CRM

Introduction.

To attain higher levels of productivity, every business unceasingly seeks to perfect the performance of its operations, using Intelligence technologies, especially when it involves alterations in practice management. Intelligence systems and technologies are major empowering instruments for the organisations to develop new services and products as well as engineering advanced business models.

Many businesses have acknowledged the importance of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and its opportunity to obtain new customers,hold to the existing clients as well as become a standout organisations among competitors. But in order to run such technique and maintain a close relationship with clients a solid-based interaction between marketing and IT departments is required.

Customer Relationship Management is the creation, elaboration, maintenance and improvement of long-lasting valuable cooperation between businesses and its clients. The main purpose of such technique is to research the pool of clients for the potential ones, attract former customers back and minimise costs of marketing and customer service.

CRM technique is “the computer software designed to help companies keep a track of an easily-accessed information about the customers the business is dealing with”(Managementstudyguide.com, 2014). CRM was created with a purpose of providing fast and effective customer service by developing a relationship with each customer while putting organisation strategy and IT together. Such combination is vital because of linking together technologies and intelligence with business operations throughout the entire organization.

The main aim of this report is to identify the utilisation of CRM systems and hence establish the challenges and benefits which could emerge using CRM systems within the organisation.

Challenges and benefits of adopting CRM

The CRM application traces the preferences of customers and their shopping habits;handles with complaints as well as different types of requests.Accumulated customer information helps to provide services much faster and acquire new clients. The CRM software opens an opportunity for every member of sales team to access information on each customers, their contacts and sales transactions in no time. It also "underlines the primary tasks to be done following up the sale's transactions" (Kokemuller, 2014).

Advantages:

It is important to meet the deadlines in a today's world of business. Every day businesses waste valuable time using different types of software and spreadsheets in order to trace all transactions and complaints. The largest advantage of utilising CRM technique is the combination of all these software packages, used to track down the clients' activities, therefore there is no need for searching same information multiple amount of times across contact systems or various databases. Consequently CRM enables a completion of all daily tasks in a short time with the same saving thousands of hours each year, the time which could be used to accomplish other business goals (Biobm.com, 2014).

Confronting a huge amount of customers is most likely to lead to disorganisation and overwhelming of business operations. However CRM system makes it easy to store client information in an organised way, by storing all customer details in the same place, which could then be obtained by anyone with a correct permission within the business. Another benefit of having a CRM system in place is that even if one of the employees falls out of the organisation, an access to up-to-date customer information is still at hand, regardless of employee turnover or lost data.Some platforms also introduced synchronisation of this data with a calendar that informs managers about upcoming deadlines and tasks. For example when a manager has a scheduled sales call or a valuable transaction in his calendar, CRM system sends an email beforehand as a reminder. Whenever a customer has an upcoming birthday, CRM notifies about it, so the birthday wishes could be sent over. Consequently, this makes customers feel more valued and allows building deeper relationships between a client and organisation with the same giving an opportunity for the managers to make sure"that each customer gets the attention and nothing is forgotten" (Schaeffer, 2014).

For many businesses one of the reasons of a revenue downfall is in a failure of replying with the instant quote request and leaving invoices unattended. And with the CRM at hand quoting and invoicing is rationalized. As a rule the invoices and quotes are created in a short period of time which leads to the quotes being looked after and all the invoices mailed in time (Small Business - Chron.com, 2014).

Usually as information on customers piles up, more potentials emerge. For instance, tracing particular buying habits of customers would build up a list of their preferences. Therefore, when launching a similar product,based on a sales history, CRM will help to prioritise a list of customers, who would be particularly interested in it. As a result, the use of CRM system enables a sales growth with no need to advertise the product to new customers(Preact.co.uk, 2014).

It is also possible for the head managers of the companies to trace their employees, once CRM software is implemented. For instance when one of the staff is away on holidays or sick leave, CRM will easily provide a live roster with the potential employees who would be available to cover the missing worker. Also CRM system allows tracking of a progress of all staff and their schedules, including which transactions they’re involved into, how many sales they are closing and as a result enables the owner to make changes based on performance immediately.

