DISSERTATION (Research Methodology ) Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

(Research Methodology ) - Dissertation Example As found in the literature, psychic distance is critical to strategy formulation. Accordingly, the cultural attitude and the behaviour of the target segment are essential to devise the right marketing strategy. The students have become demanding and the programme curricula need to be revisited to suit the changed economic environment globally. DEDUCTIVE AND INDUCTIVE METHODS There are several ways to conduct research and the two most common ways are logical positivism or phenomenological interpretation. Logical positivism allows the hypotheses to be formulated in advance and is quantitative in nature based on experimental methods (Amaratunga et al, 2002). In implementing this method of research the researcher should ensure independence of the observer from the subject being observed. In the interpretive method, a qualitative approach is used and efforts are made to inductively analyse and understand the experience based on the context in which it has been set. This approach does not accept the belief that objects of experience are independent events. Regardless of the method used, the research process must fulfill the purpose of the research, answer the research questions and achieve the objectives and aim of the study. To take an informed decision, the research methods will be evaluated based on the purpose of the research, the time availability, aims and objectives, and the sample size including the subject of research. 3.2 Research approach A qualitative approach will be adopted for this study as, in the words of Knox (2004), this approach enables the researcher to have an insider perspective on social actions. Insider perspective is essential to get an idea of the demands of the students and the current changed environment due to the economic downturn. The scenarios may differ across circumstances and this approach will enable to articulate different scenarios while also enable to study the phenomenon under natural settings. Moreover, since interviews will be conducted, it may not be possible for the researcher to observe independence from the subject being interviewed. Hence a quantitative approach is not possible, and a qualitative approach is justified. 3.3 Research strategy Both primary and secondary data will be collected through the qualitative method. This method will help explore new ideas effectively. DATA COLLECTION Secondary data is essential to achieve the first objective, which is to evaluate the current international marketing strategy adopted by universities globally. Data has been sourced through academic journals and reputed websites. The study finds that the traditional marketing principles cannot be applied to the field of HE. The situation differs and other factors such as faculty selection, their reputation and experience, the image of the institution, and the curricula changes are important factors that need to be looked into. Market selection process is critical to the success of the strategy in international ma rketing for HE. The second objective too has been evaluated through secondary data as it pertains to evaluating the drivers of change in the current environment. The change in the environment has been ascertained through journals and reports which have helped to analyse and understand the changed educational requirements of the students. Since data on these issues were available in plenty, the relevant ones have been segregated and the unimportant ones eliminated. Data from

Popper's Falsificationism versus Hempel's Confirmation Theory Essay

Popper's Falsificationism versus Hempel's Confirmation Theory - Essay Example According to Carl Hempel, deductive logic is a device for preserving truth. Therefore, positive evidence is used to confirm a hypothesis. On the other hand, Karl Popper objected that it was logically impossible to confirm or justify theories by using claims of science and observation. Hempel asserts that if the premises of a deductive argument are true, then the conclusion must also be true. Therefore, logical arguments should start from some foundation while, according to Popper, theoretical claims are known to have extended beyond the particular observations that were used to support them. According to Popper’s falsification theory, experience, more specifically, sensory experience is a foundation for arriving at a subsequent observation could always prove the best confirmed theory false. Hempel and others, who supported the confirmation theory, had a strategy of showing how claims of science might be justified by being derived from sentences that could be confirmed or inval idated by observation. On the other hand, Popper, argued in favor of an alternative in which scientists should strive to falsify hypotheses, in reference to the bold hypotheses that make strong claims about the world.... Logic of science must be universal. The scientific method must be formal, and should rest not on specific assumptions about the way the world is, but it must be sufficient. Therefore, given a set of premises rules of logic are sufficient to decide whether a conclusion follows and there is no need of other information (Kincaid 23). Always logic of science should allow us to do something similar, and that is to decide whether a hypothesis is confirmed given the data. Similarly, according to Hempel, a new law is looked by following a process, whereby a guess is made; consequences are computed about the guess to see what would be implied if this law that was guessed is right. Then, the result of computation is compared with nature to see if it works. Agreement will constitute good evidence only when it is known that there is not a more reasonable rival that predicts what ha already been observed. As much as confirmation is only one part of acceptance, and acceptance of a theory requires more than knowing whether a specific batch of data supports a particular hypothesis, multiple tests, the scope of the data, the logical and evidential ties with other hypotheses can be factored in order to make it practical (Kincaid 24). In shifting the emphasis entirely to falsification, Popper rejects the generally accepted aspect of science that experience, more specifically; sensory experience is a foundation for arriving at a subsequent observation because it could always prove the best confirmed theory false. He rejects the qualitative notion of evidence in confirmation. He argues that claims of the logic of science are generalizations from scientific practice. However, scientific practice is diverse in terms of time and fields.

