Philosophy 101 Study Guide free essay sample

When: Thursday, the 26th Day of September, 2013, 3:00pm – 4:15pm Where: The same location our class normally meets What to bring: Your ASU Student ID, for when you hand in your exam An Exam book (blue book or green book) available at the bookstore A Scan-tron form (bubble-in forms) available at the bookstore TWO number 2 pencils for filling in the scantron form A blue or black ink pen (optional – pencil ok), for your exam book. I will not have extras available. If you forget yours, you’ll have to rely on the kindness of your peers or else run to the bookstore to buy some, losing you valuable time. If you bring extras for your peers, they will be supremely grateful. Structure of the Exam The exam will consist of: †¢60 multiple choice questions (for Scantron form) †¢Worth 4 points each †¢240 points total †¢questions limited to topics covered on this study guide †¢1 essay question (for exam book) †¢worth 60 points total †¢questions will be broad and comprehensive for Unit 1. †¢Answer should be 4-5 paragraphs Study Guide Warranty IF: you fill out this study guide completely based on your notes, the readings, and the lectures, making a recognizably serious attempt to put in relevant and correct information, and you turn in the completed study guide prior to the exam, either †¢as a MS Word attachment sent by e-mail to [emailprotected], with the subject line â€Å"PHI 101 STUDY GUIDE WARRANTY†, or †¢as a paper copy turned in to the SHPRS office on the 4th floor of Coor hall, time-stamped and clearly marked on the top page â€Å"Jeff Watson, Phi 101†, or †¢as a paper copy turned in on the day of the exam prior to picking up your exam. and you take the quiz and answer all 60 of the multiple-choice true/false questions. THEN:  On the multiple-choice section of the exam, you will receive at least 173 out of 240 points (72%, equivalent to a B-/C+). †¢If you receive fewer than 173 points on the multiple-choice section, and you turned in the completed study guide, then contact me after the exam, and I will automatically raise your grade on the multiple-choice section to 173 points. †¢No warranties are here given for the essay portion of the exam. †¢If you don’t take advantage of this warranty, and you get less than 173 points, no excuses or complaints. STUDY GUIDE FOR MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS From Solomon’s Little Philosophy Book: Chapter 1 What did the followers of Confucius teach? How did Confucius’s virtues differ from Socrates? Socrates emphasized the importance of the individual soul, however; Confucius insisted that what was most important in life were one’s relationships with other people. Confucius wanted to live life the right way by being honorable and faithful while Socrates believed living life the right way had to do with looking after the good of one’s own soul. Confucius teaches that one follows the dao by being respectful of the customs of one’s society, by being deferential to one’s parents, and by being a good citizen. What did the Daoists teach? How did they differ from the Confucians? Daoists act â€Å"more towards nature† rather than relating with social proprieties. They liked living naturally and a simple and respectful life. Daoist teachings aren’t teachers but rather paths that guide people to finding their true natural selves. What did Buddhism teach about the self? The Buddha taught that not only individuality but the universe as a whole was something of an illusion. Focuses less on individual self and more on living in harmony with the larger spiritual world, like Daoism. Who were Plato, Socrates, and Aristotle? How did they know each other? They were all early philosophers, Socrates wrote nothing down; Plato his prized student wrote down everything and that’s how we know about it/him and Aristotle was Plato’s student. Chapter 4 What’s the difference between local skepticism and global skepticism? Local skepticism is the view that one can not possess knowledge in some particular domain. Global skepticism is the view that one can not know anything at all. Why did Descartes insist that we begin by doubting everything we thought we knew? His aim was to use this method of doubting everything you know to discover what we actually do know for certain. So we can prove them. What did Hume argue we cannot prove about our experiences and the real world? Hume argues that we cannot prove that there is a real world outside our experience, much less that our experience is an accurate representation of that world. He says we need to get outside our experience to see whether it does fairly represent the world, however, its near impossible to do that. What did Hume believe about the laws of nature? Hume states that hoe do we know that the laws of nature tomorrow will be the same as the ones today, we only have the past to rely on which doesn’t say much about the future. We cannot prove the laws of nature and their existence. What does Solomon think is the â€Å"healthy† kind of skepticism? It means not simply taking at face value what other people tell you or simply accepting â€Å"common sense† without thinking about it on your own. You are able to think it out for yourself and figure out where your beliefs come from and how you would back them up. Plato’s Apology (‘the Trial of Socrates’) What happened in the Apology? Socrates is charged for not regarding the gods correctly, creating new deities and corrupting the youth of Athens, so he makes this speech the ‘Apology’ to defend himself. How did Socrates defend himself against Meletus? He makes Meletus feel like a fool and makes him question everything he says. How did he interpret the