Direct And Database Marketing Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Direct And Database Marketing - Case Study Example They are now starting to pursue the natural progression relationship marketing, where their marketing communication to a customer will be defined according to the nature of that customer. Secondly, they sell through an indirect channel, yet their efforts can be defined as direct marketing because it is done to customers with the goal of a direct response in return (Tapp 2004 p4). To reach the wide customer base currently served, Lawson uses indirect sales via 1600 independent sales representatives. As their sales channel is therefore highly granular as well as being independent, information flow back to Lawson is limited, in particular for analysis of customer data or tracking of marketing campaigns. The industry sector is also one that typically does not exploit the possibilities of database marketing, although in the light of the competitive situation, this may change (RRW 2008). The company saw that more effective marketing was required and hired executives with marketing skills to address the situation (Adcock et al 2001). These new members of the company realised that instead of treating all customers as the same, it was necessary to capture customer details in order to build a relationship with that customer and by personalising the treatment given, to maximise the possibilities of repeat business (Tapp 2004 p4). ... The company's data at the time was distributed in an ad hoc fashion between spreadsheets, smaller databases and mailing lists. Although it gave personal customer data and purchase data on what different customers had bought, it lacked the data on what communication or sales campaign history was and what responses the customer might have given. It was in this sense not a full marketing database (Goldwag 2003). A number of related software applications were implemented to address this situation, including applications to cleanse data, analyse it, store it in an SQL database and provide reports. The cleansing of the data is to prevent duplication of records as well as invalid addresses or customers who have requested that no contact be made. The analysis is currently done to assess the effectiveness of Lawson's life cycle marketing with particular emphasis on customer retention. This is a time-series method, which as a short-term measure is relatively fast and precise for the prediction of customer response and sales revenue (Tapp 2004 p59). The conclusions that Lawson has reached so far are that there is considerable turnover of customers and therefore lower customer loyalty, and that customer defection happens rapidly and therefore demands a rapid response from Lawson. This is the short-term answer until the marketing team refines a model that not only let them exploit the end customer's growing wish to have direct contact with the manufacturer of the good that they purchase, but also uses this direct marketing to add value to products such as rivets and screws that are often perceived as a commodity offering (Tapp 2004 p15). A figure for the return on investment on the efforts made so far is unavailable. Lawson's evaluation of the benefits

Economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Economics - Essay Example Taking into this account, how might my personal behavior patterns show a different type of decision process? I was at a fast food place once grabbing a burger to eat. Inevitably, â€Å"upselling† at the end of the transaction occurs where they offer fries and a drink. I almost instinctivey said â€Å"Yes†, then began to do marginal analysis. I would save money, but how much? Looking at the menu, I found that the a la carte cost would be thirty cents more. I didn't really want fries and a drink, I would only have purchased it out of an irrational desire not to miss a deal even when the deal is not necessary. I ended up changing my mind and saying no and was very glad to have saved the two dollars. The marginal benefit of the additional food and the beverage did not eclipse the marginal cost, even though I had lost an opportunity and therefore incurred opportunity cost by not pairing the meal. Normally, I would have chosen such a meal: I just happened to be thinking about it. I might even have ingested the calories happily, not realizing I actually hadn't been that hungry, causing me to eat more than my plan for the day. The fast food place thus already has a powerful incentive: The desire for people to avoid a missed opportunity combined with a nominal discount on associated items.

The Importance of Partnerships with Parents for All Aspects of the Childcare Service Essay Example for Free

