The Research Process - 3365 Words

Processes of research by Jonathan Guy In this essay I will outline the primary methods of conducting research, their advantages and disadvantages and will outline where they are best utilised. In addition to this, I will select certain methods of research that I believe will be applicable to my own dissertation and state why I will use those particular methods to conduct my own research. The first question we should ask is what is research? John C. Merriam considers research as a reaching out to bring together, organise and interpret what ever may be added to our store of knowledgeÂ…most truly exemplified when it involves the wider relationship of specific facts to the whole structure of knowledge. (C. Merriam, 1941, pg890) In†¦show more content†¦This approach to research has obvious advantages, namely its objectivity. It cannot be considered bias or subverted due to the theorisers own predispositions or opinions and it should therefore be true of itself; it is not subject to change as it merely categorises a factual state and it provides definitive answers from its research as opposed to just more questions or debatable theories. It does however have a number of disadvantages. It is arguable that the scientific method has no place in political theory as much of it is based in abstract theorising which cannot be objectively proved one way or the othe r and as such would be dismissed as irrelevant by the scientific methods (which is clearly wrong). Further, unlike in the natural sciences, the scientific method tends to be only descriptive of political science and does not in fact advance it in any way, rather it merely attempts to describe the state it is presently in (for example, it would not predict who will win the next election, but it would say who won the last one). Therefore, the scientific method is best used if we wish the results of our research to return as objective facts, empirically provable and repeatable. Whilst this does not necessarily have a major place in political sociology, it is useful in interpreting quantifiable results that are not statistical in nature. In addition toShow MoreRelatedResearch Process930 Words   |  4 PagesMarketing Research Marketing research is the systematic design, collection, analysis and reporting of data and findings relevant to a specific marketing situation facing the company.† [Philip Kotler] â€Å"the systematic gathering, recording and analyzing of all data about problems relating to the marketing of goods and services.† [The American Marketing Association] Basic purpose of marketing research Marketing research reduces uncertainty or error in decision-making. The information collectedRead MoreA Research Study On Research Process2067 Words   |  9 PagesResearch is a tool used to evaluate or develop a certain aspect. Within early years research, Roberts-Holmes (2011) comments that it can develop and improve current professional practice. Once a topic has been chosen, Mac Naughton et al (2010) explain that the researcher will use relevant literature that will lead to identifying an issue or question. Through the design research process, appropriate methods will be chosen to gather data. The researcher must ensure the chosen methods will gather valuableRead MoreQuestions On The Research Process Essay1184 Words   |  5 Pages(Blakstad, 2008) discusses the â€Å"research process â€Å"and defines it as the step by step procedures of developing one’s research†. Tuner (2009) indicates that the availability of resources requirements is major factors to consid er when selecting research questions. Sauro (2013) discussion of the research process provides further details on the factors that contribute to the successful research question selection. In selecting a successful research question, the research must be able to identify theRead MoreLearning the Research Process1852 Words   |  7 PagesThis proposed research work was a qualitative research in its very nature of data collection and analysis. It has covered the empirical type of research methodology as for data collection the researcher had to visit the spot and talk to the stakeholders directly. Besides, from the point of authenticity and nature of data collection it can be categorized as the ethnographic research, as well. According to Brikci and Green (2007) â€Å"Qualitative research is characterized by its aims, which relate to understandingRead MoreResearch Process and Terminology962 Words   |  4 PagesResearch Process and Terminology Laytoya Wilson CJA/334 26 June 2011 University of Phoenix Research involves the study of something to discover facts and maybe even apply the findings in order to change something. There are two types of research, there is basic or pure research and then there is applied research, in which you really don’t need both in order to complete a study but in most cases is a good idea. Researchers have their own language, like doctors and police officers, researchersRead MoreResearch Process and Terminology927 Words   |  4 PagesResearch Process and Terminology The most important part of describing the research process in criminology and criminal justice research methods consists of being familiar with terminology. The knowledge of proper terminology can be an asset when evaluating, and analyzing research studies or data. However, not knowing the proper terminology when conducting research could affect an officer’s report negatively. Those interested in the study of criminology and criminal justice has a wide range ofRead MoreResearch Process and Terminology1115 Words   |  5 PagesResearch Process and Terminology Denise G. Silven CJA/334 Research Methods in Criminal Justice July 23, 2012 Jody Pennington Research Process and Terminology Students who desire a career in research associated with the criminal justice industry must learn the terminology they will be using in order to understand the process they need to carry out as well as terminology associated with criminal justice. Someone who does not know the proper terminology in either field could find themselvesRead MoreThe Process Of Conducting Research991 Words   |  4 PagesProcedure The process of conducting research is to gather information that relates to your I- search question. The I- search question that I am seeking answers to happens to be; what is the definition of family in today’s society? There are many methods of investigation that can be used to answer this question, but I have limited it to eight methods. The eight methods I have chosen are going to give me in depth information about my purposed I search question. The first method of investigation forRead MoreMarketing Research Process8881 Words   |  36 Pagesdemonstrates the real value of a companys marketing research and information system? A) the amount of data it generates B) the variety of contact methods it uses C) the efficiency with which it implements the research plans D) the quality of customer insights it provides E) the sampling plan it follows Answer: D Page Ref: 97 Difficulty: Moderate Chapter LO: 1 AACSB: Use of information technology Course LO: Describe the marketing research process 2) A marketing information system beginsRead MoreResearch Methodology For The Research Design Process Essay930 Words   |  4 PagesRESEARCH METHODOLOGY Steps in the research design process are; Problem Definition Data Collection Method Select the Sample Size Select Method of Analysis Problem Statement: â€Å"ABSENTEEISM† is one of the great disasters faced by all the organizations in this modernized world which results in turnover. So the firm has to reinvest so many amounts. People not only used to leave the organizations due to the personal reasons, the main reason is all about the industrial environmental factors â€Å"ABSENTEEISM†

Literary Analysis of the Odyssey Essay - 783 Words

Brains over brawn, who will win this battle?Homers tale of Odysseus adventures in â€Å"The Odyssey† show that being intelligent and cunning can be far better than having physical strength. Being physically strong certainly has its advantages, but not in all circumstances. Strength in intelligence shows new meaning of strength. Odysseus is amused with himself when he defeats Polyphemus. His great skills with a bow outweigh the others abilities. Knowledge of the placement of his bed win his beloveds heart. Polyphemus had strength that was no match for men. Odysseus had physical strength, but his real strength is the mind. Odysseus would find himself in many predicaments in which he would have to choose how he will tackle the situation. One†¦show more content†¦Odysseus is disguised as an old man and must prove that he can win back his wife, Penelope. The task is to be able to pull back the bow of Odysseus. All of the other suitors have failed. It is now Odysseus turn. No one believes he can do it because he is old. He has tricked all of them into believing he is old and not up to the task. Odysseus has all knowledge of how this bow works. He is not old, but fiercely intelligent and physically strong as well. â€Å"But the man skilled in all ways of contending, satisfied by the great bows look and heft, like a musician, like a harper, when with a quiet hand upon his instrument he draws between his thumb and forefinger a sweet new string upon a peg: so effortlessly Odysseus in one motion strung the bow.† (page 953)An epic simile shows how Odysseus was not just a normal person, but that he was gifted with other skills to get the job done. He knew exactly what he was doing, he had the knowledge of the bow because it was his and he was the only one able to pull the bow back, therefore claiming his wife. He will soon reap the rewards he so dreamed of for all those years gone from his wife. Now his task would be to convince Penelope that it was truly Odysseus himself. Odysseus must now face the other suitors in order to win Penelope. He must rely on physical strength to get past this task then to face Penelope and convince her it is really Odysseus. After defeating the other suitors Odysseus was cleaned up and made toShow MoreRelatedOdyssey Literary Analysis2667 Words   |  11 PagesThe Author and his Times The author of the Odyssey, to this day, remains unknown. Early Greeks have accredited works such as the Homeric Hyms, The Iliad, and The Odyssey to an individual by the name of Homer. However, there are some scientists that insist these said works were product of a group of people and not one man. This particular group of scientists claims that the subject matter of the writings is too diverse for them to have been the product of just one person. Despite these differingRead MoreEssay about Literary Analysis of The Odyssey784 Words   |  4 Pages The Odyssey is a celebrated epic filled with many different themes, motifs, styles, and characters that could be examined in vast detail, but the theme of hospitality is a reoccurring one throughout the entire narrative. Homer writes about examples of both great hospitality and very inhospitable characters in his epic poem. Hospitality in The Odyssey creates definition of how individuals are either punished or rewarded by the go ds. In the time of The Odyssey, not only largeRead MoreLiterary Analysis : The Odyssey And The Popol Vuh Essay1456 Words   |  6 Pagesin them. These archetypes have been either very noticeable or farther under the surface, the stories, poems and folklore are not all the same by any means but they do have some similarities besides the fact that they are all old. Ranging from The Odyssey to The Popol Vuh. The way of describing which archetype is in the stories is by thinking of an onion, that layer by layer seeing the archetype is more under the surface than the last, so the most significate is a scapegoat that is within all six storiesRead MoreNarrative Means By Julie Beck1184 Words   |  5 PagesAccording to the dictionary, narrative means â€Å"a spoken or written account of connected events; story; the narrated part or parts of a literary work, as distinct from dialogue; the practice or art of telling stories; a representation of a particular situation or process i n such a way as to show or conform to an overarching set of aims or values; a discourse, or an example of it, designed to connect a succession of happenings† (n.d.). Julie Beck, a writer from The Atlantic blog, stated that â€Å"narrativeRead MoreEssay about Analysis of Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s Epic Poem Ulysses1191 Words   |  5 PagesTennyson’s poetry, from English folk law characters such as King Arthur that featured in â€Å"Morte D’Arthur and other Idyllis† to the Greek mariner and adventurer Ulysses. The character of Ulysses has featured in many great epic poems, most notably Homer’s â€Å"Odyssey† and â€Å"Iliad† and Dante’s â€Å"The Divine Comedy†. Tennyson although not unique in his characterisation of the Ulysses, he does however provides a different representation of the Greek hero, than his peers and predecessors’. We discover Ulysses afterRead MoreLiterary Analysis of Into the Wild1669 Words   |  7 PagesLiterary Analysis of Into The Wild Imagine spending thirty days alone in a tent or a cabin in the wilderness with no technology, electricity, running water, and any form of communication. Every day you wake up to the sight of the beautiful, tall trees and the various wildlife living in the area. Most of the time, you can hear the many sounds of nature: the majestic songs of birds, the whistling in the wind, and trees rustling. But sometimes all you can hear is nothing but silence. Most of usRead MoreCharles Baudelaire And Victor Hugo976 Words   |  4 Pagesmasses. After the world wars, literature had become a very powerful tool of exclaiming emotional relevance and many attributes of life to the whole world. Literature expanded in a number of vivid field by the end of the 20th century and the thematic analysis of poetry did not align as a sync in Europe. The Structural Sync : Beowulf is the oldest product of English literature; it is an epic poem narrating the adventures of Beowulf who becomes the king of Geates. We witness how the oldest forms of literatureRead MoreThe Epic Of The Ramayana887 Words   |  4 PagesAn ancient literary monument that incorporates a rational perspective and approach towards life helps a person resolve infinite conceivable questions, unlock morals and ethics, and approach enlightenment. The Ramayana, a relic with sacred relevance not only to India, but all of humanity, consolidates the innumerable queries by humans, answers them with morality, principals, and philosophical beliefs. This Indian heroic epic poem, comprises of approximately 24,000 verses, is mostly written using theRead MoreA Critical Appraisal of: Beowulf and Gilgamesh Essay examples1640 Words   |  7 Pageshave major social, cultural, and political impacts on the development of western civilization literature and writing. Before any analysis is made, it is vital that some kind of a foundation be established so that a further, in-depth exploration of the complex nature of both narratives can be accomplished. The epic of Gilgamesh is an important Middle Eastern literary work, written in cuneiform on 12 clay tablets about 2000 BC. This heroic poem is named for its hero, Gilgamesh, a tyrannical BabylonianRead MoreArchetypal Literary Criticism Essay1614 Words   |  7 Pages In Literary Criticism, there is an idea that believes that Archetypes make up literature’s meaning. The concept of Archetypes in literature has been the subject of extensive examination in Literary Criticism. â€Å"Criticism can be broken down into two broad categories: evaluative and interpretive† (Gardner 1287). The criticism is based on Literary Theory, which is composed of ideas that help interpret, and analyze literature. Everything in literature has a meaning, and many different people came

National Socialists (Nazis) and Anti-Semitic Propaganda free essay sample

An examination of the German anti-Jewish policies and propaganda. This paper demonstrates the success of the Nazis anti-Jewish propaganda in the 1930s.The author examines the effect of the German policies and how these impacted the developments of the Holocaust. Because the German people accepted the anti-Semitic policies, they could be carried out. The enforcement of these laws eventually led to what is now known as the Holocaust. By killing the German Jews the way he did, Hitler was one step closer to creating the Aryan nation he had envisioned. The National Socialists said that for a government to be successful, it had to promote the well being of its race, including removing any factors that might disrupt this. The Aryan people were the race of Nazi German; the Jews were a threat to them. Hitler removed them from the equation. By 1939, he had been an effective leader in creating a successful National Socialist State. We will write a custom essay sample on National Socialists (Nazis) and Anti-Semitic Propaganda or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page

