Participants in the study Essay

Of the 40 participants in the study, 26 delivered the maximum shocks while 14 stopped before reaching the highest levels. It is important to note that many of the subjects became extremely agitated, distraught and angry at the experimenter. Yet they continued to follow orders all the way to the end. So 65% of the participants in Milgram’s study delivered the maximum shocks. There were also questions asked regarding the ethics of the study, if we compare it to the British Psychology Society’s summary of ethics guidelines (1990) for the conduct of psychological experiments. General Distress – Distress to participants must be avoided but does not seem to be the case in this research with participants concerned they are harming the learner. Informed Consent – this must be gained with an explanation of the research where ever possible. In this study to the give the participant a full explanation would not have had the results that they got in the first place. They would have caused questions regarding the validity of the research. This then leads us to:- Deception – They were not fully aware of what was going on or the aims and objectives of the research so therefore they were deceived. Debriefing – Milgram fully debriefed the participants and did this extensively and out of all of the participants that 84% were glad to have participated, while only 1% regretted their involvement. The right to withdraw – the participant does have this right but this was not really the case here as here when a participant wanted to stop the experiment, the experimenter probed the subject to continue, pressure was added to continue the study so as not to affect the data. Protection of Participants – now this is from both physical and psychological harm which was not the case in either component. This study would not be able to be completed today due to the ethical issues affecting this but as you saw in the results that it did prove that people would obey even after they believe it’s wrong. Now if we look at Zimbardo’s (1971) in his study â€Å"The Stanford Prison Experiment† he was looking to see people conforming to social roles according to what people believe about a given situation. So for example this was how the ‘prisoners’ would obey the ‘guards’ orders if they believed that they were in jail. The reason that this appealed to Zimbardo was he was a former class mate of Milgram and was interested in expanding on his research. Zimbardo set the experiment by first placing an advert in the paper asking for male students to participant in a prison life experiment. The students who applied there were 24 in total they were selected from larger group that had applied for the study because they had no psychological issues, medical condition and no criminal backgrounds. They were all agreed to be in for one to two weeks for the experiment. The experiment was due to last two weeks but this had to be stopped early due to what was happening to the participants. The guards became abusive and prisoners began to show signs of extreme anxiety and stress. Neither the prisoners nor the guards were advised on how to interact with the each other. The guards began to behave like real life guards but they were also aggressive towards the prisoners, and the prisoners became passive and depressed. Five of the prisoners began to experience such severe negative emotions, that they had to be released from the study early. According to Zimbardo and his colleagues, experiment shows the powerful role that a situation can play in human behaviour. Because the guards were placed in a position of power, they began to behave in ways they would not normally in their everyday lives or in other situations. The prisoners, placed in a situation where they had no real control, became passive and depressed. The experiment could like Milgram’s could not be repeated by researchers today because it fails to meet the standards established by numerous ethical codes which I am going to look at now, by comparing the experiment to the British Psychology Society’s summary of ethics guidelines (1990) for the conduct of psychological experiments. General Distress – this was caused to both the prisoners and the guards, as the prisoners were humiliated and the guards became more and more aggressive which was caused by them wanting to do what they were supposed to do. Informed Consent – This was again something that they were unable to do as this may have had an effect on the results of the experiment, the participants were aware of certain things like that they were part of a prison experiment but not the aims and objectives of the experiment. Deception – due to the fact they the participants were not fully aware of what was going on and what was expected or wanted means there is a certain level of deception in the experiment. Debriefing – Zimbardo did debrief all of the participants but there has been suggestions that this was not enough or a through as Milgram’s debriefing process. Right To Withdraw – Like during the Milgram experiment the participants did have the right to withdraw but when they asked or showed that they wanted to leave they were persuaded to stay. Eventually a few of the participants had to be allowed to leave early as they were beginning to show extreme stress. Protection of Participants – this was the biggest area that was had ethics question raised, the participants were under a lot of stress, they began to believe the things that were being said to them and how they were being spoken to, they began to lose their identity which again caused stress, many of the participants became emotional under this pressure and some even became aggressive. The guards were inflicting this on them but this was situational. The experiment came to an end early when another psychologist realised on how far this had gone. Even Zimbardo himself said that he began to believe that he was the prison warden not the lead psychologist. Despite the criticism that this study received it is still important in psychology and how a situation can influence behaviour. The study more recently was brought to light when there were questions being asked of soldier’s treatment of prisoners in Abu Ghraib, and many people and even Zimbardo himself suggested that this may have been the real world example of what he was trying to achieve through research. To conclude there are many things that influence behaviour in people, wither that be their own beliefs and opinions or other people being around them at the time, they way in which people work is very complex and the study although brilliant at the times with the break through that they made into the social side of psychology have raised questions over the ethical issues that are also something to be looked at. Today the studies would not have been able to take place and in some ways this is a shame as we would not may be have had the knowledge that we have now because of them. Yet if they had thought of other ways around to come up with the same type of results then this would have been better for all of the subjects concerned. I think the research that was done was invaluable and that psychologists will always believe this just the questions over the methods leave a small black cloud over something rather brilliant. References Books Cardwell, Clark, Meldrum, Wadeley. – Psychology A2 for AQA (Fourth Edition) – HarperColins. Gross, Richard – Psychology, the Science of Mind and Behaviour -Hodder and Stoughton Gross, Richard. , McIlveen, Rob. , Coolican, Hugh. , Clamp, Alan & Russell, Julia. – Psychology – a new introduction for A2 – Hodder and Stoughton. Websites  http://wilderdom.com

Different reasons people communicate Essay

In general, human beings like to live with other human beings. Most of us are sociable creatures who want to reach out to other people around us. Very few humans lead completely solitary lives. People also communicate for specific reasons; in order to express Emotions such as: †¢ Fear †¢ Anger †¢ Pain †¢ Joy †¢ Love. People want to get views, wishes and information across to others for all kinds of reasons. Sometimes this can be essential – even life saving in the case of a warning. It can be vital to make a person’s quality of life Better if they are communicating that they are in pain or it can be to make Emotional contact with others to express feelings. People live and communicate within a range of different groups and Communities, including: †¢ Families †¢ Neighborhoods †¢ Workplaces †¢ Schools and colleges. The nature of communication is very different dependent on the Circumstances. Some communications are personal and very intimate; these are usually with people to whom we are very close. Other communications are for a wider audience and are aimed at groups of people. Communication can be formal, such as in a courtroom setting, or informal, such as friends chatting. 