The Return Shadow Souls Chapter 1 Free Essays

string(44) " advantage of me when he could have easily\." â€Å"Dear Diary,† Elena whispered, â€Å"how frustrating is this? I left you in the trunk of the Jaguar and it’s two o’clock in the morning.† She stabbed her finger on the leg of her nightgown as if she had a pen and was making a period. She whispered even more softly, leaning her forehead against the window, â€Å"And I’m afraid to go outside – in the dark – and get you. We will write a custom essay sample on The Return: Shadow Souls Chapter 1 or any similar topic only for you Order Now I’m afraid!† She made another stab and then, feeling tears slip down her cheeks, reluctantly turned her mobile on to record. It was a stupid waste of the battery, but she couldn’t help it. She needed this. â€Å"So here I am,† she said softly, â€Å"sitting up in the backseat of the car. This has to be my diary entry for today. By the way, we made a rule for this road trip – I sleep in the Jag’s backseat and it’s the Great Outdoors for Matt and Damon. Right now it’s so dark outside that I can’t see Matt anywhere†¦. But I’ve been going crazy – crying and feeling lost – and so lonely for Stefan†¦. â€Å"We have to get rid of the Jaguar – it’s too big, too red, too flashy, and too memorable when we’re trying not to be remembered as we travel to the place where we can free Stefan. After the car is sold, the lapis lazuli and diamond pendant Stefan gave me the day before he disappeared will be the most precious thing I have left. The day before†¦Stefan got tricked into going away, thinking he could become an ordinary human being. And now†¦ â€Å"How can I stop thinking about what They might be doing to him, at this very second – whoever ‘They’ are? Probably the kitsune, the evil fox spirits at the prison called the Shi no Shi.† Elena paused to wipe her nose on her nightgown sleeve. â€Å"How did I ever get myself into this situation?† She shook her head, hit the seatback with her clenched fist. â€Å"Maybe if I could figure that out, I could come up with Plan A. I always have a Plan A. And my friends always have a Plan B and C to help me.† Elena blinked hard, thinking of Bonnie and Meredith. â€Å"But now I’m frightened that I’ll never see them again. And I’m scared for the entire town of Fell’s Church.† For a moment she sat with her clenched fist on her knee. A small voice inside her was saying, â€Å"So stop whining, Elena, and think. Think. Start from the beginning.† The beginning? What was the beginning? Stefan? No, she had lived in Fell’s Church long before Stefan came. Slowly, almost dreamily, she spoke into her mobile. â€Å"In the first place: who am I? I’m Elena Gilbert, age eighteen.† Even more slowly, she said, â€Å"I†¦don’t think it’s vain to say that I’m beautiful. If I didn’t know I was, I’d have to have never looked in a mirror or heard a compliment. It’s not something I should be proud of – it’s just something that was passed down from Mom and Dad. â€Å"What do I look like? I have blond hair that falls in sort of waves past my shoulders and blue eyes that some people have said are like lapis lazuli: dark blue with splashes of gold.† She gave a half-choked laugh. â€Å"Maybe that’s why vampires like me.† Then her lips tightened and, staring into the utter blackness around her, she spoke seriously. â€Å"A lot of boys have called me the most angelic girl in the world. And I played around with them. I just used them – for popularity, for amusement, for whatever. I’m being honest, all right? I considered them to be toys or trophies.† She paused. â€Å"But there was something else. Something that I knew all my life was coming – but I didn’t know what. I felt as if I were searching for something that I could never find with boys. None of my scheming or playing around with them ever touched my†¦deepest heart†¦until one very special boy came along.† She stopped and swallowed and said it again. â€Å"One very special boy. â€Å"His name was Stefan. â€Å"And he turned out not to be what he looked like, a normal – but gorgeous – high school senior with rumpled dark hair and eyes as green as emeralds. â€Å"Stefan Salvatore turned out to be a vampire. â€Å"A real vampire.† Elena had to pause to take a few choked breaths before she could get the next words out. â€Å"And so did his gorgeous older brother, Damon.† She bit her lips, and it seemed a long time later that she added, â€Å"Would I have loved Stefan if I’d known he was a vampire from the beginning? Yes! Yes! Yes! I’d have fallen in love with him no matter what! But it changed things – and it changed me.† Elena’s finger traced a pattern on her nightgown by touch alone. â€Å"You see, vampires show love by exchanging blood. The problem was†¦that I was sharing blood with Damon, too. Not really by choice, but because he was after me constantly, day and night.† She let out a sigh. â€Å"What Damon says is that he wants to make me a vampire and his Princess of the Night. What that translates into is: he wants me all to himself. But I wouldn’t trust Damon on anything unless he gave his word. That’s one quirk he has, he never breaks his word.† Elena could feel an odd smile curling her lips, but she was speaking calmly now, fluently, the mobile almost forgotten. â€Å"A girl involved with two vampires†¦well, there’s bound to be trouble, isn’t there? So maybe I deserved what I got. â€Å"I died. â€Å"Not just ‘died’ like when your heart stops and they resuscitate you and you come back talking about almost going into the Light. I went into the Light. â€Å"I died. â€Å"And when I came back – what a surprise! I was a vampire. â€Å"Damon was†¦kind to me, I suppose, when I first woke up as a vampire. Maybe that’s the reason I still have†¦feelings for him. He didn’t take advantage of me when he could have easily. You read "The Return: Shadow Souls Chapter 1" in category "Essay examples" â€Å"But I only had time to do a few things in my vampire life. I had time to remember Stefan and love him more than ever – since I knew, then, how difficult everything was for him. I got to listen to my own memorial service. Ha! Everybody should get a chance to do that. I learned to always, always wear lapis lazuli so I wouldn’t become a vampire Crispy Critter. I got to say good-bye to my little four-year-old sister, Margaret, and visit Bonnie and Meredith†¦.† Tears were still sliding almost unnoticed down Elena’s face. But she spoke quietly. â€Å"And then – I died again. â€Å"I died the way a vampire dies, when they don’t have lapis lazuli in the sunlight. I didn’t crumble into dust; I was only seventeen. But the sun poisoned me anyway. Going was almost†¦peaceful. That was when I made Stefan promise to take care of Damon, always. And I think Damon swore to take care of Stefan, in his mind. And that was how I died, with Stefan holding me and Damon beside me as I simply drifted away, like going to sleep. â€Å"After that, I had dreams I don’t remember, and then suddenly, one day everyone was surprised because I was talking to them through Bonnie, who is very psychic, poor thing. I guess I had landed the job of being Fell’s Church’s guardian spirit. There was a danger to the town. They had to fight it and somehow, when they were sure that they had lost, I got dumped back to the world of the living to help. And – well, when the war was won I was left with these weird powers I don’t understand. But there was Stefan, too! We were together again!