Key Factors of Consumer Behaviour Essay

1. Discuss and explain the key factors influencing consumer behaviour. Why must organisations understand consumer behaviour in order to optimise sales? â€Å"Marketing is the activity, set of institutions and processes for creating communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large† (AMA, 2007). â€Å"Consumer behaviour is the judgment of final consumers individuals and households who buy goods and services for personal consumption† (Kotler et al., 1999) There are four key factors influencing consumer behaviour. They are social, cultural, personal and psychological factors. Consumer may tends to change their buying behaviour according to these factors. Cultural factors are described as people who react particular way regard to religion reason. Different culture response differently, how people behave with their buying decision. for instance in Myanmar, majority of people do not have a habit of doing sport or using supplement for diet purposes. In United Kingdom, on the other hand, groups of men and women tend to emphasis on sport and taking supplement. As a supplement business prospective, they should not supply their product or sell in Myanmar. Social factors are mainly influenced by family, close friend and personal attitude. They are also known as ‘reference group’. Reference group are important as the product are satisfied for their needs, the message with forward to another person which is also known as â€Å"word of mouth†. The communication is powerful because we trust our friends’ and colleagues’ opinions. For example, majority of wealthy people do not buy a Primark product, simple because of their status, they should be buying much more expensive product such as Gucci and Chanel. If they do consumer Primark product their friend may talk behind their back which affect the status. After taking cultural and social factors into consideration, the next things people naturally put things into account is personal factors. personal factors can be defined as a belief in which a person think the particular brand is valued to them. Personal factors consists of buyer’s age, occupation, economic situation and lifestyle. Depending on human life cycle, buyers’ decision making is changing in different stages. Therefore, marketer often segment the market and target the consumer life stages. As an example, it is an inappropriate for the marketer to sell Samsung latest smart phone to senior citizen, they may only want to use simple keypad phone. In term of occupation, people are concerning about their status and image in their society. The products that they consume are crucial to his or her status. Psychological factors include belief, interest and motivation. Everyone has their own belief in different way. Often majority of people are bias when buying a particular brand. There is no right or wrong answer, in fact, people learnt from past experience whether the brand had met their needs or how they perceived the brand . For example, Iphone 5, more and more people are getting the new Iphone 5, not because it is very special. In fact Samsung s3, has better functionality than Iphone but still people buys it. This shows people value the brand of Apple and how they perceived the brand. Motivation factors are another factor that consumer think before they buy. According to Maslow theory, different people has different needs. So, marketer should know how to segment the market and target the right person to maximise sales. In summary, organisation should consider how consumer behave for certain product by looking at these four factors. furthermore, communicating with consumer are crucial to the market as they sent the message the consumer about the product’s feature. Therefore, marketer has to be segment the market and target the right consumer to deliver the message across.

John’s Termination Essay

This paper is about Mr. John who has been terminated by his boss and the reason behind this termination was the unsatisfactory standard of work that he did. This was really surprising for John as no one had ever objected about the work he did and so he was taken aback when he came to know about the termination. However, it was not entirely the fault of John as he had never been corrected before due to which he did not know about his mistakes. It is always wise for the management to opt for certain steps prior to the termination and even after the termination as it can have adverse affects on the other employees working in the organization. Before terminating John, it was the duty of the management to inform and to warn him about his performance at work as it is not ethical to terminate him in this way. Since the time an employee is hired, it is the responsibility of the human resource department of an organization to look after the employees. Firstly, they must conduct an effective recruitment process and securitizing of employees should be done carefully so that the employee is able to meet the expectations of the job. Once the employee is hired, proper training must be provided, however still if any employee is not capable he should first be warned and should be asked to improve but if he does not show any progress, he must be transferred to some other department or must be given some other job that suits his qualification and experience as termination should always be the last option for the management to opt for. The reason behind this is that termination always leaves a negative impact not just on the employee who has been terminated but on the existing employees as well as they might fear that even they can also be terminated in future. (Leat, 2001).

