At least 8 errors found in JPSC 4TH PT GS Answer Key ,More Protest Ahead

Ranchi,Sept,30:Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) has released the answer key of the recently concluded 4th PT examination and as per expectation they have again committed mistakes while giving the answer so new dimension in ongoing controversy will surface in coming days.

I am giving some wrong answer released by JPSC for GS paper which is as follows:

1. Which racial group has the largest number of the members?

The Experts of JPSC is saying, Caucasoid...But the  right answer is Mongoloid.

2. The question related with Prime minister has both the answer (c)&(d) 

but most appropriate is ,(c)Appointed by president.

3.  The Members of the Panchayat Samiti are directly elected by the people but as per JPSC key it is elected by the members

4. It is quite funny but true as per answer key of JPSC famous Historian Romila thapar ia a Dancer.

5.  As per JPSC answer Indian Standard Time (IST) is 5.20 Hrs ahead of GMT(Actual is 5.30Hrs).

6. The gas used for artificial ripening of fruit is Ethylene but JPSC Answer key suggests Acetylene.

7. In the question associated with the Height of great Himalaya which is 6100 m ASL  but the options are (a) 8850 m ASL, (b) 8815 m ASL, (c) 8890 m ASL ,(d) 8860 m ASL                                

 (Here no option is right)

8.  Controversy is also with the President Mrs Patil Offered the loan...

She has given $74.44 million but no options are there.

9. The question talks about Shimla of Jharkhand is also controversial

JPSC 4TH PT Answer Key-Indian History/Economics

JPSC 4TH PT Answer Key-Economics

JPSC 4TH PT Answer Key-Commerce

JPSC 4TH PT Answer Key-Commerce

JPSC 4TH PT 2011-Answer Key-Civil Engineering

JPSC 4TH PT 2011-Answer Key-Civil Engineering

JPSC 4TH PT-2011 Answer Key-Botany

JPSC 4TH PT-2011 Answer Key-Botany

JPSC 4TH PT -2011 Answer Key-Chemistry

                                               JPSC 4TH PT Answer key -Chemistry

JPSC 4TH PT Answer Key-Animal Hus.&Vet. Science

JPSC 4TH PT Answer Key-Animal Hus.&Vet. Science

JPSC 4TH PT Answer Key -Agriculture

JPSC 4TH PT Answer Key -Agriculture

JPSC 4TH PT 2011-Answer key-Geography

                                                    JPSC 4TH PT-Geography Answer key -Click the Image to enlarge

JPSC 4TH PT 2011-Answer key- General Studies

                                                JPSC 4TH PT Answer key General studies

Poverty in India Worst that Even Pakistan

New Delhi,Sept,30: Despite the declines in poverty level with the robust economic expansion, India maintains higher poverty rates than its arch rival Pakistan.

As per 2011 World Bank report titled "Perspectives on poverty in India : stylized facts from survey data" released in 2011.

The World Bank data of current year shows that India's poverty rate of 27.5 percent, based upon countries’ current poverty line of $1.03 each person every day, is more than 10 percentage points higher than Pakistan's 17.2percent.

North eastern state Assam, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh are the only three Indian states in the country with having poverty rates than Pakistan.

The data says that the consumption poverty has s reduced in India; the number of people who consume calories above the minimum level associated with the poverty line is 2,400 in rural area and 2,100 kilocalories per day in urban areas, respectively—has not gone up. As of 2004–05, as many as 80 percent of rural households were estimated to be “calorie poor.”

The middle-class of India lives barely or not far above poverty line of $1.02 a day, and significantly below international poverty lines, especially in rural part which is the dominant in the country.

 Significant differences in poverty levels exist across the country and indeed are growing more in urban parts.

The rural areas of poorest states like Orissa, Bihar West Bengal have high poverty rates which are the highest in the developing world. 

In contrast, urban areas of India’s richest state Punjab and Himachal Pradesh have poverty rates that are similar as Turkey or the richer Latin American Nations.

The main causes of poverty in India are its high population growth rate, highly dependent on agriculture, rudimentary agricultural practices, mass illiteracy, high level of ignorance, unemployment, underemployment, and caste based politics, urban rural divide, iniquity and discrimination. About 27.5 percent of the population of the country has emerged from the squalor of poverty in last decade in spite of the above factors.

The situation of urban poverty in country can be expressed with the term pseudo urbanization in India. Pseudo urbanization is a state when the urban area is unable support the population in terms of providing basic necessarily including livelihood, housing and infrastructure. 

This is mainly because of the mass level continuous immigration of the rural poor into urban areas for the better life. Immigration creates the pressure over the resources in the cities. Urban poverty in India and other third world countries has resulted in the formation of large slums,gheto,chawls,jhuggi and shanty towns in the big city of India.

The government in the country has launched multiple plans to eradicate poverty from India since 1950.Programmes like ‘national employment program’ and ‘food for work’ initiatives have done much to harness the unemployed as productive beings. Another anti poverty program in recent times, which has won much acclaim, is the MNREGA’. 

The target of eradication of poverty in India has still miles away. Poverty solutions in country are expected to make better progress with combination programs set up for their upliftment of poor.

Globalization and privatization have also increased the inequality in the country as the rich becoming richer and the poor becoming poorer the capital is segregating in few people pocket. 

The spike in inflation has made life unaffordable for the economically weaker people and forces them into child labor.

Although the poverty reduction programs have shown some positive impact but, it still requires a concentrated effort on the part of the government to make the poor people self sufficient. 

It is not just important to support the poor people on occasional basis but it requires the needs to provide them regular work so that they can have a steady income. 

The number for poverty reflects the economic prosperity has indeed been in India, but the distribution of wealth is not at all equal.

