Bowlby’s Theory of Maternal Deprivation

In this essay I intend to analyse the attachment theory of well-known British psychiatrist Dr John Bowlby. I will examine both the primary and secondary research behind the theory and look at some of the arguments against it before going on to explore the impact Bowlby’s research has had on the early years setting. Edward John Mostyn Bowlby was born in London on February 26th 1907 to a fairly upper-middle class family. His parents were of the belief that too much parental affection would in fact spoil a child and therefore spent very little time with him, as little as one hour per day.His primary care-giver was the family nanny until, when he was four years old, the nanny left. Bowlby later described this as being: â€Å"as tragic as the loss of a mother† (www. mentalhelp. net/poc/view_doc. php? type=doc;id=10104;cn=28) He was then sent away to boarding school at the age of seven. It is therefore entirely comprehensible that he became increasingly sensitive to childrenà ¢â‚¬â„¢s suffering and how it appeared to be connected to their future mental health. Bowlby began his study at Trinity College Cambridge where he studied psychology.He excelled academically and spent time working with delinquent children. He then went on to study medicine at University College Hospital and enrolled in the Institute of Psychoanalysis. Upon his graduation he began working at Maudesley Hospital as a psychoanalyst. It was while studying medicine that he volunteered in a children’s residential home and began to develop his interest in children who appeared to him to be emotionally disturbed. While working in the residential home he encountered two particular children who intrigued him.The first of these was a very isolated, affectionless teenager who had no permanent, stable mother figure and the second was a young boy of seven or eight who followed Bowlby around constantly. This led him to speculate that there was a possible link between a child’s mental health problems and their early childhood experiences. It was generally believed by many early theorists that the need to make a bond with a mother or mother substitute was part of our ‘biological inheritance’ and Bowlby’s experience and observations lead him to whole-heartedly agree.The resulting body of work and research carried out by Bowlby became known as the attachment theory. It was his firm belief that babies are ‘biologically programmed’ to be dependant on their mother. He went so far as to say that there was a ‘critical period’ in a child’s life from birth to age three where the child would be irreparably damaged psychologically by a prolonged absence from the mother. He referred to this absence as ‘maternal deprivation’. He wrote in his book, first published in 1953; Prolonged breaks (in the mother-child relationship) during the first three years of life leave a characteristic impression on the childâ€℠¢s personality. Such children appear emotionally withdrawn and isolated and consequently have no friendships worth the name† (pg 39, Bowlby J. Child Care and the Growth of Love, 1974) While working at the Child Guidance Clinic in London in the 30s and 40s Bowlby began to suspect that not only was a child’s mental health affected by the lack of bond with their mother but there may well be a correlation between delinquent behaviour in children and ‘maternal deprivation’.This led him to carry out his own study between 1936 and 1939 to try and prove this to be the case. The resulting scientific paper was published in 1946 and entitled 44 Juvenile Thieves. The study involved Bowlby selecting 88 children from the clinic. Of this group of children 44 had been referred to him for theft and 44 had been referred due to emotional problems. Half the children in each group were aged between five and eleven years of age and the other half were between twelve and sixteen. There were thirty-one boys and thirteen girls in the first group and thirty-four boys and ten girls in the second.The two groups were roughly matched for age and IQ. On arrival at the clinic, each child had their IQ tested by a psychologist and at the same time a parent was interviewed by a social worker to establish and record details of the child’s early life. Bowlby, the psychiatrist at the clinic, then conducted an initial interview with the child and parent. The 3 professionals then met to compare notes. Bowlby then went on to conduct a series of further interviews with the child and/or parent over the next few onths to gather more in-depth information about the history of the child, specifically in their early years. Bowlby considered his findings to be entirely conclusive. Of the 44 thieves Bowlby diagnosed 32% as ‘affectionless psychopaths’. He described this condition as involving a lack of emotional development in the children, leading to a lack of con cern for others, a lack of guilt and an inability to form meaningful and/or lasting relationships. Bowlby concluded that this condition was the precise reason why these children were capable of stealing.His speculation was further strengthened when he discovered that 86% of the children with affectionless psychopathy had experienced a long period of maternal deprivation in the first five years of their lives. They had spent the majority of their early years either in institutions or in hospital with little or no visitation from their parents. Interviews also showed that the majority of these children had been undemonstrative and unresponsive since approximately two years of age. Only 17% of the thieves who were not diagnosed as affectionless psychopaths had experienced maternal deprivation in the early years.Of the second group not one child proved to be affectionless and only two of them had experienced prolonged maternal separation. Bowlby concluded in the resulting paper; â€Å" There is a very strong case indeed for believing that prolonged separation of a child from his mother (or mother substitute) during the first five years of life stands foremost among the causes of delinquent character development† [Bowlby J. pg 41] Many have however argued that Bowlby’s findings were not reliable. It has been suggested that as the study was carried out retrospectively this may have tainted the results.It is possible that the parents or the children