Sunday, January 26, 2020

Dell SWOT Analysis and Dell Porters Five Forces Analysis

Dell SWOT Analysis and Dell Porters Five Forces Analysis The intensity of Dells competitiveness and captivation can be effectively determined using Porters five forces analysis. This analysis was developed by Michael E. Porter of Harvard University during 1979. Porters five forces can be used to develop strategies to reach the objective and to sustain in the market. Rivalry among competitors is high for Dell. Its major rivals are Apple Computer, Compaq, IBM, Gateway, Hewlett-Packard, Silicon Graphics and Micron Electronics. Price war always exists between the competitors. There is low differentiation and high concentration in the market. Due more competition the profitability is low. Dell tackles its rivals by lowering the prices of its products, improving quality, improved features for customization of its products by the users, wide range of varieties and offers, quicker manufacturing and shipment, extending service and increasing advertising. Potential threat of new entrants The threat of new entrant is moderate for Dell. Dell has a powerful branding strategy, so brand name will be a enter barrier for new entrants. There is no legal or government barrier for this sector. The capital investment is low for new entrants and decreasing profitability indicated that Dell has potential treat for new entrant. Threat of substitutes Dell has low threat of substitutes since there is always a demand for technology products in the society. The only threat for Dell is apple computers, however high cost and lack of software support prevent people from switching to Apples products. Dell provides products for lower cost at great quality which makes to sustain the treat for substitutes. Bargaining power of Consumers The bargaining power of buyer is high for Dell. The consumers are highly price sensitive. Reliability and customer services become the most important factors for Dell. The products from Dell are always priced at a low cost. Quality and reliability of the products from Dell is always outstanding. Dell also provides a world class customer service. Bargaining power of the supplier The bargaining power of supplier is high for Dell. As Dell follows Just-in time manufacturing it has large number for supplier for various products. Dells two dominant suppliers Microsoft and Intel which are monopolised, these two supply major inputs for Dells products. The Switching cost of supplier is also high for Dell. SWOT Analysis of Dell SWOT Analysis is a strategic method which highlights and used to evaluate the Strength, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats of a company. The SWOT analysis for Dell is evaluated below Strengths: Dell has a strong branding and positioning strategy. Dell tries to constantly update its product and services with latest technology. Many of the Dells strength evolved from its direct model. The low price, lean operation, direct marketing model, product Customization by user, product diversification, reliable support, excellent customer service and efficient utilization of e-commerce are major strengths of Dell. Weakness: Dells weakness lies within its strategy, due to its Just-in time manufacturing it has to completely depend on its suppliers. Dell lacks in attracting the student community, so it loses the advantage of utilising the education market. Dell does not have any proprietary technology like Apple. The technology used by Dell is shared by its major competitors. Opportunities: With well established e-commerce model Dell is able to reach any niche market in any part of the world and sell its products directly to the customer. Dell tends to diversify and extends its products constantly which create lot of opportunities. Dell also makes partnership with its suppliers which further enhance its inventory and product diversification. Threats: The bargaining power of suppliers and buyers are so high for Dell. The major competitors give tough fight for Dell in the market. The technology advances in a quick pace which make the products obsolete is a quick span of time. Branding and low-cost strategy should be intensified to sustain. Challenges faced by Dells E-Marketing The e-marketing of Dell faces a huge challenge. The E-Marketing has a major disadvantage when compared to traditional marketing, such as, the inability of the user to touch, see and try the product before they purchase. However Dell has some offers to the buyer like One year free service and videos which explains features of the products. E-Marketing strategy should be able to overcome this drawback. The number of online shoppers is increasing day by day. Due to global reach and effective communication, e-commerce and e-marketing becoming more popular. The first major challenge is to reach and attract the user to the Dell website through effective e-marketing, for this e-marketer need to attract online users to view what offer they have for the user. When the number people view the offer is more, there is possibility to increase sales. The advertisements must my creative and attractive to seek the attention of the user. The next big challenge is to make the website user to buy the product, as just the user visits to the website is just the first step; it does not count to the profitability of the company. Dell has to make sure those products and offers are really convincing to the user. The user should be notified and updated regarding the offers, products and services constantly. The online users usually have a short attention span so Dell e-marketing should not overload the user with lot of information about the product. The sales pitch should be short and attractive. Cluttered and too much information will make the customer to feel hard. Straight to the point approach is to be followed to tackle this challenge. The technology and trend are evolving in a rapid pace, so Dells e-marketers should be aware and keep up with latest technology and trend. Dell has a strong brand; to make the effective e-marketing more effective branding strategy should be adequately managed. In E-Market Dell faces a strong competition from its major rivals, to sustain in the market Dell has to effectively advertise its low cost, offers, product differentiation and unique features. The content in advertisement should be creative and accurate. The e-marketing communication must also to be made more effective to reach the target customers. Above all this the e-marketing system should be managed well, perfectly updated and with proper marketing promotions.

