Marketing Synthesis Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Marketing Synthesis - Research Paper Example Competitive advantage therefore relates to the sustainability of a given business in relation to the threats and competition posed by businesses that are in the same markets as the entity in question. PPGL maintains a competitive advantage because it remains profitable and it controls a significant share of the market of consumers who seek babies, children and adults clothing and related equipments. Additionally, the financial statements of PPGL shows that continues to make profits and is listed on the New Zealand stock exchange as a public company. â€Å"Differentiation involves creating differences in the firms product offerings that set it apart from competing offerings† (Ferrell & Hartline, 2010 p209). Differentiation therefore refers to the ability of a business to give a unique and distinct offering to consumers. This will ensure that consumers will prefer to buy their products rather than other products. Differentiation is based on the added value that a business gives to its consumers that cannot be obtained elsewhere. PPGL has a wide range of products, most of which are unique in appearance and design. They provide seasonal ranges that are always different from what others offer and focus on contemporary designs that are appreciated by the middle-class of New Zealand. Total product offering refers to the idea of developing a unique product into a form that is acceptable for the market place (Longenecker, 2009 p160). In other words, total product/service offering is about how a business presents a given product that it sells to the public. It is concerned with branding, packaging, labeling and related issues like warranties (Longenecker, 2009 p160). PPGL has five unique brands for women and adults: Who is Henri, Spirit, Concept, Isobelle & Live.Love.Play. It also has a range of 21 brands that are related to babies clothing and equipment. All these brands provide a range of cloths that have different images and appeal to different units of

Reviewing Films Depicting Supremacy of Artificial Intelligence Essay Example for Free

Reviewing Films Depicting Supremacy of Artificial Intelligence Essay There is without a shadow of a doubt that we are now living in a time when there is almost nothing we cannot accomplish. The outbreak of high technology all around the world is soaring, and day by day, improvements on what is already highly intelligent devices are being developed. From computers, to cellular phones, to MP3 players, everything has been made accesible to man. Because of this technology, man can bask in his creations and marvel at the genius that he has invented through the years. Half a decade ago, todays technology wouldnt have even been deemed as possible. Yesteryears most advanced technological developers probably wouldnt have even dreamed of the possibilities of what we now have today. But such is the development of the human mind: our intelligence is further developing and increasing, being able to establish new concepts and ideas to be used for our own benefits. Indeed, with this highly advanced technology, we are further establishing ourselves as the dominant species of the planet. For us, we are in charge of our own destinies, and no species of another kind can tell us otherwise. But one is lead to ponder about the marvels of our own creations. What if the articifial intelligence we created were able to evolve themselves? What if these computers suddenly became self-aware, and starts acknowledging its own existence? It is true that we are the one who controls the technology, but what if the technology were able to control itself? If it became self-aware, what if, all of a sudden, it starts to refuse to follow its human creators? And if not the computers themselves, what if one person controlling these technologies started using them for their own ulterior motives? With our main defenses relying on technological advances, what if these advances were suddenly used against us? Would the humans still be able to lay its claim as the rulers of the earth when a something else establishes themselves as more intelligent and dominant? Such is the fear that some of us have: the fear of having our own technology turned against us. We fear the idea that perhaps someday, these computers that we have in our homes would become intelligent enough to start recognizing its own existence. In the early nineties, technophobia became rampant among the adults, although this fear was largely based on the misconceptions on computers being too overly complicated. Still, for some people, the advancements in technology is reason for them to be cautious about our own inventions. Creating Technopobia in Movies Since early in the 1980s, there have been a string of movies depicting highly advanced technology being used woefully and without any regard towards others. These movies often show state-of-the-art gadgets or creations, which are used against the protagonists to further cause ruin and devastation. Oftentimes these gadgets are used for the wrong reasons, and with its infinite possibilities, it creates the fear that maybe what we have created may not be totally beneficial to us, and could possibly create more harm than help in the long run. Perhaps the most popular among the movies that came out during the eighties that depicted this theme was the 1984 movie Terminator, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger as a human cyborg sent back in time. In the future, Skynet, a computer system fights a losing war against the humans who built it, and who it nearly exterminated. Just before being destroyed, Skynet sends a Terminator back in time to kill Sarah, the mother to be of John Connor, the Leader of the human resistance. The terminator can pass for human, is nearly indestructible, and has only one mission: killing Sarah Connor. One soldier is sent back to protect her from the killing machine. He must find Sarah before the Terminator can carry out its mission (MGM. com). This movie portrays Skynet as a super computer, one that is capable to making decisions for itself. The super computer becomes self-aware, and recognizes the human race as a threat to its existence. It therefore wages a war against all of mankind, which almost led to the anniliation of the entire planet. In 1998, the movie Enemy of the State provided a different insight on abusing highly advanced technology. Robert Dean, the main character of the story, is just a successful and gutsy labor lawyer when he runs into an old college friend who was a big hurry. Unknown to him, that friend secretly drops a disc and viewer containing footage of a political assassination overseen by the senior advisor to the National Security Agency. Unfortunately, that politician soon learns what Dean has in his possession and secretly uses the vast resources of the NSA to find, investigate and stop him before he goes public. Soon, Dean finds himself on the run, with his assests frozen, his loved ones watched and actively hunted by NSA agents using all the survellience technology they have available. Not knowing what is going, Dean must stay one step ahead while trying to figure out the cause of this mess (Yahoo! Movies). This movie dwells on the idea of government surveillance and the invasion of our personal privacy by the government. We see from the movie that these technological advances could be easily used against us, and just as it could make our lives easier, it could also make it extremely difficult. We also find that if technology were to be used the wrong way, then those in power could have a commanding control over our very lives. Another movie that depicted computers going against humans was the highly acclaimed The Matrix. Thomas A. Anderson is a man living two lives: by day he is an average computer programmer and by night a malevolent hacker known as Neo. Neo has always questioned his reality but the truth is far beyond his imagination. Neo finds himself targeted by the police when he is contacted by Morpheus, a legendary computer hacker branded a terrorist by the government. Morpheus awakens Neo to the real world, a ravaged wasteland where most of humanity have been captured by a race of machines which live off of their body heat and imprison their minds within an artificial reality known as the Matrix. As a rebel against the machines, Neo must return to the Matrix and confront the agents, super powerful computer programs devoted to snuffing out Neo and the entire human rebellion (Whatisthematrix. com). The movie is almost identical to the concept of the Terminator, in which there is a computer mind that becomes self-aware of its own existence. Knowing that it has the power of technology, it sees the human race as disposable, and decides to take over and control the entire world. When Neo met Morpheus, he was awakened to the fact that they were being used by the computer systems as mere batteries to continue sustaining their own power. And it was up to them to reawaken the rest of the world from this nightmare that is the Matrix. The Fear of Control What these three films had in common was theme of technology taking over the human lives. The films shared similar highly advanced technology that in one way was very helpful, but at the other end caused problems that were catastrophic. This is what we are afraid of; that maybe perhaps at some point, our own creations would backfire on us and cause a lot of harm towards society, and it would perhaps be unstoppable when it happens. Perhaps what motivates the persistence of these kinds of themes is the fact that we all know that this fantasy that they try to present could and might become possible in the future. Fifty or so years ago, our technology today wasnt even thought of as possible. A lot of things are being developed today that our predescessors couldnt have possibly dreamed of back in the day. Nowadays, the sky is the limit. The human race is making every dream come to life, developing newer and better technology every single day. So deep inside, we know that this threat of computers taking over is not a long shot. We see that perhaps someday, artificial intelligence would become this advanced as to be self-aware. And if this happens, whats gonna stop them from taking over the world and eliminating the human race? In terms of humans going against fellow humans using technology, we ourselves could be comparable to this technology. Donna Haraway mentions how we are like the cyborgs, which are both part machine and part organism. She further states: In short, we are cyborgs. The cyborg is our ontology; it gives us our politics. The cyborg is a condensed image of both imagination and material reality, the two joined centres structuring any possibility of historical transformation. In the traditions of â€Å"Western† science and politics—the tradition of racist, male- dominant capitalism; the tradition of progress; the tradition of the appropriation of nature as resource for the productions of culture; the tradition of reproduction of the self from the reflections of the other—the relation between organism and machine has been a border war (Harraway, 516). With the peer-to-perr capabilities of networked computer communication today, it is likely to have a major impact on both the film and music business. Depending on how this technology is used, it could have either a postive or negative effect on these industries. Everything could be made easier with technology, films and music could be produced with relative ease, and everything to be made more accesible. On the other hand, changing the sytems could mean doing things a lot different, which could cause a chain reaction among those who are involved. Business could be done more efficiently, but it could leave people out of jobs. Human work might be replaced by much more efficient computers doing their jobs, and that could have an effect on the economy of the country. Looking back, technology has certainly come along way since back in the old days, when all of this conveniences didnt exist. It is easy to picture people being intimidated by these advancements, due to its infinite potential. Depending on how it is used, it could be very good for all of us, or it could be catastrophic to all. Only time will tell whether these technological improvements would come back to haunt us in the long run. Works Cited Enemy of the State. Yahoo! Movies. Retrieved 3 June 2008 from http://movies. yahoo. com/shop? d=hvcf=infoid=1800021531 Haraway, Donna. â€Å"A Cyborg Manifesto. † The New Media Reader (1985). pp. 515-541. The Matrix Trilogy. Whatisthematrix. com. Retrieved 3 June 2008 from http://whatisthematrix. warnerbros. com/ The Terminator. MGM. com. Retrieved 3 June 2008 from http://www. mgm. com/title_title. php? title_star=TERMINAT