2†¦ Explain how communication affects relationships in the work setting. Effective communication is a two-way process – sending the right message that is also being correctly received and understood by the other person/s. It is essential that there is good and effective communication taking place within the work setting. Daily tasks will only be successful with smooth transfers of information. In order for me to develop within my role, there must be effective communication between the children and myself. This will help keep positive morale and improve the quality of work. People that do not feel as if they have good communication with their carers may not be as efficient with their work. Effective communication skills are also needed to encourage staff and myself to talk about what we are feeling, to say what we think or to express our needs, concerns, wishes or preferences. Positive verbal and non-verbal communication skills, such as being friendly, smiling and shaking hands when greeting parents and staff, are required on a daily basis. Effective communication can help promote and create a positive working environment. Without communication the world would be a lonely place and communication is particularly important in the work setting as it can affect the relationships you build. Team communication is important as it is important to keep everyone in the group knowledgeable about what is going on within that group. As I would be communicating with parents, colleagues, children and other professionals (i.e. health visitors, speech and language therapists, social workers, other schools, Police and other governing bodies) it is important that everybody is provided the information they need. Communication is vital to establishing effective relationships in the work setting. It would allow you to expect support from your colleagues and to provide them with the necessary support in times of stress and difficulty.re and am there to support the children. 3†¦ describe the factors to consider when promoting effective communication. Verbal communication: Tone and pitch of your voice, does it suit the situation or topic? A louder more direct communication maybe required if trying to get the attention of a group of children to come back inside. However this would not be suitable in a situation whereby a child is upset say for example if they have wet themselves and are embarrassed, this would need a quieter and understanding tone to reassure them. Use of language is important, when talking to children you need to keep things simpler than if you were talking to an adult, however if you talking to an adult using very simple instructions this may be deemed as patronizing. So it is important to choose your language carefully. The speed in which you talk is also key. When talking to children I tend to get down to their level and talk to them at a relatively slow speed, this way they are more likely to understand me more than if I was walking round above them talking as though I would talk to adults. Non-verbal communication: Facial and hand gestures, again this needs to be tailored to the situation or topic. In the example above, a smile and perhaps a hand on their shoulder is sufficient to the situation. Whereby frowning and waving arms as if annoyed would be detrimental to the feelings of the child. Eye contact is an important factor as this engages the audience, keeping them focused on what you are discussing. By making eye contact you are directing your conversation at that specific person, demonstrating that you are devoting your time and are not able to be distracted as if you would by looking around. Body language plays an important part, for example folded arms can indicate you are being defensive or not open to suggestions, whereas slouching, hands on hips, rolling of eyes and huffing can seem rude and disrespectful. 4†¦ Be able to overcome barriers to communication. Identifying communication needs: use of personal histories; involvement of the individual; involvement of family, friends and carers Barriers to communication: environmental eg: seating, lighting, external noise, situation of the setting; emotional issues eg: shyness, low self-esteem; social; psychological eg: mental ill health, results of abuse, neglect; sensory, hearing and sight impairment; speech and language barriers following strokes; cerebral palsy; cultural eg: related to gender, inappropriate use of gestures; English as an additional language. Promotion of communication: use of preferred language including British Sign Language; use of human aids, interpreters, translators; use of technological aids, hearing aids, induction loops, Braille software; cultural awareness; active listening skills; the need to give individuals time to respond; speech and language therapy Language proficiency affects every aspect of a person’s life. Lack of fluency in English has a major impact on people’s ability to get information. A social hierarchy exists in most cultures, which can create issues in workplace communications. For instance, men from some cultural backgrounds may not adapt easily to working equally with women. Understanding the relationship between the sexes and the roles assigned in various cultures will give you an insight into how customers from particular cultural groups might respond in an Australian environment. Differences in non-verbal behavior Cultural differences in non-verbal behaviors are a common source of misunderstandings and conflict in the workplace. For instance, many westerners like to make eye contact, interpreting it as an indication of interest and honesty. They also show friendliness through relaxed body language. If these behaviors do not happen, it can be interpreted as shiftiness, coldness and disinterest. However, in some cultures, averted eyes and non-demonstrable behavior are. a sign of courtesy and respect. Being aware of these Nuances will help you to reduce negative impressions in inter-cultural communications among co-workers and customers. Personal space People from different cultural backgrounds may have different ‘comfort zones’ — some Like more distance between themselves and others, some like to be closer. Responses to authority Attitudes to authority vary markedly between cultures and exert a distinct effect on workplace behaviors. Religion In many cultures, religion dominates life in a way that for strongly secular workplaces may be difficult to understand. These differences need to be respected and the needs associated with religious commitments understood and sensitively negotiated within the workplace. Clear communication on both sides about these issues is to be encouraged. Personal appearance Grooming, dietary and eating habits and dress varies in different cultures. Some people within their community may choose to wear their national dress or religious garments. Keep in mind that attitudes and communicative behaviors are not neutral but strongly conditioned by cultural values. As a simple example, if you say to a customer, ‘Please sign here’, you expect them to know that you want them to pick up the pen and sign exactly where you have indicated. But, if you think about it, you are assuming that the person: _ can hear you _ speaks the English language _ knows how to use a pen _ knows where they need to sign _ knew what a signature was _ understands what they are signing for _ If the person didn’t hear you, didn’t speak English, did not have a signature, didn’t know how to use the pen, did not understand where they needed to sign, or did not know what they were signing for the communication will not be successful. 1. Explain how people from different backgrounds may use and/ or interpret communication methods in different ways Language proficiency affects every aspect of a person’s life. Lack of fluency in English has a major impact on people’s ability to get information. Therefore communication skills training is a critical career development to help the children/ young people understand. Roles and status A social hierarchy exists in most cultures, which can create issues in workplace communications. For instance, men from some cultural backgrounds may not adapt easily to working equally with women. Understanding the relationship between the sexes and the roles assigned in various cultures will give you an insight into how customers from particular cultural groups might respond in an Australian environment. Differences in non-verbal behavior Cultural differences in non-verbal behaviors are a common source of misunderstandings and conflict in the workplace. For instance, many westerners like to make eye contact, interpreting it as an indication of interest and honesty. They also show friendliness through relaxed body language. If these behaviors do not happen, it can be interpreted as shiftiness, coldness and disinterest. However, in some cultures, averted eyes and non-demonstrable behavior are a sign of courtesy and respect. Being aware of these Nuances will help you to reduce negative impressions in inter-cultural communications among co-workers and customers. Personal space People from different cultural backgrounds may have different ‘comfort zones’ — some Like more distance between themselves and others, some like to be closer. Responses to authority Attitudes to authority vary markedly between cultures and exert a distinct effect on workplace behaviors.Religion in many cultures, religion dominates life in a way that for strongly secular workplaces may be difficult to understand. These differences need to be respected and the needs associated with religious commitments understood and sensitively negotiated within the workplace. Clear communication on both sides about these issues is to be encouraged. Personal appearance Grooming, dietary and eating habits and dress varies in different cultures. Some people within the Australian community may choose to wear their national dress or religious garments. Keep in mind that attitudes and communicative behaviors are not neutral but strongly conditioned by cultural values. As a simple example, if you say to a customer, ‘Please sign here’, you expect them to know that you want them to pick up the pen and sign exactly where you have indicated. But, if you think about it, you are assuming that the person: can hear you, speaks the English language, knows how to use a pen, knows where they need to sign, knew what a signature was, understands what they are signing for If the person didn’t hear you, didn’t speak English, did not have a signature, didn’t know how to use the pen, did not understand where they needed to sign, or did not know what they were signing for the communication will not be successful. Use of Simple Language: Use of simple and clear words should be emphasized. Use of ambiguous words and jargons should be avoided. Reduction and elimination of noise levels: Noise is the main communication barrier which must be overcome on priority basis. It is essential to identify the source of noise and then eliminate that source. Active Listening: Listen attentively and carefully. There is a difference between â€Å"listening† and â€Å"hearing†. Active listening means hearing with proper understanding of the message that is heard. By asking questions the speaker can ensure whether his/her message is understood or not by the receiver in the same terms as intended by the speaker. Emotional State: During communication one should make effective use of body language. He/she should not show their emotions while communication as the receiver might misinterpret the message being delivered. For example, if the conveyer of the message is in a bad mood then the receiver might think that the information being delivered is not good.   