Saigo Takamori The Last Samurai

Saigo Takamori of Japan is known as the Last Samurai, who lived from 1828 to 1877 and is remembered to this day as the epitome of bushido, the samurai code. Although much of his history has been lost, recent scholars have discovered clues to the true nature of this illustrious warrior and diplomat. From humble beginnings in the capital of Satsuma, Saigo followed the path of the samurai through his brief exile and would go on to lead reform in the Meiji government, eventually dying for his cause—leaving a lasting impact on the people and culture of 1800s Japan. Early Life of the Last Samurai Saigo Takamori was born on January 23, 1828, in Kagoshima, Satsumas capital, the oldest of seven children. His father, Saigo Kichibei, was a low-ranking samurai tax official who only managed to scrape by despite his samurai status. As a result, Takamori and his siblings all shared a single blanket at night even though they were large people, sturdy with a few standing over six feet tall. Takamoris parents also had to borrow money to buy farmland in order to have enough food for the growing family. This upbringing instilled a sense of dignity, frugality, and honor in young Saigo. At age six, Saigo Takamori started at the local goju—or samurai  elementary school—and got his first wakizashi, the short sword used by samurai warriors. He excelled more as a scholar than a warrior, reading extensively before he graduated from school at 14 and was formally introduced to the Satsuma in 1841. Three years later, he began work in the local bureaucracy as an agricultural adviser, where he continued to work through his brief, childless arranged marriage to 23-year-old Ijuin Suga in 1852. Not long after the wedding, both of Saigos parents died, leaving Saigo as the head of a family of twelve with little income to support them. Politics in Edo (Tokyo) Shortly thereafter, Saigo was promoted to the post of daimyos attendant in 1854 and accompanied his lord to Edo on alternate attendance, taking a 900-mile-long walk to the shoguns capital, where the young man would work as his lords gardener, unofficial spy, and confident. Soon, Saigo was Daimyo Shimazu Nariakiras closest adviser, consulting other national figures on affairs including the shogunal succession. Nariakira and his allies sought to increase the emperors power at the expense of the shogun, but on July 15, 1858, Shimazu died suddenly, likely of poison. As was the tradition for samurai in the event of their lords death, Saigo contemplated committing to accompany Shimazu into death, but the monk Gessho convinced him to live and continue his political work to honor Nariakiras memory instead. However, the shogun began to purge pro-imperial politicians, forcing Gessho to seek Saigos help in escaping to Kagoshima, where the new Satsuma daimyo, unfortunately, refused to protect the pair from shogun officials. Rather than facing arrest, Gessho and Saigo jumped from a skiff into Kagoshima Bay and were pulled from the water by the boats crew—regrettably, Gessho could not be revived. The Last Samurai in Exile The shoguns men were still hunting him, so Saigo went into a three-year internal exile on the small island of Amami Oshima. He changed his name to Saigo Sasuke, and the domain government declared him dead. Other imperial loyalists wrote to him for advice on politics, so despite his exile and officially dead status, he continued to have an impact in Kyoto. By 1861, Saigo was well-integrated into the local community. Some children had pestered him into becoming their teacher, and the kind-hearted giant complied. He also married a local woman named  Aigana and fathered a son. He was settling happily into island life but reluctantly had to leave the island in February of 1862 when he was called back to Satsuma. Despite a rocky relationship with the new daimyo of Satsuma, Nariakiras half-brother Hisamitsu, Saigo soon was back in the fray. He went to the Emperors court in Kyoto in March and was amazed to meet samurai from other domains who treated him with reverence for his defense of Gessho. His political organizing ran afoul of the new daimyo, however, who had him arrested and banished to a different small island just four months after his return from Amami. Saigo was getting accustomed to the second island when he was transferred to a desolate penal island further south, where he spent more than a year on that dreary rock, returning to Satsuma only in February of 1864. Just four days after his return, he had an audience with the daimyo, Hisamitsu, who shocked him by appointing him commander of the Satsuma army in Kyoto. Return to the Capital In the Emperors capital, politics had changed significantly during Saigos exile. Pro-emperor daimyo and radicals called for an end to the shogunate and the expulsion of all foreigners. They saw Japan as the abode of gods—since the Emperor descended from the Sun Goddess—and believed that the heavens would protect them from the western military and economic might. Saigo supported a stronger role for the Emperor  but distrusted the others millennial rhetoric. Small-scale rebellions broke out around Japan, and the shoguns troops proved shockingly unable to put down the uprisings. The Tokugawa regime was falling apart, but it had not yet occurred to Saigo that a future Japanese government might not include a shogun—after all, the shoguns had ruled Japan  for 800 years. As commander of Satsumas troops, Saigo led an 1864 punitive expedition against the Choshu domain, whose army in Kyoto had opened fire on the Emperors residence. Along with troops from Aizu, Saigos massive army marched on Choshu, where he negotiated a peaceful settlement rather than launching an attack. Later this would turn out to be a pivotal decision since Choshu was Satsumas major ally in the Boshin War. Saigos nearly bloodless victory won him national fame, eventually leading to his appointment as an elder of Satsuma in September of 1866. Fall of the Shogun At the same time, the shoguns government in Edo was increasingly tyrannical, trying to keep a hold on power. It threatened an all-out attack on Choshu, even though it did not have the military might to defeat that large domain. Bonded by their distaste for the shogunate, Choshu and Satsuma gradually formed an alliance. On December 25, 1866, the 35-year-old Emperor Komei suddenly died. He was succeeded by his 15-year-old son, Mutsuhito, who would later become known as the Meiji Emperor. During 1867, Saigo and officials from Choshu and Tosa made plans to bring down the Tokugawa bakufu. On January 3, 1868, the Boshin War began with Saigos army of 5,000 marching forward to attack the shoguns army, numbering three times as many men. The shogunates troops were well-armed, but their leaders had no consistent strategy, and they failed to cover their own flanks. On the third day of battle, the artillery division from Tsu domain defected to Saigos side and began to shell the shoguns army instead. By May, Saigos army had surrounded Edo and threatened to attack, forcing the shoguns government to surrender. The formal ceremony took place on April 4, 1868, and the former shogun was even allowed to keep his head! However, Northeastern domains led by Aizu continued to fight on the shoguns behalf until September., when they surrendered to Saigo, who treated them fairly, furthering his fame as a symbol of samurai virtue. Forming the Meiji Government After the Boshin War, Saigo retired to hunt, fish, and soak in hot springs. Like all other times in his life, though, his retirement was short-lived—in January of 1869, the Satsuma daimyo made him a counselor of the domains government. Over the next two years, the government seized land from the elite samurai and redistributed profits to lower ranked warriors. It began to promote samurai officials based on talent, rather than rank, and also encouraged the development of modern industry. In Satsuma and the rest of Japan, though, it was not clear whether reforms like these were sufficient, or if the entire social and political systems were due for a revolutionary change. It turned out the be the latter—the emperors government in Tokyo wanted a new, centralized system, not just a collection of more efficient, self-governing domains.   In order to concentrate power, Tokyo needed a national military, rather than relying on the domain lords to supply troops.  In April of 1871, Saigo was persuaded to return to Tokyo to organize the new national army. With an army in place, the Meiji government summoned the remaining daimyo to Tokyo in mid-July, 1871 and abruptly announced that the domains were dissolved and the lords authorities abolished. Saigos own daimyo, Hisamitsu, was the only one who publicly railed against the decision, leaving Saigo tormented by the idea that he had betrayed his domain lord. In 1873, the central government began to conscript commoners as soldiers, replacing the samurai. Debate over Korea Meanwhile, the Joseon Dynasty in Korea refused to recognize the Mutsuhito as an emperor, because it traditionally recognized only the Chinese emperor as such—all other rulers were mere kings. The Korean government even went as far as having a prefect publicly state that by adopting western-style customs and clothing, Japan had become a barbarian nation. By early 1873, Japanese militarists who interpreted this as a grave affront called for an invasion of Korea but in a July meeting that year, Saigo opposed sending warships to Korea. He argued that Japan should use diplomacy, rather than resorting to force, and offered to head a delegation himself. Saigo suspected that the Koreans might assassinate him, but felt that his death would be worthwhile if it gave Japan a truly legitimate reason to attack its neighbor. In October, the prime minister announced that Saigo would not be allowed to travel to Korea as an emissary. In disgust, Saigo resigned as the army general, imperial councilor, and commander of the imperial guards the next day. Forty-six other military officers from the southwest resigned as well, and government officials feared that Saigo would lead a coup. Instead, he went home to Kagoshima. In the end, the dispute with Korea came to a head only in 1875 when a Japanese ship sailed to Korean shores, provoking artillery there into opening fire. Then, Japan attacked forcing the Joseon king to sign an unequal treaty, which eventually led to the outright annexation of Korea in 1910. Saigo was disgusted by this treacherous tactic as well. Another Brief Respite from Politics Saigo Takamori had led the way in Meiji reforms including the creation of a conscript army and the end of daimyo rule. However, disgruntled samurai in Satsuma viewed him as a symbol of traditional virtues and wanted him to lead them in opposition to the Meiji state. After his retirement, however, Saigo simply wanted to play with his kids, hunt, and go fishing. He suffered from angina and also filariasis, a parasitic infection that gave him a grotesquely enlarged scrotum. Saigo spent a lot of time soaking in hot springs and strenuously avoiding politics. Saigos retirement project was the Shigakko, new private schools for young Satsuma samurai where the students studied infantry, artillery, and the Confucian classics. He funded but was not directly involved with the schools, so did not know that the students were becoming radicalized against the Meiji government. This opposition reached the boiling point in 1876 when the central government banned samurai from carrying swords and stopped paying them stipends. The Satsuma Rebellion By ending the samurai classs privileges, the Meiji government had essentially abolished their identity, allowing small-scale rebellions to erupt all over Japan. Saigo privately cheered on the rebels in other provinces, but stayed at his country house rather than returning to Kagoshima for fear that his presence might spark yet another rebellion. As tensions increased, in January 1877, the central government sent a ship to seize munitions stores from Kagoshima. The Shigakko students heard that the Meiji ship was coming and emptied the arsenal before it arrived.  Over the next several nights, they raided additional arsenals around Kagoshima, stealing weapons and ammunition, and to make matters worse, they discovered that the national police had sent a number of Satsuma natives to the Shigakko as central government spies. The spy leader confessed under torture that he was supposed to assassinate Saigo. Roused from his seclusion, Saigo felt that this treachery and wickedness in the imperial government required a response. He did not want to rebel, still feeling deep personal loyalty to the Meiji Emperor, but announced on February 7 that he would go to Tokyo to question the central government. The Shigakko students set out with him, bringing rifles, pistols, swords, and artillery. In all, about 12,000 Satsuma men marched north toward Tokyo, starting the Southwest War, or Satsuma Rebellion. The Death of the Last Samurai Saigos troops marched out confidently, sure that samurai in other provinces would rally to their side, but they faced an imperial army of 45,000 with access to unlimited supplies of ammunition. The rebels momentum soon stalled when they settled into a months-long siege of Kumamoto Castle, just 109 miles north of Kagoshima. As the siege wore on, the rebels ran low on munitions, prompting them to switch back to their swords. Saigo soon noted that he had fallen into their trap and taken the bait of settling into a siege. By March, Saigo realized that his rebellion was doomed. It did not bother him, though—he welcomed the opportunity to die for his principles. By May, the rebel army was in retreat southward, with the imperial army picking them off up and down Kyushu until September of 1877. On September 1, Saigo and his 300 surviving men moved to Shiroyama mountain above Kagoshima, which was occupied by 7,000 imperial troops. On September 24, 1877, at 3:45 am, the Emperors army launched its final assault in what is known as the Battle of Shiroyama. Saigo was shot through the femur in the last suicide charge and one of his companions cut off his head and hid it from the imperial troops to preserve his honor.   Although all of the rebels were killed, the imperial troops managed to locate Saigos buried head. Later woodcut prints depicted the rebel leader kneeling to commit traditional seppuku, but that would not have been possible given his filariasis and shattered leg. Saigos Legacy Saigo Takamori helped to usher in the modern era in Japan, serving as one of the three most powerful officials in the early Meiji government. However, he was never able to reconcile his love of samurai tradition with the demands of modernizing the nation. In the end, he was killed by the imperial army he organized. Today, he serves the thoroughly modern nation of Japan as a symbol of its samurai traditions—traditions that he reluctantly helped to destroy.