One of the huge advantages of CRM practice is that it can assist in marketing by creating profitable marketing campaigns once analysing the purchase history of customers.The benefit of evaluating such buying history is in identifying relationship between factual sales performance and campaigns. This supplementary information lets to comprehend customers thoughts regarding their purchases and helps to identify which types of campaigns results in success. Some platforms also introduced such feature as integration with social media networks like Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedInand Facebook. Such technique enables tracking all subtleties of a social media campaign. For instance, it allows to recognise which networking services account for the most traffic, what is the customers' opinion about one or another brand and the overall experience(Itinfo.am, 2014).

The privilege of the today's business world is that portable devices such as netbooks,tablets and smartphones became a norm of every company, enabling a task completion and staying up-to-date on projects regardless of location. CRM programs, which can be easily installed on these devices,allows an access to the same information that could be viewed from an office.With an access to internet, staff can instantly update customer information, arrange orders any minute, search database for any complaints and plan meetings. Thus a boost of productivity is done on the move within a few clicks. Mobile version of CRM software is perfect to schedule and reschedule service calls and provide employees with a fast update regarding the recent changes. CRM also allows the employees to trace inventory while running the business outside the office, look into the contact history between every customer and a company. Most mobile CRM platforms give an opportunity to manage calendar and events,invoices and task schedules(Worketc.com, 2014).

A cloud CRM is a version of CRM software that is commonly accessed via internet, which means there is no need to host CRM on a personal computer. The key distinctive elements of cloud CRM involve an advanced customer service regarding troubleshooting issues,high standard security and an easily accessible information from any device. Since all the data and the software itself are stored in a cloud purchasing hardware and its constant updates are not required. The businesses that use the web-based CRM usually have to obtain only licences, which in this case creates an advantage for customers as they have to pay only for particular features they are using. Those who have limited IT departments could experience a lot of troubleshooting while installing the programs and managing the server problems as an aftermath. Hence cloud solution makes the task easier as it saves time as well as resources and makes work of employees more productive. Another beneficial feature of Cloud CRM solutions is that the providers take responsibility for storing and backing-up of information with the same relieving their customers from an additional trouble (Benefitsofcrm.com, 2014).

Challenges:

Despite a huge amount of advantages, utilising of CRM also brings some problems.  The initial problem begins with the expensive costs that occur when implementing the system and maintaining a customer database. Additionally, the finances are required for the computer hardware, software, and personnel to keep CRM running.  Thusexcessive costs can become burdensome and might result in a CRM collapse(Sites.google.com, 2014).

Taking into an account the amount of tasks performed by CRM, it becomes obvious that the system itself is far from simple. Sufficient employee training is required in order for them to comprehend and deal with the difficulties at the later stages.

 Companies need to keep in mind that the business needs are the most vital.  An issue stands out when an organisation on installing this technology applies it to company problems to discover whether it solves the main problems. In this case analyses of the company problems must be performed beforehand and only then a search for an appropriate CRM solution(Rishabhsoft.com, 2014).

Ideally, CRM system is customer-based;however on implementing CRM system the company may lose its prior focus. The problem arises when the employees forget of this fact and utilise the system in a wrong way. It is highly essential for every organisation to encourage their employees maintain focus on its primal target, which can be expensive(Sssworld.com, 2014).

Also, CRM system,unfortunately, pays off at a slow pace. In other words it takes time to return the budget investment and can take years. As a result a company gives up on further improvement of the system, which in its turn makes CRM a useless tool.

CRM system holds huge amount of private and valuable information about existing or potential clients. Thus an issue of a security arises, especially when it comes to CRM system being hosted in the Cloud. A chance of a virus attacking a system or a "black-hat" braking into it is not excluded.

Utilisation of CRM by the levels of Management

The levels of each organization's hierarchy tightly depend on each other. Therefore it is vital to maintain focus on relationship between all three of them.

