Obesity in America Annotated Bibliography free essay sample

â€Å"Americas Obesity Epidemic. † Cartoon. BarictricFreedom, 27 June 2012. Web. 02 April 2013. The image â€Å"Americas Obesity Epidemic† is a cartoon image of Uncle Sam smoking a cigar and he is an extremely obese individual, his face looks very unhealthy and he looks nothing like the original Uncle Sam. Beside his head there is a place that indicates that he is saying something. It’s one sentence and is says â€Å"What Obesity Epidemic? † This cartoon image was made to show people that America is poorly educated on the obesity epidemic and also that America sees no problem with the obesity problem in the United States. That government along with the men and women of America are not taking the obesity epidemic seriously. Men and women do not see the dangers of being obese; America is poorly educated when it comes to the obesity epidemic. People of America know that obesity can cause problems; however, they do not know all the health risk that comes with it. We will write a custom essay sample on Obesity in America Annotated Bibliography or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page If obesity is causing American’s to have many health problems that can result to death, then why are Americans not already educated on this problem. Obesity in America contributes to approximately 325,000 deaths per year. It is a close second behind smoking as the leading cause of preventable deaths in America. This unown artist helps viewers understand that obesity should not be taking lightly, that something needs to change so that mean and women will know about the obesity epidemic. The only way to curb the obesity epidemic is to start by educating the people it affects. Godbout, Neil. â€Å"Tax the Producer of Junk Food, Not the Consumers. † Prince George Citizen. Prince George Citizen, 03 November 2006. Web. 02 April 2013. There are many ideas to how to help the obesity problem, one being a tax on junk food; however, should the men and women buying the junk food be taxed or the producers of the junk food? The article â€Å"Tax the Producers of Junk Food, Not the Consumers† by Neil Godbout is about how people should pay a tax on junk food in America, but who should the tax be on, the producers or the consumers of these junk foods? â€Å"People should pay more for chocolate bars, milkshakes, cookies, cakes, candy, and soda pop. The question is which people†¦who are the buyers of junk food? Once you answer that question, you get to what a junk food tax really is- a tax on the poor† (Godbout). Men and women with low income are more likely to buy junk food because of its low cost, causing them to fall victim to the producers of junk food. The consumers of junk food shouldn’t be the ones that have the tax because these men and women cannot help that they can only afford junk food. The producers of junk food are making a substantial amount of money on the sales of their product. These producers also know that their product is unhealthy and that it is a facture for causing obesity. So if these producers know that they are harming people’s health and getting rich off of it, then they should be the ones that get taxed for junk food. â€Å"But don’t just tax the producers. Go the extra mile and get aggressive, just like governments have with big tobacco. Put warnings on junk food†¦ Take some of the proceeds from junk food producers and subsidize fruit and vegetables producers, so their product are cheaper and therefore more attractive to shoppers† (Godbout). Junk food is known to be a cause for obesity. Obesity is linked to many health problems and can cause death. Since junk food is known to cause health problems then there should be a warning label that sates the health risks caused form consuming this product. If producers of junk food were taxed, the â€Å"proceeds† could go to many different things to help change the obesity epidemic. If the â€Å"proceeds† can go to helping healthier foods become cheaper than that would help the men and women with low income be able to make the right choices and help the lower class become healthier, curbing obesity in many people. Godbout’s main point for his article is to let his audience no that a tax on the consumers for junk food would just be a tax on the poor because they cannot afford the more expensive healthier foods. That the producers of junk food are making a substantial amount of money from their products even though these producers know that their product is helping cause obesity. His conclusion is that the tax should be on the producers of junk food and that the â€Å"proceeds† should go to helping make healthier food cheaper and help people health choices easier. The tax on producers is a start for helping cure obesity and that’s better than doing nothing. Hungry for Change. Dir. James Colquhoun and Laurentine Ten Bosch. 2012. Film. There are many different kinds of man-made food products. But what is really in these man-made food products? The film â€Å"Hungry for Change† directed by James Colquhoun and Laurentine Ten Bosch discusses the secrets that the food industry use to keep people coming back to their product. â€Å"We are not eating food anymore; we are eating food like products† (Dr. Alejandro Junger). The food industry is using many different kinds of chemicals to enhance and preserve food. Some of these chemicals can cause health problems and addiction. One chemical the food industry uses is called MSG. It was proved that MSG causes obesity; however, it is used in over 80% of today’s food. MSG also tricks a person’s body in to thinking it is full, but the feeling of being full only last for a short amount of time causing consumers to go back and get some more of that product. There are now so many chemicals in today’s man-made foods. These chemicals have now become an addiction to men and women everywhere. â€Å"If you addict a customer you will have a customer for life. † The producers of these foods are only worried about making money; they want consumers to come back as much as they can. They are not worried about a person’s health, they are worried about money. The goal of this film was to inform men and women on the secrets the food industry is hiding from their consumers. Klein, Sarah. â€Å"Fatty Foods May Cause Cocaine-Like Addiction. † Health Magazine. CNN. com. 30 March 2010. Web. 01 April 2013. Junk food is known to play a big part in causing obesity. So why do men and women keep going back to junk food products? The article â€Å"Fatty Foods May Cause Cocaine-Like Addiction† by Sarah Klein discusses how scientists have confirmed that junk food may be highly addictive. â€Å"A new study in rats suggest that high-fat, high-calorie foods affect the brain in much the same way as cocaine and heroin† (Klein). A study published by Paul J. Kenny, Ph. D. a professor at the Scripps Research Institute in Florida. For 40days Kenny studied three groups of lab rates, feeding them each a different kind of diet to test how the rates would react to each diet after the 40days. The first group of rates was fed â€Å"normal rate food. † The Second group groups of rates were fed â€Å"bacon, sausage, Cheesecake, frosting, and other fattening high-calorie foods- but only for one hour each day. † The last group of rates was allowed to eat unhealthy foods for up to 23 hours a day. â€Å"Not surprisingly, the rats that gorged themselves on the human food quickly became obese. But their brains also changed†¦researchers found that the rats in the third group gradually developed a tolerance to the pleasure the food gave them and had to eat more to experience a high† (Klein). Unlike the rate s that was fed normal rate food the ones in group three started to eat â€Å"compulsively. † The researchers then applied an electric shock to the rates feet while they were eating to see how each group of rates would react. When the shock was applied the rates in group one and two were scared away from eating; however, the obese rates in group three were not frightened by the shock, the rates continued to eat. The food given to the rates in group three caused the rates to act in a unusual way. â€Å"In previous studies, rates have exhibited similar bran changes when given unlimited access to cocaine or heroin† (Klein). Human food is now causing an addiction similar to cocaine and heroin. The addiction is what keeps man and women to keep coming back for more. Now that there is sings that some foods can cause addiction, people can now find a treatment to help solve the problem for food addiction and help lower obesity as well. This article lets people understand that it is not just a person’s fault for being overweight; the addiction is what is causing them to eat so much of the wrong things. Nazarko, Linda. â€Å"Increasing Obesity Awarness. † British Journal of Healthcare Assistants. (2011): n. page. Web. 02 April 2013. Being obese causes many different health problems but do mean and women really know what risk come with being obese? The article â€Å"Increasing Obesity Awareness† by Linda Nazarko discusses how the majority of people are obese and how it has become a normal thing. â€Å"It has now become normal to be overweight or obese†¦In addition, proportions of clothing have altered† (Nazarko). Clothing has changed, a size today is bigger than it was in the past, and this makes it seem normal to be overweight. Many people who are overweight or obese know that their health is at risk. Being obese causes many different health problems, psychological and physical. All the different health problems cause treatments making the cost of health care to increase. â€Å"In the past, adults produced their own food and had to work hard to feed themselves. However food is now plentiful in our socirty and physical activity levels have dropped† (Nazarko). Food is now everywhere. There is now no need for a person to grow or hunt for their food. This also takes away from the physical activity it took to grow and hunt for food. â€Å"The Government needs to act to work with the public to tackle this major public health issue† (Nazarko). If the government worked with planners and architects to make towns and cities healthy by encouraging people to walk to their destination or use stairs in buildings, it could increase activity in people’s daily life. Nazarko also discusses how the government needs to work with food industries to help reduce the unhealthy foods. Nazarko main idea is to increase obesity awareness to everyone. There are many men and women that are uneducated when it comes to obesity and do not know the issues caused from it and even how they can fix it. The best way to solve obesity is to educate the public.

