Marketing Communication and Branding Essay Example for Free

Marketing Communication and Branding Essay Introduction After careful market research of some of the different phone markets in today’s industry; the market that was the most interest to the writer was the disability phone market. Of all the mobile phones researched, none were found to have Braille included; only speaking activated commands designed to send text messages as well as calling. The idea the writer proposes is a phone for the visually impaired which has a sole purpose for calling people. The keys will be fitted with Braille so that the individuals are able to effectively feel what number they are pressing. SOSTAC Situation Analysis Upon research it was found the size of the disability phone market is small in comparison to others, such as android where there are thousands of brands available. Around 360,000 people are registered blind or partially sighted in the UK (Action for Blind People, 2011), showing that, with the assumption that everyone needs a mobile phone in today’s society, the key segments that this brand will relate to are the 360,000 potential customers within the visual impairment mobile phone market. The key competing brands include Doro, an established competitor who supply a range of mobile phones for the disabled. They supply too many online retailers, ranging from handheld mobile phone to home landlines. Alternatively, Amplicom is another competitor who develops mobiles with large buttons, aimed at the visually impaired market. These competitors will be the toughest to compete with due to their experience and current market share; a large investment and money will be required to make sure that the proposed brand can gain a decent amount of market share. Porter’s five forces is an appropriate model which can be related to overcome such competition, due to its ability to â€Å"evaluate entry barriers, suppliers, customers, substitute products and industry rivalry† (Freitag, 2005). Furthermore Porter’s five forces can determine what the current market is for the brand, as well as the outlining any existing competitor’s positions in relation to the developing product. Moreover, it can also show how a firm’s stakeholders can influence the company with the use of bargaining power (Chee and Harris, 1998). This  information would be vital to obtain prior to the launch of the brand to reduce the chance of product failure. The macro-environmental factors will be implemented to the brand through PEST analysis; Political, Economical, Situational and Technological. Political factors which relate appropriately to the disability mobile phone market include the strict laws on the disposal of production materials such as batteries and any forms of radioactive waste, as well as any compulsory health and safety procedures during the production and contribution of the developing products. Breaking these rules could result in heavy penalties including fines and even the termination of the company in severe cases. Suitable economic factors include the assessment of the current poor financial climate. This leads to the assumption that it is currently not attractive to place investments as money is generally tight for most, reducing the overall customer base for the developing product. Example solutions for this could include enticing consumers with bargain phone prices or even reduced fixed monthly contract payments which will include a suitable amount of minutes for the target segment. Furthermore by offering all deals at lower end prices will suitably fit the market, as there can be a general assumption that those who are visually impaired may also fit well within the retirement market, a segment that generally has less money spare. Regarding social factors the main issue considered is ethics; relating to how products are developed and distributed, in addition to advertising techniques used to help promote the brand. Equal opportunities and fair working conditions should be issued to all employees involved in the development and promotion of the brand so that the product can represent diversity; relating appropriately to the disabled mobile phone market. Advertisements should be honest and not have any misleading content to confuse any consumers; and all information promoted will be fully implemented into the design of the mobile phone. Technological factors are by large the most relevant and important to consider within mobile phone industries. Due to the constant development of technology within the actual mobile phones, it is an competitive industry to be involved in. Nevertheless within the disability phone market the ‘look’ of the phone is a lesser important factor during purchasing; it is what the phone provides to the consumer to aid their special needs when contacting someone. Simple, up-to-date software is required so that all relevant  features are implemented, in addition to having an appropriately sized screen with higher contrast settings so that the visually impaired are able to read clearer. Large number buttons are essential so the Braille fits comfortably and the user is able to identify what number they want to press with ease. Objectives Here are three objectives that are going to be set for the new developing brand: * Increase awareness of the service in disabled people by 50% within 6 months * In three years time production costs should be reduced by 10% * In the next two years revenue should be approximately  £7 million These objectives act as sufficient targets and in turn will motivate staff and drive productively due to the time scaled that these objectives must be achieved. The chosen objectives all appropriately relate to the current disability phone market and the specific areas that could be improved, such as increasing the awareness of service for people with special needs. This could therefore encourage other companies to develop other suitable day-to-day products to suit their needs also, which could furthermore promote the idea of developing a whole new organisation specially aimed at designing products to aid people with special needs. Strategy The push/pull strategy involves creating demand from two aspects; push strategy involves the demand being created by the manufacturer’s distributers, and pull relates to the manufacturer creating demand via their own promotion techniques (Frazier and Summers, 2011). The brand will follow a pull strategy because it is envisioned that demand will be created through advertising and an