done to the company as a result of widespread of negative publicity. Secondly, Uber needs to replace the current CEO, Travis Kalanick. Uber can make him a part of the board of directors with most voting shares instead of keeping him as the face of Uber. This is because the CEO is directly or indirectly responsible in all three incidents. The public will very likely hold the CEO responsible for all three incidents or associate him with negative publicity since he is the face of the company. Thus, rebranding changes would not be as effective if Kalanick remains the CEO. Hence, replacing him is vital if Uber wants to make changes and want the public re-evaluate Uber based on the changes made. The new CEO should be a woman that has experience running a business, is a women’s’ activist, has experience with CSR, and has helped with rebranding. Giving an important position to female would suggest gender equality which will offset the negative effects caused by Susan’s sexism blog. A CEO with these qualifications would be able make better decisions for Uber to get it through this difficult time. Thirdly, involving Uber drivers in the decision making process by hosting a Company Town Hall meeting for all Uber drivers in each city per quarter to discuss Uber agendas, driver concerns, and new opportunities. This can improve Ubers’ turnover because more Uber drivers will understand the business decisions of the company. This meeting will also address concerns of drivers because over the years they have felt that their concerns are not being met and taken into consideration. They can do this by sending surveys and questionnaires via email related to any decision that might directly affect the drivers. Also, emails can be sent after every meeting regarding the conversation so that even those drivers who were not able to attend will have a better idea of what is happening in Uber. Moreover, Uber should create a loyalty program that encourages more drivers to stay with Uber, thereby reducing turnover. This loyalty program will judge the drivers under two criterion; number of rides and drivers’ ratings. The driver will be considered more valuable when the number of rides are high and they get consistent high ratings. There will be three levels; bronze, silver, and gold. If the driver reaches 2000 rides in one year with consistent high ratings, s/he will earn a bronze medal, which provides incentive of a $50 gift card to their favorite retail store or 3 free meals at a restaurant of their choosing. If the driver reaches 2800 rides in one year with high ratings, they will earn a silver medal where Uber provides them with a $100 gift card and 6 free meals at any restaurant of their choosing. If an Uber driver reaches 3500 rides in one year and be in the top 50 rated drivers in their city, they will have earned a Gold medal. This gold medal will give the Uber driver free gym membership (to show that Uber cares for their drivers’ health), $100 gift card, and will give them 90% of the rides hare money than the 80% for the Silver and Bronze. The Gold drivers will also be recognized in the Company’s Town Hall meeting as a recognition of their hard work and loyalty to the company. Because this program is a goal oriented approach, it will give Uber drivers more motivation to stay, as they are recognized in the decision making process and are given benefits. This will hence inevitably change the perception of the company. Also, encourage Uber drivers to have a video camera in their cars because it will bring more safety for the drivers and allow Uber to adjust their ratings due to false claims by customers because there will be proof that the driver was not at fault. Uber management should also look over the data of the rating of drivers to make sure that discrepancies are found to show that drivers’ ratings are important for the company. Uber should also start a tip feature because most of the customers do not carry cash with them as it is done through the Uber app. Therefore, creating a feature where the drivers can earn tips can provide them a way of earning more money which will further motivate them to stay with Uber. Furthermore, it should change its HR team, and hire individuals who have proper knowledge and experience in maintaining a safe and motivational environment for its employees. A good HR team that is approachable, respectful, just, motivated, and innovative will slowly but inevitably win back the confidence of its employees, who can then be more motivated and efficient, and work towards rebuilding the perception of Uber as well. The new HR team should carefully select diverse talented employees who can fit in and be successful in the new work environment of Uber. Additionally, training should be provided to the new employees, with a separate conference about sexual harassment in the workplace; which talks about what sexual harassment is, what to do and whom to go to, what must be done and the consequences of harassment. Showing that in the beginning will ensure that new employees know how important safety of its employees is to Uber. A guidebook should be provided to every new employee so