Wednesday, October 30, 2019
Professional Team Sports Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words
Professional Team Sports - Essay Example Making profits is a key aspect in any business venture (Wladimir and Stefan, 2006:617). This understanding has created interest in finding out the real effect of decisions made by club owners and franchise on the structure and regulation of leagues around the world. This paper therefore seeks to interrogate the different ways in which the objectives and decisions of club owners in professional sports affect the overall sporting arena. In order to get better sales in sports, high level of competition is required unlike in business where monopoly is the ultimate goal. If there are championships or leagues, the participation of more than two clubs will be necessary to ensure better products to the fans. If one club is far better than the rest and keeps on winning all games with ease, the products become so predictable and therefore less marketable to the fans (Wladimir & Stefan, 2006:27). Fans will get bored in watching a team that wins with big margins repeatedly and so need some degre e of uncertainty for them to enjoy watching the game. This phenomenon of the professional sports as an industry has led to the development of cooperation among clubs and the adoption of governing bodies charged with ensuring that the industry attains its optimal production capacity by way of organising championships and leagues. These leagues are highly competitive and as such have become some of the most profitable enterprises around the globe. For instance, the European champions’ league, the Barclays premier league in England and the La-liga of Spain are some examples among many leagues in football that are leading income earners for the respective clubs and contribute a considerable amount of the countries’ GDP. Baseball, basketball, indoor sports, golf, athletics, and Olympics in general all form a multibillion-dollar economy (Masteralexis and Hums, 2002:295). The graph below shows how revenue from sporting activities has increased over the years. Figure 1: graphi c illustration of increase in revenue in the sports sector associated with increasing commercialization Retrieved from http://www.econweb.com/MacroWelcome/sandd/D-Shift_New_Equilibrium.gif According to some economists, this feature of professional sport is quite favourable as it eradicates monopolies, which are responsible for poor quality of products or services offered and high non-commensurate prices. In the end, the whole arena of professional sports forms a model of free market where competitiveness of the product offered carries the largest share. This competition however is not always healthy especially with respect to the labour market (Stefan, 2007:47). Here, the free relocation and transfer of players from one club to the other based on the wages has made the wealthier clubs maintain a grip of the top leagues and championships over the less wealthy clubs. Therefore, wealthy club owners can get all the best talent there is in the market and thereby in a way kill competition , which is the very phenomenon on which the industry thrives (Rodney, 2004:25). This has resulted to creation of oligopolistic cartels where the higher level of game is exclusive to the rich clubs where as the less wealthy clubs play in the lower divisions that are less competitive and less famous among the fans ((Wladimir and Stefan, 2006:64). This means that fans will be flocking the gates only when big teams are playing. This obviously means very high revenues for them where as the poorer clubs will only have small number of fans in
Monday, October 28, 2019
War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning Essay Example for Free
War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning Essay The book â€Å"War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning†by Chris Hedges provides in-depth discussion of the appeal and pull of war on national actions and attitude of people towards the war. The author highlights fifteen years of experience and reports through his own prism the very nature of the war, its causes and terrible consequences such as numerous deaths, hunger, cataclysms, etc. Moreover, Hedges discusses physical and moral devastation the war leaves. The author claims that war should be considered a deadly addiction or a drug which offers intoxication. He argues that war is meaningless and in reality war is only the basest form of aggression. One interesting moment is that the author argues that the war has attractive nature. He writes: Even with its destruction and carnage it can give us what we long for in life. It can give us purpose, meaning, a reason for living. Only when we are in the midst of conflict does the shallowness and vapidness of much of our lives become apparent. War makes the world understandable†¦ (p. 54) Hedges explains that the leading causality in war is the truth. He means that hesitations and doubts whether the war is justified aren’t permitted. The state and the news media are to be blamed for fostering the myth of the good and bad sides of the war. He argues that mythic war â€Å"reporting sells papers and boosts rating†. (p. 156) War myths are created to provide the nation with illusion of clear chain of events that prove nobility of the cause and aggression of others. Moreover, war myths are necessary for making people follow leaders, fight and die for them. However, one of the worst myths is the plague of nationalism. Hedges writes that it is nationalism that divides people on the basis of their culture, ethnicity, language, etc. Nationalism teaches nation to consider itself either superior or minor. Actually, nationalism is one of the most frequently observed causes of war nowadays. Culture is seen as the victim of war as war applies cultural peculiarities to its own purposes. Finally, the author assumes that religion is the only ultimate power that can resist war. Charity, kindness, love and humanity are able to fight the evils of war. References Hedges, Chris. (2002). War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning. New York: Public Affairs.
Saturday, October 26, 2019
An Analysis of Prostitutes on Strike: The Women of Hotel Street During World War II :: essays research papers fc
When most people hear the word â€Å"prostitute†, they immediately envision a person who is a disease-ridden imbecile of society. However, if one researches the statistics and personal recollections of prostitutes, they will find that they may be very moral and great women. The reflection that Beth Bailey and David Farber recall in the essay called Prostitutes on Strike: The Women of Hotel Street During WW II shows what the prostitutes were actually like in the 1940’s. In several cases of the women in Hawaii during World War II, their compassion is shown through their cooperation with organizations and with the public. Many of the things that they did, however, were not entirely as moral as they seem to appear to be. The events associated with the prostitutes that stayed in Hawaii during WWII can be thought of as both ethical and unethical, but nonetheless, they fought a war of their own to keep their occupations and ways of life.      Prostitutes in Hawaii thrived with business during the times surrounding the War to End All Wars. With the growth of men passing through the area on leave, grew the business of the prostitutes of the time. The brothels that the prostitutes worked in were aimed at the servicemen during the war. The men were lined up outside the buildings for sometimes hours at end, in front of everyone to see. On top of that, the women at the door would sometimes reject a man who they did not trust, or even those who appeared drunk. The brothels also brought peace to the area; if a man needed to fill a sexual desire, the use of a prostitute would prevent a rape or sexual assault from happening (432).      The status quo for prostitutes in Hawaii changed dramatically after the attack on Pearl Harbor. When they went to volunteer at hospitals to aid the wounded, many were turned down, due to fear of infection. Some women did what they could to help, even going as far to transform the brothels into living quarters for the wounded. Since their rooms were occupied, the prostitutes were forced into the street. Soon after, they discovered that they could buy or lease houses and resume business as normal. Weeks later, after the wounded soldiers moved out, the prostitutes wished to continue living down by the beautiful beaches where they could continue their business, and live in secrecy as well.
Thursday, October 24, 2019
Investigating the concentration of the solutions inside the vacuole of a potato cell. :: essays research papers
Osmosis Investigation We are trying to find out what the concentration of the solutions is inside the vacuole of a potato cell. We will investigate how the mass of the potato chips change in different sucrose solution concentrations. We will use osmosis to do this. I will be measuring and controlling many different variables, these include; - The dependent Variable – Weight of potato chip Independent Variable – Concentration of sucrose Control Variables consist of; - 1.     Temperature 2.     Surface area of potato 3.     Volume of sucrose solution 4.     Same time for each potato chip submerged in solution 5.     Potato chips all from same potato The effects on the dependent variables all differ; here is how the main variables in my experiment work out. Variable     Effect on Dependent Variable Surface area of potato chip     The greater the surface area the more water it will be able to absorb Same chip from the same potato     The genetic make-up will be the same and therefore the partly permemble membrane will be similar Time left in the solution     The longer spent in solution the more that is absorbed Coating on the potato chips     If not rinsed off and dried after a certain period of time the chips will form a coat of sugar thus decreasing surface area Quantitative prediction I predict that the effect of changing the sucrose concentration will be that as the concentration of the sucrose solution increases, first of all the mass of the chip will increase, and then the change in mass will gradually decrease until mass is lost and this mass loss will gradually increase in amount. Because when the sucrose concentration is low, the concentration of water outside the cells of the potato chips will be greater than that inside, and therefore water will osmosis into the cells of the chip which will gain mass. As the concentration of sucrose increases the concentration of water outside the call will eventually become less than inside the cells of the chip and mass will be lost.      Dependent      Variable      Inside the cells Outside the cells Dilute solution          Concentrated solution                                    Higher water concentration Low water concentration Key: = Sucrose particle = water molecule = osmosis = partially permeable membrane In the higher sucrose concentration solution, the net movement of water (osmosis) is to the outside of the cell, and the chip will lose mass, the cells will become plasmolysed. The chip in a low concentration of sucrose solution, is the opposite of the diagram above, in that the water osmoses into the cells of the chip, mass it gained, through osmosis of water into the plant cells, the cells will become turgid.