Strengths And Weaknesses Of My Family Essay - 1542 Words

Strengths: Two major strengths of my family are is our strong desire to have close relationships with one another, and the hard work ethic of my family. Despite all of the relationships in my family, those are the two most common. It all started with my grandfather Klein and my grandma Alene, they both came from families that had nothing. At one point in their marriage they lived in a tent†¦ they’ve come a long way and now are some of the wealthiest people I know and have used their success to help all their children and grandchild succeed. They taught us ALL how to work hard and to never give up on our dreams. While always pursuing their dreams and go after them, despite all their success, they still put relationships first. My grandparents owned numerous businesses, one being and R.V. Park. They treated their tenants with so much kindness and love. When my grandfather passed away, I had countless people coming up to me saying things like: â€Å"Your grandfather gave my first job, or my second chance†, â€Å"He loaned me money and never asked for a dime back†, â€Å"He helped start my business and help it become what it is today†, â€Å"He was the most humble and giving man I know†. All these strangers going out of their way to make sure I knew how great my grandfather was made me realize the kind of person I want to be. 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Virtual Team Challenges in ICT Projects

Question: Discuss about theVirtual Team Challenges in ICT Projects. Answer: Introduction Financial pressures on ICT projects have been a reason for companies setting up virtual teams for project management as virtual space consumes less of financial resources of an organization. However, with virtual teams come several challenges concerning culture, communication, technology and management. This paper makes an attempt to understand how virtual team work and explores various challenges that are faced by them in ICT environment. The paper would also come up with some recommendations on how some of these challenges can be overcome to enhance the performance of virtual teams(Afaq, et al., 2014). Virtual Project Management Virtual project management is an outcome of people working together remotely on a project towards a unified goal. Different people in a virtual team work in different boundaries of time, space and geography but are linked together with communication technologies. Skyrmeidentified three dimensions of virtual teams and these include time, place and organizational structure. Gussdefined project teams using four classes of project teams including the following: Project Team Class Characteristics Pure No single organizational method is controlling different virtual teams Transitional Teams have mono as well as hybrid forms Hybrid Teams show multi-organizational culture Unified Every team member works for the same organization(Barker, 2001) Peterson and Stohrhave identified 7 types of virtual teams as listed below: Networked Teams: Networked teams have diffused boundaries and fluid membership such that all team members work on same goals Parallel Teams: These teams are distinctive in nature and work on temporary basis for developing recommendations on improvements. Project Teams: These teams perform non-routine tasks for a specified duration and have some level of authority for making decisions related to a project Production Teams: These teams have members with clearly defined roles and specific set of routine deliverables Service Teams: A round the clock service support role is remotely provided by service teams Management teams: These teams work in close collaboration within a specific functional division Action Teams: These teams are used in emergency conditions and have to provide immediate response(Fisher Fisher, 2001). Because of this diversity displayed by different types of teams, complex ICT projects have to face many challenges as they show cultural differences, communication differences and so on. The next section discusses various challenges that are exclusively faced by virtual teams. A framework of virtual teams on an ICT project may be used to understand how these different teams work together towards a unified project goal. Figure 1: Virtual Teams in Organizations Virtual teams work in the purview of broader social system that is formed out of interactions between people from different cultures. There can be differences in their norms, values, technology adoption behaviour, and communication approaches. These factors can influence the group dynamics, organizational processes and project management strategies. As the project management in virtual teams has to have considerations of differences in geography, cultures, structures, and temporal differences, project management in virtual teams can become very complex(Par' Dub, 2000). Challenges Virtual teams can already face regular projects team challenges such as false consensus, unresolved conflicts, closure avoidance, uneven team participation, calcified meetings, and lack of accountability. However, with virtual structure in place, there are additional challenges such as: Technology Adoration: When virtual teams are connected with technology, an additional dimension comes up to add to challenges which are technology adoration. Technology adoration causes people to only use technology and depend on the same for interaction and thus, they may always use emails for communication avoid face to face interactions such as over phone or through personal meetings even when opportunities are provided(Iqbal Nauaman, 2001). Lack of Trust: In traditional working methods, people working for same organization could also have face to face interactions and thus, there were more opportunities to collaborate and understand each other as well as develop trust. However, this advantage of ability to interact is not there with the virtual teams and thus, trust can become a major issue (Rolfes, 2001). Lack of Rich Communication: Another issue with virtual teams is the lack of richness in communication. This includes absence of immediate feedback, lack of multiple communication cues, and personalization. Lack of non-verbal communication which happens in face to face meeting can also play a role in building relationships but the same is not possible while working in virtual settings. Thus, building relationships to bring coordination among people can be a big challenge in virtual teams(REED KNIGHT, 2011). Differential Time Zones: Virtual teams operate in different time zones and exercise the freedom to work as per their own comfortable time. However, this freedom can lead to weakening of relationships between project team members and also affect the commitment levels of teams. A case study by Kelley and Sankey in 2008 revealed that differential time zones were one of the unique and most challenging factors while working with virtual teams for organizations. Cultural Differences: Culture is a set of norms, values and beliefs that are shared between specific team members. In virtual teams, differential cultures exist that can impact the communication between the members. Cultural differences are easier to resolve in a face to face setting but in the virtual setting, the interaction is very less and thus, cultural barriers are even more pronounced. While traditional teams may have cultural barriers caused by differences in upbringing, the organizational culture would remain same but in the case of virtual teams, even the organizational cultures within which they work could be different due to geographical, functional and other types of team dispersions. Technology knowledge: Various team members can come from different parts of the world and many a times, to bring them together, collaborative technologies like audio conferencing, video conferencing, blogging, chatting and forums are used. However, this presents an additional challenges as not all the team members may be comfortable or know how to use these technologies and thus, some of the members can be at disadvantage unless they are trained on these collaborative technologies. However, training can add cost as well as loss of man hours for the organization. Coordination Barriers: Coordination barriers such as isolation, lack of cohesion, and so on can lead to problems like delays, priority shifts, and failure to keep the commitments. Coordination barriers can cause delays in communication and thus, delays in deliverables putting pressures on team members that can also cause conflicts as every team member would try to blame another member for any delays or discrepancies happening in the project deliverables. Technical Connectivity: Increasing failures of technologies make it difficult for teams to communicate with each other throughput without inconsistencies and this can put pressures on performance and collaboration among team members in virtual setting. For instance, in case a software is developed for project team members to chat with each other over intranet but intranet link is down then it would be challenging for them to communication which would lead to loss of opportunity communicate and coordinate. Insufficient Knowledge Transfer: Most of the communication happening between the members of a virtual team is through formal channels like emailing, document sharing, training and interviews. However, this can lead to lack of transfer of complete knowledge between the team members as the interaction would not be very interactive or interesting. Conclusions Recommendations The aim of this report was to identify challenges in project management when virtual teams are used for complex ICT projects. It was found that in any project or organization, there were different types of teams that existed with different goals such that even while working on a unified goal for single project goal, common challenges can still occur due to these differences such as false consensus, unresolved conflicts, closure avoidance, uneven team participation, calcified meetings, and lack of accountability. With use of virtual teams, more challenges were added such as technology adoration, lack of trust, lack of richness in communications, cultural differences, and differential knowledge of technology, coordination barriers, technological connectivity failures, insufficient knowledge transfer, and differential time zones. However, these challenges can be overcome by using the following recommended strategies: Trust can be built in virtual project team members when members are reliable, responsive and consistent in their performance. Thus project managers must work to encourage employees towards displaying these attributes and maintain a decorum to build trust between team members Cultural differences cannot be eliminated but if they are studied properly by a project manager such that he or she comes up with a shared approach considering all cultures which is acceptable to all, the conflicts arising due to cultural differences can be avoided to certain extent. Virtual team members lack richness in communication but if video conferences can be used to bring them together on a single platform, the communication can be enriched with verbal as well as non-verbal communication added to the interaction. However, this can be costly to the company and thus, a company may use it sparingly but use more of collaborative technologies that are more affordable such as audio conferencing, blogging and forum. However, while teams are encouraged to use these, the organizations should also make an attempt to provide them training on the use of technologies. If a stipulated time is allotted for training, it can lead to cost to the company and, thus, a project manager may only train the line managers or department heads who would then individually take care of training for their individual teams(Azimi, 2011). To enhance knowledge transfer among team members, some informal methods like storytelling, debating, mentoring or coaching may be used by the project manager to make things both interesting and interactive encourage teams to participate and interact with each other through discussions. Project manager has to act as a leader who can identify coordination barriers and take steps to eliminate or reduce them. Nemiro et al. (2008) says that a project leader must motivate team members, encourage coordination between them and develop teams through provision of unified goals and messages, establishing identities for teams and managing conflicts between them. Workers in remote locations can be monitored by project manager by using performance metrics, defined deliverables, and prototypes that can be integrated earlier in the project plan so as to bring in unified approaches and performance goals for teams as well as allow project manager to keep track of their performance in an unbiased manner to avoid conflicts or dissatisfaction among different team members. A code of conduct can be established and communicated to all team members by the project manager to bring cohesion and control over the work behaviour of people. Use of a common platform as a communication centre which is open to all the team members such that they can have access to same information and thus, are updated equally, can relieve coordination challenges. With teams having same and latest information, they can coordinate and communicate better on project which would enhance their interaction and reduce conflicts. For instance, management information systems that have access to everyone on the project can be used to obtain status of the project, its deliverables, goals and everything related such that while interacting with other team members, they would have the same data to talk about and there would not be any differences of opinion that can otherwise cause conflicts. A project manager may plan for meetings and collaborative activities during the time when all team members are present and thus, more interaction and collaboration is possible with more team members involved in group activities. Off-peak times when most of the project members are absent can be left for the hardcore work on individual goals. A personal level of interaction can be made possible between employees by bringing them together on non-formal platforms like chats, social media groups, forums, cultural gathering, and so on to encourage them to build relationships. Physical gatherings may also be encouraged from time to time to enhance coordination. While interactive sessions are introduced between team members, good opportunities must be provided to team members for active interaction such as through kick-off meetings, brainstorming sessions, conflict resolution sessions, new team member orientation program, milestone meetings and deliverable completion celebrations(Silva Silva, 2011). References Azimi, D., 2011. Virtual Project Collaboration, s.l.: NTNU. Barker, D., 2001. Virtual Project Office Project Extranets, s.l.: Project Magazine. Fisher, K. Fisher, M. D., 2001. The Distance Manger: A Hands-On Guide to Managing Off-Site Employees and Virtual Teams. New York: McGraw-Hill. Par', G. Dub, L., 2000. Virtual Teams: an Exploratory study of key challenges and strategies, Qubec, Canada: cole des Hautes tudes Commerciales de Montral. Rolfes, M., 2001. Virtual Project Management, s.l.: UMSL. Silva, M. Silva, S. d., 2011. Collaborative Project Management - Issues, methods and tools, s.l.: Universit de Strasbourg .

