What Makes a Good Parent

To my mind, the right answer to the question â€Å"What makes a good parent† is not easily obtainable. You should spend a lot of time in contemplation before reaching to it. And still there is no guarantee that finally you will get it. Since many people have different opinions on raising a child there may be thousands absolutely different answers to one and the same question, a rather tricky one, I would say. To tell you the truth, after I asked myself the same question, several things went through my mind. What kind of parent will I be?How will I raise a child? Can I be a good parent? What turns ordinary people into good parents? Panic overtook me and I felt an overwhelming desire to rush to the local bookstore to purchase loads of parenting books and magazines to learn how to become a good parent or call to my mom. But, after thorough thinking I looked at the problem with fresh mind. First of all it’s quite normal to wonder how good a parent you are. Perhaps you're wo rried that going out to work or being a lone parent will affect your child (if the situation is such).You may worry about whether you're being firm enough, or whether you're giving your children what they need. We all hope to get it right and give a good balance of loving care and clear boundaries. Secondly, people are not born with good parenting skills; Parenting is a skill that is learned over a period of time. A good parent learns from their environment and passes what they have learned down to their children. Thirdly, a good parent is a person who is patient, kind, considerate, understanding, and helpful, a good listener, and a disciplinarian at the proper times.Wisdom and patience are always helpful, too. Sometimes all you need to do is listen, while at other times you might have to step in and take action. And moreover, parents have their special healing powers – a kiss and calm words can soothe cuts, bruises and disappointments, (this very point I remember from my own experience, while being a child). Parenting is a twenty-four hour a day job. Anyone who has been there will tell you that it can be absolutely chaotic at times. This is when your good parenting skills are developed to their fullest potential.Being a parent means creating a loving, safe environment for your children as they grow from baby to toddler, right through to the teenage years. You'll need different skills for each stage, but at all times your child will depend on you. You'll become the expert on your child and on what they need to grow into happy, healthy adults. Loving your child, with no strings attached, is the most important thing you can do. But you'll also have to make a huge number of decisions about the best way to bring up your child. This responsibility brings joy and excitement, but it can also be overwhelming, frustrating or even boring at times.Most people manage these emotional and practical challenges with a mixture of love, help from relatives and friends, g ood advice, common sense and just luck. To my personal viewpoint, the first step in becoming a good parent is to realize that you are not perfect. No one is. You are going to make mistakes, some big, some small. The important thing is to realize what the mistake is and not repeat it. There's no one right way to parent and no perfect parent out there with all the answers. We all make mistakes. We all make bad decisions. There are times that we want to be selfish and put ourselves before our children.The sign of a good parent is one that chooses to make their decisions with their children involved. True, there are some guiding ideas – all children need love and affection, to be kept safe and given limits on how they act, to be warm, fed, clothed and to have the opportunity to learn. To tell you the truth the best resource for successful child rearing is our own parents. For example, we should ask ourselves these questions; †¢ How did my parent raise me? †¢ Do I have g ood morals and values? †¢ Did I have a happy childhood? †¢ What method of discipline was used? †¢ How attentive were my parents?These are very important questions, and when we answer these questions, one or more of the answers may be negative. However, this is where common sense takes over. There will be things about the way we were raised that we liked and disliked. The areas that we did not like about the way we were raised can be turned around when we raise our own children. This is how, I think, we can develop into a good parent. Right now I would like to give some tips on how to become a good, loving parent. To tell you the truth, I am a little bit afraid to sound superficial, as I am not a parent yet. But, from another ide, I had enough experience of being a child. So, now when I am in my early twenties I can evaluate the way I was brought up by my parents. It is true, the older we are – the more we can understand our parents. Well, let’s pass on t o the tips: †¢ Recognize your child for the individual that they are. No two children are alike, and even though they may resemble you, they are not you. You may have a child that loves sports and one that can’t stand to be outdoors. We should consider the individuality of each child as a blessing and pursue ways to expand on that. †¢ Discipline your child.That is not to say that you have to spank your child or beat them unmercifully. Choose the method that works best for your child. You are the adult in your relationship and should be the master manipulator. †¢ Be involved in the schooling. Ask questions regarding how your child is performing and interacting with other students. Make sure that you are checking homework, but not doing it for the child. Ask your child questions about his/her day and find out what he likes and dislikes about his learning experience. †¢ Celebrate the small things in a positive way. A good parent: Shows a child consistent and loving discipline.Is supportive, excited and interested in what the child is doing (and wants to do). Allows a child to dream big dreams Teaches a child how to communicate in constructive, loving ways. Teaches a child how to deal with fear. Knows that the child's safety and well-being comes first. Does hard things if it will help the family. Is willing to learn from others — including the child. Knows when to let a child become an adult. Doesn't ever stop trying to become a better parent. It goes without saying, being a good parent is a hard demanding task, but at the same time so interesting and fascinating.Being a parent means passing all the stages of your child formation, such as the early hours of the morning when small children are refusing to sleep or teenagers are still out having fun. And what is more, at all these stages you must possess different skills and be an expert for your child; that is where high tolerance and endless patience are needed. The message I want to put across to the reader is that a loving, safe environment for our children as they grow from baby to toddler, right through to the teenage years is the best tool in upbringing a complete individual with his own self.The love of a family is life's greatest blessing. A great responsibility lies on parents, as it is they who are guarantors of protection, positive emotions and safety. Being a parent will probably be the most rewarding thing you'll ever do – and the toughest responsibility. The joy of holding your newborn baby as he or she looks at the world for the first time can be magical. To my mind, having a child opens you up to emotions that are almost impossible to imagine in advance. And one more thing we should remember for ever, when we feel confident and positive, our children are more likely to feel that way, too.

Why doesn’t Charles Bukowski get much respect in the U.S. as a “serious” author?

