My Impressions of the Beach Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

My Impressions of the Beach - Essay Example Whenever I go to a beach, I sit there for hours just looking at the waves which rise and clash with the shores and silently move back again. It always makes me feel calm since I relate it with my anger. Like the rising waves, the anger surges high and thinking about the waves I try and subside it. The waves are such an inspiration. The splash of water hits my face and I feel so relaxed as if time has stopped and there is nothing else to do except just sitting on the sea-shore and watching the beauty of nature. The rays of the sun embrace me and as I move towards the water, the sand slips away from beneath my feet. The waves crash against my body and move back as I keep moving forward. The cool touch of the water is a stress-buster and relieves my mind of all the tensions. The fast blowing winds breeze against my face and leave a soothing effect. I love watching the sunset at the beach. The reddish-orange sun looks extremely beautiful and shimmers the endless stretch of water as it sets. Hundreds of people come to watch a sunset. A number of couples enjoy some quality time with each other right under nature’s cover. Photographers run around to compel the love-lorn to get clicked in the scenic beauty of the beachside. When I was a kid, I used to crave to go to my aunt’s beach house during summers. Every weekend of June and July, we used to visit and stay at my aunt’s beach house where I learnt how to swim. It was so much fun to keep moving with the waves while inside kids float. The moment it took me a little ahead, my elder cousin used to drag the float back along with me. The waves almost covered me and the salty taste of the water gave me a tangy feeling.

Vietnam and the Eisenhower Era Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Vietnam and the Eisenhower Era - Essay Example The Vietnam policy of Eisenhower may therefore be summed up under the two following headings: (a) a reluctance to actively go to war in Vietnam using the full power of the American attack force, in spite of the fact that he acknowledged the Communist threat from China in south east Asia. This created domestic political friction within the Republican Party. It caused a split between those who fiercely opposed Communism, favoring full scale war with Vietnam and Eisenhower, who held back for reasons of safety and preventing loss of life in war. (b) using air attacks rather than focusing the strength of the attack on land forces. This created initial setbacks in the war as the Vietnamese showed their superior land power, that later led to the defeat and withdrawal of American forces. This is why the Eisenhower policy is important. All the ambiguities, uncertainty and losses generated during the Vietnam war were due to the policy that was followed by Eisenhower. It also gave the Democrats an opportunity to attack the Republicans for their â€Å"weak† policy in Vietnam because they did not take strong effective action to go to full scale war in Vietnam. Bipartisan politics and bickering was the result. Eisenhower’s policy made the clear cut division between Republican and Democratic to blur and become less well defined. His policy in Vietnam was most unlike the Republican witchhunt of Communists, in fact it was more a pacifying policy like the Democrats had.

