Monday, September 30, 2019

Mrs. Walters

Throughout my stay my mom was consistently dirty, and the bathroom fixtures were rusty. Additionally, I had to request fresh towels each evening of my stay. To make matters worse, the casino was extremely loud and the music did not stop until 3 A. M. I complained to the Front Desk Manager, Rail Rodriguez, and requested another room but was told there were no other rooms available. No one from the hotel addressed my concerns and I was told repeatedly that housekeeping had been alerted to my complaints. Despite my repeated complaints, my room was never properly cleaned and was never furnished with fresh towels.Because of the casino noise, I was unable to sleep comfortably for two nights. Hence, my time spent In Puerco Rice was nerve-wracking. The cost of a room with a king sized bed and an ocean view, at the time of my booking, was $190 per night and I stayed for 3 nights. In Dalton, a resort charge of 20% was added to my bill. As this accommodation was prepaid through expelled. Com, I was told that I could not request a refund at the hotel. Considering that I made several complaints that were documented and showed patience In walling for the situations to be Improved, I am writing to request that I be refunded the cost of my accommodation.The customer service for this branch needs to be Improved. The Front Desk Manager should be more sensitive to the needs of your guests. Additionally, housekeeping routines should be consistent. It Is extremely distressing for a traveler to experience such poor service. With this In mind, I think It only reasonable for your company to refund the cost for my stay at you San Juan hotel. Sincerely, Mrs.. Walters By [email  protected] Com San Juan, Puerco Rice, 00785 I am a frequent traveler but this is the first time I have stayed in your San Juan hotel. Two nights. Hence, my time spent in Puerco Rice was nerve-wracking.The cost of a per night and I stayed for 3 nights. In addition, a resort charge of was added to my bill. As thi s accommodation was prepaid through expedited. Com, I was told that I that were documented and showed patience in waiting for the situations to be improved, I am writing to request that I be refunded the cost of my accommodation. The customer service for this branch needs to be improved. The Front Desk Manager routines should be consistent. It is extremely distressing for a traveler to experience such poor service. With this in mind, I think it only reasonable for your company to

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Reaction Paper to Ethics Essay

Ethos – Characteristic way of acting Ethics’ Greek word is ethos. The ethos of man as man is revealed in the following: He is able to distinguish between good and evil, right or wrong, moral and immoral; he feels within himself an obligation to do what is good and to avoid what is evil; and he feels himself accountable for his actions, expecting reward or punishment for them. In our study, ethos refers to those characteristics belonging to man as a rational being endowed with intellect and free-will. It provides the person with knowledge that he may know what to do and how to do it, thus, ethics provides the guides to the performance of an act. In the topic discussed above, I learned that ethos or ethics is important to us, in able for us to become a noble man or noble woman, we need to know what is good and do it and know what is evil and avoid it. We need ethos in our lives to be aware of the result of each action that we do in our everyday lives, if it will result to a good thing which is represented by rewards or it will result to a bad thing which is then represented by punishments or consequences. In our childhood days, we intend to copy the ones who are bigger and older than us, thinking that what they are doing is always right, so we do what they do, because we don’t know how to act yet, we don’t know what is good for us or bad for us back then. Now we’ve grown up and became knowledgeable about what is good and what is evil, but in each day of our everyday life, sometimes forgot that what we have been doing is wrong but seems to be right for us, like lying for the benefit of ourselves to keep us safe from being scolded by our parents, cheating during the quizzes, drinking with our peer groups or circle of friends and a lot more. What I’ve learned in ethics is the ethos: that we are accountable for all our actions and we have an obligation to do things right for us to be able to attain the good life. It gives us awareness for the things we must do and the things we must avoid. We’re not a child anymore, so we know what is good and what is evil, but sometimes, even we know it is bad, we are forced by our own desire to try it. Our curiosity leads us to try things done by common people in our society, then later, we find it good, but deep inside, we feel it is wrong. â€Å"But they did it, so I did it so†, that was the  common alibi. Now, I know that what we’ve done is wrong and we are now expecting punishment for the things we have done. We are now aware and will try to not to do it again. We would not depend on the activity of other people to be our activity too, but rather, we would have a basis in every act that we do, thinking first if it would be good or right for us, or bad f or us. Gerson R. MonteserGeneral Ethics BSIT-CPT IIReaction to Chapter 2 Man must strive for happiness What makes a man happy? Is it riches? Is it gadgets and gizmos? Is it fame? Or is it freedom? So what does make a man happy? I believe that man is a non-contented being, even he said, this is enough, but deep inside of him, he needs more. Man is in a continuous search of things that would make them happy for a long period of time. When a man has this desire to gain an object or an experience that he really loves to have, he will strive for it, he will work for it, and he will do anything to get it. He will set his desire as his goal in life, and he will commit to have it whatever it takes, which is said to be the highest commitment. But, when he achieved his goal in life, he will search for something to have again, and this would result to a never ending desire while he is still here in the earth. Now, the Enlightened One, Gautama Buddha states that man must strive for happiness but happiness can not be attained in this world for it is a state of peace. So, the happiness can be attained by having peace? Is that right? Maybe yes, because Gautama Buddha looks happy and at peace in his monuments, statues, and pictures. So, we have to be in peace in order to achieve true happiness. But how can we achieve peace? In my opinion, you should be contended in material things, and start to be at peace by not worrying for problems that come to our life, instead, be thankful because God gave us another day to live. Problems would never remain a problem, it will just pass in our life like that we are in and obstacle course, and the problems are the obstacle that will add difficulties in our way to success. So, to be at peace, one must be relaxed and just think a problem as a part of life that will make a man stronger than before. If we don’t have problems in  life, we would become a lazy couch potato, we will never do anything because there is nothing to be worried about, so, it’s like we are just the animals here in the earth that doesn’t have any problems. In this lesson, I learned that we must strive for our happiness, and by all means, we must strive to have peace. Some ideas came in thought that Gautama Buddha said happiness is not here on earth, so where can we find happiness? So, this thing comes to my mind, that we can attain true happiness when we are dead. Funny, but it makes sense, because Gautama Buddha added that it is in the states of peace, the happiness must have in the state of peace, and that peace would be when a person is dead, you know, because he would be now rest in peace, funny right? I didn’t know too, so I’m just drawing my own conclusions. Don’t judge me. Well, that’s all. Gerson R. MonteserGeneral Ethics BSIT-CPT IIReaction to Chapter 3 Man does not act without any motive or objective in view I have watched in the television a various number of news about burglary, kidnapping, sexual harassment, rape and slay, illegal drug selling, murder and etc, but the common thing a policeman always try to find out is their motive in doing this so. Motive is the reason why a man does act, and without motive, he has no reason to do the act. In our lesson, this chapter discusses about man and his ends. The definition of an end is both termination and goal of activity. It is that which completes or finishes a thing, and it is that for which the thing is finished. By an end, therefore, we mean the end of an activity or what we call end is the purpose or goal of an act. The only way to give meaning to human existence is to have a goal, the very reason for being and existence. Very well said, the above states all the things that define the man and his end, so what does will it to do with the topic motive? As in my opinion, motive would add to the man’s end, in his will to finish his end, he has to have a motive in doing it, so that, the motive will push his mind to achieve the activity he is trying to end. In my own understanding, activities involving the act of achieving the end is like a man trying to achieve his goal; the reason he work, or the reason he continuous to live is because of his goal that must be achieved to meet  his end. Now, for him to achieve his goal and to meet his end, he must have a great motive or a big reason for all his why’s: why he needs it, why he wants it, and why he must have it. If a person is motivated, and he and his will agrees on that motive, he would be a fierce person, so much eager to achieve something he loves, that no other people could hinder him from achieving his goals, and no one could ever put out the fire that is inside of him that pushes him and making him an indestructible man because nothing stops his way to his end. There was a person here in the earth that demonstrate this kind of motivation and that is Steve Jobs. His doctor said that he would just live in a few weeks because of his severe disease. The doctor added that Steve Jobs must do everything he wants to do before he died. So, Steve Jobs spend all his time in developing apple gadget and his motive is undisputable that he wants to develop a good apple gadget that will be known in the whole wide world. Not knowingly, Steve Jobs live more than the doctor said and he saw how the result he worked hard for and that moment, he accomplished his goal in life, he met his end – the fruit of his motivation. So, that’s what motives do, it pushes someone to do something even it is beyond his abilities. Gerson R. MonteserGeneral Ethics BSIT-CPT IIReaction to Chapter 4 Ignorance – negation of knowledge The absence of intellectual knowledge in man is what we called ignorance. It also means the presence of what is falsely supposed to be knowledge. In my own understanding, it’s the rejection of man to the truth because he doesn’t know what the truth is. Like for example, people becomes ignorant when they feel that they are stupid because other person teach them how to do something. They rejects the knowledge being taught to them, thus, they became ignorant. Ignorant people are proud people, who thinks they are wise but actually they are fool. They seems to be smart in their own ways, neglecting the view of others, they only Lack of education results in ignorance and ignorance finally leads to living in a limited world. People who don’t want to be taught and relies only on what he knows or depends only on their own belief are ignorant. They will defend what they know and will say that it is right even if, in the eyes of others, it is wrong. Thus ignorance is the curse for human beings. They are great hindrances on the path of progress. To achieve the optimum goal, spread of education is must. Without it people are cut off from useful information. Only education can remove the ignorance. After all, education does not hurt but ignorance does. What I’ve learned was that because of ignorance, people kept neglecting the true knowledge they must have, and because of their ignorant thinking, they don’t have any progress at all, their learning is still small and not growing because of their way of thinking that their knowledge is enough and they keep claiming that they know everything and they do not need any teachings from professionals, thus making them a fool of themselves. People in that thinking are boastful and full of pride, always boasting that they know things, pretending to be a professional in every field but they don’t have any basis to prove their statements, they only depend on their own understanding not consulting any other person insights and view. People in the present time is in this situation and the only thing that would be able to put it aside is by means of themselves realizing that their thought and way of thinking is stupidity and nonsense. This could be done by asking him to act what he says to prove if it is true, for if his experience is his best teacher that would teach him the true knowledge about this world. As far as I know, ignorance would not refer only to people with unawareness to knowledge but also people with awareness to knowledge but keep neglecting it. In my conclusion, ignorance could only mean the refusal of a person to knowledge that surely would result to lack of improvement and personal development. Gerson R. MonteserGeneral Ethics BSIT-CPT IIReaction to Chapter 5 Good act may become evil†¦ This caught my attention while I’m reading my module in ethics. I never taught that a good act may become evil, but there is a follow-up phrase, by reason of circumstances. So, a good act may become evil by reason of circumstances and by circumstances we mean, the situation in the present time. As far as I know, this is always been done by people who doesn’t have enough awareness in a particular area he or she currently stay. This good  act that may become evil could be considered as an extrinsic act where the act which is in itself is not evil but is now evil on account of something. I thoroughly searched how a good act may become an evil act and I found out that it becomes evil when you feel you do something good and you are proud of it but in the other side, you’ve just broken a law without further notice. For instance, you saw street children in the sidewalk in Manila, and then, due to your compassionate heart, you gave them coins as your alms to him and you feel great about it. It is good to your side, but it is bad for the community, because you have no assurance that the money you’ve just gave would be spent for food. You gave alms to make you feel better from the pity in your heart; your money, although given with good intentions, just might encourage children to commit crime and make their parents lazy. Children should not beg, they should be in school studying, be with their parents who would take care for them. If you truly wish to do good, you shouldn’t give alms, you should take these children to a good institution that would take care of them, to nurture them and to change their lifestyle. Most of us feel great whenever we encounter these situations, helping others, but some of us are doing this to be known and their hearts are with pride. The true essence of giving is that you never boast to what you did, hence, you give secretly and helping others anonymously. You don’t take credits to what you’ve done because it is a part of your life, to help others, not like those politicians and other government officials that whenever they do projects in helping people, they always put their large name with it stating that it was there project, for the purpose that the people would know that they are good. I learned that not all good are really good; sometimes it becomes bad depending on the circumstances.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Venus de Willendorf vs. Barbie

