Mr collins proposal to elizabeth Essay

How does Austen use humour to portray Mr Collins and his proposal? Austen presents Mr Collins to be the most unwillingly comical character in the whole novel through his extreme idiocy and pomposity. From Austen’s description of Mr Collins it is clear that he is self satisfied, proud and serious. â€Å"Mingling with a very good opinion of himself, of his authority as a clergyman†. This shows that although Mr Collins isn’t in a extremely high position in society he is proud of who he is and perhaps thinks himself to be more important than what he is in reality. In terms of physical appearance, Mr Collins is shorter than Darcy which could suggest that he has a weaker chance of marrying Elizabeth, as Darcy is more powerful and serious. Mr Collins isn’t presented as a purposely comical character, but rather the opposite, he is always serious in every situation and is often blinded by his own ego to see that people often mock him. Mr Collin’s proposal to Elizabeth is one of the most humorous points in the novel, which reflects his personality due to the fact that Austen presents it in a ironically humorous way. The first instance of irony is that Collins mistakes Elizabeth’s unwillingness to be left in the room alone with himself as ‘modesty’ and shyness when in actual fact she Just finds the whole situation uncomfortable. Another example of irony is when Mr Collins assumes that all young ‘modest’ girls refuse a proposal from men that they intend to accept, â€Å"l know it to be the established custom of your sex to reject a man on the first application†, and so takes Elizabeth’s refusal speech as encouragement and continues to persuade her with his literate proposal. This highlights how clueless and arrogant Mr Collins is as he has the audacity to continue with his proposal ignoring all sense of ridiculousness, and in a way patronises Elizabeth as he suggests that he knows how all young ladies act, and doesn’t take her response seriously which reinforces how unromantic and scripted the proposal is. The words â€Å"your sex† indicate how domineering men were at the time, and he almost contradicts himself as earlier he states that he singled Elizabeth out, but then however goes on to group the whole â€Å"sex† together suggesting that omen are all exactly the same. Mr Collins speaks of passion and love for Elizabeth as though he is reading a list or quoting something. The proposal is clearly unromantic and literate when Mr Collins begins listing his reasons for wanting to marry. â€Å"My reasons for marrying are, first that I think it a right thing for every clergyman in easy circumstances (like myself) to set the example of matrimony in his parish, secondly,†. This shows that marriage for Mr Collins is simply a convenience rather than emotion, opposed to Elizabeth who elieves marriage is based on true love, and so his proposal becomes even more un realistic and comical as their views are so different. The line â€Å"for coming into Hertfordshire with the design of selecting a wife† suggests that Mr Collins created a plan for his proposal before hand, and suggests that he chose Elizabeth purely shows the dominance of men at the time as women were almost like a prize that they selected. Although Mr Collins is trying to convince Elizabeth into marriage, he suggests that she ‘almost’ his first choice when in actual fact he had planned to arry Jane. In contrast to this, he then goes on to say â€Å"but before I am run away with by my feelings on this subject†. This makes the situation more humorous as Mr Collins is clearly contradicting and humiliating himself as his earlier actions show that his need for marriage is not based on ‘feelings’ and that he may not have any romantic feelings towards Elizabeth at all. Elizabeth’s reaction to Mr Collins reaction is perhaps what makes the whole situation more humorous. Firstly, she does the unthinkable and refuses him, â€Å"l am perfectly erious in my refusal†, which would have been out of the ordinary and frowned upon in society at the time. The word â€Å"serious† shows how independent she is which was strange at the time as women were almost in possession of a man and you were only as good as the man you married. Strangely, Elizabeth finds the whole situation humorous, and slightly entertaining as he is so pompous and self- righteous that she cant help but laugh. â€Å"Made Elizabeth so near laughing that she could not use the short pause he allowed her to stop him further†. Instead of stopping Mr Collins, she inds the whole situation overly awkward as she is aware of the total incompatibility of each other, in comparison to Mr Collins who is totally unaware of the fact that he looks ridiculous and so continues, hoping to impress Elizabeth. As Mr Collins continues on, Elizabeth begins to get frustrated as she tried to subtly suggest that his idea of marriage would never work, however Mr Collins stays persistent. â€Å"It was absolutely necessary to interrupt him now’. This is humorous as it shows how self obsessed Mr collins is as he thinks of himself too highly and believes that he is orthy of every woman, which is why he is so shocked when Elizabeth assures him that she is rejecting his proposal. â€Å"l am persuaded that when sanctioned by the express authority of both your excellent parents, my proposals will not fail of being acceptable†. The reader may petty or sympathise with Mr Collins as his inability to understand and pride could pass off to be innocence, which suggests he has no idea on the matter of marriage and love even though he speaks like he does. Mr Collins often elaborates in situations thinking himself to be the epitome of elegance, in ontrast to Elizabeth who stays silent and offers mere responses to his proposal. This is humorous as it highlights how shocked Elizabeth is at Mr Collins arrogance and reinforces their total incompatibility. To conclude, Austen successfully portrays a humorous scene which reflects the unwillingly comical character of Mr Collins. She does this using ironic humour, and in particular makes Elizabeth’s response to the situation much less elaborate than the proposal itself, which shows how idiotic and narrow minded she views Mr Collins to be.

Listening Functions

One of the essential things in human life is communication. In fact we can say that man has been involved in communication since the beginning of time. Although not as developed as we have today, man has always sort to communicate his ideas to his fellow man. Today, the import of communication to man can not be overemphasized. This is because human life is impossible without it. In human endeavor, we need to share and receive information. Being at the center of human life, hardly is can man survive without communicating. Effective communication involves a lot of things. To begin with, communication involves more than one person. The process of communication involves two parties. When we communicate, there is the person that is giving the information and the other party that is receiving the information. However, communication is not complete with the person passing the information, effective communication also essentially requires the person receiving the information to fully understand the original meaning of what is being said. As simple as communication might seem, effective communication is not an easy task. In this essay, focus will be drawn on the listen rather that the speaker in communication process. We all know that we have to communicate but the fact is that oftentimes,   we do not wait to get a feedback about what we are communicating or the information we are receiving. As human beings, we have to understand that there is a difference between hearing and listening. We can hear a thing but not listen but we can not listen without hearing. The difference between these two concepts rests in the fact that hearing is unconscious but it takes a conscious effort to listen. Listening transcends the realm of hearing and is more complex. In the case of hearing, we do not make an effort to hear something because hearing is spontaneous. On the other hand, listening requires a special form of concentration on the part of the listener that is not required in the case of hearing. Unfortunately, most people confuse both concepts to mean the same thing, thereby using it interchangeably as a form of synonym. More than ever, professionals need to develop their listening skills. This is because they have to understand what their client is saying so as to understand the real situation in question. Generally, professionals hold the responsibility to listen to their clients in order to know how they can be of help to them. Such professions entail a daily interpersonal encounters and success in such profession rests on the professional’s ability to listen in order to really understand what is required in the given situation. No matter how good a professional is, without effective listening skill or ability, the professional is as good as not being a professional. Such a field that requires effective listening skills is the legal profession. As a lawyer, one is daily involved in interpersonal encounters that require basic skill in listening. This is informed by the fact that the lawyer in the discharge of his duties can not just rely on the client for effective communication. Oftentimes, the client is disillusioned and emotional and so the lawyer has to be able to not only hear what the client is saying but to make a conscious effort in order to be able to interpret the message that is being passed across. Due to the fact that success in the legal profession is based on the acquisition of necessary information, the legal practitioner must seek to fully understand what the client is saying, meaning or implying. When a professional listens, the person relaying the information feels respected and valued, making them feel that they have something they can contribute to the discussion. This goes a long way in boosting the client’s boldness and this allows for a better interpersonal relationship between the professional and the client. In the general sense, interpersonal encounters require five basic learning functions. These are namely listening to comprehend, listening to support, listening to analyze, listening to appreciate and listening to discern. I will make an attempt to explain how each function aids the legal practitioner in the practice of his/her profession. In the legal practice, the legal practitioner must learn to listen to the client in order to fully comprehend what the client is saying. This becomes important because the success of the case is based of the proper understanding of the issue at hand. The professional must be patient enough to carefully listen to the client in order to grasp what is needed to know about the case. In addition to this, the legal practitioner must be able to listen in order to support the client in bring out information that the client might not consider relevant to the case. This becomes important because the client might be ignorant of some things in the legal profession and so the legal practitioner holds the responsibility of making sure that the client is guided in his thought so that the required information can be acquired. Furthermore, the legal practitioner must possess the ability to listen in order to analyze the information that is provided by the client. As expected, the client might give some information that needs scrutiny and evaluation. The lawyer is put in a vantage position if he/she able to listen properly. This helps in putting the information given together and weighing it for inadequacies and contradictions. Apart from this, the listening helps the lawyer appreciate the value of information that is given. As part of the responsibilities of the lawyer, he/she must be able to envisage the likely outcome of the case given the information provide. Listening make the legal practitioner know what they stand to encounter in the court based on the information given. Also, when a lawyer listens properly, he/she can discern between the information that is relevant and need for the success of the case. Not all what is said by the client is useful and so the legal practitioner must be able to make a decision and to distinguish between what is required for the case at hand. In conclusion, as I have noticed, successful lawyers are those who have the unrivalled ability to listen effectively. So if you are a legal practitioner and you wish to be successful in your practice, develop your listening skills then learn to listen to your client more. This will not only put you in a vantage position, it will make you a better lawyer. Reference: Nadig L. â€Å"Tips on Effective Listening†. Retrieved on April 24, 2008 from http://www.drnadig.com/listening.htm University of Leeds website. â€Å"Listening and Interpersonal Skills – University of Leeds† skillscentre. Retrieved on April 24, 2008 from http://www.skillscentre.leeds.ac.uk/learnhigherleeds/pages/listening_skills/ls_home.htm www.lifepositive.com. â€Å"THAT'S JUST WHAT I MEAN!† Retrieved on April 24, 2008 from http://www.lifepositive.com/mind/personal-growth/communicate/communication.asp ; ; ; ; ;