Friday, January 17, 2020

Nonverbal: Woman and Victoria Essay

All types of communication interaction involve two major components in terms of how people are perceived: verbal, and nonverbal. These cues such as facial expressions, posture, verbal intonations, and other body gestures accompany our words in order to create a clear message. Every person is continuously communicating even when they are not saying a word, thus, it is possible to send an exclusively non verbal message but it is not possible to send an exclusively verbal message. Nonverbal cues in the interaction are always more powerful indicators of what a speaker means and what the speaker feels because non verbal cues have not been learned and therefore are not manipulated. In the movie Victor Victoria, nonverbal cues are used to emphasize the gender of characters. There are certain nonverbal cues that accentuates a woman. One example from the movie is Victoria’s long hair. Long hair in the 1930’s was how a woman was identified. Toddy cuts Victoria’s long hair to create the illusion that she is man. Along with a woman’s long hair, their breast were also a symbol of womanhood. Victoria is asked to wrap her breast as well as walk with her chest sticking out to emphasize that she is man, because walking with their chest out was a mans way of showing confidence. In a scene in the movie Victor is going to say cheers before drinking and he is laughed at because traditionally women are the one’s that cheer before drinking. Another gender based nonverbal cue is in the nightclub, during performances the women dance and the men are in the orchestra. It was normal for the women to be dancers in that era because a woman is built a lot more flexible so manipulating their bodies is easier although there are exceptions. A characteristic that separates men and women is pride. Although I am not saying women do not have pride, men are willing to go above and beyond to protect their pride; an example of this is when Toddy accepts the ride back to their hotel even though in reality they were not staying in a fancy hotel. Victoria tries to deny the ride in order for their lie not be discovered. Toddy accepts the ride to show off that they’re wealthy even if they are not. This scene in my eyes is one of the great barriers that distinguishes men and women. In addition to the things that accentuates a woman, there also exist the things that accentuates a man. For example the way men greet each other. I man greeting another man would simply shake hands, but a man greeting a woman would kiss her hand. There is also the nonverbal cues of what a gay man should look like. In this movie we have the bodyguard, and the boxer who are two gay men but King Marchand refuses to admit it due to the nonverbal cue that they are both strong men. Also, when the gangsters think that King Marchand they try to get rid of him by paying him off because gangsters can’t be seen as gay because they are usually strong feared men. Nonverbal cues are used in this movie to emphasize the socio-economic class of the characters. In the opening scene of the movie we see Victoria singing, we automatically know she is poor by the clothes she is wearing. She has a broken glove, and no fancy jewelry. This nonverbal cue was intended to demonstrate that she is a struggling singer. In a later scene we see Victoria walk by a restaurant and see a fat man enjoying a large variety of pastries. The size of the man is intentional and is what let’s the audience know that he is wealthy because he obviously eats a lot of pastries which only a rich man could afford in this time period. Overall I must say that nonverbal cues account for most of the perceptions of things that we have. In this movie the nonverbal cues play a large part in demonstrating to the audience who these characters are. Whether the nonverbal cue represents gender of economic level, it is safe to say that the nonverbal cues are all intentional created to create a clearer message throughout this movie.

Thursday, January 9, 2020

Leadership Principle Praise Later or Praise First - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 5 Words: 1452 Downloads: 5 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Marketing Essay Type Compare and contrast essay Did you like this example? Leadership Principle: Praise Later or Praise First? Relationship between Praise and Compliance Findings show that various characteristics of the condition, flatterer, and receiver perform significant roles in the relationship, and several theories try to clarify how flattery influences behavior (Garcia, Miller, Smith, Mackie, 2006). A review of research on praise, flattery, and ingratiation presents a stronger understanding of the behavior in which praise stimulates compliance, the factors mediating this relationship in the employees. Evidence reveals praise may enhance compliant behavior because it promotes liking for the flatterer (Kipnis, Vanderveer, 1971). A literature said that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“we are phenomenal suckers for flattery we tend, as a rule, to believe praise and to like those who provide ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  (Cialdini, 2009). Praise Later Experimental evidence recommends sequencing may be complex. Beginning with praise might benefit a lead er grow relationship and be better liked, as relationship may promote enjoyable communications and good individual connections (Campbell, Davis, 2006). Although, should praise always occur first? Obtaining negative statements followed by flattering ones causes in more liking than overhearing all positive comments. And, when people realise recognition a criticism-praise sequence, praise may only be seen as an sign that criticism will follow and hold little positive value (Kay, Meyer, 1965; Tognoli, Keisner, 1972). One of the studies stated that the use of praise does not appear to achieve greatly by the manager. This may have been because of the point that, generally, praise used by manager did not seem too recognised by the employees as genuine praise. The employees probably started to recognise the criticism-praise-criticism pattern (Kay, Meyer, 1965). One finding stated that the superior liking was obtained in the negative-positive than the positive-positive situation (Tognoli, Ke isner, 1972). Praise First Dale Carnegieà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s self-help book à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“How to Win Friends Influence People books was initially printed in 1937. It was an instant success, ultimately selling 15 million copies (Allitt, 2003). Many studies support Carnegieà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s recommendation, showing that praises increase compliance (Hendrick, Borden, Giesen, Murray, Seyfried, 1972). A literature found adulation to be a successful strategy for acquiring people to complete and return long surveys (Hendrick et al., 1972). An another literature revealed that even tiny compliments boosted the probability people would fulfil with a