Book of Sand Essay Example for Free

Book of Sand Essay 1.The book had affected the narrator to a great extent. At first he did not care for the book, until the stranger selling Bibles said â€Å"the number of pages in this book is literally infinite. No page is the first page; no page is the last†. This intrigued the narrator’s mind. After he had bought the book, he began investigating. He noted down things in the book. He began losing sleep from the investigation and when he actually got sleep, his dreams were about the book. As it states in the short story, â€Å"At night, during the rare intervals spared me by insomnia, I dreamed of the book†. He had grown an obsession with the book, which altered his lifestyle and forced him to hide the book in the library. 2.The literary device that the author uses to compare the book and himself to was a metaphor. When the narrator said, â€Å"it was cold consolation to think that I, who looked upon it with my eye and fondled it with my ten flesh-and-bone fingers, was no less monstrous than the book†, this proved that he was comparing himself to the monstrous book. The meaning and significance of this metaphor states that he was no different from the book. His mind was now as dense and endless. The book carried infinite secrets and toyed with its readers. As it stated in the short story, â€Å"I felt it was a nightmare thing, an obscene thing, and that it defiled and corrupted reality†. The narrator felt that the deadly secrets that emanated from the book were all getting to his head. His fear of infinite evil caused him to hide the demonic book and run away from the eternal thoughts. 3.In the short story, â€Å"The Book of Sand† by Jorge Luis Borges, the narrator states that he had become a â€Å"prisoner of the book†. This is evidently shown when he obsessively investigates the book. He barely slept because all he could think about was the book, and he barely left his house. As it’s shown, â€Å"I had but few friends left, and those I stopped seeing. A prisoner of the book, I hardly left my house†. He became isolated and trapped in the secrets and mystery of the book. 4.The salesman’s previous warning to the narrator about the book as he stated, â€Å"Look at it well. You will never see it again†, had come true in this short story. The book was infinite, full of endless amounts of illustrations and had no beginning or end. When the narrator said, â€Å"They never repeated themselves†, this proved that it was impossible for anyone to revisit the same page. Therefore the salesman’s previous warning had come true. 5.The author of the short story, Jorge Luis Borges, illustrates the idea of giving up the things we should have valued but instead take for granted for the sole purpose of pleasing one’s obsession to obtain things that will end up destroying humanity regardless of the fulfillment of curiosity. In the beginning, the narrator didn’t seem to care about The Book of Sand. It was not until the salesman had said that it had infinite pages that caught the attention of the narrator. He now wanted the book and would pay a great amount for it. When the narrator offered a trade, â€Å"I will offer you the full sum of my pension. . . and Wyclif’s black-letter Bible†, it proved that he would give up his valuables to get a hold of that book, which little did he know would actually destroy him. He grew an obsession for the book. As it states in the story, â€Å"At night, during the rare intervals spared me by insomnia, I dreamed of the book†. This provides evidence of the fact that he had been so extremely fixated on the diabolical book that even when his body was asleep, his mind was still obsessing over it. When he realizes the mistake he made, giving into his curiosity, he decides to get rid of the monstrous book. However at this point he had already lost his friends and the things he valued. The book had taken up a great extent of his time that could not be taken back, because unlike The Book of Sand, his life was not infinite. 6.The literary device used is a metaphor. I think this because when the narrator says â€Å"the best place to hide a leaf is in the forest†, he is referring to a way to hide The Book of Sand. At first he considered destroying the evil thing. Although he thought that the â€Å"burning of an infinite book might be similarly infinite, and suffocate the planet in smoke†. Therefore he thought to hide the book in plain sight. Hiding a leaf in the forest is like hiding a book in a library. He hid the book on one of the library’s damp shelves in the basement and tried not to notice where exactly he put it. He did this so he and anyone else wouldn’t be able to find the monstrous book. He didn’t want to be a â€Å"prisoner of the book† anymore. The book had ruined his life and took away time, the most precious thing we have in life. He didn’t want to be trapped by the isolation of the book and so he hid it where it could never be found.

