Wednesday, October 30, 2019
History Discussion Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1
History Discussion - Research Paper Example Puritans and the Pilgrims were the initial settlers of New England. The economy was majorly based on lumbering, subsistence farming and manufacturing.Fishing, trade and fish building was also practiced. The pilgrims at around 1920 established a church that they wanted to be free from government interference and free from the Church of England. This ambition neccesited their movement to New England resulting to the establishment of the colony of Massachusetts Bay. The New Netherlands was the main trading partner of New England during this period. Moreover, the New England City was more prosperous and independent than Chesapeake colonies with major emphasis laid to slave labor because services were readily available due to influx of slavery. In addition, the economic base of mid colonies majorly depended on both wage and family labor. Both the male and the female slaves worked as domestics. Majority of the poor enslaved men were wagoners, artisans and carters (Jefferson 51-53). In conclusion, slavery was legalized in all thirteen American colonies prior to the American Revolution.However, slavery played different economic and social roles in each of the regions and this mainly depended on slavery management and the size of slaves enslaved. The most common factor among them all without doubt is that they all legalized slavery until the American Revolution changed
Monday, October 28, 2019
Critical Review for the Article Essay Example for Free
Critical Review for the Article Essay The electronic journal entitled: ââ¬ËThe Long-Term Performance of Horizontal Acquisitionââ¬â¢, by Laurence Capron of the Institut Europeen dAdministration des Affaires (INSEAD), published in 1999 by the Wiley and Sons publishing, has studied the creation of ââ¬Å"horizontal mergers and acquisitionâ⬠. In Capronââ¬â¢s paper, he dated his studies from mid-1980ââ¬â¢s to early 1990ââ¬â¢s financing strategies of firms in divesting and liquidating its assets which he referred as the ââ¬Å"horizontal mergers and acquisitionâ⬠. Capron has cited about 253 firms in Europe and America that patterns the financing strategies. According to Capron (1999), examination reveals divestment of assets and capital infusion (re-financing of liquidated assets) makes effective to ââ¬Å"acquisition performanceâ⬠, but could have potentially detrimental impact. As what Capron emphasized on the performance of acquisition based on ââ¬Å"divestment and redeployment (re-acquisition) of resourcesâ⬠, his study examines the defects and compliments on effective means in ââ¬Å"horizontal mergers and acquisitionâ⬠. Key points and rationale As reviewed from the journal, the ââ¬Å"horizontal acquisitionsâ⬠may be exemplified as a means and strategy in establishing the resource-divestment scheme, in which by doing so, it ââ¬Å"optimizes or exploits the values of cost-based and revenue-based synergiesâ⬠(Capron 1999: p. 988). As explained, it may be perceived that the ââ¬Å"synergyâ⬠patterns the continuing acquirement of business values, as a result of divestment wherein merging of the newly diversified firm or business values acquires more assets and capital budget. According to Capron (1999), the cost efficiency theory emphasizes on the significance of cost-based synergies that occur when assets have been divested resulting the integration of cost-saving measures. Thus, the firm performs effectively in enhancing its revenues that synergizes with the redistribution of the capital towards an enhanced capability. It may be analyzed from the findings of Capron that the 1980ââ¬â¢s and 1990ââ¬â¢s rapid growth of industries brought about by globalization have emerged more investments in the supply chain. One of which is the positioning of developed and high-end industries within raw material sources. Like, for example, diversification process has been developed in Asian countries wherein more investment in cheap raw materials and labor are available and can be acquired easily. The ââ¬Å"horizontal acquisitionâ⬠could be drawn from establishing partnership, subsidiary in operation, joint ventures and inter-dependency in export and import schemes. Hence, for example ââ¬Å"Company Aâ⬠has divested in establishing ââ¬Å"Company Bâ⬠to engage in tire manufacturing that source out the cheapest raw materials. In which case, a diversified industrial firm could venture out into ââ¬Å"versatileâ⬠business values that optimize capital investments for a larger revenue generation translated into cost effectiveness that means substantial profitability. In Capronââ¬â¢s finding, the so-called ââ¬Å"economy of scaleâ⬠became the bases of diversification