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Wal-Mart has held the power as the leading retailer with a reputation of crushing its competition under its unmatchable low prices for decades. Once, when Wal-Mart came to a city, local businesses would close their doors and disappear soon after, unable to compete against the big box store. However, with the rise of the internet and e-commerce, this unshakable retail giant now struggles to stay relevant. In this new age of social media and instant gratification, Wal-Mart scrambles to cut dead weight, revamp its technology, seem like a morally conscience corporation, and stay true to its mission of providing customers with everyday low prices.
Get original essayWal-Mart Incorporated is a publicly traded retail corporation on the New York Stock Exchange, under the symbol WMT. Wal-Mart offers discounted prices on common household items and necessities at supercenters, discount stores, and neighborhood markets. Founded by Sam Walton, in 1950 in Bentonville, Arkansas and now operates in 28 countries, with 11,700 stores. Wal-Mart Inc. sells items such as groceries, appliances, home goods, furniture, clothing, etc. Along with these goods, they also offer photo lab, pharmacy, financial, automotive repair and maintenance, and wireless phone services to their approximately 270 million weekly customers.
The cornerstone of Wal-Mart’s business model is to make everyday low prices available to its’ customers by working directly working with manufacturers. Eliminating markups and providing affordable products for purchase allows Wal-Mart to lure in cost conscience and price savvy shoppers. Their clientele is predominately low-income shoppers that make less than $50,000 annually and are more likely to have children at home. Wal-Mart can afford to offer such low prices for its products due to the sheer volume it sells, making it an optimal example of economies of scale. By maintaining low operating costs Wal-Mart can manage slim margins and not only remain profitable by the large quantities sold, but it also gives the corporation a high level of bargaining power with suppliers. While Wal-Mart’s focus on providing customers high value at a lower/lowest cost alternative, it also tries to remain a strong competitive retailer, conscience of its employees and customer satisfaction.
Though Wal-Mart does have a smaller proportion of consumers whom have higher incomes, the theory that Wal-Mart products are also inversely affected by the income of its consumers is prevalent. Some researchers argue that Wal-Mart provides more affordable substitute goods to that of other higher-end retail stores, meaning that as income increases, demand decreases. It is proposed that this was especially clear, during the Great Recession from 2008 to 2012, when consumers’ purchasing power declined significantly, even though Wal-Mart somehow remained profitable. In the study “Everyday low price – a blessing in disguise for Wal-Mart during recession”, Dr. Ravindra P. Saxena and Arpana Sharma (2011) stated the following:
In 2008, while the recession was at its worst point, Wal-Mart was one of the most popular stocks on Wall Street. In recession, when most of the retailers are struggling for their survival; Wal-Mart is registering its growth year by year. It seems Wal-Mart is immune from economic pressures and appears to be benefiting from this recession. Wal-Mart’s advantage during the recession is not only its low prices, but also the good value which they offer to their customers by proving their saying ‘save money, live better’.
As the recession was beginning in 2008, Adjunct Professor, Dr. Emek Basker of the University of Missouri used Wal-Mart’s quarterly revenue data from 1997 – 2006 to find elasticity of demand. She concluded at Wal-Mart’s price elasticity of demand -3 with an income elasticity of demand of approximately -0.72. Meaning that should “personal incomes fall by 2%, it would cause revenues at each of Wal-Mart’s stores to increase, on average, by 1.44%”. However, more convincing opposing data was presented from University of South Dakota economy professor, Dr. Mandie Weinandt in 2016. Weinandt discusses that by extending the data range from 1997 – 2010, to include data from within the U.S. recession, Wal-Mart is not as “recession proof’ as Basker describes. She calculates a positive income elasticity equal to 0.919 and concludes that Wal-Mart’s products are a normal goods. Meaning that should income increase by 2% revenue will also increase by 1.84%. “Wal-Mart’s strategy is very beneficial in recessionary times as they experience relatively less negative effect on revenues. The downside of this is Wal-Mart’s revenues will not benefit as much from economic booms”. In the end, main determinant of demand for Wal-Mart products is price.
Wal-Mart has built its reputation on having low prices; at its peak, competitors in the form of small local businesses or other large retailers found it difficult to compete for consumer attention. With Wal-Mart’s low prices and equal if not greater value, consumers were much more easily lured to spend at their stores. Wal-Mart were and still are a power house contender, with a spot as one of shoppers most top of mind retailers. However, with the increased availability of retail e-commerce, shoppers now not only have Wal-Mart to choose from as their cost-savvy retailer choice, but also Amazon. Due to the wide array of items and services that Wal-Mart offers, the company is in constant competition with other retailers that sell perfect substitutions for their products. There are four stages in the purchasing process, need recognition, pre-purchase activities, purchase decision and post-purchase activities. The first two stages involve looking for more information about the product, while the purchasing decision step concerns the consumers buying behavior.
With free and easy access to the internet, shoppers can easily compare prices to find the best retailer to purchase from. They no longer assume that Wal-Mart sells the item that they intend to buy, for the cheapest price. Shoppers can now easily scan a barcode and compare and contrast price from their phones. However, despite these comparisons, Wal-Mart uses different methods to increase value in the minds of consumers, one of them is done by bundling. Though Wal-Mart may not offer buy one get one free (BOGOF) sales, they do take manufacturing coupons and occasionally lower the price of complementary products to increase the demand for both. Another method to pursue is by altering the formatting of the price displayed to consumers; Wal-Mart displays the current price discounted price of the item as well as the item’s higher original price. This formatting positively affects the consumes willingness to buy and reminds them of the benefits of shopping at Wal-Mart. Creating an added sense of value for the customer is an effective strategy to increase sales, however, it’s not always successful to impede consumers from shopping elsewhere.
Ensuring each Wal-Mart store can manage the weekly 270 million customers, Wal-Mart employs 2.2 million associates around the world, 1.5 million in the U.S. In addition to employees, Wal-Mart uses several different technologies to track inventory, sales, returns, and distribution conducted by customers and staff. The $16 billion spent in automation and online and mobile accessibility brought on by this technologies work to improve employee and shopper experiences. “The Wal-Mart brand is at the center of a new ecosystem which integrates shopping, services, health and wellness, and first party and marketplace e-comm,” Oliver Chen, a financial analyst wrote to Wal-Mart investors. “WMT is seizing the moment to transform through innovation and utilization of unique store, grocery and people assets. We believe new guidance appears achievable and beatable”. Offsetting this cost, Wal-Mart holds many of its operations offshore, with manufacturing locations extend past the U.S. and into several other countries to include China, India, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Chile, Mexico, and Peru.
As a company, Wal-Mart is “laser-focused on improving productivity throughout the organization and leveraging expenses”. Though they are not where they want to be, they are dedicated to “improving processes and increasingly using technology and automation to be more productive”. Wal-Mart’s variable cost amount to $373.4 billion and include labor and employee benefits, transportation, energy, utility costs, etc. Its fixed cost of $105.31 billion includes the leasing of Wal-Mart property, advertising costs, insurance, etc. Were Wal-Mart’s fixed costs high, in the short run it would not change any production decisions, it would only affect long run production decisions. Additionally, though Wal-Mart’s variable costs are high, due to operating as economies of scale, the average variable cost would fall significantly due to the level of quantities sold. As long as Wal-Mart’s average variable cost curve stays below the point where the marginal revenue curve intersects with the marginal cost curve, the point where Wal-Mart’s profits are maximized or on that point, then in the short run Wal-Mart should continue producing.
While Wal-Mart demonstrates great economies of scale, they also show economies of scope. Instead of specializing in a single product or service, Wal-Mart uses this cost advantage to sell a wide variety of items. In this situation, it is cheaper to produce more than one good or service through the same organization than separately. Also, with the addition of a learning curve, a graphical representation of the affect that learning has on productivity, average total cost would decrease. Through learning by doing, the average cost of producing goods for a firm operating in economies of scale would decrease while output increased. The more units produced by a worker the less time the worker would need to produce the same unit, adding to Wal-Mart’s efficiency.
Though top managers and countless employees have worked to make Wal-Mart Inc. not only successful but also successful, not all aspects of Wal-Mart of can be morally or ethically endorsable. Many times, throughout its run, shareholders have benefitted from its status as a publicly traded corporation. Were Wal-Mart privately owned by a sole proprietor or in partnership by someone from the Walton family, they would have been responsible for the hundreds of lawsuits made against Wal-Mart.
In October of 2018, Wal-Mart agreed to pay $65 million during a class action suit against 100,000 current employees, for not providing them with chairs to sit in. 18 days later, it was also reported that Wal-Mart settled a $160 million lawsuit in which Wal-Mart 'made false and misleading statements in Securities and Exchange Commission filings about allegations of bribery' to a pension fund. As a corporation, there is limited liability for shareholders, as Wal-Mart is its own entity. Meaning that the burden to pay the necessary legal fees and settlements falls on the corporation. The costs of being a publicly traded company can include the cost of labor to generate financials data, audit fees, accounting oversight committees, to ensure that the company follows the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. With that comes the loss of autonomy and control of making certain decisions, as an owner of the organization. With pressure from stakeholders to concentrate on short-term results, the company may suffer by ignoring long-term success and profitability. With too many opinions in the mix, it is a calculated risk that Wal-Mart remains public.