that everyone has a written copy about the rules of Uber’s culture. There should also be brochures on the boards, on which clear guidelines should be provided for anyone who faces harassment. A safe and just environment will hence not just motivate men to apply, but also gain back the trust of women. Uber will be able to then increase the number of women employees in its company. On top of that, it should build a whistleblowing department where anyone can report legal or ethical concerns while being anonymous. Simultaneously, whistleblowing should not just be legal, but should be encouraged within Uber, so that employees are motivated to speak against unjust actions and Uber can maintain a company where it internalizes fair and just policies for everyone. Moreover, there should be evaluations of employees as well as managers every six months. Managers should evaluate their subordinates but the employees should also get a chance to evaluate the managers so that managers’ skills and effectiveness can be measured, and proper feedback as well as training be provided if they lack certain skills as a manager, which will help them grow within the business. When it comes to the employees, feedback should be provided, and follow-ups should be mandatory for employees to help them acquire greater skills and help them grow for more growth opportunities within the workplace. Moreover, the value proposition and the colors of the brand logo need to be changed to mark major changes that are about to occur. As mentioned in the analysis, Uber needs to modify value proposition to emphasize social changes and show that Uber cares about society too. Uber’s current value proposition is too mechanical and lacks emotional component to it, which leads to the perception of Uber being a revenue generator. Uber’s logo should be changed to purple as it represents nobility, royalty, peace, pride and dignity; all of which should represent Uber. Value proposition that focuses on social initiatives should be written and posted clearly on their website for easy access to everyone. With the right colors and the right messages, consumers’ willingness to give Uber a second chance will rise and Uber can be successful in re-branding itself.    Lastly, what Uber must do is think up of a creative way to help better the society. Hence, in our opinion, Uber should set $200,000 apart and sponsor refugee families from different countries. Because it takes on average $30,000 to sponsor a family of four, targeting for five families this year is more than enough. Uber should then have a separate team that helps them settle in, and help them with the driving licenses so that they can work for Uber to generate income. This will slowly minimize people’s perception of Uber as a revenue generator and expander, and people will start thinking of them as a company that wants social change. Pictures of the refugees and their stories should be the first thing that people should see when they open their website. Because word of mouth was the main source of advertisement before, they can change that to making visual ads for YouTube advertisement that cannot be skipped, where stories of refugees and how Uber helped them is emphasized. The campaign name should be catchy, for e.g. â€Å"We Change, They Change, Life Changes,† which will force people to see how Uber is striving to change. In the longer run, however, they can also start a women empowerment initiative in third world countries which will further improve their image. These are some of the mandatory changes that Uber must do to survive within this competitive market. However, it needs to realize that being innovative is just not enough nowadays as that does not set you apart from the competitors; a company needs to take social initiatives, be ethical, and focus on CSR to have a competitive advantage. Hence, Uber needs to realize that while these are the answers to the current problems, it needs to internalize these solutions within its environment and take continuous social actions in the longer run, to help make a difference. Bibliography Abboud, Leila. (2017, March 16). Uber’s $69 Billion Dilemma. Retrieved from March 17,2017 from https://www.bloomberg.com/gadfly/articles/2017-03-16/uber-needs-to-get-real-about-that-69-billion-price-tag Fowler, S. J. (2017, February 19). Reflecting on one very, very strange year at Uber. Retrieved March 11, 2017, from https://www.susanjfowler.com/blog/2017/2/19/reflecting-on-one-very-strange-year-at-uber Google. (n.d). Google Trends. 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(n.d.). Retrieved February 28, 2017, from http://adsoftheworld.com/taxonomy/brand/uber Youtube. (2017, Feburary 28). Uber CEO Apologizes for Disrespectful Interaction With Driver. Retrieved March 17,2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHKfvnnXVDI Exhibit 1 Exhibit 2 Exhibit 3 Exhibit 4 Exhibit 5 Exhibit 6 Exhibit 7 Exhibit 8 Exhibit 9 Exhibit 10 Exhibit 11:Google Trend Sexual Harrasment &   Uber CEO Scandal Exhibit 12 Exhibit 13: Uber CEO Scandal Image and Conversation Exhibit 14 Exhibit 15 Exhibit 16 Exhibit 17 Exhibit 18 Exhibit B: SWOT Analysis

