Skin Cancer Essays (1167 words) - Medicine, Clinical Medicine

Skin Cancer Skin Cancer About a million americans will develop skin cancer this year. Skin cancer is the most prevalent of all cancers, and it's increasingly on the rise. There are millions of tiny cells that make up the human body. There are different kinds of cells, but they all make new cells by a process that involves dividing in half. This is how old cells are replaced with strong new cells. When a cells divides and doesn't do the job that it was intended to do for the body, and then it continues to divide and makes more of these useless cells, and these cells continue to collect, it is called a tumor. There are two types of tumors: benign and malignant. The cells in a benign tumor can crowd out healthy cells, even though they can not spread to other, and healthier, parts of the body (Ingraham 447). However, a malignant tumor is cancer. A malignant tumor can also crowd out the healthy cells around it, but in addition to thatt it can spread to other parts of the body and take over the healthy cells in different areas of the body. Skin cancer is a disease in which cancer cells are found in the outer layers of skin. The skin has two main layers and several kinds of cells. The top layer is the epidermis and it is the layer that is shed most frequently. The inner layer is called the dermis and is thicker and contains blood vessels, nerves, hair follicles and sweat glands (Seely Stephens Tate 145). Cancer spreads by a group of cells or a single cell that breaks away from the tumor and moves to other parts of the body. Once there, it'll divide and start tumors, made of malignant cells, like the ones that mad up the first tumor (Ingraham 447). When this happens it is called metastic cancer. Metastatic cancer is defined as the transfer of disease from one part of the body to another, as in certain types of cancer (Funk & Wagnalls Dictionary 408.) . With many cancers, the usual first step in prevention is that the affected body part is removed. However, since a persons skin cannot be removed, in its entirety, this presents more of a problem to physicians. Skin cancer is somewhat curable when diagnosed and treated early. And, its somewhat preventable by avoiding sun and tanning bed exposure. Sunscreen is a simple, easy, and convenient artificial defense against skin cancer. There are three main types of skin cancer. Melanoma is the least common, but most serious because this type is responsible for at least three fourths of the skin cancer deaths per year (Encarta encyclopedia, cdrom). The other types of skin cancer are basal cell and squamous cell cancers. These two are referred to as non-melanoma skin cancers. Another rare type of skin cancer, known as Kaposi's sarcoma, is rarely seen (Barnes-Savarney, 177). The most common type of skin cancer is basal cell skin cancer. However, Melonoma is the fastest growing type of cancer, affecting approximately 32,000 americans in 1993 (Encarta Encyclopedi, cdrom). Melanoma is triggered by ultraviolet rays from the sun and is signaled by the growth or appearance of an irregular mole on the skin. The mole may be diagnosed based on its size, shape, color, or texture, or due to its tenderness or hardness. Developing skin cancer is a two step process. It involves initiation and promotion of malignant growth. Since the ultraviolet rays harm the mechanism for repairing cell damage, one the repair system is impaired, cells become increasingly vulnerable to injury. Subsequent ultraviolet exposure make it worse, and can inititate malignancy. After ultraviolet exposure, the repair mechanism in the body, normally directs damaged cells to commit suicide. This is the explanation for why skin peels after sun tanning and sun burns. However, previously damaged cells with a malfunctioning repair system escape this process. Genetic damage accumulates as normal cells die and abnormal ones survive. It's been determined that skin does not have to be burned to be damaged, and such damage accumulates with chronic, everyday exposure (Encarta cdrom). There are two types of ultraviolet radiation that reach the earth: ultraviolet A and ultraviolet B. Both contribute to skin damage, and

Free Essays on FYI On WWII

GERMANY Â · The first shot of the war was fired from the German battleship the Schleiswig Holstein while stationed across from the Westerplatte. Shots were fired at 4:47 on September 1st, 1939. 5 days later Westerplatte surrendered. Â · The incident, which triggered the Second World War, was a simulated attack by the Germans. They shot prisoners from nearby concentration camps after they dressed them in Polish Military uniforms. A Polish-speaking German then did the broadcast, making it seem as though the Polish had attacked first. Â · Displaying the Swastika symbol in Germany is now forbidden. Â · During the period 1939-1944 Twenty Blenheim fighter-bombers were shot down by friendly fire due to misidentification. Â · Up till 1933 the German S.A. were equipped with revolvers and machine guns made in the USA. Â · In 1938 302,535 Germans were in protective custody in Germany for their political views. By the end of the war, over 800,000 Germans had spent time in prison or in camps. Â · A German financial aid was given to young couples to encourage them to marry and have children in order to raise the birth rate. 694,367 marriages: 485,285 children. Â · Many German women didn’t want their best clothes lost or burned so they wore them almost constantly. In the air-raid shelters, it seemed that all females had put on a fur coat. Â · Between 1933 and 1944 a total of 13,405 death sentences were passed in Germany BRITAN Â · The first bombing raid on Britan was on August 25/26, 1940, just 2 days after the bombing of London. Of the 81 bombers that took part, 27 failed to find the target, and 5 were shot down. Â · Throughout the war, Berlin suffered 363 air raids. Â · In six months, from May to November 1940, the Royal Air Force (RAF) killed less Germans than car crashes. For the same period of time, the German Air Force killed around 15,000 British. Â · The first British air attack on a mainland population center, 36 RAF planes bombed t... Free Essays on FYI On WWII Free Essays on FYI On WWII GERMANY Â · The first shot of the war was fired from the German battleship the Schleiswig Holstein while stationed across from the Westerplatte. Shots were fired at 4:47 on September 1st, 1939. 5 days later Westerplatte surrendered. Â · The incident, which triggered the Second World War, was a simulated attack by the Germans. They shot prisoners from nearby concentration camps after they dressed them in Polish Military uniforms. A Polish-speaking German then did the broadcast, making it seem as though the Polish had attacked first. Â · Displaying the Swastika symbol in Germany is now forbidden. Â · During the period 1939-1944 Twenty Blenheim fighter-bombers were shot down by friendly fire due to misidentification. Â · Up till 1933 the German S.A. were equipped with revolvers and machine guns made in the USA. Â · In 1938 302,535 Germans were in protective custody in Germany for their political views. By the end of the war, over 800,000 Germans had spent time in prison or in camps. Â · A German financial aid was given to young couples to encourage them to marry and have children in order to raise the birth rate. 694,367 marriages: 485,285 children. Â · Many German women didn’t want their best clothes lost or burned so they wore them almost constantly. In the air-raid shelters, it seemed that all females had put on a fur coat. Â · Between 1933 and 1944 a total of 13,405 death sentences were passed in Germany BRITAN Â · The first bombing raid on Britan was on August 25/26, 1940, just 2 days after the bombing of London. Of the 81 bombers that took part, 27 failed to find the target, and 5 were shot down. Â · Throughout the war, Berlin suffered 363 air raids. Â · In six months, from May to November 1940, the Royal Air Force (RAF) killed less Germans than car crashes. For the same period of time, the German Air Force killed around 15,000 British. Â · The first British air attack on a mainland population center, 36 RAF planes bombed t...

