How to Organize An Effective Email Marketing Strategy (Template)

How to Organize An Effective Email Marketing Strategy (Template) Managing email marketing successfully isnt easy especially when you have multiple email initiatives going at once. The value of email marketing is undeniable, so its not surprising that many departments within your organization want to leverage the platform. This results in lots of moving pieces to consider and many stakeholders to please. It also increases the chances of accidentally sending multiple emails to the same person in one day. (Speaking from personal experience the fallout of this isnt pretty.) Here are just a few pieces of the puzzle you have to consider Managing your ever-growing subscriber list. Overseeing the design and copy of every email. Scheduling delivery times. A/B testing. Analyzing results. Thats just scratching the surface. One thing is clear, if youre going to be successful at email marketing, you need a well-planned marketing strategy in place. One that clearly establishes goals, and lays out the roadmap to achieve them. Something that can guide your team toward success. And thats exactly what youll get from this post. Heres how to plan your entire #email #marketing strategy via @Download Your Email Marketing Strategy Template Before you continue reading, download your email marketing strategy template. This easy to use PowerPoint will help you document your plan and give the rest of your email team something to refer back to when they have questions. If you're new to , it's the only marketing suite to manage every facet of your marketing. It even integrates with popular email marketing services giving you the ultimate visibility into your email strategy, so you'll never send multiple emails to the same person in one day again. With Email Marketing from , you can: Seamlessly integrate with your favorite email marketing platform. Email platforms are powerful, and you've grown to know and love yours, so why give it up? integrates with many preferred platforms so your email marketing is no longer disjointed from the rest of your marketing initiatives. Write click-worthy email subject lines...every time. ’s awesome Email Subject Line Tester is built right in so you can optimize and perfect every subject line to drive more  opens, more  clicks, and more conversions. Get full visibility into your ENTIRE  marketing strategy. Disjointed marketing content (and constantly jumping from screen to screen) is the worst. With Email Marketing from , all your email campaigns live on your single marketing calendar, giving you ultimate visibility into your marketing strategy and individual initiatives. Create Your Own Email Marketing Strategy in 11 Steps Creating an email marketing strategy doesn’t have to be complicated. The following eleven steps will help you plan your work and work your plan in no time. Table of Contents: Choose Your Email Marketing Tools Identify Your Target Audience Choose List-Building Tactics Create Your Email List Segments Create Email Sending Schedule Define Your Email Marketing Goals Decide Which Types of Emails to Send Formatting Your Email Content How To Optimize Your Emails What A/B Tests Will You Run Reporting Step One: Choose Your Tools Finding the right tools is the first step in your strategy. A lot of these platforms are super powerful and can help you organize and send your emails at the drop of a hat. Email Marketing Tools Some common email marketing tools that you might consider using are: MailChimp Campaign Monitor Constant Contact ActiveCampaign This is a shortlist in a sea of other email tools you could use. Find the tool that fits your team based on what you want to accomplish with your email marketing. Recommended Reading The Best Free Email Marketing Software Tools You Should Use Marketing Automation Tools You might not want to stop at a simple email marketing tool. You may also consider adding a marketing automation tool to your list. Marketing automation makes it easy for you to follow up with customers and send the right email at the right time to subscribers based on how they are interacting with your website. Some email marketing platforms have basic marketing automation features built-in like the option to send birthday email messages automatically, etc. It's worth taking some time to figure out the depths of marketing automation you need and your bandwidth for maintaining automation initiatives. These activities can take a big chunk of time to manage. Potential automation tools to add to your list are: Autopilot:  Autopilot makes it easy to plan out journeys and triggers that send your subscribers emails based on how they interact with your website. Userfox:  Userfox is a small email-focused automation tool that sends emails to subscribers based on events that you put into the system. Userfox was bought by the Adroll Group in 2014. HubSpot:  Hubspot doesn’t have as much email automation functionality as the other two on this list, but it is suited for companies who want to control multiple aspects from one tool. Marketo:  Is a powerful marketing automation tool that is most suitable for enterprise-level marketers. Pardot:  Is a full solution that helps marketers create meaningful connections, generate more pipeline, and empower sales to close more deals. The marketing automation option fits will if you use Salesforce as your CRM. Once you have your tools, add them to the first slide in your email marketing strategy template: Action Items: Research email marketing tools. Compare which ones will work best for your marketing team. Add them to your strategy template.Step Two: Identify Your Target Audience Once you have your tools selected you to need to focus on building your email subscriber list. The first step to build your email list is to identify your target audience. As a refresher: Your target audience is the ideal customer you want to attract to your product or service through your marketing efforts. So how can you find your target audience? First, answer the following questions: Who are our current best customers? What qualities do they have in common? What problem are they experiencing that has our customers search for a solution like our product or service? Why did they purchase our product or service? What did we provide for our customers that our competition didn’t? Is your email marketing strategy focused on your target audience?Using those answers format, your target audience statement with the following template: {Insert your company} creates content to attract {insert target audience} so they can {insert desired outcome} better. Record your target audience demographics and statement in your template. Recommended Reading: How To Find Your Target Audience With A Marketing Persona Step Three: Create Tactics To Use To Get Your Audience To Opt-In To Your Email List Now that you know who your target audience is you can begin to brainstorm tactics that will attract them and convince them to sign up and join your email list. Here are just a few ideas to get you started. Give Them Something Valuable In Return One of the most common ways to get your audience to join your email subscriber list is to gate content upgrades behind an opt-in form. What is valuable to your customers? A downloadable template or ebook that shows them how to solve a problem or answer a question they might be having. If you gate something that doesn’t provide something of value you might end up losing that subscriber. Recommended Reading: Conquer Your Inbound Marketing Strategy with this Process (+ 4 Templates) Go For The Direct Ask Another way to gain subscribers is to go for the direct ask. Explain to them why they should opt into your email list and entice them with personalized information like this pop up from Fargo 3D Printing. Gathering information like this will also help you segment your list. (More on that in a bit): Here's another pop-up example from Nanit encouraging visitors to signup for their newsletter. The company asks for the ages of the visitor's children, which would indicate the company does some segmenting based on developmental stages of the child's age. Use the Header And Footer of Your Website Another place you can put an email opt-in button is on your website’s header and footer. Why not meet your audience halfway and make it easy to remind them that they can get more information about your products by joining your email list? Take a look at this example from Ulta: Here's another example from Michael Hyatt: And another from British Clothing Company, Boohoo. How To Segment Your Email List We mentioned earlier in this section that you can segment your email list. What does that mean and how can that help you? Here's a quick and dirty email segmentation definition: The process of grouping like individuals on an email list based on their behavior or characteristics to send specifically targeted emails that address that particular group of users needs or problems. You can just blast out your emails to everyone on your list and hope that it resonates with someone and convince them to convert. However, in today’s day in age, we can use data and information to go further and serve content to the right people at the right time to help guide them through your marketing funnel. In fact, segmenting your list can have a positive effect on your email list. MailChimp conducted an internal study  and found that segmented campaigns had: 14.31% higher open rates. 100.95% more clicks. 9.37% lower unsubscribe rates than their non-segmented campaigns. You can segment your list  based on a variety of things, including: Company size. Location. Activity on your website. How long they’ve been on your email list. In order to accurately segment your list, you need to gather this data about your customers when they first sign up. So add options for subscribers to choose from before they complete their sign up. List potential ways your team will try and grow your email list in your template as well as your email list segments. Action Items: Brainstorm email list growth strategies. Record strategies in your template. Update strategies every three months based on what’s working well and what isn’t. List out what criteria you will segment your list by. Step Four: Choose the Types of Emails to Send There are many different types of email that you can send to your list. You can choose one or change it up based on the various segments you have in your list. Here are three different types of emails to get started with. Newsletters Newsletters are a popular email format. They come to your subscriber’s inbox at the same time at recurring intervals. They allow you to show them a variety of content and information your subscribers might have missed if they haven’t visited your website lately. According to Hubspot,  successful email newsletters contain 90% educational content and 10% product or promotional content. The same post from Hubspot says newsletters should contain a single theme or idea. That way you can prevent yourself from randomly throwing content into your newsletter just to get it out there. You might even send out different newsletters on different topics based on who you’re sending each newsletter to on your list. So what does an excellent newsletter look like? Take this example from The Skimm: Photo from Hubspot The Skimm newsletter  is specific in the fact that it rounds up the latest news from the day before and quickly summarizes it for readers. It provides the benefit of not having to read long news stories and allows subscribers to quickly catch up on the news from the day before.

