The Role of Men in the Society Essay Example for Free

The Role of Men in the Society Essay Introduction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Men were particularly known as the supreme gender in the human society. As the population belonging to the supreme gender, men are expected to have special responsibilities as well as advantages with regards the activities that they are able to do. Men were expected to have responsibilities of providing for those that belong to them. This includes their families and other people that are living around them. On the other hand, they benefit form the authority that is given to them. The power to control others, especially women has naturally given them pride when it comes to the thought of being able to rule over several sectors of the human society.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Through the pages of the human history, men of different races and different ages have primarily been able to change the ways by which humans perceive their purpose in living. Indeed, men have naturally drawn the different demarcation lines of limitations and possibilities that identify each human individual’s capability of living. Most likely, the powerful sense of being of the appearance of man has naturally affected the characteristic and the attitude that he perceives upon others. Within the paragraphs that follow, the different roles of men within the American society shall be outlined in clarity to be able to assist in the understanding of what actually is the important part that men plays in the advancement of the human civilization towards progress. Men as Key Agents of Family Strength   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The family is one of the basic units of social relationship within the human generations. It could be observed that men are appointed as head of the family. As head of the family, a man has the responsibility of providing the guidance that the members of the family need to be able to get through with the challenges of life. Aside from this, men also stand as the basic source of spiritual and intellectual aspects of life when it comes to taking care of the younger generations of the family. Not to mention, men are also viewed as the major providers of the needs of the family in terms of finances, shelter, food and clothing.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   From this particular point of view, it could be observed that men are indeed given high regards by the human society especially in terms of the role that they play in the family. At some point, they work as complimentary personnel to the fulfillment of the dream of their wives and their children. They are the primary source of strength for their family members and from them comes the most valuable advices of life that would naturally help the members of the family get along with the ups and downs of living in a more eased and controlled procedure.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Certainly, men are given the chance to handle the most complicated responsibilities within the family arrangements. The challenges are really not that easy to face. However, with the strong conviction and determination of men to succeed in this particular responsibility shall give them the reputation that they need to be able to earn for themselves the respect that they are due. Their identification of themselves and as the major source of guidance for others shall help them understand the truth that they are made and are appointed to perform certain complicated yet important roles in the human society. Men as Agents of Social Progress   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The mental ability of men in becoming strongly convicted in whatever they believe in particularly sets the line by which they are able to continuously proceed in attaining what they want to attain. This is primarily the reason why there are larger number of men who were able to produce worthwhile inventions that are now of good use in the society. The different technological innovations that were pursued through the history of the human civilization have been particularly assisted by men who were brave enough to risk their time and efforts, as well as their finances in creating something new and innovative for the sake of social progress. Men have also assisted women in realizing their potentials in creating change in the human society. The motivation that they imply upon those who are living around them is indeed infectious and results to more productive aspects of human living.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Truly, men have been a source of inspiration and the main idea of social progress within the human community. This has resulted to a more positive response to the male gender of the population. However, meeting the roles that the men play in the society is not that easy to take and face especially when there are different challenges to the said roles. Particularly, the challenges make it harder for them to attain the best possible results from the acts that and decisions that they make everyday. Liberalization of Women and the Role of Men as Social Equalizers   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Sadly, not all men are able to meet the challenges of their roles. Instead, when they fail, they are implying much chaos within the human relationship and the ways by which women and children view life as a whole. The impact that they make in the lives of the said sector of the human population indeed makes a great difference on how they particularly deal with the challenges that they themselves deal with everyday. As a result, there came the different movements that were established by women to help men remember their roles in the society. The liberalization of women has actually created difference in the role that men particularly play within the progress of the human civilization.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   As for now, women are already able to take the place of men in terms of authority over people within certain human organizations, and they are also capable of taking care of their family members alone as individual parents especially when men fail to do their responsibilities to the family. Hence, the changes in the role of men certainly are heightened in terms of power and the stiffness of the decisions that they make in creating possibilities to motivate others as they are expected.   Most likely, the pressure on men who are aiming to reach the best possible ways of attaining and completing their roles in the society is heightened as well. Conclusion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Men are indeed an epitome of humans who are able to stick to whatever they decide upon. They are known to have a strong conviction when they totally believe on a certain idea. These characteristics of men have led them to becoming the primary foundations of human developments through the history of humankind. Their determination to make a change certainly helped them in assisting the entire human community in aiming for further progress in living.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   However, because of the pressures given upon them, their capabilities of meeting their roles have been challenged particularly because of their own shortcomings. As a result the liberalization of women has naturally challenged the ways by which men try to achieve the roles that they are supposed to meet for the sake of social equality. This particularly means that the gender differences have been set in a more distanced situation, whereas the men are being strongly questioned with the way they complete their responsibilities to the human community. References: Enhancing Mens Roles and Responsibilities in Family Life. Empowering Women. (2001). http://www.unfpa.org/intercenter/role4men/. (May 29, 2007). The role of men and boys in achieving gender equality. Written Statement Prepared for the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women at its 48th Session Item 3a of the Provisional Agenda. (2004). http://statements.bahai.org/04-0312.htm/. (May 29, 2007). Impact Lab. The Confusing Role of Men. (2001). http://www.impactlab.com/modules.php?name=Newsfile=articlesid=5760. (May 29, 2007). The Role of Men and Boys in Achieving Gender Equality. R. W. Connell. http://www.ashanet.org/focusgroups/sanctuary/articles/Connell-bp.pdf. (May 29, 2007).

