Favorite place

Favorite place BY hi1193 New Jersey is one of fifty states in The United States. It is on the northeastern coast bordering the Atlantic Ocean, New York, Pennsylvania and Delaware. It is one of the smallest states in the country, but is ranked number one in highest population density. I was born there and lived there my whole life, but it wasn't until I relocated that I realized the true beauty of the state. New Jersey (N. J. ) has all the different seasons; spring, summer, autumn, and winter. It has all of the characteristics that come with the seasons.If you have ever eard anything about New Jersey, you have probably heard about our humid summers and freezing winters. In the summer, the humidity rises so high that you can almost cut through the air like you would a steak. In the winter, the temperature gets so cold, Just being outside for five minutes makes you feel like you are in the beginning stages of hypothermia. The summer is my favorite time of year because you get to go to t he many beaches in the Jersey shore, located on the coastal southern part of the state. The beaches are beautiful, but the water is muddy and lack, almost like what sewer water looks like.My mother loves the spring season because it is when she gets to start on her garden and yard work for the year. She starts planting all of our favorite vegetables and flowers. The state is known as â€Å"The Garden State† for a reason; for it holds some of the most beautiful plant life and gardens you could have ever imagined seeing. Many foreigners complain about the smell of New Jersey on the turnpike in the summer because we get the draft of the garbage being disposed of in New York City, and that smell, mixed with our thick umidity is not a pretty picture.I must admit, to us natives, it is what reminds us that we are home. New Jersey is home to a few of historys most prestigious places, like Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty, which we share with New York. One of my favorite places to spend free time is Liberty State Park, which is a beautiful park in the heart of Jersey City, a northern city that borders New York City. Liberty State Park borders the Hudson River and looking out across it at night you can see the factory smoke-filled ky, but in the daytime you can see the beautiful, sea green, Statue of Liberty.Depending on what time of day you visit the park, you can see the workers cleaning off the erosion on her. New Jersey is also home to Seton and Rutgers University- two of the finest in the country. The State of New Jersey is a melting pot. It is filled with as many races and religions as you can imagine. It is 79% white, 15% black, and 6% other. 37% of New Jerseys population is of Catholic religion, the rest are non-denominational. Now that I ave left the â€Å"melting pot†, I have realized a few things.One of the things I have realized is that having grown up there; I personally feel that I am a more open- minded individual due to the fact that I was raised around so many different people and cultures. When I was fifteen years old, I taught myself fluent Spanish, Just by being around a predominantly Hispanic population. I teel as it people trom other states, such as Arizona, have almost lost out on being able to have the opportunity to be around many different cultures and types of people.One of the most fascinating things that I have observed about New Jersey is its means of transportation. The main source is your personal automobile, but public transportation doesn't fall too far behind. I love getting on the train and going anywhere. I love to look out the window and see the scenery change as we travel further along. It goes from green shrubbery to black and white cities to the brightest of lights and blackest of night once you enter Manhattan. The train runs very fast, but I always feel like it is not getting to my destination fast enough.Although New Jersey doesn't have many breath taking places to visit, like a lot o f other states, it is still home to me and I love it. It was my home for my whole life up until six months ago when I moved to Arizona, and I will forever be grateful for that and cherish and all that New Jersey has to offer. It is a beautiful state with a wonderful variety of people and will continue to be for years to come. It is the state that made me who I am and I feel very proud for that. You know what they always say about people from New Jersey; â€Å"theyre a different breed†. Favorite place Favorite place BY hi1193 New Jersey is one of fifty states in The United States. It is on the northeastern coast bordering the Atlantic Ocean, New York, Pennsylvania and Delaware. It is one of the smallest states in the country, but is ranked number one in highest population density. I was born there and lived there my whole life, but it wasn't until I relocated that I realized the true beauty of the state. New Jersey (N. J. ) has all the different seasons; spring, summer, autumn, and winter. It has all of the characteristics that come with the seasons.If you have ever eard anything about New Jersey, you have probably heard about our humid summers and freezing winters. In the summer, the humidity rises so high that you can almost cut through the air like you would a steak. In the winter, the temperature gets so cold, Just being outside for five minutes makes you feel like you are in the beginning stages of hypothermia. The summer is my favorite time of year because you get to go to t he many beaches in the Jersey shore, located on the coastal southern part of the state. The beaches are beautiful, but the water is muddy and lack, almost like what sewer water looks like.My mother loves the spring season because it is when she gets to start on her garden and yard work for the year. She starts planting all of our favorite vegetables and flowers. The state is known as â€Å"The Garden State† for a reason; for it holds some of the most beautiful plant life and gardens you could have ever imagined seeing. Many foreigners complain about the smell of New Jersey on the turnpike in the summer because we get the draft of the garbage being disposed of in New York City, and that smell, mixed with our thick umidity is not a pretty picture.I must admit, to us natives, it is what reminds us that we are home. New Jersey is home to a few of historys most prestigious places, like Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty, which we share with New York. One of my favorite places to spend free time is Liberty State Park, which is a beautiful park in the heart of Jersey City, a northern city that borders New York City. Liberty State Park borders the Hudson River and looking out across it at night you can see the factory smoke-filled ky, but in the daytime you can see the beautiful, sea green, Statue of Liberty.Depending on what time of day you visit the park, you can see the workers cleaning off the erosion on her. New Jersey is also home to Seton and Rutgers University- two of the finest in the country. The State of New Jersey is a melting pot. It is filled with as many races and religions as you can imagine. It is 79% white, 15% black, and 6% other. 37% of New Jerseys population is of Catholic religion, the rest are non-denominational. Now that I ave left the â€Å"melting pot†, I have realized a few things.One of the things I have realized is that having grown up there; I personally feel that I am a more open- minded individual due to the fact that I was raised around so many different people and cultures. When I was fifteen years old, I taught myself fluent Spanish, Just by being around a predominantly Hispanic population. I teel as it people trom other states, such as Arizona, have almost lost out on being able to have the opportunity to be around many different cultures and types of people.One of the most fascinating things that I have observed about New Jersey is its means of transportation. The main source is your personal automobile, but public transportation doesn't fall too far behind. I love getting on the train and going anywhere. I love to look out the window and see the scenery change as we travel further along. It goes from green shrubbery to black and white cities to the brightest of lights and blackest of night once you enter Manhattan. The train runs very fast, but I always feel like it is not getting to my destination fast enough.Although New Jersey doesn't have many breath taking places to visit, like a lot o f other states, it is still home to me and I love it. It was my home for my whole life up until six months ago when I moved to Arizona, and I will forever be grateful for that and cherish and all that New Jersey has to offer. It is a beautiful state with a wonderful variety of people and will continue to be for years to come. It is the state that made me who I am and I feel very proud for that. You know what they always say about people from New Jersey; â€Å"theyre a different breed†.

Why Can’t Kmart Be Successful While Target and Walmart Thrive?