THE 2012 FLOODING IN SOUTH AUSTRALIA Research Paper

THE 2012 FLOODING IN SOUTH AUSTRALIA - Research Paper Example Australia remained under heavy flooding in last two years. People of Australia were of the view that the heavy flooding is cause of global warming. The cause of record rain fall and flooding is not global warming but it is result of back to back La Nina events. El Nino and El Nino southern oscillations are the dry brothers of La Nino. These events are known as the extreme of a climate temperature in that region. These effects have caused draught and rains in Australia for the last hundred of years even well before the emission of carbon dioxide by human beings in the atmosphere. Australia’s bureau of meteorology reported that weather department warned people about possibility of floods in 2012 as the ocean temperature was more then normal. Despite early warning and evacuation of homes in Queensland, the flood played havoc in east Australia and disrupted communication and business facilities (Editor, 2012). On 23 January, the rain started in Brisbane and devastated life there i n the shape of flood. South eastern Queensland was the most effected area from these floods of 2012. The recorded rainfall in 24 hours was approximately 300 millimeters in the region. Beaches were closed and roads were filled with flooded water. On 27 January, central Queensland was under heavy rain and thunderstorm. This situation of rainfall and flooding of the area remain continued till end of the march. In New South Wales all the roads were cut and rivers were heavily flooded. Barwon and Darling rivers were heavily flooded while passing through New South Wales in February 2012 (Samuels, 2012). More than 9000 people were told to evacuate Wagga Wagga as the river reached the top water level. People were still saved as the levee was still holding the area all around. Despite early warning and efficient rescue system the Australian people were surprised by the flood. Heavy rain fall in complete region left no time with the people to establish them selves away from the flood. Moreove r the water rose in oceans and rivers and area around the course of a water channel was badly hit due to over flooding (Samuels, 2012). Floods had long lasting economic, social and environmental impacts on Australia. Worldwide commodity and agricultural products saw a rise in prices. Social life and basic facilities and structure were badly damaged in Queensland and surrounding areas. Environmental changes due to La Nino affect disturbed the life in the region. The floods are expects to cause short term economic effects on Queensland until the complete economic revival takes place. Queensland is the main economic hub of Australia as it contributes about 20% in the Australian economic growth (IBIS World, 2011). Agriculture sector is also badly hit because the crops worth 1.6 billion dollors have been destroyed by the recent floods. Sugarcane and cotton production in the area has been seriously affected. This is going to result in short term price rise of about 200%. Significant damag e to property and road infrastructure has been done in Queensland and Brisbane. About 18000 residential and commercial properties suffered partial and complete damage. Electric and water services were seriously disrupted in Australia. Australia is very attractive tourist destination for the world. Floods resulted in reducing the tourism activities as people preferred not to visit flood hit Australia until the system of tourism is set back on track. This widely affected the social life of people in Australia. Total of 10 billion dollars

Myspace (& other social network sites) predator problems--how can they Essay

Myspace (& other social network sites) predator problems--how can they be solved - Essay Example imed at networking and being in touch with relatives and friends, the bottom line is that social networking is highly famous and it is a big business today. Unluckily, scam artists, child molesters, and sexual predators have noticed that these sites can also be exploited to find victims. MySpace is one of the sites where predator is a big problem. MySpace is a social networking site just like facebook. However, there have been numerous cases of sexual predators and child molesters posing as children to network with young victims on MySpace (Zilney & Zilney, 2009). Recently, MySpace was also discovered to be compromised by attackers spreading malware on exploited profile sites. These have led to MySpace taking steps and implementing security measures to minimize this problem though users are still supposed to be cautious and aware. Predators were therefore a big problem to MySpace not only because it led to increased cases of sexual assaults but also death cases were on high rate. Nevertheless when putting into consideration increased cases of predators; social networking sites have employed numerous efforts to cut down on the numbers of predators online. For instance, they have developed an e-mail registry that would permit parents to prohibit their children creating online profile for such networks. Social networking sites would also create the default profile setting for 16 and 17-year-olds on their site â€Å"confidential â€Å" so that they can only be contacted by individuals they know hence making it difficult for predators to find them (Krinsky, 2008). According to Hansen (2008), they employ a third party to gather a registry of email addresses offered by parents who want to restrict access of their children to the websites, and will block anyone using email address listed in the registry from signing up or creating a user profile. Laws have also been implemented to govern and address this issue and all networking sites have agreed to comply with them and

