Study Notes for Midsummer Nights Dream Essay Example for Free

Study Notes for Midsummer Nights Dream Essay The scene in Act V clearly echoes Shakespeare’s idea of love, presented in multiple parts of the play. Perhaps the greatest example of the dream-like qualities of love emerges in the awakening of Titania to Bottom, with whom she immediately falls in love. For Titania, real life becomes a dream. Upon first observing Bottom, even in his transformed shape, she exclaims, â€Å"Mine ear is much enamoured of thy note; / So is mine eye enthralled to thy shape; And thy fair virtue’s force perforce doth move me / On the first view to say, to swear, I love thee† (3. . 122-125). Titania’s language emerges as flowing and poetic; she ends in a sing-song rhyming couplet, supplicating her lover. Shakespeare emphasizes the poetic qualities of the language of love; he additionally exaggerates the dream-like nature of love in Titania’s awakening and immediate falling in love. Even Bottom initially doubts her instantaneous love, but eventually admits that â€Å"reason and love keep little company together nowadays† (3. 1. 127-128). Bottom upholds that reason and love cannot exist together. Theseus’ world of reason and facts cannot coexist with the dreamlike and poetic world of love in the woods. Indeed, his love life emerges as entirely devoid of any of the truly romantic or dreamy qualities of love. Throughout the play, Shakespeare portrays how the experience of love often seems like a dreamlike experience and cannot be proven, as Theseus would like, with facts and rational arguments. For instance, the relationship between Hermia and Lysander seems quite romantic at the beginning of the play, as the young lovers escape to the woods to elope in secret. Likewise, at the end of the play, even the newly formed relationship between Helena and Demetrius closely parallels the ideals of romantic love. The setting is one way in which Shakespeare created the dream-like setting, both the time and the place setting. Night is when most people sleep and therefore, when most people dream. By setting the play to occur mostly during the night, it is easy for the audience to relate to the ephemeral quality. By putting most of the action in the forest, where there is much mystery because of the darkness and because of unseen creatures living there, Shakespeare further emphasizes the mystical quality. The characters are another way Shakespeare gives the play a dream-like nature. The fairy-folk characters of Oberon, Titania, Puck, and all the others give the play this quality. These creatures arent real, but many people of Shakespeares day would have been unsure about whether or not fairies existed. This doubt combined with the magic that the fairies can perform give the play a dream-like effect. Finally, the action of the play itself gives the play the effect. Another powerful image is the unnatural affection between Titania and Bottom. Whereas Titania is graceful and royal, Bottom is earthly and deformed. Working within this harmony versus disharmony is the use of contrast. The character, Bottom, is very useful because he illustrates a very central dichotomy in the play—what is true and what is thought true. Bottom considers himself an eloquent speaker and talented actor worthy to play every part in the play when, in reality, he often uses completely wrong words and conflicting statements. And when Robin transforms him and the spell causes Titania to fall in love with him, Bottom believes he is simply reaping the good fortune due him. He remains completely unaware of his true self. Although the tensions arise most poignantly among the lovers, it is Bottom who emerges from the dream state with the desire to learn from his unconscious moment and the ability to see the mingling of the dream versus reality. Love and dreams both become foggy, unclear, passionate states in which the individuals involved become delusional victims. The title emphasizes the importance of each of the characters dream, and highlights the irrational, impersonal and under valued qualities of love. Like dreams, love is foolish, crazy and driven by desires. Shakespeare highlights the absurdity of love by showing the dispensable and interchangeable emotions within the dreams. The male characters claim each love as being the greatest love, yet their shallow and conventional words show the true nature of the en. Dreams and love have a reoccurring way of mimicking and repeating conventions. Despite the trite words, betrayals and heartache within the dreams, not all of the characters within the play change or learn upon awakening. In fact, some of the characters seem unchanged by their dreams, such as Hermia and Helena, who remain blind to the pain their lovers had bestowed, while Lysander once again directs his affection toward Hermia as though it had never faltered. Then, Demetrius is seemingly changed for the better as though he remained dreaming. Prior to falling asleep, Demetrius seemed concerned only in himself, disregarding the wants of the woman he claimed to love. Rather than letting her marry a man whom she loved in return, he set out to force her to unwillingly marry him. However, when dreaming, Demetrius finds himself under the enchantment of the love juice and in love with Helena. Upon awakening, he remains true to the person he had become in the dream, restoring order in reality by marrying Helena and allowing Lysander and Hermia to be together.

And the mountains echoed by khaled hossieni Essay Example for Free

And the mountains echoed by khaled hossieni Essay This line of the text conveys the central idea of the novel in which the idea of sacrifice has been beautifully portrayed. The author tries to draw our attention towards the agony and misery of the father and brother of Pari who send her away for her better future and also the better future of their family. The story that is told by Abdullah’s father holds a very big significance and is symbolic of the love and affection coupled with deep sense of separation and helplessness. Abdullah’s father makes him aware of the striking reality of their lives through the story and the central idea of the whole story finds its place here. Abdullah who shares a tight bond of love and affection with his sister sacrifices her belongingness for her better future and life of prosperity. Just like Baba Ayub in the story gets separated from his beloved son, Abdullah was also to part with his sister. The journey of Abdullah from Shadbagh to Kabul holds upon him a test; a test to make him strong enough to leave Pari at his Uncle’s place. The Div of the story signifies the difficulties that one has to face in one’s life and once these difficulties are surpassed, there exists satisfaction and peace in one’s mind believing that his loved ones are happy and enjoying their lives to the fullest. Parwana in the story once says â€Å"It had to be her. I am sorry, Abdullah. She had to be the one. † And soon after this the author doesn’t fails to mention â€Å"The finger cut, to save the hand. † Abdullah tries very hard to bring a smile on Pari’s face and feels pleased in even exchanging his shoes for the peacock feather for her sister’s collection. The story in the beginning of the chapter is symbolic of pain and suffering that one experiences, when he has to part with his beloved ones and also signifies that the need of basic amenities is fundamental to the existence of humans. If the much adored ones are to be separated from one self so as to ensure these fundamentals to them then the pain and suffering is nothing at their cost. Journeys depicted in the novel:- The novel involves a lot of journeys that are symbolic of time which passes on covering the darker and the lighter shades of one’s life. This is evident from a line of the story that Baba Ayub tells to both his children â€Å"He walked until the sun was a faint red glow in the distance. Nights he slept in caves as the winds whistled outside. Or else he slept beside rivers and beneath trees and among the cover of boulders. He ate his bread, and then he ate what he could find ¬- wild berries, mushrooms, fish that he caught with his bare hands from streams- and some days he didn’t eat at all. But still he walked† . This he says in context with the fact that one has to face a lot of hardships and difficulties to find his loved ones back and in the end everything is fine to Baba Ayub as he accomplishes his goals