An Introduction To Toyota Motor Corporation Marketing Essay

An Introduction To Toyota Motor Corporation Marketing Essay In 1933 company was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda. In 1934 department of Toyota industries manufactured first product the product called Type A engine and its first passenger car AA in 1936. Toyota bought some other companies also and own and operates Lexus, Scion, Daihatsu and Hino Motors and shareholdings in Fuji heavy industry, Isuzu, Yamaha, and Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation. All these and some other in total includes around 522 subsidiaries. Toyota is headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi and in Tokyo. Instead of automobile Toyota also provides financial services through its division Toyota Financial Services and also builds robots for different industries. Toyota Motor Corporation its financial services and Toyota Industries all together form the bulk of the Toyota Group and one of the largest conglomerates in the world. Toyota is worldwide famous and well known company because of their high quality manufactured cars, Toyota is doing very well and growing very fast globally they have their operations, manufacturing facilities and valuable loyal customers all over the world. The new technology Hybird in Toyota cars gave a new pride to Toyota and the sales of Toyota going up day by day. In last few years Toyota became number one in automotive industry and became a number one in mostly selling their cars worldwide. Below chart shows the figures of manufactured cars in 2008 and the chart is showing other companies production also. In 2008 Toyota overtook GM and automotive industry announced Toyota the world biggest carmaker. But after that complains started arising and more customers stated blaming about the quality controls because of their rapid expansion. Due to the rapid expansion they recalled more than eight million cars in year 2009 the brake and accelerator defects and bearing, defending their selves against 98 lawsuits due to the deaths, injuries and damages happened to customer who were using their cars. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8626668.stm Toyota products were in high demand worldwide and they had a time when they felt they might not be able to meet the demand of customers but they were selling as normal routine and increase the production with huge volumes and increase the manufacturing speed. Contacted and started working with more suppliers for different parts which they are use to buy from different suppliers. Toyota Executives and Mr. Akio Toyoda had a strong feeling that working with new and more suppliers might give a bad impact for their quality and they might not be able to control well. They had very busy and high demand for their cars instead of finding good solution to cope this situation they didnt go for more alternatives like booking, reservation for cars instead of doing this they gave focus on rapid expansion. Rapid expansion met the demand of customers but on the other hand gradually they started receiving complains from their customers. In one period they were aware of the problem but they didnt recover it and took it easy which later returned back as a big problem for Toyota and did huge quantity recalls which cost a lot. Rapid expansion helped but put them in big problem also they lost the quality control and the spare parts purchased from different suppliers were the big problem also. They have basically three types of suppliers: Tier One Suppliers Tier Two Suppliers Tier Three Suppliers The car makers manufacturing system is known as Original Equipment Manufacturers, or OEM. After OEM system then they reply on Tier One Suppliers, Tier Two Suppliers and finally Tier Three Suppliers. Tier one supplier such as Bosch, Denso, Continental, Delphi, Valeo and Tenneco. These companies deliver big integrated system directly to the OEM. Tier two suppliers provides individual products to Tier one or directly to OEM. Tier three supplier make single products and deliver to Tier two suppliers. Due to the high demand of products the supplier did big mistakes and put Toyota in big problems. The unintended acceleration was problem happened because of the Tier Two Supplier. In Tier one supplier category they have few suppliers and they never faced any problem while working with them. But on Tier Two and Tier Three they have thousands of suppliers around the world which is quite hard for Toyota to control closely to all of them. OEM working smoothly closely with Tier One Suppliers but facing many problems with their thousands of Tier Two Suppliers and Tier Three Suppliers. These problems are increasing and they are losing market grip and the customers trust because of these kinds of inefficiencies and less quality control standards. Toyota Lean Production System Lean Production/Manufacturing Lean production is a model followed very well by Toyota which helped a lot to improve their working conditions and helped them to save time and money. The main concept behind this word lean is more outputs against less input in less time. The main sources of this less input are money, work force, working space, inventory and time. These wastes needs to be eliminated, in other words lean production means to minimize the waste and make easy, simple steps and speed up the working results. Toyota Production system called as lean manufacturing also because they introduced and worked on this concept of saving extra wastages. The system eliminates the overproduction, waste, useless transportation, inventory, motion, defective goods, over processing, waiting and implementation of the concepts like continuous flow and customer pull. The major areas which are very considerable and main causes are: Quality Delivery Safety Costs Morale Diagram showing components of Lean Production System Advantages of Lean Production Lean manufacturing helped Toyota to achieve many targets with the help of this system they achieved many benefits which helped them to save money, time and work force and many other factors also that indirectly strengthen the company and help their market share grow worldwide significantly. Within few years the lean production helped them to reduce wastages by around 80% which is very high for this type of big company, production costs were reduced by 50 percent and manufacturing cycle time decreased by around 50 percent also. Inventory reduction reduced significantly which helped them to save space for storing and work force decreased by 50 percent also. These reductions encourage them to increase facilities for employees and customers, improved the working environment. Friendly, comfortable working environment encourage employees and it helped to have higher quality and higher profits. They achieved many benefits through great system flexibility, more focus and good flow of shipping and billing frequencies. Below mentioned chart illustrates very clearly the different between the traditional manufacturing system and lean manufacturing system. Production system of 20th century was recognized as a mass production system of Toyota and lean production system is taken as 21st century production system. Toyota Production System (TPS) TPS based on 7 basic principles which really helped them to have good approach to meet the demand and in a good satisfied manner. The principles they followed tried their best to reduce setup time and to have better quality focused on small lot productions. Encourage and involved employees gave them job security and rights to involve and give full participation and their thoughts for improvements, quality increment and maintained the equipments with great new changes. Involvement of suppliers of all three types and the pull production is a part of those 7 basic TPS principles. http://www.1000ventures.com/business_guide/lean_production_main.html Toyota Supply Chain Management Supply Chain Management Any company manufacture products and at the same time buy products from different suppliers and then these products sold to their customers, this procedure called supply chain. Supply chains are simple and difficult too depends on the company size and the products produced by them. There are some elements involved in supply chain which are customer, purchasing, planning, transportation, production and inventory. Those people who manage all these procedures involved in this case known as supply chain management. To make it sure that supply chain operating are efficient and producing high level of customer satisfaction and trust at low costs, companies adopted supply chain management technology and processes. The three basic activities involved which company follows which are: Operational Tactical Strategic To make it quicker companies bought and use special technology software which helps to have quicker information between customers and suppliers. ERP, SAP and Oracle are mostly used to give and take latest updates. http://logistics.about.com/od/supplychainintroduction/a/into_scm.htm http://www.mhprofessional.com/product.php?isbn=0071615490 All major automotive companies use supply chain management and lean production system. The rapid expansion gave big impact on its supply chain, when the requirement to expand the supply chain it meant they need to work with many unfamiliar and new suppliers who was not aware and dont had deep understanding of the culture of Toyota. In 2008 Toyota used parts which were not completely controlled and the chain didnt focus that much because of the rapid expansion and high demand. http://www.economist.com/business-finance/displaystory.cfm?story_id=15576506 The company did a big mistake too highly depending on the supplier which are outside Japan, it would be better to have few suppliers and near and in approachable market where they can control easily. Toyota needs to have closer monitoring on supply base especially for tier two and tier three supplier. Due to the rapid expansion the supply chain also disturbed because of many reasons, its hard to work with new supplier suddenly and who are not aware well to our company structure and culture. http://forums.industryweek.com/showthread.php?t=14131 Success Lean production system, supply chain management and the concept of product life cycle which is well followed by Toyota helped Toyota to reach the highest level in automotive industry. Other inspirations within organization also make a big contribution like an internal blog, rewards, hold creativity and ideology sessions, give positive feedback and respond to suggestions, celebrate on success, encourage risks celebrate failures too, use of mind maps, mix up work teams, understand consumer behaviour and innovation links to Jobs. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4015831.stm http://videos.cnet.co.uk/39042972.htm Recommendations Toyota OEM is working closely to their Tier One Supplier and having good results, few suppliers come under Tier one category they have long term relations and never faced any problem regarding quality or other related issues. But Toyota has faced many issues and still facing and having problems with their Tier two suppliers and tier three suppliers. During rapid expansion they increased the quantity of suppliers and they were not aware completely about Toyota cultures and Toyota even could not check and focused that well on their supplies. They did a big mistake to reply on new and thousands of suppliers in Tier one and Tier two categories and other big mistake was they replied on those suppliers which are outside Japan. I would say it would be great if they take extra time for deliveries give more attention on lean and supply chain. Try to decrease the number of tier two and tier three suppliers try to list them and have few which are according to the Toyota standards. Give more focus on quality controls and the team must make sure there will be no space for recall after handover the vehicles to the customers. Chapter 3: Conclusion In short Toyota is doing well in the market and going at the highest level of their successes. Enjoying being number one in the automotive industry, ranks number one in highest units selling cars worldwide. Regularly struggles and keeps trying bringing innovation to their products helped them to be number one innovative company in the world. Toyota Prius Hybrid innovation gave more value to Toyota Corporation, after introducing Prius I and II finally they introduced new Prius III with many more facilities and functions for drivers to enjoy the journey and daily life on road while travelling to jobs, offices etc. Overall if you see they are doing well but from 2008 after rapid expansion and when they took over GM after that they started facing issues and complain. They are trying their best to cope and tackle this hard time, recalling all vehicles which parts are needed to exchange and working to get quality promised parts form their tier two and tier three suppliers. List of Sources Internet: Manchester Business School [Online] (Cited 24 November 2009) Available from Paggu [Online] (Cited 28 November 2009) Available from Exeter Business School [Online] (Cited 27 November 2009) Available from Yo Goy [Online] (Cited 27 November 2009) Available from Automative Industry [Online] (Cited 22 November 2009) Available from London Government Uk [Online] (Cited 2 December 2009) Available from Working Knowledge [Online] (Cited 2 December 2009) Available from MSN Autos [Online] (Cited 30 November 2009) Available from http://www.mhprofessional.com/product.php?isbn=0071615490> All Hybrid Cars [Online] (Cited 27 November 2009) Available from BBC News [Online] (Cited 26 November 2009) Available from CNET [Online] (Cited 27 November 2009) Available from Toyota [Online] (Cited 29 November 2009) Available from http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2010/03/dont_believe_everything_you_re.html?cm_mmc=npv-_-DAILY_ALERT-_-AWEBER-_-DATE Literature: E Ghaziri, H.M (2003) Knowledge Mangement (5th Edition). Prentice Hall Harvard Business Review on Innovation. Harvard Business School Press Joe Tidd and John Bessant, (2009) Managing Innovation: Integrating Technological,(4th Edition) Market and Organizational Change by Paperback April 2009. Semsar, E. (2009),Strategic Innovation Marketing 21 January 2009, London Chris Freeman Luc Soete (2005), The Economics of Industrial Innovation Chapter 8, page 197 to 204.