The Importance of Partnerships with Parents for All Aspects of the Childcare Service Essay The partnership with parents is very important as it is the key to making sure that the children in my care get the best care available and are happy and settled in my setting. With the introduction of the Children Act in 1989 parents were given definite rights. This included being able to access information on their children’s progress and achievements in their setting and also a preference to parents as to which school they wanted their child to go to. Since the introduction of the EYFS in 2008, a clear framework has been put in place to foster partnerships between parents and all professionals, including childminders, pre-schools, nurseries and schools. The relationship between parents and childminders can be very close, parents will be coming into my home every day and it is important that I put this on a professional footing by having a Parental Involvement Policy that clearly states how the partnership between the parents and I will work. I will welcome all parents into my setting and encourage their involvement in order to ensure their child is comfortable enough to flourish into confident, happy individuals. The partnership with parents starts with the first initial enquiry / visit. I need to build a rapport with the parents by understanding their requirements both culturally, socially and any routines they have. I will always endeavour to accommodate a child’s routine and discuss with parents how this will be managed taking account of the children already in my care. Sometimes a compromise will need to be made, as long as this is agreed by all parties. Different cultures have different approaches to modesty, clothing, and the use of the toilet and hygiene arrangements. Some cultures have very specific guidelines on the preparation and storage of food and the type of food they eat. All these aspects need to be considered and discussed with the parent at the initial enquiry / visit stage. Once I have established the basic requirements of the parents I will draw up a contract with the parents for the care of their child/(ren). Before a child starts in my care I will want to have some settling in sessions. This is important to ensure that the child, parent and I can have some time to get to know each other and clarify any points regarding routine, specific needs and communication. There are many ways of communicating with parents, keeping a daily diary, telephone calls, email, a chat on collection or drop off and formalised parent meetings. A daily diary is particularly useful when children in my care are young and are still in appies, on formula milk, or being weaned, or just starting to feed themselves and / or not yet talking. Telephone calls or email communication is more likely to be an agreed regular communication in the evening or weekends. I would not envisage this being the preferred method of communication as face to face discussion would be more productive. I would propose to hold parents evenings, at least twice a year. The purpose of this would be to review the child’s progress, discuss any issues and plan for the coming six months.

