Wednesday, November 27, 2019

10 Ser Conjugation Charts For Every Tense in Spanish

10 Ser Conjugation Charts For Every Tense in Spanish SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips One of the hardest parts of learning a romance language- especially one like Spanish- is verb conjugation. In Spanish, the way a verb is conjugated depends on a number of factors, including the subject, the verb tense, and the purpose of the sentence itself. That means that there are actually many versions of each verb, all of which mean something slightly different. And because so much of understanding Spanish revolves around verbs, it’s an important (though pretty confusing) part of learning Spanish as a second language. If you’re taking the AP Spanish exam, ser is one of the most critical verbs that you need to know- and know how to conjugate. Unfortunately, the conjugations for ser can be pretty tricky. But we’re here to help. In this article, we’ll give you every possible verb conjugation for the Spanish verb ser, which means â€Å"to be.† We’ll even give you a quick rundown on what ser means and when to use it! So†¦  ¡si estan listos, vamos! It's time to do like Dora and "Come on, vamanos!"Loren Javier/Flickr Every Single Ser Conjugation Chart We’ve broken down every conjugation of ser by verb tense and form! Scroll down until you see the heading for the verb tense you need, then check out the corresponding chart below. Present Indicative Yo soy Nosotros somos Tà º eres Vosotros sois Usted/El/Ella es Ustedes/Ellos/Ellas son Imperfect Indicative Yo era Nosotros à ©ramos Tà º eras Vosotros erais Usted/El/Ella era Ustedes/Ellos/Ellas eran Preterite Indicative Yo fui Nosotros fuimos Tà º fuiste Vosotros fuisteis Usted/El/Ella fue Ustedes/Ellos/Ellas fueron Future Indicative Yo serà © Nosotros seremos Tà º sers Vosotros serà ©is Usted/El/Ella ser Ustedes/Ellos/Ellas sern Conditional Yo serà ­a Nosotros serà ­amos Tà º serà ­as Vosotros serà ­ais Usted/El/Ella serà ­a Ustedes/Ellos/Ellas serà ­an Present Subjunctive Yo sea Nosotros seamos Tà º seas Vosotros seis Usted/El/Ella sea Ustedes/Ellos/Ellas sean Imperative or Command Yo - - Nosotros seamos Tà º sà © Vosotros sed Usted/El/Ella sea Ustedes/Ellos/Ellas sean Imperfect Subjunctive Note that there are two conjugations for the imperfect subjunctive. In Spanish, these conjugation forms can be used interchangeably! Yo fuera Nosotros fuà ©ramos Tà º fueras Vosotros fuerais Usted/El/Ella fuera Ustedes/Ellos/Ellas fueran Yo fuese Nosotros fuà ©semos Tà º fueses Vosotros fueseis Usted/El/Ella fuese Ustedes/Ellos/Ellas fuesen All Perfect Tenses A quick note: there are multiple perfect tenses, including the pluperfect, preterite perfect, future perfect, conditional perfect, and present perfect subjunctive, and pluperfect subjunctive. When using these forms, the construction is always as follows: Conjugation of haber + sido You’ll conjugate haber in whatever form accompanies the perfect tense. For example, if you’re using the future perfect, you’ll conjugate haber in future tense! Yo sido Nosotros sido Tà º sido Vosotros sido Usted/El/Ella sido Ustedes/Ellos/Ellas sido Dad joke of the day: "Ser" means "to be," not "two bees" Meaning and Usage of Ser As we mentioned earlier, ser means â€Å"to be† in Spanish. But if you’re studying Spanish, you know that there’s a second verb that means â€Å"to be† as well: estar. (We’ll talk about estar in another article, so you don’t need to worry about it now.) Additionally, ser is an irregular verb. That means it doesn’t follow the normal patterns of conjugations that a regular verb- ike hablar (to speak) or vivir (to live)- do. Unfortunately, there’s no easy tip, trick, or formula to help you nail the ser conjugation each and every time. The only way to make sure you know the ser conjugations is to memorize them. So how do you know when to use ser? In general, ser is used to talk about what something is. You can think of ser as a way to talk about a thing’s permanent state or a set of characteristics that don’t change. To show you how this works, here are examples of situations that require you to use ser: Time and Date If you’re talking about a specific time (on a clock) or calendar date, you should use ser. Example: Hoy es Martes.Today is Tuesday. Example: Son las dos. It’s two o’clock. Place of Origin and Nationality Whenever you’re talking about someone’s home country, state, or where they were born, use a ser conjugation. Example: Claudio es puertorriqueà ±o. Claudio is Puerto Rican. Example: El es de Alemania.He is from Germany. Occupation or Profession Use the appropriate version of ser when speaking about a person’s job, profession, or occupation. Example: Mi abuela era doctora en Chile. My grandmother was a doctor in Chile. Example: Adela es arquitecta.Adela is an architect. Religious or Political Affiliation Use ser when you’re talking about someone’s religion or the political party they belong to. Example: El presidente de los estados unidos es republicano. The president of the United States is Republican. Example: Martin es un cristiano, entonces à ©l quiere ir a una colegio cristiano.Martin is a Christian, so he wants to go to a Christian college. What Something Is Made Of When describing what something is made of, use ser. If you’re discussing how something is made, you’ll need to use a verb like hacer (to make) instead. Example: La bicicleta es de metal. The bicycle is made of metal. Example: Los boletos son de papel.The tickets are made of paper. Possession When you’re talking about what something belongs to, use ser. This is how you indicate ownership! Example: Mitzi es la perra de Miguel. Mitzi is Miguel’s dog. Example: Esos libros fueron del seà ±or Villareal.Those books belonged to Mr. Villareal. Permanent Relationships of One Person to Another Use ser to indicate how people are related to one another. Example: Ella es la amiga de Laura. She is Laura’s friend Example: Seà ±ora Mariz es la mam de Juan.Mrs. Mariz is Juan’s mother. Where an Event Is Taking Place Use a ser conjugation to talk about the time and location of a specific event. Example: La conferencia es a las siete en la noche. The conference is at seven p.m. Example: La pasada copa del mundo fue en Rusia.The last World Cup was in Russia. Essential Characteristics of People and Things When deciding between ser and estar to talk about characteristics, use ser when you’re talking about permanent, unchanging, and/or essential traits of a person or item. Example: Colombia es un paà ­s grande. Colombia is a big country. Example: Josà © y Clara son amables.Josà © and Clara are friendly. Generalizations If you’re talking in large generalities, use a ser conjugation. Example: La prueba fue muy difà ­cil. The test was very difficult. Example:  ¡Es fabuloso viajar!It’s fabulous to travel! What's Next? If you’re preparing for the AP Spanish exam, that’s great! You might also look into other classes that offer AP exams in order to maximize your college credit and weighted GPA. Wondering what a good AP score is for the AP Spanish exam? Here’s a list of the average AP scores for every AP test! One of the tricky bits about AP tests is that it’s hard to know when to start studying for them. You’re taking the AP class, after all! Here’s a handy guide to help you figure out the best time to start studying for the AP Spanish test on your own. (Spoiler alert: you do have to study for AP tests outside of the classroom, too!)