words of the Oracle at Delphi? He used the notion that the oracle told him that no one was smarter than him to go an interrogate everyone, and be a nuisance to the people. He took it as a riddle, he knew he had no wisdom and gods didn’t lie. What punishment did he offer to accept? He is sentenced to death. Locke’s Essay ‘On Enthusiasm’ What is â€Å"enthusiasm†? Enthusiasm is a vain and unfounded confidence in divine favor or communication, Locke strongly rejects it. What’s the unerring mark of the lover of truth for truth’s sake? One unerring mark of the love of truth is not entertaining any proposition with greater assurance than the proofs it is built upon will warrant. Not entertaining any proposition with greater assurance than the proofs it is built upon will warrant. Assuming an authority to dictate the opinions of others is a sign of what? The assuming an authority of dictating to others, and a forwardness to prescribe to their opinions, is a constant concomitant of this bias and corruption of our own judgements. How does evidence for something’s rectitude (or truth) relate to the strength of our persuasions about it? The strength of our persuasions is no evidence at all of their own rectitude: crooked things may be as stiff and inflexible as straight: and men may be as positive and peremptory in error as in truth. Only have strength in your own persuasion. How should our degree of belief relate to the evidence? Our degree of belief guides us to all answers, it’s our greatest form of persuasion and our biggest evidence. Why does Locke think his opponents’ arguments are circular? It is a revelation because they firmly believe it, and they believe it because it is a revelation. Based on Locke’s view, what’s the best way to develop a character that allows others the freedom to hold their own opinions? Guide to Philosophical Argument (the Standard View†¦): What is and isn’t a representation? A picture of you may be a representation of you, but it’s not you. It’s how someone or yourself can view you. But you can always misinterpret a representation What’s a proposition? Propositions are representations of the world which are in some sense language-independent. What makes a proposition true or false is whether the proposition corresponds to a fact. If it corresponds it’s true, if not, no. What is a fact? What is an opinion? Facts are things which we know for certain (however there can be facts about things people don’t even know) and opinions are things which we don’t really know, and we have a thought or suggestion about it. What’s the difference between being vague, ambiguous, and relative? Something can be vague but not ambiguous, or vice versa. Bat is ambiguous but not vague. And relativism: A theory, especially in ethics or aesthetics, that conceptions of truth and moral values are not absolute but are relative to the persons or groups holding them. What sorts of things might make a relative truth true? There is no truth, everything is a matter of opinion. However, if all the facts are true then it might be true. What’s the difference between sense and reference? The sense of the word is the concept the word expresses and the what the word refers to is the object, entity or property in the world that it stands for. Mammal- sense of the word animals with mammary glands and whatnot, reference whales, lions and tigers for example. How could a word have no referent? Like the word unicorn, there’s a sense of it; a horse with a horn on it’s head. But its mythical and doesn’t exist so there are no unicorns which leave it with no reference. How could a word have no sense? Then there’s a word like love, everyone has a different sense of love so there’s no one universal sense to it. How would two words have different senses but the same referent? President of America, refers to Barack Obama but could refer to someone else in 4 years. Why are all opinions either true or false? Opinions are beliefs about what facts are, so one person’s beliefs may end up to be true and one’s may not. If I have so much evidence that I must believe something, why could it still be false? I can think I can fly by just flapping my arms, but there are rules of gravity that allow me not to fly, so it’s difficult to believe it’s true. How would you recognize an inductive argument? Inductive arguments start with a series of particular truths about individual instances, and draw a general conclusion about a large group of instances. How would you recognize a deductive argument? Deductive arguments can start with â€Å"Ifthen†¦Ã¢â‚¬  statements, or â€Å"either†¦.or†¦Ã¢â‚¬  statements, and lastly Reductio arguments which involve believing something, then finding a contradiction in the belief and then proving it false. How would you recognize an abductive argument? Abductive arguments are weak, all they prove is that there is a plausible working hypothesis, not that it’s true or false. What’s the difference between logical necessity/possibility, epistemic necessity/possibility, and natural (or ‘nomic’) necessity/possibility. Logical possibility is the broadest sense of ‘possible’, its a scenario which contains no contradictions. Logical necessity means that every possible way the world could be is one in which the proposition is true (all cats are cats). Epistemic possibility, given the evidence I have, something is probably highly unlikely to be true (pigs can fly). Natural possibility, something might be logically possible but contradict with one of the laws of nature. (flyings example but violates law of gravity). What’s it mean for an argument to be valid? An argument is valid when, and only when, there is no logical possibility of