A Comparison and Contrast of Herman Melville’s

Herman Melville’s â€Å"Bartleby, Scrivener† (1853) and Franz Kafka’s â€Å"A Hunger Artist† (1924) are short stories that deal with the complexities of man in the social setting. Melville is most well known for his novel Moby Dick while Kafka was virtually unknown during his lifetime and has no published novels but has since gained recognition for his short stories, including â€Å"Metamorphoses† (1915).It would be interesting to note how a comparison of these two similar stories will reveal the personality of the writer. This paper will provide a brief synopsis of the stories and will then be analyzed for points of comparison and contrast.Synopsesâ€Å"Bartleby, Scrivener†Melville’s tale deals primarily with a particular scrivener, also know as a law-copier or in modern usage a petition writer as set in this story. The scrivener, Bartleby is an unaccountable man as described by the narrator whom at the time of the events that took pl ace a Master in Chancery.Bartleby is at first industrious in scrivener work, although he steadfastly refused to do any other activity and appeared not to eat or do anything but his work, and even seemed to live in the office. The narrator describes his feelings of astonishment, sympathy and subsequent acceptance of this eccentricity because his other employees also had their vagaries.As the story progresses, however, Bartleby’s behavior becomes stranger; he stops working but refuses to leave and eventually drives his employer from his office. Bartleby remains in the building even after being booted out of the room and is eventually arrested for vagrancy. The narrator is conscience-stricken and strives to do all he can for Bartleby, who soon after dies in prison. (Melville, 1994)â€Å"The Hunger Artist†The story begins with a statement of decline in interest in hunger artists. It is told from a third person point of view and sketches a history of the popularity of hunge r artists and the process of the art. It muses upon the intentions of those who subscribe to the spectacle, and the personal views and feelings of one particular artist, dwelling upon his frustration of having his work ended prematurely, a maximum of 40 days per each fasting period, in the interest of profit.The hunger artist knew he could last longer and yearned to find out to what extent, but was not allowed.The story describes how interest in the activity seemed suddenly to cease and rather than pursuing his previous modus operandi, the hunger artist preferred to break away from his manager and hire himself out to the circus, where he was placed in a cage near the menagerie, and was all but forgotten. At last he was able to indulge in his wish. Just before he died, he revealed that he fasted not to make himself famous but because there was no food he enjoyed. (Kafka, 1924)AnalysisThe two stories considered have distinct parallels, most notable the title characters. Both Bartleby and the hunger artist are distinguished by a sense of hopelessness and searching. The characters, the former silently, the other in self-revelation, express their need to find a place to belong.They clearly do not fit in accepted society. Bartleby because of his very ascetism, lack of interpersonal relations and history is almost a ghost, an enigma that even the most kindly of intentions could not draw out. He repulsed any kind of contact, perhaps because he was speculated to have been engaged in activity, that of a dead letter clerk, that dealt with the rejected and discarded. He clearly considered himself beyond salvation.The hunger artist, because of his search for the unattainable, is unable to enjoy the material pleasures of life and live a normal life. He deprived himself of life because he saw no point in continuing with it, reserving the pleasure of knowledge of how far he could take his artistry as his last stand against life.The stories are clearly macabre, elucidating the grimness of life of no purpose and no connection. They deal with the reality that man is essentially a creature of society, and failure of interaction results in strange and appalling consequences.The style of the writing is the most notable contrast of the two stories. Melville deals with the subject in a humorous fashion, drawing a smile, even a laugh with his description of his characters and the circumstances until the very end, which makes the horror of what has become of Bartleby all the more stark.Kafka adopted a gloomy tone from the start, indicating a grim end in the very first sentence of the story. The reader knows the hunger artist is doomed to a life of obscurity at the very least. The twist at the end, when the artist reveals the cause of his compunction for self-destruction, illustrates the writer’s own dissatisfaction with life.

Health Care and Change

Describe how the effectiveness of your organizational change will be determined once it is implemented. Change can be viewed as negative or positive depending on how it’s presented. It can be met with resistance probably due to lack of simple oversights, lack of persistence, poor communication, or other more personal vulnerabilities (Bert, Spector, 2010. The goal of the change should be identified before implementing it into the organization.Status reports, evaluations, and periodic surveys are all useful resources for determining the effectiveness of an organizational change (Bert Spector, 2010). The effectiveness of change will be determined by the Proper communication between the organization and the staff: The staff and the leaders will communicate effectively about the change; they will discuss how the change has affected them positively and negatively, The saying goes that â€Å"Once man understands an idea; he can identify with it, acknowledge it, and make it his ownâ €  Aristotle.Throughout the change, it’s important for the developed skills of written communication, meeting management and presentations to determine if the change has been effectively implemented (Bert Spector, 2010). Another way to determine the effectiveness of the change will be through monitoring, and measuring of the change that is the implemented. Measurement could include employee and customer surveys tool to measure progress of the change. This helps to clarify the purpose and direction of the change effort, by encouraging the employees to consider its specific impact in unambiguous terms.Measurement tells people what you care about , Tracks the effectiveness of the change effort both tells people that it is important and provides a way to judge how well it is being implemented, or how well it was designed (Bert Spector, 2010). Use of observation is another method that will determine the effectiveness of the change. An observation is designed to allow the OD pra ctitioner to see firsthand what is occurring with implemented change, the managers can use this method to observe the behaviors of the employees towards the change.It can determine whether the employees are adopting, adjusting to change or they are still resisting to it (Bert Spector, 2010). Review the progress of the change every month and see if the there any area that not progressing as expected and check for need for improvement in those areas that are not working. Check and see if some employees are struggling with the change, and find ways of helping them, maybe they need more training, or support to adjust. Provide support and training needed have a successful change.Collect and report data regularly, this is important in providing an ongoing stream of objective information that keeps the company aligned with business goals. The reports are made simple, enabling all the stakeholders to understand and appreciate the results. With this strategy, the company will identify opport unities and threats earlier and better manage employee expectations (Barbara Armstrong, 2013). Analyze possible outcome measurement strategies related to organizational change processes.Determinants of strategy include organizational and environmental factors, and the outcomes reflect both internal changes and external relationships (Bailey, 1992). EHR adoption will continue to grow and with it, better access to important clinical information that can be helpful to improving U. S. healthcare (Benefits of EHR, 2007). Possible outcome measurement strategies of EMR/EHR implementation at my facility will include: Improved Information Availability: With EHRs, patients' health information will be available in one place, when and where it is needed.Providers will have access to the information they need, at the time they need it to make a decision. Patients charts are always carried and used to different departments in the facility, Sometimes Doctors cannot find the charts to be able to as sess patients, with the EMR; all departments have the information they need right in front of them without searching for the chart (Benefits of EHR, 2007). EHR/EMR will be the Foundation for Quality Improvements at the facility: Reliable access to complete patient health information is essential for safe and effective care.EHRs place accurate and complete information about patients' health and medical history at providers' fingertips. With EHRs, providers can give the best possible care, at the point of care. This can lead to a better patient experience and, most importantly, better patient outcomes (Benefits of EHR, 2007). EHRs implementation will Support the Provider Decision Making, EHRs will help providers make efficient, effective decisions about patient care, through: Improved aggregation, analysis, and communication of patient information (Benefits of EHR, 2007).All departments at our facility can communicate the patients progress to physicians through the use of EMR, the phy sician can easily access the information without walking from one department to another. Evert needed piece of information to determine patients care and progress will be accessed with the use of EMR, EHR. When health care providers have access to complete and accurate information, patients receive better medical care. Electronic health records (EHRs) Implementation will lead to improved ability to diagnose diseases and reduce or even prevent medical errors, improving patient outcomes.Doctors can diagnose patient based the accurate vital signs and nurses assessment viewed computer. We usually have to call doctors to give them information on patients’ conditions, we don’t have Doctors at our facility 24 hours a day, they come two -three a week. With the EMR, doctors can view patient’s change of condition at their offices and provide the diagnoses and treatment (Benefits of HER, 2007). Determine how you will measure quality, cost, and satisfaction outcomes to eval uate your proposed organizational change.The expense of making changes within an organization is often difficult to measure from a pure cost standpoint. Similarly, the advantages acquired from revised operations may not be readily measured. Where possible, however, every attempt should be made to evaluate the real savings obtained from a planned change by creating measurable goals. Proposed changes in products, processes, and service activities should be quantified, if possible, before the desired modifications are implemented (Bailey, 1992). You can measure the quality of the change through surveys and observation of the change.Surveys determine how the company has progressed with the change and what is needed for the change to keep progressing. Surveys can have questions such as, has the creation EMR and elimination of paper documentation resulted in more effective work flows, improved communication practices, and management monitoring? Compare the previous work ethics to the pres ent, is there any improvement? Check for the reduction of medication errors and proper documentation since the implementation of EMR. Observe the employees behaviors and reaction to the change, are they more accurate in interpreting doctors’ writings?Quality can be measured through the Quick access to patient records, efficient care Enhanced decision support, and medical information Performance-improving tools, complete documentation that facilitates accurate coding and billing Interfaces with labs, registries, and other EHRs Safer which results in better patient experience and, most importantly, better patient outcomes (Benefits of HER, 2007). As the company works to improve the implementation of the change, the company will continue to calculate the costs on a monthly basis and track them against baseline and benchmarked costs.Continue to look for additional improvement opportunities (Barbara Armstrong, 2013). Costs are important when implementing a change, the finances dep ends how far you go with the change in progress. With the EMR change, it is costly to implement this change since it requires finances for the trainers, to buy software, computers, and to continuously maintain the software (Barbara Armstrong, 2013). The company will use a track sheet with the expenses spend on the change each month; the company will review and determine if the expense is within the budget or it going overboard.The company will then determine how to progress with the change figures obtained from the reviewed financial sheet. A survey will be carried out each month to determine the satisfaction of the change in progress. The company will use regular â€Å"listening meetings† where people could ask questions and voice their concerns (Barbara Armstrong, 2013). They survey will be either through calling employees, or written one with questions rating from scale of one to ten, on how the employee are dealing with the change, how they value the change, if the change helpful in their work, if they feel supported by their immediate managers and the cooperate.These surveys will also a have a potion which allows the employees to voice their take on the change and have suggestions to make this change better for them. Use employee surveys to learn people’s perceptions of issues tied the implementation in process, such as the level of physical comfort, degree of collaboration, or quality of group decision-making(Barbara Armstrong, 2013).Have working conditions been improved and stressful conditions been reduced for our employees with this implementation? Have we successfully implemented the use of new technology? Have we ensured that requirements for new operating practices and skills have been addressed and resolved? Has the organization become more flexible and proactive in generating responses to meeting the needs of the employees? (Nancy Landahl, 2010).