The Great Doubling Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

The Great Doubling - Essay Example During this time, innovations in communication and innovation made it easier for offshoring and the global migration of workers (Grossman & Rossi, 2008, p.1987).   The new wave of globalization that has swept the world has brought about both actual and perceived labor market insecurities in industrialized countries. Over the past 15 to 20 years, the number of workers who have been displaced by foreign trade and investment as well as labor inflows from India and China has increased considerably. â€Å"The Great Doubling† was a term coined by Richard Freeman to describe the increase of the global labor pool from about 1.46 billion in the 1990s to about 2.93 billion currently (doubling). Freeman (2006, p.11) argues that if the US and generally other industrialized countries are able to adjust well to this great doubling, people from these countries can be able to benefit from having all people on the same economic status.   The â€Å"great doubling† compliments well with Baldwin’s (2006, p.45) great unbundling where he argues that globalization means the great unbundling and is set to be a dominant factor in the economic field. Globalization applies pressures to an organization to relocate their resources. Before globalization reached its apex, economic interactions were bundled together such that transport costs were minimized or in some situations eliminated completely. Due to this, the number of wages to be paid plus the cost of goods was determined by the local market and not the global market. Globalization is set to bring major changes to this and thus will affect the wages of skilled and unskilled workers in both low wage countries and advanced countries.

Individual assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Individual assignment - Essay Example The later part of the study would encompass recommended strategies for bringing forth improvement in certain areas. Caring Hotel is located in Craven Hill Gardens, London. This hotel is easily accessible by guests due to its location. It can be visited with friends and family. Staff members of this hotel are warm and helpful. Guests are attended properly and efforts are made to deliver desirable service quality to visitors. However the management has not taken active measures to provide best amenities in hotel rooms. Often guests find it difficult to stay in such hotel rooms which lack basic amenities. Tripadvisor reviews also states that there is inappropriate management of daily operations. Waiting time in queue is comparatively longer than other budgeted hotels. Delay in check-in tends to decrease customer satisfaction level. Guests have been witnessed to spend their maximum time on the reception. The rooms of Caring Hotel are quite spacious and this aspect is appreciated by all visitors staying in this hotel. Management has implemented best techniques in terms of designing proper interiors an d sustaining traditions or cultural values. There are many individuals who travel to London for business purpose or to spend a vacation with their family. In such circumstances, it becomes problematic to stay in luxury hotels since overall expenditure would drastically increase. Budgeted hotels like Caring Hotel is a suitable option for all those individuals either travelling for business purpose or for a small vacation with family (TripAdvisor LLC, 2015). Caring Hotel is a well-known budgeted hotel, situated in one of the best locations in London. The hotel charges fair value and keeps its premises or rooms clean so as to enhance customer satisfaction level. This hotel is operating in a highly competitive segment. Budget hotels are more in number in current scenario. This

You can decide Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

You can decide - Essay Example Some of the fossils propose a geographical diversity and a difference in characteristics are KNM-ER 1808 and Trinil 2. In 1891, an archeologist named Eugene Dubois found angular, domed, and thick-walled human skullcap with a large shelf like brow ridge near Trinil, Java (Indonesia. He decided that the skull be named Trinil2 (Dorey). Another person, Kamoya Kimeu in 1974 discovered a 1.7 million years old femur of Homo erectus KNM-ER1808 in Koobi Fora in Kenya. This female Homo erectus has an incredible distinct feature that surprised the researchers; it has an abnormal layer of bone on her thigh that shows evidence of bleeding to her death. Scientists have concluded that it is an overdose of vitamin A. The two skulls have some significant differences between them. Trinil 2 has a long, flat forehead, distinct brow ridges and have sagittal keel (Dorey). The cranium of Trinil 2 is thick brow ridges that are sharply angled rear where the neck muscles attach. When the Trinil femur is compared with KNM-ER 1808, one will see that Trinil is considerably ‘human’ while the other is more of Homo er ectus. The skeleton of KNM-ER 1808 has almost complete right femur but unfortunately lacking a head. There have numerous changes in the evolution of the hominid that have occurred. These changes have significantly contributed to the change in the proportion of the skull. Different parts of the skull in various hominids are varying proportion. The change from one hominid can be noticed in face size, shape, brain capacity and even position of occipital condyles. In this Lab report, we shall measure different proportions, calculate indices and compare them with known or commonly recognized hominines species. 2. When the location of the points are known, connect their location with lines (porion intersects lowest point of the eye orbit such that line almost touch top circle and bottom edge). As shown in the guides. The ratio uv/tv of is

Millennial Financial Confidence and Social Media

Millennial Financial Confidence and Social Media The Millennial Generation and Social Media: How online relationships affect Millennials’ financial esteem Abstract One of the largest generations in history is moving into its prime spending years. The Millennial generation, as a technologically savvy culture, is looking to reshape the economy, taking their unique financial experiences into the way they look to spend their money. Having lived through the 2008 Great Recession, however, Millennials are haunted by the unexpected obstacles an inconsistent economy poses. They exhibit immense distrust with financial institutions due to struggles during their financial upbringing, and are the first generation to have accumulated excessive amounts of student loan debt. Therefore, the Millennial generation takes pride in practicing frugal spending habits, making sure to put money into their savings account each month. However, Millennials are also heavily influenced by their relationship with their peers via social media platforms. The self-presentation theory can be used to explain why social media influences millennials, as the desire to receive social acceptance drives millennial behaviors. As statistical evidence has proven, Millennials feel a heightened sense of social acceptance when physical symbols of social adequacy are shown through â€Å"like,† â€Å"favorites,† â€Å"retweets,† or â€Å"share.† Millennials also place an emphasis on experiencing live events rather than material items, explaining that these events are more enjoyable when shared through social media. Studies have also shown that the positive reinforcement Millennials receive from â€Å"likes,† â€Å"favorites,† or â€Å"retweets,† weighs heavily into their monetary decision making. Therefore, the argument can be made that the relationships Millennials pursue through social media negatively influences millennial spending as photos and posts on their newsfeed encourage reckless spending, relying heavily on funds received only through their increased debt accumulation. Introduction Millennials represent the largest living generation and more than a quarter of the population at 83.1 million, surpassing Baby Boomers at 75.4 million (Cutler, 2015). Because of the Millennial generation’s massive size, understanding and adapting to their spending tendencies is imperative to a company’s growth financially as the generation currently commands an estimated $1.3 trillion in annual consumer spending (Eventbrite, 2013) Many studies have been conducted between the Millennial generation and financial institutions, identifying their experiences and attitudes which in turn help to shape how they interact with one another. Millennials, having lived through both the 2008 Great Recession and the digital revolution, are making constant decisions involving their money allocation. However, they are experiencing greater financial struggles. Millennials are the first generation in the modern age to experience high levels of poverty and unemployment, causing many to lose faith in financial institutions, and experience high levels of stress when allocating money from small, seemingly insignificant paychecks (Cutler, 2015). Due to these struggles, the Millennial generation takes pride in their financial planning, prioritizing conscious spending in order to avoid financial problems in the future, and feeling confident in their education to land them a successful career. However, the emphasis Millennials place on maintaining a social media deemed acceptable by peers is translating into harmful financial behaviors. In 2015, almost 50 percent of Millennial purchases were influenced by social media (Pagliara, 2017). Therefore, the understanding of the necessity to spend consciously is distanced by social media’s created desire to spend recklessly due to the emphasis Millennial’s place on media â€Å"likes† as a visual representation of social acceptance. Through a brief overview of the general Millennials’ financial outlook com pared to generations prior, combined with both an analysis of how Millennials interact with social media and how social media influences their spending habits, an argument can be made and then supported that the relationship between social media and the Millennial generation negatively affects their financial stature. Literature Review The Millennial Generation’s Overall Financial Outlook To better understand the fundamental attitudes and beliefs Millennials hold regarding financial institutions, it is important to first compare the monetary characteristics of the Millennial generation to both itself as well as previous generations including Baby Boomers and Generation Xers. After comparing Millennials’ early-life economic experiences to those of Generation Xers and Baby Boomers, The Pew Research Center found that, while Millennials are the most educated generation in American history, they also serve as the first generation to have higher student loan debt, poverty, and unemployment combined with lower levels of wealth and personal income (Cutler, 2015). With the high cost of education, the Pew Research Center added that, as of 2015, two-thirds of recent bachelor degree recipients have outstanding student loans averaging near $27,000 compared to graduates two decades ago with student loans averaging only $15,000. A 2014 Wells Fargo Millennial Study conducted b y Harris Poll found 42% of Millennials describe debt as an â€Å"overwhelming financial concern† as compared to only 23% of Baby Boomers. Furthermore, the study concluded that Millennials list student loan debt as their top concern while Baby Boomers focus on saving for retirement. Due to the burden of piling debt combined with difficulties landing successful jobs right out of college, Millennials immediately perceive a disconnect between the money spent on education and future earnings, developing a deflated, negative financial self-image early in their careers. A 2014 survey conducted by Pew found that a mere 42% of Millennials identify as middle class, a significant fall from the same survey conducted in 2008 where 53% of Millennials claimed themselves as middle class. Most significantly, however, the same survey also concluded that, in 2015, 46% of Millennials identified as low-middle to lower class, a notable rise from 25% in 2008. Contradictory to this statistic, howeve r, the Pew Research Center found that 85% of Millennials are optimistic when asked about their future financially, saying they have enough to live comfortably now and plan to save enough to create a lifestyle they want in the future (Cutler, 2015). This statistic gives an insight to how Millennials view their future wealth, offering valuable information regarding their thoughts on how to spend their money today. While financial optimism is necessary for confident future spending, Millennials currently experience poor financial self-image, affecting their spending habits today as they are forced to make hasty decisions that will hopefully increase their savings so they will have enough financial support to spend generously in the future. These statistics can be better explained through an in-depth analysis of the basic attitudes of the Millennial generation, identifying why Millennials perceive low financial self-image. Another study conducted by the Pew Research Center suggested Millennials experience greater institutional distrust than generations prior. When asked about the level of trust Millennials have in authority figures, government and financial institutions, and the general public combined, only 19%, or one in five, felt as if they can be trusted, a statistic much lower than 40% of Baby Boomers who responded to the same question (Cutler, 2015). This institutional distrust Millennials experience may be due to both current and previous economic experiences that have frightened them into becoming an innate generation of thrifty savers, while simultaneously being impulse spenders, a topic which will be discussed in the following analysis. The Great Recession in 2008 influenced the Millennial generation’s perception of economic institutions as many either struggled through the recession themselves, or observed the financial turmoil their parents experienced. Many Millennials describe the Great Recession as a warning to save now in an effort to survive unforeseen economic problems in the future. The recession also caused many Millennials to graduate into an environment burdened by high unemployment rates and undesirable salaries as jobs gained during the economic recovery paid on average 23% less than jobs before the recession (Boberiene & McLeigh, 2014). Emily Pachuta, head of investor insights at UBA, explained that due to the recession, â€Å"[Millennials] have a Depression-era mindset largely because they experienced market volatility and job security issues very early in their careers.† (Boberiene & McLeigh, 2014). Millennials are also skeptical when discussing government funding, especially when planning for retirement. A Harvard poll found that 51% of Millennials believe there will not be any funding available in the Social Security System by the time they retire. Additionally, a Wells Fargo Millennial Study found that over 50% of Millennials have already started allocating anywhere between 1% to 10% of their paycheck to retirement funding. Another Harvard poll noted that young people feel a disassociation between their priorities and the priorities of elected officials as they view effective results from political involvement as few and far between (Rampell, 2014). A 2014 article from the Grand Rapids Business Journal argues the 2008 Great Recession made Millennials timid about investing in financial markets, creating this desire for transparency and authenticity when dealing with companies and organizations (Marsh Private Client Services, 2015). Adding to their fear of financial crisis in the future, Millennials also struggle with the pressure of debt. As previously mentioned, recent graduates have significantly more student loan debt than graduates two decades prior. Among all Millennials, Wells Fargo found 47% of working Millennials are allotting 50% or more of their paycheck to certain categories of debt including credit card debt (16%), mortgage debt (15%), student loan debt (12%), auto debt (9%), and medical debt (5%). Because Millennials are allocating a large sum of their paycheck to paying off their accumulated debt, many are living paycheck to paycheck, leaving little to no cash left to spend elsewhere. After reviewing the statistical analysis of the Millennial generation’s experiences, thoughts and feelings regarding financial institutions and their own personal finances, exploring generic personality traits may find a direct correlation to between millennials’ innate behavior and their desire to maintain a positive image on social media adding which, therefore, progresses their poor financial experiences. As mentioned previously, Millennials are money-conscious due to the economic hardships they’ve endured. However, Millennials are also heavily influenced by social media, and the pressure to maintain a noteworthy lifestyle sometimes overrides their instinct to save. Social Media has affected Millennials in such a way that theorist have discussed they have become sub-clinical narcissists. Clinicians do not see sub-clinical narcissists as pathological, however there are traits of self-centeredness and self-love through the eyes of a personality psychologist. The perception of Millennials are self-loving, ambitious, technology savvy, and family oriented. Vaidhyanatha Balaji (2015) oversaw a study of a group of Millennials through a survey about subclinical narcissists habits. The survey revealed that they did not show a developing problem of narcissism even though Millennial scores were just above global average of subclinical narcissism (Balaji, 2015). Balaji summed up Millennials as â€Å"complex individuals who are part self-centered, part-social human beings.† Millennials are greatly influenced by positive reassurance, their need for constant attention and feedback. They are concluded to be very independent and self reliable while being conservatively confident. The combination of both slightly narcissistic characteristics and ambitious characteristics argues that the Millennial generation has altered the definition of a career. Millennials are less committed to following the traditional corporate ladder, and more likely to seek business opportunities that accommodate their own personal values, including flexible hours, autonomy, and control, while simultaneously proving they have the maturity to support themselves independently (Boberiene & McLeigh, 2014). On the other hand, a study conducted by the Family Office Exchange (2015) indicated that Millennials working for corporations feel they must be able to relate to their advisors on a personal level before they trust them in a business setting. The 2015 study also indicated that Millennials are less likely to listen to supervisors who speak in a demeaning or condescending tone. Instead, Millennials respond to supervisors who focus on establishing a relationship by asking personal questions about their interests, goals, and opinions and then sharing personal stories of their own (Marsh Private Client Services, 2015). Because Millennials emphasize engagement, the study argues that Millennials are driven by personal relationships, with a desire to showcase independence on the surface, however, wanting collaborative attention in the form of both positive, constructive advice and feedback (Marsh Private Client Services, 2015). Theoretical Framework Researchers have warned Millennials regarding their reliance upon social networking sites to reinforce personal self-esteem through boosted â€Å"likes† or positive comments from close friends as this behavior can result in the reduction of self-control both on and offline. Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh and Columbia Business School found that users who are focused on close friends tend to experience an increase in self-esteem while browsing their social network (Stephen & Wilcox, 2013). Afterwards, however, these users display less-self control which is evidently correlated to these individuals having higher body-mass indexes and higher levels of credit-card debt (Stephen & Wilcox, 2013). A study conducted regarding the use of Facebook and its effects in its users self-esteem found that Facebook only increased participants’ self-esteem when they were focused on the information they were presenting to others (Stephen & Wilcox, 2013). Keith Wilcox, assistant professor of marketing at Columbia Business School and coauthor of this Facebook research experiment, explained that, â€Å"We find that people experience greater self-esteem when they focus on the image they are presenting to strong ties in their social networks. This suggests that even though people are sharing the same positive information with string ties and weak ties on social networks, they feel better about themselves when the information is received by strong ties than be weak ties.† Keeping this information in mind, the study continued with its investigation on the relationship between online social network use and offline behaviors associated with poor self-control (Stephen & Wilcox, 2013). The results suggested that greater social network use is associated with a higher body-mass index, increased binge eating, a lower credit score, and higher levels of credit-card debt for individuals with strong ties to their social network (Stephen & Wilcox, 2013). Therefore, this study can make the implication that self-control is an important mechanism for maintaining social order and well-being, however, the desire for positive reinforcement on social media outweighs rational, controlled decision making. To better understand the loss of control experienced through social networking site interactions, the self-presentation theory can be used to explain how influential social media has become during the management of an individual’s private and public self. Self-presentation is the process by which individuals represent themselves to the social world, occurring at both the conscious and the unconscious levels of cognition (International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences, 2008). Self-presentation can be used as a means to manage the impressions others form of oneself, extending into strategic or tactical self-presentation, otherwise known as impression management, which occurs when an individual seeks to create a desired image of invoke a desired response from others (International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences, 2008). Largely a prosocial event, self-presentation forces an individual to negotiate through social interactions in order to fulfill the psychological needs for social approval. Self-presentation is complex as it involves both the individual’s interpersonal cues such as the perceived responses of others, and the function of social situations in response to cues from the social environment (International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences, 2008). Therefore, self-presentation is both an individual experience and a social phenomenon, highlighting the tensions between human interactions (International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences, 2008). Much of the content produced on social media is photographs, links and information posts used to present one’s online self. Self-presentation theory, as discussed previously, is considered to be motivated by the desire to make a favorable impression on others, or an impression that corresponds to ones’ ideals, which an extend to the projection of an online identity (Herring & Kapidzic, 2015). Social media provides a platform for Millennials to explore the effects of their self-presented image on their peers. Generally, photo posts, as well as text posts occasionally, generate positive feedback and, thus, have a positive impact on self-esteem. Visual content is a central resource for creating an appropriate online impression, and an attribute many Millennials focus on when seeking social approval. Therefore, the self-presentation theory helps to support the hypothesis that Millennials participate in reckless spending in order to create an adequate online image when viewed by others. Methodology To determine the extent to which social media influences the Millennial generation’s financial stature, research will be focused on an analysis of statistical evidence regarding first, Millennials’ emphasis on the need to experience social acceptance on various social media platforms, then, on how social media influences the spending tendencies of Millennials’ frugal minds. The background information presented during the literature review was necessary to understanding how previous financial struggles have controlled the spending habits of the Millennial generation, training them to recognize the necessity to conscious spend in an effort to maximize a financial future. The statistical evidence will then support the argument that social media creates a divide between the understanding for frugal spending and Millennial actions as they are coerced into spending recklessly in order to achieve social approval from their peers via social media recognition. Findings Social Media and its Relationship to the Millennial Generation’s Social Acceptance After reviewing background information on Millennials’ financial experiences, it is evident that Millennials have established an inherent necessity to save due to their poor financial self-esteem created by an immense amount of debt accumulation and financial distrust. However, I make the argument that Millennials are distanced from their understanding of the necessity to save due to their overwhelming desire to portray an over-exaggerated, lavish lifestyle on their social media sites. As subclinical narcissists who showcase self-sufficiency on the surface while subconsciously craving positive reinforcement from their peers through social media acceptance, Millennials have prorized their online relationships, placing an emphasis on depicting a life of interest within the social realm, and, ultimately, altering how they think about real world friendships and relationships. To better understand the impact social media has had on Millennial relationships, a brief background on ho w online interactions has influenced the dynamics of young people’s social lives is explored in the following analysis. A 2016 study conducted by the Nielsen Norman group found that premature exposure to social media has influenced Millennials’ approach to friendships, relationships and self-image as their subtle online interactions have become explicit and visible, causing social contexts to become merged and entangled. In 2006, the Pew Research Center found that 55 percent of teenagers reported having at least one social media account. However in 2010, just four years later, 73 percent of younger Millennials, around the age of middle to high school adolescents, and 78 percent of older Millennials, college-aged young adults, reported having a social media presence (Meyer, 2016). Today, approximately 90 percent of Millennials, both teens and young adults alike, have at least one social media account, many of them updating an average of four or more accounts at a time (Meyer, 2016). With the attention Millennials place on creating and maintaining positive online interactions, social media has al so become a means of expressing the extent of personal relationships. For example in 2004, the social media site MySpace added a â€Å"Top 8† feature, which allowed for teens to manually choose their top 8 friends. They were soon after forced to remove the display feature because it became an anxiety-inducing decision for many young Millennials (Meyer, 2016). Other popular social media terms such as, â€Å"friending,† â€Å"Facebook official,† â€Å"likes,† or â€Å"favorites† are visible, quantitative expressions of the positive reinforcement Millennials feel toward a person, event, or opinion. A study conducted by researchers at UCLA explored the effects of social media â€Å"likes† on the Millennial brain. A â€Å"like† is a click made by a social media user that symbolizes an instant, outward expression of approval. The study found that, regardless of the basic qualities of the photo or post, Millennials revealed more excitement i n the reward center of their brains when they viewed a photo or post with many â€Å"likes† (Meyer, 2016). Therefore, â€Å"likes† symbolize augmented social proof and acceptance, representing the peer pressure Millennials feel to remain socially intriguing. One of the most widespread instances of social proof gained from social media is the number of â€Å"retweets,† â€Å"favorites,† â€Å"likes,† or â€Å"shares† received on a photo or post (Tate, 2018). Social proof can be used to explain why Millennials worry about straying too far from the pack, or looking inadequate to comparison to their peers. As mentioned previously, Millennials crave group acceptance more than they desire individuality. Therefore, social media serves as a resemblance of what the group is doing, allowing for Millennials to learn what is deemed socially acceptable, and then find comfort in the recognition that their actions are â€Å"normal† (Tate, 2018). Adriana Manago, an assistant professor of psychology at UC Santa Cruz who studies the social media tendencies of adolescents and young adults, explains that Millennials are using social media to establish their own agency and manage their relationships with their peers (Witte, 2017). Manago theorizes that Millennials use technology as a tool used to navigate their way into adulthood, explaining that young adults turn to social media to explore their place in the world around them (Witte, 2017). Therefore, social media helps Millennials feel more connected within the offline world as it provides a space for identity exploration, bridging the gap between the offline and online worlds. The online realm provides Millennials a platform to manage social contexts by practicing and participating in specific social behaviors without the pressure of visibly or physically backing their actions or remarks. When Millennials participate in social media activities, they are experiencing a context collapse, or the requirement to accurately perform varying social behaviors in order to appropriately manage different social media contexts (Boyd, 2014). For example, a Facebook post and an Instagram post may be the same message, however differ in the delivery depending on the platform’s audience or following. In other words, each distinct audience requires a different social behavior in order to interpret the post appropriately. Context collapse, as determined through various studies, is more complex for adolescent Millennials as they navigate an intense period of self-definition (Boyd, 2014). Millennials, therefore, have invented strategies to help them manage the merging of various social contexts, relying heavily on the approval of specific audience members on each social media platform they maintain. Boyd (2014) in her book, Its Complicated: The Social Lives of Networked Teens, found that Facebook is considered to be the most diverse in connections with audience members ranging from online seniors (65 or older) regularly operating their Facebook page to employers actively searching profiles for potential employees. Twitter was found to represent connections with special interests such as news, celebrities, musicians, or companies, and less with friends and family members (Boyd, 2014). Instagram was reported to be the most entertainment-oriented platform, primarily used for sharing photos of experiences or interests with friends and followers (Boyd, 2014). Therefore, Millennials’ decision on where to share photos or posts depends on the interests of the audience members following each platform, as well as the visibility of the post in order to render the most social interaction possible. When asked where to post a photo, one Millennial responded, â€Å"It depends on the quality of the picture, and who would see it. On Facebook it’d be primarily family, because those are the people who pay attention to my page. On Twitter, depending on the time of day, it might not be seen at all.† (Boyd, 2014). Therefore, the stress of managing multiple audiences across several social contexts puts pressure on Millennials to constantly maintain an acceptable social media presence. Social Media and its Relationship to the Millennial Generation’s Finances As discussed previously, the money habits of Millennials allude to the potential for a better financial position than previous generations, as Millennials instinctively understand the necessity to save. Millennials continue to take strides toward a strong, self-sufficient financial future, with 58 percent prioritizing saving for retirement as an essential necessity (Riley, 2018). Another 71 percent of Millennials reported using tricks encouraged by financial advisors to set aside money in an effort to achieve specific monetary goals, while an additional 41 percent said they always allocated money into their savings accounts each month (Riley, 2018). The â€Å"Generations Ahead† study conducted by the Allianz Life Insurance Company (2018) found that 77 percent of Millennials feel financially confident due to their ability to consciously save, a drastic difference compared to only 64 percent of Generation X respondents when asked the same question. Similar to the Allianz Life Insurance study, â€Å"Generations Ahead,† the Wells Fargo Millennial Study also found that seven in ten Millennials, or 69 percent, feel more financially stable than others in their own generation, and 68 percent see themselves with a better standard of living before retirement than previous generations. Therefore, it can be concluded that Millennials reflect a higher financial self-image when comparing themselves to their own generations rather than to generations prior. This indicates that Millennials may be more inclined to spend recklessly in an effort to showcase falsified high financial stature, even if it is financed primarily through debt accumulation. Additionally, the Wells Fargo study concluded that 84 percent of Millennials feel they have the skills to be successful in their chosen careers, and another 78 percent confidently believe if they were to lose their job, they could find a comparable career with ease. Therefore, as Millennials feel more successful with their financial planning through innovative ways to build financial strength, they are becoming more confident in their abilities to spend wisely. However, Paul Kelash, vice president of communication and consumer insights for Allianz Life, explains, â€Å"The most significant finding was the dichotomy between Millennials’ ability to be successful in financial planning yet so vulnerable to social media and spending beyond their means.† Therefore, the pressure social media places on Millennials to maintain an appropriate presence contradicts Millennials’ appreciation for frugal spending, thus proving the power social media maintains over the actions and decisions of the Millennial generation.   According to statistics and conclusions explained previously, an argument can be made that social media is influencing Millennial financial growth by indirectly encouraging them to spend recklessly. Contradicting prior statistical conclusions that the Millennial generation takes the financial planning lead when compared to other prior generations, the Allianz Life Insurance Company reports that 63 percent of Millennials consider themselves spenders, while 51 percent of Generation Xers and only 36 percent of Baby Boomers would consider themselves spenders (Riley, 2018). The following statistics help support the argument that Millennial financial growth is stunted by their exposure to social media. According to the Allianz Life Insurance Company’s â€Å"Generations Ahead† study, 88 percent of respondents believe social media creates more of a tendency to compare their lifestyles and wealth to others. An additional 57 percent said they spend money they had not yet budgeted for due to the influences from what they viewed on social media (Riley, 2018). Kelash explains that, â€Å"Millennials are more immersed in social media than past generations. Therefore, they could be swayed more than other cohorts by social media and the temptation to spend beyond their means. That could hurt them over the long term if they aren’t careful.† According to a 2013 survey conducted by Eventbrite, when it comes to money, Millennials value experiences over material items. Eventbrite’s study found that the Millennial generation not only values experiences, but is increasingly spending time and money on events in an effort to live a meaningful, happy life. Through statistical evidence, it can be concluded that happiness for the Millennial generation cannot be gained through a lifetime of accumulated material possessions. Rather, a happy life is determined by the ability to create, capture and share memories in an effort to gain the recognition of social peers. Approximately 78 percent of Millennials choose to spend money on desirable experiences or events, with 55 percent of Millennials saying they are spending more on events and live experiences than ever before (Eventbrite, 2013). Therefore, Millennials crave more experiences, increasing the demand for real-life interactions. With the emphasis placed on gathering experiences rather than material goods, Millennial spending is significantly different when compared to the spending habits of generations prior. More than 8 in 10 Millennial respondents, approximately 82 percent, said they attended or participated in a variety of live experiences over the past year, including parties, concerts, festivals, or themed sporting events (Eventbrite, 2013). Further, 72 percent of these respondents even said they would like to increase their spending on experiences rather than material items over the next year, alluding to the idea that materialism will be replaced by the demand for real-life experiences (Eventbrite, 2013). Millennials also explained that these real-life experiences help shape their identity, holding more social currency than physical items as these events create everlasting memories. Almost 8 in 10, or 77 percent, of Millennials say their best memories are from an event or live experience they attended or participated in (Eventbrite, 2013). Interestingly enough, however, Millennials also explain that capturing these events on photo sharing apps like Instagram and Snapchat actually makes the experience more enjoyable. 60 percent of Millennials explain that experiences are better shared through social media platforms (Eventbrite, 2013). 69 percent of respondents also explained that attending these live experiences makes them feel more connected to other people, the community and the world (Eventbrite, 2013). Therefore, just attending the live event does not constitute the entire experience for Millennials. Millennials, instead, finalize their overall opinion of an event based on their ability to share and gain the approval of others via various social media platforms as research has proven that Millennials tweet, share and post more about the events they attend than any other generation. One explanation for this necessity to spend money on life experiences comes from Millennials’ constant feeling of FOMO. Millennials are often critiqued for reckless spending and impulsive purchases due to what they describe as FOMO, or the â€Å"Fear Of Missing Out† on a situation (PR Newswire, 2016). Generated by the Millennial generation’s creative social media vocabulary, FOMO is a state of social anxiety an individual feels when peers or friends are enjoying activities without them, and is often triggered by social media postings (Meyer, 2016). The Allianz Life survey found that 55 percent of Millennials reported experiencing FOMO, while another 61 percent felt inadequate about their own lives and what they have due to the attention other users receive on social media recognized through â€Å"likes† or â€Å"favorites† (Riley, 2018). As previous statistics have proven, portraying a successful adult life on social media heavily influences Millennials’ decisions to spend recklessly. Millennials have been criticized for diving headfirst into financial situations, assuming responsibilities without proper financial support. Shannon Lee Simmons, a Toronto financial planner for many Millennials, explains, â€Å"Those people with the new house on Instagram? They’re miserable.† (PR Newswire, 2016). Being a Millennial herself, Simmons understands the pressure to live an interesting life in order to be deemed as attractive or intriguing on social media platforms. Simmons advises her clients to prioritize debt repayment, live only within the boundaries their paychecks allow, and continually put money into a savings account each month. However, most Millennials are not honest with themselves about the cost of living these extravagant, Instagram lifestyles. An online survey conducted by Go Banking found that Millennials find it difficult to resist the urge to spend recklessly, paying for social events by relying on credit cards, borrowing from friends or family members, or sometimes even neglecting to pay bills. Additionally, as a Millennial myself, I argue that because debt has become an expected part of consumer spending and an innate aspect of the Millennials’ financial experience, Millennials are more likely to spend money they do not have with the expectation of paying it off in the future. I believe this is largely due to Millennial optimism, or the confidence Millennials feel regarding many aspects of their personal lives such as the confidence they feel toward their expected success in their chosen career paths and, therefore, help to lower the stress surrounding debt accumulation. Because Millennials have a tendency to impulsively spend, however, I make the argument that financial optimism is categorized as wishful thinking, or a means of resolving conflicts between reality and desire through pleasing imagination instead of recognizing hard evidence and rationality, and remains financially unsupported. The combination of reckless, social media-encouraged spending, debt accumulation, and wishful thinking reveals the immature side of Millennial spending, a side driven by the pressures to create and maintain an intriguing image within the immense, extremely competitive social realm. Therefore, social media has influenced the emotional spending of the Millennial generation, bombarding them with information on what their friends and followers are doing to such an extent that their prior understanding for the necessity to practice conscious saving is pushed out of mind. Further Discussion / Conclusion Through the literature review’s analysis of the background of Millennials’ financial self-esteem and potential reasons why they resemble poor financial stature, it can be declared that the Millennial generation suffers from a lifetime of financial experiences causing predetermined feelings towards practicing frugal spending habits as a requirement for future financial wellbeing. However, as the content analysis provides expertise on how social media has influenced the way Millennials spend their money, convincing them of the necessity to achieve substantial social acceptance physically represented through their peers’ â€Å"likes† and â€Å"favorites,† an argument can be made and support that emphasizes the hypothesis that social media has negatively affected millennials financial reflection as attending live events only increases their debt accumulated. Although millennials lived through the Great Recession, have seen first-hand financial struggle, and are drowning in student loan debt, the temptation to spend excessive amounts of money on live experiences in order to have the opportunity to post on social media clearly outweighs the necessity for moderate, conscious spending and saving habits. Works Cited Barton, C., Beauchamp, C., & Koslow, L. (2014, January 15). How millennials are changing the face of marketing forever. Bcg.com. Retrieved from https://www.bcg.com/en-us/publications/2014/marketing-center- consumer-customer-insight-how-millennials-changing-marketing- forever.aspx Boberiene, L. V., & McLeigh, J. D. (2014). Young adults in conflict: Confident but struggling, networked but disconnected. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 84(6), 00029432, 20141101. Boyd, D. (2014). It’s Complicated: The Social Lives of Networked Teens. New Haven, London: Yale University Press. Cutler, N. E. (2015). Millennials and Finance: The Amazon Generation. Journal Of Financial Service Professionals, 69(6), 33-39. Eventbrite, (2013). Millennials: Fueling the Experience Economy. Eventbrite. Herring, S., & Kapidzic, S. (2015). Teens, Gender, and Self-Presentation in Social Media. International Encyclopedia of Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2. International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences. (2008). Self-Presentation. Retrieved from https://www.encyclopedia.com/social-sciences/applied-and-social-sciences-magazines/self-presentation Marketing Charts, (2015, March 24). Why do millennials use Facebook and Twitter. MarketingCharts.com. Retrieved from https://www.marketingcharts.com/featured-52812 Marsh Private Client Services. (2015). Getting to know the millennial generation. Grand Rapids Business Journal, 33(20), 13. Meyer, K. (2016, August 28). Social Media Natives: Growing Up with Social Networking. Nielsen Norman Group. Retrieved from https://www.nngroup.com/articles/social-media-natives/ Pagliara, J. (2017, September 1). Millennials: Is social media use harming your finances. Tennessean. Part of the USA Today Network. Retrived from https://www.tennessean.com/story/money/2017/09/01/millennials-social-media-use-harming-your-finances/622639001/ PR, N. (2016). 3 in 5 Millennials Say FOMO Isnt an Excuse for Reckless Spending, According to New Survey Findings. PR Newswire US. Rapier, G. (2015, July 19). This chart reveals a huge difference in how millennials and their parents spend money. Businessinsider.com. Retrieved from http://www.businessinsider.com/millennials-consumer-spending- twice-as-much-at-restaurants-than-previous-generations-2017-7 Rampell, C. (2014). Millennials have some trust issues. The Washington Post, pp. A19 Riley, J. (2018) Millennials Are Saving, But Social Media Can Lead Them Astray. FA-Mag. Stephen, A. & Wilcox, K. (2013, January 14). Social Networks May Inflate Self-Esteem, Reduce Self-Control. Journal of Consumer Research. Retrieved from http://www.news.pitt.edu/news/social-networks-may-inflate-self-esteem-reduce-self-control Tate, A. (2018) The psychology of social networking: 6 counterintuitive ways to connect and influence. Canva. Retrieved from https://www.canva.com/learn/social-networking/ Witte, M. (2017, October 2). Checking in or checking out? Millennials go online to build their offline lives. UC Santa Cruz NewsCenter. Retrieved from https://news.ucsc.edu/2017/10/manago-technology.html

The Pearl Essays -- Literary Analysis, John Steinbeck

In history there are a variety of tragic events that influence everything that surrounds them, such as World War II. World War II changed societies, recast intellectual assumption, altered racial and gender relations, and more. (Lee 5) Because of World War II, it helped the author John Steinbeck into writing the novel The Pearl. In the novel the main setting of the story took place in Mexico, as well as the Gulf of California. This setting was chosen by the author because â€Å"Indians of Mexico had been under the domination of people of Spanish decent† (Barron’s14). In the story you can see the different styles of living compared to rich and poor. Kino and his family didn’t have much money and were established at the bottom of the social class. Kino lived where â€Å"across the brush fence were other brush houses, and the smoke came from them too, and the sound of breakfast† (Steinbeck 2). On the other hand the upper class live a different lifestyle compared to Kino. Where the doctor lived he had money and was located â€Å"where the brush houses stopped and the city of stone and plaster began, the city of harsh outer walls and inner cool gardens† (Steinbeck 5). The reader can clearly see the two different styles of living in the novel. In the novel the characters are div ided into different social classes depending on how much money they have. Steinbeck created characters that fit the setting. In order for Steinbeck to figure out what kind of characters he wanted in his story he was an â€Å"observer of human nature† (Barron’s 1). The majority of Steinbeck’s characters were â€Å"down and out, isolated and oppressed† (Barron’s 1). The author wanted to show the struggle between the rich and the poor. By keeping this theme Steinbeck created the charac... ...any money. I, I alone in the world supposed to work for nothing† (Steinbeck 7). This shows the doctors greed for money. All the doctor cares about is if his patients have the money to pay for his work, otherwise he doesn’t have any sympathy for anybody especially Kino’s race. The doctor grew up as â€Å"a race which for nearly a hundred years had beaten and starved and robbed and despised Kino’s race† (Steinbeck 6). Cleary the doctor is similar to the Americans and how they treat other ethnicities because of their differences. Kino was treated the same way the Mexicans were. They both were judge for who they were and their own beliefs. Clearly there was a similarity to what happened in World War II and The Pearl, Kino and the Mexicans were mistreated throughout and had to face the hardships in life struggling to survive with their families.

Marxism Analysis of The Lower Depths Essay

Maxim Gorky’s â€Å"The Lower Depths† shows the struggle between classes. Unquestionably, its focus is on the lowest of the economically low class people being controlled by the bourgeoisie. It is also a representation of how cruel the society could be towards them and how, in turn, the people are affected by the society. Although the play talks of the story of low class people –the vagrant, the gambler, the ex-artist, the ex-aristocrat, the prostitute, and so many others, the thief’s character is the best to display the struggle between the classes. Thieves are likely to be wicked, troublesome, and disobedient. However, the thief in the text projects only the wickedness and troublesomeness but is not really disobedient. He is a bit subservient to the whims of their landlady. Though it is true that there are times when he doesn’t want to follow what the woman says, in the end the woman would always find a way to make him do whatever she likes. For instance, when the landlady wanted the thief to kill her husband, the thief refused. And to bring her plans into reality, she beats Natasha –whom the thief cared about. This made the thief furious and he went to confront the landlady but he incidentally killed her husband instead. Aside from this, the fact that the landlady â€Å"owned† her sister Natasha made the thief adhere to her caprice. He is always protecting his love and is willing to do everything to spare her from the landlord and the landlady’s injustice. The text embodies how the low class people resist the ideology of those in the higher classes. However, because of circumstances they are in, they end up going along with whatever those in higher classes’ demands. The lower economic groups are ignored in this text by those higher than them. The mere title of the play is distasteful. The place where the characters live is created and tagged as the lower depths by no other than the society itself. This just means that the society is also the primary reason for the repression experienced by the people. What the society didn’t realize is that these low class people are in the lower depths because they are deprived of chances to attain their goals and they are put on circumstances that destroy their self-confidence. The system of the ruling class caused the alienation of the low class people, therefore causing them not to be able to live their lives to the fullest. Also, the setting is where the characters tell their stories and debate on whether it is better to live without illusions on one’s own capability or to embrace a romanticized view of the world in order to protect oneself from the pain of daily life. In the play, it is the character of Luka who seems to idealize everything in life and the one who demonstrate that philosophy is meant to be used as an instrument to initiate change. Precisely, it was him who played the opposing figure to the rest of the characters. He is an example of an old man whom experiences made wise. He serves as an inspiration to everyone he meets by urging each of them to start a new life. In spite of this, his extreme optimism could also be the same reason why his life failed. And although he amazed the neglected lower class people in the lower depths, his arrival in their lives was too late that their energy and will has already taken from them. No matter how those people try to ascend from the social swamp, they are always shoved back into the depths. For example, when Natasha and the thief were about to begin a new life, destiny surpass them. Natasha was terribly beaten by her sister and when the thief came to confront the landlady, he accidentally killed the landlord. The theme of the play could be about the dominance of the higher class over the lower classes. As one of the play’s characters puts it â€Å"And so for all the others†¦. Locksmiths then †¦ bootmakers and other working folk †¦ and all the agriculturals †¦ and even the gentry — they live for the better man! Each thinks ‘e’s livin’ fer ‘imself, yet it turns out it’s fer that better man†. All of them who live in the depths and all the other workers seem to believe that they are living for themselves. What they don’t realize is that they are living to work and feed the bourgeoisie. And aside from this, the fact that the characters came from different field means that the bourgeoisie could control all aspects of the culture. To sum up, the play is a depiction of how the bourgeoisie rule the society. And the fact that the society puts the label to people shows how powerful it could affect other people’s lives.

Valence Electron Definition in Chemistry

Valence Electron Definition in Chemistry A valence electron is an electron that is the most likely to be involved in a chemical reaction. They are typically the electrons with the highest value of the principal quantum number, n. Another way to think of valence electrons is that they are the outermost electrons in an atom, so they are the most susceptible to participation in chemical bond formation or ionization. The simplest way to identify the valence electrons is to look for the highest number in the electron configuration of an atom (the principal quantum number). Its worth noting the IUPAC definition of valence is for the single highest valence value that is displayed by an atom of an element. However, in practical use, main group elements of the periodic table may display any valence from 1 to 7 (since 8 is a complete octet). Most elements have preferred values of valence electrons. The alkali metals, for example, almost always display a valence of 1. The alkaline earths tend to display a valence of 2. The halogens usually have a valence of 1, yet may sometimes display a valence of 7. The transition metals may display a range of valence values because the highest energy electron subshell is only partially filled. Those atoms become more stable by emptying the shell, half-filling it, or completely filling it. Examples Magnesiums ground state electron configuration is 1s22s2p63s2, the valence electrons would be the 3s electrons because 3 is the highest principal quantum number.Bromines ground state electron configuration is 1s22s2p63s2p6d104s2p5, the valence electrons would be the 4s and 4p electrons.

Bruce campbell

Bruce campbell Bruce Campbell is an accomplished actor. His career started at the age of fourteen. Over the years he has appeared in a variety of acting roles, which have made him very well known.Bruce Campbell is forty-one years old and was born on June 22nd, 1958.(http:www.imdb.com) He is the youngest of three brothers, was born in Royal Oak, Michigan and has two children. He considers himself to have had a normal childhood in that he watched "Lost in Space" on television, dug tunnels in his back yard and ran around dressed up as Zorro. (http:www.bruce-campbell.com) Bruce started taking interest in acting at the age of eight when he saw how much fun his dad had while performing in local community theater. His first official acting job occurred at age fourteen when an actor who was to play the young prince in the "King and I" became ill and he stepped into the role.American Actor Bruce Campbell at the 2007 Scream A...

Whole Foods Market Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Whole Foods Market - Case Study Example WFM’s mission is: â€Å"Whole Foods – Whole People – Whole Planet,† aiming â€Å"to promote the vitality and well-being of all individuals by supplying the highest quality, most wholesome foods available† (WFM Form 10-K, 2013, p. 1) – thus the reference to Whole Foods. It follows, however, that the purity of the food provided WFM’s customers is directly determined by the quality of the environment, therefore the reference to Whole Planet. Finally, the provision of good, healthy food and maintenance of the environment can only be achieved by dedicated individuals working towards a common objective; therefore the reference to Whole People. This analysis explores WFM’s business and control strategies, adopting the paradigms of Porter’s generic strategies and the organisational theory by Coase/Williamson, respectively. It discusses the approach of WFM to substantial changes in terms of technology, products and services, and o rganisational structure, strategy and culture, and explains how change policies have evolved in WFM. Finally, discussion is focused on WFM’s virtual and self-managed teams which are the fundamental organisational units of the firm and the source of its competitive advantage. WFM’s Business and Control Strategies Business strategy of WFM A business strategy, in its simplest definition, is the means by which a business organisation identifies and attains its goals (Porter, 1996). Devising a strategy for business begins with identifying the firm’s goal, and then systematically formulating a plan by which the goal may be achieved. WFM’s purpose is embodied in its mission and core values. Its strategy goes well beyond merely providing fresh foods. The vision emphasises that â€Å"whole people† are as important as â€Å"whole foods† – that is, developing their human component to their fullest potential, allowing them the freedom to create a nd innovate, and the power to decide on matters that affect their sphere of work. Generic strategies based on Porter’s typology (Parnell, 2013, p 184) Emphasis on Entire Market or Niche Emphasis on Low Costs Emphasis on Differentiation Emphasis on Low Costs and Differentiation Entire Market Low-cost strategy Differentiation strategy Low cost differentiation strategy Niche Focus low cost strategy Focus differentiation strategy Focus low cost differentiation strategy WFM’s business strategy emphasises creativity and innovation which create a difference in the stores’ choice of product offerings and the quality of their service delivery, for the entire market. This is the differentiation approach. This is the strategy that is ideal in markets dominated by large market leaders – in this case, Wal-Mart which overshadows all other competitors in the grocery industry. Rather than going head-to-head with Wal-Mart and inevitably lose in the process, WFM could achi eve greater business success if it distinguishes itself along key strategic points. These key attributes are those competitive factors that the smaller grocer can develop but which Wal-Mart cannot easily duplicate, such as less hectic stores, superior selection of certain food products, or greater convenience to the customer (Parnell, 2013). WFM’s favourable employee policies that develop a sense of engagement and ownership among its workers are evidenced by its annual inclusion in Fortune Magazine’

Managerial Challenges in 21st Century Term Paper

Managerial Challenges in 21st Century - Term Paper Example According to management consultants, rigidity will only result in decay and organisational bankruptcy, and flexibility is proposed as the only way to move with the dynamic times (IABMP, 2009). Management practices in the 21st century have had to change with the times as organizations are become more complex. Managers cannot afford to continue with the old managerial practices because 21st century workers can easily be unproductive if their needs are not taken into consideration. This paper will discuss some of the challenges managers face in the 21st century. Most organisations are aligning themselves with the appeal of the globalised business platform of the 21st century (Molinsky, 2012). Globalisation is characterised by the multi-national integration of technology, perspectives, culture, products and ideas. Therefore, it becomes an inevitable managerial requirement to incorporate the trend within organisational strategies. However, the pace at which technological, transportation and communication advances are driving globalisation is a major challenge to managers, charged with leveraging the technologies appropriately within their systems and structures (IABMP, 2009). Further, the very nature of being a multinational organisation translates into the need for a comprehensive international awareness by managers. A specific managerial challenge posed by globalisation is that of conflicting cultures (Gomez-Mejia, Balkin Cardy, 2009). While the essence of globalisation includes enabling some procedures to be conducted worldwide and univers ally, managers must acknowledge that some must be localised in their respective areas to ensure regional and cultural adherence. Managers will exploit any business opportunity that presents itself, but they are challenged by the need to not appear as if they are championing international culture at the expense of locally established regional ones (IABMP, 2009). Just as is the case with the