Competitive Enviroment Of Mobilink Telenor

Competitive Enviroment Of Mobilink Telenor At the achievement of 100 million customers PTA has released interesting figures. A very obvious trend shows enormous growth of mobile density. Mobilink, Telenor and Ufone are currently giving each other a tough challenge, Warid and Zong are also increasing their market share and in upcoming days the overall cellular environment will be facing more challenges. Though existing mobile operators are using aggressive and innovative methods of marketing to increase the consumer count, the issue faced is the rivalry. The competition between the stakeholders is also challenged by the newer investments making it essential for old players to know their methodologies and to preserve their market share. Mobilink is a prime example of companies facing this challenge. A large number of users were gained by aggressive strategies of Telenor and that helped Telenor to establish in a lesser period. However, next inline challenge for any giants is to retain what they have gained and always keep their strategies aligned with new methods of marketing. 1.2 SCOPE OF THE PROJECT: The major scope of my thesis is to analyze Telenor and Mobilink telecommunication companies on following three aspects, organizational standards/policies, competitive behaviors and the customer behaviors. I have analyzed their business and marketing strategies by examining their advertisement war and marketing tactics. 1.3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY: I have used the following research methodologies in writing this thesis: Going through Mobilink and Telenor websites. Collected information from Mobilink and Telenor Employees. Obtained research papers from Mobilink and Telenor. LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 TELECOMMUNICATION SECTOR IN PAKISTAN: Marketers are foreseeing promising potential in future growth in the telecommunication industry on the basis of the previous 5 years that have shown a rapid and enormous growth in this sector. Government of Pakistan is taking serious interest in the expansion of this industry and funding for the growth and it has a firm belief that this sector will provide quality services to the general public of this country. 2.2 SWOT Analysis: SWOT is basically a method to evaluate an organizations environment. It stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. It is widely used by the marketers to do an investigation on key issues exist in an organization. It divides the aspects in two halves; one is the external aspect that covers up the opportunities and threats, while the internal aspects are the strengths and weaknesses of a business. It is quite easy to adopt and it helps in identifying the main apprehensions and tries to infuse their remedies in the marketing objectives. 2.2.1 Strengths: Strengths are the attributes that adds up value to a company and make it stand out among other because of the customers positive attitude towards those attributes. Strengths include the specialties in marketing tactics, new and innovative products and services, quality of their internal and external processes, and the market value of that business venture. 2.2.2 Weaknesses: Weaknesses are the negative attributes of a business and it majorly indicates the loose holes in marking techniques. It also indicates the poorly managed internal and external processes, bad management, bad fame because of low quality products and services and lack of innovative ideas. 2.2.3 Opportunities: Opportunities can be best illustrate as the new options that can make a business more strong and open up ways to grab new markets by the use of new technologies, market trends, or by implementing innovative ideas for earning huge revenue and strengthening the businesss position in the competitive market. 2.2.4 Threats: Threats are the upcoming disasters that can make a businesss position fragile in the market place. These can be the lower prices offered by a competitor, better and innovative products and services offered by a competitor, new rival emerging in the market, etc. 2.3 MARKETING MIX: Marketing Mix are 4Ps of marketing study, which includes product, place, promotion and price but for the industry of services, it is taken up to the next level that embraces physical evidence, process and people. This concept gives the marketing professionals the flexibility to alter the current offers they have for their customers and make new innovative offers by manipulating these 7Ps. 2.4 CONSUMER BEHAVIOR: For any business, the behavior of the customers and their buying patterns are of great importance. A customer buying behavior is precisely classified in the following four aspects. This classification helps in creating new products and services and identifying potential customer. The first and foremost aspect is the Cultural background of the customer that includes its attitude and thinking directions that roots down to the core values its family and society make up of. Another aspect is the Social factors that strongly reflect in its choices and decisions; it is basically about the social environment it possesses because it truly affects a persons mind set. Third aspect is about the Personal Characteristics that includes the social and economic status, personality, age group and intrinsic uniqueness. Last but not the least aspect is about the psychological Characteristics that comprises of the insights, motivation and way of approaching towards different things. All of the above fac tors influence the decision making of a buyer. 2.5 CONSUMER BUYING DECISION PROCESS: Marketing professionals use different tactics to study the purchasers mind and make strategies to use this information in improving the sales of their products or services. There are several things that are running up in the purchasers mind at the time of purchasing; these things are the information available to the purchaser, the alternatives, acknowledgement and his personal preferences. 2.6 SEGMENTATION: The identification of purchasers in a market place who owns similar necessities and acquires identical manners is called as segmentation. 2.7 TARGETING: After the completion of segmentation, marketing professionals picks up a segment of market place to keep it in focus. 2.8 MARKET COVERAGE APPROACH: Organizations put together their planned strategies to attain specific targets and mile stones and as the time passes by, these planned strategies are altered by keeping in mind the growing needs of in-focused markets. The in-focused market is a deposit of purchasers who have recognizable needs and these needs are recognized by companies to offer new products and services for benefiting the market. There is an approach called as market converge approach that facilitates an organization to construct the right strategy for its in-focused market. We can divide the market converge strategies into three broad categories: Undifferentiated strategy: this strategy states that a company provides undifferentiated products to customers at lower cost after identifying their needs. Differentiated strategy: this strategy states that a company provides a product that is profitable and full fills the need of a certain segment of market. The product is actually differentiated on certain factors that include its features, prices and availability but the quality of the product should be maintained at a reasonable level. Concentrated strategy: this strategy states that a company brings up a product after identifying the gap in the marked which was not earlier identified, the most money-making strategy is positioned marketing. 