Existentialism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 5

Existentialism - Essay Example In other words, existentialism is a philosophical idea that is related to discovering oneself and the whole significance of life by the use of self-determination, freedom, autonomy, choosing, and responsibility. The idea is that every individual is seeking to discover and realize their true existence - who they are; what they are? - in life as each one makes decision according to his or her experiences, principles, and point of view. And options become distinctive without having the need of an impartial mode of reality. Existentialists believe in the idea that every person are compelled to make choices so as they should be responsible enough in making decisions with the aid of ethics and traditional beliefs. Freedom is a rudimentary idea in existentialism. Existentialists assert that while there are things that one cannot control such as skin colour, parents, race, etc., there is no possibility in pre-determining human actions, and that every human are deemed responsible for every act that he or she takes. In addition, the existentialist’ idea of facticity – a person is what the person’s past is in that his past co-establishes itself. (Sartre, â€Å"Being and Nothingness†). Many philosophers agree that freedom is something that cannot be separated from a person’s own nature. As a matter of fact, some existentialists subscribe to the notion that in dealing with human affairs, more so, on issues related to existence and personal concerns, human reasoning becomes limited, and sometimes, become insensible. Moreover, rationality does not have the ability to completely provide a person with the kind of consciousness needed to understand oneself; thus, human reasoning and other forms of rationality are insufficient (Kierkegaard 5). In religion, existentialists asserts that every believer should realize that, in studying the

The Origin Of Money And Banking Essay Example for Free

The Origin Of Money And Banking Essay Origin of Money. Origin of Banking Money did not develop spontaneously at the same time across the world. It has evolved and developed gradually over the past 5,000 years   till it develops into the various forms in which we now know it today. It has assumed different unfamiliar shapes, structures, recognized in certain objects   in whatever communities where it had been used as a medium of exchange before transforming into the present universally acceptable coins, bank notes, and now the â€Å"cashless society† where credits can be accessed with mere presentation of plastic cards, or use of telephone to obtain money from a bank. Indeed the origin of money and banking had come a long way, and this is exactly what this paper is out to explore. According t, Gly Davies, (2002),   Money originated very largely from non-economic causes: from tribute as well as from trade, from blood-money and bride-money as well as from barter, from ceremonial and religious rites as well as from commerce, from ostentatious ornamentation as well as from acting as the common drudge between economic men.   [1] The barter system is the system that has sustained mankind before the evolution of money. But this was discarded because of its complexities and inconveniences.   So the use of money developed out of deeply rooted needs for a more convinient medium of exchange and to some extent customs; the clumsiness of barter provided an economic impulse but that was not the primary factor. The evolution of money had seen it taken different nature, various forms of tools and objects. For example, various precious metals had been accepted and used as money in primitive communities, Also, cowrie shells obtained in some island in the Indian Ocean. In the words of Davies (2002) quoted above, . So important a role did the cowrie play as money in ancient China that its pictograph was adopted in their written language for money.[2] Even in most communities in West Africa used this medium of currency until the recent times. In Nigeria, the cowrie was in use till even the recent decades. Also in China, disc shaped stones were used, and this is known as yap. In variuos other communities in objects like sheep, goat, cattle, manillas, and whale teeth were once used as money. China and some European countries had also produced metal coins in some other forms of objects like spade, hoe, and knives, and they had long been accepted as currencies in their communities. Most archeologies suggested that coins and metal money evolved at the end of the second millenium. The same time that the European coins evolved too. The ancient Greeks used iron nails as coins. Even Julius Ceasar had to taunt the primitive Britons as backward for using sword blades as coins. The invention and modernization of money makes trading and commerce easier. With money, all prices can be expressed in the same way, in terms of how much money is needed to buy the product. The unit of money becomes the measuring stick of value, or what economists call the standard of value. With money, making choices, becomes easier. ORIGIN OF BANKING. According to the account of   Benjamin Bromberg, (1942), he traced the origin of banking to ancient Babylon, in the city of Mesopotamia, where the royal palaces and temples provided safety and security for keeping grains and other commodities. Receipts were issued for all such goods deposited. Even private houses got involved in such banking operations that laws regulating their activities was included in code of Hammurabi.[3] Also, in Egypt, the centralization of state warehouses also led to a ststem of banking. In the view of morris Jatrow (1911), It is believed that the temple is the first bank in the whole world. It has noble existence for about four thousand years. However, its exact financial record did not date beyound the reign of Sabuis (1884-1831)[4] The kept record of payment of tithes, and every revenue from other cities. [1] Davies, Gly . History of Money. From the Ancient Times to the Present Day. Cardif: University of Wales Press. 2002. Pp. 36. [2] Ibid. Pp 36. [3]Benjamin Bromberg,   The Origin of Banking: Religious Finance in Babylonia. The Journal of Economic History, Vol. 2, No. 1 (May, 1942), pp. 77 [4] Jastrow Morris, Aspects of Religious Believe and Practice in Babylonia and Assyria. New York: Princeton Publishers. 1911. Pp 277.

