Marks and Spencer Clothing Ranges | Analysis

Marks and Spencer Clothing Ranges | Analysis This report is pertaining to Marks Spencer UK Ref : 1) Identify and explain the different customer needs. Who are the three MS clothing ranges aimed to serve? Assume that the Perfect and Classic ranges serve essentially the same customer segment. 2) Identify and explain the order winners and qualifier for these three different clothing ranges at MS. 3) Apply the polar diagram to analyse and compare the different operations performance objectives for these three different clothing ranges at MS. Introduction: MARKS SPENCER (UK) Marks Spencer (MS) is a commercial organization and is one of the UK leading retailer of clothing and home product. Other than that, MS also selling high quality of foods and at the same time also provided financial service. MS claim to have 21 million of customer that visit to their store weekly and have 600 stores in UK and the business is expanding globally. MS have 2000 supplier and 75000 employees all around the world. MS also is the No. 1 women wear and lingerie provider in UK. Meanwhile the market share of men and children wear is expanding. Lastly, due to MS Plan A, a five year eco plan, MS is now more known for their green credential to become carbon free and no landfill waste by the year 2012. 1.0 Identify and explain the different customer needs which the three MS clothing ranges aimed to serve? Assume that the Perfect and Classic ranges serve essentially the same customer segment. 1.1 Identify the Segmentation. Market segmentation can be defined as the process of dividing a market into different segmentation by take in the consideration of the customers common needs or characteristic. (Schiffman Kanuk, 1997,p.46) In reference to the case study, the product agenda in the Marks Spencer can be divided by understanding segmentation is Season, Gender, Age. Season There are 4 seasons in United Kingdom, which is spring, autumn, summer and winter. By further reference to the case study, spring and autumn is the peak sales season of the Marks and Spencer. The clothing during spring and autumn is casual wear. And during this time, is when all the high-fashion wear take place as no heavy clothing is required. The figure below show the suitable clothing to be worn during spring and autumn season. Gender Marks and Spencer is targeted more on the women rather than man. This is factual that women are usually more into shopping and purchasing clothing than men. Take for instance; I usually go shopping for clothes once a year usually a few weeks before the Chinese New Year. It is Chinese tradition to wear new cloth during the celebration. Whereas my girl friend will keep on shopping whenever she likes together shopper impulse. The case study has a focus on women buying behavior pertaining to clothes. Age Product needs and interests vary with consumer age. Marketers have found age is a very useful demographic variable for distinguishing segments. (Schiffman Kanuk, 1997,p.53) By referring to the case study, Marks Spencer core and potential customer are women aged between 35 to 55. Where the women at this age are very active and the purchasing power is high. 1.2 Customer needs Customer needs are defined, XXXXXXXX. In the case of Marks Spencer the needs of women customers can be divided into the size, quality, design, pricing and also the services that are available to them in providing, them providing their personal and environmental needs. 1.2.1 The Size of the Clothing The different sizes of the clothing are one of the most important issues towards customer needs. A cloth can be designed with a very supreme layout, the colour can be extremely beautiful, the price can very reasonable and the quality can be fantastic, however when customer wants to purchase a particular clothing but not available in size, will result in customer behavioral stress with a perceptional and altitude change towards the item. MS should strategically consider in term of the size availability of the clothing that they wish to sell as compared to the women in Malaysia, the size are normally in the range S, M, L and XL as their body are relatively smaller if compare to the women in UK. 1.2.2 The Quality of the Clothing The quality is important to the customer and required need. The customer wants his money worth when she wears the clothes. From the case study, one of the customer stated that the cloth she purchase must be value for money. The busy lifestyle of today, the customers now need to be met by MS. They will preferred that the clothing that they purchase can be wash well and not require specialist washing and the cloth have to long last , colour not to fade and wont shrink while in wash. This is same for all the customers around the world. The customer is expecting the price will mirror the quality level of the product (Erickson and Johansson,1985 cited in Brassington and Pettitt, 2007,p.223). The quality of the goods and services accepted have to be equal to the money that they invested. 