2.9 POSITIONING: Positing is about valuing a products position within the market and it is done after segmentation and aiming a customer class. Positing depends on the perception of the person who is evaluating a products position and it always varies and so does its results. MOBILINK 3 INTRODUCTION OF MOBILINK Mobilink has started its operation being the subsidiary of Orascom Telecom .Currently is the market giant in Pakistan Telecommunication industry because of having the leading number of subscribers which exceeds 31 million and its still increasing day by day. Mobilink is a market ruler in terms of its expansion. Mobilink is so delighted on taking initiative as a cellular service provider. Mobilink is the so delighted to provide high-tech telecommunication solutions to its privileged customers nationwide. Mobilink puts forward exclusive and specially designed packages to its customers nation wide having diverse needs, it includes all type of subscribers like individuals, business personals, and corporate tariff plans. Mobilink offers Postpaid and prepaid tariff plans to its privileged subscribers. These solutions are competitive and balanced packages in the current fierce market competition. It also offers various Value Added Services. Mobilinks strongest point is its far and wide coverage that covers 9000 regions and localities inside the country and over 130 other countries worldwide for international roaming services. 3.1 Products Mobilink is offering two different types of tariff plans, one is Jazz that is offered to the masses of the society of all classes and it is better for keeping control on cellular expenses. Prepaid service has so many different packages for different type of users. While, the other service that is Indigo is for society that can afford to pay monthly bills. It has a wide range of packages for different type of users and they are based on the level of usage of the service. 3.2 Value Added Services Info Services Home SMS Translator Call / SMS Blocking Power Tools Info Services Reverse Auction SMS Filter SIM NIC Services Package Info Service SMS Search Islamic Portal Holy Sayings Kisan Service My PowerTools 3.3 Sales Tactics Mobilink also led the way up for opening up franchises nationwide and it has over 500 franchises which provide different services to its customers. Mobilink has over 800 sub dealers too that help it in expanding its network and quality services. The basic idea behind opening up a franchise is to provide help to its customers that are encountering any issues or problems in the communication service. Franchises also provide facilities for bill payments, sales, etc. Mobilink has hired proficient personnel who are dedicating working for providing help and support to Mobilinks privileged subscribers. 3.5 Mobilink Core capability: Research and development is always a core competency for every service providing organization that wants to compete in the fierce market war and Mobilink has it all as well as its employees. Mobilink takes pride in its hardworking and proficient professionals that makes it a market leader by dedicatedly working for its growth and integrity. The research and development department always takes part in launching new products and services for the sake of its customer and Mobilink knows who to keep its customers bind and pleased. It launches innovative products and services to the market that adds up its value, like the recently launched Jazz Jazba. 3.6 Operational Targets To lift and improve market share: Mobilink is trying to lift and improve its market share by investing in various other business like wireless solutions and broadband internet offers. It is putting up efforts in not only sustaining its current market positions that possess almost 40 % market share as well as trying to increase it. Mobilink is keen in making up a positive image in its subscribers mind and wants to increase its horizon from telecommunication industry to other businesses as well. It has offered infinity click service for Karachi people and also organizing different activates for making things better at both ends. To keep its position of having largest customers: Mobilink wants to keep the title of having largest number of customer nationwide and for keeping this pride, it has to bring fresh and exciting offers for keeping its customer satisfied as there are other service providers are also in the market like, ufone, warid, Telenor and zong; all of these companies are providing their services on cheaper rates than Mobilink and that is the main point of concern for this market giant. Workers Growth and development: Mobilink takes great pride in its reliable and skilled workforce that is the main reason behind its success. Mobilink values its employees and always tries to improve their technical and interpersonal skills by proper training, recruiting and evaluating current employees by appraisals. Mobilinks HRM department is effective and keen to grab the best professionals from the market place and make them real treasure for the company. 3.7 Business Strategies at Mobilink There are three most important functioning strategies: Commercial Strategy Production Strategy Operational Strategy Commercial Strategy Commercial strategy focuses on the overall range of products and services which actually in total encompasses the companys product line, different methods and processes through which a company interrelate its products to its business. Early mobilink only focused on its internal expansion but due to increase in competition they have changed their strategy and now working with other telecomm companies for example Mobilink started to work with Citi bank, Atlas Bank and KASB for the online bill payment system. Production Strategy Mobilink production strategy focuses on putting together its profitable products hence maintaining and strengthening its business position which will also benefit them in the long term. To continue its production Mobilink has always worked with its research and development department to distinguish its product from other competitors on the basis of network simplicity, as compare to its competitors. Mobilink has created their product and services unique through: Promotion/Advertisements Mobilink have an enormously impressive marketing team who designs and promotes its packages and services by keeping in mind the variations in consumer behavior of customers. Mobilink has been advertising and promoting its offerings through different media like Electronic media. Promoting its new products through Print Media like glossy magazine, tabloids and Billboards. They have nominated different sportsmen and celebrities as their brand ambassador. 3.9 Operational Strategy As the cellular companies continue to launch new services and products, they are implementing new and innovative strategies to beat their competitors. Most of the companies has started to focus on low cost strategy, by offering cheaper rates they comprise on service quality, on the other hand Mobilink stands firm on its quality service strategy, they dont comprise on quality at all, this is also the reason that its rates are on higher side but its loyal customers understand and appreciate Mobilinks efforts to maintain the quality management hence they dont switch to other companies. 