Case study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 126

Case Study Example focus on developing athletics activities and equipment that attract people below the age of 19 years and single women between the ages of 30-39 years. These two groups of the population constitute the highest number of non-peak period visitors. The management should provide a discount for the unmarried people, especially the women. Single ladies are likely to have fewer responsibilities compared to the married couples. In this regard, single ladies are likely to have sufficient time to visit the club regularly. Essentially, offering discounts would increase the frequency of attendance and attract new customers’ thereby increasing revenue for the club (Fields, 1999). The management should introduce awards and gifts for frequent and royal customers. This will encourage them to visit the club more frequently since they are assured of a gift. In addition, special gifts should be given to customers who bring new customers during the low seasons. This will encourage the existing customers to invite their friends to join the club. During the low seasons, the management should offer aerobic and yoga classes to both the silver and gold membership holders. Such strategies will aid in expanding the membership base and increasing revenues for the

Starbucks Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Starbucks - Essay Example The next portion of the essay will describe theoretical background of marketing concepts. Marketing Concepts Research scholars such as Burrow (2011), Sandhusen (2000), and Mercer (1996) have stated that organizations need to decide marketing strategy in terms of marketing mix, segmentation and target market, in order to become successful in competitive business environment. Kotler et al (2009) have pointed out that organizations need to change marketing mix such as product, price, place and promotion in accordance with the situational perspective, in order to achieve competitive advantage. Kotler et al (2009) have tried to establish link between implanting right marketing strategy and competitive advantage model proposed by Michael Porter (1980, 1985, and 1991). Elements of marketing mix can be explained in the following manner: Product Companies manufacture new products in order to match steps with the ever-changing nature of consumer demand. Organizations develop products through m ultiple stages like generating idea about new products by using primary and secondary research; selecting the potential idea through idea screening, testing the concept of product development with the help of feedback of customers, analyzing the business aspect of the product development such as market volume, price estimation, market size calculation etc., launching the product in small market segment in order to test acceptance of the product, manufacturing the product on commercial basis after achieving success in test marketing phase and finally commercializing the product. Ansoff matrix can be used in order to understand the significance of product concept in marketing. (Source: Stone, 2001, p. 51) According to Ansoff matrix, companies develop product strategy due to four reasons, 1- increasing market penetration by existing products in existing markets with an intention to decrease risk factors associated with entering new market, 2- developing new products for the existing ma rket in order to achieve competitive advantage over competitors, 3- launching an existing product in new markets in order achieve business growth in foreign shore without investing huge amounts of capital in new product development, and 4- launching new products in new markets in order to create brand awareness among customers. Mintzberg et al (2003) have stated that companies need to decide the product portfolio in accordance with the demographic and societal trends of a particular country. Price Companies decide the price of products in accordance with macro environmental characteristics of market and in some cases organizations decide the price of products in order to enhance brand image. For example, Apple use premier pricing policy or assigning high price on products in order to show class and aristocracy, while Wal-Mart uses cost orientation strategy in order to offer everyday merchandises at everyday low price (EDLP) to customers. Adopting EDLP model has helped Wal-Mart to ac hieve price competitiveness over their competitors. Place Companies decide distribution strategy in order to distribute products to customers. Organizations design distribution channel backed by retailers, wholesalers, online sales channel, c&f agents, company sales executives etc., in order to

CA Proposition 209 -Affirmative Action Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