and finds his son safe and sound with the Div. Abdullah travels from Shadbagh to Kabul to drop his sister at his uncle’s place and this gives hint to the readers that someday, the time will bridge all the gaps between him and his sister and also the pain and misery will go away. Pari goes away with her ‘Mamman’ and travels a long distance to reach France but the memories of her father fade away gradually with time. Pari loves her brother very much and shares an inseparable bond with him but with the passage of time, she leaves him behind and feels it difficult to remember the lullaby that was sung by him. These journeys also signify the changes that take place in one’s life that makes the individual develop new relationships with people surrounding him and leaves the older ones. NILA: THE SYMBOL OF DYNAMISM Nila or Pari’s ‘Mamman’ is a symbol of dynamism. The author very clearly depicts a contrast between her and the other women of Afghanistan. On one hand he shows Parvana, who wore clothes that cover her body completely and then on the other hand he describes Nila who exposes her legs and hands. For the society Nila is not an ideal woman as her ways are carefree and she is confident and self centered. But the author never fails to point out that she was admired and loved by the Afghani people at the Wahadati’s house because of her poems that were about love, lust and passion. In Nabi’s words â€Å"Nila’s poems defied tradition. They followed no preset meter or rhythmic pattern. † Nabi used to be pleased to spend time with her and this, the author mentions in the line â€Å"I was happy enough to be the vessel into which she poured her stories. † Nila was such a charming lady that no one could remove their eyes from her and she was always talked about in public. This shows the development and change in the mindset of the people in Afghanistan. Desires Couples with Suffering: The story of Roshi depicts a clear example of desired coupled with suffering. At one point the character of Chacha Idris is brought about as a savior but the author never drifts away from the realities of life and explicitly explains how desires of Roshi later turn into suffering. The bond of love between them though is never shaken. The promise that he makes to her is out of the bond of love but when he moves to his own life, he couldn’t keep his promise as the situations of his personal life coil up around him. THE MOUNTAINS ECHOED:- They are symbolic of the give and take relationships prevalent in the present world. The echoing in the mountains signifies that whatever may any individual does or receives is an outcome of his deeds that he has already done in the past. The echoing mountains also signify the nature of love and hatred that is; the more you give the exponential you receive. The echo from the mountains also signifies the memories of man that are lost in the conditions of life and as the time passes they become fainter and fainter. THE MUD HOUSES:- These are symbolic of the hard work and toil of people in Afghanistan, who in order to earn their daily ‘Naan’ have to do a lot of work. In winters the mud houses are the only shelter to poor and in the summers they are the only medium of defense from the scorching sunrays. People at Shadbagh were very laborious and so was Abdullah’s father who once said to Mullah Shekib â€Å"If I had been born an animal, Mullah Sahib, I swear I would have come out a mule† . Abdullah’s father had taught him how to make bricks and they had made bricks for a mosque in other town. The author has very well brought the idea of presence of a web of right and wrong in which every individual is coiled. He has very aptly explained the fact that mere existence of humans is based on the society and this society is the one which recognizes the powerful people as their leaders and the poor as the ones who strive for their livelihood. The helpless have to do away with their loved ones and ensure their safety and this is the fault of the society that it overlooks such sufferings of the people. Why a father had to leave her daughter at her uncle’s house? This was because he knew that his daughter would be safe with those rich people who were respected by the society and had a position. But the author is concerned about the emotions of the children who are parted at a very young age, also he is concerned about the inner voice of the father who wants to find his child, also the affection of Roshi with Chacha Idris and Pari with her father and mother; and so the author gives a small Rumi poem at the starting of the novel: â€Å"Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I’ll meet you there. † With this poem the author conveys the emotions of every individual of the society who sometime or the other wants to leave all the complexities of his life and reach the level where no situations of helplessness and sorrow would bind him and he would not have to make any sacrifices to live his life. The author through the stories of Parwana and Masooma brings about the idea of complexity and jealousy that come in the lives of two twin sisters who were treated differently by the society due to their behavior that the society has divided into good or bad. Parwana also wanted to share the pure feeling of love with her sister but could not do so because the society had created a rift between the two. Gholam and Adel who belonged to strikingly different backgrounds used to meet secretly because the friendship between the rich and poor or high status people with low status people was not recognized as good by the society and this poem by Rumi fits in here as well.

Difference Between Takaful And Conventional Insurance Economics Essay

Difference Between Takaful And Conventional Insurance Economics Essay Takaful is an Arabic word which explains as guaranteeing each other (Tan Kin Lian, 2006). Haemala Thanasegaran (2008) also defined Takaful as mutual insurance in the Islamic system with compliant with principles of Shariah which is known as Islamic law. Shariah is attributing to direct Muslims by following principle which is: (W. Jean Kwon, 2007) Fard or wajib also known as halal which is obligation strictly enforced by Islamic law. Haram or mamu related to absolutely prohibition or unlawful activities. Mandub or mustahub which means that what is suggested or the activities that individuals are ought to do as own advantages. Makruh refer to what is discouraged or the activities that individuals are need to deny due to own benefits. Muhab is about permissibility or the activities that under the Islamic law is neutral. Besides, Alsadek Gait Andrew Worthington (2008) agreed that Takaful is a type of collaborate self-help program. Moreover, Ramin Cooper Maysami W.Jean Kwon (1999) who are stated that Takaful is establish on the law of large number whereby in the form of joint guarantee insurance mechanism. It means that a flock of public gathers their capital resource to prevent certain risk of losses. Takaful is an arrangement among a group of people with collective interests which aim to insure or defend each other from certain regulation of misfortunes instance of premature death, disability and property damages (Obaidulllah, 2005). Therefore, Faizal Manjoo (2007) said that Takaful is elicitation by the aqilah and diyah systems which is someone who is among a group of people are aim to financial salvage is possibility confronted with unexpected liability instance of paying for the blood money which means diyah. Takaful is an alternative form of financial instrument to guarantee assets, liabilities and other interests of individuals and organizations. (Zuriah Abdul Rahman, 2009) Therefore, Muhammad Ayub (2009) supported that the alternative of Takaful is according to the concept of social solidarity, cooperation and at the same time indemnification the losses of participants. Indeed, Haemala Thanasegaran (2008) pointed out that Takaful is similar with conventional insurance which is include the distribution of the risk and it is become play an important role as part of our professional and livelihood. As a result, Jamie Reid (2008) suggested that Takaful become a significant role to worldwide financial institution which is widely establish in Asian and Middle East currently and also has an opportunity advance to the western country. Present years, there are a lot of international insurance industries are interest participate in Islamic insurance market. Although, Takaful insurance is mainly expanded at Islamic countries for the sake of the advent of Islamic banking and it has presented its potential as an innovation financial instrument over the past decade. (Haemala Thanasegaran, 2008) Whereas, Ramin Cooper Maysami W.Jean Kwon (1999) examined that Takaful has also grown on religion principle which processes unique characteristic besides grown as an innovation financial instrument. 