effective, unique selling point. This is good because through a push strategy, it is sometimes required to distribute a higher volume of goods, which is better related to a mobile phone industry with a larger audience, unlike the niche, disabled market. Another benefit of this is that because the developing brand is unheard of an unproven; preventing stock piling of products if they are not sold, saving money. Although, a pull strategy will require a large investment for advertising, it is estimated that the cost of production and potential stock piling outweighs this in fiscal terms. Relating to the objectives, the pull strategy will aid  the accomplishment of said targets with the use of an advertising campaign, creating the demand that will create supply to the blind market. To engage the consumers, advertising campaigns will hosted at specific events which relate to the disability market, such as the Cambridge Disability Sport and Arts festival. By doing this it will allow the promotion of the developing product to be recognised and positively received by the disabled. This will allow potential consumers to try out the mobile phone and leave feedback regarding their thoughts and opinions. The Paralympics 2012 is taking place in London, an excellent occasion which can be related to individuals with special needs. It is a global event which promotes diversity of all sorts within the sponsoring organisations and sport activities; which can be related to the promotion of the brand’s developing product and encourage consumers to try it out to see if it can suit their needs. Combined, by implementing such advertising campaigns during the Paralympics and obtaining a respected and relatable celebrity sponsor can help achieve the completion of the increasing awareness objective. Additionally, after appropriate research, selling the phone at a competitive price will create demand; and furthermore help achieve the  £7 million revenue objective. To achieve the reduced in production costs objective, mass production will need to take place, which will effectively lower production costs, or even investing in a new technology to produce more units at a cheaper rate, over a period of time, may even reduce costs by 10%. Tactics Expanding further within the advertising campaigns aimed to help achieve the awareness and revenue objectives, this will include visual posters on noticeable areas of everyday life such as telephone boxes, buses, taxis and even billboards. To carry out ethical diversity promotions, the advertisements will also be located within care centres for the visually impaired, as well as any social and youth clubs to increase awareness. Radio adverts will also take place as it is fair to assume that a wide diversity range of people listen to the radio, allowing the promotion of the  developing product to all audiences. Any user feedback from testing the developing product will be noted down and kept for future improvement, allowing management to raise questions on how to improve the brand and image it represents to consumers. By doing so will potentially improve the awareness of the disability market as well as increasing the possibility of generating revenue due to the improvement of the product to suit the special needs. Ade Adepitan, a wheelchair basketball sportsman and TV presenter can be a suitable celebrity endorsement to help promote the product as he is someone the key segment can truly relate to will help achieve awareness and furthermore create a positive brand reputation which will create demand; and therefore revenue and profits. Issuing the mobile phone with a competitive price of  £60 is suitably competitive and will create demand; helping to achieve the  £7 million revenue objective if 116,666 units are sold within the 2 year time scale. Promoting this product in the UK only can help assess if the product is largely successful to its key segment, and after the 2 year objective is attained, further action can take place to help make the product go global. Lower production costs will occur if an appropriate manufacturer is found; who follows all ethical procedures the brand wants to promote, in addition to supplying the company with great production unit price rates so that the most possible revenue and profits can be generated. Furthermore, a ‘green policy’, known as a policy to help lead greener lives, can promote the brand to be extremely sufficient with its production, enticing customers and portraying the brand image to be ethical and fair. Nevertheless green policies are very expensive, which would mean that either a generous sponsor would have to be applied for, or even a loan would have to take place to implement such activities. Action Firstly, finance will have the overall responsibility of distributing budgets to all departments so that the entire production and launch of the new brand is successful. Once all budgets have been issued the marketing department will be able to effectively form a plan on when the launch will take place and what is proposed to take place during the entire duration. Within the marketing department a market research team will be organised so an investigation of production methods and price rates of manufacturers is performed, as well as making sure all ethical procedures the brand would like to follow are implemented. Relevant findings will be informed to the finance department to see if there are enough budgets to apply any new changes. All tasks taking place for the launch will be managed by a team leader – essential for the success of team member communication and task success. This will then be approved by a main, overall manager of the entire launch, so all task deadlines are met and workloads are of a high standard to boost the quality of the promotion. A time management tool named a Gantt chart will be implemented so all tasks are clearly shown, along with their time deadlines to help guide leaders and encourage team members to strive to complete a task to benefit the brand’s launch. This will be combined with a critical path analysis, where all shortest possible times in which tasks can be completed are shown to avoid delaying the entire launch. Example Critical Path Analysis, Source: http://tutor2u.net Example Gantt chart, Source: www.ganttchart.com/ Control Two things will effectively measure the growth of awareness and gather an accurate estimate. Firstly the sales records will be analysed. A growth in sales indicates the rise of awareness and any initial sales from year one indicate