had not recalled events accurately or indeed that they had not responded truthfully to questioning in order to put themselves in a better light. Michael Rutter suggested in 1981 that some of the children in the study had never had a mother figure at all so their delinquency was not due to maternal deprivation but rather to ‘privation’ of any sort of loving attachment. Bowlby looked at research done by others which could support his own findings. He examined both animal studies done by Hinde and H arlow and Lorenz as well as child studies.He noted in particular the work of Rene Spitz and Katharine Wolf. Spitz and Wolf had observed 123 babies during the first few years of their lives while they were being looked after by their own mothers who were in prison. When the babies were between 6-8 months old their mothers were moved elsewhere within the prison for a period of three months and the babies were cared for by others inmates. Spitz and Wolf noted that the babies lost their appetite, cried more often and failed to thrive during this period of separation. Once the babies were returned to their mothers their behaviour returned to what it had been previous to the separation.These results certainly appeared to support Bowlby’s hypothesis however others disagreed. In Czechoslovakia in 1972 Koluchova wrote of twin boys who had suffered extreme deprivation. Their mother had died soon after the boys were born and their father struggled to cope on his own. At eleven months of age the boys were taken into care and were considered to be normal, healthy children. A few months later their father remarried and at the age of eighteen months the twins returned to their fathers care. Unfortunately the father worked away from home a great deal and their step-mother treated the boys horribly.They were beaten, given very little food, made to sleep on a plastic sheet on the floor and sometimes locked away in the cellar. This continued for five and a half years and when the boys were examined at the age of seven they were found to be severely mentally and physically retarded. The twins were hospitalised until they were able to be placed in a special school for mentally disturbed children. They coped well with their schooling and went on to be fostered by a very affectionate, kind lady and in her care they blossomed.By the age of 15 the boys IQ was normal for their age and their emotional health had improved immensely. Koluchova’s work would appear to demonstr ate that it is in fact possible for a child to recover from maternal deprivation in their early years if they are given the love, support and security required later in their childhood and that the results of maternal deprivation need not be permanent. Schaffer and Emerson also disputed Bowlby’s findings and argued that, although an infant needed to form a bond, children could form multiple attachments and they could benefit greatly from the attention of the extended family.They performed a study in Glasgow in 1964 where they observed 60 children from birth – eighteen months. They met with the mothers once a month and interviewed them to ascertain who the infant was smiling at, who they responded to etc. They found that many of the infants were forming numerous attachments. Twenty of the children studied were not attached to their mothers but to another adult, in some cases the father and in others another family member or even a neighbour. Schaffer states; â€Å"Ther e is, we must conclude, nothing to indicate any biological need for an exclusive primary bond† [Davenport G.C. pg 38] In 1950 the World Health Organisation, who had been following Bowlby’s work closely, commissioned him to write a report on the mental health of homeless children in post-war Europe. While researching the report Bowlby visited several countries and met with many childcare professionals and experts giving him the opportunity to look further into his theory on attachment and the importance of a strong bond between mother and child. His findings supported his thinking entirely and the report was written in six months and published in 1951, entitled Maternal Care and Mental Health.Bowlby went on to publish further papers and books and his findings and research on attachment and the mother child bond has had a profound impact on childcare in general and that of the early years setting. As Juliet Mickleburgh states in her article Attachment Theory and the Key P erson Approach â€Å"Bowlby's research is recognised as the foundation for our understanding of the centrality of making secure attachments in infancy. † [Juliet Mickleburgh, www. eyfs. info] There have been numerous changes to childcare practice since the 1940s and Bowlby’s influence must be acknowledged.It can be no coincidence that ‘family allowance’ was introduced in 1946 in the UK, the same year 44 Juvenile Thieves was published, making it affordable for mothers to stay at home with their children. Bowlby made a plea for reforms in the care of young children in hospital and advocated ‘rooming in’ where the baby stays with mother from birth in the maternity ward. Although some children’s hospitals were already extending visitation rights of parents many more followed their lead after the publication of Bowlby’s W. H. O report, ensuring that the mother/child bond remained as strong as possible.In the early years setting we hav e witnessed the implementation of the ‘Key Person Approach’ pioneered by Elinor Goldschmied. This approach recognises that an infant will be comforted by a secure relationship with one specific adult. We can now see this in practice in the nursery, each child has their own ‘Key Worker’ who has the duty of monitoring the child’s needs and development. This approach also accepts the need for parents and early years practitioners to work together rather than independently and the key worker regularly liaises with the parents regarding their child.Parents are also encouraged to become actively involved with the life of the nursery and to work in partnership with the nursery staff to provide their child with a positive, stable and stimulating learning environment. In my view as a parent and an early years practitioner I believe that Bowlby’s research has benefitted both children and families immensely. As a mother I feel that society supports my ri