Economic Integration in Latin America a Reality or a Mith Free Essays

Economic Integration in LATAM: A Reality or a Myth Oscar R. Martinez Latin American International Relations 19 March 2013 Integration for Latin American (LATAM) states has been an overarching approach when discussing foreign relations in the western hemisphere. Much of the literature proposed in this class proposes the intentions of LATAM states to integrate at different levels. We will write a custom essay sample on Economic Integration in Latin America: a Reality or a Mith? or any similar topic only for you Order Now However, this paper will demonstrate that regional economic integration is formally happening. Yet, it remains weak and inconclusive. Internal bureaucracy and the lack of commitment to these integration efforts overshadow the intentions for economic integration. This paper will examine the different strategic options for economic integration in LATAM, the reason why LATAM states seek for economic integration and most importantly the factors impeding and weakening regional integration in the western hemisphere. This analysis is based on the historical evidence of LATAM states’ behavior and trading trends. To grasp the ongoing economic liberalization policies in LATAM, we must first understand viable strategic options of economic integration for LATAM states. After the Cold War, Latin America faced a prospect of marginalization. The distinctive economic disadvantages to compete in the world economics presented different strategic integration options that could provide the foundation for long-term development and growth. Peter H. Smith proposed four different economic integration options for Latin America at the beginning of the new millennium: unilateral liberalization, joining with the North, extra-hemispheric partnership, and regional integration. These strategic models accentuated the different available options LATAM states could consider in order to the meet political and economic agendas. The first strategic option available is the unilateral liberalization of economic programs to strengthen commercial and financial ties with major power centers. This option allows countries to center on export-led development were internal policies focuses on the diversification of products and partners and continually seek foreign investments from multiple sources. Chile is an example of using this lucrative option. Before Pinochet, Chile exercised protectionist trade policies that suffocated its trading opportunities throughout the globe. Pinochet’s economic reforms resembled this option advocating free trade and allowing Chile to develop commercial ties with Europe, Japan, and the United States without allowing dependence to any single trade partner. Chile has the most signed free trade agreements in South America. The second strategic option is joining economic grounds with the United States. This alternative seems beneficial for LATAM countries because it also integrates them with the world economy. LATAM states understand the current economic position of the United States and its interdependence in the global economy; this assertion could incentivize other countries to meet their economic ambitions at a global scale. Countries view this option as an opportunity to integrate with the strongest world’s economy, which will enable them to gain prestige and trading opportunities in the global market. Mexico has followed this option, mostly because of its geographic proximity to the United States, benefitting from the free access to the U. S. market—with NAFTA— and tormenting from its sole dependence. In 2011, nearly 80% of Mexico’s exports were tied to the United States. This can be referred as â€Å"putting most of your eggs in one basket. † Nevertheless, the Mexican economy has significantly grown since NAFTA. The third strategic options is seeking extra-hemispheric partnership. LATAM leaders have the option to develop economic ties with extra-hemispheric trading blocs such as the European Union and the Asian-Pacific Region. LATAM countries to offset the hegemonic position of the United States often use this option. Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Cuba, Peru, and Venezuela have made remarkable efforts in exercising this option in the past decade. Some countries and/or regional trading blocs see this as a feasible option due to the competition and intense bureaucratic limitations within their own region or subregion. Consequently, this option allows LATAM states to diversify their trading partnership. The fourth and final strategic option is the main focus for this paper. The regional/subregional economic integration option affirms self-reliance. This alternative provides a realistic approach in changing economic configurations of international power. Therefore, we must further examine this option and explain why LATAM insist on integrating their economies. Regional economic integration agreements depend on the motivation, form, coverage and content. It is often that the major actors set the agenda not only with the view of constructing and retaining power at that regional level but also to establish global precedents. According to Smith, â€Å"given the diversity of interests and economic structures, Latin American leaders have focused not only on continental unification but on subregional integration—projects for economic cooperation among groups of Latin American countries, rather than for the continent as a whole. † The level of interest in regional integration depends on what cost/benefit (political and economical) analysis in the countries involved. We can argue that Latin America is not homogeneous block, therefore, the different intentions and needs from each country drive regional economic integration at different scales. Nevertheless, LATAM countries insist in integrating their economies for more relevant factors. First, they wanted to keep their market open for trade (market liberalization). After the Cold War, developing countries in the region needed to increase their trade opportunities in order to level the economic blow caused by developed nations. Open markets increase economic development among partner countries and enhance interaction and cooperation between states and markets. Economic Integration is also a way to overcome the limitation of small domestic markets. Second, countries want to compete with other regional integration options. Countries that feel limited to an outside regional trading bloc will try to form its own to level the plain field. The Andean Pact (1989) was the first economic integration effort in the western hemisphere. Others followed immediately after this economic block was established: Central American Common Market (CACM—1990), Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR—1991), and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA—1993). LATAM countries were pressured to compete as a bloc instead as single element. Third, common norms and ideals spreading to the region encouraged economic integration between these