Culture and Marriage Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Culture and Marriage - Research Paper Example Traditionally, a young man in the society would approach the father of his love and suggest his intention of marrying her to him (Ferraro & Andreatta, p.76). If consented, the young man would go ahead and proposes to the girl and the wedding preparations then begin (Segal, p.89). However, according to reports there exists a dichotomy in the current public life among the American society. On one side, there are those individuals who are considered to be economically stable and are usually encouraged to get into marriage and those who are not willing to get married due to their economic statuses (Chapman, p. 94). Reports indicate that the rates of marriage within the American community have fallen by over 50% since the year 1950 due to the economic hardships the country has been experiencing. The American census bureau estimates that households with single people are on the increase from about 500,000 in the year 1970 to about 5 million in the year 2008 which represents a drastic incre ase (Ferraro & Andreatta, p.123). Households which are non-family have also soared in numbers from 7 million in the year 1980 to over 34 million by the year 2009. ... 96). They proposed that these rights should also be accorded to other individuals who may be in a relationship (Ferraro & Andreatta, p.136). These rights include alimony along with property rights for domestic partners who may be cohabiting. They include the homosexuals and heterosexuals in their society. The institute additionally claims that adultery should be eliminated as a ground for being granted divorce, dividing property, attaining child-custody or alimony (Segal, p.107). Previous reports additionally indicate that Americans first perceive human beings as being dedicated to individualism while cultivating their self images (Colombo, Cullen & Lislie, p.85). In other reports sociologists suggested that the average ages for marriage among young women was 20 while for the men was 22 years. They additionally claim that this prompted the majority of their population to get into marriage (Yang & Lu, p.113). Further research also indicates that there are other additional and differen t perceptions among the different people in the society regarding the institution of marriage. The second view is that marriage involves the cooperation of men along with women for the purpose of bearing and rearing children (Colombo, Cullen & Lislie, p.105). They regard the institution of marriage as a union that takes place for the purpose of advancing it through the formation of an economic partnership (Segal, p.119). Their government had these perceptions from the year 1948 through to the year 1989 and implemented for them for effective taxation while allowing married partners who were divorcing to split their wealth more easily (Colombo, Cullen & Lislie,

The Debate on Executive Compensation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

The Debate on Executive Compensation - Essay Example Instead of the inverse proportionality of their pay to the performance of the firm, it should be such that the relationship is directly proportional to each other. Usually, the executive pay is a combination of the salary, extra bonuses, reimbursements, and shares on the company stocks. The compensation is given a stringent configuration to comply with the necessary legal requirement, which includes tax law, regulations of the government, the desires of the company as stipulated by the executives and the organization itself, and of course the reward and performance. Most important is the fact that the executive pay is always a subject of approval from the board of directors and meanings that the salary is predetermined before the actual performance of the executives is noticed (Bertrand and Mullainathan 2001, p.62). Different schools of thoughts have thus arisen over the executive pay by hypothesising on the motivating factor for the increasingly rising pay for the CEOs and two schoo ls of thoughts have been brought forth. ... The other thought process perception is rather opposed to the compensation level and asserts that it is a socially unaccepted phenomenon that is largely fuelled by the social and political order that allows the executives to self-determine their own pay and have absolute control over it (Chen, Liu and Li 2010, p.54). Thus, the payment of the executives is not a covert that is whimsically decided by the CEOs themselves but is also approved by the board of directors who also determine and give consent to the figures. Despite this, the economists are not persuaded by this and therefore maintain that the executives’ pay must be aligned to the performance of the company, without which it is irrational and unjustified (Bruce, Buck and Main 2005, p.41). In reference to the objective brought by the economist over the hefty pays that go to the executives even during the period of economic crunch, this paper critically examines the agency theory and explains why it is impossible to expl ain the compensation of the executives with the provision of the theory. Besides that, the paper also gives comparative approach of evaluation from other theoretical sources that consider the relationship between the principal and the agents apart from the agency theory. The Agency Theory This theory shows the connection that exists between the principals and the negotiators in a business scenario through managing the business affairs to the best interest of each. The principals in the case companies are the shareholders while agents are the executives; in this relation, the agency theory tackles any problem that may arise between the principal and the agent in the course of running the business. Thus, the agency theory is known to be instrumental

The most dangerous man in america & the Pentagon Papers Essay

The most dangerous man in america & the Pentagon Papers - Essay Example f classified documents that showed how successive reigns remained unanswerable to the Press, the Congress, and the American people on a war that cost lives and the economy. The Pentagon Papers revealed that a constitution should maintain liberties that ensure a government is answerable to the public. For instance, the Espionage Act of 1917 had been a great defense utilized by the government to prosecute Ellsberg (Overbeck & Belmas, 2014). This act occurred alongside the constitution’s provision for freedom of expression and freedom of press. In this view, the constitution could not adequately guard the freedom of expression that the release of documents depended upon the same. The constitution, therefore, is the sole way in which the citizens and institutions such as the press can hold governments accountable for their actions. The existence of loopholes such as the Espionage Act compromises on individuals’ abilities to perform activism against irresponsible governments. This further revealed that the constitution should provide the platform for political activism, which helps restore certain privileges that the evolution of the constitut ion, in itself, has helped establish. The Pentagon Papers coincide with the foundation of the First Amendment that defends liberties pertaining to expression, religion, assembly, and the entitlement to petition. In the Pentagon Papers’ case, Ellsberg helped promote the provision that prohibits the Congress from constraining the press or suffocating the entitlements of individuals to speak freely. In a scenario of oppression, the makers the First Amendment realized that the press is the sole savior of the citizens and their rights. There, thus, was a need to protect the press as a platform for diverse opinions. In addition, the press could be a proper means of petitioning the government in upholding its responsibility towards the people and relevant institutions. The Declaration of Rights holds that individuals have the

In a clear and concisely reasoned 9, which addresses the work of the Essay

In a clear and concisely reasoned 9, which addresses the work of the author, Ernest Hemingway - Essay Example Most notably, he was one of the Americans who participated in the First World War although not as a soldier. During that war, he worked as a volunteer serving as an ambulance driver a vocation that saw him seriously wounded. This essay will highlight the outstanding features that defined Hemingway’s writing style. Some of his famous works such as, â€Å"The Sun also Rises† and â€Å"The Old Man in the Sea† will be used to demonstrate the uniqueness in his style. Prior to highlighting the writing style of Hemingway, it is important to establish the background of the period in which he lived and wrote his works. Being a 20th century author, he experienced many of the defining aspects of that century. As highlighted above, one of those aspects is the first and the second world war that altered the perception of many people in the globe. Worth mentioning is the fact that Hemingway was of American origin (Bloom 67). Therefore, one of his outstanding experiences is the desperation that defined many of the American citizens after the world war. Moreover, the post war period that was defined by the emergence of individualism, materialism, pessimism and degraded moral values are aspects of life that Hemingway lived to see. Without doubt therefore, these experiences serve to define some of the common themes in his works. He underwent the radicalization of that century a factor that was also similar to many of his contemporaries. Hemingway was interested in joining the army in his earlier years, but his failed sight denied him the chance. After the voluntary venture of being an ambulance driver, during a time when many atrocities of the first world war were being perpetrated, he later joined journalism. For a period of time, he was a reporter with one of the publications in Kansas city. His career in journalism served to influence his writing style, making it uniquely distinctive from that of his

Zara case company analysis report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5250 words