1.2.3 The design of the Clothing Good design satisfies customer, communicates the purpose of the product or service to its market, and bring financial rewards to the business. The objective of good design, whether of product or service is to satisfy customers by meeting their actual or anticipated needs and expectations (Slack, et al., 2010) The customers demand a good design of clothing and shall be not recognized as MS on the first sight especially for the premium and high fashion clothing. Customer needs for something that is more presentable and different from the other brands. This is best described for the autograph range clothing. The design has to be supreme, outstanding. As what we understand that the hot sales season of MS is during Spring And Autumn, and during this two season, heavy clothing is not required and this is the time when the people wear out fashion and trendy clothing. Therefore the design needs to be the main consideration of MS while they make the purchase decision. Whereas, the customers in Malaysia especially for women, they will rather visit a boutique rather than a supermarket to buy their clothing even though the price is higher because of the design. As the cloth in the boutique are unique and rarely found in other shops and this will eliminate the chances to get embarrassed as 2 person we ar the same clothing at a function or dinner. 1.2.4 The services A good service usually helps to make sales successful. Customers who come to MS expected to receive a good service, such as after sales service, consultant service and other basic services. However, in the case study, one of the customers stated that she would not make a special trip to buy a high-fashion item and rather to have an impulse purchase. The busy lifestyle today, purchase through the internet is becoming a common thing. MS do have this service, and the customers do not have to go to the store to view and to purchase for the clothing. The electronic catalogue on the website and online purchase is available. This is one of the services that are demanded by the customer. This service is productive as customers now do not need to step out from their home to purchase. Especially in a critical weather condition, helps remove customer stress. As for the goods to be delivered, somehow, if MS will set up a special department to deal with the delivery, the lead time will be reduced and the satisfaction level of customer on the service will be enhanced. 1.2.5 The Pricing Price- the main consideration of customer on purchase. Form the case, the customer had stated that they would pay a high price but the design and quality must be there. But it is not applicable for all the customer as for the customer which comes from a middle and low income level, pricing will be an issue. As in Malaysia, if the product sell is cheap and worth, even though there is no advertisement, the store will have a lot of customers. From the consumer perception, the price of a product reflects the value that they attach to whatsoever is being exchanged. While the customer is making purchase decision, the marketer is considered be making a promise to the customer about what is the product and what is the value of it. The consumer is then going to determine the promise against the price and thus decide whether it is worth paying (Zeithaml, 1988 cited in Brassington and Pettitt, 2007,p.223). The same applies to MS, if the prices are lower compare to the competitor, and with good quality, automatically the customer will be there to purchase. Thus, pull up the profit of the MS. It will also create the loyalty of the customer towards MS. 2.0 Identify and explain the order winners and qualifier for these three different clothing ranges at MS. 2.1 Order Winner Order winner are those factor which directly and significantly contribute to winning business. (Slack, et al., 2010, P.69) In a simply words, order winner is the characteristic of a firm that cause the customer to purchase the goods and services from firm. Order winner play an important role to not only to end sales but also to secure new business. The ability of a firm in the strategic initiative as cost, price, lead time, quality, reliability, brand equity and etc can enhance a firm order winner. The order winner for classis and perfect range is for core customers with a busy life, versatility, fitness, reasonable price and quality The order winner for Autograph range is its Fashionable, unique and exclusive designs. The order winner for Per una range is Limited editions, special and more exclusive styles, competitive prices. 