Business Essays Heineken Beer Market

Business Essays Heineken Beer Market Heineken Beer Market Executive Summary Chapter 1 analyze threats Heineken is facing and opportunities the company can get from the beer market by using two model PESTLE and Porter Five Forces. PESTLE describe what difficulties come from external environmental factors that the company is facing and Porter five force analyze the threats as well as opportunities of Heineken in suppliers, buyers, competitors, substitutes and new entrant. OT factors in SWOT analysis also use to define in chapter 1 for threats and opportunities of the company. Chapter 2 describes strengths and weaknesses in the company operation through the analysis of internal environment such as company resources, organizational structure and culture. The resources with include tangible, intangible, management capability and marketing which used to identify what the advantages Heineken are managing for the performance of their operation. SW in SWOT also use at the same time to analyze strongly what strengths and weaknesses Heineken is taking. Chapter 3 assesses how Heineken perform in term of effectiveness, efficiency and return to shareholders based on efficiency ratios and performance investment ratios. This assessment identifies the market share and market growth of company in the market. Chapter 4 finding the options those are available to the company and recommendation of the most appropriate ones for future strategic direction. Chapter 5 finding recommendations for structures, systems and policies which use to implement these strategies successfully. Chapter 6 the outline of my assessment of the usefulness of strategic management models for Heineken analysis. How PEST, Porter Five Force, SWOT, resource-based and financial analysis use to be described for my analysis successfully. Introduction Today beer is widely available and enjoyed in most countries and cultures around the world. Heineken is one of the largest companies in a global network of distributors and breweries. In addition, Heineken owns and manages one of the worlds leading portfolios of beer brands in terms of sales volume and profitability. Moreover, the company has been able to remain one of the worlds leading consumer and corporate brands for more than 130 years. It became Europes favorite beer brand successfully exported to every corner of the world. Chapter 1 Analysis of the external general PESTLE model Political Beer is a kind of drink that the government excises significantly because it contains alcohol which is addicted people. Therefore, this will affect Heineken Company in sale volume in the market. With internationalisation and globalisation, more and more brewers are hunting for new markets, governments on the other hand with and intention to gain maximum profit as well as get empathy on ethical grounds are imposing heavy taxes on liquor and beer imports. As a result, this fact will bring threat for Heineken. For example, recently drinking alcohol is prohibited on public transport in London. This hence will impact on the beer market because people want to enjoy their beer not only at home but also at public where they can have fun time with their friends. Economic Heineken has many operations in mature – mainly Western European and it is reported in Euros. Therefore, the currency fluctuations could create threat to the overall company results, especially relating to the US dollar. However, Heineken has a clear policy on hedging transactional exchange risks; this would postpone the impact on financial results. Nowadays, unemployment has risen due to recession in the market and this will result in more people will choose some cheaper alternative. As a result, Heineken with premium price will be impacted for that. This also brings threats for company in distribution aspect. Social culture Nowadays, beer is not only for men enjoy it but women also drink beer to enjoy its taste. Furthermore, life style of the new generation has become very fast and different, which result in lack of time in today life. Thus the consumption at bars is declining. This means that the beer market will be affected by this as well as Heineken Company, this will lead to go down in sale volume. Furthermore, demographic changes would influence the company a lot. For examples, in China where the population is going up rapidly and this combined with consumer having increasing amounts of leisure time. Therefore, these would lead to consumption of beer in China grew by 33.56% between 2000 and 2006. China now has overtaken the United State to become the largest national beer market in the world. As a result Heineken Company will have significant sale volume in this market. Technology Now it is hard to find a part of the company’s business that doesn’t use technology. Therefore, technology is developed will impact the company as well as beer industry. Information technology security upgraded has created opportunities for Heineken’s worldwide business operations, and connectivity in the company and with outside partners is increasing. For example, the recent advancement in the technology has opened huge markets for organizations to access world population without any barriers. This can be taken as a chance to reach out to almost every location on the globe. Hence Heineken will open their market in many locations in the world. Porter’s five forces model The bargaining power of suppliers The suppliers of raw materials to Heineken Company are mainly farmers. Therefore, the threat for power of supplier is high. The bottle supplier for Heineken is provided by Heye Glas Nederland which is fully supplied the green bottle for the worldwide distribution of Heineken beer. In the past, Heineken kept only 33% its stake in Heye Glas in order to secure the supply of high quality export bottles at a lower cost to meet the needs for demand but now Heineken has kept 100% stake in 2002. Beer is produced by water, barley, hops and yeast. These ingredients are supplied by farmers. Heineken also mentioned that competition for agricultural products from the biofuels industry that is affecting their costs. The bargaining power of buyers The buyers in this industry have many choices as there are many companies serving beer. This will increase the choice of the customer and hence the threat for power of buyers is high. For example, for serving customer at the pub, there are a lot of beer brands for them to fit their taste such as Guiness, Carlsberg, Tiger. Therefore, buyers now have a choice to choose the one they like. As a result, choosing of customer for what kind beer they want to drink will bring threats for Heineken. The threat of potential new entrants Nowadays, an explosion of smaller brewers has entered the market during the past decade that