Interpretation of Matthew Passage Essay Example for Free

Interpretation of Matthew Passage Essay The book of Matthew is one of the four epistles. This in other words is to mean that the book, which is in New Testament, happens to be the first book that records the teachings of Jesus Christ, at the believed time when He was on the earth. In this paper, the interpretation will come from Matthew chapter 6 verses 25-34. These verses contain Christ Jesus teachings on how Christians should live here on earth independently but with the divine intervention of their God. This in other words is to mean that the verses emphasizes on God and Christians perceptions of possessions. Different strategies of argumentation will be used to discuss this chapter, that is, verse by verse interpretation will be one of the strategic ways of interpretation of the chapter. This will be in an endeavor to bring out the theme of divine providence that Christ Jesus teaches his believers while at the same time drawing a closer look at the theme of cynicism as portrayed by the tone of Christ Jesus in his teachings. In the process of interpretation, contemporary literature will be used together with various comparisons. This will in an effort to bring the text and its context to the conventions of thought and the characteristic way of life of its people at that particular time. The arguments depicted in this passage will be identified and commented on. This is especially on how the arguments form a persuasive tone as a whole. The contents of the verses in this chapter will also be compared with the discussions of divine providence by Epictectus and Dio. This will be help to analyze the verse which comes closer than the other. At the end of the discussion, the verses will also be related to chapter 5 verses 7 of the book of Matthew, where the context of the verse brings a personification of Jerusalem (Good New bible 809). In this chapter, Christ Jesus teaches Christians not to worry about their lives but instead, be trusting. This is to mean that Christians are obliged to trust their maker, their God, for their divine provision. Looking at the lives of the people at that particular time and even today, one can easily decipher the fact that our lives have gone past the worries implied in the text. This is because of the fact that many people get worried of the things that they do not even need. In verse 24, Christ Jesus talks of the two masters that a Christian can serve, either God or the material things. This is the verse that carries weight in the whole of this chapter. This is because; the others are based from it in the sense that Christ Jesus believes that Christians are more inclined into serving both or focusing mere on material things, where on the other hand, his teachings are centered on serving God, and seeking his righteousness first, and â€Å"the rest shall be added† (Good New bible 809) In verses 25: Christ Jesus is commenting on the worries that Christians or the disciples at that particular time needed. These include food, drink, and clothing, which are the basic necessities of life. At this particular moment, the disciples and the believers at this particular moment were worried about getting enough to get by (Good New bible 809). The principles of chreia (which is defined as a brief reminiscence aptly attributed to someone) are clearly illustrated on this verse. The chreia saying that Jesus made was: do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will put on, is not life more than food and the body more than clothing. The elaboration of Jesus chreia is quite admirable due to the aspect of sarcasm and rhetorical. It’s considered rhetoric to tell people not to worry about their own lives, the clothes, food and shelter, of which are the basic needs of human being. But to some extent, the chreia in the sentence can be appreciated from the fact that the believer live by the power of God and therefore he who is able to give life can also provide the rest that they need. In one way or another, the chreia is also expressed in other verses, for instance in verse 33: but seek first the kingdom of God and the rest shall be given unto you. The believers who desire the gifts from God must first seek his kingdom, irrespective of whether it’s a hard and a bitter process or not. this can be compared to such chreia sayings as ‘the roots of education are bitter but the fruits sweet’. This is to mean for one to enjoy the fruits of education, they must first taste the bitter roots of education. The same case with believers; for them to enjoy the gifts of God they must first seek the kingdom of God. Verses 25 to 34 as unit can be said to contain one teaching of Christians, in his admonition, and teachings. The verses are interlinked, in the sense, they indicate the conditions that believers should follow in order to acquire God’s blessings. The word ‘therefore’ links with verse 24 in the sense that for believers, they cannot serve two masters, that is, God and satan. The word believer in the context of Christianity originates from believe in one God as the creator and maker of heaven and the earth, and therefore having believed in God wholeheartedly, Christians or believers, ‘therefore’ should not worry about their lives. The word ‘therefore’ in this context is used to connect the two verses and subsequently introduce the other verses. While on the other hand, some of the believers were in the current generation worry about what to do with all the material possessions that we have. Jesus emphasizes on the fact that God is the provider and therefore believers should not be worried about what to eat or drink, but should be satisfied with the little they have. This in other words is to mean that Jesus raises the eyes of the believers above their worries by redirecting their thinking. He raises their sights above the worries of this world to faith and trust in God, who is their heavenly father and therefore will not forsake but provide for them. This is again to mean that Christ Jesus takes the Christians to the source of their blessings and where their help is guaranteed, that is, from their heavenly father (Good New bible 809). In verse 28, where Christ Jesus is talking about worries on clothing, He delivers his teaching by giving a comparison with the lilies of the field â€Å"how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these†. If God therefore is able to clothe the grass of the field today, which is alive today and gone the following day, who are Christians who are made in his own image not be clothed by Him even more. This is to mean that Christians should focus more on the things of the kingdom of God have a security. Christians should therefore stop the single minded pursuit of financial security but on the contrary should seek the things that last (Good New bible 809). He also brings a comparison in verse 26 where he emphasizes on the fact that Christians are more valued by God than any other creature. The birds of the air neither sole or reap, nor gather into barns, and yet they never go hungry from the fact that Heavenly father provides for them. This is to mean that Christians, who are better than the birds of the air, should focus their hope from God alone for divine provision. He therefore gives the second reason why Christians are not supposed to get worried. This is found in verse 32: â€Å"we have a heavenly father who knows what we need†. This is to mean that the heavenly father as portrayed by Christ Jesus is kind and loving and will therefore provide for their needs (Good New bible 809). Christians should therefore trust and believe in the heavenly father for his divine provisions. God has therefore given us strength and the ability to work to earn our living. He controls our minds and helps us make wise decisions. He also provides to believers through other people. This can be through our fathers and mothers, relatives, church, friends among other people. These are some of the divine channels that our father in heaven uses to provide for Christians here on earth (Good New bible 809). In verse 28, Christ Jesus gives the third reason why Christians should not worry about the things of this world. This is because there are more important things that Christians should be seeking after. Christ Jesus says that â€Å"therefore do not be anxious, saying, what shall we eat? Or what shall we drink? Or what shall we wear, for the gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly father knows that you need them all. Here the theme of cynicism is portrayed from the fact that Christ Jesus understands the fact that many Christians are pessimistic and anxious about their daily needs (Good New bible 809). Believers seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you†. Here Christ Jesus is trying to emphasize on the fact that Christians should understand that their heavenly father will always provide for them and therefore they should center their focus on the things of the kingdom of God, which will last forever. He is therefore teaching Christians to focus on their energy in seeking the kingdom of God and his righteousness. This is to mean that it’s more seeking that the material things of this world. Christ Jesus came teaching about this fact; the paramount importance of seeking the kingdom of God and his righteousness. In this verse, the theme of divine providence is depicted in two ways (Good New bible 809). First, Christians are advised to seek the kingdom of God first. This is to mean that they should work and strive towards attaining the heavenly gifts which only God can give. This being the case therefore, their heavenly father, God, is portrayed as the provider. The only one who is in a position to provide the things of the kingdom, and his righteousness? The second point comes at the end of the verse whereby, Christ Jesus says that â€Å"and all things shall be added unto you†. This is to mean that after seeking the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, they shall or will receive a divine provision from their father, that is, all things they have desired shall be provided. This is a portrayal of the theme of divine providence (Good New bible 809). Looking at the way Christians had misused Jerusalem church; Christ Jesus drives them out claiming that â€Å"his house shall be a house of prayer†. The believers at that particular time were using the church to gain material possession; a place where they were supposed to seeking God and his righteousness. This also brings out the theme cynicism, from the fact that Christians had much doubt and even pessimistic about seeking God. They therefore opted to seek material possessions even his house own house, that is, the church, where they were supposed to seek God (Good New bible 809). The last verse in this chapter gives the ‘Christ Jesus conclusion’ on the whole issue. Christ concludes his teachings with the following; †¢ Christians should first seek the kingdom of God first and his righteousness †¢ After seeking the kingdom of God, all other things shall be added unto them. †¢ They should therefore not get worried about tomorrow for tomorrow will worry about its own things. †¢ He finally concludes that each day has its sufficient trouble and therefore Christians are not supposed to worry about their future. Although the above conclusions are true, there are other results are conspicuous throughout this chapter. These are based on the theme of divine providence and the theme of cynicism. The results indicate that for Christians to partake of the heavenly gifts, that is, the divine provision from their father, they must have; †¢ Have faith and trust in Him †¢ They must also believe in Him †¢ They must also seek his kingdom and righteousness first. †¢ Have no worry about their basic needs for their father cares and loves them to provide for them. †¢ The results also indicate that Jehovah God is the sole provider of both his righteousness and the daily needs that we need as Christians. It’s through the focus on the above results that the whole paper has been formatted. The central verse in the chapter that has been analyzed can was considered and identified to be verse 24. This is because it carries the starting and the concluding remarks of the verses studied. That is, Christians must choose one master to serve, either God or material possession (Good New bible 809). Works cited Good News bible. Early Christian Gospels: The book of Matthew 6: 24-34. USA: American Bible Society. 1994.

