Why are immediate rewards more effective in inducing consumer behaviour desired by the marketer Essay Example

Why are immediate rewards more effective in inducing consumer behaviour desired by the marketer Essay Example Why are immediate rewards more effective in inducing consumer behaviour desired by the marketer Paper Why are immediate rewards more effective in inducing consumer behaviour desired by the marketer Paper Essay Topic: Marketing Immediate rewards are categorised as product based promotions, this includes three groups; bonus packs, multi packs and free-gifts. Bonus packs are special factory packs that offer consumers more of a product at the same price (e.g. 10%, 20%, 50% extra product free) or offering a large pack for the price of the small pack. Multi packs are two or more packs banded together and offered at a reduced price; the super deal in multi pack promotions would be the BOGOF (buy one, get one free) and 3 for 2 offers. Cross promotions can be classified as an immediate reward (buy pasta sauce and get pasta free).Free-gifts can be made available in a variety of ways; the on-pack free-gift, the in-pack free-gift, the with pack free-gift, and the pack itself being the free-gift. There are also some contests such as the Walkers crisps à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½20 and à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½5 notes and free pack coupons giveaway in a form of a potential immediate reward as not all bags of Walkers contain these prizes. Promotions similar to the Boots Advantage Card whereby bonus points are accumulated to save money off the next purchase or a free-gift depending on how many points have been collected; (even though the procedure of collecting points may be lengthy) the procedure of redeeming the points at a moment in time can be considered as an immediate reward. Bonus packs, on-packs, in-packs, with packs and speciality containers all make products more appealing to consumers. They appear to reward them for their purchases, thereby possibly generating positive feelings toward the brand. Crossruffed premiums that consist of samples of other products made by the same manufacture may cause people to try those brands, which may result in future demand for them. Non-immediate promotions such as coupons, self liquidating premiums (SLP) and free mail ins (FMI) have minimal trade interest, coupons may be removed from the pack and misredeemed or malredeemed, they can appeal to a limited audience and have a high drop-out rate if not targeted at strong prospects. High value coupons can equal high risk of coupon abuse and are less attractive at low face values, it can easily be countered by the competition with the same or stronger reward level and redemption levels are uncertain. There is a low participation rate, they can cause difficulties of premium stock control and have minimal sales effect. Unlike non-immediate promotions, immediate rewards are attractive as they present an immediate gain to the consumer at the point of purchase; it has a direct impact. The promotions make the consumer feel good about themselves; the warm tingly feeling of getting a bargain and generates a positive feeling towards the brand. The packaging is usually eye catching, visual and exciting and the perceived value is higher than the cost to provide to the consumer; these offers have considerable on-shelf impact and high visibility and are a strong trial motivator as risk to consumer is removed. They allow consumers to make up their minds on complex or expensive propositions and can draw in applicants who would have declined otherwise, a strong gift can tempt even new users. Product based offers can generate high levels of motivation and participation and stimulate purchase; these promotions are instant. In regards to the brand immediate rewards may gain display space, especially if off-pack, as extra point-of-sale material will be needed to announce the offer, they can produce high incremental sales and a good offer can make a statement about the brands qualities. It can be economical for manufactures than money-off, it adds value to the brand and some promotions require no changes to the basic packaging (multi-pack), carrier products offer added value and the carried product offer brand awareness and trial. The promotion can drive loyalty and lock in portfolio buyers and strong offers may encourage immediate multiple purchases and so drive volume. Brands want to create a positive aura about themselves, sales promotion can help enhance the qualities of the brand; as well as a product based promotion being executed, if it is tied in will a cause related promotion (e.g. every unit bought 15p will go to charity) this can help increase a positive image of the brand. According to Lenard C. et al., (1998) consumers like promotions, they provide utilitarian benefits such as monetary savings, added value, increased quality, and