making the industry much more competitive. Heineken is one of the largest brewers in the world and they have to share market with other brewer. The barrier in the beer market is low. Therefore, the threat of potential new entrants for Heineken is high. This will make Heineken considering to create innovation or uniqueness into their product that can sustain competitive advantages in the beer market. The threat of substitutes Beer is a kind of beverage which contains alcohol. However, people can switch to drink wine which also is alcohol drink. Customer’s taste is not similar so that they have right to choose what they want to enjoy, so this will affect the beer market as well as Heineken Company. As a result, the threat of substitute for beer market is high. The extent of competitive rivalry Heineken has achieved the economy of scale in the market especially in Europe. It holds about 30% of market share in European beer market. Since the beer market is growing, so the competitors will try to attain their growth targets. The large brewer like Heineken tends to enforce their own strategies to the beer industry and due the economies of scale they will produce higher quality and unique products which can make their own place in the market, hence keep themselves growing to achieve their target. Chapter 2 Internal analysis of the company Analysis the resources Tangible: Since Heineken know that their plant and equipment is a key for company production, they invest so much in the infrastructure to make sure that their operation is working efficiently. For example, Heineken have four breweries in Russia, all those use KHS Till plant technology. This equipment at Heineken’s packaging can processes 50 liter kegs in addition to 30 liter at an output of up to 140 kegs an hour. As a result, the two-lane machine can operate with one racking, six washing and sterilizing stations. Intangible: brand name is most valuable asset of the Heineken Company, they has built this name Heineken with premium brand. The company recognizes that brand is very important key for them to develop a strong presence globally in the beer market so that Heineken have a lot of marketing activities for its brand name. Furthermore, branding is also a highly defensible competitive advantage for Heineken; this would bring strength to company expansion. Hence Heineken Company can stretch their production internationally and add more money for company. Management capability: Heineken implemented a number of new initiatives in the area of leadership development in 2004. One is a new leadership competency model that defines behavior expectations from all senior managers at Heineken. The model takes Heineken company ambitions and values as a starting point and translates these into the leadership behavior required from senior managers. With marketing differentiation using different message within normal media advertising can also have differentiating effect. This differentiation will bring strengths for Heineken. When most advertisers are pursuing essentially the beer market with the same message like showing gregarious groups of males in public houses having an enjoyable night out. In the other hand, Heineken managed to differentiate its beer by using a series of advertisements employing humour and the caption Heineken refreshed the parts other beers can not reach. Organizational structure In 2005 Heineken announced that it was created a new top management structure, this would drive and support growth as a global organization. In order to connect functions, operation and finance in a more effective way, the company create a new more streamlines Executive Board. Hence change would lead to create strengths for operating regions and global functions. Furthermore, Heineken has grown substantially over the past four years. The new structure is better suited to the present organization and ensures faster decision-making. In the beer market where the consolidation process is accelerating and rapid introduction of innovations is essential, this is crucial to the achievement of Heineken’s long term ambitions. Culture Heineken is proud of they are one of the world’s great beer companies. Hence their culture will reflect the company view and values. These values create so many strengths for company to develop their environment within the company. Heineken based on the value that they respect their employees, business partners, customers, shareholders and all others who are connected to the company. Furthermore, Heineken make life more enjoyable by bring enjoyment to life, they also encourage this core value within the working places and atmosphere within the company. In addition, company has a fundamental belief in the concept and delivery of quality, it is also reflected in their other activities such as their social and employment policies. This will create benefit and value both for Heineken and their reputation. As a result, these values define Heineken corporate culture and working methods which help company to do the business successfully. Chapter 3 Evaluation of the company’s financial performance 2005 2006 2007 Return on investment (ROI) 14% 20% 12% Return on equity (ROE) 21.1% 27.0% 15.5% Net profit margin 7.05% 11.02% 7.72% Dividend payout ratio 25.8% 24.3% 42.5% Earnings per share 1.71 1.90 2.29 Return on investment of Heineken changed from 2005 to 2007. In 2006 return on investment have a significant improvement compared to 2005. The increasing of ROI show the efficiency which Heineken got profit from its technology investment. The reason for increasing ROI is that the company deployed Windows Mobile 5.0 in 2006 and has experienced significant business benefits. Company has improves account development by offering its sales representatives instant access to pricing, promotions, availability and accounts receivable data. Window mobile led to an average sales increase after deployment. The return on equity of Heineken rose 5.9% in 2006 then declined 11.5% in 2007.The reason for going up return on equity is net profit increasing. In 2005 Heineken’s net profit is â‚ ¬761 millions and it was increasing to â‚ ¬1211 millions in 2006.The rising of return on equity shows that the company have used money from shareholders effectively in manufacturing. However, declining return on equity indicated that the Heineken beer was getting more expensive to produce because the prices of raw materials and packaging have raised significantly, transportation, energy and pressure on labor costs were also expected in the beer market. In 2006 net profit margin of Heineken increased so much compared with 2005 and 2007. 