Academic Competitions Essay -- Education, Talented Students

Academic Competitions As many of us know, we do not have many academic competitions here in United States. While in other countries, however, students are combating for getting the top marks, so they can gain entry into good colleges. This will automatically raises their chances for receiving opportunities in the career fields they are striving for. The need to be the best has become the motivation behind many students in today’s academic settings. Our country has a problem with education and students dropping out of school, but if we have more academic competitions which bring out the best in students, we will have a lower percentage of dropouts and the newer generations will have the power to advance the world. Academic competitions are being used all across the world as a tool to identify the most hardworking, creative and talented students. This process takes place outside the curriculum that is mandated by the school programs. â€Å"Academic Competitions can expand the scope and depth of content, allowing readers to explore subject areas beyond the opportunities available in a regular classroom.† (Debank 3). Competitions are used by many teachers at the root level to develop the talents of their students. â€Å"We need more, not less, competition in schools. We need to teach students how to win with dignity and how to lose with grace. We need to teach students that coming up short does not mean end of the world, but the beginning of a new journey, we should proudly show case examples of how competition betters the character of a student and how it motivates people to achieve greatness. Finally, we need to expunge the computer garbage that has seeped into our education system, and poisoned the dreams of our children† (Debank 3). Th... ...ous problem. We may not notice it now but as time goes on, we will have problems in our education systems. Competition has plenty of advantages and at hand may be some disadvantages but they can surely be solved with the guidance of an adult. In the process of competition the students realize the emotional and psychological moments in which they have to be resilient in withdrawal and humble in victory. Competition exists at every level of education and every stage of human life, so it is important to get involved in competitions that benefit our lives. It is equally important to turn every stage of participation into an opportunity, for us to learn and develop in many different ways. School competitions benefits students say research. (Melvin 6). It is said that competition breeds excellence; that only by the threat of defeat can we achieve the greatest victory.

