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Database Security Is Responsible Protecting The...

DATABASE SECURITY University Student Executive Overview This report looks into database security then compares database security tools that can be adopted and implemented to solve database threats. The conclusions and recommendations made can enable an organization choose an effective and efficient security tool to be in order to attain utmost security of data, resources and information. The research was conducted by accessing information from the internet, reading various books and articles. This research notably conveyed a paradigm shift in database security threats due to their sophistication and increase, hence increased need for implementation of watertight security solutions. Database security is responsible protecting the†¦show more content†¦This is to ensure the integrity, privacy and availability of data and resources. Data is accorded magnanimous importance in any organization hence the need for an IT security specialist and security solutions to protect the data. Threats such as natural catastrophes, system malfunctions and physical theft can bring massive losses to an organization. It is thus of utmost significance to mitigate these threats by all means possible. Information security is a broader realm to database security, network security and email security. All these security issues leverage synergies to ameliorate system performance and curb security threats to information (Nemati 2008). These security sectors complement each other to attain absolute system protection and performance. Network security for example complements database security by implementing firewalls and intrusion detection systems to safeguard databases. Before the acquisition of any security solution, critical considerations and comparisons need to be done in order to ensure the enterprise purchases the best security solution that will provide ultimate security. The increase in database threats and risks has led to increased need to boost information security especially database security. Some of these security risks and threats include:- ïÆ'Ëœ Physical

Gateway Success Essay Research Paper Gateway 2000 free essay sample

Gateway Success Essay, Research Paper Gateway 2000 was formed by Ted Waitt ( CEO ) , in September 1985, in Sioux City, Iowa. The company was founded along with Senior Vice president Mike Hammond. In 1990, as the company began to bloom it was moved to its current location in North Sioux City, South Dakota. They formed Gateway 2000 with one end in mind- to offer Personal computer purchasers a logical option to high markups, limited picks and unequal support, common in the retail Personal computer market ( Gateway.com 1 ) . These two spouses started selling hardware and package to people who owned Texas Instrument computing machines. The located ads in computing machine related publications, selling to the terminal user. These two cats were the innovators of direct-marketing in the Personal computer industry. Finally in 1987 Ted Waitt recognized the possibility of selling to the full configured computing machines, at good monetary values. This thought gave Gateway a enormous push frontward into the computing machine industry. We will write a custom essay sample on Gateway Success Essay Research Paper Gateway 2000 or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page In 1987 the company reported grosss of 1.5 million dollars, subsequently in 1989, it jumped to an amazing 70.6 million dollars. Finally, in 1996, they leaping into the one million millions with 5.04 billion dollars. In 1993, Gateway became a traded company in the NASDAQ market system under the symbol GATE. Making betterment along the manner they moved to the New York Stock Exchange on May 22, 1997 and uses the symbol GTW. On June 16, 1997 the stock split. Gateway 2000 is the taking planetary seller of personal computing machines. Although they are the leader in planetary selling they have a little job with their laptop division. the laptop division holds one of the lowest market portions in the market. Toshiba the leader in market portion holds 21.2 per centum of the market, Compaq keeping 15.7, IBM with 12.4, Dell with 6.1, Acer with 5.0, Packard Bell with 4.4, Fujitsu with 3.4, Hitachi with 3.3, Micron with 3.2, and eventually Gateway with 2.8 per centum. With Gateways new and improved selling program, they should increase to the top over the following five old ages. Gateway? s current mark market is the place Personal computer user. They put forth most of their energy seeking to do the client feel comfy with its merchandise. They besides want the client to experience as though they made the right determination purchasing from Gateway. This attitude will assist Gateway in selling itself. They will non necessitate to utilize utmost advertisement because the word of oral cavity is the most powerful advertisement tool. Presently Gateway as a whole is making really good, with an spread outing client base. As that client base continues to turn other sections of the company will besides shoot. To day of the month, Gateway Laptops are non every bit popular as many other trade names. As Gateway continues to turn, so will their laptop market portion. Toshiba the taking market portion holder of laptop computing machines, does non offer as many advantages as the Gateway laptop. Gateway provides client service and low-reasonable monetary values. Besides the they back every Personal computer that they sell. This gives the client the feeling that they are backed in every manner when purchasing a laptop from Gateway. Gateway besides features a web site purely for its computing machines. The web site is really easy to utilize and informative every bit good. If the computing machines are as easy to utilize as the web site, than I think that everyone should have a Gateway. P > Gateway laptops come in broad assortment of theoretical accounts and monetary values runing from $ 4099 to every bit low as $ 1649. The Models all characteristic Pentiuim processors and many other characteristics. Gateway besides offers payment programs when telling off of the web site. Gateway laptops have the capableness to make the top of the market portion if they put more attempt into constructing a stronger name for their laptops. They want clients to believe that they are purchasing the really best, and if they are non happy with laptop Gateway will make everything possible to do them happy clients. As the computing machine industry begins to turn I think that new merchandises will be the cardinal to maximal growing. Gateway already offers twelve different theoretical accounts of laptop computing machines, so there is non a great trade of betterment needed in this country. They besides offer services to clients. A client service division for laptop computing machines would do the client experience more specialised and comfy with the merchandise. New merchandises such as portable pressmans would give the consumer an advantage to utilizing a laptop computing machine. Besides, trade bundles such as a laptop- pressman jazz band would assist to hike gross revenues. Gateway used telecasting advertisement to acquire their name out into the populaces head. Gateway laptops are non easy to happen and turn up in many retail locations. If the company put more money into forcing their merchandise into these location gross revenues would decidedly travel up. Toshiba, the leader in laptop gross revenues has distributed their merchandise really good and this might be a ground why they hold the highest place. Gateway needs to set more of its laptops into concatenation engineering shops such as circuit metropolis. This will acquire the thought out that you do non hold to be computing machine minded to have a Gateway laptop. Droping the monetary values for many of the theoretical accounts will besides hike gross revenues. How much the laptop cost badly impacts the market portion. Their laptops are moderately priced and offer as many if non more characteristics than its rivals. Gateways chief distribution channel is via the cyberspace. Many of the purchase? s of laptops were ordered off of the cyberspace. Then from there the Personal computer? s are delivered to the terminal user. This manner the client is covering straight with the maker. Gateway could besides hold contracts with colleges to buy laptops for their pupils. Gateway should maintain the same channel of distribution that they already use. Although, they do need to broaden their locations. They need to better on advancing their merchandise. More commercials and advertizements would assist to acquire the word out to possible users. Gateway should besides take some of its grosss from it PC? s and put it in doing their laptops figure one. Overall, Gateway is making a great occupation with doing the client feel as though they are purchasing the right computing machine. They are besides making a great occupation advancing their Personal computer? s. If they could make the same for Laptops they would be more successful, and might be able to capture both markets. Cazich, Robert S. Market Share Reporter. 1999. Gale Research, Detriot, London. pg193 1998 Mossberg, Walter S. The Wall Street Journal, Marketplace. Personal Technology, Thursday Oct. 29, 1998. Gateway Computers. WWW.Gateway.com, Dec. , 1998

Salem Case Study free essay sample

Finally, a meeting took place between Salem Telephone President and the manager of Salem Data Services to discuss the future of Salem Data Services (Bruns Hertenstein, 2005). Case Tasks 1. Determine Variable and Fixed expenses with respect to revenue hours. 2. Calculate the cost per revenue hour using only variable expenses. 3. Create a contribution margin income statement for Salem Data Services. Assume intracompany usage is 205 hours and commercial usage is at March levels. 4. Assuming intracompany use is 205 hours, determine the break-even level for commercial revenue hours. 5. Estimate the following effects on income a. Increase the price to commercial customers to $1,000 per hour which would decrease demand 30% b. Decrease the price to commercial customers to $600 per hour which would increase demand 30% c. Increase promotion to increase revenue hours by 30%. Determine how much can be spent on promotion without a loss for Salem Data Services 6. Based on previous analysis, is Salem Data Services a problem for Salem Telephone? What should be done about Salem Data Services? Determining Fixed and Variable Expenses Variable expenses, with respect to revenue hours, were determined by selecting only those expenses that vary with production hours: Operations: hourly personnel, Power Fixed expenses were determined by selecting those that do not vary with production hours: Rent, Custodial Services, Computer Leases, Maintenance, Depreciation: Computer Equipment and Office Equipment, Operations: salaried staff, Systems Development and Maintenance, Administration, Sales, Sales Promotion, Corporate Services Cost Per Revenue Hour Cost per revenue hour was determined by dividing the quarterly average of variable expenses by the quarterly average of revenue hours: Average Power Expense for the quarter $ 1,576. We will write a custom essay sample on Salem Case Study or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page 00 Average Hourly Salary for the quarter $ 8,048. 00 Total Variable Expenses $ 9,624. 00 Average Number of Revenue Hours 335. 33 Cost per Revenue Hour (Total Variable costs/number of hours)$ 28. 70 Contribution Margin Income Statement for Salem Data Services A Contribution Margin Income Statement was prepared with the following assumptions: Intracompany use was 205 hours and Commercial use was at March levels (138 hours) Salem Data Services Contribution Margin Income Statement Intracompany (205 Revenue hours @ $400/hr)$82,000 Commercial (138 Revenue hours @ $800/hr)$110,400 Total Sales $192,400. 00 Less Variable Costs Total Revenue hours343 Variable Cost per hour X revenue hours$28. 0 $9,844. 10 Contribution Margin for intracompany and commercial $182,555. 90 Contribution Margin Ratio for Intracompany0. 9283 Contribution Margin Ratio for commercial0. 9641 Less Fixed costs Rent$8,000 Custodial services$1,240 Computer leases$95,000 Maintenance$5,400 Computer equipment depreciation$25,500 Office equipment and fixtures depreciation$680 Operations: Salaried Staff$21,600 Systems development maintenance$12,000 Administration$9,000 Sales$11,200 Sales Promotion quarterly average $7,677 Corporate Services quarterly average$15,340 Furthermore, several options were analyzed to determine if the company could boost profits through price manipulation which proved unprofitable in each case. Although it was determined that with successful sales promotions the company could show a profit, it is not likely a guarantee. Additionally, the profit was a meager $1,851. 05 which if spent on promotions would be unlikely to boost sales a whopping 30%. The main issue with Salem Data Services seems to be its extremely high fixed costs. Unless the company can eliminate or greatly reduce these expenses, it is doubtful that they will ever be a profitable entity.

Accident Analysis free essay sample

In March 27, 1977, one of the World’s worst civil aviation disaster happened in the Los Rodeos Airport, Tenerife (in the Canary Islands). Earlier that day a bomb explosion in the terminal building of Las Palmas airport took place which required aircrafts to divert in Tenerife airport. A runway collision took place between the two Boeing 747 airplanes (KLM and Pan American). In this crash, a total of 583 people were killed while 64 people from Pan Am aircraft survived the disaster. In the overview of the accident, human error and the CRM elements involve in the mishap were analyzed to identify the weakness or the factors that contributed to the catastrophic event. The KLM aircraft, a charter flight has landed 45 minutes ago. It has 248 people on-board including the 14 crew members. The Dutch captain of the KLM aircraft had ignored the concerns of his crewmembers. The feeling of tension or pressure for the captain increased considering that the Dutch regulation on time is very strict. We will write a custom essay sample on Accident Analysis or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page As a result of these the KLM captain was took off prematurely without clearance. The KLM captain was in a haste to avoid the risk of further interruptions and delay. The captain became complacent and relaxed that he believed taking off immediately was the best decision to do. Due to relatively high stress level the Dutch captain became imprudent and disregarding of the concern of his crewmembers. The assertiveness of the first officer was also a factor on why the captain had not been stop to take off without complete ATC clearance. The fact that the captain has more authority than the first officer gave him the choice to make final decisions. The first officer told the captain to wait as they still not have an ATC clearance. The captain then asked him to request again but while the first officer was still repeating the clearance the captain opened the throttle and started to take off. The co-pilot didn’t become assertive enough to remind the captain that they still have to wait for further instruction before taking off. Instead, the co-pilot accepted the condition that they were already taking off and followed the captain. The ATC communication system and blocked transmission affected and contributed in the process or the turn of the events. There were certainly some inadequacies in the ATC equipment of Tenerife airport. Added to that the airport was crowded and had unusual workload that day. The absence of ground radar together with the problem in visibility in the airport due to heavy fog made the situation even worst. The runway center lights were out of service also during that time. The runway at Tenerife airport has been used as a taxiing lane for these large aircrafts giving them higher risk for accidents. The ATC has poor situation awareness and also poor communication with aircrafts that aggravated the situation. Certainly there are many factors that lead to this accident in Tenerife. The accident could not be blame for just one cause only but due to a string of related events and deficiency. There were human factors in all the systems involve. The KLM was the primary cause of the accident since the aircraft has taken off without take-off clearance. The Pan Am aircraft had also made a mistake by missing the taxiway. The ATC also have problems in their communication system as there are some transmission interruptions or background noises that contribute to their poor performance.   Another human factor in the incident to be considered is the fatigue brought by the situation. Much earlier the captain was angry and the passengers of Pan Am were already unhappy of the situation which required them to transfer to Tenerife airport. The KLM captain on the other hand was reported nervous and uneasy of the situation since he knew that it was forbidden for them to exceed their hour quotas. The fatigue that started from the bomb explosion and the inconvenience to land in Las Palmas airport had affected everyone. The accident could have a greater chance to be prevented if the two aircrafts have made the right decisions and have double check everything. If the Tenerife airport could have been well equip and prepared for that situation it would not have happened. This event has opened the minds of aviation system to improve intensively the CRM and airport facility. Reference â€Å"Tenerife Crash March 27th, 1977† (2008) I001 Crash.com . . Retrieved September 20, 2008, from http://www.1001crash.com â€Å"Human Factors Still The Current Challenge Of The Aviation Industry† (2008) CulturAiles: Human Factors In Air Safety. Retrieved September 20, 2008 from http://www.culturailes.net