Sunday, November 24, 2019

Free Essays on If I Die In A Combat Zone

I have chosen a book called â€Å"If I Die In A Combat Zone† written by Tim O’Brien for my book review. This book is about Tim O’Brien’s experience as a foot solider in the Vietnam War. He spent a year in combat in My Lai, Vietnam. Since this is a fictional book the names of the characters have been changed. Chapter one describes a day in the life of Tim O’Brien. He is talking to a man named Barney when Captain Johansen gave the order to move on and check one more ville for that day. They came across Vietnamese that they nicknamed Charlie. After this place was secured as good as it could be they bedded down and tried to sleep. They slept in holes in the ground called foxholes.The next day they ate C rations and got ready to move on. Chapter two tells about Tim O’Brien growing up. It tells about his parents and about the town that he grew up in. He talks about the things he did in school and how he was trying to decide if God was real or not. He graduated high school and went away to college. Chapter three tells how Tim O’Brien was drafted into the war in 1968. He had a hard time trying to decide if he would go or he would run away to Canada. He did not want to die. He finally made up his mind to go to war even though he thought the war was wrong. Chapter four tells how the soldiers spent their nights looking out over rice paddies. They had a scope that allowed them to see in the dark. They kind of played games with it and let their imaginations run away. Chapter five tells how Tim O’Brien made a friend named Erik and how they got through the first months of army life together at Fort Lewis. He did not like this training. It tells of the things that he kept his mind on just to get through it. Erik liked poetry. All the soldiers at Fort Lewis were homesick for their families. Their drill sergeant was a man named Blyton. Everyone thought he was evil. When basic training was done Erik got to go to ... Free Essays on If I Die In A Combat Zone Free Essays on If I Die In A Combat Zone I have chosen a book called â€Å"If I Die In A Combat Zone† written by Tim O’Brien for my book review. This book is about Tim O’Brien’s experience as a foot solider in the Vietnam War. He spent a year in combat in My Lai, Vietnam. Since this is a fictional book the names of the characters have been changed. Chapter one describes a day in the life of Tim O’Brien. He is talking to a man named Barney when Captain Johansen gave the order to move on and check one more ville for that day. They came across Vietnamese that they nicknamed Charlie. After this place was secured as good as it could be they bedded down and tried to sleep. They slept in holes in the ground called foxholes.The next day they ate C rations and got ready to move on. Chapter two tells about Tim O’Brien growing up. It tells about his parents and about the town that he grew up in. He talks about the things he did in school and how he was trying to decide if God was real or not. He graduated high school and went away to college. Chapter three tells how Tim O’Brien was drafted into the war in 1968. He had a hard time trying to decide if he would go or he would run away to Canada. He did not want to die. He finally made up his mind to go to war even though he thought the war was wrong. Chapter four tells how the soldiers spent their nights looking out over rice paddies. They had a scope that allowed them to see in the dark. They kind of played games with it and let their imaginations run away. Chapter five tells how Tim O’Brien made a friend named Erik and how they got through the first months of army life together at Fort Lewis. He did not like this training. It tells of the things that he kept his mind on just to get through it. Erik liked poetry. All the soldiers at Fort Lewis were homesick for their families. Their drill sergeant was a man named Blyton. Everyone thought he was evil. When basic training was done Erik got to go to ...

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Research critique Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Research critique - Assignment Example The reason this article was chosen, and the nexus of its relevance as stated in the research questions, is that it specifically seeks to understand real issues as applied to real nurses (Akerstedt, et al. 2002). It takes into account the difference between many important demographic qualities. [104] Purpose of Study. The study is investigating possible contributors to maladaptive health outcomes in nurses who work full-time. Age and familial demands placed on the nurse are considered and weighed, as are the impacts of fatigue and recovery from night shift work. The outcomes were interesting, particularly the conclusion that domestic responsibilities are not significant contributors to maladaptive health outcomes. What was found to be significant was the shift pattern worked, especially night duty (Demerouti, et al. 2001). Interestingly, the effect of age was found to be equivocal with the younger nurses showing poorer recovery than the older group; it was shown that age was not associated with negative outcomes. [110] Literature Review. The literature review is well done and uses recent sources for those aspects of the discussion which require timely analysis, e.g., in 1990 it was well known that nurses worked in a stressful environment and so that old of a source is not a critical issue. When the authors begin discussing and citing information based on neuro-chemical studies, however, advances in that area of research would require up-to-date sources and older studies would lack reliable data. In this case, those aspects of the literature review that require modernity are properly supported with research performed within the previous year of this study (Newey & Hood 2004), and the sources used are reliable and known in the field. The authors are psychological researchers and not nurses; they do, however, use recognized studies from nurses and other scientists to support their points and give weight to

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Ncm 512 case assignment module 3 Bargaining II - At The Table Essay

Ncm 512 case assignment module 3 Bargaining II - At The Table - Essay Example The issue is one of discrimination and has a number of laws and regulations that relate to the same. Hence while preparing for the meeting, it will be important to keep completed track of records of each of the three teams, i.e. production plant, sales department and administrative department. Here a detailed list of employees and the history of the position of the women in the teams will be learnt. Also a detailed understanding of the employee and the pay scales will also be kept to help build a strong case. The negotiation approach that will be attempted for this negotiation will be a bilateral negotiation. The main reason to choose this method of negotiation is to ensure that both the parties, i.e. the employees as well as the management are both satisfied and the needs and demands of both parties are met. The approach will be very professional with detailed information that is backed with evidences (Harvard Business School Press). This will help ensure that there are no loop holes in the negotiation and the demands and will be based completely on the true facts rather than unnecessary allegations. The point of interest here in this case is the need for the demands of the women employees being met and the availability of higher levels of jobs to the employees. Another point of focus here is the availability of jobs to women and an equal level of importance to both men and women thereby ensuring that true talent and skills are not wasted. Also the main interest here is to ensure that there is no form of discrimination among the employees and all employees are given equal level of pay for the same work that is completed without any impact based on gender of the individual (Lewicki, Saunders and Barry). Firstly, considering the production plant, the total number of people working here is almost 20,000. Of these 5000 workers are women. The first suggestion to the management will be to keep this as it is