Wednesday, October 23, 2019
Dialogue between Beccaria, Lombroso and Durkheim
Criminology, as every science, relies on facts and evidence. This paper is aimed at creating a dialogue between three criminologists of the nineteenth century Beccaria, Lombroso and Durkheim; in this discussion, they will explain their points of view and try to implement their theories into the reality at the end of the twentieth and beginning of the twenty first century.Their doctrines were a response to the processes of industrialization and the modernization in the 18th and 19th centuries; they aimed to promote cohesion and rationality in the society (Vold & Bernard, 1986, p. 101) Lombroso and Beccaria are sitting in a bright living room drinking tea and waiting for Durkheim to join them. While the criminologist has not come yet, they have time to talk and discuss each other’s works: Beccaria: Good afternoon, Mr. Lombroso. How are you doing?Lombroso: Good afternoon, Mr. Beccaria. Fine, thanks. What about you? Beccaria: I’m also fine, thank you. I should compliment yo u: recently I have read your work The Criminal Man (1911) and it appeared to be fantastic; I must admit that your point of view is rather interesting; but I have not understood the way you distinguish those three classes of criminals. Lombroso: I will gladly explain you that. Three types of criminals are: Atavist, Criminaloid and Insane criminal.Atavists are the criminals that reproduce the most ferocious characters of a wild animal or a primitive man, which explains that they are well recognized by large jaws, prominent superciliary arches, solitary lines in the palms, their orbits are of extremely large size, handle-shaped or sessile ears found in criminals, they are insensible to pain, have extremely acute sight, their bodies are covered with tattoos, excessive idleness, they love to participate in orgies and have the irresistible craving for evil for its own sake, the desire not only to extinguish life in the victim but to mutilate the corpse, tear its flesh and drink its blood.  (Lombroso, 2006, p. 101) Becaria: Remember the case of the Op shop vandalism?I suppose that those teenagers, who have robbed this shop, may be classified as Atavists. Am I right? Lombroso: Exactly. Now let me explain you about two other types of criminals. Criminaloids are respectable persons, who carefully and thoroughly hide their criminal nature from society. They enjoy being respected and realizing that nobody knows about their other â€Å"me†. Criminaloids usually connect their occupation with law or they work for government, which makes it easier for them to hide their crimes.Besides, Criminaloids tend to commit misdemeanors rather than felonies. Insane criminals are mentally ill and not born to be criminals as Criminaloids or Atavists. Insane criminals commit crimes because â€Å"of an alteration of the brain, which completely upsets their moral nature†(Lombroso, 2006, pp. 14-15). I would say that to such category belong alcoholics, kleptomaniacs, child mol esters. Beccaria: I must admit that your theory is rather interesting. Knowing what type of criminal a detective faces, he will know how to punish him or her and where to search for an offender. Lombroso: Yes, but it is not as easy as it may seem.Nowadays, it is very popular among teenagers to have piercing and tattoos or behave aggressively; on the other hand, that does not mean that they are Atavists, it is only the way of expressing themselves. Beccaria: To my mind, Mr. Lombroso, your theory is not perfect. I am sure that there are no those, who were born to be criminals; we live in a free country, and every person is willing to choose what he or she wants; therefore, I am sure that if a person is a criminal, he or she has chosen to act so. I do not say that your approach is not right, but it cannot be implemented in life.Lombroso: I have read your book On Crimes and Punishment, where you have presented your own point of view on this issue. I know that you think that there are tw o characteristics to explain a human behavior: rationality and intelligence. However, I cannot understand how this is related to criminology. Beccaria: Let me explain you, my dear Lombroso. Let us take as an example the case, we have discussed before, the case of the Op shop vandalism. Those juveniles, who were committing this misdemeanor, thought that they would have some particular profit out of this robbery.â€Å"Every single individual is said to be not the servant but the master or manipulator of his/her fate. They are more possessed of free will rather than driven by spiritual phenomena†(Vold & Bernard, 1986, pp. 8-9). They were acting according to their free will; they wrongly thought that they will have some benefit after this act of vandalism. Lombroso: I cannot agree to you, my dear friend Beccaria. Some criminals, it does not matter whether they are Atavists, Criminaloids or Insane criminals, commit some crimes driven only by some particular obsession.For example, Atavists are born criminals, they have no other choice, but to commit crimes, it is their nature. I have talked to those criminals who belong to three different types, and those who are Atavists did not even confess that they have committed a crime. To my mind, criminals are not something extraordinary, they are a part of the modern society, and one cannot do anything with this. Those teenagers, as I have already mentioned, looked like Atavists, they act in a different way in order to feel special.How do you think, why do they have tattoos? Because this reflects their inner insensitivity to pain and their love to adornment (Lombroso, 2006, pp. 84). Durkheim: Good afternoon, my dear friends, Mr. Lombroso, Mr. Beccaria. I am sorry for being late. I suppose you have been discussing some interesting issues about modern criminology without me, have not you been? Lombroso: Yes, you are right, Mr. Durkheim. We were trying to explain each other our theories about criminals, and why they be come criminals. I was trying to prove Mr.Beccaria that there are three types of criminals, and that they are not extraordinary, their criminal nature is what they were born with; it is something like a mental disorder. Besides, I cannot agree to Mr. Beccaria that people commit crimes, because they want to do so. Durkheim: I see. I have read your book The Criminal Man, dear Lombroso. Your theory is rather interesting, although I think that in this very discussion you were too much aggressive with Mr. Beccaria. To my mind, criminal conduct is not something ordinary nowadays; I think that everything is determined by society.Social factors are highly significant and they influence the way a person acts. The point is not that a person has some internal or external reasons to commit a crime; sometimes, a person is driven by social factors. â€Å"A social fact is however normal in relation to a given social type at a given phase of its development, when it’s present in the average society of that species at the corresponding phase of its evolution†(Durkheim, 1982, p 65). Beccaria: I suppose that your theory is based predominantly on the way how society influences criminals and not vice versa. Durkheim: Yes, you are right.I suppose that all world’s societies are of two types, according to how the labor is divided there: Organic societies and Mechanical societies. Organic societies are more complex; people, who live in such social groups, are more differently employed, they have more opportunities to find job. Mechanical societies, on the other hand, are primitive; they are isolated from other social classes and are relatively self-dependent. They have almost identical life conditions, and they do the same job, all they have one occupation. Lombroso: Do you want to say that a person is more likely to commit a crime in a Mechanical society? Durkheim: Yes, you are right, my dear Lombroso.For a mechanic society, crime is normal; besides, I think t hat there are no societies in the world, where people are not significantly different from the collective type (Durkheim, 1982, p. 70). Let me explain you. Imagine a perfect society, for example, a society of saints; it is a mechanical type of social group. If a person in an organic society, which is an ordinary society, the one we live in, commits a cruel crime, there will be a scandal; the same situation will be if somebody from a mechanical society, from a society of saints, does something wrong, which in an organic society will not be even noticed.If we define what crime is and such criminal behaviors subsists no more in a society, the new criminal behaviors will appear and replace the old ones. However, in organic societies, such quick changes, which appear because of the increasing division of labor, may lead to social rules confusion, and a person may feel lost in this particular society. All social norms break down, and it leads to the appearing of the Anomie. (Durkheim, p. 70) Lombroso: Anomie? Do you mean that it can be a kind of disorder of a society? Beccaria: I suppose, it is possible.Durkheim: You both are right. We are not ready for our society to be changed; it does not matter whether changes are high or low. If society is changed, people who live in this society begin to panic, which leads to the increasing quantity of suicides, people are used to stability. Instability means abnormality. Human appetites are excessive; if some of the goal is unreachable, a person may become depressed and unhappy; on the other hand, people can be limited only by one thing. Lombroso: I cannot agree with you that human appetites are excessive.Durkheim: They are, my dear friend Lombroso; the point is that sometimes those appetites are reduced by some social factors, for example, economic crisis. Economic crisis is a kind of disaster, which makes a person not only be unhappy or depressed, but also commit suicides. Thought I should admit that such anomie will be wor se in an abrupt growth or power and wealth. The original needs can no longer remain but they are not able in accustoming to the new condition. The richer situation will always stimulate the appetites and make them more exigent and impatient of control. (Durkheim, 1997, pp. 246-247).Do you remember the case of three teenagers, who robbed the Op shop? Beccaria: Yes, we have also used this case as an example explaining our theories. Durkheim: That is good. Those three teenagers have committed the crime because of the process of modernization; the society is changing, and teenagers have an unstable state of mind, which makes it more possible that they commit an offence. This act of vandalism is only their way to show how frustrated they are; how frustrated people in our society are because of coming changes.Beccaria: What about punishment for these crimes? Durkheim: First of all, we should understand that in a mechanical society, law is far more oppressive, while in an organic societ y, laws are to restitute. In mechanical societies, people are bound to be punished for violating the law, whereas in organic societies, punishments are meant to restore a normal functioning of the society. Lombroso: Those three teenagers have committed a crime, and they should be penalized; besides they are Atavists, which means that they were born to be criminals.Durkheim: I agree to you that they have violated the law and should receive a penalty. Nevertheless, their punishment should be fair and effective. The role of judges is only to determine guilt, whereas the role of legislators is to determine crimes and punishment. Besides, I think that it is the extent of damage that should determine the seriousness of an offence. Sometimes, the intention itself may cause bad results. Besides, before those boys were punished, nobody said anything about the purpose of those juveniles.The punishment for those teenagers should not be too severe; it will be ridiculous if those juveniles are s entenced to death or life imprisonment (Durkheim, p. 357). One more essential problem is that people suppose that a criminal should be punished as fast as possible; they think it is more effectively. Finally, it is better to forestall a crime than to penalize a perpetrator. My theory is that a crime itself is a disease, an illness; therefore, the punishment should be compensation.What I want to say is that in order to be a relevant compensation, a punishment should fulfill its role. â€Å"If crime is not pathological, the object of punishment cannot be to cure it. †(Durkheim, pp. 72-75) Lombroso: Your ideas are remarkable to a considerable degree, my dear friend. I suppose they will be useful not only for our modern society, but also for future generations. Beccaria: I think that all the ideas we have heard today will be useful for future criminologists. Thank you, my dear friends, for such a pleasant discussion.
