Marketing Strategy at Ikea Essay

Synopsis The case study is to discuss about the different strategy used by IKEA to approach their customers. It is also talking about the localization concept from a global company based on the cultural demand from different countries worldwide. IKEA is also famous for their less expensive furniture, has some other strategies to â€Å"reach† the customers based on their needs. 4 Ps concept plays a very important role on IKEA’s success besides the way of shopping which is differ from all other their competitor. Company Background 1920s At the age of five Ingvar Kamprad starts selling matches to his next door neighbors and by the time he is seven, he starts selling to further neighborhood, using his bicycle. He buy matches in huge numbers cheap and re-sell them individually at a very low price but still make a good profit. From selling matches he expands to selling flower seeds, greeting cards, Christmas tree decorations, and later pencils and ball-point pens. 1940s-1950s The roots of a furniture dealer, Ingvar Kamprad is entrepreneurial in developing IKEA into a furniture retailer. This period sees the exploration of furniture design, self assembly, advertising, the use of a catalogue and a showroom to reach the many people. 1960s-1970s The IKEA concept starts to take place. New IKEA stores opened and hero products are developed such as POÄNG, KLIPPAN and BILLY bookcase. It is a time where concept takes shape and is documented in Ingvar Kamprad’s The Testament of a Furniture Dealer. 1980s IKEA expands dramatically into new markets such as USA, Italy, France and the UK. More IKEA classics arrive such as LACK and MOMENT. IKEA begins to take  the form of today’s modern IKEA. 1990s IKEA grows more by introducing Children’s IKEA and the focus is on home furnishing solutions to meet the needs of families with children. The IKEA Group is formed and responsibility for people and the environment is seen as a prerequisite for doing good business. 2000s IKEA expands into new markets such as Japan and Russia. Everything for the bedroom and kitchen is explored and presented in coordinated furnishing solutions. This period also sees the successes of several partnerships regarding social and environmental projects. IKEA’s Vision and Business Idea IKEA’s vision is to create a better everyday life for the many people. Their business idea supports this vision by offering a wide range of well-designed, functional home furnishing products at prices so low that as many people as possible will be able to afford them. IKEA’s mission: People have very thin wallet. We should take care of their interests. IKEA’s Product RangeIngvar Kamprad The IKEA product range focuses on good design and function at a low price. It offers home furnishing solutions for every room in the home. It has something for the romantic at heart, the minimalist and everyone in between. It is coordinated so that no matter which style you prefer our designers and product developers work hard to ensure that our products meet your day-to-day needs and eliminates the unnecessary. IKEA’s Low Prices Low prices are the cornerstone of the IKEA vision and our business idea. The basic thinking behind all IKEA products is that low prices make well-designed, functional home furnishings available to everyone. We are constantly trying to do everything a little better, a little simpler, more efficiently and always cost-effectively. A better everyday life We have taken the straightforward approach to the furniture business, by starting with developing furniture with the price tag in mind. This is the IKEA way, to maximize the use of raw materials in order to fulfill people’s needs and preferences by offering quality products at an affordable price. Social & Environmental Responsibility In 2004, IKEA published their first Social and Environmental Responsibility report. IKEA believes good society is good for IKEA with the passionate to create successful business in a responsible manner. That’s the reason sustainability is very important for IKEA’s strategic direction. Prioritizing sustainability drives further innovation and development. Managing resources with new ways to do things and developing skill set and expertise are very important in driving IKEA’s business. As a company with low price product must be a low cost company which include earth’s limited resources usage in a good manner. IKEA has made tremendous and valuable contribution across the world. Forests of Siberia, cotton fields of India, homes in New York, Lisbon and Shanghai are good examples of sustainability. IKEA blue bags are big, sturdy and sustainable. Out with plastic bags! In with reusable bags! SWOT analysis IKEAs objectives are easily achieved via their SWOT analysis and it is a  strategic planning tool too. It helps the business to focus on key issues. SWOT is the first step of planning based on the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats involved in a business. Strengths and weaknesses are internal aspects and it is within the control of the business. They may refer to aspects of marketing, finance, manufacturing or organization. Opportunities and threats are external factors and they are outside the control of the business. These may include the environment, the economic situation, social changes or technological advances, such as the internet. Strengths Strengths could include a company’s specialist marketing expertise or its location. IKEA’s strengths include: a.Low cost structure At any economic situation, IKEA able to maintain the profit margin due to their â€Å"affordable† products. IKEA buy the products in bulk from suppliers with a lower price and get their customers to assemble the product by themselves, which gives customer a lower price product. Their long term partnership with their suppliers also ensures they have access to high quality material at reasonable prices. Their furniture is stylish, modern and functional. The company’s low cost structure is able to meet the customers’ need at any point of economic condition. b.Sustainability IKEA’s cost effective and Social & Environmental Responsibility concept is a unique strength of IKEA compare to their other competitors. IKEA use renewable, reusable and recycled materials as much as possible. Example, IKEA’s catalogues are printed in chlorine-free paper and contain at least 10% to 15% post consumer waste. All of their products come in cardboard, compact packaging for easy use and recyclability. These make IKEA outstanding from their competitors. Opportunities A business uses its strengths to take advantage of the opportunities that arise. IKEA believes that its environmentally focused business conduct will result in good returns even in a price sensitive market. Some of the opportunities that IKEA takes advantage of through its sustainability agenda are: a.IKEA can further invest on the â€Å"go green† movement and IKEA’s customers’ desire to have less of an impact on the environment. This concept is also denoting the demand for cheaper and greener products. b.Sustainability can be further maintained by offer tips and ideas online for customers to create a more sustainable home in any part of the world. It can also help to reduce carbon footprint by packaging in less material. . Weaknesses and threats Weaknesses IKEA has to acknowledge its weaknesses in order to improve and manage them. This can play a key role in helping it to set objectives and develop new strategies. IKEA’s weaknesses may include: a.The size IKEA is a warehouse style shopping centre. Because of their huge size, there are not enough people in a smaller region to maintain a store at that size. Also, IKEA find it difficult to penetrate a small market because they offer only home furnishing. Unlikely company like Target offer home furnishing besides clothing, groceries and also technology. b.The need for low cost products. This needs to be balanced against producing good quality products too. They are also need to differentiate itself and its products from other competitors. IKEA believes there is no compromise between being able to offer good quality products and low prices. c.Communication Communication or updates on their environmental activities with its consumers and stakeholders must be consistent and up to date. IKEA produces publications in print and online (for example ‘People and the Environment’) and carries out major TV and radio campaigns to enable the business to communicate with different target audiences. Threats If a company is aware of possible external threats, it can plan to counteract them. By generating new ideas, IKEA can use a particular strength to defend against threats in the market. Threats to IKEA may stem from: a.Competition More competitors are now entering the low price household and furnishings markets. Example Home Depot is the 2nd largest retailer in the world and also a huge threat for IKEA. Home Depot also provides hardware, lumber, kitchen appliances, furniture and many other products. IKEA needs to reinforce its unique qualities to compete with this kind of â€Å"giants†. Question 1 – What are some of the things IKEA is doing right to reach consumers in different markets? What else could it be doing? IKEA Group operating 301 stores in 41 countries worldwide (IKEA statistics 2012) including franchisees. IKEA’s marketing strategy starts with their business concept as stated in IKEA’s vision statement: The IKEA vision is to create a better everyday life for the many people. We make this possible by  offering a wide range of well-designed, functional home furnishing product at prices so low that as many people as possible can afford them. (IKEA Corporate Website) IKEA has a principle to work in the same way in every country. This standardized approach provides operational advantages besides some disadvantages due to the different markets. Based on the marketing mix which starts with product strategy, product covers more than the physical goods that a company wants to sell. It is the goods & service combination that a company offers to the target market. Thus, IKEA offers a whole range of product with the pricing which supposed to be the same (95%) with very small adaptations for all countries and in all stores worldwide. The pricing of products are comparatively low to what the consumers can find in a competing store. The basic aim of IKEA is to deliver high value at a low price. IKEA has been cutting price in most of the countries. IKEA is also source it’s products from various companies all over the world rather than a small number of suppliers like many of the retailers do. IKEA has 1,300 suppliers from 53 countries, who can supply products as per local taste based on their needs. Most of the IKEA stores are placed out of city centre, out of town location due to a lower land cost and traffic access. Exceptional for UK stores (Coventry – 2007 & Southampton – 2009) located in city centre as a response to UK government restrictions blocking retail establishment outside city centers. It is a seven floors store with a different flow compare to other IKEA stores. Normally the stores will be 2 floors with a car parking availability and also comes with restaurants. The restaurants sell foods according to the local taste and also it opens daily before the rest of the stores. Example in Canada, breakfast includes eggs, sausage, and hash browns and various add-ons like bacon and pancakes at additional costs. In the United States, the local variation serves scrambled eggs, bacon, country potatoes and choice of Swedish pancakes or French toast sticks. The selling environment and service of IKEA stores are also adjusted to fit with local taste. Example like DIY concept is fully accepted by Sweden and UK where the consumers believe that’s the price they pay for the low prices products. Whereby in China, DIY concept is new to them because of the cheap labor and the prices are also not perceived as generally low. Q1.1What else could it be doing? 1.Developing competitive advantage – because IKEA has a low cost structure, they should be able to expand online market easily without incurring too much additional costs. IKEA also should look at an expansion to the West Coast, particularly California. Also, expansion into regions with enough people to sustain a store of their size. 2.Developing a strategic focus – going online is not only reaching potential customers in less populated area, it is also will help customers to catch up with competitors. Besides that, younger people (Gen Y) willing to buy online more compare to the older people. Question 2 – IKEA has essentially changed the way people shop for furniture. Discuss the pros and cons of this strategy. Factors that encourage customer’s choice of visit to IKEA – Pros i.Social motives for the customer – the shoppers go in group since the outlet is huge and it will take time to shop. Also the location is far from city. It’s a kind of short trip instead of shop-visit which consume a lot of time and they prefer to go in a group (friends or family). ii.Availability of other services and amenities – Restaurants (food and beverages) and baby-sitting services within the stores which gives a greater convenient to all customer. Parking is also not an issue since most of the stores located far from the city. iii.Information availability – online info is more useful. Customers can  surf online catalogues in various languages for inspiration and planning purpose before go to the store. This will also help them to catch up with their competitors. Younger generation will be also attracted with this online concept because they are the IT savvy generation compare to the older generation who is still a little â€Å"doubt† about buying online. iv.Access – Operating hours are good. Long hours on weekend very helpful for those customers work odd hours and also busy on weekdays. v.Speed of delivery – no waiting time as they go and pick up their products. Factors that discourage customer’s choice of visit to IKEA – Cons i.Design – the color and bulbs used make the environment dull. Less store assistants and the routes are very long also make customers not really prefer to shop in IKEA. Customers feel bored when they are required to follow one special route instead go direct to the product that they want to purchase. ii.Product availability – difficult to find, stored somewhere else, arrange in an illogical order. Also, ONLY furniture available in IKEA unlikely Home Depot provides all kind of products / items beside furniture. iii.Amount of shopping time  ¬Ã¢â‚¬â€œ it is time consuming. The route makes them to go through all products and to get the product seen before must go a big turn again. Also, customers ended up buying more than planned as going thru all the display products. iv.Assemble yourself – most of the IKEA products are need to be assembled by customers themselves. If you’re a handyman, or someone experienced with tools, it is fine. But for the normal men or even women, assembling some pieces might be slightly difficult. Also it can be ended up doing something wrong. Conclusion In conclusion, IKEA is a good place to shop furniture with a lot of different designs. Less expensive furniture made IKEA grow consistently around the world. IKEA has their own way of sustaining their business for decades. The overall identity of IKEA is based in Smà ¥land, historical and thrift are strong characteristics of the region and its people. All IKEA policies live up to this standard from the products that they sell. Exhibit 1 – Facts & Figures FY2011 References 1.The Testament of a Furniture Dealer – A Little IKEA Dictionary by Ingvar Kamprad (founder). Published by Inter IKEA Systems B.V. 2007 2.Standardized Marketing Strategies in Retailing? IKEA’s marketing Strategies in Sweden, the UK and China by Steve Burt, University of Stirling, 2008. 3.IKEA Facts and Figures -2011 http://www.ikea.com/ms/en_AU/pdf/yearly_summary/Welcome_inside_2011.pdf 4.Student Info – IKEA http://www.ikea.com/ms/en_GB/about_ikea/press_room/student_info.html 5.The IKEA Experience – A case study on how different factors in retail environment affect customer experience by Rebecka Isaksson & Mirela Suljanovic. 6.History – IKEA http://www.ikea.com/ms/en_GB/about_ikea/the_ikea_way/history/index.html 7.Introduction – SWOT analysis and sustainable business planning – IKEA case studies and information The Times 100 http://businesscasestudies.co.uk/ikea/swot-analysis-and-sustainable-business-planning/introduction.html 8.IKEA International A.S. History & Company Profile http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/ikea-international-a-s-history/ 9.Kerry Capell, â€Å"IKEA: How the Sweedish Retailer Became a Global Cult Brand,† BusinessWeek, November 14, 2005 10.IKEA group corporate site n.d., About the IKEA Group. Cited from (08.05.2009) http://193.108.42.168/?ID=25

