10 Traits of a Great Manager, According to Google

10 Traits of a Great Manager, According to Google Have you ever wondered if managers are really important? Do they matter, or are they more destructive than they are beneficial? If you have ever asked yourself such questions, you are not alone.These questions have also been asked by one of the world’s largest tech companies, and one that has had a very huge impact on modern day life â€" Google.From its beginnings back in 1998, Google was built as a company for engineers.If you have any engineer friend, you probably know that most engineers want to spend their time designing and building things, not supervising others or doing managerial work.A few year’s into its existence, some of Google’s engineers started complaining that having to deal with bosses and supervise others was distracting them from the ‘real work’ of designing and building systems and applications.As you probably know, Google is a company that is known for its crazy and outrageously ambitious experiments â€" from building personal jet packs and space elevat ors to teleportation â€" and it decided to tackle the engineers’ complaints the same way it tackles most other problems; by experimenting with crazy ideas.In 2002, founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin decided to conduct an experiment to determine whether managers were necessary at Google.They did this by getting rid of all engineering managers and adopting a completely flat organizational hierarchy.This might sound like a very outrageous experiment, but nothing is too outrageous at Google, right?Like many of its other experiments, this experiment turned out to be a total failure.Without any sense of direction, too many employees started going directly to Page and Brin with questions about interpersonal conflicts, expense reports, project prioritization, and other nitty-gritty issues. Two months after the experiment was started, it was called off.Having established that the company could not operate efficiently without managers, Google shifted its attention to identifying what made a great manager. This was done through an initiative known as Project Oxygen.In this project, Google hired a group of statisticians to collect data from employee surveys, performance appraisals, interviews, and other sources of employee feedback and determine what common traits and characteristics differentiated high performing managers from low performing managers.With the results of Project Oxygen, Google came up with a list of eight characteristics that were found to be common among its very best managers.Google started training all its managers on how to develop these traits, and the results were astounding.The performance of the worst performing managers improved by up to 75%.There was also an overall improvement in metrics such as employee performance, satisfaction, turnover, and so on.Over time, and following further analysis, two more traits were added to the list, making a total of 10 traits that make a great manager.According to Google’s Project Oxygen, a great manager s hould: 1. BE A GOOD COACHIf you want to be a great manager, the first thing you need to do is to shift your perspective from that of a boss/supervisor to that of a coach.Your job is not to simply outline what your team needs to do and crack the whip on anyone who seems to be lagging behind.Unfortunately, this is what most managers do.They don’t pay any attention to employees who are doing their job well, and will only engage with an employee when they notice that the employee is not performing as they should.Great managers know that all members of their team need to be managed, whether they are star performers or not.Great managers take the time to find the strengths and weaknesses of their direct reports, and then try to find ways to help them improve.They know that complacency is one of the worst things at the workplace, and they are therefore constantly looking for ways to help members of their teams get stronger.If you want to be a great manager, you should provide guidance to your team members and support all their learning efforts.If they come to you with problems, instead of simply solving the problem for them, you should use the problem as an opportunity to teach your team how they should deal with similar problems in future.If you ensure that your team is constantly learning and improving themselves, it is inevitable that they will always be ahead of the curve, and their performance will only get better and better.2. EMPOWER THE TEAM AND AVOID MICROMANAGINGManaging a team is a challenging and delicate affair.On the one hand, if you give your direct reports too much freedom, there is a possibility that things will not be done as they should, there will be costly mistakes, and performance will decline.On the other hand, micromanaging employees will only make them frustrated, interfere with their productivity, and stifle their creativity. The key, therefore, is to aim for a delicate balance between freedom and management.Most employees want to know tha t their bosses believe in their abilities and trust them to get their work done without having to look over their shoulders all the time.As a manager, avoid dictating your team’s every move, or taking on some of their tasks.This only shows that you don’t trust them to do the right thing. Instead, you should empower them to take control of their own projects.According to research by Gretchen Spreitzer from the University of Michigan, employees who are empowered are more likely to be committed to the organization, motivated, and satisfied with their jobs, leading to improved performance and reduced turnover.One of the best ways to empower your team is to adopt the black, red, and green zone approach. In this approach, tasks are categorized into black, green, and red zones.Tasks within the black zone are those that fall within the employee’s job description. It is the employee’s responsibility to get these tasks done however they deem best.In the green zone, we have tasks that are slightly outside the employee’s job description, but the employee is still allowed to make their own independent decisions and actions without having to seek your approval. Instead, they only need to notify you of their decisions and actions.You should give the employee the authority to make their own decisions and actions on green zone tasks after you have established that the employee can competently and responsibly make these decisions without your input.As the employee gets better at their job and at making such decisions, the green zone will expand as you delegate more tasks to them.Finally, in the red zone, we have tasks that require the employee to consult you before taking action or making a decision.The employee is not allowed to make independent decisions on these tasks, owing to the fact that they involve a high level of risk, or because they do not have experience, knowledge or skills to independently handle such tasks.The black, green, and red zone approach allows you to achieve a balance between empowering your employees while at the same time maintaining some level of control.3. CREATE AN INCLUSIVE TEAM ENVIRONMENT, SHOWING CONCERN FOR SUCCESS AND WELL-BEINGEvery employee wants to feel that they are a valued member of their team, that whatever they do is important.Therefore, as a great manager, it is your responsibility to make every member of your team feel valued.You should actively show interest in the happiness of your team members, their well-being, and their individual success, not just the success of the team as a whole.To create an inclusive environment for your team, encourage your team members to speak up and share their opinions.Of course, for this to work, you have to give equal importance to the contributions of each team member.If you only listen to the concerns of two employees while ignoring the