Case Study Finance Investment Marketing Essay

Case Study Finance Investment Marketing Essay The company we chose for this assignment is Toys R Us. The purposes of doing this assignment are fulfilled the requirement of the subject ABDT3273 Marketing and more understandings in Marketing. Our assignment included the Toys R Us background, segmentation, targeting and positioning, marketing mix strategy, recommendations. Our group members included five members which are Teoh Wen Dee, Tan Si Min, Lim Yong Rou, Michelle Lim Mei Chern and Lim Yee Theng. Toys R Us is the biggest range of hot toys and holiday gifts retailer in Malaysia. The products sold in Toys R Us included education toys, dolls, model cars and so on. In other words, Toys R Us is a comfortable place for children and it is also childrens paradise. In this shop, children can enjoy and gain their knowledge while playing with the toys. R in the Toys R Us represent four different words which are rapid, real, reliable and responsible. In other words, they will best serve their customers, employees, shareholders, communities and kids with the meaning of the R. During the completion of this assignment, we managed to build up strong relationship between our group members and we had learnt how to prepare a proper report of a company. Due to the cooperation carried out by each member in our group, we able to finish this assignment on time. Company Profile Background of Toys R Us Toys R Us is a toy store chain headquartered in Wayne, New Jersey, United States. The chain also has locations in Europe, Asia, Oceania, Africa, and Canada. The company currently operates 840 stores in the United States and 716 stores in 34 other countries, with some of them under franchises or licenses. The flagship store in New York Citys Times Square is the largest toy store in the world, featuring a colorful Ferris wheel. It is the largest toy-centered retailer and the second largest overall toy retailer in the United States. History of the company Founder Charles Lazarus realized in the companys early days that success in the toy business meant focusing on the everyday shopper, such as a parent searching for the perfect birthday gift or a child is hoping to spend their weekly allowance on a much coveted toy. Today, Toys R Us embodies those same ideals by focusing on a memorable shopping experience for customers through classic, in-demand and exclusive merchandise, unique feature shops, a knowledgeable and toy-trained sales staff and by providing great values every day. Charles initially started Childrens Supermart, which would later evolve into the modern day Toys R Us in Washington, DC during the post-war baby boom era in 1948 as a baby furniture retailer. Its first location was at 2461 18th St, NW, where the nightclub, Madams Organ Blues Bar is currently located. Lazarus began receiving requests from customers for baby toys. After adding baby toys, he got requests for more mature toys. Eventually, the focus of the store changed in 1957 and Toys R Us as it is known today was born in Rockville, Maryland. Toys R Us was acquired in 1966 by Interstate Stores, owner of the White Front and Topps Department Stores as well as Childrens Bargain Town USA, a sister toy store chain to Toys R Us in the American Midwest which would later be rebranded as part of the Toys R Us chain. Li Fung Retailing became a licensee of Toys R Us and acquired 100% ownership of Toys Li Fung (Asia) Ltd in 2002, for the business in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, The Philippines and Macau with provisions for entry into new geographic markets including other South East Asian countries. Until today, there are 131 stores in 8 Asian markets, 22 stores in Malaysia. Nature of Business Toys R Us is provide a place for children and adults to buy their favorite toys. Their products is not only for play or fun, they are also selling some toys can be educated. In addition, they are selling some outdoor Toys which is camp tent, it provide a family go to outdoor for natural experience. Besides, baby also can found their related product such as diapers, milk bottle. Vision To be the dominant toy and educational toy retailer for children in Asia offering the right products, at the right price, at the right place, at the right time in a pleasurable and convenient shopping environment. Mission To nurture and develop the core competence of the Toys R Us retailing chain for the benefit of our stakeholders (customers, shareholders, and employees). Operations As of mid-Feb, 2011, Toys Li Fung (Asia) Ltd operates 131 stores in 8 Asian markets. In Malaysia, there are 7 main stores, 11 Toys R Us Express stores and 4 Toy Box. Toys R Us stores are located in 6 states in Malaysia where each state have at least one store operated which is Penang, Kuala Lumpur, Johor, Pahang and Terengganu and Sarawak, State Shopping Mall Penang Gurney Plaza, Queensbay Mall, Sunway Carnival Kuala Lumpur Ikano Power Centre, One Utama Shopping Centre, Tropicana Mall, Mid Valley Meagamall, Pavillion, Bangsar Village, Hartamas Shopping Centre, Alamanda, Suria KLCC, Great Eastern Mall, IOI Mall, Empire Shopping Gallery Johor Tebrau City Pahang East Coast Mall Terengganu Mesra Mall Sarawak 1 Borneo HyperMall, Miri, Hills Shopping Mall, Kuching Toys R Us. Inc Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Gerald L. Storch Executive Vice President, Human Resources Dan Caspersen Executive Vice President, General Counsel, Corporate Secretary David J. Schwartz Executive Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer Deborah Derby Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer Clay Creasey Oceania Asia (Li Fung Group) North America Europe Trinity Limited Toys (Labuan) Holding Limited CEO: Peter Schats Convenience Retail Asia Limited Li Fung Limited Malaysia Singapore Hong Kong Others Toys Li Fung (M) Sdn. Bhd. Country Manager: Carol Chua The Organizational Chart of Toys R Us in Malaysia Country Manager Account Manager Logistic Manager Sales and Merchandising Manager Other Department Manager Branch Manager (3 in Penang, 12 in Kuala Lumpur, 1in Johor, 1 in Pahang, 1 in Terengganu, and 4 in Sarawak) Supervisors Retail/ Promoter and Royalty Card Recruiters and Others Management Structure of Toys R Us in Malaysia Corporate Social Responsibilities Hot Wheels Celebrity Drive for Charity Challenge event in 2010. Malaysias first F1 driver Alex Yoong put his considerable skills to the test as he took to the Hot Wheels track racing against the clock and three other young drivers from the Lighthouse Children Welfare Home Association. Alex Yoong clocked in a time of 2.5 seconds with his silver Hot Wheels no.11 Mustang, but was beat by a young Hot Wheels driver, Micheal, from the Lighthouse Welfare Home Association who led the pack with a remarkable time of 2.3 seconds. From the 19th to the 28th March, any Hot Wheels enthusiast that partakes in the Hot Wheels Race World Challenge and manages to beat Alex Yoongs time of 2.5 seconds, a toy will be donated towards the Childrens Home of Hope (under the National Cancer Society of Malaysia) and the Lighthouse Children Welfare Home Association. Buy a Toys R Us shopping bag and help a charity. RM1 from each purchase will be donated to charity. Toys R Us gives RM10, 000 to Trinity Childrens Home Toys R Us (Malaysia) donated RM10, 000 to Trinity Childrens Home, Petaling Jaya, at the opening of a new store at Empire Shopping Gallery, Subang Jaya in June 2010. Event Description Hot Wheels Celebrity Drive for Charity Challenge event in 2010 A toy will be donated towards the Childrens Home of Hope (under the National Cancer Society of Malaysia) and the Lighthouse Children Welfare