consumer’s knowledge of the product. A questionnaire will also be released to specific geographical locations and the results will give an indication as to how many people and how far spread the awareness of the branch has reached. An appropriate measure to identify whether or not the production costs have been reduced would be to look at energy bills to see if the change in production equipment or manufacturers has been an effective adjustment. To determine whether or not revenue will reach 7 million pounds can be monitored by customer loyalty and re-purchasing. A high customer re-purchase rate is a strong indicator that the brand is respected and trusted with their products and service. References Action for Blind People, (2011), Facts and figures about issues around sight loss, [online] available at: http://www.actionforblindpeople.org.uk/about-us/media-centre/facts-and-figures-about-issues-around-sight-loss/ [accessed 05/05/2012] Chee, H. and Harris, R., (1998), Global marketing strategy, London: Financial Times Pitman Publishing. Frazier, G. L. and Summer, J. O., (2011), Contemporary Views on Marketing Practice, [e-book] Marketing Classics Press. Available at: Google Books http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=eqn23RV52hECpg=PA217dq=push+pull+strategy+definitionhl=ensa=Xei=IHeqT7y9DIqw0QWDgOXlAwved=0CDYQ6AEwAA#v=onepageq=push%20pull%20strategy%20definitionf=false [accessed 24/04/2012] Freitag, N., (2005), Critical The Impact of Culture on International Marketing Plans and Review of the French Wine Industry, Munich: Grin Publishing, 1(1), p.15. GanttCharts, (2012), [image online] available at: http://www.ganttchart.com/gantt-chart-example.png [accessed 04/05/2012] Tutor2u, (2012), [image online] available at: http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRKft-Y9gw7P3sIBXtcdKf4ot5R7Jqo_Pn-cUzg_bXwuovgXq1can7WpViQ0Q [accessed 01/05/2012] Bibliography Doro, (2011), [online] available at: http://www.doro.co.uk/products/Specialneeds/ [accessed 25/04/2012] Matobmobile, (2010), [online] available at: http://matobmobile.co.uk/index.php?id=elderly_mobile_phones [accessed 25/04/2012] Scribd, (2012), Pest Analysis, [online] available at: http://www.scribd.com/doc/58834389/Pest-Analysis-Nokia [accessed 21/04/2012]

Joseph Conrads Heart of Darkness :: Essays Papers

Heart of Darkness I had read this story once before when I was a freshman at a branch campus of Penn State called Behrend. I read it for a literature class dealing with short stories and their analyzation. I didn’t really like the story back then, and it really hasn’t moved-up any spots on my list of favorites. Although I really didn’t care for the story, I did notice quite a bit of symbolism throughout the book. Conrad seemed to use black and white as his main source of color symbolism. Just as in the old westerns, white is good and black is bad. One instance in which you could see this is the many times that Conrad speaks of the white souls of the black people and the black souls of the white people that exploit them. The old ladies in the Belgian office sat there and knitted black wool, symbolizing the dark fate and tragedy that were to follow. You can find many, many other examples of the usage of black and white to symbolize feelings and emotions, as well as a few other colors. There are also some objects that Conrad uses to create a symbolism. Take, for example, the stick of wax that the manager breaks while he is talking about Kurtz. I don’t know, but if you ask me the manager wishes that the wax actually was Kurtz. I think that the oil painting that was done by Kurtz shows that he was completely aware of what was going on and what he was getting himself into. I also noticed that grass was mentioned a lot in the story. I remember from my class at Behrend that the professor mentioned that Conrad liked to include a lot of references to Biblical scripture in his works. I can’t remember what it was supposed to mean, but I think that the grass has something to do with the Bible. Well, even though this wasn’t the greatest book that I have ever read, there were a lot of interesting things that it gave me to think about. The question was posed in class on Tuesday...What kind of leader would you be if you could make all of the rules You know, the longer that I sit here and think about that question the more that I think I would be horrible. Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness :: Essays Papers Heart of Darkness I had read this story once before when I was a freshman at a branch campus of Penn State called Behrend. I read it for a literature class dealing with short stories and their analyzation. I didn’t really like the story back then, and it really hasn’t moved-up any spots on my list of favorites. Although I really didn’t care for the story, I did notice quite a bit of symbolism throughout the book. Conrad seemed to use black and white as his main source of color symbolism. Just as in the old westerns, white is good and black is bad. One instance in which you could see this is the many times that Conrad speaks of the white souls of the black people and the black souls of the white people that exploit them. The old ladies in the Belgian office sat there and knitted black wool, symbolizing the dark fate and tragedy that were to follow. You can find many, many other examples of the usage of black and white to symbolize feelings and emotions, as well as a few other colors. There are also some objects that Conrad uses to create a symbolism. Take, for example, the stick of wax that the manager breaks while he is talking about Kurtz. I don’t know, but if you ask me the manager wishes that the wax actually was Kurtz. I think that the oil painting that was done by Kurtz shows that he was completely aware of what was going on and what he was getting himself into. I also noticed that grass was mentioned a lot in the story. I remember from my class at Behrend that the professor mentioned that Conrad liked to include a lot of references to Biblical scripture in his works. I can’t remember what it was supposed to mean, but I think that the grass has something to do with the Bible. Well, even though this wasn’t the greatest book that I have ever read, there were a lot of interesting things that it gave me to think about. The question was posed in class on Tuesday...What kind of leader would you be if you could make all of the rules You know, the longer that I sit here and think about that question the more that I think I would be horrible.