countries. Former Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez led a common anti-US movement to contest different political and economic views. The Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA) formed by President Chavez intended a regional cooperation of many LATAM countries based on the idea of the social, political and economic integration. The Bolivarianism movement is an effort to balance against the Washington consensus and liberal markets sponsored by the US. These type economic integrations have more of a completion of economic, social and political ideals. Diana Tussie articulates, â€Å"Regionalism in Latin America is not just a single tidy entity but has given way to many coexisting and competing projects with fuzzy boundaries. † Regional integration provides a variety of incentives for LATAM countries, however, not everything is as easy as it seems. LATAM effort for regional integration started in 1960 with the Latin American Free trade association (LAFTA), however, this and other regional integration projects failed due to the internal and external factor that limited or impeded its success. Numerous internal and external factors impeding effective economic integration continue to weaken these regional efforts. Internal factors such as commodities-based economies and domestic policies influence the commitment and participation to these integration projects. External factors such other attractive international options also weakens the regional economic integration. Regional integration is constantly threatened by these factors and it is more evident in Latin America. Despite of the formal integration, the effectiveness of these regional institutions is directly affected by domestic elements. The first internal factor affecting this regional integration endeavors is the number of commodities-based economies. The commodities for countries are not complimentary with each other. Competition for the open trade in the global market becomes fiercely competitive. Countries will ignore treaties to gain competitive advantage. The â€Å"commodity lottery† or the random allocation of natural resources endowments seems to be an influential factor when deciding trading partners. For example, Brazil and Argentina are both members of MERCOSUR, but both are competing for the right to export their agricultural and energy products outside the region. Tussie reveals this issue by stating that â€Å"regional institutions remain feeble, honoured more in spirit than in letter, and intra-regional relations are frayed with competing development projects. † The second internal factor is domestic policies. This factor impeding the effective economic integration is broken in two different elements: changes in regime and bureaucratic domestic pressures. The constant changes of political regimes affect the stability of a regional institution. Establishments of new political reforms will directly affect economic ambitions set in treaties by previous regimes. An example of General Pinochet economic reform in Chile has isolated its regional neighbors. The drastic withdrawal of Chile from the Andean Pact and the sway of neo-liberalism generated major economic crises, antagonism to region-wide industrial planning, and a backlog of non-compliance decisions in the region. Hugo Chavez in Venezuela has also stirred the pot on the new endeavors for MERCOSUR, making this trading bloc more of a political instrument rather than an economic integration system. Other domestic pressures come from the legislative institutions blocking and making these trading initiatives almost impossible to achieve. The bureaucratic process to ratify new or change current treaties—in particular Free Trade Agreements—seems to discourage any further economic integrations. Countries such as Colombia, Chile, Costa Rica would rather sign unilateral treaties than entering into a regional bloc. The final factor affecting the economic integration in Latin America is the recognition of a more attractive option outside their region to integrate their economies. Research shows that less than 28 percent of the overall trade in in Latin America is intra-regional. This means that economic institutions in Latin America do not take advantage or effectively use their regional partners for trade. For most of the LATAM countries, their top five trading partners include the United States, China, and the European Union. Again, the â€Å"commodity lottery† plays a huge role in the influence of why these countries prefer other international states for economic integration. The United States is the most important trading partner for most of the LATAM countries. The economies of many of these LATAM countries depend on the import and export with the United States. Their economic dependence influences some regional decisions. Nevertheless, these economic decisions could be used to balance against the United State, even though; this could also hurt their own economy. For example, Venezuela’s largest trading partner is the United States. Yet, Venezuela’s domestic and regional economic policies continue to challenge those economic practices it depends the most on. Another huge external factor is the emergence of China and its economic influence in Latin America. LATAM countries see China as a potential alternative from the northern hegemony. Also, China’s manufacturing industry is highly competitive from those in Latin America. Many countries would prefer cheaper Chinese manufactured good than a more expensive one from their regional partners. China indeed affected the regional integration in Latin America. As expressed by Tussie, referring to regional economic institutions, â€Å"it has as an ‘epic’ status as a preferred tool for promoting social rather than mere market goals. † Historically, regional integration has always been part of the LATAM culture. Whether for political or economic gains, the effort to form these institutions is relevant and somehow too optimistic. This paper displays different economic options LATAM states have in regards to economic integration. It also defines regional or subregional integration and lists some of the reasons why LATAM states insist in regional integration. Finally, the evidence and examples shown of the internal and external factors that impede and/or weaken regional integration support the following conclusion. A pragmatic approach in the economic and trading decisions seem to dominate the foreign policies of most LATAM countries, affecting the strength, legitimacy, and relevance of these formal regional institutions. ——————————————- [ 1 ]. Peter H. Smith, â€Å"Strategic Options for Latin America,† Latin America in the New World System, in Latin America in the New International System, ed. Joseph Tulchin and Ralph Espach (Boulder, Colorado: Lynne Rienner, 2001), 38. [ 2 ]. Ibid. , 35-36. [ 3 ]. Ibid. ,3 9. [ 4 ]. Ibid. , 39-41. [ 5 ]. â€Å"US Relations with Mexico,† Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, US Department of State, accessed on March 15, 2013, http://www. state. gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/35749. htm. [ 6 ]. Smith, â€Å"Strategic Options Latin America,† 46-53. [ 7 ]. Diana Tussie, â€Å"Latin America: Contrasting Motivations for Regional Projects,† Review of International Studies 35, S1 (2009), 169-188, doi:10. 