Home Association once any Hot Wheels enthusiast that manages to beat Alex Yoong. Buy a Toys R Us shopping bag and help a charity. RM1 from each purchase will be donated to charity Toys R Us gives RM10, 000 to Trinity Childrens Home RM10,000 donated to Trinity Childrens Home, Petaling Jaya. Future Plan Toys R Us retailing is given to Li Fung (Asia) Ltd who have a series of plan in Asia to develop a core competence of the Toys R Us retailing. Consumer market: They have planned to open more and more Toys R Us branches in Malaysia. This will benefit the stakeholders. For consumer, they will be more convenient to buy toys for their children. Toys R Us also provides some educational toys. So that children are not only playing toys for fun but at the same time they are gaining extra knowledge. Besides, company will produce more safety toys to children and parents which fulfill the rules and regulations. Consequently, parents wont worry about the toys are dangerous or harming their children while the children feel happy playing with their toys. Furthermore, company will lead employees to another level which is in line with the 2010 Incentive Plan of Toys R Us Ltd. They will arrange some courses or trainings to employee. Through the courses and trainings, employees can improve their knowledge and skills. This would be benefited to the employees and company. Company will be operated effectively and efficiently as the employees are capable and trained. On the other hand, employees will get higher salary and their ability is improved. In addition, company possesses employees of great ability to produce fun and better toys to children. Consumer will not be worry about the safety issues and enjoy consuming our products. They are intended to make Toys R Us as the retailer of dominant toys and educational toys in Malaysia as well. The company wants to offer a right product and right price to consumers. Moreover, they also want to maximizing wealth of shareholders to satisfy them. It will be benefited both sides which are consumers can get right product and right price and shareholders can maximize their wealth. The company will achieve a good reputation in toy industry. These are the future plans in Toys R Us in Malaysia. Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning Segmentation is dividing a market into smaller segments with distinct needs, characteristics, or behaviors that might require separate marketing strategies or mixes. The segmentation made by Toys R Us is according to the demographic segmentation, which consists of dividing the market into groups based on variables such as age, gender, family size, income, occupation, education, religion, race, and nationality. Toys R Us is differentiated by the ages and gender of customers. Based on Population of Malaysia is 28.25 million which is including 27.2% is less than 15 years old, 68.1% is 15 to 64 years old and the rest of 4.7% is more than 65 years old. Their product is selling to customers who are 15 to 64 years old. This is because the customers are more purchasing power to buy toys. They already have source of income to satisfy their wants. For example, teenagers have received their pocket money from their parents; they are saving to buy their toys for collection. Adults have salary from their works; they will spend partly of salary to fulfill their wants. Besides that, young parents also is including in 15 to 64 years old. They are young and modern, so that they will be buy more toys for their children, the education toys also is popular for them, they hope their children can get knowledge through playing toys. Targeting is the second stage of the segmentation, targeting and positioning (STP) process. After the market has been separated into its segments, the marketer will select a segment or series of segments and target it. Resources and effort will be targeted at the segment. Their targeting strategies is using differentiated (segmented) marketing which is targets several segments and designs separate offers for each. For example, Toys R Us is segmenting to a small group which is based on income, age and gender. Their products target in toys collector who are more purchasing power to buy their toys. Besides that, toys collector is not miss out any opportunity to buy their favourite toys or limited edition. Compare to children, children is not enough power to influence their parents buy toys for them every moments. Parents only buy toys for them in special events such as birthday, Christmas. They are just a partly customers in Toys R Us. Positioning has come to mean the process by which the marketers try to create an image or identity in the minds of their target market for its product, brand or organization. Toys R Us is positioned as the worldwide authority on kids, families and fun. At Toys R Us, they believe that by being rapid, real, reliable and responsible, we will best serve our customers, employees, shareholders, communities and kids. Rapid, we believe that speed is a reflection of our culture. Our team is focused and clear with common, user-friendly processes and solutions; fast and urgent in decision-making an speed-to-market; and quick in adapting to change. Real, our team is urgent, sincere, authentic, helpful to work with and confident. Reliable, being reliable means working as a team so everything can move faster. We are a company that is dependable and we produce what we promise. Responsible, we believe that honesty, integrity and compassion are the foundation upon which we work together and conduct our business. Keeping kids safe is a cornerstone of the brand. Marketing Mix Four Ps of Toys R Us Marketing mix is a composite of product, place, price, and promotion, also referred to as the 4Ps. Each of these elements is an important factor in a companys marketing strategy. These four Ps are the parameters that the marketing manager can control, subject to the internal and external constraints of the marketing environment. The goal is to make decisions that centre the four Ps on the customers in the target market in order to create perceived value and generate a positive response. The Toys R Us marketing mix is always being fine-tuned and thus is never static. Toys R Us is a for-profit organization that has implemented a winning marketing mix within its marketing strategy. Products Firstly, the companys products, products is anything that can be offered to a market for attention, acquisition, use, or consumption and that might satisfy a want or need of consumer. Types of consumer goods in Toys R Us is a shopping products, thats, it is bought less frequently and there is brand comparison on basis of price, quality and style. The distribution channel which they are using is selective distribution, the outlets can easily found in the area. Besides that, the advertising and personal selling of their product is undertaken by both producer and reseller. Toys R Us is famous for their products quality, their product is in the performance product quality dimensions. For their product feature, the cost of the company is usually lower than others and creates a value to their customer and therefore, they always is the first choice of consumer. The branding and packaging are also the attracted part of their product. Toys R Us have a high recognition within consumer, consumer usually will choose the brand which is well-known that can help them to identifies the product quality and consistency. Besides that, a giraffe cartoon was introduced as Toys R Us mascot with the name of Geoffrey the Giraffe. In the packaging part, the product of Toys R Us is ensure the consumers safety. They will ensure that the products do not bring any harm