Explain how Descartes represents a new philosophical beginning Essay

Explain how Descartes represents a new philosophical beginning - Essay Example In mathematics, we encounter absolute certainty, according to Descartes.† (Kitcher, 2006, p. 482) His search for this absolute certainty in the field of philosophy begins with a radical rejection of all beliefs, perceptions and assumptions and a completely blank page on which he attempts to build up a new logical train of thought. This paper considers the steps that Descartes takes to distance himself from traditional ways of thinking and the nature of his radical new approach. The starting point that Descartes chooses is in keeping with the religious conventions of the time, since he addresses his work to â€Å"those Most Wise and Distinguished men, the Deans and Doctors of the Faculty of Sacred Theology of Paris† (Descartes, p. 484) and he quotes the Bible and the Lateran Council of 1512-1517 to show that he is familiar with matters of the faith. His use of radical scepticism is presented as different approach to both physical and metaphysical problems and he implies t hat his intention is to follow a path of discovery which will be different from, but not contradictory to, articles of faith which are taught by the established Christian Church. Since the turn of the seventeenth century the Medieval mind-set of the Church had been badly shaken, first by the reformation and consequent debates and schisms across Europe, and secondly by a whole host of scientific discoveries that raised interesting questions about man’s place in the universe. Nowadays we call this major shift in world view â€Å"the Enlightenment.† In the first section of his treatise Descartes applies his radical scepticism to religion and science alike, suspending all that he has been taught, and coming down to the fundamental observation that the human being is made of two separate substances: the mind, which is immaterial and capable of thinking, and the body, which is corporal and capable of using the physical senses to apprehend and interact with the world. He cons iders how unreliable the senses are, and concludes that the only thing that he is absolutely certain of, is the fact that he is thinking with his mind. Body, senses and everything else are laid to one side and he concentrates on this thinking part of himself. In the second section he formulates his most famous saying â€Å"cogito ergo sum: I think, therefore I am† (Descartes, p. 492) which shows that existence is derived from thinking, and not from anything outside the self that is thinking. This is a big departure from the teachings of the Church, which had traditionally placed itself in the role of teacher and authority on all matters. Thanks to the reformation there was a much greater focus on the individual, and Descartes latches on to this to stress both the mental activity that human beings are capable of, but also the fact that we are self-aware when we are engaged in this activity. All that exists around that thinking self is an illusion, and the only absolutely certa in thing is the individual and his ability to understand and to reason. The third section elaborates this point: â€Å"I am a thing that thinks, that is to say a thing that doubts, affirms, denies, understands a few things, is ignorant of many things, refrains from willing, and also imagines and senses.†

