Product Assessment Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Product Assessment - Research Paper Example t that there exists some preliminary evidence that is seen to promote the use of garcinia in enhancing weight loss and exercise performance although the currently available evidence is mixed. Critics of the use of garcinia cambogia as a weight loss supplement argue that the high cost of the supplement is not commensurate with its results and it would be better for individuals seeking to lose weight to invest in proven techniques such as exercise to help them in losing weight. This paper will seek to prove that although the garcinia cambogia is able to generate weight loss on the short term, the long term effects are negligible. Garcinia (Garcinia Cambogia) is a rather diminutive purple fruit that is native to the regions around Southeast Asia and India. In recent times, the fruit has gained massive popularity as a weight loss aid although the evidence conducted to establish this aspect has largely been inconclusive. The fruit’s rind is rich in hydroxycitric acid (HCA) and this caused it for centuries to be used as a flavoring agent, food preservative and an effective carminative in the expulsion of gas from the intestines or stomach. Indian folk tradition has promoted the Garcinia Cambogia as a cure for conditions such as bowel complaints and rheumatism. According to Amazon.com (2014), the current number 1 selling garcinia cambogia product is being produced and marketed by Quality Encaspulations with each container containing 180 capsules. Individuals taking the dietary supplement are required to take a daily serving size of two 300 to 500mg capsules. The product is marketed as Pure Garcinia Cambogia Extract with HCA. The appropriate dosage of garcinia is seen to depend on a number of factors such as the age of the user and the individual’s health. Although there is currently no scientific information available that can help in the determination of the appropriate range of dosages for garcinia, the standard dosage that is prescribed on its label is a serving