Wal-Mart’s significant market power and limited competition between other firms such as Target and Costco give it an oligopoly market structure. In this structure few firms compete against each other to vie for the attention of consumers. Wal-Mart’s business model is difficult even for the most experienced firm to compete against. As an emerging or existing firm, it would be difficult to join in this competition due to several barriers of entry. In an oligopoly market structure, dominant firms use tactics such as price-cutting to compete with smaller or less established firms. This drives smaller firms out of the market and eliminates any motivation to compete. While this structure does generate high profits for Wal-Mart, managers also have to keep a constant eye on the prices of other firms to ensure that their prices remain competitive. Depending on the actions of the other firms, Wal-Mart may have to increase or decrease output, price, advertising, etc. All of these affected decisions made by Wal-Mart can affect profit, costs, and position within the market.
In this market, Wal-Mart is doing comparatively well against its competitors in term of profit. While it is almost three times higher at $9.86 billion in 2018, Wal-Mart’s accounting profit has been steadily decreasing since 2014, where it was as high as from $15.9 billion. When comparing its profitability ratios however, Wal-Mart comes up lacking. Its return on assets (ROA) in 2018 are 4.89, return on equity (ROE) is 12.67, and revenue per employee is 217,540. Target’s ROA however is 7.55, ROE 25.47, and revenue per employee 204,975; Costco’s ROA 8.14, ROE 26.66, revenue per employee 579,449. When taking in to consideration these ratios, Wal-Mart’s competitors are currently more efficient at using its assets and equity to drive sales.
Staying competitive against other big box stores and online retailers is necessary for Wal-Mart’s continued profitable success. In an effort to reduce shipping costs, Wal-Mart uses a price discrimination strategy to raise the price of products online higher than the price should consumers purchase the item or pick up the item in-store. “While passing along the shipping savings to the consumer is great in theory, offering multiple prices on the site is confusing,' wrote Jackie Breen, director of marketing at Deck Commerce. 'On Wal-Mart.com, consumers now have three different prices to consider: 'Buy Online' price, 'Buy Online Pick Up in Store (with a discount)' price or 'Buy in Store' price'. This strategy works to put a price tag on convenience and while that may work for some consumers, it may also negatively affect sales. “The potential downside surfaces should consumers adopt the perception of Wal-Mart’s online pricing being higher than Amazon and higher in general,' said Jeff Hall, president of Second to None. 'For those products for which convenience outweighs price, Wal-Mart may unintentionally drive away online sales”.
This strategy was further reinforced with the added service of curbside pickup, where customers can choose and pay for items on the Wal-Mart website. They set a time in which they are able to pick up the items, and Wal-Mart associates place them in the customer’s vehicle. Though doubts for the price discrimination strategy are high, it does seem to have some positive effect on Wal-Mart’s sales. However, while online sales for 2017 were above amazons in the first three quarters, the decrease in the fourth quarter shows a possible lack of sustainability.
Along with the constant threat of losing customers to its competitors, Wal-Mart faces several inherent risks. To combat these risks, John Lewis former Vice President of Wal-Mart, created a five-step enterprise risk management plan (ERM). The first step process includes identifying the risk, by using the probability and the organizational impact of a risk. In this step, there are seven internal and external risk categories: legal/regulatory, political and business environments, financial, strategic, operational, and integrity. Step two involves risk mitigation, in which the three to five of the most important risks are identified and quantified. Then employees most likely impacted by these risks are brought in to form project teams. In step three, these teams begin planning different projects and implementing their plans. The fourth step involves measuring group performances and the impact their actions had on the risk. Lastly, step five is used to evaluate whether or not the projects lowered expense or increased sales. After implementing this process, hired a consultant to improve the process. He did this by ensuring that this risk evaluation is completed on three different levels, corporate risk, global/international risk and risk on the functional level.
In the current world of social media and cancel culture, reputation and integrity are important risks that must be managed. A firm can lose intrinsic value with just one negative post and considering the daily interactions Wal-Mart employees have with customers, it is important to ensure employee and customer hotlines are monitored, complaints are addressed, and policies on acceptable employee behavior are properly communicated. While reputation is affected by social media it can also be determined by lawsuits, international labor practices, and employee accommodations.
An increase in wages does not always equate to an increase in work outputs by employees. With the new added benefits to working at Wal-Mart, the company has been troubled by both types of asymmetric information: adverse selection and moral hazard. Due to the 5% monthly turnover rate, Wal-Mart is constantly hiring employees to fill the spots of employees they could not retain. While the added benefits and higher pay help to attract potential candidates, they are not always the best potential candidates. As experienced and knowledgeable employees leave, so begin the added costs of replacement and training that employee. With a notoriously bad reputation for having bad customer service, Walmart struggles to find employees that match its mission and be able to retain those that do.
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Get custom essayIn terms of cost-effectiveness, Walmart may just be paying for its employee moral hazards and absenteeism. Employees that are rude to customers and do not meet productivity requirements necessary for the salary that they are being paid. With this increase, Wal-Mart has changed employee policy to restrict paid time off and sick leave and begun to further release unnecessary or unexemplary employees from their jobs. To address the adverse selection of hiring workers that do not live up to the expectations placed on them, Wal-Mart has redesigned their employment hiring selection criteria. This along with the increased movement towards automation is all done to decrease moral hazard, adverse selection, and reduce costs.
The growing popularity of cycling in America is a healthy trend. Careful studies have proven that cycling relieves traffic, benefits physical health and mental health, eases stress on the environment, and even boosts the local economy.But despite these benefits, cycling has met resistance from car drivers who don’t like to share the road and from city planners who haven’t taken cyclist safety into account.These obstacles must be overcome. Why? Because the benefits of bicycling directly attack some of the biggest threats to human and environmental health in the United States.
Get original essayAmerican cities struggling with poor health, traffic congestion and pollution issues could be revolutionized by a bike-friendly approach. And growing cities could benefit from the insights we’ve gained into biking’s benefits and new methods of city planning proven to improve livability while saving money and improving bicycle safety.We know cycling is good, but in order to truly understand the importance of increasing the number of bikes on roads across the country, we must take a look at just how much it eases socio-environmental problems and improves city life.
Take public health, for example. America is struggling to cope with staggering rates of heart disease, obesity, depression, and a frightening increase in other physical and psychological problems. Our government can scarcely afford the cost, and our society is suffering.Bicycling gets at some of the root causes of this poor health.
Cycling is great exercise. It builds muscle, burns fat, and is easy on the joints, making it accessible to young and old. The cardio exercise also stimulates and improves your heart, lungs and circulation, reducing your risk of cardiovascular diseases. This means a lot when you consider that one in four deaths in America are caused by cardiovascular disease.Cycling also replaces traffic - which creates air pollution that contributes to global warming and directly causes an estimated 53,000 premature deaths per year - with 100% emission free bikes.
It also eliminates long car commutes, which are associated with higher weight, lower fitness levels, and higher blood pressure—all strong predictors of heart disease, diabetes, and some types of cancer. What are those stressful commutes replaced with? Bike rides that fight cancer, promote mental health, and increase workplace productivity.
Biking is also startlingly good for the economy. Cycling alone contributes an estimated $133 billion annually to the U.S. economy, supporting 1.1 million jobs and generating nearly $18 billion in tax revenues. It’s also been observed that stores in areas with more cyclists and bike lanes see higher sales and revenue than those in low bike traffic areas.
It’s time to invest more funding and energy into cycling. The research is there. We know that more cycling improves cities and eases global warming. We even know how to do it.Portland, San Francisco and even bustling New York have grown their bicycling communities - and improved cyclist safety at the same time - through proven methods. Protected bike lanes increase cycling while decreasing risk. And appropriately scaled bike share programs that offer bikes for rent or borrow from the city do the same. Between 2010 and 2015, there were over 62 million trips taken on public bike share in the US, and zero fatalities.Let’s bring these strategies to more cities. Let’s bring them to our growing cities. Let’s bring them to our future, and the future of our planet, to create a healthier and happier world.
Offering payment to potential blood donors would increase the availability of blood for transfusion in medical emergencies.
Get original essayCells are the building blocks of all living things and are made up of a nucleus, cell membrane, vacuole, and cytoplasm. Not all cells are the same they are specialized to make tissues, but they are made up of many, specialized cells. Two different types of specialized tissues make organs and two or more organs help systems such as the circulatory system. The circulatory system is made up of veins and the heart that pumps the blood around and it takes 42 seconds to get back to the same spot where it has started.