Weapons of Mass Deception the Uses of Propaganda in Bushs War on Iraq Essay Example

Weapons of Mass Deception: the Uses of Propaganda in Bushs War on Iraq Essay Weapons of Mass Deception: The Uses of Propaganda in Bushs War on Iraq By Sheldon Rampton and John Stauber As the Bush Administrations rationales for going to war with Iraq continue to unravel, questions are ‘finally’ being asked about how they got into the mess in the first place. How could an invasion of Iraq based on administration-orchestrated misinformation, disinformation and outright lies have been sold to the American people? Who did the selling? And what are its ramifications for democratic discourse and/or future American overseas adventures? These are just some of the issues tackled in â€Å"Weapons of Mass Deception. † Weapons of Mass Deception, gives a deconstruction of the layers of a complex propaganda machine that transcends administrations and political parties and profoundly shapes our perception of reality. This book is dangerous; Rampton and Stauber see through the spin and the spin around the spin. They run PR Watch (www. prwatch. org), an on-line publication that documents how governments and corporations daily insinuate themselves into our psyches—or try to. In this remarkably equitable, well-documented book, one learns about the people and the motivations behind the multiple messages, repeated phrases, and battles for global hearts and minds that make up a huge part of the War on Terrorism. While most Americans assume that the truth is slippery in the hands of politicians, few realize the role of public relations firms, doublespeak, and branding enumerated in this book. Yet the corporate-style marketing, Disney- designed sets, and Hollywood-influenced messages that work so well to sell products—the buying of which is sold to us as patriotic—aren’t working so well on the global stage. Throughout the latter half of the twentieth century,† write Rampton and Stauber, â€Å"attempts to market the United States [abroad] as ‘brand freedom’ came into conflict with a U. S. tendency to talk rather than listen, combined with U. S. support of undemocratic regimes whose own political objectives contradicted A merica’s stated principles. † One may be familiar with some of the issues discussed in Weapons of Mass Deception, but the books drops the veil on a number of stories that have not been covered adequately or not reported at all by the mainstream media. We will write a custom essay sample on Weapons of Mass Deception: the Uses of Propaganda in Bushs War on Iraq specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Weapons of Mass Deception: the Uses of Propaganda in Bushs War on Iraq specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Weapons of Mass Deception: the Uses of Propaganda in Bushs War on Iraq specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Of particular interest is the books focus on the critical role of public relations companies hired by the government to sell the war. For starters, Rampton and Stauber remind readers about the PR campaign masterminded by Hill Knowlton for the first war in the Gulf. Though the babies-torn-from–incubators story has become infamous within the PR community, few Americans understand how (much less why) their perceptions were managed at that time and how their perceptions about various Islamic states and leaders have been managed ever since. As recently as January 2003, for example, in an opinion poll conducted by Knight-Ridder newspapers, half of the people surveyed still believed that one or more of the September 11 terrorist hijackers were Iraqi citizens. In fact, none were from Iraq. The Rendon Groups information war Weapons of Mass Deception takes a close look at the Rendon Group, a relatively unknown yet powerful public relations outfit that has had its imprint all over U. S. -Iraqi affairs for more than a decade. Founded by John Rendon, a former consultant to the campaigns of Democratic Party politicians Michael Dukakis and Jimmy Carter, the company has worked uring the past decade on behalf of clients including the Pentagon and the Central Intelligence Agency. In 1996, Rendon boasted to an audience of cadets at the U. S. Air Force Academy that during the first Gulf War he had been responsible for providing the hand-held American flags and flags of other coalition countries to the people of Kuwait City so they co uld greet the U. S. Marines when they arrived. Saddam Hussein was the beloved ally of the senior Bush Administration right up until the point he decided he could go in and take over the oil fields in Kuwait, John Stauber told Amy Goodman, in a recent interview. Part of the PR campaign against Saddam twelve years ago was, the relatively easy task of, turning him into an evil dictator. According to the book, after the war, during the first year of Rendons post-war contract with the CIA It spent more than $23 million, producing videos, comic books ridiculing Saddam, a traveling photo exhibit of Iraqi atrocities, and two separate radio programs that broadcast messages from Kuwait into Iraq, mocking the regime and calling on Iraqi army officers to defect. The Rendon Groups most significant project was helping to organize the Iraqi National Congress (INC) in 1992. The INC is described as a coalition of Kurds and Arabs, Sunnis and Shiites Arabs, secularists and Islamists, liberal democrat s, old-style nationalists and ex-military officers. Ahmed Chalabi, the colorful Rendon protege was appointed to head the group in October 1992. ABC News Peter Jennings reported in 1998 that the Rendon Group not only came up with the [groups] name, but also passed along more than $12 million of CIA money to the organization. In the fall of 2001, barely a month after 9/11, the Pentagon gave the Rendon Group a four-month, $397 thousand contract to handle PR aspects of the U. S. military strike in Afghanistan. Within a few months Rendon was assisting the Pentagons new propaganda agency, the Office of Strategic Influence (OSI). Although the OSI was forced to disband over a spate of bad publicity, Rendon kept its Pentagon contract. Rendon Group staff refused to discuss its Pentagon work with the press, claiming it was operating under a confidentiality/nondisclosure agreement. One incident during the war itself provided a rare breach in the wall of secrecy. The incident involved the murder of TV cameraman Paul Moran by a suicide bomber in northern Iraq in late March. His obituary, published in his hometown of Adelaide, Australia, noted that Morans activities included working for an American public relations company contracted by the U. S. Central Intelligence Agency to run propaganda campaigns against the d ictatorship. John Rendon attended Morans funeral in Adelaide. September surprise From a marketing point of view, you dont introduce new products in August, White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card Jr. told the New York Times in September 2002. Rampton and Stauber write: Card was explaining what the Times characterized as a meticulously planned strategy to persuade the public, the Congress and the allies, of the need to confront the threat from Saddam Hussein. â€Å" From that point forward, the administration rolled out a heavy arsenal of misinformation, disinformation, and highly dubious intelligence to sell the war to the American people†. The late-March invasion of Iraq was clearly the culmination of this campaign of â€Å"perception management. † Post-war planning was obviously not nearly as attentive to details. After manufacturing pre-war consent, the administration has been confronted with a number of unexpected challenges including chaos and instability, a burgeoning guerilla resistance, and mounting U. S. casualties. At home, the Bush Administration continues to receive criticism about ginned up intelligence and the failure to find Saddam Husseins weapons of mass destruction. Among the lessons gleaned from Weapons of Mass Deception is how this administration readily pulls together a dream team of spin masters and storytellers government agencies, highly paid public relations firms, political hacks, and a willing media to market its message. Effective Public Relations In their eye-opening new expose, Weapons of Mass Deception: The Uses of Propaganda in Bush’s War on Iraq, Rampton and Stauber reveal — headline by headline, news show by news show, press conference by press conference — the deliberate, aggressive, and highly successful public relations campaign that sold the Iraqi war to the American public. April 9th seemed to confirm what Washington and pro-war pundits had been saying for months: that the Iraqi people would eventually come to see America as their liberator, not their enemy. Yet the American media chose to focus on headlines such as Iraqis Celebrate in Baghdad (Washington Post) rather than on a Reuters long-shot photo of Firdos Square showing it to be nearly empty, or the Muslim cleric who was assassinated by an angry crowd in Najaf for being too friendly to the Americans, or the 20,000 Iraqis in Nasiriyah rallying to oppose the U. S. military presence. We’ve always known what good PR and advertising could do for a new line of sneakers, cosmetics, or weight-loss products. In Weapons of Mass Deception, Rampton and Stauber show us a brave new shocking world where savvy marketers, information warriors, and perception managers can sell an entire war to consumers. Indeed, Washington successfully brought together the world’s top ad agencies and media empires to create Operation: Iraqi Freedom — a product no decent, patriotic citizen could possibly object to. With meticulous research and documentation, Rampton and Stauber deconstruct this and other true lies behind the war:  ·Top Bush officials advocated the invasion of Iraq even before he took office, but waited until September 2002 to inform the public, through what the White House termed a product launch.  ·White House officials used repetition and misinformation — the big lie tactic — to create the false impression that Iraq was behind the September 11th terrorist attacks on the United States, specially in the case of the alleged meeting in Prague five months earlier between 9/11 hijacker Mohammed Atta and Iraqi intelligence officials.  ·The big lie tactic was also employed in the first Iraq war when a 15-year-old Kuwaiti girl named Nayirah told the horrific — but fabricated — story of Iraqi soldiers wrenching hundreds of premature Kuwaiti babies from their incubators and leaving them to die. Her testimony was printed in a press kit prepared by Citiz ens for a Free Kuwait, a PR front group created by Hill and Knowlton, then the world’s largest PR firm. In order to achieve third party authenticity in the Muslim world, a group called the Council of American Muslims for Understanding launched its own web site, called OpenDialogue. com. However, its chairman admitted that the idea began with the State Department, and that the U. S. government funded the group.  ·Forged documents were used to prove that Iraq possessed huge stockpiles of banned weapons.  ·A secretive PR firm working for the Pentagon helped create the Iraqi National Congress (INC), which became one of the driving forces behind the decision to go to war. What Rampton and Stauber would like Americans to know is that the freedom of speech that is seen to be the essence of democracy also grants the freedom to lie. Thus, a necessary skill for those who aspire to a better, livable world is to be able to discriminate between fact and fabrication. Weapons of Mass Deception also makes it clear that it is important to know who is footing the bill for the vast amount of misinformation that is broadcast—be it the Pentagon, the CIA, a client state, multinational corporation, or other entity. The authors also take us on a tour of the propaganda tactics used by the U. S. government on its own people. This effort has been more effective than its propaganda abroad, thanks to a largely docile domestic press. They make clear that the 2003 Iraq war (as well as the one in 1991) was sold to the public based on questionable distortions and sometimes outright lies planted by public relations firms. Once these lies are repeated in the echo chamber of the media, they become â€Å"truth. † Conclusion While the book is a meticulous snapshot of what lay beneath the surface of Operation Iraqi Freedom, it invites further exploration. It gives citizens—including those who may disagree with the authors’ assumptions—useful tools to understand the war on terrorism and its relationship to products such as SUVs, marketed as â€Å"urban assault luxury vehicles† to make the reptilian part of our brain feel more safe, even though the vehicles are not so safe, and even as our increased gas guzzling fuels the terrorism we say we’re fighting. The book invites viewers, listeners, and readers to examine how various media filter points of view, and whether media actually offer opportunities for dialogue between multiple points of view. It notes how many â€Å"experts† tend to be from think tanks sponsored by corporations or foundations whose allegiances give them a common perspective on current power structures. After a description of government secrecy (even between government agencies which â€Å"need to know† if they are to protect us) and the fear-based (and fear-inducing) Patriot Act, Rampton and Stauber conclude: â€Å"Democracy and the free sharing of information †¦ may offer our best protection against future terrorist threats. Paradoxically, this is precisely what we may surrender if we allow fear to rule our lives. † As we figure out for ourselves what it means to be â€Å"we the people† fighting terror that comes from inside and outside our government in these dark days, books like this cut through the misinformation haze to help us determine our own best take on truth—by exploring multiple perspectives and learning from each other’s experience. The new information environment, exploited to a limited degree by government and corporate propagandists, can be wielded by citizens to find our way out of our current propaganda quagmire. Reviews Weapons of Mass Deception is the first book to expose the aggressive public relations campaign used to sell the American public on the war with Iraq, why and how the American public was made to buy the war. Reviews:  ·No more bed-time stories hese guys are here to wake you up. Greg Palast  ·A major contributions for those who want to take control of their own future not be passive subjects of manipulation and control. Noam Chomsky About the book  ·Publisher: Jeremy P. Tarcher (July 1, 2003)  ·ISBN: 1585422762  ·Average Customer Review: ***** based on 51 reviews.  ·Amazon. com Sales Rank in Books: #50,736 References:  ·www. amazon. com  ·www. prwatch. com  ·www. inthesetimes. com

Puma Marketink Mix Essay Sample free essay sample

The constitution of cougar took topographic point in 1948 by Rudolf Dassler and it became a published company in 1986. Puma’s head-quarters are in Germany. They distribute their merchandises in more than 120 states. employs more than 9000 people and generates gross of 2. 5 million dollars. The present CEO and Chairman of PUMA is Jochen Zertz. Puma has construct a strong. planetary indorsement porofolio. 1 that has become the hottest squad and star ensembles in the industry. In 1999. Puma demonstrated its eldritch ability to place athlets before their premier. such as when tenis participant Serena Williams signed with PUMA. she was non even eligible for WTA rankings. but here aggressive manner and competitory nature prevailed. Serena Williams won the U. S. Open and publically thanked PUMA for their support during here trophy credence address after she defeated Martina Hingis in the Women’s individual finals. Torronto Raptor’s. Vince Carter was named 1999 Rookie of the Year have oning PUMA gym shoes. We will write a custom essay sample on Puma Marketink Mix Essay Sample or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Puma is working on a company-wide for a â€Å"paperless-culture† . wereby all internal communicating is conducted via e-mail as of 2001. They are besides video conferincing installations to pass on between it’s design and development centres ( Germany. USA and Hong Kong ) . to speed up the merchandise creative activity procedure and cut down clip devouring travel. Merchandise:PUMA is the chief manufacturer of partisan drive places. race suits and football places. They are premier manufacturers in both Formula 1 and NASCAR and they are in partnership with Ferrari and BMW. it hase a wyde scope of footware. athletic wear. athleticss goods and manner accoutrements for adult male and adult females. The merchandises fulfill wants and desires based on image. non needs. Customers seek the merchandise and service benefits of the image of Puma. they adopt a alone stigmatization scheme. due to the fact that they sell such a broad assortment of different merchandises and trade names. As antecedently stated. Pumas doesn’t have its ain line of merchandises as such. but they do seek to guarantee that the merchandise lines that they stock are of a high criterion of quality. By high quality. it doesn’t needfully intend that the merchandise will last the needed clip period and supply a satisfactory service for the consumer. It besides means that t he merchandises that they stock are non your ordinary merchandises that rivals sell. but that each merchandise has a higher criterion or offers alone characteristics. Monetary value: Puma’s pricing is design to be competitivete with the other manner shoe retail merchants. The pricing is based on the footing of a premium section as mark clients. Topographic point: The market for big section shop such as Puma is chiefly concentrated in big shopping centres. high streets and online. they don’t sell a Pumas trade name as a merchandise. so much as an chance to utilize their services to obtain high quality merchandises. which consumers need at low-cost monetary values in a really comfy shopping ambiance. Promotion: When consumers hear the words Pumas. they associate words such as quality. comfort and handiness. This proves that Pumas is successfully advancing their overall selling scheme. They aim their advertisement at a preponderantly middle-upper category consumer group and this reflects in their selling runs. This image is besides boosted by their shop layouts and presentation. every bit good as their echt concern to stock quality merchandises.