Macao Job Vacancy Issues in Hospitality Industry Essay Example

Macao Job Vacancy Issues in Hospitality Industry Essay Macao Job Vacancy Issues in Hospitality Industry Statistic Analysis Introduction This report analyses key factors which result in vacancy issue in Macao hospitality industry with supportive statistics and information basically from 2009 to 2011. Since 2009, the influx tourist flow keeps enlarging the tourism market. [18] In 2011 every Macao labour has received at least 80 tourists. (D1) The problem is that tourist growth rate (up to15. 1% in 2010 and down to 12. 2%) has far exceeded the number of labour growth rate (1. 5% in 2010, to 3. % in 2011) of Macao, and the difference keeps becoming larger during the last three years. (D5)So Macao labor market is obviously unable to feed the tourism industry employment gradually expanding need. [2] Job vacancy issues description In 2008 to 2010 periods, the total percentage of vacancy jobs has been growing with the total amount of job offered in hospitality industry from 7% to 8% in the total 50,271 offered jobs in 2010. According to the rese arch, the hospitality job vacancy problem mainly occurred on both management position (such as company leader and senior manager) and rank-and-file position. In the same period, management position vacancies drop from 3% in 2008 and ended up with 1% in all vacancy jobs). Rank-and-file position vacancies occupation grew from 88. 2% in 2008 to 88. 5 %( 4,099 vacancies) in 2010 among all the job vacancies. Particularly, waiter/waitress, unskilled workers vacancies takes over 95% in the rank-and-file vacancies during the three years. Reasons for job vacancy issue analysis There are two reasons cause the management position vacancy. First, limited quality of labor market. Till 2011, there are 26% of the total Macao labors are holding a college or higher educational degree, this percentage would be 15. 8% if excluded imported workers apart. [3][4]Moreover, the language skills would bring the percentage even lower, as the most regular used language is Cantonese (83. 30%), and followed by Mandarin(5%), and English (2. 30%) respectively in 2011. Second, the lack of international exposure, makes Macao labors less competitive in the market, because of small amount of travels and business activities outside to western ountries. As for the rank-and-file job vacancy issue, mostly owes to: lower salary, lower status, and restricted labor importing policy. Low salary, especially for waiter/waitress, unskilled workers(around MOP6000), if compare with that(about MOP10,000) (D7)of rank-and-file positions in gaming industry which owns the similar job requirement; In Macau, there are common negative attitudes toward some rank-and-file jobs, because of social status c oncerns. We will write a custom essay sample on Macao Job Vacancy Issues in Hospitality Industry specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Macao Job Vacancy Issues in Hospitality Industry specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Macao Job Vacancy Issues in Hospitality Industry specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Jobs like waiter/waitress, cleaning and house keeping, is always in need. Conclusion and Recommendations In conclusion, with the rapid development of tourism industry, issues like naturally lacking of human resource(267,200 local labours[10]), limited qualified manpower[14] and restricted labor importing policy, together will affect efficiency and effectiveness of the hospitality industry. In order to solve the job vacancy issues, government on the one hand, acts as a profound role in guaranteeing the benefit and priorities for local labors, in the short term; On the other hand government has being taken step improving the education system during the years, by subsidizing application for studying professional subjects and tertiary education, [13]in the long term. Recommendations for a company, such as arranging more practical training on management concepts and skills to develop local talents for senior positions; Language training to cater to international customers and management is also an alternative; Bring in certificate recognition system could be a good way to measure competence or set standard for employment, promotion and reward. Finally, its also the individual responsibility to making full use of the resources offered by public and private organization, get to ready for the global competition. Reference: [1] 4 ? 2011 2] : http://news. china. com. cn/local/2012-03/29/content_25017774. htm [3] 1. 8? http://www. macaodaily. com/html/2012-04/24/content_692714. htm [4] 13/2010 http://bo. io. gov. mo/bo/i/2010/22/regadm13_cn. asp [5]2. 6 , , ,2011 [6] http://www. bizintelligenceonline. com/content/view/229/10/lang,/ [7] http://www. newmacau. org/cms/index. php? option=com_contentview=articleid=1290:2011-06-12-04-17-20catid=9:2009-10-14 -10-38-30Itemid=23 [8] http://www. chengpou. om. mo/news/2011/12/9/19932. html [9] ,2009 http://www. al. gov. mo/diario/l03/cs1-4/2009-120%20%2801-05%29. pdf [10] , ,2011 [11] 14 15 http://www. gov. cn/jrzg/2007-09/12/content_746039. htm [12] http://www. dsal. gov. mo/chinese/dfpcourse. htm [13]Government to create databank for securing young talent http://www. macaudailytimes. com. mo/macau/35383-Government-create-databank-for-securing-young-talent. html [14] http://www. macaodaily. com/html/2011-12/31/content_660715. htm [15] http://www. acaodaily. com/html/2011-12/20/content_657692. htm [16] http://www. macaodaily. com/html/2012-03/19/content_682512. htm [17]Macao workers happier, concerns lurking http://www. macaudailytimes. com. mo/macau/34953-Macau-workers-happier-concerns-lurking. html [18]Macaus GDP growth rate slows to 20. 7 pct in 2011 http://www. macaunews. com. mo/content/view/1667/53/lang,english/ [19] http://www. dsec. gov. mo/Statistic. aspx Diagram 1: 2008~2010 ( : ) | |2008? |2009? |2010? | | |2293. 3185 |2175. 214 |2496. 5411 | | |323. 4 |323. 9 |336. 3 | [pic] : ; Diagram 2: 2009~2010 ( : ) [pic] : -2010? 11 ; 2010~2011 ( : ) [pic] : -2011? 11 ; Diagram 3: 2009~2011 ( : ) |2009? | | |? 1? |? 2? |? 3? |? 4? | | |15176 |14250 |17272 |18222 | | 9216 |7027 |9331 |10325 | | |5960 |7223 |7941 |7897 | |2010? | | |? 1? |? 2? |? 3? |? 4? | | |14860 |29878 |44460 |45585 | | |8845 |12753 |14705 |13769 | | |6015 |17125 |29775 |31816 | |2011? | | |? 1? |? 2? |? 3? |? 4? | | 47404 |52525 |64091 |60961 | | |14199 |16912 |19554 |21278 | | |33205 |35613 |44537 |39683 | : ; Diagram 4: [pic] : ; Diagram 5: [pic] | |2009? |2010? |2011? | | |-1. 00% |1. 50% |3. 80% | | |-6. 20% |15. 10% |12. 20% | Diagram 6: 2008? ~2010 ( 😕 ) | |2008? 2009? |2010? | | |6617 |6490 |6470 | | |6468 |6340 |7850 | | |5619 |6080 |6100 | | |5633 |5820 |5830 | | |10045 |10580 |10730 | | |13974 |13360 |13710 | : ; Diagram 7: 2008? ~2010 pic] : ; Diagram 8: ( : ) [p ic] : ; Diagram 9: | | (? ) | (? ) | (? ) | | |15. 7(5. 0%) |13. 9(4. 3%) |14. 8(4. 4%) | | |52. 3(16. 6%) |55. 8(17. 4%) |52. 5(15. 7%) | | |172. 6(54. 7%) |177. 6(55. 5%) |189. 8(56. 6%) | | |75. 2(23. 8%) |73. 0(22. 8%) |78. 3(23. %) | | |315. 8 |320. 2 |335. 4 | : ; Diagram 11: | | : | | : | : , | | : | : , , | | : | : | | : ? 4-5 3 , | | | : , ( ) | | | : | | | : | | : | : , | | : 18-45? | : , | | : | : , | | : | : , | | : ( ) | | | : , , | | : ;

How to File Loud TV Commercial Complaints

How to File Loud TV Commercial Complaints If you, like many if not most people, had visions of the government really cracking down on TV stations and cable companies that broadcast annoyingly loud commercials after enactment of the CALM Act, you had a wrong vision. The fact is that the FCC has placed most of the burden for enforcement of the law squarely on TV viewers. The much-desired TV commercial volume control law - the Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation (CALM) Act - is now in effect, but you can bet your eardrums there will be violations. Heres when and how to report CALM Act violations. Taking full effect on December 13, 2012, the CALM Act requires TV stations, cable operators, satellite TV operators, and other pay-TV providers to limit a commercials average volume to that of the programming that it accompanies. It May Not be a Violation The CALM Act is enforced by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the FCC does provide a simple way to report violations. However, the FCC also advises that not all loud commercials are violations. According to the FCC), while the overall or average volume of the commercial should be no louder than the regular programming, it may still have louder and quieter moments. As a result, says the FCC, some commercials may sound too loud to some viewers, but still comply with the law. Basically, if all or most of the commercial sounds louder to you that the regular program, report it. Broadcasters who fail to comply with the CALM Act regulations face significant financial penalties imposed by the FCC. How to Report a CALM Act Violation The easiest way to file a loud commercial complaint is by using the FCCs online complaint form at www.fcc.gov/complaints. To use the form, click on the Complaint Type button Broadcast (TV and Radio), Cable, and Satellite Issues, and then click on the Category button Loud Commercials. This will take you to the Form 2000G - Loud Commercial Complaint form. Fill out the form and click on Complete the form to submit your complaint to the FCC. The Loud Commercial Complaint form asks for information, including the date and time you saw the commercial, the name of the program you were watching and which TV station or pay-TV provider transmitted the commercial. Its a lot of information, but it is necessary to help the FCC correctly identify the offending commercial from among the tens-of-thousands of commercials aired every day. Complaints can also be filed by fax to 1-866-418-0232 or by filling out a 2000G - Loud Commercial Complaint form (.pdf) and mailing it to: The Federal Communications CommissionConsumer and Governmental Affairs BureauConsumer Inquiries and Complaints Division445 12th Street, SW, Washington, DC 20554 If you need assistance in filing your complaint, you may contact the FCCs Consumer Call Center by calling 1-888-CALL-FCC (1-888-225-5322) (voice) or 1-888-TELL-FCC (1-888-835-5322) (TTY).

Laura Clay, Southern Womens Suffrage Leader

Laura Clay, Southern Womens Suffrage Leader Laura Clay Facts Known for: major Southern woman suffrage spokesperson. Clay, like many Southern suffragists, saw womens suffrage as reinforcing white supremacy and power.Occupation: reformerDates: February 9, 1849 - June 29, 1941 Laura Clay Biography Laura Clay Quote: Suffrage is Gods cause, and God leads our plans. Laura Clays mother was Mary Jane Warfield Clay, from a wealthy family prominent in Kentucky horse racing and breeding, herself an advocate of womens education and womens rights. Her father was the noted Kentucky politician Cassius Marcellus Clay, a cousin of Henry Clay, who founded an anti-slavery newspaper and helped found the Republican party. Cassius Marcellus Clay was the United States ambassador to Russia for 8 years under Presidents Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Johnson and Ulysses S. Grant. He returned from Russia for a time and is credited with talking Lincoln into signing the Emancipation Proclamation. Laura Clay had five brothers and sisters; she was the youngest. Her older sisters were involved in working for womens rights. Mary B. Clay, one of her older sisters, organized Kentuckys first womens suffrage organization, and was president of the American Woman Suffrage Association from 1883 to 1884. Laura Clay was born at her familys home, White Hall, in Kentucky, in 1849. She was the youngest of four girls and two boys. Lauras mother, Mary Jane Clay, was largely in charge, during her husbands long absences, of managing the family farms and property inherited from her family. She saw that her daughters were educated. Cassius Marcellus Clay was from a wealthy slaveholding family. He became an anti-slavery advocate, and among other incidents where he was met with violent reactions to his ideas, he was once nearly assassinated for his views. He lost his seat in the Kentucky state House because of his abolitionist views. He was a supporter of the new Republican Party, and nearly became Abraham Lincolns vice president, losing that spot to Hannibal Hamlin. At the beginning of the Civil War, Cassius Clay helped organize volunteers to protect the White House from a Confederate takeover, when there were no federal troops in the city. During the years of the Civil War, Laura Clay attended Sayre Female Institute in Lexington, Kentucky. She attended a finishing school in New York before returning to her family home. Her father opposed to her further education. The Reality of Womens Rights From 1865 to 1869, Laura Clay helped her mother run the farms, her father still absent as ambassador to Russia. In 1869, her father returned from Russia and the next year, he moved his four-year-old Russian son into the family home at White Hall, his son from a long affair with a prima ballerina with the Russian ballet. Mary Jane Clay moved to Lexington, and Cassius sued her for divorce on grounds of abandonment, and won. (Years later, he created more scandal when he married a 15 year old servant, probably against her will as he had to restrain her from leaving. He divorced her after she attempted suicide. That marriage ended in divorce just three years later.) Under existing Kentucky laws, he could have claimed all the property his ex-wife had inherited from her family and he could have kept her from the children; he claimed his wife owed him $80,000 for her years living at White Hall. Fortunately for Mary Jane Clay, he did not pursue those claims. Mary Jane Clay and her daughters who were still unmarried lived on the farms she inherited from her family, and were supported by the income from these. But they were aware the under the existing laws, they were able to do so only because Cassius Clay did not pursue his rights to the property and income. Laura Clay managed to attend one year of college at the University of Michigan and one semester at State College of Kentucky, leaving to put her efforts into working for womens rights. Working for Womens Rights in the South Laura Clay Quote: Nothing is so laborsaving as a vote, properly applied. In 1888, the Kentucky Woman Suffrage Association was organized, and Laura Clay was elected its first president. She remained president until 1912, by which time the name had changed to the Kentucky Equal Suffrage Association. Her cousin, Madeleine McDowell Breckinridge, succeeded her as president. As head of the Kentucky Equal Suffrage Association, she led efforts to change Kentucky laws to protect married womens property rights, inspired by the situation in which her mother had been left by her divorce. The organization also worked to have female doctors on staff at state mental hospitals, and to have women admitted to State College of Kentucky (Transylvania University) and Central University. Laura Clay was also a member of the Womens Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) and she was part of the Womans Club movement, holding state offices in each organization. While Laura Clays father had been a liberal Republican and perhaps in reaction to that Laura Clay became active in Democratic Party politics. Elected to the board of the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA), newly merged in 1890, Clay chaired the new groups membership committee and was its first auditor. Federal or State Suffrage? Around 1910, Clay and other Southern suffragists began to be uncomfortable with efforts within the national leadership to support a federal woman suffrage amendment. This, they feared, would provide a precedent for federal interference in the voting laws of Southern states which discriminated against African Americans. Clay was among those who argued against the strategy of a federal amendment. Laura Clay was defeated in her bid for reelection to the board of the NAWSA in 1911. In 1913, Laura Clay and other Southern suffragists created their own organization, the Southern States Woman Suffrage Conference, to work for state-level womens suffrage amendments, to support voting rights only for white women. Probably hoping for compromise, she supported federal legislation to allow women to vote for members of Congress, providing the women otherwise qualified as voters in their states. This proposal was debated at NAWSA in 1914, and a bill to implement this idea was introduced into Congress in 1914, but it died in committee. In 1915-1917, like many of those involved in womens suffrage and womens rights, including Jane Addams and Carrie Chapman Catt, Laura Clay was involved in the Womans Peace Party. When the United States entered World War I, she left the Peace Party. In 1918, she briefly joined in supporting a federal amendment, when President Wilson, a Democrat, endorsed it. But then Clay resigned her membership in the NAWSA in 1919. She also resigned from the Kentucky Equal Rights Association that she had headed from 1888 to 1912. She and others formed, instead, a Kentucky-based Citizens Committee to work for a suffrage amendment to the Kentucky state constitution. In 1920, Laura Clay went to Nashville, Tennessee, to oppose ratification of the woman suffrage amendment. When it (barely) passed, she expressed her disappointment. Democratic Party Politics Laura Clay Quote: I am a Jeffersonian Democrat. In 1920, Laura Clay founded the Democratic Womens Club of Kentucky. That same year was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention. Her name was placed in nomination for President, making her the first woman so nominated at a major partys convention. She was nominated in 1923 as a Democratic candidate for the Kentucky State Senate. In 1928, she campaigned in Al Smiths presidential race. She worked after 1920 for repeal of the 18th Amendment (prohibition), even though she herself was a teetotaler and a WCTU member. She was a member of the Kentucky state convention that ratified repeal of prohibition (the 21st Amendment), primarily on states rights grounds. After 1930 After 1930, Laura Clay led mostly a private life, focusing on reform within the Episcopal church, her lifelong religious affiliation. She interrupted her privacy to oppose a law paying male teachers more than female teachers would be paid. She worked mostly within the church on womens rights, especially on allowing women to be delegates to church councils, and on permitting women to attend the Episcopal churchs University of the South. Laura Clay died in Lexington in 1941. The family home, White Hall, is a Kentucky historical site today. Laura Clays Positions Laura Clay supported womens equal rights to education and to the vote. At the same time, she believed that black citizens were not yet developed enough to vote. She did support, in principle, educated women of all races getting the vote, and spoke at times against ignorant white voters. She contributed to an African American church project aimed at self-improvement. But she also supported states rights, supported the idea of white superiority, and feared federal interference in Southern states voting laws, and so, except briefly, did not support a federal amendment for woman suffrage. Connections The boxer Muhammed Ali, born Cassius Marcellus Clay, was named for his father who was named for Laura Clays father. Books About Laura Clay Paul E. Fuller. Laura Clay and the Womans Rights Movement 1975.John M. Murphy. Laura Clay (1894-1941), a Southern Voice for Womans Rights. Women Public Speakers in the United States, 1800-1925: A Bio-Critical Sourcebook. Karlyn Kohrs Campbell, ed. 1993.