History of Public Health Systems Essay

Public Health is about helping everyone to stay healthy rather than focusing specifically on the individual, with the aim to promote health, protecting individuals from threats to their health and preventing ill-health. Public health policies have made a significant impact in increasing a person’s overall life expectancy and improving health. (Public Health) Public Health Strategies: Public health strategies are devised in order to prevent the spread of diseases, prolong life and promote health. This can be done through the use of monitoring, identifying, developing programmes etc. Monitoring the health status of the community – Is a key aspect of health strategies that are in place within the UK. This health strategy helps to monitor any changes that occur in the health of the population, along with alerting individuals to any potential problems. Health throughout the UK is monitored by quality of life, infant mortality rates and life expectancy (Baker L, 2008, BTEC National Health and Social Care Book 2, page 2) The monitoring of health throughout the country allows for advanced planning of local services within the community that may be at risk of certain health problems. The monitoring of health at a local level allows for information to be recorded before being compared to the health of other communities across the country. Local information on health is an important aspect as it is collected on a geographical basis throughout the UK, for example vaccination rates, hospital admissions etc. This is one way on health can be monitored, as in the cases of other communities they may have higher incidence rates of certain diseases whereas others may have low incidences of diseases. Communities that have a higher rate of disease are monitored further and health promotion campaigns will be developed before being put into effect in order to reduce the risk of disease spreading within the community. The health status of a community can vary throughout the nation and depend on a variety of factors, of which can include: Age Gender Socio-economic conditions Genetics Environmental factors Through the use of monitoring health changes any problems that may arise in the future within communities can be identified in advance in order for it to be prevented. For example the rise of sexually transmitted diseases within local communities would monitored in order to predict any potential problems that may occur in the future and stop them from taking place. Identifying the health needs of the population – The health of the nation is measured by using mortality and morbidity rates of which have indicated how people are now living longer than that of their predecessors. Identifying the health needs of the population is another important aspect of public health strategies within the UK; this takes place when trends and patterns in local communities across the nation are established. By identifying the health needs of individuals located in a particular community means that the need for services can therefore be identified. Patterns can be detected throughout the country through the use of national statistics. National statistics are used in order to determine how health can be improved and how areas of concern can be highlighted, along with the effects of ill health may be reduced and prevented. Patterns of illness and disease can possibly be the result of certain factors, of which include; genetics, environment, lifestyle, education etc. However some parts of the country may be more susceptible to certain illnesses and diseases than others due to the patterns that are outlined by the National Statistics and social trends information. Developing programmes to reduce risk and screen for early disease – ‘Screening is the process of identifying apparently healthy people who may be at increased risk of a disease or condition. They can then be offered information, further tests and appropriate treatment to reduce their risk and/or any complications arising from the disease or  condition.’ As defined by the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC). Health programmes are developed based on the information gathered by epidemiologists. ‘An epidemiologist is a person who studies patterns of diseases or health risks in population groups, societies, and cultures.’ The Department of Health produces a green paper that proposes what the targets of health should be; and is based on these decisions as to how the government implement the findings. From this a white paper is produced, of which goes into detail as to how and what course of action is taken. An example of recent white papers can include ‘Our Healthy Nation’ and ‘Our Healthier Nation ‘ (1999). The aim of the white paper is to inform and protect members of the public by influencing social changes in regards to the health of the nation. (L, 2008, BTEC National Health and Social Care Book 2, page 4). Examples of current public health programmes include: Five a day campaign, MMR immunisation programme and the Local NHS Smoking Service. Controlling communicable disease – Controlling communicable diseases is an important aspect of public health strategies in the UK, of which ‘involves planning to include screening and early detection, isolation and treatment, containment, prevention and cure eradication where possible’. (Baker L, 2008, BTEC National Health and Social Care Book 2, page 7) The early detection of a disease can prove useful, as it can provide insight on the cause and the spread of the disease along with being able to highlight any potential risks that the disease may cause to an individual or group of people; especially in vulnerable people such as young children, and the elderly. Young children and the elderly are more susceptible to disease due to their immune system being much weaker than the average individual; therefore it is important in the early detection of an infection in order to stop this from occurring. Isolating individuals with communicable diseases enables to remain controlled, in order to reduce and prevent the risk of spreading the disease. A resident residing in a care home that was diagnosed with tuberculosis for example, would be moved to a room on their own, in order to ensure that the disease is not then passed to another service user within  the home is one example. Containing a disease can occur at a national and local level; this can occur once the source of the infection has been identified and plan has been developed and put in place in order to reduce the risk of the disease reoccurring. The measures that are taken in which to contain the disease can vary from short, medium, to long term measures. (Baker L, 2008, BTEC National Health and Social Care Book 2, page 7) Short term measures – limited visiting, unnecessary travel, treatment and isolation Medium/long term measures – immunisation programme, appropriate medical treatment, educating individuals about the risks, eradicating incidence of disease where it proves possible to do so Eradicating disease is now becoming possible due to advances in research and technology. Advances in technology means that more is known about the causes of illness and disease along with how the disease is spread. This advance has been made possible through the use of early detection and surveillance, monitoring, screening, treatment and immunisation programmes, health education and promotion. (Baker L, 2008, BTEC National Health and Social Care Book 2, page 8) Promote the health of the population – Health promoters are tasked with the promoting the health of the population on a local and national scale. Health promoters are based in a variety of settings, such as, GP surgeries, drop-in centres, radio, magazines and schools. They are prioritised on local need and the availability of funding for the necessary resources. These priorities can be identified through the number of reported illnesses and diseases through local statistics. Any illnesses or diseases taken from the statistics prove to be either life threatening or cause an individual to spend a substantial amount of time in hospital would then be given top priority in the promoting of health. Individuals who may be overweight can potentially be at risk of coronary heart disease later on in life. The health promoter would thereby ensure that diets and exercise are promoted through the use of proper channel on both a local and national level. Planning and evaluating the national provision of health and social care – The National provision of Health and Social care within the UK is planned and evaluated by the National Health Service and Social Services. This is based on the information provided by health and social care professionals on a local, regional and national scale across the UK. ‘The government have produced guidelines and information to state how they will tackle the problems controlling and preventing infectious disease spread.’ (Baker L, 2008, BTEC National Health and Social Care Book 2, page 8) The strategies outlined in the guidelines by the government are a series of proposed actions in order to create a system in which to prevent, investigate and control the threat of infectious diseases and to address health protection on a wider scale. M1 – Describe the origins of public health policy in the UK from the 19th century to the present day. In this essay I will compare two different health measures in the 19th century and how they have made an impact on society today. I am also going to compare and explain the living conditions of towns and cities in the 19th, 20th and 21st century. Public health has developed considerably over the years and the changes that have occurred overtime reflect on the health concerns of the nation during each time period. These changes are what have produced the Public Health system that is currently in place today. Over the year’s vast amounts of medical knowledge of today’s health professionals have increased in response as to how diseases are spread, along with the advances in medicine that have aided in helping to reduce the incidence of infectious diseases. During the 19th century the living conditions were exceedingly poor and there were various health issues of which include overcrowding in housing and overcrowding in general, thereby resulting in the spread of disease. The Poor Law Act (1834) was established in 1834. The Poor Law was designed in order to reduce the cost of looking after the poor and impose a system which  would be the same all across the country. The industrial revolution led to the development of towns and cities across the UK. The population of the nation had increased rapidly once the Poor Law Act was implemented. The country’s poverty relief system had not been amended since 1601, before finally coming into play as a result of Edwin Chadwick, John Snow. The Public Health Act was first implemented in 1848 in order to ensure that sanitary conditions were provided for in populated areas across the UK. In response to the Public Health Act 1848 The General Board of Health was developed so as to ensure that all public health policies that were administered were carried out as effectively as possible. Edwin Chadwick was the first commissioner of the board. The implementation of the act allowed for authorities working with civil engineers and medics to improve sanitation. (Baker L, 2008, BTEC National Health and Social Care Book 2, page 14) Edwin Chadwick (1800-1890) was accredited for his work on the reformation of the Poor Law. Edwin Chadwick was appointed by the government to carry out investigations and research into current sanitation. Chadwick wrote a report outlining his findings known as ‘The Sanitary Conditions of the Labouring Population’ published in 1842. In his report Chadwick argued that disease had a direct link to living conditions. After the report was produced new measures were taken in order to help promote the safe disposal of human waste and rubbish. Chadwick believed that poor sanitary conditions caused disease. John Snow (1813-1858) was a British physician commended for his work in relation to the cholera outbreak in 1854. Snow was an anaesthetist and epidemiologist interested in the practices of cleanliness and hygiene put in place to help prevent disease. Snow formed the link between the cholera outbreak to the contaminated water residing in the water pump in Broad Street. In 1854, Snow identified that a water pump in Broad Street located near one of the cess pits was what was contaminating the water; thereby linking the Broad Street pump as the outbreak site of the disease. Higher mortality rates were linked to the Broad Street pump. ‘He had the handle of  the pump removed, and cases of cholera immediately began to diminish.’ Throughout the 20th century more Acts and Reforms were put in place in order to reduce the risk of spreading infection that led to illness and disease among the UK population. This included; Beveridge Report (1942), NHS (1946), Black Report (1980), Acheson Report (1998), Our Health Nation (1997), Saving Lives: Our Healthier Nation (1999). William Beveridge (1879-1963) produced ‘The Beveridge Report’ in 1942, which went on to become the basis of a series of reforms after the Second World War, by looking into way on reducing inequalities in the health care provision. This report has been used as the foundation for most social legislation. The Beveridge Report was a major influence in the introduction of The Welfare State along with The National Health Service founded in 1949. The Beveridge report focused on sanitation and ways to improve and change the educational standards of areas which were highly affected by poverty. The report suggested that the working class gave a share of their wages in order to aid those who did not work, those of which who were either sick, unemployed, retired or widowed were then given these contributions. The government tasked Beveridge with the developing a report that was based on the ways that Britain should be rebuilt once the Second World War ended. The report was published in 1942 and provided recommendations to the government in order to find ways of tackling the five ‘Giant Evils’ known as ‘Want, Disease, Ignorance, Squalor and Idleness.’ Edwin Chadwick 1842, William Beveridge 1942 and the White Paper Report: making healthier choices easier attempted to improve overall public health. Whereas Chadwick focused on poverty, Beveridge focused on sanitation and the White Paper was specific to health. Beveridge and the White Paper Report: making healthier choices easier focused on poverty and how it affected a person’s overall health. Whereas in the Beveridge report he chose to write about The Welfare State, whilst the White Paper talked about reducing inequalities to health. John Snow and the White Paper Report both used statistics in order to provide evidence in order to give insight into the condition of public health and what need attention before giving suggestions on how to improve it. Works Cited Public Health. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.gov.uk/government/topics/public-health. Wright, J., Williams, R., & Wilkinson, J. (1998, April 28 ). BMJ Health needs assessment. British Medical Journal, 1310-1313. Anon, (2014). [online] Available at: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/lesson08.htm) [Accessed 3 Oct. 2014]. Bbc.co.uk, (2014). BBC – History – Historic Figures: John Snow (1813 – 1858). [online] Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/snow_john.shtml [Accessed 3 Oct. 2014]. Bbc.co.uk, (2014). BBC – History – William Beveridge. [online] Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/beveridge_william.shtml [Accessed 3 Oct. 2014]. Spartacus Educational, (2014). Edwin Chadwick. [online] Available at: http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/PHchadwick.htm [Accessed 3 Oct. 2014]. wiseGEEK, (2014). What is an Epidemiologist? (with pictures). [online] Available at: http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-an-epidemiologist.htm [Accessed 4 Oct. 2014].

The Science of Nicotine and Weight Loss

The Science of Nicotine and Weight Loss Many people have health-related questions about chemicals. One of the most common is whether nicotine promotes weight loss. Were not talking about smoking- which involves a complex set of chemicals and physiological processes- but using pure nicotine, which is available in over-the-counter products intended to help people quit smoking. If you search for information about the effects of nicotine, youll find all sorts of research on smoking, but relatively little on the health effects of this one specific chemical. Nicotines Effect on the Body A  Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS),  such as the Sigma Aldrich MSDS for nicotine,  indicates nicotine is a naturally occurring isomer that is an acetylcholine receptor agonist. It is a stimulant that causes the release of epinephrine (also known as adrenaline). This neurotransmitter increases heart rate, blood pressure, and respiration, and also produces higher blood glucose levels. One of the side effects of nicotine, especially at higher doses, is appetite suppression and nausea. In other words, nicotine is a drug that raises your metabolic rate while suppressing your appetite. It activates the brains pleasure and reward center, so some users may use nicotine to feel good instead of, for example, eating donuts. These are well-documented biological effects of nicotine, but they dont give a firm answer regarding whether or not the drug helps with weight loss. There are some studies that indicate that smokers may lose weight. Limited studies have been conducted regarding weight loss and nicotine use, in part because of the perception that nicotine is addictive. Its interesting to note that while tobacco is addictive, pure nicotine actually is not. It is the monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI) in tobacco that leads to addiction, so people taking nicotine who are not exposed to monoamine oxidase inhibitors do not necessarily suffer addiction and withdrawal from the substance. However, users do develop a physiological tolerance to nicotine, so it might be expected that, as with other stimulants, weight loss from nicotine use would be most successful over a short term, losing effectiveness with chronic use. Sources Audrain, Janet E., et al. â€Å"Relationship between Obesity and the Metabolic Effects of Smoking in Women.† Health Psychology, vol. 14, no. 2, 1995, pp. 116–123.Cabanac, Michel, and Patrick Frankham. â€Å"Evidence That Transient Nicotine Lowers the Body Weight Set Point.† Physiology Behavior, vol. 76, no. 4-5, 2002, pp. 539–542.Leischow, S. J. â€Å"Effects of Differing Nicotine-Replacement Doses on Weight Gain after Smoking Cessation.† Archives of Family Medicine, vol. 1, no. 2, 1992, pp. 233–237.Neese, R. A., et al. â€Å"Metabolic Interactions between Surplus Dietary Energy Intake and Cigarette Smoking or Its Cessation.† American Journal of Physiology-Endocrinology and Metabolism, vol. 267, no. 6, 1994.Nides, Mitchell, et al. â€Å"Weight Gain as a Function of Smoking Cessation and 2-Mg Nicotine Gum Use among Middle-Aged Smokers with Mild Lung Impairment in the First 2 Years of the Lung Health Study.† Health Psychology, vo l. 13, no. 4, 1994, pp. 354–361.Perkins, K. A. â€Å"Metabolic Effects of Cigarette Smoking.† Journal of Applied Physiology, vol. 72, no. 2, 1992, pp. 401–409. Pirie, P L, et al. â€Å"Smoking Cessation in Women Concerned about Weight.† American Journal of Public Health, vol. 82, no. 9, 1992, pp. 1238–1243.Schwid, S R, et al. â€Å"Nicotine Effects on Body Weight: a Regulatory Perspective.† The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, vol. 55, no. 4, 1992, pp. 878–884.Winders, Suzan E., et al. â€Å"Use of Phenylpropanolamine to Reduce Nicotine Cessation Induced Weight Gain in Rats.† Psychopharmacology, vol. 108, no. 4, 1992, pp. 501–506.