In order to guide its decision the top management follows a strategic plan which is usually a long-term forward looking campaign that concentrates on a future growth of the company as a whole. Relying on the very aggregated information received from the CRM allows the top managers to make their decision with regard to such areas as service or product development, markets and products, strategic alliances, etc. In other words whether the company should remain in business, which products to produce, where to locate its facilities, what production equipment to use.  CRM is designed to provide the executive level of management with detailed and rich information on up-to-date basis, accessed 24/7, which means it is more effective and quick than a static weekly report. Having such opportunity the top management can make just-in-time decisions to improve the performance of the organisation and get more revenue.

Once the executive level of the management chooses the general direction of the organisation, it is up to middle management resolve smaller tactical objectives, which would accomplish the strategic goals of the company. Tactical plans that are more detailed comparing to strategic ones, are usually a medium range plans, meaning it can take from 6 months to two years into the future. As a rule, the medium management utilises CRM in order to concentrate its attention on department functionality and productivity, for instance whether one or another objective requires some quality improvement or measureable efficiency. Also, though basic production capacity is usually resolved by a long-range consideration, it can also be managed within limits in the medium term. Just like the executive level, the medium level of management has an instant access to the database of CRM, throughout a year, every day, seven days a week(Plus, 2013).

Day-to-day business involves operational planning, which are short-term activities targeting the needs of the customers on daily basis. Operational planning requires very detailed information in order to accomplish the objectives set by a middle management. When decisions are to be made, the operational management, known also as a first line management, relies onto CRM to identify the most immediate requirements of organisation, for instance what to produce, when or what machinery to utilise, in what quantity or in what order, etc. In general the first line management tends to concentrate its attention on such areas as departments and sections hence with an access to CRM, a weekly or daily scheduling will help to analyse the productivity, change a system and adapt to one or another alteration.  As a rule a short range operating takes the orders directly from the customers(Managementstudyguide.com, 2014). 

Conclusion

Attraction, satisfaction, and retention of the most valuable customers are the main features of CRM system, which make every company successful. Byorganising and controlling all the company's processes looking after customers in sales, marketing, and service CRM allowsincrease revenue, improve customer satisfaction, and optimise customer retention.

Customer Relationship Managementsoftware brings together a significant amount of  information about customers the business is dealing with:

- market,

- responsiveness

- marketing effectiveness,

- trends

-sales,.

This program is utilizedfor storing information on customers thatcould be reached by employees across the board. For large and small organisationsweb-founded software becomes a best approach in a scenario when the staff is working outside the office premises or has poor IT resources.

Ideally CRM categorises and stores information in a user-friendly format and is aimed to offer the best services to customers, based on the history transactions. This improves the company's effectivenessand efficiency which results in theincreased revenue margins.

Accumulated information within the system helps every organisation improve its profitability by interacting with each and every customer in a friendlier way through individualisation. Its keygoal is to enhance and retain satisfaction of every customer by integrating technologiesinto business processes.

Definition of entrepreneurship and discussion of its relevance in the context of start-ups and established firms.

Introduction.

            Throughout human history, an entrepreneur has been a most active player in areas of technological, economic, and social development. After Richard Cantillon’s work, Essay on the Nature of Commerce in General (Essai sur la Nature du Commerce en general) was published in 1755, the words, “entrepreneur” and “entrepreneurship” have been increasingly used in the business and economics literature (Eisenmann and Eisenmann, 2013). Today, entrepreneurship research involves many disciplines such as economics, management, cognitive science and sociology.  Acknowledging that there are different approaches to defining the entrepreneurship and many opinions of its importance in modern business environment, this assay research mainly addresses the relevance of entrepreneurship in the context of start-ups and established firms from the perspective of economics and management.

            What is entrepreneurship?

            According to Professor Howard Stevenson, the godfather of entrepreneurship studies at Harvard Business School, entrepreneurship is the pursuit of opportunity beyond resources controlled(Bgi.edu, 2014). However, the most common definition of entrepreneurship is the next: "entrepreneurship is the willingness to take risks and develop, organize and manage a business venture in a competitive global marketplace that is constantly evolving" (BusinessDictionary.com, 2014). Entrepreneurs are inventors, innovators, pioneers and leaders. They are at the front line of social and technological movements – in their fields, in their forward thinking, in their desire to push the frontiers. They are dreamers and most importantly – doers. The most obvious example of entrepreneurship is the starting of new businesses.