Malaysia-Singapore Raltions

ABSTRACT Malaysia and Singapore have a unique and special relation due to the geography, ideology history, culture, , economy, politics and ethnicity factors. Even though with the unique and special factors, its sometimes create tensions between both countries. However, it is said that the relations between both countries have evolved from an inherently unstable into a more mature and positive relationship. This paper will be discussing the current major conflict issue which distressing relationship between both countries and also the resolve issue.This paper also will analyse the relationship during various Prime Minister and their foreign policy towards each other’s. Finally it will discuss why the relationship becomes warmer and the factor that influence the positive relationship. INTRODUCTION Singapore merged with Malaya, Sabah and Sarawak to form the Federation of Malaysia in 1963. However, this political union proved to be short-lived as Singapore was ousted from the Fed eration in 1965 due to political and ethnic differences.This failed political union, and the resulting stigma of separation has continued to cast a shadow over Singapore-Malaysia’s bilateral ties. Furthermore, due to the geographical proximity between these two states, bilateral problems are prone to exaggeration by both sides, often a case of â€Å"virtuous self and the stereotypical other†. Malaysia and Singapore relations are unique and special due to factors such as geography, history, politics, ideology, economy, culture and ethnicity. These factors sometimes have created tensions between both countries.The uniqueness of the relationship is reflected by the various terms used to describe the state of rivalry between the two countries such as â€Å"Siamese twins†, â€Å"sibling rivalry† or â€Å"family quarrel†, suggesting a complex love-hate relationship that has grown out of a shared common history and cultural background, coloured by politic al differences and, ironically, by economic competition and interdependency. DISPUTES AND SOLUTIONS KERETAPI TANAH MELAYU (KTM) – In 1990, Malaysia and Singapore had signed an agreement concerning Tanjong Pagar railway station.Malaysia had agreed to relocate the station to Bukit Timah to allowed development of the land that located in the premium area. On 24 May 2010, a meeting between Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak and his Singaporean counterpart Lee Hsien Loong in Singapore resolved the relocation issue. They announced that Malaysia's national railway company Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTM) will be move out from Tanjong Pagar railway station and establish a station at the Woodlands Train Checkpoint (WTCP) by 1 July 2011.Malaysia also will relocate its customs, immigration and quarantine facilities from Tanjong Pagar to the WTCP to ensure the systematic and integrated border crossing facility between Malaysia and Singapore . A joint holding company (60 % Malaysia ow nership, 40 % Singapore) will then develop the abandoned KTM properties. WATER SUPPLY – Malaysia provides Singapore with about half its water. On 1 September 1961, the Federation of Malaya signed an agreement giving Singapore the right to draw up to 86 million imperial gallons (390,000 m3) of water per day with effect through 2011.On 29 September 1962, a further agreement was signed providing Singapore the right to draw up to 250 million imperial gallons (1,100,000 m3) per day from the Johore River, with effect through 2061. Both agreements stipulated the price of RM 0. 03 per 1,000 gallons. In turn, the Johor Government pays Singapore RM 0. 50 for every 1000 gallons of treated water. On 31 August 2011, the 1961 water agreement expired and the waterworks and facilities were handed over to the Johor state government.The handover included the Skudai and Gunung Pulai water treatment plants, which were built and managed by Public Utilities Board (PUB) for 50 years, as well as two pump houses in Pontian and Tebrau . JOHOR-SINGAPORE CAUSEWAY- The state of Johor currently already has developed ports including Pasir Gudang and Tanjong Pelapas. Under the former Mahathir administration, the Malaysian government scheduled to build a new customs, immigration and quarantine complex on a hilltop near the Johor Bahru railway station.A bridge is planned to link the new customs complex with the city square. The proposals on replacing the old causeway with a new bridge have resulted in a political rift between the two countries since the early 2000s. Singapore has hinted that it might agree to a bridge if its air force is allowed to use part of Johor's airspace. Malaysia refused the offer and negotiation is said to be still on going. In September 2003, Malaysia first announced its intention to replace its half of the Causeway with a new bridge.On 5 January 2004, Singapore's Foreign Minister Prof Jayakumar commented that it did not make sense for Singapore to replace