for childrens health and safety and the instructions of using is provide for every single toys. Toys R Us was also introduced its own private brands such as Babies R Us. They introduced the exclusive line of baby essential-diapers, wipes, baby foods and toys. The product in the store is separated to six different zones. In Family and Fun zones, they provide the games which help parents to take interest in children, communicate, and spend time enjoying entertaining activities with them. For Educational zones, the children can learn the natural skill while having fun. In the Tween zones and Outdoor and Sports zones, the toy is usually for the children above two years old and can let the children sharing the fun with their friends or with parents. Besides that, the item in Toys R Us is also designed to meet the specific needs of boys and girls such as Barbie Shop, The Auto World and etc. The consumer can easily found and spot the toys they need due to the cleverly designed of the store. For example, one entire section of shelves is fully devoted to dolls. The shelves in this section are painted pink with tiny flowers decorating them, and it can easily being seen and recognise by children. Doll clothes and doll accessories are also provided in the same section. Price Price is the amount of the money charged for a product or service. It is the only element that produces the revenue while all other element is representing the cost. Toys R Us is using competition-based pricing which means that they are setting prices based on the competitors strategies, costs, prices and market offerings such as Parkson, Jusco and Tesco. When consumer compare based on their own judgement of a similar products value, Toys R Us always be consumer first choice. The cost of the company of Toys R Us is definitely lower due to their low cost of supply as they owning largest manufacturer, Hasbro and Martell, and hence they could able to satisfying the customer by the low price and create high customer value. For example, as a competitor for Toys R Us, Jusco also provide a high quality toys but the toys is limited and not as many choice as Toys R Us. As for pricing, Toys R Us is much more lower than Jusco. For example, the price of the Battery Operated Rabbit at Toys R Us is only RM39.95 while for Jusco is RM49.90. The pricing adjustment strategy of Toys R Us is seasonal pricing. They will have a promotional during special event such as school holiday or festive season Christmas. And sometimes, they will temporary reduce the price to increase the short run sales by using promotional price adjustment strategies. With member card or the star card of Toys R Us, the member can purchase the item with low price while enjoying the rewards and benefits. Besides that, they are using market penetration pricing as their new product pricing strategies. They setting low initial price for their new product to stimulate their sales quickly and increase their market share. For example, Toys R Us comes with the low price guarantee and they are request that if you find the same toys being sold elsewhere at a lower price, customer can just bring original receipt within 7 days and will gladly refund the difference. Promotion Promotion is referring to the short term incentives to encourage the purchase or sale of a product or service. The promotion can be towards final buyers, retailers, customers or the member of the sales force. Promotion of Toys R Us normally is during school holidays. This is because Christmas and New Year is in school holidays. Toys R Us will inform members through send email, post notice in their website or social network (Facebook) and banner in front of their outlets for promotion. During the school holiday, children usually will spent their time by playing games and thus it is the right timing to had a promotion. And for the festive season such as Christmas, parents can buy their children a toys as a presents at a lower price. They also offer coupons and the gift certificates to those member and non-member which help them to attract new customer and keep the current customer. Toys R Us having a personal selling towards their customer and allow them to interact with the consumer through face to face and enable them to access to customer needs and wants efficiently. For example, they provide more sales assistance to helps the customer to access the details of the item they needed. One of the strategy of Toys R Us to build the long term customer relationship is provide the membership to increase the customer value and satisfaction where members can purchase the item with member price which are more cheaper than the original price and now they are also offering Star Card which customer can enjoy a lots of rewards and benefits. Besides that, Toy R Us is offered a lots of services, such as, delivery service, free wrapping service and also exchange and refund service in which the item purchased can be exchanged or refunded within 14 days from date of purchase. Place Place or a distribution is where the product can be found, such as in physical stores and online purchase, it includes everything connected with getting the product from the place to the customer. A distribution channel is the route a product takes from the place it is made to the customer who is the end users. Toys R Us is consider as consider as selective distribution, that is, their outlets can being found by customer in a area. The type of distributing channel they are using is multichannel distributing whereby they set up two or more marketing channel to reach more customer segments. Besides that, Toys R Us which located in a shopping mall can let the customer found it easily and brought more convenience for customer which they do not need drive to a place only for seeking for toys. For example, in Penang, there are Toys R Us store in Queensbay Mall, Gurney Plaza and Sunway Carnival. There are 20 stores of Toys R Us in Malaysia: 6 Main stores, 7 Toys R Us Express stores and 5 Toy Box. In addition, they are using the selling direct strategies where the product is selling direct to customer in their outlets without go through intermediaries. For example, Toys R Us are act as the franchise for Li Fung where the product are taking directly from them and selling to the customer. Customers Toys R Us (Producer) Agent (Li Fung Group) Toys R Us also has an online store, which provides customers the convenience of allowing them to make Internet purchase and purchase returns. Customer can also search the actual location of stores of Toys R Us through internet. Recommendations Our group had investigated on marketing department of Toys R Us in Malaysia such as their company background, segmentation, targeting and positioning (STP) and also marketing mix strategy (4Ps product, price, promotion and placement). So, we give some recommendations to Toys R Us company in Malaysia. Based on our research, the segmentation of the company is using demographic characteristic such as gender and age. We recommend it should add in local culture which is region of country. Since the company have franchises in difference countries, so they can sell some toys related to the cultures of the country. Toys R Us can produce some traditional toys such as congkak represent the culture of Malaysia. When foreigners come to toys R Us Malaysia, they can buy toys as souvenirs for their friends or relatives. Furthermore, most of the toys sold in Toys R Us are based on Disney movies or cartoons such as Spiderman, Transformer, Toy Story and etc. They need to pay copyright fees or other administration fees to relevant departments before produce the toys. So the price of toys is relatively higher, so