CA Proposition 209 -Affirmative Action - Essay Example Following the 1995 Supreme Court verdict controlled granting of contracts on the basis of gender and race, Clinton promised to ‘mend not end’ affirmative action. The Clinton government, in May 1995, disclosed a new strategy of granting government contracts (Frankel 435). The strategy ends ethnic/racial preferences in areas where the underprivileged are common, though, maintains them in areas where discrimination continues. Marginalized groups and other economically deprived business owners comprise of 6.6 percent of all central government’s contracts for both goods and services. Seemingly not contended with Clinton’s suggestion, House Republicans formulated a more extensive bill to prohibit preferences in the entire federal contracts and hiring. The bill, inaugurated by discontented Democrats as the 1997 Equal Opportunity Repeal Act, endorsed the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Constitutional matters in July. The debate on affirmative action took center sta ge when the President promised to make advanced relationships between races/ethnic groups a top precedence in his second rule. The Prop 209’s opponents filed a claim in 2010 in the federal court to challenge the requirements of Prop 209 by permitting the University of California to apply Affirmative Action principles in its admissions assessments, as it was applied before the endorsement of Proposition 209 in 1996. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit voted to support Proposition 209 on April 2, 2012. The similar federal appeals courts had earlier upheld the Prop 209. The claim that resulted into the April 2012 verdict had asserted that a new decision was needed by new proof demonstrating that in the years following the endorsement of Proposition 209, underprivileged admissions to California’s most esteemed universities declined. In the wake of the approval of Proposition 209, debate persisted in the interest of or necessity for affirm ative action at the colleges in California. As lately as 2010, Joe R. Hicks and David A. Lehrer who sustained Prop 209 in 1996, contended that statistics regarding racial composition of admissions at the University of California illustrated that partisan admissions actions were not essential to bring about multiplicity (Laird 133)). Whereas it is somewhat early to evaluate the long-standing impacts on women of stopping California’s affirmative action, various predictions can be drawn. Post-secondary learning chances will possibly undergo the minimal effect; women are attending schools and graduating from colleges in huge numbers compared to their male counterparts. However, the women who are poised to suffer from this gender and race predilections are the African Americans and Latino women; because of much of institutional remains of a race other than gender discrimination. The subject of affirmative action has been vastly discordant; opponents of this proposition hold the no ble-sounding oratory of color-blindness and uphold that it is incorrect for an individual to miss out on something important exclusively because of one’s race/ethnicity.  Ã‚  

Company Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 2

Company Law - Essay Example However, advertisements are not always perceived to be offers that can legally bind the advertiser of a product. Advertisements are usually considered as invitation to treat. Miller and Jentz (2008), argue that advertisements are invitations for tenders or business deals and do not in anyway constitute a contract. Nonetheless, there are instances when an advertisement can constitute an offer. An advertisement becomes an offer when its terms are definite and the advertisement portrays the intent of entering into a legal relationship by the advertiser (Furmston, Tolhurst & Mik 2010; Miller & Jentz 2008). In such a case, the offeree has the power to transform the advertisement into a valid and binding contract through acceptance of the offer (Jennings 2013). The offer can however be terminated by the subsequent action of either the offeror or the offeree via rejection, revocation or even issuing a counteroffer (Miller & Jentz 2008; Evans 1995). As such, advising William necessitates dee p understanding of the elements that constitute to a legal and binding contract. ... William decided to advertise the vase on Monday offering it for sale for ?1500 or nearest offer. On Wednesday, Nigel, who did not contact William since their meeting on Sunday, posted a letter to William stating his acceptance of William’s offer of ?1200. Does a valid and legally binding contract exist between William and Nigel? In this case, there exist no legal contract between William and Nigel. As such, William is not in anyway liable to pay any form of damage to Nigel should Nigel decide to take the matter to a court. The advertisement put by William is merely an invitation to the public for a deal. It does not bind William to anyone who might be interested in buying the vase. If it were to be legally binding, it would mean that William is liable and legally bounded by the advertisement to all people with interest in the vase. This advice is based on the decision in the case of Partridge v Crittenden (1968). In this case, the defendant advertised in a section of a magazin e the sale of some bramble finches. Based on the provisions of Section 6 of the Protection of Birds Act 1954, the defendant was incarcerated for selling the birds for it was contravening the Act. However, he appealed his conviction. It was held that the defendant conviction was overturned arguing that the advertisement was an invitation to treat rather than an offer. Also, in the case of Harvey v Facey (1893), Privy Council, it was held that a mere statement of price does not amount to a contract. The court held that by stating the price, the defendant was merely providing information and that no valid and legally binding contract existed (Ibrahim, Ababneh & Tahat 2007; Moles n.d). Further, William’s advertisement is not definite in its terms, which would bind him to