Zara case company analysis report - Essay Example It further looks at the PR of the company and the major crises that have been facing the company over the years. A comprehensive analysis of the company’s strategy is done to establish the root of the company’s success. Lastly, the paper gives suggestions on how the company can improve its operations in the global scene.Zara is the leading brand of Spanish Fashion Group Inditex and a well- established Fashion Company in the global scene (Zara, 2012). The company was established in 1975 in La Coruna and since then, its growth has been sterling. It had opened branches in major fashion cities including Paris and New York by the year 1990. It was because of their tremendous reputation that Zara Home was opened in the year 2003. In 2007, Zara established their first online shop that specialises in the sale of home products (Inditex, 2012). At the moment, the company operates 1830 stores in different parts of the world. According to recent financial statements, it contributes to more than 64% of Inditex’s revenue (Inditex, 2011). The company distinguishes itself as fast fashion trademark and offers high fashion clothing to reach the public at affordable prices. Zara’s success has been impressive over the years and this paper analyses its external environment, value chain, leadership, strategies and challenges facing the brand name. External Environment Analysis The fashion industry is ever changing due to contribution of companies like Topshop, HandM and Zara (London Business School, 2008). Consequently, factors affecting the clothing industry will influence trends in the high fashion world. In the clothing industry, customers’ preferences vary according to their ages and body types (Keane and te Velde, 2008). Furthermore, the demand for clothing is affected by population size and patterns. For example, an increase in the proportion of pregnant women and birth rate will increase demand for maternity and baby clothes (Suttle, 2011:45 ). It is important to note that demographic trends are the driving force in the fashion industry. The PESTLE analysis will be used to study the macro- environment and the Porter five forces model to evaluate the micro- environment. PESTEL analysis The fashion industry is characterised by high levels of competition among the top fashion brand names and frequent changes in the customers’ tastes and preferences. PESTEL analysis is used to identify factors that affect the demand of goods produced with regards to the external environment. Political Aspects In terms of the political framework in the clothing industry, workers’ rights and employment regulations are mandatory in the creation of a legal environment in the manufacturing

Japanese Tea ceremony Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Japanese Tea ceremony - Research Paper Example The cult of drinking tea in Japan quickly spread during 794-1185 (Heian period) to the Imperial Court and soon transformed into the simple pleasure. The tea that was used at the time was referred as ‘black tea’ that was made by pounding the tea leaves into the paste and then molding it into the shapes that resembles the dumplings (Mori, 1991). The gatherings that were gathered for these tea drinking sessions sat on the folding stools that were prepared specifically for these events. The characteristic and mood of the tea drinking during the Heian period can be compared to the modern tranquil coffee shop. The powdered green tea that is the focus of the Japanese tea ceremony today and in the ancient times in japan was not introduced until during the 12th century in the Kamakura period (1185-1336) where Eisai (priest) introduced the use of the powder green tea referred as matcha (Mori, 1991). The matcha is whipped in the boiling water with the bamboo whisk and it was the mainstay of the Zen Buddhism meditation as well as acting as a stimulant for helping to keep the monks awake. The match emerged from the confines of Zen Buddhist in the early 14th century owing to its high popularity for the taste and its increased demand, leading to its spread to the rural communities and the Samurai class. This method of the tea drinking advanced and become popularly known as the cha yoriai (tea gatherings) and it has a sharp contrast to the peaceful and quiet pleasure that was enjoyed by the Heian nobility. Additionally, the cha yoriai can be compared to the wine-testing competitions that are conducted in the Europe today. The tea ceremony in japan underwent quick transformation under the leadership of the Takeno Jo-o (1502-1555). Takeno Jo-o brought the tea drinking into the newly established and flourishing merchant class in the native city of Sakai, Nara and Kyoto. While the Shuko’s tea aesthetics largely involved the creation of the harmony

Environmental Audit (Data Response) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Environmental Audit (Data Response) - Essay Example There may many country specific factors, which could impact the functioning of the organization in the Host country, including its Human Resource (HR) functions. When an organization starts off its foreign operations, the role of HR department and optimum HR practices is crucial because it can only facilitate and encourage coordination and cooperation between employees from both the host country as well as home country (company’s home country). In this report, Russia is the host country, and so this report will discuss how a multinational company in IT sector, while entering Russia particularly in the form of Joint Venture (JV) need to analyse its HR functions to optimally manage its operations there. Economic Indicators Russia's geographic position as neighbour and a key influencer of the expanding European Union and the dynamic countries of Asia including China and India has given it new options to optimize its globalization drive. So, it is encouraging many multinational co mpanies (MNC) to enter and start their operations. Actually, Russia’s incorporation of globally dominant norms, rules, etc as part of economic globalization, took some time to actualize. That is, when Russia endorsed and embraced globalization, it was not a smooth transition, as certain tough decisions were taken. When globalization made its entry into Russia, there was sceptical feeling that globalization and the entry of foreign firms particularly from Western countries is actually a form of US-led hegemony increasing Russia’s marginality in world affairs. â€Å"Their fear of globalization is heightened by the perception that the process is not driven by the impersonal forces of the information revolution and the market, but controlled by the United States as part of a hegemonic project† (Federov 2000). Russia voluntarily took certain steps to welcome globalization and thereby open its market to foreign firms. That is, by introducing convertibility of the nati onal currency and liberalizing both current and capital accounts of her balance of payments, Russia fully exposed herself to globalization. (Vorobyov and Zhukov 2001). From that time, Russia is encouraging entry of foreign firms and also Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) in the Russian IT sector. Although, Russia’s IT industry and market is considered small, when compared with other regions and countries, MNCs like SAP, TietoEnator, T-System, etc are expanding their operations, along with the domestic players. Importantly, the potential of Russia’s IT market is going to optimize, with its quick recovery from the economic recession. â€Å"Russia has experienced a surprisingly quick rebound after being heavily affected by the economic crisis in 2009†¦The Russian ICT market is being driven by information technology spending, which is expected to increase by 12 percent to 15 billion euros in 2011.† (eito.com 2011) Comparative analysis of HR systems in both Europ e and the US Each nation is different from one another based on their culture, people, language, climate, etc, etc†¦and based on these differences; there will be different styles of HRM. Thus, different management styles and importantly HRM policies seen in the functioning of MNCs are dependent on the culture and other regional factors of a country. That is, when one focuses on the HRM policies in USA, it

Corporate Communications Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Corporate Communications - Essay Example When all of the divisions have their own communications strategy and there is no overall corporate guideline on communications, it is hard to control communications functions, especially when the company is multinational. Sara Lee Corporation is trying to find the balance between centralized control of communications and the development of communications strategies at the local level, many other multinationals are having the same struggle. The major point is to bring all of the communications professionals from marketing, public relations and internal communications into a single department so that the knowledge can be shared, the experience enhanced and the visibility of communications sector within the company ensured (p. 127). Such cross-functional integration over and above departments is needed because most of the work related to communications cuts across different knowledge and skills domains. In addition, the communications within the company are mostly informal (p. ... ations are separate), while under horizontal structure there is no clear line of subordination and each department has a unique function and undertakes the portion of company's overall mission. Moreover, under the vertical structure the corporate communication is placed high within the company and involves the formal collaboration. As it was mentioned on the page 133, the survey of the 75 largest US corporations has proved that the vast majority of these companies have communications and marketing departments functioning on the same level (the horizontal structure). The same tendency is observed in UK and European companies. Therefore, the communications function is divided into two major fields -direct communication (such as employee communication, corporate design, all internal and media communications) and direct marketing (such as branding and advertising). It is worth to note that this division is not always appropriate for the small business units because the communications function is not developed so well and involves fewer specialists compared to the internationals such as Sara Lee Corporation. Moreover, the preferred interdependence and at the same times sovereignty of two departments reflects their importance to the company. Even though the tendency to divide communications function within the compa ny, there are some exclusions. For example, in the Netherlands the communications disciplines are consolidated in a single department with high position within the company. Sara Lee Corporations tensions are quite traditional for the majority of multinationals. There is the need to separate central communication departments from marketing because some of the communication areas fall outside the operational. For example, marketing has to deal with

Compare the Love Language Used in Quickdraw Essay Example for Free

Compare the Love Language Used in Quickdraw Essay Quickdraw is a poem about the end and break down of a relationship. Specifically an argument between the speaker and their other half and the feelings felt by the speaker in the poem. It has many similarities and differences with In Paris with You a poem about a very negative relationship with the speaker who is desperately in love with someone who is just using them. The poem uses a play on words and anytime the words Paris and love are mentioned you have to switch them, so Paris means love and love means Paris. These poems have similarities and difference and these can be explored through language techniques and key themes. Both Quickdraw and In Paris with You explore negative sides to a relationship. In Quickdraw the negative side is the pain of the break up at the ending of the relationship â€Å"hear me groan You’ve wounded me† this shows the pain the speaker is going through during the breakdown and end of their relationship. In In Paris with you they explore a different side of a negative relationship, the love the speaker feels for someone and the way they are being used by that person â€Å"Yes I’m angry at the way I’ve been bamboozled I’m in Paris with you† this shows that although the speaker is angry at being used, she is still in love with them (I’m in Paris = I’m in love ). In In Paris with You the speaker expresses their love for the other person â€Å"I’m in Paris with You† (meaning â€Å"I’m in love with You) is repeated throughout the poem. But they also have differences such as, some other aspects of their structure, some of the themes of the poems. In Paris with You and Quickdraw both explore negative relationships, a relationship between a person absolutely besotted over someone who is using them and doesn’t feel anything back for them or the argumentative end to a relationship where both of them are hurling insults at the other and breaking u their relationship.