1017/S026021050900847X. [ 8 ]. Smith, â€Å"Strategic Options Latin America,† 46. [ 9 ]. Tussie, â€Å"Contrasting Motivations Regional,† 170. [ 10 ]. Ibid. [ 11 ]. Francisco E. Gonzalez, â€Å"Latin America in the Economic Equation—Winners and Losers: What can losers do? † in China’s Expansion into the Western Hemisphere: Implications for Latin American and the United States, ed. Riordan Roett and Guadalupe Paz (Washington, D. C. :Brookings Institution Press, 2008), 151. [ 12 ]. Tussie, â€Å"Contrasting Motivations Regional,† 170. [ 13 ]. Ibid. , 174. [ 14 ]. â€Å"International Trade and Market Access Data,† World Trade Organization website, accessed on March 3, 2013, http://webservices. wto. org/resources/profiles/MT/TO/2011/WLD_e. pdf. [ 15 ]. â€Å"International Trade and Market Access Data,† World Trade Organization website, accessed on March 3, 2013, http://www. wto. org/english/res_e/statis_e/statis_bis_e. htm? solution=WTOpath=/Dashboards/MAPSfile= Map. wcdfbookmarkState={%22impl%22:%22client%22,%22params%22:{%22langParam%22:%22en%22}}. [ 16 ]. Tussie, â€Å"Contrasting Motivations Regional,† 176. How to cite Economic Integration in Latin America: a Reality or a Mith?, Essay examples

Media in Sports free essay sample

One of the paradoxes associated with the media coverage of sports is that the media open up new opportunities for spectators to view sports, but they also limit and define the experiences of spectators. Explain how the media can do both of these things simultaneously. Many people would agree that they would rather go to a sporting event rather then watching it on television. But on the other hand some would prefer to stay in the comfort of their own home.In the past decade or so, media has opened up new opportunities for spectators. When we watch sports on television the images and messages we hear are designed to heighten the content. By staying in and watching the game on television the viewer can see different camera angles, close-ups, slow motion shots, play by play description and so on. If one were to attend a sporting event they would not have the luxury of all that, but what they would have is the experience of being there. We will write a custom essay sample on Media in Sports or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Mind you, most facilities now do have screens where the fans can see replays and so forth. Another possibility may be installing in the seats a place to insert headphones to listen to commentary (like in a plane). Being at a sporting event, we able to be part of a group (spectators), being able to smell the grass, smell of the Ice. Enjoying the taste off hotdogs and a cold beer. There Is an excessive amount of media coverage that Is going on In the sports Industry.The nominators are constantly advertising things. Like Dry. Krieger said, Its not like the old days, the commentators would tell stories In between pitches or during rain delays. I personally cannot stand watching games on television. With all the commercials and ads here and there I lose Interest In the game. The media can do both things simultaneously by allowing the commentators to do their Job of commentating and when there Is a break In the game, then that Is when they can throw In the ads.

My First Day at Air Uni free essay sample

Orientation started on scheduled time. In the beginning we were addressed about academic years and some semester related terms. After that we were explained in detail about the rules and regulations that were to be strictly followed within the premises of the university. We found that the university was very strict about discipline and that the ones not abiding by the rules were to face the music. Followed by this was a detailed presentation given to us about the academic structure and administrative measures of university by our Head of Department, Mr..Dry. Bastard Allah Mali. He altered his way of speech and took the discussion towards a lighter side by cracking some decent jokes. Then we were informed about our class rooms and labs. We were gathered for an introductory trip. We were satisfied after the introductory session about the university. After that we were served with Tea. The University contained many lush green lawns which were really creating an atmosphere for knowledge sharing. We will write a custom essay sample on My First Day at Air Uni or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Our seniors were cheerful and welcoming. They informed us about the university in a great way.However some seniors were also ragging the juniors, but I Hough it to be a part of the game. But It was really meant for better relations and introduction. Some seniors ask juniors to sing song. There was a sports center were facilities for different sports and games were available. After that our seniors showed us the central library. University was a new experience for us in our lives. It was the beginning of new life commonly known as university life.

How to Build the Best LinkedIn Marketing Strategy For Your Business

How to Build the Best LinkedIn Marketing Strategy For Your Business When it comes to professional online networking LinkedIn is usually at the forefront of everyone’s minds. However, when people think about their social media marketing strategy, LinkedIn often becomes an afterthought. It doesn’t have to be, though. LinkedIn is an incredibly powerful B2B tool  that can help boost the buzz around your business. And with the right strategy, it can be immensely useful for building your brand. When you read this post, you be able to take away the following: Learn how to target the right B2B audience that will generate the right leads. Strategically create content that establishes your business as an expert in your industry. Measure your performance and understand if your efforts are successful. With all that knowledge you’ll be able to build the perfect LinkedIn marketing strategy for your business. This Is How To Build The Best LinkedIn Marketing Strategy For Your BusinessGet the 411 on Why Your Business Should Be On LinkedIn Looking for a reason to get your brand on LinkedIn? Weve got 25 of them on this free infographic. Jam-packed with relevant statistics and figures on the networks effectiveness as a marketing channel, you’ll learn why LinkedIn is one of the most powerful B2B tools you have at your disposal. Download it now and share with the skeptics in your professional circle. First, Determine What Your Goals Are The first step in your goal development process involves figuring out what your company goals are. Do you want to: Generate more leads? Drive traffic to the website? Increase content shares? Establish your business as an expert in the field? What are your top #LinkedIn #marketing goals?How Can LinkedIn Contribute To Your Business Goals? Once you have your goals set in place, you can begin to