Maslow Essays -- essays research papers

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs & Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Introduction Like in sports, in business the performance of team is not just based on the individual talents. It is also, and maybe even more, based on the global efficiency of the team. To be efficient, a team leader needs to ensure that all the team players are pulling at the same rope, towards the same direction. That first step ensures that all the energy that is spent, is used in favor of the objective and not against it. A second step is to set the team organization, in a way that each team member is in the position to deliver its maximum performance. To make this possible, a team leader has to understand the individuals’ and interpersonal dynamics of the team. Personality tests and concepts such as the Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator are two of the most used tools used by leaders to understand and manage these dynamics. Criteria to use when selecting a team member   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  An individual’s resume will tell what one can do, but it will not tell how well one will be able to do it, in a given team and situation. Team leaders have to select team members for skills but also for their potential to fit and perform well in the team. As Kris Frieswick says â€Å"companies are increasingly taking steps to ensure that the hires they make are a good fit, not only with the job description but also with the people whom they will be working† (Frieswick, 2004). While making sure that one will fit well in a work environment, it is also important to ensure that one will be motivated to perform well. â€Å"Since management is all about getting things done through others, knowing [what motivates] and how to motivate others can improve the effectiveness of the managers†. (Buhler, 2003). The selection process used in the simulation   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The members selected in the simulation are Daniel Nichols, Lisa Stafford, Nicola Minelli and John Connor. They all are good performers at work, which demonstrate that put in the right situation they can achieve and exceed their objectives. They all have different levels of aptitudes in areas such as manage conflicts, communicate with others, meet a deadline, analyze and report on a situation or take the appropriate actions to solve a problem. All these aptitudes were required at different levels to complete the... ...while â€Å"Perceivers† will keep their mind opened for new discussion and analysis. The Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As George Hayhoe says, â€Å"Abraham Maslow's theory of the hierarchy of needs holds that much of human behavior is motivated by unsatisfied needs and the lower-level needs must be satisfied before higher-level needs can be addressed.† (Hayhoe, 2004). Maslow defines the human needs in five categories, often represented as a pyramid. From the bottom, one can find the â€Å"physiological† need such as food and water. The second level is the need for â€Å"safety†, which includes physical and emotional needs for safety. The third level is the â€Å"social† need, the need to belong to a group such as family or friends. The fourth level is the need for â€Å"esteem† such as being appreciated and being confident. The fifth and last level is the need for â€Å"self-actualization†. In this highest category, the objective is to achieve a level of competency in a certain activity or mastery of a skill (Jones, 2004). It is not for in dividuals to feel being better than others are, is to â€Å"have peace and satisfaction in who they are and what they are capable of doing† (Jones, 2004).

eBay :: essays research papers

eBay’s Global Community   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As I read through some of the discussion threads of eBay sellers, I realized how technology has allowed us to form international community of consumers with established rules and regulations. Doing business through eBay still seems a little risky but the fact that the majority of people still live ethically has allowed e-bay to succeed. Like in every society there are people that still try to circumvent the system and will try to get away with unethical activities. Through the discussion forum, eBay sellers have established an environment in which anyone can communicate the problems they have encountered and ask for advice for handling those situations. Sellers also have the option to offer suggestions on how to make the selling process better. Some of the issues that I found interesting in nature were how e-bay sellers handle non-paying bidders, feedback concerns, and international selling.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The hot topic that I found in many discussion threads was the issue with non-paying bidders. This problem makes it difficult for sellers to continue selling with confidence and it also makes it hard for new sellers to start selling. Non-paying bidders also prevent honest bidders from actually purchasing the item. This also forces the seller to place the item on auction again, incur a re-listing fee, and they may not also get the high bid that they had the first time. It also causes retaliatory negative feedback from the non-buyer to the seller. The sellers have addressed this issue by providing suggestions and answering each other questions. Some of the ways the seller community is handling the issue of non-paying bidders is by filing non-paying bidder alerts and FVFC(Final Value Free Credits). Consensus from the seller community is that filing negative feedback is not sufficient because eBay does not suspend a non-paying bidder until their feedback number reaches about a negative three. However, if the seller files the FVFC, E-bay will suspend the bidder if three sellers have filed on the same bidder.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  eBay also addressed this situation by conducting a workshop titled â€Å"Reducing Unpaid Items†. The workshop was conducted by the eBay staff and was opened to the entire seller community. I think that this type of format is very useful to eBay sellers, because it gives them the chance to voice their concerns directly to eBay and get immediate feedback as to what is being done to address those concerns.