Non Controlling Interests And Goodwill Accounting Essay

Non Controlling Interests And Goodwill Accounting Essay Introduction IFRS 3 which involves Business Combinations will build important changes in business combinations accounting. IFRS 3 develops more the acquisition representation and applies to more day to day transactions, because combinations by contract only in addition to combinations of common entities are incorporated in the standard. Nevertheless, ordinary managed transactions and the development of joint ventures are not factored in the revised standard. IFRS 3 applies to the 1st period of accounting commencing on 1/07/09. Notably, retrospective appliance to previous business combinations isnt permitted. It can be used early as long as its not in the period of accounting commencing on or after 30/07/07. Background In 2008 the International Accounting Standards Board finished the 2nd stage of its Project on Business combinations by releasing a revised edition of IFRS 3 relating to Business Combinations. It was amended in order to replace the 2004 version. The revised IFRS 3 is the outcome of a combined project with the Financial Accounting Standards Board Scope Description of business combination . Its a occurrence of transactions whereby the purchaser gains power over 1 or many business entities. A business entity is described as an incorporated place of actions that is able to perform and operate in order to give a return to shareholders or other capital owners or any other participants in the business. The purchaser or the acquiring company ought to be recognized or identified. IFRS 3 stipulates that an acquirer must be acknowledged or identified in all cases involving business combinations. Variations in the scope from the 2004 version of IFRS 3 as compared to 2008 IFRS 3 version is used in combinations of joint business entities as well as combinations which do not have consideration for example dual listed company shares. Such are not included in unrevised IFRS. Exclusions from the scope: The IFRS 3 cannot be used in case of development of a joint venture or combination of business entity under common management or control. IFRS 3 cannot be used the purchase of an asset or a collection of assets which dont comprise a business entity. Purchase consideration Important changes to the standard involve the purchase consideration. Fair value of all benefits held formerly by the acquirer in the newly acquired company is currently incorporated in the consideration. This incorporates all interest in joint ventures undertaken and associate as well as equity interests in the newly acquired company. Any preceding venture is perceived to be given up in order to obtain the company/entity and on disposal date a gain or loss is taken into account. In case the acquirer previously had interest in the entity obtained prior to acquisition, IFRS3 stipulates that the current venture to be revalued to fair cost as at the acquisition date, factoring in all changes to the profit and loss account as well as any gains formerly documented in equity that pertain to the current holding structure. A gain is accepted in the income statement during the period of business combination. Contingent consideration requirements have been modified. Contingent consideration is nowadays accepted at fair value even in cases where its not likely to pay at the acquisition date. All ensuing modification to liability contingent consideration is taken to the income statement, instead of goodwill account because it is perceived to be a debt acknowledged in the international accounting standard 32/39. If debts for superior performance by the results in the subsidiary cause expenditure in the income statement to increase and under-performance by the subsidiary against targets will lead to a cutback in the anticipated payment and will be accounted as a profit in the statement of income. These changes in contingent consideration were formerly taken in the goodwill account. The standard no longer treats transaction costs as a component of the purchase cost; such overheads are expensed throughout the accounting period. Transaction costs are now considered not to constitute what is given to the party selling the entity. They arent supposed to be taken as assets of the acquired entity which ought to be acknowledged on the purchase date. The standard stipulates that businesses should reveal the quantity of transaction expenses that have been paid. IFRS 3 takes into consideration the treatment of employee share-based payments by including supplementary regulation on estimation, as well as how to come to a decision on whether share payments constitute part of the payment for future service compensation or business combination. Non-controlling interests and Goodwill IFRS3 provides businesses with an alternative, on an individual operation basis, to value minority interest or non controlling interest at fair value in relation to their share of particular liabilities and assets or at their fair value. The 2nd technique will consider goodwill relating to the non-controlling interest together with the controlling interest acquired while the 1st technique will lead to valuation of goodwill, which is essentially similar to the current IFRS Measurement of goodwill can also be undertaken using the full goodwill basis, in this method goodwill is measured for the minority interest/ non-controlling and also the controlling interest in a subsidiary. In the preceding edition of IFRS 3, non controlling interest was valued at their proportion of net assets and excluded any goodwill. Under the Full goodwill method it means that minority interest (non controlling interest) together with goodwill is increased by the value of goodwill that pertains to minority interest. Example Mercer has purchased a subsidiary company on 2 February 2008. The net assets fair value of the subsidiary company is $2,170million. Mercer purchased 70 percent of the total shares of the subsidiary company for $2,145million. The minority interest was measured at $683million. Goodwill recognized on the full and partial goodwill techniques under IFRS 3 would be computed as: Mercer partial goodwill method Assets (net) 2,170 Minority interest (Non Controlling Interest) (30% x 2,170) (651) Assets purchased 1,519 Consideration on acquisition (2,145) Goodwill amount 626 Full goodwill Method Fair value of identifiable net assets 2,170 Minority interest (683) Assets taken over 1,487 Consideration on Purchase (2,145) Goodwill amount 658 Goodwill is in actual fact adjusted for the variation in the figure of the minority interest which factors in the goodwill belonging to the non controlling interest. This preference of technique of accounting for non controlling interest only causes a disparity in acquisition figures where less than 100 percent of the entity obtained is bought. The full goodwill technique will cause an increase in net assets reported on the statement of financial position which means that any prospective goodwill impairment will be greater. While valuing non-controlling interest at reasonable cost may be complex, testing goodwill impairment may be less difficult in full goodwill, because there is no point of summing-up goodwill for subsidiary companies which are partially owned. Fair measurement of liabilities and Assets IFRS 3 has brought about some alterations to liabilities and assets documented in the statement of financial position. The present conditions to distinguish the net identifiable liabilities and assets of the entity being acquired are retained. Assets ought to be measured at fair value excluding some specific items for example pension liabilities and deferred tax. International accounting standard board has given supplementary regulations that are likely to lead to recognition of additional intangible assets. Purchasers are obliged to identify and record trade licenses, client relationships and brands, plus other assets classified as intangible. There are minor alterations to existing regulation under IFRS in relation to contingencies.. Following the business combination date, conditional liabilities are re-valued at the initial figure and the quantity in current relevant standard whichever is higher. Contingent assets are not identified or recorded, and contingent liabilities are valued at fair cost. Other Matters and Issues IFRS 3 gives direction on some precise details of combinations of entities such as : business combinations done with no reallocation of consideration acquisitions done in reverse identifying and recording assets which are intangible the re-examination of the purchasers contractual provisions at the date of acquisition Holding Companys Disposal or Acquisition of extra shares in Subsidiary Proportional sale or disposal of a subsidiary while still maintaining control. . This is treated as an equity exchange with shareholders as well as loss or gain not recoded. Proportional disposal of a subsidiary where control is lost. Losing controlling power on re valuing of the remaining fair value held. Disparity between carrying value and fair value is treated as a loss or gain on the disposal, recorded in the income statement. Afterwards, using international accounting standard 28 and 31 is suitable, to the outstanding investment. Purchase of extra shares after control of subsidiary was gained This is treated as a transaction involving equity with shareholders (such as purchase of shares in the treasury. Goodwill is not revalued in such an event. Disclosure The purchaser must reveal all relevant financial information to users of its annual reports to assess the financial outcome of a business combination that happens throughout the present reporting phase or subsequent to the end of the phase but before the reports are approved for issue. Disclosures necessary to meet the previous purpose are : A depiction and also the name of the purchaser Date of purchase proportion of voting interests purchased Principal s purpose of the business combination and a explanation of method used by the purchaser to acquire power over the seller Account of the reasons that show goodwill recorded, for example probable synergies from combining activities, and non qualifying assets. purchase-date fair cost of the combined consideration taken over and the purchase-date fair cost of every main category of consideration Particulars of dependent consideration provisions as well as indemnification assets taken over. Particulars of purchased receivables the value for all key category of assets purchased and debts implicit Particulars of contingent liabilities recorded. Combined value of goodwill that is anticipated to be removed for purposes of tax. Facts of all activities that take place individually from the purchase of assets and debts in business combination Facts concerning negative goodwill. In conclusion I believe that the speedy endorsement of IFRS 3 will end the doubt regarding the treatment of financial statements and reports. Hopefully the aims of the revised IFRS Board will be achieved and end the requirement for reconciliation between different accounting standards as well as end the conflicting use of the revised IFRS3 in the accounting profession . I look forward to the outcome caused by the implementation of the IFRS3 with interest!

