The Fascinating World of Video Games - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 2 Words: 535 Downloads: 8 Date added: 2019/05/07 Category Entertainment Essay Level High school Tags: Video Games Essay Did you like this example? We live in a world that stands out for the significant number of stimulus and information produced at all times coming from the most remote places of our society. Video games make it possible for people to put themselves in new virtual reality and can simulate a fantasy environment. Impacts of video games can be harmful to humanity because of aspects that change our reality. Modern gaming culture simulates people to live in a virtual world, leads to the escapism of social reality and stimulate aggressively. In this created world, the individual has often, depending on the theme of the game, the possibility (usually rewarded) of being or being doing everything that due to our ethics and morals.With the technological advancement, which increasingly allows a level of simulation close to the real and many people of all ages.The immersion power of video games is the sequence of challenges improved considerably, to the point where in some cases, be better than reality, or s ucceeding imitates with perfection. In virtual reality realistic simulators like for example, we can mention the game Americas Army, a simulator of war used by the American army, the other and a simulator of a plane, a simulator of highly realistic flight. Video games lead us to alternate realities, maybe thats the biggest reason for your success. When we play, we are not ourselves, but a character, who lives in own universe, with his own rules and objectives. Clive Thompson argues that The one thing that both apocalyptics and utopians understand and agree upon is that every new technology pushes us toward new forms of behaviors while nudging us away from older, familiars ones(Thompson 450). In other words, when we play, we get rid of our current reality. For some time, our problems disappear, the school doesnt matter, the job doesnt matter, and the family. Our goals begin to be the same as the character we command. And unlike real life, in games the targets are usually we ll delineated they know what they need to do, and they know theres a way to do it, victory is always possible and eminent, the rewards come quickly. Another big difference is that in the world of games, everyone can be big. No matter who you are, everyone can save the world and become great heroes, worthy of thanks and great rewards. This makes the video game a means of escapism in the world we live in, and so it presents itself as an exciting means of entertainment. According to Audrey uses the same kind of tinkering as she experiments with her avatars in virtual worlds. She builds the first version to put something out there. Then comes months of adjusting, of seeing the new kinds of people I can hang with by changing how she represents herself. Change your avatar, change your world (Audrey 513).These factors, which make the video game to be what it is, cause some people do tend to put these fanciful worlds above the real world, giving greater importance, for example, the evol ution of their avatar in an online game than their own development as an individual In the middle where it is inserted, such as school and work. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "The Fascinating World of Video Games" essay for you Create order

The Assyrian Emperor s Resume Ferocious Conquests A...

Horrific violence, terrifying threats and public terrors strike fear into the hearts of thousands who oppose the Assyrian Empire. â€Å"An Assyrian Emperor’s Resume: Ferocious Conquests a Specialty† remains a paragon of these unspeakable tragedies transpiring around 875 B.C. Written by Ashur-Nasir-Pal II (or one of his subjects), this anecdote highlights his conquests as he claims ancient cities’ wealth, while brutally murdering foreign people and destroying their lands. Geographically, the story takes place in the Middle East, specifically North Mesopotamia. According to the author, he conquers places like Hudun, Zamua, Zamru, Iritu and Ammaru. The historical value behind this piece portrays prominent aspects of their society and depicts how Assyrians reigned, while hinting at the empire’s values; therefore, this historical account provides evidence, which exhibits the attributes of the Near East during Ashur-Nasir-Pal II’s reign. Society and leadership often intertwine in any civilization. Subjects like religion act as a link between the two structures; for example, religion empowers their leader. According to the author, his actions serve the following gods: Assur, Nergal and Shamash. Ashur-Nasir-Pal II believes the deities influence his actions to fulfill his conquests. Clearly this society believes the gods bequeathed the responsibility of commander-in-chief solely on their leader. Along with religion, spawns violence. With an emphasis on fire, the Ashur burns cities and

