From job interview to promoting a business how effective is marketing Dissertation

From job interview to promoting a business how effective is marketing yourself - Dissertation Example In both situations there are certain things that are important to do. I would like to study how effectively marketing yourself works in both situations. 2. Focus for the Study My research topic is the importance of marketing yourself in a job interview or in promoting a business. One of the first things that people say when you are reading books on this topic is that everyone should become a networker both online and offline. Tara Hunt, author of the book, The Whuffie Factor, states that online networking is essential to gaining more business or to find a job. She explains that "whuffie is the residual outcome-the currency of your reputation" (4). She goes on to say that you can build it or ruin it based on what you do in the community and what people think about you. This is one way to look at marketing yourself because you are putting yourself or your business into the public eye and you want to make sure that people see you in the best light. John Milton Fogg adds more focus to th is discussion because he tells people through a story, that networking is about building relationships. If you build solid relationships by helping others, they will in turn help you. Networking seems to be the most effective way of marketing yourself. ... The new way of networking is to know what someone needs and let them know your skills and abilities and how you can help their company (74). This method seems to be very important because you have to know your own skills and abilities before you can tell someone else about them. Networking is not the only aspect of marketing yourself. Jim Kukral states that people must understand they must think "out of the box" when marketing a business. This means that people must become very creative and find ways of marketing that others have not found (62). In other words, this will set them apart from others in their field. He continues that successful business people understand that they must get someone to react to something they do in order for them to pay attention (65). In other words, if you are opening for a job interview or creating a business, you have to do something different to get people to pay attention. Personality place a large part in marketing yourself because some people have stronger personalities than others. Paul Tieger and Barbara Barron-Tieger suggest that by understanding your own personality type, you can make better decisions about a job or a business and how it will work with your personality. Marketing yourself through your personality does have validity because people seem to hire people they like who can do their job. The Home Shopping channel is one example of how businesses market themselves in this arena. They have to do something different in order to set themselves apart from the other types of businesses like them in order for people to want to buy their product. Susan Berson, a lawyer specializing in finance, states that marketing is important to business because it helps people find current clients who can later provide

Market Segmentation Essay Example for Free

Market Segmentation Essay A definition of market segmentation is groups of potential buyers that have two things in common, similar needs and a reaction to the marketing strategy. (Kerin, 188) There are four different segments to the market. They are geographic area, demographic focus, psychographic referring to lifestyle and behavioral which refers to where the person makes purchases, what they are looking for, how often they shop, and their reason for purchasing. Kerin, 193) A definition of target market is one or more groups of consumers that a company uses for purposes of market focus. The five criteria for selecting a target segment are, market size, growth expectation, competitive position, cost associated with reaching the segment, and compatibility with the objectives and resources of the organization. (Kerin, 198-199) where a target market is groups selected for company focus, market segmentation is used to divide potential buyers into more specific groups. The statement, â€Å" Sometimes a firm can achieve a key differential advantage by simply emphasizing how its offering satisfies existing consumer demands/desires and needs better than its competitors† can be very true in that a company can use what is already known about their customer base to identify their products best focus group. Companies can use this advantage to instill positive feeling about their products to their already existing customer base as well as competitor clientele. A marketing strategy called product repositioning can help a company to change the importance or usefulness of a product in a consumers mind in comparison to a competitor product. A company will use head to head positioning (pg. 202) in order to compete with suppliers of similar products. An example of this type of positioning is Pepsi vs. Coke. These two companies sell soda that the attempt to convince theirs and the opposing companies customers of buying. An example of a company, product, and positioning strategy is Splash Lagoon Water Park in Erie, PA. This company operates as an indoor water park resort type facility and serves mostly families with young children. They offer entertainment such as water slides, a wave pool, arcade, and laser tag. Their value to the consumer is advertised through television, internet, direct mailings, and word of mouth. They have nearby a competitor in Castaway Bay Water Park, which is owned by Geauga Lake, located in Ohio. Both of these companies offer similar product offerings and amenities. Splash Lagoon uses a head to head marketing approach in offering competitive rates, coupons, group discounts, and hotel accommodations much like that of its Castaway Bay competitors. Referring to the concept called managing the product life cycle, the statement, â€Å"Sometimes demand patterns must be modified for consumers to perceive a firms product differentiation as worthwhile. † This is seen in a variety of products offered from many different companies. Many companies will attempt to re-gain a consumers interest in a product or line by changing the formula or offering a different look for the packaging. Often times the familiarity of a certain product to a customer can cause them to overlook it when new and more appealing products enter the market. Many companies also add other products from their line in combination with a product to increase brand recognition. An example of a modification in managing the product life cycle is the Mr. Clean Magic eraser. The product has a very large consumer popularity. There are now many other companies manufacturing the same type of product and offering it for a lower cost. The Magic Eraser was improved by the company by giving several different options available. The original brand product is still available in addition to larger versions of the same product, multi pack options, and recently marketed a bathroom specific eraser product containing Febreeze cleaning solution to increase consumer interest.

