Nmap Lab Exercise Essay

2. Is Nmap able to identify the operating system running on each system? Is there any Nmap feature that can be used to guess the OS of a host? Explain your answer. Using the ports that are open and the probable services running on those ports, determine what operating systems are running on the devices. Explain your answer. Nmap was not able to classify the operating system (OS) running on all â€Å"3† hosts provided during the exercise. However, Nmap  was able to identify and determine the OS running on â€Å"Host 1† as presented in Figure 1: Host 1 (192.168.100.103). Located in Nmap there is an attribute which is used to conjecture the OS of a target host. If an individual decides to limit the OS detection to the targets, one can use one open and one closed port by using the (osscan-limit) feature command. With this scan Nmap will attempt a (TCP-SYN) connection to 1000 of the most common ports as well as an ICMP echo request to determine if a host if up. On the other hand if Nmap cannot make a perfect match for an OS it will guess something that is close, but not 100% exact (Orebaugh & Pinkard, pp. 111, 2008). This approach is more aggressive and is called (osscan-guess). The initial scan determined that â€Å"Host 1† was running (Microsoft XP SP2 or SP3) validated by the fact that port 445 is open providing Microsoft -ds services. By using the feature attribute (osscan-guess) as described above Nmap determined that â€Å"Host 3† is running (Linuz 2.6X-2.4X â€Å"96%†) as shown in â€Å"Figure 4† below. When running (osscan-limit & osscan-guess) in Nmap I was unable to determine the OS of â€Å"Host 2† due to the fact that all ports were closed. Figure 4 3. Which host appears most secure? Least secure? When running the scans in Nmap, â€Å"Host 1† appears to present the least amount of security of all three hosts in the exercise. This host had the most open ports and by running a rudimentary scan Nmap was able to disclose the operating system of the host. Host 2 was reasonably secure, due to that not even an â€Å"OS Fingerprinting† scan could disclose much about the system. This scan required the use of more advanced attributes to reveal what OS â€Å"Host 2† was running, inevitably the results were ball park answers. In this exercise â€Å"Host 3† has been determined to be the most secure, based on that not even advanced scanning features of Nmap were able to unveil what OS is running on the host. Of the three hosts delivered in the exercise, â€Å"Host 1† had nine open ports, â€Å"Host 2† had two open ports, and the most secure â€Å"Host 3† only publicized one open port. 4. Describe several uses of Nmap. Nmap (Network Mapper) is an open source tool that is used by network administrators and IT security professionals to scan enterprise networks, looking for live hosts, specific services, or specific operating systems (Orebaugh & Pinkard, p. 34, 2008). Nmap has a variety of features, and  territories the aptitude to perform basic scans, while incorporating the capability to command advanced scans containing a mass of options scanning across a huge continuum of IP address universes while logging specific file types or systems. Nmap has the ability to perform packet fragmentation, TCP scan flags customization, and IP and MAC address spoofing to name a few advanced features of many offered in this scanning tool. Nmap can also discover host, and do proper port scanning. Host discovery is a great way to create and maintain an asset database and to discover rogue devices on the network. The real power attribute of Nmap is port scanning, and its efficiency in security auditing, asset manage ment, and especially compliance. Port scanning gives the ability to locate systems with file sharing ports or unauthorized FTP servers and printers. Open ports disclose potential and probable security weaknesses, provide application and services inventory, and validate compliance with approved software guidelines (Orebaugh & Pinkard, p.99, 2008). 5. Which feature(s) of Nmap did you find the most useful and why? The most useful and most operable feature of Nmap is â€Å"OS Fingerprinting†. This feature offers the most depth of results when running a scan of a host. OS Fingerprinting yields information regarding open ports, types of services, as well as the operating system running on the host. OS Fingerprinting is both passive and active, meaning, in the passive it involves sniffing network traffic at any given connection point and matching known patterns that match pre-existing OS identities. In the active this feature requires the use of a set of specialized probes that are sent to the system in question; the responses from the active give insight to what type of OS has been installed. With the availability of these different attributes to one feature gives the IT professional a full scope and clear picture of the host that is being targeted in the scan. 6. Which feature(s) of Nmap did you find the most difficult to use and why? This was my first time using a system like this and struggled with all the features at first. Thus, after performing significant research I have come to the conclusion that using (osscan-guess) can arise significant problems and red flags and this command as described is giving a guess that near-matches aggressively. This command relays back possibilities, and the match has to be very close for Nmap to do this by default. The only positive to this command is that Nmap will tell you when an imperfect match is printed and will display is confidence level by percentage for each guess. 