process that paved the way to a ââ¬Å"large-scaleâ⬠industrialization. The 20th century practice of the economy of scale has favored more industries to capture the ââ¬Å"investment areasâ⬠, specifically in poor countries. The ââ¬Å"dispensation of mergingâ⬠through open-ended stockholding in small-medium-large enterprises units has put significant relevance in acquiring industrial partnership, wherein capital investment has a critical role in merging companies. As cited from Capronââ¬â¢s findings, the logical economic explanation is capturing revenue-based synergies which are commonly identified as allocating and complementing resources by providing ââ¬Å"core competenciesâ⬠or ââ¬Å"mobilizing invisible assetsâ⬠(Penrose 1959; in Capron 1999: p. 989). As cited, Capron also pointed out in his ââ¬Å"theoretical modelâ⬠of post-acquisition and target redeployment (Capron 1999: pp. 990-995). According to Capron, the theory describes the diversification process as focusing on (1) asset divestiture, (2) cost-saving, (3) resource redeployment, and (4) revenue-enhancing capabilities as an effective means of ââ¬Å"acquisition performanceâ⬠(Capron 1999: p. 992). The theoretical model refers to and explains the ââ¬Å"basic economic behaviorâ⬠as outlined in the acquisition performance. Capron further theorized that capabilities in a divested firm are being distributed as an organizational undertaking. Meaning, it can be explained that the system of corporate governance and human resources are distributed or being shared that composes the acquisition performance. However, key ââ¬Å"organic elementsâ⬠were emphasized to have been integrated in the divestment process, in which the re-deployment (or deployment) of the organizational ââ¬Å"system or settingâ⬠are acquired. Conclusion Capronââ¬â¢s examination on the horizontal acquisition and projection of model in strategic post-acquisition and redeployment could be understood as a fundamental undertaking in diversification process. It may be true that most of merging firms in their acquired assets or business are mainly distributing their in-placed ââ¬Å"organizational or corporate systemâ⬠. However, the merging firms could likewise optimize or ââ¬Å"streamline the existing organizational set-up, which is the common occurrence in most firms that undertaken a ââ¬Å"buy-outâ⬠. It may be perceived that the revenue-generation could be largely acquired into options by streamlining the existing organizational set-up or re-organizing both human and capital resources. Capronââ¬â¢s findings have emphasized more on the performance capability on the theory of ââ¬Å"horizontal acquisitionâ⬠referring only to capital budget, as implied on the capital resources or fixed assets of the firms. The human resource aspect [as a critical unit] of the post-acquisition process may have not been well emphasized. What has been generally discussed in the study is the transformative business value in divestment schemes referring to capital investments and fixed asset liquidation. It could be reflected that the capital investment and fixed asset liquidation are the critical factors in the divestment schemes as the primary resource of merging stakeholder. It could be suggested that the ââ¬Å"potentially detrimental impactâ⬠[as also pointed out by Capron] could be referred to the human resources or labor force in a diversified industry. The merging stakeholder in Capronââ¬â¢s findings were much given relevance on how they could effectively perform in targeting their post-acquisition and redeployment, in which the study itself envisions to complement the performance capabilities of the stakeholders. At this point, we may re-examine Capronââ¬â¢s ââ¬Å"theoretical modelâ⬠as giving more ââ¬Å"weightâ⬠to the envisioning of transnational and multi-national enterprises in furtherance of globalization, in which the continuing divestment scheme competes in the large scale economy of labor market and capital build-up. We may then conclude that Capronââ¬â¢s findings could be re-examined with further studies relating to human resources re-deployment or deployment on its horizontal development complementing the diversification of industries, in which the parallelism envisions both human and capital divestment. Section B Morrisonââ¬â¢s bid to Safeway The electronic magazine of the Financial Times on its December 8th 2003 issue at the www. ft. com web site has published the news article of Richard Milne entitled: ââ¬ËCountdown Starts for Morrisons Bid for Safewayââ¬â¢. According to the news article, the Morrison Supermarket bided 21 days from its competitors, such as Tesco, J. Sainsbury and Asda-WalMart, following the UK governmentââ¬â¢s offer to sell the Safeway supermarket. The UK Department of Trade and