What drives some companies to succeed while others languish? Successful companies develop a system of a few truly unique capabilities that help them create differentiated value for their chosen customers. Retailers provide many case studies in capabilities-driven success, one of the most compelling of which is the big discounter triad of Walmart, Target and Kmart. And in this fourth-quarter retail season, we thought it would be helpful to take a closer look at what really distinguishes these competitors because they provide valuable insight into the key components of a winning corporate strategy. We believe that all successful companies — Walmart and Target included — know precisely how they provide value for customers. They make a deliberate choice about their â€Å"way to play† in the market, guided primarily by what those companies do uniquely well: their distinctive capabilities. We define capabilities not as â€Å"people capabilities,† but as the interconnected people, knowledge, systems, tools and processes that create differentiated value. They then select a set of products and services that best leverage those unique capabilities and optimally suit their chosen way to play. Most important, they avoid markets, products or services that require new or disparate capabilities, and thus threaten the company's focus. Focus for us, therefore, is not about picking just one market, but rather about choosing one coherent way of competing. The true story about Walmart's and Target's success is that they have gone to great lengths to focus internally on building capabilities and product offerings that suit their way to play. Kmart, by contrast, has failed to develop a unique or differentiated way to play, and all that goes with it. Let's take a closer look. Walmart's success doesn't just stem from impressive logistics, aggressive vendor management and its position as a low-cost retailer. What really underlies Walmart's advantage is a coherent and differentiated approach to the market. †¢ Their well-defined way to play focuses on â€Å"always low prices† for a wide range of consumer items, from food to prescriptions to electronics. †¢ They support their low-cost way to play with an integrated system of capabilities, including: real estate acquisition; no frills store design; and superior supply chain management involving among others expert point-of-sale data analytics. Their product and service mix is kept tightly aligned with their way to play and capabilities system: avoiding big-ticket items (e. g. , furniture or large appliances) where it has no cost advantage, or where new service capabilities might be required. And it innovates constantly within its chosen constraints: e. g. , tailoring product assortments to loca l trends. Target caters to a similar â€Å"money-saving† market, but offers a very different value proposition, focuses on different capabilities and has a different product portfolio. Target's way to play emphasizes design-forward apparel and home decor for image-conscious consumers. Everything from store layout to advertising to inventory conveys an eye for style. †¢ Its capabilities system supports this way to play with image advertising, â€Å"mass prestige† sourcing (with the use of private brand and exclusive offerings), pricing, and the management of urban locations. †¢ In product and service mix, Target is similar to Walmart in many ways, but Target satisfies the needs of its younger, image-conscious shoppers by stocking more furniture, clothing and exclusive designer merchandise than Walmart. Kmart, the least successful of the group, is struggling to define its way to play, describing itself as a â€Å"mass merchandising company that offers customers quality products through a portfolio of exclusive brands and labels. † Yet, that definition could describe just about any retailer. As a Walmart customer, you know you'll save money and still feel welcome. At Target, you know you'll get fashionable products at prices that feel reasonable. What, then, is Kmart's niche? Walk through a Kmart store and you'll discover designers like Jaclyn Smith in the low-budget ambience of a warehouse. They carry Kenmore appliances, which may require high-touch sales assistance that many Sears customers expect and many Kmart stores lack. In short, Kmart has not established an identifiable way to play that reflects both customers' needs and its own capabilities. Harry Cunningham, the founder of Kmart, allegedly admitted that Sam Walton (the founder of Walmart) â€Å"not only copied our concepts, he strengthened them. † The lack of a clear concept about how to reach the market, in our view, is the single most important factor in explaining why Kmart's fortunes have fallen so far, compared to its two rivals. Without a clear way to play, and capabilities to support it, a company cannot achieve the coherence it needs to truly excel at what it does, and thus outpace competitors. http://blogs. hbr. org/cs/2010/12/why_cant_kmart_be_successful_w. html Kmart (sometimes stylized as K-Mart), is an American chain of discount stores headquartered in the United States. The chain purchased Sears in 2005, forming a new corporation under the name Sears Holdings Corporation. The company was founded in 1962 and is the third largest discount store chain in the world, behind Walmart and Target, with stores in the United States, Puerto Rico, the U. S. Virgin Islands, and Guam (which houses the world's largest Kmart). [2] As of January 29, 2011, Kmart operated a total of 1,307 (6 closing by early 2011) Kmart stores across 49 states, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U. S. Virgin Islands. This store count included 1,278 discount stores, averaging 93,000 sq ft (8,600 m2), and 29 Super Centers, averaging 169,000 sq ft (15,700 m2). [3] Kmart became known for its â€Å"Blue Light Specials. † They occurred at surprise moments when a store worker would light up a mobile police light and offer a discount in a specific department of the store. At the height of Kmart's popularity, the phrase â€Å"attention Kmart shoppers† also entered into the American pop psyche, appearing in films and other media such as Troop Beverly Hills, Six Days Seven Nights, Rain Man, Beetlejuice, and Dawn of the Dead. Kmart's world headquarters was located in Troy, Michigan, but since the purchase of Sears, has been relocated to Hoffman Estates, Illinois. Kmart also exists in Australia and New Zealand (see Kmart Australia), although it now has no relation to the American stores except in name, after U. S. equity in the Australian business was purchased in the late 1970s. https://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Kmart As outlined in â€Å"Private Equity May Be The Only Way To Save Sears,† as restructuring and turnaround advisers and investors, we here at ACM Partners are often asked about the big retail â€Å"stories of the day† (meaning companies on the brink of distress). GAP, Tiffany & Co. and now Sears and Kmart are the most recent â€Å"big cases† we’ve received the majority of inquiries about. Here, then, is our take on what’s in store for Kmart (which hedge fund manager Eddie Lampert officially took control of in 2003, post-bankruptcy): Do we need Kmart anymore? While â€Å"during the early years, Kmart was the fastest-growing of the â€Å"big three† discounters (Kmart, Wal-Mart and Target), easily outpacing their key competition,† Kmart, like its parent-company Sears (which acquired the discount retailer in 2005), has lost significant market share through a ombination of poor market strategy and by being â€Å"squeezed out† by â€Å"sexier† (ie Target) or more affordable (ie Wal-Mart) competitors. In short, â€Å"Kmart is trapped between Wal-Mart and Target, becoming the merchandiser in the middle — and ultimately, the discounter in the muddle. † On the consumer side, it's difficult to say Kmart would be particularly missed – since the retailer provides few unique product or experiential offerings – except in geographic areas particularly dependent on the retailer. On a personal note, while I worked at a Kmart as a teenager, I don't believe I've stepped foot in one in more than decade (nor would have any particular reason to). I do, however, visit Target almost monthly. If yes, can Kmart be turned around? What does the executive team need to do? Here, then, it's a question again of â€Å"Where did Kmart go wrong? † Let's take a look at some core areas in which Kmart could generate a turnaround. Strategy, Strategy, Strategy: Kmart failed to see the writing on the retail wall before initially filing bankruptcy in 2002 (and, some would argue, continues to ignores it). All retailers, even discount ones, must have a coherent pricing-and-product strategy in order to appeal to core consumers. As the brand stands now, Kmart offers very little in terms of â€Å"must-have† items for any particular consumer segment. †¢ Management â€Å"Expansion†: By all accounts, Kmart is an exceptionally insular company, meaning very few outsid ers have been brought in to â€Å"refresh† the store's brand. Consequently, errors in judgment and purchasing have been magnified by continued mismanagement, while fights and fiefdoms have prevented the company from moving forward into the 21st century. Instead of squeezing every last penny from the dying brand, Lampert must insist on reviving both methods and management if Kmart is to reassert its relevance. †¢ Logistics: As a discount player, Kmart has lost nearly every round of the logistics game, from management of its supply-chain to in-store sku measurements. For instance, because Kmart measured potential profitability by gross margin ercentages rather than by sales-per-square, the retailer has and continues to stock higher-margined goods in place of faster-moving products, leading to a decrease in inventory turn-over. Furthermore, inefficient ordering and supply-chain management means everything's cost more and arrives later than at Kmart's competitors. Combine these factors, and you get a dying retailer on the brink of disappearing from the American landscape. Like we outlined in â€Å"Private Equity May Be Only Way To Save Sears,† â€Å"With a market cap of only $3. 5 billion, it wouldn’t be tough to get the financing for a going-private transaction † for Sears Holdings Corporate. In short, the market is not going to allow a $40B+ asset-based retailer simply disappear. Ergo, once again, private equity may end up being the only answer for what ails these dying retailers. Margaret Bogenrief is a partner with ACM Partners , a boutique crisis management and distressed investing firm serving companies and municipalities in financial distress. She can be reached at [email  protected] com.