7. Research a command or feature that you consider important but not covered in the lab. Describe its usage and report your findings when running the command against the host in the lab. The one command of interest is the â€Å"sV† command which enables version detection, with attributes of (intensity, light, all, and trace). When performing a version scan, Nmap sends a series of probes each of which is assigned a rarity value between one and nine. The lower-numbered probes are effective against a wide variety of common services, as the higher numbered probes are rarely useful. The intensity level specifies which probes should be applied, and the default is (7). Version light is a convenience for (version-intensity 2) which makes the scanning much faster, but less likely to identify services. Command (all) in â€Å"sV† is an alias for (version-intensity 9) ensures that every single probe is attempted against each port. The last attribute to the feature is (version-trace) which causes Nmap to print out extensive debugging information about what version scanning is doing. As shown in Figure 5 below the (sV) flag tells Nmap to try to determine service version information, this command of version feature is dependent upon the OS Fingerprint scan finding an open TCP or UDP port. Therefore, after the port discovery, version detection takes over and starts its process of probing for information regarding what is open and running on the target (Orebaugh & Pinkard, p.167, 2008). Figure 5: ASSINGMENT PART B NESSUS SCANNER B. Lab Questions: Part B 1. What operating systems are running on different hosts? The operating systems running on each host are the following: Host 1: Microsoft Windows XP SP2 or SP3 Host 2: Linux Kernal Host 3: Linux 2.6X or Linux 2.4X 2. What web server (if any) is running on each computer? According to the screenshots displayed in (Figures 1-3), â€Å"Host 2† appears to running a multicast domain name service (MDNS) server on port 5353 using the UDP protocol. The third host is running a domain name service (DNS) server  on port 53 using TCP protocol and MDNS server on port 5353 using the UDP protocol. It could not be distinguished if â€Å"Host 1† is running any web servers, but ports (80-HTTP) and (443-HTTPS) are both open when running the scan. 3. What are the several services running on each computer? Below will be snap shots of each host providing the services provided by each host. Figure 6: Host 1: 192.168.100.103 Figure 7: Host 2: 192.168.100.105 Figure 8: Host 3: 192.168.100.106 4. Which host had the highest number of vulnerabilities? And which had the least number of vulnerabilities? Based off the scan run on each host, host 1 (192.168.100.103) had the highest number of vulnerabilities, while host 2 (192.168.100.105) provided the least number of vulnerabilities. Host 3 provided no high risk vulnerabilities, one medium risk with two open ports. The details for each host are provided below. Host 1: 192.168.100.103Vulnerabilities: 71 Host 2: 192.168.100.105Vulnerabilities: 49 Host 3: 192.168.100.106Vulnerabilities: 22 5. Identify one high severity vulnerability for each computer (if there is one). Describe the vulnerability and discuss control(s) to minimize risk from the vulnerability. Default password (user) for â€Å"user† account; Microsoft Windows SMB shares unprivileged access When performing the scans for all three hosts, only host (1 & 2) produced high severity vulnerabilities. The vulnerability that produced the biggest red flag in my analysis was protecting user passwords. My scans produced both in host (1 & 2) that default password (user) for â€Å"user† account was at high risk. This vulnerability can be very dangerous to an organization and the users that operate within the network, cloud databases, and encrypted files. This vulnerability can be attributed to pre-established policies on lockout threshold, lockout duration, and cache size. According to Oracle, protecting user accounts is vital and the usernames are stored in a domain server and  are hashed. This vulnerability can be fixed by setting a threshold on an account after invalid attempts to log-in to an account exceed the desired attempts. The numbers of failed user password entries are set before the account is then locked, and subsequent attempts to access the account the account remains locked until the administrator re-sets the password. The lockout duration is the number of minutes that a user’s account remains inaccessible after being locked. Subsequently, administrators should set a cache lockout size which will specify the intended cache size of unused and invalid login attempts. The standard according to Oracle is set at (5), and this is very relevant when a company is audited for IT security. This cache will help the administrator catch logs of failed and unused login attempts for proper compliance reporting. 6. Describe the various uses of Nessus.  Nessus is a vulnerability scanning tool which provides patching, configuration, and compliance auditing. It also encompasses features for mobile, malware, botnet discovery, and sensitive data identification. This is a remote security tool which scans a computer and raises an alert if it discovers any vulnerability that malicious hackers could use to gain access to a computer system that is connected to a network. This operates by running (1200) checks on a given computer, testing to see if any of these other attacks could be used to break the security of a computer and otherwise compromise it. Nessus has many advantages, unlike other scanner solutions Nessus does not make assumptions about your server configuration, yet it is also very extensible, providing scripting language for the IT administrator to write specific tests to the system once the admin becomes familiar with the tool. This tool also provides a plug-in interface. Nessus is open source, meaning it costs nothing and the IT admin is free to see and modify the source as appropriate. This software also encompasses patching assistance when it detects vulnerabilities and it is the best way to mitigate the potential vulnerability (Tenable Network Security, 2014). 7. Which feature(s) of Nessus did you find the most useful and why? The report function is very cohesive and comprehensive which is extremely beneficial to the IT administrator. The client itself will list each vulnerability found as we gauge its level of severity while making appropriate suggestions to the administrator to how the problem may be fixed. The Nessus report lists  the number of hosts tested providing a summary of the vulnerability and detailed instructions and sources to fix the inherent problem. The IT administrator is able to generate graphical reports in vast formats, and this is very beneficial if the administrator is scanning a larger number of computers and would like to get an overall view of the state of the network. 