we recommend that the company can produce and design their own toys; it will lead their cost to be lower and develop their own products. For example, they can produce more series of toys or relevant products such as Geoffrey and friends. Moreover, promotion of the Toys R Us is mostly during school holidays. It is because usually Christmas and New Year are in school holidays. They will send an email to each member; place notice in social network (facebook) and banner in front of their outlets inform the public about their latest promotions. However, their promotion is not publicly known by everyone. This resulted losing potential customers. A smart consumer will only buy things during promotions, so to get more customers in Toys R Us, we have put more effort in some special event. In line to that, we suggest promotions held by Toys R Us should be more actively run some event related with their products such as Logo competition, fashion show of Barbie doll. In conclusion, we recommend Toys R Us add in local culture for produce some toys represent Malaysia, produce more own toys and also conduct some special event for their company. Dont forget that your explanation or examples MUST BE in MALAYSIA context, as I saw some of it using US context. Format of the assignment, fonts size, tab..please double check Conclusion Toys R Us is a company which sells toys to children all around the world. It provides many types of toys to parents to choose for their children. There are 22 stores in Malaysia which is in Penang, Kuala Lumpur, Johor, Terengganu, Pahang and Sarawak. Besides, Toys R Us is doing Corporate Social Responsibilities, for example, Buy a Toys R Us shopping bag and help a charity. In their future plan, they planned to open more branches in Malaysia. Toys R Us is using demographic segmentation for their business such as age. Toys R Us are focusing on the age of the children so that they can produce more toys according to the ages. Toys R Us is targeting parents who have purchasing power to buy toys for their children and those toys collectors. Toys R Us positioned as the Worldwide authority on kids, families and fun and there are many meaning about the letter R which is real, rapid, reliable and responsible. The marketing mix of Toys R Us is products, price, promotion and placement. Their product is a shopping product, their category different kind of toys. For example, Boys zone, Girls zone, family fun games, educational toys, tween zone, sport outdoor and Baby R Us. Price is based on competition-based pricing because customers more sensitive in price, they will compare price of product with different company. Most of their promotion is banner in front of outlets, send email to member, notice in website and social network. Place is Toys R us produce toys to agent, then agent is selling to final customer. Recommendation by us is produce some toys to add in local culture, produce more own toys represent Toys R Us and also conduct some special event for their company. Department of Statistic Malaysia , http://www.statistics.gov.my/portal/index.php?option=com_contentview=articleid=54%3Apopulation-updated-31072009catid=35%3Akey-statisticsItemid=53lang=en,2010, Population,2 July, view 2 March 2011. Toys R Us, http://www.toysrusinc.com/about-us/, 1999, company info, view 25 February 2011. Marketing Teacher, http://www.marketingteacher.com/lesson-store/lesson-segmentation.html, 2010, segmentation, 28 February 2011. Toys R Us Malaysia, http://www.toysrus.com.my/inside/about.htm, company info, view 18 February 2011.

Existentialism & Fight Club Essay

From an existentialism point of view, there is no right or wrong choice, since one gives an action value by the virtue of choosing it. Choices can only be judged on how involved the decision maker is when making it. Judging by this standard, the narrator is justified in killing Tyler, since he fully became involved in choosing to both accept and reject Tyler’s values by that action. â€Å"Existentialism’s first move is to make every man aware of what he is and to make the full responsibility of his existence rest on him.† In my essay, I shall first discuss how shooting Tyler is crucial in allowing the narrator to achieve the first move in embracing existentialism. He acts as the catalyst for the narrator to make the first move in existentialism: being aware of what he is by acknowledging all his primal instincts and assuming responsibility for his existence. Tyler does so through his acts of escalating violence and atrocity to provoke the narrator to confront both who he is and his responsibilities, culminating finally in his own death. I shall also discuss the theme of consumerism as portrayed in the movie, and how the decision of shooting Tyler relates to the narrator’s interpretation of this theme. The narrator had been hesitant to assume full responsibility for his existence at the start of the movie. He dislikes his present circumstances- he is jaded with his current job and lacks a clear purpose, as illustrated by the quote †A single serving package, a single serving†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Once he consumes the single serving, he is done. He makes a fleeting impression in someone else’s life before he fades from their memory. He feels his existence is meaningless because he has no connections with anyone. He is not content with the present state he is in, but makes no active effort to consciously define his own existence. He shows bad faith in this respect, because he deceives himself into believing that he lacks complete freedom of involvement in making this decision. He is a coward by Sartre’s definition: â€Å"Those who hide their complete freedom from themselves out of a spirit of seriousness or by means of deterministic excuses.† He possesses the desire to redefine his existence by rebelling against the values in society, but this conflicts with his conscious mind (the ego), which restraints him from doing anything socially unacceptable. His conscious mind hides these unacceptable desires in the subconscious mind, coming up with excuses that prevent the narrator from fulfilling these desires. Eventually, the repressed energy from these unconscious desires resulted in the fracturing of the ego itself- into two conscious minds, hence resulting in the manifestation of Tyler. Tyler represents everything that the narrator subconsciously wishes to be. He is the personification of the ID itself, representing the narrator’s repressed death instincts (our innate instinct for survival), aggression instincts (instincts for violence), and the libido. Before he meets Tyler, the narrator is defines his existence though furniture he purchases and assembles from IKEA. He attempts to make himself into a being-in-itself, believing his perfect state of existence can be reached by purchasing that last piece of furniture he needs. When the narrator’s house was bombed, annihilating the means by which he defines his existence, the narrator felt as though his existence itself was erased. â€Å"Every stick of furniture in there was my life.