Good Health Essay Example for Free

Good Health Essay It is common to hear people talking about the state of their health. Some say they are in good health, while others talk about their ill health or that of others. But what exactly is good heath and how do we know when we are experiencing it? This article takes a look at that aspect of our lives and explains it in simple terms. Good Health When we are enjoying good health, we feel good, we look good with a good health image and everything about our lives seems to be going well with no major upsets. It means we have plenty of energy to do the things we want to do and we feel happy and contented with our ability to do those things. There is no pain or feeling of stiffness in our body and we are able to exercise freely every day if we wish. Often, when we are in good health it is common to be more active and exercise forms part of the days activities. When we are free of pain, we are able to do a lot more and we feel motivated to do a lot more than when we are experiencing pain. So maintaining a good level of health is important to our lives because it means the absence of pain totally or at least for the majority of the time. Promoting Good Health So what can we do to promote good health? There are lots of things we can do and similarly lots of things we should avoid doing. We should make sure we eat a healthy diet, because we are what we eat and when we only put good things into our bodies, those bodies respond by simply being in better health. That includes healthy meals made up of fresh ingredients as well as any healthy snacks we may want to eat during the day. We should exercise and be active every day, getting plenty of fresh air outdoors and sunshine. Fresh air boosts our energy levels while natural daylight and sunshine boosts our mood, makes us feel happier and also boosts our bodies ability to manufacture its own vitamin D. If we live in a city, we should make a point of getting into the countryside as often as possible to get fresher air and avoid all the pollutants that city air generally tends to have. We should try and be as happy as we can be, facing life with a positive, upbeat attitude and try not to let stress into our lives. We should avoid living a sedentary lifestyle and make sure we get up off the chair as often as we can. Avoiding foods that are processed, contain ligh levels of refined sugar and refined white flour as well as those that contain artificial additives. That usually means eating only fresh produce, fresh fruit and vegetables along with lean meat and fish (if we are not vegetarian), nuts, seeds, legumes and some dairy produce, although this should be kept to a minimum. We should also avoid drinking soda and flavored drinks because of the dangerous levels of refined sugar and/or artificial sweeteners and other additives. Alcohol consumption should be moderate and smoking is a totally bad idea. If we can use our common sense and make sure we live as healthily as we can, then we should enjoy a far better level of health. If we can also keep stress levels down and stay happy, our health will reflect our mood and we will have a longer, happier and healthier life.

Princess Diana The Beloved Princess Of Wales Film Studies Essay

Princess Diana The Beloved Princess Of Wales Film Studies Essay A woman of great integrity, charm and charisma who strived to make our world a better place to live, who could possibly fall under this statement? Of course it is none other than our dear Princess Diana. Diana was an influential woman who diligently carried out her royal duties and who interacted with her citizens in every way that was possible. She was also a woman who cared about the people in need and endeavoured to make their lives better. On the other hand, she was also a woman who constantly gained the attention of the press due to her love affairs. The statements made before are probably the impression Diana has left on everyone, but do we actually know her as a person? Surprisingly just like any normal person Diana had a rough childhood, then a fulfilling royal life, then a tragic death. Diana was born on July 1, 1961 in Sandringham to Viscount Althorp and Frances Spencer where she was the third child of the family of five (Buskin 10). When Diana was born her parents were not so welcoming because they very much wanted a boy who could carry on the family name. Therefore Dianas christening was second-rate, and was not attended by very many people. Then finally in May 1964 the couple gave birth to a male child called Charles, and by the time Charles was born the relationship of Dianas parents was slowly deteriorating (Buskin 11). Of course the children were completely oblivious to the friction in their parents relationship, and was well looked after by servants and nannies in their mansion, Park House. Then in 1969 Viscount Althorp and Frances Spencer were officially divorced in court, and the father received full custody of the children. When this decision was ruled out, Diana was very upset and missed her mother greatly. Therefore she went through a period of emotiona l confusion and depression. Then when she found out she was being sent off to a girls only boarding school called Riddlesworth Hall she thought she was being rejected by her own parents (Buskin 18). As a result she went through another great period of misery and depression. However, when she commenced school she became very outgoing and popular and very quickly got used to school routine. Then Diana moved to the West Heath boarding school where she undertook her ordinary levels (O-levels). Unfortunately, Diana did not pass any of her O-levels, therefore she left school at the age of 16 as a failure in academics (Buskin 19). When she left school she began babysitting, and she found out that she enjoyed working with children. Hence not long after Diana became a teachers assistant at the Young England Kindergarten. Then not long after as a teachers assistant Diana met Prince Charles, and started to accompany him to several events. And this was the start of attention towards Diana by the press and by the people of the United Kingdom. She was almost always constantly being followed by photographers and journalists because of her sightings with Prince Charles. Then after a short period of time in July 29, 1981 Prince Charles married Diana and Diana officially gained the title Her Royal Highness Princess of Wales (Mattern 36). Then on June 21, 1982 Diana gave birth to Prince William at St. Marys hospital. Then on September 15, 1984 she gave birth to Prince Henry. After that in March 1982 Princess Diana and Prince Charles toured Australia and New Zealand, which was believed to be extremely successful due to the positive feedback from the people (Mattern 47). Then when Princess Diana returned from the tour she became very involved with helping sick people in hospitals and supported many charities. Sh e proves this with her infamous quote Carry out a random act of kindness, with no expectation of reward, safe in the knowledge that one day someone might do the same for you, (The Saddest Fairy Tale).   