A Pirating War essays

A Pirating War essays Would you rather pay twenty to twenty-five dollars for one DVD or less than forty bucks for a computer program which copies any DVD and stores it onto your computer? If you were a smart shopper it comes to you as common sense. There are such programs on the market that you can buy, but there are a few problems. There are certain little things called copyright laws. This is how certain companies such as MGM and other such companies are winning lawsuits against people that distribute these programs and also hackers that break through the encryptions on the DVDs. The current legal DVD battle between the movie industry and the free/open software communities over DVD is a microcosm of an ongoing intellectual property war. This war pits intellectual property owners against such diverse groups as programmers opposing restrictions on reverse engineering and the publication of computer code and librarians opposing new restrictions on copyright rights of first sale and fair use. Jon Johansen may be the youngest victim of this war. Because of software posted on the 16-year-old's Web site, his home in Norway was raided in January by police who seized two computers and a cell phone. Both Jon and his father were indicted; criminal charges could result in two- to three-year prison Now ever since there has been DVDs, there has been hackers trying to break the encryptions on these DVDs. Encryptions are a certain series of codes that makes it hard to copy a DVD. MGM and other such companies have brought these hackers to court and accused them of breaking the copyrights of these DVDs. Lets just say that it was Hollywood against these certain big named hackers. Of course Hollywood won and is still winning, dew to the copyright laws of the movies. But this does not mean that they can stop all the low profile hackers that break these laws everyday by copying DVDs and then selling them. Now these concer ...

Connotation (of Words) - Definition and Examples

Connotation (of Words) s Connotation refers to the emotional implications and associations that a word may carry, in contrast to its denotative (or literal) meanings. Verb: connote. Adjective: connotative. Also called intension or sense. The connotation of a word can be positive, negative, or neutral. It can also be either cultural or personal. Heres an example: To most people the word cruise connotessuggestsa delightful holiday; thus its cultural connotation is positive. If you get seasick, however, the word may connote only discomfort to you; your personal connotation is negative.(Vocabulary by Doing, 2001) In his book Patterns and Meanings (1998), Alan Partington observes that connotation is a problem area for learners of a language: [Because] it is an important mechanism for the expression of attitude, it is of paramount importance that learners be aware of it in order to grasp the illocutionary intent of messages. Etymology:  From the Latin, mark along with Examples and Observations In the East the wilderness has no evil connotation; it is thought of as an expression of the unity and harmony of the universe.(William O. Douglas)Exercise addiction.It sounds like an oxymoronexercise has a healthy connotation, while addiction sounds negative.But experts are seeing some people abuse a healthy lifestyleand for one Los Angeles woman, the addiction lasted nearly 20 years.(Jessica Ryen Doyle, Woman Battles Exercise Addiction for Nearly 20 Years. Fox News.com, October 17, 2012)In the real world, procrastination has a negative connotation.People who leave things to the last minute are often characterized as lazy, unprepared and inefficient.In professional sports, though, procrastination isn’t a label to be ashamed about. In fact, putting things off until the last possible moment might be the sign of a true champion.(Ian Mendes, Procrastinate Like a Champion. Ottawa Citizen, October 15, 2012)Debt is a four letter word. For many people it has the same connotation as m any other four letter words. However, not all debt is bad. . . . In general terms good debt is defined as debt that allows someone to invest in the future such as business loans, student loans, mortgages and real estate loans.(How to Know When Debt Is a Four Letter Word. MarketWatch, October 17, 2012) Stimulus is Washington talk, said Rahm Emanuel, the coming White House chief of staff with a sandpapered-fingertip sensitivity to the familiar connotation of words. Economic recovery is how the American people think of it.(William Safire, Recovery. The New York Times, Dec. 12, 2008)Synonyms and ConnotationsA group of synonyms cannot by definition be distinguished in terms of their denotation, but they usually display noticeable differences of connotation, as in the case of car, automobile, runabout, buggy, banger, bus, hot rod, jalopy, old crock, racer, and so on.(David Crystal, The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language. Cambridge University Press, 2003)A Rose by Any Other Name- Mr. Powers: Jones. I dont like that name. Its going to handicap you, young man. Now wait a minute. Ive got some sort of a name here. Yes. Haverstock. Huntley Haverstock. Sounds a little more important, dont you think, Mr. Fisher?Mr. Fisher: Oh, yes, yes. Very dashing.Mr. Powers: . . . Well, speak up young man. You dont mind being Huntley Haverstock, do you?Johnny Jones: A rose by any name, sir.(Harry Davenport, George Sanders, and Joel McCrea in Foreign Correspondent, 1940)- What’s Montague? it is nor hand, nor foot,Nor arm, nor face, nor any other partBelonging to a man. O! be some other name:What’s in a name? that which we call a roseBy any other name would smell as sweet.(Juliet in Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare)- Lisa: A rose by any other name smells as sweet.Bart: Not if you call them Stench Blossoms.(The Simpsons) Light CigarettesAltria said it had used terms like light as well as packaging colors to connote different tastes, not safety. But study after studyincluding ones by the industry disclosed in tobacco lawsuitshas shown consumers believe the terms and colors connote a safer product.(Duff Wilson, Coded to Obey Law, Lights Become Marlboro Gold. The New York Times, Feb. 18, 2010)Pork Butt or Boston Roast?In an effort to boost sales going into the grilling season and make shopping at the meat counter a bit easier, the pork and beef industries are retooling more than 350 names of meat cuts to give them more sizzle and consumer appeal. . . .[By summer,] the pork chop will be gone. Instead, grocery retailers could be stocking stacks of porterhouse chops, ribeye chops and New York chops. The pork butt which actually comes from shoulder meatwill be called a Boston roast.(New Meat Names Mean Bye Bye, Pork Chop; Hello, Ribeye. Chicago Tribune, April 10, 2013)ReservationThe name reservation has a negative connotation among Native Americansan intern camp of sorts.(John Russell) TribeSince tribe has assumed a connotation of primitiveness or backwardness, it is suggested that the use of nation or people replace the term whenever possible in referring to Native American peoples.(R. B. Moore, Racism in the English Language, in The Production of Reality, ed. J. OBrien, 2005)Socialism and Capitalism[For many], socialism implies egalitarianism and that people are living for society, while capitalism has been given the connotation of materialism, greedy, selfish, self-serving, and so on.(Milton Friedman)Denotation and Connotation in a Poem by E.A. RobinsonIn the following poem by Edwin Arlington Robinson, distinguish between the denotative and connotative meanings of the words in italics.Richard Cory (1897)Whenever Richard Cory went down town,We people on the pavement looked at him:He was a gentleman from sole to crown,Clean favored, and imperially slim.And he was always quietly arrayed,And he was always human when he talked;But still he fluttered pulses when he sa id,Good-morning, and he glittered when he walked.And he was richyes, richer than a king,And admirably schooled in every grace:In fine, we thought that he was everythingTo make us wish that we were in his place.So on we worked, and waited for the light,And went without the meat, and cursed the bread;And Richard Cory, one calm summer night,Went home and put a bullet through his head. Denotation and Connotation in a Poem by Henry David ThoreauIn the following poem we have italicized a number of key words whose connotative meaning directs our response to the images. Although the poem is mostly imagesthe overt commentary is confined to the first two linesthe poets attitude is anything but neutral.Pray to What Earth Does This Sweet Cold Belongby Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)Pray to what earth does this sweet cold belong,Which asks no duties and no conscience?The moon goes up by leaps, her cheerful pathIn some far summer stratum of the sky,While stars with their cold shine bedot her way.The fields gleam mildly back upon the sky,And far and near upon the leafless shrubsThe snow dust still emits a silver light.Under the hedge, where drift banks are their screen,The titmice now pursue their downy dreams,As often in the sweltering summer nightsThe bee doth drop asleep in the flower cup,When evening overtakes him with his load.By the brooksides, in the still, genial ni ght,The more adventurous wanderer may hearThe crystals shoot and form, and winter slowIncrease his rule by gentlest summer means.(David Bergman and Daniel Mark Epstein, The Heath Guide to Literature. D.C. Heath, 1984) The Lighter Side of Connotations: Purses and HandbagsWhy is it a handbag instead of a purse?The General simultaneously rolled her eyes and released a tired sigh. A purse is a cheap, plastic discount store thing. A handbag is what contemporary, fashion-conscious women carry. And thats what we sell. Expensive designer handbags. An assortment of the latest trends and must-have famous names. They are handbags and you need to refer to them that way. You can say bag for short, but never, ever, ever say the word purse Its an insult to the exclusive designers we carry. Got it?Got it.But I didnt really get it. The whole thing sounded kind of snooty and stupid.(Freeman Hall, Retail Hell: How I Sold My Soul to the Store. Adams Media, 2009)The Lighter Side of Connotations: PantiesTheres a certain light connotation attached to the word panties. Can we find another name for them?(Joseph N. Welch as Judge Weaver in Anatomy of a Murder, 1959) Pronunciation: kon-no-TAY-shun Also known as: affective meaning, intensional meaning Also see: Choosing the Best Words: Denotations and ConnotationsAssociative MeaningBertrand Russell on the Connotative Power of WordsConceptual MeaningCommonly Confused Words:  Connotation  and  DenotationCommonly Confused Words:  Connote  and  DenoteDysphemism  and  EuphemismGlittering GeneralitiesLoaded WordsOrthophemismParadiastolePejorative LanguagePhonaestheticsReflected MeaningSemanticsSemioticsSnarl Words Purr WordsSubtextSynonym  and  SynonymyUsage NoteWord ChoiceWriters on Writing: Ten Tips for Finding the Right Words

Strategy and Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Strategy and Culture - Essay Example If the strategy does not fit the culture the organization and its people might experience confusion and uncertainty. If a strategy does not require major changes in the culture of the organization, it may be easy to adopt and it may not even consume ample amount of time. When two organizations join hands together it is very important that the organization pays emphasis to the link between the organization’s culture as well as strategy. For example: The merger of Compaq and HP was quite astonishing as the culture of both the organizations was quite different from each other (Fried, 2002, p.1). HP was focusing on a huge portfolio of products, they spent heavily on inventing new technology, the management style practiced in HP was such that the management was heavily involved in the organization and the decision making process of HP was quite professional in nature. On the other hand Compaq spent less on inventions, they had a smaller portfolio as compared to HP and the managemen t style was dictatorship like in nature because decisions were made on the top level and handed down to the lower level and they took heavy risks. This example clearly shows that there was a misfit between the cultures of the organization and the strategy of merging both the organizations. Fried, I. (2002, September 2). HP-Compaq merger: Worth the wait? - CNET News. Technology News - CNET News. Retrieved April 8, 2013, from http://news.cnet.com/HP-Compaq-merger-Worth-the-wait/2100-1001_3-956202.html Monash University. Faculty of Business and Economics. Department of Management, Threlfall, Mark, Yearn, Dan, & Haslett, Tim. (2003). An investigation into the link between culture and strategy using soft systems methodology and group analysis. Part 1 soft systems methodology.