When asking the question as to why Charles Bukowski does not get much respect in the U. S. as a â€Å"serious† author, one must begin by examining who does not give him much respect. Certainly it cannot be said that he is not respected or enjoyed by anyone, for he has a large following. Fittingly, for a poet whose reputation was made in ephemeral underground journals, it is on the Internet that the Bukowski cult finds its most florid expression.There are hundreds of Web sites devoted to him, not just in America but in Germany, Spain, the Czech Republic, and Sweden, where one fan writes that, after reading him for the first time, â€Å"I felt there was a soul-mate in Mr. Bukowski. † (Kirsch) Even a stauch critic of Bukowski, C. E. Chaffin, acknowledges the many who enjoy his work.Without reviewing all the historical antecedents that brought Bukowski to this poetic nadir, I should first remind the reader that he may be the best known American poet in Europe today, and for two reasons: 1) His language is simplistic; and 2) The attitude in his main body of work matches the prevailing atheistic pessimism among intellectuals on the continent. (Chaffin) However, even in recognizing Bukowski’s appeal, Chaffin mentions two criticisms that will be dealt with later in this paper. If, as it appears, Bukowski has a large following, who is it that does not consider him â€Å"serious?† A cursory search quickly reveals that many in University academia and those who approach poetry from a more scholarly viewpoint appear to be those who reject Bukowski. This rejection becomes obvious when one considers the fact that Bukowski is not included in the book that is called â€Å"the most comprehensive collection of twentieth-century poetry in English available. † In the third edition of â€Å"The Norton Anthology of Modern and Contemporary Poetry,† in which poets appear in order of birth, the class of 1920 fields a strong team, including Howar d Nemerov and Amy Clampitt.If you were to browse the poetry section of any large bookstore, you would probably find a book or two by each of those critically esteemed, prize-winning poets. Nowhere to be found in the canonizing Norton anthology, however, is the man who occupies the most shelf space of any American poet: Charles Bukowski. (Kirsch) It should be noted that the three editors of â€Å"The Norton Anthology of Modern and Contemporary Poetry,† Jahan Ramazani, Richard Ellmann, and Robet O’Clair, were all university professors.Other critics, such as C. E. Chaffin, are poets and critics of poetry who have spent years studying, researching, and writing poetry. These types of people often have well-constructed and rigid concepts as to the characteristics and qualities of proper poetry. Now that we have discovered a group of people who discard Bukowski as a â€Å"serious† author, we can begin to examine the reasons for their rejection of him. One of the first complaints about Bukowski is that his poetry is not truly poetry at all.When looking at reactions to Bukowski's poetry there seems to be a lack of, well, respect †¦ despite his hardcore fan base, and sales that would make most poets extremely happy. In fact the common accusation is not that Bukowski isn't a good poet, but that his work is barely even poetry at all. In a mostly appreciative New Yorker review, Adam Kirsch still managed this cheeky, backhanded compliment: â€Å"He bears the same relation to poetry as Zane Grey does to fiction, or Ayn Rand to philosophy – a highly colored, morally uncomplicated cartoon of the real thing.† (O’Neill) An example of this can be found in the poem â€Å"they, all of them, know† from Bukowski’s’ book, â€Å"The Pleasures of the Damned. † It is difficult to find any semblance of poetical style in over four pages of seemingly mindless repetition. There is apparently no rhyme or reason to this poem, and many would argue that the simple creation of a long list is not enough to qualify as poetry. This is not to say that there is not a message in his work, but that the work is not poetic in nature.In addition, Bukowski’s language not only is often seen as non-poetic, but simplistic, as described by C. E. Chaffin earlier. Another reason for the rejection of Bukowski comes from his tendency to write in the first person. An examination of his work reveals that that vast majority are written in the first person. This is clearly true as poems such as â€Å"metamorphosis,† â€Å"the drowning,† and â€Å"for they had things to say† are written in this style. While this is not particularly wrong, it can be enough for some to reject his work.I don't particularly like Whitman either, for some of the same reasons I don't like Bukowski, although Whitman is far and away the more accomplished poet. Both are archetypically American in their embrace of the indiv idual ego and almost exclusive use of the first person, but whereas Whitman attempts to merge with the world as a transcendent ego (on the heels of Emerson), Bukowski simply reports, as an isolated consciousness, in painful and sordid detail, what happens around him. In view of this it is difficult to say which poet is more personal or impersonal.(Chaffin) As Chaffin points out, the problem is not just that Bukowski writes in the first person, but he writes from a distant, disconnected view. It is difficult for many to appreciate poetry that combines a first person view with this type of â€Å"reporting,† as Chaffin calls it. There are many who reject Bukowski as being â€Å"serious† because of the content of his work. Throughout his poetry, crude language and references to things and actions not normally discussed, especially in the presence of children, are found.Poems such as â€Å"the last days of the suicide kid,† â€Å"tabby cat,† and â€Å"fooling Marie (the poem)† clearly cross a line that many have drawn concerning language and subjects that should not be discussed. Critic C. E. Chaffin addresses this issue directly. Bukowski made his reputation by unashamedly and non-judgmentally recording a lifestyle of fatalistic, atheistic hedonism — which is really not hedonism but its opposite, a sort of terminal anhedonia medicated with booze and sex as distractions — an attitude not far removed from the Marquis de Sade, who believed â€Å"Whatever is, is good.† (Chaffin) Jim Harrison also comments on this when he writes: Bukowski’s short fiction concentrates on uncontrite drinking and generally anti-social behavior, employing a scatological idiom which serves to mock academe and animate his idiosyncratic style and ideology, while also contributing to Bukowski's often harsh critical reception. . . . Bukowski is known for depicting violent and sexual imagery in his hard-edged prose. This graphic usag e has lead some critics to dismiss Bukowski's work as superficial and misogynist in nature. (Harrison)This choice of style and substance denies Bukowski the type of memorable quotes or lines that are found in so many other poems. â€Å"It is hard to quote Bukowski because there are virtually none of those short lyrics with bow ties of closure that are so pleasant for a reviewer to quote. † (Harrison) Lines such as â€Å"I think that I shall never see A poem lovely as a tree† from Joyce Kilmer’s â€Å"Trees† are simply not present in Bukowski’s works. However, it is an interesting observation that the very thing that causes critics to reject him is what draws so many readers to him.Clearly, the approval of the critics is not something that defines success. However, it can have an effect on perception. Critics may have difficulty dealing with Bukowski’s works because they may not be intended to stand on their own but to be viewed as a whole, m aking a general commentary on life rather than individually selecting aspects of life for discussion. Any time someone views only a part of something that was intended only to be viewed as a whole, they are going to be left with an incomplete and unsatisfactory view of the work.Bukowski’s poems are best appreciated not as individual verbal artifacts but as ongoing installments in the tale of his true adventures, like a comic book or a movie serial. They are strongly narrative, drawing from an endless supply of anecdotes that typically involve a bar, a skid-row hotel, a horse race, a girlfriend, or any permutation thereof. Bukowski’s free verse is really a series of declarative sentences broken up into a long, narrow column, the short lines giving an impression of speed and terseness even when the language is sentimental or cliched.(Kirsch) Bukowski’s general attitude toward life in general and poetry specifically may be a factor in his rejection as a â€Å"seri ous† author. Obviously, a poet’s general attitude toward life will be prevelant within his work. This attitude is summarized by Adam Kirsch. Alcohol was the fuel, as it was often the subject, of these poetic explosions: â€Å"I don’t think I have written a poem when I was completely sober,† he told one interviewer. And he rejected on principle the notion of poetry as a craft, a matter of labor and revision.(Kirsch) Perhaps one of the reasons for critics rejecting Bukowski is because of those who appreciate and follow Bukowski and his works. Often poets and others are measured as much by the people who follow and replicate their work as by their work itself. Of course, there are a lot of bad poets in thrall to Bukowski – after all, his great skill lay in making the writing of great poetry seem easy. Poets who affect his lifestyle without learning the craft of writing do so at their peril.And don't look to the man himself for clues on where the poems come from: he once said that writing a poem is â€Å"†like taking a shit, you smell it and then flush it away †¦ writing is all about leaving behind as much a stink as possible†. But to disregard Bukowski's work on the basis of the bad poetry that followed in his wake seems as bloody minded as denying the greatness of The Clash because of the mohicaned twattery of Sum 41. (Kirsch) While this type of rejection of his work is not necessarily valid or defensible, this does not prevent those with a dislike or disapproval of his work from going this direction.Clearly Bukowski has his critics as well as his fans. And although many may be attracted to his work and his style, he will continue to have those who criticize him. Bukowski’s style keeps some from considering him a â€Å"serious† author. He writes about subjects and uses vocabulary that offends others and thereby causes their rejection of his work and of him. Perhaps the clearest reasons why he is n ot regarded as a â€Å"serious† author are given by C. E. Chaffin. In Bukowski's work, however, it is clear that no separation between author and persona exists except insofar as Bukowski's memory may be unreliable.His lack of persona is his lack of art. I think his regard as a possibly major poet represents the nadir of American poetry precisely because his rants are life masquerading as art, no more, no less. . . . It is not Bukowski's renown I question, an unreliable indicator of quality in any case, but 1) His lack of craft; 2) His lack of transcendent values; and 3) As above, that he represents the final breakdown between life and art in poetry. . . . To return to his poetry, I think Bukowski proved that anyone could be a successful writer; by the same token, he significantly lowered standards for the craft of poetry.Indeed, he should be considered the father of performance poetry judged on gut feeling and audience reaction rather than the enduring values of form and sub stance. (Chaffin) Works Cited Chaffin, C. E. â€Å"Essay – Charles Bukowski† Melic Review Vol. III Issue I Harrison, Jim â€Å"King of Pain† New York Times November 25, 2007 Kirsch, Adam â€Å"Smashed, The pulp poetry of Charles Bukowski. † The New Yorker March 14, 2005 O’Neill, Tony Don’t Blame Bukowski for bad poetry, U. K. Guardian, September 5, 2007