Errol John and his work of "Moon on A Rainbow" Research Paper

Errol John and his work of "Moon on A Rainbow" - Research Paper Example Kenneth Tyran was aware about what happens in in theatre, in the year 1957, frustrations due to lack for sharp new writing, he went on to convince the observer that a play completion be launched. Moon on a Rainbow Shawl, by Errol John got the first prize, however, in spite of Joh’s play’s fresh force, John had struggle to get the play staged. It happens to be a shame that such talent could be overlooked as well as statement to the Nation that fifty years on, a stage for suitable stature for such a vibrant as well as subtle play has been found (Billington). Errol John, born in the year 1921 in Trinidad was a journalist before he moved to England in the year 1951 to look for a job in the theatre. Errol appeared in several productions in London stage. One of the well-known ones is in the Old Vic Theatre by the ear 1962, in the part of Othello. John made a number of appearances in film and television productions as well, although he played comparatively minor black characters that included the 1953 Heart of the Metter, the 1952 African Queen and the 1955 Simba, while head key starring roles within the BBC series such as the 1956 A man from the Sun as well as the 1967 Rainbow city. The themes of Moon in a Rainbow Shawl, which are now regarded as canonical work for black theatre, happen to be currently relevant with the play’s depiction for immigration, aspirations of the post war community that lives in poverty as well as the struggles that the African diaspora faces (Erdinch). Set in a Spanish Port, Trinidad, the play opens up on some hot, late evening within a yard of two decrepit buildings. Ephraim happens to be returning from job where he works as a bus driver, as he and Esther Adams are having a conversation. Esther, who is a quite intelligent as well as studious girl is discussing the manner in which it is not possible for her family afford school fees for her education. Secretly, Ephraim is envious of her youth as well as her opportunity to create a