Venus de Willendorf is a statuette that first appeared during the Upper Paleolithic period. The exaggerated carvings of the body parts were how the artists of that time viewed women, fat and fertile. History often takes from the past to reinvent the future. Today’s society has the Barbie doll. Ruth Handler created it in 1959. Its long legs and slim figure has been worship by so many, that real women have undergone intense cosmetic surgeries to resemble the doll. Both figurines have gained notoriety based on the representation of women of their era, displayed their own meaning of beauty and cultures’ perception of it. Venus de Willendorf Venus de Willendorf, also known as the Woman of Willendorf, is a type of art statuette that was discovered sum 25,000 years ago. It was discovered in 1908 by the banks of the Danube River near the town of Willendorf in Austria during diggings led by Josef Szombathy. The statuette was carved from a rare oolitic (stone eggs) limestone using a flint tool. This particular type of stone was not available in the area it was located in, thus concluding the statuette was not created locally. Standing 4 3/8 inches (11. 1 centimeters) tall, the figurine is noticeably rounded. It displays obese and voluptuous women’s body parts. It has large pendulous breast as well as a large middle section, thighs, and a pronounced posterior. Her arms are thin and rested high on her breast. There is a braided pattern around the top of the head. Some archeologists identify it as the hair while others say it is a woven hat. The vulva is very detailed, which led scholars to believe the original sculptor had some knowledge about human anatomy. The statuette does not have feet, so it cannot stand on its own. In addition, it does not have facial features, which is consistent with others figures from that era there were found. The large breasts and abdomen along with the detailed nature of the vulva have caused people to believe the Venus is indeed a fertility symbol. The people who carved this statuette lived in a stone-age environment. Fatness and fertility was highly desirable during that time. The Venus was said to have a structure of sexually charged swollen shapes, an epitome of abundant fertility and of eternal sex. She was the woman of all women. For Paleolithic people, accentuating the parts that dealt with reproduction mattered most in the figurines, which is why the breasts and pelvic area were exaggerated most, unlike the buttocks. The artist’s goal was to draw the most attention to those parts. During this era, food was scare so obesity was unlikely. This led artists to believe the sculptor worked from a model, creating a body worth ritualization. Mattel ® Barbie Over the years, Barbie, or Barbie doll, has become a household name for many American families, as well as throughout the world. So, where the idea of Barbie derive? While watching her young daughter play with paper dolls, Ruth Handler noticed she was using her infant like dolls to play adult roles. She shared the idea of creating an adult doll to her husband Elliot, a co-founder of Mattel, who was less than impressed. After coming across a German toy doll called Bild Lilli during her stay in Europe, Handler was determined to make her idea a reality. In March 1959, Barbie, named after Handler’s daughter, Barbara, was born. Barbie stands a slender 11 ? tall, with long legs, perky breasts, high buttocks, flat stomach, barely there hips, and thighs, displaying an exaggerated hourglass figure. She has long thin arms and her feet are created for wearing high heels. She has long flowing hair with a slender face, long neck, high cheekbone, slanted big blue eyes, and comes wearing make-up. There has been much criticism over Barbie’s size. If her measurements were created in human form, the woman would be 5 feet, 9 inches, measuring 36-18-33, a figure impossible to have or achieve naturally. This known fact created a lot of controversy amongst consumers and anorexia groups. Studies show the average size of an American woman is a size 14, the exact opposite of Barbie. Barbie displays the â€Å"ideal† look of modern culture. Paleolithic Culture vs. Modern Culture. The Paleolithic era is the earliest period of human development that began roughly 2 million years ago. There are three successive divisions of the Paleolithic era: Lower, Middle, and Upper. The most notable feature of that time was evolution of the human species, which went from looking like an ape to more humanlike features, which was a very slow process. The Upper Paleolithic era is known for its increased creations of art and ornaments. One of the most famous Venus figurines to come from that era was the Venus of Willendorf. Barbie has allowed little girls to be more feminine and display etiquette. While some consumers see this as a great thing, naysayers believe it hinders, causing them not to want to play outside, get dirty, and depend on men to do the hard work. At the same time, Barbie has displayed women can have any kind of job. She has more than eighty jobs. In addition to being a model and fashion designer, Career Barbie has been a veterinarian, firefighter, astronaut, nurse, and politician. Because Barbie comes with so many accessories, parents believe it may give little girls a shallow mindset that materialistic items are what matter most. During the Paleolithic culture, men were the workers and women took care of home. Barbie has over eighty jobs, thus showing gender equality among careers. In today’s world, women make up a larger percent of employed individuals. Although the figurines display very different characteristics, both are considered beautiful and desirable within their respective cultures. The Venus was a representation of the women of their time and Barbie is a representation of the ideal woman, according to critics. The main differences between both figurines are their sizes and the eras they were discovered or created. The Venus is naked, much like the women of the Stone Age while Barbie comes with hundreds of accessories and clothes. In Often times, history repeats itself and it shows in the creations of these statuettes. Effects on how Society Views Women The Venus de Willendorf as always maintain her size and exaggerated features, for the meaning behind them is unparalleled. Throughout the decades, Barbie has evolved, taking on a more diverse look to appeal to different nationalities, such Native American, African American, Hispanic, Oriental, and more. While the color and some facial features are altered to resemble the people of each ethnicity, one thing has remained the same and that is her unrealistic size. Theories about the usability of the Venus figurines were said to involve religion while other observers saw it as a sex toy for men. As for Barbie, she has always been the definition of beauty, what little girls and some adult women aspire to look like. In today’s culture, thinner women are considered better looking than full-figured women, thus creating a void between women because of their sizes. This has been an ongoing stereotype for quite some time. It has even led to bullying throughout our schools. Critiques feel instead of displaying Barbie in the thinnest form, she should be created in different sizes, showing that beauty does not define your size. Conclusion The Venue of Willendorf, commonly known to some as Nude Woman, is on display at the Naturhistorisches Museum in Vienna. She sits in a glass case and the only thing that allows it to show is the light illuminated from above. The case is places within what looks to be a resemblance of a temple that reads, Venus von Willendorf. Despite the controversies surrounding the perception of Barbie, it continues to be the world’s bestselling doll. The collection of Barbie includes Vintage Barbie, Pop Culture Barbie, Holiday Barbie, Malibu Barbie, and the list goes on. Barbie’s appearance has changed over the years, with the exception of her body shape, of course. It is how we identify her. The same goes for the Venus and her exaggerated curves. Both figures had played a pivotal role in how people of their time view a beautiful woman. Beauty comes in all shapes, sizes, and colors. The sooner we accept this notion, the more we can build up confidence in little girls who will someone day grow to become women.ReferencesGerber, R. (2009). Barbie and Ruth: The Story of the World's Most Famous Doll and the Woman Who Created Her. HarperCollins. McElvaine, R. S. (2000). Eve's Seed: Biology, the Sexes, and the Course of History. McGraw-Hill. Rogers, M. F. (1999). Barbie Culture. SAGE Publications.Sayre, Henry M. (2012). Discovering the Humanities, 3rd Edition. Pearson Learning Solutions. Enger, Crissi. (n.d.). Types of Barbie. eH ow. Retrieved April 11, 2013 from http://www.ehow.com/facts_5491736_types-barbie.html Witcombe, Christopher. (n.d.).The Venus of Willendorf. Art History Resources. Retrieved from March 12, 2013 from http://arthistoryresources.net/willendorf/willendorfwoman.html