Medical Marijuana

Medical Marijuana Free Online Research Papers Legalizing Marijuana Is Beneficial Grass, pot, weed, bud, dope, indo, hydro, and good old Mary Jane are just a few of the street terms used for marijuana. Marijuana is defined as a mixture of the flowers, stems, and leaves of the Cannabis Sativa plant. When marijuana is smoked, THC [delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol] the active ingredient in marijuana goes from the lungs into the bloodstream, which carries the chemical to all organs in the body (National Institute on Drug Abuse 1). This chemical is what causes the ’high’ people experience by inducing relaxation and heightening the senses (National Drug Intelligence Center 1). â€Å"In the Controlled Substances Act of 1970, marijuana was classified as a schedule 1 substance, which put marijuana into a class with cocaine and other such drugs† (Rawson 1). Many facts have come into perspective since this act that counter the purpose in keeping marijuana illegal. As long as restrictions are set, then the legalization of marijuana would help the medical worl d, the economy, and the judicial system. The government keeping marijuana classified as a ‘schedule one’ substance restricts its medicinal value (Marijuana Legalization Organization 4). Even though marijuana has been passed for medical purposes on many state levels, the federal law makes it possible for practitioners to lose their licenses for prescribing marijuana. â€Å"Marijuana has been shown effective in reducing nausea induced by cancer chemotherapy, stimulating appetite in AIDS patients, and reducing intraocular pressure in people with glaucoma† (Drugpolicy.org 3). At the very least, the government should classify marijuana as a schedule II drug to show the acceptance of its medicinal purposes. A schedule one drug is defined as highly addictive without any medical values, which cannot be prescribed (Rachal 3). All the studies that show marijuana as a beneficial aid to patients should be enough to reclassify it. As long as scientific evidence through clinical studies demonstrates that the benefits outweigh the risks then a substance can be passed for medicinal purposes (Office of National drug control policy 6). Potential lung damage is the predominate negative aspect with smoked marijuana (Rachal 7). When a patient is faced with constant nausea from treatment and chronic pain, lung damage is minimal in comparison (Rachal 7). It is troubling how these cases are continually dismissed. A daily marijuana smoker may experience the same effects as a cigarette smoker such as chest problems like a daily cough or respiratory cancer (U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration 2). Many would argue that there is a pill version of THC, named Marinol that can be used in place of marijuana. A patient suffering from a rare form of lung cancer gave his opinion of Marinol. â€Å"The problem with Marinol is the THC isn’t absorbed into the bloodstream as quickly as with smoked marijuana,† Charles [not his real name] said. â€Å"It almost has a time-release effect. I take 20 mg. of Marinal in the morning with my cancer medication and by the time I’m hungry enough to feel like eating, it’s about 5:00 p.m. After that I’m hungry until I go to bed. I don’t want to have to wait that long for the full effects of the drug to kick in. When I smoke, I feel hungry right away† (Rachal 6). The choice to smoke marijuana or use the pill version should be placed with the patient. Unless it is legalized, then these patients will not have such an option. The government should not be allowed pick and choose who is allowed to use marijuana. By approving researches and keeping marijuana illegal, that is exactly what the government is doing. Recent studies have shown that there is no known type of cancer associated with marijuana (Safer 3). The argument that marijuana’s supposed negative effects outweigh its medical benefits is false. On the other hand marijuana should be legalized for recreational purposes as well because it would free judicial services in order to concentrate on harsher crimes and it would bring in money for the economy. â€Å"According to the national Survey on Drug Use and Health, in 2006, about 6,000 people a day used marijuana for the first time, a total of 2.2 million Americans. Of these, 63.3 percent were under 18† (Bannigan 1). The opposition argues that legalizing pot will not eliminate the use of marijuana to underage users (Bannigan 1). This is true for alcohol as well but history shows how effective prohibition was when dealing with alcohol. The legalization of marijuana is not to eliminate the demand for all users but to aid America’s economy through taxation and limiting judicial costs. The amount of time in money put into marijuana is ridiculous when there are far more harmful drugs such as crack cocaine, methamphetamine and heroine. About one third of $68 billion a y ear spent on corrections is time served for nonviolent drug crimes (Klein 2). About $150 billion is spent on police services and court costs (Klein 2). About â€Å"†¦47.5% of all drug arrests are marijuana-related† (Klein 2). Seems like a lot of time and money wasted on a recreational drug that has never been proven to cause death. â€Å"There were 331 alcohol related deaths and 0 marijuana deaths in 2001 (Safer 1). The jail systems should focus more on violent crimes rather than nonviolent drug crimes. The United States only consists of about 5% of the world’s population but contributes to about 25% of its prisoners (Klein 2). Going to jail for marijuana does not help the drug problems in America. In fact through studies it has been shown that prisoners who only used marijuana going into the system come out using far more harmful drugs and may continue on to other crimes beyond petty drug use (Rawson 2). These funds spent on marijuana could be contributing to ha rsher crimes such as unsolved murders or cocaine busts. Besides the funds spent on marijuana remaining illegal boosting the economy there is also the taxation side. Most believe it immoral to try and profit off a drug. This is why marijuana needs to be reclassified and regulated. Marijuana is a natural occurring resource. It is an herb or plant just like the tobacco plant. If the government does not have a problem with profiting from tobacco then it should not be concerned with marijuana. â€Å"Marijuana is already California’s biggest cash crop, responsible for $14 billion a year in sales† (Miceli 1). That is billions of dollars obtained from a current illegal substance. That is also not including recreational purchases. It blows the mind how much our economy could benefit from such taxation. â€Å"A 10% pot tax would yield $1.4 billion in California alone† (Klein 2). Imagine how much profit could be obtained if there was a 10% pot tax in all 50 states. Those against the legalization of marijuana argue that the healt h risks outweigh these economic benefits. Last time the news was on, America was still in a recession. â€Å"Regardless of your position on legalization of†¦marijuana, the fact is†¦Ã¢â‚¬  America needs money and legalizing this vice is a relatively low-impact way to get it (Miceli 2). The opposition argues that the health risks of marijuana are why it should remain illegal. Yet alcohol is far more harmful than marijuana. â€Å"Marijuana is actually less dangerous than alcohol, cigarettes, and even most over-the-counter medicines or prescriptions† (Legalizing Marijuana 2). Drinking excessive amounts of alcohol will result in death while excessive amounts of marijuana will do no more than put the user to sleep (Legalizing Marijuana 2). As free Americans, they should be able to weigh the risks for themselves. Just like with any other harmful substances such as unhealthy for and/or alcohol (Marijuana Legalization organization 7). Many also believed that the legalization of marijuana will lead to an unproductive America. This seems pretty farfetched when giving the opportunity to drink constantly or go to work; the majority of American’s obviously choose work. â€Å"People who are intoxicated constantly, regardless of the drug, are unlikely to be product ive members of society. There is nothing about marijuana specifically that causes people to lose their drive and ambition† (Drugpolicy.org 4). The opposition should give American people a little more faith. Legalizing a naturally occurring plant will not change the American dream. It may just change how Americans spend their time dreaming. In fact, the patient named earlier also stated he felt motivated to get up and do more after smoking (Rachal 6). The claim that marijuana completely changes a person is not supported. Image distortion, personal identity loss, and hallucinations can be a result from high doses of marijuana (National Drug Intelligence Center 2). These factors do not completely change a person. Alcohol is by far a much more harmful substance. There have been numerous recordings of deaths by alcohol overdose (Safer 1). While â€Å"†¦there has never been a marijuana overdose death in history† (Safer 1). The scientific proofs of marijuana’s harm ful effects are increasingly distorted to keep it illegal (Drug Reporter 2). Marijuana is far less addictive than alcohol or tobacco (Drug Reporter 2, Safer 1). The mild side effects are made clear through yearlong studies and therefore should be presented to the public and let them decide on its recreational benefits. Just like the supporters of legalizing alcohol, Marijuana supporters will fight for its legalization until they succeed (Drug Reporter 3). â€Å"They [Marijuana users] refuse to give up their long quest for justice because they believe in the fundamental values of American society† (Drug Reporter 3). As long as America regulates marijuana in the same manner it does alcohol, then marijuana should be legalized. The tobacco company is allowed to run chaos in a sense because of all the additives they put into their products. If marijuana is legalized, it should not be processed the same way. Bannigan argues the fact that Marlboro can add a little â€Å"harmless ingredients† the way they do with cigarettes in order to help marijuana sale (2). That is why when marijuana is legalized there should be strict guidelines. First would be to make sure all production of marijuana remains pure. Meaning there cannot be any additives to the plant itself. Marijuana should be the pure cannabis sativa plant and nothing more. A second restriction should be placed in the same fashion of alcohol. In other words there should not be any machinery usage under the influence of marijuana. No driving would be allowed while under the influence and can be determined through a dilation test. This will ke ep the streets and work place regulated. The next obvious but still important restriction would be an age limit. The limiting age should be 21 seeing that the government believes 21 if fine for a much harsher substance like alcohol. This will regulate marijuana in the same fashion as alcohol. Thus also keeping the sale of marijuana in trusted occupations. This means the sale of marijuana should only be legal to those that obtain a license. A license should be giving in the same manner as it is now with medical marijuana. Only those that pass background checks and such regulations the government see fit should be allowed to distribute marijuana. With these restrictions in place, the legalization of marijuana would be sufficient enough to be beneficial to society. Even though keeping marijuana illegal holds some valid points, the benefits of legalizing it outweigh those points. Marijuana is a natural herb put on this earth, not created by man like other harmful drugs. Marijuana has been proven to hold medicinal properties that have been used throughout history. Medical marijuana is a benefit to society through the patients it helps. Recreational marijuana can be beneficial to society though taxation and cost of keeping it illegal. There are also harmful effects that can be taken into appraisal and decided on use individually. As long as guidelines and restrictions are set then there should be hardly any negative effects to outweigh the positive ones. Keeping marijuana illegal will only continue the fight against the controversy until the inevitable happens the way it happened with the prohibition of alcohol. Now is the best time to act in order to aid America out of this recession. Either way the battle to legalize marijuana will continue. Mar ijuana’s benefits to America definitely outweigh the harm predicted. It will not lead the way to legalizing other illegal drugs because those drugs are harmful man-made drugs with no medicinal benefits. Marijuana is also a non-lethal drug compared to the other illegal drugs. The proposition of wasting so much time and money on maintaining a natural herb illegal is ridiculous when faced with the option of profiting from it. Marijuana’ recreational and medicinal purposes pose no genuine threat to American society and therefore should be legalized. Research Papers on Medical MarijuanaUnreasonable Searches and SeizuresThe Relationship Between Delinquency and Drug UseArguments for Physician-Assisted Suicide (PAS)The Effects of Illegal ImmigrationMoral and Ethical Issues in Hiring New EmployeesThe Fifth HorsemanGenetic EngineeringMind TravelThe Project Managment Office SystemInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married Males