True Grit Themes and Film Elements Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

True Grit Themes and Film Elements - Essay Example She asks the Sheriff if she can hire a Deputy U.S. Marshal to track down Chaney and bring him to justice. The Sheriff recommends three of them and Mattie chooses to hire Rooster Cogburn. Mattie’s first conversation with Cogburn occurs when he is in a toilet out of a saloon. Mattie waits for him to come out but he takes too long. This is to show that Cogburn drinks a lot and is sort of nonchalant of what goes on in the world. Until the first appearance of Cogburn, the camera focuses a lot on Mattie. She has been shot from low angles and when three criminals are hanged in the beginning, the camera follows Mattie in a way that makes her presence prominent. This shows that Mattie is a very important character in the movie. Cogburn’s first appearance in the movie is like that of a title or a very important character. He is called as a witness in a courtroom and everybody is listening to his testimony very carefully. He explains to the court that his fellows and he had tried to talk about the situation with the Wharton boys who had allegedly murdered an old man and a woman for some money. He explains that they tried â€Å"to talk some sense into him† but they chose to attack his group and Cogburn had to shot them and their father to save his life. Also, when asked about how many men he has shot in his 4 year career as a Deputy U.S. Marshal, he says that he has â€Å"never shot anybody he didn’t have to.† In this scene, a whole new opinion can be formed about Cogburn which is quite different from him being a drunkard. It can be easily construed that Cogburn is man of good judgment and reason who is not afraid to use violence when it is necessary. When Mattie has first real and face to face meeting with Cogburn, she says to him she has heard that he is â€Å"a man with true grit.† From this statement, it seems that Cogburn is the central character but he shares it with Mattie. He refuses to believe that Mattie would be able to pay the reward of $50 that she offers to him for the capture of Tom Chaney. However, when Mattie raises the money by horse-trading with Colonel Stonehill, she is able to convince Cogburn to pursue Tom Chaney. He agrees but has some qualms about Mattie accompanying him. Another very important development before Mattie successfully secures Cogburn’s services is the introduction of Texas Ranger LaBoeuf who is also after Chaney who has murdered a state senator in Texas. LaBeouf is a strong character in the movie and is noticeable how the camera follows him when he is talking to Mattie as she wakes up. When he stands up from his chair, the camera shows his boots and the spurs on his boots are prominent. Although he tells himself after a little while that he is a Texas Ranger, the focus on his shoes and the guessing eyes of Mattie at the same time show that he is an accomplished individual. He is beyond his jurisdiction but he is pursuing Chaney for a big reward that is offered for Chaney in Texas. His entrance into the movie is also like that of a very important character. He is shot from a low angle when he looks at Mattie when she is going inside to spend the night. He tells Mattie of her business and offers to join forces with Cogburn in pursuit of Chaney as Cogburn knows the area very well and LaBoeuf knows hoe habits and reactions of Chaney. Mattie proves to be very firm in her resolve and insists that she wants to see Chaney hang in Fort

See Below Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 10

See Below - Essay Example Both theories have their merits and demerits. According to Roderick (part 5), Kantian ethics are an empty content. This is because it is dependent on what an individual is willing to will. Utilitarianism too has a problem. The theory seems to infringe on our sense of justice. Also, the two theories seem to ignore so many things in our lives including family, friends, special relations, and other relations that exist. The strong point of Kantian ethics is that they are based on fairness. For example, if executions are to be screened on television, then this might bring greater happiness since it will reduce crime. But, it is not fair to the individual or the individual’s family. Therefore, while Kantian ethics capture fairness, utilitarianism captures real decision making and content. This is because most of our decisions are based on bringing happiness, and hence this makes the theory of utilitarianism more practical and applicable during our everyday

The Jilting of Granny Weatherall Essay Example for Free

The Jilting of Granny Weatherall Essay Sometimes in death, it makes people think about their life. In the short story, â€Å"The Jilting of Granny Weatherall,† written by Katherine Anne Porter, the main character, Granny Weatherall is doing just that; looking back on her life. In the film made based on this short story Granny Weatherall also thinks about her life, but as she is doing things around the house, living her life and not while being shut up in her bed. There are other differences that take place between both the film and the short story. But in the end they both tell the story of an old woman named Granny Weatherall. The short story version of â€Å"The Jilting of Granny Weatherall† has a stream of consciousness point of view. It is basically Granny Weatherall, while lying in her death bed, going over previous events that had taken place in her life as they came to her mind and thoughts. Granny Weatherall also thinks about things that she is planning on doing the next day. â€Å"The box in the attic with all those letters tied up, well, she’d have to go through that tomorrow.† (17). That was Granny Weatherall thinking to herself about going through some personal letters she did not want Cornelia, her daughter that she lives with, to find. In the film version of The Jilting of Granny Weatherall the viewers get to see the story of Granny Weatherall in an objective point of view. The story is showed by Granny Weatherall actually being out of bed and doing things. While she is going about her day, the film shows us her thoughts through little flashbacks Granny Weatherall has. Different from the short story, Granny Weatherall actually goes up to the attic and goes through the letters and Cornelia comes up there with her. There is also some symbolism that takes place in the film that does not happen in the short story. â€Å"What does a woman do when she has put on the white veil and set out the white cake for a man and he doesn’t come?† (29). Granny Weatherall thinks about this in the short story, but actually makes a white cake in the film, symbolizing her jilting and how she still thinks of it. After reading the short story and viewing the film, I prefer the actual short story in the book over watching it. Reading it the first time was a little confusing. But after watching the film and then going back and reading the short story over again, it makes enjoy the story so much more. I now know that the story is told through Granny Weatherall’s thoughts and so when I read I can get a better understanding of who Granny Weatherall is. Also, I believe that reading the last sentence of the short story the reader gets to enjoy a better view in their mind then when what the film shows. â€Å"She stretched herself with a deep breath and blew out the light.† (61). Both the film and the short story of â€Å"The Jilting of Granny Weatherall† were great. The film is easier to follow the first time watched but the book takes the reader through Granny Weatherall’s inner thoughts. They have some differences amongst themselves but they also both share the common theme of someone thinking about their life right before death comes.

Basic Concept of Organizational Behavior Essay -- Fundamentals of Organ

Perhaps the single most important technique for motivating the people you supervise is to treat them the same way you wish to be treated: as responsible professionals. It sounds simple; just strike the right balance of respect, dignity, fairness, incentive, and guidance, and you will create a motivated, productive, satisfying, and secure work environment. Unfortunately, as soon as the complexities of our evolving workforce mix with human relationships, even the best-intentioned supervisors can find the management side of their jobs deteriorating into chaos. Theories As corporations strive to boost earnings in an increasingly competitive environment, they inevitably turn their attention to the issue of employee productivity and motivation. When employees are unsatisfied with their current work situation, productivity decreases, tension builds in the workplace, and morale becomes very low. Companies have known historically that morale affects productivity, yet management has struggled to come to terms with the factors that can create positive morale and an environment that attracts and retains workers and encourages them to produce. For this reason, many companies look for training and practices that aim to achieve a higher level of employee motivation. Maslow ¡Ã‚ ¦s & Herzberg ¡Ã‚ ¦s For many years various motivation theories have made assumptions and offered explanations regarding human nature. However, no single motivation theory has proven to be the end all - be all - of motivation. In order to understand the various underlying themes related to motivation the following three theories have been identified - content, process and reinforcement. Content theories are primarily concerned with what arouses behavior or particular attributes that motivate individuals. The most prominent content theory of motivation is Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and Herzberg ¡Ã‚ ¦s Motivational-Hygiene Theory. Maslow offered that human beings have their needs arranged in a hierarchy such that they are motivated to seek satisfaction of the lower levels of need first. Once that level of need is satisfied it is no longer a motivator, and the person is motivated by the next level up the hierarchy. From a managerial perspective money, status, achievement, working conditions, friendly supervisors and co-workers can satisfy these individual needs. Herzberg used this theory as... ...t's your department; the buck stops with you. Your team respects your integrity and trusts you to lead. You become a champion, not an oppressor. Share the Spotlight: The flip side of accepting responsibility for everything that goes wrong is giving subordinates just credit for everything that goes right. Never take credit for a subordinate's work, and mention names at every possible opportunity. Don't be afraid that this approach endangers your own career. You were made a supervisor because others in authority recognized your capabilities. The test of your value as a supervisor is your ability to create a productive, efficient team. Show management that working for you is the best thing that ever happened to your staff by drawing attention to each subordinate's excellent performance. If your team is performing at a high level, you won't need to blow your own horn - your value will be obvious. Conclusion The face of business is evolving at a mind blowing pace. As the economy fluctuates and organizations seek ways to beat the competition and be profitable, nothing remains more important to this goal than keeping the employees and management motivated in the modern workforce. Basic Concept of Organizational Behavior Essay -- Fundamentals of Organ Perhaps the single most important technique for motivating the people you supervise is to treat them the same way you wish to be treated: as responsible professionals. It sounds simple; just strike the right balance of respect, dignity, fairness, incentive, and guidance, and you will create a motivated, productive, satisfying, and secure work environment. Unfortunately, as soon as the complexities of our evolving workforce mix with human relationships, even the best-intentioned supervisors can find the management side of their jobs deteriorating into chaos. Theories As corporations strive to boost earnings in an increasingly competitive environment, they inevitably turn their attention to the issue of employee productivity and motivation. When employees are unsatisfied with their current work situation, productivity decreases, tension builds in the workplace, and morale becomes very low. Companies have known historically that morale affects productivity, yet management has struggled to come to terms with the factors that can create positive morale and an environment that attracts and retains workers and encourages them to produce. For this reason, many companies look for training and practices that aim to achieve a higher level of employee motivation. Maslow ¡Ã‚ ¦s & Herzberg ¡Ã‚ ¦s For many years various motivation theories have made assumptions and offered explanations regarding human nature. However, no single motivation theory has proven to be the end all - be all - of motivation. In order to understand the various underlying themes related to motivation the following three theories have been identified - content, process and reinforcement. Content theories are primarily concerned with what arouses behavior or particular attributes that motivate individuals. The most prominent content theory of motivation is Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and Herzberg ¡Ã‚ ¦s Motivational-Hygiene Theory. Maslow offered that human beings have their needs arranged in a hierarchy such that they are motivated to seek satisfaction of the lower levels of need first. Once that level of need is satisfied it is no longer a motivator, and the person is motivated by the next level up the hierarchy. From a managerial perspective money, status, achievement, working conditions, friendly supervisors and co-workers can satisfy these individual needs. Herzberg used this theory as... ...t's your department; the buck stops with you. Your team respects your integrity and trusts you to lead. You become a champion, not an oppressor. Share the Spotlight: The flip side of accepting responsibility for everything that goes wrong is giving subordinates just credit for everything that goes right. Never take credit for a subordinate's work, and mention names at every possible opportunity. Don't be afraid that this approach endangers your own career. You were made a supervisor because others in authority recognized your capabilities. The test of your value as a supervisor is your ability to create a productive, efficient team. Show management that working for you is the best thing that ever happened to your staff by drawing attention to each subordinate's excellent performance. If your team is performing at a high level, you won't need to blow your own horn - your value will be obvious. Conclusion The face of business is evolving at a mind blowing pace. As the economy fluctuates and organizations seek ways to beat the competition and be profitable, nothing remains more important to this goal than keeping the employees and management motivated in the modern workforce.

How We Punish Offenders in Our System

Our correctional system punishes offenders, by putting them in jail, or in prison. In the early times, before prisons punishments were often cruel and torturous. The unsettling description of a man broken in half on a rack in the early 1700’s is just one of the ways crimes were punished at that time. Flogging was another. The last flogging was in Delaware on June 16,1952. When a burglar got 20 lashes. Workhouses, were an early form of prisons in the sixteenth century Europe. The Penitentiary Era, from 1790-1825, is when the first prison was started in the USA. They started with the Quakers in Philadelphia. The mass prison era started in the 1800’s and has gotten stronger today, beginning in the 1960’s overcrowding and a renewed faith in humanity inspired a movement away from institutionalized corrections and toward a creation of reformation within local communities. Prisons today, there are about 1,325 state prisons, 84, federal prisons in operation in the US. Today. America’s prison population has quadrupled since 1980. We also punish people by putting them in halfway houses, or group homes. The Federal Prison system is used for the civilians convicted of violating federal laws. Leavenworth, in Leavenworth Kansas. Today the federal systems consist of 103 institutions, six regional offices, two staff training centers, and 28 community corrections offices. Jails are another way of punishing the criminal. We can put them in a jail and hold them up to one year, before they either, get probation, or go on to a prison.