Source:

http://goindocal.com/opinion-%BB-issues--poverty-is-still-a-big-issue-for-igo-2744.

The Market,Suppliers,Marketing Intermediaries

The Market

Organizations closely monitor their customer markets in order to adjust to changing tastes and preferences. A market is people or organizations with wants to satisfy, money to spend, and the willingness to spend it. Each target market has distinct needs, which need to be monitored. It is imperative for an organization to know their customers, how to reach them and when customers' needs change in order to adjust its marketing efforts accordingly. The market is the focal point for all marketing decisions in an organization. 

Consumer markets are individuals and households that buy goods and services for personal consumption. Business markets buy goods and services for further processing or for use in their production process. Reseller markets buy goods and services in order to resell them at a profit. Government markets are agencies that buy goods and services in order to produce public services or transfer them to those that need them. The federal government is the largest buyer in the United States. International markets consist of buyers in other countries.

Suppliers

Suppliers are organizations and individuals that provide the resources needed to produce goods and services. They are critical to an organization's marketing success and an important link in its value delivery system. Marketers must watch supply availability and monitor price trends of key inputs. If there is a breakdown in the link between the organization and its suppliers, the result will be delays and shortages that can negatively impact the organization's marketing plans. On the other hand, positive and cooperative relationships between the organization and its suppliers can lead to enhanced service and customer satisfaction.

Marketing Intermediaries

Like suppliers, marketing intermediaries are an important part of the system used to deliver value to customers. Marketing intermediaries are independent organizations that aid in the flow of products from the marketing organization to its markets. The intermediaries between an organization and its markets constitute a channel of distribution. These include middlemen (wholesalers and retailers who buy and resell merchandise). Physical distribution firms help the organization to stock and move products from their points of origin to their destinations. Warehouses store and protect the goods before they move to the next destination. Marketing service agencies help the organization target and promote its products and include marketing research firms, advertising agencies, and media firms. Financial intermediaries help finance transactions and insure against risks and include banks, credit unions, and insurance companies. 

Marketing Information 

External environmental sources provide raw data for marketers to develop into actionable, marketing information. Environmental forces create challenges and opportunities for the organization. Marketers must react and adapt to changes in their external environment. Globalization is an example of an opportunity for an organization. Improving technologies, such as transportation and communications, have enabled companies to expand into global or worldwide markets. Marketers must learn to deal effectively with multiple cultures and political systems in the midst of rapidly changing markets and technology. They must be able to anticipate this changing environment and develop the competencies at all levels in their organizations to embrace this dynamic future. 

Marketing Environment in Detail

The Environment of Marketing 

The organization operates within the larger framework of the external environment that shapes opportunities and poses threats to the organization. The external environment is a set of complex, rapidly changing and significant interacting institutions and forces that affect the organization's ability to serve its customers. External forces are not controlled by an organization, but they may be influenced or affected by that organization. It is necessary for organizations to understand the environmental conditions because they interact with strategy decisions. The external environment has a major impact on the determination of marketing decisions. Successful organizations scan their external environment so that they can respond profitably to unmet needs and trends in the targeted markets. 

The Organization as a System

It is useful to conceptualize the organization as a system or a whole with interdependent and interrelated parts. The systems approach solves problems by diagnosing them within a framework of inputs, transformation processes, outputs, and feedback. Inputs are the labor (human), money (financial), materials, and equipment resources that enter a transformation process. Transformation processes comprise the technologies used to convert inputs into outputs. Outputs are the original inputs as changed by a transformation process, products and services. Feedback is information about a system's status and performance.

Internally, an organization can be viewed as a resource conversion machine that takes inputs (labor, money, materials and equipment) from the external environment (i.e., the world outside the boundaries of the organization), converts them into useful products, goods, and services, and makes them available to customers as outputs. The organization must continuously monitor and adapt to the environment if it is to survive and prosper. Disturbances in the environment may spell profound threats or new opportunities. The successful organization will identify, appraise, and respond to the various opportunities and threats in its environment.

External Macroenvironment

The external macroenvironment consists of all the outside institutions and forces that have an actual or potential interest or impact on the organization's ability to achieve its objectives: competitive, economic, technological, political, legal, demographic, cultural, and ecosystem. Though noncontrollable these forces require a response in order to keep positive actions with the targeted markets. An organization with an environmental management perspective takes aggressive actions to affect the forces in its marketing environment rather than simply watching and reacting to it. 

Competitive Environment

Adopting the marketing concept means that an organization must provide greater customer value than its competitors. Being good is not good enough if a competitor is better. It is impossible for an organization to develop strong competitive positioning strategies without a good understanding of its competitors and the strengths and weaknesses of the competitors.

Three levels of competition exist. 

1. Direct competitors are firms competing for the same customers with the similar products (ex. grocery stores). 

2. Competition exists between products that can be substituted for one another (ex. margarine for butter). 

3. Competition exists among all organizations that compete for the consumer's purchasing power (ex. entertainment).

Pure competition has many firms, all selling identical products, and no one firm is powerful (ex. wheat farmers). Monopolistic competition has a large number of firms selling slightly differentiated products (ex. fast food - product differentiation). Oligopoly is a small number of firms selling that can act collusively (ex. long distance telephone). Monopoly is a single firm selling in the market for which there is no close substitute (ex. AT&T pre-1980). 

Economic Environment

The economic environment consists of factors that affect consumer purchasing power and spending patterns. Economic factors include business cycles, inflation, unemployment, interest rates, and income. Changes in major economic variables have a significant impact on the marketplace. For example, income affects consumer spending which affects sales for organizations. According to Engel's Laws, as income rises, the percentage of income spent on food decreases, while the percentage spent on housing remains constant. 