The Needs And Demands For Laptop Features Marketing Essay

The Needs And Demands For Laptop Features Marketing Essay Apple plays an important role in the laptop industry. Though Steve Jobss empire maybe behind in the ranking but year after year, Apples market share is increasing (Mintel, 2009) and has recorded a annual sales rise of 12.5 % , achieving a turnover of $ 36.54bn in 2009. The successful launch of iPhone , iphone with 3g technology and increasing sales of Ipod helped Apple to increase its brand equity and awareness which helps them expanding in market. Apple offers a wide variety of products from ipods, mobile phones, iphone along with Imac and the MacBooks. In the process of staying competitive, apple announced in September 2009 at a special event, Keynote, that, they plan to further reduce their margins and offer affordable computers and by that be more competitive in terms of price positioning (Apple, 2009). In the constantly evolving PC sector the main players are HP, Acer, Dell, Lenevo and Toshiba. The companies in the highly competitive laptop industry offer best deals at best prices to the market with a wide range of innovative products to the consumers every day, thus responding to the needs and demands. Many advanced and fragile laptops have lately emerged in the market with cheaper price as well as finer design (BBC news, 2008). Apple, HP (Hewlett-Packard), Dell and other players in market have launched the series of light notebooks. But Sony proves to be a tough competitors with the launch of world lightest notebook 8, the 1.4 pound VAIO in 2009 (Sony, 2009). To prove to be innovative HP provides innovative personalisation through Personalize with HP Skins to reflect users personality and lifestyle (HP, 2009).Where Apple provides only white, grey and black laptop covers. Apple has been able to be competitive in the market as they offer facilities quicker than competitors. Therefo re, Apple manages to provide advanced technology to user which is bettered compared to its competitors.. It is necessary to define the business and update products to every single trend in the sector to supply to the inherent customer needs. Nowadays, in a constant volatile economical and social world, it is more difficult to predict, analyse and perceive consumers attitude towards a product than ever. (Randrianasolo, 2006). With the increasing usage of laptops on university campus in classrooms, libraries etc. this seems to be an effective target for laptop companies. Apples educational website has a wide variety of offerings for laptops and PCs with offers, discounts and services. Although, Apple laptop features need to be modified in order to suit the students needs. Sales in this segment can prove to be a fertilizer for improving Apples business. The Nature of the Management Issue: In order to sustain to the competition, it is necessary to be efficient to satisfy the customer needs and wants. The purchasing decision of MacBook can be affected by exploring the existing offerings in the market in terms of laptop and the studying factors that influence students desire for personalising laptops, features, softwares ( for course, gaming ,etc. ), portability, longer battery, as well as price . The busy students life, they need easy access to softwares, drivers etc. Students also demand for customizing or personalization of laptops according to the needs for self identity, study course, gaming, professional etc. This will help to increase the market share, sales of Apples laptops and create a positive image of the company in the industry. Decision problem: In order to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage, which new strategic methods should Apple consider? Understanding how adding values and features to laptops esteemed by students can help in increasing market share. Decision that Apple can make is: What features and aspects can Apple change in their laptops in order to expand its laptop sales among the University students in UK? Research Objectives or Hypothesis: Research should support the management issue, and develop solution further. The objective is to conduct a marketing research based on problem defined, which would be: To study the university students needs and demands for a new laptops and the extent to which the current market offerings satisfy those needs. This research shall include studying components like: What buyers seek in order to satisfy for the needs of university students? To find out needs considering factors like social acceptance, lifestyles, portability or a combination of various factors. Till what extend do current laptop offering in market meet the demands? Survey of what competitors brands provide that they are more desirable. What are the esteemed laptop features among university students? What features to be kept on priority while designing the package? Can the features be identified in terms of RAM, ROM, LCD screens, graphic cards, Personalization of laptop and laptop covers, portability, internet options, Wi-Fi connectivity, battery life as well as services and pricing? Do current products from Apple satisfy these demands? What is the buying behaviour, demographic as well as psychographic of the targeted market segment? To find out what strategies can be developed to influence the buying decisions of customers in the target market. The value of this work: The research shall help Apple to: Focus on product launch that in turn will accentuate the customers to buy Apple laptops. The research can help in improving brand equity and market share. Further, helping the company to establish itself as a benchmark for the other competitor companies. Understanding the psyche of focused group for the aspects like needs to buy a laptop, ideal laptop features, or important characteristics of Apples laptops and whether Apple adequately meets these demands. To draw relationship between students buying behaviour and factors that affects their purchasing decision. The research will also be important in aspect of social value in determining factors that can be benefit to students and thereby contribute in empowering the education system. Research Design: The research has to be carried out through various methods in order to investigate the actors that student consider while selecting a laptop and to understand the psyche of young consumer. The understanding will further help the company to launch new products in market as per the demands. Thus, identifying and understanding the new potential market for increasing laptop sales can lead to increasing market share. A Casual, conclusive research has to be designed to understand what the students demand and to what extent are they fulfilled. A) Secondary Research: Literature review and industry research form a part of secondary data and are more quantitative. Evaluating and analysing this descriptive data helps to diagnose and plan the research for primary data. Data Sourcing: Data can be sourced in various ways and varied sources as per the requirements of the mode of conduct of the research. Internal Secondary data: These are the sources help in getting internal records of the companies which can prove useful as they have relevant information which the research demands. Such Data can be available from the official websites of the companies can give information on the sales and figures, financial reports and statements, etc. External Secondary Data: these sources give a wide range of information and data from which the researcher can access to the information from the selected source. These include resources like books, journals, periodicals, press reports, and sources like keynote, Verdict Research etc. These sources provide general information on the business as well as business statistics. Intelligence sources like journals, newspapers etc. also help to acquire relevant data. This secondary data can lead us to develop an approach towards collecting primary data. B) Primary Research: Primary research will be useful to verify the students opinion. Primary survey gives the most recent data accurate and relevant through different ways such as questionnaires, surveys, observations. In order to collect the recent students opinion below methods can be used: Questionnaires. Focus Groups discussions. Interviews and observations : group discussions on university campus. Surveys: telephonic surveys, mail surveys, web surveys. Sampling design and Size: Simple random technique: The university students having equal probability of selection (Malhotra, 2009) through interviewing and filling questionnaires. Sample size has to be targeted should be approximately 300 students from different universities, Courses and level of education (Bachelors/ Masters). In order to get balanced information it is necessary that the survey should be done across all parts of the country. Questionnaire: The questionnaire should support the research objective in finding out students perspective on general information and knowledge about laptops, pricing, how important are laptops, what features do students demand for, students opinions and suggestion on Apple MacBook. The questions per section should not exceed beyond 15 and should have multiple choices to save time and interest. Field Work: The questionnaires, interviews and survey can be carried out in university classrooms, seminar, cafeterias, computer hubs, library, student residence halls. Emails with attached copy, questionnaires on Apples official website and students poll and blogs can also be helpful ways of conducting the research. C) Collection of data and data entry. This could be done manually using a software programme. D) Analysing and data interpretation using methods like cross-tabulation. E) Test the reliability of the data. In order to check whether the analysis is correct cross testing of data can be done. The company Apple can provide free services or softwares as incentives on completion of the survey. Theoretical Underpinnings: Brand Differentiation and Innovation Strategy : Schmalensee, Richard (1982) in his research Product differentiation Advantages of Pioneering Brands reflects the importance of brand differentiation and innovation concept will help to understand why there is a need for adding unique value to a product in category. Increasing differentiation in products compared to competitors will help to improve the market share as well as Innovation Strategy this helps, in creating new standards though product innovation. These are competitive strategies prove advantageous in the process of creating distinctive brand. Relation between Consumer and business: Vrontis, D., Thrassou, A. (2007) A new conceptual framework for business-consumer relationships draws the relationship between understanding Consumer demands and buying behaviour to the Business of any company. It explains why is it necessary to build strategies and provide the consumer the demanded product in order to perform better. 3) Branding strategy- consumer buying decision: Hamann, D., Williams Robert L. ,Omar ,M. (2007) in the paper Branding strategy and consumer high-technology product explain how consumer buying decision factors like Price, use, quality and culture affect the branding strategy . This helps to in research design to consider these points and investigate them through University students perspective. 4) Consumer Behaviour- Social class influences: Social factors can affect the purchasing decision of University students. In the paper Social class influences on purchase evaluation criteria the author Williams, T. (2002) investigates how social factors affect the consumer behaviour while buying products. 5) Need for portable computing: Studies have proved that there is change in teaching ways and students are subjected to more electronically available data. This proves that students need laptops on campus as the classroom, library and campus culture relation with students is changing. (Bazillion, 2001) 6) Technology and marketing: According to Moncrief, W. and Cravens, D. (1999) rate of change by technology affecting the buyers will increase. In order to grow and perform in the competitive market, companies need to be market driven. Hence, it is necessary to investigate the demands of the consumer so that companies can find out efficient and effective ways of reaching the market Administrative Constraints: There might be a few limitations which might hamper the process of research and data interpretation. Few constraints can be as below: Availability of students: Students have a busy life and lectures and project works. Hence it might be difficult. The research demands to study the University students from different cities in UK. This will increase the problems in data collection.. The sample size will affect the reliability of data. Also, as the research demands study of students from different universities which is a difficult job. The research will have to be limited to a selection of representative universities. This can constrains in the study of overall university student in the country. Data is collected from interviews, discussions and surveys. There can be errors while entering the data. The factors will have to be considered. Due to some incorrect data entering can affect the accuracy of data. Also, the sample size will be an important factor that can affect the data accuracy. REFERENCES: Apple (2009) work- Keynote 2009 [Internet]. Available from [Accessed on 19 December 2009]. Bazillion, R. , Braun, C. ( 2001) Classroom, library and campus culture in a networked environment. Campus- Wide Information systems, Vol. 18, no. 2, pp 61-67. BBC news (2008) Dell joins cut-down laptop market [Internet]. Available from: [Accessed 20th December 2009]. Hamann, D., William, R., Omar, M. (2007) Branding strategy and consumer high-technology product. Journal of Product Brand Management, Vol. 16, No.2, pp 98-111. HP (2009) Hp PC learning centre- Personalize with HP skins [Internet]. Available from . [Accessed on 17 December 2009]. Malhotra, K. (2009), Basic Marketing Research, 3rd ed. Upper Saddle River: Person International, Inc. Mintel (2009) PCs and Laptops [Internet]. Available from: [Accessed on 24 December 2009]. Moncrief, W., Cravens, D. ( 1999) Technology and the Changing marketing world. Marketing Intelligence Planning. Vol. 17, No. 7, pp. 329-332. Randrianasolo, H.  (2006) Changement de comportement du consommateur dans le commerce à ©quitable. [Internet]. Available from: [Accessed 28th December 2009]. Schmalensee, R (1982), Product differentiation advantages of pioneering brands,  The American Economic Review, pp.349-65 Sony (2009) P Series- Go lightly. [Internet]. Available from: [Accessed 19 December 2009]. Vrontis, D., Thrassou , A. ( 2007) A new conceptual framework for business- consumer relationships. Marketing Intelligence Planning, Vol. 25, No. 7, pp 789-806. Williams, T. (2002) Social class influences on purchase evaluation criteria. Journal of Consumer Marketing, Vol. 19, No. 3, pp 249-276. IMAGE REFERENCES: Image 1: Apple (2009) Which Mac are you? Apple advertising on the official website with its range of Macs, [Online Image]. Available from [Accessed on 8 January 2010] Image 2: Ackerman, D. (2009) Market Share of leading companies in PC sector in Apple drops to No.5 in laptop sales- are cheaper MacBooks the answer?. cnet News, 16 July 2009. [Online image].Available from [Accessed on 24 December 2009]. Image 3: iStyles ( 2009) HP provides Laptop skins: Bend it HP Mini skin , [Online image],Available from [Accessed on 8 January 2010]. Image 4: Reid, R. ( 2007 ) Dell offering 1420N in different colours in Dell multicolour laptops: XPS M1330, Inspiron 1520 and 1720 [Online Image]. Available at [Accessed on 8 January 2010]. Image 5: Albany Law School (2008) Students in classrooms with laptops: showing growing need of laptops in student life, [Online Image]. Available from [Accessed on 8 January 2010]. Image 6: Cooke John (2008) Relationship between Product, customer and Business, [Online Image]. Available From [Accessed on 8 January 2010]. Image 7: Smith Amy (2008) Apples aim Students with apple laptops, [Online Image]. Available from [Accessed on 9 January 2010]. Image 8: Secondary Data (2008) Reference model for understanding sources of primary n secondary data, [Online Image] .Available from [Accessed on 9 January 2010]. Image 9: Point Marketing Limited (2008) Identifying the target group for research sampling,[Online Image].Available from [Accessed on 2 January 2010]. Image 10: Vrontis, D., Thrassou, A. (2007) Framework of the classical business-consumer relationship In A new conceptual framework for business- consumer relationships. Marketing Intelligence Planning, Vol. 25, No. 7.