2.2 Order Qualifiers Qualifier are those aspect of competitiveness where the operations performance has to be above particular level just to be considered by the customer. (Slack, et al., 2010, P.69).Order qualifier is the characteristic to be equipped by a firm to make it outstanding among all the other firm and competitors. In a simple words, order qualifiers make the firm differ from its competitors. The order qualifiers for classis and perfect range are Timeless essentials reflecting ones style and finesse. The order qualifier for Autograph range is Collection with no more than 60 of each color and way and style. The order qualifier for Per Una Range is its Superb designs at very affordable prices 3.0 Apply the polar diagram to analyse and compare the different operations performance objectives for these three different clothing ranges at MS. 3.1 Polar Diagram Polar diagram is a useful way to representing the relative importance objective for a product or services. This is called the polar representation because the scales which represent the importance of each performance objective have the same origin. (Slack, et al., 2010, P.53). The polar diagram below can be used to analyse and compare he different operations performance objectives for the three different clothing range at MS. The 5 factor in the polar diagram are Cost, Quality, Design, Size availability and also the Sales volume SKU. 3.1.1 Cost Cost is the major performance objective especially for the firm which compete against each other in term of price as the lower the cost, the lower the price the firm can sell to customer. When the firm able to lower its cost but can maintains the quality, it is giving the firm the cost objective. (Slack, et al., 2010, P.40) By referring to the polar diagram, the cost for the Autograph range is the highest followed by the Per Una Range, meanwhile the cost for perfect and classic range is the lowest among the three MS Clothing range. The cost directly reflect the selling the price of three MS product range. The price of Autograph range is the most expensive among three as the product under this range use the design of top designer and high quality raw material. When the cost increases, automatically the selling price will be higher. 3.1.2 Quality Quality is a major influence on customer satisfaction or dissatisfaction. Quality is consistent conformance to customers expectation, which also mean doing thing right. High quality of goods and services that is offer to customer will ensure the return of the customer. This will give the firm a quality advantages. (Slack, et al., 2010, P.40) By referring to the polar diagram, the quality of the Per Una Range is the supreme follow by The Autograph Range then by the Perfect and Classic range. The material use in Per Una range product is Superb quality materials while the material use in the Autograph and Perfect Classic range is High quality and high quality fabrics material. This had show that the high quality material had been used by MS in producing their all range of clothing to ensure the quality of clothing is maintain at high level and ensure the customer satisfaction. By using the high quality material, the issue such as shrink colour fading will be eliminate. 3.1.3 Flexibility (The availability of Size) The flexibility simply means that the ability of the form to change the operation in some way. It also means that the firm will be able to react toward different and unexpected circumstances. The ability of the firm to give individual treatment to the different customer will give the firm flexibility advantage. (Slack, et al., 2010, P.46) The polar diagram show that the flexibility of the perfect and classis ranges in term of size is above the other two. This is due to the product available in this range are wide and quantity are large. Compare to the Autograph range, the product are unique and only limited number is available, those who miss the chances to purchase will be difficult to find another as it is purposely create the demand in a limited supply. Other than that the product in perfect and classic range is being sale in a wide range and in a large quantity. 3.1.4 Speed A firm might want to do thing fast, thus minimizing the time form the customer order and receiving it in full. The speed advantages means that the faster the customer can get the goods, the more they will buy and thus, the more the firm can gain from it. (Slack, et al., 2010, P.42) The product can be found almost all the outlet of the MS. Mean while, the product in the Autograph range can be found in selected store only with a lesser amount. On the other hand, the product under per una range can only be found in a limited number in the specific store only. There polar diagram are clearly show the different sales volume SKU of the three different clothing range of MS where the larger the volume of the SKU, the faster the customer can get the goods that they wish to purchase. 3.1.5 Dependability Dependability means that doing thing in time for customer to receive their goods or services exactly when they are needed, or at least when they were promise. When the firm able to perform this, it will give the dependability advantages to the firm. (Slack, et al., 2010, P.44) The polar diagram show that the dependability of the Autograph range is superior of the other two clothing range. The design of the Autograph range is to a wider audience within a unique environment, which means a special design by the famous designer. The design of Per Una Range is slightly below the Autograph range where it is affected by the latest trend but will outdate very fast. When it comes to the perfect and classic range, the design is more to casual and return to basic. Design play an important role in the expensive clothing range as they customer willing to pay just for the design, but when come to basic cloth, customer prefer value-for-money prices.