Tuesday, October 22, 2019
A Balanced Scorecard for Small Business †Small Business Research Paper (500 Level Course)
A Balanced Scorecard for Small Business – Small Business Research Paper (500 Level Course) Free Online Research Papers A Balanced Scorecard for Small Business Small Business Research Paper (500 Level Course) Abstract The balanced scorecard is a performance management system that enables businesses to drive strategies based on measurement and follow-up. Since the early 1990s the balanced scorecard has been applied in numerous large organizations resulting in many positive results that have been chronicled in the management literature. However, there are few studies addressing the use of a balanced scorecard within small companies. Hence, this paper presents a discussion of the key elements of the balanced scorecard and its applicability to small business. Executive Summary The balanced scorecard (BSC) approach helps organizations manage the implementation of their strategies. The BSC measures an organization’s performance from four key perspectives: financial, customer, internal business processes, and learning and growth. The BSC approach logically links these four perspectives. Improvements in employee learning and growth result in improved internal business processes, which create better products and services and, therefore, higher customer satisfaction and higher market share, leading to enhanced financial results for the organization. Thus, a good balanced scorecard identifies many cause-and-effect relationships within the business and helps employees and managers appreciate the roles of employee and task as well as the importance of each result to the overall corporate effort. For a decade, large firms have subscribed to the BSC approach, with mixed results. Most failures follow an inconsistent or half-hearted application of the BSC, or an unwillingness to consider the BSC a dynamic process of self-improvement. The successful implementers of BSC agree on its usefulness for translating strategy into a coherent, linked, limited set of under-standable, measurable operational goals. Small firms can benefit from the BSC approach by avoiding pitfalls of large firms whose BSC implementations failed. While small firms may deploy measures of performance covering fewer processes, and collect less data to evaluate performance, in the end, the methodology is the same and benefits will inure to small firms willing to treat BSC as a dynamic self-improvement process. Thus, firm size is not a barrier to the successful implementation of this important measurement and follow-up tool. A Balanced Scorecard for Small Business Elite companies successfully apply performance measurement to gain insight into, and make judgments about, the organization and the effectiveness and efficiency of its programs, processes, and people (Amaratunga, Baldry, Sarshar, 2001). One criticism of such programs is their failure to measure and monitor multiple dimensions of performance by focusing almost exclusively on financial measures (Brignall Ballantine, 1996). Studies by Dixon, Nanni, Vollman (1990), Ernst Young (1998), Neely (1998), and Daly (1996) suggest that a comprehensive performance evaluation system has greater predictive validity than one that is purely financially oriented. Recognizing the difficulties of an overemphasis on financial measures, Kaplan and Norton (1992; 1993; 1996a; 1996b; 2000), advised that long-term organizational excellence can be achieved only by taking a broad, holistic, and balanced approach and not by focusing solely on financials. Using the balanced scorecard (BSC) approach managers are encouraged to take a â€Å"balanced view across a range of performance measures†(Amaratunga et al., 2001, p. 180) including â€Å"†¦financial and nonfinancial measures relating to a company’s critical success factors†(Chow, Haddad, Williamson, 1997, p. 7). Hence this paper discusses BSC as a tool applicable to small business to improve their performance and is structured in several sections. First, we outline the BSC approach and illustrate some applications. Next, we present the context, strengths, and challenges of a BSC approach. Then we discuss the applicability of a BSC to small business and what it might look like for a small organization. A summary concludes the paper. The BSC The BSC is an integrated set of financial and non-financial measures. It is an integral part of an organizations strategy execution process that emphasizes communicating strategy to the members and providing feedback to help attain objectives (Mendoza Zrihen, 2001). The score-card can be used at different levels: the total organization, a sub-unit, or even at the individual employee level as a â€Å"personal scorecard.†For each level, the BSC approach identifies the key components of operations, sets goals for them, and finds ways to measure progress toward achieving these goals. Taken together, the measures provide a holistic view of performance both inside and outside the organization, and allow each constituent of the organization to see how his or her activities contribute to attaining the organizations overall mission. As Richard Quinn, Vice President of Quality at Sears, has observed, â€Å"You simply cant manage anything you cant measure†(Lingle Schiemann, 19 96, p. 61). This trend toward seeking better measurement systems is well documented. Birchard (1995) and Kurtzman (1997) report that most US companies seek improvements in the performance measurement area. The shared concern of these companies is that measurement systems that focus on the wrong aspects of performance can undermine the organizations strategic mission by perpetuating short-sighted business practices (Hoffecker Goldenberg, 1994). As a measurement system, the BSC is based on several underlying notions. The first is that financial measures alone inadequately measure the health of a company and that a single-minded pursuit of financial objectives could lead to long-term ruin. The second is that BSC focuses on process, not metrics. As such, it is forward-looking (e.g., â€Å"How can our organization retain its best customers?†) rather than backward-looking (e.g., â€Å"What were our organization’s earnings per share last quarter?†). The third is that the scorecard is an analytic framework for translating a company’s visions and business strategies into specific, quantifiable goals and for monitoring performance against those goals. When fully deployed, the BSC transforms strategic planning from an academic exercise into the nerve center of an enterprise (Figure 1). Kaplan and Norton further describe the innovation of the BSC as follows: â€Å"The BSC retains traditional financial measures. But financial measures tell the story of past events, an adequate story for industrial age companies for which investments in long-term capabilities and customer relationships were not critical for success. These financial measures are inadequate, however, for guiding and evaluating the journey that information age companies must make to create future value through investment in customers, suppliers, employees, processes, technology, and innovation†(1996b, p. 7). Across organizations, the relevant BSC components vary depending on the organization’s specific goals and circumstances. However, there is some agreement that a typical BSC would include the following four components in some form (Horngren, Foster, Datar, 2000): Learning and growth perspective: Can the firm continue to improve and create value for customers? Internal business process perspective: In which capabilities must the firm excel? Customer perspective: How do customers see the firm? Financial perspective: How does the firm look to providers of financial resources? Inherent in this model is the idea that â€Å"gains in the learning and growth perspective lead to improvements in internal business processes, which in turn lead to higher customer satisfaction and market share, and finally to superior financial performance†(Horngren et al., 2000, p. 467). Thus, the BSC scheme is organized and rational and identifies for employees and management the importance of each perspective as a feeder of success into the next perspective. Insert Figure 1 about here The learning and growth perspective This perspective includes employee training and corporate cultural attitudes related to individual and organizational self-improvement. In a knowledge-worker organization, people- the only repository of knowledge- are the main resource and should be in a continuous learning mode. Appropriate metrics can guide managers in focusing training funds where they can help the most. Frequently cited BSC measures for the learning and growth perspective emphasize employee capabilities (e.g., employee education and skill levels, employee satisfaction scores, employee turnover rates); information systems availability (e.g., percentage of front-line employees with on-line access to customer information, percentage of business processes with real-time feedback); and motivation and empowerment (e.g., number of suggestions per employee, percentage of employee suggestions implemented, and percentage of compensation based on individual and team incentives). Kaplan and Norton (2000) emphasize that learn ing includes not only training, but also mentoring, ease of communication among workers, and technological tools. The internal business process perspective Metrics based on this perspective allow managers to evaluate how well their business is running, and whether its products and services conform to customer requirements (the mission). These metrics must be carefully designed by those who know these processes most intimately; with firms’ unique missions these cannot be developed exclusively by outside consultants. Frequently cited BSC measures for the internal business process perspective include the innovation process (manufacturing capabilities, number of new products or services, product development times, and number of new patents), operations process (yield, defect rates, product delivery time, on-time deliveries, average time taken to manufacture orders, setup time, manufacturing down time), and post sales service (time taken to replace or repair defective products, hours of customer training for using the product). The customer perspective Recent management philosophy has shown an increasing realization of the importance of customer focus and customer satisfaction in any business (Chabrow, 2003; Holloway, 2002; Needleman, 2003). If customers are not satisfied, they will eventually find other suppliers who will meet their needs. Poor performance from this perspective is thus a leading indicator of future decline, even though the current financial picture may look good. In developing metrics for satisfaction, customers should be analyzed in terms of kinds of customers and the kinds of processes for which an organization is providing a product or service to those customer groups. Frequently cited BSC measures for the customer perspective include market share, customer satisfaction, customer retention percentage, penetration of targeted market segments, and time taken to fulfill customer’s requests. The financial perspective Kaplan and Norton do not disregard the traditional need for financial data. Timely and accurate funding data will always be a priority, and managers will do whatever necessary to provide it. Often there is more than enough handling and processing of financial data. With the implementation of a corporate database, more of the processing can be centralized and automated. However, a non-BSC emphasis on financials leads to an â€Å"unbalanced†situation with regard to other perspectives, implying a need to include additional data such as risk assessment and cost-benefit data in this category. Frequently cited BSC measures for the financial per-spective include operating income, revenue growth, revenues from new products, gross margin percentage, cost reductions in key areas, economic value added, and return on investment. An example of these four perspectives in an actual business is presented in Figure 2 (Mair, 2002). As can be seen, once the strategy is identified, tactical objectives and performance standards in support of the strategy within the four perspectives are clearly delineated giving an organization a balanced measurement system. Insert Figure 2 about here Extant BSC implementations Recent articles and books discuss the advantages of the BSC and its application in the for-profit sector (e.g., Hoffecker Goldenberg, 1994; Kaplan Norton, 1992; 1993; 1996a; 1996b; 2000; Kurtzman, 1997; Maisel, 1992; Migliorato, Natan, Norton, 1996; Newing, 1994; 1995). Among the numerous successful users of the BSC are the AM R division of Mobil Oil, Tenneco, Brown and Root, ATT, Intel, 3Com, and Elf Atochem. Philips Electronics has used the BSC to align company vision, focus employees on how they fit into the big picture, and educate them on what drives the business (Gumbus Lyons, 2002). As an essential aid to communicating business strategy, the BSC works as a vehicle to create a quantitative expression of the business strategy from key financial indicators. In fact, Philips Electronics’ management team uses it to guide the quarterly business reviews worldwide in order to promote organizational learning and continuous improvement (Gumbus Lyons, 2002). Adopters in the service sector include the international accounting firm Ernst and Young (Vitale, Mavrinac, Hauler, 1994), the Bank of Montreal (Birchard, 1995), Allstate Corp. (Birchard, 1995) and Cigna Insurances property-and-casualty division (McWilliams, 1996). Even non-profit organizations such as universities (e.g., U. of California at San Diego) and governmental agencies (e.g., Department of Commerce) have embraced the BSC to help them become more effective (Relyea, 1998; Haddad, 1999). Context, strengths, and challenges of the BSC Context According to Abernathy (2000, p. 31), the typical employee does not understand the organization’s strategy and consequently fails to focus on the right things; does not know his or her personal role in accomplishing the strategy and as a result does what is required, not what is needed; and does not know how well he or she is doing or how to improve strategic results and thus, assuming performance is adequate, does not try to improve. In addition, employees in many organizations pursue personal rather than organizational goals, because of disharmony between employee and organizational strategies and goals, and because of existing reward structures that focus on individual or sub-unit achievements rather than the achievement of corporate goals (Kerr, 