Aims and Values in School. 2.5

Aims and Values of Schools: Aims: * To attempt to reach a certain goal that gives people a purpose or intension to achieve a desired outcome. * It gives people/organisastions something to follow and work towards to achieve the best outcome. * To attempt the accomplishment of a purpose; to try to gain; to endeavor and aim to do well. Values: In order to achieve goals and aims, one strives and endeavours to attain certain actions, however such actions will not be undertaken at the expense of core values. Values offer principles and standards of behaviour that people and organisations follow. Values have a major influence on a person’s behaviour and attitude and serve as guidelines in all situations. * They are ideals and beliefs shared by members of a culture about what is good or bad, desirable or undesirable. * Values offer a moral code to follow. How schools demonstrate and uphold their aims and values: Aims in schools are set out to follow guidelines and attain what the scho ols desire to achieve. The schools strive to exceed their personal objectives.The aims and objectives of the schools are set by the Head Teacher, working closely together with, parents, staff, the community and sometimes the children of the schools. Although schools mostly share the same aims and objectives, they may differ slightly as schools set out there own goals. It is important for schools to communicate with others their aims and objectives as much as possible, as this gives parents and others the opportunity to gain an impression of the schools in question. This can be done through school prospectuses, school website, and open evenings/days.The schools can also demonstrate their aims by developing links with local communities where they work to develop the aims to improve pupil’s education and environment. Looking at one school in particular, we can see how they communicate and set their aims, and whether they do this successfully. Aims 1: To maximise every child†™s potential both educationally and socially: The schools aim is to teach in a way that interests and motivates pupils and to ensure that all pupils achieve outstanding academic results relative to their ability.The school regally tests the children’s level of abilities and offers extra tuition when needed. This offers extra support on a ‘one to one’ tuition bases. The school also offers the following to maximize every child’s potential: * In year 6 all children will have in their own individual tutor. The tutor meets the child on a regular weekly basis and discusses pastoral concerns as well as academic progress. Parents are welcome, therefore, to liaise with the tutor, who will have a good knowledge and understanding of their child’s progress. At the end of each term, parents are sent full reports, including subject comments, as well as social involvement in the school. * Parents are also sent ‘marked reading slips,’ during the term , which indicate attainment and effort grades, together with comments from the tutor. * Tests are done internally through the school during various times through the school year. This allows for the teachers to monitor the pupil’s academic abilities. The school states that one of the features of the school ethos is that no two days are the same.They offer a wide range of sports and lessons to improve the child’s overall experience. They keep the children busy and offer a fun environment for learning. Sporting success is certainly a major part of life at the school in question, but they also realize that sport is about giving an opportunity for the majority of the school to work in a team, and to give them a sense of pride in their own performance. Games sessions at the school take place for all pupils every day of the week, except Thursdays, including matches on Wednesdays and Saturdays.They believe in ‘putting out' as many teams as possible on match afternoons t o include boys of all abilities. The school offers the following sports: cricket, athletics, squash, swimming, cross-country, hockey, polo, shooting, rugby, table tennis, and chess, tennis, football, athletics, golf, polo and croquet. Aim 2: To ensure that every child is treated equally regardless of race, gender, social background and special needs: Promoting equal opportunities is fundamental to the aims and ethos of the school. They welcome applications from candidates of all cultures and backgrounds.The school believes that this enriches the community and is vital in preparing the pupils for today’s world. They concentrate strongly on educating the individual, providing a comfortable and welcoming atmosphere where each individual feels valued. The school is committed to equal treatment for all, regardless of an individual’s race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, disability, learning difficulty, body image or social background. We believe that the educationa l experience can only be enriched if children are exposed to as wide a range of cultural experiences as possible whilst they are developing.Scholarships and bursaries may be offered in order to make it possible for as many as possible who meet the school’s admission criteria to attend the school. The Headmaster, senior management team and staff play an active role in monitoring the schools policies on equal opportunities. Within their classes, assemblies, and sports they promote the following: * Interact with all children, and encourage them to work as a team. * Tolerance of each other and respect for each other’s position within the school community. * Positive images and role models to avoid prejudice and raise awareness of related issues. Foster an open-minded approach and encourage pupils to recognise the contributions made by different cultures. Bias should be recognised. * Understand why and how we will deal with offensive language and behavior. * Understand why we will deal with any incidents promptly and in a sensitive manner. * The school also offers extra English for children who are struggling with the language. A successful equal opportunities policy requires strong and positive support from parent and guardians, and full acceptance of the school’s ethos of tolerance and respect.Aim 3: To work in partnership with parent to encourage positive attitudes towards learning: A child’s home life has such a powerful effect on children’s learning especially in early years. It is important for parents to get involved and pay a keen interest in the progress of their child in school. The child not only receives skills, knowledge and intellectual stimulation but they also absorb a positive attitude towards learning and encouragement outside of school. At home parents can provide more one-to-one attention.At the school being discussed, they offer the following to encourage families to take an interest in their child’s pr ogression: * Formal meetings for parents to discuss their child’s progress with individual subject teachers are held twice a year. The school also offers parents the chance to attend informal meetings any time of the year to discuss their concerns with their child progress. * Follow a homework policy: as the school along with the Department for Education believes that, ‘Well organised homework can play a vital role in raising standards of achievement. * The school believes that homework provides the following to the child’s success: It raises children’s achievement. It consolidates and extends the work they have done in school. It helps to inform parents about their child’s schoolwork and allows parents the opportunity to support their work. It is a valuable life skill and develops good work habits for secondary school and future employment. Aim 4: To ensure a safe and secure school community: Child Protection is always a top priority at the school in question.They recognise that it is its objective and duty to safeguard from harm, and actively promote the welfare of each individual child. * Their focus is of positive welfare outcomes for the schools children and upon reducing any risks to the children while they are at school. * Their primary aim is to ensure that they create an atmosphere in the school where all children feel secure and valued. All welfare provision is directed towards this goal, whether the provision is a matter of people, premises, policies or practices. Their policies and practices follow the National Minimum Boarding Standards and are informed by the Berkshire Local Safeguarding Children Boards Child Protection Procedures. * The school states that there is no place for abuse of any kind in their community and they will do all in their power to prevent any incidents of physical, emotional or sexual abuse at the school. The school itself recognises that all staff have a full and active part to play in prot ecting the pupils from harm, and that the child’s welfare is of paramount concern.Staff at the school are reminded that the following things must be avoided at all times: * Corporal punishment, having favorites, humiliation and punishment outside of the schools disciplinary system. * Inviting individual boys into a staff room. Staff must respect privacy and private space, particularly in lavatories, changing rooms and showers. They are reminded to supervise and not watch. The school clearly states that all staff receive the relevant training in child protection and interagency working which must be updated every two years. All staff are issued with credit card sized key points for child protection. All staff who are appointed to a position in the school are subject to recruitment checks in line with DCSF Standard 4 and governors to DCSF Standard 4B, as well as in line with National Minimum Boarding Standard 14. * Risk assessments are done throughout the school to ensure that all environments are safe. * The school itself is a gated school and has CCTV cameras which provides the school with valuable information. The school’s child protection policy and procedures will be reviewed once a year by the Governing Body, including a review of the efficiency with which the related duties have been discharged.

