Analysis of Poetry Essay

This Unit Activity will help you meet these educational goals: 21st Century Skills—You will use critical-thinking and problem-solving skills and communicate effectively. Introduction In this activity, you will read and analyze three poems by different poets and examine the similarities and differences among them. __________________________________________________________________________ Directions and Analysis Task 1: Read and Analyze Poetry Read these poems, which revolve around the ideas of darkness and the night: â€Å"Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night† by Dylan Thomas â€Å"Acquainted with the Night† by Robert Frost â€Å"We Grow Accustomed to the Dark† by Emily Dickinson Read the poems a few times, noting each one’s theme, mood, form, structure, rhyme scheme, and use of imagery and figurative language. Use the provided table to record your analysis. Type your response here: â€Å"Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night† â€Å"Acquainted with the Night† â€Å"We Grow Accustomed to the Dark† theme Mortality Isolation To â€Å"find the light† imagery Sunrise and sunset Loneliness figurative language Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay Personification and rhyming Darkness and light mood Somber desperation Discomfort Sadness form Villanelle Iambic pentameter Lyric poem meter, structure, and rhyme scheme five three-line stanzas and a sixth stanza with four lines Terza rima, ABABCBCDCDADAA, Italian form Rhythm is similar throughout, but changes from eight and six syllable lines to seven and six syllables to seven and six syllables. Task 2: Make Comparisons Write a 250-500-word essay describing the similarities and differences you found in the poems. Address the following points in your essay: Examine how the subject of darkness is used in each of the three poems. How has each poet woven the central idea of the poem around the subject? Compare and contrast the figurative devices used in each poem. How do they affect the mood and relate to the theme of the poem? Point out the differences in style and tone, including the choice of words. Which poem do you think has the greatest overall impact on readers? Which one communicates its message most directly and effectively? Which poem appeals most to you? Give reasons to explain your answers. As with any essay, this essay should be structured into paragraphs, with a clear introduction, a body, and a conclusion. Arrange your ideas logically and group them into paragraphs, using suitable words to mark transitions between ideas. Remember to provide textual evidence from the poems for your opinions. Type your response here: The similar ideas of dark and night appear in works by Emily Dickinson, Dylan Thomas, and Robert Frost, but the meaning of the two concepts in context of the literary works differ greatly. In Emily Dickinson’s â€Å"We Grow Accustomed to the Dark†, Dylan Thomas’ â€Å"Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night†, and Robert Frost’s â€Å"Acquainted with the Night† the theme of night and darkness is compared and contrasted through the literary elements of point of view, imagery, and structure. The concept of darkness and night is portrayed through the use of point of view. In each of these poems, the poet writes in the first tense, giving the reader a sense that the narrator has personally experienced the presence of the symbolic â€Å"darkness† and â€Å"night†. However, while â€Å"We Grow Accustomed to the Dark† is written in a plural point of view, â€Å"Acquainted with the Night† is written in a singular view, and â€Å"Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night† is from the speaker point of view. This gives a differing meaning to dark and night between these poems, because although Dickinson’s plural poem encompasses humanity as a whole, showing the dark to be a natural point in life, Frost’s poem depicts the night his character is experiencing as a lonely, solitary happening, and Thomas’ poem shows loneliness and wanting for companionship. The differences in these poems help to show night as a more unnatural and depressing experience than the dark that happens to everyone. __________________________________________________________________________ Evaluation Your teacher will use these rubrics to evaluate the completeness of your work as well as the clarity of thinking you exhibit. Task 1: Read and Analyze Poetry Criteria Distinguished (4 points) Provides a complete and accurate analysis of each poem Exhaustively lists instances of figurative language and use of imagery Provides a concise but compelling description of the mood and theme of each poem Proficient (3 points) Provides a complete and largely correct analysis of each poem Lists most instances of figurative language and use of imagery Provides an effective description of the mood and theme of each poem Developing (2 points) Provides a complete analysis of the poems with some inaccuracies Lists some instances of figurative language and use of imagery Provides a passable description of the mood and theme of each poem Beginning (1 point) Provides an incomplete analysis of the poems with some inaccuracies Lists only a few instances of figurative language and use of imagery Attempts to describe the mood and theme of the poems Task 2: Make Comparisons Criteria Distinguished (4 points) Thoroughly addresses all the points mentioned Effectively compares how the subject has been woven into the central idea in the three poems Thoroughly evaluates and compares the effect of figurative language and imagery in the poems Insightfully compares the style and impact of the poems Provides strong textual evidence to support opinions Structures the essay exceptionally well, has a compelling introduction and conclusion, and uses transitions to enhance the organization of ideas Consistently uses correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation throughout Proficient (3 points) Adequately addresses most of the points mentioned Effectively compares how the subject has been woven into the central idea in the three poems Adequately evaluates and compares the effect of figurative language and imagery in the poems Effectively compares the style and impact of the poems Provides adequate textual evidence to support opinions Structures the essay well, has a meaningful introduction and conclusion, and uses transitions effectively Largely uses correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation Developing (2 points) Adequately addresses some of the points mentioned Compares how the subject has been woven into the central idea in the three poems Evaluates and compares the effect of figurative language and imagery in the poems to some extent Compares the style and impact of the poems Provides some textual evidence to support opinions Structures the essay into paragraphs, has an introduction and a conclusion, and uses transition words Makes a few mistakes in grammar, spelling, and punctuation Beginning (1 point) Marginally addresses some of the points mentioned and omits others Attempts to compare how the subject has been woven into the central idea in the three poems Inadequately describes the effect of figurative language and imagery in the poems Attempts to compare the style and impact of the poems Does not provide textual evidence to support opinions Does not structure the essay well and does not use transitions effectively Makes several mistakes in grammar, spelling, and punctuation

Health And Social Care Assignment Essay

Below is a free essay on â€Å"Nvq 3 Health and Social Care Assignment 306 C† from Anti Essays, your source for free research papers, essays, and term paper examples. Moving and Handling Moving and handling is the core part of the day for most employees in the social care setting, legislation, policies and procedures that relate to moving and handling help to keep us safe. Legislation Manual Handling Regulations 1992 These regulations define that employers are required to avoid the need for manual handling so far as is reasonably practicable, assess the risk of injury from manual handling and reduce these risks. The employees have a duty to follow instructions, systems and use equipment that relate to safe manual handling. see more:storing information in health and social care Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations (PUWER) 1998 These regulations require that equipment is suitable and safe for its intended use with regular inspections and maintenance. Only used by persons that have received adequate information, instruction and training. All equipment to be supplied with appropriate protective devices, markings and warnings Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations (LOLER) 1998 These regulations require employers to ensure that equipment for the purpose of lifting is strong, stable, positioned and used safely to minimise risks. Employers also have a duty to carry out regular inspections of all lifting equipment to ensure it meets with the regulations. Safety first Not following the correct procedures for manual handling is the one of the most common causes of injuries in the workplace. By following instructions and information given during training, assessing the situation to identify any potential hazards and taking precautions to limit these, the risks of injuring yourself or others during a manual handling operation are greatly reduced. Lifting someone incorrectly can cause serious back injuries resulting in time off work, musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) account for over a third of workplace injuries. The individual being manually handled  can sustain injuries or harm from procedures not being followed with regards to the regulations†¦

Pepsi’s Strategy in Entering India

PepsiCo had been trying to enter the Indian market for quite some time with no success. In 1988 Pepsi received a letter from George Fernandes, the General Secretary of one of the country's leading political parties, Janata Dal. He wrote, â€Å"I learned that you are coming here. I am the one that threw Coca-Cola out, and we are soon going to come back into the government. If you come into the country, you have to remember that the same fate awaits you as Coca-Cola. † This scared PepsiCo a bit knowing that their rival was forced to leave the country in 1977 after the Janata Dal came to power.PepsiCo had to think of a way to get in without facing the same consequences Coca-Cola had to face. In May 1985, PepsiCo joined with one of India's leading business houses, the R P Goenka (RPG) group, to begin operations in the India. The company, along with the RPG group company Agro Product Export Ltd. , planned to import the cola concentrate and sell soft drinks under the Pepsi label. Pe psiCo's decision linked its entry with the development and welfare of the state was aimed at winning the government over. The fact that Punjab boasted a healthy agricultural sector played a role in PepsiCo's decision.Coke and PepsiPepsiCo claimed that it would play a central role in bringing about an agricultural revolution in the state and would create many employment opportunities. It promised to create 50,000 jobs in the nation. Pepsi began by setting up a fruit and vegetable processing plants at Zahura village in Punjab's Hoshiarpur district. The plant then was focused on processing tomatoes to make tomato paste. Pepsi had a tough time convincing farmers to work for the company. Its experts from the US had to interact extensively with the farmers to explain how they could benefit from working with the company.

Applying Utilitarianism in Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Applying Utilitarianism in Business - Essay Example Businesses have to apply this theory as its application is more realistic in ethical situations because the likelihood of doing actions that lead to greatest harm is more than that of greatest good and they lead to serious consequences. Businesses are required to use this policy in determining the most efficient way to release its negative externalities. Despite all the advantages in the application of utilitarianism in business, this theory has criticism that the businesses need to consider to facilitate their efficient application of the theory to maximize utility. Utilitarianism theory has difficulty distinguishing between different types and degrees of happiness. It is, therefore, the business duty to categories the types and degrees of pleasure in their application of this theory of utility. Categorization will solve the ethical dilemma in choosing between short-term happiness and long-term happiness. Businesses need to identify the degree of happiness that is preferable. Utilit arianism concept assumes that the pleasure is neutral between different types of people. Many criticize this assumption since the pleasure of a sadist cannot match that of the altruist. Businesses are required to evaluate the degree of happiness they inflict in the different types of stakeholders they associate within their application of utilitarianism since individuals respond differently to happiness. Businesses are required to consider the interests of the minority in their application of utilitarianism.

Changes in Technology and Criminal Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Changes in Technology and Criminal Law - Essay Example Nonetheless, custom software is elusive and not taxable. Different stats have developed specific laws that deal with the taxability of computer software transactions. There is so much attention to the changes Information Technology has brought to the criminal law practice. The domination of computers and the internet as well as the development of related electronics is changing and is expected to go on changing and due to this, other aspects of daily life are also affected and changing and particularly the practice of law. Information technology is a very tough, radical force that is pushing for changes in many areas of economy and these changes are paramount. Computers have come with development of a lot of things ranging from flow of information, gadgetry, crime and general sociability of people. The law has nor been spared by these changes and some aspect have seen drastic changes while others have remained relatively constant due to conservative of technology. Several aspects of law that have been affected include patent law, commercial law, and even tax laws. Patent law has not experienced a lot of changes. The US has explained in detail the way patents should be dealt with as well as computers from which these change in criminal law emerged (Noortwijk 2006). The Supreme Court is responsible for this. Copyright law is the most affected aspect of criminal law that draws these changes from the computer technology. The congress created a regulation that was supposed to take care of this issue (national commission on new technological uses of copyrighted works). Reproducing content or designing a program that is similar to another one wi thout the consent of the original creator is illegal yet with advancement in technology, this is very common. There are rules in place that address pre-computer copyright and formation of new laws in connection to computers. In terms of privacy, the law is very clear that selling or intentional exposure of people's personal infringes their privacy and hence it's illegal. Storage of large files of individual information on computers database is very risky. Government files are also a risk to privacy (Noortwijk 2006). There is federal statute on privacy in place. It's evident that the widespread changes in the practice of criminal law are as a result of technology and in particular, the advent of the computer. Most state laws and federal governments' regulation have passed laws that are aimed at curbing computer crimes. On the other hand computers have been very beneficial in the criminal investigations. The use of computer is thought to have refined the federal regulation of evidences as these rules are basically interpreted, assessed, and analyzed with regard to computer technolog

Discuss the rationale and impact of the decision on company law Essay - 1

Discuss the rationale and impact of the decision on company law - Essay Example The case and its subsequent ruling were significant in informing successive laws that would help mitigate on the numerous dispute arising from business engagement. The doctrine of corporate identity for example exempts the shareholders of an insolvent company from any case by creditors since the company becomes the defendant in such cases. Mr. Aron Salomon ran a successful shoe manufacturing in the United Kingdom. The boot manufacturing business was a major success thus enticing his sons who expressed interest in joining the business. As such, Mr. Salomon turned his business into a limited company, which then purchased his previous business at a cost of  £39,000. Mr. Salomon became the company’s largest shareholder after he purchased 20,001 shares of the company’s 20,007 shares. Additionally, he loaned the company  £10,000. Unfortunately, subsequent years became unfavorable for the business thus causing massive loses for the company. The government, which was the company’s major customer, withdrew its tender thereby leading to a massive decline of the company’s revenue. The company therefore began defaulting on the  £10,000 debenture it owed Salmon. Half of the debenture belonged to Broderip who the sued the company thus forcing the government to put the company under liquidation. The company paid Broderip his  £5,000 but this left the company at an unstable position since it could not pay the other unsecured creditors. The company failed to reimburse the unsecured creditors. The liquidator concluded that the government should not honor the floating charge. Such an action would make Salmon personally responsible for the debt. Salmon contested the decision in court thus instigating a lengthy court battle that would reform the country’s company law. At the end of the length court cases that ended up at the House of Lords, the lawmakers appreciated the fact that a company is independent and therefore a separate legal entity. In cases