3.10 Mobilink Infinity Mobilink introduced Wimax wireless technology which doesnt need any telephone lines or any kind of cables to connect to the work internet. Mobilink Infinity fulfils the requirement of a user who wants to access the internet with fast speed and unlimited downloads. Mobilink Infinity is available in different packages for the home users. A subscriber either can use a dongle or a modem to connect to internet. CORPORATE COMMUINCATION SOLUTIONS Mobilink Infinity introduced several last mile connectivity solutions for corporate user and organizations through which high speed connectivity can be achieved. These solutions include wireless solutions, microwave solutions, VSAT, Optical fiber and xDSL. Currently Mobilink has the state of art optical fiber network being commissioned across the country covering all the regions and cities of Pakistan. MOBILINK GENIE: Through Mobilink genie a user can pay bills through Mobilink connection. This solution is designed to comfort the lifes of its users by saving their time. You can pay your utility bills as well as Mobilink bills through this package from anywhere and anytime. 3.12 SWOT ANALYSIS OF MOBILINK Strengths à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Its main source of power is the foundation of its robust, indispensable and balanced marketing strategy, which is proposed to fulfill the needs and requirements of its customers. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Mobilink has been generating high revenues in past years which enable them to invest heavily to improve its infrastructure, technology and research and development areas. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ First Mover advantage. First company to launch GSM service in country à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ At present Mobilink has the largest market share, they have the most cellular users in the country also their revenue earnings are highest as compare to other companies. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Mobilink was first to launch the Blackberry services in Pakistan and currently they have the most users of this service. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Mobilink is the first cellular company which launched the mobile services in the northern regions of Pakistan. Weaknesses à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Even though Mobilink is covering whole country but still its rates are on the higher side, because of this particular matter Mobilink lost their share values in previous years. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Mobilink has been less investing and focusing on the Advertisement as compare to its competitors, this is one reason which can harm them in future as their customers will start switching to other networks. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ It has been found that Mobilinks network is usually busy in densely populated areas. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ PTA has fined Mobilink twice because of its bad service and user complains. So they need to stress on giving improved services to its existing users rather on development of its network. Opportunities à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Mobilink can expand and extend their existing share by targeting young generation as Ufone and Telenor has been doing, they can also introduce new packages for old age people, but these packages must be introduced keeping in mind the pocket of every targeted segment. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Mobilink can use their brand name and image to target new customers as well as retain their existing users for this they need to implement innovative promotion techniques. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ By working on CRM system Mobilink can enhance its relationship marketing procedures which will benefit them to achieve their goals. Threats à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The new entrant Zong has come up with very cheaper rates due to which cellular consumers especially youngsters are shifting to Zong. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Telenor is now offering better postpaid packages and services for business and high class users. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Current price war between all cellular companies might result in a situation when only brand images and names will be important for new cellular user. 3.13 BCG Matrix I have examined Mobilinks products and services through BCG Matrix. Following are the main products: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Mobilink Indigo à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Mobilink Jazz à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Mobilink Blackberry Services Cash Cow Mobilink Indigo is the cash cow for Mobilink. Likewise Mobilink Blackberry services help Mobilink to generate good amount of revenue as it is mostly use by business class. Star Mobilink Jazz is the star for the Mobilink, this is one package whose users will keep on growing. Question Mark Jazz one, Jazz easy, club red are question Mark for Mobilink because more or less similar packages are also offered by its competitors. Dog At present no product or service of Mobilink comes under the dog category. TELENOR 4.1 INTRODUCTION OF TELENOR: Telenor is basically a Norway based telecommunication service provider and it has a major place in telecommunication industry worldwide. Its operative in quite many countries around the globe. Its main operation office is in Islamabad and main regional offices are in Karachi and Lahore. Telenor has expanded and increased massively since its founding and has achieved several objective to meet its goal. They have currently 24% market share with more than 23 million users. They are among the top cellular companies around the globe, Telenor has been investing hugely to improve their infrastructure so that they can reach every remote location of the country. 4.1 Organizational Principles: Produce trouble-free resolutions People at Telenor have a great interest in producing simple, easy and hassle free solutions for their customers. Their motto is to make peoples life easy and simple by providing quality services. Maintain Promise People at Telenor always put their best efforts to get the work done. They believe in producing the best possible solutions for their privileged customers. They never sacrifice over quality to provide solutions and offerings. Keep moving Telenor have the best resources to deliver the goals. They make every effort to bring energy to the work they get done. Every product they create appears better and finer. They are always keen and eager about everything that is related to their trade and subscribers. Social endurance Telenor has people that are quite familiar with the area they are operating and they love being gelled up with the local society by respecting and valuing their social and moral values. They never compel a uniform strategy globally but they actually wish to gel up with the local people anywhere they operate. Telenors main operational approach is to expand their market value by capitalizing on its subscribers all over the world and to increase the companys efficiency and out but by integrating work efficient and advanced marketing techniques with diverse business ventures. The focused chief points are as follows: Buildup their rank as a global cellular provider Telenor is very keen and eager to position themselves as the top and largest mobile operator not only in Pakistan but also. They have been collaborating with other top mobile operators in order to seek new ideas and strategies so they can strengthen their operations and ability of producing better services. To reach every remote area Telenor is keen enough to renovate their operations in all the remote regions. Their presence in every part of the country will make them a bigger operator. By establishing an integrated communication they can support and give value to their users in a better and efficient way. Worldwide harmonization Telenor intelligently use its worldwide harmonization program for grabbing the local market in mobile operational services. It assure its control by this using this program and take advantages. In current cellular market condition it has been very important for operators to come up with effective strategies also being aware of other strategies which are used by their rivals. Giving value addition to customers through offering cheap packages and value added services. 