The War Of 480 479 Bc History Essay

The War Of 480 479 Bc History Essay The invasion of 480-479 BC was a revenge attack on the Greeks; the reason was that the Persians having attempted severally to invade Greece and failed in their attempts. Emperor Darius is known to have set out his army to Athens to punish them for their revolt. Darius was a proud king, his pride in his big empire and the fact that he had a big army, made the Persians confident in their armys resources and their strength. This gave the Persian army the confidence that they would take over Athens. It is important to understand the reasons for the Persians insistent invasion of the Greeks and the vigilant campaign to take over Athens. When Athens encouraged these cities to rebel against Persian rule, emperor Darius set out a campaign not only to increase his empire but also to punish the rebelling cities. His first invasion and war was fought at marathon, this is the invasion of 490 BC, and this was the deciding war that lead to the invasion of 480-479 BC. It is the disposed leader Hippias who joined Dariuss army in this invasion. It is clear that they set out to invade with vengeance in their hearts, their sheer numbers and massive forces gave them a clear victory over Athens. They attacked Eriteria and won and on they moved to Athens. The humiliation of the Persians and Darius in the invasion of 490BC was the deciding factor in the invasion of 480-479 BC. Importantly what really fuelled Darius anger and drive to invade Greece in the invasion of 480-479BC was the defeat they encountered at marathon in 490BC. The Persians had a massive army and materials during this invasion, and their success was assured. Darius felt humiliated because despite their assured victory, they still lost to the Greeks. Of interest is the fact that Greeks had sort the help of the Spartans, unfortunately they could not engage in war as they were celebrating a religious feast. The Athenians went to war with the Persians manned two to one. They were simple infantry men who were against a well equipped Persian army. Looking at the history of the invasion of Greece by Persian, it is easy to understand why the Persians were defeated at every invasion. Their confidence in their numbers and might blinded them to the fact that with out strategy they would easily loose a war to a smaller and less equipped army. The loss at marathon was a humiliation to the Persians. It was the poor decision to break up, with the larger army attacking from the sea, and a smaller force at marathon that lead to their defeat. While they set out to attack from the sea, the Greeks seized the opportunity and attacked the remaining forces. They fought and won this group, then they drove them away towards the sea, as the second Persian unit arrived by sea, they found the retreating forces with the Greeks this time ready and waiting at the banks of the sea. Evidently strategy in war was a key factor in the victory over the Persians. It is important to remember that the period covered by these wars was the age in which these two great empires were expanding. The Persian Empire and the Greek empire were constantly in competition for cities to concur. After the loss of 490 BC it took another 10 years before the Persians could attack in 480-479 BC, with the death of Darius it took time for his son to gather forces and attack Athens. It is this time the Greeks got ready for battle, they had time to prepare, as they were well aware of the fact that the two empires were constantly colliding over territory. During this period the Greeks put up a naval defense force at Aegean. The Persian invasion of 480 BC under Xerxes began, with a huge army of hundreds of thousands. Xerxes was carrying out his fathers plan of taking over Greece. The conquest of Greece was seen as very important in the establishment of the empire. A boost to their morale, as it was before was their massive army. Xerxes was defeated because in as much as he had a great army, he was not prepared in the strategies of war. Xerxes was blinded by the desire to fulfill his fathers dying wishes that he forgot to prepare his army fro the battle ahead. Xerxes ambition in concurring Athens and making the Greek empire part of the Persian Empire blinded him to the fact that the Greeks may have been preparing themselves for another attack. Xerxes failed to prepare his army for this invasion since, it was a well known fact that the Persian army was used to battle on the plains of Asia. They were not physically prepared to battle in the Greek environment. This is a decisive factor in battle as the condition of the soldiers is paramount in the winning of a battle. Another major reason that Xerxes lost to the Greeks was that his army, in as much as it was massive in sheer numbers they lacked equipment as compared to the Greeks. The 10 year break during which the Persians did not attack, all the time the Greeks needed to train, arm and equip themselves fro war. The failure of Xerxes to realize that fact was an error on his part. It was common knowledge that the two empires were in constant conflict over their boundaries, with each trying to defend its concurred cities. Therefore Xerxes should have been amply prepared to have a complete take over of Athens. He should have strategised more in considering the fact that Athens was not a small city, it was the seat of the Greek empire, an empire that had a large territory and had concurred the east. The Persian army apart from having adapted to the Asian plains, they were defeated because; they were not able to properly scout. A reason fro this is the fact that on their way into Greece they decided to make a stand at Thermopylae, this was a mountain pass. This was a poor decision because they were used to waging war on vast battle fields not narrow path ways. They war strategy and training was on the open ground. The other fact was that they had deployed a huge army; this army was using the mountain pass into Greece. This was a huge error because it restricted their movement in the ground. The Persian army had invested heavily in numbers and not equipment. The moment they got into this pass, and the fact that they were ill equipped gave the Greeks an advantage. The ten year period between the invasion of 490 BC and 480 BC, apart from giving the Greeks time to prepare, it also assisted them in building a good relation with the Spartans. This is evident due to the fact that the moment the Persians attacked the Spartans were there alongside the Greeks fighting them. The naval force that the Greeks had built at Aegean helped defend Athens from the sea. The Spartans just like the Greeks were familiar with the Greek territory and landscape. It is for this reason that they were able to beat a large Persian army at the mountain pass at Thermopylae. Xerxes on the other hand should not have waited for too long to wage war on Athens. He should have immediately followed up on his father plans of attack soon after the first defeat. It is the pride of the Persian that made him loose the invasions. They gave the Athenians time to adequately prepare themselves and fortify their cities. I believe if they had followed up a repeat attack immediately after the loss at marathon they would have defeated Athens. The Persians pride in his army also resulted in his defeat, this pride blinded him to the fact that though they seemed superior in size to the Greeks. The Greeks on the other hand was also a formidable force. The Greeks were also a people that had waged war on communities both large and small and had conquered for themselves large areas. They were an innovative people that leant from their experiences and travels. It goes without saying that the Greeks learnt the first few times, each time the Persians invaded and lost the Greeks were left preparing themselves for the next attack. They prepared they ground troops and fortified their beaches; they even built a naval base to defend their beaches. The Persians overlooked the fact that the Greeks were a formidable force that was not to be reckoned with. What the Greeks lacked in numbers they made do in preparation and equipment. For the many reasons that are given for the defeat of the Persians in the invasion of 480 BC, the most convincing fact is the armys preparation in war. The Persian may have had a huge army, but the Greeks had a well armored army, after the attack at marathon they went a head and prepared themselves even creating a naval force, they even sort the assistant of the Spartans. The Persians did not have a clear war strategy, it seemed they were driven by the blind rage that emperor Darius had created and natured. They did not seem to have a clear strategy apart from attack and conquer and acquire Greece for their empire. The Greeks took advantage of this to their success; they knew when to break franks and when to attack. The Persians would have won the battle of 480 BC had they not used the mountain pass in their sheer numbers blocking them in, concentrating them in a small area, that left them venerable. If they had used a scout they would have marked out the territory to their advantage.

The Mauritian Economy Defied Predictions Of James Meade

The Mauritian Economy Defied Predictions Of James Meade Few Sub-Saharan African countries have managed to achieve high standards of living over the past two decades. Mauritius has been a notable exception. With no natural resources, a small domestic market and vulnerability to external shocks, Mauritius exhibited a series of characteristics very typical to the rest of Africa namely a mono-crop economy, exposure to terms of trade shocks, high population growth rate, ethnic tensions exacerbated by high income and wealth inequality. Defying the predictions of Nobel Prize recipient James Meade, who famously predicted poor development prospects for Mauritius back in 1961 due to its vulnerabilities to both weather and price shocks and lack of job opportunities outside the sugar sector, Mauritius has transformed itself from a poor sugar economy into a country with one of the highest per capita incomes among African countries. Today, the small island nation is one of Africas most prosperous and stable economies and is considered an economic success story. For arguments sake, between 1977 and 2009, real GDP in Mauritius grew on average by 5.1 percent annually, compared with 3.2 percent for sub-Saharan Africa. 3.1 The Mauritian Economy Mauritius is a small island developing state with limited resources and a remote geographical location considered unfavourable. Since its independence in 1968, Mauritius has developed from a low-income mono crop economy to a middle-income relatively diversified export-oriented economy. In the early 1960s, Mauritius embarked on a program of diversification and adopted import substitution policies with the initial emphasis on tax exemptions, long-term loans at favorable rates and protective import duties and quotas. The aim was mainly to combat unemployment, raise standard of living and alleviate poverty. However, import substitution did not bring the benefits expected owing to the small size of the domestic market, limited resource endowments and technical know-how. The enterprises were unable to benefit from economies of scale given the small size of the local market. Furthermore, import substitution policies failed to address unemployment, which reached 20% in the late 60s. In the early 1970s, Mauritius switched to an outward-looking export-oriented strategy. The establishment of the Export Processing Zone scheme, designed to encourage the setting up of labour intensive export oriented manufacturing enterprises, aimed at helping to dampen the growing problem of unemployment, as well as to open up further the economy and benefit from the preferential access to the European markets under the different Lomà © Conventions (and now the Cotonou Agreement). The authorities prudent management of the economy and their outward-oriented policies placed Mauritius on a sustained growth path. Launched with the start-up capital of the sugar sector, the EPZ sector has concentrated mostly on textile and textile-related products. Mauritius seeks to serve as a bridge from Asia to Africa, Europe and the United States: in the 1980s, companies from Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore settled in the countrys economic processing zones (EPZs), and were joined in 2007 and 2008 by companies from mainland China. For the past three decades, the industry have attracted FDI from various countries, created new employment opportunities and strengthened the manufacturing base of the economy. The tourism sector also emerged as a serious economic pillar by contributing to foreign exchange earnings of the country and by being an important generator of employment. A range of investment incentives were provided to boost the development of the tourism sector in terms of fiscal incentives and financial support for hotel development and management services. The labour-intensive export-oriented growth strategy was therefore powered by three main economic sectors, namely sugar, textile products and tourism. The diversification strategy was further expanded in the 1990s with the consolidation of the financial services sector into commercial banking, insurance and global business. In recent years, information and communication technology (ICT), in particular business process outsourcing, and the seafood hub have emerged as important sectors of the economy. From 1991 to 2010, the economy enjoyed an average annual real growth of 4.9%. To further diversify the economic base of the island, the government is actively encouraging development in the following sectors: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ the land-based oceanic industry; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ hospitality and property development; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ the healthcare and biomedical industry; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ agro-processing and biotechnology; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ the knowledge industry; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ renewable energy. Figure 1: Sectorial Breakdown of the Mauritian economy, 2009 Mauritius is a fairly well diversified export oriented economy with agriculture, textile, tourism and financial services as leading sectors. However, a gradual shift from agriculture to the service sectors has been observed. Today, the services sector makes the largest contribution towards GDP and towards total employment. The share of the agricultural, hunting, forestry and fishing sector in GDP which was 6.1% in 1999 went down to 4.3% in 2009. The manufacturing sector also experienced a fall, from 23.9% in 1999 to 19.5% in 2009. On the other hand, Hotels and restaurants, a major component of the Tourism sector, witnessed a rise from 6.9% to 7.3% during the same period. Albeit the successful growth records, there is growing concerns as regards competitiveness and sustainability of growth. The traditional Mauritian labor-intensive exports is being challenged by new competitors. Productivity is not increasing fast enough to keep pace with wages that have been rising as a result of near full employment, thus eroding competitiveness. Government policies are aiming at diversifying towards more capital-intensive production and higher value added goods. The acceleration of the growth rate in the 1980s is the result of the macroeconomic reforms in response to protracted balance of payments and fiscal troubles. Following the reforms, Mauritius experienced steady growth, low inflation, and increased employment. GDP per capita, meanwhile, increased approximately seven-fold between 1976 and 2008, from less than $1,000 to nearly $7,000 (figure 2). At the same time, consumer price inflation in Mauritius has remained in the low single digits through the 1990s and 2000s (figure 3). The steady growth path of the early years of the period under review was due to the sugar boom of the early 1970s and the newly established EPZ attracting foreign investment. During that period, GDP grew at an average of 9% per year. However, the boom was short lived with sugar prices falling by 50% and the first oil shock of 1973-74 starting to impact on isolated Mauritian exporters and the small but promising tourism industry. Year 1979 saw the devaluation of the exchange rate by 30%, a rise in interest rate, reduction in food subsidies and wage increases held below inflation. Between 1979 and March 1980, the island was hit by cyclones, sugar production tumbled and GDP fell by 9%. The only encouraging factor during that period was a fall in inflation. The highest rate of inflation Mauritius witnessed since its independence was in October 1980 at 42%. This was due to the deteriorating economic situation following increasing oil prices in the late 1970s coupled with adverse weather conditions damaging food crops. In the same period, the island adopted its first Structural Adjustment Programme and the rupee was devalued by 22.9 % in October 1979. The direct impact of the devaluation was seen on import prices which sky rocketed. Macroeconomic policies have contributed to containing inflation. On a calendar-year basis, inflation (measured by changes in consumer prices) was maintained at under 6.5% per year till 2006, when it rose to 8.9%. The main contributors to this increase include higher oil prices (resulting from increase in world prices and the introduction of the Automatic Pricing Mechanism, higher prices of alcoholic beverages and cigarettes (resulting from the increase in excise duties) and of some other products (resulting from the reduction of subsidies for rice, flour, and bread), increase in freight costs and depreciation of the Mauritian rupee. During 2007, inflation increased further to reach 10.7% in June (on a yearly basis), the highest in over a decade. According to the BOM, this was due to the second-round effects of high oil and commodity prices, the depreciation of the Rupee, and the increase in excise duties. 3.2 Trade Performance Trade remains an important feature of the Mauritian economy in light of the fact that it has a small domestic market and limited natural resources namely land. The island is known to have been running merchandise trade deficit which has been offset at times by surpluses on the services account. The bulk of Mauritian merchandise exports (namely 70% of the total value) is accountable to manufacturing products. Though decreasing in share, clothing remains the main manufactured export (from 57% in 2001 to 36% in recent years). Sugar has remained the main agricultural export, contributing around 16% to total merchandise trade. Imports as well continued to be dominated by manufactured goods. Leading imports include machinery and transport equipment, radio/television transmission apparatus, textile and chemicals. The share of textiles has decreased from 20% in 2001 to 7% in recent years. Nevertheless, textiles remain an important import item. The European Union is the major destination for most of the Mauritian export. The bulk of Mauritian sugar and a large share of its textiles and clothing are destined to the EU. The UK remains the major single destination followed by France and the US. On import grounds, the EU supplies around one third of the total value of Mauritius merchandise imports. Other major suppliers include China, South Africa, France, India and Germany. The share of Middle East countries (Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates) has considerably increased, reflecting mainly the increase of oil prices. 3.3 Trade Openness Mauritius is an active participant of the multilateral trading system and member of various economic groupings and trade agreements. Participation in regional agreements is crucial for a small island country like Mauritius for the following reasons: Allows the exploitation of its comparative advantages and economies of scale. Improves the islands competitive edge. Allows the diversification of its range of exports. Facilitates its integration into the world economy. However, challenges remains for Mauritius has to ensure consistency between the national reform agenda and participation in a multitude of trade agreements, with different geographical coverage, liberalization agenda, provisions and goals. To Sachs and Warner, the key determinants to a countrys long-run growth is its trade policies. In effect, in the 1970s and 1980s, Mauritius had a fairly protected economy; the average rate of protection being high and dispersed. This is depicted by the rather poor openness ration of the early years of the period under review. When the country started to open to the world, a net amelioration of the ratio was noted. 3.4 Exposure to external shocks and policy responses An integral part of economic policies in Mauritius, trade policies are aimed at improving the living standards of the population and seeking to achieve full employment. This objective is projected to be achieved through the implementation of sound macroeconomic policies, investment in public infrastructures, easing the doing business environment and further opening up the economy. Trade policies have, for over two decades, shaped the countrys industrial development and contributed towards sustained growth. Mauritius was able to join in the ranks of the newly industrialised economies. 