its half of the bridge with a new bridge, as it would cost, along with revisions to customs, immigration and quarantine facilities, more than $500 million. On 2 February 2004, Malaysia said it would present Singapore with a new design for the proposed bridge to replace the Causeway, as Malaysia is still interested in building the new bridge.However, in September 2004, Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi announced that Malaysia would defer the half-bridge project as part of its effort to pare down its huge fiscal deficit by deferring big ticket projects. In April 2006, Abdullah Badawi announced that Malaysia would drop the half-bridge project altogether. PEDRA BRANCA (PULAU BATU PUTIH) – On 21 December 1979 Malaysia published a new map which showed the island to be within its territorial waters.This ignited a 29-year territorial dispute which, together with the issue of sovereignty over the nearby maritime features of Middle Rocks and South Ledge, this disputes was presented to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for resolution. On 23 May 2008 the ICJ ruled that Pedra Branca is under Singapore's sovereignty. THE CENTRAL PROVIDENT FUND (CPF) issue has still not been resolved after many years. It is hoped that the Malaysian Government will pursue the long standing issue pertaining to the dilemma of Malaysians who have left the republic for more than a decade and are still unable to withdraw their CPF savings.Under the present CPF withdrawal regulations, Malaysians from Peninsular Malaysia are only able to withdraw their CPF savings at the age of 50 if they have not been working in the republic for the last two years. The CPF law on withdrawal seems to discriminate against Malaysians from Peninsular Malaysia as other foreigners, including Malaysians from Sabah and Sarawak, are allowed full withdrawal of their CPF savings when they leave Singapore. Land Reclamations Issue – Singapore had extensively conducted the land reclamation activity within its territorial water.Plans for the Tekong reclamation project were made publicly available since 1991, and for the Tuas project, since 2001. Until January 2002 there is no objection from neighbouring country. However in 2002 Malaysia had objected the activity. After that, Malaysia embarked on two legal tracks to stop Singapore's land reclamation works. First, on 4 July 2003, Malaysia served notice to Singapore that it wanted arbitration to decide whether Singapore has the right to reclaim the land off Tuas and Pulau Tekong.This arbitration tribunal, comprising five members agreed on by both sides, was formed on 9 Oct 2003. Then, on 5 September 2003 Malaysia applied separately to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) for an order on provisional measures, seeking to put an immediate stop to Singapore's reclamation works pending the setting up of the arbitration panel. The hearing took place between 25 and 27 Sep 03 in Hamburg, Germany. On 8 Oct 2003, ITLOS unanim ously decided that Singapore could continue its land reclamation activities.In April 2005, Singapore and Malaysia formally ended the reclamation dispute by signing a settlement agreement. FACTORS AFFECTING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MALAYSIA AND SINGAPORE Looking at the leadership style of both Prime Minister after the independent of Singapore, there is a high and low relationship which creating the foreign policy towards both countries. We can observed during the Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Abdul Razak and also Tun Hussein Onn, the relationship is calm and interdependent towards each other.During this era also, Mr Lee Kuan Yew as the Prime Minister His leadership style have a strong influence in the manner of bilateral issue between both countries. He is serious in dealing with the issue and also influence by his past experience and the pre and post separation political baggage. To show the difficulties in the relationship, Singapore first Deputy Prime Minister Mr Lee Hsien Loong says: à ¢â‚¬Å" its relationship with Malaysia is one of its important and complex foreign relation† And Tun Mahathir also had a remark that saying: it’s impossible to be friendly with Singapore because of the neighbouring city states unfriendliness towards Malaysia. Singapore gets into that kind of mood that they reject anything that comes from Malaysia. We try to be friendly as possible but it’s impossible† Relations with Singapore under Mahathir's tenure have been stormy. Many disputed issues raised during his administration have not been resolved. Many of these international issues have been raised up under Mahathir's Premiership term, but no significant headway had been made then to resolve them bilaterally.Both sides had stubbornly refused to compromise, with the result of bilateral relations turning frosty. Tun Abdullah Haji Ahmad Badawi became the fifth Prime Minister in 2003 and he was Dr Mahathir’s choice. Since