convenience, as well as hedonic/pleasure benefits such as entertainment, exploration, and self-expression. Diamond and Sanyal., (1990) suggests that consumers perceive deals that are framed as presenting gains (buy one get one free') as more attractive versus those that are framed as reducing losses (get 50 percent off). Inman et al., (1997) found that deals with restrictions such as Limit 2 per customer or Offer good until certain date elicit higher evaluations from consumers than the same deals without such restrictions. According to Seibert., (1997) even within diverse forms of equivalent extra product (known as bonus-pack or volume) promotions, 91 percent of surveyed consumers appeared to favour the deal when it (the identical deal) was stated as percent more free rather than percent free and units free. These results are important as they can emphasize the impact that framing of the promotional offer has on consumers deal evaluation. Many of these types of immediate reward promotions can trigger the consumer to stockpile the product, and that alone can keep them away from the market place and competitors cannot have the chance to woo these consumers into buying a rival brand. The more the consumer has the more they will utilize or devour the merchandise; their consumption level increases, consequently, they will become familiar with the brand, which can ultimately result in brand loyalty. Research conducted by Ehrenberg et al., (1994) suggests that price promotions do not generally encourage people to trial a new brand, this works in portfolio markets (frequently bought goods such as groceries, petrol, cosmetics and toiletries, etc). Immediate rewards can be seen to work in the same way as price promotions in that they can encourage consumers to switch between brands that are already in their portfolio (i.e. they have bought them in the past), accelerate purchases, stockpile the promoted product and expand overall sales. To distinguish why immediate rewards are effective through consumer perception tools such as perceptual mapping and consumer surveys are useful. To observe whether immediate rewards are effective in regards to the company, sales data, AGB market research, Nielsen marketing research and tracking devices all provide a view of whether a promotion was successful/will be successful in the future. There can be many factors effecting consumer perception; Grewal et al., (1996) found that consumer perceptions of transaction value will be greater under positive mood than under negative mood. Further more, shoppers in a positive mood are likely to attend more to the favourable side of discount offerings (e.g. obtaining products at lower costs) or they may retrieve positive toned material from their memory at the time of judgement. Consequently, even a small extra discount may add to their pleasure. (Grewal et al., (1996) model of the effects of comparative price advertising on perceptions of value and proposed mood effects on perceived transaction value are on page 10-11). Free-gifts can often be linked to pester power; Kelloggs, McDonalds, Burger King are big users of free-gift items. Pester Power is the name given to marketing techniques which encourage children to nag their parents to purchase a particular product. For instance, advertisers use famous pop stars such as S Club 7 and footballers such as David Beckham to entice children into wanting their products. Link-ups with childrens films and cartoon characters are another enormous money-spinner. In July 2002 McDonalds Happy Meal, came with a free Smurf character one of nine characters which children are encouraged to collect. Children love collecting toys and McDonalds in particular have made this a key element in encouraging children to eat their food. Therefore, in large part, understanding the childrens market necessitates knowledge of the complex inter-relationship between parents, primarily mothers, as purchasers and children as end users. Even though the children may not pay for the items, the growth in the appreciation of pester power is indicative of the fact that children, like their adult counterparts, are becoming accomplished consumers at an even younger age. In recent years, pester power has been one of the buzzwords of the children marketing industry. Harnessing its power has become a holy grail for those who believe it to be the key to parents purse strings. The shortcomings with immediate rewards are as follows: bonus packs require changes to packaging and this is not available to all brands, it may be very costly to short-run and can present shelving problems to trade, bonus packs can have drawbacks in terms of production capability, warehousing, shipping, inventory, and shelving. Some oversize containers need significant modifications in the filling process. In some cases, the bonus pack bottle may be an inch higher or the buy-one-get-one-free pack twice as big, and so