Thus she went on many trips to Africa where she became the first known celebrity to hug a person with AIDS (The Saddest Fairy Tale). This act of kindness made Dianas popularity boost immensely. Not long after that Diana opened the first hospital in Britain dedicated to AIDS patients in 1987. Then in 1989 Diana visited the Henry Street Shelter in New York for the homeless, where she made a colossal impact by showing to the public that she genuinely cared about the homeless (Mattern 60). Although Diana preferred charity work she also had to participate in many royal tours for example a 17-day trip in 1991, where she attended 19 film premieres, 7 lunches, 25 receptions, and 108 visits (Mattern 62). By 1992 Diana was a patron or the president of more than 29 charities, for example the National AIDS Trust, but by then her relationship with Prince Charles was becoming unstable (Mattern 65-66). Therefore by the end of 1992 Prince Charles demanded that a separation should be settled with Princess Diana (Buskin, 82). Diana agreed and the divorce became official when the British Prime Minister, John Major announced the royal separation in the House of Commons on December 9, 1992 (Mattern 74). Then on August 28, 1996 the final divorce decree was issued and Princess Diana lost her title Her Royal Highness. Although Diana was stripped of her title she still actively participated in charity work, and in 1997 she went on a trip to Angola to assist them with their landmine issue (Buskin 84). Soon after her humanitarian trip to Angola Diana decided to auction her dresses to the public, which auctioned for  £2.19 million, then gave all the money to charity (Dresses of Diana). Shortly after her mammoth contributions to charity she started to spend her time with a forty-two ye ar old Egyptian movie director called Dodi Al Fayed in Nice, France. This immediately grabbed the attention of the media and very soon there were pictures of Diana and Al Fayed in newspapers and magazines all over the world. August 30, 1997 was any normal romantic day for Al Fayed and Diana at the Ritz hotel in Paris, but the down-side was that they were always being furiously chased by paparazzis. Therefore after being chased by paprazzis for around 12 hours straight the couple decided to leave at around 12:20 am. So the couple got in their black Mercedes car with their driver Henri Paul, and the bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones. Not surprisingly the moment the black Mercedes started to pull out of the hotel around six paparazzis followed in mad pursuit on motorcycles. Therefore, Henri Paul was driving at more than a 100 miles per hour through Paris going well over Paris speed limit of 30 miles per hour. Then when Paul approached the Alma Tunnel at high-speed he hit a dip at the entrance, which made the vehicle go airborne. Not long after that the black Mercedes hit a white car in front then swerved and slammed into two of the columns in the tunnel (Mattern 109-110). According to the police records Henri Pau l and Dodi Al Fayed were instantly killed, but Trevor Rees Jones lived and Diana was in a severe state on the verge of death (Mattern 110). After six minutes the first ambulance arrived, which treated Diana for 45 minutes in an attempt to stabilise her. Then at 2:00 am the paramedics transported Diana to the Pitià ©-Salpà ©trià ¨re hospital, which was one of most well equipped hospitals in Paris. By the time Diana reached the hospital she was in a cardiac arrest, and losing a great deal of blood internally according to reports from the doctors who treated her. Consequently Princess Diana died at around 4:00 am on August 31, 1997 (Diana Crash Was Not An Accident). Soon after her death there were articles and reports about her death almost everywhere causing grief and shock to everyone who loved the princess. Even Prince Charles was greatly shocked, and in a state of grief when he heard of this tragic news. Soon people from all over the world were mourning over this tragic event, a nd British Prime Minister Tony Blair stated This is going to produce a real public grief on a scale that is hard to imagine. (Mattern 113) Tony Blair was right, soon there were thousands of stuffed animals, flowers, and candles were laid at Dianas home, Kensington Palace, and even a memorial was erected at the Alma Tunnel in Paris. Also to add on to that the Union Jack at Buckingham Palace was lowered to half-mast for the first time. (1997: Dianas Funeral Watched by Millions). Dianas actual funeral was held on September 6, 1997 in Westminster Abbey, which was viewed by more than 2.5 billion people over the television (1997: Dianas Funeral Watched by Millions). In conclusion, Diana was a peoples princess who cared and interacted with everyday citizens attempting to make their lives better. She also was a woman of humility who reached out to those in need and intervened in big issues to make a difference. To add on to that Diana diligently carried out her royal duties. Although Diana might have had a tough childhood and a terrible death she still made a great influence on humanity. Therefore she will always remain in our hearts as a princess who gave all her effort to be a peoples princess. Works Cited Page Buskin, Richard. Diana. Illinois: Publications International, Ltd., 1992 Dresses of Diana. British Heritage Oct-Nov 1999: 16. Ebsco Host. Yongsan International School Lib., Seoul, Korea. 4 May 2010 Mattern, Joanne. Princess Diana. New York: DK Publishing, Inc., 2006 Palmer, Richard. Diana Crash Was Not an Accident. Daily Express Sept. 2009 The Saddest Fairy Tale. Time.com.1998. Time Magazine. 1 May 2010 . 1997: Dianas Funeral Watched by Millions. bbc.co.uk. 6 Sept. 1997. British Broadcasting Corporation. 30 April 2010 .