Simple Organizational Structure: The organizational structure should not be complex. The number of hierarchical levels should be optimum. There should be a ideal span of control within the organization. Simpler the organizational structure, more effective will be the communication. ï‚ · Avoid Information Overload: The managers should know how to prioritize their work. They should not overload themselves with the work. They should spend quality time with their subordinates and should listen to their problems and feedbacks actively. A solution to the barriers is emotional intelligence which can be mastered and lead to better relationships. Emotional intelligence is the ability to understand others and work with them. There are five characteristics of emotional intelligence. Being self-aware is the most important. It is the ability to distance oneself from their emotions so that they can look at the emotion without becoming overwhelmed or reacting to it too quickly. This piece of intelligence would help a person who is struggling with stereotyping. If the person knows that every time they see and African American person they become nervous because they believe they are all aggressive, they can take a step back and look at where that emotion came from. Once they have identified the source, they may be able to isolate the emotion and try to move past is by realizing that it is an irrational fear. There is an equal chance that a Caucasian or African American person is aggressive. The second characteristic is the ability to manage emotions which means expressing them in a way that is appropriate for the setting). Once a person has become aware of the emotion, they can come up with a way to handle the emotion. The person who gets nervous around African Americans may be able to look at where they are. If they are at a dinner party at a friend’s house and the African American friend of the friend shows up, there is a good chance they are not agg ressive. The person who is nervous may be able to walk away for a minute to collect themselves and then act as they should through a dinner party. In a setting where a young looking mother is out with her parents, the person might take the time to ask how old she was and what her situation was. The person may find that the young mother is responsible and owned up to her mistakes or that the mother is older than they thought and did not make a mistake. The third characteristic is the ability to motivate oneself which is setting a goal and reaching it. For the person who is nervous around African Americans, the goal may be to sit at the table and hold normal conversation with the dinner guests. They would then have to try to reach that goal by managing their emotions and following through with the dinner. For a person who looks down on teen mothers, the goal may be to accept all mothers as if they are the socially accepted age for parenting unless there is a clear reason why this mother is inad equate. The might reach that goal by always asking questions when they feel that a mother is inadequate because they are young. The fourth intelligence is recognizing emotions in others, which is called empathy. The best way to do this is to listen to what people are really saying and trying to understand it by observing their body language along with their actual language. In genders this can be difficult. Men tend to want to solve a problem where women want a sounding board, someone who understands them. If they can listen to each other and try to understand what the other wants and how they are feeling, the relationship will go better. For men, they often do not try to understand why a woman is upset when her friend says she should lose a pants size. He does not put himself in her shoes and does not easily relate to the problem. Instead, he might try to solve the problem by complimenting her or getting her a gym membership. This is not effective communication. The woman was not looking for a way to lose a pant size, but rather a person that would understand why she was the size she was and how bad it feels to be told she is too big. Body language plays a part in improving a person’s emotional intelligence. A person who is first starting out with improving their emotional intelligence, they may come across difficulties in the first four characteristics because what they are saying does not match up to their body language. A person might ask the teen mother her age, but still have a posture that shows they do not approve of this mother having a child. A person who fears African Americans may be able to sit through a dinner and talk nice, but might look as though they are ready to run out of the room if a butter knife is picked up the wrong way. The fifth characteristic is the ability to handle relationships. The person needs to recognize their own needs as well as the needs of the other person. They need to find a balance where both sets of needs, is met as fully as possible. If the person is always bending to meet all the needs of another person and neglecting their own needs, they are not going to be satisfied with the relationship for long. On the other hand, if the person ignores the other person’s needs and only fulfills their own needs, the other person is not going to be satisfied for long. With an understanding of how barriers, culture, gender, and emotional intelligence effect communication, a person is more able to communicate effectively and have fulfilling relationships. If these things are ignored, communication breaks down and a person can become isolated. 4†¦. Be able to apply principles and practices relating to confidentiality.

The Background of DAY

Background of DAY Background Our brand is a renowned international Danish-owned clothing company founded in 1997 by Keld Mikkelsen and Malene Birger, headquartered in Odense and at Kongens Nytorv in Copenhagen. Our profit in 2006 was up to 13 million and has been expanding in recent years. Moreover, we hold two fashion shows in Copenhagen fashion week every year. Products Our brand’s products can be classified into three main lines, which are male, female and home decor. Designet tilhorer hojeste kvalitet med etnisk inspireret broderi og udsmykning. The design of which belongs to the highest quality with a distinct Scandinavian style inspired by the true craftsmanship of Asian tailoring, the meeting of art and craft – embroidery, prints, patterns, edging and trimming. Our unique design includes modern, individual, bohemian and international styles with inspiration from the colonial period in the Far East, vintage flea market treasures and the glamour of the twenties and thirties. Retail format Our brand was originally a local retailer selling private labels but is now expanding into a global multichannel retailer. In less than 15 years of existence, our company has opened around 40 self-named boutiques. In total, 800 retailers in 25 different countries, such as Sweden , England and Germany, are currently selling our collections, out of which 60 can be found in France. Target market The target groups are women and men aged 25-40 with high income. Our new line 2nd DAY, on the other hand, is aimed at a slightly younger target market than the main range. The market segment is mainly Scandinavia, but is now expanding to other parts of Northern Europe. Konceptet bag tojet er, at tilbyde festtoj til hverdagen til den modebevidste kvinde og herre. The concept behind our clothes is to offer evening wear to everyday life for the fashion-conscious women and men. Background of Hong Kong The main focus of our brand is in the Northern Europe, but the fact is that it is also suitable for the Asian market. We think that DAY can do that, by choosing Hong Kong as a starting point. Hong Kong, as a metropolitan, contains elements which fit the attitude and concept of our brand. Hong Kong is a Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China, located on the southern coast of China. This location provides a good connection for the linkage of international companies to China. Besides, Hong Kong is one of the most famous international financial centres of the world with stable economic situation and is a developed city where the citizens can enjoy good quality of lives. These characteristics effectively help our brand to build its image in Asia as a brand new market. Hong Kong was a colony of Britain, and now it becomes the SAR of China. Therefore, the concept of â€Å"East meets West† is rather familiar in Hong Kong. We can find both British architectures and Chinese markets in Wan Chai. We can also enjoy both steak and congee at Cha Chaan Tengs. This kind of fusion matches the concept of our brand, combining local with global, as we create our design by mixing Asian embroideries and Western contemporary cutting together, making pieces of daily couture. We believe that the fusion concept can arouse a pretty large market for Hong Kong people and they can adapt to our brand easily. The location of Hong Kong is also perfect for us to enter a larger market. Through Hong Kong, our products can be sold to China and other Asian cities. This is rather important as the interest of Danish fashion for Chinese companies is now rapidly growing. For instance, the Copenhagen Fashion Week this year attracted 50 Chinese buyers, media and producers like Vogue China, showing that a number of Chinese companies are giving a big recognition to Danish fashion. Now, there are approximately 30 Danish companies and 4000 retail stores operating in China, and the export level of the Danish fashion industry has increased its earnings by 11. 