Body shop case study, part 2 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Body shop case study, part 2 - Assignment Example Brand management is the result of strategic marketing. From pricing a product to pensioning that product in the targeted consumer mind are parts of strategic brand management. Customers’ feedback will be interpreted and analyzed in this paper with based on academic concept of brand management. A mind will be developed of Body Shop with respect to the feedback of the comments of interviewee customers about their experience on the products of Body Shop. Competitive analysis is another important area of brand management. Therefore, position of Body Shop brand in the customers’ mind will be evaluated by comparing the competitors positioning. Possibility and viability of brand extension will be analyzed based on the gap of customers’ satisfaction regarding the company’s products and their satisfaction. Finally, marketing momentum of this brand will be analyzed in Australian market of beauty products. Table of Contents Introduction 4 Data collection and analysis 5 Findings 6 Mind map analysis 8 Competitive market position 9 Brand extension 10 Marketing momentum in Australia 11 Conclusion 12 Reference 13 Introduction Body Shop is an international beauty products brand. Name of the company is The Body Shop International plc which is a US based multinational company established in 1976. The company has successfully grown from its first shop in Brington, England to 2400 stores in 61 countries. Effective brand management is one of the key reasons of its success. Both the market diversification along with product development strategies have been adopted by the company result a rapid growth in the European market and after that successful business in the international market. Recently, the company has been acquired by L’Oreal group and it has become a subsidiary of L’Oreal. The company sells more than 1200 products in domestic as well different foreign market across the world. There are different strategies and factors behind this s uccessful creation of international brand. The company has been ethically following its core business values which cumulatively influenced its brand image. One of the important values of the company related to its brand management is that the company is dedicated to manufacture its wide range of products from the natural resources and least usage of chemicals. This is one o9f the key strength of the company which has become its competency over years. Customer acceptance and trust on the product of this company is positive result of brand management (The Body Shop, 2012). This study will deal with detailed analysis of some customers’ feedback about the products offered by the company. This will help to assess the position of the brand in competitive global market of beauty products. Customers’ buyers’ power is very high due to higher availability of beauty products in many domestic as well as international brands. So, brand extension is most important for this bu siness that all companies keep continuous focus. Therefore, interviewing the customers will help to find out the requirement of brand extension of this company. Finally, recommendation for effective strategic brand management for its marketing momentum in Australian market will be provided based on the analysis and the demand and trend of customers’ preference about beauty products. Data collection and analysis There are different modes and processes of data collection i.e. collection of customers valuable feedback regarding products

Learning Strategies Rely Heavily on Employee Involvement Essay

Learning Strategies Rely Heavily on Employee Involvement - Essay Example The generally practiced HR policies of Equipos included regular training, communication, setting of lucid and consistent objectives, high wages, acknowledgment for accomplishments, team works, flat organization structure, in addition to a learning-oriented organizational culture. These factors motivated the employees to perform and adhere to the management practices, which enabled Equipos to develop into a learning organization. Contribution This study can be beneficial for comprehending how in spite of cultural differences between the parent company and the subsidiary, the organization can efficiently accomplish its business strategies with the help of its employees’ participation by motivating them. Keywords Motivation, Culture, Employee Participation, HR Practices, Management Practices. Table of Contents Abstract 2 Introduction 5 Discussion 6 Conclusion 12 References 13 Introduction The modern day organizations are striving hard to sustain their market position in the preva lent competitive business circumstances and gain a competitive advantage over their peers. In doing so, a large number of business organizations are shifting their orientation towards management approaches that encourage organizational learning. It had been observed that multinational corporations (MNCs) that are focused towards global learning have attained competitiveness and agility to handle the escalating intricacies of the global business environment (Bartlett & Ghoshal, 1989). However, when the MNCs employ learning approaches in their subsidiaries that are located in foreign lands, it is important for these MNCs to comprehend the issues that could impact the execution of various management practices that assist learning. Some of the major issues that could impact the execution of the management practices are difference in culture, and other environmental aspects such as socioeconomic, political, educational, and legal issues (Adler, 1997; Farmer & Richman, 1970; Negandhi & Pr asad, 1971). Hence, while spreading the learning practices to their subsidiaries, it is essential for the management of the MNCs to recognize the extent to which miscellaneous issues together with, but not restricted to the domestic cultural principles, have an effect on the transferability of diverse management practices. Managers should be aware of what issues might aid the accomplishment of learning strategies that initially seem to be contrary and mismatched with the culture of a nation. Gomez (2004:3) had stated that â€Å"Learning strategies rely heavily on employee involvement†. Gomez (2004) had stated so in his article, where he discussed the case of an American MNC and its Mexican subsidiary ‘Equipos’. Equipos had effectively taken up the attributes of a learning organization from its US based parent organization. This is in contrast to the widely perceived notion that the employee participation and other management practices that are related to a learni ng strategy are generally incompatible in the cross-cultural context. The paper essentially accentuates on how the employees were encouraged to involve themselves in the learning organisation atmosphere of Equipos. In the process of discussing the strategies employed by the management of Equipos, the paper also draws on the theories of motivation as well as cross-culture. Discussion It is