† Tyler teaches him not to rely on material goods but to define his existence by his actions. The fight club thus became the new means through which the narrator could define himself through acts of fighting. The narrator learns to revel in violence and physical pain as a means of defining his existence and to transcend the physical limits of the body. He achieves the first step of self-awareness by satisfying his primal instincts for aggression. His first epiphany occurs when he realizes Tyler is himself. In a sense, he realized that he (as Tyler) is free and capable of inventing and creating himself as whom he chooses to be. This is an important step because he now wants to assume responsibility for his existence. His second epiphany occurs when he shoots Tyler, and thus himself. On the first level, the narrator acknowledges his death instincts by confronting his fear of pain and death. He accepts Tyler’s ideas of experiencing death so as to be fully conscious of his physical existence. When he shoots Tyler, he does so with the awareness that he is shooting himself. This is the final step he needs to take in order to be fully aware of what he is. On the second level, by rejecting Tyler’s nihilistic ideas of destroying institutions and value systems, he chooses what values to stand for and thus creates his own purpose for himself. â€Å"In choosing his ethics, Man makes himself.† He also translates the belief in these values into the actual action of shooting Tyler, thus defining his existence through actual action. On the third level, by shooting Tyler, he assumes responsibility for all of Man, not just himself. He assumes responsibility for Man because he invents what Man bshould be: one who does not act in an uncaring and destructive manner towards others. On the fourth level, shooting Tyler allows the narrator to be defined in a way he wishes to be defined in the eyes of the â€Å"other†. Shooting Tyler is crucial towards removing the existence of Project Mayhem. He does not want Marla to find out about Project Mayhem because he will then lose his connections with her. It is important to the narrator to have a close relationship with Marla. Firstly, she is the only surviving real human being he has a close relationship with in the movie. Secondly, Marla, playing the role of the â€Å"other†, allows him to seek out knowledge about his existence and she is the condition for his existence. By shooting Tyler, he prevents the loss of this â€Å"other† that is crucial for his existence. Important themes discussed in the movie include consumerism. To be specific, it shows how the modern consumerist society affects Man’s determination of his existence. In Sartre’s words, how a change in the â€Å"a priori limits which outline man’s fundamental situation in the universe† affects Man’s determination of his existence with respect to these limits. According to Sartre, all configurations â€Å"either appear as attempts to pass beyond them or recede from them or deny them or adapt to them†. Consumerism imposes limits on Man to work and to consume, because only if Man works can he consume, and he can consume only if he works. He is emasculated because he is unable to fulfill h is natural role as a hunter-gatherer as dictated to him by biology. Man is limited or restricted in the sense he is unable to fulfill his primitive instincts. As seen in the movie, Tyler tries to pass beyond these limits by destroying symbols of consumerism, such as credit card companies, so as to â€Å"return to Ground Zero†. Since many people define their existence by numbers in their bank accounts, destroying the bank records will erase their previous existence and allow them to create their existence anew, much like how the narrator’s apartment was bombed so that he could create his new existence through Fight Club. Tyler’s ultimate goal seems to be changing the limits by which people define their existence by. He envisions the destruction of modern civilization, and a regression back to a more primitive hunter gatherer state. â€Å"In the world I see you are stalking elk through the same canyon forests around the ruins of Rock feller Centre†. In the world he envisions, the new limits by which people will define themselves with respect to are undoubtedly physical strength and prowess. On the other hand, the narrator, like so many of us today, adapts to these limits by embracing consumerism as indoctrinated into him by society through advertisements. He avidly purchases IKEA furniture and defines his existence by these material goods. In Tyler’s words, he works jobs he hates so he can buy shit he doesn’t need. He assumes that his furniture uniquely defines him as a person, from the â€Å"glass bowls with imperfections made by the simple and honest people of wherever† to â€Å"his yin-yang coffee table†, while missing the irony that IKEA is a chain-store that mass produces furniture. He is no other different from many other consumers of IKEA who believe that their furniture is unique on virtue of it being selected by them. At the end of the movie, the narrator realizes he needs to strike a balance between the two opposing configurations, one that is in the pre-consciousness state, afraid to confront his freedom, and the other that embraces existentialism and freedom to the point of reckless destruction. Shooting Tyler thus allows him to reunite his opposing configurations and strike a middle balance. Ma rla is an example of how a person recedes from limits that outline the human condition. She does not know what values to choose to define her existence. As a result, she adopts a nihilistic attitude and attempts to hit rock-bottom by trying to court death. Lastly, another important theme in the movie is that of mental pain. Many characters in the movie experience mental pain because they are unable to reject the â€Å"being in itself† others force upon them. Thus, they cannot achieve a true state of â€Å"being for itself† This is because we â€Å"perceive others as a condition of our own existence†, as how Sartre puts it. According to Sartre, once we realize we exist, we realize the existence of others who are free to define us according to how they view us. We are objectified in the eyes of others because others view us as a â€Å"being in itself†. We lose our freedom through their perception of us. Only we looking back and viewing others as objects can we regain our freedom. Bob is viewed as a man who has lost his masculinity. He accepts this â€Å"being in itself†, believing that he is condemned to this fixed and unchanging physical body. Thus, he suffers mental pain because he does not reject the attempts of â€Å"being in itself† others force upon him by realizing his freedom to create his own existence. The narrator similarly suffers from accepting the â€Å"being in itself† society forces upon him- as a member of society whose purpose is to work, to consume and to obey his superiors. His ideal self-image is that of a strong and ruthless primal human being. However, he dares not embrace his freedom to reject this â€Å"being for itself† and work towards the transcendent goal of his ideal self-image. Thus, his mental pain caused Tyler to manifest, who violently abuses the narrator to symbolize the mental pain the narrator is experiencing. Tyler tries to push the narrator to be fully aware of his unconscious desires, and to assume responsibility for his freedom. Only when he confronts this mental pain (Tyler’s physical abuse) can he reject â€Å"being for itself† and achieve true â€Å"being-for-itself†, the state where he is constantly and freely choosing his future. His decision to shoot Tyler was justified-because he is freely choosing to reject Tyler’s destructive ideas, and to transcend his initial transcendent goal of becoming Tyler. In conclusion, the movie has strong themes of existentialism running through it. The act of shooting Tyler was justified because it signifies the first step of existentialism for the narrator- he becomes fully aware of what he is, and assumes full responsibility of his existence. It also shows how human beings may choose to define themselves with respect to the limits of the world they exist in. Lastly, shooting Tyler allows the narrator to confront his mental pain and reach the true state of â€Å"being for itself†.

