Saturday, February 29, 2020

Chanakya On Military Mobilization History Essay

Chanakya On Military Mobilization History Essay Ancient India produced many philosophers and strategists, whose works contribute immensely to understand the great civilization and its religions even today. Of all the great thinkers and strategists who left their mark in Indian history, Chanakya is perhaps the most important, because it was his strategy that led to the realization of the idea of a unified India. It was his student Chandra Gupta Maurya who followed his strategy to unify India in 321 BC. Unlike many other contemporary Indian thinkers who focused on religion and thought of heavenly realms, Chanakya had his feet firmly planted on the ground and thought about the ways to make a country rich and powerful. His book on statecraft, Arthashastra, is one of the first books by any Indian author to highlight the importance of the military in the smooth functioning of the state. In other words, he was a realist who understood the power a strong standing military in sending out a clear signal to other countries and its contribut ion to bolstering national pride. It was his emphasis on military, diplomacy and covert operations and his ruthless practicality that earned him his nickname, Kautilya, the shrewd one who employed all means possible to keep the national pride intact. Although there are a lot of controversies about the identity of Chanakya, a master strategist and kingmaker, it is beyond the scope of this article. The article will only deal with his views-or what is now regarded as his view by many scholars-on military mobilization. Chanakya comes out as one of the first strategists who not only wrote on how to mobilize the military, but also how to organize it. As someone who grew up witnessing wars among the various kingdoms and republics that existed in India then, and also having witnessed Alexander’s invasion of India, he clearly saw the need for a strong unified India that would be peaceful and deal with others on its own terms. And he clearly realized that to turn his dream of a strong India, a strong military was a must. Without a strong military to back the ruler in conducting his domestic and foreign policy, he realized, the country would perish. Thus, in his book he highlights the importance of military, how to organize and mobilize it when needed. His chapters on military reads like chapters from any modern book on military science. It is hard to imagine that more than 2,000 years ago, he thought of sending a medical unit to campaigns to take care of the wounded. In Arthashastra, he clearly highlights the need to divide the military in units and battalions, with their respective flags and commanders. He also writes on the chain of command and how to maintain it. And like any modern book on military science, also mentions the importance of covert operations and psychological warfare to subdue the enemy. More than that, he clearly writes the criteria for choosing the commanders of each unit. For example, the one who heads the infantry has to have battle experie nce, know about the weapons necessary for his troops. Similarly, the one heading the cavalry should be able to choose the best horses for his unit, and know how all things about the horses. Similarly the officers heading the chariot and elephant units too should have knowledge and experience in choosing the right equipments and animals for their units.

Thursday, February 13, 2020

Patagonia Case Analysis Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Patagonia Analysis - Case Study Example Customers in their desired target market, however, seem to be willing to pay this price for the quality, durability, and environmentally-focused attributes of the company’s brand name. The problem at Patagonia, however, is not related to the product, pricing or the above-industry-norm commitment to environmentalism as it is related to customer lifestyle. Patagonia only spends 1% of its entire budget on promotion and advertising, thus relying on social media and sales representatives to maintain the promotional function. The firm requires more visibility to extend its product line beyond the higher resource buyer segment to balance its profit goals. PROPOSAL ALTERNATIVES Experts in public relations identify the many competitive advantages that come from utilization of professional, externalized public relations firms. These include a positive corporate identity, improved national standing among competition, and improved consumer purchase intention (David, Kline & Dai, 390). Des pite Patagonia’s current sales success in gaining a higher volume of customers, the marginal increases in sales are much lower than industry norms for a business of this variety. Granted, some of this profit reduction comes in the form of environmentalism and charitable donations, however achieving higher profitability without losing the current positioning related to eco-friendly production is attainable by devoting a large portion of the operating budget to advertisment. In order to achieve a successful brand with high visibility, the focus should be on empowerment: â€Å"putting them in charge to take action† (Bayley, 15). Patagonia is a highly action-oriented business active lifestyles related to surfing, climbing, rafting and other outdoor recreation. Under the VALS2 Marketing Diagram for segmentation, action-oriented individuals spend a majority of their disposable income on social activities, buy on impulse, and follow fashion and fads significantly (Boone & Kur tz, 302). Even though Patagonia’s products are priced higher than industry norms, they are not priced significantly higher than other sportswear and outdoor wear companies overall, thus making them affordable for lower-income customers still in an above-average category. Action-oriented individuals in society include other recreational activities related to camping, skiiing, and general boating and lake/oceanfront activities. Patagonia requires extension of its brand presence into these markets in order to find profit success without sacrificing its core values that leadership is so dedicated to sustaining as top priority. The action plan for Patagonia is to develop relatively low-cost advertising and utilize assistance from external public relations consultants to create a system of well-coordinated press releases that give more visibility to the general consumer public. Reliance on the distribution network to conduct advertising function takes control of advertising from ow nership and places it in a third party, thus adding an element of risk to the business model in relation to sales. Consumers of all demographics respond positively to advertising with vivid

Saturday, February 1, 2020

Cultural Artifcat Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Cultural Artifcat - Essay Example It is convenient, hassle free and very enabling because we have tons of information within us. Putting or embedding it in our body is also safe. It could be injected within us and could also be retrieved easily because it is small. It will work because if the pacemaker that is big could fit into a human’s heart, how much more a microchip that will just be embedded in our skin. It will be just a matter of time before such technology will happen because recent development in technology is running on the technological ideology of making computers smaller and smaller. Recent signs are the miniaturization of computers are PC’s reduction to laptops to tablets and it will not be long until it will be reduced to just a microchip. It is expected that such artifact may received with resistance because the idea is revolutionary and unusual. Less informed people may have the false consciousness that we are â€Å"robotizing† people by embedding chip into them. It is also anticipated however that over time, such fears will be allayed by the benefits of the new technology and that it will be eventually accepted. For us students, such cultural artifact is a very powerful and an enabling tool because the amount of information we could carry could be used in our studies. Imagine each student has a library at his or her disposal and all he or she needs is a computer, laptop or tablet to download the information within his or her body. The same is true if such student would like to upload information that would be needed in the future. It is not only convenient but could also cost effective because the storage can be carried anywhere. Also, student’s will no longer have excuses that they forgot to bring their books, assignments or whatever information related requirement in school because their body could already carry it. It only means that if they did not bring the requirement, they did not do it. Life will also become