4%. Thus it is no doubt a suitable time for us to enter the Asian market for Danish fashion companie. However, the Chinese may not be able to digest this new style so fast. Hong Kong is a good indicator though. If this style is suitable for Hong Kong people, the products can be promoted to the Mainland more easily. After that, the promotion of our brand in China would be much more effective. More than that, Hong Kong is much more developed than the Mainland in terms of transportation. It would be easier to transport products to various places in Asia through Hong Kong. Apart from that, logistic costs can be minimized. The economic position of Hong Kong is another point which stands out. Hong Kong is a renowned financial and trading city, and the policies of Hong Kong suit these characteristics. Noticing the economic freedom, low tax rates, stabilized currency and complete law of Hong Kong, many companies are willing to have their business there. We could accomplish this as well. In addition, the economic situation fits our target. The annual GNP of Hong Kong is about US$45000, which tells us that Hong Kong citizens are generally rich, with a large purchasing power. Since our target market mainly focuses on high income customers, we believe that our brand can generate a large market in Hong Kong. Apart from that, our brand also matches the taste of Hong Kong citizens. As a metropolitan, the information flow of Hong Kong is rapid, and citizens can receive information directly. As a result, many citizens are familiar with fashion. They know how to mix and match and they notice good foreign brands. This attracts more and more fashion brands to enter Hong Kong. Recently, another Danish top brand Bruuns Bazaar has had their business in Hong Kong because of the market potential of Hong Kong. Currently, a number of citizens know what bohemian style is and they are interested in it. Having so few bohemian boutiques in Hong Kong, this would be a great opportunity for us to be the leader of this style in Hong Kong. Moreover, Hong Kong people generally like dressing casually, and that is why the simple cutting of H&M and Zara satisfies what they want. This can also be accomplished by us. The earth tone we are using is popular in Hong Kong, too. Therefore, we are sure that we can satisfy Hong Kong people’s specialized taste. The last point is related to our founder, Keld Mikkelsen. Before founding DAY, he had studied Asian tailoring and culture for over a decade in Hong Kong. He is familiar with the characteristics of Hong Kong. If our brand is open in Hong Kong, it would be not only meaningful but also useful to develop a large business with Mikkelsen’s knowledge. To develop our brand as a global business, a start in Asia is essential. There are significant cities in Asia like Singapore, Bangkok and Tokyo. However, from the perspectives of economy, physical location and social culture, Hong Kong is the best choice to promote our brand globally. Starting our business in Hong Kong would bring us to a new and more successful chapter of DAY. Mission statement, goals, objectives Mission statement To drive bohemian style into Asia and to be the leader of bohemian style in Asia by providing mass appeal but creative and unique merchandise offering superior value to customer. Through the inspirational key look and iconic design, we are committed to provide our customers with the ultimate creative design. Goals We aim at making Hong Kong citizens become interested in our unique design with bohemian style, bear in mind that DAY is a well known brand name in Hong Kong and make purchase in our shops. In addition, we will introduce our home collection into Hong Kong market within a few years. Objectives Our objective is a 40% increase in traffic in the first half month, following by a 90% increase in transactions from the first month of trading to the sixth. In the first year, we will open a flagship store. It is the first step for our brand to enter Hong Kong market and to make a great profit. Then we will open a branch store each year. With our existing non-transactional brand site already attracting 2000 visitors a day, we are tasked with increasing this number, as well as growing our 14,000 database. We have to ensure that most Hong Kong citizens aged 25-40 will recognize our brand in five years. Outside Hong Kong, we will have our self-named boutiques in ten other Asian cities within five years. SWOT analysis Strengths The first competitive advantage of our company is the experience of opening retail stores in foreign countries. We have got over 40 self-named boutiques all around Europe and 800 retailers in 25 different countries. We also have over 15 years experience of running our stores and maintaining our reputation in the market. Secondly, our unique style, bohemian style, is rarely found in Hong Kong and this is beneficial for us to enter the market. Even if the style is similar, our target customer may be different as we focus on high income customers. This would avoid direct competition with those brands having similar style as ours. For instance, in the recent spring / summer, the sub-brand of i. , b+ab, has opened a line of bohemian style clothing. However, it would not become a great competitor of our brand due to the difference in price range and customer group. b+ab targets at a younger customer group (20+) while our brand targets at a maturer customer group (30+). In addition to that, the casual style would be easier accepted by this group of customer. Furthermore, our popularity in foreign are a has built up a good image to Hong Kong. As the information flow of Hong Kong is rapid, some of the customers may already know our brand even we do not have any stores in Hong Kong. Apart from that, our high-end product strategy has kept the quality assurance of our brand and we hold two fashion shows in Copenhagen fashion week every year in order to increase our publicity. Lastly, the low inventory of each item has led to lower carrying cost and would not tide up the cash flow. The small quantity of each design has also created a sense of scarcity. We can let the customers differentiate themselves from the others with our design. Weaknesses One of the weaknesses of our brand is the location of our production factories. As they are far away from Hong Kong, the running cycle will be slowed down, which is a serious problem for a fast fashion company. Moreover, the far-away-distribution centre will cause longer lead time and high transportation cost. In addition, as the assortment of our business concentrates mainly on one specific type, Bohemian style, if Hong Kong customers do not have interest in this style, possibly there will be no market in Hong Kong. What is more, as our brand is mainly for high class customers, the customer range is narrow, and so opening chain stores in Hong Kong can be quite risky. Unlike those fast fashion brands with medium price range, it is far more difficult for high class customers to have impulse purchasing. As buying high-priced clothes is only a hedonic need, customers may have to think twice before buying the clothes, and their desire to buy the products may be lowered after considering the price and the use of the clothes. Opportunities The opportunities of our brand include the market potential in Hong Kong. Since Hong Kong customers tend to buy new clothes regularly, they are willing to accept and explode new things. Generally, they welcome new brands to enter Hong Kong market. In addition, bohemian style is quite a new style to Hong Kong. Compared with the sporty and normal casual style which has already existed in Hong Kong, it is rare to have such a retailer store selling bohemian style clothing only. The unique style may attract customers to make a visit or even make a purchase in our store. Moreover, we notice that Japanese has recently become interested in bohemian style, and quite a number of Hong Kong customers tend to follow Japanese fashion. Since Hong Kong customers today can get fashion information from different media like newspapers, television, radio, magazines, direct mail, Internet and so forth, with so many Japanese magazines reporting the latest wearing trend in their own country, which can be easily bought in Hong Kong, Hong Kong customers can access Japanese information and follow the trend easily. Threats Talking about the threats we may face, lacking experience would be one of them. As this is our first time to open a store in an Asian country, opening a flagship store in Hong Kong would be rather experimental. Operating a store in Hong Kong may not be the same as operating our own local store. The second threat is the difficulty in finding a location for the flagship store in Hong Kong, which is a crowded place and in which the rent of a store is high. As the main purpose of opening the first store in Hong Kong is to promote our brand to the public and let Hong Kong customers concern about our design, the location of the store ought to have heavy traffic of high class customers, for example, a fashion centre. However, the rent of a store in a fashion centre is always high due to the designated atmosphere and the erfect facilities. Besides, there are too many intertype competitions and so it can be difficult to enter and stay in the market. Although bohemian style is a new style to Hong Kong, there are many other fashion brands with different kinds of style with the same price range and customer group as ours. Economic recession of Hong Kong will be another threat. As the unemployment rate has been quite high, our target group may not accept the price. In 2008, Hong Kong's economy has fallen into recession for the first time in five years, and the territory's gross domestic product has contracted 0. % on a seasonally adjusted basis, after a 1. 