others, they will feel excluded, and this will create resentment and bad blood within your team. You should also encourage your te am to take risks.When they take risks and fail, give them support and constructive criticism, rather than berating them.You want to create an environment where nobody in your team is afraid of risks or embarrassed of their ideas and opinions.In addition, make it a habit to regularly check in with your team members, keep track of their performance, provide regular feedback on how they can improve, and give them guidance on how to avoid potential pitfalls.Make it clear that you care about their individual success.If you are the type of manager who only provides feedback to your employees when something is going wrong, this shows that you are only doing it to protect your reputation.It shows that you don’t care about the individual success of your team members.4. BE PRODUCTIVE AND RESULTS ORIENTEDAs a manager, it is up to you to set the pace for your team.If you are lazy, only doing the bare minimum and always looking for opportunities to be away from work, your team members will gra dually start emulating you, and before you know it, the productivity of the entire team will have tanked.Similarly, if you are productive and results oriented, if you are constantly getting things done and following up on anything that doesn’t seem to be moving, your team will pick up your pace. In other words, you have to be the role model for your team.As a productive and results oriented manager, it is your responsibility to keep your team focused on their goals, provide them with clear guidelines on how they will achieve those goals, and most importantly, keep track to ensure that they are on course to achieve the goals.Of course, this doesn’t mean constantly watching over their shoulders or overburdening them with work.It simply means that you should create an environment where you team members prioritize productivity over other non-work-related activities.5. BE A GOOD COMMUNICATOR WHO LISTENS AND SHARES INFORMATIONEffective communication is one of the most important skills in your career, whether you are an employee or a manager.However, being a good communicator is a lot more important when you are a manager.As a manager, it is your role to sell your organization’s mission and vision to your employees.It is your role to communicate your team’s goals and objectives and how they tie to the organization’s mission and vision.It is your role to outline the specific steps that your team needs to take in order to achieve these goals and objectives.Without excellent communication skills, you won’t do a good job of communicating all this key information, which means that your team will find themselves on the wrong track more often than not owing to miscommunication, and even lack of communication.Being a good communicator also means being able and willing to provide your direct reports with feedback, whether negative or positive.Feedback should be sincere and specific, should be given often, and should be given with the aim of helping the other party get better and better. Some common communication issues that hinder great management. Source: Kinsey ManagementAs a manager, it is also very important to be a good listener, which is also a part of being a good communicator. Listening shows that you value the other person and that you care about their wellbeing.Listening also allows you to better understand and connect with your team members, learn of any challenges they are going through, provide them with the resources and support they need to do their jobs, and learn about and nip any potential problems in the bud before they turn into real problems.6. SUPPORT CAREER DEVELOPMENT AND DISCUSS PERFORMANCEA lot of managers treat their employees like tools. They only think about what the employees can do for them and the organization.Great managers, on the other hand, know that their employees are individuals with their own career goals and aspirations.Therefore, instead of just looking at what the employees can do for the organization, they also look at how they can help the employees move closer to their career goals.Great managers are genuinely interested in the career development of their employees.They help them come up with career development plans, use performance reviews as opportunities to encourage and build up the employees rather than frustrate and tear them down, provide them with honest feedback, and generally guide them on how to become better in their careers.Such managers know that supporting their employees’ growth and future success will make the employees happier, more effective and more productive.7. HAVE A CLEAR VISION/STRATEGY FOR THE TEAMSome managers do not bother explaining to their teams why they are doing what they are doing.They just provide them with a list of tasks that have to be completed within a specified period.Great managers, on the other hand, understand that the best way to get the commitment of their team members is to let them in on the vision and strategy of the team.Instead of simply providi ng a list of tasks to be completed, they make it clear how the efforts of the team tie in to the overall goals of the organization, and then from this, come up with goals and objectives for the team.They then provide a roadmap on how the team should go about achieving these goals.Doing this allows their teams to work more efficiently and at a higher level compared to teams that have just been provided with a set of tasks.Great managers also understand that it is important to communicate this vision/strategy to their individual team members regularly, tying the performance of each team member to the team goal.8. HAVE KEY TECHNICAL SKILLS TO HELP ADVISE THE TEAMHave you ever been a position where you were required to manage a group of people without a good grasp of what they do? How was the experience?I’m willing to bet that it wasn’t the most pleasant experience.To be a good manager, you need to have a good understanding of the activities that your direct reports are tasked with, as well as a grasp of the skills your direct reports need in order to complete their tasks.This way, you are in position to advise them on how best to undertake the tasks assigned to them, as well as how to overcome any challenges that they might encounter while performing their duties, since you have the “been there, done that” experience.This is particularly important when you are managing highly technical teams.When someone has risen through the ranks to a managerial position, they will more often than not have a good grasp of the skills of those below them.Sometimes, however, a manager might be brought from an entirely different field to manage a technical team.If you find yourself in such a situation, you should spend the first few months in the position learning everything you can about the tasks and roles of those you are managing.This way, you will be able to give advice and provide guidance in case your team hits a technical snag.9. COLLABORATE ACROSS THE COMPANYThis i s the first of two attributes that were added to the list to make it a total of ten attributes that define great managers. Great managers realize that their teams are not islands.Teams are cogs in a bigger machine that is made of several other teams and departments.Great managers realize that, regardless of the size of the company they are working for, one of the keys to having a successful team relies on how well they can work with the other teams and departments.Very often, your team will need the support or collaboration of other teams in order to achieve its goals and objectives.However, if you have created an environment where you team works in isolation, it will be very difficult for you to enlist the support of other teams.Managers who have created connections across on the company, on the other hand, can easily use their