Finals Week Care Package

Finals Week Care Package Theres no doubt that cookie-filled care packages raise the spirits of homesick college students, but when exam time rolls around, stressed-out kids need healthier fare. As the parent of a young adult, you know they may be skipping meals or eating more than their share of pizza and guzzling caffeine when what they need is protein, complex carbohydrates and plenty of fruits and vegetables. Instead of shipping cookies, which send blood sugar soaring and then crashing back to earth, try filling that care package with a few of these instead. Healthy Care Packages Fresh organic fruit, such as apples and tangerines, from your garden, favorite market or a fruit delivery service like the Fruit Guys- theyre a San Francisco-based organic fruit delivery company, known for their workplace fruit deliveries. The DormSnack package includes 16 servings of organic fruit, delivered to any dorm ($49 and up).Spicy chipotle-glazed pecans or other energizing nut snacks.Beef jerky or hard salami.Tasty and satisfying whole-grain crackers, or peanut butter-filled crackers.A small jar of natural crunchy peanut butter and a box of graham crackers.Dried fruit such as apricots, cherries, apples, and more. Also, organic fruit snacks are easy to carry around and eat in a pinch.Instant hot cocoa mix, instant hot soup, instant oatmeal- anything healthy that can be made in a microwave is a good idea.A can of bean dip and a bag of chips.Microwave popcorn or popcorn kernels and plain brown lunch bags, which is cheaper and healthier and without the nasty chemicals or oozing fat: Drop a 1/4 cup of popcorn kernels in a paper bag, fold over the top a couple of times and microwave it for a minute and a half to two minutes. A Starbucks gift card.Biscotti, which offer sweet crunch without a lot of sugar.A mini-loaf of homemade chocolate chip pumpkin bread.Sugar-free throat lozenges, Vitamin C lozenges or Emergen-C packets, along with ibuprofen for sore necks from hunching over a laptop for hours at a time.A DIY set of adorable exam worry dolls that will do the worrying instead.An assortment of teas to calm and relax at the end of a stressful day of studying- chamomile, peppermint, and honey ginger are just a few of the more relaxing teas.A lavender-scented body lotion for the girls is one of the most relaxing scents and is often used during massages. A lavender-scented pillow is a great way to help students who are stressed and have a hard time sleeping- a few deep breaths and theyll be off to dreamland in no time.

Analysis of the movie Gattaca Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Analysis of the movie Gattaca - Essay Example These derived names represent individuals with certain genome. Valid are individuals whose genomes have been manipulated while the invalids are those that are born natural without genetic manipulation. This is the basis of genetic discrimination that the film depicts. The main character in the film is Vincent who is an invalid. He was born through the natural process. The Gattaca geneticist predicted that due to his genetic makeup, his life span is reduced to only 30 years. He could not even access jobs or resource from Gattaca resource centers simply because he is an outcast and deserves discrimination. His discrimination and perceived lack of capability drives his parents to have their second son born out of genetic manipulation. As Vincent grows, he is made to compete with his genetically superior brother Anton. They have to compete in swimming to test their capabilities based on their genetic makeup (Zaikowski & Garrett, 2994, pp. 942-949). Despite Vincent’s genetic makeup, he was determined to excel in Gattaca community where he was discriminated. He wanted to proof his parents wrong by becoming a celebrated space astronaut. It was such a hard task for him since the available astronaut facilities were owned only by the valid. His parents believed that because of his short lifespan, genetic flaws and weak heart, Vincent would only achieve his dream after his death. Gattaca, therefore, is a hot contest between the valid and the invalids who aims to achieve success in the society genetic discrimination stands out with clear visibility. The ethical dilemma and interpretations that surrounds the film Gattaca, however, are numerous. The greatest concern asks the question of how persons ought to be judged in the society. Should these judgments be based on individuals’ ambitions, interests, desires that he or she values in life or they be based on the genetic constitution. The Gattaca uses the genome of individuals in the contrary. Even

Analyzing a job Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Analyzing a job - Assignment Example The Corporation also runs 108 discounts in 8 states (Ross Dress..., 2012). The corporation is appealing for store security specialists to afford a visible appearance on the stores’ exits and entrance. The spot will mitigate fraud and theft while upholding a secure and safe environment for customers and sales personnel (Ross Dress..., 2012). A job description refers to a list, which a person may use for wide-ranging tasks, or responsibilities, and functions of a title. It may habitually comprise to whom the title reports, stipulations, for instance, the credentials or skills required by the individual in the profession, or an income range (Mader-Clark, 2010). A Job description is typically narrative, however, some may as an alternative encompass a simple listing of proficiencies; for example, strategic human-resource planning practices may be employed to work out a competency structural design for an company, from which profession descriptions are fabricated as a pick out of pr oficiencies (Martin, 2011). How and when would you determine the need to create a job position? Ross Stores Company is opening up a number of new shops and it will require store security experts (Ross Dress..., 2012). ... What strategy would use to outline the positions details? Strategic personnel planning would be employed to outline the required positions. This will ascertain how many personnel the company will need to fill in the required positions. The in-house personnel could as well be used if required (Mader-Clark, 2010). What would the duties be? The responsibilities of store security expert will be maintaining a secure and safe environment for store associates and customers. Responsibilities will furthermore include monitoring exits and entrances for dubious conduct (Mader-Clark, 2010). They will also be accountable for welcoming clients as they come in the shop as well as be ready to answer client’s questions if required. Store security experts will bear a firm’s vest with inscription to discourage theft by displaying a strong real presence and notifying clients they the security experts are there for security. The security personnel will erratically walk about the shop to asc ertain and tackle any prospective theft and conceivable fraud indicators. Security specialists have the capacity to communicate effectively with the shop managers and exchange ideas on theft and loss prevention (Martin, 2011). What would the performance requirements for the position be? Personal stipulations for the title of store security experts will include particular special skills and qualifications. All candidates must be no less than 21 and should have high-school edification or corresponding, a related degree is ideal. The candidates must have had no less than a year of merchandising supervising experience or comparable training is preferred. The applicant must have the capability to work efficiently with associates and customers in a client based environment (Martin, 2011). The