Transpiration Lab Write Up

Transpiration Lab Write Up Purpose/Question: How do environmental factors affect the transpiration process in plants? Research: Transpiration is the process by which moisture is carried through plants from roots to small pores on the underside of leaves, where it changes to vapor and is released to the atmosphere. Transpiration is essentially evaporation of water from plant leaves. It occurs chiefly at the leaves while their stomata are open for the passage of CO2 and O2 during photosynthesis. Transpiration is not simply a hazard of plant life.It is the â€Å"engine† that pulls water up from the roots to supply photosynthesis (1%-2% of the total), bring minerals from the roots for biosynthesis within the leaf, and cool the leaf. There are four different conditions that affect transpiration. They are wind, humidity, heat, and light. These four conditions may change rate of water loss through transpiration by either losing more water, or less. Plants have adapted to create the C 4, and CAM pathway. In the both pathway the plant takes CO2 and stored.Since CO2 can be taken up and stored for later use in photosynthesis, the plant reduces water loss by having less stomata open during the day since most of its needed CO2 has already been taken up at night. With the abundance of CO2 stored, the plant can then use the stored CO2 for photosynthesis and reducing photorespiration by reducing or completely eliminating accidental O2 uptake. Materials: 1) 5 small plants 2) Fish tank 3) Water spray bottle 4) Water 5) Heat lamp 6) Fan 7) Regular lamp 8) Mass weighter ) Place to record weight Procedure: Place Lamp, Heat lamp, fan, and fish tank in different areas where they won’t affect the other. Spray the fish tank with water and to make a humid environment and keep spraying everyday to ensure the tank is wet. Water all of your plants. Weigh all the plants on the original day, Monday, and record the weight. Place a plant in every condition. With the extra plant, p lace it in an area without a specific condition to use as a control plant. Do not water the plants the rest of the week.Every day, weigh the plants and record its water loss for every plant. At the end of the week, create a chart for the amount of water loss and compare with the control plant. Data Table: Days | Monday| Tuesday| Wednesday| Thursday| Friday| Windy| 108. 2mg| 101. 1mg| 94. 1mg| 89. 7mg| 81. 7mg| Humidity| 103. 8mg| 103. 4mg| 103. 4mg| 103. 4mg| 103. 1mg| Light| 118. 8mg| 112. 1mg| 105. 0mg| 98. 4mg| 92. 9mg| Heat| 104. 3mg| 95. 8mg| 86. 8mg| 78. 7mg| 70. 1mg| Control| 115. 3mg| 115. 3mg| 115. 3mg| 115. 3mg| 115. 3mg| Analysis: Conclusion:Environmental factors, such as heat, humidity, light and wind, affect the rate of transpiration by making the plant loose either more or less water. In conditions such as wind, when there is no breeze, the air surrounding a leaf becomes increasingly humid thus reducing the rate of transpiration. When a breeze is present, the humid air is carried away and replaced by drier air. The opposite of that is the humidity where the plant lost very little water. It lost very little water because its environment was wet, so the plant did not need to diffuse much water.In heat, the air was hot and dry, so the plant lost water because it’s surrounding needed water to cool it down. Plants transpire more rapidly at higher temperatures because water evaporates more rapidly as the temperature rises. At 30 °C, a leaf may transpire three times as fast as it does at 20 °C. Finally, light lost a steady amount of water because plants transpire more rapidly in the light than in the dark. This is largely because light stimulates the opening of the stomata (mechanism). Light also speeds up transpiration by warming the leaf.I expected these results because it makes sense and I researched before completing the experiment. Some avoidable errors that could have happened would be accidentally splashing water on a plant or putting the conditions too close together. Some unavoidable errors could be the weather outside. Even if the experiment is conducted inside, the hot summer air or cold winter air could drift in the room, affecting the plants transpiration rate. Some further investigations I would make are things such as whether the type of plant affects the rate, or if the type of heat lamp or fan will change the results as well.

Multimedia Analysis FOR Introduction to American Politics Movie Review

Multimedia Analysis FOR Introduction to American Politics (Undergraduate level) - Movie Review Example After it was produced in 2004, the film generated a lot of controversy especially about its accuracy. However, Moore responded to the accusations by documenting the sources he used, which are quite credible as far as the film’s content is concerned. Fahrenheit 9/11 begins by explaining how the political allies and friends of George Bush from Fox News Channel prematurely declared him the president during the 2000 elections, hence, tilting the election. It also criticizes the way the controversy of the voting in Florida was handled, which is reported as an open election fraud. The film then depicts the September 11 attacks as among the darkest moments in the American history by making the screen to go black and letting the film to solely involve sounds. This is used to illustrate the actual chaos that took place on that day. When visible images resume, the film displays images of survivors, bystanders and falling debris from the world trade centre. At this juncture, Moore explains that president Bush was informed of the first attack on the world trade center as he was going to an elementary school. The film then shows President Bush in Florida, sitting with kids in a classroom. Even after he is informed of the second attack on th e world trade center and that America was sunder serious attack, Bush Continued to read a story called The Pet Goat to the kids. The film reports that he continued reading the story for about seven minutes, showing that he did not care. The film goes ahead to discuss the causes of the September 11 attacks and its aftermath, including the invasion of Iraq. It then examines a complex relationship it claims to exist between the Bush family, the government of Saudi Arabia, the Taliban and the Bin Laden family for a period of three decades. In the film, Moore alleges that 24 members from the Bin Laden family were evacuated

Project costing (Project Management) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Project costing (Project Management) - Essay Example This gives the essence of a project which should be a temporary thing outlaid within the limits of time. In respect of this case study, it’s imperative that the project appraisal is facilitated so that the resources can be put into proper use. In a project like a construction of say a health facility, there tends to be three major players for the success of such endeavors. These factors are mainly; time, quality and budget. In project management circle, a lot of regard is given to the attainment of the specified quality and this need to be within the stipulated project life so that there is no much deviation of the cost. It is therefore important that before a project like the one in the case study take off, appraisal and evaluation is effectively carried out. It is common that time and cost tend to show an inverse relation and therefore it is always advisable that to cut time, there must be a compromise in the overall project cost (Smith, 1995). Any project management team mu st therefore be very considerate and extra careful when designing and implementing so that resources which tend to be costly are economized. In regard to the construction project referred to in this case study, cost stands out o be one of the thorny issues since it forms the better part of the implementation process. This is in the form of building materials, manpower and other costs like sunk and legal costs. It a bit easier to manage cost issues ones the network analysis has been drawn and simple breakdown of the work is put down. Project cost management will tend to be challenging since there is always the issue of uncertainties caused by natural disasters like floods, fire, earthquake and others which can alter the plan significantly. For this project proposal to succeed, cost control is paramount. Beginning with the building materials, the client may decide to give tender wholesome to a given contractor so that even the cost

Grande Dixence Dam Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Grande Dixence Dam - Essay Example To complete the construction of the dam’s wall about 6,000,000m3 of concrete was required (Berlow 67). The construction of Grand Dixence dam involved four major construction stages. The first stage involved the erecting of 182 meters high wall, which is about 0.64 of the dam’s full height. In the first stage about 1.85 million meters cubed of concrete was used, which is about 0.3 of dam’s total concrete volume. During the construction process, to ensure sound forces transfer and interlinkage between concrete â€Å"†¦ previous stage to the following, downstream face of the dam in the first, the second and third stages were completed step by step for which the surfaces of the of the vertical planes of the steps were provided with projections† (Landau & Mgalobelov 102). In all the four stages the construction process of the dam had to take into account any possibility of tensile stress occurrence due to â€Å"†¦ partial filling of the reservoir on the stress strain state of the dam† (Landau and Mgalobelov 102). As such, the construction of the dam h ad to be executed

Precis for two articles or write a good topic you think Essay

Precis for two articles or write a good topic you think - Essay Example The most vulnerable areas can be acquired and be managed at a cheaper cost compared the involved costs for all reserve regions. This is because of lower prices in the regions and the total cost for the threatened regions is estimated at $ 4 billion as compared to the total $ 30 billion for protection of all reserve areas. Protecting the areas is also feasible because most of the pressure to the threats is external. This means that change in domestic policies by the affected nations can facilitate protection. Demands by external forces such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund are examples of the forces that enhance irresponsible domestic activities to degradation of biodiversity. The institutions promote depletion of resources. The authors also recommend centralization of conservation research and management centers because of the success that such centrally managed institutions have achieved in developed countries. An integrated approach of protection and minimization o f harm is recommended as a solution in the environment where information on biodiversity and involved threat is available but the society has still failed to protect the environment from degradation. The article therefore offers a concern and immediate need for environmental conservation with hope of success (Pimm, et. al. 2207, 2208). The authors suggest possible extinction in the contemporary world because of the suspected interference with the environment whose adverse effects to biodiversity can be compared to previously five extinctions over the past 540 million years. Human activities whose effects include killing of biotic factors and variation of climate and habitats cause this and recovery is likely to take millions of years. Even though historical data, from fossils, and contemporary data are however biased and inaccurate and can misinform positions on extinction, a mass decrease in number of species, 75

Organisation and Behaviour Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Organisation and Behaviour - Essay Example Due to presence of such divergence in leadership effectiveness in different organizational context, in the next section, the study will dig deep in the topic in order to gain meaningful insights. Task 2 2.1 Compare the Effectiveness of Different Leadership Styles in Different Organisations Armstrong (2009) and Yukl (2009) defined leadership as the systematic or intuitive initiatives of particular individuals to inspire and motive other organizational members to hollow the direction of the particular individual which can help the entire team to achieve organizational objectives. On contrary, consideration of research work of Rees and French (2010) reveals the fact that leadership is personal characteristics of social or organizational members blended with certain skills such as charismatic personality, interactive and engaging communication styles, interpersonal skills, decision making capabilities during contingent period, showing empathy towards team members problems, team building approach and knowledge sharing capabilities. In such context, the study will compare the leadership style in British Telecom as against leadership style in Apple. ... In most of the occasions, organizational leaders in British Telecom use the transformational leadership styles in order to achieve the change objectives such as develop the global IP platform which can work in effective manner, being number 1 in terms of customer services across 170 countries of operation and increase responsiveness throughout the value chain operation (Ukwon, 2008). In such context, leaders of British Telecom used transformational leadership style by involving the employees during contingent decision phases in order to deploy change initiatives such as, 1- implement new internal trading model, 2- develop new organizational structure, 3- integrate a global business operation model, 4- implement faster re-engineering process, 5- extend worldwide 21CN IP platform and 6- develop knowledge sharing collaborative culture within organization (Ukwon, 2008). As part of transformational leadership culture in British Telecom (BT), a team has been developed to measure Organisati onal Culture Index (OCI) while as part of transformational leadership in BT, sub-leadership styles like aggressive defensive, passive defensive and constructive were adopted by managers. In case of transformational leadership style in British Telecom (BT), leaders shown some common characteristics such as encouraging team members to communicate with each other for knowledge sharing, delivering customer focused solutions, encouraging best practice, identifying strategic priorities (Ukwon, 2008). On contrary, in case of Apple which one of the largest Consumer electronics company in the world, the concept of leadership very person specific. Steve Jobs being considered as pioneer leader for the rise and growth of Apple Inc. For Apple,

Biography of Nikola Tesla Annotated Bibliography

Biography of Nikola Tesla - Annotated Bibliography Example Nikola Tesla’s parents had migrated from Serbia to Croatia. His father was a priest, philosopher, and poet. The mental training that Nikola’s father gave him by making him do mathematical calculations without using a pen or paper was his initiation into the field of science. And his mother had â€Å"come from a family of inventors†. Nikola also made his first invention when he was a child of age five when he made himself a fishing hook and caught frogs. When Nokola was seven years old, his family went back to Serbia. In the new town, he became an instant hero as he repaired a newly modeled firefighting equipment which had failed to function on its first demonstration before the public. After his school years, Tesla decided to become an electrical engineer and joined Graz Polytechnic Institute in Austria. During his studies, one of his professors had demonstrated a dynamo which can produce direct current electricity and which was invented by Thomas Alva Edison, in the class. After watching the functioning of a dynamo, when Tesla opined that it might be possible to create an alternate current manufacturing motor, his professor refuted this idea as impossible. After a while, with the support of his father, he joined the University of Prague. But after one term was over, he left this course also and joined the telegraph department. While walking in the city park with a friend, the design of the ac motor suddenly came to his mind like a flash of lightning.

