Protestant challenge to Catholicisms Hegemony in Northern Europe :: essays research papers

Protestant challenge to Catholicism’s hegemony in Northern Europe   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Protestants and Catholics have been fighting for centuries. Most of us, even some of them, have no clue as to what they are fighting about. In the 1520s a religious stirring began, where people were starting to get frustrated and angered by how the church was conducting itself. Northern European weather can be very cold and harsh at times, because of this, it made it very difficult for people to leave their homes to get to church. What these people saw were their church priests dressed in very ornate, warm, robes and living in nice warm homes eating very good meals. Half the time these people couldn’t understand what the priest was preaching because he spoke in Latin and they could only speak German or English. On top of all of this the people had to pay if they wanted to be forgiven for their sins, indulgences they were called, which basically provided absolutely no hope for people who didn’t have much. These were not the only things stirring feelin gs in northern Europe, the fact that the church was based in Rome, such a long way from their home, contributed to the restlessness of the people. People were starting to think that the church had no clue about their lives up in the north and how difficult it could be, they felt removed and unconnected with the church. The two major focal points for the reformation were Martin Luther and his ninety-five theses and also King Henry the eighth. Neither of these two men began the movements in their respective countries, they simply gave the people a focal point and a way to get organized.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Martin Luther was a monk who taught at a Wittenberg University in the 1500s. Martin Luther had questioned the practice of selling indulgences and the fact that the church said that you could only speak to God through a priest for sometime in his mind. In 1517, when an archbishop had a sale on these indulgencies to raise money, Martin Luther decided to write a question and argument paper about the church’s questionable practices, to get some debate going at the University. The paper was called the ninety-five theses and it sparked many people’s interests in Germany and other parts of northern Europe and made Martin Luther a focal point for people who felt the same, and an enemy of the church.

How Global Trends Influence the Strategies Used by Samsung in the Communications Market Essay