Business and Virtue Ethics Essay Example for Free

Business and Virtue Ethics Essay Abstract For the purposes of this assignment we will analyze the Mattel case and discuss the actions of the company regarding the behavior and actions in conjunction with the Global Manufacturing Process that was implemented. Breaches of the two business ethics elements of integrity and egoism will be assessed. Within the discussion I have identified the virtues prudence, justice, fidelity, and courage that were largely violated by the Mattel organization and how it affected the employees of Mattel. We will discuss the implications of virtue, deontological, and utilitarian ethics regarding their potential usefulness in evaluation of the Mattel case. Introduction Mattel’s concept of Global Manufacturing Principles (GMP) was not a novel concept. The many forms of GMP including International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) have been around for decades and have worked to insure that specific industries are held to a standard that is industry wide. ISO’s model is â€Å"Say what you do, and do what you say†. When a company endeavors to become ISO qualified, it is required to document every activity (as a standard operating procedure, SOP) that occurs within the company and adhere to that process without deviation. ISO qualified companies are always subject to audit by other ISO registered companies and is initially audited by four such companies in order to acquire certification. Having been directly involved with ISO implementation at a former employer that supplied fasteners for manufacturing, I am fully aware of how involved the certification is. The company SOP was over 1000 pages. Additionally, another ISO company can and will come in and audit your company prior to electing to conduct business with your company. In some instances, ISO qualification is not enough to be awarded the business. The nutrition industry also adheres to the Good Manufacturing Practices, of which I was required to be certified in every year. Each department of the nutritional company I worked for had its own GMP standards that we were to adhere implicitly. The nutrition industry, while not regulated by the FDA, is controlled indirectly by the FDA. GMP is an FDA requirement. Having worked in two industries where the concept is not only expected, but required in some instances; I was not impressed by the fact that Mattel implemented GMP of their own volition for the sole purpose to improve public perception after misconduct was exposed by the media. Business Ethics Issue The one word that I found that resonates throughout the article, whether spoken or implied, is â€Å"integrity†. The incoming CEO stated that Mattel would behave in all actions with â€Å"unwavering integrity† and that the company’s commitment to the GMP remained unequivocal and undiminished. (Sethi, Shapiro, Emelianova, pg.490) Ironically, I identify the most noticeable and important business ethics issue as just that; a lack of integrity. Merriam Webster defines integrity as â€Å"the firm adherence to a code of especially moral value, the quality or sate of being complete or undivided, and the quality of being honest or fair. Mattel exhibited none of these traits insofar as where their GMP’s were concerned. In fact, there were numerous infractions regarding the non-enforcement of their GMP’s across the board in the Asia and Mexico based manufacturing facilities. The second ethics issue I identified was narcissism. Mattel implemented this GMP program with the attitude of ‘look at what we’re doing’ but with minimal effort to ensure the success of the program. According to Duchon and Drake (2009) extreme narcissistic organizations will establish these formal ethics programs but will not have much effect on hindering unethical behaviors. This was evident in that the supervisors at the factories knew what they were supposed to be doing; but found ways to circumvent the system and there were no reprisals as a result of their nonconformance. Ultimately, it was a program of words and not deeds. Three Virtues Prudence â€Å"Careful good judgment that allows someone to avoid danger or risks. † (M-W, 2013) In my opinion, a great deal of misfortune and hardship could have been avoided if Mattel would have practiced a modicum of prudence before ever moving their manufacturing to Asia. In a perfect world, and especially in a modern world we do not expect children to work. However, when dealing with underdeveloped countries; it is normal for children to work in conditions that would be an affront to any American’s moral nature having abandoned child labor decades ago. If Mattel had done due diligence, they would have known that the facility in Indonesia was operating in an unacceptable manner (Sethi, et al. pg. 486) and could have implemented working conditions and requirements from the get-go. Then the exposure by the media would have never been an issue. I have no doubt that the draw of paying lower wages and increased productivity was the catalyst to overlook the conditions in those overseas factories. Justice â€Å"The quality of being just, impartial, or fair. Conformity to truth, fact, or reason. † (M-W, 2013) The concept of justice was completely lost on Mattel. While the implementation of the GMP program was comprehensive; the execution and enforcement was unconscionable. The last paragraph of the GMP, exhibit 1 says that if â€Å"Mattel determines that any of its manufacturing facilities or vendors violate these principles, we may either terminate our business relationship or require that facility to take corrective action. If corrective action is advised and not taken, Mattel will immediately terminate current production and suspend placement of future orders. †(Sethi, et al.pg. 487). However, when audits were performed; the facilities were rife with infractions but there was no follow through when corrective actions were required. The facilities were allowed to continue to operate unhindered. Astonishingly, the 20 plus companies that were not owned by Mattel were allowed to operate without any disciplinary actions imposed by Mattel for infractions if any auditing was conducted at all. Considering the fact that both Mattel owned and vendor factories employ some hundred thousand plus employees; Mattel’s actions were nowhere near impartial, fair, or conforming to fact or reason. Fidelity â€Å"Quality or state of being faithful, accuracy in details. †(M-W, 2013) For this virtue, I am concentrating on the act of being faithful to the employees. Whether or not the GMPs were self-imposed or not, Mattel had an obligation to the people it employs. Throughout the article, it was found during audits that the employee’s time cards would systematically be incomplete where they were not being allowed to clock-out. This resonates that these people were being required to work overtime ‘off the books’. Employees were not being given the appropriate days off or vacation time. Some living conditions and canteen conditions were substandard. Fines were being imposed. (Sethi, et al. 2011) The list goes on and on. In my opinion, Mattel should have had impartial representatives on the ground in these factories to ensure that the rules for payment, working overtime, and work conditions were being upheld. There should have been constant supervision and vigilance on a corporate level. To think that audits that were being conducted every