REFLECT THOUGHT Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

REFLECT THOUGHT - Assignment Example The main difference in these regards is the understanding that in these regions, strength is a more valued quality than intelligence, as the majority of work is farm or manual labor. It’s clear that this difference could lead to relativism as one culture places higher value than another on intellectual forms of intelligence. Even as difference value is placed on these elements, it’s clear that the different values are different because they have specific viability in the culture, leading to support of relativism. 2. Psychological egoism claims that whatever we do, we do out of self-interest. Give an example of an act you think is not done out of self-interest, and explain how the psychological egoist might try to interpret that act as selfish. One of the major acts that are claimed to be done not out of self-interest is charity work. Everyone from celebrities to billionaires to everyday citizens has regularly involved themselves in charitable activity as a means of contributing to world culture and helping disenfranchised individuals. Even as these acts are performed out of charity, a psychological egoist may claim they are done out of self-interest. The egoist could potentially argue that in performing these acts the people are not doing it out of a selfless interest to help others, but actually as a means of making themselves feel better. Similarly, the egoist might argue that these people are participating in these charitable activities to make themselves look better in the eyes of their peers and the general public. The problem of prayer in school is a hot-button issue. In the hypothetical dilemma John wants prayer, while Mary does not. One of the potential compromises that could be reached for this situation is to allow prayer in school for those individuals that choose to pray. Still, prayer must not be an institutionally sponsored activity; for instance, teachers would not be able to institute prayer sessions. This scenario

Short answers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Short answers - Essay Example An economist would advice a firm making accounting profits to close down because accounting profits is arrived at by subtracting only explicit costs from the total revenue. This rejects implicit costs hence inaccuracy of the profits (Aspers, 2011). (b) Why normal profit is the long run outcome for a firm under perfect competition When a firm is making economic profits, other firms will find the markets competitive hence mass entry into the market. This causes the supply curve to shift to the right, which results into a drop of the prices hence profits, are cancelled. The firm will in the end exhibit normal profits as an outcome under perfect competition (Aspers, 2011). (c) Characteristics of both monopolistic and monopoly competition, their advantages and disadvantages Characteristics of monopolistic competition are; there exist a large number of buyers and sellers, they exhibit price differentiation, free entry and exit of firms and high selling costs are incurred. Monopoly on the o ther hand exhibits characteristics such as the existence of only one firm in the market; they are price takers since they are the only producers. They have the advantage of controlling the whole market and therefore dictate the prices. The only disadvantage is that they are constrained by their own demand curves. Monopolistic case has several advantages; the most peculiar is that they are able to command a large market base. The market is disadvantaged in that stiff competition may threaten its operations in the market (Aspers, 2011). 4. (a) Graph of Fiscal policy and deflationary gap Deflationary gap happens when the actual output (Y) is below the natural output (Yn); this is as shown in the figure above. To correct the deflationary gap expansionary fiscal policy has to be used. The government does this through increasing government spending; alongside this, the government taxation has to be reduced. The result of employing the expansionary fiscal policy acts to shift the aggregate demand curve to coincide with the natural output and therefore real GDP is increased. Deflationary gap is caused when the investment spending goes down hence it is simply solved when the government increases it investment spending such as spending on infrastructure (Buti, 2003). (b) How fiscal and monetary used to address deflationary gap affects balance of payment Fiscal policy tools used to such as increased taxation will make the costs of local goods to be expensive. When the local goods become expensive balance shifts from favoring importation. When imports are more than exports, there is unfavorable balance of payment, which is harmful to the economy. In addition, monetary policies to correct deflationary gap is that aimed at increasing money supply, which leads to an increase in prices. Increase in prices causes local goods to be equally expensive leading to increased importation hence unfavorable balance of payment. Such negative impacts of balance of payment occur when the economy is at the helm of growth (Buti, 2003). 6. (a) Reasons for holding money There are three major reasons for holding money; transactionery motive, precautionary motive and speculative motive. For transactionery motive, money is held to undertake daily transactions mostly on basics. Money is also held to handle any future unfortunate occurrences anticipated in the future. Speculators are investors who anticipate that assets will be attractive in the near future hence hold money to take advantage of such (Dobeck, MF &

English Language Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

English Language - Essay Example When we talk about present day society, we are actually focussing the significance of the domains of English language in a cultural context, where global popular culture in the name of 'globalisation' is challenging the essential mythologies of English language (Mair, 2003, p. 19). The way English language is misused in the cultural context does not necessarily refer to culture-specific aspects, although it is obvious that many of the concepts in this category are alien to many Third World cultures and the corresponding texts are imported from the First World (Greenbaum, 1996, p. 188). English as a world language serves all the world's citizens irrespective of caste, culture or creed and its postulated universality makes it equally relevant everywhere, as though it can function independently of contemporary power balances, both global and local (Mair, 2003, p. 20). Although globalisation in the international spread of English language may be regrettable and undesirable but we cannot ignore that global English today has become an agent of reform and fairness. Despite a 'globalised language', the pressures of a rights-oriented culture may one day enable English to become the vehicle for articulation while maintaining certain worldwide standards of protection. English language from economic perspective has been able to bridge the gap between various cultures and economies; therefore it has served as an exchange-facilitating institution, where 'exchange' is not the only economic function English language has performed (Reksulak et al, 2004). English language development has been shaped by revealing the constellation of economic and other forces. However, the impact technology upholds in the innovation, trade, and economic growth on the English-speaking world is evident in the rising share of nouns in new words added during the past two or three centuries which make up 58% of the words originating in the 19th century and more than 70% of the words originating in the 20th (Reksulak et al, 2004). There is no doubt that English language blames grand scale globalisation factor and put all the enthusiasm and vitriol on its shoulders, but it is this language that is responsible for the growth in regional interactions from trade to travel. These interactions have long engaged in promoting the spread of English language among other regional languages (Fishman, 2000, p. 13). The significance of English language lies in the notion that it is present in societies where local languages are disappearing, in cultures where local languages are not considered, English is understood and spoken (Moritoshi, Nov 2001). References Bryson Bill, (1990) The mother tongue: English and how it got that way. New York: HarperCollins. Fishman A. Joshua, (Spring 2000) "English: The Killer Language OR A PASSING PHASE" In: Whole Earth. Greenbaum Sidney, (1996) Comparing English Worldwide: The International Corpus of English: Clarendon Press: Oxford. Mair Christian, (2003) The Politics of English as a World Language: New Horizons in Postcolonial Cultural Studies: Rodopi: Amsterdam. Moritoshi Paul, Nov 2001,Perspectives on the Role of English as an International Language, Accessed from Reksulak Michael, William F. Shughart Ii & Tollison D. Robert, (2004) "Economics and English: Language Growth in Economic Perspective" In: Southern Economic

Museu de Arte Contemporânea de Niterói Essay Example for Free

Museu de Arte Contemporà ¢nea de Niterà ³i Essay The Niterà ³i Contemporary Art Museum (Museu de Arte Contemporà ¢nea de Niterà ³i — MAC) is situated in the city of Niterà ³i, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and is one of the city’s main landmarks. It was completed in 1996. Designed by Oscar Niemeyer with the assistance of structural engineer Bruno Contarini, who had worked with Niemeyer on earlier projects, the MAC-Niterà ³i is 16 meters high; its cupola has a diameter of 50 metres with three floors. The museum projects itself over Boa Viagem (â€Å"Bon Voyage,† â€Å"Good Journey†), the 817 square metres (8,790 sq ft) reflecting pool that surrounds the cylindrical base â€Å"like a flower,† in the words of Niemeyer. A wide access slope leads to a Hall of Expositions, which has a capacity for sixty people. Two doors lead to the viewing gallery, through which can be seen theGuanabara Bay, Rio de Janeiro, and Sugarloaf Mountain. The saucer-shaped modernist structure, which has been likened to a UFO, is set on a cliffside, at the bottom of which is a beach. In the film Oscar Niemeyer, an architect committed to his century,[1] Niemeyer is seen flying over Rio de Janeiro in a UFO which then lands on the site, suggesting this to be the origin of the museum. The MAC Scandal was a political scandal that occurred when the mayor Joà £o Sampaio inaugurated the Niterà ³i Contemporary Art Museum. The MAC is located on a hill slope that had locked construction rights set by the city council. Therefore in December 1996, the new mayor, Jorge Roberto Silveira sent a project to the city council to obtain the rights to construction in that area. The project was accepted in only two days, giving permission to build buildings up to 40 metres (130 ft). The city council did not know that days before, Zeca Mocarzel, sub-mayor of the Niterà ³is Oceanic Region (of Jorge Roberto Silveiras government) bought the lands at a very low price, claiming to the old owner that the region was locked and nothing could be done there. So he bought the area and, after the inauguration of the MAC which substantially increased the property values of the nearby areas, later sold the land for more than 5 million reals, approximately 1,250,000 US dollars at the time (2,720,000 dollars today). Because the scandal occurred just before Christmas, the people of Niterà ³i said that it was Jorge Roberto Silveira, Zeca Mocarzel and Joà £o Sampaios (long-time Niterà ³is politicians) Christmas present.