Social Media In The Hospitality Industry

Social Media In The Hospitality Industry Armstrong and Kotler state the internet is revolutionising the way we think about à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ how to construct relationships with suppliers and customers, how to create value for, and how to make money in the process; in other words revolutionising marketing. This has led to a significant shift over the last couple of years from using traditional sources such as newspapers, television, radios and leaflets. (Thevenot, 2007, Young, 2007, Cheung et al. 2008 and Field 2008) note that word of mouth marketing is the most powerful promotional tool, with Social Media just finger tips away; this makes it even more crucial for businesses to recognise and acknowledge it. It has been defined as a second generation of Web development and design that aims to facilitate communication, secures information sharing, interoperability, and collaboration on the World Wide Web (Paris et al. 2010: 531). This essay seeks to critically explore the issues and benefits associated with the use of Social Media. The application of Social Media has developed the way organisations communicate with their guests, since it was introduced in the early 90s society towards a new era. It has evolved from being a tool that was used by the public to connect with old and new friends to giving businesses and consumers the opportunity to have a two way conversation (Lim et al.2012). Additionally Social Media enables organisations to promote their brand and connect with their customers on a more intimate level (Ragone, 2012 and Wilson et al. 2012). Over the last few years the use of Social Media has increased, with many social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Googleplus emerging). Research undertaken by Burson-Marsteller (2009) who are a globally recognised Public Relations company, discovered companies who made the most profit in Fortune magazine were registered with three networking sites these included Twitter, Facebook and Blogs. 54% of the businesses joined and used Twitter, 32 % had blogs and 29% had a Facebook page. The report went on to show that 94% of the organisations used their Twitter to keep consumers updated. Additionally 67% were using Twitter to deal with customers inquiries or queries. Wigder et al. (2010) reported the growth of Social Media from 2005 to 2009 grew from 1 billion to 1.6 billion, similarly it is expected to increase by 42% by the end of 2012. Social Media has made such a significant impact on the hospitality industry. The most important and possibly damaging Social Media sites to the hospitality industry are Trip Advisor, Yelp and Booking.com, they are on the increase as they have been seen to gain substantial popularity with potential travellers (Xiang and Gretzel 2010). According to Pantelidis (2010) tourists are more willing to put their faith in the reviews written by other travellers compared to those by professional reviewers such as the AA (Automobile Association). Sparks and Browning (2011) say customers want information that is easy to process, which is why they look to Social Media, they also believe by reading peer reviews they are more likely to get accurate information. Therefore the demand for Social Media is growing fast and it is important for businesses that want to survive to adapt and to get their name and brand out there, with the recent economic problems that the world has been facing any opportunity to win over the competitors should be taken (Gretzel et al. 2007 and Fraser, 2010). The explosion of this application brought many opportunities as well as challenges and issues. Saunders and Graham (1992) believe as guests are directly involved in the service process; it brings uncertainty in the delivery process .For that reason its difficult knowing what the customer regards as high and acceptable standards. Standards may also be determined by how a guest feels emotionally rather than how the organisation has delivered the service. A guest might go into a hotel today and be ecstatic with the service that the organisation has provided whereas two weeks later they may go in again but emerge feeling disappointed despite receiving the same level of service. They may go on Social Media voice out their frustrations at the hotel. Saunders and Graham (1992:246) state Focus on the customer is very much a part of the provision of a service. Seeing as service is intangible it is difficult to determine what each individual considers acceptable, naturally all the consumer can rely on is their feelings towards the experience. As a result it makes quality harder to define and varies from each customer to the next. Service is not something you can store; it is measured immediately by the recipient. Under these circumstances any measurement taken is thus too late to avoid a failure in contact with the customer (Saunders and Graham, 1992: 246). Although these theories were identified years ago they still apply to the hospitality industry today. Another challenge which Social Media has presented is there is no way to verify who is making reviews or comments. As a result disgruntled employees could go on Social Media to write negative reviews. Parkes (2011) claimed Trip Advisor is being used to blackmail hoteliers by guests to get special discounts or complimentary upgrades. An investigation carried out by Kenber (2011) discovered 80 hotel owners had complained about guests blackmailing them with negative Trip Advisor reviews. Allegedly the guests had threatened to give them one star reviews if they did not comply with their demands. Some of the requests consisted of half price rooms and meals and compensation for false food poisoning. Trip Advisor has since responded by saying that hotels that have been victims of these threats should contact them. A program which was aired on Channel 4 Attack of Trip Advisors (2011) showed how negative comments affected the hospitality organisations. With some having claimed a loss of busin ess and tainted reputations. However Trip Advisor said both parties are given a chance to comment and address the reviews to the sites visitors and reviewers and have the last say. The most important issue the hoteliers failed to understand was how guests do not complain during their experience and then write bad reviews on Social Media sites such as Trip Advisor (Parkes, 2011). A further issue that was identified by Ragone (2012) is that some hoteliers believe Social Media is and should be used only in the technology or sale areas. Whereas, they are supposed to combine the two in order to maximise its potential. If used correctly and effectively Social Media can bring in many benefits for the organisation. An important benefit which organisations capitalise on is; it is free advertising (Thomas, 2009). Large chains such as Hilton Hotels, Marriot International, Four Seasons and Starwood Hotels have welcomed both Twitter and Facebook with each of