Nordstrom a Marketing Analysis free essay sample

Over the years Nordstrom has created individual departments that focus on the individual lifestyles of the customers. The company nor only provides its customers with a wardrobe, but also a countless line of accessories, cosmetics, and fragrance. Over the past few years, the company has added new brands to its product line to satisfy its customer needs. In order to give the best possible service to the customer, the company plans on continuing to update the product line as new customer desires evolve. The employees are extremely focused on creating an environment of customer service within the store as well. The employees are not only focused on meeting the company standards, they are also focused on reaching the standards they have set within their own department as well. Each employee is trusted by the store managers to make good decisions and represent the company well. This trust has built confidence in the employee and enables them to focus all of the energy toward the customer. The atmosphere of the store also shows evidence of the company mission. The store is easy to navigate through, specific soothing colors are well placed throughout the store, and there is always a piano that can be heard playing in the background. These three things create a soothing and comfortable atmosphere for the customer. Nordstrom’s mission of providing customer service, quality, selection and value to its customers is carried out in every aspect of the company. The company employees, store atmosphere, and product line all display extraordinary qualities of service. The Mission Statement of Nordstrom is definitely evident in its day to day operations. Situation Analysis (SWOT Analysis) Internal Strengths and Weaknesses History (Sales, Profits, Organizational Philosophies) Nordstrom was co founded 1901 by a 30 year old man named John W Nordstrom and his partner Carl Wallin. At age 16, John W of Sweden left his home and moved to Alaska where he struck gold. While in Alaska, he met a man named Carl Wallin, â€Å"who owned a shoe repair shop in downtown Seattle† (Nordstrom Employee, 2006). The two decided form a partnership and open a shoe store entitled Wallin Nordstrom. Right form the start, the business philosophy was â€Å"based on exceptional customer service, selection, quality and value† (Nordstrom Employee, 2006). Focusing on this philosophy helped Nordstrom develop a competitive advantage in the shoe market. Due to their success, the company opened a new store in 1923. The company was soon taken over by John W’s sons. Under their management it â€Å"grew to become the largest independent shoe chain in the United States. By the 1960’s the current market had started to reach maturity and the company began to look â€Å"for new ways to spread its wings† (Nordstrom Employee, 2006). In an attempt to diversify itself, and gain greater market penetration, Nordstrom took on a new name, â€Å"Nordstrom Best†, and ventured into the clothing market. Now, upon entering a Nordstrom store, â€Å"customers were greeted with a selection of both shoes and fine apparel† (Nordstrom Employee, 2006). Now for the first time in history, Nordstrom offered a diverse product mix, something no other competitor offered. In 1971, under the third generation of management, the company decided to go public. Two years later Nordstrom reached a critical point in its business, surpassing $100 million in sales, making it the largest volume specialty store on the west coast. Profits were growing, market share was increasing, and Nordstrom’s marketing plan seemed to be working. Even though Nordstrom was experiencing tremendous success, the management was not satisfied. There was still room to grow. In order for Nordstrom to retain its competitive advantage, the company needed to revise its marketing strategy and further its market penetration. The company decided to take action. By 1975 the company penetrated into the markets of Alaska and California and by the late 80’s, the company opened up the first Nordstrom Rack in the mid 70’s. This store was a â€Å"clearance center for full-line store merchandise† (Nordstrom Employee, 2006). The higher prices in the regular store targeted the upper segment of society, while the Rack enabled Nordstrom to orient itself to a completely new crowd. Today, more than 100 years after its establishment, Nordstrom maintains the same focus of offering â€Å"the customer the best possible service, selection, quality, and value† (Nordstrom Employee, 2006). This is evident in the product line and store ambience. Nordstrom has created a unique store atmosphere designed to enhance the shopping experience of the customer. â€Å"Instead of categorizing departments by merchandise, Nordstrom† has â€Å"created fashion departments that fit individual’s lifestyles† (Nordstrom Employee, 2006). Focus on serving the market (or customer’s needs and wants) has helped Nordstrom grow from a small shoe store in Seattle â€Å"into a nationwide fashion specialty chain† (Nordstrom Employee, 2006). Nature of Firm/Current Situation Aside from Nordstrom’s customer service, one of its most influential qualities is the store atmosphere. Immediately after walking into a Nordstrom, one experiences a sense of calmness that is not experienced when walking into other department stores. At Nordstrom, â€Å"careful attention has been given to achieving an esthetically pleasing atmosphere†, a Nordstrom customer commented (Bee H, 2006). Nordstrom has put a lot of research into testing different layout scenarios within each store. Every time the layout of a department changes, a diagram is made and a record of sales is kept for that layout. From this information, Nordstrom has been able to develop the most economical and profitable layout for the customer and the organization. The Nordstrom colors are also carefully selected. Deep earthy colors present customers with a comfortable and desirable atmosphere. Deep red, brown (wooden floors), blue, purple and green are used to color the store. Every color is strategically placed throughout the store to enhance the shopping experience. Nordstrom has put a lot of research into effects that color has on the human psyche. For example red is chosen because it produces feelings of â€Å"energy, desire, and attention† (Bear , 2006). Purple is another color that is placed in distinct locations throughout the store. It brings about feelings of self assurance, dignity, high aspirations, royalty, sophistication, wealth, ambition, fame, luxury, and power. These two colors are used to promote confidence and feelings of satisfaction within the customers as they shop. During sales, employees are also given a tie to wear which almost always includes the color purple. Purple is also found near the more expensive items in the store. The color scheme is critical in creating a store atmosphere that is desirable to customers. Aside from the colors, the product layout also plays an essential role in providing a even-tempered atmosphere. Nordstrom has separated its products into different departments for men and women. This helps provide better service as each department can cater to the specific needs and wants of the customer. Within each department the clothes are either laid out on hanging racks or on tables. Organization is the primary focus when setting up the departments. Clothes are always neatly folded and clothing racks are well separated. A general rule of thumb is that if two people can not walk side by side between two fixtures, they are too close together. To produce an even cleaner look, jackets and heavier clothes are always hung on wooden hangers instead of plastic. The most famous contribution to the atmosphere of Nordstrom is the Piano. Nordstrom has created a â€Å"partnership with Levine School of Music† where it hand selects students to work for the company upon graduation. The partnership is working; â€Å"the dude playing the piano just adds to the calm shopping atmosphere† commented one man after a day a day of shopping (Bee H, 2006). To provide even more relaxation, comfortable couches are usually found somewhere around the piano for tired shoppers to sit down and for men to wait while their wives shop. Andrew Cooper, a computer design major at North Park University in Chicago said â€Å"these couches are a great place for me to relax while my wife spends all my money†. Resources of the Firm Finance: Nordstrom uses a verity of resources to help attract new customers and retain its current customer base. By far, one of its biggest resources is in the area of finance. Nordstrom recently â€Å"reported third-quarter earnings of $135. 7 million† (Portland Business Journal , 2006). These earnings jumped unexpectedly and are up from $107. 5 million earlier this year. The financial resources of Nordstrom are an essential part of the companies marketing plan. This money has given Nordstrom the ability to put on expensive training programs for employees, purchase personal book (a customer database program), send out bulk mailings to customers (such as catalogs, promotions, etc. , build new stores, and create a customer friendly in-store atmosphere. Human: Nordstrom’s employees and management are the company’s most valuable resource. An article written in the Seattle PI describes exactly why this is true. It states that, â€Å"Nordstrom salespeople make decisions as if managing their own business; they are trusted to do what is right. Everyone else in the company is ther e to help the sales staff make the sale and please the customer† (Mulady, 2001). The way the employees are treated and valued is a perfect portrayal of the company’s mission of providing the best possible customer service and value to the customer. Even though the sales person is the front man for the company (being put in positions of direct contact with the customer), the human resource and management team act as the glue that holds the company together. The president of the company, Blake Nordstrom, says that people in support positions â€Å"like myself or someone in human resources that isn’t on the floor manning a register,† needs to understand that their job is to use the â€Å"energy and the activities they’re doing (to) contribute to a better customer and employee experience† (HR Magazine, 2006). It is therefore extremely important that the workers in the HR department stay connected to the selling process in order to stay connected with the employees. It is this connection that helps the employees â€Å"take care of their customers†. It is not unusual for employees to go in on their days off to meet a customer that is in need of a new suit or pair of shoes. The manager of the men’s suit department at the Tacoma Nordstrom comes in regularly on his days off. In an interview he commented that if a customer is in need â€Å"I will find them the suit, get it altered for them so they can have it in time† (Mulady, 2001). The sales employees have a tremendous amount of trust in the tailoring shop. One employee comments: â€Å"We rely heavily on the tailoring shop; they are great† (Mulady, 2001). In one situation, a baseball player needed a special shirt for a conference that Nordstrom did not have. To solve this problem, the sales person took a few shirts up to the tailor shop and used the material to make a brand new shirt. The shirt was then delivered to the player’s hotel room that afternoon. The employees of Nordstrom are what keep the company going. The trust built between employees is critical in helping Nordstrom provide the excellent service it does. Without trust and support of all the company’s workers, Nordstrom would be just another company. Physical: Currently Nordstrom operates â€Å"156 US stores located in 26 states† (Nordstrom Staff, 2002). Of these stores, there are 99 full line retail, 49 Nordstrom Racks, 5 Faconnable boutiques, 1 free standing shoe store, and 2 clearance stores. Even with all of these stores, the company is not satisfied, and is seeking to expand its physical existence even further. Nordstrom is currently in the process of establishing a store in Kenwood, Cincinnati. When interviewed about this decision, president, Erik Nordstrom, exclaimed â€Å"there is still much more opportunity to increase our presence around the country where our customers live and shop† (Fasiq, 2006). Nordstrom has also planted stores internationally where it operates 35 Faconnable boutiques, primarily in Europe. Customers of Nordstrom can even enjoy a unique shopping experience without setting foot in the store. The company has developed a unique online and mail order catalog designed to reach those customers who are interested in its products, but may not have the time or desire to come into the physical store. These resources are extremely important to the company. The two contrasting stores (online and physical), reach two diverse crowds. The physical stores provide a tangible place that customers can relate to all across the country, while the online stores take advantage of the stores reputation. They reach customers who have heard good things about the store but do not like to shop. Policies and Objectives of firm Nordstrom has established many different policies designed to keep employees on track with its mission. The use of good judgment is the number one guiding principle for the employees of Nordstrom. The first page of the employee â€Å"Code of Business Conduct and Ethics† states â€Å"at Nordstrom, we expect you to use good judgment when it comes to taking care of our customers. But we don’t expect you to do it without help from us† (Nordstrom Management, 2006). This policy lets the sales people know that the management stands behind them at all times. Aside from the standard company policies reguarding sexual harassment, stealing, drugs or alcohol, and preventing theft; the company also has some policies that make it unique. Employees are not allowed to accept gifts from anyone with whom they do business. This policy was instilled to uphold Nordstrom’s reputation of acting fair, honest, and professional. Accepting a gift can create the inkling that the gift inappropriately influenced the business transaction. The code of Ethics also tells employees that the company expects its employees to use personal book (a database that includes customer’s information such as purchases, sizes, etc. ) on a daily basis. This policy was designed to help the company keep their â€Å"reputation for excellent follow-through and service† (Nordstrom Management, 2006). However, since this in personal information, the company states that, â€Å"Personal Book and its contents are confidential and†¦ should be used in accordance with the Confidentiality and Nondisclosure Expectation† (Nordstrom Management, 2006). When an employee ends his/her career with Nordstrom, their personal book is closed off to them and returned to Nordstrom. All of these policies help keep Nordstrom on track with its mission. Almost all of the sections in the handbook for employees end with a line about using good judgment. This shows that Nordstrom has confidence in their employees. Nordstrom truly believes that if the employees use good judgment, the customers will get the best possible service the company can offer. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Nordstrom provides many benefits to its employees. The company provides time off with pay for personal and family needs. It also provides paid time for observed holidays. Each employee is also provided with a twenty percent discount at all Nordstrom locations. Nordstrom employees also have many long term benefits available to them. These Benefits include a 401(k) and profit sharing plan, where an employee can divert 50 percent of his/her compensation on a pretax basis, and an Employee stock Purchase Plan where the employee can purchase stock at a 10 percent discount. Full medical/vision and dental coverage are also provided by the company. Basic short term and long term disability coverage, as well as basic life insurance and long term care are also included in the standard benefit package. These benefits help the employee find meaning in their work and promote a positive attitude throughout the organization. A complete list of all the benefits provided by Nordstrom can be found on page †¦ in the back of this report. External Opportunities and Threats Social Social factors play a big role in what the way the company operates. For example, in Belleview Nordstrom offers a more upscale product line such as Gucci and other upper echelon brand names. This difference in product lines is evident in the Nordstrom in Tacoma as well. The Tacoma store is located in an area surrounded by many different social classes. Because of this, the store carries a more neutral line of products such as Calvin Cline, Cole Hann, Polo, Northface, and Tommy Bahama. These brands are brands that all of the target market of Nordstrom considers being very nice. To reach the outer limits of the Tacoma population, the store also sells products ranging form Coach and Burberry (reaching the wealthier population), to the Nordstrom brand (reaching the less wealthy consumer). Nordstrom is also a company that strongly believes in diversity. On its webpage under the diversity section it says â€Å"One of the best ways we can provide excellent customer service is by working to reflect the communities we serve† (Diversity Affairs Team, 2006). The company believes that an atmosphere encouraging diversity helps the employees as well as the customer. It is â€Å"deeply committed to cultivating an environment where the contributions of every employee, customer and vendor are respected† (Diversity Affairs Team, 2006). Creating a diverse company is an important step that Nordstrom has taken to broaden its customer service. Demographics Demographic issues are a big an important issue at Nordstrom. This is shown not only in the mission of the company, but in the physical store itself. Now days a majority of women in the United States enter the workforce after college. Nordstrom has created distinct departments to reach these women. In these sections of the store, women can find suits, and other more expensive dress clothes that Nordstrom would have not carried 20 years ago. The American family has also changed dramatically in the past decade. Because of this Nordstrom has changed its focus toward the individual. Ten years ago, it would not be a common sight to see moms shopping with their children, or dad’s waiting on the couch by the escalator with their children. Now days, it is almost unheard of to see families walking around the store. Teenagers, women, and men all come alone or with their significant other. The every store use to give balloons to children, employees all over the store would stop and talk with them and a lot of the mannequins were placed together (a man with a woman, or a child). Now the mannequins are all placed individually around the store, and it is rare enough to see a kid, let alone a kid with a balloon. In order to retain market share Nordstrom has shifted its focus more toward the individual. It has downsized its youth departments and added more upscale departments. Competition Nordstrom is dealing with competition on many different levels. It is competing with higher end stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, and Barney’s. It is also competing with second tier stores such as Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s. Because of the diverse competition, Nordstrom constantly stays one step ahead with its unprecedented customer service. Saks Fifth Avenue: Saks Fifth Avenue can be categorized as a mini version of Nordstrom. It has similar products, but targets a smaller market and carries less variety. To make it unique, Saks â€Å"focuses on other products such as bridal† (Nordstrom comparative analysis). In comparison to Nordstrom, Saks is slightly more expensive and is well known for its â€Å"much higher brand names† (Nordstrom Comparative analysis). There is also a difference in the store layout at Saks. Unlike Nordstrom, which it is categorized by department and where popular trendy goods are on the main floor, Saks â€Å"bottom floor consists of shoes, make up and teen clothing, and the upper floors are bridal and much higher priced brands and products† (Nordstrom comparative analysis). However, the major difference between the two companies is not in the layout of the store, the products offered, or the price of the goods. The major difference is the focus of the company. The mission statement of Saks is completely different from that of Nordstrom. Saks says the focus of their company is â€Å"to be a great place to shop, a great place to work and a great place to invest† (Nordstrom comparative Analysis). Money is what seems to be the number one marketing objective of Saks. On the other hand Nordstrom focuses on the treatment of the customer. It does not have a formal mission statement but the company’s core values can be summed up by the statement â€Å"through these doors pass the most courteous people in the world†. This statement is found at the employee entrance of almost all Nordstrom stores across the country. Bloomingdales: Bloomingdales might just be one of the most famous stores in the world. Bloomingdales is known for its â€Å"Big Brown Bag† which is something that all avid shoppers like to be seen carrying around. The mission of Bloomingdales is â€Å"to seek and create†, which is a statement that is well carried out by the company (Nordstrom comparative analysis). The company has a hand picked product development team that travels to Europe looking for new fashion ideas. If they do not find what they are looking for they create it. The extreme focus on product development and diversity has made the company famous for having a tremendous product mix. However, some stores rather cluttered. The Layout seems to have no structure and Bloomingdale’s pricing ranges form being competitive with Foley’s to stores far more expensive than Nordstrom. On the other hand, Nordstrom has a focused store with individual departments and consistent prices. Its does not have as much variety in its stores, but it can special order and create any product that a customer desires. This creates more satisfaction for the customer because they can easily find what they are looking for. Bloomingdales website also reflects its store atmosphere. It is a full line of goods which overwhelms the customer. The website lacks structure and is confusing to sift through. Nordstrom’s website also reflects it’s in store characteristics. The site is user friendly and easy to navigate through. Macy’s: Macy’s seems to have a similar strategy as Bloomie’s (Bloomingdales). The company is all about selling their name, not their service, unlike Nordstrom. Macy’s also focuses on having a tremendous product width as well as depth. This focus like Bloomie’s has also led the store to look cluttered. Some customers even suggest that â€Å"Macy’s looks more like discount store every year rather than a department store† (Nordstrom comparison analysis). This is again where Nordstrom gains a competitive advantage. It offers a smaller product mix in stores to help keep the customer from getting confused and overwhelmed. Macy’s offers a larger selection of home products than Nordstrom. It has a separate department for home furnishings. This department is so large that many times it is located in its own building next to Macy’s. However, Macy’s has a good selection of home products in its retail stores as well. Again, it is the focus of Macy’s that sets them apart from Nordstrom. The specialization of household products and cheaper prices keep Macy’s competitive in the market. However, Nordstrom’s focus on the customer and the employee gives them the competitive advantage in the industry. Technological In the 1900’s the information systems of Nordstrom â€Å"lagged behind many retailers†, such as JC Penny, Federated Department Stores, Dillard’s, and Belk. (Levinson, 2005) The CFO of Nordstrom commented on the lagging information systems, saying, â€Å"our people at one time were our information system† (Levinson, 2005). During this time the company was reluctant to consider IT â€Å"for fear that it would come between the store and its customers† (Levinson, 2005). A sales slump in the year 2000 was enough to convince Nordstrom that it was behind the times. The threat of other companies gaining a heavy advantage with new technology was too much to handle. Looking at the other models around them, Nordstrom became an early adopter and began buying IT technology. â€Å"Over the past four years†, Nordstrom has spent a total of $350 million on IT products and has found â€Å"that technology has improved, not degraded, the customer service in which it takes such pride† (Levinson, 2005). Nordstrom has integrated two major systems into the company within the last five years. The systems are personal book and a new inventory system at the cash registers. These two systems have helped bring Nordstrom’s customer service to a new level. Personal Book: Personal book is new computer software designed to help companies keep track of customer information. It can track what the customer bought, their size, how much he/she spent, who sold them what, their birthday and other valuable information that sales people need to enhance sales. This is a valuable tool because the sales people can create a more â€Å"personal† relationship with the customer. One former employee quotes â€Å"the personal book was a very useful tool and instilled in me the importance of building and maintaining customer relationships† (Palma, 2006). This quote describes exactly what puts Nordstrom in a class of its own. Adding a personal touch is the difference between good and great companies. The implementation of personal book has dramatically increased sales at Nordstrom. After its introduction in 2005, Nordstrom’s first quarter sales increased â€Å"7. 7 percent to $1. 7 billion, compared with $1. 5 billion† in the first quarter of the previous year. Levinson, 2005) Total sales for the second quarter also rose 7. 8 percent. CFO of Nordstrom Michael Koppel reported that â€Å"approximately a third of all sales are a result of interactions between sales associates and customers facilitated with personal book† (Levinson, 2005). Nordstrom analysts also have reported that 68 percent of the business from the top sales people is g enerated from personal book customers. More information about personal book can be found on page †¦. Inventory System: The new inventory system has proven to be â€Å"a tremendous home run† (Levinson, 2005). The new system is based around an electronic inventory management system and an automatic replenishment function. Before this new system was installed in 2003, inventory was counted by hand. This old system was definitely â€Å"not the most accurate way to [manage inventory], and certainly wasn’t very quick†, commented Peter Nordstrom during a conference call. This created a problem for the company. The distribution departments could not tell how much inventory was needed in each store, which resulted in a lot more discounts than the company should have had. This loss of money led Nordstrom to purchase an inventory management system. The new inventory system was an electronic system which took a lot of the work load off of the Nordstrom staff. It helped the company determine the demand for each product by using historical sales and fashion trends. Now it could allocate the proper amount and type of merchandise to each store. It also kept track of in store inventory. Every time a product was rung up at the register or returned to the store, the in store inventory went up or down accordingly. This helped the distribution department immensely. They could now replenish the inventory of each store when it was actually needed. This also helped the sales dramatically increase customer service. When a customer wanted to purchase a product, a sales person could look it up on the computer to see how many were in the store, and how many were available at other locations. The results of this new system worked wonders for Nordstrom. Koppel stated that the inventory in 2003 (they year the system was integrated), went down $15 million or 1. 6 percent† (Levinson, 2005). Likewise, inventory continued to go down in 2004, decreasing by 5. 