Customer Relationship Management Plan for Hotel

Customer Relationship Management Plan for Hotel The Sao Paulo Case ABSTRACT The paper sets out to produce an outline customer relationship plan for a Brazilian hotel which has recently been taken over by a globally branded hotel chain. It begins with a review of selected literature which contains knowledge, techniques and ideas relevant to a customer relationship plan. Terms are defined within this section. The final section contains the action plan, which derives from ideas in the literature review section. 1. Introduction This report will consist of a concise, integrated customer relationship plan for Sao Paulo senior management with the specific aims of: reducing customer switching maintaining stakeholder relations in the service quality value chain Within this plan there will be: an identification of the gaps in Sao Paulo’s current approach to relationship marketing planning a description of internal and external relationships which impact the hotel proposed marketing objectives to help relaunch and reposition the hotel brand suggested developments of the brand an outline service quality management programme an outline CRM system an outline integrated marketing communications programme an outline internal marketing communications programme Input for the plan will be taken from the case material and the literature review which follows in section 2. 2. Literature Review This section will review the literature in a structured way. The first part will draw on lecture notes, text books and journal articles to clarify and explain aspects of: strategic marketing and branding relationship marketing and customer relationship management service quality management The second part will draw on three cases: The Ritz Carlton case Bergstrom Hotels Sao Paulo Hotel 2.1 Strategic Marketing and Branding Piercy defines strategy as simply being about: Being best at doing those things which matter most to customers Building shareholder value by achieving superior customer value Finding new and better ways of doing things to achieve the first two[1] If one accepts this no-nonsense definition it underscores the need for all companies to: Understand who your customers are and what matters to them Know how they perceive your service levels and what you must do to improve your performance Design and implement communication and management processes which make your strategy work In other words you need a plan. The planning process is described in the lecture notes as beginning with a Mission Statement and ending with implementation and measurement control. Before customer relationship objectives (the focus of the action plan below) can be identified and agreed the mission statement needs to be clearly understood as do the dynamics of the current market place. A SWOT analysis and Marketing Audit are effective tools for clarifying the company’s current position in the market, its performance so far and for suggesting possible changes in strategic and tactical moves. In a services business this will lead to the development of a customer relationship plan, which will be underpinned by a detailed understanding of the various internal and external stakeholders with whom one needs to develop and build relationships.[2] 2.2 Relationship Marketing and Customer Relationship Management â€Å"Relationship marketing concerns the shifting from activities of attracting customers to activities concerned with current customers and how to retain them. †¦At its core is the maintenance of relations between a company and its suppliers, channel intermediaries, public and customers.†[3] Focusing on retention is considered to be significantly more profitable than conversion of non-customers. CRM is a system to make relationship marketing work. The US writer, George Day sees CRM as a customer-responsive strategy, which seeks to give companies competitive advantage by: Delivering superior customer value by personalising the interaction between company and customer, Demonstrating trustworthiness Tightening connections with customers Achieving co-ordination of complex capabilities (functions, resources) within the company[4] Park Plaza International uses its new CRM system and global database to: â€Å"promote the hotels as a group, rather than an individually networked system, with targeted promotions and one-to-one marketing†¦.Through company profiling we will be able to identify who the biggest backers of the group are and who should be given special treatment, so that we can target our promotions accordingly†[5] Hwang and Chi[6] ,in their recent empirical study, highlight the fact that service personnel are the most important resource in the service sector and also the primary marketers. By helping to achieve customer satisfaction service personnel upgrade the entire performance of the organisation. The message to management is that they should engage in aggressive internal marketing to achieve and maintain a synergy of staff satisfaction and improved organisational performance. 2.3 Service Quality Management Customers will be loyal to a hotel, or a branded hotel chain, if they are satisfied with the quality and value offered. It is therefore important for service providers to know what influences these customer perceptions. Johnston suggests two approaches to understanding customers’ perceptions and judgements of service quality: The rational approach The incident-based approach[7] The rational approach suggests that customers consciously or unconsciously use a weighted average, so that a high score on one attribute or factor may offset a low score on another, to arrive at an overall evaluation of personal satisfaction. The SERVQUAL approach is based on the work of Parasuraman, Zeithamel and Berry[8] and sets out to measure customers’ perceptions of quality across 5 dimensions: Tangibles: physical facilities, equipment, appearance of personnel Reliability: abilities to perform the promised service dependably and accurately Responsiveness: willingness to help customers and provide prompt service Assurance: knowledge and courtesy of employees and ability to inspire trust and confidence Empathy: caring, individualistic attention provided by firm to customers A third approach suggests that any single incident, delighting or satisfying, could, whatever the weightings given to the other transactions, result in an overall feeling of dissatisfaction or delight. Another writer argues that â€Å"investment of time and money in quality improvement should concentrate on those areas of your business where the effort will have the greatest benefit†[9] Effort should not necessarily be directed to areas where you are worse than the competition if those factors are not so important to customers. 2.4 The Ritz-Carlton Case R-C has a total quality approach to the business. They fix causes not problems, i.e. they think about processes and systems to prevent problems and to ensure continuous quality. They set up a system to understand the real needs of their customers, to ensure delivery of these needs, to make it work continuously and to communicate all this to the market – not just an image-driven approach, but one which was conscious of the â€Å"experience† which customers were seeking. 2.4 Bergstrom Hotels[10] Bergstrom set up a total quality approach and system which was driven by senior management but acted on and supported by teams across the organisation. Vital components of the system are: training of all staff in internal customer relations, culture, process improvement and problem-solving, setting up and development of a data-base based on customer and employee surveys to drive improvement, open lines of communication and regular performance evaluation. Recognising staff contributions to quality of service was a key final element. The case demonstrates that significant quality improvements can be achieved without significant investment and ongoing cost. 2.5 Sao Paulo Case Sao Paulo is a recently refurbished hotel which is operating in a highly competitive market (with much price cutting) and unstable economy. It has recently been taken over by a hotel chain with a global brand name and a reputation for high service quality and the ability to build long-term relationships with stakeholders. It needs now to reposition itself in the Brazilian market such that it is clearly differentiated in stakeholders minds from the competition. Service must be the main differentiator, so an integrated customer relationship plan needs to be developed. 3. Action Plan for Improving Customer Relationships 3.1 Gaps in current approach Sao Paulo needs both to retain the loyalty of its current customer base and to grow via new customer and intermediary relationships. Growth will probably come via extended use of new services (e.g. restaurants and bars) by current customers and attracting new, more focused customer segments. This needs to be spelt out in its overall mission and made explicit with regard to individual stakeholders. 3.2 External and Internal Stakeholders Apart from the different customer segments important external stakeholders are: tour operators, airlines, travel agents and the many web-based hotel discounters. Local SP-based organisations such as the city hall and tourist office may also be influential in the communication of the hotel brand to intermediaries and potential customers. The current relationship-building approach appears to be re-active and now needs to become focused and pro-active. Important internal stakeholders are hotel employees – front-office staff and sales staff – and franchisees in the restaurants and bars. All need to be aligned with the culture of the refurbished and repositioned hotel. 3.3 Relaunching and Repositioning of the Brand The SP hotel is now part of a global chain. Its service level will need to be aligned with the core brand values of GHG and these values will need to be communicated to all stakeholders and acted upon by internal stakeholders if the communicated brand image is to be consistent with delivery on the ground. Proposed marketing objectives are to: grow the current customer base by 20% by increasing spend per customer and by improving retention by 10%; focus on excellent, caring service at a fair price. 3.4 Service-Quality Programme A customer survey should be carried out to establish which service attributes are important to customers. This should be linked to an assessment of the cost of correcting what goes wrong. The survey should be ongoing and reinforced by regular staff interaction with customers so as to identify any areas of dissatisfaction. Overall customer relationship objective will be to: create in the minds of all customers an experience of being cared for by warm, friendly staff who have your best interests at heart and will do all that they can to offer you speedy and professional assistance. This will be translated into specific CR objectives for the different stakeholders, all of whom will need to participate in service quality training programmes: Franchisees: communicate always in your words, dress and body language that you are a member of the SP team. Front-office staff: make the customer feel welcome, respected, valued and at home. Sales staff: communicate, warm, professional, helpful manner at all times, backed up by prompt follow-up. Service standards: FRONT DESK: Always smile at customers Address by name wherever possible Apologise for even slightest delay Never keep customer waiting without apologising Always do what you promise to do Be sensitive to cultural differences Keep desk and hall area clean at all times Always ask if you can be of further assistance – sincerely Never argue with a customer Try always to exceed expectations Service blueprint: Sales staff to CORPORATES (process service mix): Tangibles Dress smartly, speak warmly and professionally, ensure  that all promotional materials are packaged and presented professionally Reliability Be punctual, deliver what you promise Responsiveness Exceed customer expectations with your response times  and look always for creative solutions to difficult problems Assurance Be confident about the hotel and its qualities but radiate  courtesy at all times. Avoid over-familiarity and use of christian names, unless requested to do so Empathy Avoid any remarks/comments about religion, race,  culture. Be particularly sensitive to cultural differences and help people with language difficulties. Never make fun of anyone. Apologise for even the most minor errors Service guarantee for empowering FRONT-LINE STAFF: If a customer arrives after 19.00 and requests a rate  reduction you may offer him/her a room at a rate 20% below normal rate This service quality approach is in line with the realignment of the brand as a warm and caring hotel which offers fair prices. 3.5 CRM System A CRM system needs to be developed for the global chain. It would aim to profile customers both in order to communicate with them more effectively and to ensure that service features are adapted to meet individual requirements where possible. It should be seen as a support for the warm and caring approach, not a replacement. The communications programme would need to be consistent with, and integrated into, the CRM system. 3.6 Internal Marketing Programme Staff are at the heart of hotel service and underpin customer perception of quality. Training programmes must be run to ensure that all staff are aligned with the culture and attitudes of the hotel, are aware of service guidelines and have the requisite skills and knowledge. An appraisal and suggestions system will be introduced to help staff maintain requisite standards. Incentives will be introduced to encourage maintenance of these standards. BIBLIOGRAPHY Books Barwise P. and Meehan S. (2004), Simply Better, Harvard Business School Press Cerasale M. and Stone M.(2004), Business Solutions on Demand, Kogan Page Johnston R. and Clark C. (2001), Service Operations Management, Prentice Hall Piercy N. (2002), Market-led Strategic Change, Butterworth Heinemann Journal Articles Breiter D., Tyink S. and Corey-Tuckwell S. (1995), Bergstrom Hotels; a case study  in quality†, Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Vol.7 No. 6 Brown T. (1997), â€Å"Using norms to improve the interpretation of service quality  measures†, Journal of Services Marketing, Vol.11, No.1, p.80 Day G. (2000), â€Å"Tying in an Asset†, in Understanding CRM, Financial Times  Editorial article, „CRM in Hotelsâ€Å", in Leisure Hospitality Business, September,  2001 Hwang I. and Chi D. (2005), â€Å"Relationships among Internal Marketing, Employee Job  Satisfaction and International Hotel Performance†, International Journal of  Management, Vol.22 No.2 Parasuraman A., Zeithamel V. and Berry L. (1988), â€Å"SERVQUAL: a Multiple Item  Scale for Measuring Consumer Perceptions of Quality†, Journal of Retailing,  Vol.64, No.1 Spring Footnotes [1] Piercy N. (2002), Market-led Strategic Change, p. 273 [2] Lecture Notes – Key Issues from the Marketing Audit to Prioritise Actions in a Relationship Services  Marketing Plan [3] Jobber D. (2004), Principles and Practice of Marketing, McGraw-Hill, p. 117 [4] Day G. (2000), â€Å"Tying in an Asset†, in Understanding CRM, Financial Times [5] Editorial article, „CRM in Hotelsâ€Å", in Leisure Hospitality Business, September, 2001 [6] Hwang I. and Chi D. (2005), â€Å"Relationships among Internal Marketing, Employee Job Satisfaction  and International Hotel Performance†, International Journal of Management, Vol.22 No.2, p.291 [7] Johnston R. And Clark G. (2001), Service Operations Management, Prentice Hall, p. 102 [8] Parasuraman A., Zeithamel V. and Berry L. (1988), â€Å"SERVQUAL: a Multiple Item scale for  Measuring Consumer Perceptions of Quality†, Journal of Retailing, Vol.64, No.1 Spring [9] Brown T. (1997), â€Å"Using norms to improve the interpretation of service quality measures†, Journal of  Services Marketing, Vol.11, No.1, p.80 [10] Breiter D., Tyink S. and Corey-Tuckwell S. (1995), Bergstrom Hotels; a case study in quality†,  Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Vol.7 No. 6

The Guardian Ad Litem Program :: essays research papers

The Guardian Ad Litem Program represents children who appear in the state courts. These children have not committed any crime but are victims of abuse, neglect or abandonment. The program is comprised of volunteers who represent children in the courts, making sure they do not become victims of "the system". Each volunteer works with one or more children involved in the judicial system and social services agencies, becoming familiar with there lives, while representing the interest of each child before the court or social services agencies involved. Specifically, a volunteer acts in the interest of each child in five different capacities. First, as an investigator, a guardian learns as much as possible about the child' background (i.e. school, church, friends, and any otherpeople/organizations that affect the child). As a monitor, a guardian makes sure social services agencies, and any other organizations involved with the child are meeting their responsibilities to the chi ld. As a protector, a guardian prevents insensitive questioning in the courts that is very often commonplace. As a reporter, a guardian is a liaison between the child and the courts, presentingwritten reports and recommendations to help act in the child's best interests. Finally, as a spokesperson, a guardian makes sure the child's wishes are heard and their best interests are presented to the courts and social services agencies involved with the child. Qualifications to be a Guardian Ad Litem are: at least 19 years old; pass screenings with law enforcement agencies, the Abuse Registry, and Guardian Ad Litem staff; and have a genuine concern for a child's welfare. No prior experience is necessary as each volunteer goes through 48 hours of training, ranging from juvenile justice, child development, and child abuse and neglect.

Essay --

Pump Up that Seawater! A Remix of Traditional Freshwater Hydro Systems Hydroelectricity is a super clean energy source that emits minimal pollution. However most dams and structures used to gather hydroelectricity can be placed in limited locations. This is because hydroelectricity today requires two reservoirs of fresh water. It is well known that freshwater is very limited while we have an abundance of seawater, which many scientists believe is supposedly a waste and can’t be used for anything. To harness hydroelectricity to its fullest so that it can provide an abundant source of energy, a hydro system that is much less site-specific is required. Hydroelectric plants can be placed in only so few places, because there are few sources of freshwater. Although hydroelectricity uses renewable resources and releases little to no pollutants, existing hydroelectric plants in total give very little energy and are site specific compared to other sources of energy, it not cost effective and usable in limited areas. We can tackle the problem of limited areas for hydroelectric energy plants by using seawater instead of freshwater. We actually have an infinite amount of ocean water, unfortunately we don’t have an infinite amount of freshwater. Like traditional freshwater hydro systems a seawater pumped-storage hydro would work very similar. Extra electrical energy from nuclear energy, fossil fuels, or renewable energy power plants are used during times of low power demand to push water uphill to be deposited in reservoirs as potential energy. Then, when demand peaks, the reservoirs are opened, permitting water to pass through hydroe lectric turbines to produce the electricity needed to meet power demand. The key modification for saltwa... ...ean, where World watch is currently working with three governments to produce Sustainable Energy Roadmaps, it could be a practical solution to consider. With limited supplies of fresh water, tremendous renewable energy potential on and just off its coasts, and limited energy storage capability, seawater pumped-storage hydro could provide the Caribbean with tremendous benefits. Protecting the environment is crucial for this generation and future generations. My idea may make green energy more popular and benefit the environment. Using blah, blah, blah would blah, blah, blahs. Reducing costs and blah, blah, blah, the simple, efficient, and blah, blah, blah that I developed should encourage more people to switch to renewable resources and support this and my cause. Such a change would make the environment cleaner, healthier, and more enjoyable for generations to come.