Friday, September 27, 2019

Social information processing theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Social information processing theory - Essay Example Many different theories of communication have also sprung up to make the subject of communication more academic and easier to study and understand. One of these theories, which also transcends into a form of communication is the social information processing theory proposed by Joseph Walther in 1992 (Hissam and Daniel, 2009). In this essay, there is a critical analysis of the theory in terms of how online communication relationships may be established, the differences that exists between computer mediated communication, as well as the strengths and weaknesses of computer mediate communication. Online Communication Relationship One of the fundamental aspects of the social information processing theory is the use of online communication. Indeed, the advancement of technology has made online communication a very common phenomenon of late. Through devices such as smart phones, laptops, desktop computers and tablet computers, people use the internet to interact with one another. A unique feature of online communication is the kind of relationship that is established between two people communicating. ... on, as per son offered several avenues to send and receive information including the use of verbal communication, video calling, text messaging, pictures and the kind. All of these avenues help in making relationships forth coming and effective (Humphrey, 2001). The only hindrance identified with online communication relationship is that it trust and interpersonal relationship development takes a very long time to develop. This is because in most cases, there are very few things that can be learnt about people involved in the communication at a time and so the need to be sluggish in developing interpersonal relationship has always been advised. New technology and computer mediated communication Comparatively, computer mediated communication and for that matter social information processing theory has become better than it used to be in 1992 when it was first proposed by Joseph Walther. The reason behind this is the indulgence and evolution of new technology, most of which has come in the form of internet assisted information sharing. Examples of such new media include authoring tools like internet blogs, social information aggregation such as scratchmysoul.com and collaboration tools including the Wikipedia (Humphrey, 2001). Other forms of new technology that has enhanced computer mediated communication is tagging systems like Flickr and collaborative filtering such as Yahoo Answers. But of all these, social networking could be said to be the most influential towards the advancement of computer mediated communication. When it started newly, social networking was used only on a friendship communication but today the trend has changed such that social networking is used by almost every organization and institution that matters for communication purposes. Computer

Thursday, September 26, 2019

The Knight's Tale and The Wife of Bath's Tale Essay

The Knight's Tale and The Wife of Bath's Tale - Essay Example ‘The Wife of Bath’s Tale’ has a prologue where one woman talks about the five husbands she has had and in relation to her husbands, she encompasses in the conversation, topics like love, sex, religion, pleasure, gender roles, culture, society, beauty, jealousy and marriage. She talks about how these factors have remained interconnected with her life but in an almost sarcastic and humorous way. Of her five husbands, four loved her immensely and were docile to her wishes. They laid their life, love and wealth at her feet and praised her day and night and sought her attention and love. She had loved none of her first four husbands because they were old and had just married them for their money. However, if they satisfied and pleased her she let them have their way with her sometimes; she had their reigns in the palm of her hand. The Wife of Bath’s fifth husband was a man much younger than she and she loved him dearly. This is where she explains that women only love what they cannot have, and since this husband was â€Å"cool† to her affections she coveted him. But soon, aided by her clever shenanigans the lady of Bath had him in the palm of her hand too. He happily granted her authority over him and succumbed to her. The actual tale of the lady of Bath tells the story of a knight who was overcome by lust and raped a young girl in court. As punishment he was given a year to find out what women really want and if he found correct, his life would be spared, otherwise he would be killed. He had no success until the last day; he met an old woman who gave him the correct answer. What truly makes women happy is to have utter control over their lovers and husbands. Later, the old woman asks the young knight to marry her in return of her favor. He complies, but is unhappy because she is old and ugly. She gives him a choice; she can either be a good, faithful, ugly wife or an unfaithful but beautiful one. He leaves the decision at her discr etion. Made truly happy by her control over him, she turns into a beautiful and faithful wife. In sum, ‘The Wife of Bath’s Tale’ talks of a love that is selfish and riddled with coy plots and plans. In comparison, ‘The Knight’s Tale’ talks of a love that is pure and the things men do to attain their beloved. Through the progress of this story we learn that Palamon and Arcite are willing to risk their lives and freedom just to get to their beloved. Their love is blind and fearless and knows no bounds and they are willing to put everything that is most precious to them to be able to marry and possess the love of Emelye, with which the both are in love. In a way these tales are biased accounts of the topics of love, marriage, passion and desire for they confine each gender to a role and motive of an extreme, when in reality the truth is far from this. There are countless men who plot and scheme for love and when it comes to it, love only for self ish reasons and there are just as many, if not more women in this world who love blindly and faithfully regardless of how beautiful they are. However, there is much to learn from them too. Each defines a stereotype that exists in these settings, and even if the factor of gender roles is removed from the equation, most of the subject matter still rings true. In essence, the two stories talk about love from the perspective of the two different genders and

Ted Baker Plc Ratio Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Ted Baker Plc Ratio Analysis - Essay Example The P/E ratio for Ted baker Plc shows that the company has 1 worth of annual- per share earnings for every 17.4 in the share price. The company's P/E ratio is lower than that of the companies in the same sector. This ratio reveals the percentage of dividends paid to shareholders in dividends. Ted baker Plc's dividend payout is 39.92% of the earnings per share and the retail apparel industry's average for dividend payout is 20.93%, therefore the company has more potential for investment in terms of dividend paid by the company. The gross margin assesses the company's profit after accounting for production and distribution costs. The company's gross margin is 59% of the total turnover, which is lesser than the industrial average for this ratio. This shows that the company is incurring less cost of sales than the other companies in the industry, which is influencing its gross margin of profit. The operating margin is assesses the profitability of a company after accounting for all the operating costs. The operating margin for the retail apparel sector is showing as negative, whereas the operating margin for Ted baker Plc is 16.5% of the total turnover. It is much attractive for an investor to invest in a company with high profit margins. The Earning Per Share analysis is important for the investors who are interested in the market of price of company's shares. The EPS of Ted baker Plc is higher than the sector average, therefore has potential for investment than the other companies in the industry. EPS Growth Sector Ted baker Plc 97.11 20.7 The Earning Per Share of Ted baker Plc is growing at a slower rate than that of the industry. This shows that although the company has offered more EPS than the other companies in the same sector for the year 2005, but it has a much slower growth rate of EPS than its competitors in the industry. Dividend per share Sector Ted baker Plc 0.03 0.108 The dividend per share paid by the company is more than that of the other companies in the sector. Therefore, Ted baker Plc offers investment potential for the investors that invest in the company to gain return out of dividends paid by company. Dividend estimate Yield Sector Ted baker Plc 2.41 2.49 The dividend yield ratio is calculated by comparing the latest dividend paid by the company with the current market price of the company's shares. The dividend yield of Ted baker Plc is almost the same as paid by the other companies in the industry. Interest expense coverage Sector Ted baker Plc 108.66 76.71 This ratio reveals the ability of a company to cover its interest expense after accounting for all the operating costs incurred by the company. Ted baker Plc's interest cover ratio is lesser than the sector average. In the year 2005, the company generated returns of about 76.71% of the total interest expense, not enough to cover the interest even a single time. CONCLUSION After the above analysis, it is clear that Ted baker Plc off

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Individuals in Organizations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Individuals in Organizations - Essay Example (2000) introduced the notion of a proactive employee as one who is highly committed and involved, an autonomous contributor who is highly responsible and has initiative. In order to enhance his individual experience and relationships at AMX, Dave Green has to become a proactive employee through applying the various skills important in increasing both intrapersonal and interpersonal effectiveness. Shockley-Zabalak (2011) identified four important skills in improving individual effectiveness: cultural intelligence, active listening, accepting diversity and descriptive message strategies. Shockley-Zabalak (2011) defines cultural intelligence as the ability of an individual to understand people’s behavior depending on human universal behaviors, specific human behaviors, and culture-dependent human behaviors. For Dave Green to understand human universal behavior, he has to understand how the various motivation theories relate to human behavior. Abraham Marslow proposed the Hierarchy of needs theory that suggests the pursuit of satisfaction is what shapes human behavior. He grouped several needs as they relate to human behavior in a hierarchical order from the most important to the least. The needs include psychological needs, safety and security, social belonging, prestige, and finally on top of the pyramid is self-actualization (Shockley-Zabalak, 2011). Here, Dave Green has to determine what is important and to what level does his personal needs affect his behavior as well as that of his team. He has to understand his team better in order to understand what motivates them and use this knowledge to form an efficient team. The motivation-hygiene theory proposed by Fredrick Herzberg stresses that human behavior is affected by both internal and external factors (Shockley-Zabalak, 2011). He proposed that factors such as salary, working conditions, interpersonal relations and supervision all affected the satisfaction levels of employees. For Dave Green to better

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Participation Questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Participation Questions - Essay Example In order to perform E-business a company must educate themselves on the different business regulations that affect their particular industry. Due to the fact that e-commerce takes places across national boundaries a company must be aware of the exchange rate conversions in order to establish a pricing policing that considers the relative value of a currency. A business enterprise that incorporates a lot of the characteristics you mention of an efficient supply chain is Walt-Mart. The company achieves economies of scale by purchasing in bulk. They also have superior logistics and distribution system. A study performed by John Mentzer on the supply chain management practices of hundreds of companies revealed that companies can gain a competitive advantage by leveraging the management of their supply chains (Mentzer, 2007). I like your idea of designing products through the use of independent modules. This approach is simple and follows a sound production methodology similar to lean manufacturing. Your answer to the postponement strategy question was very insightful. Eliminating customization in the front end of the cycle can help a company achieve inventory savings. Mentzer, J. (2007). Achieving Competitive Advantage Through Supply Chain Management. IndustryWeek. Retrieved September 4, 2009 from http://www.industryweek.com/articles/achieving_competitive_advantage_through_supply_chain_management_13355.aspx Your recommendation of partnering with technologically savvy suppliers is outstanding. The internet, wireless technology, and advances in information technology can enhance the functionality of the supplier chain. Wireless applications such as radio frequency identification tags have gain a lot of popularity among supplier chain managers. In 2007 the RFID market was valued at $4.9 billion (Das & Harrop, 2008). As you mentioned flexibility is also an important characteristic in a