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Organizational Change Models Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Organizational Change Models - Research Paper Example In any of the cases, better management is the key to achieving the desired goal. Organization development aims at increasing the effectiveness and productivity of a business through the employment of different strategies (Nelson, 2011). This will include the different techniques that help workers and the organization as a whole to cope with the changing environment for a better performance of the institution. This will thus enable firms to achieve their goals and meet the laid objectives faster. The importance of transformation in the modern environment practically assures that organizations which do not transform will rapidly becomeâ€Å"corporate dinosaurs†, headed for destruction since they no longer fit the current environment (Kates & Galbraith, 2007). To manage the change, leadership, worker involvement and incentives that aid to overcome resistance to change are the key focus. The concept of organizational change is one of the key elements that determine whether businesses survive and strive well in the market. The world is increasingly changing and this calls for firms to employ measures to easily cope with the changing environment. There are those short term and long term measures that need to be employed for effective change to be witnessed by an organization. It is a three phase model that was invented by Kurt Lewin. The Lewin’s Three-step Change Model functions as a short term strategy to cope with the changing market. It focuses on three major steps: unfreezing- moving and refreezing as shown in the figure below. In this stage, the organization is prepared for change. It involves identifying any resisting forces for the change ready to be implemented. This will be helpful according to the Lewin’s model in identifying mechanisms for change which will strive even with the resistance (Miner, 2011). Unless there is motivation for change in an organization, development would not take its