Polar ice palace :: essays research papers

Polar Ice Palace What Bill needs to do is restructure the weekend and evening public skating sessions. Its is clear that he will be more profitable with public skating that hockey skating, and this is a numbers game. If he were to weave the hockey times with the public skating times he may find himself in a better position. For example, if he were to add an early morning hockey game in on Sundays and have open skating for the â€Å"kid-sitting† group in the afternoon, during the winter, this would be a solid investment. Although come the summer and fall, limit the â€Å"kid-sitting† ice time and have more hockey league play. To contend with the Friday-Saturday dating market, what Bill might want to do is enforce a strict 18 or 21 age requirement by serving alcohol and marketing this age concept through advertisement to this target market. It may be very difficult to get the same age market 2 nights in a row, so he may want to have one night for adults and the other for teens/ young-adults. The idea of creating a nightclub atmosphere is excellent and should be done, on both nights and the implementation of â€Å"party games† is a great way to bring people together, especially â€Å"adult† games. As far as the young boys feeling threatened by the â€Å"couples only† music, this might be addressed by adding a â€Å"singles† party every now and then so he can diversify his audience. Bill cannot see his investment of $2000 into lighting as a loss or his advertisement to the youth; both are long term investments that may take a while to see returns. In conclusion, he must do market research in order to justify the need to target certain groups at specified times and the financial research that will grow the greatest returns. 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  a) Susan is purchasing the fax machine for her home while Greg’s is for business. Susan may purchase hers to send a receive faxes at home for both work and pleasure, and Greg needs several machines for all the offices at his large work place. Susan may purchase hers through a retailer or wholesaler and Greg will purchase through a corporate B2B contractor or directly from the producer. Susan can purchase any time she is ready, Greg may be waiting for proposals from vendors and approval of the purchase order. Susan may purchase through any form of payment, and Greg will most likely do this on credit (accounts payable)

Lazarillo de Tormes and the Swindler

/*Class. Project 1*/ import java. io. BufferedReader; import java. io. FileReader; import java. util. StringTokenizer; import java. io. *; import java. math. BigDecimal; import java. util. *; /** * * @author: Huma UmmulBanin Zaidi * @Project:Project1, Data Structure. * Running program looks like: This program finds sum or product of a LARGE numbers of integers. Enter as many integers > 0 as you would like. Enter the numbers: 1 3 5 7 7 5 3 1 Please select the number of one of these options: 1. Sum the numbers in the list 2. Multiply the numbers in the list Your choice: 1Answer is: 16 Exiting program†¦ */ public class Project1 { //public class ReadFile { // Read lists of numbers from a specified text file. public static void main(String[] args){ if(args. length == 0) System. out. println(â€Å"No file specified. â€Å"); else { FileReader theFile; BufferedReader inFile; String oneLine; int s; try{ // file not found exception must be caught theFile = new FileReader(args[0]); inFi le = new BufferedReader(theFile); while((oneLine = inFile. readLine()) ! = null) { String numbers[] = oneLine. split(â€Å",†); // † † for space s = 0; for (int i=0; i= 0 ){ Node cur = new Node(); cur. setData(Integer. valueOf(n. remainder(d). intValue())); n = n. divide(d); node. setpNext(cur); node = node. etpNext(); } } public void mainLoop() { int numbers = 0; // Used to store numbers read in Node pHead = null; // head of linked list Node pTemp; // used in new node creation while( numbers ! = -1) { if (numbers ! = -1) { pTemp = new Node(); // Insert at head of list pTemp. setData( numbers); // store the number pTemp. setpNext( pHead); // set the â€Å"pointer† pHead = pTemp; // reset the head of the list } }//end while( number†¦ }//end of mainLoop //} public LargeNumbers AddNumbers (LargeNumbers n) { /public static void main(String[] args) { //System. out. println(â€Å"Addition of two numbers! â€Å"); LargeNumbers sum = new LargeNumbers(); sum. head. getpNext(). setData(this. head. getpNext(). getData()+n. head. getpNext(). getData()); int b = 0; int a = 0; int sum1 = a + b; System. out. println(â€Å"Sum: † + sum1); //} return sum; } public static void AddNumbers(LargeNumbers a, LargeNumbers b) { int n1 = 0; int n2 = 0; int sum1 = n1 + n2; System. out. println(â€Å"Sum: † + sum1); //} } public String toString(){ String str = â€Å"†; Node temp = head. getpNext(); while(temp! = null){ str += (temp. etData() + † â€Å"); temp = temp. getpNext(); } //end while return str; } // end toString public LargeNumbers Multiply (LargeNumbers n) { int mul1; int mul2; public static void main(String args[]){ try{ Multiply mul= new Multiply(); int multiplication; BufferedReader object=new BufferedReader(new InputStreamReader(System. in)); System. out. println(â€Å"Enter number:†+† â€Å"); mul. mul1=Integer. parseInt(object. readLine()); mul. mul2=Integer. parseInt(object. readLine()); System. out. println(â€Å"Width is =†+ mul. mul1); System. out. println(â€Å"Height is =†+ mul. mul2); multiplication = mul. mul1*mul. ul2; System. out. print(â€Å"Multiply number is=†+ multiplication); } catch(Exception e){} } } } /*class. node*/ public class Node { // For simplicity sake assume we only store an integer in each node private Integer data; private Node pNext; // Default Constructor public Node() { data = 0; pNext = null; } // Fully Qualified constructor public Node(Integer data, Node pNext) { this. data = data; this. pNext = pNext; } // get and set methods public void setData( Integer data) { this. data = data; } public Integer getData() { return this. data; } public void setpNext( Node nextNode) { this. Next = nextNode; } // return a reference (the address) of the next node public Node getpNext() { return this. pNext; } // toString allows printing a node public String toString() { return( â€Å"† + this. data); } }//end class Node /*data. text */ 9 4 31,415,926,535 2 0 1,234,567,890 1,734,792 131 1,506,033,005,018,000,029 1,992 23,571 100,000,002,750,004,128,293,702,150,000 9,999,999 9,999,999,999,999,999,999,999,999,999 31,415,926,535 31,415,926,535 3,276,765,535,021 271,828,128,450,945 112,233,445,566,778,899 99,887,766,554,433,221,100 198,719,881,989,199,019,911,992,199,319,941,995 141,421,356

Evaluation of King David

In both books, Samuel I and Samuel II, King David is depicted as a true, but imperfect, example of an ideal king. When David was first introduced, he was a young boy, but quickly proved himself to be a strong leader, as he defeated Goliath, the giant. But as he takes his role as king, and gets older, his judgment and decisions aren’t always smart ones. I believe as a moral and political leader, King David was a good king, despite his sinful nature, and there is a lot to learn from his kingship. King David’s decisions showed he was a decisive and an effective king. He captured Jerusalem from the Jebusites and took it for his own home. (Samuel II: Chapter 5, 6-7) 6: And the king and his men went to Jerusalem against the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, who spoke unto David, saying: ‘Except thou take away the blind and the lame, thou shalt not come in hither'; thinking: ‘David cannot come in hither. ‘ 7: Nevertheless David took the stronghold of Zion; the same is the city of David. By David going and taking over the city of Jerusalem, it shows how he his a committed leader, and that he wanted to take this city and transform it to the capital of the holy land. In god’s eyes, this must be an extremely powerful act, as David is truly showing his loyalty to Hashem. We can also conclude that by David winning this battle, he must be a strong military leader. Despite some of the eventual imperfections of David, he still defeated his enemies and because of that the nation prospered. One of his great displays of devotion to God would be when he brought the ark from the house of Abinadab to Jerusalem. Samuel II: Chapter 6, 15-16) 15: So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting, and with the sound of the horn. 16: And it was so, as the ark of the Lord came into the city of David, This showed the people of Jerusalem his devotion to God, and he openly displayed his devotion by bringing it openly. David was aware how the Ark of th e Covenant was most sacred and powerful item to his people, so by bringing it to Jerusalem, people would give him more support and recognize him for being a strong religious leader. Even though we study today that this wasn’t the best way for David to prove he is a good religious leader, we still look up to him, as his purpose is what really counts. I believe a lot of us could learn from that, to be more open in our worship and show our devotion publicly to God. I believe David’s heart was in the right place and God knew that, that is why he blessed him in his reign. David wanted to build a house for the Lord, but instead God built a house for him. (Samuel II: Chapter 7, 5-6) 5: Go and tell My servant David: Thus said the Lord: Shalt thou build Me a house for Me to dwell in? : for I have not dwelt in a house since the day that I brought up the children of Israel out of Egypt, even to this day, but have walked in a tent and in a tabernacle. God made a covenant with David in which God promised to make David a great and everlasting dynasty. David showed great devotion to the lord, but fell short of his glory. The lord saw he was whole-heartedly devote d to him and therefore he made an everlasting covenant with David. I believe it was David’s â€Å"good intentions† that God did not see David’s his sinful nature, because God doesn’t expect perfection, just devotion. The fact that David acted in a way that he constantly dedicated himself to God, and tried to do the right thing, is what God saw him for, and we can learn from that because people have a sinful nature sometimes, but God still cares for us. I think it is important to remember David was a human, granted he had responsibilities as a King, but he shouldn’t have been expected to be perfect. Like all humans, he had weaknesses, which got him into trouble. David had several â€Å"downfalls† in his reign. One example of David’s downfalls is when he committed adultery. (Samuel II: 11, 4) 4: And David sent messengers, and took her; and she came in unto him, and he lay with her; for she was purified from her uncleanness; and she returned unto her house. This act is perhaps one of the reasons why people have controversy over David, and if he was a â€Å"good† king or not. I believe it can be compared to that of the incident of our president Clinton. David was a human like Clinton and, given they were leaders who represented a nation, were both human. My point is that pressures are put on those with power and people expect them to be perfect when really they are not that different from us. I’m not saying that what they did was okay, but I’m just trying to understand it more. It was a sin, what they did, but God knew their hearts, and in David’s case the Lord still blessed him. I believe the greatest thing we can observe from King David would be that God called him a king after his own heart. (Samuel I: Chapter 13, 14) But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be commander over His people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you The fact that God says this, and understands that David is a man of heart, is the most significant to learn from all of David’s actions. It was the fact that David was willing to confess his wrongdoings and admit his sins, then repent that saved him, and showed God his devotion to him. I admire David’s whole heartedness and I believe that is the most important thing I’ve learned from him.

Reflection Paper Essay

However, after attending the lectures and tutorials for a few weeks, I started to gain interest in this course as I learnt a lot of new things. For example, I am now more capable and confident when it comes to writing a proper academic report, drafting appropriate business replies or even analyze a blog. With these knowledge, I know that I will be doing much better in my future. Despite having to worry about being appointed by my tutor to answer questions, I had funs there. My classmates and I shared, communicated and learnt there! There was once when my group and I were tasked to analyze a piece of academic writing. I was glad because I found the skills taught during lessons highly applicable and useful. For example fallacies including red herring, hasty generalization, post hoc etc. Besides that, we were able to learn how to communicate with each other during discussions. I was delighted by my group mates as we were able to establish good rapport. Now, my group mates are good friends to me as well. Another obvious change in myself is I am now having more confidence when communicating with others. Previously, I was an introvert as I disliked interacting with others because of my low self-esteem. However upon completion of this course, I understood the importance of communication among people. Communication is able to strengthen bonds among one another. In addition, communication creates better understanding among people and effective communication helps to develop our confidence. Hence, I believe that I am more capable of presenting myself in front of others and I strongly believe that this will help me in developing strong bonding and maintain a good relationship with others in my future interactions. In conclusion, I learnt a lot of things and skills from this course. I know that what I had learnt will be able to assist me in my prospective job and future. I gained self-esteem from this course and with that, I appear to be more confident now. I know that I will be a good speaker, writer and I will be also able to communicate with people effectively as well.

Evaluation education Essay

Assessment is a systematic process of collecting information or evidence about a student’s progress towards meeting the learning expectations. Assessment is embedded in the instructional activities throughout a unit. The expectations for the assessment tasks are clearly articulated and the learning activity is planned to make that demonstration possible. This process of beginning with the end in mind helps to keep focus on the expectations of the course. The purpose of assessment is to gather the data or evidence and to provide meaningful feedback to the student about how to improve or sustain the performance in the course. Scaled criteria designed as rubrics are often used to help the student to recognize their level of achievement and to provide guidance on how to achieve the next level. Although assessment information can be gathered from a number of sources (the student himself, the student’s course mates, the teacher), evaluation is the responsibility of only the teacher. For evaluation is the process of making a judgment about the assessment information and determining the percentage grade or level. Assessment is embedded within the instructional process throughout each unit rather than being an isolated event at the end. Often, the learning and assessment tasks are the same, with formative assessment provided throughout the unit. In every case, the desired demonstration of learning is articulated clearly and the learning activity is planned to make that demonstration possible. This process of beginning with the end in mind helps to keep focus on the expectations of the course as stated in the course guideline. The evaluations are expressed as a percentage based upon the levels of achievement.

Push and pull factors in Syrian migration Research Paper - 1

Push and pull factors in Syrian migration - Research Paper Example By August 2012 the number of Syrian refugees was believed to have reached 200,000. By March the following year, the number had reached to 1.2 million with a gradual increase expected, according to the statistics on the rate of their increase. By the end of the year 2013 there were more that 2 million Syrian refugees. About 12.5% of the total Syrian population are believed to be refugees in foreign countries. The destination of Syrian refugees includes: Lebanon; Turkey; Jordan; Iraq; Egypt; Algeria; Sweden; Bahrain; Germany; Libya; Italy; Bulgaria; Argentina; Armenia; Romania; Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Russia; Gaza strip; Macedonia; and the United States of America. These destinations are arranged in the descending order according to the number of refugees accommodated. The digits used are believed to be estimates since the Syrian refugees have been moving to other countries through both legal and illegal means. Most of the people who fled Syria are those that have no ability to face the violence that is in Syria. Statistics have proved that more than half of the refugees who flee Syria are children. Children are always the most affected by civil wars, especially due to the fact that they are naà ¯ve and physically incapable to cope with the hard situations that are always brought about by civil wars or any other kind of long term violence (Ullah 167). A majority of the remaining refugees are women. Despite the fact that they might not be naà ¯ve they do not have the physical capability to cope with their male counterparts during civil wars such as that has been experienced in Syria since 2011. The kind of work that Syrian refugees do in the foreign countries highly depends on whether or not they have working permits. Most of the Syrian refugees lack a work permit as a result of not being able to get residential papers. In most host countries, it is always harder for the