them having over 100,000 likes on Facebook and over 50,000 followers on Twitter. A number of brands such as Sheraton have started to incorporate Facebook into their websites. So whenever a guest makes a post on either one it can be seen on the other (Kwok and Yu, 2012).Others such as Marriot have taken a slightly different approach, they invited a number of celebrities and journalists to their newly refurbished properties in 2010, to start a Twitter campaign and share their thoughts with their followers live on the property (Ehotelier, 2010 and Kwok and Yu, 2012). As far as Social Media is concerned it is essential for hospitality businesses to have s imilar initiatives such as those practiced by the two hotels mentioned above. On the other hand it is important for businesses to realise that even if they choose not to participate or use Social Media, customers can always comment and review the hotel or restaurant (Sparks and Browning, 2011). It has become common practice now for many hospitality businesses to feed information from other Social Media sites to their Facebook page (Thevenot, 2007). Accor have a link on their website which leads guest to trip advisor so that they can have a look at previous guests comments. This gives former guests and potential travellers the opportunities to share and like reviews and messages (Fraser, 2010 and Kwok and Yu, 2012). A study done by Nielsenwire (2012) showed that the public devotes 20% of their day to social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and linkedIn. Social Media is a mixture of fact and opinion, impression and sentiment, founded and unfounded titbits, experiences, and even rumor (Blackshaw and Nazzaro, 2006: 4).so it important for businesses that use Social Media to be able to deal with and clarify both the positive and negative feedback they may receive from guests. If the feedback is not dealt with this could lead to the organisation damaging their own reputation (Field, 2008). According to Verma et al. (2012) the hospitality industry is aware of the impact Social Media has on its potential guests. Research done by (Kwok and Yu 2012) has shown that many hospitality businesses are trying to find a balance between responding to their guests on Social Media and adhering to the International Ratings organisations. Hospitality businesses have adjusted and made changes to their business models in order to accommodate and make the most of Social Media. Mobile applications have also had an impact on the way consumers search and plan their holidays. Both of these factors have led to a change in the way businesses look and communicate with customers, as they are treated more like an active stakeholder (Sigala et al. 2012). Majority of the businesses that have welcomed Social Media, actually encourage their guests to use Trip Advisor, as they like to think of it as a marketing and promotion tool in which they can gain loyal consumers. Similarly some like to take advan tage of this opportunity as a way to gather feedback in order for them to improve their services (Verma et al. 2012). As a result they could they are able to overcome challenges and solve their problems more efficiently. The businesses that have had success when using Social Media are those that have been open and encouraged their guests to comment. Litvin and Hoffman (2012) suggest it is crucial for hospitality businesses to encourage guests to comment as it shows that they are honest and open. They go on to suggest ways for businesses to promote Social Media to their guests. The first is having a sign which reads If you have enjoyed your stay please let others know by sharing your thoughts on Trip Advisor similarly they propose printing it on the receipt when guests are checking out or when they are leaving the restaurant. Obviously there is no guarantee that it will encourage a customer to write a good review because whenever a customer is involved there is always an element of u ncertainty. However when loyal consumers are encouraged to comment they can counter negative comments, and will have a positive influence on the potential travellers (Litvin and Hoffman, 2012). They later pointed out the significance for management to get involved by responding to the negative reviews. With Social Media becoming more mobile this has enabled guests to be able to record videos and take pictures which they can Post on their Social Media sites (Wilson et al. 2012 and Verma et al. 2012). It has also been established that hospitality marketers need to realise creating customer value and satisfaction are at the heart of the hospitality and travel industry (Dev et al. 2010:460). In addition they believe for hospitality businesses to be a success they need to inform and make sure profit maximisation is part of the roles and responsibilities for the revenue manager. McKenna (2012) claims there are a number of procedures being introduced to stop false reviews and to name those involved and the organisations that have paid them or encouraged them. Yelp is a site similar to Trip Advisor but is used more in the USA; it has developed a tool to alerts people that a review is believed to be false. Trip Advisor is also thought to be considering introducing a similar system. To conclude Social Media has become the centre of hospitality businesses Internet marketing strategy, many hospitality businesses especially the well-known brands have perceived and realised its potential and are maximising it when marketing their business. Since its inception it has developed interest in both consumers and businesses. The issues and challenges brought by this application have made it essential for hospitality businesses to understand and embrace customer feedback. As discussed earlier consumers consider peer reviews more important in making purchasing decisions. The only way businesses can use it as a successful tool is by making sure they listen to their guests and respond quickly and efficiently. Social Media if used properly can generate some profit for any organisations. To put it more simply consumers want to be kept up to date about what is going on in the businesses; they are able to do that by using Social Media as its free and easily accessible. The issues that have been identified above such as perishability and lack of control; are not easy to manage for hospitality organisations all they can do is make sure quality and high standards are maintained. Verification is also an issue that will need to be dealt with by the Social Media websites; this is an on-going problem that could cost hospitality businesses large amounts of money and their reputation. No one has come up with any solutions addressing the issues of fake reviews, they can only take responsibility and if needs be investigate the claims that consumers have made, to ensure it does not happen again. It is also very important for organisations to respond, apologise and acknowledge when they are at fault and find ways to compensate the guest