Foot Locker Marketing Plan

Foot Locker Marketing Plan Executive Strategy Within the past year China has eclipsed Japan to become the second largest economy in the world making it a potential high yield market for Foot Lockers expansion into new international markets.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Foot Locker Marketing Plan specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Various studies examining the market in China have shown that the Chinese have developed a certain hunger for international brands with fashions and food being among the most highly sought after items in the Chinese market today.  Other U.S. based companies such as Wal-Mart Inc. have actually successfully opened up various branches in China with great success. In fact recent industry data shows that the branches of Wal-Mart located in China are among the highest earners of the companys international ventures with various high priced retail items quickly being bought as a result of a greatly enriched Chinese economy . It is based on this that it can be seen that in roads into the Chinese market is a viable step for the company, one which would help to raise company revenues in light of the deteriorating sales in U.S. based markets as a result of the 2008 financial crisis and the resulting deterioration of the U.S. economy as of late. The primary market objective of this plan is to properly establish the Foot Locker brand in the Chinese market as a retailer of top of line, high quality and original footwear. The primary financial objective of this plan is to reach sales of at least $2.2 million to $3 million during the first year of operations of a single Foot Locker branch in the local Beijing market. Current Marketing Situation Foot Locker is one of the worlds largest retailers of foot wear in the world with branches located in 20 countries and with a yearly revenue of roughly $4.85 billion dollars. Right now Foot Locker is about to enter into the lucrative Chinese market where the appetite fo r foreign brands makes it an ideal location for subsequent company expansion as seen by the successes of other foreign brands that have attempted forays into the Chinese market.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Unfortunately, one of the inherent problems with selling brand name items in China is the fact that most retailers face stiff competition from counterfeit brand name goods that are ubiquitous throughout Chinas various shopping centers and markets. In fact China is the source of the majority of fake brand name sneakers that are being sold in various global markets that actually undermines the business models of our stores in those areas. Selling within China presents itself with its own risks due to the fact that not only would Foot Locker have to compete with other brand retailers in the area the company would need to convince its customer base that buying or iginal brand name sneakers is comparatively better compared to buying cheap knock offs. Market Description Foot Lockers market in China consists of consumers in the middle and upper tier of Chinese society, namely the new class of Chinese elite that have emerged as a result of the boom in Chinas economy. This specific segment of the population has been known to spend thousands of dollars on various brand named goods such as fashion accessories, clothiers, cars shoes etc. It must also be noted that this particular segment of the population is not as discerning as compared to Foot Lockers customer segments in the U.S. and Europe. Various studies examining the buying habits of the Chinese elite show that they tend to buy products based on the brand and the value and rarely take into account product longevity, actual performance in competitions etc. As such, this particular consumer base presents itself as a potentially lucrative market for the higher priced items that the company curre ntly has in stock.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Foot Locker Marketing Plan specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In Foot Lockers Chinese market customers will have the option of choosing from several brand name sneakers such as Nike and Reebok however in order to distinguish ourselves from the competition and to cater to the buying preference of the chosen market segment Foot Locker branches located in China will retail only the most expensive types of athletic sneakers available from various brands. The reason behind this is rather simple with the current proliferation of cheap knock offs in the Chinese market and the fact that the elite market segment the company has chosen to cater to only favors the most exclusive and expensive products, Foot Locker will be able to distinguish itself from the competition by stocking products that will not only look better than competing retailers in the area but it will be highly unlikely that there would be imitations of that particular type of product since it has been shown by various studies that Chinese manufacturers that produce knock offs usually do so on only specific types of shoe types and largely avoid the more expensive to produce varieties that Foot Locker will stock in its stores. Product Review The products that the company will primarily focus in selling to the Chinese market are name brand athletic shoes by the following companies: Nike, Puma, Reebok. Other high quality shoes of the distinct non-athletic type will come from the following companies: Converse, Everest, Dr. Martin. Competitive Review An examination of the local Chinese market in Beijing shows that stores that utilize the proposed business model for Foot Locker shoe sales in Beijing are actually a rarity. In fact most shoe sales that occur over there usually sell moderately priced products and never delve into the higher range of sneaker types that are available in some of the c ompanys U.S. based retail locations. It is due to this that entry into the Beijing market should prove to be rather seamless and profitable due to the proposed marketing strategy that targets the more affluent members of Chinese society. It must be noted though that an examination of the local Beijing market reveals that one of the greatest impediments to business success of brand name goods is the fact that they are often quickly copied by local manufacturers and cheap knocks offs are churned out by the dozen and sold in various local markets.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In fact it can even be said that the main competitor of Foot Locker in this particular case isnt other brand retailers but rather the counterfeit product industry that could possibly copy products available at Foot Locker and sell them at a far lower cost. Their business strategy revolves around copying items sold at certain stores that have created sufficient public interest and demand. While it is unlikely that they would be able to copy the design and materials to every minute detail experience in this particular aspect of the counterfeit industry has taught the company that most counterfeiters can and usually do produce a product that at least looks somewhat like what is being sold in our stores. Since they dont need to pay the same fees as our branded stores have to this enables them to undersell their prices at significantly lower prices which affects the bottom line of the company. It is estimated that that counterfeit shoe industry alone has cost the company millions of doll ars in potential sales and as such our entry into their home turf so to speak creates numerous potential problems that should be addressed in the future. Distribution Review For Foot Lockers China based operations distribution will first be tested through a single Foot Locker area within Beijing in order to test the market compatibility of the Foot Locker brand and the proposed method of targeting the selected consumer market. No other distribution partners will be included in this particular venture due to the fact that Foot Locker usually focuses on selling foot wear via its own retail outlets. One potential method of distribution could involve a partnership with Wal-Mart wherein the Foot Locker brand could be incorporated into several of its stores within the China market however such a plan have to wait to till proper market establishment has been accomplished and it has been judged that China is a viable location for future expansion. Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Th reat Analysis While Foot Locker has various strengths at it disposal which have proven themselves time and again as the company has entered in new retail markets in the U.S. and other foreign countries one of the companys major weaknesses is the lack of brand awareness within the Chinese market. While most people in China have a passing familiarity with brands such as Nike, Reebok and Puma they have little knowledge of Foot Locker as the ideal location to buy brand name sneakers. On the other hand it must be noted that China does possess potential as an ideal market for the Foot Locker brand and as such despite threats from sources of competition such as the counterfeit product industry entry into the Chinese market should not be backed out on. Strengths 1. Quality of Products Sold. One of the inherent problems with the current Chinese market is the fact that the proliferation of fake footwear within the country has made people rather skeptical as to the durability and overall quali ty of particular types of athletic shoes. By presenting the target market with original, high quality and durable products Foot Locker will be able to make itself stand out from the competition due to the fact that not only will our products outlast the fakes sold in the market but their quality is far better as well. 2. Pricing. While it may be true that in comparison to the counterfeit product industry Foot Locker is at price disadvantage however due to our long term relationship and contracts with several of the major brands, Foot Lockers prices are still far better and more ideal compared to similar types of original branded shoe wear sold in other establishments in the area. It is due to this that it can be assumed that given enough time consumers within the Chinese market will be able to properly discern the price advantage of shopping at Foot Locker as compared to other retail locations. 3. Brand Awareness of Products. Several of brands of the items we have for sale such as N ike, Puma and Reebok are actually quite well known in various international markets due to the marketing tactics of our suppliers. It is due to this that entry into the China market should prove to be a rather smooth transition due to presence of brand awareness already in the area. Weaknesses While Foot Locker has various strengths attributed to its name in various retail markets it does have several weaknesses that need to be taken into account before venturing into the market in China. 1. Lack of Awareness of the Foot Locker Brand. While the Foot Locker brand has been well established in the U.S. and in 20 countries abroad the fact remains that there is a distinct lack of awareness of the brand name itself in the China market. The reason for this is due to the fact that Foot Locker has not ventured into this particular market in the past and the company has always been a U.S. based corporation that has made in-roads into foreign markets only within the past decade. It is due to t his that various marketing campaigns will need to be established in order to raise brand awareness in the Beijing area. 2. Higher Priced Items Compared to Local Chinese Brands. Due to the presence of various manufacturing facilities and the fact that the Chinese population has had a hunger for western goods various local Chinese brands of foot wear have appeared within the market in China. Such items, though of relatively low quality, do have lower prices as compared to the items that Foot Locker has for sale in its U.S. and international retail locations. One method, as mentioned earlier, of resolving such an issue is to focus more catering to the Chinese elite namely the newly rich population demographic in China that have a distinct hunger for named brand goods. By appropriately modeling the Foot Locker business structure in order to take into account the need to cater to this specific market it is expected that Opportunities In the current Chinese market Foot Locker can take adv antage of 3 major market opportunities that are available: 1. Increased demand for foreign brand named goods. One of the current trends in global retailing has been an increase in the amount of brand named goods sent to China. As Chinese incomes increase as a direct result of the outsourcing industry the end result has been a marked upgrade in the types of products normally purchased by the Chinese population. This in effect has encouraged various manufacturers to export their products into China in order to take advantage of this apparent market boom and in effect making substantial profits over the increased demand. 2. Higher Income Threshold of the Chinese Market. With the recent expansion of the Chinese economy to that of the second largest in the world this has in effect created a whole new generation in the Chinese population that is flush with monetary assets. This in effect has actually resulted in comparatively higher volume purchases of brand name goods and services as com pared to other countries in the world. An examination of the car manufacturing industry shows that aside from the U.S., China is its largest market for top of the line cars due to the relatively higher income threshold of the new Chinese elite. This presents itself as a gold opportunity for Foot Locker since entry into this new market could result in significantly higher profits for the company as a result of a relatively rich Chinese populace. 