National Statistics of Health Essay

Government statistics The office of National Statistics providing a large range of health and care issues, Publications includes Social Trends and, for more detailed information on health issues, Health Statistical Quarterly. The publication provide a wide range of statistics on birth rates and death rates; infant mortality rate and suicide rates as well as appointments GP’s surgeries and hospital admissions, and these are looked into as social class, gender, age and geographical location. Government statistics also includes the morbidity rates rather than just the mortality rates, which is the amount of people in a specified period of particular diseases in probably a year. They question if it has increased or decreased, then for to be more open and specific they look in to sex, age, geographical location and social class. They will precisely measure the morbidity rates, measured in terms of prevalence of a disease; the total number of cases of specific disease in a certain time and population. Mortality rates and infant mortality rates are usually made for a indicator of health and well-being of population as a whole. Health and well being may be declining within those groups is assumed is a sign, when they are higher or rising in a particular location, or among a particular social group leads to this lie in their social and economic environment. Mortality rates are collected from the official and necessary registration of death. Mortality rates are gathered from the different sources counting GP and hospital appointments, hospital admissions and the registration well known diseases. There has been more according of measuring levels of ill health. Difficulties in measuring health Always important to quote the source of the data when referring to statistics and using them in your work. Statistics should always be treated with awareness. You may not get an accurate picture of health and ill health when the statistics are gathered from official sources. For example some people who aren’t ill assume they are and attend to the doctors, and the ones that are don’t proceed to go to the doctors. Doctors could also assume two different diagnoses, for example one of the patients has been described as depressed just because they feel low and have no energy, as the other patient could be diagnose by post- viral fatigue syndrome. Another doctor  could simply say it’s an result of just them not wanting to go to work. Social class and patterns of health and illness Social Class is linked to health because of four different reasons highlighted in the Black Report, The artifact approach is where the data between the higher and lower classes is not accurate enough, it’s a result of the way the data is source and collected. The social selection explanation is when people who are fitter and in better health have a better chance of being employed in better jobs. In comparison to people in lower social groups according to this theory will suffer more ill health and premature death because they are naturally less healthy and fit. Cultural explanations is when lifestyle choices are made regarding diet, smoking, exercise have an impact and make people less healthy than others in the higher social groups. People from the lower class occupations work in more manual situations than the upper class occupations. This can have a bad effect on the manual workers health as they are exposed to lifting and harmful environments. Statistics are treated with c aution however there is a great amount of evidence that health, ill health and life expectancy are unsure according to social group and importantly social class. People with a higher class are living better and enjoying better health, rather than the lower social group. The Black (Townsend et al), report the most influential modern studies that consider the reasons of differences. And following of by that are the Acheson Report (1998) defining and explaining comprehensive explanations of the relationships, with in the social and environment factors and health illness and life expectancy. The Black Report introduced four types of explanations of ways that will account for the differences in levels of illness and life expectancy, experienced by variety of social classes. The researches were made to think that the changes in health and well being were affected by how much their pay rate is; their income which then affects the environment they live in, quality and housing. There are four sociological explanations, 1 the statistical artefact explanation, 2 material or structural explanations, 3 cultural or behaviour explanations and number 4, the natural or social selection. The statistical artefact explanation The Black Report explains that the differences could not be defined by the point that the statistics produced a biased picture. They disagreed with people in the lower social class had a higher number of older people and people working in the usual ways to be in more dangerous industries , and would expect that they would have higher levels in illness, then the more younger people working in offices, cal centres and the other services industries. This shows that it’s not much of a social class more about the age, structure and patterns of employment of people, in the lowest classes which really describe the differences. Recently there has still been shown of links between the low social class and high levels of illness and lower life expectancy even when it has been researched for the bias in employment and age. Natural or Social selection The reason for illness is apparently associated to having low wages, poverty, poor housing making people ill in the lower social class. It’s also been said that there is higher infant mortality rates and lower life expectancy for adults; however, it is the other way round. The people in the lower social class being in poor health aim for promotions and success. On the other had this explanation for sociologist is denied , they think because there is evidence to show that ill health is caused by the deprived reason other than making it happen. Cultural or behavioural explanations This concentrates on the choices and life decision people make, their life styles and behaviour in the lower social classes. They explain evidence with people in lower class, smoke more, drink more, eat more junk food and have lack in exercise, according to having a poor life style. Also are more likely to die of heart disease, form of cancer, bronchitis and diabetes all because of the poor lifestyle choices. They smoke and drink to help them cope with their life difficult circumstances that come across, not the other way round. Material or structural explanations The material explanation is known to think the social groups for whom life expectancy is less, and the infant whom mortality rates are to go higher. Suffering poorer health then the other groups, straight forward explanation for that are inequalities in wealth and income. Poverty occurs when having  low incomes, which then leads to having poor diets, lacking in everything else they need to live every day.

Decker Surname Origin and Family History

Decker Surname Origin and Family History The  Decker surname most commonly originated as an occupational surname for a roofer or thatcher, derived from the Old High German word decker, meaning one who covered roofs with tile, straw or slate. The meaning of the word expanded during the Middle Ages to encompass carpenters and other craftsman and was used to refer to one who built or laid the decks of vessels.  The popular Dutch surname Dekker has the same meaning, derived from the Middle Dutch  deck(e)re, from  decken, meaning to cover. The Decker surname may also derive from the German decher, meaning the quantity of ten; this may also have been a name given to the tenth child. Alternate Surname Spellings: DEKER, DECKER, DECHER, DECKARD, DECHARD, DEKKER, DEKKES, DEKK, DECK, DECKERT Surname Origin: German, Dutch Where in the World Is the Decker Surname Found? According to World Names PublicProfiler, the Decker surname is the most commonly found, based on percentage of population, in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It is also a very popular surname in the countries of Luxembourg and Germany. The Forbears surname distribution map for 2014 identifies the Decker surname as being very popular in Sierra Leone, based on frequency distribution. Famous People With the Decker Surname Jessie James Decker -  American country pop singer-songwriter and reality T.V. personalityEric Decker - American National League Football wide receiverDesmond Dekker - Jamaican  singer-songwriter and musicianThomas Dekker -  English  dramatist and pamphlet writer Genealogy Resources for the Surname DECKER Decker Family Genealogy Forum - Search this popular genealogy forum for the Decker surname to find others who might be researching your ancestors, or post your own Decker surname query.FamilySearch - DECKER Genealogy - Explore over 1.3 million results, including digitized records, database entries, and online family trees for the Decker surname and its variations on the FREE FamilySearch website, courtesy of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.GeneaNet - Decker Records - GeneaNet includes archival records, family trees, and other resources for individuals with the Decker surname, with a concentration on records and families from France and other European countries.Ancestry.com: Decker  Surname - Explore over 2.4  million digitized records and database entries, including census records, passenger lists, military records, land deeds, probates, wills and other records for the Decker surname on the subscription-based website, Ancestry.com Resources and Further Reading Cottle, Basil.  Penguin Dictionary of Surnames. Baltimore, MD: Penguin Books, 1967.Dorward, David.  Scottish Surnames. Collins Celtic (Pocket edition), 1998.Fucilla, Joseph.  Our Italian Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Company, 2003.Hanks, Patrick and Flavia Hodges.  A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford University Press, 1989.Hanks, Patrick.  Dictionary of American Family Names. Oxford University Press, 2003.Reaney, P.H.  A Dictionary of English Surnames. Oxford University Press, 1997.Smith, Elsdon C.  American Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Company, 1997.

Womanist - Alice Walkers Term for Black Feminist

Womanist - Alice Walkers Term for Black Feminist A black feminist or feminist of color, according to Alice Walker, who first publicly used the term; someone who is committed to the wholeness and well-being of all of humanity, male and female.  Womanism identifies and  critically  analyzes  sexism, anti-black racism, and their intersection. Womanism  recognizes the beauty and strength of embodied black womanhood and seeks connections and solidarity  with black men. Womanism identifies and criticizes sexism in the African American community and racism in the feminist community. Origins Alice Walker introduced the word â€Å"womanist† into feminist parlance in her 1983 book In Search of Our Mothers Gardens: Womanist Prose. In the book, she cites the phrase â€Å"acting womanish,† which was said to a child who acted serious, courageous and grown-up rather than girlish. Many women of color in the 1970s had sought to expand the feminism of the Women’s Liberation Movement beyond its concern for the problems of white middle-class women. The adoption of womanist signified an inclusion of race and class issues in feminism. Alice Walker also used womanist to refer to a woman who loves other women, whether platonically or sexually. Walker used examples from history including educator and activist Anna Julia Cooper and abolitionist and womens rights activist Sojourner Truth. She also used examples from current activism and thought, including writers bell hooks and Audre Lorde, as examples of womanists. The term â€Å"womanist† is thus both an alternative to and an expansion of the term â€Å"feminist.† Womanist Theology Womanist theology centers the experience and perspective of black women in research, analysis, and reflection on theology and ethics.  The term arose in the 1980s as more African American women entered the theological field and questioned that white feminist and black male theologians spoke adequately to the particular experience of African American women. Womanist theology, like womanism in general, also looks at the ways in which black women are portrayed in inadequate or biased ways in the works of white women and black men. Quotes About Womanism Alice Walker: Womanist is to feminist as purple is to lavendar. Angela Davis:  Ã¢â‚¬Å"What can we learn from women like Gertrude Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith, and Billie Holiday that we may not be able to learn from Ida B. Wells, Anna Julia Cooper, and Mary Church Terrell? If we were beginning to appreciate the blasphemies of fictionalized blues women- especially their outrageous politics of sexuality- and the knowledge that might be gleaned from their lives about the possibilities of transforming gender relations within black communities, perhaps we also could benefit from a look at the artistic contributions of the original blues women.† Audre Lorde: But the true feminist deals out of a lesbian consciousness whether or not she ever sleeps with women. Yvonne Aburrow:  Ã¢â‚¬Å"The patriarchal/kyriarchal/hegemonic culture seeks to regulate and control the body- especially women’s bodies, and especially black women’s bodies- because women, especially black women, are constructed as the Other, the site of resistance to the kyriarchy. Because our existence provokes fear of the Other, fear of wildness, fear of sexuality, fear of letting go- our bodies and our hair (traditionally hair is a source of magical power) must be controlled, groomed, reduced, covered, suppressed.†Ã‚   Womanist Writings: A Selection bell hooks  Aint I a Woman: Black Women and Feminism. 1981.Walker.  In Search of Our Mothers Gardens: Womanist Prose.  1983.Paula J. Giddings.  When and Where I Enter: The Impact of Black Women on Race and Sex in America.  1984.Angela Y. Davis.  Blues Legacies and Black Feminism: Gertrude Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith, and Billie Holiday.  1998.Barbara Smith.  Home Girls: A Black Feminist Anthology.  1998.Nyasha Junior.  An Introduction to Womanist Biblical Interpretation. 2015.

Description and Work Aspects of Amazon Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Description and Work Aspects of Amazon - Essay Example Amazon.com is one of the pioneers of online shopping. Founded and operated by Jeff Bezos, this company began operations from Seattle but quickly spread to many different parts of the world including UK, Germany, Japan, Spain, Canada, Brazil, and China. This company now offers a wide range of products and has even started offering innovative services such as cloud computing (Amazon, 2013). Amazon.com works on a consumer-centric approach and it is on account of this approach that this company invests heavily in research and development and comes up with innovative products time and again. Despite the recession, Amazon.com has been able to enjoy a growth spurt of 14 percent (Stockport, 2010). Amazon was able to show a growth spurt even in a recession because of the leadership it has in the form of Jeff Bezos. He revolutionized the use of internet and the way consumers shop by introducing an online bookstore. Previously, consumers were skeptical of shopping through the internet as they feared being cheated. However, this perception was altered through revolutionary entrepreneurs such as Bezos. Now online websites are being increasingly preferred over brick and mortar shops; especially for goods such as music and books. Change is the only thing constant in the technology industry. Since Amazon is included within this industry, it faces the pressure of being obsolete. It has to continuously upgrade itself and come up with new products in order to retain its presence in the industry. Technology has also made it possible for improving the reach of the consumers. With the introduction of Android and other such phones, the online store is even more accessible to the average consumers. They can even purchase, sell or use the website on the go. The company has always focused on the needs of the consumers. Any strategy or move that the company made, it made for the good of the customers.  