determine how LinkedIn can help you contribute to those overarching goals. Some benefits that LinkedIn  is known for are: Lead generation:  According to Hubspot, LinkedIn visitors convert 277%  more often to leads than visitors on other social media sites. Recruitment:  According to LinkedIn, social professional networks  are the number one source of quality hires. Brand Awareness:  LinkedIn is built on the basis of creating a network of connections, which can help kickstart your brand awareness by connecting with your potential audience members. Establishing Authority:  Because of its professional base, LinkedIn allows you to share information which if done in the right way can help establish the authority your business has. We’ll cover how you can create that content a bit later in this post. Depending on what overarching goals your team has selected, will determine how LinkedIn can help you reach them. For example, if one of your overarching business goals is to increase the number of sales leads for your company by 50%, working and networking on LinkedIn could help you reach that goal. Recommended Reading: How to Set Social Media Goals to Crush Your Business Objectives How To Track Conversions From LinkedIn in Google Analytics To set your leads goal, you need to find a base line. Open your Google Analytics, select Acquisition, then Social: In Social select Conversions, then LinkedIn.  Once there set your dates back and gather the last six  months  of conversion data: To track that data, you need to have goals  set for when you lead conversion occurs. For example, if a potential consumer filled out a contact us form, that they clicked on from your LinkedIn page, that would generate a lead. That number will act as your baseline and help you determine a solid growth percentage. For example, say that in the past six months I converted 1,000 leads and now I want to increase my leads by 25%, I’d want to add 250 more leads in the next six months. LinkedIn has also introduced LinkedIn Lead Gen Forms, which are an easy way to collect lead information straight from your profile. Are you generating leads with #LinkedIn Lead Gen forms?How To Determine How Much Traffic LinkedIn Is Referring To Your Website You can also find your referral traffic that is coming from LinkedIn in your Google Analytics page. Go back to Acquisition and then select All Traffic. From All Traffic select Referrals  and scroll down to find LinkedIn: In the graph, you’ll be able to see the total number of visitors LinkedIn is driving to your website as well as the overall percentage it’s contributing to. The same way that you set your goals for leads growth is going to apply here. Look at your past six months of data and set a reasonable growth percentage. Recommended Reading: How to Focus on 10X Growth Projects How To Track The Number Of Shares Your Content Is Receiving To find the number of shares your content has gained, you’re going to turn to the in-app analytics on your LinkedIn profile. Select Updates and change the drop down menu to Shares. To calculate your goals look at the average number of shares over the past six months and select a reasonable percentage growth goal. How To Use LinkedIn To Establish Your Business As The Expert In Your Industry How do you want to establish your business as the expert in your field? Are you going to publish more content? Or maybe jump in and interact with LinkedIn groups more often? It’s important to remember that interacting in a group or posting more often in a group won’t automatically establish your authority. The content you share needs to be informative, thought-provoking and original. While there isn’t a metric that is going to be able to tell you specifically that your business is authoritative, you can track metrics like follower growth, shares, and quality of engagement. Why those metrics? The more followers you begin to have, the more shares your content receives and the more your audience interacts with your content, the higher indication you’ll have that your audience is finding value in your content. How can you track that and create goals around those three metrics? Most of these metrics can be found in your in-app analytics. Go to your LinkedIn page and select Followers in your drop-down menu to find your follower growth and Updates to find your shares growth and overall message interactions: To set your goals you can either take the average of growth for the past six months of posts, or you can take the average for the week and build your goal based off of that average. Whatever your team decides to do, calculate your baseline and figure out how much your team wants to grow that baseline by. Recommended Reading: How to Use Social Media Analytics to Create the Best Posts Determine Who Your Audience Is You can’t create great content if you don’t know who you’re targeting it toward. The next part of your LinkedIn strategy involves figuring out who your target audience is. The important thing to remember is that LinkedIn is a B2B channel. You can’t just transfer your Facebook content to LinkedIn and call it good. This audience type needs to be catered to in a very specific way. Figuring out who will be part of your target audience involves thinking about: Who are they? What problems are they experiencing? Where are they experiencing their problems? When are they experiencing them Why  are they experiencing them? Recommended Reading: How to Find Your Target Audience And Create the Best Content That Connects Optimize Your Profile For Maximum Exposure One of the last steps in your strategy will be optimizing your LinkedIn profile for maximum exposure to your intended audience. Set Your Profile Picture Your profile picture should be your company logo and within the optimum  size image for LinkedIn. The standard size for LinkedIn is 400x400px. Utilize Your Banner Image Setting the right banner image can help bring more personality to your LinkedIn page. It can be standard like a CTA  or more unique, like a photo of your office: Make Sure Your Bio Is Completely Filled Out One of the most overlooked parts of any social profile is the biography. While this may seem like a small detail to deal with, having a bio that isn’t filled out is causing you to miss out on another opportunity to interact with your customer base. The nice thing about your LinkedIn bio is that it’s easy to edit with many parts of it allowing to drag and drop pieces in from your website. Check out this link  to learn how to edit your company profile. Now you might be wondering what does a great LinkedIn bio include? According to FindandConvert,  your business bio should include: A great company overview. You know better then anyone else what your company is all about. Take that space to tell your audience what you’re about. Do you have a mission statement or values that your company lives by? Add those in. Information about your products and services. What are you doing as a company that is setting you apart from the crowd? If a potential lead is experiencing a problem how can your company help solve it? If they don’t know what types of services you offer, why would they choose you? Recommendations.  