People spend, save, invest and try to create personal wealth with differing amounts of money. How people deal with their money is important to marketers. Trends in the economic environment show an emphasis on global income distribution issues, low savings and high debt, and changing consumer-expenditure patterns. If you consider access to telephones, clothes washers, dryers, microwaves, etc., there is little visible difference between the poor and nonpoor. Indeed, recent figures indicate that the affluent are shopping at discount stores, having adopted some of the shopping habits of those with less income.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau reports, in 1995, the poverty threshold for a single-person household was $7,763; it was $9,933 for a two-person household and $12,158 for a three-person household. In spite of that, more than 90 percent of these households have a kitchen range, a refrigerator and a color TV. A 1995 study from the National Center for Policy Analysis found that more Americans at the poverty level owned dishwashers than families in the Netherlands, Italy or the United Kingdom. It also found that more U.S. poor owned microwaves than the people of any nation in Europe did.

 

Marketers can't control the problems that have cropped up, and that may continue to develop, at various hot spots across the global economy. But they can -- and should -- take proactive steps to shelter their organizations from unwanted consequences of a worldwide downturn. When an organization's underlying financials are strong, it is able to capitalize on competitors' weaknesses, prosper, and continue to grow, even in adverse economic times. 

Technological Environment

The technological environment refers to new technologies, which create new product and market opportunities. Technological developments are the most manageable uncontrollable force faced by marketers. Organizations need to be aware of new technologies in order to turn these advances into opportunities and a competitive edge. Technology has a tremendous effect on life-styles, consumption patterns, and the economy. Advances in technology can start new industries, radically alter or destroy existing industries, and stimulate entirely separate markets. The rapid rate at which technology changes has forced organizations to quickly adapt in terms of how they develop, price, distribute, and promote their products. 

Political and Legal Environment

Organizations must operate within a framework of governmental regulation and legislation. Government relationships with organizations encompass subsidies, tariffs, import quotas, and deregulation of industries. 

The political environment includes governmental and special interest groups that influence and limit various organizations and individuals in a given society. Organizations hire lobbyists to influence legislation and run advocacy ads that state their point of view on public issues. Special interest groups have grown in number and power over the last three decades, putting more constraints on marketers. The public expects organizations to be ethical and responsible. An example of response by marketers to special interests is green marketing, the use of recyclable or biodegradable packing materials as part of marketing strategy. 

The major purposes of business legislation include protection of companies from unfair competition, protection of consumers from unfair business practices and protection of the interests of society from unbridled business behavior. The legal environment becomes more complicated as organizations expand globally and face governmental structures quite different from those within the United States.

Demographic Environment

Demographics tell marketers who current and potential customers are; where they are; and how many are likely to buy what the marketer is selling. Demography is the study of human populations in terms of size, density, location, age, sex, race, occupation, and other statistics. Changes in the demographic environment can result in significant opportunities and threats presenting themselves to the organization. Major trends for marketers in the demographic environment include worldwide explosive population growth; a changing age, ethnic and educational mix; new types of households; and geographical shifts in population. 

Cultural Environment

Social/cultural forces are the most difficult uncontrollable variables to predict. It is important for marketers to understand and appreciate the cultural values of the environment in which they operate. The cultural environment is made up of forces that affect society's basic values, perceptions, preferences, and behaviors. U.S. values and beliefs include equality, achievement, youthfulness, efficiency, practicality, self-actualization, freedom, humanitarianism, mastery over the environment, patriotism, individualism, religious and moral orientation, progress, materialism, social interaction, conformity, courage, and acceptance of responsibility. Changes in social/cultural environment affect customer behavior, which affects sales of products. Trends in the cultural environment include individuals changing their views of themselves, others, and the world around them and movement toward self-fulfillment, immediate gratification, and secularism. 

Ecosystem Environment 

The ecosystem refers to natural systems and its resources that are needed as inputs by marketers or that are affected by marketing activities. Green marketing (the greening of America) or environmental concern about the physical environment has intensified in recent years. Environmental consciousness has a strong presence in Western Europe and Japan, as well as in the United States. To avoid shortages in raw materials, organizations can use renewable resources (such as forests) and alternatives (such as solar and wind energy) for nonrenewable resources (such as oil and coal). Organizations can limit their energy usage by increasing efficiency. Goodwill can be built by voluntarily engaging in pollution prevention activities and natural resource.

External Microenvironment

The external microenvironment consists of forces that are part of an organization's marketing process but are external to the organization. These microenvironmental forces include the organization's market, its producer-suppliers, and its marketing intermediaries. While these are external, the organization is capable of exerting more influence over these than forces in the macroenvironment. 

Model of Marketing

Ralph Mroz designed the Synchronous Marketing Process (SM)© model below. (SM is used by permission.) A model is a tool that systematically arranges an analytical framework and translates key inputs into outputs. It is often used when answers to strategic questions are not immediately obvious, but when quantifiable and repeatable relationships exist between outputs and inputs. A model's repeatable nature makes it ideal for analyzing multiple scenarios and helping decide the most appropriate course of action. 

The Synchronous Marketing Process (SM) is a model of an integrated, structured, repeatable marketing process. It divides marketing into two broad categories. The right side of the model refers to marketing planning (strategic marketing activities) and the left side of the model refers to marketing operations (tactical marketing activities). The SM model is circular and constantly interacting linked by appropriate information flows. It guides the organization through a complete and thorough examination of the market, its opportunities, the development process and promotional tasks. 