A Blessing in Disguise Essay Example for Free

A Blessing in Disguise Essay One Sunday morning, during a late October, despite the beautiful day, and tasks needing to be done, I decided to attend a lecture on the Dead Sea Scrolls. Though the lecture was to last for at least four hours and I was late- Thanks to over sleeping, an invisible energy was propelling me, shouting I needed to go. I grabbed an apple and flew out of my apartment, caught a taxi and arrived as the talk was beginning. I was the last person to arrive. When the lecture was over, I leisurely strolled home, stopping on the way to pick up a couple of things at various stores. And then without warning, about five blocks from my apartment building, I tripped on the sidewalk and fell on my face. My nose was bleeding and I was dizzy, too dizzy to stand, but no bones were broken. â€Å" I am fineâ€Å", I announced to the people on the street that stopped. They thought otherwise, and someone called 911. I was told an ambulance was on its way. I remained sitting on the sidewalk. A fall that would change everything Though I was dizzy, I hadn’t lost consciousness, and because I hate making a scene, I asked to be put in a taxi so I could go home. I said going to the hospital in an ambulance was overkill, no need for all the fuss. Not one of the good Samaritans, who waited with me agreed. The next thing I knew, the ambulance arrived and I was placed on a stretcher, and whisked to the emergency room of a large New York hospital, one where I had no doctors and knew none. On the other hand that didn’t concern me, since I believed I would be given a test or two and then sent home. When the attending emergency room physicians were told what happened I was sent to radiology for a CT scan of my head and spine. The tests showed I wasn’t bleeding from the fall but the test was murky and so the CT scan was followed by an MRI of my head. I assumed all was well and that I would be discharged, and yet it wasn’t happening. Instead I could hear the doctors mumbling something about a mass. It seemed this was what the tests showed and they were waiting for a confirmation from the radiology department. An Unexpected Hospital Stay Since I had tripped as opposed to having a dizzy spell, I was shocked to hear that they were looking for a bed for me. Radiology believed the CT scan and the MRI showed I had a meningioma with a shadow surrounding it, pushing against my brain. I needed brain surgery. Given that this was a teaching hospital, a surgeon would come and speak with me and tell me what was necessary, what this entailed. It entailed a four and half hour operation, one in which I would not need to have my head shaved because the cut was going to be the same, as that done by plastic surgeons when they operate. I would have staples but they would come out ten days later. I was surprised at how calm I was, as everything was described. The best way to describe it is to say I felt watched over. Three days later I had the surgery. The mass was benign (meningioma’s usually are) and my very capable surgeon, who I met but once before the surgery, was able to remove the shadow surrounding it. I was told it is when meningiomas are left unattended that complications occur. (A meningioma is something one has for years and though slow growing, they must be operated on, especially when there are shadows surrounding the mass.) Though I was at a hospital where none of my doctors had visiting privileges, at no time during my week long stay did I worry, and worrying is oft times my middle name. Instead I felt serene and profoundly grateful for the events that had brought me there. My meningioma wasn’t going away, it was growing as were the shadows surrounding it. Down the road I would have had symptoms that carried consequences none too pretty. And would I recognize the symptoms when they occurred? There was no way to know. Acknowledge the Gift Blessing of Every Event in Life There is an energy that is always flowing in this universe, an unseen current that is oft times called instinct or intuition. This energy, this current, is very wise, and when we recognize its presence, when we trust its wisdom, it guides and carries us along as if a beacon of light. I believe everything connects. If I hadn’t gone to the morning lecture, if I hadn’t listened to my instinct and intuition, if I hadn’t stopped to pick up a couple of things at stores, I never would have been walking on that specific sidewalk. I never would have had the tests and found out what was sitting inside me, waiting and needing to be discovered. The fall was my trip wire, the beginning of my very own victory parade and I was profoundly grateful for the strangers that called the ambulance and waited with me until it arrived. The Samaritans knew I wasn’t fine, even when I protested that I was. I experienced firsthand that there are always people willing to help; it is up to us to take the help when it’s offered and not to let pride or embarrassment stand in the way. There is wisdom in the concern of strangers. Both negative and positive energy exists in the universe. We may not immediately understand why things happen the way they do but if we look at the trajectory from beginning to end, it becomes clear that that there is a pattern and it is playing itself out. We are not victims of circumstances but energetic beings who create our own circumstances and we are given the choice to reject or accept the outcome, which in its turn creates a new set of circumstance. Life is a trip wire, we do not always know what’s around the next corner but we do know that the corner exists and to move forward, we must walk on it. That fall was my own trip wire. There is no other way to put it. It was a blessing in disguise for me.