Implementing a Personal Development Plan

Implementing a Personal Development Plan Personal and professional skills are very essential to achieve strategic goals. Manager can perform his responsibilities and duties properly by using these skills. It is the process that is designed to enable the readers to take responsibility for their learning and development needs to meet personal, professional as well as organizational goals and objectives. We can achieve this by analyzing and defining current skills, as well as and preparing and implementing personal development plans. Personal and professional skills help the learner to be competent in the competitive business world and sustain as a skilled professional. This will also help the learner to adopt the necessary skills and developments need to perform is duties effectively. So it is the responsibilities of the managers need to develop their personal and professional improvements plan to achieve new knowledge and experiences so that they can cope with the competitive and changing business world. What is a Skill Audit? There are variety of skills which are not only important to learning in higher education and academic career but also to our personal development and professional career. The following skills audit has been prepared to assist to identify the strengths, weaknesses and scope of for development in various skills areas that will help the learner to be a skilled professional in his career. Conducting a skill audit Skill area/ scope I can perform this in well manner yes , but I need more practice to do I canà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢t perform this well manner Priority development of this skill 1 = very important, 2 = quite important, 3 = not important Organization of learning I have the strategies to help me to plan and arrange my time 1  I am able to properly priorities my works and activities 2  I am able to perform work to in time Information searching skill I am always able to find a definite book or journal in the bookstore/ library using the on-line catalogue system I am able to use a different sources to find information and various data related to my studies  (e.g. journals. books, electronic resources) I am able to use finding gateways on the net to find information and data Studying and note making I can decide which source of a book I need to study I have a procedures for recording where I find data (e.g. book, author, date) IT sector I am able to use various word processing software package to do my assignments and reports I can use many different types computer software (e.g. Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Access and so on ) Stress Management I know well what creates stress I am able to understand of my personal markings or symptom of stress I can use various strategies to assist me deal with stress Personal and professional Development Plan I am always able to identify my personal goals and targets I am always able to plan for my personal development and professional Development Plan Personal and Professional Skills Counseling It is counseling which has become a popular and familiar ways of offering advice and assisting the staff development. It can be included assistance with the new projects and ventures, as well as providing general advice. There are two general ways: the two ways are described below; Directive counseling: Directive counseling involves the ways in which we taking initiative and actually providing various suggesting methods and solutions. The most possible outcome of different courses of action is ranged and a variety of action can be taken as a measures. Indirect counseling: Indirect counseling involves the ways that only the counselee is capable of defining and managing rightly his or her difficulties and problems and that are the most promotive way of finding to the core of a difficulty which is essential to encourage the other party to discuss the matter at a length of duration.. Management Skills It is very essential to gain skills in three different areas to be an effective and efficient manager, which are: task execution, commercial insight and People skills. Commercial Insight Commercial Insight is a set of skills that emphasizes managers efficiency and properly and, in the case of private sector managers, profitability or return on investment. Managers often use strategic knowledge to ensure that they do the accurate task, which will help to profitability and achievement of corporate goals and objectives. Management versus leadership quality Managers are the main authority of a corporation who occupy important positions of firms. Management of the firm is his responsibilities. On the other hand, leadership is an occasional task, such as creativity. It is not like a role. Managers often show leadership when they bring change in an organization but it is the duty of all employees to advocate a change in direction. Skills required for Effective Management and leadership quality For management and for better result there is very essential for being effective and efficient management. Without this an organization cannot reach its ultimate target. So for getting better result the following Management and leadership skills are very essential. Management Skills It is essential to have skills in three different areas to be a good and effective manager. The three areas include task execution and commercial insight as well as people skills. Some manager may have one or two of these qualities but it is very essential to have the three areas for being a good and effective manager. Observation Observation is very important which can help a manager to observe his fellow people in a right manner. Manger needs to observe the activities of the fellow personal to see whether they perform their task or not. Monitoring Employee Performance It is very essential to monitor employee performance in mutually accepted methods. All Policies and procedures that are set need to be clear and prudent. If the performance of employees is monitored on a regular basis they can surely do better. Implementing Professional Development Programs A good leader is one who can identify the strength and weakness of the fellow people and arrange development programs to improve their condition. Good Decision Making A good leader is one who can make wise and good decision. Without making good decision it is not possible for a leader to perform his duties properly. A good leader needs to consider all the inside and outside factors before making a decision. Ways to improve personal and professional Skills We may have brilliant ideas and you may have work hard. But these will not work well if we fail to connect with the people work around your side. If you fail to do it is sure that you will damage your professional career.You are viewing page 1 Bottom of Form There are ten helpful ways that help to improve personal skills in a man: Smile. One can manage people very easily simply by smiling. So it is very urgent to maintain smile in all the ways of our professional life. Always be appreciative. Always try to be generous with praise and kind words. When people help you it is essential to thank them. Always be attentive. It is very important to be attentive when someone talks to us. Practice active listening. One can improve his qualities by regular basis practice on listening. Bring people together. It is very urgent to Treat everyone equally and same manner. We need to listen carefully and value what people say. Resolve possible conflicts. If there any conflict arises it is very important to resolve the conflict between the parties so that no further conflicts arise. Communicate clearly. Always clear and effective communication is required to avoid misunderstandings among coworkers, colleagues, as well as associates. Humor. Always try not to be afraid to be funny or cunning. See from other side. Always try to consider from the other side. This will help you to perform your duties properly. Dont complain. It is very essential not to complain against other. Personal SWOT analysis (an example of mine) My SWOT analysis is as follows. Key Strengths Im very enthusiastic. I can communicate in good manner with my fellow people. I have the ability to questions to find just the right professional angle. Im very committed to success. Key Weaknesses I always take more times to decide any decision which sometimes lengthen my projects. This sort of quality always faces me at a stress when I have too many works. Key Opportunities Im going to arrange a seminar for developing career which will help me to expand my capacity. The markets are expanding widely. As a result there is huge capacity for us to capture the market. Possible threats One of my co-workers Mr. Ajman is more fluent than me and he is always thinking him as my competitors. Because there are great shortage of employees, so a huge work load has fallen on me which will damage my capacity The current economic condition is not well. Personal development planning It is Personal development planning which is the process by which we can improve our ability in education, learning and career. The personal development planning can work in the following ways; Stage 1 Profiling Ourselves It is the first point for our individual professional development plan and should include the ways in which we can set our Personal development planning Stage 2 Define the Strategy The second step of personal development is defining the strategy. We have to make the strategy which can focus the maximum areas of the impact so this can meet both our personal and professional needs to achieve our objectives. Stage 3 à ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ Improve an Action Plan The next step of personal development plan is developing an action plan. An effective action plan has some elements which are given below: A clear statement of the goal to be achieved The actions required to achieve the goal The target timescale for achieving the goal Criteria to assess when we have reached our goal Stage 4 Learning methods There are many ways to divide the learning styles and procedures, but the easiest ways is the one of the following ways: Visual ways à ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ visual learning is the ways in which learners can read books, magazine and internet. Auditory this is the ways which is similar to hearing. Dialogue and discussion is essential in this ways Stage 5 Evaluation and Reflection The last step of personal development plan is evaluation and reflection. This step is similar to the ways in which we evaluate what we learn from the development plan as described above. Conclusion Form the above discussion and analysis we can be concluded that developing personal and professional skill is not single time task but it is a continuous and ongoing process because working environment and essential job skills are changing very rapidly. Professional development is not a new concept, but it is becoming increasingly important. Personal and professional development is very essential to sustain in the competitive business world. Everything in business world is changing rapidly. So to perform the task it is mandatory to develop ourselves. We have entered the knowledge-based economy. Thus it very important and essential task for all level of managers to evaluate their personal and professional skill on a continuous basis through skill audit and personal development plan as well as to take necessary actions to do better and cope with the changing situation.

Essay on Bravery in The Tempest -- Tempest essays

The Theme of Bravery in The Tempest   Ã‚  Ã‚   Bravery performs a very important role in The Tempest.   Different than a motif, the theme of bravery actually takes form in Shakespeare's play and develops the play itself.   However, like a motif, bravery is used intermittently throughout the play in different form and context.   It captures different meanings and performs different capacities erratically.   A denotative definition from the 15th century, according to the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary (10 ed.), portrays brave as meaning, "[from Old Italian and Spanish, meaning courageous, wild; probably from Latin, meaning barbarous]."   The dictionary then defines brave as "a.   having courage: dauntless b.   making fine show: colorful, c. excellent, splendid."  Ã‚  Ã‚   All of these distinct definitions find their capacity in The Tempest.   Prospero could be said to define bravery when speaking to Ariel when he likens Ariel's bravery to being "firm, so constant...coil would not infect his reason"(I.ii.299).   Ariel's spirit is courageous and wild for he takes on the powers that be in order for Prospero to enact his revenge on the usurping Duke of Milan.  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Let's look at another example of bravery.   Miranda likens the form of Ferdinand to bravery.   Her young, inexperienced eyes have not seen a young man basically rise out of the sea before.   What wonder and show this must be to her concept of courage and splendid which are all definitions of brave.   Prospero even infers that Miranda herself is "more braver"(I.ii.672), than Ferdinand.   I believe that his foundation for this belief lies in our definition of brave in the aforementioned dictionary from 1546, "to face or endure with courage."   Miranda has endured much in her... ...er, Prospero designates Ariel "brave" because of his uninfected "reason" (I.ii.299-301).   So let's review.   Brave is monster, abominable, womanly, unequaled, propagation, diligent, conscientious towards directions and reasonable. "Is it so brave..."(III.ii.153)?   Yes, and everything else.    Bibliography Primary Texts William Shakespeare, The Tempest, ed. Frank Kermode, with an introduction by Frank Kermode, (Arden, 1964) Montaigne, Selected Essays of Montaigne, trans. John Florio (1603) ed.Walter Kaiser, with an introduction by Walter Kaiser, (Riverside, 1964)    Secondary Texts Curt Breight, " 'Treason doth never prosper': The Tempest and the discourse of treason, Shakespeare Quarterly, 41, no.1, (1990) Eric Cheyfitz, The Poetics of Imperialism: Translation and Colonization from The Tempest to Tarzan, (Oxford University Press, 1991)

RURAL PARADISE OR A CONCRETE JUNGLE? :: essays papers

RURAL PARADISE OR A CONCRETE JUNGLE? Over the course of the semester we have watched numerous movies (Heartland Reggae, The Harder They Come, Countryman, Dancehall Queen, Third World Cop, Rockers, and Land of Look Behind) that depict Rastafarians living in both the country and the city. Not knowing much about either Jamaican setting, I decided to take a closer look at both the urban and rural areas in which Rastafarians live and practice their beliefs. I wanted to see if the different settings had much influence on Rastafarians. Is this a personal choice they have or are they forced out of rural paradise and into the concrete jungle of Babylon? According to the Webster’s Third New International Dictionary the definition for urban is 1)a: of, relating to, characteristic of, or taking place in a city, b: constituting or including and centered on a city, c: of, relating to, or concerned with an urban and specifically a densely populated area. The definition for rural is: 1) living in country areas: engaged in agricultural pursuits, 2): characterized by simplicity: lacking sophistication: uncomplicated, 3): of, relating to, or characteristic of people who live in the country, 4): of, relating to, associated with, or typical of the country, 5): of, relating to, or constituting a tenement in land adapted and used for agricultural or pastoral purpose-opposed to urban. Many rural and urban areas exist in the United States. Depending on where you live definitely affects who you are, how you think, dress, eat etc. Is this true for the Rastafarians? GENERAL JAMAICA INFORMATION Located in the West Indian Islands, Jamaica represents the third largest island. Jamaica is 150 miles long and 52 miles wide. The subtropical climate does not produce the extremes related to climate found in the United States. The island of Jamaica is described as being very beautiful with its rivers, harbors, and many mountains. The population of Jamaica has not quite reached three million with the majority of people living in the city of Kingston, the capital of Jamaica (Barrett 3). The difference in wage earnings among Jamaican people is alarming. Those who have a profession make around thirty times as much as those who do not. Nearly half of all Jamaicans make less than twenty-five dollars per week (Barrett 12). There has been a tradition of migration from Jamaican rural areas since the nineteenth century.