11.02 % show that the company got more profit from their sale. In that year, the distribution of Heineken went up with 111.9 hectoliters in consolidated beer volumes. Furthermore, the company achieved the best annual growth rate for Heineken premium brand for many years with growth of 11.8 %. With these reason Heineken achieved their performance effectively. From the table above we can see dividend pay out ratio decrease 1.5% in 2006 and then increase so much 18.2 % in 2007.The reason of increasing is that Heineken  has been changing its dividend pay-out policy at the end of 2006. This means that it would up the amount paid to shareholders from 20-25% of net profit before exceptional items and amortization to between 30% and 35%. These proposals support Heinekens intention to preserve its independence, to maintain a healthy financial structure in order to grow the business both organically and through acquisition. Earning per share of Heineken increased from 2005 to 2007. These figures above show the company has maintenance revenue. Distributions of company increase every year so that Heineken could earn from 1 share which investors have invested. Moreover, increasing company market share by earning per share will indicate that the profit getting from every dollar invested can satisfy both Heinekens’ stakeholders and shareholder. Chapter 4 Recommendations on strategic options 4.1. To face with the alcohol pressure in the market, Heineken have the strategy to produce and sell beer in the ways that have a positive impact on society at large. With this strategy, Heineken promotes awareness of the advantages and disadvantages of alcohol, this also encourage informed consumers to be accountable for their own actions. For example, in 2006 the launching of the â€Å"Enjoy Heineken Responsibly† program was finalized. Therefore nowadays company is becoming more and more engaged to promote responsible consumption in partnership with consumers. By using this strategy as purpose the company does not want beer consumers to condone in any way the abuse of alcohol, particularly Heineken Brand. As a result this will lead to the Company get positive aspect for their production in the society. I strongly recommend Heineken should use this strategy. 4.2. For solving the problem with currency risks as the global market is unstable in exchange money, Heineken have a strategy on hedging transactional exchange risks which postpones the impact on company finance result. After deduction of dollar-denominated costs, a net cash inflow in US dollars remains. This cash flow is hedged in advance mostly by means of forward contracts. This reduces the volatility of export results and the â‚ ¬ cash flows due to short-term fluctuations in the value of the US dollar against the Euro. Transactions are entered into with a limited number of counterparties. I don’t recommend that the company use this strategy because the global market is unpredictable. 4.3. To intensify the international marketing Heineken have sponsored for a lot of entertainments activities in the world. This strategy would bring the biggest strengths for Heineken brand name. For example, company is a major sponsor of tennis champion such as Wimbledon, the US Open, Australia Open and the Shanghai Open. Moreover, the music plan adopted also remains a key sponsorship area for Heineken. For example, in Singapore has been successful that it is now used in other markets such as Malaysia and Thailand. Following with these marketing strategies on advertisement, the good thing company would show that Heineken always attend to social activities that mean they are not only bring enjoyable but also bring responsible to people around the world. I recommend Heineken should continue to pursue this strategy. 4.4. For adapting with development of technology, Heineken has a strict information technology (IT) security strategy to ensure confidentiality, integrity and availability of information and data. Furthermore, supporting and monitoring activities towards operating IT are being strengthened for the company. Moreover, IT contingency measures with regard to the partly outsourced IT shared service centre. The benefit of this strategy on IT would help Heineken to connect with so many operations around the world. I recommend company use this strategy. 4.5. By using brand strategy Heineken has built a strong portfolio that combines the power of local and international brands. Furthermore, the consistent growth of brand requires solid creative brand management which Heineken coordinate centrally. Company has developed and adopted brand strategy to get strengthening in the market share where there are lots of other brewers there. I recommend Heineken use this strategy. 4.6. To sustain with strong position in the beer market, Heineken have adapted competitive strategy in its management. By offering competitively priced and quality products, Heineken want to give consumers the premium product with reasonable price compare with other brewers. The management of company recognizes that to maintain Heineken’s sales, they need to focus on what consumer needs. In addition to look at the strengths and weaknesses of the competitor in the key business segments, competitive strategy would bring advantages for Heineken to compete with it’s competitor for attracting customers. Chapter 5 Recommendations on the most feasible strategic options 5.1. Responsibility is a heart of alcohol policy. Based on the alcohol policy adopted Heineken want to stress that their operations need to sustain dialogue with government and health organizations. The objectives of policy are to prevent misuse and abuse of alcohol. Furthermore, they want to ensure that responsible consumption of beer is socially acceptable. In addition to help Heineken be a truly sustainable business. With this alcohol policy would implement for succeed of strategy. 5.2. As consumer needs and tastes vary, Heineken must decide how much to adapt marketing strategy to local needs using a variance of standardized marketing mix adapted marketing mix, owing to the strong brand preferences loyalties that exist among the beer drinkers. Also, Heineken need to prioritize between global integration versus national responsiveness evident from decreasing sales in Holland, Rest of Europe, and Africa. Besides that the beer market is also attractive in terms of size and future growth, this approach would help the company differentiate Heineken beer with premium price compared with other beer brewer. 5.3. Data synchronization provider system can manage data behind the firewall while benefiting from one point of access to the Global Data Synchronization Network. This system would help to minimal disruption to Heinekens day-to-day operations. This integration is the first in a series of initiatives that Heineken International has been planning to accelerate its data synchronization activities through one central connection point. As a result, this system would implement highly for technology strategy to the company. 