Abdullah Badawi took over, bilateral relations between Singapore and Malaysia have undergone a sea change. Part of it was due to Abdullah warm personality, non-confrontational, consensus-seeking characters and sincere attempts to improve ties together with his policy are to give in to almost every request, and relations have begun to thaw.And this was reciprocated by Singapore leaders, as reflected in the flow of many senior Singaporean leaders to the funeral of Datin Seri Endon, Mr Abdullah’s latewife – which certainly went beyond the call of protocol. During Pak Lah era, few discussion has been made such as the causeway issue, air space issue and also the KTM land in Tanjong Pagar. They are trying to resolve the issue through the win-win situation. When Dato’ Seri Najib taking over the Prime Minister of Malaysia, the relationship is grow warming.The effort of Najib in clearing major bilateral issue concerning both countries make that relation becoming more mature and good. Since the effort of cle aring the implementation of the point of agreement (POA) which had been negotiated and agreed upon in 1990 which involved the KTM land in Tanjung Pagar that cleared in 2010, more bilateral relationship and opportunities is open. WARMING TIES BETWEEN MALAYSIA AND SINGAPORE There is several issue and factors that make the relationship between Malaysia Nad Singapore becoming warmer. The economic factor is one of the most important relations and always had a high degree of inter dependence.Malaysia and Singapore have been each other's main trading partners for many years. Data from Malaysia's Department of Statistics, for instance, show that bilateral trade between Malaysia and Singapore was valued at RM175. 5bil last year, up from RM161. 7bil in 2011. Malaysia remains Singapore's largest trading partner, while Singapore is Malaysia's second largest trading partner after China. Malaysia and Singapore economic interdependence is just not reflected in the bilateral trade only, it also inv olving the investment in both countries.From the data tabled by the Malays Malaysian Industrial Development Authority show that Singapore remains one of the top investors in the country, with total value of approved projects standing at RM2. 2bil last year, down slightly from RMRM2. 5bil in 2011 because of the global economic weakness. Singapore's investments in Malaysia are mainly concentrated in the manufacturing sector. Recently, the development of Iskandar had attracted the Singapore investors and that had make their investor is the largest single group of investor there which accounting about 17% of the total money invested there.In the other sides, Malaysia investors also actively invested in Singapore. It had been showed with involvement Malaysian company like YTL Corp, SP Setia and Selangor Dredging in real estate business, Maybank in financial sector, Axiata Group in telecommunication and also Genting Berhad in the leisure and hospitality sector. The government investment a rm from both country namely Khazanah from Malaysia and Temasek from Singapore also had form a joint venture in developing the commercial land parcels in Singapore such as Marina South and Ophir-Ophir .In Iskandar they are also establishing the joint venture company to invest in two wellness related project with a gross development value of RM 3b. To increase connectivity between both countries, few projects has been agreed and initiated. The extension of MRT from Singapore to Johore Bharu is planned to be built to reduce the traffic congestion in both entrance in Singapore and Malaysia. The High Speed Train from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore also planned to reduce travel time to 90 minutes. This infrastructure development also will increase the economic development in the area.In security and defence matters, both states share a serious concern over the emergence of JI in the region. They have coordinated on police work and intelligence sharing, and even synchronized the initial arrests of JI members in December 2001. JI members were imprisoned in both countries under the Internal Security Act (ISA), which both Malaysia and Singapore patterned after the British law that allows for detention without trial for up to two years for supposedly dangerous suspects. Also, both countries have put pressure on Indonesia to take a more active role in confronting the terrorism problem.In the military, several bilateral exercise and operation is conducted to reduce the crime in Straits of Malacca, Eyes in The Sky Operation is jointly conducted to scout the strait for pirates. The flights are undertaken by crews with nationals from the different countries so they can better share information. Intelligence gathered on pirates is also disseminated among governments, including on a Web-based network for quick and easy access. These actions, taken together, made it far more costly and difficult for the pirates to operate.Both military