The Value of the University Maintenance Staff :: Informative Essays

Beep, beep, beep, smack. You wish you could hit the snooze button on your alarm because it’s 5 o’clock on a Monday morning. Part of you wants to sleep a few more hours, but the other part tells you it’s time to go to work. You eat breakfast, kiss your family goodbye, and arrive at the University campus in time to start your shift at 7 a.m. After seeing the friendly faces of your co-workers and friends on staff, you think to yourself, â€Å"Maybe today won’t be so bad after all.† Your mood changes when you see the mess that has been accumulating in the bathrooms over the weekend. Once you’ve opened the door, you grimace as you are taken aback by a familiar stench which you’ve come to recognize as a combination of alcohol, vomit, urine, and smelly garbage. The trash bag looks nearly empty, as it appears that most of the trash never made it there. In the girls’ bathrooms, the feminine disposals are overflowing, and there is hair all over the floor and in the showers. In the boys’ bathrooms, the showerheads are missing, the drains are clogged, and you sigh as you dread looking into the bathroom stalls. Sure enough, one toilet is completely clogged, another one is plastered with vomit, most likely from someone’s poor decision to drink the night before, and the floor of the third stall is covered with wet toilet paper, a mess that you’re not surprised to find after looking in the first two stalls. What seems like hours later, once the bathrooms are spotless again, students begin to come in to use the showers and restrooms, unaware of the mess that was there a few hours earlier. The students have failed to realize the mess that was left, because they have taken for granted that the bathrooms will be clean when they use them. As the students shower, you return to the utility closet to grab the tools you need for your next chore. You are stunned when you read the obscene message a student left for you on your dry erase board. You feel like this is a slap in the face after you just spent your whole morning cleaning up their messes. Though this description is hypothetical, these events are based on stories told by JMU housekeeping employees.

Karmic Connections

The meaning of the term Karma differentiates depending on the school of thought/ religion utilizing it. However, if we try and look at the conceptions closely we could see the resemblances of these meanings.Karma in its simplest sense reverberates the saying, â€Å"What goes around comes around†; it is the belief that whatever we do has an equivocal effect. If we look at it from a spiritual level, it is said that Karma is a concept that constitutes our deeds, it is a universal law that governs our lives, claiming that for whatever action or decision we commit, it would reap for us a tantamount consequence in our current lifetime if not the next one.Karma does it always have to pertain to something bad, as penance for our wrong doings. We could also look at Karma as simply how our lives work. It is also the case that Karma may happen in order to teach us a lesson we have yet to realize, it may also enlighten us, guide us in our future actions. In accepting the Karmic ways in wh ich our reality works, we come to a better understanding of our free will, in a sense that we come to be autonomously responsible for what we do. The events that may happen in the course of our lifetime would be born out of causal events we have willed into existence.Come to think of it, the most important acts we commit are always towards people, it is an inescapable fact that we would at some point connect our lives with the lives of other people. Karma is present in each and every link we create in our social sphere, even if such links may be perceived as shallow for us, how we react to such connections can be well change and affect other people. This often reminds me of a similar line of thought, the chaos theory; it states that a flutter of a butterfly’s wings may result to chaos on another end of this world. Perhaps this wouldn’t make sense right now but look at it this way.People are connected in a web of networks, at some point two very separate lives would int ersect no matter how remote they are from one another based solely on a certain link they share in common. Think of it as the theory of â€Å"six degrees separation†. We could be active or passive participants in these connections, either way we’ll have our actions would have a certain effect on it. In the things that we have direct contact with people, strangers, lovers, family, or friends, we engage in the process of Karma, knowingly or unknowingly, we could change the course of other people’s lives.Connections are so powerful, underestimated to a point wherein we assume that only the closest ones are important. Take for example, not letting a person go before you at the pharmacy, even if your just buying cough syrup, and that person ends up losing someone just because s/he was two minutes late. It could also be that you were able to teach an ex-lover the value of him/herself by dumping him/her. When you meet a stranger in the park, and you offer a smile, you might have just sealed your faith with your future partner in life.The Hotdog vendor, the dime you give him might win him the lottery. There are so many ways in which we can influence and change the lives of people, as Peter Parker said in Spiderman 3, â€Å"Our lives are made of choices, and we could always choose to do what’s right†, or in this case, even if we can’t control the outcome of the things we do, we could always act to touch others with goodness of intent, faith, and will.Perhaps the sartorial indulgence bothers me a lot, simply because I personally don’t see why I worry too much about how I look. There’s always the knowledge that people shouldn’t be judged based on appearances but then again, at some point we can’t help not worrying how others perceive us, even if it’s just the jeans were wearing. Trivialities can hinder the soul.References:Ellen A Mogensen, Past & Now Forward Holistic Counseling, (2006), http://w ww.healpastlives.com/future/rule/ruescape.htm, July, 30, 2007Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, Life and Death: Ways to Overcome Bondage of Karma, in The Global Oneness Commitment, (2006), http://www.experiencefestival.com/a/Life_and_Death/id/218227,   (July, 30, 2007)