ght to be at home with my children until they go to school and that I am the child’s most vital resource in their early years, not only for nourishment but for their emotional development.To echo the words of John Major, Bowlby laid the foundation for mothers in the 21st century to go ‘back to basics’. As a practitioner I believe that the implementation of the ‘key person approach’ can be immensely beneficial for both the child and the parent. The child knows that there is always someone there to whom they can turn if necessary and the parent knows that there will always be someone looking out for their child in the setting and that he/she is being given the attention and care of a trained adult in their absence.I have witnessed first-hand in the nursery how a child who is upset by the departure of their mother can be comforted by the attention of their key worker. I have also observed how the key workers are constantly monitoring the children to pin point any needs, to witness the achievement of developmental milestones and to document this for the parents in the form of the Personal Learning Plan, a written and photographic record of the child’s achievements within the setting.In conclusion, although there have been arguments against Bowlby’s research methods many professionals agreed with his findings regarding the importance of a secure attachment in the early years. These findings, and undoubtedly those of others in the field, have led to positive reforms in childcare. As we progress through the 21st century women are feeling the need, either for financial reasons or the belief that they too have the right to work, I find myself asking will society continue to regard the bond between a mother and her child as paramount or will ‘maternal deprivation’ increase and society as a whole be damaged as a result?Bibliography www. mentalhelp. net/poc/view_doc. php? type=doc;id=10104;cn=28 Bowlby J. 1953. Ch ild Care and the Growth of Love, 2nd ed, England, Pelican Books Davenport G. C 1994. An Introduction to Child Development, 2nd ed, London, Collins Educational www. eyfs. info/articles/article. php? Attachment-Theory-and-the-Key-Person-Approach-66 .

Geological Forces That Shape the Earth Essay

Diastrophism Defined: †¢Comes from the Greek word meaning a â€Å"twisting† deformation of the Earth’s crust. All processes that move, or elevate or build up portions of the Earth’s crust comes under this. †¢Diastrophism covers movement of solid (plastic) material, as opposed to movement of molten material which is covered by volcanism. †¢The most obvious evidence of diastrophic movement can be seen where sedimentary rocks have been bent, broken or tilted. Types of Earth Movement: a.Uplift †¢Is the movement of the Earth wherein the crust rises. †¢Process in which structural highs in Earth’s crust are created (e.g. mountains). †¢The movement of tectonic plates and igneous plumes are two processes which may result in uplift. b.Subsidence †¢A sinking or setting of part of the Earth’s crust with respect to the surrounding parts is the motion of a surface (usually, the Earth’s surface) as it shifts downward relative to a datum such as sea level. c.Thrust †¢Horizontal movement of the Earth’s crust. Theories of Diastrophism: a.Theory of Isostasy †¢States that as rock from higher region is removed by erosion and deposited on a lower region, the higher region slowly rises while the lower region becomes heavier and sinks. b.Contraction Theory †¢States that the Earth is gradually sinking. As the shrinkage occurs, the stronger and heavier blocks of the crust sink while the weaker strata are crowded and squeezed upward. c.Convection Theory †¢Is a theory which would account for publishing and folding of rocks through convection currents. This process is true when it occurs under a continental mass. d.Continental Drift Theory †¢Is a theory which accounts for diastrophic movement and for the folding and faulting along the edges of the continents. e.Expansion Theory †¢Is a theory which states that the Earth is gradually expanding. Expansion of the Earth would change the continents’ position. Structural Features of the Earth’s Movement: a.Deformation of Rocks †¢The effects of diastrophism are clearly seen in sedimentary rocks. Any deformation of sedimentary rocks is shown in tilts, bends, or break in the layer. b.Folds †¢A bend or flexure in a rock can be likened to waves on the ocean. Each has a crust and a trough or a down fold. †¢The crust of a rock is called an anticline. The trough of a rock is called syncline. c.Dip and Strike †¢Dip – angle between the horizontal plane or structural surface. †¢Strike – direction of a line along the edge of an inclined bed where it meets the horizontal plane. It is always at right of the dip. d.Pitching Fold †¢Folds whose access slants downward at the each end of an imaginary line running along the top of an anticline or along the bottom of a syncline are called the axes of the fold. †¢The angle between the axis and the horizontal is called Pitch. e.Joints and Fissures †¢Joint – a fracture or a little separation between the rock walls. †¢While Fissures are cracks or actual gap between rock walls. f.Faulting †¢Refers to the surface along which a rock body has been broken and has been displaced. †¢Two types of Faulting: a.Vertical Faulting b.Horizontal Faulting Types of Fault a.Thrust Fault †¢It is a low angle fault in which the hanging wall is moved upward in relation to the footwall. It is characterized by the horizontal compression rather than vertical displacement. †¢A reverse fault in which the fault plane is inclined at an angle equal to or less than 45 degrees. †¢A geological fault in which the upper side appears to have been pushed upward by compression. b.Normal Fault †¢Also called Gravity Fault, a dip slip fault in which the hanging wall has moved downward relative to the footwall. †¢A geologic fault in which the hanging wall has moved downward relative to the footwall. Normal faults occur where two blocks of rocks are pulled apart as by tension. c.Reverse Fault †¢Is the material above the fault plane that moves up in relation to the material below. †¢A geologic fault in which the hanging wall has moved upward relative to the footwall. Reverse faults occur where two blocks of rock are forced together by compression.