5.4. Using the branding policy the company has built brand recognition for long-term to differentiate the brand Heineken and be sure to add value to the product in order to get the brand loyalty. The brand policy also stresses for maintenance of beer quality or creates benefits for society and culture, and also provides an emotion to its consumers. This policy would add more value for Heineken Company in successful way. 5.5. Heineken has in place a strong competition compliance policy across the entire business and has a comprehensive code of business conduct for all employees. Furthermore, Heineken believes in the principle of fair competition. It will keep in place policies and programmes aimed at giving guidance to employees to ensure that they understand competition laws and act in compliance with them. Chapter 6 The assessment of the usefulness of strategic management models 6.1. To me, I find that the PEST analysis is a useful business measurement tool. It’s looking at external factors to the organization. Following the factors of the analysis, I can see the big picture of Heineken’s environment in which they are operating and the opportunities and threats that lie within it. By analyzing factors of PEST model I can understand the Heineken external environment and how the environment affects business performance of the company. 6.2. For me, I find that The Porter’s five forces tool is a simple but powerful tool for understanding where power lies in a business situation. This model is useful because it helps me understand both the threats of Heineken current competitive position and the strength of a position company are looking to move into. Furthermore, understanding the nature of Heineken competitive environment by using Porter’s five forces model, I can analyze what are crucially important for company to build long-term business strategy and sustain competitive advantages in the market. 6.3. SWOT analysis is a powerful model for me to understand Heineken strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats that company face. This model helps me to assess what Heineken can and can not do as well as its potential opportunities and threats. Therefore, I can know what may assist the firm in accomplishing Heineken’s objectives and obstacles. Moreover, the model is also useful in the way that it gives me the overall performance of Heineken. Hence I can analyze where the place the company get their position. 6.4. Resource-based theory is useful to me in the analysis of internal factors of Heineken following these reasons. Firstly, I can find the factors that deliver sustainable competitive for the company like branding. Secondly, the physical resources can give me a look about the efficient operation of Heineken in new technology they adopted. Thirdly, by understanding resource-based I can recognize that the way company has the dominant position in the beer market compare with other breweries. 6.5. Financial analysis method is useful for me to understand the measurement of performance of Heineken. Based on the ratio formula I can see how effectiveness and how the financial risk company was doing. Moreover, looking at the numbers which company has represented on the financial statement, I can know the market share that Heineken has positioned in the market place and the market growth company has developed. As a result of calculating for financial analysis for every year I can find how the company has operated in the effectiveness way. Conclusion I think that with all analysis include external and internal environments, company performance and all the strategy and policies Heineken adopted will help company to step more successful in the future. Although Heineken now have some troubles in production or distributions but the top management are considering creating flexible way to overcome them and then Heineken Company will keep their position is that one of the most largest brewers in the world. Appendix Key financial ratios 2007 IFRS 2006 IFRS 2005 IFRS Net profit margin 7.72% 11.02% 7.05% Operating profit margin 12.0% 15.3% 11.6% EBIT margin 12.2% 15.5% 11.9% EPS 2.29 1.90 1.71 Operating cash flow per share 3.53 3.77 3.82 ROE 15.5% 27.0% 21.1% Equity/ borrowed capital 0.85 0.74 0.62 Interest coverage ratio 22.7 19.7 14.8 Net Debt/ EBITDA 0.8 0.7 1.3 Operating free cash flow/ net debt 0.39 0.59 0.43 Cash conversion rate

In the name of religion :: essays research papers

The issue of war itself has been debated, published and broadcast on prime time news, but the current national crisis' are multifaceted and have many dimensions that are neither explored at lenght , nor adequately ananlyzed by the vast majority of those who support the political arena that wage them. Are the actions of our government ethically justifiable? Can it be said that we as a nation, have engaged in a "just war". The war in Iraq as well as The War on Terrorism, have undeniable religious undertones and subsequent implications. If we are to fight this war with any true intent of winning it, these issues can simply not be overlooked. We owe it to ourselves, as well as each other, to understand what it is that we fight for and against, and to be clear in those convictions. The concept of violence in the name of religion, seems to be a difficult pill for most to swallow. Without a doubt, war in the name of God, is an incomprehensible contradiction of terms. Yet, this is exactly the motive backing those who oppose us today. The horrific attacks on the World Trade towers and on the Pentagon on September 11, 2001, leave little room for arguement regarding the jusfiable reason for action on the part of US military forces. Of course the concept of war is not a new one, nor are the ethical dilemias that it brings. Our current situation is unique though, in the sense that it has raised some new concerns. Deep to the issues of political agenda and the facades that they create, are the ethical issues at the heart of religious philosphy, which may have provoked the attacks in the first place.There have been on rare occassions, excluding the christian crusades of course, in which religion has played such a centralized role in the conficts of nations. It may not be transparent upon first exam, but deeply embedded in the core of the beliefs held by those who oppose us, is an extemist's veiw of religion. Religious ideology is typically not the salesman for violent behavior. Historically speaking , it has been abundantly clear that man is quite capable of inventing various ideologies to justify their injustices aganst mankind, without finding the need to do so in the name of God. However, when religion is an underlying factor, the conflict takes on a particularly violent tone.