Friday, November 15, 2019

Brand Equity of HP Laptops

Brand Equity of HP Laptops Introduction As the lifestyle is changing, needs of people are changing accordingly from more technology prone to advancement in electronic devices usage. People want faster paced life, leading to endless dreams to be fulfilled. Desire to achieve excellence in all departments of life makes life more interesting and increases the positive vibrance. Belonging to this information technology era, life without laptops is unimaginable. Laptop sales in India are at an all time high, due to the growth of a new breed of technology conscious IT users. There has been a drastic shift in working environments coupled with a lifestyle which is always on the move. Besides the work-related market, various other segments are capitalizing on these handy portable computers. A large number of households and students are using these portable PCs for entertainment and study purposes respectively. Industry Background Laptops are popularly used in India more for their portability rather than mobility. Portability has become the number one factor as to why more Indians are buying these portable PCs. The laptop market in 2009 saw a significant growth. Seen as just the right size to fit on someones lap, laptops are taking the Indian market by storm and are certainly giving desktop computers a run for their money. The laptop market in India recorded sales of 7.7 lakh units, growing at 13% in the first half of 2009-10. The major players in the Indian market are HP, Compaq, Dell, Lenovo, Apple and Acer. Quarterly notebook PC shipment and forecast report stated that 31 million units were shipped in the first quarter of 2009, noting that the notebook PC market shrank 6% on quarter, but increased 35% on year during the period. HP remained in the lead for seven consecutive quarters with a shipment around two million units over number two Dell in the first quarter of 2009-10. HPs market share was over 20% for six consecutive quarters. The most popular panel size and resolution was still 15.4-inch with a resolution of 1280ÃÆ'-800, which accounted for almost 50% of all notebook PCs shipped in the quarter, while the 14.1-inch segment with a 1280ÃÆ'-800 resolution trailed behind with a 22% share. The general features that people look for while making a decision on the laptop are: Processing Speed of Laptops The laptops processing speed depends on the usage. Consumers generally go for Intel Core Duo processors or Athlon. If the requirement is a high end laptop, then consumers can opt for Core 2 Duo or Quad Core processors. Operating System At present Windows Vista is the operating system in the laptop market. Recently Windows 7 has been launched and laptop vendors are slowly shifting to the latest operating system. Other Operating Systems like Linux can be got on request. Screen Screen size is usually 14.1 or 15.4. But consumers are going for bigger screen sizes also. The 17 laptop sales have increased in the recent months, but still is not very high. Hard Drives 160 GB hard disks is the usual attachment in most of the laptops. These are the features which one should consider before buying laptops. Searching laptops in Indian market will be easy as all the information is available online. Company Background HP is a technology company that operates in more than 170 countries around the world. They explore how technology and services can help people and companies address their problems and challenges, and realize their possibilities, aspirations and dreams. HP applies new thinking and ideas to create more simple, valuable and trusted experiences with technology, continuously improving the way our customers live and work. No other company offers as complete a technology product portfolio as HP. They provide infrastructure and business offerings that span from handheld devices to some of the worlds most powerful supercomputer installations. They offer consumers a wide range of products and services from digital photography to digital entertainment and from computing to home printing. This comprehensive portfolio helps them match the right products, services and solutions to their customers specific needs. HP India, established in the year 1988, holds the distinction of being one of the first technology companies to set up a base in India. HP in India is one of the largest and most diverse sites for HP outside of the US. HP started its India Software Operations (ISO) in 1989 at Bangalore to deliver enterprise software solutions, product and RD services to HP customers worldwide. Over the past year, HPs presence and product portfolio has expanded to mirror almost every activity the company undertakes, be it software engineering, IT services, RD, BPOs among others. HP India became a billion dollar company in 2005 and continues to expand its presence. HP is the leader in the laptop market in India. HP laptops feature powerful performance and attractive designs and this is the reason they are the number 1 selling brand in India. Need for the Study There are a lot of new brands of laptops available in the market. Many international players are entering the Indian market to try and capture a chunk of this huge market. We would like ascertain whether HP brand, which is currently doing well, will continue to do well in the future also or does it need to change any of its approach with respect to its brand performance. This project is restricted to the brand equity only. Objectives of the Study To measure brand equity of HP laptops Conceptual Framework Brand Equity Brand equity refers to the marketing effects or outcomes that accrue to a product with its brand name compared with those that would accrue if the same product did not have the brand name. And, at the root of these marketing effects is consumers knowledge. In other words, consumers knowledge about a brand makes manufacturers/advertisers respond differently or adopt appropriately adept measures for the marketing of the brand. The study of brand equity is increasingly popular as some marketing researchers have concluded that brands are one of the most valuable assets that a company has. Brand equity is one of the factors which can increase the financial value of a brand to the brand owner, although not the only one. Brand equity is measured as a combination of the following five factors: Brand Awareness Brand Loyalty Perceived Quality Brand Association Other Proprietary Assets Brand Awareness Brand awareness is a marketing concept that measures consumers knowledge of a brands existence. At the aggregate (brand) level, it refers to the proportion of consumers who know of the brand. It can measured using the following measures: Aided Recall Either the brand name or both the brand name and category name are presented to respondents. Unaided Recall The product category name is given to respondents who are asked to recall as many brands as possible that are members of the category. Top of Mind Recall The first brand that comes to the mind of customers is recorded. Brand Loyalty Brand loyalty consists of a consumers commitment to repurchase or otherwise continue using the brand and can be demonstrated by repeated buying of a product or service or other positive behaviors such as word of mouth advocacy. The various measures for calculating brand loyalty are: Switching Cost Liking Satisfaction Waiting Time Shopping Effort Willingness to Bear Additional Cost Perceived Quality Perceived quality is defined as the customers perception of the overall quality or superiority of a product or service with respect to its intended purpose relative to alternatives. We have measured the perceived quality of the overall brand under the following measures: Performance Features Conformance with Specifications Reliability Durability Fit and Finish Serviceability Brand Association A key to building brand is to strengthen the associations. A brand association is anything, i.e. a word, a picture, a person, etc. related to a brand. The association not only exists but also has strength, uniqueness to the brand and favorability in the minds of the consumers. Other Proprietary Assets The three most important proprietary assets are: Name Logo Slogan Methodology Sample Size We have taken a sample size of 15 respondents. It consisted of 12 males and 3 females of varying ages, across the country. Data Collection analysis Methods The following tools were used to collect data: Focus group discussions (FGDs) Questionnaires Data Analysis Tools SPSS 16.0 for Windows, MS Excel Brand Awareness Brand Awareness is the extent to which a brand is recognized by potential customers, and is correctly associated with a particular product. It is usually expressed as a percentage of target market. Brand awareness is the primary goal of advertising. Brand awareness conveys the intensity of knowledge and understanding that a consumer has about a product or brand. This is usually measured through the three measures Top of Mind Recall, Unaided Recall Aided Recall. Unaided recall Top of Mind Recall Unaided Recall is a market research technique used to test the effectiveness of brands, advertisements and commercials in which respondents are asked certain questions to learn whether they are familiar with a particular company, brand, slogan, product or service. In our survey the respondent was asked to mention the names of laptops they know or have heard about. Out of the unaided recalled brands, the first brand that the respondent mentions is the top of mind recall. Top of mind awareness is there when people can easily recall a brands name. Top of mind reacall usually is associated with the brand being in the short term memory. Top of mind awareness is very desirable in target prospects who are likely to buy because it is when they are considering buying an item you really want them to remember a particular brand. The responses obtained are indicated in the table below. In the calculations for the brand equity score, top of mind being an important parameter was given 100 points. To calculate the top of mind score for a particular brand, the percentage of people who mentioned the particular brand in their top of