INDIVIDUAL PROJECT 2 LIBRARY ASSIGNEMNT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

INDIVIDUAL PROJECT 2 LIBRARY ASSIGNEMNT - Essay Example An organization will need dreamers, doers, strategizers, organizers and team builders just to mention a few. This is a subject that will create major impact for leveraging the best of the employees present for the best results for the company. To allow for this kind of organization to occur, the organization as a whole must receive training on diversity and the hiring principles that will help us to make that happen. We will present a plan, here on how best to accomplish this change. To begin, there must be an established approach to the problem of education of something as new and different as diversity education. We will confront the data, share it broadly, and use it to define as precisely as possible where our greatest energy will need to be applied. We will share case studies and refine the information from them through discussion in the groups where they are applied. We will engage everyone by listening to them throughout all discussions, to better understand what their learning needs are. Our measureable objectives which are listed on the teaching plan at the follow of this document will be shared with the learners and actions will follow. We will survey all those involved in the education prior to the training and then again after the training to assure that there is a better understanding of cross cultural issues and the importance of those to the company in general. Once the education is carried out per the education plan following this document, we will continually reeducate to assure that this is a process that continues to work throughout the system. We will also assure that any new employees go through the whole training as part of their orientation to the company. We believe like so many companies that have leveraged diversity for the betterment of the company that the senior management team must be on board first. Research shows that this is a process that must be driven from the top down and so the education for

Communication in Health and Social Care Essay Example for Free

Communication in Health and Social Care Essay 1. 1 Apply relevant theories of communication to health and social care contextsAccording to George Gerbner,he describes the three main branches of communication studies as; 1. †semiotics† The study of signs and symbols and how they combine to convey meaning in different social contexts,This branch is mainly concerned with how verbal,non verbal and aural signs and symbols combine to create messages. 2. Media effects the study of behaviour and interaction through exposure to messages,It emphasizes measuring,explaining and predicting communication effects on knowledge,perceptions,beliefs,attitudes and public opinion,It is strongly influenced by scientific methods from the fields of psychology and social psychology. 3. Message production is the study of the large-scale organization through social institutions and system,example; mass media,political organisation,government and advocacy groups. Their history, regulations,policy making impact,It is strongly influenced by scientific methods from the fields of sociology but also by the methods of political science and public affair. According to Abraham Maslows humanistic theory of learning,learning contributes to psychological health. The goals of learning includes discovery of ones vocation or destiny;knowledge of values;realization of life as precious;acquisition of peak experiences; senses of accomplishment;satisfaction of psychological needs;awareness of beauty and wonder of life;impulse control;developing choice and grappling with critical existential problems of life. Applying Abraham Maslows Hierarchy of needs in The Care Home Setting,service users needs should be met like; Freedom of abuse and neglect from the care workers and ensuring them adequate food and shelter;Free from any kind of discrimination,risks and danger to be able to feel safe;Ability to trust their care workers and receive effective communication;Respect for their rights,dignity,privacy and diversity;Helping them take control of their own lives in order to develop their full potential and reach their goal. According to John B. Watson, Behaviours can be measured,trained and changed. It also acquired through conditioning which occurs through interaction with the environment. All of our sensory work, memory work,attention,etc,are part of definite modes of behaviour. In a Care Home Setting, it explains why we need to separate service users with an agitative behaviour from a noisy environment where other service users are happily participating in a physical activities,to prevent his/her agitation to aggression which can be potentially harm to the other individuals,care workers needs to take the service user to a quiet place to settle down. Sometimes moody behaviours are the service users way to communicate what they feel so its very important on the part on the care workers to be very observant on service users mood change and act accordingly According to Sigmund Freuds outline of psychoanalysis(1940),He compared the human mind to an iceberg in order to describe the structure of personality. The small portion of the iceberg that lies above the water represents the conscious mind,or all the thoughts,feelings,and desires that you are fully aware of. This is the aspect of our mental processing than we can think and talk about rationally. A part of this includes our memory,which is not always part of consciousness but can be retrieved easily at any time and can be brought into awareness which is called preconscious. The massive below the surface represents our unconscious mind,The reservoir of feelings,thoughts,urges and memories that outside of our conscious awareness. Most of the contents of the unconscious are unacceptable or unpleasant,such as feelings of pain,anxiety or conflict. According to Freud, the consciousness continues to influence behaviour and experience,even though we are unaware of these underlying influences. In relation to this theory at The Care Home setting,Care workers deal with different Service user with different behaviours, medical problems,communication problems,cultures and needs. It is very important to identify the individuals communication capabilities and incapabilities to be able to help them empower their weaknesses and difficulties,in that way, care workers will be able to get cooperation from the service users and establish rapport on doing their everyday task and to meet their needs and maintain their well being. According to Ulric Neisser cognition is all processes by which the sensory input is transferred ,reduced,elaborated, stores,recovered and used. In short,it means it is the branch of psychology that studies mental processes including how people think,perceive,remember and learn. It is involved in everything a human being might possibly do;that every psychological phenomenon is cognitive phenomenon. An example of this theory at the Care Home Setting where service users are suffering of dementia,Care workers needs to encourage service users to participate on ctivities such as brain and physical exercises,social gatherings and have a good diet,to stimulate their brain cells and regained its brain power. 1. 2 Undertake and evaluate at least one communication activity in Health and Social Care Organization,considering Confidentiality and Data Protection Act 1998. Communication in a Health Care Organization is very important. It is the key for the health care providers and other health agencies to carry out their responsibilities to maintain the well being of the service users. An example of this is when making a care plan for the service users,all individuals that are involve in continuing health care of the service user must contribute on making the care plan by communicating their observations, assessments and suggestions on the service users daily activities ,risks and wellness. The service user should contribute as well on making their care plan by telling their preferences,choices, wishes and needs. Otherwise, the care workers will have no idea what kind of care the service users wanted to receive. If the service user cant speak for themselves,there must be a representative to speak for their behalf,either a social care worker,solicitor or a member of their family. When the care plan has been made,it should be kept in a secure and protected filing cabinet which only authorize person can have access on the document for data protection and to maintain confidentiality on the informations written in the care plan to protect all personal informations gathered.  If the service user needs to be transferred to a new health care services,the care plan should be presented for their reference. 1. 3 Describe and explore barriers to communication with health and social care Organisations In a Care Home for vulnerable adults,the most common communication barriers that a care workers encounter are the following; difficulty of hearing,impaired eyesight,learning difficulties,memory loss,foreign language,cultural differences,stroke,emotional problems,sensory loss and others. Problem arises between care workers and service users when doing personal care tasks if these barriers mentioned are present, the task may not be completed well because of misunderstanding which resulting in cooperation from the service user. Therefore,it will never be easy for the care worker to perform the task well without the full cooperation of the service user. Often times service users disagree with some procedures if your explanation is not enough for them to understand it,or if they are not comfortable with it. To solve the problem, care workers should encourage the service user s to have an input with the care they want to receive. They might know a better way to do the task in their most comfortable and convenient way. If the service user have difficulty of communicating because of the barriers mentioned,ask them what kind of communication method they prefer and wish to use,thus giving them a choice. Explain the various methods of communication available and what would be suitable for them. Seek further advice from the specialists in the wider health care team. Care givers also consult to the clients care plan as this should contain all necessary information. Care givers need to listen attentively and take notice of what the service users are communicating and not assume what they want. 1. 4 Understand how to transmit values and the need to transmit values when communicating within health and social care Organizations Respecting the rights of the service users at the care home should be highly observe. When the preferred method of communication of a service user has been identified,which is obviously the ones that they can communicate most effectively,care workers must respect to use it or learn to use it because if they dont,then they are of risk of not communicating effectively,distressing the service user and breaching their rights. A service user who has suffered of stroke may have communication problem such as, they can understand the care workers completely but have difficulty with speech and its likely to become very frustrated if they cannot express themselves using their preferred method of communication. Problems arises when the care worker will just assume what the service user is saying rather than giving them more time to talk or attempting to encourage them to communicate their choices,wishes,preference and needs. If this happens the service user may end up for example;served with a meal they never want, wear clothes they never picked out and go to bed when they dont wish to,these situations shows that the rights of the service users has been taken away from them.