92%  of people trust peer recommendations over advertising. Meaning why wouldn’t you showcase some of the recommendations you’ve received from your current clients. If someone is on the fence about your company, what better way could there be to persuade them. What does a great bio look like in real life? Check out this example from Bobcat: Establish Voice And Tone The next part of your strategy involves creating a professional voice and tone. What’s voice and tone, you ask? According to Buffer,â€Å"your voice is your brand personality described in an adjective while your tone adds a specific flavor to your voice depending on different factors or situations.† So let’s tackle voice first. What is your brand personality? Are you informative, thoughtful, political or purposeful? To help you get started, have your team write down three adjectives that describe your brand voice and together determine the final three that your company is going to embody online. Here is a list to help you get started if you’re stuck: Once you have your final three adjectives decided you can move on to developing a specific tone for LinkedIn. Tone is going to be more specific, as it’s going to define how your voice sounds on LinkedIn. If your overall voice is modest, how do you want that to come across to the professionals you try and connect with on LinkedIn. Are you going to be modest with a professional tone or modest but excited? Now instead of choosing three adjectives, you’re going to choose one overarching tone that a majority of your messages on LinkedIn will be in. Remember that your tone will switch from time to time, depending on the situation that you’re posting. How can you find that balance between being personal but professional? Check out some of these examples. Target Target finds a balance between the professional and personal voice in this post by highlighting their company culture, while still maintaining a professional tone and demeanor: Adobe Adobe knows how to reach their audience of graphic designers and creators by appealing to their audience’s love of design, while still using language friendly enough for the non-designer audience members to understand: Ulta Beauty Among the three examples, Ulta is one of the more personal voices that is active on LinkedIn. Ulta works with many young men and women to help them find confidence in how they look. Therefore the brand needs to seem incredibly approachable. That’s why posts like this one work so well for their audience; it shows their intended audience how Ulta employees will go above and beyond to help make sure that someone loves the way they look: Be Smart About Your Content Strategy LinkedIn is so much more than publishing  posts and hoping that something sticks. Depending on the goals that you created earlier, your content and what you create for LinkedIn will shift. How you convey your content is important but so is, what types of content that you choose to share. Are you going to be sharing: Case studies White papers Blogs Slide Decks Video via YouTube Infographics LinkedIn Pulse posts These are all different content types that work well on LinkedIn. Recommended Reading: How to Develop a Winning Social Media Content Strategy [Free Template] Establish Your Company As An Expert In Your Industry If you want to be the go-to expert in your industry, LinkedIn is a great place to help you establish that reputation. However, that expertise status doesn’t come overnight and will take careful execution to get it to stick. How Can You Solve The Problems Your Customers Are Experiencing One way to establish your authority in your industry is to show how your company can solve specific problems, better than your competitors. Remember as a B2B business,  your target audience isn’t going to make a split-second decision, so showing them how you stand out above everyone else can help sway your target audience your way. How can you stand out to your potential audience? See if your content answers the following questions: Is our content empathizing with their problem? Is our content creating an emotional connection to where our potential customer is at in their buyer journey? Is our content drawing a line from point A to point B that connects our audience members problems to our solution? If your content isn’t highlighting the answers to at least one of those questions, it may be time to go back to the drawing board and see how you can help lead your audience to the conclusion that you are the company to work with. Take the Hilton brand for example. They have thousands of hotels, and part of their target audience could be getting traveling business people to invest in a stay at them. The post talks about how the new integrations in a travel app can help ease their stress levels. Hilton on LinkedIn: "Our new Hilton Honors integration... Our new Hilton Honors integration with the Travel and Transport Dash Mobile app looks to take some of the stress out of business travel. Learn more: ... Freely Share Your Knowledge To truly establish your authority on LinkedIn you need to be prepared to freely share your industry knowledge. What? That seems crazy, doesn’t it? Isn’t your insider knowledge something you’re supposed to keep to yourself? You could, but it wouldn’t help with your authority online. What can you do to freely share your knowledge with your audience? More importantly, how do you know when to hold information back? Share your knowledge when: It’s basic. What that means is that the information that you share with your audience may not be stuff they would know but other people in your industry would. Your customers are constantly experiencing a problem that you can show them how to fix. Why would you want to go and fix a 2 cent problem when you could show your audience how to fix it themselves? It saves their time and you get to focus on solving bigger problems. Don’t share your knowledge when: It’s a company secret.  If your company or brand has a secret way of doing something, like the Bush’s Baked Beans family recipe, you probably want to keep that to yourself. The topic is going to put their audience in over their heads.  If your solution is incredibly complex and would be difficult to do unless you had industry knowledge, keep that to yourself and have your customer contact you for help instead. Here's when you should (and shouldn't) share your knowledge on LinkedIn:A  great example of this, is one Jay Baer’s utilizes in his book Youtility.  