Neutralisation - How much acid is required to neutralise a base :: GCSE Chemistry Coursework Investigation

Neutralisation - How much acid is required to neutralise a base Introduction ============ Neutralisation is the reaction of a base with an acid to form a neutral solution; which contains salt and water. Acid + Base Salt + Water --------------------------- In my experiment I am trying to find out how much acid it takes to neutralise a base to form a neutral solution. I will use one molar of Nitric Acid as the acid and one molar of Ammonium Hydroxide as the base. So this will be a 1:1 ratio. (Molarity = how many molecules of the acid or alkali per 1000 cm3 (1 litre) of water.) Nitric Acid + Ammonium Hydroxide à   Ammonium Nitrate + Water ----------------------------------------------------------- HNO + NH OH NH NO + H O Ionic bonding must take place to form the salt and the water. Ions have been formed because the original atoms have lost or gained electrons. These ions then have electrical charges because they do not have the same amount of positive protons and negative electrons. Atoms that loose electrons are called cations and have a positive charge. Atoms that have gained an electron and have a negative charge are called anions. The General equation for making water is: H + OH H O --------------- In this equation the Hydrogen ion has lost and electron and has become a cation with a positive charge. The Hydroxide ion has gained an electron and has become a negatively charged anion. Ionic bonds are created when ions combine in order to share and thus become electrically stable. From the main neutralisation equation I have circled the parts to make water: HNO + NH OH à   NH NO + H O Equipment Ammonium Hydroxide – (base) Nitric Acid – (acid) Methyl Oxide - (to show the pH of the solution) Clamp – (to hold the burette safely and securely in place) Burette - (to hold the acid) White Tile – Funnel – (to pour the acid into the burette) Goggles - (to protect the eyes) Conical Flask – (to hold the base) Measuring Cylinder – (to measure out the acid and the base) Preliminary Before we began our practical our teacher performed the experiment as an example to our class. The teacher set up the equipment as shown above. She informed us of the safety precautions and then began the experiment. She used 20ml of Ammonium Hydroxide (base), placing that in the conical flask. Then she added 6 drops of Methyl Orange (indicator). From the Burette she added 12ml of Nitric acid and swilled the conical flask. After this point she decided to control the amount added to the base and indicator by using the burette. Neutralisation - How much acid is required to neutralise a base :: GCSE Chemistry Coursework Investigation Neutralisation - How much acid is required to neutralise a base Introduction ============ Neutralisation is the reaction of a base with an acid to form a neutral solution; which contains salt and water. Acid + Base Salt + Water --------------------------- In my experiment I am trying to find out how much acid it takes to neutralise a base to form a neutral solution. I will use one molar of Nitric Acid as the acid and one molar of Ammonium Hydroxide as the base. So this will be a 1:1 ratio. (Molarity = how many molecules of the acid or alkali per 1000 cm3 (1 litre) of water.) Nitric Acid + Ammonium Hydroxide à   Ammonium Nitrate + Water ----------------------------------------------------------- HNO + NH OH NH NO + H O Ionic bonding must take place to form the salt and the water. Ions have been formed because the original atoms have lost or gained electrons. These ions then have electrical charges because they do not have the same amount of positive protons and negative electrons. Atoms that loose electrons are called cations and have a positive charge. Atoms that have gained an electron and have a negative charge are called anions. The General equation for making water is: H + OH H O --------------- In this equation the Hydrogen ion has lost and electron and has become a cation with a positive charge. The Hydroxide ion has gained an electron and has become a negatively charged anion. Ionic bonds are created when ions combine in order to share and thus become electrically stable. From the main neutralisation equation I have circled the parts to make water: HNO + NH OH à   NH NO + H O Equipment Ammonium Hydroxide – (base) Nitric Acid – (acid) Methyl Oxide - (to show the pH of the solution) Clamp – (to hold the burette safely and securely in place) Burette - (to hold the acid) White Tile – Funnel – (to pour the acid into the burette) Goggles - (to protect the eyes) Conical Flask – (to hold the base) Measuring Cylinder – (to measure out the acid and the base) Preliminary Before we began our practical our teacher performed the experiment as an example to our class. The teacher set up the equipment as shown above. She informed us of the safety precautions and then began the experiment. She used 20ml of Ammonium Hydroxide (base), placing that in the conical flask. Then she added 6 drops of Methyl Orange (indicator). From the Burette she added 12ml of Nitric acid and swilled the conical flask. After this point she decided to control the amount added to the base and indicator by using the burette.

