Tuesday, August 25, 2020

Cathay Pacific Essay

HistoryIn 1946 two ex aviation based armed forces pilots Roy Farrell and Sydney de Kantzow established Cathay Pacific in Hong Kong. Them two contributed HK$1 with the goal that their freshly discovered aircraft could be enrolled. Despite the fact that from the outset it was situated in Shanghai, the two authors moved to Hong Kong where they built up Cathay Pacific. As per Gavin (1988) 1960 was a decent and prosperous year for the aircraft as they purchased their opponents Hong Kong Airways. By 1964 it had all the more then a million clients. The and by 1967 they were boundless clients. In a similar time it additionally purchased its first fly engined airplane. It was the Convair 880. It appeared as though here was a great many victories in light of the fact that not long after purchasing the new airplane they presented their global flights. Cathay Pacific appeared to be taking off high as in 1999; another administrative center was set up in Hong Kong International Airport. They considered it the Cathay City. Till today Cathay Pacific holds his head up high with regards to quality help and achievement in the aircraft business (Ashok 2003 p110)Part 2SuccessCathays achievement has dependent on her wide-scope of administration all around the globe particularly in Asia, and present day the executives direction and workers from more than ten nations. In each nation their administration is considered as quality assistance as they generally make the clients venture wonderful one. The motivation behind why Cathaywas so fruitful is that it has consistently had confidence in quality client care and new methodologies. They realize what those effective in the past may not make them fruitful again as the world continues evolving. They accept that is their workers and human asset which make them fruitful. Their prosperity lies in the airline’s corporate way of thinking which is â€Å"service directly from the heart† and assurance for consistent improvement (Chan 2000 p473). They accept that they need to convey the best assistance and satisfy all the prerequisites of the travelers with the goal that they have a charming excursion Section 3 Organization StructureLike in many associations here too top administration, specialized care staff , center administration, administrativeâ support staff and specialized center are interrelated and serve all the more then one function.(Daft 2007 p27) The organization structure of Cathay Pacific is certainly not a mind boggling one. The leader of the association is the administrator this case it is Chris Pratt he joined the organization in 1978. At that point is the Tony Tyler the official executive. He straightforwardly reports to the chairpersonAll leaders of the all the offices report reports legitimately to both the seat individual and the official executive. John Slosar is the Chief Operating Officer he is the leader of the most significant division which is the activities departmentAfter the tasks office the following significant office is the Corporate Development office. The leader of this office is Ian Shiu,The next significant division is the Finance office. The chief of this division is James E. Hughes-HallettThe next most significant division is the Flight Operations office Nick Rhodes is the executive of this office. The following most significant office is the Sales and Marketing Department. James Barrington is the leader of this Department. The following most significant office is the Personnel division. The leader of this office is William Chau. The following most significant office is the Information Management division. Edward Nicol is the leader of this office. The following significant division is the Cargo Department. Rupert Hogg is the chief of this office. Another significant division is the corporate Affairs office. Quince Chong is the leader of this office. One more significant office is the administration conveyance office Ivan Chu is the leader of this division. To wrap things up is eth engraining division. The leader of this departmentâ is Christopher Gibbs References Ashok Ranchhod (2003); CIM Coursebooks 2002-2003 Diploma Case Study Book: Analysis and Decision (CIM Workbooks 2003/04) Butterworth-Heinemann; Revised release p110Chan D (2000); Air wars in Asia: serious and collective procedures and strategies in real life Journal of Management Development , Vol 19 : 6 Pp473 488Daft, B.L. (2007); Organization Theory and Design, ninth. Ed., South-Western p27Gavin Young (1988) ;Beyond Lion Rock: The Story of Cathay Pacific Airways Hutchinson Radius.

Saturday, August 22, 2020

Poverty and how it links to globalization (Africa) Research Paper

Neediness and how it connects to globalization (Africa) - Research Paper Example African nations are more averse to profit by globalization because of the way that they are at the most reduced joining level with the remainder of the world (Docquier and Hillel 690). As much as possible influence the development of a locale in a positive manner, the case in Africa is extraordinary. For example, African states need to keep up a solid and stable large scale monetary system just as leading major institutional changes like advancement of good administration in the entirety of its points. This paper is demonstrating why Africa despite everything endures unsafe financial frameworks, strife, ecological issues and populace development in spite of being presented to globalization. Leftists see globalization as the best instrument of easing neediness and giving those who lack wealth a safe situation from which they can gain further ground in the worldwide economy (Kacowicz 570). In Africa, the patriots battled for freedom in view of monetary abuse by their different frontier powers. Regardless of globalization, Africans are as yet stifled financially through the European Imperialism, whereby the principal world nations from the west endeavor the underdeveloped nations in Africa. This implies African states are as yet constrained by western powers through marking of exchange agreements, some of which have negative conditions. Most African economies rely upon one a solitary fare, which is rural produce; consequently they need expansion (De Janvry and Elisabeth 20). Over the previous decades, the market estimation of Africa’s farming produce has been crumbling in the midst of the consistent increasing expense of imports to Africa. This shows the current worldwide market inconveniences these mono-economies, as they need to significantly so as to pay for a similar measure of imports. For example, in 1962, it took two tons of sisal trade in Tanzania to pay for the import of one tractor (Cooksey and Tim 1). The case was distinctive in 1980 since Tanzania needed to trade six tons of sisal so as to pay for the

Friday, July 31, 2020

Obtaining Customer Loyalty Detailed Guide on How to Charm Your Customers into a Long-term Relationship