will not fit on the shelf. Multi packs can also cause shelving difficulties, they may be costly to run as banding is labour intensive (especially for smaller manufacturers) and requires considerable lead-time (manufactures do not produce the normal amount of their product when banding them together, the amount decreases). Free-gifts can be potentially expensive, merchandise is subject to pilferage, if the item is missing the consumer is less likely to buy the product, i t can be difficult to identify suitable products and may affect brand image if the gift is not of an adequate quality. When stockpiling occurs companies need to ensure that there is enough of the product available to suit demand as this can result in the consumer buying a rival brand and in bad publicity for the company that can consequently effect the brand image. Additional promotion to the trade may need to be implemented in return for efficient stocking of shelves/a point of sale/extra shelving space/allowing wobblers or footprints leading to the promoted product to be used in-store; meaning more money spent by the company, the more a company wants to be noticed the more money is needed to do so. Promotions are not as profitable as when the volume of merchandise is sold normally, after a promotion is conducted it may be difficult for companies to sell their product at the regular price and quantity. If a retailer is providing an immediate reward and the manufacture disagrees with it because it may potentially damage and undermine the brand image problems may occur, such as court hearings, as happened in the past with Levi and Calvin Klein objecting to their product being sold at an inferior price at supermarket chains such as Tesco. Bonus packs are generally unappealing to consumers who do not usually buy the product (if I dont usually use margarine, why would I want an extra 6oz of the product?). Also, in many cases, consumers may not believe that they are getting extra product for their money, suspecting that the price had been raised or that the new quantity offered is actually the regular amount. Can the quotes above really reflect the truth about what consumers think, if we stop to observe a supermarket floor when the store is executing big deals such as buy-one-get-one-free (which in theory is 100% free) and the product is in the consumers portfolio, do we see the majority of consumers not buying into that product? The answer would be a strong no! Stores such as Safeway often put a limit to the amount a customer can buy because the products offered are swiftly purchased, this can be proof enough that consumers tend to be pleased of promotions and stock-up. According to Ehrenberg, (2002 e-mail) 1. If immediate rewards have big effects, they are usually up and then down again (like with promotions). Put another way, immediate reward schemes are usually too costly to sustain over time. 2. Most market changes are slow. At any one time, any effect therefore looks small. Accumulated over time the effect can be bigger. However, it is then likely to be confused by other marketing-mix inputs. Smith et al., (2000) discovered that the results for price points suggested that subjects generally preferred price promotions for higher priced categories; however, they preferred volume promotions for lower priced categories, again demonstrating the importance of transaction value. Sales promotions affect brand sales in numerous ways for instance brand switching, stock piling, purchase acceleration and category expansion. However, not each and every one of these effects need to be present for all types of sales promotions. In the case of a short-term shelf-price reduction valid only for a week, customers will have more incentive to stockpile the product as opposed to a coupon promotion with a longer validity period. Sales promotion activities are by no means going to be uniformly profitable to all players in the market place but almost all companies need to utilize sales promotions as either offensive and/or defensive tools in the never ending battle for markets, Smith et al., (2000). Companies need to weigh out their objectives and link them to the effective type of promotion right for them, what is the promotion that will achieve the factor they want? Sales promotions are unique in their ability to respond in quick, focused, and flexible ways to motivate consumer or trade or counter attack the sales promotion activities of competitors. There are many types of sales promotions, from coupons to contests and sweepstakes, refunds and sampling to continuity programs and trade deals. Blattberg and Neslin,. (1990) summarises the popular sales promotional tools on page 10. Sales promotion is all about getting the brand noticed, to build brand awareness, to induce trial of a new brand or modified brand, to retain previous customers and create brand loyalty. The greater the sample group the brand entices the bigger the number of consumers likely to stay with the brand, the longer the promotion the greater the figure of samplers, however the longer the promotion the more expensive it becomes. An integrated effort of all marketing communication tools can achieve better results for a long-term benefit for the brand, than just singular tools used.