mind recall was calculated out of total respondents. Thus HP laptops got a score of 47 or 47% which is 7 as a percentage of 15. The maximum score for unaided recall was fixed at 70. The brand with the highest frequency was given a score of 70 and the brands that followed were given scores of 60 50 each. Interpretation Out of 15 respondents, HP brand had the highest top of mind recall, followed by Compaq, Lenovo Dell, which had equal responses. This shows that the investments by HP in their advertisement / marketing communications have been relatively effective. But still considering that only 47% respondents recollected HP from the top of mind, HP should consider investing more in their advertisement campaigns. Top of Mind recall happens with higher repetitions and exposure to advertisements. Advertisements emphasizing the brand HP have to be repeated. This will also help because HP has a wide product assortment. In case of unaided recall, HP Dell were leading with very high scores, followed by Compaq, Lenovo and Toshiba. This shows that people know these brands as laptop brands. The objective of this measurement is to measure the extent to which respondents remembered the brand when the actual brand name is prompted. A list of laptop brands was given to the respondent and they were asked to select the brands they were aware of. We deliberately included a couple of brands which did not have laptops. Surprisingly people who selected these brands were very less and there seems to be a very high level of awareness about laptop brands. The response obtained is indicated in the table alongside. Interpretation HP, Dell, Compaq Lenovo had 100% awareness or all respondents who participated in the survey were aware about these brands as a laptop brand. Aided awareness was scored out of 50 and the brands with maximum awareness were given a score of 50, second best as 40 etc. We do not need to do anything on this front to increase awareness about HP as a laptop brand. 2. Brand loyalty Brand loyalty of the customer is often the core of a brands equity. It reflects how likely a customer will be able to switch to another brand. Brand loyalty is closely tied to experience and is different from other major dimensions of brand equity. The following scores were obtained by the brands against the four factors associated with Loyalty. Cross Tabs: The cross tabulation was done to see how many people from the group of 15 conform to various parameters. The various cross tabulation are shown as under: PreferredBrand * PurchasedBrand The first cross tabulation was done to find out number of people among the group who have purchased the brand which they prefered. So the cross tabulation was done between the prefered brand and the purchased brand. The results of the same are shown below. The above table and the graph below show that only 2 people have purchased HP out of the 6 people who prefered the brand HP, for Compaq it was 2 out of 2 and none for Compaq. RecommendBrand * PurchasedBrand This cross tabulation was done to see how many people would recommend the brand who have purchased the brand. The table shows 60 % people who have purchased the Compaq would recommend the brand to people, 100% who have purchased the HP would recommend HP and 80% who have purchased the Lenovo would recommend Lenovo. Perceived quality Perceived quality is defined as the customers perception of the overall quality or the superiority of a product or service with respect to its intended purpose relative to alternatives. It is also a measure of goodness that spreads over all elements of the brand. It is elevated to the status of the brand asset is helps business to gain financial advantage and gives a strategic thrust which in turn drives how the other aspects of brand is looked. We conducted two focussed group discussions (FGD) to find out the factors which customers perceive as important for accessing the quality of the laptops. The FGDs resulted in 9 factors which were then cross verified through secondary research study. Three factors Battery Life and Time to Charge had to be removed because of the lack of the suitability in terms of quality image. The rest six factors were taken into account while deciding the perception of the quality of the laptops. Thus, the seven factors used for assessing the perceived quality for calculating the final brand equity score are: Performance Features Conformance to specifications Reliability Durability Fit and finish Serviceability The users of the brands HP, Lenovo and Compaq were asked to rate the above attributes on a scale of 1 to 10 (10-Excellent, 1-Poor). In the following explanation of the different factors, the aggregate score is the sum of the score given by all the 15 respondents and the average reflects the aggregate score divided by the number of respondents (15 in our case). The maximum points allotted to each of the factors is100. So the score of each of the factors is then calculated based on the average score. Performance The performance of the laptops is an important factor as it is critical for the overall perception of the customer in terms of quality of the laptop. The performance is compared across the brands having the same features so that there is no bias and the comparison in not done for two extremely different series laptops. As it came out in FGDs, this is also related to how the laptop performs like no crash, no hangs, smooth operation and other similar sub attributes. The performance score of the three brands is shown in the table below: HP scores highest with an average score of 8 followed by Lenovo with 6.93 and Compaq at last with a score of 6.87. Interpretation The customers have a favourable perception for HP in terms of performance of the laptops. The Lenovo and Compaq are close together with almost same perception for performance. The HP laptops outscore both of the other brands by almost 10 points. The same perception had also been received in the FGDs and so there is no difference of perceptions between the surveys and FGDs. Features The customers today look for the customization and so crave for the number of features available for the different laptops. The range of features and the depth under each component become important now because they affect the customer perception for the quality and affect the buying favourability for a brand. HP again scored highest in this category with an average score of 8.27 followed by Compaq with an average of 7 and at last Lenovo with a score of 6.8. Interpretation The customers feel that the feature loaded laptops are of good quality and as most of the HP laptops are feature loaded, they are rated higher in terms of the features. The Lenovo and Compaq laptops come with some standard specifications which mostly are basic ones. Though they can be customised as per needs but the number of options available for different components (depth) are still limited. This doesnt go favourable with the customers and it is reflected in the score given by them to Lenovo and Compaq laptops as compared to HP which scores higher. Conformance to Specifications Customers choose the features and specification to get the laptops which conform to them and perform accordingly. So conformance to the specifications becomes an important factor here. The table below shows the score obtained by the three brands on this parameter. HP stands at top with an average of 7.73 followed by Lenovo at 6.93 and then Compaq with 6.8. Interpretation: HP has a favourable impression in the minds of the customers as they feel that HP conforms to the specifications and this makes them give it the highest score. The other brands of laptops are not far behind which shows that there is not much different in the perception of these brands as far as the conformance to the specifications is concerned. All three adhere to the specifications and even the fact that HP has highest score cant be considered as a great differentiator in terms of perceived quality. Reliability Score The perception about reliability of a product directly contributes to the brand equity for a mobile device like laptop which is employed for multiple uses. The surveys FGDs we conducted indicated how reliability as an important component of perceived quality. Respondents wanted their laptops for mobile needs, especially students for project works executives who had to do presentations on the go. More than anything, reliability was connected to loss of data due to laptop related malfunctioning  which could never be compensated.   The reliability scores obtained by the brands are indicated in the table above. Each respondent was asked to rate the three laptop brands on their perception about reliability of the brand. The final reliability score was found by aggregating the scores given by all respondents and then finding the average. Interpretation The results indicated that HP Lenovo scored 75 out of 100 for reliability, followed by Compaq with a score of 66. This is inline with the two brands various marketing communications that emphasise on reliability. Lenovo the erstwhile IBM Thinkpad always portrayed a sturdy image, with protections even against accidental drops and first of its kind features like locking hard disk during a fall. HP also proposes its high reliability through marketing communications. Compaq, a value brand from the HP stable is perceived to be less reliable compared to the parent brand HP. The perception about durability of a product directly contributes to the brand equity especially when it is an expensive to own item like a laptop. Our survey told that a normal customer tends to consider using a laptop for atleast 3 4 years and minimise the cost on the equipment. Also the FGDs indicated that laptops are very expensive to maintain and replacements of parts are a very expensive business. Thus durability was used as an element to compute brand equity score. The brand scores on the parameter durability was again calculated by aggregating scores given by individual respondents on perceived durability of the three brands. The average was found and a percentage of the maximum score of 10 was found to provide the brands score on