Ocean pollution essays

Ocean pollution essays Oil pollution is a very large threat to the ocean and it's inhabitants. Roughly about 706 millions of oil pollute ocean waters worldwide each year. Some of the main cause's include oil spills, oil in runoff, air pollution, and even natural seeping of oil into the ocean. In 1987, more than 3.5 million tons of oil were released into the oceans around the world. Out of that only 28 percent of the spillage was accidental; the remaining 72 percent was deliberate, illegal actions. A lot of the illegal pollution is caused by cleaning of oil tanks at sea. After they are cleaned the tankers then dump the polluted water, mixed with all the oil residue, back into the ocean. Blowouts occurring at oil well heads release huge amounts of oil and gas into the ocean. The drilling vessel IXTOTI released more than 400,000 tons of oil into the Gulf of mexico over a period of 9 months after its well exploded in 1978. The most publicized of the oil spills are those caused by tanker accidents. There have been hundreds of accidents involving the spilling of million of tons of oil. Big oil spills, no matter what way they occur, reflect on the oil industry badly. The clean-up cost alone is enormous, and the amount of damages can be into the millions of dollars. Despite the clean-up efforts, once there is an oil spill, it cannot be prevented from causing major damage to wildlife and the environment. All the migrating seabirds like guillemots, puffins, and razorbills are at risk from oil pollution. During migration, they look for calm water where they rest and fish. Oil ©covered seas look calm to birds, and they land on the water by thousands, only to be trapped in the oil and die of starvation. The birds that don't become trapped usually die as well from trying to remove the oil from their feathers, the birds ingest the oil and that usually kills them in a few days. The oil that washes to shore on the beaches where seals and sea lion...

A Case for Technical Grammar Skills

A Case for Technical Grammar Skills A Case for Technical Grammar Skills A Case for Technical Grammar Skills By Mark Nichol While I was studying English in college (I later opted for a more practical course of study, and graduated with a degree in theater arts), one of the classes I took dealt with grammar. The professor’s pedagogical approach? Pass out mimeographed copies of his manuscript for a grammar textbook do you care to carbon-date the year I took this class? and spend most of each session plodding through a few pages, asking students to identify the part of speech of each word not in occasional exercises, because there weren’t any, but in the instructional text itself. This was a monumentally boring exercise for me (I never polled classmates about their opinion), and the rote teaching strategy was somewhat surprising, too, because the instructor was an engaging fellow who was also a leading actor with a prominent regional theater company. On reflection, though, it might seem the ideal approach to someone accustomed to painstakingly memorizing lines in preparation for essaying a role. (For me, who later spent considerable time doing the same, it had a perverse logic to it.) It didn’t work for me, though. I passed the class, but with only a tenuous grasp of grammar, and years later, well along in my editorial career, I was still shaky on the difference between adjectives and adverbs. Does that really matter? Is a command of parts of speech essential for writers and editors? Yes, and no. Some DailyWritingTips.com visitors praise me for writing posts about grammar. Others castigate me for boring them with the same entries. By the same token, my professor’s thespian approach to learning must have seemed ideal to some of my classmates, even as I sat there glumly disengaged, getting some parts of speech right but, as I recall, missing more than I hit. So, even though I have relied throughout my career on a more holistic approach to shaping or reshaping my prose and that of others, trusting my instincts to know whether something reads well or requires (or is at least improved by) revision, I have also acquired a great deal of technical knowledge about grammar, and have benefited from this store of lore. Another issue in the variety of responses to my posts about technical matters is that some site visitors are more experienced than others; a recent critic identified himself as a former instructor of college-level English. But for every retired academician, many readers are budding writers, would-be editors, and those for whom English is not their first language. With this disparity in mind, I try to not only cover a wide variety of topics (grammar, usage, style, technique, careers, etc.) but also discuss subjects with varying degrees of complexity. In other words, I try to please some of the people some of the time, which I think is the best I can do. And the tip for the day? Even though I do not remember my grammar class fondly, I do think it had a latent effect on my desire to understand the mechanics of language, which I had never considered before (except in isolation, when completing a worksheet in a precollegiate English class). So, even if you think of yourself as a holistic learner, rather than a technically inclined one, know your grammar vocabulary (like the difference between a dangling modifier and a misplaced modifier), and endeavor to visualize sentences as machines whose components can usually be arranged in more than way but are often discovered, in one’s writing or reading experiences, broken and awaiting repair (or doomed, on the printed page, to a perpetual state of disarray). Rely on your Zen approach to crafting or reshaping prose if it works for you, but know your tools as well. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Grammar category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:What is the Difference Between "These" and "Those"?Cannot or Can Not?Sit vs. Set