1975). In such a corporate environment, organizational suboptimization is the result of sub-organizational optimization. Frigo and Krumwiede (2000) suggest that the BSC can help remedy this situation because it requires organizatio ns to engage in several beneficial activities. These activities delineate the major strengths of the BSC, as outlined in the following section. Strengths The first strength the BSC approach is a focus on the company’s strategic direction. A BSC approach helps management communicate the companys mission by linking performance measures to its mission and strategy. While the idea of tailoring the company’s performance measurement system to its strategy is almost commonsensical, several studies conducted over the years note that too many firms fail to implement it properly. Kerr (1975), for example, described how many companies’ performance measurement systems rewarded behaviors other than the ones they hoped to obtain from their employees (e.g., firms often hope for teamwork but reinforce individual effort). Another advantage is the implementation of performance measures for each perspective that clearly relate to each other and to the mission of the organization. Thus, although the measures are necessary, communicating the importance of each activity as a crucial link in the larger organizational chain of events offers employees an appreciation of the context in which each task is performed and the context in which each result will be evaluated. The BSC approach limits the number of measures of performance used. Thus, it avoids a proliferation of measures and focuses management attention on measures crucial to the success-ful implementation of strategy. The BSC avoids the tendency to engage in the â€Å"majoring in the minors†characteristic of many organizations and managers (Busby, 1999; The Nielson Group, 2003). Finally, implementing the balanced scorecard is a beneficial activity because it responds to common questions raised in annual employee motivation surveys, such as How does what I do every day fit into the bigger picture of the company? The BSC enables employees to under-stand what they need to do on a daily basis to impact results (Gumbus Lyons, 2002, p. 49). Challenges of the BSC In many cases, the BSC no doubt delivers improvements over what existed before. But almost any organizational intervention triggers the Hawthorne effect (Kenny, 2003), named for experiments conducted in the 1920s and ’30s on a group of production employees at Western Electric. Those studies showed that attention placed on the activities being measured invariably led to performance improvements. Hence, many of these early BSC successes may simply be a manifestation of this phenomenon. Although the BSC is comprehensive in its coverage of perspectives, it might be that an organization, based on its particular strategy, might do better by focusing on one or more of these measures rather than having a balanced emphasis in each of the four areas, because different strategies have different requirements for success. Indeed, Slater, Olson, and Reddy (1997) argued that the scorecard should be â€Å"unbalanced,†based on the strategy of the business. Using Treacy and Wiersemas (1993, 1995) â€Å"value disciplines,†they asserted that product leaders should emphasize the innovation and learning perspective; customer-intimate companies (those that excel in customer intimacy) should emphasize the customer perspective; the operationally excellent should emphasize the internal business perspective; and all of the value disciplines should pay attention to the financial perspective. Their rationale was that each value discipline has a performance perspective that is a leading indicator of its financial performance. This â€Å"unbalanced†perspective is supported by Olson and Slater (2002) who found that as a group, prospectors (organizations seeking to locate and exploit new product and market opportunities; Miles Snow, 1978) emphasized the innovation and growth perspective more than any of the other strategy types, and high-performing low-cost defenders placed greater emphasis on the financial perspective than did low-performing ones. High performers that have adopted this competitive strategy also placed significantly lower emphasis on both the customer perspective and the innovation and growth perspective than did low performers. This suggests that attempting to get close to their customers and pursuing innovation and market growth detracted from low-cost defenders’ quest for efficiency. Thus, a balanced approach may not be appropriate for all organizations, and benefits can be derived from matching an emphasis in the scorecard to strategy type. McAdam O’Neill (1999) likewise suggest that the BSC method is potentially so broad that it may divert resources from those few areas that really are vital to shareholder return and does not readily weight the relative importance of the metrics it uses. While the four categories may have been right for Analog Devices (the first organization to use the BSC approach) at the time, they are not necessarily right for all organizations in all situations. The applicability of the BSC to small business Many large organizations have identified the BSC methodology as their chosen approach for deploying strategic direction, communicating expectations, and measuring progress towards corporate objectives. According to a recent survey by Bain Company, approximately 50% of Fortune 1,000 companies in North America and about 40% in Europe use a version of the BSC (Gumbus Lyons, 2002). Heaney (2003) indicates that the BSC is used by over half of the companies in Fortune’s Global 1000 companies. These data suggest that the BSC is primarily used by large organizations. This is regrettable since small businesses represent more than 99% of all employers, and employ more than half the private work force (American Small Businesses, 2003). Small business entrepreneurs create more than two out of every three new jobs and generate about 50% of the nations gross domestic product. Furthermore, more than three million minority-owned small businesses are providing job opportunities for millions of Americans in thousands of communities across America (American Small Businesses, 2003). Small business, then, is important to America and activities to improve these organizations are of critical importance. Large international firms tend to face more turbulent and competitive environments, have more dispersed and varied products and processes to coordinate and monitor, and have more resources for undertaking change initiatives. In comparison, small or local companies may have different needs, and what works for large companies may be ineffective or unnecessary for them (Chow et al., 1997). However, the benefits of the BSC can be just as significant for small businesses. Indeed, they may be more important since small companies focus mostly on financial goals, because they are often fighting for survival and it is difficult to make plans for the future when most of the effort is directed to making ends meet in the present (DeFeo, 2000). Most small firms require lower volumes of information to carry out their operations and evaluate their performance than do their larger counterparts. Nonetheless, the value of the information, and the communication of that information within the small firm, is crucial to the success of the small firm. Therefore, while the scope and magnitude of performance evaluation across the firm may be less in the small firm, the need for, and the benefits of, an effective system of performance evaluation is vital to all firms. Small firms enjoy innate advantages in their ability to achieve consensus and impart to employees news of change. The smaller number of interested internal parties reduces challenges to effective communication and facilitates corporate-wide team participation. It is easier to get ten people on board than it is to get ten thousand people on board, and it is easier to identify a party or parties not on board within a group of ten than within a group of ten thousand. The underpinnings of the BSC approach are as relevant to the small firm as to the large. Small firms have employees performing operational tasks and processes. If the employees are effective and efficient (i.e., sufficiently trained and motivated), then internal business processes will be efficient. Efficient operations run by effective employees should generate higher quality output, which will attract and keep satisfied customers. Repeat customers contribute marginally more to the firm’s bottom line than do new customers who must be wooed. In short, the BSC can work as well for the small firm as for the large firm. The BSC’s complexity may be diminished and its formality may be dampened in the context of a small firm, but neither its importance nor its utility suffers negative consequences related to firm size. Concluding remarks The BSC emphasizes measurement in four key business areas or perspectives. These four perspectives provide for a more comprehensive evaluation of the organization than the traditional emphasis on tangible and financial assets of the organization. Incorporating these perspectives in the BSC offers a framework for translating strategic objectives into performance measurements that gauge the effects of implemented strategies and provide feedback on the performance of strategic initiatives. We believe that the BSC offers some useful generic performance measurements that apply to practically all organizations. Companies, small or large, need to know how they measure up to their own goals and standards, and the BSC can give them the advantage they need to evaluate themselves accurately and, as a result, place themselves in a better position to compete. The main goal for small business is to manage their overall performance so that they make a profit. Birch (1998) said it best when he indicated that â€Å"The key point to remember is that what get measured gets managed†(p. 45). References Abernathy, W. B. (2000). Managing without supervising: Creating an organization-wide performance system. Memphis, TN: William B. Abernathy. Amaratunga, D., Baldry, D., Sarshar, M. (2001). Process improvement trough performance measurement: The balanced scorecard methodology. Work Study, 50, 179-188. American Small Businesses (2003). Retrieved June 26, 2003, from whitehouse.gov/ infocus/smallbusiness Balanced Scorecard Institute (n.d.). Retrieved June 3, 2003 at balancedscorecard.org/basics/bsc1.html Birch, C. (1998). Balanced scorecard points to wins for small firms. Australian CPA, 68, 43-45. Birchard, B. (1995, October). Making it count. CFO: The Magazine for Senior Financial Executives, 11, 42-51. Brignall, S., Ballantine, J. (1996). Performance measurement in service business revisited. International Journal of Service Industry Management, 7, 6-31. Busby, J. S. (1999). An assessment of post project reviews. Project Management Journal, 30, 23-29. Chabrow, E. (2002, September 23). Keep ’em happy. InformationWeek, 907, 20-22. Chow, C. W., Haddad, K. M., Williamson, J. E. (1997). Applying the balanced scorecard to small companies. Management Accounting, 79, 21-27. Daly, D. (1996, September). Performance measurement and management. Management Accounting, 78, 65-66. DeFeo, J. A. (2000). Measuring what matters. Industrial Management, 42, 31-33. Dixon, J. R., Nanni, A. J., Vollman, T. E. (1990). The new performance challenge: Measuring operations for world class competition. Homewood, IL: Business One Irwin. Ernst Young LLP (1998). Measures that matter. Cambridge, MA: Ernst Young Centre for Business Innovation. Frigo, M. L., Krumwiede, K. R. (2000). The balanced scorecard. Strategic Finance, 81, 50-54. Gumbus, A., Lyons, B. (2002). The balanced scorecard at Philips electronics. Strategic Finance, 84, 45-49. Haddad, K. M. (1999). Using the balanced scorecard for improving finance education. Financial Practice Education, 9, 92-101. Heaney, P. D. (2003). Can performance be managed? Progressive Grocer, 82, 11-13. Hoffecker, J., Goldenberg, C. (1994). Using the balanced scorecard to develop companywide performance measures. Journal of Cost Management, 8, 517. Holloway, A. (2002, October 28). It’s all about relationships. Canadian Business, 75, 80. Horngren, C. T., Foster, G., Srikant, M. D. (2000). Cost accounting: A managerial emphasis. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Kaplan, R. S., Norton, D. P. (1992, January-February). The balanced score card- Measures that drive performance. Harvard Business Review, 171-179. Kaplan, R. S., Norton, D. P. (1993, September-October). Putting the balanced scorecard to work. Harvard Business Review, 135-147. Kaplan, R. S., Norton, D. P. (1996a). The balanced score card. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press. Kaplan, R. S., Norton, D. P. (1996b, January-February). Using balanced scorecard as a strategic management system. Harvard Business Review, 75-85. Kaplan, R. S., Norton, D. P. (2000). The strategy-focused organization: How balanced scorecard companies thrive in the new business environment. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press. Kenny, G. (2003, March 5). Strategy: Balanced scorecard- Why it isnt working. New Zealand Management, 50, 32-34. Kerr, S. (1975). On the folly of rewarding A, while hoping for B. Academy of Management Journal, 18, 769-783. Kurtzman, J. (1997, February 2). Is your company off course? Now you can find out why. Fortune, 135, 128-130. Lingle, J. H., Schiemann, W. A. (1996). From balanced scorecard to strategic gauges: Is measurement worth it? Management Review, 85, 56-61. Mair, S. (2002, November-December). A balanced scorecard for a small software group. IEEE Software, 21-27. Maisel, L. S. (1992). Performance measurement: The balanced scorecard approach. Journal of Cost Management, 6, 47-52. McAdam, R., O’Neill, E. (1999). Taking a critical perspective to the European Business Excellence Model using the balanced scorecard approach: A case study in the service sector. Managing Service Quality, 3, 191-197. McWilliams, B. (1996). The measures of success. Across the Board, 33, 16-20. Mendoza, C., Zrihen, R. (2001, April). Measuring up. Financial Management (CIMA), 26-29. Migliorato, P., Natan, N., Norton, D. P. (1996). A scoring system for creating JVs that survive. Mergers and Acquisitions, 30, 45-50. Miles, R., Snow, C. (1978). Organizational strategy, structure, and process. New York: McGraw-Hill. Needleman, T. (2003, May). Customer satisfaction is supreme. Internet World, 9, 6. Neely, A. (1998). Measuring business performance. London: Economist Books. Newing, R. (1994). Benefits of a balanced scorecard. Accountancy, 114, 52-53. Newing, R. (1995). Wake up to the balanced scorecard. Management Accounting, 73, 22-23. Olson, E. M., Slater, S. F. (2002). The balanced scorecard, competitive strategy, and performance. Business Horizons, 45, 11-16. Relyea, S. W. (1998, June). From gutter balls to strikes: UCSD’s balanced scorecard program. National Association of College and University Business Officers Business Officer. Retrieved August 4, 2003 at nacubo.org/website/members/bomag/9806/ scorecard.html Slater, S. F., Olson, E. M., Reddy, V. (1997, July-August). Strategy-based performance measurement. Business Horizons, 40, 37-44. The Nielson Group. (2003, April). The Nielson report, 3, 1-4. Retrieved August 1, 2003 at nielsongroup.com/newsletter/vol3issue4.pdf Treacy, M., Wiersema, F. (1993, January-February). Customer intimacy and other value Disciplines. Harvard Business Review, 71, 84-93. Treacy, M., Wiersema, F. (1995). The discipline of market leaders. Reading, MA: Addison- Wesley. Vitale, M., Mavrinac, S., Hauler, M. (1994). D. H.: The chemical division’s balanced scorecard. Planning Review, 22, 17-45. Research Papers on A Balanced Scorecard for Small Business - Small Business Research Paper (500 Level Course)Open Architechture a white paperAnalysis of Ebay Expanding into AsiaThe Project Managment Office SystemIncorporating Risk and Uncertainty Factor in CapitalResearch Process Part OneInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married MalesPETSTEL analysis of IndiaStandardized TestingThree Concepts of PsychodynamicRelationship between Media Coverage and Social and