Industry disclosed that ââ¬Å"Morrison was willing to sell its 53 stores if acquisition of Safeway is successfulâ⬠(Richard Milne 2003; in Ft. com 2008). Morrisonââ¬â¢s negotiation was favored by the UK Competition Commission that disqualified the three major competitors from the bidding and upheld Morrison to takeover Safeway with a share of 219-1/2 from the 279-1/2, in which Safeway acknowledged the buy out. In a follow up report in 2004, after a year of the buy out, the Safeway has gained 40% of sales growth. Financial analysts claimed that Safeway has ââ¬Å"migrated customersâ⬠to Morrison supermarket, as it cited that ââ¬Å"quality of sales has gone better because Morrison has stopped the Safeway policy of rolling deep discountsâ⬠(Martin Dickson 2004; in Ft. com 2008). Perception of the issue Morrisonââ¬â¢s takeover of Safeway supermarket has gauged the situation of significant financial divestment venture. The business potentials of Safeway [being an established supermarket that solely competes with Tesco, J. Sainsbury and Asda-WalMart] were the ââ¬Å"strong intentâ⬠of financial divestment of Morrison to even offer the sell of its 53 stores. The financial divestment of Morrison could be relating Capronââ¬â¢s findings on the ââ¬Å"horizontal acquisitionâ⬠of merging stakeholders by way of capital investments through diversified assets. In which case, the Safeway supermarket has found by Morrison as a ââ¬Å"potential divestitureâ⬠that shall absorb the vulnerability from tough competitors. The merging of stakeholder through a buy-out or takeover of an established investment [like Safeway] may have validated Capronââ¬â¢s theory of ââ¬Å"post-acquisition and redeploymentâ⬠, in which Morrison has able to ââ¬Å"containâ⬠the migratory customers and could further develop the acquisition performance of divesting financial investments. The divestment process of Morrisonââ¬â¢s takeover to Safeway has likewise described Capronââ¬â¢s finding on merging firms that engages in the economy of scale. One that Morrison has learned from the Safewayââ¬â¢s enterprise approach on rolling deep discounts, wherein it found to be defeating the ââ¬Å"selling schemesâ⬠. Thus, managing the risks in ââ¬Å"horizontal acquisitionâ⬠has gained Morrisonââ¬â¢s capability to undertake strategic competition that transformed the ââ¬Å"old Morrison businessâ⬠through the new outfit of Safeway supermarket. It may be then generally perceived that Capronââ¬â¢s theory on ââ¬Å"horizontal acquisitionâ⬠has transformative business value in enhancing the financial investment and liquidating a frozen asset [like Morrisonââ¬â¢s 53 stores that are non-performing], of which a ââ¬Å"unilateralâ⬠financial divestment scheme in managing risk investment, that is vulnerable to tightened competition, gains flexibility upon acquiring an established business venture. However, this assumption is perceptive of a challenge to the continuing financial divestment of core industries in the global market. List of References Capron, L. (1999) ââ¬ËThe Long-Term Performance of Horizontal Acquisitionââ¬â¢. Strategic Management Journal, pp. 987-1018, John Wiley Sons, Ltd. , CCC 0143ââ¬â 2095/99/110987ââ¬â32. Dickson, M. (2004). ââ¬ËCompanies UK: Safeway Saleââ¬â¢. The Financial Times (2008). [online] available from http://search. ft. com/ftArticle? queryText=Morrison%E2%80%99s+takeover+of+Safe wayy=3aje=truex=16id=040521002246ct=0 [14 June 2008] Milne, R. (2003). ââ¬â¢ Countdown Starts for Morrisons Bid for Safewayââ¬â¢. The Financial Times (2008). [online] available from http://search. ft. com/ftArticle? queryText=Morrison%E2%80%99s+takeover+of+Safe wayy=3aje=truex=16id=031208004508ct=0 [14 June 2008]
Saturday, October 26, 2019
A Rose For Emily by Willaim Faulkner Essay -- essays research papers
A Rose For Emily à à à à à William Faulkners story A Rose For Emily, is a tragic story about a young lady by the name of Miss Emily Grierson. Emily came from a well to do family, that had allot of history in the town they lived in. The Grierson's were so powerful, that they did not have to pay any taxes. The whole town seemed to think that the Grierson's were snobby because in Emily's fathers eyes, none of the men where quite good enough for Emily. Unfortunately, Emily turned out an old maid because of her father. By the age of 30, the whole town felt sorry for Emily because they knew that she would not be getting married. à à à à à The death of Emily's father displayed a different side of Emily. Since there were rumors of insanity in her family, Emily's denial of her father death portrayed just that. Soon after, Emily came back to reality and grieved her fathers' death. No one seemed to see much of Emily after the death of her father. The only person they would see was her