5 English Writing Resources for Better Punctuation

5 English Writing Resources for Better Punctuation 5 English Writing Resources for Better Punctuation Has anybody seen the best punctuation lesson ever given? It was a presentation by a great pianist Victor Borge. He used different sounds for each punctuation mark, and it’s called Phonetic Punctuation. Proper Ã'€unÃ' tuÐ °tÃ'â€"Ð ¾n hÐ ¾ldÃ'• a vÐ µrÃ'Æ' Ã'•Ã'â€"gnÃ'â€"fÃ'â€"Ã' Ã °nt Ã'€lÐ °Ã' Ã µ Ã'â€"n the English lÐ °nguÐ °gÐ µ, Ã'•Ð ¾ muÃ' h Ã'•Ð ¾ thÐ °t a holiday wÐ °Ã'• founded in 2004 tÐ ¾ honor Ã'â€"t. Have you ever heard about the NÐ °tÃ'â€"Ð ¾nÐ °l DÐ °Ã'Æ' Ð ¾f PunÃ' tuÐ °tÃ'â€"Ð ¾n? EvÐ µrÃ'Æ' 24th Ð ¾f September, buÃ'•Ã'â€"nÐ µÃ'•Ã'•Ð µÃ'•, media organizations, Ð °nd Ã'•Ã' hÐ ¾Ã ¾lÃ'• Ð °Ã' rÐ ¾Ã'•Ã'• the UnÃ'â€"tÐ µd StÐ °tÐ µÃ'• celebrate the Ð µvÐ µnt tÐ ¾ rÐ µmÃ'â€"nd people Ð ¾f thÐ µ importance of using Ã'€unÃ' tuÐ °tÃ'â€"Ð ¾n mÐ °rkÃ'• properly. WÐ µll, improving ones wrÃ'â€"tÃ'â€"ng Ã'•kÃ'â€"llÃ'• Ã'â€"Ã'• the buÃ'•Ã'â€"nÐ µÃ'•Ã'• nÐ ¾t only Ð ¾f Ã'•tÃ'â€"Ã' klÐ µrÃ'• fÐ ¾r Ã'€rÐ ¾Ã'€Ð µr Ã'€unÃ' tuÐ °tÃ'â€"Ð ¾n but also Ð ¾f Ð ¾rdÃ'â€"nÐ °rÃ'Æ' people lÃ'â€"kÐ µ Ã'Æ'Ð ¾u. Nobody wÐ ¾uld Ã'•tÐ °nd rÐ µÃ °dÃ'â€"ng a document Ð ¾r tÐ µxt Ã'•Ã'€rÃ'â€"nklÐ µd with lÐ ¾tÃ'• Ð ¾f commas. And Ã'â€"Ã'•nt it tÃ'â€"rÃ'â€"ng tÐ ¾ rÐ µÃ °d a lÐ µttÐ µr or an essay thÐ °t dÐ ¾Ã µÃ'•nt hÐ °vÐ µ Ð °nÃ'Æ' comma or Ã'€Ð µrÃ'â€"Ð ¾d at Ð °ll? WÐ ¾rÃ'•Ð µ, Ã'€Ð ¾Ã ¾r Ã'€unÃ' tuÐ °tÃ'â€"Ð ¾n can Ã' Ã ¾Ã'•t a business mÃ'â€"llÃ'â€"Ð ¾nÃ'• Ð ¾f dÐ ¾llÐ °rÃ'• in lost rÐ µvÐ µnuÐ µÃ'•. There is a number of English writing resources available to help you with punctuation. PunÃ' tuÐ °tÃ'â€"Ð ¾n Checkers FÐ ¾r people whÐ ¾ Ã' Ã °rÐ µ Ð µnÐ ¾ugh tÐ ¾ Ð µlÃ'â€"mÃ'â€"nÐ °tÐ µ punctuation Ð µrrÐ ¾rÃ'• frÐ ¾m thÐ µÃ'â€"r wrÃ'â€"tÃ'â€"ngÃ'•, Ð ¾nlÃ'â€"nÐ µ language Ã'€rÐ ¾Ã' Ã µÃ'•Ã'•Ã'â€"ng tÐ ¾Ã ¾lÃ'• Ã'•uÃ' h Ð °Ã'• Ã'€unÃ' tuÐ °tÃ'â€"Ð ¾n checkers can bÐ µ hÐ µlÃ'€ful. If Ã'Æ'Ð ¾u frequentlÃ'Æ' wrÃ'â€"tÐ µ rÐ µÃ'€Ð ¾rtÃ'•, presentations, Ã'€rÐ ¾Ã'€Ð ¾Ã'•Ð °lÃ'•, business lÐ µttÐ µrÃ'•, and other important documents, you can use Ã'€unÃ' tuÐ °tÃ'â€"Ð ¾n Ã' hÐ µÃ' kÐ µr Ã'•Ð ¾ftwÐ °rÐ µ to Ã'•Ð µÃ µ Ã'â€"f thÐ µrÐ µ are Ã'€unÃ' tuÐ °tÃ'â€"Ð ¾n errors Ã'Æ'Ð ¾u hÐ °vÐ µ made in Ã'Æ'Ð ¾ur work. Grammar Books and Favorite Novels They are always great resources. You can see how punctuation is used and the books provide you with some rules that you can apply to use punctuation marks correctly in any sentence. Along with using these books, it’s a good idea to read as much as you can as it gives you great examples of the correct usage of punctuation marks. Editing and Proofreading WrÃ'â€"tÃ'â€"ng Ã'â€"Ã'• Ð °n art that dÐ µmÐ °ndÃ'• mastering many dÃ'â€"ffÐ µrÐ µnt Ã'•kÃ'â€"llÃ'•. EdÃ'â€"tÃ'â€"ng writing, Ã' Ã ¾rrÐ µÃ' tÃ'â€"ng grammar, Ð °nd using proper Ã'€unÃ' tuÐ °tÃ'â€"Ð ¾n are some of thÐ µÃ'•Ð µ skills. Punctuation is thÐ µ least respected Ã'•kÃ'â€"ll. When wÐ µ thÃ'â€"nk of punctuation, wÐ µ may Ð ¾nlÃ'Æ' thÃ'â€"nk of punctuation marks, but Ã'€unÃ' tuÐ °tÃ'â€"Ð ¾n is much more. Anything uÃ'•Ð µd Ã'â€"n the written language thÐ °t is nÐ ¾t a lÐ µttÐ µr Ð ¾r a number is punctuation. Thus, punÃ' tuÐ °tÃ'â€"Ð ¾n mÐ °rkÃ'•, Ã'•Ã'€Ð °Ã' Ã µÃ'• bÐ µtwÐ µÃ µn words and shifts Ð °rÐ µ Ð °ll Ã'€Ð °rt Ð ¾f Ã'€unÃ' tuÐ °tÃ'â€"Ð ¾n. Your Computer While MS Word, the most commonly used document program, it is not the best helper of punctuation, as it gives you hints that sometimes are amiss. It may consult you to place too many spaces, unnecessary commas, to use the comma, where it is needless that will damage your writing at all. As it is not a human, it can’t pick up the context of some sentence, or the sense in which the words are used, and in such a situation it is better to consult a grammar guide to make sure, you have used any punctuation correctly. But still in most cases MS Word will provide you with reasonable advice. Proofreading Services Even though they are really expensive, sometimes it is a good idea to use such a service. Of course. If you just pay for proofreading and don’t read the whole paper afterwards, there won’t be any benefits for you. It is a must to re-read your paper after the proofreading service in order to learn to punctuate properly. Correct punctuation is a half-way to your success. Thus, do not stay still, leant to punctuate the right way in order not to pay for proofreading services.

The impacts of EU Policy on Sustainable Energy Essay

The impacts of EU Policy on Sustainable Energy - Essay Example The European Union has recognised the citizens of the member countries need to be responsible and generate a reliable supply of sustainable energy which is also cheaper to afford so that the living standards are maintained. Furthermore the union also advocates for the reduction of the negative effects of the fossil fuels on the climate and the regional environment at large. The EU policies are designed to create a competitive internal energy market that would offer quality and cheaper services. This would mean that there would be enhanced development of renewable energy sources and cut down reliance on imported energy sources. The European Union has targeted to use features that address energy education, conservation of energy, environment resource protection, energy policies, renewable energy, and distribution of energy (Mcgowan & Mansell 1992), dissemination of useful information and maintainability of energy from producers to consumers. The sustainable energy addressed includes solar power, wind power, geothermal power, tidal power, bio-fuels and wave power. Nuclear fission is some times included but it usually presents the risk of disposal problems and peak uranium levels (Haughton & Counsell 2004). The EU has The EU has not been taking the energy conservation as a serious issue until the approval of the European Energy Policy in the year 2005 in London. EU had to come up with a strategy to fund the research to exploit sustainable energy. The seventh frame program (FP7) was formed to finance the research that is underway from 2007 to 2013. The FP7 fell short of the main intention of its formation and is currently also funding Fusion research which will not achieve results on the climate change until beyond the year 2050 (Lovegrove & Dennis 2006). Currently the strategic energy technology plan is in the lead and has put up plans for the EU technology procedure to develop and enhance the use of low carbon energy technologies. Some of the initiatives in the SET plan include the European Wind Initiative where turbine s will be used to generate energy. This is dependable on the daily whether variations though it can be used to provide base load electricity together with tidal wave energy. The European solar Initiative is also another type of energy that is dependent on whether and can be stored in water as heat, thermo-chemicals as ammonia and in rocks (Lovegrove & Dennis 2006). European also works under the carbon dioxide, transport and storage initiative to address the requirements of safe production of the energy implying that there should be zero emission, the sustainable nuclear fission is very important and has been put under way so that the generation of the type IV reactors are achieved. Energy Research The European Union has established an energy research alliance to facilitate the capabilities of the EU energy research which would achieve world class performance thorough sharing of the global facilities. This strategy will be the major driving force to achieve low carbon technologies and help reduce global warming. The research alliance is the chief player in development of the new energies to ensure that European Union achieves the low carbon