Obtaining Customer Loyalty Detailed Guide on How to Charm Your Customers into a Long-term Relationship Customer loyalty is the biggest investment factor that a brand should focus on. If your customer is happy, he or she is a returning customer and a returning customer multiplies your profit ratios exponentially. The formula is quite simple, but the process of building customer loyalty is the hardest part.In modern times, it isn’t enough to welcome your customer with a smile or to throw plenty of discounts around to appease them. Every brand is doing it and the customer sees nothing new to be loyal to your brand. Hence, by reading this guide, you’ll understand the various ways on how you can attract your customers without losing them to a fellow competitor.WHY CUSTOMER SATISFACTION IS THE #1 THING FOR ANY BUSINESSLet’s say you enjoy fishing at your nearby lake and when you arrive there, you find that the lake is crowded by other fishermen trying to bait fish. The chance of you catching fish has been reduced drastically and that’s because everyone is fishing at the same lake ins tead of finding their own fishing spot. The lake represents the tried and used advertising approach, the fishermen are obviously brands trying to reel in their customers.Finding customer loyalty is like fishing except don’t try to bait your customers, as your customers are actual humans with a valid thinking mind of their own. If they find out that you’ve been sugarcoating your product, that’s one less customer that permanently rejects your brand. Here’s an example to demonstrate why customer loyalty is such an important factor to branding.Let’s say you’re an apple vendor with 3 crates of apples. Each crate contains 10 apples and you end up selling 20 apples on any given day and you throw out the remaining 10 rotten apples. Now, your neighbor decides to set up shop next to you with exactly 3 crates of 10 apples each. He also manages to sell only 20 apples a day but instead of throwing out the remaining 10 apples, he comes up with a great idea. He decides to give his cust omers a “Buy 2 Get 1 Free” offer. Undoubtedly, your sales will begin to dwindle, and your neighbor will dispose of all 30 apples on any given day, but he also receives something valuable in return â€" Customer Loyalty!His customers will always return to him to get the incredible discount of buying 3 apples at the price of 2. They will also spread the word to their loved ones about why they should buy their apples from him. In the end, he can decide to remove the discount and he’ll still have the loyalty of his customers due to the freshness of his apples and by the promise of future discounts.Customer Loyalty Programs: What are they and do they work?Customer loyalty programs are a form of tactics employed by businesses to secure returning customers by offering additional discounts, exclusive merchandise, and flash sales. Basically, the brand throws a spotlight on you to make you special and the star of their brand. Most customer loyalty programs are usually accessed by a membe rship card that is either a lifetime card or is renewable at a given period. A customer loyalty program seeks to understand the buying pattern of the customers. So, let’s say you’ve been buying a lot of video games from eBay, then you receive monthly and weekly newsletters catered around video game discounts. In this way, the brand profits by creating a selective product list catered around the customer to increase sales and the customer benefits by receiving jaw breaking discounts to stay loyal to the company.A report by the Australian Graduate School of Management suggests that not all loyalty programs work in securing customers. Loyalty programs with discounts and long-term customer value are among the real winners. The remaining loyalty programs with gift coupons scoreless among customers. The reason for this is because customers don’t really care about something in the future that they can’t foresee, they prefer a discount today. They’d rather accept a discount of 10% on a television today, rather than taking a discount coupon of 40% for a television that releases the next month. The report states that long-term customer value is among the most valuable factor for customers. If a brand recognizes an old customer and provides specially catered products for them or provides them with a lifetime discount, then customers are bound to choose the brand over others. A brand should also reward shoppers that buy the most in any given period to ensure they feel special. Throw in a prize of a luxurious trip to an exotic location and in the long run, the shopper will remain loyal to your brand.To help you out, here’s a checklist to consider when launching your customer loyalty program. Customer Loyalty Program Checklist Determine the type of audience you’d like to attract Have a specific goal every month. (E.g. 10-15% increase in customer sales)Automate customer loyalty programs. (E.g. Applications such as LevelUp Belly)Compare your customer loyalty p rogram with your competitorsEngage your audience on social media platformsReward the top shoppers of your brand every month with travel vouchers or free giftsThrow in complimentary gifts from time to time to reward new shoppersReach out to your customers by email to notify them of new offers on their customer loyalty programLong-term customers should be rewarded with frequent discountsCreate tier-based loyalty programs. (E.g. Bronze, Silver, Gold, Diamond, etc.)Surprise all members of your customer loyalty programs on their special occasions (Birthdays, Anniversaries, etc.)Don’t wait too long to reward your customersOptimize and monitor your program continuouslyCustomers Build Positive Brand AwarenessIf your brand connects with your customer with great products and exceptional after sales service, your customer will be the one handing over the free business to your brand. This type of advertising is often the best advertising as it’s completely unbiased and is based on the feedb ack from your customers to their friends and family. Convert biased advertising into unbiased advertising using the simple formula below.Brand Advertising -   Lead Generation -   Customer Acquired -   Customers Enjoys Product - Customer refers product -  Brand gets free unbiased advertisingHere are ways to get customers to be advertisers for your company.TestimonialsTherefore, it’s so important to have a post-sales feedback form and have your customers write a testimonial for your site. Offer a small freebie to your customers in return for their time in writing a 200-word testimonial. Freebies such as extended warranty period or free deliveries for the next 3 orders or even a free product that you launched. Remember every positive customer testimonial should also be posted on review websites such as â€" Yahoo Local Listings, Yelp, and Google Places for Business. Customers don’t read reviews from your website to decide, hence, they usually search your business on a popular review site and compare user testimonials to see how your product has been received. Referral programsWhy do referral programs work so well in the market?If your friend were to request you to walk down the street and pick up a chocolate bar for him, would you do it? Many of us would refuse while citing a lack of time or that they should get it themselves. Now if your friend were to provide you with an incentive such as splitting half the chocolate bar with you, the deal would be irresistible. Referral programs work on the same basis â€"You bring the company business through referring family and friends. The company then rewards you with various perks and added discounts. We all love freebies and getting things at a discount, so we automatically spread the word for a brand as it takes just a few minutes of vouching for a good word for the brand. Now referral programs come in mostly 3 ways â€"1. Customer ReferralThis is the most common type of referral. Every time you open an app or website , you’ll have a referral section located. Clicking this takes you to a page with a list of rewards for each tier of referral you achieve. Here’s a sample.Bring in 10 customers â€" Experience 10% discount on all products for a monthBring in 100 customers â€" Enjoy 15% discount on all products for a