Pricing Strategy Essay

Pricing refers to the process of setting a price for a product or service and more than any other element of your marketing mix, will have the biggest impact on the amount of profit you make. Developing an effective pricing strategy is a critical element of marketing because pricing is the only element of the marketing mix that creates sales revenue; the other elements create costs and sales volume. An effective pricing strategy will help you: meet your profit objectives meet or beat your competitors’ prices retain or increase your market share match the image or reputation of your business, product or service match your offer to market demand To arrive at a price for your product or service you’ll need to: Establish what it costs to offer and deliver your products. Without this knowledge, you’ll have no idea whether your prices are sufficient to not only cover all your costs, but to return a profit. Few businesses have failed because their prices are too high, however, many have folded because their prices weren’t high enough to cover costs or generate a profit. Conduct market research to establish what price your competitors are charging and what is the optimum price customers would be willing to pay for your product. Your price will inevitably fall somewhere between that which is too low to produce a profit and that which is too high to generate any demand. The pricing structure A pricing structure consists of a base (or list) price and a variety of price modifiers which depend on the type of product you are selling and the type of market in which you operate. The most common price modifiers are outlined below: Quantity discount – an incentive to buy more. Settlement discount – an incentive to pay quickly. Promotional discount – a discount for a specific period of time. Seasonal discount – an incentive to clear seasonally sensitive stock. Cash rebate – an after-sale incentive linked to a specified target. Ranging allowance – paid to a reseller in return for them stocking your product. Promotional allowance – for participation in a promotional campaign. Delivery fee – an amount you charge for delivering the product. Credit card fee – an amount you charge on credit card purchases. At the end of the day, your objective should be to achieve the best possible price for your products or services taking into account: The value they provide for your customers – ie: how they satisfy their needs and wants in terms of features, benefits, utility value and prestige. Your cost structure – what is your break-even point and how much profit do you want to make? Go to the Financial section for more information on calculating your break-even point and determining profit targets. The competitive environment – what do your competitors charge for similar products and services? Your competitive advantage – do the products or services provide advantages that warrant a price premium? The economic and market environment – what is the level of demand in your industry? A business can use a variety of pricing strategies when selling a product or service. The Price can be set to maximize profitability for each unit sold or from the market overall. It can be used to defend an existing market from new entrants, to increase market share within a market or to enter a new market. Businesses may benefit from lowering or raising prices, depending on the needs and behaviors of customers and clients in the particular market. Finding the right pricing strategy is an important element in running a successful business.[1] Method of pricing in which all costs are recovered.The price of the product includes the variable cost of each item plus a proportionate amount of the fixed costs. Contribution margin-based pricing[edit] Main article: Contribution margin-based pricing Contribution margin-based pricing maximizes the profit derived from an  individual product, based on the difference between the product’s price and variable costs (the product’s contribution margin per unit), and on one’s assumptions regarding the relationship between the product’s price and the number of units that can be sold at that price. The product’s contribution to total firm profit (i.e. to operating income) is maximized when a price is chosen that maximizes the following: (contribution margin per unit) X (number of units sold). In cost-plus pricing, a company first determines its break-even price for the product. This is done by calculating all the costs involved in the production, marketing and distribution of the product. Then a markup is set for each unit, based on the profit the company needs to make, its sales objectives and the price it believes customers will pay. For example, if the company needs a 15 percent profit margin and the break-even price is $2.59, the price will be set at $2.98 ($2.59 x 1.15).[2] Creaming or skimming[edit] In most skimming, goods are sold at higher prices so that fewer sales are needed to break even. Selling a product at a high price, sacrificing high sales to gain a high profit is therefore â€Å"skimming† the market. Skimming is usually employed to reimburse the cost of investment of the original research into the product: commonly used in electronic markets when a new range, such as DVD players, are firstly dispatched into the market at a high price. This strategy is often used to target â€Å"early adopters† of a product or service. Early adopters generally have a relatively lower price-sensitivity – this can be attributed to: their need for the product outweighing their need to economise; a greater understanding of the product’s value; or simply having a higher disposable income. It will maximize profits for the better of the company. This strategy is employed only for a limited duration to recover most of the investment made to build the product. To gain further market share, a seller must use other pricing tactics such as economy or penetration. This method can have some setbacks as it could leave the product at a high price against the competition.[3] Decoy pricing[edit] Method of pricing where the seller offers at least three products, and where two of them have a similar or equal price. The two products with the similar prices should be the most expensive ones, and one of the two should be less attractive than the other. This strategy will make people compare the options with similar prices, and as a result sales of the most attractive choice will increase.[4] Freemium[edit] Main article: Freemium Freemium is a business model that works by offering a product or service free of charge (typically digital offerings such as software, content, games, web services or other) while charging a premium for advanced features, functionality, or related products and services. The word â€Å"freemium† is a portmanteau combining the two aspects of the business model: â€Å"free† and â€Å"premium†. It has become a highly popular model, with notable success. High-low pricing[edit] Method of pricing for an organization where the goods or services offered by the organization are regularly priced higher than competitors, but through promotions, advertisements, and or coupons, lower prices are offered on key items. The lower promotional prices are designed to bring customers to the organization where the customer is offered the promotional product as well as the regular higher priced products.[5] Limit pricing[edit] Main article: Limit price A limit price is the price set by a monopolist to discourage economic entry into a market, and is illegal in many countries. The limit price is the price that the entrant would face upon entering as long as the incumbent firm did not decrease output. The limit price is often lower than the average cost of production or just low enough to make entering not profitable. The quantity produced by the incumbent firm to act as a deterrent to entry is usually larger than would be optimal for a monopolist,  but might still produce higher economic profits than would be earned under perfect competition. The problem with limit pricing as a strategy is that once the entrant has entered the market, the quantity used as a threat to deter entry is no longer the incumbent firm’s best response. This means that for limit pricing to be an effective deterrent to entry, the threat must in some way be made credible. A way to achieve this is for the incumbent firm to constrain itself to produce a certain quantity whether entry occurs or not. An example of this would be if the firm signed a union contract to employ a certain (high) level of labor for a long period of time. In this strategy price of the product becomes the limit according to budget. Loss leader[edit] Main article: Loss leader A loss leader or leader is a product sold at a low price (i.e. at cost or below cost) to stimulate other profitable sales. This would help the companies to expand its market share as a whole. Marginal-cost pricing[edit] In business, the practice of setting the price of a product to equal the extra cost of producing an extra unit of output. By this policy, a producer charges, for each product unit sold, only the addition to total cost resulting from materials and direct labor. Businesses often set prices close to marginal cost during periods of poor sales. If, for example, an item has a marginal cost of $1.00 and a normal selling price is $2.00, the firm selling the item might wish to lower the price to $1.10 if demand has waned. The business would choose this approach because the incremental profit of 10 cents from the transaction is better than no sale at all. Market-oriented pricing[edit] Setting a price based upon analysis and research compiled from the target market. This means that marketers will set prices depending on the results from the research. For instance if the competitors are pricing their products at a lower price, then it’s up to them to either price their goods  at an above price or below, depending on what the company wants to achieve. Odd pricing[edit] In this type of pricing, the seller tends to fix a price whose last digits are odd numbers. This is done so as to give the buyers/consumers no gap for bargaining as the prices seem to be less and yet in an actual sense are too high, and takes advantage of human psychology. A good example of this can be noticed in most supermarkets where instead of pricing at $10, it would be written as $9.99. This pricing policy is common in economies using the free market policy. Pay what you want[edit] Main article: Pay what you want Pay what you want is a pricing system where buyers pay any desired amount for a given commodity, sometimes including zero. In some cases, a minimum (floor) price may be set, and/or a suggested price may be indicated as guidance for the buyer. The buyer can also select an amount higher than the standard price for the commodity. Giving buyers the freedom to pay what they want may seem to not make much sense for a seller, but in some situations it can be very successful. While most uses of pay what you want have been at the margins of the economy, or for special promotions, there are emerging efforts to expand its utility to broader and more regular use. Penetration pricing[edit] Main article: Penetration pricing Penetration pricing includes setting the price low with the goals of attracting customers and gaining market share. The price will be raised later once this market share is gained.[6] Predatory pricing[edit] Main article: Predatory pricing Predatory pricing, also known as aggressive pricing (also known as â€Å"undercutting†), intended to drive out competitors from a market. It is  illegal in some countries. Premium decoy pricing[edit] Method of pricing where an organization artificially sets one product price high, in order to boost sales of a lower priced product. Premium pricing[edit] Main article: Premium pricing Premium pricing is the practice of keeping the price of a product or service artificially high in order to encourage favorable perceptions among buyers, based solely on the price. The practice is intended to exploit the (not necessarily justifiable) tendency for buyers to assume that expensive items enjoy an exceptional reputation, are more reliable or desirable, or represent exceptional quality and distinction. Price discrimination[edit] Main article: Price discrimination Price discrimination is the practice of setting a different price for the same product in different segments to the market. For example, this can be for different classes, such as ages, or for different opening times. Price leadership[edit] Main article: Price leadership An observation made of oligopolistic business behavior in which one company, usually the dominant competitor among several, leads the way in determining prices, the others soon following. The context is a state of limited competition, in which a market is shared by a small number of producers or sellers. Psychological pricing[edit] Main article: Psychological pricing Pricing designed to have a positive psychological impact. For example, selling a product at $3.95 or $3.99, rather than $4.00. There are certain price points where people are willing to buy a product. If the price of a product is $100 and the company prices it as $99, then it is called  psychological pricing. In most of the consumers mind $99 is psychologically ‘less’ than $100. A minor distinction in pricing can make a big difference in sales. The company that succeeds in finding psychological price points can improve sales and maximize revenue. Target pricing business[edit] Pricing method whereby the selling price of a product is calculated to produce a particular rate of return on investment for a specific volume of production. The target pricing method is used most often by public utilities, like electric and gas companies, and companies whose capital investment is high, like automobile manufacturers. Target pricing is not useful for companies whose capital investment is low because, according to this formula, the selling price will be understated. Also the target pricing method is not keyed to the demand for the product, and if the entire volume is not sold, a company might sustain an overall budgetary loss on the product. Time-based pricing[edit] Main article: Time-based pricing A flexible pricing mechanism made possible by advances in information technology, and employed mostly by Internet based companies. By responding to market fluctuations or large amounts of data gathered from customers – ranging from where they live to what they buy to how much they have spent on past purchases – dynamic pricing allows online companies to adjust the prices of identical goods to correspond to a customer’s willingness to pay. The airline industry is often cited as a dynamic pricing success story. In fact, it employs the technique so artfully that most of the passengers on any given airplane have paid different ticket prices for the same flight.[7] Value-based pricing[edit] Main article: Value-based pricing Pricing a product based on the value the product has for the customer and not on its costs of production or any other factor. This pricing strategy is frequently used where the value to the customer is many times the cost of  producing the item or service. For instance, the cost of producing a software CD is about the same independent of the software on it, but the prices vary with the perceived value the customers are expected to have. The perceived value will depend on the alternatives open to the customer. In business these alternatives are using competitors software, using a manual work around, or not doing an activity. In order to employ value-based pricing you have to know your customer’s business, his business costs, and his perceived alternatives.It is also known as Perceived-value pricing. Other pricing approaches[edit] Other pricing strategies include Yield Management, Congestion pricing and Variable pricing. Nine laws of price sensitivity and consumer psychology[edit] In their book, The Strategy and Tactics of Pricing, Thomas Nagle and Reed Holden outline nine â€Å"laws† or factors that influence how a consumer perceives a given price and how price-sensitive they are likely to be with respect to different purchase decisions. [8][9] They are: Reference Price Effect – buyer’s price sensitivity for a given product increases the higher the product’s price relative to perceived alternatives. Perceived alternatives can vary by buyer segment, by occasion, and other factors. Difficult Comparison Effect – buyers are less sensitive to the price of a known or more reputable product when they have difficulty comparing it to potential alternatives. Switching Costs Effect – the higher the product-specific investment a buyer must make to switch suppliers, the less price sensitive that buyer is when choosing between alternatives. Price-Quality Effect – buyers are less sensitive to price the more that higher prices signal higher quality. Products for which this effect is particularly relevant include: image products, exclusive products, and products with minimal cues for quality. Expenditure Effect – buyers are more price-sensitive when the expense accounts for a large percentage of buyers ’ available income or budget. End-Benefit Effect – the effect refers to the  relationship a given purchase has to a larger overall benefit, and is divided into two parts: Derived demand: The more sensitive buyers are to the price of the end benefit, the more sensitive they will be to the prices of those products that contribute to that benefit. Price proportion cost: The price proportion cost refers to the percent of the total cost of the end benefit accounted for by a given component that helps to produce the end benefit (e.g., think CPU and PCs). The smaller the given components share of the total cost of the end benefit, the less sensitive buyers will be to the components’ price. Shared-cost Effect – the smaller the portion of the purchase price buyers must pay for themselves, the less price sensitive they will be. Fairness Effect – buyers are more sensitive to the price of a product when the price is outside the range they perceive as â€Å"fair† or â€Å"reasonable† given the purchase context. The Framing Effect – buyers are more price sensitive when they perceive the price as a loss rather than a forgone gain, and they have greater price sensitivity when the price is paid separately rather than as part of a bundle.