Relationship Marketing in Lenovo Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Relationship Marketing in Lenovo - Essay Example This facilitated the organisation to build greater portion of loyal customers in domestic along with international business markets. Relationship marketing is the association prevailing between the sellers and the buyers in the context of marketing any product and/or service. It is also regarded as the trust and belief persisting amid the customers and the employees of an organisation, which eventually grows a long-term relationship between them (Sà ¼phan, 2015). It has been argued that relationship marketing is not only limited between the customers and the employees of an organisation, but also amid every stakeholder of an organisation. Relationship marketing is of extreme value from the perspective of an organisation, as it is long lasting and difficult to be imitated as well as destroyed by the competitors (Angeles & Nath, 2003). Relationship marketing is reckoned to be a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Strategy, which tends to encourage long lasting and strong connection between a brand and a customer.  This results into generating repetitive sales by collecting relevant information from the potential customers and encouraging word-of-mouth promotion (Brink & Berndt, 2008). On a further note, the other purposes of relationship marketing  are to create repeated sales and most importantly endorsing word-of-mouth promotion among others. In relationship marketing,  buying patterns, customer profile  and history of  contacts  are  maintained  in a  sales  database (Rai, 2012). Moreover, account executives are also recruited in order to fulfil the  needs  and demands of the High Net worth Individual (HNI) clients and maintain effective relationship with them in order to derive maximum profits. Such clients or the executives also have the opportunity to cross sell different products of the organisations (Bidgoli, 2010). Moreover, maintaining

Interagency Prevention and Planning Failures- Hurrican Andrew Research Paper

Interagency Prevention and Planning Failures- Hurrican Andrew - Research Paper Example With each disaster, the US government set up different agencies and bodies to provide help and succor to survivors of the aftermath. The method of providing aid and succor had clear sections of authority and a clear identification of which agency was to do what tasks (Nudell, 1988). Unfortunately, the precision with which these agencies were supposed to work did not happen. These agencies had turned into ‘stove pipes’ and did not cooperate with each other. With very little interagency cooperation, the various federal agencies that were seized with providing help were left powerless and tangled up in bureaucracy and red tape. The result was that thousands of people could not be evacuated to stations built specifically for such tasks. Billions of dollars in funds that were used for infrastructure were wasted (Herman, 2010). This report discusses and focuses on the poor interagency prevention and planning that contributed to the disaster after Hurricane Andrew struck Florida. Morton (2008) has commented on the structure and functioning of the national security and the defense forces that have ambiguous security roles and function and which serve the President of USA. These departments have strong workforce cultures and a deep seated desire to protect their turf and this created stove pies in the departments of national security. These entities tend to work in isolation and prefer to be the bearer of good or bad news. Various departments such as the Office of the Director of National Intelligence - ODNI, Department of Justice - DOJ under various acts ranging from the National Security Act 1947 to the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act, 2004 have never managed to bring the various departments to act in a cooperative manner and where a common culture exists. The various national security acts and state security at the national and state levels are uneven. A critical review of Shelby (2011) shows that at the time when

Content Of Professional Ethics For Accountants Accounting Essay

Content Of Professional Ethics For Accountants Accounting Essay Introduction Code of professional conduct for accountants, is the basic content of professional ethics for accountants, which the accountants should follow in the occupation activity and is used to adjust the behavior of accountants. Along with the economic development, the behavior standards, the working types and the social environment has had the change largely. Meanwhile, peoples ideology and value is also changing. And the code of ethics for professional accountants to engender ethical behavior is ineffective. Lovell (1995) said: Much criticism has been arisen at the accounting profession, such as the failure of accounting documents and the failure of the accountancy profession satisfactorily to take account of the public interest in the determination of the future of accounting and auditing practice. Many problems have risen, such as, accounting information untruthful, accounting actions nonstandard. It disarranges  the order of the accounting profession. So commentators have questioned t he effectiveness of the code. In this article, it will discuss why the code of professional conduct for accountants is ineffective. It refers five aspects that are important. Body There are flaw and crack existing in the system construction. Related law and code of accountants are not perfect, and the system is imperfect, which carries out it can be accommodating and is very easy to take advantage. Some accountant regulations system is obsolete, does not adapt with the present economic work activity, and needs to revise. According to Reiter (1997), there should be new paradigms for accounting practice, in order to engender ethical behavior of accountant. Also there are many kinds of accounting code at the same time, which affected the behavior of members of the accounting profession. Accounting Moreover accountant the object locates the environment of accounting is complicated and diversified, which carries it difficulty on the accurate localization and the measurement. The definition of the accountants behavior in the laws and regulations is explicit, so the enterprise is very easy to operate in advantage of the criterion crack. Social intermediary organizations have not carry out the code strictly independently, objectively, fairly. Richardson, Cullen and Richardson (1996) said accounting and the accountants behavior is influenced by the managers. Accounting firms and other social intermediaries rely heavily on the intentions of manager. with the driving of fierce market competition, appetite of interest and short-action, they go against the code of ethics for professional accountants, to earn much from the company that should be audited, turn a blind eye to the distortion of accounting information or even be an element, which damaged the independence of CPA audit services, and did not really play an role of supervision, accounting distortion information has become inevitable. According to Morgan (1996), in his research, we can see that accounting contributes to the processes of social and organizational production is a big reason that the code for accountants is ineffective. Social environment also influences the actions of accountants. Social environment means a kind of atmosphere, including a traditional habits of thought, concepts of value, manner of behavior, and the traditional attitude and view on the economy. According to Maury (Maury McCarthy 2007), he thought environment that supported these accounting and ethical. With the economic development, the behavior standards, the working types and the social environment has had the change largely. Meanwhile, peoples ideology and value is also changing. And the code of ethics for professional accountants to engender ethical behavior is ineffective. Many problems have risen, such as, accounting information untruthful, accounting actions nonstandard. It disarranges  the order of the accounting profession Low qualities of accountants result in the ineffective of the code. According to Lovell (1995), moral reasoning and moral atmosphere is key aspect to maintain the order of accounting profession. Firstly, its poor self-discipline. Since the development of competitive social market economy and the impact on values, part of the lower moral accountants are often difficult to resist temptation and adhere to the principle, so that individualism, money worship, hedonism is worse and worse. Everett and Green (2006) said that the nature of accounting virtues was changing. They earn money by not recording the income and deliberately forging, altering, concealing, destroying the accounting information. Secondly, many accounting staffs have a thin sense of law. Some members of the accounting profession do not study law and the method of accounting standards, know little about the accounting code, or even ignore the laws and regulations. They do not adjust accounts and supervise according to the regulations. Last, the accountants have a poor sense of professional ethics. Some accountants usually do not pay attention to the cultivation of professional ethics, no establish a real idea of good faith, so in practical work, when they met with conflicts of national interests, social interests, unit and individual interests, they can not stick to principles and do not act according to rules and regulations, rather from private interests, made a breach of professional ethics in the conduct of accounting. Internal oversight mechanism is not perfect and lack of self-discipline mechanism. Some leaders want to gain political advantage, and capital, so they require the enterprises accountants to work for them. Accountants are often out of self-protection, yield to pressure from the leadership and passive false accounts. Some internal control system is ineffective and not implemented. With lack of independence, the internal audit is difficult to do oversight. Effective corporate governance and internal control system is the base to carry out the code for accountants. Conclusion Code of professional conduct for accountants should be a reflection of the accounting personnels morals behavior. As a code, its used to instruct the accountancy, to restrain the behavior of accountants. Code of professional conduct for accountants is important in engender ethical behavior, which can guarantee the accounting data real and complete, and maintaining the order of the activities of accountants, and promoting the development of social market economy. This article has talked about the reasons that led the ineffective of the code of professional conduct for accountants. In face with these problems, its high time for us to take some actions to solve it, to make a good environment for accounting and engendering ethical behavior. Task 2 Introduction Accountants take the main responsibility of accounting activities, pros or cons of their ethical quality and professional quality will directly affect the quality of accounting units. There are many ethical problems about the accountants which have been inferred in the Question 1, such as untruth accounting information, making fallacious information, distorting the accounting data, forging voucher, and even disobeying the law. The code of Ethics is different from the law. Accounting law and regulations as a mandatory standard, it requires unconditional in accordance with the requirements of legal to act. And accounting ethics from faith, character, ability and that much more profound level of nature and to influence and improve the quality of accounting behavior. Next, it will talk about how to make an effective code of ethics for professional accountants and the reasons. In this part, it relates five important reasons, and explains them separately. Body Its a base to amend and improve the code of accounting to strengthen the building of the ethics for professional accountants. Development and improvement of the code of accounting is essentially a process of institutional change and innovation. This process must follow the principle of effectiveness. It is necessary to firmly lock the long-term reform of the accounting norm system of goals, but also give full consideration to the construction of the existing accounting standard model and the features; it is necessary to consider the key constraints of the code in institutional arrangements, but also to consider the influence of informal institution such as accounting environment. Effective corporate governance and internal control system is important to the implementation of code of accounting. Tisha, Emerson, Conroy and Stanley (2007) We postulate that accounting practitioners may apply a legalistic framework to their assessment of the acceptability of each vignette. So improve the system and code is important. Internal Control Systems provides a good internal environment the in the operation of the code for accountants in the enterprise. Internal control system can be divided into internal accounting control and internal management control, standard, systematic, scientific internal control system enhances the monitoring efforts of accounting standard, which can reduced the problem of not obey the code from the source. Internal accounting control is the key in the internal control. The process of establishment of sound internal accounting control itself is the implementation of the code accountants in the enterprise process; internal accounting control in bu siness operations based on standard or another is one of the basic content of the accounting standard. The strength of full range of accounting supervision system is a system protect for the smooth operation of the code for the accountants. Firstly, strengthen internal accounting control system which is based on the internal audit. The internal audit has incomparable advantages compared with the external regulation: at first, the internal audit staff can participate in the enterprise daily business activities, so the information accessed is more specific, detailed and systematic than external regulators; whats more, the internal audit belongs to the internal management of enterprises, so it can identify problems earlier and resolved internally in advance, which can earn the trust of the leaders; at last, the internal audit is aimed to ensure the smooth operation of the economic and improve economic benefit of the company, which is in agreement with the final goal of the accounting and leadership accountability goals. Secondly, establishing and improving a full range of external monito ring system is the guarantee to the smooth implementation of the code for the accountants. As Donaldson (1982) said, to make the code more effective, it should authorize more public proceedings. External supervision include civilian oversight of accounting firms as the behalf of investors; the government supervision implemented by the financial sector and other relevant departments and other forms of extensive social monitoring such as public opinion. Under certain conditions, a wide range of community supervision in particular public opinion can play role of oversight mechanisms which other machineries are difficult to do. Optimization of the action of the accountants is also a key aspect. Optimization of the accountants action means to optimize the entity  to achieving the integration effects of group behavior, to improve efficiency and to achieve and create important subject guarantee and the environment to implement the code. Provide a good social environment for it also influences the actions of accountants. In the opinion of Cohen, Pant and Sharp (1992), cultural and socioeconomic factors could impede the acceptance and implementation of a professions international code of conduct. According to Stevens (2008)Culture and effective communication are key components to a codes success. Publicity and education is important. disseminate systematically and explain accountancy professional ethics through certain means and methods then it can create a strong atmosphere of public opinion and gradually penetrate into the depths of peoples minds which can purify the inner world, improve the cognitive standa rds, establish a moral normative value. Another measure is set an example for demonstration. Influence the ethical behavior of accounting practitioners, through publicity and education on the advanced models. Examples can be inspirational and set forward goals which can result in great mental strength. à ¦Ã…“-à ¨Ã‚ ¯Ã‚ » à ¦Ã‹Å" ¾Ãƒ §Ã‚ ¤Ã‚ ºÃƒ ¥Ã‚ ¯Ã‚ ¹Ãƒ ¥Ã‚ ºÃ¢â‚¬ Ãƒ §Ã… ¡Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ãƒ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¹Ã¢â‚¬ °Ãƒ ¤Ã‚ ¸Ã‚ Ãƒ ¥Ã‚ ­-à §Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ §Ã… ¡Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ãƒ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¹Ã‚ ¼Ãƒ ©Ã… ¸Ã‚ ³ à ¥Ã‚ ­-à ¥Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã‚ ¸ à ¦Ã… ¸Ã‚ ¥Ãƒ §Ã…“†¹Ãƒ ¥Ã‚ ­-à ¥Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã‚ ¸Ãƒ ¨Ã‚ ¯Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ §Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬  Ãƒ ¥Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ãƒ ¥Ã‚ ®Ã‚ ¹ To create an excellence property rights environment is important. Social environment means a kind of atmosphere, including a traditional habits of thought, concepts of value, manner of behavior, and the traditional attitude and view on the economy. Clear definition of property rights is the main factor for accountants conduct accounting activities based on the code. Conclusion The code for accountants aims to engendering ethical behaviors, and its apparent that carrying out the code for accountants and improving the ethical behavior of accountants are important in the accounting activities. From recent research, it showed that the code is not effective, as it says in the book of Dandago (2003). So its high time to take some actions, such as the five actions talked above: amending and improving the code, effective corporate governance and internal control system, full range of accounting supervision system, optimization of the action of the accountants and creating an excellence property rights environment. The code of ethics for professional accountants constitutes a guide, which restricts and regulates the ethical behavior of accounting activities. It represents the accountancy professions moral responsibility and obligation to society. Strengthen the building of the accounting code of ethics can make it effective in standardizing accounting behavior.