Concepts of Evolution and DNA in Biology

Concepts of Evolution and DNA in Biology Because the fossil record did not exhibit Darwins predicted slow and gradual evolution with transitional forms, some paleontologists sought to find a theory of evolution where, changes in populations might occur too rapidly to leave many transitional fossils (see Figure from Gould and Eldredge 1977 . In 1972, Gould and Eldredge proposed the theory of punctuated equilibrium where most evolution takes place in small populations over relatively rapid geological time periods. By reducing the numerical size of the transitional population and the number of years for which it exists, punctuated equilibrium greatly limits the number of organisms bearing transitional characteristics. Since many organisms are not fossilized, this increases the likelihood that transitional forms would not be fossilized. One strength of this theory is that Gould and Eldredge claim it is predicted by population genetics. But what are the implications of punctuated equilibrium? Under punctuated equilibrium, species usually change little as, gradual change is not the normal state of a species. Large populations may experience, minor adaptive modifications of fluctuating effect through time but will rarely transform in toto to something fundamentally new. This is called stasis. But small peripheral populations may allow for more change at a quicker rate. Gould argued that most macroevolutionary change takes place in such populations during speciation such that there is insufficient time for the transitional forms to be fossilized: Speciation, the process of macroevolution, is a process of branching. And this branching â‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦ is so rapid in geological translation (thousands of years at most compared with millions for the duration of most fossil species) that its results should generally lie on a bedding plane, not through the thick sedimentary sequence of a long hillslope. What is meant by phylogeny? Give an account on phylogeny of humans. Ans- The context of evolutionary biology is phylogeny, the connections between all groups of organisms as understood by ancestor/descendant relationships. Not only is phylogeny important for understanding paleontology, but paleontology in turn contributes to phylogeny. Many groups of organisms are now extinct, and without their fossils we would not have as clear a picture of how modern life is interrelated. We express the relationships among groups of organisms through diagrams called cladograms, which are like genealogies of species. Phylogenetics, the science of phylogeny, is one part of the larger field of systematics, which also includes taxonomy. Taxonomy is the science of naming and classifying the diversity of organisms. In humans- it is used to the transfer of genes. In general, organisms can inherit genes in two ways: vertical gene transfer and horizontal gene transfer. Vertical gene transfer is the passage of genes from parent to offspring, and horizontal gene transfer or lateral gene transfer occurs when genes jump between unrelated organisms, a common phenomenon in prokaryotes. Horizontal gene transfer has complicated the determination of phylogenies of organisms, and inconsistencies in phylogeny have been reported among specific groups of organisms depending on the genes used to construct evolutionary trees. Carl Woese came up with the three-domain theory of life (eubacteria, archaea and eukaryotes) based on his discovery that the genes encoding ribosomal RNA are ancient and distributed over all lineages of life with little or no horizontal gene transfer. Therefore, rRNAs are commonly recommended as molecular clocks for reconstructing phylogenies. This has been particularly useful for the phylogeny of microorganisms, to which the species concept does not apply and which are too morphologically simple to be classified based on phenotypic traits. DNA is genetic material. Describe two classical experiments to support this statement. Ans- Clarification came during the First World War. During the war, hundreds of thousands of servicemen died from pneumonia, a lung infection caused by the baceterium Streptococcus pneumoniae. In the early 1920s, a young British army medical officer named Frederick Griffith began studying Streptococcus pneumoniae in his laboratory in the hopes of developing a vaccine against it. As so often happens in scientific research, Griffith never found what he was looking for (there is still no vaccine for pneumonia), but instead, he made one of the most important discoveries in the field of biology: a phenomenon he called transformation. Dr. Griffith had isolated two strains of S. pneumoniae, one of which was pathogenic (meaning it causes sickness or death, in this case, pneumonia), and one which was innocuous or harmless. The pathogenic strain looked smooth under a microscope due to a protective coat surrounding the bacteria and so he named this strain S, for smooth. The harmless strain of S. pneumoniae lacked the protective coat and appeared rough under a microscope, so he named it R, for rough . Dr. Griffith observed that if he injected some of the S strain of S. pneumoniae into mice, they would get sick with the symptoms of pneumonia and die, while mice injected with the R strain did not become sick. Next, Griffith noticed that if he applied to the S strain of bacteria, then injected them into mice, the mice would no longer get sick and die. He thus hypothesized that excessive heat kills the bacteria, something that other scientists, including Louis Pasteur, had already shown with other types of bacteria. However, Dr. Griffith didnt stop there he decided to try something: he mixed living R bacteria (which are not pathogenic) with heat-killed S bacteria, then he injected the mixture into mice. Surprisingly, the mice got pneumonia infections and eventually died (Figure 3). Dr. Griffith examined samples from these sick mice and saw living S bacteria. This meant that either the S bacteria came back to life, an unlikely scenario, or the live R strain was somehow transformed into the S strain. Thus, after repeating this experiment many times, Dr. Griffith named this phenomenon transformation. This discovery was significant because it showed that organisms can somehow be genetically re-programmed into a slightly different version of themselves. One strain of bacteria, in this case the R strain of S. pneumoniae, can be changed into something else, presumably because of the transfer of genetic material from a donor, in this case the heat-killed S strain. Scientists around the world began repeating this experiment, but in slightly different ways, trying to discover exactly what was happening. It became clear that, when the S bacteria are killed by heat, they break open and many substances are released. Something in this mixture can be absorbed by living bacteria, leading to a genetic transformation. But because the mixture contains protein, RNA, DNA, lipids, and carbohydrates, the question remained which molecule is the transforming agent? This question was examined in several ways, most famously by three scientists working at The Rockefeller Institute (now Rockefeller University) in New York: Oswald Avery, Colin MacLeod, and Maclyn McCarty. These scientists did almost exactly what Griffith did in his experiments but with the following changes. First, after heat-killing the S strain of bacteria, the mixture was separated into six test tubes. Thus, each of the test tubes would contain the unknown transforming agent. A different enzyme was then added to each tube except one the control which received nothing. To the other five tubes, one of the following enzymes was added: RNase, an enzyme that destroys RNA; protease, an enzyme that destroys protein; DNase, an enzyme that destroys DNA; lipase, an enzyme that destroys lipids; or a combination of enzymes that break down carbohydrates. The theory behind this experiment was that if the transforming agent was, for example, protein the transforming agent would be destroyed in the test tube containing protease, but not the others. Thus, whatever the transforming agents was, the liquid in one of the tubes would no longer be able to transform the S. pneumonia strains. When they did this, the result was both dramatic and clear. The liquid from the tubes that received RNase, protease, lipase, and the carbohydrate-digesting enzymes was still able to transform the R strain of pneumonia into the S strain. However, the liquid that was treated with DNase completely lost the ability to transform the bacteria . Thus, it was apparent that the transforming agent in the liquid was DNA. To further demonstrate this, the scientists took liquid extracted from heat-killed S. pneumoniae (S strain) and subjected it to extensive preparation and purification, isolating only the pure DNA from the mixture. This pure DNA was also able to transform the R strain into the S strain and generate pathogenic S. pneumoniae. These results provided powerful evidence that DNA, and not protein, was actually the genetic material inside of living cells. PART-B Do the two strands of DNA duplex carry the same genetic information? Explain. Ans:- No,the two strands of dna duplex carry different information ,because  complementary  base pairs  binding to form a  double helix.The two chains are wound round each other and linked together by hydrogen bonds between specific complementary bases to form a spiral ladder-shaped moleculeThe stabilization of  duplex  (double-stranded) DNA is also dependent on base stacking. The planar, rigid bases stack on top of one another, much like a stack of coins. Since the two purine.pyrimidine pairs (A.T and C.G) have the same width, the bases stack in a rather uniform fashion. Stacking near the center of the helix affords protection from chemical and environmental attack. Both hydrophobic interactions andvan der Waals forces  hold bases together in stacking interactions. About half the stability of the DNA helix comes from hydrogen bonding, while base stacking provides much of the rest. What is the difference between Z and B- DNAs? ANS:- Z-DNA  is one of the many possible double helical structures of  DNA. It is a left-handed double helical structure in which the double helix winds to the left in a zig-zag pattern. alternating  purine-pyrimidine  sequence (especially poly(dGC)2), negative  DNA supercoiling  or high salt and some  cations  (all at physiological temperature, 37 °C, and pH 7.3-7.4). Z-DNA can form a junction (called a B-to-Z junction box) in a structure which involves the extrusion of a base pair.  The Z-DNA conformation has been difficult to study because it does not exist as a stable feature of the double helix. Instead, it is a transient structure that is occasionally induced by biological activity and then quickly disappears. B-DNA It is an antiparallel double helix.It is a right-handed helix. The base-pairs are perpendicular to the axis of the helix. (Actually, they are very slightly tilted at an angle of 4 degrees)The axis of the helix passes through the centre of the base pairs.Each base pair is rotated by 36 degrees from the adjacent base pair.The base-pairs are stacked 0.34 nm apart from one another.The double helix repeats every 3.4 nm, i.e. the pitch of the double helix is 3.4 nm.B-DNA has two distinct grooves: a MAJOR groove; and, a MINOR groove. These grooves form as a consequence of the fact that the beta-glycosidic bonds of the two bases in each base pair are attached on the same edge. However, because the axis of the helix passes through the centre of the base pairs, both grooves are similar in depth. 6. What is the role of RNA in DNA replication? ANS:- RNA WAS NEED TO INTIATE THE TRANSCRIPTION PROCESS.   On the lagging strand, primase builds an RNA primer in short bursts. DNA polymerase is then able to use the free 3 OH group on the RNA primer to synthesize DNA in the 5 † Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ 3 direction. The RNA fragments are then removed (different mechanisms are used in eukaryotes and prokaryotes) and new deoxyribonucleotides are added to fill the gaps where the RNA was present. DNA ligase is then able to ligate the deoxyribonucleotides together, completing the synthesis of the lagging strand. This rna primer was a short strand of RNA that is synthesized along single-stranded DNA during replication, initiating DNA polymerase-catalyzed synthesis of the complementarystrand.  