The Behavioral Segmentation Examples Marketing Essay

The Behavioral Segmentation Examples Marketing Essay According to Philip Kotler Market segmentation is sub-dividing a market into distinct and homogeneous subgroups of customers, where any group can conceivably be selected as a target market to be met with distinct marketing mix. In other words, Market Segmentation is a method of dividing a market into smaller groupings of consumers or organizations in which each segment has a common characteristic such as needs or behavior. Finding the most revealing way to segment a market is more an art than a science Any useful segmentation scheme will be based around the needs of customers and should be effective in revealing new business opportunities. Peter Doyle All markets are heterogeneous. This is evident from observation and from the proliferation of popular books describing the heterogeneity of local and global markets. Consider, for example, The Nine Nations of North America (Garreau, 1982), Latitudes and Attitudes: An Atlas of American Tastes, Trends, Politics and Passions (Weiss, 1994) and Mastering Global Markets: Strategies for Todays Trade Globalist (Czinkotaet al., 2003). When reflecting on the nature of markets, consumer behavior and competitive activities, it is obvious that no product or service appeals to all consumers and even those who purchase the same product may do so for diverse reasons. Effective marketing and business strategy therefore requires a segmentation of the market into homogeneous segments, an understanding of the needs and wants of these segments, the design of products and services that meet those needs and development of marketing strategies, to effectively reach the target segments. Thus focusing on segments is at the core of organizations efforts to become customer driven; it is also the key to effective resource allocation and deployment. The level of segment aggregation is an increasingly important issue. In todays global economy, the ability to customize products and services often calls for the most micro of segments: the segment of one. Following and implementing a market segmentation strategy allows the firm to increase its profitability, as suggested by the classic price discrimination model, which provides the theoretical rationale for segmentation. The most common B2B segmentation techniques used by software companies are: SEGMENTING BY HORIZONTAL DISTINCTION A horizontal market is a market so diversified that its products and/or services are broad enough to meet the needs of multiple industries. The audience for horizontal markets shares characteristics across industries. Based on the scope of horizontal markets, the marketing efforts that support them must reach this spectrum of buyers and prospective buyers. Because horizontal markets are broad, marketers often segment them into subsets. These groups are typically based on demographic factors such as the prospects income, location or job title. Horizontal Segmentation Example To use telcos as an example they will even further segment their buyers and prospects to address specific needs. To increase sales of home Internet services, they can target a specific subgroup, such as senior citizens, low income users or parents with school-age children. SEGMENTING BY SIZE Because the demands of business-to-business customers are so polarized, a common tactic is to segment markets based on company size. Companies do this because the thinking and strategies behind a larger company is typically radically different from the approach of a smaller business. Larger businesses typically employ a more formal procurement process seeking the lowest bid possible. Small businesses tend to learn towards a more personal and inclusive type of business arrangement. Sometimes, leveraging basic information like the size of the company, its annual revenues, or the business own clientele roster will tell you how you may or may not work together. In some case you can be even more specific and count the number of installs of your software the company could potentially buy. Size Segmentation Examples   Targeting companies who see $500 million/year in revenue. Only targeting the largest companies in your region based on number of employees. I spent a long time in the contact center software space. We sold by number of agent seats. If a company had more than 500 agent seats they were enterprise and if they had less than 500 seats, they were mid-market. SEGMENTING BY VERTICAL If a product fulfills a common need thats widely seen across an industry then vertical segmenting is used. Ineffective for most consumer markets, vertical segmenting is an effective strategy when working with a niche product geared for a niche industry. Single industries like that and other industries commonly identified by Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system are often identified as vertical segments. Determining the end function of business customer tells how and at what level in the supply chain a companys product will be used. And this knowledge drives how the company positions and marketsits product. Its a simple question how and by whom will my product be used? A hanger warehouse may only target companies in the retail industry, a graphic software firm may only target design departments or design houses, while a supply chain management developer may count freight companies among his prospects. Vertical Segmentation Examples   A navigation software vendor that only focus on the cruise or trucking industries. A gauge manufacturer that only services the automotive industry Selling exclusively to wholesalers in a vertical industry (combined segmenting) Identifying a department function within a larger corporation SEGMENTING BY GEOGRAPHY While geographic segmenting is often used to leverage characteristics shared by a population living in the same region, small businesses, those with capacity limitations, and consumer-driven companies often use geographic criteria to target prospects. As a Silicon Valley-based company, you may not be able to service prospects west of a designated time zone. Or even more specific, you may segment your prospects to a select number of surrounding zip codes. Very plainly, where are your customers concentrated? Once you understand this data, youll no longer want to focus on any other geographic information. These same criteria can (and should) be applied to other geographic factors including population growth rates, economic factors, and isolated spoken language. Geographical Segmentation Examples   Introducing a unique product for the same unique geographic segment. A promotional campaign targeting one region to increase sales. SEGMENTING BY BEHAVIOR Very simply, this segmenting targets prospect groups based on their buying behavior. How are your customers using your product, how often are they using it, and what is the challenge your prospects face? Those questions, coupled with the propensity of your prospect to actually pull the buy trigger, are the cornerstone of behavioral segmenting. Other behavioral segmenting rules may include brand loyalty, order sizes, and any purchase procedure requirements. Behavioral Segmentation Examples A software company that releases a product geared for early technology adopters. A travel agency targeting travelers who prefer vacationing during the Christmas holiday. Between 80 and 90% of software startups fail within the first three years, depending on how failure is defined. While they mostly run out of money, the root of the problem is often poor marketing, specifically poor segmenting and targeting. Most people think of marketing as promotion through events, advertising, social media, direct email, or viral methods. But those activities, correctly and collectively known as marketing communications, are the very last marketing activities that should be done. Marketing is better described as bringing the right product to the right market at the right price at the right place. If this function is executed poorly, nothing else matters and nothing else can be done to fix the problem. No amount of promotion or creative sales technique will save a company that practices poor segmenting and targeting. A common mistake, made by open source and proprietary software companies alike, is to create something and then look for a market that will buy it. The company that designs a product and then enters the market looking for a customer will struggle. The company that first asks potential customers about their most pressing problems and then designs a compelling product to solve one of these problems is far more likely to succeed, even more so if the problem is a priority to the customer. Unfortunately, software companies tend to have a technology bias rather than a market bias. Why do so many software companies get this wrong? And more importantly, what can they do to get it right, or at least as right as possible? There are a number of reasons why poor marketing is prevalent, including technology arrogance, lack of market information, indecision, and