machiavelli Essay -- essays research papers

The Church accused Niccolo Machiavelli of being Satan for writing his book The Prince. Machiavelli completed The Prince in 1513. He wrote it as a gift to Lorenzo Medici, called the Magnificent, ruler of Florence. The political views Machiavelli expressed in his book went against the theology of the Church, specifically the Ten Commandments and the Beatitudes. Machiavelli wrote to gain control of a principality one must be brutal. (I)f you are a prince in possession of a newly acquired state and deem it necessary. . . to annihilate those who can or must attack you. . . . , you must do so to protect your principality. He gave the example of Duke Valentino's slaying of his nobles to maintain order, saying if Valentino had not killed his men, Valentino would have lost power. The Bible strongly forbids the killing of anyone. The Sixth Commandment states You shall not murder. In what is known as the Beatitudes, from Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, the Bible also says those who are meek shall inherit the earth. A meek person certainly does not kill others for standing in his or her way like Machiavelli is suggesting to be done. Another verse from the Beatitudes says those who are peacemakers will be called sons of God. Peacemakers do not kill either. For Machiavelli to say if killing a person is for the betterment of your principality, then to do so went against God's rule and the Church's. True followers of the Church abide by the Church beliefs, because if you are not for God, ...

The Chocolate Tree :: Botany

The Chocolate Tree Fossil records are unable to provide information of on the center of origins of the cacao tree. The cacao tree is in the Sterculiaceae family. The first growers of the cacao pods were probably the people who entered the lowland rain forests of the Amazon Basin between 10,000 and 200 B.P. The full name of the cacao tree is Theobroma cacao. Most of the information of the cacao have been derived from the cultivated crop. The life and reproduction life cycle of Theobroma cacao is identical to a tropical rain forest tree species. Cacao grows optimally in minimal moisture and shade. Cacao is dispersed in small, medium and large areas. This is probably the result of animal dropping the seeds after eating the tasty inside of the pods. Cacao pods are very diverse in morphology. These morphological difference suggests genetic differentiation. The Amazon region is considered the birthplace of the wild cacao tree. T. cacao appeared with the arrival of human species in South American. It have been suggested that T. cacao is the result of a cross between T. pentagona and T. leiocarpa. Cacao was not been selected for its seeds, but instead for the pulp surrounding them. Selection for the seeds begin in Mesoamerica. The seed pulp was used as a beverage. Cacao cultivation by the Indians, notably the Aztecs of Mexico and Mayas in Central America was established before the New World was discovered. The next question would have to be how did the cacao tree cross the sea. Christopher Columbus brought a cacao beans back to Europe from the Gulf of Honduras. This cargo of cacao beans were the first specimens to enter Europe. The Aztecs settled in Mexico two hundred years before Cortes conquest of Mexico. When the Spaniards invaded the palaces of Montezuma they found a large number of cacao beans. The cacao beans were used in a drink called chocolatl. The was typically the drink for the most elite in the society. This is the treatment that was done on the cacao prior to storage. Sun dried beans that had been roast in pots. The husk were removed, the nibs were placed on flat or concave stone, then ground and shaped with a roller. The fluid mass is then mixed with corn and spices and made into cakes. The chocolatl drink is made from a piece of the cake mixed with water and mixed with a molinet.

