Book Review on Platoon Leader: A Memoir of Command in Combat

James R. McDonough once stated that his story is not a comprehensive documentation of the Vietnam War, but a mere account of an American platoon leader in battle. Lt. McDonough had, for a year after West Point, been situated in specialized training bases to be part of an airborne brigade. And as he was readily equipped, he was brought to the Strategic Hamlet Program – formed by the US armed forces in the 1960s to weaken the Viet Cong through civilian control, which, failed in the 1970s. Nevertheless, the US armed forces have not dissolved this program yet. 2nd Lieutenant McDonough found himself commanding a platoon led by a non-commissioned officer. Everyone was in low morale and inefficient as the lieutenant McDonough was replacing refused to wage war – all the time keeping the platoon from being harmed. Setting his goals straight, McDonough looked forward to gain the loyalty of his platoon, as well as, completing the mission with minimal or no casualties on their part. Mc Donough journeyed through a difficult period of founding leadership. He practiced careful observation and frequent combats with the enemy to lay out plans that would ensure an accomplished mission. An air of loneliness have also been created throughout the whole story as platoon men shared their piece of sufferings, fears and yearnings both in their military and personal lives. The novel provided a realistic point of view to both sides of the war – good and bad, the thoughts that prevail to each character in the story and the choices each one of them has to make in the line of duty (Hopkins). The three things this memoir might embed in the reader’s mind might include: Doing the right thing – in the right time and with the right reasons; There is a given responsibility each soldier has to his fellow comrades – it is to protect them at all costs; and Tiny mischiefs might ignite large conflicts – this should teach vigilance in discipline (Jacobs). These are just three of three of the important points presented in this memoir. But, among the most significant to note is leadership. He has set goals for a demoralized group of men, has aided each one of them to brave in realizing these goals, and ensuring that each of his men savor the success of these goals. McDonough made a comparison between good and bad leadership through the two lieutenants – the non-commissioned officer who refuses to fight, and he who wishes to be a real leader. Vivid details in the memoir bring the setting come to life along with the compelling set of characters. McDonough seemingly did not find it necessary to delve much in the morbid images of the war, rather, on the relationships that developed throughout the story. It was reflected in moments of irony and humor – an indication of the need to be resilient. He also enumerated different strategies and tactics that had been formulated during the war. These relationships were part of the humanizing aspects of the story, including issues that involve latrines. McDonough filled his memoir with discovering varied kinds of relationships with different men – from high-ranking men to allies and enemies, and civilians. It was a compilation of the view and experiences of war by different people. The Platoon Leader also indicated the ethics and morals of the war, the dehumanizing possibility a soldier might come across in the cruelty of the war. McDonough’s instrument character in this memoir is his being a leader – it enabled him to explore relationships, establish a set of war ethics and morals, a progression into a real leader. He portrayed a wise, humane, tough and firm leader, under the most difficult circumstances. The novel is a profound documentation on wartime virtues – making it a very important piece in American literature (Mazza). References: Hopkins, Martha. â€Å"Platoon Leader: A Memoir of Command in Combat.† 2003.25 May 2007 . Jacobs. â€Å"Platoon Leader: A Memoir of Command in Combat : Review.† 2007. 25 May 2007 . Mazza, Michael. â€Å"Platoon Leader: A Memoir of Command in Combat: Review.† 2004. 25 May 2007