4.5.1 Production Strategy Customers are the main focus of attention for Telenor, everything they do, make, forecast is for their valuable customers. Telenors business strategy entitles its customers to grow and increase their interest and loyalty with Telenor. Their strategy, vision and mission is a representation of the social values of its customers, these are the main factors which differentiate them for others. To achieve its vision and goal Telenor has always come up with exceptional business strategies which are essential in helping the local culture and getting to the already forecasted plans and goals. Moreover a top serving management makes it easier for the bottom management to accomplish all these typical issues and task. Telenor doesnt sacrifice the ethical rules and regulation in order to implement its business strategies. All the international ethical procedures are adopted and applied with strict monitoring; they have a very strict code of behavior for all the employees. 4.5.2 Telenor strategies: Telenor achieves its motives and goals by implementing following strategies: Societal Commitment Telenor is always keen to perform all the social obligation that are important and they strive to purpose valuable products and services to various sects worldwide and they want to take part in socio-economic growth of the region and they take it as their responsibility and trying to improve it by all means. Delivering best Quality Telenor is more than a service carrier for the societies it serves and has become an essential part of their business thus contributes to the economic growth. Since Telenor buys so many products and services itself to serve its customers. To ensure that best services are provided to customers, Telenor ensures the quality of products and services it acquire from market. The standards of services we commit to our customers are what we demand from sellers and service providers, serving our business. Partnership: Coalition and responsiveness is quite important with other organizations either public or private institutes. Education and exploration Starting up, holding up and running exploration programs with education session and other competitions. Administering specific Processes Telenor organizes different events, including seminars, sessions and conferences related to the fields in which Telenor is operating. Fulfilling Commitments They always fulfill their commitments and if its not the case, they are always present to help and lead others. Vibrant Being vibrant is being energetic and having a passion for excellence and achievement. Inventive Being inventive is all about innovating new and amazing services and products that can bring up maturity to the organization. Accountable Being accountable is all about keeping promises and being committed and devoted to work that can lead to a good reputation and market good will. 4.6 Forecasted targets Aspects 2010-11 2014-15 Telenor share 24% 45% Market saturation 11% 35% Income share 9% 35% Impulsive Brand Awareness 22% 85% 4.8 Consumer Oriented Approach: Basically segmentation is done for dividing a market in various segments and then identifying need for every portion. It is necessary for researching and finding gaps and opportunity and it can help in keeping track of the progress too. Telenor has a subscriber oriented approach and it wants to give top priority services to its subscribers. It has divided the market into different segment for the ease. Comparison of Mobilink and Telenor : Feature Mobilink Telenor Product Maturates Mature Growing Share 40% 24% Exposure 1100 cities 900 cities Brands Jazz, Octane, Indigo TalkShawk, Telenor DJuice Marketing function Outstanding Standard 4.9 Approaches for Segmentation: As Telenor have various departments and divisions responsible for their products hence they have diverse and unique segmentation strategy for their each product and service, moreover they have different strategy even for the promotion programs split. They always pay more attention on their loyal customers. Efficient and effective market surveys and researches are done in order to get the customer feedback then the total market needs and potential is analyzed and calculated finally in the end buying power of consumer is analyzed for each n every segment. Telenor has an assorted segmentation strategy and a different marketing program is build up for each market segment. Telenor is always very concerned about its privileged customers and because different people look for different settlements and their needs for services always vary. A level of markets potential is approximated for each segment and it helps in setting targets and designing different strategies and making policies for increasing the sales. 4.10 Approaches for Pricing: Telenor approach for pricing is very simple; they started by targeting the young generation. Because of the tough competition every Telecom company have to be very flexible in their pricing approaches and offerings. You can lose your customers very easily and cheaply if you are rates are not up to the standards and needs of consumer Cellular companies keep on launching new packages with best and revise prices so that their customers remain stuck to their products and services Launching of Djuice and TalkShawk are the excellent examples of how Telenor targeted the youngsters, as the young generation is more price sensitive as compare to business Telenors follows the simple standard business models while creating their pricing strategies. They have come up with best offerings; every now and then they are launching more exciting and cheap packages for their customers. One example of this is their current Persona package which fulfils the demand of a business and corporate user. 4.11 Approaches for Promotion: Telenor approach and idea for promoting and advertising of it products and services is completely different from other cellular companies. They are using every possible available medium of communication to communicate with their targeted customers. Their main focus and goal regarding promotions is to become the top cellular company of the country by increasing their market share along with providing them the value they deserve 4.12 Media Advertising: In todays television channels boom advertising plays an important role to represent and pass the message of a service provider to its customer. Through advertsising telenor has been easily hitting the factors which affect the consumer decision making process. In current cellular media war Telenor has managed to retain its value by appropriate advertising strategy by selecting countries famous personalities in their promotion campaigns. 4.13 FUNCTIONAL ORGANIZATION SYSTEM Availability: For Telenor, production is about offering a vast variety of packages and it is working quite well in providing amazing and innovative packages with high-tech facilities Telenor is leading the market in providing quality high-tech services and making them available for everyone. Business Centers: Telenor has it business centers and sales service centers in major cities for all the technical and non technical queries. These centers provide facility to the subscribers fo