2.1.1 Concept of Takaful The concept of Islamic insurance which is known as Takaful was first introduced in Sudan in 1979 and the main concept is an alternative to conventional insurance whereas according to principle of Shariah. (Kassar, 2008) Takaful as a concept compliant the principles of Shariah which is Islamic law thereby it is essentially to a system of mutual help which refers to the pooling of resources to help the needy (Browne and Kim, 1993). Therefore, according to Tan Kin Lian (2006), who is examined that before the advent of Islam 14 centuries ago there is possibility that the concept of mutual cooperation among tribal members in the Arabian Peninsula already started. The instance in pre-Islamic history which to prove the argument is: Aqila which is the Pooling System Daman Khatr Al-Tariq defined as Surety System Al Hlif which is utilized by Trade Alliance Confederation Nevertheless, Catherine Stagg-Macey (2007) summarize that Islamic insurance also known as Takaful is a mutual insurance that establish with the concept of tabarru (donation) which means that everyone will be take advantage from a share of investment returns since they are contributes to a fund. It is the combination of guaranteeing each other and mutual or cooperative insurance and there are necessarily to including in Takaful. However, Dawood Yousef Taylor (2005) stated that according to Fiqh Academy in 1985 who judged that conventional commercial insurance was haram (forbidden) which contravened the rules of Shariah and Islamic insurance which is Takaful was halal (acceptable). Accordingly, Haemala Thanasegaran (2008) pointed out that the reason is the operation of conventional insurance is against the principle of Shariah which is involve the elements of Al-gharar (uncertainties in the operation of the insurance contract), Al-maisir (gambling as a consequence of the presence of uncertainty), and Al-riba (interest). Gharar (uncertainty) Gharar is means that uncertainty or ambiguity of the theme of the contract by the insured such as the occurrence of indemnity, the sources and the amount for compensation and the timing of uncertainty (Anwar, 1994). Maisir (gambling) Islamic law is prohibiting speculation or receiving return without effort. Since the policy holders of insurance are look like to bet premiums on the condition that the insurer will make compensation when arise specified accident thereby it is forbidden based on principle Shariah. (Anwar, 1994) Riba (usury or interest) Riba is prohibit by Islamic law which refer to unequal exchange of the same things and also can defined as difference amount and quantity between insurer and insured when transactions. (Anwar, 2004) 2.1.2 Type of Takaful In Malaysia, there is providing two different types of Takaful insurance services which consist of General Takaful and Family Takaful. Family Takaful The family Takaful is a long-term investment and saving. The function of family Takaful is providing protection to the participants family by mutual fund while participant involve in the event of death. Furthermore, the goal of designed this plan is to: Regularity save the contribution of fund during a fixed period which is long term Utilize fund that contribution by participant as investment to gaining profit or return under the rule or principle Shariah, and Assistance in financial while unexpected death of participant prior to the maturity of the plan Commonly, family Takaful can recognize to several form such as: Ordinary family which is composing from endowment, temporary, medical and health. Takaful endowment is same kind with the life insurance. However, there is also has combine with education plan which respond by public is enthusiastically. Investment-linked Takaful is providing participant protection and also get chance earn profit or return in future depend on value underlying assets. Takaful Annuity is attribute to guarantee participant future retirement life by provide periodic income. (Hendon Redzuan, Zuriah, Sharifah Sakinah, 2009) On the other hand, Haemala Thanasegaran (2008) stated that maturity period, amount and the frequency of annual contribution of family Takaful are determinant by participant as well as the fund contribution will save into the Participants Account (PA) which is for savings and investment and the Participants Special Account (PSA) which is for Tabarru or donation. General Takaful A general takaful plan is commonly standing in the period of 12 months which is known as short term mutual financial help. Generally, it is assuring for property, engineering, miscellaneous accident, marine, motor and others. Moreover, general takaful attribute to scheme that purpose to provide compensation to someone who is suffering losses such as destruction or disaster inflicted upon asset of the participant. Method of payment for general takaful is based on tabarru which is donation aim to mutually help and jointly guarantee each others with using the fund compensate for participants who are facing losses. (Hendon Redzuan, Zuriah, Sharifah Sakinah, 2009) Although, Mohd. Masum Billah (1996) suggest that general Takaful should identify as al-Musahamah (contribution) which replace al-Tabarru (donation) due to aim the participant has no against the rule of Shariah which in the risk on the theme of the policy while make a claim. In other words, participants are making a claim or gain return over their own contribute fund. As evidence, under Quran sanction of mutual co-operation has described that Help you another in righteousness and piety. 2.2 Development of Takaful Malaysia Islamic insurance which is also known as Takaful is a new industry compare with conventional insurance. Despite the origin of Takaful was beginning from 14 centuries ago, the first time that Malaysia started operating Takaful was in 1984 which is Syarikat Takaful Malaysia Bhd. (Dawood Yousef Taylor, 2005) Whether or not, Sudan was the first introduced the modern Islamic insurance initially based on cooperative model which similar with conventional mutual insurer in 1979. However, majority of the countries include Malaysia and Saudi Arabia implemented commercial models of Takaful afterward. (IFSB IAIS, 2006) Masum Billah (1996) concluded that Takaful in Malaysia is currently thrives. Nevertheless, Malaysia is the leader which has the largest market in Takaful insurance among non-Arab countries. For instance, Takaful occupy 27% of the total insurance market in Malaysia parallel to Asia Pacific countries which have approximately 9% market, Europe and US are about 1% market and Arab countries which is the head of Takaful insurance hold about 63% market. (Salihuddin Ahmad, 2007) In the Far East, Malaysia was the forefront of Takaful development who conducted by Central Bank of Malaysia (BNM) enact Takaful regulations with separate regulations that enable the prosperity of Takaful insurance. Alter of the regulation is compulsory as to compete with conventional insurance industry. Thus, Malaysia administer Takaful compete with the conventional insurance impartiality. There is possibility that the changes of the Takaful Act and regulations in Malaysia bring on prosperous of Takaful Malaysia and Takaful Nasional which are two major composite Takaful operators. It is lead to development of general and life insurance rather than general Takaful insurance. (Dawood Yousef Taylor, 2005) In addition, in term of Takaful in Malaysia successfully, there are new operators were intent to involve in Takaful industry on several countries such as: Brunei Takaful IBB Bhd and Takaful Taib Sdn Bhd Indonesia PT Syarikat Takaful Keluarga which transacting in family (life) business PT Syarikat Takaful Umum which transacting in general business Singapore Islamic Insurance Pte (Mohd. Masum Billah, 1996) Moreover, Takaful operators of Malaysia have establish joint-ventures in Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Sri Lanka which aim to provided technical expertise to the Asian countries especially