Operation Management And Strategies Starbucks And Cocacola Marketing Essay

Operation Management And Strategies Starbucks And Cocacola Marketing Essay In this present document we are going to analyze several aspects of operation management and strategies considering two companies: One from the service industry, Starbucks and one for the manufacture industry, Coca Cola. We will study their supply chain and assess its impact on both companies success and profitability. Then we will analyze their operational strategy to determine in which measure it contributes to their competitiveness and we will strive to provide ways in which challenges of the different companies could be overcome so that they can strengthen their own competitive advantage. Finally we will establish a location analysis in order to identify the best place for the companies to implement a new operation. The supply chain refers to the way that materials flow through different organizations, starting with basic raw materials and ending with finished products delivered (Gaither Frazier, 2002). This involved many activities and therefore we have to think about the best way to manage it in order for a company to be successful and profitable. We can then define the supply chain management as a set of approaches utilized to efficiently integrate suppliers, manufacturers, warehouses, and stores, so that merchandise is produced and distributed at the right quantities, to the right locations and the right time, in order to minimize system wide costs while satisfying service legal requirement. (Simchi-Levi, Kaminski, Simchi-Levi, 2003) The Starbucks supply chain is made of the following activities which are either external or internal to Starbucks organization: Coffee producing, importing, manufacturing and roasting, distribution to retail shop, marketing, delivering to the consumer. Supply Chain Starbucks Activities involved from the coffee production to the roasting are external to the company. They can involve many counterparts such as the small coffee producer, the processor, the exporter, the broker and the importer. To optimize these activities Starbucks manage them in many ways emphasizing its commitment to ethical coffee sourcing and fair-trade and global responsibility. Starbucks establishes relationship with growers and distributors and deal directly with farmers. It offers high prices to ensure that poor coffee growers have enough money to cover their production costs and their family needs. It uses fixed prices purchase commitments to limit its exposure to price fluctuations and purchase future contract to provide price protection. Moreover, to spread companys risk linked to the weather and the political and economical issues, Starbucks sources bean from multiple geographic areas. Starbucks commitment to ethical sourcing (it introduced the C.A.F.E program Coffee And Farmer Equity in 2004) allows having a better quality of product, a greater visibility in the supply chain and better relationship with farmers which contribute to reach success and profitability, that is to say to reach its objectives and generate wealth. Activities involved from the roasting to the delivery to the consumer are part of internal elements to the supply chain. They involve many activities such as the manufacturing, the planning, the inventory, the transportation and distribution. The key to reach success and profitability for Starbucks is to set an integrated supply chain operating system based on managing the flows. They manage the materials flows through DRP (Distribution Resource Planning) and TRP (Transportation Requirement Planning). They also put the emphasis on the information flows management to share the relevant information and to detect the supply chain opportunities at different level. The management of the marketing plays also an important role in developing the awareness of the fair trade initiative that helps justify Starbucks premium prices. The Coca Cola supply chain involves many activities namely, the supplies of raw materials and packaging, the manufacture and production of beverage concentrate, the sales to the bottlers and distributors, the Research and Development and the delivery to customer and ultimate consumer. Supply Chain Coca Cola The internal activities of the companies are limited to the manufacture of the concentrated syrup, the selling to the bottlers, the owning of the brands and the consumer branding initiatives. Therefore the companies can focus on its core competencies such as the production of syrup and the brand development to achieve its objectives and reach success. The fact that the bottling is outsourced allows the company to focus on its core competences and therefore ensure certain profitability. The others activities are part of the external supply chain but Coca Cola strives to integrate all the supply chain activities developing a strong partnership with its bottling partners. They are in charge of manufacturing the final product, packaging, distribution and merchandising the beverage to the customer and vending partners who then sell the product to the ultimate consumer. The supplies of raw materials are mostly linked to specific nutritive and non nutritive sweeteners which are available either within the United States or outside. There are numerous sources of raw materials and they are often subject of prices fluctuations. So Coca Cola has a wide choice of raw materials suppliers so that it can spread the prices fluctuation among them and therefore control its supply chain. The procurement suppliers and bottler partners have to meet certain standard to deal with Coca Cola Company and have to commit to guide principles and incorporate sustainability. Consequently Coca Cola can achieve its objective of quality and control. The Coca Cola supply chain organization allows to enhance customer service and to optimize cost and investment. How does each companys operational strategy improve its competitiveness? According to the Competitive Advantage Model of Porter, a competitive advantage refers to the adoption of offensive or defensive action to create defendable position in an industry in order to cope with competitors and generate a superior return on investment. The basis of above average performance within an industry is sustainable competitive advantage which can be either cost leadership or differentiation. Both of the companies we are analyzing have adopted the differentiation strategy. Furthermore the operation strategy is aimed at providing competitive advantage through its performance at the five competitive objectives namely, the quality, the speed, the dependability, the flexibility and the cost. Starbucks operational strategy improves its competitiveness through different ways. First of all Starbucks has understood that developing successful partnership would be a strength to develop competitive advantage first to ensure quality of product and secondly by adopting fair trade and ethical sourcing of coffee. Indeed Starbucks used to develop relationship with the countries it exports the coffee beans from. For example it collaborated with a small town of Pasto where they set up a special operation to grow the particular Narino Supremo bean and Starbucks committed to buy the entire yield which allow to be the exclusive Narino Supremo , one of the best coffees in the world and therefore to build a competitive advantage. The ethical commitment is a strong part of the operational strategy to develop specific partnership with small farmers and strengthen competitiveness. Starbucks has developed a shared planet program where it establishes environmental, social, economic and coffee quality principles to comply with C.A.F.E (Coffee And Farmers Equity) principles guid elines. This program enables Starbucks to differentiate from its competitors. Secondly Starbucks operational strategy tends to expand its market through a number of channels such as licensing stores but also with hospitals, bank, office buildings, supermarkets, shopping centers, hotel and airlines. The strategic operation model of Starbucks is to blanket an area completely even if one store cannibalizes another one because the Starbucks every-where approach cuts down delivery costs and increase the foot traffic in the area (Mr. Coffee, 2003). It develops partnership using local partner licensee who have experience in retail and restaurant in order to provide a good service to customer and fit the corporate culture of the company. Starbucks strives to develop good relation with the partner licensee to help it recruiting talented employee and put the emphasis on the customer service to build sustainable competitive advantage. The key to successful partnership for Starbucks is to share relevant information and communicate on supply chain opportunities to optimize processes. Added to this Starbucks operational strategy focuses on developing a strong corporate culture which enable to strengthen its competitiveness. Starbucks strategy is to empower employee culture through benefits program, employee stock ownership plan and staff and management training. The management staff is trained to understand how every activities of the supply chain fit together so it can be more effective and competitive. Finally Starbucks operational strategy aims at putting the emphasis on the marketing operations in order to differentiate the format. Indeed Starbucks marketing actions have to develop a given image of a small scale and high quality roaster in ethnic culture enclaves who sells not only quality coffee but also an atmosphere, a personality, an escape, the self esteem and therefore an interpersonal relation. This image reflects Starbucks personality and consequently enables the differentiation. Coca Colas operational strategy is aimed at building its competitiveness in many ways. First its operational strategy is customer focused striving to take into account customer needs and providing a response to it in a right way and in a right time. The company sustains its success and competitive advantage by creating new ways to deliver value through innovation responding to customer and consumer needs in a fast way. For example Coca Zero refers to a new consumer need. Secondly Coca Cola put the emphasis on the differentiation to strengthen its competitiveness by building global brand. It invests in marketing campaign to develop a strong image, improve its fame and impose its brand in a global basis. Therefore consumers have developed a loyalty to the brand and Coca Cola owns several brands that consumers are willing to pay a premium price for it. More over it has developed so much economies of scale through global networks that the emphasis on marketing and advertising fix important barriers to entry for potential competitors. Coca Cola also improves its competitiveness by adopting a collaborative approach to work with their suppliers to green their supply chain. It invests in new technologies and innovation to help their suppliers who do not have the ability to do so, for example in investing in new technologies vending machines which are better for the environment. Therefore it gains competitive benefits not only because of the energy savings but also from a corporate social responsibility point of view. Coca Cola has understood that integrate its suppliers would lead to supply chain excellence and therefore to sustain a competitive advantage. Consequently the Company has created Coca Cola Supply which invites all the bottlers partner to participate. The purpose is to provide a system wide leadership to control supply chain through integrated planning, joint initiatives and best practices processes. According to Coca Cola Supply, they are transforming the supply chain from a series of discrete, inconsistent activities to a single, harmonious and sustainable system (Coca-Cola Supply Created to Drive Supply Chain Innovation, 2009). Polar diagrams performance objective of Starbucks and Coca Cola What challenges do the operational strategies present and suggest ways in which they can be overcome. Operations strategy is the decisions which shape the long term capabilities of the companys operations and their contribution to overall strategy through the on-going reconciliation of market requirements and operations resources. Regarding Starbucks operational strategy many challenges could be addressed according different issues in order to be more profitable and to sustain a competitive advantage. The first thing is to always meet the customer needs for value and quality in identifying the best ways of quality processes. This implies that Starbucks has to find more suppliers quality and stability by developing partnership with different coffee farmers in order not to be dependant of only few suppliers. The quality implies also to control more and more of independent vendors, partners and licensees. Indeed the quality is one of the core value of Starbucks and reach it allows first the differentiation and secondly the conformance with customer expectations and avoid customer complaints. Starbucks has to keep developing ethical sourcing which benefits to the companys quality and image. Starbucks should assess the risk of its supply chain especially in raw materials procurement in the different countries and asses the political, geographical, natural, infrastructural risk of each country. Indeed if an incident happen in one of the procurement place Starbucks must not be dependant of few suppliers and should react quickly. It is therefore really important to develop the partnership with different countries in order to prevent late delivery and save costs. One of the challenge Starbucks will have to face is a potential saturation of the US market. Consequently a globe expansion in key market is an operational strategy Starbucks has to develop. The international expansion of the concept involves prospecting efficiently new markets and assessing the potential of success in each market. The key is to find local partner to grow the number of licensed store and impose Starbucks as a global brand. The partner have to share the same values as Starbucks and the company have to help them finding the best talent and train them in order to strengthen more and more the corporate culture. Developing new product is also an important challenge for Starbucks. Indeed the concept is mostly based on a few products which do not allow very much flexibility. Reaching flexibility will enable Starbucks to be more reactive in case of potential change from the market. Consequently the company has to develop innovative product and service while keeping its strong value of quality. For example it should be interesting to develop co-branding with other brand which presents the same value as Starbucks in order to launch new product like the company did in 2004 with Hewlett Packard when they create a CD service burning in a store in California. Coca Cola is one of the biggest brands in the world but even if its renown and profitability is well established there remain important challenges that the company has to cope with. First of all Coca Cola Company possess many brand but one of them generates around 50% of the total revenue. Therefore the company is in way dependent of one brand which can be a limit to its flexibility even if the customer loyalty to the brand is well established. Indeed Coca Cola needs more flexibility in case of market change and especially in case of consumer behavior changes. Besides we can notice a new trend where people become more and more health consciousness and look for nutritive drinks without calories. Therefore a threat of substitutes appears. In order to cope with the potential market change Coca Cola has to put the emphasis on innovation with new brands, products and packaging more adapted to consumers needs and demand. Secondly Coca Cola have to develop ways to be always more and more profitable and efficient. The key is to reduce the cost in order to increase the margin. The areas where the company could reduce these cost is the transportation and the production. Consequently Coca Cola has to identify the best places to buy, make and distribute the product. It has to monitor each region and each country comparing different parameters which will affect the supply chain such as the weather, the port and transportation, the fuel prices, the labor rates and the internal regulations of each country which can provide opportunities. Finally Coca Cola Company has to continue the effort put on green and environmental development. Indeed the company has often benefited from a negative image of a multinational company which tries to reach profit to the detriment of the planet well being. Therefore it has to keep investing in green technologies and support sustainable development with the suppliers in order not only to save energy costs but to benefit from a corporate social responsible company. Each of your company is considering locating a new operation in one of Japan, Thailand and Singapore. Source information on each of these three countries and based on the information found and using the relevant location analysis tools select which country to locate in and support your choice. You need to define why they wish to locate an operation there i.e. what market are they servicing. You should include demographic, infrastructure, cultural, geographic information, etc. Starbucks wants to locate a new operation in Japan, Thailand or Singapore. Indeed the company wants to expand its market on a global basis to cope with a potential saturation of the United States market. Therefore Starbucks wants to develop licensed stores operation in one of these countries. The key factors in such operations are the demographics, the branding and the potential revenue that each country could offer to the company. Therefore the main factors in the decision factors are the following: Quality of life issues in the community: indeed Starbucks targets a relatively high living standard consumer. Worker education and skills: the emphasis of the quality of the staff is really important to strengthen Starbucks Corporate Culture. Site costs: The rent is part of the profitability of the stores. Cultural abilities to modern changes: Starbucks is an American company, and its values have to fit with those of the country choose. Labor availability: It is important for Starbucks to find available talent. Coca Cola Company would like to improve its competitiveness and reduce the cost of transportation and production. Consequently the company would like to set up a new manufacture of syrup in Japan, Thailand or Singapore to reach this objective. Therefore Coca Cola has to monitor each country to assess the potential opportunities it could offer. The main factors in the choice of the location are the following: Proximity to raw materials and suppliers: As a manufacture of syrup, it is important to be closed to the suppliers to reduce costs and improve efficiency. Labor costs: The cheaper is the workforce the greater is the margin. Transportation availability: The products have to be imported to the different bottlers and it is therefore important to optimize the transportation cost. Site costs: The fixed cost linked to the rent should be the least in order to increase profitability. Government fiscal policies: all incentives or taxes impact on the cost. In order to compare each country we will set up a brief overview of each countrys characteristics. Japan has a population of 128 million of inhabitant and is one of the most densely populated countries in the world. With a nominal GDP of about $4,9 trillion in 2008, it is the second richest country in the world. Moreover, with an HDI (Human Development Indicator) of 0.96 it is the tenth highest standard living country. The government is a parliamentary democracy and put the emphasis on the environmental and sustainable development. The infrastructures are well developed and Japan is open in the world. According to the Big Mac Index Japanese people have the highest salary per hour in the world and the unemployment is low with a rate of 4%. Education is quite competitive and 75% of high school graduates attend a university. The culture has seen deep change from a very traditional to contemporary one. It influences by Europe and North America. Japanese people are quite open to modern changes. Thailand has a population of 64 million of inhabitants and a nominal GDP in 2008 of about $273 billion and a medium HDI of 0.783. Thailand has been ranked by the Global Competitiveness Report of 2008 34 out of 125. The quality of education is medium but tends to improve through the private education. The cost of labor remains quite low and unskilled. The government has seen many changes since the last few years but tend today to be stable. It supports today through the National Science and Technology Development Agency the research in science and technology and encourage foreign private investment in this field. Thailand remains a very traditional country where tradition is strongly established. Concerning Singapore, with a population of 5 million of inhabitants and a nominal GDP of 182 billion in 2008 it presents a high standard of living with a HDI of 0.944. It is the least corrupt country in Asia and is a highly market based economy (one of the four Asian Tiger). Singapore has developed free trade agreement with USA in 2003. The unemployment is low and is about 5% and we can notice a shortage of skilled workers. Manufacturing constituted 26% of Singapores GDP in 2005. Singapore has one of the busiest ports in the world and is the worlds fourth largest foreign exchange trading center. Singapore is a major international transportation in Asia. Singapores culture is still very traditional society. In order to choose in which country we will operate we are going to use the Factor rating method which is useful for service and industrial location and which is one of the most widely used location technique. (C1= Japan, C2=Thailand, C3=Singapore) STARBUCKS FACTOR RATING METHOD Factors Weight Rate C1 RateC2 RateC3 ScoreC1 ScoreC2 ScoreC3 Quality of life issues in the community 30 90 60 75 2700 1800 2250 Worker education and skills 20 80 50 65 1600 1000 1300 Site costs 15 60 70 65 900 1050 975 Cultural abilities to modern changes 25 80 50 60 2000 1250 1500 Labor availability 10 85 60 70 850 600 700 Total 8050 5700 6725 According to the Factor rating Method, Starbucks should implement its new operations in Japan in order to be successful, profitable and therefore achieve its objective of expanding in new markets. COCA COLA FACTOR RATING METHOD Factors Weight Rate C1 RateC2 RateC3 ScoreC1 ScoreC2 ScoreC3 Proximity to raw materials suppliers 25 60 55 65 1500 1375 1625 Labor costs 20 55 80 70 1100 1600 1400 Transportation availability 25 70 55 85 1750 1375 2125 Site costs 20 60 70 65 1200 1400 1300 Government fiscal policies 10 60 60 70 600 600 700 Total 6150 6350 7150 According to the Rating Factor Method Coca Cola should implement its new manufacture in Singapore in order to reduce its costs of production and transportation. Indeed that is the country which offers the most opportunities to do so in term of proximity to suppliers, transportation costs and labor costs.