† Elena wrapped her arms around herself tightly and held on as if she were holding Stefan to her, imagining his warm arms around her. She shut her eyes until her breathing slowed. â€Å"About my powers, let’s see. There’s telepathy, which I can do if the other person is telepathic – which all vampires are, but to different degrees unless they’re actually sharing blood with you at the time. And then there are my Wings. â€Å"It’s true – I have Wings! And the Wings have powers you wouldn’t believe – the only problem being that I don’t have the faintest idea how to use them. There’s one that I can feel sometimes, like right now, trying to get out of me, trying to shape my lips to name it, trying to move my body into the right stance. It’s Wings of Protection and that sounds like something we could really use on this trip. But I can’t even remember how I made the old Wings work – much less figure out how to use this new one. I say the words until I feel like an idiot – but nothing happens at all. â€Å"So I’m a human again – as human as Bonnie. And, oh, God, if I could only see her and Meredith right now! But all the time I tell myself that I’m getting closer to Stefan every minute. That is, if you take into account Damon’s running us up and down and everywhere to throw off anybody trying to track us down. â€Å"Why would anyone want to track us down? Well, you see, when I came back from the afterlife there was a very big explosion of Power that everyone in the world who can see Power saw. â€Å"Now, how do I explain Power? It’s something that everybody has, but that humans – except genuine psychics like Bonnie – don’t even recognize. Vampires definitely have Power, and they use it to Influence humans to like them, or to think that things are different from reality – oh, like the way Stefan Influenced the high school staff to think his records were all in order when he ‘transferred’ to Robert E. Lee High School. Or they use Power to blast other vampires or creatures of darkness – or humans. â€Å"But I was talking about the burst of Power when I dropped down from the heavens. It was so big that it attracted two horrible creatures from the other side of the world. And then they decided to come see what had made the burst, and if there was any way they could use it for themselves. â€Å"I’m not joking, either, about them being from the other side of the world. They were kitsune, evil fox spirits from Japan. They’re something like our Western werewolves – but much more powerful. So powerful that they used malach, which are really plants but look like insects that can be no bigger than a pinhead or big enough to swallow your arm. And the malach attach themselves to your nerves and feather out along your entire nervous system and finally they take you over from inside.† Now Elena was shuddering, and her voice was hushed. â€Å"That’s what happened to Damon. A tiny one got into him and it took him over from inside so that he was only a puppet of Shinichi’s. I forgot to say, the kitsune are called Shinichi and Misao. Misao is the girl. They both have black hair with red all around the tips, but Misao’s is long. And they’re supposed to be brother and sister – but they sure don’t act like it. â€Å"And once Damon was fully possessed, that’s when Shinichi made Damon’s body†¦do terrible things. He made him torture Matt and me, and even now I know that sometimes Matt still wants to kill Damon for it. But if he’d seen what I saw – a whole thin, wet, white second body that I had to pull out with my fingernails from Damon’s spine – with Damon finally passing out from the pain – then Matt would understand better. I can’t blame Damon for what Shinichi made him do. I can’t. Damon was†¦you can’t imagine how different. He was crushed. He cried. He was†¦ â€Å"Anyway, I don’t expect to ever see him like that again. But if I ever get my Wings’ powers back, Shinichi is in big trouble. â€Å"I think that that was our mistake last time, you see. We finally were able to fight Shinichi and Misao – and we didn’t kill them. We were too moral or too gentle or something. â€Å"It was a bad mistake. â€Å"Because Damon wasn’t the only one who got possessed by Shinichi’s malach. There were girls, young girls, fourteen and fifteen and younger. And some boys. Acting†¦crazy. Hurting themselves and their families. We didn’t know how badly until after we’d already made a bargain with Shinichi. â€Å"Maybe we were too immoral, making a bargain with the devil. But they had kidnapped Stefan – and Damon, who was already possessed by then, had helped them. Once Damon was unpossessed, all he wanted was for Shinichi and Misao to tell us where Stefan was, and then for them to leave Fell’s Church forever. â€Å"In exchange for that, Damon let Shinichi into his mind. â€Å"If vampires are obsessed with Power, kitsune are obsessed with memories. And Shinichi wanted Damon’s memories for the last few days – the time that Damon was possessed and torturing us†¦and the time when my Wings made Damon realize that he had done it. I don’t think Damon himself wanted those memories, either of what he’d done or of how he’d changed when he had to face that he’d done it. So he let Shinichi take them, in exchange for Shinichi putting Stefan’s location into his mind. â€Å"The problem is that we were trusting Shinichi’s word that he would leave then – when Shinichi’s word meant nothing at all. â€Å"Plus, ever since then he’s been using the telepathic channel that he opened between his mind and Damon’s to take more and more of Damon’s memories without Damon even knowing. â€Å"It happened just last night, when we were pulled over by a policeman who wanted to know what three teenagers in an expensive car were doing that late at night. Damon Influenced him to go away. But just a few hours later Damon had forgotten the policeman completely. â€Å"It frightens Damon. And anything that frightens Damon – not that he would ever admit it – scares me to death. â€Å"And, you might ask, what were three teenagers doing out in the middle of nowhere, in Union County, Tennessee, according to the last road sign I saw? We’re heading toward some Gate to the Dark Dimension†¦where Shinichi and Misao left Stefan in the prison called the Shi no Shi. Shinichi only put the knowledge into Damon’s mind, and I can’t get Damon to say much about what kind of place it is. But Stefan is there and I’ll get to him somehow, even if it kills me. â€Å"Even if I have to learn how to kill. â€Å"I’m not the sweet little girl from Virginia I used to be.