8. Which feature(s) of Nessus did you find the most difficult to use and why? Comparable to my answer given in question (11), the auditing functionality is mediocre at best. It is up to the IT professional or administrator to determine the scope of the vulnerability and may choose to use a different exploitation tool to verify if the reported vulnerabilities credulous. The tool is free, but what price are you willing to risk with using this tool. It also means little support, and understanding false positives. I am by no means an expert when using this tool and really struggled understanding the reports produced. Analyzing the results and recommending valid solutions is the biggest hurdle when using this feature. These vulnerability reports deemed confusing due to the combinations of software and configurations involved. After doing some research it has been established that when provided the report Nessus delivers false-positives because the plug-in is only testing for a software version, or the results produced are unexpected but still somehow valid. If my main responsibility is to evaluate risk, when risk level determines the attention given to the problem, the auditing report should offer this attribute in the report. I noticed that they’re reported as a note or warning and labeled in the plug-in summary as (none; low; medium; high; serious; and critical) though, regrettably these specific classifications are not clear and have been subjectively applied. 9. What are the differences between using Nessus and Nmap? Nessus and Nmap are two solutions that are used for examining the overall security of a network. However, these two scanning solutions are different at a very basic level, Nessus is a vulnerability open source scanner solution whereas Nmap is used to map networks hosts and what ports are open on those hosts. Nessus is installed on a server and runs as cloud application, and the program uses plug-ins to determine if the vulnerability is present on a specific machine. Although, Nessus scans ports similar to  Nmap, Nessus takes those open ports into reason and notifies the user if these ports have potential security threats. In Nessus, the administrator logs into the interface and sets up their own policies, scans, and output reports. These policies are set to determine what specific vulnerabilities are being scanned for (Tetzlaff, 2010). On the contrary, Nmap is a host detection software and port location tool. In Nessus, the tool uses specific vulnerabilities against the host, Nmap discovers the active IP hosts using a grouping of probes (Tetzlaff, 2010). Nmap uses open ports to gather extra intelligence such as versions of databases running on specific servers. This feature is offered once the scan has been completed for the identified hosts on the network.  The grease that this solution holds is host detection and port scanning. 10. What would you change about this lab? Any suggestion or feedback? This lab overall was very challenging for as has this whole experience in the major. I have absolutely no previous knowledge in the field or took classes in undergrad regarding IT or computer science. This is a booming industry and worked closely with the forensic agent group at Department of Treasury, yet never understood the processes and procedures it took to properly manage this content. Moving forward, I would like to see this University system move to a more interactive classroom. Meaning, the ability to offer in face interaction between student and instructor with an application platform like Skype or Google Hangout, as these applications can provide the technology to administer taped or live interaction in the event something is seriously miss-understood. The ability to teach myself the content is very rewarding yet difficult at times. Overall the lab was very influential to my growth in this major, but it would be very beneficial if some sort of video instruction was provided as well as communication means provided be enhanced between the student and instructor. 11. Research a command or feature that you consider important but not covered in the lab. Describe its usage and report your findings when running the command or feature against the host in the lab. When running the scan’s against the provided host with research provided by Nessus, the sensitive content auditing is very cumbersome. This feature was not discussed in the lab, but with researching how to use this solution, I attempted to use this feature in the exercise. It states that it performs agentless audits of Windows and UNIX-based systems to identify sensitive information (PII; Credit Cards;  SSN’s; and Top Secret data) but configuring this feature requires an administrator in-depth knowledge of this feature provided by the program. Without this vital knowledge, and potential plug-ins to enable or disable I became immediately confused as to how to appropriately administer the advanced features of this program. To me as a former investigator this feature is very important in the event that insiders or intruders are attempting to identify sensitive data. This will allow an organization the ability to prioritize security issues. The system feature will inherently allow me to monitor systems and users that are not authorized to process that specific data (Tenable Network Security, 2014). REFRENCES Northchutt, S., Shenk, J., Shackleford, D., Rosenberg, T., Siles, R., & Mancini, S. (2006). Penetration testing: Assessing your overall security before attackers do. CORE Impact: SANS Analyst Program. 1-17. Retrieved from https://www.sans.org/reading-room/analysts-program/PenetrationTesting-June06 Symantec. (2010). Nessus part 3: Analyzing Reports. Retrieved from http://www.symantec.com/connect/articles/nessus-part-3-analysing-reports Tenable Network Security. (2014). Nessus compliance checks: Auditing system configurations and content. 75, 1-37. Retrieved from https://support.tenable.com/support-center/nessus_compliance_checks.pdf Tetzlaff, R. (2010). Nessus vs. nmap: Comparing two security tools. Retrieved from http://www.brighthub.com/computing/smb-security/articles/67789.aspx#imgn_1 Oracle. (2014). Managing weblogic security: Protecting user accounts. BAE Systems. Retrieved from http://docs.oracle.com/cd/E13222_01/wls/docs81/secmanage/passwords.html Orebaugh, A., & Pinkard, B. (2008). Nmap in the enterprise: Your guide to network scanning. Syngress Publishing Inc. Burlington, MA: Elsevier Inc.