Advertisement and Vice Product

When is the last time you go to order a burger in fast food shop? And recently have you ever went to a convenient store and purchased a pack of cigarette? Nowadays advertisement of fast food, tobacco and alcohol product are catchy in magazines, newspapers, TV commercials or bus stop stations and it seems these products have become part of our daily lives. Fast food, tobacco and alcohol products are advertised as our â€Å"trusted friends† and fast food, tobacco and alcohol companies are targeting not only adults but also teenagers and children to be their potential customers. What are the possible adverse effects brought by these â€Å"vice† or unhealthy products to us and our young generations? It is a known fact that consuming too much fast food, tobacco and alcohol can link to certain health problems such as obesity, diabetes, coronary heart disease, high blood pressure, strokes, elevated cholesterol intake and related cancers. In fact, it is estimated in 2010 there are 222,520 new cases of lung cancers and the number of deaths from lung cancer is 157,300. Cigarette smoking accounts for at least 30%of cancer death and 87% of lung cancer. Excess consumption of alcohol drinking is the key factor for developing certain cancer and this may increase the risk in having lung cancer. Nevertheless, the issue of consuming too much fast food have drawn the attention of the public too as it contributes the tripled rate of overweight among adolescents and the doubled rate among small children since the 1980s. Despite of such threat to the health of the public by excess consumption of such fast food, tobacco and alcohol products, why is the public still spare their money on purchasing such health-risking product? Rpgger Parloff, â€Å" Is Fast the nest tobacco? For Big Food, the supersizing of America is becoming a big headache, Fortune Magazine, 8/3/2000, page 1 paragraph 1 and 3 ) Perhaps the answer to such question is how much faith we have in these products. It seems we always believe that companies like McDonald, Burger, Heineken or Marlboro are trust-worthy and everything they tell us in their advertisement is true and they claim they are doing their best to serve their customers. But the fact is we are already scammed by these advertisements which are aggressively prompted by companies intentionally abetting us to have confidence in their products. What are the advertisement strategies used by these companies? Fast food companies attract children to purchase fast food by launching advertisement with imaginary characters such as Ronald Donald, including toys in their fast food meal and creating kid clubs or building more playgrounds in their chains. The fast food companies know that children are too young to judge what is right and what is wrong and they are not able to comprehend the purpose of the commercials and believe that everything claimed by the commercials are all true. The Fast food companies are using all their effort to make children develop brand loyalty and recognition to their business so as to encourage children to be their potential customers. Fast food Companies also attract young people to buy fast food by offering soft drinks and snacks in schools or building more chains in school areas in order to encourage students to buys fast food for regular meals. Unfortunately, tobacco and alcohol companies are using even more aggressive strategies to attract future customers. These companies include elements like sexual content to make teenager have ideas that smoking or drinking can make them more mature and there is nothing wrong with enjoying a materialistic life. It is shocking that in most of the tobacco and alcohol commercials there are sexy models in clubs or parties, making exotic posture to make the readers arouse all kinds of fantasy. For example, I remember there is one alcohol advertisement by Bacardi which there is a young woman with underwear in panther’s pattern is striping her clothes off while she is holding a glass of wine. What would young people think about this advertisement? To most of the teenagers there are plenty of things that they are restricted to know about when they are very young. Many young people are very eager or curious to explore new stuff like sex or even smoking and drinking. Tobacco and alcohol companies are now even focusing 18-to-25 year old markets by promoting events at bars and sponsoring rock and blues concerts. Every year alcohol companies spend $5. 7billions on commercials concentrated in sports programs to make their products part of the fun in the matches. Such advertisement strategies by fast food, tobacco and alcohol companies may seem not a big deal to us, however it would be not wise for us to ignore the potential impacts by such products as they are already influencing our life little by little. Too much fast food not only has brought harm to young people’s health but also distorted their universal values by misleading them that everything are granted when their parents promise to buy them fast food after they constantly nag or beg their parents. For cigarette and alcohols, even though these products are for adults only, we should not underestimate the potential harm to teenagers. More and more teenagers may become pro-longed smokers and drinkers and eventually some of them may end up giving up their future by abandoning their study or jobs. In worst case scenario there may result in family dispute and violence. It would be very sad that teenagers choose to have a materialistic life in which he or she immerses themselves in joy-seeking activities like drinking, smoking or even taking drugs only without searching for the real meaning of life. Is there anything we or our government can do to stop fast food, tobacco and alcohol companies from manipulating our lives and protect teenagers from become overweigh victims of obesity or bad habits of smoking and drinking? Our government has the obligation to advocate and carry out certain measures to restrict fast food, tobacco and alcohol companies to promote their unhealthy products to the public. First of all, our government should implement laws that ban direct advertisement of fast food, tobacco and alcohol advertisement to people less than 18 years old through magazine, newspaper, TV programs or commercials and internet. Most children enjoy watching TV everyday and they receive tremendous amount of information from TV channels. Some of these information are educative while some of them are rubbish only. However children are not mature to distinguish what is purpose of such commercials. For example, when children see a commercial promoting McDonald’s burger with Ronald Donald dancing around, he or she may not know that McDonald wants them to ask their parents to pay them 5 dollars for a meal. Instead they may think eating McDonald meal is enjoyable and Ronald Donald is their trusted friend. Indeed big companies don’t really care what kind of consequences will happen on our ulnerable children after they spend so much money on making advertisements and deliver them to the public without taking any responsibility; they only care about how well the advertisements work and promote their products. Hence It is very urgent that our government should advocate and implement certain law to stop such immoral way of advertising by restricting broadcasting of fast food, tobacco and alcohol commercials until it is 10:00 pm when all children are in bed or requiring fast food, tobacco and alcohol companies to make advertisements without mentioning sensitive terms such as â€Å"cigarette†,†beer†,†smoking† or†drinking†. As cigarette and alcohol are proven to be harmful to our health, commercials related to such products should even be banned from magazines or newspaper. If companies violate such laws they have to pay a large amount of fines and people in these companies who are responsible for posing such advertisement may need to go behind bars. However, somebody may argue that such policy is just a seemingly feasible method to stop big companies aggressively advertisement; there are always loop hole for fast food, tobacco and alcohol companies to advertise their products. But does it mean we should not do anything? According to Eric Schlosser’s book â€Å"Fast Food Nation†, â€Å"The academy did not recommend a ban on such advertising because it seemed impractical and would infringe upon advertiser’s freedom of speech. Today the health risks faced by the nation’s children far outweigh the needs of its mass marketers. † Long time ago people didn’t expect much from banning of cigarette advertisement from radio and television, but now everybody knows that smoking is fatal to their health. Hopefully by doing that the fast food companies will consider change their recipe into a healthier one and ultimately help children get rid of their unbalanced eating habits. Eric Schlosser, Fast Food Nation, Harper Perennial, USA, 2005, page 262) Secondly, adding more tax to fast food may be a feasible idea to encourage people to eat less fast food. Also more tax can be added to toys which are included in children meal in fast food shop. Often children are attracted to fast food simply just for the toys but at the end parents are the ones who pay for the meal. If the parents think the fast food is not worthy, they will start buying less fast food. People have the choice to ake decision for themselves and they can judge whether to buy an expensive fast food meal or not when healthy and cheaper food becomes an alternative to them. It would be a wise idea to prohibit fast food companies from offering soft drinks or fried food in schools or opening chains in area where schools are nearby in order help children resist the temptation of tasty burgers and French fries. According to administrators in San Francisco and Seattle, â€Å"it’s our responsibility to make it clear that schools are here to serve children, not commercial interest. And indeed recently, according to a research published in Journal of Law and Economics in November 2008, elimination of tax deductibility of food advertisement cost equals to increas ing the food advertisement cost by 54%. (Science Daily, â€Å"Ban on fast food TV advertisement would reverse childhood obesity trends, study shows, 1/27/11, < http://www. sciencedaily. com/releases/2008/11/081119120149. htm > ) Lastly, our government can consider making it mandatory to require cigarette manufacturer put on warnings on cigarette packing to make sure that all smokers know the consequence of pro-longed smoking to their body. Of course it wouldn’t be effective enough to have words of warning printed on the packing, so in order to make the warning more deterrent, certain kind of photos should be printed on the packing as well. What kind of photos would be suitable? In Hong Kong photos of black lungs or skeleton with a burning cigarette in its mouth are printed on the packing of cigarette to remind smokers that smoking is a self-destructive behavior rather than a relief. According to Lori Ferrsina, advocate for the American Cancer Society of Massachusetts, â€Å"Reducing public smoking is a golden nugget in its impact on youth. You are changing the world you raise kid in, not just telling them it’s bad for them. † We shouldn’t exploit other’s freedom of smoking, but at least we should facilitate an environment in which we can help people stay away from trying their first puff of cigarette. ( Marianne Lavelle, â€Å"An Anti-smoking Ad vs. New Cigarette Marketing Ploy†, page 2, paragraph 10 ) In fact our government can resort to a more simple solution – education, to convince our future generations that taking care of their health is their own business. Education is another effective way to teach our young generations to make choices on what they eat. Education on how to maintain a balanced daily live and conveying the idea of understanding good health and nutrition should be included in lessons in school in order to let students know how much nutrition they can obtain from their daily meal and what would happen if they eat more than they need. Also children should acknowledge that excess smoking or drinking can result in higher risk of having heart diseases or cancers. Perhaps young people are not willing to pay attention to the importance of having balanced diets or staying away from smoking and drinking but at least they should be warned and have a brief idea of what would happen when they are addicted to fast food, cigarette or alcohol too much. It is our responsibility to help children realize they can make a choice on their diet before they are too late to make such choices. However, even our government is willing to do their best to protect us by implementing laws and policies, it is still our own business to take care of our health. What can we do to make sure we and our children can have balanced diets or stay away from bad habits of smoking or drinking? Firstly, it would be a good idea for parents to supervise their children when they are watching TV or browsing the internet. Some parents are not aware of what kind of TV programs or internet website their children are watching. This is definitely not good to children because they need adults to tell them what kind of messages they get from the media Is correct. If parents are willing to spare a little every day to accompany their children to watch TV or browse the internet, they can possibly prevent their children from accepting wrong information from the media by telling them the truth about excess consumption of fast food, cigarette and alcohol. In fact, simply telling children that they are too young to have too much fast food or smoke and drink, without explaining why adults shouldn’t do the same, is not convincing enough to persuade children that having too much fast food or smoking and drinking are unhealthy. So parents need to be role model to their children by having more balanced and health diets like sandwiches or fruits and quitting smoking or drinking. If parents can make lunch box for children to eat in school every day, children can obtain sufficient amount of nutrition and prevent them from being overweighed. To conclude, although it is our own choice to have or not to have fast food, cigarette or alcohol, that doesn’t make a reason for big companies to promote their products aggressively without considering their social responsibility. Now it is not the time to judge who is right or wrong, instead we should figure out what we can do for our future generations. Works Cited: Rpgger Parloff, â€Å" Is Fast the nest tobacco? For Big Food, the supersizing of America is becoming a big headache, Fortune Magazine, 8/3/2000, page 1 paragraph 1 and 3 Eric Schlosser, Fast Food Nation, Harper Perennial, USA, 2005, page 262) Science Daily, â€Å"Ban on fast food TV advertisement would reverse childhood obesity trends, study shows, 1/27/11, < http://www. sciencedaily. com/releases/2008/11/081119120149. htm > Marianne Lavelle, â€Å"An Anti-smoking Ad vs. New Cigarette Marketing Ploy†, page 2, paragraph 10

Societal marketing concept Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Societal marketing concept - Essay Example This might also help in enhancement of the total sale and profitability of the organization in the entire market as compared to others. Hence, it might be depicted from the above mentioned points that customers act as the focal point of any organization operating in any segment. Thus, the motive of achieving organizational goals and profits might be attained mainly through customer satisfaction and loyalty as compared to other aspects. Characteristics of marketing concept According to Kotler & Armstrong (2010) the concept of marketing is changing rapidly in this age of globalization and industrialization. In this age, marketing concept is entirely dependent over customer values and satisfaction that might be witnessed in four different stages such as production concept, product concept, selling concept and societal marketing concept. Production concept According to the strategies of previous era, the demand of the product is entirely dependent over its features and price. This means that, if the underlining features of the product are praiseworthy or satisfactory then it would surely be liked by the customers of varied age groups and income groups. However, in today’s age, the concept of production has entirely changed. Now, the demand of any specific product might be retained in the market only by presenting the desired features within it. So that, the target customers of the product might get satisfied entirely thereby amplifying the efficiency and productivity of the organization to a certain extent (Kotler & Armstrong, 2010). Along with this, good customer service is also another important aspect that might act as a backbone in enhancing the reliability and loyalty of the product among other substitutes. For example: the management of Macdonald’s always tries to present varied types of nutrients such as cheese, chilies, nuts and many others so as to satisfy the changing demands of the customers. As well as the management also desires to presen t warm greetings to its customers so as to retain them for longer period of time. Only then, the popularity and demand of the products and the organization might remain dominant in the market among other and the rate of switch over costs of the customers towards other brands (Burger King) might be reduced significantly in this aggressive market among others. Thus it might be stated that relationship marketing and customer oriented products acts as the prime essence of today’s publicity concept. Product Concept In order to retain sustainability and competitive advantage, most of the organizations in this era desire to present value-added products at a lowest price. This strategy acts as a stimulating factor thereby enhancing the demand of the products of the organization such as HP as compared to others. Along with this, such a competitive strategy might also prove effective in satisfying the demands and needs of the customers thereby amplifying their level of loyalty (Tiddy & Bessant, 2010). Apart from this, the organization of HP also desires to implement the strategy of presenting qualitative products so as to retain its dominance and fame in the segment of electronics among many other existing rivals (Porter, 1986). Selling Concept In this age of stiff economy and tough competition, the insurance organizations such ICICI Prudential, Kotak Mahindra are striving hard to create a strong foothold in this market. However, this might be possible only by enhancing the rate of satisfaction

