The House On Mango Street Essay On Poverty - 1031 Words

Most children have an idea of a potential career path by the time they are very young. Often times their career goals are influenced by the adults they see on a regular basis, which is why a plethora of small children want to be school teachers or doctors. But what about children who do not have the privilege of being around academically successful-or even employed-adults? From where do they receive academic reinforcement? This poses the question; how does growing up in extreme poverty shape the morals and goals of a person? In the novel The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, the main character Esperanza is raised in a poverty stricken neighborhood with few positive role models in her life. In the few scenes school is mentioned,†¦show more content†¦This makes Esperanza cry in regards to her embarrassment about her living situation. To conclude, the shame Esperanza feels about her disheveled home and her long for an escape are preoccupying thoughts causing her to thin k little about her education. Another social conflict hindering Esperanza’s academic success is her wish for a best friend. She has difficulty fostering friendships because most of the children in her neighborhood are not positive influences on her. This is proven when Esperanza says she cannot play with a specific troubled family, the Vargases, or else she will â€Å"...turn out just like them† (8). Esperanza also says she cannot be friends with her sister Nenny, as she â€Å"...is too young to be my friend. She’s just my sister which is not my fault† (8). Esperanza makes her wish for a friend even more manifested by directly stating â€Å"Someday I hope will have a best friend all my own. One I can tell my secrets to. One who will understand all of my jokes without me having to explain them† (9). Aa brief point in the story, Esperanza does in fact gain an older friend named Sally. Unfortunately, Sally betrays Esperanza by abandoning her at a city carnival. As a result of being alone and vulnerable, Esperanza is sexually assaulted by an older man. Esperanza later ponders nerve wracking questions such as why Sally left her, why she lied to her, and why she let her be assaulted if they were truly friends (101). TheShow MoreRelatedThe House on Mango Street Persuasive Essay927 Words   |  4 PagesName The House on Mango Street Persuasive Essay Esperanza’s New Home I would like to nominate Esperanza Codero and her family for the Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. Esperanza is a young Latino girl who is around the age of thirteen; Esperanza lives in a place called Mango Street, which is a very poor neighborhood, with her family in a nearly broken down house in which everybody has to share a room. I believe Esperanza deserves to be nominated because she has been through a great deal inRead MoreAnalysis Of The House On Mango Street 1367 Words   |  6 PagesBaker ENG 102 – 2006 14 April 2017 Esperanza’s Mango Street The House on Mango Street is a short novel that packs a strong and deliberate message. At first, when reading the first few chapters, one assumes that this book is going to be a simple story about some young girl’s life, but as the reader continues to read on, that perspective about the story changes because of the story’s complexity. The House on Mango Street has received many praises amongst critics for its well-definedRead MoreAnalysis Of The House On Mango Street1051 Words   |  5 Pages Analysis of The House on Mango Street By: Sandra Cisneros Carley Deklotz GWSS:1001:0A02 Professor Sue Stanfield The environment people grow up in can have a huge impact on their identity and who they become. 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Information about LAB programs and services is available by contacting: LAB at Brown University The Education Alliance 222 Richmond Street, Suite 300 Providence, RI 02903-4226 Phone: (800) 521-9550 E-mail: info@lab.brown.edu Web: www.lab.brown.edu Fax: (401) 421-7650 Copyright  © 2000 Brown University. All rights reserved. About This Series This is another edition in a seriesRead MoreThe Impacts of Mncs in the Economy of Bangladesh14643 Words   |  59 Pagescountries all over the world. Bangladesh too considered a prospective land for the MNC development. A very good number of the well known MNCs have their launch in Bangladesh. Our study revealed the fact that MNC could bring a revolution to the poverty alleviation of our country. This paper clearly disseminates the possibilities and constraints of MNCs which we think may help the investors to be more dynamic and acknowledged in this regard. We have done our major interpretation on the basisRead MoreInstructive Text Types11631 Words   |  47 Pagessynthetic of a combination of both. Variants include the expository essay, definition, summary. In expository essays, the encoder presents an explanation of concepts, usually from a subjective point of view. Functional coherence is achieved through the first person singular or plural point of view, or non-personal third person point of view. Topical coherence depends on the particular field of knowledge where the object of the essay is included. Definitions are specific forms of analytic expositionsRead MoreRastafarian79520 Words   |  319 Pagesof the movement, (2) the gradual rapprochement between the movement and the wider society, and (3) the impact of Rastafari on the evolution of Jamaicas indigenous popular culture. The internal development includes the emergence of a network of â€Å"houses† and â€Å"mansions† as the collective units of the movement,10 of a world view or ideology encoded in a variety of symbols, and of collective ritual activities, which initiate and conï ¬ rm individuals in the principles of Rastafari. With regard to the

Stephens vs Lincoln Free Essays

Stephens vs. Lincoln In two very different speeches by Alexander H. Stephens and Abraham Lincoln they both argue their points of view on slavery and the opposing side plus how they would like to have the new government to be run. We will write a custom essay sample on Stephens vs Lincoln or any similar topic only for you Order Now In the first speech by Stephens he states that the ideas of slavery at the time of the old constitution were wrong and that they rested on the beliefs of equality between the races. He goes on to argue that slavery in the south will have its foundations laid upon the ideas that, as Stephens says. the negro si not equal to the white man; that slavery, subornation to the superior race, is his natural and moral condition. † In contrast, Lincoln describes how each person has a different definition for the word Liberty. One side defines it as meaning that they can do what they please with themselves and the earnings. While the other defines it, as Lincoln says, â€Å"some men do as they please with other men, and the product of their men’s labor. † Lincoln identifies the central differences between the north and the south as a misconception of the word Liberty, one side called liberty and the other tyranny. Stephens believes himself, and all whites as being superior to African Americans and that it’s the law of nature for it to be so. Whereas Lincoln says that everyone is equal and that’s Stephens and others like him have destroyed the meaning and significance of the word Liberty. These opposing speeches show the points of view on slavery from the north and the south and how each side takes liberty and changes it around to the advantage of their own purposes. How to cite Stephens vs Lincoln, Essay examples

Cartel Cycles free essay sample

The Georgia-based pop-punk band Cartel formed in 2003. Since then, they have released three albums. The latest, â€Å"Cycles,† shows fans a more developed and mature sound. â€Å"Lets Go† sets an upbeat feel. Will Pughs vocals are energetic and powerful. The lyrics suggest we should enjoy our lives and appreciate what we have. This optimism is continued throughout most of the album. â€Å"Faster Ride,† my favorite song, is very relatable. It talks about coming to terms with a relationship thats ending. Although its about no longer being with someone, the lyrics – â€Å"go until you get it right and I hope you find it† – add a positive outlook. A song with raw emotion is â€Å"Only You.† Unlike the others, it is a slow and genuine love song with intensely passionate vocals. This track definitely stands out. The closing song, â€Å"Retrograde,† is a perfect choice. It talks of overcoming challenges – â€Å"and Im losing touch, but Im not afraid. We will write a custom essay sample on Cartel: Cycles or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Ill be okay.† This goes along with the theme of staying true to yourself. Compared to previous albums, â€Å"Cycles† is by far the best example of Cartels true talent. The band took its time recording this record, and it shows. After several years of making music they have crafted their sound to make it original. â€Å"Cycles† demonstrates a typical pop-punk sound but with soulful lyrics. Fans will definitely not be disappointed. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys alternative or pop-punk. If you listen to artists like Hit the Lights,  ­Valencia, or Mayday Parade, you will probably like this.

Strategic Marketing Plan for Tico Mas

Background, products/services, and markets Tico Mas is a fast-food organisation that operates in the American market. Its first store opened in California in 2010.Today, it has 15 more stores in different states within the US. The organisation offers products such as vegetable salads, beef hamburgers, fruit juices, coffee, ice creams, French fries, chicken hamburgers, and pizza. It now mainly focuses on the American markets, although the company plans to expand into international markets in its effort to increase profitability.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Strategic Marketing Plan for Tico Mas specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More For example, it is considering targeting the Asian markets in the future. Although the business is predominantly a product-based organisation, customer services are considered an important aspect of enhancing future growth. In the fast-food sector, issues such as the rate of serving custo mers and effective management of employees-customer relations are all important aspects of service delivery, which the management believes Tico Mas can use in building its long-term competitive advantage not only in the American markets, but also in other anticipated global markets. Role of strategic marketing As Tico Mas manager, I have the responsibility of leading work teams to achieve the organisation’s short-term and long-term growth strategies. To help in building organisational success, strategic marketing is incredibly important. What role can it play at Tico Mas? Tico Mas must apply effective strategic marketing efforts to remain relevant and/or gain market share that can enable it to break even. The objective of any company is to deliver values to its owners (Kotler Armstrong 2008). For Tico Mas, this value is expressed in terms of its returns on investments. With the increasing concerns about the role of organisations in delivering value to not only the owners, bu t also other stakeholders who have vested interests in the performance of an organisation as Kotler and Armstrong (2008) confirm, Tico Mas deploys principles of strategic marketing to portray itself as a business that engages in activities in a socially responsible manner. Strategic marketing entails a group of continuous activities and comprehensive processes that organisations use to systematise and align resources. Activities in strategic marketing are aligned with the organisation’s mission, vision, and plans (Dess, Lumpkin Taylor 2005). Through strategic marketing, Tico Mas acquires a mechanism for changing static plans into strategic performance outcomes that help it to initiate key decisions and/or enable business strategies to gradually develop as change opportunities. Indeed, strategic marketing provides avenues for probable organisational growth by creating an effective mechanism for analysing Tico Mas’ strategic goals, which include its vision, mission, and objectives alongside the analysis of the organisation’s internal and external environment.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Strategic marketing determines the success of Tico Mas since it provides a potential way of aligning the organisation’s marketing plans with strategies for gaining a competitive advantage. Various strategies can be used in gaining a competitive advantage. These strategies include pursuing the low-cost scheme to help in driving success for an organisation and conducting extensive promotion of products to win customer confidence (Dess, Lumpkin Taylor 2005). Cost drop focuses on reducing the charges for various products and services in the industries. It aims at increasing profit while at the same time reducing the operational costs. Process of implementing a strategic marketing strategy With the knowledge on where to market and/or how to do marketing, the next important issue in strategic marketing for Tico Mas is the development of a mechanism for putting marketing strategic plans in place. Implementation of marketing strategic plans at the organisation has five steps. The first step is the evaluation of the plans to eliminate any unrealistic elements, the likely excessive cost, and the implementation time. The second step entails setting the vision for implementation of the plan. This step also involves setting goals such that the organisation can know whether the plan is effective if the goals are attained. The third step is the setting of a team to implement the plan. The team must understand the goals and the inevitability of the plans. The fourth step involves setting and scheduling various group meetings that are aimed at discussing the plan implementation progress. The fifth step entails bringing all management executives on board to help in analysing the progress and achievement of the marketing plans. This p rocedure ensures that they also become part of the plan. Hence, if problems arise, brainstorming can be initiated to help in their (problem) alleviation. The Link between Marketing and Corporate Strategy Corporate level strategies aim at examining what an organisation does together with its command decisions. These decisions include determining whether a business establishment deserves to diversify into new regions, developing partnerships with other rival companies, and/or abandoning certain product lines to focus on the most profitable ones (Hitt, Ireland Hoskisson 2013). Marketing ensures that the concern of corporate strategies is achieved by developing appropriate plans for positioning and attracting customers.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Strategic Marketing Plan for Tico Mas specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Tico Mas’ long-term marketing strategy outlines its growth and increased performance int ention within a specified time. The organisation has a variety of corporate-level strategies to assist in its continued growth. It focuses on staying in a single activity in the industry with the chief purpose of creating a competitive position. Marketing ensures the attraction of customers so that an organisation can gain a competitive advantage through increased sales and profitability. Thus, through marketing, Tico Mas can establish a strong worldwide brand image and loyalty. As a corporate strategy, Tico Mas can focus on vertical integration. This technique aids in reducing costs via provision of methodologies that uphold forward integration, establishment of allotment channels, and the checking of input and outputs. In this process, marketing plays a significant role in ensuring communication of the organisation’s products to target customers so that the distribution channels can increase the company’s efficiency in supplies. Theories in Strategic Marketing Planni ng Strategic marketers deploy different models of marketing planning. The 3Cs framework aids in developing a detailed approval of issues in the strategic operational setting. The marketing mix positioning is perhaps well explained through Ansoff’s matrix model. When pursuing a given marketing plan, the 4Ps model aids in developing a clear understanding of the market targeting strategy (Shaw 2012). In determining the long-term implications of altering any element of the 4Ps, customers-lifetime-value model helps to visualise the changes. It is also important to access the market in which an organisation sells its products and services during marketing planning. In this extent, PESTLE and SWOT analysis models are important (Shaw 2012). Tico Mas deploys 4Ps and PESTLE models in marketing planning. Tico Mas targets markets after considering the PESTLE approach for analysis of the market dynamics. However, based on the 4Ps, namely product, place, price, and promotion model, before conducting the PESTLE approach for analysing markets, the organisation has developed criteria for selecting the location of its stores in the effort to ensure easy positioning. First, the most appropriate location is the one that does not have large fast-food outlets within a radius of a minimum of 1 Kilometre. A large amount of space should also be available at low cost. The regulations and laws that govern the operation of large and medium enterprises should also be developer-friendly. In the promotion process, new and traditional media platforms are deployed.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More PESTLE is the acronym for political, economic, social, technological, environmental, and legal factors that influence a marketing planning strategy (Gerry, Kevan Whittington 2005). For Tico Mas, the political environment influences the operations of the company via taxing policies since the company must pay charges in the form of taxes to the nations wherever the company has established stores and franchises. The management must also comply with environmental regulations, tariffs, and employment laws that have been established within the US. From the perspective of economic factors, Tico Mas’ operational economic environment is characterised by rapidly fluctuating customer tastes and preferences, which influence its financial performance in terms of increased costs of running business. Social factors act as incredible success elements that influence Tico Mas because customers are concerned with safety standards of the foods that the organisation offers. Hence, enhancing hygi ene and safety standards of all foods that are offered for sale at Tico Mas helps in retaining and attracting new clients. People who have a first-time experience with the company always send an impressive message to other potential clients. Technologically, Tico Mas plans to deploy the internet to accomplish tasks such as making it possible for customers to make price comparisons of various fast-food alternatives from other organisations in the industry. Through the power of the internet in enhancing quick communication, technology is also important in helping to send promotional materials through blogs and direct interaction with customers on social media. However, it also poses challenges in case negative profiling is sent through the same media. In fact, it takes a long time to remove a bad image concerning an organisation’s products than to create positive images of the same (Dess, Lumpkin Taylor 2005). Tico Mas is also incredibly concerned with its environmental impact s. Fast foods are packaged. The manner of disposing packaging materials has become an issue of concern to the company. It determines whether the company is environmentally conscious or not. Indeed, waste disposal is an important issue to Tico Mas because organisations are required by law to put in place strategies for proper waste disposal as the world endeavours to become environmentally green. This expectation is true in the US and even in other parts of the world where the company plans to open outlets. How Tico Mas implements its Strategic Positioning Tico Mas implements its strategic marketing positioning by offering low-cost and healthy products. Indeed, the offered products have low calories. Hence, they are easily marketed since they meet the growing trend for healthy eating in a bid to avoid challenges such as obesity and its associated diseases that include hypertension. While marketing the products this way, Tico Mas believes that it has an opportunity for building a bran d and its assets and liabilities based on healthy foods. It believes that while large competing corporations such as McDonald’s are attempting to change their brand images from that of unhealthy to healthy foods, Tico Mas stands a better opportunity for building a good brand image right from the beginning. Relationship Promotion and Success of the Activities One of the critical challenges in marketing entails getting and keeping clientele to make repeated sales. Relationship marketing helps in resolving this challenge. It entails marketing efforts that are aimed at fostering customer retention and satisfaction, rather than focusing mainly on sales transactions (Mukherjee 2007). For Tico Mas, customer retention is incredibly important in driving its success. Its slogan is ‘come once and you will be guaranteed to come back again.’ To actualise this slogan, building and maintaining customer relationships is incredibly important. Relationship marketing finds far-fetc hed applications in the organisation. Tico Mas recognises the value of customers in building long-term business relationships. It appreciates that customer communication needs to extend beyond advertising and sales promotions. Employees are required to maintain positive customer relationships since they (workers) act as the point of contact between Tico Mas and its customers. Thus, employees are critical to enhancing the success of relationship marketing activities in the organisation. Customer satisfaction also encompasses another important aspect of successful relationship marketing. Tico Mas’ customers can always consider eating elsewhere. Hence, without their satisfaction, attracting repeated sales to help in establishing the relationship during the first purchase is problematic. Growth Opportunity The American market is saturated with fast-food organisations. However, Tico Mas still has a growth opportunity by expanding into international markets. However, this opportuni ty makes the organisation susceptible to varying cultural influences. Therefore, the strategy also calls for product diversification to meet the cultural needs of different people in the global fast-food markets. Strategies such as promotion and positioning of various products, especially in the Asian market, are an important aspect of an internationalisation approach for the organisation. Introduction of chicken burgers, rather than offering beef burgers, followed by their promotion in the Chinese and Indian bazaars can be an incredible source of growth. This diversification counters cultural influences in the new international market. Chinese and Indian people prefer chicken to beef (Goldman, Santos Tully 2008). Evaluating the preferences of other international fast-food markets can reveal a different cultural preference. Through its creative and innovative team for new products design, Tico Mas can develop appropriate products to meet the specific needs of the new markets. Suita ble Marketing Strategy for the Chosen Market Tico Mas can pursue different marketing strategies. However, as noted before, it will be pursuing the low-price strategy in the effort to gain competitive advantage. Nevertheless, this task should be done during the first five years of operation, particularly in India and China where competition is anticipated to be less as compared to the US. Building customer relationships constitutes the key marketing strategy that will help in building a long-term positive brand image. Before any attempt is made to place a promotion on any media platform, effort should be made to clear any negative profiling of the fast food in the news media, including social media. In this effort, Tico Mas deploys the strategy of providing information that not all fast foods have the claimed negative implication on the health of their consumers by ensuring that people who use new media are one of the target audiences of Tico Mas communication strategies. The interne t is deployed as the main media for communication. Online communication strategy for Tico Mas can be realised through a myriad of modalities. These modalities are driven by two main objectives. The first objective is to establish a two-way form of conversation between the organisation and its potential customers. The second objective include the provision of well thought and implementable details that relate to the measures taken by Tico Mas to ensure that the company adapts to the new markets and that it can secure a quantifiable market share. Appropriate Strategic Marketing Objective for the New Market and Marketing Mix The objective of strategic marketing for Tico Mas is to derive strategies that can make it gain competitive advantage in relation to other organisations that operate in the fast-food industry. In this endeavour, the strategy for Tico Mas in the Asian market is to focus on price, products, place, and promotion, or simply the 4Ps of the marketing mix, to survive. Usi ng the 4Ps appropriately ensures that it remains significant in a highly competitive market environment. Marketing Strategy Based on Marketing Mix Variables Marketing mix encompasses different choices that organisations make to ensure that their products or services are availed to the market at the right price and using the appropriate promotional strategies (Kotler Armstrong 2008). Marketing mix for Tico Mas products in the Asian market (India and China) involves four mains aspects, which include position, charges, advertising, and merchandise. Products for the market should be designed to meet the emerging consumer needs, especially with higher concerns of healthy eating as a targeting strategy. Introducing products that meet the definition of healthy foods is instrumental in enhancing the success of Tico Mas, considering that high-calorie foods are linked to obesity and its associated ailments such as hypertension. The company’s stores form the place of sale of the produc ts. This place is justified by the fact that healthy eating is an issue of global concern. The company also needs to ensure that the offered products and services in all stores are consistent. A failure to achieve this goal can erode the brand positioning strategy (healthy and low-cost food). In most instances, Tico Mas potential customers receive information about the need to stop consuming fast foods from the internet and social media. Consequently, this platform is one of the promotional media tools that the company should consider. In fact, through these media platforms, it is also possible to reach a large number of people globally with minimal expenditure of Tico Mas’ financial resources, especially when social media is adopted. Customers share promotional information among themselves. Point-of-sale promotion is also an additional cost-effective promotional technique that is consistent with relationship marketing approaches that the company deploys. Changes in the Exter nal Environment The fast-food industry is rapidly changing with more emphasis on the need to develop healthier products. Since its inception, Tico Mas business model has been based on providing an alternative to people who do not wish to carry homemade foods in their workplaces or people who wish to eat out. Unfortunately, the external environment has incredibly changed since nutritionists and other health practitioners are instructing people to avoid fast foods due to their association with preventable health problems such as obesity and hypertension. This change influences the company’s marketing strategy. Consumers may attribute the low-price strategy to poor quality and unhealthiness of Tico Mas products. The main challenge is how to create a perception that Tico Mas’ operations in the fast-food industry do not mean that it offers unhealthy food products. Strengths and Weaknesses of the Current Marketing Strategy The current marketing strategy aims at creating more awareness of the organisation’s products to make more sales in the US market. One of the strengths of the current strategy is that the company is recording increasing growth in the domestic market. The situation has resulted in a growing brand image. Therefore, inclusion of new healthy products is a further indication of Tico Mas’ flexibility to meet the needs of its customers. Many people also regard the organisation as offering hygienically prepared products. Therefore, customers are not expected to question the hygienic and quality aspects of its foods, including potential additions to the product line. Amid the strengths of the current marketing strategy, the technique has some has weakness. Weakness or limitations are the characteristics of a marketing strategy that places an organisation at a disadvantaged position in comparison with other organisations in the same industry (Kotler Armstrong 2008). One of the subtle weaknesses of Tico Mas current marketing stra tegy is attributed to the fact that the company declines offering food services at discounted rates for first-time customers. This situation hinders the success of an attempt to establish initial positive relationships by showing regard to its first timers. The company also witnesses intensive competition from other fast-food providers such as Starbucks and McDonald’s among many others. These organisations have a large market share. This case makes Tico Mas suffer from advantages that are associated with large economies of scale such as offering products and services at low prices to the extent of breaking even and/or operating within the profitability range of cost versus quantity curve. Therefore, although the low-cost strategy is a marketing strategy, it presents the weakness of the likelihood of the failure to break even by selling fewer products. Key Emerging Themes In any marketing strategy, factors or elements that hinder the success of the developed marketing planning strategies (barriers) are inevitable. Menon (1999, p. 31) identifies marketing planning barriers such as ‘inadequate management support, failure to coordinate and comply with plans, and failure to understand the customer needs’. In the effort to ensure that the marketing planning that an organisation adopts is effective in realising its objectives, the business also attempts to overcome barriers such as improper communication management, inability to manage change properly, and incapacity to make an accurate prediction of the environmental responses towards the enacted marketing planning strategies. For the success of Tico Mas marketing strategy, the company needs to respond to potential barriers quickly and ardently. Responding to the above emerging themes can be done by formulating and implementing an evaluation programme for the marketing strategy. This way, it becomes possible to identify barriers to effective marketing in good time and take measures to overcome th em. For instance, overcoming poor communication can be effected through the enactment of effective communication processes. This step entails scrapping one-way bureaucratic communication process, which characterises Tico Mas, and adopting the two-way communication method. In the two-way communication process, information flows from the top to down and then down to the top so that the top-most communication personnel can identify the effectiveness of the communication strategies within an organisation. Where miscommunication occurs, effective strategies to correct the misunderstandings, which might have negative implications for the brand image, should be sought. References Dess, G, Lumpkin, G Taylor, M 2005, Strategic Management, McGraw-Hill Irwin, New York, NY. Gerry, J, Kevan, S Whittington, R 2005, Exploring corporate strategy: text and cases, Prentice Hall, London. Goldman, E, Santos, T Tully, S 2008, Observation of leadership and organisational behaviour at McDonald’s , . Hitt, M, Ireland, R Hoskisson, R 2013, Strategic management: Concepts and cases: Competitiveness and globalisation, South-Western Cengage Learning, Mason, OH. Kotler, P Armstrong G, 2008, Principles of Marketing, Prentice Hall, New Jersey, NJ. Menon, A 1999, ‘Antecedents and Consequences of Marketing Strategy Making,’ Journal of Marketing, vol. 63 no. 2, pp. 18–40. Mukherjee, K 2007, Customer Relationship Management: A Strategic Approach to Marketing, Prentice Hall of India, New Delhi. Shaw, E 2012, ‘Marketing strategy: From the origin of the concept to the development of a conceptual framework’, Journal of Historical Research in Marketing, vol. 4 no. 1, pp. 30–55. This essay on Strategic Marketing Plan for Tico Mas was written and submitted by user Nathalie Mercado to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper essays

Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper essays The Last of the Mohicans, a novel written by James Fenimore Cooper in 1826, details the lives of French, English, and native Americans during the early American colonial period. Set in North America, the novel discusses the conflict among races and nationality: English battling against the French forces, and native Americans battling for their territory over the two colonizers (French and English). The novel, more than a work of literature, is also a historical account of the lives of native Americans, the positive and negative members of its race, and the complex situation they faced when they were "dispossessed" by the colonizers. History determines the events surrounding the novel to have happened during the French and Indian Wars, which lasted for seventy-five years (1698-1763). The historical period where the events in the novel take place is characterized by "[m]assacres and scalpings traditional conceptions of honor yielded to the exigencies of the forests British and French combat was no longer a source of national unity but a divisive conflict in which loyalties were compromised and cultural values repeatedly transgressed" Apart from being a period of native American displacement and colonial rule, the Mohicans also confronts the issue of "Puritan New England," where race and culture takes a secondary priority over the issue of religious differences. In the novel, Cooper also depicts conflict between native Americans and its colonizers, particularly the English, where the latter experiences conflict and disagreement with the "savage ways" of the former, due to their primitive and pagan-like form of worship. Cooper's Mohicans, in consideration with all the important events that occurred as discussed above, is an example of a series of "Leatherstocking Tales," which depicts life and society in early America, particularly the dynamic con...

