5 Classic Celebrities Who Passed For White in Hollywood

The Necklace by Guy De Maupassant - 1367 Words

â€Å"Being Honest is Always Best† Telling the truth will always prevent future conflicts. Author Guy De Maupassant who lived from 1850 to 1893 proves in the story of â€Å"The Necklace,† that no matter how bad a situation is, speaking with the truth is always best. Now, this author does not prove this theme directly. Instead, throughout various situations in the story the main characters are faced with a long-term conflict because decisions were not made with honesty. Mathilde and Loisel who is her husband, who works as a clerk at the Ministry of Public Instructions, were both faced with a conflict that could have been prevented. For instance, Mathilde asked her friend Mme. Forestier if she could borrow a beautiful piece of jewelry for a ball†¦show more content†¦Wishing to have someone else’s lifestyle is a sin according to the Ten Commandments in the bible. Nevertheless, Mathilde does not seem to care much about that and is constantly comparing her l ifestyle with the high-class society. Even though she and Loisel were considered to be of middle-class, she was unsatisfied with her life. Author Guy De Maupassant in the beginning of the story shows how Mathilde expresses her feelings towards not being wealthy. He writes, â€Å"She suffered ceaselessly, feeling herself born for all the delicacies and all the luxuries. She suffered from the poverty of her dwelling, from the wretched looked of the walls, from the worn-out chairs, from the ugliness of the curtains, all those things, of which another woman of her rank would never even have been conscious, tortured her and made her angry.† (p.64) The author makes it very clear to the reader that Mathilde was upset because she had not been born into the rich, or because she hadn’t married a â€Å"rich and distinguished man,† (p.64) Now, even though the necklace is the main theme of this story, this factor plays a major role into making the necklace an important part of the story. The necklace would have never gotten lost in the first place if Mathilde hadn’t been so obsessed with the idea of being rich. She should have accepted the fact she was a middle class person in the 19th century with a wonderful husband who was willing to do anything for herShow MoreRelatedThe Necklace By Guy De Maupassant863 Words   |  4 PagesThe short story â€Å"The Necklace† written by Guy De Maupassant, tells the story of a married couple who live an average lifestyle together in France—when one day everything in their lives changes due to a simple decision. The author aims to show the reader the power of decision making when faced to decide between needs, wants, honesty and untruthfulness and how every decision we choose to make affect our lives in ways we never thought possible. In the first few lines of the story, the narrator introducesRead MoreThe Necklace by Guy de Maupassant1034 Words   |  5 Pagesregret which Guy de Maupassant depicts throughout â€Å"The Necklace.† Guy de Maupassant, a French writer, born in 1850, was considered one of France’s greatest short-story writers. His writings were mostly influenced by the divorce of his parents when he was thirteen years old and by great writers such as Shakespeare, Schopenhauer, and Flauber. His parent’s divorce caused his stories to depict unhappiness of matrimony, deceit, miscommunication, and a profound misunderstanding (Maupassant, Guy de, 1850-1893)Read MoreThe Necklace, by Guy de Maupassant791 Words   |  4 Pagescharacterized by other people. In â€Å"The Necklace† Mme. Loisel is a beautiful woman with a decent life, and a husband that loves her, and only wants to make her happy. She is not rich but she makes it along, she insists of a better, wealthier life. When her husband gets her invited to a ball, she feels the need for a brand new fancy dress and tons of jewelry. When the couple realizes they cannot afford jewelry as well, they search out to borrow her friend, Mme. Forestiers’ necklace. She comes to notice she noRead MoreThe Necklace, By Guy De Maupassant966 Words   |  4 PagesIn Guy De Maupassant’s â€Å"The Necklace,† Mathilde is a 19th century French woman who desires a wealthier lifestyle than she can acquire. She is completely indulged in the material possessions of life and is focused on the items she does not have rather than what she owns. It seems her happiness is entirely dependent on wealth and status. She neglects her husband and is never content with what he can offer. Eventually, Mathilde’s struggles of envy, selfishness, and materialism drive her to poverty.Read MoreThe Necklace By Guy De Maupassant934 Words   |  4 Pagesduring this time period was Guy de Maupassant, who wrote one of th e most influential short stories of this century. â€Å"The Necklace†, written by Guy de Maupassant, illustrates elements of fiction such as the symbolism of the necklace because of Mme. Loisel’s desire to be rich, irony due to the twist ending, and a powerful theme. Firstly, the necklace Mme. Loisel borrows and her perspective symbolizes the desire she has towards being wealthy and important in society. Maupassant describes effectively theRead MoreThe Necklace By Guy De Maupassant1381 Words   |  6 Pagesstories are â€Å"The Necklace† by Guy de Maupassant and â€Å"The Secret Life of Walter Mitty† by James Thurber. â€Å"The Necklace† was about a materialistic woman who faced consequences because of her envious personality and â€Å"The Secret Life of Walter Mitty† was about a man who experienced daydreams randomly throughout the day. Although both short stories used literary elements, Guy de Maupassant utilized them for readers to understand and enjoy the story more than James Thurber. â€Å"The Necklace† was a short storyRead MoreThe Necklace By Guy De Maupassant1093 Words   |  5 PagesThroughout the short story titled â€Å"The Necklace† by Guy de Maupassant, it is clear that the main themes being stressed are pride versus greed, and that things are not quite what they appear. Each of these things are represented throughout the story in some way, whether it be using animated language or symbolism. It is also clear that background information clearly aided the development of the themes Maupassant incorporated throughout the passage. It is seen throughout the story that the main characterRead MoreThe Necklace, By Guy De Maupassant999 Words   |  4 PagesIn Guy de Maupassant’s â€Å"The Necklace,† readers experience Mathilde Loisel’s life-changing event. Coming from nobility, de Maupassant tells the story of luxurious desire through the eyes of the middle class woman Mathilde. Mathilde constantly dreams of living the life of the upper class, and this prohibits her from acting in reality. Mathilde’s internal struggle for a sense of social royalty shows readers how quickly selfish pride destroys a person’s life. Throughout the course of â€Å"The NecklaceRead MoreThe Necklace By Guy De Maupassant1019 Words   |  5 PagesIn the short story of â€Å"The Necklace†, the author Guy de Maupassant is a creative and intriguing tale which reveals a person s dreams of a luxurious lifestyle with countless materialistic possessions. He has skillfully developed the story into a mystery which reveals itself at the end. The main point in the story is that materialism can distort your view of happiness and fulfillment. It is wrong to be materialistic to the extent that you disregard what you already have and lose everything. MathildeRead MoreThe Necklace, By Guy De Maupassant823 Words   |  4 Pagesbe totally unhappy, â€Å"She was a simple person without the money to dress well, but she was as unhappy as if she had gone through bankruptcy, for a woman have neither rank nor race†(Maupassant 7). Loisel s sorrow over wealth and fancy things puts a constant pain on her husband. In Guy de Maupassant short story â€Å"The Necklace,† Mathlide Loisel goes from being a materialistic, dishonest woman to becoming an honest, hard-working woman. At the beginning of the story, Mathlide Loisel is a raging, spoiled

Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome Free Essays

Ancient Greeks and Romans Contributed Ideas on Government The first societies to experiment with ideas on government that would later influence Americans were Ancient Greece and Rome. The Ancient Greeks and Romans developed the ideas of democracy and representative government more than 2,000 years ago. We will write a custom essay sample on Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome or any similar topic only for you Order Now A Democracy in Ancient Greece. The cities of Ancient Greece were organized into city-states, or small independent nations. Athens was one such city-state. For many years, Athens was ruled by a small group of wealthy and powerful men known as the Great Council. Members of the Council passed laws that favored wealthy people like themselves. Between 750 B. C. and 550 B. C. , however, this system of rule began to change. Poorer Athenians, such as farmers and small merchants, protested the great power of the Council. They believed that the laws made by the Council harmed the interests of the middleclass and poor. Many Greeks wanted to participate directly in making laws affecting their lives. Greeks used the word â€Å"demos kratia†, to explain what they wanted. The equivalent word in English is democracy, which means government by the people. Gradually, Athenian leaders agreed that more Greeks should be allowed to participate in the Great Council’s decision-making process. They developed a political system now known as a direct democracy. In a direct democracy, people not only vote for leaders, but actually serve in the government. In order to decide who should be allowed to serve in the Great Council, Greek leaders developed the idea of citizenship. Those Athenians who were citizens had the right to participate directly in government. But how was citizenship determined? Greek leaders decided that only men who owned large plots of land were citizens. Women, slaves, and people with little or no property were not given the rights and responsibilities of Athenian citizenship. While the Ancient Greeks restricted democratic rights to a small portion of the population, the idea of democracy was born. A Republic in Ancient Rome. Ancient Rome was the first nation to create a republic. A republic is a form of government in which people elect representatives to govern them. Between 750 B. C. and 350 B. C. , the Romans established a republic. At first, only patricians – members of the Roman upper-class were allowed to vote or serve as representatives. Over several centuries, however, the right to vote was extended to plebeians – the lower class. As more Romans gained the right to vote, they used their new power to bring about other changes in the political system. About 450 B. C. Roman citizens demanded that laws governing their lives be written down. They wanted to know what the laws were and that laws could not be changed any time their leaders wanted to. Many Romans believed that codified, or written, laws would prevent Roman leaders from abusing their power. They called this the Twelve Tables and it was posted in the Roman Forum for all of Rome’s citizens to see. Ancient Greek and Roman ideas and practices concerning government eventually spread to Europe and to the United States. How to cite Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome, Papers