Michael Moores Roger & Me Essay -- Documentary Films General Motors E

Michael Moore's Roger & Me Roger & Me is a documentary film chronicling the workings of one of the world’s largest corporations, General Motors, as it nearly turns its hometown of Flint, Michigan, into a ghost town. In his quest to discover why GM's management and board of directors would do such a thing, filmmaker Michael Moore, a Flint native, attempts to meet the chairman, Roger Smith, and invite him out for a few beers up in Flint to "talk things over." Moore is the son of a Flint autoworker and a whole family of autoworkers. Roger & Me examines how Moore's hometown of Flint is affected when General Motors closes down a series of factories in order to set up production in Mexico. The town is devastated, economically and spiritually, because GM was practically the only game in town - the city was built around GM. Since 1983, car sales had steadily risen and GM has posted record profits of nearly $19 billion. So why lay off all of these people? Moore points out that he and his friends were raised on the American Dream which promised that if you worked hard and the company you worked for prospered, you would prosper, too. Now, it seems GM's board of directors has changed the rules: you work hard, the company prospers- and you lose your job. Roger & Me shows that capitalism is not always consistent with this American Dream. Roger & Me shows that GM's board of directors used company profits not to create new jobs, but to buy already existing assets, such as data processing companies (EDS) and weapons manufacturers (Hughes Aircraft) at inflated prices, and to automate their current assembly lines, and build new plants in Mexico and in Asia -- destroying jobs in the United States in the process. In Mexico, GM pays the worker... ...t be done in work. This man is also upset because the point of unions is to increase the workers strength in bargaining with employers. The union clearly did not help in the case of the GM workers in Flint. Roger & Me is a great documentary film. It captures a lot about our form of capitalism. Moore shows the problems that large capitalist companies make, in a way that appeals to a broad audience. Since it is a real story, it is not telling some story of how things could be or would be, but how things really are. Fred Ross must evict numerous people out of their homes daily so that he has a roof over his head and food for himself. While one half of Flint is receiving some kind of Government Welfare for being unemployed, Roger Smith is giving himself a $2 million raise. In a better world profit maximization would not be the goal of an economic system or a society.

Baldwin and the Nation of Islam Essay examples -- James Baldwin

Baldwin and the Nation of Islam The Nation of Islam impacted many African American people during its time. This Black Muslim nation not only requested, but demanded and required basic teachings which included racial separation, white devilry, and the coming Armageddon. None of these basic teachings supported James Baldwin’s perceptions. It was Baldwin’s view of pitying the white man for their lack of not being able to see through the color line and to embrace differences that whites and blacks held together to create a better, inexorable, and supreme nation. The Nation of Islam felt no pity for the whites or, as they would call them, devils. Neither would the Muslims embrace their differences from other races, but actually want to keep them divided. Although Baldwin is not confident as to where or to whom he belongs to, Baldwin is certain that a black nation separated from all other races will only separate blacks from the future of a better nation and keep them from further developing as a community. Born in Georgia, the leader of the Nation of Islam was a man named Elijah Muhammad. He has often been portrayed as a saint by his peers, but during World War II, Elijah Muhammad expressed support for Japan, on the basis of its being a nonwhite country, and was jailed for sedition. On August 24, 1946 Muhammad was released from prison in Milan, Michigan. According to the journal named The Black Scholar by Claude Clegg, Muhammad’s time at Milan had done more for him than ever before and after his release, Muhammad had unquestionably become â€Å"the premier martyr of the Muslims† (Clegg 49). From his speeches on the radio and in newspapers, Muhammad was also thought of by many people as a fierce man, one of thes... ...munity can arise. Baldwin believes that our own separate houses are burning and asks himself: â€Å"do I really want to be integrated into a burning house?† (Baldwin 340). It has since been time that we all move into the anticipating house down the street, and together we can help make its future grow into a bigger and brighter one. Works Cited Kihss, Peter. â€Å"In Return for Years of Slavery, Four or Five States.† New York Times 23 Apr 1961: 1. Baldwin, James. â€Å"Notes of a Native Son.† 1955 James Baldwin: Collected Essays. Ed. Toni Morrison. New York: Library of America, 1998. 63-84. Kihss, Peter. â€Å"Negro Extremist Groups Step Up Nationalist Drive.† New York Times 1 March 1961: 2. Clegg, Claude Andrew. â€Å"Rebuilding the Nation: The Life and Work of Elijah Muhammad.