3. Lower Operating Costs in China. Comparing to operating costs in the U.S., Europe and other Asian markets China has a significantly lower operational cost. This is due to the fact that costs in relation to the various salaries of workers are actually far lower than the going rate in various markets resulting in significant savings over time in terms of comparative employee salaries between branch locations in China and the U.S. Threats In the Chinese market the company faces 3 main threats to its proper establishment: 1. The prevalence of t he counterfeit product industry. As mentioned earlier one the main threats to the entry of the company into the Chinese market is the current prevalence of the counterfeit product industry in China. With various manufacturers within the country easily counterfeiting goods that legitimate retailers sell this presents itself as a problem for Foot Locker since the likelihood of the companys own product selection the proposed Beijing area may be copied as well resulting in a significant reduction to company profits. One possible method would be to locate the proposed retail outlet in of Beijings exclusive shopping enclaves in order to ensure that the potential for product counterfeiting remains low. 2. Current retailers already in the market. While retail outlets such as Foot Locker are not as prevalent in China as they are in other countries the fact remains that various international retailers such as Wal-Mart do actually exist in the area. While they may not have as wide a product se lection as compared to Foot Locker they do have better brand awareness and prevalence in the Chinese market which presents itself as a problem that the company will need to overcome in order to entice people to buy their branded shoes from Foot Locker instead of other locations 3. Prevalence of E-commerce Shopping in China. One of the current trends in China today has been the prevalence of E-commerce shopping through various China based sites for E-commerce. While Foot Locker does have its own online retail site a lot of Chinese seem to prefer shopping from locally based sites as compared to international ones. As a result this current trend does present itself as worrying factor since online retailing does have significant advantages over the traditional retail model that the company is going to utilize for its expansion into China. Objectives and Issues While daunting the following objectives have been created for the first year of entry into the Chinese market where Foot Locker will attempt to test the waters so to speak and determine the viability of China a new area for continued expansion. First Year Objective To attain revenues of $2.2 million to $3 million within the first year of operations in Foot Lockers primary flagship store in China that will be established in Beijing. Should the project prove to be successful subsequent expansions will be undertaken in Shang Hai and other cities within China Issues One of the major issues that needs to be addressed is the fact that the Foot Locker brand name is still relatively unknown in China. As such extensive advertising campaigns and product promotions need to be created in order to drum up interest for stores opening. Another issue that must be taken into consideration is the fact that foreign markets have their own cultural sensitivities that need to be taken into account before a venture is launched. For example when Pepsi first expanded into the Chinese market its advertising slogan of we bring life wa s translated rather humorously into we bring your dead relatives back from the grave. It is due to rather unfortunate cases such as this that when operations are established in China the company needs to make sure that proper translation and cultural sensitivities are followed in order to properly incorporate Foot Locker into the local Chinese business community. Marketing Strategy Foot Lockers marketing strategy in its entry into Chinese market is to position itself on the basis of high quality and exclusivity with the various shoe models and types available at the store being of the highest quality and rarely found in other stores within China. The companys primary target consumers will be the relatively young Chinese elite who emerged from the recent economic boom in China to become one of the highest spenders in the country to date. The ages demographic for this particular segment of the population are men and women aged 14 to 30 who are part of the relatively affluent upper cla ss of Chinese society or the relatively well-off Chinese middle class. In order to reduce revenue costs and to make the company more distinct from its competitors in the local market such as other retailers and counterfeiters the company will not stock any of its low priced shoe selections such as those found in several of its U.S. locations rather the company will instead stock only the latest and most sought after shoe models for that particular year. The reason behind this is to help establish the Foot Locker as the place to go for the young and affluent to purchase exclusive shoes that people would be hard pressed to find anywhere else thus catering to their sense for style and exclusivity. Positioning Utilizing quality and brand name distinction Foot Locker will position itself as the best place to buy foot wear within the initial Beijing market. This will be done by stocking the highest quality athletic foot wear that are available from our various suppliers and advertising ou r exclusivity as the best and only place to buy shoes of this particular type and quality within China. Product Strategy Should the flagship store in Beijing prove to be successful the company will expand into locations such as Shang Hai and Guang-Jo city as well as various urban centers that have opened up within the past few years as a direct result of the continued expansion of Chinas economy. Similar to the business model utilized in Beijing these stores will stock similar high quality athletic shoes targeting the same consumer demographics however these stores will be smaller than the flagship store present in Beijing and in fact will not stock as complete an assortment of shoes as the main store. The reason behind this is the fact that establishing various retail outlets in different cities within China still brings with it a certain level of uncertainty. It is due to this that the amount of stock that the company should bring in upon initial expansion should be limited in ord er to ensure that should the worse come to pass the cost of lost revenue to the company will not be as high as it could have been. Pricing Strategy As mentioned earlier the pricing strategy the company will employ in its initial expansion into the Chinese market is to stock only high value shoes. This means that shoe prices will average $50 to $200 or more depending on the make and model of the shoe and if it is in limited supply. The reason behind stocking such high value merchandise is to better distinguish the company from the various retailers and counterfeit goods sellers that emphasize low prices. By stocking high quality and high priced goods not only does this send out the message that only a certain amount of people can afford shoes here but it also creates a certain form of exclusivity that various commercial studies have shown is an integral aspect of the buying behavior of the new Chinese elite. Distribution Strategy In this particular case product distribution and sale will all be done through the initial Foot Locker retail outlet located in Beijing. Should this prove to be successful subsequent retail outlets will also be opened in other cities all of which will be under the Foot Locker brand. Foot Locker itself utilizes the re-seller business model wherein the company buys shoes en masse from the shoe manufacturers such as Nike. The company doesnt actually make the shoes itself and as such other distribution partners beyond that of the companys retail outlets will not be a necessity. Marketing Communication Strategy As mentioned earlier one of the inherent problems with doing business in China is the fact that Foot Locker is a relatively unknown brand within the Chinese market. In order to remedy this particular situation carefully created and culturally sensitive TV and online campaigns will be created that specifically target the upper and middle class demographic for shoe sales within the Beijing area. Viral marketing will be utilized as well in the form of various interesting online videos promoting the opening of the store. Not only that a certain contest will be set up on the stores opening day similar to that of the Amazing Race but it will be held within the city of Beijing. The winners will be given $25,000 thousand dollars and their pick of any shoe within the store. It is assumed that by combining all these elements enough consumer interest will be generated resulting in high amount of sales during the 1st year of operation of the store. Marketing Research Utilizing market research Foot Locker will try to discern which particular shoe styles, designs and prices are the most desired by our selected niche market. This will be done through various online surveys, market tests and focus groups in order to help develop the initial conceptualization of the store. Further more the company will test the brand awareness of certain types of shoes in order to see which brands are more prevalent in the minds of the Chinese populace in order to stock those particular brands and minimize lost revenue through the purchase of shoes that consumers within China wont buy. Further more various consumer satisfaction surveys will be utilized in order to determine the reaction of various consumers towards the establishment of the store. In order to actually get people to fill out the surveys a small competition will be held wherein each individual survey submitted per person will act as raffle coupon for a select pair of shoes within the store. This should at least encourage people to fill out the surveys and submit them. Marketing Organization In this particular case the responsibility of determining proper marketing strategy and direction will be headed by a locally hired advertising firm that specializes in promoting foreign brands to Chinese consumers. The reason behind this is the fact that Foot Locker is still rather inexperienced when it comes to properly marketing its products within the Chinese consumer market as such professionals who actually have experience in the matter need to be hired in order to ensure the establishment of proper precedent regarding proper procedures and strategies in marketing to the local populace. Actions Programs The opening of Foot Lockers new retail branch will be March 2012 and as such the following program of events has been created in order to give a better impression as to the needed timeline of events and actions. January During the start of the year Foot Locker will begin construction on its new flagship store for its Chinese market in Beijing and as such this will be the period when the hiring process will begin in order to find capable individuals for both managing the store and being customer service representatives within the store itself. February On February Foot Locker will start its aggressive ad campaign in Beijing by buying several advertising segments on local Chinese channels in order to advertise the up and coming opening of the sto re. A local advertising firm will also be used in order to help coordinate efforts in spreading the word of the stores opening through print ad campaigns and viral network advertising. It is estimated that this initial ad campaign will cost between 130,000 to 150,000 thousand dollars in order to achieve full market saturation. During this period training should also commence for the various customer service representatives as well as the managers of the store. March The opening of the store will be done in the middle of the month as such this gives ample time to help complete the advertising campaign to help inform the selected consumer demographic that the store is opening on the 15th and that they should expect it due to the Beijing Amazing Race that will be promoted by the company. By the 15th the preparations should all be in place and the start of the Beijing Amazing Race should commence indicating the successful opening of the store. April During this particular month various operating standards should be finalized such as proper handling of merchandise, customer assistance and the various nuances that come with the new opening of a retail establishment in a foreign country. May By May a new $25,000 advertising campaign should be instigated in order to drum up further interest in the store and increase its profile in the public eye. In order to do so more viral marketing campaigns will be established along with several print ad campaigns in various popular Chinese magazines. June By this month the entire process should be completed and a smooth flow of both customers and operating efficiency should be underway in order to make the campaign a success. Budgets The total first year sales revenue from the Foot Locker pioneer store in Beijing should reached $2.2 to $3 million dollars by the end of the 4th quarter sales period. With a variable cost of $50 to $200 and above per shoe the company will need to stock at the very least 30,000 pairs of different kind s of shoes in order to meet potential demand. In total this could cost $1.5 million for the price of the stock alone thus the break even point in this particular case is $1.8 million due to the costs of the advertising campaign and subsequent operating costs incurred by the end of the 4th quarter. Controls In order to ensure that proper guidelines regarding sales etiquette and the quality of the products are assure the store will implement strict guidelines regarding proper customer service and product handling in order to ensure customers feel welcomed within the store and get the best products possible. Atkinson, William. Doing Business In and With China: The risks are great, but so are the rewards. Risk Management (00355593) 51.3 (2004): 24-28. Business  Source Premier. EBSCO. Web. Caron, Joseph. The business of doing business with China: An ambassador reflects.  Ivey Business Journal 69.5 (2005): 1. MasterFILE Premier. EBSCO. Web. Chapman, James C., and Xu Wanli. The Road t o China: Ten Key Lessons for Doing  Business in China. Licensing Journal 28.7 (2008): 8-12. Business Source  Premier. EBSCO. Web. Cohen, George. One Billion Customers: Lessons from the Front Lines of Doing  Business in China. Booklist 102.2 (2005): 15. Literary Reference Center.  EBSCO. Web. Cunningham, Margaret G., Daniel B. Cunningham, and Daewoo Park. Reflections on  Doing Business in China: A Case Study. International Journal of Management  25.1 (2008): 119-123. Business Source Premier. EBSCO. Web. Kivela, Jaksa, and Leung Lin Fung-Lin. Doing Business in the Peoples Republic of  China. Cornell Hotel Restaurant Administration Quarterly 46.2 (2005): 125-152. Business Source Premier. EBSCO. Web. Kriz, Anton, and Byron Keating. Doing Business in China: Tips for an Outsider. China Review International 16.1 (2009): 1-17. Literary Reference  Center. EBSCO. Web. Lam, M. (2009). Beyond Credibility of Doing Business in China: Strategies for Improving  Corporate Citizens hip of Foreign Multinational Enterprises in China. Journal of  Business Ethics, 87137-146. Nelson, Christina. Cost of Doing Business in China Rises. China Business Review  38.1 (2011): 14. Business Source Premier. EBSCO. Web. Paine, Lynn S. The China Rules. Harvard Business Review 88.6 (2010): 103-108.  Business Source Premier. EBSCO. Web. Pan Fan, K., and K. Zhang Zigang. Cross-cultural Challenges when Doing Business in  China. Singapore Management Review 26.1 (2004): 81-90. Business Source  Premier. EBSCO. Web. Sarah Timson, et al. China: Looming large. Chemical Week 173.8 (2011): 29.  MasterFILE Premier. EBSCO. Web. Sun, Catherine, Sharon R. Barner, and Harold C. Wegner. China 10-Point Patent  Checklist: Integrating patents into an overall business strategy for a Western  manufacturing entity in China. Journal of Commercial Biotechnology 15.3  (2009): 245-250. Business Source Premier. EBSCO. Web. Weidenbaum, Murray. Doing Business with CHINA. USA Today Magazine 135.2738  (2006): 18. MasterFILE Premier. EBSCO. Web. Whaley, Mary. Doing Business in China: How to Profit in the Worlds Fastest Growing  Market. Booklist 103.21 (2007): 15. Literary Reference Center. EBSCO. Web. Woetzel, Jonathan R. A guide to doing business in China. McKinsey Quarterly (2004):  36-45. Business Source Premier. EBSCO. Web.