ignorance of segmenting and targeting. The latter is particularly common, and in open source and other software communities, it generally takes the form of creating differently priced product feature sets, licensing, and support packages for different target segments. That kind of segmenting only starts to be successful after a company becomes well established and has enough customers that meeting their differing needs becomes a priority. A new open source company trying to go to market for the first time should instead focus on developing a clear idea of who they are selling to, what their customers problems are and why the customers would use this product over any other. Pricing models should clearly serve t he needs and preferences of that single target. Ideally, a company should identify their target market and the value they bring to it before their product even enters the design stage. But that rarely happens. At a minimum, they should have a market in mind before they take the product to market. It is less important that the target market is the absolute right one than it is to have a target market that is more or less in the right direction. If there is no target to aim for, there is no way to measure progress or success. If there is no target market, it is impossible to build critical mass or penetration. And, trying to sell into multiple segments to see which one works the best usually fails as the company will run out of time and money before finding the answer. Segmentation Challenges In Business-To-Business Market Business-to-business markets are characterized in a number of ways that makes them very different to their consumer cousins. Below summarizedare the main differences between consumer and business-to-business markets, and set out the implications for segmentation: B2B markets have a more complex decision-making unit:  In most households, even the most complex and expensive of purchases are confined to the small family unit, while the purchase of items such as food, clothes and cigarettes usually involves just one person. Other than low-value, low-risk items such as paperclips, the decision-making unit in businesses is far more complicated. Segmenting a target audience that is at once multifaceted, complex, oblique and ephemeral is an extremely demanding task. Do we segment the companies in which these decision makers work, or do we segment the decision makers themselves? Do we identify one key decision maker per company, and segment the key decision makers. In short, who exactly is the target audience and whom should we be segmenting? B2B products are often more complex:  Just as the decision-making unit is often complex in business-to-business markets, so too are b2b products themselves. Even complex consumer purchases such as cars and stereos tend to be chosen on the basis of fairly simple criteria. Conversely, even the simplest of b2b products might have to be integrated into a larger system, making the involvement of a qualified expert necessary. Whereas consumer products are usually standardized, b2b purchases are frequently tailored. This raises the question as to whether segmentation is possible in such markets if every customer has complex and completely different needs, it could be argued that we have a separate segment for every single customer. In most business-to-business markets, a small number of key customers are so important that they rise above the segmentation and are regarded as segments in their own right, with a dedicated account manager. Beneath these key customers, however, lies an array of companies that have similar and modest enough requirements to be grouped into segments. B2B target audiences are smaller than consumer target audiences:  Almost all business-to-business markets exhibit a customer distribution that confirms the Pareto Principle or 80:20 rule. A small number of customers dominate the sales ledger. Nor are we talking thousands and millions of customers. It is not unusual, even in the largest business-to-business companies, to have 100 or fewer customers that really make a difference to sales. Personal relationships are more important in b2b markets:  A small customer base that buys regularly from the business-to-business supplier is relatively easy to talk to. Sales and technical representatives visit the customers. People are on first-name terms. Personal relationships and trust develop. It is not unusual for a business-to-business supplier to have customers that have been loyal and committed for many years. There are a number of segmentation implications here. First, while the degree of relationship focus may vary from one segmentation to another, most segments in most b2b markets demand a level of personal service. This raises an issue at the core of segmentation everyone may want a personal relationship, but who is willing to pay for it? This is where the supplier must make firm choices, deciding to offer a relationship only to those who will pay the appropriate premium for it. On a practical level, it also means that market research must be conducted to provide a full understanding of exactly what relationship comprises. To a premium segment, it may consist of regular face-to-face visits, whilst to a price-conscious segment a quarterly phone call may be adequate. B2B buyers are longer-term buyers:  Whilst consumers do buy items such as houses and cars, which are long-term purchases, these incidences are relatively rare. Long-term purchases or at least purchases, which are expected to be repeated over a long period of time are more common in business-to-business markets. In addition, the long-term products and services required by businesses are more likely to require service back up from the supplier than is the case in consumer markets. A computer network, a new item of machinery, a photocopier or a fleet of vehicles usually require far more extensive aftersales service than a house or the single vehicle purchased by a consumer. Businesses repeat purchases (machine parts, office consumables, for example) will also require ongoing expertise and services in terms of delivery, implementation/installation advice, etc that are less likely to be demanded by consumers. In one sense this makes life easier in terms of segmentation. Segments tend to be less subject to whim or rapid change, meaning that once an accurate segmentation has been established, it evolves relatively slowly and is therefore a durable strategic tool. The risk of this is that business-to-business marketers can be complacent and pay inadequate attention to the changing needs and characteristics of customers over time. This can have grave consequences in terms of the profitability of a segment, as customers are faced with out-of-date messages or benefits that they are not paying for. B2B markets drive innovation less than consumer markets:  B2B companies that innovate usually do so as a response to an innovation that has happened further upstream. In contrast with FMCG companies, they have the comparative luxury of responding to trends rather than having to predict or even drive them. In other words, B2B companies have the time to continually re-evaluate their segments and CVPs and respond promptly to the evolving needs of their clients. B2B markets have fewer behavioral and needs-based segments:  The small number of segments typical to b2b markets is in itself a key distinguishing factor of business-to-business markets. A review of over 2,500 business-to-business studies shows that B2B markets typically have far fewer behavioral or needs-based segments than is the case with consumer markets. Whereas it is not uncommon for an FMCG market to boast 10, 12 or more segments, the average business-to-business study typically produces 3 or 4. Part of the reason for this is the smaller target audience in business-to-business markets. In a consumer market with tens of thousands of potential customers, it is practical and economical to divide the market into 10 or 12 distinguishable segments, even if several of the segments are only separated by small nuances of behavior or need. This is patently not the case when the target audience consists of a couple of hundred business buyers. The main reason for the smaller number of segments, however, is simply that a business audiences behavior or needs vary less than that of a (less rational) consumer audience. Whims, insecurities, indulgences and so on are far less likely to come to the buyers mind when the purchase is for a place of work rather than for oneself or a close family member. And the numerous colleagues who get involved in a B2B buying decision, and the workplace norms established over time, filter out many of the extremes of behavior that may otherwise manifest themselves if the decision were left to one person with no accountability to others. It is noticeable that the behavioral and needs-based segments that emerge in business-to-business markets are frequently similar across different industries. Needs-based segments in a typical business-to business market often resemble