Monday, September 23, 2019

ECON WEEK 3 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

ECON WEEK 3 - Assignment Example For example, an accountant would not be interested in the job vacancy published by a hospital. The structural unemployment refers to the loss of employment due to changes in technological demands and changes in the operational process (Oswego, 2014). For example, the automation of machine systems in the factories may lead to structural unemployment due to loss of demand for labor. The unemployment scenario is considered to be undesirable as it leads to substantial gap between the potential GDP and the real GDP of the country. The reduction in the volume of products and services produced within the geographical boundary leads to the gap between the supply and demand in the market which finally leads to inflation in the economy (Schenk, 2014). However, all forms of unemployment are not undesirable as it has beneficial effects in the long run. For example, the loss of demand for existing labor force may occur due to structural unemployment that results from the introduction of new technology and automated systems in the production process. Although it increases unemployment in the short run but the gradual adaption of the workforce to the technologically improved processes leads to improvement in the operational efficiency and enhancement of the production volumes. In this view, structural form of unemployment is not undesirable. The advent of internet has the potential to completely eliminate frictional unemployment. This is due to the fact that the spread of the internet and World Wide Web have enhanced the power of voluntary job search by the candidates. Instead of readily available job opportunities, the candidates would look for the desired job opportunity on a voluntary basis that would lead to loss of job in certain sectors. However, there would be other candidates who would look for jobs in these sectors and the internet would be a useful tool to provide them the information on the desired job vacancies. The

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Self actualization & of Maslow’s Hierarchy Essay Example for Free

Self actualization of Maslow’s Hierarchy Essay Self actualization is at the pinnacle of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs which examines the order by which human actions are geared towards. According to Maslow, in order to have the other needs, the basic needs have to be satisfied first . Only upon satisfying the physiological needs are the other needs considered. As such, the graduation in level suggests that self-actualization is the most difficult level to attain because of the preconditions that need to be satisfied in order to advance. According to Maslow, this is the most difficult to achieve due to its nature. It is not an absolute fact but is relative and therefore difficult to attain. The teachings of Maslow have shown that due to the relative nature of self actualization it is possible that a person may have achieved this but has not realized such and is therefore incapable of self actualization. In order to be self actualized, Maslow stated that there is a need for inner exploration and action. Man needs to realize his internal self and come to terms with such. It is this motivation which leads a person to self-actualization. This is problematic on several levels which explains why Freud had a different perspective on the matter. While Maslow derived his theory from Freud, Freud’s teaching was different in that these innate impulses are caused by the developments in the human psyche and the subconscious. There is no innate mechanism but rather the logical effect of the interactions of the different personalities and parts of the human mind. The motivation comes not from the desire for self-actualization but from human behavior. From a cognitive point of view, this hierarchy of needs and self actualization is a function of the perturbations that an autonomous system needs. It is not so much self actualization, from this perspective, as it is the perceived competence to satisfy the basic needs in due time. There are, therefore, three main components, material, cognitive and subjective. As such, self actualization is hampered by subjective incompetence which is caused during childhood that act as an inhibitor preventing the further development of cognitive competence.

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Theories underpinning the change process

Theories underpinning the change process The government of Great Britain was experiencing heavy burden of giving subsidies to British Airways (BA), which was accounted for almost $900 million in 1982. Beside subsidies government was also facing immense opposition from Conservative government of owing the business; as they believed, BA to be province appropriate for and should be run by private enterprise. Environmental changes were another issue of concern due to increasing deregulation of international air traffic. Moreover, growing competitions and high varied Air fares were resulting into price wars situation and placing more risk of financial crisis for BA. Indeed there was intense pressure exerted from external environment on BA. The external pressure again imposed very widespread and massive changes to internal environment of organization. The main primary reason behind any organizational changes is due to enforcing external pressure instead need for change or internal desire (Waldbaum, 1987). Considering all these problems and concerns the government of Britain in 1982 decided to privatize BA. For making BA privatize it was essential to make BA profitable organization. This essay analyzes the organizational changes involved in BA by converting to private ownership i.e. transforming BAs culture from bureaucratic and militaristic to service-oriented and market-driven in 5 year period as presented in Fig(1). Diagnose and need for change Fig(1) (Goodstien et al., 1991) Theories underpinning the change process/Methods: TROPICS ANALYSIS: Tropics test can be utilized at very initial stage of any change for understanding the nature of change and deriving optimal solution methodology. It is effective and easy to apply as it requires very minimalistic inputs and less expense considering both time and resources. It is used by management team in giving the starting point and finding the appropriate route for implementing change (Paton McCalman, 2008). On applying tropics fig(2) the change for BA privatization was identified to be at the SOFT side of the spectrum. The few aspects were found to be hard but majority tendency lying on soft side. Considering the outcome of tropics analysis to be on soft side indicates the change process should follow Organization Development model. Factors Tendency towards Time Scales Estimated for 5 years Hard Resources Unclear and Variable Soft Objectives Clearly defined Hard Perceptions Varied and different Soft Interest Widespread among staff and government Soft Control Top management and government Soft Source Originated externally by government Soft Fig(2) (Paton McCalman, 2008). Organizational development is determined as an educational process of continuously identifying, allocating and expanding human resources in a manner for making it more usable to the organization need and hence leading improvement in the problem-solving capabilities (Sherwood, 1972). Organizational change involves three levels of change as shown in fig(3). Each level differs in their pattern of resistance and requires different strategies and methods or techniques for implementing change (Nadler Tushman, 1989). Fig(3) (Goodstien et al., 1991) LEWINS CHANGE MODEL: According to (Lewin, 1951) views, for any behaviour there is dynamic balance of forces running in opposite directions. Like, Driving forces encourage change by pushing workforce in desired direction and restraining forces resist change by pushing workforce in opposite direction. Hence, to understand the problem within the organization it is essential to analyse these forces first and then plan the strategies and goals for moving equilibrium in desired direction (Kritsonis, 2005). FORCE FIELD ANALYSIS Force field analysis is an approach for analysing group behaviour by mapping the complexity and totality of the field in which the behaviour takes place (Back, 1992). By applying the Lewins (1947) field force analysis it is clear that major restraining forces were related to workforce and involves change in human aspects. Driving Forces Restraining Forces Risk of financial crises. Change in work culture Become worlds favourite airlines New management. Become service oriented and market driven. Workforce reduction No subsidies from government by privatizing it. New service nature involving direct customer interaction LEWINS THREE-STEP MODEL: Lewins three-step model of Unfreezing, Moving and Refreezing can direct shift in balancing the direction of planned change (Levin, 1958). An adaptation of model fig(4) in BAs change process was found useful in establishing frameworks of BA change management. Fig(4) (Goodstien et al., 1991) Unfreezing: Unfreezing is the first step of change process and it is about encouraging and motivating people and making readiness to change (Schein, 1987) (Greaves, 1999). (Lewin, 1947) refers that any existing situation or behaviour is under equilibrium state supported by complex field of driving and restraining forces and to incorporate new behaviour the equilibrium need to be destabilized (unfrozen). According to (Robbin, 2003) unfreezing is important in overcoming the strains of group conformity and individual resistance. It can be achieved through three methods: firstly by increasing the driving force that drives behaviour in opposite direction of existing situation, secondly by decreasing the restraining force, finally by finding combination of first two methods. In BAs change process the first step taken in unfreezing was huge reduction in BAs workforce all over the globe. The workforce was cut down to 37,000 from 59,000. The downsizing decision was taken through consensus opinion at all levels within the BA. They believed downsizing will help in decreasing the hierarchy, at the same time giving more liberty to operating staff and easing the management process. The process of staff reduction was not that easy to execute and achieve but the effort was taken to minimise the exertion. The downsizing of staff was done in an optimistic way and with compassion. It was taken through early retirements and by giving incentives and through financial settlements. There were no laid off involved in entire system for downsizing. Interestingly, within a year staff reduction worked positive for BA. The improvement was observed in all performance indices of BA, they had timely departures and arrivals, less complaints of lost baggage etc. According to (Lancaster Lancaster, 1985) the initiated change requires sense of direction and considerable power of leadership. To facilitate patterns of behaviour for stabilizing, evaluating, and monitoring the change, the involvement of strong change agents such as system specialists and top management plays a key role in leading and making successful change process (Rasberry, 1986). With respect to change agent the second major change happened in 1881, there were two new appointments in BAs top management. The chairman of board was replaced by senior British industrialist Lord John King of Wartinbee and Sir Colin Marshall with marketing background, was a new CEO. Marshall being outsider of BAs culture and having