Body.

            In the body of the essay the researcher is going to discuss positive and negative aspects why start-ups and established firms might choose the way of entrepreneurship and  the well-established notion that large and mature organizations stifle an employee’s ability and motivation to become an entrepreneur (Kacperczyk and J, 2012, pp. 484--521). The essay will consist of four paragraphs minimum.

            First paragraph will cover why many start-ups choose to be entrepreneurships. One of the reasons is that "“Pursuit” implies a singular, relentless focus"(Bgi.edu, 2014). In other words entrepreneurs often perceive a short window of opportunity. They need to show tangible progress to attract resources and "the mere passage of time consumes limited cash balances" (Morris and Paul, 1987, pp. 247--259). Consequently, entrepreneurs have a sense of urgency that is seldomly seen in established companies, where any opportunity is part of a portfolio and resources are more readily available. Opportunity  implies an offering that is novel in one or more of four ways and may entail:  pioneering a truly innovative product; devising a new business model; creating a better or cheaper version of an existing product; or  targeting an existing product to new sets of customers (Boonchoo and Wadeson et al., 2013, pp. 61--78). These opportunity types are not mutually exclusive. For example, a new venture might employ a new business model for an innovative product. Likewise, the list above is not the collectively exhaustive set of opportunities available to organizations. Many profit improvement opportunities are not novel, hence not entrepreneurial, for example, raising a product’s price or once a firm has a scalable sales strategy, hiring more reps.

            Second paragraph will discuss why many new firms prefer to copy already existed businesses in terms of market, product and service. Many entrepreneurs keep expenditures to a bare minimum while investing only their own time and, as necessary, their personal funds. In some cases, this is adequate to bring a new venture to the point where it becomes self-sustaining from internally generated cash flow (Tanan and Isti et al., ). With most high-potential ventures, however, founders must mobilize more resources than they control personally: the venture eventually will require production facilities, distribution channels, working capital, and so forth. Another point is risk. It is well-known that most of entrepreneurs are risky. However, a lot of people are not risk takers, as such they are far from entering entrepreneurship as a business way.

            Third paragraph will talk about  the factors that push established organizations fully or partially to transform into an entrepreneurship. As entrepreneurship is "a distinctive approach to managing" rather than a specific stage in an organization’s life cycle such as a start-up or a specific role for an individual (i.e., founder), or a constellation of personality attributes (e.g., predisposition to risk taking; preference of independence), so in this view, entrepreneurs can be found in many different types of organizations, including large corporations(Writework.com, 2005). Especially ones that have intention and spare funds to expand their businesses.

            The last paragraph will explain decisions that were made by established organisations to leave current type of employment in order to operate and assume risks for well-organised businesses. Large and mature firms "generate bureaucratic processes that hinder development of the kinds of employee skills", motivations, and aspirations favourable for new venture formation (Abeuk.com, 2014). This view implies that, as firms grow and mature, they become increasingly able to absorb the entrepreneurial drive of their employees.

Another way is that many firms, by exposing employees to highly specialized and closely monitored tasks, inhibit the ability to "challenge the existing order and to engage in creative problem solving"(Mospace.umsystem.edu, 2014).

Conclusion.

            An entrepreneur is some­one who searches for change, responds to it, and exploits change as an opportunity. For these people starting up their own business offers a greater possibility of  achieving significant financial rewards than work­ing for someone else.

It provides the ability to be involved in the whole  operation of the business, from concept to design and creation, from sales to business operations and customer response. Because entrepreneurs are pursuing a novel opportunity while lacking access to required resources, they always face considerable risk. Another question is funds needed, which are much easier to forecast when calculating for already existing business. That is why, many new businesses continue to follow well-approved business paths. Nevertheless, not only start-ups are famous as source of entrepreneurship, but many well-established companies go by this way in order to improve their positions in market or expand its influence even further. On the other hand, such issues as bureaucracy and close monitoring of employees become obstacles on the way of entrepreneurship.              

Business Communications skills are essential for success in the modern business environment.

Introduction.