Africanisation of south African Ratiling Essay

The internationalisation of retail businesses has become a global phenomenon as retailers around the world expand their operations beyond national borders. This phenomenon has attracted some academic attention. In Africa, South Africa appears to be more advanced in this regard, with Shoprite at the forefront of the Africanisation of South African retailers. A review of Shoprite’s expansion into the continent results in two propositions and some challenges that affect this process. The wider significance of the propositions is further examined by a study of other South African retailers expanding into Africa. The review finds that although there are opportunities for retailers in African countries, there are also significant challenges that can negate the opportunities. Most importantly, the chosen mode of entry into African countries plays a significant role in the overall internationalisation process and should be a primary concern of management teams considering making such a move, and it is established that the mode of entry comprises at least five areas of critical decision making. Key words: Africanisation, retailing, international retailing, South African retailing, African markets, mode of entry, ICTs, international business. INTRODUCTION Since 1994, South Africa has moved to become part of  the African continent, even to the point that it developed  1  and championed an African agenda . This move opened  up opportunities for South African businesses within the  continent. In this regard, leading South African retailers  (including Shoprite, Woolworths, Massmart, Truworths)  have already invested in, and now operate in diverse  African countries. In the past decade, the continent has  also seen shopping centres and malls built in most  African cities, some of which are also South African  investments (Miller, 2006). There is still huge potential for all kinds of South African businesses to expand within the  continent, and there are benefits for all concerned. Already the six primary sectors of the South African  economy: mining, retail, construction and manufacturing,  financial services, telecommunications, and leisure and  *Corresponding author. E-mail: naadakora@gmail.com. 1 African agenda in this case refers to former president Mbeki’ s vision of an African renaissance, and the establishment of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD). tourism, are in one way or another investing in the  continent (Daniel et al., 2003). Furthermore, the  completion of the SEACOM’s East African submarine  cable and the up coming West African cable system that  will provide fibre optic connection from Africa to the rest  of the world will open more business opportunities on the  continent. It is, therefore, not surprising to see an  increasing number of South African retail companies  expanding into the rest of the continent to seek growth  and explore new strategic opportunities.  The Shoprite Group operates its own stores in 15  African countries outside South Africa, including Angola,  Botswana, Ghana, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mauritius,  Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Swaziland, Tanzania,  Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe (Shoprite, 2008). The  group’s operations have been generally successful in  most of these countries and in some cases income has  exceeded their projections and expectation s. This  performance has triggered numerous growth and  expansion plans for most of the countries listed above.  For example, with the opening of one supermarket in  Accra, Ghana (in November, 2007), the group  immediately started investigating the possibility of  opening five more stores around the Accra area  (Shoprite, 2008). This report also indicates that their  Dakora et al. African operations have produced higher turnover growth than their South African counterparts. However, this is not the case with their operation in India where foreign retail ownership is forbidden by government regulations. Shoprite had to operate by means of franchising in Mumbai (Shoprite, 2008). Revenues do not match those achieved in Africa, highlighting the mode of entry as a key factor in the successful achievement of retail internationalisation. Yet, even in Africa, it has not all been easy. Due to lack of suitable acquisition targets and alliance partners, and given the informal nature of the retail sector in most African countries, they are obliged to open their own stores (Games, 2008). The Shoprite annual report (Shoprite, 2008) indicates that they are currently facing competition from other South African retailers who are also moving into Africa. For example Massmart, also expanding into Africa, will give Shoprite a run for its money in markets for hard goods. Also, as a consequence of their go-it-alone approach to Africanisation, Shoprite often does not gather enough market knowledge and contacts before entering and establishing a foothold in these new markets, which in itself becomes a problem (Games, 2008). There are also reports of supply issues haunting the company in its Africa operations. Nigeria is reported to have government-imposed import restrictions on some products. This is in a bid to protect the local economy and suppliers. Miller (2008) points out that the issue concerning local suppliers is politically controversial for South African companies operating in foreign African countries. Although South Africa has moved to be part of the continent and has championed an African agenda (as noted at the start of this paper), there are concerns that this commercial activity might become another form of colonisation. As a result, these companies have to demonstrate their support and participation in local development in those foreign countries or risk being accused of â€Å"exporting Apartheid† into Africa (Miller, 2008). Of course, the circumstances of each country might vary: Miller found that the Shoprite Group entered Zambia under favourable conditions that did not attempt to protect local producers and suppliers. Despite the increase in retail internationalisation in Africa led by the South African retailers, little research has been done in this area. This paper is a review based on a study of annual reports and other publicly available sources; it seeks to develop a foundation for more detailed case study work on the phenomenon. The paper discusses how the Shoprite Group’s expansion into Africa has been achieved, and how it secured its position as the largest food retailer on the continent. Two propositions concerning challenges affecting the decision of entry mode are established, based on the Shoprite study. The issues that inform these propositions are, however, limited to the results of the Shoprite’s review, and, therefore, preclude other issues that might be relevant to 749 the phenomenon but not obvious in this study. The propositions are further examined by looking at a range of other cases of South African retailers’ expansion into Africa. GENERAL PERSPECTIVE INTERNATIONALISATION ON RETAIL In recent years, the world of retailing has seen a dramatic increase in international activities by retailers around the world (Park and Sternquist, 2008; Myers and Alexander, 2007; Dawson and Mukoyama, 2006). The phenomenon of retail internationalisation has become an important feature of global business. As consumer products and services become global, and around the whole world consumers’ styles of consumption and attitudes increasingly become similar, retailers are prompted to respond to this trend. This results in the emergence of international (and in some cases global) retail companies (Federzoli, 2006). As Jack Shewmaker, director of Wal-Mart points out; â€Å"it is absolutely clear the biggest opportunity facing retailers [today] is internationalisation† (McGarriagle, 2008:12). In exploiting this window of opportunity, the world has seen retail businesses grow into multinational corporations contributing to economies on a worldwide basis. The rising levels of internationalisation among retail businesses can be attributed to three factors: growth in size, growth in technological sophistication and the need to respond to the changing demands and behaviours of customers (Myers and Alexander, 2007). However, retailing is geographically tied, and international companies must have a physical presence in the foreign countries concerned in order to conduct their business (Sternquist, 2007). According to Dawson and Mukoyama (2006), the internationalisation of retailing is evident in many ways including: the sourcing of products for resale, the operation of stores in foreign countries, the use of foreign labour, the adoption of foreign ideas and the use of foreign capital. There has been an increase in all these aspects in terms of volume and spatial reach, Dawson and Mukoyama indicate. This increase in retail expansion has continued across the world, characterised by large retail chains, mainly from the most developed countries, moving into less developed ones, and this has attracted some academic attention. However, most research in the area of retail internationalisation has focused on the developed world with little attention being paid to developing economies, especially those in Africa. Zhang and Dodgson (2007:336) observe that most research in the field of international business and entrepreneurship concentrates on â€Å"early internationalisation of firms based in developed countries, especially Europe and United States†. Where Africa is studied, little attention is paid to retailing, as 750 Afr. J. Bus. Manage. most previous research has always focused on manufacturing and pure service industries despite the recent increase in retail internationalisation (Park and Sternquist, 2008). METHODOLOGY The review takes into consideration South African retail companies that have expanded their operations beyond their home region, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) in a significant way. Pure service retailing is beyond the scope of this paper. Shoprite is the largest food retailer in Africa, and also the pioneering retailer to embark on a continent wide expansion strategy. A review of Shoprite’s Africanisation process is carried out with the view of gaining some understanding of the phenomenon. Therefore, the propositions and challenges around the issue of modality are limited to what is obvious in the Shoprite study. The significance of these propositions and the relationships between them are further examined by the study of other cases of purposively selected South Africa companies moving into Africa. Since the intention is to understand the phenomenon under study, purposive sampling enhances the potential of understanding (Devers and Frankel, 2000). As indicated earlier, the study has largely been based on annual reports and other publicly available sources, and, therefore, the review took a content analysis approach. Due to its ability to assess the effects of environmental variables like regulation, socio-economic issues, and location characteristics such as market attractiveness, credibility and likability (Kolbe and Burnett, 1991) in the internationalisation process, content analysis techniques was useful in this study. A REVIEW AFRICA OF SHOPRITE’S EXPANSION INTO The Shoprite Group of companies came into existence with the acquisition of a supermarket chain in the Western Cape, in 1979 (Shoprite, 2009a). This expansion strategy has continued and has helped the expansiondriven company to show its presence across the country, and the group now comprises Shoprite, Checkers, Checkers Hyper, Usave, OK Furniture, OK House and Home, OK Power Express and OK Franchise Division (with a number of stores and brands under it). The national growth and expansion strategy of Shoprite, as observed, has been through mergers and acquisitions, but it modified and extended this strategy when moving abroad. It achieved international expansion by opening its own stores in the foreign countries in which it operates, so that in 2008, out of a total of 984 stores, 100 supermarkets were being operated in 16 countries outside South Africa (Shoprite, 2008). The company claims that the international stores operate with the same standards of sophistication as in the home country, South Africa. Hence, Shoprite now confidently proclaims its name as the largest food retailer in Africa. The expansion into African was a bold decision that has continued to influence the future of the Shoprite Group to the present day. However, this could not have been possible without clear vision, strategy and the appropriate choice of mode of working. The following points highlight some of the key factors that contributed to Shoprite’s success in Africa: Suitability of business model Most of Africa’s populated cities are home to middle to high income earners who yearn for quality of life, and Shoprite’s provision of a world class shopping environment and a wide range of products at arguably affordable prices meets their dreams of a better life. The opening of shopping centres and malls has been a feature of the Shoprite business model, as expressed by the Chairman of the group, C H Wiese in their annual report (Shoprite, 2008:8), â€Å"we have brought a developed country’s shopping experience to millions of people who have never been exposed to trading of this nature†. In essence, this goes beyond the activities of retailing; it is actually development, as the bright shopping outlets and malls have become part of a new urban development and modernity (Miller, 2006). Mode of working Shoprite’s choice of mode for its expansion programme has largely been by opening up its â€Å"own stores† in the countries where it operates. This strategy allows the company to have absolute control over all its operations, both local and foreign, and managing them from its head office in Cape Town. Park and Sternquist (2008) found that retail companies embarking on global strategies prefer opening branches or establishing wholly-owned subsidiaries for their international operations, although franchising has been widely used in this regard. This is because the wholly-owned entry mode allows for more control and involvement in the operations of the new establishment. Opening their own stores also offers potentially greater returns in terms of profit (Park and Sternquist, 2008). However, wholly-owned subsidiaries or own stores are seen as the most expensive mode of internationalisation for any particular company as it requires more resource commitment, including management time and finance (Doole and Lowe, 2004). Doole and Lowe contend that this mode is used when a retail company is certain that its products and services will do well in the long-run, in a foreign market of a politically stable country, since it allows the internationalising company to have full ownership and the control necessary to meet its strategic objectives. Whatever ever the situation, the choice of entry mode is one of the most critical and strategic decisions the company has to make before attempting to internationalise (Venter et al., 2007). Empowerment, jobs and training Despite Shoprite’s approach of opening its own stores and shopping centres, it also invested and continues to Dakora et al. invest in the human capital of the foreign countries where it operates. The group employs more than 8 000 local people in its stores outside South Africa, some of whom have been trained to become managers (Shoprite, 2008). Further, local small scale farmers are being supported to upgrade their production standards so as to supply the Shoprite stores. It has also been reported that the Shoprite Zambian operation is already self-sufficient in vegetable supplies, thanks to the engagement with local farmers. Supply chain efficiency Selling fresh foods in multiple countries through whollyowned stores could pose a logistical