marketing experience was able to view different perspective for BAs culture in comparison to its predecessors, who were mainly retired Air Force officers. He played a key role in the success of BAs change process. Marshall after its arrival to BA in short span decided new strategy for BA to become Worlds Favourite Airline. It was his vision and clear understanding that pointed out changes is required in BAs culture. He with his strong leadership skills and great effort executed the change. Many training programs were initiated and executed to support the unfreezing process. The main focus was on Putting People First. The training program was mainly dealt with customer interaction, in which BA personnel was in a direct contact with customers. The main aim of the program is to give the feel and understand the service nature of airline industry. It was completely different and was intended to challenge the existing BA culture. Movement: In a change process, movement step is necessary in moving the target system to new level of equilibrium. (Schein, 1996) refers movement state to be more learning and iterative approach or action that enables groups and individuals to move from less acceptable to more acceptable set of behaviour. In movement phase of BA Marshall hired Nicholas Georgiades as director (vice-president) of human resource for accomplishing and running the programs essential for implementing change. In a service climate (Schneider Bowen, 1985) indicate positive correlation between employees perceptions of human resources practices and customers perceptions and concludes human resources practices can influence service climate. Georgiades had a background of psychologist, former professor and consultant. BAs successful change effort was due to the joint leadership of Marshall and Georgiades. He created relevant programs and tactics to bring Marshalls view to reality. Georgiades had taken significant steps in the movement phase by conducting training programs for the middle and senior managers. The main aspects of the training involved were Leading the Service Business and Managing People First. Feedbacks were taken from every individual in understanding the perspective related to management practice s on the job. The main purpose of all training programs was to locate the shortcoming of current management style and to initiate the development of new process that would suit to new competitive culture of BA. It was essential of having participative management style (Marshall, 1984) for making BA organization service-based, market-driven and profit-making. Moreover, it would produce employee commitment. During unfreezing stage, diagonal task forces were extensively used on structures and system level. It mainly comprised of individual from different units and functions and exhibiting responsibilities at different level to deal with several aspects involved in change process. The aspects mainly consisted of new uniforms, new practices in staffing, need for MIS (management information system) etc. the major difference from traditional approach was introduced i.e. A bottom-up, less centralized budgeting process. In the climate/interpersonal side involved critical shift in redefining BAs business to represent service instead of transportation. Good interpersonal skills and open climate together with outstanding team-work are key features of service business (Goodstien et al., 1991). To incorporate service environment in BA, the process were developed and team-building activities were taken off-site during movement phase, which are at-present institutionalized. All these changes were successfully implemented due to top management involvement. Marshall himself introduced question-and-answer sessions during training programs. The purpose was to maintain transparency; he shared the information and also gave his opinion for the required change. The acceptance of emotional labour in movement phase was the important step. It was done through Georgiades championed, that conveyed the importance of high energy requirement to deliver quality of service in airline business to the workforce. Any emotional drain in the service can cause permanent psychological damage and critically impact to developing system for the service workers involved emotionally. Another important step was taken in creating internal change agents through retraining of internal personal staffs. The training was taken by supporting line and staff managers. It was found fruitful for managers completing the Managing People First training program in developing peer support groups. Many changes were done internally to BA structures and systems to support this movement. That included new bonus system, sharing of BAs financial gains success. The other initiatives were taken like at Heathrow Airport opening of new Terminal4 for providing more functional units for staffs. Inclusion of new training center through purchase of Chartridge House which was utilized in training staffs and providing information house for MIS enabled managers. Refreezing: Refreezing phase take place after the change has been implemented. In process-oriented studies it has been observed that the refreezing is stage strongly associated with change success (Ginzberg, 1978, p. 59). According to (Schein, 1987) it is that part of the process in which change is embedded within two separate, yet related mechanisms. The first mechanism deals with personal refreezing that implies to the extent to which the persons self-concept have incorporated change and can be integrated with rest of the personality. The second mechanism is relational refreezing that refers to employees personal change to meet the expectation of their peers, supervisor and subordinates. As per (Robbins, 2003) a view refreezing main purpose is to stabilize the new equilibrium resulted through change and that can be achieved by policies and procedures. In BAs refreezing phase, the top management by their continuous involvement and commitment ensured the change is fixed in the system. The staffs which inherited the new BA values were soon to be promoted at higher levels. For educating the workforce many additional programs were introduced. Like, for new staffs included Open Learning and orientation programs, for supervisors supervisory training etc. the training programs were also executed for executive and management levels. To focus on customer service, subordinate development and enthusiasm among staff a new performance appraisal system was introduced. The performance was calculated on both attitude and work results. Another area of BA where immense attention was paid to its symbol and in introducing new refurbished aircraft, upscale uniforms and corporate coat of arms indicating the motto We fly to serve. New teams were developed for providing consistent cabin-crew staffing instead of ad hoc approach of past. Finally, the feedback data on management practices are continuously utilized throughout the system. Analysis of managing change: The change process doesnt seem to be smooth even after BA applied Lewins model change. Since changing behaviour at both organizational and individual levels involves deviations from the existing habitual responses in producing new responses that many times creates awkward situation among involved workforce (Dentinger Derlyn, 2009). Indeed, it could lead to early abandonment of the new management style. The organization must effectively recognize and identify intervening transition state in moving from known present state to a desired future state. A careful management is very essential in the transition state when the planned change is complex and large. The essential part of this change management lies in accepting and recognizing the temporarily lowered effectiveness and disorganization that characterizes the transition state (Bechard, Harris, 1987). In BAs change process, the intensity of chaos and anger that evolved during the transitional phase has been abated and the sign of success is observed. However, many times both inside and outside BA the serious question of wisdom of process were raised due to lack in clarity of outcomes. During such period the involvement and commitment of top management are essential and very important (Walton, 1985) In order to increase involvement in such organizational changes management often require the usage of transition management team that comprises of broad cross-section of members of the organization (Bechard, Harris, 1987). Other methods that account effective involvement is usage of multiple interventions rather than just one like, using symbols and rituals to mark significant achievements and keeping the system open to feedback about the change process (Hornstein, 1971). All these techniques and methods were used in BA program. OD intervention Process consultation: Apart from the various change strategies discussed in BAs change, the considerable use was made of usual organizational development (OD) technologies which included team building, role clarification, structural changes and process consultation to facilitate change. The unique OD intervention process consultation was carried by the consultant to examine pattern of a workforce communications (Burke, 1982). It was done by direct observation of staff, meeting and at opportune times by making observations of happening changes and by raising questions. The main motto behind the process consultation was to change the closed communication style of BA and to create openness in work team. The process consultation played key role in change process and achieving the motto. IMPLICATIONS AND CONCLUDING REMARKS: Fig(5) (Goodstien et al., 1991) As shown in fig(5) BAs conversion to private ownership was found to be successful. After the change completion, BA was turn into profitable organization with the significant rise was observed in passenger, cargos and share price. The BA change effort provides understanding of social psychology perspective of the change process, that gives an important and different perspective to managers, employees etc for coping up with highly competitive environment. In BAs massive change project, the most evident observation is that the change was based on open-system thinking, phased model of managing change and multiple levels involvement for implementing change. Hence, both design and implementation of change effort was heavily dependent on understanding about nature of organization. The change process involved a multifaceted effort by using many leverage points to initiate and support the changes (Burke et al., 1984). Hence, the change process in which transition teams were involved for openness to feedback was efficiently managed and supported by top management. Moreover, the resistance created at all three levels, i.e. individual, structural and systems, and interpersonal, were effectively managed by usage of unfree zing strategies. In BA successful change process many incorporated changes worked positive in stabilizing the company. The most effective change was found in companys culture of creating strong customer-service focus which was lacking in 1982. The fact that service or marketing taken, considering customer perspective, can have substantial payoff for the organization is now endemic to the corporate culture (Hambrick Cannella, 1989). Another aspect that impacted the BAs culture was the way one manages employees that are involved in direct customer interaction, especially for ticket agents and cabin crews. LESSON LEARNT: The lesson learnt from the successful BA change to become service-oriented and market-driven: 1) The

