Albania and EU integration Essay

To provide a basic idea for Albanian economy and its European integration possibilities. 2. To provide knowledge about advantages and disadvantages that Albania faces in different sectors of economy. 3. To provide knowledge about Albanian ability to take the obligation of membership. 4. To provide knowledge about systematic and unsystematic risk for Albanian European integration. Methodology 1. Research problem Is Albania in line with EU expectations? Which are the abilities of Albania to maintain the obligation of membership? Basic objective is to examine, firstly economic development of Albania based on the collected data from 2002 – 2012, than to verify if they are in line with EU criteria. 2. Expectations Since Albania is determined in its decision to join European Union and to be part of Economic integration, it has made a progress in reforming institutions, in legislation, and the most important the assignment of SSA (Stabilization and association process). But the progress is very slow and insufficient. The cause of this polarization remains on political culture of the country which historically has not faced any experience of democracy. So expectations are not very positive. On a long term basis only new socialized and democratic generation can truly execute fundamental reforms needed to be part of European Economic Integration. Data Collections 1. Primary data: World Bank reports and Instat. 2. Secondary data: Journal websites and financial news papers. European Union Integration – The impact in Albanian Economy The aim of this project is to demonstrate how much the economic development in Albania is in line with European Union? In the first section will be analyzed, Relations between Albania and EU. Over all now Albania is part of Stabilization and Association process, in regular political and economical dialogue with EU. Last decade we can say that our country have faced some changes on our politic system and economic one, through three main factors, visa liberalization, financial assistance and civil society. How we realize these challenges? Did these three factors affect positively our economy; since we are one of the main countries that were not affected by world crises and how? In the second section will analyze economic criteria by examining development of economy in Albania. The examination includes different areas of economy? The existence of a good function of market economy: This includes the main essentials’ of economic policy where the primary objective is the protection of a market oriented economy. Here we can mention that Albania has a visible progress starting from year 2007 when we signed CEFTA agreement. Macroeconomic Stability: Over all Albania has preserved the macroeconomic stability, because it was less affected by external economic conditions. Monetary policy of Albania has help to keep stable inflation and control inflationary expectations. Public debt is over limited and essential reforms are still missing. Interactions of market forces: According to the official data, results that state involvement in economy remains limited but it is focused on energy, transport and water supply. Market Entry and Exit: Here we can conclude that Albania is one of the countries that have facilitated business entry to the market but procedures for market exit are still ineffective. Legal System: Albanian faces many weaknesses in rule of law, according to real data, corruption is in considerable levels and reforms of property rights are still incomplete. This has adverse affect on the market environment. Financial sectors and Development: Some progress is made but it is needed the consolidation of public finances and the reduction of public debt. Human and Fiscal Capital: The structure of macro economy remains unchanged; also informality remains again a challenge. Albanian economy is tangible by industry specific shocks. State influence: State interventions are limited but it is still a concern the impact on the public finance of the lack of diversification and Economic integration with EU: Albania has remained a leading trading and an investment partner of EU, as result trade with CEFTA has been increased. The third section will  examine Albanian ability to take the obligation of membership. The analysis is structured based on internal and external market of Albania which includes: Free movement of goods; there has been a progress as regards of stabilization, but further efforts are needed to be done and the preparations are advanced in this part. Free movement of people; The progress here is visible, since 2010 Visa liberalization can be counted as a success especially towards professional qualifications, but further efforts are needed to be plane. Free movement of capital; there also has been some progress with adaption of amendments of criminal code, low of banks and low of prevention of money laundering but even though there are several efforts that are needed to be taken. As a conclusion I have to say that Albania has made little progress toward economic development and the consolidation of its democ ­racy. This is shown by the report of European commission on October 2012, as the results at fulfilling the EU’ twelve priorities were poor, and obviously it was clear that Albania would lose its chances to be awarded with the candidate status on December 2012 – and December 2013. Such a step was not justified by our economic and political conditions. Relations between the EU and Albania Albania is a country that is part of the Stabilization and Association Process. According to this pact we can say that Albania has strictly implemented its obligations. Between the EU and our country there is a regular political dialogue and economic growth, which has continued through the SAA structure. In March and April of last year, Albania took part in the meeting organized by the Stabilization and Association Committee and the European Council in which they discussed the reform of public administration. Albania was involved in this dialogue with multilateral economic focus with the Commission and the EU member countries, with focus, preparation and coordination of domestic economic policies to integrate economic and monetary union in the EU. One of the most important achievements of Albania was the liberalization of visas for citizens traveling to the Schengen area. This agreement entered into force in December 2010. Immediately after this agreement and until today, the committee evaluates on a regular basis, the progress made by the country in the implementation of rules and visa roadmap. Albania is a country that is  waiting for EU membership, as such; it has received transition assistance, institution building and cross-border mergers. For the period 2007 – 2013, the European Union has allocated for Albania, an amount of â‚ ¬ 594 million. This amount of benefit, its focus is on justice, politics and public administration reforms in Albania, and also based on individual sectors, transport, and environment, and agriculture, social and rural development. This component is managed by the EU Delegation in Albania / Tirana. Regarding the upcoming years 2014 – 2020, the European Commission and the Albanian government will negotiate and discuss the needs and capacities for future assistance. We need to know that Albania is a member of several EU programs as example; Program Throughout life learning; Europe for Citizens, Culture, Competitiveness and Innovation. Economic Criteria In 1993 after examination of economic development and the state in which Albania was, in Copenhagen European Council stated that, to be part of the European Union, Albania needs to be focused towards a functioning market economy and also to have the capacity to cope with the challenges of a competitive market of EU The existence of a functioning market economy Policy Essential In order for Albania to have a focused market economy and sustainable, the main political parties, which have impact on the country’s economic policies, must agree on the basis of sound market economy, despite political tension in the country. Based on the report of the European Committee for Albania, the country’s macroeconomic stability has been maintained, but there are some shortcomings again. Among these deficiencies can mention the 2012 budget deficit, which was beyond the norm. The deficit caused, statutory debt, allowed to pass the measure of 60 %. In the process of privatization of property might say that was a failure. In January, Albania presented at EC Economic and Fiscal program for the years 2013-2015. The medium scenario is characterized by a very optimistic macroeconomic program. But according to the assessment of this program the Commission has submitted a lack of enforcement and targeting strategy but we can say that consensus  on the basis of a mark et economy has been maintained. Macroeconomic stability According to the data obtained in the annual report of the Bank of Albania, we can conclude that economic growth in 2012 was 1.6% less than a year ago. Total gross output also shows that in 2012 was about 5% less compared with a year ago. Inflows of foreign currencies in the country by immigrants have had a slight increase of 1.6% for 2012, while private consumption has fallen to low levels. One of the main factors of economic growth, have been net exports, while for imports can say that they have recorded a considerable Decrease. After a 12-month period with a significant reduction, economic indicators tend to show a growth in late 2012 and early 2013. However we can say that GDP grew only 1.7% in the first quarter of last year. Foreign demand for Albanian products has resulted in considerable numbers. GDP per capita in purchasing power and consumption resulted in 30% among 27 that was average. According to the analysis may conclude that Albania recognized the economic growth, so gl obal crisis did not affect Albania during early 2013. During the period 2012-2013 the current account deficit decreased by about 1.5%, becoming 10.5% from 13% in 2011. Imports introduced to a decrease, 5.2% less than a year ago, while exports increased by 8.5% in total value, but may be noted here that there was a considerable increase in the export of goods but not services. In June 2013 current account deficit reached 10.1% in value to the corners of Albania. The inflow of foreign direct investment (FDI) throughout 2012 remained unchanged with that of a year ago. This influx financed about 70 % of current account deficit therefore 10 % more than in 2011. The flow of incoming capital suffered a Decrease of 11.3 % in a year, but we can say that during 2012 had a positive balance of payments and a significant increase in international reserves at 4.2 %. During 2013, foreign direct investment (FDI) rose by 12.3 % more than the previous year in annual terms. Also we can say that the current account deficit has decreased, but again is an important aspect that affects the economy of our country especially considering the volatility of FDI and remittances. Throughout 2012 we can say that there has been a significant improvement of working conditions, the unemployment rate has however recognized high scores although this year it has had an average of 13 % compared with 13.4 % the previous year. The private sector in the country  has increased em ployment offer, in Albania at a rate of 2.8 % based mainly in the agriculture sector of the country. By 2013, according to statistical data, unemployment continues to be high again, with an improvement of about 0.2 %. To maintain a constant interest rate, and to administer a possible inflationary trend, was used a sound monetary policies that brought the country’s macroeconomic stability. The inflation rate in the country declined by 1.5% compared with a year ago, keeping a constant level of 2%. This stability at a rate of 2-4% inflation was the main objective of the Bank of Albania. Since that in Albania, we have basket price fluctuations this reflected in a slowdown of annual inflation from 2.5% in 2012 to 2.2% in 2013. In an effort to stimulate economic growth in the country, the Bank undertook several measures, as for example the reduction of the basic interest rate from 3.75 to 3.5% during the past year. The financial system in Albania has achieved a significant degree of Euroisation. Loans in Euros remained at a level of 61% of deposits in July the past year, compared with 64% in 2012. While in terms of other deposits in foreign currency statements have a slight decrease of 2%. Albania represents a floating exchange rate regime, which has remained the same since 1992. Albanian Lek has maintained sustainability where its value in 2012 reflected a 0.9% appreciatio n against the euro. We generally are within the boundaries of a stable monetary policy, have a storage inflation and a stable exchange rate. Annual revenues did increase by about 7% in 2012 compared with the previous year. During this year, the excise tax and VAT suffered significant declines, we can say that this Decrease, resulted in 12% less than the initial objectives. Revenues from GDP fell by 25.1%, which were considered in 2011, to 24.5% in 2012. In terms of GDP spending, can also say that suffered a decrease of 0.6% compared with a year ago. Public expenditures represent just 