4% fall between April and June. In 2009, according to official records, Hong Kong's economy has left a year-long recession, recording a growth of 3. 3% in the second quarter ended in June. The figures, which were seasonally adjusted, were higher than forecast by economists. As a result, the government has increased its growth predictions for 2009. Even though the economy of Hong Kong is improving, concern still exists as the purchasing power of Hong Kong customers has decreased. Retail market strategies Retail format Being a multichannel retailer, we allow customers to make their purchase at our self-named boutique, pop-up store or on the Internet. Later on, in order to let people concern more about our brand, we will also run collection shops in Hong Kong. Besides, we plan to create a Chinese version on our website so as to make Chinese customers’ purchase even more convenient, and the products would be sent to the customers’ homes directly or they can take the products personally from our store. Target market Our main target customers include high income Asian and European women and men who are fond of trendy and casual fashion and are aged 25 to 40. Their expense on clothing would be approximately $5,000 to $10,000 per month. Retail Mix Location For our first specialty store in Hong Kong, we would choose a fashion centre as our store location. Being a newly developed brand in Hong Kong, it is too risky for us to locate our first store in freestanding sites, central business district or main streets, where we are responsible for all the operation and promotion. It is also quite difficult to attract customers for their initial visit as our brand is not widely known by Hong Kong customers. Renting a store in a fashion centre, on the contrary, is much securer. Being controlled by the mall developer, common facilities like outdoor signage, parking area, parking lot light and security are provided in the shopping centre. Advertising and special events to attract consumers are also available, and operating costs can be shared with others. Apart from that, shopping centres can usually draw a large number of customers due to the wide range of product offerings, easy access, lower crime rate, and last but not least the clean and comfortable shopping environment. Our ideal fashion centres include Elements in Kowloon and Landmark in Central. Being composed mainly of upscale apparel shops, boutiques, and gift shops carrying selected fashions or unique merchandise of high quality and price, the two fashion centres successfully attract a wide range of high income and fashion-conscious local customers and tourists. Other upscale apparel shops located there may be our competitors, but we would consider them as complementary shops as we are selling completely different types of clothes. We have our own unique style. For the most significant advantage of these two malls, we would say it is the convenience brought by the public transport as both Elements and Landmark are located very close to the MTR station. In such a small city with such a dense population and so many buildings like Hong Kong, we understand that finding a store can be difficult and each foot of a store in a fashion centre can cost us a lot. Yet, we would keep paying attention to the arrangement and changes of our chosen fashion centres and properly transfer our cash flow and properties to ensure we are well-prepared for renting a store in Hong Kong. Merchandise assortment For our product categories, we aim at providing a deep assortment of simple and basic clothing. In each category, quite a number of styles would be provided in order to satisfy the customers, and there will not be big differences between the products sold in Hong Kong and our original merchandise assortment. In order to meet our customers’ needs, we will provide a wide size range of clothing from XS to XL. A wide variety of colour will be provided, too. On the other hand, only women’s and men’s wear would be sold first. As it is quite rare for Hong Kong people to buy furniture or something else in shops held by a fashion brand, we are afraid that it may be risky if we introduce our home collection at the same time we launch our first store in Hong Kong. As for the decoration of our store, items from our home collection will be used, and we will think about operating the line as well at a later stage if we notice that customers also show their interest in those items. Pricing The price range of our products is now high, and this can be also applied to Hong Kong because of the favourable economic condition of Hong Kong. The economic condition creates a lot of high income consumers to purchase goods of high prices. Therefore the adjustment of pricing will not be large. Besides, the low inventory adds value of the products. As each kind of our products is only available in a limited amount, higher price can even be achieved in Hong Kong. However, the pricing will be set lower in the first two months, about a 10% off sale, in order to attract more consumers, who always love to purchase cheaper goods. Notice that our products in Hong Kong are sold at a lower price than the initial one, they would be pleased to make a purchase and our company can gain positive images. Eventually, our company can earn long-run profits. Generally, big sales will not occur, and this can be explained by our physical location. For example, one of our chosen locations Elements has a lot of specialty stores selling luxurious and expensive products. If we offer large discounts, our products would  be  much cheaper than those of other boutiques and shops for high income consumers, and as a result we will not be favourable in this high price market competition. Another point is that when we have only one flagship store but without any outlet stores or discount stores, steady pricing, instead of offering big sales such as 70% off, which can be offered in Denmark, would be more appropriate. Yet, seasonal discount is still acceptable. We can offer about 25% off sales at the end of the seasons. On the other hand, we offer VIP systems. Inside our VIP room, there are two types of products. One is our normal products sold at a 20% discount. Another is the exclusive and limited products available only in our VIP room and sold at a price about 15% higher than our normal products, aiming at showing the special identity of the VIP members. What is more, a free home decor style reusable bag would be given to each of our VIP members as a gift after his or her purchase. Promotion In order to bring more traffic to our store, we would like promote ourselves in three aspects, which are advertising, sales promotion and public relations. 1) Advertising We would like to have institutional advertising to promote the reputation of our company by taking a series of promotion photos which can represent the style of our brand. The photos would express the relaxing and leisure feeling of bohemian lifestyle. As Hong Kong people are generally stressful and busy, photos with relaxing and comfortable feeling would be attractive and conspicuous. On the other hand, newspapers, magazines, Internet, transit advertising and outdoor advertising would be our ideal advertising media. We would like to have one to two full page advertisement on newspapers and magazines. We would choose the South China Morning Post to be the first newspaper we have our advertisement on since it is one of the most famous English newspapers in Hong Kong and their target readers are similar to our target customers. As for magazines, Hong Kong fashion magazines like Jessica and Cosmopolitan would be our choices as quite a lot of our target customers would like reading these kinds of magazines. Moreover, we would add a Chinese version to our online shop and our advertising page on Facebook in order to attract and provide convenience to the Asian market. This kind of advertisement would be less expensive but more effective than the others as we have already set up the basic program. Furthermore, transit and outdoor advertising are two effective forms of advertising to attract traffic as most people can read the advertisement when they pass by. Our advertisement would be set up on the wall of the fashion centre where our store locates, and bus-body advertisement would also be our choice as buses would run around the central business district and let people know about our brand. 