Learn a new skill Essay

Work experience is important because it gives you insight into life of the ‘outside’ world. It gives the opportunity of working in a line that can be chosen as a career for future, giving the idea of the qualifications and steps needed to chase for the career you want to adopt. The pleasant news of doing a work experience in year eleven was revealed to me in early spring in 2003. It didn’t really come as a shock to me because my brother had also done a work experience in year eleven and seemed to have enjoyed it and ‘had a time of his life’. In that sense I was eager about work experience and couldn’t wait to plan it. Many people I knew panicked when they heard about doing a work experience. They didn’t have a clue what they wanted to do in future. I, on the other hand, had no problem with that. I had decided when I was seven that I wanted to be a doctor who treats children. It was only recently I found out that this type of a doctor is called a paediatrician. My next step was to hunt some suitable place which was appropriate for the career line I had chosen. I started off by phoning in hospitals. But I couldn’t get hold of the right person so I tried a different route by writing letters but a huge disappointment came over me when I didn’t hear anything from the hospitals. I went to see the work experience co-ordinator and he satisfied me by saying he’ll try and sort something out for me. However, another disturbed news left me nowhere, when I found from my GP that I was under 16 and could not do my work experience in an hospital. I was very shocked and dismayed by this news and suddenly the topic work experience sounded unexciting and old. I didn’t want to talk or discuss about it. I felt a plunge of jealousy in me when I saw that all my friends had got the place they wanted with no problem. They all seemed in high spirits and were all planning what they were going to wear and what buses they were going to catch. I was horrified to see them planning their clothes when work experience seemed months away. But time was ticking on and every minute of the day, I would feel guilt building up inside me for not sorting something out. It was early July and summer was in its full shift. I was bored to death by friends jittering about their work placement that I went to the library where I saw some placements. I couldn’t help noticing that there were many places available in primary schools. I thought well primary schools have children so at least I will have some experience with children. The next minute I find myself writing letters to some of he schools. For the next few days I always lingered around the letterbox every morning, hoping to catch any letters that were for me. But again I was hugely disappointed at the fact that nobody replied. I was tearful and gave up on finding a work placement. On a warm and sticky Friday afternoon, I was watching television when my mum told me that there was someone on the phone for me. Now who could that be, I thought to myself. Well, anyway to my surprise it is fro St. Bernadette Catholic School confirming my placement form 3rd November to 14th November. I was so thrilled that I wanted to tell the whole world. Few days after they sent me a letter explaining all the policies, rules and timings. I would be working with year 4 with Miss Bowen and will start from 8:45am and finish at 3:00pm (on Friday finish at 2:00pm). I was also told that I must wear formal clothing. I didn’t worry transport as it was only ten minutes walk from my house. In the summer holidays, I couldn’t wait to get back to my school. My family were hugely surprised because usually I don’t want to go to school especially with exams which I hate. I was counting days off and in what seemed like million years the Sunday night came. The excitement inside me turned to nervousness. My stomach was already churning. Suddenly I didn’t want to do the work experience. I set my alarm to 7:30am and tried to take an early night but my eyes were sleepless. My senses told me that if I go to sleep I’ll be late for tomorrow. The next sound I heard was my alarm banging in my eardrum. Surprisingly, I wasn’t nervous or anxious anymore. I wanted to do my work experience and felt very mature and grown up. I got dressed and ate my breakfast in no time. I was expected to get to my work placement at 8:30am so I left home at 8:15am. I reached St. Bernadette Catholic School in ten minutes which seemed like ten hours. As I was early the receptionist told me to wait in the waiting room until the supervisor comes. The waiting seemed very elongated. In fact it was a long period. The supervisor came to get me 20 minutes after my arrival by which the school had started. She explained the principles and the policies again to me and another girl from my school who was also on work experience. I was delighted because at least I knew someone who I could talk to. She then took me to my class where I’ll be working for the next two weeks. I felt an abrupt jolt inside me. I prayed to God; please don’t let it be someone awful. God answered my prayers. I realized from the first sight that Miss Bowen was a very pleasant and charming person to work with. She was delightful to have me working with her. She introduced me to the class who seemed very eager to find out my name. In fact the first question that they asked me was my name. Some of them who couldn’t pronounce my name correctly or didn’t know my name, called me ‘Miss’. I felt very awkward because I also called my teachers ‘Miss’ and all of a sudden I turned from a student to a ‘Miss’. I also felt stupid when Miss Bowen told me to call her Laura. It was like as she was my friend. In a way I felt good because they were treating me like adults but the change was so sudden that I couldn’t adopt it. The first thing Laura told me to do was to listen to children read. I was very keen and felt very grown up signing their reading records and telling them what they needed to do for homework. I hadn’t finished listening to children when Laura told me to finish quickly so she could explain my next job to me. I looked up at the clock and was shocked to see that I already have taken fifteen minutes when Laura told me that it will only take few minutes. I realized that in adult life you have to do things in a way so you don’t throw away too much of your time and the jobs are also done efficiently. After finishing with the children, I took down an old display, making sure I don’t upset Laura by ripping any of the display because she needed to use it once more. I had to put up the new display using the staple gun. I was frightened to see that thing. I once used in my home and it was so heavy that I dropped on my foot while I was using it. Since then me and the staple gum have been enemies. I wanted to tell Laura that I didn’t’ want to use the staple gun but a voice in my head reminded me of my mother’s advice; â€Å"you never learn things unless you make mistakes†. Keeping that in my mind I happily invited the challenge. I tried to be confident and starting to put up the display while the children were mesmerised by the sound of the staple gun. When I had finished Laura was satisfied with my work and she wasn’t the only one. Children were content to see their work up and I was pleased to learn a new skill. At break time Laura invited me to the staffroom and told me to help myself to coffee or tea. I didn’t want to disturb my habits and watched the children play like animals; running around each other and little girls playing hopscotch. I couldn’t remember doing any of these things while I was their age or maybe it was the fact that I didn’t want to remember these things.