“When a relationship is working, the act of communicating seems to flow relatively effortlessly. When a relationship is deteriorating, the act of communicating can be as frustrating as climbing a hill of sand."

- Chip Rose, attorney and mediator.

“Good communication skills are imperative for outstanding performance and career management”(Abacusbusinesscoaching.com, 2014). Effective communications skills are the key to a modern business executive’s success. Many of these skills are timeless such as leadership, strategic thinking, driving results, relationship building, clearly communicating direction and motivating others. Business executives have to possess these skills; however, they also need to update the required skills and competencies of the future. Executives,who improve and expand their existing skills to include global experience, will be “better suited to conquer new business challenges”(Talentmgt.com, 2014).

Companies which invest in the development of their executives are in a much better position to turn drivers and challenges of change into business opportunities for innovation and growth. By adopting opportunities to develop world experiences and “emphasize a balance between people and business skills”, organizations can significantly improve their own competitive positions.

According to Katz R. (2009), the modern business executives have to possess the next skills and capabilities:

ü  presentation skills;

ü  negotiation skills;

ü  influencing skills;

ü  compromise;

ü  cooperation;

ü  writing skills and report writing;

ü  listening skills.

However, Bennett J. (1971) in his article “The Communication Needs of Business Executives” discussed several others skills: 

ü  strategic thinking;

ü  business skills;

ü  people skills such as stress control,conflict and problem solving.

In his work Bennett also insisted that executives who are “best-equipped to handle the new business imperatives do not only possess the skills and competencies that traditionally have been required” but also have ample strategic thinking skills, global experiences, exceptional communication and interpersonal skills and the ability to manage remote teams(Bennett, 1971).

Business executives’ communications skills.

Strategic thinking has acquired a broader definition. To understand clients, business executives are expected to lead, think and operate from a global perspective.

Mark Karel, president of Philips Medical Systems, said leaders of the future have to be able to integrate different functional areas of their companies into solutions that add more value for their customers (Skills, 2014). Thus, executives have to spend more time with customers in an effort to understand their social, demographic elements, cultures and to build an “awareness of both the competitive and political landscapes” (Skills, 2014). Executives who are able to improve their strategic thinking skills will get a competitive advantage for their businesses. The Institute of Executive Development and RHR Internationalconfirmed from its survey thatstrategic thinking “will continue to be at the top of the list of required skills” for future executives (Warren, 2014).

Many companies are establishing global competency models to adapt to this changing business environment, which require executives to obtain international experience in addition to their traditional business skills. Moreover, they want their executives to have a mix of skills, competencies and experiences. For example, Philips Medical Systems managers in order to be promoted to senior managers must have experience in two different countries and work in two different product divisions (Warren, 2014).

Another great advantage for executives is to balance between business skills and people skills. Before, executives mainly paid attention to the “business” skill set. Taking into account significant growth in numbers of teams operating remotely, the challenge to managethese teams effectively across borders has emphasised excellent communication and interpersonal skills at the executive level. For example, Ernst & Young has a “people-first environment,” which starts at the executive level and infiltrates the whole organization. The attitude has become “an expectation in the company’s culture” (Helpguide.org, 2014). This attitude made people feel more valued, hence an increase in retention.

Innovation is yet another “timeless skill that will continue to be a top priority” (Leadership-development-tips.com, 2014). To stay for business competitive, it is important for executives to focus on product development, speeding up research and getting products to market in short terms. They have to be innovative and entrepreneurial, despite a size of their organization.

Presenting information effectively and clearly is a key skill to get one’s message or idea across. And today successful presentation skills are required in almost every field and business executive have to feel persuasive and confident while presenting; utilise a systematic approach to preparing presentations; develop and improve techniques to overcome obstacles in delivering successful presentations.

Successful negotiation skills include everything from pre-negotiation planning to the use of seemingly unimportant details like seating, meeting and arrangements site selection one can influence the results of negotiations. These skills help to communicate more effectively with partners, rivals, stakeholders and employees at all levels of the organisation. However that requires a complex mix of skills and abilities to adapt to different personality types. In order to consistently achieve successful results, it is vital to have “an in-depth understanding of the processes of communication and negotiation” (Bennett and Olney, 1986).