the premises being true and the conclusion being false. How would you recognize a valid argument? A valid argument says the it must be logically impossible for the conclusion to be false if the premises are true. (All dogs are mammals, Old Yeller is a dog, Old Yeller is a mammal.) What’s it mean for an argument to be sound? All the premises are true, and the argument is valid. What is the doctrine of recollection? It’s the idea that we are born possessing all knowledge and our realization of that knowledge is contingent on our discovery of it. Our soul once knew everything and forgot it, so we are recollecting all the knowledge. What’s Socrates’s argument for the doctrine of recollection? Socrates’s conclusion: the soul is immortal, because the truth of all things has always existed in the soul. What does Socrates think the boy’s knowledge of geometry shows? That he had the previous knowledge already, a priori knowledge. Why does Socrates argue that Meno’s boy slave has a priori knowledge? Because when he tested him on geometry, the slave was able to get the correct answer because he already had the knowledge in him, he just had to recollect it. Socrates holds that a priori knowledge comes from where? Plato is a(n): empiricistrationalist idealist? From Descartes’s Meditations 1st meditation: Meditator looks back on all the falsehoods and realizes he could have doubted everything, he starts to doubt all the foundations and big things. Ends up realizing even simple things can be doubted. Why did Descartes begin his process of doubting the existence of the external  world? However, his purpose wasn’t to achieve tranquility, but to reveal the foundations of knowledge.It was not because he really didn’t believe we could know anything. It was because he wanted to know what ultimately, at the bottom level, justified all of our other beliefs. Which 3 arguments does Descartes offer to get himself to doubt? 1. My senses have deceived me. (mirages, etc.) 2. I could be dreaming this all up (very complicated dream). 3. God or an evil demon are making us doubt everything and not fully believe it. Why doesn’t the deceitfulness of his senses give Descartes reason to doubt everything? Only made him a local skeptic, not a global skeptic, dealt with small matters. What never changes in Descartes’s dreams? Arithmetic and geometry never change. 2nd meditation: The meditator doubts ‘I’ and if he even exists. Uses the wax experiment, knows the wax exists and studies its being. He uses it as a comparison to himself and realizes happily that he does indeed exist and that his mind is better known than his body, and that all clear and distinct perceptions come by means of the intellect alone, and not the senses or the imagination. What is the one thing that Descartes can’t doubt? Can he doubt his existence. How does Descartes know that he exists? He knows he’s having thoughts, and he’s capable of thinking, and something is doing the thinking. (wax experiment). According to Descartes, what is he? A thinking thing (immaterial soul). 3rd meditation: Proof of god being a perfect being. Why does Descartes think that an infinitely perfect God must exist? Because the universe couldn’t have come from nothing, something had to create it and he’s obviously not powerful enough to. 4th meditation: Descartes is now certain of god’s existence and questions his motives. God must be responsible for his judgement, but the Mediator doesn’t think himself as a supreme being like God. If god is a perfect being, he should be able to create perfect beings. But he now looks at God as a whole to see his perfection. How does Descartes use God’s existence as a foundation for all other knowledge? He uses it to see if God created everything perfectly and if God is the one who controls everything. And God created the perfect universe. What is foundationalism? Why does Descartes hold to it? In philosophy, foundationalism is an epistemological theory which holds that basic beliefs exist and are the foundation for all other justified beliefs. The theory rests on the assumption that beliefs must be justified by other beliefs. Even if his beliefs about the external world were false, his beliefs about what he was experiencing were still indubitably true, even if those perceptions do not relate to anything in the world 5th meditation: â€Å"The essence of material things, and considering the existence of God for a second time†. Clear and distinct perceptions are always convincing, according to the Meditator. He sets out to create an analogy between triangles and pythagorean theorem and God, saying he can prove its existence. Why does Descartes think that the most perfect being conceivable can’t fail to exist? The most perfect being has to exist because something had to have created the perfect universe. Has to prove that his sense are real and the external world exists. Descartes is a(n): empiricistrationalist idealist? Lecture on Epistemology: If you know that p, then what follows? Then p must be true; you must believe p; you must be justified in believing p; your justification must have some sort of explanation (can’t just be luck). What does â€Å"justification† mean, and what is its relationship to knowledge? A justified belief is one you rationally ought to hold, given the evidence that you have. You can’t claim to know that you are going to get a job if you don’t have the evidence for it that warrants you in believing it. What are the three types of experiences which can justify beliefs about the external world? Three types of empirical justifications: perception, memory and testimony. What is a priori justification? Its a rational justification which means