Coleridges the Rime Of The Ancient Mariner Essay -- essays research p

Coleridge's "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner Coleridge's poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner is wrote in a way that the reader is expected to temporarily allow him or herself to believe it to be able to understand it. The poem itself is about a Mariner who is telling his tale of sin and forgiveness by God to a man referred to as the "Wedding Guest." The Mariner is supposedly responsible for the death of all of the crew on his ship because of his killing of a creature which was to bring them the wind that they needed to put power into the sails of the ship. The whole point of the poem is to encourage or convince the reader to believe the tale that Coleridge tells. Coleridge wrote the poem as a means to induce the reader with what he calls a "willing suspension of disbelief." The poem is written in such a way that the reader is expected to willingly decide to temporarily believe the almost unbelievable story. The reason a person is to make sure that he or she believes it temporarily to be true is because the Mariner in the story is trying to get the point of forgiveness from God across to the reader and if the reader chooses not to believe the story behind the poem then they will not understand the effect of the point of the tale. Coleridge's main point in writing the story was to get people to understand forgiveness by understanding the poem. The Mariner in th... Coleridges "the Rime Of The Ancient Mariner Essay -- essays research p Coleridge's "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner Coleridge's poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner is wrote in a way that the reader is expected to temporarily allow him or herself to believe it to be able to understand it. The poem itself is about a Mariner who is telling his tale of sin and forgiveness by God to a man referred to as the "Wedding Guest." The Mariner is supposedly responsible for the death of all of the crew on his ship because of his killing of a creature which was to bring them the wind that they needed to put power into the sails of the ship. The whole point of the poem is to encourage or convince the reader to believe the tale that Coleridge tells. Coleridge wrote the poem as a means to induce the reader with what he calls a "willing suspension of disbelief." The poem is written in such a way that the reader is expected to willingly decide to temporarily believe the almost unbelievable story. The reason a person is to make sure that he or she believes it temporarily to be true is because the Mariner in the story is trying to get the point of forgiveness from God across to the reader and if the reader chooses not to believe the story behind the poem then they will not understand the effect of the point of the tale. Coleridge's main point in writing the story was to get people to understand forgiveness by understanding the poem. The Mariner in th...

Bridewealth and the American Culture

Bridewealth and the American Culture Family and personal assets affect the choices we make in picking the right mate in Western Culture. The ways we view these issues influences are dating practices, and marriage choices. Evolutionary theory predicts certain mannerism that should influence dating. Most of the time evolutionary theory is reflected in mating practices. Mating choices are also affected cross-culturally in other ways like with the Kipsigis and bridewealth. Choices we make for dating and marriage prospects rate differently according to sex and culture. The evolutionary theory predicts that women will value financial prospects higher than men do (Boyd, 2006, 461). Because women have a larger parental investment in a child, they want to be with a mate who will be able to take care of them. In David Buss' research he found that knowing a persons culture rather than gender will indicate preferences except for good financial prospects(Boyd, 2006, 465). For men in Western Culture good financial prospects are lower on their list and good looks is higher. This may be because women who are more attractive to them give the signal that they are less likely to have diseases, and possible based on their body type may be more fertile. Men and women also differ in the preference for the age of their partners. Men tend to date younger women while women date older men. This relates to the evolutionary theory because men’s fertility only slightly decreases with age, while women fertility ends as they reach menopause. It would make sense in evolutionary terms for men to choose women who have the ability to have children and are therefore younger. In actual practice men do choose women that are younger but not all of them are able to have children. â€Å"Older men may desire younger women, but they may also want to find someone who shares their tastes in music, has similar goals in life, and so on† (Boyd, 2006, 462). They may also settle with knowing that they may only be able to date women who are closer to their own age. In Kipsigis culture bridewealth is practiced. Bridewealth is payment giving to the father of the bride from the groom’s father. The payment, tendered in livestock and cash, compensates the bride’s family for the loss of her labor and gives the groom rights to her labor and the children she bears during her marriages† (Boyd, 2006, 468). It is almost like an investment. The more a woman is â€Å"worth† the higher the bridewealth. A woman is also expected to return to her family during the harvest and a higher bridewealth may be paid if the families are too far apart. Higher br idewealth is also paid for women who have had their first menstruation. This also fits in with evolutionary theory that women have a set timeline for having children. As a woman is younger they may be fit to have more children. A plumper woman will fetch a higher the bridewealth as well. Thinness in animals reflects less of ability for children and these views are reflected in the Kipsigis people when they choose women who have more body. In Western culture bridewealth is not common. Typically the bride’s family is expected to pay for much of the wedding reflecting more of a dowry. In both cultures typically the more desirable the woman’s assets are, the better choices of bridewealth or financial prospects. Mating choices and preferences can very from culture to culture. There is one thing that all cultures have in common which is that females prefer a partner with better financial ability. Evolutionary theory favors mating choices that will produce the most amount of fertility. For the Kipsigis this is seen in the healthier plump women and young women who have the ability to have more children. In Western society men rate attractiveness higher than women and often choose younger women as well even if it doesn’t increase fertility. Our mating choices are based on our gender and culture. References Boyd, Robert, & Silk, Joan B. (2006). How Humans Evolved (4th ed. ). New York: W W Norton & Company.

