The Information Technology in Business Organizations Essay

The Information Technology in Business Organizations - Essay Example TESCO is a multinational which has worked for many different things. Because of its existence in the market for many years, it has been seen that TESCO has been able to create a brand image which the customers love. â€Å"Tesco operates 923 stores and employs 240,000 people, giving us access to a population of 260 million across our nine markets. Over the past five years, we have expanded from our traditional UK supermarket base into new countries, products and services, including a major non-food business, personal finance and internet shopping. The increasing scale and internationalization of our sales and purchasing operations make a significant contribution to our efficiency and profitability, as we progress towards our long-term goal of becoming a truly international retailer† (Global Sources).Tesco is a company which has its ventures throughout the world. The revenue that it is able to generate from its retails has helped Tesco to grab the third position globally. Tesco started as a small grocery store in 1919 by Jack Cohen which turned out into a huge venture in 1924. Tesco opened its first store in Burn Oak, Edgware, Middlesex in the year 1929. In 1947, it was introduced into the London Stock Exchange and made public and this floatation started the great success story of Tesco plc which has now emerged as one of the tops most renowned supermarket chain is not just the United Kingdom but the entire world. The first supermarket under the name of Tesco was opened in 1956 in Maldon.... This section provides an overview about the efficiency of IT for Tesco’s overall operations and business strategies. The fourth section provides the results of the research carried out in order to study the implications of IT on Tesco’s business operations. This section also provides realistic measures and some recommendations to improve the current IT integration in company’s activities. The last section provides a brief conclusion about the report findings and summarizes the main points of the report. This section gives an independent opinion generated from the information collected. It provides a personal opinion about the alignment techniques of Tesco and summarizes the impact of IT on Tesco’s overall efficiency in terms of operations, performance and stakeholders’ satisfaction. Tesco Supermarket TESCO is a multinational which has worked for many different things. Because of its existence in the market for many years it has been seen that TESCO has been able to create a brand image which the customers love. â€Å"Tesco operates 923 stores and employs 240,000 people, giving us access to a population of 260 million across our nine markets. Over the past five years, we have expanded from our traditional UK supermarket base into new countries, products and services, including a major non-food business, personal finance and internet shopping. The increasing scale and internationalization of our sales and purchasing operations makes a significant contribution to our efficiency and profitability, as we progress towards our long-term goal of becoming a truly international retailer† (Global Sources). Tesco is a company which has its ventures throughout the

Organisational Behaviour AEGON Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Organisational Behaviour AEGON - Assignment Example This was carried out through a launch of new products in the UK that were innovative and they captured the different financial status of the customers. Every customer, therefore, had a product they could associate with and which they could afford. The brand promotion was also carried out through changing the name of their other companies to include the name AEGON in them such as was the case for AEGON Scottish Equitable. The brand promotion also involved endorsing a British female athlete as a way to create a closer association with the same people it was trying to promote their products to. Internal forces for change The most important internal forces of change that AEGON undertook were to develop its workforce. They developed the skills of its workers to match the needs of the customers. This way, the employees were well equipped to handle the customers’ needs as well as the new products that were developed. The organization in the other successful nations such as in the US is renowned for its employees that are experts, innovative and have good communication skills. This was what the organization wanted its UK-based employees to be renowned for as another way to attract more customers hence increasing their skills. AEGON could not expect to make any changes externally without having to change their culture which was making them fail to get established in the UK in the first place. Culture change involved the employees and managers changing their attitude, behavior, values as well as belief.

Famine, Affluence, and Morality Essay Example for Free

Famine, Affluence, and Morality Essay In Peter Singer’s 1972 article titled â€Å"Famine, Affluence and Morality†, he suggests that wealthy nations have an ethical duty to contribute much more than they do to other nations who are suffering through a natural disaster, extreme poverty, famine or other issues. In this paper, I will describe Singers objective and give his argument with regards to this issue. I will describe three counter-arguments to Singer’s view which he addresses, and after that reveal Singer’s reactions to those counterarguments. I will explain Singer’s idea of marginal utility and also differentiate how it pertains to his argument. I will compare how the ideas of duty and charity alter in his suggested world. To conclude, I will provide my own position in response to Singer’s argument. The primary objective of Singer’s article is to express that we as people have the capacity to assist those in dire need as it is our moral duty to do so. He uses the disaster in East Bengal as an example. â€Å"Continuous poverty, a cyclone, and a civil war have turned a minimum of 9 million people into abandoned refugees; nonetheless, its not beyond the capability of the wealthier countries to provide sufficient help to decrease further suffering to very small proportions (Singer 1972). He thinks that theres no reason at all for individuals to suffer if other people have the ability to assist and prevent it from happening or getting worse. It’s our moral responsibility to modify our way of living so as to achieve this important objective. They are overcrowded, hungry, dehydrated and need medical attention. Singer believes that we have the resources to decrease the suffering and pain yet we disregard the problem and do nothing at all, which can be immoral. We should modify our opinions of morality so as to develop a dedication to helping people in dire need. Singer provides counter-arguments in his work which I will talk about here. He offers his readers a scenario which involves a drowning kid and a witness. Most people would try to save the kid since its the â€Å"right† action to take. Singer proposes that this duty happens since lots of people know that a drowning kid is considered very bad and outweighs the fact they you have to get your clothes muddy and wet. The counter-argument in this situation proposes that because I am not the only individual seeing this event, why is it my duty to do something positive about it? Why must it be my ethical responsibility to assist this kid in case nobody else is doing anything regarding it? Singer explains, â€Å"In case its in our power to avoid something bad from occurring, without thereby compromising anything of comparable moral significance, we should, morally, to do it (1972). † He thinks that we are able to do whats right however we should decide to do whats right even when everybody else decides not to. Singer also touches on whether our moral responsibilities must be restricted to distance. The counter-argument in this instance proposes that because these suffering people are so far away, why is it my moral responsibility to help them instead of using it in my own area? According to Singer, â€Å"It makes no ethical difference whether the individual I can assist is a neighbors kid 10 yards from me or a Bengali whose name I shall never know, 10,000 miles away (pg. 232). † Its still our moral obligation to do whats right. Is it morally appropriate to discriminate against a suffering individual just due to their distance? Singer suggests, â€Å"In case we accept any rule of impartiality, universalizability, equality, or whatever, we cant discriminate against somebody just because he is far away from us (or we are far off from him) (pg. 232)†. A person’s distance must not restrict our moral duties. Singer believes that everybody must give when its required. Many people are not contributing, so how much must I give without making myself or my loved ones worse off? The counter-argument here is whether to give more than can cause financial stuggle. He discusses the probability of contributing to the point of marginal utility. As Singer states â€Å"Because the situation seems to be that not many people are likely to give considerable sums, it makes sense that I and everybody else in similar conditions must give as much as possible, that is, at least up to the level at which by giving more one would start to cause acute suffering for oneself and one’s dependents-perhaps even beyond this level to the stage of marginal utility, at which by giving more one would cause oneself and one’s loved ones just as much suffering as one would prevent in Bengal† (pg. 234). To conclude, we all must give as much as possible so long as it doesnt cause us to suffer in the process. Singer proposes that responsibility and charity is our ethical duty. We â€Å"ought† to assist unknown people in need of assistance if we are capable to and that it would be morally incorrect not to contribute. We must put on our old clothes instead of purchasing new ones just for the simple truth that you want to be well dressed. Duty and charity change in this future world since in this era, many people wont give up certain luxuries so as to give to other people. Most people are selfish and would prefer to indulge in the finer matters in life rather than worry about contributing their hard earned bucks to other people in need of assistance. Individually, I support Singer’s point for many reasons. I do think that we must assist people in need when we are capable of doing so as long as it does not cause us to suffer financially. I agree that a few luxuries must be overlooked if it implies that a life can be saved. In case we were suffering or in an identical condition, would we wish or expect assistance? I agree that its the correct thing to do morally. I dont believe that we must discriminate against a suffering person simply because that individual isnt in our society. The life of an individual is invaluable and must come first of all. To conclude, Singer’s primary point is that it is our moral obligation to assist other people in times of need with regards to medical care, food, shelter or reconstruction. I agree that we must contribute our money and time to assist other people if it doesnt create a bad impact on our own lives. In this era, lots of people are selfish as well as greedy and dont usually stop to take into consideration other people in need of assistance. People need to understand that there are lots of people around suffering and may ultimately pass away if they dont get the assistance they need as well as deserve. I agree that it is our moral duty to assist any person in urgent need even when its an individual thousands of miles away.