3.4.1 Agricultural sector Today, agriculture remains an important sector given its share in exports and revolves mainly around sugar. However, the ever decreasing sugar prices have seen the implementation of actions to restructure the sector and ensure its long-term viability. Those actions seek to promote alternative goods relating to cane production. In fact, much of the sugar cane production in Mauritius has been exported to the EU under the preferential terms of the ACP-EU Sugar Protocol. ACP sugar-producing countries were granted preferred access to the EU market, with annual quotas and guaranteed prices. As part of the transition to the new regime defined by the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs), ACP countries experienced a decline in their guaranteed minimum price for sugar to the EU. Over four years to 2009, the price fell by 36 per cent. Mauritius is the most affected by the falling price paid by the EU for sugar. At 507 000 tonnes, Mauritius enjoyed the largest quota under the Sugar Protocol. Sugar exports to the EU alone contributed 17 per cent of the countrys foreign exchange earnings and up to 4.5 per cent of gross domestic product. The losses associated with the new regime are expected to have a significant impact on Mauritius, particularly given that the revenue that had been procured from the Sugar Protocol was important for stimulating economic development, promoting diversification and supporting services throughout the country. It is likely that the economy will go through structural change as the agricultural sector moves away from its almost exclusive dependence on sugar and becomes more diversified. The Multi-Annual Adaptation Strategy (2006-2015) is the Government of Mauritiuss response to the changes in the Sugar Protocol, to aid in the adaptation process and take advantage of the package of accompanying measures offered by the EU to ease the transition to the new trading regime. It seeks to protect the long-term viability and sustainability of the sugar industry and ensure that it can continue to make an important economic and social contribution to Mauritius. There are several elements associated with the MAAS designed to help the industry and its workers adapt to the new trading reality and safeguard a future for the sector. Key among these are a focus on ways to (i) reduce costs of production (through factory closures, centralization, and restructuring of the workforce), (ii) generate additional revenue (such as through increasing value added), (iii) efficiently use by-products (such as for producing renewable energy) and (iv) contribute to poverty alleviation (by establishing voluntary retirement and re-training programmes). By pursuing these policies, the Government hopes to transform the sugar industry into an industry that moves away from producing raw sugar towards producing several types of sugar (raw, special, industrial and white), and also produces electricity from bagasse and ethanol from molasses. Once implemented, the policy should result in higher-value products, sufficient production to meet all of Mauritiuss trade commitments, and reduced dependence on imported fossil fuels by increasing the contribution from sugar cane to national electricity production and increasing the production of ethanol. 3.4.2 Manufacturing sector The development of textile and clothing, the main industry, was favoured in the past by preferences under the Multifibre Arrangement (MFA), and preferential access to key markets such as the EC and the United States. Mauritius textiles and clothing industry has been facing many challenges, such as multilateral liberalization, which has resulted in erosion of trade preferences; rising production costs in Mauritius; and the emergence of low-cost producing countries. In anticipation of the multilateral liberalization of the industry in January 2005, most of the major Hong-Kong-owned enterprises (which dominated the industry in Mauritius) ceased operation: between 2001-06, employment in the industry was reduced by 27,000 jobs. This explains the poor performance of both exports and growth of the EPZ subsector. Several steps have been taken to sustain development of the textile and clothing including restructuring of enterprises; promotion of vertical integration to increase value added, as well as high value products; upgrading skills; improving access to finance; and facilitating business operations. With the phase out of the Multi Fibre Arrangement, Mauritius has to compete with major textiles producers like China. The new LDC scheme proposed by the US to extend the AGOA type benefits to all LDCs pose a major threat to Mauritian exports to the US, particularly for garments. With the application of a coefficient of 8 in a Swiss formula to reduce tariffs in the context of the Doha Development Agenda, the preference margin for garments will fall from an average of 12% on the EU and US markets to below 5%. For canned tuna, which Mauritius exports, the preference margin will drop to around 6% from a high of 24%. 3.4.3 Tourism The Tourism Industry has contribution extensively towards foreign exchange earnings, GDP growth and employment creation. With the impact of the turmoil experienced in the international financial markets in 2008, the sector recorded an increase of only 2.6% in tourist arrival as opposed to a 15.1% growth in arrival in 2007, followed by a negative growth of 6.4% in 2009. As at 2009, the tourism sector contributed to 8.9% of GDP; created 26,922 direct jobs and generated Rs. 35,693 million ($1190 million USD) as tourism receipts. Mauritius has performed well in developing a distinctive form of relatively high-end tourism. Growth in tourist arrivals has outpaced that of many of our competitors. Currently, the aim is to continue that growth with a visitorsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸ target of two million tourists a year by 2015. To achieve the set target, the number of hotels and room capacity has evolved considerably over the years to cater for the ever-increasing tourist arrivals. Mauritius has been taking measures since early May 2008 to cushion the economy from the risks of deterioration in the world economy. The main policy measures taken since May 2008 are as summarised in the table below. Date POLICY MEASURES ADOPTED AND IMPLEMENTED May 2008 Allocation of Rs. 6 billion [$200 M] for investment in airport expansion creation of 6 funds to realize the Maurice Ile Durable vision, build food security, boost education and knowledge, eradicate poverty and widen the circle of opportunities, improve local infrastructure, carry social housing commitment and sharpen the competitiveness of domestic oriented industries and SMEs. June 2008 The 2008/2009 Budget voted an amount of Rs. 1.8 billion [$430 M] for contingencies to cater for any additional injection required to support public spending and demand. July 2008 Full implementation of the recommendations of the Pay Research Bureau on review of salaries and conditions of employment in the civil service thus injecting an additional amount of Rs 1.5 billion [$50 M] in the economy. October 2008 Reduction in Repo Rate by 50 basis points from 8.25 to 7.75 Reduction in Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) from 5% to 4.5 % Reduction in the minimum CRR on any particular day from 4% to 3% Introduction of a Special Foreign Currency Line of Credit by the Bank of Mauritius aggregating $125 M so as to assist banks encountering difficulties due to non-availability or inadequacy of foreign exchange facilities from usual sources. Review of the Automatic Price Mechanism (APM) to enable monthly, instead of quarterly, review of petroleum prices so that local retail price aligned with international prices of petroleum products. December 2008 Presentation of Additional Stimulus Package (ASP) amounting to Rs 10.4 billion [$350 M] to be spent through 2009 and 2010, basically on major capital projects with focus on fast-tracking and frontloading of existing public infrastructure projects, new investments in public infrastructure, accelerating private sector investment, improving business climate, building human resource capacity, and supporting vulnerable sectors such as the SMEs, export oriented manufacturing and tourism. Setting up of Special Committees to fast track implementation of the Additional Stimulus Package and to unlock private investment. Reduction of the Repo Rate by 100 basis points from 7.75 to 6.75 March 2009 Reduction in the Repo Rate by 100 basis points from 6.75 to 5.75 May 2009 Presentation of new budget built on the Additional Stimulus Package to ride out the global crisis. Some measures to enhance competitiveness and focusing on saving jobs, protecting people, and preparing for recovery are as follows: Injecting an additional Rs 2 billion in the Saving Jobs and Recovery Fund (SJR FUND), to provide for a new micro-enterprise financing scheme for women to be operated by the National Empowerment Foundation in collaboration with the Ministry of Women and the Mauritius Post and Cooperative Bank. Rescheduling of loans by the Development Bank of Mauritius for SMEs which were servicing their loans prior to the crisis in September 2008 but then faced cash flow problems. Setting up an Emergency Export Credit Insurance scheme for SMEs as well as large enterprises in all sectors until December 2010. Operating a scheme to assist small hotels and restaurants to improve, and enhance productivity and competitiveness under the SJR Fund. Setting up of the Mauritius Business Growth Scheme (MBGS) to promote business growth in SMEs. Eligible firms will receive financing to support their business growth on a cost-sharing basis Introducing a mentoring service by National Empowerment Foundation to ensure sustainability of small businesses initiated mostly by women Under the Food Security Fund, introduction of a Food Crop Insurance Scheme for small food crop planters, a Seed Potato Purchase Scheme to encourage the production of potatoes by small planters and an Onion Seed Purchase Scheme. Reduction of Ministers salary by Rs 10, 000 per month (July 2009 to Dec 2010) Earmarking Rs 100 million from the MID Fund to co-finance a Rs 280 million programme with the CEB, CWA and WMA (utility agencies) to clean up the social housing estates and rehabilitate the water, electricity and waste-water infrastructure Increase old age, non-contributory pensions and social aid benefits by 5.1 % Payment of compensation of 5.1% for the lowest income band while at the time broadening the band. September 2009 The key Repo Rate was maintained at 5.75 per cent per annum November 2009 The Budget 2010 presented on 18 November 2010 provides for policies for shaping recover, consolidating social progress and sustaining green Mauritius. The measures, inter-alia, include, intensifying efforts to consolidate the traditional and emerging economic pillars, so as to open business opportunities and further stimulate job creation, in particular for women, continue improving the doing business environment to increase investment; investing in human resource development, science, technology and innovation to build the competitive competence that Mauritius needs to be among the fast globalisers; accelerating plan to build the infrastructure of tomorrow. On the social front, the 2010 budget provides for additional effort towards eradication of absolute poverty, provision for every family with a decent dwelling, delivering more and better health care, giving more social protection to our children and women, preparing for the challenges of an ageing population and ramping up support for our seniors and consolidating the progress made in giving greater access to education, from pre-primary to tertiary levels. In regard to the Additional Stimulus Package (ASP), Government policies have been instrumental in dealing with the crisis in terms of saving jobs, preventing closures of firms and protecting people. However, given the current international economic context, the exit strategy needs to be carefully managed. Accordingly government has decided to maintain the Additional Stimulus Measures until December 2010 including the funds committed for a stimulus package for Rodrigues. December 2009 The key Repo Rate was maintained at 5.75 per cent per annum Source: Mauritius Strategy for Implementation National Assessment Report 2010 3.5 Conclusion Trade liberalization has proven to be beneficial to the economy through consistent amelioration of the growth rate over the years. However, increased openness has undermined the economic vulnerability of the island.