4.6% of gross production, from 5.4% the previous year. Public debt grew considerably and non-positive, from 59.4% of GDP in 2011 to 62.9% in early 2013. So our public debt has passed the legal boundaries of 60% to nearly 3%. In the area of tax administration, we can say that there have been significant improvements in the electronic payment of taxes and also the tax filing system. There are still weaknesses in tax collection. Measures have been taken for approval to exclude imports of machinery, processing equipment and raw materials used for investment. An important measure is the abolition of  personal income tax. Interplay of market forces The country’s economy is dominating the private sector, which constitutes about 80% of GDP. Privatizations have been the basis for several state companies to place as Alb petrol oil Typeset, Alb telecom for telecommunications, INSIG as insurance and CEZ Distribution for energy, which due to disputes arbitrary, is now again in the hands of the state. There are counted about 11 new agreements for investments in agriculture, in 2012. In the energy sector we have also signed agreements for investment in hydropower opening. Privatization of three HPP has a monetary value of â‚ ¬ 109.5 million. However, I can say with conviction that state involvement in the economy is limited. Market entry and exit Registrations and licensing, of businesses have became more restrictive, and has faced a considerable increase of about 8% compared with a year ago. This was made possible through the established network one-stop-shop. Today licensed businesses make up about 12% of active companies. Legal system The legal system has had a slight progress, however, is necessary to ensure the proper application of the legal system. Still exist, the ownership uncertainty. Another weakness of our state law is delays of legal proceedings, more harmful to the business. The capacity to cope with competitive pressure and market forces within the Union Existence of a functioning market economy Albania has maintained macroeconomic stability through a market economy, but the economic slowdown last year causes the increase of the current deficit. This deficit has resulted in a decrease in domestic production, low inflation policy due to BoA’s objective. This deficit and rising public debt beyond the limits, has led to a lack of successful management of fiscal policy, the fiscal plan is expected to be even weaker. Albania has some structural obstacles which do not bring economic growth, contrary depleting it. Even though we have a certain advantage, barriers and other weaknesses continue to affect our economic system. Here we can mention the right of  property, unemployment, and incomplete process of privatization, low competitive ability, etc. . Overall, Albania has needed to consolidate public finances, and the reduction of public debt, strengthen the economy, performance, labor market, and most importantly, the fight against corruption. Economic integration with th e EU In 2012 Albania was faced with a trade Decrease, Imports and Exports constituted 87% of GDP compared with 92% a year ago. Key partner for trade of goods and services remains the EU. From the statistical data we say that EU exports in 2012 accounted for 75% of the total, and 62% of total imports. In the first six months of 2013 resulted a shrinking trade deficit with the EU, as a result of increased exports by 18.8%, but at the same time, the EU imports fell much less. One of the main partners in trade agreements remains Italy, taking half of Albanian exports and giving third Albanian import. Italy also remains one of the most important investors in Albania although much investment during the last year has seen a decrease. Export Import, with CEFTA countries has slowed by 27% which resulted in 2011, to 3% today ABILITY TO TAKE ON THE OBLIGATIONS OF MEMBERSHIP The ability to take the membership is seen in three main factors. Free movement of goods; there has been a progress as regards of stabilization, but further efforts are needed to be done and the preparations are advanced in this part. Free movement of people; The progress here is visible, since 2010 Visa liberalization can be counted as a success especially towards professional qualifications, but further efforts are needed to be plane. Free movement of capital; there also has been some progress with adaption of amendments of criminal code, low of banks and low of prevention of money laundering but even though there are several efforts that are needed to be taken. Agriculture and rural development Based on the last economic report of EU, Albania is one of the countries that have not utilized the negotiated quotas for the agriculture products; however we can say for sure that exports have been increased with countries that Albania has bilateral agreements. Exports and Export level per GDP has  been positively increased. Now we can raise a question, Why Albania has not exploiting quotas that have been negotiated in agreement from which expectations were higher? Why our agriculture products do not have comparative advantage. Regarding to Ministry of Agriculture in Albania, food products and consumer production of agriculture sector is in low rates of trade. Farms are considered small while to many hectare of land are still barren, technology process is almost old today we have still lands that are tilled by hand and levels of marketing are negative ones. This is the reason why imports in different agricultural products in Albania are higher. Regarding numbers, Albania has nearly 400 Thousand farms counted until today. These farms derive 21% of GDP and have employed more than 750 thousand persons. We should know agriculture land is 0.2Ha/ person, while 20% of poor people are farmers, in this 20% we have 93.5% of them who produce only to maintain their families not to export, the other 80% of farmers produce to sell outside borders and domestically. They sell up to 40 % of their production. Why these results? Because private investments in Albania are only 42.5 EUR per person, we still have 73 % of productive land tilled by hand. Public investments are 15 EUR per person, while we have firstly undistributed land from 98.5% of land that is returned to farmers 85.5% of it is not registered. Other problematic cases in our agriculture are also, Input quantity and quality are still low and limited. The knowledge is in low levels, Information that we take from market is inadequate, No existence of competitive products, and land market lack. Another problematic issue is that farms are not administrated well, by resulting so in a lower level of competitiveness toward other countries. Social policy and employment In terms of labor law, labor code is still in a process of approval, a challenge for our society remains the work of children ages 5-17 years old. This trend varies in 7.7% of all children in our country. In terms of health and safety at work, measures are taken to prevent accidents at work and improve working conditions. We can say that the number of accidents at work in 2012 was reduced significantly compared with 2011, but still further improvements must be hatched. As regards employment policy, is being designed an employment strategy for 2014-20. This design is still not approved. The official unemployment rate resulting in 13% during 2012, but long-term unemployment and youth unemployment are high and they need for immediate measures for reduction. Minister of Labor, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities has approved three cases for persons with disabilities. Guardian of a person with disability is paid by the Albanian state. The inclusion of supervision and review of employment of individuals with disabilities in employment offices. Design activities for sign language in schools. These projects are not yet finalized. Gender Discrimination Many explanations for the gender pay gap are proposed and finally the gender pay gap is the difference between genders seen from the human development perspective, such as education, qualitative skills and experience that men and women show to the workplace. By this point of view differences between genders are often presented as discriminatory, that for instance women leave much earlier the labor market than men do, so in Albania we have more part time works for women. By analyzing the data’s we notice that the pay gap for professional or scientist women (engineers, mathematicians, financial experts, and medical doctors) in Albania is lower than man, in terms of numbers the take nearly 2.4% less than men do. In cases like basic occupations such are, construction, fast food, street vendors the wages are 21 % lower for females compared with males. Public and private sector generate two different ways of payment, when the gap is higher on private system rather in public one. The gender pay gap in the private sector is 13.7 percent, compared with15.7 percent of the public sector. Both male and female in Albania site that here has no equality in the hiring/recruitment and no standards. I think that to reduce the inequality between males and females employees should follow the same recruitment standards for both. This should be implemented also to the recruitment for managerial positions, in order to increase the number of women applying for these job positions. I believe that a unified standard of recruitment would reduce considerably the gap. Conclusion As a conclusion I have to say that Albania is a country that is part of the Stabilization and Association Process. According to this pact we can say that Albania has strictly implemented its obligations. Today Albania is a member of several EU programs as example; Program Throughout life learning; Europe for Citizens, Culture, Competitiveness and Innovation. Based on EU conditions we must say that Albania has made improvement. The existence of a good function of market economy: This includes the main essentials’ of economic policy where the primary objective is the protection of a market oriented economy. On its macroeconomic situation, we conclude that over all Albania has preserved the macroeconomic stability, because it was less affected by external economic conditions. Monetary policy of Albania has help to keep stable inflation and control inflationary expectations. Public debt is over limited and essential reforms are still missing. According to the official data, results, states involvement in economy remains limited but it is focused on energy, transport and water supply. Albania is one of the countries that have facilitated business entry to the market but procedures for market exit are still ineffective. Albanian faces many weaknesses in rule of law, according to real data, corruption is in considerable levels and reforms of property rights are still incomplete. This has adverse affect on the market environment. Some progress is made but it is needed the consolidation of public finances and the reduction of public debt. Regarding to Human and Fiscal Capital the structure of macro economy remains unchanged; also informality remains again a challenge. Albanian economy is tangible by industry specific shocks. Albania has remained a leading trading and an investment partner of EU, as result trade has been increased. Albanian ability to take the obligation of membership, the analysis is structured based on intern al and external market of Albania which includes: Free movement of goods; there has been a progress as regards of stabilization, but further efforts are needed to be done and the preparations are advanced in this part. Free movement of people; The progress here is visible, since 2010 Visa liberalization can be counted as a success especially towards professional qualifications, but further efforts are needed to be plane. Free movement of capital; there also has been some progress with adaption of amendments of criminal code, low of banks and low of prevention of money laundering but even though there are several efforts that are needed to be taken. . Based on the study the situation with the income inequality in Albania is similar to other countries of the region and maybe beyond the region. This is caused from the same factors and causes negative effect on society. The gender gap in Albania has even another factor, that of specific cultural that is characteristic for Albanian environment to prohibit this Albania should increase the harmonization of the community, working conditions, health and securities and Equal opportunities. Albania has made little progress toward economic development and the consolidation of its democ ­racy. This is shown by the report of European commission on October 2012, as the results at fulfilling the EU’ twelve priorities were poor, and obviously it was clear that Albania would lose its chances to be awarded with the candidate status on December 2012 – and December 2013. Such a step was not justified by our economic and political conditions. References European report for Albania 2012-2013 http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/pdf/key_documents/2013/package/al_rapport_2013.pdf Bank of Albania Annual Report 2012, Production date: 21.06.2013, Author: Bank of Albania http://www.bankofalbania.org/web/Annual_Report_2012_6609_2.php Instat, Conjuncture, Main Economic Indicators, Q3-2013