A Model of Image Creation and Image Transfer

Today, although still representing a small percentage of the overall promotional budget, the outlay of rumination dollars for sponsorship castles Is growing rapidly (Parker, 1991; Candler and Shank, 1989; Scott and Chard, 1992). Not only are today's sponsorships more sophisticated (I. E. , more than simply the donation of cash for event production but most firms are expecting a reasonable return on their sponsorship dollar in the form of increased sales (Octahedron and Van Kirk, 1992).While firms enter into sponsorship arrangements with a variety of goals, two of the most important are: to increase brand awareness; and to establish, strengthen, or change brand image Crowley, 1991; Marshall and Cook, 1992; Meghan, 1991; Memorable teal . , 1991). Recently, these goals have been theorized to be important in the development of customer-based brand equity, defined as the differential effect of brand knowledge on the consumer's purchase decision (Keller, 1993).In Seller's conceptualization , brand knowledge (which drives customer-based brand equity) Is a function of both the consumer's awareness of the brand and the Image(s) associated with that awareness. â€Å"In particular, the variability, strength, and uniqueness of the brand associations play a critical role in determining the differential response† (Keller, 1993, p. 8). Brand awareness is achieved by exposing the brand to as many potential consumers as possible (Asker, 1 991 ).Sponsorship activities present multiple opportunities for achieving awareness objectives, and much of the research to Image creation model 145 International Marketing Review, Volvo. 14 No. 3, 1997, up. 145-158. MAC university press, 0265-1335 International Marketing Review date in the sponsorship literature has focused on awareness issues such as sponsor recall (e. G. McDaniel and Kinney, 1996). Regrettably, less attention has been given to event and brand image issues.A number of questions exist regarding the effect of sponsorship promotional activities on brand and event image. For example: ; What factors contribute to an event's image? ; Do consumers associate an event's image with sponsoring brands? ; If there is an image association between event and sponsor, is there a theoretical explanation that can be used to understand this linkage? ; If there is an image association between event and sponsor, what factors moderate (strengthen or weaken) this relationship? How does event image influence attitude towards the brand? Although attempts at measuring the return on the sponsorship investment have been made (e. G. , total event attendance, exit polls, sales following the event, and number of media mentions), an understanding of how sponsorship â€Å"works† has yet to be developed (Octahedron and Van Kirk, 1992; Cavalry et al. , 1994; Memorable teal . , 1991; Parker, 1991). The purpose of this article is to present a model explaining the mechanisms by which brand image may be impacted through sponsors hip activities.Specifically, drawing on the theory of meaning rareness from the celebrity endorsement literature, a model is presented which suggests the factors involved in creating an event's image and the subsequent transfer of that image to the sponsoring brand. Furthermore, several factors are identified that may moderate the relationship between event image and brand image. While the focus of this article is on the conceptual development of image transfer in sponsorship, a variety of research propositions are offered to guide future empirical inquiry.A framework for the transfer of event image Model conceptualization and overview Brand image has been defined as â€Å"perceptions about brand as reflected by the brand associations held in memory' (Keller, 1993, p. 3). Keller suggests that the variability, uniqueness, and strength of the associations are critical to a brand's success. Brand associations are developed from a variety of sources including product use, informational sources (e. G. , advertising, packaging, word-of-mouth), and association with other entities.The â€Å"association with other entities† source is of particular relevance to sponsorship activity. Keller has suggested that when a brand becomes associated with an event, some of the associations linked with the event (e. . , youthful, relaxing, enjoyable, disappointing, sophisticated, elite, etc. ) may become linked in memory with the brand. This transfer of associations is consistent with research in the celebrity endorsement process. Initial research regarding celebrity endorsement focused on the credibility and attractiveness of the message source (I. E. Celebrity) to explain the persuasive nature of endorsers. That is, more credible and attractive endorsers were viewed as more persuasive. However, McCracken (1989), pointing to conflicting research results, suggested that endorsement effectiveness is better explained by the â€Å"meanings† consumers associate with the celebrity endorser and subsequently transfer to the brand. McCracken uses the term â€Å"meaning† to describe consumers' overall assessments of what a celebrity â€Å"represents† based on counterblasts sun as social class, gender, age, personality Ana Testily. In individual characteristics (e. . , regal, trashy, maleness, strong, caring, sexual, irreverent, wise) are integrated to define the meaning of the celebrity. Meaning which has been accumulated through their roles in â€Å"television, movies, military, athletics, ND other careers† is thought to reside in celebrities (McCracken, 1989, p. 315). According to McCracken, the meaning attributed to celebrities moves from the celebrity endorser to the product when the two are paired in an advertisement. That is, meanings associated with the celebrity become associated with the product in the mind of the consumer.To complete the meaning transfer process, consumers acquire the meaning in the product through consump tion. This process is illustrated in Figure 1. 147 Figure 1 . Meaning movement in the endorsement process McCracken (1989) â€Å"meaning† in celebrities is analogous to Seller's (1993) event associations. Following the convention set forward by Keller with reference to brand image, this article uses the term event â€Å"image† to represent the cumulative interpretation of meanings or associations attributed to events by consumers.A comparison can be drawn between celebrity endorsers and events. Just as consumers associate celebrities with certain meanings, so too are events associated with particular attributes and attitudes. It is suggested here that these associations are derived from the event's type, event characteristics, and several individual consumer factors. This is not unlike the meaning attributed to a celebrity being formed by the various roles he or she occupies.For example, event associations attributed to the annual Chicago Blues Festival (a food and mus ical extravaganza drawing over 500,000 people) might include tradition, celebration and civic pride. Extending this concept of meaning transfer from the celebrity endorser literature, it is suggested that events act in a manner analogous to endorsers in the transfer of image to sponsoring brands. The framework presented in Figure 2 theorizes from McCracken celebrity endorsement model to suggest that International Marketing Review 14,3 148 Figure 2.A model of image creation and image transfer in event sponsorship event image is formed from a number of external and internal factors. Through sponsorship, an event's image, which may be relatively distinct for different consumer groups, may be transferred through association to the sponsoring product. As indicated in the figure, several factors may moderate the strength of this image transfer. This discussion leads to the offering of the first research proposition: Pl : Through sponsorship, an event's image will become associated with th e sponsoringDragon ‘s Image. Determinants of event image An event's image is represented by a particular market segment's overall subjective perceptions of the activity. The proposed framework suggests three factors that may impact one's perception of a particular event: event type, event characteristics, and individual factors. Event type . In accordance with the earlier definition, event type can be categorized into at least five areas: sports related, music related, festival/fair related, fine arts related (e. G. Ballet, art exhibit, theatre, etc. ), and professional meeting/trade show related. The type of event impacts event image in a variety of ways. First, it conjures up image associations in the mind of the consumer. That is, most individuals, through past patronage or other forms of exposure (word-of-mouth, television, etc. ) will develop some attitudes (I. E. , positive or negative predispositions towards an event) regarding particular events. These attitudes will se rve to frame the image of the particular event type.Note however, that one's attitude towards an event is only one part of an event's image. One's attitude towards an event represents a summary of experiences resulting in some mineral predisposition to respond to an event in a consistently favorable or unfavorable manner. Thus, event attitude is an enduring evaluation (Cohen, 1990). While an event's image will be strongly influenced by one's attitude towards the event, event image will also be impacted by non-evaluative perceptions of an event that are formed through associations held in the consumer's memory (Keller, 1993).In this sense, event image reflects the meaning of the event for an individual, and can be characterized using descriptive labels that represent a summation of one's perceptions. These labels, termed image associations, would include: youthful, mature, carefree, adventurous, educational, social, traditional, exclusive, common, liberal, conservative, high class, f amily oriented, children oriented, cerebral, athletic, artistic, pride, political, etc. Thus, event image can be thought of as a collection of image associations.In addition to past experiences and other indirect exposures, it is likely that new experiences will shape one's perception of event image. In fact, image perceptions formed from the most recent event experiences will likely be the most influential in shaping one's overall event image receptions (Baggage and Warsaw, 1990). New experiences can be divided into two types: the specific activities engaged in or observed; and all interactions with other event attendees/participants and event staff.It is through these two experiences that past event images may be changed or modified and new image associations can be added. The specific activities engaged in or observed may be the same for all participants[l] (e. G. , attendees at a soccer match) or quite varied (e. G. , the individual rides and attractions selected at a local fest ival), depending on the type of event. Regardless of the similarity of experiences, the essential issue is that a given consumer's specific event experiences or observations will shape their perceptions of event image.It is also argued here that the number and type of other participants will have an impact on one's evaluation of the event's image. For example, the number of spectators may impact one's assessment of the success of the event. Perhaps events may be viewed as more successful when they draw more attendees. In Alton, ten under AT participants may Impact perceptions AT crowding, event availability, and wait times. Type of participant† represents the demographic and cryptographic characteristics of others attending the event.The attendees at some events represent relatively homogeneous market segments in terms of social class, family life cycle, age, gender, political affiliation, etc. For example, spectators of professional golf tournaments may be middle aged, white males, with above median incomes. In other cases, events draw heterogeneous types of participants. Just as other customers can have a substantial impact on consumer's perceptions of service firms, so too can other participants have an impact on one's event experiences and bequest assessment of event image (Bitter et al. , 1994).These factors, perceptions based on past experiences, event activities, and the number and type of spectator/participant, constitute one aspect that will serve to shape consumers' overall subjective perceptions of a given event. Based on the above discussion, several research propositions are suggested: 149 International Marketing Review 14,3 150 App: Direct experience and/or indirect information (word-of-mouth, advertising, etc. ) with an event type will influence event image. Pub: The specific activities experienced or observed during an event will influence event image.PC: The number and type of other spectators/participants will influence event image. Eve nt characteristics. Within a given event type (e. G. , music concert series, trade show, etc. ), a number of characteristics will vary from event to event. The â€Å"level† of the following five event characteristics will likely influence consumers' perceptions of an event's overall image: event size, professional status of participants (professional or amateur), tradition/history associated with the event, event venue, and promotional appearance.Event size can be considered along a number of dimensions, including Engel of event, level of media exposure (local, regional, national, international), number of performers (if applicable), and amount of physical space occupied. The same type of event, for example electronic industry trade shows, can vary along all of these dimensions, creating different images for the same event type. Likewise, other event characteristics such as the professional status of performers (professional versus amateur) or the venue in which the event is staged (e. . , temperature, convenience, physical condition, etc. ) will impact one's overall assessment of the event's image. One could theorize that, in most cases, perceptions of quality, legitimacy, and attendance desirability will be higher with long running, large, elaborately staged events, featuring professionals in attractive and convenient venues. The perceived promotional appearance of a brand's sponsorship activities may appear anywhere along a spectrum from advertiser to benefactor.A perception towards the benefactor end of the spectrum may lead to increased feelings of goodwill towards the brand because it is perceived as donating funds to make the event possible (McDonald, 1 ) conversely, tanner may De a negative reaction to ten Americanization of events that have not been sponsored in the past. These events may be perceived as â€Å"selling out† to the corporate world. This has become especially true in the Arts, where some individuals feel that sponsorship (c orporate or governmental) of the Arts leads to censorship Jacobson, 1993; Wood, 1996) .However, due to increasing costs, it has become even more critical for events to obtain outside sponsors in order to continue to exist. To take full advantage of the goodwill aspects, the sponsoring brand may need to educate attendees regarding the beneficial role sponsorship plays in event production. Due to its association with the event, a sponsoring brand's promotional claims can be legitimated, which serves to increase the believability of the promotional message (McDonald, 1991). Additionally, a sponsoring firm may be perceived as making an event possible for the consumer (Chew, 1992; McDonald, 1991).The perception