forces also involve in the Five Power Defence Ar rangement that are a series of defence relationships established by a series of bilateral agreements between the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia and Singapore signed in 1971, whereby the five states will consult each other in the event of external aggression or threat of attack against Peninsular Malaysia (East Malaysia is not included as part of the area of responsibilities under the FPDA) or Singapore. FACTORS THAT MAKES THE RELATIONSHIP GROWING TIES The first factor is the leadership role and function. With the new eneration of leader ship which is the second generation of previous leader, Najib is son of Tun Abd Razak and Lee Hsien Loong is son of Lee Kuan Yew, they are trying actively to resolve the bilateral issue of both countries. With the new generation thinking they realised the interdependence both country each many matters. The second factor economic interdependence which shows that both country are main trading partner each other. Malaysia also inviting the investors from Singapore to invest in the economic development project initiate in many region in Malaysia such as IRDA, ECER and also NCER.The encouragement by both governments through their public and private sector to collaborate with their counterpart shows there relationship will going stronger. The third factor is massive people to people contact which encouraging tourist from both countries visiting each other will develop this contact. This will created necessary goodwill and tolerance among others. This also had been expanded through sport activity which we can see that the football team from both countries is participating in the league. CONCLUSIONWe can conclude that due to their historical, cultural linkages and their geographical proximity Malaysia and Singapore had enjoyed and share a special relationship. The issue and challenge between each other had brought a god point for both countries to sit down and discussing the way to move forward. Both of the leaders ar e aware the important of each other in many factors. Both new generation leaders is trying hard to improve the relationship with each other’s even though there is a few issue that not resolve yet.But their mutual agreement in developing economic sector each other shows the positive prospect towards very warm relationship. Both leaders also seem in the same view in settling issue through win-win situation and compromise. With the realisation by the leaders in win-win situation and compromising each other, it may lead towards prosperous relationship in the future. It’s the leader and their foreign policy which is determining the future of these relations. Thus, the leader should take every effort to ensure the warming of the relationship is preserve to ensure the mutual benefits.The security and military activities is to be enhanced to ensure the safety of both countries. With the firm security the development of economy can be planned and develop towards higher level. W ith the interest of Singapore investors in IRDA is high, it is not possible Singapore will extend the security watch in the area to ensure safety of their investment. Thus this will benefit both countries towards long and warm relationship. Despite all the bilateral issue, it is observed that, both country is dependant each other in economy, social, and also security aspect.With that the warming relations that initiated by both the new generation leader is a good step towards more close relation. 3117 words Reference: Ganesan, 2005, p. 58 Rusdi Omar, et. al. (2005). Hubungan Malaysia-Singapura Era Mahathir. Sintok: Penerbit Universiti Utara Malaysia. p. 2. Joint statement by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Prime Minister Dato' Sri Mohd Najib Tun Abdul Razak at the Singapore-Malaysia Leaders' Retreat on 24 May 2010, 24 May 2010, , retrieved 2010-05-25 Water Conflicts Between Malaysia and Singapore. Wikipedia the Free Encyclopedia Star. (1999). June 5. p. -2. 1961 water agreement w ith Johor expires on Wednesday. The Straits Times. 14 October 2011 â€Å"Johor-Singapore Causeway†. Wikipedia Rusdi Omar. 2007. Malaysia-Singapore Relations: Issues and Strategies. Working paper presented at the International Conference on Southeast Asia in 3-4 December 2007 at University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia M'sia Stops Construction Of Bridge To Replace Johor Causeway. Prime Minister's Office, Malaysia. 12 April 2006. Pedra Branca, Singapore. Wikipedia Solve CPF Withdrawal Issue With Singapore. The Star Online. 12 November 2008 Kyodo News. (2005).Singapore and Malaysia resolve land reclamation dispute. April 26. http://www. channelnewsasia. com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/144527/1/. html Rusdi Omar, Mohd Ainuddin; Mas Juliana Mukhtarudin. 