Romeo and Juliet: A Timeless Tragedy :: essays research papers

Romeo and Juliet: A Timeless Tragedy   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  William Shakespeare wrote his ever famous play, Romeo and Juliet, in 1595. Like many of Shakespeare’s plays, the story of Romeo and Juliet is timeless and has proven to remain perhaps the most popular story of tragic love. In 1968, 373 years after the play was originally written, a new movie was released and hailed as a new and futuristic Romeo and Juliet. This film is directed by Franco Zeffirelli and stars Leonard Whiting as Romeo and Olivia Hussey as Juliet. Then, in 1996, a mere 401 years after Shakespeare’s original production, Baz Luhrmann directed a new Romeo and Juliet that features Leonardo Dicaprio as Romeo and Claire Danes as Juliet. This film is extremely futuristic compared to any other version that has been produced. The two films differ from Shakespeare’s original play in some respects, but most viewers would agree that these films both follow Shakespeare’s story with adaptations to the time at which they were produced.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Franco Zeffirelli’s version of the play follows Shakespeare’s version very closely. The buildings and costumes reveal that the setting in this film is old Verona during Shakespeare’s time. The plot is nearly exact when compared to the original play. Most viewers would agree that Zeffirelli’s movie would not surprise that audience of William Shakespeare. Aside from the this production being a movie on a screen instead of an actual, first hand play, the language, plot, setting, and costumes are very similar to what an audience 400 years ago might expect. Although both films have been named futuristic, more so is the version by Baz Luhrmann. Luhrmann took Romeo and Juliet in a different direction. The story takes place in the future where buildings, costumes, and weapons are all suggestive of the future, but the language and basic plot structure is extremely similar to Shakespeare’s original Romeo and Juliet. The movie opens with a prologue in the form of evening news on television, and it tells that this will be a story of “star cross’d lovers'; who will die for their love of each other. Each difference takes an element of the original play and adapts it to the new setting. Shakespeare’s play had servants of both the Capulet family and the Montague family starting a fight in a public square. Luhrmann introduced these characters as the “Capulet Boys'; and the “Montague Boys';. The fight breaks out in a gas station and continues throughout a busy street.

Essay on Animal Imagery in A Dolls House -- Dolls House essays

Animal Imagery in A Doll's House    Animal imagery in Henrick Ibsen's play, A Doll's House is a critical part of the character development of Nora, the protagonist. Ibsen uses creative, but effective, animal imagery to develop Nora's character throughout the play. He has Torvald call his wife "his little lark"(Isben) or "sulky squirrel"(Isben) or other animal names throughout the play. He uses a lot of 'bird' imagery-calling her many different bird names. The name Torvald uses directly relates to how he feels about her at the time. The animals Ibsen chooses to use are related to how Nora is acting, or how she needs to be portrayed.    For instance: Not even a dozen lines into Act I, Torvald asks (referring to Nora), "Is that my little lark twittering out there"(Isben) and "Is that my squirrel rummaging around?"(Isben) A lark is a songbird; a happy, carefree bird. It is can also be used as a verb that means to engage in spirited fun or merry pranks. A squirrel is quite the opposite: it is a small, furry rodent. If you are to squirrel away something, you were hiding or storing it, kind of like what Nora was doing with her bag of macaroons. Torvald calls her these names to fit the situation. Nora was definitely a care free woman, just like a lark, and Torvald refers to her as such: "my little lark"(Isben). When he says that, Nora is moving around the room and humming with a carefree spirit that would characterize a lark. Whenever she has this spirit, Torvald refers to her as his "little lark."(Isben) On the other hand, Nora must be some sort of scrounge, because Torvald also refers to her as his "little squirrel."(Isben) He asks if "that is my squirrel rummaging around"(Isben). It seems that maybe Ibsen was usi... ...al in the character development for both characters, showing really how both sides perceive the other.    Works Cited and Consulted: Baruch, Elaine Hoffman. "Ibsen's Doll House: A Myth for Our Time." The Yale Review 69 (1980): 374-387. Durbach, Errol. A Doll's House: Ibsen's Myth of Transformation. Boston: Twayne, 1991. Ibsen, Henrick. A Doll House. The Bedford Introduction to Literature: Reading, Thinking, Writing. 5th   ed. Ed. Michael Meyer. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 1999. 1564-1612. Northram, John. "Ibsen's Search for the Hero." Ibsen: A Collection of Critical Essays. Ed. Rolf Fjelde. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1965. 107-113. Salomà ©, Lou. Ibsen's Heroines. Ed. and trans. Siegfried Mandel. Redding Ridge: Black Swan, 1985. Templeton, Joan. "The Doll House Backlash: Criticism, Feminism, and Ibsen. PMLA   104.1(1989): 28-40.