If the people in Australia don’t have enough blood in the blood banks this could lead to not being able to provide blood transfusions to people when they need them during a medical emergency. It also means that Australia will have to import more blood from overseas.
According to AABB (Advanced Transfusion and Cellular Therapies Worldwide), the United States of America have more blood donors (percentage of population) than Australia. The U.S is in need of a lot of blood, approximately 36,000 units of red blood cells are required but unfortunately, only 10% of the population donates blood. The hospitals and emergency departments for patients with cancer that require organ transplants and many other diseases, need this blood to help save their lives.
The Australian Red Cross Service says that in Australia only 3% of the population donates blood (compared to 10% in the U.S). One blood donation might be able to save up to 3 lives because the blood donation can be separated into different parts that can be used for different reasons. Australians need to donate 25,000 blood donations every week and one in three Australians need blood products or blood.
In the U.S, people get paid for donating plasma. Donating plasma takes much longer (approx. 1.5 hours), but doing a straight blood donation takes only about 15 minutes. When someone donates plasma after it is taken from their body, the plasma is removed with a machine, and then the rest of the blood is put back into the donor. Plasma can be stored for up to a year, but whole blood can only be stored for up to six weeks.
Most countries don’t allow people to get paid for giving blood, but the U.S does, and they not only generate enough for themselves, but they also export it around the world to countries that don’t have enough. According to ESSA, Australia is one of these countries and spends approximately $150 million per year importing extra plasma from the U.S.
According to Joint United Kingdom (UK) Blood Transfusion and Tissue Transplantation Services Professional Advisory Committee, “The Jehovah’s Witnesses have roughly 7.5 million active members worldwide and around 130 000 in the United Kingdom, they are the most well-known religious community that declines the transfusion of specific blood components. Their decision isn’t related to perceived risks of transfusion but is a scriptural stand based on the bibles texts, such as ‘the life of all flesh is the blood thereof: whoever eats it shall be cut off’ and ‘abstain from the meats offered to idols and from blood’.”
Australia should change because it will be better for the future of people’s lives. With a lot more blood donations, more people who need it in an emergency will be able to get it. Seeing Australia already spends a lot of money buying extra plasma from the U.S., it would make sense to pay Australians and help them get extra money rather than buy it from America which has already paid their people for it. Australia is already using the blood they have paid for, so they may as well pay their own people. Some factors that may get in the way of Australia's change are ethical issues such as religious beliefs (some people don’t allow blood transfusions regardless of how sick someone is) and that some people believe a donation should be something you give for free.
This paper explores different published articles that report on the events and the results of the sarin gas attack that happened in Japan in the year 1995 and its influence or relationship on whether there could be another gas attack this time in New York City’s (NYC’s) Subway System. Various articles suggest that the sarin gas attack in Tokyo’s subway was planned and executed by a religious extremist group. The surge in terrorist attacks in Europe and the west Seem to suggest that there is a possibility of a major attack on NYC’s vast subway system. Solomon a widely quoted intelligence analyst in his thesis and suggests that the sarin gas Attack in Tokyo Japan could be a working template for ISIS, and likeminded terrorists against the United States and Europe. Suggests that New York police
Get original essayDepartment released an “odourless, harmless” gas into the NYC’s subway system as a precautionary test for potential chemical or biological terrorist attacks. Chemical and Biological Weapons including toxic gases such as sarin are the target of terrorist groups such as the Al-Qaeda which is out to destabilize the west.
Tokyo and New York are some of the largest cities in the world with a population of over five Million people. The subway systems in these cities used to transport people are huge with more Than 3 million people using them daily. New York subway system being the larger of the two and the busiest can be a prime target for the terrorist to attack the unsuspecting and innocent public. The Use of a poisonous gas such as sarin is preferred by the terrorists since it is more fatal in terms of Casualties and it is easier to carry undetected since it can be carried in drink cans in liquid form just like what happened in the sarin attack in Japan.
The gas attack on March 20th 1995 that happened in Tokyo’s 3 subway lines left 12 people Dead and 5500 were treated in hospital. The attack was said to have been planned and executed by five members of a religious cult known as; Aum Shinri Kyo. (Yergler, 2002)
There was no indication of any foreign involvement in the gas attack. Sarin is a volatile and highly toxic nerve gas developed in the 1930’s by Nazi scientists. The gas is dangerous and Complex to make but it can be produced by a trained chemist with publicly available chemicals. Sarin paralyzes the lungs and attacks the central nervous system hence causing difficulty in Breathing. This paper seeks to discuss the relationship between the sarin gas attacks in Tokyo Japan and the imminence of another gas attack in New York City’s subway system.
Recently, Japan commemorated the deadly sarin gas attack on Tokyo’s subway system. The anniversary that was conducted in Japan was to remember the death of thirteen citizens and more than a thousand others who got injured. The anniversary conducted could act as a motivation for the enemies of United States of America to conduct the same sarin gas attack in the NYC subway system. The anniversary carried out could be have been a reminder to the enemies of the United States of America of another way of conducting murder of a large number of people which does not involve violence. (AT, 2007)
In the contemporary society, terrorism is a global phenomenon that cannot be predicted. The anniversary conducted in Japan could be a lesson for the terror groups such as Al-qaeda to hit the United States through New York City, by planning sarin gas attacks on the people surrounding the New York City’s subway system. Research shows that Al-qaeda has been an enemy to the United States of America for several years. The terror group has planned successful attacks in the United States of America, its major target for several years in the past. Recently, the United States of America, killed the leader of the terror group, Osama Bin Laden, who was the world’s most wanted criminal until when he met his death under the operations of the U.S.A security intelligence.
It is common knowledge that terrorists normally plan and executes retaliatory attacks on countries that prove to be superior to their terror groups. The retaliatory attacks are usually aimed at the innocent citizens in order to hit the nation’s government where it hurts most. For instance, the Al-shabab terror group in Somalia recently carried out a terror attack in a University College where innocent lives of promising students were lost. As noted earlier in this paper, terror activities cannot be predicted since the terrorists are also wise in making their plans. The New York City’s Subway System could be a chance for the Al-Qaeda terror group to plan and execute sarin attacks on the people. Terrorists could use the ideas derived from the anniversary of the Japan gas attack in 1995. During anniversaries, the whole brutal attack is remembered including how the attack was conducted. This could be a chance for the terror groups to learn and invent more ways of planning future sarin gas attacks in various cities including New York City.
The anniversary of the Japan’s sarin gas attack in Tokyo is evidence that the families and friends of those who passed away and those who got injured still feel the pain of the attack. Research conducted by humanitarian organizations show that a good number of Japanese citizens still have health implications that were caused by the gas attack by in 1995. (Pangi, 2002) Anniversaries could also be a way of looking forward to preventing such occurrence in the past.
Research also shows that New York City has got a lot of Japanese citizens who carry out their jobs even in the New York City’s Subway System. Given that Japan as a country is well experienced with modern technology, many Japanese are employed in the subway system for effective operation. Investigations indicated that the gas attack in Japan was executed by Aum Shinriyo cult members who probably believe in the death of their fellows as a religious practice. As noted, the large number of Japanese individuals in the NYC’s subway system could be an opportunity for the cult members to conduct such heinous acts in the world class city of New York. Back in Japan, the cult members are known for their awkward practices and they could transfer their practices to other potential places like the NYC’s subway system. They could just plan the attack using the same criteria they used back in Japan.
The cult leaders are also well organized that nobody can easily realize their operations. For instance, they used an odorless gas in Tokyo to execute the gas attack in the subway system. It is therefore necessary for authorities to be vigilant in their operations in the New York City. In the contemporary society, cult practices is on the rise and it is right that people should be alert since the subway system in New York City could be an advantage to the cult members who are yearning for human blood. Assumptions cannot just be made that the cult practice is just in Japan. They might be operating globally to recruit and increase their evil deeds. (Yergler, 2002)
Since the gas attack in Tokyo, Japan, news has been all over the print media, the television as well as on the internet of how the attack was executed and those who perpetrated the attack. The sarin gas has been described severally in the social media thereby creating awareness on the gas type and its effects. The gas has been described to be odorless, colorless, and highly toxic gas that can be easily sneaked into a place. The effect of the gas has been on the headlines for several years since people have not been able to believe on the brutality of fellow human beings. Posting the information in the social media could be a training ground for people who may want to carry out experiments to test whether what they read from social media is true. (Poolos, 2003)
The youth and children who may have access to the gas could be tempted to try using the same gas elsewhere. Children are known for trying many things in their lives as part of their games or as a way in which they learn. Due to curiosity, reasonable children may board a train with the gas or sneak it in to see the results of the action. Social media therefore acts as a ground where the youth and children learn how to execute crimes. It is not only the young people who might get tempted to carry out such act. There are adults who are tired of life and might wish to end their lives. According to research on human behavior, adults experience a lot of stress and might opt to end their lives together with other innocent people. Such influences blended with the ideas from social media could cause havoc in the New York City’s Subway system. The subway system is therefore not safe at any time except for when it is under tight security by the security personnel and even security intelligence agencies. From the social media, we learn about the coordinated multiple terror attacks in Tokyo on March, 20, 1995. We learn a lot from the background information on the gas attack in Japan, ranging from how the gas was sneaked into the subway system to how it was released, leading to multiple deaths and several injuries.