yearBring in 1000 customers â€" Lifetime discount of 10% discount on all productsCustomer referral programs are meant for shoppers to have a convenient way to send out a referral message. Always ensure the referral program has access to all the popular social media plugins for the customers’ convenience. Customers don’t like it when they must spend 2-3 minutes tinkering around to send the referral out and will generally feel it’s not worth their time.2. Affiliate StrategyWhen customers want to truly represent a brand and take things forward with an actual partnership. Affiliate marketing is the best way forward. Affiliate marketing is different from customer referrals since the c ustomer enjoys a portion of the profits of the sales they make. Most customers tend to write detailed product reviews to alert other customers on the usefulness of your product and refer them back to your site for a possible sale.Example. As an affiliate marketer, if you convince 10 people to buy a smartwatch priced at $1500, the brand will pay you a portion of the sale to you. In this case, let’s assume you make 10% from the watch. That’s $150 per smartwatch, so you effectively made back $1500 for selling to 10 people as affiliate revenue.Always provide a good percentage in the range of 10%-25% on a product. Every review that is written for your product will attract a host of customers if the reviewer is popular. You must make it worth their time to write a detailed review of your product.3. Influencer MarketingThis type of referral method is new, and customers tend to influence an item via a video guide. Simply target a loyal customer who has a YouTube channel or is known to a ttract a lot of customers through their own brand. Schedule a discussion and ask them if they would be interested in influencing your product for an endorsement amount. If interested, the customer can utilize your products during their own showcase reel. Here’s an example. Imagine a well-known YouTuber is doing cooking videos and enjoys using your products. Get in touch with them and ask them to endorse your range of cooking products such as butter, cream, milk, and other products during the video. Every time there is a few seconds of screen time of your products, your product is being actively advertised without your own actions. However, the product should come out as natural as possible. Hence, only choose popular shoppers that have bought your item out of their own interest. Don’t go around hunting for people to endorse your brand. This becomes paid advertising and comes under biased advertising.Now that we understand how important customer branding is to your business and w hy unbiased advertising is crucial to building a loyal customer base. Let’s learn how to maintain this critical relationship with your customers.8 RULES FOR GAINING A LOYAL CUSTOMER BASE FOR LIFEThey say loyal customers are the golden ducks to any business. Not only do they provide the annual sales, but they also spread the word like fire around town if they trust your brand. A single loyal customer is equal to 100 casual shoppers. Here’s why:A loyal customer will always consider your brand as their first choice when shopping for a productLoyal customers will always actively take part in your marketing campaigns and check in for latest product launchesLoyal customers will always buy your latest products even if there aren’t any reviews on the product as they trust your brandLoyal customers also tend to leave a positive overall impact on your business by bringing in other customers who have the potential to become loyal customersLoyal customers also stand by your product during times of negative publicity So, let’s learn how to keep converting a normal customer into a loyal customer for life. And maintain a loyal customer without losing them.1. Be honest even if it means no profit for the businessThe rabbit is out of the box. Modern customers aren’t foolish and with the digital age as their weapon, it’s quite easy to weed out the lies that you’ve been feeding them. Don’t promote your brand or products based on falsifying information. For example â€" If you’re trying to sell a potato peeler, don’t market it as an all-in-one vegetable peeler. If your customer finds out that your potato peeler doesn’t work on other vegetables. They’ll never trust your brand ever again and will warn their friends and family to stay clear of a deceiving brand. In this way, you’ve just lost your primary customer + potential customers that could have bought from you in the future.Your brand’s authenticity should be clear and consistent. Don’t just deliver one outstanding product and a string of failures. Consistency is the key. Your customer should expect the same level of exceptional quality that they did since the first year of buying your products. In fact, very few companies are upfront with their customers about the drawbacks of their product. Here’s are some points to note on how to win your customers loyalty by being honest with your product.Many businesses don’t provide a disadvantage column to their products and only list the best points. Add a drawback column and your customers will trust you for being open about it. Don’t add hidden fees during checkout. Make sure to provide clear prices including tax and other delivery information. It’s okay to charge a delivery fee but be transparent about it from the beginning. Customers don’t like to know they enjoy free delivering only to be thrown a surprise fee at the checkout counter Make a great product and price it well. In the long run, a costly product will be accept ed by your customers compared to a cheap product that is priced at half the rate and breaks just as easily. One of the best ways to be honest with your product is to provide excellent after-sales service. Customers love a company that backs their products with a smooth system that accepts product returns without hassles Always provide a 14-day money back guarantee for your products, in case your customer doesn’t like the item Always electronically test your products before you ship them. You don’t want a string of refurbished items lying in your warehouse. All the above points refer to a company that is honest to the cause. Obviously, you’re in the business to make profits, the customer already understands this. All they seek is transparency from the company, the more information and clear your product and brand is, the better the chance you’ll convert loyal customers for life using the honest approach. 2. Keep in Touch with Your CustomersAs discussed earlier, loyalty progra ms are a great way to incentivize your customers and understand their likes and dislikes through their product purchase history. Always have an active interest with your customers and provide them a catered list of products via weekly newsletters or through social media campaigns. Building customer loyalty takes time and once you’ve remained in touch with your customers. You’ll surely win their appreciation in time.Here are 5 proven ways you can stay in touch with your customers.1. Email newslettersEmail newsletters are a non-intrusive way to stay in touch with your customers and update them on your products and blogs. It’s necessary to not spam customers with random articles that aren’t targeted towards their purchasing trends. For example, if a customer has bought 10 t-shirts and 5 jeans in the past year, it’s best to send newsletters targeted towards upcoming clothing sales and other fashion promotional schemes.2. Birthday wishesA birthday is a special day for your cust omers. Knowing a company cares enough to remember their special day is enough reason to remain loyal to your brand. Send them a discount coupon or a gift by mail. A simple automated greeting is all it takes to win their hearts. If you want to go the distance, you can even send personalized greetings cards over to their homes.Here are a host of ways to send birthday greetings to your customers â€"Provide a special sale of products for your customer based on their shopping historyVirtual gifts such as e-books, webinars, or calendars are great ways to wish your customersHold a special raffle contest for customers with birthdays on the same dayDonate to charity and then refer them to the link to show them your appreciationFor the