Finance and Accounting Business Economic Profit

Question: Discuss about the Finance and Accounting for Business Economic Profit. Answer: This report analyses the various ratios trend for AEFFE and finds out the companys economic profit. Further, a capital budgeting project is evaluated for the case company. Finally, a review is presented of the work received from the three fellow students. Step 1: Ratio analysis and economic profit Ratio analysis: It is the analysis of financial statement data such as income statement, trading account, cash flow and balance sheet. Ratio analysis finds the companys profitability, liquidity, efficiency, financial structure, and companys solvency. The ratio analyses of the AEFFE are as followed. AEFFE RATIOS Years ended 31 December 2015 2014 2013 2012 Profitability Ratios Net Profit Margin Net profit after tax/sales 1% 1.59% -0.78% -1.27% Return on Assets Net profit after tax/total assets 0.5% 1.1% -0.5% -0.9% Efficiency (or Asset Management) Ratios Days of Inventory Inventory/av.daily cost of goods sold 60.06% 57.96% 52.06% 54.12% Total Asset Turnover Ratio Sales/total assets 0.71 1.55 0.69 0.68 Liquidity Ratios Current Ratio Current assets/current liabilities 1.12 1.06 1.01 0.95 Financial Structure Ratios Debt/Equity Ratio Debt/equity 152.3% 97.8% 155.2% 153.5% Equity Ratio Equity/total assets 39.6% 39.6% 39.2% 39.4% Market Ratios Earnings per Share (EPS) Net profit after tax/number of issued ordinary shares 0.16 0.38 (0.19) (0.31) Dividends per Share (DPS) Dividends/number of issued ordinary shares 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Price Earnings Ratio Market price per share/earnings per share 187.00 26.33 (22.33) (20.67) Ratios Based on Reformulated Financial Statements Return on Equity (ROE) Comprehensive Income/shareholders' equity 0.0007% 0.0027% -0.0014% -0.0020% Return on Net Operating Assets (RNOA) Operating income after tax (OI)/net operating assets (NOA) 0.71% 1.13% -0.57% -0.90% Net Borrowing Cost (NBC) Net fin. expenses after tax/net financial obligations 1.80% 3.65% 4.99% 2.56% Profit Margin (PM) Operating income after tax (OI)/sales 0.64% 1.59% -0.78% -1.27% Asset Turnover (ATO) Sales/net operating assets (NOA) 1.12 1.07 1.06 1.04 Economic profit (RNOA - cost of capital) x net operating assets (NOA) (2,680,580.0) (2,859,300.0) (2,332,640.0) (3,007,770.0) Profitability ratio: profitability ratio shows the profitability and earning capability of the organization. The major ratios that include in this are net profit margin and return on asset ratio (Tracy, 2012). The AEFFE net profit margin in year2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 are -1.27%, -.78%, 1.59% and 1%. It shows that the net profit of the company is in positive in last 2 years; only in year 2012, 2013 it was in negative. The return on assets of the AEFFE in the year 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015 are -.09%, -.05%, 1.1%, .5%. These all ratio indicates that the companies earning was not good in the year 2012 and 2013 but now it is good in last two years. Efficiency Ratio: The efficiency ratio shows how efficient organization is to do the productive work. The efficiency ratio includes the various ratios such as days of inventory, total asset turnover ratio (Edmonds et al, 2015). The day of inventory ratio of the AEFFE is increasing consistently. In year 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 day of inventory ratio is 153.5%, 155.2%, 97.8% and 152.3%. This all data shows that only in year 2014 there is the dip, otherwise it consistently increasing. It shows that in every year, there is a hike, which is good for the company. Along with this, the total asset turnover ratio, which shows the efficiency of the sales over total asset are .68, .69, 1.55 and .71 between year 2012 to 2015.The efficiency ratio of the company shows that the overall business efficiency of the company is average. Liquidity ratio The liquidity ratio shows the companys total liquidity and represents the companys ability to meet short-term obligations. Every company wants that there liquidity position should be good. The major ratio that includes in the liquidity ratio is current ratio and the quick ratio. The current ratio shows the current liquidity position of the company, it shows that presently how much liquidity company have and is they able to do the current day to day operations smoothly (Warren et al, 2013). The current ratio of the AEFFE in year 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015 is 0.95, 1.01, 1.6 and 1.12. This data shows that AEFFE current liquidity position is good, it has a sustainable growth in the last four years. Therefore, the liquidity position of the company is good; company is able to meet all the obligations perfectly. Financial Structure Ratios financial structure ratios are one of the main ratios that shows the financial structures strength. The ratio that includes in the financial structure ratio are debt/ equity ratio and equity ratio (Edmonds et al, 2015). The debt equity ratio shows the relationship between debts and equities. The companys debt equity ratio between years 2012 to 2015 are 152.3%, 97.8%, 155.20% and 153.50%. Along with this, the equity ratio shows the relationship between equity and total assets. The equity ratio of the company is 39.4%, 39.2%, 39.6% and 39.6% between year 2012 to 2015.The financial structure ratio of the company shows that in year 2014 and 2015, the conditions improved. Market ratio Market ratio shows the market condition of the company. This ratio includes earning per share, dividend per share and price earnings ratio. The earrings per share ratio shows the total earnings of the shareholder, means what are the earnings on shares that they get. The earnings per share ratio of the AEFFE in year 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015 is -.31, -.19, .38 and .16. In the year 2012 and 2013 the company shareholder had not get any earnings but in year 2014 and 2015 shareholders get sufficient amount of returns (Yahoo finance, 2016). Along with this, the price earnings ratio that show the relationship between the market per share and the earning per share are -20.67, -22.33, 26.33 and 187 between year 2012 and 2015. Ratios Based on Reformulated Financial Statements There are some ratios, which are calculated based on reformulated financial statement. These ratios are return on equity, return on net operating asset, net borrowing cost, profit margin, and asset turnover ratio. Return on equity shows the actual return that come out from the equities and it shows the relationship between comprehensive income and the shareholder equity (Drake and Fabozzi, 2012). The return on equity of year 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015 are.0020%, .0014%, 0027% and .0007%. The return on equity of the company is average, there is no such a big negativity as well as high positivity are there in the data. Along with this, the return on net operating asset is -.90%, -.57%, 1.13% and .71%. This shows that return on net operating asset of the company was not good in the year 2012 and 2013 but in the year 2014 and 2015, it comes positive. Additionally, the asset turnover ratio in the year 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015 are 1.04, 1.06, 1.07 and 1.12. The asset turnover ratio shows t he net operating asset and the sales of the company. The net borrowing cost of the company in year 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015 are 2.56%, 4.99%, 3.65% and 1.805. Moreover, the profit margin ratio shows the margin of profit. The profit margin of the company between year 2012 to year 2015 are -1.27%, -.78%, 1.59% and .64%. Economic profit The gap between the profit from sales and the opportunity cost input is term as economic profit or loss. If value comes positive then it is profit and if not then it is loss. economic profit particular 2012 2013 2014 2015 comprehensive operating income 8821 6029 12029 5884 net operating assets 356268 346220 353554 359617 return on non operating assets 2.475945075 1.741378314 3.402309124 1.636185164 less: cost of capital 10 10 10 10 -7.524054925 -8.258621686 -6.597690876 -8.363814836 multiply: net operating asset 356268 346220 353554 359617 economic profit or loss -2680580 -2859300 -2332640 -3007770 The gap between the profit from sales and the opportunity cost input is term as economic profit or loss. If value comes positive then it is profit and if not then it is loss. The AEFFE has economic loss in the year 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015, which is -2680580, -2859300, -2332640 and -3007770. It shows that there is a big gap between the actual and the desired results. This will effect negatively on companies growth. Brief commentary: Honestly I had difficulty in calculating the economic profit because I am first time calculating the ratios and economic profit. First time I had a chance to show my knowledge as well as experience with this assignment. I had an issue in calculation of the comprehensive income that poked my nerves. However, I feel great working on this assignment that helped me to improve my knowledge and skills that will help me in my future career. Through the assignment, I have learnt the basic concept of the ratios and use of ratios in financial statement analysis. Step 2: Capital Investment Development of Capital Investments Payback period NPV IRR Project A 4.2 309009 13% Project B 3.75 530277 15% The capital investment or budgeting techniques can aid the company in identifying the best profitable amongst different investment options from two or various alternatives available before it . This shows the risk and profits associated with the investment options clearly and concisely that helps in selecting the best option (Pratt, and Grabowski, 2010). There are two-investment proposal for the AEFFE each will be assessed in terms of profitability and risk associated with them. The AEFFE proposed to invest in new fashion products to extend the product lines and market growth. The company assessed two proposals using payback period, NPV, and IRR. The assessment result of the projects given below: In the above table, the assessment findings have been shown. The payback period in recovering the investment is higher for the project A (4.2Years) but the same is lesser for the project B comparatively (3.75 Years). Along with this, the net present value of the investment in project A is 309009 that is lesser than the Project B of which net present value is 530277. Furthermore, the internal rate of return for the project A is 13% and project B is 15%. It means project B is more flexible than project A and the provide minimum return of 15% on the investment that is higher than the Project A. Recommendation: Based on the above assessment of two projects available with AEFFE, it can be recommended that the AEFFE should go with the Project B. Because the project B is providing the higher expected return as well as is having the higher net present value. Based on this rationality, the project B can be recommended to the AEFFE to invest in. Strength and weakness of analysis: Strength of analysis: The NPV considers the present value of the return to be earned in the future and represent clearly the potential of the investment in the project and it evaluates which project is having more potential to generate more revenue against other project (Riley et al, 2015). IRR indicates the minimum rate of return on the investment, which helps in selecting the best feasible project over others. The payback period states the time under that the investment in the project is possibly recovered. It helps in determining which project has the potential to cover the investment in lesser period. Weakness of analysis: The NPV does not consider the duration, complexity of the project in the analysis. At the same time, the internal rate of return does not take the extra cost of the project into consideration while assessing the project. Any contingency or uncertainty can give the huge cost to the project that may affect the return from the project. It is not considered in the IRR assessment of the projects (lara et al, 2011). Along with this, payback period provides the information of the time span to be required in recollecting the investment amount but does not consider the time value of the money invested. Step3: Feedback Feedback to Thien Quoc Huynh: Thein, I liked your work as you have provided the basic concept of the calculation and interpretation of the ratios, economic profit, and capital investment decision. You have covered all the ratios that are able to provide the basic and important information of the performance of the company. The assignment includes the proper calculation of the ratios, and states that what they represent about the company performance. It encompasses the meaning, concepts of the ratios. The calculations of all the ratios are correct and the commentary is outstanding too. Your followed a good format in representing your ideas. Apart from this, you have well assessed the two projects for the capital investment. You genially explained your thoughts in the step 2 of the capital investment decision. You have calculated NPV, IRR, and Payback that gives the good base for selecting the project. You nicely calculated the NPV, IRR, payback period and assessed them. But you have not shown the economic profit c alculation and commentary well. You should separate it from the ratio calculation. The commentary of the economic profit is missing in the assignment. Apart from this, you should assess the strength and analysis of the capital investment techniques that will make your assignment better. Overall, you have expressed good ideas and thoughts in the assignment and concluded very well of your study that gives the brief ideas about the analysis. I think the work you have done can be recited as a great work. Feedback to Brook Todd: Brook, if I assess your work overall then it appears good about the clarity of the concepts of ratios, economic profit, and capital investment techniques and their calculations too. Your calculation of the ratios is correct and presentation seems outstanding. Nevertheless, you can make it more attractive and give it more rationality by benchmarking the ratios of CALIDA Group with other firms for its comparison. Else, you have done nice job in clearing the concept, calculation and presentation of the ration analysis in the assignment. Along with this, in economic profit you have shown your creativity and presentation skill that is truly appluadable. Moreover, one thing I would say that you could add on some commentary about your calculation and presentation of the economic profit that would brief your efforts. Lastly, your capital investment decision you provided to the CALIDA Group is correct that you have provided the assessment you made. The calculation is good and presentation too. However, you should analyze the weakness and strength of your analysis that make aware the company about the risk associated with decision that helps them in making effective decision. Overall, your performance is outstanding. Feedback to Nicole Hinton: Nicole, I think you have done good analysis of the ratios in first part but the calculation is missing that weaken your presentation. Apart from this, the economic profit and capital investment decision are missing in your assignment. You should have calculated the economic profit to shows the performance of the company. Along with this, you should have presented an investment proposal for newzulu and provide a recommendation about the best project. Overall, the several things are still missing in the assignment, which you have to put into. References: Yahoo finance (2016). historical prices. Retrieved from https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/q/hp?s=AEF.MIb=24a=06c=2007e=8d=09f=2016g=m Drake, P., and Fabozzi, F. (2012).Analysis of Financial Statements. USA: John Wiley Sons. Edmonds, T., Nair, F., Olds, P. and Edmonds, C. (2015).Fundamental Financial Accounting Concepts. USA: McGraw-Hill Higher Education. Warren, C., Reeve, J. and Duchac, J, (2013). Corporate Financial Accounting. USA: Cengage Learning. Tracy, A. (2012). Ratio Analysis Fundamentals: How 17 Financial Ratios Can Allow You to Analyse Any Business on the Planet. Australia: RatioAnalysis.net. Pratt, S. and Grabowski, R. (2010). Cost of Capital: Applications and Examples.USA: John Wiley Sons. Riley, D., Ahmed, I., Debray, T., Willis, H., Noordzij, P., Higgins, J. and Deeks, J., (2015). Summarising and validating test accuracy results across multiple studies for use in clinical practice.Statistics in medicine,34(13), pp.2081-2103. Lara, G., Osma, G. and Penalva, F.,(2011). Conditional conservatism and cost of capital.Review of Accounting Studies,16(2), pp.247-271.