3 Valuable Pieces of Information Harvards MCC Gives Adcoms

In 2015, Richard Weissbourg, a senior lecturer at Harvard, conducted a survey of 10,000 middle and high school students, from which he concluded that today’s college applicants were more preoccupied with their own happiness and achievement than the well-being of others. He postulated that this obsessive, tunnel-vision pursuit of personal achievement may ultimately result in more stressed out and unhappy individuals in the long run. To remedy this issue, Weissbourg proposed a new admissions protocol that seeks to change the criteria by which colleges evaluate their prospective applicants – specifically, he wanted colleges to give equal weight to an applicant’s character as well as their academic achievement. This protocol, titled Making Caring Common (MCC) , has been endorsed by representatives from over 80 of the top colleges in the nation. Previously, we’ve summarized the overarching goals of MCC and explored its tenets from various perspectives . Today, we’ll take a look at MCC from an admissions council’s point of view, and how the new admissions structure under MCC can offer these admissions officers new insights into an applicant’s background. With the way that many college applications are structured today, it’s often difficult to infer what an applicant is like in their day-to-day lives. Applications do ask for extracurriculars and essays , but there’s only so much those can do towards getting to know the kind of person the applicant is when they’re not trying to impress admissions councils. One of the goals that MCC has outlined for colleges is to create a more in-depth application that aims to obtain a more candid, three-dimensional, and dynamic image of a prospective applicant. More specifically, according to MCC’s official report, colleges should aim to assess applicants’ â€Å" daily awareness of and contributions to others .† In the report, Weissbourg and his colleagues propose that colleges should implement this directive by reshaping their essay questions — questions that too often focus only on the applicant’s academic repertoire. MCC suggests that colleges include more essay questions that ask applicants to â€Å" reflect broadly on how they contribute to others and on what values guide their lives ,† in a more moral and ethical sense. The report also asks counselors, teachers, and recommenders to reflect more on their everyday interactions with a prospective applicant and to justify their positive claims about an applicant based on observable, consistent actions. Future recommendations might also have a selection section where recommenders are instructed to pick a preset number of adjectives that describe an applicant; some adjectives will be academically positive, while others are ethically positive. Whether or not ethically positive terms are chosen for an applicant will indicate to admissions councils the relative value of ethics to that applicant. All these techniques combined serve to build a facet of a college application expressly dedicated to evaluating not just how moral an applicant is, but also how consistent the applicant is about living out those values. Perseverance and a Willingness to Learn One of the keywords emphasized in MCC’s report is the word â€Å"sustained,† and for good reason too — colleges have witnessed a trend of applicants engaging in extracurriculars for short periods of time to pad out their resume and then giving them up. The report also points out that partaking in an excessive number of extracurriculars can also cause undue stress and emotional pressure in applicants, and that oftentimes, applicants from less privileged backgrounds are at a disadvantage in the admissions process because their schools don’t offer the wide range of extracurriculars available at wealthier schools. To address all three of these issues, MCC stresses an emphasis on the quality of extracurriculars over the quantity — namely, they recommend that an applicant should only need to list two or three extracurriculars on their application, but that these extracurriculars must be extracurriculars that the applicant has clearly dedicated himself or herself to. When addressing the issue of community service extracurriculars, for example, the MCC report states that a high-quality community service experience should be â€Å" consistent, well-structured and sustained, and provid opportunity for reflection both individually and with peers and adults. † The reasoning behind this is that MCC wishes to see applicants who have been intrinsically transformed by their extracurriculars, either in the way they think or the way they feel about the world. They hope that the extracurriculars that an applicant chooses will have â€Å"engaged students’ concerns and intellect and developed in them important awareness of and commitment to others and the public good.† And in order to feasibly reach such a profound realization within an extracurricular, the report presumes that applicants must have dedicated a significant amount of time and energy to it. This shift from quantity and ostensible value or competitiveness to intrinsic personal development in the evaluation of extracurriculars rewards students who have truly dedicated themselves to the same causes for significant portions of their lives — it portrays these applicants as people with a genuine interest that they are willing to commit to, and who are constantly reevaluating their worldview and bettering themselves through their experiences. Colleges typically encourage a diverse campus with students from various racial and cultural backgrounds, socioeconomic origins, political orientations, and the like. However, the MCC report duly notes that many diversity initiatives that college applicants partake in are surface-level and tokenistic, and do not help in actually facilitating exchange between students of different backgrounds. In order to encourage deeper understandings of diversity, the report suggests that colleges ask about diversity in terms of the changes that interactions with diversity have engendered in an applicant. After interacting with people of diverse backgrounds, have applicants become more understanding? Have they realized a better way to do things from people of a different background? Have they become an advocate or an ally? Most importantly, MCC proposes that applicants who do take part in diversity initiatives do so on equal footing with the demographic that they are interacting with — from the report itself, it says that an applicant should not be â€Å"doing for† people with different backgrounds, and that he or she should instead â€Å"do with,† interacting with people of different backgrounds on their terms and integrating into their daily lives instead of the other way around. These new evaluations of diversity participation discourages the type of superficial and patronizing understanding of different backgrounds that comes from when an applicant simply glosses over the traits of people from a different background on the applicant’s own terms. Instead, it forces applicants to immerse themselves in a different background and experience the world from the perspective of that different background, and rewards those who are able to accept people apart from themselves as equals. Though MCC preserves much of the academic evaluation structure of the current application system (with a few exceptions), the provisions it proposes for a remodeling of the current system are geared towards character building and self-development — two traits that the report states have been neglected in the race for acceptance into top colleges. Once parents, students, teachers, and admissions officers re-focus their efforts towards developing better people instead of just better students, Weissbourg suggests, we’ll begin seeing a rise in happier, more fulfilled, and more complete individuals.

Reflection Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Reflection - Essay Example Even the leadership traits that I considered to prevent the achievement of organizational goals educated me on better leadership approaches. Therefore, this paper gives a reflection of my growth in leadership, aiming to be a school principal, based on transformational leadership theory. Transformational leadership has been associated with desirable organizational performance irrespective of the context. According to Boerner, Eisenbeiss, and Griesser (2007), this style of leadership causes positive results by promoting leader-follower relationship. This reflects my approach to leadership. It is an approach that I used when managing my father’s company to cause the company to post positive results. I associated with the employees and got to understand them better. This informed my decisions that proved to be effective. Being social, transformational leadership best fits within my personality traits as it promotes relationships. Considering my prospect of being a principal in a s chool, I work towards ensuring that I develop a relationship with my students. This will enable me understand them better and therefore make informed decisions on leading them. Hence, transformational leadership promotes the leadership traits that I exhibit hence my choice of basing this paper on the theory. One of the strategies in transformational leadership is to inspire followers to attain extraordinary results. According to Boerner et al. (2007), this entails the alignment of goals and objectives of followers to that of the organization and provision of the necessary support, coaching and mentoring to achieve the desired goals. This was the approach I used to cause positive outcomes when tasked to manage my father’s company. As my chosen style of leadership, I led the workers from the front. I did what was expected and thus set a standard for them to follow. I motivated them into achieving the set objectives. This led to a reduction in time wastage at work, misunderstand ing among employees and negligence of duties. This would be the same approach that would be applied when I become the principal. My greatest role as a principal would be to promote positive relationships among parents, teachers and students so as to positively impact on students’ performance. To achieve this, I would be needed to make it clear to each of these parties what their roles would be. I would ensure that they understand the reason for giving them the respective responsibilities is to see the school perform well. As a way of motivating them to work towards this goal, best performers would be rewarded. This follows the inspirational motivation argument in transformational leadership which according to Boerner et al. (2007) calls for leaders to motivate their followers and encourage them to share in the future vision. This arouses both the individual and team spirit. The second strategy that I would use would entail individualized consideration. Leading a mixed group s uch as a school entails leading many people from different backgrounds. First, the students vary in ages, gender, behavior and even racial background among other distinctions. The same applies to parents, teachers and support employees. Thus, each of these persons would have distinct needs that require individualized attention. In one of my refection papers, I gave the example of Toyota, a vehicle manufacturing company, whose success could be linked to this argument. Toyota manufactures cars that meet the