Pricing Strategy Essay

Pricing refers to the process of setting a price for a product or service and more than any other element of your marketing mix, will have the biggest impact on the amount of profit you make. Developing an effective pricing strategy is a critical element of marketing because pricing is the only element of the marketing mix that creates sales revenue; the other elements create costs and sales volume. An effective pricing strategy will help you: meet your profit objectives meet or beat your competitors’ prices retain or increase your market share match the image or reputation of your business, product or service match your offer to market demand To arrive at a price for your product or service you’ll need to: Establish what it costs to offer and deliver your products. Without this knowledge, you’ll have no idea whether your prices are sufficient to not only cover all your costs, but to return a profit. Few businesses have failed because their prices are too high, however, many have folded because their prices weren’t high enough to cover costs or generate a profit. Conduct market research to establish what price your competitors are charging and what is the optimum price customers would be willing to pay for your product. Your price will inevitably fall somewhere between that which is too low to produce a profit and that which is too high to generate any demand. The pricing structure A pricing structure consists of a base (or list) price and a variety of price modifiers which depend on the type of product you are selling and the type of market in which you operate. The most common price modifiers are outlined below: Quantity discount – an incentive to buy more. Settlement discount – an incentive to pay quickly. Promotional discount – a discount for a specific period of time. Seasonal discount – an incentive to clear seasonally sensitive stock. Cash rebate – an after-sale incentive linked to a specified target. Ranging allowance – paid to a reseller in return for them stocking your product. Promotional allowance – for participation in a promotional campaign. Delivery fee – an amount you charge for delivering the product. Credit card fee – an amount you charge on credit card purchases. At the end of the day, your objective should be to achieve the best possible price for your products or services taking into account: The value they provide for your customers – ie: how they satisfy their needs and wants in terms of features, benefits, utility value and prestige. Your cost structure – what is your break-even point and how much profit do you want to make? Go to the Financial section for more information on calculating your break-even point and determining profit targets. The competitive environment – what do your competitors charge for similar products and services? Your competitive advantage – do the products or services provide advantages that warrant a price premium? The economic and market environment – what is the level of demand in your industry? A business can use a variety of pricing strategies when selling a product or service. The Price can be set to maximize profitability for each unit sold or from the market overall. It can be used to defend an existing market from new entrants, to increase market share within a market or to enter a new market. Businesses may benefit from lowering or raising prices, depending on the needs and behaviors of customers and clients in the particular market. Finding the right pricing strategy is an important element in running a successful business.[1] Method of pricing in which all costs are recovered.The price of the product includes the variable cost of each item plus a proportionate amount of the fixed costs. Contribution margin-based pricing[edit] Main article: Contribution margin-based pricing Contribution margin-based pricing maximizes the profit derived from an  individual product, based on the difference between the product’s price and variable costs (the product’s contribution margin per unit), and on one’s assumptions regarding the relationship between the product’s price and the number of units that can be sold at that price. The product’s contribution to total firm profit (i.e. to operating income) is maximized when a price is chosen that maximizes the following: (contribution margin per unit) X (number of units sold). In cost-plus pricing, a company first determines its break-even price for the product. This is done by calculating all the costs involved in the production, marketing and distribution of the product. Then a markup is set for each unit, based on the profit the company needs to make, its sales objectives and the price it believes customers will pay. For example, if the company needs a 15 percent profit margin and the break-even price is $2.59, the price will be set at $2.98 ($2.59 x 1.15).[2] Creaming or skimming[edit] In most skimming, goods are sold at higher prices so that fewer sales are needed to break even. Selling a product at a high price, sacrificing high sales to gain a high profit is therefore â€Å"skimming† the market. Skimming is usually employed to reimburse the cost of investment of the original research into the product: commonly used in electronic markets when a new range, such as DVD players, are firstly dispatched into the market at a high price. This strategy is often used to target â€Å"early adopters† of a product or service. Early adopters generally have a relatively lower price-sensitivity – this can be attributed to: their need for the product outweighing their need to economise; a greater understanding of the product’s value; or simply having a higher disposable income. It will maximize profits for the better of the company. This strategy is employed only for a limited duration to recover most of the investment made to build the product. To gain further market share, a seller must use other pricing tactics such as economy or penetration. This method can have some setbacks as it could leave the product at a high price against the competition.