Original Writing: Rumours over Rumours

It happened on a usual Friday in the autumn. The weather was very terrible: masses of rain were falling down the sky as if the clouds were exploding. There was no sun visible in the sky. The school bell rang and David put his stuff away and walked out of the classroom. He stood outside the school with his mates, waiting for their mums and dads to pick them up. Having to stay under the rain without any umbrella or a place where they could protect themselves from the rain. After 15 minutes standing and waiting outside in the cold David's last friend was picked up by his mother. That was very unusual as normally David is the first one to be able to go home, but this day was completely different. David had to wait about half an hour until the red BMW with his dad sitting inside arrived, red-faced and in hurry. David sat down on the front passenger's seat next to a normally unknown image. The car immediately made its way home. There was an uncommon silence inside the car. David sensed that something was definitely wrong, as normally he asks his son about how the day was. After a few minutes his Dad broke the silence: â€Å"David, how can you explain me the rumour that is there around our neighbourhood?† David just stared at the face of his Dad, thinking ‘What is he talking about? What is wrong with him?' â€Å"Don't look at me as if nothing had happened! You know exactly what I'm talking about. The rumour about you.† â€Å"What rumour!? I don't know anything about it – seriously. What's the rumour?† â€Å"The rumour is that one of my friend saw you in a bar smoking and drinking lots of vodka. He also saw you with another half nude girl. I can't remember her name.† â€Å"What? Who started that damned rumour about me? David asked innocently. â€Å"David – Is it true or not?† asked his dad suspiciously. â€Å"No dad! Of course it isn't true! I have never smoked or drunk any type of alcohol! You have to believe me dad! And I don't even know that girl you are talking about and I haven't been in that bar.† â€Å"Don't tell me any excuses young boy. Your mum will deal with you when we arrive at home† David kept quiet for the rest of their journey. David's dad only deposed David at home and drove away somewhere. David got much panicked because he knew that if his dad just went away without even speaking to his mum, it meant that trouble was waiting for David at home. Usually his mum does not get that angry with him and believes his son. But this time it was looking very differently because when he went into the house his mum was waiting for him on the couch. â€Å"You owe me an explanation young man!† she said in an unusual tone. â€Å"W-what is there to explain mum?† â€Å"Don't try to take the piss out of me! You know what I mean. The rumour about you. Is it true?† David shook his head slowly, â€Å"No mum† His mum laughed doubtfully: â€Å"Oh, c'mon! You think I can really believe you? I know you very well and you know that as well as I do how your face looks like when you are telling a lie. Why are you not just telling me the truth?† Depressed David looked up from the floor and said it straight out to his mum: â€Å"Yes mum! Yes – You are damn right. I was there in that pub and drunk a lot of alcohol and smoked. But you have to believe me; I don't know anything about that girl dad was telling me about. The bar is a clean bar and not a brothel.† â€Å"David, we never had any types of problems with your brother!† â€Å"Why don't you just tell me that into my face? You hate me and only think about Robert! Robert here, Robert there, he did this and that good think†¦ I've got enough of your Robert!† â€Å"OK David. I see, you don't want to be compared with your elder brother? I know the reason: It is because he is a good person and you are exactly the opposite of him. That's why you don't like him and don't want to be compared to him!† David was crying and silently went to his room. He laid down on his bed and cried. After a while he fell asleep. The next day was a holiday and David woke up very early, at about 6 o'clock. He first washed his face, got dressed and got back into his bed. He didn't have any breakfast because his mum was there and he didn't want to see her again. David spent all his day in his room doing nothing else as sleeping or playing around with his mobile phone. His parents completely ignored him, and so did he to them. His parents and David did not communicate to each other properly for about 4 week. David never went into this bar again, drunk alcohol or smoked cigarettes during this time although he was very depressed and often wished to go there. He thought of the possible effect that could happen if he did that again and got caught. When he got back to school after the holidays his mum started speaking with him and David felt very happy about it because in this period of time he found out how important a mother is to a son, which he just experienced. Their relationship was built together again and it seemed to be nothing that could break them both apart. But one day when David was at school his mum got a text message from one of David's mates that simply destroyed everything. This SMS was telling his mum that David went to a brothel and walked around with inadequately dressed girls. It was Jack, but he was lying. When David came back from school that day, her mother welcomed him with a slap. David got startled from that. He looked at his mother despairingly and didn't know the reason for this slap. â€Å"What did I do now mum? I swear to God I didn't go to that bar again or drunk alcohol!† he asked frightened. â€Å"You are a good actor David! I know that style of yours† â€Å"What!?† David asked without knowing anything. â€Å"I've had enough of you! D'you think I am that stupid? I just got a message from one of your friends telling me about Eva.† â€Å"I don't know any Eva! Who are you talking about?† â€Å"Oh c'mon David! First flirting with her in a bar and then walking around with her while she was wearing nearly nothing!† â€Å"Mum I don't have any girlfriend and neither I know anybody called Eva† â€Å"Why don't you just admit that you know that girl and the past rumour was true? You can't hide it forever!† â€Å"What should I admit? What am I hiding?† â€Å"You know what David? I don't even believe a single word coming out of your mouth!† â€Å"Do you know why I love my dad more than you? It's because you hate me! You only love Robert and don't care about me at all! I hate you too!† After saying this David ran upstairs to his room crying. He again lied down on his bed and thought about what he said. He regretted what he just said to his mum, because it wasn't true. He loved his mum a lot. It was just that they sometimes couldn't agree and had different thoughts about things. After a while he again slept. In that night he had a dramatic nightmare: He was falling into a whole without any end with his brother. There was a pavement on a side with people holding their hands up in order to catch one of the persons from falling. He saw how his brother Robert was able to rescue himself and survived. David himself was falling further and further into the whole, having no end. Suddenly he then woke up. When he woke up David realised that he was sweating extremely. He got out of his bed and washed his face in the bathroom. In the bathroom he looked at himself in the mirror and thought â€Å"I am dead anyway inside†. He was feeling an uncertain pain that was killing him inside. He looked at the clock; it was 3 o'clock. After he went back to his room he decided to write a letter to his parents about that he is trying to suicide. Once he put the letter on his desk, he opened the window and went out to the balcony. From the ladder there he climbed down the wall. There was a lake he knew about 5 kilometres away from his house, where he wanted to go. After looking back to the bedroom window of his parents and said farewell to his parents inside. He started his way to this lake by running all the five kilometres. He ran as fast as he had never done before. At about 3.30 he arrived there on the lake. David's biggest fear was a lake or sea as he could not swim. There were boats, which could be rented on the lake. As David didn't have any money with him he just took one and paddled to the centre of the lake. 5 kilometres away from where David was, his mum woke up and had the funny feeling that something was wrong, having to do with David. She decided to go to David's room to ensure that everything was alright. But in fact it wasn't at all. When she opened his room, she saw the empty room with the window open and the farewell letter on David's desk. She screamed a very ear-piercing scream when she read about David's suicide. At the same time David was in the centre of the lake and about to suicide himself. David closed his eyes and though about his family, his brother, mum and dad. Then he jumped into the lake with ice cold water and allowed the lake to swallow him†¦