Jaydens Rescue Alternative Ending Essay

â€Å"Well, AFGOI it’ll have to be,† said Alex. â€Å"That’s all we have. I just hope it’ll put Rechner away†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Next time we will see him we will all say AFGOI at once,† suggested Vanessa. They waited patiently to see the evil Rechner again so they could use the magic word to free Jayden. Several days went by and the time was passing very quickly at camp. Every day was full of activities. At the end of the week Sam, Vanessa, and Alex all decided to go sailing because of the water skiing accident. Alex did not want to water ski again. Neither did Vanessa after what happened to Alex last time. They kept wondering when Rechner would appear again. After spending time on the lake, it began to rain cats and dogs. They ran for shelter under a pavilion and were glad that they were off of the sailboat. Sam said, â€Å"Why don’t we head towards our cabin and call it a night.† Alex and Vanessa agreed. They began their long trek to reach the cabin. The ground was very soggy and muddy and they all got their shoes extremely dirty. They were all happy to hit the hay for a good night’s sleep. Their counselor stayed up to watch them to make sure they didn’t leave again. In the morning their counselor was exhausted so he let the campers sleep longer than usual. When they awoke, they all were starving and their entire cabin headed to go eat. After breakfast Alex, Vanessa, and Sam went back to the cabin to brush their teeth and that is when the evil Rechner finally appeared. All three of them said AFGOI at once and Rechner said, â€Å"Okay I give up and you win. Jayden gets to go back to her palace.† Alex, Vanessa, and Sam couldn’t believe what they just heard. Everyone that lived in Idyllia was so happy to have the Emerald Queen back. They pushed nine hundred dollars out of the book. Alex, Vanessa, and Sam were so excited because Jayden was now safe and they each had three hundred dollars. They were finally done with Rechner once and for all! Jayden’s Rescue Written By: Vladimir Tumanov Project by: Schmo went through 2 green lights. Mane went through 1 red light. Torch went through 3 yellow lights. This is 6 lights in all (2+1+3). Then they repeated the same path so 6+6= 12 lights passed. Torch went through 3 yellow lights twice so 3+3 = 6. Each ticket was $300 so 6 lights times $300 is $1,800. He only had $100 bills so you need to divide $1,800 by $100 and you get 18. Torch passed 4 ponds which each had a duck. These 4 ducks bit his hand each one time and each bite caused 4 red bumps. So 4 bites times 4 red bumps each is 4 x 4 which equals 16 red bumps.

A Postmodernist View Of International Relations Politics Essay

A Postmodernist View Of International Relations Politics Essay Some scholars argue that alternative approaches to IR theory have not made any significant contributions to the theorization of IR. Moreover, these approaches lead our IR theory into disorder and we are left with a lack of direction. However, focusing on Postmodernism, we find it has produced the idea of the power-knowledge relationship to criticize the â€Å"absolute truth† which is proposed by Positivism, and also provides us with different methodologies such as genealogy, text, narrative, discourse, deconstruction and double reading to explain world politics. Besides, Postmodernism has utilized a variety of methods such as deconstruction of text to overcome the theories and concepts that people believe (Der Derian and Shapiro, 1989). In the past international theory has been dominated by four main theories: Realism, Liberalism, Marxism and Constructivism. However, in the last two decades there has been a dramatic change to this picture. A range of new approaches has develo ped to aid understanding of world politics. In the context of globalization, even Realism seems inadequate to explain issues like the rise of non-state actors, identity politics, transnational social movements and information technology. The new major development is not only underway in the academic discipline of social science but also in the philosophy of social science, in a movement known as Positivism. Thus many alternative ways of thinking about the social sciences have been proposed and since the picture of IR theory has changed a series of alternative approaches has emerged as more relevant to world politics in the twenty first century (Smith S, 2008). Until the late 1980s, most social scientists in International Relations tended to be Positivists. But since then Positivism has been under attack. The assumptions made by Positivism met with dissent as criticism of the IR theories led by Positivism began to emerge (Smith S, 2008). This is the so-called â€Å"the third debateà ¢â‚¬  (Ashley R., 1987; 1990; Walker R. B. J., 1993). It can also be called the Positivism and Post-Positivism debate (Lapid Y., 1989; Jim G., 1990; Smith S., 1995).. The dissent from Positivism prominently contains Feminism, Critical theory, Post-colonialism, Poststructuralism and Postmodernism. Their common idea is that they all see the world as something external to the IR theory (Smith S., 2008).Postmodernism is the term used by sociologists and others to describe a way of thinking that has become pervasive in the Western world in the last twenty-five years. It is an approach to reality that is having a significant effect on architecture, art, education, law, literature, psychotherapy, science, theatre, and the study of history and people’s view of religion (Exploring Christianity-Truth, n.d.). It reached IR theory in the mid-1980s, but can only be said to have really arrived in the past fifteen years (Smith S., 2008).The term â€Å"Postmodernism† first entered th e philosophical lexicon in 1979, with the publication of The Postmodern Condition by Jean-Franà §ois Lyotard (Stanford Encyclopedia of philosophy, 2005). Other significant writers who have promoted Postmodernism are De Man, Elshtain, Geoffrey Hartman, Harold Bloom, Michel Foucault, J. Hillis Miller, Jacques Derrida, Habermas, Richard Rorty and Rob Walker. Postmodernists who have made important contributions to IR theory are Richard Ashley, James Der Derian, David Campbell and William Connolly. Its origins are found in the philosophies of Nietzsche, Heidegger, Marx and Freud (Exploring Christianity-Truth, n.d.; Smith S., 2008).

Discuss the meaning of the word of God as treated in the Old and New Essay

Discuss the meaning of the word of God as treated in the Old and New Testaments - Essay Example According to the traditional principles of Christian religion, the writings and the principles of their selection were controlled and inspired by the Holy Spirit, performing the words of the Lord to lead His followers to the truth. The Christian Church needed to know what books of the collection were divinely inspired. The Gospels, containing the information about Jesus, his doings and lessons, couldn’t be jugged as having less importance than the Old Testament. The Acts and Epistles comprising the teaching of the apostles are also regarded as created under His control. Thus, the teachings of the apostles were treated with the same respect as the ancient prophetic writings. The Church then broke with Judaism and rejected the authority if the Old Testament, but regarded it as the Word of God, taking Jesus and His disciples as example. The New Testament consists of twenty-seven writings, referred to eight authors. Six of them are believed to be apostles – Jude, James, Peter, Paul, John and Matthew, and the other two are their direct followers, Luke and Mark. If these books are regarded from the point of view of the literature and from the historical point of view, they would be observed as didactic books including Epistles, prophetical book, that is Apocalypse, and the books on the historical topic – Gospels and Acts.(2) The date of the origin of the Old Testament is referred to 2500-3500 years ago. It is assumed that it was made by the people with a culture and traditions quite different from the nowadays society. Inspite of the strong traditional links, which the Christian Church keeps within the ages, the Word of God, being read by a modern reader is judged differently compared to perception of the readers of the Medieval, and of course, of the authors, created the writing. Our interpretation and understanding of an ancient text

Media and the International Olympic Movement Essay

Media and the International Olympic Movement - Essay Example Los Angeles placed the bid for hosting the 2016 Olympics, battling Tokyo, London, New York, Chicago, Paris, Madrid and Moscow for the honor. London was chosen as the host city for the 2012 games, receiving 54 of 104 votes by members of the International Olympic Committee. Interestingly, Atlanta has not submitted bids for hosting of Summer Olympic games Since 1996, while Los Angeles has submitted bids for several Olympic games. This could be due to the fact that the City of Atlanta invested so much money into building infrastructure, facilities and the relocation of public housing that it has yet to realize the kind of revenue that was expected to be generated by hosting the games in 1996. Atlanta was also plagued by the negative publicity surrounding the bombing that occurred in the nearby Olympic Village. New of the event made headlines globally for three consecutive weeks, and continued periodically for an extended period of time. Los Angeles city officials, on the other hand, plan ned for such events and other possible catastrophes or emergencies. It secured extra space for medical treatment facilities and extra public service workers to handle crime and traffic issues. The 1984 Summer Olympic Games went well without any major mishaps or negative newsworthy events. It can be argued that chance comes into play here. Emergencies that are unexpected tend to occur while those that are planned for do not.