The Geopolitics Of The Global Illegal Drug Trade Geography Essay

The Geopolitics Of The Global Illegal Drug Trade Geography Essay One of the biggest problems facing the world today is the production, trade and consumption of illegal drugs. Millions of people around the world are involved in either this trade either as producers, vendors or consumers, despite it being a highly illegal activity with strict and often harsh penalties for even the possession of a small amount of these illegal substances. In this paper we will be discussing the consequences of the global illegal drugs trade in different areas of the world, and whether the legalization and regulation of this trade would be positive or negative. 2. AFGHANISTAN Afghanistan is one of the worlds top producers of illegal substances, in particular opium, and there are many reasons why this is the case. It is one of the poorest countries in the world, according to the CIA world fact book, with a GDP per capita of just $800 and ranked 181st on the UNs Human Development Index second lowest in the world. (CIA World Fact Book, 2009) It is a landlocked country with direct links to Russia and the EU 2 of the worlds largest illegal drug markets with land movement being extensive due to lack of border control. Rugged terrain, with many isolated areas makes government surveillance and law enforcement difficult. Due to this and Afghanistans notoriety for lawlessness, instability and poverty (resulting from decades of war which have ravaged the country) the opium trade has flourished and now a huge proportion of the country is dependent upon its cultivation. It is interesting that under the Taliban regime, levels of opium production were showing signs o f falling, but since 2001 when the USA declared its â€Å"War on Terror†, this level has increased significantly from around 75,000 hectares in 2000 to nearing 200,000 hectares in 2007. So why is the opium trade such a huge issue? Agriculture is the countrys main form of industry and the collapse of the economy forced more and more farmers to seek alternative methods of generating revenue from crops. This came at a time when demand for opium was increasing due to restrictions being made in nearby opium producing countries such as India. Farmers realised there huge profits could be made from the cultivation of opium poppies, with the risk of being caught relatively low due to the reasons mentioned in the previous paragraph, despite it being a punishable offence. In addition, opium poppies are notoriously hardy- they are almost drought resistant compared to legal crops such as wheat. Many Afghans have used poppy cultivation as a means of investment in legitimate businesses due to lack of personal loans resulting from the poor economy; while illegitimate moneylenders have high interest rates and use various forms of intimidation such as kidnapping. The seriousness of t his situation being that many farmers in Afghanistan have little other legal lucrative alternative, and the government is doing little to encourage farmers to do so. There is also significant evidence to suggest that the since the fall of Taliban, they and other terrorist groups are now significantly funded by the drug trade. What then are the options available? The first is enforcement of current laws whilst offering alternative livelihood options. This involves better monitoring of opium growers in the country and eradication of Heroin production factories, and offering farmers incentives to grow alternative crops. One suggestion is substitution with Saffron, another lucrative crop which has proven to grow well in Afghanistans climate. This would also involve improving the infrastructure needed to support legal crop cultivation. The other option which has been suggested is licensing the opium trade. This gives the government much more control over the end use of opium, as it could be used in the production of valuable legal opiates such as morphine. Trade could also be taxed, providing valuable revenue for the undeveloped economy of Afghanistan. Another issue this would solve is eliminating warlords and severing the ties between the drug trade and human/weapons trafficking as it could be regulated and m onitored by government authorities â€Å". (Licensing) combines the best of both worlds. It stabilizes a crucial country in the global war on terrorism and alleviates the pain crisis in AIDS stricken developing countries. It is not a silver bullet for Afghanistans many troubles, but it does pave the way for the country to escape its current development and security crisis† (Kamminga , Van Ham. 2006). This is not necessarily saying that Heroin should be made legal; but is another option that could be looked into with the legalisation and regulation of all drugs, rather than a select few. 3. THE NETHERLANDS The Netherlands government takes an alternative approach to the enforcement of anti-drug laws, believing that drug use is a public health issue, rather than a criminal one; and that there is a difference between soft drugs (cannabis) and hard drugs (cocaine, heroin). A quote which summarises this attitude is â€Å"if a problem has proved to be unstoppable, it is better to try controlling it instead of continuing to enforce laws that have shown to be unable to stop the problem† (WordIQ: Drug policy of the Netherlands. 