Internet and Marketing

Until recently marketers could reach customers by advertising, by phone, by mail, or in person. Now marketers have the Internet which is available around the clock, every day. Marketers can build relationships with customers at their convenience, and at a much lower cost. They can provide customer service whenever people need it -- and make it easily accessible. The Internet is the newest way to attract new customers, as well as build loyalty. 

Relationships in Marketing

In the past, the focus of marketing was on finding new customers to make the sale. Organizations have begun to realize that it is a lot cheaper to retain current customers than to attract new ones. This has led to a focus on relationship marketing that involves working closely with customers to build lasting relationships over time. Theodore Levitt says, "One of the surest signs of a bad or declining relationship is the absence of complaints from the customer."

Relationship marketing is establishing, developing, and maintaining successful relational long-term exchanges between organizations and ultimate customers. Understanding relationship marketing requires distinguishing between the discrete transaction (distinct beginning, short duration, and distinct ending) and the relational exchange, which traces to previous agreements and is longer in duration, reflecting an ongoing process. The goal of the discrete transaction is to get customers (short-term goal-oriented), whereas the goal of relationship marketing is to get and keep customers (long term goal-oriented).

Relationship Marketing has gained increased status in recent years in part because research has shown that it costs up to five times as much to acquire a new customer as it does to service an existing one. In addition, studies have shown that fewer than 10% of dissatisfied customers repurchase a product, while these individuals relate their dissatisfaction to others at a rate five times that of satisfied customers. 

The unit of value in business today is relationships. Clearly, marketers have an incentive to keep existing customers satisfied. The key to successful customer retention is superior customer satisfaction. Focused marketing means building relationships with the right people. Organizations have determined that even the loss of a sale in the short run may mean greater profits in a long-term relationship. It is not uncommon for an organization engaged in relationship marketing to recommend a competitor's product if they feel that the competing product would better satisfy the unique needs of the customer. Such a focus on satisfying customer needs helps build the trust that can result in a mutually beneficial and satisfying long-term relationship. 

Relationsare built on value and service. Value for the customer is a result of increased global competition that acts as an unyielding pressure on prices. The consumer receives value from manufacturers operating huge factories and from retailers providing an infinite variety of goods. Yet, service has suffered as individual production facilities and stores have been replaced in this industry trend toward mergers with multiple factories and distribution sites. Service is part of a corporate culture and is the other characteristic of global competition. It is exercised for every transaction, large or small, to every customer. Those who render it will find they keep their customers.

Concepts in Marketing

The role of a mutually satisfying exchange is central to the marketing concept. The Marketing concept is satisfying the customer at a profit. Three features of the marketing concept are customer orientation, coordinated effort by all departments within the organization to provide customer satisfaction, and emphasis on long-term profit.

The marketing concept describes an ideal state of affairs. It exists when an organization focuses all of its efforts on providing products that satisfy its customers. The customer is the focal point for how each area of the organization is run. Products are created with the goal of satisfying customers' needs and wants. All departments within the organization work together toward the goal of customer satisfaction. They closely coordinate their efforts both to satisfy customer wants and achieve the organization's long-run goals. 

When an organization is attempting to implement the marketing concept, it has a market orientation.

An organization is market oriented when it generates market intelligence on its customer needs, disseminates the intelligence across departments, and then responds organization-wide to the information. Organizations adopting the marketing concept are committed to market-focused and customer-driven philosophies.

A more recent philosophy is the societal marketing concept, which enlarges the marketing concept by asserting that organizations should determine customers' needs and wants and then deliver superior value to the target market in a way that improves customers' and society's well-being. It requires that an organization think about the long-run interests of society in satisfying consumers while meeting organizational objectives. Extending the time dimension means that the organization takes a long-term view of customer satisfaction. It takes into account the need for organizations to act responsibly not only towards their customers, but also towards the environment and other needs of society. Extending the breadth dimension means the organization recognizes that the market includes not only buyers of the organization's products but also other people affected by the organization's operations. It has become good business to consider and think of society's interests when the organization makes marketing decisions.

It is obvious to most consumers in the marketplace that many organizations have not adopted the marketing concept. In fact, these organizations are successful in spite of themselves. A market orientation is not important when competition is not intense, when market preferences are stable, during periods of booming economies, and when industries are characterized as technologically turbulent. Examples of marketers who do not follow the marketing concept include companies that make products in terms of what designers or engineers say they can produce. 

The product planner does not study how the product or its features could meet consumer needs. For those companies, marketing remains just selling. Alternative concepts under which organizations conduct their marketing activities include production, product, and selling. 

According to the Production concept, the focus of marketing efforts should be on improving production and distribution efficiency. This works well when there is a great deal of unmet demand for a product or when the cost of the product is so high that it needs to be manufactured cheaper in order to get consumers to adopt it. This philosophy is clearly seen in an anecdote about Henry Ford. When someone asked him why his popular Model T automobile was not available in the variety of colors, he is supposed to have quipped "Customers can have it in any color they want, as long as it is black!"

The production concept was rampant in American industry during the Industrial Revolution. Companies prided themselves on manufacturing more products better and cheaper than their competitors. However, a focus simply on production and distribution efficency ignores an important factor -- the needs of the customers. Inventors and entrepreneurs often fall victim to the production concept and fail to think about the needs of the customers. Developing an innovative product cheaper than the competition is no good unless it satisfies the needs of the customers. There are many examples of companies developing extraordinarily efficient and powerful software packages that have failed because of a lack of user-friendly features. 

The product concept is a philosophy that focuses on the features of the product. While the production concept argues for the focus on production and distribution processes, the product concept assumes that consumers will buy the product with the best quality, performance and features. Ralph Waldo Emerson professed this philosophy when he said, "If a man … makes a better mousetrap … the world will beat a path to his door." Unfortunately, this is not necessarily true. Customers will buy products that they perceive as providing them with the best value. This is not necessarily the same as the product with the most features.