the following: A price-focused segment, which has a transactional outlook to doing business and does not seek any extras. Companies in this segment are often small, working to low margins and regard the product/service in question as of low strategic importance to their business. A quality and brand-focused segment, which wants the best possible product and is prepared to pay for it. Companies in this segment often work to high margins, are medium-sized or large, and regard the product/service as of high strategic importance. A service-focused segment, which has high requirements in terms of product quality and range, but also in terms of aftersales, delivery, etc. These companies tend to work in time-critical industries and can be small, medium or large. They are usually purchasing relatively high volumes. A partnership-focused segment usually consists of key accounts, which seeks trust and reliability and regards the supplier as a strategic partner. Such companies tend to be large, operate on relatively high margins, and regard the product or service in question as strategically important. Some Common Traps of Segmenting Customers Segmentation is the action not the objective Segmentation has to stem from clear objectives and strategy. All too many businesses are still picking through the leftovers of static, research-based segmentation projects based on little more than executive philosophy. With no financial modeling to back them up, no wonder these projects failed. The Smart Marketers Handbook (circa 1970) may well say segment or die but that doesnt mean segmentation works or that it has to be the same for every business. Too big to handle To make segmentation easy to grasp, its all too tempting to split the marketplace into a few simple customer segments. For instance, five to ten segments makes it all straightforward enough for a business to understand, and large enoughà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¨to allow economies of scale in product development. However, its no help with customer management or value engineering. After all, for any large business, some of the segments could contain millions of consumers. Thats hardly getting close to the customer! The frozen state Another key requirement of most legacy segmentation approaches is stability. If an organization is going to create a few large segments and develop propositions for them, the last thing they want is a customer jumping from one segment to another. That means segments are designed to be static, or frozen. Businessesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¨can then measure performance over time and be confident about returnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¨on investment. But the awkward customers keep getting in the way. They will insist on changing: age, jobs, homes, marital status, parental status, consumption to name but a few. Fixed state segmentation fails to reflect the dynamic behavior of customers and becomes increasingly irrelevant in marketing campaigns. Problems with referencing Market research can be a wonderful thing, but when an individual focus is needed it becomes less helpful. Unfortunately, many companies rush into segmentation by starting with market research. Customers and prospective customersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¨are asked what they want, need and do, and the research project then builds segmentation models. However, once a company starts referencing these segments back to the existing and prospective customer databases it hits some serious problems: The only way to create references, within the rules of the Marketing Research Society on respondent anonymity, is to set up algorithms using common data and recreates the segments on the database. However, if you didnt start with the database itself, there will be very few common items to draw upon. The scoring process therefore becomes very unsophisticated and insensitive, and the chance of placing more than 50% of customers into the right segments with anything above 70% probability are quite slim. That means companies can spend years (and millions) picking up the pieces. The solution is to start with your own data, and any data from a third party, to build the segmentation upwards. Once youve identified the key variables, then you can do the market research. Differentiation or just different colored envelops? The best segmentation framework in the world will still not deliver a return if a business cannot conceive and execute worthwhile strategies. After all, whats the point in having segments if the customer experience is hardly different across each one? All too often organizations think the best use of segmentation is in creating different communications for different groups of people. Frankly, if thats the only reason for segmentation, its not worth the expense. It creates minimal difference, and wont justify the cost. At the end of the day segmentation can only pay for itself by delivering lower conversion costs, higher prices and improved margins. True segmentation means different propositions for different customer groups, not just different colored envelopes in their direct mail. Poor resource allocation and ROI assessment All too often organizations allocate resources by product or business function. Yet if you are serious about segmentation, you need to follow a scientific method to allocate resources and assess returns across different segments. One challenge to this is, of course, the fact that segments are not stable. How can you allocate suitable resources if customers shift segments? The answer for many organizations is to only segment at the macro level, for example: By geography By sector By consumer / B2B Segment bleed this sector is not for you Segmentation may look good on paper, but customers are forever breaking out of their segments. If someone from the Medium Size segment takes a shine to a proposition developed for Small Size Segment, you dont want to turn their business down. Yet this can ultimately damage a brand, particularly in a mature market. Segmentation isnt monotheism Segmentation is most powerful when it addresses a specific problem. Moreover, as most businesses face many problems, segmentation must be multi-dimensional. Value, needs, behavior, product, demographics, customer state, preference, credit segmentation can take any number of approaches, making your organization as flexible as possible to meet business challenges. One hurdle to overcome is the senior executives preference for simpler, easy to understand concepts. Todays marketer has to be able to explain and demonstrate the benefits of multi-dimensionality against seductively simpler segmentation. Some examples of failed products because of faulty segmentation: BPL Contributor Jim Lawless. The product BPL Batch Programming Language Interpreter. Why it was judged a commercial failure I sold about 10 copies. What went wrong I didnt really do enough research to find out if the target market was in existence. I was hoping that network admins and support staff members would find it easier to use than batch files and less complicated than any of the free scripting language options available. So, I just rushed to get the MVP  [1]  (Minimum Viable Product) out the door. I never did provide a compiler that would build a stand-alone EXE. I think that might have met with more success. I didnt do much as far as advertising the existence of the product. Time/money invested I only spent a few weeks coding and documenting it in my spare time. Support issues sometimes took a whole evening, but nothing major. It did not have any impact on my finances, as I had invested nothing but my time. Current product status I will still address support issues with this product for registered users, but I dont actively sell it. Ive open-sourced the program and it still really isnt seeing heavy use. Comments: Here the contributor does recognize that there was a need for a proper market analysis before investing time and efforts in developing the product. The product developed did not have a clear market to cater to and had some essential features missing which the segment to which it was marketed needed. Another reason for the failure of the product could be that it was focused on a very small niche. DRAMA Contributor Andy Brice. The product DRAMA (Design RAtionaleMAnagement) was a commercialization of a University prototype for recording the decision-making process during the design of complex and long-lived artifacts, for example nuclear reactors and chemical plants. By recording it in a structured database this information would still be available long after the original engineers had forgotten it, retired or been run over by buses. This information was believed to be incredibly valuable to later maintainers of the system, engineers creating similar designs and industry regulators. The development was part funded by 4 big process-engineering companies. Why it was judged a commercial failure Everyone told us what a great idea it was, but no one bought it. Despite