Breaking Family Ties

Thai Ngo Barbara Estermann English 96 February 25, 2013 â€Å"Breaking Family Ties† Norman Rockwell’s â€Å"Breaking Family Ties† gives us a look into the change of the post Great Depression and World War II generation. How America itself had changed so much in the passed 25 years from the greatest economic depression to being the greatest country on earth. It also shows the heartbreaking moment of a boy preparing to leave his father and dog and be on his own for the first time.The father, tired from a life of hard works, sacrificed everything so that his son can go to college; the young man, representing the post Great Depression and World War II generation, is making a better life than what his father had by getting higher education. In Norman Rockwell’s painting â€Å"Breaking Family Ties†, a boy sits with his father and dog preparing to leave for college. The young man and his father sit on a board of the family farm truck. At the bottom corner of the painting, shows a single rail. Suggesting that they are waiting for a train. On the ground is the son’s suitcase with a â€Å"State U† sticker.Books are stacked on top of the suitcase. The young man has his tie and socks perfectly matched, and is wearing white trouser and matching jacket. Sitting with his hand folded, the young man looked eagerly toward the train track, ready for the next chapter in his life. His father; however, sits slumped with his and his son’s hats in his hand as if he didn’t want the son to leave. The father looked at the opposite direction of the rail; as if he didn’t want to see the train come and take his son away. Although the father and son are looking in opposite direction, the sense of family bond is still strong.The father, probably in his late fifty, has been through the Great Depression and World War II; values his family more. The generation coming out of the Depression and World War II has been through some of the greatest challenges this country had ever faced. They worked hard their whole life, and now all they want is for their children to have a better life than they. Norman Rockwell perfectly describe the generation shift in â€Å"Breaking Family Ties† as the father, old beyond his years, sacrificed everything so that his son can go to college.He does not want to see his son leave, because he is everything to him. Still, he knows that his son must leave to grow up and be independent. The son, treated like royalty by the father, is ready to move on to the next chapter in his life and be away from the protection of his father. The painting gives mix emotion because of the two different emotions of the main characters. Norman Rockwell shows the differences between the two-generation through the father and son. The experience of leaving you’re parents and being on your own is universal to everyone.The universal message in â€Å"Breaking Family Ties† is being inde pendent for the first time. I was seventeen when I left home by myself to go to college. Preparing to leave home, I was like the boy in â€Å"Breaking Family Ties† eager to move on to the next chapter in my life and to be independent. I was only thinking of myself, and not how leaving would affect my parents. My parents were sad to see me leave, but they knew that I was making a better life for myself by going to college. Just like the Father in â€Å"Breaking Family Ties†. Leaving home for me was the beginning of a new chapter in my life.While for my parents, it was seeing me grow up too fast. Norman Rockwell’s perfectly showed the heartbreaking moment and a son leaving to be on his own for the first time. He also reminded America of how much our country had changed with the two generations. Like all of Norman Rockwell’s works, everything in â€Å"Breaking Family Ties† has a meaning behind it. Which is I can relate to it even if it was painted yea rs before I was born. Norman Rockwell is one of America greatest artist because of the universal meanings behind his works.

Marketing Mix and the Brand Reputation of Nokia

Market Forces April 2008 Vol. 4 No. MARKETING MIX & BRAND RESEARCH MARKETING MIX AND THE BRAND REPUTATION OF NOKIA SYED EHTESHAM ALI College of Management Sciences PAF-Karachi Institute of Economics and Technology E-mail: [email  protected] com Abstract Pakistan’s mobile phone market is growing very fast. The most selling brand in the market is Nokia. A hypothesis was developed that the reputation of a brand is a source of demand and the competitively superior quality image justifies a premium price. In this survey we assessed the reasons for preference of this brand based on established parameters of marketing mix (the 4 Ps). The objective of this study was to measure the extent of preference of these parameters. For this purpose a questionnaire was developed and administered to 240 respondents. The alternate hypothesis that at least one of the predictor variables would have a linear relationship with the dependent variable brand reputation was accepted. R? is 0. 53, which indicates that about 53% of the variation on the dependent variable is explained by the predictor variable, which is significantly moderate. Among all the independent variables the slope for the product quality and promotion (advertising & communication) were higher than the rest. Regression coefficients for product quality and promotion (advertising & communication) were 0. 95 and 0. 85 respectively. This means that an increase in one rating (on the scale of five to one) of product quality and promotion (advertising & communication) would cause brand reputation to increase by 0. 95 and 0. 85 rating respectively. 1. 0. 0 OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to measure how elements of marketing mix and their relationship affect the brand reputation of Nokia mobile phone. Though the marketing mix concept such as product, price, place and promotion are very important in analyzing the marketing strategy, the scope of the study was mainly MARKET FORCES APRIL-2008 15 MARKETING MIX & BRAND RESEARCH focused on one aspect of brand equity i. e. brand reputation, the ultimate reflection of the correct blend of all marketing mix. 1. 1. 0 LITERATURE SURVEY 1. 1. 0 Brand Branding has an ancient history. It could be traced back to the times when the ancient Egypt brick makers used to stamped symbols on the bricks for identification and distinction purposes (Farghuhar 1990). Nilson (1998) on the other hand found that ancient farmers used to put symbols on the cattle with the help of hot iron, which meant burning. The word brand has been derived from the Scandinavian word â€Å"branna† that means to burn. In Swedish language the word â€Å"brand†, means fire. Thus when a producer put some marks or symbols on their product it will come in the category of branding (Nilson 1998). One of the advantages of strong brand name is that its helps in penetrating in a new market or a new market category. Globalization has created tremendous brand awareness and this awareness is not dependent on the availability of the products. Czinkota & Ronkainen 2001). For example in Pakistan, brands such as such as McDonald, Pizza Hut and KFC had very strong awareness even before they opened their franchises in Pakistan. 1. 2. 0 Brand Equity Brand equity is a relationship between customers and brands resulting in a profit to be realized at a future date (Wood 2000). Kotler and Armstrong (1996) were of the opinion that measuring brand equity is a tedious job. Nevertheless a powerful brand means high brand equity that helps in achieving ‘higher brand loyalty, name awareness, perceived quality, and strong brand associations’. Some of the major benefits of brand equity are brand awareness and consumer loyalty which helps in reducing marketing costs. Brand is an important equity; therefore, it should be carefully preserved by adopting strategies that would help in maintaining or improving brand awareness, perceived brand quality and positive associations. (Kotler & Armstrong 1996) Ambler and Styles (1997) are of the opinion that brand equity could be measured from two perspectives. One is â€Å"financial evaluation approach† and the other is â€Å"consumer-based approach†. The financial evaluation approach is related to the monetary value of the brand, and the consumer-based approach focuses on the brand itself that is how much value the consumers give to the brand. Brand equity is also considered as an accumulated profit that could be realized at a future date. The brand equity concept can also cause confusion, because of difficulty in measuring it (Ambler & Styles 1997). MARKET FORCES APRIL-2008 16 MARKETING MIX & BRAND RESEARCH Importance of brand equity demands need for more practical experience and comparative research to judge and validate the usefulness of brand evaluation methods (Farquhar 1990). The recent merger and acquisition trend has also increased the importance of measuring brand equity (Tauber 1988). The role of brands is now far beyond product differentiation or competing for market share. They are accumulated annuities which the firm can acquire from its balance sheet (Tauber 1998). Firms could have a strong competitive edge over competitors if they could create brand equity ‘through building awareness, image, and linking associations’ (Keller 1998). A stronger brand would always have a better understanding of needs, wants, and preferences of consumers than the brands that are not competitive. Thus stronger brands would help in creating effective marketing programs that could go beyond consumer expectations. (Keller 1998). Brand equity since last one decade has remained popular for attracting new market segments (Pitta & Katsanis, 1995). This phenomenon of brand equity has coincided with the newly emerged but equally popular phenomenon of brand extension (Ambler & Styles 1997). Research shows a two way relationship between brand equity and extension. A brand's equity could influence the success of extensions, and extensions could positively influence brand's equity. The result is that highly valued brand extensions are more successful. Consumers tend to choose those brands that have strong brand equity. This creates strong brand loyalty, and would make it difficult for the customers to switch to the competitors. Brand position of a firm is strongly dependent on the positive image of brands. Strong brands are a major source of differentiation and extending the same towards a specific product category is easier. Successful brand allows firms to demand high prices and are a source of barrier which makes it difficult for consumers to switch to other brands (Pitta & Katsanis 1995. 