The 1980s American Economy

The 1980s American Economy In the early 1980s, the American economy was suffering through a deep recession. Business bankruptcies rose sharply compared to previous years. Farmers also suffered due to a decline in agricultural exports, falling crop prices, and rising interest rates. But by 1983, the economy  had rebounded and enjoyed a sustained period of growth as the annual inflation rate stayed below 5 percent for the remainder of the 1980s and part of the 1990s. Why did the American economy experience such a turnaround in the 1980s? In â€Å"Outline of the U.S. Economy,† Christopher Conte and Albert R. Karr point to the lasting impacts of the 1970s, Reaganism, and the Federal Reserve. Impact of  the 1970s The 1970s was a disaster on American economics. The recession marked the end of the post-World War II economic boom, and the United States experienced a lasting period of stagflation- a combination of high unemployment and inflation. Voters held Washington politicians responsible for the economic state of the country. Upset with federal policies, they ousted President  Jimmy Carter in 1980 and voted in former Hollywood actor and California Gov.  Ronald Reagan  as president, a position he held from 1981 to 1989. Reagans Economic Policy The economic disorder of the 1970s lingered into the beginning of the 1980s. But Reagan’s economic program soon had an effect. Reagan operated on the basis of supply-side economics- the theory that advocates lower tax rates so people can keep more of their income. Proponents argue that supply-side economics results in more savings, investment, production, and, ultimately, greater economic growth. Reagan’s tax cuts mainly benefited the wealthy, but through a chain-reaction, they also helped lower-income earners as higher levels of investment eventually led to new job openings and higher wages. The Size of the Government Cutting taxes was only one part of Reagan’s national agenda of slashing government spending. Reagan believed the federal government had become too large and interfering. During his presidency, he cut social programs and worked to reduce or eliminate government regulations that  affected the consumer, workplace, and environment. But he did spend on the military. In the wake of the disastrous Vietnam War, Reagan successfully pushed for big budget increases for defense spending by arguing that the U.S. had neglected its military.   Growing Federal Deficit In the end, the reduction in taxes combined with increased military spending outweighed the spending reductions on domestic social programs. This resulted in a federal budget deficit that went well beyond the deficit levels of the early 1980s. From $74 billion in 1980, the federal budget deficit ballooned to $221 billion in 1986. It fell back to $150 billion in 1987, but then started growing again. Federal Reserve With such levels of deficit spending, the Federal Reserve remained vigilant about controlling price increases and raising interest rates any time they seemed a threat. Under the leadership of Paul Volcker and his successor Alan Greenspan, the Federal Reserve effectively guided America’s economy and eclipsed Congress and the president. Although some economists were nervous that heavy government spending and borrowing would lead to steep inflation, the Federal Reserve succeeded in its role as an economic traffic cop during the 1980s.   Source Conte, Christopher and Karr, Albert R. â€Å"Outline of the U.S. Economy.† U.S. Department of State, 2001, Washington, D.C.

What challenges do the educational philosophies of Paulo Freire and Research Paper

What challenges do the educational philosophies of Paulo Freire and Waldorf schools pose - Research Paper Example What challenges do the educational philosophies of Paulo Freire and Waldorf schools pose? The Waldorf schools on the other hand rely on the educational philosophy which was developed by Steiner Rudolph. The educational philosophy of the Waldorf schools is mainly based on the belief that various developmental stages in children are the best when it comes to children learning different things. This is so because it is believed that children can only learn different things in life when their physical, spiritual and intellectual capabilities are in terms with the kind of information presented to them (Petrash, 2002). The essay below seeks to address the challenges posed by the educational philosophies of the Waldorf schools and Paulo Freire to the testing requirements of state and local school districts. The testing requirements in the state and local district schools have received challenges in various ways by the educational philosophy of Paulo Freire. Most of the state and local district schools have a tendency of not giving their students a voice of their own. Therefore i f, the Paulo philosophy is incorporated in the local and state district schools, then the students will tend to be more demanding. In such cases when students are more demanding, the relationship between the students and the teachers becomes mayhem (Freire, 2000). Once the teacher-student relationship becomes chaotic, then the testing requirements of the schools are negatively affected. The students may feel oppressed by the teachers when the teachers fail to meet their demands, and this makes them be violent. Another challenge posed by the educational philosophy by Paulo Freire to the testing requirements of the local and state district schools is when the students accuse teachers of being irresponsible and disobliging in the sense that they fail to listen to the opinions brought about by the students. Such situation demoralizes the students to the extent of them not performing well in their school work (Irwin, 2012). Since most of the local and state district schools have a tenden cy of allowing their teachers to provide students with knowledge, the educational philosophy by Paulo Freire may be a challenge to the testing requirements of the schools. The educational philosophy by Paulo Freire advocates that teachers and students should interact equally in the acquisition of knowledge so that students may learn to have a voice in the oppressive society. It becomes a challenge because once students are used to being fed with knowledge by their teachers, it is quite difficult for them to interact with the teachers and give out their opinion on what they are taught (Dewey, 2009). Students in most of the district schools do not know how to interpret the knowledge they learn in school in the real world. In most occasions, these students tend to memorize what their teachers feed them with and fail to know what the knowledge they have been fed with really means in the real world. This becomes a significant challenge to the testing requirements of the local and state d istrict schools. For this case, the students continue being the oppressed, and that they lack to obtain the powers of speaking for themselves (Freire, 2000). Another challenge that is posed by the educational philosophy of Paulo Freire to the testing requirements of the district schools is the fact that teachers in these schools tend to fear engaging with students in