2010). They therefore employ a policy of non-enforcement towards soft drugs such as cannabis, but will still prosecute users if they are found causing a public disturbance, or pose a risk to themselves or others whilst under the influence of drugs. The Netherlands drug policy has a number of aims which are: To separate the market between hard and soft drugs so that soft drug users do not come into contact with hard drugs To limit the sale of soft drugs to minors To divert profits from the sale of soft drugs away from criminal drug dealers To gain tax from the legitimate sale of soft drugs To use the money gained to assist problem drug users (i.e. Treatment and rehabilitation) and promote awareness and education of hard drugs To prevent soft drug users being criminalised unnecessarily So is this policy working? In the USA where cannabis is strictly illegal and carries severe fines and prison time, 42.4% of Americans have tried the drug, whilst in The Netherlands only 19.8% of the population have tried cannabis, despite it being tolerated and sold freely in coffee shops (Degenhardt et al. 2008) 9.7% of young adults consume soft drugs once a month in Holland; this figure is far lower than the UK level of 15.8%, but higher than in other European countries such as Sweden (3%). The EU average of soft drug users that go on to become problem drug users is 0.52%, in The Netherlands this figure is just 0.3%, and the number of hard drug users is also considerably lower. These statistics show that while levels of soft drug use in The Netherlands is not significantly higher or lower than the rest of Europe, the levels of problem drug users and hard drug users is considerably lower. It is also interesting to note that due to taxes gained from the legitimate sale of cannabis, a round 90% of drug users can be treated effectively. 4. NON-GOVERNEMENT ORGANISATIONS NGOs around the world aim to eradicate problems associated with the illegal drug trade; however without financial backing and access to resources, their policies are often limited. Their strategies focus on influencing government protocol and targeting social issues in a ‘prevention over cure approach. The social aspect focuses on education of the young and those vulnerable to drug addiction, in addition to financing and organising rehabilitation for those suffering from addiction. Strategies also target producers of drugs, particularly agricultural ones. These producers are influenced to cultivate alternative products (such as wheat), both through financial incentives and legal prevention. All aspects of the global illegal drugs trade span over large areas, making it difficult for individual state governments to act effectively. NGOs such as the UN, WHO and the EU create policies targeting drug abuse issues to socially improve nations. High costs and infrastructure requirement s for drugs trade prevention deter LEDCs from acting, as their costs do not warrant their benefits it is the state importing that often suffers the most. So what would be the effect of the legalisation of the illegal drugs trade in regards to NGOs? Effectively there would be dissolution of all strategies to cease and prevent the global trade in illegal drugs. Trade would shift to safer routes through legally disclosed transport subject to scrutiny at borders, so potential would remain for NGO involvement in cases of unregulated drugs being traded across borders. 5. CONCLUSION A quote from ‘The Economist claims that the UN believes thatâ€Å"The drug market has â€Å"stabilised†, meaning that more than 200 m people, or almost 5% of the worlds adult population still take illegal drugs† and goes on to say that â€Å"by providing honest information about the health risks of drugs and pricing them accordingly, governments could steer consumers towards the least harmful ones† (The Economist, 2009). However, the legalisation of drugs is a highly complex and sensitive issue which has many social, political, moral and economic implications. The scale of which is unimaginable and is something which many people feel would be an impossible task. It is a known fact that people around the world produce, distribute and use drugs- as they have done for thousands of years. Perhaps money would be better spent on educating people about the dangers of certain drugs (including legal ones) as well as helping those that have become dependent on either the sale or use of illegal drugs, rather than criminalising those that use them safely, or have little other viable options other than producing drugs. This could also have benefits for those in the developing world who rely on the illegal drugs trade as a source of income, and could eliminate the violence involved with the illegal drugs trade. REFERENCES CIA: The World FactBook Afghanistan. 2009. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/af.html Degenhardt et al. 2008. Toward a global view of alcohol, tobacco, cannabis, and cocaine use: Findings from the WHO World Mental Health Surveys. PLoS Medicine 5(7) e141 Kamminga, Van Ham. 2006. Poppies for peace: Reforming Afghanistans opium industry. The Washington Quarterly. 30:1 pp 69-81 The Economist. 2009. Failed states and failed policies: How to stop the drug wars. http://www.economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13237193source=login_payBarrier WordIQ: Drug policy of the Netherlands Definition. 2010. http://www.wordiq.com/definition/Drug_policy_of_the_Netherlands Ashley White Registration No: 090167133