â€Å"rational intuition† or â€Å"pure reason†. What’s a rationalist believe about knowledge? Who were the rationalists? Essentially, rationalists believe that (some) knowledge can be acquired through reason alone or, to put it another way, you can come to know about the world by thinking about it. Thinking about the world logically allows you to construct a complete system or entire set of rules that explain everything. Rationalists tended to believe that knowledge is a bit like maths and that, by thinking clearly enough about things, you can come to know everything without ever having to actually look at the world. As a result rationalists believed in a priori knowledge, knowledge that comes before experience. Descartes was a rationalist. What’s an empiricist believe about knowledge? Who are the empiricists? Both groups believe in the importance of reason and both groups contain scientists but empiricists believe that reason alone is not enough and that you need to provide your reason with material to work on †¦ which you can only acquire through your senses. As such, for the empiricists, perception is the source of all knowledge and reason just works on the evidence or perception that perception provides., empiricists to believe that all knowledge was more like science and that things could only be known a posteriori, i.e. after or through experience. As such, in order to find out about the world you have to conduct a series of experiments on it and then use reason to work out what those results mean. John Locke was an empiricist. From Locke’s ‘Knowledge through Experience’ Where does Locke believe that all of the materials of reason, and all knowledge, come from? For Locke, all knowledge comes exclusively through experience. He argues that at birth the mind is a tabula rasa, or blank slate, that humans fill with ideas as they experience the world through the five senses. Locke defines knowledge as the connection and agreement, or disagreement and repugnancy, of the ideas humans form. Does Locke believe in innate ideas? Why or why not? Locke argued that the mind is in fact devoid of all knowledge or ideas at birth; it is a blank sheet or tabula rasa. He argued that all our ideas are constructed in the mind via a process of constant composition and decomposition of the input that we receive through our senses. Locke is a(n): empiricistrationalist idealist? Hume’s ‘Experience and the Limits of Human Reason’ Can we trust that the future will resemble the past? Why or why not? We cannot justify our assumptions about the future based on past experience unless there is a law that the future will always resemble the past. No such law exists. We can deny the relationship without contradiction and we cannot justify it with experience. Therefore, we have no rational support for believing in causation. What is the origin of our ideas? We construct ideas from simple impressions in three ways: resemblance, contiguity, and cause and effect. How are ideas distinct from impressions? Hume begins by noting that the perceptions of memory, imagination, etc., are never as forceful or vivacious as our first-hand perceptions of the real world. Impressions: These are the lively, first-hand perceptions, either of something external (e.g., sensation) or internal (e.g., emotion, desiring, willing). Ideas: These are the less forceful, less lively perceptions, which occur when we reflect on previous impressions (e.g., via the memory, imagination, etc.). †¢ Where do we get the idea of causation, according to Hume? Hume claims that causation is a habit of association, a belief that is unfounded and meaningless. He notes that when we repeatedly observe one event following another, our assumption that we are witnessing cause and effect seems logical to us. What does â€Å"C causes E† mean, on Hume’s account? Cause and Effect. Fire causes heat. etc. Hume is is a(n): empiricistrationalist idealist? Berkeley: What did Berkeley believe about the real world and the world of experiences? They hold instead the mechanistic world view, which denies that the world is as we perceive it, and insists that the physical world is composed of entities possessing only the primary properties of extension. All of the  secondary properties we perceive physical objects as having, in reality exist only in our perceptions, not in the objects themselves. Berkeley is a(n): empiricistrationalist idealist? Kant According to Kant, what ‘world’ can we know, and what world can’t we know? We can be said to know things about the world, then, not because we somehow step outside of our minds to compare what we experience with some reality outside of it, but rather because the world we know is always already organized according to a certain fixed (innate) pattern that is the mind, the rationalists are right in saying that we can know about things in the world with certainty; and the empiricists are right in saying that such knowledge cannot be limited merely to truths by definition nor can it be provided by experience. What does Kant mean by â€Å"phenomena?† Kant theorizes that the human mind is restricted to the logical world and thus can only interpret and understand occurrences according to their physical appearances. He wrote that humans could infer only as much as their senses allowed, but not experience the actual object itself. According to Kant, how do we have knowledge of a priori truths? According to Kant, a priori knowledge is based on the form of all possible experience. Kant thinks that a priori knowledge, in its pure form, that is without the admixture of any empirical content, is knowledge limited to the deduction of the conditions of possible experience.