Job Application and Interview Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Job Application and Interview - Assignment Example In order to observe the advancements in the recruitment procedures, this paper will undertake to elaborate upon the typical job application and interview processes that various nursing organizations undertake to recruit the nurse educators. The requirements, formalities and questions usually asked at the interviews will also be discussed. Nurse Educators Nurses throughout the world are called to work in a health care environment that is undergoing reform as never before imagined (NLN Board of Governors, 2011). A nurse educator is a nurse who is charged with the responsibility of educating, teaching, and preparing registered nurses (RN) and licensed practical nurses (LPN) for the purpose of enabling them enter into the practice at clinical positions. These nurses are also capable of teaching in many patient care settings in order to facilitate the patients with continuous education to register and licensed nursing staff. The Nurse Educators are also responsible for teach at doctoral l evel and graduate programs, which are intended to prepare the nurses for advanced practice. Job Applications The job applications depict the demands that the job descriptions puts on the employees. On observing the job application of Alaska Native Medical Centre, it is discovered that the organization charges the Clinical Nurse Educator (CNE) with the responsibilities to facilitate the education services and professional development of nursing by helping them prepare for advanced nursing practice and assist them in obtaining the skills and knowledge. This is done for the purpose of making them competent enough to gather and analyze the health data of patients, make diagnosis, develop a care plan, and implement the interventions for further interventions (Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, 2012). Interview Process The organizations hiring nurse educators beginning the recruitment process through interviews. These interviews give the hirer a complete view of candidate's qualifica tion, experiences and ambitions in the field. The interviewees are asked about their past experiences in the nursing capacity, and what their facility of working and areas of interest. Then, the interview discovers regarding the candidate's passion for teaching, and what factor brought them towards the teaching side. They are questioned upon the procedures that they would adopt to make their students grasp the concepts easily while teaching. Slowly, the interviewer build such a rapport with the candidates that, they get into open discussion in order to estimate the applicant's knowledge regarding nursing issues, current shortage, and the significance of nursing profession to the community. Besides this, Alaska Medical Centre also assess the applicant on the basis whether they know the positive aspect and worth of their job, and the ways in which the roles of nursing educators influence other areas of nursing. The interview further judges the candidates by asking their opinions on fu ture perspectives of the profession, its growth further, and the recommendation to others about getting into the nursing profession and develop it (Suzanne, 2012). The substantive questions usually asked from a candidate applying for nurse educators include the following: How does nursing generally contribute to the welfare of society? Can any other medical services replace nursing? How do

Advantages And Disadvantages Of A Corporation Diversifying Essay

Advantages And Disadvantages Of A Corporation Diversifying Internationally - Essay Example Diversification may be used to refer to the variation between businesses within a company. This variation may be by products and/ or services. Diversification meaning varies across businesses, as what stands as diversification in one organization may not have significance in another. Thus, the definition of diversification is subjective. Nonetheless, business diversification may be in the dimension of cost leadership, production of commodity products, new product development, market leadership, strong brand names, high value added products, niche markets served, customers shared, advertisement emphasis, customer service emphasis and product design. Other dimensions may be emphasis on research and development, raw materials used, quality emphasis, distribution networks, company size. International diversification entails diversifying an investment portfolio across diverse geographic regions in order to lessen the overall peril and enhance returns on the portfolio. Corporations embrace international diversification by locating their operations in diverse nations and regions so as to reduce operational and business peril. There are three types of international diversification that is, related diversification, unrelated diversification and single product strategy. ... pany level tactic founded on a multibusiness model with the aim of increasing profitability through the use of common organizational capabilities to augment the performance of all the company’s business units. Firms that pursue this mode of diversification strategy are referred to as conglomerates, implying business organizations that function in numerous diverse industries. Advantages of international diversification Diversification and profit stability The assertions associating diversification on profit stability revolve around the portfolio concept, which holds that investing in diversified stock with non related profits may lower the precariousness of a corporation’s total gains. The idea of portfolio relates to product diversification, which may lower the variance of a company’s total profits. The reason is that the unpredictability of various profit schemes merged is nearly always less than the unpredictability of every profit stream independently, on cond ition that the profit streams are negatively related. Researches establish that product diversifiers actually enjoy higher profits than non diversifiers. The degree of risk reduction through unrelated diversification may exceed that which may be attained through related diversification. The reason is that unrelated diversification could lower industry specific systematic risk because it entails diversification across numerous industries. On the other hand, related diversification may not lower industry specific systematic risk happening within an industry. Industry specific systematic risks are the risks universal to all businesses in a certain industry (Kim, Hwang & Burgers, 1989, p 47). Rugman observed the same view, that geographical diversification through direct overseas investments evens out a

Should SDSu student use ADHD drug to help them study Essay

Should SDSu student use ADHD drug to help them study - Essay Example On the other hand, there are students who abuse these drugs by taking them even though they do not have the condition. This is very common among students who have high expectations to excel. Despite the significant risks associated with ADHD drugs, some students take them without proper medical advice in order to cope with high expectations and academic standards. Even for students with ADHD, the drugs only improve concentration and attention but do not help when it comes to studying. Preliminary investigations show that the primary motive as to why students take ADHD drugs is for study help. Since ADHD drugs are one of the most abused drugs among students, the current paper examines whether SDSu students should use these drugs. Using ethical and logical (health concerns) arguments, we argue that only students with special needs, having been examined by relevant specialists, should be allowed to take ADHD drugs. Application of Appeal of Logic Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) was originally believed to be a pediatric condition. Children who suffer from ADHD continue experiencing the symptoms even in adulthood. Adderall is the most common prescribed drug for students with ADHD, with Ritalin and Dexedrine. . ADHD stimulant is a legal drug as compared to other illegal drugs sold on the street. When one buys these drugs, it is evident that dirty druggies like those who prepare cocaine do not prepare the drug. Therefore, SDSu students with special needs should use ADHD drugs because most people trust the drug’s medical founding. It is quite evident that medical experts would not deceive the public about the ADHD stimulant quality. ADHD drugs are perceived to be stimulants because they expand dopamine in the brain. There has been an increase in the consumption of ADHD stimulants in the United States of America that is, individuals’ expenditure on these drugs rose from 83% to 90% from the year 1993 to 2003. The increase in consumption of th ese drugs does not only apply in United States but also the rest of the world. Usually, students use these drugs to curb exam pressures since sleepiness and fatigue makes it hard for students to study. However, students use these drugs not necessarily to score high but to concentrate during study. In addition, using the ADHD stimulants is not legal because Adderall is a controllable stimulant just like cocaine (Oremus, 2013). Application of Appeal of Emotion Research indicates that some students take ADHD stimulants for the right reason. Students use these stimulants to encourage positive outcomes: good and high grades. For instance, Oremus (2013) explains that these drugs allow one to hold attention for long hours when performing a task. The stimulants also increase individuals’ ability to remember, multitask, and to be faster in handling activities. Crusius and Channell (2010) claims that taking ADHD drug helps students think better and perform successfully and professional ly in schoolwork. However, ADHD drug is for individuals who want success in their work towards achieving their goals. According to Oremus, (2013), Cambridge undergraduate students who employ ADHD drugs in their studies and their consumption has resulted to enhancements such as recollecting of information within a short duration and planning capabilities. If a student wants to experience a

Can adult models for CBT be used with children & adolescents with PTSD Essay

Can adult models for CBT be used with children & adolescents with PTSD a critical evaluation - Essay Example A child’s response to a given trauma may vary according to the age, nature, duration and type of stressor, gender or any other previous history of exposure. Children have the capacity to link the traumatic event with any other event with similar features. This capacity leads to the psychological, emotional and behavioral symptoms that develop after a traumatic event (Perry and Pollard, 1998). Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a clinical syndrome that is usually developed after experiencing an extreme traumatic stress (DSM IV). Following is the criteria for the diagnosis of PTSD in children. A child is said to have Acute Stress Disorder (DSM IV) when the above criteria is met during the month after the traumatic experience. Further characterization of PTSD shows a child in acute stage when the symptoms develop in less than three months, Chronic in more than three months and Delayed Onset when initial symptoms develop six months or more after the traumatic event (Perry, 1999). The diagnosis of PTSD in very young children is difficult due to the inability of the children to report the traumatic event and symptoms (Scheeringa et al. 1995). Lifetime incidence of PTSD ranges from 3-14 % (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 1994). Various studies have been carried out to examine the prevalence of PTSD in adolescents. The studies showed that 3% of females and 1% of males met the DSM IV criteria of PTSD (Cuffe et al. 1998). Greater female adolescent population met the criteria for PTSD than males. Higher prevalence rates for PTSD were reported among children who have been exposed to traumatic events and was even were higher in high-risk groups. 35% of the adolescents diagnosed with cancer met the criteria for lifetime PTSD (Pfefferbaum, 1997). 15% of young cancer patients had moderate to severe PTSS (Stuber et al. 1997); 93% of children exposed to domestic violence had PTSS (Kilpatrick, Williams, 1998); 80% of Kuwaiti youth exposed to the

Fordism and Post-Fordism as Theories of Work Organisation Essay

Fordism and Post-Fordism as Theories of Work Organisation - Essay Example 54-55), it was not until over twenty years later that the term Fordism came into being. Antonio Gramsci, an Italian Communist imprisoned by Mussolini from 1926 to 1937 (Slattery, 1991, p. 125), authored the article 'Americanism and Fordism' in 1931. In this stinging critique of capitalism, he breaks down the fundamental changes occurring to the characteristics of labour. For 'the purpose of American society-developing in the worker to the highest degree automatic and mechanical attitudes, breaking up the old psycho-nexus of qualified professional work and reducing productive operations exclusively to the mechanical, physical aspect' (Gramsci, 1931, p. 290). Generally, Fordism is defined by standardisation of labour and components, usage of the assembly line, strict specialisation of semi-skilled labour and high production levels. This mass manufacturing depended on a stable economy and a predictable mass consumerism, for 'without the mass consumption of mass-produced products, companies would quickly go bankrupt' (O'Donnell, 1997, p. 252). The fundamental need for so many consumers led to the development of widespread advertising (Kirby et al, 2000, p. 340). Yet what distinguishes this paradigm shift is, as Gramsci noted above, the removal of decision-making power from the worker. A relative contemporary of Ford, Frederick Taylor, proposed that all mental activity should be removed from the factory floor so workers could almost become machines, with their pay tied to personal productivity (O'Donnell, 1997, p. 288). Fordism meant great homogeny, efficiency and output, which in turn meant greater prosperity. However, the strict division of labour created an unmotivated work force increasingly alienated from management. Competitive pay was not sufficient to stop the rapid turnover, and the growth of unions such as Industrial Workers of the World during this period attests to this dissatisfaction (Grint, 1998, p. 284). Additionally, Fordism needed a reliable economy and consumer base-this is illustrated by the number of companies, such as Ford, which only survived the American Great Depression due to large scale government intervention (O'Donnell, 1997, p. 252). Another factor is that drastic increases in productivity of the first stage of Fordism were unique-subsequent changes were less effective, for 'there was a finite limit to, or at least declining return from, the extent to which time and motion studies etc. could increase productivity' (Grint, 1998, p. 284). Once an entire industry converted, it became difficult to continue finding significant ways to heighten productivity and furt her decrease costs. Eventually these disadvantages, along with the rise of a new type of mass consumerism, would set the stage for the conditions the next theory of work organisation is based upon-Post-Fordism. As technological advances and consumer wants became more varied, a new theory of work organisation was proposed in The Second Industrial Divide by Michael Piore and Charles Sabel in 1984. Responding to the economic downturn of the 1970's and the limitations of mass production (Kirby et al, 2000, p. 340), they held that a new system was coming into being, motivated by increasing consumer demand for specialised

Prerogative Has Been Abused Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Prerogative Has Been Abused - Essay Example It is not surprising thus to witness managers terminating employees for any reason they deem fit, sometimes basing their decisions on pure discrimination and ‘whistle-blowing’. This largely creates conflict in the workplace (Price, 2007). A number of reports indicate that a good number of managers exhibit harassment to their subordinates, some sexual in nature. No wonder, a number of acts and pieces of legislations, the world over, prohibit discriminatory harassment including sexual harassment (Frankaro, 2007). The other area where managers seem to overstep their boundaries is in management of customer relationship and employee interaction. Related to this is placing bottlenecks of employees’ communication with clients and sometimes within themselves, tailored around the ‘ebb and flow’ of communication as defined by the management. Sometimes, managers consciously or unconsciously inhibit the flow of communication between workers to promote witch-hunti ng and cause incitement. Most of them are not cognizant of the fundamental requirement associated with this and sometimes base their fear and defensive action on their insecurities and inferiority complex (Gollan, 2005). Actions of some employers represented by the managers are de-motivating to employees. Micro-management is an issue that many employees detest. The practice sometimes arises from the concern of most managers to have particulars mini-details, and pressure to deliver results within a particular unreasonable timeline (Gennard, 2006). Much as it has been argued that micromanagement is effective to bring lazy and procrastinating employees into action, oftentimes, micromanagements could be based on pure inferiority complex and other set of insecurities or as a strategy to dismiss an employee. In order... The managers-subordinate relationship can be described as good and bad. Employees are tired of being bullied at the work-place and micromanagement does more evil than good. The solution for improvement, however, lies in managers taking a step to enhancing the cordial relationship. The delegation of duties is very important. These will facilitate a highly productive and warmer workplace that ensures employees recognition and positive sanctioning. The other way certainly is facilitating regular meetings between employees and managers, as well ensuring that communication between the two is promoted. employees become timid in taking initiatives and making sacrifices since they feel that whatever they do is not positively sanctioned. To the Manager, walling-up, and shutting-down his effort becomes the order of the day since she/he will harbor the belief that no one listens. Interestingly, behaviors of managers such bullying has led to incidences of physical confrontations and violence in the workplace. Bernadi, for example, reports a case a high profile violence of one Pierre Lebrun, who was working at OC Transport in Ottawa, Mexico, where the employee shot people, with five of them reportedly dying, and him ultimately committing suicide.