Applications of Machiavelli Essay

There are many ideas people can learn from history’s great thinkers and achievers. The Renaissance Era had the fastest progress in history. During this era, many thinkers and achievers such as Niccolo Machiavelli, Leonardo Da Vinci and Michelangelo introduced new ideas and new forms of art. Niccolo Machiavelli was an Italian politician and diplomat. The reason his theories are advanced is that he is already used critical thinking while he lived in a country where most people explained things using God and religion. He was also a philosopher, and his many theories about managing a kingdom were quite innovative in Renaissance times. The Prince is a manual about how to manage a kingdom successfully. The Prince was written for Lorenzo de Medici of the Medici Family, which was the best known family in the Renaissance Era. Medici Family made great contributions to the culture because it traded and paid for many works of art in that period. The Medici Family was rich and powerful in Italy, and it was the Renaissance equivalent of a major corporation. Machiavelli lived hundreds of years before the major corporation of today, but The Prince can still be used as a guide to getting ahead in business, just as it is a guide for building a successful princedom. The Medici Family had existed for hundreds of years, and it was powerful and rich just like the Coca-Cola Company. The Coca-Cola Company may also last for hundreds of years since it has been successful for over a hundred years. The Prince tells readers how to use power correctly; it also tells readers how to sustain the kingdom’s power and prevent the kingdom’s  decay. More specifically, Machiavelli tells readers that what kind of personality and morality a successful prince should have. The Prince contains some of Machiavelli’s ideas which were very advanced for that period. These ideas are still useful now and can also equally be applied to the Coca-Cola Company. The Coca-Cola Company is the leader in the beverage industry, and it is a very successful global company. Managing the Coca-Cola Company is similar to managing a kingdom. Therefore, Some of Machiavelli’s theories could be used by the Coca-Cola Company. In the chapter â€Å"How princes should honor their word† and â€Å"The constitutional principality†, I found some appropriate ideas which may be helpful to The Coca-Cola Company. Thesis statement: Although Niccolo Machiavelli died hundreds of years ago, some of his ideas such as showing only the good qualities, keeping a good relationship with people, and making the product indispensable to people are helpful to the Coca-Cola Company. Honor the word: In The Prince, Machiavelli makes some recommendations to the king about how princes should to honor their word. The recommendations can also apply to the advertising of the Coca-Cola Company. Machiavelli said, â€Å"A prince, therefore, need not necessarily have all the good qualities I mentioned above, but he should certainly appear to have them.†(57) No one is perfect, including the prince. Machiavelli believes that a prince should show his good qualities, and hide his bad qualities. It is like the advertisements of the Coca-Cola Company. A good advertisement should show all the advantages of the products or services advertised, and hide the disadvantages. Furthermore, we use our genuineness to earn other people’s trust. However, Machiavelli has a unique perspective on how to earn the trust of people. In chapter eighteen of The Prince, â€Å"†¦princes who have achieved great things have been those who have given their word lightly, who have known how to trick men with their cunning, and who, in the end, have overcome those abiding by honest principles.† (56) If princes want to earn the trust of people, they need to use some type of scheme instead of being honest. This idea can also be used in advertising. A good advertisement is impressive, and it shows only the advantages to the customers instead of showing  everything about the product to the customers. According to Interbrand, Coca-Cola is the most valued brand in the world. Coca-Cola has good sales performance because it attaches great importance to its products’ advertisements. It placed advertisements in magazines, on TV, in websites, and on street signs. In China, the Coca-Cola Company hired a number of well-known Chinese movie stars and athletes to make commercials for Coke. Coke is a great drink for summer because it is thirst quenching and cool. One of the short commercials was very impressive. A group of teenagers was running on the street, and they were sweating hard. Everyone was tired and thirsty. At this time, a van with a Coca-Cola logo passed by. They recovered their energy by drinking Coke. The whole advertisement focused on the teenagers’ athletic bodies and their expressions of enjoyment. This advertisement showed the advantages of Coke, which are the wonderful taste and the cool refreshment; however, it did not show the disadvantages of Coke including high amounts of sugar, caffeine, and chemical additives. After watching the commercial, people have the desire to buy Coke. As Machiavelli advised, The Coca Cola Company is using cunning to trick customers into drinking their soft drinks by showing only the positive aspects of Coca Cola. Relationship with people: Machiavelli has written about the relationship between the prince and the people. â€Å"I shall only conclude that it is necessary for a prince to have the friendship of the people; otherwise he has no remedy in times of adversity†(34) If a prince does not have a good relationship with the people, he will soon lose his power. A prince brings peace and prosperity to the people, and the people give their support to the prince. The â€Å"people† in The Prince are similar to customers in modern society. If a company wants to hold a great market share in the industry, it must focus on its relationship with customers. The Coca-Cola Company has a positive image for customers. The product is shown as â€Å"energetic and youthful†. When people visit the Coca-Cola Company’s official website, they can feel the company’s enthusiasm. The Coca-Cola Company has a short film on its home page which shows polar bears. This film is about the happy life of polar bears. The bears in the film are really cute and kind, and they are enjoying Coca Cola. It definitely leaves a good impression on the customers. Also, the Coca-Cola  Company has successful marketing strategies. The Coca-Cola Company has a great amount of loyal customers because it serves more than 200 countries in the world; customers can buy their products everywhere because they have the most advanced distribution channel. As a result, Coca-Cola is the most valued brand in the world; it has held about a 48% market share of the beverage industry. The Coca-Cola Company is the leader in the industry because it has a good relationship with customers. Make products indispensable: According to The Prince, â€Å"Therefore a wise prince must devise ways by which his citizens are always and in all circumstances dependent on him and on his authority; and then they will always be faithful to him.†Ã¯ ¼Ë†35) That is to say, If a prince wants the people always be faithful to him, he should make people dependent on him. The Coca-Cola Company has a similar idea. When it was introduced, Coca-Cola contained cocaine, and this is the origin of the name â€Å"Coca Cola†. Cocaine is a stimulant from the leaves of the coca plant. People become addicted to cocaine by the long-term use of it. After cocaine was prohibited, The Coca-Cola Company put caffeine in Coke instead of cocaine. However, caffeine still can make people become addicted to Coke, thus, they become dependent upon having Coca Cola for the unique flavor and for the caffeine. One of the most important people in the Coca-Cola Company’s history is Robert W. Woodruff. He was the CEO of the Coca-Cola Company in 1923. Woodruff had the same idea as Machiavelli, which is making customers â€Å"dependent† on Coke. He mentioned that if the customers could not get Coke immediately when they were thirsty, Coca-Cola would lose in the competitive marketplace. The first vending machine was invented, and the Coca Cola Company began to sell coke in retail stores and convenience stores. Woodruff’s idea was to satisfy all the customers no matter when and where the customers wanted Coca Cola. The Coca-Cola Company made a very successful commercial in 1937, which was groundbreaking for that period because the theme was lifestyle. In this commercial, The Coca-Cola Company highlighted the importance of Coke in life instead of the attributes or ingredients of Coke. The most famous advertising slogan from this commercial is â€Å"The Pause That Refreshes†. Woodruff spent a lot of money and time on promoting Coke, but it was well worth the effort. The Coca-Cola  Company still spends lots of money on advertising even in nowadays. In 2012, the Coca-Cola Company spent more than three billion dollars on their advertising and increased the sales of firm and brand recognition. The Coca-Cola Company now has many loyal customers, and Coke plays an important role in our daily lives. Conclusion: Machiavelli wrote The Prince for the Medici family. The Medici family was like the big corporations of today. Because of this, Machiavelli’s ideas are just as important now as they were during the Renaissance era. As Machiavelli advised, princes should only show their good qualities and hide the bad qualities. Through its advertising, the Coca-Cola Company is using cunning to trick customers into drinking its soft drinks by showing only the positive aspects of Coke. Moreover, Machiavelli believes that if princes have a good relationship with people, people will always support them. In modern society, the Coca-Cola Company has many loyal customers because it has a good relationship with them. Furthermore, Machiavelli advised that people will always be faithful to a prince if people are dependent on him. The Coca-Cola Company is using caffeine in its products, so when people drink Coca Cola, they become addicted. Also, the Coca-Cola Company spent a lot of time and money promotin g its products. As a result, the Coca-Cola Company has a great number of loyal customers. All in all, many of the ideas in The Prince are similar to the ideas of the Coca-Cola Company, although The Prince was written during The Renaissance hundreds of years before Coca Cola was introduced. Works Cited Machiavelli, Niccolo. â€Å"The Prince.† Machiavelli, Niccolo. The Prince. London: Penguin Group, 1961. 106.