† Elena stopped and blew out her breath. But then, cuddling herself, she went on. â€Å"And why is Matt along with us? Well, because of Caroline Forbes, my friend since kindergarten. Last year†¦when Stefan came to Fell’s Church, she and I both wanted him. But Stefan didn’t want Caroline. And after that she turned into my worst enemy. â€Å"Caroline was also the lucky winner of Shinichi’s first visit to any girl in Fell’s Church. But more to the point: she was Tyler Smallwood’s girlfriend quite a while before she was his victim. I wonder how long they were together and where Tyler is now. All I know is that, in the end, Caroline hung on to Shinichi because she ‘needed a husband.’ That was how she put it herself. So I assume – well, what Damon assumes. That she’s going to†¦have puppies. A werewolf litter, you know? Since Tyler is a werewolf. â€Å"Damon says that having a werewolf baby turns you into a werewolf even faster than if you’re bitten, and that at some point in the pregnancy you gain the power to be all wolf or all human, but before that point you’re just a mixed-up mess. â€Å"The sad thing is that Shinichi scarcely gave Caroline a second glance when she blurted it all out. â€Å"But before that Caroline had been desperate enough to accuse Matt of – of assaulting her – on a date that went wrong. She had to have known something about what Shinichi was doing because she claimed her ‘date’ with Matt was at a time when one of the arm-swallowing mallach was attacking him, making marks on his arm that looked like a girl’s fingernail scratches. â€Å"That sent the police after Matt, all right. So basically I just made him come with us. Caroline’s father is one of the most important people in Fell’s Church – and he’s friends with the district attorney in Ridgemont and the leader of one of those men’s clubs where they have secret handshakes and other stuff that makes you, you know, ‘prominent in the community.’ â€Å"If I hadn’t convinced Matt to run instead of facing Caroline’s charges, the Forbeses would have lynched him. And I feel the anger like a fire inside me – not just anger and hurt for Matt, but anger and the feeling that Caroline has let all girls everywhere down. Because most girls aren’t pathological liars, and wouldn’t say something like that about a boy falsely. She’s shamed all girls by doing what she did.† Elena paused, looking at her hands, and then added, â€Å"Sometimes when I get angry at Caroline, cups shake or pencils roll right off the table. Damon says all this is caused by my aura, my life force, and that ever since I came back from the afterlife it’s been different. First of all, it makes anyone who drinks my blood incredibly strong. â€Å"Stefan was strong enough that the fox demons could never have forced him into their trap if Damon hadn’t tricked him in the beginning. They could only deal with him when he was weakened and surrounded by iron. Iron is bad news for any eldritch creature, plus vampires need to feed at least once a day or they get weak, and I’ll bet – no, I’m sure that they used that against him. â€Å"That’s why I can’t stand to think about what shape Stefan might be in right this minute. But I can’t let myself get too afraid or angry or I’ll lose control of my aura. Damon showed me how to keep my aura mostly inside, like a normal human girl. It’s still pale gold and pretty, but not a beacon for creatures like vampires. â€Å"Because there’s one other thing my blood – maybe even just my aura – can do. It can†¦oh, well, I can say anything I want to here, right? Nowadays, my aura can make vampires want me†¦the way human guys do. Not just to bite, get it? But to kiss and all the rest. And so, naturally, they come after me if they sense it. It’s as if the world is full of honeybees and I’m the only flower. â€Å"So I have to practice keeping my aura hidden. If it’s just barely showing, then I can get away with seeming like a normal human, not somebody who’s died and come back. But it’s hard to always remember to hide it – and it hurts a lot pulling it in suddenly if I’ve forgotten! â€Å"And then I feel – this is absolutely private, all right? I’m putting a curse on you, Damon, if you replay this. But it’s then that I feel like I want Stefan to bite me. It eases up the pressure, and that’s good. Being bitten by a vampire only hurts if you fight it, or if the vampire wants it to hurt. Otherwise, it can just feel good – and then you touch the mind of the vampire who’s done it, and†¦oh, I just miss Stefan so much!† Elena was shaking now. As hard as she tried to quiet her imagination, she kept thinking about the things that Stefan’s jailers might be doing to him. Grimly, she gripped her mobile again, letting tears fall on it. â€Å"I can’t let myself think of what they might do to him because then I really start to go crazy. I become this useless shaking insane person who just wants to scream and scream and never stop. I have to fight every second not to think about it. Because only a cool, calm Elena with a Plan A and B and C is going to help him. When I have him safe in my arms, I can let myself shake and cry – and scream, too.† Elena stopped, half laughing, her head bent against the passenger’s seatback, her voice husky with overuse. â€Å"I’m tired now. But I have a Plan A, at least. I need to get more information from Damon about the place we’re going, the Dark Dimension, and anything he knows about the two clues Misao gave me about the key that will unlock Stefan’s cell. â€Å"I guess†¦I guess I haven’t mentioned that at all. The key, the fox key, that we need to get Stefan out of his cell, is broken into two pieces that are hidden in two different places. And when Misao was taunting me about how little I knew about those places, she gave me flat-out clues about where they were. She never dreamed I’d actually go into the Dark Dimension; she was just showing off. But I still remember the clues, and they went like this: The first half is ‘in the silver nightingale’s instrument.’ And the second half is ‘buried in Bloddeuwedd’s ballroom.’ â€Å"I need to see if Damon has any ideas about these. Because it sounds as if once we get to the Dark Dimension we’re going to have to infiltrate some people’s houses and other places. To search a ballroom, it’s best to somehow get invited to the ball, right? That sounds like ‘easier said than done,’ but whatever it takes, I’ll do. It’s simple as that.† Elena lifted her head in determination and went still, then said in a whisper, â€Å"Would you believe it? I looked up just now and I can see the palest streaks of dawn in the sky: light green and creamy orange and the faintest aqua†¦. I’ve talked all through the darkness. It’s so peaceful now. Just now the sun peeked up o – â€Å"What the hell was that? Something just went BANG on the top of the Jag. Really, really loud.† Elena clicked off the recorder on her mobile. She was scared, but a noise like that – and now scrabbling sounds on the roof†¦ She had to get out of the car as fast as possible. How to cite The Return: Shadow Souls Chapter 1, Essay examples

Influencing Consumer Purchase Decisions †Myassignmenthelp.Com