three years was comprehensive enough to get the job done was blind and narrow minded. Courage To go one step further. A virtue is an attitude. Courage is measured when there is risk involved; but also rationality. To be truly courageous there needs to be a clear picture of what a person’s values are. Courage does not need to be proven beyond a doubt. (Hartman, 2008) In the case of Mattel, I feel it was courageous to implement such a comprehensive GMP program although it was misguided and ultimately failed. An even more courageous act would have been to rehab the program and bring it to its full potential and fruition. The article does not mention whether Mattel experienced any loss of revenue as a result, but public perception is a fickle entity and once all of the attention over sweat shops and child labor overseas died down, Mattel was no longer under the microscope. Financially, Mattel was spending money it perceivably no longer needed to spend. Since their program was self-imposed; it is no surprise that Mattel just unceremoniously abandoned the GMP program after nine years. When some organizations implement and enforce codes as part of a self-regulation process and others do not, those who self-regulate invariably incur greater costs. These costs are usually passed onto the consumer who subsequently (and sensibly) choses the organization which offers the cheaper product. (Blackburn McGee, 2004) Virtue Ethics Virtues are attitudes, dispositions, or character traits that enable us to be and to act in ways that develop this potential. They enable us to pursue the ideals we have adopted. Honesty, courage, compassion, generosity, fidelity, integrity, fairness, self-control, and prudence are all examples of virtues. (Andre, Meyer, Shanks, and Velazquez. 1988) Virtue ethics indicates that business decisions should be made in a manner that attributes to the overall goals of the professional. It stresses activities and motives, what we do and why. Virtue ethics proffer that action and motive are connected to character and disposition. Actions are taken and decisions made because they are linked to a certain character. (Blackburn and McGee. 2004) â€Å"That â€Å"ought† does not imply â€Å"right† can be seen in another sort of case as well, namely, when what one ought to do in one’s circumstances results from one’s own prior wrongdoing. In such a case, doing what one ought to do may not be the same as doing a right act or a â€Å"good deed†. In fact, the same prior failure may both increase one’s level of obligation to do a given act now and decrease one’s level of praiseworthiness. † (Russell, 2008) The above quote is especially poignant in the Mattel case. Because Mattel implemented the GMP program on the heels of a media expose, the intentions were not solely based on the ‘right’ thing to do, but on what they ‘ought’ to do. Mattel probably did not get the recognition or good press they were looking for and therefore had no proclivity to ensure that the plan was a success. Utilitarian Ethics â€Å"Actions are approved when they are as such to promote happiness and disapproved when they have a tendency to cause unhappiness. † (Driver, 2009) We also know that utilitarian ethics work for the greatest good for the greatest number of people. Mattel directly employs over twenty thousand people throughout Asia and Mexico. If the happiness of those employees would have been considered; the pay, working conditions, time off, and canteen programs would have never been an issue. If the executives of the company would have experienced any of those adverse conditions, they would have cried â€Å"foul† all the way to an attorney. The employees are ultimately left without a voice and no recourse. Deontology â€Å"To act according to the maxim that you would wish all other rational people to follow as though it were universal law. † â€Å"Never treat a person as a means to an end. † (Pecorino, 2000) Kant contends that where morality is concerned, it is guided by law and therefore judgment is not necessary to fill in the blanks, because there are no blanks. He believed that people can conform to duty and not be morally limited. He believed that we could use indeterminate action-guidance for imperfect duties, and I’m paraphrasing; to weigh the moral options for decisions regarding duty towards others. Because that decision requires the minimum of our morality. Kant rejected virtue ethics. (McAleer, 2001) My opinion is that deontology would not work in the Mattel case. There are too many variables to consider in order to narrow down the maxim that will be comprehensive enough to include thousands of people over a number of cultural variances. Conclusion While the design of Mattel’s Global Manufacturing Principles may have been well intended and meant to improve the working conditions of the employees, the implementation was short-sighted and poorly executed. All too often when the few aspire to set standards for the many, the end result is a miscalculation. GMP’s are not a one size fits all type of endeavor. Each facility should have had a program that was custom to their country and working conditions. The ethical treatment of employees was the intention; but the ultimate governance was not enforced. The aftermath was the abandonment of the program due to the lack of interest and participation on the public and other companies in the industry. References Andre, Claire, Meyer, Michael and S. J. , Shanks, Thomas, Velasquez, Manuel. (1988) Ethics and Virtue. Issues in Ethics, V1 N3. Retrieved from http://www. scu. edu/ethics/practicing/decision/ethicsandvirtue. html on November 4, 2013 Blackburn, M. , McGhee, P. (2004). TALKING VIRTUE: PROFESSIONALISM IN BUSINESS AND VIRTUE ETHICS. Global Virtue Ethics Review, 5(4), 90-122. Retrieved from http://search. proquest. com/docview/235113539? accountid=28844 Driver, Julia. The History of Utilitarianism. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer 2009 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed. ), URL = . Duchon, D. , Drake, B. (2009). Organizational Narcissism and Virtuous Behavior. Journal of Business Ethics, 85(3), 301-308. Retrieved from ProQuest on June 1, 2012. Hartman, E. (2008). Socratic questions and Aristotelian answers: A Virtue-based Approach to Business Ethics. Journal of Business Ethics, 78(3), 313-328. Retrieved November 19, 2012 from ProQuest. McAleer, J. S. (2001). Kant and virtue ethics. (Order No. 3019123, Syracuse University). ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, 336-336 p. Retrieved from http://search. proquest. com/docview/304750337? accountid=28844. (304750337). Merriam-Webster. Retrieved on November 4, 2013 from http://www. merriam-webster. com/prudence Merriam-Webster. Retrieved on November 4, 2013 from http://www. merriam-webster. com/justice Merriam-Webster. Retrieved on November 4, 2013 from http://www. merriam-webster. com/fidelity Merriam-Webster. Retrieved on November 4, 2013 from http://www. merriam-webster. com/integrity Pecorino, P. A. (2000). The categorical imperative. Retrieved on November 19, 2012 from: http://www. qcc. cuny. edu/socialsciences/ppecorino/intro_text/Chapter%208%20Ethics/Categorical_Imperative. htm Russell, D. C. (2008). That ought does not imply right: Why it matters for virtue ethics. The Southern Journal of Philosophy, 46(2), 299-315. Retrieved from http://search. proquest. com/docview/218153933? accountid=28844 on November 4, 2013.