Differences in cultures Essay

Culture impacts the strategies of marketer for different markets and consumer groups. There are various factors which impacts culture for instance globalization, internationalization and development in the telecommunication sector. These have enabled transfer of ideas and views of one culture to another. Hence impacts the populations worldwide. Various markets today are transforming to homogenous marketplace. The differences in consumer preferences and choices are reducing day by day. Either consumer would ask for totally different product or will buy something which is common. The choices of consumer are based on the factors like his needs and financials. As said by Williams, â€Å"People across cultures can do the same thing for different reasons or motives, and people in different countries may do different things for the same reasons. †(Mooij and Marieke K. de, 2004, p. 138) Cultural values vary with product categories. A marketer would use those attributes of any product which are culturally more accepted to design its marketing, selling and advertisement strategies. Buying motives will be different in different cultures. For instance for a particular country having automobile can be a status symbol while in other having environmental friendly vehicle can be more important issue. Culture impacts the attitude and decision making capability of the consumer. It impacts the branding, packaging and promotions strategies. Different Colours and shapes have different meanings attached to it. Marketer needs to understand these meanings and factors in order to decide for the marketing mix product, price, place and promotion. The packaging which plays different roles for the marketer and consumer from protecting the product to attracting the consumer requires special attention so that it can be accepted within the target consumer groups. â€Å"Throughout the past two decades globalization has resulted in saturation of domestic markets which lead companies to become more international. The ideal strategy in the evolution to the international marketplace would be to produce, package and sell the exact same product that was sold in the domestic market. This concept is supported by a variety of researchers (Samli, 1995), who declare that 75% of the world market may be quite alike culturally. Yet, this might be an egocentric perspective of the world, ignoring the unique qualities of each culture. In quintessence, the remaining 25% of the world is culturally different. † (Weber, J. M. et al. , 2002, p. 396) I. i. a. Various Factors Influenced by Culture There are various factors influenced by culture. The reason why people buy certain product at specific period of tie may be influenced by the cultural setting of the individual. Organizations’’ prior to launching their product or setting any operational study go through the cultural aspects of the specific market. This helps organizations to serve and operate within that area effectively. Many global standard products, assumed to be culture-free, are brought for different reasons across cultures. But there are differences in understanding certain product attributes and varying buying motives which can be well explained by underlying cultural values that vary by product category. For instance, advertising appeals which are effective in one culture may result in different responses when used in another culture such as, in UK beer advertising uses humorous appeals and German car advertising uses technological appeals. Apart from advertising appeals even in case of basic needs the motives of buying varies as for example, motives for buying a car may vary between safety, status, design, and environmentally friendly, all based on different cultural values. (Mooij and Marieke K. de, 2004) Some of those are discussed below: †¢ Attitude †¢ Ethnocentrism and Ethnic Background. †¢ Lifestyle †¢ Language †¢ Aesthetic Experience †¢ Purity †¢ Colour Perception †¢ Selective Perception †¢ Communication †¢ Visual Images †¢ Shopping & Buying Behaviour Attitude: Attitude of individuals are guided by their values and beliefs. These factors are also influenced by the culture individual belongs or lives. Attitudes have an impact on behaviour and vice versa. Different culture shows different kind of attitudes on various issues like countries of origin of products, brands, ethical standards and many more within its members. Ethnocentrism and Ethnic Background. â€Å"When consumers prefer products or brands from their own country to the products or brands from other countries, this is called Consumer Ethnocentrism† (De Mooij, pp. 120). The social identity of the product varies according to its country of origin. The products from west are considered prestigious and sophisticated while products from china are considered to be low quality products. Lifestyle: As mentioned in the work of Mooij and Marieke K. de, (2004) Lifestyle is defined as the way of living. Living across the globe is different in different cultures. Language: Language is a medium of communication. It can be either in written, spoken or even in sign form. Language is an expression or a demonstration of a society and culture. Various elements of culture like thoughts, ideas, values, beliefs are reflected through language. Particular language represents its own cultural framework. Speakers of different languages not only say things differently, they experience things differently. Aesthetic Experience: Aesthetic experience refers to the experience of pleasure or displeasure caused by stimuli that are perceived as being beautiful or not beautiful, attractive or un-attractive, and rewarding or unrewarding (Russell et al., 1997. p. 125). The aesthetic value can be created by the visuals, shape, language use and others. Particular society may consider particular factor important for instance Visual language is culturally specific in Western cultures. In Asian cultures visuals plays an important role in the imagination. For the Asian designers as centering is meant to be a fundamental principle in visual art in many Asian cultures. There is a big difference on the aesthetic appeals impacting individuals in east or west. In Asian cultures complexity in the designs and visuals is very common. The use of Colours and shapes will be different. Usually bright Colours are used in Asian countries which have its own meaning attached to it. Brides usually wear red bridal uniform as red is the symbol of prosperity and growth in many cultures. Environment: Different cultures deal with the environment in different ways. In the west countries like Britain and US environmental concerns are so high these concerns have impact on the product manufacturing to product packaging strategy. The packaging would vary according to the environmental standards. This is the reason why the use of poly begs have been replaced by the recyclable paper and products for the packaging. Purity: Purity is a subjective terms used by the researchers and academicians. Purity is sometimes attached to the cleanliness and sometimes to the soul of people. It varies from culture to culture. In some culture eating food from hand may be acceptable while in other it can be unacceptable. The recent controversy on the leading reality show of UK â€Å"Big brother† the aspects of culture and purity come into picture where one member refused to eat meal prepared by the other member and would have been one of the issues of content. Colour Perception: â€Å"Colours are known to posses emotional and psychological properties (Hevner 1935; Ward 1995). † (Thomas, J. M. et al. , 2000) According to Gunnerod (1991), Japanese consumers prefer white, while consumers from Hong Kong prefer red. Tektronix (1998) found that in India, orange is considered the most sacred Colour by Hindus whereas the Ndembo in Zambia do not even consider orange as a separate Colour. In a study a Housewife’s were given 3 different packages containing the same detergent of different Colours; blue Colour (quiet Colour), the second yellow (it had strong visibility) and yellow with blue stripes. The feed back of consumer was that detergent in Blue did not clean properly. While detergent in Yellow – ‘was too strong’ and Yellow with blue stripes ‘was just perfect’. The results can be based on various factors of an individual. In US Colours are associated with certain images. These images are as follows: †¢ BLUE is associated with Wealth, Trust, and Security †¢ GRAY is associated with Strength, Exclusivity and Success †¢ ORANGE denotes cheapness †¢ YELLOW, ORANGE, BLUE are connected with happiness †¢ RED, BLACK, BROWN are connected with sadness The perception of Colour is different across cultures. In Dutch culture RED is the prominent Colour comes to mind whereas in US it is BLUE. Similarly BLACK and BROWN are the two Colours strongly associated with Sad and Stale in various cultures has some additional meaning of Formal in Brazil, Colombia, PRC and Taiwan. These Colours are considered Masculine in Austria, Hong Kong and US. BLUE, GREEN and WHITE Colours are associated with Peace, Gentle and Calm in almost all the countries. Colours like GOLD, ORANGE and YELLOW which do not posses strong association with any of the Colour meanings and are some how close to one another. In India white Colour is also associated with mourn. People wear white Colour clothes in death ceremony. Widows in Hindu culture wear white dress throughout their life after the death of husband. They are not allowed to use any form of Colour. While in west white is used as a Colour of the bridal dress. Selective Perception: Perception of an individual regarding any particular aspect depends on number of factors like values, beliefs, level of education and others. It can be defined as selective observation of reality. Selective observation is distorted understanding and formation of view regarding particular thing. People see what they want to see and how they want to see. They reinforce their perception by seeing certain things and would hardly like to change it. Selective perception is a universal phenomenon. It is reinforced by culture. Communication: Communication is a process through which ideas, emotions, faith belief and actions are transferred to one individual to another. To communicate properly one should have the knowledge of rules of communications, norms and other factors of the related community. One of the most important aspects of proficient communication is knowledge of appropriate words used at a particular point of time. There is a strong relationship between culture and language. Each of these factors is functional and mutually complementary to each other. In the process of communication message is selected and encoded in order to transfer meaning to the receiver. Cultural knowledge provides the basis for interaction. The purpose of communication may also be different across cultures. †¢ Visual Images: Most of the researches on perception are carried out in Western societies. Since the development of visual perception depends on certain kinds of learning experiences, due to which there are cross-cultural differences in perception. Evidence of a basic cross-cultural difference in perception was reported by Turnbull. Some studies suggest that the integration of pictorial elements varies cross-culturally. The correct naming of elements of a picture does not predict ability to correctly perceive their mutual relationships. There are significant cultural differences in pictorial perception and recognition. As discussed earlier, complex visual images, relying on implicit meaning, can be better processed by members of collectivistic cultures who are more used to deriving meaning from context, than by members of individualistic cultures who are made used to simple visual images that carry explicit meaning i.e. pictures speak for themselves. A picture that is very meaningful for the members of one culture because it expresses important values of that culture can be completely meaningless to the members of the other culture. For instance, imagery is a very important element of advertising which has been undervalued in research due to the historical focus on verbal communication in US. This has been proved by an advertisement of Benetton in which a black women is nursing a white baby, was been awarded fro its message of unity and equality in Europe. Simultaneously, the same advertisement stirred up controversy in US, since many believed it depicted a black nanny in the subordinate role as a slave. Shopping & Buying Behaviour: Shopping & buying behaviour is also to a large extent affected by the culture of the nation. In low power distance cultures more number of women work part-time so it influences the number of visits they make to the shop where as in high power distance cultures women mostly work full-time so they have fewer shopping-time.

walk in my shoes Essay example

walk in my shoes Essay example walk in my shoes Essay example Walk In My Shoes Empathy is defined as a way to intellectually or emotionally understand a person. Harper Lee uses pathos to create empathy and evoke powerful emotions in To Kill A Mockingbird. The children use the information from what they see and not what they are told. The last way she displays contrast of how empathy can prevent prejudice is with a distinct character named Mr. Raymond and his relations with coloured people. Using empathy in the things you perform can prevent discrimination and ill understandings of a person. Throughout the novel Jem and Scout learn the situations of others and how to understand why the think and do certain things. The first true sign of Scout maturing is when she feels sympathy for Mayella Ewell during the trial. On the outside Mayella has caused her a lot of grief. Yet when Scout hears about her life she is able to walk around in her circumstances. â€Å"As Tom Robinson gave his testimony, it came to me that Mayella Ewell must have been the loneliest person in the world. She was even lonelier then Boo Radley, who had not been out of his house in twenty five years†. She learns to appreciate another persons situation. Scout started bashing on Walter Cunnighams in the school yard. To soon be shut down by her brother Jem. â€Å"I stomped at him to chase him away but Jem put out his hand and stopped me†. Jem was stopping his sister because he knows the ordeals Walter and his family face everyday. To make up for what his sister had

Why VPNs Are Popular Today Essay Example

Why VPNs Are Popular Today Essay Example Why VPNs Are Popular Today Essay Why VPNs Are Popular Today Essay Essay Topic: Popular One of the main reasons why VPNs are so popular is because of their ability to unblock geo-blocked access. If you have ever tried to access Netflix while being abroad, then you might had a frustrating experience. The Region blocks Netflix does enforce can lead to disappointment when your eager to consume your latest dosage of your favorite drama or movie. With the use of a VPN you can bypass this access restriction that under normal circumstances you would not be able to reach due to your location, one of the examples would be getting the USA Netflix in the UK and the expected access to all extra features and content. Some countries like China do block Netflix in its entirety, and the only user friendly way around this restriction is the use of a VPN. One should remember that Netflix does have a reason for this access restriction and imposing local content restrictions. This can range from licensing rights and different broadcasting laws in each destination to simply server capacity reasons. Therefor Netflix does forbid the use of VPNs in their terms and conditions and does fight a constant uphill battle with VPN providers. Now that brings up the question what is the best VPN for Netflix? Most providers have given up the fight against Netflix unblocking so all you will see is a proxy error advising you to turn of your VPN if you would like to watch their content. A few lone VPNs, which we will recommended below, are updating and to be confirmed that they do still work with Netflix. Each and every does offer a whole bunch of options and price plans so there are still some main factors to consider. 1.) It is always a good idea to look for a provider that offers a good return or money back policy. Should Netflix change something once again or VPN provider does stop supporting Netflix then at least you can recover your hard earned money. 2.) How is my data safety and my privacy handled? Not even since the European change in Cookie law does this topic come up in the media more and more very frequently. Among the desirable features is a good encryption and a not keeping any logs policy. 3.) How is their support? A decent support range of mobile devices, and hopefully native clients for iOS/Android, will obviously come in handy for watching Netflix on the go. In addition to this technical difficulties could ruin your experience and those problems can be various and plenty. Therefor a good and friendly plus knowledgeable support is a must have. 4.) The download speed and server coverage should be top notch. To stream a video is a data intensive activity, and you will need high performance levels to avoid the video being stuck or the oh so famous buffering and loading screen. This is even of more vital important when watching any HD or 4K content. Having a wealth of servers is vital in this as you will have to find the one that can offer you the best viewing experience. To conclude the best VPNs that allow you to keep your Netflix.