What Catholic means :: essays research papers

''...He will come to judge the living and the dead and his kingdom will have no end...... We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.'' We recited these word over and over everytime we go to Mass. Do we really know what it means? Is it just a prayer that we are saying? How can I believe?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The church is a giant mystery will not understand in life. There are ways that help us understand though. We have many examples of the chruch all around us.We have the saints, who were regluar people like us, who tryed their best to follow Christ and his teachings.We have people that are around us, they are the ones that help us in anytime and who try their best to follow.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When I was smaller I didn't care about the Church and what it meant. I just knew i was supposed to worship and that was that. I remeber i used to pray every moring, every night and every time i would eat.I simply believed and ti wa no problem. I never knew what it meant, but now questions are appearing about it. sometimes i tent to wonder if i was expsed to other religons would i still pick being a catholic?Some things i can capture and others just leave me in the dark. Would it reallly be better if no one ever asked questions and just followed like an innocent child?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This could be illusted in parables. The chruch has many parables such as the sheepfold, the vine and the branches, and the leaven. the parables show example of how we have to have faith. For example, in the sheepfold it explains how we are supposed to follow and who do we follow.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The chruch has modles that help us understand the mystery of the Church. They are comunity, hearald, sacrament, institution, and sevant. The Church is united in belief of jesus and his teaching, in Eucharist, in pryer, and in the love of its member for one another.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When i think of Catholic what am I thinking about?

Sweden’s Industrial Relations :: Economy Economics Politics Goverment Essays

Sweden’s Industrial Relations Sweden, like the other Nordic countries (Finland, Norway and Denmark) has long been associated with the epitome of the welfare state. This region of the world and Sweden in particular, is well known for its strong labor unions and high union participation. According to the CIA, 91% of the Swedish labor force was unionized in 1998 (Virà ©n 201). The strong unions in turn elect government officials who tend to be leftist and support unionization and union power, thus erecting the welfare state that is modern day Sweden. An analysis of the labor organization and industrial relations of Sweden gives great insight into the fluctuations of the Swedish economy as well as the mindset of the Swedish leaders setting economic policy. Sweden was governed continuously by the Social Democratic party from 1932 until 1976 and the Social Democrats would return to power periodically from the 80’s to the present day. Such a long and continuous period of governance sheds light on two important factors: 1) Swedish citizens are highly in favor of the welfare state to elect officials of the Social Democratic party over and over again and 2) the welfare state is deeply ingrained in the Swedish governance structure. Jan Bohlin agrees that â€Å"the long era of Social Democrat governmental rule has obviously left its imprint on Swedish society and the 1930s can be seen as the initial phase of an economic political model that matured after the Second World War† (160). Bohlin separates Swedish economic history into four distinct periods. The first between 1880 and the First World War saw the Swedish government spend heavily on infrastructure. The second, starting in the 1930’s and ending in the 1960†™s, the government began using policy to influence economic development and prevent economic downturn. The third, between 1960-80, was characterized by more selective yet ambitious government intervention in industrial relations. Finally, the fourth period, beginning in the 1980’s, sees the government returning to more market solutions (152). It is the second of Bohlin’s four periods that labor unions began to make their rise in Swedish society. As Evelyne Huber suggests, â€Å"conditions in Scandinavia have thus been very favorable for social democracy and their affiliated unions: the economics of all four Nordic countries are small; all are religiously homogenous and Proestant; and only Finland is linguistically divided† (116).