Molecular and Genetic Epidemiology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Molecular and Genetic Epidemiology - Essay Example The study aims on molecular epidemiology approach to learn viral pathogens of aquaculture with dynamic approach to control the disease in aquaculture. The study emphasize on viral disease of salmonid fish; grounds, viral haemorrhagic septicaemia virus (VHSV), salmonid alpha virus (SAV) and infectious salmon anaemia virus (ISAV). Noteworthy upshots of molecular epidemiological incorporation to pursue the study encompass enhanced taxonomic categorization of viruses, an improved perception about natural allocation of viral strains, an augmented discernment about the derivations of viral strains in aquaculture, molecular epidemiological incorporation improves an access to understand the hazards caused due to translocation of pathogens as well as how viral strains outsmart their accepted host range. The process enhances the capability to mark out the basis of new-fangled infection outbursts. The process thereby enables the researchers to formulate the basis of expansion with suitable upgr ading if desired in diagnostic tools. The most imperative provision that researcher procure is the capability to categorize isolates procured with the molecular epidemiological procedures and therefore aims at better future research aspects. The introduction of new expertises like pyrosequencing enables researchers to produce explanatory molecular sequence data.

Manchester Products Essay Example for Free

Manchester Products Essay Manchester Home expanded household furniture division by adding market leader PLFD – Addition of 990 million in PLFD revenues – Addition of established sales force, talented design teams – PLFD’s Signature Style line very popular with consumers †¢ Ability to combine PL design skills with MH engineering and manufacturing – Manufacturing expertise and ergonomic designs †¢ Concerns – How to tie-in PL’s bold designs with MH’s conservative style – Customer confusion over new brand name 5C’S OF THE ACQUISITION Company †¢ Companies’ strengths and weaknesses complement each other 5C’S OF THE ACQUISITION Customers †¢ Target consumers ages 34-55; Income over $50K – MH consumers are categorized as conservative elegance – PLFD consumers are more fashion-conscious, trend setters – Will need a way to reach both customer segments †¢ Results from target consumer surveys – Low brand loyalty – 60% would change brands – High information search – Style, design, quality, comfort most important qualities – all covered by MH/PL – PL has high brand awareness, almost double that of MH, will help to co-brand them to raise awareness for MH 5C’S OF THE ACQUISITION Collaborators †¢ Manchester already has network of office distribution channels, now they gain access to household distribution channels through Paul Logan. – PL sales force has strong ties to leading distributions channels – PL strength in upscale furniture stores, specialty stores, department stores †¢ Strong relationship with buyers – Concern over brand going away, necessary to create a smooth brand transition so consumers make the switch †¢ Push strategies important to build strong relationships with distribution network – 90% of PL shipments include Purchase Allowances 5C’S OF THE ACQUISITION Competitors †¢ Paul Logan was market leader †¢ Household Furniture Industry $36.64 billion in 2004; positive % growth projections A mature industry Large number of corporate consolidations Low-cost imports from Asia/Mexico moving into higher price levels Domestic companies ready to attack the vulnerability of the new brand and position †¢ We need strong advertising and marketing mix †¢ Many competitors have company owned stores – Crucial to leverage our distribution channels to gain market access 5C’S OF THE ACQUISITION Context †¢ Office furniture sales growth tied to employment growth and new business formation. – Burst of dot.com bubble and recession have decreased demand for office furniture †¢ Rise in ‘teleworking’ could increase demand for home office †¢ Demand for home furniture is tied to new home construction and home sales. †¢ Innovative and stylish products to bolster demand MOVING FORWARD ANALYSIS OF FUTURE BRANDING: OPTIONS †¢ Drop the Paul Logan name right away – Losing their current brand awareness – Need to educate customers – Strong distribution channel relationships could be damaged †¢ Keep using the Paul Logan name for the entire allotted three years – Ad agency advises against this option, as they don’t want to allocate advertising dollars to a brand with a three year shelf life †¢ Transition mid-point – Leverage the Paul Logan name to build strong brand awareness for Manchester – Continue to use the PL name in subtext for 1.5 yrs.; conduct consumer research to reevaluate after this time. – Business recommendation to convert the name 100% to Manchester Home after 1.5 yrs. ANALYSIS OF FUTURE BRANDING: OPTIONS †¢ Brand name transition: – First 6 months: Manchester Home: The New Home for Paul Logan Furniture – Following year: Manchester Home: The Home for Paul Logan Furniture – After 1.5 yrs.: Conduct consumer research to reevaluate transition †¢ Business recommendation is to drop the Paul Logan name †¢ Want to ensure the Manchester Home brand has achieved a sufficient awareness before removing PL OUR FUTURE ADVERTISING STRATEGIES †¢ Strong campaign is critical to the success of the new brand name – $184 million allotted for 2005 – Includes national and cooperative advertising for both PLFD and MH products †¢ Push vs. Pull – MH to allocate more $ towards Push advertising – Heavy Push Pull the first 1.5 yrs. – Marketing Communications mix to form long-term company image †¢ Promotional Programs – Purchase allowances – Recommend amending the planned 2005 marketing expenditures to allow for purchase allowances. †¢ Currently based on % of sales – Due to brand transition, allocate a fixed amount to advertising to ensure the levels do not drop RECOMMENDATIONS †¢ Continue to use the Paul Logan name to leverage brand awareness and channel partnerships †¢ Focus strongly on both Push and Pull strategies the first 1.5 yrs. to communicate the acquisition – Amend proposed 2005 advertising plan to incorporate more Push strategies, specifically Purchase Allowances that contributed to the success of the PL distribution network †¢ After 1.5 yrs., the business goal is to transition brand officially to Manchester Home QUESTIONS?

What is the Purpose of Franchising?