Police and Ethical duties to apprehend Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Police and Ethical duties to apprehend - Essay Example In keeping with the Queensland, Australia Police code of ethics, I am responsible for being fair. I am also obligated to comply with the law strictly. This is a difficult scenario as everyone has an excuse for their behavior. The elderly man may claim to need the marijuana for medicinal purposes but that is not the point. The issue at and is that he is in possession of an illegal substance and it is my job to apprehend him according to the law. I will have no choice but to take him into custody and from there, investigation of his doctor’s orders and prescription can be assessed. If I do not apprehend the man, I am abiding perhaps by the portion of the ethics code that instructs law enforcement officials to be fair. If I however, do apprehend the man, I am abiding by the letter of the law which is my duty. I would apply the SELF test to this situation and ask myself first if the decision to apprehend the man would withstand â€Å"scrutiny† from the community and the service? I fell that if I apprehend the man, I will receive less scrutiny than if I do not apprehend the man. The Australian drug laws are rigid and very clearly have no tolerance for possession. If the marijuana is given to the man by a doctor, that can be established later. For now, the right decision is apprehension of the man in possession of marijuana without regard to his age. Next I will need to ask myself if my decision will â€Å"ensure† compliance with the oath that I took as a member of the police. I feel that my decision to apprehend would surely comply with that oath as I am to uphold the law and the law states that marijuana is illegal. If I do not apprehend the man, I feel that my decision would not â€Å"ensure† such compliance. Next, the question is whether or not my decision is in fact â€Å"lawful†. It is clearly illegal to have marijuana on one’s possession. Regardless of the reason

Mango expands in the world markets Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Mango expands in the world markets - Essay Example According to the research findings in 1960s the fashion market was dominated by haute couture but this trend was going to change rapidly with the emergence of mass-consumer society and prà ªt a porter or ready-to-wear clothing. Initially consumers we not very welcoming of the idea and consider ready-to-wear clothing inferior, but by 70s the trend changed as prà ªt a porter showcased collections at par with haute couture .Over the years businesses have proven that the retail provides a brand with the highest number of options to showcase its potential. It is noteworthy that Spain was one of the countries which had a significant impact of the European financial crisis in 2008. This worsened the situation for most Spanish businesses as there was low productivity, high unemployment and low FDI. Even during these tough times fashion brands like Zara, Mango and Massimo Dutti were well prepared for the crises due to their high international presence, adaptation and up-to-date collections based on urban trends. Mango is one such popular prà ªt a porter brands that have an international presence. Mango’s aim right from the beginning has been to dress the urban young woman in premium quality trendy clothing at very affordable prices. Mango has been expanding rapidly globally and has managed to attain its goal â€Å"†¦of having a store in every major city of the world†. Mango has its origins in Spain and initially Spanish consumers were price-conscious but not as fashion-conscious as their Italian counterparts. So it was Italy who entered the international arena first. Mango had a small presence at the time when they entered the international market but they followed the franchising model and also offered return policies to their consumers8. Key Players and their Performance Mango globally is recognized as a key player in the industry of â€Å"fast fashion†, other key players include megabrands like Sweden’s H&M, Spanish Zara, American Gap and the U.K. retail chain New Look 9. By â€Å"fast fashion† we mean that these stores turn-over their inventory on a weekly-basis as opposed to a monthly one10 .The key concept promoted by all these brands is to make trendy and inexpensive clothing accessible to everyone at a very rapid pace. Currently a dominant trend in the apparel retail has been that they have started forming alliances with celebrity designers. This strategy has worked wonders for most brands and pulled the retail label in-line with high-end celebrity brands. According to Interbrand H&M has been particularly very ardent towards embracing this trend by working in collaborations with the likes of Stella McCartney and Roberto Cavalli (2008). Zara however has not embraced this trend very enthusiastically and sells a somewhat similar product and price range, Mango has attempted to differentiate itself by bringing designers like Mila Jovovich11 , Together they work towards providing affordable clothing to people while having been designed by a top-notch designer. Zara is a member of the Spanish group Inditex, which is considered the world’s largest clothing retailer12 . Presently Zara is showing phenomenal growth and performance as compared to others, here is a representation of sales performance for the brand and some other retail brands for the year 2001 and 2002. Source: Torun, F. â€Å"ZARA-A European Fashion Brand.† Mango Positioning and Closest Competition In terms of branding Mango would be a â€Å"branded own label† by this we mean that they have a private label proposition as well as environment and pricing strategy13. However, in light of the positioning Zara would be the closest competitor for Mango, because their target market, country of origin, business methodology I very similar. Both are examples of â€Å"fast fashion† retailers who have invested extensively n designing and supply chain management to ensure that their inventory levels are m anaged every week rather than on a monthly basis. Mango handles all steps from product

Claires Antiques Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Claires Antiques - Essay Example Since the company does not want to pass the increased commission to its customers, they will have to make up for the $15, 190 decrease in profit for the clocks product line and $23, 310 and $25, 025 for dinette sets and bedroom suites respectively. The company can make up for this lost by asking distributors to sell a lower percentage of the total expected sales volume in order to lessen the commission expenses. 5. In calculating the new monthly break even volume for Claire's Antiques, we must take into account the changes in price and monthly fixed cost. Cutting the unit sales price by 10% will yield $3, 300 ($3, 700 x .90) for one dinette set. Fixed cost will be increased to $27, 250 to take into account the $1, 000 advertising cost. The new contribution margin is computed as $3, 300 minus variable material cost of $1, 280 which is equal to $2, 050. Break even in units can be generated by dividing the $27, 250 fixed cost by the new contribution margin of 42, 050. This will give 13 units for Claire's Antiques to break even each month.