According to Jay, Geek Squad has a ton of do-it-yourself  YouTube videos  that show people how to easily fix common computer tech problems. Jay explains that it might seem counterintuitive. Wouldn’t they want those people to come to them first? Not necessarily. Jay goes on to explain that eventually the person trying to fix their computer is going to become overwhelmed. Who are they going to turn to? A random computer company or the company they’ve already gotten all that information from? What could that look like on LinkedIn? Take for example. We’re constantly sharing information with our followers in order to give them the knowledge to create the best possible marketing content out there. We structure our social media posts to help answer common questions; like this one relating to how to start your own webinar. on LinkedIn: "Need help with doing a... Need help with doing a killer webinar? Here's our 4-stage approach: http://cos.sc/2uHievh Share The Most Valuable Content Possible We have a motto  here at :â€Å"To be the best marketing blog on the web.† That same motto can apply to your LinkedIn content, but instead of just producing the best content, you’re going to share the best content too. What does the best content on LinkedIn look like? The best content out there should be: Well-researched.  Well-researched content is backed by a plethora of different credible sources. What’s a credible source? This image from Contents  Magazine  breaks down the best types of credible sources that should be included in content that you share. Highly informative.  According to Roger Bryan, your content needs to to be unique and useful to your target audience. If you’re creating content that just rehashes what others have already said on the subject, you’re not informing your audience of anything because it’s information they already know. Authoritative. Isn’t that the same thing well-researched content? Not exactly. Authoritative content is the authority of your content overall; not just a single post. How much can people trust the content that you post to your LinkedIn page? You can build that  credibly  with your audience through publishing reliable, well-researched content. Utilize Your Highly Informative Content To Successfully Target Your Audience There are three key pieces that your content needs to follow for your company to successfully target your audience on LinkedIn. According to Content Marketing Institute  those types of content are: User generated content: Content that comes directly from your target audience. Expert content: Content that comes from industry experts. Branded content: Content that comes from your company. Is This Content Focused On a Topic That My Audience Cares About? If you’re creating content that’s outside your audience’s scope, why would they take the time to read it? Their time is already precious and limited; they’re not going to waste in on an article that has nothing to do with them. So how do you find topics that your audience cares about? Look to the influencers in your industry. How can I find influencers in my industry? Usually, a Google search will pull up major influencers in your industry. However, you can also check out popular LinkedIn groups to see who is having some major pull with your audience. What are they talking about that is causing other people to respond or share their content? If you want to be direct, survey your audience straight from your LinkedIn page. Ask what they want to hear and see you post about. How? LinkedIn doesn’t have a built-in polling feature like Twitter does but you can still create a poll through a tool like SurveyMonkey  or Google Forms. Most of these tools will have in form analytics which will allow you to gather data on your audience’s responses. Some common questions you could add into the survey are: What topics are we talking about that you enjoy us covering? What would you like to see us cover more? What would you like to know about our products and or our company? Set An Attainable Posting Schedule There are recommendations everywhere that give you a suggested optimum posting schedule.  While those are usually great starts the number of times your business needs to post to LinkedIn will depend on one thing, your audience. Your audience will tell you  how often you need to post to LinkedIn through how often they interact with your content. What? You’ll see strong or weaker interactions on your messages. For example, if you post five times a day and get three responses but then you post three times a day and get ten responses, that is a subtle way your audience is telling you what want they want to see from you. â€Å"But what if I want to know what an average posting schedule looks like?† According to 14 different studies  and our internal research, the following would be the start of an optimum posting schedule for LinkedIn:

The Hemingway Hero Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Hemingway Hero - Essay Example In words, the Hemingway heroes are "courageous, confident and introspective", and "he does not let his fears get to him (http://engliterarium.blogspot.com) "Although Ernest Hemingway's heroes have different names they are fundamentally the same person, drawing from the same traumatizing experiences. However emotionally disturbed, Hemingway's heroes always seem to have some hope guiding them into the future. Their characteristics are all very similar, and the characters often seem to blend seamlessly into each other" (http://www.directessays.com). Another way of describing the Hemingway hero is someone who has grace under pressure. The Hemingway heroes are described as "code heroes". "Hemingway defined the Code Hero as 'a man who lives correctly, following the ideals of honor, courage and endurance in a world that is sometimes chaotic, often stressful, and always painful.' He measures himself by how well he handle the difficult situations that life throws at him. In the end the Code Hero will lose because we are all mortal, but the true measure is how a person faces death. He believes in "Nada," a Spanish word meaning nothing. Along with this, there is no after life" (http://engliterarium.blogspot.com). In "A Days Wait", the hero is not the boy but his father. The story is very simple. It was about a boy and his dad, an encounter when the boy is sick and the father was taking care of his some. The father was typical of a Hemingway hero, similar to Nick, the hero in the story, "Father and Son". Although the boy reflects worries and anxieties, the father was the opposite. Amidst the emotional pressure of taking care of a sick loved one, the father remained calmed, that's why he was also able to calm down the boy thus removing his fears. This is a show of "grace under pressure" a characteristic of a Hemingway hero In the story "In Another Country", the hero is the narrator. He is living the ordinary life of a man who has wounded leg caused by the war. The character is similar to what we have described above as a Hemingway hero - guided by hope in the future and at the same time he believes in the "nada" concept, meaning there is no after life. The man showed hope through his sickness, hopeful that he is going to get well and recover even he is in a foreign country, but the loss of his wife to death will never be recovered again. This painful reality reflects a depressing scenario on the life of a person and this is typical of a Hemingway hero. As stated above, the hero has a traumatizing experience. In the Story "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place", we witness an old man who is enveloped by darkness as signified by his blindness and his desire to be in the cafe. The young waiter could not relate to him as the former is happy with his life, especially having a wife. But the old man was depressed and finds respite in drinking. This story hero is so much reflective of a Hemingway hero who is suffering emotionally so that he even tried to commit suicide. Although, this is of course a revelation of Hemingway's later suicide decision, still the character was fighting and struggling for a well-lighted place. He still refused to succumb to darkness. Ironically, Harry is the one that resembles the character of a non-hero. "Where most of Hemingway's stories feature protagonists who speak little and reflect nothing at all about their motivations and