What is the Purpose of Franchising? Franchising is a method of marketing goods. It is important that this basic fact is understood; franchising is not an industry indeed the use of franchising as a marketing method crosses industry borders. The application of franchising principles to each separate industry involves the blending of the ingredients to produce the right and product. Having grasped that basic fact, it should be appreciated that as franchising is a marketing method it should be approached in a flexible way. Franchising in its full sense the business format franchise may not be a suitable method for your business. However, you may well find that certain elements can have application and provide benefits. If that is so adopt them, even if the end result is that you have not adopted a franchise for your business. In the final analysis you have to make and live with your decisions if franchising is not right for you, or you are not right for franchising, do not embark on that course for it could well end in disaster. But, you should not lead franchisees into disaster for that they do not need a franchisor: many of them could manage quite well on their own. Other methods of marketing which are well known involve all levels from manufacture to retail sale. Some manufacturers or wholesalers appoint agents those who will act on their behalf with power to undertake binding commitments. Others appoint distributors with whom they have a buyer/seller relationship. The distributor is an independent operator who may sell many competing ranges. Some manufacturers enter into licence agreements with others who manufacture their products or who carry out processes resulting in the production of goods. These arrangements may also involve trade mark licences coupled with know-how agreements under which the licensee manufactures or completes the manufacture of goods for sale. None of these agreements is the sort of marketing method with which this manual is specifically concerned although, at times, business people refer to them as franchises. The expression franchise is also used to describe the right given for the operation of commercial TV and radio networks. The operation of a motor car manufacturers dealership is usually called a franchise and in many cases quite rightly so. The suggestion fell on open minds who really understood that it was possible to expand a network using the financial and manpower resources of others. However, the franchisor had to develop an infrastructure to enable it to cope. That infrastructure, the way in which it is put together and sustained, is what this manual is concerned to explain. FACTS TO SUPPORT ADVANTAGES For franchisors: Expansion Franchising is one of the only means available to access venture investment capital without the need to give up control of the operation of the chain in the process. After the brand is carefully designed and properly executed, franchisors are able to sell franchises and expand rapidly across countries using the resources of their franchisees, earn profits commensurate with their contribution to those societies while greatly minimixing the risk and expense that would be inherent in conventional chain operations. Legal considerations The franchisor is relieved to obtain the necessary licenses and permits to start a new outlets. In some jurisdictions, certain permits are more easily obtained by locally based, owner-operator type applicants while companies based outside the jurisdiction find it difficult if not impossible to get such licences issued to them directly. For this reason, hotel and restaurant chains that sell alcohol often have no viable option but to franchise if they wish to expand to another state. Additionally, the franchisor is relieved of the obligation to carry liability insurance on the independently owned franchise units that produce the gross sales of the franchised system since this is the obligation and responsibility of the franchisees under the franchise agreement. As long as the franchisors operational manuals is followed by the franchisees, the franchisors are generally always protected from any liability for any incident that occurs on the property of the franchisee. Franchisors can sel l franchises without making any representations. Operational considerations Franchisees are said to have a greater incentive than direct employees to operate their businesses because they have a direct stake in the start up of the branded business and the tangible assets that wear the brand name. The need of franchisors to closely scrutinize the day to day operations of franchisees is greatly decreased. Franchisors can increase their profits on the gross sales of the franchisees and avoid the operational expenses for the physical units that wear their brand names. Franchisors can decrease their risk and therefore increase their profits as their franchisees bear the expense of operating the units and the expense of being employers. For franchisees: Employment Opening a franchise is a way of personal business. Quick start As practiced in retailing, franchising offers franchisees the advantage of starting up a new business faster based on a proven trademark and formula of doing business, as opposed to having to build a new business and brand from scratch. A well run franchise would offer from site selection to lease negotiation, training and ongoing support and statutory requirements and troubleshooting. Training Franchisors usually offer franchisees significant training, which is not available for free to individuals starting their own business. Although training is not always free for franchisees, it is sometimes supported through the traditional franchise fee that the franchisor collects and tailored to the business that is being started. When training fees and travel expenses, etc.. are required beyond the initial franchise fee, these fees are deductible as part of the startup expenses of the business. FACTS TO OBJECT DISADVANTAGES For franchisors: Limited pool of viable franchisees In any city, there may be only a limited pool of prospects who have both the desire to purchase and start up a franchised business, as compared to the pool of individuals who can be hired and trained to competently manage directly-owned businesses, as paid employees. However, in periods of recession where traditional good jobs are in short supply, this disadvantage disappears because those who cant find good jobs are willing to invest money in a franchise as a means of self-employment. Control Successful franchising necessitates a much more careful vetting process when evaluating the limited number of potential franchisees than would be required in the hiring of direct employees who may have experience in the concept sector. An incompetent manager of a directly-owned outlet can easily be replaced, while, regardless of the local laws and agreements in place, removing an incompetent franchisee who owns the tangible assets of the business is much more difficult. For franchisees: No guarantee There is no guarantee of financial success for the franchisee made by the franchisor in the written disclosure circular and the actual franchise agreement. While the estimated startup costs of the franchise are an implied earnings claim some franchised outlets do fail. Unfortunately, the unit financial performance statistics are not required to be disclosed to new buyers of franchises and this omission makes it impossible for new buyers of franchises to assess the odds of success and failure of their investment in the franchise in terms of profitability and failure as experienced on a unit basis of the franchise system. Control For franchisees, the disadvantage of franchising is a loss of control. While they gain the use of a system, assistance, training, marketing, the franchisee is required to follow the system and get approval for changes from the franchisor. For these reasons, franchisees and entrepreneurs are very different. A franchisee is merely a temporary business investment where he may be one of several investors during the lifetime of the franchise. In other words, he is renting the opportunity, not buying a business for the purpose of true ownership. Additionally, A franchise purchase consists of both intrinsic value and time value. A franchise is a wasting asset due to the finite term: the franchisor is only obliged to renew the franchise if it chooses to contract for that obligation. Price Starting a franchise business carries expenses. In choosing to adopt the standards set by the franchisor, the franchisee often has no further choice as to signage, uniforms etc. The franchisee may not be allowed to source less expensive alternatives. Added to that is the franchise fee and ongoing royalties and advertising contributions. The contract may also bind the franchisee to such alterations as demanded by the franchisor from time to time. Conflicts The franchisor/franchisee relationship can easily cause conflict if either side is acting in bad faith. An incompetent franchisor can damage its franchisees by failing to promote the brand properly or by squeezing them too aggressively for profits. Franchise agreements is unilateral contracts wherein the contract terms generally are advantageous to the franchisor when there is conflict in the relationship. Summary: Yes, franchising is the best business plan. Why? Franchising your business can be a very successful way of expanding. Some of todays largest businesses have used franchising to finance and accelerate their growth into world brands McDonalds, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Pizza Hut, Burger King, Body Glove and the Body Shop. However, franchising must be planned step by step: It must be pilot tested with company owned and operated outlets. Business must be successful, distinctive replicable. Take proper professional advice Solicitor, Banker, Accountant and possibly Franchise Consultant. Take time to write an operations manual. Choose franchisees very carefully and wisely. Avoid overselling and forecasts. Focus on franchisee satisfaction and profitability. Have first class training. Maintain good ongoing relationships. Keep developing the Franchises status and maintain standards. Ensure marketing, advertising and PR are first class. In commercial practice there are some elements which considers fundamental in full business format franchising. These are: The provision to the franchisee by the franchisor of initial training in the operations of the franchised business this is perhaps stating the obvious for the franchisee would not be able to carry on the franchised business without such training. The fact that a franchisee will own their business; the franchisee is the owner of the business although they are obliged to run it in accordance with the franchisors system and under the umbrella of the franchisors name. The franchisee will have to make a capital investment in their business. This is very important. The franchisee must have their own resources at risk. The investment they make must be sufficiently significant in relation to the franchisees total resources for the person to be worried that they might lose it. Conversely they will find motivation in their ability to increase the value of their investment in addition to producing a profit annually. A well-motivated franchisee with their own resources at stake will invariably conduct the business far better than any manager would, to the mutual advantage of themselves and the franchisor. The advantages of franchising for a franchisor may be summarised as: The growth of the network is achieved using the financial and manpower resources of the franchisee; The franchisor is not concerned with the day to day operation of each outlet; The franchisors organization is compact and can earn profits without involvement of high capital risk; The network has an ability to grow rapidly; The franchisor has less staff and its problems; The management of each outlet is the owner who will tend to be well motivated to be successful; It provides wider outlets for products and services; It enables the franchisor to service national customers using their network of outlets. Franchising is an exciting marketing method; when it is properly structured and well run it provides benefits and satisfaction for both parties. It is not an easy route to riches for franchisor or franchisee nor is it a panacea for the ills of a sick business. The establishment of a franchise has to be under-take with skill, patience and capital. The time scale for establishing a franchise system and preparing it for marketing can be as long as two years and it can take another three to six years before the franchisor begins to see net profits and cash flow. The capital requirements of the franchisor have to reflect these time spans. For an example of Franchise Opportunity: RIDPEST is a key player in the pest control industry in Malaysia and the first of its kind to embark on the franchise route. The driving force behind the growth and recognition of the RIDPEST brand is a strong set of corporate values that translates into continued growth for the future. Franchising is undoubtedly one of the fastest-growing sectors of the Malaysian economy. Smart new business owners prefer a franchise, because it helps lower the risks of starting out, and offers savings on things like marketing and purchasing product. Over the years RIDPEST had developed and refined its system to the point where we believe it gives its franchisees the very best chance to build a successful business. CONCLUSION: A proper business plan ensure the long run and success of a business whereas a business which lacks of proper plans and motivation cannot survive in the market and the tough competition the business world have to offer. There are many ways a business plan is introduce and implemented in a trade. However, to have a proper business plan it is necessary that the business plan is on proper format and is not made casually or hastil. ATTACHMENTS: Application forms Franchise loan List of franchisor Panel franchisor Perbadanan Nasional Berhad (PNS) application checklist Sample franchisor letter Graph or chart References of sources References of sources: The franchisors Manual Martin Mendelsohn Masters of Franchising Mark Henricks www.myfranchise.com.my Business For Sale Magazine www.mfa.gov.my Obesity: Causes, Effects and Treatments Obesity: Causes, Effects and Treatments Samantha Sensing Abstract Looking at the scope of obesity it is complex and often left with quick judgment. The purpose of this discussion is to look at the qualifications of obesity to be a listed as a disease; the impact of the disease (such as cost, statistics, etc.), the behavioral-cognitive aspect, and resolution to the disease. Findings were from journals or the Center for Disease Control. Prior to the research I viewed obesity as a voluntary disease that could be fixed with getting off the couch. During the research of many web-based articles, journals, videos, and statistics I am now on the other side of the fence. Those individuals with obesity are in this situation for a variety of reasons. It would be of more help to support them and raise awareness of the disease and how it is affected behaviorally, environmentally, and from a change in corporate standards. Introduction A growing epidemic in America and Western civilization is one that is self-inflected. Obesity is defined as having a BMI of 29.5 or higher. Based on your height and weight a BMI is often used to determine a person’s level of physical health. There has been a growing trend of those considered overweight (BMI 24.5-28.5) or obese in the United States. More recently there have been heavy debates over the classification of obesity being considered a disease. Disease can be defined as an illness that affects a person, animal, or plant: condition that prevents the body or mind from working (Webster). A research study as listed by the CDC states that as â€Å"weight increases to levels of overweight or obesity the risks of the following also increase: Coronary Heart Disease, Type 2 Diabetes, Cancer, Hypertension, Dyslipidemia, stroke, live and gallbladder disease, sleep apnea, and respiratory problems, osteoarthritis, and gynecological problems.† As we increase in weight we ten d to develop serious health problems. And by referring to the definition of disease we can see that disease can occur or correlate with obesity. Definition of Disease What exactly does the word disease mean? We hear the word frequently. And think in concrete terms of disease as a terrible shortcoming that grapples at the lives of so many undeserving or seemingly healthy individuals. Most people don’t look at a person with a disease in disgust. Or in angst, or shame them. Disease is defined by the Miriam-Webster dictionary as, â€Å"an illness that affects a person, animal, or plant: a condition that prevents the body or mind from working normally†. So by definition we can consider the controversial classification of obesity as a disease. The controversy surrounding classifying obesity as a disease rests on the thought that those who are obese can help themselves. Those obese individuals inflicted this upon themselves and so therefore the term disease doesn’t apply. However, comparing the term disease and looking at the qualifications of having a disease, obesity does apply. By having obesity you become at risk for a variety of other diseases or overall health problems. Pathological Impact Obesity rates among American’s and the western world have been rising with exponential growth. In the United States about one-third of U.S. adults (35.7%) are obese and about 12.5 million of children and adolescents are considered obese (CDC). There are many factors in these numbers. Some variables are but not limited to socio-economic status, racial differences, job or career, level of education, and location. Those with a low socio-economic status appear to have greater obesity rates. This is impacted by the affordability of fast-food that offers a meal for a couple of dollars. In comparison a healthy, more nutritious meal could cost an additional $5.00. Obesity related diseases can cause heart disease, stroke, type II diabetes, high blood pressure, etc. (CDC). Aging also impacts higher rates of obesity due to the hormonal and biological changes that take place over time. Mortality rates also seem to be higher for those who are obese and have obesity related diseases. Disabling Obesity An on-going debate in obesity is can these individuals be considered handicapped, and what does it mean to be handicapped. In a study, 2008 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, obesity rates are 58% higher for than adults without disability. And obesity rates for children with disabilities are 38% higher than for children without disabilities. Annual health care costs of obesity that are related to disability are estimated at approximately $44 billion (CDC). By these numbers it is noticeable that there is a correlation between disability and obesity. The term disability can be described as, a physical or mental condition that limits a persons movements, senses, or activities (Merriam-Webster). By definition obese individuals would or could be considered disabled by their own inflictions. However, not all are eligible for the right to receive Social-Security Disability. Those with a BMI over 40 are considered morbidly obese. This category of people tends to have the biggest imp act on their organs and organ systems. Moreover, there seems to be more that meets the eye with obesity trends. While in most cases it is self-inflicted there are a number of people that have a genetic predisposition or thyroid problems. Or they are on medications for another disorder that impacted their weight gain. In the famous case of Cook v. Rhode Island, the courts ruled in favor of a 300lb female, Bonnie Cook, who took to the courts to protect her against discrimination of not being hired due to being obese. The court initially ruled in favor of her potential employer but the jury sided with Cook. So the state took the case to appeals court where they lost their battle protecting the possibility of discriminating against obese applicants. The court stated, â€Å"†¦ voluntariness is not a criterion for determining whether a person is disabled or perceived to be disabled.