Lawyers Work in All Types of Employment Settings

Lawyers Work in All Types of Employment Settings Lawyers work in all types of employment settings and may do some work for every type of employer out there, whether large or small. To simplify, note that lawyers are found in several contexts. Several lawyers have their own private practice while others work in sectors such as the government, social policy agencies, or another type of business. Learn how lawyers work in various settings and how they set the track for their legal career. Private Practice A handful of lawyers work independently in solo practices but most practicing lawyers work as part of a larger team of lawyers.  Over three-quarters of the one million-plus licensed attorneys in the nation work in private practice.  Those employed in a law firm can work as partners and associates, however, these firms also tend to hire legal professionals for other duties, such as legal secretaries, clerks, litigation support and more.  The average annual salary for a lawyer in private practice is $137,000. Government Lawyers are hired by local, state and the federal government for work on cases as well as analysis. Some lawyers might do legal research on topics related to laws or policies.  This career can lead to working for state attorneys general, public defenders, district attorneys, and the courts. They can also investigate cases on a federal level, such as for the U.S Department of Justice. The average salary for this role is $130,000 a year. Social Policy Agencies Private and nonprofit policy agencies and think tanks hire lawyers to research policy-related topics, write briefs intended to educate policymakers and litigate.  Think tank jobs often include nonprofit, public policy organizations that include advocacy initiatives. Typically, these are independent organizations but some have government relations or funding. Lawyers who are savvy and passionate about policy and research will enjoy this type of role, however, the annual average salary is about what a nonprofit can offer. Business Every large business employs lawyers. They might deal with human resources issues, such as hiring policies. Others do work related to be the business itself. For example, a lawyer who works at a pharmaceutical company might be involved in litigation or in determining the legal feasibility of particular actions. Working in a corporate law firm often comes with big responsibilities and a huge paycheck, but with smaller law firms, lawyers can expect more varied work, flexible work schedules, and more hands-on experience. Take Your Pick Lawyers work in all settings. With creativity, ingenuity, and hard work, you can have a legal career in any setting you work. Consider whether you see yourself working at a private practice, government entity, social policy agency or business, whether corporate or small. Weigh the options of what type of law you will be performing, the passion you have for the industry, the scale at which you will be working and of course, balance all of these pros and cons with the annual median salary. As a lawyer, you have options.

Industrial Revolution Paper Term Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Industrial Revolution - Term Paper Example The revolution was mainly governed by several important innovations that came into being around that time. These new methods and ways of doing things promoted greater efficiency and productivity, thereby incurring larger profits for manufacturers and yielding the manufacturing industry to become, for the first time in history, a more valuable asset to the economy than the agricultural industry (Olson, 2002). One of the major innovations of this kind was the invention and improvement of the steam engine. Previously, America had employed man- or horse-powered machinery, but was now shifting towards the use of water to run machinery, a feat that saved capital and time, thereby greatly increasing productivity and reducing cost. While most of the revolution did still rely greatly on horse and man (because of the lack of knowledge and know-how), uptake of use of water and steam engines to run machinery by several important factories paved way for many smaller ones to do so as well. Thus, c reating a somewhat chain reaction that moved towards use of the steam engine on a much larger scale (Grayson, 2010). ... This situation benefited both parties, the consumers and the producers. Because of consumer attraction, many factory owners enjoyed large profits because of the increased consumer spending and activity in the economy, leading to growth of these trades and factories in the cities of America. Another major implication of this revolution was the increased GDP per capita than had been seen ever, and the effects of the increased exports to other countries could not be ignored. In fact, for the first time after 1812 and the restrictions that followed the Embargo, America was found to be active in trading with other countries, a feat that ameliorated the national funds. Moreover, because of the complete transformation of the production system and the introduction of machinery, many jobs opened up for workers thereby increasing employment in this sense. Naturally, a revolution of this scale was to have great effects on the infrastructure of cities, and this was made very evident in America. Because of the large number of people moving into cities to work, numerous buildings were made to house these people. Buildings got taller, more modernized but the living spaces became more compact. Furthermore, because the manufacturing industry is one that greatly relies on transport and movement of parts and goods between cities, one demanded major changes in infrastructure of the cities. Firstly, the need for better roads and bridges was felt to expedite delivery of goods, and so better roads, such as the Crumberland Road, came into being. Moreover, America saw the creation of the Erie Canal, which helped simulate the economy of New York thereby helping it

According to the article and answer the question Assignment

According to the article and answer the question - Assignment Example The behaviors suggest that orangutans are intelligent species with different personality and mentality compared to chimpanzees and gorillas. Orangutans of different groups are found to have different behaviors and practices than each other. The existence of culture in animal species, as a result, is evident keeping the findings of the article in view. The way of hunting, extracting insects with sticks, making pillow of twigs or wiping faces with leaves as with a napkin are different behaviors found in different groups. The conclusion, as a result, is the confirmation of culture’s existence among Orangutans. The close association of such behaviors is found in human cultures. The different behaviors are important to understand the personality of red-haired apes from others. Furthermore, the way orangutans teach their behaviors to their young ones show the level of responsibility they take to nurture their breed and to extend their cultural norms ahead. These behaviors are significant to show the existence of culture in animals, and specifically in orangutans. 2.Drugs: Angiosperms plants are known to have a bitter taste and contain high amounts of psychoactive agents. Since Dinosaurs could not identify the bitterness and detoxify the substances with their less effective levers, they died after having a lot of angiosperms. 1. Sex: The claim is proposed as a negation to high temperatures being the reason for killing the gigantic animals, dinosaurs. However, to support the theory that rising temperatures remained the cause of their extinction, Cowles proposed the idea of testes being non-functional in such high temperature leading to natural contraception and, at extreme, the extinction of dinosaurs. The hypothesis, hence, is a mere idea which is not supported or backed up with proper evidences or experiments thereof. 2.

Malleus Maleficarum forum 12 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Malleus Maleficarum forum 12 - Essay Example The male chauvinistic society maligned women they considered influential. In the prosecution of witches, the society prosecuted a number of innocent women owing to their beliefs and attempts to defend such beliefs. In the 17th century, a number of women were drawn to witchcraft since the practice gained them some authority. The most common argument was that the evil spirit seduced women. The spirits of witchcraft and sorcery would always seek sexual gratification from women and would therefore entice the women into accepting them by peddling a number of pleasantries. Additionally, Women craved authority and influence at the time. The practice provided a degree of authority and was often beneficial since it offered ways of overcoming some common challenges such as health complications. However, the society limited the liberties for women. As such, some women married male witches thereby inheriting the practice from their old husbands. The practice of witchery thus became a major attraction since it made the women sources of authority; women became both powerful and invincible in the

Electricity Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Electricity - Assignment Example Franklin's key contribution to the understanding of electricity was his discovery that lightning shared similar characteristics as the electricity that was found in rubbed amber by the ancient Greeks. Franklin's work was situated at around 1752, whereas the work of the ancient Greeks extend way back into the early history of western civilization, to the time of the flowering of Ancient Greek literature and philosophy (The Electricity Forum, 2012). Meanwhile, work on the early modern history of electricity exists that date back to 1769, testifying to the jump starting of the science of electricity generation not too long after Franklin's work with lightning (Priestley, 1769; Tom Henry's Code Electrical Classes Inc., 2012). Volta and Galvani would advance the understanding of electricity even further, by giving to the world the understanding of how electricity works in the context of Galvani's experiment with frogs. Volta's understanding of the way electric current is made from Galvani 's frog experiments would drive the field forward. Volta understood that when two metal conductors contact water/moisture in frog bodies, electricity was generated. This insight paved the way for the creation of the first modern batteries, in 1792. Moreover, another important derivation of Volta's work on electricity is that of the ability of electricity to travel through conductor wires (The Electricity Forum, 2012): In this way, a new kind of electricity was discovered, electricity that flowed steadily like a current of water instead of discharging itself in a single spark or shock. Volta showed that electricity could be made to travel from one place to another by wire, thereby making an important contribution to the science of electricity. The unit of electrical potential, the Volt, is named after Volta (The Electricity Forum, 2012) On the other hand, whereas Volta demonstrated electricity transfer by wire, the development of large-scale transmission of electricity is credited to Michael Faraday. Faraday inverted the hypothesis that electricity is able to generate magnetism, and posited that magnetism could also bring about the generation of electricity, a hypothesis that was proven to be correct from his own experimental setups. The answer to Faraday's problem of generating electricity with the use of magnets lay in setting the magnets into motion. He was able to then show that magnetic fields in motion set into play the dynamics of electricity generation in this fashion. Four decades from that work by Faraday, on the other hand, Thomas Edison would set in motion the experiments that would bring about the production of the electric DC generator on a scale that could be considered practical. It was with DC electricity that Edison first lit up his experimental transmission and lighting infrastructure in New York and in his lab. On the other hand, while the Edison setup was functional, DC current faced many criticisms of its shortcomings, which led to AC elec tricity being developed and eyed as a more suitable mode of electricity generation and transmission on large scales (The Electricity Forum, 2012). The work of Edison deserves special mention for the vast number of peripheral