Marketing Strategy for the redevelopment of Tottenham Court Road Essay

Marketing Strategy for the redevelopment of Tottenham Court Road - Essay Example tal marketing according to Peattie (1992), who says Green Marketing should mix with any other marketing that a marketing manager would like to focus upon because Green Marketing is â€Å"The management process responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying the requirements of customers and society, in a profitable and sustainable way.† (p. 11). It is the high priority marketing of our generation. But Lovelock (2000) insists on service marketing, because continuous services are necessary in modern economy. He quotes Albrecht: â€Å"Ours is a service economy and it has been one for some time† (p. 1). Fundamental strategic position of marketing in this context depends on the uncertainty created by present global trend. Such consideration â€Å"†¦has been attributed to the increased uncertainty that businessmen feel these days when they can contemplate the future – what will government intrusion, roaring inflation, or the sudden appearance of competition from abroad do to them next?† Weitz and Wensley (1984, p.1). Strategic Marketing suits here due to the importance and all-encompassing significance of the region involved. It is necessary because of the high level in which marketing is conducted and marketing here is aiming at a very long term commitment from customers. They are built-in spaces and immediate disposal or re-disposal is not possible. In many cases, it could be a life-time commitment with investment and cannot be taken lightly hence, time horizon has to be taken into consideration. â€Å"Strategies last for long periods of time, while tactics have short durations. Strategic plans might have a ten year horizon, in contrast to annual marketing plans that deal primarily with tactical issues,† ibid (p.3). Marketing under these circumstances cannot be abrupt due to its ongoing nature. It will be a long term commitment by my firm and new opportunities or threats to opportunities keep appearing for a long time and it is necessary for the marketing

Karla Homolka English Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Karla Homolka English - Research Paper Example With both of them participating in the murders, the role of Karla Homolka in the crimes was figured out vaguely, as there were differences of opinion regarding her contribution to those murders. This paper will chronicle her life starting from her early years, her marriage to Paul Benardo, rape and murder of the girls, finishing with the investigation, conviction and her eventual release. Early life Karla Homolka was born to Dorothy and Karel Homolka in 1970 as the eldest of three daughters in the Canadian town of Port Credit, Ontario. She went to Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School and even while going to the school, Karla worked as a part-time employee at a local pet shop. She graduated in the year 1988, and got employment as a veterinary assistant in Thorold Veterinary Clinic in Ontario. She did a similar job at the Mardinale Animal Clinic as well. â€Å"Karla developed a passion for animals and after high school she went to work at a veterinary clinic† (Montaldo). Thus, when one focuses on Karla’s early life, it appears that she lived a normal life, without exhibiting any negative or even psychotic tendencies. However, it all started to change when he married Paul Bernado. Marriage to Paul Bernado Karla as part of her job attended a pet convention in Toronto in the spring of 1987. During that visit, Karla, just 17 at that time, met 23-year-old Paul Bernardo in a â€Å"suburban hotel restaurant outside of Toronto and she fell for Paul, immediately.† (biography.com). They had sex on their first meeting and as their relationship started to develop, they â€Å"discovered that they shared the same sado-masochistic desires,† (Montaldo). Because of this ‘extremity’ in their relationship, Paul assumed the role of a ‘master’, with Karla willingly assuming the role of a ‘slave’, who has no problems in fulfilling her husband’s extreme fantasies. One of these extreme ‘fantasies’ o nly leads to their first murder - the murder of Karla’s own younger sister, Tammy Homolka. Rape and the murders Three years into their relationship, Paul starts to become obsessed with Tammy and to abuse her, he gets Karla’s help. One of Paul's constant complaints with Karla was that she was not a ‘virgin’ when they met and so she becomes ‘devoted’ to pleasing Paul in every way possible. (Montaldo). Using this weakness of Karla, Paul openly expressed his feelings for Tammy, and also convinces Karla to aid him in raping her. â€Å"It was, therefore, from his point of view, her responsibility to make it possible for Paul to take the virginity of†¦Tammy without her knowledge or consent.† (Bardsley). Karla wrongly accepts this flawed logic, and decides to make or force Tammy into being a sort of ‘surrogate virgin’ for her. In their first attempt in July 1990, Karla serves Tammy, a spaghetti dinner mixed with heavy doses of Valium, which was stolen from her workplace. â€Å"Bernardo rapes Tammy for about a minute before she starts to wake up† and so they temporarily abandon their plan then, waiting for another opportunity. ("Key events in the Bernardo/Homolka case"). Then, six months before their marriage, at a Christmas party at Karla parent’s house, Karla first mixes sedative Halcyon in the alcoholic drinks of Tammy. After the party was over and family members retired, the husband and wife duo took Tammy to the basement, with Karla holding a cloth soaked with Halothane over Tammy's mouth. (Becker, 2005). There, Paul with Karla