The Aerospike :: physics aerospike rocket engine

When a rocket's fuel ignites, the molecules in the fuel release a tremendous amount of energy in the forms of heat, light, and sound. They expand rapidly as they move from the "throat" of the nozzle into the "bell." The compressed air inside the balloon wants to expand outward. Therefore it presses against the walls of the balloon in every direction except the place where there is no wall - the "nozzle" of the balloon. Because there is no force vector in this location, adding the vectors yields a net force to the right. A bell nozzle, where a fuel (liquid Hydrogen) mixes with an oxidizer (liquid Oxygen) at a rate "m." As they ignite they are forced into the throat, where they are compressed substantially. As they move out into the bell, they steadily expand, pushing against the nozzle and creating a net upward thrust, similar to the compressed air pushing on the walls of the balloon. Luckily, a rocket can be controlled more than a released balloon. Nozzles do not have to be bell shaped - as long as gas is expanding and pushing against a surface, creating thrust, any shape can be used! One alternative to the bell engine is the spike configuration. In particular, the Aerospike engine will be described and analyzed. The "Spike," or annular, engine is one of three basic engine designs: cones, bells, and annulars.The Cone is the simplest engine design. A cone with a narrow angle provides the greatest thrust, but a longer engine means increased weight. A short, wide-angle cone tends to be unstable under pressure (in the atmosphere). For example, the Apollo Saturn 5 featured long, relatively thin nozzles for optimum thrust at sea level. The Command Module, which operated only in space, utilized a comparatively wider engine for more expansion in space. The Bell nozzle is a compromise, opening up more rapidly near the throat and then opening more slowly near the end. However, bell nozzles are optimized for specific altitudes, therefore they will only provide their maximum thrust at a given altitude - at all other points they will provide less-than-optimum thrust. The annular, or "altitude compensating" engine is a more recently developed design. Commonly referred to as Spike engines, annulars operate with exhaust flow outside what is typically thought of as the nozzle. The exhaust flows around a central spike, rather than being contained by walls. They are called "annular" because the throat is donut-shaped, with the spike protruding from the middle.

Management Qualification Case Study Essay

Dear Amanda, as you know so many start-up small businesses like yours and often run in to the trouble of mismanagement because of so many assumptions based on establishing the business mission, vision statements; human resource management; lack of employee motivation; lack of properly defined working standards for employees and other outcomes measurable; not taking any concern of negative information about the organization especially from the clients which costs the organizations image and remaining too busy to pay attention to the establishment of problem solutions, lack of equity among employees and lack of proper follow up on the employees work. All these are consolidated in the four functions of management which are organizing, planning, controlling and directing. As the manager of Smith accounting and Tax service business, you I acknowledge the fact that you had the right qualifications and had a good start as you identified an opportunity to expand your business and did just like that of (Gronkiewicz, & Churchill, 2006). Your work is commendable however, the most important part of overseeing the business is what you put aside with the aim of acquiring more clients and make more returns. Planning is quite important for any business regardless if it is large or small. This is because all functions associated with management fall under planning and lack of planning is planning to fail (Guzzle, 2011). On one part of the business, the management was good because upon realizing that and expansion opportunity was available you seized the opportunity and announced  interviews for qualified professionals which was quite successful. However, the fact that Lisa was responsible for the interviews is quite a failure. This is because it is clear from your case that Lisa had not qualifications in the field of accounting and taxation. She may have been quite alright in picking the best and most competent employees from their application documents but this does not mean that your presence should not have made a difference (Rane, 2007).This clearly indicates that even though your company knew what they wanted to seize the expansion opportunity, there was lack of human resource planning which is clearly evident in the underestimation of the job description, job design, selection and recruitment. It is true Lisa had worked with you for some time and was doing great but there was no reason for the owner of the business to have little or no time for new employees during their interviews yet she is the one who knew what she needed most (Buzzle, 2011). The success of the interviews was yet another source of planning because, dear Amanda you came to believe that Lisa was competent enough to handle duties requiring your attention even without. This made your schedule too tight for responsibilities that you and only you could handle hence poor time management that found you too busy to have valuable time to provide guidance and management direction concerning the works of the other of your employees (Rane, 2007). I am glad you identified your failure before it was too late as with right planning of your time as the manager, and with such a dedicated assistance such as Lisa, planning your time to suit all your responsibilities with little or no delegation of powers is quite essential.Amanda, you and me agree that your business wants to go places in the future, but with the presence of conflicting interests and always delegated duties, chances are that the business will fail and the future remain doomed (Frankiewicz, & Churchill, 2006). So what is right to bring your business back on feet is to ensure that you deal with the present problems one after the other and promise your clients to expect even better services in future. Reassure your employees that their trust in your services is not in vain and  that you will work towards that by implementing proper time management leaving time even for emergency matters that may call for your attention even away from the day’s schedule. After the business is up, ensure you implement proper human resource planning, job design and description, selection and recruitment processes. Be there and let the new employees get to know who they will be working for and what is expected of them (Rane, 2007). Probably Lisa lacked the knowledge to tell them what was expected of them and which made even you to assume that you were dealing with intellectuals who understood their job well and would always give their best. Amanda, remember that planning for all businesses is ongoing. The reasons for my arguments are because the external and internal factors affecting your business aren’t constant. For instance in your case, it was only after four months in business that Lisa started receiving calls from unsatisfied clients (Frankiewicz, & Churchill, 2006). Despite the fact that these clients held the future of your business, you chose to ignore them and left Lisa to maneuver her way out in dealing with them. Clearly, Lisa isn’t qualified in that field and as a manager you delegated duties and locations to your newly employed accountants which mean Lisa was carrying the burden of another employee. Having received such calls from clients meant that you as the manager had to call an urgent meeting with the employee responsible and deal with the problem from that point on. However, you chose to depend on the mission and motto of the organization assuming that the zeal it brought to you was th e same given to everyone else (Rane, 2007). In such a case Amanda, a manager must always offer directions to the employees after assessing their work and performance. It is true that new clients were forthcoming as can be seen from the range of returns brought in by the employees, 100-175. However, the quality of services was way too far from what a business in need of a larger market share and a competitive advantage was after (Buzzle, 2011). Including directions in your management is important in a number of ways. First, all employees are prone to deviating from the business goals and objectives probably due to the pressure that comes with the work they are to do. However, this does not  mean you leave them to themselves to solve such problems. Instead, as a manager, there is need for constant provision of guidance and instructions geared towards achievement of the organizations goals and objectives. Lisa, your role as a manager should be offering directions and instructions and that is what is wanted. For Amanda who was your acquaintance at the initiation of the business, good work is always rewarded. However, the other new employees, despite working hard and bringing commendable results within the first taxation year, no rewards have been offered to them. Employee motivation is quite essential in employee performance (Rane, 2007). This is because having great qualifications for the job doesn’t mean that the client must always offer their best. Something must be done to make them feel as the most important part of the organization without the efforts of which the organization would not be where it is. Amanda, adopting directions or leadership in your management will provide influence to the employees as well as mould their behavior towards the attainment of the organizations goals and objectives. Additionally, this will serve as a guide to the employees towards the attainment of personal and career goals. Influencing the employees through employee motivation may include provision of incentives and other benefits and rewards to hard working employees (Frankiewicz, & Churchill, 2006). Additionally Amanda, with effective communications, the relationship between you and the employees is bond to improve for the better and this will work effectively in problem solving as problems will be discovered on time, discussed and efficient solutions achieved for the same. Your leadership efforts are appreciated in incorporating the Monday mornings for meetings to discuss individual progress. However, you leave out an important point of requiring knowing the challenges and the different problems being faced by the individuals in their working places. This s important in identifying areas of concern that affects all employees including yourself and searching for solutions to make your services of better quality and reliable. As a manager, you lacked control of your organization. Amanda this allows me to point out several occasions such experiences happened (Marcic, & Daft, 2010). For instance, despite employees being aware of their duties and responsibilities, you failed to provide them with standards. For companies such as yours where one is recognized by the number of new clients they bring in, it is easy for the employees to forget the other performance requirements like quality, timely and satisfactory services (Rane, 2007). This is what happened in your case as well, it was only after about four months of operations the newly acquired clients started complaining of poor services. Instead of depending on their qualifications, you should have insisted on an evaluation and job performance reporting session that would have provided the details of one’s work and how they meet organizations goals and objectives. This way you could have kept track of the performance of each employee for guidance and directions. Lastly Amanda, as a manager you should have been the best organizer for the company. By organization it means that everything should be done for a reason and everything done must be accounted for (Marcic, & Daft, 2010). Allocating employees to different locations was one step to organization but much needed to be done in terms of matching the input resources to the outcomes in terms of consumer satisfaction and company’s returns (Frankiewicz, & Churchill, 2006). Your workplace for one wasn’t organized since everything was left as the role of Lisa your assistance. This would have been probably the source of low motivation amongst employees to meet the organizations objectives in their services. I recommend that you as a manager handle all the personnel and resources in the most profitable way to your organization.This way, you gain respect, employees feel responsible for their actions and the workplace becomes something everyone longs to be in (Rane, 2007). bibliography Buzzle, (2011). Management concepts. Buzzle.com. retrieved on 14 Oct 2011 from http://www.buzzle.com/articles/management-concepts-the-four-functions-of-management.html. Frankiewicz, C., & Churchill, C., (2006). Managing for improved