Reforms Are Need In Canadas Government :: essays research papers

Reforms Are Need In Canada's Government Canada is a country who's future is in question. Serious political issues have recently overshadowed economic concerns. Constitutional debate over unity and Quebec's future in the country is in the heart of every Canadian today. Continuing conflicts concerning Aboriginal self-determination and treatment are reaching the boiling point. How can Canada expect to pull herself out of this seemingly bottomless pit? Are Canadians looking at the right people to lay their blame? In the 1992 Referendum, "The Charlottetown Accord" addressed all of these issues, giving Canadians the opportunity to finally let the dead horse be - but oh, if it were that simple. A red faced Brian Mulroney pontificated that a vote against the accord would be one against Canada. Canadians would essentially be expressing the desire for Quebec to remain excluded from the constitution. How could the Right-Honorable Mulroney expect anyone to vote on a document that contained so much more than simply the issue of Quebec sovereignty? Ironically, hidden deep within "The Charlottetown Accord," was the opportunity for Canadians to make a difference; to change the way the government ran, giving less power to the politicians and more to the people. This was the issue of Senate Reform. Why is Senate Reform such an important issue? An argument could be made that a political body, which has survived over one hundred years in Canada, must obviously work, or it would have already been reformed. This is simply not true, and this becomes apparent when analyzing the current Canadian Senate. In its inception, the Senate was designed to play an important role in the Government of Canada, representing various regions of the federation. Quebec, Ontario, the maritimes and the west were allotted twenty-four Senators each. Considered to be the heart of the federal system, the Senate was to be a crucial balancing mechanism between Upper and Lower Canada (Mallory pg. 247). It was important for there to be equal representation, and not representation by population. Senators were to be appointed, in order to ensure that the House was independent and had the freedom to act on its own. As well, Senators had to be seen as a conservative restraint on the young, the impressionable, and the impulsive in the House of Commons (Van Loon and Whittington pg. 625). They therefore had to be over thirty years old and own property exceeding four thousand dollars in the province they represented. This idea was called 'second sober thought.' As this independent, intellectual body, the Senate's main function wasto ensure that all power did not come from one source.

Starbucks

Starbucks mission is â€Å"†¦to establish Starbucks as the most recognized and respected brand in the world and become a national company with values and guiding principles that employees could be proud of†¦Ã¢â‚¬  However, this mission was threatened in 2008 when the company found itself in trouble with slow growth and profits. Determined to continue its mission, Starbucks reevaluated its resource-based model of returns and made some changes which resulted in increased revenue and above-average returns for the next three years. The key player in Starbucks strategy was Howard Schultz, CEO of Starbucks.Schultz was determined to regain strategic competitiveness and set forth with an integrated strategic management process which focused on several of Starbucks core competencies (like internal culture and human resources) and included: halting new store openings in the U. S. ; withdrawing completely from Australia; focusing on customers and the â€Å"Starbucks experience;â₠¬  and transferring resources to international markets. We analyzed the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats through the TOWS analysis tool which focuses on external (or environmental) threats and opportunities AND internal weaknesses and strengths of the company.In this case, Starbucks’s biggest threat is competition, particularly from McDonald’s and Dunkin Donuts. Opportunities include expanding its product line, particularly into international markets, and diversifying its product line to give customers a better â€Å"experience† in AND out of stores. By creating licensing agreements with places like Marriot and Pepsi, and selling retail packs of drinks like Frappucinos in grocery stores, Starbucks increased its diversification.The biggest weakness for Starbucks is its pricing which led to competition with other companies that were offering premium coffee WITHOUT the premium price. Next is Starbucks’s greatest strength: brand name and rec ognition. In other words, to many people, coffee equals Starbucks. Another one of Starbuck’s strengths was how mainstream their name was; however, in 2008, this became a weakness as the competition took advantage of the situation and targeted Starbucks directly with campaigns that the company was â€Å"snobbish† and â€Å"friends don’t let friends drink at Starbucks. To help sustain their constant need for high-quality coffee beans, instead of just purchasing Starbucks fully invested their time into becoming a part of the market by creating support centers and creating fixed-price contracts whenever possible. Starbucks was no longer just a purchaser but a leader with coffee growers. In addition to TOWS analysis, analyzing Starbucks’ position using the Five Forces of Competition shows other issues facing Starbucks in 2008. For instance, the threat of new entrants and substitute products during this time was high. The same is true of the bargaining power o f buyers.The rivalry among competing firms was also high to moderately high, and the strength of the forces of the bargaining power of suppliers was moderate to low. Given the TOWS and Five Forces analyses of Starbucks, we agree with Starbucks strategy formulation. Starbucks should (and did) focus on stopping its saturation of the market (no new U. S. stores) and pulled out of unprofitable nations (like Australia) while reallocating resources internationally. We also agree that a large part of Starbucks’ strategic competitiveness is its â€Å"experience† so focusing on the â€Å"Starbucks Experience† and further branding itself was important.It was also vital to refocus on the core values which make Starbucks a global leader, not follower, as well as technology, like free wi-fi and the Starbucks credit card, which increases the appeal of its stores and products to customers. Since 2008, Starbucks revenue has continued to grow, and 2012 was Starbucks best quarter yet for net revenues! Will this pattern continue? If Starbucks continues to employ strategic competitiveness, take advantage of global markets, differentiate its product, and utilize the latest technologies, we say yes. Starbucks Which one of the 5 generic business strategies best matches Cataracts strategy? Why? I believe that of the generic strategies the best match to Cataracts strategy is that of the rivalry within the industry. This is the best match because there are a lot of different types of specialty coffee shops out their in the industry so the rivalry amongst all the competitors is very fierce. Of the other coffee shops it will tough for hem to match the price and popularity that Cataracts has on the rest of the competition.Other companies may be able to sell their coffee at a higher price but then the number of sales that they receive is going to be lower than that of Cataracts. The rivalry in the coffee shop market is very competitive but Cataracts has an advantage over the competition in the fact that it can charge a higher price then its competitors and still have more customers then the rest of the market. 2. Evaluate Cataracts social responsibility strategy. Is it sincere or Just something t o help with image?I believe that the social responsibility of Cataracts is sincere and not Just something to help promote their image. They want to make sure that the prices that they have paid for the coffee beans is high enough that the small farmers were able to cover all their productions cost as well as provide for their families. Cataracts also wants to work directly with small coffee growers, local coffee-growing cooperatives, and other hypes of coffee suppliers to promote coffee cultivation methods that protected biodiversity and were environmentally sustainable.Lastly Cataracts made purchasing arrangements that limited the exposure to sudden price Jumps due to weather, economic, and political conditions in the growing countries where they were getting their coffee beans. 3. What major issues face the company in mid 2010? In the mid 2010 people were not spending their normal amount on money, customers were more worried about saving their money because of the economic crisis. With Starbucks â€Å"To say Starbucks purchases and roasts high-quality whole bean coffees is very true. That’s the essence of what we do- but it hardly tells the whole story†¦(Starbucks, 2013, pg 1)† Starbucks is known for not only their high quality products but also their great efforts in social responsibility. They give back to the community while striving to have genuine service and an inviting atmosphere. Their mission statement is as follows, â€Å"It has always been, and will always be, about quality. We’re passionate about ethically sourcing the finest coffee beans, roasting them with great care, and improving the lives of people who grow them. We care deeply about all of this; our work is never done (Starbucks, 2013, pg 1). † They have done a tremendous job at having their mission statement hold true to their regular consumers while keeping them paying the higher costs of their product. Analysis Starbucks, in 2009, used economic analysis on elasticity in order to increase sales of their famous coffee drinks and use its reputation and premium brand drinks to take away sales from McDonalds which introduced a new line of lower priced espresso drinks that have proved to be popular. Starbucks has decided to increase the cost of some of their drinks like the Frappuccinos and caramel Macchiatos by an average of 10 cents to 15 cents. In some cases they are raising costs as mush as 30 cents which is about an 8 percent increase. Consumers that were regulars of Starbucks considered this beverage product to be in-elastic and were willing to pay anything because they need this product. An example of an in-elastic demand product would be anything that would be considered a necessity. For example, â€Å"the more necessary a good is, the lower the elasticity, as people will attempt to buy it no matter the price, such as the case of insulin for diabetics (Gillespie, 2007, pg 28). † These regular consumers of Starbucks would be willing to pay top dollar for before purchasing the similar low priced product at their competitors. They know that competitors like McDonald’s does not offer all of the flavors or drinks that they offer so they know they will keep their regulars. To offset this increase, their strategy was to lower the price of their most popular beverages by 5 cents to 15 cents. This would include their popular 12 ounce lattes and their brewed coffees. This was the first time Starbucks lowered the price of any of its drinks since it began. The plan to reduce prices of their basic drinks like the latte falls on the fact that their competitors McDonalds is capturing some of the consumers that are less interested in the premium brands that Starbucks offers. By lowering the price of these coffees might bring some of those customers back. These consumers consider their beverage elastic and are willing to change the brand for a lower price. McDonalds was running a huge advertising campaign on the same sugary, creamy drinks that now at Starbucks will be more expensive but according to Kenneth Davids, editor of Coffee Review who states â€Å"Starbucks is safe raising the prices of specialty drinks because they are where the company best differentiates itself (Miller, 2009, pg 1). The consumers who value a great tasting coffee at Starbucks are consumers who are willing to pay more. Taste test comparing espresso drinks between Starbucks and McDonalds have proven that Starbucks drinks are favored over the same McDonalds drink. The difference between the standard lattes was not as noticeable then the advantage Starbucks has over McDonalds for their syrupy and whipped cream style drinks. Some of McDonalds drinks actually taste terrible. So a con sumer that expects the best tasting specialty drinks are will be willing to pay more. Like one always says, â€Å"you get what you pay for† and here it means a better tasting drink then any of Starbucks competitors. Conclusion Starbucks used economic analysis of the elastic and inelastic demand for their products which worked wonderfully. They lowered the prices of the elastic products in order to compete with their competitors such as McDonald’s McDonalds and raised the inelastic products for drinks that they proved to be the best of the best. With the changes in the pricing their revenue went back to increasing. As seen in Appendix A, in 2009 they were hurting due to McDonald’s new advertisements on their coffee and how low their price was. When Starbucks used this analysis and changed the pricing accordingly their revenue went back in the upswing. Starbucks made a very intelligent decision to market their products differently and to different consumers. This market decision based on elastic and inelastic demand kept them as successful as they have been in previous years by keeping their revenues increasing. Starbucks â€Å"To say Starbucks purchases and roasts high-quality whole bean coffees is very true. That’s the essence of what we do- but it hardly tells the whole story†¦(Starbucks, 2013, pg 1)† Starbucks is known for not only their high quality products but also their great efforts in social responsibility. They give back to the community while striving to have genuine service and an inviting atmosphere. Their mission statement is as follows, â€Å"It has always been, and will always be, about quality. We’re passionate about ethically sourcing the finest coffee beans, roasting them with great care, and improving the lives of people who grow them. We care deeply about all of this; our work is never done (Starbucks, 2013, pg 1). † They have done a tremendous job at having their mission statement hold true to their regular consumers while keeping them paying the higher costs of their product. Analysis Starbucks, in 2009, used economic analysis on elasticity in order to increase sales of their famous coffee drinks and use its reputation and premium brand drinks to take away sales from McDonalds which introduced a new line of lower priced espresso drinks that have proved to be popular. Starbucks has decided to increase the cost of some of their drinks like the Frappuccinos and caramel Macchiatos by an average of 10 cents to 15 cents. In some cases they are raising costs as mush as 30 cents which is about an 8 percent increase. Consumers that were regulars of Starbucks considered this beverage product to be in-elastic and were willing to pay anything because they need this product. An example of an in-elastic demand product would be anything that would be considered a necessity. For example, â€Å"the more necessary a good is, the lower the elasticity, as people will attempt to buy it no matter the price, such as the case of insulin for diabetics (Gillespie, 2007, pg 28). † These regular consumers of Starbucks would be willing to pay top dollar for before purchasing the similar low priced product at their competitors. They know that competitors like McDonald’s does not offer all of the flavors or drinks that they offer so they know they will keep their regulars. To offset this increase, their strategy was to lower the price of their most popular beverages by 5 cents to 15 cents. This would include their popular 12 ounce lattes and their brewed coffees. This was the first time Starbucks lowered the price of any of its drinks since it began. The plan to reduce prices of their basic drinks like the latte falls on the fact that their competitors McDonalds is capturing some of the consumers that are less interested in the premium brands that Starbucks offers. By lowering the price of these coffees might bring some of those customers back. These consumers consider their beverage elastic and are willing to change the brand for a lower price. McDonalds was running a huge advertising campaign on the same sugary, creamy drinks that now at Starbucks will be more expensive but according to Kenneth Davids, editor of Coffee Review who states â€Å"Starbucks is safe raising the prices of specialty drinks because they are where the company best differentiates itself (Miller, 2009, pg 1). The consumers who value a great tasting coffee at Starbucks are consumers who are willing to pay more. Taste test comparing espresso drinks between Starbucks and McDonalds have proven that Starbucks drinks are favored over the same McDonalds drink. The difference between the standard lattes was not as noticeable then the advantage Starbucks has over McDonalds for their syrupy and whipped cream style drinks. Some of McDonalds drinks actually taste terrible. So a con sumer that expects the best tasting specialty drinks are will be willing to pay more. Like one always says, â€Å"you get what you pay for† and here it means a better tasting drink then any of Starbucks competitors. Conclusion Starbucks used economic analysis of the elastic and inelastic demand for their products which worked wonderfully. They lowered the prices of the elastic products in order to compete with their competitors such as McDonald’s McDonalds and raised the inelastic products for drinks that they proved to be the best of the best. With the changes in the pricing their revenue went back to increasing. As seen in Appendix A, in 2009 they were hurting due to McDonald’s new advertisements on their coffee and how low their price was. When Starbucks used this analysis and changed the pricing accordingly their revenue went back in the upswing. Starbucks made a very intelligent decision to market their products differently and to different consumers. This market decision based on elastic and inelastic demand kept them as successful as they have been in previous years by keeping their revenues increasing.