some early funding from some big process engineering companies, none of them put it into use properly and we never sold any licenses to anyone else. What went wrong? Lack of support from the people who would actually have to use it. There are lots of social factors that work against engineers wanting to record their design rationale, including: The person taking the time to record the rationale probably isnt the person getting the benefit from it. Extra work for people who are already under a lot of time pressure. It might make it easier for others to question decisions and hold companies and engineers accountable for mistakes. Engineers may see giving away this knowledge as undermining their job security. Problems integrating with the other software tools that engineers spend most of their time in (e.g. CAD packages). This would probably be easier with modern web-based technology. It is difficult to capture the subtleties of the design process in a structured form. A bad hire. If you hire the wrong person, you should face up to it and get rid of them. Rather than keep moving them around in a vain attempt to find something they are good at. We took a phased approach, starting with a single-user proof of concept and then creating a client-server version. In hindsight it should have been obvious that not enough people were actively using the single-user system and we should have killed it then. Time/money invested At least 3 man-years of work went into this product, with me doing most of it. Thankfully I was a salaried employee. But the lack of success of this product contributed to the demise of the part of the company I was in. Current product status The product is long dead. Comments: In addition to what the entrepreneur mentioned about what went wrong with the product, we can see that the early adopters (4 companies) are not stable customers. From what the entrepreneur has mentioned, it does seem that the four big companies were approached without having a product. How do you measure the effectiveness of the segmentation process? Net Marketing Contribution Marketing profitability is based on an investment in marketing and sales required to achieve certain levels of sales and gross margins. Net marketing contribution is a financial measure of marketing profitability and is computed as shown below: Net Marketing Contribution = Segment Size x Market Share within Segment x Product Price x Product Margin Marketing Expenditure Net Marketing Contribution for Segment NMC for segment = Segment Size x Market Share within Segment x Product Price x Product Margin Marketing Expenditure Marketing Return on Sales for segment = NMC for segment/Sales for Segment Marketing ROI for Segment = NMC for Segment/ Marketing Expenditure for Segment How exactly are companies segmenting? The trends in the product development process of companies as per our survey results is shown below If we see the result according to the size of the respondent companies the small and medium companies show the below trend The large companies showed the below trend The two most important factors when deciding a segment for all the companies were the value proposition fit and then the revenue potential of the segment, the size of the segment in terms of importance came after the aforementioned factors. The general trend across companies shows that Vertical and Horizontal segmentation are the most important basis for targeting segments, the next most important basis is the size of the clients. However, there is a clear variation in this trend according to the size of the companies. For the large companies the most important basis for targeting segments is the business vertical, Horizontal distinction and size of the clients share the position of being sec

Essay --

e of performance enhancing drugs in sports Performance enhancing drugs should be prohibited in all associations in sports. Not only because it dismantles the playing field for all athketes but it ruins athlete’s lives and careers in many ways. Titles can be revokes and winnings can be rejected. The side effects are horrendous and it ruins the love for the sport each true athlete participates in. Athletes think that performance enhancing drugs level out the playing field and let all of the current athletes compete on the same level. This only will make things worse than they already seem. Currently there are players who trained day in and day out, putting in hard work every hour of the day, compete on the same level, and go the extra mile for the sport they love. They all compete to be the supiroror athlete but these are the ones that are being pushed to the side and not receiving any credit for their achievements. Athletes who use performance enhancing drugs have a huge advantage over athletes who don’t. athletes who do use these drug have a gain in strength, less body fat, and better bone density . Lance Armstrong is the best Cyclist out there today. He would win race after race, tour after tour, but he only accomplished this because of the use of performance enhancing drugs. He used a drug called EPO which is an illegal transfusion of oxygenated blood cells that are put into an athlete’s body to help their blood cells stay oxygenated. This drug would take the athletes ability to perform for a long period of time to a whole knew level. This gave players, cyclist, and runners such an advantage that they could be stripped of their titles or medals received if they were caught. Oprah Winfrey interviewed lance about his use of drugs.... ...e. He stated, â€Å"My son would walk the halls and tell kids that his dad did not use drugs or his dad was clean† (Oprah and Lance Armstrong). All competitors know that using performance enhancing drugs is wrong. But some know that it helps them get a step ahead of other athletes, risking their lives, family bond, and career. Even though these drugs are very desirer able the side effect are just not worth the risk. These drugs dismantle the playing field in all sports. It is not fair to other athletes who work their butts off day in and day out to achieve greatness. These drugs are not worth the risk. It’s not worth knowing that the only way you got to the top of the game was by cheating. A saying that everyone knows is cheaters never win... so get rid of performance enhancing drugs in sports or watch the concept of sports take a huge turn for the worse in the future .

The Thirty Years War Essay -- History, War

The section of documents, numbering nineteen to twenty three, consist of many different accounts ranging from of a portion of the â€Å"Swedish rule of war†, a theologian’s take on peace, the assassination of General Wallenstein, an account of battle and even a Cardinal’s warning. These documents vary in years from 1632-1634, drawing a close to the middle segment of the Thirty Years War. These articles illustrate not only events such as a General’s murder, Swedish defeat or French apprehension, they also show a growing desire for peace and political well-being contrasted with serious religious sentiment. At this stage in history Sweden is now involved with many allying to protect German liberties. The balance of power in Europe, always a delicate manner, was naturally threatened by the war, kingdoms such as France watched closely to protect their own states. It is through the coupling of this time of history with the documents listed here that one ca n see an intricate web of motives, including ones from political success and dominance to religious purity, all under the blanket of a â€Å"religious war†. This leads the audience to ask and judge where Europeans’s opinion and ideas stand considering the war as the unique solution to war loomed ahead. To investigate these different motives three out of the five mentioned documents will be closely analyzed, beginning with document twenty. Entitled â€Å"Memorandum of Hoe von Hoenegg† this article was written in Dresden, Germany by Lutheran Theologian Matthias Hoe von Hoenegg. It is his answer to the Elector of Saxony’s question on the religious consequences of peace. Just before this, the Heilbronn League formed, coming under Sweden and France to fight against imperialist forces. Yet, Sa... ... only one question: how, how would France take these next steps for their national interests. Richelieu ends his letter with this heed, â€Å"but that if, in order to remedy the present evil, one fails to make an extraordinary expenditure now, it will be necessary to make one in the future—through it would then not produce any result, nor prevent our ruin† (152). French involvement is for the protection of the nation, and it would seem this sentiment alone. The above documents seem to be the opinions and views of particular people throughout this tumultuous time. They show two motives: religious and political. What remains is to decipher if this theme is of value and if so, what value does it have and what can it tell historians about the war, as well as the approaching treaty that would come to rule European ideas on religion and government for decades to come.