European Studies Essays Welfare State and the European Nations

European Studies Essays Welfare State and the European Nations Welfare State and the European Nations â€Å"The phrase ‘welfare state’ was first used in the late 1930s, to distinguish between the policies of the democracies and the war state of European dictators† (Spicker, 2003). From the late nineteenth century, features of a welfare state began emerge in parts of Western Europe. The first European country to put in place a welfare state was Germany in 1883. The then Chancellor Otto Von Bismarck introduced a mandatory national accident and sickness insurance law. The insurance was financed by state subsidy (Spicker). A welfare state is â€Å"a state where more than one half of all government expenditures are devoted to social policy, as opposed to the economy, the military, law and order, infrastructure and other traditional functions of the state† ( Spicker, 2003). Judt (2006) defines a welfare state as a state which is primarily concerned with dispensing welfare to its citizens. Such states spend the bigger proportion of their public expenditures on welfare. Get help with your essay from our expert essay writers According to Gough (2006), welfare states in Europe were established during the Second World War. Their main purpose was to tackle the five evil giants that were facing most of Europe at that time. These evils included: Poverty: Because of the war, many people were sick, jobless or widowed hence were poor. Diseases: Despite many people being sick, they could not afford to seek treatment. Ignorance: At that time, school-leaving age was 11. Most children were forced to drop out of schools because they could not afford to pay fees. Squalor: Majority of the population lived in poor housing facilities (slums) because council houses were inadequate. Idleness: As a result of the war, most people lost their jobs and became unemployed. The welfare state was therefore established to ensure that children stayed in school; free medical treatment for all was introduced; new council houses were built and more towns established to provide better housing facilities to the slum dwellers and more industries were started to help reduce the unemployment rate. There are several objectives of a welfare state. Equitable distribution of wealth and resources: Welfare states used progressive method of tax collection whereby people with higher incomes paid more taxes and those with lower incomes paid less tax. This method of taxation helped in reallocation of public money and shifting of resources from the resource-rich regions to resource-poor regions. This was effective in achieving regional balance and in narrowing the gap between the rich and the poor (Spicker, 2003). Income and standard of living maintenance: People can temporarily or permanently be rendered incapable participating in the labor market. This can be due to old age, or sickness. This normally results in loss of income for themselves and their families. But in a welfare state, income maintenance was assured whether or not someone was working. This was normally â€Å"achieved through a variety of public insurance schemes,† (Judt, 2006). These included deductions from an employee’s salary, contributions made by the employers and the state. These deductions and contributions were deposited into an insurance fund from which individuals were entitled to certain benefits, depending on the level and the number of contributions made. These â€Å"insurance schemes covered unemployment, sick pay and old age pensions,† (Gough, 2006). Helping the disadvantaged groups: welfare states started programs to assist those groups that were considered worse-off than others. Gough (2006) says that: For instance, European countries have taken specific measures to combat rural poverty; support families with children; provide for re-training and early retirement in industrial problem regions; assist especially those with structural employment problem (the long-term and older unemployed; youth unemployment). Provision of a public safety net was another objective of welfare states. Welfare States ensured that each individual enjoyed â€Å"a minimal level of decent human existence if no other resources are available,† (Gough, 2006). In the pre-industrial era provision for such individuals was mainly done by â€Å"local charities, communities, nobleness oblige, and the churches †¦ on a much smaller scale† (Gough). Most Welfare States used their welfare policy as a form of economic governance. According to Gough (2006), â€Å"the economies of continental Europe, often called organized market economies, are characterized by a more pronounced role for the government in the economy †¦.† Unlike in other states, the different economic sectors were usually in harmony rather than in competition with each other. This contributed to the overall economic organization and stability, and is the reason why such economies were often labeled ‘organized market economies.’ Welfare states put up policies aimed at poverty eradication. Such programs included Medicaid and Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC). However, such programs were not popular among the majority of the population because they only served the marginalized people who comprised a smaller proportion of the population. The creation and development of the welfare state followed different patterns in each of the European countries. The men behind the European welfare state shared Keynes’s view which he voiced before his death in 1946. Keynes said that â€Å"after the World War II, there would be a craving for social and personal security in Europe. And there was. The welfare state was constructed primarily as a security revolution rather than a social revolution,† (Judt, 2006) The German welfare system was based on the three main principles. The first one was â€Å"subsidiarity.† This principle holds that â€Å"services should be decentralized or independently managed† (Spicker, 2003). The role of the state was limited only to areas which could not be covered by other means like military services. In Germany, high income earners were not covered by the main social insurance system; they were left to make their own decisions. Economic development was another principle surrounding the German welfare system. Provision of social services was based on this principle. This was clearly evident in â€Å"the close relationship of services to people’s position in the labor market. Social benefits were earnings-related, and those without work records found that they were not covered for important contingencies† (Spicker, 2003). Additionally, the state’s spending on welfare had to be directly related to the principle of economic development and growth. Welfare state in Germany was originally established by Chancellor Otto Von Bismarck who introduced the principle of ‘corporatist structure’. According to Spicker, 2003: This principle was developed by Bismarck on the basis of existing mutual aid associations, and remained the basis for social protection subsequently. Social insurance, which covered the costs of health, some social care and much of the income maintenance system, was managed by a system of independent funds. The French system of welfare was regarded as the most generous welfare system. It involved provision of a wide range of social services, rendering it very complex and expensive to maintain it. In France, the welfare system was â€Å"based on the principle of solidarity,† which was declared in the first article of the French Code of Social Security (Spicker, 2003). However, the term â€Å"solidarity† was ambiguous and was used in different circumstances to mean different things. To some people, solidarity referred to cooperative mutual support whereby people who benefited from national welfare schemes were expected to contribute on an equal basis. To others, solidarity meant interdependent relationships, â€Å"common action, mutual responsibility and shared risks† (Spicker, 2003). The Swedish Welfare System was viewed as an ideal form of welfare state. The system offered institutional care in that it offered â€Å"a universal minimum† (Judt, 2006). Like all welfare states, the Swedish government offered benefits to the unemployed, the sick people, and retired citizens. However, for a long time this welfare system was not effectively practiced because as Judt (2006) says, â€Å"the Swedish population had a strong tradition of entrepreneurship and hard work and continued to work hard even though they now had the option to live off government.† However, with time, people adapted to the welfare system. The welfare state of the United Kingdom was established by William Beveridge in 1942. The aim of the state was to curb the social problems that British citizens were facing due to the effects of the Second World War. The government took the responsibility of providing for its people. This policy resulted in high government expenditure and an increase in the state’s key responsibilities. In addition to the provision of the basic services (education, health, housing and employment) the state also increased â€Å"regulation of industry food and redistributive taxation† (Gough, 2006). Most Welfare States did not last long because of various reasons. The first major reason was the nature of taxation and the salary structure. In most welfare states, the social benefits and salaries for the low-skilled workers were among the highest in the world, whereas those for the high-skilled workers were lower compare to those of other countries. Additionally, the high-skilled workers paid much higher taxes than the low–skilled workers. This attracted more low-skilled workers into these states, becoming a burden to the Welfare State. The issue of immigration also led to the collapse of the welfare state. Because of the social benefits a welfare state offered, it attracted people from the low income countries. Fjordman (2006) notes that â€Å"†¦ they experienced †¦ disintegration with the introduction of mass immigration of persons who did not have the cultural background necessary to uphold the welfare state.† Lastly, the nature of the services that a welfare state provided contributed to its collapse. Education and health services especially are â€Å"ones on which people wish to spend more money as they become richer. Old age and retirement pensions imply that the government would have to spend more as the population ages† (Fjordman, 2006). Because of this, the ratio of public spending to Gross Domestic Product was high and it became practically impossible to meet all the social demands of its citizens. REFERENCES Fjordman, C. The Welfare State: The Root of Europe’s Problems. The Brussels Journal. 2006, March 08 Gough, I. European Welfare States: Explanations and Lessons for Developing Countries. University of Bath http://64.233.169.104/search? Judt, T. The Future of Decadent Europe. The Globalist. 2006, June 02. Spicker, P. The Welfare State. Centre for Public Policy and Management: Robert Gordon University http://www2.rgu.ac.uk/publicpolicy/introduction/wstate.htm