request to contribute in a bake sale (Howard, Gengler, Jain, 1995). When praise accelerates liking, it seems to accordingly improve convincing power. According to à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“liking rule,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  people are more competent to obey with requests approaching from friends or other liked individuals. Since likability can increase on eà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s capability to persuade compliance in others, this attribute has been recognised as essentially significant for leadership (Cialdini, 2009). Positive affect may boost compliance by reducing the amount of complex analysis people choose to engage in. Several studies on persuasion indicate that the strength of an argument carries less weight in influencing happy people than people in neutral or sad moods (Bless, Bohner, Schwarz, Strack, 1990). A literature theorize that people in good moods, who assume the environment to be kind, may be more likely to obey because they are comfortable depend on typical knowledge structures (Bless et al., 1990). Analysis According to studies stated that flattery does not influence all employees equally (Garcia et al., 2006), managers also require to consider to whom the flattery is being instructed. For instance, ethnicity seems to perform a function in flattery perceptions (Garcia et al., 2006). When flattery carries a ster eotype of the flattered personà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s ethnic group (e. g., à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Blacks sure are good dancersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ), the praise inclines to accumulate negative reactions (Garcia et al., 2006). Self-confidence is another possibly significant issue influencing ingratiation, with low self-confidence individuals more often realising flattery to be inaccurate as compared to those with high self-confidence (Vonk, 2002). Generally, I agree with Carnegieà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Praise First principle. Flattery seems to increase compliance. Accurately how and when, nonetheless, is still not completely comprehended. Study shows that characteristics of the situation, flatterer, and receiver can develop or weaken the praiseà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å"compliance connection, representing that continued study of these elements is crucial for Carnegieà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Praise First principle to be efficiently affected across various groups of people and organizational backgrounds. For limit ation, this book was clearly written by an American for an American audience. The principle might not appropriate to the other cultures such as European and Asian. The audience should apply the principle properly in different cultures. Appendix A: Personal Development I graduated from a quite well-known university with acceptable grades in bachelor degree, even though I had a rough time finding a full-time job. I applied for six companies, and five of them invited me to the interview. I was fairly confident that I was the special one. Although, unfortunately, I was rejected by all the five companies which invited me to the interview. I did prepare to answer the basic interview questions plus studying the particular firmsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ history. Firstly, I blamed the companies that they were foolish. They should have accepted the person like me. I kept blaming until my friend with lower grades got accepted in the company rejected me. Subsequently, I realised there was someth ing wrong with myself. I had to change. I found a book called How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie. I dare to say that this book has changed my life in every aspect, especially the theory called à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Getting People to Like Youà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  (Carnegie, 2010). The concept is quite simple. If you want to be liked by other people, think about other people think, speak what they want to hear and make the other person feel important. In other words, you can just praise them and they feel more compliant (Hendrick et al., 1972). I used to be fairly argumentative and self-centred. I tried to stick to the Praise First principle in the theory, and eventually I noticed that people become more co-operative, approachable, and honestly appreciate me. I wholeheartedly trust this theory because it helped me to survive in the extremely tough situation. I got caught by bringing an extra note in the final examination in my home country while I was doing an undergra duate school. I was told by the examiner that I was going to fail in that module and being punished hard. I did not argue or fight anything while the examiner pulled my exam paper. Then, I went to the examiner office then I told the examiner that I sincerely accept my own fault. I did not argue that I bought the note in the room and I genuinely told her that you did an excellent job by not letting student cheat in the examination. We had a one hour talk, then she told me that she would let me survive this time. I did not except that she would let me pass, but if I did argue with her. I would be a really bad situation. I praised the examiner and I did not argue anything. I put the meeting in the positive environment. I influenced and persuaded the examiner to agree with me while she was in the good mood (Bless et al., 1990). Thanks to the How to Win Friends and Influence People. In my future career plan, no matter what job I will be doing, I would like to understand and influence people in the organization. Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m going to put myself in ones shoes. I believe this logic would lead me to the successful in my career plan no matter the field you are in. Appendix B: Personal Development Map References Allitt, P., 2003 How to Win Friends and Influence People. Dictionary of American History. Bless, H., Bohner, G., Schwarz, N., Strack, F., 1990 Mood and Persuasion: A Cognitive Response Analysis. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 16(2), 331-345. Campbell, K.S., Davis, L., 2006 The Sociolinguistic Basis of Managing Rapport When Overcoming Buying Objections. Journal of Business Communication, 43(1), 43-66. Carnegie, D., 2010 How To Win Friends and Influence People: Simon Schuster. Cialdini, R.B., 2009 Influence: HarperCollins. Garcia, A.L., Miller, D.A., Smith, E.R., Mackie, D.M., 2006 Thanks for the Compliment? Emotional Reactions to Group-Level Versus Individual-Level Compliments and Insults. Group Processes In tergroup Relations, 9(3), 307-324. Hendrick, C., Borden, R., Giesen, M., Murray, E., Seyfried, B.A., 1972 Effectiveness of ingratiation tactics in a cover letter on mail questionnaire response. Psychonomic Science, 26(6), 349-351. Howard, D.J., Gengler, C., Jain, A., 1995 Whats in a Name? A Complimentary Means of Persuasion. Journal of Consumer Research, 22(2), 200-211. Kay, E., Meyer, H.H., 1965 Effects of threat in a performance appraisal interview. Journal of Applied Psychology, 49(5), 311-317. Kipnis, D., Vanderveer, R., 1971 Ingratiation and the use of power. J Pers Soc Psychol, 17(3), 280-286. Tognoli, J., Keisner, R., 1972 Gain and loss of esteem as determinants of interpersonal attraction: A replication and extension. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 23(2), 201-204. Vonk, R., 2002 Self-serving interpretations of flattery: Why ingratiation works. 82:515-526. [Online] Available from: https://0-dx.doi.org.innopac.up.ac.za/10.1037/0022-3514.82.4.51 5. 1 Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Leadership Principle: Praise Later or Praise First?" essay for you Create order