Entrepreneurship and Innovation Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Entrepreneurship and Innovation - Research Paper Example There is no fast forward way of attaining innovation in any process or technology. Rather the journey is strewn with intermittent success and failures and long periods of stagnation. Innovation has occurred in all spheres of activity starting from the development of products to the development of services. In the last 70 or 80 years the Information Technology industry witnessed the highest degree of innovation. The innovation of the Information Technology industry and the electronics hardware industry were followed with equivalent degree of innovation in the telecommunication industry (Achrol, 2011). The process of innovation of Omantel is discussed in this research study. For a better comprehension of the research methodology, the whole research is divided into 4 parts. In the first part of the discussion the process and technique of innovation is assessed and analysed. The strategy followed for managing the innovation of Omantel is discussed. The latter parts of the discussion are about the company establishes an innovative environment within its organisation and the strategic implications for Omantel based in Oman. Assessment and reflection on the process and techniques of innovation Schumpeter’s Theories of Innovation is discussed in this section along with other related theories. ... In order to bring innovation the entrepreneurs need to access capital and resources. Innovation and price competition are sides of two different coins, where one negates the other. If firms compete on the basis of price then only price classification occurs with no or little innovation. In order to make sure that the correct path is taken which will lead to innovation, it is absolute necessary to control the process applied. Whereas, if only inputs are considered as the most important entity rather than the process of innovation itself, then more time is wasted before innovation is finally achieved. Innovations as well as developments are non exogenous in nature. This means that innovation can occur, by simply using the internal factors present in the economic system. Fig 1: Cycle of innovation Source: (Andrews and Smith, 1996) Some of the most important factors that lead to the excellent growth of innovation are entrepreneurship and in-house capability to conduct the research and de velopments. Entrepreneurship still remains to be the most important factor among all the other factors. Instead of going for a competitive pricing strategy, a simple method of pricing is followed (Bajaj, 2001). The base price is fixed by taking into consideration the high quality of the integrated components. For example, the organisations which decided to simply add features to their previous models of products or services were outsold by those organisations that considered innovation rather than mere up gradations. Organisations like Nokia focused on innovation, while Sony and Motorola focused on up gradation only. As a result Nokia outperformed and outsmarted the other two organisations significantly which focused more on pricing strategy (Benner and Sandstrom, 2012). Those products

Growth and Development of Global Economy - Economics Essay

Growth and Development of Global Economy - Economics - Essay Example On the contrary, they are stuck in the vicious cycle due to the US subsidies which crowds the efficient producer’s market, since without subsidies the US cotton production would not be economical. The US government harms the poorer nations through subsidizing their own domestic cotton production more than it helps them through foreign aid, as proved by statistical data in The Oxfam Briefing Paper (Oxfam International, 2004, pages 1-40). The subsidies does not only affect the Balance of Payments, but has a trigger down effect, it lowers the income of farmers, thus reducing the income available for expenditure, further strengthening the economic crisis by lowering aggregate demand, the multiplier sets into a negative action, and poverty sets in, thus making West African nations vulnerable to US cotton subsidies, furthermore in accordance with Anderson and Valenzuela (Anderson and Valenzuela, 2006, page 19) the usage of Genetically Modified Organism for the cotton production in d eveloping nations would have a greater positive effect than eliminating subsidies completely. However, since it is a time-consuming process to convert every small farm to GM technology, hence from the West African nation’s perspective, the USA should eliminate its cotton subsidies in order to aid the developing nations in coming out of the economic crisis and poverty situation. The US political policies focus on hardcore protectionism with regards to the cotton market; the subsidies are unfair and distort the free trade system. According to the multiplier effect, protectionism in the cotton industry also leads to indirect help of US domestic textile and apparels industry, as presented in The Oxfam Briefing Paper. However, these subsidies focus on helping only the larger farms, despite publicizing otherwise, since 67% of the US farms are ineligible to attain the subsidy benefits, and it is generally the top 10%

Travel and Tourism Environment in Brazil Case Study

Travel and Tourism Environment in Brazil - Case Study Example During the 18th and 19th centuries, it became the commercial center for the rich sugar and cotton region along the zona da Mata west of Arcanum. Out at the Engenho Boa Sorte, two km from town along the river, is the baroque Igreja de Camandaroba, the second building that the Jesuits constructed back in 1731.Aracaju just may be the Cleveland of the Northeast. The city has little to offer the visitor-there is no colonial inheritance-and it is visually quite unattractive. Even beaches are below the prevailing high standard of the Brazilian Northeast. the Permanent Secretary relates to the activities and developments which have taken place in the period between the XVI Inter-American Travel Congress, which was held in Panama on November 25-28, 1991, and the XVII Congress. In this regard, it includes a summary report on the implementation of the resolutions of the XVI Congress, the activities of the Permanent Executive Committee (PEC), and developments relating to the General Secretariat's involvement in tourism related projects and activities. THE DEVELOPMENT OF INTEGRATED TOURISM ITINERARIES,ECOTOURISM,THE ENVIRONMENT AND TOURISM,SHORT-TERM TRAINING IN ECOTOURISM FOR THE HOTEL AND TOURISM INDUSTRY,THE ECONOMIC BENEFITS FROM TOURISM,ATTRACTING ADDITIONAL SOURCES OF CONCESSIONARY CREDIT FOR TOURISM DEVELOPMENT PROJECT,CRUISE TOURISM,FINANCING FOR TOURISM DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS 2. Roles of government, private and international organizations in developing tourism (how the government is hThe Brazilian study is the first attempt to identify those national organizations that are Making grants for public benefit in Brazil. It provides many valuable insights into the origins and nature of these organizations and their capacity to mobilize and distribute resources and Suggests ways to increase their role and impact. The findings are based on a universe of 31Grant making foundations.elping, example: foreigner policies, duty free, taxation, relaxing policies for tourists).The study shows that over three quarters of all foundations operate their own programs in Addition to giving grants. One striking feature of the Brazilian context is that these programs Are frequently operated in partnership with other nonprofits, government programs, Community associations or corporations. Through such partnerships, which take many forms and also include donations, foundations test pilot programs, replicate successful initiative sand transfer business skills. It is significant that education is given a high priority by Brazilian foundations, constituting a Programmatic priority for 81% of foundations.5 the author suggests that this is largely because education is a popular cause with the public, represents a low risk and fits national Priorities, making it possible to leverage government resources. The Brazilian study shows that corporate grant makers are playing a key role in the creation ofa new professional culture of grant making and have introduced concepts and practices from The business sector into the management of their organizations. Program designed for staff member of Brazil's congress to observe education initiatives in the

The Test of Market Price for Weak Form Efficiency Assignment

The Test of Market Price for Weak Form Efficiency - Assignment Example The presence of the market efficiency in its weak form when looking at historical prices can be explained through varying statistical tests, and the tests are mainly focused on the notion that the investor might repeatedly make more than the standard returns on the knowledge of the historical price patterns (Timmermann & Granger, 2002). To prove the weak form of market efficiency can often be complicated due to the infinite number of methods to predicting the returns in the future, evaluated against the past and present returns (Hamid et al., 2010). It is also crucial to note that there tests that can show efficiency and with the regard to the provided pattern of prices (Teall, 2012). The investor with intricate knowledge of the test that explains the market inefficiency might utilize the knowledge and obtain high returns, more than the face, or alternatively face a market obstacle that blocks the investor from realizing the market efficiency (Botten, 2007). Similarly, tests of effic iency in markets are in reality, the combined tests for the actual inefficiency and a single model that explains the standard profits in an efficient market (Moyer, McGuigan & Rao, 2015). As a result, the market efficiency concept cannot be ignored, unless the investor is aware that the right outlook for standard profits has been chosen for the specific course. Moyer, McGuigan & Rao (2015) perceive the presence of costly information in price patterns that are not normal, and in effect, the market cannot be efficient. Consequently, the best benchmark for tests of efficiency in the market will almost certainly not be hypothetically perfectly efficient. Hence, if the efficiency of the market in its weak form is present, therefore, the current prices shows that past information that contains every information might be analyzed using the price patterns of the past, as well as the trading volume of the stock (Schubert, 2009).  

Financial Goals Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Financial Goals - Assignment Example Therefore, for the next 5 years, I would like to save $50,000 to enable me expand my small electronics shop to a larger one with at least 2 branches. I would also like to pay for a down payment on a house in the next five years being that I would have graduated and would like to be on my own. The down payment of the house would be $20,000 which I’d like to save for and pay over five years. Over the next ten years however, I would expect that my kid shall have become old enough to begin going to school, therefore, I’m going to save $50,000 to enable my kid go to school. The list of my goals and how they’ll be achieved are in the table below; Financial Goal Time Frame Amount Monthly Cost Save for House down payment 5 years $20,000 $333.33 Save for Business expansion 5 years $50,000 $833.33 Save for Child’s Education 10 years $50,000 $416.67 Total monthly cost $1583.33 Cash Management Since I know very well that money must be well planned for, for one to achi eve her goals, I will apply proper cash management skills in order to be able to achieve my goals. For instance, my parents give me $5,000 monthly for personal use after paying for me all my bills and buying for me all I need. I sat down one time and realize that if this money is managed well, and I save just $1,000 0ut of it monthly, I’d be having $60,000 after 5 years. ... This function involves self denials of pleasure and leisure to make sure you put your money into proper use. In the next ten years, I’ll try to reduce on my daily spending on clothing items and shoes as well as snacks just to enable me to save some money to meet my financial goals. I’ll try to use a budget for every shopping and avoid impulse buying. My shopping list in that case will have a few of unnecessary and luxurious items. I’ll just go for the major items that will keep me going as long as I meet my financial goals. Credit and Debt Management During the next five years, once I get employed and be on a payroll, the first thing I’d like to do is to see my small electronic enterprise spread to most parts of the State. This would require much cash, I know. But I’ve a plan to obtain a $2 million credit from the bank to enable me expand the business first in every part of the State, then in the next ten years, take it to other States after getting enough capital. I’ll choose a bank that gives credit for businesses at an affordable rate. That will mean that I’ll have to shop around for the different interest rates that different banks charge for their business loans. I’ll be able to service my credit from the revenue I get from the business as well as with part of my salary. At the same time, for me to make bigger sales, I’ll have to supply my products to retailers at affordable prices for them also to make profits. I’ll be able to consider some retailers who can only manage to take the products on credit and pay later after they make some sales. In this case, I’ll make the bank be the one to collect my debts on my behalf from my debtors. This will be an efficient way of debt collection as it’ll enable me to transfer the risk