2005. Malaysia-Singapore Relations During Mahathir’s Era. Sintok, Kedah: UUM News Straits Time. (2003). May 5. p. 22. Asian Economic News. (2002). Oct 14. p. 19 Malaysia’s Foreign Relations: Issues and Challen ges. Ruhanas Harun. Page 24 The Star (2013) Mac 16 Malaysia-Singapore Relations: Never Mind the Rhetoric . Anthony L. Smith. October 2004 ——————————————– 1 ]. Ganesan, 2005, p. 58 [ 2 ]. Rusdi Omar, et. al. (2005). Hubungan Malaysia-Singapura Era Mahathir. Sintok: Penerbit Universiti Utara Malaysia. p. 2. [ 3 ]. Joint statement by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Prime Minister Dato' Sri Mohd Najib Tun Abdul Razak at the Singapore-Malaysia Leaders' Retreat on 24 May 2010, 24 May 2010, , retrieved 2010-05-25 [ 4 ]. Water Conflicts Between Malaysia and Singapore. Wikipedia the Free Encyclopedia [ 5 ]. Star. (1999). June 5. p. 1-2. [ 6 ]. 1961 water agreement with Johor expires on Wednesday. The Straits Times. 14 October 2011 [ 7 ]. Johor-Singapore Causeway†. Wikipedia [ 8 ]. Rusdi Omar. 2007. Malaysia-Singapore Relations: Issues and Strategies. Working paper presented at th e International Conference on Southeast Asia in 3-4 December 2007 at University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia [ 9 ]. M'sia Stops Construction Of Bridge To Replace Johor Causeway. Prime Minister's Office, Malaysia. 12 April 2006. [ 10 ]. Pedra Branca, Singapore. Wikipedia [ 11 ]. Solve CPF Withdrawal Issue With Singapore. The Star Online. 12 November 2008 [ 12 ]. Kyodo News. (2005). Singapore and Malaysia resolve land reclamation dispute.April 26. http://www. channelnewsasia. com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/144527/1/. html [ 13 ]. Rusdi Omar, Mohd Ainuddin& Mas Juliana Mukhtarudin. 2005. Malaysia-Singapore Relations During Mahathir’s Era. Sintok, Kedah: UUM [ 14 ]. News Straits Time. (2003). May 5. p. 22. [ 15 ]. Asian Economic News. (2002). Oct 14. p. 19. [ 16 ]. Malaysia’s Foreign Relations: Issues and Challenges. Ruhanas Harun. Page 24 [ 17 ]. The Star (2013) Mac 16 [ 18 ]. Ibid [ 19 ]. The Star (2013) Mac 16 [ 20 ]. Ibid [ 21 ]. Malaysia-Singapore Relations: Never Mind the Rhetoric . Anthony L. Smith. October 2004

Defend or attack this proposition children should be allowed to choose their own paths Free Essay Example, 1000 words

Jing-mei’s mother started to provide house cleaning services as a source of trading to a piano teacher Mr. Chong, an old man who was deaf and had weak eyes. All this happened against the will of Jing-Mei and Mr. Chong was unable to tell Jing-mei if she was playing wrong notes of piano. Mr. Chong was a sincere teacher but Jing-mei was not cooperating and continued to play the piano badly. One day, Jing-Mei’s mother met a woman with her daughter in the neighborhood and showed natural pride over Jing-mei’s success over the piano. Jing-mei’s mother bought a secondhand piano for her and made Jing-mei to participate in talent show in a church hall, a place where all the couples were invited. At this time, Jing-Mei believed that she is a prodigy although she did not know the music and had no practice as well. While playing a song on the piano Jing-mei realized how bad she was at it. Soon after the song was finished, she revealed that she is not a musical prodigy by noticing the weak applause from the audience and her parent’s disappointment. Even after the talent show, Jing-mei was told by her mother to continue practicing the piano but had no personal desire to cooperate with her mother and said to herself that ‘I didn’t have to do what my mother said anymore. We will write a custom essay sample on Defend or attack this proposition: children should be allowed to choose their own paths or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now I wasn’t her slave. I had listened to her before and look what happened’. At this time, Jing-mei rejects to practice the piano and had an argument with her mother where she said the most hateful things that she would have ever said such as ‘I wish I would never been born! I wish I were dead! ’. It was this time when Jing-mei mentioned about the twin daughters her mother was forced to abandon in China several years back. She noticed that her mother suddenly retreat her and never took the name of piano ever again. As a result of this behavior, Jing-mei was shocked to receive to a piano as a gift from her mother for her thirtieth birthday. Jing-mei accepted the piano after her mother’s death and played it for the first time in many years while packing her mother’s belongings. ‘Two kinds’ is a story which suggests that parents are allowed to choose the future path ways of their children and children are not bound to fulfill their parents dream about their future. I along with many children in the world, belonging from different cultures and backgrounds believe that we have the right to refuse to fulfill our parent’s dreams about our own future. Parents can guide and may provide different options to their children but should not impose anything of their own choice over their children as children have their own personal lives.