COSO Framework for an Organization Free Samples for Students

Questions: Consider the COSO Framework. Write an Internal environment that you are Familiar with and complete the COSO Framework for this Environment as outlined below. 1.State the control objectives. 2.. Identify the risk sources. 3.. Perform a risk assessment 4. Develop a risk response 5. Determine the control activities 6. Provide a method of informing and communicating the results 7.Discuss the process that is used for monitoring the information Answers: 1.Control objectives Credit should be extended to credit worthy customers. Goods should not be dispatched without an invoice being raised. Overdue accounts should be promptly followed up. Receipt from cash sales should be properly controlled. No unauthorized credit entries should be made to debtors account balances. 2.Risk sources Goods being dispatched without being involved Goods being sold to a bad credit risk Sales being invoiced but not recorded Doubtful debts 3.Risk assessment The risks involved in internal control system over sales and debtors are assessed on a residual basis and an inherent basis. The process involves determining the likelihood and impact of the risks above on the organization. Various tools such as Qualitative risk analysis, maximum loss estimation and fault tree estimation are used in determining the impact of the risks. After the risk assessment process, the risks are then prioritized in accordance to their risk rating. 4.Risk response After the risks facing the internal control system over sales and debtors have been assessed and prioritized, the best risk response is formulated. These responses include avoidance, acceptance, sharing or reduction. Some of the risks such as selling of the goods to a bad credit risk are avoided by not dealing with such customer. However, not all risks can be avoided and therefore risks such as doubtful debts can be dealt with by transferring them to a factoring company. 5.The control activities Customers are approved before a credit facility is granted. The credit limit granted is formally authorized after seeking references on the customers ability to pay. Such references are normally provided by banks suppliers and credit reference bureaus. Customers are approved for sales only when the customers credit limit has not been exceeded. The sales personnel ensure that they have up to date records of customers outstanding balances. Goods only be dispatched against a valid and an authorized sales order. All dispatches of goods and return inwards are accurately recorded All dispatches are involved. This can be achieved by checking copies of the sales order to the dispatch records the use of sequentially numbered documents would ensure that all sales are invoiced. Invoices and credit notes are accurately prepared from approved price list and all discounts or price deduction are properly approved. Price list and all trade discounts and price deduction are properly authorized. Creditors notes and other adjustments are prepared against authorized return inwards or other appropriate documents. To prevent fraud, there are proper segregation of duties such that the person who authorizes a sale is not able to authorize the issue of a credit note or other adjustments. All bad debts written off are properly authorized and recorded. Persons involved with original authorization of sales and granting credit to customers should not be involved in the authorization of bad debts write offs. Stocks records are accurately updated with all sales and sales returns All transactions are accurately posted to the ledger Sales ledger balances are regularly reconciled to sales ledger control balances to ensure completeness and accuracy of the ledger. Sales ledger balances are periodically aged and reviewed by the credit control staff. Overdue accounts are identified and followed up for collection. 6.A method of informing and communicating the results The information pertaining to the risks is disseminated through several ways including: risk reports, newsletters, notice boards, internal audit reports, electronic mail and internet websites to the appropriate personnel in the organization. 7.The process that is used for monitoring the information The entire process is monitored is closely monitored through ongoing management processes and separate evaluations. Tools used in monitoring of the risks include: Internal audit, Risk reporting, Risk register, Creation of the risk management department and Risk policies, governance and procedures.