Monday, October 21, 2019
Book Launch How to Launch a Book for More Sales [Printable Checklist]
Book Launch How to Launch a Book for More Sales [Printable Checklist] Book Launch: How to Launch a Book for More Sales [Printable Checklist] â€Å"Build it and they will come†is advice that rarely works when trying to sell books.Amazon is full of self-published books that have barely made any sales, leaving many writers dejected.If you want your books to succeed, to get into the hands of your readers, to potentially achieve bestseller status†¦. you need a book launch plan.After all, you’ve already spent months (or even years) crafting your manuscript. You’ve also spent a small fortune on a book cover, hiring an editor, proofreading, formatting, and other related expenses.The last thing you need after all you’ve invested is for your book to fail, to make exactly zero sales.(Okay you might make a few, to friends and family. But that’s not why you wrote your book, right?)If you have a book, or are looking to write a book, and are already thinking about promotion, then this is for you. Contrary to what you might expect, launching a book isn’t hard, and it doesn’t need to break the bank (although you do need to invest some money).NOTE: We cover everything in this blog post and much more about the writing, marketing, and publishing process in our VIP Self-Publishing Program. Learn more about it hereBy focusing on the minimal book launch strategy I’ll outline here, you’ll avoid being overwhelmed and launch your book on Amazon like a pro.Well guide you through how to:Price your book during launchBook launch checklistSet up your complete launch strategy during soft launchCollect reviews from your launch teamSet your book up with the best promo sites for both paid and freeStick to a minimalist launch planWhat to do Before a Book Launch Before you go any further, there are a few things you need to do in between finishing your manuscript and launching your book. I put together a 13-point checklist of these action items.You don’t need to carry them out with perfection since they can be tweaked later.But don’t launch your book with out doing these key tasks:Book Description - Create your book description using the Book Description Generator at Kindlepreneur.com.Keywords - Select 7 keywords for your book. I use KDP Rocket and Kindlespy. There is also Merchant Words and Google AdWords.Categories - Choose 2 main categories for your book in the KDP dashboard. Once your book is live you can email Amazon and request to have your book put into eight additional categories.Landing Page - Create a landing page for your book. This can be used to collect email addresses and give away a chapter of your book before its release (optional).Upload Manuscript - Upload your manuscript to KDP. Proofread your book using the KDP online previewer.Upload Cover - Upload your Kindle cover to KDP.Launch Price - Set your launch price at 0.99.Lead Magnet - Insert a lead magnet into your book, both at the front and back. Connect this to your email list provider such as Mailchimp or ConvertKit.Audiobook (Optional) - Get your audiob ook created. Plan to release your book through Audible or ACX.Paperback - Get your paperback version created. You can set up your paperback at CreateSpace. Optional: Your paperback can be launched after the Kindle release.Emails - Pre-write emails that you’ll send to your launch team.Goodreads - Goodreads account created and author profile setup. Your book will end up there either way, so it’s worth setting up an account to associate the book with.Launch Plan Model - Map out the specific action steps you are taking for each day of your launch. I have provided a model for this further down the post.Download Your book Launch Checklist Your free pre-launch checklist for landing yourself a Bestseller banner! Just like there are a variety of business models to choose from when planning your venture, there are a variety of book launch strategies to choose from.For example, you could follow Steve Scott’s 5-Day Launch Plan That Works which he used to effectively lau nch the bestselling book 10-Minute Digital Declutter that he co-authored with Barrie Davenport. Or you could emulate Nick Loper, of Side Hustle Nation fame, and his successful launch strategy which sold 2600+ copies of his book Buy Buttons. There’s even the detailed launch plan of Rob Cubbon, the author of The New Freedom.These are all plans that work because of one thing: They are strategic in their planning and strategic in their execution.However, while there seems to be a lot of steps, an effective book launch plan isn’t complicated. Your launch plan will depend largely on:Your objectives and purpose.Your platform. The bigger your platform and access to influencers, the bigger (and more diverse) your launch.In the strategy I’ll show you, I keep things simple. It’s a 12-day launch, including a 3-day free promo through Amazon.If you’ve ticked everything on that checklist, then it’s time to hit publish on your book and to start your launch strategy.But, before we dive into that, there are a few things you need to know about Amazon’s algorithm as it informs your book launch strategy.The Amazon Algorithm: A Few Basics for Your Book LaunchAmazon uses an algorithm to measure and track book sales, and everything else on their platform. It’s worth remembering that Amazon wants you to succeed: if you make money, Amazon makes money.Knowing a few basics of it can help you to have a greater launch and to sustain the life of your book for months (and years) after the launch buzz wears off.Here’s how it works in a nutshell: Your book starts ranking as soon as someone buys a copy. Every purchase of your book pushes the ranking up the ladder. As a book moves up, it jumps ahead of the other books in your selected category. The rankings are based on recent sales and Amazon favors a book that is getting consistent, ongoing sales.A book that runs a promo and gets 200 sales in one day, but then nothing else for the week, will not perform as well as a book that gets the same number of downloads over the course of a ten-day period.Slow, steady traffic and a long-term plan is the way to succeed with your book.Steady, organic growth will always outperform a sudden burst of downloads.It’s worth noting also that while reviews and the price of your book do not affect your sales rank, they’re still worth having. The more quality reviews you have, the more credible your book will be to shoppers.This affects their decision-making power to buy, which translates into more downloads and an increase in sales rank. Focus on getting as many quality reviews as you can during this launch phase. Then, continue to work on getting reviews from organic traffic.With that out of the way, let’s look at two necessary steps you need to do before you promote your book.Setting Up Your Amazon BestsellerTheres a very specific formula to follow during your book launch that will have you hitting those Ama zon bestseller lists. And you definitely want to become a bestseller so you can increase your sales and maintain your position at the top.The $0.99 Launch StrategyI know what you’re thinking, â€Å"$0.99? Why would I essentially give my book away for free? I didn’t get into this business to fulfill the starving artist stereotype.†I know how you feel, but trust me, there’s a good reason for launching it at this price. You may be selling it at a super-low point now, but the rewards are coming later.Remember: think long term.It’s better to have a book that has steady sales in the long term than to just have a burst of downloads now, then zero in the future.Action Item:Go to the KDP dashboard and set your book at $0.99. With the exception of the free promo period (which we’ll get to shortly), your book will be at $0.99 for the duration of the launch.The Free Book Launch StrategyI mentioned that our strategy will have a 3-day free launch. Setting this up is easy. If you plan to run a free promo for your book, you can set this up as soon as your book is live on Amazon. To run a free promotion, your book has to be enrolled in the KDP Select program for 90 days.A book that is listed for free will be ranked in the free store and books set at a price are ranked in the paid store.If you don’t have a following (email list) or you are just getting started, I suggest you do the free promo. The free promo gets your book into more hands (that will hopefully read it) and increases its visibility across more platforms.Action Item: Go to the KDP dashboard, and under â€Å"Kindle eBook Actions,†enroll into the KDP Select program. While enrolled in the KDP select program your book has to be exclusive to the Kindle Store.Action Item:Go to the KDP dashboard and set your book at $0.99. With the exception of the free promo period (which we’ll get to shortly), your book will be at $0.99 for the duration of the launch.Book Promotion Sites: Free and PaidWhen launching your book, especially during your free promo, you want to put it into the hands of as many readers as possible. Amazon ranks your book in the free store based on how many downloads it gets.The higher you rank, the more downloads you’ll get from Amazon browsers. Which means to maximize your launch, you need an initial surge of readers that don’t come from Amazon.This is where book promotion sites come in. You can use them for both your paid and free launch. In the launch scenario later on in the post, I’ll show you how to batch these sites together to give your book the boost it needs.An aside if you have a healthy email list: you won’t need to rely on these sites as much. This is especially beneficial for authors who are just starting out and don’t yet have a strong platform.Keep in mind that results vary for each site and your performance will largely depend on your book’s quality.You still need the essentials: a great book cover design, a compelling book description, and an eye-catching book title.Below is a list of my favorites that I have personally used, in combination with an email list to launch multiple bestsellers. You can also check out Dave Chesson’s blog on this as he covers the best sites to use for both free and paid.The price for each promo site varies depending on the niche and category.The Best Book Launch Promotion SitesBuckbooks. If you can get onto any of these promo sites, Buckbooks is the one you want to try to get into. You need 10 reviews before they’ll schedule you. Note: You can promote the 2nd book on the same day for only 25% of the price. Great deal. But you can only promote once every 6 months for each book. If you use their Archangel Ink book production services you’ll get a guaranteed placement.Robin Reads - (need 10 reviews and a 4.9 rating) Takes a couple days to get approved ($55). Great results. I usually get anywhere from 60-100 downloads with this one. https://robinreads.com/author-signup/ Note: They have a calendar that is usually booked out weeks in advance. In this case, consider using Robin Reads for future promos of existing books already launched.BookSends - $40. If you can match this up with Robin Reads or Bucks on the same day it’s a great little boost. https://booksends.com/BKnights (Fiverr) You can’t go wrong for $5. I would also take the extra gig for $5 and get in on their daily newsletter. Downloads average 12-30 depending on the book.eReader News - Great gig but hard to get approved at times. takes several days for a response. Various prices. https://ereadernewstoday.com/Booksbutterfly. You are basically paying for downloads, one of the few (if only) sites that do that. They have various packages for everything. I recommend the Silver Eagle ($90) that gets you 50+ downloads + KU borrows. (https://www.booksbutterfly.com/bookpromo†¦/paidbookpromotion/)The Fussy Librarian (https://www.thefussylibrarian.com/). Great promo but very hard to book in advance. They are usually booked out 2-3 weeks ahead. Need 10 reviews to get accepted. Various price ranges. Strong results.Bargain Booksy. I love this one, no reviews needed and you can sign up right away and get approved. $25 for nonfiction. Lots of categories and good results. https://www.bargainbooksy.com/sell-more-books/eBooks Habit. Great little promo, I recommend the guaranteed placement for $10. https://ebookshabit.com/for-authors/Awesome Gang. This one is great for the price, $10. They have a free option but go with the paid. https://awesomegang.com/submit-your-book/Many Books. Great little gig, average returns, $29. You can also sign up to become a featured author. https://manybooks.net/promoteDigital Book Today ($40). Good gig, average returns and works better with fiction than non-fiction. https://digitalbooktoday.com/eBook Stage. Another great little promo site, reasonably priced. $10. https://ebookstage.com/Book Runes (https://bookrunes.com/). Global reach with over 50k mailing list, $25. Average to very good results.BookBub. This is by far the biggest and the best promo site. Very tough to get accepted and it is expensive, but worth every dime. At the very least you should set up an Author profile on