Personal statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 6

Personal Statement Example My excellent interpersonal skills help me to communicate business information to my target audience by preparing crisp and well thought out presentations. I consider myself a social person for I like spending time with my families and friends. Being the part of the local community, I also like providing my assistance at local events and for other social causes. I am currently studying at Mt San Antonio College and this is my third year of school. Most of my subjects in the school are business related and therefore my interest in this particular field of study has grown with time. Within all this while I have learnt that my courses are much more than business management. They are providing an experience to the customer that is not less than exceptional; while motivating the employees to deliver their best by fulfilling their responsibilities. The basic responsibilities of the employees should be the maintenance of loyal customer base, providing exceptional customer service, guiding the customers on the product information and applications, handling new merchandise and working as a team to achieve mutual organizational objectives. All these factors contribute towards the success of an organization and therefore I have tried my level best to learn these skills through practical and theoretical knowledge. My father is an entrepreneur and is running his own business for almost 15 years. As a child I accompanied my father to various business meeting and negotiations. I heard my father and his employees discussing about the current economic conditions of the country and status of the stock market. Although as a kid I did not have much knowledge about all this but as I grew up, I started finding this subject interesting. I eagerly started waiting for my father to ask me to accompany me at the business meetings or negotiations. It was in the first year of my high school that I started watching businesses news for studying the position of several

All in One Development Project Proposal

All in One Development Project Proposal Project Proposal: Restaurant Convention Table of Content Introduction Nowadays people are finding a place that they can eat, relax, hanging out with friends, meeting, and even held any events such as Birthday parties, Wedding and etc.; in a building or in other words all-in one building. In Malaysia, this type of building is rarely be found as people are looking for it. Most of the building in Malaysia have a single function. Background Project â€Å"Restaurant and Convention† is a place that people can eat in the building as well as having meeting or held any events. Restaurant means a business that serves food and drinks to customers in exchange for money. Normally, meals are served and be eaten in the restaurant or also can be take-out. Besides that, restaurant is a place for people to have a great time with family and friends. Convention can be define as a place for large scale of people gathering with the same and common interest. Convention may refer to; Meeting Convention: A place for individual people who meets at a certain arranged place and time in order to discuss in some common interest. Fan Convention: It is a place to hold an event for the fans of a particular comic book, actors, celebrities, artists, gather to participate and do programs. Some also incorporate commercial activity. Wedding Convention: Is a place where people hold a wedding ceremony at a certain arranged place and time. So this proposed project is a combination between restaurant and convention where people can dine-in and at the same time can hold any events at the Convention halls. Proposed Site Location The proposed site location is located at the beach in Malacca called Klebang Beach. This beach is one of the best attraction in Malacca where the famous Coconut Shake is located near the beach. The purpose of choosing this site not only because of the attraction, it is because it has a nice view facing the sea, always have cool breeze blowing or natural ventilation, natural lighting from the sun and etc. Besides that, it is also near the main road, called Klebang Besar road. Below is the location map of Klebang beach from the Malacca State (Map 1.1) and proposed site of part of Klebang Beach (Map 1.2). Map 1.1 Picture above shows the location of the site at the Part of Malacca Map. Map 1.2 Picture above shows the site from the Klebang beach. Principal Reasons For Undertaking The Proposed Project The preparations for Malacca District development goals of the Malacca District Local Plan can be explained when the framework that has the details and important point for guiding the Malacca district development about five to ten years until the year of 2015, based on Vision 2020, Malacca State Government, and Ministry of Tourism and Culture. Principal Function And Scale Of The Building Based on the Background of Project above, function of â€Å"Restaurant and Convention† is for people to have meal and enjoy the time with friends and family. Besides the convention act as an event hall for people to do any wedding reception beside the beach scenery. Not only for wedding reception, other events such as meetings or even birthday parties can be held there too. The estimated capacity of people in the building will be 1000 person on weekdays while 1500 during weekend. The Population will increase during the peak season such as School Holidays, Hari Raya Celebration, Chinese New Year and etc., as more people or family will visit Klebang Beach for their vacations or going back to their hometown. Problem Statement Based on Alor Gajah Municipal Council, the objective they stated for 2015 is, â€Å"to create a quality, sustainable and planned development in sectors as follows: Housing Commercial Industry Infrastructure and Utilities Public Facility Recreation Social/Community Out of these, the tourism and investment sectors will be the by-product of the district development efforts. However, even for tourism sector, potential areas for specific tourism will be identified to optimize the development effects on the tourism sector in this district.