Friday, September 20, 2019

A Case Study On Its Strategies Marketing Essay

A Case Study On Its Strategies Marketing Essay Changing lifestyles, in the form of the rise in nuclear families and double income households has encouraged the growth of pet ownership specially dogs in urban areas of India. The pet humanisation trend, whereby owners treat pets like family members and are willing to spend money on goods and services to keep them healthy and happy, continued to underpin the development of Indias pet food and pet care products market in 2009. Growth in the number of single-person households and the ageing of the Indian population also contributed to the positive development of the market, with many single and older people adopting pets for companionship. Pet owners have started taking interest in their pets diet, health and grooming. A gradual shift from home cooked food towards prepared pet food has been observed. Pet owners are more than willing to spend on pet food and pet care products than ever before.  Mars Inc. is an enigma, a mystery tied up inside in a bright candy wrapper. Its pet food b usiness segment, the biggest in the world at about $30 billion in annual sales, has been bleeding money in the U.S. and had has a slow-down in Europe, even in strongholds such as Germany, where Mars has had an incredible 80% market share. The companys new-product-development record is dismal, and the lack of new hit products is inhibiting growth. Mars has long been fanatical about its quality control and manufacturing efficiency -such as the humans taste-the test for the pet food but there are no miracles left in process technology. Mars is the worst, most feared company in the business totally unpredictable, capable of anything. Keywords: Pet-food, Mars Inc., Pets companionship, Lifestyle Introduction Mars, Incorporated is a worldwide manufacturer of confectionery, pet food and other food products with US$ 30 billion in annual sales for 2008, and it was ranked as the 6th largest privately-held company by John Mars and Forrest Mars Jr. in the United States by Forbes. Its Headquarters are in McLean, unincorporated Fairfax County, Virginia, USA. Mars operates in six business segments in the U.S. Chocolate, Petcare, Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company, Food, and Drinks Symbioscience. In India, the company operates in two business segments mainly, Petcare and Chocolates Mars is guided by its Five Principles namely, Quality, Responsibility, Mutuality, Efficiency and Freedom. Mars is the worlds third largest food manufacturer, after Nestle. Mars is the worlds leading confectionery company, following its acquisition of the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company in 2008, with billion-dollar brands MMS ®, SNICKERS ®, DOVE  ®, MARS  ®, EXTRA  ® and ORBIT  ®. Mars has more than 70,000 associates working at over 230 sites, including 135 factories, in approximately 68 countries worldwide. Iconic global brands of MARS over the world are: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Mars Chocolate: MMS ®, SNICKERS ®, DOVE ®, GALAXY ®, MARS ®, MILKY WAY ® and TWI à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Mars Petcare: PEDIGREE ®, WHISKAS ®, SHEBA ®, CESAR ® and ROYAL CANIN ® à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Wrigley Gum and Confections: EXTRA ®, ORBIT ®, DOUBLEMINT ®, SKITTLES ®, STARBURST ® and ALTOIDS ® à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Mars Food: UNCLE BENS ®, DOLMIO ®, SEEDS OF CHANGE ®, EBLY ® and MASTERFOODS ® à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Mars Drinks: KLIX ® and FLAVIA ® à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Mars Symbioscience: WISDOM PANELTM MX, SERAMIS ®, and COCOAPROTM Three of the brands are more than 100 years old: ALTOIDS ®, JUICY FRUIT ® and SPEARMINT ®. Seven of the brands are more than 50 years old: MILKY WAY ®, SNICKERS ®, MARS ®, MMS ®, DOUBLEMINT ®, UNCLE BENS ®, and WHISKAS ®. Pedigree ®, the world No. 1 dog food, with more than 70 years experience behind them, PEDIGREE helps make sure that the mans best friend stays fit, healthy and happy. Theres a Pedigree meal for every size and shape of dog. Historical Background In 1935, Mars Limited was renamed as Mars Confectionery and it acquired Chappel Brothers Ltd, (CHAPPIE  ®) UK based canned dog Food Company beginning its long association with top quality pet foods by marketing Chappie dog food. In 1939, Cat food, KITEKAT  ® was first advertised in UK. In 1951, Chappie Ltd. manufacturing was shifted to Melton Mowbray, UK. In 1954, PAL  ® food for dogs entered the UK market under the name of MEET  ®. In 1957, Chappie Ltd. was renamed to Pedigree Petfoods Ltd. In 1958, WHISKAS  ® food for cats was launched in UK. In 1959, MEET  ® was renamed as PAL  ®. In 1960, CHUM  ® dog food was launched in UK. In 1964, CHUM  ® dog food is rebranded to PEDIGREE CHUM  ® and it was a beginning to its long standing association with Crufts Dog Show in UK. Silbury Soames is the first dog to be fed on PEDIGREE CHUM  ® to win the Best in the Show Award. In 1965, Waltham Centre for Pet Nutrition was established in United Kingdom to identify the dietary needs, preferences and behaviour of pet animals. This knowledge was then applied to the products to better satisfy the needs of the pet animals. In 1967, The Uncle Bens of Australia pet food business was established in Wodonga, Australia. In 1968, Kal Kan Petfoods was acquired in USA, and Mars started its association with the American dog and cat owners and their pets. In 1977, all senior / general managers worldwide met in Easton, Maryland and formulized the Five Principles. In 1982, SHEBA  ® cat food was launched in Hamburg, Germany, in exclusive aluminium tray format, delivering exquisite food to cats. Small dogs were offered their opportunity for dining two years later with the launch of CESAR  ® dog food. In 1983, the first Five Principles of Mars booklet was published and distributed globally across the Corporation. In 1987, FROLIC  ® dog food was launched in Brazil. Two years later followed by PEDIGREE  ® dog food and then WHISKAS  ® cat food. In 1991, PEDIGREE SELECT DINNERS  ® dog food was launched and later renamed as CESAR  ® dog food for small dogs. In 2001, Royal Canin Petfoods was purchased by Mars and this leading French brand of nutritious pet-food was introduced globally. In 2007, NUTRO  ® Pet-foods was welcomed into Mars stable of leading pet-food brands. Waltham Centre for Pet Nutrition The WALTHAM ® Centre for Pet Nutrition is the major hub of the global research activities for Mars, where they work with the dogs, cats, fish, birds and horses. In collaboration with the global scientific institutes, the unique team of carers, scientists and research staff have supported the leading Mars brands such as Whiskas ®, Pedigree ®, Trill ®, Cesar ®, Sheba ®, Kitekat ®, Aquarian ®, Winergy ® and Royal Canin ®. The team in these years has pioneered some of the most important breakthroughs in pet nutrition, and has shared the results of the Centres research in more than 1,500 publications, and regular communication with scientific and pet care communities. By developing products that have been constantly improving nutrition and care, they have helped the worlds pets to live healthier and happier lives. Waltham ® Centre for Pet Nutrition, today, is the worlds leading authority on pet care and nutrition because their science caresà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ the investment of the centre into pet-care and well-being, provides better and more relevant science à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ because their way of working, they have stimulated innovative solutions to research problems à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ because their research has been published in high impact journals They are having a lasting positive impact on the health and care of pets across the world. Strategic Management of PEDIGREE, MARS Inc. Mars has expanded through acquisitions. Through the years, Mars has acquired the most successful brands of pet food across the globe. Their strategy of global expansion has been finding the converts to its brands in new country after country globally. The company with aggressive marketing, along with acquisitions, has increased both its market share as well as its profits in a flat market. The acquisition of Doane by Mars has been an important part of their strategy to strengthen and grow their Pet care business in North America and the addition of Doanes U.S. operation, they will provide production capacity to accelerate their innovation pipeline and operating flexibility to better respond to their customers needs, said Bob Gamgort, North American President for Mars. The combination of Mars brands, science and innovation with the supply chain excellence of the acquired brands has significantly improved Mars business performance and competitive position. This has created a more efficient, geographically distributed network which has enabled Mars to respond more rapidly to shifts in the consumer demand and customer needs. In 1964, Forresters primary act was to destroy the fancy corporate surroundings, and since then, Mars has been practicing an open-office policy for everyone. Mars has built a culture that can only be described as every man for himself. Indeed, there are no private offices. The desks are arrayed from the centre of the floor in the descending order of ranks through their zones of management the lower- ranking zone fives are typically the brand managers, while the zones one and two are accorded to the senior executives. The company does not have special parking spaces or executive dining rooms, or washrooms at any of their locations. Competitors are afraid of Mars as they are witnessing a work of a strategic genius or the mad-scientist owners that have let the business slide as they chase their dreams of global conquest, which really is the way of how they capitalize on opportunities.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Moses :: essays research papers fc

The Death of Moses When the saga of Moses comes to an end with the prophet's death, the narrative voice in Deuteronomy 34:9-11 states: "Since then no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses whom the LORD knew face to face." Were the prophets that came after Moses equal to his stature? In determining the answer to this question, by researching this topic I will discuss and look at the entirety of Moses' life as recorded in the Scripture. There are certainly many unique aspects of Moses' life that were not duplicated in the lives of any of the subsequent prophets. For example, Moses was raised as an Egyptian prince. There is noting in the Bible to indicate that he knew of his Israelite heritage until adulthood. True, his own mother was recruited by the Egyptian princess to nurse him through infancy, but there is little to suggest that Moses would have retained any memory or inclination of his heritage from this period (Neufeld, 1993). Yet, despite his acculturation as an Egyptian, he was able to not only accept, but rejoice in his relationship to the Israelite slaves of Egypt. This is certainly a unique characteristic of Moses' life that was not duplicated. Furthermore, no other prophet, save Moses, had the experience of meeting God "face to face" as Moses did on Mt. Sinai with the burning bush. However, the Bible does clearly indicate that other prophets "spoke" to God and received guidance in their own way. As this suggests, it is also possible to argue that there were prophets after Moses equal to him in their relationship to God. This stance is supported, somewhat, in the biblical verses that describe how Moses felt on this topic of shared responsibility for leading the people. These verses describe how two men in the Hebrew camp, Eldad and Medad, felt that the spirit of God came upon them and they began to prophesize within the camp. A young man ran and told Moses what these two men were doing. Joshua, son of Nun and minister to Moses reacted quickly and implored Moses to forbid the men from doing this. However, Moses said to him, "Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the Lord's people were prophets, that the Lord would put his spirit upon them." After which, Moses and the elders of Israel returned to the camp (Numbers 11:24-30). As this suggests, Moses, certainly, had no qualms about supposing that

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Emily Dickinsons Because I could not stop for death :: essays research papers

Emily Dickinson's "Because I could not stop for death" and " I heard a fly buzz when I died", are remarkable masterpieces that exercises thought between the known and the unknown. Critics call Emily Dickinson"s poems masterpieces with strange " haunting powers". In Dickinson's poems " Because I could not stop for death" and " I heard a fly buzz when I died" are created less than a year apart by the same poet. Both poems talk about death and the impression in the tone and symbols that exudes creativity. One might undoubtedly agree to eerie, haunting, if not frightening, tone in Dickinson's poem. Dickinson uses controlling adjectives-"slowly: and "passed"-to create a tone that seems rather placid. For example, "We slowly drove- He knew no haste/ ...We passed the school.../ We passed the setting sun," sets a slow quiet, calm, and dreamy atmosphere (5, 9, 11, 12). "One thing that impresses us," one author wrote, " is the remarkable placidity, or composure, of its tone" (Greenberg 128). The tone in Dickinson"s poems will put its readers ideas on a unifying track heading towards a buggling atmosphere. Dickinson's masterpieces lives on complex ideas that are evoked through symbols, which carry her readers through her poems. Besides the literal significance of the "school," Gazing Grain," "Setting Sun," and the "Ring" much is gathered to complete the poem's central idea. Emily brought to light the mysteriousness of the life's'cycle. Ungraspable to many, the cycle of one's'life, as symbolized by Dickinson, has three stages and then a final stage of eternity. These three stages are recognized by Mary N. Shawn as follows: "School, where children strove" (9). Because it deals with an important symbol, the "Ring" this first scene is perhaps the most important . One author noted that "the children, at recess, do not play as one would expect them to but strive" (Monteiro 20). In addition, at recess the children performed a venerable ritual, perhaps known to all, in a ring. This ritual is called "Ring-a-ring-a-roses," and is recited: Ring-a ring-a-roses, A pocket full of posies; Hush! hush! hush! hush! We're all tumble down. (qtd. In Greenaway 365) Monteiro made the discovery and concluded that "For indeed, imbedded in their ritualistic game is a reminder of the mortal stakes that the poet talks about elsewhere" (21). On this invited journey, one vividly sees the "Children" playing, laughing, and singing.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