Culture and Health Applying Medical Anthropology Essay

Culture and Health Applying Medical Anthropology - Essay Example Examples of risk factors are: smoking, bad sexual practices and bad hygiene, while examples of protective factors are: sexual restrictions such as monogamy. It is due to these risk and protective factors that some cultures are known for some diseases, while some other cultures stand lesser risks of contracting certain types of diseases (Winkelman 20). There are some environmental and social conditions that affect the health of my community, Montclair, New Jersey. One of the environmental conditions that have had a negative impact on New Jersey is traffic congestion. This is due to the increase in the volume of vehicles that ply the Montclair route from time to time. The effect that the increased volume of vehicles in the city has on the health of the residents of the city is that it makes them have climate-related health problems. The emission of greenhouse gases by these vehicles causes air pollution and the effect is that it would alter the balance of the climate in the region and the world at large (Silver 27-29). It has also been observed that the number of smokers in the city have increased rapidly. Smokers stand the risk of contracting heart related diseases and could also get diseases that would affect some vital organs of their body.

Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War - Essay Example This has been an argument for the root cause of the Civil War by many. However, high taxes alone were not enough of a catalyst to start a war. Others maintain that the reason was states right, the right for states to own slaves. Free labor drove the Southern economy. Without slavery the white privileged would go broke or worse, have to work themselves. Besides; what to do with all the freed blacks? Southerners were not ready to have blacks as neighbors and were frightened of retribution. Poverty and fear are reasons to start a war. Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation is remembered by history as an altruistic humanitarian effort but it was more a brilliant tactical move. History did get the importance aspect right, the slaves were freed, the union preserved and Lincoln the architect of it all during the most tumultuous time in American history. It was about slavery. Southern states thought of Lincoln as â€Å"an obscure and illiterate man† whose â€Å"opinions a nd purposes are hostile to slavery.† (Ball, 2010). As each state formerly left the Union it cited slavery as the main reason for secession. Hard-line secessionists were rightfully convinced that Lincoln’s election would result in the freeing of slaves. Known as ‘Fire-eaters,’ they used shame and fear to convince wavering Southerners of their stance, that slave-owning states had no choice but to form their own country. â€Å"Resistance or submission† was the fire-eaters rallying cry. Southerners were implored to defend their rights. Those who resisted were publicly humiliated, branded as cowards. Events such as John Brown’s Raid helped the fire-eaters to convince people to join their cause. Panicky white men joined vigilante groups which targeted Northern sympathizers and former slaves meaning, to them, any black person. (Barney, 2004). Prior to the start of the Civil War Kansas experienced the wrath of fire-eaters paramilitary terrorist groups when its citizens were deciding whether or not to become a slave state. They used intimidation as a tactic to get the desired results. In retribution for their reign of terror, John Brown led a group of men who killed five pro-slavery settlers then stole guns from the military at Harper’s Ferry so to continue the fight but were stopped prior to committing more killings. Coincidentally, Brown and his followers were captured by future commanding Confederate General Robert E. Lee who was leading a group of marines at the time. (KEDT, 1999). Unfortunately for Brown his actions ultimately led to his execution by hanging and generated greater support for the pro-slavery faction. Lincoln was an adamant believer in the idea of the U.S., in democracy and individual freedom. He wanted America to be the shining example for other nations to follow. He knew that if the country became divided it would be widely perceived that the grand experiment of democracy didn’t work, a travest y on a worldwide, historic scale. Lincoln insisted that â€Å"the unity of the nation must be maintained. If the nation breaks up, the democratic mission is dead.† (Coker, 2013). As late as 1860 Lincoln said that blacks were entitled to some rights but not to vote or hold office. He had strongly suggested blacks be sent to live elsewhere, ‘rounded up’ so to speak but with the War still very much anybody’s to win and enthusiasm waning, Lincoln needed a new strategy. He added a new element to the struggle by proclaiming all slaves free in 1862. It was now society against society in addition to army against army, a battle of conscience fought alongside a battle of weapons; the former Lincoln thought he was surer to win. He was never considered a military genius but demonstrated his

Events Management_Evaluate the current level of understanding of Essay

Events Management_Evaluate the current level of understanding of Events Impact and Events Stakeholder Management and how it int - Essay Example Conversely, changing circumstances in each of the phases may require the events coordinator to re-visit previously completed duties. Stakeholders The complicated business environment compels event organisers to create relations with numerous stakeholders. These stakeholders each have their own desires, positions, and expectations, and businesses are confronted with stakeholder reputation risk if these requirements and expectations are not adequately addressed. Stakeholders can bring threats as well as opportunities for businesses. For example, if an organisation is well respected, stakeholders may give it more latitude to function. Conversely, a bad or lacklustre reputation can cause stakeholders to pass rules that make it harder for the organisation to carry out basic functions. Knowledge, reflection, and a basic comprehension of the desires of the organisation’s stakeholders and the reputation management procedures will profit any institution, in spite of its size or stature . There is no company that does not have stakeholders. The term ‘stakeholder’ refers to any individual or group that can somehow influence or is influenced by an institution’s actions, behaviour and performance. ... It is such reactions that are important. The positive reaction of consumers is crucial as it allows the institution to be able to depend on the consumers when it requires some financial assistance. The word ‘stakeholder management’ defines the execution and development of organisational strategies, along with practices that take into account the objectives of the institution’s stakeholders. Stakeholder Management also includes discussion, process generation, and relationship formation that occur between a business and its numerous stakeholders. Any of the stakeholders can negatively or positively affect a business’s reputation, and therefore require varied strategies to balance the situation. Research studies in the past have proven that there is much that institutions can do to constructively cater to the needs of stakeholders (McKercher, 2006). The supervision of, and relations with stakeholders require careful attention if a firm wishes to make the most of its chances, while diminishing any existing threats when handling their stakeholders. Research studies have shown that when a business initiates relationships with important stakeholders, it actually saves on future expenses by eliminating litigation costs, boycotts, pressure campaigns, or even lost income as a result of bad relationships. Good relations with workers also increase the probability that they will be contented with the business as well as their jobs (Jones, 2005). This makes them more likely endorse organisational practices while avoiding interferences in company policies. The assessment of relationships includes a two-way communication procedure with the outcome, whether positive or negative, affecting both

Clinton in diplomatic coup on Journalists release Essay Example for Free

Clinton in diplomatic coup on Journalists release Essay Former President Bill Clinton scored a diplomatic coup when he brought back to the United States on Wednesday two convicted women television reporters. The journalists release was a result of what was tagged officially by a member of Obama administration as a humanitarian trip and personal visit to North Korean President Kim Jong-Il. White House hailed the Clinton-led effort and denied it as a bargaining chip in the nuclear standoff between the said two countries. Press Secretary Robert Gibbs told White House reporters that the Clintons trip was purely a humanitarian effort undertaken by the latter and not for and in behalf of the American government. A CNN report said the release of the journalists, Laura Ling and Euna Lee, was made after President Kim granted them pardon for illegally entering North Korea early this year (Quijano, Moore Sosa par. 4). They were meted in June with 12 year jail sentence of hard labor for the alleged crime committed (par.11). Ling and Lee were on assignment from Current TV, a media venture owned by former US Vice President Al Gore. Al Gore himself was reported to have tried to get the release of the two but was rejected by North Korea. They were on assignment to document alleged trafficking of North Korean women to China. After reunited with families at Bob Hope Airport, an emotional Ling said at a media conference that â€Å"We feared at any moment that we could be sent to a hard labor camp† (Quijano, Moore Sosa par. 2) but the two were later informed they will attend a meeting. As they saw President Clinton waiting at them, â€Å"We were shocked, but we knew instantly in our hearts that the nightmare of our lives was finally coming to an end,† added Ling (Quijano, Moore Sosa pars. 5-6). The statement of Gibbs was seen by political observers as a White House attempt to stress it was not making any concession to North Korea which is presently at odds with the United States on the issue of nuclear build-up and atomic research among others. But President Obama himself hailed Clinton and Gore for the successful release and bringing back the two on the former President’s return flight through Los Angeles. Upon learning of the return of Clinton and the two journalists, President Obama said â€Å"We are relieved† (Obama par. 1). The President further told media at the White Houses South Lawn that â€Å"My hope is that the families who have been reunited can enjoy the next several days and weeks, understanding that because of the efforts of (former) president Clinton and (former vice president) Gore, they are able to be with each other once again† (Obama par 4). At Nairobi, Kenya, U. S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she was also relieved after learning the release from her husband. Both Clinton and Gore expressed happiness for the journalists release. A statement from his office quoted Clinton saying â€Å"I am very happy that after this long ordeal, Laura Ling and Euna Lee are now home and reunited with their loved ones. † Gore also showed his gratitude to President Obama and Clinton for joining the â€Å"humanitarian effort† (Quijano, Moore Sosa par. 10) Amidst claims of apology allegedly conveyed by Clinton but which North Korea said it knew nothing about, Press Secretary Gibbs clarified that there was no truth to Clinton conveying Obamas message. The White House spokesman also stressed that Clinton went on a humanitarian and private mission and that the release was definitely not a bargaining issue on nuclear standoff between U. S. and North Korea (Gibbs). The above-reported statements of Obama and Gibbs were posted at the White House website under the Press Briefing Room. For confirmation or verification of the said details stated by the President and Press Secretary, the office may be contacted at the following phone numbers: 202-456-1111 for comments; 202-456-1414 for Switchboard and 202-456-2461 for fax. Works Cited Gibbs, Robert. â€Å"Press Briefing by Press Secretary Robert Gibbs and the Vice Presidents Chief Economist, Jared Bernstein. † The Briefing Room. 8 June 2009 http://www. whitehouse. gov/the_press_office/Briefing-by-Press-Secretary-Robert- Gibbs-with-Jared-Bernstein-the-Vice-Presidents-Chief-Economist-6-8-09/. Obama, Barrack. â€Å"Statement by the President on the Release of Laura Ling and Euna Lee. † The Briefing Room. 5 August 2009 http://www. whitehouse. gov/the_press_office/Statement-by-the- President-on-the-release-of-Laura-Ling-and-Euna-Lee/. Quijano, Elaine; Moore, Charlie Sosa, Ninette. â€Å"Freed journalist: We are so happy to be home. CNN. com International/US. 6 August 2009 http://edition. cnn. com/2009/US/ 08/05/nkorea. journalists/index. html.