We are informed of the activities that took place prior to the gas attack through social media. We learn of a lawyer who was murdered together with his family in Yokohama. A lot of crimes went unsolved by the Japanese authorities just before the sarin gas attack. The subway system could have been the last option to target some people by using the poisonous gas. Critically, thinking, the criminals who did the act of killing the lawyer and his family might have colluded with the cult members who were held responsible to have committed the heinous act. New York City might not be an exception of a place that criminals might use to execute their duties. The New York subway is a perfect ground for criminals who want to target some important people in the community whom they envy. The subway system could be a way of achieving the murder of people who criminals have been tirelessly looked for but have not been successful in their acts of cowardice. It is a ground that can be used to accomplish acts of cowardice through the use of chemical gas.
News had it that the lawyer who had been killed was among the people who were trying to save their children from the cult that was held responsible for the Tokyo gas attack. There were three other judges who were being plotted to be killed for presiding over a court case that involved those who were in the cult. Evidently, the gas attack was behind the evil cult practices that also led to the lives of judges and a lawyer. It is clear that criminals supplement their activities with the Tokyo gas attack in order to allow for the existence of the cult. No one knows whether the cult members had targeted the three judges by planning and executing the gas attack in Tokyo, Japan. New York City subway system should therefore be on the watch of criminals who might want to use it as their last option while planning murder of individuals. ( Okumu et al, 1998)
According to the background information on the attack, five men boarded separate subway lines and they all headed to one place. The men dropped their bags of sarin on the floor of the train and punctured them before they could get out of the train. The result of the act of the five men is that the gas evaporated and affected both the people in the train and outside the train. In fact, it is the liquid in the train that evaporated and cause harm to the passengers. Those who were overcome by the gas were mostly those who were trying to provide assistance to the people who had been slightly affected. In the process, they came into contact with the gas, leading to the many deaths indicated in the books of history.
Study on the state of the New York City Subway System reveals that the New York Police Department has started releasing into the air what they claim to be a set of harmless gases. The police department has explained their action as an experiment on how chemical weapons could be used by criminals and terrorists to cause murder in the recent times.
Such attempts by the police departments to test on the way gases spread has been condemned by scientists who reason that the gas the police used by the police can cause harm to the brain and heart if used persistently. Furthermore, the air bubbles are released only on some parts of New York Subway System hence it may cause harm to a specific group of New York citizens. Such remarks have been made by environmental preservation officers who understand the effects of long exposure to the different types of gas. The action the police are undertaking may be an indirect gas attack to the people who are consistently exposed to the gas released by the police. The police in investigating how poisonous gas spread and trying to find out how the gas is used by criminal and terrorists may cause a gas attack to the New York City subway system through consistently using the gas to carry out tests.
Some time back, the United States intelligence agencies learned of the attempt by the Al-Qaeda terrorists group to plan and execute a gas attack in the New York City subway system. Reports indicate that the terror group was ordered by their leader; Ayman Zawahiriwho was as at that the deputy to Osama Bin Laden. It is said that they had planned to execute the attack using similar gas used to execute the attack in Tokyo, Japan. It cannot be assumed that the attack was called off by the Deputy leader of the terror group as it is widely said. Maybe the attack was postponed to be carried out on a later date which no one knows. The New York City subway system is therefore at the risk of gas attack from the Al-Qaeda terror group in the Middle East. (Dahl, 2011)
Given that the Al-Qaeda group has chemical engineers who understand better how gases like hydrogen work with other gases to cause damage, the NYC’s subway system can still not be safe even if the production of the sarin gas is stopped at the factories. The people are still at the risk of being attacked by the Al-Qaeda terror group using different sets of harmful gas. Given that the United State of America killed the leader of the Al-Qaeda terror group Osama Bin Laden, the NYC’s subway system could be the best way to carry out retaliatory attacks to the United States of America. The terror group might even plan on more deadly chemical weapons that can be compared to atomic bombs. The New York City subway system is not guaranteed any safety given the impending terror attack that was called off by the group’s leader. Perhaps the deputy leader decided that they should carry out deadly attacks whose effects would be felt for hundreds of years to come. It is upon the government of the United States of America to provide extremely heightened safety measures so as to curb insecurity at the subway system.
The information that was leaked out to the government regarding an impending terror attack could have not been true. Maybe somebody in the security intelligence team was bribed to hide out the truth from the government. Due to the love for money in the contemporary society, the security intelligence agencies may not be fully trusted with information regarding terror activities. The NYC’s subway system could be attacked by the terrorists under the influence of corruption in the society.
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Get custom essayIn a nutshell, increased attacks by the terrorist organizations such as The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Al-Qaeda have led to an increase in the chances of a gas attack in the world’s largest subway system in New York City. Consistent political instability in the Middle East countries could be an indication that the subway system may be attacked if the United States of America decides to take sides in the war. The government of the Unite States therefore ought to teach its citizens techniques of survival in case of a gas attack at the subway system.
Customer service is an important way to differentiate yourself from your competitors and create customer loyalty. Setting up customer service components and quantifying service levels is a way to maintain a company's competitive advantage. The purpose of a logistics system is to generate profits while providing services that are equal to or better than those of our competitors. Customer service is a chain of sales activities and customer requests that provide continuous service after receiving an order from time to time until the product is shipped to the customer.
Get original essayThe role of customer service is to provide time and place. A utility for providing goods and services between a company and a customer. Other forms of products are not worth getting into the hands of customers. Availability is a complex concept that is influenced by the multiple elements that make up customer service. The problem is the importance of customer service and logistics management, discussing ways to improve customer service. The importance of shopping services, which are the weapon of competition for organizations, is increasing. In the case of such growth, the continuous change in customer expectations makes it difficult for the customer to understand what they need, reducing the full growth power of competing product technology and making differences between products.
Before creating a good atmosphere for client services, the elements of the transaction: are client service policies and programs, the frame structure needed to implement client service policies, system flexibility, and the ability to refute client demands.
Transaction elements set to meet logistics functions: Offering in-stock items, order data, and period of the order cycle. The post-trade element of Client Services Square generally measures people who support merchandise using product warranty, maintenance services, merchandise exchange, buyer criticism resolution, and merchandise compensation. It is very difficult for any company to understand the needs of its customers. Supply professionals need to know exactly what the service problem is that differentiates their customers.
Customer service is a sensory activity that does not continually reflect what the buyer needs most. For example, 'inventory availability' can be an extensive internal live of business results, and 'delivery time' is an external life that customers rate. Therefore, businesses need to establish a group of service criteria that are important to their customers. Improving customer service in logistics management Build trust with fast and seamless communication. There is also one problem with new business inquiries after customers change the direction of existing orders.
Communication speed is the essence of client service. The faster the data is provided, the faster the action. This is the customer's demand.
Consistent communication is essential to building trust. Build and maintain partnerships with high-quality, trusted companies to create and sustain the business. Building a way to foster continuous learning of workers Support, sales, and account managers need to constantly learn to be part of a burgeoning business from a simple supply business.
This means business leaders need to provide ongoing guidance to keep their employees ready and ready, especially when processing a wide range of data about materials, regions, and systems. Manage the heyday of daily training programs for recently hired workers and set up ongoing education methods to manage the continuous coaching of employees. This allows you to exchange structured time updates sharing or solutions that can help other members of your team to move scheduled method changes.
Check-in daily: Gather the entire team for a 15-minute or 30-minute quick meeting before the start of the first day. We share some important lessons they need to remember all day and the latest information needed for success.
Weekly Review: Take your team to one-hour sessions wherever they teach you how to solve difficult tasks. Let your team members share their expertise and learn everything from each other. Rotating new rental training: hardworking workers can lead coaching and onboarding sessions when new personnel becomes part of the team. This opens up new opportunities for everyone, and new members can learn firsthand through case studies.
When sending a support request, it's hard to convince someone to pass it on to another. You don't want to hear from many members of your team. Customers don't have to check the team's discussion and answer paths for obstacles. Your customers just want to make sure your business is giving them an answer.
Eliminate internal conversations from email threads: Sales reps typically raise issues, track responses, and send emails to colleagues who place orders To customers, these long email chains seem careless and complicated. It helps maintain your team's skills by giving your team the easiest way to collaborate in-house without sending these emails out. One alternative is to run the code on a shared inbox computer such as Front. This can be said directly inside the email thread without being able to show it to the customer. Set up automatic routing to send messages to the right people. Send a mail and say 'Can you handle this?' Route the victim's messages and have them mechanically inspire in the hands of the appropriate peers. Customers using many communication channels expect to be ready to be reached by email or phone, but some groups are increasing the convenience of including options such as SMS text messaging and live website chat. When it comes to a thriving customer service strategy, it's very important that it's the gift your clients need to achieve you anytime, anywhere.