The Moors Last Sigh: Wickedly Comic Essay example -- Moors Last Sigh

Hopping in a careful, calculated manner across four generations of a rich and demented Indian family, Salman Rushdie's cynical novel The Moor's Last Sigh laughs mischievously at the world and shivers from its evils. Weaving a tale of murder and suicide, of atheism and asceticism, of affection and adultery, Rushdie's exquisitely crafted storytelling explains the "fall from grace of a high-born crossbreed," namely our narrator Moraes Zogoiby, also known as "Moor." At the centerpiece of this odd and captivating tale stand the embers of Moor's family: a complex web including a ridiculed political activist, a shrew, a homosexual husband, an artist, and a Jewish underworld gangster, among others. Moor's sisters lead lives as abnormal and doomed as their family history would predispose them towards: Ina, a washed-up model, dies in the throes of insanity; Minnie takes holy orders, predicting a great plague washing over Bombay and envisioning talking rats; Mynah, a lesbian, hopelessly infatuated with Moor's lover, dies in an industrial "accident" that m y~be~her~ father's doing. Such is ...

Toyota Prius

1. – What micro environmental factors affected both the first generation and second generation models of the Toyota Prius? How well has Toyota dealt with these factors? The micro environmental factors are those forces close to a company, yet outside its internal environmental, that influence the ability of a business to serve its customers, forces such as customers, suppliers, competitors and other business that assistor influence a business’s ability to sell, distribute, promote and develop products or services.In regards the Toyota Prius case, the factors that the company dealt with are: Customers: Toyota launched the first generation in 2001 with a small, cramped and not attractive car into a market were the big SUV’s were dominating the business. They were bringing to the market a low consume, environmentally friendly and high tech vehicle. In my opinion, Toyota took a risk launching a vehicle that was fitting future need’s that customers were going to have with the upcoming economic situation (gas price increment).Toyota launched the second generation improving the fuel consumption and improving the lacks on the first version: style and capacity. The biggest success was to anticipate the customer needs. Suppliers: Without the support of suppliers, Toyota would not have be able to launch the first generation. Toyota needed the suppliers to be onboard on this risky project in which they were developing a new technology that requires a high capital investment up front with a high risk of failure.Competitors: First generation did not have direct competitors since it was the only hybrid vehicle on the market. I consider that the challenge for Toyota on the first generation was to create a market niche for this new vehicle concept. The scenario was different for the second generation were the market niche existed already and new competitors were getting into the business. Honda with the hybrid Civic, Mercury with the Mariner and Ford with the Escape were trying to make their first steps on this vehicle category but being a step behind Toyota in price and efficiency. 2. Outline the major macro environmental factors – demographic, economic, natural, technological, political and cultural – that have affected Prius sales. How well Toyota dealt with each of these factors? Demographic: American population has been growing at around 10% since 2000 as well as the GDP per capita. This lead to an increase on the demand for automobiles and to a more demanding costumer due to his higher purchase power. Economic: Toyota Prius was launched in USA in a growing economic environment but right before a scenario were gasoline price would start rising considerably.Looks like Toyota did not respond against trends and fads but did a good long term economic analysis going ahead in respect his competitors that just wait until gasoline price started rising to start taking fuel consumption into account as an important facto r during the vehicle development. Natural: December 1997 world’s leading nations meet Japan to discuss Kyoto protocol. Several months before, Toyota introduces in Japan the first hybrid vehicle. Consumers start to take into account environmental factors on their purchases. Another factor that push consumers toward lower consume vehicles is the gasoline price rise that occurs in 2004.Smaller SUV’s, cars and hybrids see their demand increase due to these two natural factors. Toyota, being aware of this factors, changed his targeted costumer investing $40 million dollars campaign on this set of customers, the environmental conscious. Technological: late 90’s is considered a high-tech boom. This may be the reason why Toyota targeted first on early adopters and techies who are attracted by car’s advanced technology. Political: Many states are rewarding the car owners with tax breaks amounting to thousands of dollars.Furthermore, some states government gave fur ther tax breaks, in some circumstances complementing the federal tax break. There were also some eco-friendly organizations involved in this incentive game such as Google, Timberland and Hyperion Solutions providing employees as much as $5,000 toward the purchase of hybrids. Many states even gave permission for the hybrids to use carpooling lanes which allow people to travel more quickly to