Understanding the Indian Culture :: Cultural Identity Essays

Daughter: Dad, we’ve got a lot of time before your flight out of Ft. Lauderdale. Let’s take the back roads over to the East Coast -- it will give you a chance to see a part of Florida you’ve never seen before. Father: Sounds okay to me. I’m surprised at all the cattle ranches around here thought we Texans were the only ones with this many herds ... of course, these do look pretty scrawny compared to ours! Daughter: Yes, I know, Dad -- no place like Texas. Father: Who owns all these cattle and grazing lands? Some big corporate group I guess? Daughter: Well, I’m not sure about all of it but The Seminole Tribe of Florida is one of the major cattle ranching enterprises. Father: You mean Seminoles as in Indians? Daughter: Yes, Dad, Indians. Father: (After a few miles of silent observance) Well, I find that hard to believe. All Indians are l lazy. All they do is lay around and do nothing. Daughter: I’m curious Dad, where’d you get that idea? Father: Everybody knows it. I’ve been around the Southwest and Midwest and I’ve seen them lay around and drink. Remember Frank, out in Oklahoma, he’s got some pretty ugly stories to tell. Daughter: Well, I’m sure there’s a few bad apples in every bunch -- white or black, Indian or not -- but I don’t think you could say they are all that way. Father: Maybe. But I don’t like my tax dollar going to support them. Now they have casinos and they don’t even pay taxes. Daughter: I’ve got an idea. We’ve got a few extra hours. Let’s make a couple of stops along the way. Here’s the first. Father: What -- this bingo joint? Daughter: Yes, just for a few minutes. I hear they serve great hamburgers and who knows, it could be our lucky day! Father: (Emerging a little while later with a big smile) That was pretty good. I’ve got a little extra change to head home with too. Sure was a big place. Daughter: It was a pretty impressive operation and it provides a lot of employment opportunities for Indians and non-Indians, too.

The Perils of Regionalism:Genocide in Rwanda :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In Priestley’s â€Å"Wrong Ism†, he claims that nationalism is not the strength that binds a country together, but rather all of the small local areas we are all accustomed to growing up in that gives us strength. Priestley considers nationalistic ideas and movements to be headed by people who have a love of power and who have left out their regional ties. They no longer have feelings for the areas they came from and any loyalty developed over their lifetime is watered down.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Priestley feels regionalism needs to be given more credit. He assumes it provides us with roots and a sense of attachment to our community which affect people’s lives in such a way that it creates a unique bond that can be very hard to break. So in a sense, regionalism shapes our identities and I agree with his assumption that people view themselves more as part of their region rather than a part of their nation. Loyalty to one’s region can be compromised when individuals allow national power and greed to destroy their roots.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are many examples of how nationalism tries to take over a region to destroy its people. For instance genocide, in nearly all examples, has been started by a power-hungry national figure who has an agenda in mind that never takes into account what a local area's wish might be for their future. Hitler is an example of this type of authoritarian oppressor who had a very complex national strategy in place to exterminate the Jews. He certainly did not consider or recognize regional differences in Europe, but rather put forth his own agenda. Genocide is on a whole different level than all other crimes against humanity. The circumstance I will describe shows how Priestley’s concept of internationalism also comes into play showing how our global watchdog agencies, such as the UN, can be slow to respond to an atrocity. For the most part, the UN has avoided and has not responded to many genocidal conflicts. Every time subjects of genocide or other similar crime s against humanity have come up, debate was intense. This probably occurred because of the many different world perspectives and ideas concerning human suffering. In addition, the punishment of genocide deals with the crime after the annihilation of people occurs. The real problem to be dealt with is that of prevention of such crimes.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It seems that a large percentage of every population are ready to obey national authority and be controlled, especially when many of the people are suffering from oppression and

Anthrax Prevention :: Anthrax Vaccine

Aside from treatments of the disease, there is also another way to fight anthrax: an anthrax vaccine. For some time now, a vaccine to protect animals from anthrax has been available. It wasn’t until â€Å"†¦1970, when a human vaccine was licensed called Anthrax Vaccine Adsorbed (AVA)† (Joellenbeck). It was licensed for workers at high risk for occupational exposure to anthrax. The vaccine is â€Å"†¦a cell-free filtrate containing protective antigen as the principal immunogen† (Joellenbeck). The vaccine also was â€Å"†¦found to be 93% effective in preventing both cutaneous and inhalation anthrax† (CDC). Starting in the 1990s, the U.S. military created a vaccination program that required all active duty members to receive the anthrax vaccine due to the threat of infection in the battlefield as well as using a biological weapon in warfare. The vaccination involved a series of six shots within 18 months, followed by yearly boosters. For  "†¦the Persian Gulf War, 150,000 America soldiers were inoculated with the anthrax vaccine in 1991† (Joellenbeck). In 1998, the FDA halted production at its manufacturer’s facility due to safety violations. It wasn’t until 2002, when the manufacturer of the anthrax vaccine was â€Å"†¦finally able to meet all FDA production and licensing requirements and was permitted to continue full-scale vaccine production† (Darling). Even though the vaccine is being produced, it is not available to the general public. The closest thing to the anthrax vaccine the â€Å"†¦CDC has offered was part of an investigational new drug (IND) protocol† in response to the bioterrorism events in 2001. Currently, the only allowed people to receive the vaccination are â€Å"†¦those who work with animal tissue imported from areas where anthrax is endemic, military personnel deployed to areas with a high risk of exposure during an attack, and persons who work directly with the organism in a laboratory† (CDC). This is due to a low but significant chance of side effects from using the vaccine as well as a short supply of it. Many groups claim that the vaccine was somewhat responsible for â€Å"Gulf War Syndrome† but a study done on it found that â€Å"†¦the available evidence from studies with humans and animals, coupled with reasonable assumptions of analogy, showed that AVA as licensed is an effective vaccine for the protection of humans against anthrax, including inhalational anthrax caused by any type of engineered strain of B. anthracis† (Joellenbeck). This comes as good news considering the ever-increasing fear of bioterrorism prevalent in the world.