Letter to the trenches free essay sample

I am a soldier in the war. I’m sorry for not telling you that I was joining the army but didn’t want to get your hopes up if something happened to me. Life as a soldier was difficult because you had small rations and a lot of people died from scared food and products that were already spoiled. I remember my Sargent telling me to be careful out there in the trenches because enemy forces could rush you at any time and kill you from behind. I will never forget the moment when our dugout was so muddy that we were camouflaging with the mud because of the rain. One side of the barbed wire was a ton of dead bodies that had a lot of flies and rats that were surrounding the bodies and they were eating their flesh. Also on the other side there was a machine gun turret that was killing enemies on No Mans Land. We will write a custom essay sample on Letter to the trenches or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page I got shot in the leg and caused me to get a wound and also I ended up in the hospital because I had trench foot, which is a foot disease that kills your skin cells. I will never forget how bad it smelled because of people dying and really sick. We always had to be on our guard because enemies attempted to bomb our trench. The soldiers that survived the bombing were wounded and many of them had lice, which made them very unhealthy because it lived on our skin. When we where on the battlefield we frequently had to have a gas mask present because the air was intoxicated with chemical gases that didn’t let us breathe. Every commander got there own personal rifle because the were in charge. I’m glad I wrote you this letter to tell you the truth. I am so sorry about every thing. I hope you understand why I did this.

Marketing Management Concepts of customer value

Marketing Management Concepts of customer value Introduction In business, ‘Customer Value’ refers to the entire benefits attained by a customer against costs incurred to acquire a particular product. This incorporates the total costs offered by the market compared to those of the other competing offers (Pride Pride 2010, p.45).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Marketing Management: Concepts of customer value specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Customer value can also be described as the perceived preference of a customer and his or her assessment of the attributes of different products, performance of the concerned attributes, and the consequences that could arise from the usage of these products. The usage of these attributes inhibits the achievement of the intended purposes and goals (Lamb 2011, p.34). There are five main elements of customer value. The first value depends on the expectations and perceptions of customers. Not only do different customer s have different expectations and perceptions but also preferences. In addition, the expectations and perception of a particular customer might change over time. Value assessment also necessitates the process of evaluation which can also be quite personal. Another element is that different customers evaluate different attributes of products, their performance and the performance consequences. In addition, value can also be situational. And finally, the concept of customer value is related to the objectives as well as the gratifications of a customer. Issues that marketers may face while making an effort to operationalize the concept of customer value In marketing, a company should produce valuable products to satisfy vast customer segments (Peppers Rogers 2010, p. 62). Concurrently, customers should be able to pay enthusiastically for the value provided. This will make the concerned business to evaluate its opportunity costs. There are numerous ways in which different businesses cr eate customer value. However, marketers must consider customer’s demands in order to deliver the best ‘Customer Value’. Most marketers find it really tricky to estimate the evaluation value. For some customers, a particular attributes of a product is more important than anything else. For example, a costly product in the market might be perceived as having a higher value to customers (Ferrell Hartline 2008, p. 24). Nonetheless, this might not be the case when considered critically. They offer numerous benefits than the expenses involved in acquiring them.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Other customers possess their specific needs. A product regarded by others to have a lower quality could be of a higher value. For example, some companies manufacturing clothes try to make them artificially look old. For instance, before a ‘Denim Jeansâ₠¬â„¢ is sold to customers, it could be cut and made to look as if it is old. Actually, most customers are ready to pay higher amount of money for a single pair of denim jeans appearing to have been worn before. However, to other individuals, the notion of paying for clothes that have been ‘aged’ artificially is just irrelevant. According to them, these pair of artificially aged Jeans should cost less as compared to their higher prices. This illustrates that customer value depends on the individual perception of the customer and varies from one person to the other. Another issue that marketers are likely to face while executing the concept of customer value is constant variation of value and preferences by customers (Govindarajan 2007, p.52). Business ventures are forced to make changes in their products, practices, and business models so as to meet customer’s perceptions. This is important as it enables these businesses and marketers to remain the most preferred option in the current and the future market. There are several factors that contribute to constant change in value by customers. Some of these factors include fashion trends as well as environmental conditions. For example, the value of a certain type of furniture will change with current fashion trends. The latest type of furniture will certainly have higher customer value as compared to old fashioned furniture. Similarly, the customer value of jackets will change during winter, where they will be highly valued as compared to summer periods where they will have a relatively low value. This is because jackets have significant advantage during winter as compared to summer. Marketers are therefore faced with the challenge of constantly changing their products to meet the changing value of the customer. Another example is the change of customer value. Most businesses embrace modern technologies incorporated with emerging marketing channels. Here, the major challenge that marketers are likely to face is providing appropriate promotion message of a given product at an appropriate time. The marketers will find it tricky to determine exactly what the customer value is at a given time and whether they still perceive and prefer old technology instead of the new ones (Normann Rafael 1993, p. 34).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Marketing Management: Concepts of customer value specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More On top of that, convincing costumers to go for older technology when they already perceive and appreciate new technology is a challenge to marketers. Precisely, it is really challenging for a marketer to maintain the consistency of a particular brand as well as be able to keep up with ever changing brands by its competitors to meet customer value. There are some general benefits that manufacturers try to integrate into commodities or products in order to boost customer value (Pride Ferrell 2006, p .78). Unfortunately, some customers may not appreciate or perceive these benefits. A customer will get benefits from a particular product only if they can appreciate, perceive and utilize it as expected by the manufacturer to attain individual values. The kind of products that marketers offer in the market will only have value to the customers to the extent that the customers are able to put them to usage to satisfy their unique value. For example, a mobile phone manufacturer could automate switching on and off of his or her mobile phones for the benefit of a customer. However, some customers will not perceive or appreciate this design feature. Therefore, the customer value of the product will be lower than expectation of both the manufacturer and the marketer of the product. Different products and services offered by marketers have increased competition within concerned industries. Therefore, gaining competitive advantage is quite necessary for the survival of each and every compan y. Manufacturers and marketers must strive to ensure that they only deliver great customer value. However, besides the aforementioned challenges, another task faced by marketers is how they can precisely define the customer value, measuring it then creating exactly what customers need in the market (Pride et al. 2012, p. 67). This is to say, creating products which customers will consider having a higher value. The most vital part in carrying out strategic marketing is proper management of customer value as it will enable them to create and deliver great value of products and services to their customers. A typical example is evident in the companies that manufacture different brands of drinks. It is difficult for a manufacturer to estimate the level of satisfaction that a particular customer will get from a preferred drink to the other. Therefore a marketer will have a challenge in promoting or delivering the exact value that the customer will be fully satisfied with. This is an imp ortant provision. It is important to enhance the aspects of ‘customer value’ with regard to marketing as indicated earlier. For example, producing products with critical customer value might enhance sales, satisfaction, profitability, and brand promotion.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Conclusion Understanding the aspects of ‘customer value’ is very important in any business. This enables businesses to improve their products so as to satisfy their customers. It will allow them to remain relevant providers of quality products. However, customer values are diverse and constantly changing; hence, complex to understand. In some cases, a great customer value hardly means that a customer gets considerable satisfaction. The satisfaction of customers while buying a product basically relies upon both their perception as well as their appreciation of the product. Without proper understanding of these concepts, marketers will always be faced with challenges in trying to operationalize the concept of customer value. In a business environment (characterized by high competition, customer value, and changes rapidly), manufacturers and marketers should have integrated and optimized processes for their marketing. In addition, their systems for marketing should also be innovative to deliver great customer value. This is a critical provision when considered decisively with respect to customer value. Examples used in this context supported the mentioned aspects of customer value with regard to marketing. List of References Ferrell, O Hartline, M, 2008, Marketing, Cengage Learning, New York, NY. Govindarajan, J 2007, Marketing Management: Concepts true Challenges And Trends, PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi. Lamb,C 2011, Marketing,Cengage Learning, New York, NY. Normann, R Rafael R 1993, ‘From Value Chain to Value Constellation: Designing Interactive Strategy ’, Harvard Business Review, vol. 71 no. 1, pp. 65-77. Peppers, D Rogers M 2010, Managing Customer Relationships: A Strategic Framework, John Wiley Sons, New Jersey, NJ. Pride W Pride, O.C, 2010, Foundations of Marketing, Cengage Learning, New York, NY. Pride, W Ferrell, O.C, 2006, Marketing: Concepts and Strategies, Cengage Learning, New York, NY. Pride, W., Ferrell, O., Luk as, B., Scembri, S Niininen, O 2012, marketing principles, Cengage Learning, Melbourne.