The next important skill is assertiveness. It is a way of behaving and thinking that helps an individual to advocate persons rights while respecting the rights of others. Assertiveness means expressing opinions, while it can “lead to confrontation and takes courage” (Stotesbury, 2009). Some people find it hard to be assertive because of their natural easy-going temper and hence require some practice. Executives have to know how their behaviour style influences their overall performance as a manager.

The final skill concerns stress control. Everyone experiences conflicts at some points of lives. Although, conflicts could result in loss of time, resources, and efficiency in any business team, when managed well, conflict can lead to new ideas, more efficient decision-making and better performance. This skill helps executive to handle modern issues such as team dysfunction, mediation between difficult employees, coping and working through difficult situations. Several key surveys have motivated organisations to search for ways to “give their members a greater sense of control, reduce stress, and improve productivity and morale” (Leadership-development-tips.com, 2014).

Conclusion.

Communication is very important in an organization as it connects members within a specific department as well as links them to members from other departments, from other offices and from all over the world. Moreover, successful executive’s communication can make the difference between success and failure for a company.

Successful communication helps to provide the efficient operation at all levels of a business, from lowest to highest, while a poor communication often leads to inefficiency. And it is well known that “inefficiency equals a loss of productivity” and as a result loss of profits (Katz, 2009).

Increased efficiency is not the only result of successful communication, but it also establishes a sense of unity among members, leading to their feeling of self-appreciation, working together toward a common goal as the success of the organization.

The main conclusion that may be drawn from this research of communication skills necessary for business executives is that they are more vital than ever before for business success and that they will continue to be a crucial component of the business communication.

The Top 10 Wisest Master Yoda Quotes ;-)

The Top 10 Wisest Master Yoda Quotes ;-)

Personal care products: harm or benefit

Every girl desires to be beautiful. And that is where the personal care products play a significant role. Mascaras, lipsticks, blushes, eye shadows, creams, shampoos – they all help to “hide” flaws and to focus on the merits.

Unfortunately, not all of us are given a healthy and beautiful skin by nature. Causes of this can be both improper care of skin and internal problems of the body (for instance many diseases of the internal organs are reflected in the appearance of a person).

According to statistics an average woman in a developed country uses 12 personal care products a day, while an average man applies only 6. An average person uses 2 litres of shampoo a year plus 1 litre of conditioner for woman. A woman applies 11 mm of polish on her nails and eats 100 grams of lipstick a year while a man pours a 2 metre layer of shaving foam over his face. And this is not the end of the list.
Personal care products are believed to be beneficial and hence became utilities of an everyday life. For example, tone cream and face powder can make the skin shade even and beautiful. Mascara, eyeliner and eye shadow make eyes expressive and deep. In addition, they reflect unique style and mood. With these tools, you can create any desired impression: passion, femininity, modesty… Lipsticks, glosses, lip liners also reflect personality and mood. Fragrances, fake tans and hair products allow you to complete that image.

Despite the obvious benefit of personal hygiene products and cosmetics, there are many opponents of their use. The reason is simple – their negative influence on the skin. The most discussed problems are allergic reactions and adverse effects on the skin. Many women believe that they are allergic to personal care products where, in fact, they suffer from irritation caused by one or a whole group of substances in a certain product. Of course, cosmetics contain not only natural elements, but also many chemical compounds and ingredients that may affect the skin. Swelling, rash, redness, – these are all signs of allergic reactions. If the skin reacts quickly to the use of products that contain irritating ingredients, it is safe to say this is a sensitive skin. Often, such manifestations quickly disappear when the affected area is rinsed with water or soothing lotion is applied. Typically, the most damaging compounds for the sensitive skin are flavouring and colouring chemicals, preservatives , sunscreens and many others, both of natural and synthetic origin. If they take you there – you should stop using products causing the skin problems. But the reasons may be not only in poor quality : idiosyncrasy can play a cruel joke, and even high-quality personal care products may cause reactions and irritations. As a result, you will have to give up and look for other means suitable for your skin. The best action in this case is a visit to a doctor and conduction of tests to identify allergens. However, if the cause is not an allergic reaction but a poor-quality cosmetics, the consequences can be serious. Therefore, experts advise not to use manufacturers of cosmetics that are unknown to you, if possible of course, otherwise, do it with extreme caution.
Notoriously, poor-quality cosmetics is distinguished from the cosmetics that has expired. Many girls do not pay attention to the expiration date or believe that using outdated products will not bring about any harm. Meanwhile, such cosmetics can cause significant damage to health. For example, expired ink may result in eye diseases. Especially damaging are products from natural resources, although they are considered to be the most harmless. The shelf life of natural personal care products is very small, and women do not pay attention to it , resulting in the unsafe use of expired cosmetics. If the reason for the negative effects of personal hygiene products and cosmetics is the use of products after their use-by date, customers have no right to blame the manufacturer.