Procurement and supply chain management Assignment

Procurement and supply chain management - Assignment Example 23). In the company I work for, we use the supplier selection criteria, which will be explained in the next section. It has been present since the start of the company no matter the new trends that have been emerging of late. This supplier selection is a significant section in our supply chain management. Risk management of any supply chain is an overly complicated subject. Understanding how it works will be very significant to identifying a range of risks that are in the current system and making the necessary recommendations on which of these issues are a priority and how they can be reduced (Giannakisa & Louisb 2011, p. 23). This paper will provide a review of the supplier selection process and make recommendations on how it can be improved. It will use the risk analysis and management framework to identify the risks in the process and make recommendations on how the issues found there can be reduced. The paper will also recommend how to select sustainable suppliers whatever the m eans. Our supplier selection process involves nine elements considered very crucial to the organisation. The elements include (1) specific process capabilities, (2) tough safety procedure, (3) competitive pricing, (4) constant quality improvement, (5) financially stable organisation, (6) stability, (7) culture, (8) alliance experience, (9) strong references. Just a brief explanation of these steps. The company looks at the specific strengths that will ease the process of supplying the goods. This is whether they have the needed infrastructure to supply the goods efficiently such as the right trucks among others. The tough safety procedure includes whether the safety of the workers are guaranteed and whether the goods will reach the business unharmed. Competitive pricing discriminates the supplier in terms of price, who is cheaper and reliable

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CFO mod 1 case - Essay Example This is done in orderto enable them to take better developmental and progressive steps. The title is equivalent to finance director, commonly seen in the United Kingdom. The CFO typically reports to the Chief Executive Officer, and is frequently a member of the board of directors. CFO is a very diverse field. It is basically the back bone of all organizations and institutions. An effective and well equipped administrative department is what ensures that a company reaches its maximum potential and keeps growing bigger and stronger. CEO on the other hand is a field which require well educated and highly motivated, vigilant staff. CEO's are responsible for hiring all personnel, ranging from the janitorial staff, right up to the vice president of any organization. The CEO is a very vital part of the company he follows and keeps updates on all aspects of a company and its staff right from the time they apply for a job till the time they get hired. They keep checks on any and all training and development that is necessary and make all necessary amendments. The question these days has come about regarding the necessity of separate CFO and CEO. And the similar curiosity as to whether there is actual need for a separate training department or not It is also common wondering whether the role of the CFO is a specialist role or can it and should it be fulfilled by a CEO and vice versa. CFO is a very vital part of all organizations. They are responsible for the efficient and effective management of the Human capital. The main functions of CEO's are tracking the data points of each and every employee and staff member. Along with tasks such as selection, placement payroll and evaluation. In order to make a reduction in the excessive work load of these activities organizations started to employ individuals to handle these specific areas and thus there came the admistrative departments. And these days with technology at its peak these tasks are also being taken care of by automated computer based programs. Making it possible for the work of three separate organs of a company the human resource The CEO and the CFO to be done by one person that too with the click of a mouse key. This is the reason that the questions stated earlier regarding the need for separate individuals have started coming up. CONCLUSION: However like it has been mentioned above that both roles are very different from one another and there fore to think that they can be done by one person is not a wise thing. The Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of an organization has responsibilities that include internal financial control of the organization, financial reporting (external financial accounting), financing the organization, assessment of the capital budgeting process and an array of additional responsibilities. The CFO must have an external orientation and they must know all ways in which they can gather knowledge about the market with which their company deals and also the kind of investments the investors and share holders are making in order to give proper advice for future investments. There

Advertising is Manipulative Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Advertising is Manipulative - Research Paper Example People fail to realize that they are being exploited and led down the garden path, the cream has been selling like a hot cake for the last several years and it is mainly because of manipulative advertisement, they recruit models who are beautiful and convince people that an average looking person can also look like a model, this is highly unacceptable but it is successful because people have fallen for it in the past and will continue to fall for this in the future too. This is a classic example of manipulative advertisement, people are being manipulated into buying products that are of no use to them and will probably do more bad than good to them. This paper will shed more light upon the same and how advertisers are exploiting the naivety of the people and how they are misguiding the people into buying products that are absolutely of no use to them. The advertisers spend a lot of money on advertisements and the only way of recouping money is by manipulation and by selling products that never do even half as much work as they claim to do in the advertisements. Fair and lovely is not the only example, there are many more products that are being sold on a daily basis by misguiding the people. In today’s cut throat competition companies often use aggressive advertising to push their products in the market. The essay will discuss ways and techniques in which advertising is used as a medium to push products thereby making it manipulative in most cases. With the advent of new products and technology, consumers are becoming sensitive towards their needs and businesses across the globe are finding newer ways to increase their turnover.

Assignment 4 Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

4 - Assignment Example During the flood, one is unable to face the harsh behavior of water and thus people are advised to move to the higher regions before the flood. 1. List and describe the most common causes of floods. Causes of Floods Three major causes are found to cause the floods. Theses causes include Tropical storms, Seasonal flooding, Coastal Flooding (Library.thinkquest.org, 2013). Tropical Storms Tropical storms and hurricanes remain to have high impact on our lives due to the devastating impact of the heavy winds carrying immense amount of water with them. The resulting rains in response to the hurricanes and tropical storms become a cause of flood. Tropical Depression produces a wind of speeds less than 38 miles per hour. In the tropical depression situation winds have relative less speed as compared to that in the hurricane (Erh.noaa.gov, 2013). However, the tropical depressions are found to produce immense rains. Such a type of phenomenon produces some major damages in Georgia with a tremen dous rainfall of about 28 inches that caused flooding. During a tropical Storm the speed of the wind can reach as high as 73 miles per hour and tropical storms are categorized due to having more wind speed (39-73 miles per hour) as compared to the tropical depression. Tropical storms produce immense rain falls that are followed by flooding but some damages are due to the heavy winds. The rainfalls during the tropical storms produce more water than the capacity of the rivers, streams and lakes and thus heavy flooding occurs. Seasonal Flooding In rainy season, (a prolonged raining period mostly in spring or peak summer) the rains may fall more than the capacity of the rivers, streams and lakes and thus the flooding occurs. The flooding is not the sudden rush of water into the streams, lakes and rivers but due to the prolonged period of rains. The water on the rivers, streams and lakes rushes out. The major reason of less absorption of water into the ground is that due to the rains, th e soil becomes saturated and the absorption rate due the unsaturated behavior of the ground lowers and thus the flooding occurs. The melting of the snow during the start of the summer is another reason of the seasonal. It is due to the heavy snow falls in the winter season and during the start of the summer, snow melts and is being converted to huge amount of water that rusher into the streams and at some instance it may become more than the capacity of the streams and rivers that thus the flooding occurs. Both melting of the snow and the rainy seasonal rainfalls may contribute in occurring flooding in combination. Coastal Flooding Due to the severe tropical storms and heavy winds, the winds tend to carry away the ocean water in hevy amounts and thus occur of the coastal areas. In this situation, the sea level rises to the ground level and winds tend to produce waves more than the ground level and flooding occurs. Higher velocity winds create surface turbulence and thus the ocean wa ves present flooding of the coastal areas. The phenomenon is often recognized as storm surge. Coastal flooding is also due to the impact of Tsunamis, volcanic eruption and landslides in the oceans. Tsunamis are caused due to the earthquake which occurs in the ocean not very far from the coastal region. An under oceanic earthquake