Indonesia, Brunei, Australia, Lebanon, Bangladesh, Algeria and so on. (Yusof, 2001) Nonetheless, Central Bank of Malaysia (BNM) and the Takaful operators continued struggling to expand Takaful industry as assume in the Financial Sector Masterplan during 2002 which were focused on financial infrastructure development, institutional capacity enhancement as well as product and market development. (Central bank of Malaysia, 2002) On the other hand, Takaful has gradually develop as viable alternative to conventional insurance and may appeal to Muslim and non-Muslim which is a wide range of customers. (IFSB IAIS, 2006) Therefore, Malaysia as multi-racial country which is differences religious and cultural was able to attracted many consumers to purchase Takaful insurance. In Malaysia, Prudential BSN Takaful Berhad (PruBSN) has attracted more than 40% of non-Muslim customers among participant. (Mohamad Salihuddin Ahmad, 2007) Nevertheless, the corporate sector and multinationals in Malaysia are also preferred to select Takaful compare with conventional insurance. Although, there is no enough to promote and expanded Takaful thereby it was a challenges to the development and expanded of the local and global Takaful industry. (Mohamad Salihuddin Ahmad, 2007) Takaful is now implemented by over 60 companies in 23 countries and trend to promptly expanding. Recently, Malaysia initial offer Re-Takaful services in Labuan and also significant develops Re-Takaful which is the equivalent of conventional reinsurance. Presently, majority of Takaful operators reinsure to conventional reinsurers despite it is considered acceptable as long as there is no feasible that Shariah obey alternative. (IFSB IAIS, 2006) Since February 2008, Malaysia already has eight Takaful operators with license which is Syarikat Takaful Malaysia Berhad, CIMB Aviva Takaful Bhd., Hong Leong Tokio Marine Takaful Bhd., MAA Takaful Berhad, Takaful Ikhlas Sdn. Bhd., Prudential BSN Takaful Bhd., HSBC Amanah Takaful (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd. and Etiqa Takaful Bhd., as well as two Re-Takaful companies which is Munich Re and MNRB Holding Bhd. (Bank Negara Malaysia, 2006) 2.3 Difference between Takaful and conventional insurance Takaful Conventional insurance It is a co-operative institution according to the principles of contract which is mutual co-operation (taawun). (Ahmad Ali Khan, 2003) It is a business institutions operated upon the principles of contract which is exchange. (Ahmad Ali Khan, 2003) Based on the principle, participants as insured and insurers their own self. Moreover, not insurance operators bearing the losses and risk of transfer whereas are shared by the participants each other. (Ahmad Ali Khan, 2003) The insured is uncertainly due to the transfer of the indeterminate fortuitous economic losses related with the prescribed risks in return for a pre-determined payment which is known as premium. (Ahmad Ali Khan, 2003) There are not endue with involve in the profits generated by the insurance operators. (Ahmad Ali Khan, 2003) Main objective is to gain profit or return from the insurance transactions for the shareholders. (Ahmad Ali Khan, 2003) All participants who pay a certain prescribed premiums are available to vote in the elections of the directors of the company or to check the companys annual accounts. (Ahmad Ali Khan, 2003) The policy-holder has no right to vote in the elections of the directors of the company or to check the annual accounts of the company. (Ahmad Ali Khan, 2003) Exchanging money with money in itself thereby no discrepancy in the amount or time. (Ahmad Ali Khan, 2003) Contribution of participants is attributed to Tabarru which means donation. (Mohd Tarmidzi, 2007) Both premium and claim being exchanged are different and takes place at different times. (Ahmad Ali Khan, 2003) Contribution from participants is due to investment. (Mohd Tarmidzi, 2007) Surplus in the fund will be distributed to participants. (Mohammed Musabah, 2008) Surplus in the fund is belong company as profit. (Mohammed Musabah, 2008) 2.4 Perception As to improve customers perception, companies should frequently adopt customers oriented and considering customers need in their position. Moreover, fully understand, elaborately configure, effectively manage, and exceed customers expectations already as a significant key to improve customers perception. (Frank Yao, 2007) On the other hand, according to Mohd Tarmidzi (2007), who is suggested that Takaful operators need respect the perception of the customers whether their criticism is truth or not. 2.4.1 Services Recently, providing better service quality already as a vital objective for companies to satisfy customers demand and compete with other same trade companies. (Izah Nor Mazlina, 2007) Thus, there is importance of service quality perceptions and the relationship between customer satisfaction and service quality. (Haque, 2009) Indeed, services are definitely related to the total quality management (TQM). Presently, a lot of global company services are adopted TQM as management paradigm since they realized that TQM also may effective in services as such in manufacturing. It is obviously that companies are emphasize to quality of services (Feng Jie, 2009) Regarding to Frank Yao (2007), who is defined that customer perception is very important to measure qualified services such as in operation execution layer, business development layer and others. It is due to adopt customers expectations and requirements will more efficiency to satisfy customers need. Thus, customer perception become a central topic and also as a key consideration. However, Dagmar Recklies (2006) studied that companies only able to develop appropriate strategies as they understand features of the services that consumers need and expectation. Therefore, customers perception considered as most important to the companies which is not merely strengthening relationship between customers but also achieves services improvement. 2.4.2 Reliability According to Arasli (2005), he stated that customers satisfaction may highest influence by the reliability of the products or services which priority had a statistically significant impact from customers perception. Furthermore, Haque (2009) concluded that reliability was primary related to the result of service. Despite, customers satisfaction not merely estimate on customers experiences on service delivery process whereas also the exactitude and reliability of the delivered service. Besides that, Asmak (2008) also suggested that majority of the customers while intend to purchase insurance, they will considered insurance companies in terms of assets and reliability. In the other words, customers perception and decision adoption will influence by reliability of the specified company. Syarikat Takaful Malaysia Bhd (STMB) stated that the reliability of the management information systems is very important which relying to Information System Security Policy (ISSP) Manual due to prevent unauthorized access, disclosure, duplication, negligence error, modification, diversion, destruction, loss, abuse or steal of STMB information systems. (Takaful Malaysia annual report, 2009) 2.4.3 Demographic According to Wilkie (1990) indicated that demographic will affect what kind of products or services customer will purchase, how much that customer willing to pay as people achieve higher education. As a result, customer with higher education may enhance their ability to process more complicated information and decisions making. Nevertheless, Asmak (2008) who is pointed out that the demographic characteristics of a customer which is knowledge regarding the policy, income status household and customer antipathy to risk may influence customers decision or even indeed changing their policies. Regarding to Schiffman and Kanuk (2000), conclude that customers with better education alike to income higher which may affect their expected life-style. Therefore, customers will more willing to consume because power purchasing of them are higher due to their level imposable income better than general labor. Lastly, marketer may redesign, reposition and re-price the services in term of changing demographic attribute to fulfill customer requirement and satisfaction. (Kotler, 2000) In other hand, Lamb (2000) stated that income level which may give impact to customer consumption is significant in demographic variable due to segmenting market.