Managerial Finance and Accounting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Managerial Finance and Accounting - Essay Example For this purpose, necessary policy changes have to be taken after considering the following points: Parties of interest: The FA statements are prepared for providing external information to the major stakeholders of the organization while MA system is designed to provide information to the management internally. Management of Money: FA reports only the monetary aspects of the organization while MA takes interest even in the non-monetary aspects like technical innovations, money value changes etc. for deciding on actions like replacing an asset or affecting an insurance policy strategically. Reporting periods: FA is reported periodically on a quarterly basis. However, MA may require data on a shorter interval basis say a week, fortnight etc so that decisions based on these factors could be taken up on a speedy manner. Nature & Precision: FA reporting is slow but more precise in nature that it serves the principle of objectivity. MA though requires objective information inscribes certain subjective information which gives room for arbitrariness given the short duration. Legality: FA reporting is compulsory but MA systems may or may not be installed by the organization legally. However, it is being observed that for any organization to be successful on a large scale basis, implementing MA systems would always prove to be beneficial. In short, if FA provides information about the movement of the business in the past, MA provides the way in which the business has to plan its future moves. In this process, a management accountant plays a vital role that he performs the following functions: Having understood about the basic guidelines of MA, Hadika plc, to maintain its market share even in the present global crisis will have to give a re-look to its present pricing policy which has to be arrived at after taking into consideration, the following cost classifications: Marginal Cost: The aggregate of

Social, Moral, and Political Philosophy Essay Example for Free

Social, Moral, and Political Philosophy Essay Introduction Social, moral, and political philosophies are three branches that share elements, but are different in application. This paper considers what the fields have in common, how they are different, and how they apply to modern life. When thinkers contemplate such diverse ideas such as justice, love, friendship, democracy, and divorce, they are considering concepts that fit in one or more of the three fields of philosophy discussed in this paper. Contrasts and Commonality. When philosophy addresses questions of values there are three branches that work as agents in the effort: social, moral, and political philosophy. Though there is plenty of overlap with the primary concerns of each branch, there is also sufficient difference in their aim. In some cases the three mentioned fields of philosophy share elements so much that it is easy to confuse them, and yet, in some case they are so different as to ask completely different questions about the same circumstances. Social philosophy addresses questions of society and its institutions; concerned especially with determining the features of the ideal or best society (Moore Bruder, 2004). The primary terrain of social philosophy is the exterior of human beings and how it interacts with collectives and the systems created by the collectives. How humans relate to each other, how they collect into organizations, and how those organizations can best be configured; these are the questions for social philosophy. Moral philosophy (ethics) is the philosophical study of moral judgments that identify what is of virtue, just, morally right, good, and also the opposite of each of those concepts. One of the aims of contemporary moral philosophy is to discover some method or style of argument that can help people resolve moral disagreements (Landesman, 2000). Moral philosophy searches the interior of humanity and seeks answers to questions of right and wrong. Pressing questions for moral philosophy ask individuals to affirm or deny abortion, capital punishment, polygamy, illicit drug use, and prostitution. Political philosophy concerns itself with the nature of the state and seeks to assess its justification and proper organization (Moore Bruder, 2004). Rather than seeking the answers to what is moral, right, or just, political philosophy considers which structure works best for the ordering of society, and who should rule within that structure. For example, according to Plato aristocracy is a preferred form of government that is ruled by a philosopher-king (Moore Bruder, 2004, pg. 311). Each of the mentioned branches of philosophy expresses the values that construct the conditions for human life. A healthy, viable society is erected not only by steel and mortar, but also by social mores, concepts of proper interactions, and systems for vetting policy ideas to govern behavior. Social and moral philosophy ask what is right and just with our social institutions, with the expectation that the perfect society is realistically obtainable. Moral and political philosophy work together to first set the foundation for describing the optimal good, and then creating the rationale and methodology for ordering the thoughts, ideas, and justification for state organization and action. The Differences While there is overlap between social, moral, and political philosophy, there are also points where they depart from each other to separate ideological territory. The thing that differentiates each of the mentioned areas of philosophy can be determined by the angle taken on a question. As an example, consider an unmarried couple that has premarital intimate relations that results in a pregnancy. Social philosophy would ask what the couple should do that would result in the best social relations, with the best net effect for society overall. Moral philosophy would search their options and ask if abortion, out-of-wedlock birth, and premarital sex are right or wrong. Political philosophy would ask what laws should be created to enforce the best interests of the state. Applications for Modern Life In modern life there are plenty of opportunities to apply social, moral, and political philosophy. Consider the vexing and ongoing war in Iraq. The war started with a new political theory that was dubbed â€Å"the Bush doctrine,† named after President George W. Bush. For the first time in American history the country was signaling to the world that preemptive aggression against countries thought to threaten American interest was acceptable. The idea of attacking other countries before they attacked first had previously been viewed as contradictory to the essential political tradition in America. Traditional American political philosophy going back to the earliest leaders was nearly isolationist and firmly against needlessly meddling in international strife. Everything changed with the Bush doctrine. Social philosophy considers life in America and Iraq as a result of the war. What type of society would be best in a post-war Iraq? How can the deeply divisive war be moderated in America between individuals who support and oppose the war? Moral philosophy wonders about the rightness of attacking people when they have not been aggressive first; about equivalency of murder and so-called â€Å"collateral damage,† a euphemism for accidental killing of non-combatants; and whether Americans soldiers who fight in Iraq are just warriors fighting for virtuous aims or improper agents of injustice. Political philosophy would strike to the heart of how the decision for the United States to engage in preemptive war should be decided. In a famous quote President Bush announced to the American public â€Å"I’m the decider. † However, the democratic republic and constitutional form of government actually rests the declaration of war in the domain of Congress. Founders of American government purposefully separated the system into three branches in an attempt to create checks and balances. With the actions of President Bush, one would need political philosophy to reason through the ambiguous local of war powers used amongst the three branches of government. If the president is able to use a personal philosophy in order to commit the American military to a long-term war, then the form of government would seem to be aristocracy. If Congress were to use their authority to prevent the doctrine of preemptive war from prevailing, then the form of government would seem to be a republic. If the president and Congress were to observe the polls that reveal a majority of Americans disapprove of the war, and act upon public opinion, the form of government would be democracy. Conclusion Though social, moral, and political philosophies share common elements, they contrast each other by the questions they consider in given circumstances. Social philosophy questions what is best between humans and their collectives. Moral philosophy seeks determinations of right and wrong, justice and injustice, virtue and dishonor. Political philosophy ponders the best way to organize the State. Each field of philosophy shares the net effect of creating structure for how humans exist, behave, and live together. However, the fields differ in that they concentrate in on instance on the experiential nature of human interaction, in another case on abstract concept of rightness, and in another case on the physical structure of the State. Landesman, C. (Winter 2000). Can Moral Philosophy Teach Us Anything?. Academic Questions, 14, 1. p. 50. Retrieved April 08, 2008, from General OneFile via Gale: http://find. galegroup. com/itx/start. do? prodId=ITOF.

Game Theory as it Relates to Abortion in Canada Essay -- Politics

Flanagan’s Status Quo In 1988 abortion legislation was abolished by the supreme court of Canada (Flanagan 120). Current law was deemed to violate a women’s â€Å"security of person† under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (Wikipedia). Drafting and passing abortion legislation became the responsibility of the current Prime Minister and the House of Commons (Flanagan 121). Attempts by Brian Mulroney to introduce abortion legislation into the House of Commons and senate failed repeatedly (Flanagan 121). ) Despite public opinion favoring moderate legislation, abortion in Canada remains unlegislated (Flanagan 121).Under the circumstances stated why does Canadian abortion law remain in a state of limbo? In Game Theory and Canadian Politics Thomas Flanagan attempts to elucidate this seeming anomaly in Canadian politics. Firstly, the inability to pass new legislation is explained by the tendency for the status quo to prevail when a â€Å"cyclical opinion structure†(Flanagan 121) is present in the legislating body (Flanagan 121). Secondly, Flanagan (121) emphasizes how parliamentary outcomes are influenced by the procedures with which legislation is passed. These two points are illuminated and analyzed using aspects of game theory. Rational choice theory is used to analyze the parliamentary procedure and cyclical opinion structure that caused all possible resolutions and amendments introduced into the House of Commons to fail. Than, the game of chicken and extensive form games are introduced to explicate bill C-43’s majority vote in the House of Commons and subsequent failure in the senate. Although enlightening, Flanagan’s analysis lacks in-depth explanations and pertinent aspects of game theory. He comments on the vote’s failure t... ...the outcome is seen to mirror real life events. Finally, certain aspects of Flanagan’s sequential game model were critiqued and found deficient. Although Flanagan’s case study was enlightening, some aspects may be flawed and an enhanced analysis farther explicates the phenomenon of the â€Å"staying power of the status quo.† Works Cited Abortion in Canada." Wikipedia. 01 Apr.-May 2007 . Brams, Steven J. Rational Politics. Washinton, DC: Congressional Quarterly Inc., 1985. Flanagan, Thomas. Game Theory and Canadian Politics. Toronto: University of Toronoto Press, 1999. Gates, Scott, and Brian D. Humes. Games, Information and Politics. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1997. Green, Donald P., and Ian Shapiro. Pathologies of Rational Choice. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1994.