Question: Discuss About The Influencing Consumer Purchase Decisions? Answer: Introduction: The aim of the assignment is to understand the consumer decision process and key factors influencing consumer purchase decisions. The paper takes into account laptops to study the customer purchase decision making process. The assignment opens with description of laptop as product. It divides the total product of laptop into core, actual and augmented products. The next part deals with analysis of laptop as a medium high involvement product. The next section deals with target market profile of laptops analysing it into demographic, business and psychgraphic factors. The last section deals with one factor which goes into making customer purchase decision. The main sources of data are the secondary sources like articles, journals, books and official websites of laptop manufacturing companies. The limitation while preparing the paper was that of time and budget. Description of the product-laptop: Laptop is a speciality product for consumers are ready to pay more prices. Laptop is a specialised product, which is manufactured by multinational information and communication companies like Del and HP. It comes with special specification in terms of product features like RAM and memory. Laptops are available in the market in variety of prices; some are low-priced while others are extremely expensive. The laptop as a product can be divided into three main parts, the core product, the actual product and the augmented product (Harman et al. 2014). The core product consist of the convenience a laptop creates to a user like the user can carry it anywhere and use it to do his official work as per convenience. The actual product consists of the physical hardware and software which the user can use to wok. The augmented product of the laptop include the brand value which the consumers buy along with the laptop. The satisfaction which the consumers purchase by buying a laptop also form a pa rt of augmented product(Byrd et al. 2016). A laptop is a high involvement product which buyers buy with lot of involvement. It is an expensive product, which buyers buy to satisfy specific needs like working in office, sending mails and do online shopping. As a result the consumers put a lot of emphasis on the specifications of the laptops like memory, hardware and power to support accessories like key board. The laptops show that preferences, personality and lifestyle of the users. The product shows the status and purchase power of the buyers. These features reveal a laptop is a medium high involvement product, which shows high involvement of the buyers(Zhang, 2016). Analysis of why purchase of a laptop is medium-high involvement product: Laptop is a medium-high involvement product because consumers are ready to high price to purchase the product. It is a specialised product which consumers purchase to serve specific needs like doing official work, sending and receiving mails and giving presentations. The following analysis would elaborately explain the reason why laptop is a medium-high involvement product: High Price: The medium-high involvement products are high priced products which make consumers pay a lot of attention while purchasing them. A laptop is very expensive but not as expensive as other high involvement goods like cars and buildings. The buyers pay a lot of attention on the features and specification while buying laptops but pay less involvement while buying second hand laptops. This analysis of the features of the laptop shows that it is a medium-high involvement product(Palla, Tsiotsou Zotos, 2016). Technical features: A very significant characteristic of medium-high involvement products is the consumers emphasise on the technical features of these products. The consumers while buying laptops pay a lot of emphasis on the technical features of them. The consumers who are technically strong buy laptops to serve their needs like doing official work. The manufacturers of the laptops provide manuals along with them to help financial buyers get acquainted with the features of the laptops. Moreover the sales people demonstrate the basic features of the laptop to the consumers while selling them. The consumers spend a lot time to know the technical features of the high-involvement products. This analysis shows that laptops are medium-high involvement products. Major differences between competitor products: One of the very important features of medium high involvement product is that there exists a major difference between products by different product manufacturers. Several multinational companies like HP, HCL and Apple manufacture laptops. The laptops by these different manufacturers show a lot of different in features and attributes. This difference in features and attributes differentiate laptops manufactured by one company from the other. The customers while buying laptops pay a great attention to the manufacturers who manufactures the laptops. It can also be pointed out that consumers have preferences for specific brands of laptops and remain loyal to the companies. This analysis shows that laptop is a medium-high involvement product. Projection of self: The consumers of medium-high involvement product are very specific about the products they buy and consume. They are ready to pay extra price to buy the brands of products they prefer consuming. The consumers of laptops are very specific about the brands of laptops they buy and consume. They consumers intentionally pay more to buy a specific brand of laptops because that projects their social status. Many consumers view laptops as status symbols and prefer buying expensive laptops to show their social status. The buying decision of the consumers while purchasing luxurious products like laptops is dominated by money power. This explanation shows that laptop is a medium high involvement product. Evaluation of risks: The consumers evaluate the risk factors like actual quality and utilities of medium-involvement products while purchasing them. They consider whether the products are worth the prices. They also consider whether the products are capable of having negative impacts on their health while consuming them. For example, while buying laptops buyers consider the impacts of the strong radiations emitted from the screens of the laptops. They even try to minimize or avoid the negative impacts medium-high involvement products. Users install additional screens laptops which filter the harmful radiations to protect their eyes. This shows that laptops are medium high-involvement products. The above study of the characteristics of medium-involvement products show that the products show specific characteristics, as they are expensive and command brand loyalty. It can be stated that laptop is a product, which satisfies all these characteristics of high involvement products. This explains that the purchase of laptops is a medium-high involvement Demographic: The target market profile for laptops can be divided demographically on the variables like