Research Paper on Jimi Hendrix Term Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Research on Jimi Hendrix - Term Paper Example Discography is about examining the information associated with recording sounds performed by an artist within a specified musical genre. In line with this, Shuker revealed that discography requires the gathering of music information such as the name of the artist(s) involved in the entire music recording process, the time and place where the music recording process took place, the title of the musical piece being performed by the musicians, the exact date when the music was publicly released, and the success rate of the musical piece which can be noted down through the actual sales figures and its actual chart position in the market (Shuker 80). Among the five famous musical recordings of Jimi Hendrix includes: The Cry of Love (1971), the Rainbow Bridge (1971), Crash Landing (1975), Radio One (1988), and Hendrix in the West (1972). Specifically the Cry of Love, the Rainbow Bridge, Crash Landing, and Radio One were studio albums whereas Hendrix in the West was one of the most successful live albums of Hendrix (Gelfand 92 - 101). Back in April 1970, the Cry of Love 31-city tour was launched at LA Forum housing a total of 20,000 audiences (Gelfand 92). Basically, the city tour highlighted the presence of the new Experience line-up together with the Mile’s band and the Buddy Miles Express as part of its opening act (ibid). Right after the city tour, Hendrix intentionally killed himself with drug overdose (Gelfand 100). Half a year after his death, Hendrix’s last 10-song studio album which was entitled â€Å"The Cry of Love† was released in the world market (Faralaco 110). In UK and U.S., this album was released between March 5 and 6 of 1971 which eventually became the top 2 and 3 in England and the U.S. charts respectively (Faralaco 91; Gelfand 101). The Cry of Love was released in LP format. Lasting for 39 weeks, the sales of this album reached gold and platinum award in UK and US respectively (RIAA a). Even though Hendrix died at the age

Laws and Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Laws and Ethics - Essay Example In addition, laws are universal in nature as they are applicable to the whole world with comparable attributes under the same vicinity (Brown, Black & Society of Professional Journalists (U.S.), 2011). Conversely, ethics involves habits or customs that determine how individuals interact with one another. Alternatively, ethics outline what is moral for individuals and society. Law and rule applies to principles in a variety of ways that include service laws, federal guidelines, ecological laws and codes of ethics. Companies and other business oriented institutions workout the right and the wrong ways to act just like people do. For instance, when the law does not specify how a given procedure is performed, managers and plant experts must make informed decisions on achieving the key objectives. Both ethical and unethical measures will have profound impacts to the company as well as to the consumers of the product (Shaw, 2011). Laws justify the appropriate direction of dealing with an occurrence thus satisfying all the parties involved. On the other hand, ethics entails making a legal decision but not necessarily satisfying all the members involved in a dilemma or a confrontational matter. For instance, stakeholders can be harmed by a company’s ethical behavior, but they could also be left without an option to withdraw at a certain period due to binding contract agreements (Merkel, 2007). Moreover, differences between ethics and laws can be exemplified in a warranty. Warranties become a constituent of the business pact with respect to the depiction that any merchandise is intended to perform. However, most products come with limited warranty where the manufacturers can manipulate them to any fashion providing they do not infringe the law. Unfortunately, the law does not guarantee consumer direct claimant of a given product as implied in the warranty. Ethical questions may ascend

Examine the reasons for the success of Microsoft and evaluate the Essay

Examine the reasons for the success of Microsoft and evaluate the impact Microsoft has had on graduate recruitment in the USA - Essay Example Currently, it boasts of a top-tier position among the top companies globally. It comes in third in ranking on the FT Global 500 list. In addition, it rakes in revenue amounting to more than $ 36 billion dollars annually (Stanek, 2006:42). 1. History The Microsoft Corporation is an American business venture dealing in the business of inventing computer software and programs, and in the manufacture of computer-related hardware (Pralahad, 2008:37). Currently, the venture’s shares are on trade at the NASDAQ stock market in New York City, in America. The conglomerate has a global presence, and owns branches and offices in more than seventy nations. Though the main idea behind its start was to produce operating systems to power the Altair 8000 computer system, the business went on to invent significant breakthroughs in the software market. The first evidence of the company’s potential to change the world was its introduction of the MS-DOS in the early 1980s. Soon after, it pr oduced the Windows system in the early 1990s. Through the dominating of the computer market base, and already enjoying a virtual solo monopoly on the global business and home-based personal computer market, it was in an adequate spot to produce software applicatios that would support its systems. The company fully exploited this opportunity, gaining vital ground in the market. This led to the venture releasing the Microsoft Office, which was a huge success at the business sector. In addition, the company also participated in the formulation of MSN, an online-based search engine and news database (Barry, 2011:113). 2. The 1980s The Microsoft Company came into being because of the idea of William Gates in conjunction with Paul Allen. Initially, the venture offered only one product. It employed only three workers, and, in its first year of business, raked in only about $ 25,000 dollars in sales. Gates and his partner had decided to base their company in Alberquque, New Mexico, in order to access the MITS Computer Company easily, which had helped in constructing their Altair microcomputer equipment. Microsoft’s initial product was the Microsoft BASIC, the then programming dialect of the Altair. The Microsoft BASIC was an improvement of BASIC, which was a mainframe computer dialect that the two partners had gotten wind of while in high school in Seattle (Shelly, 2009:97). As time went by, the company made major breakthroughs in the computer field. Not only did the company improve BASIC vastly, but it also modified other present computer languages for their use. In 1977, the company unveiled a modified version of FORTRAN, and quickly followed it with another improved version of COBOL in 1978. By the dawn of 1979, the company had successfully managed to relocate its operations to Washington. At the time, the venture boasted of about $ 3 million dollars in annual income. In addition, it had raised its employee figures to around 30 workers (Todd, 2011:67). The o perating system is a major factor of all computers. In addition to it being the lifeline of the computer, it has also been the major influential factor behind Microsoft’s success. In 1981, the company unveiled the DOS 1.0 operating system for use by the IBM computer. This move proved to be a major landmark in the company’

The effect of music on ones social life Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The effect of music on ones social life - Essay Example The effect of music on one’s social life A study is set on the different types of behaviors that the listener attaches each the genres of music studied. Of importance to look into is the scope with which the genre of music chosen has influence on the behavior change and influence of the listener of the music. There are a considerable number of music genres. Among the several genres are rock, and roll, Hip Hop, soul, and rhythm and blues. Each of the aforementioned genres has different origins. They evoke different and diverse influences on the listener’s behavior. Listeners of every kind of music mentioned attach different levels of enthusiasms towards listening to their genre of preference. In finding out the influence of the genres on their listeners’ behavior, one needs to embark on a study of personality traits of the listener. Every genre would influence every personality trait in a special and unique manner. Of importance in the study is to find out the importance that listeners of music attach to the ge nre of preference in question. Rock and Roll dates its origin to a long time back in history. This notably was in the 1940s and 1950s. The genre found its invention from African Americans. This genre of music most probably roots its foundation from the United States. The genre often attaches its caliber to the elites. It is more popular among the high-class individuals than to the lower class individuals. The elite class tends to listen to the genre more than the other classes of people. Many concerts and entertainment scenes featuring rock and roll music receive a high turnout of the elite class than others classes in lifestyle. The word â€Å"rock† that the founders of this genre used to refer to it was a disguised manner of quoting the word sex. Hip Hop is a major known genre of music among the youth. Its acknowledgement and spread is significant among the black Americans. The genre of music roots from the, black American, people. Its sole purpose was to address the plight of blacks in America. It is associated considerably with the low-income class and the poor. Its origin dates back to the period of history during the 1970s. Many of the artists of Hip Hop are characters who at one moment in time had experiences with the effects of black supremacy. They might as well be descendants of former victims of the historical atrocities the black underwent. Among the several themes, this genre of music that address mistreat experienced by the blacks. The victims underwent the inhumane experiences during the slavery period. This genre of music tends to inform the authorities of the various problems faced by the black Americans. Sharp criticism of betrayal and neglect by the power holders is among the diverse expressions of the message from this genre of music. Soul music dates back to deep early ages in history. This is notably the time between the 1950s and 1960s. The origin of this genre of music is from the U.S. This genre of music explores a more seductiv e way of presentation than rock and roll music. It is common among individuals who feel the touch of romance with the songs. It plays on a cool and sentimental tone. The overriding theme in a remarkable numbers of soul music is romance and feelings of love that the characters attach to each other. The main associates with this genre of music are the elite class. Soul music is mainly played in instances of paying and merrymaking. It helps show romance and togetherness of parties involved.

Renaissance Europe Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Renaissance Europe - Essay Example And can this hypothetical scenario ever be materialized. An etymology for this word say a lot about the possibility of such existence, it was originated by Sir Thomas More (7 February 1478 - 6 July 1535), and used for the first time in his Latin book "Concerning the highest state of the republic and the new island Utopia" published in 1516. Interestingly his conviction in this state could be inferred from the fact that he conjoined two Greek words 'ou' for NOT and 'topos' for PLACE to form a word that literally means "nowhere." Sir Thomas More or Saint Thomas More as he is also refered to was an English lawyer, author, and statesman. He was highly regarded as a humanist scholar, he was bearer of many important public posts including that of Lord Chancellor from 1529 to 1532 in his illustrious career (Roper, 1626). Another cause clbre for which he is remembered is his refusal to accept King Henry VIII as the supreme head of the Church of England. It was his this bold stance that elevated him to the level of great people and his courage and conviction to remain steadfast at the face of adversity earned him the sainthood from the Catholic Church by Pope Pius XI in 1935 about four hundred years after his death. Apart from his principled defiance to the authority he is best known for his most famous and controversial book that was published in 1516 in which he for the first time used the word utopia. In this book he tells of a imaginary character Raphael Hythloday who is a traveler, extensive allegory is used to make the story more powerful and appealing; like the first name is ingeniously used to allude to the archangel Raphael, who is the messenger of truth. And surname in Greek means "dispenser of nonsense". The book is about political set up of fictitious place Utopia, it's a place where there is no concept of private ownership and different faiths are practiced freely and inter faith tolerance is firmly in placed. It is an embodiment of perfect destination where everything is desirable politically, culturally, socially, education wise and economically. With specific consideration to exceptional tolernce to varied forms of opinion and diversity. The purpose of presenting this unique and perfect state was to provide some form of imaginative yard stick at least to measure or correlate the certain dynamics of state affairs that eventually are pivotal for smooth functioning of a state. More very intelligently presented religio-political design of the imaginary state as an epitome of perfection and then compared and contrasted the real life affairs of European states with the ideal standards of utopian state. Thus he was able to devise a mechanism whereby the efficacy and inefficacy of a state could be measured on an arbitrary scale. One very interesting development that was observed from his argument in search of perfect state was that though he had maintained complete religious tolerence for every faith he was also adament in establishing the fact that there was no room for atheism in the utopian society. It was the marriage of convenience since he was catholic in faith and being minority in England needed tolerance of faith but his devout Catholicism did not allow h im have anything to do with godless society. The ostensible reason given by him for this eerie prejudism was because an atheist does not accept any superior power he is