Rights and Responsibilities Essay Example for Free

Rights and Responsibilities Essay First of all, I want to tell you one important thing. Everybody has some rights and some responsibilities. Our rights are what every human being deserves, no matter who they are or where they live, so that we can live in a world that is fair and polite. Of course since these rights are for everybody, that means we all have to take a responsibility too. A responsibility is something that is your job to do something about, or to think about. It is something that affects our lives and other peoples lives. As everybody knows, children have rights and if you want to know them, you should read UN convention. There are a lot of types of rights. The most important rights is right to protection, because nowadays there are a lot of stories about exploitation and neglect. Perhaps every day somebody talks about this topic on TV. To be honest, I know my rights, but I don’t forget about my responsibilities. It’s very important to me, because It’s very hard to live only by rights. We should think about every person, because they might lose their rights, if we don’t know about our responsibilities. When we move out into the world, we learn more about the responsibilities which go with our rights. We learn that some things that humans do are not acceptable because we are not considering the rights of others. For example, things like telling lies, cheating, bullying, violence, destroying others belongings and stealing. Children are curious about the world, and it seems no matter how much information that you give them they are continuously seeking more. Political views are typically something that children at least initially pick up from their parents. Regardless of a parent’s political affiliation and viewpoint, it is only fair to teach children about a bigger picture so they can grow up informed and capable of making their own decisions. Teaching children about politics can be either a path you choose for them or a doorway to their own political feelings.