Documentos para green card por matrimonio con ciudadano

Documentos para green card por matrimonio con ciudadano La documentacià ³n para sacar la tarjeta de residencia por matrimonio con un ciudadano es numerosa y conviene tenerla en mano o al menos solicitada antes de empezar la tramitacià ³n. En este artà ­culo se distingue, para hacerlo ms claro, entre los trmites que se realizan cuando el cà ³nyuge extranjero est ya en los Estados Unidos y se sigue lo que se conoce como un ajuste de estatus. Y tambià ©n cuando se da la circunstancia de que est en otro paà ­s y se sigue lo que se llama procedimiento consular. Recordar, antes de empezar, que en los Estados Unidos producen los efectos migratorios los matrimonios entre una mujer y un varà ³n que los de personas del mismo sexo. Lo à ºnico que se pide en este à ºltimo caso, es que la boda se celebre en un lugar cuyas leyes permiten el matrimonio gay. Documentos para la tarjeta de residencia por matrimonio con ciudadano por ajuste de estatus Las personas extranjeras presentes en Estados Unidos pueden obtener la residencia, tambià ©n conocida como green card, por matrimonio con un ciudadano mediante un ajuste de estatus siempre y cuando hubieran ingresado al paà ­s de forma legal, con una visa o mediante el Programa de Exencià ³n de Visas. Es decir, no pueden hacerlo aquellas personas que ingresaron ilegalmente a los Estados Unidos. Los migrantes que se encuentren en esta situacià ³n deben asesorarse con un abogado de confianza antes de iniciar los trmites. Ello es porque a mitad de los mismos tendrn que salir del paà ­s y, en la mayorà ­a de los casos, tendrn una prohibicià ³n para regresar por 3 o 10 aà ±os. Es necesario informarse para estudiar honestamente si existe alguna posibilidad de regularizar la situacià ³n sin necesidad de salir del paà ­s. Para los que pueden ajustar su estatus, pueden realizar en un solo paquete dos tramitaciones distintas: la peticià ³n de esposo y el ajuste de estatus. Los documentos son los siguientes: - Formulario I-130, peticià ³n de familiar - Copia certificada del acta de matrimonio. Si el casamiento se celebrà ³ en otro paà ­s, asegurarse de que cumple con todos los requisitos para ser considerado vlido en Estados Unidos. En este caso, si el documento o cualquier otro no est en inglà ©s, deber traducirse. Este es  un modelo de carta para hacer una traduccià ³n certificada  para Inmigracià ³n. - Prueba de la nacionalidad estadounidense: pasaporte americano, acta o certificado de nacimiento en Estados Unidos, certificado de naturalizacià ³n, acta de nacionalidad por ser hijo o hija de americano a pesar de haber nacido en el extranjero o cualquier otro documento que pueda ser admitido para probar la nacionalidad. - Del cà ³nyuge extranjero es necesario presentar copia certificada del acta o partida de nacimiento. Si no estuviera en inglà ©s, deber traducirse y certificarse dicha traduccià ³n. No es necesario obtener la apostilla de la Haya. - 6 fotografà ­as tipo pasaporte de cada uno de los cà ³nyuges (cada uno, la suya). - Formulario I-485 para ajuste de estatus - Formulario del affidavit of support, tambià ©n conocida como planilla de mantenimiento, I-864 - Prueba de cumplir con el  requisito de ingresos para patrocinar: W2 o 1099, copia de haber pagado impuestos (tax returns) en los à ºltimos aà ±os y una carta de la empresa o empleador para la que se trabaje en la que se especifique desde cundo se trabaja en dicha compaà ±Ãƒ ­a, quà © posicià ³n se ocupa y cul es el monto del salario anual. - Copia de las tres à ºltimas nà ³minas (pay stubs). - Formulario de informacià ³n biogrfica, que es el G-325A - Planilla de los resultados del examen mà ©dico, I-693 - Si se desea un permiso de trabajo antes de recibir la green card, llenar el formulario I-765 - Si se desea viajar fuera de Estados Unidos y regresar mientras se realiza la tramitacià ³n, puede que sea necesario llenar el formulario I-131 para el advance parole, o permiso para viajar. - El pago de la tarifa de todo el proceso. El Servicio de Inmigracià ³n y Ciudadanà ­a (USCIS, por sus siglas en inglà ©s) se pondr en contacto para la cita de datos biomà ©tricos.   El siguiente paso ser recibir el permiso de trabajo, tambià ©n conocido como EAD, si se ha solicitado uno. Despuà ©s, aproximadamente entre 2 y 4 meses de haber enviado la aplicacià ³n, se recibir una cita para la entrevista. En ella un empleado del USCIS intentar determinar si el matrimonio es de conveniencia, en cuyo caso se suspender la peticià ³n de la green card.   