[3] Decoy pricing[edit] Method of pricing where the seller offers at least three products, and where two of them have a similar or equal price. The two products with the similar prices should be the most expensive ones, and one of the two should be less attractive than the other. This strategy will make people compare the options with similar prices, and as a result sales of the most attractive choice will increase.[4] Freemium[edit] Main article: Freemium Freemium is a business model that works by offering a product or service free of charge (typically digital offerings such as software, content, games, web services or other) while charging a premium for advanced features, functionality, or related products and services. The word â€Å"freemium† is a portmanteau combining the two aspects of the business model: â€Å"free† and â€Å"premium†. It has become a highly popular model, with notable success. High-low pricing[edit] Method of pricing for an organization where the goods or services offered by the organization are regularly priced higher than competitors, but through promotions, advertisements, and or coupons, lower prices are offered on key items. The lower promotional prices are designed to bring customers to the organization where the customer is offered the promotional product as well as the regular higher priced products.[5] Limit pricing[edit] Main article: Limit price A limit price is the price set by a monopolist to discourage economic entry into a market, and is illegal in many countries. The limit price is the price that the entrant would face upon entering as long as the incumbent firm did not decrease output. The limit price is often lower than the average cost of production or just low enough to make entering not profitable. The quantity produced by the incumbent firm to act as a deterrent to entry is usually larger than would be optimal for a monopolist,  but might still produce higher economic profits than would be earned under perfect competition. The problem with limit pricing as a strategy is that once the entrant has entered the market, the quantity used as a threat to deter entry is no longer the incumbent firm’s best response. This means that for limit pricing to be an effective deterrent to entry, the threat must in some way be made credible. A way to achieve this is for the incumbent firm to constrain itself to produce a certain quantity whether entry occurs or not. An example of this would be if the firm signed a union contract to employ a certain (high) level of labor for a long period of time. In this strategy price of the product becomes the limit according to budget. Loss leader[edit] Main article: Loss leader A loss leader or leader is a product sold at a low price (i.e. at cost or below cost) to stimulate other profitable sales. This would help the companies to expand its market share as a whole. Marginal-cost pricing[edit] In business, the practice of setting the price of a product to equal the extra cost of producing an extra unit of output. By this policy, a producer charges, for each product unit sold, only the addition to total cost resulting from materials and direct labor. Businesses often set prices close to marginal cost during periods of poor sales. If, for example, an item has a marginal cost of $1.00 and a normal selling price is $2.00, the firm selling the item might wish to lower the price to $1.10 if demand has waned. The business would choose this approach because the incremental profit of 10 cents from the transaction is better than no sale at all. Market-oriented pricing[edit] Setting a price based upon analysis and research compiled from the target market. This means that marketers will set prices depending on the results from the research. For instance if the competitors are pricing their products at a lower price, then it’s up to them to either price their goods  at an above price or below, depending on what the company wants to achieve. Odd pricing[edit] In this type of pricing, the seller tends to fix a price whose last digits are odd numbers. This is done so as to give the buyers/consumers no gap for bargaining as the prices seem to be less and yet in an actual sense are too high, and takes advantage of human psychology. A good example of this can be noticed in most supermarkets where instead of pricing at $10, it would be written as $9.99. This pricing policy is common in economies using the free market policy. Pay what you want[edit] Main article: Pay what you want Pay what you want is a pricing system where buyers pay any desired amount for a given commodity, sometimes including zero. In some cases, a minimum (floor) price may be set, and/or a suggested price may be indicated as guidance for the buyer. The buyer can also select an amount higher than the standard price for the commodity. Giving buyers the freedom to pay what they want may seem to not make much sense for a seller, but in some situations it can be very successful. While most uses of pay what you want have been at the margins of the economy, or for special promotions, there are emerging efforts to expand its utility to broader and more regular use. Penetration pricing[edit] Main article: Penetration pricing Penetration pricing includes setting the price low with the goals of attracting customers and gaining market share. The price will be raised later once this market share is gained.