Compare and contrast a christian and jewish woman's expression of Essay

Compare and contrast a christian and jewish woman's expression of spiritual feminism - Essay Example Spirituality presents a rational way to move toward the topic of "feminism and Christianity. In the 1970s, a new event appeared inside the women's association in the United States under the name of "feminist spirituality." This movement came to Europe around 1980. It arose from the imminent that the beginning of women’s estrangement goes deeper than the divergence of sex-roles between man and woman. Its ancestry lies in the dualism between spirit and body which characterizes patriarchate itself. In the following ten to fifteen years many other new phenomena appeared which can be treated under the heading of feminist spirituality. In the first place, such spirituality has to to be one of freedom. The theological basis lies in the courage to be, which means the courage to choose life. "Life and death I give you, blessing and curse. Choose life," says the bible. Liberation spirituality starts off perturbed with and in upheaval against all structures in society and church based on man-woman relations and the resultant limitations these place on women's autonomy. as a society, women can fulfill an intercessory purpose, moving in the field of the Spirit who sets us free from all peripheral restraints. Living in the Spirit of Christ encourages us not to allow ourselves to be incarcerated any more. Liberation spirituality is therefore also a revolutionary spirituality which can be productive only if it fuses together elements of the journey to Tabor, the Transfiguration, and the return journey to the Jerusalem of death and resurrection. For liberation is finally a way to freedom: freedom to love, to celebrate ordinary life, to become open to the Mystery of our existence which we call God. There we find liberty to live carefully and to listen, which is the basis for the liberation effort. Establishing a connection between Latin-American liberation theology and feminist liberation spirituality, it strikes as important that Gustavo Gutierrez places special importance on the knowledge of God's grace. For him, "Communion with God and with all people is first and foremost a gift." Jewish: IN THE PAST TWENTY YEARS there has been a sometimes quiet, sometimes loud, but mostly unremarked rebellion in North American Jewish spirituality, based on feminism. New prayers, rituals, and speech to address theology are some of the more clear changes. Equally important are new forms of spiritual leadership, changes in mutual authority, and even telling details such as services held in circles rather than hierarchically planned arrangements. The expansion of modern Jewish feminist spirituality has rested on three approaches to ritual. The first is reinterpretation: a reconsideration of recognized sources from feminist positions. On a philosophical level, Jewish feminists have found areas of important convergence between Judaism and feminism. The most significant of these is a fundamental discrimination and valuing of interrelationship. Just as the essential feminist imminent that "the personal is political" emphasizes the associations among all those aspects of acquaintance to Jewish theology. Both perspectives imitate a wish to observe the amazing present in the mundane and to be aware of the daily choices involved in our lives, which constantly create and re-create the larger world. Finally, the link between individual liberation and social change couched in the thoughtful that "the personal is political" has been a characteristic of Jewish thought since biblical times. As compared to models of spirituality that highli ght indifference or otherworldliness, Jewish spirituality is entrenched in the interrelationship among study (in the better sense of learning and teaching), prayer (including manifestation common visions and public festivity), and social work for justice. In contrast to other spiritual ethnicity, such as Christianity or Buddhism, Judaism has no historical models of a women's spiritual society. Separatist Jewish feminism has busted momentous new

Bankrubtcy of Lehman Brothers changed the business world Research Paper

Bankrubtcy of Lehman Brothers changed the business world - Research Paper Example The study also discusses about the business scenario and stock market of the year 2008 after the breakdown of Lehman Brothers. 2.0 Arguments The following arguments relate to the effect of bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers in various market segments. These arguments are true facts as it has taken from the reliable sources based on the topic. In the US, Lehman Brothers was considered as the fourth biggest investment bank and also a well-known brokerage firm (Hoffman & Et. Al., 2009). The fall down of Lehman Brothers in the year 2008 with no rescue from the government has brought appalling conditions to a number of people around the world. This occurrence was considered as a watershed event for everyone as it has played a significant role in the collapse of the global finance which brought dreadful situations and constricted the worldwide liquidity (Wei & Tong, 2009). The bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers led to disastrous results on the ‘prime broker clients’, ‘stock lendin g funds’ and ‘money market funds’. This type of bankruptcy generated wider range of trading as well as immense exposure for several of the company’s counterparties. The collapsing of one of the largest banks has led to failure of trust between brokers and banks. The investment banks as well as their prime brokers have not been trusted by hedge funds. The hedge funds, investment banks or prime brokers were not preferred to expose to any other parties. The leverage of hedge funds was decreased considerably and there was a continuation of ‘deleveraging cycle’ of investment banks along with other companies. The lending of investment bank has been decreased and borrowing and lending leverage that were accessible to clients and banks has been stopped (Aikman, 2010). After such occurrence, prime brokers demanded more money for securities. In the year 2008, liquidator Price Waterhouse Coopers (PwC) made apparent that a few assets that have been offere d to Lehman Brothers International Europe (LBIE) were considered as ‘rehypothecated’. It was not apprehended for the clients on the basis of segregation and for that reason clients failed to obtain any proprietary interest in assets. Moreover, the investors of LBIE had fallen within unsecured creditors (Singh & Aitken, 2009). In the year 2008, the bankruptcy which had taken place in Lehman Brothers has strained the market to re-evaluate the risk that may possibly be raised. The price of junk bonds before the crisis was $2.50 and in 2007 the price increased to $4. Throughout the crisis the price raised to $6 to return to about $4.50 in the month of June 2008 and after the crisis it has increased to considerably higher point. There was a rigorous collision in money market finance due to the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers. On September 16, 2008, ‘Primary Fund’ which was a $62 billion fund declared that it had experienced a loss on the $785 million worth of Lehm an Brothers’ debt (Zingales, 2008). The fall in money market has led to an effect on borrowers. The funds of money market are the largest purchaser of commercial paper but because of more concern towards redemption risk they preferred safe and liquid investment (Krishnamurthy, (2008). The money market was a significant basis of liquidity for the worldwide market mainly for broker-dealers. The run on mutual funds that is related to

Farmers and Fishermen by Daniel Vickers Essay Example for Free

Farmers and Fishermen by Daniel Vickers Essay The author Daniel Vickers in his book â€Å"Farmers and Fishermen† describes, presents the data analyzes the changing strategies that were used by the colonists such as New England in order to develop the world and the amateur nations and introduce the world to the industrial era.   These colonists in the result of lack of the resources to purchase labor adapted the Labor System of Europe. Later on the economy was transformed by the changes occurred in the form of the development of the world. In this book Daniel Vickers has closely analyzed the history of farmers and fishermen of Massachusetts. He spotted that who worked for whom. He also described the terms and conditions under which these farmers and fishermen had worked. The book Farmers and fishermen is a book that clearly demonstrates Daniel Vickers’s leading command on the knowledgeable background of the general literature of Essex County, Massachusetts and the historical interpretations of the labor in the earliest centuries of European arrangement. The author has written the book in the most clearly and easy-to-understand manner that allows the reader to understand and gain knowledge of the preindustrial America and structure of the labor in the district’s farming and fishing communities (Vickers, 1994). Daniel Vickers has structured the existing literature regarding farmers and fishermen with conclusions brought out from the 16th years of recorded researches. His effort of bringing the literature and interpretation of the historians such as Massachusetts Tax Valuation list of 1771 and the substantial tables of data from the recorded data of account books and diaries has been considered as hard work according to great many authors. Daniel Vickers has creatively drawn conclusions and historical sequels of the farming and fishing professions throughout the history. Daniel Vickers has defined the history into three sections, the first section involves the first century of the settlement of farming and fishing. Later on in the second sections, author has described the period after the revolutionary war when the industrialization was leading in the region (Vickers, 1994). The author describes that the basic problem was that the people who wanted to use the English pattern of labor in the world and this was the conflict among the masses. This is defined in the two halves of the book. The study about the colonists, use of labor and the system designed by European is described in two halves of the book. The first half of the book inspects the lack of labor and capital within rural and maritime economics and the circumstances under which a number of systems were developed (Vickers, 1994, p. 6) . The second half of the book is a tour to the history and the development of the county’s socioeconomic maturation. This half of the book deals with the strategies which were employed in the New World and how these strategies served so well to the district (Vickers, 1994, p. 7). The book is actually describing the history in whole of so many fishermen and farmers from all around the world; this is why this study by Daniel Vickers is not complete. There are broad arguments but the research available is narrow to give a complete overview of the history and the development of the two most important occupations fishing and farming. The farming and fishing has been considered as the driving force of the colonialism and transformation of the old world into the new world. The most important feature of the book is that the researches and interpretations of the historians used in this book covers a long period though it is limited to some regions but it gives measures for the authors to understand about the productive relations and changes which occurred in the period of development. Daniel Vickers in this book describes and observed the history of farming and fishing carefully through the interpretations and research by the historians in the detailed and classified form such as addition of age, ethnicity, social origin, economic status etc. The flaw of the book is that the readers, who might expect to read and analyze the systematic data in this book by Daniel Vickers, won’t get the sequence because of the lack of the data present (Vickers, 1994). In the book Farmers and Fishermen, the author Daniel Vickers with extensive knowledge about the material of the related subject allows him to write amicably and become the arbiter among the historians. The author describes the century of early fishery i.e. COD covered the work by the farmer-fishermen rather than those who fished alone. In the later part of the book the author describes on the basis of historian interpretations that the market and the social approaches to the early American economy are entirely incorrect. The author has greatly considered the research conducted by Virginia De John and Christine Heyrman in the course of the book (Vickers, 1994). The author introduces the readers to the later part of the fishing business which was once the most dominant feature of the New England’s emerging market, started to dissolve. The reason behind this was the merchants and the accumulation of the capital into colonies. The fishermen were not being paid in advance for their catch of fishery which was essential for the outfit of their ships for the fishing. Instead of paying these fishermen, these merchants put their money in the purchase of their own larger ships. These merchants began to hire these fishermen as laborers on their ships for the purpose of the directing these merchants into deeper offshore waters (Vickers, 1994). This change brought distress to the families of these fishermen; the result was the sons of these families no longer worked as the fisherman. Instead of fishing they worked for the military service purpose away from home. If some of them worked as the fishermen, they worked in the neighbor as the laborer as well worked on their own ships for the catch. The author described these cause and effects with the knowledge of the documents and records which dealt the history of the 17th century. Later on the idea of owning land as the ancestors in the past did, held fast throughout this period (Vickers, 1994).   The author in the last chapter of the book tried to give evidence of the ways in which the social arrangements and the industrialization influenced the capitalist development. Daniel Vickers in his book described briefly the capitalist arrangement and the organizations of farming and fishing along with the systematic sequences of the industrialization in the region. While his representation of the rising trends of the merchant class which was another emerging occupation and the knowledge provided related to the American economy are sound. The details provided in the first half of the book which contains the pre-industrial period is not clear to the readers as the details mentioned in the first half are written in the vague overview of all the previous researches and the historian interpretations (Vickers, 1994). The book Farmer and Fishermen is the compiled version of all the sources related to the subject such as documents, historian interpretations and previous researches. The literature of the fishing and farming is presented in the most possible way to determine and make the readers understand the industrialization period of farming and fishing. Writing on a most brief topic with less existing data is a complicated task for the author, though there are some changes required for instance the method of presenting the data was chosen in the form of tables where it is not cleared from the text that where exactly these fishermen originated from. Throughout this book the author Daniel Vickers has tried to present the data in the form of relations. This book has been successful in examining the 19th century industrial revolution in New England (Vickers, 1994). Thus after reading the book Farmers and Fishermen by Daniel Vickers, the reader of the book can bring out the wide range of knowledge of the fishing and farming organizations along with the emerging period of the organization, the development and industrialization and the downfall of the organizations. In this book, one can read about the lives and the complications of the people in the fishing and farming industries. This book provides the better understanding of the events which concluded the goals of the author with the support of great historians such as Virginia De John and Christine Heyrman. References Vickers, D. (1994). Farmers and Fishermen: Two Centuries of Work in Essex County, Massachusetts, 1630-1850. Williamsburg: UNC Press.