In addition to complaints about the composition and quality of products, personal care products opponents have another argument: it prematurely ages the skin. Instead of improving its condition and prolonging youth, in fact, it turns out to have an opposite effect such as a premature aging of the skin while all women expect the opposite. A woman may harm herself even more when completely eliminates washing with water, replacing it with a variety of lotions and foams. These substances accumulate on skin, resulting in clogging of pores and leads to skin aging .Doctors-dermatologists advise to use cosmetic products only when needed, to make sure to wash them off daily with water and do not apply a lot of makeup on the face. Thus, the damage from cosmetics can be reduced to a minimum.

Of course, the arguments of opponents and supporters of the use of these products have a right to exist; each of them has their own truth.

However, every year, after the application of harmful cosmetics, many people around the world confront problems such as burns, rashes, allergies, and even the loss of hair, not to mention possible carcinogenic effects, which occur with prolonged use of these chemicals.

Once choosing a cosmetic product, people must know the harmful and dangerous cosmetic ingredients. This article does not serve as a call to abandon a number of comforts of civilization. You just need to be informed and to give up the goods which include hazardous, poisonous ingredients.

Why do the manufacturers of these products include dangerous substances while there are safer counterparts?

The first reason -they use the ingredients that are cheaper. And when some of the developed and consumer-conscious countries prohibit the utilisation of cheap and dangerous constituents, there still remain many countries where this is allowed. Thus even “serious” and “respectful” producers do not hesitate to use cheap components. The second reason – often manufacturers use untested ingredients, without spending time and money on a thorough research of newly created substances. Moreover, producers do not rush to give them up even if they have side effects.

Have you ever noticed how advertising affects the price and quality of the products? When a new product appears in the market, no matter what it is – chocolate, sausage or cosmetics, it usually satisfies you in terms of price and quality. But then, when the item of interest begins to be constantly advertised on television, it either becomes expensive or starts to deteriorate in quality, and often, unfortunately, both happens. Usually, the quality of the world’s widely advertised brands is low – the bulk of the cost of production goes to advertising and expansion of the corporation.

List of hazardous substances in personal hygiene products and cosmetics (for more detailed descriptions refer to related articles) :

1. Sodium lauryl sulfate(SLS) or Sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) or Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES) – found in shampoos and other cosmetics. Should not be contained in children’s cosmetics! Particularly dangerous for children!

2 . Phosphates – anionic surfactant, used in washing powders or other detergents. Avoid detergents containing these substances , as well as those containing chlorine.

3 . Phthalates. Abbreviations : BBP – phenyl butyl phthalate , DBP – di ( n-butyl) phthalate , DEHP – di (2 – ethylhexyl) phthalate, DEP – diethyl phthalate , DHP – di-n -hexyl phthalate. Phthalates are often a part of perfumery and hair lotions, antiperspirants . According to CDC – American Center for Disease Control and Prevention , they are carcinogenic, mutagenic or toxic for posterity. Particularly dangerous for children, pregnant and nursing mothers.

4 . Fluoride and sodium fluoride -found in toothpastes . Should not be contained in children’s toothpaste ! Particularly dangerous for children.