Assessment for Learning Essay Example for Free

Assessment for Learning Essay The results of the personal survey of assessment literacy showed that general considerations scored 87/90, prior to test design scored 53/55, writing the test scored 28/30, during test administration scored 15/15, and after testing reflected 25/25. Our school is a small private school with small classroom sizes. As a result, most of our students receive specialized one on one attention and strong supervision for their academic success. Teachers believe every student can and will succeed. It is not an option to do otherwise. â€Å"Teachers must believe that all students can achieve a certain level of academic success, must bring all of their students to believe this of themselves, must accommodate the fact that students learn at different rates by making use of differentiated instruction, and must guide all students toward the attainment of standards† (Stiggins, 2005, pg. 326). How we test students need to take into consideration the impact of the learner (Stiggins, 2008). Stiggins (2008) informed teachers to utilize assessments for students by looking at the classroom level of use, the program level of use, and the institutional accountability and policy level of use. Looking at the school survey of assessment literacy will take into account these three types of assessment uses and their importance in generating an accountability system for our school to develop a system that fosters learning for all students. My greatest area of strength in regard to assessment literacy can be found in during test administration (15/15) and after testing (25/25). These were perfect scores and illustrated that student’s needs were met when considering the testing environment as conducive to maximize student performance and monitoring the students as they take ASSESSMENT FOR LEARNING 3 the test. Directions are always clear and questions are rarely asked. Tests are accurately scored because they are reviewed twice. Assessment data is gathered for what questions students answered incorrectly and notes are made for improvement of material taught the following year. It is reviewed again after the results of the test are completed to ensure mastery before moving on to the next chapter. The main goal is always on student achievement and mastery of the material. The data adjusts instruction to improve student performance. Any students who do poorly are given the opportunity to retest for 92% of the grade for improvement and mastery. Parents are notified of any student receiving below an 86%. This is our school policy. Retests are given within a week of the original test. Tests are graded the same day and given back the next day. This enables students to observe what they got wrong and assess ways to improve for the retest or master the material. Assessments are not always tests. Projects, reports, computer uses, etc. are vital ways to assess student learning through a plethora of ways. Gardner (1999) believed that students learn through spatial, linguistic, naturalist, interpersonal, intrapersonal, bodily kinesthetic, logical/mathematical, musical, and existential. Educators should recognize that diversity needs an on-going presence, availability, and active participation in the classroom teaching process (Spasovski, 2010). â€Å"If society wants all students to meet standards, then all students must believe they can meet those standards; they all must be confident enough to be willing to take the risk of trying† (Stiggins, 2008, p. 8). My greatest limitation in regard to assessment literacy is working with colleagues to design common assessments. Since we are a small private school, teachers are left ASSESSMENT FOR LEARNING 4 with the task of compiling their own assessments. Our principal will supply the assessments created by the publisher in book form or cd rom or teachers can compile their own. None of us work with colleagues to create assessments. We have team meetings that cross teach certain areas that are being studied to enhance learning across disciplines of teaching. However, assessments are each teacher’s responsibility. The Stanford test scores analyze our teaching productivity. Data is analyzed for the incorrect answer. The results address the weakest area of student learning. Teachers are to find solutions to fix them through data and research of proven strategies that work within successful classrooms. According to Creighton (2001), collecting data without purpose is meaningless. Data driven decision making and instructional leadership support one another. By analyzing the data that exist in our schools, student achievement and quality in teaching and learning can improve to assist students to become avid learners. Part 2: Analyzing the Survey Results The survey results of the criteria for the school survey of assessment literacy scored 84/90. Assessment, curriculum, and instruction are balanced in our school. Assessments are aligned to benchmarks, standards, and scaffolding of material over time to foster students’ learning. To promote student achievement, assessments are varied and reliable. Communication is accomplished with parents about performance through emails, assessments sent home requiring signatures, progress reports, report cards, and Stanford test scores. Since our students score in the 79-99% ranking of Stanford test scores as a class average, teachers seek solutions through data to ASSESSMENT FOR LEARNING 5 improve class average test scores. If any student did poorly, teachers seek ways that will improve student learning. Principals and teachers can learn to maneuver through the statistical data to help create goals and strategies for change and improvement (Creighton, 2001). The school’s greatest area of strength in regard to assessment literacy was that data-based decisions about student mastery of standards are made collaboratively by administrators and teachers. By looking at our strengths, opportunities, weaknesses, and threats, teachers can gain insightful information into how they may best serve their diverse students’ needs and administrators can find solutions to helping these students achieve an optimal learning experience at school. This creates an opportunity for teachers and administrators to work together to improve student achievement. By understanding our diverse students’ needs, teachers and administrators can see the big picture and find viable solutions to problems that arise at their school. This year we have added a resource room to help struggling students with special needs get help from an ESE teacher. Curriculums are modified to accommodate student’s needs based on any language or learning barriers. The dominant culture of the nation-state should incorporate aspects of their experiences, cultures, and languages, which will enrich the mainstream culture as well as help marginalized groups to experience civic equality and recognition (Gutmann, 2004). Teachers have professional development sessions and team meetings to assess proven methodologies and research to help students learn. â€Å"When teachers support students by treating them with respect and caring about their futures, and encourage students by helping them to succeed, students are more likely ASSESSMENT FOR LEARNING 6 to respect and get along with one another; when taught how to be more tolerant of others, students exhibit greater tolerance† (Gollnick Chinn, 2006). Our school climate is multicultural and is reflected in every aspect of the education at our school. This is imperative if we want our students to compete in a global economy and to ensure learning and equity for all students. The school’s greatest limitation in regard to assessment literacy is that not all teachers recognize students’ emotional connection to assessment and its results. Also, the formative assessments are not used regularly to tell members precisely where to focus their improvement efforts and how to do it in a timely manner. My students complain that some teachers take a month to grade papers. Parents complain to me that other teachers do not understand their child’s special needs. For instance, I have a student with dysgraphia, dyslexia, and ADHD. For spelling tests, I have found it beneficial to call him up after tests and have him spell the word to me verbally that he got wrong in writing and he often gets it correct. He has transformed from a failing student to an â€Å"A† student. I grade his paper immediately after he turns it in and I ask him to spell the words he got wrong to me verbally. When students are failing, teachers need to find viable solutions to increase student learning. No single assessment is capable of answering all these questions to aid a student’s learning capabilities. A productive, multi-level assessment system is needed to ensure accuracy of all instructional decisions (Stiggins, 2008). Relying heavily on Stanford test scores impedes a student’s emotional connection to assessment and its results. Instead a wide arrangement of student work should become part of a portfolio to determine the overall ASSESSMENT FOR LEARNING 7 success rate of a student. â€Å"If all students are to succeed, they must have continuous access to credible evidence of their own academic success at mastering prescribed achievement standards† (Stiggins, 2008, p. 8). Data shows teachers areas that need improvement in teaching, student’s weaknesses, and how to do better next time. This will enable students to build self-efficacy when teachers help students to see what success looks like through assessment analysis to improve test taking the next time (Stiggins, 2008). This is the reason our school offers a retest at 92% of the grade. This is what Stiggins refers to as replacing the intimidation of accountability as the primary motivator through tests with the promise of academic success for all learners. This type of assessment promotes hope for all students to become successful. We are reminded by Tashik (2010), that an effective performance assessment system requires the complete interplay of several components: 1. Teaching and learning must remain the constant focus of the school. 2. Teams of teachers collaborate on all aspects of instruction and assessment. 3. Staff, department, and grade meetings are regular features of the school week. 4. Scheduling includes blocks of time for teachers to mentor and supervise student progress on the performance assessment tasks. 5. Continual development of new courses and units of study to better engage students in their learning and meet their academic needs. When these key components are intertwined, effective assessments can benefit our students through diversity and it can take the shape of molding into our students’ needs. When we look at the classroom level of use, the program level of use, and the ASSESSMENT FOR LEARNING 8 institutional accountability and policy level of use, assessments can work together to scaffold student learning for optimal success. In a perfect assessment system, the foundation would comprise of an array of assessments that enable students to learn more through scaffolding and take ownership of his or her learning success (Stiggins, 2004). ASSESSMENT FOR LEARNING 9 References Creighton, T. (2001). Data analysis and the principalship. Principal Leadership, 1(9), 52. Gardner, H. (1999). Intelligence reframed: Multiple intelligences for the 21st century. New York: Basic Books. Gollnick, D. and Chinn, P. (2006) Multicultural education in a pluralistic society. New Jersey: Pearson Education. Gutmann, A. (2004). Unity and diversity in democratic multicultural education: Creative and destructive tensions. In J. A. Banks (Ed. ), Diversity and citizenship education: Global perspectives (pp. 77-96). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Spasovski, Ognen. (2010). Principles of the inclusive education and the role of teachers and in-school professional staff. The Journal of Special Education and Rehabilitation,111(1-2), 67-86. Tashik, P. (2010). Changing the national conversation on assessment. Phi Delta Kappan, 91(6), 55-59. Stiggins, R. (2004). Classroom assessment for student learning: Doing it right – Using it well. Portland, OR: Assessment Training Institute. Stiggins, R. (2005, Dec. ). From formative assessment to assessment FOR learning: A path to success in standards-based school. Phi Delta Kappan, 87(4), 324-328. Stiggins, R. (2008). Assessment manifesto: A call for the development of balanced assessment systems. Portland, OR: ETS Training Institute.