Employee Attitude as a Function of Job Satisfaction

EMPLOYEE ATTITUDE AS A FUNCTION OF JOB SATISFACTION Introduction There is confusion and debate among practitioners on the topic of employee attitudes and job satisfaction even at a time when employees are increasingly important for organizational success and competitiveness. â€Å"Happy employees are productive employees. †Ã¢â‚¬Å"Happy employees are not productive employees. † We hear these conflicting statements made by HR professionals and managers in organizations.This research aims at establishing job satisfaction as a basis for employee attitude; whether good or bad and we will do this by answering three questions: â€Å"What are the causes of employee attitudes? †, â€Å"What are the results of positive and negative job reaction? †and â€Å"How can we measure and influence employee attitudes? † Before we begin a description of what we mean by employee attitudes and job satisfaction will suffice. What is job satisfaction? Job satisfaction is how content an individual is with his/her job.In other words, a contentment (or lack of it arising out of interplay of the employees positive or negative feelings towards his/her job. However, there is a distinction between affective job satisfaction and cognitive job satisfaction. Affective job satisfaction is the extent of pleasurable emotional feelings an individual has about his job overall while the cognitive job satisfaction has to do with the extent to which the individual is satisfied with particular facets o his job. The most-used research definition of job satisfaction is by Locke (1976), who defined it as â€Å". . a pleasurable or positive emotional state resulting from the appraisal of one’s job or job experiences† (p. 1304). Implicit in Locke’s definition is the importance of both affect, or feeling, and cognition, or thinking. When we think, we have feelings about what we think. Conversely, when we have feelings, we think about what we feel. Cognitio n and affect are thus inextricably linked, in our psychology and even in our biology. Thus, when evaluating our jobs, as when we assess most anything important to us, both thinking and feeling are involved.What is employee attitude? In other to have a panoramic understanding of this terminology, a conceptual clarification would suffice. What is an attitude? An attitude can be described as an expression of favor or disfavor towards a person, place, thing or event which is as a result of either a negative or positive evaluation of the object of affect. Employees have viewpoints about many aspect of their job, career, Organization. The above explanation gives us the idea that attitude can either be positive or negative.Thus employee attitude can be described as an employee’s expression either positive or negative towards his/her job, career or organization. How then do we make a distinction between positive and negative employee attitudes? Generally, It is in their promotion of organizational goals. Therefore, positive employee attitudes can be said to be in agreement with organizational goals thereby promoting it while negative employees can be said to be against organizational goals thereby suppressing organizational goals. This explains why employee attitude is easily cited as the number one performance related issue of companies.From the perspective of research and practice, the most focal employee attitude is job satisfaction. Thus, we often refer to employee attitudes broadly in this article, although much of our specific focus will concern job satisfaction. In the midst of all this, one little question crosses the mind; what are the causes of employee attitudes? What are the causes of employee attitudes? In general, HR Practitioners understand the importance of work situation as a cause of work attitude and it is an area that HR can help influence through organizational programs and management practices.However, in the past decades there has been ga inful research in understanding dispositional and cultural influences on job satisfaction which is not yet well understood by HR practitioners. In addition, the work itself is also an area that influences job satisfaction and this is often overlooked by HR practitioners when addressing job satisfaction. Dispositional influences Several innovative studies have shown the influence of a person’s disposition on job satisfaction. Disposition can be described as a tendency to act in a specified way.There are some factors that affect our disposition and they are called dispositional variables. These variables are often viewed as part of the individual’s makeup, character or personality. Personality is defined as a combination of characteristic patterns of thought, feelings and behaviors peculiar to a person. It is said to be both physiological and psychological. On the other hand, character is a combination of mental and ethical traits marking a person. Dispositional variable s are relatively stable across time and difficult to change.They are often used to explain consistency in individual behaviors across time and situations. The theory of dispositional influences is a very general theory that innate dispositions cause people to have tendencies towards a certain level of satisfaction regardless of the job. In 1997, Timothy A. Judge, Edwin A. locke and Cathy C. Durham argued that there are four core self-evaluations that determines ones disposition towards job satisfaction; self esteem, general self efficacy, locus of control and neuroticism.