Study on research methodology

Study on research methodology This philosophy was considered as a standard with which this research was designed. Outline of the methods that were employed to complete the research is discussed in this chapter. Saunders et al. (2009) states that any kind of study that can establish casual relationships between variables in the research can be called as Explanatory research. In this dissertation, both primary and secondary data is collected from appropriate audience. Both Qualitative method of data collection and Quantitative method are used. Richardson (2000), states that qualitative work cannot be easily comprehended through graphical representations and thus it carries its meaning in the entire text. To ensure that the data are telling us the same thing that we think they are telling us and to reduce bias error, Triangulation method is also employed. This method of research was deemed to be the best for the purpose of this research. 3.1 The Research Onion Saunders et al. (2006) gives an extensive and explicit differentiation about the ways in which a research can be carried out. Right from the first layer of Philosophy of research followed by Approach, Strategy, Choice, Time Horizon and Technique and Procedure respectively. Each layer is vital to the skeleton the structure of the dissertation. Detailed study of the issues underlying the choice of data collection techniques and analysis procedures lead the researcher to this research (Figure 3.2). However the original model is figure 3.1 below: F:Powerpointpe_ukPE083-SaundersFinal_FilesGifch04C04NF001.gif Figure 3.1: The Research Onion Source:  ©Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis, Adrian Thornhill (2006) (http://wps.pearsoned.co.uk) Preferred Methods and Critique Research Methods preferred for this Dissertation are demonstrated in Figure 3.2 below: Core of the Onion would be same Techniques Procedures of Data Collection and Analysis Figure 3.2: The Research Onion for this Dissertation Source: Created from model provided by  © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2008 (Saunders et al., 2009 Pp. 108) Research Philosophy The philosophy of this research is mainly based on principles of Realism which is more inclined towards scientific enquiry. Saunders (2009), argue that Realism is a philosophical position which relates to scientific enquiry. Realism is a branch of epistemology which is similar to positivism. It believes that what senses show us is reality: that objectives do have their own existence quite independent of the mind. Bhaskar (1989) being a critical realist adapts the view that What we see is only the part of the bigger picture. Which is also the view of the author while conducting the research and attempting to look at the bigger picture as already done by famous people like Warren Buffet. 3.1.1.1 Critique This type of philosophy the researcher is likely to employ the existing theory and data. This can be considered as a drawback as it could have been more insightful if there was primary data backed up with the existing one in the Objectives 1, 2, 3 and 4. It was however unattainable for the capacity of this study. There is also some amount of Epistemology and Positivism seen throughout the research. Research Approach Emphasis and nature of the research topic directs the author to adopt the inductive approach of research (Creswell, 2002) where the data are collected and a theory developed as a result of the data analysis. The researcher has a strong understanding of the theory of the topics covered in the literature review and the approach developed was the result of the theories (William, 2006). Hussey et al. (2007) propose that the purpose of this research is exploratory, descriptive and explanatory as there are few studies from which the researcher may obtain information about the specified issue. 3.1.2.1 Critique As compared to the inductive approach, deductive approach seems to be widely used with the positivist research philosophy. However inductive approach was considered to be good for this research as the aim was not to narrow down by developing hypothesis from theories and then confirming them rather to gain understanding of the meanings humans attach to events and theories and also to address the gap in the literature. Research Strategy The approach adapted is of Grounded Theory and some Case Examples to aid the triangulation of the data. Looking beyond its general criticisms the researcher would advocate that the key issue to remember in such an approach is that grounded theory is an interpretive process, rather than a logico-deductive one and researcher should treat it as a highly creative process (Suddaby, 2006). The aim is to discover patterns and develop hypotheses rather than testing or confirming them. The focus therefore is to gain insight and familiarity with the subject area in view of more detailed investigation at a later stage. 3.1.3.1 Critique Amongst various other available alternatives of experiments, surveys, action research, ethnography and archival research, surveys could have been another choice for the research. The researcher decided not to use a self-administered survey because of various reasons the most important being that one wouldnt be able to prompt respondents if they had difficulty in answering some questions (Bryman Bell 2007). There are issues which need better understanding are complex in nature which is part of the questionnaire and if the researcher wasnt present respondents might have left some questions out. As a consequence of this the researcher could have been left with incomplete data (Bryman Bell 2007). Research Choice This approach is open and enables the researcher to gather a broad range of data and impressions; however it rarely provides conclusive answers (Beall, 2002). The advantage of exploratory research is that it builds a foundation and offers guidance for further studies within the field. As suggested by Curran and Blackburn (2001), both quantitative and qualitative techniques will be employed and primary and secondary sources of data will be used. 3.1.4.1 Critique The research mainly focuses on qualitative data and Multiple Method Choices are made for the research following the comment of Curran and Blackburn (2001), that this method is increasingly advocated within business and management research. Detailed comparative criticism of qualitative and quantitative methods is given in section 3.2. Time Horizon Time Horizon for the research is chosen to be a longitudinal research as it has the ability to study change and development over the time. Since the problem of personal debt was not as common in old times and as it is now and it has increased as the economy has developed, this time horizon is adapted. Thus according to Bouma and Atkinson (1995, Pp.114), the question here to ask will be Has there been any change over a period of time? The specific question here thus becomes: Has there been any change in management and distribution of money over a period of time? 3.1.5.1 Critique This research can also be criticised as being cross-sectional whereby you study a particular phenomenon at a particular time (Saunders et al 2006, Pp.148) as it is also pointing the reader towards the current economic scenario. This also a result of the word and time limit of the project. The strategies mentioned above and depicted in the figure 3.2 are not considered as mutually exclusive as suggested by Yin (2003) and will be used along with other strategies and possibilities to answer the research questions in the best possible manner. 3.2 Analyzing the Alternatives It is important to understand different ways to collect data and conduct research to address the research questions and objectives in the best possible manner. This also forms the core of the research onion. In general terms research consists of: Seeking answers to questions Systematically using a predefined set of procedures to answer questions Collecting evidence To produce findings that were not determined in advance To produce findings that are applicable beyond the immediate boundaries of the study (www.fhi.org) As apparent from the title of the dissertation, the research philosophy here is to develop knowledge (Johnson and Clark, 2006) in the specific field of finance. Below is the table 3.2 which briefly differentiating between the two methods of data collection. Table 3.2 Comparison of Quantitative and Qualitative Methods Source: Adapted from www.fhi.org The table summarises and gives a clear idea on the use of both types of data and their uses. Being an approach which uses mixed meth.ods, this research includes both types of data. Detailed explanation of these methods is given below. 3.2.1 Criticism of Quantitative Methods Numerical data or other data which can be quantified to address the research objectives can be described as quantitative data. Quantitative data in its original form becomes very difficult to interpret and draw meaning from. Thus these data need to be processed, analysed and presented in the form of charts, graphs and tables for better understanding of the relationships and trends within the gathered data. (Saunders et al., 2009) Quantitative methods in this research were used in a form of a questionnaire to address objective 5. As they generally confirm hypotheses about phenomena and rigid style of categorising questions is necessary, it was used to segment the respondents and then understand different views of them as a portion of the society. However mainly the nature of the research demanded the qualitative methods to be adapted. 3.2.1.1 Questionnaire Saunders et at. (2009) argue that many times questionnaires are used by people before the consideration of alternative methods, like examination of secondary sources, observation and semi-structured or unstructured interviews. They advice the researchers to evaluate all the possible data collection methods and choose the one that is most appropriate to the research questions. It is not the case in this research and it was chosen as the most appropriate method to be used to achieve defined objectives. They will also aid in the triangulation of the data as the results will be used along with the focus group results. This in the descriptive nature of this research, which undertakes the study of attitude of people towards credit, spending and saving regarding personal finance, it will enable me to identify and describe the variability in different phenomena. 3.2.2 Criticism of Qualitative Methods All non-numeric data or that data which have not quantified can be defined as Qualitative data. These data are analysed and manipulated in ways of summarising, categorising and structuring of the meanings using a narrative. Commonly this research is done to gin deep insight about a particular problem or situation. One of the major advantages of adapting qualitative methods is that it provides the reader to understand from the view point of people how they experience the research issue in form of complex textual description. This provides us with humanistic side of the issue. This is mostly contradictory behaviours, beliefs, opinions, emotions and relationships of individuals. The other advantage being qualitative methods also give effective evaluation of many indefinable factors like, some social norms, socioeconomic status, role of genders, also ethnicity, and religion, whose role in this research is very apparent. It is seen that the culture of a country is a big factor deciding the spending and saving habits of an individual. Thus this approach is chosen. Qualitative methods when used along with quantitative methods, they can complement each other. It can improve the understanding of the complex reality of the given situation and the implications of the data collected (www.fhi.org). 3.2.2.1 Focus Group Administering a Focus Group was important for this project especially for objective 6 as the respondents replies would be considered very valuable to get in-depth knowledge of the given subject. A focus group has been also used to achieve triangulation. This is where qualitative and quantitative methods are both employed, by doing this can result in the negative aspects of one method being balanced by the positive aspects of the other creating a comprehensive and reliable set of findings (Jick 1979). Some of its advantages and limitations are discussed below: Advantages of using a Focus Group: It can help to explore issues deeply via encouraging respondents to interact with one another in relation to the topic set (Kolb 2008). This style has the potential for many views and opinions to accumulate thereby providing a good source of evidence in relation to the topic discussed (Wilson 2006). Here the interviewer has the ability to ask follow up questions if the respondent gives too general an answer, the interviewer can keep asking until they acquire a finding that is more credible (Kolb 2008) Some of its Limitations are: Data from a focus group might be difficult to analyse because of the large amount of data that is collected within a short timeframe. (Bryman Bell 2007) There can be a difficulty in finding participants for the activity as it is time consuming and demanding of the individual. (Wilson 2006) Group dynamics may also affect how much information is actually collected as some participants may contribute more than others. (Bryman Bell 2007) 3.2.2.2 Observation Observation is another method which is used in this report and has played a big role in its formation. This approach is also considered to be fun. This mainly involves: systematic observation, recording, description, analysis and interpretation of peoples behaviour. (Saunders et al., 2009) Many authors describe that this aspect of the research is to some extent neglected and less used in business and management studies. Although Delbridge and Kirkpatrick (1994) confirm that it is about attempting to learn the symbolic world and trying to get to the bottom of the processes with which an individual constantly constructs and reconstructs ones identity. This idea relates exactly with the aim and objectives of this research. Gill and Johnson (2002) have developed fourfold categorisation of this research which is available for any researcher. They are: Complete participant Complete observer Observer as participant Participant as observer Figure 3.2.2.2: Created from Saunders et al., 2009 form model provided by Gill and Johnson Here the role of Participant as Observer is used wherein researcher takes part in the activity and researchers identity is also revealed. Participant Observation is defined specifically as the researcher attempts to participate fully in the lives and activities of subjects and thus becomes a member of their group, organisation or community. This enables researchers to share their experiences by not merely observing what is happening but also feeling it. (Gill and Johnson 2002, Pp. 144) Thus, adding to the richness of the research data. Main Strengths and Weaknesses of this method of research are depicted in Table 3.2.2.2 below: Table 3.2.2.2: Strengths and Weaknesses of Participant Observation Source: Adapted from www.fhi.com 3.3 The Approach towards the Objectives Described below are the objectives of this research topic and how they were addressed: Objective 1: To understand Money and Debt employing exploratory research while briefly looking into its evolution. To address the first objective, extensive secondary research was carried out looking into the history of Money and Debt. This helped the author to understand the origins of these and thus provided fully with the capability to understand and critically analyze it. Objective 2: To analyze and compare the concepts of money and debt in various countries of world. This was again done with the help of extensive secondary research into the beliefs and values of many different countries of the world. It was done with mainly two types of differentiations namely developed and developing countries and close context and open context cultures. This will let the researcher to see beyond the particular culture, value and belief system of the UK. Objective 3: Understand various types of financial markets and institutions in the UK. This objective was fulfilled simultaneously while addressing the previous objectives. As after the base of the structure of the paper was created, this objective served as a ground floor to build on the other objectives. Objective 4: Understand various types of debts and reasons behind their creation. This objective again was achieved with the help of studying established theories and models which govern the current financial system in the world. Mainly secondary research is used and the concept of participant as an observer is reflected all through the dissertation which is also primary research. Objective 5: Identify critical factors responsible for the increasing personal debt in the UK. Identification of critical factors responsible for the increasing personal debt in the UK was done after careful consideration, on the basis of secondary data and the facts about UK economy given in Appendix 1. A questionnaire was prepared and given out to members of public. The questions mainly focused on Availability of Credit, Knowledge about Personal finance, Culture and Finance and Some Technicalities regarding fees and charges applicable. The sample included students, unemployed people, part time workers, full time workers and self employed people with different sex and age groups. Objective 6: Evaluate the awareness of UK residents about financial management and its role. This objective was achieved by the means of a focus group, some questions were formed to generally access the knowledge about money management in general population and the role it can play in their monetary situation. This was done via open ended questions to give the participant ability to get feedback and discuss in form of complex textual descriptions to access how people experience the given research issue. Sample here also included students, unemployed people, part time workers, full time workers and self employed people with different sex and age groups. Objective 7: Suggest a New Theory on Money Management in hard times. Thus in above mentioned way the objectives were addressed and data will be gathered and analyzed and the last objective to suggest a New Theory on Money Management in hard times to emerged as a result of the achievement of the previous research objectives.