top 10 shoppers, have a team from your office send a video with personalized greetings3. Product Sneak PeekCustomers love a company that offers sneak peeks to their most loyal customers. To make them feel special, send them a special offer via any of these foll owing methods â€" Utilize Instagram stories to show the picture of your latest product, don’t reveal it fullyWrite an ambiguous Facebook post claiming about a product that is being launched. Try not to spoil the surprise and keep the descriptions to yourselfPost a tweet on twitter about the product launchSocial media is the best way to demonstrate sneak peeks as you’ll have many loyal fans that are subscribed to your brand’s product page. A single tweet, post, or image will reach out to millions and they will be able to share their excitement with their friends and family by sharing it.4. Making recommendationsCustomers will need help from you when making purchases. Hence, to keep a loyal customer around, you’ll need to understand their taste buds by analyzing their buying patterns and constantly providing them with recommendations. Some examples are â€"If a customer is looking to buy a TV, give them a listed recommendation of everything that would go well with a TV such as an HDMI port cable, a wireless remote, Amazon’s firestick, Google Chromecast, etc. This way the customer will feel the need to pick up another product along with the television and will be able to provide positive feedback thanks to your timely recommendation. Another way to recommend is to send an email to your customer after a few weeks have passed since a purchase. In this email, provide information on the latest products that complement the purchased product or are going to be launched. Customers will enjoy receiving dedicated product advertisements related to their purchased items.5. Quick response for support queriesFinally, when a customer isn’t satisfied with your product, they’ll usually be trying to get in touch with your support section. It’s your duty to ensure the customer receives the help in the timeframe that you’ve promised. After the resolution, it’s necessary to stay in touch with your customer by sending a feedback form asking them to rate the resolut ion as well as the product’s functionality. This allows you to assess how likely the customer is going to buy from your brand and if they are willing to give your brand a chance in the future? If your customers are satisfied the chances are that they will be returning customers and by staying in touch with them, they’ll surely turn into long-lasting loyal customers. Here are a few pointers to follow â€"A timeframe for support should be kept between 24 to 48 hours. Any longer than 48 hours and your customer will be dissatisfied with your brandIf providing after-sales service through chatbots, follow-up with the customers with a phone call and ask how satisfied they were with the automated service system Provide as many options as possible for support such as an easy to reach helpline number, a 24/7 online chat system, an email system with an automated response mail providing the time and complaint no, etc.3. Exceed Their ExpectationsAsk yourself this important question â€"What ma kes Amazon, Apple, Samsung, and other multi-million-dollar companies so successful? While the short answer is a “brand image”, the long answer demonstrates that to build a brand image, you’ll first need to woo the customer and build a solid loyal customer base that trusts and respects your brand. If you can successful surprise your customers by exceeding their expectations, you’ll reap success. To meet customers’ expectations is something a lot of companies can achieve, to go beyond and shock the customers with their products â€" now that’s a challenge only a few companies are capable of and that’s how the above-listed companies have built their brand.If you’re looking to exceed customer’s expectations of your product, here are some ways to do it. 1. Collecting FeedbackHow much do you know about your customer’s satisfaction rate? How would you know if your support staff is treating your customers in a respected manner?How would you possibly know if your customers even like your products? Customer feedback is one of the best methods to directly know what your customers are thinking behind your product. Provide a rating slider from 0-to-10 and ask them to rate their answers between this scale. Here is a set of questions created for you to give you an idea. How likely are you to purchase from us again? How likely are you to recommend us to your family and friends based on your current experience?How smooth was the checkout process?Were you happy with our range of products? How likely are you to use our app/website for future purchases?If you’ve experienced our support section previously, how was the experience like? How quickly was the resolution process initiated by our support team?How well did our product serve your purpose?As far as value for money is concerned, how would you rate our products?How easy is it to navigate through our products?How detailed was the information provided on the product’s description?2. Initiate the best trai ning program for your employeesTreating your customers in a respectful manner is something every employee from the bottom ranks to the top should know in your company. Hence, to begin attracting loyal customers, start by training your staff with an impactful training program that’ll affect the way they converse, explain the problem, and finally, resolve an outstanding issue. When your employees are well-mannered and respectful, the result is automatically shown by your customers providing positive feedback and recommending your company to their peers. Now imagine, if a customer call representative were to talk rudely to a customer? The customer would stop buying from your company and worse, if they decide to make the recording public, the whole world will know the type of customer support service that is being run by your company and this will add to negative publicity.In order, to gain the trust of your customers, always start with your internal staff and empower them with your l eadership aura.3. Focus on your customer’s needsGive your customers what they want. Don’t try to impress them in areas that aren’t relevant to their purchasing experience. If a customer is interested in purchasing your table knives, ensure your knives are sharp and can cut through meat and vegetables in an efficient manner. Don’t bother wasting time in spending time in designing the packaging when the product itself is lacking.Focus on the statistics to give you an update on the way customers analyze their trends. Here are 15 statistics, sourced by V12 DATA.About 41% of online shoppers will always search for a testimonial before making a purchase.75% of customers prefer buying from retailers or brands that they recognize53% of buyers rely on Facebook to make their buying decisions61% of customers abandon their checkout carts due to hidden costs being revealed during checkout (delivery fees, tax charges, convenience charges, etc.)59% of e-commerce shopping is done on mobile p hones61% don’t return to a site that they can’t load the first timeTop 3 traffic sources â€" Organic traffic comes at 22%, email traffic contributes to 20% and 19% of all internet traffic comes from CPC (Cost-per-click ads)Youngsters spend 50% of their time shopping on sites while the older individuals spend an average of 4 hours per week on shopping96% of the entire American population has made a purchase online at least onceWith these numbers, you’ll have an idea on how customers channel their purchase trends and how you can take advantage of that. In this way, if you can affect your customer in a positive way, you’ll surely have a loyal customer base in no time.CONCLUSIONDon’t take customer loyalty for granted. Refusing to stay consistent with your customers can cause you to lose your loyal customers to other brands. The modern shopper is hard to please and even harder to retain. It takes a committed level of satisfaction from your side to be able to impress them enough to ensure they remain with your brand. Loyalty is earned not bought, so don’t waste time with meaning advertisements without the proper products to back them up.

Friday, May 22, 2020

A Project On Overlooked Strangers - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 12 Words: 3545 Downloads: 2 Date added: 2019/07/03 Category Religion Essay Level High school Tags: Jesus Christ Essay Did you like this example? God created humans for His glory and pleasure and to do His work on this planet. In Christian society, specifically within the church, there is one area of ministry that is vastly overlookedstrangers. When reading the text, Reforming Mercy Ministry, I was intrigued by the chapter entitled Stranger Ministry. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "A Project On Overlooked Strangers" essay for you Create order When I began considering strangers and people in my community, I became ashamed of what I was not doing for our Lord. The idea for my project was born from this shame. I decided to use the tools of Gary Chapmans The Five Love Languages, specifically focusing on three that are appropriate to use with strangers. When ministering to strangers one must attempt to reach that person at their level of need by imploring one of three love languages: words of affirmation, quality time, and acts of service. The scope of my project began with a group of children in my backyard and branched out to their families and others within our community. The idea behind this project was to use the resources readily available to me (the children in my backyard) as a spring board to reach others around me. We live in a small, rural, working-class community with many young families all around. We have lived here less than a year and do not know most of the families. My son has 6-12 friends under the age of 12 in our backyard playing every afternoon. Of those 6-12, only two attend church. In planning my project, I came up with a three leveled objective: Build relationships with the children in my backyard. Using those relationships, gain access to their families and begin ministering to them in their homes. Use my experiences to encourage my church members to reach out to other strangers in our community. Phase 1: build relationships with the children in my backyard. Initially this proved to be more difficult than I imagined. I soon discovered that they were here to play with my son, not talk to me! This is where the love languages words of affirmation and quality time were helpful. I began by just observing un-obtrusively and trying to find small things that they were doing that I could encourage them about. For example, the kids were playing a game on the trampoline and couldnt all fit. One of the younger boys volunteered to sit out so that the others could play more comfortably. I spoke loud enough for everyone to hear and said, James that was very considerate of you. Thank you for putting others before yourself. The smile on his face made my day. Another instance where words of affirmation helped build a relationship was when the smallest boy fell and was hurt (more hurt feelings than hurt body). His sisters were playing here as well but did not seem concerned about him at all. On e of the other girls left them and sat with the little boy until he stopped crying. I told her that what she did would make Jesus proud because it was very much what he taught about in the parable of the Good Samaritan. This gave me the opportunity to briefly share this story with the group of kids. When the weather began to warm up, the opportunities for quality time became more regular. Most of the children who play here are from low-income families without many options for recreational activities. This is why they all ride their bikes or walk to our house. First it was just the trampoline, but once the temperatures began to climb to 80, the slip-n-slide became king. Now, I assure you that I did not don my bathing suit to join them, but quality time was spent nonetheless because they needed three things from me: permission to ruin my yard with the wet plastic monster, help setting up, and crowd control. Hours of quality time were logged with many opportunities to share Gods love and desire for these kids. Even in the awkward moments when I had to play substitute parent I began to see that the kids didnt mind the correction. They now respected me and were open to my ideas and suggestions. One such instance happened recently. It was another slip-n-slide day and this time a group of girls were joining in the fun. When I walked outside to see how things were going, I was surprised by the lack of material on the girls swimsuits. As politely as possible I told them how glad I was that they could play today and that I would appreciate it very much if they wore a t-shirt over their swimsuit because we have very modest and conservative expectations of body coverings. I cringed, expecting an eye-roll with a sassy remark or a dramatic exit (which would have been on par for these girls). Instead, they all made a remark indicating that they were sorry, put their shirt on, and continued playing. This is when I knew that we were getting somewhere. Since I am a Christian (as well as a pastor), my goal for building relationships with these children was not to have little friends, but to get them to come to church, introduce them to Jesus, andas stated earlierreach their families (in no particular order). My first successful goal accomplishment came on a Wednesday night about two weeks into the project. Each Wednesday night the play time is cut short because we have church, which means coming in at 5:15 to eat and get cleaned up. Every Wednesday for the previous 5 months when I would go to get my son from outside, I would say, OK, kiddos! Time to clean up, Nathan has to come inside; but you can join us at church if you like! None of them ever did, until that day. When we got to church, all but 3 of the kids that had been playing were standing outside! Trying to hide the shock from my expression, I smiled and said, I sure am glad you all could join us tonight! The ladies will be so excited to see new faces. Inside, I was doing a h appy dance. Since then, they have been to every Wednesday night activitywe are still working on Sunday attendance, though. Phase 2: Using those relationships [with the children], gain access to their families and begin ministering to them in their homes. This phase was harder to get started and more difficult to complete than I had envisioned. First of all, many of the children did not want to share information about their living situations. Some of them were embarrassed about where they lived or didnt want to explain who they lived with, others did not want me to meet their parents, and some said their parents would not want to meet me. Still, with Gods wind at my back, I pressed on. My first success was actually with my neighbors. Their children are the only ones that have not attended a church service yet, even though they express desire to come with us. While I have not gotten them to allow the kids to come to church, we have been building a better relationship. I am embarrassed to say that until recently, my neighbors really were strangers. I have only spoken with them a few times and usually just s mall talk. A few weeks into my project, their son came to spend the night at our house. This was his first sleep over, so it gave me the opportunity to speak with his parents on a personal level. Usually when I speak with someone who does not live a Christian lifestyle, I hear all sorts of excuses and apologies the instant they find out that I am a pastor. My neighbors know that I am a pastor, not just because I have told them, but because I live in the parsonage. Speaking with them also gave me an opportunity to use more words of affirmation. When I first went over, I told them how much we enjoy their kids playing with Nathan and praised her on how well behaved they are (which is very true). She was very grateful and receptive of the encouraging words. Then, when the topic of church came up, as it always does, there were no absurd excuses. She simply said that they used to go to church when her grandmother was living, but after she died, they all just stopped. That was it. Of course, I told her that they would be more than welcome to try out our church, since it is only two blocks away, and I would be honored if they would come as our guests. Most people would think of her r esponse as a defeat, but after living next to them for almost a year, I see it as a victorybecause she did not say no. She did not answer at all, but she did not say no, that means the door is still open. I also mentioned that the boys had expressed interest in attending our Wednesday night event for children and she acknowledged that she knew this was the case and said they werent there yet. I am not sure what this means, but it was not a no so I am optimistic. Another opportunity to reach out to the families of these children came through my wife. She teaches childrens choir on Wednesday nights so she is involved with all these children during that time as well as at our home. The week before Easter, she found out that one of the soloists for Sunday was going to be out of town, unexpectedly. She mentioned that she was going to ask one of the backyard girls if she would commit to being there at 8AM on Sunday morning to sing. I took the opportunity to go over and meet her parents. They live in a single wide trailer and there are six kids in the family. Her mother was not entirely receptive to us being there but was willing to talk with us on her porch. We, once again, told her how well behaved her kids are and how excited we were to have them at church. We also told her that they were welcome any time at our house. She did not appear to be open to talk about church or personal relationships, but she agreed to let her