The Birth Of An American Super Essay -- essays research papers fc

The Birth of an American Super Hero Heroes have been an important part of American history. They gave adults and especially young children something to strive for and believe in. Some heroes are real and some are imaginary. Real heroes can be presidents, soldiers, or even a parent. The imaginary hero's can be from books, comic books, or movies. One of the most popular hero's of our time is an imaginary hero created for the pages of comic books. The creation of this hero we all know as Superman took hard work, creativity, determination, and plenty of luck. Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster were the two Jewish-American teenage boys who created Superman. Jerry Siegel was the writer and Joe Shuster was the artist. Siegel and Shuster met at the age of sixteen while working on their high school newspaper. They made a number of attempts creating the Superman character. The first attempt utilized a bald middle aged man with advanced mental abilities. The next attempt was closer to the Superman we now know. He was younger and had hair but was not an alien with super powers. 'The ultimate version of Superman was born one night in 1934, when Siegel found new ideas coming so fast that he couldn't sleep'; (Daniels 21). Seigel and Shuster collaborated on these ideas and created comic strips created for the Sunday comics. Seigel's new Superman came from a planet called Krypton. 'This was the first benevolent alien created'; (Daniels 21). He wore tights for a futuristic appearance and the cape...

Combating Compassion Fatigue Essay

If you ask anyone in the field of healthcare, they will tell you that nursing is a very demanding profession. Many nurses feel weighed down by the emotional and physical demands of their chosen career. They may feel that their efforts go without acknowledgement. They may feel overwhelmed by their workload and feel they do not have adequate support or recourses to confidently and efficiently perform their roles. Part of the nurse’s role is to exhibit compassion for patients and their family members. Yet, compassion is an emotion that requires inner conviction and resiliency (Bush, 2009). When a nurse to facing fatigue and burnout, this compassionate feeling is replaced with feelings of apathy. It is important to recognize the signs of impending compassion fatigue and have knowledge of effective strategies to combat these feelings. Symptoms and Triggers Compassion fatigue to a term used to describe the unique stressors that affect individuals in a caregiver role (Bush, 2009). Some emotional symptoms to identify are anxiety, low self- esteem, powerlessness, and anger. Physical symptoms that are common are irritability, sleeplessness, and somatic pains. Environmental and emotional stressors of the workplace are what contribute to compassion fatigue. All caregivers at risk fro developing compassion fatigue, yet some may be more susceptible than others. All caregivers are at risk for developing compassion fatigue, yet there are some that may be more susceptible than others. Every person responds to emotional and environmental stressors differently. Some have a larger capacity for it than others. A shortage in staff results in a heavy workload for nurses. Nurses become fatigued when they are continually required to perform tasks alone that are best performed by a team. Unfair treatment of workers is perceived when evaluations, promotions, compensation  and benefits are not applied fairly (Espeland, 2006). When a nurse’s hard work goes unnoticed and unrewarded, this may result in feelings of hopelessness. Self-conflict is an important stressor that should be mentioned. Nurses tend to be very ambitious and have high expectations for themselves. These standards may lead the nurse to over-extend themselves, resulting in early on- set burnout. Also, a nurse may not be able to satisfactorily meet their own standards of care when they are simply given too much work to handle. The result of this is will be job dissatisfaction and subsequent compassion fatigue. Nurses who are young when they join the profession are at higher risk. This is because they are less prepared for role ambiguity, heavy workloads, and changing environments (Espeland, 2006). Bearing the suffering of others over a length of time is a big factor in the development of compassion fatigue. A nurse should be able to recognize their own individual risk for compassion fatigue and understand how to guard against it. Overcoming Burnout To change from a burnout state, we need to change our thought processes and viewpoints about the people and things that may have contributed to our burnout (Espeland, 2006). A nurse needs to actively take control of their situation instead of waiting for their situation to change on its own. By setting realistic goals for themselves and prioritizing important aspects of their life, the nurse can begin overcoming the state of compassion fatigue. It’s important to realize our personal limits. We can strive to perform at our optimal best without attempting to achieve perfection, which is impossible for anyone. We always have control of our own attitude. When we strive to maintain a positive outlook, we minimize feelings of compassion fatigue. It is inevitable that we will face challenges and adversity on our career path. Utilizing adversity as an opportunity for personal growth as opposed to a barrier is a way to guarantee personal and professional advancement (Espeland, 206). Another change that may need to be made to overcome burnout is a change in practice. Recognizing when it is time for a change is important. Whether it changing units within our hospital or changing disciplines within nursing, these changes provide us with the chance to grow in our profession and gain new skills. This variety contributes to career satisfaction and lessens the risk for burnout. It is imperative for nurses to know their risk for compassion fatigue, how to guard against it, and how to overcome it if they do find themselves in the state of burnout. Reviewing information about compassion fatigue to valuable to all nurses, as nurses in all disciplines of the profession are at risk for compassion fatigue. Applying these strategies and coping mechanisms will provide the nurse with a more satisfying experience in their nursing career and will assist them to perform at their optimal best. References Bush, N. (2009). Compassion fatigue: are you at risk?. Oncology Nursing Forum, 36(1), 24-28. doi:10.1188/09.ONF.24-28 Espeland, K. (2006). Overcoming burnout: how to revitalize your career. Journal Of Continuing Education In Nursing, 37(4), 178-184.