As global trends shape the business landscape, they will certainly influence competition among companies; and just as companies frequently fail to examine global trends in details, they can also fall short in their analysis of the competitive factors those trends create. Czinkota, Ronkainen,and Kotabe, (2010) carried out a survey that showed that â€Å"competition is becoming more intense: 85% of them [executives] describe the business environment of their companies as more competitive. † As such organizations to include the owners and staff have to continually make changes to supplement the ever changing demands of their target market as well as the total market. Samsung has felt the negative effects associated with changes in global trends and as such have developed strategies to compliment those changes in the communication market. Overview of Samsung In the present unpredictable business trade, marketing plays a fundamental and considerable role and it is a course of action or means to create, deliver, exchange and communicate with customers and clients which is now more pronounce because of globalization. Globalization according to Hamilton (2009) is not a new phenomenon. Nonetheless, within the last few decades, the improvements in technology, international trade and communication have rocketed. However, before we move on to discuss this great phenomenon, it is imperative that we define the terms globalization and marketing. Bilton, Bonnett, and Jones, et al. (1996) argued that globalization can be defined as â€Å"the process whereby political, social, economic and cultural relations increasingly take on a global scale, and which has profound consequences for individuals’ local experiences and everyday lives. † Hamilton (2009), in view of some of these profound consequences of globalization aptly states, â€Å"International trade through globalization can have many benefits. Trade helps increase economic wealth and establishes good political relationships with trading partners. Globalization also promotes free trade and competition between corporations which in turn gives consumers throughout the world more options and cheaper products from which to choose. † Therefore, the increase in trade, as well as technological communication and transportation advancements have allowed societies to become more connected. The term globalization signifies the combination of the marketing process with global business requirements. The globalization of marketing has made marketing processes more intricate, unwieldy and costly to deal with. Ferrell (2011) postulates that marketing may be defined as â€Å"an organizational function and a set of processes for creating, communicating, and delivering values to customers and for managing customer relationships in ways that benefit the organization and its stakeholders. † Global sourcing and hostile global competition, pooled with growing customer demand, are drastically affecting the supply chain. To battle these new globalization challenges, many companies are moving away from a â€Å"push† supply chain model to a demand-driven, customer focus model. The desire to become demand-driven requires sophisticated, flexible responsiveness at every point along the supply chain, from sourcing and obtaining to use. One such company is Samsung; founded in 1938. From its foundation as a petite export company in Taegu, Korea, Samsung has developed into one of the world’s top electronics companies, specializing in digital appliances and media, semiconductors, memory, and system integration. For over three decades Samsung has defended developments in the business and played a fundamental part in the advancement of the mobile telecom sector. Their powerful past performance in invention and manufacturing is in line with a history of financial stability, and an extensive globally distributed, skilled employee base. This combination of factors has lead to Samsung being the favored partner of top-tier operators around the world. In 1980, Samsung joined the telecommunications hardware industry with the purchase of Hanguk Jenja Tongsin. Originally building telephone switchboards, Samsung expanded in to telephone and fax systems which ultimately moved to mobile phone manufacturing. The mobile phone business was grouped together with Samsung Electronics (Burris, 2013). Kumar (2004) opines that in the contemporary information age, mobile communications has enabled us to use laptop personal computers linked to the internet without a ‘wired’ local area network (LAN). Simply put, if the internet gave us the ability to access any web address on a desktop, mobiles have given us the access at any time and from anywhere. This capability, derived from modern telecommunication technology, is crucial in conducting international business operations. Samsung Telecommunications is one of five business units within Samsung Electronics. This unit has been influenced by global trends, causing the company to use marketing strategies in order to stay on top in the communications market. Samsung’s Marketing Strategy Developing a clear and profitable strategy relies on balancing the business’ competencies and abilities against the market opportunities into the future. The marketing strategy of a business includes a definition of the business, a description of the products or services, an outline of the target market, and defines the business’ role in relationship to the competition. In other words, marketing strategy is a synopsis of the business’ products and position in relation to the competition; the sales and marketing plans are the exact actions the business will assume to attain the goals of the marketing strategy. According to Materson and Pickton (2010), constructing and using a marketing strategy has a strong positive impact on profitability. This is because companies that utilize a marketing strategy tend to focus on their customers and markets, integrate their marketing responses and work out in advance where their profits will come from. Operating a flourishing business can be challenging; business operators can build a business but they might not materialize. Marketing is all about informing the public about the product or service the business offers, and influencing them to purchase or use it. Thus, Samsung zoomed in on strategies that will improve the company’s communication market. The company also used SWOT analysis in order to keep up with the global trends in the communication market. Like every other businesses, Samsung is very much aware that information is an important resource essential just like money, machinery and manpower. Information is considered one of the most fundamental necessities for the continued existence of the organization. In the past, before the computer era, it was not easy for the businesses to gather, store, maintain, organize and distribute enormous volumes of information and data. Nowadays, managers are competent in getting contemporary information at the required time in a precise manner. Consequently, as a powerful business leader, Samsung accepted the fact and had given precedence to the process of information throughout the organization at every stage. â€Å"To gain from its Managing Information System and Information Technology, Samsung addressed information needs not only in its environment but also in