1. 3. 0 BRAND REPUTATION: According to Aaker (1991, 1996) and Kapferer (1997) both companies and consumers are watchful over the brand reputation of what they sell or buy. Every brand represents distinct values, creates a distinct profile in the minds of the customers in respect to what it stands for. For example in beverage industry Coca-cola stands for â€Å"refreshingâ €  and in car industry Volvo brand is perceived for â€Å"safety and comfort†. Similarly in the mobile industry Sony Ericsson is poised as â€Å"music and entertainment† etc. Globalization and advanced technology have made the market more competitive, thus firms, now, are more brand sensitive. They have observed that the consumer preferences have become homogenous because of globalization and the spread of technology. Thus, both the sellers MARKET FORCES APRIL-2008 17 MARKETING MIX & BRAND RESEARCH and buyers are paying attention to the brand reputation in terms of what they are buying and selling. A consumer during his lifetime undergoes a series of ever changing circumstances and situations. As a result his brand preference shifts with his changing needs. The brand attributes or features must fit to consumers’ need to maintain an ongoing permanent relationship with the brand. The consumers need to have a trust in their preferred brands for continued offering of the desired benefits. According to Browne (1998), if companies fail to ensure a trustworthy, stable brand reputation, the brand’s growth and market share will be affected. Thus a brand reputation is the image of superior quality and added value, which justify a premium price. A reputable brand is a strong asset, which benefits from a high degree of loyalty and stability for future sales (Kapferer 1997). Ultimate goals of highly reputed brands should be to strengthen their image. Low selling brands with low reputation should focus on tailoring their marketing mix and fixing the overall image problem (Baldinger & Rubinson 1996). Firms dealing with mobile handset are also concerned with the reputation of their brands, and how this would affect their international market share. Competition among the mobile companies has forced them to create a brand reputation in customers’ minds. The mobile telephone industry is comprised of mostly multinationals and has financial advantages in their cost structure. This advantage is not available to their purely domestic counterparts (Kapferer, 1997). Brand reputation in the mobile telephone industry is becoming crucial for consumers’ purchasing behaviors. Temporal and Lee (2001) argue that powerful brands are the ones that are built on reputation and this will not change, but would gain more importance in the future. Up Shaw (1995), agrees and claims that branding is the art of trust creation and therefore it is imperative for companies to build a reputable identity in order to maintain trust with their consumers. A highly reputed brand name is considered as a favorable and publicly recognized name that reflects merit, achievement, and reliability. According to Paul and John (1997), the attribute reputation is an estimation of the consistency, over a period of time for an entity. This estimation is based on the entity's willingness and ability to perform an activity repeatedly in a similar fashion and an attribute is some specific part of the entity – price, quality, promotion, distribution and other marketing skills. A brand is a relationship between reputation and promise. Moreover, reputation is a set of expectations. A brand is a combination of tangible and intangible attributes, symbolized in a trademark. If properly managed, brand creates influences and generates value. Temporal and Lee (2000) also define the brand MARKET FORCES APRIL-2008 18 MARKETING MIX & BRAND RESEARCH as a promise to the consumer of what the product, service, or company stands for, and for the kind of experience they can get from it. If the promise is delivered, customers will be satisfied and this will keep them coming back to a company’s product. Kotler (1999) defines three clear advantages, which brands offer to the consumers. Firstly, brands inform the consumer about the product quality. Buyers, who consistently purchase the same brand, are aware that they will get the same quality each time they purchase the product. Secondly, brand names simplify shopping for consumers, by enhancing their ability to find the products that match their wants and needs, as opposed to generic branding. Lastly, brand names allow consumers attention to be drawn to new products that are beneficial to them, since the brand is the first form of recognition. To become successful and hence profitable, brands must develop a positive reputation. A reputable brand is strong assets, which benefits from a high degree of loyalty and thus forms stability of future sales. (Rogerson 1983). Brand reputation involves a continuum ranging from an uncertain feeling that the brand is recognized at the market place, to a belief that it is the number one in the product class by customer (Aaker 1991). This continuum can be represented by different degree of brand reputation known on the market. The brand reputation can be good or bad, strong or weak. It crystallizes how people feel about the reputation based on whatever information they have about the brand. Some companies have not built any brand at all. We can say for the â€Å"unknown brand† that, for it, no reputation exists and it does not affect consumer-buying behavior on the market. 1. 2. 0 MARKETING MIX. 1. 2. 1 PRODUCT (Quality): (Quality): Product quality is an important determinant for the customers for choosing a brand that helps in the development of brand reputation. Quality belongs to the product perspective of a brand’s identity whereas perceived quality is how a brand’s quality is seen by the consumers. It is one of the key dimensions in Aaker’s brand equity model. A higher price is a sign of high quality to the consumers. Perceived quality is a source of consumer satisfaction it makes them to repurchase the product, which leads to loyalty. (Uggla 2001). MARKET FORCES APRIL-2008 19 MARKETING MIX & BRAND RESEARCH 1. 2. 2 PRICE (Affordability): (Affordability): Price influences the brand choice in two ways: (1) Seek the lowest price to avoid financial risk or (2) Seeks the higher price to gain product quality (Macdonald & Sharp 2000). For some consumers, the price is vital particularly when they are purchasing everyday products. Some consumer may choose a brand just because it has the lowest price, while other consumers may choose a brand just because it has the highest perceived price inferring that it is of high quality. 1. 2. 3 PROMOTION (Advertising & Communication): Communication): How can a company build its brand reputation through promotion? A promotion that provides incentives to try a new flavor or new use will be more effective if the brand is familiar and there is no need to combat a consumer skeptical of brand reputation (Pringle & Thompson 1999). Advertising acts as a major tool to enhance brand reputation. The purpose of advertising is to make the consumers to purchase their brands. Advertising is one of the most visible forms of communication. It creates a set of associations the consumers want to have about a brand. If advertising, promotion and packaging support a constant positioning strategy over time, the brand is likely to be strong (Aaker 1991). 1. 2. 4 PLACE (Availability): Firms rarely work alone in creating value for customers and building positive brand reputation. Consistency of supply and availability at convenient locations are vital for brand reputation. Any disagreement between marketing channel members on goals and roles may create channel conflict, which eventually could hamper overall reputation of the specific brand (Kotler, 2006). Reputation is a historical notion based on the sum of the past behaviors. It is prone to change over time and is a function of time. 2. 0. 0 RESEARCH QUESTION: The following research question has been formed in the light of the literature review. How do the mobile phone buyers perceive the brand reputation of Nokia in terms of marketing mix? 3. 0. 0 METHODOLOGY: MARKET FORCES APRIL-2008 20 MARKETING MIX & BRAND RESEARCH Based on the literature survey and the above-identified independent and dependent variables, a close-ended questionnaire was developed. Questionnaire was based on a total of 14 questions; seven were related to personal data and the rest were related to the subject study that is measuring brand reputation in terms of marketing mix. The sample size for the study was 240 and it was chosen non-randomly and was personally administered by my students. The analysis was inclusive of the measures of central tendencies and the measure of dispersion. The hypothesis was tested through multiple regressions. 4. SURVEY FINDINGS: 4. 