Virgin Media Business Strategy

Virgin Media Business Strategy This report is a study of Virgin Media Inc and the business strategies that define the company. The analysis was an attempt to correlate the theories that define the business strategies of a company and the practical approach taken by Virgin Media in those areas. So we have performed a study of the Marketing Mix of Virgin Media and based on our findings a SWOT Analysis of Virgin Media. From the results of the SWOT analysis we have drawn our conclusions of what Virgin Media has to focus on in the future and predict the path that they should take. Virgin Media: A First Look Virgin Media is a leading name in the communication and entertainment sector providing a â€Å"quad play† of services consisting of broadband, television, mobile and fixed line telephone. The company was founded by Sir Richard Branson and has James Mooney as the company chairperson and Neil Berkett as chief executive officer of the firm. It has established itself as UKs leading media and communication provider and has built its large business through constant innovation, successful diversification and competitive product design using a future proof strong communication network. Virgin Medias three main operating segments Cable Mobile Content The cable segment offers broadband Internet, television and fixed-line telephone services under the Virgin Media brand to residential customers in U.K. In the mobile segment Virgin Mobile has teamed up with T-Mobile by purchasing airtime from T-Mobile and branding it under the Virgin Mobile brand name. The content segment includes eight genre-based entertainment channels, including Virgin1, Living, Bravo, Trouble, Challenge and Challenge Jackpot. The content segment also oversees the companys interest in the UKTV television channels through joint ventures with BBC Worldwide. There is also the Video On Demand services and the website services that provide movies, TV shows and news to the customers. History of Virgin Media In March 2006 NTL and Telewest which were UKs leading cable companies merged together to become the provider of UKs leading triple-play services. Later in July 2006 the merged company acquired Virgin Mobile providing the first quadruple-play offer of TV, internet and fixed and mobile telephony services from a single operator. Finally in February 2007 the combined companies were rebranded and launched as Virgin Media. Virgin Media has rebranded Ntl:Telewest, the companys business Internet Service Provider (ISP), as Virgin Media Business. Virgin Media is the largest privately built network in the UK, with 330 Ethernet PoPs and over 38,000 street cabinets across the country. Virgin Media Inc. Is listed on the NASDAQ Stock Market and the London Stock Exchange (VMED) Track Record Virgin offers ultrafast internet access of up to 50Mb to just over half of all homes in UK. Virgin Media has one of UKs most advanced TV on demand services and was the first TV platform to carry BBC iPlayer.(#CITATION) .It is the second largest provider of pay TV, was the first to launch a high definition TV service and offers a high-specification, HD-ready V+ personal video recorder. It is also one of the largest fixed-line home phone providers in the country. Virgin Media has also announced that it would be launching 100 Meg broadband services by the end of December 2010. â€Å"We are expanding our trials of a 200Mb broadband service and are planning the commercial launch of a 100Mb service later this year. The development of our next generation TV platform is progressing well and we are confident it will provide the UKs most accessible, comprehensive and seamless home entertainment experience. â€Å", Says Neil Burkett CEO of Virgin Media. Virgin medias performance in the stock market has improved over the last year. Its share price fell in the beginning of 2008 but remained stable during the recession period. Stock price have been rising from the fourth quarter after the company announced its successful Q4 results for the year 2009 .This shows that company has gained the trust of the investors. Technology Virgin Media is one of the largest residential broadband providers in the UK using a unique fiber optic cable network. It is the first company in UK to offer Broadband, Telephone, and TV through its fiber optic cable network. The fiber optic cable is made of glass and it delivers vast amounts of information at the speed of light whereas other providers use copper wires to deliver information, which is much slower than optical fibers. The fiber optic network gives the customer all the benefits of next generation telecoms: It helps to reduce costs through voice and data convergence It quickly transfer large volumes of data Helps to centralize and secure your data storage Instantly implement disaster recovery plans Key Facts about Virgin Media Revenue: 3.8 Billion (GBP) Employees: 10939 Marketing Orientation The aim of a Market oriented company is to satisfy the customer needs and requirements and to align their products and services to the demands of the customers. A typical marketing orientation model is shown below. A market oriented company tries to continuously improve customer satisfaction. To deliver superior customer value they pay close attention to service, both before and after sales. The concept of market orientation is built on three pillars of: Customer focus Coordinated marketing Profitability. An organizations capabilities to develop an orientation towards each of these three pillars depend on the internal structure and culture. Virgin Media follows a market orientation strategy in which the company is concerned about the customers requirements and needs. It pays attention to what its customer needs and delivers the information accordingly. Also due to high competition amongst various service providers Virgin Media also follows Sales orientation in which the company pays attention to the s of sales as well. Virgin Media has put together 3 strategic priorities in its â€Å"Manifesto†: Engaging our people Growing our business Fixing the fundamentals Virgin media has created a broad portfolio that can be tailored to enables its marketers to meet customer requirements. Product diversification within a single business allows it to be one step ahead of its competitors. Virgin Media believes in continuously interacting with its customers, either on day-to-day basis or in one of their stores, during a home installation or on the phone with one of Virgin Medias agents. Virgin Media uses a management tool called â€Å"Net Promoter† to monitor and measure the customer feedback. This helps the company to improve their performance by analyzing the feedback and suggestions from its customers. Show below are statistics of Virgin Medias customers and the number of customers added in 2009. Competitive advantage Competitive advantage is termed as â€Å"The achievement of superior performance through differentiation to provide superior customer value or by managing achieve lowest delivered cost† (Jobber, D., (2009), Principles and practice of marketing, 914) UK has become a highly competitive market for the telecom sector. With the government pushing for improved broadband services for everyone (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8012848.stm) Broadband speed offered by service providers has gone from up 14.4 kbps to 50 mbps. There is a cutthroat competition in the broadband sector with more than 20 companies serving 61.4 million population of UK. (http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=1352). Due to this intense competition major market players like BT, Virgin media and Sky have almost similar packages offered to their customers while playing to their strengths in different market segments. Sky offers the most number of channels than any other service provider in UK and hence sky subscribers tend to be those who prefer their superior television services whereas Virgin media advertises its superior broadband network and hence its subscribers are normally those who use internet more. BT has more customer base due to its economical packages (Table 1). Services offered 2 Comparison of the basic packages offered by BT, Sky and Virgin Media * Package information taken from * http://allyours.virginmedia.com/?buspart=Portal_HP_topnav_1_1 * http://www.sky.com/shop/bundles-offers/popular-bundles/ * http://www.productsandservices.bt.com/consumerProducts/displayCategory.do?categoryId=CON-BT-BUNDLE-Is_intcid=con_intban_overview_packages_home In HDTV section Sky seems doing far better than Virgin media. They have positioned well in HD TV market. Virgins video on demand service is highly acclaimed by the viewers (750m views in 2009, 50% rise over previous year). Bravo, a pay channel of Virgin media has acquired exclusive rights of the US block buster series Spartacus: Blood and Sand. Despite this Sky added 172,000 customers in the fourth quarter and Virgin media added only 34,200 new subscribers. Due to the uniqueness of services offered by sky Virgin media seems is lagging behind in the race when it comes to TV channels. In order to study the competitive advantage a company has over its competitors, Porter, M. E. (1998) suggested the five forces model. Analysis of Five forces for Virgin Media: Entry barriers: Entry into the telecom industry is primarily determined by the high cost of the fixed assets. There are significant costs to be incurred like the cost of establishing the network, operating costs of the network and associated infrastructural costs. Virgin media has spent billions of pounds just to lay the optic fiber cable network required. Acquiring telecast rights for sporting events, TV shows etc. is also a key entry barrier determinant as the competition for the rights normally increases the price, making it harder for new entrants. BT a significant competitor and running on an aging copper based network is finding it hard to convince its investors to develop infrastructure after incurring current losses in excess of  £7b. The telecom industry is an extremely competitive market where key market players try to make profits through sales volumes and not price. So for an entrant into the market the initial return on investment will be low and market expectations for generating profits in the long run are low as well. The market is also highly competitive and any product or service is immediately replicated by the competitors. For example BT has offered a 40 mbps broadband service to compete directly with Virgin Medias 50 mbps broadband service. There is a significantly high cost for advertisement as the competition is with established brands with significant brand recall. The telecommunication service is a vital and intensely used and hence customers demand high quality of service. Service complaints are investigated by OfCom, UKs independent regulator of the telecommunications industry and hefty fines are placed on service providers for poor service quality. All these factors combined reduce the number of new entrants into the telecommunications sector. Rivalry determinants: Due to the presence of significant market players like SKY and BT, there is intense competition in the telecom industry. Increase reliance on internet has increase customer expectations and dominant market players frequently reduce prices to attract more customers. There is hence a reduction in overall profitability and investments are hence done cautiously. Key market players have strong brand names and hence significant brand loyalty. Competing brands have their unique strengths making it difficult for users to switch networks. Sky network offer premium television content and hence retain its customers even though Virgin Media has a superior high speed internet network. Customers also find it easier to take all the bundled services from a single provider due to advantages like ease of payment and discounts on bundled deals. High switching costs hence make it increasing difficult for Virgin Media to increase its market share. Supplier power: To develop a cost leadership advantage one really needs to control supplier power. This is one big determinant of economies of scale. As there are many competitors in the telecom sector, suppliers tend to demand higher prices for the services in od force the company to provide better deals. The supplier may refuse to work with the company if their demands are not met and provide its services to a competitor. For example Sky charges a high wholesale price to its competitors like Virgin Media to permit them to display their premium offerings like sports. Since Sky has all the associated broadcasting rights and Sports channels are in great demand by the UK consumer, Virgin media and BT have no choice but to pay more for the content. Owing to this fact Sky has become a dominant force in the Television sector as its competitors are not able to match its prices. Threat of substitutes: There are players like Sky and BT in the bundled services market segment and O2, Vodafone Talk-talk etc. in individual service market segment. All of them offer comparatively similar services at very competitive prices. Due to this it is difficult for a new customer to choose a service. The choice may then be made instantaneously and based on current need. For example a sports fan when choosing a new service may immediately go for the Sky network without much consideration to the quality of the other networks. Existing customers may also be tempted to switch networks due to economic or service based needs. Virgin Media could lose an existing customer to BT which offers more economical bundle packages and with the upcoming sports events like the football world cup and London Olympics it could lose customers to the Sky network as well. Also in order to reduce network congestion during peak hours, Virgin Media throttles the network speed and this has irked some of its internet users. If a rival service makes a claim that it does not perform such a speed check on the network, users may switch to the rival network. Buyer power: Every service provider in the telecom sector aims at minimizing its churn rate (rate at which a customer leaves the service).Hence the customer enjoys a greater degree of bargaining power. Service providers tend to offer discounts and cheaper rates to ensure that they do not lose customers. Virgin media may be forced to renegotiate deals with the customers in order to minimise this risk. Five forces analysis though tells us about the microenvironment of the business, it is not enough to gain competitive advantage. A firm can get competitive advantage by developing strategies to create value to customer. Michael Porter suggests that company can either differentiate their product or service by, Differentiating their product offering or Managing lowest delivered cost. Competitive strategy options model Virgin media has adopted a Differentiation leader strategy and utilises this in its advertising campaigns. Virgin Media advertisement campaigns focus on the fact that it is UKs fastest network and that it offers premium content on its Video on demand services. In a survey conducted by Ofcom Virgin media broadband speed was found to be highest in all