BookBub and start to get people to follow you. They have a great blog too that gives powerful tips on how to get a BookBub feature. https://insights.bookbub.comEmail your list (if you have one). if you don’t, BUILD one. This is by far better than all of the promo sites combined. If you don’t have a list yet, start building one with Mailchimp, Mailerlite or Convertkit.The Book Launch Sequence and Set-UpTo keep things simple, I’m giving you an example of a book launch that covers 12 days. This is similar to the launch that I did for my book Relaunch Your Life, except that I didn’t run a free promo. However, for this post, I will look at ho w to include a free promo as well.Your launch will look and perform differently than this, but you can use this as a model and tweak as required. This launch assumes you are launching your book at $0.99 with a free promo set up through KDP for 2-3 days.What is the difference between a soft launch and the actual launch?I use the term soft launch below, which is different from your actual book launch. Your soft launch begins from the moment you hit publish.As Amazon takes about 24 hours to set up your book, I recommend hitting the publish button at least 24 hours before you begin your actual launch. For example, if your launch plan beings on a Sunday, then publish your book on a Saturday.The 12-Day Book Launch ModelReady for your book launch? In this book launch model we use 3 days for our soft launch window, and then begin the actual launch on day 4.Day 1: First Day of Soft Book LaunchThe first day of your soft launch is critical. This is the day when you are going to set up your boo k to successfully launch over the next 11 days. The price point is set at $0.99.Here is a brief checklist of what to do on day 1 of the soft launch:Create your Amazon Author Page. Set up your bio and upload an author pic.Claim your book by hitting the ‘add more books’ tab. This will appear on your author page within 24 hours.Email your launch team. Let them know the book is ready for verified reviews.Email Amazon customer support. Request that your book is placed in additional categories.Set up a few promo sites for days 2 or 3 while your book is at 0.99. This starts to build momentum. Recommended Awesome Gang, Bknights, and Booksbutterfly.As soon as you have ten reviews, set up the rest of your promo sites for the week. Not all of these promo sites require a set number of reviews. Check the list for links to the sites and submission requirements.Set up your Free promo in the KDP dashboard. Your free promo will be 2-3 days. This will start on day 4 (or however long you decide to run your soft launch). If you do a 5-day soft launch your free promo will start on day 6. Set up several paid promo sites to advertise your book for free. Although your book is free, the promos will cost you.For your free promo on days 4-5 contact:James H Mayfield (Note: his calendar is very busy. You might not get on for the days you want with short notice. Consider using your remaining free days at a later date and arrange to have James promo your book.)Bknights (free promo)Awesome GangFreebooksyBooksbutterflyIf you combine these promo sites with the organic traffic you’ll get from Amazon, you should do very well for free downloads.Day 2-3: Soft Book Launch (Optional: You can extend this up to 5 days)Social media burst to your FB page, mastermind groups, and other sources to spread the word. Dont forget about other social platforms with large reader audiences like Twitter and Tumblr.Day 4-6: FREE PromoThe promotional sites you got in touch with on day 1 will be ad vertising your book. Send an email to your team to notify them that your book is now free. Promote to social media!Day 7-10: Paid Promo SitesRun paid promo sites recommended from the list above. You can cluster these a day apart or combine 2-3 promos a day.Day 11-12: Winding Down the Book LaunchIf you followed the plan you should have had a considerable number of downloads for both your free promo and your $0.99 promo. Remember that your numbers will vary depending on your platform, book quality, niche, and sometimes, luck.Email your list and remind them the book will be 0.99 for only one more day. Contact your launch team and thank them for reviews and their support.This is the last call for reviews and downloads.Day 13: Increase the Price to $2.99Leave it there for one week and raise it to $3.99. You can test the pricing by going up to $4.99 and watching what happens. Monitor the sales and adjust accordingly.I usually spend around $300-$400 per launch minimum on promo sites but ho w much you spend is up to you. Stagger them out over the course of 10-12 days.Beyond the Book LaunchOne of the biggest challenges authors have is where to go after the initial book launch is over.How do you promote, market, and keep bringing in traffic so that your book doesn’t drop off into oblivion? Here are two things you can focus on:#1 Write another bookMultiple books create momentum. Look at the army of fans that Game of Thrones had before the TV Show launched. How did George R.R Martin build that? By setting up and writing the books as a series.Do you have a series of books you could write?A series is a great way to build your brand, a list, and to keep traffic growing with increased interest in your books.#2 Build your business on the back endCreate a business around your book with coaching, a course, or an automated email course that gets readers engaged after they are finished your book.They want to know more about you and so, if you have a business set up to kick in for subscribers, this is the start of what could be a great author business.Launching a book is a combination of strategy, imagination, and hard work. If you have a great book to promote and a team of people (a small team will do) backing you up, you can have a great launch that gets your book into the hands of your market.With every book launch, there is more to learn. If you keep launching, you’ll get better. And as you get better, you’ll get more fans.Eventually, you can turn your launch into a massive movement with thousands of fans standing behind you pushing your book towards New York Times Bestseller status or get featured in The Wall Street Journal.Imagine that.Whatto do Next!Its not enough to just read about launching your book.Learning from the best and then takingaction is where real success is made.#1 Learn more!The learning never stops not when it comes to this ever-changing (yet growing) field of self-publishing. And in order to stay ahead of the cu rve, you have to continue to invest in your knowledge.
Sunday, October 20, 2019
flagburning essays
flagburning essays IS FLAG BURNING PROTECTED BY THE FIRST AMENDMENT? "If a jerk burns a flag, America is not threatened. If a jerk burns a flag, democracy is not under siege. If a jerk burns a flag, freedom is not at risk and we are not threatened. My colleagues, we are offended; and to change our Constitution because someone offends us is, in itself, unconscionable," It has been held by the United States Supreme Court that burning an American flag as means of expression or peaceful political protest is an act that is fully protected under the first amendment. Government does not have the power to prohibit flag burning simply because they, or anyone else, may find it offensive. However, other laws or ordinances such as arson laws or rules governing the use of fire in public places may still be applicable. In 1989, a man by the name of Gregory Lee Johnson was active in a political protest. When the demonstration was over, Johnson set fire to and burned the United States flag in front of the Dallas City Hall. Surrounding protesters chanted "America, the red, white, and blue, we spit on you." While watching the flag go up in flames. Katsh 128 Johnson was arrested for violating a Texas flag desecration statute. He was convicted, sentenced, and fined. The court of appeals for the Fifth District of Texas upheld the conviction. The Texas Supreme Court of Criminal Appeals, however, reversed the decision holding that the conviction violated Johnson's rights guaranteed under the first amendment. When the case made it to the United States Supreme Court, it was decided that such a statute violated the first amendment, and that Johnson had indeed been wrongly convicted. Supreme Court Justice William Brennan stated that "interest in preserving the flag as a symbol of nationhood and national unity [does not] justify his criminal con ...
Saturday, October 19, 2019
Pepsi or Coke From Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words
Pepsi or Coke From - Research Paper Example The current ratio for Pepsi is 1.09. Current ratio measures the ability of the firm to pay its current liability using the current asset. Current asset is the most liquid form of asset that a firm can easily turn into cash. Current liabilities are short term payable in a period less than a year for example short term loan. From the ratios, Coca-Cola has a lower current ratio compared to Pepsi. The lower current ratio for coca-cola is an indication that the firm is not doing well in its current liability management compared to Pepsi. When the current ratio is low, it means Coca-Cola may not be able to meet its current liability obligation using the current asset. As a result, Coca-Cola may resolve to use other sources of financing to cover its current liabilities. Lower current ratio is an indication of inefficiency in managing assets of the firm. On the other hand, Pepsi has a higher current ratio than coca cola. A comparison of the two reveals that Pepsi is doing better than her rival coca-cola in managing its current ratio. A higher current ratio is an indication that Pepsi can meet its current liabilities more comfortably using its current asset. The current creditors can be more confident with on their payment. The creditors are assured of timely payment due to enough current assets to meet the firm’s current obligation. Also, in case of dissolution, current asset can be used to pay current debtors with more ease. Further, a high current ratio increases the credit worthiness of the firm and in this case Pepsi has higher credit worthiness than coca-cola. This is attributed to the firms not having most of its assets tied in fixed asset thus quicker to liquidate the current asset to meet current obligation. The profitability ratios calculated in the appendix are the return on asset and return on equity. Return on asset is the ratio of net income to average total asset. It measures how much revenue is earned from application of the
Friday, October 18, 2019
Paraphrasing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 39
Paraphrasing - Essay Example During the process of decision-making, there is evidence to the effect that there was a lack of delegation and communication among the health professionals. However, there was a demonstration of prioritization as a nurse bought a tracheostomy set. That was a show of decision-making on the part of the nurse. Unfortunately, the nurse was ignored. There was an insufficient number of health professionals present in the room. There were just three experienced anesthetists present. That hampered decision-making as they were not able to consult with other medical officers or nursing staff. Time had a big impact on the outcome of the situation. In the beginning, when there was a sudden decrease in the patient’s oxygen levels, time acted as a limiting factor. Although it was beyond the health professionals’ control, they failed to maximize on the little time they had. That played out in the gravity of the outcome for
IBM Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words
IBM - Essay Example IBM is an American Computer manufacturing company which was founded in 17 February, 1874 by Thomas Watson. It is also known as the ‘big blue’ due to the color of its logo. The company started as a producer of punch cards tabulating machines. It built a 600s calculator in 1930s which was based on the punch card processing machine. The first computer (Mark 1) to perform long calculations automatically was co-funded by the organization in 1944 together with Harvard University. Watson Junior developed the 701 EDPM in 1953 which was meant to help in the policing of Korea by the United Nations but was not compatible with the punch card processing machine. The machine had processing units which were about 10 times faster than the core memory. The organization built more computers of IBM types like the IBM 704 of 1956, IBM 7090 of 1960, the 650 EDPM which was compatible with the earlier calculator 600s and it was the first massively produced computer. In 1981 the organization bu ilt a home-use computer called IBM PC. The company currently produces software products and computers. IBM research has helped the company in development of new technology and their application and helped the company to make innovations in the industry. These include; the innovation of copper chip technology that are capable of holding very large capacity of information. These were scheduled to be produced in 1998; Introduction of the Giant Magneto-resistive Head (GMR) which allowed introduction of products with higher areal densities e.g. disk drives; Speech recognition technology that would revolutionalise data input and usage of computers in business. There is research to expand and enhance voice recognition software which is already available in 8 words; Scalable parallel systems that allows joining of computer processors together while breaking down complexity and data-intensive jobs to speed their completion; Token-ring networking that allowed more efficient and reliable control of LAN (Local Area Network) traffic-a token-ring controls an individual computer to accessing of the network for example used in factories, cyber cafes, and university campuses; discovery of High-temperature superconductivity in ceramics which was done in 1986 by two scientists from the organization and they were offered the Nobel Peace Prize; discovery in Fractals allows mathematical description of natural irregularities via fractal geometry. A paper which contained the view that, irregular shapes in the nature, like tree branching of objects or phenomena had similar form when given a close up view or far away. The paper was published by Mandelbrot Benoit a scientist at IBM, in 1967; introduction of Formula Translation System (FORTRAN) in 1957; Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), whose memory concept of storing one bit of information in a memory cell consisting of only one transistor and a capacitor, was first described by a researcher in organization in a patent issue of 1968.