Law Essays Certain Selling Arrangements

Law Essays Certain Selling Arrangements Certain Selling Arrangements The introduction of certain selling arrangements has imposed an unnecessary straitjacket on the development of the Keck principle. Not only is the Keck formula too narrow; paradoxically, it is also too broad in that it catches dynamic measures (such as restrictions on advertising) and therefore takes them outside the scope of Article 28 even though they do affect inter-state trade. (C. Barnard, The Substantive Law of the EU. The Four Freedoms (OUP 2d ed.) at 149). Discuss Article 28 (ex 30) EC provides that: â€Å"Quantitative restrictions on imports and all measures having equivalent effect shall be prohibited between Member States†. Although this may initially seem simple, it has caused substantial difficulties when it comes to measures having equivalent effect when the rules are indistinctly applicable (ie. they apply equally to domestic and non domestic goods). As will be seen, the confusion around dealing with these measures was intended by the ECJ to be halted by the judgment in Keck. This essay will critically evaluate the decision in Keck in order to consider whether it has indeed served this purpose. A definition of measures having equivalent effect to quantitative restrictions was introduced by the ECJ in 1974 in the case of Procureur du Roi v Dassonville: â€Å"All trading rules enacted by Member States which are capable of hindering, directly or indirectly, actually or potentially, intra-Community trade are to be considered as measures having an effect equivalent to quantitative restrictions.† Although this definition proved helpful to the Court, its application tended not to distinguish between indirectly and directly applicable measures. It was also very broad, leaving many regulations open to examination by the Court. This in turn lead to large amounts of litigation for the Court to deal with. In Rewe-Zentral AG v Bundesmonopolverwaltung fur Branntwein (â€Å"Casis de Dijon†) a narrower approach was adopted. The case concerned the legality of a German law which prescribed a minimum alcohol level of 25% for certain spirits, including cassis. German cassis was above the 25% level, but French cassis was not. Therefore, although the German law was indistinctly applicable, the result of the measure was to preclude the French cassis from the German market. The ECJ applied the Dassonville formula but went on to state that: â€Å"Obstacles to movement within the Community resulting from disparities between the national laws relating to the marketing of the products in question must be accepted insofar as those provisions may be recognised as being necessary in order to satisfy mandatory requirements relating in particular to the effectiveness of fiscal supervision, the protection of public health, the fairness of commercial transactions and the defence of the consumer.† The case therefore introduced the concept of the ‘rule of reason’ to applications of Article 28 in the context of indistinctly applicable measures. In the Cassis de Dijon case itself it was held that the measure had been enacted in the interests of public health and fairness to commercial transactions, but that it was not a necessary means to achieve these objectives and was therefore in breach of Article 28. The cases concerned the legality of a French law prohibiting the resale of goods in an unaltered state at prices lower than their purchase price. Keck and Mithouard were prosecuted for breach of this law but claimed that the rule was incompatible with EC law. The ECJ considered Article 28 and applied the Dassonville formula. It was stated that the legislation could have the effect of restricting the volume of sales of imported goods as it deprived traders of an important method of sales promotion. The Court then went on to state that:Although the Cassis de Dijon case placed a limit on the very broad approach of the Dassonville formula, it was not without its problems. The application of the ‘rule of reason’ was difficult for domestic courts. The ‘Sunday Trading’ cases demonstrated this when a challenge was made to the legality under Article 28 of national rules limiting Sunday trading. In some cases it was held by the national courts that the rules were just ified, in others that they were disproportionate. As a result of this uncertain approach, a change in the way the ECJ dealt with this problem was clearly necessary. This change came in the form of Keck and Mithouard which â€Å"marks an important turning-point in the Court’s jurisprudence on Article 28†. â€Å"In view of the increasing tendency of traders to invoke Article 30 of the Treaty as a means of challenging any rules whose effect is to limit their commercial freedom even where such rules are not aimed at products from other Member States, the Court considers it necessary to re-examine and clarify its case law on this matter.† The Court then considered the Cassis de Dijon case and the extent to which the application of rules which limited free movement of goods could be justified as in the public interest: â€Å"However, contrary to what has previously been decided, the application to products from other Member States of national provisions restricting or prohibiting certain selling arrangements is not such as to hinder directly or indirectly, actually or potentially, trade between Member States within the meaning of the Dassonville judgment †¦ provided that these provisions apply to all affected traders operating within the national territory and provided that they affect in the same manner, in law and fact, the marketing of domestic products and of those from other Member States.† It was therefore held that Article 28 did not apply to ‘selling arrangements’ and therefore the French law had not been in breach of the EC law. The decision in Keck has been said to be ‘lacking in principle’, yet it has also been praised for its ‘tendency to cut back on unnecessary intrusions into the laws of the Member States in cases where access to the relevant national market is not at stake’. Perhaps the most controversial aspect of the decision is the distinction draw between rules that are to do with the product itself, and rules which relate to the selling arrangements in place for that product. Indeed, it has proved difficult to determine exactly what is meant by ‘selling arrangements’. In Hunermund pharmacists were prohibited from advertising, outside their premises, products which they were authorised to sell. It was held that this was a method of sales-promotion and was therefore outside the scope of Article 28. Moreover, in Banchero defendants to a smuggling charge invoked Article 28 in relation to Italian rules reserving the retail sale of tobacco to authorised distributors. The authorised distributors could only gain such status where the national body which held a monopoly over tobacco production in the country granted it. It was held that the system did not impede access to the national market, was a selling arrangement, and was therefore compatible with Article 28. In contrast, measures constituting requirements to be met, such as a Dutch law prohibiting dealings in gold and silver products not bearing certain hallmarks (Houtwipper) and German laws requiring the labelling of the contents of certain foods additional to those specified under EC law (Commission v Germany) are within the scope of Article 28 as they relate to the goods themselves, rather than merely the selling of the goods. The difficulties in lack of workable definition of a ‘selling arrangement’ are seen particularly starkly when considering the Courts’ approach to the advertising of goods. In Leclerc-Siplec the ECJ held that legislation which prohibits television advertising in a particular sector amounted to a selling arrangement. Therefore, even a complete ban on advertising of certain products will not come within the scope of Article 28 if the ban applies to domestically produced and imported products equally in law and in fact, as the Court held when considering a ban on television advertising directed at children under 12 in Komsummentombudsmannen v De Agostini. This means that the free movement of goods can be seriously hampered and the main provision designed to prevent this will have no effect whatsoever. In this sense, the approach offered by Keck is too broad. However, advertising and other measures intended to increases sales have not always been held to be ‘selling arrangements’. In Vereinigte Familiapress Zeitungsverlags- und Vertriebs GmbH v Heinrich Bauer Verlag Austria had prohibited periodicals from featuring prize draws or competitions. The ECJ formed the view that publishers would use such competitions with the hope of increasing circulation. However, the rule was held not to be a selling arrangement as it concerned the content of the magazine, equating to a requirement to be met. Article 28 applied and the Austrian rule was in breach of it. Although the measure was justifiable under the Cassis de Dijon formula, the provisions of Keck were too narrow to include this scenario. This approach therefore does not solve the problem created by the Cassis de Dijon case of uncertainty in application. Furthermore, in Schutzverband gegen unlauteren Wettbewerb v TK-Heimdienst Sass GmbH Austrian legislation provided that bakers, butchers and grocers may offer goods for sale on rounds in a given administrative district only if they also traded from a permanent establishment in that district or an adjacent municipality, where they offered the same goods for sale as they did on their rounds. It was that this amounted to a ‘selling arrangement’ but one which did have a differential impact on domestic traders and others. This approach therefore entails an analysis of market access, which was a factor in the pre-Keck jurisdiction, but which was supposedly outside of the Keck approach. The academic reaction to Keck at the time of the decision was in the main critical and it was argued that Keck placed too much emphasis on factual and legal equality at the expense of market access. It was suggested that denying that selling arrangements came within Article 28 as long as they did not discriminate in law or in fact ignored the importance of market access as trading rules could be formally equal yet still operate so as to inhibit market access. Academics have therefore argued for an approach based on market access, with a main advocate being Weatherill. He has suggested that the correct approach should be to focus on market access rather than just factual and legal equality. To this end he has proposed a modified test: â€Å"Measures introduced by authorities in a Member State which apply equally in law and in fact to all goods and services without reference to origin and which impose no direct or substantial hindrance to the market of that Member State escape the prohibition of Articles 30 and 59 [as were].† This opinion was not confined to academics, and was raised judicially by Advocate General Jacobs in Leclerc-Siplec. Jacobs AG felt that advertising could play an important role in breaking down barriers to inter-state trade and was therefore dissatisfied that it should be outside Article 28. He suggested a modification to involve a test of ‘substantial’ hindrance, so that if a substantial restriction on access to the market was acting then it should be caught by Article 28. However, this suggestion was not applied by the ECJ. Further judicial consideration has come from Advocate General Maduro in Alfa Vita where he stated that while Keck was intended to clarify the ambit of Article 28, it had ‘proved to be a source of uncertainty for economic operators’. He went suggested a three point solution: prohibition of all discriminatory provisions, whether direct or indirect; the requirement that any supplementary costs on cross-border activity be justified and; that any measure which impedes to a greater extent the access to the market and the putting into circulation of products from other Member States should be considered to be an MEQR. From the analysis above it may be concluded that although the Court in Keck attempted to resolve the problems of both the broad approach of Dassonville and the difficult to apply Cassis de Dijon, the result has been far from simplistic. Indeed, it is still unclear as to exactly what factors the court will consider when examining the legality of provisions in relation to Article 28. What is clear though, is that the Court is again willing to reconsider the approach and there may yet be a further attempt to restructure the approach to this area of free movement. Bibliography Barnard, C. (2001), â€Å"Fitting the Remaining Pieces into the Goods and Persons Jigsaw?†, 26 ELRev 35 Connor, T. (2005), â€Å"Accentuating the Positive: The ‘Selling Arrangement’, The First Decade, and Beyond†, International and Comparative Law Quarterly, 54, 1, 127 Craig, P. De Bà ºrca, G. (2008), EU Law: Text, Cases and Materials, 4th Edition, Oxford University Press Enchelmaier, S. (2004), â€Å"Four Freedoms, How Many Principles?†, Oxford Journal of Legal Studies, 24, 155 Chalmers, D. (1994), â€Å"Repackaging the Internal Market – The Ramifictions of the Keck Judgment†, 19 ELRev 385 Fairhust, J. (2007), Law of the European Union, 6th Edition, Pearson Longman Gormley, L. (1994), â€Å"Reasoning Renounced? The Remarkable Judgment in Keck Mithouard† EBLRev 63 Reich, N. (1994), â€Å"The November Revolution: Keck, Meng, Audi Revisited†, 31 CML Rev 459 Roth, W.H. (1994), â€Å"Casenote on Keck and Hunermund†, 31 CML Rev 845 Steiner, J., Woods, L., Twigg-Flesner, C., (2006), EU Law, 9th Edition, Oxford University Press, pg 374. Weatherill, S., (1996), â€Å"After Keck: Some Thoughts on how to Clarify the Clarification†, 33 CML Rev, 885

Comparing And Contrasting Christianity And Buddhism :: Comparison Religion Christian Essays

Comparing And Contrasting Christianity And Buddhism Christianity and Buddhism are different religions, yet compare and contrast greatly. Though founded at different periods of time, Christianity and Buddhism have shaped cultures and have had a great influence on people all around the world with origins, customs and beliefs. Siddhartha Gautama was born about 563 B.C. He left his wealthy lifestyle when he was about 29 to seek wisdom. For years, he found not wisdom but only pain. After meditating for several days under a tree, enlightenment finally came to him. He would now be known as the Buddha or "enlightened one." Buddha and Jesus, the founder of Christianity, are alike and different in many ways. Jesus of Nazareth was born about A. D 6. He claimed to be the son of God, but was disliked by those who practiced other religions. When he was about 33 years old, Jesus was tried and prosecuted for heresy. He was then sentenced to be crucified. After his death, Paul continued to spread Christianity throughout the world. More than a thousand years later, it became one of the most widely known practices in the world, just as Buddhism has. Christians and Buddhists have their own customs and beliefs. Followers of Christianity are to love thy Lord first and love thy neighbor as thyself. Jesus gained large crowds and followers by performing miracles. Since Christians are only to worship the Lord, they are monotheist. Buddhism, however is quite different. Buddha taught his followers the Four Noble Truths, the main ideas of seeking enlightenment. In addition to seeking enlightenment, people could reach nirvana, or a "release from pain and suffering". Buddha taught all his followers to treat all other living things with love and respect. Throughout both their lives, Jesus and Buddha spread the teachings they taught, Christianity and Buddhism. After the resurrection of Jesus after his death in A. D 33, the disciples began to spread the word about Jesus. Paul, one of the disciples of Jesus, spent the rest of his life preaching and spreading Christianity to Jews and non-Jews alike. Just like Jesus, Buddha spread his teachings throughout his life.