durability. Interpretation The table indicates that HP Lenovo are perceived to be of nearly the same durability (Lenovo a little more). But Compaq lags heavily in the perception about durability. This could be due to the positioning of HP Lenovo as premium brands, while Compaq is always positioned as a low price, value based product. Another inference we may take from this could be that price and premiumness can cause a difference in perception of quality in the minds of customers. A customer may be ready to pay more for a product considering that durability is directly related to the price of the product. In the FGDs conducted, we got views that the laptop a person carries communicates a lot about his personality. Hence the fit finish is given a lot of importance during laptop purchases. We had included fit finish as a component of perceived quality and gave equal importance to this parameter with a maximum score of 100 associated to it. The above table indicates the scores obtained by the brands for fit finish parameter. The respondents were asked to rate the three laptops on a maximum score of 10 points. The aggregate score was calculated and average was obtained for the 15 respondents. This was then transformed to a score of maximum score of 100. Interpretation It was found that HP had the highest score on the parameter fit finish. HP laptops have always been famous for their stylish designs, and designer exteriors. HP frequently comes up with limited editions, with specially designed exteriors, giving rich look to the laptop. Compaq was rated as the next best. Compaq, being a product targeted at the value segment, has always designed its laptop in a simple and elegant manner in contrast to the bold and stylish designs of HP. We can see that Lenovo lags heavily in this parameter. Lenovo retained the original IBM Thinkpad designs. Lenovo gives lesser importance to external visual appeal focussing more on ergonomics, robustness and reliability. This was also indicated in the FGDs where Lenovo laptops were criticised for the dull exteriors. Most respondents admitted they were not satisfied with the looks and they modified the looks by applying laptop skins available in the market. Serviceability refers to the ability of technical support personnel to install, configure, and monitor laptop products, identify exceptions or faults, debug or isolate faults to perform root cause analysis, and provide hardware or software maintenance in pursuit of solving a problem and restoring the product into service. Incorporating serviceability facilitating features typically results in more efficient product maintenance and increases value for the brand in the minds of the customer. During the FGDs, many participants shared the various faults that their laptops had generated and how easy or difficult they found it to get it serviced at an authorized centre. The following table lists the scores for serviceability for the different laptop brands out of a maximum of 100. The respondents were asked to rate the three laptops on a maximum score of 10 points. The aggregate score was calculated and average was obtained for the 15 respondents. This was then transformed to a score of maximum score of 100. Interpretation HP was rated the best serviceable laptop followed by Compaq and Lenovo. HP service centres or HP-authorized service centres are available all over India. Therefore customers find it very easy to simply carry their laptops to the nearest service centre and get it serviced. Compaq laptops are also serviced by HP service centres. Since exclusive Compaq service centres are not widespread, people still perceive that the serviceability is not very high for Compaq, while in reality it should equal that of HP. Lenovo has mainly authorised service centres and its not as widespread as compared to the other two brands. Therefore, it has got a low score for serviceability. Having exclusive Lenovo service centers in all major cities in India may help in improving the perception of the customers. Brand Association The FGDs were conducted to get the exhaustive list of the possible associations for the three brands- HP, Lenovo and Compaq. The associations were then used in the questionnaire to select the top two associations from the respondents for each of the three brands. The surveyed people were then asked to rate (5-highest, 1-lowest) the two associations selected by them. The tables below show the scores obtained by each of the associations under different categories. The top two associations were then converted into the score for the three parameters- Strength of Association, Favourability and Attitude. The Business and the Performance came out to be the top two associations with the HP laptops. When converted to score it comes out to be as follows: The brand celebrity association for HP is also seen as Mr. Amitabh Bachchan who justifies the Business and Performance score too. The animal association for the brand HP also comes out to be Tiger and Lion in equal numbers of 4 each. So the animal association for HP is the Big Cat Family Animals. This can be because the people relate these animals for the performance and focussed attitude like in business. The Tough/Robust and Features came out to be the top two associations with the Lenovo laptops. When converted to score it comes out to be as follows: The brand celebrity association for Lenovo is also seen as Mr. Saif Ali Khan who justifies the Tough/ Robust and Feature rich image of the brand Lenovo. This association may be because he is also a brand ambassador for Lenovo. The animal association for the brand Lenovo is Dog as seen from the responses of the people who responded to the survey. Six people out of 15 said Dog as the animal which should be associated with the Lenovo laptops. This brings out the features of the laptop which shows they are trustworthy, robust and extremely rich in features. The brand celebrity association for Compaq is seen as Mr. Shahrukh Khan who justifies the Affordability and Service image of the brand Compaq. This association may be because he is also a brand ambassador for Compaq. The animal association of Compaq comes out to be Cat which sort of justifies the affordability part. 5.Other proprietary Assets The three proprietary assets studied in this survey were Name, Logo Slogan. This was important as any marketing communication will be using the three assets and the impact these makes will determine the brand equity and hence the consumption of a brand. The respondents were asked to rate the three brands for the three assets on the basis of the three factors Attractiveness, Effectiveness, Uniqueness For example, the respondent was asked about how attractive, effective and unique the name of HP laptop is, followed by the logo and slogan of HP. The scores for each factor was calculated by finding the aggregate score given by all the respondents and then the average. The final score of each brand against each of the assets were found by multiplying the score of the asset against the three factors. Name It was found that name HP had a very high score in all the three dimensions and has the highest score of 49 among the three brands. Compaq follows HP and the name Lenovo was found to have scored the least and was found to score the least among the three brands in each of the dimensions except uniqueness, where it stands second. Interpretation The name of HP was found to score an average of 7.8 out of 10 for uniqueness, 8 for effectiveness and 7.8 for attractiveness. This indicates that the name HP is contributing to the brand equity. But in the case of Lenovo, we see that the name scores very low in terms of attractiveness and effectiveness. Such brands may consider re-launching products under different brand names or a brand like Lenovo can for brand extensions with more attractive names 2. SLOGAN The above table indicates the ratings for slogan of the three brands on the dimensions of attractiveness, effectiveness and uniqueness. The slogans were given to the respondents namely HP Laptops are Personal Again, Compaq Inspiration Technology, Lenovo New World. New Thinking Interpretation We can observe that HP scores highest for slogan, followed by Lenovo and Compaq. Though the slogan for HP scores highest relatively, the score seems to be low. This could be because the respondents are not able to relate the slogan to the product or because they are not able to associate it with themselves. This could be because HP used this slogan initially for desktops when it came up with the slogan Computers are personal again. But laptops are always personal equipments for self usage and saying Laptops are Personal Again does not make any more impact. Looking at the other two brands, Lenovo and Compaq lag heavily and needs considerable improvement in their slogan. This could even be due to lack of sufficient exposure of the slogan to customers or again inability of the customers to relate slogan with themselves or the product. 3. LoGo The above table indicates the ratings for logo of the three brands on the three dimensions. The respondents were shown the different logos of the three brands and asked them to rate them against attractiveness, effectiveness uniqueness. As we can see, HP scored the highest for the logo, followed by Compaq and Lenovo. Interpretation HP has a very high score for brand logo, with very high score in each of the dimensions Attractiveness, effectiveness and uniqueness. Compaq follows and Lenovo was found to lag heavily in this dimension too The above table indicates the brand equity score of the three brands. We can find that the brand under study HP has scored the highest score of 1405 out of 1920. It clearly indicates why HP is the market leader in this range of laptops. Compaq from the HP stable is the second valued brand. We have seen the brands under the individual dimensions in the previous sections. We can see that HP leads the other brands in every dimension. The strategies adopted so far has been satisfactory. Suggestions for further Improvement Improving Brand Awareness From the brand equity table, we can see that HP scores full against unaided recall aided recall.