Teaching Philosophy Sample Essay

Teaching Philosophy Sample EssayTeaching Philosophy Sample Essay is a copywriting project that promotes a desired message of someone else. This is an online writing to improve the skills and knowledge of a specific group of people, who could become a main target market.An Online Marketing Specialist from USA has written a very informative article in this form about the Teaching Philosophy Sample Essay that would prove to be very helpful for students. You can definitely not afford to miss the benefits of this tutorial as this will definitely aid in enhancing your level of communication with your readers. It will also help you avoid some of the common mistakes that other writer use when writing a teaching essay.If you are not really good at writing it will not hurt to study on your own on course level and at your own time if you feel it is the best way to learn the craft of writing on the subject. But most people have written essays that need proper editing, proofreading and printing.O nline Essay Writing Classes is available from various sources including colleges, universities, and academies. Most of them offer small classes to the students who are interested in these courses, which also offer research assistance to the students.Most of these courses are usually designed with the assistance of a professor who is a former student of yours, and in these courses you will learn techniques and strategies to prevent plagiarism checker. A plagiarism checker is a software program that checks the content of the dissertation for plagiarism.The software will make a check on the academic record of the student who can lead to a long term loss of reputation. However, plagiarism can be prevented by employing the right strategies, which include checking all references, using spell checker, removing extra spaces from text, and checking the grammar and punctuation.The Teaching Philosophy Sample Essay can be written easily and without any errors. A student does not need to be a ro cket scientist to put all the pieces together, because there are many learning resources available on the internet. Also, there are lots of plagiarism checker tools available on the net.

Volkswagen, Toyota, Nissan and Honda

Volkswagen, Toyota, Nissan and Honda The automotive industry produces and sells motor vehicles, which are goods. It is one of the highest revenue generating industries in the world.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Volkswagen, Toyota, Nissan and Honda specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Approximately 80.1 million cars were produced in 2011. The major industry players are Volkswagen, Toyota, Nissan and Honda. (OICA, 2012) Company background Audi is an automobile manufacturer based in Germany; it manufactures a wide range of vehicles. Volkswagen AG as a subsidiary owns Audi as a brand. The four rings in the Audis symbol represent the 1932 amalgamation of the four brands that formed the Auto-union AG. The four brands were The Saxon brands of Audi and Horch from Zwickau, Wanderer from Chemnitz and DKW from Zschopau (Audi, 2012). Toyota Motor Corporation is the manufacturer of Toyota Land cruiser S.U.V. Toyota has its headquarters in Toyota city, Aichi, Japan. Toyota deals in the automotive, robotics and financial services industries. It is the largest automaker in the industry. Toyota was founded in 1937 by Kiichiro Toyoda, and has grown on since the production of AA Sedan in 1936 to become the largest car manufacture in the world (Toyota, 2012). Product overview The sports utility vehicles are vehicles build on light truck chassis and are accompanied by a four-wheel drive for on and off road use.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Toyota land cruiser is a vehicle designed to meet off road needs and urban roads. It is also luxurious vehicles. This is evident as, it has a V8 engine, which enables it to have off-road capabilities. In addition, it is luxurious and can carry up to eight passengers. It has a $77,955 price tag (Toyota, 2012). Audi S.U.V A6 all road is a vehicle that is luxurious, and gives an off-road experienc e too, it is cheaper compared to the Toyota land cruiser S.U.V. Is offers more fuel economy as compared to the land cruiser as it has a $70,000 price tag (Audi, 2012) Strategic marketing Strategic marketing is the use of a company’s strategic plans to market its products. It entails the company to identifying areas where a firm has a sustainable competitive edge over the other firms in the market and it use them as their marketing strategy. (Procto, 2000) Macro environmental forces These environmental forces are outside the organization. They affect industries as wells as individual organizations. The organization has little or no control over these forces. They include the following among others: politics, economics, social cultural factors, technology, Environment and the legal frameworks (Pride Farrell 2012). Micro environmental forces Microenvironment is the organizational environment. It comprises of the internalities of the organization that is the forces the organizat ion has some control over. They include among others, employees, Trade unions, local community, suppliers and customers (Pride Farrell 2012). SWOT analysis SWOT analysis is the analysis of strengths, weaknesses opportunities and threats a firm is facing. It involves looking at factors that are both within as well as outside the firm.