Theodore Levitt advanced the thesis that market definitions of a business are superior to product definitions of business. Focus on the product rather than the benefit the product offers to consumers can result in what Levitt calls marketing myopia or shortsightedness. 

The organization fails to see the impact of a changing environment on its future. It loses sight of underlying customer needs by only focusing on existing wants. The product focus was apparent when the railroads went into decline, according to Levitt "because they assumed themselves to be in the railroad business rather than the transportation business." This resulted in their completely overlooking the threats posed by alternative forms of transportation. A product, according to Levitt, is not a thing but a complex cluster of satisfactions. (See Theodore Levitt's The Marketing Imagination, Free Press, 1983; Theodore Levitt, "Marketing Myopia," HBR July-August 1960, pp. 45-56.)

The selling concept is used when companies find themselves with an overabundance of products that they have to sell in order to deplete their inventories. Followers of the selling concept believe that consumers will not buy their products unless they undertake a large-scale selling and promotion effort. Their aim is to sell what they make rather than make what will sell in the market. This concept is typically practiced with unsought products, those that consumers don't ordinarily think of buying such as funeral insurance. 

The danger, however, is that the focus on "making the sale" overshadows the focus on building long-term relationships with customers. Once a customer buys the product, this philosophy assumes that he or she will be satisfied with the product or will simply forget about any disappointment or dissatisfaction with having bought an unsatisfactory product. 

Quality in Marketing

The customer is the final judge of value. Customer satisfaction is the extent to which a product's perceived performance matches a buyer's expectations. Quality is defined in various ways, but in terms of competitiveness and profitability, none is more important than customer satisfaction. It is critical to create products that customers will buy, enjoy, tell their friends about, and buy again. 

The quality of a product is a major determinant of customer satisfaction. The American society of qualitydefines quality as the characteristics of a product or service that bear on its ability to satisfy stated or implied needs. 

The quality viewpoint stresses the provision of high-quality products and services at all times. The aim of W. Edward Deming's Total Quality Management (TQM) approach is constant quality improvement.

 Deming was one of the founders of the quality movement and helped Japanese organizations make statistical quality control improvements. Later, United States marketers recognized his contributions. Deming's recommendations include planning for quality, striving for zero defects, using only a few suppliers who have demonstrated that they can deliver quality, and inspecting for quality during the process and not after. 

For marketers the focus of the total Quality Movement has shifted to total customer satisfaction. Quality begins with customer needs and ends with customer satisfaction. Successful marketers want their customers to be delighted when actual performance exceeds expectations. When customers are surprised with more quality, their perceived sense of value is heightened. Marketers manage satisfaction by targeting the customers who are most likely to appreciate the organization's distinctive competence.

Exchange is the Focus of Marketing

The basis for marketing is exchange, a way to satisfy a want.Exchange is to give or receive something of value for another thing. value is the worth of a product, usually in money. "Something of value" exchanged by the marketer can be an idea, good, or service and is not limited to physical objects. Marketers, as well as many businesspeople, use the term product to encompass anything that can be offered to a market that might satisfy a need or want. This could include persons, places, organizations, and activities, as well as ideas, goods, and services. Or as Charls Revsonwas reported to say, "In the factory we make cosmetics. In the store we sell hope."

The customer is the individual or organization that actually makes the exchange or purchase. The consumer is the person or organization that actually uses or consumes the product. Even though customer and consumer are differentiated, he or she can be one and the same person. Existing or potential customers can be considered a market. A market is a group of customers who have the need, the ability, and the authority to purchase a specific product. Thus, buyers constitute a market.

Natural separations exist between exchange parties. Buyers and sellers might be separated by geographical location, lack of information, and timing in production versus demand. Five different forms of separation between potential exchange parties include spatial, temporal, perceptual, ownership, and value. Marketers bridge these separations by performing the functions of exchange (buying and selling), logistics (transporting and storing), and facilitating (financing, risk taking, providing information, standardizing/grading).

Marketing creates and provides utility (usefulness or value) for the consumer. Utility is the attribute in an item that makes it capable of satisfying wants. Form utility is the physical change that makes a product more valuable. Strictly speaking, this is a function of production but marketing plays a vital role in directing the ultimate shape, size, quality, and design of products. Place utility makes a product accessible to potential customers where they want it. Time utility makes a product available when they want it. Possession utility is created when ownership is transferred to the buyer.

Importance of Marketing

The American Marketing Association (AMA) defines marketing as the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion, and distribution of ideas, goods, and services to create exchanges that satisfy individual and organizational goals. This definition of marketing first appeared in Marketing News on March 1, 1986. It is included in the Dictionary of Marketing Terms, 2d edition, edited by Peter D. Bennett, published by the American Marketing Association, 1995.

The definition of marketing describes the nature of the process. Ralph Mroz of ad lineam defines marketing as the process that aligns the desires of customers with the capabilities of the enterprise. Marketing is a continuous cycle that involves satisfying customer needs and wants by creating mutually beneficial exchanges. A need is a state of felt deprivation. A want is the conscious recognition of a need. Marketing begins with an idea about a want-satisfying product and does not end until customers' wants are completely satisfied, which sometimes occurs after the sale. 

The desire for a product together with the ability to pay for it is known asdemand More specifically, it is the quantity of a product that will be sold during a period of time at different prices. Demand comes from new customers and repeat customers. Marketers must find demand, as well as increase or decrease demand. Demarketing is the marketing task used to reduce or shift demand. Marketing is essentially management of supply and demand.. Outstanding marketers go to great lengths to learn about and understand their customers' demands.