Wednesday, January 1, 2020

The World Of Conflicts Essay Example Pdf - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 17 Words: 5203 Downloads: 4 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Law Essay Tags: Conflict Essay Did you like this example? In the world of conflicts involving interest of countries, citizen and civilians, there lays a general understanding and concept of humanitarian arising from the personal regulations. Humanitarian here shall be understood as devoting to the promotion of human welfare and the advancement of social reforms, marked by humanistic values as having the interest of mankind at heart.  [1]  Hence, it rises when it is promoted by those adherents to humanitarianism and here comes the role of aid workers. An aid worker are understood as those who deliver the voluntary acts and conducts which works for an international organization giving help in a place where people need it or in a country where there is war, arm conflicts, natural disasters, no food nor utilities in order to help people.  [2]  Being an aid worker it requires an ability to adapt to intensively challenging situations and withstand emotional strain. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "The World Of Conflicts Essay Example Pdf" essay for you Create order International and development workers focus on meeting the needs of people and communities in the developing countries where they seek to implement long-term solutions to problems by working with developing countries to help them create the capacity to provide sustainable solutions. It involves various fields like education, sanitation, health, agriculture and also small business development. Thus, an aid worker closely related with humanitarian aid where they are the mediator to all necessary supplies brought to the war-torn areas and countries by third parties, such as neutral countries or relief organizations which specialize in helping civilians during conflicts.  [3]  In furtherance, humanitarian aid is assistance given to people in distress by individual persons, or governments to relieve suffering. Many full time, professional humanitarian aid organizations exist, both within government and as private voluntary organizations or non-governmental organizations. In Malaysi a, Mercy Malaysia is a well-known voluntary and non-profit organization focusing on relief effort and sustainable health related development for vulnerable communities  [4]  . Its active contributions in all over the world providing medical relief is recognize as an organization which is able to provide rapid response in crises meeting SPHERE standards in its programs and projects, namely civil war in Darfur Iran, tsunami Aceh Indonesia and aid the victims of Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar. THE AIMS OF HUMANITARIAN AID Generally, the most fundamental objective of humanitarian aid is to save the lives, prevent and reduce suffering and to preserve human dignity. Humanitarian aid usually does help insofar as it provides the most basic human needs of food, shelter, clothing, and medical care.   It can also help empower a group of people, enabling them to better deal with their own problems by giving them the strength to address those problems in a coherent way, without having to put all of their energy into simply maintaining themselves. One very notable assumption about the principles and objectives of humanitarianism can be seen in the statement made in agreement between the European Union countries when they established the Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO), the statement is made out in the preamble of the EC Council Regulation 1257/1996: ..humanitarian aid, the sole aim of which is to prevent or relieve suffering, is accorded to victims without discrimination on the grounds of race, ethnic group, religion, sex, age, nationality or political affiliation and must not be guided by, or subject to, political considerations ÃÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ¦ humanitarian aid decisions must be taken impartially and solely according to the victims needs and interests ÃÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ¦ the independence and impartiality of non-governmental organizations and other humanitarian institutions in the implementation of humanitarian aid must be preserved, respected and encouraged.  [5] By that it can be seen that the Council Regulation (EC) No 1257/96 concerning humanitarian aid clearly states that the sole aim is to prevent or relieve human suffering and when making the humanitarian aid decisions, they must made impartially and only according to the needs and interests of the victims. And any humanitarian aid shall not be influenced by any political considerations. Humanitarian aid often comes into the pictures in the occurrence of crises like armed conflicts, n atural disasters and various NGOs will step into action to provide assistance. Humanitarian aids are provided from NGOs like the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), The United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF), and Mercy Corps and so on. Humanitarian aid is said to be one of the longest established activities of NGOs like the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). ICRC is an independent and neutral organization that has the aim of ensuring humanitarian support and protection for individuals affected by armed conflicts and other situation of violence. With its neutrality, the ICRC has a permanent mandate under international law like the Geneva conventions to take impartial action for prisoners, sick and wounded, and civilians affected by conflict.  [6]  The ICRCs main objective is to ensure respect, through its neutral and independent humanitarian work, for the lives, dignity and physical and mental well-being of victims of armed conflict and other situati ons of violence. All of the ICRCs works are geared towards achieving this fundamental objective and strives to fulfill this idea.  [7] The UNICEF is a NGO that help worldwide children by providing nurture, and care for them whom devastated by poverty, violence, disease and discrimination. UNICEF provides education, healthcare, protective environment, nutrition and so on and it is the NGOs mission to ensure the improvement of the lives of the adversely affected children around the world.  [8] Mercy Corp is also a NGO that strives to provide for those who are affected by poverty, war, famine, disease by giving the victims aid in manner of food aid, development assistance, education, healthcare, financial services, and so on to alleviate sufferings in affected countries. The Mercy Corp is prepared to render assistance in all kinds of situations and they strive to help affected individuals all over the world.  [9] The different aims of different NGOs do affect the humanit arian staffs employed by them. Subject to the aims of the NGOs, the risk is very much variable. For example, NGOs that are particularly active in providing assistance in war zones are supposedly exposing their staffs to higher degree of risk. In such situations the aid workers are much more susceptible to be killed in their progress of carrying out their humanitarian work. One good example of such NGO is the ICRC where they are often deployed to conflict zones to provide aid to victims of war and usually their deployment are in the midst of intense fighting and the staffs vulnerability to casualty will be significantly higher. If the aims of a NGO is directed at activities that are not involved in times of war like providing relief to poverty, malnutrition, famine, then the aid workers will be less exposed to danger like those faced in war zones. However, it is not too all correct if one says working out from a war zone is not exposed to risk. Aid workers that are deployed to dis ease stricken countries will easily exposed to risks of infectious diseases. Thus, it is a subjection to the purpose and aims of an aid organization that will determine how their staffs will be affected. Ultimately, regardless of the risks of different tasks of humanitarian work, it is still the calculated risk and choice undertaken by the aid workers in their endeavor to advance in humanitarian efforts. FACTORS JEOPARDIZING THE SAFETY SECURITY OF HUMANITARIAN AID ORGANIZATION External factor Traditionally, humanitarian workers enjoyed both international legal protection, and de facto immunity from attack by belligerent parties. However, when assigned to conflict zones, the humanitarian workers are vulnerable from attacks despite the existence of Geneva Conventions. Based on the research conducted by the Humanitarian Policy Group (HPG) Policy Brief 34 Providing aid in insecure environments: 2009 Update Trends in violence against aid workers and the operational response, in the 1990s and 2000s, the attacks on humanitarian workers have risen sharply.  [10]  In 2008 alone, 260 humanitarian workers have been killed, kidnapped or seriously injured in violent attacks, marking the highest toll in a twelve years timeframe. When humanitarian workers carry out their duties and jobs alike especially in conflict zones, they face a significant high risk by various factors. For such an instance in conflict zones, they face physical threats from violent forces deliberated at th em. Based on a research by Humanitarian Policy Group from the findings of the 2006 report Providing Aid in Insecure Environments: Trend in Policy and Operations. Its analysis follows on from that report, providing global incident data for the last three years. It identifies new trends and highlights issues in the three most violent contexts for aid workers at present: Sudan (Darfur), Afghanistan, and Somalia accounted for more than 60 percent of violent incidents and aid worker victims. Like the report of 2006, the research was based on the Aid Worker Security Database (AWSD). The AWSD recorded major security incidents affecting the staff of aid organizations working in humanitarian relief, like killings, kidnappings, and attacks that result in serious injury. The HPG Policy Brief 34 indicates that the attacks on aid workers are increasingly political motivated, such reflects a broad targeting of the aid enterprise as a whole. Based on the latest update by the HPG Policy Brief 3 4, three countries with the highest incidents of violent attacks on aid workers (in descending order: Sudan, Afghanistan and Somalia). Most of the attacks in Sudan are attributed to banditry. And in Afghanistan and Somalia are more of political motivations. For many incidents of the attacks on humanitarian aid workers, it is difficult to ascertain the true motives behind it. Political motivation is one of the biggest factors as to why aid workers are being targeted. Political motivated attacks increased by 208 percent over the time period analyzed. The HPG took a limited analysis in their report and indicated that many of the incidents that involved attacks against aid workers had significant political elements. Based on the AWSD, the apparent targeting of internationals and the means by which violence is being perpetrated like the emergence of suicide bombings and the use of IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices) and the steep rise in kidnappings which link criminal and political a ctors. It is possible to conclude that the attacks on aid workers seen during the past 3 years from 2008 are at least partly politically motivated. Reasonable determination of the motives behind the attacks can be deduced from incident reports and the judgment of reporting entities. Incidents were classified as politically motivated based on various combinations of factors like: 1) first hand determinations and evidence cited in the original incident report; 2) explicit statements and claims of responsibility of attack by the perpetrators; 3) tactics employed (e.g. suicide bombings, targeted IEDs and so on); 4) politically/military personnel known to be perpetrators; 5) deliberate violence without aim for economic gain (i.e. aid workers seriously injured in attack without losing anything in value).  [11] The political targeting of aid workers by belligerents can be associative or direct; that is, humanitarian organizations can be targeted because they are labeled as collaborato rs with the enemy, like the government, rebel forces or foreign power. For instance in Afghanistan, aid organizations that cooperated with the coalition forces in certain activities like reconstructions can be suggestive that the aid organizations are part of the enemy. Attackers will use this as a valid reason to deliberate attack aid organizations by associating them with donor countries.  [12]  This is especially true when armed forces from donor countries are present in the case of U.S. government-funded organizations operating in Iraq and Afghanistan. In such instances, despite the differences in activities, humanitarian organizations are often viewed as providing assistance to the occupying forces and considered to be the enemies. Aid workers with connections to local governments can also make them vulnerable to attacks. In order to maintain humanitarian efforts, humanitarian staffs need to interact with local authorities to ensure that the government will continue to a llow humanitarian presence in their country. For such reasons, humanitarian staffs will attend meetings, functions with local government representatives and state military leaders. These interactions between humanitarian staffs and the government personnel may cause combatant factions to view that the aid organizations are having close political ties with the local government and label the aid organizations as enemies. Thus the combatant factions may attack the aid organizations for providing assistance to the local government as a punishment or to send a stern message to the local authorities to make a more visible political statement. The Trincomalee Massacre is assumed to be politically motivated. On 4th August 2006, seventeen staffs international NGO Action Contre La Faim (Action against Hunger International, or ACFIN) were executed at their office in Muttur. The killings were assumed to be politically motivated as the Sri Lankan Monitoring Mission claimed that the act was ca rried out by government forces. It was questioned as to why the aid workers were targeted and execute. The guess was if the government forces were really involved, they may have killed the aid workers out of anti-Tamil sentiment since they were perceived as indirectly aiding the Tamil Tigers. Another assumption was the killings were deliberately carried out by the government in order to demonize the rebel group in the eyes of the international community. The motive behind killing of the seventeen ACFIN staffs were vague, however, political consideration was drawn as a palpable factor.  [13] Apart from political motivations, economical resources can be one of the factors combatant factions carry out attacks on aid workers. Attacks can be carried out on the facilities or supply convoys of aid organizations purely to seize humanitarian goods for the attackers own usage or selling the goods to fund their war efforts. In the humanitarian relief industry, most humanitarian workers ha ve access to both the basic necessities and luxuries that majority of the local people lack. The humanitarian aid industry is often one of the biggest economic players in the country or region of operation, providing one of the most visible signs of wealth in war-stricken regions in the form of new vehicles, electronics, homes and offices, and the possession of seemingly endless quantities of food, clothing, and money. Therefore, a faction seeking to supply provisions to their fighters attack and rob humanitarian organizations, often injuring or killing aid workers in the process.  [14]  In Afghanistan, over the past year of 2009, aid workers have increasingly been attacked and harassed in Afghanistan, particularly in the volatile southern provinces. Dozens of people involved in relief work were kidnapped and/or killed in 2008 and large consignments of aid items were pillaged by insurgents and criminal groups. This suggests that the attackers may have wanted to capture the goods for their own use.  [15]  Other than the method of forcibly seizing humanitarian goods, combatant factions also kidnap aid workers for ransoms to increase their funds. Combatant factions sometimes attack aid organizations to prevent or disrupt the flow of humanitarian aid from reaching civilians seen as the enemy.  [16] Internal factor Save for the external factors, there are various internal factors that poses high risk to the aid organization itself. The internal management of the aid organizations is also responsible for the safety and security of their own. The policies that aid organizations adopt will sometimes backfire at themselves. For example, the government may outline a new policy that humanitarian efforts are to be carried out in collaboration between the aid organizations and military forces. The reason may be as simple as it will increase the safety of the aid organization and an increase in effectiveness of the humanitarian aid effort. However, by linking themselves close with military forces, the aid organizations may be perceived as enemies by insurgents. The HPG report in Providing Aid in Insecure Environments: 2009Updates indicates that the surge of violence towards the aid workers maybe be rooted in the policy that aid organizations adopt that makes them appear to have close ties with the government and thus diluting the notion of neutrality that humanitarian organizations upheld since inception. The report also expressed that the danger of association with certain governments or armed forces has a particular salience with aid workers, most of whom endeavor to be seen as separate and distinct from political actors and activities. Calling the disassociation between humanitarian groups and political and military actors sensible and necessary steps, the report concludes that If the greater portion of international humanitarian aid organizations were able to achieve independence and project an image of neutrality this would surely enhance operational security and benefit humanitarian action as a whole.  [17] So long that aid organizations continues to associate themselves with the government or the military, there is always a high tendency that the aid organization will be a target by the insurgents or disgruntled population, and there is a risk that the humanitaria n effort will be used as a mask to further facilitate political agendas. The safety measures that the aid organizations undertake is also another factor as to why the safety of the humanitarian workers was jeopardized. In recent years, many policies and procedures have been formulated and effectuated to increase the level of security and safety of aid workers. The securities measures can be categorized into three main types: acceptance, protection and deterrence. In reality, the measures also poses potential hazard to the aid workers instead of protecting them. The security measures of protection and deterrence often contain flaws in them. By the word protection itself, this measure is to increase the safety of aid workers by providing them with protective devices and employ field procedures to reduce the risk of aid workers. Equipments like Kevlar vests, ballistic helmets, armored vehicles and convoys, housing the aid workers in a protective environment, and engaging the loca l people to carry out the aid jobs are the common ways to keep the aid workers out of harms way. When the situation becomes too dangerous to work in, international staffs are often evacuated and leaving the local staffs to fend for themselves. This protection measure may offer suffice protection for international staffs but the local staffs are the ones who will ultimately suffer when the protection cease to exist when resources are taken away. Deterrence is one strategy that aid organizations employ to counter the threats pose by potential attackers. The hiring of mercenaries and security details equipped with weapons to protect aid workers and properties are the common deterrence strategy implemented to increase overall security of aid workers. Often, by engaging armed personnel for protections, again such action will be perceived by insurgents as affiliation to the military or government. Thus creating a dilution of independence and neutrality of aid organizations and making them potential targets to insurgents.  [18] A real life example is portrayed in Iraq and Afghanistan, where some U.S. based NGOs received protection from U.S. military forces while the military utilize this opportunity to improve their image by working with aid organizations. However, this collaboration by neutral NGOs with the military is viewed as enemies by many local citizens. Civil-military linkage only undermines filed workers long-term safety as they are increasingly associated with the occupying forces.  [19] PROTECTION FOR THE HUMANITARIAN AID WORKERS a) Protection under International Humanitarian Law. Protection under International Humanitarian Law for the humanitarian aid workers only can be apply when a situation can be qualified as armed conflict. An armed conflict can be defined as a situation where fighting take place between the armed forces between the two states this consider as international armed conflict or within the territory of a state between its regular armed forces and organized armed forces or when such group fight one another in internal state.  [20] In situations of armed conflict, humanitarian workers should be aware of and respect a number of rules so as not to jeopardize the protection that they could be enjoy under International Humanitarian Law. Obviously, they must not take part in the hostilities and on the other hand they should always refrain from committing any act that could be construed as hostile towards one party to the conflict. Humanitarian workers should also keep in mind what constitutes a lawful military objective according to Internat ional Humanitarian Law. Objects or places which by their nature, location, purpose or use make an effective contribution to military action could become a military target. Whenever possible, members of humanitarian organizations should stay clear of such objects and places.  [21] Under International Humanitarian Law, the protection to the humanitarian organization is based on the principle, within the context of hostilities a distinction must always be made between combatants and civilians. Under International Humanitarian Law, it was stated that humanitarian workers are considered to be civilians.  [22]  They must be respected and protected in all circumstances, and must never be made the object of attack in whatever reason at all. The provisions for the protection of humanitarian personnel who are involved in relief operations such as under Articles 69, 70 and 71 of Additional Protocol I and 18 of Additional Protocol II stated under a number of conditions, relief opera tions that are humanitarian and impartial in character and are conducted without any adverse distinction may be undertaken. It also offers of assistance fulfilling these conditions shall not be regarded either as interference in the armed conflict or as hostile acts. In further, International Humanitarian Law also contains provisions for the protection of medical personnel and transports. This protection, which also applies to military medical units and transports, is represented visually by the Red Cross or Red Crescent emblem. However, it must be noted that in principle most humanitarian organizations which are not part of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement are not entitled to use that emblem.  [23] However the most effective preventive measures must be taken by States to limit any risk to the security of humanitarian workers. They must suppress breaches of international law and prosecute those responsible of war crimes. Any intentional attack against members of a humani tarian organization would constitute a war crime. War crimes can also be prosecuted in another country on the basis of universal jurisdiction. b) Protection under Geneva Convention. The Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols are part of the international humanitarian law where a whole system of legal safeguards that cover the way wars may be fought and the protection of individuals. They specifically protect people who do not take part in the fighting such as civilians, medics, chaplains, aid workers and those who can no longer fight including wounded, sick and shipwrecked troops and the prisoners of war. The fundamental aim already of the historic original Geneva Convention of 1864, was to ensure acceptance of the neutral status of the sick and wounded and of military medical personnel, who needed to enjoy special protection if they were to be able to carry out their mission. It also reaffirmed and considerably developed this immunity by extending it to medical personnel and unit as well as military and civilian medical transports. The protection provided by these instruments is represented visually by the red cross/red crescent emblem, which st rengthens its legal basis. To take account of developments in armed conflicts, Additional Protocol I which also gave States the option of identifying medical units and transports by distinctive signals, such as light signals or electronic means of identification.  [24] In order to limit as far as possible misuses of the red cross/red crescent emblem, which are likely to impair its protective effect in the event of armed conflict, its use is subject to some very strict regulations. Thus, the emblem can be displayed only with the permission of the relevant authorities and under their control. It is essential for States to enact national legislation on the use and protection of the red cross/red crescent emblem, providing, in particular, for an effective monitoring system and punishment for grave misuse of it.  The main users of the emblem are medical and religious personnel, the medical services of the armed forces and civilian medical units and transports, such as hospita ls and ambulances.  [25] Under the Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols, National Red Cross or Red Crescent Societies and other relief societies duly recognized and authorized by their government may provide the medical services of the armed forces with personnel and equipment, which will then be subject to military laws and regulations. Ambulances and first-aid posts may display the emblem in peacetime, under certain conditions (Articles 26, 27 and 38 to 44 of the First Geneva Convention, Articles 41 to 45 of the Second Geneva Convention, Articles 18 to 22 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, Articles 8, 9 and 18 of Additional Protocol I and Article 12 of Additional Protocol II).  [26] In addition, the components of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement have a special tie to the emblem. The National Red Cross or Red Crescent Societies may use it at any time to indicate the affiliation of their personnel, installations and equipment. They may also use it for protective purposes when serving as auxiliaries to armed forces medical services or when working under the auspices of the ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross). As regards the ICRC and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, they may display the emblem at any time and for all their activities.  [27] However should be reminds concerning the special role which the ICRC is called upon to play in armed conflicts. The Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols expressly confer certain rights on the ICRC, such as that of acting as a substitute for Protecting Powers and that of access to prisoners of war and persons protected by the Fourth Geneva Convention (Articles 123 of the Third and 143 of the Fourth Geneva Conventions).  [28]  In addition, the Geneva Conventions give it the right to offer its services to the parties to the conflict. Generally speaking, the ICRC acts as the promoter and guardian of international human itarian law, and in this capacity it works to ensure respect for this law, as well as its promotion, dissemination and development. In armed conflicts or other situations requiring the intervention of a specifically neutral and independent institution, the ICRC assumes the overall guidance of international Red Cross. Last but not least, another category of personnel is entitled to be respected and protected under international humanitarian law such as civil defence staff, which has their own sign, a blue triangle against an orange background. c) Protection under Customary International Law. The regulation of humanitarian assistance in non-international armed is also covered by customary international law. Specifically, the obligation to respect and protect humanitarian relief personnel and objects, and the obligation to allow and facilitate the rapid and unimpeded passage of humanitarian relief which is impartial in character and conducted without any adverse distinction (subject to the states right of control) are regarded by the ICRC as rules of customary international law applying in all conflicts. With regards to the obligation to respect and protect humanitarian relief personnel, the ICRC stated in its 2005 study on the rules of customary international humanitarian law that this obligation is a corollary of the prohibition of starvation, as well as the rule that the wounded and sick must be collected and cared for.  [29]  On the reason is that the security of humanitarian relief personnel and objects is an indispensable condition for the delivery of humanitar ian relief to civilian populations in need threatened with starvation. For a legal principle to acquire the status of customary international law, it has traditionally been required that there be a consistent and general practice among states of adherence to the rule, and that there be evidence that the practice has been carried out in the belief that the practice is obligatory by referring to the principle of opinio juris.  [30]  Evidence of opinion juris may be gleaned from treaties as well as from non-binding instruments such as declarations and General Assembly resolutions.  [31]  Where the parties are acceptance of the resolution and declarations as evidence, the opinion juris is sufficient to support the existence of customary international law. However, the value of customary principles is debatable in practice. National courts, especially in states with a dualist system, are traditionally reluctant to apply customary international law, especially in criminal ca ses where the principle of legality mandates that the law be clearly defined. They are also likely to be influenced by the Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), which while affirming the existence of individual criminal responsibility for violations of common Article 3 of the Geneva Convention itself where they may claimed that is in non-international armed conflict,  [32]  Limits war crimes in international armed conflict to violations of Hague law and grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions, which can only be committed against protected persons fulfilling the nationality requirement discussed above. Violations of the general customary principle underlying common Article 3 cannot, therefore, be prosecuted at the ICC. The resulting position, which may be followed in domestic jurisdictions, is rather odd, in that a larger category of people are protected by the ICC Statute in non-international conflicts than in international warfare. As far as humanitarian workers a re concerned, this means that they are excluded from ICC protection against mistreatment in international wars (unless their state of nationality is involved on the opposing side), but may be covered by the provisions of common Article 3 where the conflict is non-international.  [33] d) Protection under the Convention on the Safety of UN and Associated Personnel. In 1996 the UN General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Safety of UN and Associated Personnel, which entered into force on 15 January 1999. This provides protection for personnel of humanitarian organizations, but only as associated personnel. When they are deployed under an agreement with the Secretary- General of the United Nations or with a specialized agency or with the IAEA, to carry out activities in support of the fulfillment of the mandate of a United Nations operation and operate under United Nations control. However this excludes the activities of truly independent organizations, which see operating outside UN control as crucial to maintaining their independence from political agendas.  [34] A new Optional Protocol to the Convention, extending the range of situations in which the Convention applies, was adopted on 8 December 2005. The original Convention applies only to UN operations to maintain or restore international peace and security and those declared by either the Security Council or the General Assembly, for the purposes of the application of the Convention, to constitute an exceptional safety risk. The Optional Protocol extends this to UN operations to deliver humanitarian, political or development assistance in peace building and to emergency humanitarian assistance operations. Despite the apparent focus on humanitarian assistance in the Optional Protocol, the original definition of qualifying organizations is not modified, so independent humanitarian organizations are excluded.  [35] In 1998, partly inspired by the adoption of the Convention, the General Assembly adopted two separate resolutions, one on protection of United Nations personnel and the other on the safety and security of humanitarian personnel. This began a regular series of annual resolutions calling for better respect for existing law and requiring the Secretary-General to report on progress or the lack thereof. From 1999 on, a single resolution has covered humanitarian personnel and UN personnel. In 2003 a Security Council resolution exhorted states and warring parties to ensure the safety of humanitarian personnel and UN and associated personnel. The inclusion of humanitarian personnel as a group separate from the UN and associated personnel can be read as recognition of independent humanitarian action, and may leave the door open to finding a solution to appropriate legal protection, not based on political control.  [36]