My Cultural Identity

Defining my own cultural identity by Stefanie A–ttl Culture is one of the most difficult concepts in the human social sciences and there are many different ways of defining it. It is often argued that culture is a learned behaviour pattern shared by a specific group of people. Culture is about shared meanings, and language is the privileged medium in which meaning is produced and exchanged. People sharing one culture interpret the world in roughly the same way. Defining my own cultural identity seems to me quite difficult. I actually have to admit that I am not quite sure which culture I belong to.I was born in Austria but my father comes from South Tyrol, the northern part of Italy, where Italian and German are spoken. Therefore I have Italian nationality but I have only some basic knowledge concerning the language. Although I live in Austria, there are still some traditions and cultural aspects in my family that are not Austrian. Not only is there some Italian influence, but also Canadian due to the fact that my motheraâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s stepmother is British but emigrated to Canada. I havenaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t got Canadian nationality, but I was brought up bilingually (German/English).Furthermore I spent half a year living in Chile and therefore I was influenced by the Chilean way of life. Understandably I sometimes get quite confused about which culture I really belong to. There are several parameters for defining oneaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s culture, such as nationality, language, the country you live in, gender, social class, occupation, interests, educational levelaâ‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦. But the question is, which of these parameters is to be considered the most important. I have Italian nationality, but due to the fact that I donaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t really know the language I donaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t really feel Italian or aâ‚ ¬? Southern Tyrolianaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢.And although I am not Canadian by citizenship I sometimes feel more at home there because of the language. Still, con cerning some traditional aspects, I am more familiar with the aâ‚ ¬? South Tyrolianaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ ones but I donaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t really feel that I belong there because I donaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t know Italian nor do I really speak German with a aâ‚ ¬? South Tyrolianaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ accent. I believe that not knowing the language could be seen as a barrier keeping me from really experiencing Italian culture. I strongly believe that one can somehow adopt a culture by learning specific behaviour patterns, values, moralities or more precisely, a certain way of life.I experienced this while living in Chile and I can say for sure that it was far more difficult to adjust to a new way of living and learn how to react in certain situations than learning the foreign language. Despite all these influences of different cultures, I still feel very Austrian due to the fact of actually living in this country. The parameters which I believe to be very important in order to define your culture are first of all the is the country you live in because your culture depends very much on what is happening around you.The second important aspect is language through which thoughts, ideas and feelings of a certain culture are represented. The least important thing in my opinion is the nationality because I believe this to be a very official way of defining your culture. But, as I already mentioned, I sometimes donaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t really know which culture I really belong to. I believe I am a mixture of all of them. Understanding home by Michael Pelitz â€Å"the night is your friend, your only friend the center stage, a moonscape as you walk. alk your head is a thread; your head’s a thread the eye of the needle becomes indistinct we’re just a sadder song away we’re just a sadder song away the mountaintops, the rainbow drops the fires from the temples and palaises. hurray the hierarchy that swallows me the pavement emptied out by night we’re just a sadder son g away we’re just a sadder song away we’re off to understanding home we’re off to understanding home we’re off to understanding home we’re just a sadder song away†Just as I reached Radetzkyplatz, passing by the Hotel Garni Lind, aâ‚ ¬? Understanding Homeaâ‚ ¬? ept rotating in my disc player. aâ‚ ¬? aâ‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦The center stage, a moonscape as you walkaâ‚ ¬?. The display warns: aâ‚ ¬? BATTERY LOWaâ‚ ¬? , but Alexaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ apartment is right across the square, so I decided not to worry about it. I suddenly remembered a letter I read on the internet, written by an Austrian social worker after his return from his social service year at the Holocaust Memorial Center in Detroit: aâ‚ ¬? When being abroadaâ‚ ¬? , he wrote, aâ‚ ¬? you become a true patriotaâ‚ ¬?! He stayed in the U. S. during the international crusade against the Austrian government in 2001.I started to remember all these artists who cancelled their concerts in Austria, and every single e-mail I had to send to my American friends, explaining aâ‚ ¬? the situationaâ‚ ¬?. And I had to think about all these desperate and aggressive anti-Moslem e-mails my mum received from a friend of hers who lives in Virginia, fearing that her son might not return from Iraq safely. I glanced over my shoulder to check on the traffic lights. Red. Suddenly I was confused, even a bit aggressive. I felt terribly blank despite the music, or maybe, because of the music. The whole world (including me) seems to be talking about sending, I thought!Sending e-mails, sending troops, sending messages, sending money, sending support, sending social workers. Mobility is the keyword of our times. Nobody seems to be talking about the sense of belonging. aâ‚ ¬? You become a true patriotaâ‚ ¬? , returns to my mind. I thought of how much I detest the concept of patriotism. To me, patriotism leads to flag-waving, flag-waving gives beautiful pictures, beaut iful picture are very likely to be shown in the news, satellites enable worldwide broadcasts within milliseconds, and the media have an incredible manipulating impact.I know the concept underlying the word aâ‚ ¬? patriotismaâ‚ ¬? is not that easy, but I am sure that patriotism is a great source of misunderstandings. The next moment I pictured myself at the soccer stadium singing the national anthem. Again, it leaves me confused. I felt exhausted. It has been a long day. An estimated 750 metres, the way from the U4-metrostation LandstraAYer HauptstraAYe to here, lay behind me. Another two and a half miles to the 23 rd district, where Iaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ve parked my car, 102 kilometres to MA? zzuschlag, my hometown, an additional 87 kilometres to Graz, the city where I live, and yet another 8944 km to Portland/Oregon, the place where I spent the most wonderful year imaginable, describe my route. I think about my travels, the times I was sent, the times I mobilized. The batteries ra n out on the final lines of the song.I would have loved to listen to the outro and the repetition of the chorus. I pushed the doorbell and heard the buzzing of reality. Maybe all of this is not as contradictory as I thought. Maybe the understanding of our cultural identity needs to aâ‚ ¬? travel lightaâ‚ ¬? in order to find its way back home. And in its backpack it carries all the concepts we fear, detest or treasures so much. aâ‚ ¬? Weaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢re off to understanding homeaâ‚ ¬? , I repeated, as suddenly the front door opened and I entered the building. Cultural Identity by Ana Flac A couple of years ago I found myself wandering between cultures, customs and different traditions. At the beginning of this â€Å"cultural voyage† I was torn between contradictions which forced me to ask myself: Who am I? What makes me a Croatian? Six years ago a specific incident happened in Osijek which triggered off these thoughts .Morete mi reci da ide vlak za Cakovec? (Could you tell me when the next train goes to Cakovec? ), I asked a railway man as I was on my way home, after I had taken my entrance exam at Osijek University in 1998. The friendly man smiled and begged my pardon. He did not quite understand me. At this point I realized that I was no longer in my home town in Medjimurje and that all the competence I had in speaking my dialect which I’m so proud of could constitute a burden rather than a merit. This was the first time I perceived myself as being different from other people in Croatia.Some of my fellow students in Osijek rejected their dialect but I was proud of it and it made me somehow stand out from the crowd so I could be easily identified by it. I realized that my Medjimurian dialect was a part of my cultural identity. As time passed by I got to know many different people from the Slavonic region, their customs and their way of living. Since this region was greatly affected by the war, a very critical attitude towards Serbs h ad developed there. Most of the inhabitants often expressed their fury mostly against Serbs and emphasized Pan-Croatian nationalism.I noticed I wasn’t prepared to emphasize a Pan-Croatian position and I didn’t want to perceive the whole Serbian nation so destructively. I just couldn’t identify myself with all this Pan-Croatian nationalism and I mainly disagreed with people who had this kind of attitude. I kept my distance and withdrew into my regional cultural frames. After having spent two years in Osijek, I continued my studies in a completely different country, in Austria. I was very much excited about the new faces and new culture I was about to meet. And then one day I encountered a girl on the campus and we started talking.I found the conversation quite neat. Apart from other things, she wanted to know where I come from so I told her I was from Croatia. Ah, aus Kroatien.. those were the next words she said. They sounded strange, as if she got the whole pic ture of me when she found out about my origin. At this moment I realized there was not only no place left for my Medjimurian identity, which I am extremely proud of, but there was also hardly even any left for my Croatian identity. I was differentiated from other students by labels such as another ex-Yugoslavian or inhabitant of the Balkans.For the first time in my life I felt ashamed of my nationality. And from that moment on I was somehow torn between my Medjimurian pride and the feeling of shame for who I was in Austria. I was trapped in some generalized prejudices about myself that I did not want to have anything to do with. My identity was on the verge of being formed by some stereotypic views which I could not accept. But inspite of all these confrontations and contradictions I had to face and which scared me and disoriented me at first, they were also the one that gave me strength and motivated me to figure out who I really am.My Cultural Identity by Camilla Leimisch If someo ne asked me if I was proud to be Austrian or Finnish, I would not answer aâ‚ ¬? Yesaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ right away. Iaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ve always felt that proud was not the appropriate word to describe my feelings towards the country where I was born or the country where I grew up, because I find it hard to be proud of something that I did not decide or that I did not achieve on my own. But I do not want to be misunderstood: I am proud of my parents to whom I owe my bilingualism and who introduced me to both cultures right from the start (Finnish from my mother and Austrian from my father).I am also happy to have kept this bilingualism and I consider myself lucky to have two native countries. Although I was born in Finland and I was only two years old when my family moved to Austria, I have never considered Finland to be my second home country, in the sense of second best. This is because I have a family there, too, and I spend every summer in Finland. This is also because my mother took care that I did not forget my Finnish roots in Austria, so I could develop feelings of the same value for both of the countries, as well as an understanding of cultural awareness that is closely connected to the feeling of home.As I see it, not only my nationality is an important part of my cultural identity, but also what I have done and what I am doing in my country and in its society. Austria is the country where I live and study. As my main subject is music, and Austria is a country of great musicians, music has become a big part not only of my personal but also of my cultural identity. I also appreciate Austrian folk music which I consider a very relevant and unique cultural tradition in the country. With Finland, itaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s different. Iaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢d rather identify myself with Finnish people than with Austrian people.It is not easy to explain why. All I can say is that Finnish people are very attached to nature, and that I often share their moments of melancholy wh ich are even more intense when they are far away from their own country. Iaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ve already said that I am happy about my bilingualism. In fact, language is an important parameter for defining my cultural identity, because other people also define or identify you by the way you speak. Certainly you become most aware of your language when you find yourself in a foreign country where no-one speaks your language.What Iaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ve noticed is that if you are among people who do not only speak differently, but also behave differently and look different from you, you suddenly distinguish yourself culturally from the others, and your cultural identity becomes much more evident. The frequently asked question about whether I feel more Austrian or more Finnish is not easy to answer. I am not 100% Austrian and not 100% Finnish. But I think that this diversity which has shaped my personality is also the key to my cultural identity.