Eating Disorders Essay -- Food Health Anorexia Research Papers

Researchers study eating disorders to try to understand their many complexities. â€Å"Eating disorders are complicated psychiatric illnesses in which food is used to deal with unsettling emotions and difficult life issues† (Michel & Willard, 2003, p. 2). To help those with eating disorders, one must understand the causes, effects and treatments associated with the disorders. Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa and Compulsive Overeating are three common eating disorders found in society today. â€Å"No one knows exactly what causes eating disorders. However, all socioeconomic, ethnic and cultural groups are at risk† (Matthews, 2001, p.3). Eating disorders are difficult to diagnose but can be deadly if left untreated. Background The Alliance for Eating Disorder Awareness (n.d.) observes, Eating disorders affect five to ten million Americans adolescent girls and women and approximately one million American boys and men. In addition, approximately 70 million individuals in the world struggle with this disorder. In a single person’s lifetime, approximately 450,000 individuals will die because of this terrifying disease. Eating disorders know no race, age, class or gender. They can happen to anyone. Eating disorders have been present in children as young as three years old and in adults as old as ninety. However, typical age of onset is anywhere from 12-18 years of age. Eating disorders often develop in adolescence because it is a time of numerous changes including sexual, physical, and emotional ones. Rachel Bryant-Waugh and Bryan Lask (2004) conclude that with adolescent changes, weight fluctuations often occur and many individuals may not feel ready to handle the differences (p.38). The inability to deal with change during this time often leads to anorexia, bulimia, or compulsive overeating. The American Academy of Family Physicians (2003) states, â€Å"People with anorexia starve themselves, avoid high-calorie foods and exercise constantly.† The person suffering from anorexia is abnormally sensitive about being fat or has a massive fear of becoming fat. Low self esteem and a constant need for acceptance commonly is seen in anorexics. Michel and Willard (2003) contend the most prevalent characteristic with this disorder is reduced calorie intake. The initial need to lose just a few pounds is somewhere forgotten and the cycle of the disorder takes over. Anorexic... ...nab Bryant-Waugh, R. & Lask, B. (2004). Eating disorders: A parent’s guide (Rev. ed.). New York: Brunner-Routledge. Kirkpatrick, J. & Caldwell, P. (2001). Eating disorders: Everything you need to know. Buffalo, NY: Firefly Books. Levine, M. & Maine, M. (2004). Some basic facts about eating disorders. Retrieved April 28, 2005 from http://www.brooklane.org/whitepgs Matthews, D. (Ed.). (2001). Eating disorders sourcebook (1st ed.). Detroit, MI: Omnigraphics. Michel, D. & Willard, S. (2003). When dieting becomes dangerous: A guide to understanding and treating anorexia and bulimia. New haven, CT: Yale University Press. Missouri Department of Mental Health. (n.d.). Eating disorders. Retrieved May 1, 2005 from http://www.dmh.missouri.gov/cps/facts/eating.htm Simon-Kumar, R. (2001). Eating disorders. Retrieved May 1, 2005 from http:// www.psychology4all.com/EatingDisorders.htm The Alliance for Eating Disorders Awareness. (n.d.). Eating disorders statistics. Retrieved April 28, 2005, from http://www.1st-eating-disorders.info The American Academy of Family Physicians. (June 2003). Anorexia nervosa. Retrieved April 18, 2005, from http://www.familydoctor.org/063.xml

How To Enter A Nine-ball Tournament :: essays research papers

How to Play Tournament Nine-ball   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  People may think that spending eight dollars on a tournament is a waste of money. Every Sunday I go to Millertime Billiards and enter a nine-ball tournament. I never go in thinking that I’m going to win at least my entry fee back, although it would be nice. On the other hand, I always go in knowing that I will walk out understanding more about the game then the night before. The tournament starts at 7:30 p.m., but the entry fee must be paid before that. After paying, all there is to do is wait. When they call your name and table it’s time to play. It’s a race to four wins. To keep track of the games place a coin under the middle diamond. Every game won constitutes a move of the coin one diamond. The winner goes to the front counter and gives them the results. The loser of the first game doesn’t have to go home. The tournament is double elimination. After the first game is lost, the player goes down to the loser’s bracket. One loss in there means it’s time to go home, or at least sit down and wait for the nine-ball break. The winner of the loser’s bracket is guaranteed second place. To get first place the winner of the loser bracket will have to beat the winner of the winner’s bracket twice. After they establish and record all the winners and losers for the forth round they call all the people who entered the tournament down to table 5 for the nine-ball break. The racks are usually set up by an A player or better. Three names are drawn out of a box. Everybody that got there name picked gets two chances to drop the nine-ball on the break unless the person before them already hit it in. Two dollars of the entry fee go toward the pot for the winner.

Origin of Digital Species Essay -- Internet History Essays

Origin of Digital Species Lev Manovich1 and Simon Cook2 argue that the internet and digital culture should be understood as a product of late Victorian and Modernist visual forms, but it is the goal of this paper to show that the internet and digital culture, while heavily influenced by these visual forms, is not the sole product of them, and that the time period between 1930 and the present day must also be included when analyzing the history of the internet. The best illustration of this point is the similarity and yet fundamental difference between the cinematographic experiments of the Soviet Constructivist Dziga Vertov and the modern visual jockey artists known as the â€Å"NomIg Collective†. By analyzing the art forms that exist on the internet it is possible to see how they are related to the preceding forms of art that existed in the times from which Manovich and Cook claim the internet to be a product. Before the terms Late Victorian, Modernist and Post-modernist visual forms are used, it is important to define what is meant by each of these terms, and to explain how they are all in essence connected to each other. During the Victorian era the world was transformed. Starting with Darwin’s theory of evolution, the world of science crecendoed into a period of rapid discovery and accelerated advancement that was previously unknown. It was out of this boom in the intellectual world that man’s desire to possess all knowledge began to seem more of an achievable goal and less like medieval lore . It was around the Victorian period that all modern forms of classification are began to expand: Encyclopedias, Dictionaries, Museums are Libraries -to name a few forms- started to grow into their modern form as common tool... ...tov the need to refer to the cinematographer and the camera as machines that can engineer a product as well as any other piece of machinery. However, NomIg makes no self references, there is no portrayal of the computer or the human as anything specific in their work, and so they leave out a basic tenet of the Modernist manifesto. When the internet and digital culture is analyzed through the types of art it inspires it becomes clear that while the foundations for computers and artistic technique are a inspired by and partly the product of late Victorian and Modernist visual forms, it is not possible to ignore the effect that postmodernism has had on these art forms. To understand digital culture, regard should be given to both the Modernists who created the scientific framework and the Postmodernists who created the subject matter to exist within that framework.