The Ultimate Guide to the 28 Main Greek Gods and Goddesses

The Ultimate Guide to the 28 Main Greek Gods and Goddesses SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Few figures from ancient mythology are as popular and well-known today as the Greek gods. You can find them in books and movies, company names and Halloween costumes, and even in space, where tons of astrological features are named after them! But what if you want to know more about the Greek goddesses and gods than just their names and a vague idea of their function? In this article we’ll provide a comprehensive guide to the Greek pantheon, starting with an introduction to the Greek gods and their mythic origins. Then, we’ll do a deep dive on the Twelve Olympians, go over some other important minor deities, discuss Greek gods family tree, the history of their worship, and wrap up with all the places you might encounter this ancient pantheon today! Greek Gods and Goddesses: An Introduction As in many ancient religions, there were hundreds of beings recognized as deities by the Greeks. These deities were mostly associated with abstract concepts like memory and justice and natural forces and features like rivers, seasons, death, and rebirth. There were also gods associated with agriculture and craftsmanship (like shepherding and blacksmithing) and the social order (i.e. marriage, the law). These gods were understood primarily as inexorable forces that governed human existence, but they also had a human aspect. These gods also marry, have children, fight, intermingle with mortals, insult each other, take vengeance, make war, and create great art. They have hierarchical and familial relationships. Mythology shows the gods both hurting and harming both mortals and each other in fairly equal measure, and not necessarily in accordance with modern conception of justice or fairness. To the modern observer, ancient religions can seem truly bizarre. The gods seem petty and irrational- not benevolent or better than humans, but embodying the entire spectrum of human strengths and foibles while simultaneously ignoring human conventions (the Greek gods’ family tree is incredibly complicated- and incestuous). But to the Greeks, the gods were not meant to behave better than humans or judge human conduct; they were simply the absolute forces that ordered the universe and drove all phenomena. Their human aspects simply made them intelligible. Mount Olympus, the mythic home of the Greek gods. Photo by flickr user stefg74. Mythic Origins of the Greek Gods and Goddesses In the Greek view, the main gods of Olympus were far from the original gods of the Universe. In the beginning was only Chaos. From Chaos came four beings: #1: Eros, who represented not only love but the power to reproduce#2: Gaia, the earth#3: Tartarus, the empty abyss beneath the earth#4: Nyx, the night Gaia birthed Uranus, the sky, from herself. Gaia and Uranus then had many children together, who were known as the Titans. Among the Titans were both gods and monsters. Uranus was not pleased with Gaia’s monstrous children, and so attempted to force them back into her womb, causing her incredible pain. Because of this, Gaia had her youngest son, the Titan Kronos, castrate his father with a sickle and cast the testicles into the sea. Kronos then became ruler of the gods. He took his sister Rhea as consort. But as he had overthrown his own father, he feared his children would overthrow him. So he consumed each of his children as they were born. However, with her last child, Zeus, Rhea tricked Kronos by offering him a stone wrapped in swaddling instead. She hid Zeus on earth, where he was raised by a nymph. When he grew to manhood, Gaia helped Zeus drug Kronos and then give him a potion to make him throw up all of his siblings: Poseidon, Hades, Demeter, Hera, and Hestia. With his siblings as allies, he established himself at Mount Olympus and led a war against Kronos and the other Titans. With his victory, he became king of the greek gods and goddesses. He imprisoned the defeated Titan men in the depths of Tartarus. However, he allowed the Titan women to remain above and in fact went on to have children with many of them! He also married Hera and made her his consort. To the Greeks, Rhea, Cronus, and the Titans most likely represented the gods who were worshiped before the worship of the main Olympians were established. The Battle Between the Gods and the Titans, by Joachim Wtewael, 1600 Major Figures of the Pantheon: The Twelve Olympians The number twelve had great symbolic significance to the Greeks, and so there always had to be twelve primary Olympians. This is regardless of the fact that far more than twelve gods lived at Olympus, and some of the Twelve barely resided there if at all (like Poseidon and Hades). Myth holds that Hestia forfeited her place as one of the Twelve when Dionysus ascended Olympus, to keep the correct number. Who was among the Twelve was not always consistent, either- some descriptions kept Hestia and left out Hades, for example. However, the following Greek goddesses and gods were those most commonly named as the Twelve. Zeus Illustration of Zeus by Paul Bransom, circa 1921 God of: Storms, fate and destiny, law and order, kingship; king of the gods. Origin: Child of Titans Kronos and Rhea Usually Depicted As: A strong, mature, kingly man with a dark beard. Symbols and Icons: Thunderbolt, eagle, oak, bull Major Relationships Married to Hera Brother of Hera, Poseidon, Hades, Demeter, and Hestia Fathered many of the Olympian gods: Athena, Persephone, Ares, Apollo and Artemis, Dionysus, and many other more minor gods and demigods. Only Ares was fathered with Hera; the rest were from extramarital dalliances. Major Attributes After Zeus threw down Kronos, he, Poseidon, and Hades drew lots to divide up the cosmos. Zeus got the sky. The earth was considered equally under the mastery of all three brothers. Zeus' primary original aspect was as a weather god; thunderbolts forged by Hephaestus were his chosen weapon. Later, he came to symbolize order, the law, and fate; he was considered more powerful than all the other gods and thus his rule went unchallenged. He had a huge number of affairs with both goddesses and mortal women, and the many children resulting from said affairs. He often took animal form to seduce mortal women. Myths Other than the story of him overthrowing the Titans, most of the best-known myths of Zeus today center around his seduction (or rape) of various women. Here are some notable ones: Leda: Leda was the wife of Tyndareus, the Queen of Sparta. However, Zeus desired her, so he transformed into a swan and either seduced or raped her, depending on the version of the story. Leda also slept with her husband the same night, and then laid two eggs. From one egg came her children with Zeus, Helen (of Troy fame) and Polydeuces (or Pollux). From the other egg came her children with Tyndareus, Castor and Clytemnestra. Europa: Zeus saw and desired the beautiful Europa, a Phoenician noblewoman. He disguised himself as a white bull in her father’s herds. When out with her handmaids, she admired the beautiful bull and climbed atop his back. He seized the opportunity to take her away, swimming across the sea to Crete. After Zeus had several children with her, she married the king of Crete. The name of the continent "Europe" comes from Europa. Danae: Danae was the daughter of a king. This king heard a prophecy that her son would overthrow him, so he locked Danae in a tower so no man could touch her. However, Zeus transformed into a shower of gold, came in through the grates of her tower, and impregnated her with Perseus. The king threw Danae and Perseus into the sea in a wooden chest. Zeus asked Poseidon to bear them to safety. Hera The Peacock Complains to Juno; Gustave Moreau, 1881 Goddess of: Marriage and childbirth, women, and the sky and stars; queen of the gods Origin: Child of Titans Kronos and Rhea Usually Depicted As: A beautiful, majestic matron wearing a crown Symbols and Icons: The peacock, the cuckoo, the pomegranate, the cow Major Relationships Married to Zeus (also his sister) Sister of Demeter, Poseidon, Zeus, Hades, and Hestia Mother of Ares, Eris, Hebe, and Eileithyia, (with Zeus) Mother of Hephaestus (without male intervention!) Major Attributes As wife of Zeus, she was queen of the Greek gods. She was undeniably powerful in her own right, but was not really considered Zeus’ equal; in myths about direct confrontations between them Zeus always emerged the victor. She was considered somewhat stubborn and quarrelsome; she and Zeus had a tumultuous relationship. She was known for tormenting Zeus’ many lovers and so had a reputation for being "jealous." Every year, she renewed her virginity by bathing in a spring at Nauplia. Myths Many of Hera’s appearances in myth revolve around her attempts to torment the lovers of Zeus and the children resulting from these unions. Heracles and the Milky Way: Hera repeatedly tormented Zeus’ child with the mortal Alcmene, Heracles. (Zeus’ attempt to placate Hera by naming the child in her honor was not successful.) She set many obstacles against him throughout his life. One notable story about Hera and Heracles was that when he was an infant, Zeus tricked Hera into breastfeeding Heracles, presenting him simply as an abandoned child. When she realized who he was, she yanked the baby from her breast, and the spray of milk that followed became the Milky Way. Lamia: Zeus took a beautiful queen of Libya as his mistress, and she bore him multiple children. Enraged, Hera killed Lamia’s children and turned her into a monster (typically part-serpent) who devours the children of others. Poseidon Cirta mosaic of Poseidon and Amphitrite, circa 315-325 God of: The sea, flood, drought, earthquakes, horses Origin: Child of Titans Kronos and Rhea Usually Depicted As: A mature, dark-bearded man with a trident Symbols and Icons: The trident, the horse, the dolphin, the bull, the tuna Major Relationships Brother of Demeter, Hera, Zeus, Hades, and Hestia Married to Amphitrite Fathered many children with various mothers; a large number of these children were monstrous in some respect or another. Major Attributes When Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades defeated their father Kronos, they drew lots on who would rule over what, and Poseidon drew the sea. He is thought to be much like the sea: capable of being both majestic, calm, and stormy by turns. Like his brother, Zeus, he was known to have many lovers. He was considered to have the power to give sailors safe passage. He is often credited with creating the horse; he rode around on the surface of the sea in a chariot pulled by magic horses. The Greeks believed that sacrificing a horse would win Poseidon’s favor. Myths Patronage of Athens: Poseidon and Athena were both in bitter competition to become the patron god of Athens when it was a newly-founded city (and before it was called Athens, of course). Athena proposed they hold a content for the patronage of the city: each would present a gift to the city and the king, Cecrops, would judge which present was best and therefore which god would be patron. Some versions of the myth have Poseidon giving the people a spring, which turned out to be saltwater and so useless. Some versions have him creating and gifting the city with the horse. Either way, Athena gave the city the olive tree, which Cecrops deemed the better gift. Athena became patron and the city was called Athens in her honor. Demeter Fresco of Demeter by Cosimo Tura, 1476-1484 Goddess of: All plants and fruit, agriculture, grain, bread, fertility, and newlyweds. Origin: Child of Titans Kronos and Rhea Usually Depicted As: A crowned, blonde, somewhat voluptuous, mature woman bearing grain. Often portrayed with her daughter, Persephone, or in a chariot drawn by horses or dragons Symbols and Icons: Corn, pigs, fruit, poppies, sheaves of wheat, the cornucopia/horn of plenty. Major Relationships Mother of Persephone (by Zeus) Sister of Hera, Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, and Hestia Major Attributes The name "Demeter" has two potential derivations; it could mean either "mother earth," or "giver of grain/barley." She was primarily a Greek goddess not just of nature but of cultivation; she taught humanity how to cultivate grain. As such she was also considered the giver of bread. Without her blessing, nothing grew and people starved. Rather than dwell in Olympus, she spent most of her time wandering the surface of the earth with her daughter, Persephone. Mother and daughter were often worshiped together, particularly as part of the Eleusinian mysteries. This was a mystery cult centered at Eleusis that promised initiates entrance into the blessed paradise Elysium in the afterlife. The contents of the mysteries were closely-guarded secrets. We have a general idea that they were primarily a ritualized presentation of the myth of Persephone, but we don’t know all the specifics. So many details of the mysteries remain a mystery to this day! Many agrarian festivals were held in her honor throughout Greece. Demeter was also a goddess of fertility, and the priestess of Demeter was responsible for explaining the duties of marriage to newlywed couples. Myths The most important myth about Demeter is the myth of the abduction of Persephone- a story that has endured in the popular imagination through the present day. The Abduction of Persephone: The god Hades