The UK Construction Industry: Impact of the Recession

The UK Construction Industry: Impact of the Recession INTRODUCTION Chapter 1: Background Information According to the Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR), the UK construction industry has 250,000 firms employing 2.1 million people, and contributes 8.2 percent of the nations Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Construction companies provide employment for every skill level from labourers to architects as well as the opportunity to work for every size of firm from family run businesses, to major contractors. Its efficient operation and competitiveness is also essential to the fulfilment of the Governments commitment to improve public services and infrastructure. The delivery of new schools, hospitals, affordable housing, eco homes, all depend on the success of the construction sector to deliver. Key issues the construction industry is facing in 2009 With cut-backs, uncertainty and more red tape it looks as if 2009 will be a challenge. To say the year has been one of turmoil and change is an understatement. The reeling financial markets and the swelling sense of gloom overshadowing the general economic outlook have, naturally, a corollary in the construction industry always a lag barometer for the economic climate. And the uncertainty is far from over. If some experts are correct, we may be witnessing just the initial battering of the storm. Mervyn King, Governor of the Bank of England, has admitted it is likely that the country is heading for a â€Å"prolonged and painful recession†. In the last twelve months, the national and global situation has worsened. So in this light, below are the authors predictions for the biggest issues that UK construction will face. Skills The recession is forcing employers to look at restructuring and, ultimately, redundancies. For an industry that has enjoyed a boom for years, this is going to be a massive change of mindset employers need to be very careful they manage any redundancies properly or we will see an increase in litigation in this area. However, and perhaps perversely, the industry will continue to suffer major skills shortages, particularly in the South-east, where 2012 is a tremendous opportunity, but one which casts a skills shadow. This time, project management skills will be in short supply, due to lack of training facilities or lack of investment in education sponsoring from construction companies, rather than labour, where the situation regarding migrant workers who may be returning to their native countries will continue to remain unclear into 2009. Sectors like caring, which still needs a lot of people will attract all the labour force. Temporary workers Agency workers are soon to be given similar rights to permanent staff. It is proposed that the law will change in 2010. The new law will mean that after 12 weeks on assignment, an agency worker will be entitled to ‘equal treatment meaning the same basic working and employment conditions as a comparable permanent employee, including equal pay, notice and holiday entitlement. For an industry that employs a large volume of temporary workers, this is going to be an administrative and financial challenge that will really make itself felt in 2009. Health and safety The recent downward trend in construction-related injuries may well be over, and 2009 could see a significant increase since contractors will be looking to cut down costs on training and overlooking basic safety measures. There are suggestions that considerably different levels of adherence to health and safety rules are due to the rapid influx of migrant workers. Different people behave and act in different ways although all working for UK construction companies. There are some people who are very meticulous about their work and adhere to each and every smallest safety precautions while there are others who can consider petty measures as time wasting. If evidence of this emerges in 2009, we could expect the industry to experience a crackdown from the HSE. We expect to see increasing postponement of Local Authority maintenance work, which will hit small contractors and subcontractors the hardest. The Government is talking about major investment in new schemes. The consequence is that, even allowing for more lending, spend will have to be clawed back from somewhere. It seems inevitable that this will be from maintenance. This will be counter-productive, as maintenance work which puts money into the pockets of smaller contractors, quickly is usually the fastest way to stimulate the economy. House building For what seems like forever, the Government has been hugely vocal about its target for three million new homes by 2020 and 10 ecotowns by 2020. As Construction News reported, housing minister Margaret Beckett is already re-articulating these as â€Å"ambitions† and â€Å"hopes†, rather than firm commitments. (from www.cnplus.co.uk/story.aspx) It would seem inevitable that â€Å"ambitions† might be downplayed further and become â€Å"future aspirations† before long. This will provide more worry for subcontractors who rely on the house-building sector for some of their work. The fact that the UK is still suffering a major shortage of housing particularly affordable housing, regardless of falling house prices does mean, however, that this semantic juggling will only be a 2009 phenomenon. Top 20 Construction Companies Q2 2009 The Top 20 construction companies league table, by construction news, ranks the UKs 20 biggest construction companies by turnover and profit, as follows. The table is updated quarterly, and was last updated inJune 2009. New Infrastructure New infrastructure output in the 12 months to the first quarter of 2009 was 7 per cent higher compared with the previous 12 months and the first quarter of 2009 was 2 per cent higher compared with the previous quarter. The outlook is becoming increasingly gloomy as the worsening economy hits the capital. London escaped the worst of the construction slowdown for much of 2008. Indeed, the value of underlying work starting on site fell by just 3 per cent in 2008. But construction starts in London fell sharply in the fourth quarter of 2008 as the worsening economic conditions took hold. The value of underlying construction starts has continued to slide during the opening months of 2009, with starts during the three months to February 35 per cent down on a year earlier. With financial and property related firms reducing their workforces, many developers have put planned construction projects on hold. The value of underlying office starts, which accounted for about a quarter of the value of underlying construction starts during 2007, fell 21 per cent last year. That said, some developers are still pressing forward with major office projects. Tighter mortgage conditions and sustained pessimism in the residential housing market are now severely impacting private housing construction in London. Having held up well during the first half of 2008, sector starts in the capital are now following a similar trend to the rest of the country. The value of underlying construction starts was  £150 million in the fourth quarter 2008, down 73 per cent on a year earlier. Construction prospects in London are becoming increasingly gloomy. The value of projects in the pre-construction pipeline has fallen away sharply, with underlying planning approvals falling by 36 per cent in value during the fourth quarter of 2008. Large projects are a significant feature of construction activity in London. At first glance the preconstruction pipeline for large projects looks promising. However, given the current economic climate, there is likely to be a higher than normal proportion of planned large projects to be either delayed or abandoned. This is due to the fact that the government is planning to spread its restricted allowable budget across several other vital sectors such as education and health. Nonetheless we should breathe a sign of relief when looking at big projects such Cross rail where preliminary works have begun this year and construction starting in 2010. We should also be looking at temporary relief projects such as the Olympics which need to be completed by mid 2012. These important projects are acting like a lifeline for major construction companies, while waiting for the bad economic climate to change a bit. Overall, construction starts has significantly deteriorated in 2009, which has affe cted small contractors a lot but there is still a glimmer of hope for major firms with very few massive projects. Chapter 2: History of recession The word recession has several meanings. The simplest one could be, a recession happens when our neighbour losses his or her job, and it is a depression when we are made redundant. Economic textbooks tell that a recession is what happens when the economy shrinks for six months on the trot. GDP is used to measure the size of the economy, and when the figures go negative for two successive three months periods (or quarters) the technical definition is met (from http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/economics/article5753844.ece). When recessions are prolonged past several months, they become depressions. Unlike recession there is no widely accepted textbook definition of a depression, although some say it comes when GDP shrinks by a total of 10 per cent. It will feel distinctly like a depression if a recession goes on for more than a year. After two years, talk of recessions is sure to be replaced by ultra-glum references to depression. Credit crunch timetable Year 2007 In February HSBC gives an early sign of the crisis to come when it warns of higher than expected mortgage defaults in its US business. In August BNP Paribas suspends three funds exposed to sub-prime mortgages. European Central Bank pumps â‚ ¬95 billion into the markets. In September Northern Rock seeks emergency funding. First run on a UK bank for more than 140 years. In October UBS, of Switzerland, is the worlds first major bank to announce losses from sub-prime-related investments, totalling $3.4 billion. Year 2008 In February Northern Rock is nationalised. In March Bear Stearns, the US investment bank, seeks emergency funding and is sold to JP Morgan in a cut-price deal, sparking week of turmoil in stock markets. In April Nationwide records first annual house price fall for 12 years. In September Lehman Brothers, the US investment bank, goes bust. Bradford Bingley is nationalised. In October The Icelandic banking system collapses. Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds TSB and HBOS are partly nationalised. Year 2009 In January UK officially enters recession. In March Base rate cut to 0.5 per cent. The credit crunch refers to a sudden shortage of funds for lending, leading to a resulting decline in loans available. A Credit Crunch can occur for various reasons: Sudden increase in interest rates (e.g. in 1992, UK government increased rates to 15%) Direct money controls by the government (rarely used by Western Governments these days) A lack of liquidity in the capital markets The recent credit crunch was driven by a sharp rise in defaults on subprime mortgages. These mortgages were mainly in America but the resulting shortage of funds spread throughout the rest of the world. Steps to 2007 / 08 Credit Crunch US mortgage lenders sell many inappropriate mortgages to customers with low income and poor credit. It is hoped with a booming housing market, the mortgages will remain affordable. Often there was lack of controls in the sale of mortgage products. Mortgage brokers got paid for selling a mortgage, so there was an incentive to sell mortgages even if they were too expensive and high chance of default. To sell more profitable subprime mortgages, mortgage companies bundled the debt into consolidation packages and sold the debt on to other finance companies. In other words, mortgage companies borrowed to be able to lend mortgages. The lending was not financed out of saving accounts, for example. These mortgage debts were bought by financial intermediaries. The idea was to spread the risk, but, actually it just spread the problem. Usually subprime mortgages would have a high risk assessment rating. But, when the mortgage bundles got passed onto other lenders, rating agencies gave these risky subprime mortgages a low risk rating. Therefore, the financial system denied the extent of risk in their balance sheets. Many of these mortgages had an introductory period of 1-2 years of very low interest rates. At the end of this period, interest rates increased. In 2007, the US had to increase interest rates because of inflation. This made mortgage payments more expensive. Furthermore, many homeowners who had taken out mortgages 2 years earlier now faced ballooning mortgage payments as their introductory period ended. Homeowners also faced lower disposable income because of rising health care costs, rising petrol prices and rising food prices. This caused a rise in mortgage defaults, as many new homeowners could not afford mortgage payments. These defaults also signalled the end of the US housing boom. US house prices started to fall and this caused more mortgage problems. For example, people with 100% mortgages now faced negative equity. It also meant that the loans were no longer secured. If people did default, the bank couldnt guarantee to recoup the initial loan. The number of defaults caused many medium sized US mortgage companies to go bankrupt. However, the losses werent confined to mortgage lenders, many banks also lost billions of pounds in the bad mortgage debt they had bought off US mortgage companies. Banks had to write off large losses and this made them reluctant to make any further lending, especially in the now dangerous subprime sector. The result was that all around the world, it became very difficult to raise funds and borrow money. The cost of interbank lending has increased significantly. Often it was very difficult to borrow any money at all. The markets dried up. This affected many firms who had been exposed to the subprime lending. It also affected a wide variety of firms who now have difficulty borrowing money. For example, biotech companies rely on ‘high risk investment and are now struggling to get enough funds. The slow down in borrowing has contributed to a slowing economy with the possibility of recession in the US a real problem. Credit Crunch in the UK UK mortgage lenders did not lend so many bad mortgages. Although mortgage lending became more relaxed in the past few years, it still had more controls in place than the US. However, it caused very serious problems for Northern Rock. Northern rock had a high percentage of risky loans, but, also had the highest percentage of loans financed through reselling in the capital markets. When the subprime crisis hit, Northern Rock could no longer raise enough funds in the usual capital market. It was left with a shortfall and eventually had to make the humiliating step to asking the Bank of England for emergency funds. Because the Bank asked for emergency funds, this caused its customers to worry and start to withdraw savings (even though savings werent directly affected) As a result of the credit crunch, the UK has seen a change in the mortgage market. Mortgages have become more expensive. Risky mortgage products- like 125% mortgages have been removed from the market. UK Banks continue to face problems. HBOS (Owner of Halifax) struggled to finance its balance sheet. Like Northern Rock, it financed an expansion