Romeo and Juliet: in Love or Hit with Infatuation

Romeo and Juliet: in love or hit with infatuation To the person that has these feelings infatuation and actual love are very difficult to differentiate. Even if these two emotions are very similar they have different effects on ones life. In infatuation usually develops to quickly such as â€Å"love at first sight†. On the other hand real love grows moderately and takes time, but the effects last longer. In my opinion this â€Å"star struck† couple was simply hit with infatuation not love.In this Shakespearean story feelings of love are portrayed, when actually most of the events that occur relate to infatuation such as Romeo and Juliet’s instant feelings toward each other. One of the signs of infatuation according to June Callwood, a writer from the Globe and Mail archives, is an instant feeling of affection, â€Å"love at first sight†. Romeo and Juliet experienced this when they met in the party held by the Capulets. Even On the balcony Juliet barely kno ws his name and already she was talking about her â€Å"love† for Romeo.Not only did this â€Å"love at first sight† occur quickly, but Romeo had this feeling after the incident with Rosaline. The fact that this event happened to Romeo after the event with Rosaline, only serves to further on support the definition of infatuation. When Romeo met Juliet he was as one would say â€Å"on the rebound†, which caused him to fall in the state of infatuation. These along with many other events could have been the cause of Romeo falling for Juliet. Their quick affection for each other didn't allow them to think things thru and caused them to rush into a relationship they were not ready for.Another sign of infatuation is the great feeling one has to marry the other person. Romeo and Juliet rushed into a marriage without knowing much about each other. Their quick marriage was an event that might have had a lot to do with their death. This rush into actions without thinking is a result of the effects of infatuation. Some might say that their marriage occurred because they â€Å"loved† each other, but research has shown that the relationships that last longest develop slowly.These long lasting marriages did not occur as quickly like Romeo and Juliet’s, instead they took their time to make sure one is ready. Romeo and Juliet not only married quickly, but most of the time they all they wanted was physical enjoyment. In act 2 scene 2, the balcony scene, Romeo says â€Å"O wilt thou leave me unsatisfied? †. Those who are in real love are patient and don’t just want sex. This dissatisfaction without physical enjoyment is one of the greatest signs of infatuation.

Goldilocks Point of Sale

1. 3 Statement of the problem There are several problems in computing the sales using calculator that the owner sometimes encountered. 1. 3. 1 General Problem This study will aim to answer this General question: Will it be useful for the company to have a Point of Sale? 1. 3. 2 Specific Problem Specially, this study sougth to answer the following question * What is the existing system of the company? * What is the advantages and disadvantages of a point of Sale (POS)? Will the company be able to see pictures of their products in the proposed system? 1. 4 Objective of the study The main aim of this study is to design a point of Sale for Goldilocks Macabebe Branch. 1. 4. 1 General Objectvie This study will make a point of sale for Goldilocks Macabebe Branch. And the most common problem in the store is having their difficult time in keeping the sale of record using the manual record method. The researcher had decided to make a system Exclusively for Goldilocks Macabebe Branch.To make th eir work easier and faster so that they can lessen the time they used in keeping records. 1. 4. 2 Specific Objective The study is design to fulfill this intent: * To design and develop a Point of Sales System for Goldilocks Macabebe Branch. * To have a computerized system that will be able to save filefor their products. * To have an automatic calculations of their daily sales. * To reveal the advantages and disadvantages of having a Point of sale (POS). * To make their work easier and faster. 1. 5 Hypothesis of the Study.The proponents hypothesized that the proposed Goldilocks Macabebe Branch Point of Sale (POS) will let the Company their computerized records and pictures of their products and an automatic computation of their sales every day. Most of their problem are on manual process taking a long time of work to encode the cakes and pastries. The proponents added more options related on other system like processing to make the system better. They only have a manual process that work slowly, the proponents assumed that the program processes work quickly. 1. 6

Hypercompetition

Jouma! of Marketing Management, 1997, 13, 4 2 1 ^ 3 0 Evert Gummesson Stockholm University, School of Business, Stockholm, Sudden In Search of Marketing Equilibrium: Relationship Marketing Versus Hypercompetition This paper is a discussion on work in progress conceming tke development qf relationship marketing (RM). It is particularly focused on the concept of marketing equilibrium which is a marketing management correspondence to market equilibrium, the traditional concept of neoclassical economic;. The paper starts with a brief introduction to the author's approach to RJ4.It proceeds with a summary of the concept of marketing equilibrium. The next section is a discourse on hypercompetition, a partiailarly intense type of competition that has been observed by several authors. RM offers a marketing theory based on collaboration with various stakeholders through long-term relationships, customer retention and loyalty. In contrast, hypercompetitiett claims that customers uHU switch bet ween suppUers at an inaeasingly faster rate and that competitors will become increasingly hostile to one another.Two basic questions are raised: do RM and hypercompetition represent two conflicting but coexisting trends that arc both growing in intensity? and How can this coexistence or conflict be conceptually handled? Tlie aim qf this paper is not to be complete and provide an answer, only to draw the reader's attention to hypercompetition as an opposite trend to RMand to offer a platform for further analysis and constructive and reflective scholarly dialogue. The 30R Approach to R M The 30R approach to RM is the outcome of an ongoing research project on â€Å"the new markedng† (Gummesson 1994, 1995). 