Health drinks Essay Example for Free

Health drinks Essay In India Consumers behavior towards purchase of food drink products like beverage are changing due to economic and personal factors. Once if we compare last five years the prices of beverage products, it could be noted that there is an increase. The major reasons for the increase in the sales of food drinks are due to the increased consumption level among the customers. On an average an individual would consume these products two to three times in a day. Moreover, the prices were also designed in such a manner by the manufacturers making it possible so that every consumer from different segment based on their demographic and geographical patterns could be able to make the purchase. In effect it influences the consumers at large to opt for non-branded and cheap products that are available in the marketplace. This work was undertaken with an object to identify the pattern of purchase by the consumers, factors that dominate and influence the consumers to purchase the products and lastly the impact of demographic factors on the purchase of health food drinks consumption in the study area. The study clearly shows that demographic factors like gender, place of purchase are largely influence the consumers while they purchase beverage products in the shops. Clanging consumerism is the biggest factor that plays a major role as for as consumers purchase behavior is concern. KEYWORDS Health Food and Soft Drinks, Demographic Factors, Purchase, Beverages, Consumer Behaviour, Corporate, Leverage, Consumerism, Consumption. INTRODUCTION Changing consumer behaviour is the biggest challenge for any corporate beverage companies especially for companies like Tata, ITC etc. This is mainly due factors that influence the consumers while purchasing beverage products. For instance, factors such as offers, discount etc. , often increase the purchase. Health food drink products like beverages (hot and cold) are major items that consumer purchase as they consume beverage products not less than two to three times a day. According to the consumers demographic factors like Gender, Age, Educational Status, Marital Status, Occupation, Domicile, and Shopping Destinations often influence consumers while purchasing health food drink products. SCOPE OF THE STUDY The study aims to find the customer preferences towards health food drink products. It has been carried out for period of 2 months focusing all type of consumers. It was restricted to information regarding the demographic profile of the consumers and questions regarding four P’s of marketing tools. OBJECTIVES OF RESEARCH To understand the overall purchase pattern of the beverages by the consumers. To identify the level of influence various factor dominate the consumers. To have an insight about prepurchase behavior of consumers. To understand the impact of demographic factors of consumers upon purchase beverage products. RESEARCH DESIGN A Research design is process of collection and analysis of data in a manner that aims to combine relevance to the research purpose with economic aspect involved in mind. A Research is purely and simply the framework and a plan for the study that guides the collection and analysis of data. It is a blue print followed in completing a study which contains the steps as: Research is an art of scientific investigation. Research is a process of systemic study. Research is a search of knowledge. Research is an area of investigation which includes collection, analysis and interpretation of data. Research has to proceed systematically in the already planned direction with the help of a number of steps in sequence. To make the research systemized the researcher has to adopt certain methods. The method adopted by the researcher for completing the project is called Research Methodology. DATA COLLECTION METHODOLOGY AND Data refers to information or facts. It is not only refers numerical figures but also include descriptive facts. The method of data collection includes two types for the study, such as primary data and secondary data. PRIMARY DATA COLLECTION METHOD The primary was collected with the help of a structured questionnaire directly from consumers through personal interview. The questionnaire contains questions that suit the objectives of the study. The questions will help to draw the information A Study On Consumers Buying Habits Towards Health Food Drink Products In Salem District Tamilnadu Mr. P. Arun relating to purchase pattern of beverage products by the consumers. The Primary data was collected with a set of specific objective to assess the current status of variables considered for the study. Primary data is useful and applicable only for a specific time. and previous reports, magazines, sales vouchers etc. DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION MULTI-DISCRIMINANT FUNCTION ANALYSIS METHODS OF PRIMARY DATA COLLECTION The performance of buying behaviour varies by the different stages of influence. In the study area out of 106 respondents divided into two groups, one is low level of influencer and high level of influencer. For the purpose of the study 7 variables were selected. Although there are several methods are being used for collecting primary data, questionnaire and interview methods has been employed in this study. SECONDARY DATA Gender Age Educational Status Marital Status Occupation Living Place Place of Shopping It was used mainly to support the primary data. Secondary data was collected from sources such as through books, annual reports, significant, available literatures from organization TABLE No. 1 SUMMARY TABLE BETWEEN LOW INFLUENCER AND HIGH INFLUENCER GROUPS STEP 1. 2. VARIABLE ENTERED Gender Place of purchase WILK’S LAMBDA 0. 955 0. 909 MINIMUM D2 SIGNIFICANCE 0. 222 0. 471 ** * *. Significant at 1% level, ** Significant at 5% level, TABLE No. 2. CANONICAL DISCRIMINANT FUNCTION CANONICAL CORRELATION 0. 302 WILKS LAMBDA 0. 909 The canonical correlation is 0. 302 when squared is 0. 091 that is 9. 1% of the variance in the discriminant group can be accounted for by this model, Wilk’s Lambda and chi-square value suggest that D. F. is significant at 1% level. The variables given above are CHISQUARE 9. 711 D. F. SIG 2 Significant at 1% level identified finally by the D. F. A. as the eligible discriminating variables. Based on the selected variables the corresponding D. F. coefficients are calculated. They are given in the following table. TABLE NO. 3: DISCRIMINANT FUNCTION COEFFICIENTS Namex International Journal of Management Research 33 Vol. 2, Issue No. 2, July – December 2012. A Study On Consumers Buying Habits Towards Health Food Drink Products In Salem District Tamilnadu Mr. P. Arun. VARIABLES COEFFICIENTS 1. 812 0. 777 4. 635 Gender Place of Purchase Constant The equation is: Z = 4. 635+ 1. 812 (Gender) + 0. 777 (Place of purchase) The discriminating power or the contribution of each variable to the function can sufficiently. For this consider the following table. TABLE No. 4- RELATIVE DISCRIMINATING INDEX FACTORS Gender Place of Purchase GROUP 1 MEAN X1 1. 58 2. 90 GROUP2 MEAN X2 UNSTANDARDIZED DIC. COEFF. (kj) 1. 35 2. 55 1. 812 0. 777 Ij = ABS (Kj) MEAN (Xjo – x ji) 1. 24 0. 29 1. 53 Total Rj = Ij / sum Ij j*100 81. 0 19. 0 100. 0 This reclassification is called predictor group membership. In short, the efficiency of the D. F. is how correctly it predicts the respondents into respective groups. TABLE NO. 5 – CLASSIFICATION RESULTS PREDICTED GROUP MEMBERSHIP ACTUAL GROUP No. OF CASES GROUP I Group 1 (Low Influencer) Group 2 (High Influencer) 20 (64. 5%) 31 (41. 9%) 31 74 GROUP II 11 (35. 5%) 43 (58. 1%) Percent of grouped cases correctly classified: 60. 0%. The above table gives the results of the reclassification. The function, using the variables selected in the analysis classified 60. 0% of the cases correctly in the respective groups. low and high influencer. The following factors significantly discriminate the two influencer groups. They are: Gender (at 5% level) Place of purchase (at 1% level) Discriminate function analysis was applied to the respondents based on the TABLE NO. 6: DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE OF RESPONDENTS (N=106) ITEM GENDER Male Female MARITAL STATUS Single Married NUMBER Namex International Journal of Management Research PERCENTAGE 61 45 58. 00 42. 00 21 84 19. 88 79. 25 34 Vol. 2, Issue No. 2, July – December 2012. A Study On Consumers Buying Habits Towards Health Food Drink Products In Salem District Tamilnadu Mr. P. Arun Widow EDUCATIONAL STATUS Elementary School High School Graduate Post Graduate Doctoral Degree OCCUPATION Professional Worker Business Retired Staff House Wife PLACE Salem Omalur Mecheri Mettur Dam Kolathur The Present study is related to consumers behaviour on health food drinks in Salem area. In the constituted sample size of 106 respondents it was found there were 61. 33% professionals, 04. 71% workers, 30. 18% businessmen, 0. 94% retired staff and 02. 83% house wife. The distributions of consumers were found to be from locations such as Salem, Omalur, Mecheri, Mettur Dam and Kolathur. From the above table it could be seen that 34. 91 % of consumers were from Kolathur, 31. 33% of consumers were from Mettur 01 0. 94 09 12 23 55 04 08. 49 11. 33 21. 69 51. 89 03. 78 65 05 32 01 03 61. 33 04. 71 30. 18 0. 94 02. 83 25 01 10 33 37 23. 59 09. 44 09. 44 31. 33 34. 91 doctoral. With respect to the occupation of the respondents was concerned, 61. 33% were professional, 30. 18 were business person and remaining 6% were worker, retired staff and house wives. STATISTICAL TOOLS APPLIED The primary data collected through interview schedule from 106 respondents. The statistical tool applied is multi discriminant analyses were used for this study. FINDINGS Dam, 23. 59% of consumers were from Salem City, 9. 44% of consumers were from Mecheri and the remaining 0. 94% of consumers were from Omalur. The gender distributions of consumers in the study, it is noted 58% of the respondents were male and the remaining 42% were female. As for as education qualification of the consumer was concerned, there were 51. 89% post graduate, 21. 69% graduate, 11. 33% high school level, 8. 49% elementary school level and the remaining 3. 78% Namex International Journal of Management Research The study shows the following findings. It’s clearly shows that the below gender and place were significantly differed: Gender (at 5% level) Place of purchase (at 1% level) CONCLUSION The study clearly shows that demographic factors like gender, place 35 Vol. 2, Issue No. 2, July – December 2012. A Study On Consumers Buying Habits Towards Health Food Drink Products In Salem District Tamilnadu Mr. P. Arun of purchase are largely influence the consumers while they purchase beverage products in the shops. Clanging consumerism is the biggest factor that plays a major role as for as consumers purchase behavior is concern. REFERENCES Ogden CL, Carroll MD, Curtin LR, McDowell MA, Tabak CJ, Flegal KM. Prevalence Of Overweight. And Obesity In The United States, 1999–2004. JAMA. 2006; 295(13):1549–1555. [PubMed] The Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Prevent and Decrease Overweight and Obesity 2001. Rockville, MD: Office of the Surgeon General, Public Health Service, US Dept of Health and Human Services; 2001. Flegal KM, Graubard BI, Williamson DF, Gail MH. Excess deaths associated with underweight, overweight, and obesity. JAMA. 2005; 293(15):1861–1867. [PubMed]. Mokdad AH, Marks JS, Stroup DF, Gerberding JL. Actual causes of death in the United States, 2000. JAMA. 2004; 291(10):1238–1245. [PubMed]. Hedley AA, Ogden CL, Johnson CI, Carroll MD, Curtin LR, Flegal KM. Prevalence of overweight and obesity among US children, adolescents, and adults, 1999– 2002. JAMA. 2004; 291(23):2847–2850. [PubMed]. National Initiative for Children’s Healthcare Quality. Expert Committee recommendations on assessment, prevention, and treatment of child and adolescent overweight and obesity 2007. [Accessed January 27, 2008]. http://www. amaassn. org/ama1/pub/upload/mm/43 3/ped_obesity_recs. pdf. Johnston FE. Health implications of childhood obesity. Ann Intern Med. 1985; 103(6, pt 2):1068– 1072. [PubMed]. Namex International Journal of Management Research Serdula MK, Iver D, Coates RJ, Freedman DS, Williamson DF, Byers T. Do Obese Children Become Obese Adults? A review of the literature. Prev Med. 1993; 22(2):167–177. [PubMed]. Flegal KM, Carroll MD, Kuczmarski RJ, Johnson CL. Overweight And Obesity In The United States: Prevalence And Trends, 1960– 1994. Int. J. Obes. Relat Metab Disord. 1998; 22(1):39–47. [PubMed]. Sellers K, Russo T, Baker I, Dennison B. The Role Of Childcare Providers In The Prevention Of Childhood Overweight. J Early Child Res. 2005; 3(3):227–242. WEBSIGHTS www. yahoo. com. www. google. com. www. hul. co. in. 36 Vol. 2, Issue No. 2, July – December 2012.