† (http://www.mpag.gov.my/en/rancangan-kawasan-khas) Based on the statistics of visitors visited Jasin, Malacca, (Picture 1.3) which part of the proposed site, Klebang Beach, it shows that Jasin is famous and people do visits from time to time. Besides that, it can be a problem statement for this proposed project, which are Restaurant and Convention. Picture 1.3 Picture above shows the visitors’ statistics that visited Jasin, Melaka. (http://www.pdtjasin.gov.my/) Apart from the Malacca state itself which is the majority of visitors, tourists from this country who came from the state of Johor, Kedah, Kelantan, Kuala Lumpur, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Perak, Penang, Sabah, Sarawak, Selangor and Terengganu. Tourists from outside also is of Neighboring countries of Singapore, the Netherlands and Australia. For tourism activities as well as migration, greatly affect the destination distance. Distance to the place of destination resorts will attract the number of tourists. Vice versa (Nicolas Mas, 2005). This explains why more tourists in the country against foreign tourists visiting to Malacca. Table 1 shows the country of origin of respondents who travel to Melaka. Based on the findings study, traveler’s original from Melaka is the most tourist compared tourists from other countries. The percentage of tourists who hails from Malacca was 32.1 percent. From this table, the visitors that visits Malacca can be broken down into two which are tourists in the country and overseas tourists. The number of tourists in the country, 93.6 percent of the tourists who come from States that are in Malaysia while foreign tourists whose numbers were only 6.4 percent of the tourists who come from outside from Malaysia, based on, Geography Online TM Malaysian Journal of Society and Space 9 issue 3 (12-23) 17  © 2013, ISSN 2180-2491. Table 1 Table above shows Tourists from Other Countries and States in Malaysia that visit Malacca in the 2013. (http://www.ukm.my/geografia/images/upload/2.geografia-july%202013-er%20ah%20%20choy-edkat.pdf) Aim and Objective of Project The main purpose of this Restaurant and Convention project is the development is cost effective and will provide the state government with a return on investment in terms of tourism and economic levels. Strategic Objectives Enable the Restaurant and Convention to continue to grow its business and compete effectively and internationally in the convention and exhibition market. Provide Facilities to people surroundings such as recreation, commercial and infrastructure. To boost the popularity and attraction of Klebang Beach and some place surrounding. Since it is a restaurant, so is too ensure customer satisfaction and build a repeat-customer base. Besides it is to fulfill the people and the site needs, so that it will reach the people satisfaction. Solution to the Problem Statement All-In-One Development As the first problem stated above by Alor Gajah Municipal Council, they want to develop a sustainable and effective development which are as above aspects. The aspects are: Housing Commercial Industry Infrastructure and Utilities Public Facility Recreation Social/Community So, solution to this problem is to combine some of the aspects together which is the proposed project. The proposed project which are combination of Infrastructure and Utilities, Recreations, Social/Community, Public Facilities and Commercial. With this combination, it can safe cost by develop all the aspects in one building instead of separate development. Not only can save cost, it can preserve the natural environment and nature surrounding at once, it can reduce the negative impact on nature. Since the proposed site is a beach, it will not pollute the beach during and also after construction. Facilities It will also provide facilities to the people surrounding and also throughout the nation, Malaysia. As the proposed project is â€Å"Restaurant and Convention†, the development will not only consist of restaurant and convention halls. The development will consists of reading areas, IT areas, recreational areas, meeting rooms and etc. These facilities can serve the public efficiently. As I mentioned above, wedding halls are part of the convention halls in the development. Beach wedding reception is rarely found in Malaysia. With this development, it can provide wedding beach facilities and boost the economy level in Malacca as well as Malaysia. Increase Attraction Klebang is one of the potential area in Malacca besides the main city, Bandar Hilir. Attraction at Klebang is one of the factors that made Klebang Famous. The attractions are as follows: Klebang Beach People from all over Malacca and even Malaysia spend their time with friends and families at the beach. It has a really nice view of sea with cool breeze ventilating the area. It is a very nice place relax and spend time together. Klebang Coconut Shake Klebang beach has a very interesting snack, The Famous Coconut Shake, which is fresh coconut filling blend together with ice and Vanilla ice cream. This snack attracts people from Malaysia and even tourists that come from China, Japan and others. Bustel Bustel is a word combination come from Bus and Hotel. Beside the coconut shake, this hotel is made from old bus and converted in hotels. This is to bring back the past time and make it into something new or in other word preserving. Tourist enjoy staying in Bustel because of the strategic place. Target Users Tourists Families Teenagers Resources Required Some resources and information are required for me to gather and refer that related to the proposed project such as research paper, location drawing, site drawing, survey drawing, case studies and others. These resources helps to consider the main aspects and criteria in order to design the proposed project, Restaurant and Convention. Alor Gajah Municipal Council website, http://www.mpag.gov.my/en/rancangan-kawasan-khas Pejabat Daerah Tanah Jasin official website, http://www.pdtjasin.gov.my/ Article on, Pembangunan pelancongan lestari di Melaka: Perspektif pelancong, http://www.ukm.my/geografia/images/upload/2.geografia-july%202013-er%20ah%20%20choy-edkat.pdf Proposed Output This proposal is to meet the output requirements in terms of drawings, 3D CAD presentation and physical models etc. There are several presentation techniques. 2D, 3D CAD or manual drawings will be used for this proposed project. By the end of this proposal, the effectiveness and appropriateness of the drawings/material presented, not the method used. Conclusion In a nutshell, Restaurant and Convention is a public facilities for the people surrounding to use efficiently. It is a relaxing place for families and friends to get together and enjoy the beach scenery with natural wind blowing while they are having their meal at the restaurant or while they are having any events at the convention hall. References Mpag.gov.my,. Official Portal Of Alor Gajah Municipal Council Special Area Plan. Web. 2 Feb. 2015. Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia,. Pembangunan Pelancongan Lestari Di Melaka: Perspektif Pelancong. N.p., 2013. Web. 2 Feb. 2015. Pdtjasin.gov.my,. LAMAN UTAMA. Web. 2 Feb. 2015.