Consumer Buying Behaviour Essay

1.1 Introduction What do we mean if we are talking about consumer buying behaviour? There are several decision processes and acts of people (consumers) buying  and using products for themselves or their household. These processes might be very interesting for companies and their marketing managers. But what are the reasons why marketers should know about consumer buying behaviour? -Well, there are several reasons: At first it is important to know about the reaction of the buyer to the firm ´s marketing strategy because this has a great influence on the firm ´s success. Another thing is that the firm can create an almost perfect marketing mix to satisfy the customer. The third reason is that it ´s much easier for the marketers, if they know about the buying behaviours, to predict the reaction of consumers on marketing strategies. On the following pages I want to give a short overview about â€Å"Consumer Buying Behaviour† and â€Å"Organisational Markets and Buying Behaviour†. 1.2 Types of Consumer Buying Behaviour Consumers always want to create an assortment of products which satisfies their needs and wants in the present and also in the future. To realise this aim, the consumer has to make a lot of decisions. These purchasing decisions can be classified into three main categories of decisions: Routine Response Behaviour This behaviour happens when the consumer regularly buys cheap products that need very little search and also very little decision effort. In this case the consumer prefers a special brand but he also knows other brands of the same product class to have an alternative to buy if there is something wrong  with his favourite brand. Limited Decision Making This is the case if the consumer buys a product occasionally or if there is a new brand, he doesn ´t know about, in a familiar product category. For this type of decision-making, the consumer needs a moderate amount of time for gathering information and deliberation. Extensive Decision-Making This is the most complex decision-making behaviour. It happens when a purchase includes unfamiliar, expensive or infrequently bought products; for example cars, houses etc. The buyer uses a lot of time for evaluating alternative brands or choices and also for seeking information. A big contrast to the extensive decision-making processes that were mentioned earlier is the behaviour of the impulse buyers. These people do not plan conscious to buy, they have a persistant urge to buy something immediately if they like it. But often these people get in emotional conflicts, they often feel guilty because of their limited finances or something else. 1.3 The Consumer Buying Decision Process As I mentioned earlier, the decision process is a major part of buying behaviour. This decision process can be divided into five stages: Problem Recognition This occurs when the buyer notices that there is a difference between the desired state and the actual conditions. The consumer gets aware that he has to change something to get satisfied. For example, if somebody needs a car to get to work and one day the car stops working. In this situation the person recognises that there is a difference between the desired state (a working car) and the actual condition (a broken car). Information Search After recognising the problem, the buyer searches for information about a new product which can solve his problem and also is able to satisfy his need (this is only the case if the decision process continues). For example, the above-mentioned car owner, after recognising the need for a new car, he may search for information about different brands and types of cars. Here we distinguish two aspects to an information search: In the internal search, buyers check first if they have any information about the  needed product in their memory. If they cannot get enough information from their memory for a decision, they are looking for more information in an external search. In the external search the buyer may focus on communication with friends or relatives, to hear about their experiences with special brands. He also can obtain information from public sources like manufacturers, salespersons or product-test organisations. Evaluation of Alternatives To evaluate the products of which the buyer got information he is looking for criteria to compare the products. These criteria are for example characteristics or features that the buyer wants (or does not want). In the example of our car buyer these features could be if the car has an airbag, electrical window control or air-conditioning system. The buyer also thinks about how important each criterion is; because some features may carry more weight than others. This evaluation of the consumer can be influenced by the marketer by framing the alternatives – that means the manner how the marketer describes the product and its features. Purchase In this stage the consumer chooses the product or brand which he wants to buy. This selection is based on the result of the previous evaluation stage. There is also a set of criterions which must be taken into account: One of the most important criterions is the product availability which may influence which brand is purchased. If the favourite brand is not available at the moment the consumer may choose the brand that is ranked second. Other criterions that also could be important for the consumer are for example the price, delivery, guarantees, maintenance agreements, installation and credit arrangements. Post purchase evaluation After the purchase the buyer begins to check the product if the actual performance meets the expected level. In this stage many of the criteria used in the evaluating alternatives stage are used again. The result is either satisfaction or dissatisfaction. 1.4 Personal factors influencing the buying decision process The purchasing decision can be influenced by a lot of personal factors, which means factors that are unique to only one person. There are three categories of personal factors: Demographic factors Situational factors Level of involvement Demographic factors These factors are individual characteristics such as age, sex, race, ethnic origin, income, family life-cycle, and occupation. Demographic factors influence in which extent a person buys or uses products in a specific product category. For example consumers between 15 and 24 years often prefer to buy household basics because they have to establish their own household. Whereas people aged between 45 and 54 years often spend more money on luxury and leisure products; the reason for this is that these people have more money, because their children have left home. Situational factors Situational factors are the external conditions that exist when a consumer is making a purchase decision. Sometimes a consumer decides to buy something as a result of an unexpected situation. For example, a person may buy hurriedly buy a plane ticket to spend the last days with a dangerously ill relative. But it is also possible that a person terminates the buying decision process because of situational factors. For example, when the consumer decided to buy something and because of external circumstances he does not need it anymore. Level of involvement The level of involvement means the importance and intensity of interest in a product in a particular situation. The buyer ´s level of involvement determines if he or she is interested in seeking information about certain products or brands. Consumers seem to be more involved in the purchase of high-priced goods and of products that are visible to others, such as clothing, furniture, or cars. So the consumers are more interested to gain more information in this product categories. 1.5 Psychological factors influencing the buying decision process In addition to the personal factors there are also psychological factors that can influence the buying decisions. The five psychological influences on consumer behaviour are: Perception Perception is the process of selecting, organising and interpreting information inputs to produce meaning. These information inputs are received through sight, taste, hearing, smell and touch; that means with all of our five senses. Motives A motive is an internal feeling that forces a person to satisfy a need or to achieve a goal. If a person buys something this activity is affected by a set of motives; at this moment some of the motives in the set have priority, but the priority of the motives also can vary from one time to another. It is very important for the marketers to know about the motives of their customers; there is only the problem that most people do not know why they buy a particular product. The solution for this are special kinds of interviews in which the interviewer wants to gain, in an informal atmosphere, information about the consumer ´s motives. But this topic is very complicated, so I would not like to go into this more nearly Ability and knowledge Every person has got different abilities; one ability that is very important for marketers is the individual ´s capacity to learn. Because learning may change a person ´s buying behaviour by gaining new information and experience. For example; when a consumer buys a particular product and he likes it, he is more likely to buy the same product the next time. But if the consumer is not satisfied by the product he will switch to a different brand. Another aspect of an individual ´s ability is knowledge. Knowledge can be divided into two components: familiarity with the product and expertise; together this means the individual ´s ability to use the product. For example; if a consumer does not know about a special kind of product he will not buy it and if he knows about the product but does not know how to use it he also will not buy it. Attitude Attitude refers to knowledge and positive or negative feelings about an object or activity. These objects or acts may be touchable or untouchable, living or non-living. For example people have attitudes towards sex, religion, politics, and music (all untouchable); but also towards cars, football, or pizza. People learn these attitudes through experience and also through relations to other people. Likewise people have attitudes towards companies and their products, so the aim for the companies marketing-strategy should be to give the customer a good feeling about the company an her products. In other words, the company should try to influence the customer ´s attitude. Personality Every person is unique, because of internal traits and behaviours. Marketing managers suspect that there are communities between people ´s traits, and so they are searching for them to find relationships among these similar  characteristics and the buying behaviour. The aim is to find out which kind of consumer prefers which types of brands and products. With this knowledge marketers can try to aim advertising campaigns at general types of personalities. 1.6 Social factors influencing the buying decision process The last kind of factors that can influence the buying decision process are the social factors. The consumer can be influenced by a various number of social factors. The family plays a big role for buying decisions, because there are a lot of different interests. The male head of the household is likely involved in the purchase of products such as alcohol or tobacco. Although female roles have changed, also a lot of women are involved in taking buying decisions related to many household items. Another group that can influence the consumer are reference groups. A group becomes a reference group when a person identifies with it so much that he or she puts very great value on the opinions, habits, and behaviours of the group members. But this could be a very negative reference for an individual, because the values of the group do not have absolutely to be right. Another important factor is the social class in which the individual lives. In every society there are people who belong to higher or lower positions of respect. The different social classes are described as open, because it is possible for everyone can move into and out of them very easily. For grouping people into classes many factors need to be taken into account, such as occupation, education, income, wealth, race, ethnic group, and possessions. Though the number of factors chosen for the ranking can be very various; it depends on the person who is doing the ranking. Social class also determines to some extent the type, quality and quantity of products that a person buys or uses. For example people living in the upper-class prefer luxury automobiles such as BMW or Audi while people ranked in a lower class cannot afford such cars. The last one of the social factors that I want to mention is culture. Culture means everything in our surroundings that is made by human beings. It consists of tangible items, such as food, furniture, buildings, clothing etc, and intangible concepts, such as education, welfare, and laws. But culture also includes the values and different kinds of behaviours of a specific society. Culture influences buying behaviour because everything in our daily life is permeated by it. Culture determines our lifestyle, how we dress, what we eat, or where we travel. So it is another important factor for marketers to know. 1.7 Understanding consumer behaviour It is very important for marketers to understand consumer buying behaviour because that is the only possibility to offer greater satisfaction for the consumer. Although there remains a certain amount of consumer dissatisfaction. The reason for this is that some marketers still are not consumer oriented and do not regard customer satisfaction as a primary objective. Another problem is that the tools for analysing consumer behaviour are not very precise, so it is impossible for marketers to determine what is highly satisfying to buyers. Understanding consumer behaviour is a very important task for marketers. Even though the marketers were not able to gain al the knowledge they need, progress has been made during the last twenty years and is likely to continue in the next twenty. There will not only be refinements in research methods to gain more information, there will also be more pressure for the  companies because of an increasingly competitive business environment, and this will make such information essential for companies. 2 ORGANISATIONAL MARKETS AND BUYING BEHAVIOUR 2.1 Introduction In this chapter I would like to give a short overview about organisational markets and organisational buying decision processes. I want to explain the various kinds of organisational markets, the types of buyers that make up these markets, and much more. Look forward to a new, interesting topic. 2.2 Types of organisational markets The following section describes the four kinds of organisational markets, and the characteristics of the customers that make up these markets. Producer markets Persons and business organisations that buy products with the aim of making profit by using them to produce other products or by using them in their factories are classified as producer markets. These markets include buyers of raw-materials, as well as purchasers of semi-finished and finished items. Though the prerequisite for this is that the consumer uses these materials or items to create new products. A good example for this is a car manufacturer which buys steel and component parts to use directly in the production of cars. Reseller markets Reseller markets consist of intermediaries which means people that buy finished products to resell them with the aim of making profit; examples for  this are wholesalers and retailers. One thing that is important to know is that resellers do not change anything at the physical characteristics of the products they sell. There is only one exception, producers that sell their products directly to the consumer. This is the case when the company produces, for example, high-tech products, which need a lot of explanation and service for the customer. But in all other cases all the products sold to a consumer market are first sold to a reseller. In the normal case it is like this; the wholesaler who carries an immense number of products buys the products from the producer and sells them to the retailer. The retailer carries less products in stock than the wholesaler and sells these products to the final consumer. And the best thing is that every party makes profit (mostly). Government markets Government markets consist of national and local governments. Every year they spend a lot of money for many various products and services to support their internal operations and to provide the public with everything it needs, things like education, water, energy, infrastructure, national defence, etc. It is a little bit difficult for governments to spend the money in the right way because they are accountable for the public money they spend. This is also a problem for the companies which want to sell their products to the state because there is a relatively complex set of buying procedures which are linked with the accountability for the public money and it is understandable that most companies do not want to deal with so much red tape. However there are also marketers that have learned to deal with the complex buying procedures and do not find them to be a stumbling block. And they have good reasons for this because deals with governments can be very lucrative. Institutional markets Institutional markets do not seek to achieve business goals they try to achieve charitable, educational, community or other non-business goals.  Members of institutional markets can be organisations, such as churches, some hospitals, libraries, museums, universities, and charitable organisations. These institutions spend millions of dollars every year to provide goods, services, and ideas to their members. It is very difficult for marketers to sell their goods to the various kinds of institutions because of their different aims; so some marketers use special marketing activities to serve these markets. 2.3 Dimensions of organisational buying After we have looked at the different types of organisational markets I think we should also take a look on the dimensions of organisational buying. Characteristics of organisational transactions In comparison to consumer sales organisational transactions are different in several ways: Organisational buyers order much bigger quantities than individual consumers. That is one consequence linked to the behaviour of suppliers which prefer to sell their products in large quantities. This is the only way for them to make any profit. Another point is that organisational purchases are not negotiated as frequently as consumer sales. Some products that are purchased by organisations might be very expensive, such as machines, or office equipment, and they are used for a number of years. There are also products that are purchased frequently, such as raw materials, or component items, which are used continuously in production. But how I mentioned before the purchased quantities for these goods are much bigger. Also the purchase decisions are not as quick as they are for normal consumers. Because of the expensive products the purchasing decisions are often made by a committee which takes more time than only one individual  needs to take a decision. One thing that is unique to organisational sales is reciprocity. That is an arrangement between to organisations in which they agree to buy from each other. That seems to be very good for those both companies, but most reciprocal agreements threaten competition and that is why most of them are illegal. But nevertheless there are still some cases where such agreements take place. Attributes of organisational buyers If we think about organisational buyers we guess that their purchasing behaviour is different to the behaviour from consumer buyers because they are better informed about the products they want to purchase. However that is not quite right. Organisational buyers also have personal that can be influenced by some of the factors I mentioned earlier, such as psychological, or social factors. Employees are also only people. Primary concerns of organisational buyers Organisational customers are always concerned about buying the right stuff. So they take various factors into account before they make a purchasing decision: Most organisational customers want to offer to their target markets products of good quality. To achieve this aim companies often create a set of expressed characteristics, commonly called specifications. So the organisational buyer can determine if the quality of the different products corresponds to the necessary specifications. Another thing that is very important to organisational customers is service. The services that are provided by suppliers influence directly and indirectly the costs, sales, and profits of the organisational customer. If a marketer wants to have an advantage against his competitors which sell products that are similar to his products, he has to think about the perfect  mix of services that he can provide. I would just like to mention some services that may influence buying decisions: market information, inventory maintenance, on-time delivery, repair services, and credit. The most essential thing for the organisational customer is still the price. If the price is too high the operating costs will also be too high and at long last the product will be too expensive for the final consumer. But when purchasing for example a machine the buyer does not only look at the price, he compares the price with the profit he can gain with this machine, and also compares factors like product quality, and supplier services. Methods of organisational buying No organisational buyer will do his job in the same way like another but most of them use one or more of the following purchase methods: Description: Products are commonly standardised according to certain characteristics, such as shape, weight, size, and colour. With this standards an organisational buyer is able to purchase a product simply by describing quantity, shape etc. This purchase method is common for agricultural products. Inspection: This purchase method is common especially for large industrial equipment, used vehicles, and buildings. These goods have unique characteristics but may vary in their conditions. So the organisational buyer has to base his purchase decision on inspection. Sampling: In this case the buyer takes a sample of the desired product and starts out from the assumption that the sample is presentable for the parent population. Then he checks if the quality of the sample is acceptable. This method only makes sense if the tested product is homogeneous. Negotiation: The buyer describes exactly what kind of product he needs and asks sellers to submit their offer. The buyer may take the most attractive offers and negotiate with those suppliers to see from who he can get the  best conditions. These contracts only make sense for one-time projects. Types of organisational purchases The first type of organisational purchases is the new-task purchase, that means that an organisation makes a purchase of a product that is needed in a new job or to solve a new problem. So it is a product that never have been purchased before. A new-task purchase may require the creation of product specifications, vendor specifications etc. If a new-task purchase is changed the second or third time it is ordered, it turns into a modified re-buy purchase. That means the specifications of the new-task purchase have been changed, or have been modified. If a buyer purchases the same product regularly under approximately the same terms of sale we are talking about a straight re-buy purchase. Mostly this type is used with routine purchase decisions. Demand for industrial products The products sold to organisational customers are also called industrial products, and the demand for those products is called industrial demand. There are four different characteristics for industrial demand: Derived demand: Because organisational customers often buy products that are used directly or indirectly in production of goods that are sold to consumers to satisfy their needs, we can derive the demand for industrial products from the demand for consumer products. That is why it is called derived demand. For example the demand for computer CPUs derives from the consumer ´s demand for personal computers. Inelastic demand: In industry there are a lot of products for which the demand is inelastic. That means that a price increase or decrease will not alter the demand for this product. The reason for this is that a lot of products produced in industry contain a large number of components and so a  price increase or decrease of one of these products will not cause a serious higher or lower per-unit production cost. So the company is not forced to find an alternative product. But if there is a price increase for a component that represents a big part of the product ´s costs the demand may become more elastic because the price increase for the component will also cause an increasing price for the final consumer. Joint demand: Joint demand means when two ore more items are used in combination to produce a product. For example, a company that produces axes needs the same number of axe handles as it does axe blades; these two products are demanded jointly. Demand fluctuations: The demand for industrial products may fluctuate because it derives from consumer demand. A high consumer demand for a particular product may cause that producers buy large quantities of raw materials and components to ensure that they can produce the product for a longer time without any problems. They also may expand their production capacity which requires new machines, more workers, and also more raw materials and component parts. The opposite of this case is a decline in the demand for special consumer goods which causes a demand reduction for industrial products used to produce those goods. The consequence is that industrial customers buy less raw materials and components and stop buying new equipment and machines. There can be even a temporary standstill in the production for these goods. 2.4 Organisational buying decision The buying centre In industry few organisational purchasing decisions are made only by one person; in most cases they are made trough a buying centre. The buying centre consists of people within an organisation who are involved in making organisational purchasing decisions. The members of the buying centre are responsible for evaluating the product ´s performance, selecting suppliers,  negotiating the terms of purchase, and also for developing specifications. Stages of the organisational buying decision process Like consumers, organisations follow a buying decision process which you can see at the figure below. This process is almost similar to the decision process that was explained in sector 1.3 (The consumer buying decision process). Influences on organisational buying There are also some factors that may influence the decision process, they can be divided into four major categories: Environmental: These are factors like laws, regulations, economic conditions, competitive forces technological changes. Organisational: Objectives, purchasing policies, resources, buying centre structure Interpersonal: Cooperation, conflict, power relationships Individual: Age, education level, job status, personality, income 2.5 Concluding remark I hope you enjoyed my short overview about the topics â€Å"Consumer buying behaviour† and â€Å"Organisational markets and buying behaviour†; and I also hope that my explanations were understandable.