Dell Promotion Objectives Essay

Dell’s sales promotion strategies are depended on the different type of consumers such as loyal customers, competitor’s customers, Brand switchers, and prize buyers. A repeated purchase which is the sales promotion objective is very important for any company to reach their goal. Dell offers its customers an option to purchase on internet and to contact Dell employees if they have any problems or questions. . Internet is the most efficient and purest sell model of Dell where consumers’ accesses not only buy the products but also get service and support. Recently, the company recruits more than 2.6 million visitors in every week and form online marketing of Dell, company earn more than $40 million in revenue per week. Moreover, Dell sends off coupon, special offers and also eye catching display of new technology to the customers. Promotions Dell’s strategy was built around a number of core elements: build-to-order manufacturing, mass customization, partnerships with suppliers, just-in-time components inventories, direct sales, market segmentation, customer service, and extensive data and information sharing with both supply partners and customers. Through this strategy, the company hoped to achieve what Michael Dell called â€Å"virtual integration†Ã¢â‚¬â€a stitching together of Dell’s business with its supply partners and customers in real time such that all three appeared to be part of the same organizational team. Dell’s promotional strategies include: 1. Direct Sales: Selling Direct to customers gave Dell firsthand information about customer preferences and needs, as well as immediate feedback on design problems and quality glitches. With thousands of phone and fax orders daily, Internet sales, and daily contacts between the field sales force and customers of all types, the company kept its finger on the market pulse, quickly detecting shifts in sales trends and getting prompt feedback on any problems with its products. Management believed Dell’s ability to respond quickly gave it a significant advantage over rivals, particularly over PC makers in Asia that made large production runs and sold standardized products through retail channels. Dell saw its direct sales approach as a totally customer-driven system that allowed quick transitions to new  generations of components and PC models. 2. Market segmentation: To make sure that each type of customer was well served, Dell had made speco finer, more homogeneous categories. 90 percent of Dell’s sales were to business or government institutions and of those 70 percent were to large corporate customers who bought at least $1 million in PCs annually. Many of these large customers typically ordered thousands of units at a time. Dell had hundreds of sales representatives calling on large corporate and institutional accounts. Its customer list included Shell Oil, Exxon, MCI, Ford Motor, Toyota, Eastman Chemical, Boeing, Goldman Sachs, Oracle, Microsoft, Michelin, Unilever, Deutsche Bank, Sony and Wal-Mart. However, no one customer represented more than 2 percent of total sales. Because corporate customers tended to buy the most expensive computers, Dell commanded the highest average selling prices in the industry—over $1,600 versus an industry average under $1,400. Dell’s sales to individuals and small b usinesses were made by telephone, fax, and the Internet. It had a call center in the United States with toll-free lines; customers could talk with a sales representative about specific models, get information faxed or mailed to them, place an order, and pay by credit card. The call centers were equipped with technology that routed calls from a particular country to a particular call center. Thus, for example, a customer calling from Lisbon, Portugal, was automatically directed to the call center in Montpelier, France, and connected to a Portuguese-speaking sales representative. Dell began Internet sales at its Web site (www.dell.com) in 1995; almost overnight achieving sales of $1 million per day. In 1997 Internet sales reached an average of $3 million daily, hitting $6 million some days during the Christmas shopping period. The fastest growing segment of Dell’s international segment was through Internet Sales. Internet sales were about equally divided between sales to individuals and sales to business customers. 3. Advertising: Michael Dell was a strong believer in the power of advertising and frequently espoused its importance in the company’s strategy. Thus, Dell was the first computer company to use comparative ads, throwing barbs at Compaq’s higher prices. The company regularly had prominent ads in such leading computer publications as PC Magazine and PC World, as well as in USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, and other business publications. In the spring of 1998, the company debuted a multi-year  worldwide TV campaign to strengthen its brand image. Recently, Dell India has launched an integrated marketing campaign for its Inspiron range of laptops. A TVC targeting the youth, created by Grey Worldwide, went on air across entertainment channels. This new campaign is based on stories of ‘personal achievement’. 4. Customer Service: Service became a feature of Dell’s strategy. The company provides a guarantee of free on-site service. Dell contracted with local service providers to handle customer requests for repairs; on-site service was provided on a next-day basis. Dell also provided its customers with technical support via a toll-free number, fax, and e-mail. Bundled service policies were a major selling point for winning corporate accounts. If a customer preferred to work with his or her own service provider, Dell gave that provider the training and spare parts needed to service the customer’s equipment. Selling direct allowed Dell to keep close track of the purchases of its large global customers, country by country and department by department— the information that customers found valuable. Maintaining its close customer relationships allowed Dell to become quite knowledgeable about its customers’ needs and how their PC network functioned. Aside from using this information to help customers plan their PC needs and configure their PC networks, Dell used its knowledge to add to the value it delivered to its customers. Corporate customers paid Dell fees to provide support and service.. Dell’s strategy was to manage the flow of information gleaned from customer service activities both to improve product quality and speed execution. In recent months Dell, following Compaq’s lead, had created a capital services group to assist customers with financing their PC networks. Virtual Integration and information sharing: But what was unique about Dell’s strategy was how the company was using technology and information-sharing with both supply partners and customers to blur the traditional arm’s-length boundaries in the supplier- manufacturer-customer value chain that characterized Dell’s earlier business model and other direct-sell competitors. Michael Dell referred to this feature of Dell’s strategy as â€Å"virtual integration.† On-line communications technology made it easy for Dell to communicate inventory levels and replenishment needs to vendors daily or even hourly. In this regard, a number of Dell’s corporate accounts were large enough to justify dedicated  on-site teams of Dell employees. Customers usually welcomed such teams, preferring to focus their time and energy on the core business rather than being distracted by PC purchasing and servicing issues. 5. Regional Forums: Dell had set up a number of regional forums to stimulate the flow of information back and forth with customers. The company formed Platinum Councils composed of its largest customers in the United States, Europe, Japan, and the Asia-Pacific region; regional meetings were held every six to nine months. Customers were provided opportunities to share information and learn from one another as well as exchange ideas with Dell personnel. Dell found that the information gleaned from customers at these meetings assisted in forecasting demand for the company’s product. 6. Customized Intranet sites: Dell had developed customized intranet sites (called Premier Pages) for its largest global customers; these sites gave customer personnel immediate on-line access to purchasing and technical information about the specific configurations of products that their company had purchased from Dell or that were currently authorized for purchase. Demand Forecasting Accurate sales forecasts were the key to keeping costs down and minimizing inventories, given the complexity and diversity of the company’s product line. Because Dell worked diligently to maintain a close relationship with its large corporate and institutional customers, and because it sold direct to small customers via telephone and the Internet, it was possible for the company to keep a finger on the pulse of demand—what was selling and what was not. Moreover, the company’s market segmentation strategy paved the way for in-depth understanding of its customers’ evolving requirements and expectations. Having credible real-time information about what customers were actually buying and having firsthand knowledge of large customers’ buying intentions gave Dell strong capability to forecast demand. Furthermore, Dell passed that knowledge on to suppliers so they could plan their production accordingly. The company worked hard at managing the flow of information it got from the marketplace and seeing that it got to both internal groups and vendors in timely fashion. Research and Development Company management believed that it was Dell’s job to sort out all the new technology coming into the marketplace and help steer customers to options  and solutions most relevant to their needs. The company talked to its customers frequently about â€Å"relevant technology,† listening carefully to customers’ needs and problems and endeavoring to identify the most cost-effective solutions. The company’s R&D unit also studied and implemented ways to control quality and to streamline the assembly process. Much time went into tracking all the new developments in components and software to ascertain how they would prove useful to computer users.