1 MEASURES OF CENTRAL TENDENCIES & DISPERSION: The respondents’ opinions on the determinants of marketing mix and brand reputation were obtained. The determinants for marketing mix were product (quality), price (affordability), promotion (advertising and communication) and place (availability). The determinants for brand reputation were favorability, public recogn ition, reliability and consistency. The summarized results related to the measures of the central tendencies and dispersion are presented below: Table Number One Measure of Central Tendencies Product (Quality) Mean St. Error Median Mode St. Dev. S. Var. Kurtosis Skew ness Range Minimum Maximum Sum Count 4. 74 0. 03 5. 00 5. 00 1. 13 0. 19 -0. 77 -0. 98 1. 00 4. 00 5. 00 1138 240 Price (Affordability) 3. 82 0. 03 5. 00 5. 00 0. 81 0. 18 -0. 39 0. 08 1. 00 4. 00 5. 00 1144 240 Promotion (Adv. & Communication) 4. 45 0. 03 5. 00 5. 00 1. 08 0. 29 -0. 18 -0. 82 2. 00 3. 00 5. 00 1107 240 Place (Availability) 4. 02 0. 03 4. 00 4. 00 1. 04 0. 23 1. 23 -0. 74 3. 00 2. 00 5. 00 1017 240 Brand Reputation 4. 89 0. 05 5. 00 5. 00 1. 16 0. 49 3. 69 -1. 09 3. 00 2. 00 5. 00 1117 240 MARKET FORCES APRIL-2008 21 MARKETING MIX & BRAND RESEARCH M ark e ting M ix viz. Brand Re putation 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 Product Price Promotion Place Brand Reputatioon 4. 74 3. 82 4. 45 4. 89 4. 02 The respondents’ opinions on dependent variable brand reputation was the highest with a mean of 4. 89, whereas the rating on product (quality) ranked second with a mean of 4. 79 and the price (affordability) was the lowest with a mean of 3. 82. The standard deviation of respondents’ opinion on independent dimensions â€Å"price (affordability)† was the least (0. 1) as compare to the other dimensions. This indicates that there is less polarization and difference in the respondents’ opinion on the dimension â€Å"price (affordability)†. The standard deviation of respondents’ opinion on dimension â€Å"product (quality)† was the highest i. e1. 13 as compared to the other dimensions. This indicates that there is a high polarization of respondents†™ opinions on the â€Å"product (quality)† dimension. Skewness for all the determinants of brand reputation was negative except price (affordability)† with the value of 0. 08. The negative skewness indicates that the majority of the respondents’ opinions on the respective determinants were below the average level and the distribution curve is negatively skewed. 4. 2. 0 BRAND REPUTATION The respondents’ opinions were obtained in terms of favorability, recognizably, reliability, and consistency. The summarized results are presented below: TABLE NUMBER-2 REPUTATION OF NOKIA Most favorable Most Publicity Most Reliable Most Consistent MARKET FORCES APRIL-2008 22 MARKETING MIX & BRAND Recognized 4. 01 4 3. 1 RESEARCH 3. 63 4. 5 4 3. 5 3 2. 5 2 1. 5 1 0. 5 0 4. 01 4 3. 1 3. 63 Most f avorable Most Publicity Recognized MostReliable Most Consisten The level of favorability and recognize ability of Nokia brand was the highest with a mean of 4. 04 and 4. 0. The perception on the consistency and reliability were found to be on the lower side with a mean of 3. 1 and 3. 63 respectively. 4. 1. 2 HYPOTHESIS TESTING: Literature survey suggests that, buyers perceive or build brand reputation of mobile phones in terms of (1) product (quality), (2) price (affordability), (3) promotion (adv. & communication) and (4) place (availability). Based on the theoretical framework, the following hypotheses were developed. H1o: Sufficient evidence exists to conclude that no linear relationship exists between Nokia’s dependent variable â€Å"brand reputation† and independent variables such as product, price, promotion, and place. H1A: At least one of the predictor variables has a linear relationship with the dependent variable â€Å"brand reputation†. STATISTICAL REPRESENTATION: The statistical representation of the above hypothesis is presented below. H1O: ? 1= ? 2= ? 3= ? 4=0 H1A: ? 1? ?2? ?3? ?4? 0 The above hypothesis was tested through multiple regressions for brand NOKIA and the summarized results are presented below. MARKET FORCES APRIL-2008 23 MARKETING MIX & BRAND TABLE NUMBER-2 MULTIPLE REGRESSIONS Regression Statistics Multiple R R Square Adjusted R Sqr. Standard Error Observations RESEARCH 0. 69 0. 53 0. 52 0. 44 240. 00 Df Regression Residual Total 4. 00 234. 00 240. 00 Coefficients Intercept Product(quality) Price(affordability) Promotion(Adv. & Comm. ) Place(Availability) 0. 72 0. 95 0. 27 0. 85 0. 34 SS 12. 01 13. 05 25. 06 Std. Error 0. 49 0. 09 0. 03 0. 03 0. 02 MS 3. 00 0. 06 F 53. 82 Significance F 0. 00 t Stat 1. 48 2. 61 7. 57 6. 83 7. 41 Pvalue 0. 14 0. 02 0. 00 0. 01 0. 00 Lower 95% -0. 24 0. 06 0. 16 0. 15 0. 13 Upper 95% 1. 68 0. 42 0. 27 0. 27 0. 22 R? or the brand NOKIA is 0. 53, which indicates that about 53% of the variation on the dependent variable is explained by the predictor variable which is significantly strong. Among all the independent variables the slope for the product and promotion are the highest, this means that as compared to other independent variables, product and promotion of Nokia b rand cell phone has stronger relationships with the dependent variable â€Å"brand reputation†. Regression coefficient for product and promotion are 0. 95 and 0. 85 respectively. This means that an increase in one rating (on the scale of five to one) of product (quality) and promotion (adv. communication) will cause brand reputation to increase by 0. 95 and 0. 85 rating respectively. The F-value is high and falls in the critical region that means variations of independent variables are unequal; this indicates that the results are not biased. Except for the coefficient of product and promotion, no other coefficient is statistically significant. 5. 0 CONCLUSION: CONCLUSION: MARKET FORCES APRIL-2008 24 MARKETING MIX & BRAND RESEARCH Based on the survey findings the following conclusions have been drawn: †¢ According to the respondents’ opinion the rating on dependent variable brand reputation was highest with the mean of 4. 9, whereas the rating on product (quality) was the second highest with a mean of 4. 79 and the rating on price (affordability) was lowest with a mean of 3. 82. The standard deviation of respondents’ opinion on independent dimensions â€Å"price (affordability)† was the least (0. 81) as compared to the other dimensions. This indicates that there is less polarization in the respondents’ opinion on the dimension â€Å"price (affordability)†. The standard deviation of respondents’ opinion on dimension â€Å"product (quality)† was the highest 1. 13. This indicates that there is high polarization of respondents’ opinion on the â€Å"product (quality)† dimension. Skewness for all the determinants of brand reputation were negative except for â€Å"price (affordability)† with the value of 0. 08. The negative skewness indicates that the majority of the respondents’ opinions on the respective determinants were below the average level and the distribution curve is negatively skewed. The alternate hypothesis that at least one of the predictor variables would have a linear relationship with the dependent variable brand reputation was accepted. R? is 0. 53, which indicates that about 53% of the variation on the dependent variable is explained by the predictor variable, which is significantly strong. The slope for product’s (quality) and promotion (advertising & communication) were the highest; this means that as compared to other independent variables, product (quality) and promotion (advertising & communication) of the Nokia brand cell phone have stronger relationships with the dependent variable brand reputation. Regression coefficient for product (quality) and promotion (advertising & communication) were 0. 95 and 0. 85 respectively. This means that an increase in one rating (on the scale of five to one) of product (quality) and promotion (advertising & communication) will cause brand reputation to increase by 0. 5 and 0. 85 rating respectively. †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ ANNEXURE 1 Q1) Age: (in years) 15 – 25 QUESTIONNAIRE (DEMOGRAPHIC DATA) 26 – 35 36 – 45 46– above MARKET FORCES APRIL-2008 25 MARKETING MIX & BRAND Q2) Qualification: ? Matriculation Others —-Q3) Gender: ? Male Q4) Marital Status: ? Single Q5) Profession: Market ing Teacher Q6) Income: Up to 20,000 above RESEARCH ?Intermediate ?Graduation Masters ?Female Married Banking Engineering Other(s) please specify†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 21,000 – 30,000 31,000 – 40,000 Doctor 41,000 and Q7) Please mark the area of your residence Sadder Defence Clifton Gulshan F. B. Area Nazimabad PECHS Other(s) — Rate the following statements in terms of your answer (5 being highly agreed and 1 being highly disagreed) MARKETING MIX Q8) Rate the brand reputation of Nokia brands in terms of â€Å"Product† i. e quality. 5 4 3 2 1 Q9) Rate the brand reputation of Nokia brands in terms of â€Å"Price† i. e. affordability 5 4 3 2 1 Q10) Rate the brand reputation of Nokia brands in terms of â€Å"Promotion† i. e. Advertising & Communication. 5 4 3 2 1 Q11) Rate the brand reputation of Nokia brands in terms of â€Å"Place† i. e. Convenience in availability. 5 4 3 2 BRAND REPUTATION Q12) I consider Nokia as most favorable brand in terms of brand reputation. 4 3 2 1 Q13) I consider Nokia as most publicly recognized brand in terms of brand reputation. 5 4 3 2 1 Q14) I consider Nokia as most reliable brand in terms of brand reputation. MARKET FORCES APRIL-2008 26 1 MARKETING MIX & BRAND RESEARCH 5 4 3 2 1 Q15) I consider Nokia as most consistent brand in terms of brand reputat ion. 5 4 3 2 1 ANNEXURE 2 REFERENCES Aaker, D. A. , 1991. , Managing Brand Equity: Capitalizing on the Value of the Brand Name. NewYork: The Free press. Aaker, D. A. , 1996. , Building Strong Brands. New York: The Free Press. Aaker, D. A, 2004. Brand Portfolio Strategy, New York: Free Press. MARKET FORCES APRIL-2008 27 MARKETING MIX & BRAND RESEARCH Ambler, T. , & Styles, C. , 1997. Brand development versus new product development: toward a process model of extension decisions. Journal of Product & Brand Management, 6(4), p. 222-234. 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