God’s Existence Can Be Proven a Priori Essay

Trying to prove that God exists is a difficult argument and many people have tried many different ways. The Ontological argument is one argument; at the centre of the argument is the concept of existence. The Ontological argument has been argued from a group of philosophers for the existence of God. â€Å"Ontological† means talking about being and so that being is the existence of God. The ontological argument differs from other arguments in favour of God because of the fact that it is an a priori deductive argument. There are two main arguments for the ontological argument which seeks to prove the existence of God a priori. The first argument is from Anselm; he was the Archbishop of Canterbury and therefore started his argument from a theistic point of view. Anselm believed that no belief in God was absurd and he used a reducio ad absurdum argument, which tries to show that God not existing could not be believed because in not believing you are adopting a nonsensical argument. His starting point was his definition of God, ‘God is the thought than which nothing greater can be conceived’. Firstly Anselm attacks the idea that there is no God, even the thought that there is no God requires the concept of God. The greatest possible being has to exist in reality as well as in the mind to be the greatest possible being therefore we can conceive of the greatest possible being because it also has to exist in reality. A criticism that was raised about the greatest possible being is that we as humans all have different ideas of what it could be but Anselm responded by saying that when we reach the idea of such a high level being such as God then the idea of what it is becomes very similar. Therefore God exists according to Anselm. Also God is considered to be a necessary being, which will always exist, does not rely on other beings and cannot not exist, therefore God must exist if he is to be called a necessary being. The second philosopher to argue the existence of God using the ontological argument was Rene Descartes; he set out his argument firstly by defining God as ‘a supremely perfect being’. From this he tried to prove the existence of God, because God is defined as a supremely perfect being he possess all perfections. According to Descartes the perfect state includes existence as well as the classical attributes of God, he believed that existence was perfection in itself and therefore God must exist. Therefore this is why we as humans cannot have a necessary existence because we do not have complete perfection. Descartes used mathematics and an example of a mountain with a valley to explain that God must exist, the mountain being separate from the valley and according to him it is the same with God, you cannot separate existence from God. This argument however cannot apply to objects affected by space and time, contingent things and can only apply to necessary beings which are perfect. He continues by saying that only God can have absolute perfection and there can only be one absolute. Descartes goes on to point out that Mackie or Russell are trying to establish necessary existence of contingent objects such as unicorns but necessary existence only applies to absolutely perfect beings. A criticism of the argument was put forward by Thomas Aquinas, who had already questioned the important aspect of the ontological argument, the idea that we cannot assign existence a priori to our definition of the idea of a perfect being. Aquinas claimed Anselm was guilty of making a ‘transitional error’, moving from his definition of God to the claim that he exists. Anselm also made the assumption that his definition was shared by all believers of God. The meaning of the term God means he exists in peoples understanding but not in reality. According to Aquinas the existence of God must be shown a posteriori which is what he tried to attempt to show in his cosmological argument. Also David Hume disagrees with the ontological argument. Hume was an empiricist so disapproves the use of a priori to prove existence and believes it should only be used for a definition. A description of a thing can contain every detail possible but we have to go beyond a description to be able to determine its existence, just because we can describe it does not mean it therefore pops into existence. He believed the only way in which you could prove something a priori was if the opposite implies a contradiction, such as x=not x. Therefore if it implies a contraction then it is inconceivable and then everything can be conceived not to exist. Therefore Hume’s believed that nothing can be proven to exist a priori, including God. He came to the conclusion that existence could only ever be contingent. Kant also disagrees with Descartes ontological argument. He used the example of a triangle, if you have a triangle it must have three angles but if you do not have a triangle it will not have three angles. It all depends on whether you agree there is a God or not, if there is a God then his existence is necessary but we do not have to accept the idea there is a God. Descartes according to Kant just gives God existence, however existence isn’t a property. God could have all the classic attributes but still he might not exist. For example a chair, it has many properties which are established a posteriori but whether it exists or not have to be discovered a priori. Using Descartes idea but changing it slightly, â€Å"existence is not predicate†. By adding reality to something does not mean it makes it better, Kant’s example, â€Å"a hundred real thalers does not contain the least coin more than a hundred possible thalers†. We must establish whether something exists or not before we can describe it, not the other way around and therefore if there is a perfect being then he must exist. Kant distinguishes between a priori and a posteriori, a priori are necessary, they have to be so whereas a posteriori can be challenged, such as how many people you think you saw. If something exists and the existence of that tells us about its property then by saying it does not exist you deny it of that property and almost say that it lacks it, however how can you say that something that does not exist lack something? This is a strong argument against the ontological argument which cannot be explained easily. A criticism of Anselm’s ontological argument directly was from Gaunilo, he had the same idea as Kant, that something cannot be defined into existence. Just because we define what we believe God to be does not mean that he actually exists. In Gaunilo’s book ‘On behalf of the Fool’, he describes the Lost Island as the greatest possible island and that no greater island can be conceived. It is logical to say that it is greater to exist in reality than as just an idea. If this island therefore did not exist there could be a even greater island which did exist and so therefore the Lost Island must exist somewhere. The perfect island exists but it may not be what you think of as the perfect island because by imaging it does not mean it exists. Therefore Anselm saying that God the perfect being had to exist cannot work. However, there is a problem with Gaunilo’s criticism, Anselm said he was not arguing about contingent things such as the island which have no intrinsic maximum, he was arguing for the ‘greatest thing that can be conceived’ which has a intrinsic maximum and so can be perfect. Therefore the ontological argument can be used to talk about such things as God which is necessary but cannot be used when talking about contingent things such as an island. The island is limited whereas the notion of God is not. To conclude, to prove the existence of God a priori we need to have knowledge of what God is, before sense experience can be gathered. This is where the ontological argument falls down. How can we understand a being when we cannot see, hear or touch them first if we want to prove the existence using a priori. A priori uses facts which are either true or false to determine things but without ever experiencing God ourselves through a posteriori first we have no facts in which to use a priori. The only way in which we can argue that God exists is if we treat him as if he were an object. God existence is reality in the believer’s world but for someone who is atheistic then he does not. I agree with Norman Malcolm who argued that necessary existence cannot be affected by anything external to itself. It cannot be created or destroyed, therefore God either exists or his existence is impossible. Therefore I believe that he cannot exist because something would have had to bring him into existence at the beginning which therefore means he cannot be a necessary being because he would have always had to exist but there must have been a point when he didn’t. Also if he is a necessary being with all the classical attributes why is the evil and suffering and if he was omnipotent then why does he want to hide himself from us? If he has power in which to be able to show himself then why has he not and then we would be able to prove his existence using a posteriori instead of a priori.