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Essay --

In a world of violence and antagonism every day a crime is committed every second of the day. The job of a crime scene technician is to thoroughly study and solve these cases. Is it actually possible to be able to discover who committed the crime? One fiber or clothing or even a strand of hair can lead you to who did it. Solving a crime all depends on putting all the pieces together to form a picture of what could have happened. Crime scene technicians are able to properly observe, document, and collect evidence to find out who committed the crime. Education In the process of becoming a crime scene technician it takes years of education and different courses that must be passed. In the technical school it is required to have a 4 year college degree and bachelors degree in forensic science, criminal justice, crime scene investigation, biology, and chemistry( Echoure 60). In those courses it gives you an overall education on the types of things you will be facing at crime scenes. Many of the required courses include 1-3 years of police work with fingerprints, crime scene experience, photography, and photo processing experience (Calhoun 2). To get into being a crime scene technician you need to have a valid driver's license and a certification from an international association. Having a bachelors degree in all these courses and with years of education does not make the job of a crime scene technician any easier. Qualifications It takes a devoted and educated person to be a crime scene technician. This job is not as easy as most people think it is. To get an optimum outcome while working its best to be patient and work deliberately. A crime scene technician needs to know how to conduct through investigations, work effectively u... ...clude stressful work, long hours, and a lot of pressure from other law enforcement professionals. With devoted time and education you will notice that the good weighs out bad. Some people live in the fear of what could happen day to day not knowing whether they're going to survive or not. Everyday a crime scene technician puts their lives on the line in order to have the satisfaction of helping others. I have great interest in this career because I like the challenge of having to use physical evidence to be able to figure out crime scenes. Solving mysteries by thoroughly studying evidence can help you go a long way when it comes to what you devote your time to. When researching about Crime Scene Technicians I had been inspired by all that they do. There is nothing better than pursuing in a career that satisfies you as a person and almost always benefits others.

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Reflective Material

Monica Wells MSM 5100 August 28, 2011 Why did Jim feel it necessary to analyze reflective material produced by students rather than just interview final-year students in his research? ANSWER: I feel that Jim choose to use both means of collecting data to ensure he was able to see the whole picture. Additionally, I feel it was good for him to lay down a base line for the interviews by reviewing the reflective data. I also believe this allowed him to get a better understanding of the students and the data prior to conducting interviews. Why was it important to plan and manage the interview the way described. ANSWER: I believe that it was good to explain to the students what he was attempting to do during the interview process. I also believe that as an interviewer you want as few distractions as possible thus not disrupting the flow of the information. Iti s also important to put the students at ease and not have them concerned about what they say and how it will be used. Furthermore, I believe as an interviewer one wants as few distractions as possible during the process. With Jim allowing for cross flow of communication and having them in a group, I believe that it enabled the process to get to the route of the problem. More often that not, people feed off of others comments thus adding to the discussion. As Jim only interjected when they got off topic this allowed for him to gather more data during the timeframe they were allotted. How did Jim deal with the ethical issues in his research? ANSWER: I feel that by Jim explaining up front to the students that he was recording and offering up the possibility of erasing something the students did not like, this made the ethical questions disappear. He took the time at the beginning to tell them what was going on and what he intended to do with the data gathered. I feel he covered any ethical dilemmas that could be raised. Why was it valid for Jim to decide to interview tutors when originally he had not intended to? ANSWER: I believe it was valid to interview the tutors because his initial dat collection led to him to believe there was more than what met the eye. I don’t believe the initial information was able to answer the why, how and when questions would like an interview did. It was able to get to the route of the problem allowing for him to make the WBL a better plan. The more he was able to learn about the flaws the better for him. Additionally i feel the answers in the primarily data led to more questions. He found out that many students had not been placed and now he knew why they had not.

Friday, November 8, 2019

Light in August by William Fau essays

Light in August by William Fau essays In the novel by William Faulkner, Light in August there is alienation in the novel. The alienation occurs with Joe Christmas. He is a stranger that comes into the town of Jefferson with a unkonwn past. Prior to his arrival, he went under the name of Lucas Burch. Whne Joe Christmas arrives at Jefferson, he alienates himeself from almost everybody for about 2 years. His past has taught him to do so, with all the bad things that We get extended interior monologues from Christmas, and the story of his past occupies a third or more of the book. Despite the amount of information provided, Christmas remains hard to comprehend. It isn't that he is not what he seems to be. Rather, he "seems" to be many things, but the reader can never be quite certain which of these are Christmas' tragedy is that he does not know himself what he is. He seems certain that he is part "nigger" but there is no reliable evidence that this is true. Certainly, he looks white. Christmas moves back and forth between white society and black society. Every time he does so, he reveals himself as an outsider. In white society he exposes his own "nigger" blood; in black society he portrays himself as white. When he does so, he expects a violent reaction from which he has provoked. Being both black and white he cannot truly be a part of either society. Nor can he simply deny this dichotomy. Rather, as quoted on page 69, "his awareness of this dichotomy makes him take up the role of antagonist in all situations". He is born into a social system which has defined the categories of white and black, and has established rituals for dealing with any behavior by either, which depicts an image to the reader of his alienation and difference he is from the rest of the population in Jefferson.. Joe believes in these categories and rituals. When a white prostitute is not outraged by his Negro blood, he beats her. He expects her ...