daughter come Sunday mor ning and not only did she come, but she brought two siblings with her! At a later day, I was able to exercise acts of service with the same family when I brought them some clothes that my boys had outgrown. She was very appreciative and I hope to continue developing that relationship. Phase 3: Use my experiences to encourage my church members to reach out to other strangers in our community. This phase of the project was much easier than I anticipated and took off in ways I did not see coming. Encouraging the church members came without any effort because when the kids started coming to church, a spark was ignited and without me saying anything they began to plan outreach opportunities amongst themselves. These opportunities are all acts of service as of yet. So far, we have brought breakfast to the Sherriffs substation and prayed with them, attended a Good Friday service at a local black church (which was a huge deal because race is a big divider in our town) and made arrangements to cooperate in one anothers VBS this summer, hosted a community wide Easter egg hunt, and donated all the unused eggs to the public library for their egg hunt. We have also planned a rotating calendar for families to continue ministering to the Sherriffs office, Fire Station, City Hall , and Police Department. I am very pleased with this motivated effort and am excited to see what comes from it. A stranger is defined by Rogers as an individual who is a member of a system but is not strongly attached to that system. The strangers interpersonal relationships with others in the system are characterized by social distance So a stranger is anyone around you not closely committed to the same social system that you are. In the book Reforming Mercy Ministry, the author says this of Americas stance on newcomers, Once youve risked your life to get here, an increasingly popular bumper sticker will introduce you to our country (not that youll necessarily be able to read it): ?Welcome to America: We Speak English. Learn it or Leave. This statement is an excellent example of what is wrong with America and the mentality held toward strangers and foreigners. We need to say that Welcome to America: We will speak to you and love that you want to be here. How different would this world be if that was the common perspective? Sadly that is not the case in many instances. Although the book focuse s on strangers as immigrants, not all strangers are immigrants. No matter how stranger is defined, Christians are clearly called to serve those in need. It is stated in Matthew 25:35-40,For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you agave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me. This parable describes acts of service we can each do every day. They do not depend on our abilities, finances, or intelligence; just our willingness to serve. According to the Life Application Study Bible, We cannot hand over this responsibility to the church or government. Jesus wants and needs us to get personally involved in caring for others and being the feet and hands of Jesus. Furthermore, according to Chris Johnson, We worship God and serve neighbor because through our actions in joint discipleship with Christ, we are more fully restored t o unity with God and each other. So why are we so hesitant to help strangers in need? In the article by Ariel Knafo, Shalom H. Schwartz, and Robert V. Levine, Helping Strangers Is Lower in Embedded Cultures, a study is described that was conducted in 23 countries. For the sake of this article embedded means cultures that regard the family or extended in-group rather than the autonomous individual as the key social unit, or show preference to relating to family and close friends rather than being an individual. During this study, trained, college-aged, local experimenters pretended to need help in three different situations: dropping a pen without noticing (n = 424), accidentally dropping a pile of magazines while walking with an injured leg (n = 493), and appearing to be a blind person requiring assistance to cross the street (n = 281). Experimenters measured the reactions of pedestrians to these scenarios. The study found that in countries where the culture was not very embedded and the wealth was low, the willingn ess to help strangers was high. In other words, in America, we are reluctant to help strangers because we are selfish and do not want to look bad in front of our friends. Many times we may be averse to minister to strangers because of different lifestyles. However, according to Girgis, People dont need to be assimilated to our own culture or way of life to be equal members of the body of Christ. He goes on to explain that Christians must change their approach to ministering to strangers. Instead of focusing on material growth, we must stress ministries that address the whole person and all of their needs. This shift in thinking cannot happen unless the church is willing to have a change of heart and mind as well as a modification of our viewpoint concerning the strangers around us. Strangers are not bad, as a matter of fact, Girgis reminds us that Ruth and Naomi were strangers to each other, and yet they both became a blessing to many others, a full nation, and to the whole world. When approaching the idea of ministering to strangers, a good place to start is taking advice from Gary Chapman and using some of the Five Love Languages. One of the most important things that can be done when ministering to strangers, is to offer words of affirmation. Location and activity place no limits on the ability to use words of affirmation. This is a very powerful tool in the lives of Christians seeking to reach the lost. Giving verbal compliments is only one way that we use words of affirmation serve the Lord. In the book The Five Love Languages words of affirmation are described as words that encourage and the word encourage means to inspire courage. The next love language that is critical in stranger ministry is quality time. One might say that quality time in stranger ministry seems out of place. However, without quality time, strangers stay strangers and will never truly be reached. To get to know someone one has to spend time with them. Like words of affirmation, the love language of quality time also has many things connected to it. It is stated in five love languages, One of the most common dialects is that of quality conversation. When was the last time you gave a stranger the opportunity to share what was going on in their life; their needs? You would be surprised what you will learn when you take the time to listen. Quality conversation is very different from words of affirmation. One focuses on what we are saying, the other on what we are hearing. If we would think about this in the concept of serving and ministering to strangers we would be able to reach others on a mighty scale. The final love language that can be used to minister to strangers is Acts of Service. Chapman explains that an act of service drastically effects the emotional climate of people because ofte n small menial tasks are overlooked and seen as unimportant. However, when someone does one of these tasks for another, like take out the trash, it has an emotional affect upon the other person . It is stated in 2 Corinthians 9:13,Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else. Believers are asked to be generous because of the example the Lord has given. Generosity shows that the heart is void of selfishness and consumed by Jesus. Do neighbors see generosity in your actions? One thing that we have to do to reach strangers in our community is by going out and doing the work that God had put out there for us. As I been working on this project, I have been excited what I have learned and hope to continue to practice it long after the course is over. It may be discouraging at times, but we have to know that God has told us that the work that we are doing will not come void. It is stated in Isaiah 55:11, So shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; it shall not return to me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it. No matter what you think when you are trying to reach others for Christ, Just do all you can and more and God will bless you with what you thought could not happen. Just like in our communities Jesus did many things that we are to do. He lived among the people, had lunch with tax collectors, rescued harlots, healed those afflicted because of their sin. Jesus even died for strangers. Is the church ready to go out and be the hands and feet of Jesus? Are you ready to give people the affirmation that they need, spend time meeting their needs, and perform acts service to meet those needs? I was in a post office one day in a big hurry and there was this older man in line in front of me and he was talking incessantly and holding up the line. I was frustrated with him because of my hurriedness and was very thankful that he finally got out of line and left because I was ready to go. After I left the post office I started to think about my time there and the man. I realized that, that may have been the only time he was able to talk to anyone that day and all I wanted him to do is hurry. God was giving me the opportunity to minister to a stranger and I did not take it. I will always believe that that mans life was and is in my hands. I pray for him and hopefully God will allow him to come into my life once more so that I can talk with him and get to know him and share that love of Jesus with him. My prayer is that next time, I will be more sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit and prepared to minister to a stranger through words of affirmation, quality time, and acts of service.