Leadership-Development Programs Essay

1.0 Background At the senior executive staff meeting of August 1, 2012, the director of operations suggested that Cliffside Holding Company of Massapequa (CHCM) establish a leadership-development program to prepare junior financial executives for future advancement into executive positions. Specifically, the proposal was to send 20 employees off-site each year for a three-week program offered by the Aspen Leadership Institute of Colorado at a cost of $5,000.00 USD per student. The total cost to CHCM would be $100,000.00 per year plus approximately the same amount for lost time on the job. 2.0 Discussion CHCM has been in business for over 50 years. Our average growth rate is 12% per annum. None of our twelve senior executives has attended a leadership development seminar and yet our company has been prosperous. This calls into question whether a leadership development program is even necessary. Moreover, since our leadership has been successful and effective without  such programs it appears that leaders are born, not made. In fact, I surveyed your senior staff and all but one agreed with this notion. To quote the famous economist Dr. Irwin Corey, each of us is â€Å"born into this world accompanied by a rich, psychical disposition, which furnishes him ready-made all his motivations of conduct†¦He can show a demand for nothing that is not prompted by this galaxy of instincts.† The online reference site Wikipedia defines leadership as â€Å"the ability of an individual to influence, motivate, and enable others.† There exists an entire school of leadership theory which holds that leaders have certain traits in common. Winston Churchill, Mother Theresa, Martin Luther King, Jr. – all possessed such leadership traits as ambition, self-confidence, and intelligence. These cannot be learned; they are innate. Two well-respected research studies that support the notion that personality traits can predict leadership were published in the Journal of Applied Psychology and in the Leadership Quarterly. In my own experience, I’ve also noted that a tall physical stature is possessed by leaders. Certainly no one can increase his or her height–it is determined by genetics. Note the heights of some of the greatest leaders in United States history in the table, below. Source: http://www.laughtergeneology.com , http://www.imdb.com and http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1682433/bio In fact, all members of your senior staff are over six feet tall with one exception: Ms. Florence Forsythe, the person advocating leadership development training. Moreover, I am suspect as to her intentions. Is it possible that she may covet my position as the human resources VP? Or is she motivated by the liberal notion that all citizens of a free nation have the right to pursue education and can achieve anything they desire? I suspect she is motivated by both personal gain and bleeding-heart liberal intentions. Once we start sending some people for leadership training, we will start getting numerous requests for expensive training that we simply can’t afford. Regardless, if we spend our money on leadership development, we will not have enough to spend on recruitment. And, from the discussion above, it would be more logical to select and recruit those with leadership traits than to try and develop those who are not. Moreover, if we spend money sending the wrong people to leadership training, the whole program will be a waste of money. There are plenty of people who are already leaders; we don’t need to â€Å"train† those who are not. 3.0 Conclusion and Recommendation I speak for truth and common sense. CHCM should not invest in the proposed initiative to send its junior executives for annual leadership training. Leadership development programs are wasteful because the money is not well-spent. The advocate of this idea, Ms. Forsythe, is not really concerned about developing leaders for Cliffside Holding Co. Instead, Ms. Forsythe has a personal agenda to discredit me personally and push the theories of the Aspen Institute. As VP of Human Resources, I don’t think  those theories are appropriate for the culture of CHCM.