In conclusion, it was found that logistics management has a great influence on customer satisfaction, and companies that use logistics have higher customer satisfaction than those that do not. Logistics management processes are known to deliver customer service and customer satisfaction. In other words, by connecting all stages of logistics management as one process, we ultimately aim to optimize customer satisfaction and corporate performance.
I employed a self-control program that aimed to improve my tendency to engage in exercise/physical activity. I was the subject, a 19 year old west-african female, slightly above average weight, below average height and severely lacking in physical fitness. This was done through the use of one application on an iPhone 8+ and usage of an Apple Watch. The application used positive reinforcement to encourage individuals to exercise through the promise of monetary gain. In the baseline period of seven days, the results showed that I engaged in little to no physical activity. The next seven days implementing the intervention program showed a large increase in the amount of times I engaged in physical activity and also showed higher heart rates than in the baseline period.
Get original essayThe program’s apparent success was not without limitations and minor failures that prevented the modified behaviour from being instilled.
Regular physical activity is an important backer to good overall health,advocating healthy weight and reducing any chance of contracting chronic disease (Karoly, Ruehlman, Okun, Lutz, Newton, & Fairholme 2005). However, the number of people becoming obese in western countries is at an all time high, causing concern for overall healthy living and life expectancy. A daily routine excluding any physical activity can have grave short term and long term consequences on one’s health. We all know the long term benefits of continuous exercise and physical activity: As well as weight loss, exercise is affiliated with reduced depressive symptoms and a diminished risk for heart disease (Strong WB, Malina RM, Blimkie CJ, Daniels SR, Dishman RK, Gutin B, Hergenroeder AC, Must A, Nixon PA, Pivarnik JM, Rowland T, Trost S, Trudeau F 2005). Modifying this behaviour and increasing my tendency to exercise without prompts would allow for a healthier me and more importantly to me, a large upswing in subjective well-being.
One main reason individuals, especially teenagers avoid any form of physical activity or exercise is our supreme desire to evade any incidence of discomfort. This concept comes about as people often express that they don’t engage in exercise due to lack of time but continue on to contradict themselves by saying how much they intend and aspire to become healthier and feel as though exercise is the way to achieve it. We reside in a society wrapped up in comfort, where we adjust temperatures indoors to our preference, snuggle in warm clothing and wear thick-soled shoes to protect our feet from harm. Our everyday lives are a little too comfortable to adjust to the instant minor discomfort that exercise causes. Theories of human behaviour have long depicted the reality that immediate experience often outweighs future rewards. That is, it’s hard for us to do something uncomfortable regardless of its positive consequences in the future. While we are aware of all the benefits of regular exercise, the temptation of sitting on the couch and watching TV instead of going for a short jog or walk is just too colossal. The prompt reinforcement that occurs when one does decide to exercise often extinguishes any zeal the individual had to continue towards their goal.
The fact that rewards for this particular behaviour do not immediately appear and require time and continuous effort is what seems to hinder individuals from pursuing their fitness goals. Due to this, programs aimed at increasing the behaviour in question need to conveniently surpass these negative reverberations. Skinner (1953) theorised that a behaviour such as this, exercising, needs to be followed by immediate positive reinforcement in order for it to be repeated. Hence, I formulated a self-control program that would encourage regular exercise using an iPhone application, offering positive reinforcement. I chose the use of positive reinforcement after having previously attempted other strategies, such as punishment (starving), and attempting to motivate myself by signing a contingency contract, however, none of them having worked in the long run. The app, Sweatcoin, rewards individuals with digital currency in exchange for being physical active and this currency can be used to make online purchases or redeemed for real money. I often have bills that need paying which usually leaves me with no money to make personal purchases, and this fact made sure that I would participate in physical activity at a higher frequency for monetary gain.
The subject of this intervention program was me, a 19 year old West-African female, lacking consistency in healthy living and exercise. To increase tendency to exercise, a smartphone application was utilised and a contingency contract drawn up. The first week was used as a baseline period, in which the behaviour in question was measured to determine whether it was an issue of self control or not and to establish a practical goal for the following week. The number of steps taken was measured using the same smartphone app as well as an apple watch to maximise accuracy of results. The baseline revealed a low number of steps averaging around 692 steps per day. Thus an appropriate goal of 1500 per day was set, doubling the amount of steps daily. If this goal was met each day, the app would reward me with $1. 50, which seems like a small amount but it goes a long way in terms of motivation and consistency.
However, it also proved to be effective in the long term as the more I gained from the app, the more it motivated me to strive for more steps so I could make more “free” money. Therefore I was able to surpass the short term consequences of exercising, such as sweating, increased heart rate and tiredness and discomfort by overshadowing them with the positive consequences of me exercising. Thinking about the money being made really acted as reinforcer and ensured the intended behaviour was not only performed to reach the intended goal but excel beyond it. As a result of this consistency in exercise, the typical symptoms of discomfort, over-time, decreased and I became accustomed to them. Evidently, the results of this study demonstrate what was originally theorised, that positive reinforcement makes it more likely that an action will be repeated. However, there is a limitation to this study. That being that the solely relying on the app to motivate you to become more physically active only works for awhile, it needs to be accompanied by your own ambition for the task (Saunders, C. 2016).
In conclusion, the methods of positive reinforcement have proved to be incredibly prosperous in increasing and modifying behaviour linked with one’s tendency to exercise. However, it’s important to note that the reinforcer of monetary gain may not be desirable for every other person. Hence, in replicating this program, one must modify certain aspects of the experiment to better accommodate them.
You may also want to list keywords from your paper in your abstract. To do this, indent as you would if you were starting a new paragraph, type Keywords: (italicized), and then list your keywords. Listing your keywords will help researchers find your work in the database Housing is an important aspect to be considered by a country and major population in our country is below the lower income group and low-cost housing or “affordable housing” has to turn out to be a better option for the government’s program for these low-income group and the economically weaker sections. Metropolitan cities are the first to experience these varieties of challenges, Pune has emerged as a large metropolitan city in India. With the lack of adequate and affordable housing options, most of the urban poor are forced to live in the slums. This paper analyses the shortage of houses for the LIG and EWS classes and also shows the impact of these government programs and raises the question about the relevance and the methodology of affordable housing.
Get original essayHousing has been an important concern for our country and with the increasing urbanization, housing the lower class population has become a major concern. The idea is to improve the living conditions of the underprivileged and the poor and to provide these families with better accommodations and also give them a safer environment. Further, as much of the urban population is becoming more concentrated in large cities, housing in large Indian cities is becoming of particular concern. Pune has also joined the league of metropolitan cities and has rapidly grown in the past decades. Affordability in the Indian context can mean a wide range of things and the term has different meanings in terms of different contexts. ‘Affordable housing’ is mainly for the people who belong to the economically weaker sections (EWS) and low-income group (LIG) who desire for the same comfort and security as that of a self-owned property/house that the other higher sections people have.
In India, the EWS and LIG group have not been getting much attention to what their demands are, however now with the current government in place, a significant amount of change has taken place and the government is also trying to reach the demands of these sections. As these two sections make up the thickest segment of the demographic for India their requirements are being looked into. There are several initiatives taken and things are getting shaped for these sections, there are several schemes for these sections that are now on the verge of completion. Lack of approachability has been the number one reason why this has not worked so far and even if these housings are made on the periphery of the cities, better connectivity will make these housing more desirable as residential destinations.
One of the major challenges faced by the large metropolitan cities is providing suitable/affordable housing for the low-income people also referred to as the urban poor. The private builders deal with the higher an the middle-income group and as a result, the urban poor, and this has led to slums and squatter settlements. This is the solution found by the urban poor for satisfying their housing needs.
There are different studies/attempts made to understand the requirements and the problems related to this critical situation in the metropolitan cities and as a result, the concept of affordable housing has been brought into existence. Affordable housing mostly caters to the demand of the Lower Income Group and the Economically Weaker Sections population which also includes facilities of schools, hospitals, and other community facilities.
The first step to affordable housing material selection is to select eco-friendly and less hazardous building materials. This will also enhance the sustainable design principle. The life cycle of a building is Pre building, building, and post-building stages. Each stage of the building should be such that they help conserve the energy. These three stages indicate the flow of building materials through different stages of a building. Then there is the use of local materials, the use of local materials reduces the dependence on transportation whose contribution to the building material cost is high for long-distance. The use of locally available building materials not only reduces the construction cost but also is suitable for the local environmental conditions.
Recyclability and reusability of building material: A material should be available in a form which can be recyclable or reusable. Ex–plastic waste can be used for recycling and producing newer materials. The scrap from steel can be used to manufacture the RCC bars, binding covers, and other miscellaneous steel products in building construction.