Thursday, October 17, 2019
Gene therapy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words
Gene therapy - Essay Example Currently, research is going on for gene therapy by various approaches in different parts of the world for various diseases like combined immuno-deficiencies, hemophilia, Parkinson's disease, cancer and even HIV (Verma and Weitzman, 2005). Though gene therapy has been under research for the past 2 decades, no single gene therapy has been approve for clinical use. The main reason for this is safety concerns pertaining to gene therapy trials and treatment. In this essay, various strategies to increase the safety of gene therapy will be discussed through review of suitable literature. Safety issues related to gene therapy are mainly related to the methods employed in gene therapy. There are basically 2 methods of gene therapy and they are ex-vivo therapy and in-vivo therapy. In ex-vivo therapy, gene delivery is done in cells after being removed from the body (Hecht, 2004). The cells used thus are basically grown in the laboratory. The cells are than modified outside the body and then tr ansplanted back into the body. In some research trials, cells from blood or born marrow are taken out and cultured in a laboratory. Thereafter, the cells are exposed to the virus with the desired gene. The virus infects the cells and transfers the therapeutic genetic material into the nucleus of the cells. After this, the cells are injected into the patient’s body by vein. In in vivo therapy, gene delivery is done in the cells that are still in the body. The simplest method of introducing therapeutic genetic material into the cells is direct introduction into target cells. However, this method is not practical because it can be used only with certain tissues and requires large amounts of DNA. Other methods are there wherein the genes are delivered into cells by vectors like viruses or bacteria, by electroporation or tiny synthetic "envelopes" of fat molecules (Hecht, 2004). Of these, the most commonly used vector is virus. Vector is the carrier of the gene. Viruses are used a s vectors to deliver genetic material to the nucleus of the cell that contains its DNA. The natural ability of a virus to enter a cell is used for this purpose. The viruses used for gene therapy are retrovirus, adenovirus, adeno-associated virus and herpes simplex virus (Genetics Home Reference, 2008). While preparing the vectors for gene therapy, the DNA coding for a part or whole of the normal genes of the virus to be used as a carrier is removed and replaced with the treatment gene. The carriers are engineered in such a way that there ability to enter the cells is not lost but they cannot reproduce. Genes delivered by tiny synthetic "envelopes" of fat molecules enter the cell by cell membrane which has very high concentration of fat molecules. In electroporation, the genes are delivered into the cells by creating tiny openings in the cell membrane. This is done by using a bionic chip. The chip contains a single living cell embedded in a tiny silicon circuit (Hecht, 2004). Another method of gene therapy is where the therapeutic gene gets inside the target cell by chemically linking the DNA to a molecule that will bind to special cell receptors. After binding to these receptors, the DNA is engulfed by the cell membrane and passed into the interior of the target cell. However, this is less effective than the other methods (Genetics Home R
Analysis of Strategic Information Systems Research Paper
Analysis of Strategic Information Systems - Research Paper Example Data is collected at all points which act as sources of data which is then converted into needed information during the data processing phase and this, in turn, is made available at an appropriate time when people managing the company needs it. Essentially, information management is all about providing the right information to the right person at the right time. However, due to various reasons that occupy and clutter happenings in the company, we find that the information gets lost in them. Information Management also loses sight of why, when and how the information is needed in order to get targeted output. This would mean that the information management strategy should be clearly in line with the management strategy of the company. Secondly, the information management strategy is needed to ensure that the entire department works in sync. This will become more pronounced when the strength of people in the department grows. The staff in the department needs to get tuned to the management requirements and the strategy that the management of the company has adopted in order to ensure that all the targets of the information needs are met by the department. In order to make sure that this happens, the information department needs to form a strategy which would repeatedly cross-check whether the company's goals and targets are aligned to the targets and goals of the department. Thirdly, information management strategy ensures that there are a clear plan and purpose in the operation of the information department. This will also make sure that everyone in the department knows their own roles and responsibilities. Moreover, when an issue props up, then everyone knows who has to take care of what and thereby ensures smooth incident management as well. Knowledge Management Strategy Every company and organization has its own specific knowledge that is created over a period of time. This happens to ensure the very survival of the company. Knowledge comes about in different ways and means. It resides in drawings, designs that the company makes and in their intelligence properties. All these add up to knowledge and this knowledge needs to be managed properly to ensure that it is available to people who are working in the company when they need it. Knowledge Management is defined as making available in the right knowledge or information or company proprietary data to the right person when he needs it. It is about not enabling knowledge to people who are not supposed to receive it. Much the same way, it is also about people receiving only what they are supposed to receive. Anything above this or below this is not knowledge management. Moreover, who is to receive what kind of knowledge is the strategy that the company would adopt. The company needs to decide how to secure its knowledge packets should be. In most cases, the major quantum of knowledge resides in very minor information.
Wednesday, October 16, 2019
Gene therapy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words
Gene therapy - Essay Example Currently, research is going on for gene therapy by various approaches in different parts of the world for various diseases like combined immuno-deficiencies, hemophilia, Parkinson's disease, cancer and even HIV (Verma and Weitzman, 2005). Though gene therapy has been under research for the past 2 decades, no single gene therapy has been approve for clinical use. The main reason for this is safety concerns pertaining to gene therapy trials and treatment. In this essay, various strategies to increase the safety of gene therapy will be discussed through review of suitable literature. Safety issues related to gene therapy are mainly related to the methods employed in gene therapy. There are basically 2 methods of gene therapy and they are ex-vivo therapy and in-vivo therapy. In ex-vivo therapy, gene delivery is done in cells after being removed from the body (Hecht, 2004). The cells used thus are basically grown in the laboratory. The cells are than modified outside the body and then tr ansplanted back into the body. In some research trials, cells from blood or born marrow are taken out and cultured in a laboratory. Thereafter, the cells are exposed to the virus with the desired gene. The virus infects the cells and transfers the therapeutic genetic material into the nucleus of the cells. After this, the cells are injected into the patient’s body by vein. In in vivo therapy, gene delivery is done in the cells that are still in the body. The simplest method of introducing therapeutic genetic material into the cells is direct introduction into target cells. However, this method is not practical because it can be used only with certain tissues and requires large amounts of DNA. Other methods are there wherein the genes are delivered into cells by vectors like viruses or bacteria, by electroporation or tiny synthetic "envelopes" of fat molecules (Hecht, 2004). Of these, the most commonly used vector is virus. Vector is the carrier of the gene. Viruses are used a s vectors to deliver genetic material to the nucleus of the cell that contains its DNA. The natural ability of a virus to enter a cell is used for this purpose. The viruses used for gene therapy are retrovirus, adenovirus, adeno-associated virus and herpes simplex virus (Genetics Home Reference, 2008). While preparing the vectors for gene therapy, the DNA coding for a part or whole of the normal genes of the virus to be used as a carrier is removed and replaced with the treatment gene. The carriers are engineered in such a way that there ability to enter the cells is not lost but they cannot reproduce. Genes delivered by tiny synthetic "envelopes" of fat molecules enter the cell by cell membrane which has very high concentration of fat molecules. In electroporation, the genes are delivered into the cells by creating tiny openings in the cell membrane. This is done by using a bionic chip. The chip contains a single living cell embedded in a tiny silicon circuit (Hecht, 2004). Another method of gene therapy is where the therapeutic gene gets inside the target cell by chemically linking the DNA to a molecule that will bind to special cell receptors. After binding to these receptors, the DNA is engulfed by the cell membrane and passed into the interior of the target cell. However, this is less effective than the other methods (Genetics Home R
Tuesday, October 15, 2019
Self-reliance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words
Self-reliance - Essay Example Emerson emphasizes on the need of knowing oneself and capabilities. It has been observed that a man who considers himself genius is often left-out or abandoned by the world. His norms or his customs become strange to the people. Emerson continues with the thought that society is the main influencing factor on the lives of such people who eventually comprise on their values, beliefs and customs to make the world and the society happy. A person should be allowed to live his life which he believes is good for him; anyone who creates a pattern in his life can be considered as defying his nature or his sphere of life. The lines explores that a person should not follow the pattern which is drawn for him by other people. He needs to think challenging steps to explore the beauty of life. Foolish people can only follow the norms and customs without knowing whether they are beneficial for him or not but wise men don’t do that. Wise men follow the logic and rationale behind everything. People pray without knowing the true essence and meaning of the prayers. A prayer is a form of faith that a person has on God. Emerson in his essay has stressed on the need of praying honestly and with all faith. In his essay, â€Å"self-reliance†, he has clearly stated that people pray to get their worldly desires to be fulfilled in a mean and selfish way. Prayers should be free of meanness; they should be pure and genuine. According to Emerson, our prayers are more focused on the fulfillment of our personal means at the cost of others. He states in his essay that our prayers can be exemplified â€Å"as a means to effect a private end is meanness and theft." Only by being self-reliance and determined we can pray with all our honesty. According to him our prayers should not be focused on attaining our personal goals; they should have a wider sphere of benefits for us and for the humanity. A self reliant soul would ask beyond his means from God. As a
Twilight in delhi Essay Example for Free