age, gender, occupation, social class, marital status and educational attainment. As far as demand for laptops are concerned, the people using laptops are mostly young and middle aged. The product finds equal acceptances among male and female customers alike. As far as segmentation of customer profile of laptops on the basis of occupation is concerned, laptops are more in demand by the working people. The target customer profile for laptops are mostly educated people. The social class using laptops consist of rich upper class people who can afford to buy and use laptops. Laptop is a medium high involvement product which requires technical knowledge and knowhow for users to use them. Hence the product is more in use by the rich upper class consumers who use it to do their office work. It can also be pointed out that laptops are in use in both homes and offices alike. The laptops are more used in cities compared to the rural areas. Thus it can be inferred from the discussion that laptops are used by educated, rich upper class customers who use them to do their office. Behavioural: The variables of behavioural segmentation of customer profile of laptop are purchase occasion, benefit sought, user status, usage rate, loyalty status, buyer readiness, attitude to product and adopter status. The purchase occasion refers to the occasion which make the purchasers buy laptops. Most of the buyers of laptop may purchase for regular use while others buy laptops to gift them on special occasions. The customer prtofile of laptop can also be grouped on the basis of benefits sought. Laptop is a high involvement product which the buyers buy to serve specific purposes like sending mails, doing their office work and so on. The buyers of the laptop may seek various types of facilities like carrying it around as per convenience. The user status for laptops can be the users who are using the laptop for the first time and the ones who use laptops on regular basis. The customer profile on the basis of usage can be divided into three groups. The first group consists of users who use l aptops on heavy basis while the second group uses laptops only for work. The third group consists of users who use laptops on moderate basis occasionally. The customers can be divided into loyal users, disloyal users and users who have switched over to the competitor products. The buyers can be divided into three categories on the grounds of readiness to buy the products. The first set of buyers are aware about the usage of the laptops while the second set of consumers are ready to buy laptops. The third set of consumers are not aware and willing to buy the product. The customer target market profile can be divided into enthusiast, indifferent, hostile, price conscious and quality conscious on the basis their attitude towards laptops. Laptops are high inovolvement products and the buyers are enthusiastic about purchasing them. The people who buy laptops are normally concerned about the quality and brand values of laptops. They are specialised products which has quality conscious edu cated and rich customers as the target customer segments. The customers of laptops can be divided into early adopters and late adapters on the grounds of adopter status. Psychographic: Psychographical profiling of the customer base of laptops shows that educated upper-class customers use the product. The customers who use laptops are rich people who have the economic capability of buying expensive laptops. The customer profile using the laptops consist of customers who primarily use it for works. There are also customers who use laptops for leisure and other purposes. It can also be stated that laptops are primarily used by people who like using electronic items to do their work. Factors influencing the consumer decision making process: Each and every business organization has some internal as well as external environmental forces which impacts its growth and progress. At times, it becomes uncontrollable by the business owners and their management team. These forces can be anything, such as, customers, creditors, competitors, government, socio cultural organization, national as well as international organizations, political influence and few others. A business organization has some general and specific forces. General forces affect a firm indirectly and specific forces are the ones which affect an enterprise on a daily basis. Uncertainties arise when the future of any organization is too unpredictable and the changes are too frequent (Sekaran, Bougie, 2016). The internal forces have a direct impact on the business organizations. The influences generally come from the consumers lifestyle and the way they think, that is, their personal thoughts, feelings, self concepts, attitudes, memory and motivation. These can also be regarded as the psychological influences, that is, the influence on the consumers purchasing behavior or their decision making process (Wheelen Hunger, 2017). It depicts the way through which customers interact with others. The most influential internal force which affects the purchasing behavior of the consumers is their personal needs or motives and attitudes. The consumers needs can be referred to as the lack of anything or difference between their actual or desired state (Davies, Lee Ahonkhai, 2012). Motive can be defined as a customers inner state which encourages him/her to satisfy the specific need. For example, if an individual is hungry, it defines his/her actual state, but when he/she has a strong wish of being fed well then that is his/her desired state. Motive is the inner state of an individual which encourages him/her to satisfy the specific needs or desires. The need of the individual can motivate him/her discover some great restaurant in order to satisfy his/her desires (Solomon, 2014). All the needs of the customers are nearly impossible to define. It is important to identify their specific demands and desires, which influences their purchasing decisions. Therefore, a thorough understanding of the needs is very crucial to direct the customers towards their purchasing decisions. A customer may buy a laptop only after deciding whether they need it or not (Wilson et al., 2012). There are different needs of a consumer, be it basic or psychological. For example, a college student needs to submit his/her assignment before deadline, otherwise his grades will fall. Therefore, he/she needs portability to work in home and at the college as well. Therefore, at this point, he/she recognized his/her problem which is to be solved only by buying a laptop (East et al., 2016). After recognizing the solution to the problem of the consumer, he/she now needs to do a background research about the brands of the products available in the market, which can satisfy his basic requirements. He/she would gather the available information about the brands with higher specification, that is, HP, Mac, Dell and others. Evaluation of products on the basis of its performance, warranty, service, price, high