2) Sales promotion In order to promote our brand, holding special events would be effective, too. For instance, we can have catwalk shows in our shop and exhibitions in different shopping malls. The exhibitions would show our new clothing of the coming season in the display area of the shopping malls, so as to provide opportunities for people to appreciate our products. Moreover, we would like to hold a seasonal discount before the coming of the next season. This can help clear the dead stock in the store effectively. Besides, we would like to set up a pop-up store for a month. The pop-up store would possibly look like a home and would be decorated in the style of our home collection, showing our comfortable and leisure bohemian style. This can let our customers view our products comfortably. One of the most suitable locations for setting up our pop-up store is Festival Walk in Kowloon Tong as the visitors of Festival Walk are quite similar to our target customers. It is also easy to access and has an ideal exhibition area in the middle of the mall. What is more, people who are attracted by our pop-up store can easily travel to our store as Festival Walk and one of our chosen locations Elements are quite nearby. Moreover, we would set up a VIP system. When customers shop for a certain amount of money, they can join our VIP. VIP members of our store can enter our VIP room and make their purchase freely and comfortably with a 10% discount. In addition to that, each of them can get a free home decor style reusable bag as a gift for packing his or her goods. This can please the customers with an exquisite packing and also help us promote our home collection line. Apart from that, letters would be sent to inform the customers of our latest news and products, and well-designed cards would also be sent on their birthdays and at some special festivals, aiming at maintaining the firm connection between our customers and our brand. ) Public relations As for the public relations, we would donate parts of our profits to Red Cross as our company has joined the Red Cross Club. This can help improve our image and more importantly support charitable foundations. For instance, we can donate 5% income of a set of product to Red Cross. We can also hold some events from which benefits would be donated to Red Cross. One exa mple is that when a customer donates his or her old pair of jeans, he or she can get a 15% off discount when he or she buys a new pair of jeans from our store, and the old jeans collected would be donate to Red Cross. Customer service In order to increase the brand loyalty of our currently existing customers and to encourage them to make their next visit, customer service is an integral part to operate our brand. As customers’ trust can be destroyed at once by a major service problem, we would like to avoid this by providing return policies, pre-order service, delivery service, and more importantly, strengthening our personal service. 1) Personal service We believe in the friendly face of retailing. Our highly professional, responsible and trustworthy staff would warmly greet our customers with courtesy. They are good at answering queries and solving problems, too. Besides, they are able to offer reassurance whenever it is needed, turn complainants into brand champions, and more importantly, actively offer assistance in selecting fashion merchandise. For example, they cross-sell related products, follow up abandoned carts, track order progress, keep a trained eye out for suspicious activities, and provide weekly activity reports. We perform promises to customers and the degree of trendy  apparels with different colors for mix and match. 2) Return policies We offer product exchange and return policies and money back guarantees. Refunds or gift cards would also be given to customers if they change their mind in respect of their purchase, as long as the items are returned within 2 days of purchase with the original receipt, original tags and original bags attached. Gift cards, sale items and samples are excluded from this policy. Customers may choose the refund by exchange to bonus point for next time purchase. 3) Pre-order Apart from return policies, pre-order service is also provided. Before making purchase, customers can take notice on our leaflet showing detailed information of each product. As they may not be able to find a suitable size of clothing for themselves, they can pre-order a specific size of clothing. Pre-order items will be arrived within two to three weeks, and customers are welcome to settle the payment within one day after placing an order. We will arrange the reservation for our customers as soon as possible, and inform customers by email before shipping and once the pre-order has been arrived at Hong Kong. 4) Delivery In order to encourage customers to buy and to provide them with convenience, free delivery service is offered on orders $5000 or over. The delivery will be made the next day after the customers settle the payment. Store design and display Similar to our local store in Denmark, simple and warm tone with yellow lighting would be the main layout of our flagship store in Hong Kong in order to provide customers with warm feeling. The display window would be plain in colour and our latest design would be shown there. In order to provide customers with home feeling, clothes racks instead of dummies would be used. For instance, a whole set of clothing can be displayed with a big whiteboard card as the background, and with the model’s face being drawn on the card. Inside our store, a VIP room exclusive for our VIP members would be built. We plan to set up the room on the second floor of the store and there would be luxurious and comfortable sofas for customer. Furniture from our home collection will possibly used to decorate the room, aiming at promoting our home collection products. Relaxing and slow background music will be used in our store. As for the wallpaper of our store, unobvious floral print will be chosen as it is widely used in home decoration. In short, we will follow the general style of Europe’s housing as our store layout. Roberto Cavalli – our existing competitor Type of products clothes, accessories, eyewear, shoes, jewels, perfumes, watches, underwear, bags Target Market high income group middle age -25-40 years old Style The main color is the series of earth tone color, blue, black and white. The exaggerate pattern are always used in their design. l  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Retailer distribution cha nnels Boutiques (2067-2069,IFC Mall, Central[+852 22347621]) online store Mission| To provide women with timelessly dramatic pieces that flatter the female form. | Types of products| Mainly clothes, accessories, eyewear, shoes, jewels, perfumes, watches, underwear and bags are sold. Style| The main color of the series is earth tone color, blue, black and white, and exaggerate patterns are always used in their design. | Retailer format| Both boutiques and online shops are available. | Target market| High income customers aged 25 to 40 are their main target group. | Pricing| Most products are sold at a high price and VIP is offered. VIP can enjoy special discounts, fashion shows and parties organized by Roberto Cavalli. | Store Display| The store display of Roberto Cavalli is clean, modern and simple. White is usually used in the store color, while the lighting is direct and white. With mannequins standing behind the window, the layout is no different from many boutiques. | Promotion| As a worldwide famous brand, Roberto Cavalli puts a large amount of effort on promotion. Each season, campaigns are shot and put in large billboards outside specialty centers. These campaigns are also posted on famous fashion magazines like Elle and Vogue. Besides, under publicity, Elle often reports news of Roberto Cavalli. The target customers of Roberto Cavalli are powerful women, therefore they often organize big shows and welcoming celebrities stand on red carpets, and generate promotion with publicity. What is more, Roberto Cavalli had a crossover with H;M to organize campaigns in 2007. | Customer Service| Generally, the service approach of Roberto Cavalli is expressive. The staff care about customers' choice of clothing. They also offer the best size of clothing for the customers. Besides, Roberto Cavalli provides customers with care service, allowing customers to ask questions about their shopping experience by e-mail. | Type of products clothes, accessories, eyewear, shoes, jewels, perfumes, watches, underwear, bags Target Market high income group middle age -25-40 years old Style The main color is the series of earth tone color, blue, black and white. The exaggerate pattern are always used in their design. l  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Retailer distribution channels Boutiques (2067-2069,IFC Mall, Central[+852 22347621]) online store (http://store. robertocavalli. com/navigation. asp? tskay Comparison with Roberto Cavalli The style between DAY and Roberto Cavalli is slightly different. However, as both are high-end fashion brands, some strategies are similar. For example, pricing, location and customer service strategies are relatively standard aiming at attracting the same kind of customers. Yet, our emphasis is mainly n merchandise assortment, promotion and store display to create sustainable differential advantages. In terms of the style of merchandise, DAY is presenting its specific style. As the wild, sexy style is quite common in the Hong Kong market, Roberto Cavalli can hardly provide a unique image for customers. On the contrary, the bohemian s tyle of DAY cannot be easily found in Hong Kong, especially the high-end bohemian fashion items. Therefore, it is quite hard to copy the style of DAY, and this can definitely attract a certain amount of customers. In addition, DAY’s products are more suitable for the Hong Kong citizens. Although Roberto Cavalli is also selling expensive clothing with earth tone colour, the style is more dramatic and exaggerated. The dramatic style had once been fashionable in Hong Kong in the 80s, but this trend is now fading. Hong Kong people are going back to basic, simple and relaxing clothing style. As DAY is doing the mixing of Western and Eastern styles, our products do not contrast a lot, but instead have a harmonic look. The style DAY runs is the style Hong Kong people currently want and it would last for a period of time. This creates an advantage in selling the appropriate products to the right market. As for the promotion strategy, Roberto Cavalli is very good at promoting its brand, but we have a different approach that can create a specific image of DAY. The campaigns of Roberto Cavalli are international, sexy and passionate. Yet, to develop in Asia countries, a mild advertising package would be more approachable to the customers. Considering the stressful lifestyle of Hong Kong people, the promotional photos of DAY Hong Kong express leisure bohemian lifestyle to comfort the customers. What is more, Day offers a Chinese version online shop, facilitating more Chinese consumers and Asian tourists to purchase our products. Although DAY’s target market is high income consumers, using the close and considerate promotion strategy can help us create a different image of our high-end products, and differentiate from other high-end brands like Roberto Cavalli. Talking about the store display, DAY can have a more appealing store display. Roberto Cavalli’s store display is just too simple, just like many other specialty stores. However, Day is presenting a home feeling store display. Using warm lighting and floral-printed wallpaper to comfort our customers, the environment we provide is more attractive than Roberto Cavalli does. In fact, DAY is not simply selling fashion merchandises, it is selling lifestyle. The store display and the promotion strategy are to create relaxing bohemian lifestyle to the customers. However, Roberto Cavalli is just presenting luxurious clothing and does not give a strong impact to the customers. As a matter of fact, all kinds of lifestyle are related to fashion as trend does affect lifestyle. To conclude, it is more appropriate to say that DAY is a high-end brand with our own personality, but not only a luxurious brand. Future prospects We can foresee that DAY can achieve a great success in Hong Kong. Noticing that Scandinavian fashion has been introduced to Hong Kong in recent years, and many Hong Kong citizens are quite fond of this kind of fashion, we believe that Hong Kong has a large market potential for DAY, and this potential can last for a long time. While H&M is currently the leader of Scandinavian fashion for the general public, we trust that DAY can be the leader for the high income group. In the future, we would have the following goals and objectives, in an attempt to further consolidate our business in Hong Kong. Our first goal is to introduce DAY’s lifestyle to Hong Kong citizens. Consumers purchase products only if the brand is highly recognized. To achieve this, the lifestyle of DAY should be introduced further. The simplistic lifestyle we present is what Hong Kong people are looking for. Being busy and stressful all the time, they do need a city escape. The campaigns we are currently doing can show what city escape is about. Therefore, promoting this point can advance the sales of DAY. Moreover, we would like to introduce our home collection to the customers within a few years so as to earn more profits and complete the image of DAY as a brand. To facilitate the development of our home collection, our store would mainly be plain in colour and decorated with products from our home collection. Home decor style gifts would also be given in order to provide customers with a comfortable and relaxing home feeling of DAY. Another goal is to enlarge our business by opening more shops. Our plan is to open a branch store in Hong Kong each year. Another objective of this goal is to develop our business into Asian countries. As globalization continues and imitation happens globally, we cannot focus on one location only. Being one of the fashion centres in Asia, we believe that Hong Kong can influence other Asian cities. From the starting point Hong Kong, the leader of DAY Asia, we will have our retail shops in ten other Asian cities within five years, to achieve DAY as a global brand. We hope that DAY can create bigger and bigger business. As a result, we propose that DAY should have its business Hong Kong. We hope the proposal can help continue the DAY story. Reference www. day. dk/ http://us. fashionmag. com/ http://www. tifdb. com/ www. wikepedia. org/ http://www. modeshanghai. net/ Fourthly, our high-end product strategy has kept the quality assurance of our brand. Fifthly, we have organized fashion shows regularly in order to increase our publicity. We hold two fashion shows in Copenhagen fashion week every year, spring/summer and fall winter. Sixthly, the low inventory of each item has led to lower carrying cost and would not tide up cash flow. The small quantity of each design has created a sense of scarcity. We can let the customers to differentiate themselves from the others with our design. Our aim is to carry out everyday contemporary glamor_____ Weakness One of the weaknesses of our brand is the location of our production factories. As it is far away from Hong Kong, the place we shot, it will slow down the running cycle, which is a serious problem of fast fashion industry. Moreover, the far-away-distribution centre will cause longer lead time. Secondly, as the assortment of our business has concentrated in one specific type(i. e Bohemian style), if Hong Kong customers do not have interest in this style, there will be no market in Hong Kong. Thirdly, as the brand is for high class customers, the customer range is narrow, so there will be risks on opening chain stores. Unlike the fast fashion brand which has medium price range, it is far more difficult for high-class customer to have impulse purchasing. As buying high priced clothes is only a hedonic need, customers will have to think twice before buying the clothes. The customer will be less desire to buy the product after considering the price and the need of the clothes. * Factories set in foreign countries * -> far away in Hong Kong, shipment and transportation cost is high * -> Slow down the running cycle (fast fashion) * ->Long lead time (distribution centre) assortment concentrate in one specific type * -> if Hong Kong customers do not accept/ favor on this style, there will be no market in Hong Kong. * As the brand is for high class customers, the customer range is narrow, so there will be risks on opening chain store. * Opportunities The opportunities of the brand included the market potential in Hong Kong, as Hong Kong customers tends to buy new clothes regularly, they are willing to acce pt and explode new things. They welcome new brand to enter Hong Kong market. Secondly, Bohemian style is a new style to Hong Kong. Compared with the sporty and normal casual style which have already existed in Hong Kong, there is rare to have such a retailer store selling Bohemian style clothing only. The unique style will interest the customers to make a visit or even a purchase in our store. Thirdly, as Japanese started the interest in Bohemian style recently, Hong Kong customers tends to follow the Japanese style. Nowadays Hong Kong customers can get the fashion information from different media like newspaper, television, radio, magazines, direct mail and Internet, etc. There are many Japanese magazine reporting the latest wearing trend in their own country, and these magazine can be easily bought in Hong Kong. In other words, Hong Kong can easily access the Japanese information and follow the trend. Threats Talking about the threats which would be faced, lacking experience will be one of them. This is our first time to open a store in Asian country so the flat ship store in Hong Kong would be rather experimental. The method and operation of a store may have slightly different compared with our own local store. The second threat is the difficulties in finding a location for the flat ship store in Hong Kong. Hong Kong is a crowded place and the rent of a store is high. As the main purpose of opening the first store in Hong Kong is to promote our brand to the public and let Hong Kong customers concern about our design, the location of the store ought to have a heavy traffic of high-class customers, for example, fashion centre. However, the rent of fashion centre is always high due to the designated atmosphere and the perfect facilities. Thirdly, there are too many intertype competitions so it is difficult to enter and stay in the market. Though Bohemian style is a new style to Hong Kong, there are still different style of the brand appear in Hong Kong, In short, there are many fashion brand with many kinds of style according to the same price range and customer group. Economic recession of Hong Kong will be another threat, as the unemployment rate is high, our target group may not accept the price. In 2008, Hong Kong's economy has fallen into recession for the first time in five years amid a global economic slowdown the third quarter, the territory's gross domestic product contracted 0. 5% on a seasonally adjusted basis, after a 1. 4% fall between April and June. The government's economist, Helen Chan, said domestic demand faltered significantly in October, while exports fell to the lowest level since 2002. What;s more, in 2009, according to official records, Hong Kong's economy has left a year-long recession, recording a growth of 3. 3% in the second quarter ended in June. The figures, which were seasonally adjusted, were higher than forecast by economists. As a result, the government has increased its growth predictions for 2009. Though there's improvement in the economy of Hong Kong, concern is still existed as the purchasing power of Hong Kong customers is decreased.