of lending by borrowing. Now money markets have frozen up, they couldnt raise enough money to maintain liquidity. Falling House prices. Now that mortgages are difficult to get, demand for houses has slumped. Therefore, house prices have fallen. Lower house prices mean many face negative equity. Therefore, mortgage defaults now cost banks even more (because they cant get back the initial loan. Bradford Bingley was nationalised because it couldnt raise enough finance. The BB had specialised in buy to let loans, which are particularly susceptible to falling house prices. How long will the Credit Crunch Last? The credit crunch could last a long time. This is because: House prices are still falling in the US, reducing the value of mortgage loans Many homeowners still face rising interest rates, when their introductory periods come to an end It can be difficult to regain confidence in the financial markets A recession in the US and global downturn could cause a further rise in bad loans The cheerfully named Profile of Depression shows the fall in UK economic growth, as measured by GDP, following some ofthe key slumps of the past century. It compares these to todays crisis. It illustrates the level of fear among experts about the financial hurricane that has disabled Britain -the ‘Noughties bust had, until very recently, actually been worse than the Great Depression of the 1930s (although it was less ‘Great in Britain than it was in the US, where GDP shrank by more than 25%). LITERATURE REVIEW Chapter 3: Effects of recession on UK construction Industry First of all, some uncomfortable facts and figures: 4,500,000 people on council house waiting lists 300,000 construction jobs in danger across the sector 90,000 predicted job losses for Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) builders 71 percent fall in workload for the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) private house builders 61 percent FMB companies expecting lower workloads in 2009 quarter one 60 percent FMB companies reporting fall in workloads for fourth consecutive quarter 52 percent FMB builders warning they will be making staff cuts over the coming months 16 percent house price fall to date 8 construction companies going into insolvency every day 7.5 percent fall in building prices in the last quarter of 2008. The construction industry has been particularly badly hit as a result of the credit crunch and the down turn in the housing market. The industry is facing its biggest challenge for many years. The indicators are that many will struggle to survive in the current market, with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) predicting the loss of over 300,000 jobs within the industry and with 52 percent of FMB members warning that they will be making staff redundant over the coming months. There is currently a crisis in the housing market with many first time buyers unable to get a mortgage let alone afford a first home. Alongside this there are more than 90,000 families living in temporary accommodation and 1.6 million families on council house waiting lists; the case for building new homes is therefore very clear. However, news from the National House Building Council shows new home starts being at their lowest level since 1924. The authors feel that current proposals to deal with this desperate situation dont go far enough in tackling the real problems affecting the UK construction industry and the wider housing sector. If the UK construction industry is to have any realistic chance of surviving this recession, these 10 key issues need to be addressed to kick start the building industry. The effects of the recession are affecting all aspects of the UK national economy. In December 2008, the construction sector shrank at its fastest pace since records began. The most considerable decline was registered in house building, while the civil engineering and commercial sub-sectors also fell at record rates during that month. As well as the decline in the housing construction sector, the housing market has also slumped. According to the Halifax, house prices fell 16.2% in 2008, the biggest annual decline since it began keeping records in 1983. This has made buying a home more affordable when set against earnings than at any time since April 2003. However, getting a mortgage is difficult for many. Data from the Bank of England showed the number of mortgage approvals fell to 27,000 in November 2008, representing at least a nine-year low (from BBC News, 2 January 2009, www.news.bbc.co.uk). Roy Ayliffe, Director of Professional Practice at the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply, said: Once again, the housing sector bore the brunt of the crisis as purchasing managers reported significant reductions in new business. Amidst a climate of doom and gloom, firms were forced to axe more jobs in preparation for what is set to be another year of trouble and turmoil. (from Times Online, 5 January 2009, www.timesonline.co.uk) The UK government has plans for public spending and it is hoped that these will include major construction projects, such as roads, schools and other public buildings. This would help the construction industry and those companies that supply the construction industry to ensure continued employment for many. Businesses in the construction industry therefore need to ensure they remain competitive during this difficult economic climate. At the same time, they need to prepare the business to be able to take advantage of any future upturn in the market. Everyone knows the downturn has hit the industry badly. But research commissioned by The Construction News from Emap Glenigan shows the true extent of the contraction, how it breaks down by sector and region, and what the likely outcome for the rest of the year will be. Parts of the industry private housing, offices and industrial are badly affected by the deteriorating economic conditions and the credit crunch. The situation is brighter for those with jobs in infrastructure and the Olympics, although neither of these will be enough to sustain overall industry activity. Historically, economic growth below two per cent has been associated with falls in construction output. Last month, GDP growth for the second quarter was revised down to zero. Consensus forecasts suggest prospects for growth will slow even further in 2009. The gloomy economic conditions have led to a sharp fall in the flow of new projects in the pre-construction pipeline. Glenigan expects construction starts in the UK will fall by five per cent in value during 2009. Private housing has been most affected by the credit crunch. The reappraisal of risk by the banking sector has arguably led to more appropriate criteria for accessing credit. However, as a result the asset price bubble in the housing market has burst. This is causing a long-term contraction in demand since prospective buyers can no longer borrow as much to finance house purchases. Inevitably, those in private housing construction will have to find a way to either cut per unit costs or, more likely, adjust to a new, much lower, level of housing demand. The impact of the credit crunch on other private sector parts of construction industrial, offices, retail and hotels is different. These sectors have not suffered from the asset price bubble evident in private housing. However, investment in each of these sectors is affected by the prevailing economic conditions. As such, the immediate outlook is bleak but, with the Olympics on the horizon, construction prospects for the sector should start to improve in the latter half of 2009, when all major works will need to be started in order to be ready for 2012. The Government has had an ambitious construction-related spending programme across a number of sectors. Education and health in particular will benefit from an increase in the value of construction projects this year. But the Government is not immune to the economic slowdown. The absorption of Northern Rock has already put the Governments finances under pressure. Falling retail sales, rising unemployment and a decline in the profitability of UK firms will reduce tax receipts and add to its difficulties. Looking forward, the poor state of Government finances may jeopardise some of its proposed construction schemes. Major infrastructure projects will continue to help buoy the UK construction industry. Projects such as the widening of the M25 motorway and Crossrail are set to provide a boost to the sector. Ongoing projects such as Thameslink and the Edinburgh tram line will continue to contribute to the sectors workload for some time yet. Outside transport, the sector should also benefit from increased capital expenditure by water and electricity utilities. At present, the macroeconomic and sector-specific conditions are having a much bigger impact on the UK construction outlook than regional factors. Regional variations Differences in the composition of construction sectors within each region explain much of the variation in the regions respective prospects. For instance, regions where industrial construction is relatively significant, such as the West Midlands and Yorkshire and Humberside, will see the value of construction starts contract this year. The North-east, which has relatively less exposure to private housing than other regions, is faring better. Construction orders down 9% as property market slumps New orders in the British construction industry have continued to plunge as building firms are battered by the credit crunch. The Office for National Statistics said that orders fell by 9% in the three months to November, compared with the previous three months. They were 27% down on a year-on-year basis. The figures showed that new construction orders were particularly weak in November itself, diving 38.6% year-on-year. The private housing sector was a major casualty, with new orders down by 55% compared with a year ago. All the UK house builders have dramatically reined in their activity and cut jobs as the housing market has slumped. Howard Archer, chief UK and European economist at IHS Global Insight, said the data showed that the construction sectors recession deepened markedly in the fourth quarter of 2008. He sees little prospect of conditions improving soon. â€Å"With housing market activity and prices likely to remain depressed for some considerable time to come and the commercial property sector in dire straits, the construction sector looks set for extended weakness, despite some support from the government bringing forward some public construction activity and infrastructure spending as part of its fiscal stimulus package,† Archer said. Accountants Grant Thornton said that the construction and property sector was set to be the worst casualty of the economic downturn in 2009, plummeting by 75% in profitability and 71% in turnover from the same period last year. Clare Hartnell, head of property and construction at Grant Thornton, said: â€Å"Profitability and turnover within the construction and property sector are significantly driven by sales and market value; 2008 was a turbulent year as credit dried up and confidence plummeted, causing house prices and the number of properties sold to fall sharply. The decline in the residential market consequently has had a knock-on-effect on the construction sector, where problems have been exacerbated by huge debts as many proposed developments have been put on hold.† http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=tnuPqsRPvjute_-qBacPptQoid=4output=image The year 2009 is set to be a trying year to say the least. Part of the reason for this is the current state of the economy. Lack of available credit will have an adverse effect on the ailing construction and property sector. http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=tnuPqsRPvjute_-qBacPptQoid=6output=image The June Glenigan Index reveals that promised government funding has finally begun to filtering through to project starts. In particular a rise in educational, health and social housing projects starting on site have helped steady the Index, cutting the year-on-year decline to 20%. Workload trends: Infrastructure Infrastructure saw the value of underlying planning approvals (covering schemes under  £100M) fall sharply last year. Whilst the fall appears to have dampened the flow of project starts, with the value of underlying project starts during the first five months of 2009, 13% down on a year earlier, the overall prospects for the sector are bright. With the help of the new infrastructure planning commission, it is hoped that new planning consents for key projects can be accelerated. Impact of the recession on supply chain The construction industry has got the largest supply chain, compared with other industries. It ranges from mere nails to large modular constructions. It has been a major contributor since the dawn of this industry and has risen in vigour and strength over the years. Its integration with our industry has created a revolution that triggered the rise of new technologies powered by their contribution. This general introduction, gives us a fair knowledge of the value of supply chain to the construction industry. When this unexpected recession struck the markets with tremendous force, the construction industry felt the tremor, and its repercussions were felt throughout its branches. As the properties and developments went down, demand dropped, which in-turn left the developers with no option but to suspend majority of their works. The great â€Å"feeders† supply chain took its toll. Demand for their products vanished. Then the only rule of law that applies is â€Å"Survival of the fittest†, i.e. the one who could bring best deals could survive (both in price and Quality) and others would go bust. By and large the prices soured. Illustration with an example would clearly explain what the authors are trying to convey. Major components of our industry are cement, ready-mix, rebar and structural steel. Their price variation could indicate the trail recession took. http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=tnuPqsRPvjute_-qBacPptQoid=2output=image All major supply resources have dropped in price dramatically one or the other time, to merely survive this recession rather than making profit. One of the major suppliers, now are for the ODA. Even they are experiencing the crunch. All the pre-allocated works, which assured definite return, are re-examined to align with the new prices. This has created friction, and even few of them moved on for adjudication. ODA has awarded contracts to around 1036 suppliers, most of which are small to medium sized businesses. This is a government initiative to prop up the middle class players, and there-by securing best deal contracts. Similar public investments could be seen in the health and education sectors, which form large part of the construction order-book and keep the pressure off. The main issue here is the growing trend of irresponsible pricing to win the scarce bids. That is, pricing below the cost. Many experts have warned of the return of industrial dispute culture of the 1980. This could ruin the objective. Recessionary impact was clearly felt when private investments dried up and forced the government twice to dip into the contingency budget. Due to this ill demand, there has been deterioration in construction product manufacturing. All heavy side manufacturers and 91% of light side manufacturers reported that sales had fallen; unprecedented results have been collected, research shows