Es importante llevar a la entrevista documentacià ³n que sirva para acreditar que el matrimonio es de verdad, como por ejemplo: Cuentas bancarias a nombre de ambos asà ­ como la titularidad de propiedades que pertenezcan a los dos o hipotecas conjuntas.Pà ³lizas de seguros (incluidos mà ©dicos) a nombre de ambos o en los que uno de ellos sea beneficiario de la pà ³liza del otro, como por ejemplo en los casos de seguros de vida.Fotocopias a color y de calidad de fotografà ­as de la boda, de la fiesta de compromiso, si la hubiera habido, de la pareja sola y tambià ©n con miembros de la familia y amigos. Colocar 2 à ³ tres fotografà ­as en un folio en blanco y escribir en inglà ©s el nombre de las personas que aparecen, el lugar y la fecha en la que se tomaron. Repetir la operacià ³n cuantas veces sea necesario.Lease del alquiler de la vivienda, si lo hubiere o hipoteca.Copia de cualquier documento en el que figuren los nombres de ambos cà ³nyuges, como por ejemplo cualquier tipo de factura.Copia de la factura de telà ©fono que pueda probar la comunicacià ³n entre ambos cuando eran novios.Si lo hubi era, copia de los tiquetes de avià ³n para visitarse. Tambià ©n llevar identificacià ³n, incluido el pasaporte del cà ³nyuge extranjero. Si la entrevista es exitosa, se sellar el pasaporte del cà ³nyuge extranjero con una Tarjeta de Residencia temporal, que sirve para viajar y para trabajar. En el plazo de uno o dos meses se recibir la green card de plstico por correo.   Finalmente, si la green card se recibià ³ antes de cumplir dos aà ±os de casado, ser de carcter condicional. Dicha condicionalidad la hay que levantar a los dos aà ±os. Peticià ³n de ciudadano para cà ³nyuge extranjero que est fuera de Estados Unidos En este caso el proceso es un poco distinto. Se inicia con la peticià ³n con el formulario I-130 y envindose el pago por la tramitacià ³n y la documentacià ³n de apoyo que sirve para probar que existe un matrimonio, la ciudadanà ­a del solicitante y la identidad del solicitado (ver ms arriba en apartado anterior). Una vez que la peticià ³n es aprobada, el USCIS la envà ­a al Centro Nacional de Visas (NVC, por sus siglas en inglà ©s). Y sern ellos los que contacten y comiencen a pedir documentos y planillas, seguir las instrucciones al pie de la letra. Pedirn, entre otras cosas, el affidavit of support y todo lo relativo a probar que se tienen ingresos suficientes para patrocinar. Tambià ©n se darn instrucciones para el examen mà ©dico y, finalmente, para la entrevista en el consulado o embajada. Llevar toda la documentacià ³n que se indique. Si se pasa la entrevista, se recibe una visa de inmigrante que se estampa en el pasaporte. A partir de ese momento hay 6 meses para ingresar a los Estados Unidos. Y en ese momento, al llegar a un puerto de entrada terrestre, marà ­timo o de aeropuerto, se sella de nuevo el pasaporte con un sello de ingreso que junto a la visa de inmigrante equivale a una green card temporal, hasta que se recibe la de plstico. Al igual que sucede con el caso anterior, la green card de plstico es condicional si se recibe antes de llevar dos aà ±os de casado. En es caso hay que levantar dicha condicionalidad. Finalmente, destacar que si una persona est fuera de los Estados Unidos y piden a su nombre una green card, es muy difà ­cil que a partir de ese momento aprueben una peticià ³n de visa de turista. A tener en cuenta antes de iniciar los trmites para pedir a un cà ³nyuge De todas las cosas, dos destacan por su importancia y posibles consecuencias. En primer lugar hay que asegurarse de que se tienen ingresos suficientes o que se cuenta con un co-patrocinador. El USCIS no aprueba peticiones si no se cumple este requisito, no hay excepciones.   Y, en segundo lugar, informarse sobre las causas de denegacià ³n de la residencia. Y es que no es suficiente estar casado con un ciudadano. Hay que ser elegible para ingresar a los Estados Unidos y convertirse en residente. En algunos casos no es posible arreglar el problema. En otros es cuestià ³n de esperar a que pase el tiempo de castigo o, cuando se puede, pedir un perdà ³n, tambià ©n conocido como waiver o permiso. Esto à ºltimo hay que tenerlo especialmente en cuenta cuando el problema viene del hecho de haber estado ilegalmente en los Estados Unidos. Esto à ºltimo es un problema cuando se superan los 6 meses de ilegalidad  y se est fuera de Estados Unidos sin importar cà ³mo se habà ­a ingresado o cuando se est dentro y se ingresà ³ ilegalmente. Tambià ©n hay que tener en cuenta que en cosas del amor, las situaciones pueden cambiar. Si hay un cambio de opinià ³n por parte del ciudadano, podrà ­a poner fin a la peticià ³n.  Tambià ©n tener en cuenta que el divorcio, por parte de cualquiera de los cà ³nyuges, puede tener efectos migratorios importantes. Finalmente, para saber ms sobre la tarjeta de residencia se recomienda tomar este test de preguntas mà ºltiples, cuyas respuestas aclaran numerosas dudas. Este es un articulo informativo. No es asesorà ­a legal.