The Last Tea Dorothy Parker

The Last Tea By Dorothy Parker The story submitted to the consideration is called â€Å"The Last Tea† and is written by Dorothy Parker. As for the writer, I have to mention that Dorothy Parker  was an  American  poet, short story writer, critic and  satirist, best known for her wit, wisecracks, and eye for 20th century urban foibles. Concerning the title of the story it is thought-provoking and made me read the story. At first glance it seems fairly simple, but with the development of the story is surprisingly complex. The last tea is a story that is addressed to women and deals with 2 main topics: men`s attention and loneliness.This is a bitter story written in a cruel way. Now I’d like to reconstruct the events. The young man and the girl met somewhere at the cafe for a cup of tea. He told her about another woman whom he was delighted by. While he was telling about that woman, the girl heard him out with patience and even with some positive commentaries. At th e end of their conversation he suggested to pay the check and put her on a bus. Instead she refused and said with the irony that he wanted to call up his friend. And he without any suspicion said goodbye to her and gave her the best wishes.Speaking about the theme of the story I’d like to pin down the relationships between a man and a woman. As for the idea, it is the nonmutual love as the result of not having much in common, misunderstanding within sexes. The story presents an interesting example of the indirect characterization. The author does not say directly that the girl is lonely but let her act and leaves the reader draw his own conclusion. The story begins with the description of the young man and the girl who are the main characters of the story.There in not any preface of the story: we know nothing about the past of the people. The author shows the characters in a certain period of their lives. The plot is trivial and the characters are really true to life. The tex t is homogeneous. It`s almost consists of the characters` dialogues, where you can find numerous words and phrases of informal style. E. g:  « That`s good »,  «the poor boy »,  «poor sick thing »Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Also interjection  «Oh, Ah, goodness » introducing some of the passages which normally occurs in oral speech. The sentences have free and careless structures.From the very beginning we come across a witty satire. Such stylistic device is used by the author to draw our attention and to make us commiserate to the girl. E. g.  «The girl with the artificial camellia had been sitting for 40 minutes » but she said  «I was late myself »  «I haven`t been here more than a minute ». She tries to be polite and to show the great care to the man. E. g.  «I`m ruined » he said.  «Ah the poor boy »  «Ah and you came way up here to meet me! You shouldn`t have done that »    â€Å"I would have understood. Ah just think of it coming all the way up here when it `s so sick! – She said. But the man begins talking about another woman Carol McCall. The man considered her to be perfect. He said  «that`s what I call a girl ». This part can be regarded as a climax of the story. To conclude it all up, I’m to say that the problems presented in this text are very topical in our every-day life. People often don’t notice those who are near them, who care about them, who are devoted to them. The best we can do is to pay tribute to the author’s vision of life and to her ability of creating the atmosphere of being entirely involved in the process of the story.

Prison Health Care Essay

Health care is a major issue. The issue of health care, no matter who views, takes on many perspectives, however, the point of view of prison is a another world of its own. Federal and state laws in place states that correctional facilities and/or prisons must provide prisoners with medical facilities that would oversee their medical needs. This paper will identify a governmental agency that regulates prison health care, the impact on health care, the duties the agency carries out, this agency’s regulatory authority in relation to health care and the processes for accreditation, certification and authorization. The Federal Bureau of Prisons The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is an agency created on May 14, 1930. Its main headquarters is in Washington, D.C. The BOP is a subdivision of the United States Justice Department and is responsible for the administration of the federal prison system. Its sole purpose is to provide more open-minded and compassionate care to those who are federal inmates with the United States prison system. As time passed and laws were changed, The BOP’s responsibilities grew and by the end of 1930, the agency operated 14 facilities for well over 13,000 inmates (Federal Bureau of Prisons, 2015). By 1940s, the BOP grew to having 24 facilities with over 24,000 inmates. As a result of Federal law enforcement efforts and new legislation that altered sentencing in the Federal criminal justice system, the 1980s brought an  increase in the number of Federal inmates. According to the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984, â€Å"established determinate sentencing, abolished parole, and reduced good time.† During the 1990s, the population doubled as efforts to combat illegal drugs and illegal immigration contributed to a significant increase in conviction rates. To present date, the population continues to increase with Federal prisons reach a current population of over 210,000. Impact on Health Care To control rising costs of health care, since the early 1990s the BOP implement initiatives aimed at providing more efficient and effective inmate health care (Efforts to Manage, 2008). These on-going initiatives included assigned most inmates to institutions based on the care level, installing an electronic medical records system that connects institutions, implementing tele-health to provide health care services through video conferencing, and implementing a bill adjudication process to avoid costly errors when validating health care related invoices (Efforts to Manage, 2008). Since the early 1990s, BOP has attempted to increase efficiency and economy of health care delivery to prisoners through various cost containment initiatives, such as restructuring medical staff, obtaining discounts through quantity or bulk purchases, leveraging resources through cooperative efforts and other governmental entities and even privatizing medical services at selected facilities (Containing Health Cost for Inmate Population, 2008). Duties of the Federal Bureau of Prisons The mission of the BOP is to protect society by confining offenders in the controlled environments of prisons and community based facilities that are safe, humane, cost efficient and appropriately secure and that provide work and other self-improvement opportunities to assist offenders in becoming law abiding citizens (Federal Bureau of Prisons, 2015). This agency is responsible for providing medically needed health care to inmates in agreement with federal and state laws. One of the most negative aspects of the BOP is it is responsible for carrying out all judicially mandated federal executions, including lethal injection of inmates who have been sentenced to death for a crime they have committed (Federal, 2015). This agency maintains the lethal injection chamber of a prison before, during,  and after an execution, making sure that the lethal injection is set up appropriately. The structure of the BOP is made of several divisions with board of directors. Inmates are confined in facilities spread out across the United States. Each facility reports to a regional office, which provides close oversight and support to that site. At the headquarters, national programs are developed and functional support is provided to the entire agency by division (Federal Bureau of Prisons, 2015). Regulatory Authority: Accreditation, Certification and Authorization Accreditation is necessary for prisons as it contributes to making the prisons operations, policies and procedures clear as well as increase the accountability of those operating the prisons. Accreditation provides and verifies the standards that an organization is required to meet. The American Correctional Association (ACA) performs the function with regard to the general operational activities of the correctional facilities (Hamilton, 2015). The American Correctional Association developed national standards for safe, effective, and professional operation of the correctional facilities. These standards are essential guides to policies and processed that protect the health and safety of prisoners and facility staff. These standards are regularly revised by a 20 member committee. Revisions are based on court decisions, and governmental agency practices and experiences (Hamilton, 2015). Although participation in the accreditation process is voluntary, many correctional facilities ask to be accredited. As these agencies ask for accreditation the ACE sends the appropriate standards material, a manual policy and procedure, and compliance checklist. At this point, a regional manager is appointed to serve as an adviser. The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care accredits all of the BOP’s and health service units and medical referral centers. Many correctional facilities are also guided by the National Commission on Correctional Health Care (NCCHC) standard without seeking accreditation. The accreditation process is a difficult and challenging one, especially those seeking new accreditations. It is the mission of the Federal Bureau of Prisons to protect society by confining offenders in the controlled environments of prisons and community  based facilities that are safe, cost efficient and secure. Each facility reports to a regional office and this agency is spear headed by a Board of Directors. Each region has functional support and provided the entire agency by each division.