wished to marry Persephone, but he knew that it was unlikely that Demeter would allow anyone to marry her daughter as it would separate the two. So he petitioned Zeus, who gave him permission to abduct Persephone. When Persephone was gathering flowers with her companions, he came forth from the earth, snatched her up onto his chariot, and descended down with his new bride into the Underworld. Demeter, distraught, searched everywhere for her daughter with the help of the goddess Hecate. But she couldn’t find Persephone anywhere on earth. In her grief, she made it so all crops failed and all vegetation withered. Eventually, the Greek god Helios told her he had seen Hades carry off Persephone. Outraged, Demeter went to Zeus to demand her daughter be returned. Zeus complied because humanity was starving, and commanded Hades to return Persephone to the surface world. Hades did return her. But before that he offered Persephone a single pomegranate seed to eat. Because she had eaten of the fruit of the Underworld, she had to return there part of every year. Thus she spends a third of every year (or half, depending on who is telling the tale) in the Underworld, and the rest of the year on the earth’s surface with her mother. This myth is used to explain the cycling of the seasons: when Persephone is above ground, Demeter is happy and things grow. When Persephone is in the Underworld, Demeter is sad and the earth is barren (so, winter). Hades 16th-century painting of Hades God of: King of the Underworld, god of death and funerals; also considered the god of the metals and riches of the earth and soil Origin: Child of Titans Kronos and Rhea Usually Depicted As: A dark-bearded, mature man; had two commonly depicted aspects: enthroned in the underworld, or pouring earthly riches from a cornucopia Symbols and Icons: Black sheep, cyprus, narcissus Major Relationships Husband of Persephone Brother of Zeus, Poseidon, Demeter, Hera, and Hestia Father of The Furies (sometimes) Major Attributes His name has two possible derivations: one meaning "he who makes invisible," and another meaning "receiver/embracer of all." He became god of the underworld when he, Poseidon, and Zeus drew lots to see who would control which realms of the cosmos. However, he was allowed to ascend Olympus at will, although he did not know what transpired on earth or on Olympus when he was in the underworld. He presided over the trials of the dead. He was considered a chthonic deity- associated with the earth and underground as opposed to the sky or sea. The Greeks considered him somewhat pitiless and he was not well-loved; unsurprising for the god of death! He was also often referred to euphemistically, with names like "Clymenus" (the illustrious) and "Eubelus" (the giver of good counsel) due to Greek superstition. He was also known as "the hidden one" because he had a helmet that made him invisible. Like Poseidon and Zeus, he had several extramarital dalliances; although of an order of magnitude less, it seems. Myths By far the most notable myth about Hades is his abduction of Persephone; see Demeter’s section above for this myth. Athena Athena by Gustav Klimt, 1898 Goddess of: wisdom and reason, battle strategy/warfare, handicrafts, weaving. Patron goddess of Athens. Origin: Was the child of Zeus and Titan Metis. Fearing his child would usurp him, Zeus consumed the pregnant Metis. Later, he endured a "splitting" headache- until Hephaestus split open Zeus’ head with an axe and the fully-formed, armor-wearing Athena emerged. Usually Depicted As: Wearing body armor with a shield and a lance; or wearing a helmet and the aegis, her cape printed with the face of Medusa. Symbols and Icons: The owl, the olive tree, the goose, the serpent Major Relationships Had a close relationship with Zeus; often cited as his favorite child Was in many ways counterparts with Hephaestus, who wished to marry her; she refused Major Attributes She represents logic and rationality to such an extent that she cannot be "afflicted by Aphrodite"- she cannot fall in love. As such, she is a sworn virgin. She is also considered to have a somewhat androgynous aspect. She has a close relationship with Zeus and was thought to sit at his right hand and give her wise counsel when occasion required. As opposed to being aligned with natural forces, Athena is primarily a goddess of civilization. She was considered a force of power and wisdom who protected the law, the state, and social institutions. In many ways she is the opposite of her fellow sworn virgin goddess Artemis. As protector of the state, she also had an aspect as a goddess of warfare and battle; she was considered the goddess of military strategy. This stands in contrast to Ares, who was the god of thoughtless battle-lust. The Greeks took it as somewhat self-evident that Athena surpassed Ares in battle. She was considered, much like Hephaestus, a great innovator and creator of many of the useful crafts used by humankind. Pretty much any carefully-designed invention or craft commonly used for human industry was thought to be inspired or created by Athena. She was notably considered the inventor of weaving. She also created the olive tree. Athena was a particularly beloved goddess by the Greeks; she had many cult sites and they often sacrificed bulls to her. Myths We've already covered how Athena became patron goddess of Athens in the Poseidon section, but there are also other notable myths about her. Arachne: Arachne was a young Greek woman who claimed that she was a better weaver than Athena herself. Insulted, Athena challenged Arachne to a weaving contest. Athena wove scenes of the gods’ glories and triumphs, while Arachne wove scenes of the gods abusing mortals. There is some variation in exactly what happened- some versions claim that Arachne’s weaving was superior, and some that Athena won. However, Athena was enraged by Arachne’s insult to the gods through her woven scenes and turned her into a spider, weaving only webs. Bonus: Want to read more about spiders? Check out our articles on myths of the camel spider and why you shouldn't fear garden spiders. Hephaestus 1497 painting of Hephaestus by Andrea Mantegna God of: Craftsmen, blacksmiths, fire, volcanoes Origin: Typically considered a child of Hera and Hera alone. She conceived him herself, but when he was born crippled, she threw him out of the heavens. He was rescued and raised by Thetis and Eurynome. He was later welcomed back to Olympus after proving his skill as a craftsman. Depicted As: A middle-aged, bearded man with the tongs and hammer of a blacksmith, usually wearing a short-sleeved tunic and cap; sometimes riding a donkey. Sometimes visibly crippled; sometimes ugly, especially in post-ancient depictions. Symbols and Icons: Hammer, anvil/tongs, axe Major Relationships In some ways a counterpart to Athena; he initially wished to marry her but she rebuffed him. Married Aphrodite when his request to marry Athena was denied. Had a somewhat contentious relationship with his mother, Hera Major Attributes Hephaestus is notable for being the only primary Greek god of Olympus with a disability. Aphrodite was not happy to be married to him and engaged in an ongoing affair with Ares. Hephaestus was the craftsman of the gods and made many of their most prized possessions, for example: Hermes’ winged sandals Aphrodite’s’ girdle The chariot of Helios The armor of achilles Hephaestus taught man the crafts associated with smithing and as such was often worshiped in tandem with Athena, who was also associated with crafting. He was also known for his healing abilities; his priests were renowned for their knowledge of healing snake bites. Myths As Hephaestus was often ridiculed and mistreated for his lameness, many of his myths are about shaming those who cross and denigrate him- even the other gods. Aphrodite and Ares: Aphrodite was married to Hephaestus, but they did not have a happy marriage. She had an ongoing affair with Ares, god of war. Helios, the Greek sun god, revealed the affair to Hephaestus when he saw the lovers cavorting together from his chariot above. Enraged, Hephaestus decided to lay a trap. He hung a fine-woven, invisible net above their trysting-place and told his wife he would be gone for some time. When Ares and Aphrodite were in flagrante delicto, the net dropped, trapping them in an amorous embrace. Hephaestus invited the gods to come view his unfaithful wife and her lover. The goddesses declined, but the men went to see. Hephaestus demanded back the bride-gifts he had paid for Aphrodite, but Zeus refused and told him they needed to work out the marital manner themselves. Ares was ordered to pay a fine to Hephaestus. None of this, of course, made Aphrodite faithful to Hephaestus. Aphrodite "The Birth of Venus" by Giorgio Vasari, 1556-1558 Goddess of: Love, passion, beauty, sex Origin: When Uranus was castrated by Kronos, his testicles were cast into the sea. Aphrodite rose from the foam that formed around the testicles. Depicted As: A beautiful, nude woman; or in a clothed, seated style similar to other Olympian goddesses Symbols and Icons: Apple, myrtle wreath, scallop shell, the dove, the swan, the rose, the pomegranate Major Relationships Unhappily married to Hephaestus Had an ongoing affair with Ares Had many children by different lovers, mortal and immortal Major Attributes "Aphros" means foam; while Aphrodite’s primary aspects were related to love and sex, she was also a goddess of the sea. She rescued shipwrecked sailors. She also guarded plants, and was (somewhat unsurprisingly) the goddess of prostitutes. In some regions she was also a Greek goddess of war and considered the lawful wife of Ares; her connection to war perhaps explains the coupling of Ares and Aphrodite throughout myth. She had a magic girdle made my Hephaestus that made the woman who wore it irresistible; she would loan it to Hera when Hera wished to recapture the attention of Zeus’ wandering eye! Unlike most of the other female gods, who tended to have a fairly limited number of lovers, Aphrodite was known for her many mortal and immortal lovers. She was known for her jealous nature; while she was very generous to her worshipers, she was spiteful to those who denied her. Myths Aphrodite myths typically concern her love affairs. Her liaison with Ares and the trap laid by Hephaestus was already described. Other than Ares, her most famous lover was Adonis. Aphrodite and Adonis: Adonis’ parentage is not consistent in myth, but in all accounts his pregnant mother was turned into a myrrh tree and he was born from the tree some time later. Aphrodite was taken with the baby and gave him into the care of Persephone. However, Persephone refused to give the child back. To solve the dispute, Zeus (or sometimes Calliope) decreed that Adonis would spend four months of the year with each goddess and the remaining four months however he chose. He decided to spend eight months of the year with Aphrodite. (It is unclear at exactly what point in the story Adonis becomes a young man and the lover of Aphrodite, but that is how he is typically depicted.) Unfortunately, Adonis is gored to death by a wild boar. In different versions of the myth, the boar is sent by a different god or goddess to take retribution against Aphrodite for some perceived wrongdoing. One of the most famous versions has her immortal lover Ares sending the boar to kill Adonis out of jealousy. Aphrodite hears Adonis’ cries and rushes to his side, where he dies in her arms. She turns his blood into the anemone flower. Adonis was actually a cult figure in ancient Greece and the subject of many mystery cults concerned with the Underworld, resurrection, and immortality. He and Aphrodite were sometimes worshiped in tandem as part of these cults. Ares Mars by Has Thoma, 19th century God of: war and battle (especially bloodlust), but also associated with courage and civil order Origin: Child of Zeus and Hera Depicted As: Either as a mature armored warrior or a nude youth, but almost always with his helmet. Symbols and Icons: Spear, woodpecker, vulture, dog, peaked warrior’s helmet Major Relationships Best-known relationship among the gods was as the lover of Aphrodite Also had many children, some by Aphrodite but most by others. Was accompanied into battle by his children with Aphrodite, Phobos and Deimos (Panic and Dread), and his sister, Eris (Strife) Major Attributes While Athena represented battle strategy and cunning, Ares represented bloodlust and battle frenzy- he enjoyed conflict for its own sake and was known to aid both sides by turns in the battles of men. In addition to battle and bloodshed, he was also said to cause plagues and epidemics. As an agent of violence and chaos, he was not well-loved by his parents or the other gods (except for by Aphrodite). Like most of the other male gods, he had many lovers, but Aphrodite was the most notable one. Because he was an agent of violence and chaos, he was not necessarily hugely popular across Greece. He was worshiped primarily in the northern parts. Additionally, the Spartans believed they were descended from him, and at a certain point in Spartan history he received human and dog sacrifices. He wore a golden helmet and bronze armor made by Hephaestus. Myths Some Ares myths have already been mentioned; he was humiliated by Hephaestus for his affair with Aphrodite, and he killed Adonis because he was jealous of Aphrodite’s love for him. But here’s one other: The Areopagus: The site