Freedom of Speech and Internet - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 8 Words: 2432 Downloads: 3 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Law Essay Type Argumentative essay Level High school Tags: Freedom Essay Did you like this example? Freedom of Speech and Internet Background and context The right to freedom of speech expression and to hold opinions without interference is one of the fundamental rights guaranteed by most of the constitutions of the world including India and America. Presence of free, uncensored and unhindered Internet and press are essential to ensure freedom of speech and expression. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Unlike any other medium the Internet facilitated the ability of individuals to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds instantaneously and inexpensively across national borders. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Freedom of Speech and Internet" essay for you Create order By vastly expanding the capacity of individuals to enjoy their right to freedom of opinion and expression, which is an à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"enablerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ of other human rights, the Internet boosts economic, social and political development, and contributes to the progress of humankind as a whole . à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ [1] The right to access theInternet might appear to be less significant in comparison to other basic human rights, such as the right to life and equality before the law. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights also includes the right to education and the right to work, which largely depend on Internet access. Estonia, Greece, France and Finland have recognizedInternetaccess as a basic human right in accordance with the United Nations recommendation. It is in the above context and background; my paper aims to draw out the most important questions with regard to Internet regulation and its impact on the freedom of speech. Do governments have any right to control a nd regulate the availability and the content of internet ? What we can do to address the downside of the Internet? Present Global Status The Internet has become so much a part of our lives that it is very difficult to imagine a life without it. We use internet for communication, learning, trade and commerce, accessing news, entertainment, gaming, socializing and for many other information purposes. It is a cheap global platform for exchanging views , opinions and dissemination of information in real time . Internetà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"s main power comes from the fact that it can be used for all kind of media à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" text, audio and video. Unrestricted internet is breaking the barriers among people and making people closer to each other. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“The Internet has changed the way we communicate, work and play, It has affected the way we live and earn , participate and protest .à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ [2] The Internetà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s main services include: the world wide web , e-mail , discussion groups , newsgroups and mailing lists , social website like Facebook, Googleplus, Twitter, YouTube ,Skype and cheap or free direct on-line communication . Traditional media such as newspapers and radio stations have also gone à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"onlineà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢, and made Internet more influential. Each of these services can be used in different ways to distribute and access legal as well as illegal and harmful material giving rise to different legal and policing implications. The power of easy , cheap and global reach of internet has made it a good medium for carrying out illegal and undesirable activities .This illegal and harmful useof internet has made it controversial and given rise to many legal, technical and structural problems. Activities like gaining personal information by way of deception, spreading of defamatory or illegal material, providing unsuitable material to young children, violations of copyright laws, stealing confidential detai ls on computer, the interception of credit card details, fraudulentwebsitesand the spreading ofviruseshave become very common. Drug traffickers are also increasingly taking advantage of the Internet to sell their products through encrypted e-mail Hackers from Pakistan and China have penetrated our computer systems of CBI , PMO ,NSG, and even the computers of army officers. Internet as a medium of communication is certainly at a risk of losing its credibility. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“With the rise of the Internet the opportunities to express one has grown exponentially. But so have the challenges to freedom of expression.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ [3] Many countries are censoring the Internet in order to prevent and eliminate illegal activities described above. Some governments also censor the Internet to make sure people cannot access anti-establishment views. Saudi Arabia, North Korea, China and Iran are among the biggest offenders in blocking their citizens access to the Internet. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“ Global Internet freedom has been in decline for the past three years.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ [4] This isnt just the case in nations under authoritarian governments, either. Americas rating worsened by five points this year, to 17 on a scale of zero to 100, with zero being completely free.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ [5] China has people dedicated to monitoring content. North Korea regulates Internet very heavily as the domestic Internet users are served by a sole provider with limited access to the global Internet. China claims that it censors only websites that encourage violence or terrorism. But human rights organizations have reported that the China actively engages in censorship and repressive activities. Although guaranteed by the First Amendment to the Constitution, attempts are being made in America also to restrict exercise the freedom of speech through Internet. Maximum numbers of requests to block content by Google are being received from America only. Congress has been debating many bills t o monitor and filter internet content for stopping piracy and preventing abuse of intellectual property rights. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“The main intention behind each of these bills may be good à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬  to protect against online piracy and cyber attacks à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬  but they all give government far too much control over what can and cannot be said online, opening the door to greater restrictions. Censorship is not the way to fight piracy or protect against threats to security or privacy.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  [6] . On the other hand, most of the Americans want Internet to remain uncensored and free. President Obama has in favor of a free and open Internet. Upheld the principle of net neutrality by classifying the Internet as a public utility. This would prevent Internet service providers from blocking access to websites, slowing down content or providing paid fast lanes for Internet service.[7] Internet censorship in India India will have 302 million Internet users by Dece mber 2014 and will overtake the United States to become the second largest user country only behind China.[8] Presently, access to Internet is concentrated in urban areas but is gradually spreading to rural India .In India, the Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000 provides a legal framework to regulate Internet use. The amended Act criminalizes the publishing of obscene information online and grants police powers to search any premises without a warrant and arrest individuals if found violating the provisions of this Act. The Act requires search engines and social-networking sites to remove content within 36 hours if an individual complains that it is offensive. A lot of debate and discussion is taking place regarding the extent and limits of freedom of expression online. Removing content that is obscene or otherwise objectionable, or that endangers public order or national security has become very common.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ India engages in selective Internet filtering in the pol itical, conflict/security, and social areas. However, Indias selective censorship of blogs and other content, often under the guise of security, have also been met with significant opposition. The government has also been criticized for a poor understanding of the technical feasibility of censorship and for haphazardly choosing which Web sites to block.