Knapps Stage Model Essay

Dear John, the drama-filled romance movie, John Tyree, a young soldier, meets Savannah Curtis, a college student on spring break, and they quickly fall in love. The movie directed by Lasse Hallstrom, adapted from Nicolas Sparks’ novel of the same name. Dear John showcased many aspects of communications in its most simple forms. Including the ten stages of the Knapp Stage Model, which could actually be witnessed throughout the Dear John the movie and the book, as the two main characters, John and Savannah, developed their relationship and as they tried to maintain their relationship. In the Knapp’s Stage Model, Mark Knapp describes the progression and development of relationships as a series of ten stages in two phases: the ‘coming together’, initiation is followed by the experimenting , intensifying, integrating and bonding stages. In the ‘coming apart’, the differentiating, circumscribing, stagnating, avoiding and terminating stage occurs. The se stages are illustrated in the film Dear John. In the opening scene of Dear John, it was John’s and Savannah’s first time meeting, it was attraction at first sight. During the night scene at the beach, they conversed. I would still think it’s the initiating stage because the content of their conversation. They didn’t ask questions with the intention of knowing more of each other apart from that one question, ‘’When are you going back? † which was rather casual. That will sum up the initiating stage. In the later scene, John asked for a date and Savannah agreed. That means they have both passed each other’s test so there is an experimenting stage. By the way, John actually stayed at the Barbeque till the night when he mentioned that his dad cooked dinner. Why else would one blow off his dad if it isn’t because he likes the girl? Therefore, that supports my stand that they were already attracted to each other at the beach. At the dinner scene, they were started talking about something more personal. They were making small talk. The topic of family and John’s past came in. These topics usually w ouldn’t be brought up at the initiating stage because they’re too personal. I would also like to link to another concept with this scene which is relational needs of openness. If you notice, John wasn’t too comfortable with the talk to the point he asked â€Å"why do you want to know so much?† He would fall under the kind that closed off to other people. His answers were all one-liners, straight to the point with no further explanations. In the next scene, when they were walking towards the wooden house, that was another example of  getting to know each other through talking. This ends off the experimenting stage. They have a fight, but reconcile before John’s leave from the army is over. When john returns to the army, he and Savannah begin long distance relationship through handwritten letters. The first letter was very clear that Savannah loves John. Previously, John actually gave Savannah a note in which the content wasn’t disclosed to the audience till the very end of the movie. The note said â€Å"I love you† which was why Savannah wrote him, that letter was a reply. Those were disclosures of feelings to each other . In that scene, John said â€Å"I made you a promise, didn’t I?† and later, they both agreed to write to each other all the time. She was supposed to wait for him for a year while he was away in Germany. That was a sense of commitment to the relationship. This will summarize the intensifying stage. The fourth stage is integrating. This point is rather straightforward. It’s the turning point whereby the couple announces to their friends and family that they are a couple. In this case, you could see John being introduced to Savannah’s parents. Couples do not always follow strictly to the model. Steps could be jumped or revisited again. Sadly, there was no fifth stage (Bonding – marriage, engagement) for this pair in the movie. Conflicts arise because of different perceptions; it is also illustrated in this movie. There was a fighting scene at the patio and it was because John wanted to extend his tour with the army but Savannah did not want to wait for another two years. So after a long time apart, John and Savannah find themselves drifting apart and resigned to being apart from John, and Savannah sends a ‘Dear John’ letter telling him that she has bec ome engaged to someone else. John finally got a letter from Savannah which she initiated a break up. Break ups are due to many possible factors, in their case, changes, poor communication and unrealistic expectations. Changes referred to the huge changes they went through from the two weeks of summer break together to being thousand miles apart. Next, poor communication, I think this might be the least contributing factor. Even though, letters took weeks or months to reach each other, their letters were filled with words. They told each other everything about their lives so it wasn’t a case of drifting apart. Lastly, it is the factor I think contributed the most probably which is an unrealistic expectation. Long distance relationships are hard enough and a person can only take it for so long. The first year was fine but when  John added two more years onto the pile, it was too hard for Savannah to take. Although John’s and Savannah’s falling out they eventually came together as friends, es pecially when John’s father is on his death bed, John returns home and connects with his father, something he was not able to do before. John then sells his father’s coin collection to fund Savannah’s husband’s cancer treatment. In the last scene of the film, John sees Savannah on the street and they embrace. The movie may not showcase as much details; however it does show the importance of communication in a relationship. For example, Savannah chooses to write a letter to John to break the news of her engagement, instead of calling him, it shows that it is already a sign od avoiding the issue directly. A handwritten letter is a linear form of communication, as John is not given a chance to reply immediately. If you were in John’s position, and you received a similar letter about your partner’s engagement, would you go back home to fight for what you want, or would you be ‘John’, and just bury yourself with work? Hopefully, now you have a better understanding of the Knapp’s model and see how it fits into every relationship!