Elder abuse Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Elder abuse - Essay Example Other types of elder abuse include financial abuse that involves misuse of assets belonging to a defenseless adult, neglect, and abandonment of a vulnerable adult (Jarvis, 2012). Like other types of abuse, elder abuse can be prevented. Effective intervention such as calling for the respect of older people’s assets has the potential to curb elder abuse (Jarvis, 2012). Increasing awareness among family members, physicians as well as mental health professionals can also help break cycles of abuse. For instance, educating the persons close to the older people on the essence of observing the rights of older people will aid significantly in solving this problem. Keeping in touch with older people through simple activities such as taking older friends out to dinner, visiting them as well as calling on them to see how they are faring on will aid in preventing elder abuse. Additionally, participation in committees that advocate observance of older people’s rights as well as encouraging the development of education programmes for older persons on their rights will aid significantly in solving elder

Operation Iraqi Freedom Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Operation Iraqi Freedom - Research Paper Example Iraq had no link to terrorism, no weapons of mass destruction (WMD), and no legal rationale to attack. Despite this, Bush decided to invade the Republic of Iraq for causes deemed objectionable to the majority of other countries so he frequently relied on and utilized false information to rationalize it. He lied. This discussion will examine how the truth was a casualty early and often during the lead up to the war and outlines some of the consequences brought about by these far-reaching and deadly deceptions. Bush voiced his disagreement to the concept of ‘nation building’ during the 2000 presidential election debates but as president waged an undeclared war against a sovereign country that had neither attacked first nor threatened to. Immediately following and as a reactionary reply to the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, Bush stated the county’s intention to begin a ‘War on Terrorism’ which he portrayed as a protracted battle against those t hat would use terrorist actions in addition to the countries that enabled them. The eventual culmination of the selective legal reasoning and rhetoric concerning the ‘War on Terror’ was Bush’s order of the military to invade both Afghanistan and Iraq, an illegal action on many fronts. Bush had constantly claimed that these actions were legal. First, he argued, due to language existing within the UN Security Council Resolution 1441 regarding Iraq and secondly, the invasions were an act of self-defense which is permitted by international law. Conversely, according to Richard Perle, advisor to U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and official of the U.S. Defense Policy Board, â€Å"international law ... would have required us to leave Saddam Hussein alone.† (Burkeman & Borger, 2003). However, this option would have been â€Å"morally unacceptable† according to the Bush administration. The United Nations Charter, Article 51, Chapter Seven stipulates à ¢â‚¬Å"nothing shall impair the inherent right of individual or collective self defense if an armed attack occurs against a member of the United Nations† (United Nations Charter, 1945). Article 51 allows a country the justification to â€Å"deter an act, or acts of imminent or ongoing violence† but only as a transitory solution until the UN Security Council takes the appropriate actions to ensure the protection of the affected region. By precise interpretation of this Article, the rights of self-defense a country can exercise does not comprise the right to retaliate after an attack has ceased. The U.S. defended its invasion and occupation of Iraq to the countries of the world by announce, if not substantiating, that it was a undertaking to remove WMD which endangered not only the U.S. but all other countries as well. Secretary of State Colin Powell as well as other administration officials, predominantly with the U.S. Department of State, enthusiastically endeavored to s tate their justification for aggressive military actions and make this plan as acceptable to as many other nations as they could. Paul Wolfowitz, Deputy Secretary of Defense at that time, is quoted in a Vanity Fair magazine interview dated May 28, 2003 as saying â€Å"For bureaucratic reasons, we settled on one issue, weapons of mass destruction† (Shovelan, 2003). Before to the invasion, Hans Blix, the man in charge of the UN weapons inspection team in Iraq, said unequivocally and very publicly

Agency Relationship Essay Example for Free

Agency Relationship Essay Agency relationship is a consensual relationship between two parties, where one party, the principal, gives authority to another party, the agent, to act on behalf of and under the control of the principal to deal with a third party, thereby creating a fiduciary relationship. The law of agency allows one person to employ another to do his/her work, sell his/her goods, and acquire property on his/her own behalf. Although a principal-agent relationship can be created by a contract between the parties, a contract is not necessary if it is obvious that the two parties intended to act as principal and agent. The intent of the parties can be expressed with words or implied by their actions. The principal can authorize the agent to perform a variety of tasks or restrict the agent to specific functions, but no matter how much authority is given to the agent, the agent represents the principal and is subject to the principals control at all times. More important, the principal is liable for the consequences of the actions that the agent performed, and the actions and words exchanged between an agent and a third party are binding to the principal. This is known as vicarious liability and it is the reason business owners must be extremely careful of who they hire to represent his/her company. Agency theory is the idea that the agent does not always have the principal’s best interests in mind. A voluntary, good faith relationship of trust, known as a fiduciary relationship, exists between a principal and an agent, and there are four main elements of fiduciary duty that the agent has toward the principal for the principal’s protection. The first requires the agent to exercise a duty of loyalty to the principal. An agent cannot receive outside benefits without the permission of the principal, share confidential information, fraternize with the competition of the principal, work for the principals competition, deal secretly with his/her principal, and must exercise appropriate behavior while representing the principals interests. An agent who acts in his/her own interest violates the fiduciary duty and will be financi ally liable to the principal for any losses the principal suffers due to the breach of the fiduciary duty. The second of these duties is the duty to obey instructions. This states that an agent must follow the directions of the principal unless by doing so, the agent would break the law or put himself/herself or others in danger. The third fiduciary duty is the duty of care, which states that an agent must use reasonable care to protect the interests of the principal. And the third of these duties is the duty to provide information. This duty says that an agent must give any and all information to a principal if that information concerns the principal. The duties that a principal has to an agent are the duty to reimburse the agent, and the duty to cooperate with the agent.