Strategies for the Dietary Control of Diabetes

Strategies for the Dietary Control of Diabetes A survey of the recent strategies for the dietary control of diabetes in the Middle East INTRODUCTION Significant changes in the political and socio-economic climates have been the hallmark of the last decade in the many of the countries in the Middle East especially those located in the territories of the Arabian Gulf. These changes have impacted in no small way on the demographics of the affected countries. Notable are the obvious shifts in age distribution and a perceptible increase in healthy life expectancy. Furthermore, there have been alterations in the conventional lifestyles of the people living in these countries perhaps due largely to westernization, rapid urbanization and industrialization (Abdella et al 1995). It is also worth mentioning that disease types, trends and or their prevalence have also changed dramatically. Prominent among these is diabetes. Diabetes – delineation The incidence and prevalence of diabetes have consistently increased in the last 20 years; these changes have paralleled environmental transformation as well as the adjustments to changes above mentioned (Abdella et al 1995; Zimmet et al 1977). The current projection of the World Health Organisation (WHO 2007) indicates that there will be further increases in the prevalence of diabetes in the Middle East. A working committee of the WHO on diabetes defined the disease as ‘a metabolic disorder of multiple aetiology characterized by chronic hyperglycaemia with disturbances of carbohydrate, fat and protein metabolism resulting from defects in insulin secretion, insulin action, or both; the effects being long-term damage, dysfunction and failure of various organs’ (Alberti and Zimmet 1998). Diabetes is caused by a lack of the hormone insulin, which is produced by the ÃŽ ²-islet cells of the pancreas. Glucose is the primary energy source for all cells and is provided by digest ion of carbohydrates from the diet. Insulin enhances the body cells’ uptake of glucose from blood plasma. Hence, defects in insulin secretion, insulin action, or, most commonly, both leads to decreased uptake of glucose by the cells and an increase in blood glucose levels. Sustained increases in blood glucose level will lead to the excretion of glucose in the urine when such increases exceed the renal threshold of the molecule. This in turn leads to the typical symptoms of diabetes: excessive production of urine (polyuria) and extreme thirst (polydipsia). Fatty acids from fat stores are metabolized as an alternative energy source when the body senses a lack of glucose, the result is weight loss and fatigue other common symptoms of diabetes (Maitra and Abbas 2004). The clinical profile of diabetes varies minimally between the countries of the Middle East. In Kuwait for example, because of the marked disparity between individuals in their age of diabetes onset, mode of present ation, and the degree of obesity, the clinical profile of the disease is heterogeneous (Abdella et al 1995). Diabetes mellitus is not a single disease entity, but rather a group of metabolic disorders sharing the common underlying feature of hyperglycemia. Type 1 (early-onset diabetes or insulin-dependent diabetes (IDDM) and Type 2 (maturity-onset diabetes or non-insulin-dependent diabetes (NIDDM) diabetes are well known types and are characterized by the different metabolic processes of the disease (Alberti and Zimmet, 1998). Type 2 accounts for about 80% of the disease worldwide. The chronic hyperglycemia and attendant metabolic dysregulation may be associated with secondary damage in multiple organ systems, especially the kidneys, eyes, nerves, and blood vessels (Maitra and Abbas 2004). The Role of Diet in the Management of Diabetes Nutritional therapy is an integral part of the management of diabetes and plays a vital role in helping people with diabetes achieve and maintain optimal blood glucose level (United Kingdom (UK) Prospective Diabetes Study Group (UKPDS), 1990; Delahanty, 1998). The nutritional management of patients is based on evidence-based principles and recommendations for the treatment and prevention of diabetes and related complications (American Diabetes Association, 2002). These recommendations are based on evidence published in the international literature and from consensus and expert opinion as required (Ha and Lean, 1998). The benefit of tight control of both blood glucose and blood pressure in people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes has been demonstrated in several well controlled randomized large-scale studies (Diabetes Control and Complications Trial Research Group, 1993; UKPDS 1998a,1998b). Generally, the objectives of strategies for the dietary control of diabetes are complementary to the aims of medical treatment. Dyson (2002) reported that these includes but not limited to the following: Maintaining blood glucose within predetermined target range Minimizing the risk of hypoglycaemia for those patients taking insulin or oral hypoglycaemic agents Achieving weight loss in the obese patient Reducing the risk of long-term complications of diabetes Maintaining blood pressure and lipid levels within predetermined target ranges Improving and maintaining suitable quality of life. (Dyson 2002) Rationale for the project Contemporary management of diabetes places emphasis on the individual patient’s responsibility for diabetes control of blood sugars and of food consumption. The concept of self-care with regard to a recommended diet is thus considered important in order for patients to maintain normoglycaemia and reduce or prevent diabetes-related complications (Rubin and Peyrot, 1992; Rubin et al, 1997). The diabetic patient is expected to monitor his/her carbohydrate metabolism, energy expenditure and the effects of insulin or recommended medicaments on blood pressure and sugar levels. This inevitably demands a level of understanding about diabetes and of the effect of diet on the progression and or management of the disease. This survey will explore the individual patients’ approach to control or support the pharmacotherapeutic management of his/her diabetes using diet. The study will shed light on diabetic patient’s adherence to guideline dietary recommendations in the Middle East or on novel dietary strategies for the control of the disease. The results of this study is essential to health policies makers in the region and pivotal for governmental strategies to minimize the burden of the diabetic epidemics in the Middle East. Using Kuwait as First Port of Call for the Middle East Diabetes Diet Study (MEDDS) The middle east comprise a large region that covers parts of northern Africa, southwestern Asia, and south eastern Europe consisting of Bahrain, Cyprus, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. The ‘Middle East Diabetes Diet Study’ (MEDDS) will focus on Kuwait in its first phase. Implementation of the study in other countries of the Middle East will stem from its success in Kuwait following appropriate modifications to adapt the study tools to the settings and subjects of these countries. Description of First Target site: Kuwait is a relatively small country, (17, 818 km2 in surface area) and is situated in the North Eastern part of the Arabian Peninsula. Kuwait shares the north and west borders with Iraq, is bordered on the south by Saudi Arabia and on the east by the Arabian Gulf. Total population of Kuwait in 2005 was 2, 867, 000 and over 88% of these were aged 15 and over; percent Urban population out of total population was 100% during the same period (WHO 2007). The prevalence of diabetes in Kuwait was 104,000 in 2000 and the projection for the year 2030 is 319,000; this will amount to about 44% of the projected total population (WHO 2007). AIM AND OBJECTIVES Aim: The aim of this proposal is to develop a plan for the conduct of a cross-sectional survey of the recent ( Objectives: To purposely select a panel of experienced diabetes practitioners/clinicians to conceive questions assessing patients’ knowledge of their diabetes and the effects of their food types and feeding pattern on glycaemia and blood pressure control (in 11 main domains) To develop and validate a diabetes-diet questionnaire tool for the study To implement the diabetes-diet instrument during a face to face semi-structured interview designed to further explore recent dietary strategies for the control of diabetes To administer a 7-day diet dairy to respondents. Repeat the survey in other countries of the Middle East METHODOLOGY Development of Study Instruments An initial list of 11 patient’s knowledge domains as shown below will be used: Basic knowledge about diabetes Knowledge of patient’s own current management if involving pharmacotherapy Consumption of olives, fruits and vegetables, nuts and cereals in recent times. The intake of legumes in cooked foods in the last 5 years Recent intake of dairy and meat products. Consumption of alcohol/wine in the last 5 years Knowledge of other food types consumed recently Knowledge of feeding pattern in recent times Knowledge of occurrences of diabetes complications and or hospitalisations in the last 5 years Knowledge of the effect of food types and pattern of intake on control of blood pressure in the last 5 years Knowledge of the effect of food types and pattern of intake on the control of blood glucose in the last 5 years Under each domain, important points regarding each topic will be identified. To ensure content validity, a panel of 10 senior practitioners in the area of diabetes management will be identified and asked to participate in diabetes-diet (MEDDS) instrument development phase (Kline 1986; Streiner and Norman 1989). The expert reviewers will include 2 pharmacists involved in care of diabetes patients, 3 diabetes staff nurses, 3 diabetes specialist dietitians and 2 consultants in the area of diabetes. These will be identified based on their records of diabetes patient care experiences and on their knowledge of the factors impacting on the progression of the disease. The diabetes-diet (MEDDS) instrument’s content experts will rate each of the topic domains and indicate the percentage weight of each domain within the entire study tool. Between 6 and 12 multiple-choice questions will be created for each domain, with a focus on information ranked by the experts as most important for the objectives of the study. The multiple-choice question format is chosen because it is easy to administer and it will be easy to psychometrically validate the ensuing instrument (Kline 1986). Each multiple choice question will have 4 possible responses, namely one correct answer and 3 distracters. However, in order to fully capture any emerging theme, respondents will be allowed time to comment freely on the questions and the multiple choices in a semi-structured interview. These will then be transcribed for analysis. Existing questions from previous studies may be harnessed and modified by the panel. The expert panel will also rank the questions within the domain in descending order based on its relative importance to patients’ diabetes diet requirement/knowledge. After the initial item bank is compiled, the expert panel members will be asked to rank the overall quality of each item on a scale of 1 to 5 (1 = poor, 5 = excellent) in terms of how well it tested each information point. These rankings will be used to eliminate questions and create a 20-30 item pilot instrument. An item bank will be developed based on this information. Questions will be written at 7th grade reading level as determined by the Flesch/Flesch-Kincaid Readability Tests calculated from Dave Taylor and Intuitive systems (2007). Respondents will also be asked to fill a 7-day diet diary. Inclusion criteria Adult volunteers aged 18-85, living in the study site with not less than 3 years diagnosis of type 1 or type 2 diabetes. Since retinal and vascular problems associated with diabetes mellitus are common, attempts will be made to administer the tools also in carers of blind diabetic patients. Exclusion criteria Anyone diagnosed with a mental illness as it may be difficult to determine the truthfulness of information collected from these patients. Patients who are deaf; this is because a researcher and the interviewee would need to be proficient in sign language for any meaningful interview to take palce Data-collection tools Three