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Volkswagen, Toyota, Nissan and Honda specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Strengths and weaknesses are factors that affect the organizations internal environment, while opportunities and threats affect the organizations external environment. An analysis of these factors is very important in formulating corporate strategic plan and the marketing and positioning plan for a product (Procto, 2000). Market segmentation Market segmentation is the subdividing of the market into distinct subsets of customers who are relatively homogeneous so that specific marketing mix strategies can be developed to secure each market (Pride Farrell 2012). Target markets Target markets are the markets in which a firm wants to sell its goods and services. The firm chooses the market segments it wants to operate in according to its abilities. This should be based on their current use, their potential for future growth, and competitors’ strengths (Procto, 2000). Positioning strategy Positioning is the process by which a company establishes an image of its products in the minds of the customer relative to the image of the competitors’ product offering. Positioning strategy are the strategies that the firm is using to position itself in the minds of their consumers (Procto, 2000).Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Toyota S.U.V cruiser and Audi S.U.V A6 are positioned as premium class vehicles. They are sold to the upper end markets, where consumers want luxurious cars for off and on road use. Recommendations This is the section where the recommendations about the report recorded. In the recommendation section, the writer makes his recommendations based on the facts preset in the report. The recommendations give suggestion on possible solutions to what the report seeks to achieve (Bentley 2003). References Audi Worldwide Home. (n.d.). Audi of America Luxury Has Progressed . Retrieved from https://www.audi.com/en.html Bentley, T. J. (2003). Report writing in business: the effective communication of information (Repr. ed.). London: Elsevier. OICA. (n.d.). OICA . Retrieved from oica.net/ Pride, W. M., Ferrell, O. C. (2012). Marketing (2012 ed.). Mason, Ohio: South-Western Cengage Learning. Proctor, T. (2000). Strategic Marketing An Introduction.. New York: Routledge. Toyota Motor Corporation g lobal website. (n.d.). Toyota Motor Corporation global

6 Things to Know When Picking a Family Reunion Location

6 Things to Know When Picking a Family Reunion Location The ideal family reunion site is one which is accessible and affordable for the majority of the people you want to attend. Its a place where everyone can be comfortable and enjoy their time together. When choosing a location for your family reunion, there are some important things to consider. Distance Will the family reunion be just one day, an entire weekend, or a full week? If youre planning a short reunion, most people probably wont be as willing to travel long distances to attend. Select a location close to a majority of family members - possibly a neighborhood park, a family members home, or a local hotel or restaurant. Longer gatherings, especially special one-time reunions, may warrant a more elaborate location such as a cruise, dude ranch, or family resort. Convenience How far will guests have to travel to get to your reunion location? If a number of them will have to travel by air, consider holding your family reunion in an area convenient to a major airport. A location thats accessible and easy to find means that more people will likely attend. Accessibility Do you have people with limited mobility attending your reunion? Elderly relatives in wheelchairs or young children in strollers? Make sure that the location you choose will comfortably accommodate everyone who will attend. Children need safe, supervised areas in which to play, and seniors will welcome comfortable seating and nearby restrooms. Affordability Cost - including rental fees, food, and parking fees - is a significant factor for most family reunions. Make sure that the location you choose fits into your budget, as well as that of your relatives. Many facilities offer group discounts and package deals for family reunions. Accommodations If your reunion is held in a setting that doesnt include overnight accommodations, make sure that a sufficient number of affordable rooms in local homes and hotels are available nearby. Features and Activities What attractions and activities does the reunion site and nearby area provide? Recreational activities such as boating, swimming, golf, and camping can be fun when incorporated into a family reunion. People attending from outside the area may enjoy a location with nearby museums, historic sites, amusement parks, sports facilities, and other attractions. Find a location that makes your reunion less of a meeting and more of a destination. When choosing your location, be sure to ask about facilities such as parking, restrooms and, for outdoor reunions, alternatives in case of rain. To help with the legwork, dont be afraid to make use of local travel bureaus and chambers of commerce. Since they like to bring people to their area, they are usually more than happy to help you with location ideas, lodging and dining listings, and recreation and sightseeing opportunities.