nightmare. But, thanks to Shoprite’s sophisticated supply chain network and strategically located distribution centres this has been possible and it has been a success (Shoprite, 2008). Another important element here is their ability to develop the necessary skills, backed by advanced information systems, to enable them to source and deliver products to all their stores from anywhere in the world, says their 2008 annual report. This element summarises the whole essence of retailing – delivering the right products and/or services to the right customers, at the right place, in the right condition or form, and certainly at the right price. As indicated by Dawson and Mukoyama (2006) the most important function of retailers is to make a range of products available to consumers for potential purchase. Information systems and technology Information systems and technologies not only support supply chain management, but also management processes. For the Shoprite Group to manage all its stores and operations from one head office, it has to have reliable information systems and technology in place. They have invested in the most sophisticated information technology and systems available to the retail industry, and employ talented people to manage them, according to the Chairman’s report (Shoprite, 2008). With this advancement in information technology, their systems are able to place up to 490 000 orders per month to reorder products automatically from their existing suppliers, the report indicates. In his report Whitey Basson (Chief Executive Officer) indicates that their investment in information technology and infrastructure has improved efficiencies at all levels of the business, and no doubt the capacity to handle increased supply chain activity in an international context (Shoprite, 2008). DISCUSSION It has come to light from the Shoprite review that both political issues and company-level issues affect South 751 African retailers in their quest to tap into the African market in a fulsome way. In an interview with the Classic FM business programme on 18 February 2009 (Shoprite, 2009b), Basson said: South Africa has not woken up to the fact that they are part of that big global village, and there are a lot of laws that need to be changed to make African traders work better with each other, in and out, it’s a hell of a job to actually get through the red tape and make trading easier. So I feel very strongly about it that they should look at that and say listen, as SA become part of the African continent and a leading role player, we should actually form some committee†¦that makes the trading easy; get [taxes] structured properly†¦, [so that] a truck can go to and be cleared within an hour going from one border to the next and not stand and wait for four or five days in between borders†¦ I think we [are] just lagging in that process. Moreover, in her research into the conditions of Shoprite workers in Lusaka (Zambia) and Maputo (Mozambique), Miller (2006:36) found that â€Å"across the categories of age, gender, skill and permanent or casual status, workers felt misused and mistreated by Shoprite management†. Miller’s research reveals that workers complain about wages, working conditions, hours, and overtime pay. Due to high costs of living, the wages earned could not support their basic needs, although Shoprite’s pay bettered the legislated minimum wage at the time. In general, the expansion of the Shoprite Group into the rest of Africa has shown that modality is important; and the issue of mode is much more than opening wholly owned stores, franchising and others, as it also concerns the relationship with local producers, suppliers and workers and other stakeholders. Speaking to Fin24 (Shoprite, 2009c), Basson had this to say about going into Africa: We can double our African business if we can get rid of all the red tape and all problems of just getting stores and merchandise out there. So it’s really still very, very tough and there is very little help from anybody, be they manufacturers or government from both sides to make the African continent a global trading area like you have in Europe or the Americas. The review of the Shoprite story, and its African expansion strategies, demonstrate that the mode of entry into African markets is of strategic importance. While it is evident that there are still more opportunities for expansion into African countries, there are significant challenges, and these challenges revolve around the choice of entry mode. Therefore the concept of mode and mode differences are important as businesses have to 752 Afr. J. Bus. Manage. take some important decisions about mode. These observations from the Shoprite study suggest the following propositions: Proposition #1: It is not easy getting into African markets; there are significant mode differences which present various challenges. Proposition #2: Components of the modal issues and the nature of the challenges include: a. Support for local economies, producers and suppliers, and labour is critical; b. Efficient supply chain management, and good information systems help; c. Movement of goods across borders can pose logistical problems; d. Competition emerges as many South African retailers expand into the continent; e. Government interventions are needed to open up the continent for trade. The mode is therefore a mix of how these challenges are handled, and this is indicative of the mode choices. Moreover, the challenges regarding support for local producers and labour, and supply chain management are particularly important. South African retailers have come under scrutiny in recent years for dumping South African products in African markets, little support for local labour and pushing local companies out of business (Games, 2008); an issue Shoprite is said to be working hard on (Shoprite, 2008). Also, although most of the newly economically empowered populations of Africa want to spend their money in shopping mall, there are those people who are driven to be concerned about climate change because of the globalisation of the issues of climate change and the significance of carbon footprint management in running a business. This raises the importance of merchandise range management, as some consumers might prefer locally produced organic products. Therefore, there might be a need for the re-ranging of product lines of South African retailers in their African operations. The wider significance of the propositions established, and the relationships and interdependencies between them can be investigated by a review of other South African retail businesses moving in the same direction. OTHER SOUTH AFRICAN RETAILERS EXPANDING INTO THE REST OF AFRICA that the company now operates 12 Game stores in 10 sub-Saharan African countries outside of South Africa including: Botswana, Ghana, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia; most of the stores are said to perform better (in terms of sales) than their South African counterparts (Massmart, 2008). Other format stores are located elsewhere. The report also indicates that the company buys from local suppliers and also import from different countries including South Africa. According to the annual report, the excellent performance of stores in Africa caught management’s attention, and â€Å"this prompted us to revise our earlier policy to limit our African footprint to one store per country (with exception of Botswana and Namibia)†. As a result there are new stores under development for Malawi, Zambia, Ghana, Nigeria, Angola, and others, as reported. However, in an interview with fin24 the Massmart CEO, Grant Pattison indicated just how difficult it is to operate in African markets outside of South Africa, especially when it comes to acquiring property (Massmart, 2009). He said â€Å"we can work on a property for ten years† and explained how that can hamper their expansion process. Having said that, he also indicated that â€Å"the more difficult it is to operate, the more opportunity there is for a good operator† and in the final analysis they do not consider it particularly difficult to operate in foreign African countries (Massmart, 2009). Truworths Truworths is one of the leading South African apparel retailers, selling multiple brands of women’s, men’s, teenager’s and children’s fashions and related products (Truworth, 2008). Truworths is an investment holding company with subsidiaries. Like other South African retailers, the group is expanding into the continent, and currently operates 25 franchised stores in both foreign African countries and in the Middle East (Truworths, 2009). Unlike the Shoprite and Massmart Groups, however, Truworth’s strategy for expansion has been through franchising. The group has a presence in the following African countries beyond the borders of South Africa: Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho and Tanzania under its multiple brand labels. However, reports of how well those franchised stores perform are not indicated. Massmart group Woolworths Massmart is a wholesaler and retailer of general merchandise and other streams of goods. Since 1994 the company has expanded its business operation beyond the borders of South Africa to tap markets in the rest of the continent. In its 2008 annual report, it is explained Woolworths, like Truworths, is one of the major fashion and accessories retailers in South Africa; the company also operates a supermarket chain and pharmacies. It operates nationwide and also offers franchise opportunities, both in the local market and foreign African Dakora et al. countries (Woolworths, 2008). As reported, the company operates franchise stores in foreign African countries, including Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The performance of the franchised foreign operations is, however, not indicated (Woolworths, 2009). RETAIL MARKET OPPORTUNITIES IN AFRICA Retail opportunities in Africa are extensive, as some African countries are experiencing strong economic growth and are benefiting from political reforms. The â€Å"doing business† report of the World Bank (2008) indicates an increasing trend of countries implementing reforms to facilitate cross-border trade globally, and shows that Africa is at the forefront of this trend. The report observes that Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Rwanda and Tanzania have all reformed in recent years, and that African countries such as Botswana, Mozambique and Rwanda and Ghana have been able to create positive and stable governments. The resultant boost in their economies has been noticed, and the opportunities are clearly visible (Mahajan and Gunther, 2009). As well as economic expansion, it is worth noting that the combined population of African countries is also growing rapidly. With Africa still showing the highest birth rate, its population is projected to reach two billion by 2050, despite average life expectancy remaining low (Venter et al., 2007). Within African countries there is a growing highly-educated labour force, that can make a contribution to companies expanding into the continent; there is also a growing proportion of middle-income earners who seek to enjoy the services of these companies. In talking about the continent’s market size, potential and opportunities, Mahajan and Gunther (2009:3) help to put things in perspective: Africa has more than 900 million consumers. Despite the challenges, every day they need to eat. They need clean water. They need shelter, clothing, and medicine. They want cell phones, bicycles, computers, automobiles, and education for their children. Businesses are already seizing these opportunities in building markets across Africa. As we have noted, prominent among the companies seizing opportunities in Africa are South African retailers, and this is evident in the rising shopping malls and South African retail stores in cities across the Continent (Miller, 2006; Mahajan and Gunther, 2009). Moreover, the increased communications connectivity and usage in African countries also opens up a lot of opportunities. The information economy report hailed this technology 753 expansion as the source of the strong wave of innovation that changed the face of the global economy during the th last quarter of the 20 century† (United Nations, 2007). With the launch of the East African Submarine Internet cable, that connects Eastern and Southern African countries to the rest of the world in cheaper and faster ways, ICTs will continue to be a positive factor. However, Mahajan and Gunther indicate that most emerging markets have serious problems that cannot be ignored by businesses operating within them, and Africa has its own unique situation; this issue is discussed under the next heading. DIFFICULTIES PROCESS IN THE INTERNATIONALISATION Infrastructure (including transport, electricity, water, sanitation, medicine, and technology) has always been at the forefront of challenges faced by companies operating in Africa, but these challenges actually present opportunities to businesses that can meet them (Mahajan and Gunther, 2009). All the same, it is still difficult and costly to move goods from one country to another when there are poor rail and road networks (Economist Newspaper, 2008). This poses logistical difficulties for retailers who need to move perishable or fast-moving consumer goods from warehouses to stores, in geographically far-flung locations within the continent, as indicated earlier in the discussion of Shoprite. Additionally, cross-border trade is affected by road blocks, red tape and slow custom clearances at most borders. As explained in his interview with Fin24 (Massmart, 2009), the CEO of Massmart said â€Å"[When] we supply goods into Lagos, it might take 12 weeks on the water, [but it can take] 14 weeks to clear†. Obviously, this precludes any consideration of the supply of fresh products. Conclusion As international retailing becomes a reality in Africa, the complexities of the phenomenon, coupled with the unique African situation, need academic attention to help demystify the process. South African retailers have moved into the continent quite cautiously, and most are achieving growth, in some cases even more than within their home operations. This generally positive experience merits more study so that it can be understood and used to accelerate the benefits for all, especially the African consumer. This paper has focused on the mode of internationalisation as an important issue that demands the attention of retail managements considering moving into Africa. For example, it is interesting that Shoprite and general merchandise retailer, Massmart have opened 754 Afr. J. Bus. Manage. their own stores, whereas clothing retailers, Truworths and Woolworths operate via franchising. As a result, while Shoprite and Massmart have full ownership and control over their operations in foreign African countries, they nevertheless have to shoulder the challenges in those markets as discussed. In the case of their franchised counterparts, this has been avoided, at the cost of ownership and some control. It is already evident that there are many variations on these simple themes that all need to be studied and understood. REFERENCES Daniel J, Naidoo V, Naidu S (2003). Post-Apartheid South Africa’s corporate expansion into Africa. Traders. .Afr. Bus. J. AugustNovember, issue: 15. 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Global business environment and strategies: managing for global competitive advantage. 3rd ed. Cape Town: Oxford University Press. Woolworths (2009). Website. www.woolworths.co.za. [20 July 2009]. Woolworths (2008). Annual report. www.woolworth.co.za. [20 July 2009]. World Bank (2008). Doing business 2009. www.doingbusiness.org [24 July 2009]. Zhang M, Dodgson M (2007). â€Å"A roasted duck can still fly away†: A case study of technology, nationality, culture and the rapid and early internationalisation of the firm. J. World Bus. 42: 336-349.