† 1996 The Black Scholar. Vol. 26 Issue  ¾, 49-59. Baldwin and the Nation of Islam Essay examples -- James Baldwin Baldwin and the Nation of Islam The Nation of Islam impacted many African American people during its time. This Black Muslim nation not only requested, but demanded and required basic teachings which included racial separation, white devilry, and the coming Armageddon. None of these basic teachings supported James Baldwin’s perceptions. It was Baldwin’s view of pitying the white man for their lack of not being able to see through the color line and to embrace differences that whites and blacks held together to create a better, inexorable, and supreme nation. The Nation of Islam felt no pity for the whites or, as they would call them, devils. Neither would the Muslims embrace their differences from other races, but actually want to keep them divided. Although Baldwin is not confident as to where or to whom he belongs to, Baldwin is certain that a black nation separated from all other races will only separate blacks from the future of a better nation and keep them from further developing as a community. Born in Georgia, the leader of the Nation of Islam was a man named Elijah Muhammad. He has often been portrayed as a saint by his peers, but during World War II, Elijah Muhammad expressed support for Japan, on the basis of its being a nonwhite country, and was jailed for sedition. On August 24, 1946 Muhammad was released from prison in Milan, Michigan. According to the journal named The Black Scholar by Claude Clegg, Muhammad’s time at Milan had done more for him than ever before and after his release, Muhammad had unquestionably become â€Å"the premier martyr of the Muslims† (Clegg 49). From his speeches on the radio and in newspapers, Muhammad was also thought of by many people as a fierce man, one of thes... ...munity can arise. Baldwin believes that our own separate houses are burning and asks himself: â€Å"do I really want to be integrated into a burning house?† (Baldwin 340). It has since been time that we all move into the anticipating house down the street, and together we can help make its future grow into a bigger and brighter one. Works Cited Kihss, Peter. â€Å"In Return for Years of Slavery, Four or Five States.† New York Times 23 Apr 1961: 1. Baldwin, James. â€Å"Notes of a Native Son.† 1955 James Baldwin: Collected Essays. Ed. Toni Morrison. New York: Library of America, 1998. 63-84. Kihss, Peter. â€Å"Negro Extremist Groups Step Up Nationalist Drive.† New York Times 1 March 1961: 2. Clegg, Claude Andrew. â€Å"Rebuilding the Nation: The Life and Work of Elijah Muhammad.† 1996 The Black Scholar. Vol. 26 Issue  ¾, 49-59.

Custom Van

Custom Vans, Inc. , specializes in converting standard vans into campers. Depending on the amount of work and customizing to be done, the customizing could cost less than $1,000 to more than $5,000. In less than four years, Tony Rizzo was able to expand his small operation in Gary, Indiana, to other major outlets in Chicago, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, and Detroit. Innovation was the major factor in Tony’s success in converting a small van shop into one of the largest and most profitable custom van operations in the Midwest.Tony seemed to have a special ability to design and develop unique features and devices that were always in high demand by van owners. An example was Shower-Rific, which was developed by Tony only six months after Custom Vans, Inc. , was started. These small showers were completely self-contained, and they could be placed in almost any type of van and in a number of different locations within a van. Shower-Rific was made of fiberglass and contained towel racks, built-in soap and shampoo holders, and a unique plastic door.Each Shower-Rific took 2 gallons of fiberglass and 3 hours of labor to manufacture. Most of the Shower-Rifics were manufactured in Gary in the same warehouse where Custom Vans, Inc. , was founded. The manufacturing plant in Gary could produce 300 Shower-Rifics in a month, but this capacity never seemed to be enough. Custom Van shops in all locations were complaining about not getting enough Shower Rifics, and because Minneapolis was farther away from Gary than the other locations, Tony was always inclined to ship Shower-Rifics to the other locations before Minneapolis.This infuriated the manager of Custom Vans at Minneapolis, and after many heated discussions, Tony decided to start another manufacturing plant for Shower-Rifics at Fort Wayne, Indiana. The manufacturing plant at Fort Wayne could produce 150 Shower-Rifics per month. The manufacturing plant at Fort Wayne was still not able to meet current demand for Shower-Ri fics, and Tony knew that the demand for his unique camper shower would grow rapidly in the next year. After consulting with his lawyer and banker, Tony concluded that he should open two new manufacturing plants as soon as possible.Each plant would have the same capacity as the Fort Wayne manufacturing plant. An initial investigation into possible manufacturing locations was made, and Tony decided that the two new plants should be located in Detroit, Michigan; Rockford, Illinois; or Madison, Wisconsin. Tony knew that selecting the best location for the two new manufacturing plants would be difficult. Transportation costs and demands for the various locations should be important considerations. The Chicago shop was managed by Bill Burch. This Custom Van shop was one of