5 . Propylene glycol , ethylene glycol – found in creams , lotions and other humidifiers , decorative cosmetics liquids . If it is listed as one of the first [ingredients] in a cosmetic composition, it indicates a high concentration of substance!

6 . Lanolin – ingredient of various cosmetics , usually creams ( may cause skin sensitization ) .

7. Triclosan chlorophenol – as an antibacterial substance that is a part of antibacterial soaps, toothpastes , shaving creams and other cosmetics and detergents. One of its “advantages” is destroying harmful and beneficial bacteria, however the side effects are not less dangerous.

8. Parabens the collective name for methylparaben, butylparaben, ethylparabenparabeny – in cosmetic products, they are used as preservatives . In antiperspirants, they used as antimicrobials against perspiration and may cause dermatitis , allergies and other skin effects.

9 . Aluminum salts – are a part of deodorants and antiperspirants (can cause breast cancer).

10. Methyldibromglutaronitrile (MDGN) – as a preservative is a part of gels, masks, creams, tanning, shampoos (often causes allergic reactions, skin diseases).

11. Loramid D – this is a semi-synthetic chemical used for foaming and thickening of various cosmetic products. In addition, it is used in detergents for washing dishes because of its ability to remove fat (can dry the hair and the skin, causing itching, and allergic reactions) .

The debate about the dangers and benefits of cosmetics continues for years. One group of people is in favour of the use of cosmetics, the other – against. Each leads the arguments, and almost all of them are right because it can be both damaging and beneficial. The main point is: it is necessary to select cosmetics very carefully. Then your skin will say “Thank you”

Traveling and students.

In some countries, young people are encouraged to work or travel for a year between finishing high school and starting university studies. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages for young people who decide to do this.

It is clear that traveling is the oldest means of acquiring knowledge. So what could be more useful for a school graduates than traveling abroad combined with work there?

First of all, most students, done their living certificates, have never stayed outside their parental home longer than one or two weeks. At the same time the majority of young people starting university studies leave their homes and parents for at least 3 years. Finding themselves in unfamiliar surrounding among strange people, they realise how helpless and defenseless they are. Thus, traveling may help to beat the feeling of helplessness and to gain or improve social skills. After a year’s trip overseas students become more confident and independent. They make friends faster and easily settle down in a new environment.

Upon leaving abroad young people broaden their minds and improve their knowledge about other cultures and social ways of life that also will be helpful in residing within international communities, as many of university hostels are. Such students quickly find means to resolve existing household issues and problems at work.

The next advantage is that these students working for a year after finishing school as earning money for future educational and living needs as have a spare year in order to decide what exact careers they are going to choose. Therefore some of them after working at in their desired industry may change their minds and find the more appropriate option or ensure themselves in an already made choice. However, some people do not want to travel for some reasons. For example, traveling one cannot enjoy the comfort of his home. Also, the possibilities of robberies and losing of baggage should be taken into account.

To sum up, although traveling or work is a good way to get educated, get impressions, nice memories and many friends, it needs extra precautions in order to have a safe journey.

Cooperation or competition?

Some people think that a sense of competition in children should be encouraged. Others believe that children who are taught to cooperate rather than compete become more useful adults.
Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.

Parents always expect more from their children and in order to help them to be the best, parents may be inclined to promote different ways of education such as competition or cooperation. Both methods have their benefits and drawbacks.

It is undoubtedly clear that competition forces children to make more efforts in order to gain desirable things or marks, hence improves their skills and abilities. Competitive young people are very determined and strong-willed. However, the excess of competitiveness may bring harm to youth. For example, children with an excessive sense of competition aim only for a win. They cannot accept failure and that in turn may push them to lie or cheat.

However, youngsters with an inclination to cooperate very often become good team players in adulthood, who are able to solve problems and disagreements existing in a group or at a work place. They will easily lead a working team and drive it towards a stated target. There is no doubt that students who prefer cooperation usually yield to competitive ones in speed of task performance. However, the latter easily compensate for it in accuracy of performance and diversity of task answers.

To sum up, although both methods of child's development have their advantages, as I see it, the best answer lays in moderation of competitiveness and cooperation. Thus, such a child will overlap disadvantages of one method with advantages of another.