where criminal trials were held was named after Ares because he was, in myth, the first being tried there. One day he came upon a son of Poseidon trying to rape his daughter, Alcippe. To protect her, he killed her assailant. Poseidon was furious and demanded justice for the death of his sons. A trial was held and twelve gods acquitted Ares, saying his violence was justified. Artemis Diana la Casadora, Pedro Lira, 19th century Goddess of: Nature, wild creatures, hunting and archery, virgins, childbirth, and witches Origin: She was a child of Zeus and Leto, delivered on the island of Delos because that was the only place that would offer Leto sanctuary from Hera’s wrath. Usually Depicted As: A girl or young woman with a bow and arrow, usually with a stag or hunting dog Symbols and Icons: Deer, cyprus, the moon, bear, palm tree Major Relationships Twin sister of Apollo Accompanied by many companions, including the Pleiades Major Attributes Her name is typically thought to mean "healthy" or "vigorous." Artemis is primarily a nature goddess and was often identified with local nature goddesses in her worship. As a young girl, she begged her father to be able to remain a virgin forever; he granted her wish. Priests and priestesses of Artemis took vows of chastity. Artemis protects women and wild animals, especially the young. She was a goddess of the natural world. In spite of her status as a virgin goddess she was also associated with childbirth. Hunting with her silver bow, she wanders the woods with her companions, who are mostly female. Some of her notable companions include the Pleiades, the seven sisters. However, several of the Pleiades did not remain virgins and ended up having children, like Maia, who bore Hermes to Zeus. She was considered responsible for the sudden deaths of girls and women, but could also protect, cure, and heal these things. Her twin brother Apollo was in many ways her counterpart; they had a close and complementary relationship. Some traditions placed them as husband and wife, but this is not the most common interpretation. Myths The most famous myth about Artemis is the myth of Actaeon. Actaeon and Artemis: The young hunter Actaeon came upon Artemis bathing naked in a woodland spring. He was so struck by Artemis’ beauty that he remained to watch and was discovered by the goddess. As punishment for his transgression, she turned him into a stag, and he was hunted down and ripped to pieces by his own hunting dogs. Apollo Rosalba Carriera, Apollo, 18th century God of: Prophecy, the sun, music, poetry, the arts, archery, healing Origin: Child of Zeus and Leto; born on Delos Usually Depicted As: A beardless, beautiful youth (naked or robed), often holding a lyre Symbols and Icons: The lyre; eagles, snakes, crows, cicadas, wolves, dolphins, ravens, the laurel tree, the number 7 Major Relationships Twin of Artemis Major Attributes Apollo was one of the most widely worshiped and beloved Greek gods of Olympus. Like many of the gods, Apollo had a somewhat dualistic aspect; he was both the patron of the most civilized arts, like music and poetry, and capable of extremely violent and barbaric acts. Apollo was a close counterpart to his sister, Artemis. While she was a goddess of wild nature, he was much more closely associated with civilization; she was connected with the moon and he with the sun; while she was thought to be responsible for the sudden deaths of women and girls, his arrows caused the sudden death of men and boys. Artemis had a silver bow, and he had a wooden one. Both gods also had a healing aspect. As a god of civilization, Apollo protects flocks and cattle and the founding of towns. Additionally, Apollo was a god of prophecy; one of the most famous oracles in Greece, the oracle at Delphi, was dedicated to him. And of course, like many of the gods, he was known for his many lovers, male and female- although he was not very lucky in love, with many of his pursuits and affairs having tragic ends. Myths Many of the myths of Apollo center around his unfortunate pursuits of women and men. Daphne: Apollo loved the beautiful Daphne, who had sworn to remain a virgin. He chased her until she could run no more. She cried out to her grandfather, river god Peneus, for aid. He turned her into a laurel tree so that Apollo could not touch her and she could remain forever a virgin. Cassandra: Apollo gave Cassandra, a princess of Troy, the gift of prophecy in an effort to win her affections. When she rejected his advances, he cursed her that no one would ever believe her prophecies. Hyacinthus: The beautiful young man Hyacinthus was one of the lovers of the god Apollo. However, the west wind, Zephyr, also loved Hyacinthus and was jealous. So one day when Apollo and Hyacinthus were taking turns throwing the discus, Zephyr blew Apollo’s discus off-course, causing it to strike and kill Hyacinthus. Apollo turned the dying man’s blood into a flower, the Hyacinth. Hermes Photo of ancient Hermes vase by Nicolas Vollmer God of: Travel and trade, eloquence and insight, luck and the unexpected, athletes, messenger of the gods, bringer of dreams Origin: Child of Zeus and Maia, one of the Pleiades Depicted As: Typically depicted with his winged sandals and hat, sometimes with a sheep on one shoulder Symbols and Icons: Winged sandals, winged helmet, caduceus (a winged staff with two snakes twined around it), rooster, tortoise, ram, hare, crocus Major Relationships In many ways, Hermes was somewhat of a loner god; he interacted with most all the gods but did not necessarily have a close association with any of them However, he did father Hermaphroditus with Aphrodite. Major Attributes "Hermes" is probably derived from "herma," the heaps of stones that indicated boundaries and marked landmarks. As the messenger god, Hermes was both a god of travel and of social communication. He protected travellers and guarded those who crossed boundaries. He had a mischievous, trickster aspect; he was the god of all communication and eloquence, whether it was honest or not. He was frequently able to get away with deception simply because he was so charming! He also guarded thieves and prostitutes. As a figure of craft and cunning, he was credited with many inventions, including the lyre, music, the alphabet, numbers, measures, weights, astronomy, combat, and gymnastics. As a messenger, he was also considered a god of diplomacy and protected embassies and diplomats. He was a god of dreams in his messenger aspect as well. Finally, he was tasked with leading the souls of the dead to the underworld, and was one of the only gods with free passage to and from there. Myths Hermes had a particularly illustrious childhood, engaging in wild feats as soon as he emerged from the womb. The Cattle of Apollo and the Lyre: The day Hermes was born, he left his cradle to look for adventure. He decided to steal 50 cows from Apollo’s herds. Using trickery and cleverness he covered all the tracks so his crime couldn’t be traced. After a long and fruitless search, Apollo finally used his own oracular powers to find Hermes. Hermes denied stealing the cows, but Apollo didn’t believe him and brought him before Zeus. Zeus was delighted with Hermes’ cleverness and did not punish him, only ordered him to return the cattle. When it came time to return the cattle, Apollo found Hermes playing a new instrument he had just made out of a turtle shell- the lyre. Apollo offered to let Hermes keep the cattle in exchange for the lyre. Hermes agreed, and the gods were friends from that moment on. Dionysus Reproduction of plate depicting Dionysus by Arthur Elam Haigh (1896) God of: wine and drunkenness, celebration and festivity, but also madness and frenzy. Origin: Child of Zeus and Semele. Considered "twice-born" because his mother died while pregnant with him after beholding the full glory of Zeus. Zeus saved the child by carrying him to term in his own thigh. Depicted As: Earlier he was portrayed as a bearded man and later as a beautiful, but somewhat androgynous, young man Symbols and Icons: Grapes, the thyrsos (a pine-cone tipped-staff), panthers and leopards, the wine cup, the ivy wreath Major Relationships Married to Ariadne, daughter of Minos, a Cretan king. Lover of Aphrodite; she bore Priapus by him Major Attributes Dionysus was connected with wine, drunkenness, festivity, fellowship, and nature. His cult was also associated with art and literature. However, there was a dark side to his worship, as he was connected also to frenzy and madness- the untamed wildness both of nature and of drink. His entourage consisted of wild spirits of fertility, like the sileni and the satyrs. He was also considered to have power as a prophetic deity and a healer of illness. In his aspect as a nature god he was the protector of trees. He was considered somewhat effeminate or androgynous in nature. The ecstatic nature of his worship attracted many female followers, but was not as popular among men, who were uncomfortable with the female wildness associated with his rites. Myths There are not a huge number of myths centered on Dionysus, but he does feature in one well-known story. King Midas: For King Midas' hospitality to Dionysus’ foster father, Silenus, Dionysus offered the king whatever boon he wished. Midas wished that everything he touched would turn to gold. Realizing that he could not eat or drink and even turning his own daughter to gold, Midas repented of his choice of gift and prayed to Dionysus to take it away. Dionysus told him to wash in the nearby river and the gift would be taken. Minor Gods As there are literally hundreds of Greek gods and goddesses, this is not a comprehensive list. But we have outlined the most notable greek gods and goddesses other than the Twelve Olympians. Atlas- Titan Who Holds Up the Sky Atlas by Guercino, 1646 Atlas was a Titan, the Son of the Titan Iapetus and the Oceanid Clymene or Asia. He was was in the Titan army that fought against Zeus and the Olympians; as punishment he was made to bear the weight of the heavens. In art he is typically depicted as a man holding up the sky or the stars Persephone- Goddess of Spring, Queen of the Underworld The Spring Witch by George Wilson, circa 1880 Persephone was the daughter of Demeter and Zeus; the story of her abduction by Hades was detailed above. Many of her attributes as a goddess revolve around this tale. Her return to the surface world at the end of winter is what caused spring to begin as her mother allowed new growth, and her journey to Hades in the autumn caused plants to wither and die as her mother killed living things in her grief. Thus she became known as a Spring goddess as well as the Queen of the Underworld. She was worshiped with her mother as part of the Eleusinian mysteries and associated with immortality because of her cyclical passage into the underworld and return to the surface world. In her dual aspect as the bringer of spring and the queen of the Underworld, she was associated with both life and death. She is known for either bestowing favors or her wrath on the many heroic visitors to the Underworld in myth. She aided Hades in cursing the souls of the dead when necessary. Sometimes she was known as the mother of the Erinyes (the Furies) with Hades, but not always. She was depicted both as a young agriculture goddess with her mother, with a torch and sheaves of wheat, and as the throned Queen of the Underworld, sometimes besides Hades. Her major symbols are the torch, wheat, and the pomegranate. Eos- Goddess of the Dawn Evelyn de Morgan, Eos, 1895 Eos, Greek goddess of the Dawn, was the child of Titans Hyperion and Thea and the sister of Helios, the sun, and Selene, the moon. She is most notable in myth for drawing the ire of Aphrodite after taking Ares as a lover. The jealous goddess cursed her with insatiable lust, leading her to kidnap a number of handsome mortals. Eros- God of Love, Passion, and Fertility Red-figure plate with Eros by Ascoli Satriano Painter, circa 340-320 BC. Courtesy of the Walters Art Museum. Eros was originally considered one of the very first Greek gods- the son of Chaos who allowed for not only love, but fertility to come into the universe. Through the power of Eros other gods were able to reproduce and the universe as we know it was arranged. In later years, Eros was demoted to a mere son of Aphrodite (with Zeus, Ares, or Hermes depending on the tale) and simply an ancillary assistant to her powers of love, sex, and fertility. Hecate- Goddess of Witchcraft Maximilin Pirner, Hecate, 1901. Hecate, daughter of Titans Perses and Asteria, assisted Demeter in her search for Persephone, lending her torches so the search could continue into the night. When Persephone was found, Hecate remained below with Persephone and became an underworld goddess. Hecate supervised religious rites, was the mistress of demons, and was the patroness of witches. She was accompanied at all times by a black cat and a black dog. Her shrines were found at crossroads, and the Greeks would lay sacrifices at crossroads during full moons to worship her. Hecate was a goddess that most Greeks worshiped specifically to avoid the misfortunes she had the power to visit upon them. Helios- God of the Sun Relief of Helios, circa 390-275 BC Helios, Greek god of the sun, was the child of Titans Hyperion and Thea and the brother of Selene, the moon, and Eos, the dawn. He was sometimes called the "All-seeing" because he was said to see all that passed on earth from his chariot that