[6] Predatory pricing[edit] Main article: Predatory pricing Predatory pricing, also known as aggressive pricing (also known as â€Å"undercutting†), intended to drive out competitors from a market. It is  illegal in some countries. Premium decoy pricing[edit] Method of pricing where an organization artificially sets one product price high, in order to boost sales of a lower priced product. Premium pricing[edit] Main article: Premium pricing Premium pricing is the practice of keeping the price of a product or service artificially high in order to encourage favorable perceptions among buyers, based solely on the price. The practice is intended to exploit the (not necessarily justifiable) tendency for buyers to assume that expensive items enjoy an exceptional reputation, are more reliable or desirable, or represent exceptional quality and distinction. Price discrimination[edit] Main article: Price discrimination Price discrimination is the practice of setting a different price for the same product in different segments to the market. For example, this can be for different classes, such as ages, or for different opening times. Price leadership[edit] Main article: Price leadership An observation made of oligopolistic business behavior in which one company, usually the dominant competitor among several, leads the way in determining prices, the others soon following. The context is a state of limited competition, in which a market is shared by a small number of producers or sellers. Psychological pricing[edit] Main article: Psychological pricing Pricing designed to have a positive psychological impact. For example, selling a product at $3.95 or $3.99, rather than $4.00. There are certain price points where people are willing to buy a product. If the price of a product is $100 and the company prices it as $99, then it is called  psychological pricing. In most of the consumers mind $99 is psychologically ‘less’ than $100. A minor distinction in pricing can make a big difference in sales. The company that succeeds in finding psychological price points can improve sales and maximize revenue. Target pricing business[edit] Pricing method whereby the selling price of a product is calculated to produce a particular rate of return on investment for a specific volume of production. The target pricing method is used most often by public utilities, like electric and gas companies, and companies whose capital investment is high, like automobile manufacturers. Target pricing is not useful for companies whose capital investment is low because, according to this formula, the selling price will be understated. Also the target pricing method is not keyed to the demand for the product, and if the entire volume is not sold, a company might sustain an overall budgetary loss on the product. Time-based pricing[edit] Main article: Time-based pricing A flexible pricing mechanism made possible by advances in information technology, and employed mostly by Internet based companies. By responding to market fluctuations or large amounts of data gathered from customers – ranging from where they live to what they buy to how much they have spent on past purchases – dynamic pricing allows online companies to adjust the prices of identical goods to correspond to a customer’s willingness to pay. The airline industry is often cited as a dynamic pricing success story. In fact, it employs the technique so artfully that most of the passengers on any given airplane have paid different ticket prices for the same flight.[7] Value-based pricing[edit] Main article: Value-based pricing Pricing a product based on the value the product has for the customer and not on its costs of production or any other factor. This pricing strategy is frequently used where the value to the customer is many times the cost of  producing the item or service. For instance, the cost of producing a software CD is about the same independent of the software on it, but the prices vary with the perceived value the customers are expected to have. The perceived value will depend on the alternatives open to the customer. In business these alternatives are using competitors software, using a manual work around, or not doing an activity. In order to employ value-based pricing you have to know your customer’s business, his business costs, and his perceived alternatives.It is also known as Perceived-value pricing. Other pricing approaches[edit] Other pricing strategies include Yield Management, Congestion pricing and Variable pricing. Nine laws of price sensitivity and consumer psychology[edit] In their book, The Strategy and Tactics of Pricing, Thomas Nagle and Reed Holden outline nine â€Å"laws† or factors that influence how a consumer perceives a given price and how price-sensitive they are likely to be with respect to different purchase decisions. [8][9] They are: Reference Price Effect – buyer’s price sensitivity for a given product increases the higher the product’s price relative to perceived alternatives. Perceived alternatives can vary by buyer segment, by occasion, and other factors. Difficult Comparison Effect – buyers are less sensitive to the price of a known or more reputable product when they have difficulty comparing it to potential alternatives. Switching Costs Effect – the higher the product-specific investment a buyer must make to switch suppliers, the less price sensitive that buyer is when choosing between alternatives. Price-Quality Effect – buyers are less sensitive to price the more that higher prices signal higher quality. Products for which this effect is particularly relevant include: image products, exclusive products, and products with minimal cues for quality. Expenditure Effect – buyers are more price-sensitive when the expense accounts for a large percentage of buyers ’ available income or budget. End-Benefit Effect – the effect refers to the  relationship a given purchase has to a larger overall benefit, and is divided into two parts: Derived demand: The more sensitive buyers are to the price of the end benefit, the more sensitive they will be to the prices of those products that contribute to that benefit. Price proportion cost: The price proportion cost refers to the percent of the total cost of the end benefit accounted for by a given component that helps to produce the end benefit (e.g., think CPU and PCs). The smaller the given components share of the total cost of the end benefit, the less sensitive buyers will be to the components’ price. Shared-cost Effect – the smaller the portion of the purchase price buyers must pay for themselves, the less price sensitive they will be. Fairness Effect – buyers are more sensitive to the price of a product when the price is outside the range they perceive as â€Å"fair† or â€Å"reasonable† given the purchase context. The Framing Effect – buyers are more price sensitive when they perceive the price as a loss rather than a forgone gain, and they have greater price sensitivity when the price is paid separately rather than as part of a bundle.