APA citation and zotero Essay Example for Free

APA citation and zotero Essay 1. A general â€Å"res earch s hows† type of statement that is supported by at least three different sources (e.g., three research articles) Zotero is an extension of Firefox web browser that enables users to save on books, article and other materials on which one is able to retrieve their citations (Morton, 2011; Vanhecke, 2008; Lewis, 2008)               2. A paraphrased sentence citing a single source with three to six authors Zotero retrieve and imports citation information from a number of sources such as newspaper, and commercial Web sites, and Web-based databases such as PubMed (Trinoskey, Brahmi, Gall, 2009, p. 225).                3. A subsequent sentence citing the same source as in Step 2 that correctly uses et al Air pollution is low in developed countries comapared to industrialised countries where it is high as evidenced by particular locations in Canada (Hystad et al, 2011, p. 1128).                4. A short quoted passage that is cited correctly. Make sure to include the page number and place the punctuation correctly He argues that, â€Å"Zotero’s note-taking feature is very practical. Users can enter small notes on a particular reference by simply typing in an input field. These notes are saved automatically and organized in conjunction with the citation information,† (Vanhecke, 2008, p. 275).                  5. A second quoted passage that is 40 words long or longer, which is formatted correctly as a block quote and cited correctly with the page number and punctuation placed correctly He explains how Zotero note taking works: Zotero’s note-taking feature is very practical. Users can enter small notes on a particular reference by simply typing in an input field. In addition, Zotero is integrated with Microsoft Word and other word processors and works in all computers formats (PC, Mac, and Linux). Features such as formatted citation export make it very simple for users to create a list of references in the perfect format desired for a manuscript or other use. Users can create a reference list by dragging and dropping citations, (Vanhecke, 2008 p. 275) References Hystad, P., Setton, E., Cervantes, A., Poplawski, K., Deschenes, S., Brauer, M., Demers, P. (2011). Creating National Air Pollution Models for Population Exposure Assessment in Canada. Environmental Health Perspectives, 119(8), 1128 Lewis, L. A. (2008). From the Front Lines: An Academic Librarian Reports on the Impact of APAs New Electronic References Guidelines. Reference User Services Quarterly, 48(2), 128-131. Morton, A. (2011). Digital Tools: Zotero and Omeka. Journal Of American History, 98(3), 952 Trinoskey, J., Brahmi, F. A., Gall, C. (2009). Zotero: A Product Review. Journal Of Electronic Resources In Medical Libraries, 6(3), 225. Vanhecke, T. E. (2008). Zotero. Journal Of The Medical Library Association, 96(3), 275 Source document

Time And Technology Essay -- essays research papers fc

RESEARCH QUESTION How did telecommunications advance from the end of the 1800’s to the end of the 1900’s ? THESIS Telecommunications have revolutionized business and communication between people.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Since the beginning of time communication has always been a crucial part in our societies for development. Without communication there was no or little development, people did not know what was out there, and what was available. It is communication that has developed our large and very intricate societies with different institutions communicating for the welfare of our people. People have always strived for contact with other people. Man wants to know his surroundings and with the arrival of telecommunications this became possible very quickly all over the world. Telecommunications is one of the reason we live in such a fast-pace and high-tech society today.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The first invention in the telecommunications field is the telegraph. It was invented by Samuel Morse and utilizes an electrical current to send signals in the shaped of dot and lines called the Morse Code. It was first used in 1844 and it was mainly reserved for companies which needed information quickly such as banks, this helped them grow and more efficient. With the telegraph one could pass a message across any distance almost effortlessly and it was cheap, so the need for this kind of communication was already there. This new medium also meant that even people which were not rich could send a message very far without having to pay incredible amount of money. The whole world began to expand their telegraph networks and soon Europe and the United States had connecting transatlantic marine lines under the Atlantic. Information has always meant power and wealth and it is no wonder that telegram traffic became an important economical as well as political tool. In earlier times it would takes days if not weeks for news to reach certain countries or other parts of our world and in some cases this proved to be disastrous for business and economy, but now the whole world could pinpoint every event that happened around the world in a matter of hours if not minutes. Business deal could be closed quicker and markets could grow with international influence.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Then in about 30 years or so in the mid 1870’s the telephone was inven... ... the world is becoming a smaller place. The question is what is next?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Never before have people communicated and done business as much as now, and as frequently as now. After researching about the telecommunications it is fair to say that telecommunications did have a huge impact on the way our society communicates, and in the way we conduct our lives. It was hard to find any contradicting evidence to my thesis statement and most of the information I found concluded that business and communications have been revolutionized by telecommunications. The outcome of wars, business transactions, relationships have changed and depended upon communications, and together with this great change of communications so did these events change. BIBLIOGRAPHY 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Lorenz. D. â€Å"How the world became smaller†. History Today. 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Telegraph† Microsoft Encarta 95. Funk & Wagnalls Corporation (1994). 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Telecommunications† Microsoft Encarta 95. Funk & Wagnalls Corporation (1994). 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Telephone† Microsoft Encarta 95. Funk & Wagnalls Corporation (1994).

Development Plan Reflection Essay

Whilst reading various sources on the importance of reflecting after an experience I came across some wise words, that of Aitchison and Graham cited in Stoobants et al (2007:30) that say, â€Å"We do not learn from experience. Experience has to be arrested, examined, analysed, considered and negotiated in order to shift it to knowledge†. With these words in mind I began to see why it is important to reflect on my first MBA assignment. I see the MBA course as a learning journey, it is through reflecting on my past experiences that I will easily identify my strengths and weaknesses and thus easily identify areas that I should concentrate on developing during my MBA journey. In this assignment you will read about an experience that happened during the early stages of my career as a manager. I will analyse and discuss how this experience has led to where I am today and how it has affected my plans going forward in both my personal and working life. This was in year 2010. I was asked to act in the role of Management Accountant as my manager at that time resigned. I was then already hungry for more challenges and so I gladly accepted without hesitation as I was determined to prove that I am ready for it. Later that day it suddenly dawned on me that it was going to be challenging with the many vacancies in the team (Refer to Appendix 1 for the team structure). With this challenge in mind, I rearranged the team in order for it to work better. We embarked n the annual budget process later that year which did not go well as we did not complete the budget presentation within the stipulated timelines, did not get to analyse the critic all the numbers thoroughly and as a result the region was not ready for presenting the annual budget on time to Head Office. Post the experience below are the key things that I took out of that experience that I thought would enable me to manage teams better going forward: * Ensure that adequate training on the system is provided and requesting the business to provide more IT support people even outside of business hours during the budget process. Learn to lead and delegate and know that I cannot juggle my role and others as I can only achieve so such myself as I was doing most of the work that needed to be done by the Financial Planner: Benrose. * Seek advice from manager and not be afraid to ask for coaching. * Plan better around the timelines to take into account inexperience of some of my team members e. g. Plan a trial run presentation * Be more assertive as I realised that as a manager I could have negotiating additional resources since our headcount was lean so as not to compromise our deliverables. After having been through my first workshop at Henley, I liked Belbin (1981)’s team role model that was presented and in his book where he goes on to look at why management teams succeed or fail which I ironically discovered lying in my parents study and till now never bothered to even look at. He identifies 9 team roles in 3 categories. The action orientated people (Shapers, Implementers and Complete finishers). The thought orientated people (Co-ordinators, Teamworkers and Resource investigators). The last group are the people orientated (Specialists, Monitor evaluators (MEs) and plants). Had I applied his model to understand my team dynamics prior to starting the budget process, I would have seen that I had gaps in key roles that prevented us from completing the task on time. Please note the below roles assigned to my team members are just based on my own perception based on how I know them not based on the questionnaire that is normally completed. AFP – Implementer and Resource Investigator (She was the organiser for the team and was good at providing new knowledge or something new discovered whilst working on the new system and she would share it with the rest of the team) * FP Midrand – Plant and Resource Investigator (He was creative and generally looked at issues, he was cheerful and enthusiastic individual but was easily distracted and would want to start looking at new things without completing a task) * Me – Specialist and Monitor Evaluator. These were my top 2 roles from the results of the questionnaire I completed for my first workshop at Henley. I was a specialist in the team because I had more knowledge of the business and finance than my team. In retrospect, I would have been able to easily match the correct people with the rights tasks. I also could have put plans in place to ensure the following: * I had no shaper in the team. Belbin describes a shaper as generally someone able to drive a team and give direction – not having this I think contributed to us missing the deadline. So in requesting additional resources (e. . a temp person the business would have allowed) I could have ensured that I selected someone who is a shaper or developed more of shaper qualities in myself. * As we did not get to critically analyse the numbers prior our submission, if we had someone strong on being a completer finisher in the group chances of us submitting quality information would have been high as this role is effectively used at the end of a task, to â€Å"polish† and scrutinise the work for errors. I would definitely use this to my advantage going forward in my team tasks going forward.