work. Lastly, lots of insurance companies offer discounts to hybrid cars. Cultural: since the last decade, society is getting more sensitive in regards environmental issues.This is being reflected on customer decisions that are looking for environmental friendly product even at a higher price to them. 3. – Evaluate Toyota’s marketing strategy so far. What has Toyota done well? How might it improve its strategy? Marketing strategy consist of 4 P’s which are product, price, place and promotion: Product: Toyota brought to the market a new vehicle concept that fitted into the new economic, social and political scenario. Toyota identified the lacks on the first generation and incorporated the improvements on the second generation improving also efficiency.Price: Toyota Prius with Honda Civic were the only two Hybrid models in which customers were recovering the price premium and starting to save money after 75. 000 miles. Place: Toyota was aware of the difficulty of introducing a new concept to the market. Lack of customer information could induce to a mistrust toward the product. Toyota put emphasis training specifically to the dealerships to make sure customers were being properly informed. In addition, Toyota opened a site on the web where customers could share their questions and modifications they made to their Prius.Promotion: Toyota did not put too much effort on advertising this vehicle. Toyota used the dealerships as a communication line to the customers. In my opinion, the biggest success of Toyota comes from the long term strategy they planed that come up with a vehicle that fit perfectly to the changing economic and social context. In addition to the low consume advantage the Prius was, they continued improving their models to provide customers with the same comfort and capacity of vehicles that were dominating the American roads by increasing the capacity on his second generation for instance.Customers, in general, are afraid to invest in new concept products due to a mistrust on their performances. Battery life and maintenance were the biggest concerns that customers were having. Other automakers, such as Renault are offering to the customers a systems in which they take the responsibility of the battery life. Automakers own the batteries and customers just pay a monthly rent for the maintenance and replacement. I consider that this strategy offers more confidence to the new customers to invest on this new technologies. 4. GM’s marketing director for new ventures, Ken Stewart, says â€Å"if you want to get a lot o f hybrids on the road, you put them in vehicles that people are buying now†. They seems to summarize the U. S. auto makers† approach to hybrids. Would you agree with Mr. Stewart? Why or why not? American market is being currently dominated by big SUV’s and pickup trucks. Statistics display this customer preferences. The American auto makers are trying to provide to customers a more efficient vehicle keeping the current confront and performances.Obviously, the efficiency achieved is not the same as the one other auto makers are achieving by developing smaller hybrid vehicles. In my opinion, what they are doing is to find a short term solution to the current customer needs instead of anticipating the future ones which are smaller cars with even higher fuel efficiency. So, if the macro environment continues pushing auto makers toward the efficiency cars, they will continue being ahead the others because even if they are trying to improve efficiency, it is not the mai n goal for them right now.

Reliance Communications Essay

Reliance Communications is capable of delivering services covering entire gamut of information and communication value chain. Their products and services include infrastructure setting, applications and consultancy. Its corporate clientele includes 600 Indian, 250 multinational corporations and over 200 global carriers and owns and operates the world’s largest next generation, IP enabled connectivity infrastructure, comprising over 150,000 kilometres of fibre optic cable systems in India, Europe, Middle East and the Asia Pacific region. Our project is on gaining market share in the field of Postpaid Division & Data Services (GPRS & 3G) and the strategic decisions involved in it. The division that we will be working on is the Direct & DST-Postpaid division. We have Mr. Anil Das (Head-postpaid and 3G services for Rcom Odisha) mentoring us on this project. The initial idea is to explore the scope of this project from various angles and evaluate the decisions taken by RCom to achieve their desired market share. We found out that globalisation has made telecommunication an integral part of the infrastructure of the Indian economy. The telecom sector in India has developed as a result of this. The telecom sector experienced a rapid growth over the past decade on account of regulatory liberalisation, structural reforms and competition, making telecom one of the major catalysts in India’s growth story. Much of this growth can be attributed to the growth in mobile telephony (number of mobile subscribers grew from 10 million in 2002 to 392 million in 2009) and the growth in the service and IT and ITeS sector. Telecom has emerged as a key factor for economic and consumer growth. The contribution of the sector to GDP is growing (more than doubled). Telecom is one of the fastest-growing industries in India (on an average 8 million wireless subscribers are added every month)