Cost and Price Analysis

Cost and Price Analysis Instructor:Name: Class:Finance 230Date: Period:Results: 1)Why is it important for the government to exercise good fiscal judgment when spending funds? Government employees are held responsible for use of good judgment so those excessive prices are not paid. 2)List and describe four types of market based pricing. Be sure to provide at least one (1) example of each type. Competitive Offers – response to solicitation encouraging competing offers Established Catalog Price – Published by the seller in a regularly maintained catalog or price list Established Market Price – substantiated from sources independent of the seller: and are current sales prices established in the normal course of trade between buyers and sellers free to bargain in the market place. Established by Law or Regulation – customers are consistently impacted by the established prices. )List 3 reasons that government buyers have significant advantages in getting fair and reasonable prices. The government is the only buyer – which has a strong negotiating position on pricing. High volume purchase – suppliers like to deal with high volume buyers and are inclined to give better prices to such buyers. Anit-Deficiency Act – requires the government agencies have the money to pay for the contract work before signing the contract. 4)Compare and contrast cost, price and profit. Price refers to the amount of money that consumers have to give up to acquire goods or service. Profit is what ever monetary amount is left after all cost has been paid. 5)List and explain the two acceptable procedures for obtaining competitive prices. Sealed Bidding – A process by which government needs are made known by a solicitation called and Invitation for Bids (IFB). Negotiation is the contracting method that ma be used when sealed bidding is inappropriate. Competitive Proposals A process by which government needs are made known by a solicitation called a Request for Quotation (RFQ) 6)Compare and contrast cost and financial accounting. List two (2) examples each of conditions that warrant the use of cost and financial accounting procedures. Cost accounting – is a procedure which enables firms to keep track of the costs that apply to each individual contract or major task they under take. Ex cost acct. – estimate the cost of work before actually undertaking it. Financial accounting – is the accumulation of information that enables the firm to know how much total cost and profit they made in a particular period of time. Ex. 7)What are the three major classifications of costs? Reasonable, allowable, and allocable cost Variable fixed, and semi-variable cost Direct and indirect cost 8)Compare direct and indirect costs. Direct cost – direct labor, direct materials, and some other costs specifically associated with particular contracts are classified as direct costs. Indirect cost – are any cost that are not direct. Cost that apply across the board to large parts not conveniently chargeable to one particular contract. How does the government contracting officer ensure the costs are reasonable, allowable and allocable? Reasonable Cost – in its nature and amount, it does not exceed that which would be incurred by a prudent person in the conduct of a competitive business. Allowable Cost – allowability of a particular cost under cost principles must be determine using FAR Part 3. Each principle is based on laws and policies. The decision for determing allowable of a particular cost rest with the Contracting Officer. Allocable Costs – alloacable if I is assignable or chargeable to one or more cost objectives on the basis of relative benefits received or other equitable relationship. )When may certified cost or pricing data be required? The head of an agency shall require offerors, contractors, and subcontractors to make cost or pricing data available as follows: An offeror for a prime contract entered into using procedures other than sealed-bid procedures shall be required to submit cost or pricing data before the award of a contract if— in the case of a prime contract, the price of the contract to the is expected to exceed $500,000; and in the case of a prime contract entered into on or before, the price of the contract to the United States is expected to exceed $100,000. n the case of a change or modification made to a prime contract referred to in subparagraph the price adjustment is expected to exceed $500,000; in the case of a change or modification, to a prime contract that was entered , the price adjustment is expected to exceed $500,000; and in the case of a change or modification not covered by clause (i) or (ii), the price adjustment is expected to exceed $100,000. 10)If the government were to determine that significant overpricing occurred because of defective cost or pricing data, what options may the contracting officer explore prior to award? What may the contracting officer consider after award? The Truth in Negoatation Act – an examination of defective pricing in government contracting 11)Explain the level of importance associated with the detailed analysis of direct labor costs when determining a fixed-price contract. Price analysis shall be used when cost or pricing data are not required in determining the reasonableness of the prime contract price. Some firm-fixed-price contracts may entail substantially less cost risk than that of direct costs, such as material and labor, and associated indirect costs. 2)When determining proposed hourly wage rates, list three (3) options an offeror explore. Plantwide rate, Departmental Rate, and Rates by Labor Category 13)List, in comparison, what process improvements benefits realized from the learning curve and improvement curve. What are the expectations of each curve? Theroy called learning curve because it is belived thath learning workers caused most of the time saving, Studies showed that other factors, such as equipment and set-up improvements, also help reduce unit production time. It is called various names improvement curve, experience curve and time reduction curve. 14)How does a company effectively manage the overhead expense? What are the typical expenses included in overhead? Overhead expenses are those production and nonproduction costs not readily traceable to specific jobs or processes. Overhead expenses encompass three general areas: indirect materials, indirect labor, and all other miscellaneous production expenses, such as taxes, insurance, depreciation, supplies, utilities, and repairs. Therefore, overhead expense is part of the total costs of maintaining and staffing a business. 15)Categorize the following expenses as either Overhead or General & Administrative: a. Lease b. Entertainment Expense c. Travel Expense d. Payroll Expense e. Marketing Expense f. Mileage g. Professional Development h. Utilities i. Communications Expense j. Goodwill k. Research and Development Costs l. Taxes m. Patent Costs n. Bad Debts o. Lobbying and other Political Costs 16)The scrap allowance includes spoilage and shrinkage. List two (2) similarities and differences between the three categories. Scrape allowance is extra amount of material or parts required to be sure that enough material will be avaible to make the final product. Scrap is unadvoidable. Spoilage is a different from scrape because it is the direct result of someone making a mistake or a machine getting out of adjustment or a similar problem. Shrinkage is another factor. This can be the result of nature. 