A Study on the Effects of Alcohol on Human Health

A Study on the Effects of Alcohol on Human Health Effects of alcohol on human health Alcohol consumption is a common practice at various gatherings and parties in different parts of the world. Nonetheless, alcohol consumption can have a different impact on human health and can lead to negative social consequences due to addictive, toxic and addictive properties. So we will talk about drinking in this essay, and its main purpose is to discuss its causes and consequences. When we discuss the causes of drinking, we can say that society is the main engine in this process. Alcohol is generally accepted as an integral part of any company. People think alcohol makes you excited, energized, improves mood and health, makes conversation more vivid and fun, but its just a temporary effect. Some use it as a sort of solution to the problem, but can not solve it and cause depression. By observing the effects of alcohol on human health, it can be said that alcohol can cause health effects such as mental illness as well as social illnesses. Today, alcohol abuse is a major problem in modern society because it affects all human organs and alcohol intake causes skin dehydration. This is because skin cells lose essential moisture and valuable minerals. In addition to the chronic illnesses that occur according to the age of the person consuming large quantities of alcohol, drinking is associated with increased risk of acute health conditions such as trauma, including injuries from road traffic accidents. So, to summarize the previous statement, we can say that the need for alcohol is not part of the natural life of human needs, such as oxygen, the need for food and water, and that alcohol itself is not motivated by humans. Young people are beginning to use alcohol as an obvious attempt to follow fashion, but the situation has changed dramatically and does not stop. I think society should fight this phenomenon and popularize a healthy lifestyle, but if everyone wants to control drinking and stop it, the problem will eventually disappear

The Importance Of The Holy And Biblical Dogmas Essay

The Importance Of The Holy And Biblical Dogmas - Essay Example Man is so made that he is not himself, he cannot find happiness, unless he accepts God as his Lord and lives in obedience to the divine will. But, like Paul, man has not yielded this acceptance and obedience. A mortal man is a sinner. His need roots in this fact. And this need is universal. This is not merely the fault of a few, nor is it the defect only of those outside the reach of the Law. Paul states: â€Å"But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth† (Colossians 3:8). Paul is often accused of blaming the entire problem of sin on a mortal man. He builds upon his own observation that human sin, and he confirms that picture by the repeated testimony of Scripture. It is true that Paul gave a place to original sin and its effects. This appears in two passages which contrast the damaging effects of sin with the redemptive and renewing results of the work of Christ, who thus begins a new humanity. Paul emphasizes the present need, which he plainly sees in the life around him. Moreover, he sees this sin not merely in individual wicked acts, but in the permeation of man's whole life and outlook. The attitudes, desires, strivings, and thoughts of men are corrupted by his evil choices. The whole man is degraded by sin; the whole man needs redemption; the remedy must reach the roots and every branch of human life. â€Å"Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave† (Colossians 3:11). It is important to recognize that in these lines Paul does teach this universal sinfulness and need of men. This is not an original invention of Paul. From the beginning, the Christian message was an answer to many spiritual and moral failure. They must forgive others; the people they meet will be sinful; the disciples must forgive them all.

Canadian-American Relations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Canadian-American Relations - Essay Example History has made us friends. Economics has made us partners. And necessity has made us allies. Those whom nature hath so joined together, let no man put asunder" (U.S. President John F. Kennedy).The cold war further strengthened the friendship between the two nations. Sharing the longest border, the two nations although face modern difficulties such as immigration, environmental concerns, trade disputes and many other issues, the two countries have had significant interoperability within the defense sphere and are today the world's largest trading partners. The United States and Canada expanded their formal military links at the operational level in the post world war period. The PJBD dealt with the political aspects of the defense relationships. A new body, the Military Cooperation Committee (MCC), was instituted to manage joint military planning between the American and the Canadian forces. Careful of surprise attacks after Pearl Harbor and concerned about the power of an increasingly hostile Soviet Union, American and Canadian defense officials used the bi-national planning structure of the MCC to set up the first joint continental defense initiative in 1946 called the Basic Security Plan (BSP). The Canadian Department of External Affairs (DEA) objected to the fact that it was denied access to the BSP working group by reason of its purported secrecy. The BSP was approved by both the United States and Canada in spite of these reservations. The PJBD and the MCC established a precedent of formal relations between Canada and the United States, providing for the coordinated defense of the continent. In 1949, Canada, the United States and their European allies formed the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Canada and the United States were accorded their own Canada-US Regional Planning Group (CUSRPG) to look over the defense of North America within the larger NATO structure. American planners were eager to get on with this new undertaking. But the Canadian government of Louis St. Laurent was hesitant. At issue for the Prime Minister and his Minister of Defense, Brook Claxton, were the implied costs and sovereignty infringements of a continental air defense expansion. The St. Laurent Liberals had experienced first-hand the American presence in Canada during the Second World War. Any suggestion by the United States of grander defense mechanisms invoked images of American soldiers on Canadian soil - and a corresponding loss of sovereignty. The Canadian military was seen to take a very different perspective. The Chiefs of Staff argued that the American concerns and recommendations were legitimate and Canada's involvement was absolutely indispensable. After the detonation of a massive thermonuclear device by the Soviet Union in 1953, the Canadian military officials implored Claxton and St. Laurent to reconsider their cautious approach. Ultimately, Claxton recognized that Washington's steadfastness left Ottawa with hardly any option. The geography of North America and the nature of Canada-US relations were such that Canadian involvement in an improved continental air d