Aesthetic Reading: Reading for Appreciation and Enjoyment Essay

Aesthetic reading is for entertainment. * Reading to explore one. * In Aesthetic reading, the reader’s attention is centered directly on what he likes through during his relationship with that particular text.† * Non-academicals purposes of reading. Aesthetic Stance is for experience * Recreational reading. * Fulfills an important function in lives. * Reading for pleasure or aesthetic reading, been described as â€Å"the most hidden literary practice†. * Aesthetic reading been viewed as â€Å"symbolic withdrawal†. Reading for appreciation * One that is designed to head the learner to understand and enjoy something. Let’s get the most out of Literature * Reading literary selections like poems, short stories, novels, plays, or essays, not only provide pleasure. * It also develop your analytical skills as you must consider each part of the text separately before you can interpret the meaning of the entire work and eventually appreciate it. Poems express ideas in a tighter, more compact way than prose as they do not include details and explanations common to the short story or novel. They are more concentrated, suggestive, and rhythmical than prose as they resort to the use of symbols, figurative language, and imagery, which tend to leave more to a reader’s imagination rather than giving everything he needs to know. Poems may be: * Lyric poem expresses the observations and the feeling of a single speaker. * Narrative poems are stories told in prose. Often narrative poems, even ballads have all the elements of the short stories, such as plot, characters and setting. Poems may take the form of: * Haiku – an unrhymed verse form, consisting of three lines. The first and third lines contain five syllables while the second line consists of seven syllables. * Tanka – another verse form. It has thirty-one syllables arrange in five lines (five, seven, five, seven, seven). * Cinquain – a poetic unrhymed form consisting of five lines. * Diamante – a seven line, diamond shaped poem.

What Is Guerrilla Warfare Definition, Tactics, Examples

Guerrilla warfare is waged by civilians who are not members of a traditional military unit, such as a nation’s standing army or police force. In many cases, guerrilla combatants are fighting to overthrow or weaken a ruling government or regime. This type of warfare is typified by sabotage, ambushes, and surprise raids on unsuspecting military targets. Often fighting in their own homeland, guerrilla combatants (also referred to as rebels or insurgents) use their familiarity with the local landscape and terrain to their advantage. Key Takeaways: Guerrilla Warfare Guerrilla warfare was first described by Sun Tzu in The Art of War.Guerrilla tactics are characterized by repeated surprise attacks and efforts to limit movement of enemy troops.Guerrilla groups also use tactics of propaganda to recruit fighters and win the support of local populations. History The use of guerrilla warfare was first suggested in the 6th century BC by Chinese general and strategist Sun Tzu, in his classic book, The Art of War. In 217 BC, Roman Dictator Quintus Fabius Maximus, often called the â€Å"father of guerrilla warfare,† used his â€Å"Fabian strategy† to defeat the mighty invading army of Carthaginian general Hannibal Barca. In the early 19th century, citizens of Spain and Portugal used guerrilla tactics to defeat Napoleon’s superior French army in the Peninsular War. More recently, guerrilla fighters led by Che Guevara assisted Fidel Castro in overthrowing Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista during the Cuban Revolution of 1952. Largely due to its use by leaders like Mao Zedong in China and Ho Chi Minh in North Vietnam, guerrilla warfare is generally thought of in the West only as a tactic of communism. However, history has shown this to be a misconception, as a multitude of political and social factors have motivated citizen-soldiers. Purpose and Motivation Guerrilla warfare is generally considered a war motivated by politics—a desperate struggle of common people to right the wrongs done to them by an oppressive regime that rules by military force and intimidation. When asked what motivates guerrilla warfare, Cuban Revolution leader Che Guevara gave this famous response: â€Å"Why does the guerrilla fighter fight? We must come to the inevitable conclusion that the guerrilla fighter is a social reformer, that he takes up arms responding to the angry protest of the people against their oppressors, and that he fights in order to change the social system that keeps all his unarmed brothers in ignominy and misery.