Creating Compelling Characters

Creating Compelling Characters Creating Compelling Characters Creating Compelling Characters By Guest Author This is a guest post by Ali Hale. If you want to write for Daily Writing Tips check the guidelines here. The success of a story rests on its characters. We remember truly compelling, vivid characters long after weve finished reading a novel or watching a movie: Im sure you can recall characters from books you read in childhood. Great characters can compensate for a weak plot or a so-so writing style – but if readers dont care about your characters, theyll put your story down. That clever plot twist or beautiful passage of writing might hook them briefly, but without characters that leap off the page, readers wont stay engaged. If you need more evidence that characters are crucially important, search Google for fan fiction. Many, many books, TV series and movies have spawned a huge amount of creative writing by fans – and this writing is all about the characters. The plots and sometimes even the settings are different from those in the original, but the characters remain the same. Simply knowing how important characters are doesnt help you much, though. You need to figure out how to create truly compelling characters who readers care about, laugh about, even cry about. Heres how: What Does Your Character Need? All compelling characters have a strong need, longing or desire. They should have a problem to overcome. They may not recognise this need (and indeed, many stories are about person coming to understand themselves better – for example, learning that they need companionship). I picked up a great tip on figuring out what characters need from Holly Lisles Create a Character Clinic. Use Maslows hierarchy of needs. Pick a level on the pyramid (you can find all you need to know on Wikipedias page) and then figure out what your character is seeking. At the most basic, physical level, your character might be in a survival situation and need food and water. Going up a level, you might have a character whose security is threatened: perhaps shes lost her job, or hes facing a health crisis. Quirks Dont Equal Character Many beginning writers make the mistake of thinking that giving a character a set of mannerisms or physical quirks is characterisation. It can be amusing and diverting, certainly. Sure, you can give your character a habit of whistling a particular tune, or jangling his keys, or peering over her glasses. But these alone dont make your characters compelling. When your characters do have unusual quirks, these need to be relevant to their back story – the things which happened to them before they appeared in your book. (Compelling characters need to be like icebergs: the reader has to have the sense that theres a lot more under the surface: characters shouldnt feel like they didnt exist before page one.) For example, Harry Potters scar is an important feature because it relates to his history and to the broader plot of the stories. Giving your character a mysterious scar which has no relevance to your story, however, isnt a shortcut to becoming as popular as J.K. Rowling In general, focus on who your character is rather than what they look like. Draw From Life – But Not Too Much So where do powerful, vivid characters come from? Often, the best place to start is yourself. What do you dream about, fear, desire? What secrets do you have? What are you most ashamed of – and most proud of? If youre trying to convey a characters internal thoughts, then you must be willing to draw on your only source of direct experience: the inside of your own mind. Dont go too far in drawing on real life, though. Beginning writers sometimes make the mistake of writing a version of themselves into their stories – often a perfect, flawless character who theyd quite like to be! While this might be emotionally satisfying to the writer, its either very irritating or very boring for readers. Some other tips when drawing on your life are: Were all complex people who may, at times, behave in contradictory ways. Dont make your characters too one-dimensional Most of us have quiet, even boring, lives. Your characters need to do more exciting things in order to engage the reader. Dont worry about describing your characters physically. Mention anything thats important (eg. a characters physical size may have a bearing on the plot and on their self-confidence) but dont burden the reader with details. Watch people when youre out and about, and make up stories about them. Let the Reader Empathise Your reader doesnt necessarily have to like your characters, but they should be able to feel a sense of empathy for them. Even your villains shouldnt be purely evil: there needs to be some explanation for why theyre such awful people – this often forms part of their back story. On the flip side, your heroes shouldnt be too perfect. We like to read about people with flaws, doubts and struggles – because when we read, were imagining ourselves in their place. Characters are compelling when we can share their struggles and cheer on their victories. Some quick ways to build empathy are: Show a character suffering (either mentally or physically) Include a brief flashback to an unhappy childhood or traumatic incident Write about your characters thoughts – especially if their actions might be hard for us to understand or treat sympathetically Use the first-person or third-person limited (deep) point of view Show a character being misunderstood by others Frustrate a characters attempts to meet their need Finally, have fun with creating your characters! If you find yourself writing about a character who bores you, then rewrite them – or recast them as a new character entirely. When you write characters that are truly compelling to you, theyll be compelling to the reader. Ali Hale is a writer whose posts getting more from life at Aliventures have been called so true, exactly what I need and exactly at the right time for me (click to grab the RSS feed here). When shes not blogging, shes working on her novel and other projects, including an MA in Creative Writing. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Fiction Writing category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:30 Synonyms for â€Å"Meeting†The Possessive Apostrophe5 Examples of Misplaced Modifiers