Ritz Carlton marketing analysis

Ritz Carlton marketing analysis 1. Introduction: Ritz Carltons marketing conduct is a true paradigm that follows root rudiments of Marketing as a management discipline i.e. recognising, anticipating and satisfying customer needs profitability as defined by Chartered Institute of Marketing, UK (Cited in Brassington Pettitt, 2001). At same point of time, the activities undertaken by Ritz Carlton under its marketing strategy not only contribute to overall brand development but rather also exemplify innovative methods to promote products or services and most significantly how to satisfy claims promised to customers as part of the strategy. This assignment focuses to reveal current positioning of Ritz Carlton in industry, and discuss in depth important factors responsible for success of company. At same point of time, assignment will also examine the imperative factors that contribute to Ritz Carlton quality of service as perceived by customers. Finally light would also be laid down on how company tries to provide consistent -universal experience to its customer all round the world and factors that act as obstacle against it. Company Overview: Ritz Carlton is one of the most well known luxury hotels company in the world. Right from inception, Ritz Carlton has brought significant innovation in practises of hospitality industry (See The Ritz Carlton, 2010a).With history of existence and success of over 100 years, Ritz Carlton as a company currently adopts Limited Liability Company nature of ownership. Ritz Carlton LLC is subsidiary company of Marriot Hotel Incorporation. The parent company, Marriot Hotels hold as many as 18 brands including Ritz Carlton. The Ritz Carlton at presents manages 72 luxury hotels in 24 countries located in 5 different regions in the world, the USA and Canada; Mexico, Caribbean and South America; Asia-Pacific; Europe; and Middle East. Besides, the company has a number of further expansion plans specifically concentrated towards eastern world with a view to take advantage of booming market. (See Worth, 2009) Service Marketing With development of marketing as a discipline, the scope of marketing has also enhanced. Jacques et al (2007) rightly points out that it is organisations self interest that decide its future course of it action. This self interest of any organisation largely depends upon nature of business it adapts and therefore, it is extremely important to recognize with what range of organisation we are dealing with beforehand, (Like Consumer, B2B, Service, Small Business, Web based and so on) so that its marketing strategy can be woven around core goals. Ritz Carlton test on product spectrum offered by Brassington Pettitt (2007) indicates that the product that they deal with is characterised by extremely greater level of service or in fact pure services. RITZ CARLTON ritz_carlton_logo.jpg Intangibility Perishability Lack of Ownership Heterogeneity Inseparability Different customer will opine differently on their experience at Ritz. Customer involvement plays vital role. Customer need to come in contact with hotel -Service provider. No Exchange of any Items takes place as part of primary offerings. Simultaneous process of producing and consuming service. Essence of Ritz Carlton success measure depends on Experience of customers Figure 1: Position of Ritz-Carlton in the Product Spectrum Assumptions: Ritz Carlton as discussed above is not only a subsidiary of Marriot Hotel Incorporation but also a LLC that deals with various type of accommodation. This does not just include hotels but rather also involves Clubs and residence properties. This assignment specifically focuses on Ritz Carlton as chain of hotels. Moreover, analysis is completely based on its worldwide presence and not limited to any particular geographic market. This is intentionally done so as to understand marketing of Ritz Carlton as chain of hotels rather any specific unit. However, for understanding and justification purpose, region specific examples are cited in certain parts of assignment. 2. Exploring Secret behind Ritz Carltons Success: Ritz Carlton as an organisation offers its services across five continents. Right from USA to Asia its hotels at first look give us experience of beyond imagination architecture and provides stereotype of luxury and elegance. There is no doubt to the fact that physical surrounding (which include premises) in case of service industry act as one of the most important element, that define success criteria for influencing consumer behaviour (Bitner M.,1992) and portray what it stand for. Physical evidences i.e. tangible items add value to service being offered. However, it can be argued that it is not the lone measure responsible for hotels success. The basic reason behind this is, a customer never judges a hotel solely on foundation of its tangible infrastructure (Building, Technological availability, Type of Rooms etc) but rather there are number of other elements that play vital role. This part of assignments will try to identify such important factors responsible behind Ritz Carlton success. Successfully Targeting Segmentation: The need of customers varies for various reasons and therefore it is very important to identify prospective strategic customer for organisation, (Johnson et al, 2008) at same point of time organisation must also have calibre to satisfy the targeted group of customers. Ritz- Carltons continued success, behind the scenes depicts its ability to successfully targets it segmentation, offering perfect Marketing Mix elements. Moreover, it also ensures that modifications are made in marketing mix elements with changing scenario in market trends and both these factors act as key elements. Kotler et al (2009) emphasise on a point that, marketing is all about forming strategy towards consumer and customer needs and thereby offering service or product that satisfy those needs. Ritz Carlton as an organisation in true sense is perfect at following and applying this basic ideology. This assignment aims to identify success factors of Ritz Carlton in light of marketing mix elements with a view to jus tify above argument. Identifying Market Focus (Segmentation): Marriot Hotels has divided their business to number of segments where Ritz Carlton serves as Luxury Lodging (See Marriot Hotel Incorporation, 2008) and hence it is very evident from this fact that Ritz Carlton as a company exists to serve luxurious hospitality Ritz Carlton hotels are located at more than 70 destinations, the basic customer segment which Ritz-Carlton targets is, people with rich lifestyle in all aspects of life. Irrespective of any geographic location on earth, age, social-cultural belief, opinion of an individual, the common element that Ritz tries to concentrate is People with Lavish living. Therefore, it can be invariably noticed that Ritz Carlton adopts concentrated targeting method towards Psychographic segmentation. As Brassington Pettitt (2007) rightly points that lifestyle segmentation is very difficult to define, we came up with following attributes that Ritz Carlton try to target. (See figure 1.1). Psychographic Segmentation Ritz Carlton Figure 2 Targeting Customer Segmentation Factors Defining Success of Ritz Carlton: Perfect Offerings (Product): The product anatomy (See figure 3) of Ritz Carlton illustrates that it is not just a customary hotel which satisfies basic needs but rather, it aspires to provide unforgettable experience to its customers, which perfectly matches its target market. Most importantly, providing value added services as personalised attention very well justify its marketing appeal to customer Experience The Ritz, enabling it to exceed customer expectations. Moreover, this value added services acts as source of tremendous additional revenues for Ritz Carlton. (Baxter J, 2007) One of vital point to focus is product development undertaken i.e. offerings of special packages, with a view to attract more customers and adapt to current market situations. (See Appendix) Furthermore in hospitality industry, locations act as products, as it creates value to selling points and influence buyers behaviour as well (Brassington Pettitt, 2007). All properties of Ritz Carlton are majority placed in USA, China and Europe an countries which are strategically located as it intends to focus on top most tourism and business destinations of the world. (See UNWTO, 2006) Moreover, Ritz Carlton has its hotels at New York, London, Paris, and Dubai which are strongest cities in terms of highest occupancy rates of rooms. (Worth S., 2009) ritz_carlton_logo.jpg Figure 3 Product Anatomy of Ritz Carlton Directly getting in touch with end Customer (Place) In service industry generally, there exist direct selling between service provider and end customer and the basic reason behind this is core characteristics of service products by nature (i.e. Perishability, Intangibility, Heterogeneity, and Inseparability) as discussed above. (Cowell, 1984) The activity of providing service for hotels initiates as soon as customer triggers its efforts for bookings. Ritz Carlton recognises importance of rise in online booking which almost doubled in 2007 (Research by Travelclick cited in Baxter J., 2007) and offers easy access to its customer to book from its own website. Ritz Carlton has also entered into best available rate programmes with website as (such as Thomson.co.uk, InspiredLuxuryEscapes.com) to play with consumer confidence to get cheapest rates on web. This evidently suggests that primary focus of Ritz Carlton is to directly contact the customer which is vital need of service marketing i.e. to reach out customer and influence their behavi our encouraging them to experience your service (Brassington Pettitt, 2007). Pricing Concentrating towards Sub-Segmentations (Price) Price must convince customers perception towards compensation of service offered and value paid against it (Jacques et al, 2007) and therefore it is vital to ensure that pricing strategy is in synchronisation with segment targeted. As Javalgi et al (2006) rightly indicates that Ritz Carlton extends it services to industry executives, meeting and corporate travel planners, and affluent travellers, targeting sub-segments also plays important role. Ritz-Carlton has carved niche for itself which is evident from various range of prices its offer. At Ritz London one night accommodation costs from about  £250 up to  £3500, while similarly in USA markets the range exist between 200$ to 3000$ (As on 10 march 2010). This suggests that Ritz Carlton concentrates on sub segmentation acts as an advantage. However, base pricing is one of the areas where Ritz Carlton needs to seek improvements (See Current Positioning part) to attract more customers. Brassington Pettitt (2007) also brings to notice important issue that price is an important tool to manage demand. Understanding this vital point, during recent tough time company brought out number of attractive packages to influence more customer (Like package of 2 nights stay at 449$ per family) (See Schultenover J; Strout E, 2002) and that defines companys ability to alter marketing mix elements as per relevant conditions. Balance Innovative Endorsement (Promotion): Ritz Carlton involves itself with both form of promotional activities as referred by Berkowitz et al (1992) i.e. product oriented and institution oriented. It adopts a balance promotional strategy ensuring that using product oriented approach it continuously communicates with customers regarding its USP (Unique Selling Point) and recent offerings on other hand it uses Institution oriented approach to preserve Ritz Carlton as a Unique brand with historical excellence influencing consumer behavior. Impact of Promotion on Consumer Perceptions towards Ritz Carlton: High Expertise Premium Brand Life Time Experience Symbol of Status Going Beyond Expectations Respect For Brand A matter of Pride Innovative and benchmark for Quality Figure 4 Impact of Promotion on Consumer In addition to this, Ritz Carlton adapts PULL strategy (Brassington Pettitt, 2007) using perfect medium to directly communicate with customer. With rise in concept of Social marketing Ritz Carlton has tied up with Travel Click to actively manage its promotion over web. (Hospitality.Net, 2009) To target business travellers, paper adverts are given in leading business magazines (e.g. Business Traveller) along with television adverts and advertising in airlines. One of the important observations is Ritz Carlton uses its own Website as major promotional medium. All package brochures, promotional videos, Ritz Carltons own magazine are uploaded to website. (See The Ritz Carlton, 2010) One of the significant points of observation is Ritz Carlton provides innovative edge to its promotion strategy. One of the classic examples is, it markets its biggest asset i.e. Employees. There is not a single promotional videos which fails to give importance to its own staff representing them as creators and followers of high quality standards in industry terming them as Our Ladies Gentleman (See The Ritz London, 2008; Ritz Culture, 2007). Apart from this, instead of using simple adverts Ritz Carlton has created short films which are aired on televisions, hotel rooms, and websites to make people understand what uniqueness of its services is. (See The Delay, 2008; The Last Night, 2008, New Gold Standards, 2010, Audi and Tarma, 2007). Hence innovative and a balance promotional strategy is one of the important factors responsible behind Ritz Carlton success. Staff- A Biggest Asset (People) March, J.G and Simon (1958) emphasise on vital point that organisations are primarily formed and governed by people and therefore image reflection of organisation largely depend upon actions of its staff and this is especially true in case of service industry as it deals with process of interactive marketing (Kotler P and Armstrong G, 2004; Brassington Pettitt,2007). Ritz Carlton understands this vital point and implements customer focused approach. It aims at hiring right people, providing best fit to organisations culture of Putting Customer First who are characterized with a strong sense of values and overall desire to go beyond the call of duty. (Emerald Database, 2003) Furthermore, Ritz Carlton goes step ahead, as an organisation, it strives to get known for its excellent service and that act as a key to its success. Organisation best at this must try to invest their money, talent, time and attention to strengthen their current positing (Ferrell O.C; Hartline M., 2006) and that what Ritz Carlton does by investing in its people. In this process, over the year Ritz Carlton has developed and raised bars of customer services with help of their staff which itself now act as their behavioural core competence that cannot be easily imitated by others. (Johnson et al, 2008; Bacon, 2005) Internal Values Operations (Process) It is important for service industry to pay attention to both, employees and customer to successfully implement process of service profit chain. Ritz Carlton as an organisation aims to take extreme care and respect for their employees, with an understanding that, in return they will put up efforts to fulfil even unexpressed wishes of their customer. (Kotler P and Armstrong G, 2004) The employees are empowered, trained to develop gold standards (See Emerald Database, 2002) and are considered biggest strength of the organisation which produces exemplifying services towards customer. Employees are trained motivated to develop relational exchange with customer with a view to increase loyalty and development of brand. (Jain R and Jain S, 2006) Creating Value Internal Process CUSTOMER FOCUS Figure 5 Service Profit Chain for Ritz Carlton Another important contributing factor is Ritz-Carlton has been successful in developing its own culture of servicing (Kent W, 1990) which is now considered as gold standards (Benchmark) towards quality development in servicing industry. Ritz Carlton also uses CLASS database with purpose of registering likes/dislikes, Interests, preferences, previous problems faced, attitude of every individual customer to provide personalised service. Hence, putting all together, these are innovative process that enables Ritz Carlton to fully engage employees and generate a creative delightful experience to its customer on one hand and simultaneously developing an unique core competence for itself at other hand.