Cultural environment of United Arab Emirates Essay

Cultural environment of United Arab Emirates - Essay Example This paper will focus on describing the cultural environment of the United Arab Emirates, according to the model described by Hofstede. The Five Dimensions of Culture It is of critical importance to describe the five dimensions that Hofstede described. The first of these dimensions is the power/distance, which denotes the degree of inequality that is evident in the society (Reiser 9). According to this psychologist, the people in the society have usually accepted that inequality exists, and realize their place. In cultures registering high scores of this dimension, uneven distribution of power thrives, with people in the system living within the limits of their place. Societies that have a lower score in this dimension exhibit a level of power sharing and dispersion and the members in the society consider each other as equals. . Societies that register high scores in this dimension have a hierarchical society whereby the gap between each level keeps widening. The second dimension is individualism, which denotes the depth of ties existing between people and their communities. Societies that register a high score in individualism have many people practicing autonomy, and the exhibit a high level of independence. Societies that have low scores in this dimension exhibit complex community networks and value the societal projects (Reiser 11). The people have an indomitable connection with their societies, a factor that makes them focused on pursuing community projects. The third dimension that he used to describe societies was masculinity, which denoted the society’s tendency to adhere to gender roles attached to both men and women. High scores in this dimension illustrates that a society holds onto the gender system that defines masculine and feminine roles, with men associated with the tough responsibilities. On the other hand, low scores reveal that a society has embraced gender equality and that women in that society can take up various careers, including those taken up by men. Low scores do not imply that a certain society exhibits reversed gender roles, but rather describes the changed attitudes towards the stringent gender system that has defines masculine and feminine roles. The fourth dimension that Hofstede defined was the uncertainty or avoidance index, a framework that relates to the society’s tendencies to avoid ambiguity or confusing situations. Societies that score highly in this sector usually avoid any form of ambiguity by setting up multiple rules and regulations that define the necessary action and option under any circumstance (Reiser 13). Low scores in this area indicate that a society lacks laws that define each probable situation, and that novelty is encouraged under different circumstances. The fifth dimension describes a society’s preference for long-term orientation. High scores in this dimension indicate that a society prefers to hold onto traditional values that define the society. Low scores are exhibited by countries that have lost an attachment to traditional values and are willing to adopt dynamic trends. Geert Hofstede Analysis for United Arab Emirates According to Hofstede, the United Arab Emirates exhibits a high score on the power and distance of 80 highlighting that the society is highly hierarchical. There are differential classes that define the

Week 8 Discussion Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Week 8 Discussion - Research Paper Example as a result of the breach and more importantly, serve as a proof that the company is fully compliant with all applicable rules and regulations (Charlette, 1996). Basically, compliance starts with day to day compliance at the organizational level. The following are some of the benefits that accrue to an organization that implements an effective compliance program: 1) Good faith efforts in following the set rules and regulations whereby every organization that adheres to a compliance plan gives a good example of its efforts in compliance with set rules and regulations. 2) Sentencing guidelines whereby, if the government decides to sue a company for criminal offences, then a good record of compliance can act favorably for the company defense. 3) Proactive approach, whereby a company that voluntarily adheres to the compliance program portrays a good picture of both regulatory and statutory compliance. Every organization based in US and with a strong reputation for integrity and honesty must be fully compliant with the set plan. Therefore, such an organization must have a compliance plan within which to operate in pursuance of the organizational objectives. Further, such a plan could help an organization with investments across the borders to successfully conduct its business, therefore, not only the employees of local branches, but also those of foreign should comply with the set out procedures to ensure the overall success of the organization. As one of the largest energy companies, ExxonMobil have indicated on their website that environmental issues are of great concern. Further, by calling for extra vigilance to ensure environmental safety and protection, they remind us of the tragic incident of deepwater horizon, which led to massive oil spill (Engel, 1979). From their website, it is evident that the company has put in place measures that guarantee safety in their operations, emergency preparedness, environmental protection and management of climate change. More

Declining Milk Sales Essay Example for Free

Declining Milk Sales Essay According to a current study in Age and Aging, starting and continuing to drink milk at a young age can lead to improved physical ability and balance at an older age (â€Å"New study finds,† 2012). Because of milk’s inherent attributes of calcium, protein and vitamins A and B, milk has also been linked to bone strength, muscle strength and better eyesight, to name a few. So why have the US milk sales been slowly declining since the 1970s? A recent article on Forbes. com poses the same question. People are well aware of milk’s existence. The ‘Got Milk? ’ Advertising campaign was debuted in 1993 and won several awards for its ingenuity. It works wonders for getting people to think about milk, but that is only half the battle. The other half, and arguably more important, is getting them to drink it. Jonathan Baskin, the author of the Forbes. com article, believes this is what the dairy industry is failing to do by not compelling consumers to drink milk. â€Å"Memorable branding,† he states, â€Å"is not necessarily the same thing as compelling marketing†(Baskin, 2012). To illustrate this, Baskin offers a few ideas, including packaging innovation, partnering with companies and local sourcing. While I believe all three of his ideas are valid, local sourcing seems like it could be very beneficial, at least for the moment. Within the past few years, buying crops locally is becoming more relevant to many people. The thought of promoting local business growth and living a healthy lifestyle drives people to buy locally. So if a local distributor could deliver these local crops and bundle it with fresh local milk, consumers would be willing to pay for the convenience, healthy lifestyle and support of local businesses; at least that is the idea. Milk mustaches seem to be imprinted in our minds. We know milk is there, but we are not drinking it. In order to change this, the dairy industry needs to focus on giving consumers reasons to drink milk. Local sourcing and distribution of milk could be one solution to this. Proper research would need to be done to determine viability, and a new marketing strategy, possibly implementing the ‘Got Milk? ’ branding with a new local twist would need to be created; however, perhaps then we will finally be drinking more milk. Who knows, maybe cartwheels at 80 will be the new normal. References Baskin, J. (2012). Everyone ‘gets’ milk, so tell us why we should drink it. Forbes. com, Retrieved from http://www. forbes. com/sites/jonathansalembaskin/2012/12/17/everyone-gets-milk-so-tell-us-why-we-should-drink-it/ New study finds milk-drinking kids reap physical benefits later in life. (2012, November 15). Retrieved from http://www. prnewswire. com/news-releases/new-study-finds-milk-drinking-kids-reap-physical-benefits-later-in-life-179464301. html.

The Role of Religion in Roman Society Essay -- Religion Roman Gods Bel

The Role of Religion in Roman Society Throughout the history of Rome, from the monarchy to the late empire, religion had played a great role in it's society and was involved in almost every aspect of the life of the Roman citizen. It was common for each house to have it's own patron god/gods and ,on special occasions, the head of the house would make a sacrifice to the personal gods of the family. Also, great festivals were usually held in honor of certain gods and would include spectacles like chariot races and Gladiatorial fights. The religious practices of the ancient Romans are best remembered with grand temples, great festivals and Christian persecution to the final acceptance of Christianity within the Roman empire over the traditional pagan religions. The Roman religious practices can be divided into three phases which span from the founding of the city to the fall of the empire. The First Phase (753 BC to 500 BC) - The first phase of Roman religion dated from the founding of the city to the early republic. This phase occurred before the Roman civilization had really adopted the Greek ways and so the religious practices of this time consisted of only three gods and these gods were known as the Archaic Triad. The gods of the archaic Triad were Jupiter (Jove) ,Mars and Quirinus. These gods had their Greek counterparts and would later be identified with them. Jupiter was the supreme master god and so he was associated with Zeus of Greek mythology. Ares was the god of power and war and so he was associated with his Greek counterpart, Ares and Quirinus was the god of the Roman people in general and he had no Greek counterpart. Mars was valued and worshipped more by the conquering and warlike Romans than Ares was to the Greeks and ,as a result, he had The Fields of Mars named after him. The Fields of Mars was located outside of Rome and it is where the soldiers wou ld train. The Second Phase (500 BC to 313 AD) - Before the end of the 6th century BC Greek influence had begun to affect Roman religion and this resulted in the transformation from the Archaic Triad to the more Greek influenced Captioline triad. In this triad the gods Mars and Quirinus were replaced by Juno and Minerva. As time went on ,during the second phase, the Romans adopted more variations and the number of Roman deities grew as ,like the Greek counterparts, they had a god for alm... ... future leaders. As the Imperial system gained hold, it was common practice for the Emperors to accept divine honors before their deaths. These living gods, in some cases, required sacrificial rituals as signs of loyalty and ingrained themselves with the older more traditional pagan gods. The requirement of a sacrifice to the emperor, as well as the forced belief in the complete pantheon became a significant source of conflict with early Christians. As Christians refused to worship the emperor as a god, persecution of the Christians and conflict with the cult was a constant source of strife. Emperor worship would continue until late in the western Empire until the reign of Constantine. In the early 4th century AD, Constantine either converted to Christianity or made it an acceptable part of Roman religion, eliminating the emperor deification altogether. Later Emperors such as Julian attempted to revive the old ways, but the deeply rooted Mithraism, and Christian cults combined were firmly set within Roman society. By 392 AD, Emperor Theodosius I banned the practice of pagan religions in Rome altogether and Christianity was, without question, the official religion of the state.

American Express: Branding Financial Services – Essay

American Express: Branding Financial Services Introduction American Express is known worldwide for its charge cards, travelers’ services, and financial services. It is one of the best-known and most-respected global brands. As it grew from a 19th Centurynineteenth- express company into a travel services expert by the mid-1900s, American Express (AMEXAMEX) became associated in the minds of consumers with prestige, security, service, international acceptability, and leisure.Advertising for the company, which began in earnest in the 1960s, reinforced these associations. For example, the now-famous taglinetag line â€Å"Don’t leave home without it† was created to convey the essentiality of owning an American Express cardAmerican Express Card. As the company grew, it expanded into a variety of financial categories, including brokerages, banking, and insurance, and by the late 1980s, American Express was the largest diversified financial services firm in the world.The difficulty the company encountered integrating these broad financial services, combined with increased competition from Visa and MasterCard, compelled AMEXAMEX to divest many of its financial holdings in the early 1990s and focus on its core competencies of travel and cards. The company weathered a decrease in cardholdercardholders at this time by greatly increasing the number of merchants that accepted American Express cardAmerican Express Cards and developing new card offerings, including co-branded cards and a genuine credit card that allowed customers to carry over the monthly balance.By the end of the 1990s, American Express was again seeking to broaden its brand to include select financial services in order to achieve growth. Beyond the challenge of integrating these services, AMEXAmerican Express faced a number of issues in the 2000s, including a highly- competitive credit card industry, a slowing economy, and a subdued travel industry. American Express Builds a Financial Emp ire Early History of American Express The American Express Company was formed in 1850 when two competing express companies merged.The express business, which was less than two decades old, specialized in shipping packages that were smaller than the bulk freight that railroads handled but were over the U. S. Postal Service size limits. Before express companies began operating, stagecoach drivers and even civilian travelers were recruited to deliver packages. Express companies also carried packages that required special handling or were particularly valuable. Bank transactions involving cash, securities, and goldGold gave express companies much of their business. In response to losing business to express companies, the U. S.Postal Service created the money order, which allowed people to send a cash equivalent through the mail that could only be cashed only by a specified recipient. The cash delivery service was traditionally the domain of express companies, since because postal worker s would often steal cash sent through regular mail. To counter the Postal Service’s move into financial services, American Express created its own money order in 1881. The American Express money orders were easier to use than the Post Office money orders, and AMEXAMEX extended the line to include orders in foreign currency that could be cashed internationally.The money order was a great success, selling 250,000 in its first year and more than half a million the next. In the late 1880’s, AMEXAMEX president J. C. Fargo returned from a trip complaining about how difficult it was to use his letter of credit, used to obtain cash abroad, at foreign banks. To solve the problem of obtaining credit abroad, in 1890 American Express employee Marcellus F. Berry designed the â€Å"Travelers Cheque,† intentionally using the British spelling of check to give it an international flair.The Travelers Cheque used the same signature security system still in use today and had exchan ge rates guaranteed by AMEXAMEX printed on the front. AMEXAMEX also gave foreign merchants commissions to encourage them to accept the check. Aided by the network of international financial relationships established for support of the AMEXAMEX money order, sales of the Travelers Cheque quickly took off. From 1882 to 1896, Travelers Cheque sales quadrupled as travelers all over the world were using AMEXAMEX products more and more to make their journeys easier. In the meantime, AMEXAMEX’s express business was growing overseas.Federal antitrust regulation led to the separation American Express’s express business from its financial services and tourism businesses. By that time, however, AMEXAMEX was already booking tours, hotel stays, and steamship and railway tickets. Money orders were still popular and tTravelers check Cheque sales were constantly increasing. AMEXAMEX had also been investing the float – —the money that remains in the company’s accoun t during the interval between when Travelers Cheques are bought and when they are cashed – —and earning millions of dollars in interest.The Travelers Cheque was AMEXAMEX’s flagship product. The travelers Travelers check Cheque fees and its float investments were responsible for most of AMEXAMEX’s earnings and almost all of their profits. History of the Charge Card In 1914, Western Union, another express company, issued the first â€Å"charge card† in the form of a metal plate given to preferred customers that enabled them to defer payment for services. Charge cards required that the balance be paid in full at regular intervals, but did not charge interest on the balance.Soon, many different companies from department stores to oil companies issued charge cards that customers could use to purchase goods and services from the issuing company. In the 1940s, several U. S. banks began issuing a paper document – —similar to a letter of credi t – —that customers could use like cash in local stores. Diner’s Club introduced the first modern charge card in 1950, when it issued a â€Å"travel Travel and entertainmentEntertainment† card designed for use by business travelers. The card was accepted by a large variety of merchants, who paid a fee to Diner’s Club in compensation for the added business.The first bank card was issued by Franklin National Bank in Long Island, New York. The bank-issued card was accepted by local merchants only, unlike the Diner’s Club card. Shortly after Franklin National Bank debuted its credit card, several other banks across the United States. S. issued credit cards to their customers. â€Å"The Card† AMEXAMEX actually had considered issuing a charge card on several occasions before Diner’s Club unveiled its card in 1950. AMEXAMEX management discussed issuing a charge card as early as 1947, but then-president Ralph T.Reed refused because of security problems given the possibility of fraud. In 1956, when DinersDiner’s Clubs’ card charges began to cut into AMEXAMEX travelers Travelers check Cheque sales, AMEXAMEX initiated negotiations to buy Diner’s Club. Talks lasted for two years, but Reed ultimately declined, citing concern about the dilution of AMEXAMEX’s prestige. In late 1957, AMEXAMEX leadership decided that the company would issue its own card. The public clamored to possess an AMEXAMEX charge card. Even before the card was officially available, thousands of customers had written in or visited AMEXAMEX offices to apply early.By the launch date of October 1, 1958, AMEXAMEX had issued over more than 250,000 cards and signed on 17,500 merchants that would accept the cards. The American Express cardAmerican Express Card required the cardholdercardholder to pay off his or her entire balance monthly. The company also charged a six dollar annual fee, which was one dollar greater than the Din er’s Club fee, â€Å"for prestige. †Ã¢â‚¬ [1] AMEXAMEX’s worldwide network of offices, travel agents, and associated banks helped it build the card’s membership rapidly.Since Because the American Express CardAmerican Express Card was initially designed for the travel and entertainment expenses of businessmen and the upper class, it was known as a Travel and Entertainment (T&E) card. This classification puts it in a category with such cards as Diner’s Club and Carte Blanche. In 1958, Bank of America issued the first modern credit card, called the BankAmericard. The key feature of the BankAmericard and other credit cards was a â€Å"revolving† credit line, which allowed cardholdercardholders to pay their account balance in installments, with interest assessed on the remaining balance.The BankAmericard originally served the state State of California, but within a decade Bank of America was licensing its card services to banks throughout the co untry. While American Express earned most of its card revenue from annual fees and merchant discounts (the percentage of a dollar transaction the merchant was required to pay to American Express in compensation for the business brought in by the card), credit cards earned revenues from interest charges and a lower merchant discount. Another mportant difference was that AMEXAMEX issued its own cards while individual banks issued cards under license agreements from credit card companies. Neither AMEXAMEX management nor the accounting department had any experience with charge card operations. Rather than creating a separate accounting function for the card division, Reed had assigned AMEXAMEX’s existing comptroller’s office to handle all of the card transactions. This proved an overwhelming amount of paperwork, and within a few months of the introduction, the comptroller’s office was flooded with unprocessed transactions.Compounding the internal problems was the fa ct that customers were not paying on time, while AMEXAMEX was required to pay merchants within 10 ten days after a transaction. The card division had lost over more than $4 million dollars in its first two years and an additional $14 million by 1962. One of the Howard L. Clark’s first moves after becoming AMEXAMEX president in 1960 was to try to sell the card division, ironically enough, to DinersDiner’s Club. The negotiations failed because of antitrust issues and so AMEXAMEX kept its card. In spite of the card problems, though, AMEXAMEX as a whole was financially stable, with 1959 profits of $8. million from $69. 6 million in revenue and Travelers Cheque sales of over more than $1 billion. Clark instituted measures to help the ailing card division, such as requiring cardholdercardholders to pay their balance within thirty days, raising the annual fee to ten dollars, raising the discount fee (the percentage merchants had to pay AMEXAMEX every time the card was used at their business), and imposing stricter credit requirements for cards issuance. The card division finally achieved profitability in 1962. By 1967, the card business yielded a net income of $6. 5 million, or one-third of the company’s total profit.The American Express CardAmerican Express Card had surpassed the Travelers Cheque to become the most visible symbol of American Express. Marketing Strategy and Advertising The first AMEXAMEX President president to place a high priority on advertising was Howard L. Clark. Before he took office in 1960, AMEXAMEX’s annual advertising budget was only $1 million. Clark increased it every year thereafter and in 1962 replaced their ad agency, Benton & Bowles, with Ogilvy, Benson, and & Mather. The new agency designed AMEXAMEX’s first modern ad campaign with the slogan â€Å"The Company for people who travel. This tag line promoted AMEXAMEX’s travel and card products in a single campaign that conveyed AMEXAMEX’s one-stop travel shopping expertise. Campaigns The now-famous tag line, â€Å"Don’t leave home without it,† was developed by Ogilvy & Mather in the early 1970s. AMEXAMEX wanted a â€Å"synergy tag line† like the other Ogilvy-produced line: â€Å"The company for people who travel. † Ogilvy came up with â€Å"Don’t leave home without them† for the AMEXAMEX Travelers Cheque, â€Å"Don’t leave home without us† for AMEXAMEX travel services, and the â€Å"Don’t leave home without it† tag line for the American Express CardCard.Ads for the Travelers Cheques featuring screen actor Karl Malden speaking the taglinetag line ran for 21 years. In 1974, AMEXAMEX debuted its now-familiar â€Å"blue-box logo,† on which the words â€Å"American Express† are printed in white outline over a square blue background. Ogilvy & Mather tried several conceptual approaches to use with this tag line for the card, and eventually h it upon the idea of replacing everyday and unknown actors in the ads with endorsers whose names were famous, but whose faces were not as familiar. This was referred to as the â€Å"Do You Know Me? campaign. The ads typically began by showing the face of a moderately well-known celebrity, as with Neil Simon, and then showing a close-up of his or her American Express CardAmerican Express Card to reveal their his or her identity. The ads implied that using an American Express card Card would get the cardholdercardholder â€Å"recognized. † This was an obvious example of marketing the card as a status symbol. Acquisitions In the 1970s, American Express executives looked for ways to grow the business beyond Travelers Cheques and credit cards.The fact that Master Charge and the BankAamericard (later to become Visa) were already issuing cards themselves suggested that AMEXAMEX would soon lose market share of its Travelers Cheques and that the growth of its cardholdercardholder base would slow. AMEXAMEX also had been worried for some time that the company’s small size and high profits made it an attractive takeover target. A large acquisition would make a takeover less likely and give AMEXAMEX a new source of income. Clark chose a company three times the size of AMEXAMEX with the 1968 acquisition of Fund America Group, based in Novato, CACA.It included Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company and four mutual funds that were later sold off. Other relatively small changes by Clark included the acquisition of the magazine which was later of US Camera magazine (later renamed Travel & Leisure) and the creation of the Travel Related Services (TRS) division in 1971, which pooled the travelers Travelers checkCheque, the card, and other travel and tourism businesses. AMEXAMEX also organized its banking operations under the renamed American Express International Bank Corporation (AEIBC).The year 1977, in which Clark left as president, saw AMEXAMEX with $250 millio n in profits and 8 million cards generating $10 billion in charge volume. The American Express Company. had three divisions when James D. Robinson took over for Clark as CEO in 1977: Travel Related Services (TRS), American Express International Bank Corporation (AEIBC), and Fireman’s Fund (FF). Robinson pursued an aggressive acquisition strategy. In 1979, he purchased fifty 50 percent of a cable TV equipment and programming partnership with Warner Communications for $175 million with the idea of selling financial products through cable television.A few months later in 1980, American Express bought First Data Resources for $50 million. First Data was a computerized billing operation that processed Visa and MasterCard transactions for banks. This was only a warm-up for Robinson, and in 1981 AMEXAMEX merged with Shearson Loeb Rhoades Inc. , the second largest public brokerage firm in the country behind Merrill Lynch. AMEXAMEX continued its expansion into a financial conglomerate by purchasing two additional brokerage houses and a real estate company. The international investment bank Trade Development Bank Holdings S.A. (TDB) was acquired in 1983 for $520 million to shore up AEIBC and focus its operations on trade finance and international private banking. That same year, AMEXAMEX purchased Investors Diversified Services (IDS) for $773 million, a Minneapolis- based company that offered mutual funds, life insurance, annuities, and financial planning to middle- income consumers. The investment bank Lehman Brothers Kuhn Loeb Inc. was acquired in 1984 for $360 million, and AMEXAMEX again added to its brokerage cache by acquiring E. F. Hutton & Co. n 1987 for almost $1 billion. Marketing Strategy and Advertising American Express advertising conveyed the prestige associated with tthe he cards. CardholderCardholders are called â€Å"card members,† and the year they became members is on their card – —signaling membership to a club. American Ex press cards Cards were perceived by many as status symbols, signifying success and achievement. AMEXAMEX sought to maintain this elusive image through advertising, impeccable service, promotions, bonuses, special events, and so on.The introduction of goldGold and platinumPlatinum cards to the credit card industry further enhanced their special cachet. By 1985, AMEXAMEX was spending $500 million a year in marketing. â€Å"Marketing is our number one priority,† said Robinson. [2] Service Customer service was a key element of American Express’s marketing program. One of James D. Robinson’s favorite sayings was â€Å"Quality is our only form of patent protection. †[3] Before he became CEO, he Robinson developed a comprehensive system for measuring AMEXAMEX’s service quality.His goal was to have customer service employees handling more than 99 percent of the requests without any mistakes. AMEXAMEX measured the time it took a customer service representat ive to answer the phone and the time it took for a replacement card to arrive. The company established a Quality University in Phoenix, AZ, where customer service representatives and their managers were trained to deliver excellent service. In addition, AMEXAMEX set up a committee of managers from throughout the corporation that who met to discuss new ways of measuring and improving quality. â€Å"Quality Conferences† were even held to disseminate and implement quality initiatives throughout the organization. Besides the internal monitoring, AMEXAMEX constantly surveys surveyed its customers and merchants by mail and by phone to ensure that the level of service remains remained consistent. AMEXAMEX developed a database system, which was was updated weekly, of customer information that tracks tracked spending patterns, age, and 450 other characteristics. This database enabled enabled the company to target specific marketing efforts to the customer segments most likely to respo nd.AMEXAMEX also useds this system to recruit new merchants by demonstrating what AMEXAMEX can could do for their businesses using real customer data, not projections. For example, a customer that who shopped at a certain store might receive a discount for shopping there again based on an agreement between the merchant and AMEXAMEX. Throughout its lengthy history, American Express has earned a reputation for the highest level of customer service. One representative personally delivered a card in the middle of the night to a stranded cardholdercardholder at Boston’s Logan airport.Another case involved an AMEXAMEX representative in New Delhi who arranged for another representative’s brother (a military helicopter pilot stationed close to the caller) to deliver cash to an AMEXAMEX Gold Gold cardholder cardholder who was stranded in a remote village in the Himalayas. One Enterprise Robinson and his top executives envisioned a transformed company structure called â€Å"One Enterprise. † The One Enterprise vision would make AMEXAmerican Express a one-stop financial and travel services powerhouse with each division cross-marketing its products to the others.The cardholdercardholders could obtain travel services from TRS; property & and casualty, flight and travel, and life insurance from Fireman’s Fund; financial advice and other products from IDS; and brokerage and investment banking services from Shearson Lehman Hutton; while the wealthier international clientele would be pampered by AEIBC (renamed American Express Bank Ltd. or AEB in 1986). Each division would in turn push American Express CardAmerican Express Cards to any of their customers who weren’t already cardholdercardholders or higher- end goldGold or platinumPlatinum cards to those who were.Advertising in the 1980s The â€Å"Do you know me? † campaign was targeted at older successful, affluent businessmen that who traveled a lot. The campaign’s nine years h ad seen these cardholdercardholders quadruple to 12 million, a full 40 percent of that market segment. Fearing that growth in this segment would