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ [9] à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Since the  Mumbai bombings of 2008, the Indian authorities have stepped up Internet surveillance and pressure on technical service providers, while publicly rejecting accusations of censorship. The national security policy of the worlds biggest democracy is undermining freedom of expression and the protection of Internet users personal data.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ [10] Amendments made to the Information Technology Act (ITA) in 2008 expanded the governments censorship and monitoring capabilities. Many Internet users have faced prosecution for online postings. The companies hosting the web content are n ow obliged by law to hand over user information to the authorities. Section 66A of the Act, prohibits the sending of offensive messages à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"causing annoyance, inconvenience, danger, obstruction, insult, injury, criminal intimidation, enmity, hatred, or ill will.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ During the last five-six years the government has been imposing more and more restrictions on the use and the provision of internet services. In 2009, the Supreme Court ruled that bloggers and moderators can face libel suits and even criminal prosecution for comments posted on their websites. Internet companies have also faced several civil lawsuits over content deemed religiously offensive or defamatory. These cases have increased fears among IT firms that they are vulnerable to frivolous legal action and could be held liable for not removing content posted by users. Indian Telegraph Act in has also been amended to allow interception of messages on grounds other than national security. Prior judicial approval for communications interception is not required. Governments have the power to issue directives on interception, monitoring, and decryption. All licensed ISPs are obliged by law to sign an agreement that allows Indian government authorities to access user data. In the light ofa series of arrestsmade under Section 66A of the Information Technology Act, 2000, a writ petition was filed seeking to strike down Section 66A as unconstitutional. It was contended that it violates the Freedom of Speech guaranteed under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution , does not meet the test of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"reasonablenessà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ laid down under Article 19(2) and is violative of Articles 14 (Right to Equality) and Art 21 of the Constitution . [11] The Supreme Court directed issuing and compliance of some procedural safeguards against arrest till the final outcome of the case. A Central Advisory was therefore issued by the government suggesting that arrests ought not be made in a case registered under S. 66-A of IT Act, 2000 unless such arrests are approved by a senior police officer . Many more petitions were filed challenging Sec 66A of IT Act by Mouthshut.com[12], Dilipkumar Tulsidas Shah [13], Common Cause [14], Rajeev Chandrashekhar [15], and Peopleà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Union for Civil Liberties [16] . Several substantial questions of law have been raised in these petitions having far-reaching implications on Indian technology law and the freedom of speech .The main arguments raised by the petitioners in these petitions is that the restrictions on free speech specified under the IT Act exceed those specified in Article 19(2) of the Indian Constitution and the Intermediaries Guidelines Rules contain ambiguous provisions. The Supreme Court has bunched together all these petitions and a decision is awaited. In present-day India, the future of Internet freedom appears bleak.[17] From the deliberate interruptions of mobile and Internet serv ices to limit unrest during rioting in the Northeast to picking up individualsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ a professor in West Bengal, a cartoonist in Mumbaià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ the stateà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s iron fist is everywhere.[18] The government had also ordered Google and Facebook to block many specific items said to contain objectionable religious comments and pictures. Internet access was restricted in Jammu and Kashmir when Mohammed Afzal Guru was executed. A Central Monitoring System has been set up to monitor phone calls, text messages, emails, social media conversations and online searches in real time. On November 11 , 2014 the government has asked the internet service companies to block pornography sites and upgrade their systems to ensure this .[19] Both the authoritarian and democratic governments are curtailing freedom on the Net by à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“newer laws, regulations and directives to restrict online speechà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ . [20] In India the web content filtering requests are coming from government authorities as well as fom private individuals through court cases . Even journalists like Burkha Dutt of NDTV are doing things which undermine the right of freedom of expression. A blogger was forced to remove the critical content accusing her of engaging in sensationalism and irresponsibly airing information about the movements of security forces when Dutt and NDTV threatened to seek punitive measures against the blogger through the courts. The Internet operates on an international basis but our laws operate on a territorial basis. Many of the legal issues surrounding the Internet are global in nature. Material on the Internet is held worldwide but can be accessed worldwide. Very little web material is held locally. Therefore India is actively raising the matters of Internet governance at UN level. Conclusion The Internet has undoubtedly posed new challenges for us. Privacy, the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Internet of Things,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  and net neutrali ty are challenging governments around the world and international organizations .The new possibilities for free speech provided by the Internet have been used for many objectionable and illegal activities. Before attacking Internet censorship, one must understand the limitations of freedom of speech.Freedom of speech cannot be made an absolute right. . Some amount of regulation cannot be considered as an infringement upon peoples rights as the internet does have undesirable content not fit for public viewing due to many reasons. The government isnt being unreasonable by censoring the internet as it is merely doing its duty by protecting its people from potential danger. Law makers have a duty to pass laws and develop systems to address the issue of cybercrimes. Similarly our courts have a duty to protect our right to freedom of speech and balance the conflicting public and private rights and interests. The restrictions imposed must be reasonable and in public interest in all case s and not for political or other gains .We must make it sure that in our efforts to make the Internet safer, we are not eroding the freedom of speech guaranteed by the constitution. [1] F La Rue,Report of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, Report to the Human Rights Council, 17thsession, UN Doc A/HRC/17/27 (2011), p 19. [2] Prof. Wolfgang Benedek and Dr Matthias C. Kettemann , From the extracts available online of Freedom of expression and the Internet (2014), ISBN 978-92-871-7702-5 [3] Prof. Wolfgang Benedek and Dr Matthias C. Kettemann , From the extracts available online of Freedom of expression and the Internet (2014), ISBN 978-92-871-7702-5 [4] Report released by the independent watchdog Freedom House, Freedom on the Net 2013à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  [5] Keeping speech free on the Internet , Gary Shapiro- The Washington Times, Sunday, October 20, 2013 [6] Keeping speech free on the Internet , Gary Shapiro- The Washington Times, Sunday, October 20, 2013 [7] https://www.whitehouse.gov/net-neutrality [8] Hindustan Times , Nov 20 , 2014 [9] ONI Country Profile: India,Acce ss Contested, Ronald J. Deibert, John G. Palfrey, Rafal Rohozinski and Jonathan Zittrain (Eds), OpenNet Initiative, MIT Press, November 2011, pp. 299-308 [10] Internet Enemies, Reporters Without Borders (Paris), 12 March 2012 [11] Shreya Singhal v. Union of India [W.P.(Crl).No. 167 of 2012] [12] MouthShut.com (India) Pvt. Ltd. v. UoI [W.P.(C).No. 217 of 2013] [13] Dilipkumar Tulsidas Shah v. UoI [W.P.(C).No. 97 of 2013] [14] Common Cause vs. Union of India [W.P.(C) No. 21 of 2013] [15] Rajeev Chandrashekhar v. Union of India [W.P.(C) No. 23 of 2013] [16] PUCL v. Union of India [W.P.(Crl) No. 199 of 2013] [17] Geoffrey King/CPJ Internet Advocacy Coordinator , Committee to Protect Journalists , January 13, 2014 https://cpj.org/x/583a [18] Indiaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s declining Internet freedom- Any blow to the Internetà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s free functioning is a blow to individual freedom. LiveMint , OCT 22, 2013. [19] www.economictimes.com , Nov 11 , 2014 [ 20] Freedom House report on Internet , 2013