The Application of Marketing - PARTA -The tools of Marketing Essay

The Application of Marketing - PARTA -The tools of Marketing - Essay Example For example, advertising is a powerful means to reach out to customers, but it is expensive and needs to use the right media and the right message for effective results on the vast resources expended on it. Public relations is a more subtle approach useful in managing issues of public concern and top level messages, but suffers from the deficiencies of requiring professional support and difficulty in evaluating its impact. Sales promotion is an effective means of addressing a particular target market, whose impact on the objective of increased sales can be measured, and enhances sales channel commitment to the product. However, it suffers from the deficiencies of forecasting problems, with the effect being only as long as the sales promotion lasts and the possibility of brand devaluation, particularly if price is a part of the sales promotion strategy. Yet, when used in conjunction these tools of marketing can be an effective to achieving the marketing objectives for a product (Cheve rton, 2006). In 2003, Coca-Cola along with its competitor Pepsi ran into trouble on India, when the environmental NGO, Centre for Science and Environment (CSE report) released a report that the presence of pesticides in the soft drinks exceeded the European standards (Vedwan, 2007). Coca-Cola attempted to negate the effect of this accusation by running advertisements using film stars to indicate that their production infrastructure and methods provided soft drinks that were pure for consumption. In addition they ran a sales promotion campaigning giving 50 ml more of soft drink at no extra cost. These efforts failed, though Coca-Cola was not at fault for the CSE report on the presence of pesticides in the soft drinks and their market share dropped. There was more faith in the non-profit making report than in the claims of the profit making multi-national giant and went to show the inept

Compare and Contrast the Spaniards' Attitudes toward the Native Essay

Compare and Contrast the Spaniards' Attitudes toward the Native Culture and People They Encountered with the Aztec - Essay Example The modern appreciation of historical facts gave birth to a thorough analysis of the events of the past and what the Western historians were at times unable to point out or those that were dismissed. Essentially, there were things that must be taken into consideration. â€Å"The conquistadors caught a fleeting glance of a civilization with a theology and symbolism as complex as contemporary Catholicism† (Fagan, p.343). The full understanding of any story must involve weighing in all possible accounts of what took place. It cannot be limited to an assertion inferred as fundamental facts. The same goes for a deeper understanding of the Conquistadors arrival and their colonization of the Aztecs. Limiting to the Spaniards’ accounts and personal inclinations gives rise to bias so that revisiting the available accounts of the natives must be integrated. This illuminates any historical reading to have an impartial assessment to reconcile facts from fiction. What Bernal Diaz pr ovided in â€Å"The True History of the Conquest of New Spain† was a personal account of the battle with the Aztecs. It was a vivid narration that aims to disclose the true occurrences of the battle to provide for a more genuine description to put to rest all other claims proliferated by others. It contained detailed descriptions of the practices of the actual encounter. The most graphic were the practices of the natives on their captives, â€Å"with stone knives they sawed open their chests and drew out their palpitating hearts and offered them to the idols that were there, and they kicked the bodies down the steps, and Indian butchers who were waiting below cut off the arms and feet and flayed (the skin off) the faces† (Diaz, n.p.). The autobiographical account described the cannibalistic practices of the natives. The cries of the people on the destruction of their city, though veiled through the words of Diaz, seem to be valid reason for their anger. The people soug ht for the reconstruction of what they have lost. Diaz, as Wyman noted in her introduction came from a more deprived background wherein his venture into foreign land was for personal gain. The mind of a soldier and his hardships primarily regulate his point of view. The brotherhood among soldiers and their sufferings would be most palpable to him. This is apparent in the account as a strict narrative of a battle. This particular endeavour was the principal reason for his ascent into the social strata which maintains his courageous stance amidst the difficulties. Inadvertently, Diaz divulged Aztec practices such as how women helped the men by making their crude weapons including the preparation of the stones for their slings and in the sounding of the devices. In contrast to the narrative of Diaz, Hernan Cortes presents to the monarchy a descriptive account of the city of Temixtitlan under Moctezuma. He illustrates a place filled with life and vitality. It is one where there are soci al centers filled with economic growth. The market is filled with products and various trades. There are also specialized shops such as apothecaries and an indication of medicinal application including the sale of much sought after herbs and spices. â€Å"This Province is in the form of a circle, surrounded on all sides by lofty and