Freakonomics Podcast Death by Fire Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Freakonomics Podcast Death by Fire - Assignment Example electronic equipment, people forgetting and leaving their gas on, and the availability of materials that could easily catch fire around the home such as furniture. 6. The discussion about creating safer cigarettes is due to the fact that cigarettes cause a lot of the home fires due to smokers leaving their cigarettes extinguishing them after smoking and placing them either knowingly or unknowingly on an ignitable surface. Cigarettes that have not been extinguished if placed on surfaces such as beds or sofas, could easily burn the mattress or sofa as even when it is not being smoked it continues to burn. An ignition safe cigarette has been proposed as the cigarette once placed down will automatically extinguish itself. 7. The technology that is taking place with cooking equipment is the installation of temperature regulators that prevent cookers from getting to their auto ignition temperature and installation of motion sensors in the cooker so that if the cooker is left unattended for too long it would shut itself off. 10. So many people died despite the claim that the building was fire proof since the fire escapes had collapsed and the exits were not enough for the workers, a stampede ensued which led to the workers falling on each other on the way down the stairs, The exit door to the building was locked, and the lack of fire alarms led to the workers on the nineth floor not knowing early enough that a fire had ensued meaning they did not have enough time to exit the

Discussing posters from WWI, WWII and revolutions (Russian) Essay

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Occupy University of Virginia - Essay Example istration of the university is the issue of wage parity for the employees who have been contracted and also consider paying wages in consideration of the relative rates of inflation. The university workers who are demanding better pay are the non-academic staff that includes but not limited to janitors and kitchen staffs. As demonstrated by the banners carried by the protestors, it is obvious that the workers have been struggling to make both ends meet and many of them are living on a cycle of destitution as the wages they get are peanuts. The workers have a grave concern to the university administration for the complete neglect by the University system hence have the feelings of a less fortunate person who is debt. Students were able to join the strike owing to their sympathy for the families of the workers who are earning very meager wages. Children from such families are compelled to work extra hard in school in the hope that their efforts may get noticed through good passes so as to get meaningful employment upon completion of schooling. It is a state of hopelessness as there are many consequences for families who are not having adequate income. They have to work extra hard in school and they have to hope and pray that someone notices them. These are the kids who are deemed to be static. Since mo st of the parents are just working to keep their families alive, students from such families feel the heat of economic injustice that would characterize their future adulthoods. Income-related inequalities, as is the case in modern world have been a big issue of controversy in the workplace. As is the case at UVA, the university administration is depriving the workers of the right to own substantial capital and other related assets through poor pay. Since adequate income guarantees personal security in the capitalist world, there is growing demand for accumulation of wealth to have the ability of going about basic necessities. It is in this aspect that the UVA

Stages In The Decision Process Buyer Essay Example for Free

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Dairy Industry In India Marketing Essay

Dairy Industry In India Marketing Essay In India the dairy industry is of crucial importance. The country is the worlds largest milk producer and accounts for more than 13% of worlds total milk production. India consumes almost 100 % of its own milk production and is stated to be the worlds largest consumer of dairy products. Dairy products constitute as a major source of cheap and nutritious food to millions of people in India and the only acceptable form of animal protein for large vegetarian segments of the Indian population. (Karmakar, 2006) Top Dairy companies in India: Amul is one of the topmost companies in the dairy industry, which recorded a sales turnover of 67113 million Rs in 2008-09 (Amul, 2009). Followed by Nestle India Pvt Ltd. with a turnover of 51672 million Rs (Nestle, 2009) and Britannia Pvt Ltd whose turnover were 34523 (Britannia, 2009) In this report I have chosen Amul Pvt Ltd, as it is the largest milk production company in Asia. 1.2 History of the Company: Amul Pvt Ltd. is the company that is renowned for initiating the phenomena of The White Revolution in India; making the country the largest manufacturer of milk and its by products in the world. Amul was established on December 14th, 1946. Dr Verghese Kurien also referred to, as the Father of the White Revolution is the man behind the success of the company. AMUL is an acronym for Anand Milk Producers Union India Limited. Amul was setup as a model for development in rural areas. Amul is located in the state of Gujarat, in a small town called Anand. (Business maps of India, 2010) Amul was taken over by the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation [GCMMF] in 1973.Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation is one of Indias largest food products marketing organization. Its main aim is to provide to the farmers remunerative returns and for the benefit of the consumers provide them with quality products which are value for money. (Amul, 2010) 1.3 Company Statistics: Members: 13 district cooperative milk producers Union No. Of Producer Members: 2.9 million No. Of Village Societies: 15,322 Total Milk handling capacity: 13.07 million litres per day Milk Collection (Total: 2009-2010) 3.32 billion litres Milk Collection (Average: 2009-2010) 9.10 million litres Milk Drying Capacity: 647 Mts. Per day Cattle feed manufacturing Capacity: 3740 Mts. Per day (Amul, 2010) 1.4 Company Financials: [4] Sales Turnover Rs (million) US $ (in million) 2000-01 22588 500 2001-02 23365 500 2002-03 27457 575 2003-04 28941 616 2004-05 29225 672 2005-06 37736 850 2006-07 42778 1050 2007-08 52554 1325 2008-09 67113 1504 2009-10 80053 1700 (Amul, 2010) 1.4.1 Amuls Sales turnover [4] *Graph based on the figures from the table above (Turnover is in Million US $) The company recorded a growth of 28.8 % despite the global economic downturn. From a turnover of 1325 million dollars in 2007-08 the milk giant jumped to 1504 million dollars in 2008-09, resulting in a double-digit turnover 3 years in a row 1.4.2 Exports *Graph based on the figures from the tables above (Turnover in Crore Rs) The company witnessed a growth in spite of the global economic meltdown. The companys exports reached 133 crore Rs in 2008-09 in comparison to the 125 crores in 2007-08. Amul products are exported to a number of countries namely Australia, Bangladesh, China, Hong