Observational Stages of Piaget/Erikson

CDC Observational Experience, 1-2year old room 1) Age: 22 months, male * Physical Growth and Development Milestones 1. Physical Characteristics- More well-balanced appearance as compared to the wide-based, top heavy appearance of younger toddlers (also present in the group). 2. Gross motor ability- Walked and ran with ease as compared to the younger children. More normal, less â€Å"waddling† gait. Fell 1 time. 3. Fine motor ability- Manual dexterity development shown when turning pages of a book that I was holding during â€Å"circle time†. Observed making a circle on the water table with a smaller wand- shaped toy. . Sensory Ability- Able to verbally identify colors, shapes, animals (and animal sounds). * Developmental Level of the Child- The observed child was in the â€Å"Autonomy vs. Shame/Doubt† stage of Erikson’s Theory of Psychosocial Development. His language was more improved as compared to the limited words of the younger children. He was able t o speak in very simple sentences. I first observed autonomy when looking at what he was wearing, a Batman outfit with a cape! The caregivers told me that he likes to wear those things and also has a Superman cape that he chooses to wear.When given a simple command such as â€Å"Come and sit down at the table†, he replied â€Å"NO! † and kept playing. The caregivers allowed him a few times of defiance, then picked him up and put him in the chair for lunch. The child was fussy for a few minutes in the chair, but did cheer up when given his lunch. He was given a small amount of several different foods and chose only a few to eat. The child fed himself. He was not toilet trained yet. He seemed to be right in the middle of this stage, which is from 1 ? to 3 years. In reference to Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development, the child was in the† Mental Combinations† sensorimotor stage.This was evident in reading our picture book, which had illustrations of d ifferent animals and vehicles. He spanned from naming colors in the book, to identifying a truck/bus/etc. , to expressing a â€Å"roar† for a picture of a lion. * Psychosocial Development- 1. The child played with different toys on the water table, including buckets, cups, and brushes. He laughed at himself spinning a toy around very fast and watching the water spray around. He did seek approval for this. As he was doing it, he looked at the caregivers and repeated it as we laughed.He seemed to like playing with two other boys around his age (23 and 21 months). 2. As stated before, the child’s communication was much more diverse than the 1 year olds. He spoke in small sentences and was able to identify shapes, colors, and familiar objects. With the above statements, I feel that this child falls within the growth and developmental norms for his age group. 2) The CDC staff encouraged growth in the above areas by allowing the child to make his own choices without repriman ding, but maintained the normal daily routine (example: sit down for lunchtime). Related essay: Shame is Worth a TryThey gave the child praise for following rules. Appropriate toys and play ideas were provided for the child. 3) The water table activity enhanced fine motor skills and imagination. A book and song â€Å"circle time† enhanced pre-reading and routine. The children participated in many sing-a-long songs with fine motor skill commands such as â€Å"put your finger on your nose†. 4) I was not present for the separation process between the parent and child (was doing presentation with 4th floor CDC children). However, this child had an extremely hard time falling asleep for nap time. He cried incessantly and was very restless.The CDC employees patted the child’s back rhythmically until he finally fell asleep. 5) Five safety rules were as follows; put away toys (â€Å"clean up time†), sit when eating, â€Å"Nice touches† (No hitting or pinching), shoes are always on, and everyone takes a turn with a toy. 6) I observed a s ituation where the child pinched another boy around his age. The other boy pinched him back. The caregivers positively reprimanded the child by saying â€Å"nice touches† and distracting both children with a new activity. The technique did work, but both of the children did it again about an hour later.

Research and explanation into e-branding and its impact on the consumer behaviour The WritePass Journal