Twilight in delhi Essay The term Absurd is essentiallyimpregnated with various human conditionsand situations arousing absurdity and is necessarily present in the post world war generation. Life has become bitter sweet or „life in death and death in life? to the coming generation. This human predicament sprouted its spears during 1920s, developed during 1940s and perpetuated in the later world. This very notion wasenchanted, transported and sometimes devastated by the intellectualsof this world such as T. S. Eliot, W. B. Yeats, Existentialists, Expressionists, Surrealists, and Absurdists of the 20th century. And Waiting for Godot is central sun round whom all the absurdist notionsmove. Ittranscendentstime and hasthe cosmicsignificance even after 60 years ofits publication. Itinsinuates modernismand perpetuates postmodernismthatisnothing but â€Å"too much with us; late and soon, getting and spending, we lay waste our lives before it. †Really in the midsty of then terminologicalmayhem, Absurd is best identified withWaiting for Godot with its sense of nothingness in life. Lapis Lazuli -An International Literary Journal (LLILJ) 29 Key words: Absurd, Existentialism, Surrealism, and Post modernism. ThetermAbsurd is essentiallyimpregnated withvarioushumanconditions and situations arousingabsurdityand is necessarily present inthe postworld wargeneration. Lifehas become bitter sweet or„lifein death and deathinlife? to the coming generation. This human predicament sprouted itsspears during 1920s, developed during 1940s and perpetuated inthe laterworld. This verynotionwasenchanted, transported and sometimes devastated bythe intellectualsof this world. Ontheone hand T. S. Eliotbeautifully mirrored theinnerabsurdityofthemodernworld in his magnum-opus The waste land (1921), and Samuel Beckett in his master piece Waiting for Godot (1955), on the other. Superficially Abusrd means ridiculous, but literally it means „Sense having nonsense? or „having everything hath nothing?. That is considered absurd is actually anti- traditional andavant-garde,henceis ridiculed. But originally itssignificancelies in itscrude reality. WhenEliotrepents for spiritual sterility in themodernworld, which isfulloffuryand mire, Absurd dramatists were preparing a suitable platform to expose the absurdity of modern man? s life. Absurd dramatistsevenopted the absurd formto expose theabsurdityinits mosteffectiveway. Thisincludesthewriters ofbothdramaand prose fiction;and themostsignificantofthemare French Jean Genet and Eugene Ionesco, Irish Samuel Beckett, English Harold Pinter, American Edward Albee and others. Both mood and dramaturgyofabsurditywere anticipated intheir works. Theywere also supported byfewothermovementslike expressionism, and surrealism, alongwith fewotherforcefulworks ofFranz Kafka (TheTrial, Metamorphosis). Thiscurrent movementemerged inFrance after the world was second, asa rebellionagainstessentialbeliefs and values oftraditional culture and traditionalliterature, whichhad the belief that-„What a piece of work is a man? How noble in reason, how infinite in faculty! In form and moving how expressand admirable! In apprehensionhowlike a God! The beauty ofthe world! The paragon of animals?. (Hamlet: 47) Theorizing the Absurd: Waiting for Godot SixtyYears After 30 But afterthe 1940s existentialist philosophy byJean- Paul Sartre Ablert Camus opined human being as an isolated existant, cast into an alien universe, having a fruitless search for purpose and meaning and proceedingtowardsnothingness. They believe that:- Its an odd world Full of allthings absurd Most ofit obscure Unseen and unheard. (Brainy Quotes) Thisvery absurdityhas been beautifully penned byAlbert Camus in his â€Å"TheMythof Sisyphus? (1942) as â€Å"Ina universe thatis suddenly deprived ofillusions and oflight, manfeels stranger. Hisis anirremediable exile This diovrce between man and hislife, the actor and his setting; truly constitutes the feeling of absurdity. †(13) and as EugeneIonesco added fire to the fuel by statingthat- â€Å" Cut off from his religious, metaphysical, and transcendental roots, man is lost, all his actions become senseless, abusrd and useless†. (A Glossary of the Literary Terms: 1) Thisvery notionseemssimilartothefollowing lines byS. T. Coleridge,ofhisfamousballad Rime of the Ancient Mariner. â€Å"Water-water every where Not a drop to drink†. (Coleridge: 14) SamuelBeckett(1906-89), the mostcelebrated author ofthisvein, isanIrishauthor, writing inFrenchand thentranslating hisownworks into English. His beginning lies inthe breakdown of traditional values. His prominent and dominent theme, hence is man? s alienation and search forself;which is the prevailing mode of modernman? slife. His works showthe dusk ofmodernismand dawnofpost-modernismand so washonored withNobelPrize for Literature Lapis Lazuli -An International Literary Journal (LLILJ) 31 in1969. As we bid adieuto onestar, we welcome the other ata transitionalpoint, in the same way the publication of Waiting for Godot in 1955, was the appreciated transitional presence on the stage, which bid adieu to themodernism and welcomed post-modernism. ThetermPostmodernism designates „ too muchwith us; late and soon,getting and spending, we laywaste ourlives before it.? Thefounder of this termis Charles Jencks, buthas beenbeautifully defined by Dick Hebdige in Hiding in the Light as: The collective chagrin and morbid projections of a post- War generation of babyboomers confronting disillusioned middle age, the „predicament? of reflexivity†¦ the collapse of cultural hierarchies, the dread engendered by the threat of nuclear self-destruction†¦ a sense (developing onwho youread)of„ placelessness? or theabandonmentofplacelessness(criticalregionalism). Waiting for Godot beautifully designates all these paraphernalia of postmodernism through a vague and nebulous word as well as term of terminological mayhem „absurd?. The play has proliferated at anexceptionalrate overthe lastsixtyyears becauseitdealswiththenotionof man? s existence in this futile world. The playWaiting for Godot portrays an image of man? s existence, which evenafter60 yearsofitspublications seems quite real. Todaymanhas gained material advancement but inner triviality or fragility is still lurking upon his self. The play is a modern allegory of post-war man in a godless, dimensionless and meaningless world. recently Syrian Army attacked on Damascus suburb with chemical weapons, after the Nato? s attack on Yugoslavia and the suffrage in Iraque. Here the lines of W. B. Yeats seems quite applicable, when he says that Turning and turning inthewidening gyre, The falcon can not hear the falconer? Things fall apart;the center cannot hold, Mere anarchyis loosed upon theworld, The blood dimmed tide is loosed and everywhere, The ceremony ofinnocence is drowned. (The Second Coming) Theorizing the Absurd: Waiting for Godot SixtyYears After 32 Waiting for Godot formulates a definition of man that transcends the time. The plays that follow it are also pre-occupied with the feeling typical of our times. All that Fall (1959), a radio play, describes man? s frustration and absurdity. Kropp? s Last Tape (1958) is concerned with the perfect realization of Beckett?s idea of â€Å"human isolation. †Embers (1959) is a monologue of an old man who is haunted by the memory of the past and feels used, confused, and abused. Happy Days (1961) stages the irrationality of human existence without purpose and order. Beckett? s world bears a close resemblance to Camus? s world depicted in The Myth of Sisyphus. Universe suddenly divested of illusions and lights, man feels an alien, stranger. His exile is without remedysince he isdeprived of the memoryofa losthomeor the hopeofapromised land. Camus? s book appeared in 1942, i. e. , during the World War II. The development of the feeling ofthe absurd passesthroughfour stages: (1) First one recognizes the meaninglessness oflifewhichis shocking. Second isliving inconflict between intention(innervoice) andreality. Thethirdistheassumptionofheroic dimensions through living the conflictand makingithis God. The fourthand finalstage consists inthe conscious affirmationthatnothing happens in lifein reality. The sense ofanguish at the absurdityoflife is the theme oftheplays notonlyofSamuelBeckett, but ofAdamov, Ionesco and Genetalso. Asimilarsense ofthemeaninglessness oflifeisalso thetheme ofdramatists, like Sartreand Camus. Butthereis a difference. Thetheatreofthe Absurd abandonsrational devices whereasSartre and Camus expressthenewcontentinthe old convention. MartinEsslin comments on the plays of Beckett is apt, apposite, and appropriate: Beckett? s plays lack plot even more completely than otherworks of the Theatre of the Absurd. Instead of alinear development, they present their author? s intuition of the human coordination by a method thatis essentially polyphonic, they confront their audience with an organized structure of Lapis Lazuli -An International Literary Journal (LLILJ). 33 statements and images that interpenetrate each other and thatmust be apprehended in their totality, rather like the different themes in a symphony, whichgain meaning by their simultaneous interaction. (The Theatre of the Absurd: 44-45) Waiting for Godot is now recognized as a contemporary classic. It was written in 1948, since thenithas beentranslated into manylanguages and performed all over the world. Themost remarkable thingabouttheplayisitsunconventional design. Theplayis apparently haphazard. Butactually it isan extraordinarily powerfulplayin which form and meaning are skilfully blended. The coreofa good playis actionorhappenings, here the verypurpose oftheplayis to say that nothing happens -nothing really happens in human life. Waiting of Godot is thus a paradox. Itisa drama of inaction. Asmanisusually ignorantabout hisrealpurpose in life and he lives inhope ofsome revelationinfuture. We justhangaround waitinglike thetramps or rushmadly aboutlike Pozzo in search of some purpose. We try to get a purpose and orderinthat world whichsteadfastly refusesto evidence either. Waiting for Godot is having four characters, who are not four distinct personalities. They are rather generalized images of allâ€Å"mankind†(109) whichinLucky? s phrase, â€Å"isseento waste andpine wasteand pine†(73). Theyrepresent aview ofmanas a helpless victim of his life. Non-specific settings are a common feature of Beckett? s drama. The stage -space intheplayisabsolutelybare. â€Å"Itisindescribable. Itis likenothing. Thereis nothing. There is a tree†says Vladimir (117). Strange happenings (sudden rise of the moon, sprouting of leaves), strange characters and their irrational behaviour suggest abstract quality of this setting. The text describes itas void ornothing. Thewhole plot, whichis actuallyabsentmoves round thewaitingofthat personwhose identity, is evennotsure. Vladimirand EstragonwaitforGodot, whose arrivalissupposed butalways suspended as modernmanwhatever wishes to do or achieve, scattersinsilence. Now, united we Theorizing the Absurd: Waiting for Godot SixtyYears After 34 do notstand butfallinthisfutile world. Eventhoughtlessnesshasbecome the source oftrouble. Thefollowing discussionmade by Vladimir and Estragon beautifully designates it: We are in no danger of thinking any more†¦ Thinking is not theworst. What is terrible is to have thought. (1954: 62-63) Eventually the grace of Beckett? s Waiting for Godot pruned the modern man? s body and soul alike. Even after sixty years of its publication, we designate its significance and relevance both thematically and stylistically. Really whena manpassesthroughexcess deprivationand hopelessness, whether he commits suicide or tries to take revenge but absurdity even does not allows either. Works Cited Abrams, M. H. AGlossaryofLiteraryTerms. India:ThomsonBusinessInternationalIndiaPvt. Ltd. 2006. Print. Beckett, Samuel. WaitingforGodot. NewYork: Grave Press. 1954. Print. Camus, Albert. The Myth of Sisyphus. Harmondsworth: PenguinBooks. 1975. Print. Coleridge, S. T. The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. India: Anmol Publication. 2009. Print. Esslin, Martin. The Theatre of the Absurd. New York:Doubleday. 1961. Print. Hebdige, Dick. Hiding inthe Light: On Images and Things. London: Routledge. 1988. Print. Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. India: Atlantic Publishers and Distributors. 2001. Print. Lapis Lazuli -An International Literary Journal (LLILJ) 35 Bio-note- Vijay Kumar Rai, Research Scholar,Dept. of English, DDU Gorakhpur University e-mail-Vijaykumar. [emailprotected] com.
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