Leadership And Change Management At Mcdonalds Commerce Essay

Leadership And Change Management At Mcdonalds Commerce Essay This report is conducted on McDonalds. In 1st section focus on change and resistances to change, real examples of change process and its implementation, scope of change at McDonalds and possible resistances and conflicts to change at McDonalds. The last section provides management role for making effective plan and strategies to implementation of new change in this way minimise the resistance from employees resistances against this change. Table of Contents Section Name of Contents Page no. 1 McDonald Profile 4 2 Change and Resistance to Change. 6 3 Real example of change process and its implementation. 7 4 Scope of Change at McDonalds. 8 5 Resistances and Conflicts to change at McDonalds. 10 6 Recommendations 13 7 Conclusion 16 8 References 17 cDonalds Profile: McDonalds started his business in 1940 with 1st restaurant opened in San Bernardino, California by Richard. It was the result of the thoughts of two brothers, Dick and Mac McDonalds who introduced a new revolutionary restaurant Speedee Service System in 1948 which was established on principles of the modern  fast-food restaurant. Speedee completely replaced with  Ronald McDonalds  by 1967. 1st time used as trademark on the name McDonalds on May 4, 1961, with the description Drive-In Restaurant Services which is still continues until end of June, 2010. The logo trademark on an overlapping, double arched M symbol was introduced in Sep 13 1961. The M double overlapped arched symbol logo was temporarily disfavoured by September 6, 1962. The modern double arched M symbol started in November 18, 1968. (McDonalds , 25 August , 2010 ,http://www.mcdonalds.co.uk ) The list of inventions, the Big Mac in 1968, the Egg McMuffin in 1973, the Happy Meal for children in 1979, or Chicken McNuggets in 1983 .At the present time, McDonalds have more than 31,000 restaurants in 119 different countries of the world of which a lot are franchised. (www.mcdonals.com.uk) McDonalds vision is to become worlds best and quick service experience restaurant for this purpose McDonalds delivering outstanding quality, service, cleanliness, and value, so that we make every customer in every restaurant smile. In mission statements includes best employer or our people in each community around the world, excellent operational for delivery to customers and enduring profitable growth by expanding the brand and leveraging strength of McDonalds through innovation and technology McDonald Corporation ,2010) Change and Resistance to Change: According to Rev. Sharon Patterson that which people want to changes are babies who have wet diapers. We can be explained that change is an effort that consists of actual physical changes to operations and different exciting incentive is really painful process in the workplace (Bernerth, 2004) Change Process Model Though we all know and believe that progress means change, and we all want and need progress, but not even the prospect of attaining profit from change that everyone will ready and willing to hold change. On the other hand, it is widely believed and trust that most would resist change, (Duck, 1993) According to Duck (1993) bluntly he pointed out that change is intensely personal. but according to Petersen (2002) reckons that for many people, the spectre of change produces Factor of Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt. (Peterson, 2002) Since change is widely accepted all over the world as almost always from top management to down and its brings by the management, those people which are only being managed would also always show resist against change, before imposing change or before forward change its duty of manager to make a such type framework which should be overcome over all resistance before implementation. (Peterson, 2002) Resistance to change can be defined as its a perceived behaviour of organization members which are refuse to accept any change within organization. (Cheng Petrovic-Lazarevic, 2004).James Hunt says Resistance isnt an indication that something is wrong with what you are trying to change. It is an indication that something is happening. Ansoff defined Resistance as its only cause of creation unexpected delays, costs and instabilities into the process of strategic change (Ansoff, 1988). Resistance is any employee behaviour trying to stop or delay in any change. (Bemmels and Reshef 1991) Real example of the change process and its implementation. British Airways. Past in 1981, British Airways hired on board of Directors a new chairperson.  When this chairperson joined, he noticed that the company was very unproductive and was wasting a lot of valuable resources in useless activities.  To make the organization efficient and increasing the profit ratio he decided to restructure the entire organization.  He realized that Change Methodology Management Plan is the best way to serve that purpose. (Jean Scheid, 2010) Systematically, the British airways started reducing workforce.  But, before started this, through his change management leadership, the chairman gave the all reasons for the restructuring and privatization of the company in order to prepare them for the future change.  He directed his company through a hard time that could have been terrible without  effective change management resistance communication just only through his Leadership Communication (Jean Scheid, 2010) Scope of the Change at McDonalds. The scope of this change for McDonalds is limited to the application of the Integrated marketing Communication (IMC) as part of the marketing strategy of the McDonalds. In this change, the most important area that had been given attention is the advertising and promotional campaign of the company.   Usually, advertisement or promotional activities are concerned as an open sponsorship of offering products, services and any ideas through the use of any mode of communication. In this purpose, there are different kinds of mode of communication or media which are use for advertising and promotional campaign. Basically, in this new Integrated marketing Communication (IMC) theme will be major focus on advertising and sales promotion activities. Particularly this change will give importance to the Integrated Marketing Campaign (IMC) as part of the marketing strategy of the McDonalds. (McDonald Corporation , 2009) Basic aims of Integrated Marketing Campaign to take on a new health-conscious rule that would be constant with the latest trend of health awareness and the growing concern in corpulence among children and target market. In addition, its aim is to  introduce the implementation of a new and separate menu of low fat for children, planned to counter the rising bad publicity being thrown at McDonalds. The company is well known that this new strategy which most concerns with the health of consumer would effectively inform both children and parents regarding the nutritional value of new, McKids Meals, and how these meals are different from the traditional McDonalds meals.  In addition, the implementation of the new innovation namely Integrated Marketing Communication might be able to provide an effective advertising and public relations campaign that would successfully introduce the new McDonalds change to the world. For implementation of this new change in the organization, the company has been able to create a team that would be responsible for all essential matters related this change.(McDonald Corporation, 2009) The major focus of this change would be on the sale promotion and advertising, not only to mention other marketing mix which would be included and participated to make successful this innovation or change. Today McDonalds different kinds of menu for kids had faced different criticism, mostly in terms of its nutritional contents. The Integrated Marketing Communication has been implemented only changing public image towards the McDonalds. We can say Integrated Marketing Communication is a technique for ensuring that a companys mission and vision is included and promoted in every advertisement or promotion that will be happened (McDonald Corporation,2009) According to Forgeson and Green Basically there are three major categories of change resistances are organizational, group and individual. The following are resistance or conflicts faced by McDonalds during implementation of this change: McDonalds employees and customers, McDonalds organizational culture and behaviour. (Mabin, Forgeson Green, 2001) Resistances and Conflicts to change at McDonalds:   1st resistances due to reactions of the McDonalds staff and customers of the company , some employees are in favour of this new change and some are against this new change mean using the Integrated Marketing communication. Managers and some employees only against this change due to fear, they think might be this change instead of resolving problem it will increase the problems of the company. There are not only employees have negative reaction towards this change but also customers are not showing positive reaction towards this campaign so it lead o another conflict in the shape of not positive attitude of customers towards this new change in this way McDonalds cant achieve benefit from this change as whole of the company.   One more resistance against this new change of the company the shortage of qualified personnel in company who assigned the maintaining these tasks to maintaining crew and application of this new marketing change but they are not much professional so this is the conflict in the way of new change. In strategic implementation of the change there are lot of barriers and enablers which are attributed as the main factors for the success or failure of the implemented changes. Barriers may include different resources which are not may be available for the innovation process. These include insufficient financial budget, organizational or stakeholder resistance to change and ineffective used of communication media. One more of the conflicts or resistances that may arise in the implementation of change in an organisation are the absence of support in sustaining the success that can be achieved in the change process. (Cheng Petrovic-Lazarevic, 2004) According to Carlopio Innovation is a social process that should be undertaken in a regular phases and not just a decision event so within McDonalds these forces are the ones attributed which may hinder strategic implementation of the innovation. The company may not be able to implement the Integrated Marketing Communication as part of its marketing strategy lacking of one of these hurdles, or incapability to handle these hurdles effectively, the company may not be able to implement the Integrated Marketing Communication as part of its marketing strategy.(Carlopio, 1998) The difference in culture between the different employees of the organization is another inner conflict. Due to difference in cultures in McDonald in different members of the company so in this way they unable to do work in pleasant environment and in good way and also this cultural leads to create difficulties in the way of implementation of new change in organization. According to Wilkins Dyer the administration and management of the management of McDonalds must be identify and understand those subcultures that might provoke a work environment more or less empowering than the larger organizational system at the time of assessing the interaction between culture and empowerment. (Wilkins Dyer, 1988). Recommendation: In restaurant industry managers play vital role in any change so in this way what McDonalds managers pay specific attention at the time of implementation and initiating change towards reducing possible resistances and achieve better organization performance. Manager is the person who initiating and start the change and employees have to accept and adopt it. Through Effective communication, perception of managers actions, employees attitude and harmonious working situation can be overcome resistances to change and also play important role in attaining better organizational performance. Implementation of Change in the Restaurant Industry Effective communication is the most important components in restaurant industry and played a vital role in the success of organizational operations. Effective communication is very important among the managers and employees and among the employees to employees.Good listening skills are the essential for a successful manager of any organization specially in fast growing fast food industry. Before, after and during the change process managers should carefully listen to the employees opinion and should modify the new change according to the opinion of the employee. For implementation of successful change in organization it is compulsory for manager he should always alert regarding employees reaction towards change. McDonalds Managers should realize that if employees against that change and dont want to cooperate with them so in this way customer service delivery will get worse. Conflict may arise amongst colleagues and managers when employees resist change. In this way employees may not perform well which directly effecting reputation of restaurant and might be it will also become cause of resignation of employees. So befre implementation of new change McDonalds managers listen very carefully arguments of employees and change the situation according the time need and should avoid the create bad environment in which employees proved poor environment for work and end all go for resignation. Not only this but also they should encourage the employees for better service and development of performance of the company as well as the employees.. So there should be a framework for possible improvement in efficient working system and better customer service within a working environment. This framework indicates and encourage to both parties managers and employees should look for a better technique of getting things done. We should clear one thing improvement always goes along with change. If there is no improvement, it means no change in this way restaurant will most likely become sluggish in particular when unforeseen circumstances or events occur restaurants and that time might be it will very difficult to keep pace with competitors. Managers should also provide a pleasant environment to employee for keeping happy to workers and cheerful staff will contribute to higher level of motivation and high performance. High-spirited employees would be able to creation and maintain harmonious working relationship with workmates. Managers should always maintain and keep a lovely pleasant environment for employees to keep them motivated because stressful environments always negatively impact the restaurant (A Paton, R. and Maccalman, J. ,2008) Further more, the success of the new change is still under process and difficult to convert the children attitude towards healthy fast food meals. But at the other hand, there are very strong chance for this success due to strong campaign and promotion activates for prompting the characteristics of the this new change. Furthermore, McDonalds should assure the message has been reached to every child in 119 countries where McDonalds is serving for this purpose help from every type media is the best strategy. There should be a new theme for new advertisement I love it even more! and hopefully this new theme and way of advertisement will inspire the parents and also encourage the childrens towards healthy food. This campaign should be long lasting, strong concerned on healthy characteristics of this new change and should be in friendly way like kiddie-friendly way. If McDonalds carefully make plan and use best strategy and good and effective method for implementation of this new change so there are bright chance of the success of this new change and in this way company can achieve very easily mission and objectives of the company. The most concerned of this company to give image of health conscious which is good match with the latest trend of health conscious measures for this world and also for the future world. Conclusion: According to Beverage the management change leaders must be willing to keep their fingers on the pulse of the organization, by monitoring what is working and what is not working and in the change process.   The management must create s safe environment for changes, reassure, support, and commitment on the organization in order to application the strategy of change effectively and successfully (Beverage (2003) Therefore, it is concluded that, changes of management is not bad until they enhance the competitiveness and power of an industry. If any change implicated through proper planning and investigation so it will be very effective and will also increase the performance of the organization. So organizations should impose the any change at the right time when studies proved that no time of change. Because we dons forget the change management system not only critical and complex but also very sensitive so only one wrong decision of any company in any change might be it push company to in under clouds and prove harmful for organization profit and inspite giving development instead company feel difficult to survive in perfect market. This is strongly recommendation for McDonalds that must see and again and again ensure that future changes are well very planned there implication is very carefully because these changes will be cause of the success /or failure of any company.