soon level off, AMEXAMEX looked to stimulate growth in other segments. In the 1980s, women were attaining more powerful business positions in large numbers. AMEXAMEX wished to target this segment of the population with ads tailored towards young urban professional women. In 1983, women comprised only 2. million of current AMEXAmerican Express card holders, only 20 percent of the women the company thought were eligible for the card. Testing had shown that women did not respond positively to the older ad campaign. Marketing data from the early 1980s showed that consumers thought that status and prestige came not necessarily from huge wealth or success, but from a varied and exciting life. Ogilvy & Mather came up with the â€Å"Interesting Lives† campaign. It aimed to position AMEXAmerican Express cards Cards as symbols of people with i nteresting and multifaceted lives, people with unusual hobbies or who have had unconventional careers.The AMEXAmerican Express cardCard, the ads indicated, gave these holders the opportunity to indulge in their varied interests, to be spontaneous by going to the Australian Outback or climb a mountain, for example. Rather than featuring celebrities, the ads showed confident independent women using the American Express cardAmerican Express Card to take their husband to dinner or their kids to lunch, bantering with a flirtatious man in a bookstore, or leaving a sporting goods store with a briefcase and a lacrosse stick. â€Å"The American Express cardAmerican Express Card,† the tag line says, â€Å"It’s part of a lot of interesting lives. The ad campaign included and featured women in ads, and soon the volume of female applicants doubled the number of men who applied for the card. By 1984, 27 percent of AMEX cardAmerican Express holdercardholders were women compared to t en 10 percent in the late 1970s. The â€Å"Interesting Lives† campaign also had an unanticipated, but positive, side effect: young men also started applying for the card in large numbers. This convinced AMEXAMEX to tailor some of the ads specifically towards them. One such ad was titled â€Å"Young Lawyer. It showed a father talking to his son over lunch about his decision not to join the family firm. The father was disappointed until the son got a job at the District district Attorney’s attorney’s office. The sons pays with the American Express cardAmerican Express Card and the father says, â€Å"The pay must be getting better over at City city Hallhall. † Even though these campaigns did very well, AMEXAMEX’s marketing strategy for their core potential cardholdercardholders had become stale. They dropped the â€Å"Do you know me? † TV ads in 1987 and Ogilvy & Mather devised a new series of print ads called â€Å"Portraits. Renowned photog rapher Annie Liebovitz was recruited to photograph celebrities rarely shown in advertisements. The ads showed these celebrities in a more intimate, playful light, without the pomp and circumstance that celebrity ads usually employed. America’s Cup yachtsman Dennis Connor played with a sailboat in his bathtub in one shot, while in another basketball center Wilt Chamberlain and jockey Willie Shoemaker were shown standing back to back wearing identical white suits. Another shot showed Christian rock singer Amy Grant walking on water while in yet another Tip O’Neill was shown at the beach under an umbrella.The only text was their names, the date they became â€Å"members,† and the taglinetag line that was to become one of AMEXAMEX’s most enduring: â€Å"Membership Has Its Privileges. † The ads received much praise for their ingenuity and quirkiness. That same year, AMEXAMEX unveiled its first major TV campaign for its goldGold card. The goldGold card a dvertising was handled by McCann-Erickson, and their ads for this campaign focused on showing successful businessmen in lavish surroundings. One businessman lounged in a jacuzzi complaining about an award acceptance speech he had to give.His wife told him to just enjoy the honor. Another ad featured a successful businessman taking time from his busy schedule to learn the piano. These ads were the subject of criticism for their celebration of the opulence and free-spending attitudes of the decade. A year and a half later they gave the goldGold card account to Chiat/Day. This agency’s approach was over the top compared to McCann’s more subtle ads. Chiat targeted a younger, more affluent clientele by touting excessive spending. One ad in particular showed a man in a Jjaguar, sprawled with his legs dangling over the side.A voice says, â€Å"For when you finally run into that 1953 XK120. † The phrase â€Å"Worth its wait† flashed on the screen while a sax play ed sensually in the background. The ads were supposed to increase the goldGold card base by targeting younger wealthy men. By 1989, AMEXAMEX was spending $250 million annually on advertising, more than twice as much as Visa’s and MasterCard’s budgets combined. This expenditure reflected the numerous marketing initiatives underway to expand the company’s cardholdercardholder base, including efforts to attract more women, students, senior citizens, and small companies.Additionally, the company developed a major ad campaign to get cardholdercardholders to use their cards at retail shops, not just fine restaurants and boutiques. Research showed that the majority of card purchases were made with other credits cards while only high-ticket items were charged to AMEX cardAmerican Express Cards. This campaign was developed by Chiat/Day, which in 1991 won the green Green card and Optima accounts from Ogilvy & Mather, AMEXAMEX’s agency of record for 30 thirty years. Chiat/Day immediately developed a new taglinetag line for the company: â€Å"The Card.The American Express CardAmerican Express Card. † The initial ads developed by Chiat/Day sought to convey the iconic status of the card, by superimposing oversized flagship green Green cards into images of a restaurant, a golf course, the tail of a Concorde jet, and the Easter Island monoliths. Cause Marketing Since 1981, AMEXAMEX has also embarked on many cause-related advertising campaigns where a percentage of the proceeds were donated to a specific charity. In fact, the company is credited with coining the phrase â€Å"cause-related marketing. Between 1981 and 1984, Amercian Express donated to more than 45 different charitable organizations. Most of these donation drives occurred at the local level, such as when American Express donated two cents to the San Francisco Arts Festival each time Bay Area card members used their cards. By encouraging card members to spend more to support the cause, AMEXAMEX profited from increased card usage. Similar campaigns around the country generated total donations in the tens of millions of dollars and increased card usage in locations where a cause-related marketing campaign was active by an average of 25 percent.The company’s first national cause-related marketing campaign was organized in 1983 to raise money for the Statue of Liberty Restoration Fund. To build awareness for the program, American Express developed an $4 million advertising campaign that included print, radio, and television advertising. Each time a card member used his or her card, a one cent donation was made to the fund. For every new account opened, AMEXAMEX donated one dollar to the fund. Donations were also made for Travelers Cheques and travel purchases. Between September and December 1983, American Express gave $1. 7 million to the Statue of Liberty Restoration Fund.Card usage rose 28 percent nationally in the first month compared with the previo us year, while new card applications increased 45 percent. [i] . 1 Following its early success with cause-related marketing campaigns, AMEXAMEX developed more than 90 ninety programs in 17 seventeen countries. One of AMEXAMEX’s best-known campaigns was the â€Å"Charge Against Hunger. † The Charge Against Hunger, begun in 1993, was a charity effort in which the company donated a certain amount of money to hunger relief agency Share our Our Strength every time a cardholdercardholder used an AMEX cardAmerican Express Card to make a purchase during the holiday season.The 1993 Charge Against Hunger raised $5. 3 million. To raise awareness for the campaign, AMEXAMEX produced a series of advertisements featuring information about the charity and detailing the specifics of the program. Between 1993 and the last year of the program in 1996, the Charge Against Hunger campaign raised more than $21 million. AMEXAMEX Success Due to the acquisition-based growth and cross-marketing concepts, which were fashionable corporate strategies in the 1980s, Robinson was hailed as a savvy CEO in building up AMEXAMEX in this fashion.By the end of 1984, AMEXAMEX had developed $61 billion in assets and posted annual revenues of $13 million. The TRS division, which supplied AMEXAMEX with almost three-quarters of its earnings, was selling $13 billion worth of travelers checksTravelers Cheques, while 20 million cards were generating $45 billion in charges. AMEXAMEX had name recognition of 75 percent and its services were used by 14 percent of the population, more than any other financial company. Credit Card Competition Heats Up By 1985, AMEXAMEX had issued over more than 20 million cards that were producing more than $47 billion in billings.That compared with Visa’s 115 million cards with $82 billion in billings and MasterCard’s 103 million with $62 billion in billings. About 3. 3 million of AMEXAMEX’s cards were GoldGold cards (first offered in 1966) an d about 60,000 were PlatinumPlatinum (introduced in 1984). Visa had 3 million higher- end â€Å"Premier Visa† cards and MasterCard had 2. 5 million â€Å"Preferred Customer† cards (both began issuing them in 1982) with annual fees of $55. In spite of their similar numbers, AMEXAMEX still had a clear advantage in the high-end market with GoldGold card charges totaling $13 billion while Visa and MasterCard only had only $7. billion combined. While Although most credit cards had features similar to AMEXAMEX’s charge cards, prestige still seemed to win people over in wanting AMEXAMEX’s cards and in using them for their more expensive items. One analyst said, â€Å"If you want to buy an expensive car, you tend to buy a Mercedes or a Cadillac, not a souped-up Honda. † For AMEXAMEX customers, the fact that MasterCard and Visa were accepted at over more than 4 million sites while AMEXAMEX was only accepted at only 1 million sites was mitigated by the fact that only AMEXAMEX had offices in many remote locations capable of handling almost any travel emergency.Indeed, prestige seemed to be so important to consumers that they signed up at twice the expected rate for AMEXAMEX’s $250 annual fee PlatinumPlatinum card Card and eventually numbered six times what AMEXAMEX expected. In the 1980s, the standard American Express Green card had an annual fee of $35 and offered $1,000 check cashing at representative banks and AMEXAMEX travel offices, the ability to withdraw $500 from ATM’s, and $100,000 travel accident insurance. For a $65 annual fee, GoldGold cCard members upgraded to $2,000 in checks cashed and a credit line of $2,000.The PlatinumPlatinum card Card allows members to cash up to $10,000 in checks, get $1,000 from ATM’s, $500,000 in travel insurance, and nonresident privileges in over more than 25 private clubs around the world. AMEXAMEX offered these cards to only about 5 percent of its American cardholdercardho lders who charged more than $10,000 a year and hadve good payment histories. Higher-end credit cards (e. g. , goldGold, platinumPlatinum) proliferated in the mid-1980s as the market for standard cards became relatively saturated.Credit card delinquency rates were increasing due to banks’ efforts to shore up profits by signing up more cardholdercardholders. The average cardholdercardholder possessed seven cards, so banks had to find other ways to compete. Many consumers were frustrated with banks because they maintained high interest rates on their cards (around 19 percent) in spite of the fact that the prime lending rate had dropped 14 points since 1982. The banks defended their card rates, citing the cost of processing millions of card transactions every week.In order to appease their customers, banks offered special perks like such as bonus points and cash back offers. They also began issuing goldGold and platinumPlatinum cards to attract more customers. These â€Å"eliteà ¢â‚¬  cards were used 50 percent more often than regular cards, and the average purchase with them was 150 percent greater than with a normal card. Visa and MasterCard gained enough GoldGold cCard members, 12 and 11 million, to beat AMEXAMEX’s 6 million. Optima Unveiled AMEXAMEX responded to the increasing popularity of credit cards by issuing its own credit card, called Optima, late in 1987.Not only would it compete head-to-head with the revolving credit bank-issued cards, but also it would do so with a much lower interest rate of 13. 5 percent. Even the annual fee was lower, priced about half what other credit cards charged at $15. Optima also allowed AMEXAMEX to greatly expand its card base without damaging its upscale image since because it was a separate card. AMEXAMEX only offered Optima initially to its 8 – to 9 million current AMEX cardAmerican Express holdercardholders. Since Because these customers were accustomed to paying their balance monthly, they were c onsidered the lowest-risk segment.Banks were worried that Optima cardholdercardholders would use the new credit card for regular purchases and the AMEXAMEX charge cards for their T&E expenses, dropping regular and high- end bank cards in the process. Citicorp, the nation’s largest issuer of bank cards with close to 15 million, countered AMEXAMEX’s new card by lowering its rates to â€Å"preferred customers† to 16. 8 percent from 19. 8 percent. Visa USA Inc. even urged its issuing banks to stop selling American Express Travelers Cheques in protest.AMEXAMEX replied with a Travelers Cheque ad that told consumers, â€Å"If your bank doesn’t sell them, go to one that does! † In order to compete, most of the charge and credit cards furiously began cutting prices and offering special incentives. Co-branded cards also became very popular. Visa had 768 affinity programs approved by the end of 1987. Most MasterCard and Visa silver Silver and goldGold cardhol dercardholders also got rebates on hotels and plane fare in addition to rental car discounts. WhileAlthough AMEXAMEX did not offer any affinity cards, it did continue to offer benefits and special offers.In addition to its Buyer’s Assurance program, which doubled the manufacturer’s warranty up to a year on items purchased with its cards, AMEXAMEX also began its Purchase Protection program, which insured these items for 90 ninety days against theft, loss, fire, or accidental damage up to $50,000. AMEXAMEX also offered its GoldGold and PlatinumPlatinum members free rental car insurance. By the end of 1988, after being out for only 18 months, Optima ranked as one of the top ten credit cards in terms of cardholdercardholder volume.Optima had 2 million cardholdercardholders with over more than $3 billion in outstanding balances. The interest and fees for Optima was were nearly pure profit sincebecause AMEXAMEX spent so little, only $100 million, in starting it. American Exp ress had the advantage of an established cardholdercardholder base to offer it to and merchants already willing to accept it. Thanks to Optima and improved marketing to young men, women, and students, AMEXAMEX’s domestic share of the card market increased to ten 10 percent by 1989, totaling 22 million cards (30 million worldwide).AMEXAMEX’s charge volume also increased to 27 percent or $69 billion, which lead all card issuers. Visa meanwhile had 52 percent cards hare with 115 million cards, and MasterCard had 38 percent with 84 million. The remainder was primarily Sears’ Discover card, which had about 28 million cards outstanding. Sears issued Discover in 1985 using its existing customer credit base of 40 million accounts, low interest, no fee, and a cash- back program as advantages. AMEXAMEX had signed up over more than 2. 5 million merchants to accept its card, compared to Visa’s almost 7 million merchants.Nevertheless, AMEXAMEX maintained that because consumers only charged only 15 percent of the possibley number of items that could be charged, its main competition was not the other card companies, but rather, cash. AMEXAMEX Applauded Success continued through the late 1980’s. Revenue and profits grew in every division and earnings topped the $1 billion mark in 1986. In 1989 AMEXAMEX grossed over more than $26 billion and netted $1. 2 billion with a travelers checkTravelers Cheque float of over more than $4 billion to invest.Compounded earnings and sales over the last decade had risen nine 9 percent and 13 percent every year, and AMEXAMEX had a return on shareholder equity of more than 15 percent a year. Their direct marketing department was the fifth largest in the nation selling electronics, furniture, jewelry, luggage, mutual funds, and insurance. AMEXAMEX’s publishing arm included â€Å"Travel & Leisure† and â€Å"Food & Wine† magazines, with having a combined circulation of over more than 2 millio n, and they planned on acquiring or creating more than ten more magazine titlespublications.Overall, analysts were recommending AMEXAMEX stock, saying it was undervalued based on its future earnings potential with AMEXAMEX being called â€Å"one of the great success stories of the last twenty years. †[4] AMEXAMEX STUMBLES Problems in Iits Subsidiaries James Robinson III had spent a total of $3. 5 billion in acquiring Shearson, IDS, TDB, Lehman, and E. F. Hutton, and in the process had built American Express into what was one of the most respected and well-known companies in the USUnited States. AMEXAMEX was rated by one poll as among the top three brands in America behind only Coca-Cola and McDonald’s.In the late 1980s, AMEXAMEX was the largest diversified financial services company in the world. But Ddespite the apparent success, however, signs of future troubles appeared as early as the early 1980s. In the latter years of that decade, the financial empire slowly bega n to crumble. While Although each subsidiary had its share of problems, consensus seemed to be that AMEXAMEX had expanded too rapidly without enough attention as onto how all the parts would fit together and so could not manage itself efficiently. AMEXAMEX’s first big problem with a subsidiary came in 1983.An insurance industry price war had caused Fireman’s Fund (FF) to lower its policy prices and add business. A surprisingly large number of claims on these policies caused AMEXAMEX to have to add $230 million to FF reserves causing a $141 million fourth quarter loss for the unit and a $22 million loss for AMEXAMEX. AMEXAMEX managers said they were blindsided by the losses while FF managers said they had tried to warn their superiors at AMEXAMEX but were ignored. AMEXAMEX profits dropped 11 percent in 1983 due to FF losses, breaking the much hallowed 35- year earnings record.AMEXAMEX later sold off Fireman’s Fund to the public, keeping the life insurance divisio n, but retaining only 27 percent of the property and casualty business. In spite of their magnitude, the problems at Fireman’s Fund had little impact on AMEXAMEX as a whole. They did, however, draw attention to AMEXAMEX’s management style and what impact it might have on the other divisions. Shearson Lehman Hutton, the nation’s second largest securities firm, was probably the biggest disappointment of all.After the acquisition, Shearson imposed its existing no no-bbonus onus policy for clerical employees at the investment bank where everyone was up to that point used accustomed to annual bonuses. Shearson also imposed its much less generous medical benefits plan on Lehman employees and even made them take lie detector tests. Most job openings after the acquisition were filled with Lehman employees in an attempt to appease them, but this wound up alienating Shearson employees. Lehman also lost many top clients after the acquisition including ABC, Chase Manhattan, and Uniroyal.Big M & A deals, the reason Lehman was acquired in the first place, never materialized. The loss of clients and internal talent was too big to overcome and only a trickle of small deals and its brokerage operations kept the unit going. Even with 1988 revenues of $10. 