New Product Launch Marketing Plan Essay Example for Free

New Product Launch Marketing Plan Essay A marketing plan can be defined as a written document that summarizes what the marketer has learned about the marketplace and indicates how a firm expects to reach its marketing objectives. It contains tactical guidelines for the commercialization programs and financial allocations over the planning period (Kotler et al., 2012). This document can be considered one of the most important outputs from the marketing process as it provides direction and focus for a brand, product, or company (Kotler et al., 2012). Typically, the marketing plan includes the following elements: Executive summary, situational analysis, marketing strategy, financial projections, and implementation controls. Executive summary Founded in 2014, Luxury-Pedic is a start-up manufacturer of luxury mattresses offering a product line that is focused on creating a lull the senses into a deep, relaxing, and peaceful nights sleep. With other competitive offerings like Tempur-Pedic, Icomfort, and Sealy Optimum, the Luxury-Pedic product line will focus heavily on being different. By providing a quality product at competitive price levels, excellent warranty, and service experience, Luxury-Pedic will stand out. Luxury-Pedic will realize vital market penetration by utilizing a market challenger strategy and attacking the market leader on the basis of competitive pricing. Additionally, Luxury-Pedic will thrive based on the following operating principles: hiring a top-notch management team with extensive industry experience; a solid business model and long-term planning; and careful evaluation and response to competitive opportunities. Situational analysis Luxury-Pedic is entering into its first year of operation. Thus  far, its products have been well acknowledged with the intention of further and rapider expansion to come based on the marketing efforts soon to be implemented. Luxury-Pedic offers memory foam mattresses in three varieties of firmness and a several varieties of types of memory foam. Market Summary Luxury-Pedic understands the existing market and has done extensive research to understand the common attributes of the target market. This research will be used better to understand the consumers, their needs, and how to communicate best with the market. According to Business Journal for the Sleep Products Industry (2015), the target market for the mattress industry includes the following: Mattress Involved Sleep Sufferers Healthy and Content Brand Selectors Apathetics There is no set geographic target area for mattress sales. By utilizing in-store sales, Internet sales and delivery services, Luxury-Pedic intends to serve both domestic and International customers. The market can also be narrowed down to the adult demographic, ages 18 and up. Behavioral factors will include the working class, the sleep deprived or fatigued population looking for a good nights rest. Market Growth Potential The mattress industry is a steadily growing, altering, and evolving. As the mattress industry has changed, the consumer demographics have changed as well. Baby Boomers no longer are wanting to deal with horrible sleep conditions as it saved money in exchange for a better nights sleep that allows consumers to be more energized and feel younger. This changing of consumer wants to consumer needs has enabled the mattress industry to become more prosperous than ever. There is an unlimited market growth potential as consumers are becoming more educated on the benefits of a better nights sleep as well as more educated on the advantages and disadvantages of the different types of mattress products. According to Wise (2012), The mattress trade group recently revised its estimate and expects the value of mattress shipments to rise 10.5 percent and the number of units to grow 6.5 percent (p. 3). This increased consumer knowledge base has changed the mattress market potential from being a small market with potential immediate rewards into a market where long-term growth and increase opportunity has become to the key to market success. Competitive Analysis The Luxury-Pedic 100% memory foam mattress line will move into a highly competitive space. Outside of the 100% memory foam mattress line, there is the independent wrapped pocketed coil line and the interlocking coil or traditional coil lines of a mattress. These lines are built and designed by mattress companies that have been selling mattresses for 65 to 140 years by brands such as Sterns Foster, Simmons, Sealy, and Hampton Rhodes just to start. When it comes to the 100% memory foam mattresses, Sealy, Tempur-Pedic, Hampton Rhodes, Serta are the most popular companies today. All four of these businesses produce memory foam mattresses that range in price from $698 to $9,000 for a queen set. The none memory foam mattresses range from $198 to $4,800 for a queen mattress set. Competitor Product Price Summary When it comes to the prices of the 100% mattress foam lines, Luxury-Pedic is unable to compete with the prices of Hampton Rhodes and the introductory lines from both Sealy and Serta. The quality differences between the Luxury-Pedic mattress lines and the lower end lines of Sealy, Serta, Hampton Rhodes are the differences between night and day. For their price point, none of their mattresses are 100% memory foam. They contain mostly low-grade heat conductive standard foam that sleep hot by giving back all of the heat put into the mattresses. Additionally, they do not have proper edge support or prevent body impressions. When it comes to the higher priced 100% memory foam mattresses from the other competitive brands, Luxury-Pedic mattresses will stand out due to same high quality of material, temperature regulation, comfort, and edge support at a price point that undercuts all other competing mattresses. Tempur-Pedic mattresses are the only mattresses in the entire industry that are price locked at a that is almost double of what any other memory foam mattress costs. Tempur-Pedic owns SealyTempur-Pedic, and so the focus of the Sealy  100% memory foam mattress line is to be only two steps above the Serta memory foam line. Out of all of the memory foam mattress lines, the Serta collection is the worst at temperature regulation and has no pillow top product offering. Sealy is better at temperature regulation but is the softest of all memory foam mattresses. The prices of these two lines are very similar. They range from $1,299 to $2,499. Segmentation, Target Market, Strategy The Luxury-Pedic mattress lines will focus on three different areas of the consumer market. The first will be focused on consumer medical needs. The medical benefits of the Luxury-Pedic mattress lines range from increased circulation, increased recovery times, decreased: aches, pains, and soreness, and an increase in an overall comfort allowing for a better nights sleep. The second area will focus on consumer comfort. The Luxury-Pedic line will come in 3 different comforts from firm, plush, and pillow top allowing a customer to be able to identify the mattress that best suits their comfort needs. The third and final focus will be on consumer value as the Luxury-Pedic line will be more cost effective than Tempur-Pedic but will provide all of the same advantages and benefits of Tempur-Pedic. According to Perry (2010), The mattress industry must sell dreams if it wants to elevate its image, boost its sale price and give consumers a better shopping experience (p. 34). With the implementation of using these three different market strategies focusing on consumer segmentation and target marketing, Luxury-Pedic will be able to establish a stronghold in the 100% memory foam market. Pricing The Luxury-Pedic line will consist of three different mattresses firmness levels. There will be a firm, plush, and pillow top. When it comes a firm mattress, Tempur-Pedic queen price set is at $4,199, Serta is at $1,699, and Sealy has not actual firm 100% memory foam mattress. The price for a Luxury-Pedic firm mattress will be $1,899 as the Serta mattress has poor temperature regulation and it out prices the Tempur-Pedic significantly. When it comes to a plush mattress, Sealy is priced at $1,799, Serta $1,999, and Tempur-Pedic at $3,499. The Luxury-Pedic mattress will be priced at $2,099. The focus is to build value in the concept of adding more material  increases the size of the mattress allowing which causes an increase in the cost of the mattress. There is not a real pillow top in any of the Tempur-Pedic, Serta, or Sealy mattress lines, making Luxury-Pedic a true one of a kind, but in soft equivalences Sealy is priced at $2,099, Serta $2,199, and Tempur-Pedic at $4,999. The Lux ury-Pedic pillow top will be priced at $2,299. The point is to no be cheaper than a low-end mattress, but to be at a lower price than Tempur-Pedic. We will be at a higher price than Sealy and Serta with the benefit of much better quality. Distribution Strategies The distribution strategy for Luxury-Pedic will be following Indirect distribution. Luxury-Pedic Mattresses will initially be built and assembled in two factories in New Mexico and Kentucky to allow for easy mass distribution to wholesalers and mattress retailers. As Luxury-Pedics increase in the success, additional factories will be built to shorten delivery times in order to allow for an increase in mattress sales. The objective of the distribution strategy is to be able to get new mattresses to wholesalers and retailers in less than 72 hours after ordering. Developing clear objectives is vital to a successful marketing plan. There are numerous essential elements to consider when creating effective marketing objective. Its important that the objectives are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-specific or SMART for short. The SMART approach let you how to manage your marketing activities successfully. Luxury Pedic is always evolving. The mattress industry is continuously growing. Key performances indicators are an important part of information used to describe how companies such as Luxury Pedic will progress towards its marketing goal within the next three years. Retailing at competitive rates of $1899-2500 depending on the mattress performance level, Luxury Pedic is priced to achieve increased profit revenue continuously. The key performance indicators are based on legitimate data and business objectives, and they are not always financial but they are necessary for directing management to their full potential. Some other essential performances include new and existing customers’ status, customer segmentation by profitability or demographics, customer referrals, advertisement, and testimonies. Demand forecasting Demand forecasting and estimation gives businesses valuable information about the markets in which they operate and the markets they plan to pursue. The purpose of demand forecasting and estimation is to find a businesss potential demand so managers can make accurate decisions about pricing, business growth and market potential. Managers base pricing on demand trends in the market. Demand forecasting and estimation is critical for inventory management. Businesses buy inventory based upon demand forecasts. Demand forecasting and estimation methods are typically accurate for short-term business planning. Estimating demand for the long-term is difficult because there are many unforeseen factors that influence demand over time. The expansion of the global mattress industry is forecast to reach 3.7% p.a. in the coming years. Between 2007 and 2013 the market increased with an average annual growth of 4.9%. Currently, cellular plastic and rubber mattresses account for 40.9% of the global demand while the remaining market share is divided between other mattresses (41.8%), and mattress supports (17.3%). China, France, Germany, Japan and the United States represent the largest mattress markets while the strongest annual growth is forecast to occur in Tanzania (24.1%), Ethiopia (15.4%), Philippines (15.0%), Rwanda (14.8%) and Bolivia (13.3%). Marketing Objectives Developing clear objectives is vital to a successful marketing plan. There are numerous essential elements to consider when creating effective marketing objective. Its important that the objectives are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-specific or SMART for short. The SMART approach let you how to manage your marketing activities successfully. Luxury Pedic is always evolving, the mattress industry is continuously growing, and key performances indicators is an important part of information used to describe how companies such as Luxury Pedic will progress towards its marketing goal within the next three years. Retailing at competitive rates of $1899-2500 depending on the mattress performance level, Luxury Pedic is priced to achieve increased profit revenue continuously. The key performance indicators are based on legitimate data and business objectives; they are not always financial, but they are necessary for directing management to their full potential. Some other key performances include new and existing customers status, customer  segmentation by profitability or demographics, customer referrals, advertisement, and testimonies. Implementation Milestones As a new company, setting milestones in a marketing plan allows your company to track the progress of company goals; allowing the business to determine if it can reach the task by a particular date and if there is enough data to move to the next activity. Luxury Pedic will identify their tasks, the start date, and the scheduled completion date, each event will continue until every task is finished. Creating a milestone table for your business sets the plan in concrete terms with real budgets and deadlines. Luxury pedic started by identifying each milestone, assigning a due date, allocating a budget, and designating a responsible person or group for each task, this is how a plan is implemented. Control Metrics It is important to set the rules of engagement within Luxury-Pedic. In order to measure success, we must be able to have a way to create company goals and establish the way to control what needs to be done in order to achieve the objectives set forth. We must be able to have a rule to measure current success, as well. We must be able to deliver efficiently on four types of marketing control. Those types are Annual Plan Control, Profitability Control, Efficiency Control, and Strategic Control. Annual Plan Control provides us with the ability to see if the results the company is looking for are being reached. Profitability Control shows us where we are making money and, even, where we are losing money. If it is found that money is being lost, we can adjust what is being done to produce a positive gain in revenue. Depending on the money that is lost, the product or idea will go directly to the end of life cycle to save cost in that area. Efficiency control gives us the opportunity to see how our marketing dollars are being spent in relation to the impact that our marketing strategy is having on our consumer base. Strategic control will give us a roadmap letting us know if the company is going down the right path in product offerings and how we are going about to make these offers available to the public. With the proper control measures put in place, we can see a complete picture of how the company is doing at any particular time. We will be able to identify problem areas quickly and create contingency plans when needed adequately to address  any needs or areas of concern. Its falls on management to steer the company in the right direction. Creating a culture of success is vital. Frontline employees must be on board with the direction the company is moving. If it is determined that there are issue in that area by way in bad performance results, for example, it is up to management to find the right path to correct those performance issues. All parts of the business must work well together in order to serve our consumer base actually. Contingency Planning Marketers must be ready to update and adapt marketing plans at any time (Kotler Keller, 2011, p. 55). There are many variables that can affect daily, monthly, and quarterly numbers in terms of production and revenue. We must be ready to address any and all areas of concerns promptly. The introduction of a new mattress company can affect the way we market and advertize to our consumer base. Competition in a marketplace can have several adverse effects. One thing we must be prepared to adapt to is the effect competition can have on pricing and promotions. Too much competition can drive prices down which mean Luxury-Pedic must change to be successful. We may need to invest in more cost friendly products that can deliver the same quality and comfort to cut cost, but will allow us to still deliver on our promise to our customer base with more affordable pricing. Major geological events can have an immediate impact on demand of our products. Floods, tornados, and hurricanes can create mass devastation that can leave our consumer base in need to rebuild. Adjustments in our offerings and promotion to assist in helping rebuild our community will increase our overall customer satisfaction. Community service events and product donations would be a way for us to stand out above the rest of our competition to show that we care about our customers and our community. During such a period, the company could see a short term dip in revenue. With the establishment of community service projects in the time of need, we can predict that we will reap positive long term success from that. Luxury-Pedic must be flexible in our approach and delivery of our products to our customer in order to achieve high success. In conclusion, a successful firm starts with a marketing plan within its first fiscal year. A marketing plan is a highly detailed and written document that summarizes how  a firm plans to reach its marketing objectives. Luxury-Pedic has outlined its marketing plans and detailed tasks to reach these elements, executive summary, situational analysis, marketing strategy, financial projections, and implementation controls will be discussed among other elements. This paper has defined the following objectives that Luxury-Pedic will implement to achieve this successful marketing plan. References BedTimes. (2012). Research Finds 5 Key Mattress Consumer Segments. Retrieved from http://bedtimesmagazine.com/2009/01/research-finds-5-key-mattress-consumer-segments/ Kotler, P., Keller, K. L. (2011). Marketing Management (14th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall. Perry, D. (2010). Mattress industry should sell dreams. Furniture Today, 34(37), 33. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.contentproxy.phoenix.edu/docview/346182942?pq-origsite=summonhttp://search.proquest.com?accountid=35812 Wise, W. L. (2012). Going to the mattress. The Post and Courier Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.contentproxy.phoenix.edu/docview/1115405056?pq-origsite=summonaccountid=35812