Renewal in Yeats Second Coming and Eliots Journey of the Magi Essay

Renewal in Yeats' Second Coming and Eliot's Journey of the Magi  Ã‚        Ã‚  Ã‚   Both William Butler Yeats' "Second Coming" and T.S. Eliot's "Journey of the Magi" present a renewal process, but each one focuses on different goals and subjects; Eliot on a particular person's transformation, whereas Yeats predicts a renovation of the entire world as a result of an escalation of chaos. And while Yeats attempts to present a definite picture of what he believes will happen at the time of this renovation, as a human being, lack of foresight leaves him to conclude with nothing more than an unanswerable question. Eliot, on the other hand, uses ambiguity to support and develop his theme: death is the way to rebirth. But for Eliot this rebirth, which must be necessarily obscure, is full of doubt, accompanied by pain, and extremely perplexing to the newly-born (www.fgcu* 6). Eliot utilizes a vague diction and imagery, and his narrative tone progresses to philosophical and doubtful discourse. In contrast, Yeats maintains a pessimistic tone created by his futilit y on the bleak situation toward which the world proceeds. As opposed to projecting an inevitable and pessimistic demise of the Christian era and a renewal of the world as Yeats does in his poem, "Second Coming," Eliot presents the renewal of a Magus, his way of life and beliefs as a result of the birth of the Christian era.    Yeats views the world and civilization as a cycle: the world revolves on a two thousand year period, and restarts every two thousand years ("Twenty centuries . . . come round at last"). Yeats' view may lead to an initial response of the inescapableness of the world's end, and therefore no need for concern, but his pessimistic outlook results from society's... ...Eliot's message, death results in rebirth.    Works Cited    http://www.en.utexas.edu/~benjamin/316kf...studentprojects/kiplingyeats/falcon.html http://orchard.cortland.edu/intropoetry/essaytwo/bethka(cc).html http://www.fgcu.edu/~wohlpart/eliot.html#poem    Keane, Patrick J. Yeats's Interactions with Tradition. Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 1987. Peterson, Richard F. William Butler Yeats. Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1982. Pinion, F.B. A T.S. Eliot Companion. Totowa, New Jersey: Barnes and Noble Books,1986. Raffel, Burton. T.S Eliot. New York: Frederick Publishing Co., 1982. Unterecker, John. A Reader's Guide to William Butler Yeats. New York: Octagon Publishers, 1983. Williamson, George. A Reader's Guide to T.S. Eliot; a Poem by Poem Analysis. New York: Octagon Books, 1966.      

Girl Interrupted Essay -- essays research papers

GIRL, INTERRUPTED by Susanna Kaysen (New York: Turtle Bay Books, 1993) 1. Author: Susanna Kayson was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1948 where she still lives. She is the author of books which are in some parts related to her personal experiences. She worked as a free-lance editor and proof reader until an introduction to an agent set her career in motion. Her novels: The novel that caught the agent's attention, Asa, As I Knew Him, was published in 1987 and people were very interested in it. Kaysen followed up the success of her first book three years later with her second novel, Far Afield. Kaysen's third and as far as I know last book, Girl, Interrupted has been hugely acclaimed in America and Britain. 2. Subject of the book: The book is an autobiography . It ´s about her memories of her two-year stay at McLean ´s psychiatric hospital, where she was treated for depression and Borderline Personality. With the help of a lawyer she obtained her 350 page file from the hospital. 3. Setting†¦: The story is set in the years 1967 to 1969. Mostly it takes place on the ward for teenage girls in the McLean psychiatric hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts, which is known for its famous clients – Sylvia Plath, Robert Lowell, James Taylor, Anne Sexton and Ray Charles. 4. Characters: Susanna Kaysen(main character): She is an 18-year-old girl, and the story is, since it is an autobiography told from her point of view. What was going wrong with her life? She tells us she decided s...