Kong, Mauritius, Singapore, UAE and USA 1.5 Product Range: Amul is recognized as the biggest brand in the pouched mile sector of the world and stated to be Indias largest food brand. Amul has a varied range of products, which include: Milk Milk Powders Ghee (Saturated Butter) Butter Cheese Paneer (Cottage Cheese) Yogurt Chocolate and confectionaries Ice-Cream Infant Milk Range The products under these categories are available under a brand umbrella with over 60 different product names. Amul has been very famous for Milk, butter and cheese. Amul milk is sold under brand names such as Taaza, Gold and Shakti. Amul butter is available under names such as Amul butter and Lite. Cheese is available under brand names of Processed cheese spreads, godiva and Emmental (Amul, 2010) 1.6 Consumers Relationships with Amul Products: For consumers, dairy product are an integral part of their lifestyle irrespective of the fact to which strata of the society they belong to. Thus the relationship created between them is Interdependence, the products form a part of the consumers daily routine. Amuls Marketing Mix: Product The Products form a part of the FMCG industry. The products are essential commodities bought on a regular basis. Price Amul products are priced at relatively affordable prices for all the segments of the market, however certain products are priced comparatively higher and are bought by a segment of the market with higher purchasing power. Place Locations of the stores play the most significant role in higher sales of the product. As stated earlier their distribution network consists of over 2 million retail outlets. Promotion Amul launched one of the most successful campaigns with the utterly Butterly Girl character which resulted as an entry into Guinness book of world records for the longest running campaign. The mascot has played an imperative role in increasing the brand recall value. 2 Analysis and Data Interpretation: According to Mr. P.G. Bhatol, the companys chairman, he said in the 35th annual report of the company 2008-09 that The Company registered a growth of 28% against the backdrop of the global recession. (Bhatol, 2009) This statement by the chairman reveals the fact that in spite of the economic downturn, the buying decision making process of the consumer remained unchanged during the changing financial situations. 2.1 Buying Decision-Making Process The Model (i) (Adapted from Cox, R and Brittain, P (2000), Retail Management, 4th Edition, Pitman Publishing) The growth of the company can be attributed to the consumers buying decision-making process. The Buying Decision-Making process as seen in the diagram above begins with the a simple need, in context with buying any amul product the process can be explained as: It all begins with the Need. The consumers require these dairy products on a daily basis as this product falls within the essential commodity category. Although these products are required on a regular basis, consumers recognize the need to buy these commodities either on a certain occasion when they run out of it or they feel need to buy and store it for future consumption. Since dairy products are a customary purchase, the involvement is low in comparison to buying a product such as a Television. This decision of buying the product is taken by a single person with little time consumption in making the final decision. Since this product is a low involvement purchase, there is only a limited amount of information search carried out. In some cases there is no conscious effort made by the customer to get the information regarding the product but is got when watching television or flipping through pages of the magazines. Amul being a very well established and old brand is probably only one of the reasons why consumers choose it. Amul has always focused a lot on advertising and their mascot is always used to portray the current situations When consumers look for information regarding any dairy products Amul would always be the first choice however a consumer will always look for alternatives, where they could find better quality products at better prices. Amul products are very reasonably priced in comparison to its competitors. The decision is obvious, as Amul is priced very reasonably in comparison to its competitor Mother dairy. Purchase of Amul products is made convenient through their strong distribution network. Distribution Network (2008) Number of Outlets Distribution for fresh milk 1800 Distribution for value added milk products 3500 (Amul, 2009) The consumer is already happy with the fact the product is available at every corner, and feels a sense of tremendous satisfaction with the high quality of the product bought at reasonable prices. 2.1.1 Habitual Decision-making: Habitual decision-making can be defined as choices that are made with little or at time without any conscious effort. The Constant increase in the sales turnover from 1050 million $ in 2006-07 to 1325 in 2007-08 and to 1504 million dollars during the recession hit period of 2008-09 could be attributed to the fact that these purchases are made because of habitual decision making behaviour of the consumer. The trend in which the profit increases year after year has a direct connect to the trend in which the consumer makes his purchase decision. Since dairy products are consumed on a daily basis their purchase can be termed as a habitual purchase, This process of habitual decision-making by the consumer is one of the foremost reasons of the companys success. Consumers of Amul products make this decision of buying the product with little or sometimes without any conscious effort. Thus the entire concept of habitual decision making by the consumer results in constant purchase of the same brand irrespective of the fact whether they can afford it at that point of time which increased sales of the company despite the recession and resulted with a 179 million $ profit. Apart from the fact that consumers made these purchases decisions out of habit they were also habituated to looking at the Amul Mascot i.e. the Uttlery Butterly Girl 50 years after it was first launched, Amuls sale figures have jumped from 1000 tonnes a year in 1966 to over 25,000 tonnes a year in 1997. No other brand comes even close to it. (Amul, 2010) amul30.jpg (Amul Hits, 2008) The topical ad released during the economic downturn in 2008 This ad campaign has been successful right from the start and all through out the economic depression. The ad above was made to address the economic downturn in 2008. This ad campaign to a great extent had a certain amount of influence on the consumer. Not only did the ad bring a little humor to the serious part of the recession but was somewhere etched in the back of the consumers mind. In terms of consumer behavior concepts, the entire ad campaign comes in play when a consumer has to make a choice between alternatives. The ad campaigns have a great impact on the consumer thus influences the consumers decisions while selecting the product from other competitor products. 