their relationships with customers, suppliers, trade partners, production systems, work processes, skills and labor requirement. These advancements of Samsung have created huge and complex processes and information systems, thereby creating a requirement to align them to have a universal overview of the complete information system setting it as a strategic tool† (Unknown). Ultimately, a manager evaluates the information gathered for accuracy. Evaluating this information enabled Samsung to identify potential threats and opportunities linked to environmental changes, which bring us to another market strategy, the market environment. Understanding the present state of the market environment and recognizing threats and opportunities that might arises from changes within it helped Samsung to assess the performance of their present marketing efforts and develop future marketing strategies (Pride & Ferrell, 2012). This is so because the global marketing environment is becoming increasingly competitive to an extent that requires companies to target their products and services at markets regardless of national boundaries (Hassan & Erdener, 1994). SWOT Analysis Samsung’s SWOT analysis was used to examine the strengths and weaknesses of the business, determining the long term objectives of the business and aid in the design of the new strategies to assist in the process of achieving targets set by the organization. The SWOT analysis also include the processes to determine the investment direction, the business markets to be addressed, extension of the operations of the business and limitations faced by the business in order to undertake the business activities. In essence, Samsung used SWOT to help identify possible strategies by building on strengths, resolving weaknesses, exploiting opportunities and avoiding threats. An opportunity is a major favorable situation in a firm’s environment. Key trends are one source of opportunities. An evaluation needs to be completed drawing conclusions about how the opportunities may affect the firm whether positive or negative. However, changes in competitive situations, technological changes and improve buyer or supplier relationships could symbolize positive opportunities for businesses. In this case, Samsung capitalized on their opportunities by designing new technology, sponsoring the 2012 Olympics, offered more models with stylish and individuality and giving the consumer real entertainment for their money; offering plenty opportunity to get more sales. Threat refers to challenges posed by an unfavorable trend or development that could lead to deterioration in profits or sales, in absence of a defensive marketing action. Threats are the main obstructions to the business’ existing or preferred position. Changes in technology, decrease in market growth, increase in bargaining power of suppliers and buyers, new or revised regulation could pose threats to the achievement of businesses. From the information gathered and evaluated, Samsung recognized that there is new and existing competition, price volatility, economic recession, and extremely huge competition for customers and resources. The internal analysis of strengths and weaknesses focuses on internal factors that give businesses certain advantages and disadvantages in meeting the requirements of its intended market. Strengths refer to core capabilities that give the business an advantage in meeting the requirements of its intended markets. Any analysis of company strengths should be market oriented and customer focused because strengths are only meaningful when they assist the business in meeting customer needs. Weaknesses refer to any limitations a company faces in developing or implementing a strategy. Weaknesses should also be examined from a customer perspective because customers often perceive weaknesses that a company cannot see. Being market focused when analyzing strengths and weaknesses does not mean that non-market oriented strengths and weaknesses should be forgotten. Rather, it suggests that all businesses should bind their strengths and weaknesses to customer requirements. Samsung’s strengths: 1. Strong international experiences 2. Strong global business network 3. Vast credibility of brand name 4. International documented accomplishments (awards received and nominated for) Samsung’s weaknesses: 1. Perception of high prices 2. Loss of customers’ interest in products 3. Buyer sophistication and knowledge 4. Substitute products or technologies and limited availability of 3D viewing Conclusion Marketing has changed in focus over the past twenty years. Nowadays, marketing stresses value and customer relationships (Ferrell, 2011). However, it is imperative to note that marketing is parallel to other business functions such as production, research, management, human resources, and accounting. The fundamental function of marketing is to connect the company to its customers. As such it shapes the objectives of companies to include Samsung, through which it is able to delivery top of the line communications while superbly satisfying the market. Reference Bilton T. , Bonnett, K. , Jones, P. , Skinner, D. Stanworth, M. & Webster, A. (1996). Introductory sociology. (MacMillan Press Ltd. , Ed. ). Great Britain: MacMillan Press Ltd. Burris M. (2013). The history of Samsung. About. com. Retrieved March 29, 2013 from http://components. about. com/od/Companies/p/The-History-Of-Samsung. htm Collins, J. , & Porras, J. (1996). Building your company’s vision. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved March 29, 2013 from http://www. tecker. com/wpcontent/uploads/2011/07/CollinsBuildingVisionSept96. pdf Czinkota M. , Ronkainen, I. , & Kotabe, M. (2010). Emerging trends, threats and opportunities in international marketing: What executives need to know. New York, NY:Business Expert Press, LLC. Ferrell, O. (2011). Marketing strategy (Hartline M. , Ed. ). Mason, Ohio: South-Western Cengage Learning. Hamilton S. (2009). Globalization. Edina, Minnesota: ABDO Publishing

Review Of Literature From Criminal Minds - 1146 Words

Review of Literature From Criminal Minds to CSI, we have all watched the criminal investigation shows on television and loved watching gorgeous actors play scientists, who in the real scientific world would have no clue as to what they’re doing but surly we have all been curious, â€Å"How do they make blood light up?†. The whole idea of forensic science has always interested people and that is what keeps those television shows running. The key to getting and creating any chemical reaction that glows is just a few chemicals at the right temperature and a few simple substances thatcan transform a simple concoction into an eerie looking splotch of blood or human fluid. Chemiluminescence is the generation of light through a chemical reaction and it can be emitted or seen in ultraviolet, visible or infrared lights. Chemiluminescence is common and even found in objects that we don’t really think have a lot of science behind them. For example, glow sticks are an example of Chemiluminescen ce â€Å"When the two chemicals[in the glow stick]meet, the electrons in a glow stick become excited and create a bright glow as a side effect of the reaction known as chemiluminescence.† (M2 Presswir, Jul 2008). 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