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

The Association Against a Womans Right to Vote

The Association Against a Woman's Right to Vote At the end of the nineteenth century, Massachusetts was one of the most populous states and was from the beginning of the woman suffrage movement a center of activity for pro-suffrage activism.  In the 1880s, activists opposed to women voting organized, and formed the Massachusetts Association Opposed to the Further Extension of Suffrage to Women.  This was the beginning of the fight against a womans right to vote. From State Groups to a National Association The National Association Opposed to Woman Suffrage (NAOWS) evolved from many state anti-suffrage organizations.  In 1911, they met at a convention in New York and created this national organization to be active on both a state and federal level. Arthur (Josephine) Dodge was the first president and is often considered the founder.  (Dodge had formerly worked to establish day care centers for working mothers.) The organization was heavily funded by brewers and distillers (who assumed that if women got the vote, temperance laws would be passed). The organization was also supported by Southern politicians, nervous that African American women would also get the vote, and by big-city machine politicians. Both men and women belonged to and were active in the  National Association Opposed to Woman Suffrage. State chapters grew and expanded.  In Georgia, a state chapter was founded in 1895 and in three months had 10 branches and 2,000 members. Rebecca Latimer Felton was among those who spoke against suffrage in the state legislature, resulting in the defeat of a suffrage resolution by five to two.  In 1922, two years after the woman suffrage amendment to the Constitution was ratified, Rebecca Latimer Felton became the first woman Senator in the United States Congress, appointed briefly as a courtesy appointment. After the Nineteenth Amendment In 1918, the National Association Opposed to Woman Suffrage moved to Washington, DC, in order to focus on opposition to the national suffrage amendment. The organization disbanded after the Nineteenth Amendment, given women an equal right to vote, passed in 1920. Despite the victory for women, the NAOWS official newspaper,  Woman Patriot (formerly known as Womans Protest), continued into the 1920s, taking positions against womens rights. Various NAOWS Arguments Against Woman Sufferage Arguments used against the vote for women included: Women didnt want to vote.The public sphere was not the right place for women.Women voting wouldnt add anything of value since it would simply double the number of voters but not substantively change the outcome of elections - so adding women to the voting roles would waste time, energy and money, without result.Women didnt have time to vote or engage in politics.Women didnt have the mental aptitude to form informed political opinions.Women would be even more susceptible to pressure from emotional please.Women voting would overturn the proper power relationship between men and women.Women voting would corrupt women by their involvement in politics.States where women had already gained the vote had shown no increase in morality in politics.Women had an influence on the vote through raising their sons to vote.Women gaining the vote in the South would put more pressure on states to permit African American women to vote, and might lead to demolishing such rules as literacy tests, propert y qualifications, and poll taxes which kept most African American men from voting. Pamphlet Against Woman Suffrage An early pamphlet listed these reasons to oppose woman suffrage: BECAUSE 90% of the women either do not want it, or do not care.BECAUSE it means competition of women with men instead of co-operation.BECAUSE 80% of the women eligible to vote are married and can only double or annul their husbands votes.BECAUSE it can be of no benefit commensurate with the additional expense involved.BECAUSE in some States more voting women than voting men will place the Government under petticoat rule.BECAUSE it is unwise to risk the good we already have for the evil which may occur. The pamphlet also advised women on housekeeping tips and cleaning methods, and included the advice that  you do not need a ballot to clean out your sink spout and good cooking lessens alcoholic craving quicker than a vote. In a satirical response to these sentiments, Alice Duer Miller wrote Our Own Twelve Anti-suffragist Reasons (circa 1915).

Sunday, November 3, 2019

Preparing the marketing audit for market entry Essay - 1

Preparing the marketing audit for market entry - Essay Example Contents Executive Summary 2 Introduction 6 Main Findings 6 Product 7 Price 8 Place 8 Promotion 8 People 9 Processes 9 Physical evidence 9 McKinsey 7S of Sony Corporation 10 Strategy 10 Structure 10 Systems 11 Style 11 Staff 12 Skill 12 Shared Values 12 Value Chain Analysis of Sony Corporation 12 Firm Infrastructure 13 Human Resource 14 Technological Development 14 Procurement 14 Inbound Logistics 14 Operations 14 Outbound Logistics 15 Marketing and Sales 15 Service 15 SWOT analysis of Sony Corporation 15 Strengths 15 Weakness 15 Opportunities 16 Threats 16 CIM Model of Sony Corporation 16 Political Forces 16 Economic Forces 17 Social Forces 17 Technological Forces 17 Legal Forces 18 Conclusions 18 Recommendations 18 Reference List 19 Introduction Sony Corporation or Sony as it is known commonly is a Japanese multinational conglomerate which is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. The company primarily focuses on electronic products in the consumer and professional markets. Sony has enough experience in launching new products in the overseas market. As the firm gains experience, it understands the global strategy more clearly. Early in his tenure Akio Morita, the founder of Sony developed business skills which allowed Sony Corporation to enter into foreign markets successfully. Initially he didn’t have such global strategy in his mind. ... In this paper we will look at Sony’s Strategy in entering into Indian market with new Refrigerator. The name of the refrigerator is ZKool. Main Findings In my opinion Sony should sue segmentation approach to target the Indian market. Through mass marketing they can create the largest potential market, which will lower their cost and hence their margins will improve. Hence it is better that Sony use Segmentation approach which will create a product which can be more fine-tuned according to the target segment. Also this strategy will enable them to choose the best distribution and communication channels. Figure 1: 7Ps of Sony Corporation Product Sony’s product strategy is to deliver the best quality product with the latest technology. Hence it will support features like Frost Free, Refigerent-134a, 2 door bottom freezer, Triple Ice tray, Twin Bio attacker, Premium look and design, Quiet and more reliable compressor etc. Sony has to spend money on their R&D department who are mainly responsible for their innovation. Sony’s multimedia features in other characteristics which have to meet the needs of the customers. Sony refrigerators will be designed such that they work on five power levels, compared to one power level of common refrigerators. It will enable it to run the refrigerator on low power during the nights or times when it is used less (Luh, 2003, p. 128). There will also be an automatic system which will adjust the power according to the usage. It will have e a combination of temperature sensor, inverter compressor, microprocessor technology etc. It will give best cooling sensation at minimum power usage. Price Sony will offer best of technology with plenty of new features which will make its price more expensive as compared to its

Friday, November 1, 2019

Week 2 Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Week 2 - Coursework Example In this regard, comparative analysis of existing circumstance may influence the decision of an individual when it comes to ethics. In this respect, informed judgment must always be made by an individual to achieve the maximum results on the grounds of ethical expectations. When one is entangled in a situation where a difficult situation has to be made, exceptions on absolute ethical standards are always inevitable (Finser, 2003). There are various incidents that justifies disregard to absolute ethical standards. The motive may sometime justify an action and hence support deviation from absolute ethical standards. Take the instance where one plots to steal cakes to feed a starving family. Absolute ethical approach would consider this action as a wrong but the prevailing circumstance and motives turns out right. In this regard, the situation should be an exception of ethical absolutism. Another situation where the absolute ethical standard may disregarded is where one person is to be killed in an attempt to save several others. For instance, a driver who finds himself in a dilemma situation with a pedestrian to avoid hitting in an incident of brake failure while carrying several people may resort to running over the one pedestrian to save the mass. Although killing is wrong, acting in favor of the mass is ethically justified Finser, 2003). The examples and supportive facts discussed shows need to disobey absolute ethical standards in some