Monday, September 16, 2019

Eastman Kodak Marketing Strategy Essay

Q1. Summarize the market characteristics and trends. In the photo film market the major suppliers were Kodak, Fuji, Agfa and 3M. Fuji and Kodak sold only branded product whereas Agfa and 3M sold their film as branded product as well as to other firms in private label. Total Market In 1993 the total market was around 670 million 24 – exposure rolls. Typically a consumer paid between $2.5 and $3.5 for a 24 exposure rolls. So in average they used to pay $3 for a 24 exposure roll. So Total Market = 670million * 3=2 billion Market Share The market within USA was monopoly as Kodak’s market share was about 70%. But worldwide, the market was competitive. Fuji was a strong competitor in worldwide sales (Fuji -$10 billion, Kodak – $20 billion). Appendix A depicts the unit market share of Kodak in U.S. Market Growth The market’s annual unit growth rate was averaged only 2%. So this is basically a fully developed mature market. We can categorize this market as Cash Cow according to the BCG growth share matrix. The annua l growth of Kodak had been only 3%which is much lesser in compare to the rivals. Appendix B depicts the annual growth rate of different companies. Consumer Information Consumer were less educated about the technical aspects of film and view it as a commodity often focusing on price alone to purchase. Appendix C depicts the graph showing the consumer buying pattern trend. Price Tier Based on the price tiers there were multiple category of brands (i.e. Superpremium, Premium Economy & Price) available in the market. Appendix D depicts the price tier ranges. Superpremium brands were not the major sellers . For Premium products of Kodak, the gross margin was approximately 70%.It seems that Kodak implemented market skimming price strategy to handle Premium products. Fuji’s gross margin was about 55% for the economy brands. The margin of  Price product was lower. This lower price brand was targeted towards the segment of customers where consumers were less educated about photography and focused on price alone to purchase. Appendix E depicts the different distribution channel of the overall photo film market. Q4. Considering introduction of Funtime and ignoring Royal Gold, calculate the market shares of Funtime and Gold Plus that would make Kodak indifferent to introduce Funtime or take no action. Evaluate how realistic it is to improve profits with introduction of Funtime taking into account the existing market segments and plausible competitive reaction. Reasons for failure of Funtime The first problem is that they plan not to advertise. This seems to be a mistake because funtime is a new product for the consumers. Consumers need to be educated that they have a new product offering and they need to know what the value proposition is. However, if there is no education of the product, which could lead to consumers to believe that Kodak is offering less quality for their existing products, rather than rolling out a new lower price alternative. In case of failure of the funtime, Kodak Gold and Royal Gold would be able to maintain the same share of the market currently because of brand Loyalty and separate segment of customers targeted. The extra expenses done (packaging, features, styling) to release this product would be a loss for Kodak. But in the near future as the price sensitive customer segment remained unserved by Kodak and growth in private label film activity will decrease the market share of Kodak. Reasons for Success of Funtime and side effects on the market shares Making a move to enter the Economy Tier is a smart play for Kodak. The market appears to be heading toward price being the most important dimension for consumer. So the customer segment who tend to view film as a commodity and often buy on price alone (Price Sensitive Customer Segment) is the main target of funtime. A few of their ideas seem to make sense: For instance, it is probably a good idea they only offer limited speeds. This would probably be sufficient for consumers who are buying in this tier. Also, making them available in value packs seems like a good idea because they will be able to sell more units (rolls) of film this way. Positive Side effects and Market Share: If launching funtime is successful then the market share of Kodak Gold would  remain the same because of its loyalty and brand, Ektar market share will be converted to Royal gold share because of its special segment offering (special occasion) and finally funtime will be able to target the price sensitive segment .As a result the market share of Kodak should be restored back to 75% or more in the upcoming years. As shown in exhibit 2 there would be definite loss of revenue of Fuji and Others. Polaroid and Private market share will remain unaffected as they are out of scope market for Kodak. Negative Side effects and Market Share:Now there are few major drawbacks. As the offer is limited throughout the year consumers may just wait until that time of year to buy fun time film instead of buying their other Kodak products that are available year round. This can cannibalize Kodak’s Gold Plus market share in premium category. Kodak Gold Plus was the flagship brand of Kodak and Kodak’s gross margins were believed to be about 70%.So if the market share of Kodak Gold Plus reduces it may lead to huge loss for Kodak as a whole. As shown in Exhibit 2 though the market share of funtime has increased and it has snatched 5% (Fuji + others) from competitors but it has also capability to cannibalize the market share of Gold Plus which can reduce 10% or more. Like Kodak Gold Plus if we keep the same assumption that the gross profit margin is 70%, retailer’s margin is 20% for funtime then we will be able to see (Exhibit 1) that the profit earned for Kodak Gold plus is $0.39 per unit. Exhibit 3 shows that the total revenue from market has been (1777 – 1692) =85 million dollars It can also be stated that as being limited throughout the year the market growth of fun time will be very less. Also lowering industry profitability by reducing average price of film would keep the customer expectation of lo wer prices in the future product release.

Sunday, September 15, 2019

Course Syallbus

If ultra is â€Å"everything' and â€Å"everywhere† what exactly isn't culture, and do we actually need a subfield in sociology to study it if everyone is already studying It anyway? Does this course sound confusing? Does it sound like something you'd best run away? Please don't. You need not worry. Culture is both the norms, values, and rituals that you celebrate and hold dearly, and the one's that you take for granted as â€Å"common sense. † Culture is a mental map or schema that you use to make sense of the world and your place in it. Culture is a â€Å"way of life. † Appeals to culture can be used to keep things room changing, or to change things.Culture is also material objects such as books, movies, art, and fashion, as well as physical practices such as singing or dancing. Culture is produced and culture is consumed. This is a course about how culture -?which is both within you and all around you -works, doesn't work, and why. Required Text * Wary, Matt. 2014. Cultural Sociology: An Introductory Reader. New York, NY: W. W. Norton. Goals and Objectives *Students will be able to display comprehension of major theories and perspectives in the sociological study Of culture, both historical and anthropometry. Students will be able to apply theories from these subfields to real-world settings and examples. *Students will leave the course with an analytic â€Å"tool- kit' for studying the role of culture in groups, organizations, fields, and societies. Student Expectations Students will attend all scheduled meetings on time and prepared. Students will not falsify illness or injury to themselves, family, or friends if attendance is missed. Students will complete the readings assigned before class and to a level in which they would feel comfortable leading a group discussion.Students will not skip the reading, skim the reading, or give up on the reading if they find it initially confusing. Students will respect each other, and our collabor ative learning environment in the course. Students will not plagiarism. Instructor Expectations In agreement and in honor of your commitment to the course, I agree to be punctual and prepared; to use my knowledge of sociology to work through the material with you; and to be forthright, timely, and helpful in my communication and feedback.I take our time together very seriously and work hard to provide opportunities within our course that will contribute to our goals, aspirations, and commitments inside and outside of CISTS. Assignments and Grade Breakdown: Class Attendance and Participation: You are expected to be in class every day and be an active and vocal member of our community. You need to be here to participate, and you need to be prepared to participate well. Attendance will be taken using a sign-sheet on each day. If you were not present to sign in on the sign-in sheet, you will be considered absent for that day of class.Reading Quizzes: Over the term there will be five sur prise reading quizzes. These will consist Of two to three short questions. Mid-Term Exam: The midterm will take place in Week 6 of the course. Details will be provided in class in advance of the midterm. Final Exam: The final exam will have a similar format to the mid-term. We will spend time during our last lecture discussing the final exam. Final grades will be broken down into the following categories: Class Attendance and Participation Reading Quizzes Midterm Exam Final Exam Total 15% 100% Late Work policy f you miss a reading quiz you will get a zero score for that week's quiz.Your lowest reading quiz score is dropped. If you miss the midterm without advanced notice and without an approved and excused absence your score will automatically be dropped by one letter grade. Assorted Policies having to do with Email Email Diana Miller Dianna. [email  protected] Ca with questions about the course. Questions that require two sentences or less to answer will be responded to by email, which basically excludes all emails asking for substantive course material to be â€Å"explained. † For these types of inquiries and any other inquiries that will take longer to answer, please attend office hours or make arrangements by appointment.Diana will forward me any questions that she cannot answer. Emails will be responded to within 48 hours. If your question has not been responded to within 48 hours, please forward it to me after that period. Do not expect a response Outside of normal business hours (e. G. A question emailed on Friday night will be responded to by the end of the working day on Tuesday). What â€Å"Participation† Means Participation can be either positive or negative. Being attentive, engaged, and asking and answering questions about the course material are examples of positive participation.If you're not comfortable speaking in front of the class, I encourage you to use this space to practice, but also accept that this may be an issue for yo u. If so, make sure you're engaging in the other forms of positive participation, and not engaging in any forms of negative participation. Negative participation includes zoning out, coming late, leaving early, not paying attention, sleeping or distracting other students. If you are participating negatively and I or someone else finds it distracting, I'll politely ask you to leave, and I strongly suggest you do so.Simply put, if you're too red or not ready to learn I'd rather you not come to class than sleep through it or distract other students. Feedback on our Course value and seek your feedback on our course. To that end, I will distribute a mid-term evaluation near the halfway point of the course to hear from you anonymously. This assists me in making any necessary adjustments in my teaching practice for the rest of our time together. Possible Changes to the Syllabus Every class is a bit different. As a result unforeseen problems may emerge and we may have to make adjustments to the syllabus as we go.