the first established by Tony, and it continued to outperform the other locations.The manufacturing plant at Gary was supplying 200 Shower-Rifics each month, although Bill knew that the demand for the showers in Chicago was 300 units. The transportation cost per unit from Gary was $10, and although the transportation cost from Fort Wayne was double that amount, Bill was always pleading with Tony to get an additional 50 units from the Fort Wayne manufacturer. The two additional manufacturing plants would certainly be able to supply Bill with the additional 100 showers he needed. The transportation costs would, of course, vary, depending on which two locations Tony picked.The transportation cost per shower would be $30 from Detroit, $5 from Rockford, and $10 from Madison. Wilma Jackson, manager of the Custom Van shop in Milwaukee, was the most upset about not getting an adequate supply of showers. She had a demand for 100 units, and at the present time, she was only getting half of this demand from the Fort Wayne manufacturing plant. She could not understand why Tony didn’t ship her all 100 units from Gary. The transportation cost per unit from Gary was only $20, while the transportation cost from Fort Wayne was $30. Wilma was hoping that Tony would select Madison for one of the manufacturing locations.She would be able to get all of the showers needed, and the transportation cost per unit would only be $5. If not Madison, a new plant in Rockford would be able to supply her total needs, but the transportation cost per unit would be twice as much as it would be from Madison. Because the transportation cost per unit from Detroit would be $40, Wilma speculated that even if Detroit became one of the new plants, she would not be getting any units from Detroit. Custom Vans, Inc. , of Minneapolis was managed by Tom Poanski. He was getting 100 showers from the Gary plant. Demand was 150 units.Tom faced the highest transportation costs of all locations. The transportation cost from Gary was $40 per unit. It would cost $10 more if showers were sent from the Fort Wayne location. Tom was hoping that Detroit would not be one of the new plants, as the transportation cost would be $60 per unit. Rockford and Madison would have a cost of $30 and $25, respectively, to ship one shower to Minneapolis. The Detroit shop's position was similar to Milwaukee’s—only getting half of the demand each month. The 100 units that Detroit did receive came directly from the Fort Wayne plant.The transportation cost was only $15 per unit from Fort Wayne, whereas it was $25 from Gary. Dick Lopez, manager of Custom Vans, Inc. , of Detroit, placed the probability of having one of the new plants in Detroit fairly high. The factory would be located across town, and the transportation cost would be only $5 per unit. He could get 150 showers from the new plant in Detroit and the other 50 showers from Fort Wayne. Even if Detroit was not selected, the other two locations were not intolerable. Rockford had a transportation cost per unit of $35, and Madison had a transportation cost of $40.Tony pondered the dilemma of locating the two new plants for several weeks before deciding t o call a meeting of all the managers of the van shops. The decision was complicated, but the objective was clear—to minimize total costs. The meeting was held in Gary, and everyone was present except Wilma. Tony: Thank you for coming. As you know, I have decided to open up two new plants at Rockford, Madison, or Detroit. The two locations, of course, will change our shipping practices, and I sincerely hope that they will supply you with the Shower-Rifics that you have been wanting.I know you could have sold more units, and I want you to know that I am sorry for this situation. Dick: Tony, I have given this situation a lot of consideration, and I feel strongly that at least one of the new plants should be located in Detroit. As you know, I am now only getting half of the showers that I need. My brother, Leon, is very interested in running the plant, and I know he would do a good job. Tom: Dick, I am sure that Leon could do a good job, and I know how difficult it has been since the recent layoffs by the auto industry.Nevertheless, we should be considering total costs and not personalities. I believe that the new plants should be located in Madison and Rockford. I am farther away from the other plants than any other shop, and these locations would significantly reduce transportation costs. Dick: That may be true, but there are other factors. Detroit has one of the largest suppliers of fiberglass, and I have checked prices. A new plant in Detroit would be able to purchase fiberglass for $2 per gallon less than any of the other existing or proposed plants. Tom: At Madison, we have an excellent labor force.This is due primarily to the large number of students attending the University of Madison. These students are hard workers, and they will work for $1 less per hour than the other locations that we are considering. Bill: Calm down, you two. It is obvious that we will not be able to satisfy everyone in locating the new plants. Therefore, I would like to sugge st that we vote on the two best locations. Tony: I don’t think that voting would be a good idea. Wilma was not able to attend, and we should be looking at all of these factors together in some type of logical fashion.