What is a good Parent Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

What is a good Parent - Essay Example The responsibility or duty of parents to build the personality of their child starts from the very first day, they are there when the child takes his or her first step, they are there when the child speaks the first word, when the child goes to school first time, and they are there with their child till the end of their life. Good parents are those who are always there to encourage their children and help them in becoming what they want to be (Gross, 1996). Parents hold the most important place in the lives of their children and in the development of the overall personality of the children, as they are the first source of information and learning. It is a normal phenomenon that most of the children idealize their parents, hence good parents are those who lead by example and teach their children at every step of life. Parents teach their children the norms and values and they teach them love, respect, language, in short parents teach the way to live the life. In order to be a good parent one has to be strict and loving at the same time. Some of the characteristics which help parents in fulfilling their responsibility in an efficient manner are care, love, respect, appreciation, dedication and honesty. It is injustice with the parents to judge them on the basis of the behavior and attributes of their kids. There is a general perception in the society that if a certain kid has bad habits and unpleasant personality then the parents of this kid are not good. Most of the time the case is opposite, there is high possibility that children with bad habits have good parents. But it is the tradition in the society to blame parents for the misbehavior and ill practices of the children. There are two main ingredients required to become a good parent; strong devotion and focus to make the life of a child better. Parents can always become good parents with practice and sincere desire to make an impact on the life of child.