Housing and its options have always been a major concern in India for a long time. With increasing urbanization, housing the population in urban areas has been becoming of much greater concern than in the past. Further, as much of the urban population is becoming more concentrated in large cities, housing in large Indian cities is becoming of particular concern. Over this period, Pune emerged as a favorite destination for automobiles, auto-ancillaries, and allied industries to become an „automobile hub?. The new industrial policy on setting up SEZs further fostered industrial development in Pune.
Pune urban agglomeration has two major municipal corporations with different jurisdictions – Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC). While PMC covers much of the old Pune city and the areas in the south, the PCMC covers areas to the north.
WikiHouse is an open technology foundation, its main aim is to allow companies, organizations, and governments to work together to develop new open technologies, standards, and common infrastructures for housing and sustainable development. The main purpose of this was to try and relate affordable housing and sustainable development and to know that will these two can go hand in hand.
Its aim is to put the design solutions for building low-cost, high-performance homes into the hands of every citizen, also to use digitization to make it easier for existing industries to design, invest in, manufacture, and assemble better, more sustainable, more affordable homes for more people. It also focuses on the distributed housing industry, comprising many citizens, communities, and small businesses developing homes and surroundings for themselves, reducing our dependence on heavy mass housing systems.
The research is based on secondary data, online research papers, and my reviews about it. The paper is based on both on primary and secondary market data. Secondary data was collected from government policies like the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna, Housing for All by 2022, real estate industry data from research reports of magicbricks.com, etc. Primary research was conducted by asking a set of different questions from both, the developers and the homebuyers. A different set of questions was prepared for both the parties to understand the precise impact of government policies on each stakeholder.
I have also watched some documentaries based on Affordable housing and reviewed them and I am going to use it as a secondary source of data. The whole study is based on mostly secondary data and research done by the researchers.
The success of affordable housing will depend on how much the people are willing to accept this as housing for their own, another factor to it is also the approach, these sections do not have a direct approach to the head of the department and thus there is no proper approach to what issues these sections are facing and this results in the formation of slums and unhygienic settlements as the solution. This also open ups the discussion of that is affordable housing a better option for the urbanization of the metropolitan cities and will it be enough for the population of these lower-income groups and the economically weaker groups as these are the thickest in terms of the population. Why can’t affordable housing and low-cost housing be taken up together as a task and worked out as one. Is Affordable Housing a success or just another government scheme?
The current government policy on affordable housing are a boon to the home buyer and developer as it provides them subsidized loans, service tax exemption, tax exemptions, and possible stamp duty exemptions, but at the same time, it does not give enough breathing margins to the developer which is required to successfully complete and deliver a project. If the state governments successfully implement the measures suggested by the central government for the affordable housing projects like providing single-window clearance, preapproved building permission, and layout approval system, additional FAR, and higher density, it will give the developers the desired margin and will help them in completing the projects in time without the unnecessary delays caused due to multiple approvals.
It will be correct to say that the demand for affordable housing is humungous and it also has multiple concerns owing to which the builders/developers are getting hesitant to enter this very segment. Though the concept of affordable housing seems simple and effective to this current issue, its execution remains complicated and unsolved due to the government’s unclear framework of policies, this is due to the lack of a clear definition for affordable housing. Keeping in mind the different geographies of India, the government should clearly redefine the term. In addition, there is also a lack of availability of land in Pune at a reasonable price, high fees and taxes, rising construction costs, regulatory issues, and unfavorable development norms are some concerns that restrict the desired growth and implementation of affordable housing in India.
Currently, the policy says that to register a project under the policy, the units of the project should be within the size limit of 30 sq. meters for the metro cities and 60 sq. meters for others. The numbers of units that can be planned in a project depend on the density designated by the local authority of that locality. For example, a sector in Noida has a density of a maximum of 366 flats per hectare. Due to this, the builder has to plan a mix of big and small sizes of units so that he is available to utilize the complete Floor Area Ratio (FAR) of the project, which roughly defines the total saleable area of the project. Now, if the builder decides to go under the affordable housing scheme, then he has to plan at least 90% of units of 60 sq. meters or less. Going by this rule, the builder will not be able to achieve the complete FAR as the maximum units can only be 366 but since the sizes of 330 units have to be smaller than 60 sq. meters his total saleable area will be much less which could have been more if the units could have been of bigger sizes. An easy solution for this is for the local authority must grant higher density to the affordable housing projects, so that builders can build more units in the same area of the plot and achieve his total FAR. By not achieving complete FAR, the project viability of the builder becomes negative in most cases. This issue must be resolved between the central and state governments to make affordable housing viable for the developer.
The introduction of GST can also create another hurdle for the affordable housing segment. Currently, the developer gets abatement in service tax to the tune of 75% considering the cost of land in the final product price. However, GST does not currently provide for the abatement for land. Due to this, the cost of housing will go up for the buyer, as he will have to pay for GST on the entire consideration amount. Since service tax was exempted on affordable housing, it is to be seen if affordable housing will also be out of the purview of GST and moreover if GST will provide for abatement or not is also to be seen. One of the major loopholes in the affordable housing policy is that it defines the restrictions by the size of the unit rather than by the maximum price of the unit. This means that a developer can price the unit at any price if it is under the size of 60 sq. meters. This defeats the purpose of affordable housing because developers can take all benefits of affordable housing and yet price their product at a price, which is beyond the purchasing capacity of the buyer. The government also needs to provide single window clearance for affordable housing projects to keep the price under control. Currently, the various approval authorities of state governments cause long delays in the completion of projects due to which the cost of the project can go up to as high as 3% per year of delay. If the government wants to ensure timely completion of projects at minimum costs so that it could be passed on to the buyer, it must take the clearances under its own hand and aim for a single-window clearance body. The high cost of land is one of the major deterring factors in providing low-cost homes. The state governments need to increase the FAR for the plots under the affordable housing scheme. By increasing FAR, the cost of FSI will go down drastically for the developer. More FAR means a saleable area or higher turnover for the developer. If this is implemented then the developer can earn his share of profits through higher turnover even with lesser margins per unit.
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Get custom essayThere is a different side to this story, that we do not need affordable housing, we need more housing so that it will be affordable, if we believe that the cities provide economic opportunities, that the cities are more energy-efficient and that the cities provide them with more economic and cultural backgrounds, to live close to each other and learn from one another, that means people ought to be able to live in the cities. That means we believe in more housing. If a number of housing units meet or exceeds the number of people that want and need them, those people have more freedom of choice, more mobility, and more opportunities.
This paper explores multiple aspects of India and the people of this ancient country. The paper includes information on the history, religion, language, communication (verbal and nonverbal), as well as customs, family (including values and identity formation), and socialization among the Indian people and their culture. There are many layers to the ancient culture of India, which cannot possibly all be covered in this paper. Existing civilizations of India cover more than 4000 years, making it one of the oldest in the world. India’s culture is made up of several customs, traditions, and beliefs which are products of the rich culture and heritage of the country. The nation was transformed by its rich history and each Indian inherently has a sense of national pride. This paper is a modest attempt at showing the culture and pride behind this beautiful country.
Get original essayIndia’s history dates all the way back to the beginning of human civilization. The Indus Valley Civilization, known as the Harappan Civilization, were the first of the people of the western part of South Asia, in approximately 2500 BC. This area is what we now know today as Western India and Pakistan. Four of the largest ancient civilizations inhabited the Indus Valley, which were of Egypt, Mesopotamia, India, and China. The Indus Valley Civilization, as modern and highly developed as their cities were at that time, were no challenge for nature which brought an end to this civilization, around 1500 BC, through recurrent flooding, earthquakes, and other natural disasters.
The first actual people of India were the Vedics, named after the Vedas of the early literature of the Hindu people. Hinduism is the religious and spiritual thought that was born from the Vedas. Following the Vedic civilization, there was the Buddhist era (6th and 7th century BC), followed by the Kushanas, and then the Gupta Dynasty. For almost three centuries there was a strong Islamic influence in India under the rule of the Chalukyas, the Pallavas, the Pandyas, the Rashtrakutras, the Muslims, and finally Mughal Empire. The Mughal Empire united Muslim and Hindu kingdoms of India, and its millions of citizens, under one rule and became one of the greatest empires that ever existed.
Many came to India, some to try to conquer, some to loot the country, and some to trade. Immigrants to India included the Persians, followed by the Iranians, the Parsis, and then the Moghuls. Chengis Khan invaded and looted India on many occasions. Alexander the Great tried to conquer India. Columbus also tried to go to India but landed in America instead. The Portuguese came to trade goods and the French came and settled colonies in India. But those that came and ruled over India, enforcing their political power for almost 200 years, were the British. The British conquest of India lasted from 1757 until its completion in 1856. In 1857, the Indians revolted in what is known as the First War of Indian Independence. But they were defeated within a year by the British powers.