The Sichuan Earthquake In 2008 Environmental Sciences Essay

The Sichuan Earthquake In 2008 Environmental Sciences Essay On the afternoon of the 12th of May 2008, a threatening 8.0-magnitude of earthquake occurred on the Northwest of Chengdu, Sichuan and Southwest of Beijing in China. The China Official stated that 69,227 people were confirmed dead, 68,636people were in Sichuan territory and 374,176 people were injured with 18,222people were missing. The earthquake caused about 5  million people homeless. An estimation of 5.36 million buildings collapsed and more than 21 million buildings were damaged in Sichuan, Chongqing, Gansu, Hubei, Shaanxi and Yunnan were part of the affected area. The total economic loss was estimated 86 billion US dollars. The most affected area like Beichuan, Dujiangyan, Wuolong and Yingxiu were almost completely destroyed. This Sichuan earthquake is the most stunning earthquake happened in China since the Tangshan earthquake in 1976 which killed at least 240,000  people. The roads, railways and buildings were damaged and destroyed by landslides and rock falls which were formed by the earthquake, the landside created more than 34 barrier lakes which intimidated about 700,000 people at downstream to evacuate. The road access to the region of Chengdu was cut off for a number of days. The communications of the entire city were almost broke down. The rescue teams had to proceed to the scene for more than 3 days by foot. Several months later, the nightmare wasnt ended. The aftershocks was still continued to hit the area, some of them surpassed 6 magnitudes that caused more victims and damages lost. Regardless of the large death rate in this earthquake, questions and voices raised about thousands of the initial quakes victims were children buried in shoddily built schools. Even the government institution building like hospitals, schools and factories were completely collapsed in several different areas around Sichuan. It was questioned by the parents of children and the media, how rigorously the China has been enforced the buildings code during this century. Therefore, the central government of China declared on it would use 1 trillion Renminbi (around $146.5 billion) in the coming three years to reconstruct areas ravaged after the earthquake. CONSEQUENCE OF THE EARTHQUAKE Health and Pollution The health problem in affected areas is terrible, mainly due to the lack of clean water, resulting in victims fouling and rubbish is everywhere. In addition, fires, gas leaks and water pollution are the environmental problem after the Sichuan earthquake. Communication All communication in Sichuan, Chongqing, Hubei and other places is interrupted by the earthquake, the three provinces of public communications network infrastructure was severely damaged. Due to the sudden increased in communications, the usage of local long-distance telephone in Sichuan has risen to more than 10 times, cell phone receive rate dropped to half of the average. Sichuan Aba area of about 200 base station network paralysis; Chengdu communications network is fortunately normal, but network is busy, voice message is 7 times of usual and the SMS is 2 times of usual that resulting in congestion and SMS communication delay. Traffic   Road damaged by the earthquake which affected the aviation, Chengdu International Airport shut down immediately after the earthquake. Railways, the Baoji-Chengdu Railway and Chengdu-Kunming railway line extension and the related multiple collapsed. Highways, the earthquake caused landslides, avalanches and other secondary disasters which resulting the roads in the disaster areas and the infrastructure severely damaged and enormous loss. Landform and Water Earthquake caused the collapse of the Minjiang River and areas of landscape change that induced a large number of secondary mountain hazards, mainly landslides, debris flow, etc., in the active stage of secondary disasters after the earthquake, landslide active landslide will continue of 5-10 years, the active debris flow will continue of 10-20 years. In addition, the earthquake in Wenchuan, Beichuan and other areas formed 34 barrier lakes; and the Tangjiashan Barrier Lake is the most dangerous one. Ecology The homes of Wolong giant panda in Sichuan were destroyed by the earthquake mountain collapse, landslide, debris flow and land subsidence. Sichuan, Shaanxi, Gansu Province ecosystems are damaged in large area, bare soil, rivers blocked and geomorphology changed that affected the water conservation function, soil conservation function and biodiversity maintenance function to serious jeopardy. Finance and Industry After the earthquake, the Agricultural Development Bank in Beichuan County branch is affected, the Shanghai Stock Exchange and Shenzhen Stock Exchange are unable to contact the listed company of Sichuan and Chongqing, and decided to suspend the 66 listed companies of both countries. The insurance industry, due to the amount insured and the insurance is low, after the earthquake, the disaster area is paid only $1.806 billion by the insurance industry. For Industry, the affected industrial enterprises in Sichuan, Gansu and Shaanxi provinces reached 17,923companies. The direct economic loss is $104.87 billion and other economic loss is about $83 billion. LEsson learned The earthquake happened in Sichuan, it took few days to grasp all the damages and number of casualty involved. All telecommunication was cut off, roads and bridges were destroyed by earthquake. Rescue team required to proceed to the affected area by climbing up mountains and crossing rivers by foot which caused a serious delay for the first response of the disaster. In this disaster, more than 90 % of casualties were killed by collapsed buildings. Most damaged buildings could not sustain the shock of the earthquake, even the government institution building. It obviously showed that the building code may not be upon standard or the enforcement action did not strictly comply by the local government. Introducing minimum safety standards for new building construction can largely reduce the risk from future earthquakes. In particular, improvements in the design and construction of reinforced concrete frame buildings with brick infill, in order to reduce the increase in risk. Furthermore, the urban planning in earthquake-prone regions can be improved by strengthen the buildings become more differcuit to collapse when they are shivered by earthquakes. In view of the damages were too large for local government to cope with and medical cooperation was not effective enough to rescue the casualties in the golden time. As such, the Emergency Response Plans should be recognized that for the first several hours after an earthquake, the first response is going to come from the local communities. Hence, training programs involving local volunteers are important to reduce the life loss from an earthquake. An aggressive planning and training in schools should be carried out by children knowing what to do when the shaking began. Drills should be undertaken to test the emergency response plans and keep them current with respect to changing conditions. Governmental institutions and civil society organizations should accept policies and develop programs for pro-active preparedness and mitigation instead of being concerns by response only. Awareness programs, preventive actions and long term mitigation policies will result in more responsible and capable institutions, more engaged communities and a more aware civil society. Urban risk reduction must be viewed as a partnership between the government and its citizenship. Lack of systematical rescue procedures were also noted in this disaster. A Government Logistic Centre should be established, in order to gather all the resources, supporting from Nation Wide Agency, Medical Supporting Team and Voluntary Rescue team from other country. However, the Government disaster plan should be developed to identify the resources that can respond to disaster immediately. These resources include both the human potential as well as the availability of heavy equipment, which hindered the immediate intervention of search and rescue on affected areas. Perform basic calculations to estimate the impact of the Sichuan earthquake Top 10 most important Earthquake (seismic activity) disasters for the period 1900 to 2010 Country Date No Total Affected China P Rep, Earthquake (ground shaking) 12/05/2008 45976596 India, Earthquake (ground shaking) 21/08/1988 20003766 India, Earthquake (ground shaking) 26/01/2001 6321812 Pakistan, Earthquake (ground shaking) 8/10/2005 5128000 China P Rep, Earthquake (ground shaking) 3/02/1996 5077795 Guatemala, Earthquake (ground shaking) 4/02/1976 4993000 Haiti, Earthquake (ground shaking) 12/01/2010 3700000 Peru, Earthquake (ground shaking) 31/05/1970 3216240 Indonesia, Earthquake (ground shaking) 27/05/2006 3177923 China P Rep, Earthquake (ground shaking) 1/11/1999 3020004 Source: EM-DAT: The OFDA/CRED International Disaster Database www.em-dat.net Università © Catholique de Louvain Brussels Belgium Earthquake depends on what kind it is issued by the district, if the earthquake occurred in sparsely populated areas which loss of life and property with little or no. However, if the earthquake occurred is a modern city, there will result in lives and property great loss. In addition to the economic value of material damage, the earthquake should be considered as a result of direct and indirect economic consequences, such as urban and rural migration, production interruption, health and other social services temporary to provide normally. We can be observed from above table, the Sichuan earthquake have brought the huge implications for loss of life and property. The number of total affected in the Sichuan earthquake are 45976596 which impact large than other countries. Comparison with natural disaster in Eastern Asia in 2008 Dates Geo Disaster Numbers Start End Location Type Killed Total Affected Est. Damage (US$ Million) 00/11/2008 00/00/2009 China -Henan, Anhui, Shanxi Drought 3700000 234.294 25/05/2008 25/05/2008 China Qingzhou, Sichuan Earthquake (ground shaking) 8 351000 26/12/2008 26/12/2008 China -Yunnan province Earthquake (ground shaking) 95019 06/10/2008 06/10/2008 China -Near Ningzhong, Yangi Earthquake (ground shaking) 30 754 30/08/2008 30/08/2008 China -Miyi, Lihui , Panzhihua Earthquake (ground shaking) 40 1000589 492 21/08/2008 21/08/2008 China -Yingjiang (Yunnan province) Earthquake (ground shaking) 6 160 05/08/2008 05/08/2008 China -Sichuan province Earthquake (ground shaking) 4 13529 12/05/2008 12/05/2008 China -Wenchuan country, Wencgua Earthquake (ground shaking) 87476 45976596 85000 14/02/2008 18/02/2008 China -Yunnan province Extreme winter conditions 16 10/01/2008 05/02/2008 China -Zhejiang, Sichuan, Anhui Extreme winter conditions 129 77000000 21100 07/07/2008 07/07/2008 China -Hubei, Yunnan provinces General Flood 19 3000000 102 10/10/2008 16/10/2008 China -Hainan Island General Flood 3 50000 31/10/2008 04/11/2008 China -Yunnan, Guangxi provinces General Flood 67 411000 29 07/08/2008 11/08/2008 China -Jinghong (Yunan province) General Flood 20 810000 42 02/05/2008 05/05/2008 China -Dangyang, Shayang General Flood 3 780000 19 07/06/2008 22/06/2008 China -Jiangxi, Guangxi General Flood 176 1600000 2200 27/05/2008 05/06/2008 China -Guizhou, Hubei, Guangxi General Flood 64 538166 08/07/2008 08/07/2008 China -Long en village Landslide 15 08/09/2008 08/09/2008 China -Taoshi, near Linfen Landslide 277 35 13/06/2008 13/06/2008 China -Luliang (Shanxi province Landslide 19 14/03/2008 14/03/2008 China -Near Huocheng County Landslide 12 03/06/2008 03/06/2008 China -Zhoukou (Henan province) Local storm 10 100 23 17/04/2008 19/04/2008 China -Xinjiang Local storm 733 28/09/2008 28/09/2008 China -Ningle, Fuzhou, Putian Tropical cyclone 24/09/2008 25/09/2008 China -Near Maoming, Yanjiang Tropical cyclone 12 824 22/08/2008 23/08/2008 China -Canton, Shenzhen Tropical cyclone 4 900000 58 08/08/2008 11/08/2008 China -Leizhou Peninsula Tropical cyclone 42000 80 28/07/2008 08/08/2008 China -Yuexi, Jinzhai Tropical cyclone 1 93006 73 24/06/2008 27/06/2008 China -Sichuan, Guandong Tropical cyclone 14 340000 175 19/04/2008 19/04/2008 China -Shenzhen, Hainan Tropical cyclone 25 274000 49 25/09/2008 25/09/2008 Hong Kong (China) Tropical cyclone 58 22/09/2008 22/09/2008 Hong Kong (China) Tropical cyclone 2 112 0.38 05/08/2008 05/08/2008 Hong Kong (China) Tropical cyclone 37 23/07/2008 24/07/2008 Japan -Hachinohe Earthquake (ground shaking) 1 470 110 14/06/2008 14/06/2008 Japan -Iwate, Miyazaki, Miyagi Earthquake (ground shaking 23 448 167 28/07/2008 29/07/2008 Japan -Kobe , Kanazawa General Flood 5 50003 04/05/2008 04/05/2008 Korea -Boryeong Storm surge/coastal Flood 10 13 01/05/2008 10/09/2008 Mongolia -Ulaanbaatar, Sukhbaatar Viral Infectious Diseases 3151 16/09/2008 16/09/2008 Taiwan Nantou Tropical cyclone 52 28/09/2008 28/09/2008 Taiwan Ilan county Tropical cyclone 30 60 90 23/09/2008 23/09/2008 Taiwan (China) Tropical cyclone 1 18/07/2008 19/07/2008 Taiwan -Stratit, Yilan Tropical cyclone 26 8 16 27/07/2008 27/07/2008 Taiwan Nantou county Tropical cyclone 2 10 Source: EM-DAT: The OFDA/CRED International Disaster Database www.em-dat.net Università © Catholique de Louvain Brussels Belgium Comparison with the number of killed from natural disaster in China in 2008 Source: EM-DAT: The OFDA/CRED International Disaster Database www.em-dat.net Università © Catholique de Louvain Brussels Belgium The above chart is shown as the number of 87564 killed people from natural disaster in China. The earthquake was largest number of killed people than other natural disaster. Departments should focus on research institute in the future to prevent the recurrence of earthquakes. Reducing earthquake disasters on human life and property loss and damage caused. Comparison with estimate damage ($US million) from natural disaster in Eastern Asia in 2008 Source: EM-DAT: The OFDA/CRED International Disaster Database www.em-dat.net Università © Catholique de Louvain Brussels Belgium In economic losses, natural disasters occurred in China far more than other countries. Thus, the result has been impact on the economy to slow down the development of Chinas development. Estimation the impact of the earthquake The Sichuan earthquake led at minimum 5  million people missing housing. The estimate impact of economics might be as high as 11  million. Uncountable of agriculture were also damaged with 12.5 million animals and birds. In the Sichuan province a lot of pigs who died from out of the total number of 60 million. Catastrophe modeling firm air worldwide announced official evaluates of bought insurance amount about losses at US$1 billion in the earthquake, estimated total destroy over US$20 billion. There are including the values Chengdu, Sichuan Provinces capital city of 4.5  million people, worth US$115  billion, and having only a small part included by insurance. Multi-layered urban system LB HA IS SE NE Fast Slow Speed of change Space Narrow Vast HA Human Activities LB Land-use and Built environment IS InfraStructure SE Social Environment NE Natural Environment Ye Yaoxian 2008, Earthquake Disaster Comparatology City is a multi-layered system that includes other five levels of Natural Environment, Social Environment, InfraStructure, Land-use and Built environment, Human Activities. The above chart could estimate for urban speed of change to prevent unbalance between human activities and natural environment. Urban earthquake disaster is the earthquake struck the city of all these systems, so that the citys multi-level system of quality and functional decline. It is making the city the most vulnerable and potential dysfunction. A city could not stand the test of earthquake destruction. It depends on every level and all levels of interaction with suitable the methods and functions. China must harmonious development and sustainable management of our cities to economic afford the impact of the earthquake. Earthquake disaster is huge accident. The contributing factors of the earthquake disaster and characterized mainly the following four: Low frequency for occurrence of earthquake Disastrous earthquake in the same place where may take a hundred years or even centuries. Living in the earthquake risk residents, a life may not meet case of strong earthquake, or even generations also cannot feel by the cruel and powerful in the earthquake. Therefore, people undergo a seismic zone earthquake in the blood of the lesson often forgotten. Destruction of large areas by earthquake disaster Earthquake on the built environment, social environment and the natural environment will have major damage and impact. The damage will not only directly affect a countrys vast area, and may spread to the country, and even the world. Therefore, a comprehensive defense of this area of the disaster damage, not only requires enormous human and material resources, but also need a scientific decision support. High uncertainty to predict future earthquake We cannot accurately predict future earthquake time, location and magnitude of the three elements. Nowadays, we are in order to use the limited human and material resources to deal with a lot of uncertainty in the disaster that is almost impossible obviously. Strong interaction with natural and social factor Earthquake disaster is not only a natural phenomenon. There have also social, economic and environmental phenomena. Earthquake disaster will be the system with multi-level interaction. If the earthquake occurred in the undeveloped areas, although unexpected that but it will not form a disaster; However, if in a modern international metropolis, the world will be affected and impact. Different countries, from government to private plans are developed and adopted various measures to mitigate natural disasters, developed and developing countries start and finish a lot of assistance cooperation projects. Human factors involved in Sichuan earthquake Social and Political Factor After the earthquake, the Chinese government was quickly response to the earthquake that should be appreciation but its school construction scandal. The central government evaluates where over 7,000 not suitable engineered schoolrooms toppled in the earthquake. Chinese residents have since developed a catch phrase: tofu-dregs schoolhouses to fake materials with the quantity of structure of building which killed a lot of school children. It is because Chinas the policy of one-child, many families lost their only child while schools in the area of collapsed in the earthquake. Therefore, local officials in Sichuan province have cancelled the limit for families that only child was either killed or fatally injured in the disaster. Uneven urban development in China, especially Sichuan where were resulted in city marginalized. Sichuan public transport facilities are crude. There was difficult to access from the rescue terms. The problem has become serious in Chinas rich and poor. The well urban political planning is very important. Human vulnerability After the quake, donations from China and around the world were constantly. How many of the real victims could reach the help directly. It is because Chinas corruption problem is serious. Builders purchase building materials in the corruption or taking their commission. The result was produced tofu-dregs schoolhouses to reduce the quality of these inferior constructions. Sichuan Earthquake (Yr 2008) implication Sichuan earthquake is a disaster for two reasons: it is both an exceptional seismic event in itself, and exceeded the human abilities in the Sichuan province to encounter it. The combination of those two elements explains why this earthquake is a major disaster, with great losses. Regarding the casualties, the Sichuan earthquake is the second most important natural disaster in the world in 2008 (the first is the Nargis typhoon in Burma). But if we take into account the affected population and the economic losses, Wenchuan earthquake ranks first. The earthquake was indeed particularly devastating. The regions high vulnerability is one of the reasons for these dreadful damages, but it is not the only explanation. We can quickly name some of the earthquakes characteristics which explain the importance of damages. Ground motion observations from the earthquake indicate a long duration of ground shaking-over 100 seconds in most areas, and in rare cases as high as a few hundred seconds. The long duration of ground motion is a challenging issue in earthquake engineering because of its continuous impact, accumulating the damaging effects and compounding the development of fractures within engineering structures. As seismic waves travel through the ground, they produce both vertical and horizontal ground shaking effects, which have different structural impacts that must be accounted for in building design (Risk Management Solution, Stanford University). The vertical component of the Wenchuan earthquake was particularly important, inc reasing the damages to buildings. The surface ruptures were also exceptional and caused lots of damage (Xiwei Xu et al). There are also economic and social damage. A number of buildings and infrastructures have been destroyed or damaged. This had a significant impact on the local economy and on peoples living conditions. According to the Integrated Risk Governance Project Report (Peijun Shi et al, China) the earthquake damaged the following infrastructures: 24 express ways, 163 national and provincial highways, 7 important railways and 3 smaller ones, 22 airports (among them Chengdu airport). The electricity, communication, radio, television and water conservation infrastructures were also damaged, so were some cultural relics. 6 counties and 125 cities lacked electricity. More than 30 000 communication stations, 1 096 radio and television stations, 2473 major reservoirs, 822 electric stations, 1 105 dykes and 20 769 pipes were damaged. Roads were cut, so the access to some areas became difficult. These damages caused a degradation of the living conditions of a part of the population. For example, the damages to water pipes had consequences for 10.5 million people. The losses also concerned industry and agriculture. 17826 companies were affected and 5645 major industrial companies stopped production. In Sichuan and Gansu, 137000 hectares of crops and 486 000 hectares of forest were destroyed. Of course, the most important damage for peoples living conditions was the collapse of buildings. 15,106 million people have been displaced, essentially because of this reason (but also in order to dodge secondary disasters, such as lakes which were formed after the earthquake and could overflow, or such as landslides). Six months after the disaster, there were still 5 million peo ple who lived in temporary houses or even in tents. The amount of these losses is huge. The economic losses reached 845,136 billion Yuan in Sichuan, Gansu and Shaanxi (with 771,717 billion Yuan only for Sichuan). Apart from the lossess on economic and society, and it was corrosion in the school buildings scandal. The Chinese central government estimates that over 7,000 poor engineered school rooms were collapsed in the earthquake., and such constructions that killed so many school children. Emergency Response Numbers of rescue personnel where have brigades from the Peoples Liberation Army going into action within 24 hours. However, Rescue efforts were very difficult from the beginning, owing to the difficult environment situation and the extensive damage to the basic public facilities. All roads delivery to Wenchuan Xian (Sichuan) had been stopped and rescuer should access to Wenchuan and this parameter on foot. In the days and weeks that followed, outside resources and personnel were delivered to the disaster zone. Reconstruction and Long Term Recovery Efforts The China State Council support for the Sichuan re-construction, the most pressing issue is to relief millions of persons as many of them still losing their home and most keep going to stay in temporary shelters of one kind or others. The Central Government of China is giving the pressure and using resources to built up the new housing when the coming of Winter. The earthquake: a shock which raises awareness about risk management The earthquake is also some kind of a test to the top management of PRC Governments reaction and abilities in general, and shock which raises awareness for the risk / emergency management system in particular. The growing importance attached to the principle of responsibility, the PRC Governments supervision of help are elements which can get a new importance in the future Chinese policy. Conclusion The Sichuan (Wenchuan) earthquake is a large-scale disaster which struck the Sichuan province, and more particularly its underdeveloped western part. Sichuan is one of the numerous Chinese provinces where earthquake risk is high: China is a country marked by natural disasters in general and earthquakes in particular. The disaster was a trial for the Chinese government and its administration, which both already had to deal with the 1976 Tangshan earthquake, at the end of the Cultural Revolution when China was far less developed than it is today. The management of the Wenchuan earthquake seems to be a rupture because of its efficiency and of the open attitude of the government, and of the multiplicity of actors who took part in relief work. In spite of difficulties, the solidarity outburst which occurred was unprecedented in the country. The time of crisis was followed by recovery, then rebuilding. This last moment was an opportunity to initiate new dynamics taking into account antis eismic norms in a more efficient way, better urban planning, programmes which integrate struggle against poverty, and also creating symbols and memorial places of the disaster. But dynamics related to this event do not only concern affected areas: the event generated a broader rise of awareness about risk issues, and had repercussions at a national scale. As a matter of fact, there are a growing number of reflections and measures about risk and disaster management in the whole administration: at a national level, but also at local officials, who fear the possibility of occurrence of a disaster in their own region. In any way, risk and disaster management appears like an important issue in land planning, and cannot be separated from economic and social development questions. The analysis of the Wenchuan earthquake can be a first approach to larger inquiries about natural disasters in China and their management for two reasons. First, it was a major disaster, which has already become a reference. Thus, its analysis can be a model to compare other events. Then, the earthquake triggered an unprecedented reaction: how are these dynamics going to evolve? This study focuses on seismic disasters, particularly on one event, whose size was exceptional. It aroused reactions and a rise of awareness which are also exceptional. China is marked by lots of disasters, which are usually less important and less spectacular. Making a list of common points and differences in the management of these different phenomena could be interesting. All of them are not national events like the Wenchuan earthquake was. Is the relative discretion of smaller disasters an obstacle for their taking into account by authorities and actors of land settlement? The Wenchuan disaster revealed many things about society and the government in China because it is an exceptional situation, a deviation from the norm. The media have built a specific memory about natural disasters, by showing the most sensational , elements or those whose description and visualization are the easiest so they have creat