Cooper Green Hospital and the Community Care Plan Case Study

Cooper Green Hospital and the Community Care Plan - Case Study Example Finally, the expansion of the program has to be driven by an individual other than Dr Max Michael the originator of the program. He he has neither the promotional, organizational or social skills needed to develop a team that can effectively realize the cost benefits to service providers and time and convenience benefits to CCP members. This case presents a series of key issues that, traced backwards, draw out the essential issues. The presenting issue is a lack of revenue: Start-up funds are terminating and the program is not yet self-supporting. The program is not yet self-supporting because it does not have enough paying participants. Therefore, the program needs more members, paying more membership fees to become self-supporting (or, ideally, profitable). The key issue in this case is promotional. One might be tempted to say marketing, but promotional is more accurate. Individuals to not need to be persuaded to buy membership in the Cooper Green Hospitals Community Care Plan (CCP) clinics. The problem is actually much more fundamental. They need to be made aware that the option exists. The case indicates that potential members have not made a choice not to join a CCP but rather, for the most part, were never aware that they had the option, of what the option entailed, an of what the potential benefits were. It is in this sense that the key issue is promotional. The symptoms are financial losses and low membership but the key issue is promotional: The target client group is largely unaware of the availability of the service. They lack the information necessary to say yes to CCP clinic membership. A lack of promotion is also evident on an entirely different level. The employees seem to enjoy working in the CCP environment and be motivated. However, the same cannot be said about their bureaucratic and political masters.

Video response paper (writer's choice) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Video response paper (writer's choice) - Essay Example It also forms part of the growing films on border-crossing as much as the Mexican migration became a dominant cinematic theme for both the US and Mexico. (Maciel and Garcia-Acevedo, p. 148) To say this, however, is tantamount to merely scratching the surface. The Syrian Bride is more than its obvious storyline. It is peppered with important themes and social issues that permeate in Israel today as well as its relations with its neighboring Arab countries. Plot The film depicted the story of Mona (Clara Khoury), a Druze woman living in Golan Heights, who in an arranged marriage, must travel to meet his groom, Tallel (Derar Sliman), in Syria. Everything was pretty straightforward, starting from the wedding festivities unto the wedding itself, which would take place at the border. Mona had to bid her family farewell and cross the border. It is at this point, however, wherein the story took an interesting turn. Israel and Syria do not maintain any diplomatic relations. In addition, both countries are claiming Golan Heights. Ebert (2006), in his review, expressed the dilemma in word best as he stated that Mona’s problem â€Å"is that Syria considers her to be already in Syria, and Israel considers her to be in Israel† and â€Å"how can she cross from a place one side says does not exist to a place the other side says does not exist?† The bureaucratic tangle was further complicated by the fact that Syria does not recognize Israeli passport, effectively barring Mona from entering the country. The entire caper was already comedic as the protagonist and the Salman family untangle their way to their destination. Symbolism Writing for the New York Times, Stephen Holden (2005) remarked that The Syrian Bride and its depiction of the impenetrable border symbolized all that’s wrong in the Middle East. This wrongness in bordered the ridiculous as complex norms and procedures applied at either side of the border defy logic, understanding and implemen tation. As has been shown by the film, everything was in fact insane. There are vague and conflicting security and political considerations resulting in a solid deadlock to which an Israeli border patrol officer could merely shrug in sympathy and perhaps in his own confusion as well. The entire caper disputed the opening claim of sadness for the whole film, making the film, in itself, hilarious with ridiculousness of Mona’s situation. The politics and the bureaucracy involved in the border defy reason and can actually victimize even the most fundamental and innocent needs and desires of people affected. In most respects, this situation is the same with the way relations between Israel and its neighboring countries are conducted – enforcing ridiculous legal norms and violating human rights in the process, just so security and political considerations could be satisfied. Apolitical More than anything, the film does not have a political agenda. It did not talk about which side of the fence – Israel or Syria – is correct, much less attack policymaking that would pit the two countries or their positions on several issues against each other. There was no suggestion of peace and/or some outright diplomatic resolution to the strained bi-partisan relationship or something to this effect. If there was some politics involved, it was, in the words of Ebert, just nibbling around the edges, â€Å"