butler. To everyone's surprise, Emily did meet a man a few years later, by the name of Homer Barron. The two would ride down the street on Sundays in a buggy. The town hoped that this would be Emily's opportunity to wed. Time passed, and the town no longer saw Homer come around any more. The last time the town saw Homer, he had gone into Emily's home through the kitchen door for supper. à à à à à Never the less, it finally came time for Emily t... A Rose For Emily by Willaim Faulkner Essay -- essays research papers A Rose For Emily à à à à à William Faulkners story A Rose For Emily, is a tragic story about a young lady by the name of Miss Emily Grierson. Emily came from a well to do family, that had allot of history in the town they lived in. The Grierson's were so powerful, that they did not have to pay any taxes. The whole town seemed to think that the Grierson's were snobby because in Emily's fathers eyes, none of the men where quite good enough for Emily. Unfortunately, Emily turned out an old maid because of her father. By the age of 30, the whole town felt sorry for Emily because they knew that she would not be getting married. à à à à à The death of Emily's father displayed a different side of Emily. Since there were rumors of insanity in her family, Emily's denial of her father death portrayed just that. Soon after, Emily came back to reality and grieved her fathers' death. No one seemed to see much of Emily after the death of her father. The only person they would see was her butler. To everyone's surprise, Emily did meet a man a few years later, by the name of Homer Barron. The two would ride down the street on Sundays in a buggy. The town hoped that this would be Emily's opportunity to wed. Time passed, and the town no longer saw Homer come around any more. The last time the town saw Homer, he had gone into Emily's home through the kitchen door for supper. à à à à à Never the less, it finally came time for Emily t...
Thursday, October 24, 2019
Discoveries of Maria Montessori
2. What are the discoveries of Dr. Maria Montessori ? Dr. Maria Montessori was a keen observer of children. She used her observational and experimental proclivities from her medical background to develop, what we might today call, a Constructivist understanding of the process of learning. She studied them scientifically. If she saw some unusual behavior in a child, she would say,â⬠I wonââ¬â¢t believe it now, I shall if it happens againâ⬠. She studied the conditions in which the children would perform those actions. She thought education always involved three elements: The learner, the Prepared Environment, and the Trained Adult. The basic areas in which she gave importance was freedom, independence, respect and responsibility. She believed that the child constructs knowledge from experiencing the world. Learning, she said, was not something that needed to be forced or motivated. Instead, learning is something that humans do naturally. The early years especially are ones of great mental growth. Throughout the early years of life, the child absorbs impressions from the world around him. Not with his mind, but with his life. She recognized that children go through certain phases during which they learn more easily than at any other time in their lives. This innate potential to learn is dependent upon a loving environment that encourages the active pursuit of knowledge. The child should be given the freedom to do his work and must be given the respect for the child as an individual. The behavioral change shown to respect and freedom is very eminent Dr. Montessori's developmentally-appropriate approach to learning is designed to fit each child instead of making each child fit into a preset program. She believed that learning should take place in multi-aged classrooms where children who are at various stages of development can learn from and with each other. This learning should take place in a non-competitive atmosphere in order for each child to develop at his/her own speed. Dr. Montessori observed that the best way for young children to learn is by active, hands-on experiences. She developed the idea of the prepared environment, where the classroom contains a wide variety of cognitive materials that foster learning in numerous areas. The purpose of the materials is not just to impart knowledge to children, but rather to provide them with stimuli that capture their attention and initiate a process of concentration. She was compelled to believe that the children love to do constructive work proved it suited their age and the stage of development. She observed that they worked with great interest and repeated the activities on their own volition to reach a stage of concentration. Montessori saw two