Marketing and Fitness Center Essay

Our fitness is located in Cockeysville, Maryland, and provides fitness services to people of all age, level, and expertise. The main purpose of â€Å"Our Fitness† is to promote healthy lifestyles by providing knowledge on nutrition and exercising habits. â€Å"Our Fitness† is well known for it’s excellent services and aims to extend the business by providing two additional services. First, we will start fitness classes for people above 55 years old. These fitness classes are conducted to provide a comfortable environment for people above 55 to promote exercising habits and healthy lifestyles. Second, our fitness center will have our own restaurant next to the fitness center specifically designed for the members. Our fitness center’s restaurant will provide low fat, low calorie, and high protein and fiber food specially designed for promoting healthy eating habits. Strategically, Our fitness’s primary market target will consist of people over 55 and mostly retirees. Our secondary target market includes college and high school students. a. Three ways that determined these products and/or services would be the most feasible and potentially profitable for the company to add are: 1. Placement 2. Trends 3. IS the profit margin large enough to make money but small enough for your â€Å"target audience† to afford? Placement Placement or location is one of the most important factors in attracting and retaining customers. Everybody prefers easier and more convenient way to purchase products or services. Therefore, â€Å"Our Fitness† uses the placement approach to connect the products and services with the customer by making services and products more convenient and more accessible to the customers. Our fitness is located in the business area as well as densely populated  residential area with three different universities and one community college. On the other hand, there are only two fitness centers in the area with very expensive membership and maintenance service fees. Overall, this fitness center will be in the center of public places. At the same time, Our fitness center’s restaurant will be only one diet concerned restaurant in the area. Therefore, using competitive advantage through the introduction of two new services will help to retain old members as well as to attract new members in the area. 2. Trends People want to live longer and look good following healthy habits. It is very important to identify the market trends to assess the market potential. Understanding the market trends helps to respond according to customer behaviors as well as to develop sustainability. On the other hand, it also helps to analyze our competition and market potential. Different fitness centers are using different approaches to attract new members as well as to retain existing members. We have to understand that new members want new services. It is not possible to satisfy the consumers without understanding their needs. There is a fierce competition in the market to increase customer satisfaction by introducing new products/services. At the same time, there are many unsatisfied consumers who always change producers or owners because of unsatisfactory service or products. In our case, we even lost many members because of same services since last couple of years. So, we introduce our products/services as a result of customer survey and market research. Our market research and survey strategy will play a vital role to grow our target market in the future. 3.Is the profit margin large enough to make money but small enough for your â€Å"target audience† to afford? The profit margin is large enough to make money because we have young people who spend a great amount of money on food. You also have the retirees who spend a huge amount of money on good health. Also, these days people are more health conscious and follow healthy habits. Exercising and healthy eating are the main priorities of many people. The target audience will be able to afford it because it is a comfortable environment that promotes exercising habits and a healthy lifestyle which allows positive energy to follow. b. Competitive advantage is created through the understanding of your competitors and their products and services. One of the competitive advantages of Our Fitness is fitness classes especially designed for people over 55 as well as restaurant service for members with unique menus and special price. All fitness centers provide classes and specialty training but many do not have classes that target an older age audience. We want our members to feel more comfortable working out and training with people of the same experience level. On the other hand, people over 55 are the ones who spend more money on healthcare, and we aim to reduce their healthcare costs by engaging them with age specific and specialty classes. Our on site restaurant will provide nutrition rich health foods and diet services to members as well as other guests. It will be restricted to members only after one or two years, because we are using the restaurant as advertising to increase membership. A2. I will focus on newspapers for advertising, which reach a broad, geographically-targeted market. These ads will be focused to attract people who are 55 or older because they rely heavily on newspapers. Newspaper advertising is low-cost and involves short timelines. At the same time, this type of marketing channel will reach the total circulation, even if only a portion fits our prospective profile. I will also use Facebook as a marketing tool; Facebook is still, far and away, the most popular, with the most evenly-distributed demographics of any social media platform. Facebook is the only social media platform that you need, no matter what field your business is in. The main reason to use Facebook to advertise is the use of Facebook by all age people. In addition to ease of use, Facebook ads and business pages are cost effective, reliable, and very quickly disseminated to all users. Finally, we will rely heavily on word-of-mouth advertising, as personal reviews are often the most trusted form of information. This marketing tool can also be used to reach the secondary market, visiting colleges and advertising our job opportunities as well as membership benefits. A3. Price is the value that you exchange for a product or service. Pricing objectives should align with the company’s goals and can be affected by factors such as competition, consumer reaction, and other regulatory requirements. Generally, other fitness centers charge $59 per month as service fee and $55 per personal training class in the area. So, we need to provide service for lower prices than our competitors. On the other hand, it is very important to understand the demand of product or services before pricing because there is a direct relationship between price and demand. Our main pricing objective is to maximize the revenue and quantity. This objective helps to maximize long-term profits by lowering costs and increasing market share. Penetration pricing will be used to maximize the sales of quantity by means of a low price. First, we will cut the one time member fee for all new members, so that they have to pay monthly fee only, which will be $39.99 per month. At the same time, for new members and existing members, who are 55 years or older, will have