Sunday, May 10, 2020

Perception Plays A Huge Role In Someone’S Life. “When A

Perception plays a huge role in someone’s life. â€Å"When a distinction is made between sensation and perception, sensation is frequently identified as involving simple â€Å"elementary† processes that occur right at the beginning of a sensory system, as when light stimulates receptors in the eye. In contrast, perception is identified with complicated processes that involves higher-order mechanisms such as understanding and memory that involve activity in the brain† (Goldstein, 1980, p. 7). It is simply the ability to see, hear, or become aware of something through the five senses. Perception aids us to navigate through the world, avoid danger, make decisions, and prepare for action. This road begins outside of a human, with stimuli in the†¦show more content†¦The final behavioral response is action, which involves motor activities. Perception often leads to action, whether is being an animal’s increasing its vigilance when it hears something or a person’s deciding to interact with an object of just look or closely at something that looks interesting, means that perception is a continuously changing process (Goldstein, 1980, p. 67). Different people look at the same things, but have different perceptions. Even without physical disabilities humans perceive things in distinctive ways, where we draw different conclusions from similar perceptions. Leaving aside cases of physical disabilities, humans all see the sun rise in the east, enjoy the scent of an object and experience a jolt of fear when being woken up in the middle of the night by the sound of breaking glass. Nevertheless, as we know from our own life, everyone has his or her own preference, likes and dislikes. (Koch, C., 2010) Perceptions are the basis of all actions. Decisions, judgements, attitudes, emotions, all the choices made by individuals, organizations and communities are based on the perceptions of the people involved. In addition, perceptions are based on assumptions that are often subconscious. There are many common assumptions that influence decisions. These assumptions range from seeing the world as an adverse place to seeing it as cordial place. The causes of these assumptions can be traced to things that have transpired in a person’s life and theShow MoreRelatedEssay about What Does It Mean to Be Well Educated?800 Words   |  4 Pagesto one’s own point of view. If education is so vast than how can someone be â€Å"well† at it? ~Kohn reveals that his wife who is a physician is hesitant at times reciting multiplication. This does not mean she is uneducated when indeed she may be responsible for saving someone’s life. Yet because she cannot teach a math class or w rite the President’s inauguration speech it portrays as if she is not â€Å"erudite† Contrarily speaking does the fact that she is a Physician depicts as her being smarter than someoneRead MorePerception And Perception Of Perception882 Words   |  4 Pages Perception has a few definitions; the most frequently used definition is what we become aware of through our senses. However, perception is not just what our senses tell us, it is our reaction to the feelings we sense. Perception just happens; it is something we cannot control. The mind tells us how we feel before we even realize what is happening. When people say they are good judges of character, they base their decisions on what they initially see. Appearance plays a huge role in how weRead MoreSocilization622 Words   |  3 Pagesthat contribute to one’s attitude, Affects- emotions, Behaviors-actions, Cognitions- thoughts, the ABC’s of attitude (Carter amp; Seifert, 2016, Chapter 16). 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Wednesday, May 6, 2020