Causes And Consequences Of Bribery In International Business Essay

Causes And Consequences Of Bribery In International Business - Essay Example Earlier regulations against corruption focused on companies in China only. Foreign companies often had to pay for getting licenses, indulge in the black market, evade customs, pay for foreign trips of officials, payments of their kids’ foreign education, or form cartels to overcome the system. The loose implementation of FCPA made it easier for US companies to indulge in corruption practices.  The â€Å"Criminal Law of the PRC† covers acts of bribery of state officials and employees of state-owned enterprises. The â€Å"Law Against Unfair Competition of the PRC† stops companies from giving money or property to customers.  The presence of grey areas such as the issue of gifts below the monetary value of $600 makes it less effective. The laws are framed in such a way that any kinds of gifts to anybody can be interpreted by manipulation of the law.  To control corruption practices, the US Company while starting its business in China, should modify its policies and procedures to suit the culture of the country, along with continuous training and reminding of the rules.  The comments by the US Foreign Services Agent highlight the shortcomings in the existing law and the inclination of agents towards helping US companies in corruption matters to provide them a level playing ground field with other country's companies.  1. The different types of bribes, payments or favors are payments for licenses to import and export, payment for foreign trips of Chinese officials, payment for the foreign apartment, foreign education of kids, payments to sell or purchase goods, payments to state officials in return of some favors, payments to evade customs.  6. The comments by the former US Foreign Service Agent highlight the flaws in the legal system, and unethical behavior of the agents. It is unethical as well as illegal to assist business by providing them the best corruption practices.  

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Outline Chapters - Essay Example There is also an emphasis that is placed on the skills requirements by career development practitioners. The chapter further moves on to discuss the history of vocational guidance and career development, which discusses the new paradigm for the theory and practice of career counseling. The chapter then moves on to provide a well set out timeline table of the various events that have taken place since 1883 until 2001. Furthermore the chapter provides for a discussion of the need for career development services which provides for numerous statistics of the country and the career development services that are presently used within the society. A discussion of the high school student needs and disabled persons needs. There is also a discussion of the definition of position, job, occupation, career and career development which help provide a basis for the further chapters. The author then moves on to the meaning of work and also why people work, this also includes the various definitions that have been provided in the past. The chapter is concluded with a clear summary to help recall everything discussed within the chapter. The main objective of this chapter is to provide the readers with the history of theorizing the career choice and development. The other objective that the chapter entails is the discussion of the trait – and – factor and also the developmental theories. Discussions of the applications and the theories have been able to stand the test of time in the sections. The chapter starts with the discussion of the purpose and evaluation of the theory of career development. The chapter moves on to provide a timeline of the history of career development and how it has theorized over the years. This time line provides for the events that have been dated back to 1909 until 2005. The chapter provides for a history of the theorizing process of career

Investigative Report Writing. Randy Odleman Murder Investigation Term Paper

Investigative Report Writing. Randy Odleman Murder Investigation - Term Paper Example The victim was laying face down already dead by the time we located the body. However, we did not locate the murder weapon. The deceased had a criminal record from 2 years ago – for the Possession of a Controlled Substance with Intent to Manufacture, Sell, or Deliver – and another charge of Assault on a Female victim one year ago. III. Witness Statements: The only witness we found was one, Bob Smith of Maiden Lane, Raleigh who also tipped us about the commission of the crime. In his recorded statement, he explained that he lived across the street – directly, from the rooming house where the crime had occurred. He further stated that he had been home alone, reading a book when he heard several shots thus notifying the Raleigh Police Department. He stated that the rooming house had many visitors, late in the night, who drive up and enter the premises for a short period of time then leave. Further, he stated that he had called our station in the past be - because he had suspected that someone in the rooming house may have been dealing in drugs. He also stated that he was not aware of any other person, who might have witnessed the crime, but suggested that the inhabitants of the rooming house might have witnessed the same. In addition he stated that he was aware that the deceased had assaulted a certain woman leading to his arrest , prosecution, conviction and sentencing. IV. Suspect Statement: We were able to identify four suspects in relation to this murder case, and here are the Questionnaires as filled by each of them: Murder Investigation Suspect Statement Name: Ronald Wilkens   Ã‚  Position: student at NCSU   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Date: 18th February, 2012 Worksite: N/A   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Murder Date: 17th February, 2012   Ã‚  Time: about 11: 54 PM Thank you for helping us in examining this incident so that we can help prevent anyone from getting murdered in the future. Accuracy is very important in helping us get to the root cause of this murder. The information you give will be used against you in a court of law, should face prosecution. Please describe what you saw and heard in a chronological order. What were you doing just before the incident? I was just out riding to unwind after a long month of sitting for exams. Wha t were you doing when the incident occurred? I had just entered into Maiden Lane, Raleigh when I heard gunshots and a lot of commotion. What did you do after the incident occurred? I panicked and decided to take off, when you bumped into me and started interrogating me. Please answer the following questions: Was it your first time to be in the vicinity of the crime scene? Not really, I once visited a relative who used to reside here, who has, since relocated to Miami. Did you know the deceased? What sort of relationship did you share? I did not know the deceased and thus no relationship existed between us Did you have any personal differences with the deceased? No, I had never – even seen him. When was the last time you saw the deceased? I never did Have you ever been to the deceased’s place of residence? No, never. Did you ever engage in any business ventures with the deceased? No, not at all. I certify that this statement is true and accurate to the best of my recoll ection. RW   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  18th February, 2012 Signature Date Murder Investigat