0R refers to thirty reladonships that were found to exist in marketing. During the research process, three core variables stood out: relatiorahips, networks and interacdon. A consequent definidon of RM then became â€Å"RM is marketing seen as reladonships, networks and inter acdon†. The 3ORs wiU not be listed here, but their basic structure wiU be given. A distinction is made between market reladonships (reladonships between actors in the market such as suppUers, customers, compedtors and intermedieiries), nd two types of non-market reladonships which exercise an influence on market reladonships, but are not part of the market propier. These are mega reladonships (reladonships in society, above the market reladonships, such as reladonships to governments) and nano reladonships (reladonships inside organizadons, such as intemal customer reladonships). Services markedng and ttie network approach to industrial marketing have provided the primary theoredcal impietus for the author to explore the shortcomings 0267-257X/97/050421 + 10 $12. 00/0  ©1997'nte Dryden Press 422Evert Gummesson of traditional marketing management theory. ^ Both theories were bom in the 1970s and have continued to giow in importance. The author's idea to merge the two goes bac k to 1982 and has since been pursued and broadened (Gummesson 1983, 1987, 1995). The term RM, however, was not used in a general sense until about 1990 (see e. g. Christopher et al. 1991; Groru-oos 1994; Gummesson 1994; Hunt and Morgan 1994; Sheth 1994). Instead, terms Uke long-term interactive relationships, interactive marketing, network approach and a new concept of marketing were used.My resejtrch approach is theory generating and based on comparative, qualitative analysis and syniiieses between data from inductive, real-world studies^ received theories and new theories in the process of development. Marketing Equilibrium This section is an introduction to the general concept of marketing equilibrium and a discussion on certain aspects of the equilibrium. Marketing equilibrium is a serendipitous outcome of the author's research on RM. The concept is further elaborated in Gummesson (1995, 19%). The three forces of marketing equilibrium are competition, collaboration and regulatio ns/institutions.Although Western economies are repeatedly referred to as market economies with free competition as their ethos, in reality they are mixed economies in which competition coexists with collaboration and regulations/ institutions. Marketing equilibrium contends that a sound market is the outcome of an optimal combination of the three forces of competition, collaboration and regulatiorw/institutions. As all kinds of equilibria in dynanuc envirorunents are unstable, it is a matter of heading toward a moving target, orJy rarely reaching it and only rarely staying there for any longer period of time.Whereas traditional marketing management literature primarily deals with competition, RM highlights collaboration. Collaboration implies that aU parties actively assume responsibility to make relationships functional. The author's conclusion is that: The focus on collaboration is the most important contribution from RM, with an impact on both marketing management and economics, and that collaboration in a market economy needs to be treated with the same attention and resped as competition. Although the third force, regulations/institutions, is not the theme of this paper, a few words will be said about it.Regulations indude both formal regulations through legislation, and informal codes of conduct through culture; institutiorts are both formal authorities whose task is to ascertain that regulations are enforced, and phenomena such as the family or religion that enforce a certain behaviour. In marketing rhetoric, regulations/institutions—and to a large extent also collaboration— are treated with suspidon and as inhibiting competition and the dynamics ^Inputs to the 30R concept also came from traditional marketing management, sales management, quality management, orgaruzation theory, and other areas. The term real world data is iised here instead of empirical data. Thereasonis that too often researchers in business subject mistake empirical for qiiantitative, while in the geiieral language of sdence empirical refers to all types of data, whrther they come as qualitative, quantitative, or in any other format. In Search of Marketing Equilibrium: Rdationship Marketing vs Hypercompetition 423 of an economy. In narketing practice, however, they are ubiquitous. Douglass North, Nobel Prize laureate in the economic sdences in 1993, has shown that regulations/institutions are dynamic and necessary elements of a narket economy (North 1993).Marketing equiUbrium attempts to see the role of marketing management in the context of sodety and on an industry and economics level. It should not be confused with the market equiUbrium of neoclassical theory of economics (also referred to as microeconomics or simply price theory). ^ In neoclassical economics, the core variables are supply and demand balanced by the invisible hand of price in a market of free competition. The market is assumed to be striving in the direction of a longterm equiU brium in which aU prices are equal and all products are standardized. Customers and suppliers are anonymous masses.Companies and industries are not managing their production and sales, they are orUy adjusting to exogenous market influences. All deviations from this idealized model axe referred to as unwanted imperfections. Although marketing management is offen described as an adaptation of neodassical economics, it is blatantly obvious from even a simple real-world study of markets, industries and individual companies, that a different foundation for a marketing management theory is imperative. For example, services which constitute anything from 60 to 90% of today's economies (depending on definition) are not considered.The assumptions of neoclassical economics are simply not vaUd. There are signs that the interest in coUaboration is gaining ground not only in real business life but also in marketing theory; the most obvious being the upsurge of literature on RM and related subjec ts such as customer loyalty and alUances. Brandenbui^er and Nalebuff (1996) introduce the term â€Å"co-opetition†, which