battery life, durability, quality and others, has direct influence on their buying process. After evaluating all the above factors, the college student will make his/her final choice of buying the product (Babin Zikmund, 2015). Moreover, the consumers attitude influences their buying behavior. It defines the way an individual thinks or feels about some particular brand or product. Once a buyers attitude is fixed, it becomes very difficult to change his/her perception about that particular product. It can be negative as well as positive (Farzana, 2012). It informs the marketers about the consumers and how are they established overall in the market place. Identification of such attitude can help the marketers know about the consumers minds and perceptions. It becomes essential that the marketers design their products advertisements appropriately without hurting anybodys feelings. Once the product has negative impact on the consumers minds, they may end buying it (Kozar Hiller Connell, 2013). For example, the college students attitude will change if the marketers advertise the laptop brand negatively. It will create a bad impression on the students mind and he/she may not buy that product. Moreover, while analyzing the post purchasing attitude, it can be stated that if the student is dissatisfied after buying the laptop his/her perception about the brand will change. He/she will then persuade his/her friends to stop buying that particular laptop brand, and as a result, the product will lose its brand value (Bian Forsythe, 2012). Conclusion: It can be concluded from this assignment that laptops are medium- high involvement products because they are priced high so that the customers become careful when making such purchases. The findings show that only the technically potential customers can afford to buy laptops to serve their personal or professional purposes. The target groups of the laptop companies are based on the gender, age, occupation, marital status, social class and educational qualification. The preference scale is more tilted on the working customers side than others. The user manuals that are provided along with the laptops are beneficial for the customers as they can get ready and instant help. There are different features and attributes which make a laptop different from the other. There are customers who make up their mind which brand to purchase and do not deviate from their decision. This shows their loyalty and dedication towards the specific company. Sometimes, they even become ready to offer extra mo ney for their chosen product. The reason behind doing this is that they like to portray their social strata. At the same time, they even raise questions while purchasing the laptops that if the price is worth the product. The consumers buying behavior is not only limited to purchasing the laptop but also the different accessories associated with it such as, screen cover, headphone etc. The research on the topic derives the conclusion that laptop is a medium- high involvement product because medium involvement products showcase certain characteristic features like high cost and brand value. Recommendations: Laptops are medium-high involvement products consumers purchase to serve their professional and personal purposes. The following recommendations can be made to the laptop making companies in the light of the above discussion: The client can modify the ongoing marketing strategy by introducing certain innovations in the actual product which consists of the software and the hardware. If the customers get some better specifications in their original product at the same price, they will not only be satisfied but has a high chance of recommending to their acquaintances. Nothing can be greater than a company apart from their customer satisfaction. The company need not have to make any extra investment for satisfying their customers but only make some amendments in the traditional strategy. The term, high- involvement refers that the customers are engrossed in the purchasing of this product. The game must go on from both the side. As the customers are putting effort to select the product carefully, it becomes the responsibility of the company too, to serve the customers better. They must make sure that the hardware and software should be built in such a way so that there is no scope of complaint on the part of the customers. This will increase their brand value and recognition. With the increase in fame and recognition, sale will increase which will lead to increase in profit. So, these are all interconnected to each other which take care of the company as well as the customers. Laptop is an essential product which is an integral part of professional life. Therefore, it should be taken into account to make the product special w ith every passing day to grab the customers attention References: Babin, B. J., Zikmund, W. G. (2015).Exploring marketing research. Cengage Learning. Bian, Q., Forsythe, S. (2012). Purchase intention for luxury brands: A cross cultural comparison.Journal of Business Research,65(10), 1443-1451. Byrd, E. T., Canziani, B., Hsieh, Y. C. J., Debbage, K., Sonmez, S. (2016). Wine tourism: Motivating visitors through core and supplementary services.Tourism Management,52, 19-29. Davies, I. A., Lee, Z., Ahonkhai, I. (2012). Do consumers care about ethical-luxury?.Journal of Business Ethics,106(1), 37-51. East, R., Singh, J., Wright, M., Vanhuele, M. (2016).Consumer behaviour: applications in marketing. Sage. Farzana, W. (2012). Consumers psychology Factors Association with Brand Equity of High-Involvement Product: Case of Laptop.World,2(5). Harman, M., Jia, Y., Krinke, J., Langdon, W. B., Petke, J., Zhang, Y. (2014, September). Search based software engineering for software product line engineering: a survey and directions for future work. InProceedings of the 18th International Software Product Line Conference-Volume 1(pp. 5-18). ACM. Kozar, J. M., Hiller Connell, K. Y. (2013). Socially and environmentally responsible apparel consumption: knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors.Social responsibility journal,9(2), 315-324. Palla, P. J., Tsiotsou, R. H., Zotos, Y. C. (2016). Effective Interactive Websites: Examining the Moderating Role of Involvement. InLooking Forward, Looking Back: Drawing on the Past to Shape the Future of Marketing(pp. 338-342). Springer, Cham. Sekaran, U., Bougie, R. (2016).Research methods for business: A skill building approach. John Wiley Sons. Solomon, M. R. (2014).Consumer behavior: Buying, having, and being(Vol. 10). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Wheelen, T. L., Hunger, J. D. (2017).Strategic management and business policy. pearson. Wilson, A., Zeithaml, V. A., Bitner, M. J., Gremler, D. D. (2012).Services marketing: Integrating customer focus across the firm. McGraw Hill. Zhang, X. (2016). Effect of program intensity and product involvement on advertising memory and liking in live broadcasting: Super Bowl broadcasting 1992-2012.