Research and explanation into e-branding and its impact on the consumer behaviour Research and explanation into e-branding and its impact on the consumer behaviour CHAPTER 1INTRODUCTIONCHAPTER 2LITERATURE REVIEW  INTRODUCTIONINTRODUCTION TO E-BRANDINGTHE IMPORTANCE OF E-BRANDINGDIFFERENT BRANDING STRATEGIESDRIVING ONLINE BRANDS TO SUCCESSE-BRAND BUILDINGBRAND EQUITYONLINE BRANDING METRICSMetrics of brand measurementSTAGES OF BRANDINGELEMENTS OF SUCCESSFUL ONLINE BRANDING  REFERENCESRelated CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Modern day marketing has greatly developed. Companies now use consumer driven approaches to promote their abilities to satisfy needs and wants of the modern consumer. E-branding is one of the processes that let a company to promote their products and services over a broad and open platform, accessible to half the world. More than 4 billion people access the web all over the world. Therefore branding CAN be described as a process of building a positive image for product or service what company provides to its consumers. Moreover effective branding has the emotional element that creates product loyalty, for example Burger King- â€Å"Do it your way† or Nike â€Å"Just do it†. According to Sterne (1999) â€Å"A brand is not a name. A brand is not a positioning statement. It is not a marketing message. It is a promise made by a company to its customers and supported by company†.      CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW   INTRODUCTION In this chapter, the main purpose is to understand various concepts of e-branding- for example- different branding strategies, brand equity and elements of success, importance of e-branding etc. INTRODUCTION TO E-BRANDING   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Commercial internet has been around for over a decade. Many organizations used E-branding to promote their brands on internet. According to Kotler et al (2010, pg 255) e-branding is â€Å"the creation and development of communications strategies specifically for brands to have meaning and context on the web† and the brand stands for â€Å"a name, term, sign, symbol, design or a combination of these, that identifies the product or service of one seller or group of sellers and differentiates them from those competitors†. The Internet is a tactic part of business strategy just like newspapers or direct mail advertisements or business cards. Therefore branding is an important part of Internet commerce, as branding allows companies to build up their reputations as well as expand beyond the original product and service, and add to the revenue generated by the original brand (Carpenter, 2000). According to Kotler et al (2010) strong, successful brand can shift the competitive framework in the company favour, given it intangible, difficult to replicate, values with which to supplement its more basic products, price and distribution benefits. However nowadays people don’t pay attention to the existence of a site as a company, but consumer pays much attention to a good deal for product or service, what could save a lot of money for consumer pocket.   Ã‚   According to Levine (2003) in 1995 July 16th -Amazon.com- was the first company who went live on the Internet, even that time period many people had never ever purchased any goods or services from online shopping.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   According to Interbrand (2011) a survey of Retail Brands Performance 2010 UK, the BEST TOP 10 are Rank Brand Brand Value ($m) 1 TESCO 10.102 2 MARK SPENCER 6.074 3 BOOTS 2.480 4 ASDA 1.395 5 NEXT 1.314 6 ARGOS 912 7 SAINSBURYS 849 8 MORRISONS 429 9 WAITROSE 338 10 DEBENHAMS 284 Source: interbrand.com/en/BestRetailBrands/2011.aspx For that reason Levine (2003) argues that â€Å"E-branding is not just the activity of creating a brand on the internet, it’s not just about making e-commerce site famous and creating brands that end in â€Å".com†, e-branding can create brand awareness, state brand identity, and reinforce brand integrity as well as or better than most other forms of branding communications†.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Internet is as a direct communication with the public, where companies can talk to their consumers what they want to reach or they can talk with consumers who have interest about product or service what organization provides, therefore organizations can reach millions of people for the price of one local newspaper advertisement fees (Sheehan, 2010). Nowadays organizations need to use WEB, because cited from Levine (2003, pg 169) â€Å"Product or service without a web site in today’s market is like a politician without vocal cords: he or she might have great ideas, but who’s going to know about them?† Internet has transformed the image of marketing and branding. Traditional brand branding types such as TV, radio, newspapers etc is always the choice of marketers to brand the business; however the pattern is changing with consumer buying behaviour shifting towards online purchasing, and for that reason e-branding now is more and more important as ever with the globalized access for billions of consumers. Successful e-branding leads to increase brand awareness and potential access to new customers as well as the development of new lines of business, previously unavailable to traditional companies. As customers creates their trust in brands through of use and experience, companies has the opportunity to start building relationship with consumers, strengthening the brand further and making it more difficult for competitors to imitate. Therefore it is very important for business to build up memorable brand in consumers mind. Brand is the product what organization produce, and its represents organizations core values, competencies, attitudes, vision, mission, personality and appearance (Kushwaha, 2009). More over there exist high competition in market, therefore organization need to find a market niche and accurately adjust the offer to the consumers need.   According to study by Cheskin Research (1999) brand is at the top the list of six marketplace fundamentals for building and maintaining trust on the internet: others are navigability, fulfilment, presentation, technology and seals of approval. THE IMPORTANCE OF E-BRANDING According to Aaker (2000) â€Å"branding has been characterised as the process of creating value through the provision of a compelling and consistent offer and customer experience that will satisfy customers and keep them coming back†. However Chernatony et al (1992) says that the companies who have strong history of strong brands -will likely maintain greater control over the balance of power between them and customers, not forgetting that command a higher market share and premium price against generic, unbranded, equivalents. Were Rowley (2004) argues that â€Å"if organization has the strong and successful brand, then it helps to shift the competitive framework in the company favour, giving it intangible, difficult to replicate, values with which to augment its more basic product, price and distribution benefits†. However Steven (1999) explains that e-branding also provide an economy of scale to the company and provide it with a springboard from which to launch addit ional associated products and services. Brand management should aim to build into customers minds a set of perceptions and attitudes relating to an offering, leading to positive buying behaviour (Phillips, 2006). A brand helps in differentiating one company from another. As it was mention before brand marketing is the process of developing the right image or corporate identity of organization to the market place. According to Show (2009) the main element of good brand development include target market research which involves collecting information on potential clients need and preferences, features and benefits of their products in which the target market will be interested. As Show (2009) explains – brand building or brand marketing comprises of brand name development, brand design, logo design, brand communications, corporate branding and product branding. The creation and development of a well-differentiated brand helps in reaching customers in a way that it is compatible with their beliefs, language, need and expectations (Show, 2009). Branding seeks a certain impression with respect to the qualities or characteristics of a product that makes it special or unique, furthermore with branding, organization can brand product/service brand into the consciousness of consumers. In generally the importance of branding a product/ service lies in the fact that branding means recognition and an identity (Scholasticus, 2010). However cited from Scholasticus (2010) â€Å"actual words â€Å"branding† in its origins can be connected to the activity of branding of milk giving animals, where farmers-animal owners- often branded their cows and buffaloes with their signature brands. The milk of animal that were taken better care of, was always in demand and of course-costly†.   But from the point of view of business, the process of branding involves making of a trademark and a good name (Scholasticus, 2010). However in the field of marketing, the brand name plays an important role as it helps the people to promote the brand name and its merits quite easily, it also becomes possible for the marketing people to generate intelligence information about brands popularity and also what people exactly want from the brand owning company, and more over as a resu lt of a brand loyal group of consumers, it also becomes easier for marketing department to asses regular and promised demand (Scholasticus, 2010). E-branding refers to any type of branding by electronic means. Dubberly (2000) describes a brand as a sign, formed by words or graphics that represent or signify the brand and the perception of the brand, which has been shaped by the experience. All traditional branding and e-branding must be customer centric.   However the type of customer that organization hope to attract may be different, for example traditional brands may center or a domestic market, where brick- and- mortar locations exist, but the e-brand may look to have an international reach. Traditional branding may look to move customers to impulse buying whereas e-brands may look more for brand recognition. More over e-branding supplement brand recognition on website through community building for their loyal customers. According to Mega public branding (2011) multinationals corporations operating online face different problems, for example information technologies, but connection with the commercial performance on their online ventures. Often, the budget has been spent on content management system, IT staff, and in local web companies delivering individual user interfaces based on either outdate branding system or on none at all. Such problems derive from the fact that these companies have failed to invest pro-actively in a global strategic branding program- because organization have failed underestimated the need for a strong global brand vision and for a direct marketing program adapted to the internet (Mega public branding, 2011). However Hoeck (2007) argues that there exist three main problems with branding, and the first problem is that the companies try to be what they think their customers want them to be. The second problem is that the companies have done nothing about their brands. The third common problem is that the companies who get mired in analysis paralysis- over thinking market segmentation, competitive positioning, value propositions, long- term objectives, short- term objectives, quality research, quantitative research etc.   As Hoeck (2007) explains companies need to be â€Å"themselves†. Furthermore Hoeck (2007) explains if companies don’t stand out in the marketplace, they are not connecting with potential customers. And the main reason why companies don’t stand out- is because they don’t know â€Å"who† they are (Hoeck, 2007). Nowadays some companies think that they need to be like their potential customers in order to connect with them, so they bend over backwards trying to be what they think the market wants them to be (Hoeck, 2007). Some companies try many different looks and change with the trends, however having many different images and personalities at the same time, makes consumer confused and it dilutes any competitive advantage (Hoeck, 2007). Good example would be Microsoft, when Windows Live online service was introduced in 2005, and company was criticized for the confusing and inconsistent branding and naming of the Live services (Arvidson, 2010). In general Windows Liver service includes Windows Live Hotmail, a free email system, Windows Live Essentials, which includes a package of software including Photo gallery, movie maker, and Windows Live Mesh, which allows user to sync photos and documents between computers (Arvidson, 2010). The brand problems appearance after Microsoft created the â€Å"Live† service brand, because it created confusion when the email service was alternately named Windows Live Mail and Windows Live Hotmail, more over the â€Å"Live† branding term was not consistently used in several Microsoft products, but it made big confusions in consumers’ eyes (Arvidson, 2010). And only in 2007 Microsoft launched The Windows Live Search service, separating it from its â€Å"Live† brand to be a part of its Microsoft ad Centre, which provides pay- per- click advertisement service (Arvidson, 2010). DIFFERENT BRANDING STRATEGIES According to Worsham (2009) there exist four branding strategies- Corporate branding, distinct brand, hybrid brand and umbrella brands. As Worsham (2009) explains- CORPORATE BRAND STRATEGY stands for companies that only offer one benefit for their customers, more over they usually used corporate brand. Advantage- Everything the company does is attributed to its brand Disadvantage Everything the company does is attributed to its brand The next brand category according to Worsham (2009) is DISTINCT BRAND STRATEGY, what stands for when companies choose to release each product or service as its own brand ( for example Proctor Gamble) Advantage each product stands alone so failures do not affect the entire company or other products. Distinct benefit for each product can be directly attributed to a specific brand. Disadvantages according to Worsham (2009) would be that each product will require its own marketing strategy and budget, with no synergy possible between products. Successes will not be directly attributes to the company brands. The next category of brand is HYBRID BRAND STRATEGY according to Worsham (2009). This brand stands for when a product extends the benefit of an overall brand or company. Advantages: marketing and branding can take advantage of the overall brand for budget and reputation. Disadvantage: any problems or negative press for either the product or the overall brand will affect both brands. The last brand category stands for UMBRELLA BRAND STRATEGY according to Worsham (2009). If company provides different products with different benefits, but they all extend the same value to the customer, sometimes they all offered under an overall brand, for example Nike. Advantages: each product contributes to the shared value offered to the customer. More over marketing and branding strategies can be at the shared value level, touting all the specific benefits. Disadvantages: any product can negatively affect the overall brand and specific benefits may be muddled in the overall shared value. Cited from Irvine (2011) – it doesn’t matter in what industry organization operates, but it is important to choose and used the right branding strategy. With branding strategies organization define what advertisement campaigns organization will use to promote their products. Furthermore branding strategy what organization choose will end up forming the identity or image that people will have of the products, causing them to be attracted or repelled by what organization present (Irvine, 2011) DRIVING ONLINE BRANDS TO SUCCESS According to Sharpe (2000) the development of a powerful brand requires money, analysis, planning, execution and time, and for that reason there exist principles for building up strong online brand: KEY BRANDING PRINCIPLES: Defining the brand Selecting the brand strategy framework Developing specific and achievable goals Operational zing the brand Leveraging the features of the internet Monitoring the brand performance Caring about customers Source: Key principles for successful online branding, Sharpe, 2000.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Defining the brand is the first crucial step for success. According to Anonymous (2002) investing time and energy in e-marketing, can help understand brand better, involving its meanings to potential consumers, its relationships to competitor brand, and the brand role in the market. According to Anonymous (2002) there exist three basic brand strategy frameworks, when organizations define their brands- Conglomerate brand strategy means that the companies’ brands stand on their own, for example Procter Gamble with independent brand like Tide and Crest. Corporate brand strategy what means that there exist relationship between the company and its brands, for example car brand Renault and its models like Renault Megana and Renault Twingo Master brand strategy means that there are very close relationship with brand and company, in different words every brand name includes the corporate brand name, for example hotel chain Holiday Inn and its brand Holidays Inn Express. Developing specific and achievable goals is next important principle for building up strong online brand. Quoted from Graham (2002) different objectives demand different strategic approaches. Therefore Goldsmith (2001) recommends distinguish between specific branding goals: Awareness, therefore organizations need to use online and offline advertisements if they want to stand out from the crowd Message association- organization need to design perfect brand message to make customers to associate a message with products what organization provide. Next important principle according to Anonymous (2002) is operationalzing the brand, because the identification and formulation of the brand actions plan can help to increase effective communication and delivery of the brand attributes. Leveraging the features of the internet, offers advertisers unique opportunities allowing them to make stronger brand affinity (Anonymous, 2002). Therefore Bruner (2000) explains that there exist five features, what are the most important for online branding success, and they are – Search engines majority of internet users use primarily search engines such Google or Bing for information research, therefore Web search engines are a key to success by positively influencing a brand awareness among customers Permission email – nowadays web users have become more and more fed up of â€Å"spam† – marketing message bombarding their e-mail boxes, therefore email as online marketing tool can be used for targeting new customers, and retaining existing users if they allowed it.   For example- customer relationship e-mail –by Amazon. Com for order confirmation. Personalization- organization need interact with customer, for example FedEx offering their customers to track the shipment of an online order, and it can also increase customer satisfaction and it can improve brand loyalty. Word of mouth-   can be very cost- efficient tool in acquiring new customers, because usually satisfied users recommends a website to their friends or they give good feedback to another web users who need the same service or product what organization provide Affiliate networks. Nowadays WEB users more and more randomly surf in the WEB sites, therefore the business existence in many web sites are become more important in reaching potential customers.   Therefore Graham (2002) explains that affiliate network allows cooperative advertisements and promotions to be more rewarding than conventional banner and campaigns. E-BRAND BUILDING According to Murphy (1993) â€Å"branding is concerned with assembling and maintaining a mixture of values, both tangible and intangible, which are relevant to consumers and which significantly and appropriately distinguishes one suppliers brand from that of another†. According to Treiblmaier (2006) the origins of brand management can be found in the beginning of the 20th century. Its primary goals include the creation and the development of distinguishable symbols, which could serve as a reference and influence a consumers buying decision. To make a brand competitive, it is important to have preferences for brand, trust and customer loyalty. E-brands are brands what exist in online and it represents an offer or an organization, depending on whether the company conduct business online, offline or both, there can be seen three different types of differentiation, for example pure players, offline brands and mixed players (Treiblmaier, 2006). Source: Brand building on the web (Aaker and Joachimsthaler, 2000, p 237) Aaker et al (2000) explains that there exist six tools for building brand on the web, and they are the most powerful brand-building tool, since it can be tailored to the actual needs of the customers. Advertising efforts and sponsored content on a third-party site help to get known in the online world. An intranet can be used to communicate the brand and its identity internally, while a customer extranet makes users feel like being part of a big community. Web based public relations strategies intend to influence communication measures, which cannot be directly controlled by the company itself, such as private websites, public discussion rooms and chats. It is of vital importance for enterprises to know about their â€Å"online image†, since information is spread easily on the Internet, and can have both positive and negative effects. E-mail enables the organization to send and receive information, thereby simplifying contact with their stakeholders Furthermore Clark (1997) explains that to create a powerful e-brand it is important to compare the impact of various factors, for example- web-design, promotions, positioning, security, name, information and service delivery in different market environment. Website, at the end of the day, is the ultimate one-to-one communication channel, second only to human interface (Sheehan, 2010). A well designed website can be a superb brand extension and sales executive for any company: always on duty, always accurate, always up-to-date (as long as it is maintained) and utterly consistent (Sheehan, 2010). Of course, the web is no replacement for the human intelligence but it is a powerful weapon to extend a brand into the wide world, 24-hours a day (Jacobsohn, 2002). BRAND EQUITY According to Kotler et al (1999) â€Å"Brand equity is the value of brand, based on the extent to which it has high brand loyalty, name awareness, perceived quality, strong name associations, and other assets such as patents, trademarks, and channel relationships†. Therefore advertisements are main force what help increase brand equity.   Brand equity is measured based on how much a customer is aware of brand, in another words it shows how much customers are willing to switch to another brand, especially when that brand makes a change, either in price or in product features (Kapferer, 1997). More over high brand equity provides a company with many competitive advantages, for example powerful brands enjoy a high level of consumer brand awareness and loyalty, for example Coca Cola, IBM, Marlboro and so on (Kotler et al, 1999). Furthermore if brand carries high credibility, then organization can more easily launch line and brand extension for example Procter Gamble (Kotler et al, 1999). According to Stamoulis (2011) † building up brand equity in online can take time, dedication and patience, however the intangible asset that is brand equity can go a long way in building and maintaining an online reputation, building trust factor with the search engines and consumer; and it helps increase online brand presence and more†. Brand equity is not something that just happens; it takes a conscious effort to make sure that the brand equity becomes a valuable asset (Kotler et al, 1999). And for that reason Stamoulis (2011) explains that there exist three ways how to build up brand equity: Invest in content marketing. According to Junta42 Content Marketing (2011): †Content marketing is a marketing technique of creating and distributing relevant and valuable content to attract, acquire, and engage a clearly defined and understood target audience-with the objective of driving profitable customer action†. Content marketing is art of communications with customers and prospects without selling, in different words it is non-interruption marketing (Stamoulis, 2011). In different words consumer doesn’t care what company is or what they   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   do; all what consumers want is to know what organization can do for them, or how the product what company sell can solve consumer problems (Stamoulis, 2011). This type of marketing used organizations around the world, and good examples would be Procter Gamble, Microsoft or Cisco Systems. The second way according to Stamoulis (2011) would be cultivate relationship with industry bloggers, because influential blogger (person who writes a weblogs) can provide a huge boom for organizations content marketing campaign. A popular business blog may get thousands of visitors per day and a powerful blogger can help Support business not only for building up brand equity; but it can also help drive incredible amounts of traffic to the site. The third way according to Stamoulis (2011) would be- building an online community. ONLINE BRANDING METRICS Consumers often anthropomorphize brands by endowing them with personality traits, and marketers often create or reinforce these perceptions by their brand positioning (Rajagopal, 2008). Brand personality traits provide symbolic meaning or emotional value that can contribute to consumer brand preferences and can be more enduring than functional attribute. Successful positioning of a brands personality within a product category requires measurement model that are able to disentangle a brand unique personality traits from those traits that are common to all brands in the product category (Rajagopal, 2008). Therefore businesses need to use brand measurement system to understand how successful they are in the market. However Stewart (2004, pg 382) explains that â€Å"The key benefit of a brand measurement system is that it links brand management and business performance, and the system is most powerful when it is viewed as a strategic management tool for continuous improvement rather than a static snapshot in time of the brands performance†. All measurements need to be considered as a continuous activity (Stewart, 2004). For that reason Stewart (2004) explains that metrics should be grouped in three categories- perception metrics, performance metrics and financial metrics, what allows marketer to gauge the effectiveness of brand- building activity from brand investment (inputs) through to business impact (outputs), (Stewart, 2004). Metrics of brand measurement Source: Steward, Brand Management (2004, pg 383) As Steward (2004) explains that the Perception metrics focus on the range of functional, emotional and latent connections that combine to form an opinion of a brand. This metric also include awareness, familiarity, relevance, consideration and preference, more over all these aspects help to gauge the effectiveness of various brand-building activities across all the points of interaction with a customer. Performance metrics helps to assess how thevarious brand-building activities have combined to drive over- all business results, and range from price premium to loyalty to lifetime value of a customer.Financial metrics represent the economic impact on the business, whether revenue growth or return on investment. However the biggest challenges what marketer can face is an understanding the causal relationship between brand perception, brand performance and financial impact, but once the causal connections are made across perception, performance and impact, the marketer can tie activities directly to value creation (Stewart, 2004) STAGES OF BRANDING Brand changes are related to the expertise of management, the firms’ strategic goals and market targeting activities, the branding activities of other firms, the sophistication of consumers, the level of involvement in the product category, the stage of the product life cycle and the development of branding in the relevant product category (The Star, 2006). The brand evolution process consists of six stages, where each stage and every stage is related to the consumer engaging, learning, and valuing a particular brand (Shahzad, 2010). Therefore The Star (2006) explains that there exist six stages of branding: Unbranded goods. In this first stage, goods are treated as commodities and most are unbranded. This stage can be described as an excess of demand over supply. Producers make little effort to distinguish or brand their goods with the result that the consumers perception of good is utilitarian (Shahzad, 2010) Brand as reference competitive pressure stimulate producers to differentiate their goods from other manufacturers, and it is achieved through change in physical product attributes. Consumer memory network expand beyond recognition of the basic product category to include other product information in order to evaluate goods on the bases of consistency and quality (Shahzad, 2010). Organizations used brand names based on their image of the brand as a heuristic device in decision making. Brand as a personality- by this stage of brand as personality, differentiation among brands on rational and functional attributes becomes exceedingly difficult as many producers make the same claim, and for those reason organisations gives their brand personality. Brand as icons in this stage the brand is â€Å"owned by consumers†. There exist extensive knowledge about the brand- frequently worldwide- and use it to create their self-identity. Brand as a company brand has a complex identity and there are many points of contract between the consumer and the brand. Brand as policy this stage is distinguished by an alignment of the company with ethical, social and even political causes. ELEMENTS OF SUCCESSFUL ONLINE BRANDING   Successful online branding must have excellent management of product positioning, good copy content, good SEO values and an effective online brand presence, all of which require a lot off work (Cleanthous, 2010).   The online market may be the biggest in the world, but it is also is the toughest market in the world, because businesses need get consumer attention to the extent of actually buying a product. Therefore Cleanthous (2010) explains that â€Å"Four Ps† of traditional marketing plays huge role in success, and â€Å"Four Ps† stands for: Products must have a clear target audience online. Core users are the essential demographic for online marketing. Positions internet audience will ignore irrelevant information, and that includes any product related to irrelevant information, marketing information must be positioned correctly in terms of the target demographic. Price online pricing must be considered to be market sensitive, because in a market where everyone can instantly go and check and make comparisons with other products, pricing must be competitive and realistic. Promotion online promotions can be brilliant, incredibly successful or stunningly ineffectual and totally wasteful in terms of time and effort. However small business Trend (2011) argues that there exist 4Cs, what helps create a great brand online, and 4Cs stands for – content, consistency, clarity, cultivate. Therefore Small Business Trend (2011) explains that the most important factor of branding online is CONTENT, not a logo or the colours what company use on their WEB site. Content is a brand message what company are using to unite with their customers (Barone, 2011). The next â€Å"C† stands for CONSISTENCY. Companies try to create a brand with a cohesive message that users will be able to trust over time. Companies’ logo, web accounts, site colour, and text on message or home page everything must deliver the same message and brand must do what it promise to its consumers (Small business Trend, 2011). The next â€Å"C† stands for CLARITY. Organisations must create characters, because it allows the organisation best connect with their target audience, but from the beginning it is important to understand who audience is, what they are looking for, and where organization can fit into the mix (Barone, 2011). Organisation must represent clear about what they want their brand connecting fibers to be (Small business Trend, 2011) The last â€Å"C† stand for CULTIVATE.   In general brand will not grow overnight; therefore organizations need to cultivate it over time (Barone, 2011). This involves- commenting on blogs, participating in appropriate online communities, responding to people when they mention you, being proactive about building relationships, and being open to letting customers inside organization (Small Business Trend, 2011). However Philpott (2008) argues that internet brand development is a relatively straight forward and logical process. It starts with creating and increasing an online awareness of products or service what organization represent. For that reason Philpott (2008) explains that there exist three simple steps to effectively establish chosen online brands by organization on WEB. And these three steps are- exposure, Repetition and build trust. The first step is EXPOSURE. It is very important for organization to build an online brand to get out in front of people. Therefore organizations can use video or different content to increase their exposure on the internet. For example –social sites, blogs, forums or other platforms can be used for organization to target audience. The second step is REPETITION. For organization to create and developed an online awareness of brand will take a repeated, consistent and sustained effort in order to be effective. As Philpott (2008) explains â€Å"branding is making ’lasting’ impression and this cannot be done overnight†. More over the impression what organization is trying to build in consumers’ eye have a lasting effect and repetition is the key. The last step according to Philpott (2008) is BUILDING TRUST. Whatever type of contents organization use to build up their online brand, organization want it to be useful to the people they target. When consumer associated brand with organization, then it is easier for business to target these customers, because when association and reputation increase, so will marketing effectiveness increase, not forgetting trust from consumers (Philpott, 2008). 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