2.1.2 The Alternatives: A detailed analysis of this reveals that alternatives are influenced by ad campaigns in the following ways (Solomon et all, 2010,334) It is a known fact that however loyal customers may be to a certain brand of products; at times they may tend to consider looking at other attractive alternatives. Through the ad campaign Amul, as brand has been lucky enough to create a niche in the minds of their consumers, to be more precise in the evoked set of their consumers. This evoked set is defined as the set of alternatives that the consumer already knows about and is aware of. This set consists of those products, which are already in memory i.e. the retrieval set. (Sololmon et all, 2010) If analyzed in context with the ad above, such an ad leaves an impact on the consumer. This ad was used to create a definite place for that product not only in the minds of the consumer but also establish a prominent place in the environment. It increases the brand recall value thus making the product (amul) seem the best choice from the rest. The ad campaigns to a large extent encourage the need of buying a product. 2.2 Needs and Behavior: According to Mr. P.G. Bhatol, the companys chairman, he said in the 35th annual report of the company 2008-09 that Since Milk and Milk products are basic staples for every Indian household, their demand is not likely to be affected by transient economic slumps (Bhatol, 2009) This statement when analyzed conveys the message that irrespective of the recession and the effect of it on the consumers, certain products, in this case being milk and its by products cannot be compromised on. The level of consumption by different consumers of these products may decrease but will certainly not be stopped. Sales figures of the company show an increase in these products during the year 2008-2009: Product Sales Growth (%) Amul Milk 44 % Amul Cheese 26% Amul Butter 17% Amul Ice-cream 16% Dairy Whitener 12% (Amul, 2009) A reason for this increase in sales during the recession can be linked directly to the concept of Maslows hierarchy. As these products fall under Physiological needs, these needs are inevitable, and they are essential for survival. These needs form the largest and most important part in Maslows hierarchy: (Solomon et all, 2010, 186) As Maslows hierarchy implies, the basic needs have to be fulfilled before climbing up the ladder. A consumer will for certain satisfy these basic lower level needs. Milk is just a part of the physiological needs however once that need is satisfied it gives rise to other needs and a consumer then satisfies all these needs together. This contributed to the increase in sales of the by products of milk. Related to Maslows hierarchy we could also explain a consumers behavior on the basis of Motives in particular. Looking at this motive classification we could understand the consumers behavior from a different perspective: (Blythe, pp 32-33) If we relate the concept of Maslows hierarchy with the different motives, the most predominant motive that influences the consumer when buying an Amul dairy product would be a dormant motive. These motives exist in the minds of the consumer but they are not aware of it. Consumers in their subconscious mind hold these dormant motives, which result in buying the same brand products over and over again without much effort. Dormant motives are connected to secondary motives. Secondary motives are the reasons why consumers buy a particular brand. This is probably the reason why they choose Amul over the other brands. A deeper analysis in to the statement reveals that the demand remained unaffected could be explained through the primary concept of needs and behaviour. It is a known fact that, if a need does not exist then there isnt any motivation to achieve the goal of satisfying the need. As stated by the chairman of the company Milk and milk products are staple for the people of India. Analysis of this statement leads to the fact that these needs are Biogenic needs, which are required to maintain life. The argument here could be further related to: Needs If milk is a staple then the need for it is essential. In this case the need is very high. Consumers needs for dairy products are constant with very little change. These needs have to be fulfilled almost instantly. This probably was a factor that resulted in the 44% growth of milk in 2008 Motivation A sense of tension is created when this need is left unfulfilled which will drive them to take some action and fulfill this need. Here in this case the consumer will find the need to buy the product, which will motivate him/her to go out to the closest store and buy it thus fulfilling its need. Wants It is possible that sometimes what we want may not be a need. A want is defined as the consumption behavior that satisfies the unfulfilled need. A want is not necessarily a need and a need is not necessarily a want. However in this case the need is more dominant then the want for it. Goals The basic need of dairy products leads to buying the product and achieving the goal of satisfying it by purchasing value products. When talking about value products, consumer satisfaction is a feeling directly related to it. Based on a recent consumer report by consumer daddy ® Amul scored a Customer satisfaction level of 5.003, which is considered as a good average score. nescsl.jpg (Consumer daddy ®, 2010) The above graph shows a constant trend in the level of satisfaction newcs1.jpg (Consumer daddy ®, 2010) For Amuls consumer the brand value and values for money are important aspects along with hygiene, reliability and safety of the product. This level of satisfaction a consumer wants from any product is related to the stages of the means end chain. From the above statistics it can be derived that for Amul consumers just the product wasnt the main goal but also the level of satisfaction achieved after the purchase. 2.3 The Means-End Chain: The chain is explained with the example of milk: (Tao, 2010) In the context of the consumer satisfaction report mentioned above, Consumer looks for maximum satisfaction in terms of the quality value over price. Price is incidental in this case while the company brand value and product value is predominant. Here when explaining the chain through milk, the attributes consumer gets are fresh and natural product, the consequence being the consumer gets a balanced diet which in the end results in a healthy life which is the Life goal of any consumer. 3. Conclusion: Amul will always be the first choice for consumers as it is a well-established brand and also provides good quality products, thus creating a niche in the minds of the consumers. Also amul has expanded extensively all over the country thus enabling the consumers to have easy access to the products at any given point of time. From the above analysis and data interpretation carried out, one can conclude that reason for the companys success [Amul] was purely based on the fact that these products were primary commodities and for consumers Amul was always their first choice based on the fact that is a very well established brand and is known for quality products. The Brand has created a niche in the minds of the consumers thus encouraging and gaining more customer loyalty. During the times of depression, Amul success could me based on the fact that there was a constant demand for essential commodities.