to pay only $15 per fitness class. The price may be gradually increased after establishing market share and customer loyalty. We will use cost-plus pricing method because it makes easier to calculate the selling price for our services/products. Since, our production cost per membership per month is $20.00, and $4 per fitness class. Therefore, our profit per person in membership is $20 and $11 in fitness class per person. Our goal is to add 100 new members in the first month and increase to 500 within next six months. Therefore, our revenue will increase by $2000 from membership in the first month. Similarly, we will provide competitively cheaper price for foods and drinks comparing to local restaurants. We will also offer promotional pricing, discounts and coupons for the restaurant and fitness center to attract more customers. Our overall goal will be to maximize the number of consumers to increase the quantity of sale. If we can maximize the number of consumers, then we can maximize the revenue as well as profit. A4. Customer relationship management (CRM) is the combination of technologies, strategies, and practices used by companies to manage customer interactions and improve customer relationship. The main goal of CRM is to improve  business relationships with customers by retaining customer retention and increasing sales growth. Ngai stated that â€Å"the purpose of CRM system is the building of relationships in order to affect the customer acquisition, retention, loyalty and profitability† (Ngai, 2005). I would like to use Salesforce as CRM system. Salesforce is a cloud-based CRM system, and doesn’t need special installation and hardware. This system can be very cost effective by keeping IT cost low. CRM system like Salesforce can track the history of customer interactions and helps to grow our business. The system track includes calls, emails, presentations, meetings, or even the further step to close the deal. Salesforce can also track the deal details including the worth, competitor, and the stage of deal with automatic deal updates at a glance to close the deal. Salesforce can drive the process, productivity, and consistency by using sales app to map the sales and forecasting stages. It is equiped with quoting capabilities to track the quantity, standard and quoted price, product code, and expected sales in a given period. In addition, company’s e-mail, phone or website can be used to track customer inquiries and history of their activities. Salesforce provides customer relationship data with automatic updated instant access of full customer history of all communications. It also helps to create customized pitch documents about consumers and prospects and can focus sales staff’s attention on the right consumers. Cross-selling and up-selling opportunities become clear through better understanding of consumers and increase their satisfaction. Satisfied consumers are likely to become loyal consumers and common referrals. It can also be beneficial to the customer because it can provide email updates, alerts, referrals, discount coupons, and special events and promotions. Overall, Salesforce tracking system will be very useful in controlling and managing the inquiries and sales of products and services. A5. It is not possible to open any new business without incurring risks, and opening a new restaurant with established fitness center is no different. Financial risk is one of the most difficult risks associated with any new business. â€Å"Financial risk has been defined as any risk that has a direct impact on net cash flows† (Cabedo and Tirado, 2004). This includes problems  related to price, credit, inflation, liquidity, and potential losses due to changes in financial markets and defaulting large scale debtors (Meulbrook, 2000). There are also risks with opening a new restaurant. Our Fitness center require a large amount of capital upon opening, in order to hire additional staff, purchase high-end fitness equipment, and advertise the restaurant to local fitness and healthy food seekers. Personal injury is another significant risk of operating a gym and adding fitness classes especially to people of 55 or older who are more prone to injury. Aside from the legal aspect, injuries in our gym could cause a bad reputation, particularly if they are recurring. It is critical to maintain a good reputation to sell our fitness services and get people into our restaurant. At the same time, improving the quality of our existing services along with adding new specialty services and products is very critical, and is one of the most important aspects of business. Factors such as product contamination, product safety, business integrity, and failure to maintain high standards, may reduce demand for our business. The reputation of the company plays a vital role in our forward progress. Therefore, poor product quality or services may damage our reputation and could limit business activities as well as increase our operating costs. On the other hand, there is always a risk of substitute of products and services in the market. It is very important to study the market and meet consumer needs before launching any new business. A6. The most common risk associated with not launching the new products or services will be the lack of competitive advantage at the Our Fitness center.  Introducing new services and opening a new restaurant will provide the competitive advantage that we seek and will help to expand the business and satisfy existing members. Customer preferences and tastes change with time, it is necessary to meet their needs and tastes to increase the demand for our products/services. Therefore, the new restaurant will aim to compliment our new services/products and satisfy consumer demands. If we are unable to launch the new services/products into the market and meet the consumer needs, then it will not only negatively affect Our Fitness’s financial performance but it may increase by operating costs, and change  consumer perceptions about our existing services Innovation can be a key differentiator between Our Fitness and our rivals. Therefore, if Our Fitness will not launch new services then, it might run the risk of losing ground to competitors, losing key staff, decreased membership, or simply operating inefficiently. As a whole, Our Fitness financial performance could be adversely affected without new products/services, and in the end lead to its closure. References Cabedo, J. D. and Tirado, J. M. (2004), â€Å"The disclosure of risk in financial statements†, Accounting Forum, Vol. 28 No. 2, pp. 181-200. Meulbrook, L. (2000), Total strategies for company-wide risk control, Financial Times, London. Ngai. 2005. Customer relationship management research. Marketing intelligence & planning, 23 (6): 582-605. he Feasibility Study’s Purpose ï‚ · Evaluate the nature, scale and economics of constructing an indoor recreation center within the Area ï‚ · Identify the potential audience/supporting membership of an indoor recreation center within the Area ï‚ · Assess what amenities/programming would be most logical to provide as part of a recreation center ï‚ · Explore the physical characteristics of various sites on which the recreation center could be constructed 1 Evaluate potential funding sources available to support short-term and long-term Recreation Center alternatives