Digital Fortress Chapter 6

Although Ensei Tankado was not alive during the Second World War, he carefully studied everything about it-particularly about its culminating event, the blast in which 100,000 of his countrymen where incinerated by an atomic bomb. Hiroshima, 8:15 a.m. August 6, 1945-a vile act of destruction. A senseless display of power by a country that had already won the war. Tankado had accepted all that. But what he could never accept was that the bomb had robbed him of ever knowing his mother. She had died giving birth to him-complications brought on by the radiation poisoning she'd suffered so many years earlier. In 1945, before Ensei was born, his mother, like many of her friends, traveled to Hiroshima to volunteer in the burn centers. It was there that she became one of the hibakusha-the radiated people. Nineteen years later, at the age of thirty-six, as she lay in the delivery room bleeding internally, she knew she was finally going to die. What she did not know was that death would spare her the final horror-her only child was to be born deformed. Ensei's father never even saw his son. Bewildered by the loss of his wife and shamed by the arrival of what the nurses told him was an imperfect child who probably would not survive the night, he disappeared from the hospital and never came back. Ensei Tankado was placed in a foster home. Every night the young Tankado stared down at the twisted fingers holding his daruma wish-doll and swore he'd have revenge-revenge against the country that had stolen his mother and shamed his father into abandoning him. What he didn't know was that destiny was about to intervene. In February of Ensei's twelfth year, a computer manufacturer in Tokyo called his foster family and asked if their crippled child might take part in a test group for a new keyboard they'd developed for handicapped children. His family agreed. Although Ensei Tankado had never seen a computer, it seemed he instinctively knew how to use it. The computer opened worlds he had never imagined possible. Before long it became his entire life. As he got older, he gave classes, earned money, and eventually earned a scholarship to Doshisha University. Soon Ensei Tankado was known across Tokyo as fugusha kisai-the crippled genius. Tankado eventually read about Pearl Harbor and Japanese war crimes. His hatred of America slowly faded. He became a devout Buddhist. He forgot his childhood vow of revenge; forgiveness was the only path to enlightenment. By the time he was twenty, Ensei Tankado was somewhat of an underground cult figure among programmers. IBM offered him a work visa and a post in Texas. Tankado jumped at the chance. Three years later he had left IBM, was living in New York, and was writing software on his own. He rode the new wave of public-key encryption. He wrote algorithms and made a fortune. Like many of the top authors of encryption algorithms, Tankado was courted by the NSA. The irony was not lost on him-the opportunity to work in the heart of the government in a country he had once vowed to hate. He decided to go on the interview. Whatever doubts he had disappeared when he met Commander Strathmore. They talked frankly about Tankado's background, the potential hostility he might feel toward the U.S., his plans for the future. Tankado took a polygraph test and underwent five weeks of rigorous psychological profiles. He passed them all. His hatred had been replaced by his devotion to Buddha. Four months later Ensei Tankado went to work in the Cryptography Department of the National Security Agency. Despite his large salary, Tankado went to work on an old Moped and ate a bag lunch alone at his desk instead of joining the rest of the department for prime rib and vichyssoise in the commissary. The other cryptographers revered him. He was brilliant-as creative a programmer as any of them had ever seen. He was kind and honest, quiet, and of impeccable ethics. Moral integrity was of paramount importance to him. It was for this reason that his dismissal from the NSA and subsequent deportation had been such a shock. Tankado, like the rest of the Crypto staff, had been working on the TRANSLTR project with the understanding that if successful, it would be used to decipher E-mail only in cases pre-approved by the Justice Department. The NSA's use of TRANSLTR was to be regulated in much the same way the FBI needed a federal court order to install a wiretap. TRANSLTR was to include programming that called for passwords held in escrow by the Federal Reserve and the Justice Department in order to decipher a file. This would prevent the NSA from listening indiscriminately to the personal communications of law-abiding citizens around the globe. However, when the time came to enter that programming, the TRANSLTR staff was told there had been a change of plans. Because of the time pressures often associated with the NSA's anti-terrorist work, TRANSLTR was to be a free-standing decryption device whose day-to-day operation would be regulated solely by the NSA. Ensei Tankado was outraged. This meant the NSA would, in effect, be able to open everyone's mail and reseal it without their knowing. It was like having a bug in every phone in the world. Strathmore attempted to make Tankado see TRANSLTR as a law-enforcement device, but it was no use; Tankado was adamant that it constituted a gross violation of human rights. He quit on the spot and within hours violated the NSA's code of secrecy by trying to contact the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Tankado stood poised to shock the world with his story of a secret machine capable of exposing computer users around the world to unthinkable government treachery. The NSA had had no choice but to stop him. Tankado's capture and deportation, widely publicized among on-line newsgroups, had been an unfortunate public shaming. Against Strathmore's wishes, the NSA damage-control specialists-nervous that Tankado would try to convince people of TRANSLTR's existence-generated rumors that destroyed his credibility. Ensei Tankado was shunned by the global computer community-nobody trusted a cripple accused of spying, particularly when he was trying to buy his freedom with absurd allegations about a U.S. code-breaking machine. The oddest thing of all was that Tankado seemed to understand; it was all part of the intelligence game. He appeared to harbor no anger, only resolve. As security escorted him away, Tankado spoke his final words to Strathmore with a chilling calm. â€Å"We all have a right to keep secrets,† he'd said. â€Å"Someday I'll see to it we can.†