17)Explain the following concepts: a. Underabsorption under absorption is when the actual budgeted overhead is less than the planned overhead b. Overabsorption Occurrence of credit balance in factory-overhead account, resulting from excess of overhead applied to work-in-process inventory over the amount of overhead actually incurred. c. Exact Absorption The chances of absorbing the exact actual amount of overhead by a series of many customer billings throughout the year are nil. 18)Describe the following methods in conducting price analysis: a. Comparison of proposed prices received in response to the solicitation These methods consist of comparing offered prices to each other to decide which are reasonable b. Comparison of prior proposed prices and contract prices with current proposed prices Method most frequently used for government price analysis when agency has had a history of contracting for the same products or services. c. Comparison with competitive published price lists Catalogs are recognized as fairly reliable guides on current prices being paid by consumers in general. Established catalog or market price. The price paid for commercial items prices for items sold in substantial. Established catalog price, Established market price, and Price paid for Commercial items. . Visual Analysis FAR 5. 404-1(b) (4) says value analysis can give insight into the relative worth of a product, and government may use it in conjunction with other price analysis techniques. 20)Facilities cost of capital is allowable if the contractor's have which of the following: (a) Capital investment is measured, allocated to contracts and cost as required by CAS 414 (b) Contractor has adequate records to sho w compliance with CAS 414 (c) Estimated facilities capital cost of money is specifically proposed for the contract under which it is claimed (d) All of the above 1) Compare and contrast Distributed Facilities and Undistributed Facilities. Distributed facilities are those that are clearly and directly assigned to specific overhead or G accounts. Undistribute Facilities are facilities capital costs incurred for more than one indirect cost pool. The cost of these facilities must be allocated to the indirect cost pools that bebefit from them. 22) Facilities capital cost of money is an a. Allocatable cost b. Allowable cost c. Variable cost d. Imputed cost e. Both b and d 23). What does the acronym CASB mean in Facilities Capital Cost of Money a, Capital Accounting System Branch b. Cost Accounting Standards Board c. Cost Analysis Standards Board d. Both a & b 24) Which form is used to calculate the capital cost of money: a. Form CASB-CMF b. DD 1861 c. SF 182 d. All of the above. 25) In which (1) one of the three ways can a contract auditor assist the contracting officer in contract pricing? Reviewing and evaluating proposed or incurred costs 26) Contracting Officers will often ascertain that the contractor’s accounting system meets this requirement by commissioning a ______________________? Pre-award Survey of Prospective Contractor Accounting System ( PSPCAS) 27) Contract auditor is called on by a contracting officer to determine if the prospective contract meets what? Responsible financial capability standard of FAR 9. 104-1 28) What unsupported costs are proposed or incurred costs on which the auditor is unable to render an opinion? Regarding reasonable, allowability, or allocability. 29) What does the acronym DCAA mean? Defense contract Audit Agency 30) What is the total Cost Approach? How is it used? It shows all cost incurred in the original contract estimate and were the attributes to the contract were changed. It shows the government at fault and recognizes that neither the contractor nor any third party is at fault. 31) List the two principles that prevail in measuring equitable adjustment. Some cost impact must result from the contract change The contract and government are to remain whole. 32) Why is there a format for submitting proposals for equitable adjustments and when is it used. This formal procedures is a methodical way o document the calculation of the equitable adjustment. When contractors submit certified cost or pricing data if the expected value of the contract modification exceeds $650,00. 00. 33) What is the name of the formula that is widely used when computing unabsorbed overhead resulting from government caused delays? Eichleay Formula 34) How can contractors segregate the cost of performing changed work? They usually assign specials accounting codes to the transactions attributed to the changed work. 35) What is the main misconception about profit and fee? Negotiated profit or fee is what the contractor will actually get. 6) What three major requirements must government contracting officers adhere to according to the Contracting Officer Responsibilities (FAR 15. 404-4)? Profit fee Pre-negotiation objective, Facilities Capital Cost of Money, Statutory Limitations of Prices or Fees 37) Name six major factors bearing on profit levels for government contracts. Contractor Effort, Contract cost rack, Federal Socioeconomic programs, Capital Investmen ts, Cost Control and other Past Accomplishments, Independent Development. 38) What is the general approach used by all the structured profit systems. The structured profit systems establish a total profit objective by adding profit increments for various major cost inputs and for other contract factors. 39) What are the major categories listed under the approach of Profit Determination – Overhead? High skill supervision, clerical and support, depreciation or rent (complex) depreciation or rent (routine), fringe benefits administrative, routine expense, and total overhead costs. 40) List three important factors that every business must consider before doing business with the government.

Things I Am Thankful for Essays

Things I Am Thankful for Essays Things I Am Thankful for Essay Things I Am Thankful for Essay â€Å"Things I Am Thankful For† The things I am thankful for are not things that can be bought but things that are earned. One of the things I am thankful for are my parents because without them I would not be where I am today. My thanks build off of being able to say yes I did this and that but I agree with many opportunities given to me as I pass many obstacles. Another thing I am thankful for are my abilities to listen, learn, and accomplish. I also use my abilities to their highest potential which are my abilities to play the saxophone, my abilities to focus on my engineering and my work. I am truly thankful to be able to wake up every morning knowing I have people depending on me to do my best and to never give up. Mainly life was given to me from two wonderful people to have a chance to show what I can do from start to finish and I am thankful for that reason. I must thank many people for guiding me through life but to also acknowledge the people who told me right from wrong. Even though I have accomplished many things I always thank God for bringing me obstacles that are hard but also easy. If you know the way through a knowing of yourself to realize who you are and to also be yourself whenever you want to make yourself comfortable. I thank my family for showing where I am from and who we are to others in life. The main reason for me to thank myself is to know that I have been told how to use what is earned in my own ways from friends and family. I was always taught to be the best at everything I did to be successful in my own way. As everyday passes I think to myself where would I be without family and friends. And it came to me that if I was not here in life I would never be able to achieve such ability to know the world or life as it is today. As of today I thank my brother, my mom, my father, and everyone else that has helped me.