3 percent. Inventory was also turned 10 percent more in 2004. This increase showed the company there was still a lot of room to grow in their current market and that other department stores had good reason to switch to this way of inventory. Marketing Strategy Target Market In each Nordstrom store there is the potential for one consumer to encounter upwards of 30 different departments. For women’s clothing alone, there are 14 clothing options ranging from teenage apparel, to elegant ballroom attire. The multiple departments within the Nordstrom store cause the target market for a single Nordstrom store to range across a broad spectrum of potential buyers. While each of the target markets differs substantially depending on the department, the members of each of these markets do have a main connecting quality. Each customer, no matter the department in which they are shopping, is looking for a quality product that they know will be guaranteed by Nordstrom for a lifetime. Each consumer knows that while the products offered may not be the cheapest, they are quality made products that come with an implied warranty by Nordstrom. Nordstrom does not have a return policy, which will be addressed later in the paper, to ensure that consumers can return any product at anytime, for any reason. Consumers are also looking for a product that is not only well made, but that is usually contemporary in relation to current fashion trends. This makes Nordstrom’s overall target market homogeneous in respect to the demographic and psychographic segments. A person’s income and lifestyle can be the deciding factor of whether they can afford to shop at Nordstrom or not, or whether the products that Nordstrom offers are even of interest. For the sake of space, this paper will look at the target markets of three specific departments within Nordstrom that embody a large number of Nordstrom’s clientele: Brass Plum for juniors, Point of View for women, and Men’s Sportswear. Brass Plum (B. P. ) is Nordstrom’s only junior’s department, targeting young women, ages 16-22 in the middle or upper class. B. P. offers the latest fashion trends for the younger women at a price that is more reasonable than high-end boutiques and department stores. While that price is more reasonable than some places, it still is not as cheap as some other department stores, which is why the target market is the middle and upper class. Those ‘other department stores’ however, do not insure their products as well as Nordstrom’s does, nor is the quality of product comparable either. Lastly, the reason for the target of the middle and upper class is because fashion trends do not usually last for more than a season. Most people of a lower class cannot afford to buy new, trendy clothes every season to match what is popular, which is the only type of clothing that B. P. offers. Point of View has a target market of women in their twenties to early fifties. The age is not clearly defined because more specifically, Point of View has a target market of the working professional woman. While some clothes within Point of View are casual, they still uphold a classy and refined look suitable for a ‘dress down’ day at the office. Most of the selection within Point of View however, is professional attire for the working, middle to upper class woman. The clothes are priced comparable to other high-end department stores, but are backed with the quality guarantee Nordstrom provides all of its products. The one major difference between the selection in Point of View, and other high-end department stores, is that Point of View tries to offer a selection of business wear for the younger working woman that has a trendier edge. This helps to capture the twenty-something market that is usually skipped over in other department stores. It allows young women to look professional, while still looking their age. While carrying this younger professional attire, Point of View still carries the classic suits and shirts that appeal to the more conservative thirty to fifty year old professional women. The last department is the Men’s Sportswear department, which like Point of View, targets men in their twenties to early fifties. The word sportswear might evoke thoughts of soccer or football to some, but in this department sportswear are the clothes worn by the middle to upper class while they sail, golf, or simply lounge around at their beach house. This department is intended for the professional male, who in his daily life must dress in professional attire and would like that to translate into his causal wear as well. This casual wear consists of clothes that portray an image of success and prosperity without a suit and tie. The target market is middle to upper class within this department because of the intended uses of the clothes that are sold. Many of the clothes are intended for sailing and golf, leisure activities that the middle and lower class might not be able to afford. The size of the men’s sportswear department is small in relation to some of the women’s departments, but this can be attributed to men’s desire for consistency and ease when shopping. The prices within the men’s sportswear department are comparable to other high-end department stores, but once again the clothes are backed by the Nordstrom guarantee of quality. While each of the departments have a target market that separates itself from the rest of the store, it can be seen that within all of the heterogeneous factors there are three homogeneous factors that can be found. First, in all departments, the consumer is looking for a quality product that will suit their clothing needs. Second, no matter what their clothing needs, the consumer is looking for clothes that portray a specific image of their choosing, such as an established professional or a young trendsetter. Lastly, throughout all of the clothes offered at Nordstrom each consumer is expecting the Nordstrom, guarantee of quality that ensures the consumers happiness with the product no matter the circumstances. Marketing Mix Nordstrom seeks to achieve the retention of the previously stated target markets through the use of coordinated marketing activities. These include the use of product, place, price, and promotion inside and outside of the store. These four aspects embody the marketing mix, and their objectives and roles are clearly specified through different offerings and outlets. Product The products that are offered within a single Nordstrom store compliment each other very well. On one shopping trip a family is able to buy clothes and accessories for everyone. Women are able to complete an outfit from Point of View by getting the perfect pair of shoes from the Women’s Shoes department, accessorize the outfit in fine jewelry, accessorizes and handbags, and can shop her favorite makeup line in the makeup department, all in one trip. These products are enhanced by a multitude of factors including their warranty, return policy, customer service, and the internal workings of any Nordstrom. Each transaction within Nordstrom comes with an implied warranty of the goods purchased by the consumer. If the consumer is unhappy with the product at anytime, even after the tags are removed, the product has been worn, or the receipt has been lost, the consumer is more than welcome to return the product back to the store for a full refund or exchange – no questions asked. This return policy is exemplified through the mythical story that circulates throughout Nordstrom stores and their competitor’s outlets. It has been said that a woman tried to return a set of snow tires that she claimed she bought at her nearby Nordstrom store. When the employee was unsure of what procedure to follow since Nordstrom did not sell tires, the employee contacted the store manager. The manager told the employee to take back the tires and offer a full refund of the standard price for snow tires to the woman. So while it is obvious that Nordstrom might not appreciate consumers returning goods from other stores, they are dedicated to customer service and their guarantee of quality. Nordstrom wants to carry quality items that consumers will love, and if the consumers decide they do not, they are able to return them at anytime. This allows Nordstrom to have an absent return policy to ensure that a return is bound by no limits. Aside from offering their products for free, customer satisfaction within a Nordstrom cannot be better guaranteed in any other way. By knowing that every purchase is basically guaranteed for life, a consumer’s satisfaction is not bound by any measures on behalf of Nordstrom. Along with such a liberal return policy, Nordstrom offers a range of other amenities for consumers to enjoy and enhance the value of the product to the customer. For instance, with anything that you purchase from Nordstrom you can have it altered for free. Upon trying the clothes on, a person from the alteration department will come to your fitting room and measure your clothes according to your needs. The altered clothes are usually available within a week’s time. Also, in the lingerie department, women can receive a free and accurate bra fitting. Unlike other popular lingerie stores, employees within the lingerie department must attend class and earn the right to do bra fittings. This ensures each consumer an accurate fitting. In the shoe department, if a pair of leather shoes is too tight on a consumer’s foot, the Nordstrom employee will stretch the shoes out at no cost. Also, when trying on clothes there is no limit to how many pieces of clothing a consumer is allowed to take in, and a consumer is never expected to clean out their dressing room when they are finished. Any purchase that is made can also be complimentary gift wrapped. While these factors may seem miniscule, it does help consumers reduce shopping time and have a more enjoyable shopping experience. So while the consumer might only be in and out for a white t-shirt, they know that if needed all of these amenities are available for their use, enhancing the value of the product for the consumer. Along with these externally obvious factors of product value to the consumer, there are also internal functions within Nordstrom that ensure that customer service is ideal in any situation. Quality customer service is Nordstrom’s main competitive advantage against its competitors. Nordstrom has focused itself since 1901 on the basis that superior customer service is the first and foremost important aspect of the company. While other companies have a chain of command when dealing with customer service issues, Nordstrom is void of any such rules. When hired at Nordstrom, the new employee is greeted with an employee folder that includes a welcome packet, employee expectations, rewards, benefit information and information about the specific Nordstrom store the new employee will be working. On the very front of each folder is a 57 card that states: â€Å"Were glad to have you with our Company. Our number one goal is to provide outstanding customer service. Set both your personal and professional goals high. We have great confidence in your ability to achieve them. Nordstrom Rules: Rule #1: Use your good judgment in all situations. There will be no additional rules. Please feel free to ask your department manager, store manager, or division general manager any question at any time†. Nordstrom’s idea is to put the employees in control of every situation so that the consumer feels a sense of security at all times within the store. While specific instances might dictate manager involvement, employees are granted the right to deal with consumer situations based on their judgment. These words ring loud within any Nordstrom store because they are printed in the employee entrance and in the backrooms of most departments. Through out the hiring process Nordstrom ensures that customer service is always handled in a way that upholds their reputation. Nordstrom is able to supply a quality product based on the judgment of the consumer, while also providing a trusted and quality environment by empowering the judgment of the employees. Place/Distribution The next factor of the marketing mix is to coordinate the marketing activities for the retention of the target markets through place and distribution. Nordstrom currently has 157 stores located in twenty seven states. These include 99 full-line stores, 50 Nordstrom Rack stores, five Faconnable boutiques, one free-standing shoe store and two clearance stores. Nordstrom also operates 35 international Faconnable boutiques in Europe. Faconnable is a men’s clothing line developed by Nordstrom for the more upscale shopper to accommodate their business and leisure clothing needs. Nordstrom’s popularity is based on the west-coast, primarily because of its headquarters and flagship store in Seattle, Washington. Mainly, the Nordstrom stores are located in shopping malls which usually provide a heavily populated central area which contains a portion of their target market. Since Nordstrom is located within a mall, access is relatively easy for consumers. Even if consumers do live some distance away from the faculties, coming to the mall is more acceptable because they will not only have the option to visit Nordstrom, but will have the ability to shop at other stores as well. This justifies their traveling time, which would not happen if Nordstrom had only free-standing stores. While access to Nordstrom facilities is relatively easy on the west coast, there is room for major improvement by Nordstrom on the east coast. In New Hampshire, Maine, South Carolina, Vermont, West Virginia and Massachusetts, there is not a single Nordstrom store to date. There are two stores in North Carolina and New York; and one store in Pennsylvania, Missouri, Michigan, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. This is compared to the thirty two California stores, nine Washington stores, five Oregon stores and two Hawaii stores. However, this lack of access to facilities by consumers on the east coast will soon be partially remedied. Nordstrom plans to open twenty five new stores in the next five years. Out of these twenty five stores, it plans on opening four in Massachusetts, two in Michigan and one in Missouri. Once Nordstrom has established a stronger base on the east coast, I