World heritage at malacca Free Essays

Melaka is one of the historic cities built along the Straits of Melaka. The city has been developed over 500 years of the mixture of trading and cultural exchanges between East and West traders. The influences of Asia and Europe have endowed the towns with a specific multicultural heritage that is both tangible and intangible. We will write a custom essay sample on World heritage at malacca or any similar topic only for you Order Now With its government buildings, churches, squares and fortifications, Melaka demonstrates the early stages of this history originating in the 1 5th-century Malay sultanate and the Portuguese and Dutch periods beginning in the early 16th century. The Stadthuys was one of the official residences for the Dutch Governor but now has become one of the famous attractions for visitors from all over the world. The legacy of the Dutch is still very much alive and felt in Malacca in a form of a red building called the Stadthuys. It used to be the administrative centre of successive governments but now it is a history museum. The Stadthuys can be easily found as it is Just beside the Christ Church. Opposite the Stadthuys is the famous Jonker Street visited by many tourists. The Stadhuys is an evidence of a fine Dutch architecture. The building is so firmly made that even with little alteration and maintenances, it still stands firmly and upright. This shows that the Dutch had a great knowledge about the making of architecture. There are many tourists’ shops along the walls of the Stadhuys. From the roof of the Stadhuys, one can see a great view of the Christchurch. The Stadthuys was built between 1641 and 1660 on the ruins of a fort which belongs to the Portuguese. It is believed that the Stadthuys is the oldest Dutch building in the East. This massive red building displays all the common features of the Dutch colonial architecture which includes substantial solid doors and louvered windows. Since its completion to 1980, the Stadthuys was used as the administrative centre of successive governments for a period of 300 years. It was in 1982 when the Stadthuys was converted into a history museum which exhibits Malacca’s history starting from the great Malay Sultanate and the Portuguese, Dutch and British colonization till the present day. This building also has his history in the field of education, which in the 19th century during the British rule, a school run by the clergy known as the Malacca Free School was built in the yard Stadhuys Building. When the free education given by the English school. However most of the students in the school is composed of the children of the wealthy Chinese. Historical records show a letter dated 19 April 1825, stating the need to set up an English school in Malacca. The letter was sent to the council signed by a representative of the church, Mr. J. Humprey , JW Overee and A. W. Baumgarten . The school finally opened on December 7, 1826 with only 18 students. Malacca Free School Principal was Mr TH Moore. Soon the number of students at the school increased to 200. Study time from 9 am to 12 noon and from 2pm connected to 4 pm. Number of Malay students at that time not many because most parents send their children to Malay schools or religious schools. Although the language of instruction is English, other languages such as Malay, Portuguese and Chinese are also taught. In August 1878, the British government took over the administration ot the schools ot the clergy and called Malacca High School or High School Malacca. The new principal is Mr. A. Armstrong. In 1931, Malacca High School moved to its new site in Jalan Chan Koon Cheng until now. The building now houses the Museum of History and Ethnography. Daily display of this museum is a traditional wedding dress and artifacts from the heyday of Malacca. In conclusion, all the history past made the Stadthuys had been chosen as one of the world heritage. How to cite World heritage at malacca, Papers

Wednesday, April 29, 2020

Journey of the Magi free essay sample

Eliot’s poem Journey of the Magi describes the physical quest of the three wise men, which correlates to the author’s own spiritual journey of conversion to the Christian faith. Through this concept, it is explored that the notion of journeys are constantly changing and the end product is not always what you expect. It also reveals how the experiences of the journey will affect ones perspective, as the persona’s emotions are never stable. The poem explores the themes of spirituality and death and rebirth through the use of figurative language, imagery and symbolism. Journey of the Magi is written in blank verse. This maintains the formal metrical structure whilst still giving the author flexibility to write in the manner of natural speech, giving the poem a sense of rhythm and flow. The poem is written as a dramatic monologue from the perspective of one magus, adopting a conversational tone. We will write a custom essay sample on Journey of the Magi or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page This perspective creates a personal atmosphere of the speaker’s uncertainty and hardship of the journey of spiritual growth, and allows the reader to fully experience and empathise with the difficulties that the Magi and Eliot have endured in their respective journeys. The first two stanzas specifically depict the difficulty and hardship of the magi’s journey. The imagery in ‘the very dead of winter’ evokes a sense of death and despair, and highlights the hopelessness that the magi feel in their lives. The sibilance and tactile and gustatory imagery in ‘the summer palaces on slopes, the terraces, / And the silken girls bringing sherbet’, heightens their struggle and temptation of turning back to their old way of life and they begin to doubt their decision of embarking on this journey. Eliot’s use of present participles, such as cursing, running, wanting emphasize the continuity and immediateness of the events. The repetition of ‘and’ enhances the incantatory rhythm, reinforcing their frustration and thus further describing the arduous journey. This constant struggle is parallel to the author’s own spiritual obstacles of returning to his previous sinful lifestyle and the feeling of alienation from those who still worship their heathen gods. Furthermore, it presents an inner conflict of letting go of the past and moving on with life. The third stanza markedly begins to portray a more positive connotation of their journey through biblical allusions and the imagery of lush vegetation and growth, which contrasts to the pessimism in the previous stanzas. Their arrival at dawn is associated with the idea of a new day and a new beginning, foreshadowing the importance of the Christ child’s birth and hence, the beginning of a new era. The image of water in nature is a symbol of fertility, new life and baptism, suggests that the running stream will take this life-giving water afar to evangelize peoples of all nations. This also illustrates the effect that one person’s journey will have on others, initiating their own unique journey. The visual imagery of ‘three trees on the low sky’ indicates positive associations with shelter and protection and quite possibly is referring to the Holy Trinity. ‘Finding the place; it was (you may say) satisfactory’ implies that the magi have reached their destination of witnessing the birth of Jesus, however their apparent reaction is opposite to the expected euphoria. This birth has marked the end of an era of magic and paganism and denoted the start of another. The outcome of journey was not what they were expecting and perhaps has left them more perplexed than when they first began the journey. One of the central themes is presented in the paradox of how new life can only be reborn from death and that death is necessary for another life cycle to begin. In a physical sense, the death of the body marks the beginning of eternal life. The persona expresses his confusion of the whole meaning of his journey in ‘I had seen birth and death, but had thought they were different’. The magus anticipates his own death because it will release him from his suffering in a world where happiness can never be achieved. This the only way he can truly be physically liberated from an earthly world and be reborn spiritually in the kingdom of God. Journey of the Magi examines both the positive and negative sides to journeys and the inevitability of dying in order to be reborn. Through analysing this text, I have learnt that both physical and inner journeys are ever changing, filled with struggles and angst, optimism and hope. Sometimes the outcome is not what you expect, but you must learn to accept the changes. It will not signify the end of your journey, but the beginning of another.