is a combination of co-operation and competition. They show that game theory is one possible way of exploring this combination (â€Å"the prisoners' dilemma†).Gray (1989) points to coUaboration as a solution to multi-party problem and says (p. 54): â€Å"Despite powerful incentives to collaborate, our capacity to do so is underdeveloped†. In the same spirit Senge (1990), in his treatise on learning organizations and the need for dialogue says (p. 10): â€Å"Interestingly, the practice of dialogue has been preserved in many â€Å"primitive† cultures†¦ but it has been almost completely lose to modem sodety. Today, the prindples and practices of dialogue are being redbcovered and put into a contemporary context†.EMalogue UteraUy means â€Å"tlunking together† There is ein extensive literature on competition both in mark eting and economics. Particularly the books by Porter (1979, 1985) have received the attention of marketers. No effort wiU be made here to review the various aspeds of competition; the treatment of competition will be directed to its role in the marketing equilibrium and to the properties of hypercompetition. In market economies, competition is hailed as the driver of economic evolution and a necessary condition for wealth. The customer is given a choice, and a supplier can never be sure to have the customer in its pocket.ITiis is a traditional view advocated by the business community, and to an extent also by the pubUc sector in many countries where deregiilation and privatization have become foreeful strategies. The countries of the Westem world—the capitalist sodeties—are not genuine ^See Hunt and Morgan (1995) for further analysis of the shortcomings of neoclassical theory. 424 Evert Gummesson market economies. They are mixed economies in which market forces and re gulations have entered into wedlock. In totally unregulated markets only few can obtain the necessities of life.For example, free markets give large corporations the freedom to offset competition, and those who cannot compete on the labour market are left to charity or misery. The opposite—total regulation — leads to rigidity. There is no general formula that tells us in what projx)rtions individual discretion and collective regulation should be mixed. Every market and period have to find their own specific solution. Competition is a driver of certain types of change. Even if RM puts emphasis on collaboration, I would like to see RM as a synthesis of competition, collaboration and regulations/institutions.The issue is which combination of these will create the balance—the marketing equilibrium — in each sptedfic situation. If either of the three forces becomes unduly powerful, the economy will suffer; regulations/institutions is the sole force of a planne d economy. To some extent there is a naive belief in competition to set everything right. The global wave of privatization and deregulation is a reaction in markets that have become stified. It is an effort to find a marketing equilibrium. Bureaucratic and legal values have often led to a misguided interference by politidans and an unreal belief in centralized control of sodety.Although the term deregulation implies that regulations are abandoned, it is a search for more adequate laws and institutions which can become supportive to constructive forces of sodety and hold back destructive forces: Deregulation is reregulation! Some of the more conspicuous results from deregulation are found in the split up of Bell in the US and national telecom operators in many countries have lost their monopoly; the privatization of British government bodies such as the British Rail and the Airport Authority; and the most dramatic of all, the breakdown of the communist planned economies.However, nobo dy so far has been able to overview the long-term effects of deregulation and privatization. There are necessary elements of the market economy that competifion and the free market forces do not master. They can be expressed in two paradoxes. The first paradox says: regulations are needed to secure that free competition will not be curbed. In spite of adl sweet talk about competition, every individual company or industry prefers to be spared the hazards of competitions (but they consider it essential for other comparues and industries). The second paradox says: The purpose of competition is to get rid of competition.Competition attempts to reduce the infiuence of other suppliers by lower costs and prices, differentiated and difficult-tocopy offerings, or dominance of selected market niches. Hypercompetition The ideas on a new type of competition will be assembled under the umbrella concept of hjfpercompetition. They are taken from many sources, among them D'Aveni (1994), Hamel and P rahalad (1994), Moore (1996), and Verbeke and Peelen (1996). The term hypercompetition was first found in D'Aveni and the ensuing discussion on hypercompefition is mainly based on his concepts, but the comparison with RM strategies and the conclusions are my own.In marketing management and strategy, the recommendation is usually advanced that companies should build a sustainable competitive advantage, thus limiting In Search of Marketing Equilibrium: Relationship Marketing vs Hypercompetition 425 price competition or even creating a monopoly-Uke situation. Hypercompefition is the opposite: a company should actively disrupt status quo and the current competitive advantages, both its own and those of competitors, in an environment of hypercompetition, advantages are rapidly created and eroded.Hypercompefition trends are identified in four arenas of traditional competition (D'Aveni 1994, pp. 13-17): /. Cos/ and quality arena For example, upstarts Uke Southwest Airlines attack estabUshe d carriers by slashing costs or enhancing quaUty, thus lowering the bottom of the market and raising the top of it. This behaviour counteracts the RM strategy of frequent flyers' programmes. 2. Timing and know-hot/' arena The first mover in the nnarket may create an advantage and sets up impediments to imitation. Followers quickly try to overcome these, fordng the first mover to change its tactics.The know-how exploited by one company is imitated by another and imitation becomes faster and faster; eventually the innovator cannot recapture its R&D investment. 