AIDS and HIV :: Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Issues

AIDS and HIV    The HIV virus poses one of the biggest viral threats to human society today.   It is contracted through bodily fluids such as blood and semen, and sometimes even saliva and tears.   AIDS kills 100% of its victims and puts them through agony before they die.   It has been a threat for about 15 years, and it is not going to stop now.   In fact, AIDS is just getting started:   It consumes more people each year.   There is no known treatment for it either, only antibiotics to slow the reproduction of the virus. HIV is passed from one person to another by bodily fluids only.   It is usually gotten through sexual intercourse or other intimate contact, through the exchanging of unsterilized intravenous needles, or by the contact of HIV-infected bodily fluids and an open wound.   It cannot permeate though intact skin, hence it cannot be spread through informal contact. AIDS has not been found to travel in insects or tame animals.   In pregnant women, the virus only infects the infant near or at the time of birth.   The virus dies quickly without a host.    AIDS (Acquired ImmunoDifficiency Syndrome) weakens the body ¹s immune system so it is sensitive to infection.   The AIDS virus primarily attacks the T lymphocytes, which are a main part of the immune system.   The virus is also incubated in cells called macrophages, where it is accidentally sent to other, healthy cells in the body like neurons and lymphatic cells. After HIV is contracted, the person looks and feels healthy for up to 20 years before symptoms start occurring.   During this time, the person can give the virus to another even though it cannot be detected by sight or smell.   Usually, symptoms start developing within 1 to 2 years.   Typical indications of the virus are fever, weariness, weight loss, skin rashes, a fungal mouth infection called thrush, lack of immunity to infection, and enlarged lymph nodes. When AIDS overtakes the body, the body becomes especially susceptible to tuberculosis, pneumonia, and a rare form of cancer called Kaposi ¹s Sarcoma.   Once AIDS has fully taken hold, the body may suffer damage to the nerves and brain.   The life expectancy of an AIDS victim after the birth of symptoms is 1 to 5 years. AIDS was believed to have begun in Central Africa around 1979.   Nearly all of the first AIDS patients were male homosexuals.   However, after 1989 90% of all new cases of AIDS were from heterosexual intercourse.   Public awareness rose as famous people began to die, like Rock Hudson, Perry Ellis, Michael Bennett, Robert Mapplethorpe, and Tony Richardson.

Emotional intelligence: The rapprochement of reason and emotion Essay

The past few decades have seen increasing interest in emotion research. Although much remains to be learned, agreement is beginning to emerge regarding the way emotion should be viewed. Emotions provide a unique source of information for individuals about their environment, which informs and shapes their thoughts, actions, and subsequent feelings, and there is a growing view that emotion information can be used more or less intelligently. A notion central to emotional intelligence theory is that individuals differ in their ability to perceive, understand and use emotional information, and this ability significantly contributes to intellectual and emotional well-being and growth. Emotional intelligence as a concept has prospered, in part, because of the increasing personal importance of emotion management for individuals in modern society. Indeed, researchers have commonly claimed that emotional intelligence predicts important educational and occupational criteria beyond that predicted by general intellectual ability (e.g. Elias & Weissberg, 2000; Fisher & Ashkansy, 2000; Fox & Spector, 2000; Goleman, 1995; Mehrabian, 2000; Saarni, 1999, Scherer, 1997). Furthermore, the chief proponents of emotional intelligence appear to have made strides towards understanding its nature, components, determinants, effect, developmental track, and modes of modification (Matthews, Zeidner & Roberts, 2001) Since Goleman’s (1995) best-seller, Emotional Intelligence, popularized the concept, researchers have used an extensive number of attributes or abilities drawn from psychology to define emotional intelligence. Goleman’s book contains definitions and descriptions of what he identifies as the five key components of emotional intelligence: knowing emotions, managing emotions, motivating oneself, recognizing emotions in others, and handling relationships. Goleman attributes varying sets of personality attributes to each component, the final effect being that most of personality is covered by his definitions. Towards the end of his book, he claims â€Å"there is an old-fashioned word for the body of skills that emotional intelligence represents: character† (p. 285). As such, variations in the manner with which people think, feel, and act are ostensibly ascribed to differences in â€Å"disposition† and â€Å"style†. The notions of disposition and style however do not accommoda... ... of the Southeastern Psychological Association, Atlanta, GA. Thorndike, E.L. (1920) Intelligence and its use. Harper Magaazine, 140, 227-235. Thoits, P.A. (1985). Self-labelling process in mental illness: The role of emotional deviance. American Journal of Sociology, 91, 221-249. Vagg, P. R. & Spielberger, C. D. (1998). Occupational stress: Measuring job pressure and organizational support in the workplace. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 3, 294-305. Van Maanen, J. (1973) Observations on the making of a policeman. Human Organization, 32, 407-417. Walt Disney Productions. (1982) Your role in the Walt Disney World Show. Orlando, FL: Author. Watson, D. & Pennebaker, J. W. (1989). Health complaints, stress, and distress: Exploring the central role of negative affectivity. Psychological Review, 96, 234-254. Welbourne, T.M., Johnson, D.E., & Erez, A. (1998). The role-based performance scale: Validity analysis of a theory-based measure. Academy of Management Journal, 41, 540-556. Weisinger, H. (1998). Emotional intelligence at work: The untapped edge for success. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Woodsworth, R.S. (1940). Psychology (4th ed.) New York: Holt.