may be especially strong for small events which often have difficulty securing financial support. In this sense, the consumer does not view the sponsorship as a form of promotion, but rather the sponsoring brand is seen as providing a service to the attendee and a level of dowdily is generated by the firm. Again, the skepticism that can be associated with traditional advertising may be circumvented. Brands that are viewed as â€Å"benefactors† will be seen in a more favorable light. The consumer may even feel the need or desire to reciprocate by purchasing the brand.Following from the above discussion, the following research propositions are suggested: App: Event size will influence event image. Pub: Professional status of participants will influence event image. PC: Tradition/history associated with the event will influence event image. Pad: Event venue will influence event image. Pee: Promotional appearance will influence event image. Individual factors. Because of the large number of factors influencing event image and the unique manner in which participants may interpret those factors, an event may have different images for different individuals. Qualitative research has revealed each sport to have its own individual image, and sponsors will tend to benefit from image transfer accordingly' (Parker, 1991, p. 26). Three individual factors are suggested here that may impact event image: the number of images an individual associates with an vent; the strength of the particular image; and the past history one has with a specific event. This last factor differs from the â€Å"past experience† factor discussed under event type. Past history refers to the unique experiences associated with a specific event, whereas past experiences refers to encounters with a general event type.Events that consumers perceive as having multiple images will be more difficult to associate with a single identity. This will be compounded when the meanings are of a conflicting nature. Thus, an individual with many event associations may have a hafting image of the event, depending on which association is currently most salient. Related to this is that images can be very strong or relatively weak. It is likely that a single strong image will dominat e over several weaker ones. This will cause an event Image to De consistent over time, out Limits ten realness Tanat multiple Image associations would confer.Finally, an individual's personal history with a particular event may have an impact on one's perception of an event's image. A long history will typically lead to a more ingrained and consistent image. An individual that has attended or has been associated with an event for a substantial time period may also have nostalgic feelings that become associated with the event's image. Events that have multiple or vague images pose problems for a firm's sponsorship selection decision because it becomes more difficult to predict the image that may become associated with the event, and ultimately â€Å"transferred† to the product.The above discussion leads to the following research propositions: App: Individuals associating an event with a large number of images will have difficulty identifying a consistent event image. 151 Inter national Marketing Review 14,3 152 Pub: Individuals with a single, strong image association will have consistent event images over time. PC: Individuals with a single, strong image association will have less rich event images. Pad: Individuals with long-term participation in an event will hold a consistent event image for that event.This section has identified three broad areas (event type, event characteristics, and individual factors) that influence the creation of an event's image, although there may be some event image determinants not explicitly discussed in the previous section. It is likely that any unrepresented actors could be accommodated within the proposed areas. The next section discusses constructs that may moderate the relationship between event image and brand image. Moderating variables in the model Potential moderating variables presented in the model are discussed in two sections.In the first section variables potentially impacting the strength of the image transf er from event to brand are discussed. As such, variables pertaining to the formation of strong memory associations (degree of similarity) and exposure to the sponsor's message (level of sponsorship and event frequency) are discussed. The second section on moderating rabbles examines how one's involvement with a product may moderate the impact of the event's image on brand attitude. Attitude towards the event and attitude towards the brand are conceptualized and discussed as being components of event image and brand image, respectively.Although not illustrated in Figure 2, these attitude components should be considered as a part of each of the respective â€Å"image† boxes in the figure. Moderators between event image and brand image This section will discuss three moderating variables impacting the strength of the â€Å"transfer† between an event's image and the image of a sponsoring brand. As indicated above, the basis of the relationship is the meaning transfer betwe en these constructs and it is this process that the moderating variables are proposed to influence.The first moderating factor to be discussed in the image transfer process is the degree of similarity between the event Ana ten sponsor. A product can nave letter Atonally or Image related similarity with an event. Functional similarity occurs when a sponsoring product is actually used by participants during the event. An example of this type of similarity is Valentine's sponsorship of automobile racing. The link is established because, apart room being a sponsor, Valentine's motor oil products are actually used by many of the participants during the event.The second type of similarity is termed image related, and occurs when the image of the event is related to the image of the brand. An example of this type of linkage is Pepsin's sponsorship of the 1993 Michael Jackson World Concert Tour. Here the similarity comes from the youth and excitement orientation of both the music and the pr oduct. Interestingly, some sponsors do not appear to be linked to the events they sponsor. For example, the USAF&G Sugar Bowl combined a large insurance firm with a collegiate football game.It is suggested here that either functional or image based similarities forge stronger ties and help the consumer to link the event image with the brand. Thus, sponsor- event similarity (functional or image based) will enhance image transfer by more firmly anchoring the relationship in the consumer's mind. This assertion is consistent with some celebrity endorsement literature which suggests that â€Å"MIS-matches† between endorser and brand decrease the effectiveness of the endorsement (Katie, 1987). A second factor that may moderate the image transfer from event to sponsoring brand is the level of sponsorship.Sponsorship arrangements can run the gamut from a single sponsor to hundreds of sponsors at many different levels. Multiple sponsors for a given event lessens the probability that a particular brand will be associated with the event, due to the additional stimuli each consumer must attend to and recall (Hutchinson and Alba, 1991). Often, events allowing multiple sponsors will offer different â€Å"levels† of sponsorship. By contributing different dollar amounts to the event, the sponsor can buy enhanced packages. These enhancements include better sign/banner location, more frequent media mentions, and premium kicked and hospitality packages.Exclusive sponsorship, or at least a dominant position, will increase the likelihood of meaning transfer from the event to the sponsoring brand by more firmly establishing the link between event and brand. The frequency of the event will also have an impact on the image transfer process. Events may be on either a one-time or recurring basis. Although a onetime event does not allow recurring event-sponsor associations to be developed over time, some events may be of such a unique nature that they attract a great deal of media attention (e. G. , Hands-Across-America). However, an ongoing event (annual, semi-annual, monthly, etc. Should have the benefit of more firmly establishing a link between the event and the brand due to repeated exposures (Manacling et al. , 1991). The above discussion leads to the following research propositions: App: The higher the degree of similarity (image or functional based) between event and sponsoring brand, the more effective the image transfer between event and brand. Pub: The more exclusive the level of sponsorship, the more effective the image transfer between event and brand. PC: The more frequent the event, the more effective the image transfer between event ND brand.Image creation m Ode I 153 Moderators between event image and attitude towards the brand As discussed previously, one's attitude towards the event will help to shape one's image of the event. Thus, event attitude is a component of event image. Likewise, attitude towards the brand is considered und er this framework as a International Marketing Review 14,3 154 component of brand image. Indeed, recent conceptualizations of brand image include an attitude component (Keller, 1993). As such, the model presented in Figure 2 suggests that event image will have an impact on attitude towards the brand.However, might there be situations in which this relationship is moderated by another factor? Advertising research with endorsers has demonstrated that product involvement level (defined as the level of personal relevance a product has to a consumer, resulting from the perceived level of risk associated with the product's consumption or non-consumption) can impact the attitude formation process (Petty et al. , 1983). â€Å"Specifically, we have shown that when an advertisement concerned a product of low involvement, the celebrity status of the product endorsers was a very potent determinant of attitudes about the product.When the advertisement concerned a product of high involvement, ho wever, the celebrity status of the product endorsers had no effect on attitudes, but the cogency of the information about the product contained in the ad was a powerful determinant of product evaluations† (Petty et al. , 1983, p. 143). Following from this research, level of product involvement should moderate the relationship between event image and attitude towards the brand, such that event image will have a larger impact on brand attitude for a low involvement product.The influence of event image on brand attitude can be understood further by considering the type of persuasion process likely to occur. Petty and Capacious (1986) elaboration likelihood model (ELM) suggests that persuasion can occur along two routes. The central route to persuasion occurs when an individual bases product evaluation on â€Å"diligent consideration of information that a person feels is central to the true merits of an issue or product† (Petty et al. , 1983, p. 144).The second route to att itude change, peripheral, suggests that change may also occur through the association of the object with positive or negative cues (e. G. , expert source, pleasant surroundings, forceful presentation, etc. ). This conceptualization of the peripheral persuasion route is consistent with Seller's (1993) position of links in memory being established between an event and the sponsor. One characteristic of sponsorship that distinguishes it from some other promotional methods is its indirect nature (McDonald, 1991).That is, the sponsorship is, at best, a secondary concern (behind the actual event) for the participant. Furthermore, other than the brand's name and/or logo, seldom is any type of commercial message associated with the firm's products. Thus, sponsorship would appear to operate along Petty and Capacious peripheral persuasion route due to this indirect nature, and lack AT available cognizant International. Emplace tests AT ten ELM model suggest Tanat ten central route to persuasi on is more effective for high involvement goods, while the peripheral route has a higher impact on low involvement goods (Petty et al. , 1983).Theorizing from the ELM, one could conclude that when the sponsoring brand is a low involvement product, event image will be a potent force in determining brand attitude. Conversely, the promotional benefit, in terms of attitude change, for high involvement products appears to be small. Product involvement is only likely to be applicable when the sponsorship is focused at the brand level, as opposed to the sponsorship focus being at the firm level. The discussion in this section gives rise to the following research propositions: App: Brand attitudes of low involvement goods will be strongly influenced by event image.Pub: Brand attitudes of high involvement goods will be weakly influenced by event image. PC: Persuasion processes from event sponsorship take place on the peripheral route. Implications for practice and research Implications for p ractice Several implications for marketing practice can be drawn from the proposed model. First, firms should consider more than simply the number of potential customers their sponsorship signage and other identifiers will reach. It is important to consider the image of the event, as this image may become associated with the brand.An event's image can be assessed through a variety of methods. However, given its potentially ambiguous and transitory nature, qualitative methods in the form of depth interviews, focus groups, and projective techniques, are likely to provide the best view of how consumers perceive a given event. Event organizers might take it on themselves to conduct such studies and use the results to recruit potential sponsors. In the course of such research, event organizers may find that the image of their event is not what they thought.Furthermore, it would be wise for event image studies to take place on a regular basis to assess changes in event image over time. Th is would allow event organizers to take corrective action in a timely manner. The proposed model suggests a variety of event image determinants that could be manipulated to position a given event in a different light. In terms of the sponsoring rand, the model suggests several aspects of sponsorship that should be considered when deciding on potential event affiliations.One aspect that should be considered, in light of image transfer benefits, is the degree of similarity between the event and the brand. Brand awareness benefits are likely to accrue regardless of similarity levels, but it has been argued here that image associations will be more likely when some link exists, either image or functional, in the consumer's mind. Firms looking to add sponsorship activities to their promotional mix should also consider the level of pensioners and frequency of the event.Although most firms will look at these aspects with an eye towards the total dollar commitment, it may also be wise to co nsider the meaning transfer implications. As discussed previously, exclusive sponsorships in events occurring on a frequent basis will likely maximize the image transfer potential of the sponsorship purchase. Finally, firms should consider whether image transfer benefits will actually have any influence on consumers' attitudes towards their brand and ultimately their purchase intention. The model suggests that, in terms of impacting a