3. Strongholds arena Companies create entry barriers to keep the competition out Entrants circumvent the barriers, giving rise to a series of attacks and counterattacks. This is currently happening in inten:ontinental air services between major American carriers and national European carriers. The current war for mastery over the Intemet, with Microsoff and Netscape as the combatants, is another example. 4.Deep pockets arena Thi s means having more money than the competition. The finandally stronger and usuaUy bigger companies can endure price competition from smaUer companies. The latter, however, can caU upon govemment regulations and form aUiances with others, thus balancing out the financJal advantage. In marketing equilibrium, regulations is one of the balancing forces, and alliances is a collaborative RM strategy. For example, Microsoff's financial advantage has been counteracted by the aUiance between IBM and Apple. Information technology is a driver of hypercompetition.By using databases it is possible, and wiU be more so in the future, to quickly survey prices and other conditions, and select the best combination at each point of time. Purchasing then becomes close to the system of exchanges. But even if comparisons of suppUers are made easier for customers, so many conditions are not comparable, for example, to 426 Evert Gummesson what extent can you trust the supplier. Trust and security are basi c condidons for collaboradon and trust has proven to be a driver of business in all types of sodedes (Fukuyama 1995).D'Aveni concludes that the battle for comp>eddve advantage is eventuaUy driving the market back into a price-compieddve market. The outcome is the neodassical long-term equilibrium, although the road to this equiUbrium goes via marketing equilibrium and not just via price adjustments. He refers to the old compedfive equilibrium as looking stable because it moved so slowly that it appeared stable. Hypiercomp>eddon is a coristant state of disequiUbritim. D'Aveni deploys a revised 7Ss framework to propose hypiercompeddve strategies.The original 7Ss — designed by the McKinsey consulting company—comprise seven factors for success: structure, strategy, systems, style, skills, staff, and shared values. Successful hypiercomp;eddve firms need a new set of Ss in order to create disrupdon (p. 31ff). The first new S is stakeholder satisfacdon, referring to new ways of creating satisfied customers and a modvated eind empowered work force. The second is strategic soothsajdng â€Å"a process of seeking out new knowledge necessary for predicting or even creating new temporary windows of opportunity that compiedtors wiU eventuaUy enter but are not now served by anyone else† (p. 2). The comparafive advantage of these two factors is â€Å"†¦ the abiUty to win each dynamic strategic acdon with compiedtors† (p. 32). The third and fourth Ss are spieed and surprise, both capabiUdes for disrupdon. The hypercompeddve company both reacts more quickly and is proacdve, thus taking the market with surprise. The final three are tacdcs for disrupdon. Shifting the rules includes new ways of sadsfying the customers and playing the marketing game with a new set of rules. Signals refer to announcements of strategic intent with the purpose of stalling acdons and misleading compiedtors.For example, a preannouncement of a coining product may make cus tomers wait to see the new version and postpone planned purchases of competing products. Simultaneous and sequendal strategic thrusts â€Å"†¦ are used by hypercompieddve firms to harass, paralyze, induce errors, or block compiedtors† (p. 34). Several acdons are taken at the same dme in combinadons that make it difficult to understand what a compiedtor is actuaUy up to. In summary, whereas RM strives for stabiUty through long-term reladonships, hypercompieddon strives for continuous disrupdon at an increasingly faster rate.In RM, security is found in stabiUty; in hypercompeddon it is fotind in the ability to continuously counteract instabiUty. The RM concept is by many authors broadened to comprise more than the suppUer—customer dyad,'* for example, reladonships through alUances which is a way of counteracting hyp>ercompieddon. The imaginary organizadon^ is a network-based company which transcends the tradidonal organizadonal boundaries. It can more freely acquire Jind drop resources through outsourcing (or rather: resourcing) instead of investing in tradidonal growth (intemal or through acquisidon); the advantage of the deep pocket is thus offset. †¢See Christopher et al. (1991), Kotler (1992), and Hunt and Morgan (1994), who have approached marketing as relationships with a series of stakeholders. This is in line with the 30R approach, but flie 3ORs go further and also establish relationships based on other than the stakeholder dimension. ‘See Hedberg et al. (1994). Other terms representing the same phenomenon are virtual organizations, boundarykss organizations, and rwtwork organizations. In Search of Marketing Equilibrium: Relationship Marketing vs Hypercmnpetition 427D'Aveni (1994) discusses the role of co-operation and collusion and says that they should only be used for hypercompetitive purposes. They are not long-term relationships, they are merely temporary strategies. He lists a number of generic instances of hypercompet itive use of collaboration (pp. 338-339): to gang up against others groups; to limit the domain of competition; to biuld resojirces; to buy time; to gain access; and to leam. Hunt and Morgan (1995) suggest a comparative advantage theory of competition within a marketing management paradigm, and they present a devastating critique of neoclassical economics.D'Aveni's conclusions are contrary to Hunt and Morgan's; he rewrites neoclassical theory, using marketing management theory as a lever. Interpreted in my terms, we depart from the original and simple form of neoclassical market equilibrium, go through a phase of marketing equilibrium, and arrive at a more sophisticated level of market equilibrium. Hjrpercompietition goes beyond the neoclassical theory of perfect connpetition and restores it on a new level. Through a series of disruptive moves, where competitive advantage is surpassed, an escalation toward perfect competition develops.This means that we are back in transaction marke ting, the very evil to which RM is held to be the antidote. Conclusions for Discussion This paper has dealt with certain aspects of marketing equilibrium, one of several RM issues