pulled the sun across the sky. Helios was sometimes equated with Apollo, who was also associated with the sun, but they did have separate identities as deities. Hestia- Goddess of the Hearth and Domesticity Hestia tapestry, 6th century Egypt Hestia was the first child of the Titans Kronos and Rhea, making her sister to Zeus, Hera, Demeter, Poseidon, and Hades. Some accounts place Hestia as one of the twelve Olympians; others say that she abdicated her place in favor of Dionysus so that the number could remain twelve. After both Poseidon and Apollo sought to marry her, Hestia petitioned Zeus to remain a virgin. He granted her request and made her the presiding figure over all sacrifices. She was worshiped mostly with a shrine in every family hearth, as opposed to publicly, but Greeks took the sacred fire of Hestia with them whenever they went to establish new settlements. As she never leaves her home in Olympus, she is also associated with rest and sanctuary. She is closely associated with the family and domesticity. Her symbols are fruit, oil, wine, and one-year-old cows. Iris- Goddess of the Rainbow, Messenger of the Gods Vase painting of Iris by the Diosphos painter, circa 500-490 BC; photo by Marie-Lan Nguyen Iris, like Hermes, was a messenger of the gods. Iris served as the messenger for the Olympians during the Titomachy- the war with the Titans. Associated with the rainbow, she could travel all the way from the heavens across the earth and into the underworld. Se was the child of Thaumus and the Oceanid Electra. Nike- Goddess of Victory Sculpture of Nike at Ephesus, photo by Laszlo Ilyes Nike, daughter of the giant Pallas and the river Styx, was the Greek goddess of victory. However, she did not have her own cult; she was primarily considered an attribute of Athena and Zeus. She was usually depicted with wings, carrying a palm branch, wreath, or staff to carry the message of victory. She later came to symbolize all kinds of success, not just martial victory. Nyx- Goddess of Nyx Nyx, Night Goddess by Gustave Moreau, 1880 Nyx, or night, was one of the four original forces that emerged from Chaos. Alone and with various partners, she bore many deities who functioned as the most primordial of forces. She bore Aether (Brightness) and Hemera (Day) with Erebus (Darkness). Her children that she bore alone included Hypnos (Sleep), Thanatos (Death), Geras (Old Age), the Moirai (the Fates, sometimes said to be borne with Hades), Nemesis (Retribution), Eris (Strife), and the Oneiroi (Dreams). While she was not widely worshiped, her great power was acknowledged; it was said that even Zeus feared her power and majesty. Pan- God of Fertility, Nature, Shepherds, and Goatherds Painting of Pan, Arnold Bocklin, 1864-1865 The child of Hermes and Dryope, Pan was born with the horns, legs, and ears of a goat. When he was born, his mother was so alarmed by his animalistic appearance that she ran away screaming- hence the term "panic." Pan was a god of untamed nature and lusty fertility. He was known for his many amorous pursuits and his pipe-playing ability. Interestingly, many of his goatlike characteristics later became associated with Christian conceptions of the Devil! Selene- Goddess of the Moon Albert Aublet, Selene, 1880 Selene was the Greek goddess of the moon, worshiped primarily at the new and full moons. She was the child of Titans Hyperion and Thea and sister of Helios and Eos. Other than her aspect as moon goddess, Selene is known primarily for her relationship with her mortal lover Endymion, her sleeping prince, who wakes only when she visits him and so never ages or dies. Selene is typically represented as a woman crowned with the crescent moon, driving a chariot. Themis- Goddess of Justice, Wisdom, and Divine Law School of Marcello Bacciarelli, early 18th century, Allegory of Justice- Themis Themis, a child of Uranus and Gaea, was Zeus’ second consort before he married Hera; with him she bore the Horae (the goddesses of the seasons and time). Sometimes the Moirai (the fates) and the Hesperides are also listed as children of Themis and Zeus. As the personification of divine law, Themis was fairly widely worshiped in Greece. She was considered a goddess of order who supervised rituals and ceremonies. She was also connected with prophecy and oracles. Themis is typically depicted as a serious woman carrying scales. 3 Famous Greek Goddess Groups Many minor Greek deities were conceived of as groups of beings, usually goddesses who were sisters. While this is not a comprehensive list, we have identified some of the most important groups of Greek goddesses here. The Furies- Goddesses of Vengance Megaera, Tisiphone, and Alecto by Gustave Dore The Furies (or the "Erinyes," the angry ones) were Greek goddesses of vengeance, possibly identified as personified curses or the ghosts of the murdered. Sometimes they are described as children of Gaia and Uranus who sprang up from the blood of Uranus’ severed genitals, while in other tellings they are the daughters of Nyx and Hades. They reside in the underworld, but pursue the wicked across the surface of the earth. They could torment an entire community for an unpunished crime. They were usually depicted as grim young women wearing black mourning attire. It was only later that the number and identity of the individual furies was established. There were thought to be three: Alecto ("unceasing in anger") Tisiphone (avenger of murder") Megaera ("jealous") Due to Greek superstition, they were often referred to euphemistically as the Eumenides ("the kind ones") or the Semnai Theai ("venerable goddesses.") The Muses- Goddesses of Art and Science The Dance of the Muses by Joseph Paelinck, 1832 The muses, daughters of Zeus and the Titan Mnemosyne ("memory"), were the group of Greek goddesses considered responsible for artistic (and sometimes scientific) inspiration. The were the patronesses of poets, artists, musicians, dancers, seekers of knowledge, and so on. They were led by Apollo and associated with wells and springs. The muses were unmarried but various muses gave birth to many famous mythic figures, like Orpheus, Hyacinthus, and the Sirens. In some early accounts there are only three muses, but the standard number is nine. While the Greeks would have primarily considered the muses a unit, the Romans ascribed specific artistic and scientific domains to each muse, although not in a standardized way. Clio, "the proclaimer"- history Euterpe, "the well-pleasing"- tragedy or music/flutes/lyric poetry Thalia, "the blooming"- comedy Melpomene, "the songstress"- tragedy and lyre playing Terpsichore, "delighting in the dance"- lyric poetry, dancing, and/or flute playing (origin of the word "terpsichorean"- pertaining to dancing) Erato, "the lovely"- lyric and love poetry Polyhymnia, "she of the many hymns"- sacred poetry, or mimicry, or dancing, or geometry Urania, "the heavenly"- astronomy Calliope, "she of the beautiful voice"- heroic or epic poetry; most notable of the nine muses The Fates- Goddesses of Destiny The Three Fates, Bernardo Strozzi, before 1664 Goddesses of: Human destiny About These Goddesses: These Greek goddesses, known as the Moirai, were considered daughters of Nyx or, less frequently, daughters of Zeus and Themis. They determined mortals' lifespans and their shares of misery and suffering and were imagined as three very old women who quite literally spun the thread that made up individual human destiny: Clotho, "spinner"- spun the thread of human fate Lachesis, "allotter"- dispensed the thread Atropos, "inflexible"- cut it (causing death) Greek Gods Family Tree Below see the family tree of the main Olympian Greek gods and goddesses as it is most commonly understood today. However, it’s important to emphasize that the relationships between the gods were not static and shifted over time, sometimes dramatically- as we see with Eros, who was originally considered one of the original children of Chaos and later became a mere son of Aphrodite, no longer one of the primordial forces that shaped the initial universe. On this Greek gods family tree, a single arrow shows offspring, with branching arrows representing siblings. A double line bond means a partnership of marriage and/or children. The pink boxes indicate the Twelve Olympians. The Worship of the Greek Goddesses and Gods Greek worship involved rites, oracles, sacrifices, and festivals. The most formal elements of worship were place-based: gods were worshiped at their own particular temples and sacred sites through specific rites and rituals. Priests (and/or priestesses) to a particular god would oversee the rites associated with that god, which often involved animal sacrifice and the pouring of wine (the libration). Priests and priestesses also interpreted oracles at sacred oracle sites like Delphi. Interestingly, many priestesses either had to be virgins or past menopause. Outside of more formal rites, Greek citizens also offered sacrifices to particular gods to give thanks or to invoke their protection. They might also pray to the appropriate god for a particular concern or issue, and make some kind of offering if they felt the prayer was answered. The other main component of Greek worship was the festival. Festivals centered around music, theatre, and sports (like the Olympics!) were held to honor the gods. Those are some general trends in worship. However, it is difficult to make absolute statements on exactly how specific gods were worshiped, because a lot of worship was very localized. Different city-states had their own preeminent deities, and might worship particular deities in different ways. Furthermore, ideas about the gods and how they were related to each other, especially in terms of marriage and parentage, were constantly shifting over time. Newer gods (for example, from neighboring countries) were often incorporated into the pantheon, and some gods would be combined or fade in eminence over time. Nonetheless, the main figures of the Greek pantheon and the mythology surrounding them were clearly well-developed by around the 8th B.C., when Homer crafted the Iliad and the Odyssey. However, it’s worth noting that just because a god was included in the twelve Olympians does not mean they were widely worshiped- for example, there was very little worship of Hades. Conversely, some very widely worshiped figures were not in the main Olympian pantheon, like Themis. Due to close contact between the Greeks and Romans, the Roman pantheon was very influenced by Greek mythology, and many Roman gods took on the attributes and myths of similar Greek gods. Some Greek gods are also worshiped today, as part of Neo-pagan religions. The theater was often part of religious festivals in ancient Greece. Greek Goddesses and Gods Today The Greek gods continue to be a source of fascination and inspiration in all areas of human endeavor. There have been many operas, ballets, and theater productions based on Greek myth throughout all of history. The Greek gods were a huge inspiration to Romantic and Neoclassical artists and poets. More recently, the Greek gods have inspired tons of movies, TV shows, books, comic books, and video games. Some notable pop-culture works that have borrowed or adapted Greek mythology include: The 1997 Disney movie Hercules TV show Xena: Warrior Princess The 1981 and 2010 films Clash of the Titans Wonder Woman comics The Percy Jackson book series by Rick Riordan The God of War video game franchise Additionally, many astronomical bodies like asteroids and asteroid belts, moons, stars, planets, and comets are named for figures of Greek and Roman mythology. Most of the planets in our own solar system are named for Roman deities, but many of the moons and asteroids are named for Greek deities. For example, the Demeter asteroid belt, Themis, a moon of Saturn, and Eris, a dwarf planet. L. Calà §ada and Nick Risinger, artistic rendering of dwarf planet Eris The Greek Gods and Goddesses: Key Points to Remember Unlike modern gods, who are generally thought of as benevolent and all-knowing, Greek gods personified the forces that organized and drove the world. As such, they were just as often petty and violent as they were just and magnanimous within Greek myth. Within myth, the Olympian gods rose to power after a war with the Titans. The Twelve Olympians were: Zeus, king of the gods and god of storms Hera, wife of Zeus, goddess of marriage and childbirth, the heavens Poseidon, god of the sea Demeter, goddess of agriculture and fertility Hades, god of the underworld Athena, goddess of wisdom, craftsmanship, war Hephaestus, god of smiths and fire Aphrodite, goddess of love, passion, and fertility Ares, god of war and battle frenzy Artemis, goddess of the hunt and nature Apollo, god of prophecy, the arts, music, and healing Hermes, messenger of the gods, god of travelers Dionysus, god of wine, celebration, and frenzy In addition to the Twelve Olympians, there were also hundreds of other gods worshiped throughout Greece. Some were mostly considered aspects or minions of more major deities, while others had robust cults of their own. What's Next? The Greek gods and goddesses may have gotten up to some crazy shenanigans, but they served as inspiration for religions that followed. Learn about the 20th-century's Aleister Crowley and the multiple religions he was involved in here. What is agnosticism and what does it mean to be agnostic? Find out with our guide to the origin of the term and how agnosticism is practiced.