(Timmerman J, 2009) 2. Current Positioning According to Kotler et al (2009), all marketing strategy is built on STP Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning. A company discovers different needs and groups in the marketplace, targets those needs and groups that it can satisfy in a superior way, and then positions its offering so that the target market recognizes the companys distinctive offering and image. Positioning is process of analysing product or service, offered in context of competitive space (includes buyers and competitors) it works out. (See Brassington Pettitt, 2007; Kotler et al 2009) It is a way of creating and engaging a place in the mind of the target market by highlighting the companys offering, brand and image. The ultimate outcome of positioning is a flourishing establishment of a consumer focused value proposition, in other words a convincing reason why the target market should buy the product (Kotler, 2003) and therefore it act as base to companys success. This part of assignment aims to explore current positioning of Ritz Carlton in market. The basic idea is to understand customers perception towards our brand and towards our closest competitors. At same point of time identifying attributes that are responsible for creation of this illusion in minds of customer Identifying relevant attribute players: The various attribute offered by the brand represents its market position, which are viewed and compared against other brand. Brands that offer similar package of attributes are deemed to be in the same competitive set (Dev C.S et al, 1995) and therefore it is important to concentrate on direct competitors rather than industry as a whole. Efforts must be laid down to identify players with similar attributes competing on same values. (Johnson et al, 2007) It is a nature of the hospitality industry that most of the attributes offered are intangible which makes it tricky for the customer to differentiate the offerings of the competitor as such things can be experience only by staying in the hotel. A part of the positioning is also subjective, as it involves customers perception towards brand. Here, analysis is based on Marketing Metrix Hospitality Index* which reveals price and level of customer satisfaction from the feedback of more than 35000 customers across world. (See appendix) There are numerous players in hospitality industry targeting luxury segment and so it is decided to firstly filter relevant players on basis of tangible attribute i.e. area of market covered geographically, as analysis is based on worldwide scenario. This enables us to get core market competitors (See figure 2) (To an extent it influences customer choice of hotel, as it defines scope of service being provided and also impacts brand creation process in eyes of customer) Hotels Area Covered Number of Properties Ritz Carlton LLC Across 5 Continents 72 Fairmont Raffles Hotels International Group Across 5 Continents Around 65 Starwoods Hotel Resorts Le Meridien 16 Countries 116 Four Seasons PLC 35 Countries Across 5 Continents 83 InterContinental Hotel Group Across 60 Countries 166 (The Ritz Carlton, 2010; Four Seasons, 2010; InterContinental Hotels Resorts, 2010; Fairmont Hotels Resorts; Starwoods Hotel Resorts, 2010) Table 1 Identified Relevant Players on Basis of Geographical area The other two most important attributes identified from view point of customer are price and quality. Quality can be judged on several others important sub attributes (As Quality of food and beverage, physical appearance and in-room facilities, helpful and courtesy of staff, Technology etc.) and therefore this aspect is judged on basis of customer satisfaction index which provides comprehensive picture of it. About MMHI*: Based on 35,000 customer interviews conducted each quarter, the Market Metrix Hospitality Index (MMHI) is the largest and most in-depth measure of hospitality company performance available today. (MMHI, 2010) Taj Hotels Resorts rc_logo_en Industry Competitors Four Seasons Hotels PLC Starwoods Hotel Resorts -ST Regis Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group Fairmont Raffles Hotels International Jumeirah Hotels Resorts Pan Pacific Hotels Resorts Wyndham Hotel Group Market Competitors Marriot Hotels Incorporation* Oberoi Hotels Resorts Rosewood Hotels group Inter Continental Hotel Group Starwoods Hotels Resorts Le Meridien Figure 6: Competitors analysis of Ritz-Carlton Starwoods Hotel Resorts*: Its Brands, St. Regis Le Meridien targets luxury segment within total of 152 properties across world. Marriot Hotels Incorporation*: Although Ritz Carlton is subsidary of Marriot Hotel Incorporation, it has got more than 18 brands and there is defiante possiblity that these brand may compete amongst each other and therefore Marriot Hotel Incorporation is also considered as Industry competitor. Perceptual Mapping: The graph represents all the players targeting luxury segment with widespread presence all over the world under hospitality industry. Yet, it must be noted that level of quality, prices offered would differ under this banner as well and it is this factor that differentiates best in comparison to average player in eyes of customer which can be clearly identfied below. Ritz Calton fall under the segment of offering High Quality with High Price. High Quality Oberoi Hotels Ritz Carlton Low Price High Price Four Seasons Inter Continental Le Meridien Low Quality Figure 7 Perceptual Mapping of Ritz Carlton Perceprtual Map enales us to find out gaps and provide us inights towards undertaking competitive action needed.(Brassington Pettitt) Gaps to be filled Up: Customer needs to be satisfied. Pricing Strategy: As discussed above Ritz Carlton concentrates on sub-segments that act as advantage however the minimum base price it offers is subject to risk. Ritz Carlton price starts at about 200$ while that of Oberoi hotels reporting maximum customer satisfaction (93.7) offers base price at 85$.Although, Ritz Carlton brand value is quite high compared to Oberoi group yet, Its a huge gap and therefore it must revise its pricing strategy. Moreover, all of its market competitors also offers relatively too low price, closest being Intercontinental group offering 156$ (See appendix). At same point of time Ritz Carltons closest rival Four Season offers almost equal quality of service (86.6) at price of just 141$ which is matter of worry as well. Improving Loyalty programmes: Ritz Carlton understands that complete customer satisfaction is one of the vital strategic to retain and maintaining long term relationship with its customer and it is best practising at that. (Bacon, 2005; Emerald Database, 2004) However, there is scope for improvement in its loyalty programmes as recent data indicates its loyalty program strength of 5% compared to industry average of 10 %. (See appendix). This will enhance its potential to gain increased customer loyalty. Attracting New Market by adapting service innovations: Ritz Carlton is aware of the fact that the key to a hotels survival is its ability to cater services with changing needs and life styles of customers. (Min et al, 2002) There is no doubt that organisation completely understands changing taste of consumers i.e. people are now becoming more casual compared to traditional formalin approach.(Gunter and Heather, 2007) But this needs to be communicated to customers and therefore, there is need for Ritz Carlton to presents itself as modern, technological hotel group supporting needs of modern, young travellers. At same point of time, as recommended by Victorino et al (2005) company must move further towards service innovation with use of technology to differentiate itself from others. Ritz Carlton has already started implementing steps towards this approach; however there is need for rapid actions and wide promotions with intentions to quickly change consumer perception towards its brand. 2000 Euros for Managing Guest Grievance A Strategic Move! Ritz-Carltons employees are allowed to spend up to $2,000 to redress a guests grievance. The employees are entrusted to spend the money to make a memorable stay for the guest in the hotel. Employees are encouraged to solve the guests complaints immediately on the spot. Permitting the employees to spend a sum of $2,000 shows how much the company trust the judgement of their employees and employees can even spend more than $2,000 with the permission from general manager. The basic logic behind such action is, with existence of fierce competition within the market it is always difficult for firms to increase their market share and therefore key to continue successful growth lies in devoting larger part of firms resources on existing customers with intention to retain them and gain their loyalty (Tepeci M, 1999) Moreover, such act adds value to brand creation and customer satisfaction and that encourages customer to become brand loyal. (Kandampully J and Suhartanto D, 2000) Most importan tly, the question of such spending exceeds overheads does not arise as it is obvious that it doesnt get used on every customer. It acts as meaningful amount yet, used rarely. (Reiss R, 2009). Customer satisfaction is the key to customer retention. A greatly satisfied customer stays loyal longer with the company and talks favourably about the company. A loyal customer is less sensitive to price, pays less attention to the competitors brand and cost less to serve than new customer. From the customers who registered a complaint, between 54% and 70% will do business again with the same company if their complaint is resolved, these number could be pulled up to an overwhelming 95% if the customer experiences that their complaint is resolved quickly. Customers who have complained to an organization and had their complaints satisfactorily resolved tell an average of five people about the good treatment they received (Philip Kotler, 1977), which indirectly contributes to attract further new customer. Expanding the customer retention rate accumulates the customer lifetime value, and therefore this means life time revenue for company. On other hand company, attracting new customers are costly as that include cost of promotions, advertising and so on which can be avoided. Therefore such action is termed as strategic Move by Ritz Carlton. There is also another point of view to this scenario which impacts internal working culture of within organisation. Allowing such amount to spend makes Employee feel that company respect them, trust them, considers them responsible and valuable and this generates feeling of empowerment impacting concept of service profit chain as discussed above. Employees get more engaged with company and works more responsibly ultimately resulting to exceptional customer service, which is the core aim of organisation. Appendix: Product Development by Ritz Carlton (i.e. to offer Special Packages) aims to attract more customers by influencing their behaviour and encouraging them to celebrate this important occasion with them and turn them to Life time Memories. (Festive Season Packages during Easter; Christmas, Valentine Day at Ritz, Summer Break Packages, Weekends Special, and Family Packages) Ritz Valentine photo.jpg (Rogers; Mark, 2009) Along with these Ritz Carlton also developed special packages for companies during times of recession to provide luxury at budgeted economy. Packages were upgraded to more facilities at lower price. Significant efforts were also laid down in promoting it and communicating it to end customers as well. This indicates Ritz Carlton ability to act as per changing external situations (Schultenover J; Strout E, 2002) MMHI Results: Market Metrix Hospitality index indicating customer satisfaction and average price results for hotels under luxury segment and Up Scale hotels. page0001.jpg (Source: MMHI Results, 2009) Video Bibliography: Official Ritz Carlton Promotional Videos: 1. New Gold Standard (2010) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IW70hBP5cIc (Promotional Videos at hotel rooms and Websites) 2. Ritz Culture (2007) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_iFSAAoQ-A (Interview of Diana Oreck, Vice President Global Learning and Leadership Center) 3. The Last Night (2008) http://video.yahoo.com/watch/2296201/7207129 (Ritz Carlton Short Film in association with America Express) 4. The Delay (2008) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3oFz8E5fbJQ (Ritz Carlton Short Film in association with America Express) 5. The Ritz London (2008) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQGlyhlhcK0 (Documentary on The Ritz London)