Greed Essays - Death Valley, Films, Greed, Michael Milken

Greed Greed Greed is a selfish desire for more than one needs or deserves. Greed can make honest men murderers. It has made countries with rich valuable resources into the poorest countries in the world. We are taught it is bad and not to practice it. But consider a world without greed, where everyone is as sharing as Mother Theresa was. The progress of humankind would be at a standstill. Greed has given our society faster travel, better service, more convenience, and most importantly, progress. Greed has created thousands of billionaires and millions of millionaires. But why is greed associated with evil? In their day, most capitalists like Cornelius Vanderbilt and John D. Rockefeller were depicted as pure evil. Vanderbilt stole from the poor. Rockefeller was a snake. But the name-calling did not come from the consumers; it was the competing businesses that complained. The newspapers expanded on these comments, calling them robber barons. These are inaccurate terms for these businessmen. They were not barons because they all started penniless and they were not robbers because they did not take it from anyone else. Vanderbilt got rich by making travel and shipping faster, cheaper, and more luxurious. He built bigger, faster, and more efficient ships. He served food on his ships, which the customers liked and he lowered his costs. He lowered the New York to Hartford fare from $8 to $1. Rockefeller made his fortunes selling oil. He also lowered his costs, making fuel affordable for the working-class people. The working-class people, who use to go to bed after sunset, could now afford fuel for their lanterns. The people, who worked an average 10-12 hours a day, could now have a private and social life. The consumers were happy, the workers were happy, and they were happy. Bill Gates, CEO of Microsoft Corporation is another example of a greedy person. He is the richest man in the world with about $40 billion and he continues to pursue more wealth. Just because he has $40 billion does not mean the rest of the world lost $40 billion, he created more wealth for the rest of the world. His software created new ways of saving time and money and created thousands of new jobs. Bill Gates got rich by persuading people to buy his product. His motive may have been greed, but to achieve that, he had to give us what we wanted. Both parties benefited from the transaction and everybody wins. In general, many businesses donate a percent of its wealth to charity. People not only want but also expect those businesses to donate their money away. Vanderbilt gave one percent of his money away to start Vanderbilt University. Ted Turner donated $1 billion to the United Nations. But why do people think that giving away money is better than making money? Giving away money is much easier than building a new business. Building a new business creates new jobs for people, giving someone the means to support himself. When you give money away, it does not help them become more s elf-sufficient. Charity does not always make big impacts, as people believe they do. For example, who changed the world more, Micheal Milken or Mother Teresa? Milken pioneered a new way for companies to raise money, creating tens of thousands of new jobs. He saved Mattel, the toy maker, by his junk bonds. It is now the world's biggest toy company. His bonds rescued TWA, Revlon, and many other companies. Millions of people now joy cheaper phone calls because he funded the phone company, MCI. His bonds made CNN and other Turner companies possible. On the other hand, Mother Teresa donated every penny to charity and helped tens of thousands of people in slums of Third-World countries. She spent her life doing charity work for the poor. Her deeds continue after her death; four thousand sisters now continue what she begun. Without a doubt, people would say Mother Teresa did more for the world. But their judgements are blinded by the fact that they are looking at their motives. Michael Mil ken didn't suffer; he didn't go into the slums. Mother Teresa went into the slums and she suffered. Milken persuaded wealth because

Definition and Examples of English Imperative Sentences

Definition and Examples of English Imperative Sentences In English grammar, an imperative  sentence  gives advice or instructions; it can also express a request or command. These kinds of sentences are also known as directives because they provide direction to whoever is being addressed. Types of Imperative Sentences Directives can take one of several forms in everyday speech and writing. A few of the most common uses include: A request: Pack enough clothing for the cruise.An invitation: Come by at 8, please.A command: Raise your hands and turn around.An instruction: Turn left at the intersection. Imperative sentences can be confused with other kinds of sentences. The trick is to look at how the sentence is constructed. (You) Are the Subject Imperative sentences may seem to have no subject, but the implied subject is you, or, as it is properly called, you understood. The proper way to write the subject is (you) in parenthesis, especially when diagramming an imperative sentence. Even when a proper name is mentioned in an imperative sentence, the subject still is you understood. Example: Jim, close the door before the cat gets out! - The subject is (you), not Jim. Imperative vs. Declarative Sentences Unlike a declarative sentence, where the subject and verb are clearly articulated, imperative sentences do not have a readily identifiable subject when written out. The subject is implied or  elliptical, meaning that the verb refers directly back to the subject. In other words, the speaker or the author assumes they have (or will have) their subjects attention. Declarative sentence: John does his chores.Imperative sentence: Do your chores! Imperative vs. Interrogative Sentences An imperative sentence typically begins with the  base form of a verb  and ends with a  period  or an  exclamation point. However, it can also end with a question mark in some instances. The difference between a question (also called an interrogative statement) and an imperative sentence is the subject and whether its implied. Interrogative sentence: Would you please open the door for me, John?Imperative sentence: Please open the door, would you? Modifying an Imperative Sentence At their most basic, imperative sentences are binary, which is to say they must be either positive or negative. Positive imperatives use affirmative verbs in addressing the subject; negatives do the opposite.   Positive: Keep both hands on the steering wheel while youre driving.Negative: Dont operate the lawnmower without wearing safety goggles. Adding the words do or just to the beginning of the sentence, or the word please to the conclusion- called softening  the imperative  - makes imperative sentences more polite or conversational. Softened  imperatives: Do your chores, please. Just sit here, wont you? As with other forms of grammar, imperative sentences can be modified to address a particular subject, follow a proprietary written style, or simply add variety and emphasis to your writing. Adding Emphasis Imperative sentences also can be modified to single out a particular person or to address a group. This can be accomplished in one of two ways: by following the interrogative with a tag question or by closing with an exclamation point. Tag question: Shut the door, would you, please?Exclamative: Someone, call a doctor! Doing so in both instances adds emphasis and drama to speech and writing.