that preoccupy the author's nund during the ongoing research joumey into the world of RM. ‘The paper is limited to the two trends of collaboration, advanced by the RM concept, and hypercompetition, advanced by authors on strategy and competition. A paradox is seemingly a contradiction; it is not in actual fact a contradiction. An oxymoron is a combination of two phenomena that cannot be combined.So the first question in the beginning of the paper could be rephrased: are RM and hypercompetition forming a paradox or an oxymoron? When I read up on the current literatxire on competition, I found that the â€Å"new† competition was described as more fierce and faster than ever before. It had affinity with marketing warfare which was in vogue in the 19S0s. It certainly seemed contradictory to the RM idea of long-term relationships and collaboration. In my present state of ignorance the answer is: within the concept of the marketing equilibrium, both competition and collaboration coexist. They can do so and will do so.Our attention has to be directed to both of them. When competition becomes hypercompetition, collaboration may become hypercollaboration. Could it be that hypercompetition is the current driver of the upsuiging interest in RM and that RM tries to neutralize the effects of hypercompetition? To be Continued As this is work in progress, the issues that have been presented are not complete and the views are tentative and wiil be further studied. Among other issues concerning marketing equilibrium that are also being studied are the following: Tlie marketing equilibrium which has so far been described could be seen as 28 Evert Gumntesson partial marketing equiUbrium. The RM researdi project is suggesting an extention into complete marketing equilibrium. It consists of a synthesis of RM and the theory of imaginary organizations where not only the market but also the organizations (suppUers, customers, competitors and others) and sodety are included in a network of interactive relationships (Hedberg et al. 1994; Gummesson 1996). In traditional marketing management and economics, the market is outside the company and n «rketing activities are directed toward extemal customers.But there are also markets inside the company and marketing activities take place between intemal customers. This is laid bare in the treatment of the nano relationships of the 30R approach. Both intemal and extemal customers interact in networks of relationships. The boundaries between the â€Å"inside† and the â€Å"outside† have dissolved and both can be seen as parts of the same networks. Another area is the black economy with tax evasion, bribery, fraud, and organized crime as additional and disrupting forces of competition. One of the relationships in the 30R approach is named The Criminal Network.For example, Blumberg (1989) has pointed out that the strength of the market economy — competition and the profit incentive—encourages fraud. It pays to cheat! He calls this the paradox of the market economy. Everybody is familiar with it from jobs and private consumption, but it is swept under the carpet in marketing theory and textbooks. The Literature prefers the idealized image: competition as the driver to create customer satisfaction and customer perceived quality; to give customers everything they want and are willing to pay for; and to offer numerous options for consumers.Customers are asked about satisfaction and quality, but their knowledge is limited and the ignorance of the customer is exploited. Neither market economies through competition, nor command economies through regulations, have proven themselves capable of handling environmental and ecological issues. What has been achieved is primarily the outcome of vo luntary pressure group activity and law enforcement. Competitive forces have clearly not provided enough incentive for the market to innovate and reinnovate in the field.One of the relationship in the 30R approach is The Green Relationships, adding a relationship angle to environmental issues. Probably most of the achievements for a long time will only come through legislation (regulations), tight control and litigation (institutions). Can the marketing equilibrium conceptually include environmental and ecological issues? After the Paper Presentation: An Addendum In the discussion following its presentation, the paper was criticized on two points in peirticular: (1) The choice of the term â€Å"marketing equiUbrium†.The critics said — and some were dearly provoked by the term — that it gives the wrong connotation and that the term is so heavily committed to neoclassical economic theory that people will not be able to see my point. Suggested substitutes were â₠¬Å"dynamic balance† or â€Å"optimal combination†. EquiUbrium, it was claimed, conveys the idea that such a state exists and it is just a matter of time {long-term, though) before it is reached. In defence of the term {but I intend to give it more thought) I would like to claim that equilibrium can be perceived as dynamic and unattainable, but still have a value n Search of Marketing Equilibrium: Relationship Marketing vs Hypercompetition 429 in providing direction, although the journey is a never-ending journey. Perhaps the provocation as such is o( value. When a new thought or term is met with aggressions from several established scholars it may have hit a sore spot; it may even be important. The original intention was to show that equilibrium from the idealized and imrealistic assumptions of neoclassical theory could be supplemented by a marketing management-oriented equilibrium based on real-world premises.Neoclassical economics currently seems to be no more than a computer game for adult entertainment and career boosting under the disguise of â€Å"sdence†. To me, the contrast between â€Å"market† and â€Å"marketing†, designating an economics versus a management approach but still indicating affinity, makes the term expressive. Whatever term I choose, however, I am confident that economists and â€Å"me-too† researchers wiU not be impressed. 2. â€Å"Hyper† was claimed by Americans to mean â€Å"too much†, for example a hyperactive child is active to a degree that implies mental and/or physical disorder.The British perceived it as â€Å"very much†, for example a hypermarket which is a bigger European version of a supermarket. 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