streams of energy within the young child. The first is the physical energy of the body expended in voluntary movement. And the second is mental energy: the energy of intellect and will. She felt that these two streams of energy are often separated by the forces of modern life. And children who are not helped to unite them tend to move aimlessly and clumsily and have unfocused thought patterns. A unification of mental and physical energies comes about when a child becomes absorbed in work. Montessori called this ââ¬Å"normalization. â⬠And concentration, she said, was the key. The carefully prepared environment in the Montessori schools provide the opportunity for children to grow intellectually and emotionally. She decided to follow the child. Thanks to the revelations and the freedom she allowed to the children she was able to discover several aspects of the child and childhood. With her scientific approach of mind she tested whether every child in similar opportunities and similar conditions would manifest the same types of behavior. She tested these again and again and after twenty two years of such experimentation Dr. Montessori could say that she had found a method of helping children in their educational pursuits. Thus came the Montessori Method of education. Some of the discoveries Dr. Maria Montessori made during her work. 1. Children love to work purposefully. The inner drive to work is sufficient to reach their goal if it corresponded with the inner developmental need. With the provision of the necessary conditions and necessary environment the child without the instigation of an adult can reach his goal. 2. When an inner need to do something meets with the inner urge spontaneous Interest is generated. When the inner urge or the Interest finds a suitable working condition it leads to spontaneous Repetition. When this spontaneous Repetition of an activity is done with interest the natural result is Concentration. Concentration is not the end product of education, its just the beginning. Any true learning happens with concentration. The children revealed that given the right conditions they would work with concentration. 3. Very young children need order for their development. This order need not be only with things in the environment but also with values, functions and other human activities. The child needs to see human values like ââ¬ËSay the Truthââ¬â¢ being practiced. But the adults do not practice in the everyday life. The child gets confused and this can create a warp in his development. Similarly any object in the environment being used for a purpose other than it is meant for creates disturbance. (e. g. the other end of a teaspoon used as a screwdriver). Contrary instructions about behaviour muddle his decisions how some action is allowed at some other time (for example. when a visitor is there). The examples can go on multiplying but the important factor that we need to remember is that the young child is in the process of building his personality which lasts his lifetime. He needs consistency in everything in his environment. It takes a while for him to understand that things can also be different 4. Freedom is another basic requirement of a childââ¬â¢s development process. Dr. Maria found that to perform well in any activity they should be given the option to choose their own activity then only they excel it according to their own capabilities. 5. Normality depended on all the human powers working in unison, in collaboration. Very often children deviate from this normality because they do not find the conditions necessary for their development. D Montessori says that during the early childhood it is possible to rectify any developmental errors and bring the child back to normality The rectification can be made possible only by the childââ¬â¢s working individually at the developmental activities in freedom. ACTIVITY was essential. 6. These developmental activities belonged to areas that the child needed for building his personality generally activities involving sensorial concepts, language, arithmetic, art, culture were considered necessary for the childââ¬â¢s education. The introduction of the exercise of practical life as developmental activities was Dr Montessoriââ¬â¢s contribution to education. She found out how the children needed to perform these activities of everyday life. These became developmental activities especially because they brought the intelligence, will and voluntary movements together this co-ordination brought about integration of the personality Dr Montessori realized that these activities were very well understood by the children and thus mobilized their intelligence to the fullest participation. 