Participative Management Essay

In the corporate world, management style has shifted from scientific management to participatory management. While scientific principles of management underlines communication, leadership and participation , participatory management is anchored on the need for quality management, good relationship with the workers, building teams and integrated organizational structures. Research has shown that the following benefits can be accrued from participatory management. Firstly, it can result to the decline in absenteeism and turnover while enhancing attraction and retention of workers since they have a feeling of ownership in the organization. It also promotes effective and efficient conveyance of information between the management and the employee at all levels in the organization. (Yeatts, Hyten, 1998, p. 16). Elsewhere, it makes everyone to feel a stake order in the decision making process. Additionally, it reduces the cases of internal disagreements and wrangles since the workers interact without suspicion and consider each other a brother/sister. Participative management helps to widen the scope of skills of the staff and enhances innovations and designing of efficient ways and procedures for tasks. Finally, it motivates and gives job satisfaction to the workers ((Yeatts, Hyten, 1998, p. 29). On the other hand, participatory management has some demerits that have been evident in organizations which have implemented it. To begin with, most employees do not accept the responsibility of making decision for the organizations and instead they like being told what to do. At the same time, some of the workers are illiterate and not versed with the tasks of the organization hence they require training. Others demand pay if included in decision making. It requires the participation of many people thus making decision making to go slow resulting to inefficiency (Yeatts, Hyten, 1998, p. 37). In conclusion therefore, participatory management is of great benefit to both private and public sectors. It is the best for the newly founded organizations towards struggle for their survival through competitive advantages.