Purpose of Marketing

In today's competitive environment, a strong focus on customer satisfaction is essential to the success of any organization. Rapid globalization means that companies now compete in markets all over the world. Foreign and domestic organizations are realizing that profit will only be achieved through the use of marketing. Marketing is the business function that focuses on satisfying the needs and wants of coustemers through exchange processes. It is the only revenue-producing activity for the organization. Drucker says, "Because its purpose is to create a customer, the business has two - and only two - functions: marketing and innovation. Marketing and innovation create value, all the rest are costs." (See Drucker, Peter F., People and Performance, Harper college Press, 1977, p. 90) Thus, sound marketing is critical to the success of the organization, whether for-profit or not-for-profit, foreign or domestic. 

The idea that profit is not the primary goal of business is not a new. In 1954, Peter Drucker made the point in his book, The Practice of Management. "Profit is not the explanation, cause or rationale of business behavior and business decisions, but the test of their validity." Profits are an essential result of business success. Again, the true purpose is the creation of customers: the efficient provision of goods and services which people want to buy. Satisfy customers and profit will follow. 

Many people think that marketing is just selling and advertising. Peter Drucker explains marketing this way: "The aim of marketing is to make selling superfluous. The aim is to know and understand the customer so well that the product or service fits him or her and sells itself." This is not to say that selling and advertising are unimportant, but rather that they are part of a larger "marketing mix" that must be orchestrated for maximum impact on the marketplace. 

Jerome McCarthy delineates the marketing mix as the four Ps (product, price, promotion, and place). Thus, a marketing mix is a specific combination of four strategies -- product, price, place or distribution, and promotion or marketing communications -- designed to satisfy customers. The focus of marketing is to do such an excellent job of developing, pricing, promoting, and distributing a product to customers that the product practically sells itself.

Introduction to Marketing

Marketing plays a major role in our daily lives. Each day is filled with consuming products made available by marketers. We pay for marketing each time we buy a product. In fact, half of every dollar spent at the retail level goes to cover marketing costs. Marketing is responsible for satisfying customers, which in turn increases our standard of living and quality of life.

GS holds the key to score high marks in UPSC Mains

The Civil Services (Main) Examination 2011 is scheduled in October . Over the years, there has been a rise in preparation awareness among aspirants, but this exam continues to throw a surprise element calling for newer strategies.

The papers have clearly shown that the UPSC seems to be determined to select those aspirants who are able to cover most of the topics in the syllabus with focus on current affairs.

The number of questions in the General Studies question papers has been doubled from 30 to 60, says P.S. Ravindran, director, Vajiram and Ravi Institute for IAS Examination, New Delhi. “As UPSC covers a large number of areas, General Study’s preparation should be comprehensive,” he says. He stressed the need to score more than 320 marks in both the optional subjects as scoring in the General Studies has become more challenging.

A good number of aspirants in the previous mains examination were not able to score more than 270 out of 600 in both the GS papers.

Many questions pertaining to current affairs of the month of October 2010 were unexpected and candidates found it quite tough to write them properly in the 2010 mains.

Candidates who were able to read at least two broadsheet newspapers such as The Hindu regularly were able to answer those questions. “Reading of two newspapers and Frontline is necessary. Questions based on less prominent news is also being asked,” says Mr. Ravindran.

Instead of reading tons study materials, candidates are advised to select two source materials and concentrate on that with four rounds of quick revision.

A thorough preparation of in statistics and Indian Economy is key for high score. The questions would cover Indian economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization of resources, growth, development, Panchayati Raj, International events and employment.

Issues arising from the social and economic exclusion of large sections from the benefits of development, economic and trade issues such as foreign trade, foreign investment, economic and diplomacy issues relating to oil, gas and energy flows, the role and functions of IMF, World Bank and WTO which influence India's economic interaction with other countries and international institutions are important.

The aspirants who score more than 300 in the GS papers are those with excellent understanding of the subjects at the secondary and higher secondary school level.

They do not need to have any specialized study in any of the subjects for the GS. NCERT books of geography, polity, economy, history and statistics continue to be useful for revising the syllabus for the main examination.

IGNOU study materials on optional subjects could be of great used for understanding the basic for the General Studies and the optional subjects.

The CSAT-2011 had 14 questions on current affairs of May 2011. Over 70 questions in the CSAT -2011 were related to current affairs. This trend is likely to continue in the civil services main examination as well.

“Many first-timers have cleared the prelims. So presentation of answers will be more important,” says Ganesa Subramanian, Director, Ganesh's IAS. Questions pertaining to the celebration of the 150 years of existence of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, diamond jubilee celebrations of the Election Commission of India, Union Budget, Constituent Assembly and Reserve Bank of India may be of significance, he says.

Current affairs based on newspaper reports from September 2010 to October 2011 are the important areas. The aspirants must be able to think and formulate views based on their subject knowledge based primarily on NCERT material.

Last year, questions on news covered in the period between October 1 and 15 oct took candidates by surprise.

More surprises may be in store of UPSC for them this year. Commission is expected to continue testing the analytical ability of candidates in this main exam . Environment, ecology, biodiversity and climate change may be key segment.

Reading editorials of newspapers has been a helping strategy for Essay paper and for answering questions on polity and social issues.

 Economic Survey and publications such as Yojana,Kurukshetra may be useful. Lok Sabha channel debates may throw light on social issues and helpful of opening the windows of the mind. Weekly group discussions or joint study with other candidates would enrich the understanding of key areas.