Problems of Inequality and Poverty in Finance The WritePass Journal

Problems of Inequality and Poverty in Finance Abstract Problems of Inequality and Poverty in Finance AbstractIntroductionThe Impact of Financial Development on Income InequalityThe Use of Microfinance for Poverty AlleviationConclusionReferencesRelated Abstract Inequality and poverty are realities for the majority of developing economies around the world. Intuitively, financial development leading to economic growth should have a positive relationship between the reduction of income inequality (and therefore social inequality) and poverty eradication. Successful regulation of the financial sector leading the economic and political stability will have the effect of increasing access to capital through increased foreign direct investment. In this way FDI can be used to improve access to microfinance which has been identified by the UNDP and developing countries as a primary strategy to poverty eradication as a long-term goal. Introduction Literature on poverty alleviation notes that levels of poverty can be decomposed in two distinct ways. The first is through rapid economic growth and the second is though a change in the distribution of income in that economy (Bourguignon, 2004). This literature acknowledges the inherent link between poverty alleviation, economic growth and income redistribution. In terms of statistical representation, Besley and Burgess (2003) prove that in order for alleviation of poverty to occur, developing countries need to effect an annual growth of 3.8% in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in order to half poverty in the next decade which is currently less than half the average growth recorded in recent decades. Therefore although financial development has been shown to produce faster rates of economic growth, literature still remains largely unconvinced of the link between financial development and poverty alleviation (Beck et al., 2004). It goes without saying that income inequality perpetuat es social inequality by affording lower-income groups limited access to necessities, commodities, health and education which in turn creates a recurring cycle of poverty and inequality in itself. This paper therefore aims to explore the link between financial development and inequality in poverty alleviation with a particular focus on developing countries in Africa. The central hypothesis of this paper asserts that if there is a positive relationship between financial development and the reduction of income inequality, financial development can be used as a means of alleviating poverty in developing countries. The Impact of Financial Development on Income Inequality The impact of financial development on the reduction of income inequality is not settled in current research outcomes, with certain models implying that development enhances opportunities for growth and reduces inequality. However, that this reduction is hampered by imperfections in the financial markets with factors such as credit restraints impeding the flow of capital to poorer individuals and communities, therefore enforcing inequality in income and intensifying the wealth disparity in these developing economies (Beck et al., 2004). According to these models, financial development plays the role of reducing these credit restraints and therefore improving the availability of capital for redistribution in lower-income groups and thereby accelerating growth. Contrary to these models however, Haber et al. (2003) note that in low-income countries, poorer members of society remain in rural areas and therefore rely on access to capital through family connections and as a result, financial development will only result in assisting the high-income end of the spectrum. Overall therefore, this may have a negative impact on income inequality. Evidence from developed economies suggest a nonlinear approach to financial development which asserts that at higher levels of economic development, there is increasing wealth available to a larger percentage of the population which may have the effect of offsetting this negative impact (Greenwood Jovanovic, 1990). The problematic element of this nonlinear model is that reaching higher levels of economic development may take substantial economic growth over a long-period of time, which does little to address immediate concerns of income inequality. Indicators of financial development include the improvement of information and transactions costs, and the availability and distribution of capital. For developing countries, which often experience a lack of availability of credit, there is a larger reliance on foreign direct investment and private credit institutions to provide capital. In these regions there is a large reliance on micro-finance institutions (MFIs) to improve the access to capital for low-income groups. Case studies in developing countries have proven that access to microfinance has a positive impact on poverty alleviation and income inequalities (Meagher, 2002). Practice however has shown that MFI access is in itself problematic as it requires strict regulation of the financial services industry in that country in order to ensure both consumer and investor protection (Omino, 2005). The success of MFIs in providing access to capital relies heavily on a coherent strategy by the government of the country through the c entral banking institution or primary financial regulation authority. The Use of Microfinance for Poverty Alleviation One could argue that the use of microfinance as a means of poverty reduction and income redistribution is a moot point, as it has been popularly acknowledged as a primary long-term strategy for the eradication of poverty. The United Nations Development Programme prioritized microfinance as part of their broader international agenda as a measure of poverty alleviation (UNDP, 1997). As part of this international mandate, the UNDP provided avenues where commercial financial institutions could gain funding from the UNDP as a means of providing microfinance to low-income families with comparatively lower repayment demands and in doing so, catering for the social economic burdens carried by the nationals of the countries involved (UNDP, 2004). This agenda is one that has been adopted by financial regulation authorities in developing countries. The Central Bank of Liberia, for example has adopted a new regulatory framework which provides a unified approach to regulation of the financial sec tor with a specific focus on MFIs, acknowledge the mandate of the UNDP to make use of these institutions for wealth redistribution and poverty eradication (Central Bank of Liberia, 2009), which was a goal specifically supported by the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDP, 2008). The support for these forms of financing institutions is not specific to Liberia with the UNDP and UNCDP offering similar support to other developing countries around the world, with a specific focus on improving financial development through effective regulation in the sector. The rationale behind the use of MFIs as a primary means of poverty reduction lies in the access that it gives to lower income groups to encourage small business. This acts as a grassroots approach to wealth redistribution and therefore the use of MFIs has been identified as a primary method of poverty alleviation in developing countries, such as Liberia (Central Bank of Liberia, 2005). Financial development through the use of non-traditional means of providing access to credit for lower-income groups requires unified regulation of the banking sector in developing countries. This necessitates a hierarchical approach to regulation which effectively regulates the relationship between the national financial policy of the country, macroeconomic financial institutions and MFIs. The effect of consistent regulation in this way has the effect of stabilizing the economy of the country, as an unstable economic environment generates inflation which has a proven effect on microenterprise that is more severe than established, wealthier companies or corporations (Franks, 2000). Therefore ensuring a stable economic environment is essential to continued wealth redistribution and ultimately poverty alleviation. A case study of the Philippines further showed that the investment in poverty alleviation in this way enhanced the economic and political resources of the average household and as a result had a positive effect on social capital and cooperation through the encouragement of production and industry (Quinones Siebel, 2000). This in turn had a positive effect on the political stability in this region which further encourages foreign direct investment (FDI) in the economy of the country. The knock-on effect of FDI in developing countries is self-explanatory with a positive result on economic growth and greater access to capital. An unfortunate reality however faces many African nations which represents the converse situation, where many years of poor financial management have led to inherent corruption within the system and in order to make use of the available support offered by the UNDP and UNCDP, these countries require a significant financial overhaul which is low on the priority lis t for many countries. This is particularly true of developing countries that have suffered the effects of oil wealth, which has had a negative overall effect on economic growth despite an abundance of natural resources which has compounded wealth disparity and poverty (Mahdavy, 1970). Conclusion The evidence presented in this paper shows that there are a number of factors required for financial development to positively contribute to a reduction of income inequality (and therefore social inequality) and poverty eradication. The most important factor is effective and unified regulation of the financial sector of the country, which will have the effect of stabilizing the economy and therefore stabilizing interest rates, but also in the stabilization of the political climate in the country. Theoretically, this positions these economies favorably in terms of FDI which will have the effect of increasing the amount of capital available for redistribution. By redistributing wealth at a lower-income level, the nonlinear financial effects of economic growth can be expedited with a realistic alternative to gradual wealth distribution in favour of bottom-up wealth creation.   In this way, financial development tackles the problem of wealth disparity and the associated poverty levels from a top-down and bottom-up approach which can reasonably be expected to increase the rate of economic growth, and doing so in a manner that does not rely on singular capital redistribution that may be plagued by imperfections in financial markets. In this way, financial development can be used as a means of alleviating income inequalities and poverty levels in developing countries. References Beck, T., Demirguc-Kunt, A. Levine, R. (2004) Finance, Inequality and Poverty: Cross Country Evidence. NBER Working Paper Series, Working Paper 10979 Besley, T. Burgess, R. (2003) Halving Global Poverty. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 17, pp. 3-22. Bourguignon, F. (2004) The Poverty-Growth-Inequality Triangle. World Bank mimeo. Central Bank of Liberia (2005) Integrating Financial Services into Poverty Reduction Strategies: Institutional Experience of Liberia West-African Regional Workshop, Monrovia: CBL Central Bank of Liberia (2009) Microfinance Policy and Regulatory Supervisory Framework for Liberia Monrovia: CBL Franks, J. (2000) Macroeconomic Stabilization and the Microentrepreneur. Journal of Microfinance, 2, pp. 69-91 Greenwood, J. Jovanovic, B. (1990) Financial Development, Growth, and the Distribution of Income, Journal of Political Economy, 98, pp. 1076-1107 Haber, S., Razo, A. Maurer, N. (2003) The Politics of Property Rights: Political Instability, Credible Commitments, and Economic Growth in Mexico. Cambridge University Press. Mahdavy, H. (1970) ‘The Patterns and Problems of Economic Development in Rentier States: The Case of Iran’ In Studies in the Economic History of the Middle East, ed. M. A. Cook. London: Oxford University Press Meagher, P. (2002) Microfinance Regulation in Developing Countries: A Comparative Review of Current Practice Maryland: IRIS Centre Omino, F. (2005) Regulation and Supervision of Microfinance Institutions in Kenya.   Essays on Regulation and Supervision, Central Bank of Kenya, No. 5 Quinones, B., Seibel, H. (2000) Social capital in microfinance: Case studies in the Philippines.   Policy Sciences, 33, pp. 421-433 United Nations Development Programme (1997) Microstart Programme Geneva: UNDP