Dysrhythmia Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Dysrhythmia - Research Paper Example Oxygenated blood from the lungs is pumped to the body cells, the blood returns to the heart devoid of oxygen and is pumped to the lungs for oxygenation. The process repeats itself several times without ever halting (Balachander & Rajagopal, 2011). Basic normal EKG waveform morphology The electrocardiogram (EKG) works as a voltmeter, using twelve leads (electrodes) placed on specific areas of the body. It basically records the electrical activity of the heart at the body surfaces. Ordinarily, the SA node depolarizes spontaneously, initiating an action impulse which swiftly propagates through the atria, leading to atria contraction, then proceeds to the AV node before getting to the Purkinje system to the ventricles (Stein, 2012). This leads to the ventricular contraction. The EKG consists of waves and complexes hence the wave form morphology. In a normal sinus rhythm, the waves and complexes include the P wave, PR segment, PR Interval, T wave, QRS Complex, QT Interval and the ST Segme nt. The waves and complexes work in a complex system that consequently measure electrical activity of the heart. At the onset is the P wave that lasts not more than 0.12 seconds, usually occasioned by the atria’s depolarization. The nature of the P wave is smooth and positive (Stein, 2012). The PR interval then picks and ends at the QRS complex which signifies the onset of ventricular depolarization. Connected to the PR interval is the PR segment which is the EKG wave portion that corresponds to the period between the atria depolarization conclusion to the onset of the ventricular depolarization. At this time the impulse in the heart travels from the AV node through the conducting tissue towards the ventricles. The segment is isoelectric in nature. During ventricular depolarization, the ventricles undergo depolarization and this is represented in the waveform by the QRS complex. It ordinarily ranges between 0.04 seconds to 0.12 seconds and is measured from the onset of the fi rst deflection to the conclusion of the last deflection. Another isoelectric segment occurs typically referred to as the ST segment. It represents ventricular muscle contraction time before any depolarization takes place. Isoelectric segments represents durations in which no electric activities occur. The period between the onset of the QRS segment and the end of the T wave is represented in the waveform by the QT interval. This represents the period of ventricular depolarization up to the ventricular depolarization. The T wave essentially represents ventricular repolarization. The EKG thus represents the entire electric activity of the heart through the waveform morphology (Stein, 2012). Types of dysrhythmia Dysrhythmia is a condition of the heart that causes variation in the regular beat of the heart. Ordinarily it manifests in slow heart beat, skipping a heart beat or sudden changes in heart beat. The common types of dysrhythmia include: Bradycardia which refers to a heart beat f ewer than sixty beats per minute in an adult. Tachycardia, a condition in which the heart beats more than one hundred times per minute in an adult. Sick sinus syndrome, the heart rate slows down, at times the rates varying between slow and fast. Atrial flutter, a condition in which the heart beats very fast at around three hundred and fifty beats per minute, but usually steady (Day, 2012). Features and treatment The conditions described in the previous paragraph best serve

Europe's Promise Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Europe's Promise - Essay Example Thus, while America has been instrumental in supporting the revolution and reestablishment of post world war II Europe, it is now emerging that another world power is developing. However, the difference between American as a superpower and the emerging Europe world power is that; Europe has collectively embraced all the social, environmental and economic strategies that will create an economic hub that is less prone to financial crisis, a social setting that affords social, cultural and welfare sustainability for its population, as well as an environmental focus that will enhance environmental sustainability (Hill, 43). Europe’s new promise is to develop a human society that has economic security and empowerment, and which has embraced global new vision for humans; the vision of wellbeing and comfort. The argument of the book is that the social capitalist approach is the best hope for the future generational stability in the world, as opposed to the pure capitalism approach ap plied by the United States, which has served to alienated its people since the end of the world war II, through creating a society that is lacking in equality and economic sustainability (Hill, 52). The consequence has been the creation of a society that is divided right through the middle, with a certain percentage of the American society joining the higher class, a class defined by immense wealth, while there is still another class on the bottom of the hierarchy that is poverty-stricken. The social and economic inequality has been contributed by the purely capitalist approach, which enables the rich and the owners of the factors of production to continuously enrich themselves, while the lower class of workers rarely gets an opportunity to move up the ladder (Hill, 117). It is such a system that has created an American society where the population obtains less for the value of their money, since when the costs of out-of-pocket services are combined with the taxes that the American pays, the value is equivalent with that of the European population, yet the value of the public services delivered to the Americans are much lower (Hill, 33). Therefore, the hope for the new and emerging democracies should lie on the constitutional reforms applied by the European nations, as opposed to the libertarian approach that is characteristic of the United States democracy. Further, the European healthcare and the social welfare systems are more efficient and effective in catering for the European vast population, compared to those of America, where the provision of healthcare is not equitable and universal, and thus there is no guarantee for the health welfare of the American population (Hill, 272). Additionally, the social welfare system of America is inequitable and does not take good care of the older generation, most of whom, are left to grapple with the problem of catering for their health services after retirement, considering that the social welfare system is not well integrated with the healthcare system, to ensure the holistic caring of the population. Similarly, the labor rights in the European countries are based on an equitable system