believe they will gain an even better reputation and have the ability to fine tune their marketing and customer service strategies. Along in place and distribution is not just the physical outlet that Nordstrom has, but also the atmosphere in each of the outlets. Since we are at the peak of the holiday season, it is a good time to look at the atmosphere within a Nordstrom store. Garland and decorative curtains decorate each entrance into the store. Holiday music played live in each store on the well known Nordstrom piano echoes through the departments on speakers. A giving tree accompanies the bottom side of each escalator, and on weekends the tops of the escalators have live carolers. Each department has holiday specials, and pictures with Santa are held every year. This atmosphere helps to evoke the holiday spirit within the consumers, and also provides them with a place to shop that is enjoyable during the busy holiday time. When it is not a holiday season, front window displays are changed bi-weekly, and in store decorations and manikins are changed multiple times each week. Also, a night cleaning crew makes sure that all the carpets, mirrors and dressing rooms are kept in pristine condition. This type of atmosphere allows the consumer to shop at ease without heaps of clothes in a mess, or stained carpets. Instead, they can go to a place where the only thing they notice is the clothes and the quality of the presentation. Promotion The next factor of the marketing mix is to coordinate the marketing activities for the retention of the target markets through promotion tactics including advertising, public relations, personal selling, and sales promotion. Nordstrom does not engage in heavy advertising. TV commercial spots are few and far between, and only usually take place on major televised events. Instead, Nordstrom does most of its advertising through print. Local newspapers usually contain a full page spread during Nordstrom’s half yearly and anniversary sales. During the holidays, Nordstrom also has featured spreads as well. These spreads are hung in the employee entrance area so that employees are aware of what consumers are looking for, if they come in and refer specifically to that advertisement. Also, Nordstrom puts out two catalogues per month that premiere a few new items within each department. They also feature gift ideas during the holidays, and include an easy way to order straight from the catalogue. Anyone that has a Nordstrom account will receive this catalogue, along with anyone that registers online Advertising: Nordstrom has also engaged in some other intense advertising campaigns in the past few years. Most of these have been directly related to online advertising. In 1999, Nordstrom started to campaign heavily to gain consumer awareness of their new website, Nordstromshoes. com. Nordstrom claims the site is the world’s biggest shoe store. It is titled ‘Make Room for Shoes’. The name was selected to entice users not only to their main website which was linked on the new shoes site, but also to educate users on the broad selection of shoes that Nordstrom offers. In 2005, Nordstrom debuted NordstromSilverscreen. com. The website combined music and pop culture with shopping. Visitors of the site were able to be a DJ and mix up songs recorded by artists specifically for the site. The visitors mixed the song, by mixing up clothes on a corresponding manikin. This allowed visitors to see new fashion trends and learn how to mix and match clothes to find their very own style. Visitors of the site could also ‘shop’ the site, by clicking on any the clothes worn in the video made exclusively for Nordstrom. Anything that the artist was wearing in the video was available for sale at Nordstom. com. Nordstromsilverscreen. om was one of the first attempts by a retailer to mix shopping and interactive media making Nordstrom an innovator in this new market. While Nordstromscilverscreen. com is no longer available to visit, the launch of this new and innovative platform says a lot of Nordstrom. This company is willing to take risks to advertise and capture a new and different consumer, and to evolve and be ahead of other department stores in the advertising industry. Aside from these new websites, Nordstrom. com is still a large, comprehensive site that allows visitors to see everything that Nordstrom has to offer. Visitors are able to search by brand, in-store department, or by age and gender. Along side every choice that the visitor views, is a selection of other clothes that are closely related to the current viewing. Also, if a consumer has provided Nordstrom with their e-mail address, Nordstrom sends out weekly e-mails that highlight new items, and special discounts. Lastly, the newest advertising campaign that Nordstrom embarked on was for the Nordstrom MOD card. The MOD card is a debit card that is set up through a consumer’s personal bank and checking account. The MOD card is specific to Nordstrom, and allows Nordstrom to track what is bought and how much consumers spend. This way, consumers can gain points like what is offered with the traditional Nordstrom’s credit card. For every dollar that is spent, the consumer earns a point; and during promotional events, they can earn twice the points for every dollar spent. Once the consumer reaches a certain level of points, they get a gift certificate in the mail redeemable at any Nordstrom. Nordstrom realized that not everyone wants to hold a credit card at Nordstrom, which led them to the idea of the MOD card. This way, consumers can buy from Nordstrom using cash, and still receive the points they deserve. Nordstrom has heavily advertised the MOD card and the rewards that a customer gains from having a Nordstrom account. Through these advertising activities, Nordstrom is better able to promote their stores in a positive and controlled manner. Public Relations: The next segment of promotion is public relations. Nordstrom is equipped with a public relations representative, who is located at Nordstrom’s headquarters in downtown Seattle, Washington. Consumers are able to find out about public relation activities on their website under investor relations, or in their annual report. On the Nordstrom website consumers are able to find out about new store openings, upcoming events, stock information, news, and press releases. Nordstrom also relies on customer word of mouth. While other competitor department stores deal with union battles, and declining sales, the quality and outstanding customer service is rarely questioned by consumers. Consumers know by personal experience and word of mouth that Nordstrom is dedicated to its customers. Nordstrom also engages in public relations activities through the promotion of some of their clothes. Most recently, Nordstrom has taken an active role in the â€Å"ONE† campaign and formed a partnership with the company Edun. Edun is selling a t-shirt with the word ‘ONE’ across the front. This promotes the idea that if the United States government allocated just one percent of its budget to health, education, and medication for underprivileged countries, the United States could save millions of lives. For every shirt sold Edun contributes ten dollars to the Apparel Lesotho Alliance to Fight Aids (ALAFA). The ONE shirts are made in Lesotho, Africa. Upon selling the ONE shirt within their stores, Nordstrom donated $100,000 to ALAFA. Nordstrom is also a yearly sponsor in the Race for the Cure, hosted by the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation to raise money for breast cancer research and awareness. Nordstrom exclusively hosts the Beat the Bridge to Beat Diabetes marathon in Seattle, Washington. The proceeds benefit the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. So far in 2006, the Beat the Bridge marathon donations have raised $855,078. 57. Through not only their exceptional reputation, but also through involvement in philanthropic activities Nordstrom is able to enhance their public relations. These positive public relation activities in turn influence consumer perception and decision making. Personal Selling: The next section of promotion is personal selling. Personal selling is defined as a purchase situation in which two people communicate in an attempt to influence each other (Lamb, et al, 2006). Personal selling is the basis of Nordstrom’s philosophy and mission statement. Personal selling emphasizes the relationship that is developed between a salesperson and a consumer. Within any department at a Nordstrom store, a consumer will be able to find numerous employees who are knowledgeable about the products they offer, and who are also eager to help them find whatever it is they are looking for. When a consumer is shopping within a department, a single salesperson will usually help them through the entire purchasing process. If what the consumer is looking for happens to be in a different department, that same salesperson will go to that other department and get whatever it s. The salesperson will find sizes, colors, and styles from other stores if what the consumer is looking for is not available at that specific store. Salespeople also can take payment on Nordstrom credit cards at their payment station, and can hold clothes for the consumer. Salespeople are endowed with the ability to manage customer service situations, so if one consumer feels comfort able with a specific salesperson, basically all of their needs can be taken care of through that salesperson. This created a very strong relationship between the salesperson and the consumer. If the consumer knows that when they go to Nordstrom they can count on someone being there that they know and trust, they will be more likely to ask more questions and try on more things. Nordstrom has made personal selling even easier through their new system of Personal Book. Personal Book allows a salesperson to enter in consumer information such as their address, phone number, birthday and recent purchases. During sale times, salespeople are asked to call at least fifty people from their personal book to the consumer know that they are excited to see them at the sale. Having this information also enables the salespeople to send out thank you cards which are supposed to be done a daily basis by a salesperson. The thank you cards are mailed out to the consumer, and add a personal finishing touch to the purchase, which also enhances the bond between the consumer and the salesperson. Personal Book also can keep track of what a consumer has bought, so when Nordstrom has a big sale, some of the consumers who have purchased the most throughout the year are invited to shop the sale prior to anyone else, and to preview what is going to be offered. Personal Book also allows for promotional materials to be sent out pertaining to certain events that occur within a department that a consumer frequently shops. All of these benefits from Personal Book enhance the personal selling aspect of promotion. Consumers are not seen as a target market within the store, but are rather seen as individuals with specific needs and wants that are catered to be the Nordstrom employees. Sales Promotion: The last component of promotion is sales promotion. Sales promotion is everything else that is not covered by personal selling, advertising, and public relations. Usually sales promotions are a quick tool that immediately increases consumer demand of a product. Nordstrom does not offer a lot of the one day sales, or door buster sales that other department stores offer. Instead, Nordstrom focuses all of their attention on their three major sales per year. These include the half yearly sales, in June and November, and their Anniversary sale in August. These attractions are not just a sale, they are an event. Special promotions, rewards and deals are offered. A kick-rally prior to the doors opening helps to hype up the employees for the coming busy weeks. Consumers line up outside of Nordstrom’s doors hours prior to opening. They enter a newly decorated store from the previous day, with new displays, merchandise and prices. Nordstrom focuses on these events for the purpose of showing the consumer that they do not just want to push inventory in and out of the store. They want to offer quality products that consumers enjoy, and reward consumers for their purchases through major discounts at these sales. Lastly, another important factor of these sales is that they have created a tradition. Women and their daughters take time off school and work to attend the first day of the sale. At the sale they go Christmas shopping, school shopping personal shopping. This is important for Nordstrom because their limited numbers of sales are not only seen as a time to get a good deal, but they have penetrated the culture and created more than just a sale. Price: The last factor of the marketing mix is to coordinate the marketing activities for the retention of the target markets through price. Nordstrom strives to provide the most quality product for the cheapest price allowable. However, Nordstrom does cater to an upper and middle class target market which does raise their prices from other lower department stores. Each department within Nordstrom, as stated earlier, has a different target market which does vary the range pf prices immensely within one store. In the St. John department catered to upper class wealthy women, a consumer can buy a suit jacket for $2,000. In Point of View, targeted toward the more middle class women who want to look professional without spending as much, a suit jacket is available for seventy dollars. Through this, it can be seen that the department a consumer goes to will determine the price they will pay. Whatever the dollar price of the purchase, Nordstrom tries to justify that price through their personal selling efforts and their product guarantee. A sale is not just a sale, as proven earlier in the personal selling section. Consumers and salespersons are able to establish a relationship which enhances the consumers purchase experience. Because the consumer knows that no matter what they buy, whether it is a pair of socks, or a mink coat, the quality of that purchase is indefinitely guaranteed by Nordstrom.