Sms Based E Notice Board

Abstract The goal of this project is to design an embedded device which can control up to 8 devices by sending a specific SMS message from a cell-phone. This controller is extremely handy at places where we have to control the ON and OFF switching of the devices but no wired connection to that place is available. To implement this, a GSM modem is connected to a programmed microcontroller which would receive the SMS from a reference cell phone. The control signal part of the received SMS is extracted and is changed to microcontroller-preferred format.In regular intervals, the modem would also send the local temperature We have selected GSM because the ubiquity of its standard makes international roaming very common between mobile phone operators, enabling subscribers to use their phones in many parts of the world. A PC which is connected to the micro-controller using a serial communication through RS232 can be used for monitoring and transmission of the control signals to the modem. T he monitoring is also done by interfacing a LCD to the microcontroller. AT commands were used for controlling the functionality of modem. Main hardware requirements:Renesas SKP16C62P Starter Kit Plus This contains the micro-controller. (used for controlling the different external devices connected as per the SMS received ) GSM modem (GM28 from Sony-Ericsson) This GSM/GPRS terminal equipment is a powerful, compact and self contained unit with standard connector interfaces and has an integral SIM card reader. It is used for receiving the SMS from the mobile device and then to transmit to the Renesas SKP. A MAX232 chip This converter chip is needed to convert a TTL logic from a Microcontroller (TxD and RxD pins ) to standard serial interfacing for PC (RS232) A DB9 connectorThis takes the signals coming form the MAX232 chip to the PC. The typical applications of this serial modem is for developing a wide range of equipment like Security and alarms devices Monitoring and control devices Vending machines Utilities devices Fleet Management devices Embedded Project- ECE 5101 Page 3 2. Project Description Renesas SKP16C62P Starter Kit Plus Device 1 Device 2 MAX 232 Device 8 DB9 Connector DB9 Connector GM28 (GSM Modem with SIM card working in 850 MHz /1900 Hz) Antenna Computer (For displaying the received SMS) Figure 1: Block diagram of the project setupInitially the SMS is received from the person authorized to use this setup (destination) by the GSM modem (GM28) & is transferred to the Renesas SKP16C62P SKP with the help of a MAX 232 chip. As per the AT commands given by the microcontroller to the modem, the control signal from the SMS is extracted and is used to control the devices connected to it. We have to convert the ‘septets' of the phone to ‘octets' because the micro-controller need bytes with 8 bits length ( The ‘septet' is 1 byte with 7 bits length and ‘octet' is 1 byte with 8 bits length). All this process is necessary to decode the m essage from SMS.A program (for extracting the control signal part from received SMS) is loaded into Renesas SKP16C62P SKP, and then the circuit is connected to the modem. The microcontroller now tries to read the SMS from the 1st memory location of the modem and it keeps trying again until the modem receives any (programmed for every one second). Before implementing the control signal part of the SMS, the modem extracts the number from the SMS and verifies if this number has the access to control the device or not. For controlling the devices, the message will be sent in hexa decimal format.The hex data is converted to the equivalent binary and the particular output is enabled. For example if the message is â€Å"AB† the equivalent binary is â€Å"10101011† this implies that the output 1, 3, 5, 7, 8 are enabled and the remaining ports are disabled. We have connected LEDs to the ports of microcontroller to show the output and their status indicates whether the ports are set to ‘ON’ or ‘OFF’. The microcontroller is also programmed to read the temperature from the thermistor every 15 minutes and to send a SMS to the destination number. Embedded Project- ECE 5101 Page 4 3. Device Description 3. 1. Renesas SKP16C62P Starter Kit PlusThe SKP16C62P StarterKit Plus (SKP) is a low-cost environment for evaluating M16C/62P group of microcontrollers (MCU) and Renesas Technology America, Inc. software development tools. The SKP board provides an evaluation and development environment for the M16C/62P group of MCU. It has pushbutton switches, LED’s and LCD for user interface. Standard connector ports are available to expand the range of applications through the use of expansion boards, etc. The kit comes with an integrated software development environment, HEW (IDE, C-compiler, assembler, and linker), KD30 Debugger, and FoUSB (Flash-overUSBâ„ ¢) Programmer.A real-time, source-level debug environment is implemented using the K D30 debugging software with the RTA-FoUSB-MON Flash Programmer/In-Circuit Debugger (ICD). The Flash-over-USBTM (FoUSB) Programmer software, with the ICD, allows in-system programming of the M16C/62P flash MCU. The ICD and firmware provide a convenient USB (Universal Serial Bus) interface between the SKP16C62P board and the host PC. This interface reduces resource requirements on the M16C/62P MCU, allows faster code downloads and, can also be used with many other Renesas Flash MCU’s, SKP’s, and user’s target board.Figure 2: SKP16C62P System Connectivity (From the hardware manual of SKP16c62P ) Embedded Project- ECE 5101 Page 5 3. 2 GSM modem: (GM28 from Sony-Ericsson) Figure 3. a Figure 3. b Figure 3. c Figures 3. a, 3. b and 3. c show the different views of the GSM modem GM28 (From the Hardware Manual of GM28 Modem) The Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) is the most popular standard for mobile phones in the world. It is the European standard for digit al cellular service that includes enhanced features. It is based on TDMA technology and is used on 850/1900 MHz. We are using the GM28, a GSM modem from Sony-Ericsson.This is a powerful GSM/GPRS Terminal with compact and self-contained unit. This has standard connector interfaces and has an integral SIM card reader. The modem has a RJ9 connector through which a speaker and microphone can be connected allowing audio calls being established, but this feature is not utilized in this project as only data transfer is needed. Following are few technical details of the modem. Interfaces: †¢ Data: RS232 9–way (V. 28) †¢ Power and Extended I/Os: 5 – 32VDC (RJ11) †¢ Audio 4-wire Handset Interface (RJ9) †¢ Antenna: 50 (FME male) †¢ SIM card reader: 3V/5V interface with SIM detectionFeatures: †¢ ME + SIM phone book management – read/write/find, call screening, groups †¢ SIM Application Toolkit Class 2 †¢ Real Time Clock †¢ Softwa re upgradeable †¢ Audio control †¢ Fixed dialing number †¢ UCS2 16 bit data supported. Embedded Project- ECE 5101 Page 6 SMS features †¢ Supports both Text and PDU modes †¢ MT/MO & CBM †¢ Cell Broadcast †¢ Concatenation – up to 6 SMS The TT4030 (SE-GM28) uses the following industry standard connectors to interface with the external application and the GSM network; †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ RJ11 (plug-in power supply connector). RJ9 (handset audio connector) Integral SIM card reader.FME male (antenna connector). Sub-D socket, 9 pin (RS232 serial port). 3. 3. Power Connections All electrical connections to the TT4030 (SE-GM28) are designed to meet the standard air (4 kV) and contact (8 kV) discharge ESD tests, of EN 301 489-1. Figure 4 RJ11 connector as power supply to the modem (From the Hardware Manual of GM28 Modem) 3. 4. Antenna Connections The used antenna (Figure 4. a) operates at 850/1900 MHz which is suitable for transmit ting and receiving of RF signals for the GSM modem (GM28) used. Some of the key features of this antenna are: †¢ Bandwidth is 280 MHz †¢ VSWR is +3. 0V Signal = 1 (HIGH) < -3. V Embedded Project- ECE 5101 Page 9 Pin No. Name Notes/Description 1 DCD Data Carrier Detect 2 RD Receive Data (a. k. a RxD, Rx) 3 TD Transmit Data (a. k. a TxD, Tx) 4 DTR Data Terminal Ready 5 SGND Ground 6 DSR Data Set Ready 7 RTS Request To Send 8 CTS Clear To Send 9 RI Ring Indicator Table 1 Pin description of a DB9 connector 6. GM28 in a Communication System Figure 10, Illustrates the main blocks of a wireless communication system using the TT4030 (SE-GM28). It also shows the communication principles of the system. The definitions in the figure are in accordance with the recommendations of GSM 07. 7. The MS (mobile station) represents the TT4030 (SE-GM28) modem plus SIM card. The modem excluding SIM card, is known as the ME (mobile equipment). The TE (terminal equipment) is a micro-controller and is a part of the application. Figure 10. a Main blocks in communication between the GM28 (modem) and the microcontroller (TE) (From the Hardware Manual of GM28 Modem) The end-to-end communication path to be established between the external telemetry/ telematics application and a remote terminal or host, via the GSM network is done through the serial communication.Serial data with flow control according to the RS232 signaling protocol operates between the modem and the external application. The modem performs a set of telecom services (TS) according to GSM standard phase 2+, ETSI and ITU-T. Control of the TT4030 (SE-GM28) is by the external application, via the RS232 serial interface, using a set of AT commands. The TT4030 (SEGM28) supports the full set of AT commands according to GSM 07. 05 and GSM 07. 07. It also supports an extended set of Ericsson proprietary AT commands to add extra functionality. Embedded Project- ECE 5101 Page 10AT commands are used to operate the modem a nd have a broad range of Functions including: Configuring general parameters of the modem (SE-GM28) Setting up and controlling communications to and from the GSM Network Configuring the modem to communicate across the RS232 serial interface Obtaining GSM network status information. Figure 10. b Interface between the GM28 (modem) and microcontroller (TE) (From the Hardware Manual of GM28 Modem) The modem also supports the Voice, Data, Fax services but since these are not required for the current application, they are not taken into consideration as of now. . AT commands The AT command set is the fundamental interface with the modem. An AT command is simply a string of characters preceded by the AT prefix that is sent to the modem. The commands typically instruct the modem to perform some action or set some characteristic within the modem. The modem has two states: command state and on-line state. In command state, the modem will accept and respond to AT commands. In the on-line state , the modem will transmit data, but ignore AT commands. Typically the modem is in the on-line state after dialing.AT commands has the following format: The command is prefixed with AT (Attention) The command is terminated by a carriage return (except the A/ command and escape sequence). The commands can be entered in upper case or lower case. The AT prefix can be in upper case or lower case, but both the A and the T must be the same case. Characters that precede the AT prefix are ignored. Multiple commands can be strung together on a single line and spaces may be included between commands but are not necessary. The command line interpretation begins upon receipt of the carriage return.These commands are used for request information about the current configuration or operational status of the mobile phone/modem and test availability and request the range of valid parameters, when applicable, for an AT command. Embedded Project- ECE 5101 Page 11 General Syntax of AT-Commands: Basic AT [=] [] Extended AT+= [] AT*= [] Read command AT+? AT*? AT? Test command AT+=? AT*=? Response command AT+ : AT* : Important AT command used to Test and Design: 1) ATD To dial a voice call from the modem. 