Management Accounting Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Management Accounting - Assignment Example The information is used to analyse the influence of the company’s undertakings on key accounts such as costs and profits. Therefore, it is fair to mention that the costing systems facilitate decision-making by providing critical information suitable for operation analysis. The common types of costing systems are the activity based costing and the absorption costing system. The paper will provide a profit and loss statement prepared using both the ABC and absorption costing system. In addition, a discussion will be included to explain to Riptide Plc’s manager that the ABC system provides extra information suitable for decision-making. Let us determine the absorption rate for the two departments (machine and assembly department). The absorption rate for machine department = (overhead allocated to machine department/ machine hours) = (504,000/420,000) = $ 1.2/ machine hour. Therefore, the overhead cost per product is as below. The absorption rate for the assembly department = (overhead allocated to assembly department/ direct labour hours) = (437,000/530,000) = $ 0.8245/ labour hour. Therefore, the overhead cost per product is below. Profit statements have been prepared using the ABC system and the absorption costing system. In the process of making the profit statements, the costs incurred by Riptide plc when producing the three products have also been identified based on the two costing systems. Based Table F below, the cost per unit under the ABC system for product XYI, YZT and ABW are  £ 39.25,  £ 92.025 and  £ 73.583. Under absorption costing, product XYI and YTZ cost more than the same products’ costs under the ABC system. However, product ABW cost more under the ABC than it costs under absorption system. Therefore, the differences in the cost of the products under the two costing systems are summarized in Table F below. Based on Table G below,

Socialnetworkingsecurity Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 8750 words

Socialnetworkingsecurity - Dissertation Example Instead, many organizations either prohibit social media use altogether, or have no policy at all regarding social media use. These two approaches are unsatisfactory. According to the global socioeconomic trend, people and organizations that do not adopt social media are left behind and fail to reap the significant benefits. Therefore, social media could be branded a necessary evil. We allow social media use without any policies or guidelines, therefore exposing ourselves to security threats. This paper basically explores the security risks associated with social networking to individuals and organizations, and the possible technical and administrative safety measures. CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION, STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM, SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS, PREMISE, DEFINITIONS, LIMITATIONS AND DELIMITATIONS Introduction Social networking sites popularity has greatly increased. No one can argue the usefulness of sites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. They are used for professional networking an d job searches, as a means of increasing sales revenue, as an information tool regarding safety and other issues or as a way to reconnect with friends. Evidently, emails have lost their position as the main internet-based communication tools due to the explosion of other social networking options, interaction and collaboration (Freeman, 2004). According to a report by The Wall Street Journal in 2009, there are more social networking accounts than Webmail account. Nowadays, users rely more on blogs, tweets and social networking posts to supplement their exchange of personal and professional information. We live in a period where our identity online seem to overshadow our actual identity, as well as key personal and financial systems, thus posing major security risks that are associated with them. Over the years, security risks on process, people and application have been identified by researchers and hackers (Abraham, 2012). This study’s main purpose is to provide an overview of the main security issues or risks pertaining to social networking. Statement of the Problem Why should access to personal data be limited, and what are the security risks arising from social networking? Situational Analysis In an effort to employ a more strict process for carrying out a situational analysis on social media, the study will employ SWOT model. To commence, we begin by listening, which serves as the market research, content, location and tone of the discussions found in social media. From the listening activities, one will gain insight as follows: Talent: On the basis of listening activities, what skills are necessary in order to take part in social media? Technological talent is required thus as a result of luck of this, participation is highly restricted in the realm of social media (Abraham, 2012). Time: Knowledge regarding the time required will be necessary to dedicate to our social media endeavors is critical. The main aim being the influence to other aspects o f the business as time shifts to activities in social media. Through listening, one is able to acquire some degree for the timeframe faced in terms of being involved (Abraham, 2012). Capital: Through listening, one is able to determine the span covered by online discussion, thus giving a suggestion to what is necessary to become engaged. Obviously, there is a cost involved when it comes to training employees on participating in social media, which has to be considered - this is regarded as the

Management Accounting Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Management Accounting - Assignment Example The information is used to analyse the influence of the company’s undertakings on key accounts such as costs and profits. Therefore, it is fair to mention that the costing systems facilitate decision-making by providing critical information suitable for operation analysis. The common types of costing systems are the activity based costing and the absorption costing system. The paper will provide a profit and loss statement prepared using both the ABC and absorption costing system. In addition, a discussion will be included to explain to Riptide Plc’s manager that the ABC system provides extra information suitable for decision-making. Let us determine the absorption rate for the two departments (machine and assembly department). The absorption rate for machine department = (overhead allocated to machine department/ machine hours) = (504,000/420,000) = $ 1.2/ machine hour. Therefore, the overhead cost per product is as below. The absorption rate for the assembly department = (overhead allocated to assembly department/ direct labour hours) = (437,000/530,000) = $ 0.8245/ labour hour. Therefore, the overhead cost per product is below. Profit statements have been prepared using the ABC system and the absorption costing system. In the process of making the profit statements, the costs incurred by Riptide plc when producing the three products have also been identified based on the two costing systems. Based Table F below, the cost per unit under the ABC system for product XYI, YZT and ABW are  £ 39.25,  £ 92.025 and  £ 73.583. Under absorption costing, product XYI and YTZ cost more than the same products’ costs under the ABC system. However, product ABW cost more under the ABC than it costs under absorption system. Therefore, the differences in the cost of the products under the two costing systems are summarized in Table F below. Based on Table G below,

The Greeks and gods Essay Example for Free

The Greeks and gods Essay The Greeks looked at their gods with attributes they only wished they could attain. They developed stories of extraordinary people that were the offspring of immortals such as Nymphs or gods like Hermes or Zeus. Most of these stories consisted of labors, quests, or bloody wars, where the heroes were at the epicenter of the tale. What made these heroes so great was not just the fact they had godly attributes or completed monumental tasks, but endured more tragedy or more bliss than any common Greek would undergo. One tale commonly told was that of a demigod named Achilles. His mother Thetis was a Sea Nymph, and his father was Peleus, was the king of the Myrmidons. Most stories of Achilles revolved around war, where either his gift was at his greatest or worst. Every Greek sought him for battle so his skills would tip the balance to their favor. No myth exemplified this more than that of the ten-year Trojan War. An excerpt from a translation written by Apollodorus that accounts this time state, â€Å"He also took Lesbos and Phocaea, then Colophon, and Smyrna, and Clazomenae, and Cyme; and afterwards Aegialus and Tenos, the so-called Hundred Cities; then, in order, Adramytium and Side; then Endium, and Linaeum, and Colone. He took also Hypoplacian Thebes and Lyrnessus, and further Antandrus, and many other cities. † (Frazer) By many accounts, you could argue that Achilles was the dealer of death and that he relished in every moment of his adventures. By his own words, this was not the case. For example, in the textbook the Classical Mythology it states, â€Å"The now dead Achilles laments, I should prefer as a slave to serve another man, even if he had no property and little to live on, than to rule all those dead who have done with life (Morford, Lenardon, Sham, 2011). Another hero that many spoke of during that day an age was Odysseus. He was a descendant of Hermes who became king of Ithaca. The real stories of Odysseus that Greeks and many others embrace were of the Trojan War and Homers poem the Odyssey. Some Greeks would argue Odysseus came second only to Achilles as a hero due the trials he endured. Odysseus’s story began at the start of the Trojan War where he stood and fought for ten years. After nine years of failure, Odysseus was enlightened by Athena to trick the Trojans and capture its city. He erected a symbol, he knew only the Trojans would accept and embrace. He hid the strongest Greeks inside a giant wooden horse who laid and waited until nightfall. Once inside impenetrable walls the Greeks were able to sake the city. Once war was all but over, Odysseus  sailed for home. â€Å"Come then, do as I say, let us all be won over; let us run away with our ships to the beloved land of our fathers since no longer now shall we capture Troy of the wide ways. † (Lattimore, 1999) During this voyage, he encountered a man eating Cyclops named Polyphemus who he ended up blinding to escape. Unbeknownst to him Polyphemus was the son of Poseidon, god of the sea, who became enraged. The consequences of these actions did not lead him home to his kingdom and beloved wife, but astray for another ten years of wars and adventures. The one hero that endured more pain and suffering than any other was Heracles. He was the bastard son of the god Zeus and a beautiful Greek woman named Alcmena. Hera, the wife of Zeus, always showed distain for Zeus’s infidelities, yet took a close personal interest in Heracles. There are several instances where she intervened to cause him great tragedy. First, she tried to stop his birth. This was only overcome by tricking Ilithyia, the goddess of birth, who Hera had sent. Months after that Hera sent serpents to his cradle, but he grabbed them by the neck shacking them as if they were just one of his toys. The next obstacle came when he was a man after he was to wed the King Creon’s daughter, Megara. Seeing that Heracles had found his piece of happiness with his new wife and daughters Hera drove Heracles mad. In his fit of rage, he killed them. Overwhelmed with grief Heracles searched for a way of redemption. He came across the King of Tiryns, Eurystheus, who told him the only way he could cleanse his soul was to endure 12 impossible labors. One of his labours was to kill the Nemian lion, which was ironic. â€Å"The Nemeian Lion whom Hera, the queenly wife of Zeus, trained up and settled among the hills of Nemeia, to be a plague to mankind. There he preyed upon the tribes of the indwelling people, and was as a king over Tretos and Apesas and Nemeia. Nevertheless, the force of strong Heracles subdued him (Evelyn-White, 1914). After completing the 12 labours, Heracles enjoyed many adventures. He saved Olympus from the Gigantes and assisted in conquering Troy. For a moment, life for him was peaceful until Hera drove him mad again. During that fit of rage, he threw his closest friend Iphitus over a wall to his death. After this tragedy, Heracles knew he would have to cleanse his soul again. Queen Omphale offered him a choice. A task that would require him to endure one of the worst shames a man could. Her proposal was for him to wear women’s clothing and conduct the tasks as one of her female servants. For the next three years, Heracles completed his servitude in shame without ever being honored for any of his previous glories. In conclusion, all these heroes had godly attributes which enabled them to complete monumental tasks, but at the same time endure more tragedy or bliss than any common Greek would undergo. Achilles was a great warrior but found no peace with what he had accomplished in his life. Heracles also endured much strife and ended up dying a gruesome fate. On the other hand, Odysseus left his home, endured many obstacles, but returned from twenty years of servitude with rejoices from all of Greece. One common fact remains, despite each hero’s fate no Greek would endure so much, but could look to these myths as a testament to great achievements or failures. References: Frazer, J. G. (1921) Apollodorus, Epitome 3. 33. Retrieved from http://www. theoi. com/Text/ApollodorusE. html Morford, M,Lenardon, R, Sham, M, (2011) Greek Mytholodgy 9th Ed. Oxford University Press Lattimore, R (1999). The Odyssey of Homer. New York, NY: Harper Perennial Modern Classics. Evelyn-White, H. The Theogony of Hesiod. (1914). Retrieved from http://www. sacred-texts. com/cla/hesiod/theogony. htm

A Brief Background On Nestle Marketing Essay

A Brief Background On Nestle Marketing Essay In the 1860s Henri Nestlà ©, a pharmacist, developed a food for babies who were unable to breastfeed. His first success was a premature infant who could not tolerate his mothers milk or any of the usual substitutes. People quickly recognized the value of the new product, after Nestlà ©s new formula saved the childs life, and soon, Farine Lactà ©e Henri Nestlà © was being sold in much of Europe. In 1905 Nestlà © merged with the Anglo-Swiss Condensed Milk Company. By the early 1900s, the company was operating factories in the United States, Britain, Germany and Spain. World War I created new demand for dairy products in the form of government contracts. By the end of the war, Nestlà ©s production had more than doubled. After the war Government contracts dried up and consumers switched back to fresh milk. However, Nestlà ©s management responded quickly, streamlining operations and reducing debt. The 1920s saw Nestlà ©s first expansion into new products, with chocolate the Companys second most important activity Nestlà © felt the effects of World War II immediately. Profits dropped from $20 million in 1938 to $6 million in 1939. Factories were established in developing countries, particularly Latin America. Ironically, the war helped with the introduction of the Companys newest product, Nescafà ©, which was a staple drink of the US military. Nestlà ©s production and sales rose in the wartime economy. 1944-1975 The end of World War II was the beginning of a dynamic phase for Nestlà ©. Growth accelerated and companies were acquired. In 1947 came the merger with Maggi seasonings and soups. Crosse Blackwell followed in 1960, as did Findus (1963), Libbys (1971) and Stouffers (1973). Diversification came with a shareholding in LOrà ©al in 1974. 1975-1981 Nestlà ©s growth in the developing world partially offset a slowdown in the Companys traditional markets. Nestlà © made its second venture outside the food industry by acquiring Alcon Laboratories Inc.. 1981-1995 Nestlà © divested a number of businesses1980 / 1984. In 1984, Nestlà ©s improved bottom line allowed the Company to launch a new round of acquisitions, the most important being American food giant Carnation. 1996-2002 The first half of the 1990s proved to be favorable for Nestlà ©: trade barriers crumbled and world markets developed into more or less integrated trading areas. Since 1996 there have been acquisitions including San Pellegrino (1997), Spillers Petfoods (1998) and Ralston Purina (2002). There were two major acquisitions in North America, both in 2002: in July, Nestlà © merged its U.S. ice cream business into Dreyers, and in August, a USD 2.6bn acquisition was announced of Chef America, Inc. 2003 + The year 2003 started well with the acquisition of  Mà ¶venpick Ice Cream, enhancing  Nestlà ©s position as one of the world market leaders in this product category.   In 2006, Jenny Craig and Uncle Tobys were added to the Nestlà © portfolio and 2007 saw  Novartis Medical Nutrition, Gerber and Henniez join the Company.   Nestlà © is the worlds leading Nutrition, Health and Wellness company. We are committed to increasing the nutritional value of our products while improving the taste. We  achieve this through our  brands and with initiatives like the Nutritional Compass. Since Henri Nestlà © developed the first milk food for infants in 1867, and saved the life of a neighbours child, the Nestlà © Company has aimed to build a business as the worlds leading nutrition, health and wellness company  based on sound human values and principles. The Nestlà © Corporate Business Principles are at the basis of our companys culture. We have built our business on the fundamental principle that to have long-term success for our shareholders, we not only have to comply with all applicable legal requirements and ensure that all our activities are sustainable, but additionally we have to create significant value for society. At Nestlà © we call this Creating Shared Value. Our  Corporate Business Principles will continue to evolve and adapt to a changing world, our basic foundation is unchanged from the time of the origins of our Company, and reflects the basic ideas of fairness, honesty, and a general concern for people. Nestlà © is committed to the following Business Principles in all countries, taking into account local legislation, cultural and religious practices: Nestlà ©s business objective is to manufacture and market the Companys products in such a way as to create value that can be sustained over the long term for shareholders, employees, consumers, and business partners. Nestlà © does not favour short-term profit at the expense of successful long-term business development. Nestlà © recognizes that its consumers have a sincere and legitimate interest in the behaviour, beliefs and actions of the Company behind brands in which they place their trust, and that without its consumers the Company would not exist. Nestlà © believes that, as a general rule, legislation is the most effective safeguard of responsible conduct, although in certain areas, additional guidance to staff in the form of voluntary business principles is beneficial in order to ensure that the highest standards are met throughout the organization. Nestlà © is conscious of the fact that the success of a corporation is a reflection of the professionalism, conduct and the responsible attitude of its management and employees. Therefore recruitment of the right people and ongoing training and development are crucial. Nestlà © continues to maintain its commitment to follow and respect all applicable local laws in each of its markets. The Nestlà © Corporate Business Principles The ten principles of business operations Consumers; 1 Nutrition, Health and Wellness 2 Quality assurance and product safety 3 Consumer communication Human rights and labour practices 4 Human rights in our business activities Our people 5 Leadership and personal responsibility 6 Safety and health at work Suppliers and customers 7 Supplier and customer relations 8 Agriculture and rural development The environment 9 Environmental sustainability 10 Water Consumers Nutrition, Health and Wellness Our core aim is to enhance the quality of consumers lives every day, everywhere by offering tastier and healthier food and beverage choices and encouraging a healthy lifestyle. We express this via our corporate proposition Good Food, Good Life. Quality assurance and product safety Everywhere in the world, the Nestlà © name represents a promise to the consumer that the product is safe and of high standard. Consumer communication We are committed to responsible, reliable consumer communication that empowers consumers to exercise their right to informed choice andpromotes healthier diets. We respect consumer privacy. Human rights in our business activities We fully support the United Nations Global Compacts(UNGC) guiding principles on human rights and labour andaim to provide an example of good human rights and labourpractices throughout our business activities. Leadership and personal responsibility Our success is based on our people. We treat each other with respect and dignity and expect everyone to promote a sense of personal responsibility. We recruit competent and motivated people who respect our values, provide equal opportunities for their development and advancement, protect their privacy and do not tolerate any form of harassment or discrimination. Safety and health at work We are committed to preventing accidents, injuries and illness related to work,and to protect employees, contractors and others involved along the value chain. Supplier and customer relations We require our suppliers, agents, subcontractors and their employees to demonstrate honesty, integrity and fairness, and to adhere to our non-negotiable standards. In the same way, we are committed towards our own customers. Agriculture and rural development We contribute to improvements in agricultural production, the social and economic status of farmers, rural communities and in production systems to make them more environmentally sustainable. Environmental sustainability We commit ourselves to environmentally sustainable business practices. At all stages of the product life cycle we strive to use natural resources efficiently, favour the use of sustainably-managed renewable resources, and target zero waste. Water We are committed to the sustainable use of water and continuous improvement in water management. We recognise that the world faces a growing water challenge and that responsible management of the worlds resources by all water users is an absolute necessity. Commitment of the Chairman and the Chief Executive Officer Peter Brabeck-Letmathe Chairman of the Board We believe in the importance of a strong compliance culture that is fully embedded in our business. The Corporate Business Principles and the supporting documents reflect this commitment and thus protect the trust of our consumers and other stakeholders in the Nestlà © brand. Our internal rules not only require strict compliance with the law, they guide our actions even if the law is more lenient or where there is no applicable law at all. For Nestlà ©, upholding compliance goes beyond keeping checklists. It requires steadfast principles that apply across the whole Company, providing clear guidance to our people. As the Chairman and the Chief Executive Officer of Nestlà ©, we are committed to making sure that our entire Company is managed according to these principles and require adherence to them from all our employees around the world. We are also committed to continuous improvement and are open to external engagement regarding any area of our Corporate Business Principles. The Nestlà © Corporate Business Principles are at the basis of our companys culture, which has developed over the span of 140 years. Since Henri Nestlà © first developed his successful infant cereal Farine Lactà ©e, we have built our business on the fundamental principle that to have long-term success for our shareholders, we not only have to comply with all applicable legal requirements and ensure that all our activities are sustainable, but additionally we have to create significant value for society. At Nestlà © we call this Creating Shared Value. Although our Nestlà © Corporate Business Principles were first published as an integrated document in 1998, most had already been established in individual form many years before. While the Business Principles are firmly established, they also continue to evolve and adapt to a changing world. For instance, Nestlà © incorporated all ten principles of the United Nations Global Compact soon after their creation and continues to implem ent them today. This latest revision differs from the previous two versions in that it establishes Creating Shared Value as Nestlà ©s fundamental business principle. In addition, each principle is specifically linked to on-line copies of more detailed principles, policies, Standards and guidelines. This has allowed the statement of each principle to be more succinct, while providing more detailed implementing measures related to each one on the worldwide web. Also, for the first time, a map of the principles and an overview of related company measures is included at the start of the document. We believe in the importance of a strong compliance culture that is fully embedded in our business. The Corporate Business Principles and the supporting documents reflect this commitment and thus protect the trust of our consumers and other stakeholders in the Nestlà © brand. Our internal rules not only require strict compliance with the law, they guide our actions even if the law is more lenient or where there is no applicable law at all. For Nestlà ©, upholding compliance goes beyond keeping checklists. It requires steadfast principles that apply across the whole Company, providing clear guidance to our people. As the Chairman and the Chief Executive Officer of Nestlà ©, we are committed to making sure that our entire Company is managed according to these principles and require adherence to them from all our employees around the world. We are also committed to continuous improvement and are open to external engagement regarding any area of our Corporate Business Principles. MISSION STATEMENT At Nestle we believe that research can help us make better food so that people live a better life Marketing and sales Nestle is one of the worlds largest global food companies.    It has over 500 factories in 76 countries, and sells its products in 193 nations.    Only 1% of sales and 3% of employees are located in its home country, Switzerland.    Having reached the limits of growth and profitable penetration in most Western markets, Nestle turned its attention to emerging markets in Eastern Europe, Asia, and Latin America for growth.    Many of these countries are relatively poor, but the economies are growing quickly.    Thus a consumer base capable of buying many Nestle products will develop over the next couple of decades. Nestle tries to enter emerging markets ahead of competitors, and build a substantial position in basic foodstuffs.    As income levels rise, the company progressively moves from these niches into more upscale items.    It very much focuses on developing local goods for local markets, however, and places relatively less emphasis on its global brands in emerging markets.    It also localizes its distribution and marketing strategy to the requirements of the local market.    When good opportunities are available, Nestle acquires local firms. Nestle is a very decentralized organization, with operating decisions pushed down to local units.    On top of this are both a SBU organization focused around food groups, and a regional organization that tries to help rationalize production and marketing among nearby countries.    Helping hold the organization together is a group of managers who rotate around the world on various assignments. During the year under review the company ach ieved sustainable profitable growth by capitalizing on the opportunity presented by a positive business environment. This became possible through successful marketing and sales strategies and focus on key initiatives. Innovation and renovation remained the key to development of new products. Because Nestle competes in a broad range of geographic areas as well as in a broad range of product categories, it faces competition from an equally broad range of companies. Some of its competitors are multinational organizations with similar product lines that cross regional bounds. These include Philip Morris, RJR Nabisco and Unilever. Other companies focus on a single product area in which Nestle competes. The result of this type of competition is that Nestle must compete vigorously across its international customer base. Since the product categories in which Nestle participates are no longer in the introductory or growth phase, there is increased price pressure, as well, which means that companies who do not focus on marketing and on competitive pricing can quickly lose large amounts of market share which can be difficult to recover. In some cases, smaller competitors have brought pressure on governments to help regulate the activities of Nestle; this is not different from compa nies in other countries. The acquisition of Source Perrier is a prime example of this. Although Nestle had acquired other companies in the past which had similar products to its own, the Source Perrier acquisition brought considerable critics. Nestle uses local brands in a wide range of local markets and focuses on trying to optimize ingredients and processing technology to local conditions. That is why, the company needs to be flexible and able to adapt rapidly to local demand and cultural differences. Doing business in different countries means different ethical standards, different business expectations, and different cultural norms. Nestle claims that it can reduce risks and concentrate its marketing resources by narrowing its initial market focus to just a few strategic brands. Its global strategy must be backed up with the necessary financial and human resources and knowledge management should be introduced to spread information throughout the company. Clearly, the entrance of a company into the global marketplace creates numerous challenges. Knowing that innovation and quality were key determinants, Nestle transferred these distinctive competencies to foreign markets. In Nigeria, for example, Nestle had to rethink i ts traditional distribution methods (operating a central warehouse), because the road system was poorly developed and there was much violence. This example shows, that the company was able to respond quickly to different local conditions. You are required to relate all your findings to Nestle. Task 1 You are required to compare alternative definitions of marketing. In your opinion what would be the appropriate definition for Nestle, justify your answer.(outcome 1.1) Definitions: alternative definitions including those of the Chartered Institute of Marketing and the American Marketing Association, satisfying customers needs and wants, value and satisfaction, exchange relationships, the changing emphasis of marketing. Definition of marketing (4 is enough) a) which definition is more appropriate for Nestle. b) you can chooseyour own definition too. Task 2 Identify the main characteristics of a marketing oriented organization and how do u think Nestle fair in this. (outcome 1.2) Marketing concept: evolution of marketing, business orientations, societal issues and emergent philosophies, customer and competitor orientation, efficiency and effectiveness, limitations of the marketing concept. Main characteristic of a marketing oriented organization Link it to Nestle Task 3 Explain the various elements of the marketing concept. Relate your findings to Nestle (outcome 1.3) Marketing process overview: marketing audit, integrated marketing, environmental analysis, SWOT analysis, marketing objectives, constraints, options, plans to include target markets and marketing mix, scope of marketing. Marketing concept Relate to Nestle Task 4 You need to Identify and assess the benefits and costs of a marketing approach. Do you think Nestle has achieve this? Justify your answer. (outcome 1.4) Costs and benefits: benefits of building customer satisfaction, desired quality, service and customer care, relationship marketing, customer retention, customer profitability, costs of too narrow a marketing focus, total quality marketing. How to build customer satisfaction Desired quality are achieved Service and customer care Relationship marketing Customer retention Customer profitability Cost of 2 narrow and marketing focus Total quality marketing Relate this to Nestle Task 5 Identify and explain macro and micro environmental factors which influence marketing decisions. You need to do an analysis as to how Nestle is affected with micro and macro environment and how do they overcome the problems encountered. (outcome 1.5) Macro-environment: environmental scanning, political, legal, economic, socio-cultural, ecological and technological factors. What their news are? What happend? How they solve it? Task 6 Propose segmentation criteria to be used for two products in different markets. You are required to choose any two products of nestle and propose the segmentation appropriately. (outcome 1.6) Micro- environmental: stakeholders (organisations own employees, suppliers, customers, intermediaries, owners, financiers, local residents, pressure groups and competitors), direct and indirect competitors, Porters competitive forces. Segmentation: (e.g baby product/ health product) What is segmentation Why is it important? Relate it to Nestle What kind of market they are going to propose Task 7 Outline the factors which influence the choice of targeting strategy. As Nestle has wide range of products in many different countries you can choose any products and compare how the strategy differs in one country to another. (outcome 1.7) Buyer behaviour: dimensions of buyer behaviour, environmental influences, personal variables- demographics, sociological, physiological- motivation, perception and learning, social factors, physiological stimuli, attitudes, other lifestyle and lifecycle variables, consumer and organisational buying. What is marketing strategy all about? Why is it important? What is the benefit? Relate it to Nestle Task 8 You are required to explain how buyer behaviour affects marketing activities in two different buying situations. Relate your findings to Nestle. (outcome 1.8) Segmentation: process of market selection, macro and micro segmentation, bases for segmenting markets is geographic, demographic, psychographic and behavioural; multivariable segmentation and typologies, benefits of segmentation, evaluation of segments and targeting strategies, positioning, segmentation, evaluation of segments and targeting strategies, positioning, segmenting industrial markets, size, value, standards, industrial classification. What is buyer behaviour? Why doing buyer behaviour analysis? Relate it to Nestle