Child Language Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Child Language - Essay Example They have asserted that behaviorist explanations of language acquisition cannot account for it. According to the behaviorists, to learn language is to learn a sequence of stimulus-response links. The child's internalized "rules" (the sneer quotes are the behaviorist's, who does not deign to use such language) are similar to the "rules" involved in motor sequences like brushing one's teeth and tying shoe laces, or in any other well-learned motor activity. Against this, Chomsky and his followers have argued that the child cannot be seriously maintained to have learned a different set of stimulus-response links for each utterance he makes (Chomsky, 1965). Life is too short for learning all the word strings we use. According to the semantic approach the child learns how different meanings are expressed by different sentence structures ( Quine, 1972). One might have expected such an approach to be formulated very soon as a reaction against behaviorist explanations, with their complete neglect of meaning. But such was the stranglehold of behaviorism on theory construction that the semantic approach was not formulated for a long time. The behaviorist edifice succumbed only to the truculent attacks of Noam Chomsky. Chomsky's linguistic theory, transformational grammar, gave rise to an alternative approach to language (Chomsky, 1986). Chomsky as a b Chomsky as a behaviorist conceptualizes discrimination learning in language Discrimination learning ensues when adult use of a word conflicts with that of the child. The process will be somewhat as follows (Baker, and McCarthy, 1981): (1) the child encounters something that reminds him of a paired referent, whether because it resembles it or because it was previously experienced in contiguity with it; (2) the adult uses for this new instance a word which differs from that learned for the paired referent; and subsequently (3) the child notices certain salient attributes in which the new instance differs from the paired referent. For instance, (1) the child sees a horse that reminds him of the referent of the previously learned word "doggie"; (2) the adult calls it "horse"; and (3) the child notices that the horse, unlike doggie, has a mane. The latter property may henceforward operate as a discriminating cue: It will be a NEGATIVE CUE for the word "doggie", and a POSITIVE CUE for the word "horse". To forestall a possible misunderstanding, I want to point out that this earlier discussion is intended to explain how the child delimits the use of words, and not how he acquires distinctions between things. That is, the previously discussed process is not claimed to lead to his distinguishing between, for example, dogs and horses. On the contrary, the ability to make such a distinction--on the basis of differentiating properties, such as the horse's mane--is presupposed here (for, otherwise, how could he ever find out when to use "doggie" and when to use "horse"). The child may become aware of the difference between a horse and a dog--or between two different dogs, for that matter--without adult prompting. The issue here, however, is the child's use of words: To learn the correct use of a word it is not sufficient just to perceive differences between referents, but the child must also observe how these differences correlate with the applicability and nonapplicability of the word ( W exler & Culicover, 1980). The child is innately not acquiring the correct grammar;

Ethical Delimma - A Real Life Situation Case Study

Ethical Delimma - A Real Life Situation - Case Study Example Ellen also undertook the occupation in the area of providing brokerage services to big industries in Omaha. Ellen started to handle some large accounts to whom she provided her services and as a result of this, Ellen started to make a name for herself among the wealthy class of people in Omaha. Joseph and Ellen had plans to get married. With the passage of time, the expenditures planned by them for meeting the expenses of their wedding were falling short of the actual estimations. Apart from this, the maintenance cost of the new home bought by Joseph was also increasing. The cost of commuting by Ellen from her apartment to the new house and to the place of her work was also increasing. However, Ellen assured Joseph that the rising costs would be met with the steadying of their income levels. According to the plan, Joseph was able to keep producing high sales volume with his team of ten salespeople. Joseph found that Carl, who was one of the prominent members of the sales team in term s of his contribution of sales volume, was involved in the process of kickback with the existing clients. Carl was also the son-in-law of the vice-president of the company. It was found by Joseph that a total of three members of his sales team including Carl were involved in the kickback with existing customers. Joseph reviewed the policies of the organization and found that the company intends to do every aspect of its business in the right sense and direction and intends of the best products at best prices to its customers. The vice-president of the company, Katherine has a track record of terminating employees who conveys the news of unethical practices and is also responsible for conducting the unethical practices. While Joseph was pondering whether to discuss the matter with his vice-president or to state openly in the meeting with the sales team that such unethical matters are against the policies of the organization, Joseph was called by his fiancee and told that she has been hired as the broker to the vice-president of his company. Thus Joseph was in a situation of ethical dilemma whether to discuss the matter with the vice-president that might affect his and his fiancee’s career aspirations or to state the right things to be done in the right way which is in line with the policies of Alcon. The key question to be addressed in this scenario is, â€Å"How would Joseph deal with the situation of ethical dilemma in balancing the personal needs and adhering to the ethical demands in the workplace?† Possible Options The possible options that could be adopted by Joseph in order to address the situation of ethical dilemma are explained as follows. The first option could be that Joseph could call for a team meeting and discuss the instances of kickback with the existing customers that have been undertaken by the three employees of his sales team including Carl who has been around in Alcon sales team for considerable time. Despite the practices of kickback in the past during bad times, the importance of adhering to the policies and ethical practices in the organization should be explained. The various consequences of kickback including its effect of fair competition, reduced quality and increased prices, effects on long term business prospects, brand image, employee accountability and action could be explained to Carl and the other team members. The