2 Questions about The Road Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

2 Questions about The Road - Essay Example The sun is permanently hidden behind the clouds, as are the moon and stars. Everything, everywhere has been burned, turning the world into black and grey underneath a ‘sullen’ light that casts only feeble shadows at its peak. There are no animals, no plants and very few people. What life does survive is scarce and desperate, willing to commit atrocities upon one another for the simple necessity of food or clean water. â€Å"The world shrinking down about a raw core of parsible entities. The names of things slowly following those things into oblivion. Colors. The names of birds. Things to eat. Finally the names of things one believed to be true. More fragile than he would have thought† (McCarthy 75). The bond between the father and son is thus predicated on surviving in this very harsh environment where all they have is each other and the knowledge still stored in the father’s mind from the time before the disaster. The man is forced to adapt to an entirely foreign world despite all his conceptions of a better place while his son is enlightened by his father’s confusion. The man’s reluctance to accept the reality before him forces him to feel pity for the young son. This is obvious in the touching scene when he finds the can of Coke. â€Å"[H]e put his thumbnail under the aluminum clip on the top of the can and opened it. He leaned his nose to the slight fizz coming from the can and then handed it to the boy. †¦ You drink it †¦ It’s because I won’t ever get to drink another one, isn’t it?† (McCarthy 20). As the man comes to realize, the world he remembers will never be anything more than a fantasy world to his son, a place of unrealizable possibilities for which the son must ultimately pity the father for having lost. Although the man and the boy consider themselves the good guys, defenders of the old knowledge and the bonds of enlightenment, there are also

Costa Coffee Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Costa Coffee - Case Study Example The efficient and effective branding of its mobile coffee shops can promote Costa Coffee's popularity amongst its target consumer group, St. Andrews' students, faculty and staff. Branding is the concept through which an organization creates and maintains a unique identity. According to Williams (2004) branding differentiates a product or service. It begins with an organization's mission and core beliefs (Williams 2004). The goal of differentiating is to make an organization immediately recognizable to its publics by "consistently and repeatedly providing an ideal combination of attributes - both tangible and intangible, practical and symbolic, visible and invisible" (Knapferer 1994). While the usual drive behind branding is generating revenue from sales or increasing brand loyalty for repeat purchase, branding can also be used to effectively increase knowledge of an organization and what it does. When it comes to branding an organisation, especially one offering a new service such as mobile coffee services, branding can establish connections among stakeholders associated with the organisation (Arozian 2003). Branding can also serve to support processes for communications initiatives in reaching those stakeholders (Arozian 2003). Branding of Costa Coffee's mobile shops can generate support for this novelty in, but it is a long-term process. Branding is not something that is accomplished overnight, but rather something that grows out of consistent presentation of the unique selling point. Over time this unique selling point, in this case bringing brand coffee to consumers, becomes tied to the brand name and logo so that consumers associate value with an organisation. The overall result of branding is that the consumer perceives that the branded product is more valuable than identical non-branded items because "the brand is present even when it cannot be seen" (Knapferer 1994). As Costa Coffee's mobile shop brand identity grows, Costa Coffee's perceived value will likely increase in the mind of the consumer. This pull generated by a brand is called brand equity. Brand equity could be considered one of the most important concepts in marketing because the generation of brand equity is the goal at the core of many marketing activities. According to the text, Advertising Excellence, brand equity combines "five elements: brand loyalty, brand awareness, perceived quality, associations other than quality (such as style, excitement, or healthiness), and proprietary assets" such as trademarks (Bovee et al. 1995). Through the deployment of the branding tool, Costa Coffee can generate brand equity for its mobile coffee shops and, in so doing, benefit from all of the five components of brand equity listed. As it has been argued in the above paragraphs, the branding tool can significantly contribute to the success of Costa Coffee's mobile coffee shops. Costa Coffee is, in itself, a recognisable coffee brand which is popular within St. Andrews. Through the extension of its services to consumers, wherever they are, Costa Coffee will ensure that selection of its coffee brand becomes the more logical and convenient choice. Added to that, its visibility will increase, as will its popularity and visibility among its targeted consumer base. This is precisely the reason why the group considers this tool critically important to the success of the project. This tool, which was introduced through class lectures and

Charles Jencks and Postmodernism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Charles Jencks and Postmodernism - Essay Example Postmodernism defined the exaggerated and incessantly revolutionary form of Modernism. For Jencks Postmodernism hybridises Modernism by reweaving the recent modern past and local culture. Charles Jencks referred to Modernism as to the international style deriving from facts of the new means of construction and satisfactory to a new industrial culture. He also stated that the goal of Modernism was the change of society, both in its social structure and taste. Being an "international" and a "universal" style, this movement proved unwilling to historical and cultural context considerations. Postmodernism, according to him, replaces the shortcomings of Modernism by relating the architecture of a place with the place itself by deriving inspirations from the local construction style and culture of a place. The Classical explanation of Postmodernism was made by Charles Jencks in 1978. He characterized Postmodernist architecture as "double coding": the mixture of Modern techniques with traditional construction so Postmodern architects could communicate with the society and create buildings that are more relevant to the surroundings as compared to the international style. ... Post-modernism means the end of a single world view and a resistance to single explanations, a respect for difference and a celebration of the regional, local and place particular peculiarities. Yet in its suffix 'Modern', it still carries the essence of a process which is international and in some senses universal. In this sense it is always hybrid, mixed, ambiguous, and 'double-coded" architecture which results out of the process of Postmodernist thinking. His theories hold distrust in architecture that 'expressed' through its form; whether function, or feelings & associations: Jencks argues that these expressive forms could give rise to unintended meanings and at times ends up in confusion. For example the form of the Ronchamp chapel designed by Le Corbusier relates itself to that of the hat of a man, a ship and the praying hands of a man or a flying bird. This according to him created confusion. Jencks describes Postmodernism as a movement that is irreducibly multiple, located between the demands of past aesthetics and those of present-day technologies and struggles. He opines that architecture must relate everyday meanings to more important manifestations in terms of architectural functions in a building, be they social, political, religious or cultural. As described in the book Language of Post-Modern Architecture, the end of Modernism and architecture as social experimentation was epitomised by the blowing up of the St. Louis Pruitt Igoe public housing estate in 1972. In his book Jencks describes this event as a milestone in history that marked the formal death of modernism owing to its failure the experiment in high-rise public housing for low