Dnata travel report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Dnata travel report - Essay Example The insurance cover is one of the important tools in any business operation and is an indicator of concern regarding those who come in and out of the travel agency. Further, it involves activities such as transportation and cruise services, and involvement in sporting events. Finally, the services are for enhancing relations of numerous people coming in and out of the booking offices as well as hotels and field. Mission of Dnata Travel Agency Mission refers to the major activities that an established firm undertakes. The major operations of the Dnata traveling agency include offering holiday packages. This usiful as most of the travelers look forward to inquiring a place they can spend their holiday with their families. Dnata management staffs play the role of insuring the traveling agency runs on well with an increase in profits. Insurance covers are not only for an organization but also for those who visit the agency (Schwab et al, 2008). Insurance covers all staff members are nece ssary. Insuring of the agency denotes that there is compensation to all individuals (whether the staffs or travelers) in case of occurrence of the insured risk. This in itself is a way of attracting more travelers into the premises, as there is an assurance of consideration of their lives. Objective and vision of Dnata traveling agency Vision refers to what a particular organization or adpersons desires to do in future. It means a call for ability of individuals to advance the services initially offered, in a manner that the services will be more satisfying. Comparing with diverse changes in technology, services offered should be of high-tech and better when compared to services of other competing organizations. Dnata traveling agency looks forward to the establishment of and necessitating travelers to get use of online booking of tickets. Managerial staff of Dnata also moves ahead to improve accommodation services. In setting objectives, it is of essence to consider the questions w hat services to offer, who to offer the services, and who to access the services (Schwab et al, 2008). Pre-approach Before having access to the services provided by Dnata travel agency, individuals have to either register online or directly with the relevant offices. However, individuals may deliberately appear in person and inquire for relevant tickets to the agency. There are business meetings held to collect information about a certain subject discussed. Discussions are between travelers and top managerial agency staffs. The primary reason for the meeting is to determine the quality of services offered and strategies to improve the services (Schwab et al, 2008). Approach prospecting Potential customers of any organization are the individuals outside the organization who are ready to access the services and products provided in specific organizations. Dnata is the leading travel agency in the Middle East, specifically in Thailand and in amongst other worldly agencies, it appears t o be the fourth largest. To be part of the travelers is an indicator of ecstasy especially for those coming from far countries to take refuge on the agency. Through insurance services, the managing staffs of Dnata include several things such as compensation in case of cancellation of flights (Schwab et al, 2008). There is a follow up of departure, especially where the agency staffs fail to spot tickets of some several individuals. Dnata travel

Is consumerism good or bad for the world Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Is consumerism good or bad for the world - Essay Example will be explained in detail below using several theories such as Maslow’s theory, Herzberg’s needs theory and other motivational theories as well. The counterarguments of consumerism are from critics. Consumerism from its definition by various individuals and researchers is economically beneficial as people purchase goods in bulks which in the long run saves money and time both of which are economical (Roche, 2009, pg. 12). Economists actually support the idea of consumerism in as far as purchasing in large quantities is concerned but not when it comes to wastage in large amounts. This excessive consumption is an indication of the large amounts of money the consumers have and this is present in many of the first world nations who have a lot of money and hence the means to spend them in large consumption. Consumerism according to Maslow leads to achievement of satisfaction for the individuals who engage in it. People engage in consumerism in order to try and seek psychological satisfaction and also because they aim to achieve a sense of self-actualization (Burger, 2010, pg. 5). They therefore engage in consumption of objects and other things that would lead to derivation of that satisfaction. Even though many do not reach self-actualization, they still manage to fulfil some of their needs and hence getting the satisfaction they desire. The consumption of things such as energy, food, security, good job, having a lot of money and family are some of the things most people desire and try to achieve and which when achieved lead to satisfaction. All these would not have been possible without consumerism. Also as a result of the positive outcome brought about by consumerism to majority of the benefactors, they are motivated to put more effort in the future in order to get the same results a s is explained by Vroom’s expectancy theory. Consumerism is an indication of wealth whether personal or that of the whole nation. Statistics indicate that wealthy nations such

The Ring Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Ring - Movie Review Example Keller watches the tape in order to find out the mystery behind it and concludes that the videotape has some connection to a little girl called Samara. Keller tries her best to piece together the puzzle of the mysterious tape before the seven days when she would die. It is at this juncture that the drama begins as she embarks on a race against time, where she has to unravel the knotted threads of the secret of the video if she has to save herself. The movie scares not with the regular arsenal of blood and gore, but by instilling in the viewer the fear of the unknown that runs down your spine because of the inability and sheer helplessness of the individuals who become the targets of the mysterious Samara in the videotape, who is on a rampage seeking revenge. The entire movie swings like a pendulum back and forth between modernism and post- modernism views. Meta narratives are the rules that determined "the legitimacy of particular forms of narrative" and this helps us to determine their legitimacy and truth for the different forms of narrative employed. (Malpas, Postmodern) In the context of the movie, 'The Ring," the opening scene itself sets the mood for a post-modern, meta narrative method of telling the story. On the other hand, the modernist view of a grand narrative could be seen in the scene when Rachael falls into the well. In speaking of the grand narrative Malpas states, "A grand narrative tells the story of the progress and development of narrative. ., grand narratives legitimate their content in relation to an overarching theme or idea." Some of the key words in this quotation are "progress and development". According to the Merriam - Webster dictionary, the word "progress" is defined as "a gradual betterment, how we gauge our lives when we move forward, for example when we make technological advancement to better our lives" and the word "development" means to go through a natural process of growth, differentiation, or evolution." While the narrative is many short stories contained in a collection, and used to weave the incidents and experiences of the past while trying to make progress in the future, the grand narrative has all these small stories linked together in a single novel from the beginning to the end. The conversation between the two girls about the tape reveals that the narrative, or in this case, the urban legend is true. The videotape has a semiabstract quality about itself, and there is hardly anything that can testify to its evil intentions. But the legitimacy of the tape is established due to the fear inherent in the girls. The truth of the event, which during its retelling by the girl in question, seems rather far - fetched becomes verifiable when she dies under the most suspicious circumstances. As Malpas puts it, "A metanarrative thus sets out the axioms that allow communication to take place, and determines the legitimacy of a narrative for a particular genre, as well as giving the rules to determine its truth or falsity." The following is a good example of this. What starts as a gossipy chat between two teenagers has become a legitimate narration, the veracity of which is established beyond