Thoreau Our Hero essays

Thoreau Our Hero essays Save the Whales! Protect Wildlife! Save the Rain Forest! Defend our Natural Resources! These would all be sentences frequently heard from Henry David Thoreau in modern America. He would also maintain a career and offside activities. Henry David Thoreau, in modern America, would be an activist and writer; details from Walden and Civil Disobedience shall support his idea. Once a writer always a writer, Thoreau would be a writer in modern America. Thoreau wrote his books in the mid-1800s were typically about natural observation, social criticism, and philosophical insight, these things are very visible today. Thoreau would also participate in several demonstrations either for saving an extinct animal or a component of nature. The book Civil Disobedience shows some evidence to help establish this thought with The objections which have brought against a standing army is only an arm of the standing government. Thoreau would have strongly disagreed with the Alaskan Pipe Line for the reason that it involved superfluous digging on a nature preserve. This is apparent in his book Walden when he says Instead of three meals a day, if it be necessary eat but one... meaning ration the oil. Thoreau would live either in Alaska or Montana in an isolated area far away from a bustling town. He in all probability would live on a ranch or farm. On his land, there would most likely be some type of creek or pond. This is all evident in his book Walden due to the statement, its complete retirement, being about two miles from the village, half a mile from the nearest neighbor, and separated from the highway by a broad field; its bounding on the river... Henry David Thoreau would be a prolific writer, demanding activist and a farming mastermind, and would flourish in modern America. This is all apparent in his books Walden and Civil Disobedience. The Wildlife Lovers Association would adore him. The politicians would...

Outline and Critically Assess Rhodes Argument About Hollowing Out of the State Essays

Outline and Critically Assess Rhodes Argument About Hollowing Out of the State Essays Outline and Critically Assess Rhodes Argument About Hollowing Out of the State Essay Outline and Critically Assess Rhodes Argument About Hollowing Out of the State Essay This paper will in the first instance define the term, Hollowing Out Of The State, as Rhodes presented it in 1994. The origins of the hollowing out process related to contemporary policy process in Britain will be outlined followed by a summary of the themes and consequences identified by the author. Alternative perspectives on the theme of hollowing out will be contrasted in an attempt to assess the validity of the claim that government in Britain is being hollowed out. In his essay concerning the hollowing out process, Rhodes is concerned with the erosion of British public sector provision within government and the fact that erosion has taken place from within government itself through a process of delegation, decentralisation and privitisation. In order to understand the main themes of hollowing out, it is important to understand the origins and impetus, which created the need for change. Although there is a long history of transition and alteration to the British system of political administration, the contemporary process of hollowing out can be reasonably traced to the election of the New Right government and Mrs. Thatcher in 1979. During this period, the institutions of social democracy were under severe pressure throughout the 1970s. Through growing power of pressure groups such as Trade Unions, Internal pressures within the Union from the troubles of Northern Ireland and the failed devolution bill in Scotland. On an international basis, the global economy made a contribution to Britains decline in the shape of soaring interest rates, high inflation and massive government expenditure. Spending by central government in the late 70s rose to approximately 43% of GDP. The country moved toward a position of ungovernability and near bankruptcy. As a consequence, government lost the confidence of the electorate and in these circumstances Mrs. Thatcher was elected in 1979. The Conservative government would embark upon a programme aiming to reduce the interfering role of the Nanny State, cut unnecessary waste, overspending and create the wealth needed to return the country to stability. On taking office, the Conservatives intended to reduce the number of unelected bodies but political circumstance did not permit such a response. Mrs. Thatcher was unable to delegate responsibilities from central to local government because of the latters domination by left wing opponents. One nation ideology prevented the use of devolution whilst the confrontational and disruptive melee of Westminster could also disrupt the progress needed to deliver reform. This meant that to some extent, Mrs. Thatcher was forced to look to quasi government and reform of the civil service in order to enact her programme. The difficulty facing the government during this period is highlighted by Gamble (1994). Success depended upon a party pledged to a New Right agenda first obtaining a mandate to reform in a political market corrupted by decades of state intervention, and then carrying it through with the assistance of agencies of the extended state p39 The mandate for the New Right was given in the general election victory in 1979, allowing Thatcher to initiate a programme to restore the authority of government and expand the agencies of the extended state. It is the consequences of this programme which create the main themes and features of hollowing out. Rhodes provides four trends which characterise the transition which took place; 1. Privitisation and limiting the scope and forms of public intervention. 2. The loss of functions by central and local government departments to alternative service delivery (such as agencys). 