Fast Food Industry Challenges and Opportunities

Fast Food Industry Challenges and Opportunities Fast food franchising was still in its infancy in the 1950s however this picked up greatly in the 1970s due to several factors including the steady decline on hourly wages of US workers which resulted in a substantial percentage of women re-entering the job market to support their families. This trend resulted in great business opportunities for fast food chains whose product saw a substantial increase in demand due to long working hours of parents, thus lack of time to dedicate to cooking due to other family commitments, including a lack of quality time between family members. Fast food options thus made it easier for families who could choose to either purchase take away food, on their way home, or else consume it at the chains premises together with family members or friends. Thus this provided an affordable solution to purchase cooked food, for families, single parents, youths and professionals. Burger King was the first fast food chain to introduce drive thru service which now accounts for a majority of the companys business. www.datamonitor.com Apart from the drive thru option, Burger King as well as other fast food retailers, offered home service delivery in order to suit the needs of consumers who were pressed for time. The provision of such convenient services boosted the organisations turnover. Lack of elaborate furnishings and low skilled labour of fast food chains, compared to full service restaurants were substantially lower, contributed to low operating costs, which was reflected in the price of meals, rendering them affordable. Although the chains sales were very promising, stiff competition from other fast food operators forced fast food leaders to engage in aggressive marketing campaigns and diversified product offerings. Burger Kings major limitation has been the adoption of a reactive rather than a proactive strategy. This resulted in higher costs which were at times wasted as the reactive strategy would have been employed too late, and the competitors effort would have by then been too effective to be beaten. It is also worth noting that although in the case of Burger King, its major competitors have been McDonalds and Wendys being the first and third placed leaders respectively, in the fast food industry, so far, yet competition from many well-established food service companies, has been cut throat. The restaurant industry is intensely competitive and BKC competes with many well-established food service companies on the basis of product choice, quality, affordability, service and location. Burger King Corporation- SWOT Analysis: May 2010 ( www.datamonitor.com) Health concerns lead to a substantial slow down by fast food chain companies in the 1990s. Health campaigns bombarded the media claiming that obesity was the result of excessive fast food consumption. Fear of heart conditions, damaged liver and other health conditions, resulted in lower consumption of fast food, which proved to be a major threat to fast food sellers, particularly large chains like Burger King who had thousands of outlets spread across the globe reflecting high investments in the franchise. This major setback also led to a considerable drop in value meals which had been introduced to beat stiff competition from other fast food suppliers. Such favourable pricing strategies encouraged consumers to opt for the added value meal options, contributing further to health problems including obesity. During this period, Obesity was believed to cause more deaths than smoking. (Case Study:4) Apart from consuming high levels of fast food, people hardly engaged in physical due to their working commitments and hectic lifestyles which were the main reasons for drawing crowds to fast food consumption. Had fast food companies not have catered for such a shift in demand, they would have probably been driven out of the market particularly since people have become more health conscious due to higher exposure to media and the internet the latter being a super highway of information. The emerging popularity of certain diets including the Atkins and the South Beach diets, which proved to be effective for many, were also a threat to the industry, thus the introduction of a much varied menu by fast food retailers. With increased health consciousness, consumers shifted to healthy food like salads and organic food. (Case Study: 6). Leaders in the fast food industry sought to adapt to changing consumer preferences. The provision of healthier options increased operational costs, including the requirement for more cooking spaces. Fast food leaders sought to transform the initial threat into an opportunity for business development, particularly since the desire for healthy options at fast food outlets, was not a phase but is still in demand today. Awareness of the negative effects of hydrogenated oils which were deemed to be cancerous, had to be eliminated from fast food kitchens and replaced buy healthier oils. The industry was further challenged by the bird flu and Mad Cow diseases which also contributed to a decrease in consumer traffic. In 2005, the World Health Organisation (WHO), also made reference to the fact that Acrylamide in certain foods as fried or roasted potato products, has shown to cause cancer. Growing public awareness about Acrylamide levels in French fries, could affect the companys sales. Other threats faced by fast food retailers including Burger King, include Legal tangles such as violation of accessibility requirements under federal and state law, which will reflect negatively the brand image of the organisation. Unemployment and low consumer confidence the US a case in point, will affect consumer spending and thus will impact directly Burger Kings financial performance which tends to be highly sensitive to such economic conditions. Burger King, apart from dealing with the number of threats faced earlier in the write up, had a number of internal issues to solve. These problems contributed to higher challenges the company has to face particularly since for a company to deal with external factors, it must be backed up by key important factors, including internal organisational stability. Lack of constructive communication between the Mother Company and franchisees led to a number of outlets to close down. [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦] disagreements soon erupted between the franchisees and the parent company regarding issues of product control, store image, design and operations. (Case Study: pp 6) Franchisees claimed that Burger King failed to understand and adapt to the needs and requirements of the franchisees target audience who demanded a varied product to suit the culture and trends of the particular country and location. Franchisees also claimed that they had no financial backing from the mother company to refurbish the ir outlets, thus a considerable percentage of Burger Kings outlets were shabby and neglected. The No. 2 fast food chain may need to spend billions on refurbishing. Burt Helm (2010) Burger King also faces the threat of expiry franchise agreements. Of the 409 agreements that expired in fiscal 2006, only 47% were renewed and 28% were extended for similar periods. If a substantial number of franchisees decide not to renew their agreement, the companys operations would be affected. (www.datamonitor.com) In spite of the number of threats faced by fast food retailers during the past decades, one must not underestimate the future opportunities which such industry players can take advantage of. In this regard there has been a considerable rise of the restaurant industry in the US. New dining and lifestyle patterns including an increased percentage of working women, divorce, rise in single parent household and longer working hours have all been extended further over the last three decades. Demographic changes including the demand for snacking and increased comfort requirements are creating further opportunities for businesses within the catering industry. The FFHR business in the US is expected to grow at an annual rate of 4% per annum during 2006-2011. (www.datamonitor.com) Burger King is seeking to extend on product development by introducing new products and an increase in limited time offers. Ongoing product development must be in line with current market trends to ensure that the menu is appealing to the target market and to ensure that the menu is not stale, which will benefit competitors. Launching new products will enhance the brand image in line with the success of its direct competitors. However the success of the Whopper which is Burger Kings signature product which initially contributed to Burger King Brands image, should continue to appear in the chain marketing campaigns, with the latter being more innovative. Burger King is also seeking to expand in current and tap potential markets, including Asian markets such as China and Malaysia. This diversification plan will hopefully improve Burger Kings threat of market concentration. Further investment in the chains restaurants could also be an opportunity to boost the brand image. A change in design and image of the outlets, would provide an opportunity for further growth, targeting upcoming generations proactively. Market analysis and in-depth research will provide the company with feedback regarding the emerging customer needs not only as regards food menu, but also design and dà ©cor and in-store facilities including a potential area accommodating business meetings and coffee breaks, if in demand. In todays global, fast changing and ever growing competitive environment being a market leader, today, will give you some advantages but definitely will not grant you automatic market leadership for the future. A competitive strategy based on a number of key internal competences will provide a solid platform for organisation sustainability and long-term success. Internal competences may be referred to as stated by Barney (1991) in Lado et al. (1994) organisational resources that are rare, valuable, non substitutable and imperfectly imitable form the basis for a firms sustainable competitive advantage. Unless these core competences are unique to the company, achieving competitive advantage would be harder particularly in todays competitive business environments. Further more Prahalad and Hamel (1990) state that In the 1990s managers will be judged on their ability to identify, cultivate, and exploit th core competences that make growth possible indeed, theyll have to rethink the concept of the corporation it self. Organisations must seek to understand first and foremost the micro and macro environment including, the immediate industry (micro) and competitive environment, and general economic conditions (macro). Understanding the Critical Success Factors of the industry in which they operate helps companies identify the areas in which the company must excel over its competitors to achieve competitive advantage in the market place. Internal competences will prove to be effective if they contribute directly or indirectly to the organisations success, based on the industry Critical Success Factors. In this respect, the Board of Directors and the CEO should: have the ability of understanding the process of industry evolution; be able to predict change that would satisfy customers in terms of their expectations and preferences; understand that company Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats, is not a one off exercise. Such factors have to be analysed and revised regularly to ensure that the organisations strategy is updated to cater for any changing patters, newly recognized weaknesses or threats and that any potential opportunities are tapped in real time Investment in quality Human Resources contributes towards achieving competitive advantage. Recruitment and selection processes are fundamental for a companys long term success, considering nowadays, the organisations best resources are human resources. Ongoing training and development of employees contributes to high efficiency levels within companies, and in the case of retail, ongoing training and monitoring ensures that high levels of customer service by the organisations employees, is practiced at all times. In the case of a large company as Burger King, standardised and compulsory training ensures that service standardisation is achieved throughout its franchise outlets. Apart from providing ongoing, updated training, companies should seek to develop their staff complement so that their key staff members will improve their skills and will be given the opportunity to be promoted internally and contribute to the companys success, rather than leave the organisation in search for better opportunities. This investment in human resources contributes highly to a companys internal competences, thus to the companys overall success, considering a substantial percentage of Burger Kings (as an example) employees are the chains front liners, providing the service directly to the customer. The way employees are treated at the workplace and the relationships with their superiors, automatically affects their performance and hence the efforts they give. In a way this all depends on the management level and as Foot and Hook (1999) state [] they enhance the willingness and ability of employees to contribute to the achievement of their organisations goal. The level of Information Sharing and Effective Communication within organisations may also be viewed as a fundamental internal competence. Members within an organisation should be informed and should feel part of the organisations success of failure. The Mission and Vision of the company must be clear from top to bottom, otherwise it may result in lack of commitment due to a lack of understanding of the companys goals. Dissemination of information and communication within companies may take different forms ranging from meetings, e-mails, intranet and newsletters. Further advancements in technologies, have reduced communication barriers to a substantial degree, thus communication between the head office, or parents company and its internationally spread businesses, is now even more possible than ever. The use of Skpe, conference calls, video conferencing have contributed to new forms of communication options. Total Quality Management (TQM) emphasises the responsibility of each individual for ensuring high levels of quality throughout the organisation. Commitment and training in this regard will require less supervision and higher levels of commitment. Encouraging Quality Circles, involves having a group of people who meet away from the shop floor to discuss potential improvements in the work systems. Members of quality circles will then analyse the data and set up proposals addressed to senior management for consideration. Achievement of effective Total Quality Management within companies provides results in competitive advantage over competitor organisations since high levels of quality, are the order of the day. Other examples of organisational competences include; innovation, embracing change rather than resisting it and other key characteristics which render a companys product or service distinct from those of direct competitors or substitutes. Organisations must not take their internal competences for granted but must seek to develop them further so as to maintain long-term competitive advantage. Seeking other forms of key internal competences is very important in view of the ever changing market conditions in which organisations operate. Unless organisations have key ingredients distinguishing them from what their competitors are offering, it would be very challenging to operate sustainably and register ongoing growth. Market research including competitor analysis is carried out by companies with the main purpose of identifying any potential threats or new opportunities within the diverse business markets. Unless companies seek to embrace their key competences and improve to maintain mar ket leadership position whenever possible, they will soon be challenged by upcoming competitors. Enterprises across the whole spectrum of the economy are faced with multiple challenges generated within the parameters of national and global economy. Globalisation is resulting in a high degree of economic openness, and to a very large measure, this exposes emerging businesses to vulnerable business scenarios. Ruysseveldt et al (1995) highlighted that In general, companies now face fierce competition, and this in turn affects the employment relationship, which is increasingly subject to the logic of the market. In this regard, organisations which fail in adapting their structures to emerging societies of the market will eventually face a natural death. Subsequently, visionary agile organisations need to capitalise on a proactive approach, in anticipating and responding to change effectively. 2. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the franchising business model used by Burger King. What are the implications of this approach for successful implementation of their strategies? Franchising is a form of business in which the franchiser gives the authority to a franchisee to distribute services, products or methods of business to affiliated dealers. In many cases franchisees are given exclusive access to a particular geographical area. The franchiser usually mandates uniform symbols, trademarks and standardization of services. On the other hand negative macro consequences of franchising include the propensity of franchising to promote anticompetitive distribution systems (Hunt, 1972), the rationalization of consumer choice (Alon, 2004), and the destruction of local customs (Ram, 2004), leading to what has been called the McDonaldization of Society (Ritzer, 1995). Currently Burger King has 3 different forms of franchise schemes, which correspond to 3 different types of franchise ownership: Individual or Owner/ Operator Entity Corporate Individual or owner/ operator ownership was traditionally used for individuals who signed the franchise agreement personally and who were personally responsible for operating the franchise restaurant. Although the individual franchise agreement can be assigned to an operating company under certain conditions, the individual remains personally responsible under the franchise agreement. Entity ownership allows different forms of ownership and management of, and equity investment in the franchisee. Under the Entity ownership program, a corporation, a limited partnership or a limited liability company can directly execute the Entity franchisee scheme if they satisfy Burger Kings guidelines and for approval of franchise ownership distribution plans. Generally, one of the conditions of Entity ownership is that one or more individuals or entities guarantee to be responsible for the franchisee obligations to Burger King out of which one of them has to be designated by Burger Kings approval to be the managing owner who shall be responsible to ensure that they comply to the franchise agreement and has to have enough authority to make certain decisions. Additionally the managing owner must have at least 5% ownership of the franchisee. Corporate ownership franchise scheme occurs when a company with publicly-traded stock or a subsidiary of a publicly-traded company, that controls locations that are not accessible or have limited access to the general public. Such franchisees are typically food service companies that provide a variety of contract feeding services in a institutional location such as government buildings and facilities, airports, bus and train stations, theme parks and zoos. A qualified director of operations who shall be approved by Burger King needs to be appointed who will have certain responsibilities and authority to ensure that the corporate franchisee is complying with the franchise agreement. Although these 3 franchise schemes may slightly vary between them as to responsibilities and setup costs, however in substance they follow the traditional franchise setup that Burger King has adopted through the years. Burger King grants franchisees to operate restaurants using Burger King trademarks, trade dress and other intellectual property rights that it owns, from quality of products and standardization of service. For each franchise restaurant, Burger King enters into a franchise agreement that covers a number of standard terms and conditions that are common to all franchisees. Franchisees incur recurring fees consisting of royalty and advertising payments that range between 3.5% to 5% on monthly gross sales, and a fixed yearly fee that starts from $50,000 depending on the size of franchisee set-up. Burger King offers its franchisees its renowned barbell menu strategy, which gives the franchisees the opportunity to expand on Burger Kings high-margin premium products and value products in order to grow the core drivers of its product offerings. The barbell menu strategy is aimed at driving average check and traffic, since Burger Kings management team believes that by adopting this strategy Burger king is balancing higher margin products with value offerings and at the same time increasing the brand equity of flame-broiled taste. However the fast food industry is highly competitive and some of Burger Kings competitors have greater resources, such as Macdonalds. This leads to a disadvantage when it comes to compete with Macdonalds, since Burger King takes a reactive mode to price changes, furthermore Macdonalds marketing campaigns in general are more effective than Burger Kings. Clearly this gives the competitors a competitive advantage through higher levels of brand awareness among consumers. In addition, our major competitors are also able to devote greater resources to accelerate their restaurant re-modelling and rebuilding efforts, introduce new product and implement advantageous product offerings, which in most cases gives them a competitive edge over Burger King. Furthermore, the market for retail real estate is highly competitive. Due to the economies of scale that Burger Kings competitors managed to achieve, Burger Kings major competitors may have the ability to negotiate more favourable terms and entrepreneurs may offer priority or grant exclusivity to these competitors for more desirable locations. As a result, this may hinder the ability to obtain new franchisees or renew existing agreements. The capital required to grow and maintain Burger King Corporation is primarily funded by franchise agreements, this presents a number of drawbacks in Burger Kings portfolio management strategy, especially when the company currently holds ownership of only 10% of its restaurants. Burger King is planning to significantly reduce the ownership of these restaurants over the next 5 years. This may lead to problematic situations whereby Burger King being the franchisor will have limited influence over franchisees and high reliance on franchisees to implement major initiatives. This may also lead to limited ability to facilitate changes in restaurant ownership, limitations on enforcement of franchise obligations due to bankruptcy or insolvency proceedings and inability or unwillingness of franchisees to participate in our strategic initiatives. On the other hand Burger Kings principal competitors are mainly Macdonalds and Wendys. These have greater influence over their respective franchisees due to the significantly higher percentage of company restaurants and ownership of franchisee real estate that they hold. This may result, that they may have a greater ability to implement operational initiatives and business strategies, including their marketing and advertising programs. While Burger King can mandate certain strategic initiatives through the enforcement of its franchise agreements, they need the actively seek support from its franchisees for a successful implementation of these initiatives. These efforts to build this alignment with its franchisees may result in a delay in the implementation of the marketing and advertising programs. Although the current relationship with its franchisees is positive, there is no assurance that it will continue to be so. In fact Burger King has already been sued by the National Franchisee association, this organisation represents over 50% of Burger Kings franchisees in the United States. This law suit is due to Burger Kings decision to dictate to the U.S. franchisees to sell the 1/4 lb. Double Cheeseburger and the Buck Double burger at $1. This is a clear example whereby Burger Kings failure to win the franchisees support in its marketing programs and strategic initiatives could lead to negatively affect the ability t o implement the strategy that it would have decided to adopt. Burger Kings operating results substantially depend upon its franchisees sales. However, its franchisees are independent operators and they cannot control many factors that impact the profitability of their restaurants. Pursuant to the franchise agreements and their operational manual, Burger King mandate menu items, signage, equipment, hours of operation and value menu, standardization of procedures and approval of suppliers. However, the quality of franchise restaurant operations may be diminished by any number of factors beyond its control. Consequently, franchisees may not successfully operate restaurants in a consistent manner with the mother company standards and requirements. Due to various factors, Burger King as a franchisor may not be able to identify problems and take action quickly enough; as a result, its image and reputation may suffer. Most of Burger Kings franchisee restaurants are presently located on leased premises. As restaurant leases expire, our franchisees may be unable to renegotiate a new lease, on commercially acceptable terms or nothing at all, which could cause a number of its franchisees to close down. As already stated, the fast food industry is intensely competitive and Burger King has to compete both in the U.S. and internationally with a number of established companies on the basis of product choice, quality, affordability, service and location. Burger Kings competitors include a variety of independent operators, in addition to well-capitalized national and international chains and franchises. Furthermore, this industry has few barriers to entry, and therefore new competitors may emerge at any time. Burger Kings ability to compete will mainly depend on the success to improve existing products, to develop new products, effectively respond to consumer preferences and to manage the complexity of its operations as well as the impact of our competitors actions. 3.Using relevant theory and examples to support your answer, critically evaluate the role of leadership in managing cultural and behavioural factors during the execution of a turnaround strategy.    In the rapidly developing modern world and the age of globalization, the concept of organisational change has become more important than ever before. Although it has always been an important feature of organisational life, the place, magnitude and necessity of organisational change has considerably escalated over the past two decades (Arnold, 2005). As Mullins (2007) states, Change is a pervasive influence. It is an inescapable part of both social and organisational life and we are all subject to continual change of one form or another. There exists a multitude of reasons as to why organisations must constantly make changes, both external and internal. Although internal factors play a role, the main pressures faced by companies to change comes from external forces. This is because in order to survive in the corporate world, organisations must be properly prepared to face and respond to the new challenges and opportunities presented by the ever-changing external environment (Mullins, 2007). Many organisations appear to be in a continuous state of change as they are forced to increase the speed with which they respond to the unpredictability of external factors, essential for their survival (Hussey, 2000). One of the most influential forces instigating organisational change today is the rapid rate of globalisation and consequent fierce world competition. With the accelerating emergence of economies such as India and China, Mayle (2006) states that globalisation is no longer an academic discipline or a fringe movement but a business imperative Thus creating the need for constant change and the fact that competition is intensifying, means that organisations cannot simply ignore developments and give advantage to their competitors. Technological change has therefore become extremely significant as the rate of obsolescence increases, a trend that is set to become more significant with the rapid growth of the internet and E-commerce. As Hussey (2000) states, it is unlikely that organisations can introduce new developments without causing changes to skills, jobs, structure and often culture. Another external factor to consider is that the demographic profile of most countries is changing the proportion of older people is increasing relative to the proportion of younger people. This will create huge pressures for organisations, and corporate issues may involve finding ways of dealing with skill shortages, changes in attitudes to the employment of older people and problems of motivation in flat organisational structures which of fer little opportunity for promotion (Hussey, 2000). Other external forces of change relevant to organisations include government intervention, political interests, scarcity of natural resources and the nature of customers. Internal sources of change include innovations, new methods of work, re-locating, training, staff development and the re-allocation of resources and responsibilities (Mullins, 2007). The survival and success of any organisation depends how they choose to adapt to these internal and external demands. It is not about whether to change, but to how and when. Burger King started this process in 1977, by hiring Donald Smith as president and CEO. Smith identified the shortfalls that Burger King was facing at the time. Smith adapted and executed his turnaround strategy, and modelled on the basis of Macdonalds strategy which proofed rather successful. The processes involved in organisational change may differ widely depending on the corporation in question and the current situation that it is facing. However, it is important for all organisations in todays globalised economy to understand the importance of continual change constantly transforming in order to keep up with the changing environment and hence survive in the competitive modern world. The actual changes to an organisation can either be implemented in a planned and systematic fashion, often designed and implemented by consultants, or in a more informal and reactive way, where managers react to situations on a daily basis and implement change accordingly (Tosi, Rizzo Carroll, 1994). The notion of organisational development change that focuses on the whole organisation is concerned with anticipated, planned and consciously designed change that will serve to increase an organisations effectiveness (Cummings and Worley, 2001). Lewins change model provides a fundamental m odel of planned change, which perceives change as a modification of those forces keeping a systems behaviour stable. In this model, Lewin believes that the change process consists of three steps: Unfreezing, Moving and Refreezing. Unfreezing involves diminishing the forces that uphold an organisations current behaviour often done by showing employees the discrepancies between behaviour desired by the organisation and behaviour that is currently displayed. Through a process of psychological disconfirmation members can thereby be motivated to change. The second step, Moving aims to shift the current behaviour of