the service providers. Traffic on Broadband Network affect Speeds In order to create differentiated or lowest cost position it is important to understand the value chain of a company. Value chain analysis provides a holistic view of the company. It provides a framework for understanding the nature and location of the skills and resources that provide a basis for competitive advantage. Activities of a company are grouped into two Primary activities that generate a profit margin for the company Support activities that facilitate the primary activities The goal of a company is to ensure that the primary activities are performed efficiently so that the costs incurred from the primary activities and support activities remain lower than the price paid by the customer for the service provided, thereby granting a profit margin to the company. Virgin Medias Value chain: An analysis. Inbound Logistics: Virgin media has tie ups with BBC, ITV and Television show broadcaster to deliver their content on its network. Having settled their disputes with Sky network regarding television content Virgin media now has a tie up agreement with Sky network for their premium television content like Sky sports, Sky one etc. However the wholesale broadcaster fee of Sky Network is high causing a significant increase in costs for Virgin media. But Virgin media does not have to depend on a third party service provider for network and related logistics because it has its own superior network and in house facilities for network management. Hence it has a significant reduction in network costs. Operations and Service: Company is rated for its internet speed and its VOD service. This indicates that they have good operations throughout the UK. Their Web support chat window appears as soon as a net user starts browsing website. The response to queries was quick and informative when tried online. BT also has similar service however it was less prompt than Virgin media. They also have their support through social networking sites like Twitter and Face book. Virgin gives all options to pay bills. Outbound logistics: Virgin media gives installation and maintenance service to all its customers. Customer can opt for e bill or a normal hard copy. When order for new connection is placed it is completed within 7 working days. Any new subscription to any of their service is completed on the same day. Because Sky is a dish network, customers are required to take permission from the societies which can cause annoyance to the customers. This gives competitive advantage as Virgin service can be obtained through BT cable. Marketing and sales: Company is strongly advertising on internet and television. They are using social networking sites aggressively for their advertising. They have completely understood the need of the segment they are targeting and marketing their broadband speed as their customer winning strategy. Company also believes that calling the customers may spoil the image of company hence they have strict rules for calling customers. Procurement: Virgin has established a code of conduct for its suppliers. Best part is that company focuses on environment and labor issues when purchasing decisions are made. Technology development: With fibre technology Virgin media become UKs second largest telecom service provider company. They are unique in the market. Company is testing 100mbps broadband speed and will be operational by 2011. They are also trialing 200 mbps broadband. Company also have technologies to support web based learning and automated hospital care; with which they are ambitious to capture the market. Human resource management: Virgin media recently axed 2200 jobs due to economic slowdown. This will have a profound effect on its image in the employees. Company seems emphasizing more on employment cuts for cost effectiveness which will affect the morale of the employees. For cutting costs Virgin Media has outsourced some of its operations like billing and front end calling. This will benefit them in reduce expenses and increase efficiency. http://www.computing.co.uk/computing/news/2205297/virgin-signs-network-contract Firm infrastructure: Virgin media is operating in telecom market with its giant network. They have 186,000 km nationwide fibre-optic network worth  £13 billion. They also have 157 telephone switches. Their infrastructure can support 70,000 calls/minute. 35% of the UKs broadband traffic is handled by Virgin media. This works as an entry barrier for new entrants in the telecom market. Suggestions: With sound technology and infrastructure virgin media has lot of opportunities to spread its network in the rural areas. Company can improve its internal customer relationship and boost the morale of the employees. There is higher scope of improving the logistics in terms of new connections being completed within 48 hours and compete Sky network. They can also improve their billing system by offering payment through set top box. Virgin Medias Marketing Mix: An Analysis Marketing Mix: Marketing Mix is defined as â€Å"The tactical tools that marketers use to implement their strategies† (Kotler 2008: 202). The four basic factors that we analyse the marketing mix on are Product Price Place Promotion For a successful marketing strategy, one needs to come at the equilibrium of above four tools. Product â€Å"A product is anything that is capable of satisfying customer needs†, (Jobber,D 5th edition :326 ). Virgin media has four main products in its portfolio. Television Broadband Landline Mobile Virgin Medias product portfolio is built up of intangible products making the post purchase services offered to the customers like customer services, help lines and value added content an important aspect of the Augmented Virgin Media Product. Virgin Media distinguish its product from other competitors like Sky and BT by using special feature like optic fibre cable and forms a total product. The core product can be differentiated in many ways Customers can be reached by applying following marketing mix:- Functionality: Virgin medias network is fibre optic network that provided support for high bandwidth and is unique in comparison to its competitors like BT and Sky who are still dependent on Copper based data transfer networks. This has helped Virgin media to gain customers attention as customer focus is now on high speed internet. Brand: â€Å"A brand is created by augmenting a core product with values that makes the product unique and distinguishes it from the competitors†(Jobber 2007: 334). â€Å"To achieve high sales, you need a powerful Brand Name behind it , which ultimately retains their customers through† brand loyalty(Jobber 2007: 334). Having an established brand name normally puts a business in a secure position in the competitive market as customers tend to focus on perceived brand value through the strong brand name. This enables retention of even the price conscious customers due to the loyalty created with the brand. Virgin media has Customer Based Brand Equity which is defined as â€Å"The differential effect that brand knowledge has on customer response to the marketing of the product† (Jobber 2007: 332). The Virgin Group started by Sir Richard Branson has a significant market presence in various sectors due to a varied range of products like Virgin Records, Virgin Airlines. This provides a positive impact in the market as a first time customer will associate Virgin Media with the brand values and market value of the Virgin Group. Managing the Product Mix Positioning and Repositioning: Positioning â€Å"A products position is the way the product is defined by consumers on important attributes the place the product occupies in the minds relative to the competitive products.† Virgin media operates in three segments in the B2C segment. Cable segment Data Content Mobile Segment In the cable segment Virgin media occupies the position of a Market leader because of its future proof fibre optic cable network that has won it the â€Å"Fastest home broadband Award â€Å"for their 50 MB broadband services. Due to its superior network Virgin Media is able to differentially position themselves against their competitors like BT and SKY In the Data Content Segment. Virgin media occupies the position of a market In the mobile segment Virgin media is playing catch up to most other providers like O2 and 3 Mobile services. It currently has an agreement with T Mobile for use of its airtime under the brand of Virgin Media. Repositioning In Feb 2010 Virgin Media rebranded NTL/Telewest as Virgin Media Business. The rebranding came as Virgin media stepped up its effort to capture market share from BT which is the dominant operator in the B2B market segment. By rebranding the name the Virgin Media family is able to use the Virgin Brand name and improve its marketing capability. As Richard Branson has quoted â€Å"Good progress with network development leaves Virgin Media Business well positioned to expand its offer out to smaller corporates.† http://www.telecomseurope.net/content/virgin-media-branson-means-business Market Positioning Of Virgin Media: Ansoff Matrix analysis â€Å"The emphasis on product portfolio analysis is managing an existing set of products in such a way as to maximize their strengths. But companies also need to look to new products and markets for future growth. A useful way of looking at growth opportunities is the Ansoff Matrix.† Existing Market: Existing Product: The Market Penetration Strategy is used when a company attempts to capture market share by launching its own version of an existing product. Focus then is placed on aggressive advertising and promotions Virgin Media had applied this strategy to capture market share from BT when it launched its broadband services. It emphasised on advertisement campaigns and cheaper package deals to capture customers from Sky. Existing Market: New Product: The Product development strategy is used when a company attempts to launch a new product in an established market catering to its existing customer base. Virgin Media has proposed to launch its 100 mbps broadband service as an upgraded product to its customers to improve on its existing portfolio offerings New Market: Existing Product: The Market development strategy is used when a company attempts to target a new market with an existing product. Virgin media launched its broadband services with a fixed focus on home customers. Utilising its existing network and operational services it has re-launched its B2C arm as Virgin Media Business in order to capture market share from BT. New Market: New Product: The Diversification strategy where a company launches new products in new markets where it had no market presence at all. While Virgin Media was a diversification strategy of Virgin group there is no product or strategy currently utilised by Virgin Media to justify this approach. The intense competitive nature of the business also makes it riskier for the company to attempt such diversification at this point of time. Stages of PLC for Virgin Media: Product development: When an established company enters in the market with new product with new design and development, the sales are zero. Virgin media has not disclosed any information about a product in this stage and typically this information would be secret as the telecommunication industry is highly competitive. Introduction: When a new product is introduced in an established market, the profit would be very less and the cost of introduction of the product would be very high , also it will lead to a small growth in sales. Virgin Media has launched its 100 mbps Broadband service as test service in Coventry on a test basis. Growth: When the new product is accepted in the market company starts making the profit , this period of acceptance and the profit would fall into ‘Growth of the PLC graph. Virgin medias VOD services fall in the Growth sector as it has recorded a 50 % growth in 2009. Maturity: When the product captures the majority of its market customers, slowdown the sales growth. There is decline in the Profit level because of increasing marketing costs in order to remain competitive. Virgin Media 20Mb Broadband being second popular choice has reached its maturity stage and there is a slow growth in the number of new customers. Hence Virgin Media has launched its 100 mbps broadband service in order to return the broadband segment into the growth. Decline Stage: When a product performs poorly and there is a reduction in sales it is known as the decline stage. Currently in our assessment Virgin Media does not have any product that is in the decline stage. BCG Matrix of Virgin Media The BCG Growth- Share Matrix is designed by leading management consultancy Boston consulting Group (BCG) which allows drawing the portfolio in 2X2 diagram and thus analysing the product. The BCG matrix gives guidelines for setting strategic objectives on the cash flow and categorized as. Stars: Build sales/ Market shares Problem children: Build selectively Cash Cows: Hold sales or/and market shares Dogs : Harvest or focus on defendable niche After analysing Virgin Media products the portfolio of the product can be drawn as follows 50MB Broadband,VOD Broadband+Landline+Mobile+TV Mobile Services 50Mb Broadband is a STAR because that has been awarded the fastest Home broadband .Virgin Media being the first Quad play player in the market they got positive response from their customers, thats why TV, Broadband , landline and mobile Services as a bundle falls in CASH COW. Mobile Services has got fierce competition in the market thats why virgin Mobile Services falls in DOG sector. Promotion â€Å"Promotion means activities that communicate the merits of the products and persuade the target customers to buy it†. (Armstrong and Kotler 2009: 84) Promotions help to influence customers purchase behavior. Promotion also keeps people informed and educated about the product. Advertising plays an important role in Virgin Medias Marketing Strategy. Virgin Media uses different means to educate and inform the customers about their products like television, pamphlets distribution, hoardings, internet, direct marketing and newspapers. Elements of Promotion: Direct Marketing: In Direct Marketing there is a direct communication with individual or group consumers either by internet, mail, email, fax, telephone etc. Direct marketing is useful to communicate directly with the potential buyers avoiding any intermediaries. Virgin Media does their direct marketing through call centers, sales representative, internet or distributing the pamphlets. Advertising: â€Å"Any paid form of non-personal communication of ideas or products in the prime media.† (Jobber D. and Fahy J. Foundation of Marketing 2nd Edition 2006:225). Virgin Media follows the product oriented advertiser strategy. This strategy involves highlighting the product features, services, price through various advertising channels such as television, internet, magazines, e-marketing etc. Virgin Media advertisements have been controversial due to the nature of their claims.A campaign Truth Lies and Broadband was subject of an ASA (Advertising Standards Authority) inquiry due to the complaints from its competito

The Terminal Tale of Today Will Be A Quiet Day :: Today Will Be a Quiet Day Essays

The Terminal Tale of Today Will Be A Quiet Day  Ã‚        Ã‚   After reading "Today Will Be A Quiet Day" by Amy Hemple, I had an eerie feeling that something bad was going on behind the scenes. I feel that the father has a terminal disease and he wants to happily live out the last few days of his life. I think that there is conclusive evidence that "Today Will Be A Quiet Day" is not a happy story, but in fact a sad one. First of all, death plays a huge role in this story. Death is brought up so many times in this story one can only conclude that there is some kind of foreshadowing going on. For example, the very first line of the story deals with disaster and death. In the first paragraph the boy talks about what would happen if an earthquake occurred while they were on the bridge. He says, "I think if the quake hit now the bridge would collapse and the ramps would be left" (1202). At the end of the first page the father remembers a boy who went to his son’s school who committed suicide. Another part of death in this story is the mention of the family dog that was put to sleep five years ago for biting a little girl. The daughter had always thought that the dog had gone to live in the mountains, but when she finds out that the dog was put to sleep, she gets all upset about her loss. Even the joke about the guillotine that the girl tells involves death. All of these examples are h ints that there is a death in the near future. The fact that the mother is not mentioned throughout the whole story implies that she is no longer around to take care of the children. The father, then, makes little hints about his departure such as, "Who will ever adopt you if you don’t mind your manners" (1204). Although, this may have been a joke it is far too serious to let go. This is a serious sign of a fatal illness. Yet another sign of fatality is the mention of the tombstone, and this is tied directly, and significantly, to the title of the story.

Netscape Analysis Report Essay -- essays research papers

Netscape Analysis Report I. History Netscape Communications Corporation, originally named Mosaic Communications Corporation (MCOM) was founded in April 1994 by Jim Clark and Marc Andreessen. They released their first browser products free to Internet users in September 1994. Jim Clark is chairman of Netscape Communications Corporation. Before founding the company, Clark was the chairman of Silicon Graphics, a computer hardware manufacturer he founded in 1982. Marc Andreessen is vice president of technology for Netscape Communications. He helped develop the original graphical World Wide Web browser, Mosaic, while he was at the University Of Illinois at Urbana/Champlain. The Internet is a global network connecting thousands of networks by use of high speed digital lines called ATMs, T3s and T1s. It was just being introduced to the general public at the time of Netscape's conception and they would NOT have been successful if they had not had this timing advantage. II. Location Netscape's corporate headquarters are in Mountain View, California -- in the heart of the Silicon Valley. However, due to the nature of the global networks its software transmits over, Netscape is able to sell worldwide via the Internet. There are virtually no walls to its "retail outlets." Its software products are also distributed through computer stores worldwide. III. Product Line Netscape Navigator is a software program to browse information available on the Internet. It is available for all common computer system platforms, including 16-bit PC, 32-bit PC, Macintosh, and all UNIX systems. Navigator also allows people to check their e-mail on the Internet through use of a password (MIME) encoding scheme. Netscape Server is a piece of software that installs on UNIX and Windows NT based systems that allows serving of data on the Internet's World Wide Web. It also provides for secure transactions such as those involving credit cards. IV. Corporate Structure The founders, Jim Clark and Marc Andreessen, own 35% of the company. There are other major shareholders, and it is also publicly held. The board of directors and other executive management are listed in the following table: James H. Clark- Chairman of the Board James L. Barksdale- President, Chief Executive Officer and Director Marc L. Andreessen- Vice ... ...quarter of 1995, Netscape showed a profit. VIII. Graph Please see attached sheet IX. Other Information A. Netscape is involved in a project to put all of California's public schools on the Internet. (Star Ledger, "Net Day ‘96") B. America Online entered into a partnership with Netscape to have Netscape's browser software available to AOL users. (3/12/96, DJIN) C. CompuServe entered into a licensing agreement with Netscape to let CompuServe's users use Netscape as their primary browser software. (3/11/96, DJIN) X. Conclusion I would suggest this stock as a good investment in the Stock Market Game because its price fluctuates enough to earn a decent profit from trading it. I would not, however, suggest Netscape as a good investment in real life until its price becomes lower, because it seems to be on a downward trend. (Although Netscape is a good long-term investment as well, because of its potential and the demand for the Internet) Works Consulted Netscape 10Q Quarterly Report (4th quarter 1995) Netscape 1995 Annual Report Netscape Prospectus for Public Offering Of Stock Star Ledger, "Net Day ‘96", ? Dow Jones News Retrieval Service, (3/11/96, 3/12/96)

Lost Identity Found Essay -- Cultural Identities Culture Identity Essa

Lost Identity Found Stuart Hall writes that â€Å"Identity is not as transparent or unproblematic as we think† (Hall 392). Hanif Kareishi, a visual minority growing up in racially charged England, experiences uncertainty and frustration relating to his sense of identity. Salman Rushdie, author of short stories â€Å"The Courter† and â€Å"Good Advice Is Rarer Than Rubies,† develops characters who experience similar identity crises. In his piece, â€Å"The Rainbow Sign,† Kareishi explores three responses to encounters with a foreign and hostile culture: outright rejection of the foreign culture, complete assimilation into foreign culture, or adoption of a synthesis of the two cultures. Kareishi himself embraces each of these different approaches at different times in his life, while characters in Rushdie’s short stories embody specific approaches. Kareishi’s discussion of the interaction between race, class, nationhood, and citizenship points to the need for a lo osening of racial and class distinctions in favor of a multicultural, liberal approach for achieving a successful synthesis of cultures. The protagonist of â€Å"Good Advice Is Rarer Than Rubies† adopts the rejectionist course when confronted with the possibility of being introduced into a foreign British culture. Miss Rehana, the Indian protagonist of the short story, travels to a British Consulate in India to acquire a British passport. An arranged engagement at the age of nine forged a connection between Miss Rehana and an older man with British citizenship, Mustafa Dar. Though Miss Rehana had not seen Mustafa Dar for many years, the engagement provides the opportunity for her to join him in England. Miss Rehana is poor; her parents are dead. A life in Britain promises better material c... ... calls for white British to adapt and compromise with immigrant culture. In light of Hall’s commentary, one can only hope that transforming Pakistani and British cultures converge. The other option, of course, is a divergence of culture. Sadly, given the vigilante groups and racial violence present when Kareishi published â€Å"The Rainbow Sign,† it is still not clear that England has embraced multiculturalism. Works Cited Kareishi, Hanif. â€Å"The Rainbow Sign.† London kills me. London: Penguin Books, 1992. 3-37. Hall, Stuart. " Cultural Identity and Diaspora." Colonial Discourse and Post-Colonial Theory. Ed. Patrick Williams and Laura Chrisman. New York: Columbia University Press, 1994. Rushdie, Salman. â€Å"Good Advice is Rarer than Rubies.† East, West. NY: vintage Books, 1994. 5-16. Rushdie, Salman. â€Å"The Courter.† East, West. NY: vintage Books, 1994. 175-211.

Eia Malaysia

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT (EIA) Procedure and Requirements in Malaysia CONTENTS Page I. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT What is Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Why do we need EIA? Which activities are subject to EIA How to conduct EIA II. THE EIA PROCEDURE IN MALAYSIA Integrated Project Planning Concept How is EIA Report Processed and Approved ? Organisational Structure Preliminary EIA Reports Detailed EIA Reports Classification of Projects by Timing of EIA Report Submission (Project Planning Cycle) Consultation III. ACTIVITIES SUBJECT TO EIA 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 4 4 4 5 9 9 9LIST OF FIGURES 1 2 3a 3b Outline of Environmental Impact Assessment Procedure in Malaysia Integrated Project Planning Concept Organisational Structure of EIA Report Processing and Approval Procedure at State Offices Organisational Structure of EIA Report Processing and Approval Procedure at the Department of Environment Headquarters Organisational Structure of Detailed EIA Report Processing and Approval Pr ocedure LIST OF TABLES 1 2a 2b 2c Classification of Projects by Timing of EIA Report Submission (Project Planning Cycle) Summary of Activities Subject to Environmental Impact Assessment (Activities Defined by Quantum) Summary of Activities Subject to Environmental Impact Assessment (Activities Defined by Project Size) Summary of Activities Subject to Environmental Impact Assessment (Activities Not Defined by Unit of Measure) 3 4 4 5 3c 6 7 11 12 13 ii LIST OF APPENDICES Appendix 1 Environmental Quality Act, 1974 1985) Section 34a 2 Environmental Quality Act, 1974. Environmental Quality (Prescribed Activities) (Environmental Impact Assessment) Order 1987 Offices of the Department of Environment Page (Amendment, 14 16 21 3 iii I. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT What is Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)? EIA is a study to identify, predict, evaluate and communicate information about the impacts on the environment of a proposed project and to detail out the mitigating measures prior to project approval and implementation.Why do we need EIA? EIA is essentially a planning tool for preventing environmental problems due to an action. It seeks to avoid costly mistakes in project implementation, either because of the environmental damages that are likely to arise during project implementation, or because of modifications that may be required subsequently in order to make the action environmentally acceptable. In Malaysia, EIA is required under section 34A, Environmental Quality Act, 1974 (APPENDIX 1). EIA when integrated into the existing planning and decision-making machinery, provides additional information towards better decision-making. Which activities are subject to EIA?Activities subject to EIA are prescribed under the Environmental Quality (Prescribed Activities) (Environmental Impact Assessment) Order, 1987 (APPENDIX 2). A copy of this Order may be obtained from the Government Printers or from any office of the Department of Environment (APPENDIX 3). How to conduct EIA? To assist you in the preparation of environmental impact assessment reports, you may refer to â€Å"A Handbook of Environmental Impact Assessment Guidelines† and EIA guidelines for specific activities published by the Department of Environment. II. THE EIA PROCEDURE IN MALAYSIA The EIA procedure adopted in Malaysia consists of three major steps.The steps in the EIA procedure, which are shown in Figure 1, can be described as follows: Preliminary assessment relates to the initial assessment of the impacts due to those activities that are prescribed. Preliminary assessment is the stage of the EIA procedure that should normally be initiated at the pre-feasibility study stage of the development of an activity. Project options are identified at this stage and any significant residual environmental impacts are made known. The preliminary report that is prepared is reviewed by a technical committee in the DOE internally. However, where expertise within the Department is lacking, assistance from other government and non-government agencies may be sought.Detailed assessment is undertaken for those projects for which significant residual environmental impacts have been predicted in the preliminary assessment. The assessment should ideally continue during project feasibility, and the detailed EIA Report be submitted for approval by the Director General of Environmental Quality prior to the giving of approval by the relevant Federal or State Government authority for the implementation of the project. Detailed assessment is carried out based on specific terms of reference issued by an ad hoc Review Panel appointed by the Director General. The EIA Report that is prepared is reviewed by the ad hoc Review Panel chaired by the Director General.Review of EIA Reports is carried out internally by the DOE for preliminary assessment reports and by an ad hoc Review Panel for detailed assessment reports. Recommendations arising out of the review are transmitted to the relevant project approving authorities for consideration in making a decision on the project. The normal period allocated for a review of a preliminary assessment report is one month while that for a detailed assessment report is two months. The DOE maintains a list of experts who may be called upon to sit as 1 members of any Review Panel established. The selection of the experts depends on the areas of environmental impacts to be reviewed.Other main features of the EIA procedure as shown in Figure 1 include the following: The Approving Authority is the Government Authority that has the task of deciding, whether or not a project should proceed. The authorities include the following: 1. The National Development Planning Committee (NDPC) for Federal Government sponsored projects; 2. The State Executive Council (EXCO) for State Government sponsored projects; 3. The various Local Authorities or Regional Development Authorities (RDA) with respect to planning approval within their re spective area; and 4. The Ministry of Trade and Industry or MIDA for industrial projects. Recommendations arising from the review of the EIA Reports are forwarded to the relevant project approving authorities.At the completion of the review period for a detailed EIA, a Detailed Assessment Review Document is issued by the Review Panel. This document may include: 1. Comments on the Detailed Assessment report; 2. Recommendations to the project proponent and the project approving authority including any specific conditions attached to the project approval; and 3. Recommendations for environmental monitoring and auditing. Integrated Project Planning Concept The EIA Procedure in Malaysia is designed to follow the Integrated Project Planning Concept as shown in Figure 2. The features of the concept include the following: 1. At the onset, during the project identification stage, the need to conduct an EIA study is also determined. 2.If the project requires Preliminary Assessment, it is done in parallel with the Pre-feasibility Study for the project. 3. Similarly, if Detailed Assessment is required, it is conducted as part of the Feasibility Study for the project. 4. The Preliminary Assessment and Detailed Assessment reports are reviewed simultaneously with the Pre-feasibility and Feasibility reports respectively, before a final decision on the project is made. During project construction and project operation environmental monitoring is carried out. 2 3 The concept is recommended to be followed to minimise project delay and improve project planning. How are EIA Reports Processed and Approved?Organisational Structure As of 1st January 1994, all Preliminary EIA Reports are processed and approved by the Department of Environment State Offices except for Kedah and Perlis. EIA Reports for Kedah and Perlis and those for projects within the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and projects involving more than one state are processed by officers at the Department of Environment Head quarters. All Detailed EIA Reports are processed and approved at Headquarters. Preliminary EIA Reports Figure 3a illustrates the organisational structure of the Preliminary EIA Report processing and approval procedure at the Department of Environment State Offices. The organisational structure is headed by the State Director.He is responsible for approving or rejecting an EIA Report. One-Stop Agency meetings with other relevant agencies or departments are held when necessary. Comments and verifications from relevant agencies or departments are sought for certain cases. The State Director is assisted by Environmental Control Officers and Assistant Environmental Control Officers. Figure 3a. Organisational Structure of EIA Report Processing and Approval Procedure at State Offices Figure 3b shows the organisational structure of the EIA Report processing and approval procedure at the Department of Environment Headquarters. The organisational set-up is headed by the Director of Prevention Division.He is assisted by the Head of Evaluation Section and Senior Environmental Control Officers chairing the EIA Technical Committee meeting. The EIA Technical Committee is an in-house committee set 4 up to examine the Preliminary EIA Reports. One-Stop Agency meetings with relevant departments or agencies are held when necessary. Comments and verifications from the departments or agencies are acquired when necessary. The Committee formulates recommendations to the Director of Prevention Division on the acceptability of the Preliminary EIA Report. Detailed EIA Reports Figure 3c illustrates the organisational structure of the Detailed EIA Report processing and approval procedure.The Organisational set-up is headed by the Director General of Environment Quality who is responsible for approving or rejecting the EIA report. He is assisted by the Director of Prevention Division, who also functions as Secretary to the Detailed EIA ad hoc Review Panel. The Chairman of this panel is the Director General of Environmental Quality. The Detailed EIA Review Panel’s main task is to critically review Detailed EIA Reports and formulate recommendations to the relevant project approving authority. The Detailed EIA Review Panel is established on an ad hoc basis specifically for a particular project. The panel comprises independent members of relevant disciplines, from different organisations such as Universities and Non-Governmental organisations.Detailed EIA Reports are also displayed at all Department of Environment Offices, as well as public and university libraries for public comments. The public are widely notified through the mass media when and where the Detailed EIA Reports are available for review and comment. The Evaluation (EIA) section which is headed by a Principal Assistant Director comprises EIA Report Processing Desk Officers assisted by Assistant Environmental Control Officers. The desk officers are trained in different disciplines including Environme ntal Engineering, Agricultural Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Environmental Sciences, Biology, Chemistry, Environmental Studies, Physics, Economics, Sociology and Ecology. 5 6TABLE 1 CLASSIFICATION OF EIA REPORTS BY TIMING OF SUBMISSION (PROJECT PLANNING CYCLE) PROJECT PLANNING CYCLE Project Identification Sourcing for Technology or Licence Pre-feasibility/ Siting Decision Feasibility/Project Design REPORT CLASSIFICATION 0 1 EIA ISSUE ENVIRONMENTAL PLANNING CYCLE Exploring environmentally sound projects Assessment for environmentally sound technology Base line study and submission of preliminary assessment report Extended cost benefit analysis and submission of complete or detailed EIA report EIA report to be approved by the Director General of DOE, prior to licence to be granted by relevant government agencies, or lease to be given, land conversion or change of ownership approval by State Government Budget appro val Contract 4 Are sufficient environmental specifications and safeguard incorporated in contract documents and agreements? Is the design complying with all the specifications? PROJECT APPROVAL Is the project environmentally sound? Is the technology most advanced and clean? Is the proposed site environmentally least sensitive? Own approval or Memorandum of Understanding Business transactions, technology transfer and licence agreement DOE clearance 2 3 Does the project design incorporate all the required pollution control and other environment mitigating measures?Written permission Detailed Design 5 Submission of plans on pollution control and other environmental mitigating measures Tendering 6 Is sufficient budget provided for environmental control and other environmental mitigating measures in the tender exercise and award? Are project development and construction closely supervised? Does the project meeting all set standards and conditions? Is the project fully complying with the imposed standards all the time? Are there significant residual environmental impacts? – Development and Construction Commissioning 7 Environmental monitoring Approval by land, resources, safety, health, environment and local authorities Certification by safety, health, environment, and local authorities – 8Continuation of monitoring and project auditting Source and environmental monitoring Operation and Maintenance Abandonment/End of Project Line 9 x Continued environmental monitoring Approval by the relevant Federal, State and Environment Authorities 7 Key Classification 1 – High Distinction 2 – Distinction 3 – High Credit 4 5 6 – Credit – Simple Credit – Low Credit 7 – Low Pass 8 – Just Pass 9 – Fail 8 Classification of Projects by Timing of EIA Report Submission (Project Planning Cycle) In order to integrate the environmental dimension in the project planning or designing process, the timing of submissio n of an EIA Report to the Department of Environment for approval is vital.The proper timing of submission of an EIA Report is essential so as not to cause any major disruption to the overall project planning cycle. The project initiator is encouraged to submit the EIA Report as early as at the project identification stage to enable recommendations on environmental changes or modifications to the project plan to be incorporated. On the other hand, submission of an EIA Report towards the end of the project planning cycle will reduce the value of an EIA, and possibly increase environmental costs or delay implementation of the project. In order to guide project proponents, a classification system for EIA reports has been made in accordance with time of submission as tabulated in Table 1.The timing of submission of an EIA Report corresponding to the stage of project planning cycle has been divided into nine classifications. The nine classifications are ranked from ‘high distinction ’ to ‘failure’. In addition, the corresponding environmental issues, and requirements for project approval have also been identified for the various stages of project planning. For example, the submission of an EIA Report at the stage of project identification or sourcing for technology is classified as Class 1 and given ‘high distinction’, whilst reports submitted towards the end of project construction or commissioning falls under Class 8 and is ranked ‘low pass’.An EIA Report submitted at the commencement of the project identification stage will give an opportunity to project planners to exhaust environmental issues and to find solutions to them prior to project implementation. In instances where undesirable significant adverse environmental impacts are identified, alternatives which are environmentally acceptable should be found. This exercise should be repeated until an acceptable solutions is found. Consultation Although there is n o requirement for notification and a project proponent is under no formal obligation to consult the Department of Environment about his proposal before submission of his EIA Report, there are practical reasons for doing so.The Department of Environment and other relevant departments will often possess useful information in particular, data on environmental quality, local problems, as well as aspects of the project most likely to be of concern and requiring emphasis in the EIA Report. It would be beneficial for all concerned if project approval authorities can advise potential project proponents as soon as a project is conceived to check with the Department of Environment to ascertain if EIA is required. By doing this, the issues of timing and delay can be avoided. III. ACTIVITIES SUBJECT TO EIA The Environmental Quality (Prescribed Activites) (Environmental Impact Assessment) Order 1987 which is made under powers conferred by section 34A of the Environmental Quality Act, 1974 (Amend ment) 1985 specifies those activities that are subject to EIA.Nineteen categories of activities are prescribed and these include those related to: agriculture, airport, drainage and irrigation, land reclamation, fisheries, forestry, housing, industry, infrastructure, ports, mining, petroleum, power generation, quarries, railways, transportation, resort and recreational development, waste treatment and disposal, and water supply. Many of the activities related to these nineteen categories are defined in terms of project size (as area), capacity (quantum) while others are not defined by any unit of measure. Hence, to assist project initiators or project approving authorities to make quick decisions on whether a proposed activity is subject to the Act or otherwise, three simple checklists have been prepared as follows: a) Activities defined by quantum (Table 2a); 9 b) Activities defined by project size (Table 2b); and c) Activities not defined by unit of measure (Table 2c). 10Table 2a Malaysia: Summary of Activities Subject to Environmental Impact Assessment (Activities Defined by Quantum) Quantum 60000 5000 4500 200 100 100 100 100 50 50 50 30 10 Unit Barrel Tonne Cubicmetres Tonnes/ day Family Tonnes/ day Tonnes/ day Tonnes/ day Tonnes/ day Tonnes/ day Tonnes/ day Tonnes/ hour Megawatts Activity Construction of product depot for storage of petrol, gas or diesel Shipyards Groundwater development for industrial, agricultural or urban water supply Iron and steel industries using scrap iron Agricultural programmes necessitating resettlement Chemical production industries Lime production industries using rotary kiln Iron and steel industries using iron ore Non ferrous industries other than aluminium and copper Lime production industries using vertical kiln Pulp and paper industry Cement industries Construction of steam generated power stations using fossil fuels 8 (c) 8 (d) 8 (g) 8 (d) 1 (b) 8 (a) 8 (d) 8 (e) Number 12 (e) 8 (f) 19 (b) 8 (e) 13 (a) 11 Table 2b Malay sia: Summary of Activities Subject to Environmental Impact Assessment (Activities Defined by Project Size) Project Size Unit Activity Number 5000 Hectare 500 Hectare 500 Hectare 500 Hectare 400 Hectare 250 Hectare 200 Hectare 200 100 100 80 50 50 Hectare Family Hectare Room Hectare Hectare 50 Hectare 50 Hectare 50 Hectare 50 Hectare 50 50 50 40 Hectare Hectare Kilometre Hectare 2. 5 KilometreIrrigation schemes Land development schemes to bring forest land into agricultural production Development of agricultural estates involving changes in types of agricultural use Logging Construction of dams and hydroelectric power scheme reservoirs Mining of mineral in new areas Construction of dams and man-made lakes and artificial enlargement of lakes Construction of dams or impounding reservoirs Agricultural programmes necessitating resettlement Drainage of wetland, wild-life habitat or virgin forest Construction of coastal resort facilities or hotel Coastal reclamation Land-based aquaculture projects accompanied by clearing of mangrove swamp forest Conversion of hill forest land to other land use Conversion of mangrove swamps for industrial, housing, or agricultural use Housing development Industrial estate development for medium and heavy industries Sand dredging Hill station resort or hotel development Construction of off-shore and on-shore pipeline Construction of dams and hydroelectric power schemes with dams over 15 metres high Construction of airports 3 (c) 1 (a) 1 (c) 6 (c) 13 (b) ii 11 (a) 3 (a) 19 (a) 1 (b) 3 (b) 17 (a) 4 5 (c) 6 (a) 6 (d) 7 9 (b) 11 (c) 17 (b) 12 (b) 13 (b)i 2 (a) 12 Table 2c Malaysia: Summary of Activities Subject to Environmental Impact Assessment (Activities Not Defined by Unit of Measure) Prescribed Activity AIRPORT FISHERIES Activity Airstrip development in state and national parks Construction of fishing harbours Harbour expansion involving an increase of 0 per cent or more in fish landing capacity per annum Logging or conversion of fore st land to other land use within the catchment area of reservoirs used for municipal water supply, irrigation or hydropower generation or in areas adjacent to state and national parks and national marine parks Clearing of mangrove swamps on islands adjacent to national marine parks Petrochemicals industries – all sizes Primary smelting of aluminium and copper – all sizes Construction of hospitals with outfall into beachfronts used for recreational purposes Construction of expressways Construction of national highways Construction of new townships Construction of ports Port expansion involving an increase of 50 per cent or more in handling capacity per annum Ore processing including concentrating for aluminium, copper, gold or tantalum Oil and gas fields development Construction of oil and gas separation, processing, handling and storage facilities Construction of oil refineries Construction of combined cycle power stations Construction of nuclear-fueled power stations Number 2 (b) 5 (a) 5 (b) FORESTRY 6 (b) 6 (e) 8 (b) 8 (c) 9 (a) 9 (c) 9 (d) 9 (e) 10 (a) 10 (b) INDUSTRY INFRASTRUCTURE PORTS MINING 11 (b) 12 (a) 12 ( c) 12 (d) 13 (c) 13 (d) PETROLEUM POWER GENERATION AND TRANSMISSION 13Table 2c (Continuation) Prescribed Activity QUARRIES Activity Proposed quarrying of aggregate limestone, silica, quartzite, sandstone, marble and decorative building stone within 3 kilometres of any existing residential, commercial or industrial areas, or any area for which a licence, permit or approval has been granted for residential, commercial or industrial development Construction of new routes Construction of branch lines Construction of Mass Rapid Transport projects Number 14 15 (a) 15 (b) 16 RAILWAYS TRANSPORTATION RESORT AND RECREATIONAL DEVELOPMENT Development of tourist or recreational facilities in national parks 17 (c) Development of tourist or recreational facilities on islands in surrounding waters which are gazetted as national marine parks 17 (d)WA STE TREATMENT AND DISPOSAL (Toxic and Hazardous Waste) Construction of incineration plant Construction of recovery plant (off-site) Construction of wastewater treatment plant (off-site) Construction of secure landfill facility Construction of storage facility (off-site) Construction of incineration plant Construction of composting plant Construction of recovery/recycling plant Construction of municipal solid waste landfill facility Construction of wastewater treatment plant Construction of marine outfall 18 (a)i 18 (a)ii 18 (a)iii 18 (a)iv 18 (a)v 18 (b)i 18 (b)ii 18 (b)iii 18 (b)iv 18 (c)i 18 (c)ii (Municipal Solid Waste) (Municipal Sewage) 14 APPENDIX 1 ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT, 1974 (AMENDMENT, 1985) SECTION 34A The Environmental Quality (Amendment) Act 1985, amended the Environmental Quality Act, 1974.Amendments include the insertion of section 34A which requires any person intending to carry out any prescribed activity to submit report on the impact on the environment to the D irector General of Environmental Quality for examination. The Amendment act was gazetted on 9 January 1986 and section 34A reads as follows:â€Å"34A (1) The Minister, after consultation with the Council, may by order prescribe any activity which have significant environment impact as prescribed activity. Any person intending to carry out any of the prescribed activities shall, before any approval for the carrying out of such activity is granted by the relevant approving authority, submit a report to the Director General.The report shall be in accordance with the guidelines prescribed by the Director General and shall contain an assessment of the impact such activity will have or is likely to have on the environment and the proposed measures that shall be undertaken to prevent, reduce or control the adverse impact on the environment. If the Director General on examining the report and after making such inquiries as he considers necessary, is of the opinion that the report satisfies the requirements of subsection (2) and that the measures to be undertaken to prevent, reduce or control the adverse impact on the environment are adequate, he shall approve the report, with or without conditions attached thereto, and shall inform the person intending to carry out the prescrived activity and the relevant approving authorities accordingly.If the Director General, on examining the report and after making such inquiries as he considers necessary, is of the opinion that the report does not satisfy the requirements of subsection (2) or that the measures to be undertaken to prevent, reduce or control the adverse impact on the environment are inadequate, he shall not approve the report and shall give his reasons therefore and shall inform the person intending to carry out the prescribed activity and the relevant approving authorities accordingly. Provided that where such report is not approved it shall not preclude such person from revising and re-submitting the revised re port to the Director General for the approval. The Director General may if he considers it necessary require more than one report to be submitted to him for his approval. Any person intending to carry out a prescribed activity shall not carry out such activity until the report required under this section to be submitted to the Director General has been submitted and approved.If the Director General approves the report, the person carrying out the prescribed activity, in the course of carrying out such activity, shall provide sufficient proof that the conditions attached to the report (if any) are being complied with and that the proposed measures to be taken to prevent, reduce or control the adverse impact on the environment are being incorporated into the design, construction and operation of the prescribed activity. Any person who contravenes this section shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable to a fine not exceeding ten thousand ringgit or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding two years or both and to a further fine of one thousand ringgit for every day that the offence is continued after a notice by the Director General requiring him to comply with the act specified therein has been served upon him. † 15 (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) 16 APPENDIX 2 P. U. A) 362 ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT, 1974 ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY (PRESCRIBED ACTIVITES) (ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT) ORDER 1987 In exercise of the powers conferred by section 34A of the Environmental Quality Act 1974, the Minister, after consultation with the Environmental Quality Council, makes the following order: 1. This order may be cited as the Environmental Quality (Prescribed Activities) (Environmental Impact Assessment) Order, 1987 and shall come into force on the 1st April 1988. 2. The activities specified in the Schedule are prescribed to be prescribed activities. SCHEDULE 1. AGRICULTURE (a) Land development schemes covering an area of 500 hectares or more to bring forest land into agricultural production. Agricultural programmes necessitating the resettlement of 100 families or more.Development of agricultural estates covering an area of 500 hectares or more involving changes in types of agricultural use. (b) (c) 2. AIRPORT (a) (b) Construction of airports (having an airstrip of 2,500 metres or longer) Airstrip development in state and national parks. 3. DRAINAGE AND IRRIGATION (a) Construction of dams and man-made lakes and artificial enlargement of lakes with surface area of 200 hectares or more. Drainage of wet land, wild-life habitat or of virgin forest covering an area of 100 hectares or more. Irrigation schemes covering an area of 5,000 hectares or more. (b) (c) 4. LAND RECLAMATION Coastal reclamation involving an area of 50 hectares or more. 5.FISHERIES (a) Construction of fishing harbours. 17 (b) Harbour expansion involving an increase of 50 per cent or more in fish landing capacity per annum. Land based aquaculture projects accompanied by clear ing of mangrove swamp forests covering an area of 50 hectares or more. (c) 6. FORESTRY (a) (b) Conversion of hill land to other land use covering an area of 50 hectares of more. Logging or conversion of forest land to other land use within the catchment area of reservoirs used for municipal water supply, irrigation or hydro-power generation or in areas adjacent to state and national parks and national marine parks. Logging covering an area of 500 hectares or more.Conversion of mangrove swamps for industrial, housing or agriculture use covering an area of 50 hectares or more. Clearing of mangrove swamps on islands adjacent to national marine parks. (c) (d) (e) 7. HOUSING Housing development covering an area of 50 hectares or more. 8. INDUSTRY (a) Chemical – Where production capacity of each product or of combined product is greater than 100 tonnes/day. – All sizes. – Primary smelting: Alluminium Copper Others (b) (c) Petrochemicals Non-ferrous – all sizes. – all sizes. – producing 50 tonnes/day and above of products. for clinker throughput of 30 tonnes/hour and above. – 100 tonnes/day and above burnt lime rotary kiln or 50 tonnes/day and above vertical kiln. (d) Non-metallic – Cement – Lime e) Iron and steel – Require iron ore as raw materials for production greater than 100 tonnes/day; or – Using scrap iron as raw materials for production greater than 200 tonnes/day – Dead Weight Tonnages greater than 5,000 tonnes. 18 (f) Shipyards (g) Pulp and paper industry – Production capacity greater than 50 tonnes/day 9. INFRASTRUCTURE (a) (b) Construction of hospitals with outfall into beachfronts used for recreational purposes. Industrial estate development for medium and heavy industries covering an area of 50 hectares or more. Construction of expressways. Construction of national highways. Construction of new townships. (c) (d) (e) 10.PORTS (a) (b) Construction of ports. Port e xpansion involving an increase of 50 per cent or more in handling capacity per annum. 11. MINING (a) Mining of minerals in new areas where the mining lease covers a total area in excess of 250 hectares. Ore processing, including concentrating for aluminium, copper, gold, or tantalum. Sand dredging involving an area of 50 hectares or more. (b) (c) 12. PETROLEUM (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) Oil and gas fields development. Construction of off-shore and on-shore pipelines in excess of 50 kilometres in length. Construction of oil and gas separation, processing, handling, and storage facilities. Construction of oil refineries.Construction of product depots for the storage of petrol, gas or diesel (excluding service stations) which are located within 3 kilometre of any commercial, industrial or residential areas which have a combined storage capacity of 60,000 barrels or more. 13. POWER GENERATION AND TRANSMISSION (a) Construction of steam generated power stations burning fossil fuels and having a capacity of more than 10 megawatts. Dams and hydroelectric power schemes with either or both of the following: i) dams over 15 metres high and ancillary structures covering a total area in excess of 40 hectares. 19 (b) ii) (c) (d) 14. reservoirs with a surface area in excess of 400 hectares. Construction of combined cycle power stations. Construction of nuclear-fueled stations.QUARRIES Proposed quarrying of aggregate, limestone, silica, quartzite, sandstone, marble and decorative building stone within 3 kilometres of any existing residential, commercial or industrial areas, or any area for which a licence, permit or approval has been granted for residential, commercial or industrial development. 15. RAILWAYS (a) Construction of new routes. (b) Construction of branch lines. 16. TRANSPORTATION Construction of Mass Rapid Transport projects. 17. RESORT AND RECREATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (a) (b) (c) (d) Construction of coastal resort facilities or hotels with more than 80 rooms. Hill station r esort or hotel development covering an area of 50 hectares or more.Development of tourist or recreational facilities in national parks. Development of tourist or recreational facilities on islands in surrounding waters which are gazetted as national marine parks. 18. WASTE TREATMENT AND DISPOSAL (a) Toxic and Hazardous Waste i) Construction of incineration plant. ii) Construction of recovery plant (off-site). iii) Construction of wastewater treatment plant (off-site). iv) Construction of secure landfill facility. v) Construction of storage facility (off-site). Municipal Solid Waste i) Construction of incineration plant. ii) Construction of composting plant. iii) Construction of recovery/recycling plant. iv) Construction of municipal solid waste landfill facility.Municipal Sewage i) Construction of wastewater treatment plant. ii) Construction of marine outfall. (b) (c) 19. WATER SUPPLY 20 (a) (b) Construction of dams or impounding reservoirs with a surface area of 200 hectares or mor e. Groundwater development for industrial, agricultural or urban water supply of greater than 4,500 cubic metres per day. Made on the 30th September, 1987. [KST & AS(U) 902/JAS/4(2); PN. (PU2)280/111] DATUK AMAR STEPHEN K. T. YONG, Minister of Science, Technology and the Environment 21 APPENDIX 3 OFFICES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT For further information and enquiries, you may contact the following offices: HEADQUARTERS DirectorGeneral Department of Environment 12th & 13th Floor, Wisma Sime Darby Jalan Raja Laut 50662 KUALA LUMPUR Tel: 03-2947844 Tlx: MOSTEC MA 28154 Fax: 603-2931480/2937655 Cable â€Å"SEKITAR† Kuala Lumpur STATE OFFICES Director Department of Environment Selangor/Wilayah Persekutuan 17th Floor, Wisma MPSA Persiaran Perbandaran 40000 SHAH ALAM Tel: 03-5594787/5594788 Fax: 03-5594788 Director Department of Environment Johor 23rd Floor, Kompleks Tun Abdul Razak Jalan Wong Ah Fook 80000 JOHOR BAHRU Tel: 07-2226723/2224431 Fax: 07-2230567 Director Departme nt of Environment Pahang 4th Floor, Bangunan Asia Life Jalan Tekul Sisek 25000 KUANTAN Tel: 09-529211/529075 Fax: 09-529075 Director Department of Environment Trengganu/Kelantan Lot 2, 5th Floor Bangunan Tabung Haji/Bank Pertanian Jalan Sultan Ismail 20200 KUALA TERENGGANU Tel: 09-6227877 Fax: 09-6226877 Director Department of Environment Kedah/Perlis 22Aras 1, Menara Zakat Jalan Teluk Wanjah 05200 ALOR SETAR Tel: 04-7332832 Fax: 04-7337530 Director Department of Environment Pulau Pinang 5th & 6th Floor, Wisma Peladang Jalan Kampong Gajah 12200 BUTTERWORTH Tel: 04-340441 Fax: 04-316078 Director Department of Environment Perak 9th Floor, Bangunan Seri Kinta Jalan Sultan Idris Shah 30000 IPOH Tel: 05-2542744 Fax: 05-2558595 Director Department of Environment Melaka 2nd Floor, Bangunan Graha Maju Jalan Tan Chay Yan 75300 MELAKA Tel: 06-247825 Fax: 06-247845 Director Department of Environment Negeri Sembilan 3rd Floor, Block C Wisma Negeri 70503 SEREMBAN Tel: 06-722311 Fax: 06-731397 Di rector Department of Environment Sabah 7th Floor, Block E, Bangunan KUWASA Jalan Karamunsing 88000 KOTA KINABALU Tel: 088-250122 Fax: 088-241170 Director Department of Environment Sarawak 9th Floor, Bangunan Sultan Iskandar Jalan Simpang Tiga 93592 KUCHING Tel: 082-418535 Fax: 082-422863 23

Reality Shows: Their Effect on American Teens

Their Effect on American Teens Martha Wallace ENG 122: English Composition II Professor Kathy Conner August 8, 2011 The values of our forefathers for America have disappeared. Each year more and more of American children are Judging themselves based upon the lives portrayed in popular media. Certain media in the music industry portrays the life of getting rich fast and having a lot of girls. Movies depict a life of fast cars, many sexual partners, and dishonesty. The latest media that has become very popular in portraying negative values Is reality shows.Reality shows have replaced traditional family values wows such as: Happy Days, Seventh Heaven, The Cowboys Show, Family Matters, and Growing Pains. Today's family values are now being portrayed through shows like: Keeping up with the Sardinian, Teen Moms, The Real World, Jersey Shore, and all of the Real Housewives shows. Reality shows have changed the way American teens view family and the values of marriage, honesty, and respect. Today's teenagers view marriage as a commitment between two people who are in love. Once the love is gone, the marriage is over. On the other hand, some adults may think differently.Marriage is not Just the result from love between two people. There is much more to it. A successful marriage is like a good recipe whose main ingredients, besides love, are commitment, understanding, concern and loyalty. If you can include these qualities In your married life you can find happiness In your marriage. Yet, the future of the stability In American marriage Is slowly decaying. Adults and teens alike are viewing marriage In a different way. This view Is being persuaded by new television shows called Reality television. It Is a known fact the media plays an important part In how teens view themselves and others.Almost every person in the united States has excess to television and the younger generation is the ones who watch it the most (Cheeseboard, 2003, Para 4). Considering the average teen spends more time watching television than with their parents. The majority of them are also learning about the basic values of life, also from television. This bring about a serious concern of reality shows' effects on teens attitude, values, and behavior. The traditional family value of marriage is portrayed on reality shows as an option for couples who are living together.The reality show Keeping up with the Sardinian is a perfect example of his type of arrangement. One of the older sisters, Courtney, currently lives with her boyfriend and when approached by another slang asking her why she refuses to get married. Courtney replies, â€Å"I'm not sure If he Is really the one† (Bravo, 2011, Para 2). When her mother approaches her about the same thing, Courtney replies, â€Å"Mom, I'm lust not Into ten traditional things† (Bravo, 2011, Para According to David Opened, a Rutgers sociology professor and report co-author, â€Å"Cohabitation is here to stay.I don't think it is good news, especially for children†, he says, â€Å"As society shifts from arraign to co-habitation, which is what's happening, you have an increase in family instability' Canyons, 2005, Para 8). The reality shows that have married couples on it either end up in divorce, the wife shows no respect for her husband, or one spouse cheats on the other. These are the lessons reality shows are teaching American teens today. The broadcasting station, Bravo, has a series of shows titled, The Real Housewives of some very popular cities in America. One of those cities is Atlanta.This reality show is about six women who are married or were once married. The show aired for three years detailing the lives of women who were to represent the real lives of American married women living in Atlanta. Only one of the six was actually married and before the end of the three year series, she was filing for a divorce. Americans by the million were tuning in each week to watch the drama unfold. A ccording to Nelson Media Research, 4. 4 million viewers watched the shows season finale January 30, 2011 and 1. 3 million of those viewers were under the age of 18 (2011).What does this mean for the future of marriage? Many teenagers no longer look forward to their wedding day. In fact in a conversation with teenagers through a youth organization, Youth for Prevention, Action, and Change Through Thought (HAPPY), which aims to develop community leaders by teaching teens about social, racial, and health disparities in their neighborhoods, many of them do not see the need for marriage. One participant stated, â€Å"I'm not looking forward to marriage and I don't think we [people in general] should be married, because I see how other marriages ended up in my family and on television.It's always a disaster. When asked which television shows she mainly watches, she replied, â€Å"Reality shows, they ell you how life really is†, Cones, 2006, Para 2). As this ten's comments indicate , views about marriage are formed by what they see in their lives and in popular media. Shows such as â€Å"The Real World† and the media's focus on the latest celebrity break-up do not paint a perfect picture of marriage. It is a sign of the growing decline in the value of one of the greatest institutions developed in America. It is these factors that may explain why the U.S. Divorce rate approaches 40 percent. Marriage is not the only American value which seems to be affected by reality shows, honesty s another value among teenagers that is almost invisible and reality shows does not appear to make the view any clearer. There was a time when a man was held to his word and a handshake was the only deed required. Those days are long gone. No one can trust the other. Prenuptial are written before marriages, contracts are required between businesses, and even teenagers are signing contracts with parents.One reality show, Teen Moms, broadcasted a show which detailed a written co ntract between one teen and her parents. The purpose of the contract was to validate the parents' words to help their daughter financially after she gives birth to he child. Reality television shows and their effects on teenagers can depend on the desires and motives they see themselves in these stars and somehow these stars are living their lives through the show. Each reality show portrays and fulfills certain desires like powerful high class living, survival and outwitting others, beauty, revenge Ana amnesty.Many teenagers enjoy a certain sense AT pleasure Ana satisfaction when they watch these reality television shows and their effects are continuously mirrored in the way they interact with others, deal with various situations, and face certain challenges. According to the teens in HAPPY, the reality shows are entertaining Cones, 2006, Para 5). Yet, most of these shows are built upon other people's failures, sadness, frustrations, depressions, and other mental and physical handi caps. There are some reality shows that have a positive effect on ten's lives.Broadcasting station, FOX, had a show, Trading Spouses, where two families, usually of different social classes, swap wives or husbands for a week. Each family is awarded $50,000, with the stipulation that the guest mother decides how her host family must spend the money (Schneider ; Italian, 2004). The adults show how families can come together and grow. It gives hope to the value of family and honesty. Each participant is required to react normally and to come to an understanding on how to handle differences.The children are given an opportunity to express themselves and this usually results in their parents making some changes to include the opinions of their children. The parents come face to face with the honesty of some mishaps in their family and agree to make an honest effort to correcting them. These types of reality show effect teens in a positive way. For those men's that may not have been able to express their thoughts or opinions to their parents, the show gives them suggestions and allow them to see an honest possibility of the outcome.Most teenagers see their parents as difficult people to compromise with. This type of reality television shows the vulnerable side of parents and how they can make mistake too. Teens begin to see their parents as human and someone they can talk to. Honesty is rarely played out in reality shows, therefore our teens have a front row view of how to become a liar and deceive people. Some of these wows are so deceitful; it is hard to imagine someone would have agreed to be a participant.For example, â€Å"Joe Millionaire†, is a reality show where women compete to win the heart of a supposed millionaire. At the end, the women find out the â€Å"Joe Millionaire† is actually an â€Å"Average Joe† and have to decide if they want to stay with him. This show is probably one of the most dishonest reality shows and unethical of th em all. Teens and adults alike are shown ways to be dishonest and degrade the true meaning of finding love and honesty in an individual. Respect has great importance in everyday life.As children we are taught ,one hopes, to respect our parents, teachers, and elders, school rules and traffic laws, family and cultural traditions, other people's feelings and rights, our country's flag and leaders, the truth and people's differing opinions (Dillon, 2010, Para 1). If we are to live by this description of respect, then reality shows has gotten it wrong. A study called, â€Å"Kids These Days: What Americans Really Think About the Next Generation†, surveyed 2,000 adults who characterized teenagers and young children as â€Å"irresponsible†, â€Å"rude†, and â€Å"lazy' (Kids these days, 1997).Those words are scarcely new attitudes towards American's youth. The reality show, Keeping up with the Sardinian, portrays a family with two teenage daughters who are often rude t o their parents, constantly shows disrespect towards each other, and uses profanity towards their parents. This reality show is rated number one among teenagers in America. Yet this show, â€Å"Keeping up with the Sardinian†, shows very little respect towards the parents Trot any AT ten SIX centre Foul language Is town across ten room Trot ten teen daughters, young adult children, their boyfriends, and the parents.There is no respect for other people's feeling, rights or differing opinions. One particular episode, the teen daughters swore at her mother and told her dad she will make her own decision and didn't need his help. After consulting with his wife, they agreed to allow their 13 year old daughter to make her decision on a career move that would affect her for the rest of her life. This is not a good message to send to teenagers today. Raising one's voice and slamming doors is not the way to gain respect.Yet, reality shows often show teenagers acting this way and the re sults are often the arenas bending the rules to allow the teens to make their own decisions. Showing respect is the best way for anyone to receive respect. Everyone should have an opinion, be able to express them and feel good about that relationship. No one should feel pressured to do something Just because it seems like everyone else is doing it, or because someone else is trying to get you to do it. Yet that is precisely what most reality shows are doing. Teens are being pursued to make decisions and react to certain things according to celebrities on reality television.The reality show reduced by MAT, The Real World, gave American Teens a real look at honor and respect in it episode featuring Pedro Somoza. Pedro Somoza was a young man chosen to be one of the six young adults sharing a house in New York City, who Just happened to have AIDS. Pedro died of the disease and America tuned in the watch every episode as it unfolded on television. This series of The Real World, New York taught many people the truth about AIDS. The effect this show had on American teens open their eyes to respect other people, taught valuable lessons on safe sex, and gave AIDS a new found respect.Since the rising of these popular reality elevation shows, American teens have changed the way they view â€Å"entertainment†. This genre has influenced the way teenagers express themselves. Considering many of these shows are geared towards teens, they are the ones who are more susceptible to its various influences. With each passing year more and more of American children are Judging themselves based upon the lives portrayed in popular media. Certain media portrays the life of getting rich fast, having a lot of girls, a life of fast cars, many sexual partners, and dishonesty. There are not many good values portrayed in these reality shows.Yet, reality shows can give insight to teens about many different types of people and cultures. They can also prepare teenagers for the outcome o f bad choices people make about the values of marriage, honesty, and respect. The core role is to see what people reactions in certain scenarios are, and how they face these given situations. American teens can learn and apply these outcomes to their lives. They can learn about teamwork. They can become motivated in life to achieve their goals and can even chase a dream. References Dillon, S. (2010). Respect, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2010 Edition).