7. Several other topics that were considered too high and out of reach for the children of 3 to 5 years were brought into the House of Children. Dr Montessori found out that these areas of knowledge are necessary for the childââ¬â¢s total development rather than being subjects to be learnt and, perhaps, memorized. The children showed that they could assimilate the knowledge if they were given in a suitable form. 8. In the House of Children, discipline that is a bugbear in educational institutions came in a new form. The children managed their individual life,their manner of speaking, moving, handling material, interacting with other children. The children revealed quiet, orderliness, remarkable work attitude striving for perfection, sense of responsibility towards themselves and the environment and also others in the community Above all they showed independence in their control of errors, love for silence, indifference with regard to reward or punishments. Discipline did not have to be enforced. 9. At a social level they lived and let others live, helping others, co-operating with them, having quarrel, exhibiting no possessiveness and giving respect for elders who worked with them. At some point of time it was also seen that the children worked irrespective of whether the elders were there or not. The absence of adults did not influence their discipline, orderliness, quiet in their individual or social life. This suggested that discipline must come from within and not imposed from outside. Discipline is an inner development born in freedom. Freedom and discipline are two faces of the same coin. These are two forms of discipline. the outer and the inner the inner discipline is a natural and inner urge to follow the laws that govern development. This inner discipline is the basic on which the outer discipline can rest. So the outer discipline imposed by the adults on the child should be in a form that will be given to the inner innate discipline and it can reveal itself in all its glory 10. Real obedience is based on love, respect and faith. When obedience leads to inner satisfaction it becomes real obedience and hence it becomes real development. 11. Dr Montessori discovered that the children are often seen to behave in a certain manner- destructive, disorderly, stubborn, disobedient etc. But in specially prepared environments and with specially trained adult they show orderly, responsible, loving behaviour both are seemingly real. But why is the contradiction? Dr Montessori says that the second instance is the real one and the very common behaviour is the result of the child not finding the right conditions for development. Dr Montessori calls this the social question of the child. This discovery was possible because she could witness this grandeur of human normality 12. Many of the activities presented to children in Montessori Houses of Children are results of observing the child and, therefore, may be considered as discoveries- The Silence Activity, Exercises of Practical Life, Walking on the Line are some of the examples. 3. It is a well-known truth that human life is a series of steps in gaining independence and credit could go to Dr Montessori who pointed that this is true with child life also. All the help we offer should lead the child to Independence in his individual and social life. The Montessori Method bases itself on these and various other discoveries Dr Montessori made while she worked with chi ldren. We might conclude by saying that Dr Montessori calls upon every adult human being to develop the humility to [earn from the child in order to help the child create a healthy human being.
Wednesday, October 23, 2019
Great State Wheat Flakes Canââ¬â¢t Be Beat
Betty, who has been employed for three years as a copywriter for HK&M, a mid-size advertising agency specializing in consumer packaged goods, has been feverishly working for the past week on a new ad campaign for Great State's wheat flakes, a regional breakfast cereal. The account has been with the agency for several years. Although Charlie, the brand manager on this cereal, has been pleased with the agency's work over the years, the old positioning, which stressed taste attributes and fun-filled family breakfasts, has become tired and dated.Marketing research shows a high degree of consumer wearoutââ¬âpeople are tired of the campaign, even annoyed with it, and are ready for something fresh. Betty's task was to rejuvenate the brand via repositioning it to take advantage of and tie into the health and well being trends, specifically the interest in eating ââ¬Å"good-for-youâ⬠food as well as in physical fitness. The brand was to be pitched as an important part of an active, healthy lifestyle.Betty thought she had come up with the perfect theme line: ââ¬Å"Great