CARL ROGER’S19 propositions Essay

CARL ROGER’S 19 PROPOSITIONS PROPOSITION 1: HUMAN EXPERIENCE AT ACONCIOUS AND UNCONCIOUS LEVEL Every individual exists in a continually changing world of experience of which he is the centre. PROPOSITION 2: HUMAN PERCEPTION The organism reacts to the field as it is experienced and perceived. This perceptual; field is, for the individual, reality. PROPOSITION 3: WHOLENESS The organism reacts as a whole to this phenomenal field. PROPOSITION 4: SELF-DETREMENATION The organism has one basic tendency and striving – to actualize, maintain, and enhance the experiencing organism. PROPOSITION 5: NEEDS AND BEHAVIOUR Behaviour is basically the goal-directed attempt of the organism to satisfy its needs as experience, in the field as perceived. PROPOSITION 6: EMOTIONS Emotion accompanies and in general facilitates such goal directed behaviour, the kind of emotion being related to the socking versus the consummatory aspects of the behaviour, and the intensity of the emotion being related to the perceived significance of the behaviour for the maintenance and enhancement of the organism. PROPOSITION 7: FRAME OF REFERENCE The best vantage point for understanding behaviour is from the internal frame of reference for the individual himself. PROPOSITION 8: THE SELF A portion of the total perceptual field gradually becomes differentiated as the self. PROPOSITION 9: THE SELF AND SIGNIFICANT OTHERS As a result of interaction with the environment, and particularly as a result of evaluational interaction with others, the structure of self is formed – an organized, fluid, but consistent conceptual pattern of perceptions of characteristics and relationships of the â€Å"I† or the â€Å"me† together with values attached to these concepts. PROPOSITION 10: VALUES:OWN AND ADOPTED FROM OTHERS The values attach themselves to experiences, and the values which are a part of the self structure, in some instances are values experienced directly by the organism, and in some instances are values introjected or taken over from others, but perceived in distorted fashion, as if they had been experienced directly. PROPOSITION 11: DEALING WITH EXPERIENCES AT CONCIOUS AND UNCONCIOUS LEVEL As experiences occur in the life of the individual, they are either (a) symbolised, perceived, and organized into some relationship to the self, (b) ignored because there is no perceived relationship to the self – structure, ( c ) denied symbolisation or given a distorted symbolization because the experience is inconsistent with the structure of the self. PROPOSITION 12: SELF AND BEHAVIOUR Most of the ways of behaving which are adopted by the organism are those which are inconsistent with the concept of self. PROPOSITION 13: BEHAVIOUR AND UNCONCIOUS EXPERIENCES Behaviour may, in some instances, be brought about by organic experiences and needs which have not been symbolized. Such behaviour may be inconsistent with the structure of the self, but in such instances the behaviour is not â€Å"owned† by the individual. PROPOSITION 14: PSYCHOLOGICAL TENSION Psychological maladjustment exists when the organism denies to awareness significant sensory and visceral experiences, which consequently are not symbolised and organized into the gestalt of the self-structure. When this situation exists, there is a basic or potential psychological tension. PROPOSITION 15: RECONSTRUCTION OF SELF Psychological adjustment exists when the concept of the self is such that all the sensory and visceral experiences of the organism are, or may be, assimilated on a symbolic level into a consistent relationship with the concept of self. PROPOSITION 16: DEFENCE OF SELF Any experience which is inconsistent with the organization or structure of self may be perceived as a threat and the more of these perceptions there are, the more rigidly the self-structure is organized to maintain itself. PROPOSITION 17: CONDITIONS FOR CHANGE Under certain conditions, involving primarily complete absence of any threat to the self structure, experiences which are inconsistent with it may be perceived, and examined, and the structure of self revised to assimilate and include such experiences. PROPOSITION 18: ACCEPTANCE OF SELF When the individual perceives and accepts into one consistent and integrated system all his sensory and visceral experiences, then he is necessarily more understanding of others and is more accepting of others as separate individuals. PROPOSITION 19: DEVELOPING YOUR OWN VALUING PROCESS As the individual perceives and accepts into his self-structure more of his organic experiences, he finds that he is replacing his present value system – based so largely upon introjections which have been distortedly symbolized – with a continuing organismic valuing process.