Interpreting Laws and Court Decisions Essay

Interpreting Laws and Court Decisions Interpreting labor and employment laws, as well as court decisions, can be a tedious task at best. The laws set in place are constantly changing and use language that is not easily deciphered by the average working American. The United States Labor laws cover the binding legal connection between the employers, their employees and the employee labor unions. Within the borders of the United States; it is generally know that employers and labor unions do not see eye to eye on most issues regarding labor and employment laws. Labor laws can address one of three different situations: â€Å"A union attempts to organize the employees of an employer and to get the employer to recognize it as the employees’ bargaining representative; (2) a union seeks to negotiate a collective bargaining agreement with an employer; or (3) a union and employer disagree on the interpretation and application of an existing contract between the two. Within these three situations, specific rules have been c reated to deal with rights of employees and employers.† (Labor Law, 2005) The third situation is often seen more times than not; thus creating an everlasting rift between the two parties. In the case study 1-1 of our text, Reinstatement and Back Pay Remedy for Illegal Discharge, it seemed like a common sense; open and shut scenario. My initial thoughts without any research had me thinking there was no way an employer would need to reinstate an unlawfully terminated employee, since the person in question is an illegal alien. Recent events in the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit showed that my thoughts were way off base and wrong. The Second Circuit Court of Appeals decided on a case, Palma v NLRB, on July 10, 2013 that an employer could be required to reinstate illegal aliens previously terminated in violation of the NRLA; or National Labor Relations Act. (Palma v NRLB, 2013) This particular case was on appeal from a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) decision that was Hoffman Plastics Compounds, Inc v. National Labor Relations Board, which found the employer unlawfully terminated the aliens for engaging n concerted protected activity under the NRLA, but the aliens were not entitled to an  award of back pay. (Hoffman Plastics v. NLRB, 2001) On appeal, the Second Circuit reaffirmed the Hoffman Plastics ruling prohibiting back pay to undocumented aliens, however the bare bones of the final ruling states than an employer that fires employees in violation of the NLRA essentially could be required to reinstate ex-employees it knows to be illegal aliens pending these workers can show proof of work authorization and present it to the employers (Palma v. NRLB, 2013). The next question for this particular case study is if it’s possible for the court to enforce the voluntary settlement agreement between the employer and NRLB without violating any immigration laws? I believe the answer is yes on account of the Palma ruling, as long as the â€Å"illegal aliens† can provide proof of work authorization, they’re sitting in the driver’s seat with minimal worries. Case Study 3-3 within our text book, titled â€Å"NLRB Jurisdiction over a Private Charter School†, we’re being asked if the Charter Schools Professional Management Inc (CSPMI) â€Å"meets the definition of an employer, as stated n Section 2 (2), LMRA and therefore, the board may assert jurisdiction and conduct a representation election?† (Holley, Jennings, Wolters, 2012). The case study tells us that: To be exempt from NLRB jurisdiction as a political subdivision of a state, the employer must either (1) be created directly by the state so as to constitute a department or administrative arm of the government, or (2) administered by individuals who are responsible to public officials or to the general electorate (pgs. 114-115) CSPMI was not created by the state or any government entity, rather is a private, for-profit organization and the board is elected by the ownership of the corporation. This right here shows me that they are not exempt from NLRB jurisdiction. An interesting case, Chicago Mathematics & Science Academy Charter School, Inc., Employer and Chicago Alliance of Charter Teachers & Staff, F, AFT, AFL-CIO, Petitioner, was discussing the issue on whether a private, nonprofit corporation that established and operates a public charter school in Chicago, Illinois, is exempt from our jurisdiction because it’s a political subdivision of the State of Illinois within the meaning of section 2(2) of the NLRA (Chicago, 2012). The summary  of this particular case state: While CMSA is not a political subdivision of the State of Illinois or the City of Chicago, I would decline jurisdiction because it is so closely intertwined with and defined by those governmental entities in providing services of a peculiarly public and local nature. I am also noting that declining jurisdiction would not leave CMSA’s employees without the possibility of collective-bargaini ng representation. It would only subject them to the same labor relations laws as are applicable to others who, like them, are defined by statute as public employees in a public educational system. Accordingly, I would dismiss the petition. (Chicago, 2012) REFERENCES: Chicago Mathematics & Science Academy Charter School, Inc., Employer and Chicago Alliance of Charter Teachers & Staff, F, AFT, AFL-CIO, Petitioner. Case 13-RM-001768, 2012 Holley Jr, W., Jennings, K, & Wolters, R (2012) The Labor Relations Process 10th edition. South-Western CENAGE Learning; United States â€Å"Labor Law.† West’s Encyclopedia of American Law. 2005. Retrieved from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3437702567.HTML Palma v. NLRB, 12-1199 (2d Cir. 2013)