2) AT+IPR To set the baud rate for the modem ( here for our application the baud rate is set as 9600) ) ATA To answer an incoming call. 4) AT+CHUP To hang up the initiated call. 5) AT+CFUN To set the phone functionality. Set to 0 to deactivate the modem. 6) AT+CLIP To identify caller number this command is set to 1 7) AT+CLIR For calling line Identification Restriction. 8) AT+CNUM To identify the subscriber number. 9) AT+CMGR To read the message at particular location . The location number is given as index. 10) AT+CMGD To delete the received message 11) AT+CMGS To send the message. 12) AT+CMGF To change the message format to PDU or Text mode. 13) AT+CMGL To see all the list of messages. 4) ATE To enable and disable command echo. 8. Installation and Functionality of modem To install this modem in the communication system to PC, the following procedure is adopted: †¢ †¢ †¢ Select the phone and modem options from the control panel. By browsing the disk for the modem drivers, the modem is selected and configured to a particular port through which it is connected to the PC. The terminal package like HyperTerminal is selected in the initial stage to check the functionality of the AT commands to control the GSM modem and later this hyper terminal is just used to monitor the serially received output.Hence finally a three way communication is established, the modem directly communicates with the micro controller to control the switching of devices externally and the hyper terminal package in PC is used just for monitoring the results (hence only receive and ground of connected to the PC). Embedded Project- ECE 5101 Page 12 †¢ †¢ The parameters for serial communication can be set in two ways; either by terminal equipment or by serial communicat ion with the micro controller. It should be noticed that the DTR pin should be enabled high in the initial tage to turn-on the modem, for this flow control of hardware is to be taken and the communication initially is 115200 bauds/second with 8-n-1 configuration (i. e. 8-Data bits, Parity none and 1-Stop bit). Later the baud rate can be changed to 9600 bps through the AT command: AT+IPR = . The settings for the hyper-terminal should have the default input translation and ASCII setup, the emulation can be either VT100 (preferable) or Auto-detect. To setup the serial port the following procedure has been followed: †¢ †¢ †¢ Select system from the control panel and thereby select the device manager in the hardware option.Now the exact serial COM port where the modem is configured is selected manually. Select port settings and then bits per second to get the exact baud rate. Now that the modem is configure it’s the task of setting up the volatile profile and enter t he AT commands required to select the SIM memory and then extract the text message. Hence, serial communication is established between GM28 and the microcontroller using a DB9 connector with a level shifter (MAX232). A level shifter is connected between the microcontroller (SKP) and the modem/computer and null modem connection is connected for the DB9 connector.The above discussed points are depicted in the Figure 9. Figure 9 Circuit for connecting the microcontroller to the modem/computer Embedded Project- ECE 5101 Page 13 9. Short Message Service (SMS) The GSM GM28 Modem supports the following SMS services. Sending, MO (mobile-originated) with both PDU (protocol data unit) and text mode supported. Receiving, MT (mobile-terminated) with both PDU and text mode supported. CBM (cell broadcast message), a service in which a message is sent to all subscribers located in one or more specific cells in the GSM network. This feature is network dependent.SMS STATUS REPORT according to GSM 03 . 40. SMS COMMAND according to GSM 03. 40. It should be noted that the maximum length of an SMS message is 160 characters when using 7- bit encoding. For 8-bit data, the maximum length is 140 characters. The Modem supports up to 6 concatenated messages to extend this function. Before we start working on the application design we should ensure the network subscription status Before the application is implemented, we must ensure that the chosen network provides the necessary telecommunication services. Else, the service provider should be contacted to obtain the necessary information.Since SMS features are used in this application, we have to ensure that these are included in the (voice) subscription. 10. PDU SMS format: There are two ways of sending and receiving SMS messages: by text mode and by PDU (protocol description unit) mode. We can switch from text mode to PDU mode and vice versa by selecting the AT+CMGF command. If AT+CMGF = 0 then PDU mode is selected and if the mode is 1 then text mode is selected. The text mode is just an encoding of the bit stream represented by the PDU mode. If we read the message on the phone, the phone will choose a proper encoding.An application capable of reading incoming SMS messages can thus use text mode or PDU mode. If text mode is used, the application is bound to the set of preset encoding options. In some cases, that's just not good enough. If PDU mode is used, any encoding can be implemented. The PDU string contains not only the message, but also a lot of metainformation about the sender, its SMS service center, the time stamp etc. But as of now for our application we require the phone number of the caller for authentication and the length of the message and the text message which contains the binary message.Let us take a example for the text message of â€Å"abcdef†. This message contains apart from the basic text message a lot of redundant data (meta information about the sender). In PDU mode the SMS looks li ke: 07914140279542F7000B816187220731F700006010413283900A0661F1985C3603 In TEXT mode the SMS looks like: +CMGR: â€Å"REC READ†,†16782270137†³,,†06/01/14,23:56:1720†³,129,0,0,0,†+14047259247†³,145,6 abcdef Embedded Project- ECE 5101 Page 14 The octets of the PDU message contain lots of information, in the above example the PDU can be divided and different octets signify the following information: 07 Length of SMSC information. 1 Type of address of SMSC. 4140279542F7 Encoded Service center number. 00 First octet of SMS delivery message. 0B Address length of the sender message. 81 Type of address of the sender number. 6187220731F7 Sender number with a trailing F. (number is 16872270137). 00 TP-Protocol Identification Address. 00 TP-Data coding Scheme. 601041328390 TP-SCTS Time stamp. 0A TP-User data length. 0661F1985C3603 Encoded Message â€Å"abcdef†. All the octets are hexa-decimal 8-bit octets, except the Service center number, the send er number and the timestamp; they are decimal semi-octets.The message part in the end of the PDU string consists of hexa-decimal 8-bit octets, but these octets represent 7-bit data. Basically the transformation of the septets to the octets is based on the GSM 03. 38 standard. This is helpful when we try to communicate with the PDU mode but if we use the CMGF command then text mode is activated to get the converted text message. So to get the message in the Text message we need to send the following commands AT+CMGF=1 to activate the text mode AT+CMGS=1 to check whether the modem supports the SMS message or not.AT+CMGR=I to read the message at the location I in the SIM card. 11. Code /*******************************************************************/ /* FILE :main. c DATE : Jan 2nd 2006 /* */ DESCRIPTION :Main Program To receive SMS from GM28 and to extract the control information part, then to control LEDs accordingly. Send the ambient temperature as SMS back to the user. AUTHORS: B. VAMSEE KRISHNA ; B. PRANEETH KUMAR */ /******************************************************************/ #include â€Å"skp_bsp. h†// include SKP board support package #include â€Å"string. h† void uartinit();Embedded Project- ECE 5101 Page 15 unsigned char result; char sms_text[200],sms_msg[10],num_text[10]; unsigned int f,f1,t,time=0,k=0,count=0,p=0; /* Prototype declarations */ void mcu_init(void); // MCU initialization void main(void); void timer_init(void); void uartinit(void); int map(char); #pragma INTERRUPT rx_isr void rx_isr(void); /* DEFINE QUEUES*/ #define Q_SIZE (200) typedef struct { unsigned char Data[Q_SIZE]; unsigned int Head; // points to oldest data element unsigned int Tail; // points to next free space unsigned int Size; // quantity of elements in queue Q_T; Q_T tx_q, rx_q; int Q_Empty(Q_T * q) { return q-;gt;Size == 0; } int Q_Full(Q_T * q) { return q-;gt;Size == Q_SIZE; } int Q_Enqueue(Q_T * q, unsigned char d) { // if queue is full, abort rather than overwrite and return // an error code if (! Q_Full(q)) { q-;gt;Data[q-;gt;Tail++] = d; Embedded Project- ECE 5101 Page 16 q-;gt;Tail %= Q_SIZE; q-;gt;Size++; return 1; // success } else return 0; // failure } unsigned char Q_Dequeue(Q_T * q) { // Must check to see if queue is empty before dequeueing unsigned char t=0; if (! Q_Empty(q)) { t = q-;gt;Data[q-;gt;Head]; -;gt;Data[q-;gt;Head++] = 0; // empty unused entries for debugging q-;gt;Head %= Q_SIZE; q-;gt;Size–; } return t; } void Q_Init(Q_T * q) { unsigned int i; for (i=0; iData[i] = 0; // to simplify our lives when debugging q->Head = 0; q->Tail = 0; q->Size = 0; } void timer_init(void) { //Timer initialisation ta0mr = 0x80;//timer mode ta0 = 0x927C;//for 50 msec delay ta0ic = 0x03;//timer priority tabsr=0x01; // starting the timer Embedded Project- ECE 5101 Page 17 } int map(char c) { int a=(int)c; switch (a) { case 48: return(0); break; case 49: eturn(1); break; case 50: return(2); break; case 51: return(3); break; case 52: return(4); break; case 53: return(5); break; case 54: return(6); break; case 55: return(7); break; case 56: return(8); Embedded Project- ECE 5101 Page 18 break; case 57: return(9); break; case 65: //returns 10 if ‘A' is entered return(10); break; case 97: //returns 10 if ‘a' is entered return(10); break; case 66: //returns 10 if ‘B' is entered return(11); break; case 98: //returns 10 if ‘b' is entered return(11); break; case 67: //returns 10 if ‘C' is entered return(12); break; ase 99: //returns 10 if ‘c' is entered return(12); break; case 68: //returns 10 if ‘D' is entered return(13); break; case 100: //returns 10 if ‘d' is entered return(13); break; case 69: //returns 10 if ‘E' is entered return(14); break; case 101: //returns 10 if ‘e' is entered Embedded Project- ECE 5101 Page 19 return(14); break; case 70: //returns 10 if ‘F' is entered return(15); break; case 102: //returns 10 if †˜f' is entered return(15); break; default: break; } } #pragma INTERRUPT timer_a0 void timer_a0(void) // the timer is set for every 50 milliseconds

Anne Moody essays

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