Fridgiaire Case Analysis :: Business Marketing Case Studies

Frigidaire Case Analysis Problems/Issues Introduction of the front loading washing machine was confronted with a number of problems/issues. Besides the obvious technology differences between the front loading and top loading machine the big difference for a consumer is the price. The advantages such as tumble wash, energy efficiency, space saver, and about 8,000 gallons of water saved a year are overshadowed by the high price. There were other perception problems technologically speaking, however these are all minor. The major problem is the price of one unit and the lack of price savings from this energy/water savings over time to compensate for this higher price point. Consumer interest did not significantly increase according to focus groups until the price came down to $599 from the target retail price of $799. Case Analysis   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Kenmore in 1996 had 29% of washing machine marked share. The initial sales for the new front loading washing machine dropped below forecast mainly due to failure to get Sears Kenmore brand in the mix. The expected DOE regulations were delayed indefinitely, therefore decreasing the demand for energy efficient machines.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The management team wanted to provide incentives to consumers, dealers, and Frigidaire. The research showed that close personal attention would be key in gaining market share, as well as highlighting the advantages of the front loading washing machine over the top loading washing machine to not only consumers but to dealers. Alternatives   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Invest more money (allocation of resources) in research to get the price point of the top loader down to $599. This will set the company back a bit, however if more research and development can produce lower production costs this will increase market share significantly.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Accelerate negotiations with Sears (sources of synergy) to take advantage of their section of the market. This will increase the front loading market share as well, based on the fact that Kenmore has the largest percentage in market share as of 1996.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Increase marketing efforts (sources of competitive advantage) to the target groups to stir up more interest in the advantages of the front loading washing machine. This will increase demand if you start a buzz about the advantages, focusing on all or one of them.