5 billion (same as Merrill Lynch), the unit’s earnings had dropped to 81 eighty-one cents from $4. 34 two years earlier. Robinson admitted he wanted to sell Shearson, but couldn’t because he wouldn’t get the price he wanted. Card CompetitionIn 1991,, AMEXAMEX debuted its â€Å"Membership Miles† loyalty program, which gave customers one point for every dollar spent on the card. These points could be exchanged for credit in frequent flier airline miles. The program had the dual benefits of attracting more customers and increasing the spending volume of customers who wanted airline miles. The success of this program’s introduction was offset, however, by problems with the Op tima card. Though Optima made the company one of the ten largest credit card issuer issuers worldwide, AMEXAMEX’s first offering in the credit card category was fraught with problems.The company’s decision to offer the card only to existing cardholdercardholders, who were accustomed to paying their entire balances monthly, led to millions of dollars in bad debt. AMEXAMEX failed to account for the fact that a significant portion of charges on their classic cards were business expenses for which the cardholdercardholder was reimbursed. Therefore, the majority of Optima cardholdercardholders used that card strictly as a credit device, and as a result only five 5 percent of Optima accounts paid the full monthly balance.The resulting losses rose to 10 percent of outstanding balances in 1992, which was double the industry average. In its first three years, Optima cost American Express $2. 3 billion. The company was forced to re-evaluate its Optima portfolio, and relaunched t he card in 1992 with a slightly different payment structure. In 1994, the company pared the number of Optima cardholdercardholders to 3 million from about 3. 5 million. By 1996, Optima’s 5. 2 percent annual loss rate was only marginally higher than the 4. 6 percent industry average.Other card companies were able to make up enormous ground on the American Express by offering bonuses, service benefits, and cheaper fees to both merchants and consumers. Bank cards certainly lacked the prestige factor, but, as one analyst noted, â€Å"Prestige is less of a Nineties concept than an Eighties concept. †[ii]2 AMEXAMEX’s traditional points of difference were service and prestige, but 1990s’ consumers appeared to place greater value on â€Å"function [and] utility. †[iii] Compounding problems was the launch of Visa’s brilliant ad campaign, â€Å"Visa.It†s Everywhere You Want to Be. † That campaign highlighted desirable locations, resorts, events, restaurants, etc. – none of which would take American Express. AMEXAMEX was under siege from a number of new competitors, such as Capital One, which in 1991 was the first company to issue so-called â€Å"teaser rate† cards with introductory rates well below the standard 19 percent. Other sources of competition came from co-branded or â€Å"affinity† cards, which were becoming increasingly popular with consumers seeking added value in the form of additional goods or services.AMEXAMEX had the opportunity to issue one of the first co-branded cards back in 1985, when American Airlines approached the company with a proposal for a joint credit card that would offer frequent flier miles for dollars spent on the card. AMEXAMEX rejected the offer and American Airlines inked a deal with Citibank instead, which that attracted 4 million cardholdercardholders within a decade and set off a co-branding trend. AMEXAMEX similarly declined to enter into a co-branding agre ement with AT&T in 1990.Within five years, the AT&T card had more than 11 million cardholdercardholders. Many corporations began to issue co-branded credit cards, including General Motors, Shell, all major airlines, and Sony. Other entities with co-branded cards included NBA basketball teams, the University of Alabama Alumni Association, Star Trek, and the National Wildlife Federation. Between 1990 and 1992, the number of American Express cardAmerican Express Cards in circulation dropped by 1. 6 million, or six 6 percent. The company was in danger of seeing its competitive advantage disappear.Attempts to diversify into financial services had largely failed, and the company’s flagship card business was faltering. â€Å"We were losing relevance with our customers,† said current CEO Kenneth Chenault. â€Å"We were trying to be all things to all people with a few products. †[iv] This developments led AMEXAMEX’s board to force James Robinson to resign as CEO i n 1993. AMEXAMEX FOCUSES ON ITS CORE BUSINESS Divestiture After forcing Robinson’s resignation, American Express selected Harvey Golub to succeed him as chairman and CEO in February 1993.Golub was a nine-year veteran of the company, having come to the IDS division from McKinsey & Co. consulting firm. He immediately initiated a series of divestitures to reduce AMEXAMEX’s holdings. Golub negotiated the sale of the Shearson brokerage operation and the Lehman Brothers investment bank. These sales, combined with other profit-saving cutbacks, eliminated 50,000 of the company’s 114,000 workers. Following these moves, the now-leaner company was in a position to focus on its core competencies: charge and credit cards, Travelers Cheques and travel services, and select banking and financial services.In the midst of these cutbacks, Golub pursued aggressive plans for high growth in the card sector. In mid-1994, he announced plans to introduce up to 15 fifteen different credi t cards. Ready to improve on the company’s first credit card offering – —Optima – —AMEXAMEX introduced its next card, called Optima True Grace, in August 1994. The Optima True Grace card Card featured a low introductory rate of 7. 9 percent and came with an automatic â€Å"grace period† of 25 twenty-five days after a purchase, during which time no interest would be charged to the cardholdercardholder.Additionally, the company would waive the annual fee for cardholdercardholders who used Optima True Grace at least three times per year. These features came as a result of a year-long research effort that included 4,000 consumer interviews. The Optima True Grace launch was accompanied by a $40 million marketing campaign starring lifestyle maven Martha Stewart. In its first year, Optima True Grace was selected by about 1. 4 million users, a figure that doubled the company’s membership predictions.The flexibility of Optima True Grace marked a departure from AMEX cardAmerican Express Card policies of the past. As bank-issued cards exploded in the 1980s by enticing customers with low annual fees, cash back offers, partnerships, points bonuses, and other special offers, AMEXAMEX continued to charge high annual fees and flatly refused to partner with other corporations despite offers from companies such as American Airlines. The gap in market share between AMEXAMEX and Visa and Mastercard only widened, and Golub reflected in 1995, â€Å"We should have seen what was happening. . . We were inflexible. We were arrogant. We were dreaming. †[v] To spur growth in the card category, Golub sought to greatly increase merchant acceptance of American Express cardAmerican Express Cards. In October, responding to the requests of over more than 14,000 card members, AMEXAMEX inked a deal with Wal-Mart stores to have its cards accepted at over more than 2,300 Wal-Mart locations. During 1995, other retailers such as Laura Ashley, S hopRite, Service Merchandise, and Vons Supermarkets signed on to accept AMEX cardAmerican Express Cards. That year, research by the ompany showed that based on card member purchasing patterns, AMEXAMEX customers charged 86 percent of their spending to AMEX cardAmerican Express Cards. Said CEO Kenneth Chenault, â€Å"If our customer wants to use the American Express cardAmerican Express Card at a hot dog stand, we want to be there. †[vi] In addition to adding merchants that would accept the cards, Golub worked to improve relations with the existing merchant roster. In the past, AMEXAMEX was able to demonstrate to merchants that its cardholdercardholders charged a higher volume with their cards.For many merchants, this mitigated the fact that AMEXAMEX’s merchant discount was considerably higher than Visa or MasterCard’s. Purchases by AMEX cardAmerican Express holdercardholders carried discount fees of over more than 3. 5 percent, compared to merchant discounts low er than 2 percent for Visa and Mastercard. By 1991, however, the case for accepting American Express was not as compelling. Not only were there a greater number of Visa and MasterCard goldGold cardholdercardholders, but also nearly 90 percent of all AMEXAMEX customers carried bank cards as well.AMEXAMEX needed to retain as many merchants as possible, since overbecause more than half of its annual revenues came from merchant discounts. The turning point came in 1991, with the so-called â€Å"Boston Fee Party. † A group of Boston restaurant owners coordinated a boycott of the American Express cardAmerican Express Card because they believed the discount rate to be too high. American Express worked rapidly to repair relationships with these and other merchants. By 1996, the discount rate for AMEXAMEX purchases was below less than 3 percent and all the Boston Fee Party boycotters had been re-signed.Golub also attempted to better relations with current cardholdercardholders. In Oct ober 1995, the company expanded its Membership Miles program to include points bonuses for retail merchandise and gourmet gifts, as well as more travel offerings such as car- rentals, hotel stays, and vacation packages. This revised program was named Membership Rewards, and points earned through the program had no limit or expiration date. The renewed focus on American Express’s core business led to the first new campaign for American Express Travelers Cheques in twenty years.Though still dominating the Travelers Cheques category with $64 billion in annual worldwide sales and a 45 percent market share, AMEXAMEX was looking to protect its lead against competitors like Visa. In 1994, a new $15 million advertising campaign updated the classic Travelers Cheques commercial, which traditionally featured hapless travelers falling prey to criminals while abroad and then experiencing firsthand the safety and security features of the Travelers Cheques. The new crop of ads focused on th e â€Å"Cheques for two† feature, which enabled the same checks to be shared between two parties.Instead of getting stolen, the Travelers Cheques in the new ads were only lost, and features featured lost-and-found employees in travel destinations describing the quirky items they encountered in the line of duty. The ads were intended to illustrate in a more lighthearted fashion the benefits of AMEXAMEX Travelers Cheques. In 1995, the company renamed its IDS division â€Å"American Express Financial Advisors† (AEFA) in an effort to provide with a more uniform image to its customers.AEFA, which provided financial and estate planning, annuities, mutual funds, life insurance, pension plans, 401(k) plans, and loans and accounting services to businesses and individuals, was part of the â€Å"select financial services† that contributed to AMEXAMEX’s core competencies. A One-third of AMEXAMEX’s net income in 1996 came from AEFA, which controlled $130 billio n in assets. After firing Chiat-/Day, AMEXAMEX re-hired Ogilvy- & Mather, who introduced a corporate ad campaign themed, â€Å"Do More. † This global ad campaign extended the company’s advertising to include financial services and travel in addition to its card businesses.The purpose of the campaign was to underscore the transformation that had taken place at American Express during the previous several years, given that the company had: 1)Sold or spun off subsidiaries and refocused on businesses operating under the American Express brand; 2)Broadened its traditional charge card business to include revolving credit, co-branded cards and other products aimed at specific customer segments, such as students and senior citizens; 3)Expanded its global travel network; )Begun a major expansion of its financial services businesses; and 5)Introduced new products to its corporate services customers. â€Å"For much of our history, our company’s brand was defined by our ca rd and Travelers Cheques businesses,† said John Hayes, executive vice president of Global Advertising. â€Å"Now we are extending our brand to a variety of other products and services to mirror both where our company is and where it is going. What will remain consistent is our vision— — to become the world’s most respected service brand. The new advertising campaign was designed to capitalize on several of American Express’s historical brand attributes: trust, customer focus, travel, and financial insight. â€Å"American Express is one of the very few global brands in the financial services arena,† Hayes added. â€Å"All over the world, people’s experiences with our travel services, card products, and financial advice have defined our brand’s characteristics, reflecting the reasons that both corporations and consumers are loyal to American Express. Themed, â€Å" American Express Helps You Do More,† the campaign attempt ed to bridge both the company’s historic strengths and, as well as its newer initiatives. The pool of advertisements included commercials that featured a range of American Express products and services, as well as those designed to focus on individual businesses, such as American Express Financial Advisors. It also included ads for the American Express charge cards, â€Å"Our advertising used to be about a limited number of products and services, and was often defined by the people who used them.This campaign stresses our growing number of services and what American Express can do for you,† Hayes said. The television spots will ruran on network, cable, and spot television, supported by newspaper and magazine ads in a variety of publications including USA Today, tThe Wall Street Journal, The the New York Times, Time, and Newsweek. Card Wars American Express launched its first co-branded card in 1995 with Delta Air Lines. The airline miles card was called the Delta SkyMi les Optima, and within two years of its introduction it was the number-two airline affinity card with over more than 1 million cardholdercardholders.American Express forged co-branding relationships with other partners, including Hilton Hotels, ITT Sheraton, and the New York Knicks. Beginning in 1992, American Express used comedian Jerry Seinfeld in advertising that emphasized the card’s flexibility and added humor to the personality of the brand. In 1997, as part of the â€Å"Do More†Ã¢â‚¬â€œ themed campaign, American Express used ads featuring Seinfeld to emphasize the card’s acceptability in locations such as supermarkets and gas stations. In one ad, Seinfeld stops at a gas station to fill up.The premise is that he aims to put an even dollar amount into the car, presumably so he can pay with cash without breaking change. Upon reaching the target amount, he gives the pump an extra squeeze that pushes the total a few cents over. Onlookers gasp in dismay, until he pulls out his American Express cardAmerican Express Card in dramatic fashion and pays at the pump. Another ad starred Seinfeld and an animated Superman. The unlikely duo were depicted walking along a city block, when Superman spotted Lois Lane in peril at the front of a grocery store line.When the two come to her rescue, Lois informs them that she has forgotten her wallet. Superman pats his suit where pockets normally would be located and sighs, â€Å"I can’t carry money in this. I’m powerless. † Seinfeld exclaims, â€Å"I’m not! † and begins spinning around in a blur brandishing an American Express cardAmerican Express Card. Again in dramatic fashion, he swipes the card and pays for the groceries. American Express signed one of the leading athletes in the world in 1997 when it inked a five-year, $30 million endorsement contract with Tiger Woods.That year, Woods appeared in print ads and television commercials that promoted American Express Fina ncial Advisors. In one television spot titled â€Å"Tiger Wants,† the phenom golfer discusses discussed personal aspirations, which included â€Å"tak[ing] care of the ones who took care of me† and â€Å"help[ing] people who need help. † The campaign also featured Tiger’s father, Earl, who explaineds that with the help of an American Express Financial Advisor, he was able to retire early and dedicate himself to helping Tiger reach his goals.John Hayes characterized the endorsement deal as follows: The appeal of Tiger Woods – —and, indeed, of his father, Earl – —transcends the world of golf. While Tiger’s tenacity, work ethic, and abilities are outstanding, we also recognize him as a person whose achievements are the result of perseverance and an incredible focus on a goal. That kind of earned success is a hallmark of financial success as well. [vii] In appraising AMEXAMEX’s position, Hayes also noted: The market b ecame very segmented, and we needed to catch up with that to become more relevant to more segments.So now we’ve gone from a brand that was basically represented by one card product to one that has 25 products. That’s a drastic change. [viii] Our toughest balancing act is not to lose our traditional core customers and our reputation for premium quality and service while we enact new initiatives to expand against other segments. We’re tracking that on a quarterly basis to make sure we don’t go too far in one direction or the other. [ix] Marketing and Advertising In 1999, American Express unveiled the biggest new card launch since Optima, with the â€Å"smart smart cardcard† Blue.Blue, which was launched with a $45 million advertising campaign, was considered a smart card because it contained an embedded chip that enhanced security for Internet purchases using a home-encryption system. American Express issued Blue cardholdercardholders a home card car d-swiper free of charge, which could be used for Internet transactions. The card targeted the 25 percent of Americans that owned computers and used sophisticated consumer technology, as well as another 25 percent of the population learning to use such technology. Unlike other American Express cardAmerican Express Cards, Blue carried no annual fee.One perceived risk of the Blue marketing campaign was the implication that the other American Express cardAmerican Express Cards were not secure for use with Internet purchases. Said Alfred Kelly, president of the American Express Consumer Card Services Group, â€Å"I would rather be cannibalizing myself than have the competition do it. †[x] Launch advertising involved television, print, and subway advertising, as well as event marketing. The introductory television ads focused on the technology aspect of Blue. One ad showed a sea of amoeba dancing and multiplying over a rock-and-roll soundtrack.This ad was intended to demonstrate th e â€Å"evolving credit† aspect of the card, which meant that Blue would improve as the company added new functions features to it. Another ad emphasized Blue’s payment flexibility – —unlike other American Express cardAmerican Express Cards, monthly balances could be carried into the next month – —by showing the card bent, pulled, and reshaped by robotic arms to the sounds of a classical score. In addition to major network broadcasts, these ads ran during television programs targeting young people, such as Fox’s â€Å"The X-Files† and â€Å"Futurama. Print ads appeared in newspapers and magazines, as well as in sports clubs and on restaurant table-top menus. The ads did not use the familiar Roman Centurion soldier logo associated with other cards, choosing a new look that suggested a compact disc with blue concentric circles bordered by white. American Express also sponsored a concert in New York called â€Å"Central Park in Blue. † The concert was promoted by a â€Å"street team† of sharply- dressed scooter riders, who used handheld swipers to enable cardholdercardholders to pick up free tickets at nearby Blue information kiosks.These marketing activities were designed to give the card â€Å"a different, modern, more hip feel,† said Alfred Kelly. â€Å"We wanted to break out. †[xi] American Express continued to market cards based on prestige. In 1998, it introduced the matte Matte black Black Centurion Card – —otherwise known as the â€Å"black Black cardCard† – —for elite clients. To obtain an invitation invitation-o