3. The loss of functions by British Governments to European Union institutions. 4. Limiting the discretion of public servants through the new public management, with its emphasis on managerial accountability, and sharper distinction between politics and administration. P139 Amongst the principle aims of the Conservative government was stopping the state from being involved in every aspect of peoples lives and to reduce the physical bulk of government. This was done in two ways: firstly, through a programme of privitisation, notable in the form of release from government of major utilities and industries such as Coal, Gas, Shipbuilding, Steel, Electricity and Telecommunications. Secondly, through rationalisation at administrative and operational level involving comprehensive review and the introduction of new management techniques. First of all by reviewing where efficiencies could be made and identifying the areas of government to be reduced or transferred to quasi government and privitisation. Harold Wilsons Labour governments of the 1960s began the process but the Thatcher government brought it into central government and greatly extended it. Areas of departmental responsibility first effected by changes included cleansing and catering. In addition to the effect on central departments, this also reduced the influence and responsibility of local authorities whilst validating cuts in their annual budgets. The role of local authorities were being transformed from that of major employer and service provider to one of overseer and enabler as Rhodes points out, The role of local government is to facilitate the delivery of services by others and oversee performance p241 Further reductions in local authority remit effected departments of Housing, Education, Parks Recreation and Direct Works to name a few, altering their position in the community. Much of the power and responsibility of all government departments was dissipated. Rhodes goes on to explain that, as the government sought to release responsibility internally, the relationship evolving with the European Community proved to be the opposite. It is generally recognised that Britain has been the reluctant member of the European Community over the duration of membership. However, in relation to hollowing out, Europe has the effect of eroding the sovereign powers of the British parliamentary system and contributing to fragmentation of the policy making process across the country. As the major agreements made within the European Union grow in significance towards full integration, the central position of authority of Westminster in continually undermined. In addition, the European Unions commitment to the principle of regional representation through subsiduarity also reduces Westminster as a centre of power. This is evident in the potential for access to new policy networks open to the assemblies of Wales and Scotland as they build recognition of Brussels as equal or superior to London. It could be argued that amongst the most significant changes in the reform process are those related to new managerialism in the civil service which will limit the discretion of public service. These developments were initiated with the appointment of Derek Raynor from industry in order to audit government departments and services. The aim was to reduce costs by pursuing the three Es of efficiency, economy and effectiveness. It would begin the process of moving civil servants from administration of policy to management of implementation. Each department would produce individual plans of action with specific objectives designed to meet targets set in advance. These changes would assist the Thatcher government to politically justify strategy but the failure of reforms to deliver successful results was revealed by the review process in 1988. This would lead to the implementation of the Next Steps Initiative designed to further clarify the separation of policy maker from policy implantation. Rhodes (1997) outlines the critical recommendation of the Efficiency Unit report, stating that The management revolution was only skin- deep and recommended introducing agencies to carry out the executive functions of government and bring about real financial and managerial change p95 This was a crucial point in the process of hollowing out as British governance moved from rationalisation of legitimate responsibility to extended delegation through non-elected and anonymous bodies. With this change in the nature of quasi government, Rhodes raises the question of accountability and control. The development of new agencies to cover an expanding list of government practice caused fragmentation throughout the policy network and difficulties in maintaining adequate channels of communication between relevant actors. Rhodes cites Hesse to illustrate the difficulties arising in this regard, Advocates of decentralised self guidance and control often fail to realise that highly differentiated and pluralistic fragmented institutional systems create a growing need for collective steering, planning and consensus building 146 The Next Steps initiative was taken in response to a lack of success of reform, an imbalance was perceived in the policy process, there was too much emphasis on political issues and not enough on policy implementation. The consequence was the creation of agencies with greater autonomy from government to implement policy outcomes. These agencies needed to be as diverse as the departments they served, covering such aspects as stationary, defense, health, fire safety, coastguard, social security, employment or child support for example. Rather than achieving previously unmet targets, Rhodes argues that the opposite was more likely. The National Health Service for example, has always been at the forefront of government reform. However in recent months the government has entered into