Marketing the Beauty Industry Pest Factors

In an Abstract industry as complicated as that of financial Applies the critical success factor intermediation, no simple formula can pre(SF) approach to identify the appropriate CIFS underlying three dolt winners and users from the surrounding types of strategy In the banking environment. Instead of guessing winners industry. The empirical results of and losers, we try to identify the principal this paper show that the various factors that determine a bank's success. Traceries adopted have a significant effect on factors determining Today's banking industry is characterized by success and that the mean intensifying global competition and rapid importance of CIFS varies among advancements in the liberalizing of the the various strategies. The result banking market. This Is specially true of of a factor analysis suggests four Twain's banking market, which has become composite CIFS: bank operation management ability, developing increasingly international and deregulated bank trademarks ability, bank in the asses.In 1991, the government propitiating ability, and financial emulated the Promote Commercial Bank market management ability. Establishment Decree in order to open up the Further discussions and management Implications are also banking market further, and It Invited presented. Foreign Investors to participate In Twain's banking industry; these moves have made the banking market In Taiwan ore competitive. Under these circumstances, a bank has to put in much more than an ‘ ‘average† performance by not trying to be all things to all people.Management must emphasize the strengths that will give the bank competitive advantage, and these may be defined as the capabilities or circumstances which give it an edge over its rivals. Longer term, the success of a bank requires that Its competitive advantage be sustainable. CIFS and the firm's competitive ability are the two mall components of the competitive advantage of a firm (Bamberger, 1989). Appro priately identifying ankhs' CIFS can provide for banks a means of assessing and building up their competitive advantage. In this paper, CIFS are identified from the various business strategies adopted.Because the quest for competitive advantage from International Journal of Bank CIFS is the essence of the business level, as Marketing 17/2 [1999] 83Ð’Â ±91 opposed to that of the corporate level, the # MAC university Press business strategy Is teen ten Touch AT attendees effective ] tool. Business strategy Is an management tool and it obviously affects resource allocation and competitive advantage in an enterprise (Hoofer and Ascended, 1978). An appropriate strategy can lead a bank's resources in the desired direction and can effectively enhance a bank's competitive edge while intense competition is at play in the marketplace.The sustainable execution of business strategies can affect the composition and formation of CIFS. It is for these reasons that we address the role of the ma rketing strategy, which has been adopted, when we report on the CIFS. The SF approach represents an accepted top-down methodology for corporate strategic planning, and while it identifies few success factors, it can highlight the key information acquirement of top management (Byers and Blame, 1994; Orchard, 1979). In addition, if the critical success factors are identified and controllable, management can take certain steps to improve its potential for success.Prior research concerning CIFS has been undertaken in the banking industry. However, the specific strategy underlying bank success has not been detailed. This paper fills that void by combining a study of both CIFS and different types of adopted strategies. Note that we employ the ‘ ‘industry-level† analysis approach, rather than the approach adopted in company- bevel studies, and stress the factors in the basic structure of the banking industry that significantly impact a bank's operational performance.In se ctions two and three, we first review the related literature, and then discuss the strategy setting and the CIFS. Section four discusses the survey framework of the study. The empirical results are presented in section five, and the sixth section comprises final discussions and conclusions. 2. The critical success factors approach Orchard, in 1979, was first to define the concept of critical success factors. He defined [ 83 ]Test-yeti Chin Critical success factors for various strategies in the banking industry International Journal of Bank Marketing 17/2 [1999] 83Ð’Â ±91 them as ‘the limited number of areas in which results, if they are satisfactory, will ensure successful competitive performance for the organization†. He indicated that SF is a useful approach for identifying management's information requirements because it can focus attention on areas where ‘things must go right†. Boonton and Smug (1984) also defined SF as the ‘ ‘few things t hat must go well to ensure success for a manager or an organization†.They recognized the SF approach as an appropriate planning instrument. Lieder and Bruno (1984) identified the few critical success factors, often as few as six in a successful firm, while Summaries (1984) attempted to rank CIFS based on their relative importance. Martin (1990) then pointed out that CIFS combined with computers could effectively translate business strategy planning. Crag and Grant (1993) highlighted the contexts of competitive resources Ana Illustrated ten relations Detente competitive resources Ana critical success factors.Kay et al. (1995) identified several CIFS applicable to insurance agency sales in high performance and low performance groups. With regard to the banking industry, Johnson and Johnson (1985) proposed that the width and depth of the product and service line, low operating costs, and a good bank reputation can be considered as the three critical success factors in a competiti ve market in the banking industry. Canals (1993) recognized that the concepts of value chain and bank configuration could be employed to develop a bank's competitive advantage.He identified four sources of a bank's competitive advantage, namely: 1 manpower; 2 financial management; 3 asset base; and 4 intangible assets. Wiled and Singer (1993) singled out three critical success factors for banks and insurers, that is, lower cost, product differentiation, and financial strength. In our study, we highlight the role of business strategy when we identify CIFS in the banking industry. Our research results contribute to the current literature and provide some useful insights concerning the CIFS associated with bank management and business strategy. ND functional area strategies and found that there were obvious differences between the organizational structure, management function and competitive resource/advantage. Next, Lieder and Bruno (1984) identified competitive resources in four semi -conductor companies, which operated with different business strategies. They found that when the companies utilized different business strategies, it clearly affected their resource utilization and the business goals emphasized. David and Sheehan (1990) further stated that firms based the selection of their business strategy primarily on technological levels and financial situation.They proposed that one could identify a firm's competitive advantages by its technological level and financial situation. Moreover, a set of business strategies is applicable to nominative firms' quest for a niche; this is described by Porter (1985). Porter (1985) suggested that business strategies could be categorized as: . Cost leadership; . Differentiation; . Specialization; and . Stuck in the middle. Miles and Snow (1985) also identified parallel business strategies in firms which will condition organizational development.In their study, they categorized four types of business strategy, that is: 1 pr ospector; 2 analyzer; 3 defender; and 4 reactor. A prospector usually attempts to enter a new market and adjusts his/her products and services in a timely manner. An analyzer is identified as a cost saver and/or efficiency promoter, especially in risk and innovative businesses and is always the second company to enter a new market. A defender is an expert on managing an experienced task in a stable market, with stability and security as key principles.Finally, a reactor is a contingency player and typically lacks a consistent strategy. This study uses Miles and Snow's (1985) four types of strategy as one of the ‘ ‘best known† and most widely accepted models for bank growth and market analysis. In a study of various types of business strategy, Shortest and Jack (1990), McDaniel and Solaria (1990), and Seven (1991) illustrate business operations and refer to Miles and Snow's (1985) descriptions of the four types of business strategy for organizational development. Ta ble I presents the details of these four types of strategies.As stated above, we find that if we conduct a SF study in the banking industry and obtain some applicable CIFS, consideration 3 1 en strategy setting Ana Much empirical research has attempted to verify the relationship between competitive advantages and business strategies. First, Shaker (1979) discussed corporate, business 84] Table I The four types of business strategy for banks 1 . Prospector A prospector always maintains a wide product line and market field and monitors his/her business environment as related to new market opportunities based on a macro point of view.A prospector desires to become a first market opener, even when this market is uncertain and high-risk. Prospectors quickly respond to signals in the economic environment, usually resulting in renewed competition. Certainly, it cannot be guaranteed that the prospector will hold his competitive strengths in all the new markets that he/she enters 2. Analyzer An analyzer usually tries to hold stable and limited product and service items. Before he/she enters a new market, he/she makes a considered evaluation in advance. An analyzer can become an initiator of a new product or new service, but will try to lower costs or be more efficient.Analyzers will be the second (or third) company to enter a field. An analyzer usually obtains market share by imitating a new product and through marketing; production and research departments play an important role in analyzers' business activities given this type of strategy A defender emphasizes his resources in experienced tasks in a stable raked. A defender tries to hold on to his/her niche in a relatively stable product line. He/ she usually provides higher quality service at a lower price in order to maintain market share and manages his/her business in the current, limited product line and service items.A defender tends to ignore reforms in the industry and makes efforts on current development in a limited business field, rather than becoming a pioneer A reactor does not have a consistent business direction to follow. He/she does not try to maintain current competition status and is never willing to undertake business risk eke other competitors. A reactor usually lacks a consistent business strategy and that may be the reason why reactors seldom perform well. In general, a reactor does not have a clear strategy and always makes decisions under pressure from the environment 3.Defender 4. Reactor Sources: Modified from McDaniel and Solaria (1987), Seven (1987) and Shortest and jack (1990) AT ten erects stemming Trot ten Dustless strategies Walt wanly Dank operate may be needed. In considering the business strategy, we need to consider whether different business strategies result in different CIFS. We then put forward two repositions, which need to be tested: 1 Business strategy is an important factor in establishing CIFS. 2 CIFS differ within banks when banks adopt different b usiness strategies. Thus, the following hypothesis tests can be included: . N overall test (AY) based on the null hypothesis that there are no significant differences in the mean values of the composite CIFS for strategy groups; . An individual test (81) that there are no differences in the mean values of the specific SF for the strategy groups; . A pair-wise test (82) that there are no significant differences through all the possible airs of factors of CIFS and across three kinds of strategy. 4. The survey framework The target population for this cross-sectional survey consisted of 375 local bank managers in Taipei City.Of these, nine-tenths (336) were domestic investor-owned banks and only one-tenth (39) were foreign inventoried banks. We used a questionnaire to collect the necessary data from bank branch managers. The questionnaire was persisted twice and incorporated changes as recommended by the respondents. Respondents were asked to indicate the importance of each of 25 items which could contribute to success on a five-point Liker scale ranging from very low† to ‘very high† (Aria et al. , 1996). The Liker measurement examined the respondent's perceptions of each item's function and importance.The questionnaire, and an official cover letter explaining the purpose of the study, were mailed in 1997. Of the 375 surveyed, the reply rate was 38. 1 per cent (143 respondents), which is typical of surveys of banks. Among the responses, 138 [ 85 ] were usable; this number constitutes the effective sample size for this study. The literature provides an applicable list of applicable success items and CIFS in the banking industry. Based on these studies, we collectively identify a total of 22 success items relevant to commercial banks.Three items obtained from a pretest of the questionnaire used in this study are also attached (see Table II). The 25 success items are listed as in the questionnaire and the sources of the success items are presented i n parentheses. In addition, a comprehensive description of the four types of strategy was given in the questionnaire and a self-reporting process was used to identify bank strategy. Of the 138 respondents who indicated their business strategy, 26 (18. 8 per cent) were prospectors, 74 (53. 6 per cent) were analyzers, 34 (24. Per cent) were defenders, and 4 (2. Per cent) were reactors. The mean business years was 9. 3 years for the 138 banks; the 26 prospector banks had 7. 4 business years, which was smaller than that of the analyzers (9. 8 business years) and that of the defenders (12. 9 Dustless years). I en prospectors are categorize as ten youngest Dank, Wendell ten defender banks are categorized the oldest, an arrangement which seems to fit with Miles and Snow's analysis. Note that only four of the respondents were reactors; therefore, we omit the reactor strategy in our empirical analysis and view this as a limitation of he study. 5.Empirical results The results are presented as follows. First, the mean rating on variables of interest was computed. Second, a factor analysis of the 25 success items was conducted to identify composite CIFS. Third, to test whether the importance of the composite CIFS is different with specific attributes, we undertake a multivariate analysis of variance (NOVA) in the dimension of the various business strategies adopted. The result of this analysis is rather important for the commercial bank manager in guiding sales decisions and for the analyst in cross-checking results obtained in related studies.

Homeostasis Lab Report Essay

Mr. Bell’s honors level chemistry class conducted an experiment during their lab demonstrations, this consisted of elements such as phosphorus and calcium chloride in their experiment. This along with another hydrogen based sunstance produced, what looked like a pinkish-looking substance inside of their flasks that were at their lab stations. see more:chemistry matriculation notes semester 2 Sophmore Kelly Caudel said, â€Å" I actualley enjoy doing the experiments in this class, because it gives us a chance to get away from the bookwork and lectures that Mr. Bell usually makes us endure.† It seemed as if the students in his class were showing tremendous progress in their efforts at their lab stations. That is, until one pair of students dropped their Erlenmyer flask that contained what was left of the chemical compound that was being created. A minute after the very noisy shatter of the glass, the whole class turned to see what had happened. While the two students very awkwardly cleaned up their mess, Mr. Bell procceeded in his efforts to help his students produce what would be a lovely pinkish-looking fluid, which was the result appropriate for the lab conducted. Sophmore Chase Cabe exclaimed in a rather elated voice,† This was definitely the best lab that we have done in his class so far. I like mixing up the elements into compounds and seeing how they react to each other. The result turned out looking great.† As the lab drew to a close, both Mr. Bell and his students returned to their desks with the impression that they were both satisfied with what they had done during the duration of the lab.

Strategic Mangement(Krispy Kreme)