Plastic Pollution and the Effects on Human Health Essay -- Ecology

Where does all the plastic go. Every bit of plastic that has been created is still here. This is because plastic is one-hundred percent non-biodegradable! Even the most degraded plastic down to polymers cannot be digested by bacteria (Laist, 1997). If global issues like starvation and climate change are not enough to stress on, the weight of an issue literally churning in the Pacific Ocean is startling. For decades the majority of the world’s population has not been properly educated on the nature of plastic and the potential harm it can do to our environment and our physical health. Due to factors of man and the natural effects of nature, a major problem has developed that is now harming our food. Marine plastic is a visible sign of human impact on the marine environment. Plastic debris is more than an aesthetic problem. It can potentially cause danger to marine organisms through ingestion and entanglement (Laist, 1997). There’s so much plastic out there that it’s starting to compete as a food source for many different organisms. Plastic eventually breaks down into food size pieces and is mistaken for food by many organisms. They mistake the plastic particles for plankton. The public has a desire for certain types of fish which happen to have an accumulation of different toxins in their body. This happens when those larger fish species eat large amounts of smaller fish and other organisms that feed off the plankton-plastic mixture. Plastics are toxins can de-absorb out from the plastic and into the tissue and organs of the fish that are eating those smaller fish. The toxins move up the food chain becoming dangerously concentrated. Decades ago the number of marin e mammals that died each year due to ingestion and entanglement ap... ..., J., and M. Moran. 2009. Comparative day/night metatranscriptomic analysis of microbial communities in the North Pacific subtropical gyre. Environmental Microbiology. 1-18. http://www.fao.org/focus/e/fisheries/consum.htm Corno, G., Karl, D., Church, M., Letelier, R., Lukas, R., Bidigare, R., and M. Abbott. 2007. Impact of climate forcing on ecosystem processes in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre. Journal of Geophysical Research. (112) 1-14. United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Chemicals Programme: www.chem.unep.ch United States Department of State, Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs: http://www.state.gov/e/oes/ Ritter L; Solomon KR, Forget J, Stemeroff M, O'Leary C.. "Persistent organic pollutants". United Nations Environment Programme. http://www.chem.unep.ch/pops/ritter/en/ritteren.pdf. Retrieved 2012-02-16.

RJ Palacio’s Wonder: August’s Facial Deformity and Its Impact on His Education

President Woodrow Wilson, Research Paper, By: Mariah Huffman, President Woodrow Wilson was an extraordinary man in office and not, Wilson was born on December 29th, 1856 in Stanton, Virginia and died February 23rd 1924. His father Joseph Ruggles was in the ministries all Wilson’s life and his mother was a stay at home mom to him and his two sisters, Marion an Annie and a brother Joseph. When he was older he married his wife Ellen Wilson on June 24th 1885 when he was 28 yrs old later they had three daughters, Margaret, Jessie and Eleanor. Wilson went to college to be a minister but his profession changed a lot so he just settled with a PhD in political science. Woodrow Wilson had a lot of achievements in his life, in 1917 he declared war on Germany, on January 8th 1918 Wilson presented his 14 points for peace he was also awarded the noble peace prize for his work in ending world war 1, he negotiated the treaty of Versailles, which also established the league of nations and with ratification of the sixteenth amendment, income tax became legal. The Federal Reserve act was instituted; this agency controlled the money supply. Here are some interesting facts about President Woodrow Wilson, after he had suffered a stroke, Wilson allowed his wife to handle lesser government details she decided what was important and what wasn’t, Wilson typed his own letters on a typewriter, Wilson’s second wife Edith, was a descendent of Pocahontas, two of his daughters were married at the white house, The Wilson’s kept a flock of sheep at the white house to keep the grass trimmed and when there wool was shaved it was sold and the money went to the red cross, his second wife Edith sent a lot of time sewing for the red cross during WW1. President Wilson’s father was his biggest influences growing up because as Wilson grew up he didn’t really learn all that good because he was dyslexic and with his fathers patients he got me through schooling grad school. One of the significant event that Wilson remembers was when he was a young boy growing up in my home town in Augusta, Georgia he witnessed Jefferson Davis in chains being walked down the street on his way to prison. President Wilson later on opened his own law firm back home after his 3rd stroke, his wife Ellen then pasted away and then he was married again to a women named Edith and they never had no kids together while they wore together.

Furniture: Marketing and Consumers

Question 2: Using a multistage CDP model, describe how consumers in this market segment( Gen Y and young professionals) typically make furniture purchase decisions. In this case, it mentions 4 stages which include need recognition, search process, pre-purchase evaluation, and purchase. Need recognition occurs when consumers really need more furniture commonly. Actually, many situations will cause their needs. For instance, replacing their furniture, having more money, get ting married and so on.After they decide to buy new furniture, if the need of new furniture is not very urgent, they intend to do external research to make sure. However, in many cases, they will be influenced by sales promotion and previous experience. Advice from friends and family will be a reference. Advertising, compared with that, is the most untrustworthy. They will go to real shops to see what they liked online and feel the comfort and workmanship in person. If they like a brand, they will find relevant prod ucts from that brand or another brand with similar styles.After deciding which to buy, it comes to the purchase process. Most of consumers had used financing in the past, but now they prefer to pay in cash. But for Gen Y and young professionals, they have lower income and cannot afford to pay cash. They desire to feel the perception, that they can enjoy a lifestyle that is above what they can afford by spreading the payments over a long period of time. Therefore, they would like to pay it with interests for six months. Question 3: How should Family Furniture respond to competitors?Over the years, Family Furniture has faced many big competitors. Some furniture store attract customers with â€Å"no, no, no† advertising, which means â€Å"no down payment, no interest and no payments until next year†. It was reported that an increasing number of Family Furniture’s customers went to other stores in other cities or nearby regions to buy furniture and some others were making their purchases through the Internet. This has put Family Furniture into a perplexing situation. In my view, Family Furniture should expand its target market to younger people, together with the old.The fact that the city has many young consumers, unemployment rate is low are an advantage for the company. That consumers here are mostly white-collar and well-educated workers with a high level of income tells us that they are totally be able to afford their purchases in Family Furniture. With a strong historical business, the company can promote big advertising campaigns to recall customer awareness, such as offering big sales on special occasions or sending magazines to their mail boxes every month to show new products with new promotional programs.These programs should always emphasize the familiarity of customers with Family Furniture over other competitors through a long period, well-known national brands and the quality of furniture. In addition, marketing techniques invol ving community involvement such as an official website or searching websites should also be improved, because they will catch customers’ attention and help them find information about the company and products much more easily. Question 4: What promotional strategy and media do you recommend for Family Furniture?Family Furniture is a business-to-consumer company but not a business-to-business one. They sell furniture directly to consumers. So I recommend this company to use a â€Å"pull strategy† which means spending on advertising, sales promotion and direct marketing to induce final consumers to buy their furniture. Advertising will help Family Furniture to present their promotion of ideas, goods, or services to compete with others, like Ikea. Direct marketing concentrates on individual consumers to both obtain immediate response and cultivate lasting customer relationships, such as the using of internet.According to the research on reasons of choosing a particular st ore, â€Å"previous experience† and â€Å"sale or promotion† account for 28 and 36 percentage respectively. It means these two reasons are the most important elements that make consumers choose a particular store. Family Furniture should choose both personal communication channels (two or more people communicate directly with each other) and non-personal communication channels (media that carry messages without personal contact for feedback) as their media to induce consumers to purchase.The last channel of personal communication is word-of-mouth influence. People may influenced by their neighbors, friends, family members and so forth. Print media, for instance, newspapers and magazines should be remained, because it works and has lasted for decades. As Cult Advertising said recently, nontraditional marketing techniques need to be involved. Young generations use computers more often than older people, they will pay attention to fresh and new things rather than printed brochures.Online media like company Web, e-mail should be used as well because most of their customers are older people, they should attract more young people. Then their consumers’ region will be broader. Using mass media often affect buyer behavior indirectly by causing more personal communication. If the products in Family Furniture are very good, consumers will spread this information by â€Å"word-of-mouth influence† channel.

Homers The Odyssey Essay

Homer’s The Odyssey is one of the most valued and highly regarded classic stories in the world of literature. Coming from the grandiose and mysterious world and era of the Greek mythology, The Odyssey has been seen to be one of the greatest stories that dealt about heroes, tragedies, gods and goddesses and adventurous journeys. Over the years, this work of the great writer Homer has also been regarded to be one of the most significant works the world has ever had (â€Å"The Odyssey† n. p. ). The Odyssey, because of its undeniable value and significance in the world of literature has been one of the most studied classic stories in the academe. Its characters as well are some of the most admired and explored personalities in the world of literature. And one of these great and gallant characters is the chief Odysseus himself. Odysseus was depicted in the story as a great man who led a group of warriors and voyagers in the great feat to the sea which was popularly called the Odyssey. He was presented in the story to be the brain and the great decision maker of the group. If there is one thing remarkable in the story when it comes to its intellectual aspect, it would be more on Odysseus analytical and very intelligent abilities. Throughout the entire adventure of the troupe, several challenges and trials were put to them at sea. During these times, Odysseus could be seen to be an indestructible hero of his team who never did back out and give up. He would analyze situations very deeply and carefully, and he would device solutions and remedies right then and there depending on his radical and objective observations (Woodnutt 1). Thus aside from being a chief and a captain, Odysseus was also portrayed as the total representation of intelligent and just decisions that are solely based on radical observations and not on mere judgments and biases. But aside from this portrayal of Odysseus, an impeccable intellectual content can also be observable on how Homer created such terrible disasters that appeared inescapable to men, yet he was also able to device impeccable solutions to it. On the other hand, when it comes to the aesthetic appeal, The Odyssey also did not fall short. This work by Homer has been highly acclaimed by critics because of the grandiose and spectacular mixture of being poems, prose and hymns. It has also been commendable through time because of the sample of poetry found in its text that leads its readers to a peak of aesthetic experience paving the way for more insightful thoughts (Chessik n. p. ). The narration was impeccable as it exposed the secrets and the wonders behind each characters and events. The characters and the command of language also played an important part as they were so strong that the characters of this classic have been etched in the minds of readers for years. Also, Homer’s use of metaphors and his choice of tone and rhythm were also impeccable. His ability to mold an amazing story was undeniable throughout the entire story. But most especially, this classic by Homer also did not fall short of relevant morals and lessons that can be valued for generations. Above everything else, The Odyssey is a story of heroes and heroic acts. It reflects the value of authority and respect for authority as something close to how people regard their gods (Johnston n. p. ). Also, The Odyssey also holds that particular magnificence as it celebrated history and the arts that it also teaches people how significant history and the arts are for their lives. It also talks about inferno, its realities and nature; that if only people would try to veer away from bad things and believe that they can be good and straight people, then they can escape this miserable place after death and enjoy a feast and a banquet with gods in Olympus instead (Johnston n. p. ).