connections and influence to get what they need for their teams.As a manager, therefore, you should aspire to eliminate silos across the organization and in stead aim to create good working relationships between your team and other teams and organizational functions.10. BE A STRONG DECISION MAKERThis is the second of the two attributes that were added to the list to make it a total of ten attributes that define great managers.As a manager, you will very often be required to make decisions, some of which might be a bit difficult to make.In such situations, it is important to analyze available information, test some possible scenarios and come up with a strategy to help you make the right decision.Sometimes, however, some managers spend too much time analyzing without making any decision.Not only does this waste both your time and your team’s time, it also paralyzes the organization and makes you look like you do not believe in yourself.Great managers know that ultimately, what matters is taking action. If you waste too much time thinking, the opportunity might be gone before you make a decision.They know it is better to make a decision and be proven wrong than to be indecisive.To be a great manager, you will have to adopt the mentality of action and decisiveness.Even when faced with tough decisions, quickly take whatever actions seems right to you at the moment without worrying about the backlash in case you are proven wrong.In addition, don’t be afraid to be the boss.If it calls for it, have the tough conversations with your team and stop any unwanted behavior before it becomes a problem.Don’t be afraid of doing what you feel is right for the team, even if it might not be the most popular course of action at the moment.WRAPPING UPAfter its failed experiment on whether it could function without managers, Google set out to identify the traits of great managers, and came up with the 10 traits discussed above.Ever since, they have been used to train and improve the performance of Google’s managers, leading to improvements in various metrics, including employee performance, satisfaction, turnover, and so on.In other words, these are tried and tested traits. If you want to improve yourself and transform yourself into a great manager, just like Google has consistently done to its managers, it might be time for you to start training yourself to develop these ten traits.

Essay on A New Hero Today - 786 Words

A hero is someone who has courage and the ability to help others. Some people might refer to their hero as their role model. No matter what someone may name their hero, almost everyone has one. The person who chooses their hero wants their hero to be an inspiring role model whom they can look up to while they are going through rough times. Since the beginning of time, people have had heroes because heroes are the people that set a good example for the public and have they noble qualities that are obvious for everyone to see. Over time people have changed their minds on who they believe to be is a good hero but people have always wanted the same qualities in a hero, for them to be brave, honorable, and inspiring. Several years ago a†¦show more content†¦A long time ago people were considered honorable only if they came from a well-known or rich family. On the contrary, now people are considered honorable if they help people out, have a kind heart, and usually if they ha ve risen to power from a low place and know how it feels to be in the situation other people are in. People love and respect others who have came from the bottom and risen to the top. When a person has a hero they want their hero to have dignity and some type of status so that they can be proud of their hero and follow in his or her footsteps. No matter what century a person may be from they will always look for an honorable person when they look for a hero. Someone chooses who their hero is based on several different things but one incredibly important thing is whether their hero inspires them positively or not. Several years ago a person might have chosen their hero based on the fact of if they inspired them enough so that they are patriotic to their country. However, today people’s values have changed; the public finds someone inspiring if that person influences them to run after their goals. For example, everyone loves their heroes to tell them to chase after their dreams no matter what their dreams are. But, every age group has a different person that they choose to be their hero. For instance, young children have always chosen their parents or teachers as their heroes, because their parents and teachers are theirShow MoreRelatedMy First Military Institute At Fort Sam Houston1164 Words   |  5 Pagescountry s freedom. I recall asking myself â€Å"What is a hero? 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Beatrice and Benedicks history together is made clear from the start, when Beatrice tells the messenger bringing news of Benedicks return, that he is no less than a stuffed man, implying that he is very full of himself. This showsRead MoreThe Role Of Changing Perception Of The Hero1137 Words   |  5 Pagesthe changing perception of the hero Who is a hero? How does the definition of a hero change over time? The Epic of Gilgamesh is perhaps the â€Å"longest and greatest literary composition written in cuneiform Akkadian† (Dalley 39) and told to an audience, while The Odyssey, and Oedipus the King came many centuries later. However, they all have a hero that represents the values of the society at the time. This paper is going to compare and contrast the ideal of the hero from ancient Mesopotamia in GilgameshRead MoreWhat Makes A Hero?1541 Words   |  7 Pages What is a hero? Is it superman? Is it your mom or dad? Is it your teacher? There are many people that are considered heroes. 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In fact these are among the T.V. shows with higher ratings. Hero is characterized as a person of good character who performs beneficial acts towards a community and influence an individual self-concept in a good manner. Today, the new hero is the anti-hero and his morally reprehensibleRead MoreHow The Greek Myths Have On Us Today? How Do You Write A Myth?1206 Words   |  5 PagesStudents will explore the meaning of a Hero. They will understand the stucture of a story. They will read several myths. They will also take a deeper look into modern heros. What is a Hero? Unit Questions What meanings do the Greek myths have on us today? How do you write a myth? Content Questions Who were the ancient Greek heros and what were their stories? What are the qualities of a Greek hero? Who are modern heros? The students will be completed self-reflections journals at the endRead MoreAnyone Can Be a Hero1524 Words   |  7 PagesAnyone Can Be a Hero By Jennifer L. Jefferson Com/150 July 8, 2012 Sonya Macon Anyone Can Be a Hero Everyone has heard through some type of media resource that there are no more heroes in the world today, that any or everyone we look up to has a bad reputation or not worth our time and eventually will steer us in the wrong direction. To our understanding this is not true there are heroes in our world, Webster dictionary defines hero as a male figure that displays superior courage and strengthRead MoreInside J.R.R. Tolkiens The Hobbit 738 Words   |  3 Pagestowards everyday life. Some of the themes that this novel entails are, the calling of becoming a hero, the trails that shape a person’s character, and the helpers in a person’s life that shape a person to be able to reach their full potential. J.R.R. Tolkien uses this novel to express these everyday themes. The calling of a hero is one of themes that Tolkien expresses through the character Bilbo Baggins. A hero is directly defined as â€Å"a person who is admired for great or brave acts of fine qualities.†

Modern Psychology The Scientific Study Of Mind And...

The following essay will focus on the emergence of modern psychology, presently understood to be the â€Å"scientific study of mind and behaviour†. Philosophy and experimental physiology have been influential in creating a favourable zeitgeist that ultimately allowed for the transformation of an ancient discipline into the scientific study of the mind. It was 1879 before psychology officially became a science. Previously philosophers endeavoured to understand human nature and the links between the body and the mind - formerly referred to as the soul. In fact, the main concerns of today s psychology, reflect themes that intrigued humanity for thousands of years. â€Å"Psychology has a long past but a short history† (Ebbinghaus, 1908). Therefore†¦show more content†¦His contribution has seen him labelled by some as the founder of modern psychology (Prado, 2009). During the 17TH century under the encouragement of Descartes, one of the most influential rationalists of this period, interactions of the body and mind provoked multitudinous debates. Descartes accepted dualism, the metaphysical stance that mind and body are essentially separate entities, two distinct substances with different natures that interact, mutually influencing one another. The body being mortal, a machine that followed mechanical laws whereas, the mind was immortal, a spiritual being. Descartes theory, the pineal gland is a unique organ situated in the centre of the brain, where all thoughts are processed (Berhouma, 2013). Thought to be mechanical like in their interaction, the mind would accept impressions from the eyes and ears; they would unite in the pineal gland to be considered by the soul, here they would influence the body, for instance, generating the body to move. 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We can trace it back to its roots, held deep in philosophy; even ancient Greek philosophers such as Plato introduced the concept of Anamnesis, suggesting that we are born with imprinted knowledge. Aristotle, a student of Plato, theorized the concept that we were born a blank canvas and the development of our minds are sculpted by our experience, demonstrating that modern psychological debates of nature VS nurture, and interests of the functions of the mind, have been discussedRead MoreIs Psychology a Science? Essay1133 Words   |  5 PagesThe British Psychological Society states that ‘Psychology is the scientific study of people, the mind and behaviour’ (BPS). In this essay I will be discussing what is actually meant by this and whether psychology fits into both the traditional views of a science, as well as more contemporary perspectives. 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Literary Criticism Paper Free Essays

An archetype Is a reoccurring pattern of Images, symbols, or a situation. The hero archetype Is one who tries to fulfill a necessary task and tries to restore Justice to a society. The hero will commonly go through the hero’s journey in search for truth and information on restoring Justice to a society. We will write a custom essay sample on Literary Criticism Paper or any similar topic only for you Order Now All archetypal heroes share certain characteristics. In 1984, by George Orwell, Winston follows the hero’s cycle because there is nothing told of his childhood, he looses favor with the Party, and Winston is not burled after all. Throughout the book ‘We are told nothing of his holding† (Garry 1 1 ) besides the few memories or dreams he shares with Julia or himself. After waking up crying one morning, Winston shares a memory of his childhood Tijuana; he recalls the time him and his sister and mother spent most of their days in underground shelters, hiding from air raids. Many times, Winston and his family went without food. From starving one day, Winston stole chocolate from his mother and sister and ran away, never seeing them again. Winston constantly dreams about his mother and Is convinced he murdered her because he stole her chocolate and left her there to starve. However, his subconscious Is his only road to the truth. Although the reader is given small memories on his childhood â€Å"nothing remained of his childhood except a series of bright-lit tableaux occurring against no background and mostly unintelligible† (Orwell, 3). Implying, the reader is not really told anything of his childhood besides the subconscious memories and few unclear images In 1984, the God Is represented through Big Brother. This Is true because Big Brother Is perceived as the ruler of Oceania and he Is a very high figure to the people. Big Brother’s face is constantly being broadcasted and he is even stamped on he coins. Thus, Winston â€Å"Later loses favor with the gods and/or his subjects† (11) by wanting to do many rebellious acts and hateful thoughts. For example, Winston begins to have sex with Julia, which was only, â€Å"a blow struck against the Party† (126). Implying there was no true emotion towards Julia and Winston and Julia only had sex to rebel against the Party because having sex Is a major crime In Oceania. Also, Winston looses his support towards the Party shown when he wrote â€Å"Down with Big Brother† in his diary. Again, signifying his hatred towards the society and writes to mind people of the better times in Oceania and writes about what it used to be and what it can still become. Towards the end of the book Winston and Julia are surrounded by troops of the Thought Police. From there Winston is taken to the horrid Room 101 where he Is tortured. Room 101 holds the person’s greatest fear and for Winston It Is rats. As the rats come closer to his face he yells, â€Å"Do It to Julia! Do It to Julia! Not me! Julia! I don’t care what you do to her. Tear her face off strip her to the bones. Not me! Julia! Not me! † (286). It is here Winston betrayals Julia and fully egging to believe and love Big Brother and the Party. Winston did not only betrayal Julia, but he also abandons himself. Winston follows the hero cycle because â€Å"His body is not buried, but nevertheless† (1 1 Meaning the Ministry of Love broke and tortured his mind and will and mentally killed him but Winston Is still physically living. Hang out with Julia. However, he is essentially a slave because he cannot express any of his own feelings of rebellion, including to himself in the privacy of his mind. Winston was a very mentally strong character who understood the corrupt world he ivies in while nobody else does. During the beginning of the book he does not find any pleasure in Big Brother and as the story progresses he starts to love Big Brother. His goal is to change society’s means and gain the freedom of thought back. However, he is a bizarre hero because he is middle-aged, has an average intelligence, and is very weak. He is a hero, although, with different heroic characteristics. Finally he is a hero because, Winston childhood is a mystery, his support for the Party is lost, and he becomes a walking slave for the Party and Big Brother. How to cite Literary Criticism Paper, Papers

The 4 Market Position and an Example of a Product Essay Example

The 4 Market Position and an Example of a Product Paper Market Leader A market leader is a brand, product, or a firm that has the largest percentage of total sales in terms of revenue (the market share) of a market. A market leader often dominates all his competitors in areas such as: customer loyalty, distribution coverage, image, perceived value, price, profit, and promotional spending. To be the leader in the market, the company needs to be innovative, agile, revolutionary, obsessive and supportive. Market leader objectives are to continue expanding their total market by finding more new consumers to purchase their product, creating new uses for the current product which they are selling, and to encourage more usage among the current consumers. A market leader should always be equipped with a defense strategy that will help defend against any new threats that might threaten their position as a market leader. Also, another objective to achieve is to keep increase their market share of their product. An example of market leaders are: Coco-Cola (soft drinks), McDonald’s (fast food), Caterpillar (large construction equipment), Kodak (photographic film), Wal-Mart (retailing), and Boeing (aircraft). Market Challenger Market challengers are runner-up companies that aggressively attack competitors to get more market share. A market challenger’s strategic objective is to topple down the current market leader and to take over its place. A market challenger will always strive to attack the current market leader, or other firms that matches its own size, or smaller and local regional competitors in hope to be the leader in the product or service which they are offering. We will write a custom essay sample on The 4 Market Position and an Example of a Product specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The 4 Market Position and an Example of a Product specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The 4 Market Position and an Example of a Product specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer In essence the challenger has three strategic alternatives that are available to the company: (a) a direct or head-on attack using either cost/price/value for money as the key strategic variable; (b) an indirect or flanking approach using product differentiation or promotional activities as a way to win consumer’s preference and loyalty; and (c) a by-pass strategy based upon radical innovation through which the challenger seeks to change existing purchasing behavior in favor of a new solution to basic consumer needs. Such examples are like Adidas attempting to beat Nike or Burger King attempting to challenge McDonald’s position as the market leader. Market Follower Market follower are firms that attempt to use strategies to seek stable market shares and to gain profits by following competitors’ product offers, prices, and also marketing programs. Market followers attempt to create a similar to product that is innovative to be sold at a cheaper price comparing to the company who has that similar product. A market follower has many advantages also. A market follower can learn from the market leader’s experience and copy or improve on the leader’s product and programs, normally with much lesser investment compared with the market leader. One such example would be the recent new colors for the Sony’s Vaio Laptops. Once Sony releases their new color design, Dell later would follow in it and would have their personalized laptop colors which could be chosen when purchasing a laptop from Dell. Niche Market A niche market is often portrait as a focused, targetable portion of a market. By definition, then, a business that focuses on a niche market is addressing the need for a product or service that is not being addressed by the mainstream providers. Niche market can be thought as a narrowly defined group of potential customers. For instance, instead of offering cleaning services, a business might establish a niche market by specializing in blind cleaning services. Why should you bother to establish a niche market? Because of the great advantage of being alone there; other small businesses may not be aware of your particular niche market, and large businesses wont want to bother with it. The trick to capitalizing on a niche market is to find or develop a market niche that has customers who are accessible, that is growing fast enough, and that is not owned by one established vendor already. Niche market’s strategies are often targeted towards smaller markets that large companies won’t bother entering. To remain in business, niche marketers would need to create niches, then expand it and finally protecting them or copyright them. The only risk of a niche market is when a larger firm notices the niche market profit and attempt to enter the market with larger resources and capital. Apple iPod The product that I will talk about will be Apple’s iPod. First, I will list down what are the available products, and then I will discuss about their marketing strategy are they using and at now. The reason for choosing iPod, it is because of their current position in the market now and I have knowledge about it since I owned one. Apple’s iPod is one of the top products in the areas of portable media players. It has managed to stay at the top because of their unique software and design that keep consumers wanting it. Their uniqueness is in Apple’s iTunes software in which it is able to transfer music to the iPod devices. As a jukebox application, iTunes is able to store a music library on the users computer and which can either play, burn and rip music from a CD. It’s also to a lot of files like a PDA. Such files such as photos, videos, games, contact information, E-Mail messages, Web bookmarks, and calendars to iPod models that support those features. Apple focused its development on the iPods unique user interface and its user-friendly interface of use, rather than on technical capability. As of September 2007, the iPod had sold more than 110 million units worldwide making it the best-selling digital audio player series in history. Now lets talk about the iPod. Its doing really well. Theyre rather strong. Teehee. Weve sold over 110m to date and youll notice the place where the sales curve is strongest is during the holiday season today were going to refresh or replace EVERY single product in this lineup to get ready for this holiday season. Currently the iPod has a few selections in line. Currently are on sale, are the iPod shuffle, iPod nano, iPod classic and the brand new iPod touch. The iPod shuffle is a digital audio player that is designed and marketed by the company Apple Inc. The purpose for this model is to create a budget model for Apples iPod family. It was announced at the Macworld Conference Expo on January 11, 2005, using the tagline life is random. This model is a new design as instead of storing data on a hard disk, it has been changed to the first iPod to use a flash memory. The current second generation model weighs at only about 15 grams (or 0. 55 ounces). It was introduced in September 2006 along with the revamped fifth generation iPod classic and second generation iPod nano. Later in 2007, as a preparation for the Christmas holidays of 2007, Apple launched a new color which is red. Now currently, the iPod shuffle has nine colors which are: All nine colors of the second-generation iPod shuffle. The bottom rows are the original colors; the top rows are the refreshed colors. Silver units have been available throughout the life of the second-generation shuffle. The iPod nano is one the four portable media player that is designed and marketed by the company Apple Inc. The iPod nano is designed to be as a midrange model in for Apples iPod family. The first generation of this version was introduced in 2005. It also uses flash memory, just like the iPod shuffle. However, this comes with a miniaturized version of the display screen and has click wheel found on the iPod classic. The model has been updated twice since its introduction. This above version is the 3rd generation iPod nano. This nano was announced in a 4 GB version coming only in silver, and an 8 GB version coming in silver, turquoise, mint green, black and Product Red. Recently, Apple has launched the new pink color. The battery now lasts for approx. 24 hours on audio playback and approx. hours on video playback. Steve Job, Co-founder, CEO of Apple Inc. , showing off the new iPod Nano Its incredibly tiny, this is the new nano, and it’s incredibly thin. Its REALLY nice. Huge applause. Let me show you some bigger pictures of it comes in beautiful colors. So whats the video like? New nano: larger 2-inch screen, its going to look the same as it did on the iPod vi deo, its the same QVGA resolution. Weve achieved this with a screen with the highest pixel density weve ever shipped. The iPod classic is a portable media player that is marketed by the company Apple Inc. This model is the flagship model for Apples iPod family. To this date, there have been six generations of the iPod classic. There was also a spin-off called the iPod photo which was later then re-integrated into the main classic line. All the generations of the iPod classic uses a 1. 8-inch hard drive for storage. The word classic retronym was introduced with the introduction of the sixth-generation iPod classic on September 5, 2007. Prior to this, the iPod classics were simply just referred to as iPods. Steve Jobs, Co-founder, CEO of Apple Inc. showing off the new iPod Classic. A little video for everyone, thats what we set out to do with the new nano. We hope you love it as much as we do That brings us to the iPod. The iPod its got a its got a funny name. Its got a funny name. Its time to give it a name: were calling it the iPod Classic because its the original iPod. Ha! Side-by-side view of 6th and 5th generation iPods, respectively, showing interface differences The iPod touch i s both a portable media player and a Wi-Fi mobile platform designed and marketed by the company Apple Inc. The product was officially launched on September 5, 2007 through an event called The Beat Goes On. The iPod touch adds the graphical user interfaces Cover Flow and Multi-Touch to the iPod line and is now available at 8, 16 or 32 GB of flash memory. It also includes Apples Safari web browser and it is the first iPod enabling wireless access to the iTunes Store. Beginning of June 2008, the iPod touch will also have now access to the App Store. The App Store is an upcoming application for the iPhone and iPod touch that is created by Apple Inc. This allows users to browse and purchase applications that were developed for the iPhone SDK The iPod touch has the same multi-0touch interface the iPhone has. Adding new to it is a physical home button off the touch screen. The home screen has a list of buttons for the available applications. All iPod touch models have included with this standard applications: Music, Videos, and Photos (which is collectively duplicating the standard functions of the iPod Classic), iTunes (which providing access to the iTunes Music Store), Safari, YouTube, Calendar, Contacts, Clock, Calculator, and Settings. Later models have been added with Mail (allows to access POP/IMAP/SMTP e-mail), Maps, Stocks, Notes, and Weather, which could also be added to the earlier models with the purchase of a software upgrade. Direct links to web sites can be added to the home screen by the user. Steve Jobs, Co-founder, CEO of Apple Inc. , demonstrating the iPod Touch Let me go ahead and show you the new iPod touch. Again, slide to unlock. Here we are lets go into music. The icons look really strange and sparse on that huge screen. Its freaking us out! Apple’s iPod sales have been increasing over the steady flow of years. Since October 2004, the iPod has been dominating United States digital music player sales. Apple has manage to gain over 90% of the market for hard drive-based players and over 70% of the market for all types of players. During the year, from January 2004 to January 2005, the high rate of sales of Apple iPod caused the U. S. market share to increase from 31% to 65% and in July 2005, this market share was measured at 74%. In January of 2007 the iPod market share finally reached 72. 7% according to Bloomberg Online. With such sales, it is obvious that Apple’s iPod has become a market leader in portable music players in the United States. If Apple iPod wants to remain as market leader, they would have to continue maintaining their pleasing customers with quick response to any troubleshooting problems, making sure that their products have no problem in a product and even after launch, making sure that the products are quickly dealt with. Apple’s iPods are considered a product innovative. This is because so far no one has managed to fully copy the iPods functions. What makes it such a special product? It is because of their software system. Apple’s software is one of the hardest software to be able to modify. Also Apple has created their own jukebox application where users are able to sync songs, photos and videos unto their iPods. This application is the only way an iPod can receive it songs. Thus by doing that, Apple has managed to not only create own portable media players but also a specialized digital media player application for their iPods only. As Apple is not the first of creator of portable media devices, they have rose up to be the first in the United States because of a visionary leader; Steven Jobs. Apple iPods are called consumer products. Consumer products are products or services that are brought by final consumers for personal consumption. Marketers usually classify these products and services further basing on how consumers go about in buying them. What makes iPods so widely acceptable? It is because of their design and style of the product. This is called Product Style and Design where the style can be eye-catching to a consumer and the design is more of a skin deep concept where this is the very heart of the product. Apple has also decided to co-branding with Nike. Co-branding is the practice of using the established brand names of two different companies on the same product. Co-branding has many advantages. When the two products combine, they create a broader consumer appeal and also greater brand equity. In conclusion of this, Apple has managed to become the market leader in portable media players through various ways. Ways such as being a product innovative, having a visionary leader like Steven Jobs and co-branding with brands such as Nike.

How to Write a Research Paper on Bullying

How to Write a Research Paper on Bullying Research Paper on Bullying How to start a research paper on bullying Tips on how to start Example of an outline Example of an introduction for a bullying research paper Example of a thesis How to write body paragraphs for a research paper on bullying Tips on body writing The 1st body paragraph The 2nd body paragraph The 3rd body paragraph How to finish a research paper on bullying Tips on conclusion writing Example of a conclusion for a bullying research paper Tips on revising a research paper How to start a research paper on bullying Start writing about bullying by creating an introduction. A writer should know that bullying is one of the most sensitive scenarios that we encounter in our modern society. Conducting a research on bullying is important because it provides an idea about bullying that occurs in all kinds of backgrounds and areas around the world. You can research the topic on the internet, library or by using scientific journals about bullying. Tips on how to start Before starting, you should introduce the topic of bullying. This includes discussing the meaning of bullying and the prevalence rate (if any) to a certain society where this type of a scenario is considered as a disturbing event to the community. The rationale of providing an introductory paragraph is to allow the audience to appreciate the topic that will be discussed in the research paper. Example of an outline I. Introduction about Bullying A. How negative is bullying B. Who is affected by bullying? II. Body Section A. Factors affecting bullying B. Consequences of bullying C. Solutions against bullying IV. Conclusion A. Relating bullying as a story B. Restating the thesis statement Example of an introduction for a bullying research paper Criminal elements have been known to bring risks in our society because it poses a greater risk of a safety threat, psychological suffering, and mental health problems. However, bullying is another term wherein law enforcement agencies fail to reconsider. The reason behind is that bullying was not often reported by schools or households due to lack of understanding of the scenario. Example of a thesis If a person experiences violence, verbal abuse, intimidation and coercion on a repeated occasion, they are now being bullied. Bullying commonly takes place in schools where students become vulnerable outside their home, students who are out of reach by their parents. This research paper seeks to determine the outcomes of bullying which is responsible for causing an irreversible harm towards the affected population. How to write body paragraphs for a research paper on bullying In order to write body paragraphs, you should divide several sections in the body section of the research paper. You will have to set a paragraph intended to discuss the factors affecting bullying towards a certain household or school. Secondly, indicate the type of bullying addressed towards a group of victims or a single individual affected by the scenario. Third, the effects of bullying along with the corresponding management of this activity towards the affected individual that will mitigate the risk of being bullied by the offending party. Tips on body writing Be consistent with the discussion of each sentence, phrase, or segments of the paper. Use simple and concise words that are easy to understand by the readers. Discuss direct to the point issues to easily target the main points of the subject matter. Consider the target audience that is relevant to the main subject to allow readers to relate the discussion to their personal experience. Discussing the research in shorter sentences prevents confusion for the readers. The 1st body paragraph Indicate the factors why bullying occurs at a certain area. You should indicate the specific place where bullying usually occurs. You can state several factors in terms of political, social, or security issues at the affected area. Factors determine several reasons why bullying occurs. This can be based on the lapses on laws that allow bullying to take over. In the absence of parenting is also considered a reason because parents are the first teachers of humans at home to show the right way of treating others and knowing what is right or wrong. The 2nd body paragraph Describe the type of bullying that is usually inflicted towards the targeted victim. Indicating the place, time, and frequency of bullying that impacts the physical and psychological well-being of the individual. Bullying can be discussed by detailing the scenario of the story. The scenario narrates the way or the type of harm applied towards the victim of the abuse, which could present how it was applied by the offending party. This is to further explain more details about the scenarios on how this unacceptable behavior has been perpetrated by a person with a violent intent. The 3rd body paragraph Discuss the impact of bullying towards the group or individual being targeted by the offending party. Identify the affected groups or organizations when bullying occurs at a certain period of time. The impact is usually based on physical issues wherein the victim sustained injuries that either minor or major depending on the condition or the type of harm applied. A psychological impact is a scenario wherein bullying has been impacting the emotional well-being of an individual that severely damaged their self-confidence or self-worth. How to finish a research paper on bullying Provide a piece of advice for a reader regarding helpful tips to protect anyone from bullying. Discuss the salient points or important ways to help individuals from any threat of harm by a group of individuals who were known to inflict harm towards others just to satisfy their anti-social behavior. And most importantly, you should have a conclusion to ensure a closure for the research paper that determines your final statement regarding the issue of bullying that happens in school or in any community. Tips on conclusion writing Make a final statement about bullying that discusses the use of abusive practices applied towards an individual or group from a dominant party. Discuss learning insight about bullying as it emphasizes on the significance of issues that made a significant lesson for your personal perception regarding the incidence of this unacceptable practice towards others. Establish commentaries and facts that are relevant towards the implementation of local government units or administration of the operating institution against bullying. Initiate recommendations about bullying as it is important to know the most precise way of preventing bullying in the workplace that can help others learn more about bullying solutions. Consider the negative implications about bullying, which concentrate on the impact of the victim’s physical, social, psychological, and security issues. Example of conclusion for a bullying research paper Bullying is a serious security threat that impacts the welfare of the society or household. This issue is normally reported worldwide in various social media and in multi-media networks around the world. The problem is that government institutions were not able to stop this practice due to lack of evidence presented by the victims unless there are facts and pieces of evidence that point out with the existence of the incident. Bullying cites several injuries, psychological damage, and mental degradation due to the infliction of harm towards the victim. Bullying is implemented when laws become serious enough to stop future incidents. Government institutions should install agencies that monitor bullying. If bullying practices are usually ignored, there will be more individuals affected by physical harm, psychological degradation, and mental stagnation. Tips on revising a research paper Check the format of your research if it is followed properly. Proofread to detect errors on the paper. Seek for your adviser’s additional comments on the research then revise. Scan your paper to scanning software to further correct errors on your research paper. Allow your colleagues to check the paper for any changes that can be applied.

Atlantic Cod Information and Facts

Atlantic Cod Information and Facts The Atlantic cod was called by author Mark Kurlansky, the fish that changed the world. Certainly, no other fish was as formative in the settlement of the eastern coast of North America, and in forming the booming fishing towns of New England and Canada. Learn more about the biology and history of this fish below. Atlantic Cod Descriptive Features Cod are greenish-brown to gray on their sides and back, with a lighter underside. They have a light line that runs along their side, called the lateral line. They have an obvious barbel, or whisker-like projection, from their chin, giving them a catfish-like appearance. They have three dorsal fins and two anal fins, all of which are prominent. There have been reports of cod that were as long as 6 1/2 feet and as heavy as 211 pounds, although the cod typically caught by fishermen today are much smaller. Classification Kingdom: AnimaliaPhylum: ChordataClass: ActinopterygiiOrder: GadiformesFamily: GadidaeGenus: GadusSpecies: morhua Cod are related to haddock and Pollock, which also belong to the family Gadidae. According to FishBase, the Gadidae family contains 22 species. Habitat and Distribution The Atlantic cod ranges from Greenland to North Carolina. Atlantic cod prefer waters close to the ocean bottom. They are most commonly found relatively shallow waters less than 500 feet deep. Feeding Cod feed on fish and invertebrates. They are top predators and used to dominate the ecosystem of the North Atlantic Ocean. But overfishing has caused huge changes in this ecosystem, resulting in an expansion of cod prey such as urchins (which have since been overfished), lobsters and shrimp, leading to a system out of balance. Reproduction Female cod are sexually mature at 2-3 years, and spawn in winter and spring, releasing 3-9 million eggs along the ocean bottom. With this reproductive potential, it may seem that cod should be abundant forever, but the eggs are vulnerable to wind, waves and often become prey to other marine species. Cod may live to over 20 years. Temperature dictates a young cods rate of growth, with cod growing more quickly in warmer water. Because of the cods dependence on a certain range of water temperature for spawning and growth, studies on cod have focused on how cod will respond to global warming. History Cod attracted Europeans to North America for short-term fishing trips and eventually enticed them to stay as fishermen profited from this fish that had flaky white flesh, a high protein content and low fat content.  As Europeans explored North America looking for passage to Asia, they discovered an abundance of huge cod and started fishing along the coast of what is now New England, using temporary fishing camps. Along the rocks of the New England coast, settlers perfected the technique of preserving cod through drying and salting so it could be transported back to Europe and fuel trade and business for the new colonies. As put by Kurlansky, cod had lifted New England from a distant colony of starving settlers to an international commercial power. Fishing for Cod Traditionally, cod was caught using handlines, with larger vessels sailing out to fishing grounds and then sending men in small dories to drop a line in the water and pull in cod. Eventually, more sophisticated and effective methods, such as gill nets and draggers were used. Fish processing techniques also expanded. Freezing techniques and filleting machinery eventually led to the development of fish sticks, marketed as a healthy convenience food. Factory ships started catching fish and freezing it out at sea. Overfishing caused cod stocks to collapse in many areas. Status Atlantic cod are listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. Despite overfishing, cod are still fished commercially and recreationally. Some stocks, such as the Gulf of Maine stock, are no longer considered overfished. Sources Kurlansky, Mark. Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World. Walker and Company, 1997, New York.Gadus morhua, Atlantic Cod. MarineBio, 2009.NMFS. Atlantic Cod. FishWatch - U.S. Seafood Facts, 2009.Brief History of the Groundfishing Industry of New England. Northeast Fisheries Science Center.