The Roman Social War 91-88 B.C.

The Roman Social War 91-88 B.C. Definition: The Social War was a civil war between the Romans and their Italian allies. Like the American Civil War, it was very costly. When the Romans wouldnt grant the Italians equality, most of the allies attempted to secede, although Latium and northern Campania remained loyal to Rome. The rebels made their headquarters at Corfinium, which they renamed Italia. Poppaedius Silo headed the allied Marsic troops and Papius Mutilus headed the Samnites, altogether about 100,000 men. The Romans divided their roughly 150,000 men under the 2 consuls of 90 B.C. and their legates. The Romans in the north were headed by P. Rutilius Lupus, with Marius and Cn Pompeius Strabo (Pompey the Greats father under whom Cicero served) under him. L. Julius Caesar had Sulla and T. Didius under him, in the south. Rutilius was killed, but Marius was able to defeat the Marsi. Rome fared worse in the south, although Papius Mutilus was defeated by Caesar at Acerrae. The Romans made concessions after the first year of the war. The lex Julia gave Roman citizenship to some possibly all Italians who stopped fighting or just those who had remained loyal. Next year, in 89 B.C., the Roman consuls were Strabo and L. Porcius Cato. They both went north. Sulla headed the Campanian forces. Marius had no commission despite his successes in 90. Strabo defeated 60,000 Italians near Asculum. The capital, Italia, was abandoned. Sulla made progress in Samnium and captured the Italian HQ at Bovianum Vetus. The rebel leader Poppaedius Silo regained it, but it was defeated again in 88, as were other pockets of resistance. Supplemental laws gave the franchise to the remaining Italians and people of the Italian regions of Gaul by 87. There was still a grievance, though, since new citizens were not equitably distributed among the 35 tribes of Rome. Main Source:H.H. Scullard: From the Gracchi to Nero. Also Known As: Marsic War, Italian War Examples: Military preparation for the Social War took place over the winter of 91/90. It was called the Social War because it was a war between Rome and its socii allies.

MBA - Marketing Strategy report on General Motors Research Proposal

MBA - Marketing Strategy report on General Motors - Research Proposal Example With every organization wanting to expand their reach and make an imprint in various markets, there will be enough opportunities for it, to initiate that expansion drive. So, when the organization has enough opportunities, it can set targets and formulate various strategies to achieve those targets and thereby beat off the competitors. Every organization’s survival and success in the light of stiff competition hinges on the success of its main or flagship product. It is the ‘key’ that opens the door of success or profit. So, for an organization to survive in a competitive market, and to increase its profits in an optimum manner, its products have to be marketed optimally. Toeing that line, this report will determine the current marketing strategy of General Motors. Then, the report will evaluate the strategies in view of its existing business environment, recommended improvements that would enable them to compete more effectively. General Motors Corporation (GM), a multinational corporation, was founded in 1908 as a holding company for a firm called Buick, then controlled by William C. Durant. Now, it functions as a conglomerate manufacturing and selling, cars and trucks under the brands of Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GM Daewoo, GMC, Holden, Hummer, Opel, Pontiac, Saab, Saturn and Vauxhall. Each of these brands has a number of cars and trucks under its division or arm. Even though, they are manufactured in one unit, vehicles coming under each brand are most times marketed differentially and some times in unison. Headquartered in Detroit, Michigan (USA), GM manufactures automobiles in 35 countries, capturing a sizeable portion of the world market share. GM was thus acknowledged as the worlds largest automaker, based on global industry sales. GM was able to hold on to this top position for the last 77 calendar years. But, its reign as the top automaker was threatened in the last few years. Apart from the intens e competition put