Human Resource Development-- Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Human Resource Development-- - Assignment Example As Coates (2010) explains, acquiring new knowledge, attitudes and skill sets in one environment and applying them in another may be affected by several factors. Effective and the experience of the trainer is a very essential factor in influencing the training transfer to job places. Any trainer must be a fluent and effective communicator (Coates, 2010). This facilitates the conversations and ensures the learners’ needs are met, a clear and effective presentation of the material that makes the information interesting. Another factor is the in-class and out-class practice. More of this practice ensures the learner gains enough experience of handling cases, and it is easier to transfer the training to workplaces in case a similar case appears as to that tackled during the practices (Coates, 2010). An organization should also mount some quality pressure on the trained employees to work as of their acquired knowledge and towards the set goal of the organization. This will ensure th at the employees apply their learnt skills at their workplaces effectively. Needs assessment are usually conducted so as to facilitate the growth of employees of a company in terms of the knowledge and skills they possess. This helps the organization to know the type of employees in the organization, how to train them and what they need to be motivated. According to Barbazette (2004), a needs assessment is conducted to link a deficiency in performance to a desired result and ensure that appropriate training is formulated and conducted to combat the problems caused by the deficiency. To do this, an organization needs to analyze their needs and wants by conducting a performance analysis to identify which skill shortcomings can be bridged through training. To conduct a training needs assessment, an organization will have to first gather information for aiding in appropriate

Metropolitan Police and are they Racist Assignment

Metropolitan Police and are they Racist - Assignment Example This approach is not only unacceptable, but also shameful. Therefore, this research aims to find out with the help of data whether this hypothesis is true or not. Analysis is made on the basis of a detailed discussion about the history of racism and its roots. It then looks into various incidents of racism that have taken place in history and Police’s involvement in them. Besides, it takes a closer look at the August riots and its various causes. In the end, a conclusion is presented that sums up the discussion and gives out some recommendations on the basis of it. TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS 3 INTRODUCTION 4 Research Background 4 Aims and Objectives of the research 4 Rationale for the selection of the research 5 Research Question 5 Hypothesis 6 Review of the Key References 6 Key references for this study include the website of metropolitan police service and BBC website from which statistics of the August riots have been taken. Discussion about his tory of racism and introduction to institutional racism and its history, Macpherson and Scarman report and different incidents of police acting racist have been taken from various books and journal articles. These books include Racism and Borders: Representation, Repression, Resistance, Institutional Racism: A Primer on Theory and Strategies for Social Change, Racist Victimization: International Reflections and Perspectives and many others. 6 Justification for the selected research design 6 DISCUSSION 7 Some Statistics and Background Information 7 History – Britain 7 Racial Profiling – a history 9 London Riots, 2011 9 Some Popular instances 12 ANALYSIS AND CONCLUSION 14 Racism in Metropolitan Police Service – An analysis 15 Conclusion 15 REFERENCES 17 INTRODUCTION Research Background No matter how much everyone condemns the idea of racism but it is seen that everyone encourages it in one way or the other and intentionally or unintentionally acts like a racist. T he phenomenon is so spread that even Metropolitan Police Service is not protected from it. There have been numerous incidents in the past that show that Metropolitan Police Service is racist in its attitudes and actions. Racism is the act of discriminating different races on the basis of different stereotypes attached with the races. Individuals have attitudes that they discriminate between people on the grounds of their races. When this discrimination takes the form of some kind of action and becomes inseparable with the acts of the institution then only it becomes institutional racism. This term will be used repeatedly in the course of this report (Scott, 1974, p. 6). Metropolitan Police Service, popularly known as the Met, looks after the territory falling in Greater London and deals with the crime and its causes in its territory. It also has the responsibility of helping in with the national targets of counter terrorism and protection of the British Royal Family and Government o fficials. Aims and Objectives of the research This research aims to identify instances in the past to verify whether Metropolitan police service has done racism in its actions or not. The research aims to look at some background information and history of racism in Britain and different developments made throughout the history in order to deal with this evil in the society. Furthermore, it aims to view some of the popular instants in which police showed racism in

Animal Cruelty Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Animal Cruelty - Research Paper Example They are beaten, kept in chains, enslaved, etc., and it is basically done for human entertainment. It is an issue since it is directly linked with any purchase behavior exhibited by human beings. Any product purchased by an individual encompasses some form of animal abuse. Animal cruelty is a global issue because overall consumer market demand is directly or indirectly associated with the slaughtering of animals. In the United States as well as across EU states, animal cruelty percentage has increased in recent years. Figure1 states number of animals which are utilized by European countries for their research and development. Similar trends as shown in figure1 is observed across other regions, making animal cruelty a global issue. The target audience of this paper is a young generation or students of schools and colleges. This topic holds significance for target audience since the focus will be on major developments for preventing animal cruelty. Young generation people are considere d to be future of any country and they should be the ones to eradicate such ill-treatment from society. Animal abuse cases have increased over the years and hence this topic is essential in the current context. According to figure2, many animal abuse cases have been closed without any such action and this has increased percentage rate of cruelty. Hence the current world scenario demands further research on this particular area. The increased percentage of animal cruelty cases indicates that there is a need for immediate action.

Business management - Starbucks Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Business management - Starbucks - Essay Example Information obtained from http://investor.starbucks.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=99518&p=irol-irhome, also posits to the effect that â€Å"Starbucks purchases and roasts high-quality whole bean coffees and sells them, along with fresh, rich-brewed coffees, Italian-style espresso beverages, cold blended beverages, a variety of complementary food items, a selection of premium teas, and beverage-related accessories and equipment, primarily through company-operated retail stores.† The company also sells coffee products and tea through other channels like licensed retail stores. According to information obtained from its official website, Starbucks was established in 1985 and its operations are mainly guided by its mission statement: â€Å"To inspire and nurture the human spirit—one person, one cup, and one neighbourhood at a time.† The company also strives to be the world’s leader in production of fine coffee. Its success as the world leader in the coffee industry can be attributed to the differentiation strategy it uses. This report will specifically focus on the United States Segment where the company has its own stores as well as licensed stores. Starbucks is very popular in the US and of notable concern is the fact that its operations are also shaped by trade practices as well as regulations such as North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).The economic forces in the US also shape the operations of the company. However, the US operating segment contributed 69% of total net revenues for the fiscal year 2011. 1.1 Task A: ANALYSIS OF STARBUCKS’ EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT This section of the report critically analyses Starbucks’ external environment. PESTEL analysis will be used to analyse the macro environment while Porter’s five forces model will be used to analyse the micro environment. This part of the paper will also identify the opportunities and threats that exist in the external market. 1.2 PESTEL Analysis There are vario us external factors that shape the operations of Starbucks and PESTEL is an acronym for political, economic, social, technological, environmental as well as legal factors impacting on the operations of the organisation and this too is going to be used to carry out the external environmental analysis. The table in index 1 shows the external factors that impact on the operations of the above mentioned company. Starbucks FY11 Annual Report (2011) shows that the company managed to raise the highest amount of revenue of $11, 7 billion from its operations. This is the highest amount of revenue to be generated by the company after the global economic recession that was witnessed in the US around 2007-2009. The success of the company can be attributed to the external factors that are obtaining in the environment where the company operates. As shown in appendix 1, political stability in the US plays a pivotal role in the success of the

Investigate one local firm that employs electrical or computer Essay

Investigate one local firm that employs electrical or computer engineers - Essay Example Organization structure or the functional areas determines how the various departments and the employees interact in order to achieve organization goals (Feigenbaum, E. 2012).At Super micro Computer, Inc, the structure is mainly focused on achieving leadership in its products as clearly defined by its First-to-market, quality and customer satisfaction principles. The organization ensures that it achieves leadership and excellent customer tailored solutions through cross functional groups, supplier partnerships, and continuous improvement programs such as internationally recognized standards (ISO9001 & ISO14001). Under engineering department, Computer Systems Engineers are involved in among other things: Monitoring and running tests on the products, develop software and hardware solutions to meet customer needs, trouble shoot and solve computer systems related problems, create, record and review design processes, test processes and quality benchmarks. Engineers are also involved in: Inspecting, rating, upgrading and adjusting systems. They also perform tests on systems for use in new areas and maintenance of all necessary information records on activities. In the Server Production/Test Engineers sections some of their duties include: Run testing and repair specification needs of servers in the production design, ensure quality maintenance on all application frameworks (ECO) and that any repeat work is done to meet market benchmarks. In addition, Engineers follow laid down procedures in testing and overseeing work, maintain and facilitate secure and conducive work arrangements, meet all daily and monthly set orders and assemble all accessory parts such as sockets, DVD drives and wire/cable. Beside these duties, an engineer could be called to perform system maintenance and may act as a technical resource person for infrastructure form time to time. Super micro Computer, Inc has been in operation for about eighteen