Facebook Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Facebook - Essay Example Business, marketing, advertising, politics etc are some segments in which facebook contributed heavily to the global public apart from providing instant communication opportunities. The recent political developments in Arab world are believed to be stimulated by facebook. In fact the current Arab revolution is referred as facebook revolution. â€Å"The dictator of Tunisia was overthrown in less than one month after being in power for 23 years. There is no question about how opponents of his regime were able to topple it. Two words describe it: Facebook, Twitter†. In Libya also facebook contributed heavily for the expulsion of Gadhafi. In short, the influence of facebook over human life is growing day by day. â€Å"Facebook was founded in 2004 by a former-Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg†. He has also pointed out that â€Å"facebook and its idea spread across the college campus within months from launching and at present it is the second largest social networking site, s econd only to my space as far as traffic is concerned†. The founding of facebook has raised some controversies about the ownership of the idea of facebook. Mark Zuckerberg was accused of stealing the idea of his college roommates and fellow computer science students. Anyway, it is a fact that in early 2003 itself, the idea of creating a social network was in the mind of Zuckerberg. In fact he has started another social network Buddy Zoo in 2003 itself with the help of some of his close friends. In January 2004, Zuckerberg started writing the source codes of facebook and on February 4, he launched Thefacebook. In 2005, the name Thefacebook has been changed to Facebook. Controversies regarding the founding of facebook Former Harvard classmates Cameron Winklevoss and Tyler Winklevoss claim that Zuckerberg stole their idea for a social networking site whilst he was employed by them to assist with the sites development, the site in question being connectu.com. They filed a lawsuit as early as 2004 but the case was dismissed in March 2007, although it was quickly re-filed in Boston, eventually Facebook settled the case for $65m (Ryankette, 2011). Still there are many stories spreading about the stealing of this idea by Zuckerberg. â€Å"After Facebook announced the settlement, but before the settlement was finalized, lawyers for the Winklevosses suggested that the hard drive from Mark Zuckerberg's computer at Harvard might contain evidence of Mark's fraud†(Carlson, 2010). Critics label him as a cheat. It should be noted that besides Zuckerberg, there three co-founders for facebook; Dustin Moskovitz, Eduardo Saverin, and Chris Hughes. In short, the disputes about the ownership of the idea of facebook created lot of negative publicity to facebook. What made Facebook a success today? According to Shih (2009), â€Å"right this moment at least 150000000 people are interacting with friends and talking about the brands on facebook†(Shih, 2009, p.i). The success of facebook primarily lies in its ability to attract business people towards it. Business has realised the potentials of facebook quickly in conducting its marketing campaigns successfully. Facebook users normally share their ideas and opinions about the new products they might have purchased recently and this type of publicity is even better than word of mouth publicity for business people. So they have shown increased interests in posting marketing ads in facebook which helped facebook to grow considerably. Marketers can make use of targeted ads to reach specific segments of customers using facebook and that also with a minimal spending for advertising. Facebook ads are more effective and cheaper than other

East Germany from 1980 until the end Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

East Germany from 1980 until the end - Essay Example The policies made to overcome structural problems led to the collapse of the economy. The policies aimed at centralizing the economy did not have a positive impact. This made the problems harder to solve, making it necessary for West Germany to bail out the economy. Market orientation problems were solved but the original structural problems were not. This has made it difficult for East Germany to match output levels in West Germany. The stagnation in East Germany began when the monetary union overvalued the East German mark, leading to the decrease of the price of capital stock and the increase in labor cost per unit. Competition also faced a serious downfall. Funds that were given to alleviate private households and to heighten the investment sector were channeled to many other sectors, hence economic expansion became difficult. The public was given ill advice on areas of investment, and, therefore, production levels were reduced. Unemployment increased, leading to high public budg ets. The Federal Government spent on arrears to unify finance, thus increasing inflation tendencies. The Bundesbank tried to reduce inflation by raising interest rates. There was a negative impact on international competition, which slowed down the process of adaptation. Transparency in the East German was lost due to linguistic deceit (Markovits 189). Regulations that were set to cover up legal realities by the use of words became a recognized practice. East Germany has not yet found a solution to the problems brought by the communist system. Many people who lived around the Berlin area were affected by the division of the economy. Most of them worked in the West but resided in the East. Social control became low among these people, leading to the increase in the nonstandard behaviors. Antisocial behaviors caused violence even on football grounds (Dennis and LaPorte 137). Mortality rates were increasing at a steady pace, leading to an increase in life expectancy (Kronenberg 14). In the past, many people died in road accidents due to the social changes. Restrictions concerning personal freedoms were made to solve the problem. Local regulations were the basis of the foundation of civil legislation. The regulations in the set code books only applied to the region which did not have local regulations. East Germany also had policies that tried to break the link between marriage and childbirth. Single mothers were paid when they were on a one year leave, but this only applied to the first child. The leave scheme only applied to the single mothers. There was a rise in nonmarital births, because the policy encouraged many to push their marriage programs forward. Many women opted to bear their first children out of wedlock to enjoy the leave scheme. It was in 1986 that the scheme also applied to mothers who bore their first children after marriage. In the Eastern region, rates of nonmarital fertility were higher than in the Western region (Knapp, Madden, and Fowler-Ke rry 210). The average age of women by the time they gave birth was lower in East Germany. The region did not have strict restrictions concerning marriage. Regulations that were made were inspired by the needs of children. A man who made a woman pregnant had the responsibility of giving the woman compensation and taking care the child. The constitution of the region also stated that it was not wrong to be born by a nonmarried couple. The Church in Europe tried to inform