By the end of WWII, a new Prime Minister by the name of Attlee, came to Power in Britain. Atlee was a sympathetic to the Indian people and their freedom. In 1946, an interim government was put in place to create a Constituent Assembly of elected members and nominees of the Indian states. The interim government was headed by Jawaharlal Nehru, a follower of Mahatma Gandhi. The Muslims League was unhappy with the Constituent Assembly and argued to make Pakistan a separate state. India was then divided into India and Pakistan separately due to the Muslim League’s strong push for it. On August 14, 1947, India became free from British rule and Jawaharlal Nehru its first Prime Minister.
As the voice of the newly freed nation, the Prime Minister said:
“Long years ago we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time comes when we will redeem our pledge, not wholly or in full measure, but very substantially. At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will wake to life and freedom. A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance…
We end today a period of ill fortune, and India discovers herself again.” (Nehru, 1947)
In 1949, the Constitution of India was created and, in 1950, the first President of India, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, was elected by the people.
As with many other countries, India’s economics, politics, and culture have been greatly influenced by religion throughout history. India is full of sacred and holy spaces across the vast land. This is evident with the many people publicly praying and often leaving offerings at these spaces. What may look like an old mound of clay and dust to the average Westerner, may be a crumbling temple to the villagers nearby. From fruit to flowers to chalk drawings, people have left prayers and offered pieces of their lives for some form of spiritual healing or blessing.
India is very diverse in all its religions. They include Hinduism (the religion of the majority), Islam (Muslims make up the largest minority religion), Sikhism, Buddhism, Christianity, and Jainism, as well as many others. All of these religions are tolerated and practiced in harmony with one another. Many different religions have many different festivals, all which are celebrated by people of varying religions. India is a country of brotherhood and love and this is evident in the celebrations which unite everyone in the neighborhoods, cities, and villages across India.
Hinduism. Hinduism is the world’s oldest and third largest religion. It is the majority religion in India with 84% of the population. It is also known as Sanatan Dharma (the everlasting religion).
Islam. Islam is practiced by roughly 12% of the Indian population but, because is the second most prominent religion in the country, it has a strong influence on Indian society. Islam has been a part of India since the 8th century, after the fall of the province Sindh.
Buddhism. Buddhism was created from the philosophical teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, a royal prince from Kapilvastu, India. Buddhism originated between 563 and 483 BC. It spread from India through Sri Lanka, Tibet, Southeast and Central Asia, as well as Mongolia, China, Japan, and Vietnam.
Christianity. There are approximately 25 million Christians in India. This was believed to have become a prominent religion of India due to the British rule for nearly 200 years.
Sikhism. Approximately 2% of the population are Sikh. The translation of Sikh is disciple. A true Sikh believes that they should remain unattached to worldly possessions.
Jainism. Less than 1% of India are Jains. In ancient times, they were known as merchants and tradesmen. The largest population of Jains reside in the states of Rajasthan and Gujarat.
As with the multitude of religions of India, there are also many different languages spoken throughout the country. The language that is predominant is Hindi. Most Indians can speak Hindi, as it is taught in all the schools in India. There are 23 languages (officially acknowledged), with over 720 dialects, and 13 written scripts. It is suggested that there are possibly over 1,600 different languages or dialects in India alone. English is widely spoken throughout India and is becoming more common in large urban areas as American and European outsourcing moves into the cities of India.
Many of the Indian languages use the Devanagari alphabet. It is the most popular form of writing in India. It was originally used to write Sanskrit, an ancient language that originated in Northern India. Devanagari is written left to right and each letter resembles a vowel or consonant.
The primary languages of India are Hindi, English, Bengali, Telugu, Marathi, Tamil, Urdu, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Oriya, Punjabi, Assamese, Maithili, and a small percentage divided among the other 8 or 9 main languages. Some of the languages are named similarly for the area they are spoken in. Such as Tamil is spoken in Tamil Nadu and Punjabi in Punjab. Language in India is regional, and dialects affect the way the languages are spoken throughout India.
In India, it is customary to greet each other by saying ‘Namaste’ and placing your hands together at your chest as if in prayer while giving a slight bow. Men will usually shake hands with each other when greeting or leaving but they will not usually shake hands with women. It is taboo for a man and woman to touch each other. Indians use their right hand for greeting and touching things including eating, but the left hand is reserved for bathroom duties. There is a hierarchy in Indian culture, so the elders are greeted first, and caste and social standing affect all greetings.
If you are unaware of the way Indians communicate, verbally or non-verbally, there may be many misunderstandings during a conversation. This also changes depending on the region. There are many forms of non-verbal communication that Indians use to communicate. Like many other Asian cultures, Indians typically have a hard time saying no, especially to a stranger or business associate. The word “no” seems offensive to them and they feel it may cause harm to the relationship, even among friends. Indians may appear vague, or to lack commitment, when faced with a disagreement. Vague answers such as “I will do my best” or “Yes, but it may prove to be a challenge” may very well mean ‘no’. Indians may tell others what they think they want to hear as to not seem confrontational if they are pushed into giving an answer, they aren’t comfortable with.
Indians are very family-oriented. This means that they involve their families in almost all decisions and take their family’s opinions to heart. Most decisions, even in business, surprisingly, are family decisions even if the family does not appear to be physically involved or financially vested in the business. All families are financially vested in their family members business affairs because the family unit is so closely knit in India.
Verbal communication. Indians tend to be indirect and appeasing to those they aren’t comfortable with. This is to avoid confrontation or any conflict. They would much rather swap viewpoints or opinions in a way that seems more like a negotiation than an argument. They are, however, direct communicators with those who are close relations or someone they have a lot of trust in. Other times they may remain silent rather than argue or say no. This is when it is important to pay attention to the non-verbal communication. Absence of an agreement is sometimes a disagreement.
When asked a question, an Indian may say yes to show that they are listening and understand but not necessarily that they agree. To them, to answer no is a form of ending the relationship, thus ending any negotiation. It’s better to ask an Indian an open-ended question rather than a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ question. Asking what they think about something, rather than asking if they agree with you or your opinion, may eliminate any confusion or misunderstanding.
Non-verbal communication. Indians generally prefer and respect personal space. It is not that different from most Westerners in this regard, but this also depends on the area. India can be very crowded in many areas and this causes crowds of Indians to be shoved up against each other when in a queue or on public transportation. In most instances, when allowed, they give more space to the opposite sex than someone of the same sex. Even among married Indians, you will not very likely see any physical touch such as kissing, hugging, or holding hands. However, as with most things, this is changing among the younger generations especially in the largely populated urban areas.
Indians tend to stare without any regard for this being rude or intrusive. To them it is normal just as it is for Westerners to smile at each other. Men tend to stare more than women who may avoid any eye contact all together. Indians view pointing a finger at someone as accusatory so they will usually wave their hand with their palm down to get someone’s attention or to direct attention somewhere.
Physical gestures are very common in India. The “head bobble” where the head is tilted side to side is a way of showing agreement or understanding. To a Westerner, the “head bobble” may look like they’re showing that they don’t care or that they are disregarding what’s being said, which is how many Westerners react to those feelings. Indians may also nod to show that they understand what’s being said but this does not always mean they agree. In India the head is considered to be the holiest part of the body and the feet the dirtiest. This plays a significant role in non-verbal communication. It is considered disrespectful to touch the top of someone’s head and displaying the soles of the feet is considered rude.
India has many customs and they vary depending on the region, religion, language, gender, age, among other variances. One of the most common traditions we see almost immediately when we meet an Indian is the tilak. The tilak is a ritual mark on the forehead usually placed as a blessing. Another custom we often see is the bindi. This is a different type of mark, sometimes a jewel, placed on the forehead of married Indian women. It is meant to be symbolic of the Goddess Parvati.
A customary greeting, to show respect, is to bow down and touch the tops of the feet of their elders, parents, or teachers. The elders then may give a blessing by touching the top of the younger Indians head. This is generally the only time it is acceptable to touch the head or feet of another. Flower garlands are also a way to show respect an honor someone. This is usually done for a guest or a deity (a statue of a deity in a temple).
Other acts of devotion that are custom are lighting the Diya and also what is called Aarti. A Diya is a lamp that is lit every morning and evening in the homes of Indians to honor God. Aarti is a lamp that is circled around a deity, while songs of praise are sung, to worship that deity or God. Aarti, in Sanskrit, means “towards virtue”. Indians always remove their shoes before entering a holy or sacred place. As a visitor, you will always know when arriving at a sacred place by the piles of shoes outside the door. It is customary to dress modestly when visiting these holy places. Tourists should always have extra clothes to put on if they are traveling in the summer to cover themselves up. It is taboo to show skin in a sacred or holy place.
Some social customs include names Indians give each other. Many go by a nickname given to them by their family or close relations. Older females are often referred to as ‘auntie’ by those they are close to. Younger males referred to as ‘little brother’. Surnames denote what area or caste someone originates from and may have a suffix that indicates the type of trade business their ancestors were in. Indians may also be given a religious name.