† (Cordes1994). New ground was broken by the proclamation of disability and obesity being joined together and protected together. The statements went further, â€Å"Voluntariness only comes into play if the condition can be easily controlled by the person†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Cordes 1994). The impact of disease obesity can cause is not a light subject or to be sought as laziness through and through. There is good reas on for obese individuals to be given protection. Responsibility of Employers Another large debate in the issues and impacts of obesity is the responsibility of employer’s. Especially for those whose obesity comes from a sedentary lifestyle. Or perhaps need the preventative measures of keeping obesity at bay. A hot topic on the rise is whether or not employers should be mandated to give employees a work-out period in their schedule. The employers could offer employee’s incentives for utilizing resources (a company gym, discounted memberships, and dietician, walking a company track) and by using the resources keep costs low. Though initially it could be costly to take on the responsibility to offer extra incentives to employee’s it could offer long term potential savings. (Villareal, Apovian, Kushner, and Klein 2005) Those whose companies offer various programs and actively engage in them express more happiness, productivity, a greater quality of life, and overall better health. Better health allows for employee’s to serve their empl oyers better. They use less sick pay, keep insurance premiums low, and are more likely to be in tune with their daily job. So while the initial cost may be high, the long term financial gain of a happy, healthy, productive team is hard not to invest in! Responsibility of Citizens Those who are overweight and obese not only impact themselves but they also impact their peers and fellow citizens. The responsibility of American’s to help those who are suffering from obesity is absent. This is understandable, considering we are not responsible for the actions of others. However, change arrives when other’s no longer stand idly by watching suffering. Those who suffer from addictions or psychiatric abnormalities experience greater success in getting back on track when they have a support group. The more awareness that is raised on the disease of obesity the better society can understand it. Understanding can be in noting that obese individuals are not just self-indulgent lazy people. Most experience other health problems. For some this may include a behavioral or cognitive issue that led them to the weight gain. Or the obesity can be from side effects of medication. (Latzer, Y., Stein, D. 2013) The better we educate ourselves and others on the obesity epidemic the faster we can assist them to a healthier lifestyle. Cost of Obesity The less healthy American’s are, we all pay the price. According to a study in 2008 the annual medical cost of obesity was $147 billion dollars (CDC). This amount spent on health care costs of a disease is breath-taking. And this is just in health care costs. The $147 billion spent annually related to medical costs of obesity does not include time spent out of work, time spent going to the appointments, the extra costs to the families affected by obesity, or worse it doesn’t include the mental cost. Adolescents who are obese experience a greater amount of psychological and social problems. Often (obesity) is linked to the numerous absences from school and is thought to be one of the main reasons for poor performance (Latzer, Y., Stein, D. (2013)). It is also reported that lower IQ scores from children translate into obesity in adulthood (Latzer, Y., Stein, D. (2013)). The data proves that the cost of obesity is not merely short-term. But the disease continues to impac t those afflicted during obesity and post obesity. Behavioral-Cognitive Aspect The reasons for procuring obesity or an unhealthy lifestyle is often looked at through the behavioral-cognitive perspectives. Behaviorists feel that the bad habits of obese individuals can be unlearned with the right treatment. On the basis that (increased engagement in sedentary activities and overeating) are learned (A.Tamlyn Shields 2009). Moreover they intend for alternate behaviors and encourage a healthier lifestyle (A.Tamlyn Shields 2009). Increasingly, adults and children are more tuned into technology and less in tuned with the outside world. The undying interest in technology leads to a more sedentary lifestyle coupled with high caloric foods. Where individuals should compensate for their inactivity by decreasing their caloric intake, quite the opposite seems to occur. Fattier foods that can be purchased on the go or take little effort to make are easier to consume. In addition to the fact that these foods are overloaded with sugar that act on our brains like a drug. Sugary foods activate the reward system in our brain allowing for a small flood of dopamine to be released. This in turn excites our body and we are left wanting more of the euphoria these foods bring (N.Volkow R.Wise, 2005). Resolving the Problem Trying to undo what has been done to so many American’s by the way of obesity is not an easy task. It at least will require self-determination. While determination of those afflicted may sound easy, it certainly is not. Some ways we can assist are through offering consistent support and intervention for them to seek a combination of behavioral, medical, and physical assistance. With the three, obesity can be reduced by pinpointing the origin of weight gain (medication, health problems, depression, anxiety, and addiction). In addition to mediating with a behaviorist, and ending by increasing physical activity. However, it would be of great assistance to hold businesses more accountable for what they put in the foods they produce. To offer consumers a better, wholesome product would increase profits and company morale. For example the average soda contains about ten of sugar. The American Heart Association states that men should allow up to nine teaspoons of sugar and woman shou ld allow for six teaspoons of sugar a day. Considering the breakfast cereal Honey-Nut Cheerio’s contains about 8.25 teaspoons of sugar before adding the milk. Our daily limit is almost reached before we finish eating breakfast. While sugar is not the only culprit to substantial weight gain it does inspire other health problems. Though it is the consumer’s responsibility to monitor what they put in their own body, it would be of great assistance to hold companies accountable for better products. For many families grabbing a $5.00 hot-n-ready large pizza in less than ten minutes beats spending $20.00 in groceries and forty-five minutes in cooking time. The fast-food industry spent in 2012 $4.6 billion dollars in advertising (Yale News). If companies spent the same amount on promoting healthier options and producing healthier products it would make a large impact on obesity in the U.S. The initial cost may be higher but perhaps we can apply the behavioral perspective and ‘unlearn’ these business practices. Eventually supply and demand would bring the healthier options to a lower cost to produce and consume. While saving many lives and reenergizing American enterprise and American citizens. Conclusion Obesity rates have sky-rocketed in the past twenty years in the United States. Approximately 34.9% of all adults and about 12.5 million children and adolescents are afflicted by obesity (CDC). The prevalence of obesity related disabilities cost the health care system approximately $44 billion dollars annually (CDC). Obesity is defined as having a BMI of 29.5 or higher and is associated with inducing secondary diseases and illnesses that are not always irreversible. The impacts of the disease (or diseases) can afflict suffers with mental illnesses (anxiety, low confidence, depression,) or poorer IQ as children. Combining these together can produce a lower socio-economic status and inspire other problems related to that. Such as housing, careers, quality of life, financial troubles, that is hard to bring oneself out of alone. By offering support or putting together organizations coupled with self-determination we can assist those with obesity. Combined with employer incentives, mediati on, and increased physical activity along with reduction in high caloric foods the rates of obesity and obesity related illnesses could drop. References Center for Disease Control and Prevention. (2014) â€Å"Adult Obesity Facts†. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved from: http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/adult.html Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2012) â€Å"Causes and Consequences. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved from: http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/adult/causes/index.html Center for Disease Control and Prevention. (2014) â€Å"Childhood Obesity Facts†. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved from: http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/childhood.html Center for Disease Control and Prevention. (2014) â€Å"Disability and Obesity†. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved from: http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/disabilityandhealth/obesity.html Cordes, R. (1994, January). Obese gain protection under disabilities law. Trial, 30(1), 85. Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com.stacks.tridenttech.edu/ps/i.do?id=GALE|A14790304v=2.1u=trident_ttcit=rp=AONEsw=wdigest=a511d0c25452f5c5befcf70bb01be8e0asid=e0ef951c3bba192b24df7ad82e0b9d06 Shields, A. T. (2009). Examination of the obesity epidemic from a behavioral perspective. The International Journal of Behavioral Consultation and Therapy, 5(1), 142+. Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com.stacks.tridenttech.edu/ps/i.do?id=GALE|A214102591v=2.1u=trident_ttcit=rp=AONEsw=wdigest=a511d0c25452f5c5befcf70bb01be8e0asid=5afeed98da8853ac80c820c028538061 Orciari, Megan. (2013). Fast food companies still target kids with marketing for unhealthy products. Yale News. Retrieved from: http://news.yale.edu/2013/11/04/fast-food-companies-still-target-kids-marketing-unhealthy-products Latzer, Y., Stein, D. (2013). A review of the psychological and familial perspectives of childhood obesity. Journal of Eating Disorders, 1, 7. Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com.stacks.tridenttech.edu/ps/i.do?id=GALE|A323050895v=2.1u=trident_ttcit=rp=AONEsw=wdigest=a511d0c25452f5c5befcf70bb01be8e0asid=7dbe38997361b44ce7cd1a98ad17bfd1 Villareal, Dennis T, Caroline M Apovian, Robert F Kushner, and Samuel Klein. (2005). Obesity in older adults: technical review and position statement of the American Society for Nutrition and NAASO, The Obesity Society. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 82(5), 923-934. Retrieved from: http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/82/5/923.full Nescafe Brand: An Analysis Nescafe Brand: An Analysis Nestle promise we commit to everyday, everywhere- to enhance lives, throughout life, with good food and beverages. Nestle was founded in 1866 by Henri Nestle and is worlds leading confectionary, nutrition and food company today. This company is based on Vevey, Switzerland and employing around 280000 people in over 150 countries and running 461 factories or operation in 83 countries. The strategy of the Nestle is guided by several fundamental principles: Innovation and renovation are the basis for the growth of the product balancing the geographic activities and product lines Never sacrificed long term potential, for the short term performance Regardless of the geographical barriers, Nestlà ©s priority is to bring the best and most relevant products to people Nescafe UK Nescafe is one of the renowned brands among various brand produced by the Nestle. The rich taste of your favourite coffee is reflected in its rich history. Generally, coffee is a beverage that has some properties which can energize and revitalized the consumers. In the UK, Nescafà © is targeting basically young adult customers range between 20-35, middle and high class people and also the professional or working executive (who are working very hard). In present context, the biggest challenge for every company is to recover and to survive in the recession, and, Nescafà © is not apart from the current situation. Even though it is still in the profit, companies profit is getting lower due to downfall on the sales the volume of goods sold rose 2.8% in 2008, but down from 4.4% in 2007. Figure 1: Sales trend of Nescafà © The bar chart above shows the continued growth of the sales of the Nescafà © till the second half of the year 2008; but, the profit of the company is gradually decreasing as the sales started to fall by the first half of the year 2009. The main reason behind this problem is the macroeconomic factors like the global recession thats leads to the increase in the inflation rate in UK by 3%-5% (generally, 2-3% of the inflation is acceptable). However, to revive from the current situation, Nescafe has applied various innovative and renovate ideas. Nescafà © even have various brand within the coffee, for example Nescafà © gold, premium, decaff etc. targeting the various range of the customer according to the taste and the preferences. Besides coffee, the company has launched other product such as coffee maker machine, and also following sustainability strategy, refill pack, etc. under Nescafe plan for profit maximization. It is also merging with various other companies like burger king or other businesses using their Nescafe Milano Plan. Following these alternative, Nescafà © is expecting to increase its sales in the second half of the year 2011 by reducing the cost of production, improving the market and price strategy to capture the target markets. A. Alternative Scenarios with regards to the cost of production: The company is having down fall in the sales as the variable cost associated with the cost of production increases due to economic factors like increase in labour cost, raw material, energy bills, cost of packaging, transportation and various other factors. The following table shows the variable cost, represents the minimum cost required to produce 3000 quantity of Nescafà © for the first half of the 2011, which is in increasing order as the quantity produced increases. Material for Production Cost associated 000 Total Cost Variable cost: Raw material (coffee, glass jar, packing paper) Transportation Part time worker Energy Marketing 300 100 50 175 125 750 Fixed Cost Plant and Machinery Building and Renting Full time worker Others 200 100 150 50 500 Total 1250 Figure 2: variable cost associated with production for the 1st half of 2011 Figure 3: Various cost and output (000) As the quantity produced by the Nescafe increases, the cost associated with the variable cost increases, however, the fixed cost remaining the same, results in the reduction of the revenue so it has to either increase the price of the product which leads to decrease in the demand, due to high inflation, the customers has less purchasing power (even though the income has increases, the proportion of the increase in income and inflation is equal) or Nescafe should try to reduce the variable cost associated with the production. Figure 4: Trend of total fixed cost and total variable cost The main challenge of the Nescafà © is to sustain in the competitive market and redeem the profit. The Nescafe plans are followed in order to reduce the variable cost within the micro level: Transportation cost: The global initiatives plan which support the commitment of the Nestle responsible farming, production and consumption. Under this commitment, responsible production is the most foremost steps related to sustainability with environment by producing the refill pack for the various coffee including 150g Nescafà © gold blend and decaff and original which also lures to the reduction in road journey and transportation cost by 50% for the same amount of coffee as one can fit twice refill pack in one pallet. Energy Consumption: Another alternative is to reduce the consumption of the energy using energy saving measure. In this method use the coffee ground as a fuel which supply 20% of the energy. While other method is the use of new innovative technology new refrigeration plant to reduce and improve the processes. Packaging cost: Nescafe is cutting cost of the production by reducing the weight of the glass jar used for the coffee. The approach is use of refill pack made of paper which is cheaper than the glass jar. Thus, by following the above approach the new variable cost associated with the production for the second half of 2011 is shown below: Variable cost Cost Raw material Transportation Energy Part time worker Marketing 241 50 140 50 125 Total 606 Figure 5: New variable cost Figure 6: New cost and output (000) Figure 7: Revised trend of fixed cost and variable cost for 2nd half As comparing the two charts, we can conclude that the Nescafà © is able to reduce the variable cost by applying the various alternatives. At the same level of output e.g. 3000, the variable cost was 750,000 before (fig 4) whereas reduced to 606000 for the second half of the 2011 (fig7). The other various alternatives available for the Nescafe, in macroeconomic concept, can be as follows in terms of: Recession, shift to a plant to the emerging country or the country with the minimal effect of recession such as china or India i.e. slowdown-hit. The company can shift the plant to these country as raw material i.e. coffee can be produced here as well. Employment, in India, the unemployment rates are higher, whereas, china is providing the cheap labour to attract the new investors so the company can really be benefited from the low labour cost.. Political stability: Both of these countries are politically stable. Nescafe cant shift plant to the insecure country as there will always risk of the close down due to civil wars. B. Elasticity of a Nescafe Price Elasticity of supply (PES): is calculated as: PES: % change in quantity supplied % change in price According to table below, the supply elasticity of Nescafà © is less than one which imply that the supply is not responsive towards the price change so its supply inelastic. The change in the quantity demanded is 0.5%, less than the change in price, 0.9%. The Nescafe cannot have extra supplies of the raw material i.e. coffee due to limited suppliers and also depend on the climatic condition, the decision made before about the plantation of coffee that affects the production yield. As the coffee is main ingredient, it cannot switch to other raw material and in other hand; it cannot hold the product for a really long time as product is a consumable and not a lifelong. It can still produce more goods for the same quantity with same cost of production but will be less than as of the supply elastic due to some constraints. Fig 8: Price elasticity of supply Income elasticity of Demand (IED): is calculated as: IED= % change in Quantity demanded % change in Income As per the following table, the income elasticity is between 0 and one which shows that Nescafà © is the normal good and less income inelastic. As the income of the consumer increases, other things remaining constant, the demand of the Nescafà © increases. For instance, the income elasticity of Nescafe is 0.1 as income rises to 10500 from 10000, which implies demand is not very sensitive towards changes in incomes which is the nature of the normal goods. Figure 9: income elasticity Cross elasticity of demand (CED): represent the responsiveness of the demand of the Nescafà © to the change in the price of either complimentary goods e.g. sugar or substitute product e.g. Kenco and calculated as: CED= %change in demand for Nescafà © %change in price of Kenco When the price of the sugar increases, demand of the Nescafà © decreases and vice versa and cross elasticity of demand will be negative, whereas, if the price of the substitute product decreases, the demand for the Nescafà © will increases, and vice-versa, and is positive as shown in table below. Figure 10: cross price elasticity C. Market structure and Strategies: Nescafe shares the attributes of the perfect market structure as it is inelastic to the supply and income of customers with horizontal integration product. The assumptions are: Existence of many firms e.g. Nescafà ©, Kenco, bru, percol, carte noire, super market brand, etc. perfect knowledge about the market and target customers homogenous product but customers distinguish the product with brand name and taste preferences Free entry and exit Nescafà ©s strategy based on the think globally, act locally. According to Keegan and Green Nescafe coffee is marketed as a global brand even though advertisement message and product formulation vary to suit cultural difference. Considering the rival company, Kenco is biggest competitor of the Nescafà ©. The strategy of the Kenco is to produce sustainability product and refill pack instead of coffee jar. Nowadays, customers are more concern about the ethical business and the environment friendly product, so to maintain the current market shares; it has to follow the concept of refill pack and the environment sustainability. Besides these, following are the possible alternatives: Introduced the new product lines and product differentiation. Recently, Nescafe has launched 3 in 1 pack which can be followed with 2 in 1 product. Fair Trade Nescafe can vertically merge with the different company offering different but co-related product. For example, Nescafà © has merged with Burger king, a food chain company that offer Nescafà © coffee to its customers with its food. The other strategy, Nescafe can merge with supermarkets and offer free samples to the customer as a complimentary product and with other businesses using its Nescafe Milano Professionals plan. Provide the customers a taste of coffee at a busy street as a reminder strategy and distribute the free samples. On the other hand, Nescafà © should enhance the vending machine network and should set up in train station, airport and on busy places. Advertisement includes sales promotion, publicity which attracts different target customers. The different advertising is strategies applied according to customers and countries values and beliefs but with same logo and red mug cups. Research and development Enter into emerging market D. Market Segment and price strategy: Nescafe is the UKs prominent coffee brand followed by the other various substitute products like Kenco, percol, super market brand etc. Now, the main customers of coffee are university student, working people or professional but should also try to attract should target people of above the age of the 35 and teenagers to maintain its market share. Figure 11:  ©Ã‚  1995: the new internationalist The possible pricing strategies for the Nescafe are: Competitors and market oriented price: Nescafe should be able to maintain or reduce the price according to the market or competitors. If its price is higher than the competitors, it will affect the demand and profit as well so it should be competitive price. Promotional allowances like offering during the occasions like buy one get one free offers in the super market, offer Nescafà © red mug with 400g of pack, discounts on second purchase. Quality assurance with reasonable price E. Development of Global and Local Market: Nescafà © objectives should be entering in new emerging market as the demand will be high in such country which results in the growth of business. So, the main idea is to expand the business not only locally but globally as well and be the first one to reach new market. Nescafe can take advantage of its product differentiation and brand name, so it can be the leading coffee in few years as availability only of few local competitors. Nescafe is opening its new plant in U.K creating new jobs. While in other hands, Nescafe is opening plant in countries like china, India and Vietnam to strengthen its global plan as these countries have potential to produce raw material, coffee and the really cheap labour cost which results in the low cost of production and high revenue. The taxation rate and government policies should be considered before entering new market, even though china is closed economy, China is flexible towards the taxation policy for the new investors and reduced the tax to 15% for the first three year. However, in context of India, government policies are quite flexible towards the foreign investors. Vietnam is emerging country, its open toward the investors. F. Scenario of Currency Market: During first half of the year 2011, due to soaring in the Swiss franc and down fall in the American dollar, the Nescafes sales pushed first half sales down, As the Nescafe is Swiss company, final transaction is converted to Swiss franc. Even though the U.K has strongest value in the market, the cost associated with the production is also high. Nescafe has to spend more money for the same amount of raw material and operation plant in Britain and relatively less in in India, china or Vietnam. According to exchange rate 1.497 Swiss franc = 1 British pound whereas 1 Swiss franc =58.3121 Indian rupee. So it will cheaper to operate the business in the country with less inflation, where the consumption power will be higher. Thus, Nescafà © should produce the product at the country with low currency value and import it to other countries and the exchange rate difference will raise the profit of the company, Thus shift of the company to India, China or Vietnam will be beneficial for the company.