UPSC aspirants demands to disclose the cut-off marks of CSAT

Several UPSC aspirants who alleged discrepancies in the prelim exam results declared in the last week of August are demanding that the commission should increase the transparency in the entire process. They said the UPSC must release the cut-off list of the CSAT examination held in June this year.

The recently declared UPSC-CSAT results have left many aspirants in complete confusionas many students who were confident of getting through the prelim exam easily have not made in the list of passed candidates. 

This has even shocked the coaching class teachers. “Few students whose preparation was not up to the mark have cleared while those who were doing well have not,” said one teacher.

Raman sinha, 24, one of the aspirants said, “After the exam, I had checked my answers in the answer guide and according to it, I should have easily cleared the exams.

 Had UPSC come out with its own answer key we could have checked our answers but now there’s no way to cross check.”

While aspirants from other cities, including Mumbai, New Delhi, have similar complaints, this is not the first time that this has happened.

For sevear  years, aspirants have been complaining of discrepancies in the prelim results. But the number of complaints this year is alarmingly high.

For last few years there has been an increasing demand from students that UPSC declare the cut-off marks and the answer key as many public service commission’s in the country do.

MPSC not only declares the cut-off and answer key within few days of the examination, but it also provides a photocopy of the answer sheet.

BPSC and UPPSC also do same to create better transparency but UPSC don't do it.

This has made the whole process transparent, said Aditya srivastava, who teaches Public Administration at a Coaching Classes.

In 2006, CIC had directed UPSC to disclose students’ marks and cut-offs for the preliminary examination after the allegation made by the informal group Transparency seekers.

Latter matter went on court the Delhi high court and Supreme Court had upheld the decision and had directed UPSC to disclose the cut-off marks besides model answers and the scaling systems. 

But despite of court directive UPSC hasn’t taken any step in this direction. Students are planning to file a PIL in the High Court.

JPSC 4th PT Result no Respite yet ! for the Aspirants

Ranchi, Sept, 24: Jharkhand Public service commission (JPSC) Ranchi which is known as the most controversial public service commission in the India is now struggling to go ahead with the next level of examination amid controversy over the recently announced PT result.

Earlier JPSC had successfully conducted the examination after several postponements despite of claimed carefulness by the JPSC  the questions asked in the 4th PT examination are under the centre of controversy.

The toughness level of various optional papers was not at same level so the competitive advantage in this 4th civil service examination is extensively under the favor of some privileged optional. Especially the history optional paper was so easy that average students had marked more than 90 questions.

To tame the misbalance JPSC adopted the scaling system and this system has criticized by the aspirants furthermore several defaults are also reported by the media in the published result.

According to insiders ,Examination controller of JPSC Rantikant Jha has also admitted that there are several mistakes in PT result ,and it looks that commission is trying to rectify in result therefore students who passed in the PT is still waiting for the mains form.

If JPSC will revise the result it will show the exit way to some of the aspirants who has already cleared the PT and some new aspirant will appear in mains basket.

The credibility of the commission is still deteriorating under newly appointed chairman Shiv Basant.

Mains examination is already delayed it further raised the question over the competency of the JPSC to take the examination.

Meg Whitman the new CEO of HP

After her failure to became the governor of California, ex-eBay CEO Meg Whitman has got her appointment as president and CEO of US  tech giant HP.

She is at 55th year her residence  is at Atherton, Calofornia.having  Bachelor of Arts / Science, Princeton University; Master of Business Administration, Harvard University

 "She would love to champion female entrepreneurs in particular," says a spokesman. Good timing, as her fortune continues to rise thanks to a firm grip on millions of eBay shares.

Whitman is back on the board of directors of HP and Procter & Gamble where she served from 2003 to 2008 before taking time off for her political foray.

She also signed on to the board of ZipCar, which saw shares soar after its April debut on the NASDAQ exchange. Whitman turned down Warren Buffett's invitation last year to join the Giving Pledge, in which billionaires agree to donate half their fortune to charity.

World top 20 most debtor nation

As the developed world is gripped under the financial crisis, national economies have looked to their government and foreign lenders for financial support, which translates to improve the borrowing, spending and in most cases, growing national debt.

Deficit spending, government debt and private sector borrowing are the new normal in most western countries, but due in part to the financial crisis, some nations and economies are in deep trouble.Here i am citing world's top 20 debtor countries

20. United States - 101.1%,External debt (as % ): 101.1% ,Gross external debt: $14.825 trillion ,2009 GDP (est): $14.66 trillion ,External debt per capita: $48,258.

19. Hungary - 120.1%,External debt (as % of GDP): 120.1% ,Gross external debt: $225.24 billion 2009 GDP (est): $187.6 billion ,External debt per capita: $22,739.

18. Australia - 138.9%,External debt (as % of GDP): 138.9% ,Gross external debt: $1.23 trillion ,2010 GDP (est): $882.4 billion ,External debt per capita: $57,641.

17. Italy - 146.6%,External debt (as % of GDP): 146.6% ,Gross external debt: $2.602 trillion ,2010 GDP (est): $1.77 trillion ,External debt per capita: $44,760.

16. Spain - 179.4%,External debt (as % of GDP): 179.4% ,Gross external debt: $2.46 trillion ,2010 GDP (est): $1.37 trillion ,External debt per capita: $60,614.

15. Greece - 182.2%,External debt (as % of GDP): 182.2% ,Gross external debt: $579.7 billion,2010 GDP (est): $318.1 billion,External debt per capita: $53,984.

14. Germany - 185.1%,External debt (as % of GDP): 185.1% ,Gross external debt: $5.44 trillion 2010 GDP (est): $2.94 trillion ,External debt per capita: $51,572.

13. Portugal - 223.6%,External debt (as % of GDP): 223.6% ,Gross external debt: $552.23 billion,2010 GDP (est): $247 billion,External debt per capita: $51,572.

12. France - 250%,External debt (as % of GDP): 250% ,Gross external debt: $5.37 trillion ,2010 GDP (est): $2.15 trillion ,External debt per capita: $83,781.

11. Hong Kong - 250.4%,External debt (as % of GDP): 250.4% ,Gross external debt: $815.65 billion ,2010 GDP (est): $325.8 billion ,External debt per capita: $115,612.

10. Norway - 251%,External debt (as % of GDP): 251% ,Gross external debt: $640.7 billion ,2010 GDP (est): $255.3 billion ,External debt per capita: $137,476.

9. Austria - 261.1%,External debt (as % of GDP): 261.1% ,Gross external debt: $867.14 billion,2010 GDP (est): $332 billion ,External debt per capita: $105,616.

8. Finland - 271.5%,External debt (as % of GDP): 271.5% ,Gross external debt: $505.06 billion,2010 GDP (est): $186 billion ,External debt per capita: $96,197.

7. Sweden - 282.2%,External debt (as % of GDP): 282.2% ,Gross external debt: $1.001 trillion,2010 GDP (est): $354.7 billion ,External debt per capita: $110,479.

6. Denmark - 310.4%,External debt (as % of GDP): 310.4% ,Gross external debt: $626.1 billion,2010 GDP (est): $201.7 billion ,External debt per capita: $113,826.

5. Belgium - 335.9%,External debt (as % of GDP): 335.9% ,Gross external debt: $1.324 trillion,2010 GDP (est): $394.3 billion ,External debt per capita: $127,197.

4. Netherlands - 376.3%,External debt (as % of GDP): 376.3% ,Gross external debt: $2.55 trillion ,2010 GDP (est): $676.9 billion,External debt per capita: $152,380.

3. Switzerland - 401.9%,External debt (as % of GDP): 401.9% ,Gross external debt: $1.304 trillion ,2010 GDP (est): $324.5 billion ,External debt per capita: $171,528.

2. United Kingdom - 413.3%,External debt (as % of GDP): 413.3% ,Gross external debt: $8.981 trillion ,2010 GDP (est): $2.173 trillion ,External debt per capita: $146,953.

1. Ireland - 1,382%,External debt (as % of GDP): 1,382% ,Gross external debt: $2.38 trillion,2010 GDP (est): $172.3 billion ,External debt per capita: $566,756.

Patna Kalam Paintings an Introduction

Mughal Emperors of India has influenced the social, cultural, political and economic life style of the Indians. Its effect was so deep that it was seen over art and architecture of the country. Mughal style of painting is a brightest feature of cultural landscape of the Indian history, which matured in the regime of Jahangir and his period was considered as the golden era of Mughal paintings.

                                          Patna Kalam Art: Domestic work by women


Mughal style of paintings is the fusion of Persian style with the Indian traditional style and created their distinct identity. Many Indian schools of paintings were founded, enriched, nourished and flourished afterwards and they were heavily influenced by Mughal paintings.

Patna School of Painting which is popularly known as the Patna Kalam or Company painting was  derivative from Mughal painting and it was developed during early 18th to mid 20th century in Bihar particularly around Patna. 

During the relinquish rule of Aurangzeb Hindu artisans of Mughal painting faced mass prosecution amid his widely practiced anti-Hindu doctrine and aversion in art and painting.

Hindu painters migrated and taken shelter in Patna and laid the foundation of their own school of painting known as Patna Kalam.

                                                        Patna Kalam Art: A Lohar working

Patna Kalam was build upon the basic features of Mughal painting but their subject matter was quite different. Unlike the Mughal painting, which was centered over the royalty and court scenes, flag bearers of Patna Kalam were deeply influenced by daily life of common man. Their main subjects were local festival, ceremonies, bazaar scenes, local rulers, and domestic activities.

Some well known painters of Patna kalam were Sewak Ram,Hulas Lall, Shiv Lal,Shiva Dayal,Mahadeo Lal and Ishwari Prasad Verma. 

The practitioners of the Patna kalam used to extract indigenously colors from plants, barks, flowers and metals .The canvas they used were made up of glass, mica and ivory sheets.

The prominent centers of Patna Kalam schools were centered Patna, Danapur and Arrah.

These paintings were featured by light colored sketches and life-size representations. One of the most distinguishing characteristic of Patna Kalam is that, they do not have any landscape, foreground or background.

The figures of such paintings are depicted by the heavy eyebrows, pointed noses, lean and gaunt faces, big mustaches sunken and deep-set staring eyes.

Second unique component of the Patna School of Painting was the development in the shading of solid forms.

Patna Kalam paintings are painted straightway with the brush without marking with pencil to delineate the contours of the picture and the procedure of painting is popularly known as 'Kajli Seahi.

The Patna School of Painting has faced a gradual decline and inching towards the extinction with the lapse of time as new artists are not coming forward to carry on this beautiful tradition and the old ones are passing away one by one.

It's basically a miniature form of painting which has, because of its unique style and form, occupied separate shelves at art galleries in London and museums in Prague.

                                                        Patna Kalam Art: Money lender

This is the most unfortunate things about the Patna Kalam,like the world-famous Madhubani paintings, it has not received its due share of acknowledgement despite of that many believes that the eponymous painting was far superior to the more popular Mithila paintings.

The “Patna Kalam” faced competition from the "Madhubani paintings which is marketed professionally both at home and abroad. Also, Maghubani painting is a folk form which could be easily transferred from one generation to another".

Today, only few existing miniatures of this rare form lie in unkempt and dusty shelves in the Patna museum where it was fondly created and adopted at one time.