Customary social etiquettes include bringing the hosts and their children gifts when visiting. Remove your shoes before entering someone’s home. Always accept an invitation to dinner unless you have a good reason for turning the invitation down. These are just a few of the many social and religious customs in India.
Indians place the utmost importance on family. It is the core of their beliefs, values, loyalties, identity, and life path. The interest of the family take priority over the interest of the individuals. Decisions, such as careers and marriage, are made by the family collectively. The family’s reputation is always at the heart of most major decisions including who one will marry. Even Indians living abroad maintain a close relationship with their family in India and refer to them for major life decisions. It is not uncommon for an American residing Indian to return to India to marry someone his family has chosen for him.
Values. From the bosom of the family, ideals of Indian culture are born and bred. The ancient ideal of multigenerational households is still strong and widely practiced in Indian culture. As the family grows, families typically divide into smaller units if for no other reason than for comfortable living space. Today many family members may move away to take a better job and send money home to their family. But no matter the circumstance, Indians are loyal to their families and their family’s economic security.
Traditionally, in Indian culture families remain living together. How this works is the sons stay with the families and the daughters leave to live with their husband’s family once they are married. The father is usually the patriarch of the house and the mother is in charge of the daughters and daughters-in-law. If an Indian family only has daughters, then the parents may be left with no one to care for them in their old age. There is a lot of importance placed on having sons for this reason.
There is much inequality between genders in India. The status of men is respected much more than women. In fact, it is still a tradition for many women in India to wear a veil when in the presence of other men, or to not leave the home without being accompanied by a man (usually a relative) or family member such as their mother-in-law. Gender inequality is constantly changing and never more than it is today. Now boys and girls, typically, will receive the same education. This differs from village life to urban life. Many village girls are expected to stay home and do the domestic work with their mothers and do not go to school. India now has affirmative action programs for women, and because of this, women are becoming more empowered to achieve higher education and employment opportunities equal to those of men.
Identity formation. Because India is mainly a collectivism society, there is very little individual identity among individuals. As pointed out earlier, families make joint decisions from the minor to the major life situations of a family member. Education, careers, marriages, living arrangements, and geographical locations are almost always decided by the elders in the family for the entire family. This is slowly changing over time as India becomes more ‘Westernized’ due to technology and more opportunities, but it is still a strong tradition that is hard to break from.
Arranged marriages are common in India. Today the families discuss and choose the unions together more than they ever did in the past. In the past, families (usually parents and grandparents) made the decision without any regard to their child whom they were arranging the marriage for. While this is progress to many young people, it is still a heartbreaking situation for many of the young Indians of today. More and more Indians are forming love relationships before marriage and forced to break them off to marry someone they’ve been promised to by the family, even if they did have a say in who that is. Many times, the one they have fallen in love with is not an acceptable match according to their family and would never be considered as a potential mate. Arranged marriages are almost always influenced by caste. Meaning, only members of the same caste can be paired to marry.
Weddings are a huge celebration in Indian culture. They may last several days and have even bankrupted families. Parents are expected to invite everyone they know and every family member and villager, even if they no longer reside in their village. Families have had to sell land, real estate, and businesses to pay for weddings. A large dowry is expected to go with the daughters being married which means daughters cost families a lot of money.
When a union results in the birth of an infant, it is a celebrated time for the family and even more so if the baby is a male. Due to the importance placed on having a boy, sex-selective abortions and infanticide are a part of India’s history though not officially reported. The census reflects that there have been several years where the births of females were much fewer than the births of males reported. If there is a death in the family this may impact women greatly, if the woman is of high status and her husband dies, she is expected to stay a widow and never remarry. Women who cannot financially survive have been forced to remarry and the negative stigma affects them their entire lives.
The biggest influential component impacting the Hindu community in India is the caste system also known as the ‘varna’ system. This ancient system was created as an ideal of how society should be structured. There are four levels to the caste system. The Brahmin are the highest level and the priestly caste. The Kshatriya is the second highest level and are the warrior or royalty caste. The Vaishya are a lower level caste and are the commoners or merchant caste. Finally, there is the Shudra, the lowest level which are the laborer caste. Indians are born into a caste. There is no changing your caste. It is hereditary. Castes of high status are considered ‘pure’ whereas castes of low status are considered ‘polluted’. Because of this status given those of lower caste are not clean or pure enough to eat with, socialize with, or have relations with anyone of a higher caste status. The Dharma is the caste’s duties that are expected to uphold their social standing. Brahmins are expected to attend religious affairs and the Shudra are expected to perform their cleaning duties.
Society is very important to Indian culture. Everything a person does is looked at and judged by their society, including their own family. If someone has done something that is viewed as extremely unacceptable by society’s perception, then they are shunned and turned away from their community and family. What school you attend, what you wear, whether you marry and who you marry, all reflect how society views you as a person in their community. Family is very important to Indians, but societal opinions are the most important.
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Get custom essayBarriers of languages, religions, and traditions divide the people of India. Population explosions are leading to socio-economic problems such as unemployment and poverty. Gender inequality, feticide, and child labor still exist in rural areas due to lack of education and prevailing ignorance. Deep-rooted patriarchy leaves an aftermath of violence against women and children. Social injustices such as child marriage, the caste, and the dowry system are huge detriments to the development of India. But even with all of India’s problems and injustices, she is still a country that has endured the longest through some of the hardest times experienced by multiple civilizations. India is rich in family values, religious beliefs that bring harmony and love to everyone, diverse cultures that learn to live side by side and celebrate in the many festivities held, and most of all India is all of our history. It is where most civilizations originated. We all have a connection with India in some way and we all share many of the same values which are rooted in our spirit.
A nation is a collection of people occupying a particular portion of the earth’s surface, a territory they perceive as their homeland by right and who have a strong sense of unity based on similar historical experiences and a set of shared values, beliefs and attitudes that impart a high level of cultural and linguistic unity’. A nation implies a common culture, common symbols, and a particular view of the world which is distinct from other world views. What makes a nation different from other cultural groups, however, is that one of the symbols associated with its values and attitude is a particular piece of territory
Get original essayState refers to political structure, a particular form of organisation of people and territory. In the broadest of terms, the state is a body of government. All the rules and laws, the government officials and their titles, the physical boundaries and those who define them – these make up the state. The state is what makes a country run from a political, practical standpoint.
Nation states must also have a shared national culture. This is often achieved through common language, history, holidays, and education. Sometimes national culture is a result of similar people living in the same area.
Taking Indian history into consideration, since the old times only we have been a very diverse. Be it in the terms of language, culture, traditions, race, or territorial difference (i.e. people living in different land terrain such as mountains, rivers, plains, plateaus), these all have influenced how we see ourselves as a nation or state.
Even at the time of The Great Ashok, who is known to expand his kingdom beyond the now known boundaries of our country India till Afghanistan in west and Bengal in east, we see different cultures coming under one governance. This perfectly describes how we have lived as a state right from ancient times.
Even now when we talk about the times of Mughal’s or even the English who colonized us and technically made us a uniformed nation as we are now, we look towards different cultures coming forward and fighting for freedom of their own from a well established governing body which again marks the Indian subcontinent as a state and not a nation.
Post-independence, India had to make a constitution and also divide different states. The idea being that all the states will work independently and also in coordination with the center. But when the time came for dividing the sates, the language, culture, ethnicity, regional beliefs and attitudes, etc. all were taken into consideration. And finally at the end we had different states or we should particularly say different small nations were born within the sovereign state of India.
My stepfather is from Guyana, where their culture comes from India, so I know a little bit about Indian culture. Guyana is located in South America. It is one of the few Caribbean countries that is not an island. Last June, I went to New York for the first time to assist with Indian wedding. There are so many amazing differences between American and Indian weddings: the preparation, the ceremony, and the food.
Get original essayIn Indian weddings, the Indians prepare the bride one year after the couple decides to marry. Depending on what part of the country they come from, Indians send the bride to a fat camp to get fat; for them, that represents healthiness. The ceremony starts at the house of the bride where the groom is required to ask the bride’s father for her hand and offers some gifts. If the bride’s father accepts the gifts, they continue to go to a special altar, and finish with a party at the groom’s house. They can serve just native food for example, spicy spinach, red beans, and roti. The food taste so good, but it is surprising how Indians aren’t allowed to give the guests other kinds of food.
American weddings are pretty simple in contrast to Indian weddings. For example, they don’t prepare the bride one year before; instead, they prepare the ceremony at least one year or less. Also, the ceremony starts and finishes at the church, and after they offer a reception with food. The food at American weddings is from around the world; for example, Italian, Japanese, Mexican and Caribbean are the most common dishes served.
In conclusion, one of the things every human society has in common is marriage; however, the way that they celebrate weddings can be different, even in the simplest things like the preparation, the ceremony and the food. At the end, they want to achieve the same goal: to unify two families and celebrate the love of the couple.