agreements with private health care trusts to utilise spare capacity to compensate for continuing overload in the NHS. There are grounds to suggest that the difficulties incurred in 1979 are being incurred in 2000. These difficulties are potentially duplicated across the breadth of the policy network. The lack of adequate measures to ensure communication and co-operation increase innefiency and waste, in addition because the legislative process undertaken has been so complex, the drive for efficiency and cost cutting diminishes the room for maneuver within government departments or ministers. Rhodes highlights the problem as follows; Such networks restrict who contributes to policy making and policy implementation. They routinise the policy process. They are also a form of private government. P148 In the latter point, Rhodes highlights a crucial outcome from the proliferation of agencies, accountability. If responsibility for implementation of government policy is too diverse then accountability and control are confused and disparate. The most notable example of confusion was highlighted by BBC 2s Newsnight, when Jeremy Paxman attempted to clarify the role of Home Secretary Michael Howard in the sacking of Derek Lewis who was Chief Executive of the Prison Service when high profile prisoners escaped from prison. It could be argued that little has changed when observing the recent debacle in the Scottish Executive over the delivery of examination results by the Scottish Qualifications Authority. Resignations have taken place from the agency whilst the minister responsible has moved to a new post. Accountability for politicians have shifted, they no longer resign, instead, they attend select committee hearings. The accountability and control of the policy process from parliament itself has been undermined. Rhodes uses the example of the dissolution of the Greater London Council to illustrate the point, Under the Greater London Council (GLC), rate payers paid their rates to four bodies. After abolition of the GLC, they paid taxes to 17 bodies, two thirds of which are unelected p148 Similar example exists in the case of Strathclyde Regional Council, which was dismantled on ideological grounds but in doing so further weakened democratic accountability. The concluding themes of the hollowing out are concerned with such consequences. The changes made in extending networks beyond the reach of their optimum productivity illustrates a transition from government problem solving, to government as the creator of political crisis. The process moved from necessary rationalisation of overloaded government to the creation of over extended and less controllable quasi government in the form of non-elected agencies. The original measures taken to cut costs and achieve greater efficiencies create the lack of experience and knowledge. Competition for contracts equates to the loss of quality and priorities based upon survival of the fittest. The problem set out in the beginning has not been diminished, as there is still evidence of overload. This is supported by Foster and Plowden (1996) when they state that, Activities have been transferred from local government to centrally appointed and directly appointed bodies, and the creation of arms-length agencies within central government has perversely, involved ministers more in their affairs. And ministers are more directly involved in policy formulation than before p219 Rhodes offers three main reasons behind the argument for a return to bureaucracy as a potential solution to the problems caused by hollowing out. Firstly return to balance rather than fragmentation, secondly, public sector record of delivery is as good as private sector and has better flexibility in meeting problems and challenges and thirdly in order to restore accountability and democracy to the policy process in government. Overall, hollowing out illustrates a process that has created less accountable and less effective, reduced government than previous systems. The difficulties of quasi government outweigh the benefits in terms of the problems which reforms set out to solve. In Rhodes view, the private sector is not the fix all that Mrs. Thatcher in particular said it would be. Beneath the veneer on of the British political landscape, the same issues apply in 2000, which existed in 1979. There are alternative views to the hollowing out process; the following section of this paper will attempt to highlight a selection of key points. Michael Seaward outlines an alternative view of what was arguably the most visable and significant programme undertaken by Mrs. Thatcher and highlighted in hollowing out: Privitisation, Decentralisation and Agencification. The achievements of the Conservative governments programme of privitisation were significant, creating major industries in global markets such as BT in telecommunications for example. However many of the privitised industries have led a much more troubled existence. The British coalfield is almost gone altogether, in recent weeks the lack of progress in the rail privitisation has come to the fore along with those of the water companies. The possibility should be considered that the motivations of the Thatcher privitisations were not only concerned with the difficulties of overload but also with the achievement of ideological change. Nationalisation was strongly associated with party allegiance in Britain; the move toward privitisation would create a fundamental change in the relationship between the electorate and the role of government. This is highlighted by Seaward (1997) when he states that, In majoritarian systems, privitisation may appear to be the hollowing out of the state but this trend can equally be interpreted in terms of core actors rationally reshaping the state to suit some of their primary ends (such as power, autonomy, protection from direct responsibility). P22 Privitisation serves two ends, firstly, to serve to lessen the overload on central government departments and ministers and secondly, to alter the perception of the electorate in relation to the role of government. Similarly, decentralisation as it is presented in the hollowing out does not appear to consider the consequences of an approach concerned with ideological change. The avoidance or negation of local authority responsibility was concerned with the confrontation of opposition as much as it was an attempt to reallocate resources and services. The transfer of responsibilities not only decreased the bulk of government but also dismantled a significant vehicle for the adversaries of the Thatcher project. This is also supported by Seaward (1997) when he cites King: The aim of these reforms is to marginalise local government as a political institution by creating local agencies to deliver policy and by denuding its representative function. P23 On the final theme of Agencification, Seaward focuss on the scope for interpretation of reform and the importance of the role of the minister in policy process rather than bureaucratic administration. When this separation was attempted, clear roles were identified for the politicians as representative, the civil servant or department as administrator and the arms length agency in the delivery mode of policy implementation In terms of Britains role within the European Community, the case for the loss of sovereignty is a strong one. There is general agreement concerning the potential for Westminster to become secondary to the dealings of Brussels and its policy networks, as Gray (2000) confirms, In the case of increasing European Union involvement in the internal affairs of the state imply not so much a hollowing out of the state as an effective by pass of it altogether in some areas of policy and administration. The extension of qualified majority voting in the council of ministers extends the possibility of being by passed. P228 Once again this view is correct from a particular perspective but does not take into account the interdependence of the European Union at its centre with the member organisations, which give it life. Britain enters into negotiation with all other partners and retains the power of veto in important areas. Once again a consideration of ideological preference is necessary. This is evident in the Labour governments moves toward partial incorporation in the social charter which was resisted throughout the life of the Conservative government. In terms of the administration of government, all issues in either Brussels or London do not effect each institution in equal measure. Rather than Europe swamping or negating British government, there is an argument for mutual accommodation, illustrated by Smith (1999), Departments have attempted to integrate the EU throughout the department rather than concentrate it within a European co-ordination body as used to be the case. P242 The description of the hollowing out of the state, might better read as the redistribution of parliament and within the policy network, the restructuring of design, administration, delivery, evaluation and financing of the policy process. The arguments for and against the hollowing out process are strongly influenced by the perspective of the observer, the interpretations of the state and its mechanisms. After all of the change which has been undertaken on an economic or strategic basis, an interventionist government still presides over all in Britain and the bulk of government has not decreased. This view is supported by Smith (1999) when he states that, The government has continued to regulate the privitised monopolies, there has been little reduction in the level of public expenditure, and it has intervened greatly in the reforms of health and education, (Richardson, 1993). In other words, the state has been reshaped rather than hollowed out. P205 Here is the crux of the issue; much of the bulk of government, which was, portrayed as such a danger by Mrs. Thatcher in 1979 remains largely intact. Privitisation and quangocracies have not lessened the extent of government; rather they have helped to dismantle it to be put back together in a different order. This is evident in the move to the centre, if not the right of the political spectrum by the Labour Party in order to regain power. It could be argued that Mrs. Thatcher failed in her political aims of reduced government and strong state but was highly successful in her attempt to alter the ideological perspective of the British political landscape. She has ensured that the devide between the pragmatic actions of the conservatives and the collective actions of the socialists has been drastically reduced. The determining factor in this change is leadership and this is supported by Smith (1999) when he states that, leaders often have legitimacy, and the electoral and parliamentary support, to take to take authoritative decisions and therefor to orient the policy directions of networks p243 The conclusion of this paper is that bearing in mind, the significance of an ideological origin to the process, there is strong evidence that the hollowing out of the state has and is continuing to take place. However it is doing so in conjunction with the restructuring of parliamentary structure and continuous adjustment of the actors and responses within the policy network. Only in this fuller sense can the hollowing out of the state be applied to the evolution of the policy process in Britain. What has remained constant or grown in strength throughout this process are the executors of power in the core of government. Although lines of accountability remain, the likelihood of recrimination for wrongdoing has become more unlikely and this is a cause for concern for the future. Both the hollowing out of the state and the strengthening of the core executive remain a matter of ongoing process.