How To Update All Social Networks At Once With CoSchedule

How To Update All Social Networks At Once With Does this sound like your experience with social media management so far? Youve been logging in and out of multiple social media accounts. Youve been posting the same message on all of them (and trying to do it all at the same time). And youve been getting mediocre engagement despite tons of effort. But you know there  has to be a better way. Right? After all, that process ^ isnt very sustainable or efficient. Youre looking for: An efficient + effective way to manage all of your social networks in one place because getting organized makes you feel (and look) like a marketing rock star. And that way needs to help  you not only update all social networks at once, but help you post well beyond now to build engagement consistently with an easy process (and without the constant hassle youre working through now). So lets explore the best way to find your app that can manage and update all your social networks in one place, shall we? How To Update All Social Networks At Once (+ Organize *Every* Account)1. Pick Your Social Networks + Accounts You may already post to several social networks. Thats great! This step is about building  a social media accounts list to help you understand what youre doing well now, while also understanding the social media engagement opportunities youre not currently taking advantage of. Depending on your company, you likely have both business accounts and personal accounts. Heres an overview of the accounts you could manage with an  all-in-one-social media app: Consider this a checklist for you to explore: Could any of these options present an opportunity for you to better reach your audience? Business Social Media Accounts: [ ] Instagram account [ ] Facebook page [ ] Facebook groups [ ] LinkedIn company profile [ ] Twitter handles [ ] Pinterest profile [ ] Google+ page Personal Social Media Accounts: [ ] Instagram account [ ] Facebook profile [ ] Facebook group [ ] LinkedIn profile [ ] Twitter handles [ ] Tumblr blog [ ] Pinterest profile The point of looking into your social media accounts list is to strategically choose  the networks and accounts you can easily manage in an all-in-one social media app. It turns out, is an app that posts to all social media. As a social media marketing calendar, helps you not only update all social media in one place, it enables you to update all social networks at once (and long after posting just  right now). As you use that checklist to decide what networks and accounts youd like to manage, just keep in mind that you can easily organize your posting process for all of them with . :) Easily organize your posting process for every social network with .2. Manage Social Networks In One Place Now that you know what accounts youd like to manage, its time to choose your app  to manage multiple social networks in one place. For the sake of example, lets say youve chosen as your social media calendar. You made a good choice! ;) Its time to integrate  your social media accounts into the one tool. Dont worry, its a simple process: Log in to the social network + account youd like to manage with . Cruise over to your Settings in and select Social Profiles. Connect your  social account as a Public Social Profile (so your team can manage the messages for the account) or Personal Social Profile (so only you see the messages for your account). ^ Its seriously that easy. 3. Write Messages For Each Social Media Account When you update all social networks at once, youre posting to  multiple accounts at the same time. This practice can be particularly useful  when you share brand new content like blog posts, webinar landing pages, or have a strategic announcement from your brand. In these instances, its a best practice to change up your message for each account. This helps you optimize your messaging for the different networks while keeping the folks who follow you on multiple social networks happy + engaged. This way, you dont come off as blasting one message across all of your social networks (which comes off as a lazy social media engagement play). So whats the best way to do this? Start by writing one message for each specific account, optimizing your message for the specific network: Then, create + optimize a visual (image, graphic, GIF, or video) for each of your messages for the specific networks: You can use the Social Templates  + Helpers features to easily organize the message creation and scheduling process in . First,  start a new Social Template. A Social Template helps you create a posting schedule for all of your accounts that you can easily reuse  over and over again to easily schedule dozens of social media messages in a matter of minutes. From here, you will create Social Helpers, then add those Social Helpers into a posting schedule template. There are Social Helpers for text, images, and videos. Start by naming your Social Helpers after the specific social media accounts they will match up with. Remember, youre building a reusable template at this point, so you can think of this like building form fields you will later fill in with the actual message creative for a specific campaign. Once youve added a text helper and image/video helper for each of your accounts, you can then build those as a posting schedule template. Save that  Social Template, and then apply it in a piece of content, blog post, or social campaign on your social media calendar. Now you can fill in the creative for each social media message for your specific accounts once, apply your Social Template, and know your messages will send when you publish your content. You can see in this example that  youll update all of your social media accounts at once, complete with unique messages optimized to increase engagement on  every network. 4. Schedule All Social Networks In One Place When you update all social networks at once, its still possible that your followers who werent online at that specific time wont see your messages. Thats why its common for marketers to schedule messages and  post to all social media long after the initial campaign. When youve written multiple messages to post to all social media, its efficient to reuse your hard work as part of a social media schedule to share your message a week, two weeks, a month, and sometimes even longer well after you post your first messages. ^ There are two great ways to reuse your messages efficiently with . Did you know you can reuse social messages efficiently with @?Way #1: Automate  Your Evergreen Social Media Messages After you post your social media messages, will show you the messages that get the most engagement. These are great opportunities to add to ReQueue, the most intelligent way to  fill in the gaps in your social media posting schedule. Simply toggle the messages that have already gotten lots of engagement. Choose your ReQueue group. And forget about it. ReQueue will smartly share that social media message again at the best time for engagement. Way #2: Add More Messages Into Your Social Template You already created a Social Template that updates all of your social accounts  at once, complete with messages optimized perfectly for engagement on each specific network. You can easily add more messages into your Social Template to continue to spread the word long after your initial update. How Will You Organize Your Social Media Updates? helps you manage multiple social media accounts and organize posting schedules as campaigns. It helps you collaborate efficiently as a team while boosting your effectiveness from your social media strategy. Check it out! Get started today with your 14-day free trial of the #1 best-selling social media marketing calendar in the world.