† History, however, has shown that public perception of guerrillas as heroes or villains depends on their tactics and motivations. While many guerrillas have fought to secure basic human rights, some have initiated unjustified violence, even using terrorist tactics against other civilians who refuse to join their cause. For example, in Northern Ireland during the late 1960s, a civilian group calling itself the Irish Republican Army (IRA) conducted a series of attacks against British security forces and public establishments in the country, as well as Irish citizens who they believed to be loyal to British Crown. Characterized by tactics such as indiscriminate bombings, often taking the lives of uninvolved civilians, the IRA’s attacks were described as acts of terrorism by both the media and the British government. Guerrilla organizations run the gamut, from small, localized groups (cells) to regionally dispersed regiments of thousands of well-trained fighters. The groups’ leaders typically express clear political goals. Along with strictly military units, many guerrilla groups also have political wings assigned to develop and distribute propaganda for recruiting new fighters and winning the support of the local civilian population. Guerrilla Warfare Tactics In his 6th century book The Art of War, Chinese General Sun Tzu summarized the tactics of guerrilla warfare: â€Å"Know when to fight and when not to fight. Avoid what is strong and strike at what is weak. Know how to deceive the enemy: appear weak when you are strong, and strong when you are weak.† Reflecting General Tzu’s teachings, guerrilla fighters use small and fast-moving units to launch repeated surprise â€Å"hit-and-run† attacks. The goal of these attacks is to destabilize and demoralize the larger enemy force while minimizing their own casualties. In addition, some guerrilla groups home that the frequency and nature of their attacks will provoke their enemy to carry out counter-attacks so excessively brutal that they inspire support for the rebel cause. Facing overwhelming disadvantages in manpower and military hardware, the ultimate goal of guerrilla tactics is typically the eventual withdrawal of the enemy army, rather than its total surrender.   Guerrilla fighters often attempt to limit the movement of enemy troops, weapons, and supplies by attacking enemy supply line facilities like bridges, railroads, and airfields. In an effort to blend in with the local population guerrilla fighters rarely were uniforms or identifying insignia. This tactic of stealth helps them utilize the element of surprise in their attacks. Dependent on the local population for support, guerrilla forces employ both military and political arms. The political arm of a guerrilla group specializes in the creation and dissemination of propaganda intended not only to recruit new fighters but also win the hearts and minds of the people. Guerrilla Warfare vs. Terrorism While they both employ many of the same tactics and weapons, there are important differences between guerrilla fighters and terrorists. Most importantly, terrorists rarely attack defended military targets. Instead, terrorists usually attack so-called â€Å"soft targets,† such as civilian aircraft, schools, churches, and other places of public assembly. The September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States and the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing are examples of terrorist attacks. While guerrilla rebels are typically motivated by political factors, terrorists often act out of simple hatred. In the United States, for example, terrorism is often an element of hate crimes—crimes motivated by the terrorist’s prejudice against the victim’s race, color, religion, sexual orientation, or ethnicity. Unlike terrorists, guerrilla fighters rarely attack civilians. In contrast to terrorists, guerrillas move and fight as paramilitary units with the objective of seizing territory and enemy equipment. Terrorism is now a crime in many countries. The term â€Å"terrorism† is sometimes incorrectly used by governments to refer to guerrilla rebels fighting against their regimes. Guerrilla Warfare Examples Throughout history, evolving cultural ideologies such as liberty, equality, nationalism, socialism, and religious fundamentalism have motivated groups of people to employ guerrilla warfare tactics in efforts to overcome real or imagined oppression