data-collection tools will eventually be used; (1) the diabetes diet questionnaire (MEDDS tool), (2) a semi-structured interview using validated questions developed by the experts group and (3) a health diary. The interview and diet questionnaire will be the main data source. The semi-structured interview will last for 20 -30 minutes and will be conducted to further explore dietary trends for the control of diabetes in the last 5 years; this will be done at any location convenient for the respondents. The MEDDS questionnaire will be self or researcher administered during the face-to-face interview. A team of 8 interviewers will be trained by the researchers for 4 days before the start of data collection. The questionnaire will be translated into the local language of the study site. The study tools will be pre-tested for about 1 week in diabetes patients across age and sex variables of the target diabetic cohort as shown by Abdella et al (1995) for diabetic Kuwaiti. Larger scal e administration of the instrument will be for 6 months following the pre-test period. Study population Based on the household registry linked to databases of diabetes organisations in Kuwait, the survey will stratify the area of Kuwait into seven strata according to the degree of urbanization, geographic location, and administrative boundaries. Townships or districts will be selected from each stratum with the selection probability being proportional to its size. Sample selection will involve the use of multi-stage cluster random sampling procedure at the district level to select sub districts and zones from where the study sample could be drawn. In each district, the area will be sub-divided into sub districts from which 3 zones will be selected based on population size. Within the selected zones, households will be randomly numbered, and houses assigned ‘even numbers’ will be selected into the final sample. . Instrument Administration Diabetes patients or their carer (as may be necessary) will be identified for face-to-face semi-structured interview, the administration of the diet questionnaire and the filling of a diet diary in the final sample population. Knowledge of dietary recommendations for the management of their diabetes will be investigated; types of food as well as feeding pattern in the last 5 years will be evaluated for each diabetes type. Answers will also be sought to questions that will provide insight into patients recent general daily energy intake and expenditure; daily amount of carbohydrate and protein in the diet, control of blood pressure and glucose levels in the last 5 years. Respondents will also provide insights into changes in local custom for dietary control of diabetes. Following the interview and administration of the diet questionnaire, each participant will be given a 7-day diet diary to complete after each meal or at the end of each day. It will be explained that the diet diary sh ould contain food types and time of eating and all dietary tactics taken to maintain normal blood glucose level (4–7 mmol/litre). The diet diary will further explore the truthfulness of information provided in the interview/ questionnaire as well as shed light on how the respondents have presented their recent self-care dietary strategies for the control of their diabetes. The Use of Interpreters Linguistic competency is central to cross-cultural studies and problems that may arise due to the researchers not understanding the local language could be overcome by the use of an interpreter (Davies, 1999). It may also be reassuring for the respondents to see someone with whom they share the same culture and language during the interview periods (Freed, 1988). Interpreters will either provide verbatim translation during the face to face interview or conduct the interview independently following adequate training (Baker, 1981). Psychometric Analysis of the Questionnaire for the Dietary Control of Diabetes Ensuring content and construct validity are appropriate methods to develop a knowledge instrument. Questionnaire validity is ideally established by comparing the new instrument being developed with an established recognized standard. There are no such standard for the target patients of this study. Reliability is also a vital attribute of a sound knowledge instrument. The diabetes-diet (MEDDS) instrument will be said to be reliable when scores are consistent over time within a site or as implementation moves from one site/country to another. The variability of the instrument’s results should in this case be due to true differences among the individuals patients that will be enrolled into the study (Streiner and Norman 1989). Content Validity Content validity refers to the extent to which a set of items reflects the intended content domain (De vellis 1991). A systematic approach to identifying important domains and developing specific items based on consultations amongst experienced practitioners in the management of diabetic patients will ensure the content validity of the ‘Middle East Diabetes Diet Survey’ (MEDDS) instrument’. This method follows those employed by Zeolla et al (2006) in determining patients’ knowledge of the management of their disease. Construct Validity Construct validity determines the instrument’s ability to function for its intended purpose (Kline 1986). The ‘contrasted group’ method will be used in this study to determine the construct validity of the MEDDS tool (Kline 1986). Reliability of the Diet Questionnaire A proportion of the diabetic patients recruited into the study will be followed-up after 4 months and urged to complete the diet questionnaire only. The time elapse is considered sufficient to reduce the impact of recall (Streiner and Norman 1989). A correlation coefficient will be calculated between the test scores from each administration. A coefficient of 0.80 or higher is considered acceptable for demonstrating test–retest reliability (Streiner and Norman 1989). Hypothesis for Construct Validity If the MEDDS instrument is a valid tool to assess the recent approaches for the dietary control of diabetes, patients managed for diabetes, should be more knowledgeable and achieve significantly higher scores than those not diagnosed or managed for the disease. To confirm this hypothesis, the response of diabetic patients to the final instrument will be compared with responses of age-matched subjects without diabetes in the same setting. Construct validity would be confirmed if the mean generated score for diabetic subjects were significantly higher than those not diagnosed or managed for diabetes. . Statistical and Data Analysis Statistical analyses will be by SPSS version 14. The results of the pre-test will be excluded from the analysis. Student’s t-test will be used to compare the differences in mean scores of patients managed and not managed for diabetes. Using chi-square (à ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ £2), demographics characteristics will be compared between patients managed and not managed for diabetes. Pearson’s correlation coefficient will be used for the test–retest reliability analysis. Descriptive statistics will be used to report patient demographics. The interview transcripts and the health diaries will be deliberated upon on more than one occasion to fully understand patients’ self care approach and identify individual patient’s dietary care strategies. Themes emerging from the interview will then be compared with dietary patterns observed in the 7-day diet diary and the diet questionnaire. Following a detailed analysis of the results of all 3 tools, perceptions of respondentsà ¢â‚¬â„¢ conformity to recommended dietary regimen or their general philosophy/strategy of managing diabetes with diet will be reached. ETHICAL CONSIDERATION The study qualitative paradigm protocol will be submitted for review and approval by the local ethics committee for the study region. A covering letter describing the goals of the study will be provided to patients agreeing to participate. The purpose of the study will be very carefully explained to the respondents and their consent will be individually obtained before the study tools are administered. Each participant will also complete a brief demographic questionnaire. In cases of identified illiteracy, the information contained in the form will be read by the study interpreter and informed consent sought. All respondents will assured of anonymity, confidentiality and that they could withdraw from participation in the study at any time. EXPECTED OUTPUT Interventions to prevent diabetes in the Middle East should include culturally appropriate and effective ways to improve the nutritional adequacy of the diet in line with international guidelines for the dietary control of diabetes. The result of the study will indicate the knowledge gaps if any in the study population. Tight glycaemia control associated with certain food types and feeding strategies identified in the study may become basis for its recommendation and use in other parts of the world for the control of the worldwide diabetes epidemic. References Abdella Nabila A., Moustafa M. Khogalib, Amani D. Salman’, Shaker A. Ghuneimi†, Jasbir S. Bajajd (1995) Pattern of non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus in Kuwait Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice 29.1 29-136 Alberti, K.G. Zimmet, P. Z. (1998) Definition, diagnosis and classification of diabetes mellitus and its complications. Part 1:Diagnosis and classification of diabetes mellitus, provisional report of a WHO commission. Diabetic Medicine, 15, 539^553. American Diabetes Association (2002) Evidence-based nutrition principles and recommendations for the treatment and prevention of diabetes and related complications. Diabetes Care 25: S50–S60 Baker N (1981) Social work through an interpreter. Soc Work 26:391–97 Dave Taylor and Intuitive system (2007) [Internet] [Accessed 21st April 2007] http://www.readability.info/ Davies CA (1999) Reflexive Ethnography: A Guide to Researching Selves and Others. Routledge, London Delahanty LM (1998) Clinical significance of medical nutrition therapy in achieving diabetes outcomes and the importance of process. J Am Diet Assoc 98: 28–30 Devellis RF (1991). Scale development: theory and applications. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications. Diabetes Control and Complications Trial Research Group (1993) The effect of intensive treatment of diabetes on the development and progression of longterm complications in insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. N Engl J Med 329: 977–86 Dyson Pamela (2002) Nutrition and diabetes control: advice for non-dietitians British Journal of Community Nursing Vol 7, No 8. 414-419 Freed AO (1988) Interviewing through an intrepreter. Soc Work 33(4): 315–97 Ha TKK, Lean MEJ (1998) Recommendations for the nutritional management of patients with diabetes mellitus. Eur J Clin Nutr 52: 467–81 Kline P. (1986) A handbook of test construction: introduction to psychometric design. New York: Methuen Co. Maitra A and Abbas A.K (2004). The endocrine system. In: Robbin’s and Cotran Pathologic Basis of Disease (edited by V. Kumar, A.K. Abbas N. Fausto). Pp. 1189-1207, 7th edn. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier Saunders Company. Streiner DL, Norman GR. (1989) Health measurement scales: a practical guide to their development and use. New York: Oxford University Press. UKPDS (1998a) Intensive blood-glucose control with sulphonylureas or insulin compared with conventional treatment and risk of complications in patients with type 2 diabetes: UKPDS 33. Lancet 352: 837–53 UKPDS (1998b) Tight blood pressure control and risk of macrovascular and microvascular complications in type 2 diabetes: UKPDS 38. BMJ 317: 703–13 UKPDS (1990) Response of fasting plasma glucose to diet therapy in newly presenting type II diabetic patients: UKPDS 7. Metabolism 39: 905–12 WHO (2007) [Internet] Available: http://www.who.int/diabetes/facts/world_figures/en/ Accessed 21st April 2007 Zeolla M. M., Michael R Brodeur, Angela Dominelli, Stuart T Haines, and Nicole D Allie (2006). Development and Validation of an Instrument to Determine Patient Knowledge: The Oral Anticoagulation Knowledge Test Ann Pharmacother 40:633-8. Zimmet, P., Taft, P., Guinea, A., Guthrie, W. and Tchoma, L. (1977) The high prevalence of diabetes mellitus on a central Pacific island. Diabetologia 13, 111-115.

Working as a Housekeeper Essay -- essays research papers

Today's workers and families are overworked and stressed. After working through a 9-to-5 job, feeding and putting the children to bed, the last thing anyone wants to worry about is cleaning the house. Weekends are spent running errands and spending quality time with friends and family members. Therefore, many families are looking for outside assistance with housekeeping. In the past, housekeepers were thought of as the "hired help" and were thus treated like 18th century scullery maids. This is no longer the case. Housekeepers have reached a well-deserved level of respectability for their highly appreciated services. Starting a house cleaning business is an easy job for most people because there is very little start up cost involved. To help you get started, here is a step-by-step set of instructions to send you on your way to engaging in this highly profitable business. The first thing that you need to do before seeking out your clientele is to develop a business plan and policy. For starters, you need a name. Choose a name that denotes an air of sophistication. You don't want a name like, Tim's Cleaning Service or A-1 Cleaners. Those names are much too common and do not reflect any sort of professionalism. Try something original such as, Homestead Helpers. Such a name stands out from the many "fly-by-night" and unreliable services. Once you've chosen a name for your business, the next important step to take is to insure your business. As a house cleaner you are a sole-proprietor. This entitles you to the status of an independent contractor. This means that your profession is no different than that of a plumber, electrician, or a freelance writer. Insurance is a must have. For one thing, it eases the minds of your future clientele. Put yourself in their shoes; would you want an uninsured person coming into your home, handling your personal articles, and perhaps doing so while unattended in your home? Probably not. Having insurance will put you on top of the list for jobs, as most house cleaners do not carry insurance. The insurance will also give you piece of mind. You will not have to worry about your personal assets being seized in a lawsuit because someone accused you of stealing a family heirloom. Unfortunately, as with many service professions, dishonest people have tarnished the respectability of independent contractors, so you'l... ...ou money on graphics and design. A business card display ad catches people’s attention far quicker than a worded classified ad. Given the independent contractor status, and depending on the tax laws of your state, you are eligible for various tax deductions. For example if you own your own home, you can set up a small office space and take deductions for the square footage of the space, utilities, a computer, office supplies, phone calls, and cleaning supplies that you might purchase. Also, advertising and insurance costs are tax deductible. Many of the same deductions can be used for people who rent their home or apartment. Check with your local state's laws of taxation to see which deductions you can use. House cleaning is a highly profitable profession, with some house cleaners making $15-17 an hour, so be sure to report all of your income to the IRS. As an independent contractor, you can open an IRA account and start saving toward your retirement. In conclusion, I feel housekeeping is a respectable profession. The payment can be benevolent, and you can pick up habits for your own home, to keep a respectable looking residence. Also, no special talents or education is required. Working as a Housekeeper Essay -- essays research papers Today's workers and families are overworked and stressed. After working through a 9-to-5 job, feeding and putting the children to bed, the last thing anyone wants to worry about is cleaning the house. Weekends are spent running errands and spending quality time with friends and family members. Therefore, many families are looking for outside assistance with housekeeping. In the past, housekeepers were thought of as the "hired help" and were thus treated like 18th century scullery maids. This is no longer the case. Housekeepers have reached a well-deserved level of respectability for their highly appreciated services. Starting a house cleaning business is an easy job for most people because there is very little start up cost involved. To help you get started, here is a step-by-step set of instructions to send you on your way to engaging in this highly profitable business. The first thing that you need to do before seeking out your clientele is to develop a business plan and policy. For starters, you need a name. Choose a name that denotes an air of sophistication. You don't want a name like, Tim's Cleaning Service or A-1 Cleaners. Those names are much too common and do not reflect any sort of professionalism. Try something original such as, Homestead Helpers. Such a name stands out from the many "fly-by-night" and unreliable services. Once you've chosen a name for your business, the next important step to take is to insure your business. As a house cleaner you are a sole-proprietor. This entitles you to the status of an independent contractor. This means that your profession is no different than that of a plumber, electrician, or a freelance writer. Insurance is a must have. For one thing, it eases the minds of your future clientele. Put yourself in their shoes; would you want an uninsured person coming into your home, handling your personal articles, and perhaps doing so while unattended in your home? Probably not. Having insurance will put you on top of the list for jobs, as most house cleaners do not carry insurance. The insurance will also give you piece of mind. You will not have to worry about your personal assets being seized in a lawsuit because someone accused you of stealing a family heirloom. Unfortunately, as with many service professions, dishonest people have tarnished the respectability of independent contractors, so you'l... ...ou money on graphics and design. A business card display ad catches people’s attention far quicker than a worded classified ad. Given the independent contractor status, and depending on the tax laws of your state, you are eligible for various tax deductions. For example if you own your own home, you can set up a small office space and take deductions for the square footage of the space, utilities, a computer, office supplies, phone calls, and cleaning supplies that you might purchase. Also, advertising and insurance costs are tax deductible. Many of the same deductions can be used for people who rent their home or apartment. Check with your local state's laws of taxation to see which deductions you can use. House cleaning is a highly profitable profession, with some house cleaners making $15-17 an hour, so be sure to report all of your income to the IRS. As an independent contractor, you can open an IRA account and start saving toward your retirement. In conclusion, I feel housekeeping is a respectable profession. The payment can be benevolent, and you can pick up habits for your own home, to keep a respectable looking residence. Also, no special talents or education is required.