Selena Lundy Essays (684 words) - Fiction, Literature,

Selena Lundy October 17, 2016 ENG 215 Professor Alveraz Readings based on The Tempest The three readings based on The Tempest all brought forward many ideas and concepts on how and why the play was the way that it was. Each reading on their own had ideas that we had discussed in one way or another in class. I have read essays from A Norton Critical Edition for another novel and English class and they were just as hard and confusing to read this time for The Tempest as they had been before. The readings were so heavy and thick and, despite the fact that they did make many goods points, I know for a fact that there were many more points that I probably missed from the lack of my full understanding. In the essay by G. Wilson Knight, Knight focused on magic, how Prospero used it throughout the play, and what the island had to do with the magic that Prospero gained. Knight states that Prospero is able to have magic through the island and, as best as I can tell the island's magic has a way with words and poetry. This gives us the indication that Prospero is nothing more than a man draining power from the island to do his bidding. He's not as powerful as he and the others in the play think he is. On one hand, I agree where Knight is coming from, as Prospero doesn't seem to have had any power when he was in his kingdom. That leads me to question the reasoning behind Prospero's "magical" belongings like his staff and books. If the island was what really gave him magic, what use did he have for those? Where they just for show? George Lamming wrote an essay about a topic that I hadn't really thought of before too deeply. Caliban and Miranda had a bond. This bond came from both that of their friendship that most likely would have grown over the years, as the two of them were the only company the other had, and that they had the same kind of status when compared to Prospero. Neither knew their mother and both had no idea of the world outside of their island. This bond can change how we look at Miranda and Caliban and if we want to believe Prospero and Miranda when they say that Caliban intended to rape Miranda. Lamming continues to say that despite the fact that Miranda was able to fall in love with Ferdinand, her father probably didn't love his own wife in the same way. I agree with this as, like we talked about in class, Prospero only talks about his wife once to Miranda and not very much in a way that I think of as very loving and admiring. Because of this, Prospero is unable to interact with the world aro und him as anything other than a tyrant and powerful being. In Peter Hulme's essay, he focuses on the relationship between Prospero and Caliban. Prospero is seen as the playwright of the play, the man who pulls the strings and manipulates the other characters to do what he wants them to. I don't think that there is really anyone who can read The Tempest and not think the same thing. They'd have to be as naive as Miranda to not see it. Hulme's brought up an interesting concept that Prospero had casted Caliban to be the new Antonio, which I would not have thought up but can see quite well. Antonio hatched a plan to displace Prospero from his dukedom, and Caliban hatched a plan to displace Prospero from the island and as his master. There's the idea that Caliban, unlike maybe the others, was not under any magic or being pulled by Prospero's strings but acting of his won nature: a slave who wanted to overthrow his master. There were plenty of sections throughout the essay's that I thought were a little bit confusing and difficult to understand, but for the most part, I found what the authors of these essays had to say very interesting.

Learning Theories Styles free essay sample

Examines learning theories (behaviorism, cognition), styles (divergers, convergers) modes (experience, reflection), related to motor skills acquisition. There are four primary motor skill components. These components are accuracy, speed, economy of effort, and flexibility (Lee, 1988, pp. 201-215). Initially, accuracy is attained only at the expense of the other motor skill components. Flexibility is the last of the motor skill components typically acquired. Flexibility is acquired through the alteration of a newly acquired function with others already well established, and through the integration of features learned in previous stages (Christina Bjork, 1991, pp. 23-56). Each of the four components of motor skill are essential to the automatization

Free Essays on Surrogate Mothers

Surrogate Mothers According to Elaine Landau in the book â€Å" Surrogate Mothers† â€Å"A Surrogate mother is a woman who conceives, carries, and gives birth to a baby for another person.† (Landau 9). 750 babies have been born through surrogacy at the center for surrogate mothers (â€Å"Frequently asked questions† 1). Many people do not know a lot about surrogate motherhood, so hey are afraid of it. Many women are insecure and they fear titles on the National Inquirer such as â€Å" Father falls in love with surrogate mother!† (Frank 140). Although many women fear the idea of surrogacy, more woman are contemplating the issue because of the increased knowledge of the process and the additional support given during the process of being a surrogate mother. The increased knowledge of the process sometimes does not put women who know about the â€Å"Baby M† case minds’ at ease. Basically, an infertile couple, the Sterns, went to a lawyer and said they would like to have a baby through a Surrogate mother. The lawyer located a lady who wanted to be a surrogate mother, Mary-Beth Whitehead. The Sterns, Mar-Beth Whitehead, and her husband, Richard Whitehead, met for lunch and a contract was drawn up. Mary-Beth Whitehead after many tries finally conceived and carried the baby. Over the time of her pregnancy, she felt like the Sterns were truing to control her life because of the fact that the Sterns would tell her what they thought was best for her during the pregnancy. Nine months later a baby girl was born and it was then that the Whiteheads realized they made a huge mistake. Mr. And Mrs. Whitehead told the Sterns they did not want to give up the baby and they were going to keep her. The Sterns did not like that and took the W hiteheads to court. After many emotional months of court trials and tribulations â€Å"Baby M† was awarded to the Sterns and all of Mrs. Whiteheads parental rights were taken away. Mrs. Whitehead later appealed the low... Free Essays on Surrogate Mothers Free Essays on Surrogate Mothers Surrogate Mothers According to Elaine Landau in the book â€Å" Surrogate Mothers† â€Å"A Surrogate mother is a woman who conceives, carries, and gives birth to a baby for another person.† (Landau 9). 750 babies have been born through surrogacy at the center for surrogate mothers (â€Å"Frequently asked questions† 1). Many people do not know a lot about surrogate motherhood, so hey are afraid of it. Many women are insecure and they fear titles on the National Inquirer such as â€Å" Father falls in love with surrogate mother!† (Frank 140). Although many women fear the idea of surrogacy, more woman are contemplating the issue because of the increased knowledge of the process and the additional support given during the process of being a surrogate mother. The increased knowledge of the process sometimes does not put women who know about the â€Å"Baby M† case minds’ at ease. Basically, an infertile couple, the Sterns, went to a lawyer and said they would like to have a baby through a Surrogate mother. The lawyer located a lady who wanted to be a surrogate mother, Mary-Beth Whitehead. The Sterns, Mar-Beth Whitehead, and her husband, Richard Whitehead, met for lunch and a contract was drawn up. Mary-Beth Whitehead after many tries finally conceived and carried the baby. Over the time of her pregnancy, she felt like the Sterns were truing to control her life because of the fact that the Sterns would tell her what they thought was best for her during the pregnancy. Nine months later a baby girl was born and it was then that the Whiteheads realized they made a huge mistake. Mr. And Mrs. Whitehead told the Sterns they did not want to give up the baby and they were going to keep her. The Sterns did not like that and took the W hiteheads to court. After many emotional months of court trials and tribulations â€Å"Baby M† was awarded to the Sterns and all of Mrs. Whiteheads parental rights were taken away. Mrs. Whitehead later appealed the low...

Educational Psychology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

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Why can recounting past experiences be important in helping services users have a sense of who they are Should care workers always encourage people to recall their pasts - Assignment Example 23-24). Some of these service users have undergone traumatic experiences or bad experiences that are either forgotten, repressed or others that happened when the service users were too young. The pertinent question then is, should remembrance of the past be used as an integral part of the reconstruction of the self identity of service users? As noted in the introduction, service users may have an abnormal or maladaptive self-identity. In the development of an individual, some steps are necessary and if developmental tasks are not successfully met, an individual may present immediate problems or have problems later in life (Berger, 2008, p. 34). This is supported by the psychodynamic theories of psychology i.e. Freud’s psychosexual approach and Erikson’s psychosocial approach. Freud’s theory is centered on sexual maturity and only focuses on the years before sexual maturity and how not accomplishing the tasks of a certain stage might later affect the development of an individual in a detrimental way. Erikson’s theory on the other hand is more expansive; covering the entire lifespan of an individual and is based on achievement of certain social tasks (Frager and Fadiman, 2005, p.49). The implication of not meeting some of the goals that one is supposed to meet in the developmental stages is dysfunction coupled with problems with one’s self identity. For instance, a child’s separation from the primary care-givers (mother and father) at the age of 0-2years can lead to general mistrust of the world around them (Aronson, Wilson and Arket, 2007, p. 56). Teenagers who do not have the proper support system are likely to develop an identity crisis; a false sense of self or a loss of perspective as regarding their abilities and the situation that they are in (Santrock, 2009, p. 50). Later stages of development like young adulthood and middle adulthood also present issues that might occur in

Essay Topic Needed Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Topic Needed - Essay Example Due to this The Protestant-Calvinist Church tried to separate their selves from the Catholicism. The adaptation of Blacks and Indians was very slow in process by the whole nation. Racism began to construct on the basis of religion and color of the people. Blacks and Indians were treated as slaves and soulless. The economy of slavery in South forced a system based on racialism which developed the biological, zoological and botanical theories, which explained the human difference &slavery justification. (DISMANTLING RACISM: A Resource Book). From my personal point of view, Racism and slavery in south has always been a major issue of human rights. Slaves and Blacks being treated as lesser beings is what led to society with a born mindset against slaves and Blacks. Historically, sociology in context with the race has failed to observe the construction of both sides of America black/white, in terms of radical inequality. The real situation of America’s society is defined by both ‘race’ and ‘whiteness’. It was observed by Blumer that the Americans race system emerged from the intersection into three events occurred in the history of America. That was the conquest of the Indians, the forced importation of Africans, and more or less solicited coming of Europeans, Asians, and Latinos. Race was created in America during the time of 16th and 17th century. As per norms and values the trend was that the Catholics preferred to marry Catholics, the wealthy people preferred to marry wealthy, white preferred white and black preferred black. So, the norms of endogamy became the major issue in the ‘races’ of America. In 1967, van den Berghe observed that â€Å"sociologist might regard racial distinction as a spe cial case of invidious status differentiation†. Blumer also pointed the distinction of statuses among the American people. The American ‘race’ relations represent the historical activities of humanity