Potential Problems In Raising Brand Awareness

Potential Problems In Raising Brand Awareness Product Branding Using relevant examples from the public, non-profit and private sectors, discuss the reasons why different types of organizations might consider branding to be the most important aspect of their product or service. What are the potential problems with building brands? One thing in common between Coca-Cola, McDonald, Disney, Nike, Sony, and Microsoft is that they all have powerful brands that are recognised all over the world. The well-established brand names have helped these companies generate enormous fortune. There is little doubt that brand names are the most valuable assets for many companies. For this reason, there are still many companies that are struggling to build their brand names and the majority of today’s large companies have taken the legacy of existing brands in order to make them more competitive. For example, although mineral water is an undifferentiated product, Nestle acquired Perrier for $2.5 billion because of the Perrier’s long established brand name that carried a charm invaluable to Nestle. There has been a growing interest in the value of brand names. As of 1993, the most valuable brand name was Coca-Cola with an estimated worth of $36 billion (Owen 1993). The world’s10 most valuable brands in 2006 we re (in rank order): Coca-Cola, Microsoft, IBM, General Electric, Intel, Nokia, Toyota, Disney, McDonald, and Mercedes-Benz. Coca-Cola’s brand value was $67 billion, Microsoft’s $57 billion, and IBM’s $56 billion. With these well-known companies, brand value is typically over one-half of the total company market capitalization (Business Week 2006). The reasons for such high worth of brand names include: (1) the costs of new product launch reaching approximately $100 million and high failure rates; (2) the reluctance of consumers to buy unfamiliar new products; and (3) high returns successful brands yield (Aaker 1991). Today’s successful companies have launched brands that create a wealth of perceptions, beliefs, attitudes, and experiences to turn a product and name into something to which the consumer relates. Their branding strategy has been developed to meet the needs and desires of consumers (Stobart 1994; Kochan 1996). The focus of this essay is to look the reasons why most organizations considered branding as the most the important aspect of their products or services as well as looking at the potential problems when building a brand. What is a Brand? There is little doubt that brands are at the heat of marketing and business strategy. Strong brands can make companies win in today’s highly competitive marketplace. One may question, â€Å"How did a brand originate?† and â€Å"What does a brand mean?† The aim of this part is to answer these two questions and to examine the implications for branding. The Origin of a Brand According to Nilson (1998), the term â€Å"brand† originated from the Scandinavian word for â€Å"branna’,† meaning â€Å"to burn a mark on something.† The Swedish word for fire is â€Å"brand.† In the earliest days of farming, farmers or ranchers put their symbols on the cattle with the help of a hot iron in order to assert their right to ownership (Kochan 1996; Nilson 1998). Since then, branding has been used in order to claim someone’s ownership of a good or service. Literatures show that the first example of branding is the manufacture of oil lamps in the Greek islands. During this time, people bought a primitive form of oil lamp, but the quality of the lamp varied. People could not tell between a good and bad lamp when they made purchase. For this reason, craftsmen in one Greek island started to put a special symbol on their long-lasting lamp so that people can distinguish their products from less-lasting lamps produced by others. They branded their goods so that they could differentiate their product and, presumably, charge a premium price (Nilson 1998). Similarly, today many companies seek to build brands so that consumers can pick their products not those of others. The Definition of a Brand According to Brassigton and Pettitt a brand is the â€Å"creation of a three-dimensional character for product, defined in terms of name, packaging. Colours, symbols etc., that helps to differentiate it from its competitors, and helps the customer to develop a relationship with the product† (Brassigton and Pettitt 2003, p. 1099). Some experts have, however, argued that it is dangerous to adopt one single definition of a brand because there are many other things to be taken into account. They insist that brand definitions should be categorised under six headings: (1) visual; (2) perceptual; (3) positioning; (4) added value; (5) image; and (6) personality (Nilson 1998). In addition, we need to look at other meanings in order to have a better understanding of a brand. There are two representative models – brand image and brand identity that are different from each other. Brand image refers to the image of a brand that exists in the minds of consumers as a result of all the information they have received about the brand, from experience, word of mouth, advertising, packaging, service and so on; the information is modified by selective perception, previous beliefs, social norms, forgetting (Randall 1997). Companies can control their brand images as long as they understand the essence and expression of their brand. The four dimensions form the essence at the centre. The brand identity, such as the brand’s name, logo, colours, tagline, and symbol (Kotler 2003), becomes strong only when the four dimensions support each other constantly. If any quadrant is weak, or sending conflicting messages, then resulting image in consumers’ minds will be confused (Randall 1997). Reasons why most organizations consider branding to be the most important aspect of their products or service: A brand is a necessity for a business and – whether the manager likes it or not – a business will have a brand profile. Working closely with the brand, rather than in the classical business sense of leaving it to the customers to work out what to think about the company, will give the organization some distinct advantages. The importance of branding in a private organization can be summarized in two categories: first it is financially beneficial for the company, and second it gives the employees a sense of purpose. For the purpose of boosting morale, a brand that the employees can be proud of, and feel a sense of belonging to, can have considerable positive effect on the morale in a company (Nilsoon 1998). One example is the Virgin group where founder Richard Branson’s very high profile and clear statements about company purpose serve as morale booster for the whole group. Similar effects appear to be at play at Microsoft, where a strong sense of identity with the company – and consequently with the brand – pushes employees to high levels of productivity and, not least, loyalty (Nilson 1998). For profit making purposes, a strong brand in a private sector creates barriers to entry. The stronger the brand values of the leading brands in a sector, the stronger the reputation of the main competitors and the more difficult it is for other players to enter the market. Brands also often represent continuity which is important in the sense of keeping customer relations. Having a strong brand does create economies of scale, not least in communication. A well-established and correctly built brand will in an instant communicate a distinct set of values (such as trustworthy, reliable and leading-edge) much quicker and more effectively than any expensive commercial (Nilson 1998). Branding helps a firm to introduce a new product that carries the name of one or more of its existing products, because buyers are already familiar with the firm’s existing brands. For example, Heinz regularly introduces new tinned products. Since consumers are used to buying the brand and have a high regard for its quality, they are likely to try the new offerings. Branding also facilitates promotional efforts because the promotion of each branded product indirectly promotes all other products that are similarly branded (Dibb et al 1997). Branding also helps seller by fostering brand loyalty. Brand loyalty is a strongly motivated and long decision to purchase a product or service. To the extent that buyers become loyal to a specific brand, the company’s market share for that product achieve a certain level of stability, allowing the firm to use its resources more efficiently. When a firm succeeds in fostering some degree of customer loyalty to a brand, it can charge a premium price for the product (Dibb et al 1997). For example, Consumers are loyal to buy Armani because they appreciate its status and fashionable values, and Apple computers because they appreciate their creative and human values. These values reflect and enhance the consumer’s sense of him/himself and provide a key source of brand differentiation (Kochan 1996). Similarly, the importance of branding in the public sector cannot be under-estimated. While it remains an essential part in the day to day running of private sectors for the purpose of maximising profits, the profit making purpose is however less significant with public sectors. A distinct example of branding in the public sector is the NHS. Rather than being portrayed as a brand for profit making, the aim of the NHS is provide adequate health care service for the nation. Due to the virtual non-existence of an aim of making profits, there is little or no competition for the NHS, therefore there ought to be other reasons for their various forms of branding. A significant example of the essence of branding for the NHS is their association with life saving ventures such as safe sex practices and â€Å"quit smoking† campaigns (Lecturer’s Note 2006),. The various steps taken by the NHS to encourage safe sex practices through the television and newspaper adverts ensure that t hey are easily associated with any life saying adverts and their â€Å"NHS† brand once seen on TV means a life saving advert is coming on. Even though, this is not fore the sake of making profits but people start taking them more seriously, likewise what they preach, thereby achieving the ultimate goal of saving lives (Lecturer’s Note 2006). Like the private companies, they spend some money on adverts and branding but more emphasis is on profit making by the private companies than the public companies. Essentially, branding is a way of getting attention and developing a relationship with target audiences and this is especially important for public organizations with little or no aim of profit making. The competitiveness brought about by branding in the public sector is therefore targeted at getting audiences rather than making more profits than private companies (Colyer 2006). Furthermore, branding for non-profit making organizations is as important as those for private and public organizations albeit with a slightly different aim and approach. The aim of competition is as important for non-profit making organizations as it is important for private organizations. Branding here is therefore aimed at building a better relationship with supporters, thereby establishing greater trust in the organization. Interestingly, it may be surprising to find out that competition among non profit making organizations such as various charities may be as fierce as private organizations. This competition is however aimed at making one’s charity the most important in the minds of the people than other charities. For example, the impact of branding by the NSPCC may be the outstanding factor that determines if to donate money to them rather than the heart foundation. Similarly, the charities we choose to support may be borne out of the fact that a significant aspect of i ts branding appeals to us more than other types (Lecturer’s Note 2006). While most charities aim to save lives, the branding may be geared towards making the life saving purpose more urgent than others. The different Tsunami charities set up in 2004 after the Tsunami tragedy as part of their branding gave vivid views of devastating events in Asia as they set out to outdo one another in donations, even though they were for the same course. In this case, the competitive nature of branding may be said to be, to generate as much funds as possible for a similar course rather than for making profits (Mitchell 2005). Potential problems in raising brand awareness The power of a well-known brand name, supported by strong advertising, is so great (and long lasting) that 20 of the top 25 leading brands in 2005 were also among the top 25 in 2006. But companies are finding it increasingly difficult to attract the customer’s attention and create brand awareness because of the clutter of new products, brands, and advertising in the environment. Thus, approximately 90% of new products are pulled from the market within two or three years of their introduction. Most of them failed for lack of name recognition – consumers were just not aware of them (Morgan 1999; Bulkeley 1991). The risks of creating a new brand are so great that many companies are developing so-called line extensions. Rather than developing a new brand name, marketers are applying their existing, well-known brand name to new products. Red Bounty (with dark chocolate), Coca-Cola Light, and Ariel Colour are but a few well-known examples. Building name recognition can be very difficult and very expensive, especially for small companies. Market leaders often command budget upon 10 times greater than smaller companies. For instance, Nike and Reebok spend about $100 million. Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola can afford to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on extensive advertising campaigns (Pereira 1991). Get help with your essay from our expert essay writers Customer Factors Some customers like to seek variety in their experience; they get bored with the same product or life experience. Other customers like change and variety and are happy with old. The variety-seeking customers may switch from one brand to another, not because they are dissatisfied with the first brand’s performance and other values, but rather simply for the sake of change and variety. The more variety seeking a customer is, the less brand loyal he is likely to be (Sheth et al 1999). Conclusion In conclusion, the key to developing a brand vision is to assess the values of the organization, distil them into a vision and not tamper or interfere with the vision’s simplicity and power. Consistency and clarity are all-important. Coke forgot the strength and simplicity of its existing product values when it tried re-launching its much loved product under the banner of ‘New Formula’ (Coca cola Seminar Video 2006). Conversely, Mars understood perfectly its existing product values when it launched Mars ice cream on the back of the Mars bar. Design and presentation of the product flows from the values. Coherence is once again the name of the game. The presentation of the packaging, the use of the logo, the typeface all need to accord with the brand values and be internally consistent with Cost effectiveness (Nilson 1998; Kochan 1996). Nevertheless, it is clear that branding plays an important role in the private; public as well as non-profit sector. However, a com pany raise profit if it builds a strong brand name. The company can benefit if consumers buy its brand in preference to other brands, and it gains more benefits if this preference maintains for long periods. If customers perceive one brand as superior, then they become less sensitive to price. Rather, they will be willing to pay more for the brand they like. Such brand loyalty allows the company to charge more and thus generate healthy cash flows. It also makes it harder for competitors to enter the market. Building a brand has become concern for every business. Brands are, therefore, at the heart of marketing and business strategy. References Aaker, D. A., (1991), Managing Brand Equity: Capitalising on the Value of a Brand Name, New York: The Free Press Business Week, (2006), ‘The Worlds 10 Most Valuable Brands’, http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/01_32/b3744003.htm Colyer, E., (2006), ‘Branding in public’, http://brandchannel.com/features_effect.asp?pf_id=310#more Kochan, N., (1996), ‘The World’s Greatest Brands’ London: McMillan Business, 1996, pp. x-xi Kotler, P., (2003), Marketing Management, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall Lecturer (2006), ‘Lecturer’s handout and Coca cola Seminar video’ Birkbeck College Mitchell, B. (2005), ‘Make Poverty History – passion statement’, http://brandchannel.com/features_profile.asp?pr_id=249 Morgan, A., (1999), Eating the Big Fish, New York: John Wiley Sons, Inc Nilson, T. H., et al., (1998), Competitive Branding: Winning in the Marketplace with Value-Added Brands. Chichester: John Wiley Sons Nissim, B., (2004), ‘Nonprofit Branding: Unveiling the Essentials’, http://www.guidestar.org/DisplayArticle.do?articleId=833 Ourosoff, A., (1994), ‘Brands: What’s Hot? What’s Not?’, Financial World, Aug. 1994, pp. 240-55 Owen, S., (1993), ‘The Landor Image Power Survey: a Global Assessment of Brand Strength’, in Brand Equity and Advertising, ed. Aaker, D. A., et a. Hillsdale: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Pereira, J., (1991), ‘Name of the Game: Brand Awareness’, The Wall Street Journal, 14 Feb. 1991, pp. B1, B4 Randall. G., (1997), Branding, London: Kogan Page Sheth, J. N., et al, (1999), Customer Behaviour: Customer Behaviour and Beyond. Fort Worth: The Dryden Press Stobart, P., (1994), Brand Power, London: The Macmillan Press Ltd