Technology and Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Technology and Business - Essay Example Moreover, the corporation is also taking into account the possibility of offering free internet access with food purchases. (Mullins 2001, p.120) In addition to this, the company is introducing BT Openzone WiFi hotspots into 561 drive-thru stores, fixed-line internet terminals from Datavision, and adapted web- based games for children. According to the organization, the drive-thru and service station restaurants are extremely popular with their business customers on the move. On the other hand, the hotspots allows the businessmen to check their mail, access the internet and download presentations while having something to eat and drink.(Mullins 2001, p.78) The introduction of wireless office environment that uses Symbol access points and 128-bit security encryption to improve hot-desking facilities for workers moving from site to site has slashed support costs as the organization doesn't have to spend 20 minutes reconfiguring laptops to the office environment. ( Davis 1998, p.105) The introduction of queue-busting wireless ordering devices into 500 restaurants is also paying dividends in that it has minimized customers queuing times, increase drive-thru sales by five per cent thus 82 per cent of the customers believe that it has improved. (Thompson 2002, p. 95) Outsourcing and automating Mc Donald... (Greenberg 2003, p. 130) The implementation of wireless network by the replacement of laptops and mobile phones of 225 managers to XDA smart phones has enabled the organization to integrate devices and business processes to make better use of its restaurant and office-based wireless networks. (Thompson 2002, p. 98) Moreover, by implementing the strategy of revenue sharing partnerships and advertising deals with its internet service providers and equipment providers, Mc Mc Donald is also evaluating chip- and-PIN payment cards readers for its UK branch network. (Mullins 2001, p. 65) Donald's results have been encouraging since they have nine percent customers using payment cards. (Davis 1997, p. 115) By using ADSL broadband connections to authorize transactions, McDonald's has been able to decrease the time to process card expenditure from thirty seconds to just four. (Greenberg 2003, p. 95) Impact of technology on Communication Photography has evolved from the darkroom to the computer lab, thus most photojournalists use digital camera instead of film. This makes photo editing programs such as Photoshop a must in the industry. On the other hand, abuse of technology has resulted in some manipulated and faked images being passed off by the media as truth. (Davis 1997, p.95) Impact of technology on Change management This has enabled organizations to acquire the right steps to appreciate, anticipate, and embrace corporate change through attacking the accessible employee mindset, harnessing incentive, and shaping behaviour. (Mullins 20001, p.88) Impact of technology on Network Mc Donald's U.S. received a supplier of the year's award that had an impact on the McDonald's System,

The History of Communication in the Acient World Research Paper

The History of Communication in the Acient World - Research Paper Example The invention of writing is assumed to have taken place as part of the commercial activities here, and the clay tablets of Mesopotamia show that trade by river and sea was a major channel of communication between centers of population. Writing was a crucial way of keeping track of goods between tradesmen and guaranteeing the prosperity of these early cities. The civilization of Ancient Egypt took the invention of writing to new levels by using the much more portable format of colored ink on carefully prepared papyrus made from the stems of plants that grew along the Nile. Longer texts could be written on this material, and it was much lighter and easier to transport than the heavy and fragile clay tablets of the Mesopotamian region. Hieroglyphic writing was used both in portable scrolls, and on huge monuments, proclaiming the greatness of this mighty civilization. The Phoenicians were also very active in the ancient world, traveling around the coastlines in their sailing craft, trans porting goods and ideas across very large distances. They must have encountered people from many different countries, speaking different languages, and this need to communicate internationally may well have inspired the symbols which the Phoenicians used and these provide the building blocks which make up modern Western alphabets. The Greek civilization was renowned for its expansionism in a military sense but also for its philosophy and its invention of democracy as a form of government. In ancient times Greek ideas were passed from place to place through a combination of conquest and alliance as different cities became part of the Greek empire. Homer’s Odyssey, for example, describes how great leaders communicated to their citizens using direct word of mouth: â€Å"Straightway he bade the clear-voiced heralds to summon to the assembly the long-haired Achaeans† (Homer, Odyssey, 2.6). Human messengers were the main means of communication over longer distances between r ulers of cities and states, and without modern technologies like telephones and mechanized transport, it took a very long time for news to travel back and forth. Hellenism, as the Greek influence is called, was the bearer of many cultural traditions, including ideas about education, the arts and philosophy. Greek citizens took their culture with them as they colonized new areas, often combining new ideas from other cultures with their Greek way of thinking. Many Greek artefacts borrowed ideas from cultures which had better designs and production technologies , such as Persia, for example, showing that trade was a bearer of culture as well as material benefits (Miller, 1997, p. 202). In the time of Greek supremacy great cosmopolitan hubs were created which served as a central pool of ideas from outlying areas. It was Persia also, which first invented a system of mail service, carrying documents and portable items along staged routes between key cities. The Greeks built libraries, pre serving knowledge, and communicating it from generation to generation, so that scientific discoveries and technological advances could be passed on. People traveled far and wide to learn from great Greek teachers like Socrates, who greatly influenced the history of ideas. The Roman civilization brought many artefacts, ideas and traditions from their Mediterranean to the northernmost parts of Europe, and to North Africa and Asia also. The main channel of communication was the military roads that the armies built as