Interrupts In Operating Systems Computer Science Essay

Interrupts In Operating Systems Computer Science Essay To successfully control several processes the core of operating system makes utilize of what is known as interrupt. Interrupt is a machine used for implementing the multitasking concept. It is a signal from hardware or software to point out the incidence of the event. When one or more process running and at similar time if user give an additional process then interrupt is take place. If the CPU does not poll the control bit, but instead receives an interrupt when the device is ready for the next byte, the data transfer is said to be interrupt driven. A hardware interrupt occurs, when an I/O operation is done such as analysis some data into the computer from a tape drive. In additional term hardware interrupts are used by devices to communicate that they need awareness from the operating system. Some familiar examples are a hard disk signaling that is has read a sequence of data blocks, or that a network device has processed a buffer containing network packets. Interrupts are also worn for asynchronous events, such as the appearance of new data from an exterior network. Hardware interrupts are delivered straight to the CPU via a little network of interrupt administration and routing devices. Hardware interrupts are referenced by an interrupt numeral. These statistics are mapped back to the section of hardware that produced the interrupt. This enables the system to monitor which device formed the interrupt and when it occurred. In most computer systems, interrupts are handled as speedily as possible. When an interrupt is acknowledged, any recent action is blocked and an interrupt handler is executed. The handler will anticipate any supplementary running programs and system actions, which can time-consuming the entire system down, and generate latencies. MRG Real-time modifies the way interrupts are handled in array to progress performance, and reduce latency. Software interrupts A software interrupt occurs when an application program terminates or needs definite services from the operating system. Software interrupt generated contained by a processor by executing an instruction. Software interrupt are frequently used to implemented system calls because they implemented a subroutine call with a CPU ring stage modify. Timed interrupts The timed interrupt is worn when a convinced event MUST happen at a specified frequency. Interrupt vector   An  interrupt vector  is the  memory address  of an  interrupt handler, or directory into a group called an  interrupt vector table  or  dispatch table. Interrupt vector tables include the memory addresses of interrupt handlers. When an interrupt  is generated, the processor saves its completing state through a  context switch, and begins effecting of the interrupt handler at the interrupt vector. Answer 2 Microkernel A Microkernel tries to run the majority services like networking, file system, etc. All thats left to do for the kernel are essential services, like memory allocation, scheduling, and messaging (Inter Process Communication). IPC Hardware Server S/W Kernel In theory, this model makes the kernel additional receptive (since a large amount of functionality resides in traceable user-space threads and processes, removing the require for context-switching into the kernel proper), and improves the constancy of the kernel by reducing the quantity of code running in kernel space. There are also supplementary benefits for OS that carry multi-CPU computers (much simpler reentrancy security and better correctness for asynchronous functionality) and distributed OS (code can use services without knowing if the service contributor is running on the similar computer or not). A disadvantage is the sum of messaging and Context Switching concerned, which makes microkernels conceptually slower than monolithic kernel. Modular Kernel A modular kernel is an effort to combine the excellent points of kernel-level drivers and moderator drivers. In a modular kernel, a few part of the system core will be situated in autonomous files called modules that can be additional to the system at run time. Depending on the substance of those modules, the aim can differ such as: just loading drivers if a device is in fact establish only load a file system if it gets really requested, just load the code for a precise scheduling, security or any policy when it should be evaluated. Modular and layered kernel compare and contrast The modular kernel approach requires subsystems to interrelate with each other through suspiciously constructed interfaces that are naturally narrow (in conditions of the functionality that is showing to external modules). The layered kernel moves toward is similar in that admiration. However, the layered kernel imposes a firm ordering of subsystems such that subsystems at the subordinate layers are not allowed to appeal to operations parallel to the upper-layer subsystems. There are no such limitations in the modular-kernel approach, wherein modules are open to invoke each other not including any constraints. Answer 3 What is a context switch? Context switching occurs when single  process  provisionally discontinues execution and an additional  process  resumes execution in its position. Context switching is performed by the  scheduler. To give each process on a multi-programmed machine a light contribute to of the CPU, hardware clock generates interrupts every so often. This allows the operating system to program every process in core memory (via scheduling algorithm) to run on the CPU at the same intervals. Every time a clock interrupt occurs, the interrupt handler checks how much time the recent running process has used. If it has used up its total time segment, then the CPU scheduling algorithm (in kernel) picks a dissimilar process to run. Each switch of the CPU from one process to a new is called a context switch. What actions are taken by a kernel to context switch? Actions are taken by a kernel to context switch surrounded by threads. The threads contribute to a lot of resources with more peer threads belonging to the equal process. So a context switch along with threads for the similar process is effortless. It involves switch of register position, the program counter along with the stack. It is comparatively easy for the kernel to achieve this task. Actions are taken by a kernel to context switch among Processes. Context switches among processes are exclusive. Ahead of a process can be switched its PCB (process control block) should be saved by the operating system. The PCB consists of the subsequent information: The process state, the program counter, the principles of the different registers, The CPU scheduling information for the process, Memory organization information concerning the process, Possible accounting information for this process, I/O status information of the process. When the PCB of the presently executing process is saved the operating system loads the PCB of the subsequently process that has to be performing on CPU. This is an important job and it takes a lot of time. Answer 4 System calls System calls are functions that a programmer can call to perform the services of the operating system. Processes that run in user mode and how processes and libraries can cause execution in kernel mode. The interface between these two modes is provided by  system calls. These are function calls that cause requests to be made to the kernel and the kernel to execute on behalf of those requests. Commands   UNIX System Calls   Libraries   File Formats   Games   Device Drivers   System Maintenance   System calls implemented by an operating system User cannot execute privileged instructions. Users must ask OS to execute them system calls. System calls are often implemented using traps. OS gains control through trap, switches to supervisor model, performs service, switches back to client mode, and gives control back to client. Dual mode The dual mode operation provides us with the resources for protecting the operating system from erroneous users. User mode and monitor mode are the two modes. Monitor mode is also called superintendent mode, system mode or privileged mode. Mode bit is attached to the hardware of the computer to point toward the present mode. In argument 0 mode bit is for monitor mode and 1 mode bit is for user mode. Application programming interface An application program interface is the precise technique set by a computer  operating system  or by an  application program  by which a programmer scripting an application program can create requirements of the operating system or a different application. An application program interface can be contrasted with a  graphical user interface  or a  command interface (both of which are direct  user interface) as interfaces to an operating system or a program. For example: Network application programming interface (API) The services that provide the interface between application and protocol software. Application Network API Protocol A Protocol B Protocol C Different methods of passing data to the operating system In a computer system having variety of memory address spaces, such as user space and kernel space, a technique and system is provided for communicating data. A data structure is distinct in the kernel space to stock up data. The data structure is nearly mapped to an application in user space such that the application can contact the data structure via virtual memory addresses. By directly accessing the data structure, data transfers between the address spaces using system calls and interrupts can be reduced. Answer 5 What is Process Scheduling? Process scheduling is a method that is used when there are limited assets and many processes are competing for them; Multiprogramming tries to make sure that there is a number of process running at all times. This is completed to utilize the CPU as much as possible. In timesharing system, the CPU switches so regularly between jobs grey_loader that the user does not experience that the machine is being mutual by many processes or even several users. What are the differences between short-term, medium-term, and long-term scheduling? Long term scheduler determines which programs are admitted to the system for processing. It controls the degree of multiprogramming. Once admitted, a job becomes a process. Medium term scheduling is division of the exchange utility. This relate to processes that are in a blocked or suspended state. They are swapped out of real-memory until they are prepared to execute. The swapping-in decision is based on memory-management criteria. Short term scheduler, also known as a dispatcher executes most regularly, and makes the finest-grained conclusion of which process should execute subsequently. This scheduler is invoked whenever an occasion occurs. It may direct to interruption of one process by pre-emption. Process state The state of process is distinct in fraction by the present activity of the process. Each process may be in one of the following states: New Running Waiting Ready Terminated These state names are random, and they differ across operating systems. The states that they correspond to are establishing on all operating systems, however. Certain operating systems more finely describe process states. Only one process can be running on any processor at any immediate, although numerous processes may be ready and waiting.