P r o j e c t o f Strategic Management Case Study Krispy Kreme Doughnut HAILEY COLLEGE OF COMMERCE UNIVERSITY OF THE PUNJAB We are thankful to ALLAH (all mighty) for guiding us and giving us power and courage. Project submitted: Sir Ishfaq Ahmed This project is based on our course of S. M. We have tried to utilize our knowledge about the subject which was taught by our professor. S. M is a vast field and it was a bit difficult for us to cover it all at our learning phase. We have applied many concepts of S.M to the case study We are very much thankful to our Sir Ishfaq Ahmedfor teaching us this important subject with all dedication and interest. It was very necessary for us to understand the real concepts of S. M. for our future practical working life. Project prepared by: Bilal Raja 792 Krispy Kreme Doughnut History and Growth The founder, Vernon Rudolph, worked for his uncle, Ishmael Armstrong, who purchased a secret recipe for yeast-raised doughnuts and a shop on Broad Street in P aducah, Kentucky, from Joseph LeBeouf of Lake Charles, Louisiana. Rudolph began selling the yeast doughnuts in Paducah and delivered them on his bicycle.The operation was moved to Nashville, Tennessee, and other family members joined to meet the customer demand. The first store in the nation with the Krispy-Kreme name opened on Charlotte Pike in 1933. Rudolph sold his interest in the Nashville store and in 1938 opened a doughnut shop in Winston-Salem, and began selling to groceries and then directly to individual customers. The first store in North Carolina was located in a rented building on South Main Street in Winston-Salem in what is now called historic Old Salem. The Krispy Kreme logo was designed by Benny Dinkins, a local architect.By the 1960s, Krispy Kreme was known throughout the southeastern United States, and it began to expand into other areas. In 1976, Krispy Kreme Doughnut Corporation became a wholly owned subsidiary of Beatrice Foods of Chicago, Illinois. The headquar ters for Krispy Kreme remained in Winston-Salem. In 2003, a pilot project in Mountain View, California, to sell doughnuts through car windows and sunroofs at a busy intersection (with wireless payment) failed. On February 19, 2007, Krispy Kreme began selling the Whole Wheat Glazed doughnut in an attempt to appeal to the health conscious.The doughnut has twenty Calories fewer than the original glazed (180 vs. 200) and contains more fiber (2 grams vs. 0. 5 grams). As of January 2008, the trans-fat content of all Krispy Kreme doughnuts was reduced to 0. 5 of a gram or less. The U. S. Food and Drug Administration, in its guidelines, allow companies to round down to 0 g in its nutrition facts label even if the food contains as much as 0. 5 of a gram per serving. Krispy Kreme benefited from this regulatory loophole in its subsequent advertising campaign, touting its doughnuts as â€Å"trans- fat free† and having â€Å"0 grams trans-fat! Krispy Kreme began another phase of rapid ex pansion in the 1990s, opening stores outside the southeastern United States where most of their stores were located. Then, in December 2001, Krispy Kreme opened its first store outside the U. S. in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, just outside Toronto. Since 2004, Krispy Kreme has rapidly expanded its international operations. On April 5, 2000, the corporation went public on the NASDAQ using the ticker symbol KREM. On May 17, 2001, Krispy Kreme switched to the New York Stock Exchange, with the ticker symbol KKD, which is its current symbol.On January 18, 2005, Krispy Kreme announced Stephen Cooper, chairman of financial consulting group Kroll Zolfo Cooper LLC, as interim CEO. Cooper replaces Scott Livengood, who the company said has retired as chairman, president, CEO and a director. The company also named Steven Panagos, a managing director of Kroll Zolfo, as president and COO. Although based on informal advertising such as word-of-mouth, in 2006, Krispy Kreme moved into television an d radio advertisements, beginning with its â€Å"Share the Love† campaign with heart-shaped doughnuts. Vision and ValuesOur Vision †¢ To be the global leader in doughnuts and complementary products, while creating magic moments worldwide. Our Values (with acknowledgement to Founder, Vernon Rudolph) we believe†¦ †¢ Consumers are our lifeblood, the center of the doughnut †¢ There is no substitute for quality in our service to consumers †¢ Impeccable presentation is critical wherever Krispy Kreme is sold †¢ We must produce a collaborative team effort that is unexcelled †¢ We must cast the best possible image in all that we do †¢ We must never settle for â€Å"second best†; we deliver on our commitments We must coach our team to ever-better resultsMission statement We create the tastes for good times and warm memories for everyone, everywhere. With our Original Glazed doughnut as our signature and standard, we will continually improv e our customer's experience through: †¢ Innovative ideas †¢ Highest quality, and †¢ Caring service Financial/ business performance Environmental analysis Internal factors Strong brand recognition and recall Wide appeal of signature glazed doughnuts Vertical integration Development in international markets Strong channel of distribution Quality of product Expanded assortment of offerings at KKD stores including beverages Doughnut machine technology.Perishability of product Limited product line (heavy reliance on doughnut sales) Overextended (i. e. , Montana Mills acquisition) Lack of locations in some areas Pricing in some locations External factors Increasing popularity of coffee shops and bakery cafes Popularity of American foods and fashion in overseas markets Growth in two-income households Americans continue to experience time-starvation Entertaining opportunities moving from home to work environment Technological advancements (i. e. paperless ordering, predictive modeling software, hand held computers for delivery drivers) Channel expansion possibilities (i. e. , Internet pre-ordering) Competitors like Dunkin Donuts and Starbucks Low-carb trend in eating preferences All-natural, organic, healthy eating trends Cultural differences in breakfast and snack foods Increase in eating at full-service restaurants combined with a decrease in the use of fast-food restaurants S. W. O. T analysis Strengths 1. Affordable, high-quality doughnuts with strong visual appeal and â€Å"one-of-a-kind† taste 2.Neon â€Å"Hot Doughnuts Now† sign encourages people outside the store to make an impulse purchase 3. Market research shows appeal extends to all major demographic groups including age and income 4. â€Å"Hot shop† stores save money while keeping KKD customer experience intact 5. Vertical integration helps ensure high quality product 6. Consistent expansion; now in 16 countries 7. Product sold at thousands of supermarkets, convenience stores, and retail outlets through U. S. Weaknesses 1. Return on equity, assets, and investments all negative in the trailing twelve months; skill of mgmt. s questionable 2. Shareholders have not received dividends recently, and are not expected to in near future; stock price in state of flux 3. Closing stores when stores should be opening globally at steady rate to keep up with competitors' growth 4. Management states in recent 10-K that it is struggling with how to make stores profitable 5. Product line slow to expand with nothing Threats 1. Dunkin' Donuts presently dominates the doughnut market, particularly in northeastern U. S. 2. People are becoming more healthconscious, which does not bode well for highsugar, high-fat treats 3.Starbucks has approximately 25 times the amount of stores worldwide that Krispy Kreme Donut has 4. Restricted cash flow from banks and massive layoffs have stifled the world economy, decreasing discretionary income 5. Europeans prefer their local brands of Opportunities 1. Families crave convenience because of busy lifestyles 2. Asians love sweets and are open to trying foreign foods 3. Starbucks lacks a diversified and distinctive pastry line 4. Dunkin' Donuts does not have hot doughnuts to sell 5. Many children love sweet treats 6. Tim Horton has yet to expand beyond the U. S. nd Canada, and its product line does not appear to be competitive 7. South America, Africa, and Southern Asia are markets to conquer outside â€Å"sweet treats† to draw in healthconscious customers 6. Advertising not aggressive enough to appeal to areas outside southeast of U. S. where most stores are 7. Revenues down, net losses in each of past three years 8. Per 10-K, continued disputes with franchisees could hurt future business doughnuts 6. Britons tend not to have cars, which inhibits drive-thru customers, and their eating habits and office etiquette differ from Americans 7.Shareholders may sell KKD stock for lack of returns and dividends compa red to other similar firms in the industry SO Strategies 1. TV, radio, and print ads demonstrating 27 varieties of doughnuts against non-descript pastry offerings by Starbucks (S3, O3) 2. All store signs in supermarkets and conveniences where product is sold have picture of young child eating a Krispy Kreme doughnut (S7, O5) 3. Continued grand openings of stores in highly-populated cities such as Sao Paulo, Brazil & Johannesburg, South Africa (S6, O7) ST Strategies 1.Compare â€Å"hot† doughnut appeal of Krispy Kreme Donut to cold doughnuts of Dunkin' Donuts in TV and Internet ads (S1,T1) 2. Do â€Å"roadshow† across Europe as means of advertising, driving truck and mobile â€Å"hot shop† to major European cities and filming their reactions for European ads (S2, S4, T5, T6) 3. Express strengths and outline concrete strategies in clear format within 10-K in order to restore shareholder confidence in future of Krispy Kreme Donut (S1-S7, T7) WT Strategies 1. Expand product line with low-calorie foods (W5, T7) 2. Recruit top executive talent from other WO Strategies 1.Make doughnuts filled with fruit, put fruit cups on menu, and develop wide variety of fresh fruit smoothies; offer ways to incorporate nuts and protein into foods (W5, O3) 2. Aggressive Internet ads demonstrating the appeal of Krispy Kreme Donut hot doughnuts (W6, O4) 3. Open small but profitable â€Å"hot shops† in South America, Africa, and Southeast Asia in order to expand globally (W3,O7) fast-food firms (W1, T7) 3. Survey franchisees to discover ways to repair business relationships and retain growth of franchise model; study McDonald's model for tips (W8, T1, T3) I. F. E E. F. E C. P. M Space matrix Boston Consulting Group Matrix (BCG)Krispy Kreme Donuts has three business segments, and they are presented here along with their annual revenues per Form 10-K filed on April 17, 2009: Company Stores ($266M), Franchise ($26M) and Krispy Kreme Supply Chain ($93M), with app roximately $384M in total revenues for the year ending February 1, 2009. This means that each business segment represented the following percentage in revenues: Company Stores (69. 2%), Franchise (6. 7%), and Krispy Kreme Supply Chain (24. 1%). Profits for each business segment are as follows: Company Stores ($-2M); Franchise ($18M); and KK Supply Chain ($25M), for a total of $41M in profits.Therefore, Company Stores has 0% of the profits; Franchise has about 41%; and Krispy Kreme Supply Chain has about 59%. We’ll assume that Company Stores has 3% of the market share and a -13% growth rate; Franchise has 3% of the market share and a 10% growth rate; and Krispy Kreme Supply Chain has 3% of the market share and -7% growth rate. Grand Strategy (GS) Matrix Recommendations 1- Reduce operating expenses (down-size individual stores) Lower Costs of Doing Business †¢ reduce operating costs per individual store by changing average size of stores from 2500-4500 sq. t. range to 1500 2000 sq ft. Potential for 30 – 50 % decrease in operating cost on a cost per square foot basis. I. Change entire manufacturing and distribution strategy – Implement par baked manufacturing operation †¢ to allow individual stores to decrease in size, thus lowering per store operating costs to a more appropriate level for sales volume †¢ Increased efficiency – smaller workforce per store, par-bake allows for minimal waste – inventory as needed (important b/c fresh goods – low shelf life †¢ Par bake will allow for â€Å"hot doughnuts now† all of the time. Implications of transition to par bake operation †¢ New Plant Equipment – freezers, production equipment, freezer trucks for distribution/delivery. †¢ Store Equipment – freezers, oven for various par baked goods, fryers for doughnuts. †¢ R&D for unique par bake operation, doughnuts still to be fried and glazed on site. II. Sale of Plant and Equipment -sell Effingham plant †¢ Potential buyers are large scale baked-goods manufacturers †¢ Sara Lee Corporation †¢ Entenmann’s (George Weston Bakeries Distribution) †¢ Harlan Bakeries, Inc. Estimated value of 10. 5 – 12 million. III. Remove â€Å"doughnut theater† from 95% of locations, doughnut theater can be part of a select few Flagship locations only. (3 – 5 Stores) 2- Develop stronger relations and control of franchisees I. Short-term period of one year – postpone new franchise agreements/new store openings II. Implement Franchise Support Systems †¢ Communication – between corporate and franchisees †¢ Support – training, advertising †¢ Utilize recommendation #1 in order to lower operating expenses for franchisees. – Implement Marketing Strategies I. Advertising – national television and radio advertising campaign based on â€Å"hot doughnuts now†. II. Marketing research  œ periodic research to stay abreast of trends. III. R&D – product development 4- Strengthen Competitive Advantage †¢ Strengthen Competitive Advantage through differentiation in products and services. I. Continue to utilize â€Å"hot doughnuts now† II. Expand product line †¢ Account with A&S â€Å"New York† Bagels (par-baked). Par baked will allow for â€Å"Hot Bagels Now†.