and persecution at the hands of a ruling government or foreign invaders. While many battles of the American Revolution were fought between conventional armies, civilian American patriots often used guerrilla tactics to disrupt the activities of the larger, better-equipped British Army. In the Revolution’s opening skirmish—the Battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775—a loosely-organized militia of Colonial American civilians used guerrilla warfare tactics in driving back the British Army. American General George Washington often used local guerrilla militias in support of his Continental Army and utilized unconventional guerrilla tactics such as spying and sniping. In the final stages of the war, a South Carolina citizen militia used guerrilla tactics to drive British commanding General Lord Cornwallis out of the Carolinas to his ultimate defeat in the Battle of Yorktown in Virginia.   South African Boer Wars The Boer Wars in South Africa pitted 17th-century Dutch settlers known as the Boers against the British Army in a struggle for control of two South African republics founded by the Boers in 1854. From 1880 until 1902, the Boers, dressed in their drab farming clothes, used guerrilla tactics such as stealth, mobility, knowledge of the terrain, and long-range sniping to successfully repel the brightly-uniformed invading British forces. By 1899, the British changed their tactics to better deal with Boer attacks. Finally, British troops began interring civilian Boers into concentration camps after torching their farms and houses. With their source of food almost gone, the Boer guerrillas surrendered in 1902. However, generous terms of self-governance granted to them by England demonstrated the effectiveness of guerrilla warfare in securing concessions from a more powerful foe. Nicaraguan Contra War Guerrilla warfare is not always successful and can, in fact, have negative results. During the height of the Cold War from 1960 to 1980, urban guerrilla movements fought to overthrow or at least weaken the oppressive military regimes ruling several Latin American countries. While the guerrillas did temporarily destabilize the governments of counties such as Argentina, Uruguay, Guatemala, and Peru, their militaries eventually wiped out the rebels, while also committing human rights atrocities on the civilian population as both a punishment and a warning. From 1981 to 1990, â€Å"Contra† guerrillas attempted to topple the Marxist Sandinista government of Nicaragua. The Nicaraguan Contra War represented the era’s many â€Å"proxy wars†Ã¢â‚¬â€wars instigated or supported by Cold War super-powers and archenemies, the Soviet Union and the United States, without directly fighting each other.  The Soviet Union supported the Sandinista government’s military, while the United States, as part of President Ronald Reagan’s anti-communist Reagan Doctrine, controversially backed the Contra guerillas. The Contra War ended in 1989 when both the Contra guerrillas and the Sandinista government troops agreed to demobilize. In a national election held in 1990, anti-Sandinista parties took over control of Nicaragua. Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan In late 1979, the military of the Soviet Union (now Russia) invaded Afghanistan in an effort to support the communist Afghan government in its long-running battle with anticommunist Muslim guerrillas. Known as the Mujahideen, the Afghan guerrillas were a collection of local tribesmen who initially fought the Soviet troops from horseback with obsolete World War I rifles and sabers. The conflict escalated into a decade-long proxy war when the United States began supplying the Mujahideen guerrillas with modern weapons including advanced anti-tank and anti-aircraft guided missiles. Over the next 10 years, the Mujahideen parlayed their U.S.-supplied weapons and superior knowledge of the rugged Afghan terrain to inflict ever more costly damage on the far larger Soviet army. Already dealing with a deepening economic crisis at home, the Soviet Union withdrew its troops from Afghanistan in 1989. Sources Guevara, Ernesto Davies, Thomas M. â€Å"Guerrilla Warfare.† Rowman Littlefield, 1997. ISBN 0-8420-2678-9Laqueur, Walter (1976). â€Å"Guerrilla Warfare: A Historical Critical Study.† Transaction Publishers. ISBN 978-0-76-580406-8Tomes, Robert (2004). â€Å"Relearning Counterinsurgency Warfare.† Parameters.Rowe, P. (2002). Freedom fighters and rebels: the rules of civil war. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine.