Quantitative Decision Making Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Quantitative Decision Making - Research Paper Example - the independent and dependent variables can be determined incorrectly (in this case it is hard to determine whether change in export production of passenger cars influences export production of commercial vehicles or vice versa); - the perceived relationship may be a result of simultaneous influence of the third (moderator) variable on both of the variables separately (for example, correlation between export production numbers of passenger cars and commercial vehicles can be explained by the influence of the increase/decrease of the exchange rate on exports of the automotive industry in general). It may be true in this case, as the suggested regression model explains only 22.2% of variance (R-Squared value is indicated in the table below). Thus, if the export production number of passenger cars increases by 10,000 the export production number of commercial vehicles will go up by 572 (0.0572 coefficient). The constant 13,002 can be considered rather an anchor point for the regression line and should not be taken as the value of JCYF when JCYL is equal to 0 due to the fact that the data set available contains no observation with JCYF equals to or is close to 0. To project the export production number of passenger cars (... - the perceived relationship may be a result of simultaneous influence of the third (moderator) variable on both of the variables separately (for example, correlation between export production numbers of passenger cars and commercial vehicles can be explained by the influence of the increase/decrease of the exchange rate on exports of the automotive industry in general). It may be true in this case, as the suggested regression model explains only 22.2% of variance (R-Squared value is indicated in the table below). Linear regression equation JCYF = 13002 + 0.0572 x JCYL (coefficients indicated in the table): Multiple R-Square Adjusted StErr of Summary R R-Square Estimate 0.4708 0.2217 0.1730 4184.251262 Degrees of Sum of Mean of F-Ratio p-Value ANOVA Table Freedom Squares Squares Explained 1 79773016.56 79773016.56 4.5564 0.0486 Unexplained 16 280127337.9 17507958.62 Coefficient Standard t-Value p-Value Lower Upper Regression Table Error Limit Limit Constant 13002.19876 7187.903864 1.8089 0.0893 -2235.476735 28239.87425 JCYL 0.05720163 0.026797739 2.1346 0.0486 0.000392961 0.1140103 Thus, if the export production number of passenger cars increases by 10,000 the export production number of commercial vehicles will go up by 572 (0.0572 coefficient). The constant 13,002 can be considered rather an anchor point for the regression line and should not be taken as the value of JCYF when JCYL is equal to 0 due to the fact that the data set available contains no observation with JCYF equals to or is close to 0. To project the export production number of passenger cars (JCYL), given export of commercial vehicles (JCYF), the JCYF value should simply be plugged into the regression line equation. The point of estimate number would be

“How we discourage creativity” The creative spirit Essay Example for Free

â€Å"How we discourage creativity† The creative spirit Essay Evaluation is the polarization of the learner’s work by a particular set of criteria introduced by the teacher (Goleman, 1992). This can be as simple as commenting on what type of art work is good and what type is ugly to an early learner. While the learner’s work would have to be evaluated sooner or later, doing so too soon might constrict the learner’s ideas of what is â€Å"good† and â€Å"acceptable† as well as what is â€Å"bad† and â€Å"ugly† on as narrow a perception as that provided by the teacher. While this does train the learner to â€Å"do as told†, and conform to generally acceptable measures, it is insensitive to the idea of diversity and freedom of action. When kids are made to worry too much about whether they’re doing things right or not, they become too afraid to try new things that â€Å"might not be right† in their teacher’s eyes. Rewards are positive motivations given to learners in either tangible or intangible means (Goleman, 1992). These can be tangible rewards such as candies or toys or intangible ones such as praises. Giving rewards motivates the learner to continue doing whatever tasks in the same manner as in order to continue getting rewards. The problem is that excessive use of rewards would take away the simple joy of the activity from the child. The child will not wish to experiment with the activity and be more creative since the objective becomes doing exactly as the teacher says in order to receive the rewards. Furthermore, if the learner simply looks forward to the rewards, no attention will be paid on the value of the activity itself which supposed to inculcate lessons that should remain even after the rewards are gone. Competition is placing two or more learners in a situation where some of them could â€Å"win† while others would â€Å"lose† (Goleman, 1992). This makes children step up to the challenge by motivating them with the prospect of outdoing one another. This could train students to answer the teacher’s questions faster if only the first person to answer could win a prize. However, holding competitions as part of learning activities is insensitive to the fact that children learn differently and should be allowed to learn at their own pace. Instead of forcing every learner into a competition where they would have to play by the teacher’s rules, the teacher should find out how each of the learners learn best and provide a proper atmosphere for each to develop creatively in their own time. Restricting choices is limiting the possible activities that a learner could do in order to explore a particular subject matter (Golema, 1992). This could be as simple as disallowing a student from using certain colors when drawing a picture. It is the learner’s curiosity that leads him or her to enjoying activities and learning from them. Limiting the choices that a learner can make limits the places where curiosity could go, thereby limiting creative learning in general. While it is true that this gives focus to the learner, it takes away the possibility of exploring avenues that could also be enriching experiences. Reference Goleman, K. (1992). â€Å"How we discourage creativity† The creative spirit. Vol. 3 No. 2 pp. 61-62.

Importance of and Benefits of E-Banking

Importance of and Benefits of E-Banking E Banking The usage of e banking by the enterprises came into existence in mid 90s.e banking came into existence in greater numbers because of low operating costs. First it is in the form of ATMs and phone transactions. Recently it transformed to internet a new channel between customers and banks which benefits both. The main aim of e- banking services is to provide the customers a much faster services with low cost. From the last twenty years, banking sector has chosen a new method of banking based on the progress of information technology. In addition to these customers, transaction and communication abilities are fastened based on information technology. The progress of electronic banking started with use of automatic teller machines and afterwards it developed to online banking. In the future it will be done in mobile phones(wap-enabled).Anyway online banking continues to be the best for financial transactions. IMPORTANCE OF E-BANKING: E banking provides many advantages for banks and customers .e-banking has made life much easier and banking much faster for both customers and banks. Main advantages are as follows. It saves time spent in banks It provides ways for international banking. It provides banking throughout the year 24/7 days from any place have internet access. It provides well-organized cash management for internet optimization It provides convenience in terms of capital, labour, time all the resources needed to make a transaction. Taking advantage of integrated banking services, banks may compete in new markets, can get new customers and grow their market share. It provides some security and privacy to customers, by using state-of-the-art encryption and security technologies. What is e-banking? Electronic funds transfer means computer systems are used to perform financial transactions electronically. The EFT is used for electronic payments and customer initiated transactions where the cardholder pays using credit or debit card. The transaction types are, Withdrawal,deposit,interaccount transfer ,inquiry, administrative transactions that covers non financial transactions including PIN change. Electronic Fund Transfer transactions needs authorisation and a means to match the card and card holder.EFT transactions require the cardholders PIN to sent online in encrypted form for validation by the issuer of the card.Other information may include the card holders address or the CVV2 security value printed on the card. Electronic funds transfer transactions are activated during e-banking procedures.The different methods of e-banking are Online banking Short message service banking Telephone banking Mobile banking Interactive -TV banking Of all the above procedures online banking plays an important role and maximum used by the account holders.now,discussing the above one by one. Online banking: Online banking also called as internet banking, allows the customers to use all the banking services from a computer which has internet acess.The customer can perform financial transactions on a secure website operated by the bank. Online banking offers features such as bank statements, loan applications, funds transfer, e-bill payments and account aggregation allows customers to monitor all their accounts in one place. Telephone Banking: Telephone banking is a service provided by the banks which provides customers to perform transactions on phone.All the telephone banking systems uses automated answering system with keypad response or voice recognition capability.To prove their identity coustomers must provide a numeric or verbal password or answering the questions asked by the call center representative.In telephone banking coustomer cannt withdraws and deposits cash but can do all the other transactions. Mostly there will be a coustomer care representative to which the customers speak ,although this feature is not guaranteed.The coustomer care representatives are trained to do what are available at the branch like chequebook orders,address change,debit card replacements. Sms Banking: SMS banking is a service permitting banks to do selected banking services from the users mobile by the sms messaging.SMS banking services have push and pull messages.Push messages are sent by the banks for alerting coustomer about new offers,marketing messages,alerts to events happening in coustomers account such as large amount of withdrawals from ATM or credit card etc. Pull messages are those that are sent by the coustomer to bank for having some information or to perform a transaction in their account.Examples include account balance enquiry,requesting for current exchange rates and for new offers that are launched. The coustomer has a choice to select the list of services he need to be informed.This can be done by integrating to internet banking or speaking to the coustomer care representative of the bank call centre. Interactive -TV banking: Interactive TV is a sevice that allows users to interact with TV content as they view it.It is also called as iTV or idTV.If the coustomer subscribes to a cable television service some banking facilities like balance enquiry,funds transfer between accounts ,bills payment are made available all the way through TV.Most of the major banks in UK have experimented banking services through cable and satellite TV companies. Some of the Statistics are : Half of the coustomers registering for online banking are giving up before signing up. 10% people who used internet banking services gave up due to poor usability or security concerns. In 2001 ,1/3 rd of the top European banks offered some form of interactive TV banking. In 2004 it is approximated that there were ten million users of interactive-TV based banking services in Europe . In 2007,the estimated number of Europeans using internet banking is 130 million 88% of e-banking users visit their banking websites as a at least once a week It is estimated that 35% of online banking households will be using mobile banking by 2010. By 2011 it is predicted that 80% of the bank customers in UK will use the internet to connect to their bank. Problems encountered by disabled people and the ageing population using e-banking Physically Impaired: The people with physical impairments who are using telephone banking finds hard to hold and activate the buttons.People with physical disability can not have proper control on hands and arms therefore it is difficult to use mouse effectively so using the banking website becomes a problem. Hearing impaired: People with hearing impairments require visual representation of the auditory information that is in the banking website. With increasing use of multimedia e.g vedio streaming the banking people should take care that these will be understood by the people having hearing problems. One of the straight farward way to make the banking site accessible to the hearing impaired people is to make the language simple particularly for BSL users for whom English is second language.so it si necessary to use a simple language and the inclusion of a glossary of banking terms. The people who are hearing impaired,canot use telephone banking.And the users of hearing aids will experience electromagnetic interference,from mobile phones.The radio signals from mobile telephones can arise humming and buzzing inside hearing aid. Blind and Partially sighted People having vision problems have a problem to insert the card into the ATM machine and typing their PIN .And people with vision problems can use online banking based on how the site is designed for the people with vision disabilities i.e blind people use browsers should with speech or Braille output which are text-based systems and should be browsed independent of graphics.The browser should have the option to vary the text size so that they can increase the font.The main problem for them is the graphics in the websites are not meaningful when they are accessing with a text browser And people with vision problems find hard to use telephone banking because of the decreasing in the size of mobile phones.Due to the compact size of mobiles people with low sight find hard to use the small keypads and smaller screens.And some people are unable to distinguish colour combinations used in mobile keypads and screens. And mailed notifications regarding e-banking are inaccessible to blind and people with low vision if they are not provide in alternate formats. Cognitively impaired The Banking websites with too many steps and unhelpful messages are difficult to browse for cognitively impaired people.The websites designed with complex page layouts,tables and navigation structures confuse these people and are become difficult to browse. And in telephone banking, mobile phones of latest technology are coming with so many features and complex operating systems.People with Cognitive disabilities find difficult to operate these kind of mobile phones People having dyslexia finds difficult to remember the PIN in the correct order and may enter incorrectly.So these people are prone to writing them down which lessens the security and can be misused. Age-related Impairments People as they age will experience so many changes in memory,eye sight,hearing and dexterity and they might not consider to have disabilities.These people will be benifited by the accessibility provisions that make websites accessible.People having age related eye sight may access the website by changing the text size.These people also finds difficult to use the mouse.Older people finds difficult to use mobiles having complex operating systems and too many options.

education Essay -- essays research papers

Education in contemporary American society is one aspect in the process of socialization in which people learn how to act correctly in society and learn specific behaviors needed to be able to function in today’s society. In the United States schools teach what it means to be American and the traits that go along with it. For example children are taught the English language, learn the common heritage shared by all Americans, and are reiterated the basics of society. The education system also attempts to give children from different cultural backgrounds the same Anglo education. The education system also acts as an intergrator of the lower class children into the mainstream of the rest of the children. Also the education system acts as a type of screening process by finding which students are best suited for certain jobs. The education system by issuing diplomas, degrees, and other credentials, determines which student will have access to the more financially gratifying positi ons in society. In a way schools also prepare children for day-to-day work by going through the same routines everyday. The system of grades parallels the wage system in society as well. The education system in the United States is primarily used for the preparation of the young child’s socialization.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Prejudice refers to attitudes of aversion and hostility toward the members of a group simply because they belong to it and hence are presumed to have the objectionable qual...

Marketing Term Report on Shan

MARKETING TERM REPORT BY KHAN AKHTER RUMMAN SHAN FOODS ABOUT THE COMPANY: Shan Foods came into existence in 1981 when it began operations from a single room as it was Shan Masala back then, launched full range of spices to cater to local public,due to its popularity Shan started exporting after a few years due to increased international popularity. But after sometime, the need to reposition the brand was felt. It needed to be repositioned as a food brand rather than a spice brand.Re-imaging the organization became necessary for re-positioning of the brand; it was a job well done and led to continued success of Shan on national and international fronts. The name of Shan Foods has become synonymous with highest quality and exquisite taste. . There are six broad categories of varieties Shan deals in including recipe mixes, plain spices, dessert mixes. Shan Food’s vision is â€Å"to be a dominant global player in food products and socially responsible company that attains its qua lity standards so that Shan stands for tradition trust and good taste. MARKETING STRATEGY: DIFFERENTIATION OF PRODUCT: Shan is able to differentiate from its competitors through its added facilities of the  V-look  technology and the coal grinding technology is only an example to their dedication to  provide nothing but the best  to their consumers . It’s the world class quality that brings the blind trust of the consumers on Shan products that it will not only be hygienically prepared but would be secure from any harmful ingredients that loose spices offer. TARGETED MARKET: Females aging from 18 to 45 years compose the main target market of Shan Foods.This is because of the reason that in our part of the world, women are mostly related to the food and cooking. Hence, Shan Foods develops products that are according the needs and wants of these women no matter if they are stay-at-home or working, single or married ones. POSITIONING OF THE PRODUCT: Shan Foods position s tatement is â€Å"To the confident and convenience seeking woman of today, our wide range of Shan spice mixes offer premium quality products, made with the finest ingredients like no other. It is just for the fact that the consumers should be provided with solution of having a tasty meal in no time with homemade mixes of recipes and spices. MARKETING MIX PRODUCT: The products of Shan can be broadly categorized into 6 categories, with multiple sub-categories. Looking at the product portfolio of Shan Foods, it is seen that Shan Foods has given is consumers an offering for every occasion and every type of taste. Be it traditional cuisine mixes like Biryani or an offering in the Dessert category; Shan has an offering to complement all the good things in life associated with food.The different product offerings of Shan Foods are: * -Biryani Mixes- * Stir Fried Foods- * Curry Spice Mixes * -Deep Fried Foods- * Barbeque-Vegetarian Foods- * Instant Foods * Khushbudaar Lehsan * Zaiqedaar Ad rak * Khatta Khatai * Qasuri Methi * Karara Zeera * Taiz Laal Mirch * Taaza Dhaniya * Zaafrani Garam Masala. * Teekhi Kaali Mirch * Khaalis Haldee PRICE: The pricing of all Shan offerings varies and depends on each Stock Keeping Unit (SKU). However, the price ranges for five (out of six) categories of Shan product offerings are as follows: * Recipe Mix: The Recipe mixes range from Rs. 0 to 40 * Plain Spices: Pricing of Plain spices varies SKU wise. For example, 50 grams red chili powder is available at a price of Rs. 20 and150 grams at Rs. 115 * Dessert Mixes: Desserts are all priced at Rs. 35 * Pickles Pickle pricing is Rs. 170 for 1000 grams, pricing varies as per SKU PLACE: Shan is easily available at all general stores as well as departmental stores. Shan Foods is focusing on the indirect marketing channels where they sell Shan products through retailers. Shan Foods is also available in 60 foreign countries.The brand is exported to UK, USA, and Middle East and now to Far East re gions as well. Sales Force in Shan Foods is divided into three types: General Trade (general stores, Kiryana stores, Medical and Genaral stores), Local modern trade (super stores such as Aghaz, Naheed, Chase), and International Modern trade (Large houses such as Makro and Metro). PROMOTION: It has started to reach out to a wider audience keeping in mind the changing lifestyle to nuclear families and convenience seekers. The advertisements of Shan’s offerings focus entirely in the females of the family.The marketing strategy is very customer oriented i. e. Shan emphasizes on marketing its products keeping in mind its customers thus having a customer centric view. Shan has recently realized that a potential part of the population i. e. the teenagers are the ones that will become tomorrow’s decision makers. More recently, the major marketing or promotional expenditure done by Shan Foods is on making deals with television channels for their commercial air time. MARKETING E NVIRONMENT: There is a lot of difficulty of this marketing environment are low prices and unbranded competitor’s.Due to high competition and low prices of competitors it gets difficult to attract customers to buy their product. It is very difficult to earn brand loyalty. Apart from this, some of the major driving forces in the Pakistani spice industry are changes in societal concerns, lifestyles and attitudes, product innovation and changes in who buy the product and how they use it. There are many factors behind increased demand of spices in Pakistan; a major factor is the changing lifestyles of people who now prefer ready to use ingredients over traditional home made spices.Also, spices have always been in demand due  to the sub-continental style of cooking. As there are a number of competitors in the market, the consumers and buyers have substantial power to influence the marketing of Shan products. Major resellers and wholesalers like Metro and Makro are generally used for grocery shopping or bulk buying which is why Unilever also uses them as a forum to create awareness of their products. For example separate customized and decorated racks for display of all Shan recipes. COMPETITORS:Except for small unbranded products Shan has a large share of competition from National foods, Mehran foods, Ahmed Foods, Habib Foods, Zaiqa Foods and Kitchen Secrets. Only 40% use the branded product and 60% percent of consumers use the unbranded product, hence local spice manufacturers and grinders pose as major competitors. Shan Foods and National Foods are almost occupying the similar share in Volumes as well as in % but the growth of Shan Foods is Showing the steady increase while the National foods is Showing fluctuations in its market growth.Strategic distribution of both Shaan and National products pose as a major competitive advantage because although Chef’s Pride holds the third position is market share, it should be noted that it is not available in many retail outlets across Pakistan and especially Karachi. ANALYSIS OF COMPETITORS: Due to the unbranded products having 60 % of the market Shan only has to compete for the 40% of the share of the market. The major competitors of the 40% market are National foods, Mehran foods, Ahmed foods, Habib foods, Zaiqa foods and Kitchen secrets.When it comes to food products, taste development and loyalty are major concerns which are well considered by Shan Foods in contrast to its competitors as they target taste values and customer satisfaction more than they target family values like marketing campaigns of National Foods. Due to having competitors making almost the same products as Shan there is rigid competition in the market on price and quality both of which they cannot give up on or else the other product takes the market. CHARACTERS AFFECTING CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR:The major attractive characteristics of Shan include its persistent good taste, maintained high quality, health friendly an d attractive packaging and availability. Moreover, it keeps the loyal customers satisfied with delicious taste. Moreover, the wide range of products and SKU’s available consolidate Shan’s presence in various niches and keep its customers loyal to the brand. In this regard, Shan’s ‘Oriental recipes’ proved very beneficial in the retention of customers. With their introduction, many housewives are now able to make restaurant standard food at home.And this attracted the modern youth to eat at home as they prefer continental food. Another attractive characteristic is that Shan foods is a leading exporter of food items from Pakistan providing it an opportunity to tap the large global market which helps it to expand at a rapid pace. At the same time, the consumers have been greatly inclined by the brand communication of Shan. Shan’s strategy of showing mouthwatering dishes on their bill boards and in advertisements has been an immense success. This â€Å"Big Idea† has been running for more than 3 years and still has not lost its relevance.Hence, the nature and intensity of these campaigns have been bolstered by Shan’s external marketing through bill boards, television advertisements, high repetition and short duration messages on TV, cooking programs for housewives and sponsored events. BUYING DECISION BEHAVIOUR: As people live in metro cities they tend to go for branded products compared to unbranded ones. In our product’s case, customers are most likely to have complex buying behavior. This is mainly because there is a high perceived difference among the brands of recipes. In Pakistan, people love their food.And want it according to their traditional taste. This encourages a complex procedure of choosing between brands. However, the customers who are conformed to the taste of Shan will not go for the other competitors irrespective of their marketing strategy. Moreover, the purchase of Shan Masala involv es a great amount of consumer involvement. This is because the purchase of Shan’s products changes according to seasons. If on one occasion Fruitchart masala is in demand because of Holy Ramadan, BBQ mixes could be indemand on Eids or in summers when families invite friends over on BBQ parties.The Haleem & BBQ mix are in greater demand during the winter season whileChana Chat mix is purchased more often in summer. This requires constant attention of customers in their purchases. Hence the high consumer involvement and significant perceived differences among brands involves a complex buying behavior. BUYING DECISION PROCESS: Since Shan is a well known product with its own target market, customer’s decision making process will not be very lengthy. However, several customers might undergo through the following steps: Need recognition: At this stage, the buyer recognizes the problem or need.In Pakistan, the busy schedule of people and easy-living trend has made Shan Recipe s an inevitable part of every household’s grocery. Similarly in foreign countries, the feeling of home and desirability of traditional food encourages the move towards Shan Recipes. Information search: at this stage measures like internet blogs, TV advertisements and communication with peers, etc are taken by different customers to reach to a buying decision. In Shan’s case, very few customers will undertake this step due to its strong brand position in Pakistan.This is because of Shan’s strong heritage in Pakistani households, it is passed on from mothers to daughters, like values and beliefs. Similarly in foreign countries the sources of information are the newly shifted relatives, online search engine and the availability in shopping marts. Evaluation of alternative: Different consumers have different evaluation process. This depends upon several factors including their affiliation and past experience with the product. In Shan’s case, most of the Pakis tani customers are old regular users and are unlikely to go through this stage.However, in foreign countries, new customers may go for the alternative brands to get the best. This stage depends upon the availability of other competitors. Purchase decision: Generally this decision might be influenced by attitude of others or unexpected situational factors. However, in our products case, external determinants are mainly economic factors and demeaning product quality. Post purchase behavior: Shan has established certain expectations with its brand which it aims to fulfill. Almost all of the consumers take certain actions after their consumption based on their satisfaction or dissatisfaction.Moreover they undergo cognitive dissonance, which means that the satisfaction or dissatisfaction involves certain compromises. In Shan’s case, the compromises made by new customers are the advantages of close competitive detergent. BIBILOGRAPHY http://shanfoodspk. com/ http://www. scribd. com /doc/37193856/Strategic-Management-Comparision-of-Shan-Foods-and-National-Foods http://www. nation. com. pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/business/04-Jul-2010/Shan-Foods-promotes-healthy-environment http://www. importgenius. com/shipments/shan-foods-private-limited. html http://pakbiz. com/profile/Shan-Foods/

Eth/125 Final Essay

The information that I have learned about diversity in the United States has helped me better understand our society and relate to different people. I think that diversity is a beautiful thing that we should embrace instead of looking at negatively. The United States has come a long way in terms of discrimination and prejudice against different people from different cultures, backgrounds and races. This class has helped me gain a better understanding of what some people went through in order to gain the respect of people that looked down on them because they were of a different descent. Looking back at the way African Americans were treated in the 1950s and 1960s truly makes me cringe. To me it’s unfathomable that people can have so much hate towards a group of people because of the color of their skin. Martin Luther King said it best in his â€Å"I have a dream† speech when he stated that he ‘dreams of a day where his four little children will be judged not by th e color of their skin, but by the content of their character’. I think that from then, we have come a long way because as a whole, society is a bit more open to diversity; but we still have a long way to go. Learning about diversity has made me embrace my own culture much more. I am an American of full Dominican Descent, and although I have always been proud to be a Hispanic living in America, diversity has taught me that it really is a beautiful thing. The way some people discriminate against minorities makes you almost a bit ashamed to be from another country, but I don’t see it that way. I love being Dominican and I will always be proud of where I am from. I think that by the year 2050 the United States is going to be much more diverse than it is now. The minority population is going to be much more diverse, resulting in larger amounts of interracial marriages. The Caucasians will no longer be the ‘majority’. Right now, in 2013 we are so diverse and you see people from all over the world in the United States, and I feel th at as time goes by that is just going to increase dramatically. I think that the racial issues that we face today will always be there,  because there will always be people that are closed minded and living in the past. I do however, think that given how diverse the United States is becoming, society will learn to be more accepting of diversity and different cultures and interracial marriages. Today, you don’t see the same concern for race and skin color that we saw in the 1950s and 1960s; people today are more accepting of diversity. The fact that we have the first African American president today is a major turning point in our nation, one that has changed a lot of people attitudes towards African Americans and different minority groups. According to Joel Kotkin (2010), ‘racial and ethnic identification will be as important as it is now. Now more than ever, ethnicity is intertwined with identity and shapes the way people grow, what they believe and their perspectives on a variety of topics’. (What will American look like; Liane Membis, 7/2/2010). The biggest challenge that the United States faces because of diversity is amongst the people themselves. Americans need to get rid o f the hyphen and accept and understand that we are all Americans and one nation. The pledge of allegiance states that we are ‘one nation under god, with liberty and justice for all’, it’s ironic how so many people forget that we are in fact ONE nation and instead of pointing fingers because of where someone is from or the color of their skin, we should come together and embrace the diversity in which we live in. The