Drugs and Alcohol Essay -- American History, Alcohol

Drugs are heavily used throughout the entire world. However, it is important to understand and not undermine the variability in which drugs are used. It is clear some are for distinct medical treatment and others are for recreational use. In the United States, marijuana has been and continues to be a very controversial drug. Some states have allowed marijuana consumption for medicinal purposes, while others have completely outlawed the drug. Those who are against the legalization and regulation of marijuana suggest the economical and health risk associated with consumption of the drug are too high. Although there is risk involved with the legalization of the marijuana, our country has already been risking too much banning the drug. As a result, many police officers and American citizens lives are at risk as task force attempt to control the black market. It has limited the treatment possibilities of the ill as marijuana can be prescribed for various sicknesses (Fisher, par. 1 ). The benefits of legalizing marijuana by far out way the losses of continuing to keep it illegal. There are flaws on both ends of the spectrum, but it is clear is the regulation and legalization of marijuana will give government additional revenue through taxation, reduce spending allocated to enforcing the law, and increase the availability of medicinal treatment (Single 10:457). Looking back on American history, alcohol at one point in time was against the law. Overtime it became legal and thoroughly regulated by the government. As this took place, our nation has witnessed the dangers and health issues arising from alcohol consumption and abuse. For example, drunk driving kills many Americans each year. In comparison to marijuana studies w... ...ijuana 40:478). There are many positive effects marijuana regulation can have on an economy; people need to be open minded enough to at least acknowledge them. In conclusion, it seems as if for various reasons marijuana has gained a negative image in America today. Whether this is because the smoke, physical effects, or criminalist view of the drug, it does not matter. Americans must accept the facts instead of seemingly taking them with a grain of salt. If anything, the failure to legalize marijuana and attempt to prohibit usage has caused more human suffering than simply legalizing marijuana. Additionally, the actual regulation of the drug would help stimulate the economy and eliminate crime. Americans must choose, and by the facts, it is only a matter of time before people recognize and accept the legalization and regulation of marijuana in America.