Alcohol Abuse in Russia

Joe Bloe Professor I. B Smart BS 131 December XX, 2008 Alcohol Abuse in Russia Family Issues Russians drink more alcohol than any other nation in the world. (Halpin, 2007, p1) The Times of London reports that Russians are currently going on an alcoholic binge even by Russian standards. According to the country’s chief public health officer, Gennadi Onishenko, Russians are drinking nearly three times as much as they did sixteen years ago. Onishenko’s study was promulgated by the Russian equivalent of the consumer protection agency and it reported that at least 2. million people in Russia were alcoholics. The average Russian consumed 15 litres (26 pints) of pure alcohol per annum, up from 5. 4 litres in 1990, and this phenomena is blamed for a rising rate of mortality among men. This compares to 8. 4 litres for people in the United States and 7. 6 litres in Japan. (Halpin, 2007 p 1) Violent crime and alcohol consumption have increased throughout the Russian federation sin ce the fall of the Soviet Union. This has shown harmful consequences for families and communities, as heavy alcohol drinking is closely associated with violent behavior in Russia.The correlation between heavy drinking and violence is a complicated mixture of physiological, psychological, situational, social and cultural elements. Whenever measures to control alcohol production and consumption have been introduced, reduced violence has occurred in Russia and elsewhere. (WHO, 2006) Violence is a family’s worst enemy and may include physical and sexual assaults, mental or emotional abuse and neglect. It may also be categorized into interpersonal violence, child maltreatment or neglect, intimate partner violence within a relationship, sexual violence, abuse of the elderly or self-directed violence including suicide. WHO, 2006) There is ample evidence to support the relationship between heavy drinking and violence. In Russia, alcohol has been involved in three-quarters of homicide arrests. Families often bear the brunt of the violence that emanates from heavy drinking. In the Central Black-Earth Region of Russia, a study showed that 77% of violent crimes against family members involved drinking with 35% of these drinkers bingeing every day. Among male perpetrators of spousal homicide, 60–75% of offenders had been drinking before the incident. (WHO, 2006)Alcohol abuse affects physical and cognitive functioning resulting in reduced self-control and the ability to process incoming information. This makes drinkers more apt to resort to violence to resolve conflicts. (Rand Corp. , 2002) Heavy drinking can impair parents’ responsibilities toward themselves and their children. Drinking also reduces the amount of time and money spent on their children, often neglecting the children’s basic needs. Alcohol abuse by either the parent or the child increases the child’s vulnerability to sexual abuse.Sometimes children are made to drink alcohol to facilitate sexual acts or involve them in child pornography. (WHO, 2006) Alcohol abuse during pregnancy can result in children being born with fetal alcohol syndrome as well as health issues for the mother. Excessive drinking in a relationship can create problems with finances, childcare, infidelity or other stressors leading to potentially violent situations. (WHO, 2006) Health Issues Russians are suffering from a problem with demographic retention and a declining population base.Alcoholism is a leading cause in rising Russian mortality rates, particularly among males. Alcohol contributes to premature deaths involving accidents, injuries and violence particularly among males. Male mortality rates fell sharply during Gorbachev’s anti-alcohol campaign of 1984 to 1987. This effort reduced state alcohol production, raised prices for liquor, mandated alcoholic treatments where needed and cracked down on homemade liquor. The program was highly unpopular and abandoned, after wh ich both consumption of alcohol and mortality rates for males increased dramatically once again. Rand Corp. , 2002) Russia’s population has dropped from 145 million in 2002 to 140,702,000 in July of 2008. The birth rate is slightly higher at 11. 3 births per 1,000; up from 9. 1 per 1,00 in 2002. Male life expectancy is only 59 years and for females it is 73 years. (Fitzgerald, 2003, CIA 2008) Statistics for children are not encouraging. In 2003, the number of healthy children in Russia dropped from 45. 5 percent to 33. 9 percent over ten years, and the number of disabled children doubled, according to the epidemiology section of the Health Ministry.According to information gathered form the 2002 census, one third of Russian children are born out of wedlock. (Fitzgerald, 2003) The Russian Ministry of Health did not blame alcoholic parents for substandard health environments or the usual culprits of drug abuse, or smoking and eating junk food but blamed an increase in the schoo l workload and less time for outdoor exercise. The Ministry claimed that an incredible 75% of children were said to have hypertension and related problems in the 2003 analysis of Russian health. (Fitzgerald, 2003)Beer is regarded in many areas as if it were soda pop. Children as young as 13 routinely drink beer in public in some areas and the national legal drinking age is currently 18 years. Vodka has traditionally been available nearly everywhere to nearly everybody in Russia and children have no problem finding it. As in America and elsewhere, heavy alcohol consumption in Russia impedes a family’s well being in a host of problematic ways. And Russians drink more alcohol per capita than any other national population in the world. (Halpin, 2007)Gorbachev’s attempt to limit alcohol abuse In 1985 President Gorbachev, who was then president of the USSR, began a campaign to limit alcohol abuse by raising the legal drinking age to 21 years and imposing tough legal sanction s on home production of alcohol. (Today, the drinking age is 18 years. ) During the period of 1984 through 1987 when the campaign was running, state sales of alcohol decreased by 61%. Statistically speaking, the effort was successful in that total violent deaths dropped 33% and alcohol-related violent deaths dropped by 51%.The program was not popular with the public, however, and was abandoned in 1987. By 1992, market reforms for alcohol were instituted that liberalized trade and dropped prices and the rates of violent deaths increased substantially. (WHO, 2006) These rising figures are subject to interpretation because this was the era of perestroika in Russia and increases in violent deaths cannot be solely attributed to increases in alcohol availability and consumption. The temporal correlations between the crackdown on alcohol and the drops in violence indicate that they are interconnected.Perestroika and glasnost were introduced to Russian society in response to President Gorba chev’s initiatives toward political reform and moral recovery. A cornerstone of his plan was a reduction in drinking which he saw not only as a health problem but a cause of economic inefficiency. (McKee, 1999) He adopted a heavy-handed approach to limiting alcohol production, distribution and use. All state agencies were ordered to develop departmental strategies to cut down alcohol consumption. Alcohol was banned at official functions and party officials who drank heavily were dismissed from their jobs.Liquor outlets were dramatically reduced and the media changed its attitude to one of intolerance for alcohol and organizations like the All-Union Voluntary Society for the Struggle for Sobriety sprang up. This association claimed 12 million members one year after organizing. (McKee, 1999) Within a few years, as the Soviet Union was collapsing, the campaign faltered and was eventually replaced by a rapid rise in consumption, driven by widespread illicit production of homemade alcohol on a massive, national scale. Economic IssuesRussia's stock markets have lost about 70 percent of their value since peaks in May, and workers have been hard hit by lay-offs and wage arrears. The tepid global economy has left Russians hurting and they, like most of the world, have had to cut back on expenses. The result is less state-sanctioned vodka being sold and an increase in homemade spirits. Research by the National Alcohol Association showed that deaths from alcohol poisoning increased to 1,458 in September, presumably the result of Russians drinking dangerous substitutes for vodka as a cheaper way to get drunk. (Shuster, 2008)During Gorbachev’s anti-alcohol campaign, the production of samogon (homemade spirits) had become a large-scale industry that provided cheap alcohol to Russians while depriving the state of tax revenue. When restrictions were eased in 1988, alcohol consumption quickly exceeded the pre-1985 level. A Russian study done in 1995 revealed that regular drunkenness affected between 25 and 65 percent of blue-collar workers and 21 percent of white-collar workers, particularly in rural areas. (Coutsoukis, 2005) Unemployed workers are particularly vulnerable to alcohol abuse problems.Being available in most places, day or night and being historically cheap people without occupations tend to drink more often and heavier. When vodka is unavailable or too expensive, they will often resort to dangerous substitutes. In 1994, the number of people who died of alcohol poisoning rose to about 53,000, a major increase from 36,000 in 1991. These are typically the result of drinking homemade alcohol substitutes. Bootlegging had become a widespread criminal activity by the mid 1990s. (Coutsoukis, 2005) Legal vodka is big business in Russia.The word â€Å"vodka† means â€Å"little water† in Russian, a term of endearment. (Tartakovsky, 2006) The brand â€Å"Stolichnaya† sells $2 billion a year worldwide and was privatize d in 1992. Soyuzplodimport, or SPI, has the exclusive rights to export Stolichnaya, which vodka lovers in the U. S. fondly refer to as â€Å"Stoli. † Some 50% of the company's export turnover comes from the United States, thanks mostly to its strategic alliance with Allied-Domecq for U. S. distribution rights. (Shuster, 2008) Alcohol and workers The Russian workplace has always been a place where vodka contributed to the socializing rituals.Before the Bolshevik Revolution the Russian tradition of prival'naia, a welcoming ceremony for new workers that included snacks and vodka. It was a socializing event where the new workers would become acquainted with their fellow workers. The new workers were expected to provide the snacks and vodka for the veterans in exchange for training in the new job. (Andreasen, 2006) The Revolution changed the way workers were hired. Prior to this era, workers were usually hired on the recommendation of an acquaintance and the ceremony of prival'nai a was part of the payback for getting the job.With the implementation of the communist trade unions, the hiring became an impersonal process and there was no payback necessary and it eliminated the worker’s obligation to train new employees. These changes brought about the practical end to prival'naia, although some workers and organizations still clung to the old tradition where they could get away with it. (Andreasen, 2006) Russian worker culture has always included vodka. The working class sees vodka as an essential element for surviving their brutal winters and poor economy.It is an escape that causes apathy among the work force and contributes to poor health and accidents that make Russia’s work force less productive and more costly. Productivity in Russia has always been known to suffer because of heavy drinking. That belief is one of the motivators behind Gorbachev’s plan to reduce drinking in the 1980s. It is difficult to gauge the true impact of worker drinking and productivity because the Russian economy is still in a state of flux as it transfers from a state-controlled, centralized economy to free-markets. It is inappropriate to make comparisons about worker utput and drinking since the two economies measure productivity in myriad different ways. (Kryzanek, 2004) Many Soviet patriots and party leaders recognized the need to curb alcohol to increase worker productivity.Pokhlebkin was one of these patriotic historians who published his extensive research in a book called â€Å"A History of Vodka† he included a chapter depicting what he determined to be Russia’s descent into rampant alcoholism. Drunkenness, he asserted, is incompatible with socialist principles in that it undermines worker morale and curtails industrial productivity. Tartakovsky, 2006) Russian workers have become complacent after seventy years of communism. Entire generations have grown up shirking work because private initiatives were always discour aged and sometimes even dangerous. Wage inversion led to high pay for lowliest work while job dissatisfaction created moonlighting and demoralized workers moved from job to job. Alcohol has always exacerbated this complacency and lack of motivation. (Kryzanek, 2004) Heavy drinking has a deeply rooted history in Russian culture and life.The problem seems so ingrained in their society that it would be impossible to completely eliminate drinking from the society. This heavy drinking behavior is exhibited in other northern cultures like the Finish or Polish societies without such devastating consequences. In Russia, however, there is historical evidence to suggest that the country’s governments from the Czars to the Soviets have helped to create this culture. (McKee, 1999) There are also several sub-cultures of the drinking population in Russia because of geographic, gender and socio-economic variations, making it difficult to generalize the problem.There are even some people amo ng these groups who actually abstain or drink in moderation. The state itself has contributed to the drinking problem throughout the country’s history by producing and distributing cheap vodka in the name of tradition and profit. It should be feasible for the government to take some kind of proactive measures to stop its population from killing themselves with even-more toxic substitutes for a toxic product. Apparently, it will take many generations of sober Russians to change the high-profile role alcohol plays in so many national traditions.The Russian people have gone through many changes throughout the ages. Hopefully, their resilience will help them change their love of vodka and allow them to become socially conscious drinkers. That’s a tradition easily passed on.