challenges that this nation faces in regards to diversity our challenges that we have created ourselves. In a perfect world, we would all live in harmony there would be no racism, discrimination or hate. We would all get along and embrace the fact that we come from all over the world to America and live here together. Diversity is such a positive thing, and I wish that more people viewed it this way. In today’s society, where we are the epitome of diversity, a lot of people view it as a good thing. Diversity is beneficial because it gives a lot of people the opportunity to experience different things with different people. S ome people don’t really pay attention to the things that go on outside of their comfort zone, or simply just choose not to participate in things that will help them better understand different cultures and people. â€Å"Studies show that the lack of cohesion between races, sexes and cultures is due to mistrust, stereotyping, and more within culture conversation and language problems† ( Sarah T., Missouri City Tx; The importance & Benefits of  diversity). I think this statement is absolutely true, and is a major factor in the divide that people create in the United States when it comes to diversity. We have a long way to go before we are a diverse society that values the differences in the people that make up our nation. Another benefit of diversity in America is that it prepares our children for the real world. One of the things I love the most about how diverse our nation is and growing up here you see it the most. Our schools are filled with children from all over the world and country, and our children are taught at an early age to not see the color of their friend’s skin, but who they are and how well they get along. I think that by raising consciousness we can foster a climate of acceptance and cultural plurism in the United States. If we as a whole were able to just be a little more open minded we would be able to knock down the walls that keep us from getting to know people from different cultures and accept them how th ey are. Given, that the United states has gone through situations like 9/11 with the terrorist attacks that made people a little more guarded against middle eastern people and that brought on a lot of discrimination against the Muslim Americans living here. I don’t think it’s fair to put them all in that category, because not everyone is the same. There are good and bad people from every part of the world, and if we were a little more conscience of this we would be able to accept diversity that much more. Diversity isn’t just where you are from or your religious beliefs, it’s much more than that; physical appearances, where you grew up, but all of that is irrelevant if we accept each other and come together as a whole. The media contributes to the perpetuation of stereotypes and prejudice in the way that they show people from certain backgrounds in television, newspapers and the way that they talk about people on the radio as well. I think that the way certain racial groups or cultures are portrayed in the media, has a significant impact on the way viewers and listeners see them. For example, the attacks with 9/11 were something that moved our nation and impacted the United States significantly, but the way the media went after the terrorists also made the way viewers and Americans viewed Muslims living in America negative. People began to hate Muslim Americans and discriminate against them, as if the attacks were their fault. The media helps foster appreciation for diversity, for how diverse it is itself. You see people on television from different  backgrounds, and different cultures working together. Whether it is on television shows, newspapers or in music; the media promotes diversity by showing just how diverse it is itself. For example, the Ellen DeGeneres show is very diverse. The fact that she is a gay woman is a fact that some people look down on to begin with, but she brings people from all over the world and a very diverse bunch of celebrities on her show without discrimination against anyone. I think this is the perfect example of how the media helps foster appreciation for diversity, because it applauds the fact that there is such diversity and it is brought together in a positive way. I think that if individuals in the United States were to be a little more open minded than we wouldn’t have any divides at all, and we could reduce prejudice and increase the appreciation for diversity in our nation. The problem is that a lot of people do not realize just how beautiful diversity is. They look at it as something negative and that is the mindset that we need to work on changing in order to reduce prejudice. We live in a country that welcome differences and gives people the choice and right to be themselves, and to be proud of where they come from. Personally, I am a very open person to other people and diversity and I embrace it because I feel that we are all different and that is what makes this country beautiful. I have a very diverse group of friends, and I have never judged people based on the color of their skin, but who they are as a person and I try to carry that way of thinking every day of my life. I have a son, and I would never want people to discriminate against him for being Dominican, or ‘brown’, and so I will instill in him the same values my mother and father instilled in me as a child, that I carry with me today. I mean think about it, if we all walked around being told what to do, what to think, and to act the same then we would complain about that.