Who Benefits from College Pressures Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Who Benefits from College Pressures - Essay Example Those were: economic pressure, parental pressure, peer pressure and self-induced pressure. For sure, those pressures haven’t become weaker today. Students differ, yet there have always been those highly motivated ones, doing their best in attempt to satisfy and exceed high academic standards. This group enhances college pressure, spreading it upon the rest of students. Young people all over the country courageously struggle through academic years gritting their teeth and suppressing their natural inclinations. All these sacrifices are done in the name of the golden calf and absurd ideas. However, it stays unclear, who benefits from this race. College pressures do more harm than good. Economic and parental pressures, being interrelated, are the major sources of students’ uneasiness. Today the USA goes through difficult economic conditions. Life is expensive and the competition in the society is as high as it has never been before. It is easy to get frightened about your future. Loving parents dream of the success of their children. They are ready to assist in achieving this success. Certainly, they expect their offspring to be grateful for this assistance, thus placing a heavy burden on the youth striving for freedom and self-realization. The puzzle seems simple: having graduated from a prestigious college and having got a prestigious profession, one finds himself on the top of life (or at least somewhere near it). Education costs ever more, and the young people, who are enrolled, feel an obligation to their parents. Many of them pursue the career chosen by their parents, while their own vocation is rejected as non-beneficial. Abandoned dreams do not disapp ear without leaving a trace. They continue disturbing one’s imagination and spirit. As the result, students follow the path chosen by others, feeling deeply unhappy and discontented. They realize that something is wrong but often cannot admit that they are lying to themselves.  Ã‚  

The Holiday Market Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The Holiday Market - Assignment Example Geographic segmentation divides the market in terms of cities, countries, regions or locality. This may also include the size of the area, population and climatic conditions. Psychographic variable takes into account people’s lifestyles and attitudes. Socio-economic basis helps the marketers to target selected products to different segments thus made. In addition to the above bases for segmentation, because of changes in consumer demands, several other bases for segmentation have been found. These include behavioral and attitudinal segmentation. Behavioral segmentation is undertaken based on how the customers know or respond to the use of the product. The holiday sector is seasonal and hence based on the occasion, segmentation can be undertaken. Customer behavior also pertains to usage and loyalty and these are also used as bases for segmentation on this sector (Tutor2u, n.d.). Marketers can engage in attitudinal segmentation but Diaz-Martin et al., find that people with diffe rent attitudes may also end up buying the same brand or having the same preferences. The attitude determines the preference for the activity and some may choose hill trekking while others prefer scuba diving. All the above bases for segmentation as discussed above do not apply to all areas within the holiday market. In the air sector segmentation based on expected sales is redundant. Latent class segmentation is undertaken which is based on consumer perception of brand, price promotion, sales personnel and product line (Bond & Morris, 2003). Customer expectations are not homogenous and airlines also use customer expectation as an important segmentation variable. Expectations influence the perceived service quality which helps to gain competitive... The Holiday Market Segmentation comes naturally to human beings. Segmentation helps focus on the specific market and service its needs accordingly. The market has to be defined in terms of the end users of the products or services. Sales and marketing is not about getting any customer but to select a homogenous group of customers. This helps devise the right marketing mix strategy as market segmentation is a proactive process involving several analytical techniques (Goller, Hogg and Kalafatis, 2002). This paper evaluates the different bases that marketers use to select their target market. It also examines the segment that is likely to increase or decrease in the next decade. Based on this analysis, the paper recommends how holiday marketers can monitor and devise their marketing strategy. What bases for segmentation might be appropriate in the holiday business? The holiday market is highly competitive and fragmented and hence the segmentation is based on different factors. In fact segmentation in the holiday market could differ for different products. For instance segmentation in transportation could differ from segmentation strategy adopted by the hotels. Segmentation can be based on factors such as demographic, socio-economic, geographical, or psychographic. On review of the above discussion and research it can be concluded that holiday marketers would have to segment their customers based on demographics even if it is considered an outdated method of segmentation. The older customers’ is a high potential segment which prefers package holidays as they seek convenience, comfort, security and safety.