U-Shaped Kitchen Layout Overview

U-Shaped Kitchen Layout Overview The U-shaped kitchen layout was developed based on decades of ergonomic research. Its useful and versatile, and while it can be adapted to any size kitchen, its most effective in larger spaces.   The configuration of U-shaped kitchens can vary according to the house size and the homeowners personal preference, but generally, youll find the cleaning zone (sink, dishwasher) on the external-facing wall, which sits in the lower curve or bottom of the U. The stove and oven typically will be located on one leg of the U, along with cabinets, drawers and other storage units. And usually,   youll find more cabinets, the refrigerator and other food storage areas like a pantry on the opposite wall.   Benefits of U-Shaped Kitchens A U-shaped kitchen typically has separate work zones for food prep, cooking, cleaning and in eat-in kitchens, a dining area.   Most U-shaped kitchens are configured with three adjacent walls, as opposed to other kitchen designs such as L-shaped or galley, which only use two walls. While both of these other designs have their pluses, ultimately a U-shaped kitchen provides the most counter space for work areas and storage of countertop appliances. A significant benefit of the U-shaped kitchen is the safety factor. The design doesnt allow for through traffic that might disrupt the work zones. Not only does this make the food prep and cooking process less chaotic, but it also helps prevent safety mishaps like spills. U-Shaped Kitchen Drawbacks While it has its advantages, the U-shaped kitchen does have its share of minuses, too. For the most part, its not efficient unless theres room in the center of the kitchen for an island. Without this feature, the two legs of the U may be too far apart to be practical.   And while its possible to have a U shape in a smaller kitchen, for it to be most efficient, the U-shaped kitchen needs to be at least 10 feet wide. Often in a U-shaped kitchen, the bottom corner cabinets can be difficult to access (although this may be remedied by using them to store items that are not frequently needed). U-Shaped Kitchen and Work Triangle Even when planning a U-shaped kitchen, however, most contractors or designers will recommend incorporating a kitchen work triangle. This design principle is based on the theory that placing the sink, refrigerator and cooktop or stove  in proximity to each other makes a kitchen most efficient. If the work areas are too far away from each other, the cook wastes steps while preparing a meal. If the  workspaces  are too close together, the kitchen winds up being too cramped.   While many designs still use the kitchen triangle, its become a bit outdated in the modern era. It was based on a model from the 1940s which presumed only one person prepared and cooked all the meals solo, but in modern  families,  this may not be the case. The  standard kitchen work triangle  is best placed along the base of the U unless a kitchen island is present. Then the island should house one of the three elements. If you place them too far away from each other, the theory goes, you waste a lot of steps while preparing a meal. If they are too close together, you end up with a cramped kitchen without adequate space to prepare and cook meals.

Reform American History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Reform American History - Essay Example White mainstream population promoted racial discrimination through the deliberate use of power politics. The African slaves brought from Africa by the European colonizer to work on fields in America later became an intrinsic part of American society. They were victimized because they were poor, non-white and believed to be racially inferior to the whites. The American War of Independence in 1789 was a landmark event that brought into being the United States of America, world’s greatest democratic state. The first President of America, Abraham Lincoln who issued ‘Emancipation Proclamation’ for slaves that served as a catalyst for ending the tradition of slavery. Abolition movement was significant for myriad reasons. One of the most important factors was to end the enslavement of African people and to stop the exploitation of local people and local resources by the colonial rulers in America. The American Revolution became the major propellant that gave huge thrust to the abolition movement. While the institution of slavery per se ceased with the emancipation proclamation in 1863, but it was the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that brought in a new era of hope, opportunities, and empowerment for the blacks in America. It ensured equal rights and equal opportunities for all across race and gender. Harris, Chapman, and McKenzie (2005) strongly assert that today blacks have significant influence in the legislative outcome. Indeed, President Obama is a scintillating example of equality across race and color.

Trayvon Martin Case Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Trayvon Martin Case - Essay Example On a private errand, Zimmerman noticed that Martin was walking around within the parameters of the gated community in a suspicious manner. On the other hand, Martin was visiting the home of his father and his father's fiancee. (Sendensky). Zimmerman first phoned the Sanford Police Department with the intention to report about Martin's suspicious behavior. After the call ended, it is said that there was an altercation between the two, with Zimmerman being pinned down to the ground by Martin. This forced Zimmerman to fatally shoot Martin at a close range in self-defense. â€Å"Zimmerman has claimed self-defense, saying he opened fire after Martin punched him in the face, knocked him to the ground and began slamming his head on the sidewalk.† (Sendensky). With police finding no evidence against Zimmerman’s version of self-defense, he was left off. That created huge stir, with certain sections of the media and the public implying racial bias for the release of Zimmerman, th ereby reporting the crime in self-defense as a hate crime. That is, when the facts of the case, versions of the witnesses and the dubious role played by the media are viewed critically, it implies that the Trayvon Martin case is being blown out of proportion as a hate crime, even involving celebrities. Speaking about celebrities, many came in support of Martin asking for the immediate arrest of Zimmerman. That is, when Zimmerman was let off, the issue snowballed into a major issue when the media started focusing on it. The first action which raised awareness of this issue was carried out by Martin’s mother, Sybrina Fulton, who created a petition in the website, Change.org. It attracted over 2.2 million signatures and that made the issue gain more attention. (Stableford). As Martin was killed while he was donning a hoodie, people supporting his side started wearing hoodie as a sign of protest. This form of protest spread to various U.S. cities, as protest marches labeled as â €Å"Million Hoodie Marches† or â€Å"Hundred hoodie marches† were organized extensively. That is when celebrities came into the picture. Celebrities including Nelly, Carmelo Anthony, Dwayne Wade, P. Diddy, Luda, Tia Mowry, members of the Miami Heat, etc., tweeted or posted photos in various social networking websites of themselves wearing hoodies. (Shapiro) (Stableford). This created heightened media focus regarding the murder and non-arrest of Zimmerman. Then, a large gathering was organized in the Union Square in New York, where many civil rights leaders like Al Sharpton, Martin Luther King III, etc., participated and voiced their protests against the non-arrest and lack of serious charges against Zimmerman. Even the American President, Barack Obama asked for an impartial probe in the issue. At the same time, celebrities’ particularly film director, Spike Lee’s action against Zimmerman and his family came under scrutiny. With many radical groups offerin g rewards and calls to ‘capture’ Zimmerman if the police are unable to do, Lee retweeted an alleged address of Zimmerman to his 200,000 Twitter followers. That address came out to be a wrong one, with an elderly couple occupying that address leading to criticism of Lee’s action. â€Å"Spike Lee's retweet of a tweet thought to contain the address of Trayvon Martin shooter George Zimmerman has resulted in a firestorm of criticism—