Growth and Development of Child Abuse Assignment

Growth and Development of Child Abuse - Assignment Example About 1 in 16 children are noted to suffer from sexual abuse and nearly 1 in 10 children are witness to incidences of family violence. A report by the US DOH, points out that the youngest children are found to be most vulnerable to abuse. The report showed that in the period ranging from 2009-2011, children between the ages of 0-5 years experienced the highest rates of maltreatment (DoH, 2013). These findings are supported by those presented by the children’s rights organization Safe Horizon that showed that over 25% of the total number of abused children was essentially under the age of three while an astounding 45% of abused children were under the age of 5 years (Safehorizon, 2014). In 2012, the total number of children who died due to child abuse was recorded at 1,563. Of this number, 70.3% were found to be younger than 3 years and 44% were reported to be younger than one year of age. The report on the 2012 data also showed that children of both genders were similarly likely to be victims of child abuse as indicated by the fact that in 2012, 48.5% of the total number of abused children were boys while 51.2% of the abused children. However at 57.6%, the rate of child fatality was recorded to be much higher for boys. Babies in this age demographic were reported as often being the victims of shaken baby syndrome that causes them to suffer from different forms of trauma such as bone and rib fractures, various degrees of damages to their neck and spinal cord as well as bleeding from the brain or eyes. 1 in 4 shaken baby syndrome victims eventually dies and nearly all victims tend to eventually experience serious health consequences (Safehorizon, 2014). Â  

Race And Ethnicity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Race And Ethnicity - Essay Example The Act and its subsequent amendments offer protection regardless of whether an individual propagates racism deliberately or not in the society (Tonry, 1998: 49). However, racial discrimination persists in British society a situation that has resulted to serious social crisis in the country. Access to medical services is one sector where racism and racial discrimination is prevalent in Britain. Findings from research study conducted by Smedley (2001) established that people from minority groups in United Kingdom experience worse health than those from the majority group. (Smedley, 2001: 25). Though there are various opinions regarding these findings, noted that the minority groups experienced many socioeconomic challenges that undermined their access to medical care. In health sector, Smedley, (2001) argues that perceptions attributed to the biological and cultural differences of the minority groups undermine their accessibility to health in Britain (Smedley, 2001: 37). These percept ions are usually used to justify unfair medical attention in health care institutions across the country. The study established that these negative perceptions prevented minority groups from interacting with medical staff in the country. The minorities face other additional social-economic challenges such as poor economic status and when these unjustified perceptions are included, access to good medical care becomes a difficult challenge. According to Benzeval et al (1992), racial discrimination in the United Kingdom affects health of the minorities in various ways. They include poor sanitation and living conditions, which arises from inequitable distribution of resources, poor treatment due to lack of resources... This paper stresses that health care system in the United Kingdom lacks important aspects, which perpetuates racial discrimination in the sector. These include lack of representative medical staff from the minority groups, insufficient policies and regulations to address patients from minority groups, in addition to very few users from the minority ethnic groups. Other aspects in the health sector include lack of medical staff qualified to work in ethnically diverse environment and poor relationship with non-governmental organisations that provides care to the minorities. Another major area of racial discrimination in Britain is the criminal justice system. In United States, African Americans a minority race continue to suffer from high levels of criminal injustice especially in capital offenses and imprisonments. This report makes a conclusion that the British government has made commendable efforts in ensuring that racial discrimination is eliminated, incidents of racial discrimination persists in the society and in institutions. This trend points to the widely construed notion that regards particular social group of people to certain characteristics. Regrettably, the ascribed notions have been used to draw and direct inhuman treatment to that particular group. In this regard, it is important for all British citizens to realize that respect for human dignity especially to the minority groups is the ideal measure of the country’s social economic development. This can be attained by ensuring equal access to justice, health, employment, education and in the political structure of the country.