State's wheat flakes will give a great start to your active day,â⬠and she had developed what she believed were some clever scenarios for TV and print ads featuring the product being consumed after workouts in health clubs, following a morning jog, after a snowboarding expedition, to power up before rollerblading, and even while zipping along on a scooter (ââ¬Å"Look Ma, no hands! â⬠). However, upon reviewing her proposals, Charlie said that while the vignettes were on target because health-conscious customers would relate well to them, the slogan was off base.He wanted something more specific and hard hitting, and so Charlie developed the theme line, ââ¬Å"Great State Wheat flakes can't be beat. No other wheat flake offers you more vitamins and minerals and fewer calories. â⬠Betty tried to kindly tell Charlie that this was misleading because it implies that Great State's bran d is healthier than most, if not all, of the others, whereas actually all wheat flake cereals are parity productsââ¬â they are virtual photocopies of each other in terms of taste, texture, and, most important here, composition and therefore nutritional value.In fact, blind taste tests have shown that between 70 and 80 per cent of consumers cannot identify their favorite brand of wheat flakes and that loyalty levels are low ââ¬â with price incentives consumers will readily switch brands. Charlie, obviously irritated, explained that his tag linewas an honest exaggeration, what the advertising trade termed ââ¬Å"puffing,â⬠and that consumers are expected to see through it. He felt that it offered the point of difference needed to increase brand loyalty. Betty, feeling uneasy, later that day approached her boss Steve, the copy chief at HK&M, asking his counsel.Steve explained that Charlie's suggested slogan is what is called an ââ¬Å"implied superiorityâ⬠claim. Stev e explained that such claims are commonly made for commodity brands. They stake out a parity position, which does not claim to be superior to, but only as good as, other brands, while using copy that suggests or implies superiority for the named brand. He cited several current and classical examples, such as ââ¬Å"Nothing else cleans better,â⬠ââ¬Å"The maximum fluoride protection in any toothpaste,â⬠ââ¬Å"You can't beat the savings,â⬠ââ¬Å"You can't buy a more effective pain reliever,â⬠and ââ¬Å"Nothing is proven to work better or last longer. In effect, these brands are claiming that they are unsurpassed. However, none claims to be truly better than their competitors. Betty, recalling several other such implied superiority claims she had recently seen, realized that it was, indeed, a popular technique. Steve reminded Betty that there is a distinction between deceptive advertising, which creates false impressions and misleads a consumer acting reasonably , and ââ¬Å"trade puffing,â⬠which is exaggerated praise of the product (e. g. , Almost Home cookies are the ââ¬Å"moistest, chewiest, most perfectly baked cookiesâ⬠ever; ââ¬Å"Nestle makes the very best chocolateâ⬠).Puffery is viewed as acceptable in a society of the superlative. Consumers are assumed to see through the exaggeration or at least engage in a ââ¬Å"willing suspension of disbelief. â⬠He explained to her that whereas deceptive advertising is illegal, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which monitors national advertising for accuracy and fairness in claims, views puffery as legitimate. ââ¬Å"What's more,â⬠Steve concluded somewhat sarcastically, ââ¬Å"using your line of reasoning, Betty, we shouldn't at all advertise any parity products, since all brand advertising is designed to create a brand distinction in the buyer's mind.Advertising is necessary to differentiate yourself from the pack of imitators. And, it helps a small, underdog br and like Great State get a leg up on the big, deep-pocketed companies like our rivals. â⬠Betty thought that, in fact, Steve's taunting comment might, indeed, have some merit. In fact, she feared that it might force Great Stateââ¬â¢s competitors to improve and differentiate their cereals, thereby benefiting consumers (but harming Great State). Nonetheless, she still felt uneasy.It seemed to her that the ââ¬Å"implied superiorityââ¬â¢ claim crossed the boundary from puffery over to deception. QUESTIONS/EXERCISES 1. Identify the ethical issues facing Betty regarding the nature of the proposed ââ¬Å"Implied superiority advertising claim. 2. What are the ethical issues Betty encounters with respect to organizational relationships and conflicts? 3. What are the possible decision alternatives Betty could devise, and what are the ethics of each alternative? 4. Which alternative would you recommend to Betty and why?
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